Dinner! 2011

[djyee100]

EatNopales, that looks delicious. I love the duck egg with black beans.

For tonight's dinner, I had half a cabbage lingering in the fridge, so I cooked a version of colcannon that I first made during my vegetarian fling in the 1970s. It is one of the few recipes from that era of my life that I will still eat. The casserole dish dates from the 1970s, too. Back then it was the best piece of cookware I owned.

I started with a recipe from Mollie Katzen's original Moosewood Cookbook, and I've adjusted it over the years. The cottage cheese, cider vinegar, and dill make this colcannon more tangy and snappier than the traditional version. My apologies in advance to any purists.

To make this Colcannon: Boil 4 medium-size potatoes, let cool somewhat, then cut into chunks. Mash while still warm with 1 1/2 cups cottage cheese and 1 cup sour cream, and S&P. While the potatoes are cooking, heat 2-3 TB butter in a skillet, and saute 2 diced, medium-size onions until translucent. Add in 4 cups diced cabbage. Cook the cabbage and onions over moderate heat until they are very soft. Season well. Combine the potato mixture with the cabbage. Stir in 2 TB fresh chopped dill and 1-2 TB cider vinegar. Taste and adjust for seasoning, especially salt. Pour mixture into a buttered casserole dish. Sprinkle paprika on top. Bake uncovered in a preheated 350 degree oven for 35-40 mins until bubbling and heated through.

[Norm Matthews]

Todays dinner was chuck roast with onions carrots and mushrooms with skillet hash browns. No salad LOL

[ScottyBoy]

THAT is a meal!

WHOOOAAAA!!! Earthquake over here in Oakland! Just a nice little rumble 4.2

[oneidaone]

Sorry, no pictures. But, I had a local spaghetti squash (I'd roasted the whole thing 3 days ago) had the second half left, with 3 kinds of cherry tomatoes, regular tomato,

sautee'd baby swiss chard (MA'O Farms), capers, feta cheese. Then I had some chicken breasts in panko fried in olive oil over the top it was really quite nice!

[djyee100]

Oneidaone, that spaghetti squash sounds good. When my CSA begins to inundate me with squash, I'll have to give your recipe a try.

As for last night's dinner...The EGullet thread about Pernil woke up recently, and after reading it I kept thinking about roast pork shoulder. When I was at the market, I saw boneless pork shoulder on sale, and that was that, I brought home a big piece.

I seasoned the meat with S&P, and stuffed the interior with a mixture of chopped garlic, fresh parsley, dried thyme, fennel seed, and thin slices of lemon.

I put the meat (rolled up and tied) with some sliced onions in a Dutch oven. The whole business went into a preheated 450F oven, uncovered, to start. After 30 mins, I covered it, lowered the heat to 325F, and let the meat cook until it tested very tender with a skewer. At the end of cooking time I drained off most of the liquid, placed the pan on the topmost shelf in the oven, and raised the heat to 425F. I let the meat brown and crisp for about 10 mins.

For the sides, roasted potatoes and sliced tomatoes with olive oil and basil. The lemon slices in the stuffing were new for me to try this time around, and I was pleased with the results. The cooked lemon slices present a refreshing contrast to the richness of pork--I'll cook this again.

The EGullet Pernil thread is here:

[Dejah]

Mmmmm...that chuck roast and Pernil is beckoning - perfect for this fall weather we are having.

2 nights ago, daughter and future s-i-l came out for a couple of days. Beef, tomato and egg stir-fry is one of their favourite comfort foods, which daughter really made wind-dried Chinese meats (duck, sausage, bacon) and salty fish sandpot rice to go with the tomato dish. Forgot to take a picture, but the burnt rice on the bottom of the sandpot was so delicous!

Last night, we made panko-coated veal cutlets with a marsala-mushroom- shallot sauce, and wild garlic fettuccini noodles. I DID get a picture of that!

[ChrisTaylor]

Steak, roast potatoes, roast mushrooms, roast tomatoes.

[ChrisTaylor]

I've had Momofuku sitting on the shelf for a while but I haven't done much with it. I decided I had to remedy this (as I am with several other books I've purchased but not really used) and went with the marinated flank steak. Only the local butcher was all out of flank and I didn't really feel like travelling around, hunting for flank on a Sunday, so I settled for some rump. Marinated it yesterday and then cooked it today. Served it with kimchi and spring onions, altho' I didn't make them into a sauce as in the recipe purely because after Monday and a long staff meeting and no beer in the fridge I'm in no goddamn state to be a saucier. It was nice. I can see the marinade becoming part of the regular line-up over summer proper, when I use the BBQ more often. I'll be using some of the leftovers tomorrow for lunch and the final lot in Momofuku ginger and spring onion noodles recipe.

[Panaderia Canadiense]

Wow, nothing nearly so fancy in my kitchen as you folks have been eating lately.

Just plain old stone soup (by definition, that's soup made with the orts of everything in the fridge, although I cheated and picked fresh carrots out of the garden). To accompany it are Cachos, an Ecuadorian take on dinner rolls. They're made in the same way as Croissants but omitting the cold-butter-chill-dough step - the interleaving is with hot melted butter and you do it all at once before rolling them. The result is a springy, incredibly rich roll with a fantastic crispy crust and an interior texture somewhere between a standard roll and a Croissant. Mine were interleaved somewhere around 60 times; the long rolls in the basket are stuffed with sticks of Gouda.

[ChrisTaylor]

A kimchi burger (basically a cheeseburger with added kimchi) inspired by the recipe of the same name in the excellent Hawksmoor book. In the book they make their own kimchi using a slightly (intentionally, too--they wanted to boost the umami factor) westernised recipe. It's the middle of the week so I didn't DIY my kimchi, I just bought it from the local Korean shop.

Fermented goodness.

[nakedsushi]

Heh, I thought those were also slices of duck eggs.

Made ribollita with leftover beans and stale bread on Monday. I wanted to make it heartier, so I also added some farro. The vegetables I used were leek and zucchini. Also added a pinch of Spanish paprika to make it extra delicious.

[Panaderia Canadiense]

Two dinners ago was Encocado de Corvina, a mild coconut-peanut creamy curry common in the northern and central coastal provinces. Also one of my faves, because even though it seems intimidating the first time you're served a plate of it, it's actually crazy simple to make. Normally this would be over golden rice, but I had a hankering for tallarin noodles. Corvina, of course, is better known to the English-speaking world as Sea Bass.

Last night's dinner was simple roast turkey breast with carrots, new potatoes, and asparagus. Potatoes, IMHO, are just a vehicle for butter....

[eldereno]

Potatoes, IMHO, are just a vehicle for butter....

I agree TOTALLY!!!!!!

Edited October 27, 2011 by heidih
Fix quote tags (log)

[ddelima]

First post here, so be nice to me ;-)

Sous Vide Salmon with Roasted Carrots, Sauteed Shiitake and Cremini Mushrooms. This was my first sous vide experience and I went basic, using my kitchen sink and following chef Maxime Billet's recipe. The result was outstanding! Now, I have a Supreme Demi on order and hope it will only get better from here onward.

[MikeHartnett]

Nice! There have been worse first posts...

[Panaderia Canadiense]

Gosh that looks tasty, Xilimnns.... Welcome aboard, too!

[Tri2Cook]

The neighbors looked at me kinda like I had a horn growing out of my forehead as I stood out on the deck in the sleet/rain/cold and grilled burgers tonight. Probably wasn't the best night for it but it's what I wanted...

[Dakki]

Nice dinners all!

Keith_W, you might give dcarch a run for his money as "King of Plating."

Here's my own little contribution.

I'm not lazy, it's, uh, "rustic."

>_>

Jalapenos for flavor, serranos for kick, tomatoes and a little garlic because everything's better with a little garlic.

Call me reactionary but I think salsas are best when made by hand.

Tacos de tripa, as posted here once a month or so.

[Blether]

... Tacos de tripa, as posted here once a month or so...

Very nice. Do you peel off most of the blackened skin ?

[Dakki]

Thanks. Just whatever comes off easily.

[Blether]

Thanks. Just whatever comes off easily.

On your advice, I've been roasting peppers (with my butane blowtorch) for various uses, and I like the results. I've been roasting to "black-speckled" and using the whole thing, no peeling.

[Dakki]

That's what I do (except stovetop burner, not blowtorch) for dishes that call for whole or cut peppers. In the case of salsas such as this, the skins get in the way of pureeing the flesh, which gives you a different (although not necessarily bad) consistency.

Nevertheless I think getting every last bit of skin off is not something cooks need to obsess over. Effort should be proportional to result!

Edited October 29, 2011 by Dakki (log)

[ScottyBoy]

Dakki - It's one in the morning and I've finished work. Please make me some of those Tacos!!!!!

[Dakki]

ScottyBoy, that's high praise coming from one of the posters I admire the most.

As an amateur and a relative newbie I cannot emphasize enough how much it means to me to get encouragement from pros and people who've been at this for a while.

So... if we ever meet, I'll make tacos, but you have to make everything else.

(BTW, I loved your blog, but didn't get a chance to comment before it was closed).

[ScottyBoy]

Well keep up the good work, the photos are great.