Dinner! 2014 (Part 4)

[rotuts]

Steve Irby

 

those Pups look like they are ready to help !

[Shelby]

Such cute doggies, Steve!  And the chicken looks delicious too

 

Lasagna night.  Should have let it rest longer, but we were hungry!

 

 

[rotuts]

I havent made lasagna in such a long time, ill have to put it on the list as its starting to get cooler here

 

do you use No-Boil pasta ?

[Shelby]

I havent made lasagna in such a long time, ill have to put it on the list as its starting to get cooler here

 

do you use No-Boil pasta ?

No, I never have.  It's funny you should ask, I was researching that yesterday.  I was thinking about making two pans of lasagna and freezing one.  Over and over people said to not boil the noodles (the regular kind).  I was too chicken to try it.......

[rotuts]

its been said that if you soak the regular noodles in cold water  'for a bit' you can use them that way.  you add a bit of extra liquid

 

to that sauce  ( I see you've already mastered that step    ) and you are good to go.

 

i think Test Kitchen did that.

[c oliver]

No, I never have.  It's funny you should ask, I was researching that yesterday.  I was thinking about making two pans of lasagna and freezing one.  Over and over people said to not boil the noodles (the regular kind).  I was too chicken to try it.......

If you ever want to create, IMO, THE best lasagna, try Marcella Hazan's green lasagna.  Even if you've made the Bolognese sauce ahead of time (I make a 4X or 5X recipe and freeze in portions), it will still take you hours but is SO good.  And I've made it ahead of time and it freezes beautifully.

 

http://www.crumblycookie.net/2008/01/12/the-real-deal/

[FauxPas]

rotuts, I have tried the Olivieri Lasagna Sheets and they work beautifully in the Cuisi Oven. They are fresh lasagna noodles, but they are about 6" x 9" and so they fit perfectly into smaller casserole dishes and inside the Cuisinart Steam oven. I can find them in the fresh pasta and sauces area of the local grocery store. Because they are fresh pasta, they don't need pre-cooking and they can easily be cut to fit an oval dish. 

 

Shelby, I made lasagna last night also! Didn't take a picture this time, but here is the last time I made some. I used the Steam Bake function on the Cuisi. This little dish makes 4 generous servings of lasagna and I round off the corners of the pasta sheets with kitchen shears. 

[FauxPas]

If you ever want to create, IMO, THE best lasagna, try Marcella Hazan's green lasagna.  Even if you've made the Bolognese sauce ahead of time (I make a 4X or 5X recipe and freeze in portions), it will still take you hours but is SO good.  And I've made it ahead of time and it freezes beautifully.

 

http://www.crumblycookie.net/2008/01/12/the-real-deal/

 

I have her book and have several things to make, but the lasagna section is especially appealing. Did you make your own pasta? 

[c oliver]

I have her book and have several things to make, but the lasagna section is especially appealing. Did you make your own pasta? 

Yep!  I have the KA pasta roller set and it's really a snap.  She was a strict mistress so I never mentioned that I make the dough in the FP!  As you can see from the book, the only cheese is grated Parm.  Layers of pasta, the bechamel and Bolognese mixed together and the grated.  Rich but not heavy.  If I don't have time for that, I don't make lasagna!

 

Off topic (is that allowed here?) her carbonara is my go-to and her onion/butter tomato sauce is much loved.

[rotuts]

Wow !

 

I have the KA pasta roller set "somewhere'   ill try to find it.

 

excellent 'therapy' when it gets a bit cooler !

 

thanks for reminding me !

[c oliver]

Wow !

 

I have the KA pasta roller set "somewhere'   ill try to find it.

 

excellent 'therapy' when it gets a bit cooler !

 

thanks for reminding me !

My pleasure.  She's one of my faves.

[rotuts]

As she is mine !

[dcarch]

Liuzhou – Very nicely orchestrated plate of textures and flavor.

 

Huiray – Daikon is better in soup that carrots, IMHO.

 

Anna N – Beautiful SV’d chuck tender.

 

Rotuts – Yes, I agree, delicious pasta with bubbly.

 

Shelby – I like your  creamy mushroom (not from a can) sauce :-). Great lasagna too.

 

Ashen – Looks like a very flavorful fish curry trout dish.

 

Steve Irby – Wow! Meat glue supper!

 

Paul Bacino – My kind of BLT, more B, less L & T.

 

Kim – You should sell tickets to your kitchen to watch you turn out all those nice dishes. HaHAAA!! That is a construction spackling knife that you are using for cutting cheese!

 

Mm84321 – Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. This beholder is again impressed.

 

Franci – Truly luscious blue fish. The new replacement for the French foie gras. Pork belly of the sea.

 

Blether – the Quiche aux Saucisses et Poireaux looks very gorgeous.

 

Basquecook – I am envious at your squash blossoms. I can’t find any here in NYC.

 

Patrickamory – Lobsters! Lobsters! Send me some!

 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Well for me, it has been a few days of cleaning up the refrigerator and to use up leftovers.

 

dcarch

 

 

Leftover shrimps and poached salmon

 

 

Boneless chicken thights

 

Tofu in beef sauce

 

[huiray]

dcarch, what is this beef sauce in your "tofu in beef sauce" dish?

Suppose you left the tofu as bigger slices, browned a little more, and some chilli sauce drizzled over the whole thing? :-)

 

ETA: Or, suppose the next time you did this you had a stir-fry or similar of finely sliced beef underlying a corona of rectangular deep-fried tofu slices, with stuff like grated daikon or shaved katsuoboshi or finely chopped scallions plus coriander leaves, or just as-is; or maybe even paired w/ some steamed glutinous rice packages w/ pork & shiitakes?  Or the best Ti Guan Yin tea you have on hand?  ;-)

Edited August 25, 2014 by huiray (log)

[dcarch]

dcarch, what is this beef sauce in your "tofu in beef sauce" dish?

Suppose you left the tofu as bigger slices, browned a little more, and some chilli sauce drizzled over the whole thing? :-)

 

ETA: Or, suppose the next time you did this you had a stir-fry or similar of finely sliced beef underlying a corona of rectangular deep-fried tofu slices, with stuff like grated daikon or shaved katsuoboshi or finely chopped scallions plus coriander leaves, or just as-is; or maybe even paired w/ some steamed glutinous rice packages w/ pork & shiitakes?  Or the best Ti Guan Yin tea you have on hand?  ;-)

 

I didn’t really have a recipe for the beef sauce.

 

Something like this:

 

Odds and ends of leftover beef, about ¾ cup

 

4 cloves garlic, minced

 

2 teaspoons dried oregano

 

2 tablespoons of oyster sauce.

 

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

 

1 small onion, chopped

 

2 tablespoons parmesan cheese

 

3 tablespoons red wine or to taste  

 

2 tablespoons EVOO.

 

Directions:

 

Blend everything to sauce consistency and bring to a simmer on low heat.

 

To give this leftover dish some glamour, I have named the dish "Tofu courge au sauce de boeuf " :-)

 

dcarch

[basquecook]

Beautiful as always Darch..  I am in Brooklyn..I purchased the squash blossoms at a green market.. Union SQUARE has them and Eataly have them off the top of my head.

[basquecook]

We call this pasta from the pantry.   Cooked some smashed garlic in olive oil.. Removed the garlic, added a tomato, tomato paste, lemon, a chile pepper.  Then some smoked sardines, then a salt packed anchovy.  added cooked spaghetti to the pan, added some chopped bitter lettuce, a squeeze of lemon and then some aged Pecorino.  

 

This was so damn good.   The leaf @ 9 o clock on the plate is the walnut leaf the Pecorino was wrapped in. 

 

[dcarch]

Beautiful as always Darch..  I am in Brooklyn..I purchased the squash blossoms at a green market.. Union SQUARE has them and Eataly have them off the top of my head.

 

I was at Union Sq on Friday afternoon. Didn't see any.

 

Instead, got some Peter Pan squashes, $1.90 a lb.  Got two giant cantelops $4 for one, $2 for the other because it had a small superficial damage. Very sweet.

 

dcarch

[mm84321]

Thinly sliced cod in a green tomato, zucchini, parsley sauce

 

[patrickamory]

basquecook it's sort of a puttanesca in a way and sounds delicious!

[patrickamory]

Still recovering from Maine-iacal excess, we couldn't help ourselves and got two dry-aged grass-fed ribsteaks from the Meat Hook in Williamsburg. That place is as great as people say it is. Served with white rice, snake beans, and a 2005 première cru Chambolle-Musigny a friend had given us. Life doesn't get much better.

 

 

 

[Norm Matthews]

 

Fired up the smoker and did some beef ribs.

[c oliver]

 

 

Fired up the smoker and did some beef ribs.

 

Could you elaborate please?  What temp for how long?  Are those babyback?  TIA.

[Norm Matthews]

These are beef back ribs. Temp never reached 225 or went lower than 185, most of the time  at 220, (about 95% of the time) for 5 hours. It could have used a little more time.  Rub added the night before, smoked for 2 hours with apple wood then, basted with bacon fat, rub and beef broth a couple times after an hour, then an hour later, basted with BBQ sauce, wrapped in foil and continued to cook another three hours.  The smoker is a Horizon which is owned by one of the original brothers who started Oklahoma Joe Smokers. It is made with quarter inch steel. Oklahoma Joe was purchased by Char Broil who then dismantled the company and sold off the assets. The rub I used this time was from www.woodyardbbq.com.  For pork I like to use The Squeal Hog Rub www.cowtownbbq.com. Another good rub is Plowboys BBQ Yardbird Rub.  I have a recipe from Oklahoma Joe that is really great too but the last time I printed it here, it got deleted. I can send it to you via PM if you would like it.

Edited August 26, 2014 by Norm Matthews (log)

[c oliver]

Thanks.  I have a Bradley smoker and love hearing the details of others' experiences.