Dinner! 2007

[rooftop1000]

So I made my mess for the weekend, except I still have tons of filling leftover so maybe more tomorrow for the freezer...more what?

Butternut Squash Ravioli

served with farmers market Rainbow Chard

sauteed in Chorizo dripping and Browned Butter with Sage on the Ravs

tracey

Edited October 21, 2007 by rooftop1000 (log)

[Dr. J]

Here is some pictures of my dinners from last week. I am still learning a lot about plating and taking pictures of my stuff.

Another Learning point.

It is very tough to take pictures and plate your own dinner when you are starving!

[lucylou95816]

Last night and tonight are low carb tortilla fajitas. I just started cooking with flank steak and really like it for a quick grill pan steak. We marinated it in a little garlic, cilantro, lime juice, tequila, salt and pepper. Very good. The low carb tortillas were surprisingly good as well.

[nonblonde007]

Dr. J, Beautiful first post!

Sometimes, it is worth the splurge.

Miso with tofu..........

Salmon from Catalina Offshore.

I wish I could convay just how rich, buttery, fatty, fresh and delicious this was. That company is definately top notch!

Edited October 22, 2007 by nonblonde007 (log)

[KristiB50]

Tonight I cooked from Gourmets Latin issue for my blog

Mixiote De Carne (beef short ribs roasted in banana leaves and a guajillo/achiote sauce) with tomatillo guacamole and Mexican Rice.

In the banana leaf

Out of the leaf

For dessert: Sighs of the Bride with Mixed Fruit in Cinnamon Lime Syrup. Odd I can't find the picture on my hard drive but it's on my blog...

[David Ross]

Tonight I did a Salmon with a Pumpkin-Pepita (Green Pumpkin Seed) Vinaigrette. This is a great dish for the weeknights because it's so simple. You can make the vinaigrette ahead of time and then all you do is sear some salmon, add some greens, spoon on the vinaigrette and garnish with whole pepitas. It's also delicious with chicken breast or pork chops.

The vinaigrette is more like a thick, chunky sauce. It's out of Larry Forgione's "An American Place" cookbook. You don't hear much about Chef Forgione these days since there are so many young 'celebrity' chefs out there that have taken over the spotlight, but he was a leader in bringing out the idea of an 'American' cuisine. I don't know if he's still cooking or the restaurant is still open in New York. All of his recipes are simple and delicious if you want to try this cookbook.

[Dr. J]

Ok, first pic is a seabass on a bed of rice. the sauce is a saffron/vanilla infused clam base. The sauce is a recipe from the french landry. It was ok, but honestly i dont like the proportions they used in the book, so i am going to do it again, and repost with what i feel is perfect.

The second pic is a duck breast sous-vide. Made with a squash, shallot, mushroom base with a mustard creme fraiche sauce. On the top is a Honey, Soy, ginger sauce which i thickened with Xantham gum. Also topped with a basil infused oil. The mustard creme fraiche sauce is a sauce i used from a recipe in le bouchon. I changed the quantities of the original recipe here, i used less stock, and less mustard. The sauce came out with a hint of mustard which went great with the squash.

If i had to redo the picture I would have put less stuff and a lot less sauce. The pic would have come out nicer that way, but the stuff was soo good and I was soo freaking hungry that i just put it all in and ate it all.

The third pic is a duck leg that I marinated and cooked with this recipe

http://recipes.egullet.org/recipes/r1132.html

I didnt use onions and instead of chili flakes I used a chinese garlic chilli paste.

Came out great!

If anybody would like the complete recipes with quantities just let me know.

[Sif]

I have been drooling over this thread and the pictures for months...

I am not sure what to call this in English, but I think paté fits. (Vegan) corn-potato paté (with tofu, chili and coconut) with tossed salat and hommus/coconutmilk dressing.

I have to say the hommus/coconutmilk dressing was quite the bright inventive moment of my day

It was one of those empty-your-fridge-and-use-your-imagination-and-pray-it-works-things.

Not sure why the image is grainy. I think the light was bad.

[Peter the eater]

David Ross: your place must smell really good, I now know what to do with the big bag of pepitas.

Dr J: Nice duck! What was the time & temp for the s.v.? BTW you're not really Julius Erving, are you? That would be really cool - 9 days to NBA tip off and all.

Sif: Pate looks great, I love the idea of a nice veggie/grain "loaf" (every January I try to perfect my vegetarian haggis, hasn't happened yet)

[Ce'nedra]

yunnermeier: Thanks for the recipe

nonblonde007: Thank you! As for your salmon sashimi, I can almost taste it! Mmm soft slithers of salmon melting in your mouth........

rooftop1000: Wow your ravioli looks amazing! Did it take a long time to make?

David Ross: That closeup shot is just gorgeous. How did you make the vinaigrette?

Edited October 22, 2007 by Ce'nedra (log)

[Megan Blocker]

Ce'nedra, those prawns look excellent. Did you make them at home? If so, would you consider putting the recipe in RecipeGullet? I, for one, would make copious use of it.

[Prawncrackers]

Not posted on Dinner! for weeks. Another hearty meal tonight, juicy Tamworth Pork Chop, Crackling (of course!), Spiced Red Cabbage, Parsnip Chips and there are some boiled new potatoes somewhere lurking in the background, enjoy:

[Dr. J]

I SV the duck for around 20 min at 58 Celcius. I normally buy the whole duck, use the breasts for SV and use the rest trying new recipes.

Sorry to disappoint, but I am not Julius Erving. Only place I can dunk is on the kiddie baskets with the pizza hut basketball.

[percyn]

Welcome Dr J. Did you find that 20 min at 58C is sufficient? Did you pan sear it before serving?

[GTO]

Prawncrackers: Great looking chop! I can see where you've cut the fat* - Really keeps it flat, eh?

* Cut the fat sounds like a really awful way of saying someone let one go.

[Doodad]

Wifey stopped and got a pork shoulder on special. I came home early due an unfortunate water line incident (I love my job I love my job).

So.....I am making Bourdain's pallet du porc a la biere from the Les Halles cookbook. Reminds me of German Pot Roast? from my childhood.

Starting to smell good so I hope I did well.

[Dr. J]

I ended up cooking the first one more than 20 minutes and it came out medium well. The second time i did it I did it for 20 and it came out pink and nice. (I put the bag in once the water reached proper temp)

I personally did not sear it after although I have read it done that way and agree that it would look nicer that way. I was super hungry so i skipped that step.

I also marinated the breast a day in advance with seasoning in Orange juice.

I honestly was very surprised with how easy, simple and tasty the breast came out. I honestly do recommend it.

As for SV other proteins? Well I read that they are SV ribs and other meats but the SV times are something like 8-10 hours. Which in my opinion is excessive. I read that the meat comes out nice looking inside but it is not butter in your mouth soft so I will not try that.

Also, I read about SV seafood and will not even experiment because I believe that if you overcook seafood by a little then you kind of messed everything up and when the stuff is in the bag you cant tell by looking at it.

I hope that helps. If I am not being exact, I can certainly put up all instructions in a scientific notation noting every little step. I apologize if I have skipped certain steps.

Feel free to ask any questions, I love chatting about this stuff.

[David Ross]

David Ross: That closeup shot is just gorgeous. How did you make the vinaigrette?

←

Thanks for the nice comment. The vinaigrette is very simple. I added the sugar to the original recipe and instead of only olive oil, I used half walnut oil and half olive oil. Again, kudos for the recipe go to Chef Larry Forgione:

Pumpkin/Pepita Vinaigrette:

1/2 cup pepitas (green pumpkin seeds)

1/3 cup canned pumpkin

1/2 clove garlic, minced

1/2 tsp. tumeric

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1 tbsp. sugar

1/4 cup walnut oil

1/4 cup olive oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Blend the pepitas, pumpkin, garlic, tumeric, vinegar, and sugar in a blender. Add the oils with the blender running to combine the vinaigrette. Season to taste.

Additional whole pepitas for garnish

[Domestic Goddess]

Supper today was Grilled Boneless Porkchops with Fried Rice (cherry tomatoes on the side as a palate cleanser)

Cinnamon Rolls for dessert.

[nakji]

Oh.

My.

Goodness.

Those look delicious. The ratio of icing to roll is perfect.

[Ce'nedra]

Ce'nedra, those prawns look excellent.  Did you make them at home?  If so, would you consider putting the recipe in RecipeGullet?  I, for one, would make copious use of it.

←

Same request (for the mayo prawns) here....I had to google for the recipe.

Megan, welcome back !!

←

Thanks for the lovely comments

I would add the mayo prawns recipe to RecipeGullet but the problem is that I never measured it arrghh! I got my mum to ask my aunt in the US (it's her specialty) for the recipe but she seemd kinda relectant to share so we had to figure it out ourselves by trial and error! Don't worry guys, it's VERY simple (precisely why I made it) since it's really just frying and then mixing. It's all up to your own tastes. But I will have to first comment that this 'recipe' (if you will) was merely a 'guessing' creation by me and my mum. I'm sure there's more to it (because my aunt's slightly different) but so far, I must say that it's still very good!

I used about 500 g tiger prawns, peeled and cleaned. A pinch of baking soda (hey it's not bad in small quantities ), mixed through the prawns thorougly and left in the fridge for about 2 hours.

Afterwards, I would dip the prawns in egg whites and then into flour. Deep-fry the prawns. Leave in a bowl covered with serviettes to soak up the oil.

In the meantime, mix the mayonnaise with sugar (add bit by bit according to your own taste). Just before serving (since you want to keep the prawns as crisp as possible), pour the sweet mayonnaise over the prawns and then sprinkle with plenty of walnuts. Btw, the walnuts are NECESSARY for the contrast in taste and texture. Easy and delicious!

[Ce'nedra]

Thanks for the nice comment. The vinaigrette is very simple.  I added the sugar to the original recipe and instead of only olive oil, I used half walnut oil and half olive oil.  Again, kudos for the recipe go to Chef Larry Forgione:

Pumpkin/Pepita Vinaigrette:

....

←

Thank you

Cinnamon Rolls for dessert. 

←

How...did...you...make...that?

[percyn]

I ended up cooking the first one more than 20 minutes and it came out medium well.  The second time i did it I did it for 20 and it came out pink and nice.  (I put the bag in once the water reached proper temp)

I personally did not sear it after although I have read it done that way and agree that it would look nicer that way.  I was super hungry so i skipped that step.

I also marinated the breast a day in advance with seasoning in Orange juice.

I honestly was very surprised with how easy, simple and tasty the breast came out.  I honestly do recommend it. 

As for SV other proteins?  Well I read that they are SV ribs and other meats but the SV times are something like 8-10 hours.  Which in my opinion is excessive.  I read that the meat comes out nice looking inside but it is not butter in your mouth soft so I will not try that.

Also, I read about SV seafood and will not even experiment because I believe that if you overcook seafood by a little then you kind of messed everything up and when the stuff is in the bag you cant tell by looking at it. 

I hope that helps.  If I am not being exact, I can certainly put up all instructions in a scientific notation noting every little step.  I apologize if I have skipped certain steps. 

Feel free to ask any questions, I love chatting about this stuff.

←

Maybe you can share your experience on the Sous Vide thread.

I have SV Duck (my favorite), chicken, beef short ribs, pork belly, pork ribs, lobster, scallops, fish, shrimp, and of course eggs.

Cheers

P

[Sif]

Domestic Goddes, those cinnamon rolls looks fantastic. You can never have too much icing!

I made chickpea burgers with hommus, guacamole and dillfritters, I was having a very meat-eating friend over and wanted to show him how good vegan food can be. The buns are made with okara, which gives very moist bread with a nutty flavor. I always have it on hand from making soymilk. The potates are roasted with powdered onion and garlic, and then mixed with fresh chopped dill before serving. To bad there's not much dill in the picture.

Then I ate the rest for lunch today.

[monavano]

From butter to cheese to sopping up soup, this bread is delicious!

Rosemary, Olive and Honey Quick Bread.

Recipe here..