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Dinner 2016 (Part 5)

liuzhou

By liuzhou
in Cooking

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ProfessionalHobbit

ProfessionalHobbit

Posted
Posted

So tonight, we tried a new version of pollo alla cacciatora that doesn't involve tomatoes or peppers which is how most Americans seem to know this dish.

 

B pronounced it a "keeper" and I agree.  We'll still make cacciatora the other way, but for now, this recipe will probably be the one we turn to the most.

 

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Clockwise from center: 2 sprigs worth of rosemary; a container of pitted Kalamata olives; 4 minced garlic cloves; 1 cup pinot grigio; 2 tbsp. red wine vinegar; a pinch of red chile pepper flakes. Not shown are 4 chicken legs and 4 chicken thighs that were seasoned with salt and black pepper an hour in advance.

 

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Warm 5 tbsp. olive oil in a heavy-bottomed skillet or cast iron pan over medium heat. When the oil shimmers, place chicken in pan, skin side down, and fry until a golden crust forms. Turn pieces over and repeat.

 

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Long, slow browning is the key. This process will take at least 20-25 minutes. If you don't brown the chicken long enough, it'll carry over to the finished dish in terms of color and flavor. Don't rush it.

 

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When the chicken has browned, sprinkle the garlic, chile pepper and rosemary, then pour over the wine. Cover the pan, then reduce heat to low and braise for 45 minutes or until the thighs are easily pierced with the tines of a fork. Every so often, check the pan and turn the pieces over with tongs. If the liquid in the pan has reduced too much, add more wine.

 

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Once chicken is done, sprinkle red wine vinegar over, then add olives. Serve.

I added some chopped parsley for color.

Pollo alla cacciatora, adapted from "My Kitchen in Rome" by Rachel Roddy, pages 195-197.

 

Rachel's book is amazing ... hmm, maybe I should start a thread on it.  This is the fifth or sixth thing I've made from it; all have been smash hits.  Her blog is here:  https://racheleats.wordpress.com/ -- worth bookmarking when you have the time.

  • Like 15
rarerollingobject

rarerollingobject

Posted
Posted

Another winner recipe from ladyandpups.com; Hong Kong curry fish balls. Fried till crisp and then simmered for an hour in red and yellow curry pastes, coconut milk, lemongrass, darkly browned shallots, kaffir lime leaves and palm sugar. On noodles. With bok choy greens on the side. 

 

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  • Like 16
rotuts

rotuts

Posted
Posted (edited)

@rarerollingobject  

 

that looks so delicious.  in Indian restaurant Ive found to be on the Tastier Side, the best dishes  ( for my taste ) had gravy just like what you have in that bowl.

 

some fat separated from the sauce itself.  of course that might not be the 'finest' sauce, but its always suited me.

 

Im wondering why the fish balls were simmered for so long.  do you think that's related to getting the sauce 'just right?'

 

and not cooking the FB's so much ?

Edited by rotuts (log)
rarerollingobject

rarerollingobject

Posted
Posted
3 minutes ago, rotuts said:

@rarerollingobject  

 

that looks so delicious.  in Indian restaurant Ive found to be on the Tastier Side, the best dishes  ( for my taste ) had gravy just like what you have in that bowl.

 

some fat separated from the sauce itself.

 

Im wondering why the fish balls were simmered for so long.  do you think that's related to getting the sauce 'just right?'

 

and not cooking the FB's so much ?

 

Yes, the fish balls are already cooked with the frying, so it's a long cook time purely for the sake of the sauce. But I liked how the fish (actually cuttlefish) balls became fat and swollen and engorged with the sauce flavour, so I think that's the benefit of the long simmer time as far as the balls themselves are concerned.

  • Like 2
rarerollingobject

rarerollingobject

Posted
Posted
13 minutes ago, rarerollingobject said:

 

Yes, the fish balls are already cooked with the frying, so it's a long cook time purely for the sake of the sauce. But I liked how the fish (actually cuttlefish) balls became fat and swollen and engorged with the sauce flavour, so I think that's the benefit of the long simmer time as far as the balls themselves are concerned.

 

Incidentally, I've always cooked with the theory that sauces (curry, bolognese, etc) aren't ready UNTIL the fat separates from the sauce; that's the telltale sign that it's ready, no matter what the kitchen timer says.

  • Like 2
huiray

huiray

Posted
Posted
6 hours ago, rarerollingobject said:

 

Incidentally, I've always cooked with the theory that sauces (curry, bolognese, etc) aren't ready UNTIL the fat separates from the sauce; that's the telltale sign that it's ready, no matter what the kitchen timer says.

 

Yes, that's what I do too and what I understand is the correct expectation for those cuisines. If I were served a Thai or Indian/S Asian curry, for example, with non-separated oil (even though the flavor profiles are very different), I would consider the dish not quite done properly. Thai cuisine regarding the treatment of coconut milk/cream, as just one example in this regard, requires (or at least prefers) that one cracks the cream/milk so that the oil SEPARATES from the rest of the stuff. Ditto when I make curries from the Indian sub-continent, in most cases that I can think of off the top of my head in the appropriate cases I WANT the oil to separate out and rise to the top before I consider the dish done. Ditto various iterations of my Italianate-style meat sauces.

 

It is French cuisine (as the dominant example) that treats sauces where oil has separated out as "broken sauces" and lambasts such sauces. That's fine and dandy for French cuisine, but it may be an error to apply French standards to distinctly NON-FRENCH cuisines.

 

  • Like 2
JoNorvelleWalker

JoNorvelleWalker

Posted
Posted
16 hours ago, sartoric said:

 

I googled, but got no help to my understanding. What is carbonated kimchi please ?

 

Since the original poster has not replied -- my guess is kimchi methode rotuts.  Simply place kimchi in an iSi or similar pressure vessel (as shown in the photograph) and charge with carbon dioxide to taste.  I even have some old kimchi in the back of the refrigerator...hmm.

  • Like 2

Cooking is cool.  And kitchen gear is even cooler.  -- Chad Ward

Whatever you crave, there's a dumpling for you. -- Hsiao-Ching Chou

Anna N

Anna N

Posted
Posted
5 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

Since the original poster has not replied -- my guess is kimchi methode rotuts.  Simply place kimchi in an iSi or similar pressure vessel (as shown in the photograph) and charge with carbon dioxide to taste.  I even have some old kimchi in the back of the refrigerator...hmm.

 I guess you are correct. I know @zend is usually very happy to answer questions so I'm guessing he/she hasn't seen  any of these queries.  

  • Like 2

Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

"Cooking is about doing the best with what you have . . . and succeeding." John Thorne

Our 2012 (Kerry Beal and me) Blog

My 2004 eG Blog

sartoric

sartoric

Posted
Posted
19 minutes ago, Anna N said:

 I guess you are correct. I know @zend is usually very happy to answer questions so I'm guessing he/she hasn't seen  any of these queries.  

Thanks to both for your replies. I'm not sure liquid kimchi would appeal (maybe with a shot of vodka)...

Martin Fisher

Martin Fisher

Posted
Posted (edited)

Yes...

and

Siphon or dry ice.

Edited by DiggingDogFarm (log)
  • Like 3

~Martin :)

I just don't want to look back and think "I could have eaten that."

Unsupervised, rebellious, radical agrarian experimenter, minimalist penny-pincher, and adventurous cook. Crotchety, cantankerous, terse curmudgeon, non-conformist, and contrarian who questions everything!

The best thing about a vegetable garden is all the meat you can hunt and trap out of it!

 

sartoric

sartoric

Posted
Posted

Chicken, bacon and mushroom pasta bake, or how to use leftover roast chicken number 83.

I sautéed bacon, garlic and mushrooms in butter, made a cheese sauce with buttermilk and tasty cheddar, shredded chicken and a few Brussels sprouts, cooked pasta and bunged the lot into an ovenproof dish for 20 minutes at 200 C.

 

The mix.image.jpeg

 

Pre oven.

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Post oven.

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Plated.

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  • Like 12
rotuts

rotuts

Posted
Posted

Extra Kudos your way

 

@sartoric  

 

I might tale my CSB outside and bake up a few of these as its a bit hot here, and going to get Hotter !

 

i take it you pre-cooked the pasta ?

 

I do have the Fasta-Pasta.  might come in handy in the heat.

 

boiling wise.

  • Like 1
JoNorvelleWalker

JoNorvelleWalker

Posted
Posted
59 minutes ago, sartoric said:

Thanks to both for your replies. I'm not sure liquid kimchi would appeal (maybe with a shot of vodka)...

 

There is a misunderstanding.  Carbonated kimchi would not be liquefied, only having extra fizziness.

 

On the other hand, if one wanted liquid kimchi, carbon dioxide supercritical fluid extraction might be the way to go.  But to my knowledge one cannot do that at home just yet.

  • Like 2

Cooking is cool.  And kitchen gear is even cooler.  -- Chad Ward

Whatever you crave, there's a dumpling for you. -- Hsiao-Ching Chou

sartoric

sartoric

Posted
Posted
3 hours ago, rotuts said:

Extra Kudos your way

 

@sartoric  

 

I might tale my CSB outside and bake up a few of these as its a bit hot here, and going to get Hotter !

 

i take it you pre-cooked the pasta ?

 

I do have the Fasta-Pasta.  might come in handy in the heat.

 

boiling wise.

Thanks @rotuts, yes I cooked the pasta. It's bloody freezing here, so I'd do anything to turn the oven on.

What's a CSB ?

rarerollingobject

rarerollingobject

Posted
Posted (edited)

Two observations on the carbonated kimchi: old kimchi gets fizzy anyway. I have a couple of jars in my fridge of various ages, one nearly 2 years old - and it's fizzy. I love it, and kimchi aficionados crave the fizz; it's a very desirable quality that people specifically age kimchi to achieve. The carbonation practice may be a way of speeding that up, to get the coveted fizz - take new kimchi and make it old again! If so, great idea, @zend, love your work and may try it myself.

 

Secondly, pureed liquid kimchi would be a great addition to a Bloody Mary if you ask me!

 

 

Edited by rarerollingobject (log)
  • Like 2
Smithy

Smithy

Posted
Posted
45 minutes ago, sartoric said:

Thanks @rotuts, yes I cooked the pasta. It's bloody freezing here, so I'd do anything to turn the oven on.

What's a CSB ?

 

CSB = Cuisinart Combination Steam/Convection Oven. It's spurred its own topic(s) (start here) in the last couple of years. A few of its devotees have taken to calling it the Cuisi Steam Boy (CSB) or the Cuisi Steam Girl.

  • Like 1

Nancy Smith, aka "Smithy"
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rotuts

rotuts

Posted
Posted (edited)

for sure, it not just a Boy, but a Hyper-Boy

 

Ive studied and posted my findings re : the plug.

 

light, small, works very fine outside on the Deck in the Hot Humid Summer

 

check Intellicast re the radar for ThunderStorms in your area first.

Edited by rotuts (log)
  • Like 3
Anna N

Anna N

Posted
Posted

 So I dug a little deeper into my freezer and retrieved a duck breast. There was still just a little braised red cabbage left. The breast got a little overcooked as I dodged my son-in-law who was attempting to MacGyver my air conditioner before I succumbed to the heat.  

 

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He  is now researching a replacement unit  but this one is running for the time being.  

  • Like 11

Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

"Cooking is about doing the best with what you have . . . and succeeding." John Thorne

Our 2012 (Kerry Beal and me) Blog

My 2004 eG Blog

sartoric

sartoric

Posted
Posted
29 minutes ago, blue_dolphin said:

 

 

Most excellent for toasties, @sartoricxD!

 

Ha ha, I do sometimes feel a tad guilty turning on the 90 cm oven for what is a few slices of bread. Currently banned from buying any new kitchen equipment, will have to work on that.

  • Like 2
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