Dinner! 2011

[Dakki]

Blether, if you actually care what a tablespoon of that salt weights, you can measure out a lot of them (say, 100), weight it and divide. Not perfect but close enough for government work.

BTW, glad to see you're doing okay. Media here has us all half-convinced the entire country is scavenging half-eaten pastries from trash cans and growing extra limbs.

ScottyBoy, can you tell me what that pink pork tenderloin was like? I'll admit to being a scaredy-cat with rare pork and poultry, but if it's worth doing, hey.

[dcarch]

Thank you guys. You are too much. I am embarrassed by you kind comments.

Djyee100, the purple cabbage was cooked in corned beef broth then the outer leaves were peeled open. It was not difficult to do. The leaves kind of support the cabbage to sit just like that.

Blether, thank you. The roast loin of pork looks comforting to the tummy, and exciting to the eyes.

ScottyBoy, masterful plating and expert photographing of gastronomic extravagances.

Dejah, your lemongrass Lamb Chops dish is no less pornographic than the others. :-)

Genkinaonna, thank you. I like the way you “plated” the Passato di Ceci soup and the pizza Rustica will be on my to try list.

dcarch

[ScottyBoy]

Oh thanks all!

Dakki - The picture looks VERY pink but it was about medium and so tender and flavorful. If you have the equipment to SV then you should really try for yourself. The tenderloin of pork can be just melt in your mouth, cut with a fork awesome cut if treated right. Once you see the texture is not raw and chewy I think it will get rid of your worries

[Blether]

Blether, if you actually care what a tablespoon of that salt weighs, you can measure out a lot of them (say, 100), weight it and divide. Not perfect but close enough for government work.

Aye, and I'm on a standard American-sphere-of-influence 15ml Tbsp, so I could just measure out a 568ml Imperial oops, dirty word... British, well, old-fashioned pint and divide, but hell, 99% of the meat-salting jobs I do need a measurement between about 1/6tsp and about 1.5. Until I get my hands on a druggists's scale and get excited about a laboratory approach in the kitchen, I'll be happily eyeballing nameless fractions of teaspoons and describing them in text in rounded approximations. Anyway I cooked for years and years eyeballing salt entirely, and I want to keep my feel for it. I've made some commitment to measurement as a concession to predictability (& communicability) in certain applications.

BTW, glad to see you're doing okay. Media here has us all half-convinced the entire country is scavenging half-eaten pastries from trash cans and growing extra limbs.

Thanks. Just as I started typing this, another shake rolled through. I'm getting fast on the draw with the TV remote, and guess what ? They're running victim-relief donation ads along with the impending-and-present e/q info. It's the perfect product placement ! I'm trying hard not to get any jumpier, but I get strangely more efficient at pastry snaffling with each passing day...

(Seriously ? I'm happy to still have things like my home, food, water, and heat. Waste no worry on me).

Edited March 22, 2011 by Blether (log)

[Dejah]

Thanks for all the encouragement.

This is a great place, not only to get new cooking ideas, but also for plating.

One problem: I find I am always shopping for dishes now!

[Emily_R]

Ok, while I am the world's worst dinner photographer, had to post about this one. Just cut into the pancetta I made for the first time! I decided to use it in a mushroom pancetta cream sauce over pasta, with some Madeira wine cooked down with the mushrooms. Really rich and really good!

[Genkinaonna]

That looks amazing! I haven't done any curing, but that picture tempts me to start. Also, I have those bowls for pasta too!

[Ann_T]

Scottyboy, everything looks wonderful but that luscious foie gras mousse has me wanting to lick the screen.

Dejah, your meals look good to me. I love the idea of grilled lemongrass lamb chops.

Genkinaonna, Your chickpea soup looks velvety smooth.

Emily, I've never done any curing either, but now I'm tempted.

Blether, I'm a big fan of presalting. I started presalting a number of years ago and now presalt most meats. When I have time I presalt two to three days in advance. I find that even presalting for 24 to 36 hours makes a difference.

I roasted a chicken on Saturday night that had been salted Friday morning. I removed the plastic wrap Saturday morning so that it could air dry all day in the fridge. It was roasted in a 500°F oven.

Dinner Sunday night was hot chicken sandwiches with homemade fries.

Monday night I ordered in a pizza and last night I grilled baby back ribs and served them with black beans, rice and salsa. The ribs were presalted and rubbed earlier in the day with garlic and chipotle pepper.

Not sure what dinner tonight will be but I still have a big pot of black beans leftover and some salsa, so, maybe something Tex-Mex.

Ann

[rarerollingobject]

Ann_T, I like the look of those ribs! Wow. My meat-tooth is twinging.

Dinner for me was thinly sliced wagyu, wrapped around asparagus and enoki mushrooms, and quickly grilled with a brush of mirin/soy/sake glaze till syrupy. And rice.

[Blether]

... Blether, I'm a big fan of presalting. I started presalting a number of years ago and now presalt most meats. When I have time I presalt two to three days in advance. I find that even presalting for 24 to 36 hours makes a difference...

Ann - yes, absolutely. For myself, I got seriously into pre-salting maybe a year or two before joining eG, having read, as I've said in the forums before, Aidells & Kelly's Meat Cookbook. I didn't get much else out of the book, though it was 30 dollars or something, other perhaps than more clarity on the US names for cuts of meat, but the pre-salting advice alone was worth the whole amount and more. Coming on to eG, I asked a few times and it was clear it was accepted wisdom, amongst the veterans.

(Not to diss the Meat Cookbook - I just found that with so many of the recipes being variations on spice rubs, and much of the meat knowledge aimed at the cook starting out in the subject field, I didn't feel I was learning much I didn't know already).

Yes, any length of time to absorb is better than none, (and for their part fish of course take in salt very quickly indeed). I feel pre-salting is more sensitive than curing to being left too long, as the proportion of salt won't stop spoilage, but that only begins to come into things after 3 or more full days.

Your chicken looks delicious, and RRO, those are beautiful makimono.

Edited March 24, 2011 by Blether (log)

[dcarch]

Emily_R, Those are pretty good photo-compositions, just color hues are a little off. Very nice home-made pancetta.

Ann_t, again, your dishes remind me why I am an admirer of your cooking.

rarerollingobject, I can just imagine how wonderful it would be to bite into those wagyu wrapped around asparagus and enoki mushrooms. I love the plate they are on. And I like wrapping things :-).

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Napa cabbage wrapped ground turkey meatloaves on chunky mashed potatoes.

dcarch

[Kim Shook]

Dejah – those mussels and clams look incredible. And I don’t know that it is appropriate to Thai food, but I’d want a big baguette to soak up all of that lovely looking sauce!

Dianne – I’m not sure that we could even get any decent halibut here in Virginia, but I really want Ann’s fish, too!

kayb – the meatballs look wonderful – they are something that I want to make soon!

Dcarch – your St. P’s day dinner was delicious looking, but the green pepper shamrocks made me smile! I’m stealing that idea! And, just so I understand – your meatloaves were cooked INSIDE the Napa cabbage leaves? The leaves look roast-y on the ends. It sounds fantastic! (And, needless to say, looks gorgeous).

Emily – your pancetta is beautiful and what a lovely ingredient to have on hand!

Ann – your ribs look perfect. Mine always end up too done for me, but everyone says “they’re perfect – falling off the bone”. Sigh.

My parents were up from NC while we were in the Outer Banks celebrating our 29th wedding anniversary last weekend. They were here hosting a little reunion with some family. Momma and Ted stayed an extra couple of days so that we could have a visit and my in laws came over for dinner on Monday night. To nibble on, I served garlic toasts and cipollini dip:

Dinner was ribs:

Corn casserole:

Chick Fil A slaw:

Peas and caramelized onions:

Plate:

And dessert was a roasted strawberry cheesecake:

Since the dinner was on a weeknight, I needed something easy to get ready quickly. The ribs were in a slow cooker all day and then just crisped up in a hot oven last minute. The casserole goes together and cooks in about an hour. The slaw was purchased (I love Chick Fil A’s slaw), the onions were caramelized Sunday night and microwaved before adding to the peas and I made the cheesecake last week and had it in the freezer. I haven’t cooked a meal since! We ordered food in on Tuesday night, last night Mr. Kim and I grabbed comfort food (cheeseburgers and fried chicken) at a local joint and tonight he’s working so late that think I’ll just pull out some crackers and cheese!

[rarerollingobject]

Your ribs call me to, Kim Shook..if that isn't too forward!

Dinner here was duck breast, cooked sous vide, and green beans sauteed with hazelnuts and balsamic. And roast cauliflower, bacon and whole garlic cloves, which I dressed with yuzu salt and white pepper.

[Ann_T]

Rarefolllingobject, I can just imagine how delicious the wagyu wraped asparagus must have been . What a great idea. And your duck breast. Yum. Perfectly cooked.

DCarch, next time I make cabbage rolls I think I will use Napa cabbage. Savoy is my usual choice.

Kim, what a feast. Happy Belated Anniversary.

I still had a big pot of black beans left from the other night so I made black bean and chicken tacos. Pulled the meat off a roasted chicken and seasoned the pulled meat with a few tablespoons of salsa. The corn tortillas were homemade.

The remaining beans were pureed with more chicken broth and turned into soup.

[Kim Shook]

rarerollingobject – your cauliflower is gorgeous! And I’m adding some citrus and bacon to mine next time – great idea! Is the bacon cooked prior to going in with the cauliflower? I do a roasted cauliflower and fennel dish that would be wonderful with the citrus and bacon. Hmmmm.

Ann – isn’t it wonderful to have a pot of beans? Honestly, if you start the week with a pot of beans and a roasted chicken, you can feast all week and have something different every night! Lovely tacos!

For dinner last night, I did a beef version of the Ramen noodle and chicken stir fry that I made the other night:

I also tossed in some green onions and some leftover peas and onions that I served on Monday. We really like this a lot.

I also repeated the cucumber, radish, rice wine vinegar and black salt ‘salad’:

[robirdstx]

One dinner earlier in the week was Porcupine Meatballs, buttered Green Beans, and Cheesy Garlic Toast.

I hadn't made these meatballs in years. Used to do them regularly in a pressure cooker. I think the recipe was in the booklet that came with the cooker. I got rid of the cooker about nine years ago and wasn't going to buy another just to make these, so I searched online and found a baked in the oven version. I was really pleased with result.

Another dinner this week was Romano Pecorino Crusted Chicken Breast with a Creamy Garlic Dipping Sauce,

and a tossed green salad with my favorite bottled honey mustard dressing.

[dcarch]

robirdstx, How many meatballs can you make with just one Porcupine?

dcarch :-)

[robirdstx]

robirdstx, How many meatballs can you make with just one Porcupine?

dcarch :-)

I got 25 but ymmv.

[Dejah]

Patrickamory: There is no comparison between fresh and dried/brined greenpeppercorns.

Kim: Baguette is perfect for the Thai broth if there is no rice served. Actually, I prefer baguette.

Rareandrollingobject: Duck breasts! I've been reading about them so often, my daughter and her SO finally found some for me in the city. We're going to cook them tonight: pan seared topped with a fermented black bean, ketsup, and hoisin sauce per Jason Santo on Simple Ming. I hope the sauce won't be too heavy for them. So excited to be trying out duck breasts. Having said theat, I hope they turn out as tasty as they did on Ming's show.

[djyee100]

robirdstx, How many meatballs can you make with just one Porcupine?

dcarch :-)

I thought, Where did she get porcupine meat? It's still the AM here. I need another cup of coffee.

[Dejah]

patrickamory: Just for you!

[patrickamory]

Wow, looks amazing. What did you make with them?

I tried brined green peppercorns for the first time last night in a jungle curry - well rinsed they were actually excellent. Can't imagine how great the fresh ones are though.

Edit: just found a place that sells piper nigrum plants via mail order. I may try to grow one this summer. It seems like it's not necessarily easy to get them to produce peppercorns however.

Edited March 26, 2011 by patrickamory (log)

[dcarch]

Kim, Oh my! Those ribs! Worth going back for seconds, thirds ----- But leaving room for the strawberry cheese cake. I don’t blame you for repeating the cucumber salad. I probably would have it every night. So pretty!

rarerollingobject, The magic of sous vide, rare duck breast but crispy skin! Very nice.

Annm_t, even though I have not had it before, I can tell black bean and chicken tacos is an excellent combination.

Robirdstx, Your Porcupine Meatballs got my curiosity. They look wonderful. I will have to try to make them. Also, very beautiful salad.

------------------------------------ ----

Leftover corned beef and fresh strawberries with freeze dried apple chips.

dcarch

[Country]

robirdstx, How many meatballs can you make with just one Porcupine?

dcarch :-)

It depends on the size of the porcupine and the size of the meatballs.

[robirdstx]

Robirdstx, Your Porcupine Meatballs got my curiosity. They look wonderful. I will have to try to make them. Also, very beautiful salad.

Thank you! I didn't have any leftover porcupine meat, so dinner tonight was spicy pork tamales, which I purchased from my local farmer's market today. I didn't really have to do much cooking - just steamed the tamales and served them with our usual Herdez Salsa Verde, sour cream and (new to us) Don Rogelio's Salsa de Piquin. Don Rogelio's salsa, combined with the sour cream, was a perfect fit with the tamales. We also had a salad similar to the one I posted upthread.