Dinner! 2014 (Part 2)

[Plantes Vertes]

Thanks!

[Franci]

Mm I love both the soup and the lamb, fantastic pictures and I'm sure I would really enjoy it.

Instead we had beef heart on the grill.

Basquecook, I'm sure your meal was really tasty too. Tell your wife to check for Spatone water on amazon.

[Anna N]

A steak that had been SV'd and chilled which I quickly seared, garlic croutons and some greens.

[Baselerd]

It's been a while - here's some steamed Gua Gao buns with pork belly (cured in salt/instacure #1, then cooked for 48 hours @ 144F), Brussels sprouts kimchi, hoisin sauce, and togarashi.

 

The kimchi was pretty great - I pretty much used the same exact process for Napa cabbage kimchi, but brined sliced Brussels sprouts (rather than just salting them). 

 

[mm84321]

White asparagus, sauce maltaise

Lamb sweetbreads, piment d'espelette, fava and lettuce. 

[basquecook]

Buying those two lamb has been such a treat.    

 

Miss K has somewhere to be later tonight and she has homework..  So, quick dinner was needed. Dinner in less than 20 minutes.  

 

Chops with left over lentils. 

 

Nothing pretty..  Defrosted.  Salted. Grilled the four chops fat on the fat side to get things going..  

 

Heated up some lentils on the stove top.. 

 

 

Also pulled out a lambs head for the weekend.. Making a garlic paste with some cumin when i have time later tonight.  

[Paul Bacino]

Did a Braised Short-Rib w/ Polenta

 

 

 

[basquecook]

I made a few lentil patties for Miss A to have for lunch and freeze.  I mixed the balsamic chicken livers and onions with the lentils, a little egg white and some flour.  Then dusted the patty with flour and pan fried non stick pan.   

 

since she had soup tonight for dinner and didn't have lentils, she won't be sick of these.. plus they freeze, i am sure. 

 

If I had time I would have baked in the oven.  

 

They came out great..

 

Edited April 25, 2014 by basquecook (log)

[dcarch]

I hope you all had a great Easter, and a wonderful passover!

 

dcarch

 

Prime ribs for Easter

 

 

Gefilte fish for Passover

 

 

 

[Franci]

Freekeh risotto with asparagus

Fried artichokes

[C. sapidus]

A new job with a longer commute has meant later dinners and fewer pictures.

 

Snapper with chiles, garlic, and ginger, plus red onion, soy sauce, dark soy sauce, black pepper, and rice vinegar.

 

Stir-fried bean sprouts with scallions, plus sliced chiles, garlic, shallot, black pepper, and soy sauce.

 

Jasmine rice

 

[scubadoo97]

Looks fantastic as usual Bruce. Best wishes on the new job

[robirdstx]

Catching up with a few recent dinners:

Panko Crusted Boneless Chicken Breast with Steamed New Potatoes and Peas

Pork Tenderloin and Vegetable Stir Fry

Chicken Fajitas

[rod rock]

Yesterday's Dinner: Pasta di Chessessa!

 

[basquecook]

Dcarch, i love how creative and interesting your plating is.. Really, it's so unique and artistic..  Good stuff.    can you talk about your two dishes up page. 

Edited April 25, 2014 by basquecook (log)

[dcarch]

Thanks, Basquecook,

 

The gefilte fish for Passover was made with cod because there was a severe shortage of whitefish. I added ground up mushroom stems to give the recipe some nice taste and better chewy mouth feel. I wish I could use skate, but skate is not kosher. The plating was based on the symbolism of “3”, because “All good things come in threes”

 

I had black garlic sauce for the prime rib for Easter. I wanted a lot of color for Easter and for spring, so I made multi-colored pastas. Beet for red, spinach for green, eggs for yellow, and black garlic and black gills from portabella mushrooms for black.

 

dcarch

[patrickamory]

Baselerd yummy buns.

 

I've been obsessed with the "polpette di nonna" from Il Casale in Belmont, Mass for some time now. I finally managed to track down a recipe from behind the Boston Globe's paywall, and recreated them at home. Man, restaurant cooking! 3/4 cup olive oil, 2 3/4 tsp salt, rinsing the ground meats and drying them (no easy task) - what looked like a simple recipe took upwards of 2 and half hours. But wow is it incredible. These are the best meatballs I've ever made, and close to the best I've ever had. The owner of the restaurant, Dante de Magistris, says it was his grandmother's recipe, from Avellino south of Naples, an area that sent many immigrants to Boston at the beginning of the last century. For once I believe it.

 

[Unpopular Poet]

Ham sandwich from the last of the Easter leftovers.  The ham is so much better in Iowa.

[basquecook]

Baselerd yummy buns.

 

I've been obsessed with the "polpette di nonna" from Il Casale in Belmont, Mass for some time now. I finally managed to track down a recipe from behind the Boston Globe's paywall, and recreated them at home. Man, restaurant cooking! 3/4 cup olive oil, 2 3/4 tsp salt, rinsing the ground meats and drying them (no easy task) - what looked like a simple recipe took upwards of 2 and half hours. But wow is it incredible. These are the best meatballs I've ever made, and close to the best I've ever had. The owner of the restaurant, Dante de Magistris, says it was his grandmother's recipe, from Avellino south of Naples, an area that sent many immigrants to Boston at the beginning of the last century. For once I believe it.

 

 

 

Any major differences than normal? Do you cook the sofrito before adding it to the meat?  Eggs, breadcrumbs, cheese.. It's from Naples so are there things like, pinenuts or currrants in it, or I may be thinking more Sicily. 

[Plantes Vertes]

 

 

rinsing the ground meats and drying them

 

What is the purpose of that, I wonder?

Edited April 25, 2014 by Plantes Vertes (log)

[mm84321]

Asparagus soup

Suckling lamb shoulder with apricots and North African spices

 

 

[patrickamory]

Plantes Vertes I have no idea why the rinsing of the ground meats. Perhaps it's to remove off flavors - similar to blanching pork belly? Rarely done with beef though. 

 

basquecook Two sofritos, both in lots of olive oil:

 

For the sauce, two halved garlic cloves and fresh basil leaves. Food mill'd tomatoes, salt and dried red chile added, simmer for 30 mins.

 

For the meatballs, minced garlic, fresh basil leaves, dried red pepper, dried oregano and salt (yes, you fry salt in the oil). No pine nuts or currants in the meatballs - breadcrumbs (I made my own), eggs, milk, and a full cup of grated pecorino. The sauté above is mixed in and then the meatballs are formed.

 

The meatballs then simmer in the sauce (which is sits in a very shallow dish).

Edited April 25, 2014 by patrickamory (log)

[Norm Matthews]

Making egg and ham salad out of leftover ham

 

 

and left over ham and beans into smoked baked beans.

 

 

Brisket is for tomorrow.

Edited April 25, 2014 by Norm Matthews (log)

[patrickamory]

Norm ham salad and smoked baked beans. You are speaking my language.

[Norm Matthews]

Thanks Patrick. I've sent a PM with the recipes if you are interested.