Dinner 2016 (Part 1)

[Anna N]

@blue_dolphin

 

The only good memory I have of beans is a dish my late girlfriend used to make with lamb shoulder chops and giant butter beans.  Perhaps that is the reason why the larger beans appealed.  Was also given some  Rancho Gordo beans that are the same variety called for in  cassoulet .  Looking at a recipe that combines them with braised duck legs.  

[blue_dolphin]

5 minutes ago, Anna N said:

 Looking at a recipe that combines them with braised duck legs

That is sure to be good!

[ElainaA]

On January 8, 2016 at 9:32 AM, liamsaunt said:

 

I have that cookbook.  I have not used it in a few years, but I do remember that the roasted chicken balsamico with potatoes is really delicious.  I take notes in my cookbooks when I make the recipes, so I will flip through it this weekend and see if there were any others that I really liked and can recommend.  

I had already flagged the chicken balsamico with potatoes  - now I will certainly try it.

 

I have made one more recipe from this book - braised pork with 3 peppers. Served with rice and a (very badly photographed) salad with apples and pecans. It was recommended that you accompany the pork with polenta, grilled or soft but i ran out of time.

 

[kayb]

Breakfast for dinner: Yogurt made in the Instant Pot, granola I made today, a drizzle of honey, some cut-up grapes. Because I was too hungry to let the Brunswick Stew finish cooking. I can eat it tomorrow.

[Kerry Beal]

Dinner out tonight with hubby at Sakai - a great Japanese/Korean restaurant. 

 

 

Teriyaki for the hubby.

 

 

For me - seafood pa jun.  Nice veg and seafood pancake.

[HungryChris]

While king crab is my fave, when I see large, clean, snow crab at a good price, $4.99 a lb in this case, I plan a meal.

When I was a young man with his first job, the local A&P had a big bin of frozen, self serve, king crab, broomstick sized legs and claws

at 69 cents a pound. I think that was one of the first meals I bought for myself. Tonight, we were happy with this.

 

Edited January 9, 2016 by HungryChris (log)

[Anna N]

@Kerry Beal

 

Wow!  Both your dishes look incredibly good. Must be very different there for dinner than for lunch. 

[kayb]

@HungryChris -- Lusting after those crab legs. @Kerry Beal, the pa jun looks pretty wonderful, too, as does the teriyaki.

 

[FauxPas]

I've been cooking up some Rancho Gordo beans also! I often cook a bunch and then freeze them in small portions so we can use them for quick meals later. Today was Domingo Rojo beans and they are lovely! 

 

I had some butternut squash and tomatoes that really needed to be used, and borrowed from a recipe for Sweet Potato Black Bean Chili from Simple Bites. This is hardly an original starting point, but I liked Aimée's seasonings and the maple syrup was not a bad addition. I subbed the squash for the sweet potato and skipped the cornmeal, but had some seasoned pumpkin seeds for topping.

 

Edited to add: I roasted the squash and then added it to the stew at the end, because I adore that roasted flavour. 

 

We have had such good luck with avocados lately. (This stands out, because we have had more than our fair share of crappy avocados!) Someone wrote a recipe about 'what to do with the green part of the avocado,' because it is so easy to find brown or black and bruised ones. But we have been trying to use up ones we bought for a song and they have been almost all beautiful and green and creamy, so we started with a super simple avocado, tomato and cucumber salad. And then this simple stew. 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 10, 2016 by FauxPas (log)

[huiray]

Earlier: Fresh-cooked carnitas w/ salsa on the side, fresh tamales. Both from a local carniceria.

 

Later: Carnitas w/ salsa spread on top of it then rewarmed; a spinach pita and a za'atar pita. All made "in-house" from local establishments. Bit of red mizuna & a few broccoli florets.

 

[liuzhou]

Another day. Another dinner. Another wedding.

 

Su Lianling (粟练灵) is the daughter of some of my neighbours in my countryside house. I have known her since she was 10-years-old, but now she is a beautiful young woman and, of course, someone has nabbed her. Today she held her wedding banquet.

 

Here is her.

 

 

Here is the food.

 

When the guests arrived, they found the tables armed with some snacky things to keep them going till the main event.

 

Nuts, seeds and sugar.

 

Smacked Cucumber

 

Dried, salted little fish

 

Peanuts

 

Chicken Feet

 

Once everyone was in and seated, the bride and groom arrived (actually they had been there for hours, but they arrived in the dining room. Her father ritualistically handed her over to her husband and there were some speeches.

 

Then we got on with eating.

Chicken Soup (delicious!)

 

Front: Chicken, Rear:Duck

 

Roast Goose

 

Stir-fried Shell-on Prawns

 

Left: Cream Puffs  Right: Breaded and Deep Fried Chicken Legs (a bit KFC-ish)

 

Kou Rou (Pork Belly with Taro)

 

Squid with Broccoli

 

Chicken Giblets and Feet and Head etc in a rich spicy broth

 

Celery, Carrot, Bamboo

 

Braised Shiitake Mushrooms and Cabbage

 

Steamed Fish with Soy Sauce

 

Steamed Breads

 

Orange, Cherry Tomatoes, Melon

 

And, in case we weren't replete, all he guests left with a bag of candies and a pot of honey from papa's bees. The Chinese character on the honey means "Double Happiness" and is always used at weddings

 

 

Happy Wedding, indeed!

Edited January 10, 2016 by liuzhou
typo (log)

[Thanks for the Crepes]

24 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

Another day. Another dinner. Another wedding.

 

Su Lianling (粟练灵) is the daughter of some of my neighbours in my countryside house. I have knows her since she was 10-years-old, but now she is a beautiful young woman and, of course, someone has nabbed her. Today she held her wedding banquet.

 

Here is her.

 

 

 

 

Su Lianling, is indeed a very beautiful young lady, and her new husband is a very lucky man.

 

24 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

 

 

 

 

Kou Rou (Pork Belly with Taro)

 

Fun fact: elephant ears, commonly grown in the US as ornamental garden plants are taro. 

 

24 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

 

 

Orange, Cherry Tomatoes, Melon

 

Happy Wedding, indeed!

 

liuzhou,

 

What type of melon is that? I don't think I've ever seen it. Do you eat the skin?

 

What an opulent feast, and such a breathtaking young bride! Thanks for sharing.

[liuzhou]

3 hours ago, Thanks for the Crepes said:

liuzhou,

What type of melon is that? I don't think I've ever seen it. Do you eat the skin?

 

What an opulent feast, and such a breathtaking young bride! Thanks for sharing.

 

It is a type of muskmelon. I'm afraid I only know its Chinese name which is 香瓜 (xiāng guā) which literally translates as 'tasty melon' and it is. They are quite small - grapefruit size at most. Very fragrant and sweet. No we don't eat the skin.

Edited January 10, 2016 by liuzhou (log)

[weinoo]

This..."it's bitter, like my mother-in-law," according to the vendor...

 

Fun prep for a salad dressed with anchovy, garlic, olive oil, white-wine vinegar, salt, and pepper. Halfway through prep...

 

 

A big pot of RG Red Nightfall beans...

 

 

Which while I'm sure are delicious cooked minimally, weren't hurt at all by the addition of a smoked trotter. 

[weinoo]

 

Chicken soup with pastina, leeks, celery, carrots, and potatoes.

[Shelby]

@liuzhou WOW, that is quite a spread and what a pretty bride   Did the families cook the food or is it catered in?

[liuzhou]

4 minutes ago, Shelby said:

@liuzhou WOW, that is quite a spread and what a pretty bride   Did the families cook the food or is it catered in?

 

It's hotel food in a hotel room dedicated to wedding banquets. But better than most.

 

Interesting hotel, though. Full of history. It's where the Vietnam war was planned. Not the American side. Long story.

[BonVivant]

Simple dinner.

[ninagluck]

there was a deer in my freezer, I braised it in red wine, port, marsala and served it with dumplings, and a pear, poached in red wine.

[huiray]

32 minutes ago, ninagluck said:

there was a deer in my freezer, I braised it in red wine, port, marsala and served it with dumplings, and a pear, poached in red wine.

 

Heh.  I assume you didn't actually have the whole deer in your freezer and that you braised only some trimmed, dressed cuts from the deer which was processed somewhere else. :-)  Or maybe you did mean it! In which case could you tell us a little more about your butchering it?

[rotuts]

""   there was a deer in my freezer """

 

that's a pretty big freezer !

 

12 went by my place just the other day.

 

in the 'Burbs

 

aside from their Ticks, Lymie as they are

 

Id love to study them dans le Plate.

[ninagluck]

Indeed i bought half of a deer from my hunter, butchered it and put in in my freezer. there are worse places to live ;-) this pieces come from the leg, as I labelled every single bag (which I not always do) I knew how to treat it ;-)

[mgaretz]

Beef stew cooked in the electric pressure cooker.  Chuck, carrots (my wife likes some stew with her carrots!), onion, celery, potato, barley, porcini mushrooms.  Dessert was a crustless cherry pie, which I affectionately call cherry glop.

 

 

 

[kayb]

2 hours ago, huiray said:

 

Heh.  I assume you didn't actually have the whole deer in your freezer and that you braised only some trimmed, dressed cuts from the deer which was processed somewhere else. :-)  Or maybe you did mean it! In which case could you tell us a little more about your butchering it?

See Shelby's first blog for a detailed explanation of butchering, etc.

[Anna N]

 

Microwaved sweet potato with labneh and Suvir's tomato chutney.