Dinner 2014 (Part 6)

[gfweb]

Host's Note: this topic is continued from Dinner 2014 (Part 5)

 

 

NY strip salad with cranberry vinaigrette and tostones

apologies for the focus

 

Edited October 27, 2014 by Smithy (log)

[Anna N]

Lunch was very late so this seems like a good plan for dinner. Blue cheese butter on crostini with toasted walnuts and a Negroni.

(Perhaps I should've focused before sampling the Negroni.)

[Mmmpomps]

We normally don't eat steak two nights in a row but we are having a blast with the Anova! I made minted basmati rice with peas for the side:

 

 

 

The meat flavour is so intense, the meat is incredible tender. We are having a blast with the Anova:

 

 

 

[FauxPas]

[...] and a Negroni.

 

(Perhaps I should've focused before sampling the Negroni.)

 

 

Looks like your camera focused on the Negroni, which seems entirely like the right thing to do!  

Edited October 27, 2014 by FauxPas (log)

[Shelby]

Denver omelette quiche last night with pico de gallo made from the rapidly declining tomatoes from the garden

 

[mm84321]

Your meals always look very warm and appetizing, Shelby. 

[caroled]

Anna. tell me about the Blue Cheese Butter.... Is it as easy as it sounds? with only the 2 ingredients or am I overthinking it and want it to be more complicated than it is? Looks right up my alley!

[Anna N]

Anna. tell me about the Blue Cheese Butter.... Is it as easy as it sounds? with only the 2 ingredients or am I overthinking it and want it to be more complicated than it is? Looks right up my alley!

Yeah. Too easy. Two parts blue cheese to one part butter. Makes blue cheese spreadable (and rich).

[rotuts]

My father was a bit more efficient :

 

a 'pat' of butter   ( min: 1/4 inch , room temp ) was placed on bread or a cracker, then the bleu cheese  ( 2 x the butter , crucial ) also at 

 

room temp  was placed on the butter and the concoction was woofed down ' whole '

 

 

he lived and taught in FR. for over all 3 years.  he paid attention.

Edited October 27, 2014 by rotuts (log)

[Anna N]

My granddaughter joined me for dinner tonight..

These are a few of her favourite things.

Squashed potatoes, kielbasa, dill chips, tomatoes.

[Franci]

When I'm alone with the kids I make meals even simpler than usual...and I love anything wrapped in nori. Bamboo rice, sockeye salmon and bai tsai

[Mmmpomps]

I like to use my Ronco Rotissery (Garage Sale find!) at least once a week. Dinner tonight is roast chicken, smashed potatoes and gravy, greek salad. Mine is the leg and wing, BF's is the breast. The skin just comes out crispy and so good:

 

 

 

[mm84321]

Spiced bass, salsify and lemon

 

 

[FauxPas]

We had a NY Strip Loin in the freezer that needed to be eaten, so pan-fried it, sautéed some mushrooms and tried making Shelby's Breaded Tomatoes. 

 

Shelby, the breaded tomatoes were lovely - like a really tasty tomato pudding. I think I followed your instructions but I did add a tiny bit of celery (trying to use things up) and I finished it by baking it in the Cuisinart oven because I was busy with both steak and mushrooms on the cooktop. That gave me some toasty bits on top. It's one of those simple recipes with only a few ingredients but the final result is much more than the sum of the parts. Made a very nice side dish. Thank you! 

 

 

Edited to add that it was a decent-sized steak and I love the end bits so my husband gives me those and he had the centre piece. Also, these were not the best tomatoes but they were pretty good. I can imagine how much better the dish would be with better tomatoes! 

Edited October 28, 2014 by FauxPas (log)

[patrickamory]

I've been experimenting with film photography recently after acquiring a Canon SLR… here are some analogue shots of recent meals and ingredients.

 

 

 

[patrickamory]

Also Anna N that would be a big yum. I'm with your granddaughter on this one.

[basquecook]

Had a couple of people over last night to finish the leftovers from the party we had on Saturday.  There was some green beans leftover.  Just quickly blanched and then had a hot tarragon vinegar dressing tossed over top.  Some chickpea salad: two kinds of roasted squash, sweet potato, beets, radicchio and pistachios.  A few more manicotti made using crepes and of course the porchetta.. The porchetta, we threw on the meat slicer and made sandwiches with arugula and mayo.  

 

 

[huiray]

Dinner in two parts.

 

Mushroom soup.  Fresh maitake, fresh white beech, canned straw mushrooms; in a chicken-poaching "stock"/liquid, with chopped up chicken fat added in; plus chopped scallions & a bit of parsley.  The "stock" was from poaching a couple of chicken thighs w/ salt & sliced ginger.

 

 

 

Laksa lemak, with poached chicken (thigh, chopped up), de-shelled de-veined shrimp, mung bean sprouts, laksa leaves (a.k.a. rau răm; a.k.a. Persicaria odorata) added in.  Dang, I forgot the tau pok (fried tofu puffs).

 

 

 

The laksa "base" was a pack of "Singapore Laksa La Mian" [Prima Taste], shown below.  This is pretty good stuff.

 

A bowl of "bare bones" laksa, made with just the package contents, without any add-ins, which I had for lunch a previous day:

 

[Shelby]

Basquecook, that is an AWESOME meat slicer.  Makes mine look extremely puny.

 

 

Weathervane scallops last night over pasta with alfredo.

 

[rotuts]

Shelby

 

doesn't get any better than that !

 

unless, of course one adds a Methode Rotuts or two too wash it all down.

 

[Paul Bacino]

Shelby

 

doesn't get any better than that !

 

unless, of course one adds a Methode Rotuts or two too wash it all down.

 

 

I saw that.. and immediately thought of you RT

[Ann_T]

Patrick, really like that second picture of the lone tomato.

 

Italian Roasted Chicken with a side of 

 

 

Pasta Aglio E Olio. 

[Anna N]

I have tried to like risotto. I've had spoonfuls offered by people who were eating what they considered excellent risotto. But no matter how hard I try I just don't like it. It has to be a texture thing because I have sampled a number of flavours. But it is one of those dishes that I think I ought to like if you can figure out that logic!

When I came across a recipe for "risotto" made with orzo, one of my favourite pastas, I had to try it. And it was delicious.

edited to remove second copy of photo

This one is made with mushrooms, corn and chicken broth.

Edited October 28, 2014 by Anna N (log)

[scubadoo97]

Shelby and Ann_T -beautiful color on your scallops and chicken

[huiray]

image.jpg

I have tried to like risotto. I've had spoonfuls offered by people who were eating what they considered excellent risotto. But no matter how hard I try I just don't like it. It has to be a texture thing because I have sampled a number of flavours. But it is one of those dishes that I think I ought to like if you can figure out that logic!

When I came across a recipe for "risotto" made with orzo, one of my favourite pastas, I had to try it. And it was delicious.

edited to remove second copy of photo

This one is made with mushrooms, corn and chicken broth.

 

Count me as another one who doesn't particularly care for risotto, especially ones that are praised as "al dente".  I understand the concept of "al dente" rice in risotto with the "toothsome centers" of the rice grains, but that is only at the theoretical level.  To me, personally, in practice, "al dente" rice skates too closely for my liking to what is called "sang kwat" (in Cantonese) ("raw bone/center") for rice, which is where the rice grains have a hard/semi-hard center, and is a despised characteristic for cooked rice in Chinese cuisines in a general sense at least for some people (I'm sure some folks like it).  Yes, I'm aware this is comparing Italian to Chinese-type cuisines but I grew up with rice that was "properly cooked" without a "sang kwat" center.  Note that I don't like mushy rice and much prefer basmati rice, for example, over Japanese types or types that tends to be sticky (including Thai jasmine)** - but the point is that there is no "resisting center" for any of the rice grains.

 

** except when it is supposed to be sticky - like lor mai kai and such things.

 

ETA:  There is also a difference between "al dente" pasta (semolina-types, in particular) and Chinese/Chinese-type noodles which are "springy".  The textures are different.  It is sometimes said that "Asians" (you mean E/SE Asians) like "soft" noodles/pasta &etc - but this glosses over the differences between the grains used for making the pasta/noodles and the concept of "song hou" = springiness/bounciness which is not the same as "al dente".

Edited October 29, 2014 by huiray (log)