Dinner! 2011

[menuinprogress]

Sicilian sausage (Rytek Kutas' recipe) with some little romanesco, green beens and potatoes.

[Borgstrom]

Reuben sandwich with home-made short rib pastrami following the Modernist Cuisine recipe (3 days brine, 4H smoke, 3 days sous vide)

[rarerollingobject]

Reuben sandwich with home-made short rib pastrami following the Modernist Cuisine recipe (3 days brine, 4H smoke, 3 days sous vide)

OH MY. That looks amazing, and I'm not even a pastrami-ite (never like the texture) but that..is a work of art.

Dinner for me was actually the first thing I've cooked all week; garam masala grilled chicken and scorched butter broccoli. Need to get my cooking mojo back and this isn't really the dish to do it.

[toolprincess]

Last night breakfast for dinner:

French toast and

Link sausages

Yum!

[Pierogi]

Last night breakfast for dinner:

French toast and

Link sausages

Yum!

We were on the same wavelength ! I did that yesterday, with the dregs of a loaf of brioche I'd made last weekend and bacon. It was damn good. There's seriously nothing wrong with French toast, ever.

[rarerollingobject]

All this talk of beetroot and horseradish over on heidih's foodblog got me hankering to do something with this little beauty, a fresh horseradish root:

I couldn't decide whether I wanted to do something with beef or beetroot first, so I did both! Beef carpaccio, with roasted beetroots, rocket, parmesan and horseradish cream.

[ChrisTaylor]

Red beans and rice c/o Besh's My New Orleans.

[heidih]

RRo - that horseradish root is the youngest and juiciest looking one I have ever seen. How did you make your sauce- just grated and mixed with the cream or was it cooked at all?

[Prawncrackers]

I've never used fresh horseradish before and I've never made my own beef carpaccio either but rarerollingobject yours looks delectable, as does your grilled chicken. I did my own smoked and chargrilled chicken for the first time this year a couple of weeks ago but didn't take any photos. In fact I've got a new "rig", an offset smoker so expect to see more 'que from me this summer

Here's a few of our recent dinners. First up is a Tuscan marinated Veal Chop (fennel, bay, lemon, garlic, rosemary) with Vanilla Scented Parsnip Purée & Crisps, Broccoli and Marsala Pan Reduction:

A vegetarian friend visited last weekend so for one day only we when meat-free. I treated her to a Beetroot, Red Onion & Goats Cheese Tart with Walnuts and Honey. It was a gloriously sunny day, served with a simple salad and boiled Jersey royals I almost didn't miss the meat. Almost, because by bedtime I was tempted to nibble on a slice of ham to inoculate myself but just held out!

A midweek Mutton Tagine with Cous Cous, half an hour in the pressure cooker made the tough old mutton shoulder lovely and tender:

Double Tonkatsu happiness, I post this dish quite regularly but then it is my wife's favourite!

These past couple of weeks have seen me start to cook using sous-vide. Here's a pair of lovely Berkshire pork chops, taken from near the shoulder. Brined overnight and done at 58C for 7hours, served with Pico De Gallo, Avocado, Sweet Potato Fries and Crackling:

Edited May 8, 2011 by Prawncrackers (log)

[suzilightning]

happy mothers day to all of you who are.

last night was one of the best meals i have done in ages:

venison tenderloin simply brought to room temperature, salted then sauteed in a hot pan with a film of olive oil and a touch of butter.

pan sauce of shallots, madiera, a splash of sherry vinegar and some sour cherry jam.

steamed asparagus and some oven fries completed the meal

this is some of the best vension i have ever eaten. it was actually half of the tenderloin we got with some gift certificates at christmas from Quattros in Pleasant Valley, NY. it is organically grown and treated well so the flavor is so rich and i have found the way not to overcook it so it is moist and tender.

there is enough left to thinly slice and tuck into some crusty rolls with a small cup of the sauce for dipping.

have to go upstairs and finish dinner now. quail are marinating in a miso and scallion mixture. will brown on each side and finish in the oven. there is some brown rice that i had made a day or so ago so will freshen it with some herbs and stock for the starch and am thinking about doing something humble/simple - carrots cooked in a chicken stock then finished with some dill and honey, peas and some butter.

[kayb]

Brisket braised in Guinness and onions; snow peas sauteed in sesame oil with ginger and sesame seeds; new potatos tossed with olive oil, seasoned salt and chopped fresh rosemary and roasted; and sliced tomatos from the Farmers Market.

Brisket was one of the best I've ever done. I salted, peppered and browned it; took it out, caramelized three medium sliced onions and four cloves of garlic, added 2 tbsp tomato paste and cooked that a bit, added a 12-oz bottle of Guinness, two cups of beef stock, a little brown sugar, a little spicy brown mustard, and about 5 fresh sage leaves. Added the beef back in, clapped a lid on it, and into the oven at 325 for about 3 1/2 hours(it was about a 3-pound brisket).

[Dakki]

menuinprogress, that photo showcases the dish perfectly without looking fussy or studied at all.

RRO, both your dishes are beautiful. That grilled chicken looks like I wish mine did.

Prawncrackers, fantastic food and photography as usual. If I had to pick a favorite it would be the mutton, followed closely by the tonkatsu. That reminds me I haven't made milanesas (the closest thing we do here) in a good while. Need to do that this week!

[Jenni]

Moong dal with mooli, lauki ki sabzi (bottle gourd vegetable dish), stirfried greens (with ajwain and cumin) and rice. Delicious.

[dcarch]

Kim, What a great way to celebrate Cico De Mayo with chicken enchiladas.

toolprincess, I like your classy beer/ margarita glass.

ChrisTaylor, Too poor to buy whole, live lobsters? You have been eating too many lobsters too often. That’s why you are poor. LOL!

menuinprogress, Did you make that Sicilian sausage? That’s amazing!

Borgstrom, 3 days brine, 4H smoke, 3 days sous vide for a Reuben sandwich which can be eaten in 5 minutes! I will have to tell someone about this!!!!! LOL!!

rarerollingobject, ugly looking horse radish made into a sauce for fine-looking Beef carpaccio. And I say your garam masala grilled chicken shows you got your cooking mojo back.

Prawncrackers, that’s a parade of beautiful dishes.

Kayb, good looking brisket. It is not an easy cut of meat to use.

Jenni, thanks for posting all the wonderful vegetarian dishes. They keep everyone eating healthier.

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I am on a real (not farmed) wild rice kick.

dcarch

Sous vide duck leg on wild rice and hosta shoots, crispy duck skin on the side.

Sous vide rack of lamb for Mother’s Day on wild rice with ramps and shitake mushrooms.

[robirdstx]

Dinner last night was repeats of some recent dishes, with a different twist:

Appetizer:

Hummus with Olive Oil, Lemon Juice, Sriracha and Parsley (no moat) - served with tortilla chips instead of naan. DH really liked the addition of the sriracha sauce.

Main Course:

Fish Tacos - Deep Fried Cornmeal Crusted Halibut with Avocado Chunks, Pico de Gallo, Cilantro and White Sauce on Corn Tortillas. The crust was very nice - equal parts cornmeal to A/P flour seasoned with paprika, black pepper, salt, msg and granulated garlic.

[gfweb]

What do hosta shoots taste like?

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[Panaderia Canadiense]

Coconut-curry rice with mushrooms, blonde mangrove shrimp with red peppers in a paprika-aji-rum reduction, seared marlin steaks in garlic herb butter, and fresh steamed rattlesnake beans and ruby red chard. Not the greatest photo (I was quite hungry by the time dinner rolled 'round, and cold marlin is terrible), but a fantastic meal!

[djyee100]

ChrisTaylor, the winter lobster casserole looks like something simple and delicious. Was it just braised at low heat? And what's in it? I see carrots, of course, baby leeks, and either small boiling onions or hand-carved potatoes. If those are carved potatoes, my hat is off to you! Anything else in the broth?

[dcarch]

What do hosta shoots taste like?

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It taste like endive, without the bitter note. Really nice and tender.

dcarch

[SobaAddict70]

Lots of stunners and as usual, dcarch does it again.

For tonight:

Broiled flounder

Pan-fried fingerling potatoes and asparagus, with garlic and fresh oregano

White shallot vinaigrette

The asparagus was briefly steamed for 30 seconds, then shocked in ice water. Fingerling potatoes were sliced on a bias, then fried in unsalted butter along with a pinch of salt and some chopped garlic. Added the asparagus once the potatoes were golden brown, gave it a final stir, then added the oregano. Salt and pepper to taste. White shallot vinaigrette consists of 1 white shallot, chopped; 1 tablespoon garlic chives, minced; 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, juice of one lemon, salt and pepper.

[robirdstx]

Tonight: Grilled Beef Rib Eye with a Red Potato and Green Pea Salad

[toolprincess]

Too hungry to take photos as we didn't eat til almost 8:30.

Tonight bulgogi beef ( from the freezer), sweet and sour slaw, coconut basmati rice and trader joe's garlic naan. A 'fusion' meal. Ha.

I ate my bulgogi wrapped in lettuce leaves, the SO ate his just with rice. The slaw wasn't as good as I hoped not enough dressing (sugar, vinegar, oil, salt) or not enough time to soak it up or both.

The basmati rice was good. Set out to make coconut rice with jasmine rice but then discovered I had no jasmine rice. Humph.

[Kim Shook]

toolprincess – your tacos look wonderful and I really like the addition of radishes. That is something that I wouldn’t have thought of, but now it sounds perfect!

menuinprogress – what a gorgeous plate and that sausage looks delicious!

Borgstrom – oh my goodness! I really, really, really want a bite of that sandwich.

RRO – that salad is positively beautiful!

Prawn – your tart is so lovely that I would love to try it, even though I don’t care for beets.

Dcarch – everything is just beautiful and delicious looking, as always – but that duck skin???? Oh, dear. I believe that would have been tempted to keep that as a cooks treat. That looks astonishingly good. What is the sauce on your lamb?

Robirdstx – I like your ‘moatless’ hummus and Mr. Kim would adore the addition of sirachi. Must remember that.

Mother’s Day dinner was actually tonight. We were all too full from our late (and mainly horrible) brunch to do justice to the meal that Mr. Kim was going to prepare, so Jess came back tonight and we had it. Mr. Kim prepared the whole meal and it was great! Both of his recipes were from Eating Well magazine, so they were not only good, but pretty healthy. I brought home some salad from a work lunch:

This is one of our favorites at work. Just romaine, Granny Smith apples, cashews and shredded mozzarella with a poppy seed dressing.

Mr. Kim’s dinner:

Hoisin and Blueberry Roasted Chicken, Sauteed Spinach with Red Onion, Bacon and Bleu Cheese and corn. It was supposed to be cranberry in the chicken, but we couldn’t even find frozen ones. The blueberries worked pretty well, we thought, but we do want to try it sometime with the cranberries. We really liked the chicken – the hoisin didn’t overpower it at all and the spinach was fantastic! The cheese melted into the spinach and made this wonderful sauce.

Close up of the chicken:

We decided that we wanted to try this recipe with boneless thighs, too.

[ChrisTaylor]

I don't know how much lobsters cost in the US or wherever, but in Australia lobsters are stupidly cheap when they're $55 per kilogram at retail. Our lobsters also don't have claws large enough to extract much meat from. And the ones in the local fishmongers always tend to be large. If I wanted to spend $70--by the time I get a lobster and other ingredients--on a meal I'd go to a restaurant.

[rarerollingobject]

RRo - that horseradish root is the youngest and juiciest looking one I have ever seen. How did you make your sauce- just grated and mixed with the cream or was it cooked at all?

Beautiful, innit? I just grated and mixed with cream, Greek yoghurt to thicken (or lighten, depending how you look at it!), and tarragon vinegar to sharpen.