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Dinner 2014 (Part 6)


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Anna, how was that chicken thigh prepared?

I winged it all the way. I seasoned and browned two chicken thighs and put them aside. I then sautéed some sliced mushrooms in the same pan.I thoroughly rinsed and quartered the artichokes, took them for a spin in the salad spinner and then added them to the mushrooms. I deglazed the pan with some dry vermouth (no white wine in the house) then added one half can of mushroom soup (wanted to use 35% cream but although it is well within its best-before-date it pours likes snot (sorry) and I couldn't bring myself to use it). Returned everything to the pan and simmered without a cover for 15 or 20 minutes. I then put the pan under the broiler just to re-crisp the skin of the chicken.

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Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

"Cooking is about doing the best with what you have . . . and succeeding." John Thorne

Our 2012 (Kerry Beal and me) Blog

My 2004 eG Blog

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I winged it all the way. I seasoned and browned two chicken thighs and put them aside. I then sautéed some sliced mushrooms in the same pan.I thoroughly rinsed and quartered the artichokes, took them for a spin in the salad spinner and then added them to the mushrooms. I deglazed the pan with some dry vermouth (no white wine in the house) then added one half can of mushroom soup (wanted to use 35% cream but although it is well within its best-before-date it pours likes snot (sorry) and I couldn't bring myself to use it). Returned everything to the pan and simmered without a cover for 15 or 20 minutes. I then put the pan under the broiler just to re-crisp the skin of the chicken.

 

When I brown thighs for chicken cacciatore (similar idea, I think) the skin sticks to the pan, or (at best) shrinks up and pulls off.  Maybe I have my pan too hot?

Cooking is cool.  And kitchen gear is even cooler.  -- Chad Ward

Whatever you crave, there's a dumpling for you. -- Hsiao-Ching Chou

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When I brown thighs for chicken cacciatore (similar idea, I think) the skin sticks to the pan, or (at best) shrinks up and pulls off.  Maybe I have my pan too hot?

My guess would be not hot enough. I get my stainless steel or cast iron pan very hot before I add the oil, dry my protein as much as I can, put it in the hot pan and LEAVE IT ALONE. It takes courage at first to not try to push it around, lift it up, or otherwise mess with it until it has formed a crust and releases with no problem. Took me years to figure this out. If you want to know if the oil is hot enough use a bamboo or wooden chopstick and wait until you can stick it into the oil and see a vigorous tiny circle of bubbles around the tip. Try it.

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Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

"Cooking is about doing the best with what you have . . . and succeeding." John Thorne

Our 2012 (Kerry Beal and me) Blog

My 2004 eG Blog

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My guess would be not hot enough. I get my stainless steel or cast iron pan very hot before I add the oil, dry my protein as much as I can, put it in the hot pan and LEAVE IT ALONE. It takes courage at first to not try to push it around, lift it up, or otherwise mess with it until it has formed a crust and releases with no problem. Took me years to figure this out. If you want to know if the oil is hot enough use a bamboo or wooden chopstick and wait until you can stick it into the oil and see a vigorous tiny circle of bubbles around the tip. Try it.

The Frugal Gourmet, Jeff Smith, always said "Hot pan, cold oil, no stick."  Works for me.  And, yes, I love that chopstick trick.

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image.jpg

Noodle bowl with Chinese egg noodles, yu choi, leftover chicken and an egg. Thought it needed a little help so drizzled some chili oil.

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Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

"Cooking is about doing the best with what you have . . . and succeeding." John Thorne

Our 2012 (Kerry Beal and me) Blog

My 2004 eG Blog

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Franci – thank you for the roast potato directions and the good wishes.  I’m feeling much better this week.  Heading out to do some Christmas shopping tomorrow, so we’ll see how I stand up to that :smile: !

 

Shelby – ever since I saw your Reuben, I’ve been looking forward to having one today.  We usually go to lunch at a local deli after church, and they have fabulous Reubens.  Well, we went to lunch with some friends and it was their turn to pick.  We ended up at a Chinese restaurant.  What in the world do you order at a Chinese restaurant when your mouth is set for a Reuben?  I ended up with an egg roll. :rolleyes:

 

Mr. Kim’s dinner tonight started with a salad (of course):

med_gallery_3331_114_101505.jpg

 

Then, it got much better:

med_gallery_3331_114_51092.jpg

A little rib eye.  It was so thin that it cooked in less than 5 minutes in a smoking hot skillet, but was still juicy and delicious.

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My food prep Sunday got all out of whack. Dinner was ...popcorn at a hockey game! I came home in the evening and started my prep for lunches for the week and tomorrow nights dinner. Winter Root stew is braising in the oven as we speak, this is her JUST before she went into the oven:

 

10655257_10152391644192703_3398549455268128233_o.jpg

 

I also have a Beef and Barley Soup in the Slow Cooker for our lunches. 

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My guess would be not hot enough. I get my stainless steel or cast iron pan very hot before I add the oil, dry my protein as much as I can, put it in the hot pan and LEAVE IT ALONE. It takes courage at first to not try to push it around, lift it up, or otherwise mess with it until it has formed a crust and releases with no problem. Took me years to figure this out. If you want to know if the oil is hot enough use a bamboo or wooden chopstick and wait until you can stick it into the oil and see a vigorous tiny circle of bubbles around the tip. Try it.

 

Dinner tonight was rib steak, the last of my gratin dauphinois from the other day, broccolini, black butter hollandaise (not entirely planned but it sure smelled great from the other room).

 

I just received a thermopen and following Anna's advice I cooked the steak (if not exactly a chicken thigh) in a very hot pan until it formed a crust.  I pulled the steak such that the thermopen registered 135 deg F after the steak had sat for a couple minutes -- sorry, I was too lazy to take the thermopen apart to change it to Centigrade.  Very good result.  Last time I tried this I carbonized the steak.

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Cooking is cool.  And kitchen gear is even cooler.  -- Chad Ward

Whatever you crave, there's a dumpling for you. -- Hsiao-Ching Chou

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I had another pack of "Singapore Laksa La Mian" [Prima Taste], gussied up this time w/ chicken pieces (chopped up drumsticks retrieved from making chicken stock/soup), mung bean sprouts (blanched separately), de-shelled & de-veined shrimp (yes, they're in there), fried tofu puffs [Nature's Soy brand] ("Soy Puffs"), laksa leaves (Persicaria odorata) and some of a mixture of "chili in oil" [Lao Gan Ma brand] with toasted belacan [North South brand] fried/mixed in (done separately in a pan on the stovetop).  Dang, this time I forgot the hard-boiled eggs!

 

DSCN3160a_800.jpg

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Dinner tonight was rib steak, the last of my gratin dauphinois from the other day, broccolini, black butter hollandaise (not entirely planned but it sure smelled great from the other room).

 

I just received a thermopen and following Anna's advice I cooked the steak (if not exactly a chicken thigh) in a very hot pan until it formed a crust.  I pulled the steak such that the thermopen registered 135 deg F after the steak had sat for a couple minutes -- sorry, I was too lazy to take the thermopen apart to change it to Centigrade.  Very good result.  Last time I tried this I carbonized the steak.

I pull steak at about 117!!!!!  SV'd a flank steak at the recommended 130.  It was pink but we like rare.  I'll do it lower next time.

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Five-year-old cheddar and red onion on home made bread with a side of marinated artichokes.

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Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

"Cooking is about doing the best with what you have . . . and succeeding." John Thorne

Our 2012 (Kerry Beal and me) Blog

My 2004 eG Blog

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Also posted in our Time Life "Foods of the World" series here, http://forums.egullet.org/topic/21737-time-life-foods-of-the-world-series/page-6#entry1995747

 

One of my most beloved recipes from "The Foods Of Italy"  simply titled "Canneloni"-

 

A sauce made from canned San Marzano tomatoes, egg wrappers filled with a mixture of beef, spinach and chicken livers, a thick layer of besciamella, and dabs of butter and parmesan-

 

IMG_0180.JPG

 

IMG_0184.JPG

 

IMG_0189.JPG

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Also posted in our Time Life "Foods of the World" series here, http://forums.egullet.org/topic/21737-time-life-foods-of-the-world-series/page-6#entry1995747

 

One of my most beloved recipes from "The Foods Of Italy"  simply titled "Canneloni"-

 

A sauce made from canned San Marzano tomatoes, egg wrappers filled with a mixture of beef, spinach and chicken livers, a thick layer of besciamella, and dabs of butter and parmesan-

 

attachicon.gifIMG_0180.JPG

 

attachicon.gifIMG_0184.JPG

 

attachicon.gifIMG_0189.JPG

That is exquisite!  Did you make the pasta?  Whew.  My leftover tacos seem pretty boring now :)

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This looked so good I ran out for a radicchio.  For my sauce I used Roquefort as that is what I had:

 

60 g radicchio

60 g Roquefort

good bunch of heavy cream

generous grind of pepper

methode rotuts ad libitum

no additional salt necessary

 

 

RadicchioPastaSauce11112014.jpg

 

Bitter is on its way to me from the library.

 

Having radicchio left (and not up to mincing two onions for the intended lamb tagine) I prepared this dish again.

 

This time I used more radicchio and less Roquefort.  I also finished with a goodly amount of parsley and took Anna's suggestion for the bread crumbs.  The parsley, in my opinion, was an improvement.  The bread crumbs did not add as much, but as Anna said, they were not amiss.

 

While dining I read Jennifer McLagan's previous work, Fat.  I feared terribly that the methode rotuts would run out but I am pleased to report it held the course.

Cooking is cool.  And kitchen gear is even cooler.  -- Chad Ward

Whatever you crave, there's a dumpling for you. -- Hsiao-Ching Chou

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That is exquisite!  Did you make the pasta?  Whew.  My leftover tacos seem pretty boring now :)

That's the one area where I take a shortcut and use large egg roll wrappers.

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