Dinner! 2008

[Ted Fairhead]

Wednesday dinner;

Desperately trying to find an appetizing way to cook the lousy and ubiquitous pork which is all that is available to us here in the culinary wastelands, I tried Lydia's Pork Scallopini as seen on her PBS show last Sunday.

It was very "acceptable" (!) even though I had run out of Marsala and had to use Madeira for the sauce instead. Shown served with french green beans.

Thursday.

Tonight I had a hankering for curry and made it up as I went along. Lamb, lots of curry powder, raisins, small amount of apple, toasted shredded coconut, a stock sauce thickened with cornstarch. Not very authentic but it amply filled a need.

[nakji]

I do this all the time, too! Sometime if I want to make it low fat, I use nuoc cham as the dressing instead. It's great packed in a lunch box for the next day, too, if your co-workers don't mind the smell of fish sauce too much.

Daniel, that meal made me sulky. Why can't I cook like that? I can barely manage to put the salad together.

Ted Fairhead, your curry looks comforting.

[David Ross]

Spring is finally here in the Northwest. Tonight I did Braised Chicken with Spring Vegetables and Bowtie Pasta.

I browned the chicken pieces and then braised them in a liquid made of white wine, chicken stock, thyme and preserved lemons. (I started the preserved lemons last week).

The vegetables included baby carrots, peas, local asparagus and morel mushrooms. Unfortunately, I couldn't stand to pay $65.00 per pound for fresh morels so I used dried and they worked just fine.

The forest fires the previous Summer have an impact on the Spring morel crop. If the fires are severe, we tend to have a large crop of morels-the fires carry the mushroom spores through the wind-nature's way of seeding the new crop of morels. But last summer the fires were not as intense as in previous years, so our fresh morels are not as abundant this year. Thus, the ridiculously high price.

Here is a closeup shot of the dish brought to the table family style in one big bowl:

And a shot of an individual serving:

[Pille]

For two nights in a row now, we've had pasta with wild garlic pesto for dinner - totally addictive!

I guess I'm off to pick some more tonight (but first I'm off to my U.S. Visa interview )

Edited May 2, 2008 by Pille (log)

[pups224]

IHow was the peanut fed pork? was it nice and porky or bland. I've had the pata negra acorn fed pork which was the best meat i've ever had (even Luger steak in the old days). Also where did you get the micro greens? The only place I see them is Fresh Direct.

Thanks!

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...

←

[Daniel]

The pork had wonderful marbling to it.. It was really juicy, a little sweeter then normal pork.. It was some of the best quality pork I have ever had.. Needless to say, I just took a few pieces of pork and plated it like this for a photo.. Everyone got a whole chop.. Also, I feel bad about the photo because the top piece was an end.. But hey, the fact that I got a photo off was pretty impressive.. Haha..

The greens are from Wynngate farms at the greenmarket in Manhattan.. I am embarassed to say how much that costs at retail.. One of the more memorable salads I have had however.

Also, in terms of bluefish ceviche.. Bluefish and Monk are my two favorites to cevicherize.. They hold up texturally really well..

Edited May 2, 2008 by Daniel (log)

[C. sapidus]

Peppered shrimp (camarones a la pimienta), chile Poblano and red bell pepper rajas, and shortcut Mexican red rice.

[Ce'nedra]

That chicken looks amazing Ce'nedra! Would you mind providing the recipe?

←

"If I asked you twice and begged you pretty please...?"

←

REALLY sorry for the belated reply guys Have had much to do...

My recipe is fairly vague as there are no real measurements so sorry again for that...but I think it's something you can work out anyway, hopefully

1 tsp five-spice powder

8 drumsticks

salt

sugar

soy sauce

fish sauce

crushed garlic

water

* I know this isn't specific but there should be a good deal of soy sauce and fish sauce!

Maybe this could help...

Marinade for at least 2 hrs in the fridge.

Pan-fry the drumsticks (both sides obviously) until well browned. At this point, mix the remaining marinade sauce with some water (I'd say enough to allow the mixture to reach approx. 1/2 the width of the drumsticks).

Taste and season with salt/sugar accordingly.

Let the drumsticks simmer in the mixure until the sauce boils, in which it will soon reduce and thicken.

Serve with steamed rice (spooning the delicious bronze sauce over)

[Pille]

I saw some pickled Peppadew peppers in a grocery store yesterday, so I immediately had to buy some (last time I saw these on sale was 2 years ago in Scotland!). These became our starter:

For dinner, we seasoned a pork loin with Nomu African Rub mix, then plaited it, seared quickly on a frying pan and roasted in the oven. With some salad leaves from the patio, it made a very decent main course:

And some panna cotta for dessert

[monavano]

Frittata with kielbasa, ramps and cheese

potatoes, onions and green peppers

herb salad with balsamic, honey and spiced apricot mustard vinaigrette

[demiglace]

I've never seen a plaited loin..very nice looking! Was it difficult to do? Your meal is wonderful..I'd like a taste

I saw some pickled Peppadew peppers in a grocery store yesterday, so I immediately had to buy some (last time I saw these on sale was 2 years ago in Scotland!). These became our starter:

For dinner, we seasoned a pork loin with Nomu African Rub mix, then plaited it, seared quickly on a frying pan and roasted in the oven. With some salad leaves from the patio, it made a very decent main course:

And some panna cotta for dessert 

←

[Pille]

I've never seen a plaited loin..very nice looking! Was it difficult to do? Your meal is wonderful..I'd like a taste 

For dinner, we seasoned a pork loin with Nomu African Rub mix, then plaited it, seared quickly on a frying pan and roasted in the oven. With some salad leaves from the patio, it made a very decent main course:

←

←

Thank you, Demiglace! No, it wasn't difficult at all. I had a 450 g fillet, which I cut into three lenghtwise (leaving it intact in one end). Then 'massaged' all three parts with the Nomu dry rub marinade, then plaited it. Quickly browned it on a frying pan in some oil, then 15 minutes at 150 Celsius in my oven.

[azzar]

I was moving house - and all the helpers needed feeding, so I cooked them Moving House Leftovers. A big pea and roast garlic soup (found 2 litres of chicken stock at the back of the old freezer, and a lot of parmesan). I made a huge caesar salad-plus, with grilled chicken (more back of the freezer stuff), some very old but expensive bottled anchovies and some lovely young cos lettuce and new English asparagus.

I found a recipe on an A4 sheet on the floor when we'd finished clearing the kitchen - it seemed propitious, so I cooked that as well. It was a note from a Morroccan named Hassan (when? where?) and it described how he took the newest baby new potatoes, bashed them with a bottle to crack them, and then let them sizzle gently in a heavy, covered pot in a quarter inch of olive oil for half an hour. With a handful of roughly ground coriander seed. Then, when they'd cooled a bit, he stirred in a glass of red wine, and let them sit for another half hour.

Anyone heard of that? Is it Moroccan? it was fantastic.

[C. sapidus]

Dinner party for ten, mostly Parsi dishes from My Bombay Kitchen. Clockwise from the top: chicken tikka kabaabs with garlic marinade; cilantro-mint-coconut chutney; mango-cucumber-red bell pepper salad; braised mustard greens and spinach with tomato; twice-cooked lamb; and seared ginger raita. Pulao made with lamb stock in the center.

Not surviving to this morning’s picture: salmon with maple-mustard-ginger glaze; potato and scallion pancakes with garam masala; stir-fried okra; store-bought sorbets; and kamikazes.

[nakji]

That looks like a fantasy thali, Bruce! In the seared ginger raita, was the ginger cooked before adding it to the yogurt? It sounds fantastic, there aren't enough yogurt-based condiments in my life, frankly.

Last night I got home after a long weekend of eating in Tokyo, and I had to cook something simple out of the cupboards, since we had virtually no fresh food sitting around. I always keep a can of tomatoes and a pack of pasta on hand for just such emergencies. I found a few strips of orphaned bacon at the back of the fridge, and made my cheapskate version of pasta amatriciana. There was a grumpy looking broccoli in my crisper as well, the green buds just about to go over to yellow, so I knew I had to do something about it. I stir-fried it in olive oil with garlic and lemon, and then I remembered MoGa's tip in the Champagne tastes, Beer budget thread about using panko as a topping rather than parmensan. So I sauteed some in a little butter and olive oil, and topped it with that. It's my new favourite vegetable dish! People who don't like eating vegetables clearly aren't adding enough fat and carbs to them, in my opinion. It must be a corollary of the "Bacon Makes Everything Better" rule.

[percyn]

Dinner party for ten, mostly Parsi dishes from My Bombay Kitchen. Clockwise from the top: chicken tikka kabaabs with garlic marinade; cilantro-mint-coconut chutney; mango-cucumber-red bell pepper salad; braised mustard greens and spinach with tomato; twice-cooked lamb; and seared ginger raita.  Pulao made with lamb stock in the center.

Not surviving to this morning’s picture: salmon with maple-mustard-ginger glaze; potato and scallion pancakes with garam masala; stir-fried okra; store-bought sorbets; and kamikazes.

←

VERY nice Bruce....and I'll assume my invitation was lost in the mail

[monavano]

Sausage, carmelized spring onion and fresh mozzerella pizza. I baked it at 475 degrees for 8 minutes after heating up the pizza stone for about an hour. It really helped to do that.

[tupac17616]

pan-roasted duck leg and duck fat fried potatoes with quatre épices

Moroccan spiced chickpea soup with harissa and a fried egg

campanelle alla carbonara

[Pille]

New Potatoes with Wild Garlic (aka ramson), Radish, Cottage Cheese and Kefir Salad:

Some Coconut & Rhubarb Ripple for dessert (as posted in the rhubarb thread).

[C. sapidus]

In the seared ginger raita, was the ginger cooked before adding it to the yogurt? It sounds fantastic, there aren't enough yogurt-based condiments in my life, frankly.

nakji, thanks! The raita uses raw and cooked ginger. Start by mixing mixing finely-chopped ginger with whisked yogurt and salt. Next, sizzle a split chile or two, curry leaves, and julienned ginger in hot oil. When the ginger has browned, toss brown mustard seeds into the hot oil until they pop, and then mix everything with the yogurt. Rest for at least a half hour, check salt, and add cilantro if you like.

(edited to add cilantro)

People who don't like eating vegetables clearly aren't adding enough fat and carbs to them, in my opinion.

←

VERY nice Bruce....and I'll assume my invitation was lost in the mail 

←

percyn, thank you very much. Um, yeah, lost in the mail. Darned USPS.

Edited May 5, 2008 by C. sapidus (log)

[SobaAddict70]

Pasta with turnip greens, toasted breadcrumbs and anchovies.

So simple, so delicious. *sigh*

[Dr. J]

Had a friend come and visit me in chicago. So i made a nice meal for her. Not the best pictures becuase I tried my best to make sure things were served at the best temperature possible.

First pic is breatfast of the day.

French toast with potato salad.

Dinner.

Mixed green salad with fruits.

Pumpkin ravioli with vodka sauce and pesto.

Scallop cooked in butter served on top of a tempura shizo leaf and topped with the Green Goddess sauce from one of David Ross's recipies and some masago. Sauce came out great. The plan was to foam it up, however I did not have time to mess with it. I made the sauce exactly as the recipe stated except I added some heavy cream to smooth it out since the scallop was cooked in butter. I also put a small peace of mandarin orange to replicate the look of a scallop off the shell.

The main course was Wagyu rib eye. Very tasty, it was probably a 4 or 5 marble rating. Definately worth the price. Topped with fried onion rings and bernaise sauce which is not pictured. Great combo the fried onion rings/bernaise/steak. Next to the beef is some king crab which I served with some potato infused clarified butter.

[kayswv]

There was a grumpy looking broccoli in my crisper as well, the green buds just about to go over to yellow, so I knew I had to do something about it. I stir-fried it in olive oil with garlic and lemon, and then I remembered MoGa's tip in the Champagne tastes, Beer budget thread about using panko as a topping rather than parmensan. So I sauteed some in a little butter and olive oil, and topped it with that. It's my new favourite vegetable dish!

←

Nakji,

I have been looking for the Champagne tastes, Beer budget thread but can't find it. Would you please post the link to it as I love collecting these ideas. Your broccoli looks wonderful and broccoli was on sale this week and I have a lot of that and also cauliflower for which I have wonderful ideas, past roasting, all from this thread.

Thanks, Kay

[nakji]

There was a grumpy looking broccoli in my crisper as well, the green buds just about to go over to yellow, so I knew I had to do something about it. I stir-fried it in olive oil with garlic and lemon, and then I remembered MoGa's tip in the Champagne tastes, Beer budget thread about using panko as a topping rather than parmensan. So I sauteed some in a little butter and olive oil, and topped it with that. It's my new favourite vegetable dish!

←

Nakji,

I have been looking for the Champagne tastes, Beer budget thread but can't find it. Would you please post the link to it as I love collecting these ideas. Your broccoli looks wonderful and broccoli was on sale this week and I have a lot of that and also cauliflower for which I have wonderful ideas, past roasting, all from this thread.

Thanks, Kay

←

Clickety. It took me forever to find it again, actually, it was in "Food Traditions" and not "Cooking".

Thanks, it was really delicious, my husband and I were fighting with our forks to get it all.

ETA:

Bruce, thanks for the directions! I'll definitely be trying that out, especially since there are three kinds of ginger on sale at the supermarket now, and I hate to waste ginger diversity.

Dr. J: Damn. Did you have time to do anything other than cook? Only...potato salad with French toast? How does that taste?

Edited May 6, 2008 by nakji (log)

[NoNiceTime]

Cinco De Mayo dinner Fish Tacos