Lunch! What'd ya have? (May 2016–Oct 2016)

[blue_dolphin]

3 minutes ago, HungryChris said:

 

I think Deb should be happy with her lunch tomorrow

 

 

I should say so!  And if I had any idea that meal was ready, I'd eat it for breakfast!

[HungryChris]

Because I had the New England style hotdog rolls for Deb's lobster roll out on the counter, I got to thinking about a kimchi dog for lunch.

HC

[shain]

Quick cooked shakshuka (as opposed to my usual slow cooked). Had a really good leftover tomato and bell pepper on hand (only one of each...), so I tough an almost no-cooked preparation will be appropriate (and also faster to make ). Two very soft eggs, mopped up with some re-crisped frozen challa bread. Yum.

[blue_dolphin]

Another quesadilla.  Instant Pot pork - pulled and moistened with red chile adobo (from More Mexican Everyday), sautéed  spinach, mushrooms and onions, a little cotija and jack cheese, garnished with crema and more red chile adobo.  Served with slaw and some of the Yucatán-Style Pickled Red Onions in Sour-Orange Juice I saw on Serious Eats the other day. 

 

The onion are a tasty condiment.  I was going to put some of them inside the quesadilla but wanted them cool and crunchy rather than hot and limp.  I'll try incorporating some next time as I can always have more on the side.  And there will be a next time as there's plenty more of that pork in the freezer !

[Anna N]

 

Salad with sous vide tri-tip steak. 

[HungryChris]

Deb's grandson paid us a visit over the weekend to go swimming down at the town beach on the  lake. One of the few foods he will eat, Tyson Anytizer Chicken Fries is always sent along with him. Today, I spotted them in the fridge and decided to see what all the excitement over them is about. He pairs them with ketchup for dipping, but I chose a leftover garlic and lemon aioli.

 

My take: Clearly, the lad is in need of counsel. These are an extruded, homogenized, chicken product.

HC

 

Edited June 3, 2016 by HungryChris (log)

[Shelby]

1 hour ago, HungryChris said:

Deb's grandson paid us a visit over the weekend to go swimming down at the town beach on the  lake. One of the few foods he will eat, Tyson Anytizer Chicken Fries is always sent along with him. Today, I spotted them in the fridge and decided to see what all the excitement over them is about. He pairs them with ketchup for dipping, but I chose a leftover garlic and lemon aioli.

 

My take: Clearly the lad is in need of counsel. These are an extruded homogenized chicken product.

HC

 

 

You are very brave.

[blue_dolphin]

Inspired by the bravery of @HungryChris and his consumption of unfamiliar chicken products,  I paid my first visit to an actual Chick-fil-A store and picked up a late lunch:

 

Honestly, I had my first Chick-fil-A sandwich a couple of months ago while I was staying in Houston and the hospital cafeteria boasted a Chick-fil-A station so this was actually my second sandwich but my first visit to one of their restaurants.

I don't plan to make it a regular thing but I may have to go back at least one more time as I didn't see the peach milkshakes on the menu until after I paid and a peach milkshake sounds very nice.  Probably too sweet, but I'm curious.

[sartoric]

Toasted sourdough, liberally buttered, topped with shaved leg ham and my papaya chutney.

 

[liamsaunt]

More Cape Cod lunching, this time at Winslow's Tavern, a lovely building in the center of Wellfleet with an outdoor patio.  Roasted oysters with tabasco lime butter

 

 

Panino with tomato chutney, arugula pesto, and aged cheddar 

 

 

Pulled pork sandwich

 

 

Spinach salad with smoked chicken

 

 

Chocolate cake

 

 

Chocolate mousse

 

 

Salted caramel tart

 

[Smithy]

One of the things I enjoy about topics like this is the range of ideas that inspire me: from simple, like many of the salads that turn up here, to the head-slap 'why didn't I think of that' of roasted oysters with Tabasco lime butter.  @liamsaunt, that chocolate mousse looks like it was scoop-rolled from double layers.  What was the white layer? 

 

[kayb]

16 hours ago, blue_dolphin said:

Inspired by the bravery of @HungryChris and his consumption of unfamiliar chicken products,  I paid my first visit to an actual Chick-fil-A store and picked up a late lunch:

 

 

Honestly, I had my first Chick-fil-A sandwich a couple of months ago while I was staying in Houston and the hospital cafeteria boasted a Chick-fil-A station so this was actually my second sandwich but my first visit to one of their restaurants.

I don't plan to make it a regular thing but I may have to go back at least one more time as I didn't see the peach milkshakes on the menu until after I paid and a peach milkshake sounds very nice.  Probably too sweet, but I'm curious.

 

I don't like Chick Fil A's food, but their lemonade is superb.

 

Forgot to take a photo of my lunch yesterday -- bacon and tomato sandwich with jail slaw on fresh whole wheat bread. Quite good.

[shain]

Sabich with grilled (as opposed to fried) eggplants, hard boiled eggs, chopped tomato, pickled cucumber, onion, tahini sauce, zchug, amba sauce, parsley and spices. All inside a warm, soft and fluffy pita bread.

Apologies for bad photos.

[kayb]

@shain, that's lovely. Did you make your pita? If so, would you kindly share your recipe?

 

I had more salads made from assorted leftovers: black beans with the rest of the roasted corn, homemade ricotta in place of fresh mozzarella (since I didn't have any) on the half-tomato left from yesterday's BLT, and cottage cheese with a bit of fresh pineapple that was just before going south on me. Fine lunch.

 

 

 

[shain]

@kayb Thank you very much. I'm afraid I haven't yet succeeded baking a pita as good as those I can by in the nearby bakery, so the one in the photo is from over there. The problem is that baking a good pita bread requires a very hot oven, much like Neapolitan pizza (there is much similarity, if you think about it). I want to buy a small home-use pizza oven (it's essentially a large aluminium put with a strong electric grill), in hope to get better results.

[Smithy]

My oven thermometer says that 440 - 450F, with a baking stone, is hot enough to get a good, puffy pita.  (I've done it on stovetop too, but I seem to get more reliable results using an oven.) Here are some discussions about making pita: 

Perfect khoubz (Pita Bread) - getting a good puff

The pocket in pita

[Anna N]

 

Mushroom ragu over tagliatelle.   The ragu improved after an overnight stay in the refrigerator and boosted with a generous dusting of Parmesan was quite tolerable.  My photography seems to be worse today than usual. 

 

 

 

[shain]

On 6/4/2016 at 4:09 PM, Smithy said:

My oven thermometer says that 440 - 450F, with a baking stone, is hot enough to get a good, puffy pita.  (I've done it on stovetop too, but I seem to get more reliable results using an oven.) Here are some discussions about making pita: 

Perfect khoubz (Pita Bread) - getting a good puff

The pocket in pita

The problem is not with the pocket, it's with the texture of the bread itself. As with pizza, a lower temp means a longer bake which results and a drier and more chewy dough. Home ovens are also lacking the steam injector that is used in commercial bakeries.

 

Just for compression, on the left is a (semi)random photo from Google (source) , showing an average pita. On the right is a pita from my favorite pita bakery. The difference in thickness and texture is quite visible.

I don't think an home oven can compare with a dedicated one. But just in case someone knows how to get this kind of crumb, please do tell me!

 

 

On another note, yesterdays lunch was a pasta bake with mushrooms, cream cheese and chives.

Edited June 5, 2016 by shain (log)

[blue_dolphin]

A late lunch/afternoon snack assembled from the leftovers of the appetizer I brought to a gathering last night:

Baked ricotta with rosemary and lemon on toasted olive bread, kalamata olives with lemon zest and candied rosemary hazelnuts.

[kayb]

Thanks, @shain, for the info, and @Smithy for the links. Going to try pita again in a couple of weeks.

 

[Martin Fisher]

2 hours ago, blue_dolphin said:

A late lunch/afternoon snack assembled from the leftovers of the appetizer I brought to a gathering last night:

Baked ricotta with rosemary and lemon on toasted olive bread, kalamata olives with lemon zest and candied rosemary hazelnuts.

 

 

Kalamata and ricotta! MMMmmmmmm!!!

[Anna N]

 

 

Matar paneer with noodles. 

 

 

[BonVivant]

From yesterday, what I made with a package of "white sausages".

 

 

Wanted to make "Hoppelpoppel"* originally but then realised I ran out of potatoes so it became this: scrambled eggs with asparagus and white sausages. (*A dish known in Berlin. Basically how Berliners use up leftovers from the day before.)

 

Chives in everything. I have lots and must use them up asap.

Edited June 6, 2016 by BonVivant (log)

[rotuts]

@BonVivant  

 

congratulations

 

Weissworst is both the Queen and King and all the Royal court of sausages

 

i used to get them when in CA at killer sausage place :

 

http://www.dittmers.com/

 

how I miss them, all made there.

 

congratulations !

[blue_dolphin]

@BonVivant, each of your posts is a little adventure with so much to look at and admire.  Beautiful job!

 

For something much less scenic, I offer you .... beans on toast:

 

Toasted olive bread topped with RG alubia blanca beans tossed with some artichoke lemon pesto. I mixed up the pesto with the intent of making a pasta dish. Then I used a bit of bread to taste it for seasoning and then ended up with this.  Maybe there will be pasta later.....