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

[BonVivant]

This weekend:

Crispy mackerel

 

Almost like my breakfast in Japan, without the daikon.

 

Lamb mince

 

Isot Biber

 

With a bretty IPA, garlic parsley creamy sauce and some sour vegs (in jar).

 

And before the above:

just strawberries in croissant dough. I don't have a sweet tooth so someone in my house was happy to eat these.

 

Used Lebkuchen spice in the sugar for sprinkling. Lebkuchen, Spanish flan and pastries with poppy seeds are just about the only few things with sugar I actually enjoy.

 

Or maybe it was an excuse to eat crème fraîche

[HungryChris]

Cheeseburger with pickles and onion  on a portabella "roll". I had to let the bun cool off before I could pick it up,

HC

 

[rotuts]

@BonVivant  

 

wonderful stuff.

[BonVivant]

Thank you, Rotuts.

[liuzhou]

As part of my urgent need to empty two fridge freezers before Friday so that I can defrost them while away for the weekend to Hunan, for lunch I had some wontons (which most Chinese actually call 馄饨 - hún tún) served with my favourite bottled pickled chili sauce (糟辣酱 - zāo là jiàng) as a dip.

 

[HungryChris]

Zucchini crostini pizza

HC

[blue_dolphin]

Veggie pasta with pesto and feta

[HungryChris]

I have been calling these crostini pizzas, but it dawned on me that there is really more to it than that. Back in my restaurant life, Sunday was dinner all day and the wait staff had to have a meal provided. I went through all kinds of items, some more successful than others. One day I spotted Stouffer's French bread pizza in the frozen food section and the lights came on for me. We could use the loaves of bread that had never made it out to the salad bar the night before and we had an enormous selection of toppings. The next Sunday it was French bread pizza and was a big hit and quickly acquired the handle "FBP".

Here we have a mushroom and a meatball and pepper FBP.

HC

[ProfessionalHobbit]

 

Rice noodles with roast chicken, pickled carrots, scallion, crispy shallots and nuoc mam sauce

 

At top left is a plate of shrimp dumplings.

[Thanks for the Crepes]

1 hour ago, ProfessionalHobbit said:

nuoc mam sauce

 

Very nice lunch.

 

I thought what was in the small glass bowl was oil when I saw it, and was, quite frankly, a bit turned off. I looked up nuoc mam sauce, and came up with this. Is that what you had?

 

I'm intrigued. My Thai fish sauce is nearly black and would color anything it was put in, even in small concentrations, but your photo seems to mimic some kind of vegetable oil, and the one on the link is golden, if murkier than yours.

 

Would you be kind enough to elaborate and enlighten us?

[BonVivant]

Cheese endorphins are kicking in right about now...

 

This Heublumenkäse ("hayflowers cheese") is an organic, unpasteurised cow's milk cheese pressed with hay, native wild blossoms and grass.

A piece of Swiss Alps on my plate.

Edited July 30, 2016 by BonVivant (log)

[ProfessionalHobbit]

6 hours ago, Thanks for the Crepes said:

 

Very nice lunch.

 

I thought what was in the small glass bowl was oil when I saw it, and was, quite frankly, a bit turned off. I looked up nuoc mam sauce, and came up with this. Is that what you had?

 

I'm intrigued. My Thai fish sauce is nearly black and would color anything it was put in, even in small concentrations, but your photo seems to mimic some kind of vegetable oil, and the one on the link is golden, if murkier than yours.

 

Would you be kind enough to elaborate and enlighten us?

 

It could have been nuoc cham.

 

It was at some restaurant a block from the office.

[kayb]

4 hours ago, BonVivant said:

Cheese endorphins are kicking in right about now...

 

This Heublumenkäse ("hayflowers cheese") is an organic, unpasteurised cow's milk cheese pressed with hay, native wild blossoms and grass.

A piece of Swiss Alps on my plate.

 

I want all of that. 

 

But where's the little mouse?

 

[ProfessionalHobbit]

 

4 slices sourdough bread, cut into cubes and tossed with 2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, a pinch of salt and some black pepper.

Pre-heat oven to 400 F. Spread bread cubes onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes or until croutons are golden brown. Remove sheet from oven and cool.

 

 

 

Clockwise from left: 1 tbsp. red wine vinegar; 1 clove garlic, minced; 6 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil; 2 anchovy fillets; pinch of kosher salt.

 

 

 

Mash garlic in a mortar and pestle along with a scant pinch of salt until you obtain a smooth paste. If you don't have a mortar and pestle, you can do the same thing with either a fork and a bowl.

 

 

This is about right.  Transfer paste to a bowl.

 

 

Repeat with the anchovies.  Transfer resulting paste to a bowl.

 

 

 

To the garlic paste, whisk in the anchovy paste and red wine vinegar. Taste for salt. Whisk in the olive oil, then set dressing aside.

 

 

Salt-and-pepper croutons.

 

 

 

Tear apart Little Gem lettuce leaves (or if you don't have any, romaine lettuce is fine) and place in a bowl. Add croutons. Toss lettuce and croutons along with anchovy dressing.

Transfer lettuce and croutons atop a salad plate. Top with an egg fried in butter, then shave some Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese over.

Serve immediately.

 

 

Deconstructed Caesar's salad.

 

 

 

4 zucchini, sliced; 1 large onion, sliced into half-moons.

 

 

5 ripe heirloom tomatoes, diced.

 

 

Warm olive oil in a pan over medium heat, then add the onion. Cook until onion is translucent and limp, about 15 minutes.

 

 

Add the diced tomatoes. Season with salt and black pepper, and some chopped fresh oregano. Cover and reduce heat to medium-low. Tomatoes will eventually break down and form a loose sauce.

 

 

In a separate pan, warm 2-3 tbsp. olive oil over medium heat, then add zucchini. Season with salt and black pepper. Sauté until zucchini becomes golden brown. Transfer zucchini to tomato sauce. Reduce heat to low and simmer zucchini, partly covered, for 45 minutes.

 

 

About 15 minutes before the zucchini are ready, add a generous handful of basil to the pan. Stir a few times.

 

 

Once zucchini are done, stir in a pat of unsalted butter. Taste for salt and black pepper, then serve.

 

 

Stufato di zucchine.

[Spork]

 

 

Rutabaga, sour cream and bacon.

[BonVivant]

On 30/07/2016 at 6:26 PM, kayb said:

I want all of that. 

 

But where's the little mouse?

 

 

Mouse breakfast board is too small for the big wedge of cheese this time. It will come back another time, it's my favourite breakfast board.

[BonVivant]

Supermarket's fish counter has containers of roe. Not such a food hell after all then.

 

 

See how high I can pile salmon roe on this tiny piece of rye bread...

 

More later. It's time I headed out for beer, the real reason I'm here. Beer and cheese - my one and only raison d'etre.

[Tere]

On holiday?

 

Tallinn is meant to be lovely

[BonVivant]

Tere, yes. It really is lovely. The "black bread" (made with rye) is fantastic. This they can claim their own, the rest they just take from neighbours and former owners.

 

 

 

 

[BonVivant]

This is Estonian "black bread", miniature version served in a fancy restaurant last night. I mentioned how much I liked it and the server brought me 4 more.

 

Light reading: Estonian food.

 

[Tere]

Are you planning a trip to Olde Hansa? That's on my bucket list if I ever make it: http://www.oldehansa.ee/en/. Bear! I wanna try bear!

 

I seemed to remember this restaurant popping up as recommended but it looks like the chefs have changed - http://restoran-o.ee/en/menu/

[BonVivant]

I just wanted to try a typical Estonian cheese.

 

 

Estonians like German food and so do I. Whilst on holiday here I can just continue eating my normal bland food. Salted herring and smoked hake (I thought it was haddock), under eur.2 each. I'm gobsmacked it costs half or 1/3 the price here.

 

---

Tere, yes I will eat some bear sausages and "meat soup" at Olde Hansa soon. It is the most touristy medieval themed restaurant in town. Even my acquaintances here in Tallinn recommend the meat soup.

 

Had dinner at Ö yesterday! Lasted 4.5hrs! Was invited to go in the kitchen to see head chef (Ranno) before I left! Waitress said she was most impressed with my exhaustive research on Estonian food and craft beers wishing more tourists would do this as well. Anyway, it's to be discussed somewhere else. But here's a preview for you: goat's cheese mousse which came with the smell and "mist" of Estonian forests. (Never mind the stranger with whom I shared the table. Ran into the same stranger in Spitsbergen back in 2012, where I got the same shirt.)

 

 

 

Edited August 2, 2016 by BonVivant (log)

[Okanagancook]

Today was greek salad and a grilled cheese/ham 1/2 sandwich.  That was a pile of veggies.

[Okanagancook]

Yesterday was one pot bread; smoked trout; and lemon cucumbers from the garden with Maldon and white pepper

[scubadoo97]

@Okanagancook  looks delicious. Did you cold smoke your own trout?