Dinner 2015 (part 4)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Dinner, I fear, was not all that patriotic.  Sexpartitioned Campari tomatoes, product of Canada.  Pepper, Ancient Sweet, product of Canada.  But cucumber, product of my own balcony.  Really, really good, possibly my best cucumber ever.  And at least there has been a lull in the fighting along the border.

 

French cheese and a day old baguette.  French is not always all that patriotic in this country but is this time of year.  Particularly since I live along a National Historic Tail thanks to Rochambeau marching his army past my apartment complex on his way from the French encampment at Liberty Corner to meet up with general Washington.  I hear it was a big deal in town.

 

I wanted a sweet beverage to go with grilled chicken and barbeque sauce, so I chose funny bubbles.  Amusing, but a bit too sweet, so I recarbonated with CO2 to give it a little bite.

 

 

 

 

[MetsFan5]

Dinner, I fear, was not all that patriotic.  Sexpartitioned Campari tomatoes, product of Canada.  Pepper, Ancient Sweet, product of Canada.  But cucumber, product of my own balcony.  Really, really good, possibly my best cucumber ever.  And at least there has been a lull in the fighting along the border.

 

French cheese and a day old baguette.  French is not always all that patriotic in this country but is this time of year.  Particularly since I live along a National Historic Tail thanks to Rochambeau marching his army past my apartment complex on his way from the French encampment at Liberty Corner to meet up with general Washington.  I hear it was a big deal in town.

 

I wanted a sweet beverage to go with grilled chicken and barbeque sauce, so I chose funny bubbles.  Amusing, but a bit too sweet, so I recarbonated with CO2 to give it a little bite.

We did sweet Italian sausages on the BGE with baked potatoes and Marsala wine sautéed mushrooms. We live where Washington made his HQ in the winter, there's a lot of events panned but the forecast is rain. I'm going to try searing scallops for the first time with a pan sauce of butter, capers and white wine.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Which winter?

 

It's interesting that under Washington the Continental Army had a Baker General, Christopher Ludwick, whose specialty was gingerbread.  Sort of like an executive pastry chef.  Then again, Washington is known to have been fond of ice cream.

[liuzhou]

 

Tonight. Spicy stir-fried very fresh* shell-on prawns with clams (garlic, chilli and wine), black rice and asparagus.  With lime.

 

 

* As in alive five or six minutes before I took these pictures.

Edited July 4, 2015 by liuzhou (log)

[Shelby]

Happy 4th, ya'll!

 

Liuzhou--I had the same kind of shrimp....only mine were frozen probably months ago lol.

 

 

Shrimp in a spicy vodka tomato cream sauce.

 

[rotuts]

I made Singapore Noodles for the first time, using the TestKitchen RX featured on episode # 1515.  I tried to follow that Rx as closely as I could. even used the same

 

non-stick pan they recommend, as properly used non-stick pans are not a concern for me.

 

Pan:

 

http://www.amazon.com/T-fal-Professional-Thermo-Spot-Indicator-Dishwasher/dp/B000GWG0T2/ref=sr_1_1/186-3276101-8361411?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1436019055&sr=1-1&keywords=tefal+12+%22

 

this pan is a bit too large for my single induction 'burner' but I liked it so much I got the 8" version for that induction burner just for eggs.  this version is not sold as BB%B or

 

other discounters as far as I can tell, and is a bit more $$ as this version has a oven safe handle.  I like them both a lot.

 

the finished plate :

 

 

I used some curry powder from my local Indian market called  "Madras"  the market's bulk spices and dahls are 'Sawad.'  the curry hss a bit more 

 

heat than average, and is darker.  Singapore Noodles are one of my favorite dishes and ive had them locally at about 6 different

 

Chinese restaurants.  those versions turn out to be very similar and look a lot like the TK's version :  a lighter, more yellow color, 

 

and the curry taste you might expect as 'mainstream'  its a taste I enjoy.

 

this version was darker and had a different sort of depth than the 'mainstream' version.  it was quite tasty and very easy to make

 

Id say 70 % of the dish depends on the curry powder you use, and 20 % on cooking the rice noodles 'just right'

 

my noodles were a bit over cooked.  I did not follow the Tk's instructions exactly

 

this is a dish I'll be making from time to time, and hope to get the noodles properly done for my taste the next time. I will try

 

Penzy's  "Curry" powder next.  its more mainstream I think.

 

over all a very nice, easy and quick dish, not perfectly executed this time

Edited July 4, 2015 by rotuts (log)

[rotuts]

I make a Tortilla casserole using corn tortillas, previously cooked chicken, green enchilada sauce ( HEB ) and cheese that melts:  its delicious and has lots of leftovers :

 

 

note the 'mouth-watering' over flow that indicates a truly tasty casserole  (   )

 

the first rendition finished plate :

 

 

very tasty, not so pretty.

 

round # 2 :

 

 

on the plate :

 

 

fairly ugly and it even looks dry

 

TJ's Red enchilada sauce was sitting around and came to the rescue  .  I like this sauce, it has a little heat and cumin flavor

 

 

much improved.  Finished plate:

 

 

impressive to me for leftovers.

 

 

Edited July 4, 2015 by rotuts (log)

[huiray]

Linguine alle vongole.

 

 

Arbosana EV olive oil, chopped smashed garlic, hot red chili flakes, a good pour of Pinot Grigio, some natural clam juice, (bring to a simmer), two-and-a-half dozen littleneck clams, chopped parsley; remove clams as they open; linguine [Rusticella d'Abruzzo] (cooked separately of course) added, tossed around.  Plated w/ the clams and more parsley.

 

Plus sautéed baby zucchini.

 

edited for spelling.

Edited July 4, 2015 by huiray (log)

[Anna N]

Dinner tonight was channel catfish breaded and fried with hushpuppies and tater tots, along with homemade tarter sauce (Duke's mayo, finely chopped onion, capers, finely chopped gherkins, green olives, finely chopped, and fairy dust parsley) and coleslaw.

 

We finished up the last of a seedless watermelon that was extra sweet and good.

 

Yesterday the neighbor brought some wild blackberries. They were pretty smushed by the time I got them, and not very sweet at all, they were small. He asked my husband to have me make a pie and give him a couple pieces. There were not enough of these berries to even make a pie so I made muffins, and sent 4 out of the 12 over there. 

 

When he gave me an overgrown zuke, he asked the husband to have me make him some zucchini bread, but I made lasagna.

 

I really hope I have sent a strong message that even though he gives me an ingredient, he's not allowed to dictate what I will cook with it. I really just hate that, and even my husband never does that. He finds delight in whatever I cook up as a surprise, and isn't controlling in that way.

 

 

Anna N,

 

The reason offal and dog/soup bones aren't very available in mainstream food chains is that the corporate heads of the stock market controlled food chain have found more profitable uses for them from pet food to sausages, diluted sodium overloaded canned soups, with very little protein and so on.

 

The pork neck bones, soup and pet bones and innards that used to be cheap to free are used instead for corporate America's plan to send all profits to the mailbox walkers who pick up their dividend checks for contributing nothing at all to society. This systematic pushing out of small producers through screwy (look at agribusiness chicken salmonella, not to mention obviously diseased livers sold with whole mainstream chickens! Great regulations (not) which push out small producers who actually deliver much healthier birds.)

Nope. There are no chicken livers because there is no demand for chicken livers. Political rants have no place on eG.

 

huiray,

 

This bull be will coming to your area soon. I am NOT at all gloating, I am in fact mourning, just sayin'. China is jumping on the corporate/capitalist bandwagon with a vengeance, and your lovely quality of offal, fresh killed chickens and fish can only be a casualty of profit for the greedy. 

[kayb]

I will have some of Scamhi's paella, some of Bon Vivant's steak sandwich, and some cornbread from Shelby, who makes it the way I do (sugar? in cornbread? Abomination!) Shelby, try making it in your waffle iron, a trick I learned from Kim Shook.....

 

Had our Fourth of July dinner on the third; baked beans, potato salad, pork loin done in the oven instead of on the grill as it was raining/threatening rain all day. Plus zucchini stuffed with a take on Mexican street corn -- kernels, sour cream, grated cheese, ancho chile powder, smoky paprika, cumin and grated cheese, and baked. Pretty tasty.

 

 

 

Pork loin sprinkled with barbecue dry rub mix, then SV for 24 hours at 125, cooled, and then roasted with a chipotle honey butter glaze. Could have been a touch more done, but very good.

 

 

Zucchini. I'll do this again.

 

[ninagluck]

it's extremely hot again, so no big cooking. just pasta with fennel, lemon and squid.

[Anna N]

kayb

That zuchini sounds heavenly.

[BonVivant]

Just unbearably hot again today. Uruguayan beef tenderloin and a big salad (not in these pics), plus bread.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Overhead view shows atsina/mustard/rock chives cresses.

 

[ninagluck]

BonVivant, I could never drink red wine at this temperatures!

[BonVivant]

Didn't add ice cubes to the glass til I was done with the photos. I drink everything with ice these hot days, including wine and beer.

[rotuts]

I can see ice cubes in white wine, table white, not Chit-Chat white.

 

I can't see it in red, even table red

 

Id go with a table red for Sangia-ish

 

other flavors to add etc.

 

just saying.

[mm84321]

Happy 4th everyone. Found a HUGE patch of wild blackberries on my hike earlier today. They are so juicy and flavorful! Best yet, free!

Made tarts with a blackberry/purple basil marmelade and some candied lemon zest!

Cheers!

[huiray]

BonVivant & ninagluck – just curious, do you have air conditioning in your homes?

[huiray]

Early dinner 2015-0704.

 

Fedelini w/ freshly-made basil pesto. (Basil, pine nuts, new crop Music garlic, Arbosana evoo, Pecorino Romano + Parmigiano Reggiano, sea salt)

 

Salad – with curly green & red-tinged romaine lettuces, parsley florets, heirloom tomato, blanched Roma beans; dressed w/ EV olive oil, 10-year balsamic, sea salt, fresh ground black pepper.

 

[David Ross]

I'm about a B+ amateur barbecue cook, but these beef short ribs hit the A scale--juicy, smokey and spicy.

 

I buy the meatiest short ribs, (on the bone), that I can find.  I use "Stubb's" beef rub.  Yep, out of the bottle.  Maybe not the method purists use, but along with Paul Prudhomme's "Cajun Magic" seasonings they have the best flavor compared to the home rubs I've made.

 

I sealed the seasoned ribs in a bag and stored them in the fridge overnight.  Then day two, I used my Bradley electric/digital smoker.  Smoked with mesquite bisquettes at 280 for two hours, then wrapped in foil and cooked another two hours, then one hour uncovered.  No sauce during the cooking, just a dash of Stubb's Smokey Mesquite Barbecue Sauce just before serving.

 

 

[ninagluck]

huiray, I don't in Austria good heating is normally more important than air condition ;-)

[BonVivant]

Yes, my AC is on full blast this week. Only use it during a heat wave, however.

 

FYI, in Singapore being 1 degree from the equator it's normal to drink red wine chilled or with ice cubes.

[rotuts]

Chilled is good.  I do that too.

 

just not ice

[liuzhou]

 

Sunday dinner.

 

Chicken with a very spicy shiitake mushroom and cream sauce. Served over rice. There was a side of asparagus, but I guess you've seen enough of that.

[liamsaunt]

We had a pretty traditional cookout for the Fourth of July yesterday.  I made red white and blue sangria for the imbibers

 

 

 

and a standard pasta salad

 

 

 

There were regular cheeseburgers and hot dogs, but for the non-red meat eaters I made black bean burgers with guacamole

 

 

 

and then there was strawberry shortcake for dessert

 

 

 

I bought corn also but decided not to cook it as I thought there would be too much food.  We will have it today.