Dinner! 2008

[C. sapidus]

Pollo en adobo: Poached chicken thighs, baked with a sauce of ancho and pasilla chiles, garlic, vinegar, sugar, S&P, and topped with chile seeds. Perhaps it was Chufi’s southwestern tour, but I had been craving ancho chiles for days. I hope to make enchiladas with the leftover sauce. Served with heated flour tortillas.

Tipsy carrots: Parboiled carrots, baked with melted butter, brown sugar, warm spices, and rum.

Spinach with ginger and green chiles: OK, this is an Indian dish, but we didn’t get time to make it last night.

[Country]

Breakfast for dinner 

Fromage blanc and chive omelette

Roasted root vegetables (fingerling potatoes, red and white carrots, olive oil, sea salt)

Sliced heirloom tomatoes

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Soba, That's really beautiful - and, I bet, tasty.

[isomer]

Ok, well the plan wasn't for this to be dinner, but you know what happens when you bake a delicious bread!

This is the Basic Hearth Loaf from Rose Levy Beranbaum's "The Bread Bible". I made two alterations. First, I added onion seeds (kalonji) which gives it a wonderful savoury taste, and second, I baked it in a dutch oven. I picked up that idea from the Cook's Illustrated almost no-knead bread recipe.

Edited October 27, 2008 by isomer (log)

[Jmahl]

While listening to the "Splended Table" Lynn Rossetto Kasper's radio program on NPR I was inspired to try these

butternut squash ravioli with sage butter sauce.

The results were worth the work.

Jmahl

P.S. isomer, beautiful bread.

[C. sapidus]

Indian tonight:

Chicken and potatoes in spicy red sauce (lal shorve vala murgh): ginger-garlic paste, dried chiles, chopped tomatoes, and a cupboard full of spices. Nice flavors, but I should have reduced the sauce more. Served with warm whole-wheat tortillas.

Green peas in creamy sauce (matar makhani): sizzled cumin and mustard seeds with a sauce of heavy cream, tomato paste, lemon juice, cilantro, chiles, cayenne, ground cumin, and a little sugar. A definite make-again.

[SobaAddict70]

Thanks Country.

Monkfish congee

The best part is there's 2 quarts leftover and it freezes well.

[racheld]

French onion bread pudding:

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I've been sorta wordless lately, and now I'm completely mute.

[suzilightning]

kim love the pimento cheese

saturday after work and here is the sauerbrauten braising in it's marinade with some onions and yellow carrots.

the stovetop with everything ready to plate

ready for the gingersnap gravy. meat, red cabbage, mash and homemade applesauce.

[SobaAddict70]

Lovely bread, isomer.

Pan-roasted monkfish

Crushed Adirondack blue potatoes with butter and herbs

Skillet tomatoes

Sort of an experiment that turned out ok. I don't think it photographed well though. I could've probably seared the fish a bit longer.

[Daniel]

Came home after a 5 hour delay.. Miss A cooked this up...

Edited October 29, 2008 by Daniel (log)

[isomer]

Masoor Dal (Black Lentils) w/Lamb

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That sounds fantastic! I'm going to have to give this a try.

Y'all are being quite inspiring here!

[rooftop1000]

saturday after work and here is the sauerbrauten braising in it's marinade with some onions and yellow carrots.

ready for the gingersnap gravy.  meat, red cabbage, mash and homemade applesauce.

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Suzy

What brand of Gingersnaps do you use?

I was using Archway but they just went out of business.....

tracey

[Carlo A. Balistrieri]

Soba,

Tell me about that Monkfish Congee. Recipe? (Sorry if it's posted elsewhere). Looks great, love seafood, nice to have it in the freezer for ...later.

[menuinprogress]

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.

[heidih]

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.

[SobaAddict70]

Soba,

Tell me about that Monkfish Congee. Recipe? (Sorry if it's posted elsewhere). Looks great, love seafood, nice to have it in the freezer for ...later.

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Recipe is on my blog.

Congee is rice porridge. Proportions are 1 cup of rice to 9 cups of water or broth. I prefer water because I'm going for a neutral canvas if that makes any sense. Cook on an ultra-low heat setting for 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until the rice grains break down. If it gets too thick, add more water.

You can make congee from raw uncooked rice or use leftover cooked rice.

Some people advocate leaving the congee alone (as in don't stir, because if you do, you'll need to stir occasionally to keep it from sticking). Others, like my mom, say that if you need to add liquid, pour from near the side of the pot instead of haphazardly. I don't follow those guidelines.

For this batch of congee, I added a handful of thinly sliced ginger and a dash of white pepper to the pot as the rice was cooking. I wish eGullet had software that could transmit smell via the internet because the aroma was divine!

Monkfish was cubed and marinated in a mixture of soy, oyster sauce, wine and spices for two hours, then added to the congee at the last 15 minutes.

Congee is a good excuse to make a variety of toppings. Besides sesame oil, soy sauce and white pepper, I like nam yu, gomasio, fried shallots, cilantro and scallions.

No new dishes last night, I had leftover monkfish and potatoes. Poppyseed strudel for dessert.

edit: corrected spelling

Edited October 30, 2008 by SobaAddict70 (log)

[Carlo A. Balistrieri]

Thanks! Got it and will give it a go...

[SobaAddict70]

Tomato salad

Rotini with cauliflower, Sicilian style

Don't be freaked out by the color of the cauliflower. It's supposed to be yellow. It's a variety called "cheese" cauliflower. Tastes the same though.

[menuinprogress]

Not only are your morels beautiful but the pasta looks really toothsome.

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Thanks, Heidi! I love the texture of fresh pasta - it is definitely worth the extra effort every once in a while.

[Ce'nedra]

Mmm Vietnamese beef in vinegar fondue!

This is essential despite it's uhh 'aroma'. It's fermented anchovy dip and according to the label, the ingredients include anchovy fish, chilli, salt, garlic vinegar and sugar. To make it more sauce-y (and to balance the flavour for a bit of sweetness and less of the pungency), I mixed the dip with mashed pineapples (from a can), a little syrup and some sugar.

Gotta have the herbs and greens if you're eating Vietnamese.

Dad dipping a thin slice of raw beef into the vinegar fondue.

My plate -ready to roll!

God I love the smelly sauce!

Just another food porn shot.

[hongda]

mmmm... beef rolls....

For those interested, it's usually part of the vietnamese 7 beef course

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%B2_7_m%C3%B3n

[Daniel]

Pumpkin cream soup with gruyere.

[David Ross]

Delicious meals everyone. I've been in Las Vegas for a week of dining and celebrations related to the Michelin Guide Star Ratings for Las Vegas and the James Beard Foundation Taste America Events. Needless to say, a home cook like me was quite humbled. But I learned a lot and met some incredibly talented people.

Back to home cooking now. Last night, Apple-Cider Braised Chicken with Turnips, Pearl Onions, Garlic and Mushrooms-

[Kim Shook]

Dinner on Halloween:

A chicken pot pie that I made using some of the leftover savory bread pudding as it’s topping. It was the perfect topping – I’m really glad that I thought of it.

Bite:

[C. sapidus]

David, that is a pretty plate.

Kim, mmm, chicken pot pie.

Chicken kabuli: A fried puree of garlic, ginger, tomatoes, and yogurt, simmered with chunks of chicken breast, thickened with ground almonds, spiced with mace, nutmeg, cardamom, cumin, coriander, and fennel seed, and finished with heavy cream, black peppercorns, and cilantro. We made the chicken this morning and reheated for dinner. The sauce tasted wonderful, but next time I will reduce the amount of oil and use smaller pieces of chicken thigh meat.

Patiala pullao: Basmati rice pilaf with onions, garlic, cumin, black cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, and bay leaves.

Broccoli smothered in garlic oil: Whole garlic cloves sauteed until golden, with turmeric and peeled broccoli spears. Younger son grabbed an extra piece of broccoli while leaving the table – high praise for a vegetable.