Dinner 2015 (part 4)

[mm84321]

mm84321,

Thank you very much for sharing your recipe and method for the vegetable tourte. I still think it looks delicious but really doubt my willingness to devote such dedication as you are prepared to give! Better I should practice schmoozing so I get invites! Ha ha.

If you are ever in my neck of the woods, you are always welcome by. There's usually always something good cooking!

[huiray]

Kangkong Belacan.  

Last night's version – hot pan, peanut oil, smashed garlic, pre-soaked dried shrimp (har mai) (a generous amount), sambal terasi (Indonesian sambal belacan), a couple of green Thai chillies, trimmed washed kangkong (water spinach, ong choy, water convolvulus, Ipomoea aquatica). Seasoning adjusted.

 

Okra, Thai Eggplants & Chicken Wings in Spicy Broth.

Hot pan, hot oil, thinly-sliced shallots, chopped smashed garlic, sliced fresh lemongrass (white parts), sliced fresh galangal, gia vị nấu canh chua ("tom yum" type paste) [Golden Boy], julienned fresh Kaffir lime leaves (from the plant on my deck), smashed/crushed whole green Thai chillies, slurry of tamarind pulp [Dragonfly] in a little water, sea salt, palm sugar, simmer; chicken wings (middle pieces only) chopped in half across the bone, simmer; water added, simmer; seasoning adjusted; Thai eggplants (halved or quartered) added, followed shortly after by whole small okra (Lady's Fingers); simmer briefly till done.

 

Plus several bowls of white rice. Some eaten w/ the hot-sour-sweet-tangy broth from the okra dish ladled over it as well. Some with the sauce &etc from the kangkong dish ladled over it as well.

 

P.s. The okra dish (in some permutation or other) might be more often seen with shrimps.  However, I didn't have fresh shrimps on hand but had the chicken wings.  It came out very good.

Edited July 7, 2015 by huiray (log)

[Anna N]

If you are ever in my neck of the woods, you are always welcome by. There's usually always something good cooking!

Thank you. Not a likely eventuality but one can dream and your offer is heartwarming.

[FauxPas]

If you are ever in my neck of the woods, you are always welcome by. There's usually always something good cooking!

 

mm84321, where is your neck of the woods, if you don't mind me asking?  Rough location is fine. I wonder about your gardening climate, local specialties, etc.  

[mm84321]

mm84321, where is your neck of the woods, if you don't mind me asking?  Rough location is fine. I wonder about your gardening climate, local specialties, etc.

I'm in Faifield county, CT, about an hour north of NYC.

[BonVivant]

Flat bread with lamb (meat was removed from bones after roasting).

 

 

 

 

[scamhi]

 

Pan seared organic salmon with roast cauliflower

[scubadoo97]

Scamhi-nice sear on the salmon

Last night I did roasted cauliflower and fish as well. Had a few small pieces of red snapper in the freezer and a head of cauliflower in the fridge. Made a sauce based on gochujang to brush on the cauliflower mid roast

[FauxPas]

IMG_8425.JPG

 

Pan seared organic salmon with roast cauliflower

 

Not sure i understand what an organic salmon is. We distinguish between wild and farmed. Farmed is broken down into inland contained and ocean-penned. Ocean-penned can leave wild salmon stock vulnerable to disease, and I am not a fan. Contained systems seem far safer. Though the most commonly farmed fish seems to be Atlantic salmon and wild Pacific tastes far better to me.

 

Does the organic term refer to the type of fishmeal the farmed fish are fed?

 

Wouldn't a wild salmon be organic?  

 

(Our neighbour just brought one over that he caught today. He likes fishing, but he gets tired of eating salmon. We happily take the extras!)

[kwankapang]

I will cook stir-fry mixed vegetables for dinner tonight.

No meat, but still very tasty.

 

[scamhi]

Not sure i understand what an organic salmon is. We distinguish between wild and farmed. Farmed is broken down into inland contained and ocean-penned. Ocean-penned can leave wild salmon stock vulnerable to disease, and I am not a fan. Contained systems seem far safer. Though the most commonly farmed fish seems to be Atlantic salmon and wild Pacific tastes far better to me.

 

Does the organic term refer to the type of fishmeal the farmed fish are fed?

 

Wouldn't a wild salmon be organic?  

 

(Our neighbour just brought one over that he caught today. He likes fishing, but he gets tired of eating salmon. We happily take the extras!)

 

I believe it is not wild but farmed using organic practices. When I pan sear this salmon, I put it in a very hot cast iron pan with no fat and it renders and gets very crispy.

 

Edited July 7, 2015 by scamhi (log)

[blue_dolphin]

Per the USDA here:

"The legal status of using the organic label in the United States for aquatic species, and the future of developing U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) certification standards for organic aquaculture products and aquatic species, are under review. Internationally, several certifying bodies have developed organic aquaculture standards."

 

The USDA page provides links to more info on EU certifications for organic aquaculture.

[mm84321]

Trouchia (swiss chard omelette)

Cherries cooked in their juices

[FauxPas]

I lost a couple of pictures that I took of other meals. So tonight is a repeat of pesto pasta with a bit of red pepper and dessert was a frozen lime cheesecake. 

 

 

I've been chasing a recipe for frozen lime cheesecake. We used to stop at a place in Bellingham, WA that offered some and it was delicious. They even gave me their recipe and I kept it for a few years and made it a few times. But somehow i got busy, moved too many times, lost the recipe and forgot the details and have never been able to recreate the original since. I don't think the restaurant exists anymore and I can't even remember the name.

 

This one I made was just OK. I started with a suggestion from Smitten Kitchen which was based on another recipe from somewhere else. I added lime juice and lime zest to the cheesecake part, skipped the whipped topping and the strawberry sauce. If anyone knows a recipe for something like this, I would love to be able to check it out. 

 

 

Smitten Kitchen recipe:

 

http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2015/06/strawberry-cheesecake-ice-cream-pie/

Edited July 8, 2015 by FauxPas (log)

[weinoo]

 

This is a pasta called busiate; this particular whole-grain durum wheat busiate is made from an ancient strain called Tumminia, grown only in western Sicily. I've had it served with an interesting pesto made with Sicilian almonds, tomatoes, basil, etc. The importer says that his favorite "sauce" is cacio e pepe, and that's the sauce I made last night.

Edited July 8, 2015 by weinoo (log)

[mgaretz]

Dinner last night was boneless, skinless chicken breasts and thighs, cooked on the pellet grill.  Served with my first attempt at mashed cauliflower.  The mashed cauliflower was microwaved then put into the Blendtec Twister Jar with butter salt and pepper.  Very tasty but was more whipped than mashed, going to try a slower speed next time.

 

[patrickamory]

 

 

Last night: strozzapreti cooked like a risotto with peas and crispy prosciutto..

 

 

That is intriguing. So do you fry the dry pasta in the oil like carnoli rice? And slowly add liquid, stirring?

[David Ross]

Grilled flanksteak with tomatillo salsa-

[Norm Matthews]

Cassie was using the oven to bake a cake for a client so I used the new grill to bake potatoes and grill pork chops.  I did use the stove for green beans and cream of broccoli soup.  The soup was something Cassie had got at the store, frozen. All we needed to do was heat it in a pan.  

 

[mm84321]

Petits farcis

[mm84321]

That is intriguing. So do you fry the dry pasta in the oil like carnoli rice? And slowly add liquid, stirring?

 

Basically. Just sweat some onion in a little butter and olive oil, then add the pasta and coat in the fat, just heating the pasta, then add your stock and cook like you normally would for rice, adding liquid throughout. The peas get added in towards the end, but you could really use any vegetable. Thicken at the end with a little butter, parmesan, and a splash of vinegar. 

[FauxPas]

Petits farcis

 

 

So lovely, such a nice summer dish. I'm guessing that you make your own sausage mix? 

[mm84321]

So lovely, such a nice summer dish. I'm guessing that you make your own sausage mix?

These were actually stuffed with vegetables. The zucchini were stuffed with a brunoise f zucchini skin with chervil, the flowers were stuffed with the flesh of the zucchini, some onion, chervil, basil, Parmesan and an egg. The tomatoes were stuffed with tomato confit and basil. The eggplant with more eggplant, mixed with minced garlic, basil, a little chopped tomato, olive oil and some chopped anchovy. The onions were stuffed with their insides, sweated with thyme and garlic, and mixed with some tomato confit and parsley. Served with a raw tomato vinaigrette and a fried zucchini blossom. Lot of work, but well worth it!

[Paul Bacino]

Things are looking good.. Folks

 

Miss working in the kitchen,  spring/summer  pretty hectic!!

[Shelby]

Picked a few more okra (okras?) yesterday so I needed to eat them  I had a batch of duck, goose and andouille sausage gumbo in the freezer so I thawed that out, made some greens and topped it with cornmeal fried okra.  Heavenly.