Dinner 2015 (Part 1)

[Shelby]

Yum !  Ive only been to two 'Boils'

 

do you save the 'broth' or is it too dilute to use ?

No, I don't save it.  I make our boil super super spicy.  I let the 'dads soak in there for at least 30 mins.  Sooooooo goooood.

[liamsaunt]

Crispy chicken with chimichurri sauce

 

[Norm Matthews]

chimichurri sauce with chicken is something I think I'd like to try sometime soon.  We've only had it with beef so far.

Edited March 22, 2015 by Norm Matthews (log)

[Norm Matthews]

Shelby, once at our restaurant, when the Asian market delivered a crate of crabs and I remember one that 'escaped' and ran across the floor and it took a little while to catch it.

Edited March 22, 2015 by Norm Matthews (log)

[rotuts]

BTW 

liamsaunt

 

those are the finest Avocado's ive seen in quite some time.

 

I love Avocados.  I get them when they are $ 1 / Av.  I get uniformly firm ones, leave them on the counter until they just 'give'

 

a tiny bit then refrigerate them.  bring them out later to warm up and enjoy.

 

Unfortunately, I uniformly forget I have them, and when i remember they are pretty much 'gone by '

 

 

the avocados I do get to enjoy, therefore come in at < 6 $ / avocat.

 

go figure .............

 

I could tell you about the bananas I get  but ...................

 

 

I also dont care for Banana Bread, else id be living on it

 

[scubadoo97]

The avocados look bigger than the average Hass variety.

[BonVivant]

Guinea fowl in Riesling (and cream). Wine was Sancerre.

 

 

[mm84321]

Asparagus risotto

[liamsaunt]

The avocados look bigger than the average Hass variety.

 

It was a Haas avocado.  It was a very nice one though.

 

No pictures from today's family meal as it was too hectic.  I made a bone-in mustard crusted roast loin of pork (my Mom made the gravy as she deems mine inedible, haha) gruyere-broccoli stuffed chicken with brandy cream sauce for the non-pork eaters, roasted broccolini, spinach with butter, and zucchini/summer squash saute.  Plus papas du quesas that were way too much work for the outcome in my opinion though the potato lovers had seconds.  My sister helped with prep.  My brother, who is what I call a "meatatarian," because he eats NO vegetables, said the pork was excellent.  So I guess it was.  I ate the chicken so can't say for sure.  

[huiray]

Linguine alle vongole w/ baby clams.

 

Arbosana EV olive oil, garlic, hot red chilli flakes, Sauvignon Blanc, clam juice, simmer, then clams.  Remove clams and reserve as they open. Linguine [Rustichella d'Abruzzo] straight from the pot, chopped parsley, toss, clams added back in, toss lightly.  Serve.  Extra parsley garnish.  Had seconds, polished it all off.

 

 

[Shelby]

Yum, Huiray.  I'm so hungry for clams.

[mgaretz]

I was going to smoke some baby backs today, but the weather turned cold and rainy, so I changed plans and made some split pea soup with carrots and ham:

 

 

[rotuts]

As mentioned before, I love filed pasta, ravioli, etc.

 

TJ's had this one, I thought Id try it :

 

 

I like ginger in these preps :

 

I freeze whole ginger w the skin on and grate :

 

 

this has been in the freezer for a bit .  note the freezer burn on the end.  no matter

 

 

grated a bit.  still a bit of FzBurn

 

 

just keep grating.  I grate coarse and do not peel.  don't notice the peel myself

 

 

this is the finished plate.  I add the cooked Rav's to some roasted chicken stock I make from

 

Minors frozen paste.  Their Beef concentrate is too salty so I use the low salt roasted Ck. I chop up a good handful

 

spinach, add that to the stock just for a few seconds

 

add the coarsely grated ginger and place in the bowl

 

I add some grated TJ's parmesan-ish and lightly torch for added flavor

 

delicious I thought

Edited March 23, 2015 by rotuts (log)

[BKEats]

Saturday I wake up and my lovely bride mentions that we are having 15 of her family members over for dinner the following day and would I be willing to make dinner.  

 

Started with a chicken liver mousse.    So easy, everytime i make this, I am surprised at the ease.  This is one of those things, maximum rewards for minimum effort. 

 

chicken livers, onion, port, marjoram, thyme, juniper berry, green pepper, black pepper, salt, a little allspice, heavy cream and a shit load of butter., 

 

 

i served with pork rinds along with bread and crackers.. Something about the pork rinds talked to me. 

 

 

Homemade bread someone brought.. Obviously, there are more cheeses and things being passed around at this point.  

 

 

 

Fried chicken:

 

Old faithful:

Yucat to be kidding me.. I got more, "this potato salad is delicious"  I made a garlic confit and tossed it with lime juice and thyme. 

 

 

 

 

 

salad"

 

 

fried brussle sprouts honey and sriracha, lime juice and fish sauce. 

 

 

So many freaking desserts..  Cookies, cakes, donuts, ice cream. 

Edited March 23, 2015 by BKEats (log)

[huiray]

Yum, Huiray.  I'm so hungry for clams.

 

:-)  

So get some!

[huiray]

 

Fried chicken:

 

Old faithful:

 

 

 

 

BKEats, your fried chicken looks nice.  Would you be willing to share how you make yours?  (I'm sure lots of folks make wonderful fried chicken too with their own spin on the dish)**

 

** I do note that yours (and other folk's fried chicken) is done with skin on --- contrary to what a certain Head Judge of a long-running Bravo reality cooking competition show once declared that crispy fried chicken COULD NOT be obtained with the skin on.  Of course, he was taken to task by many folks who were non-famous-non-celebrity-chefs but I doubt this "head judge chef" paid any attention to folks who disagreed with him.

[huiray]

Red & red-streaked amaranth ("seng choy") wilted  and briefly cooked in a broth formed from sautéed smashed garlic & rehydrated dried shrimp ("har mai") in rice bran oil quenched w/ diluted chicken stock and simmering for a bit. 

 

"Lap Cheong" (Chinese dried sausages) ('Original Soft'/碎肉 = "piece meat"/minced meat; meat is pork) cooked with/in white rice (stove top).  Cantonese roast duck pieces [Asia Mart] steamed on top of the rice as well towards the end.  Plated w/ scallions.

 

The white rice suffused with the juices from the "lap cheong" and duck pieces.

 

 

 

The trimmed "seng choy" soaking in water

[BKEats]

Thanks.. that fried chicken is actually out of character for me.. It usually takes 2 days for me to make my chicken.. one day in a brine, one day in a mixture of some of the brine and buttermilk, then I flour it and let it sit floured for a few hours until it gets tacky, then I fry at a low temperature.. I fry but the temp up to 350, then once the chicken is in, i drop it down for 325 for 12 minutes..   Yesterday, i came in from a run at 9 in the morning and threw the chicken into a brine.. so it only brined, with no buttermilk for 6 hours or so. 

 

My brine consists of a ton of salt, some sugar, a lot of cumin, some bay leaves and black pepper.. The flour is the same with a lot less salt and a lot more cumin.  I added curry powder, chile powder and some of my spice rub for bbq.. This contains paprika, brown sugar, white pepper, black pepper, some herbs.  

 

The butter milk besides doing so much to the meat, allows for a better coating. 

 

 

this is my chicken with  buttermilk the coating

 

Brine:

 

Buttermilk

Fried 

 

[patrickamory]

BKEats a wet brine??   !

 

But looks delicious… actually an incredible dinner to throw together in one day. Not that I'm surprised given your record.

[Paul Bacino]

Halibut  is Here!!

 

Spicy green beans-- High Heat/Evoo/ garlic/mirin/Sambel pepper

Le Puy green Lentils  -- cooked in Miropoix/ spring Onions/ garlic and Bay

Halibut seared in Evoo/Butter and finished in oven with HdP

Edited March 24, 2015 by Paul Bacino (log)

[BKEats]

BKEats a wet brine??   !

 

But looks delicious… actually an incredible dinner to throw together in one day. Not that I'm surprised given your record.

Thanks so much. Yeh, on Sunday, I walked in the door from a jog, went grocery shopping, then told myself I was going to just make the liver pate before I went up for a shower. I ended up cooking from 10 to 3 straight. Took a shower, bought bread and people arrived around 3:30.

In terms of wet brine, aren't all brines wet. Just like a salt water solution. Are you surprised that I brine my chicken. I feel like most people do, or maybe I'm crazy.

[Dejah]

Snowed some on the prairies today...drat! The yard was nearly clear!
So, instead of cooking outside, I cooked char siu ribs in the oven. The slabs have been marinating in Hoisin sauce, Chinese wine, 5-spice powder, honey, and red food colouring for a couple of days. They turned out well.

 

 

Found fresh soybean spouts at one of the small Chinese grocers. Love these stiir-fried with green onion and ginger - a nice change from  the ever-present mung beansprouts.

 

 

 

[Ranz]

 

Another sous vide chuck roast, sorry for the repetition but we're loving these at the moment   55C for 22 hours, red wine sauce, creamy garlic mushrooms.

 

Followed by a almond pancake dessert with whipped cream, berries and nuts.

[patrickamory]

BKEats I prefer a "dry brine" which I guess isn't really a brine at all, more a dry rub or salting. I find the texture superior - it's the kind of thing I'd have thought you'd be into. The chicken can rest on a rack in the fridge with the cold air circulating around it. It has the moisture-giving effects of a wet brine with the added benefit of a taut skin that crisps up really well. (Obviously won't work for buttermilk marinades for fried chicken etc…)  but give it a try sometime!

 

Speaking of chicken, I made chicken adobo based on SobaAddict70's family recipe (what happened to Soba anyway? I miss Soba).

 

[Shelby]

I am now hungry for fried chicken, although I don't wish to make it so I'll be one of those people who show up at your door, BK......except I won't be there to see the baby.......

 

Looks good, Patrick!  Yeah I haven't seen Soba for quite a while.  

 

Dejah, YUM on the sprouts.

 

I had a few leftover crawdads to use up--I know, unheard of, but true.