Dinner! 2007

[Marlene]

Octaveman's Mongolian Beef.

My plating isn't as nice, but boy, this was a winner in our house. I had to substitute a couple of ingredients. I could not find whole dried red peppers, so I used some red pepper flakes instead. Nor could I find schezuan peppercorns, so I used some white pepper. I also chopped my green onions a bit smaller, because that's my prerference, and we served it over rice.

The heat sort of snuck up on us on this one. Not in a bad way, and it wasn't too hot, as I don't like foods too spicy, but just right. It was perfect, and my husband could not stop raving about it.

[little ms foodie]

due to the asparagus thread we had asparagus risotto with white truffle oil tonight- it tasted like spring!

edited to add the hyperlink to the asparagus thread!

Edited March 6, 2007 by little ms foodie (log)

[Pan]

Octaveman's Mongolian Beef.[...]

←

Looks tasty, but what makes it Mongolian?

[Marlene]

Octaveman's Mongolian Beef.[...]

←

Looks tasty, but what makes it Mongolian?

←

I have no idea. You'll have to ask Octaveman.

[Ann_T]

Octaveman's Mongolian Beef. 

←

Oh Marlene, I thought that was something that I wanted to try when I saw it the first time. Now I definitely have to make it.

due to the asparagus thread we had asparagus risotto with white truffle oil tonight- it tasted like spring!

←

Wendy, I guess I need to check out the asparagus thread. Your risotto looks delicious. I like the lighting in your photo too.

I baked sourdough bread yesterday, and made a couple of smaller baguettes so I could make french dip sandwiches using the leftover prime rib from the night before. Served homemade warm potato chips on the side.

[rich]

Just noticed this thread is just a few days away from reaching the one million mark in hits. Can the system handle seven digits? (Room for the number appears limited.) Or will it revert to one?

[rich]

Nice looking bread Ann - special recipe?

What did you use for the sauce?

[hathor]

What asparagus thread!!? I need to go find that thread!

'Since we don't have a lunch thread...

Yesterday's lunch was a fennel/tangerine and olive salad, with a celery root soup, finished with some roast garlic cream and passatelli crumbs. You need to come to the LeMarche thread to figure out what passatelli is!

Dinner was a roast duck with a rum/cherry glaze.

This bird was very, uh, economically, priced at Fairway, so I thought, what the heck, vhy not a duck?

It was amazing....it was essentially a meat free duck. All looks, no meat. You just know there is a blonde joke in there somewhere.

But, my husband, otherwise known as Arlo on this board, blew me away. He made desert!! He's in charge of doing dishes and eating, so it was a very unexpected treat. He even ground up the peanuts, by hand, in my mortar. (OK,OK, so I cleaned the mortar this morning, but it was all good!)

[Pontormo]

What asparagus thread!!? I need to go find that thread!   

'Since we don't have a lunch thread...

Judith: Dave the Cook started a thread recently on the arrival of Mexico's asparagus crops. Little Ms. Foodie's recent edit provides the link.

A counterpart to the breakfast and dinner threads was not in the cooking forum, probably because many eG members reported what they ate out or microwaved in their office's kitchen at lunchtime. Does anyone know where that old thread is now?

* * *

BTW: Ann, beautiful little clay bowl in your photograph of French Dip.

[Octaveman]

Marlene, looks great! Yeah, using red pepper flakes and white pepper will make it sneakily hot. The sechuan peppercorns have their own earthly flavor without the heat so definately use them the next time you make the dish. Also, using basic whole red peppers, not the de arbol kind which can be too hot, also add a nice roasted pepper flavor to the dish. These two ingredients definately make a difference. Looking at your dish makes me hungry for it again. Glad your family liked it.

Edited March 6, 2007 by Octaveman (log)

[purplewiz]

Another recipe from "The Border Cookbook": albondigas soup. Never have I bought a cookbook before and cooked so much from it in the first couple of weeks I had it. It's probably because I have most of the ingredients around, and the rest are easy to find.

The meatballs in this soup have both ground beef and chorizo and some grated zucchini in them. I was thinking that if I beefed up the beef in the mixture they'd make absolutely outstanding hamburgers. The soup was sneakily hot and really deliciousl

Marcia.

[MikeyMike]

Sure.  There were so many recipes on the net and with as many variations too that I tried over the years and made what I consider the best version to date.  I actually made a version of M.B. the night before and not liking how it turned out I made it again with several modifications.  Both my wife and I feel it was the best we've ever had.  Hope you enjoy it.

Mongolian Beef

Main Ingredients:

1.5 lbs Flank steak, thinly sliced

4 Tbl Garlic, minced

2 tsp Ginger, grated

3 bunches thin Green Onions cut into 2" pieces

1.5 tsp Sechuan peppercorns, toasted and ground (or more to taste)

6 whole dried red peppers (or more to taste)

2 cups oil + 4 Tbl oil seperated

Marinade:

2 egg whites

1/4 cup cornstarch

2 Tbl dark soy sauce

2 Tbl Shaoxing rice wine

Sauce:

5 Tbl Hoisin sauce

2 Tbl soy sauce

2 Tbl Bean sauce

3 Tbl brown sugar

1 Tbl white vinegar

1 Tbl Sesame oil

3 Tbl water

Slice flank steak into thin slices about 1" to 2" long. Put into zip lock bag and throw in cornstarch. Shake bag and make sure each piece is lightly coated. Add more cornstarch if needed. Put meat into bowl and add egg whites to coat. Then add other ingredients to coat. Let set for about an hour.

While meat is marinating, cut onions, mince garlic and grate ginger. Put Sechuan peppercorns in a small pan and toast over medium heat until frangrant. Let cool and grind to a powder.

Once meat is done marinating, add two cups of oil to wok and heat to 325-350*. Add individual slices of beef to hot oil in batches. I had about 6-8 slices going at a time. Let it flash fry to 30 second until the sides get brown and crispy.  Drain on paper towels. When all beef has been fried, remove oil and wipe down the wok.

Put wok back on stove and heat to desired temp. Add red peppers, garlic and ginger to wok and quickly stir for 10 seconds then add green onions. Continue to stir-try for about a minute then add fried beef back to wok. Before starting to mix, dust beef with ground Sechuan pepper. Give a quick stir to combine and heat ingredients in wok then pour sauce over everything. Quickly stir to coat and remove to plate.

There should be very little to no sauce left over. The meat should be nicely coated just like the pic of the final dish.

←

Octaveman,

Just a couple of quick clarifications. When you say Bean Sauce I assume you are using Black bean sauce. Also, can I substitute crushed red pepper flake for the dried red peppers?

Thanks,

Mike

[Marlene]

I used black bean sauce and I substituted red pepper flakes. Be careful! The heat will sneak up on you!

[rcaffelle]

High temps of 10-15 degrees should probably be inspiring a soup or stew, but it's also a great reason to have your oven at 550 for an hour or so. Crust is NY Pizza from American Pie, sauce is crushed tomato with a little red wine vinegar and dried herbs, cheese is a mozzy, cheddar, parm mix with a little herb as well.

rich

[Octaveman]

Just a couple of quick clarifications.  When you say Bean Sauce I assume you are using Black bean sauce.  Also, can I substitute crushed red pepper flake for the dried red peppers?

Thanks,

Mike

THIS is the bean sauce I used for the recipe. Koon Chun is a great brand for sauces. I know there are a lot of variations of "bean sauce" so not sure how to guide with this question as I'm not hip to the differences between them all. Even sauces labeled just Bean Sauce will taste different. If you like more heat to this dish you could substitute Kimlan Hot Bean Sauce instead of basic Bean Sauce. The more I think about it, I may have added 1 tbl of it but forgot when trying to recreate the recipe. No biggie though.

Regarding the crushed red pepper flake substitution. This is something I think changes the dish. It will give you heat, yes, but you're not necessarily looking for that heat factor with the dried red peppers. The picture below shows you two basic types of dried peppers you might find at a grocery store. The peppers on the left were generically labeled Dried Red Peppers and are the ones I used for this dish. The peppers on the right are De Arbol peppers and are much much hotter. The generic Red Peppers have a somewhat smokey smell/flavor to them that you can't get with red pepper flakes. The generic red peppers are not all that hot and actually I was being conservative with only 6 in the recipe. I've read recipes where 30 or more were added to a dish. I will probably up the count to 10 next time. By adding them to the oil you brown them and impart the peppers own oil to the dish. You can add a few De Arbol peppers to the mix for more heat. Both have great flavor.

The Sichuan Peppercorns I feel are also a must have (pictured below). I recently found them at 99 Ranch and can probably be found at local Asian stores but The Spice House online also has them. Their flavor can be put into the dish a couple of ways. Toast and grind them up like I mention in the recipe or put them into the oil by themselves (after the deepfry part of the recipe) on medium heat for a couple of minutes of sizzling (pictured below) and remove just about when they turn black. This too will impart their very unique flavor into the dish. If you've never used them before, these peppercorns are not hot but they will numb your mouth much like novacaine if used in large quantities. The flavor it imparts is one of a kind and I use them a lot. If you can find them in the store, I think I paid $1.50 for the 4 ounce package.

I'm really glad people are liking this dish. Mongolian Beef has always been a favorite of mine and is almost always chosen when we go out for Chinese. I've been trying to recreate this dish at home for a long time with zero success so I'm also thrilled to have finally come up with a recipe that I think absolutely rocks. BTW, I posted this recipe in the RecipeGullet to make it more accessible.

Cheers,

Bob

Edited March 7, 2007 by Octaveman (log)

[Marlene]

Dinner tonight was roasted chicken, chive mashed, roasted asparagus with balsamic and parm and gravy of course.

[jayhay]

Everything looks so delicious! Ann, how do you & Moe keep your weight down, eating like that every day? Do you have a secret?

Marlene, I see you're using kitchen twine for your trussing. I seem to remember you've used "food loops" before. Any reason why you don't use them now? I only ask because I was just given some, & have yet to try them out.

[Marlene]

To be perfectly honest, I keep forgetting about them! The twine sits on my counter and the loops are hidden away in a drawer. When I would use them would be if I was to remove the bone from a roast and then re tie the roast. Trussing a chicken I can do. I'm not so sure I can tie a roast back together again!

[little ms foodie]

Oh all of you with your roasted food!

rich your pizza looks great

and marlene I really want roast chicken!

Octaveman I really need to make that Mongolian Beef!

we had Mojitos to start tonight as it was 65F in Seattle!!!

then we made Coquilles St Jacques with champagne sauce and steamed broccoli on the side. it only needed 1/2c. champagne so the rest went in our glasses!

[lucylou95816]

Ann, That French Dip picture was outstanding, and everyone else's meals look great too...I always feel bad to not single out everyone.

Tonight, my wonderful BF made a delicious pizza. He was going to make his own crust out of the Bread Baker's Apprentice, but didn't have the time and the time to figure out how to square it down. So we used *gulp* pillsbury dough in the fridge section, which was only $1.00 at the store and did the job. Here's the pics:

Homemade pesto down first, then sprinkled with black forest ham and sliced roma tomatoes:

Next, a generous helping of mozzarella cheese:

Lastly, the finished masterpiece. He figured you guys would appreciate the pics!

The cheese may have been slightly overcooked, and I got a "bargain" brand at the store to save 50 cents, last time I ever do that...but none the less a very good pizza.

[MikeyMike]

Thanks Octaveman. I was going to use those red peppers but my mom also wanted to make the dish and didn't want the dish as spicy and was only going to use a pinch of the crushed red pepper.

edit I use the Koon Chun brand of bean sauce as well.

Edited March 7, 2007 by MikeyMike (log)

[007bond-jb]

Moo, Ghar grilled

[rooftop1000]

High temps of 10-15 degrees should probably be inspiring a soup or stew, but it's also a great reason to have your oven at 550 for an hour or so. Crust is NY Pizza from American Pie, sauce is crushed tomato with a little red wine vinegar and dried herbs, cheese is a mozzy, cheddar, parm mix with a little herb as well.

rich

←

You got Bubbles!!

only 1 of my homemade pies had bubbles and it was my hubby's

tracey

[Octaveman]

007Bond-JB, that steak looks awesome. No juice on the plate either. I wish I had some virtual goggles, I would put that pic in it. Nice job.

Edited March 7, 2007 by Octaveman (log)

[alanamoana]

Thanks Octaveman.  I was going to use those red peppers but my mom also wanted to make the dish and didn't want the dish as spicy and was only going to use a pinch of the crushed red pepper.

edit  I use the Koon Chun brand of bean sauce as well.

←

just as a quick aside, it would seem that crushed red pepper would make a dish hotter than the whole dried peppers because the seeds are exposed...which is where the capsaicin is in higher concentration, right?

i've just noticed that when i get chinese takeout which uses the whole dried peppers, there can be more pepper than meat in the dish and it isn't hot at all...of course, my mom is from szechuan so maybe my genetics make me immune