Dinner! 2013 (Part 1)

[Steve Irby]

Not quite ready for prime time celeriac remoulade on shrimp mosaic. It's been a fun Moo-Glue week.

[Mr Holloway]

Recently introduced to sushi, why, why did I wait so long

Store bought spicy crab rolls with wasabi.

Tuna on the Egg

Sliced

With soy and pickled ginger

Shane

[Steve Irby]

do you add a 'hint' of fresh grated nutmeg to those potats? I always add just a hint of fresh ( from the whole nut ) to anything white.

just a hint. you dont want anyone to say ' Woooooooooo nutmeg ' you want them to say Wow what is this!

I very much appreciate your Glue Journey in Pics!

I made it just like my mom did except I used fresh parsley. I not sure if she used nutmeg but all of the spices in our house were of the buy one tin and they last a lifetime variety so it became a moot point. I usually use fresh grated nutmeg in my white sauces and try for the "hint" dose. Edited January 21, 2013 by Steve Irby (log)

[BeeZee]

Lasagne with chopped kale, sauteed mushrooms, and a little chopped chicken. Made with Barilla no boil noodles, hence the extra liquid. I find that it absorbs more as it sits and leftovers are perfect...I tend to make the sauce pretty soupy to start. And I used a disposable pan, which doesn't help with it's lack of thermal properties vs a nice stoneware one.

[SobaAddict70]

Spaghetti with roasted cauliflower, olives and figs

This is a play on pasta con cavolfiore, using what was in my pantry tonight.

Takes about an hour, prep time included -- and uses two pots total: one to cook the pasta, and one to roast the cauliflower.

The roasted cauliflower is just that -- cauliflower florets seasoned with olive oil, sea salt and black pepper, then roasted at 375 F for 35 minutes.

To that, add cooked spaghetti, chopped Castelvetrano olives, slivered pickled cherry peppers and chopped dried Spanish figs. Mix well. Drizzle with a little extra-virgin olive oil, taste for salt and pepper, sprinkle some chopped parsley, then serve immediately.

[rod rock]

I like that mixing of spaghetti with roasted cauliflower. And also it is fast making, good work!

[patrickamory]

From the Wolfert Morocco book, byssara:

[judiu]

Lasagne with chopped kale, sauteed mushrooms, and a little chopped chicken. Made with Barilla no boil noodles, hence the extra liquid. I find that it absorbs more as it sits and leftovers are perfect...I tend to make the sauce pretty soupy to start. And I used a disposable pan, which doesn't help with it's lack of thermal properties vs a nice stoneware one.

Have you thought of using the disposable pan as a liner for the stoneware one? Just a thought...

[kayb]

Making my way back to eGullet after several months' absence, only to find the bar's been moved higher than ever! Wonderful meals since 1/1/13; I think if I had to pick just one, it'd be the holiday beef Wellington, a dish to which I aspire one day.

A few recent dinners:

Meatballs and marinara sauce over polenta, with a salad of fresh mozzarella, roasted baby Roma tomatoes, and balsamic cream.

White beans and ham. Unremarkable but for the fact this was a Broadbent country ham from Kentucky, and possibly the best country ham into which I have ever sunk a tooth.

I got enthusiastic over the weekend and cooked a vaguely Germanic pork shoulder roast. Brined it for 24 hours in a brine of water, kosher salt, brown sugar, allspice and cider vinegar. Braised it in apple juice with dried cherries, onion and garlic. Served it with caramelized apples and onions, potato salad, and red cabbage. It was quite excellent.

The brined roast

The braised and finished with a honey and apple juice glaze roast in a 500-degree oven

The well-filled plate!

[nickrey]

Had some fresh pineapple and some duck breast in the fridge.

Off to Eat Your Books for inspiration.

Found Hugh Fearnley-Whittingsall's duck breast with pineapple, chili, and soy. Served with simple steamed bok choy and rice.

[liuzhou]

Mixed Seafood and Mushroom Stew. Spicy Broccoli Purée. Rice.

Edited January 22, 2013 by liuzhou (log)

[Dejah]

After reading Kerry Beal's report on the chicken at Zuni Cafe, and seeing other posts on same, I decided it must be done! I followed the recipe recommended by Ranz in this thread.

I prepped the chicken Saturday with sage and thyme under the skin then salted and peppered the skin liberally.

The chicken was nice and dry when I brought it out of the fridge Monday supper time. The oven was set at 475F and I cooked it according to the times recommended.

OMG! It was a success! The skin was golden, crispy, especially the wing tips, which have always been my favourite part of the chicken.

There were only about 2 tbsps. of fat in the bottom of my pan, but there was lots of "scrapings". This with a bit of chicken stock and what little juice came out of the chicken as it rested was all the "sauce" needed. The chicken was full of "roast chicken" flavour. The meat was tender and juicy.

For a 3.5 lb chicken, it took just under an hour with 10 minute rest.

We didn't have the bread salad as we ar5e cutting down on carbs, but the chicken was well accompanied by a medly of stir-fried vegetables.

It was REALLY hard to NOT eat the crispy skin!.

[PattyO]

That's beautiful, Dejah! Next on my list!

[heidih]

Found Hugh Fearnley-Whittingsall's duck breast with pineapple, chili, and soy. Served with simple steamed bok choy and rice.

Nick - what is sprinkled on your rice?

[Kim Shook]

Patrick – that Genghis Kahn beef looks amazing. I wish I could get color like that when I stir fry beef.

Kate – I think your Italian wedding soup looks delicious and I love the little ‘bomber’!

Prawn!!! – wonderful to ‘see’ you and your gorgeous food!

Brownhornet – lovely pasta. I got a pasta machine with some Christmas giftcards and I’m heartened to hear that it was easy for you. I’m a bit intimidated.

Scotty – your ‘steak and eggs’ has me swooning!

Chris – I’ve never made that classic recipe and need to. It looks and sounds wonderful.

Soba – gorgeous pasta and cauliflower. Those are two things that I never think to put together and I don’t know why. Maybe because they are both white? Dunno, but I need to try it – looks delicious!

Kayb – welcome back, girl!! I am WAY behind in my catching up at your blog and have missed you here. Those beans, that pork. Ahhhhh!

Some recent meals:

Spaghetti Bolognese and garlic bread.

Sandwiches and chips:

Cucumber, tuna salad, egg salad and olive and cream cheese.

Marcella Hazan’s Pink Shrimp Sauce w/ Cream on fettuccine:

Bruce made this back in December and it’s been haunting me ever since. It was fantastic. The method is unusual to me. After shrimp is sautéed, 2/3 of it is pureed and becomes a part of a sauce that includes tomato paste, wine and cream. What you end up with is a shrimp and pasta dish that REALLY tastes of the shrimp. It is easy and quick enough to be a weeknight meal, but impressive enough for company. And, since it easily serves 3-4 with a half a pound of shrimp it’s also economical. Thanks so much, Bruce!

I’ve been craving pancakes for a week, so that’s what was for dinner tonight. Also eggs and sausage:

I’ve been searching for years for THE pancake recipe. I love thick, light, fluffy pancakes and have found lots of good recipes, but not the ONE. I think that I finally have! I just Googled “thick and fluffy pancakes” and BAM. I found the recipe on a site called realmomkitchen.com, but it has a long genealogy – back through veronicascornucopea.com, radishesandrhubarb.com to Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook with little adjustments here and there. Well, I have that cookbook, of course, but I’ve never tried the pancakes. It is very easy to assume that dowdy little cookbooks like that don’t have much to teach modern me. I am chastened. Here are my pancakes:

And even though the photo is blurry, you can see how thick these were:

You’ll have to take my word about the fluffy and light part, though. Fabulous. And JUST what I wanted tonight.

[patrickamory]

Kim I love the look of that bolognese, and I think the egg salad sandwich one of the great underappreciated dishes of all time.

Dejah I was similarly inspired by Kerry's post - you beat me to it - I will not be able to get to this because I am travelling but will post my results when I'm back!

[SobaAddict70]

Dejah -- the Zuni chicken bread salad is one of my favorites. looks awesome.

tonight:

Crostini di bietoline (beet greens crostini).

Just beet greens, garlic, olive oil, white wine vinegar, sea salt, peperoncini. Topped with Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.

You can omit the vinegar; I added just a touch for a hint of acidity.

Totally doable in 20 minutes -- chop some garlic, add it to a cold pan along with some olive oil. warm the oil over medium heat. once the garlic turns a pale gold, add the greens, along with a scant pinch of salt and the peperoncini. cook for about 2-3 minutes or until the greens are wilted according to your liking. add some wine vinegar if you like. spoon atop toasted bread slices (in this case, you see slices from a baguette), drizzle with extra-virgin oil, top with cheese, then serve immediately.

Ditalini ("little thimbles") e ceci

This version has beet greens, kale and a little leftover plain white rice from some Chinese takeout.

Besides the vegetables and pasta, it differs from my previous version because the battuto contains leek in addition to the pancetta, celery, carrot and onion.

Edited January 23, 2013 by SobaAddict70 (log)

[liuzhou]

Oh wow! I just finished lunch, but I could still demolish a few of those crostini. They look absolutely wonderful.

[nickrey]

Found Hugh Fearnley-Whittingsall's duck breast with pineapple, chili, and soy. Served with simple steamed bok choy and rice.

Nick - what is sprinkled on your rice?

Rice Seasoning. Contains sesame seed, shrimp, potato starch, seaweed, sugar, salt, and egg yolk.

[Dejah]

Looks like Kerry Beal has got us all running for Zuni Cafe chicken. Happy to have chimed in with my effort! Even happier to have eaten it.

The flavour reminds me a lot of the Chinese yeem gok gai - salted roast chicken. The difference is the addition of 5-spice powder to the salt.

The drying process will definitely be used to achieve that crispy skin on my next yeem gok gai!

AND, Soba, I love beet greens. Will have to make use of your crostini next time I have greens on hand.

[Panaderia Canadiense]

A friend of mine brought me some really excellent tenderloin. Hence, filets! Merlot-Malbec and mushroom reduction ended up on the potatoes. And there was a salad, which I didn't think to photograph.

Sorry, no money shot (I was hungry!) They were seared off in a screaming hot pan and developed to med-rare while I was making the reduction.

[dcarch]

So many amazing dishes. Too many to comment each one on.

But still-------

Scottyboy – You really know how to cook beef.

Chris Taylor - a very gorgeous plate of The Zuni Cafe roast chicken

Jason Perlow – incredible scallops.

SobaAddict70 - Crostini di bietoline, WOW!

Panaderia Canadiense, Very nice tenderloin.

Kim – You are the queen of pan cakes.

Prawncrackers – very nice photos.

Dejah – that is one good looking crispy chicken!

Liuzhou - Mixed Seafood and Mushroom Stew, I like!

Nickrey - duck breast with pineapple, I got to try that, orange duck is getting boring.

Kayb – Amazing Germanic pork shoulder roast.

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Meat! Meat! Meat! Had too much meat.

A few vegetarian dishes.

dcarch

Steamed tofu on sesame noodles

Steamed tofu with truffle oil and black garlic sauce

Wild rice salad

[rod rock]

I don't know what to say... This is definitely my favorite thread on the forum. Guys, keep up the good work all of you!

Dcarch, you left me breathless with all this combinations and decorations...

[C. sapidus]

. . . What you end up with is a shrimp and pasta dish that REALLY tastes of the shrimp. It is easy and quick enough to be a weeknight meal, but impressive enough for company. And, since it easily serves 3-4 with a half a pound of shrimp it’s also economical. Thanks so much, Bruce!

You are quite welcome, Kim, and I am glad you liked the dish. BTW, your pancakes sound fantastic - I love a good, fluffy pancake.

Mrs. C is on a work trip, and minus her civilizing influence the boys and I have reverted to bachelor food (spaghetti and meatballs, frozen pizzas, etc.). I hope to do some real cooking later this week.

[Ericpo]

dcarch, your pictures are all beautiful, as always!

The steamed tofu...Did the tofu come with that floral pattern, or did you do that somehow? And where did you get it/how did you do it?

It actually makes me want to try tofu cooking again lol.