Dinner! 2011

[Dejah]

Amazing challah bread! And cheesy ramen? Cooked ramne sprinkled with cheese and herbs then baked? Sounds good!

Wishing I got some of the shrimp you had, Chris! Our main supermarket had just brought out buckets of fresh Manila clams and Atlantic mussels. I caught all the ones "sticking their tongues out"! With the dungeness, lobster tails, and haddock (no halibut to be had)from the freezer, I attempted ciopinno for supper. A bit of a messy meal but so delicious. Had crusty sourdough bread to sop up the broth.

[patrickamory]

Sopa de lima per David Tanis's recipe for using the turkey carcass and leftover meat in Wednesday's Times. I followed this pretty much to the letter. Just added a little Mexican oregano.

[Panaderia Canadiense]

Cooked ramen with some leftover 3-cheese beschamel stirred in, then topped with shredded Bondel and au gratin and baked. It was more amazing that I would have thought.

[Norm Matthews]

I love ciopinno. I wish I lived where fresh seafood was available.

[mm84321]

Veal and parsnips

Homemade pasticiotti

[kayb]

Norm,

Do you have a challah recipe you'll share? I've never braved it; ready to try.

[Norm Matthews]

kayb,

More than happy to share. Ask any questions you may have and I'll try to help. Here are two recipes. The first one is the one I did this year. The second one is the one I have done twice before but omitted the saffron. I like the second one better but to be fair, the one I made this year was a problem because of the yeast and the thermometer I used, not the recipe itself. The yeast didn't rise rapidly like it was supposed to and the thermometer alarm didn't go off at 190 but 198 instead. Left overs make a very good French toast. I have my own procedures for making bread so I use the ingredients but measure flour by sight and feel instead of by volume or weight. The first recipe seems sweeter, the second one seems eggier. Maybe next time I'll add a little more sugar to the second recipe.

Challah from Chef June

Jewish Egg Bread

makes 2 braided challah (or one large

1 tablespoon dry yeast

1/3 cup water

1/2 cup sugar

6 cups unbleached flour

1 teaspoon sea salt

3 large eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 cup vegetable oil

Approximately 3/4 cup water

1 large egg yolk mixed with 2 tablespoons water (for brushing the loaf)

Poppy seeds (for sprinkling, optional)

1. Dissolve the yeast in 1/3 cup lukewarm water. Add 2 tablespoons of the sugar.

2. In a large mixing bowl, mix flour, salt and sugar. Make a hollow in the center and put yeast mixture in the hole. Mix to a thin paste adding a little flour from the sides. Cover and let sit for about 10 minutes.

3. Add eggs, oil and water to the hole. Combine mixture in hollow with flour around it using a spoon at first, then your hands, and adding additional flour to the bottom and sides as needed. Knead well, about 10 minutes, until dough is smooth.

4. The dough should lose its stickiness and completely clean the bowl. Sprinkle a little flour under dough in bowl. Cover and let rise until double in bulk, about 1 to 1-1/2 hours. Punch down and form into loaves (or one large one).

5. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. To form into loaves: 1) make one large swirled round by rolling into one long coil, and coiling it upward, with the end sticking out the top; (This is the traditional shape for the New Year.) 2) cut off pieces, knead into balls and put side by side in oiled bread pans; 3) Divide in two. Then divide each loaf into five pieces and roll into long coils. Starting from the middle, braid the coils to each end, and put braid(s) into well-oiled bread pan(s) or onto a large baking sheet well sprinkled with cornmeal. Cover and let rise until almost double in size (about 1 hour).

6. Just before baking, brush tops with beaten egg yolk and sprinkle with poppy seeds. Bake for 35 minutes or until golden brown, and loaf taps hollow. Cool on wire racks.

6 STRAND BRAID: TAKE THE ONE ON THE FAR RIGHT, GO OVER TWO, UNDER ONE AND OVER TWO. REPEAT EACH FAR RIGHT STRAND UNTIL REACHING THE END OF THE LOAF.

CHUCK LOVE

Here's the basic recipe:

Ingredients:

• 2 pkt dry yeast (4 1/2 tsp)

• 5 C bread flour - all purpose will do (unbleached) - You may need more or less

• 1/4 C sugar

• 2 tsp salt

• 1/2 /cup butter (or margarine) room temp

• 1 C hot water (120F) - optional pinch of saffron

• 3 large whole eggs

• 1 egg white

• 1 egg yolk (from the above egg) beaten, mixed with 2 Tbs sugar and 1 tsp cold water

• Optional - poppy seeds

Method:

Prepare a 1/2 sheet pan with a Silpat, parchment paper, or cooking spray.

If using the saffron (to add color to the dough), let it steep in the warm water until the water turns orange (about 10 minutes).

In a stand mixer bowl, combine the yeast, 2 C of flour, sugar, salt and butter (or margarine).

With mixer on medium speed, add the hot water and beat with the flat beater for about 2 minutes, scrape the bowl occasionally.

Add the eggs and the egg white (not the reserved yolk mixed with sugar and water).

The batter will be thick. Beat on high speed for 2 minutes.

Change to the dough hook.

Continue to add flour, adding about 1 C at a time until the dough is no longer sticky.

If the dough is still moist, add a little flour at a time until the dough cleans the sides of the mixer bowl.

Knead by hard or in mixer with dough hook for 10 minutes.

Place dough in a large greased bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled - about 1 hour.

After it has doubled, punch down and hand knead out the bubbles.

Follow the braiding recipe and shape a 6 braid Challah.

Brush the shaped loaf with the egg yolk / sugar glaze. (If using the poppy seed, sprinkle on now).

Allow the loaf the rise, uncovered until doubled - about 1 hour.

While the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 400F

Bake until the loaf is shiny brown, about 40 to 60 minutes.

Test with a toothpick. It should come out clean and dry.

The loaf is fragile, so be careful and place on a cooling rack.

__________________

Chuck Love

 

Edited November 27, 2011 by Norm Matthews (log)

[ChrisTaylor]

Cracked open the savoury volume of Laduree and made the spiced loin of lamb with apricots and roasted almonds. Very nice.

[djyee100]

Wonderful meals, everyone.

Dejah! That seafood stew has me drooling!

Yesterday, one of my favorite easy-day dinners, Baked Chicken with Potatoes, Tomatoes, and Hot Pepper (Pollo alla Calabrese), from Rosetta Costantino's My Calabria. I've posted about this dish upthread. This time I tossed in some marinated artichokes and kalamata olives. Thumbs up for the olives, thumbs down for the marinated artichokes (too much acidity when combined with tomatoes). Fresh cooked artichokes would taste good, though.

The original recipe is here:

http://napavalleyregister.com/lifestyles/food-and-cooking/recipes/pollo-alla-calabrese-baked-chicken-with-potatoes-tomatoes-and-hot/article_1d170f8a-3322-11e0-bf7b-001cc4c002e0.html

[ddelima]

Polenta with Sous Vide Oxtail and Grape Tomatoes. First time making polenta from scratch... not bad at all.

[mgaretz]

After my family declared "enough turkey!" I made beef stew in my new electric pressure cooker. It was my first time making stew in a pressure cooker. It came out fine. Chuck, new potatoes, onion, carrots, celery, peas and barley:

[Joel Hicks]

love the diet!!

Slurp

Joel

[Rico]

Thanks, Dakki. SWMBO and I just got our kitchen finished, so hopefully I'll pick up the slack a little bit.

And mgaretz, that looks fantastic. But you say it was 'fine' - was there something different you do differently next time to up the 'fine' to 'stellar?' Or is it 'fine' in the less blase sense, like 'a fine meal?'

Okay, I'll stop talking now.

Made some garlic and rosemary shrimp and mushroom skewers. Easy and cheap, when the shrimp's on sale. Except that with the new kitchen, we got a new gas oven, and while I love it, I am not 100 percent on with the timing for the broiler, so these were overcooked by a good minute. But I suppose eating slightly overcooked shrimp is one of those first-world problems, and not a terrible one to have, right?

Edited November 28, 2011 by Rico (log)

[Maple1]

Pizza. 50% Caputo / 50% KAAP, 60% hydration. Fresh mozzarella and homemade pickled sweet and hot peppers. Baked in our WFO for about 1 1/2 minutes.

[jnash85]

From the Eleven Madison Park Cookbook.

Sous Vide Chicken with Parsnips, Butternut Squash, and Cabbage.

[Prawncrackers]

Osso bucco is traditionally served with saffron risotto, the classic dish Osso Bucco alla Milanese. One of our favourites, but one that's quite involved and not really a dish to cook after work midweek. But using a pressure cooker the meat is done in half an hour, then adding orzo to soak up all the braising liquor made for a wonderful quick meal:

Regular pork carnitas on one day:

Led to an idea for Bacalao Fritters. Light & crispy fritters with a garlic lime mayo and pico de gallo. This was a taste sensation, now to see my bank manager about that food truck...

[mgaretz]

And mgaretz, that looks fantastic. But you say it was 'fine' - was there something different you do differently next time to up the 'fine' to 'stellar?' Or is it 'fine' in the less blase sense, like 'a fine meal?'

Thanks Rico.

I think I meant 'fine' in the sense that it was very similar to my normal method, which would be the slow cooker. I don't think I would do anything different and I'll definitely do it this way again.

We had the leftovers tonight and of course it was better the second day. The barley had a chance to thicken the sauce more.

Edited November 29, 2011 by mgaretz (log)

[mm84321]

Roasted monkfish with black garlic jus.

[Panaderia Canadiense]

Lasagne Marinara (fresh-made Marinara with Tomate de Arbol) with Queso Fresco and fresh Mozzarella, and a lovely 6 year old Merlot from Pays d'Oc.

It was so good that I promptly fell asleep after eating it.

[kayb]

Norm, thanks for the challah recipes. I've saved them, and next breadmaking weekend, I'll be trying them. I refuse to use any bread other than challah for French toast, so it will be nice to have some at home.

PanaCana, gorgeous lasagna.

Xilimmns, great looking polenta and oxtail.

Prawn, your osso bucco makes me wish I still had a pressure cooker.

Finished off the turkey last night with turkey enchiladas. Night before, it was turkey shepherd's pie. No photos of either one because I just wasn't in the photo mood. Decent meals, though.

Feeling the jones for red beans and rice. I think that's tomorrow.

[nikkib]

Osso bucco is traditionally served with saffron risotto, the classic dish Osso Bucco alla Milanese. One of our favourites, but one that's quite involved and not really a dish to cook after work midweek. But using a pressure cooker the meat is done in half an hour, then adding orzo to soak up all the braising liquor made for a wonderful quick meal:

Regular pork carnitas on one day:

Led to an idea for Bacalao Fritters. Light & crispy fritters with a garlic lime mayo and pico de gallo. This was a taste sensation, now to see my bank manager about that food truck...

Must.Have.BacalaoFritters.Now!!!

[Kim Shook]

I have been MIA for awhile now – just ‘life stuff’ going on – plus the holidays coming up, but I’ve been sneaking peeks at work between patients coming in the door and while I can’t go back and comment on everything that has impressed me, or caught my eye or made me hungry, please know that those little peeks have enriched and inspired me, as always!

I’m taking a break from decorating to scarf down a piece of Costco pizza (we buy the whole ones and freeze them and use them instead of delivery) and have some ‘me time’! I thought I’d post a few pictures of some recent meals:

Roast beef, Brussels sprouts au Gratin, Marlene’s cream roasted potatoes, Marlene’s Yorkies:

A bit overdone – I’m still not really used to the rotisserie yet. The temp seemed to JUMP from 99 degrees to 140 in no time at all.

Teriyaki pork and pineapple skewers, stir fried Ramen and snow peas:

Steak and potato pie and cornbread:

(We also had kale, which is why we had cornbread)

Plated:

Marlene’s Crispy Pork Chops Tonkatsu, green beans and teriyaki rice:

Marlene’s Beef Stroganoff:

Roast beef and Marlene’s Crispy Smashed Potatoes:

Purchased cheese fondue w/ dippers (bread, apples and tots)

The fondue was surprisingly good, we bought it on a whim at Costco and were really pleased. The ingredients were cheese (three kinds including Swiss and Emmentaler), white wine, kirsch and cornstarch – so just what I’d put in it anyway.

Fried shrimp (dusted with rice flour) and more Crispy Pork Chops Tonkatsu:

Looks like I’ve been depending on Marlene a lot just lately, huh ?

My MIL did Thanksgiving and asked me to make a sidedish. I forgot to take a picture. It was from the November issue of Southern Living – roasted onions. You use red, pearl and cipollini onions and shallots – toss them in a brown sugar, olive oil and balsamic mixer and roast at 450 degrees until caramelized. Everyone loved this. I can’t wait to make it with roast beef sometime.

[nikkib]

Kim- welcome back, great food as always!i

[djyee100]

Kim, glad to hear from you and to see pix of your appetizing dinners. And your TG sidedish of roasted onions sounds so good.

Here, a dinner salad of treviso radicchio, wild arugula, sauteed chicken breast strips, and pomegranate seeds. The dressing was a sherry-balsamic vinaigrette. After sauteing the chicken strips, I deglazed the pan with some extra vinaigrette and doused the chicken with the sauce. What I liked most about this salad: the sweet-tart pomegranate seeds. I'll have to try pomegranate in more dishes now that the fruit is in season.

A dessert of fuyu persimmons, and some medjool dates from the Coachella Valley. More dates, and a large variety of dates, are showing up at the farmers' market. The season for Coachella Valley dates seems to be peaking now.

[Norm Matthews]

Country cured ham, three days in the cooking, let alone who knows how long it took to cure. It is a Missouri cure. Don't ask me exactly what that means, I just know it is hickory smoked and sugar cured.

First step is to scrub it with a bristle brush under cold running water

After scrubbed, soak in cool water at room temperature 12 hours- overnight

Then change water and simmer 20 minutes per pound (5+ hours) at 250 degrees.

When finished cooking, I covered with a blanket and let cool in cooking liquid- overnight. It was still hot the next morning

When cool enough to handle this morning, removed from liquid, twisted off end bones, and removed skin and fat. At this point fat could be left on andit could be glazed and baked but it is fully cooked now and it isn't necessary. this one was very lean and had almost no fat so I sliced it into steaks for dinner today. The rest for later.

some sliced for dinner, the rest sliced, chopped or what ever for sandwiches, ham salad, the freezer, etc.

Edited December 1, 2011 by Norm Matthews (log)