Dinner 2015 (Part 1)

[huiray]

A couple of miscellaneous meals from last week.

 

 

Bean sprouts stir-fried w/ ginger, scallions & coriander leaves. More of the BKT from here w/ rice.

 

 

Another batch of "ginger – scallions – beef – hor fun" a.k.a. "dry – stir-fried – beef – hor fun".

 

[patrickamory]

liuzhou and BKE wonderful food and info. BKE, I will say that as a child I was forced to learn how to work for my lobster. For years I only sucked the little legs dry, then gradually learned the claws and finally the rest. huiray, tasty looking congee.

 

I feel like I'm always cooking the same things and it's boring. Nonetheless here they are again, and you'll have to take my word that they have varied over my time here (details on request).

 

Kheema mattar - back to the Madhur Jaffrey concept, but with ideas borrowed from Atul Kocchar and what I've learned making Texas chili over the years.

 

 

White cannellini beans prepared Tuscan style from Purcell Mountain Farms. I'm making all my dried beans in my Rifi tagine now and the results are consistently superior to anything else. 

 

 

 

Variation on the marinated lemon basil chicken I posted about a few weeks ago… this time I did not pulse the basil leaves but left them whole. Far superior. The high-heat roasting method in a half sheet is also the ticket here. Served with leftover beans (which got better overnight).

 

[mm84321]

Artichoke ravioli

Tiramisu

[Paul Bacino]

Max  --  what is your Tarimisu/ recipe and set-up?

 

Cheers  both look nice

[BKEats]

Quick Dinner last night.. I added a quick time saving cheat.. A few years ago, I had some leftover Saag Paneer and the sauce from a vindaloo dish in my fridge.. I stuffed the saag into a pork chop and served with the vindaloo sauce.. It was really good.   So, i have been liking the idea of stuffing creamed spinach into things.. 

 

I got home last night around 630.. Preheated the oven and then ran to the grocery store as, all of my meat is frozen and I didn't have time to stop at the fishmarket.. So, the only reasonable looking item was this pork loin. I grabbed the pork loin, walking passed the frozen food section, the box of creamed spinach caught my eye. Grabbed that and went back in my place.. 

 

I opened up the pork loin for stuffing. No, microwave, I cut the frozen creamed spinach into slivers, placed on the inside of the loin, added some shredded mozarella and tied it up.. Roasted at 450 while brushing a lemon juice, salt, sugar, and paparika over the loin as it roasted.. Cut the heat down to 400.. Served with rice and salad.  Rice cooked with onion, chinese cooking wine, sazzon, tomato paste, butter and parsley. 

 

Dinner was ready in like 45 minutes from the time I got home..  Right as the roast came out of the oven, the baby started crying.. Ran up stairs, danced with the little guy for about 5 minutes and he fell back to sleep, which was nice.   

 

Sliced the pork, dressed the salad, served the rice.   Dinner ended up being rather delicious.. Though, my creamed spinach would have been better. 

 

Edited March 18, 2015 by BKEats (log)

[kayb]

Corned beef as a component of a New England boiled dinner for St. Paddy's. I mistimed the rye bread and cooked it too long; will try that again today so I'll have bread for sandwiches.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Shelby]

Looks good to me, Kay!  My plate needed color...I should have roasted some carrots.

 

Corned venison, Rancho Gordo lima beans and cabbage, mashed taters, homemade rye bread.  

 

 

[kayb]

Shelby, I have been singularly unsuccessful at corning my own beef. I have a lovely piece of brisket reposing in the freezer right now from the quarter-steer I bought last fall, but when I've tried to corn beef before, I either haven't gotten the signature red color (using pink salt), or it was so tough and salty as to be inedible (Morton Tenderquick). Can you give me a primer on how you cure yours, because I'd surely love to do that with the brisket I have. This one was a grocery store pre-corned brisket, which was OK, but I know my farm-raised would be better if I could corn it right.

Edited March 18, 2015 by kayb (log)

[gfweb]

Good discussion here re corned beef http://forums.egullet.org/topic/113064-corned-beef-at-home-recipes-tips-etc/page-3?hl=corned+beef#entry1993852

 

Some use a brine, I like a rub...less messy

[Smithy]

Y'all are killing me with the corned beef.  We're going grocery shopping today.  Maybe I'll have to pick one up...not as good as home-cured, no doubt, but it's bound to be on sale now that St. Patrick's Day is over.  

[BKEats]

Y'all are killing me with the corned beef.  We're going grocery shopping today.  Maybe I'll have to pick one up...not as good as home-cured, no doubt, but it's bound to be on sale now that St. Patrick's Day is over.  

 

 

I was thinking the same thing.. I was going to buy a corned beef from my butcher and put it on the smoker and make something like a pastrami.  

Edited March 18, 2015 by BKEats (log)

[rotuts]

"""    it's bound to be on sale now that St. Patrick's Day is over.  """

 

in my area of the country its on sale for the lowest price one week before StP's day, goes up a bit the week of StP's day,

 

then goes back to its much higher normal price and essentially disappears.

 

I still have some from last year.  that's what a 3.5 MIL bag, a good vacuum system, and a freezer can do for you.

 

still tasty.  

 

however, do to space issues did not do any this year.

 

Edited March 18, 2015 by rotuts (log)

[kayb]

Good discussion here re corned beef http://forums.egullet.org/topic/113064-corned-beef-at-home-recipes-tips-etc/page-3?hl=corned+beef#entry1993852

 

Some use a brine, I like a rub...less messy

Thanks, gfweb!

[MattyC]

Haven't had much time to eat lately, so we've just been relying on a big batch of pizza dough I made and froze - quick and easy dinner on the days we both have off and have no real desire to cook.

 

This one was 3 cheese, bread and butter pickles, gochujang, greens, poppy and sesames seeds. Like a giant sandwich. But better, because it was pizza.

 

 

 

[huiray]

Some comfort food.

 

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Fedelini [De Cecco] w/ Hazan tomato sauce & Parmigiano Reggiano.

 

 

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Miso soup.

 

With katsuobushi stock augmented w/ hon-dashi granules; cut wakame, firm tofu cube-lets; then enoki mushrooms, sliced negi (w/ flowers), chopped scallions; then a slurry of mutenka shiro miso [Maruman] right at the end. Garnished w/ finely sliced green parts of scallions.

 

The stuff

 

On the way there

 

After adding the miso, heating continued just briefly, then serving.  Ate all of it, ~2½ bowls worth.

 

Edited March 19, 2015 by huiray (log)

[Shelby]

Shelby, I have been singularly unsuccessful at corning my own beef. I have a lovely piece of brisket reposing in the freezer right now from the quarter-steer I bought last fall, but when I've tried to corn beef before, I either haven't gotten the signature red color (using pink salt), or it was so tough and salty as to be inedible (Morton Tenderquick). Can you give me a primer on how you cure yours, because I'd surely love to do that with the brisket I have. This one was a grocery store pre-corned brisket, which was OK, but I know my farm-raised would be better if I could corn it right.

I can't give you much better info than the corned beef thread that Gfweb quoted.  I don't think we've ever corned beef before, always venison.  We always use the Morton's Tenderquick and just the regular standard recipe for the pickling spice.  We leave ours in the pickling brine for three weeks or so.  

[BKEats]

My buddy from growing up is head chef at a restaurant. Because of our kids and our lifestyle, we don't leave the house too often these days. So, a few nights ago, they were slated to come over last night, he calls me and tells me that he wants to cook dinner at my house.. Despite his qualifications, i still was reluctant. But, eventually, i gave in and he came over yesterday to make us dinner..

I made frozen white russians.

Not to mention, cleaned a lot of dishes as we went and did other things to help but, he wanted to do everything and I obliged.

The meal sounds rather pedestrian but, he of course took it to the next level.. The meal being, caesar salad, roasted broccoli and veal parm.

Homemade mozzarella

He made garlic confit:

Not to mention, he also made a homemade pasta with tomato sauce, not photographed..

cracky croutons.. using martins potato bread sesame buns.

It was very enjoyable to have someone else make dinner for me in my own house.. We normally sit on one side of the island but, as he was cooking, we sat on the other side of the island. I have literally never sat on that side of the island.. For the last 6 years, we have opened our home up and have used it as a catering space.. The island where we sat, is normally reserved for guests as a chef's table, or sometimes we have potential catering clients come to our house and sit on that side of the island.. I have not one sat on that side and it was a real treat..

Great dinner.. Not to mention, he even sharpened three of my knives on my water stone.. It's nice to have good friends like that.

Edited March 19, 2015 by BKEats (log)

[Shelby]

That fresh mozz looks to die for.

[BKEats]

It was soo good. He salted more than normal upon my request. I feel like "muy suave" would be the only way to describe.

[patrickamory]

No picture, I roasted a 6.7 lb label rouge chicken from a local farm last night. Paprika-salt-pepper-tarragon rub, extra fresh tarragon inside along with a pierced lemon, trussed and cooked upside-down then right-side up a la Marcella… tough to figure out the times on one of these birds, because a lot of the extra weight is bone not meat. So the 20-25 min per pound rule is not applicable. Also at my boyfriend's mom's house and her oven temp is not reliable. Ended up at nominal 350F, 35 mins breast down, 60 mins breast up, then 450F for 20 mins sear. About 10 mins rest. It was perfect. Actually, the best chicken I've had in a couple years.

 

For those of you in Massachusetts, the source is Meadow Mist Farms.

 

Unfortunately - no pictures!

[BKEats]

getting down to the end of our greens... Had an interesting day today.  which had me drinking vermouths, then a coffee tasting, then a beer tasting.. Ic could have had one more drink and went to bed for the rest of the night but, instead, i ran 5 miles, drank a ton of water and had a salad.. 

 

The greens consisted of little peppers,  baby Shanghai spinach, baby arugula  and baby mizuna, with anchovies and my buddy's caesar salad dressing.   

 

chopsticks are the best way to eat a salad with baby lettuces. 

 

Edited March 20, 2015 by BKEats (log)

[scubadoo97]

SV chicken thigh "confit" tonight with a side salad of greens and a lot of spiralized root vegetables. I enjoy the heck out of this chicken dish.

Out of the bath and into the freezer. Makes a quick meal on a week night after work that would have taken a lot longer to prepare.

[Dejah]

BKEats: Great idea using chopsticks for the salad!

 

Last night, needed a quick supper, so we had Beef Curry a la Patak paste. Added fresh green peppercorns and fresh curry leaves. Onion chunks were barely cooked, just the way I like it.

 

 

 

Tonight, baked chicken with New Orleans Seasoned Breading (packaged for seafood) with added New Orleans Cajun Seasoning. I also cooked okra for the first time! Bite-size pieces coated with a mix of cornmeal and panko, Montreal Steak Spice, pan-fried then finished in the oven. The coating was crispy and the okra tender. I've had them battered and deep-fried, but I enjoyed this way more.

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Tonight, baked chicken with New Orleans Seasoned Breading (packaged for seafood) with added New Orleans Cajun Seasoning. I also cooked okra for the first time! Bite-size pieces coated with a mix of cornmeal and panko, Montreal Steak Spice, pan-fried then finished in the oven. The coating was crispy and the okra tender. I've had them battered and deep-fried, but I enjoyed this way more.

BakedChicken&Okra2839.jpg

Okra2841.jpg

 

For months I have been hungry for okra, but the store never has any.  Hungry so much that I bought okra seeds for my New Jersey balcony this summer.

 

Tonight the store had okra.  Seems like an odd season for it.  My heart was all a flutter till I looked carefully.  The okra was limp and discolored.  I could not find one piece worth buying.  Sad.

 

But yours is beautiful and it cheered me up!

 

 

Edit:  winter okra in Manitoba?  Reminds me of Dr. Faustus.

Edited March 20, 2015 by JoNorvelleWalker (log)

[huiray]

Cod fillet marinated w/ and steamed w/ ginger, garlic, scallions, rice bran oil, wet-salted plums (ripped apart) plus some of the pickling liquid, sweet & sour plums (ripped apart) plus some of the jelly, hon-mirin [Takara], ground white & black pepper, a bit of salt.

 

Before steaming.

 

After steaming, dressed w/ more fresh scallions.

 

Eaten w/ broccoli, snow peas & baby bok choy briefly simmered w/ chicken stock.

 

Plus several bowls of white rice (not shown).