Dinner! 2011

[Genkinaonna]

Mmm...crispy skin!

Percyn-that shrimp looks so light and delicious. Perfect summer fare.

Norm-Yum! Ribeye is my favorite, and I could eat that bread by itself as a meal!

Shelby-Glad it's cooling down (finally!) for you...that carbonara looks delicious, and anything that tastes like a snickers is perfect in my book!

I made Korean-style chicken thighs and roasted veggies tonight. The chicken thighs were supposed to be grilled, but we had a little mishap with an overfull grease/crumb tray at the bottom of our grill. Luckily we managed to get the gas turned off before the flames shooting out of the back of the grill ignited the back side of the house, but I opted not to push my luck and cooked the chicken in a skillet instead. It's better grilled, though

The beans were a mix of purple, yellow, and romano beans from the farmer's market, I tossed them with some sesame oil and a little salt and roasted them 'til they were crispy on the edges. So tasty. The summer squash came from a u-pick we went to this weekend. It sounds odd to say, but I'd never had them before, and I think I prefer zucchini. These tasted too squash-y and sweet. Almost like a butternut squash, which I'm not a big fan of. But overall it was a successful meal.

[percyn]

Genkinaonna, glad to hear your house is still intact. The shrimp was perfect for summer. Thanks to those who shared the recipe.

Peking Duck Bento Box from famous local restaurant

Edited August 17, 2011 by percyn (log)

[Kim Shook]

Soba & Scotty – gorgeous tomatoes! I haven’t been at all thrilled with the tomatoes this summer – even from the farmstands or the markets.

Shelby – that PB pie looks stellar! One of my favorite desserts and almost the only one that my dad likes! And that pasta is downright swoony!

percyn – I loved the look of your garlic steamed shrimp so much that I asked Mr. Kim if we could go to our favorite restaurant for dinner on Friday when my mother comes to visit – they have a similar dish and your picture caused a CRAVING!!

Scotty – so glad you are enjoying the bacon jam and I need those ‘crackers’. Lord, those look good.

Sunday was Mr. Kim’s birthday. Dinner was all by request of the birthday boy. Fried chicken:

This was easily the best fried chicken I've ever made. I used the recipe I usually use - it has some interesting ingredients including Sazon seasoning mix and lemonade Kool Aid mix!! I did brine it and I fried it in pure lard (it was a birthday, after all!). But it was just amazing!

Sliced tomatoes:

Mashed potatoes:

Butter beans:

Yeast rolls:

These were supposed to be homemade sweet potato rolls, but with drop in guests Saturday night, it just didn’t happen – so Sister Shubert rolls stood in.

And lashings of really good gravy:

Dessert was a chocolate/chocolate cake filled with peanut butter frosting:

(more details in the dessert thread)

[ScottyBoy]

I've got to laugh, I was scrolling down your post and actually drooled while going down

[Prawncrackers]

Hmmm crispy chicken skin, Israeli couscous and tomatoes. There must be a kind of telepathic collective cooking subconscious here on the Dinner thread, because that's what I've been cooking for dinner this past week too! Bought a nice French Label Rouge chicken and a selection of wild mushrooms last week. With them I did two similar chicken and mushroom dishes. The first was a ballotine with the legs, the second was the breast. Both were done sous-vide, served with crispy chicken skin, Israali couscous and reduced chicken jus made from the carcass. I've never made a ballotine before, the stuffing was a chestnut mushroom duxelle with goats cheese and the sautéed mushrooms in this first dish were mostly girolles and oyster:

The second dish with the breasts was much simpler, this time with some fat slices of porcini and dainty pied bleu:

I've never seen the fantastic looking large heritage tomatoes you get in the US here in the UK. But what we do have are these gorgeously sweet cherry tomatoes:

These have been sitting around for a couple of days so tonight I made a Spaghetti alla Puttanesca with them:

It's been quite a greedy week, the wife and I managed to scoff a whole steamed turbot between us:

and a fusion dish that really worked for us, Tonkatsu with Bulldog Sauce, Guacamole, Ikura and Mexican green rice made with Basmati. It was Muy Oishi!

[percyn]

Pic of the Peking Duck in a bun

Tomato Pie

Shrimp Bisque with Crab

Kolmi no Patio (Parsi Shrimp in sweet and spicy Tomato Sauce)

w/polenta and a 63.8C egg

[percyn]

Amazing meal as always Prawn. When are you planning to invite the Dinner! thread members over for dinner?

[Pierogi]

Tomato Pie

Percy, I would love a recipe/further description of the tomato pie. I have a windfall glut of azmazing tomatoes, and made a pie a couple of weeks ago that sadly, sucked to be even semi-polite. Your's looks wonderful. Other than the loverly 'maters, what was in the filling?

Thanks !

[Morkai]

Kim, those butter beans look incredible! It reminds me of my childhood. How do you prepare them? We use a ton of butter and chicken stock.

Edited August 18, 2011 by Morkai (log)

[Mr Holloway]

Wow!!!!

What a great set of pics

Everything looks amazing

Shane

[Kim Shook]

Scotty – that is quite the compliment coming from YOU!! I’m honored.

Prawn – that spaghetti is gorgeous!

percyn – I want some of that Peking duck bun!

Morkai – thank you! The butterbeans are just brought to a boil, simmered until the water runs out and then I add a ton of butter and let them just stay warm for a little while. Salt, pepper and a tiny bit of cream if I have it finishes them up. We like them creamy.

[Norm Matthews]

I smoked spare ribs again today.

Trim rib St. Louis cut. Save large boneless strip. Pat dry, coat with The Squeal overnight wrapped in plastic and foil. Next day start lump charcoal in chimney, bring out ribs, coat with Oklahoma Joe rub- about 2/3 to 3/4 of recipe. Let ribs set until room temperature and coals are ready. Add some coals to fire pit and pour lit coals over it. When smoke chamber is about 250º add ribs, bone side down abut 2/3 of distance from fire with large end closest to fire. Lay ribs diagonally and add boneless meat on the far side of ribs (closest to flue)

Let smoke two hours, adding a chunk of hickory to fire pit every half an hour.

After two hours, add some more coals to top of dying fire and start another chimney full of charcoal. Add juice from a can of sweet cherries in heavy syrup to remaining Oklahoma Joe rub and baste ribs on both sides. Wrap both pieces of ribs in heavy duty foil and flip. Let cook in foil for another 2 hours.

Save juices from the ribs in foil and use to thin out the BBQ sauce a little for basting, uncover ribs, baste with BBQ sauce and let smoke another hour.

When Charlie and Cassie get home from work, I'll make some corn on the cob and a salad. Probably start on some potato salad in a minute or two.

How to trim spare ribs to St. Louis cut on Utube here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_MGM_RRTUQ

The Squeal BBQ rub is available from Oklahoma Joe's restaurant in Kansas City.

Rib rub

2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon packed brown sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder

1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder

1 1/2 teaspoons paprika

1 1/2 teaspoons cumin

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon white pepper

1 teaspoon black pepper

Edited August 19, 2011 by Norm Matthews (log)

[percyn]

Nice looking Ribs and demo Norm.

Pierogi, that tomato pie was based on Paula Dean's recipe here. Only suggestion I would have is depending on the type of tomato you have, make sure they are drained well.

[dcarch]

robirdstx – You are a master of pork tacos.

percyn – nice buns you have (for the duck) and a beautiful tomato pie.

Prawncrackers – Love your mushroom dish. I will try to duplicate the Spaghetti alla Puttanesca with cherry tomatoes. I have in my garden all those cherry tomatoes. Very nice whole steamed turbot and garlic steamed shrimps also.

Kim – Fried chicken and chocolate cake, life is good! Very sloppy chicken sandwich with gravy as it should be. Very funny, chicken liver in a heart-shaped dish.

Genkinaonna – georgeous plating of your squash dish.

Scottyboy – If I can make chicken skin that good, I wouldn’t mind throwing away the chicken just to have the skin.

Shelby – that is a decadent peanut butter pie!

SobaAddict70 – I have the same problem, besieged with tomatoes from my garden. I will have to steal your idea and make myself a dish of Fusilli with cow's milk ricotta cheese and uncooked heirloom tomato sauce.

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

It’s been hot here in NYC. Eating ice cream can really chill you down.

I made mango ice cream with crispy mango chips in mango cones

And I make coconut ice cream with a splash of crème de mint.

Dcarch

[SobaAddict70]

dcarch -- sure you don't work for a Conde Nast magazine as a food stylist?

========================

Heirloom tomato salad, with watermelon and white peaches

Fresh pasta, with heirloom tomatoes, slow-cooked onions and ricotta cheese

It looks creamy, but there's probably less than 2 tablespoons ricotta in the sauce.

Recipes will be forthcoming later tonight or tomorrow.

[Pierogi]

Pierogi, that tomato pie was based on Paula Dean's pie-recipe/index.html'>recipe here. Only suggestion I would have is depending on the type of tomato you have, make sure they are drained well.

Cool, thanks Percyn ! I'll give it a shot. I do know that draining those little (or big....) beauties is critical !

[Paul Bacino]

Roasted Heirloom tomato Soup with Basil Potato gnocchi

[Prawncrackers]

Mango cones is just the Tickets dcarch!

How are the cones made, they look perfect?

[MsDivinaLoca]

Friday: Flank steak w/chimichurri sauce, tomato, cherry/grape tomato and red onion salad w/feta, elota asada and grilled focaccia

[Keith_W]

Peri-peri chicken:

[Paul Bacino]

Probably my best Pie yet:

Chellino Scamorza with Loin Bacon and eggplant marinara.. hey with my wild yeast dough!!!!!

[Dakki]

dcarch, beautiful as usual. How did you make the cones in the top picture?

MsDivinaLoca, flank steak is one of my favorites, and your interpretation looks particularly good.

Keith_W, I have no idea what a peri-peri is but the chicken looks amazing.

Fish fry @ Dakki's tonight. No pics because it was a failure. (Okay, relative failure). Having access to one kind of potato and that being the wrong kind of potato for chips has made me resigned, but I like to think I'm pretty good with breaded stuff. I tried an unfamiliar batter recipe and if it's not the one they use at Long John Silver's it does an excellent impression. It smelled vaguely like pancakes, turned into a dense, thick mass of breading that separated from the fish, and something in the sweetish mess accentuated the muddy flavors in the tilapia. Almost like eating catfish, my least-favorite fish.

Had to drown the stuff in hot sauce and lime. I eat my mistakes.

[ScottyBoy]

Made some ramen with friends. Chicken and pork broth, alkaline noodles, shredded pork, nori, bamboo shoots, soft jidori egg and garlic chips. In a later bowl I added a scoop of bacon jam....that works!

Edited August 22, 2011 by ScottyBoy (log)

[SobaAddict70]

Ratatouille

This version has Japanese eggplants, Hungarian wax peppers and rocambole garlic.

Edited August 22, 2011 by SobaAddict70 (log)

[mgaretz]

Second attempt at the char siu sous vide experiment, and I am happy to report the dog didn't get to it this time!

I took some pork tenderloin and used some packaged, dry char siu "mix" as a rub, then vacuum sealed and left to marinate in the fridge overnight. Then into the sous vide bath at 135F for 4 hours. Take out and pat dry and baste with honey. Then onto the super hot grill for a few minutes on each side to char. Afer removing the from the grill I rebasted the tops with honey and left them to cool, then sliced.

Wow! Best char siu ever! Wonderfully tender and juicy, but still has all the other attributes of char siu.

Whole before the final baste:

Sliced: