Dinner! 2010

[suzilightning]

ame down with a rotten cold - what i get for doing the good thing and going up to poughkeepsie to feed the inlaws.

for thanksgiving we started with stuffed mushrooms and pepperoni and mozzarella bites then on to cider brined turkey breast, mashed potatoes, twice baked sweet potatoes with pineapple, cranberry roasted brussels sprouts, green beans with garlic and my mother-in-laws sausage stuffing all with gravy. the carcass was picked over and then simmered with some aromatics to make the base for a turkey vegetable soup the next day. cranberry and turkey sandwiches on portugese sweet bread all around.

out to dinner on friday for my father-in-law's birthday

sunday john got to taste his first roast pheasant that we picked up at quattros out in the valley. their family and john's go way back in the area and i love to go there and stock up on their homeraised game. roasted with a veil of bacon on the breast it came out wonderfully. served with leftover sweets, roasted fingerling potatoes, some carrots, cornbread stuffing with apples and onions and madeira gravy.

before i got feeling so yucky yesterday made some asian meatballs (ground pork, sesame oil, toasted jasmine rice powder, soy, water chestnuts) and baked them. today hollowed out a small roll, smeared some hoisin mayo on it and filled with sliced meatballs.

[Pam Brunning]

That turbot looks good but are they as good as wild? I had the chance of some the other day but didn't get one as I try to avoid farmed fish as normally, because they have not had enough exercise, they haven't got the texture and a good flake like the wild variety.

[Prawncrackers]

The farmed ones don't grow as big as the wild ones of course. But they are absolutely perfect for Chinese preparations, they are the ideal size for steaming whole on a plate. As for taste, the ones I've been getting recently have been as good as I've ever tasted. The last wild one I bought was darked skinned and tasted very muddy like the bottom of the sea.

[Dakki]

Quesadillas with Argentine-style chorizo, in front with a tomatillo, habanero, cilantro, caramelized onion and roast garlic salsa, in back with a tomato, red jalapeno, caramelized onion and roast garlic salsa, with a cilantro garnish. Cheese is a well-aged Mennonite Chihuahua and the yellow corn tortillas have been fried in the chorizo's fat.

[Rico]

Dakki, that looks like something I'd enjoy eating. Two or three times a day.

What makes a chorizo Argentine-style? And if you felt like letting me in on how you make your 'caramelized onion and roast garlic salsa,' well, let's just say I wouldn't be offended.

[Dakki]

Thanks, Rico.

Very roughly, Argentine-style chorizo is an unsmoked sausage flavored with red wine, sweet paprika, nutmeg and garlic, unlike Mexican chorizo, which is (usually) a loose sausage spiced with vinegar and chiles, and Spanish chorizo, which is smoked. (I might actually have some of the details wrong, I'm no charcutiere). Anyway it's much milder and less salty than the Mexican variety and the flavor and consistency is very different.

Dakki's whatever looks like it's going to spoil salsas.

6 overripe Roma tomatoes

8 tired-looking red jalapenos

1/2 large onion that's started to dry out, coarsely chopped

1/2 head of roasted garlic left over from last weekend's bbq

last bit of sherry in the bottle (1/4 cup?)

salt and cumin to taste

Start by toasting the whole tomatoes and chiles in a dry griddle, turning them as the skins blacken until they are toasted all over. Meanwhile caramelize the onion in a bit of bacon fat in another pan. Remove the tomatoes and chiles from the pan and allow them to cool - they should be cooked through at this point. Remove as much as you can easily get off of the blackened skins on the tomatoes and chiles, remove the stems and navels (I guess you can devein the chiles at this point - I didn't bother) and dump them in the blender. Squeeze the roast garlic cloves in there as well. Wait till the onion caramelizes completely, then dump that in too, along with the sherry. Blend, correct the salt and cumin.

Green salsa was made the same way, except I used tomatillos and some habaneros I found hiding in the veg drawer, and added about half a bunch of wilted cilantro. I did hold a bit of cilantro back to dress the quesadillas with red salsa.

Knowing it was basically made with leftovers kinda sucks the romance out of it, innit?

Edited December 3, 2010 by Dakki (log)

[Rico]

Knowing it was basically made with leftovers kinda sucks the romance out of it, innit?

No. Stingy sombitch that I am, it kind of adds to it, I would say.

[ChrisTaylor]

Recent Larousse:

Rack of lamb

Veal chops a la Milanaise

[Dakki]

Frijoles charros with a little cheese.

I have to remember to watch out for my shadow while taking photos.

[ChrisTaylor]

Loin of pork bonne femme with a sage and onion sauce. #41 and 42 in my Larousse Gastronomique journey.

[C. sapidus]

Dakki, I loves me some frijoles charros.

I made a “can’t miss” recipe for pork chops. Meh, still a touch on the dry side, but not horrible. The sauce was delicious and the cabbage turned out nicely. Careful and thorough testing of the port - Dow's Fine Tawny Porto - ensured that it was fit for inclusion in a family meal.

Pork chops with sherry-garlic sauce, braised red cabbage with port and walnuts, store-bought bread

[ScottyBoy]

Wow it's pork night!

Christaylor, you're really sticking to it with the Larousse book, I love it.

C.Sapidus ,that chop looks damn good.

[ChrisTaylor]

Indeed it is pork night. Tonight I'll be cooking pork spare ribs a la Larousse.

[ScottyBoy]

Good thing I'm in Spain right now overdosing on Iberico ham.

[Dakki]

It's pork night and nobody let me know?

I ended up making a ribeye via the Ducasse method. Thanks a lot, guys.

[dcarch]

Amazing cooking by everyone, as usual. Great photos too.

dcarch

Salmon in pesto sauce,

Quails with real wild rice, pomegranate sauce.

[Dakki]

I gotta learn to plate stuff.

[ScottyBoy]

dcarch, your photos are always so composed, must take some time, beautiful.

[heidih]

dcarch- just curious on the salmon on pesto sauce- did you use some of that dill as the main herb - or are those not sprightly fresh dill flower heads?

Also can you explain the quail prep- it looks almost fried?

[Pierogi]

It's pork night and nobody let me know?

I ended up making a ribeye via the Ducasse method. Thanks a lot, guys.

OK, as good as that steak looks, and it looks fabulous.....those potatoes and mushrooms are making me want to lick my monitor, and I have a huge hunk of deep-dish pizza sitting in my tummy right now, so I am most certainly NOT hungry. But I could STILL hoover that whole plate of veg.....wow.

[ChrisTaylor]

The festival of pig continues

http://cookingthroughlarousse.blogspot.com/2010/12/rib-sticking-goodness.html

Edited December 7, 2010 by ChrisTaylor (log)

[kayb]

dcarch, I think perhaps that quail is my favorite of all your stunning plates you've presented. Gorgeous!

[Dakki]

OK, as good as that steak looks, and it looks fabulous.....those potatoes and mushrooms are making me want to lick my monitor, and I have a huge hunk of deep-dish pizza sitting in my tummy right now, so I am most certainly NOT hungry. But I could STILL hoover that whole plate of veg.....wow.

Thanks, Pierogi. The mushrooms were sauteed in the leftover butter from the steak, the potatoes were done following FatGuy's instructions in the thread I linked to in the post you quoted. The 'shrooms picked up some garlic and beef taste from the fats. Next time I think I'll deglaze the pan with a little white wine and thicken, and pour the result over the mushrooms.

This was my first attempt at the Ducasse method and it wasn't 100% successful. The outside was very tasty but not nearly as dark as the pics in the other thread, and the inside was closer to medium-well than medium-rare. Thankfully this not-so-great ribeye was on sale so I scored a half-dozen of these, so I can practice until I get it right before I ruin a better, more valuable piece of meat.

[dcarch]

dcarch, your photos are always so composed, must take some time, beautiful.

Thanks, coming from you. I have seen your excellent work. I actually don't normally spend much time to pile food on plates.

dcarch- just curious on the salmon on pesto sauce- did you use some of that dill as the main herb - or are those not sprightly fresh dill flower heads?Also can you explain the quail prep- it looks almost fried?

Yes, I have fresh dill in the pesto sauce, which is walnut pesto. The quails are indeed fried to have crispy skin.

dcarch, I think perhaps that quail is my favorite of all your stunning plates you've presented. Gorgeous!

Thanks kayb. I enjoy quails. I will be making a few more quail dishes for the Holidays.

Lot's of super pork dishes! I think I will also try to joy the fun.

dcarch

[C. sapidus]

Chris, beautiful pork spare ribs!

Our dinner: Penne with mushroom sauce; Savoy cabbage with pancetta and onions