Dinner 2015 (Part 2)

[mm84321]

Asparagus and morels in herb ravioli

Chicken stuffed with fresh herbs, roasted new potatoes, asparagus, morels and baby fava beans

[mm84321]

Congratulations on the retirement!!!!  

Patrick, thank you so much.  You've made my day

 

Kay, you just can't beat a poached egg over fresh asparagus.  And, trust me, I've been gravy challenged for YEARS.  If I can do it, you can do it!

 

 

Happy Kentucky Derby Day, everyone!!!!!  I love this day more than any day of the whole year.

 

Steak quesadillas the other night

 

photo 1.JPG

 

 

Turkey sandwiches with onion rings and the best experiment I've done in a long time:  fried asparagus spears.  O M G try this guys.  REALLY good.

 

photo 2.JPG

 

I like you, Shelby. 

[gfweb]

me too

[Paul Bacino]

This time of the yr..Pond fishing gives up some serious bounty

 

Crappie/Gills/Bass  _ simple pan fry.

 

 

 

 

 

[Anna N]

So dinner was a repeat of lunch. This time I managed to get the sauce made as well. It is Manchurian cauliflower. Battered and deep-fried cauliflower in a spicy sauce. Not the taste profile I was hoping to get but still quite acceptable.

[BonVivant]

Steamed half chicken (I used beer) and raw asparagus salad.

 

 

[ninagluck]

BonVivant, which dressing did you use for the asparagus salad?

[ninagluck]

today I made a prawn soup with spicy cornbread. 

[BonVivant]

NinaG, most simple, just some lambic beer vinegar (only kind I have in the house at the moment) and a pinch of salt. I really don't want anything to overpower my precious Spargel.

[kayb]

 

It was a dinner marred by a couple of mishaps, but it turned out OK.

 

First, I'd been smoking a bacon-barbecue meat loaf, and when I went out to take the meat loaf off and put the steaks on, I found the gas bottle had run out and had to change plans and cook the steaks and asparagus inside.

 

Then, my hollandaise -- it went together perfectly, and I covered the soup mug in which I'd made it with foil and set it on the back of the stove to stay warm. I sat it too close to where the oven vents heat through one of the units, though, and it curdled a bit on me. Didn't hurt the taste. It's very bright yellow because I used farm eggs.

 

And as I was the only one in the house who likes hollandaise, I put it on my Hasselback potato, as well. Because I could.

 

This was the purple asparagus from my farmers market trip yesterday morning. Very good -- less of a bitter taste than the regular green variety. I'll buy it again. I like the fat spears, too.

Edited May 3, 2015 by kayb (log)

[Okanagancook]

From your link...

Ingredients

• 4 large, fresh eggs, measured into a jug
• Equal quantity of milk to your measured eggs
• Equal quantity of all purpose/plain flour to measured eggs
• Pinch of salt
• 2 tbsp lard, beef dripping or vegetable oil"

 

Is equal volumes or weight of eggs, milk and flour?

Equal volume for eggs, milk and flour...4 large eggs is usually around 3/4 cup.  The secret is to let the batter rest.  I made mine at 2 pm and let it sit on the counter until 7 pm when I made.   This time I made double quantities and had to bake them on two racks in the oven and the one on the bottom first did not rise as much.  A single recipe and only one muffin tin in the oven at a time!

[harrysnapperorgans]

From your link...

Ingredients

• 4 large, fresh eggs, measured into a jug
• Equal quantity of milk to your measured eggs
• Equal quantity of all purpose/plain flour to measured eggs
• Pinch of salt
• 2 tbsp lard, beef dripping or vegetable oil"

 

Is equal volumes or weight of eggs, milk and flour?

 

I do equal weight, but I've tried it both ways. Equal weight worked better for me. Leave the batter to sit for an hour or more if you can, but not in the fridge - room temp! Make sure you get the fat REALLY hot, and cook them until really golden brown. Under cooked ones will sink fast when you take them out. 

 

The other thing I do as add a pretty serious pinch of salt, or they can be a bit bland.

 

Along with roast beef or lamb, yorkshire puddings would have to be one of my favourites.

 

Beautifull meals all, the ribs, beer steamed chicken, roast beef, prawn soup and asparagus all look amazing. It's winter here in NZ, and getting cold. I already miss asparagus and really fresh garden tomatoes and so on . . .

Edited May 3, 2015 by harrysnapperorgans (log)

[jvalentino]

Seasoned some skirt steak and chicken thighs w salt, garlic, lime zest and a pinch of sugar this morning. Grilled and served w some mediocre tortillas. I grill the chicken thighs really slow so they render and the skins gets really crispy. The edges of the meat and skin make me think of chicken bacon.

[huiray]

Morels & asparagus sautéed in butter & sea salt, tossed in the pan w/ Cipriani tagliarelle (straight from the cooking pot) & chopped parsley.

 

[mm84321]

Sauté of peas with spring vegetables and new potatoes 

[Thanks for the Crepes]

Paul Bacino,

 

Your very respectable Crappie haul reminds me of one Valentine's Day in the late 80's when my then boyfriend and I went fishing on the Haw River here in NC. Both of us (and I'm not a skilled fisherwoman) pulled crappie out literally as fast as we could bait another hook. IIRC we used live minnows. That was the most fun I ever had trying to fish, with the operative word usually being trying. We stored the crappie in one of the pools in the abandoned hydroelectric plant that if I had to guess used to be coolant for the removed turbines. These cement pools had a little water movement through screened vents to the river, but certainly not enough to power the turbines or injure the fish. The turbines were probably below the old building we were in when they were in operation. When we had our mess o' fish, we caught the crappie with our hands and put them in a cooler. Unlike catfish, the crappie didn't stab us with their fins, although I wouldn't have blamed them a bit if they did. Then we took them home, cleaned and cooked them in a large shallow pan over charcoal with onions, butter and paprika. So good after a day in the beautiful wilderness where we saw a lot of wildlife including beautiful deer from across the river. Thank you for dredging up this great memory. 

 

jvalentino,

 

I'm jealous that you can get skirt steak in your area to bring home and cook!   Your dinner looks great.

 

 

I managed to get some of my own skirt steak tonight for dinner at the only place locally that I know to find it: Torero's Mexican Restaurant in Cary, and oh boy, was it extra delicious. It was my birthday dinner so I ordered the most expensive dish on the menu Mar y Tierra. This is perfectly charcoal-grilled skirt steak and bacon wrapped shrimp on a bed of rice with melted Jack Cheese, refried beans, pico de gallo, lettuce, grilled green onions and a jalepeno pepper on a giant heavy pre-heated plate. We enjoyed the warm tortilla chips and perfect cilantro flavored salsa with a frozen margarita for me and a beer for my husband before the food came. I always bring a finely chopped jalepeno in a baggie with me to the restaurant to doctor the salsa because it has zero heat otherwise, which is fine with my husband but not with me. I can get chopped fresh jalepeno from Torero's, but when I tried, they first brought pickled (no thanks) and then real coarsely chopped fresh. I had nothing but a butter knife and no plate at that point to chop it finer, so I just bring my own now. It's easier. The husband had carne asada buritos made with more skirt steak, which he's hooked on now too. I shared the bacon wrapped shrimp, and I suspect I probably hooked him on those two. They are so crispy without being overcooked, we both crunched up and ate the tails. The burritos are so huge he can only ever eat one of them. Skirt steak's even more flavorful than ribeye, if that's possible? It could not have been a more perfect birthday dinner, and we both have lunch for tomorrow. 

 

I still don't have a camera, but if you care to see a photo of the lovely dish I ate tonight (and unlike fast food ads, Torero's serves up food that actually looks on the plate before you as advertised) click on the link, and scroll down to the penultimate image of Mar y Tierra for $16.00:

 

http://www.torerosmexicanrestaurants.com/cms/wp-content/uploads/TOREROS1.pdf

Edited May 4, 2015 by Thanks for the Crepes (log)

[liuzhou]

I'm in the middle of a moving house nightmare, so tonight's dinner was simple and quick. But did the trick.

 

 

Stir-fried cauliflower with Xuanwei ham, green and red chillies, garlic, soy sauce. Served with rice.

[huiray]

Herbal duck soup.  

Couple of duck legs, each cut in two; water, garlic; dried sliced pieces of Angelica sinensis root, Polygonatum odoratum rhizome, Dioscorea polystachya tuber ("Dioscorea opposita"); dried longan flesh, dried Ziziphus jujuba fruits ("lam jou" variety), salt, and dried goji berries nearer to the end of simmering (total cooking time somewhere between 2 and 3 hours).  Seasoning adjusted.  No additional oil added, the duck fat was simply allowed to render into the soup.  A portion was bowled as shown.

 

Eaten with "flash stir-fried" Rainbow Chard (just salt & peanut oil) and white rice (Thai Hom Mali).

[huiray]

An experimental dish.  Sliced andouille sausage [Goose the Market/Smoking Goose] sautéed w/ a little sliced garlic & EV olive oil, fiddleheads, maitake mushrooms, hot red chili flakes, Old Bay spice mix, a bit of salt.  Tossed in the pan w/ angel hair pasta [De Cecco].  Interesting and tasty enough but perhaps not mind-blowing.

 

[Shelby]

Liuzhou---UGH moving is awful. Hang in there, it will be over soon.  And, your new place will be a lot more organized than my house is--if that's any comfort to you     I have some cauliflower languishing in the fridge.  Your stir fry has inspired me.

 

 

I got locked outta Egullet yesterday     I missed you guys 

 

 

My mom is coming to visit me for a couple of days.  I haven't seen her since two Christmas's ago.  So, I'm scurrying around trying to spruce the place up and planning some good food.  She'll be here on Mother's Day so mimosas will definitely be in the mix 

 

Oh and Happy Cinco de Mayo!!

 

Fried chicken a couple of nights ago.  

 

 

Then pizza night

 

 

[huiray]

A by-the-way on my part...I generally don't find too appealing baked or boiled or steamed cauliflower and other generally similar ways of preparing it.  Especially with cheese slathered over it.  Personally I prefer stir-fried cauliflower, with some meat of one's choice with other ingredients as desired or by themselves, with the cauliflower still crunchy).  Something that is commonplace in E/SE Asian cuisine.

[Paul Bacino]

This is so Reminiscence of my childhood and Foraging in Iowa.

 

So I put together a  :  Loosemeat Sandwich w/ Pheasant Back Mushrooms

 

 

 

 

 

[huiray]

EV olive oil, andouille sausage [smoking Goose], garlic, shallots, morels, creminis, asparagus, linguine [Rustichella d'Abruzzo], parsley.  Seasoned to taste.

 

 

[mgaretz]

My daughter is home from grad school on break and requested my pulled pork.  It was a 3.25# boneless shoulder, rubbed with Memphis Dust, smoked on the Rec Tec at 225F to an IT of 203F - took 12 hours.  Came out nice!  Tonight, in honor of Cinco de Mayo, we ate the leftovers wrapped in corn tortillas with avocado and green chile salsa.

 

 

[Smithy]

Very Thick Asparagus, prosciutto, ramps from the back yard, pasta.  A bit of butter, a bit of half-and-half, some grated parmesan to garnish.  It looked very pretty but I couldn't remember where I'd put the camera.  It tasted even better than it looked.  I owe Paula Wolfert for the inspiration.

 

The bases of the Very Thick Asparagus Spears were tough.  I peeled them, cut into matchsticks and began dicing them for a last-minute addition to the skillet dinner above.  A bite or two (before adding) convinced me that these were too tough to be so used.  I'll save them to make Weinoo's asparagus risotto instead.