Dinner! 2009

[Dr. J]

Great pics by everybody as usual. I have been away for a bit and have not been able to take as many pictures as I'd like. Here are a few some from my iphone, some from my camera sorry for the poor quality.

This dish is a queen snapper I ate in PR, tossed it white a pasta in white sauce.

This is a linguini I purchased at a store in NYC called Raffetto's. Definitely great, I also purchased some pumpkin ravioli which were decent and some lobster ravioli which I have yet to make. The linguini is pared with sweetbreads, very nice combo.

These pics are some purchases I made while in California. Gotta love the great markets where you can pretty much buy whatever you want.

Duck Gizzards - I made these in a stew, came out super tender definitely easier to work than chicken gizzards.

This one is kind of weird, but its something that I ate all the time growing up. You basically cut it perpendicular to its length in one inch cuts. Season with adobo and fry it in a pan with oil.

5 pound lobster purchased at a supermarket in cali. Got it at 7.99 a pound and couldn't pass up. Poached the claws and finished them in the oven and ate them with my uncle basically standing up. Instead of dipping in butter I reduced some chicken stock and added to brown butter and made that as dipping sauce. Came out great! With the tail and the body I made a lobster pie which was not worth all the trouble therefore will not go into it. Took me 3 hours to make and prepare the stuff and the results were not worth the effort.

This is super fatty wagyu. Basically tasted more like fat than meat, but if you love the taste of fat ooooh so good. Seared it really quick and dipped them in sesame sauce used in shabu shabu. I also made vegetable tempura and white rice, great meal.

[Shelby]

OH MY GOSH Dr. J, every single thing you posted made me drool. The pasta, the sweetbreads, the waygu...delicious looking.

[mgaretz]

Tonight I made fried chicken, not only for dinner, but so we could have leftovers tomorrow for our picnic lunch (going winetasting in Livermore).

I used the recipe from the latest issue of Cook's Country, except I modified the batter to 1 part corn flour, 1 part regular flour and 2 parts cornstarch. (Original was 1-1 flour to cornstarch.) The batter came out excellent.

The original called for brining the chicken. I brined part of it and left part of it unbrined. The brined chicken was way too salty, I wouldn't bother again with the brining. The unbrined chicken was very juicy and tad under-salted to my taste, but that would easily be remedied by either doubling the salt in the batter or just salting it to taste after cooking.

[Kim Shook]

6ppc – what a gorgeous roast! Perfect!

Lindsey – the lamb dinner sounds great. Let’s hear more from you!

menuinprogress – your gazpacho is gorgeous – I especially love those glisteny, rosy tomatoes!

Dr. J – those are awfully good pictures for a phone! And everything looks delicious!

mgaretz – I love that you tested the testers! I was lecturing my daughter at the grocery store tonight about NOT shucking the corn until just before cooking it (while everyone around me was shucking it before they bought it – I was quietly lecturing, NOT being a boor ) and thought, “How do I know that for sure? I just accept what I’ve been told” and I wondered if it really makes a discernable difference with supermarket corn. Next time I buy corn, I’ll get twice as much and shuck half at the store and half just before cooking and then I’ll really know. Good job!

Tonight I did something called Twenty-Minute Bouillabaisse from The American Diabetes Association cookbook. I don’t know how authentic it was, never having made bouillabaisse before, but it was really good. And FAST! Start to finish is really was only a little more than 20 minutes. I could do this on a work night, easy. I used cod, shrimp and canned clams. I got the shrimp at Whole Foods and they were wonderful – sweet, clean and fresh tasting. They were already peeled and deveined and smelled like nothing but the ocean. Very nice. We also had corn and a nice crusty sourdough baguette to sop up the soup.

[Tiger Black]

Tonight was lentil soup with crusty wheat bread. I used green lentils and the soup itself was tomato based. I added some diced bacon, onions, and chopped red chard. It was finished with saffron yogurt. Not bad! Though it's true that food can tell when you're in a bad mood; it was touch and go for a few minutes there and it's an absurdly simple soup.

[mgaretz]

mgaretz – I love that you tested the testers!  I was lecturing my daughter at the grocery store tonight about NOT shucking the corn until just before cooking it (while everyone around me was shucking it before they bought it – I was quietly lecturing, NOT being a boor ) and thought, “How do I know that for sure?  I just accept what I’ve been told” and I wondered if it really makes a discernable difference with supermarket corn.  Next time I buy corn, I’ll get twice as much and shuck half at the store and half just before cooking and then I’ll really know.  Good job!

One thing about buying fresh corn a farmer's market vendor taught me - always look at the base. If it's moist the corn is fresh. If it's dry the corn is old.

[kayb]

One thing about buying fresh corn a farmer's market vendor taught me - always look at the base.  If it's moist the corn is fresh.  If it's dry the corn is old.

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My test for that, which my mother taught me, is to peel back a little of the shuck to expose a few kernels and pop one with a fingernail. If it squirts juice at you...it's fresh!

[percyn]

Great dishes Dr J.

A few meals from earlier this week - Balsamic & Soy Glazed Chicken, Edamame, roasted pimento

Surf & Turf Burger - Burger on a Crab Cake

Fudge Brownie Sundae

Did not cook much this weekend as I am still full from this meal.

[HappyLab]

Paella:

[Toliver]

Surf & Turf Burger - Burger on a Crab Cake

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OMG. What an intriguing combination! How did the flavor of the crab cake fare when going up against against what I would assume would be the stronger flavor of the burger?

[Lindsey]

Tonight we are having plain grilled pork steaks with an Aubergine, spinach and ginger curry and a mustard seed cauliflower pillau, served with a sweet chilli mint chutney from the garden.

[Kim Shook]

percyn – Like Toliver, I’m intrigued by the surf and turf burger – let’s hear more.

HappyLab – gorgeous paella!

Last night we finished up the rest of the bouillabaisse from the night before. I also made a quiche by the CI method with bacon and cheddar:

I just love this quiche. It is so creamy and fluffy. And because it’s so incredibly easy, I can make it on a work night.

[percyn]

Surf & Turf Burger - Burger on a Crab Cake

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OMG. What an intriguing combination! How did the flavor of the crab cake fare when going up against against what I would assume would be the stronger flavor of the burger?

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Actually, believe it or not, the crab cake's flavor was more dominant. Next time I will try a larger beef patty and perhaps grind the burger fresh myself.

[Toliver]

Actually, believe it or not, the crab cake's flavor was more dominant. Next time I will try a larger beef patty and perhaps grind the burger fresh myself.

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Can you post recipes for both? I am just curious as to why the crab cakes would have more of an assertive presence than the beefiness/umami-ness of the burger.

[petit cochon]

I was particularly proud of Sunday night's dinner - sufficiently so to actually take a photo (!), so figured this is a good excuse to actually post for a change instead of just browsing! Here goes (I hope!)...

Tomato Tarte Tatin! Based on a recipe from the Chocolate & Zucchini cookbook - I even tried my hand at making pate brisee from scratch, which was much easier than expected! I usually don't like to turn on the oven during the warmer months, but this was sooo summery and delicious! Served with steamed zucchini ribbons tossed w/ olive oil, s&p. I also made a chilled honeydew/yogurt/mint soup to start - which was a good thing, since dinner was rather late what with the making-crust-from-scratch and all...

[Alinka]

Tonight it was pork, buckwheat and peas:

And a simple yellow cake from The Cake Bible. I layered it with a little buttercream (butter+condensed milk):

No special occasion, just craved some cake for some reason.

[percyn]

Alinka, good to see your cooking again on the dinner thread.

[menuinprogress]

Tonight it was pork, buckwheat and peas:

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Looks great! Tenderloin? And how did you cook the buckwheat - I've never used it.

[iainpb]

Last night, a little experimentation with sauce:

Pan fried duck breast, Marsala and Tarragon velouté, Anya potatoes and asparagus.

Presentation wasnt upto much - hunger demanded it was served as soon as possible

Picture here

[percyn]

Bulgogi and kimchi sandwich

Braised short rib with kimchi and siracha on Basmati

[C. sapidus]

Crazy dinner, planned for five but thirteen showed up (including several 6-foot plus teenage boys). We made Kholkapuri chicken, a ton of rice, and whatever else we could throw together in desperation.

[djyee100]

Crazy dinner, planned for five but thirteen showed up...

Your reputation precedes you. If I knew you were cooking, I'd be tempted to crash the party myself.

That chicken looks great. Is the recipe around somewhere, on the web or in a cookbook?

[Dr. J]

Tonight it was pork, buckwheat and peas:

And a simple yellow cake from The Cake Bible. I layered it with a little buttercream (butter+condensed milk):

No special occasion, just craved some cake for some reason.

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Great picture alinka. I love how the first tenderloin just jumps out of the plate while focus dissolves in the background and how the vegetables are bathed in light. Great work indeed.

[Kim Shook]

petit cochon – WOW! That is just gorgeous! What a summer picture!

Alinka – Let me say again that I’m so glad to see you and your cooking. That cake is a thing of beauty! The Cake Bible is on my wish list, so I especially loved that. The crumb is perfect and I love the little confectioner’s sugar design on top.

What is THIS????

A colorized picture from WWII?? An old picture of my grandmother’s from the 1950’s? An entry from The Gallery of Regrettable Food ?? Nope, none of those. This was dinner at the Shook’s last night. This was last minute, stop at the little grocery store on the way home, grab a couple of things and put it together with fridge stuff dinner. Grilled ham and (canned) pineapple slices marinated in gyoza/ginger sauce, BOXED macaroni and cheese, marinated cucumbers and sauerkraut.

The ham was some slices that I’d bought to make a quiche and forgotten when I made bacon quiche instead. The store had NO fresh pineapples (what is up with that??), the sauerkraut was leftover from hot dogs the other night and my daughter loves Kraft mac and cheese. What can I say. It all tasted pretty much how it looked – tired, boring and bland. <sigh> Since I have about 9 billion of those ham slices left, they will figure in tonight’s dinner, too. But I’m going to try something a little more interesting. More later!

[Alinka]

percyn

Thank you Percy!

menuinprogress

Yes, it was pork tenderloin. The buckwheat is cooked very simply: 2.5 - 3 parts water to 1 part grain plus salt. Then cook as you would rice. I grew up with this stuff, so it is comfort food, but I understand that the flavor might not be easy to get used to. When it's done, I add some butter. Kids usually eat it with milk and sugar, like oatmeal.

Dr. J

Thank you!

Kim Shook

You will not regret buying the book, I can guarantee you that! The cake does have this nice crumb, I've noticed when eating. We just moved, and I found this stencil among my numerous forgotten treasures; it came in handy .

Edited July 16, 2009 by Alinka (log)