Dinner! 2011

[Dejah]

Making this for Xmas dinner, thanking you in advance for your advice and support.

Blether: Would appreciate more info' on this "pulled lamb". It will be a nice change from our usual dijon mustard/rosemary/red wine marinated roast lamb!

[Blether]

Nyet problem. LAmb shoulder. 0.5% salt by weight, sprinkled over the lamb in a plastic bag. Held 4 days in the fridge. Roasted straight from the fridge (by accident more than by design, not that it makes so much difference low & slow), fat cap upwards, starting at 140C, reducing to 130C after 2 hours because it was already so well browned. Roasted 6 hours, judged by piercing with a skewer to feel the resistance.

Gravy by the usual method - pour off all but a tbsp or 2 of the fat, stir in some flour, add water ( in this case 50/50 water & white wine) and stir over heat, scraping up / dissolving the fond, till hot & thickened.

Next time I'll wipe the meat dry before roasting, because the gravy was verging on salty. If that doesn't do it the %age'll need to come down.

Edited December 11, 2011 by Blether (log)

[Dejah]

Thanks, Blether, for the details.

Took some time between decorating outside trees and shrubs to make Beef Rendang by James Osland. Great reward for all our hard work. Thank goodness the weather cooperated : only -2 today!

[mm84321]

Oysters and Pearls.

Macaroni and Cheese.

Just coffee.

[ddelima]

Bacalhau Sandwich with Parsley and Chorizo Salad

Avocado Sorbet

[mm84321]

"Fish and Chips"

[Keith_W]

mm84321, all your food looks spectacular. Creative, nicely plated, original ideas, and well cooked. I only wish I could smell and taste it! Are you a chef?

This wasn't for dinner ... I made it as a snack.

... Malaysian curry puffs!

Edited December 13, 2011 by Keith_W (log)

[Shelby]

Ginger-glazed chuck roast over rice, with a caprese made with tomatos from the Mennonites' greenhouse -- how I do love a fresh tomato in the winter!

I used basil oil instead of fresh basil, which I did not have, my plant having succumbed to frost. It has the most amazing fresh basil-y taste.

Today I'm on the final stage of cassoulet, from Paula Wolfert's classic recipe. I sincerely hope it's as good as the work and expense would indicate; this is not a cheap, nor easy, dish to make! I'll report.

Kay! You're killing me with the tomatoes *drool*

[mm84321]

mm84321, all your food looks spectacular. Creative, nicely plated, original ideas, and well cooked. I only wish I could smell and taste it! Are you a chef?

Thanks! I'm not a chef. I just enjoy cooking. Stop by anytime.

[Rico]

Keith_W - I saw that first photo and said to myself, 'man, I could go for some empanadas,' only to find out down the post that those are in fact Malaysian Curry Puffs. I have never had a Malaysian Curry Puff, but upon seeing your photo, wish to have that condition remedied.

And Xilimmns, that's a helluva good-looking sandwich. I had to Google 'Bacalhau,' though. Not sure that's something I should admit on eG ...

A friend of mine got me the Reata cookbook - Reata's a restaurant in Ft. Worth - a few months ago, and it sat on my shelf until tonight, when I made the Chili-Fired Shrimp(yeah, chili-fired and not chili-fried. Maybe it's a pun of some sort, or a typo. These are the things that occupy my mind). It recommends serving it with a cucumber slaw, so I did. I also made some fried rice as another side.

Edited December 14, 2011 by Rico (log)

[ddelima]

And Xilimmns, that's a helluva good-looking sandwich. I had to Google 'Bacalhau,' though. Not sure that's something I should admit on eG ...

:-) Bacalhau is my favorite fish and is so versatile in the kitchen. Plus, because it is salted can travel well and is guaranteed all year long.

BTW, your shrimp is looking great.

Edited December 14, 2011 by Xilimmns (log)

[Prawncrackers]

Took some time between decorating outside trees and shrubs to make Beef Rendang by James Osland. Great reward for all our hard work. Thank goodness the weather cooperated : only -2 today!

.....

Auntie Dejah, snap! I had beef rendang too tonight, ox cheek - my favourite cut for making rendang. This was part of a spicy Asian food tour for a couple of my mates, we can all handle a bit of chilli heat so I cranked up the volume on all dishes. Alongside the rendang I cooked salt and pepper prawns (langoustine); Pork with Chillies and Thai Sweet Basil; Fire-exploded Kidney Flowers and a Green Mango Salad.

[mm84321]

Sautéed Monkfish, Braised Oxtails, Salsify and Cèpes.

[ScottyBoy]

Looks delicious.

[nickrey]

Sautéed Monkfish, Braised Oxtails, Salsify and Cèpes.

First the Eleven Madison Park Cookbook and now the French Laundry?

These are excellent renditions of the dishes from cookbooks many seem to stay away from. Well done!

Are you blogging your cooking adventures somewhere?

[LindaK]

And Xilimmns, that's a helluva good-looking sandwich. I had to Google 'Bacalhau,' though. Not sure that's something I should admit on eG ...

:-) Bacalhau is my favorite fish and is so versatile in the kitchen. Plus, because it is salted can travel well and is guaranteed all year long.

Hallelujah, another Bacalhau (salt cod) fan! That sandwich does look fantastic.

I hope you'll share your salt cod wisdom and future creations with us over in this topic: Salt Cod Diary. I agree, it's so versatile, sadly not widely known and appreciated in the States.

[dcarch]

Have been cooking, but not much time posting.

Some stunnnnnnnning meals from everyone! Wow!

A few things I made recently:

dcarch

Sous Vide Scallops with turkey skin crackiln on wild rice

Fresh squeezed Pomegranate juice cocktail

Mashed Japanese sweet potatoes

Roasted turkey

Home-made Persimmon Ice Cream

Wild Rice Bread

Mased potates with Chestnuts

Sous Vide Chicken

Chciken Skin Crackling Salad

[mm84321]

Sautéed Monkfish, Braised Oxtails, Salsify and Cèpes.

First the Eleven Madison Park Cookbook and now the French Laundry?

These are excellent renditions of the dishes from cookbooks many seem to stay away from. Well done!

Are you blogging your cooking adventures somewhere?

Thank you for the kind words, nickrey. I am not blogging, just posting pictures here and a couple of other forums.

[djyee100]

Dcarch, pls try to post more often, because when I view too much of your dazzling food all at once, I start to reel at the computer. Persimmon ice cream? I am there.

[Darienne]

Dcarch, pls try to post more often, because when I view too much of your dazzling food all at once, I start to reel at the computer. Persimmon ice cream? I am there.

Ditto from me. And I would be thrilled to have a good persimmon ice cream recipe.

[djyee100]

A down-home Thai dinner of Pork with Hot Shrimp Paste (Moo Pad Gkabpi). It's very hot and savory-salty. Tender pork strips are stir-fried in a paste of garlic, chiles, lime juice, fish sauce, palm sugar, and a scoopful of Asian shrimp paste. People will like this dish if they are on good terms with shrimp paste, or perhaps its Western counterpart, anchovies.

To make Pork with Hot Shrimp Paste (Moo Pad Gkabpi): Make a paste by gradually grinding or blending together 5 chopped garlic cloves, 5 chopped fresh Thai bird chiles, 2 TB good-quality shrimp paste, 1 tsp freshly ground white pepper, 2-3 TB fresh lime juice, 1 TB fish sauce, and 3 TB palm sugar. Taste and adjust. If the paste is too salty, add more lime juice and/or sugar to modify the saltiness. Heat 3-4 TB peanut oil in a wok over high heat. Add in the paste and fry until the paste darkens to reddish-brown, about one minute. Toss in 1 1/2 lbs tender pork strips (butt or loin) and stirfry until cooked through. Watch that the mixture doesn't burn. At the end of cooking time, toss in a handful of fresh basil, preferably Thai basil. Serve immediately over hot steamed rice. My variation of a recipe from Kasma Loha-unchit.

This pork & shrimp paste combo always says traditional peasant food to me. My parents regularly served a Chinese version of this dish, chopped pork with shrimp paste, garlic, & soy sauce, with other embellishments in the mix. They steamed the pork mixture and served it over rice.

[Katie Meadow]

djyee, that looks yummy. Did you take a workshop from Kasma? I took one the summer before last, though we did not make that dish.

[C. sapidus]

Wow, y’all have been posting lots of great looking meals! I’m learning a new camera, so here are a few of our meals lumped together, most accompanied by a salad of some sort:

Keema with spinach – and coconut milk, curry leaves, ginger, garlic, onions, chiles, black cardamom, cinnamon, cumin, coriander, fenugreek, cilantro, and garam masala, served with eggplant relish and cumin basmati rice

Tomato, shrimp, and bay scallop sauce – with browned garlic, fresh rosemary, black pepper, parsley, and a dried chile or three, served over penne pasta

Baklava – with Chef Crash’s no-fuss recipe, it was easy to make two batches for holiday parties. This was one of the few pieces that survived.

[heidih]

Bruce - I made the baklava the other day - going to divide it up tomorrow for gifting. As always everything speaks to me but I am particularly curious about the eggplant relish. I think you mentioned it before. Can you elaborate?

[C. sapidus]

. . . I am particularly curious about the eggplant relish. I think you mentioned it before. Can you elaborate?

Patak's brinjal eggplant relish, straight out of the jar. I just discovered it, and have quickly become addicted.

And thank you for the kind words.