Dinner! 2007

[MiFi]

Mushroom, spinach & goat cheese salad

Ribollita

[Domestic Goddess]

Nakji, look at the top portion of the box (where the packaged chopsticks are). Underneath the chopsticks are little plastic tubs of honey mustard, macaroni salad, goshujang sauce and PICKLED RADISH.

[Marigene]

I tried Jen's vanilla chicken..........such an unlikely combination, vanilla and garlic, but it was wonderful. Thanks Jen, it is a keeper!

[Kim Shook]

Some beautiful meals, y'all!

Monavano - You have inspired me - I need to make some onion soup soon. I make a really good one that you bake instead of cooking on top of the stove and it included roasted garlic and an egg. MMMMM. And it's also time for some Cincy chili!

Nakji - I loved that you used the garlic scapes. I discovered them for the first time this summer and loved the pesto I made with them. I would like to use them like you did, too!

Susan - like everyone else, I am drooling over your panino. I always use just two heated cast iron skillet and it works fine, but I just love the thinness and crispness of yours! I may just have to add a press to my wishlist for Christmas!

Prawncrackers - you can protest all you want, but that picture obviously made all of us ready for egg on pasta!

I am starting a new job, while still working on night a week at the old one, so I haven't been cooking a lot, but the other night I did manage this:

This was a new recipe that I tried for a Swiss cheese, ham and brocolli soup w/ biscuits. It was very good - the Swiss was different and went really well with the ham and brocolli.

Kim

[Peter the eater]

My mother was visiting from remote Ontario and canners were $3.99 each, so I steamed them with a few clams and made leek champ (and then we got the remnants of Hurricane Noel):

[monavano]

Kim,your soup looks so comforting.

Peter, what are canners (lobster?) and leek champ?

[suzilightning]

dinner last saturday. boubon glazed salmon fillets, rice and sage honey carrots.

[Dr. J]

Ok here was last nights dinner and today i had the day off so here is my breakfast.

Chicken ballotine seved with butternut squash, pearl onion, and sweet potato. The sauces are a glace from the ballotine and a chicken stock with crem fraiche, port wine and brandy.

Breakfast on a day off. Onion and ham omlet stuffed with cheddar, monterrey jack and american cheese, topped with avocado, tomato and shiracha.

Points of interest, I experimented with infusing certain cheeses on my sauces which use heavy cream. I think it would be great with some chicken and beef dishes. Tried it with the leftover sauce and it was very nice. Used Gorgonzola.

Also the ballotine technique is very cool, i was going to do it with some left over duck skin but i didnt have enough.

[Peter the eater]

Peter, what are canners (lobster?) and leek champ?

Canners or shack lobsters are young lobsters which are too small to be legally exported whole. They're often sold by fishermen from a roadside shack, or wind up in cans.

Champ is the infamous Irish potato dish, often served with leeks. Its pretty much mashed potatoes. Now that I think of it, leek champ sounds like the winner of a pissing contest!

[Susan in FL]

Here are a couple of recent dinners, the first was a simple Pesto Linguine with Pancetta and a Poached Egg.  Nothing beats fresh pesto though the addition of the egg i admit was a little superfluous!! 

I agree with everyone. That is quite exciting. I am glad to see that egg porn is still alive and well on the eG forums!

LOL, the egg was only good for egg-porn i'm afraid - it did nothing for the dish except to titillate the eye.  Do you think if we used the phrase 'egg-porn' enough we could submit it to the Oxford English Dictionary?

Egg-porn, [noun][colloq] - gratuitous visual images of running yolk in food context.  First cited - eG Forums Breakfast! thread.

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I love it.

Beautiful steak!

Last evening, free-range chicken under a brick, with beautiful broccoli from the lady I usually buy carrots from at the farmer's market sauteed in olive oil w/garlic and anchovies, ciabatta from the Japanese French baker, sparkling Shiraz.  And ice cream, acc. to David Lebovitz's The Perfect Scoop, yet again.

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Sounds wonderful, Priscilla. Do you spatchcock chicken when you cook it under a brick?

Chili mac with Hard Times chili mix, Cinncinati style.

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That is beautiful, too.

Like Kim said, beautiful meals, everyone.

Kim, good luck with keeping up the cooking, with that much work. It put a cramp in my style while I was working so many hours. I love the panini press. I used to use the method you mentioned before this. I might not have gotten one if I hadn't bought it with airline miles! It's a Hamilton Beach and I would recommend it for a Christmas wish list.

Last night's dinner was penne and a meaty sauce with pancetta, sausage, and beef. Apparently my craving for meat wasn't satisfied because tonight I wanted more beef and so I cooked "hamburger steak." One of the many advantages of single life is the selfish pleasure of cooking exactly what I'm craving!

[Ce'nedra]

Made Ce'nedra's Chicken Claypot Rice for dinner last night. It was easy to make, really delicious, and wonderfully comforting. The leftovers are going to make the best lunches to heat up at work. Thanks Ce'nedra for sharing your recipe.

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Np! I'd love to see a picture of it next time

Domestic Goddess: Your pancit canton looks really delicious. The noodles appear nice, smooth and slippery.

And your son is sooo cute! The cake is adorable too

Vanilla chicken with mashed potatoes:

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Wow that looks goood! I'm very intrigued to try. I've never heard of such a combination! What did it taste like?

The recipe's a bit of a mashup, pulled together from various other recipes I've seen. I'm not very precise on the amounts. To make the chicken I marinated chicken pieces in equal parts yoghurt and tandoori curry paste (bought), then baked them in a scorching hot oven so there was some charred edges.

Then for the sauce, I slowly sautéed half an onion in ghee, then turned up the heat and added quite a bit of minced ginger, some minced garlic, and some diced chilli. To that I added 1/2 tsp of turmeric and cooked it very quickly before adding some canned tomatoes. Cook the tomatoes down, then add some garam masala, ground black pepper, toasted then ground cumin seeds, and some cilantro. This was blended with a stick blender, then seasoned with salt and honey to get the right balance. Then I added the cooked chicken pieces, some water, and simmered it all uncovered for about an hour. Once the chicken was tender I added some cashews, some cream, and further adjusted the seasoning with salt and honey.

I've had butter chicken that's sweet and butter chicken that takes sourness from adding more yoghurt than cream, but I prefer some sweetness. The cashews add a lot, and one recipe I read even suggested reserving and pulverizing some cashews into a paste to add to the sauce.

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Sounds delightful. Thanks!

Chili mac with Hard Times chili mix, Cinncinati style.

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Oh that looks sooo good! Too bad we don't have those Hard Times chilli (at least not that I know of) over here

I take pride in the fact that we have alot of variety of different foods from all cultures but it seems we're REALLY lacking the Mexican/Southern/Texan/American department *sigh*.......

Prawncrackers: Just look at the colours of your Spanish saffron rice!

Is that meat stuffed into the bitter melon? That just looks awesome and I know that there was still bitter melon available at my farmer's market last weekend. What type have you used? I can get the shorter, bumpier, darker-green one and the smoother, lighter-green, longer one.

I wonder how that would taste with some loofa squash added to it!??!

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Thank you! And yep, it's stuffed porkie pork

Sorry, I don't know the exact names although I could ask my mum because she was the one who actually bought the poor melon lol.

What is loofa squash?! I have no idea! lol!

[Jamie Lee]

What did we have for Dinner? In my reality, it's what we DIDN'T have for dinner.

I want to cook and cook and cook. What I can't do is eat, and eat, and eat!

I keep cooking, and eating, and WAY before the dish is done, I want to cook something else!

Keep in mind I'm in a small studio apartment - no oven, small cooktop (electric), a microwave I just don't use and extremely limited pantry space.

Last glance at my freezer:

Pic not so good, but there are tubs of beef-veg soup, beef chili, and soon to come, Braised beef shortribs with veggies and noodles.

Each container is a generous two portions for me... but I can't stop!

I've got a pork tenderloin on deck, and chorizo (fresh), chorizo (dried), and bratwurst (frozen for now)

I've done brown bags to give to the homeless, but how do you hand a homeless person a container and say "Just let it thaw, then either pop it in the MW or in a small saucepot on the stove"?

I know there are some single working guys in my building... they are going to be the recipients, if the housekeepping and maintenance staff don't get it first.

A $1.24 package of tomatillos (from the asian market) has now cost me $6.37 of pork tenderloin, massive quantities of veggies, and what will be hours of time...

It's all good.

[HappyLab]

What did we have for Dinner?  In my reality, it's what we DIDN'T have for dinner.

I want to cook and cook and cook.  What I can't do is eat, and eat, and eat! 

I keep cooking, and eating, and WAY before the dish is done, I want to cook something else!

Keep in mind I'm in a small studio apartment - no oven, small cooktop (electric), a microwave I just don't use and extremely limited pantry space.

Last glance at my freezer:

Pic not so good, but there are tubs of beef-veg soup, beef chili, and soon to come, Braised beef shortribs with veggies and noodles.

Each container is a generous two portions for me... but I can't stop!

I've got a pork tenderloin on deck, and chorizo (fresh), chorizo (dried), and bratwurst (frozen for now)

I've done brown bags to give to the homeless, but how do you hand a homeless person a container and say "Just let it thaw, then either pop it in the MW or in a small saucepot on the stove"?

I know there are some single working guys in my building... they are going to be the recipients, if the housekeepping and maintenance staff don't get it first.

A $1.24 package of tomatillos (from the asian market) has now cost me $6.37 of pork tenderloin, massive quantities of veggies, and what will be hours of time... 

It's all good. 

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Jaimie,

I, too, have a tiny studio apartment with limited kitchen space (although, I do have an oven), and I love to have cooking marathons. My friends and girlfriend think I'm crazy when they see so much food crammed into my fridge and freezer-- keep in mind I live alone. They don't understand that like you, I

want to cook and cook and cook.  What I can't do is eat, and eat, and eat!

So keep cooking! I'm sure you'll find people who will be more than happy to take those delicious-sounding meals off of your hands!

[Chufi]

The picture of Kim Shook's broccoli soup with biscuits stuck in my mind. I was craving some sort of creamy soup with the added flavors of ham and cheese, all day! I had half a cauliflower in the fridge, I roasted it and made roasted cauliflower soup. The ham and cheese went into the biscuits.. it was very good, satisfying comfort food.

[Kim Shook]

Susan - thanks for the recommendation! I was wishing for it in the 'what do you want for the holidays' thread and was going to PM you for your brand. I just put it on my amazon wishlist!

Ce'nedra - If you are really interested in Cincinnati chili, I have a very authentic recipe: Clickety! I don't know if you will have any trouble finding all of the ingredients, but reading the blogs from other countries, you might be able to substitute what you can't find.

Jamie Lee - I'd love to come and hug you and cook with you and eat your food! Everything you make looks and sounds wonderful. I hope you are feeling hungry soon! I think of you a lot!

Bella SF - so funny you should mention those green beans, because I just recently made roasted green beans with shallots and hazelnuts - featuring lemon zest. It was a Bobby Flay recipe that Mr. Kim saw and requested and they were so good!

Klary - what a lovely compliment! That I inspired you! It is usually the other way around! I am honored ! Your soup and biscuits look wonderful. Your roasted cauliflower always looks more roasted than mine. Do you parboil or blanch it at all, or do you roast from raw?

Last night's (and most likely tonight's since it is 6:30 and no one seems to be rattling those pots and pans in there) dinner was meatloaf, corn and MIL's (really good) Curried pumpkin soup with cool toppings (Fruit Chips, pumpkin seeds, cashews and toasted cocoanut):

The meatloaf had a technique I hadn't seen before. You pressed a layer of brown sugar on the bottom of the loaf pan then spread a layer of catsup on top of that and put the mixed meatloaf on that. When cooked and flipped over to serve there is this sweet/savory slightly caramelized top. MMMMMM.

Kim

[christine007]

Kim, I make that!

Only I add crunchy unflavored croutons at the bottom so it's got a crunchy top, try it.

[Susan in FL]

Klary, that just looks too good.

Kim, I love the meatloaf idea. I am literallly keeping a list of ideas I'm getting.

I'm sort of embarrased to admit I had beef again tonight. Last night I made a beef stew recipe that appealed to me because it had orange zest in it. Beef and orange is a heavenly combination. I prepared it except for the slow cooking, and put it in the crock pot today. When I got home tonight, I cooked noodles, made a salad, and poured some very cheap Shiraz. It was perfect, also because today was the coldest day we've had in many months (like in the low 70's!). It was so tasty. I love to come home from work to the smell of a good dinner cooked & ready. Tomorrow I go out of town for a conference, so I'll be eating out for a few nights.

[monavano]

I love all the fall food here! Tonight we had seared lamb rib chops, braised kale with raisins and oven roasted butternut squash.

[lucylou95816]

The other night, we made low carb chicken pot pies. These were really really tasty, and even better were the leftovers:

Edited November 8, 2007 by lucylou95816 (log)

[dockhl]

The other night, we made low carb chicken pot pies.  These were really really tasty, and even better were the leftovers:

I apologize in advance for the next several posts, when I went to post this, a message came up to wait 5 seconds and try again, so I did, and it came up about 10 million times, so that is why I have several posts after this one.  I am sorry, but I can't figure out how to delete the error ones.  If anyone knows how, or has the ability to, please do.  I at least got rid of the pictures to not cause a down load problem.  *hangs head in shame*

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Stephanie~

tell me about the lo-carb part ! It looks so good.....

Kathy

[C. sapidus]

Susan in FL: The low 70s – how ever will you survive?

Monavano: Sorry, I have to break the string of lovely fall food.

Tonight’s dinner was from Mexican Everyday. The main course was walleye fillets and potatoes simmered in a green sesame pipian. Three shortcuts made the pipian suitable for a rushed weeknight – jarred tomatillo salsa, microwaved potatoes, and tahini as a thickener. Grownups liked, kids not so much.

We finished with a crunchy, tangy jicama salad with watercress, romaine, and lime-cilantro dressing. We will definitely make this again.

[laurelm]

The other night, we made low carb chicken pot pies. These were really really tasty, and even better were the leftovers:

Do you have a recipe, we eat low carb most of the time and Id love to be able to eat pot pies...

[lucylou95816]

Laurel and Dockhl,

To make the low carb crust, I used a low carb bake mix that I bought online, but apparently you can make your own low carb mix here.

For the crust, in Atkins book, he says to use 3/4 cup plus 2 tbsp mix with 4 tbsp softened butter, 3 oz cream cheese softened and 1 tbsp sour cream. Mix the stuff to combine, shape in a disk, put in fridge for 20 minutes, wrapped. Roll out. We made two separate serving bowls of it, the recipe will do a 9 inch pie plate.

For the filling, we sauteed, 1/2 small onion, 1/2 carrot, 2 celery stalks, 1 clove garlic, we did add 1 small red potato, in butter. After, we added 3 chicken breasts cut up, sauteed for a bit, then added 1 box of chicken broth, let simmer for about 30 minutes. I added dried thyme and salt and pepper with the veggies, and fresh parsley at the end. We used a product called, "Thick and Thin, not Starch" to thicken the sauce a bit and added a little cream. Put in the bowls, top with the crust and bake at 375 until golden brown. I also brushed the tops with butter.

If you make it without the potatoes, it says to count it 5.5 digestible carbs for a serving, and it makes six servings.

Hope that helps. It was really good. Thanks for asking!

[HappyLab]

Leaving for Tennessee today to visit my girlfriend, so last night I had to finish up some leftovers in the fridge last night. My dinner ended up being the most monochromatic and boring meal ever, but it was good:

Roasted Flying Pigs Farm Chicken

Roasted Cauliflower

Roasted Potatoes

Yup, that's right: the white foods that were crispy on the outside; all on one plate

[nakji]

These look really good. I'm a sucker for biscuits.

Tonight’s dinner was from Mexican Everyday. The main course was walleye fillets and potatoes simmered in a green sesame pipian. Three shortcuts made the pipian suitable for a rushed weeknight – jarred tomatillo salsa, microwaved potatoes, and tahini as a thickener. Grownups liked, kids not so much.

Is a pipian a kind of sauce? I didn't know that Mexican cuisine used sesame seeds.

I made my husband's favourite meal tonight - sausages with mustard potato salad. He bought the sausage at Tokyu Foodshow, a very, very dangerous place to go into, if you at all like food, and I made the potato salad from a recipe in Mark Bittman's "How to Cook Everything". It's the only kind of potato salad my husband likes because it doesn't call for any mayonnaise, just two kinds of mustard, and olive oil. I like it because it has a really sharp taste that cuts through the greasiness of the sausage. The recipe calls for basil leaves, but I found some sprouts at my vegetable stand that looked interesting, and they were only 30 cents, so I took a chance on them. They were really peppery, and complimented the salad perfectly.