Dinner! 2009

[Kim Shook]

Soba – going back to your roasted tomato meal – that just looks incredible – I’d love the entire thing!

Bruce – how I envy those tomatoes. We are too shady to grow any and I never got any really good ones this year – even the garden fresh ones from the farmers market and my in laws’ garden were pallid.

percyn – the hoagie is a thing of beauty and that bread!!!!

I have a couple of recent meals – a little dull compared to what y’all are cooking lately! A few days ago I made really quick steak tacos with soft corn tortillas and salad:

Last night was fresh kielbasa from John McGinnis in Pittsburgh with caramelized onions, baked potatoes and salad. Wonderful kielbasa:

[Jenni]

Tonight's supper was a very simple masoor dal, plus a pancake and carrot mash dish from my upcoming book. The pancake is ripped because I started eating too quickly! Pudding was a very ripe and delicious mango.

[Dr. J]

Soba – going back to your roasted tomato meal – that just looks incredible – I’d love the entire thing!

Bruce – how I envy those tomatoes. We are too shady to grow any and I never got any really good ones this year – even the garden fresh ones from the farmers market and my in laws’ garden were pallid.

percyn – the hoagie is a thing of beauty and that bread!!!!

I have a couple of recent meals – a little dull compared to what y’all are cooking lately! A few days ago I made really quick steak tacos with soft corn tortillas and salad:

Last night was fresh kielbasa from John McGinnis in Pittsburgh with caramelized onions, baked potatoes and salad. Wonderful kielbasa:

great food!

[Prawncrackers]

Last night we had some friends around and I made a nice starter of crab mixed with a little mayo, lime, chilli & coriander. There was some avocado, cucumber and tomato petals to give it a bit of body and some salmon roe on top of the crab claw that I pressed into the middle. The dressing was made from chilli, crab roe, evoo and some sweet moscatel vinegar. I took unusual extra care with the presentation as you can see and it turned out brilliantly. First time that i've ever used a presentation ring!

There was Osso Bucco with saffron risotto and home-made baklava too though sadly i didn't have the opportunity to take photos of those. In fact I only managed to take the one photo so that's why the focus is a little soft.

[Shalmanese]

Here's an excellent use for a dozen eggs:

Egg yolk only homemade pasta with saffron, lemon zest & basil leaves sandwiched into the pasta. A drizzle of olive oil, sea salt, pepper & Goat Cheese sprinkled on top.

Angel Food Cake with Peach Brown Sugar Ice Cream

[SobaAddict70]

Pan-roasted flounder

Braised flageolet beans with slow-roasted tomatoes

2007 MacMurray Ranch Pinot Gris

[Jacquester]

My idea of a perfect bowl of chile

Edited October 13, 2009 by Jacquester (log)

[Snorlax]

Thanks for all the wonderful pictures, lots of inspiring dishes to try! My first attempt at documenting a meal - apples and pears in a spiced caramel sauce.

I wanted to try a couple of different types of apples and pears

The rest of the ingredients (minus the butter)

Reducing nicely

Turned out really well. I'll use about two thirds of the pepper in future though.

[Shalmanese]

Snorlax, that is just too adorable!

[nickrey]

A variant on a theme I've made before. Will get it right one day....

Bought some lovely fresh ocean trout today and cooked it sous vide in olive oil for 8 minutes at 68 degree Celsius.

Served on a bed of deep fried baby spinach. Accompanied by a cream, onion and wine reduction foam. Topped by salmon roe and finely sliced spring onions. Served with triple cooked chips.

Trying to get the whole seaweed, ocean foam thing going but using red rather than white onion spoilt the effect. Next time it will be white onion.

[judiu]

A variant on a theme I've made before. Will get it right one day....

Bought some lovely fresh ocean trout today and cooked it sous vide in olive oil for 8 minutes at 68 degree Celsius.

Served on a bed of deep fried baby spinach. Accompanied by a cream, onion and wine reduction foam. Topped by salmon roe and finely sliced spring onions. Served with triple cooked chips.

Trying to get the whole seaweed, ocean foam thing going but using red rather than white onion spoilt the effect. Next time it will be white onion.

No, nickrey, that's beautiful just the way it is! Looks like a sunrise, with the pale pink and bright orange! Don't change a thing!

[Jenni]

This is really not such a great photo, I apologise!

Supper was a simple spinach and tomato toor dal, plus another pancake from my upcoming book and a vegetable in coconut-yoghurt sauce dish.

The pancake is loosely based on adai, except that I use slightly different seasoning and also make the batter (and the pancakes) much thinner than is normal. The results are very light and tasty. The vegetables in coconut-yoghurt sauce is based on moru kalan.

[Corinna]

Jenni, this dish looks delightful and tasty.

Does one dip the pancake in the two dishes, or use it more as a wrap? Sorry I don't know more about cuisine, but do love the flavours.

[Jenni]

Corinna, I like to dip the pancakes in the sauce, and also use them to scoop up bits of the solid vegetables. Please note, this is not (as far as I know) a traditional combination, I just wanted to make up a new way of making and serving adai.

[DeliciouslyLekker]

Char Kuey Teow for lunch and dinner ^^

[johnnyd]

Superb pasta, Shalmanese. I'm doing that really soon, thanks to you.

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Our Farmer's Market here in Portland has been introducing more intresting things every season. This year, I saw some Salsify Root, for which I had just seen a recipe from the Basque region in Spain - Pollastre amb Salsafins.

From Savuer issue #106:

Thomas Jefferson grew salsify in his garden, and it was on the menu at New York's legendary Delmonico's restaurant in the 1890s. The ingredient also appears in multiple preparations—including a simple sauté—in the original Joy of Cooking (1931). But people stopped cultivating salsify on a wide scale in this country in the mid-20th century, and no one knows why.

I bought a bunch for $3, and followed this recipe (Savuer #106).

The recipe calls for 2lbs Salsify and 4lbs chicken pieces but after peeling my bunch I guessed the result at barely a pound, so I added a few local carrots.

The farmer who sold it to me said have a pot of water with lemon nearby because the root starts oxidizing immediately. I didn't believe him until I saw it myself - by the time you're around the other side, the spot where you started is the color of copper. Weird.

The recipe calls for simmering salsify for 30 minutes then frying it, then simmering it again with the chicken pieces. I began to think the recipe it was written for older, cellar-stored roots (or black salsify) because I tasted them after every stage and thought it was terrific - kind of parsnippy but deeper.

The kicker was a picada of parsley, garlic, almonds and chix stock that is added during the last 1/2 hour. We served it with rice and Rioja. The above shot is the leftover for lunch with a poached egg and fresh shrimp.

All around, an interesting and satisfying dish. I'd do it again.

[Corinna]

Corinna, I like to dip the pancakes in the sauce, and also use them to scoop up bits of the solid vegetables. Please note, this is not (as far as I know) a traditional combination, I just wanted to make up a new way of making and serving adai.

As long as it tastes good, it works for me. Thanks, Jenni!

[Jenni]

Once again, a sloppy picture. I was really hungry and desparate to get it on the plate and eat!

Urad dal with fennel and mint, plain yoghurt plus an avocado pancake and tomato and corn salsa from, you guessed it, my upcoming book. I will say it again - recipe testing is the biggest perk of writing a cookery book!

[percyn]

I had Breakfast for Dinner yesterday

Today, I made Braised Short Ribs

w/Sweet Potatoes, Roasted Shallots and Greens

w/Basmati Rice and Greens

[kayb]

In a food blog challenge in which I occasionally compete, the challenge this month was fusion cookery. Theme of the contest is economy -- make a meal for two for under $5. I combined Italian and Japanese with Udon Carbonara and Honey Miso Roasted Vegetables. In a very tightly cropped photo to disguise the fact that my plating skills leave much to be desired. The veggies were to die for, though.

[suzilightning]

johnnybird was down the shore and i thought he wasn't coming back until tomorrow but he informed me he would be back about 7. i just had my first day off from work and the hawkwatch so i was able to cook. he now has a choice between chicken fricasse with some egg noodles or some meatballs that were frozen and about to come to an expiration date that were poached in a nice tomato sauce. for me it was red beans with a hambone and rice with leftovers shared by an expat texas girl and a neighbor who has been out of work for over a year. a few small containers are in the freezer for after oral surgery.

[Jmahl]

Tonight we had Zuccini squash with homemade pasta and grape tomatoes with garlic and olive oil with a salad of baby spinach and a bottle of Chalice Bridge Calamus, a blend from Australia. For dessert pears that are especially nice right now and some blue cheese.

[deensiebat]

Gnocchi with brussels sprouts and walnuts:

Boiled and pan-fried gnocchi, tossed with roasted brussels sprouts, toasted walnuts, and grated cheese. My new favorite pantry meal.

[Toliver]

Last night I baked some country style pork ribs that turned out great. I rubbed them with Montreal Steak Seasoning (of all things) and baked them covered for a little bit more than an hour. Then I uncovered them and slathered them with a BBQ sauce and returned them to the oven for about another half hour or so, turning the heat down a bit. They probably could have used more BBQ suace but they were still some delicious pork goodness. Accompanied with mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli.

[Blether]

Kaki fry (breaded oysters). My better half picked 'courgettes with tomatoes' from Christine Osborne's 'Middle Eastern Cooking' sight unseen, and prepared that:

She made a great job and it turned out to be the perfect accompaniment. Flavoured with a little garlic, ground coriander, salt, pepper and an inordinate amount of lemon juice, it was so sour we let it get cool before we fried the oysters.

kaki fry, tonight

Not shown - starters of two big, fresh Iwate-ken oysters each; baby clams with butter / garlic / onion / white wine.

Earlier this summer, tarragon chicken again: