Dinner! 2008

[Matthew Grant]

Pumpkin stuffed with Morcilla, pine nutes and apple, apple sauce and cabbage (a complete ripoff of a tapas I had in San Sebastian)

Pheasant with Salmi sauce and vegetables

Mopped up the sauce with home made sourdough

[Dr. J]

Graet meals matthew. Love the pumpkin morcilla,definately going to copy that.

Going to look for that sauce Ce'nedra wonderful meal.

Haven't posted in a while here are a few to catch up.

Veal pork chop with a soy based sauce made with shitake mushrooms. Salad is a mixed greens, orange, strawberry, raspberry, with a raspberry dressing.

Fillet on a beurre blanc with a anchovy + olive tapenade from thomas kellers le bouchon

Third pizza ever made. made it in NY when I was there for work. Dough was bought in new jersey along with other ingredients.

Squid ink spaghetti made with escargot and squid. Sauce is a champagne, lemon, garlic, olive oil mix. String beans tossed in olive oil and balsamic.

Definately reccomend doing the escargot spaghetti very tasty. First time eating that veal chop and was not incredibly impressed as a superior cut of meat. Meal was good though. The pizza was good, I would make it more often if i could find decent dough, I just don't have a large enough kitchen to make my own dough and honestly don't like doing it. Probably because I hate cleaning up the mess afterwards.

[Peter Green]

Squid ink spaghetti made with escargot and squid.  Sauce is a champagne, lemon, garlic, olive oil  mix.  String beans tossed in olive oil and balsamic.

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An excellent idea! My daughter loves both escargot and spaghetti, so this would make a perfect birthday meal for her!

Thanks,

Peter

[Peter Green]

Dinner tonight was a matter of some panic.

As usual, I’d gone shopping for souvenirs, this time in London. What I brought back was a a selection of pates, game, and produce.

That was a week ago.

I was now getting the evil look from Yoonhi that indicated that sell-by dates were coming up, and I’d better do something about it if I was going to avoid accusations of wasting food (but all food goes to my waist, say I).

Inspiration called to me. I had a smoker that had been abandoned on my doorstep, and some Jack Daniels chips that had come from somewhere. It was time to give this a try.

I couldn’t help myself, and placed a bundle of Vietnamese jasmine tea on the lower rack of the smoker, than placed my last chicken breast and a handy hunk of pig belly on the upper rack.

The nice thing about smoking meats is that it gives you plenty of time to try and wing your way through the rest of it.

Back from dropping the girl at one of her string of post-school assignations, I staved off the missus with some goat cheese and venison pate (again, courtesy of Sainsbury’s in Bracknell). This made do as an appetizer.

I then gave her the task of preparing a salad of endives, rocket, balsamic, and the smoked trout that was only just a couple of days past the “drop dead” date.

Busy hands are happy hands….at least I think they are.

I’d pulled the meat off, and allowed it to rest. It had the cheery smoke-inhalation victim look about it.

Meanwhile, I sliced the meats (removing the skin top of the pork), and added a bit of lime, and sent everything in the oven to warm while Yoonhi went off to shuttle the girl back home (again).

The result was a very nice bit of duck. The pork was good, but still too much fat for Yoonhi’s liking (but fine for me).

The salad was alright, but it really brightened up with the addition of some capers after we’d already started. The balsamic is just as good with trout as it is with salmon, so I’ll be doing more of this.

And dessert? Well, I’d already taken my blackberries that were on the cusp and made ice cream with them. This wasn’t a success, as the seeds tend to distract one from what should be an experience in smoothness.

Still, I’ve avoided the stigma of not using what I buy (just).

I’ll have to go shopping again soon.

[Poffertjes]

My wife's folks live in Washington State and go foraging for morels each spring. This past spring, they found a lot and sent us a nice care package of dried mushrooms.

We used a bunch of them the other day, tossed with some freshly made tagliatelle.

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Not only are your morels beautiful but the pasta looks really toothsome. I think the spore must have been in the planting mix, but two weeks ago I spied a morel amongst the annuals. It was not as dark as I have seen photos of and I have never seen any other than dried, but when I snapped it off the fragrance was heavenly. I was too afraid to eat it because I know that some poisonous plants mimic o.k. plants, but if that is the morel scent then I need to check this thing out.

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No poisonous mushroom looks like a Morel. Thats why non-professionals feel safe shroom hunting and eating. Next time fry that sucker up in some butter and enjoy.

[Matthew Grant]

What about false morels? I kow that some chefs (e.g. Ducasse) might use them but their is some debate as to whether they are actually safe to eat.

Gyromitra esculenta

False Morel

[Carlo A. Balistrieri]

I don't believe false morels are poisonous...but neither are they particularly tasty. There's only one real deal...

[Matthew Grant]

Plenty of links to False morels claiming toxicity (the two I posted are examples)

[Ce'nedra]

So my parents went to a bbq today (and left me at home, can you believe it?!!). Feeling sorry for me (at least that's what I tell myself), they brought home some leftovers in time for dinner.

Asian salad -I don't recall what was in it. Was too busy stuffing my face.

Homemade baked buns filled with meat.

The works -sausage, lamb, beef, etc. Sorry, picture is slightly blurry as I was shaking with hunger.

Inside the baked goods. The bread had a sweetness to it and the meat was lightly spiced and seasoned.

The typical sort of Asian cakes you buy.

Edited November 7, 2008 by Ce'nedra (log)

[Jmahl]

Earlier this week we baked a Sausage in Brioche.

Tasty with mustard and nice Rhone.

[Chefb28]

Earlier this week we baked a Sausage in Brioche.

Tasty with mustard and nice Rhone.

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This isn't a reply at all it is something I wanted to share with everybody, unfortunally I don't have pics of the dish I created but hopefully soon. It was a chicken confit tagine with peppers and onion along with a apricot/vegetable cous-cous and a harrisa and a raita dipping sauces.

[percyn]

From a few weeks ago...

Steak Burger Topped w/Caramelized Onions, Aged Cheddar and Fried Egg

The flash deprived the burger of its perfect pink center.

[prasantrin]

From a few weeks ago...

Steak Burger Topped w/Caramelized Onions, Aged Cheddar and Fried Egg

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When you bit into the yolk did it ooze out all over?

I love a good yolk--but how do you eat a yolk-y burger without getting really messy?

[percyn]

When you bit into the yolk did it ooze out all over? 

I love a good yolk--but how do you eat a yolk-y burger without getting really messy?

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Yes it did but who said anything about not being messy?

Actually it is not that bad as the bun also absorbs some of the yolk.

[Kim Shook]

Bruce – the garlic broccoli looks and sound delicious. I’ll be trying that method since we are in high broccoli season now!

Matthew – everything looks wonderful, but that bread knocked my socks off – well done!!!

Ce'nedra – love the buns!

Percyn – lovely burger and the addition of the egg is perfect! I would have loved to see some breakfast thread-style egg porn, though !

Dinner last night:

London Broil, tiny roasted potatoes, Southern green beans and garlic cheese bread. Confession: I didn't cook the meat. It is a Costco item that is already cooked and you just heat it up . Mr. Kim likes these a lot and they are tasty, if a bit tough (though, no tougher than the eye of round roast).

[BeeZee]

No photo, but it wasn't photogenic anyhow.

Mostly homemade enchiladas (Ortega canned enchilada sauce, green)...poached chicken in some really flavorful veg stock (enhanced with ancho chili, onion, garlic, celery). Sauteed chopped up zucchini with red bell pepper, garlic and added in the onion from the stock along with cumin. Shredded chicken, mixed with veggies, a bit of the enchilada sauce, and shredded jack cheese. Baked with remainder of sauce and cheese. Served with avocado/tomato salsa.

[MiFi]

Curry Butternut Squash Soup

with Pumpkin seed oil

Grilled Chicken w/Pea shoot green salad

Country Pate

Finished product

Homemade rustic bread

Scored from the inlaws

[Prawncrackers]

Glad to see that everyone is still cooking lovely stuff whilst i've been on holiday in Hong Kong! Easing myself back into the kitchen with some strictly Western stuff.

Ham Quiche, what really made this for me was the layer of caramelised shallots. Cheeses used were Cheddar, Tallegio and Parmesan. A really good combination:

Pork Chop with Chorizo Patatas and Pak Choy:

and tonight duck breast, sweet potato duck confit hash and red wine reduction. The hash was seriously good - i used a whole duck leg for each pattie!

[percyn]

Beautiful....and mouthwatering Prawncrackers.

[C. sapidus]

Gorgeous meals, Prawncrackers, thanks for sharing.

Dinner from My Bombay Kitchen: Goan fish curry made with coconut milk, fried onion, curry leaves, tamarind, and a masala of garlic, dried chiles, coriander, cumin, black peppercorns, and turmeric. Just before serving, we added chunks of fish and cooked until barely done. Oh, man, that was good.

Served with basmati rice pullao and stir-fried Swiss chard with ginger. Swiss chard is one of the few greens that the boys like.

[gini]

Mool mandoo (korean pork dumplings), with rice cakes, shredded beef, eggs, braised red cabbage, and sunflower greens in broth with soy sauce and sesame oil

Sorry for the bad phone camera.

[Dr. J]

nice pics prawn, can you put up the recipe for the hash?

thanks

[Prawncrackers]

nice pics prawn, can you put up the recipe for the hash?

thanks

No probs it's really simple, there's no recipe as such, i just made it up! I boiled some cubed sweet potato till soft. Drained and mashed then drove off some of the moisture on a gentle heat whilst i shredded some duck leg confit. I used two legs and a medium sized potato. There was definitely more duck than potato - about 60/40. Mixed them all together, season, formed into patties and chilled before frying in a little evoo and butter. They took about 10 mins on each side. I was surprised they held together so well and were lovely to eat. Maybe next time i'll add a rasp of nutmeg and toss them in a little flour and fry them harder to get a crispier finish. Or maybe you can try it before me.

[Dr. J]

awsome man, definately going to try that up next time i make some duck. I will take pics and post up. again great idea the duck with the sweet potato.

I actually made earlier in the week hawaiian style chicken and paired it up with sweet potato tempura and then I saw what you did and am definately intrigued.

Ill see what i come up with.

[MiFi]

Roast Chicken w/flageolet beans