Dinner! 2007

[C. sapidus]

First meal from the new Weber bullet: baby back ribs rubbed with soy sauce, brown sugar, and five-spice powder. We also made stir-fried green beans with black beans and garlic, garlic English muffins, and a barbecue sauce made from hoisin sauce, rice vinegar, soy sauce, Dijon mustard, ground anise seed, and minced ginger and garlic. No one ate much barbecue sauce - apparently we are a family of dry-rib eaters.

More on Ribs – Baby Back and Spare

[Ce'nedra]

Gorgeous, Ce'nedra! I love how the duck is looking up at us with accusing eyes from the pot. It seems like he's saying "Don't look at me like this! No!" I see jujubes and chestnuts in your stuffing, but what else went in? This dish reminds me a lot of one I had in Korea on several occasions, but the duck was baked in a clay pot, and served with a mustard-style dipping sauce.

I love Cambodian cuisine, and it's not really something that's easy pretty much anywhere I've ever lived. I learned to make amok at a cooking class in Phnom Penh (one I highly recommend, if you're in the neighbourhood!). It's similar to a Thai curry in the use of curry pastes and coconut milk, but the chilis used in the paste are dried. I have the photos from the original course that I could post in another thread, if anyone's interested. They look much better.

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Ahahha those duck eyes gave me the shivers...as for what we used for the stuffing, I don't know the English (or Chinese for that matter) names for some of them, but I do recall there being ginkgo nuts (mainly because I had to suffer the removal of the shells), carrots, ginger, dried mushrooms, onion and barley.

I think there was more but my memory isn't the best

And why I would love to see a posting on Cambodian cuisine thank you very much

I know nothing of it and would like to learn more. Also, despite there being quite a large-ish number of Cambodian migrants over here, I've only come across one Cambodian (and it was Thai-Chinese-Cambodian) restaurant! I wonder why...it might be even more rare than finding Filipino restaurants!

C. sapidus: Your mole looks amazing! Did you use cocoa powder or actual Mexican chocolate? I've always pondered on making this but seeing as we don't have many Mexican products here, I never got around to it...

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Beautiful duck, Ce’nedra, and I appreciate the blow-by-blow description of its preparation. Thanks also for the kind words about the mole. We did use Ibarra Mexican chocolate, about a disk and a half. We are fortunate to have three Latino markets nearby. Clearly, Australia needs to do a better job of encouraging Mexican immigration.

By the way, if you are still looking for cookbooks Hot, Sour, Salty, Sweet is a wonderful one with recipes from all countries that border the Mekong river, including Cambodia and the Yunnan region of China.

Thanks but I will have to give some of the credit to my mum who did most of the 'dirty' work with the duck hhahaha.

I have seen (on tv) those Mexican chocolate disks before, and I'm sure they have them here in Sydney, but it's surely rare and I've no idea where exactly.

AND I really HATE ordering things online so I'm hoping I don't need to resort to that. And you're right, Oz really should start encouraging a Mexican wave to our country SOOOON! Mexican food is really big here atm, mainly because we lack any good ones arghh!

Hot, Sour, Salty, Sweet sounds good! Could I have the author's name please? Thanks! Yunnan...that's defiantely a region I have particular interest in.

[monavano]

I made Molly Stevens "Braised Savoy Cabbage with Saint-Marcellin" which was incredible. Her recipes continue to amaze me with their utter simplicity and deep flavors. Also had marinated pan seared pork chops and potato pancakes.

Edited December 31, 2007 by monavano (log)

[jilli42]

Ok, the duck made me laugh out loud because it reminded me of A Christmas Story at the end...

Those little flat pretzel things, I can find in my local grocery stores (Weis, Bloom & Giant), but not in cheddar horseradish flavor...I bet those tasted good !

[C. sapidus]

Hot, Sour, Salty, Sweet sounds good! Could I have the author's name please? Thanks! Yunnan...that's defiantely a region I have particular interest in.

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Jeffry Alford and Naomi Duguid

[Shelby]

Ok, the duck made me laugh out loud because it reminded me of A Christmas Story at the end...

Those little flat pretzel things, I can find in my local grocery stores (Weis, Bloom & Giant), but not in cheddar horseradish flavor...I bet those tasted good !

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They are addictive. In fact, my bag of them suspiciously disappeared that day

[Jamie Lee]

My NYE Dinner:

Roast beef turned around cream cheees/chives/horseradish, italian salame, pepperoncini, olives, herbed boccocini, NY State sharp cheddar. No cooking, but all taste!

[Chris Hennes]

NOTE FROM MANAGEMENT: This topic is continued in Dinner! 2008