Dinner 2016 (Part 8)

[Mmmpomps]

Feeling much better after some BBQ Steak, shrimps and whole spuds in the Instant pot, makes them very fluffy inside

[Dejah]

We were busy celebrating our 50th wedding anniversary eating out and BBQ for the whole Sept. long weekend. Kids and grandkids have all gone home to start their school years.
I am trying to get back on the low-carb way of eating, hard after eating cake and other treats all summer!

Tonight, I did a saddle of lamb, mashed cauliflower and sauteed zucchini and mini peppers.

 

Dessert was Ziplock Bag Ice-cream made with almond milk, cream, artificial sweetener (Swerve), vanilla, fresh strawberries

 

 

[Wild_Yeast]

Sister and Sis-in-law was over, Hokkien-style longevity noodles/Cha Mee Sua and Chicken and vegetable stir fry. And snowy moon cake (quite disappointing) from Maxims HK with Tie Kwan Yin Oolong for dessert. 

[ProfessionalHobbit]

 

You may recall that I blogged about making homemade tonno sott'olio (tuna marinated in olive oil) over the weekend.  I don't remember which thread it was but if you search on one of the meal threads, there's a post about it.

 

Here is one of the jars two days later.

 

 

Clockwise from left: 2 cups flaked marinated ahi tuna; 1/2 cup marinating oil; 1/4 cup capers; 1 28-oz. can whole peeled San Marzano tomatoes; 1 onion, diced; pinch of crushed red pepper flakes; 1/2 tsp. dried oregano; 1/4 cup minced Italian parsley.

Not shown is a pot full of boiling pasta.

 

The reason why I made homemade tonno sott'olio isn't because of the fish but because of the oil.  That's the secret ingredient.  We'll be using the marinating oil to form the base of the sauce and as a final garnish.  Let's get to it.  You can use regular Italian canned tuna but it just won't be the same, mostly because you won't have all of that extra oil to play around with.

 

 

Warm 1/4 cup marinating oil in a skillet, add onion and a pinch of salt. Cook for 1-2 minutes over medium-high heat.

 

 

Clear a space in the pan, then add the capers and toast for 1 minute. Stir capers into onion and cook for 1-2 minutes.

 

 

 

Add tuna, dried oregano and a pinch of salt. Sauté tuna for a few minutes while it lightly caramelizes. Clear a spot in the pan and add the crushed red pepper flakes. Toast for 30 seconds to 1 minute, then stir into tuna.

Lidia [Bastianich] uses this technique frequently in her cookbooks, I've noticed.

 

 

 

Add tomatoes to pan. Crush tomatoes with the back of a wooden spoon. Fill can with 1-2 ladlefuls pasta cooking water and add to the pan of sauce. Add 2 tbsp. marinating oil to the pan of sauce. Lower heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes while you finish cooking your pasta.

Ideally, prepare this sauce as your pasta cooks. It only takes 15 minutes from start to finish.

 

 

 

When pasta is done, drain, then add to the pan of sauce. Remove pan from heat, then stir in chopped parsley. Mix well. Drizzle 2 tbsp. marinating oil into pasta, then toss again.

Serve immediately.

 

 

 

Penne con tonno sott'olio e pomodoro, from "Lidia's Family Table" by Lidia Bastianich, pages 14-15.

 

We served that along with zucchini and basil soup (recipe:  http://www.elizabethminchilliinrome.com/2013/07/zucchini-basil-soup/ ), and peaches for dessert.

Edited September 8, 2016 by ProfessionalHobbit (log)

[Paul Bacino]

Well..

 

I don't get the whole feed dogs raw meat thing.. but heard that organic rabbits are raised to feed to dogs raw?

But this rabbit I got from, a local butchery

Braised Rabbit Ragu w/ Shirataki Noodles

Traditional ragu..I also added heart and liver, to the braised rabbit.  Shredded it and made the ragu.  Using fresh garden tomatoes

Boiled noodles in water 5 min wash/ drained and added them to my tomato puree to marinade..over night.  Assemble for dinner next day!!

 

 

 

 

[huiray]

Last night.

 

Pasta w/ tuna, tomatoes, capers.

EV olive oil [Maussane-les-Alpilles Fruité Noir], medium heat; chopped smashed garlic, diced Vidalia onion, soften but not brown; several olive-oil-packed anchovy fillets [Bella Famiglia], mash up, gentle sauté till they "dissolve" into the mix; white tuna in olive oil [Ortiz, El Velero Bonito del Norte] with some of the oil as well, break up a bit, gentle stir-around/fold-in; some hot red chile flakes, Salina salted capers (rinsed, soaked), stir/gentle sauté; chopped Cherokee Purple tomatoes, stir in, fishing out skins as the tomato pieces soften; just-cooked wet linguine [Rustichella d'Abruzzo], fold in on heat; chopped parsley [from my deck].

 

Plus sautéed long flat pole beans.

The beans ("fagioli corallo") were cut French-style into shorter segments, blanched in simmering water to which a shot of "kan sui" (potassium carbonate/sodium bicarbonate solution) had been added, drained, rinsed; then sautéed w/ sliced garlic (olive oil) and some Agrodolce Bianco Delizia Estense (this one) splashed in just before the end. (The blanching in alkaline water "fixes" the green, at least for a while, in the subsequent presence of acid from the white balsamic vinegar; yes, they eventually still turn olive-y green but it takes a while)

[Spork]

An open face sandwich.

 

 

A toasted slice of Italian topped with Swiss, corned beef, banana pepper, and gravy. Fried zucchini.

[liuzhou]

I've been out of cooking action for a few days. Got back late tonight and threw together a quick prawn curry, using some frozen prawns that I had bought live a week ago but not used. I did peel them before freezing.

Apart from that some store bought Indian curry paste, a few tomatoes, onions, a couple chillies from the balcony plants, coriander leaf/cilantro. Served with rice, as you do.

The black specks are ground pepper; not my needing to clean camera lens! Or worse the plate.
 

 

Edited September 8, 2016 by liuzhou (log)

[Shelby]

Venison hatch chile cheeseburgers

 

Oh and some okra that I pickled.  Gonna have to make more of that stuff.  

 

[chefmd]

5 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

Got back late tonight and threw together a quick prawn curry

It looks very elaborate, I am impressed that you can make a dish like that quickly.  Do you usually buy live prawns?  Can you tell difference in taste compared to the usual not live kind? 

[liuzhou]

17 minutes ago, chefmd said:

It looks very elaborate, I am impressed that you can make a dish like that quickly.  Do you usually buy live prawns?  Can you tell difference in taste compared to the usual not live kind? 

Thank you. I am happy you think it looks elaborate. I can assure you it wasn't. It took around twenty minutes for the rice to cook, during which time I cooked the rest. (That doesn't include defrosting time). Normally, I do curries much more slowly, but when you get home at 8 pm after leaving home at 6 am and have hardly eaten all day, you can find shortcuts.

Live prawns / shrimp are "usual" here. Pre-frozen are available, but unusual, and usually poor quality. These ones were described as being wild caught and I trust my delightful seafood provider.

I would say yes, I can taste a difference. Fresher. Just more prawn flavour, I guess.

Edited September 8, 2016 by liuzhou (log)

[Dejah]

Paul Bacino: Does boiling the shirataki noodles and marinating therm in your tomato change the texture at all?

 

I've been buying the shirataki noodles with tofu and they are not as "crunchy" as the plain ones.
 

[Paul Bacino]

24 minutes ago, Dejah said:

Paul Bacino: Does boiling the shirataki noodles and marinating therm in your tomato change the texture at all?

 

I've been buying the shirataki noodles with tofu and they are not as "crunchy" as the plain ones.
 

No not really .. that I noticed.

Boiling is something I do to remove  (the smell )  something I read, how to cook them.

The Marinating is to infuse some external flavor.  ( I use chili paste, soy ,hoisin sauce  --as other examples for  marinating )

Tofu:

I usually buy plain noodles.. for tofu : I cut open the Tofu box, cube what I need and put the rest in Tupperware with a bit of the liquid . to use in the next few days.  But ( me ) I would cook the noodles first...about 2 or 3 mins. drain/ rinse ----->  then add in your flavorings and tofu.. then warm to desired temp.

For quick prep.

 

Cheers  Doc

[sartoric]

Roasted lemon chicken cutlets with potato, brussels sprouts, asparagus and shallots.

 

[Auro]

Gua bao. I made ramen yesterday and used the leftovers in the bao, and lots of tabasco too.

Edited September 9, 2016 by Auro (log)

[Mmmpomps]

Leftovers turned into Diner style potatoes with mushrooms and steak and fresh tomatoes from the deck container garden:

 

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Because tomatoes are infinite, an avocado and tomatoes.

 

[Dejah]

8 hours ago, Paul Bacino said:

No not really .. that I noticed.

Boiling is something I do to remove  (the smell )  something I read, how to cook them.

The Marinating is to infuse some external flavor.  ( I use chili paste, soy ,hoisin sauce  --as other examples for  marinating )

Tofu:

I usually buy plain noodles.. for tofu : I cut open the Tofu box, cube what I need and put the rest in Tupperware with a bit of the liquid . to use in the next few days.  But ( me ) I would cook the noodles first...about 2 or 3 mins. drain/ rinse ----->  then add in your flavorings and tofu.. then warm to desired temp.

For quick prep.

 

Cheers  Doc

Sorry I didn't make it clear, the shirataki noodles I buy are made with konjac flour  AND tofu...softer without the rubber band texture.

[Dejah]

Supper tonight was a version of Kung Pao - using lots of bits and pieces of veg from the weekend. Also made cauliflower fried rice with onion and egg. Both satisfying!

[Dejah]

On 2016-09-07 at 7:37 PM, ElainaA said:

Garden dinner: Tongue of Fire Beans cooked with tomatoes, garlic, onion, sage and parsley, a salad of bitter greens and lettuce (endive,chicory, romaine) and red onion, bruschetta with seasoned ricotta, oven roasted tomatoes, red onion and oregano and a salad of fennel and apples.  The beans,tomatoes, garlic, onions, endive, chicory, onion, fennel and sage all picked just before they were cooked.

 

All looks fabulous! The salad of bitter greens really caught my attention. Must go shopping tomorrow

 

[kayb]

Sigh. Today, my entire food intake has consisted of a package of Ritz cheese-n-crackers and a half-bag of trail mix for breakfast (I found both in the car en route to an early out-of-town meeting); Sonic onion rings and a cherry limeade for lunch, and a bowl of Corn Chex cereal for dinner. Damn this working for a living. I'm too old to start out at 7 a.m. and get through at 10:45 p.m.

 

I'm starving but too tired to fix anything.

 

[Thanks for the Crepes]

3 hours ago, kayb said:

Sigh. Today, my entire food intake has consisted of a package of Ritz cheese-n-crackers and a half-bag of trail mix for breakfast (I found both in the car en route to an early out-of-town meeting); Sonic onion rings and a cherry limeade for lunch, and a bowl of Corn Chex cereal for dinner. Damn this working for a living. I'm too old to start out at 7 a.m. and get through at 10:45 p.m.

 

I'm starving but too tired to fix anything.

 

 

  I hope you get the opportunity soon to make and eat one of your fabulous southern vegetable dinners I'm always so envious of. It sounds like you need it!

[huiray]

A riff on canh đậu hũ hẹ.

This one had: chicken stock, water, oil, minced sirloin, halved unpeeled straw mushrooms [Dragonfly], soft tofu chunks, yellow Chinese chives (garlic chives). Chopped scallions.

 

Afterwards, a nice eclair from Rene's Bakery.

[liuzhou]

A small organic chicken, complete with head and feet, poached with onion, carrot and celery. Breasts and legs removed and plated with some of the carrots and some asparagus. Served with lemon sauce from a bottle.

It was meant to be served with rice, but for the first time in decades I'd actually run out of rice and forgotten so. Never mind. I subbed couscous.

The carcase wings, head and fret etc are now simmering into a what will hopefully be a tasty stock.

Edited September 9, 2016 by liuzhou (log)

[Shelby]

Lots and lots of rain.  River came up yesterday so the fish were boiling.