Dinner! 2008

[dockhl]

I love radishes, esp in posole (note to self: make posole this weeekend !)

Forgive me, but it raining cats and dogs in Paso Robles, something we haven't had for two years, and I am so excited that it is happening, and on a weekend, and may go longer than one day .....!!!! All I want to do is stay home with the puppies, fire on, and make SOUP !

Anyway, (whew, got a little worked up there )....I used two nice sauces... one is Trader Joe's Gyoza dipping sauce with some added ginger. The other is a hoisin/peanut butter concoction with water drizzled in to make it a little more 'saucy'. Lots of lime and chopped peanuts rounded out the mix...

[Marlene]

Following the "simple after holidays meal", we had tossed salad with balsamic vinaigrette and french onion soup.

[heidih]

THAI SPRING ROLLS

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Very lovely and surprisingly filling. Do you add rice vermicelli or just the protein? Also- not to quibble- but aren't they Vietnamese? Despite the rain here you have inspired me to treat myself and my son to some tomorrow. Thank you.

[Ce'nedra]

Last night I celebrated my first chili of the season by making spaghetti in a spicy tomato sauce with grated pecorino. It was such a simple meal, but easily one of the most satisfying I've eaten.

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A recipe and photo please

My 23 yr old daughter has decided that Thai Spring Rolls are her favorite food, the one that she can imagine eating if she could only eat one thing forever 

So, most times when she comes for dinner and spends the night we make:

THAI SPRING ROLLS

That looks really delicious (and indeed healthy)

I never knew Thais ate summer rolls; I always thought it's uniquely Vietnamese?

This was our dinner:

Asian meatloaf (from Simply Ming -recorded this episode on tv)

Salad with French dressing

more Asian meatloaf

then we had 'gai dan cha' again for dessert (along with fruits as usual)

Edited January 5, 2008 by Ce'nedra (log)

[David Ross]

This was New Year's Eve Dinner:

Rack of Lamb, Mashed Potato with Caraway (just a last minute idea but I liked the licorice flavor of the Caraway in the Potato), Cranberry-Huckleberry Compote. I served an Arugula Salad on the side.

An annual Holiday Dessert thanks to Williams-Sonoma-Cole's Christmas Pudding with Brandy Butter and Stem Ginger.

[Ce'nedra]

THAI SPRING ROLLS

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Very lovely and surprisingly filling. Do you add rice vermicelli or just the protein? Also- not to quibble- but aren't they Vietnamese? Despite the rain here you have inspired me to treat myself and my son to some tomorrow. Thank you.

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I agree. Those summer rolls are really filling once you pop in quite a bit.

Westerners tend to eat it as entree but it's traditionally eaten as a whole meal (and we follow this tradition).

[dockhl]

Well, heck if I know !

We get them at our favorite Thai restaurant ( and have no other SE Asian restaurants around) so for all I know, the Thai's have adopted a delightful dish as their own

They serve them as an appetizer but, I agree, it is too filling to follow with much more than a little soup, maybe.

Maybe those who know more can clarify this for me?

Kathy (who is Czech, Swedish, Irish, American Indian..but not Asian !)

[Shelby]

Beautiful meals, everyone!

Tracey thank you for the cookie gravy

Kathy those spring rolls are making me drool. I, too, have eaten them at the Thai restaurant here.

[Jamie Lee]

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OMG... I so adore this dish! Any idea where to find online?

[dockhl]

Jamie~

I found them at the Crate and Barrel Outlet but here are some from their online store that look similar, maybe a little bigger (which wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing)

Yin~Yang Bowls

http://www.crateandbarrel.com/family.aspx?c=4440&f=25160

Kathy

[MiFi]

Recent Holiday Feasts

Penne alla' Amatriciana

Rack of Lamb w/roasted fingerling potatoes

Poached Eggs on Leftover Fingerlings w/some smoked paprika for good measure

Eggs Benedict

X-mass Prime Rib

Prime Rib Rubbed (mustard, peppercorns, salt)

Finished w/port wine peppercorn jus and cream fraiche-dijon gratin

[Mota]

quickie early dinner

shrimp and chicken fried rice

[HappyLab]

Tonight: Seared scallops with sauteed spinach and roasted parsnips from David Pasternack's Young Man & the Sea:

[doctortim]

Finished w/port wine peppercorn jus and cream fraiche-dijon gratin

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MiFi, all of your dishes look great, but that prime rib and gratin look particularly delicious.

[Shelby]

Last night was a fun dinner for us!

I sliced a wheel of Brie in half, put chopped sun dried tomatoes on top of one half, and then placed the other half on top of that. Then I wrapped it in puff pastry and baked. I received some raspberry chipotle sauce for Christmas that I used on the side.

Following that, we had lobster stew that was also given to us. OMG it was good!

[doctortim]

Last night I celebrated my first chili of the season by making spaghetti in a spicy tomato sauce with grated pecorino. It was such a simple meal, but easily one of the most satisfying I've eaten.

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A recipe and photo please

I didn't get a photo I'm afraid, but the recipe is quite straightforward. I diced the chili and sautéed it in hot olive oil, then added a few tablespoons of Mario Batali's Basic Tomato Sauce, mixed with spaghetti, and grated a generous amount of pecorino over the top.

The Batali recipe is pretty good. I don't normally follow pasta sauce recipes too fastidiously, but since I doubt I will eat at Babbo any time soon I decided to follow it to the letter to get even a small idea of the kinds of flavours Mario Batali uses in his famous pasta dishes. I liked it, although I'd probably add a bit of finely diced celery next time.

[C. sapidus]

MiFi, you should post more often, your pictures are always beautiful.

Shelby, that baked brie and lobster look effing amazing!

Da boyz may be catching the cooking bug. Yesterday they made spaghetti and meatballs (their favorite). Elder son, in charge of the sauce, chose to experiment with onions and a can of fire-roasted tomatoes. Younger son, responsible for pasta, tried a mixture of spaghetti and angel hair pasta. Mrs. C mashed the sweet potatoes that we baked the other day – they were so sweet, they didn’t need much else. That didn’t stop younger son from topping the sweet potatoes with marshmallows, of course.

Tonight: further adventures with Smoke & Spice and the Weber bullet. We marinated chicken thighs with pureed onion, orange juice, peanut butter, brown sugar, curry powder, and cinnamon. After three hours in the smoker, the chicken was so juicy that elder son ruined his shirt.

Smoked ratatouille (OK, we watched Ratatouille again last night). Smoked baby eggplants, leeks, bell peppers, and onions, simmered with garlic, fire-roasted tomatoes, chicken stock, and capers. I have no idea if this is a traditional recipe, but not much was left.

Warm mushroom salad was the hit of the evening. We smoked chunks of Portabella mushrooms, and then roasted them with a tiny bit of smoking-hot olive oil. I had to physically restrain Mrs. C or she would have finished the mushrooms before dinner.

We mixed the mushrooms with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, fire-roasted tomatoes, garlic, chopped basil and parsley, and S&P, and served them over Boston lettuce. Elder son declared this his favorite of the evening, while pleading, “Just don’t remind me that I am eating mushrooms.”

[Jamie Lee]

Jamie~

I found them at the Crate and Barrel Outlet      but here are some from their online store that look similar, maybe a little bigger (which wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing)

Yin~Yang Bowls

http://www.crateandbarrel.com/family.aspx?c=4440&f=25160

Kathy

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Thanks! They're very reasonable.

[Shelby]

Bruce I love that you had to restrain your wife Those mushrooms look SO good. I've never roasted them before. Must put that on my list of things to do. Oh, and spaghetti and meatballs is my favorite meal, too!

[gini]

Rare post from me; I actually thought to grab my phone to take this picture:

Roast fish over potatoes a la Marcella Hazan. The simplest thing to make and oh so tasty.

[monavano]

Baked chicken with a pomegranate balsamic sauce and pistachio butter, roasted campari tomatoes and sweet potato fries.

Edited January 7, 2008 by monavano (log)

[Shelby]

Monavano that looks delicious! I love those long plates. I need to get some for us! Those tomatoes--I cannot wait to see them again this summer. And I LOVE how you served the sweet potato fries.

[monavano]

Monavano  that looks delicious!  I love those long plates.  I need to get some for us!  Those tomatoes--I cannot wait to see them again this summer.  And I LOVE how you served the sweet potato fries.

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Thanks Shelby! I just got a few new dishes and bowl to get that "contemporary" look when plating food. As far as the tomatoes-Campari tomatoes get me through the winter. They are at most grocery stores and Costco sells them. The taste is amazing and I've never eaten a mealy one.

For the fries I just made a parchment paper cone to get that "bistro" look for the bistro meal.

[Misplaced_Texan]

Brined Pork Belly, Roasted

Edited January 8, 2008 by Misplaced_Texan (log)

[Pille]

Salmon with a Creamy Orange Sauce and Rosemary: