Dinner! 2007

[Domestic Goddess]

It was a great party but I think now I'm done with my birthday... at least for this year 

And what a great feasts, Klary! Many happy returns and I can't wait for pics of your next birthday dinners.

[Irishgirl]

I would love to taste little ms foodie’s artichokes and Meredithla’s shrimp and potstickers.

Inspired by Peter Green's pictures from Chengdu (click), I made Sichuan “water-boiled beef” (shui zhu niu rou) from Land of Plenty. Wow, this was fiendishly hot and numbing (in a good way ). Dried chiles and Sichuan peppercorns – stir-fried, chopped, and sprinkled over the dish with sizzling oil . . .

. . . mixed up and ready to serve . . .

. . . and plated with jasmine rice. I know what I’m having for breakfast (oh wait, that’s a different thread ).

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I always drool over your food so much. It is right up my alley. And I loved your blog. But now I have to get Land of Plenty, because I MUST try that water beef. I have heard stories about this stuff and it sounds wonderful!

[little ms foodie]

And?  Was it good? (It looks awesome  )

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it was very good- this is the best salmon you can get around seattle IMO. and the broth was very spicy and we served a riesling which really went well with that.

Klary that whole meal looks just gorgeous!

[David Ross]

I did a slow-smoked tri-tip on Friday night. The tri-tip isn't the best cut for slow smoking in the BBQ because it is more lean than say a brisket. While brisket is better for long smoking because it has good fat/connective tissue, this tri-tip turned out very good. I marinated it a few days in a combination of Korean BBQ sauce, sliced ginger, chopped garlic and hoisin sauce. I thinned the marinade with water so it wouldn't be too salty.

Didn't attempt to take a photo of the rice side dish because it looked pretty bad. Surprisingly, it tasted very good. Hope everyone isn't getting tired of the "up close" shots I've been posting.

[GTO]

Awesome looking beef, David. I hope they're not getting tired of it, because if they are, they're going to hate mine!

Tonight I roasted a Leg of Lamb with spiced brown sugar, red onions and garlic.

Then for dessert, I made honey & orange mousse.

[David Ross]

GTO-what do you put in the spiced brown sugar for the lamb? Sounds delicious.

[GTO]

Thanks, David. It's a five-spice sugar I got last Christmas. I use it quite often for lamb. It's just brown sugar with added spices: Cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, star anise & ginger.

Speaking of your beef, I saw a great video demonstration a while ago on smoking a brisket. It just collapsed afterwards it was that tender.

[David Ross]

I'll try that brown sugar-five spice mix. I think it would also be delicious on a rack of lamb.

I guessed I jumped around the globe this weekend in terms of styles of dishes. I did the BBQ tri-tip Friday night, then last night did a spring menu with Chicken.

This is a Chicken Fricassee with lots of Spring vegetables-artichoke hearts, fresh morels and fresh fava beans. Be warned if you live in the Northwest, fresh Morels are going for $49 a pound this Spring! Dried morels are just as good and only about $5 for enough morels for this dish. I also added some green olives and a bit of preserved lemon to add some acid/tangy bite to the dish. I used fresh thyme and marjoram as a garnish after cooking. I find that the fragrance of marjoram can get lost if it is cooked. I served it with buttered egg noodles.

Because there were so many vegetables in the Fricassee, I didn't need a side but couldn't resist the organic Spring carrots in the market. I prepared them the same way as the beans I posted last week-sauteed in a bit of butter and olive oil, then a little chicken broth added to braise the carrots until tender. Rather than sprinkle the carrots with herbs, I just chopped off some of the green tops and sprinkled that on top as a garnish. I thought it was a pretty good trick, lots of flavor in the carrot tops.

[Marlene]

We smoked ribs today. We served them with baked beans and baked potatoes, not pictured.

[prasantrin]

Tonight I was supposed to have leftover spareibs, but instead I made hummus and pita. I was also supposed to cut up some tomatoes and cucumber so I could make a sandwich with my hummus and pita, but I ended up using one of the pita to scrape out all the leftover hummus from the food processor while standing by the sink.

For dessert--strawberries and salted caramel pudding. Yum!

[Domestic Goddess]

I wanted an easy no fuss dinner tonight so I cooked Crockpot Pork Roast with Mashed taters and Corn & Carrots

Plated without gravy...

And with gravy....

[MiFi]

Locally raised red braised pork belly from Molly Stevens All About Braising. So so.

[dvs]

file this under "its a small world"...

last night we made Sara Moulton's Pork Scaloppini (and added capers) which was great. served w/ angel hair pasta and a fresh from the garden arugula salad.

this AM, my boss walks in w/ an older couple and asks me if i knew who sara moulton was, to which i replied "yes, i made one of her recipes last night". The older couple was her parents! they left w/ a big proud smile.

p.s. Chufi, thanks for the recipe!

Edited April 30, 2007 by dvs (log)

[GTO]

Lol, dvs, and your paycheque is now twice as big?

[dvs]

Lol, dvs, and your paycheque is now twice as big?

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HA! i wish... they were houseguests of my boss.

[purplewiz]

Grilled beef kabobs, served over creamed eggplant with a coriander-yogurt sauce on top:

Marcia.

[judiu]

Grilled beef kabobs, served over creamed eggplant with a coriander-yogurt sauce on top:

Marcia.

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Creamed eggplant? Do tell!

[purplewiz]

Grilled beef kabobs, served over creamed eggplant with a coriander-yogurt sauce on top:

Marcia.

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Creamed eggplant? Do tell!

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It's from Smithy's foodblog. I've been making it semi-regularly ever since it was posted - it's a great base for things like kabobs or stews and the like, or good on its own instead of mashed potatoes. And you can use all different kinds of cheeses in it. I especially like it when the eggplant is grilled - it adds a really nice smoky flavor.

Marcia.

[Ann_T]

I'm sitting here drooling over David's Chicken Fricassee, Marlene's ribs, Doddie's roast pork, and Marcia'sBeef Kabobs. And I really do have to prepare Pork belly one day soon.

My monitor died on Friday night and I got around to replacing it today so I'm just getting caught up.

Saturday night's dinner was not exactly the healthiest but we really enjoyed it. Buttermilk fried chicken with buttermilk fried onion rings and buttermilk fried mushrooms. Needless to say I had some buttermilk I wanted to use up.

Last night was another "diner" food type dinner. Salisbury steak simmered in a mushroom and green peppercorn gravy.

We had lunch with our son in Victoria today. Thai food. So other than a toasted homemade bagel with tomatoes, I didn't really cook dinner.

[little ms foodie]

OMG! buttermilk fried everything!!! yum!

last night we had baby artichokes one more way- deep fried with parm on top

then we had papperdelle with zucchini and mint parsley pesto and focaccia with red grapes and gorgonzo (which I don't think turned out very well)

tonight was chorizo crusted cod on saffron rice with snap peas

and vanilla roasted strawberries for dessert

[Domestic Goddess]

I was homesick tonight so I fixed a favorite comfort food.

Arroz ala Cubana

[Priscilla]

Last evening, late, pasta -- farfalle -- w/bacon and rosemary sauce after a recipe in Marcella Hazan's 3rd book, rosemary minced exceeding fine to avoid pine-needle effect. Healthy hit of parmesan. Nice romaine salad, bracingly dressed. La Brea Bakery seedy baguette.

[Toliver]

Last night it was almost too hot here to turn on the oven but there was a head of cauliflower in the refrigerator calling my name.

So for dinner it was the infamous roasted cauliflower along with pan-fried cumin-dusted pork chops and a simple green salad for dinner. I had to restrain myself from eating all of the roasted cauliflower.

[Marlene]

Rack of lamb in a mustard cognac glaze, potatoes dauphinois, and green beans in mustard lemon butter.

[Kim Shook]

last night we had baby artichokes one more way- deep fried with parm on top

little ms foodie - I am inspired! I am making those on Sunday for company. Do you think that they would hold together enough to serve them as a pre-meal snack - finger food like onion rings? Or should I serve them with the meal? Also - how would you feel about a dipping sauce of some sort? Any ideas? Thanks for posting!

Kim