Dinner! 2010

[djyee100]

Kim, that Bibb lettuce, prosciutto & egg salad looks so good!

Tonight's dinner was late, I was hungry, and I must have assembled the fastest Pasta alla Carbonara of my life, this time with fresh spring peas (already shelled) and San Daniele prosciutto. I discovered this pasta tastes better the faster you make it. For this dish, I tossed together in the warm pasta cooking pot: hot cooked linguine (1/2 lb uncooked), 2+ cups hot cooked peas, 1/4 lb julienned prosciutto, 2 TB butter (or more--I kept adding to taste), 3/4 cup grated parmigiano reggiano cheese, 2 eggs beaten, and plenty of freshly ground black pepper. It's done when the eggs form little curds on the strands of pasta.

[judiu]

When we were in NC this weekend, I got a souvenir:

Scary. I found it at a little country gas station/store. Yes, it says “Fried out chicken fat with attached skin”. I haven’t gotten up the courage to open it yet.

Wow, those look GOOD! Pork cracklins are a favorite carb free snack of mine (the hell with the cholesterol, I'm gonna die of something!) But I do loves me some chicken skin!

[Kim Shook]

When we were in NC this weekend, I got a souvenir:

Scary. I found it at a little country gas station/store. Yes, it says “Fried out chicken fat with attached skin”. I haven’t gotten up the courage to open it yet.

Wow, those look GOOD! Pork cracklins are a favorite carb free snack of mine (the hell with the cholesterol, I'm gonna die of something!) But I do loves me some chicken skin!

Yep, me too. I would rather pull all the skin off fried chicken and fill up on that than eat a whole piece without it. Well, I finally got up the nerve and tasted one. I'm not sure still. Very greasy, as you would expect. Pretty good flavor. I might try microwaving for a few seconds and see if that is better. They are still pretty scary, though.

Dinner last night was bratwurst w/ caramelized onions, green beans and potatoes, creamed corn and sweet potatoes:

The brats were those already cooked ones – really white. Mr. Kim likes the kind that you have to cook, but I actually prefer the flavor and texture of these.

[Prawncrackers]

It's been a few weeks since I last posted dinner, great meals everyone. I'm particularly enamoured of robirdstx's grilled lobster and ribeye steak combo last week. An American classic that I need to make for myself, how did you get the tail to stay so straight? A skewer?

Last couple of days I've cooked some old favourites; Char Siu and Chicken Rice:

and yesterday i cooked Halibut for the first time. Simply fried and served over a saffron crab risotto, it was a really wonderful dish. The freshly cooked crab and halibut worked so well together. The dollop on top was the incredibly savoury brown meat, yum:

[dcarch]

Prawncrackers,

WOW, WOW, WOW!!!

Three WOWs. One for each of your dishes.

dcarch

[percyn]

Double Wow Prawn - really spectacular and hunger inducing pics.

Have not done a lot of cooking lately, mainly due to enjoying the treats we picked up while in NYC for meals at Per Se, Momofuku, etc.

One of the "goodies" we brought back and enjoyed for a weekday dinner included a hot pastrami on rye from the Carnegie Deli:

[Kim Shook]

Prawn – I LOVE char siu and yours looks absolutely perfect. I’ve never made my own, though. Bravo.

percyn– I wish we had a source nearby for some pastrami that looked like that! Wow.

Dinner last night:

pressure cooker beef stew. Pressure cooking is like magic to me. It took a total of 11 minutes cooking time and everything was perfectly tender and infused with flavor. It actually took longer to prep the ingredients than to cook. This would be a great weeknight meal, especially if you got all your prep done the night before. Plus, it’s really frugal. It made enough for probably eight with less than $6 worth of meat.

I served it with broccoli from the CSA box and rolls:

The broccoli was a surprise. It didn’t look too great and was more than a week old (our box was delivered last Friday while we were in NC). But it was delicious. I just steamed it, grinded a lot of pepper over it and squeezed a whole lemon on top.

This went into the stew and we drank the rest of the bottle with dinner:

We are total wine ignoramuses, so I don’t know the quality of this wine, but it tasted a bit too strong at the beginning of the meal. Halfway through the glass, though, it was better. Explain, please?

[percyn]

percyn– I wish we had a source nearby for some pastrami that looked like that! Wow.

...

...

We are total wine ignoramuses, so I don’t know the quality of this wine, but it tasted a bit too strong at the beginning of the meal. Halfway through the glass, though, it was better. Explain, please?

Kim, you might be able to order the pastrami online. Remember to order the "thick cut".

As for the change in taste of the wine, it is fairly common, particularly for bold wines with robust tanins, like Malbec to "open up" when exposed to air/oxygen. That's one of the reason wines like bordeaux are decanted and you can even buy "wine aerators" these days.

Hope that helps.

[Pam Brunning]

Hi Kim Your beef stew was obviously full of rich flavours. A young Argentinean Malbec would taste raw and strong on a clean palate. After a few mouthfulls of your stew the senses are anaesthetised and your wine will soften and taste soft and fruity - hopefully!

[crinoidgirl]

I served it with broccoli from the CSA box and rolls:

The broccoli was a surprise. It didn’t look too great and was more than a week old (our box was delivered last Friday while we were in NC). But it was delicious. I just steamed it, grinded a lot of pepper over it and squeezed a whole lemon on top.

When you consider that what's in the supermarket is probably at least a week old, I don't think that's surprising! Appearances aren't everything! This is the first year I've done a CSA box, and I'm very happy with it.

[C. sapidus]

Continuing our charcoal-grilled chicken theme . . .

Bahamian grilled chicken, from The Barbecue Bible. We rinsed chicken thighs with lime juice before marinating the chicken with onion, garlic, Scotch Bonnet chiles, fresh thyme, paprika, white pepper, salt, and oil. The chile heat did not come through, but a little Tapatio sauce fixed that.

Bahamian peas and rice: bacon, onion, garlic, green bell pepper, basil, thyme, tomato paste, sugar, S&P, and green pigeon peas. What’s not to like?

Mrs. C cooked up some vinegary greens from the CSA box.

[David Ross]

This past weekend I crafted some Salmon Gravlax with the last of the Copper River Salmon I'll use for the season. For curing, some of us in the Northwest prefer the Sockeye because it tends to have a thinner filet and more oil in it's flesh than the King which has a much thicker filet and more fat, (which I prefer to grill and roast).

After the sockeye cures, the natural red color of the flesh deepens to a hue that is almost unbelieveable. You almost think it is soaked in fluorescent red paint the color is so intense, yet it is just Mother Nature taking its normal course.

I started with Marcus Samuelsson's recipe for Gravlax out of his "Aquavit" cookbook. The basic cure calls for 1 cup of sugar to 1/2 cup of salt. I found this mix far too sweet for my tastes, so I think next time I'll tinker with it a bit and go with a ration closer to 1 cup sugar and 1 scant cup of salt. The recipe called for 2 tbsp. of cracked white peppercorns but I used a mix of white, green, pink and black peppercorns. I also used a blend of both Aquavit and sweet white wine that I had on hand. Some recipes call for brandy, but I like the anise and herbal flavor of Aquavit. I could do without the sweet flavor of the white wine next time.

Rather than the normal "bagel," I served the salmon with tiny little "Gougeres" which are basically a savory puff pastry dough. In this version I added chopped anchovy, chives and grated parmesan cheese. I wanted something light to accompany the salmon rather than the typical accompaniments of capers, red onion and cream cheese so I made a whipped cream and added some Dijon mustard, chopped capers, chives, fresh dill, lemon juice and white pepper. It was light and refreshing and the mustard gave the cream a bit of tang yet didn't overpower the salmon.

I must say, for a special once-a-year salmon, it turned out quite well--

Copper River Sockeye Gravlax, Anchovy-Parmesan "Gougeres," Dijon Whipped Cream-

[SobaAddict70]

Oh that char siu....that really calls to me....

Sopa de ajo (Spanish garlic broth with fried bread and a poached egg)

At it's simplest, it's just garlic, bread, egg and water. Proof that you can feast just from three ingredients. There are other variations (such as using vegetable stock or chicken stock in place of water, and deglazing with wine (which isn't traditional)) but those tend to muddle things, in my opinion.

Recipe will be written up later on the blog (it's so simple, it's almost an embarrasment to post about it).

[djyee100]

Wonderful food, everyone. Bruce, I am drooling over that BBQ, and I'm not even hungry. David Ross, I'm feeling inspired to make some gravlax myself, and I haven't done that in years. SobaAddict, I love poached eggs and bread in soup.

For dinner here, Pot-Roasted Steak with Piquillo Peppers from Paula Wolfert's Slow Mediterranean Kitchen, Potato Salad with Green Garlic, and buttered sugar snap peas. I drizzled some of the pepper oil & juices over the slices of meat. That's the orange tinge you see. It tastes good, but it's not that aesthetic for the camera. (!)

I was pleased with the potato salad, the first time I've cooked it. It's my adaptation of a recipe from chef Rick DeBeaord, who was kind enough to give me the recipe when I requested it. This potato salad shows off the taste of green garlic.

To make Potato Salad with Green Garlic: Boil 1 1/2 lbs red creamer potatoes in salted water. While the potatoes are cooking, combine 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, 2 TB chopped green garlic, and salt in a small pan over low heat. Cook slowly until the garlic is aromatic, softened, and translucent. The garlic should not brown. Set the garlic mixture aside. When the potatoes are done, and still hot (but handle-able), cut into bite-size chunks, sprinkle with 1 TB sherry vinegar and salt, and toss gently with a rubber spatula. Pour on the warm garlic mixture, and combine. Taste and adjust for salt, oil, and vinegar. This salad tastes better if allowed to sit 1/2 hr or more so that the flavors mellow.

[Pam Brunning]

That Pot-Roasted Steak looks great - how long did you cook it for?

I was given an octopus the other day. I have never cooked one before so decided to look on line as my books didn’t sound very inspired and I had been told they could turn out like rubber! I found several pages on them by Harold McGee - he has tried various ways of cooking but recommended blanching then putting in a casserole dry and putting in the oven for 5 hours at 200°F. As octopus are about 80% moisture it ended up floating in its own juice which when reduced made a lovely flavoursome sauce. It was beautifully tender and I lopped bits off and fried it until crispy. I will cut the body into rings and batter. It was good but I don’t think I would go out of my way to find another. Here he is

[Pam Brunning]

Yes, letting a young wine breath will help a lot but for goodness sake don’t use an aerator on a good, older wine. The trouble is most wine is drunk too young these days - even whites improve with a bit of age. When you go out and buy a bottle of wine buy two and keep the other for a while and you will see how it improves.

[robirdstx]

I'm particularly enamoured of robirdstx's grilled lobster and ribeye steak combo last week. An American classic that I need to make for myself, how did you get the tail to stay so straight? A skewer?

Prawncrackers - I cut through the shell with my kitchen shears and then used a sharp knife to cut through the meat but not through the membrane on the underside of the tail. I grilled it, cut side down, for several minutes then turned it over and basted it with garlic butter while the meat finished cooking. I don't know why the tail did not curl but I suspect the firming up of the meat on the cut side prevented the curling after I turned it. I'm still new to grilling lobster so can't say I know what I am doing - just got lucky, I guess.

[mgaretz]

Crab cakes with mashed potatoes, steamed spinach and cole slaw. I meant to take pictures - really!

[blue_dolphin]

I was given an octopus the other day....

What a great opening line! I can imagine so many ways to finish that story

(I don't really belong in this thread. Just popped in to see what other people are eating while nibbling on my own dinner: the other half of the "Mediterranean Chicken Pita" that I bought for lunch from the cafeteria)

[SobaAddict70]

What a difference a day makes.

From sopa de ajo to...

Chicken congee

(3 tablespoons long-grain white rice soaked in 1/2 cup leftover garlic broth, then stirred into 4 cups water brought to a boil. Simmer for 2 hours on low heat, partially covered. Stir every 15 minutes or so. Towards the end, add sesame oil, a pinch of salt, some white pepper, shredded cooked chicken (I had some leftover roast chicken from last week) and chopped scallions.)

Recipe is partially adapted from the version given on bleudauvergne's blog.

Edited June 8, 2010 by SobaAddict70 (log)

[Alcuin]

This went into the stew and we drank the rest of the bottle with dinner:

We are total wine ignoramuses, so I don’t know the quality of this wine, but it tasted a bit too strong at the beginning of the meal. Halfway through the glass, though, it was better. Explain, please?

The Layer Cake style is big in every way--lots of alcohol, lots of fruit, and lots of tannins. When you get a young wine like this made to have a lot of everything, its common for it to need some time in the glass or even better the decanter. When you drink young wines like this they tend to be "tight" right out of the bottle, meaning that the tannins overpower the other elements of the wine making it taste astringent. That coupled with its fairly high alcohol will make it taste very strong and unpleasant. When it gets a bit of oxygen, often the fruit will come out and it won't taste so harsh. I drank a young Chianti last night and it took about 2 hours (maybe, I wasn't counting...) for it to come out-it tasted very bitter right out of the bottle but showed some fruit after time.

You want to treat old wine in the opposite way typically if its properly aged. The process described above more or less happens in the bottle.

The vast majority of wine these days is meant to be drunk young, so it helps to let most wines breath. It can't hurt anyway. You can speed up the process by putting it into a decanter giving it lots of surface area and swirling every once and a while--it will make a difference for some of your young table wines.

[SobaAddict70]

Gnocchi with wild mushrooms, ramps, lamb's quarters and puntarelle

Warm radish and asparagus salad with mint vinaigrette

That was the last bunch of ramps I had -- no more until next year. Apparently I had forgotten all about it, as it was in the back of the bottom tray in the fridge.

Lamb's quarters is also known as wild spinach or goosefoot. Depending on where you live, it is sometimes thought of as an invasive weed. Use in recipes that call for spinach. It's tasty simply sautéed in olive oil, with a bit of garlic, lemon and red pepper flakes.

Puntarelle is a green whose flavor is a cross between endive and chicory. Its leaves are similar in appearance to dandelion leaves. Cooking tames its otherwise assertive flavor.

The salad is just roasted asparagus, shallots and French breakfast radishes, then tossed with green leaf lettuce and dressed in a mint vinaigrette (a ratio of 1/4:1 Japanese rice wine vinegar to extra-virgin olive oil, salt, pepper and finely chopped mint).

Recipe capsules on the blog.

Edited June 9, 2010 by SobaAddict70 (log)

[Kim Shook]

David - I adore the idea of gravlax w/ gougeres and am totally stealing the idea for my next brunch.

Soba - I really like the looks of your Sopa de ajo. I went to your blog and got the recipe and can't wait to try it.

Thank you all for the good information on the wine! I'm guessing that I'll need to remember all the advice, since we will most always be drinking fairly young (read: inexpensive) wine . I've known about letting wine 'breathe' forever, but never experienced it so fully before.

[djyee100]

Two kinds of pizza for dinner yesterday. It was a crunchy evening.

Pizza with Grilled Asparagus, Fava Beans and Prosciutto

Pizza with Eggs and Prosciutto

To make the Pizza with Grilled Asparagus, Fava Beans and Prosciutto, I brushed a round of pizza dough with garlic-infused oil, excluding the rim, and layered it with shredded mozzarella, grated parmigiano-reggiano, grilled asparagus pieces, and cooked fava beans. I baked the pizza on a preheated stone at 550 F. As soon as the pizza came out of the oven, I draped it with pieces of prosciutto. On days when I cannot deal with prepping fava beans, I skip 'em, and the pizza still tastes good.

To make the Pizza with Eggs and Prosciutto, I started the same way with a round of pizza dough, brushed with garlic-infused oil, excluding the rim. Then I layered on thinly sliced red onion, shredded mozzarella, and shredded fontina. Some grated parmigiano-reggiano got into the mix for this pizza, too, though normally I don't add it. I baked the pizza on a heated stone at 550 degrees for 5 minutes. Then I pulled out the oven rack and dropped some raw eggs from a small bowl onto the surface of the pizza. I very gently pushed the rack back into the oven. (With too much momentum the raw eggs can skid off the pizza crust, onto the pizza stone, then onto the oven floor. Guess how I know that.) When the pizza was done, I added on pieces of prosciutto, drizzled it with a little white truffle oil (high quality extra-virgin olive oil is good too), & sprinkled it with freshly chopped parsley. The original recipe for this pizza is in Alice Waters' Chez Panisse Cafe Cookbook.

The pizza dough recipe came from Joanne Weir. I reduce the oil to 1 TB, and if I have the time, I let the dough rise slowly in the fridge overnight. The recipe is here:

http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/aspen-2005-the-best-pizza-dough

Edited June 9, 2010 by djyee100 (log)

[percyn]

The pizzas look delicious djyee100. I wish I could have them for dinner tonight, especially the one with the eggs.