Dinner! 2007

[Marlene]

We're doing Gumbo as a group cook elsewhere, so tonight was Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

With biscuits

I think I may have finally nailed this biscuit thing.

[heidih]

We're doing  Gumbo as a group cook elsewhere, so tonight was Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

With biscuits

I think I may have finally nailed this biscuit thing.

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I am SO hungry. I just want to poke at that pile of rice and start spooning up the goodness. Yup- I think you nailed the biscuit - "mile high", fluffy and not long for this world.

[nakji]

Dinner last night was an Armenian Aubergine Stew (that's "Armenian Eggplant Stew" in US English tongue.gif) - tasty, light and vegetarian (vegan even, though you wouldn't know that). It was delicious hot, and I'm looking forward to having the leftovers tonight:

user posted image

That photo is beautiful, Pille. I wish my husband liked eggplant, I'd make this for dinner!

All of the pictures of apple pie are killing me!

[Ce'nedra]

Chilli Plum Beef Stir-fry

[Sif]

Please tell me more about using okara in bread.  I never know what to do with mine.  I stick it in the fridge with good intentions and then end up throwing it out.  Adding it to bread dough would be great, since I usually make 2-3 loaves per week in a Zo bread machine.  Is there a simple way to add the okara to the pre-existing breadmachine recipes, e.g., substitute some of the flour with okara?  What would be the approximate proportion, if you know?

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I never measure anything when it comes to bread, but lucky I did this time, because I needed a recipe for my blog - I used 200 grams to 1000 grams of flour and a little more than two cups liquid. You might be able to use more, haven't tested it out. I also put it in my patés and patties. It is very very nice. If you want the recipe I will translate it for you.

Last nights dinner was bulgur with fried beans in tomatosauce. Tasted a bit like bolognese. Topped with lots of fresh peppermint from the garden.

[yunnermeier]

Tonight's unhealthy dinner...

[rooftop1000]

Hey I see at least 4 vegetables in there and crispy fried happines and and some creamy potato-y fried happines

happiness is healthy

tracey

[rooftop1000]

Since no one else seems to understand my need for Korean BBQ (well I dont understand it either)

I made a set of dishes that were at least remotely Asian

really spicy vinagre poached carrots tossed with cucumbers

rainbow chard with oyster sauce

broccoli with toasted sesame seeds and raw garlic

fried zucchini with garlic and sliced raw chiles

and plain old roasted peppers

all served with pork tenderloin cutlets marinated in gochujiang, and white rice

tracey

[C. sapidus]

Tracey: What a delightful quintet of plates to accompany your gochujiang pork.

Last night we made a non-spicy dinner for one of elder son’s friends (and, as it turned out, the father, too). We had grilled five-spice pork chops, stir-fried bean sprouts with garlic and shallots, basmati rice, and eternal cucumbers.

Tonight, our usual Friday fare: shrimp-fried rice with chorizo, chile jam, onions, garlic, ginger, and scallions. Serve-yourself toppings included carrot-daikon pickle, tomatoes, cucumbers, lime wedges, chopped cilantro, fried shallots, and Sriracha. Mrs. C also made her ever-popular Asian-style cabbage salad.

[foodcyclist]

VERY VERY light tonight... did I say light? I'm braising lamb shanks tonight so I decided to play around with smoked salmon, potato galette and creme fraiche. Throw in some caviar, dill and chive and you have a pretty light entree/appetizer. Delicious but really could use a double whopper!

[Kim Shook]

Marlene - those biscuits have this Southerner full of envy! I wish mine looked like that!

yunnermeier - are those little things in the back potatoes? It all looks so crunchy and good.

Bruce - as usual, that fried rice looks absolutely delicious. And where are you getting such gorgeous tomatoes?

I have started the annual clean out the pantry and freezer meals in anticipation of the holidays. It makes for some weird meals ! Last night was:

Egg rolls from the freezer that I made awhile ago. I have a bagful, so they will probably be our appetizer for a few days.

I am still trying to use up and disguise that boring chicken and potatoes dish from the other day. Last night I used the chicken in a casserole with gravy and cornbread dressing, served with those potatoes (I added cream and butter - pretty good), Southern green beans and some Sister Shubert yeast rolls from the freezer:

Kim

[Marlene]

Mmm, egg rolls. I must try making them one of these days. I'd guess, Kim, that they freeze well. How do you reheat them for crispiness?

No cooking last night, but tonight we'll do either crispy pork chops or prime rib.

[Kim Shook]

Mmm, egg rolls.  I must try making them one of these days.  I'd guess, Kim, that they freeze well.  How do you reheat them for crispiness?

No cooking last night, but tonight we'll do either crispy pork chops or prime rib.

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Another early bird, huh? I couldn't get back to sleep this morning (thanks to my pug, Otis ) so I jumped on here! I froze the egg rolls before cooking them and then I shallow fry them while still frozen. By the time they are brown and crispy, the insides are done. The texture suffers a bit from being frozen, but it's nice not to have to make a run to our favorite Chinese restaurant when we need a little Asian greasy/crunchy fix !

Kim

[Doodad]

Must be pork season. I made pan fried pork chops marinated in mojo with a orange juice/garlic glaze.

[C. sapidus]

Bruce - as usual, that fried rice looks absolutely delicious.  And where are you getting such gorgeous tomatoes?

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Kim - Thank you! The tomatoes are "ugly ripe", left out for a few days to soften. They are OK, but I am definitely missing real summer tomatoes. Only what, nine more months to wait?

[lovebenton0]

i was gifted some lovely spanish smoked paprika recently. so, tonight i braised chicken thighs covered with smoked paprika and a bit of salt, a la ronnie_suburban's "chickeny chicken" in the paprika thread. thanks, ronnie. love the chicken!

on the side, baby carrot and chard stew from the new spanish table (which also utilizes smoked paprika), served with boiled new potatoes. simple and tasty, although the stew is not very stewish, more of a side veg.

and a cup of coffee and a reese's caramel p-nut butter cup for dessert. it's necessary to test that halloween candy, you know.

[rooftop1000]

As I was graciously nibbling at my perfectly rare 3 inch thick filet mignon with creamy onion sauce, caesar salad, garlic toast and grilled zucchini, I kept thinking I should haul my butt off the couch and take a picture of this steak. I didn't, sorry.

I really think that cutting huge filet mignon is the way to go, they are thick enough to use the remote probe thermometer so they come out like buttuh.

Since I paired the steaks and large and medium when I first cut and froze them, I wait until the larger one hits 60F and then put the smaller one on the grill

I think I am out of steaks

tracey

[Peter the eater]

I couldn't get back to sleep this morning thanks to my pug, Otis

From your avatar I assume Otis woke you up by giving you indigestion?

[C. sapidus]

Mrs. C requested slipper burgers (chapli kebabs - basically, spicy hamburgers) for dinner. We mixed ground lamb, ground chuck, and chorizo sausage with ground coriander, cumin, and cayenne and finely-minced onions, ginger, garlic, and a variety of chiles from the garden. The boys dislike cilantro, so we left that out. With the gas grill out of gas, I cooked them under the broiler.

I ate mine on a toasted English muffin, topped with salsa and Mrs. C’s cabbage salad. The boys ate theirs on a hamburger bun with ketchup. Cabbage salad, chow chow pickle, and rice on the side. We had an extra boy tonight, so no pictures.

This afternoon we made our annual fall pilgrimage to Pryor’s orchard, and brought back a half-bushel each of Stayman and Ida Red apples. This led to our annual apple crumble.

[David Ross]

Tonight I started with a Roasted Pumpkin Soup. I roasted pumpkin and garlic together, then pureed it along with some currants and spices. Wish I had actually had a bit of black truffle to shave into the soup-I think it would have added depth and a more woodsy note to this Fall soup. I garnished it with smoked bacon and some yogurt that I spiked with cayenne pepper.

Then one of my favorite Fall pasta dishes-"Cannelloni" from the Time-Life world cuisine series. The recipe is out of "The Cooking of Italy" published in 1968. I've amassed all of the cookbooks in the series through garage sales and trips to a local used bookstore. It is quite interesting to read through cookbooks that are 40 years old. The photos are as delicious as the reading and the recipes.

Here are the steps to making the traditional, savory Cannelloni:

Filling the pasta sheets with a mixture of ground beef, chicken livers, spinach, egg, cream and parmesan:

Next is the laying of the cannelloni in a heavy baking dish on top of a thin layer of homemade tomato sauce:

This shows the cannelloni topped with a traditional bechamel sauce-butter, flour, both cream and whole milk, white pepper and nutmeg:

Next, to be more decadent, (remember this was a recipe 40 years ago), you top the cannelloni with parmesan and yes, butter:

The cannelloni are baked for 20 minutes and then kept under the broiler for about 5 minutes:

Finally, two photos of the plated, traditional Cannelloni. The second photo shows the filling. As you can imagine this is an incredibly rich dish so I usually can only eat two of the Cannelloni. I think I may be looking forward to my lunches at work this coming week:

[heidih]

i was gifted some lovely spanish smoked paprika recently. so, tonight i braised chicken thighs covered with smoked paprika and a bit of salt, a la ronnie_suburban's "chickeny chicken"  in the paprika thread. thanks, ronnie. love the chicken! 

Thanks for reminding me about the paprika and chicken thigh and mostly for linking all the old threads. The first time the thighs coated with paprika and layered with onion in the crock came up I did it and it was really nice. Weather cooling, gotta do it.

[nonblonde007]

and your Still single David???? Damn!

[doctortim]

C. sapidus, that's a much darker crumble than I'm used to seeing. How do you make yours?

David, both the soup and the cannelloni look really, really good. By the looks of it you're starting with uncooked fresh pasta sheets, is that right? I almost made cannelloni the other night but I couldn't be bothered par-cooking the pasta sheets. I had no idea starting uncooked was the proper way.

The last few evenings I've been making a lot of pasta. First off, spinach and ricotta cappellaci.

With brown butter & sage. I would have liked the butter a bit more brown, but I'm always so paranoid about burning it.

The next night, I used the remaining spinach & ricotta filling to make gnocchi. They turned out well -- I wouldn't make them any differently -- but after earnestly trying to enjoy it, I'm beginning to accept that I'm just not the biggest fan of ricotta.

Tonight I decided to try my hand at making orecchiette. That is, making the pasta myself. My technique was slow, but it worked. Served in a brandy cream sauce with peas and bacon.

Although I didn't get any pictures, I can't forget last night. It was dinner at a friend's place, who for the main course served chicken breasts stuffed with feta, tomato, pesto, and mascarpone, and wrapped in prosciutto. They were cooked to perfection and served on the creamiest sweet potato mash I've ever eaten. It was fantastic.

[C. sapidus]

Doctortim – Your pasta experiments look beautiful, and I will happily take any ricotta-stuffed pasta that you don’t want.

C. sapidus, that's a much darker crumble than I'm used to seeing. How do you make yours?

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Apple crumble, from King Arthur Flour (click). It turned out dark for one or more of the following reasons: a) I am a cinnamon junkie; b) the oven walls were hot from using the broiler; and/or c) I forgot to add brown sugar to the topping (duh), and then over-worked it into more of a glop than a crumble. It still tasted good, and I mixed in some walnuts and finished the last of it for breakfast this AM. Ten servings? Hah!

You notice that I didn’t post it on the Dessert thread, right?

[Kim Shook]

I couldn't get back to sleep this morning thanks to my pug, Otis

From your avatar I assume Otis woke you up by giving you indigestion?

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Believe me, at 5 am, we do threaten to fricassee him!

David - the cannelloni is beautiful. I have meatballs and sauce in the pot right now and I'd trade it in a minute for those! Do you make your own pasta sheets? I can't imagine that I would do that, but we do have a pasta store nearby and they might sell the sheets. Would you possibly be willing to PM me the recipe? I have made cannelloni before, but am intrigued by the chicken liver addition.

doctortim - I am so envious of your pasta making abilities! They are all gorgeous. And delicious looking. Lots of pasta making lately. Cool weather, I guess!

Kim