Dinner! 2007

[Ted Fairhead]

Tonight it was Venetian Scallops and Shrimp. Fresh off the boat courtesy of our neighbor friend

Followed by "Nightscotsmans" EGullet recipe for Apple Dumplings with a scoop of Gourmet Vanilla Ice Cream

[Prawncrackers]

I would love to hear how she made this!

Hi i've added my recipe for the tart to the Recipe Gullet - Goats Cheese & Onion Tart. My wife's recipe is exactly the same as mine except she likes to make cute little tartlets instead the one large tart that i do. Very simple recipe, Enjoy!

[Shelby]

Just wanted to say I'm drooling again over everyones pictures!

Prawn, thanks for posting the recipe for the tart! Definitely going to try this.

[Peter Green]

Prawn,

My thanks too for putting out the tart recipe!

For my part, tonight is a prime example of why I shouldn't be left on my own too often.

I had some tenderloin that I'd cut up. I was thinking that it would go well simply stir fried with some bell peppers, onions, and pickled chillis, then hit with some Sichuan peppercorns.

Fair enough.

I tenderized the meat with the bean flour/papane that gets things so soft and buttery, added some soy and sesame oil, a tad of sugar, and then set to work.

The problem was I had a bowl of really pretty looking fresh basil that I'd picked on the way home.......and it just looked too good not to use.....

You can see where this went. I basically had a schizoid dish that couldn't figure out if it was Sichuan or central Thai. I think it was the scent of the basil with the thickness of the sauce that threw it off.

Pity. At least Yoonhi's not around to tell me "I told you so"......although if she was I would've listened to her and avoided this.

I think I'll console myself with ice cream.

Peter

[Prawncrackers]

Sounds and looks okay to me Peter, I've also been known to add holy basil to supposedly Sichuanese stir-fries. Coriander too, gives a fresh herbal note that is sometimes lacking in Sichuan dishes if you don't have perilla. Surely it can't have turned out too badly?

I have a packet of that papane stuff too, it works wonders with tough old octopus and cuttlefish. It's quite effective but i've found that it's also easy to use too much and it can quite literally turn cuttlefish as soft a butter!! Surprised that you needed to use it with pork tenderloin though. What's wrong with chewing ya meat?

Edited August 25, 2007 by Prawncrackers (log)

[Peter Green]

Sounds and looks okay to me Peter, I've also been known to add holy basil to supposedly Sichaunese stir-fries.  Coriander too, gives a fresh herbal note that is sometimes lacking in Sichaun dishes if you don't have perilla.  Surely it can't have turned out too badly?

I have a packet of that papane stuff too, it works wonders with tough old octopus and cuttlefish.  It's quite effective but i've found that it's also easy to use too much and it can quite literally turn cuttlefish as soft a butter!!  Surprised that you needed to use it with pork tenderloin though.  What's wrong with chewing ya meat? 

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I think what bothered me was the identity problem. The meat came out the way it should (beef, rather than pork) buttery but still with good texture. It was just that you get that "saucy" feeling of a Sichuan, and then your nose catches the basil and goes "wait a minute". Coriander would've been a better choice if I could've focused more on what I was doing, but I'm easily distracted.

The ice cream with chocolate sauce made me feel better.

Cheers,

Peter

[David Ross]

Tonight it was Venetian Scallops and Shrimp.  Fresh off the boat courtesy of our neighbor friend

Followed by "Nightscotsmans" EGullet recipe for Apple Dumplings with a scoop of Gourmet Vanilla Ice Cream

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Ted-would you be so kind and share the Scallop and Shrimp recipe? That looks really delicious!

[Abra]

Sazji - that's a beautiful pepper shot.

Prawncrackers - what's mooli cake? It looks like turnip cake.

JMahl - will you share your empanada recipe? Those are picture perfect.

[Prawncrackers]

Prawncrackers - what's mooli cake?  It looks like turnip cake.

Mooli is another name for daikon radish. The Cantonese for mooli/radish cake is 'lor bak go'. Even though Chinese restaurants here call it turnip cake in English too, there are actually no turnips in it. It's a funny one that; did the pioneer dim sum restaurateurs in the UK and the US think that turnips sounded more palatable than radishes?

Anyway, to answer your question, yes it is turnip cake! My mum's recipe, one of her best and one i need to learn.

[David Ross]

Last night I made a Lobster Salad. I add capers, shallots, haricot vert, new potatoes and black olives, then dress it with homemade mayonnaise.

Then a seafood entree, Sauteed Dungeness Crab on a Creamed Corn and Clam Stew. I have my own recipe for creamed corn, (see our thread about creamed corn for the recipe), then I add seafood stock, clams and diced potatoes. It's basically a creamy corn chowder. I was going to make a crab cake, but just sauteed some fresh Dungeness crab meat.

The for dessert was an Apricot Tart in Toasted Hazelnut Crust with a layer of Smoked Cheddar Pastry Cream. In the background is a garnish of a Toasted Hazelnut Tuille with Vanilla Ice Cream. There are a few other photos in the "What's for Dessert?" thread.

[nonblonde007]

Everything looks so awsome! Especially the seafood, what I wouldn't give for fresh seafood again...........*sigh*

Grilled pepper n herb crusted sirloin, *frozen* scallops w/ caper lemon sauce, and tuscan bread salad. It's just not even close to the same, frozen, that is.

[Ted Fairhead]

Edited August 26, 2007 by Ted Fairhead (log)

[Shelby]

Last night my husband made his famous hot hot hot wings. Here they are plated with some kicked up mac and cheese and tomato cheese bread.

[Jensen]

Friends came for dinner last night and we did some chicken legs on the barbecue. Well, the Spouse did the chicken; I was in charge of the salad.

The legs looked so good while cooking that I had to take a shot of them:

And, on the plate along with a Ciabbata bun, local white corn on the cob, and a salad made from Chocolate Cherokee tomatoes, cucumber, and red onion:

Yes, those tomatoes really were called "chocolate cherokee". I even confirmed their name with the farmer because of their colour!

For some reason, we actually calculated the cost of this dinner...$15 for all ingredients for a grand total of $3 per plate. Not bad...

[David Ross]

Last night was a beef and mushroom ragu over pappardelle. I had a chuck roast in the freezer that I was aching to cook, and although it's still hot outside, I was getting edgy for some cold-weather comfort food. I braised the beef in red wine for about 12 hours at 250 in the oven. I added some brown crimini mushrooms for the last hour of braising.

I had this little Mom and Pop Italian grocery store on my list of stores to check out and I'm glad I finally went there. They had tons of different imported pastas and I bought this thick pappardelle. Not exactly a hot August nights type dinner but it sure was good.

[Jensen]

Even though it's well into the 90s here, that looks wonderful, David. I hope I remember the combination of braised beef and pasta come fall!

[David Ross]

Even though it's well into the 90s here, that looks wonderful, David. I hope I remember the combination of braised beef and pasta come fall!

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Thanks. The original idea was going to be to stuff the braised beef into little ravioli pockets. Well that idea didn't go far. I sure wasn't going to stuff a couple hundred ravioli on a hot Saturday afternoon. The braised beef on top of the pasta turned out just fine.

[Jensen]

This past winter I did ravioli stuffed with leftover braised shortribs (well, the meat from them) and then served in a broth made from the braising liquid. It was super (but I hear you about stuffing ravioli in the heat!).

Edited for prepositional correction.

Edited August 26, 2007 by Jensen (log)

[Reconstructing Dinner]

First post -- no pictures yet, but I'll get there. Tonight we had smoked chicken tacos. Homemade corn tortillas, shredded smoked chicken (1 hour in smoker uncovered with mesquite chips, another 2 hours back in the smoker wrapped in foil.) with avocado, corn salsa, queso fresco, cilantro and a squeeze of lime. Oh, and topped with my new favorite -- home pickled (sort of) jalepenos. I slice several jalepenos into very thin discs. Add white wine vinegar, salt and sugar, and refrigerate over night.

[nonblonde007]

Welcome Reconstructing Dinner! I look forward to your pic posts and future contributions. Your dinner sounds fab. I will have to try the home pickled jalepenos, hmmmm a new challenge!

[Dejah]

Regret not taking any pictures, but I just HAD to tell someone!

I believe I cooked my best ever prime rib tonight following jackal's slow roast method. The roast was a 6-rib Sterling Silver from Sobys when they had a sale on 2 months back. It was saved for a "last supper" before family went back west after our son's wedding last weekend.

I thawed the roast in the fridge for 3 days, brought to room temp, seasoned, then into the oven at the 200F mark in my oven. The process took 6 hours to reach 63F (med. rare temp on the thermometer), tented for 30 minutes, and it was perfect. It was med. rare from top to bottom!

[doctortim]

Steak & vegetable pie for dinner tonight. Since it was the first pie I've made I focused on the pastry and was conservative with the filling, but it turned out so well I'm looking forward to messing around with different fillings next time. The most interesting (and one of the tastiest) pie fillings I've seen was a regular steak and bacon pie with an egg cracked onto it before putting the lid on. As the pie was cooked, the egg just set. One of these days I plan to give it a shot myself!

[Shelby]

Steak & vegetable pie for dinner tonight. Since it was the first pie I've made I focused on the pastry and was conservative with the filling, but it turned out so well I'm looking forward to messing around with different fillings next time. The most interesting (and one of the tastiest) pie fillings I've seen was a regular steak and bacon pie with an egg cracked onto it before putting the lid on. As the pie was cooked, the egg just set. One of these days I plan to give it a shot myself!

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This looks really good! I make these once in a while. Never thought about cracking an egg on top.

Could you share your pastry recipe?

I always use a store bought puff pastry

[doctortim]

Steak & vegetable pie for dinner tonight. Since it was the first pie I've made I focused on the pastry and was conservative with the filling, but it turned out so well I'm looking forward to messing around with different fillings next time. The most interesting (and one of the tastiest) pie fillings I've seen was a regular steak and bacon pie with an egg cracked onto it before putting the lid on. As the pie was cooked, the egg just set. One of these days I plan to give it a shot myself!

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This looks really good! I make these once in a while. Never thought about cracking an egg on top.

Could you share your pastry recipe?

I always use a store bought puff pastry

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Thanks! The pastry making up the shell was basically a short crust pastry, made from this recipe (where I got the idea to make a pie in the first place), but on top was just some store-bought puff pastry. I'm still very much a pastry novice, a shortcrust was enough for one day

[Shelby]

Steak & vegetable pie for dinner tonight. Since it was the first pie I've made I focused on the pastry and was conservative with the filling, but it turned out so well I'm looking forward to messing around with different fillings next time. The most interesting (and one of the tastiest) pie fillings I've seen was a regular steak and bacon pie with an egg cracked onto it before putting the lid on. As the pie was cooked, the egg just set. One of these days I plan to give it a shot myself!

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This looks really good! I make these once in a while. Never thought about cracking an egg on top.

Could you share your pastry recipe?

I always use a store bought puff pastry

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Thanks! The pastry making up the shell was basically a short crust pastry, made from this recipe (where I got the idea to make a pie in the first place), but on top was just some store-bought puff pastry. I'm still very much a pastry novice, a shortcrust was enough for one day

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Ohhhh I never thought about using 2 different kinds of pastry! Thank you for this!