Dinner! 2011

[Shelby]

MiFi: Your Zaatar chicken has me thinking I need to get my zaatar and sumac out!

Rarerollingobject - beautiful fish and photography!

robirdstx Amazing colour on those lamb chops!

Tonight, hubby requested spaghetti. I remember when we used to go to Spaghetti Factory in Winnipeg, and always ordered spaghetti with 3 sauces: burnt butter, clam, and meat sauce. Tonight, we just had clam and herbs in cream and white wine, steamed clams with proscuitto and white wine(Almejas Con Jamon from CDKitchen), and canned (shameful!)tomato basil sauce augmented with ground chuck, fresh basil, and fresh green peppercorns. The broth from the steamed clams was too salty (Fratelli Bereta prosacuitto). I used some of the proscuitto for asparagus as well.

OH MY GOSH.

I've NEVER seen such incredible pasta porn. Three sauces--what a fabulous idea. I MUST do this.

[Emily_R]

Oh Patrick -- what I'd give to have tried some of that curry!

It was a good dinner tonight. I stopped at the supermarket on the way home, and there were two 1.5 inch thick veal chops on last-day-to-use-them sale. I seared them up, roasted them, and then deglazed the pan and made a mushroom and marsala cream sauce... Served with parmesan couscous and the whole meal was heaven.

[Dakki]

Why do you guys always have to make me look lame?

Here's something for the offal lovers: Tacos de tripita con salpicon.

"Tripita" is tripe fried in its own drippings until well-browned and crisp. This salpicon is finely-diced purple onion, habanero pepper and cilantro, rested in a 50/50 mix of lime and orange juice (couldn't find bitter oranges and this works just as well).

[nickrey]

Just recently I took delivery of my brand new Masterbuilt Electric Smoker. I got it to do my bacon, sausages, and all the smoked items from Modernist Cuisine that require smoking followed by sous vide (eg. pastrami).

Bought some pre-marinated chicken from the local store and put it in the smoker for 5 hours at around 85C (185F). Brought the chicken inside and put it into the refrigerator. Next I put it in a baking dish with some cherry tomatoes (drizzled with balsamic and olive oil) and cooked it for around 30 minutes at 180C (350F). This roasted the tomatoes, reheated the meat and did a final cook to bring the meat up to a stage where it was more appealing (not red around bones, etc).

Served it with some asparagus wrapped in serrano ham and fried in butter.

Because of the low temperature cooking, I had to bring the cooking temperature up to ignite the smoking chips. Did this a few times during the five hours. The smoke flavour was all through the chicken but subtle at the same time. Absolutely delicious.

[MiFi]

Grilled lamb loin chops w/bistro lentils

[rarerollingobject]

Must be lamb chop week! Grilled lamb cutlets and salad of shaved zucchini, feta, red chilli and preserved lemon.

[Ann_T]

Wow, so many wonderful meals. I don't know which I want first, Rarerollingobject's Lamb Chops, Nickrey's smoked chicken or Dakki's Tacos. Decisions decisions!!!!

We have been eating well, but I haven't been taking pictures. A few of our meals last week were roasted Pork tenderloin, Halibut and Grilled New York Strips.

Last night's dinner was my old standby - Roast Chicken with a homemade bread dressing, and typical sides.

[patrickamory]

Dakki - I don't see how we're making you look lame when you post pictures of such succulent looking tripe tacos. That looks absolutely fantastic.

Emily - seared veal chop and then a sauce from the pan drippings (I usually use vermouth) is one of my favorite things on earth. Veal is unholy expensive here in NYC unfortunately... two 1.5" chops would probably set me back over $40.

[Kim Shook]

dcarch – Mr. Kim’s chin hit the floor when he saw your gorgeous pork and quinoa!

Dejah - Here is the couscous recipe. And, by the way, those clams are perhaps the most beautiful I’ve ever seen!

Dakki – I have to echo Patrick. Your tacos are gorgeous. I have never eaten tripe. I’ve never had or wanted the opportunity. But that picture is so wonderful that I’d try those tacos in a second!

rarerollingobject – the picture of the oysters is beautiful! Also, your shaved zucchini salad is lovely.

Ann – your ‘old standby’ looks delicious!

Dinner tonight:

Egg, ham and cheese muffins w/ sliced pears

and not really photo worthy vegetable soup:

[Shelby]

Hi everyone! I'm starting at Miss Kim's delicious looking ham and cheese muffins and working backwards to each of your yummy looking meals. Just tell me what time to be at your respective houses

Fried hot wings with Guinness dipped onion rings

Juicy Lucy's again...it's an addiction

Venison tacos, rice and beans

I made some yummy bagels so we had salmon and bagels for a late lunch

Venison corned beef on rye

And, spaghetti red

Edited April 8, 2011 by Shelby (log)

[menuinprogress]

Sea Bass al Pil-Pil

I've been wanting to do Pil-Pil for a while now. Pil-Pil is a Basque technique where fish (traditionally salt cod) is cooked in oil and then the cooking oil is emulsified into a sauce by swirling the fish around in it.

Instead of using salt cod, we used fresh Baja corvina sea bass. I was worried that it would fall apart, but it held up fairly well and was very soft and moist. The sauce, which got some extra flavor from a quick stock made from the fish trimmings, was fantastic.

[Country]

http://forums.egullet.org/uploads/monthly_04_2011/post-54689-0-18982100-1302285566.jpg

I don't know what's under the bagels but, by the charred wood above, it looks like it gets pretty hot. Plus an electrical outlet in the same area. Might be worth looking into.

Edit: The pic didn't show, so have to click the link. Sorry to get off-topic but I work with fire and hot stuff a lot and it looks like it needs checking out.

Edited April 8, 2011 by Country (log)

[Shelby]

http://forums.egullet.org/uploads/monthly_04_2011/post-54689-0-18982100-1302285566.jpg

I don't know what's under the bagels but, by the charred wood above, it looks like it gets pretty hot. Plus an electrical outlet in the same area. Might be worth looking into.

Edit: The pic didn't show, so have to click the link. Sorry to get off-topic but I work with fire and hot stuff a lot and it looks like it needs checking out.

Oh, thank you for checking Sigh, someone (it might have been me) put the rotisserie too close there and it got kinda hot...

[Kim Shook]

Shelby – every single thing looked fabulous! And that burger is just incredibly juicy and delicious looking. By the way, your photographs just get better and better all the time!

Country – I love that you noticed that charring in Shelby’s kitchen and cared enough to mention it. I used to call my daughter’s online friends her ‘imaginary friends’ and posts like yours make me realize how wrong I was – we are real friends who care about one another!

[Country]

Shelby – every single thing looked fabulous! And that burger is just incredibly juicy and delicious looking. By the way, your photographs just get better and better all the time!

Country – I love that you noticed that charring in Shelby’s kitchen and cared enough to mention it. I used to call my daughter’s online friends her ‘imaginary friends’ and posts like yours make me realize how wrong I was – we are real friends who care about one another!

Aw shucks, ma'am. I'd just hate to see Shelby catch her house on fire when she's doing all that good cooking.

Though it's virtual, we are all a community here though. While I have a new "handle", I was here back in the days of Tommy, etc. when things were a little more rip-roaring...

Edited April 9, 2011 by Country (log)

[Dejah]

Love those bagels, Shelby! Looks like they are "everything bagels"...garlic, poppy seed, etc? My Favourite!

Juicy Lucy will be on the "honey-do" list the next couple of weeks. I'm on a break from teaching! Yay!

[Dakki]

nickrey - I like the way you divided the chicken. It just seems logical when you butterfly it but I've just been too shy to serve it that way.

MiFi and Rarerollingobject - You make me wish I could get lamb at something resembling a reasonable price, not for the first time. Those are some luscious-looking chops.

Ann_T - Your meal is perfect Americana (Canadiana?). Whichever country it represents, it's utterly lovely and inspires home and hearth type feelings.

Patrickamory and Kim Shook - Thanks for your kind words, guys. As a single guy cooking for myself in what I can only describe as a culinary wasteland I depend on this thread for inspiration and encouragement. (TRANSLATION: I'm a compliment slut.)

[rarerollingobject]

(TRANSLATION: I'm a compliment slut.)

Dakki, here's a compliment for you: I have been able to think of nothing but crispy tripe since you posted your tacos. I mean this almost literally; I've found myself in work meetings this week pondering how I'm going to get my hands on some tripe and the sorry excuses that pass for corn tortillas in Sydney and try to recreate. It's on the cards for tomorrow, mark my words.

But for now, dinner tonight was five-spice roast duck. Carved the breast, legs and wings for immediate eating and am turning the rest of the carcass into a duck/pomegranate salad tomorrow, stock and of course lots of beautiful rendered fat.

Served with beans, simply steamed and drizzled in duck fat, and some cucumber-garlic-ginger quick pickles.

[dcarch]

Kim, Thanks. You should teach McDonalds how to make Egg McMuffins. I love the Mona Lisa cup. The soup will put a smile on my face too.

Shelby, Wow, what a parade of fine meals! Especially the bagels and the Venison corned beef on rye.

menuinprogress , beautiful Sea Bass al Pil-Pil.

rarerollingobject, you always have the most diversified dishes. You must have some very good shopping in your area. What a wonderful looking five-spice roast duck you made!.

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

Made this Friday dinner to get the weekend off to a good start.

Sous vide pork on brown rice and roasted carrots

Crackling pork skin

I made a mistake making the dough too thin, so I made Aebleskiver instead of bread.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

dcarch

[Dejah]

dcarch! That crackling is ridiculous!

WHat "dough" did you use for the Aebleskiver? Those look so cool. I would love to make them for Easter weekend when the kids are home.

rarerollingobject: Recipe / method for your five-spice duck?

[patrickamory]

rarerollingobject - that duck looks insane. Where is the recipe from?

[Emily_R]

Dcarch -- that crackling pork skin looks so good I can hardly stand it! How did you make it? Is it deep fried?

[dcarch]

dcarch! That crackling is ridiculous!

WHat "dough" did you use for the Aebleskiver? Those look so cool. I would love to make them for Easter weekend when the kids are home.-------

Thank you. Aebleskiver is very easy to make. You do need to have a special pan for it. It will be great to make them with the kids. They will have a lot of fun making them.

Dcarch -- that crackling pork skin looks so good I can hardly stand it! How did you make it? Is it deep fried?

Thanks. It is rediculously easy to make pork skin crackling.

Pork skin dried with paper towel, and score the skin with a very sharp knife. Rub with salt and pepper. Bake in a 450 degree F preheated oven. Keep an eye on it to make sure you don't burn it.

dcarch

[Dakki]

rarerollingobject - I want that duck.

If you're serious about making tripas, someone has informed me tripe is actually the first three stomachs (which would be "pancita") rather than the intestine ("tripa"). I don't know if butchers in the antipodes carry beef intestine (they usually don't, in the U.S.) but you might have better luck with "milk tripe," which is practically indistinguishable (and a bit less gross to think about, being part of the udder).

dcarch - lovely photos as usual. How did you eat that crackling skin? I usually serve with wedges of lime and a couple of good hot salsas.

[rarerollingobject]

Sous vide pork on brown rice and roasted carrots

dcarch - I have no words - that crackling!! And what's the sauce on your sous vide pork?

rarerollingobject: Recipe / method for your five-spice duck?

rarerollingobject - that duck looks insane. Where is the recipe from?

Thanks guys. No recipe per se - just rubbed a 4lb duck with five spice powder (ground cloves, star anise, sichuan pepper, cinnamon and fennel seeds) and salt, drizzled with a little olive oil, pushed chopped ginger, red eschallots, whole star anise and a cinnamon stick inside the cavity and closed it up with a skewer, and roasted it at 390F/200C for 90 minutes. I was originally planning to cook it for 120 minutes but it looked perfect and a temperature check indicated it was OK at 90, so I pulled it then.

The secret I think for the crispy skin is letting the duck sit in the fridge, uncovered on a plate, overnight before cooking. Dries it out and makes it much crispier.

rarerollingobject - I want that duck.

If you're serious about making tripas, someone has informed me tripe is actually the first three stomachs (which would be "pancita") rather than the intestine ("tripa"). I don't know if butchers in the antipodes carry beef intestine (they usually don't, in the U.S.) but you might have better luck with "milk tripe," which is practically indistinguishable (and a bit less gross to think about, being part of the udder).

Hmm, I was just going to use honeycomb tripe from Chinatown, the sort I'd normally braise till meltingly soft. I think that's one of the triumvirate of stomachs..might need to leave this till next weekend, when I'll have more time for an in-depth tripe investigation (so to speak!). Thanks for the advice!