Dinner! 2010

[nickrey]

After making some chicken stock, I was left with the set-aside raw breast meat.

It was vacuum packed and cooked sous vide for 2 hours.

The chicken was then coated with a home-made Bang Bang sauce and tea-smoked for around five minutes.

The resulting chicken was sliced and served on a salad.

Tonight's dinner: Sous-vide cooked, tea-smoked, bang bang chicken salad.

Edited August 8, 2010 by nickrey (log)

[percyn]

Made a 85/15 burger with Kosher meat

[kayb]

Standard Southern dinner of okra, corn, tomato slice (ok, slab) and a chicken tender (at least I had breaded and baked it myself)

And tonight, organic grass-fed beef burger, with dijon, bread-and-butter pickles, and potato salad. Chocolate chip pound cake for dessert.

[robirdstx]

Fresh Pasta with Hot Italian Sausage, Roasted Red Peppers and Basil Pesto, topped with a little grated Asiago and black pepper.

Edited August 9, 2010 by robirdstx (log)

[ScottyBoy]

Made some risotto. The broth is a simple white stock, onions, fennel, leeks, garlic and celery sweated down and simmered with white wine, water and thyme for 20 minutes. Raw sugar snap peas from the garden thrown in at the end so they still retain the sweet crunch. Soft cooked Jidori egg (60 minutes @ 145) with a little black truffle salt on top. Reduced sherry vinegar and honey for an acidic bite to drizzle around.

[cathyeats]

I had a bunch of stuff from my garden to use up, so I sauteed some yellow squash and garlic, then added chopped san marzano and amish paste tomatoes and simmered for 10 minutes or so. I threw in a can of white beans, some chopped swiss chard and fresh basil at the end, and served it on pasta. Not a bad dinner!

Edited August 10, 2010 by cathyeats (log)

[robirdstx]

Tonight I made a Spicy Pork Tenderloin Stir Fry with Broccoli, Red Bell Pepper, Button Mushrooms, Water Chestnuts and steamed Jasmine Rice. I used the marinade and sauce mix that I usually use for my Mongolian Beef. The tenderness of the pork was really nice.

[SobaAddict70]

The thing with Indian food (if you're a bachelor like I am) is that when you make it, there's a ton of leftovers.

Tonight's dinner:

Okra, shrimp and tomato curry over coconut rice

If you omit the shrimp, it becomes bhindi masala.

[ScottyBoy]

Looks killer!

[suzilightning]

sunday finally was a day i could cook so after the farmer's market it was:

tomato pie. no, not pizza for you north jersey folks. have some small, chicken pot pie pans so made a pate brisee, blind baked it for about ten minutes at 325. then a subtle swipe with some dijon mustard, some sauteed shallots and scallion on the bottom, four or five slices of peeled and seeded fresh tomatoes that had been lightly salted, drained and patted dry with some paper towels. topped with a mix of grated sharp cheddar, a little bit of mayo and some minced fresh oregano and basil. into the oven for about 25 minutes then cool to room temperature.

macaroni and cheese with chopped ham and english peas.

campanile with a summer vegetable sauce of shallot, scallion, summer squash, a few leftover yellow beans and about 2 Tbsp of pesto from the freezer.

today it's back to hot and humid without a breeze, plus i'm single so trying to decide between a bowl of multigrain cheerios or a salad of fresh heirloom tomatoes with some ricotta salata and some basalmic. course i do have a bit of leftover mac and cheese...

[ScottyBoy]

Ohhhh that pie sounds awesome, will do once my heirlooms are in full swing!

[SobaAddict70]

It's "use-up-the-vegetables-in-the-crisper" theme night.

Roasted peanut fingerling potatoes, green beans and Italian frying peppers, with heirloom tomatoes and garlic chives

The actual vegetables don't matter much. Peanut fingerling potatoes (an heirloom variety of fingerlings named because of their nutty flavor; excellent roasted, boiled or steamed), green beans and sliced Italian frying peppers, tossed with salt and olive oil, then roasted for 30 minutes at 350 F. Combined with chopped heirloom tomato, garlic chives, 1 tablespoon garlic jelly and extra-virgin olive oil.

Served with plenty of Italian bread.

Leftovers will be transformed into panzanella.

[djyee100]

A gorgeous melange of vegetables, SobaAddict. The upcoming panzanella sounds good, too.

Yesterday at the fish market, chunks of ahi tuna and swordfish on sale, so I bought a bunch to play with. The tuna went into Tuna with Sweet-and-Sour Onions, from Paula Wolfert's Mediterranean Clay Pot Cooking. The tuna pieces are dredged in seasoned flour, pan-fried, then combined with sweet & sour caramelized onions.

The mixture is chilled so that the flavors meld, and it's served cold. The dish does taste better that way. But I can attest that crispy pieces of tuna with those onions, eaten warm out of the pan, taste very good too.

An appetizer, served chilled, with a garnish of fresh mint.

The recipe is available on Googlebooks. I started with step 2, caramelizing the onions in a conventional skillet, and I reduced the amt of tuna to 1 1/2 lbs. On Page 59:

http://books.google.com/books?id=DwtbDDGaQcIC&pg=PA59&lpg=PA59&dq=wolfert+tuna+with+sweet+sour+onions&source=bl&ots=qlyIQD-VyU&sig=hzz1s-KmKymjgZonQkXk1JdmcYQ&hl=en&ei=zFNiTNSZAYjksQPfsrShCA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBIQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false

For today's dinner I cooked the swordfish pieces in a Swordfish Chowder with onions, fennel, potatoes, dill, white wine, & cream. This is not a summer-y dish. But we're having unseasonably cool weather here, wearing jackets during the day and covering up with blankets at night, and this chowder hit the spot.

To make Swordfish Chowder: In a soup pot, heat 1 TB butter and 1 TB olive oil. Add in 2 medium-size onions, diced; 1 small fennel bulb, trimmed & diced; 2 whole cloves; generous pinch of fennel seed, crushed; 1 bay leaf; salt. Saute over moderate heat until the vegs are softened and translucent. Add in 2 medium-size potatoes, diced; 1/2 cup dry white wine; and approx 2 cups of water, enough to cover the vegs. Bring to a simmer. Cover and cook until the potatoes are tender and cooked through, about 10 mins. Add in 1 1/2 lbs swordfish, cut into chunks; 1 TB freshly chopped dill; and more water if necessary. Simmer until the fish is cooked; this may take only five mins or so, so keep checking the fish for doneness. Stir in 1 cup Half & Half. Taste and adjust for salt. Remove the cloves and bay leaf. Heat the soup until it is very hot, but avoid boiling. Serve immediately with crusty bread.

I've cooked this chowder with other kinds of lean white fish, but I do like swordfish best.

For dessert, a syrupy Sun-Dried Strawberry Jam that needs warm weather to thicken properly.

Just kidding. Actually, dessert was fresh peaches. I cooked this jam last night. Sliced strawberries and sugar are boiled together briefly, then the jam is spread onto a large platter (to no more than 1/2" thickness), and allowed to dry. The evaporation thickens the jam. Kidding aside, even with the cool weather, this jam has dried out and thickened enough over 24 hrs that I will pack it in a jar for the fridge tonight. It's the easiest jam I've ever made, and the flavor is fabulous. I followed the recipe in Alice Waters' Chez Panisse Fruit. This blog has an adapted recipe:

http://mixedgreensblog.com/2009/06/29/seasons-eatings/preserve-it-sun-dried-jam/

Edited August 12, 2010 by djyee100 (log)

[dcarch]

The food may be finger-licking good, but you just can’t served them when you have guests all dressed up for a sit-down candle light dinner.

Boiled, broiled Lobsters in the shell are great, but you will need to have scoops/picks lobster crackers, mallets, finger bowls, wipes, bibs ----

Or you can serve the lobster shelled this way:

dcarch

[djyee100]

dcarch, a wonderful lobster presentation. Did you carve away the shell with knife or scissors? Any tips on how you did this?

[Chris Hennes]

Get out the Dremel!

[Stephanie Brim]

What was supposed to be dinner today:

is now going to be dinner tomorrow. Topping with reduced sauce from cooking (this was Crock-Pot and then finished in the oven) and serving on warm flour tortillas with normal taco fixings for around here: tomatoes, lettuce, onions, cheese, and sour cream.

Or, well, some of it is. There's something like four pounds of meat in that bowl. It's one I normally use for bread.

I think my butt may have been a bit too big.

I think this is my first post to the actual dinner thread. Hi. I got a new camera and I'm really liking it so far.

[ScottyBoy]

Get out the Dremel!

Seriously, the time spent on that picture, looks like something out fo the Modernist Cuisine cook book

[dcarch]

Thank you guys.

I was trying to address the frustrations of eating crustaceans.

I used a cordless rotary tool with a cutting wheel to "undress" the lobster. Be careful if you are going to use a plug-in tool. Plug in a GFP outlet to avoid electric shock.

You could possibly use vinegar to melt away the shells; but then you end up having a pickled lobster.

Have fun.

dcarch

Edited August 13, 2010 by dcarch (log)

[Rico]

Chris HennesPosted Yesterday, 09:07 PM

Get out the Dremel!

I used a cordless rotary tool with a cutting wheel to "undress" the lobster.

Good call, Chris!

And dcarch, that looks ... well, let's just saying if one were having a party and trying to make friends, one would make a lot of friends by serving that.

[mgaretz]

Last night I made London Broil with a Cherry and Balsamic Vinegar reduction and my wife made cauliflower with onions and peanuts.

[mmille24]

Duck Confit with thyme, garlic, and duck fat potatoes. Cooked the duck for about 9-10 hours at 190. The duck was absolutely delicious, got it from a local farm here in Dublin. However, I absolutely ruined the skin, it didn't brown as expected and was sticking to the pan. Not sure what I did wrong. Maybe I should use a non stick instead of my cast iron?

[heidih]

Last night I made London Broil with a Cherry and Balsamic Vinegar reduction and my wife made cauliflower with onions and peanuts.

I am intrigued by the cauliflower and peanut combo since I find cauliflower to have a nutty taste. Can you give us a synopsis of the prep?

[mgaretz]

Last night I made London Broil with a Cherry and Balsamic Vinegar reduction and my wife made cauliflower with onions and peanuts.

I am intrigued by the cauliflower and peanut combo since I find cauliflower to have a nutty taste. Can you give us a synopsis of the prep?

Sure Heidi. Normally she makes this with green onions and cashews but since we had neither we substituted peanuts and yellow onions. I actually liked this version a little better.

Wash and cut up a head of cauliflower. Thinly slice about 1/2 a medium yellow onion and break the half rings apart. Steam the onion and cauliflower together. While they are steaming, lightly crush 1/4 cup of dry roasted peanuts. When the cauliflower is tender, transfer to a bowl and stir in butter to taste (we used about 1/4 stick of unsalted). Once the butter is melted and distributed, mix in the peanuts. Salt and pepper to taste, if desired (we used none, but the peanuts were salted).

I think this would also be good prepared as a stir fry.

[robirdstx]

Grilled Pork Chops. I brushed the chops with sesame oil and then seasoned with a bit of salt, black pepper, and Chinese five spice. Served with Worcestershire sauce and chopped green onion.