Dinner 2015 (Part 5)

[Thanks for the Crepes]

 ElainaA,

 

Here's another one that wishes they could have joined your party. Great food and great conversation with interesting folks. 

 

Shelby,

 

I'm so happy you were able to make the splurge on what looks like some awesome seafood. I know it's difficult and expensive to find in Kansas. Judging from your photos you did great justice to premium ingredients. King crab is a favorite of mine. I appreciate it even more after watching several episodes of "Deadliest Catch". Those guys go through the ringer to bring us this product.

 

How did you like the fiorelli? I've only run across it one time as a dried pasta, and to me, it has the same problem as dried farafelle. Because some of the pasta is a single layer, and some is folded into itself so that it is thicker, I find that I must cook the thinner layer well past al dente in order to cook the white core left in the multiple layers. It's not for me, and I find it a shame, because I find both of these shapes of pasta very beautiful, especially the flower-like fiorelli. It may work better with fresh pasta, but I have never experienced that.

 

liuzhou,

 

I hope you are better soon. That is such a bummer to take medicine that is supposed to fix your problem, and have it make you even worse. 

 

Your "beautiful people" pepper looks something like what we call cayenne here with the pebbly, not smooth surface to the flesh, and it's about the same size. Yours look like dead on to what I was gifted from a neighbor who grew them. Here's Google images on cayenne, but some are clearly red jalepenos (the plumper, smooth fleshed peppers with more rounded ends):

 

https://www.google.com/search?q=cayenne+pepper&espv=2&biw=1097&bih=546&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0CJ0BEIkeahUKEwinnc75g7zIAhWT74AKHYIeCzc

 

liamsaunt and cyalexa,

 

Very delicious-looking homemade pizzas!

 

Tonight I made nachos for dinner with a blend of colby and cheddar. I didn't have ground beef in the house, with which I usually make the nachos, cooked up with chopped white onion and fresh green jalapeno and plenty of seasoning. I did have a can of chili, so I made it with that in hot dishes on the side, because I despise soggy nachos that some restaurants serve. It was my first time trying nachos with chili, and I prefer my normal method with the seasoned ground beef. It was okay, and the husband liked it better than I did. I especially don't like restaurant nachos with a gloopy cheese sauce that make the nachos soggy before it even leaves the kitchen. They must have real natural cheese for me to enjoy them. I also have to have lettuce and tomato as de riguer and we also had Trader Joe's excellent canned whole olives in the dish, sliced by yours truly. I can't stand sliced black olives from a can. I would love the convenience, but they seem to use substandard olives with a taste I can only describe as dusty. It would have been nice to have some sour cream dusted with some good chili powder I have, but I didn't have sour cream either.

 

I don't think I'll make nachos this way again. They seem very popular on restaurant menus, which is where I got the idea. 

Edited October 12, 2015 by Thanks for the Crepes (log)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

My son's beef, corn, black bean chili.  Pickled okra.  Ice cream.

[BonVivant]

My first souvlaki in Meteora, Greece.

 

 

[ElainaA]

ElainaA, I wish I could have joined your group; it sounds wonderful!  Please tell us more about pear paste.  At last night's dinner party we (the guests) enjoyed quince paste (membrillo) as part of dessert and I began thinking about how to make it.  Now here you are, posting about quince paste's close cousin. Want to post a link to the recipe you used, or post about what you did?

Here is a picture of what is left of the pear paste. 

 

 

I'm always amazed the something as colorless as a peeled pear turns such a lovely color when cooked a long time. Pear preserves do the same thing.

I combined a few recipes I found on line - here's what I did:

 

Pear Paste:

1. Peel and core fresh pears. I cut them in quarters. You can do any amount but the more you do the longer the cooking time. I started with about 4.5 lbs which yielded a 4" disk (about 3/4 inch thick) and a 2" x 5" rectangle (about the same thickness). 

2. Poach them until they are quite soft. I cooked them about 20 minutes.

3. Drain and puree the pears. I used an immersion blender simply because it is easier to wash than a food processor. 

4. Measure the puree and put it into a heavy bottomed pan. For each cup of puree, add 3/4 cup sugar. Add about 1/4 cup lemon juice. (Different recipes called for different amounts.) Stir to dissolve the sugar, bring to a boil, boil 1 minute, reduce heat to a  simmer.

5. At this point there is step that is only in some recipes and is labelled optional: Add 2 T. liquid pectin. I had about 1/4 c. green apple jelly in the fridge so I added that. I don't think I would add pectin but that's just me. 

6. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until very thick. It is done when you can pull a wooden spoon through it and the track stays open for a few seconds. It should be a dark orange-gold.How long this takes depends on the amount and the juicy-ness of the pears. It took about a hour for me. Most recipes said it would take longer - up to 2 hours.

7. Now you need to decide what shape you want for the finished paste. I poured mine into lightly oiled molds ( a miniature bread pan and a creme brûlée dish). I let it sit overnight and unmolded. An alternative is to pour it unto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, let sit overnight, then cut into sections. I have seen assembled cheese and fruit paste plates in Wegman's with thin squares of fruit paste like this. 

8. Keep refrigerated until you want to use it. I think it is best at room temperature.  One site said it was safe for canning - I think you would have to be very careful about the canning jars though so you could get it out in one piece. And, unless you are giving it as a gift, I'm not sure what the point is - it's not that hard to make when you want it. 

 

The guests really liked it - as do I. It is wonderful with blue cheese but good with a variety of types of cheese. One friend who does not eat dairy products kept eating it by itself on crackers. Quince is the traditional fruit for pastes but I have seen mentions of apricot and apple pastes as well as pear. 

[liuzhou]

Another minimalist dinner in the recovery ward.

 

Duck and chips.

 

 

Duck breast, duck fat fries/chips, and baby bol choy (stir fried in, you guessed it, duck fat).

[huiray]

Sliced beef flank stir-fried w/ lots of garlic, sea salt, Hua Tiao Shaohsing wine, green beans. Made to be saucy. White rice.

[liuzhou]

 

liuzhou,

 

I hope you are better soon. That is such a bummer to take medicine that is supposed to fix your problem, and have it make you even worse. 

 

Your "beautiful people" pepper looks something like what we call cayenne here with the pebbly, not smooth surface to the flesh, and it's about the same size. Yours look like dead on to what I was gifted from a neighbor who grew them. Here's Google images on cayenne, but some are clearly red jalepenos (the plumper, smooth fleshed peppers with more rounded ends):

 

https://www.google.com/search?q=cayenne+pepper&espv=2&biw=1097&bih=546&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0CJ0BEIkeahUKEwinnc75g7zIAhWT74AKHYIeCzc

 

 

Thank you. I'm on the mend.

 

I don't think the beautiful people are exactly cayenne peppers. But what do I know? 

 

Here are the green ones:

 

[spipet]

Not the prettiest of pictures, but nonetheless delicious. Spanish inspired shakshuka with chorizo, smoked paprika powder, lots of peppers and of course soft poached eggs

[Paul Bacino]

The Meat Ball slider

 

" Nebraska vs Wisconson "

 

Prime Brisket

 

 

 

The Blend  --Prime Brisket/ Short Ribs/ Pork Butt  --  #10 course grind

 

 

 

The Balls  --  Standard meat ball mix for me/  Pepper/ bread/ milk/ egg/ parsley/ good garlic/ Cheese--Now don't kill the player  ( wee bit of sugar )

 

The game layout-- Balls/ Sugo/ Pepperidge Farms sliders/ Lays chips

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Norm Matthews]

Last week I thought I'd cleaned the smoker for the last time of the year.  Then yesterday I was in Costco.  They had USDA Prime brisket for $3.39/lb.  I stood there and looked at them for a long time, knowing that if i got one, I'd have to clean the smoker one more time.  I finally got the smallest one I could find.  It cost $34(!).  It spent 9 1/2 hours in the smoker.  The point didn't ever get to the temperature that I thought it should but it the thermometer went in effortlessly so I knew it was ready to wrap.  The point was great but  while the flat was juicy and moist too but it was not quite as done as it could have been, IMHO.  Still it was all good.

 

Edited October 13, 2015 by Norm Matthews (log)

[Paul Bacino]

Norm..I used the same. Point..for my meat balls...see my prime brisket...looked good...saving the flat to smoke

[Norm Matthews]

Paul, that looks mighty good.  When I make my own hamburger blend, I use your two beef cuts plus chuck.  When I do a meatloaf blend, I use those two cuts plus some store bought brautwrust.  But that blend looks really good too. Prime brisket plus butt should add a very nice fat blend too.    Now you've given me a reason to get another one and freeze the flat for St. Pat's day corned beef.

[huiray]

Kam Heong clams & chicken wings.

Pan-fried & cooked cabbage.

White rice.

Stuff that went into the dish beside the clams (littlenecks) & chicken wings (chopped across the bones) included peanut oil, minced rehydrated har mai (dried prawns), finely chopped shallots, minced garlic, minced ginger, curry leaves (Murraya koenigii), taucheo (salted semi-fermented soy beans) lightly smushed, sliced Korean chillies, the soaking water for the har mai, Madras curry powder, bit of salt.

[kayb]

I'd been laid low with a stomach virus much of last week, subsisting on soft drinks, Saltines and the occasional fruit smoothie for four days. By Sunday, when my stomach decided to rejoin the land of the living, I was ravenous.

 

I'd had an idea for Juicy Lucy French Onion Meatballs a few days ago, and I had the makings, so I set about those. Standard meatball mix (1 pound ground beef, 1/3 cup cracker crumbs, 1/4 cup heavy cream, onion powder, garlic powder, Lawry's seasoned salt, Worcestershire sauce, paprika, black pepper, an egg) and divvied it up into six decent-sized meatballs. Each one got shaped into more of a bowl, and filled with a spoonful of caramelized onions and a tablespoon of grated Gruyere, before being closed back up. These went in the oven in a deep-dish pie plate to bake. Then the rest of the onions (I caramelize a Whole Bunch at one time and freeze them in one-cup portions), some garlic, some red wine and some beef broth got simmered together for  French onion soup, which in turn was poured over the meatballs, the heat turned down and the meatballs braised for an hour; then the remaining Gruyere sprinkled over and returned to the oven to melt the cheese.

 

The meatballs, while certainly juicy, didn't have the cheesy ooze I wanted; I think I would have been better served to have left part of the Gruyere in cubes to go inside the meatballs and grated the remainder. Taste was excellent, though.

 

Should have been served with mashed potatoes or noodles or something to accommodate the soup/gravy, but I wanted potato salad, so potato salad I had. And baked apples, with raw sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice. 

 

All in all, a very good welcome for my tummy back to the land of the living.

 

[rotuts]

PB : best looking balls Ive seen in a long time !

 

NM : fantastic looking brisket !

[spipet]

A Dutch tradition for cold weather: mashed potatoes with endive, bacon bits, gravy, meatballs and ghurkin.

Edited October 13, 2015 by spipet (log)

[scubadoo97]

We eat a lot of fish these days. Easy to prepare on short notice and schedules that can vary a lot

Tonight I took some farmed steelhead trout and paired it with two of my favorite things. Braised lentils and shredded brussel sprouts. I had made the lentils a couple of days ago so they took little time to warm up. The sprouts also took little time to prepare. The fish was seasoned with salt and pepper and dusted with Wondra.

[Ashen]

A Dutch tradition for cold weather: mashed potatoes with endive, bacon bits, gravy, meatballs and ghurkin.

 

 

Yum, I love Stamppot.. 

[rotuts]

scubadoo97

 

mighty fine looking fish.   when I used to be able to get very very fresh fish at a reasonable price, I had more or less the above

 

every other day and never got tired of it.

[huiray]

Fedelini [De Cecco] with tomato sauce.

Sauce – EV olive oil, sliced red onion, sliced ripe Pink Beauty tomatoes, sliced de-seeded ripe poblano peppers, chicken stock, cook & simmer down (tomato skins removed as they separate off), parsley stems, a bit of salt, some dried thyme, simmer, pre-rinsed & pre-soaked salted Salina capers, (remove parsley stems), chopped parsley leaves, stir & heat turned off.

 

Accompanied by Prosciutto Rossa & rabbit - pork cheek paté.

 

[ElainaA]

 

Tonight: Mark Bittman's "Unstuffed Cabbage" (I think a better name for this is Deconstructed Stuffed Cabbage) with rice. And a salad. I love this - it tastes like stuffed cabbage but it is easy and it makes great leftovers. This was probably the last meal this year where everything except the meat was from my garden. (Cabbage, carrots, onion, tomatoes).

[Tri2Cook]

DSC00339.jpg

 

Tonight: Mark Bittman's "Unstuffed Cabbage" (I think a better name for this is Deconstructed Stuffed Cabbage) with rice. And a salad. I love this - it tastes like stuffed cabbage but it is easy and it makes great leftovers. This was probably the last meal this year where everything except the meat was from my garden. (Cabbage, carrots, onion, tomatoes).

"Deconstructed" has suffered the same fate as "molecular gastronomy". Once the everyday, non-superfoodie types figure it out, it's not cool anymore and you have to use other words to describe the same thing or be labeled archaic. But in this particular case "cheater" or "shortcut" or "lazy" (I've heard various terms used, although this is the first time I've seen "unstuffed") cabbage rolls have actually been around for a long time. Much longer than the term "deconstructed" has been applied to food. I like actual "constructed" cabbage rolls better personally (it could just be in my head but the balance of the various components seems to work out better) but I've eaten my share of the deconstructed type as well. I don't think I've ever met a cabbage roll I didn't like, regardless of form.

[ElainaA]

"Deconstructed" has suffered the same fate as "molecular gastronomy". Once the everyday, non-superfoodie types figure it out, it's not cool anymore and you have to use other words to describe the same thing or be labeled archaic. But in this particular case "cheater" or "shortcut" or "lazy" (I've heard various terms used, although this is the first time I've seen "unstuffed") cabbage rolls have actually been around for a long time. Much longer than the term "deconstructed" has been applied to food. I like actual "constructed" cabbage rolls better personally (it could just be in my head but the balance of the various components seems to work out better) but I've eaten my share of the deconstructed type as well. I don't think I've ever met a cabbage roll I didn't like, regardless of form.

I'm most familiar with "deconstructed" as a term in literary criticism and philosophy - not in cooking. But then, I've never been cool.   I do think that in this case it it a literal description of the dish. It's also much less judgmental than 'lazy' or 'cheater'.  I also deconstruct stuffed peppers and occasionally stuffed squash. I actually did that long before I came across this recipe in one of Bittman's articles in the NY Times. 

editied to add: Be glad you never met my mother-in-law's constructed cabbage rolls.

Edited October 15, 2015 by ElainaA (log)

[huiray]

Yesterday's meals.

 

 

Earlier – The remainder of the sauce from here added in to sautéed Tuscan kale & white asparagus. Tossed in the pan with just-cooked fusilli [Garofalo].

 

 

Late at night – Fried sliced red onion; Brat Schnecken [Claus'] pan-fried in the same pan & oil after frying the onions; jarred Sauerkraut [Hengstenberg] tossed in the pan w/ the fond after doing the Schnecken, adding water, some jozo mirin :-) and aged rice vinegar ;-) plus a few fresh bay leaves and halved scrubbed Papa Cacho fingerling potatoes then simmering till done.

 

[suzilightning]

We eat a lot of fish these days. Easy to prepare on short notice and schedules that can vary a lot

Tonight I took some farmed steelhead trout and paired it with two of my favorite things. Braised lentils and shredded brussel sprouts. I had made the lentils a couple of days ago so they took little time to warm up. The sprouts also took little time to prepare. The fish was seasoned with salt and pepper and dusted with Wondra.

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1444783018.006773.jpg

 

Not to mention that you CAN get good, fresh fish ..... SIGH.