Dinner! 2007

[Marlene]

Last night was tonkatsu, sticky rice and green beans, tonight I made pizza with bacon, ham and pepperoni.

[C. sapidus]

Marcia: Thanks, I have noticed that you shared an affection for chile-sauced pork. Grilled eggplant moussaka sounds like a great idea, too.

←

Peter the eater: I have never tried winkles before, but holy crap, that looks so good.

Tonight we made garlicky stir-fried shrimp (camarones al ajillo), braised scallions, and jasmine rice. The shrimp included a whole head of garlic (note the large golden-brown cloves), further enriched with garlic butter. Ya can’t have too much garlic. Driving elder son back from basketball practice in freezing weather, he preferred an open window to garlic fumes. Eh, it was so worth it.

Edited to add: Mrs. C made the braised scallions, from All About Braising, and they were delicious.

Camarones al ajillo, braised scallions, jasmine rice

Edited December 8, 2007 by C. sapidus (log)

[Jamie Lee]

For those lurkers who are not "Cooking Gods" , here's some more comfort food from a less-than-stellar cook or photographer....

Beef and Pork Chili... (although you can't see it much!)

Normally, I put the cheese on the bottom (a thick slice of sharp ched preferred), but like the addition of crisp, raw onions and a touch of sour cream.... yes, I have the breathe of camel dung! Not really - I think!

To see the chili in it's more natural state check out here.

[C. sapidus]

Jamie Lee: Self-deprecation aside, that’s a beautiful picture.

Tonight’s dinner: pescado a la Veracruzana; shiitake and oyster mushroom soup with bacon and pasilla chiles; and butter-glazed radishes. The tilapia turned out nicely – I love the combination of tomatoes, olives, capers, and pickled jalapenos, and this version included bay leaves, thyme, Mexican oregano, flat-leaf parsley, cloves, and soft-stick cinnamon.

Mrs. C braised the radishes in butter and chicken stock, transforming them into tender caramelized nuggets as the last of the water evaporated. The pasilla chiles were unexpectedly spicy and overwhelmed the otherwise delicious soup. Next time I will add the chile puree in stages, tasting as I go.

[Kim Shook]

I have barely cooked meals this month (too busy cooking for the Christmas freezer ), but evidently I am the only one! Y'all have been cooking up a storm. I am going to start serving Mr. Kim his take out in front of this thread - maybe it will fool him !

Miz Ducky - those short ribs inspired me! They are just perfect for Dec/Jan meals!

Bruce - that cabbage looked lucious. Funny, I really don't like cooked cabbage - but last week Klary made some that I drooled over, too. Guess I'll have to try it again!

AlexNoir - I gotta try that 'Kit Kat' - gorgeous

Marlene - that gravy shot was for me, too! I could eat gravy like soup! And I want that souffle!

Prawncrackers - that 'Spanish' meal was really wonderful. I wanted to pull up a chair!

No pictures, the camera is definitely dead and the company that I ordered my new one from may be giving me the run around , but tonight's dinner was a pretty good, if a bit of a cheat casserole. I marinated and grilled some boneless chicken breasts (I know, I know, but they were quick and I came home from the store at 7:30), topped them with some frozen artichoke and spinach dip and cheese and baked for a few minutes. Served with orzo, a salad and some heat-and-serve la brea bread. The family raved .

Kim

[Ted Fairhead]

Tonight's dinner was a "rotissed" chicken on my gas grill served with an incredible orange sauce, rice and peas.

[percyn]

Indian Butter Chicken on Basmati, with a dollop of sour cream

The other day I made

Pot Roast over mashed Yams

Edited December 10, 2007 by percyn (log)

[doctortim]

Percyn, that butter chicken is unlike any I've seen before -- how did you get that intense colour? Most of the butter chicken dishes I've had lose some of their colour after adding the cream.

I haven't posted for a while, but I have been eating!

Beef and blue cheese sandwich (ran out of burger buns).

Vegetables cooked with indian tomato and indian spices (I'm sure there's some indian name for this of which I'm not aware).

Last night we had some friends around, and I made Indian food. First we nibbled on roti with a some dips (lentils, overexposed raita).

Then the main course. Butter chicken, beef vindaloo, and aloo gobi. There was also some mango lassi which is tucked away in the background.

Dessert was a not-very-indian pavlova, but the addition of mango and a sprinkling of cardamon helped it keep with the theme.

It was a great night.

[Ce'nedra]

doctortim: Your Indian-themed dinner looks absolutely delicious and well crafted!

Could I have the recipe for your Butter chicken and pavlova please? Much appreciated!

[doctortim]

doctortim: Your Indian-themed dinner looks absolutely delicious and well crafted!

Could I have the recipe for your Butter chicken and pavlova please? Much appreciated!

←

Thanks!

I've posted my Butter Chicken recipe previously, although it's always changing slightly. What I served last night was that recipe minus the onion, plus pulverized cashews and fennel seeds toasted and ground. The cashews and fennel seeds were a good addition. In future if I had onions I would not leave them out (remember to cook slowly to make them sweeter).

The pavlova is from Stephanie Alexander's recipe (which Nigella Lawson credits in her recipe for pavlova):

4 egg whites, pinch of salt

250 g castor sugar

A few drops vanilla extract

2 tsp cornflour

1 tsp white wine vinegar

300 ml cream, whipped

Whatever fruit you want. Passionfruit pulp, strawberries, kiwi fruit, mango or pineapple all work well

Preheat the oven to 180ºC. Unless you have forearms of steel you'll want an electric mixer for this. Beat the egg whites with salt until soft peaks form. Add the vanilla extract, then beat in the sugar a third at a time until firm-ish peaks form. Sift in the cornflour and beat for a few seconds until it's reasonably spread through the mixture. Then add the vinegar and beat for a few more seconds.

Spread the mixture out onto a lined baking tray in about a 20cm circle. Put it in the oven, immediately turn the oven down to 150ºC, and cook for 30 minutes. Then turn the oven down to 120ºC and cook for a further 45 minutes. When that's done, turn off the oven, leave the door ajar, and leave the pavlova in until it's completely cool. To serve, turn the pavlova over (for both a flat top, and a thick, crisp base), and top with the cream and fruit.

[Kim Shook]

Last night was our annual fondue/tree decorating dinner. We started with beef fondue (tenderloin) with bearnaise, horseradish cream, curry sauce, Bobby Flay's sherry vinegar steak sauce & crudites and dip (Seven Seas Green Goddess - very traditional for this meal in Mr. Kim's family ) and crusty rolls. Dessert was chocolate fondue (I experimented this year and did Tolblerone - amazingly good!) with pound cake, angel food cake, macaroons, bananas, maraschino cherries, dried fruit and blackened marshmallows .

Kim

[lucylou95816]

Last night was our annual fondue/tree decorating dinner.  We started with beef fondue (tenderloin) with bearnaise, horseradish cream, curry sauce, Bobby Flay's sherry vinegar steak sauce & crudites and dip (Seven Seas Green Goddess - very traditional for this meal in Mr. Kim's family ) and crusty rolls.  Dessert was chocolate fondue (I experimented this year and did Tolblerone   - amazingly good!) with pound cake, angel food cake, macaroons, bananas, maraschino cherries, dried fruit and blackened marshmallows . 

Kim

←

That sounds really good, I have a hankering for some fondue right now.

[lucylou95816]

Last night, I roasted a chicken that was stuffed with garlic, onions and lemons and then smothered in butter that was mixed with rosemary and thyme. Half way through the cooking time, I had come across a pan in the upper oven with bacon fat on it from earlier made bacon, so I decided to pour that over the chicken. Here is a piece of the breast, with a perfect crispy skin..

Along side of this, we enjoyed roasted mushrooms that were also added to the chicken at the half way point. They were tossed with thyme and a garlic/basil grapeseed oil I had from a winery a couples months back.

Lastly, I saw the Barefoot Contessa this weekend, making a cauliflower gratin, so I adopted that recipe, only used one tablespoon of flour, used cream instead of milk and didn't add the bread crumbs. It was really really good.

[percyn]

Percyn, that butter chicken is unlike any I've seen before -- how did you get that intense colour? Most of the butter chicken dishes I've had lose some of their colour after adding the cream.

I used a bit of pre-made (Pathak's) Tandoori masala, which happens to have some food color in it. Not my preference, but it is a common practice in India.

[Doodad]

Inspired by the Pimp That Snack website, we made our first attempt at a giant potsticker, dubbed the potsmasher.

We made a meatloaf and cooked it to 140 internal temp. Then cut that in half and with a huge dough rolled out, we sealed it. I steamed it in a parchment lined colander in a wok. Not perfect, but very tasty. We are going to try again with the second half and I will post photos. We did not crimp it well on this attempt.

[tamih]

i made something quick and easy from a new(ish) cookbook, Adventures of an Italian Food Lover - smoked mozzarella cutlets. Used smoked mozz from the local farmers market and fried them up. So I didn't feel *quite* so guilty about them, I added a little salad of roasted red & yellow peppers, capers, SS&P, and balsamic and extra virgin oil. Very delicious.

[Ce'nedra]

Thanks doctortim, I might try a country-themed dinner too

←

I could have some of that right this second!

tamih: Simple food can be some of the best and your dish is no exception. Looks really delicious with lots of fresh flavours. What's there not to love?!

I had Salty Sweet pan-fried prawns with vegie stir fry and rice today.

Very easy, fairly good.

[sadistick]

Haven't been around the dinner thread in ages...but those prawns look delish! One of my standbys when going out for Chinese is always spicy salt fried prawns and calamari!

Great stuff everyone.

[Tri2Cook]

I made a tourtiere with pickled beets and a cucumber salad. Didn't bother with a picture but it was tasty. I ate too much and now I'm feeling lazy but I have a lot of work to do tonight so I guess it's coffee time.

[eskay]

Inspired by the Pimp That Snack website, we made our first attempt at a giant potsticker, dubbed the potsmasher.

We made a meatloaf and cooked it to 140 internal temp.  Then cut that in half and with a huge dough rolled out, we sealed it.  I steamed it in a parchment lined colander in a wok.  Not perfect, but very tasty.  We are going to try again with the second half and I will post photos.  We did not crimp it well on this attempt.

←

This sounds hilarious and awesome.

Haven't posted here in a while, mostly because I haven't been cooking dinner....Yay exams

Stuffed the chicken with a quartered lime, some onion, and a few cloves of garlic (which turned a nice shade of blue ) and rubbed it with olive oil, chili powder, paprika, s&p, and oregano. It was really good.

Edited December 13, 2007 by eskay (log)

[rooftop1000]

We tried a new cuisine (for us) at a new restaurant in the next town over...

Fillipino place called Cocina de GeePee

We started with Lumpia (spring rolls) and skewers of grilled pork

Then hubby had deep fried Tilapia with yellow rice and veg and I had marinated sliced grilled beef with garlic fried rice with a runny fried egg dripping all over it

tracey

Edited December 13, 2007 by rooftop1000 (log)

[C. sapidus]

eskay: Your chicken sounds delicious, blue garlic and all. Are you taking or administering exams?

Tonight’s dinner: slow-braised beef with potatoes; and and fennel braised with thyme and black olives. Click the links for details and pictures.

[David Ross]

I know that I tend to post food that is a bit 'fancy'-but trust me, I love simple food just as much as the more complicated stuff. And that means a good casserole on a weeknight:

Turkey Noodle Bake from the Good Housekeeping Cookbook, circa 1950:

[Shelby]

I know that I tend to post food that is a bit 'fancy'-but trust me, I love simple food just as much as the more complicated stuff.  And that means a good casserole on a weeknight:

Turkey Noodle Bake from the Good Housekeeping Cookbook, circa 1950:

←

David, I LOVE tuna casseroles.

I might have to find this recipe and make this tonight!!!!

We're expected to receive 7-9 inches of snow, so this sounds yummy and comforting.

[Kim Shook]

←

David, that looks wonderful. I love seeing all kinds of food - fancy and 'un'! Makes this place decidedly less intimidating for us totally unfancy cooks when a cook of your caliber makes comfort food! I sure wish I had that waiting at home for me tonight! I haven't cooked a real meal since our tree trimming fondue meal on Sunday and I probably won't cook another one until the weekend before Christmas!

Kim