Dinner! 2008

[Chris Hennes]

SanaaSol that gnocchi looks great. I've had trouble making gnocchi recently, but maybe I should give it another go.

Tonight I had essentially the same thing as last Thursday, except this time with a ribeye instead of the lamb, and taking the plating suggestion given here of putting the brussel sprouts in their own dish. I'm much happier with the more "rustic" presentation here, which I think is better suited to this meal:

[purplewiz]

The only good thing about early daylight savings time is that I don't have to grill in the dark anymore. And grilling is one of the things inspiring me to cook these days. Pork roasts were on sale at the grocery store, so I did a little one on the grill:

Plated with mustard sauce and grilled zucchini spears:

Marcia.

[C. sapidus]

Tossed salad with Romaine lettuce, cucumbers, red bell peppers, and jicama. Asiago cheese bread (store-bought). Chipotle meatballs.

[jayejo]

This thread never ceases to amaze me! Here's my contribution. The steak is just cheap eye of the round steaks marinated in soy, wasabi, ginger and chili garlic sauce. Potatoes were just boiled until tender and then put into a pan with sea salt, black pepper and olive oil. Plain old sauteed spinach on the bottom.

[Dr. J]

Thanks a lot for the compliment david. I appreciate the imput.

Kim I love the dish by your daughter. Totally got me in the mood for that pasta, ill make it this weekend.

Can you share some info on the brocoli flan Ann?

Been eating out a lot so no pics to post.

[Priscilla]

Last night, hummus topped with seasoned ground beef in addition to parsley and olive oil, the hummus my longtime usual, the topping from a long-ago very good Saveur article on hummus history and variations. Farmer's market chopped salad w/romaine, purple onion, tomato, Bulgarian feta, lemon juice, olive oil, parsley. Fresh pita.

[SanaaSol]

Shelby, Chris - Thank you!

The pre-packaged were good, although they have a slight tang to them

Still good though.

I'm too chicken to make gnocchi myself, but it's on my list of things to try sometime this year, lol.

←

these looks so amazing....

[C. sapidus]

SanaaSol, thank you!

Tonight we made chicken with holy basil and jasmine rice. The boys liked the chicken (well, except for the basil . . .), but it wasn’t my favorite version – the flavors were a bit too gentle.

We also made grilled shrimp salad with green mango and Thai emeralds dressing. I love the combination of sweet shrimp, sour mango, fresh mint, crunchy Romaine lettuce, with the dressing of lime juice, fish sauce, cilantro stems, bird chiles, brown sugar, and lots of garlic, all whizzed up in the blender.

[rooftop1000]

I cooked I cooked...yeah its been a while this was Sunday's Sauerbratten with spaetzle, red cabbage and cookie sauce

and tonight as opposit as you can get, a screaming rare dry aged ribeye right off the grill along with a honey-soy marinated quail as a cooks snack while the steaks rest

oh and some tomato cuke salad and grilled Italian bread for dippin in drippins

tracey

Edited March 15, 2008 by rooftop1000 (log)

[Ce'nedra]

Tossed salad with Romaine lettuce, cucumbers, red bell peppers, and jicama. Asiago cheese bread (store-bought). Chipotle meatballs.

←

I love love love jicama and I too have recently made meatballs with -yep- jicama! Your version looks so darn good -I can just imagine the explosion of flavour with all those lashings of delicious (was it spicy?) sauce!

We were really hungry one night and wanted a fairly quick and simple dinner and meatballs are just one of those foods that's easy on the stomach for everyone. This version would be called 'siu mai'.

Steaming...

Sauce please!

With crusty bread

[C. sapidus]

I love love love jicama and I too have recently made meatballs with -yep- jicama! Your version looks so darn good -I can just imagine the explosion of flavour with all those lashings of delicious (was it spicy?) sauce!

Ce’nedra, thank you! The chipotle-tomato sauce was definitely spicy, but I thought it needed something. Next time I will probably jazz it up with onions, tomatillos, or perhaps some warm spices like cinnamon and cloves.

This was my first time making meatballs in a food processor. We only have a mini-processor, which I overloaded and consequently overprocessed the meatballs, so the texture wasn’t the best. Live and learn.

We were really hungry one night and wanted a fairly quick and simple dinner and meatballs are just one of those foods that's easy on the stomach for everyone. This version would be called 'siu mai'.

←

Your siu mai, OTOH, look nice and delicate. How did you like the jicama in your siu mai – did it stay crunchy?

[suzilightning]

I cooked I cooked...yeah its been a while this was Sunday's Sauerbratten with spaetzle, red cabbage and cookie sauce

tracey

←

oh, god, tracey. that looks so absolutely freakin wonderful. i can almost smell that gravy.

[Nishla]

Bruce and Ce'nedra, those meatballs look awesome.

Tracey, I totally want that steak and quail.

I've got a few more dishes from the last week or so...

We picked up some lardo, served on grilled bread rubbed with garlic

Seared scallops with baby brussels sprouts and sunchoke puree. This was our first time using sunchokes at home, and they were super tasty. There's also some buddha's hand grated on top of the scallops. We got one just to see what it was like, and it keeps perfectly in the freezer, ready for grating whenever you want some citrusy zest.

Roast chicken stuffed with blood orange slices and fennel

Tofu salad, dressed with oyster sauce, red bell pepper, scallions, sesame seeds and red pepper flakes. I made the mistake of buying soft tofu instead of silken, but it was still pretty good.

We got a dry-aged ribeye from Whole Foods, served with sauteed mushrooms, mashed potatoes and a salad. The steak was incredibly good, very rich and flavorful.

Edited March 15, 2008 by Nishla (log)

[Dejah]

I love love love jicama and I too have recently made meatballs with -yep- jicama! Your version looks so darn good -I can just imagine the explosion of flavour with all those lashings of delicious (was it spicy?) sauce!

Ce’nedra, thank you! The chipotle-tomato sauce was definitely spicy, but I thought it needed something. Next time I will probably jazz it up with onions, tomatillos, or perhaps some warm spices like cinnamon and cloves.

This was my first time making meatballs in a food processor. We only have a mini-processor, which I overloaded and consequently overprocessed the meatballs, so the texture wasn’t the best. Live and learn.

We were really hungry one night and wanted a fairly quick and simple dinner and meatballs are just one of those foods that's easy on the stomach for everyone. This version would be called 'siu mai'.

←

Your siu mai, OTOH, look nice and delicate. How did you like the jicama in your siu mai – did it stay crunchy?

←

I didn't realize these "naked pork meatballs" would be called siu mai. In my experience siu mai is incased in a wrapper but open top.

The jicama would be a substitue for the crunch of waterchestnuts? Would it add a slightly sweet taste that would be missing in canned waterchestnut?

What kind of sauce did you use? A chili one?

Have you tried to make the beef meatballs - those springy ones served as dim sum?

[SanaaSol]

I was feeling under the weather...didn't go shopping...so tonight's meal was more of a pantry / clean-out-the fridge type deal:

I had a huge bunch of collard greens that I hadn't used yet and I didn't want them to go bad.

Ginger salmon cakes & soy glazed collards

I just cut the greens into thin strips and cooked them down with fresh ginger, oyster sauce, soy, red pepper flakes, lime juice, brown sugar and a little water...

[David Ross]

Tonight I made Chicken Breast with a Sweet and Sour Sauce, served with Preserved Cucumber, Pickled Shallots, Steamed Turnips and Steamed Rice:

[jayejo]

Top Chef inspired me this week! Cheese soufflé. It sure doesn't look pretty when plated though. Another argument for individual soufflé dishes...

[Doodad]

I had a bit of a windfall so we splurged. I got a big cote de bouef steak and cooked "Yabba Dabba Do" from the French Laundry cookbook. Steak was topped with sauted hen of the woods mushrooms and bourdelaise sauce. Potatoes were mashed with garlic confit and truffle cream. Topped with gruyere and baked in ramekins. Fresh bread, tomato salad on the side. And a 2003 Silver Oak which was awesome! I had never had it and have some left today for dinner.

Dessert was fresh strawberries and cream over pound cake.

Won't happen again anytime soon, but dang it was good.

Edited March 16, 2008 by Doodad (log)

[Chris Hennes]

I had a bit of a windfall so we splurged.  I got a big cote de bouef steak and cooked "Yabba Dabba Do" for the French Laundry cookbook.  Steak was topped with sauted hen of the woods mushrooms and bourdelaise sauce.  Potatoes were mashed with garlic confit and truffle cream.  Topped with gruyere and baked in ramekins.  Fresh bread, tomato salad on the side.  And a 2003 Silver Oak which was awesome!  I had never had it and have some left today for dinner.

Dessert was fresh strawberries and cream over pound cake.

Won't happen again anytime soon, but dang it was good.

←

NO PICTURES?!? It sounds incredible.

[Doodad]

NO PICTURES?!?    It sounds incredible.

←

It was getting late what with the tornadoes keeping us leery during the day and we were starved. I had the camera for the storms and dinner, but in the end it was just eating. Sorry.

[Chris Hennes]

My wife is back out of town, so tonight's extravagance was sous vide duck breast with peas and pancetta, on roasted cauliflower puree. I seared off the duck skin and cut it into shards, served atop the duck:

[Nishla]

My wife is back out of town, so tonight's extravagance was sous vide duck breast with peas and pancetta, on roasted cauliflower puree. I seared off the duck skin and cut it into shards, served atop the duck:

←

Ooooooh, crispy duck skin...the whole dish looks fantastic.

What did you use in the cauliflower puree? I like how it keeps its shape and doesn't run all over the place.

[Chris Hennes]

Ooooooh, crispy duck skin...the whole dish looks fantastic.

What did you use in the cauliflower puree?  I like how it keeps its shape and doesn't run all over the place.

←

Thanks, I was quite pleased with it. The cauliflower puree started with the roasted cauliflower recipe in RecipeGullet, then added a bit of cream to bind it together, but not so much that it turned liquid. I had never had roasted cauliflower before, it was wonderful.

[HappyLab]

Some recent dinners:

Lao Curry Chicken (Gang Phet) cooked my wonderful girlfriend:

In the pot:

On top of a bed of rice:

Spice Roasted Chicken with Potatoes, Penang Style from Cradle of Flavor:

[austramerica]

My wife is back out of town, so tonight's extravagance was sous vide duck breast with peas and pancetta, on roasted cauliflower puree. I seared off the duck skin and cut it into shards, served atop the duck:

Looks delish, Chris!!! I love duck with crispy skins...

For tonight's dinner. I made use of DH's tomato salsa and mixed it with a few other vegetables and some slices of sausage, mixed it with three eggs, spooned in coffee cups and steamed for 20 minutes. I served it with a few slices of sourdough. Sorry there wasn't any pictures as by the time I finished putting them in serving trays (for dinner in front of the tv) hubby said he couldn't spare his tummy a few more minutes for the photoshoot.

austramerica