Dinner 2015 (Part 6)

[huiray]

Various meals.

 

Shallow-fried firm tofu chunks, raw grated daikon, "pickled cabbage" (雪菜), chopped scallions.  Lingham's Hot Sauce (Extra Hot).

 

Fuzzy squash (peeled, cut-up) w/ garlic being sautéed in peanut oil, dried shrimps (rehydrated), "golden needles" (dried lily buds, pre-soaked), a cube of 'Caldo con Sabor de Camarón' [Knorr], water, salt, cellophane noodles (pre-soaked).

 

Pork & shrimp wontons [Wei Chuan], pork meatballs [Venus], skinny wonton noodles [Twin Marquis], kai-lan blanched in oiled simmering water, fresh chicken broth, scallions, deep-fried shallots.

[Anna N]

From Nigel Slater's latest book Kitchen Diaries lll. Purely comfort food. You cook some floury potatoes. Saute onions, mushrooms, kielbasa/Polish sausage then add the potatoes and some sauerkraut and top with a few spoons of sour cream. He calls for fresh dill but that was not an option nor am I fond of dill. He manages to get a lot more colour on his mushrooms and meat. I suspect I was being a bit impatient.

[liuzhou]

 

Chicken and Mushroom Curry w Rice.

 

There was also a side of wilted spinach and a bowl of cucumber raita, but I wanted to eat my dinner while still hot!

Edited November 4, 2015 by liuzhou (log)

[huiray]

Chinese chive flower buds (and stalks) omelette. Some hon-mirin (and water) were added to the beaten-egg mixture. Chopped-up chive flower buds etc were sautéed in the hot oil before the eggs went in, cooked till the whole thing/eggs retained some runniness.

 

Pork stir-fried w/ chopped smashed garlic/rice bran oil, finely chopped curly kale & trimmed Thai basil. Fish sauce [Red Boat], ryori-shu [Morita].  Served w/ white rice (Thai hom mali) [Three Horses].

The chive omelette was eaten alongside.

 

 

Edited November 4, 2015 by huiray (log)

[Anna N]

There was chicken in the fridge that was destined for another meal on Monday but since that didn't happen it needed to be used up. In addition of course is that pencil thin asparagus that could prove to be the bane of mine existence! So pasta (made very satisfyingly in my FastaPasta maker), asparagus, chicken breast and a sauce of cream into which I melted garlic and herb Boursin.

[scubadoo97]

Some times you just need a burger and fries

[ElainaA]

Tonight:Sweet Mama Squash soup - but made with butternut because I had half a enormous squash in the fridge. Squash, apples and onion pureed in chicken broth with maple syrup, cayenne, nutmeg and cream. Garnished with chopped apples. (An essential element.) With salad and cheese biscuits.

 

 

 

Last night: Pasta with lots of peppers and sausage. 

 

Edited November 5, 2015 by ElainaA (log)

[sartoric]

Thai easy beef curry - paste made with red capsicum, onion, garlic, chilli and anchovies. Beef stirred into browned paste, coconut milk and kaffir lime leaves added. Seasoned with fish sauce, lime juice and brown sugar. Finished with basil and mint leaves.

Served with steamed rice, cucumber pickle, paw paw chutney, and bizarrely, pappadams.

[patrickamory]

@sartoric that looks lovely!

[Baselerd]

Italian ramen.

Parmesan dashi, smoked pork belly, lardo Iberico de bellbota, peas and carrots, 62C egg yolk.

 

 

That looks awesome, what'd ya do to make the dashi?

 

I recently made a multi-course meal:

 

To start, the roasted mushroom salad from the Momofuku cookbook. Pan-fried/seared oyster and shimeji mushrooms with braised pistachios (in dashi/soy sauce), pistachio puree (said pistachios blended with water), pickled sunchokes, and cured radishes.

 

 

After that, I made this pork belly recipe. Tamarind-glazed pork belly (braised with lemongrass and ginger), served with a Korean cabbage salad with lime vinaigrette.

 

After that was the Boeuf Bourguignon recipe found here. This truly was fantastic (and the roast was pretty easy). It was simply a trimmed beef chuck cooked at 135 F for 24 hours, then it was dusted with burnt scallion ash and served with baby root vegetables and beef demi.

 

Finally, I prepared this dessert from the Momofuku Milk Bar cookbook. Pear sorbet, pumpkin ganache, Cornflake crunch, and Humbolt Fog ripened goat cheese.This pumpkin ganache was truly addictive, I'd recommend anyone with the cookbook make it - it's super easy and crazy good.

[suzilightning]

Been dealing with a very nasty cold since coming back home last week....luckily Johnnybird was gone for last weekend and I could just rest and drink my green tea with lime and blue agave. 

 

Graduated to my version of Hot and Sour soup - mixture of beef and chicken broth, ginger, garlic, chili sauce, a touch of sugar, plenty of rice wine vinegar, sesame oil and a couple of eggs streamed into the barely boiling broth.   Check for the hot and sour - usually not sour enough for me.  Helps clear the sinuses.

 

Made shrimp with thin pasta, garlic, sun dried tomato stuffed olives, capers and good olive oil.  John's favorite served with a simple salad and garlic bread.

 

Last night I felt almost human again so one of my favorite things - cheeseburger.  Ground bison patty seared to medium with aged cheddar served on a whole grain bun with one of the most wonderful condiments ever : zucchini relish from Rea's Farm in Cape May.  If I had known how much we both liked this I would have cleaned Mrs. Rea out of product when I was there at the end of last month!  Unfortunately I could barely taste it.

 

For John as a snack the last couple of days I used up some hard boiled eggs by mashing the yolks, mincing the whites, dusting with celery salt, adding in some sweet pickle relish (NOT the good stuff referenced above) and mayo.  I hollowed out small boiled potatoes, mashed half the interiors and added them to the egg salad.  Then I stuffed the hollowed out halves with the egg and potato salad. None left so I guess he liked them.

[liamsaunt]

yakisoba

 

[Shelby]

Sheesh, you guys have been making some good stuff.

 

Steve, what a lovely meal and a lovely family!

 

Elaina, that bowl of pasta has my name on it.  

 

Baselerd,  WOW.  Especially that mushroom dish.

 

Suzi, glad you're on the mend.  Every single thing you cooked sounds good.  May have to steal your potato idea!

 

Yesterday I made Liamsaunt's recipe for butternut squash soup, except I used one of my pumpkins.  You can read more about it here and here

 

To go with we had beans, salsa and tacos

 

[btbyrd]

Some recent dinners...

 

 

Dry aged pork chop; fennel and apple; beet kraut; pickled cauliflower; pickled mustard seed

Bbq

 

Bacon Cheddar Burger (sous vide then hard pan sear) on grilled brioche bun

 

ChefSteps' Fish and Chips with Mushy Peas.

Edited November 5, 2015 by btbyrd (log)

[rotuts]

"  Dry aged pork chop "

 

Id like to hear more about this.  I recall it was discussed quite some time ago, but that's it

 

​I sure i can't find this sort of thing locally, as its different from 'smoked'

 

what does the fat taste like ? obviously not 'oxidized'  ( a more polite word for it )

[sartoric]

Lamb koftas in a garlic, ginger, tumeric and lemon sauce. Served with couscous, mixed salad and toasted pita bread.

[btbyrd]

"  Dry aged pork chop "

 

Id like to hear more about this.  I recall it was discussed quite some time ago, but that's it

 

​I sure i can't find this sort of thing locally, as its different from 'smoked'

 

what does the fat taste like ? obviously not 'oxidized'  ( a more polite word for it )

 

My local upscale grocer started carrying Compart Duroc's dry aged pork chops recently, so I thought I'd try to make it the centerpiece of a dish. For pork, they were very expensive -- something like $17/lb if memory serves. So that's pricey, but on a par with quality beef steak that's not of super-premium origin. But having eaten it, I can't say that it's really worth the extra money. It was definitely a bit more tender and porkier than unaged chops (I've had Compart's normal chops several times) but if I hadn't known already, I wouldn't have suspected that they were anything special. Beef that's been dry aged for a long time can take on some nice blue cheese type notes and is distinctly more savory. These chops, while delicious and "more porky" than the non-aged variety, didn't take on any novel flavors. Which might be a good thing. The fat didn't taste rancid or off at all (it was great) but it was, all things considered, just a good pork chop. I wouldn't buy them again at that price point. That said, I'd be very interested to try dry aged pork from a fattier heritage breed (preferably raised on pasture).

[Kim Shook]

rotuts – you asked ages ago about time and temp for roasting meatballs.  I’m sorry I’m so late in responding.  I just place them on a baking sheet and put them in for 20-25 minutes at 400.  Just test one to make sure they are done – you want them JUST done because they can get tough if overdone.

 

liamsaunt – that chicken stew is gorgeous.  How thick do you make it?

 

Paul – mussel broth ramen sounds totally weird and completely delicious! 

 

Arey – that Carbonade Flammande is utterly beautiful.  That sauce is so dark and glossy and rich looking.  And I completely agree with you about the overnight hold!

 

Life is crazy just now and we are JUST getting to the ultimate crazy season!  I did this salad for my niece’s wedding shower:

It is my version of Paula Deen’s “Chinese Salad”.  Napa cabbage with a rice vinegar-based dressing topped with toasted almonds, sesame seeds and ramen noodles.  Very popular. 

 

A couple of weekends ago, I finally got Mr. Kim to give smoking ribs a try.  He did great:

 

 

Served with cornbread, slaw, creamed corn and baked beans:

 

Fabulous.  And creamed corn is the only way to go with the corn we are getting now.  It is as tough as feed corn!

 

We sat outside with neighbors on Halloween and gave out candy.  I made Buffalo Chicken Dip.  That stuff is addicting.

 

Last night was a repeat of another recent meal - creamed chipped beef and scrambled eggs:

 

Served with green beans and apples:

 

Around here November is the official odd meal month.  I’m working down the freezers in preparation for Christmas goodies!

 

My pitiful lonely dinner tonight:

No beans and no buns in the house, so naked dogs and some crunchy stuff.

[ElainaA]

 

A pork chop rubbed with sage, rosemary and thyme  (3/4 of a Simon and Garfunkel rub) over a leek and mustard sauce with roasted potatoes and garlic. This used the last of the leeks from this year's garden - I only had about 1/3 of the quantity called for in the recipe. I think it would have benefitted from more leeks. Served with a salad as most dinners are in our home.

[huiray]

Rice bran oil, onions, Knackwurst [Claus'], Sauerkraut [Hengstenberg], Russian Banana fingerlings, baby corn [Asian Best], rice vinegar [Kong Yen], hon-mirin [Takara], salt, black peppercorns, water.

 

Hot oil, Brussels sprouts, salt, some water.

 

[rotuts]

KS    as before  love the creamed chipped beef

 

what sort of beef do you use ?   I have not made this in a zillion year

 

back when I did the beef came in a packet and was salty.

 

any modern updates ?

[liamsaunt]

liamsaunt – that chicken stew is gorgeous.  How thick do you make it?

 

It is not runny but I would not describe it as thick either.  I basically follow this recipe from Ina Garten

 

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/chicken-stew-with-biscuits-recipe.html

[liuzhou]

Seafood Fried Rice

 

 

Squid and wild prawns. Shallots and red chili. Shimeji mushrooms. Green onion and basil.

[kayb]

Been on the road with business travel the last three nights, so meals out. Night 1 was at a relatively new seafood restaurant with a good reputation. There were 12 of us, so the owner sent out a big platter of sushi as an appetizer for the table. Good stuff, if nothing traditional; in fact, an interesting presentation included some sushi elements wrapped in a flour tortilla and sliced into sections. It did lend itself better than "normal" sushi rolls for taking smaller bites, as the tortilla kept it together better than the rice and seaweed does. Several of the group had the seafood mixed grill -- shrimp, scallops and some sort of fish filet, don't recall what it was -- and pronounced it good, though it looked to me as if the shrimp were overdone.

 

I had grouper, mostly because I was intrigued to see grouper away from the Gulf Coast. It was very fresh and very good, broiled in a brown butter/balsamic sauce that was just excellent, and served over white rice. The side was a "succotash" of purple hulled peas and sweet corn, which was good as well.

 

Next night was an eastern European restaurant that's a long-time favorite of mine, particularly for its charcuterie board, which features house-made sausages, terrine and liver pate along with smoked turkey and cured pork belly. I frequently split that with a dining companion for a meal. This time, I had roast pork with red cabbage and sauteed spaetzle; the spaetzle and cabbage were excellent, but the pork was a tad heavy on caraway for my tastes. It was cooked perfectly, though.

 

And finally, last night was barbecued ribs at a traditional popular rib joint in Memphis, the Rendezvous, which were just OK. I like my ribs cooked more slowly over a lower fire so the fat can render and leave that meltingly tender lean clinging to the bone. These are cooked faster, over a hotter fire, so have a good amount of chew and noticeable fat. But it was a half-block walk as opposed to a 10-block walk for better ribs, and we had been hard at it in business meetings and travel for three days, and I was driving home (an hour) after dinner, so we opted for close.

 

I think I'm ready for some white beans and cornbread tonight.

Edited November 6, 2015 by kayb (log)

[Morkai]

 

ChefSteps' Fish and Chips with Mushy Peas.

image.jpeg

 

What'd you think of the fish? been wanting to try this.