Dinner! 2009

[Octaveman]

Made some Kalbi (Korean BBQ ribs) the other night.  Was given some tips on how to make the meat super tender and for extra flavoring in the marinade.  I must say it was the best I've had.

Care to share the secret?

How about the Mongolian Beef recipe Marlene mentioned?

Cheers

Percy

Well, not sure how much of a secret it really is but the tips I was given were new to me and made a noticable difference for the better. I posted the recipe not too far down from the original post.

What was changed/added was to first marinate the meat in 7-up overnight first then again in the marinade. I made two batches on back-to-back Saturdays and 99 Ranch had the same exact quality meat each time. The 7-up marinating made a HUGE difference to the tenderness of the meat. When I made it the first Saturday, the meat was tasty but terribly chewy. It was the complete opposite the following time using the 7-up. For example, if you wanted to make this for a Saturday, marinate in 7-up overnight on Thursday then again with the rest of the ingredients overnight on Friday. Change the marinade, don't add the rest of the ingredients to the 7-up. I hope I made that clear when I posted the recipe.

The second thing was to add fruit...Kiwi and pear to the marinade. The kiwi and pear I think have some enzyme that helps to tenderize and add a real nice flavor to the meat. The third change was to use honey instead of sugar.

Be sure to get at LEAST 4-5 pounds because a) there's not much meat on those ribs and b) you will eat your weight in Kalbi it's so good. It's so easy and it's become a favorite at my house.

Edited to add link to Mongolian Beef recipe.

http://recipes.egullet.org/recipes/r1952.html

Edited May 27, 2009 by Octaveman (log)

[SobaAddict70]

The ricotta gnocchi from a couple weeks ago was such a hit that I think it'll be making a semi-regular appearance for dinner going forward.

I've also decided to pair it with seasonal ingredients because, let's face it, tomatoes are in season only four months out of the year; other times I have to resort to hydroponically-grown or commercially prepared or imported from some place in South America.

And I think if you do it this way, it opens up a realm of possibilities that you might not have necessarily thought of before. *gets off soapbox*

Sheep's milk ricotta gnocchi with chanterelles, zucchini and nasturtium flowers

[SobaAddict70]

When I was working for S&C, one of the menu mainstays for lunch or dinner was omelettes. There would be an omelette bar set up and you could pick and choose what you wanted for fillings.

I always thought it was a novel way to present a meal.

"Breakfast for dinner."

Plain omelette, spinach and radish greens sautéed in butter, roasted radishes with marjoram and mint, rye bread

I didn't heat the pan enough so the eggs had difficulty setting. Usually my omelettes have a more traditional shape.

Turned out ok though.

[judiu]

When I was working for S&C, one of the menu mainstays for lunch or dinner was omelettes.  There would be an omelette bar set up and you could pick and choose what you wanted for fillings. 

I always thought it was a novel way to present a meal.

"Breakfast for dinner."

Plain omelette, spinach and radish greens sautéed in butter, roasted radishes with marjoram and mint, rye bread

I didn't heat the pan enough so the eggs had difficulty setting.  Usually my omelettes have a more traditional shape. 

Turned out ok though.

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Any mishappen omlettes in my house get re-defined as "scrambled eggs with (stuff), as in "Well, I was going to make you a cheese omlette, but I made scrambled eggs with cheese, instead." Very C.M.A. that is!

By the way, breakfast for dinner is one of my favorite things!

[EggyGirl]

Rotisserie Chicken w/Edamame Salad on a sauce I made with the chicken  juices, Madeira wine and smoked paprika.

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That looks so simple and so good. The edamame saled especially looks so light. Is it just edamame, corn, black beans, and diced red pepper?

[kitchensqueen]

I'm making ciopinno, and we're drinking Grgich fume blanc with it. The house smells amazing while the stew is simmering. And this is my first time drinking a Grgich, and I'm favorable impressed.

[Prawncrackers]

Everybody's meals look great as usual. I've not posted on the thread for weeks, don't worry i have been eating Dinner! Just haven't had the time to post any pics.

Been taking my first steps into pasta making and my first couple of attempts have turned out great. First was Crab Ravioli with Clams & Asparagus, the sauce was simply a butter emulsion made with the clam liquor:

Tonight was some Squid Ink Vermicelli with Crab (again!), Grilled Squid and some brown crab meat toasts:

The verdict from my wife was a success, fresh pasta is definitely worth the effort.

[suzilightning]

not much cooking but a lot of working around here. after watching the Minneapolis episode of Man vs Food we decided to make Jucy Lucys.

The peripherals, except for the carmelized onions then the Lucy oozing warm grated cheddar. (and i did go a bit midwestern by smearing a bit of mayo on one side of the bun)

using up some baked shrimp by pairing it with rice angel hair, mixed olives, sundried and fresh tomatoes and a good olive oil.

it has been unusually dool and rainy here and john asked for a meatloaf(mainly so there would be leftovers for sandwiches). dinner is served with potatoes two ways - baked and mashed sweet and, in a separate dish, some haricot verts. made a glaze of some dijon, ketchup,vinegar de jerez, and the tiniest bit of lingonberry preserves i had left.

[menuinprogress]

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Nice ravioli! And I definitely agree with you that fresh pasta is worth it.

[HappyLab]

Spaghetti puttanesca:

Lamb chops with mint pesto:

[nickrey]

Deep fried chicken roll.

Stuffed with prosciutto, baby spinach, garlic, pine nuts, fetta, semi dried tomatoes. Crumbed with Panko breadcrumbs.

Served with triple cooked chips and simple arugula and parmesan salad.

Edited June 1, 2009 by nickrey (log)

[Pille]

Nice colors, SobaAddict!

Dinner last night - warm gingered carrot salad with feta cheese:

Tonight I settled for a light salad of cottage cheese, tomatoes, cucumbers and basil leaves, with some freshly baked rosemary bread on the side.

[PopsicleToze]

I had a call 30 minutes before I left work for the day. Unexpected (but very welcome) company were on the way to my house for dinner, "Oh, don't go to any trouble, yada, yada." I only had time for 1 quick stop or they would beat me home.

We don't have very good shops close at hand, but we do have 1 very good fresh seafood market. Bought fresh red snapper fillets and a pound of fresh white lump crabmeat. No lettuce at home, but they did have the little bags of salad there so I bought that. They boil seafood there daily, so I picked up some potatoes and corn cooked in crawfish boil seasoning.

Made it home, changed clothes, chunked potatoes and rubbed in oil, s/p & rosemary and put in oven to bake. Cut corn off cob and made a quick stock with the cobs in chicken stock for use in the side dish -- cajun corn risotto. While that cooked, made Galatoire's Crabmeat Maison salad (had everything else on hand; it's a quick salad but extremely good). Plated salad atop the lettuce; stuck in fridge to cool.

Guests arrived. Gave them a drink and visited at kitchen island while I made a corn risotto. Last few minutes just pan fried the red snapper fillets in butter. Didn't do much to them but season them.

Took potatoes out of oven.

Dinner was served.

Less than 40 minutes start to finish.

Dinner only cost $30.

The only bad thing was battery not charged in camera from outing this weekend.

Still, I was very proud of myself for pulling it off without stressing out.

Thank God for little herb gardens. A pinch of this and that made things look special.

Edited June 2, 2009 by PopsicleToze (log)

[PopsicleToze]

Lamb chops with mint pesto:

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Nice dinners -- they look delicious.

Just curious -- did anyone think those lamb chops look related to Shelby's frog legs a few weeks ago?

Rhonda

[Kim Shook]

Bruce – I sure wish I had someone like you to introduce me to Indian cooking. I am SO ignorant about it that it is embarrassing, but your food always looks so delicious!

Soba – everything you make looks gorgeous and perfectly seasonal! Your gnocchi dish is exquisite! And the next meal is beautiful, too. I have never had roasted radishes! What are they like? Taste, texture???

nickrey – the crust on your chicken is perfect! I am so impressed (and envious)!

Rhonda – Wow! I am amazed and impressed at your impromptu dinner party! I don’t know that I could manage grilled cheese and a salad in that amount of time on a work night! And, yes, now that you mention it, they do look like those legs !

Dealing with being out of town last weekend with my dad in the hospital and work and stuff, I've hardly cooked at all. I did cook at my mother's on Saturday - no pictures since I didn't take my camera, but it was wonderful - a shrimp and sugar snap stir fry with an sesame oil, oyster and soy sauce finishing sauce. It was from a beautiful book she has called The Essential Wok Cookbook. I'll definitely be making it again and I'll take a picture then!

Dinner last night started out great – a Crudités plate with Fleur de Sel and black Mediterranean sea salt:

Then it really went downhill. I just did my regular easy chicken enchiladas – shredded chicken mixed with canned enchilada sauce, wrapped in sauce-soaked corn tortillas, topped with shredded ‘Mexican’ cheese:

It’s a little pedestrian, but always tastes just fine and it’s an easy, good weeknight meal. These were horrible. I’m guessing that the brand of sauce was at fault – it was some off brand that Mr. Kim picked up – not my usual.

I served it with sautéed yellow squash and onions and field peas and snaps:

The squash was fine, but the peas were terrible, too ! They were also canned – I buy Luck’s a lot and always have had good ones, but this was some new brand which were labeled ‘seasoned’ – something I didn’t notice until I started to use them. Awful – musty and off tasting. Blah! Can’t wait to do some real cooking this weekend!

[scubadoo97]

All great food here. Always makes me hungry looking at these pictures even after just finishing dinner.

Popsicletoze-I want to know how you pulled off dinner with red snapper and a pound of lump crab plus modest fixings for 30 bucks. I need to shop where you shop.

[Tri2Cook]

I just did my regular easy chicken enchiladas – shredded chicken mixed with canned enchilada sauce, wrapped in sauce-soaked corn tortillas, topped with shredded ‘Mexican’ cheese:

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That's the type of enchiladas (although usually with beef) my stepmom always made when I was growing up (ok, getting older... I may never grow up). She always had to make a huge amount because there were seven of us and my two brothers and myself would devour an entire pan ourselves. There was always a big pan of "Spanish rice" (yes, made with those little packets of seasoning from the grocery store) to accompany them and, every once in a while, the infamous chile relleno casserole from the recipe under the label of the green chiles can (That one sounds kinda scary doesn't it?). I still get in the mood for those enchiladas now and then, one of those food memory things I guess. Of course it's completely impossible to find canned enchilada sauce of any type or quality where I live so I don't get them.

[C. sapidus]

Bruce – I sure wish I had someone like you to introduce me to Indian cooking.  I am SO ignorant about it that it is embarrassing, but your food always looks so delicious!

Kim, you are always so kind -- thank you. If you don't happen to be in our neck of the woods and want a quick introduction to Indian flavors, check out Madhur Jaffrey's Quick and Easy Indian Cooking. If you enjoy that book and want more, I might have a few recommendations.

Dealing with being out of town last weekend with my dad in the hospital and work and stuff, I've hardly cooked at all. . . .

Best wishes for your dad. I hope you get a chance to indulge in a little cooking therapy, it might be just what the doctor ordered.

Edited to add tonight's dinner: Thai grilled beef salad.

Edited June 5, 2009 by C. sapidus (log)

[PopsicleToze]

All great food here.  Always makes me hungry looking at these pictures even after just finishing dinner.

Popsicletoze-I want to know how you pulled off dinner with red snapper and a pound of lump crab plus modest fixings for 30 bucks.  I need to shop where you shop.

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I wasn't buying for a lot of people or the price would have been higher. The crabmeat was 12.99/lb. I didn't buy the jumbo lump, but I did buy white lump crabmeat and not the clawmeat. The red snapper was $8.99/lb, and I bought 2 fillets. They weren't very large and I don't know how much they cost, but I don't even think it was a pound. The potatoes and corn didn't have a price on them, but they don't cost very much.

Tony's Seafood

Baton Rouge, LA

http://www.tonyseafood.com/

I looked on my camera but I don't have any pictures taken in Tony's. I should because it's a nice shop. They have an indoor pond with live catfish that you can pick out and they will clean. They are hands down the best seafood shop I have found in Baton Rouge. Their lunch buffet is great, too, but they don't have an eating area. The next time I go I'll get some pictures.

Rhonda

P.S. They do really good boudin balls there, too. They have regular boudin, seafood boudin, and I'm sure a few more. Sometimes for office lunches I'll order a few trays and they are always gobbled right up.

[SobaAddict70]

Thanks Pille.

Kim -- They have a little tenderness to them while still retaining some firmness. The taste mellows a bit, although there's still some bite left. It doesn't need much except maybe a squeeze of lemon for brightness, or chopped herbs.

Light dinner last night:

Ricotta gnocchi with zucchini, celery, green garlic and mint

Dom. de la Rablais Sauvignon Blanc, 2008

Zucchini matchsticks and bias-cut celery briefly sautéed in butter. A tablespoon of green garlic paste stirred in; chopped mint to finish, along with a touch of salt.

[HappyLab]

In keeping with my chops theme, I made pork chops with soy and sriracha pan sauce last night:

[menuinprogress]

Chile-rubbed butterflied leg of lamb on the grill:

Grilled veggies:

and some roasted potato wedges:

[kayb]

Could you direct me to the fish molee recipe, please?

[C. sapidus]

Could you direct me to the fish molee recipe, please?

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The recipe is from Camellia Panjabi's excellent 50 Great Curries of India. A nearly identical recipe is here: fish in coconut milk (clicky). Enjoy!

[C. sapidus]

menuinprogress: looks like some gorgeous things came from your grill.

Braised lamb with potatoes and tomato sauce, dried chiles, browned onion, turmeric, cumin, cinnamon, cloves, and a little brown sugar. Parsi meat and potatoes, essentially.

Cabbage koshumbir with grated coconut, chiles, red bell pepper, lime juice, sugar, and a tadka of sizzled curry leaves and mustard seeds

Fragrant rice with bay leaf, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, and ghee

Parsi green chutney with mint, cilantro, grated coconut, chiles, cumin, lime juice, and sugar.