Dinner! 2011

[Prawncrackers]

You really do have to be brave when making caramel for Vietnamese cooking. An underdone caramel is a bit one dimensional, the further you take it the more interesting it tastes. I've only ever made it with white sugar, has anyone tried other kind of sugars?

[Panaderia Canadiense]

Yesterday's dinner (I'm still dealing with tonight's....) was teriyaki medallion of turkey breast, paprika-roast potatoes, and the omnipresent asparagus. Yummmm.

[MikeHartnett]

I've only ever made it with white sugar, has anyone tried other kind of sugars?

I've read that it generally isn't made with other sugars, like palm sugar, because impurities in the sugar make it easier to burn.

[mm84321]

Spiced duck breast, coffee infused chestnut puree, braised cabbage, duck jus.

[patrickamory]

Chicken soup. Two chickens were used - one to make a roasted brown stock from an old Gourmet recipe (it makes fabulously tasty stock), and the second for the actual soup. Unfortunately, it wasn't a huge success. I should have used 100% stock for the liquid rather than diluting it with water. Some more aromatics might have helped too.

This cheese from Artisanal, on the other hand, saved the meal. We were instructed to eat at room temperature and simply scoop it out with a spoon. It was sensational - almost as assertive to the nose as a washed-rind cheese (which it wasn't), incredibly complex, creamy dairy and hay flavors melting in the mouth.

Edited November 16, 2011 by patrickamory (log)

[Hassouni]

A faux chili made with some root veg and other leftover-y items:

I fried a miniscule amount of bacon, added onions, carrots and garlic to sweat, then some butternut squash and turnip, after a few minutes added a puree of roasted and soaked dried chile guajillo, ancho, and arbol, along with the soaking water and some chicken stock. after the root veg were mostly tender, threw in some pre-cooked pinto beans and their liquid, some frozen corn, and some poached shredded chicken from stockmaking activities last week. Garnished with "korean pepper", avocado, spring onions, and a squeeze of lime.

[ScottyBoy]

mm84321 - Been coming strong right out of the gate!

[Country]

mm84321 - Been coming strong right out of the gate!

Sure is. Think how good it would look with a better camera and lighting...

[djyee100]

You really do have to be brave when making caramel for Vietnamese cooking. An underdone caramel is a bit one dimensional, the further you take it the more interesting it tastes.

Prawncrackers, Nguyen says that it's possible to take the sauce too far, so that it burns to "a bitter black stage." Do you think that's true? Nguyen's sauce is supposed to be bitter, but with sweet undertones.

patrickamory, don't keep us in suspense! What's the cheese?

[Hassouni]

You really do have to be brave when making caramel for Vietnamese cooking. An underdone caramel is a bit one dimensional, the further you take it the more interesting it tastes.

Prawncrackers, Nguyen says that it's possible to take the sauce too far, so that it burns to "a bitter black stage." Do you think that's true? Nguyen's sauce is supposed to be bitter, but with sweet undertones.

patrickamory, don't keep us in suspense! What's the cheese?

I followed her directions for caramel sauce as closely as I could and it is indeed bittersweet in a very nice way. Do what she says and you should have the same success.

[nickrey]

Stacked smoked salmon frittata with horseradish creme fraiche. Served with fennel, orange, rocket, and pine nut salad.

[Keith_W]

Always wondered why they were called "Buffalo Wings" when they were chicken Of course, it is named after Buffalo, NY which was where they were invented. Why didn't I realize that earlier? Delicious all the same!

[ScottyBoy]

Buffalo wings are one of my big comfort foods!

[Katie Meadow]

patrickamory, don't keep us in suspense! What's the cheese?

From the lid of the box it's an easy one: Clarines. French cow's milk cheese. One of my favorites.

[patrickamory]

patrickamory, don't keep us in suspense! What's the cheese?

I was afraid someone was going to ask that

I didn't keep a record of it! I think it was Fromage des Clarines, but that is a style and not a maker... it comes from the Jura border so break out your Arbois and vin jaune...

and if you're in NYC, request it at Artisanal!

edit: I'm certain now the maker was Jean Perrin. Please get it at an affineur who knows how to age cheese... that said, it IS available on Amazon

Edited November 17, 2011 by patrickamory (log)

[Rico]

Keith_W, those wings look great, though they bring up some bad memories of my meal during a recent Game 7 ... don't know if I'll ever be able to eat wings again ...

As it is, the recent bolognese cook-off got me looking at my Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking, thinking I was going to make it again, as it's been at least a couple years since I've made Marcella Hazan's recipe verbatim.

And then right next to it in the book was the Carbonara recipe. I had everything on hand, and it took a fraction of the time. And it's yet another reminder that though I'm knee deep into Modernist Cuisine (thank you for the tip, Victornet) and it's just a tidal wave of wonderful information, keeping an eye on the classics is always important.

Served with a Caesar salad - went to a little shindig a few weeks ago with a whole bunch of chefs in Dallas cooking their version of the Caesar, and they gave a recipe for it. This is one of them (figured I'd work my way through the whole group eventually), and it was good, though I don't quite know how creative you can get with it and still call it a Caesar salad ...

That was a lot of writing for the Dinner! thread. Sorry about that; got a little excited.

(Edited to fix a typo or two)

Edited November 17, 2011 by Rico (log)

[Margaret Pilgrim]

Amazingly delicious Kachoba squash and Italian sausage strozzapreti (choke the priest) pasta. Squash cubes seared and braised with white wine and veal jus, cream, basil. The squash melts to join the unctuous sauce. Oh, my!

[Panaderia Canadiense]

My gift to myself this independence day was a little charcoal UFO grill (since we're not a huge family, we don't need one of the 45-gal models). Hence - PINCHOS! Mangrove shrimp in wasabi-tomato sauce, and top-round steak that had been marinating for two and a half weeks in dad's secret "softening up" marinade. All of this over coconut rice with peas and a nice big garden salad. Dee-lish.

[Paul Bacino]

Margaret Pilgrim--Yum

[Shelby]

Experienced plucking my first bird today. A Pheasant.

I diced the liver and seared it quickly in duck fat, then added minced onion to the pan, then mixed all together with some diced foie gras and stuffed it in the bird. Roasted for about 25 minutes. Made a jus from the roasting pan. It was good.

Was this a female??? If not, what kind of pheasant?

[Paul Bacino]

Grouse?

[Blether]

Grouse... pheasant.

The curved beak says 'not grouse' to me. Either way, given how prone pheasant is (game birds are) to dryness, especially in the breast, it looks very skillfully handled. mm84321, roasted at what temp ? Whole or in pieces ?

Edited: to put the right bird in quotes...

Edited November 17, 2011 by Blether (log)

[mm84321]

Was this a female??? If not, what kind of pheasant?

Yes. A female pheasant from here in Connecticut. Not sure of the exact species. Absolutely beautiful bird.

Grouse... pheasant.

The curved beak says 'not pheasant' to me. Either way, given how prone pheasant is (game birds are) to dryness, especially in the breast, it looks very skillfully handled. mm84321, roasted at what temp ? Whole or in pieces ?

It was roasted whole. On it's side for 8 minutes, then the other side for another 8, then finally finished on its back for 8 minutes more. The breasts were carved, and then the bird was put back in the oven for a few more minutes to finish cooking the legs. It was my first time cooking something from start to finish like that (plucking, gutting, roasting). It was a nice experience.

[mm84321]

Oh, and it was roasted at 440° F.

[Blether]

Thanks.