Dinner! 2011

[ChrisTaylor]

I bought a silkie on a whim. Broke it down into the breasts and legs.

The breast piece was brined overnight then drained and dried, uncovered, in the fridge for a few hours. I then roasted it at 70*C until they reached 65*C internally (about a hour). I set it aside. It was finished off in with some butter in the pan.

The legs were salted for a couple of hours then cooked at 100*C in olive oil for a couple of hours. I left the meat to cool in the oil and placed it in the fridge overnight.

The confit meat was combined with some diced, sauteed Swiss brown mushrooms (sauteed in some of the oil from the confit, which had been flavoured with bay and garlic as well as, obviously, the bird). This was used to stuff agnolotti. I've never made stuffed pasta before. I think it turned out okay. Not great. It's ugly as hell--but the all that fiddly, arty stuff stuff doesn't work too well for someone with my, er, challenges.

The good:

* The chicken breast. I think a combination of brining and slow-roasting on the bone made the meat salty (in the pleasant, as opposed to disgusting, sense) and tender and juicy and flavoursome. The skin was crispy. This I wouldn't change at all--aside from maybe serving each person two breasts, which would be a pretty expensive exercise (silkie, despite its size, retails $17 a pop largely due to its quackery value).

* The pasta. Again, my first time making it. It could be improved--maybe rolled to the thinnest setting was opposed to second thinnest--but I think it was okay. Maybe I'd make ravioli instead of agnolotti.

* The mashed up roast carrots and parsnips that the breast sat on. If anything, I'd leave the vegetables even coarser next time.

To be improved next time:

* The filling of the pasta. The flavour of the confit got lost with the mushrooms. Next time I'd use no mushrooms ... in fact, I'd probably not put the fried shallots on top of the breats, but stick them in the pasta with the confit to provide an interesting texture. I hope they'd stay crisp when the pasta cooked.

* The stock. It was just insipid. I wanted a gutsy, almost gravy-like quality to it. Next time I'd use a boiler chicken or two as opposed to messing around with chicken necks.

Edited June 12, 2011 by ChrisTaylor (log)

[Dakki]

I'd tell you about this fried chicken but with so much great food in this page alone I'm afraid I'll just look like a newb.

Humility noted. Now please tell us about the chicken. You can't post that photo and then not talk about the chicken.

False humility, Rico. I think when chickens are very very good in life they get to come to my kitchen to be fried.

Anyway, it's a large bag of thighs (18 pieces I think), trimmed, coated generously with powdered cascabel pepper, cumin, garlic powder, black pepper and salt, then dipped in white wheat flour and fried in a cast iron skillet with 1 cm of fresh vegetable shortening with a shot of once-used shortening, 13 minutes per side.

[Blether]

ChrisTaylor, that looks good. I took an attempt or two to figure out thickness for fresh pasta too - it expands and you end up thicker than you planned. Personally, I don't think "ugly as hell" is right at all.

I think I remember reading about your challenges, but not the specifics. You don't mention them in your profile.

[Mjx]

. . . .

. . . .

This looks just great... I think I'd take filled pasta in broth over pretty much any other dish on the planet, almost anytime. I don't think it's ugly, either, although the colour of the meat certainly is eye-catching.

[Rico]

Dakki, that sounds freaking delicious. And I'm stealing it.

And ChrisTaylor,

Personally, I don't think "ugly as hell" is right at all.

2X. Looks damned good to me.

[SobaAddict70]

That chicken really is black. WOW. I thought y'all were kidding earlier.

Looks great btw.

[Mr Holloway]

Excellent pics everyone, some great looking meals

Picked up a couple of cheap roasts and ground them up for some killer burgers

With a salad

Shane

Edited June 12, 2011 by Mr Holloway (log)

[Prawncrackers]

Prawn, how did you make the crackling? Just crisped it in the oven?

Just catching up on the all the lovely meals here on the Dinner thread and i missed this question from Percyn a few pages back! Yes I removed the skin from the chops before they were brined overnight and used a belt and braces method to make sure the crackling was perfect. I scalded the skin with boiling water, rubbed some vodka on it and left it uncovered in the fridge overnight. It only took an hour to crisp up in a moderately hot oven (190c) flattened between two cake racks.

Well, the temperature today has barely reached double figures and it's been raining all day, which means British summertime is here. What gaps in the weather there have been over the last couple of weekends I've managed to get some decent bbq on. First off I smoked some ribs and brisket two weekends ago. The ribs I butchered myself and left a lot of meat on them. They were smoked for about four hours then sizzled with a little of my homemade bbq sauce. The ribs we had immediately that day and kicked off my bbq season with a bang. I've just bought a new horizontal smoker and I couldn't be happier with the result. These were the best ribs I've ever made, who knows how good they can be with a little more practise?

The brisket was smoked for six hours and was saved in the freezer for a rainy day, like yesterday. I warmed it through in the water bath a few hours whilst I smoked some chicken, homemade andouille and chorizo too. The andouille recipe in Ruhlman and Percyn Charcuterie book is really delicious, I'd never made it before but I will certainly be making it again. I made my bbq sauce again but this time I dropped a dried naga chilli in it to pep things up, It gave a lovely pungent fruity heat but foolishly I decided to suck off the sauce from the chilli. Man was that a mistake, I was incapcitated for a good ten minutes:

And yes I eat bbq with chopsticks!

[SobaAddict70]

Roast poussin (using T. Keller's method (1:1:1 mixture of salt, black pepper and lemon thyme, sprinkled over the chicken; truss chicken, then roast at 425 F for 40 minutes), spring vegetables (asparagus, young onion, radishes, carrots), Chardonnay jus

Sliced strawberries macerated with sugar, mint and fresh squeezed orange juice

Edited June 13, 2011 by SobaAddict70 (log)

[Genkinaonna]

Dejah and Soba-The sauce for the ribs was basically a reduction of the braising liquid. I rubbed the ribs with 5 spice and ginger, S & P, then marinated them (for about 5 hrs) with 1/2 c apricot jam, juice of an orange and the juice of a lemon. Then I put them in a pan with a couple T water and let them cook for 45 min or so. At that point I added a cup of mexican coke to the pan and finished cooking them. It was about an hour more, I think, but basically until they're tender and pulling away from the bone at the ends. I think I cooked them at 350 F. The liquid in the pan was really watery when the ribs were done, so I reduced it over high heat until it was syrupy. I added about a tsp and a half of alder smoked salt to give it a little more of a barbeque-y flavor. Hope that helps! I honestly think the same treatment would be incredible on chicken wings too...and a little less time consuming, since they cook so much quicker.

[Pierogi]

Oh man, Prawn......those sausages look amazing. Simply amazing.

[ChrisTaylor]

No photos but I prepared a duck ragu with pappardelle (dried--I was too busy with end of term reports to make fresh pasta again). Bought a whole duck and chopped it up. Tossed it all, pretty much (didn't add the arse--it's my favourite part of roast duck but I already had enough fat to skim out of the sauce without intentionally adding a lump of pure grease), into a marinade made from the standard mirepoix vegetables, red wine (got to love recent parties--getting gifted bottles of wine too depressing to drink or use in red wine sauces but perfect for long, slow cooking) and etc. All those bones, too, of course. The sauce was made of the reserved marinade, a bit of chicken stock and 700mL of passata. Boosted the umami with a bit of Vegemite and a few drips of fish sauce. Cooked it for about two and a half hours then ditched the bones and roughly chopped the meat. Reduced the sauce over about a hour. A final umami hit with some Parmesan.

Wasn't bad. Very rich and steadying.

EDIT

After I bought the duck, a standard roaster, I ducked (oh yes I did) into another butcher (was looking for large boiler pigeons for BOCCA's pigeon ragu) and stumbled across a 'mature meat bird.' Basically a gigantic duck marketed as a braising bird. Got to head back this week and grab one of those. Will have to find something else, other than ragu, to do with that duck. An all-duck cassoulet? God would probably say yes.

Edited June 13, 2011 by ChrisTaylor (log)

[dcarch]

SobaAddict70, that is one amazing Roast poussin. Nice strawberry dissert to round up the meal.

Prawncrackers, Very nice smoked brisket. Mouth-watering sausages. Nothing wrong with enjoying BBQ with chopsticks.

Mr Holloway, Home ground burger is the best, always.

ChrisTaylor, I am very impressed with your silkie meal. It is copied to my reference file. I will have to play with making silkie in the near future.

percyn, Nice plating, your Grilled Chicken w/King Trumpet Mushrooms.

Dakki, Nice tablecloth indeed. Goes well with the plate. :-)

Genkinaonna, Cola and Jam Baby Back Ribs sound like a delicious recipe.

Dejah, beautifully photographed grilled veggies.

Kim, I can’t believe you can turn out such quantiy and quality dishes. If I cook like you, I will need a month to clean up afterwards.

rarerollingobject, You have inspired me with many of my dishes.

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rarerollingobject inspired me to make this.

dcarch

[SobaAddict70]

How did those xiao taste? They look picture perfect.

[dcarch]

How did those xiao taste? They look picture perfect.

You had to ask?

Mamma mia!! They tasted good!

??? Mamma mia???

I had one Italian pork sausage left in the fridge, so I mixed it into the filling also. Very nice! But please don't tell anyone. LOL!

dcarch

[rarerollingobject]

rarerollingobject, You have inspired me with many of my dishes.

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rarerollingobject inspired me to make this.

I don't know how I did that, but it's such a huge compliment, I'll take it!

Those XLB look great. Were they bursting fat with soup and very gingery by any chance (I love them very gingery!), or am I just projecting my delirious hunger?

[Emily_R]

!!! Dcarch! I've tried multiple times times to make XLB but the soup always leaks out of my dough. Did you make the dough yourself? And if so, could you share your recipe?

Drooling here...

[dcarch]

rarerollingobject, You have inspired me with many of my dishes.

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

rarerollingobject inspired me to make this.

I don't know how I did that, but it's such a huge compliment, I'll take it!

Those XLB look great. Were they bursting fat with soup and very gingery by any chance (I love them very gingery!), or am I just projecting my delirious hunger?

Long time ago in another thread you made these. That picture stuck in my mind all this time.

Oh yes! bursting with soup! I alway freeze my ginger. When you cut frozen ginger, it break up and crumbles and that gives it more giner flavor. A little duck fat in the filling also.

dcarch

[dcarch]

!!! Dcarch! I've tried multiple times times to make XLB but the soup always leaks out of my dough. Did you make the dough yourself? And if so, could you share your recipe?

Drooling here...

Yes, I made the dough. I assume you know the dough is made with boiling water, and I assume you know you don't actually use liquid soup.

dcarch

Edited June 14, 2011 by dcarch (log)

[gfweb]

Assume nothing. Is the soup frozen? Powdered?

[dcarch]

Assume nothing. Is the soup frozen? Powdered?

So sorry honorable gfweb. I am afraid I can't disclose to you. It is a thousand year old secret recipe bequeathed to me by an inscrutable supreme Chinese culinary master, who was a direct descendent, from a royal master chef of Emperor’s Forbidden kitchen.

Make soup stock with gelatin. After gelatin is set, chop it up to mix with filling to make bun. After the buns are steamed, the gelatin/stock is melt and becomes the soup.

dcarch

[Emily_R]

Ah -- I was wondering if it was a boiling water dough. I'll have to just give it another try -- maybe the first time I made it I rolled it out too thin. Also, do you use cubes of the gelatinous stock, or do you blend / emulsify the stock into the filling?

[SobaAddict70]

Looks awesome. I mean that sincerely ... anyone who can make XLB for dinner is awesome.

Tonight:

Radish greens, Campari tomato and radish salad, with hard-cooked wild turkey eggs and herb vinaigrette.

Greens were sautéed in olive oil with garlic; tomato salad consists of blanched French breakfast radishes with diced Campari cherry tomatoes, extra-virgin olive oil, rice vinegar, salt, pepper and mint. Pea shoot flowers and parsley to garnish.

Whole wheat spaghetti with Jersey tomatoes, Campari tomato confit and mint

Quick tomato confit -- sliced Campari cherry tomatoes, 1:1/2:1/4 mixture of salt, black pepper and sugar, olive oil; bake at 350 F for 1 hour.

Garlic sautéed in olive oil, to which was added lemon zest, chopped capers, parsley, mint and lemon thyme. Add 1 chopped Jersey tomato to garlic-herb mixture. Let tomatoes partially break down. Add cooked pasta directly to skillet, toss together. Taste for salt and pepper. Add tomato confit, toss again, then serve immediately.

[heidih]

I am trying to use all my zucchini and have been picking them at a young stage as there are so many more on deck. This is a stir fry of mini sweet peppers, onion, garlic, the zukes, and some pre-cooked shirtaki noodles (in a soy bath) along with shrimp, grinds of black pepper, scissorings of basil and a squeeze of fresh orange. Light and the flavors were clear. I had been trying to move away from cream based pasta and squash preps. Served with marinated cucumbers from the garden.

[pastameshugana]

heidih - that pasta (and those shrimp!) looks wonderful!