Dinner! 2013 (Part 4)

[Kim Shook]

It has been a VERY long time (since almost the beginning of July) since I’ve been able to spend any time perusing eG. We’ve been so busy lately – going out of town, house guests, entertaining and, oddly enough, trapping cats. Yep, cats. My mom and I have been trapping feral cats for local rescue groups that trap, spay/neuter and release. Anyway, I’ve been taking pictures, just not posting! I cannot possibly go back and comment on all the fantastic things that I’ve missed, so I’ll just comment on some recent posts –

Bruce – you got me!! Crab cakes, corn and iceberg salad. Could anything be more Eastern shore? We snuck up to Pope’s Creek a couple of weekends ago to pick crabs, but I’m still yearning for a soft shell sandwich!

Ann – your potato gratin looks perfect.

Some recent meals:

Cheeseburger w/ egg, marinated cukes, squash and a friend’s potato salad. Is that a lovely egg, or what ? Thanks to Ashen for that egg method.

A post yoga dinner:

On yoga nights I try to have something light and easy to eat when we get home. Otherwise we are tempted by appetizers and drinks at Friday’s and go to bed greased out, bloated and tipsy – NOT the way one should follow up yoga !

A lunch:

Shrimp salad sandwich.

My mother was over the other night and dinner started with Watermelon Daiquiris:

Just a tossed together drink w/ watermelon juice (purchased – homemade will be wonderful), lime juice and rum. I did Korean Grilled Beef:

I got this recipe ages ago from someone at chowhound.com and it turned out great. We all loved it. Really tender and flavorful. Served with green beans and jasmine rice (which turned out perfectly for me – it just about never does):

And garlic naan:

Another night Mr. Kim brought some BBQ (sliced beef and chopped/minced pork) from King’s BBQ – an old family place in Petersburg, a nearby town. Beef:

Pork, served with fries and corn and my first ever use of my new Vitamix – slaw:

I love this texture for BBQ slaw! And it took much less than a minute – including slicing the cabbage to place in the Vitamix container. I liked the BBQ very much – I would have liked a bit more smokiness and I used Short Sugar’s sauce (a BBQ joint in Reidsville, NC). The beef was great – almost like pit beef – though I do wish they’d sliced it thinner. Mr. Kim didn’t care much for the beef and just thought that the pork was ok (he’s become such a smoker snob ).

Breakfast for dinner with my MIL’s wonderful yeast rolls:

And including some gorgeous peaches that my in laws brought us:

Twenty minute throw-together dinner:

Kielbasa, yellow squash and onions, sweet potatoes and tomatoes. Served with corn and marinated cucumbers:

The tomatoes were not very good. We got them at a farm stand out in the country, but they were no better than the ones we’ve been getting at another stand. We have not had one good tomato yet this year. The corn was great, though.

My mom and I were up in northern VA for Friday and Saturday. Mr. Kim made dinner for us Saturday night:

Shrimp chowder. Perfect!

Mr. Kim’s brother is visiting from California. We had him and Jessica over for dinner last night. Fried chicken, Sour cream potatoes, gravy, slaw, butter beans, marinated cucumbers and Ruhlman’s yeast rolls:

Dessert was lemon chess pie w/ CI’s vodka pie pastry:

[Panaderia Canadiense]

Anne_T The gratin in the cast iron skillet looks delightful. Thanks for sharing the method!

All this talk of lamb lately gave me a craving. Hence: roast spring lamb with red-wine and mushroom gravy, mashed potatoes, and asparagus.

Lamb.jpg

Panaderia Canadiense Going to let my ignorance hang out here. Question about "spring lamb" - I've only been able ever to get "spring" lamb in the spring, mostly mid-spring. Also, since we like domestic lamb far better than that sourced from Aussie/New Zealand, my guess has been that the lambing takes place in Feb/Mar - & maybe Apr - and I'm looking for 6-8 wk lamb, never frozen. I just ordered a rack from D'Artagnan, fresh. I'm eager to hear your input - on anyone's.

Please be kind enough to disabuse me of anything where I'm wrong.

I'll point out for starters that I live in Ecuador, and that our seasons are a bit different. It's currently spring (or rather it's a spring-esque lambing season in Salasaka, where the lamb in question came from) and hence what I ate was spring lamb. The neat thing about this country, though, is that when it's no longer "spring" in my province, it will be "spring" in neighbouring Bolívar or in another close province. This boils down to spring lambs, milk fed and between 6 and 8 weeks old, being available here almost year round.... It's a unique advantage to living this close to the equator and at such a high altitude.

I also suspect that many of the breeds found in the highlands close to my markets are year-round rather than seasonal breeders (whereas in Canada at least the seasonal breeders are more common), which means that here in Ecuador not only do I get the rather abundant and delicious spring lambs (and my butcher is very precise about what she calls the lamb she sells) but also very tender and tasty milk lambs in the non-spring seasons.

Up in the nothern hemisphere, spring lambs are born either in late winter or early spring (so February-April or so) and must be sold before July 1 to qualify. Anything else between 6 and 8 weeks but born in a different lambing season is milk lamb, which is very similar in flavour and texture, although in my experience milk lambs tend to be just a tad stronger tasting than spring ones.

Thanks so much for this explanation. I've never had lamb sourced from anywhere but either New Zealand/Australia or the Domestic US lamb raised in Colorado. I had no idea Ecuador produced lamb.

We had a rack of lamb done on the Big Green Egg last evening - best we've ever had! Veggies also done on the BGE, except for the potato spears fried in duck fat!

I don't think we export - lamb here seems to be for domestic consumption only (which is fine by me - it keeps the price reasonable!) When it gets warm enough here to grill again, I think I might try the rack on BGE type thing. It looks amazing.

[rarerollingobject]

That fried chicken is a thing of beauty, Kim.

[C. sapidus]

That fried chicken is a thing of beauty, Kim.

Yes, and I was admiring the shrimp chowder, too

Camarones al mojo de ajo – Shrimp marinated with pureed garlic, vinegar, S&P. Garlic fried in butter and olive oil, add shrimp and cover, finish with lime juice.

Arroz verde al Poblano – Jasmine rice, fried with garlic and steamed with a puree of chicken stock, cilantro, spinach, and roasted chile Poblano. Fried white onion on the side.

Family liked.

[rarerollingobject]

I've missed your food, Bruce.

Cold here in Sydney, so I braised beef cheeks in Pedro Ximenez and served with cauliflower puree (this recipe: http://movida.com.au/slowly-braised-beef-cheeks-in-pedro-ximenez-with-cauliflower-puree-carillera-de-buey/), which was rather sensationally easy AND delicious. I'm firmly on the beef cheek bandwagon.

Edited August 10, 2013 by rarerollingobject (log)

[huiray]

Cantonese-style steamed striped bass. The fish was alive and swimming around two hours beforehand.

Garlic stir-fried pea shoots.

White rice.

[mm84321]

Poularde basquaise

[robirdstx]

So many great meals, everyone. Keep them coming!

I am playing catch up again!

Chicken Wings done on the grill:

Buffalo Wings and Ranch Dressing for my DH

Kung Pao Wings and Mushrooms with Thai Sweet Red Chili Dip for me.

Teriyaki Boneless Chicken Thigh and Mushrooms with Bok Choy and Steamed Rice

Chicken and Vegetable Stir-Fry, Fried Rice and (leftovers from dinner out the night before) PF Chang's Beef A La Sichuan

Tonkatsu and Loaded Cauliflower

Edited August 11, 2013 by robirdstx (log)

[C. sapidus]

RareRO – Aww thanks, and likewise! I want to try that cauliflower puree

Huiray – Your fish and pea shoots look fantastic

Robirstx – Thanks for the reminder, I need to make wings

Dinner adapted from My Bombay Kitchen

Stewing veal marinated with ginger-garlic paste, fried with in ghee with dried chiles, cumin, turmeric, and shallots, and then simmered with potatoes, chopped tomatoes, cinnamon stick, whole cloves, chicken stock, and water to cover. The gravy was a little thin, so I removed the meat and potatoes, boiled down the gravy, and recombined.

Braised Swiss chard and spinach with slit green chiles, ginger-garlic paste, shallots, chopped tomatoes, and turmeric.

Basmati rice fried with ghee, ginger-garlic paste, peppercorns, and a bay leaf, and then cooked with chicken stock.

[Keith_W]

Baby fennel with Manuka honey, St Agur, lemon, and fig.

The inspiration came from an Ottolenghi recipe, but I modified it by adding the honey, blue cheese, and fig. I thought it tasted great - the grassiness of the fennel, the aroma and sweetness of the honey, the richness of the cheese, and the lightness of lemon zest (with a pinch lemon juice) was a great combination.

[Ann_T]

Mr. Holloway, Great idea to grill the peameal bacon "roasts"

Kim, you have been eating well. Everything looks good. Your Korean Beef really appeals to me, as does your fried chicken and sour cream potatoes and the Ruhlman’s yeast rolls.

Bruce, lovely colour combination with the shrimp and green rice.

Rarefollingobject, I think I am going to have to get on the beef cheek bandwagon.

Huiray, your steam fish is so colourful. I just can just imagine how the green onion, ginger and garlic perfumed the fish.

Robirdstx, Everything looks delicious. What a great idea - loaded cauliflower. I have to steal that idea.

Keith, beautifully plated.

I stopped at the Duncan Farmer's Market on the way to work yesterday and at Cowichan Bay Seafood on my way home from work. Vegetables from the market and handpicked shrimp and fresh halibut for dinner.

Shrimp Cocktail

Grilled Halibut.

[huiray]

Thanks, Bruce & Ann_T.

Both your meals look splendid.

[mm84321]

Lemon tart

[robirdstx]

Robirdstx, Everything looks delicious. What a great idea - loaded cauliflower. I have to steal that idea.

Ann T - thank you! Here's a link to where I "stole" the Loaded Cauliflower recipe - http://www.genaw.com/lowcarb/loaded_cauliflower.html Edited August 12, 2013 by heidih (log)

[Panaderia Canadiense]

MM, what is that erupting out of the tart? Candied lemon peels?

[mm84321]

Lime segments coated in apricot jelly. The meringue also has lime zest, so it is not a strict "lemon" tart.

[Ashen]

panfried pork sirloin chop with onions , rice and green peas, tomato ,shallot,parsley salad.

dessert... cinnamon rolls my wife baked this morn

[scubadoo97]

I broke down a duck today<br />Did a confit on the leg/thigh quarter tonight served with Puy lentils cooked in stock from the carcass with diced carrots and onions and salad<br /><br /><br /><br />The beast will be a quick dinner tomorrow<br />Fat is rendering in low oven overnight

[Ann_T]

Robirdstx, thanks for the link.

Ashen, that is my kind of dinner. One (or two) cinnamon buns would be perfect with my morning coffee.

Wings, TBQ Sauce and local Vancouver Island corn.

[judiu]

Robirdstx, Everything looks delicious. What a great idea - loaded cauliflower. I have to steal that idea.

Ann T - thank you! Here's a link to where I "stole" the Loaded Cauliflower recipe - http://www.genaw.com/lowcarb/loaded_cauliflower.html

Thanks for the link, robirdstx! Looks incredible!

[mm84321]

Estouffade de veau á la provençale

[Ashen]

After watching a video of Jacque pepin deboning a chicken about 5 times recently , having posted a link to it on this thread British Chefs Online cooking course & recipes . I really wanted to try out the technique . That left me with the problem of what to do with a boned out whole chicken.

so I stuffed it with mushroom, bacon, swiss cheese, cubed bread and herbs. tied it up more a less to look like a regular chicken.. ( i really need to buy a trussing needle) .. It took about an hour and a half cooked indirect on a med hot weber charcoal kettle. accompanied by sweet corn on the cob.

Edited August 13, 2013 by Ashen (log)

[Steve Irby]

A couple of weekend dishes. Eggplant Parmesan with fresh mozzarella topped with baby fried eggplant.

And Crostata di Fichi from Jamie's Italy. Everybody loves this dessert so don't expect to have any leftovers. Between the crust and the frangipane it takes three sticks of butter. It's rich and worth every calorie.

[heidih]

Steve - I just looked up the fig tart recipe. My neighbor's figs are hanging over the wall and begging for a great treatment. Though I generally avoid baking sweets these days this looks like a must-do especially with the almond element.

[Ann_T]

Ashen, Your boned chicken looks delicious. That is one of my husband's favourite meals. I use a bread stuffing with mushrooms and sausage. I learned to bone out a chicken using a slightly different method.

Steve, that looks very tasty.

Dinner last night was a chicken rice soup with homemade bread.