Dinner 2015 (Part 2)

[kayb]

The snow has finally melted off my porch and I was able to grill for the first time in 2015.  Chopped salad with grilled chicken and creamy avocado dressing.  A fast weeknight dinner that made leftovers for lunch yesterday.  The dressing stayed bright green, which was surprising to me.

 

chopped salad.jpg

That is a GORGEOUS salad. I want it. Now.

[Kim Shook]

Thanks for the crepes – more like served with.  It was too large to make an actual sandwich, so we tore off hunks and wrapped our brats and onions in it and dipped in mustard.  Mr. Kim would have loved peppers, too.  But I detest them unfortunately and didn’t want to go to the trouble of doing two pans.   Those ones at the fair (and in front of hardware stores) always smell so wonderful, but have a weird texture and taste OLD!  And your clam, steak and corn dinner sounded amazing.  I’d have given anything for such a meal last night!

 

liamsaunt – I am SO stealing your scallops over creamed corn idea this summer!  I am not a pepper fan, so I’ll leave that out, but those look fantastic!

 

Norm – what kind of dressing is that on your salad you posted on the 15^th?  It looks good!

 

mm – gorgeous asparagus!  Wish I could find some fat ones like that for Mr. Kim!

 

Rachel – I’m so honored that you signed on to praise my Easter dinner!  Your special brand of posting is missed here – I’m sure lots of old timers would agree with me!  Wish you could have shared it.  I would have requested that you bring Paminna cheese!  And that sweet little pot lives there full time!

 

Dinner a couple of nights ago:

Not a great experiment.  I got a craving for spaghetti and had all the makings but no ground beef or Italian sausage.  So I used cut up brats from the other night.  German-Italian spaghetti?  I figured that it was pork, like Italian sausage and simmering in the sauce all day should make it soak up those flavors.  Whatever, it tasted quite peculiar combined with the sauce.  

[Shelby]

I, too, am so glad to see you Rachel.  I miss your wonderful posts around here!

[huiray]

Babi Assam.  (This one was done with the one (recipe P39) from Irene's Peranakan Recipes as a "base")

"Pull Mustard" (雪裡紅) stir-fried w/ garlic.

White rice.

 

 

On the way there.

The lower left bowl in the left-side pic was tamarind pulp slurry. The lower-right bowl in the left-side pic was mortar-and-pestle-pounded chopped shallots, buah keras (candlenuts) & toasted belacan.

[Norm Matthews]

Kim Shook  As near as I can describe the salad dressing, it was approximately three parts Ranch dressing, one part sour cream and powdered taco seasoning to taste. 

[Okanagancook]

The local Superstore had some fresh farmed trout.  En Papillote with chopped shrimp, parsley, herb butter and lemon slices between the fillets and a row of thinly sliced cremini mushrooms on top then baked at 375 for 14 minutes; steamed mashed potatoes (a little brown 'cause I used some concentrated chicken stock for moisture); steamed carrots and snap peas.    A nice lite meal.

 

[mm84321]

Veal, shallot and tarragon fondue, pommes boulangere

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Asparagus with leftover hollandaise -- remarkably successful.  Hollandaise does not always reheat so well for me.  Leftover chicken tetrazzini, on which I burnt my mouth.  Leftover M.R. to make everything good again.

 

Leftover Australian Shiraz that was just vile.  Considering this was an excellent bottle when first opened I am sorely disappointed.  Not the wine's fault though.

[liuzhou]

 

I'm glad you elucidated before I went on a wild goose hunt via Google.

 

A wild sparrow hunt may have helped more!

I totally agree that sometimes simple is best. There is a reason people have been cooking that way for at least hundreds of years. It tastes good.

 

actually google showed me two of your pages w those asp. on them

 

+ some sort of musical group

 

Yes, I saw that.

[liamsaunt]

liamsaunt, what was in that creamy avocado dressing, other than chunks of avocado? The salad is beautiful.

 

the dressing was 1 cup cilantro, 1 avocado, juice of 1 lime, 1 garlic clove, 1/4 cup olive oil, and 1.5 tsp vinegar, plus salt and pepper, all blended up in a food processor.  

[mm84321]

Baby fava beans with guanciale

 

Asparagus roasted with marrow and olives

[jvalentino]

Pork kabobs w grilled lemon. Fingerling potatoes w grilled vegetables and feta.

[liuzhou]

Part of dinner tonight. An appetizer. One of my favourite things to cook.  Simple and tasty.

 

 

Shell on prawns with salt and Sichuan peppercorns. These babies were still alive when they hit the wok, so fresh, fresh, fresh.

 

Don't forget to bite into the heads and suck out the juices. The intense citrus flavour in the Sichuan pepper just works so well with the sweet, juicy prawns.

[rotuts]

just to complete the Fz Duck variety and prices 

 

Market Basket has them frozen but they are called "Maple Leaf"  w a maple leaf on the and "orange sauce"

 

i don't know what the orange sauce is, probably a packette of sugar,

 

for $ 2.99   pricey sugar that would be.

 

these ducks are from Indiana.

Edited April 19, 2015 by rotuts (log)

[Shelby]

Part of dinner tonight. An appetizer. One of my favourite things to cook.  Simple and tasty.

 

 

Shell on prawns with salt and Sichuan peppercorns. These babies were still alive when they hit the wok, so fresh, fresh, fresh.

 

Don't forget to bite into the heads and suck out the juices. The intense citrus flavour in the Sichuan pepper just works so well with the sweet, juicy prawns.

You're killing me.  *drooling*

[weinoo]

Dinner for some friends las night...

 

 

Tapas platter w salchichón Ibérico, jamón Ibérico, queso Lupulus, and banderillas.

 

 

Larger (than I'm used to) paella. Chicken, chorizo, clams & mussels.

[mm84321]

Looks great. 

[Okanagancook]

Does look good.  As it happens I am making a Valenciana Paella tonight.  Chicken thighs, rabbit, snails, butter beans, green beans, artichoke and I'm putting in a little optional slices of chorizo.  Never made paella before so hopefully I can get the crispy bottom.

[patrickamory]

 

Spring spread for an afternoon on the terrace. Cheeses from Murray's included Greensward, Pico, Banded Cheddar, a blue whose name I can't recall, and Challerhocker. About a pound of thinly sliced 24-month old prosciutto di Parma. Sliced finocchiona. Sichuan smacked cucumbers. Flageolet and arugula salad. Bread, crackers. 

 

Not shown: royal corona beans cooked Tuscan-style in earthenware with olive oil, sage, garlic, oregano and tomato; cashews; four types of olives.

[Okanagancook]

Patrickamory:  that spread looks stunning.  I bet it all goes!

[mm84321]

I've been eating a lot of artichokes lately. Tis the season. I also found the most beautiful baby favas at the market yesterday. They have been a delectable treat. 

 

Fried artichokes with lemon

 

Cocotte of baby fava beans, artichokes and new potatoes. 

[huiray]

Sorrel soup, in the style of green Ukrainian borscht.

Butter, diced onion & carrots, chicken stock, diced potatoes, a few dried bay leaves, salt, chopped red-streaked sorrel, ground black pepper, minced chives & parsley.  Dressed w/ more chives & parsley, chopped hard-boiled egg, several dollops of sour cream.

 

Broccolini & quartered fresh baby portobello mushrooms sautéed w/ Arbosana EV olive oil plus butter, salt.

 

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Ramps, sliced - leaves & bulbs & all; sautéed w/ white beech & sliced fresh baby portobello mushrooms; olive oil (Arbosana) & salt; tossed w/ fedelini [De Cecco], a beaten farm-fresh egg added and stirred into the mixture. Plated & dressed w/ chopped parsley.

 

On the way there.

 

[mm84321]

Looks delicious. 

[huiray]

mm84321, thanks.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

A Berkshire rib chop, first that I have had.  I'd never seen or smelled any meat more appetizing coming out of the sous vide bag.

 

I have three frying pans.  None of them were large enough for browning.  I am more used to the size of beef rib steaks.  So I had to drag out my Le Creuset two burner cast iron griddle for finishing the chop.  Dinner was delayed while I got the Le Creuset scorching hot.

 

My neighbors must hate me because I set off two smoke alarms, and then had to turn the music up to cover it.  The fire company had already come to the neighborhood once tonight and I'm not certain they were looking to come back.

 

Now, after leaving the dinner table, I don't understand why one would want to cook any other breed of pork.