Dinner! 2011

[Norm Matthews]

I made Chicken Cutlet Parmesan for dinner tonight. It was a hit. Son loved Martini Chicken so much I had stopped making this but it's back in the rotation now I guess. The pasta was gluten free. The breading was not. Cassie was on a gluten free diet for a few weeks and this was left over from then so I used it up. She still cuts gluten back but isn't leaving it out completely.

Anybody know why Chicken Parmesan is called Parmesan when the only cheese in it is Mozzarella? I don't know, just wondering if anyone else knows why. I did add some Romano cheese to the Mozzaarella and squeezed a little lemon juice over the cutlets before I stuck it under the broiler to melt the cheese.

[Hassouni]

Hello everyone, I've been a longtime lurker here (over 5 years), just joined today. I gotta say, I love this site and dunno why it took me so long!

I usually make a revolving lineup of Middle Eastern (I come from an Iraqi background), Mexican, Subcontinental, Sichuanese, Japanese, Korean, and random Southeast Asian and generically-Mediterranean dishes.

Tonight was Mexican inspired I guess: chili made with ground beef, pinto beans with bacon, roasted and pureed guajillo chiles, a couple roasted turning-red Hatch chiles, a serrano, a Korean red chile, some red bell pepper, with Sierra Nevada Tumbler brown ale as the cooking liquid. Served with lime wedges and queso fresco, along with some El Yucateco Kutbil-Ik habanero salsa. Sadly no pictures, but maybe tomorrow's leftovers will show up. Chili is always better the next day right?

[EatNopales]

Hello everyone, I've been a longtime lurker here (over 5 years), just joined today. I gotta say, I love this site and dunno why it took me so long!

I usually make a revolving lineup of Middle Eastern (I come from an Iraqi background), Mexican, Subcontinental, Sichuanese, Japanese, Korean, and random Southeast Asian and generically-Mediterranean dishes.

Tonight was Mexican inspired I guess: chili made with ground beef, pinto beans with bacon, roasted and pureed guajillo chiles, a couple roasted turning-red Hatch chiles, a serrano, a Korean red chile, some red bell pepper, with Sierra Nevada Tumbler brown ale as the cooking liquid. Served with lime wedges and queso fresco, along with some El Yucateco Kutbil-Ik habanero salsa. Sadly no pictures, but maybe tomorrow's leftovers will show up. Chili is always better the next day right?

Welcome... but no more Mexican inspired posts out of you until you have a Taco Arabe* to present to us.

* The precursor to Tacos al Pastor was invented in the early 1930's by an Iraqi Maronite immigrant in Puebla.

[Emily_R]

Hassouni - welcome! And your chili sounds fantastic -- I love the fruitiness of guajillos... Norm - I'd eat that chicken parm in a second, and ScottyBoy -- I don't know how you resisted eating that entire tray of crispy pork!

Dinner here was a new recipe for me, and a huge success. Semolina Gnocchi -- I think also called Gnocchi a la Romana. Formed like polenta, then cut and baked with a topping of breadcrumbs and parmesan. WOW. I served them with some of Marcella Hazan's tomato with butter sauce (and some sauteed zucchini) and it was heaven.

Recipe is here: http://leitesculinaria.com/70863/recipes-semolina-gnocchi.html

Sorry for the cross-post with the Recipes that Rock thread, but I really want to get the word out about these!

[Hassouni]

Welcome... but no more Mexican inspired posts out of you until you have a Taco Arabe* to present to us.

* The precursor to Tacos al Pastor was invented in the early 1930's by an Iraqi Maronite immigrant in Puebla.

Hi EatNopales! Gotta say in my time lurking I've loved your posts, especially your foodblog. Maronites are actually from Lebanon, and Mexico has a huge Lebanese population, the vast majority of whom are Maronite Catholics. Iraqi Christians are either Chaldean (Catholic) or Assyrian (Orthodox).

[Hassouni]

I made Chicken Cutlet Parmesan for dinner tonight. It was a hit. Son loved Martini Chicken so much I had stopped making this but it's back in the rotation now I guess. The pasta was gluten free. The breading was not. Cassie was on a gluten free diet for a few weeks and this was left over from then so I used it up. She still cuts gluten back but isn't leaving it out completely.

Anybody know why Chicken Parmesan is called Parmesan when the only cheese in it is Mozzarella? I don't know, just wondering if anyone else knows why. I did add some Romano cheese to the Mozzaarella and squeezed a little lemon juice over the cutlets before I stuck it under the broiler to melt the cheese.

Norm, to answer your question, here's what Wikipedia has to say:

"There are several conflicting theories for the origin of the name parmigiana.

One common theory attributes the name to the use of Parmigiano-Reggiano (Parmesan cheese).[2] For this reason the dish is sometimes called "melanzane alla parmigiana", though "parmigiana di melanzane" is considered more correct.

Another theory attributes the name to an alteration of the Sicilian word parmiciana:

With its liberal use of aubergines and tomatoes, this is most likely an ancient Sicilian dish which, in many cookbooks is erroneously described as deriving its name from Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, one of the ingredients. However "parmigiana" is the Italianization of the Sicilian dialectal word "parmiciana", which refers to the slats of wood which compose the central part of a shutter and overlap in the same manner as the slices of aubergine in the dish."[3]

A variant of this theory traces the name to Sicilian "palmigiana", also meaning "shutter", from the way in which the slices are laid.[4]

As with Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, the word Parmigiana is often rendered, as "Parmesan" in English-speaking countries, from the French word for "from Parma." "

[Norm Matthews]

Hassouni, thank for the explaination.

[EatNopales]

Welcome... but no more Mexican inspired posts out of you until you have a Taco Arabe* to present to us.

* The precursor to Tacos al Pastor was invented in the early 1930's by an Iraqi Maronite immigrant in Puebla.

Hi EatNopales! Gotta say in my time lurking I've loved your posts, especially your foodblog. Maronites are actually from Lebanon, and Mexico has a huge Lebanese population, the vast majority of whom are Maronite Catholics. Iraqi Christians are either Chaldean (Catholic) or Assyrian (Orthodox).

Hi.. thanks for the correction... sorry I oversimplified the diversity of Levant / Mesopotamian Christians. Looking for to your contributions!

BTW... my mother & I believe her paternal grandmother was of Middle Eastern ancestry... her family was relatively new to the area & no one really knew where they came from, she & her sisters spoke a language no one else understood, regularly made flat bread from wheat flour & had some unusual religious practices while still observing Catholicism, and of course "looked" Lebanese.... and although her husband was basically indigenous (of the Tecuexe nation) her children (including my maternal grandfather) could have been dropped in Baghdad & no one would bat an eyelash.

[ChrisTaylor]

Once I pull myself away from FIFA long enough to prepare dinner I'll be making a pork burger: pork chop, slice (or two) of bacon, tomato, lettuce, onion and wholegrain mustard.

Needs more duck, tho'.

[menuinprogress]

Using up stuff from the garden in a "Thai" steak salad. Lebanese zucchini worked really well in the role we would normally use cucumber in. The beef was tri-tip from our farmers' market.

[EatNopales]

Once I pull myself away from FIFA long enough to prepare dinner I'll be making a pork burger: pork chop, slice (or two) of bacon, tomato, lettuce, onion and wholegrain mustard.

Needs more duck, tho'.

Hey Chris.. you might like this: http://www.strikermanager.com/

[ScottyBoy]

Pretty poor pictures but...

Making my gnocchi,

Baked russet potato is run through a tammis, parmesan cheese, egg yolk and flour is added and mix until just combined. Into a pastry bag, sniping off little nuggets into boiling salted water, shocked in ice water and then tossed with a little oil to prevent from sticking. When I'm ready to serve I just fry them a little in a pan. I've started using the pastry bag method because you can work with a wetter dough, that way you don't have to work the flour too much and come up with a chewy product. Even after the boil, shock and fry these are still nice and fluffy on the inside.

Dried out some Speck for a new risotto dish. When I was plating it for the party I realized it's "green eggs and ham" hehe.

147 degree egg yolk. Fennel, basil and onion risotto. Sherry vinegar, honey and pickled mustard seed gastrique, pine nuts and dried speck chip.

[Norm Matthews]

Came home from antiquing this evening and discovered both Cassie and Charles were going to be home for dinner so took a flatiron steak from the fridge and made Sukiyaki. Soup is beef broth left over from the recipe with some water and green onions. Salad is knife cut romaine lettuce with radish and plum. We also had kimchi that we already had gotten from the Korean restaurant/market not far from us and steamed rice. It took about 30-40 minutes to make the meal and cost was around $6.00 per person. There were enough leftovers for another serving.

[djyee100]

When I was plating it for the party I realized it's "green eggs and ham" hehe.

Say!

I like green eggs and ham!

I do!! I like them, Sam-I-am!

I do so like

green eggs and ham!

Thank you!

Thank you!

And I'll have some of that gnocchi, too.

(Quoted with a nod to Dr. Suess.)

[ChrisTaylor]

A 'pot roast'--browned a kilo or so of bone-in chuck and then cooked it for 6-7 hours in red wine and beef stock with some vegetables. Added mushrooms and pearl onions during the last hour. It was okay, I guess. Wouldn't bother making it again.

[Paul Bacino]

Scottboy-- I like those gnocchi,, do you have a weight ratio/recipe?

Paul

[ScottyBoy]

Paul it's,

3 russet potatoes

70g grated parmasean

3 egg yolks

pinch of salt

100g flour

After baking and running through a tammis you should have about 250g of potatoes.

[robirdstx]

Gulf Shrimp with Mushrooms and Baby Spinach over Pasta with a Lemon Butter Sauce

Edited October 6, 2011 by robirdstx (log)

[Hassouni]

Inspired by the ongoing thread on Bourdain's Les Halles cookbook, I made his recipe for fennel and tomato soup, and salade niçoise. The Salad was good, but the soup was phenomenal! So simple: sweat onions, fennel, and diced potato, add a can of tomatoes, cook for 10 minutes, add chicken stock, let simmer, then blend and season.

[ScottyBoy]

Paul! - Once again (as with building any recipe) I have altered the gnocchi.

I've added 70g of creme fraiche.

I think this is the recipe that will go in my little black book. I can say with confidence that they are awesome

Edited October 7, 2011 by ScottyBoy (log)

[The Naughti Literati]

My GOD...you people are absolutely ridiculous!!! I heated up Papa John's because I'm a lazy douchebag who hasn't turned my stove on in MONTHS. This thread is a masterpiece. I am always referring friends and patients to it!

[FrogPrincesse]

Inspired by the ongoing thread on Bourdain's Les Halles cookbook, I made his recipe for fennel and tomato soup, and salade niçoise. The Salad was good, but the soup was phenomenal! So simple: sweat onions, fennel, and diced potato, add a can of tomatoes, cook for 10 minutes, add chicken stock, let simmer, then blend and season.

Wonderful! I have a fennel bulb from my CSA and was trying to figure out what to do with it.

The fennel and tomato soup sounds great!

[nakedsushi]

Japanese style spaghetti with leek, mushrooms, radish, and radish sprouts one night:

Farro "risotto" with chickpeas, cannellini, mushrooms, and cauliflower greens.

[Blether]

Japanese style spaghetti...

Those both sound good. What did you think of the nori as a garnish ?

[nakedsushi]

Japanese style spaghetti...

Those both sound good. What did you think of the nori as a garnish ?

I love it! It really ties in the flavor of the toppings (mushroom, soy sauce, mirin, grated radish). It also work swell to add more umami to the dish if you don't want to use parmesan.