Dinner! 2010

[mgaretz]

Cold and rainy today - perfect for my Sweet and Sour Cabbage Borscht (even though it's called borscht there are no beets in it).

[Doodad]

I smoked brisket and pork ribs and made greens, slaw, bbq beans and mac n cheese for sides. In the back are Carolina Red and Yella sauces.

[Rico]

It's 8:37 here, and I already want to be eating lamb shanks and brisket and lobster and steak. And everything else on this thread. Sigh. Guess I'll go have some oatmeal.

Anyway, Valentine's dinner posted inappropriately late (all from Vefa's Kitchen):

Cheese-stuffed artichokes

Honey-wine shrimp and vegetable orzo:

It was all pretty simple and very tasty.

[nikkib]

Am on a bit of a vegetarian binge at the moment so here is a selection of recent meals

Aubergine, Spianach and Roasted Pepper Parmigiana

Puff Pastry Base topped with a paste made from sunblushed tomato and crushed chillis with Plum toamato and Basil Vinaigrette grilled on top

Roasted Ramiro Pappers stuffed with vegetable couscous and topped with Feta

Cumin and Coriander roasted Butternut squash filled with Cherry tomatoes,Spinach, Asparagus, Mushrooms,breadcrumbs and Gruyere cheese

feeling rather virtuous and enjoying all the colourful meal at the same time!

[menuinprogress]

Fettuccine with shrimp and squid in a saffron cream sauce

[Darienne]

Am on a bit of a vegetarian binge at the moment so here is a selection of recent meals

feeling rather virtuous and enjoying all the colourful meal at the same time!

I would definitely like to come to your house for this dinner.

[Porthos]

Beef braised in red wine with brown rice.

[jenc]

Mascarpone and garlic mash with sausages and beets. Didn't have any cream, but had a tub of mascarpone!

[Blether]

Sea trout and baby clam cream gratin:

- served over saffron basmati, with broccoli cooked without oil, just fiercely enough to brown in places, and dressed with olive oil, balsamic vinegar & salt. I made a logistical mistake by cutting the fish pieces so thin they almost covered the base of the gratin dish, so the sauce mostly floated on top - I should have cut fewer, thicker pieces.

Anyway - the baby clams purged of sand overnight in a covered bowl of salt water with some flour in it, in the fridge; a couple of tablespoons finely chopped onion fried in butter with a little black pepper, the clams and 140ml white wine added, and the clams lifted out as they opened. The fish cutlets poached in the liquid for 3 or 4 minutes, till done, and laid in the gratin dish. A very small butter roux, the wine liquor added, a couple of teaspoons French mustard, a small carton of cream, and seasoning of cayenne, S&P. The shelled clams scattered over the fish, the sauce poured over, warmed in the oven for ten minutes then dusted with parmesan and browned under the grill.

Adapted from a recipe for langoustines in French Provincial Cookery. Sea trout / salmon gives no corals to mix into the sauce, hence the clams. They worked beautifully. A lovely dish, almost wasted on farmed fish.

[fairfranco]

My first post on this thread. Not the best presentation but I've been having lots of fun playing with my new macro lens!

Dinner tonight was salmon with a pistachio, rosemary and thyme crust with parsnip puree roasted small leeks and carrots.

Edited February 24, 2010 by fairfranco (log)

[robirdstx]

Ready for the oven. Tonight will be braised Beef Shanks (Osso Buco-style, using Marcella Hazan's recipe). I've never made this dish before so thought I'd use the much cheaper beef shank before investing the big bucks in the veal. The dish has been in the oven for about an hour and a half now and the house is smelling amazing! I'll be serving the beef over Saffron Risotto.

Edited February 24, 2010 by robirdstx (log)

[robirdstx]

Individual size Pizzas. We made a party of it by each of us rolling out our own dough and adding our own toppings. This one is pork sausage with black olives and onions. We ran low on mozzarella so mixed it with some monterey jack. The jack added some extra good cheesiness.

[Aloha Steve]

Individual size Pizzas. We made a party of it by each of us rolling out our own dough and adding our own toppings. This one is pork sausage with black olives and onions. We ran low on mozzarella so mixed it with some monterey jack. The jack added some extra good cheesiness.

THAT, is one good looking pizza !

[C. sapidus]

Shells with sausage, cream, and tomato, plus parsley, S&P and grated parmesan cheese. A favorite from Marcella’s Italian Kitchen.

Braised red cabbage with onion, olive oil, garlic, chicken stock, parsley, and raspberry balsamic vinegar.

[suzilightning]

last night was bangers and mash with onion gravy and some zucchini. tonight was a pork roast that had spent 24 hours in a marinade of beer, honey, dijon mustard and onion. removed the roast and browned it then it spent about 1.5 hours in the oven being bathed every 20 minutes or so with the marinade. deglazed the pan with the leftover marinade then thickened it with a beurre mainiere and strained through a chinoise. served with some roasted butternut squash, german potato salad and homemade applesauce. dessert was an orange tea cake.

[kayb]

Meatballs in marinara over orzo, with coriander roasted carrots on the side. The beef, once again, was the grass-fed free-range I've begun buying, and which has forever turned me against feed-lot beef. I am a believer.

[C. sapidus]

kayb – mmm, roasted carrots (not to slight the meatballs). Coriander seed or leaf?

Caribbean dinner tonight:

Jamaican goat (lamb) curry: Cubed lamb shank marinated with fresh thyme, allspice, curry powder, and chopped chives, garlic, and a Scotch bonnet chile. Fry onions, garlic, ginger, fresh thyme, and curry powder; brown the meat, then add coconut milk, chicken stock, and the shank bone. Simmer the curry until the lamb can be easily cut with a dull spoon. Another good ‘un from Curry Cuisine.

Pigeon peas and rice with chopped bell peppers, onions, garlic, fresh thyme, half a Scotch bonnet chile, and fried salt pork. Recipe from Sweet Hands.

Fried plantains with crema: Da boyz dont especially dig this, so more for Mrs. C and me.

[Pilori]

Breakfast for dinner! Eggs benedict with homemade brioche and prosciutto. (sorry about it being out of focus!)

[meredithla]

Kim, that burger looks mouthwatering!

[meredithla]

I meant this burger...I'm a little slow this a.m.

Plated - on English muffins with bacon and caramelized onions:

[kayb]

kayb – mmm, roasted carrots (not to slight the meatballs). Coriander seed or leaf?

Seed (or actually, ground). Just tossed them in olive oil, a little sugar, a little salt, and the coriander. Roasted at 325 so the sugar wouldn't burn, for maybe 35-40 minutes (I didn't time, just tested from time to time).

M'mmmm....plantains. LOVE plantains. Ate them three times a day last year when I was in Miami. The ones I fry at home just aren't as good.

[Kim Shook]

Blether – the sea trout and clam dish looks so wonderful. I am a big fan of creamy sauces with seafood.

robirdstx – gorgeous pizza!

Bruce – those shells and sausage look delicious, but what really caught my eye was the beautiful red cabbage. I love your idea of using the raspberry vinegar!

Meredith – thank you! I am completely converted to the NY Times method of lightly packing the ground beef – the texture is wonderful.

Dinner last night was fabulous. Jessica came over to eat with us and said that it was one of the best things that I’d ever made! We had a really good hoisin sauced short rib dish on Valentine’s Day 2010 at a restaurant and I thought that I’d like to try something similar. I have another recipe for a hoisin sauce that is really good, but it is a little too strong, so I used beef broth to lighten it up. These were luscious and rich, but the beef flavor came through, which it really doesn’t with the other recipe. I served this on grilled grits cakes.

Here is a picture of my progress:

This is actually neater and more coherent than most of the notes I make when I’m trying to develop something !

The reduced sauce:

With the short ribs before baking:

Grits cakes before:

and after:

Plated:

It doesn’t look like much, but boy, it was GOOD. The flavor and texture were EXACTLY what I had in my head. That is a very satisfying feeling.

For sides, I just served leftover cauliflower and collards from yesterday:

We drank this with the meal:

Screw top Merlot, but we liked it.

[meredithla]

I've missed you, dinner thread. Had the time this morning to catch up on 3 months of your inspired dinners, everyone. Gorgeous!

I have started something with my kids (ages 5 & 7). They each pick the dinner menu one night per week. They are responsible for writing the shopping list, including a vegetable and doing any prep they are capable of. Here are some of their recent dinners:

INDONESIAN GRILLED SWORDFISH

PARMESAN ROASTED BROCCOLI

SOLE MEUNIERE W/CONFETTI CORN

CHICKEN PAILLARDS W/CLEMENTINE, AVOCADO & SCALLION SALSA

[Darienne]

Good Heavens! I am impressed. What sophisticated palates those young children have. I had to look up Paillards of chicken.

[judiu]

(Snippage)

Dinner last night was fabulous. Jessica came over to eat with us and said that it was one of the best things that I’d ever made! We had a really good hoisin sauced short rib dish on Valentine’s Day 2010 at a restaurant and I thought that I’d like to try something similar. I have another recipe for a hoisin sauce that is really good, but it is a little too strong, so I used beef broth to lighten it up. These were luscious and rich, but the beef flavor came through, which it really doesn’t with the other recipe. I served this on grilled grits cakes.

Here is a picture of my progress:

This is actually neater and more coherent than most of the notes I make when I’m trying to develop something !

The reduced sauce:

With the short ribs before baking:

Grits cakes before:

and after:

Plated:

It doesn’t look like much, but boy, it was GOOD. The flavor and texture were EXACTLY what I had in my head. That is a very satisfying feeling.

For sides, I just served leftover cauliflower and collards from yesterday:

We drank this with the meal:

Screw top Merlot, but we liked it.

Kim, that looks amazing! Hoisin is a great ingredient, but I use it far too little. Was that 1 OZ, though, or 9 OZ? I'm thinking 1, but the tail of the 'y' in 'sherry' makes it look like a 9.