Dinner! 2013 (Part 1)

[basquecook]

you must really like steak!

[basquecook]

In all seriousness, anyone from New York knows, NY has the best and worst of everything.. It has the most expensive piece of meat you can probably find and then there are mid range, all the way down to the cheapest crap in the world. Being that I may eat steak once a month and our cost came out to 15 bucks a person, I wouldn't say that is any reason to move across the country.

[C. sapidus]

Thank you, Kim

Nyonya fish, cabbage and egg stir-fry, and coconut rice. The fish was steamed with ginger, pickled mustard greens, shredded black mushrooms, soy sauce, sesame oil, chicken stock, cilantro, scallions, and chiles. Will make again.

Mrs. C had much of the prep done by the time I got home. I could get used to having a sous chef!

[SobaAddict70]

thanks Kim.

the culture we live in is a very meat-centric/non-vegetable-focused society. while that's changing, it's not as fast as I would like. for instance, someone on the blog mentioned that "adding a veg to potatoes is a great way to liven things up". well, potatoes ARE vegetables, but we don't think of them as that.

I think that needs to change.

tonight:



Cara Cara orange and radicchio salad, with honey-roasted shallots and citrus vinaigrette (Cara Cara OJ, red wine vinegar, extra-virgin olive oil, sea salt, black pepper)

Honey-roasted shallots: toss peeled and sliced shallots with red wine vinegar, sea salt, black pepper, wildflower honey and extra-virgin olive oil. Roast at 375 F for 30-35 minutes. Let cool, then use as needed.



Spaghetti with Manila clams, fennel and saffron



Roasted shad, creamed leeks

[Mr Holloway]

Great meals everyone.

Kim's steak and cheese stuffed baked potato and FeChef sweet potato/chicken pie

are on my "to do" list

Dinner was a chicken version of the pork roll, posted last week

Chicken quickly browned, provolone, in a baquette and wrapped in bacon

Off the Egg

With some caesar salad

Shane

Edited February 20, 2013 by Mr Holloway (log)

[rotuts]

that GE bacon bomb looks stunning. Who Knew?

how long was it on the Egg? did you have to rotate it? low and slow ?

[Mr Holloway]

Thanks Rotuts

This was on the Egg for about an hour at 375/400

It was done indirect(platesetter,drip pan)

Did not have to rotate

Shane

[rotuts]

I sure hope you call it a Bacon Bomb or maybe a GE Bacon Bomb. GEBB

a little Caesar for balance? its on my list, near the top.

no GE here. the Webber will have to do. with the Caesar. Icy Pilsner? Frosted Mug?

[FeChef]

Bacon Bomb is interesting. Makes for a good idea to try fresh made pizza dough for a bacon wrapped chicken stuffed stromboli.

[huiray]

Sorry, the name "Bacon Bomb" has already been taken. :-)

See, e.g.,

, here, here, or here... a.k.a. "Bacon Explosion", see here or here &etc.

...but don't let that stop you. :-D

[rotuts]

Oink ! Oink !

I used to do a stuffed meat loaf (turkey) w bacon wrap a long time ago.

well before the introduction of various Statins!

however, the GEBB has that crusty FR bread to soak up all that 'Goodness' 'Badness' and deliver it in a

metered, constant infusion sort of way.

Edited February 20, 2013 by rotuts (log)

[Mr Holloway]

We have been calling them "Home rollies" here

They are superb with a salad, the bread gets a great crunchy texture.

Love the pizza dough idea FeChef

Shane

[Kim Shook]

Shane – I just called Mr. Kim up to the computer so that he could see that bacon wrapped sandwich. He hung over my shoulder for 5 solid minutes. Thanks to you, I now have a damp shoulder.

We had my mother over for dinner last night and had a nice gift from the freezer:

Bolognese with Italian sausage. I also served the romaine with Gorgonzola, spiced pecans and roasted garlic dressing salad and garlic bread:

[patrickamory]

MMM that spaghetti with sausage looks wonderful Kim.

[SobaAddict70]

Ooo, meatballs. I need practice making those.

tonight:



Hedgehog mushroom salad, with poached farm egg and pecorino Crotonese cheese

In case folks are curious, the mushrooms were sautéed in unsalted butter, and seasoned with sea salt, black pepper and rosemary. This was spooned atop baby arugula and shaved cheese. Topped with a poached egg.




Insalata di finocchi e arance

This is a modern twist on this traditional winter salad. Contains roasted fennel, Cara Cara oranges and candied Cara Cara orange zest. The vinaigrette consists of extra-virgin olive oil, Cara Cara OJ, white wine, white wine vinegar, sea salt and black pepper.

Candied Cara Cara orange zest, adapted from Martha Stewart's recipe here: http://www.marthastewart.com/340503/candied-orange-zest




Butter-braised winter vegetables, with spicy pork sausage

Adapted from Katrina's recipe, which you can view here: http://shesinthekitchen.blogspot.com/2010/12/butter-braised-celeryceleris-braises-au.html

The sausage and vegetables were cooked separately, then combined at the last minute prior to plating. The braising liquid differs slightly from the linked recipe and contains: unsalted butter, chicken stock, white wine, olive oil, fennel seed, rosemary, sea salt and black pepper.




Arctic char, herb salad

Herb salad -- tarragon, Italian parsley, mint, sage and marjoram, along with julienned lemon zest (for color), and dressed in a lemon vinaigrette (lemon juice, extra-virgin olive oil, sea salt, black pepper).

Edited February 21, 2013 by SobaAddict70 (log)

[ScottyBoy]

A healthy one tonight. Baked chicken and a quinoa salad with roasted garlic and yogurt.

[C. sapidus]

ScottyBoy - looks good!

Fried grated coconut with beef, with shallots, garlic, tamarind, coconut cream, brown sugar, coriander, and bay leaves

Cucumber and pineapple pickle, with shallots, chiles, sugar, and lime juice

Stir-fried vegetables with fermented black beans, garlic, oyster sauce, soy sauce, rice vinegar, and sesame oil

Basmati rice

[SobaAddict70]

Chestnut gnocchi, with winter root vegetables (parsnips, carrots) and mushrooms (champignon and oyster mushrooms)




Carrot and cauliflower confit

Imagine the softest, lusciousliest (is that even a word? well, it is now) cauliflower and carrots you've ever tasted, infused with garlic, cumin and lemon, and sparked with a flash of cayenne. The confit liquid, which was the olive oil they were slow-roasted in, is worth the price of admission.

Adapted from this recipe by Jean-Georges Vongerichten, of Jean Georges (New York), Pump Room (Chicago) and Mercato (Shanghai) -- http://www.nytimes.com/recipes/9344/Confit-Of-Carrot-And-Cumin.html

There are a few differences between JGV's original and the pic above, namely the lemon zest/lemon juice, capers, marjoram and cauliflower. Otherwise, it's as written.




"Eggs and things"

You can think of it as a 'reverse frittata', one where the filling is the star of the show. In this case, it's beet greens. The eggs are supposed to be shredded. (I think I used 2 eggs, instead of my usual 3-4). Sometimes there'll be cheese or fried breadcrumbs, or plain as you see here, save for a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil.

In the past, I've had this with spinach and tomatoes, or with ramps and potatoes. Just an idea for those of you who might be inclined.

Edited February 22, 2013 by SobaAddict70 (log)

[Mr Holloway]

Great meals everyone

Made a batch of chili for this week

Ground beef, home ground pork and porchetta

Meat browned off with some cherry wood

Got happy here,for a few hours

4 scotch bonnets, gave this a great kick

Shane

[PeterLG]

Finished a dinner for 9. Really happy with the menu. I was thinking Scallops & fennel foam for the appetizer but The Wife wanted Mango & Avocado + Shrimp, so I had to improvise :-)

Hors d'oeuvres:

o Foie Gras toasts w/ Chives & Balsamico reduction

o Crayfish toasts w/ Sour Cream, Shallots & Dill

Wine: Fleury Organic Champagne

Appetizer:

o Green Salad: Romaine & Iceberg with Shrimp, Avocado, Mango & Cilantro.

(cont. Champagne)

Main:

o Truffle Risotto, topped w/ Chives & Parmigiano

o Filet Mignon w/ Red Wine sauce (salted, room temp for 2h, then sauteed in butter and held in 70C oven until 53,5C)

o Tomato, Rocket, Basil & Pine seeds w/ Balsamico reduction

La Raia Large (an awesome Barbera from Piemonte)

Post:

o Cheese plate with Roquefort (walnut), Brebiou (Fig jam), Old Gouda (Cranbelly gelee)

Churchill Reserve Post

Dessert:

o Macarons (various)

o Lind't chocolate (various)

Portal 2000 Colheita

Espresso & Sambuca

(and yes, the guests wanted to sample port wines - otherwise would've probably gone with a good Sauternes for the cheese plate).

Edited February 23, 2013 by PeterLG (log)

[Kerry Beal]

Cauliflower Steak - based on this Food 52 recipe. I browned the 'steak' in duck fat. For the puree I steamed the cauliflower in my Thermomix then pureed with some butter. Didn't require any extra liquid.

[Martin Fisher]

Kerry,

That looks great!

Thanks for posting!

I've been eating a lot of cauliflower in the past couple of years because I have to avoid starchy potatoes and the like.

I'll definitely give that recipe a try!

~Martin

[scubadoo97]

Looks really nice Kerry. I often toss the slices on the grill

Mr Holloway. Good looking chili and photo tutorial

[liuzhou]

Not home cooking this time, but dinner you have to cook yourself.

Last night, I had a bit of a reunion with some old friends. One had come all the way from the USA to China; two others had travelled all day to get here.

Being in the last days of the Spring Festival (Chinese New Year) holiday, we did the usual and went for a hotpot in a new restaurant in town. It is the last Friday of the holiday and the place was heaving and, as the Chinese like their restaurants, it was 热闹 (literally 'hot and noisy'). There were long lines of people waiting to get in. Fortunately, we had booked.

For the hotpot base we chose the most popular - 养生鸳鸯锅 - which literally translates as 'health preserving mandarin duck pot'. 鸳鸯 can also metaphorically mean 'an affectionate couple' and the pots normally have a couple of sections. Hence the name. But this one seems to have a baby in the centre..

The centre section contains Sichuan peppercorns, chillies and chilli bean paste. It is perforated on one side (the lower side in the picture above) allowing the flavours to mingle with the stock without the actual peppers etc getting in.

Each section is filled with chicken stock and placed in the centre of the table with an induction cooker underneath.

Then the additions for cooking in the soup start to pile up

L-R at the back, tofu and greens; at the front duck blood, taro and potato

Rice vermicelli

Daikon

Tofu (again)

Potato (again)

Dried Beancurd Milk Skin (腐竹)

Beef

And, of course, rice.

There were other things to be cooked in the soup base which I didn't photograph - the lighting wasn't helpful. I remember shiitake mushrooms, king oyster mushrooms and lamb. I'm sure there were more.

As it bubbles away the stock evaporates and the chilli side gets hotter and hotter. Fresh stock can be obtained to tame it down again, but it remains HOT. The clear side offers some light relief.

A beer or three were also on hand to douse the chilli heat and a fine time was had by all..

Edited February 23, 2013 by liuzhou (log)

[SobaAddict70]

Kerry -- that's pretty cool.

Liuzhou -- love your posts as always. they show a side of China that I hardly ever see.

tonight:

Beet and Cara Cara orange salad, with crystallized ginger, pistachios and Chinese lap cheong sausage

The dressing is a very light sprinkling of the candied Cara Cara orange zest liquid from a couple of days ago.

Not every salad has to have salad greens.

Veal ricotta meatballs, sugo di pomodoro

Recipe for the meatballs (from Marco Canora (Hearth and Terroir, in the East Village)): www.nytimes.com/2007/06/06/dining/061lrex.html

Sugo di pomodoro ("tomato sauce"):

1 onion, finely diced

olive oil

1 large carrot, peeled and finely diced

2 stalks celery, trimmed and finely diced

1 tablespoon celery leaves, finely minced

1 tablespoon fresh thyme

sea salt, to taste

freshly ground black pepper, to taste

3 1/2 cups crushed tomatoes

1/4 cup water

Put olive oil and onion in a heavy 3-½-quart pot or Dutch oven and turn heat to medium. Cook and stir onion until it has become translucent, then add the celery, carrot, celery leaves and thyme, along with a pinch of sea salt and black pepper. Cook for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until the vegetables have softened considerably. Add the tomatoes and water. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to medium-low and partly cover. Let that cook for 30 to 45 minutes or until the sauce has thickened slightly. Taste for salt and pepper once more, then use as desired.

also, I'm starting a batch of beet vinegar:

This is peels and trimmings from 3 very large beets.

Here, you see 1/2 cup red wine vinegar that's covering the beet peels. I'll set this in the fridge and take another pic on Sunday, then a 2nd pic 1-2 weeks later. The color should begin to transform from a deep red to a magenta or purple in a few days time. And that's when things begin to get interesting.