Dinner! 2008

[C. sapidus]

Grilled swordfish steaks; new potatoes with cumin; and cauliflower with ginger, garlic, and chiles. All from Madhur Jaffrey's Quick & Easy Indian Cooking. Lots of cumin cayenne, and garam masala.

[Kim Shook]

Lisa2K – your pork buns are beautiful. Could you give us a recipe or some directions please? I’d love to make them!

I can vouch for that meat pie of Ted’s! Meat pie is one of my favorite comfort foods and I was so glad that Ted made it! It sent me back to VA very happy! I also have one of those little blackbird fellows. Mine doesn’t get the workout that Ted’s does, though!

Prawn – the monkfish is gorgeous! I am determined to try it sometime. I know that I will love it from the descriptions that I’ve heard of the taste and texture.

David – we, too, remember Green Goddess fondly. No homemade, perfectly seasoned sauce will do so well for our annual decorate the tree crudités in December. Walmart still carries Seven Seas Green Goddess – we get one bottle every year and savor it!

Bruce – I wish that I could get my roasted cauliflower that dark without being mushy. What temperature do you cook it at and do you start from raw?

Last night I made a big pot of ‘Sunday Gravy’ – a meaty, rich spaghetti sauce with pork, beef and Italian sausage. I served it over some really wonderful pappardelle – not fresh, but it tasted like it. The brand name is Cipriani – has anyone ever tried it? I also roasted some garlic and spread it over some good locally baked crusty bread, topped it with some fresh mozzarella and broiled it:

For those of you who visited my blog, please notice the sunshine that accompanies my dinner plate. I served supper before sundown. Proof that we don't always eat at 10!

[C. sapidus]

Bruce – I wish that I could get my roasted cauliflower that dark without being mushy.  What temperature do you cook it at and do you start from raw?

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Kim, no roasting - we stir-fried raw cauliflower until well-browned, and then steamed it with a little water. Recipe here (clicky).

Your dinner sounds delicious - tomato sauce with sausage and roasted garlic on anything are two of my favorites.

[Natho]

Pork medallions coated in sumac, 5 spice, salt and pepper, shallow fried with a blueberry, hoi sin, rice wine and lime dipping sauce, followed by stirfry of pork that had marinated in the rest of the dipping sauce plus more sumac and 5 spice, finely diced lime peel (with pith) fried with garlic, ginger, shallots,soy sauce, bok choi, water chestnuts and hokkien noodles, garnished with whole blueberries.

We had an ingredients list of noodles, hoi sin, pork, 5 spice, rice wine, water chestnuts, blueberries, sumac and lime that we had agreed on earlier and had to invent dishes from. It was amazing, every flavour type was covered, bitter from the fried lime peel and pith, sour from the lime juice, sweet from the blueberries, salty from the soy sauce, and hot (a little little bit) from the ginger and pepper, plus the textures where all covered, soft from the pork and berries, firm from the noodles and crunchy from the water chestnuts and bok choi stems.

[Prawncrackers]

Roasted Monkfish, crushed Jersey Royals, Baby Leaf Salad, Saffron Scallop Sauce.  This one was a winner all round 

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This dish is a stunner! Very nice indeed. Can you share the Saffron Scallop Sauce with us?

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Thanks David you're too kind. When i took the monkfish out of the freezer the night before and noticed a bag of scallop trimmings, so decided to use them. It was mostly skirt and the tough part of the abductor muscle, not good to eat but packed with scallop flavour. I knew i'd been saving it for a reason. It's basically a simple fish stock made with the scallop trimmings along with carrots, onion, celery, bay etc and also the monkfish bones. Sieved well to remove any grit, reduce a little with a pinch of saffron, season then mounted with some cold butter right at the end. It worked really well, the sauce was delicious and had a very professional looking sheen to it. I surprised myself because i'm not really into that old-fashioned buttery sauce thing but it went very well with the fish. Got half of the stock frozen for the next time too.

[suzilightning]

look what i found

marinated in a mix of mirin, garlic, herbs and lime vinaigrette. some sides...

the main dish off the grill

plated

something to drink?

[David Ross]

Finally, after our worst winter in over 50 years and record snowfall, we came out of the winter doldrums and are now seeing the wonder of Spring in Eastern Washington. That means fresh asparagus from Walla Walla.

I had some of the Green Goddess dressing leftover from the calamari dish a few days ago, so I used that as a sauce for the lamb.

I had never ventured into making a garlic custard-and I was taking a risk in adding some pureed asparagus. I was worried that the asparagus would water down the egg custard and wondered if I should add another egg yolk to give the custard more body. Rather than make that assumption, I didn't add any extra eggs to the recipe. I just poached about 3 stalks of asparagus, pureed it and then added it to the custard. Success! The custard had a subtle flavor of garlic and asparagus-subtle but not overpowering. Just enough.

I garnished the custard with some chives from the garden and a few sprinkles of an old standby-fried shallots that I buy in a big jar at the Asian market.

I grilled the zuchinni and then cut it in large dice and cured it with olive oil, salt, pepper, thyme and some lemon zest.

Here are the results, "Roast Rack of Lamb, Asparagus-Garlic Custard, Green Goddess Dressing, Grilled Zuchinni Salad."

[Lisa2k]

Lisa2K – your pork buns are beautiful.  Could you give us a recipe or some directions please?  I’d love to make them!

I can vouch for that meat pie of Ted’s!  Meat pie is one of my favorite comfort foods and I was so glad that Ted made it!  It sent me back to VA very happy!  I also have one of those little blackbird fellows.  Mine doesn’t get the workout that Ted’s does, though!

Prawn – the monkfish is gorgeous!  I am determined to try it sometime.  I know that I will love it from the descriptions that I’ve heard of the taste and texture.

David – we, too, remember Green Goddess fondly.  No homemade, perfectly seasoned sauce will do so well for our annual decorate the tree crudités in December.  Walmart still carries Seven Seas Green Goddess – we get one bottle every year and savor it!

Bruce – I wish that I could get my roasted cauliflower that dark without being mushy.  What temperature do you cook it at and do you start from raw?

Last night I made a big pot of ‘Sunday Gravy’ – a meaty, rich spaghetti sauce with pork, beef and Italian sausage.  I served it over some really wonderful pappardelle – not fresh, but it tasted like it.  The brand name is Cipriani – has anyone ever tried it?  I also roasted some garlic and spread it over some good locally baked crusty bread, topped it with some fresh mozzarella and broiled it:

For those of you who visited my blog, please notice the sunshine that accompanies my dinner plate.  I served supper before sundown.  Proof that we don't always eat at 10! 

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I just added it to the RecipeGullet, Kim. It can be searched for as 'Korean BBQ Pork Buns'. Once again..thank you!

[phatj]

Lamb curry with grape tomatoes and brown basmati rice:

[Dr. J]

Beautiful dishes Prawn and DRoss.

DRoss can you share the recipe for the salad dressing....looks awsome.

Great dishes suzi.....how was the difference in flavor of the kurobuta?

Here is my take on asparragus with beef. First time making the dish so have not perfected it yet.

[menuinprogress]

Lamb curry with grape tomatoes and brown basmati rice:

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I like the presentation with the rice in the middle - I'll have to give that a try. What kind of lamb curry was it?

[phatj]

I like the presentation with the rice in the middle - I'll have to give that a try. What kind of lamb curry was it?

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No "kind" really -- a mash-up of various recipes I've seen. Basically, it's leg of lamb meat & onions with a homemade version of the standard supermarket curry powder (I toasted & ground the spices myself) cooked in yogurt & coconut milk. I added the tomatoes right at the end, because I like tomatoes and it seemed like a good idea. Pretty far from any traditional Indian or SE Asian curry I suppose but I liked it.

[David Ross]

Beautiful dishes Prawn and DRoss. 

DRoss can you share the recipe for the salad dressing....looks awsome.

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From what I found when I was searching for Green Goddess recipes, the traditional dish always included anchovy and tarragon wine vinegar. The tarragon wine vinegar gives Green Goddess that characteristic snappy taste. Without it, you basically have a creamy green herb dressing.

You can change things up and still stay within the flavor boundaries of what I would call Green Goddess. In the Calamari and Lamb dishes above, I added cilantro to the basic recipe.

Sometimes for a salad I'll add chunks of Bleu Cheese after the dressing has been mixed. Serve "Green Goddess and Bleu" on a chilled wedge of Iceberg and you have a different take on today's popular Iceberg Wedge with Bleu Cheese Dressing.

1 clove garlic, chopped

3 tablespoons anchovy paste

3 tablespoons finely snipped chives

1/3 cup finely snipped parsley

1 tablespoon fresh-squeezed lemon juice

3 tablespoons tarragon wine vinegar

1/2 cup sour cream

1 cup mayonnaise

Salt and pepper to taste

Add the garlic, anchovy paste, chives, parsley, lemon juice, tarragon vinegar, sour cream and mayonnaise to a blender. Mix on high speed until the ingredients are incorporated. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Keep the dressing refrigerated, covered, until ready to use.

[suzilightning]

My Mother used to buy Green Goddess Salad Dressing, I think Wishbone brand, when I was a kid in the 60's-70's.  For some reason, a few years ago as I approached 50, I turned back to many of the foods of my youth.  I searched and searched for Green Goddess and couldn't find a single bottle in any major market.  I've found it in specialty markets, but it doesn't taste anything like what I remebered. 

A few years back I found a recipe online and I've been using it ever since.  This time I added some extra "green" to the Green Goddess by adding some cilantro.  I added a bit more tarragon vinegar than I prefer, but the extra tang in the dressing helped cut through the richness of the fried calamari and those butter-dipped breadsticks you see in the background.  Enjoy.

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david - here's mine from recipe gullet.

[monavano]

Here's a salad made with shaved country ham, pears, shaved Pecorino, toasted walnuts, evoo and pepper. Patrick O'Connell of The Inn At Little Washington recently gave

this recipe to the Washington Post-I used what I had on hand (Pecorino) could buy (endive, for a peppery green-no baby arugula). Most importantly, I used Calhoun's Country Ham, which O'Connell has been using for years. I am very fortunate that I can get the ham at my local farmers market in Alexandria, VA.!

Edited April 27, 2008 by monavano (log)

[NoNiceTime]

Bitter Mellon w/ egg whites and black beans

[Priscilla]

Yesterday, Mark Morris Dance Group matinee, return to find yes, yay, the oven time bake had indeed worked because the chicken was a-roasting nicely.

Really good salad mix from my favorite farmer's market vendor, even the little beet tops taste great which is SO not the case w/most such mixes, sluiced w/a little of the chicken juices to supplement olive oil, Balsamic & c.

Couple little Hass avocados from Ivan's parents' tree, gotta keep after 'em there're so many.

Not-bad baguette from Lee's Sandwiches, where we'd had breakfast that morning. Good garnacha recommended by the guy at the wine store, after a little cold Riesling outside letting the temp fall out of the 90s.

[nakji]

Wow! That looks really good. The egg-whites look like ground pork - it seems like this would be a slightly healthier version of bitter melon with pork. Does it taste similar?

I've decided to try and do at least one main-dish salad a week for the summer, since it suits my crazy schedule to eat something lighter for dinner, and its too warm for hot soup now. Also, I just got an awesome new salad spinner and dressing shaker, and I have to justify its purchase. I made a basic salad with sherry vinegar dressing, some lardons (from a charcuterie place in Kamakura) and a poached egg. Lots of crusty bread to soak up the dressing, and you've got a perfect meal.

[Dejah]

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THAT is my favourite breakfast - with President's Choice mango dressing. No bread or lardons. Good for weight watchers diet.

[Daniel]

Last night made red snapper and shrimp ceviche.. Ceviche consisted of lime,cream,horseradish, garlic, red onion, a shot of Mexican crema, red onion and cilantro... It was loosely stolen from something I ate at Douglas Rodriguez's place..

Next up was chickpea, squid, and smoked Portuguese Chorico, in a spicy paprika broth.. For the broth started with garlic, added Italian Red Pepper Paste, then a few cups of fish stock and a ton of sweet paprika.. Added the chickpea....Added the grilled chorico and the squid.. It was a wonderful dish..

Cheese course of 4 cheeses, homemade raspberry tart with ice cream and a 79' Pedro Ximenez to end..

Edited April 30, 2008 by Daniel (log)

[Kim Shook]

David - I love garlic custards. Everyone is so impressed with them, but they are so easy. Glad to know about the asparagus idea!

Lisa - thank you so much for posting the bun recipe!

nakji - that salad looks great. I can see that as a frequent meal at our house this summer.

Daniel - I'd love to pull my chair up to that table! It all sounds fantastic!

Dinner on Monday night started with a romaine and frisee salad with some kind of vinaigrette (I have a half a dozen leftover from the blog, but I have no idea which is which - so we just tasted them and put the one that appealed on the salad:

I made Grilled Five-Spice chicken from Pleasures of the Vietnamese Table. This was recommended by Bruce and I had intended to make it for my blog, but somehow I ran out of time . All three of us loved it. It is so fragrant and subtly spicy. You also make a Soy-Lime dipping sauce which was awesome! I served it with Coconut Orzo (like rice, but made with orzo) - it was good, but not quite what I expected. It didn't taste that much different from regular orzo. The chicken and sauce:

Plated with the orzo:

Last night, inspired by this thread,I thawed some Short Sugar's (a Reidsville, NC bbq joint) that I had gotten when I last visited my grandmother. I also got a gallon of their sauce and canned it - heaven on a plate! I also had some leftover baked potatoes from work, which I fried with onions and some corn, mustard slaw and Campari tomatoes:

[Sabrosita]

Was feeling lazy while I started dinner last night and ended up with a fun solution to my laziness problem: Decunstructed Vietnamese Summer Rolls.

Shrimp on a bed of rice noodles, topped with homemade peanut sauce, basil, mint and a drizzle of sriracha.

[Daniel]

Has some friends over last night for dinner.. We picked up some stuff from the green market yesterday and were excited to cook with them..

Funny enough, the guys from Ottomanelli's were given a bunch of bluefish from someone who works there.. So when I went to go in to pick up the newly arrived peanut fed pork chops, they also handed me this 4.5 pound bluefish..

We started with blue fish ceviche.. Just like the recipe I had made the prior night.. Spicy with garlic, a solid dish.. The bluefish being caught at 4 o clock that morning helped.. Paired this with a really wonderful Sake..

This is how it ended up.

Next up was a salad made with a collection of microgreens.. There was corn shoots and all sorts of things.. I think like 10 different things.. I loved the salad.. Served with these chicken eggs we bought there.. Very small blue shells?

Light dressing of this Spanish Olive oil and sherry vinegar. But when the egg ran, it just became amazing.. The yolk was frothy...

Think I am some sort of animale and am not going to show the runny yolk..

Bought this homemade style pasta.. Cooked with ramps, guanciale, and parm..

Peanut Fed Berkshire Pork..

Served with the chickpea, squid, and chorico spicy paprika stew I had the prior night for dinner..

Pretty outstanding..

A pretty nice looking Murrays Cheese plate served with PX '79

For dessert we had a maple marscapone cheese cake.. Will add photo later if I can pull it out of my phone..

I came home from work last night at 630 and we were ready for dinner by 8:00 Tonight, I am having a salad...

Edited May 1, 2008 by Daniel (log)

[daisy17]

Daniel, I am free to come over for dinner any night. Question for you on the pasta - did you blanch the ramps first? Have been playing with them, and can't decide if it's necessary. You cooked the leaves too?

[C. sapidus]

Kim Shook: mmm, five-spice chicken.

Daniel, looks delicious, especially the pork. I have not tried bluefish ceviche – how did you like it compared with other fish?

Crying tiger with nam jim gaew, som tum Issan, sticky rice, and eternal cucumbers. The boys each polished off a strip steak; Mrs. C and I split one between us. More on Thai Cooking at Home (clicky).

Note the paper plate – our crappy Whirlpool dishwasher died for the fifth and last time in its accursed two-year existence. It is probably repairable (again), but we are tired of the routine. Any company that releases such lousy products will get no more of our business.