Dinner! 2008

[Kim Shook]

Ted - all looks lovely! How were the endive? Were they whole or just leaves?

Doddie - I had to google Oyakudon. Sounds good and comforting. How did you make yours?

I am sick (not quite, but almost pnemonia Dr. says) and too tired to do much so we had a salad, sourdough rolls, orzo and cheater meatballs. I made the sauce for this, but used frozen Swedish meatballs. I might try for something a little more ambitious tonight !

Meatballs in Plum Sauce

Kim

[snowangel]

However, the endives were very hard.  I prepared them as Julia suggests by braising them for ten minutes after carefully trimming the ends and coring the root end.  They were a little bitter, more so at the root end, but the real problem was they were so hard and crunchy.  Did I not braise them long enough?  Should they have cooked longer than the 30 minutes in a 375 oven?

I would like to try them again as the flavors were good.  Any suggestions?

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I just checked Molly Steven's (All About Braising) and she has you brown them, braise for 30-35 minutes, with an additional 8-10 minutes to reduce the liquid, then add cream and braise for another 6 minute, but she also cautions you to check them with a knife until tender before you reduce the liquid and then add the cream. Next time, try and braise them for longer.

[Shalmanese]

Stunning menu, Shalmanese! Is that a menu curled up in the background of the first photo? What kind of scallops did you use? And when are you inviting us all around for dinner? 

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Yeah, I just started rolling up my menus and typing them with a little bow and I like the effect. It's like a little gift at the start of the meal and there's a sense of anticipation when you unwrap it.

The scallops were some U4 sea scallops I got from Whole Foods, expensive but worth it.

[prasantrin]

Doddie - I had to google Oyakudon.  Sounds good and comforting.  How did you make yours?

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You'll get more hits if you google oyakodon. Oya=parent=chicken, ko=child=egg (parent and child donburi).

[suzilightning]

KIM don't f*&k with your health. know from experience that that can truly debiltate you - i came close to dying about 15 years ago.

tonight it was really bad picture wise. sauteed onions, mashed potatoes and CHICKEN FRIED STEAKS WITH MILK GRAVY. but oh my freakin goodness. i smashed the steaks out to almost paper thin so they would cook quickly. then milk with the remaining flour/salt/pepper mix with extra pepper to make the gravy. i also added some succotash since johnnybird wasn't around(i still don't get what he has against lima beans - course i grew up with some of the best around. aiiieeee so good and so comforting on a cold night. i almost feel sorry for him having to eat at a restaurant tonight.

tomorrow will be red gravy with onion, red pepper, sweet italian sausage and rice fettuccini along with a salad and maybe some foccacia after work.

[Ted Fairhead]

However, the endives were very hard.  I prepared them as Julia suggests by braising them for ten minutes after carefully trimming the ends and coring the root end.  They were a little bitter, more so at the root end, but the real problem was they were so hard and crunchy.  Did I not braise them long enough?  Should they have cooked longer than the 30 minutes in a 375 oven?

I would like to try them again as the flavors were good.  Any suggestions?

←

I just checked Molly Steven's (All About Braising) and she has you brown them, braise for 30-35 minutes, with an additional 8-10 minutes to reduce the liquid, then add cream and braise for another 6 minute, but she also cautions you to check them with a knife until tender before you reduce the liquid and then add the cream. Next time, try and braise them for longer.

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Thank you..I wil certainly try that. It sounds great.

[Pierogi]

OK........drumroll.......I figured out ImageGullet this afternoon, and am about to add....

MY FIRST PICTURES TO THE DINNER THREAD !!

Yay ! Tahhhhh-Dahhhhhhhhh. I'll wait for the applause to die down.....

First up is steak milanese with a tomato/red onion/caper/kalamata olive salsa-ie, relish-ie thing and roasted asparagus.

Accompanied with steamed baby potatoes with *swoon* truffle butter I got for Christmas

Watch this space, as they say !

[Kim Shook]

Pierogi - Congratulations on posting your first photo. I remember how nervous I was when I posted my first picture! And how relieved I was when I finally figured out how to do it ! And the meal looks great! I love, love, love Steak Milanese and need to do that soon! Yours looks perfectly crisp!

I am taking it very easy and made something last night that we can reheat without a lot of flavor loss. With the meatballs that I made Friday, we should be set for the week. I did a Giada recipe, Chicken w/ Balsamic Vinaigrette - you are supposed to cut up a whole chicken, but I had a Costco bag-o-boobs in the freezer, so I used them. This is not the frozen breasts that come all in one big bag, but something they have in the regular meat section - it has a couple pieces of chicken in each of 6-8 cryovacced section - you just tear off what you need and they are really good.

We also had store bought brioche and a cream of cauliflower & cheddar soup that Mr. Kim and I found pretty uninspiring and blah. I thought I might try it one more time with roasted cauliflower instead of steamed and a Gruyere or Swiss.

Kim

[Shelby]

Hi Pierogi! Mmmmmm truffle butter!

White bread

Buttered noodles with venison cabbage rolls and beef short ribs

[Ann_T]

Shelby I haven't made Tex-Mex since when we moved. Thanks to your photo, I'm craving mex.

Bruce I don't think that there is anything you make that I wouldn't love.

Shalmanese Your Duck confit Ravioli sound delicious. Wonderful menu.

Pierogi (love your name). I know I would love your steak milanese. Tomato, Olive salsa is a favourite here.

I haven't done much baking since we moved the beginning of December. I finally got around to feeding my sourdough mother. Hadn't been fed in at least six weeks. Made Rye Sourdough and White sourdough earlier this week.

Dinners this week were Penne with Sausage

Spicy Turkey Cakes with a garlic lemon Aioli and a brown rice pilaf

and

a small Grilled New York Strip roast last night.

Also made a Blackberry Cobbler for dessert on Thursday night.

[HappyLab]

A week's worth of dinners:

Braised monkfish with fennel, cherry tomatoes and basil. Spinosi porcini mushroom linguini with pancetta and crimini mushrooms on the side:

Bastardized Pork Vindaloo:

Kung Pao Chicken:

Braised Scallops with Vietnamese Caramel Sauce:

Edited January 20, 2008 by HappyLab (log)

[David Ross]

Last night, actually the process started Friday, I served a Cuban Roast Pork based on a recipe in the latest issue of Saveur.

You start by marinating a pork shoulder the day before in orange juice, lime juice, cumin seed, black pepper, oregano, garlic and olive oil.

The recipe calls for braising the pork for about 4 hours. I changed things up a bit.

I put the pork over a bed of pickled red onions that I had made last week. Then the pork, then the braising liquid, into a heavy, covered pot and into a 300 oven for 8 hours. I then roasted it uncovered in a 400 oven for 45 minutes.

I served the pork sliced over some steamed rice that was flavored with green onions, peas and a bit of saffron, the reduced pork braising liquid and some corn bread that had cheddar cheese, green onion and fresh jalapeno added.

The pork turned out really good, almost as good as the pork belly I make. Very juicy and the sauce was a mix of sweet and sour. The pickled red onions just melted into the sauce and I think that added a lot of flavor.

[Graphix]

Ive been meaning to get some photos of my dad cooking for a while and i keep forgetting but tonight i finally remembered and grabbed some shots. Were hoping to do some photo tutorials for a few meals maybe even some video ones. Anyway tonights dinner was roasted chicken with glazed vegetables and stove top stuffing.

[Pierogi]

Pierogi (love your name). I know I would love your steak milanese.  Tomato, Olive salsa is a favourite here.

Hi Ann, thanks for the compliment ! Love, LOVE your bread. I'm working on teaching myself to bake, and those loaves are what I aspire to.

Anyway, the Steak Milanese was a Cuisine At Home recipe. The steak is done in the expected manner. The salsa/relish was Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced, red onion, kalamata olives, capers, fresh oregano, olive oil & lemon juice, S&P to taste. Let me know if you need the proportions, and I'll PM them to you.

[Shelby]

French onion soup with lots of cheese

Prime rib sandwiches

[Prawncrackers]

Made Rye Sourdough and White sourdough earlier this week.

Ann, those loaves are perfect! My sourdough starter died on me a few months back, must get round to growing a fresh one. Gosh i miss baking bread at the weekend

Tonight, a yellowy Thai prawn curry and Matcha Cheesecake:

[dockhl]

Ive been meaning to get some photos of my dad cooking for a while and i keep forgetting but tonight i finally remembered and grabbed some shots.

Beautiful chicken in a beautiful kitchen ! Share your recipe?

[dockhl]

The shrimp look great but that cheesecake really caught my eye!

[Ann_T]

Shelby I love onion soup and your broth looks wonderfully rich. But it is your roast beef sandwich that is calling out to me. Any au jus to dip it in?

Ann, those loaves are perfect!  My sourdough starter died on me a few months back, must get round to growing a fresh one.  Gosh i miss baking bread at the weekend

Tonight, a yellowy Thai prawn curry and Matcha Cheesecake:

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Prawncrackers I was afraid that mine might not survive a recent move and the fact that I hadn't fed it for so long. But it is still going strong. Just needed to be fed twice to get it active again.

I can't wait until our local spot prawns are available this spring. They will be perfect in your Thai prawn curry.

Made pizza for dinner last night. Just used what i had on hand. Italian Sausage, olives and green peppers.

Had today off work, so I baked this morning. Sourdough bread and a sweet yeast dough for Cream Cheese Babka. Shaped one round and one long.

Baguette split.

[Ndy]

^^^^^Beautiful.

[C. sapidus]

Ann_T, you make so much beautiful food, but your pizza and baguette in particular jumped off the page.

Prawncrackers, your prawn curry is gorgeous. That does it; I need a coconut milk fix next week.

The boys made deli sandwiches for Sunday night dinner. They offered a choice of roast beef, turkey, or ham, with horseradish sauce, mayo, mustard, and/or onions fried with Elder son’s “secret ingredients.” Mrs. C and Grandma C made borscht – intensely beet-red, and one of the best I have ever eaten (including two trips to Russia).

Today we fired up the bullet and smoked Apple City pork back ribs and BBQ sauce (from Peace, Love, and Barbecue), and smoked sweet potatoes with orange pecan butter (from Smoke & Spice). We also made cowboy beans (frijoles charros, from Seasons of My Heart), and world’s best braised cabbage (from All About Braising). The frijoles were amazing – bacon and chorizo, together at last! Everyone loved the smoked sweet potatoes, too. We were out of carrots, but cherry tomatoes substituted nicely in the braised cabbage.

[Kim Shook]

David - that pork is incredible! I really have to try this - I found the recipe on line and will make it with your adjustments!

Shelby - onion soup. MMMMM. Time to make that before the weather changes!

Ann T - I second Bruce's comment about your pizza and baguette! So beautiful!

Bruce - that BBQ meal looks amazing! The color of the ribs is particularly impressive. There is some conspiracy at eGullet regarding me and cabbage. Look folks, I don't like cabbage, ok? So posting all these pictures of delicious looking cabbage is not going to make me try it. Really. Honest. Not going to happen. Um...Bruce, could you maybe PM me the recipe? Seriously, its wierd - I swear I haven't noticed lots and lots of cabbage postings over the last few years and yet this year they are just jumping out at me!

Tonight we had a Fennel, Pear and Bleu Cheese salad with EVOO and champagne vinegar:

And a rerun of that Chicken w/ balsamic vinaigrette, brussels sprouts in browned butter, orzo and store bought brioche:

Kim

[HappyLab]

I made a very global meal last night. Seared Pork Chops with Kimchi. Mashed potatoes and braised fennel with thyme and olives on the side:

[Ann_T]

Thanks Kim and Bruce.

Bruce Yum Smoked ribs.

Kim I'd be happy with a rerun of your chicken dinner.

Roast duck was on the menu here tonight.

[C. sapidus]

There is some conspiracy at eGullet regarding me and cabbage.  Look folks, I don't like cabbage, ok?  So posting all these pictures of delicious looking cabbage is not going to make me try it.  Really.  Honest.  Not going to happen.  Um...Bruce, could you maybe PM me the recipe?

Kim, thank you very much. No need to PM the recipe – Molly Stevens has it on her web site: Molly Stevens Cooks: World’s Best Braised Green Cabbage. The braise takes a while, but the recipe is easy - probably a good way to settle the cabbage issue once and for all.

Tonight we had a Fennel, Pear and Bleu Cheese salad with EVOO and champagne vinegar:

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I love blue cheese in salad with a fruity vinaigrette. Did you cook the fennel, or is it raw?

Ann_T, thanks! What an odd coincidence that you posted your lovely duck as I was answering Kim. A sadly defunct local restaurant used to offer a wonderful salad with duck, blue cheese, and a fruity vinaigrette. I have seen pre-cooked duck breast in the grocery store, but I have never seen cook-your-own duck offered locally.