Dinner! 2007

[fendi_pilot]

Dinner Monday December 3rd

Grilled Lamb Loin Chops w/ lamb jus and mint reduction

Roasted Parsnips

Horseradish Mashed Fingerlings w/ scallion

The sauce really good and really simple. It was the braising liquid from when i had previously made a lamb shank (carrots, onions, red wine + natural lamb juices), it was frozen so I put it in the fridge yesterday to thaw and skimmed off the fat and, with some homemade mint jelly added, all I had to do was reduce and enjoy.

[judiu]

Things I'd tweak: since I wasn't using ultra-lean ground beef in the meatballs, I partially baked them off first, then added them to the soup. Unfortunately, they still left the soup a bit greasy for my taste (and I loves me my dietary fat !), so I think next time I'll parboil them first even longer, then drain and add into the soup. I know the recipe calls for ground sirloin, but around here we don't generally see ground chuck or ground sirloin, we just have 80% lean, 90% lean, and 93% lean. I suppose parts is parts.

Marcia.

←

Marcia, according to my friends "in the biz" 80% is "ground chuck" 90% is "ground round" and 93% is "ground sirloin". HTH!

Edited cause I cain't spel wurth a dam...

Edited December 4, 2007 by judiu (log)

[David Ross]

Duck breast, celeriac purée, gai-lan, gooseberry sauce.

←

I love gooseberries-a fruit that isn't used enough. Can you give details on the recipe?

[Prawncrackers]

Tonight we had ultimate Chinese comfort food - Chicken Rice (Hainanese Style). For some reason i've not cooked this for years, i must have lost my mind! Chicken + Rice = Perfection in any language...

[purplewiz]

Things I'd tweak: since I wasn't using ultra-lean ground beef in the meatballs, I partially baked them off first, then added them to the soup. Unfortunately, they still left the soup a bit greasy for my taste (and I loves me my dietary fat !), so I think next time I'll parboil them first even longer, then drain and add into the soup. I know the recipe calls for ground sirloin, but around here we don't generally see ground chuck or ground sirloin, we just have 80% lean, 90% lean, and 93% lean. I suppose parts is parts.

Marcia.

←

Marcia, according to my friends "in the biz" 80% is "ground chuck" 90% is "ground round" and 93% is "ground sirloin". HTH!

Edited cause I cain't spel wurth a dam...

←

Well, that explains it then! Thanks for the translation table !

Marcia.

[Dr. J]

Been away for a bit. Away for thanksgiving and then computer out of comission for a bit. Then had a great big dinner party where I cooked and was so busy I didnt even take one picture. I will post some if they took any.

Missed out on a lot of dishes.

Prawn as usual great stuff.

David great proffesional work. The squab looked awsome.

Suzi that pork looked like it was 3D.

Nice stuff Daniel M.

Somebody asked me if I worked at a restaurant. I worked at various restaurants through high school and college. Sizzler, P.F. Changs, Sushi Restaurant, Crepe place, Donut shop, etc. Did pretty much everything there is to do in them. My real food background is from my family where everybody is into great quality food. My background is Spanish/Cuban/Puerto Rican and I use those style/skills in my cooking. My posts dont really show those traditional meals but I use those principles and mix them in in whatever I cook.

Here is one pic of a dish my friend made from me at the sushi restaurant I used to work at.

This is another attempt at presentation of my steak which I overcooked because I got a call on the phone and forgot it was on the oven. Doh!

[Marlene]

Gruyere and Green Onion Souffle.

[Jamie Lee]

Holy smokes, Marlene!

Talk about FOOD PORN!

[Dave Weinstein]

Boneless whole chicken, marinated in red wine and alder smoked sea salt, and stuffed with a black trumpet mushroom rice before roasting.

(Sadly, the pictures didn't come out all that well, I was in a hurry and used my phone throughout the process)

[gdjck86]

bacon wrapped pork chops, caramelized apple jus, spicy cheddar polenta with roasted tomatoes

[HappyLab]

I've been on a red meat binge this week:

Saturday: Filet, sauteed shiitakes, baked potato, broccoli:

Monday and Tuesday: Braised lamb shank over polenta:

[Priscilla]

Last evening, soup that resulted from Sunday's farmers market, with a little bit of the Huntsinger free-range organic & c. turkey stock recently added to freezer stores, but more water. Everything cut 3/8", give or take: Big sweet onion softened in olive oil, carrot, teeny amt. of sliced garlic, yellow potato, tomato, salt, pepper, chopped parsley from the garden, a bay leaf, hit of cayenne. Bulgarian feta-egg bread.

[DanielM.]

Duck breast, celeriac purée, gai-lan, gooseberry sauce.

←

I love gooseberries-a fruit that isn't used enough. Can you give details on the recipe?

←

David

The gooseberry sauce was pretty basic. I simply reduced some shallots and red wine along with a few fennel seeds, added brown chicken stock and reduced further, stirred in a couple of tablespoons of green gooseberry preserve that contained whole gooseberries. I would've liked to use fresh gooseberries but couldn't find any. I added a few drops of white balsamic vinegar to cut the sweetness from the preserve , strained it and finished with a little butter, of course.

[Misplaced_Texan]

From Nose to Tail: Cooking the Whole Beast - Duck Legs and Carrots

Nose To Tail At Home

[tamih]

This is the first post I've made to the Dinner thread. Hopefully I'm doing this right!

I made this awesome vegetarian chili recipe: Black Bean Chili with Butternut Squash and Kale. I adapted the recipe from one I found on Epicurious.com. I posted the recipe to my blog to launch a Chili Cook-Off I'm hosting.

This chili was great and can stand up to strong heat and flavors without overwhelming the sweetness of the butternut squash. Very yummy.

[monavano]

This is the first post I've made to the Dinner thread. Hopefully I'm doing this right!

I made this awesome vegetarian chili recipe: Black Bean Chili with Butternut Squash and Kale. I adapted the recipe from one I found on Epicurious.com. I posted the recipe to my blog to launch a Chili Cook-Off I'm hosting.

This chili was great and can stand up to strong heat and flavors without overwhelming the sweetness of the butternut squash. Very yummy.

←

Great first post. The chili photo is beautiful.

[-sheila mooney]

re:Nose To Tail At Home

i'm probably number 649 to mention this, after consulting your blog: but those are not whole duck legs, just the ... how you say?... pilons. so the recipe made enough for three not for six... don't feel so super-sized now, right? looks yummy, in any case, bravo!

Edited December 6, 2007 by -sheila mooney (log)

[C. sapidus]

Rainbow trout with garlic, lime, and parsley (pescado al mojo de ajo); green beans with bacon and tomatoes (ejotes con tocino); jasmine rice.

[Marlene]

Chicken risotto, peas and basil. Courtesy for the most part of Megan Blocker, although I changed a few things.

yes, yes. We'll get back to the meat and gravy shortly.

[Misplaced_Texan]

re:Nose To Tail At Home

i'm probably number 649 to mention this, after consulting your blog: but those are not whole duck legs, just the ... how you say?... pilons. so the recipe made enough for three not for six... don't feel so super-sized now, right? looks yummy, in any case, bravo!

←

Okay, learning time for me: Is the whole quarter the leg? I would have thought he meant the actual leg part. But it does make more sense portion wise to have the whole quarter. And yes, I do feel better, thank you!

Edit: Marlene, that looks lovely, and the picture is excellent.

Edited December 6, 2007 by Misplaced_Texan (log)

[C. sapidus]

The evening’s schedule looked crazy, so this morning I set up the crock pot with cubed pork butt, fingerling potatoes, and a guajillo chile sauce. As it turned out, snow cancelled all evening activities. No matter, the pork was a big hit with the family. Elder son probably “sampled” half of it before dinner. The potatoes didn’t add much, though, so I will probably leave them out next time.

I made corn tortillas, again confirming smoke detector function. Mrs. C improvised garlic smashed potatoes, and elder son cut up the cucumbers. Younger son just ate – a lot.

Puerco y papas al guajillo

[purplewiz]

Bruce, that Puerco looks delicious. I admit I have a real weak spot for pork in various chile sauces....

Tonight's entree:

Eggplant moussaka, mostly after a friend's recipe. I have no idea where she got the recipe from or even if it's "authentic", I just know it's good. I tend to grill the eggplant slices instead of fry them because 1. it's easier 2. I love fried eggplant but I find it tends to make casseroles and the like greasier than I care for, and 3. I love smoky flavor. I also used some coriander and ginger because I was out of nutmeg....

Marcia.

[dockhl]

Everything looks and sounds incredible but two things caught my eye:

tamih~

beautiful pic. I'd love a good veg -chili recipe. Could you post your modifications to the Epicurious one to Recipe Gullet?

and this:

spicy cheddar polenta with roasted tomatoes

THIS made me GROAN ! I need to know more about this............

[Peter the eater]

Periwinkle bacon cream sauce on bronze cut casarecce (snails and noodles):

Notes:

I have never prepared winkles until yesterday. They are cheap and delicious (like me ) and I'm going back for more sometime soon. I gave them a quick scrub and a soak in cold water, all the winkles reacted by withdrawing into their shells indicating life. I boiled them for 3 minutes exactly fearing that any over-cooking would make them hard to get out. I used a bamboo skewer and it was a breeze. Each winkle has a hard little trapdoor at the opening that is not palatable and was easily removed if it hadn't already fallen off.

In retrospect, a "palm of bacon" was too much - although I may have invented a useful new unit! As you can see from the sheen of the sauce, this is not exactly health food. A few garlic cloves and an onion were in there as well. The winkles have a delicate taste that is somewhere between escargot and mussels. Picking the coiled bodies from the shell is a primeval experience, something coastal hunter-gatherers have probably been doing for thousands of years. Me happy.

Edited December 7, 2007 by Peter the eater (log)

[Prawncrackers]

Delicious Peter, not had winkles for donkeys! They have a slightly more iodine-y taste than whelks and not as chewy. You look like you have big hands too, maybe half a palm o'bacon next time eh

Today was surprisingly bright and sunny so i decided to go with a Spanish style meal. Fried Squid, Breaded Sprats, Spanish Tortilla, Saffron Aioli, Choricitos and bread: