Dinner! 2013 (Part 2)

[patrickamory]

rotuts - yes, but smaller, more concentrated and more sour than cranberries. They are called zereshk in Farsi.

If you are in the Boston area (is that correct?), then try Super Heroes or Eastern Lamejun in Watertown.

[SobaAddict70]

it's poached egg night at Casa Soba, LOL.



Sopa de ajo -- stale bread, chicken stock, garlic, olive oil, sea salt, pimentón, poached egg, parsley.

You can sub out the chicken stock for vegetable stock or even plain water, and it will be fine.

The parsley is my own addition, for color.




Salade Lyonnaise, one of the crowning glories of France.

Recipe here, one of the few by Mark Bittman that I like: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/23/dining/23minirex.html?ref=dining

[rarerollingobject]

I like the look of that Lyonnaise, Soba. And patrickamory, your pomegranate duck had me hankering for pom. molasses, so:

Green beans braised with pomegranate molasses, chilli, lime and walnuts

With swordfish and tahini garlic sauce.

[huiray]

Lovely dinners from all, both complex and simple.

@ dcarch - just wondering, how do you keep the food warm while doing all that fantastic plating (surely it takes some time) and photography (yet more time)?

@ Ashen - Nice dinner. (Why call it breakfast-for-supper? It's simply supper. Or dinner.)

@ mm84321 - No truffles this time, I see. Just curious (like others here, I think) - do you have a special or private supply of truffles for your many other meals incorporating it?

@ patrickamory - nice looking duck. Any pics of it cut-up and showing the meat and insides?

@ sobaaddict70 - lovely elegant dishes as usual.

@ red rock - yes, pussycat seems to be wondering where his/her share is, heh.

[huiray]

I seldom post on the dinner thread - my night-time meals have tended over recent years to be simple, modest things, seldom the complex and lovely spreads that so many of you show here. Not infrequently I don't even have dinner. (I do have full, more elaborate meals from time to time. Especially if I dine out.)

Here's what I had last night: pork, cabbage & XO sauce "Shui Kow" dumplings [Prime Food][they're decent] with finely chopped white cabbage in a sautéed-garlic-chicken-stock soup.

[rotuts]

rarerollingobject

pomegranate molasses, chilli, lime and walnuts

and

tahini garlic sauce

would you share the Rx? im not a fan of walnuts but I might try it that way or use pecans. the tahini sauce looks very creamy!

[dcarch]

huiray : Lovely dinners from all, both complex and simple.

@ dcarch - just wondering, how do you keep the food warm while doing all that fantastic plating (surely it takes some time) and photography (yet more time)?

Actually, If you look at my dishes, I seldom spend much time on them. I don't do anything fancy, just mostly piling the ingredients. When photographing, I always have the identical setup, a top view and a side view. I don't spend anytime in composition.

Lighting is identical in all my shots. Flip one switch, click, click, I am done.

Before I plate, the plate is in the microwave with some water, and the plate will be boiling hot for the food.

Thanks for asking.

BTW, very lovely photographed "Shui Kow" dumplings.

dcarch

Edited March 2, 2013 by dcarch (log)

[rotuts]

interesting. Ive been using that Microwave trick also.

[scubadoo97]

Last night I made a Kala Chana curry dish served over rice. This kind of food just pushes my buttons, big time.

The day before that it was red beans and rice.

Been trying to use up some of the dried beans in the pantry.

[Antwaan Randle Kay]

Ris de Veau with lemongrass, herb jus

[rotuts]

huiray

thanks for the tip on 'Prime Foods' Ill look for them next time im a the ChineseMegaStore.

Ive been using Master Wu

http://www.philamfood.com/MASTER-WU-FROZEN-PORK-and-VEGETABLE-POTSTICKERS-18OZ.html

love tips ( with pics ) that help me navigate those shelves.

[christine007]

so proud of my thirteen year old son, the budding chef. he made brussell sprouts and sausage, vanilla bean ice cream for dessert.

[judiu]

My 43ish son, a graduate eater, with a PhD in Brussel sprouts, would kill for that meal, preferably with mashed potatos and gravy...!

[huiray]

huiray : Lovely dinners from all, both complex and simple.

@ dcarch - just wondering, how do you keep the food warm while doing all that fantastic plating (surely it takes some time) and photography (yet more time)?

Actually, If you look at my dishes, I seldom spend much time on them. I don't do anything fancy, just mostly piling the ingredients. When photographing, I always have the identical setup, a top view and a side view. I don't spend anytime in composition.

Lighting is identical in all my shots. Flip one switch, click, click, I am done.

Before I plate, the plate is in the microwave with some water, and the plate will be boiling hot for the food.

Thanks for asking.

BTW, very lovely photographed "Shui Kow" dumplings.

dcarch

If you "just pile on" the ingredients, I must say you have a gifted way with "just piling them on" - in no time flat, too, as you say!

Thanks for the kind words about the photo of the Shui Kow & stuff.

Edited March 3, 2013 by huiray (log)

[Jason Perlow]

Today I participated in the first BBQPad Ultimate Rib cookoff. BBQpad is a new social website which helps people track their BBQ cooks.

These pork spare ribs used a rub of Dijon Mustard, with Grace Habanero Hot Sauce, with Elgin BBQ Seasoning on top.

Sauce was a combination of Jack's Secret Six and COSTCO Pineapple/Habanero Salsa.

You can see all the photos and the play-by-play here. I was the first to cook this weekend, there will be a few more people cooking tomorrow, so no idea if I'm gonna win it or not.

[mm84321]

Turbot scaled with mushrooms, herb jus

[Kim Shook]

Liuzhou – gorgeous meatballs.

Soba – beautifully turned omelet. And Salade Lyonnaise is a favorite of ours.

Wapi & Shane – I’m ashamed of myself. I bought a pasta machine right after Christmas with some giftcards and I haven’t even read the directions yet. Gotta do it!!!

Steve – all that pork is making me swoon. Amazing.

Norm – glad to have you back and sorry about the ankle! I don’t know if you saw it or not, but in case you didn’t, I made your Korean chicken wings for Super Bowl and they were a huge hit. Fantastic and thank you for posting the link to the recipe.

dcarch – love the look of those mussels. What is in the sauce?

Patrick – the skin on that duck is astounding. And AGAIN with the tahdig???

(dcarch and Patrick's names should be in BOLD. one of the MANY problems I've had since the 'upgrade' )

Some recent dinners include this:

Brats, corn and sauerkraut.

And herbed port pot roast:

on noodles with long-cooked green beans:

Dinner tonight:

Pot roast soup and sauerkraut.

[rarerollingobject]

Yummy looking meals there, Kim. I've had a hankering for green beans lately, I may try them long-cooked.

rarerollingobject

pomegranate molasses, chilli, lime and walnuts

and

tahini garlic sauce

would you share the Rx? im not a fan of walnuts but I might try it that way or use pecans. the tahini sauce looks very creamy!

rotuts, the tahini sauce is simply crushed garlic mixed with tahini and salt and thinned with lemon juice. Sometimes I add a spoonful of Greek yoghurt, but not this time. The beans, I riffed on this recipe, but skipped the raisins and orange zest. It was a winner though..will definitely make it again.

[huiray]

Dinner last night:

Steamed^¶ short-cut pork spare ribs. With Black Bean - Garlic sauce (Lee Kum Kee), finely julienned fresh ginger (a generous amount), a bit of veggie oil, chopped de-seeded hot long green chillies.

Trimmed & sliced "Kai/Gai Lan" stir-fried w/ chopped garlic, oyster sauce, Shaohsing wine, bit of light soy sauce.

White rice. (Basmati)

^¶ I use an enameled metal shallow dish for a fair number of my steamed dishes - you can see it (red-colored edging/blue rim) in the pic. (I have two other similar enameled metal shallow dish-plates) I think I've had this plate for something like 30 years or more. In fact I don't seem to see this type of plate around much anymore - if at all.

Edited March 3, 2013 by huiray (log)

[patrickamory]

huiray - no photos of the carved duck unfortunately! I guess it just got eaten too fast! Tasty looking short ribs btw.

Kim, rro - long-cooked green beans, hmm, I suddenly have a hankering too. What's the process? Just boil or steam them much longer than usual?

[Mr Holloway]

So many great meals, we needed another thread

Great job everyone

Some more smoked cheese

This time around, 2yr old white cheddar,Austalian 4yr old cheddar,gouda, garlic havarti, old cheddar, and 2 blocks of Monterey jack

On with some cherry and apple wood

Foodsavered and stored in the fridge for 3 weeks or more, then ready

Shane

[SobaAddict70]

thanks Kim. next weekend (or maybe later this week), I may turn salade lyonnaise into a sandwich. =P pot roast -- haven't had that in years. not since I was a teenager.

I must say, huiray, you should post more often on this thread. your meals make me wish I cooked Asian more often (yes, picking up a Chinese cookbook is on my "to do" list soon, but first things first since I just got "Essentials" recently.)

simple can be exceedingly elegant, and your meals showcase that principle in spades.

[C. sapidus]

Winter makes me crave dried Mexican chile sauces.

Ancho-marinated roasted red snapper, Oaxacan-style: Sauce of roasted garlic, cumin, cloves, Mexican oregano, cider vinegar, sugar, and a mix of ancho, guajillo, and chipotle chiles. Garnished with sliced radish, cilantro and a sauce of the chile paste with chicken stock and sautéed onion rings.

Arroz blanco: Our usual, with white onion, garlic, and chicken stock.

Mrs. C made the unpictured salad.

[SobaAddict70]

tonight:



Insalatone d'inverno ("mixed cooked winter vegetable salad")

For those of you who have access to "Essentials", Marcella's recipe contains peppers, potatoes, beets, onion and green beans.

This is a seasonal variation that consists of stuff from USGM and Fairway -- brussels sprouts, wax beans, shallots, beets, celery, in a red wine vinaigrette (1 tablespoon red wine, 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar, 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, sea salt and black pepper).

You can make this all year round, depending on whatever you have on hand. The brussels sprouts and shallots were roasted, the celery and wax beans simmered in salted boiling water, and the beets cooked whole, then peeled.




Fork-smashed heirloom potatoes, from Smitten Kitchen -- http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2008/04/fork-crushed-purple-potatoes/

Goes well with greens of all kinds, from beet greens to watercress, to spinach to escarole, to Swiss chard and turnip tops, to well ... you get the idea.



Poached farm eggs in tomato sauce, with ricotta cheese

Adapted from this Saveur recipe (btw, my version is probably 180 degrees from the original, but the principle is the same): http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Eggs-Poached-in-Tomato-Sauce

The tomato sauce you see above began with a battuto (celery, celery leaves, carrot, onion, leeks, olive oil, sea salt, black pepper), which was cooked for a bit, say about 20-25 minutes:



Next, I added 1 can of crushed San Marzano tomatoes and 1/2 that of water, then simmered the sauce for 30-35 minutes. Then, I added a couple of ladlefuls to a small pot and poached the eggs as directed in the linked recipe above.

I'll try the original in the future -- when I have chiles on hand.

Edited March 4, 2013 by SobaAddict70 (log)

[huiray]

SobaAddict70, lovely meal.

I would be inclined myself to eat that nice tomato sauce w/ poached egg with some Angelhair pasta. :-)

The fork-smashed potatoes - rose fingerlings? (Rather than the purple potatoes used in the linked recipe)

Thanks for the kind words upstream.