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

[suzilightning]

15 hours ago, Okanagancook said:

Had a hankering for a dog and bun (my thin weiner split while in the bath with the DH's thicker sausage).  The deep fat fryer was out and needed an oil change but before I did that I happened to have some frites material soaking in the fridge so in they went.

Yes, that's homemade mayo for dipping.

 

Now if you had dropped that dog into the fryer you would have a ripper...

[Okanagancook]

5 hours ago, suzilightning said:

 

Now if you had dropped that dog into the fryer you would have a ripper...

Ha, ha.  The one in the pic had already split but my DH's fatter sausage would have worked.

This reminds me of when I was working as a Sports Dietitian.  I consulted for the training table for our city's professional football team.  I designed menus that were nice and healthy and breakfast had to be quite lean because they were heading out on to the practice field soon afterwards.  The boyz didn't particularly like that there was no breakfast sausage on the menu (they are 70% fat by the way).  I kept being asked 'when are we getting some sausage'.  Finally towards the end of camp I submitted and ordered the kitchen to prepare some sausage.  To my horror, rather than baking them to render some of the fat out, the staff turned on the deep fat frier, which had not been turned on all of camp, and put the sausage in!  Sheesssssssssh.  Of course, they loved them.

[suzilightning]

14 minutes ago, Okanagancook said:

The boyz didn't particularly like that there was no breakfast sausage on the menu (they are 70% fat by the way).  

 

Why I make my own breakfast sausage with lean ground pork, lots of sage, and some lean ground turkey.

[Spork]

 

A few few teens and tweens in the house for lunch. Double cheese and pepperoni pizza. 

[BonVivant]

From this weekend:

 

Got roasted pork from a Cantonese restaurant in the next town and some of it went in these buns.

 

I'm a Bovril girl through and through

 

Bovril and old cheese are best together. (this is an Italian cheese)

 

I even bring my Bovril with me on holiday whenever possible! (I could eat Vegemite in the worst case scenario, though. And Marmite only if there's absolutely no other option. Then Vegemite it is.)

 

Crab meat I removed from claws

 

The "pot"

 

No grated beetroots this time because I wanted the Sichuan peppercorns to be visible. I really like the taste of scotch and the peppercorns in this.

 

Edited July 17, 2016 by BonVivant (log)

[Smithy]

Very nice, @BonVivant.  If you've answered this before, please forgive the repetition.

1. Is that roe atop the potted crab? If so, what type, and what's under that layer?  If not, what is it?
2. Please tell more about the scotch-cured salmon.  A link would do nicely if you've already addressed this.  I know someone - make that two someones - in our household who would think that salmon is bound to benefit from scotch and peppercorns. One of us adores salmon under almost any circumstance, but likes the novelty of this idea.  The other needs persuasion about salmon but has never met a scotch whiskey or peppercorn that he didn't like.

[BonVivant]

Smithy,

1. Yes it's roe. Trout roe.

Potted prawns or crab is very simple to make. Warm butter (use the best you can find) gently in a small saucepan. Add to the prawns or crab meat some seasoning and/or or spices and herbs of your choice (nutmeg and mace are popular additions traditionally). Press crab meat or prawns down in a bowl. Strain the butter then pour it over the whole thing. Sprinkle over it some snipped chives/paprika powder/anything you fancy really. Chill til butter is set (about 2 hours?).

 

2. To cure the salmon I used more sugar than salt. With practice you'll know how much of what goes in the marinade to your liking. I use the scotch I drink (Aberlour 12 years double cask matured) which is not extremely smokey and peaty. I think that kind of scotch would be nice, too. Will try that next time for sure. Chopped dill, lots of it. I like my Gravadlax soft so overnight curing in the fridge is long enough. The longer it sits in the marinade the harder it becomes and that also makes it a bit harder to slice. Remove all the marinade and wipe the fish dry. Press (Sichuan) pepercorns (can be coarsely ground) to the fish. I cover it with cling film and put it back in the fridge for a little while as I like mine just a bit cold when I'm ready to eat.

 

Practice with this simple recipe here. They use gin or vodka but you can use scotch, of course. Also experiment with adding peppercorns to the marinade.

Edited July 19, 2016 by BonVivant (log)

[Tere]

Using up the last of the rocket and some of the spinach beet a few days ago. Petits pois a la Francaise of a sort, with water bath chicken on top and the pea broth as a side. 

 

I am not sure there is such a thing as too many peas...

 

[kayb]

10 hours ago, BonVivant said:

Smithy,

1. Yes it's roe. Trout roe.

Potted prawns or crab is very simple to make. Warm butter (use the best you can find) gently in a small saucepan. Add to the prawns or crab meat some seasoning and/or or spices and herbs of your choice (nutmeg and mace are popular additions traditionally). Press crab meat or prawns down in a bowl. Strain the butter then pour it over the whole thing. Sprinkle over it some snipped chives/paprika powder/anything you fancy really. Chill til butter is set (about 2 hours?).

 

2. To cure the salmon I used more sugar than salt. With practice you'll know how much of what goes in the marinade to your liking. I use the scotch I drink (Aberlour 12 years double cask matured) which is not extremely smokey and peaty. I think that kind of scotch would be nice, too. Will try that next time for sure. Chopped dill, lots of it. I like my Gravadlax soft so overnight curing in the fridge is long enough. The longer it sits in the marinade the harder it becomes and that also makes it a bit harder to slice. Remove all the marinade and wipe the fish dry. Press (Sichuan) pepercorns (can be coarsely ground) to the fish. I cover it with cling film and put it back in the fridge for a little while as I like mine just a bit cold when I'm ready to eat.

 

Practice with this simple recipe here. They use gin or vodka but you can use scotch, of course. Also experiment with adding peppercorns to the marinade.

 

I am SO going to try this. Scotch and salmon sounds like it would be a match made in heaven. I'm not much for really smoky, peaty Scotches either, but I can see they'd be good in this. But I'll likely use Balvenie 12, which is my usual pour.

[Anna N]

1 hour ago, kayb said:

I am SO going to try this. Scotch and salmon sounds like it would be a match made in heaven. I'm not much for really smoky, peaty Scotches either, but I can see they'd be good in this. But I'll likely use Balvenie 12, which is my usual pour.

 

1 hour ago, kayb said:

I am SO going to try this. Scotch and salmon sounds like it would be a match made in heaven. I'm not much for really smoky, peaty Scotches either, but I can see they'd be good in this. But I'll likely use Balvenie 12, which is my usual pour.

OMG.  Who knew our taste in Scotch is identical.   Can't afford it these days but certainly have good memories of it. Not sure I would be prepared to spare any for a piece of fish.  

[kayb]

1 hour ago, Anna N said:

 

OMG.  Who knew our taste in Scotch is identical.   Can't afford it these days but certainly have good memories of it. Not sure I would be prepared to spare any for a piece of fish.  

You could always move to Arkansas, the home of cheap liquor. Last Balvenie I bought, I paid $38.99 for a 750-ml bottle at the nearby discount liquor store. 

 

The cylinders it comes in also make excellent "banks" for spare change collection. I save it all year and take it to the CoinStar counting machine around Christmas time. It'll generally pay for the gift cards I'd buy anyway (and on which I get 4x fuel points when I buy them at Kroger, which forgoes its CoinStar fee if you take your loot in a gift card vs. cash. I got this racket figured out).

[Anna N]

10 minutes ago, kayb said:

You could always move to Arkansas, the home of cheap liquor. Last Balvenie I bought, I paid $38.99 for a 750-ml bottle at the nearby discount liquor store. 

 

The cylinders it comes in also make excellent "banks" for spare change collection. I save it all year and take it to the CoinStar counting machine around Christmas time. It'll generally pay for the gift cards I'd buy anyway (and on which I get 4x fuel points when I buy them at Kroger, which forgoes its CoinStar fee if you take your loot in a gift card vs. cash. I got this racket figured out).

$94.95/750 ml. 

[kayb]

3 minutes ago, Anna N said:

$94.95/750 ml. 

Holy hell. That'd cut into my Scotch-drinking severely.

 

[robirdstx]

Cocktail/tiny size Croissant with Turkey and Mayo. Just the right amount for lunch on a hot and steamy, summer day! Cold chunks of watermelon were also on the menu.

 

Edited July 20, 2016 by robirdstx (log)

[HungryChris]

East meets west. Aldi Beer Brat with onions, mustard and kimchi.

HC

 

Edited July 20, 2016 by HungryChris
Beer brats, not stadium brats as first stated.. (log)

[kayb]

 

Toasted Anadama bread with a poached egg (mostly yolk; I don't like egg whites.)

 

[blue_dolphin]

Smoked tuna salad on toasted multigrain bread:

[Smithy]

5 hours ago, blue_dolphin said:

Smoked tuna salad on toasted multigrain bread:

 

Smoked tuna...as in, smoked in the can? I keep meaning to try that.  I wish I could think of capers more often, too - those can perk up a dish nicely, and I keep forgetting that I even have them.

[sartoric]

35 minutes ago, Smithy said:

 

Smoked tuna...as in, smoked in the can? I keep meaning to try that.  I wish I could think of capers more often, too - those can perk up a dish nicely, and I keep forgetting that I even have them.

 

I wanted to try that smoked tuna too, do you know where the original post is ? (Me and the search engine don't get on).

[blue_dolphin]

50 minutes ago, Smithy said:

Smoked tuna...as in, smoked in the can? I keep meaning to try that.  I wish I could think of capers more often, too - those can perk up a dish nicely, and I keep forgetting that I even have them

 

14 minutes ago, sartoric said:

I wanted to try that smoked tuna too, do you know where the original post is ? (Me and the search engine don't get on).

 

I used purchased canned smoked albacore (from here) but @shain posted about a method for smoking cans of oil packed tuna back in March in an earlier version of the Lunch topic. 

[shain]

Once again, sirene cheese, pesto, roasted bell pepper, Moroccan olives and black pepper. All served warm inside a toasted bun.

[suzilightning]

One of John's cousins is visiting from Texas and the immediate cousins want to get together before she goes home.  Looks like it will be about 12 adults and 7 or 8 children next Saturday.  We usually get a chance to visit with another cousin on the Saturday after Thanksgiving for the Christmas parade in Pine Plains NY now we are going to get a chance to hang with them in the summer. There are a few things that I need to be respectful of - gluten free, lactose free and low or no sugar.  So far here is the menu I have come up with:

guacamole

hummus

pita chips(the gluten free folks can skip this)

carrots

pepper strips - red, yellow and orange

non gluten chips

stuffed eggs - no mustard so not deviled

 

baked chicken drummers

baked ziti made with gluten free pasta and chicken sausages

 

potato salad

green salad

Jersey corn

baked beans

 

fruit salad featuring local Jersey peaches, hand picked wineberries and a basil honey white balsamic sauce

 

 

[kayb]

Sounds lovely. If you want an "entree" item, Anna N's shrimp fritters would fit the bill.

[scubadoo97]

On July 20, 2016 at 5:05 PM, blue_dolphin said:

Smoked tuna salad on toasted multigrain bread:

 

 

Okay this peaked my interest.  Two cans of Bumble Bee solid white tuna was smoked today over apple wood in my electric smoker for a couple of hours.  Figured the smoking and heat would dry it out and could only make it better.  Worked really well.   Thanks for the inspiration blue_dolphin

 

 

[Okanagancook]

Salad from the garden and leftover chicken.  It was a BIG bowl of greens.