Dinner 2016 (Part 10)

[mgaretz]

A couple of recent cooks:

 

Tri-tip steak, cooked SV, then torch seared.  This was my first time trying magic browning powder and I liked the result.  Served with green beans in butter and salad.

 

 

Salmon, cooked SV then glazed with a honey-bourbon mix and torch seared.  Served with steamed bok choy and salad.

 

 

[shain]

1 hour ago, sartoric said:

French onion soup.

Looks great. I can't wait for winter to come over here - So many soups to be made!

 

Dinner was bucatini with smokey baked eggplants, mushrooms browned in butter and tomatoes. Also onion, garlic, sage, oregano, thyme and smoked salt. Finished with pecorino romano and pepper. I'm very happy with it, really tasty, if I can say so myself.

 

Smokiest baked eggplant I've ever tasted/smelled, very different than the smokiness of grilled eggplant.

 

Edited October 23, 2016 by shain (log)

[chromedome]

It was a lazy Sunday, and we had breakfast (or I suppose, brunch) for dinner. Eggs Bennie made with smoked salmon is one of my sweetheart's favorites, so I make it for her at least once most months. It's actually got something of a history for us. 

 

I first met her as a customer, several years ago. My restaurant was in a small seaside in in a remote fishing village, and she and her then-husband stayed at the inn while house-hunting in the area. It was the end of the season and they were often my only guests, so I served them myself and we became well acquainted. The house they bought was just up the road from where my late wife and I lived at the time, and we all came to be good friends. She and her husband came up regularly on Sundays for the brunch, which included three variations on Eggs Bennie: The canonical version; one with duck-breast prosciutto and Maltaise rather than Hollandaise; and one with my house-cured gravlax. She liked the gravlax version, and ordered it every time. 

 

These many years later, after she and her husband split and I was widowed, we are together and I'm still making it for her. Tonight's edition had steamed broccoli and "smashed" baby new potatoes fried with onions. 

 

[Norm Matthews]

I have been attending my 50th college homecoming this weekend and  happy to get back to eating at home.  Sunday dinner was a beef pie made with phyllo, beef, onions, spinach and cheeses and the rolls were made with sourdough starter, white whole wheat flour and had a couple minced apples.

[Kerry Beal]

1 hour ago, chromedome said:

It was a lazy Sunday, and we had breakfast (or I suppose, brunch) for dinner. Eggs Bennie made with smoked salmon is one of my sweetheart's favorites, so I make it for her at least once most months. It's actually got something of a history for us. 

 

I first met her as a customer, several years ago. My restaurant was in a small seaside in in a remote fishing village, and she and her then-husband stayed at the inn while house-hunting in the area. It was the end of the season and they were often my only guests, so I served them myself and we became well acquainted. The house they bought was just up the road from where my late wife and I lived at the time, and we all came to be good friends. She and her husband came up regularly on Sundays for the brunch, which included three variations on Eggs Bennie: The canonical version; one with duck-breast prosciutto and Maltaise rather than Hollandaise; and one with my house-cured gravlax. She liked the gravlax version, and ordered it every time. 

 

Maltaise?

[Steve Irby]

My neighbor had a pig roast yesterday and my contribution was Toulouse sausage.  Fortunately for us folks on the Gulf Coast the weather finally cooled off and it was a lovely evening. I also made a "in the spirit of" North African sausage with a Harissa blend.  Here's the Toulouse sausage before linking.

 

And tonight beef rump roast that was butterflied, seasoned with Worldspice beef rub and home made cured kumquats.  Sous vide for 24 hrs @ 138 F.  To gild the lily I also bacon wrapped the beef using transglutaminase.  The roast was really tasty.  

 

[chromedome]

Maltaise=Hollandaise with orange zest and juice. Traditionally made with blood oranges, but tourism season here doesn't coincide with blood orange season. I thought of it as a tip of the hat to that traditional duck/orange pairing.  

[robirdstx]

 

The last of the Instant Pot Beef Stew from earlier in the week, with more potatoes added.

Edited October 24, 2016 by robirdstx (log)

[ElsieD]

10 hours ago, Dejah said:

Glad you found a stash as well! We don't have a Home Sense in my small city but there is one about 3 hours way. Then I got a msg from a friend in Niagara-on-the-Lake and he said he can send me any spice, even in 1 kg bags. That's what happens when one lives close to Toronto.  However, I can get fresh green peppercorns and he has yet to find them.

I haven't tried green curry powder. Would that be the same as the Thai green curry paste? Guess I'll have to make another trip to Winners!

We were babysitting granddaughters yesterday until 5 pm. Put in one of those $4.77 / lb AAA prime rib roasts, some baby taters, and a bag of "baby carrots", and their daddy, big brother and his gf joined us for supper. Had to shoo them all out the door with ice-cream bars as take-home desserts as we had tickets for a concert at 7:30....

 

The label on the curry powder reads "Nene's Choice, La Vie en Spice, Thai Green Curry.  The ingredient list says " spices, dehydrated vegetables (onion, garlic), salt, sugar, vinegar powder, citric acid, lime oil".  It also says "An innovative blend of curry and spices."  The listed sodium content is zero which is odd as salt is listed as an ingredient.  It smells like Thai green curry paste, the stuff you buy from Thai Kitchen.

 

I only ever bought the one prime rib.  My freezer is jammed full and sadly, I had no more room.  I don't think we are going to see that price again for quite some time.

[mgaretz]

Tri-tip, cooked SV at 127F for 8 hours, dusted with magic browning powder then torch seared.  This was an experimental version of MBP: 4 parts dextrose (corn sugar) to 1 part sodium bicarbonate (baking soda).  I did this in an effort to reduce the amount of bicarbonate and I think it worked just as well.  Served with from-scratch fries made in the air fryer and salad.

 

 

 

Edited October 24, 2016 by mgaretz (log)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Ramen, vile and salty, with green onions.  The green onions were OK.

 

The broth I could save and try to reconstitute, but I suspect I'll pitch it.  Sad.  Dessert was a plate of tomatoes and Hellman's.

 

Trivia question: how do you know when you've had enough Soave?  When you spend five minutes with a jar opener wrenching the screw cap clockwise.  That did not deter me.

 

[rarerollingobject]

I finally found..oyster leaves. Mertensia maritima; they're crunchy, juicy, and taste nearly exactly like oysters!! So weird, quite wonderful. I've been looking for them for YEARS. I even bought some seeds once to try and grow them myself, but nay.

 

And sea bananas, which burst in the mouth with an ocean, ozoney explosion of umami. Gonna sauté both in a little butter, with sous vide salmon and wasabi leaf pesto.

 

Oyster leaves!!

[Shel_B]

5 hours ago, mgaretz said:

Tri-tip, cooked SV at 127F for 8 hours, dusted with magic browning powder then torch seared.  This was an experimental version of MBP: 4 parts dextrose (corn sugar) to 1 part sodium bicarbonate (baking soda).  I did this in an effort to reduce the amount of bicarbonate and I think it worked just as well.  Served with from-scratch fries made in the air fryer and salad.

 

That tri-tip sure looked good.  Got me thinking about getting an SV setup, although we so rarely eat meat.

 

Please explain "MBP" and what your experiment is.

[HungryChris]

Korean BBQ rotisserie chicken, and salads.

HC

Edited October 24, 2016 by HungryChris (log)

[shain]

Rye bread from the bread topic.

Peas, eggs and (not too much) mayonnaise salad. With dill, pickled cucumbers, apple vinegar and red bell pepper.

Crudite platter. Butter and cottage cheese.

[Dejah]

14 hours ago, chromedome said:

It was a lazy Sunday, and we had breakfast (or I suppose, brunch) for dinner. Eggs Bennie made with smoked salmon is one of my sweetheart's favorites, so I make it for her at least once most months. It's actually got something of a history for us. 

 

I first met her as a customer, several years ago. My restaurant was in a small seaside in in a remote fishing village, and she and her then-husband stayed at the inn while house-hunting in the area. It was the end of the season and they were often my only guests, so I served them myself and we became well acquainted. The house they bought was just up the road from where my late wife and I lived at the time, and we all came to be good friends. She and her husband came up regularly on Sundays for the brunch, which included three variations on Eggs Bennie: The canonical version; one with duck-breast prosciutto and Maltaise rather than Hollandaise; and one with my house-cured gravlax. She liked the gravlax version, and ordered it every time. 

 

These many years later, after she and her husband split and I was widowed, we are together and I'm still making it for her. Tonight's edition had steamed broccoli and "smashed" baby new potatoes fried with onions. 

 

Your history made this "taste" even better!

[Dejah]

22 minutes ago, HungryChris said:

Korean BBQ rotisserie chicken, and salads.

HC

 

Must try this Korean BBQ chicken in the Big Easy while the weather holds...

[chromedome]

Food has always been part of the dynamic between us. During that initial week when they stayed at the inn I also wheedled her into trying her first creme brulee (that, she now says, is when she started to fall in love with me...).

 

 

 

[Dejah]

Was busy collating midterm exams yesterday, but I had ground chuck ready to make meatballs for supper. Having the Harissa Spice Blend on hand now, thought I'd try the Low-Carb Moroccan Meatballs recipe I found. Need to make more of the sauce for the remaining 12 meatballs!
Eaten with spaghetti squash and wilted spinach. Added buttered beets to hubby's as he's not a spinach fan.

The clumpiness of the sauce came from the meat juice residue on the bottom of the pan in which the meatballs were cooked in the oven. Didn't want to waste it, but it affected the appearance.

[Smithy]

2 hours ago, Shel_B said:

 

That tri-tip sure looked good.  Got me thinking about getting an SV setup, although we so rarely eat meat.

 

Please explain "MBP" and what your experiment is.

 

'MBP" = "Magic Browning Powder", a Modernist innovation that's caught on among some folks here because it gets the maillard reactions (browning) going more readily on meats.  Here's the formulation that ElsieD uses.  I haven't tracked down the original reference in the sous vide topics.

 

Edit: it's usually a mix of baking soda and dextrose.

Edited October 24, 2016 by Smithy
Clarity (log)

[rotuts]

with MBP :  do you taste ' burnt sugar ' or the bicarb ?

[liuzhou]

Fish and Chips.

 

I've been thinking about fish and chips for a few days after a friend mentioned on Facebook that she was eating them by the sea in England.

 

Sadly, I'm nowhere near the sea but...

 

 

Beer battered cod fillets and spuds. Served with tomato. I like tomato with my fish and chips. There was also half a lemon to squeeze over fish. It was camera shy.

With an aside of the same beer as is in the batter. Followed by some durian as you usually do after fish and chips! Yes? No?

[Duvel]

There is nothing like coming home after a busy monday knowing that there are only left-over veggies waiting. After discovering that neither the carrots nor the eggplant made it over the weekend menu options suddenly simplified with only a cabbage left. So, Okonomiyaki - one of the best things that an old cabbage can hope to become ...

 

 

[mgaretz]

1 hour ago, Smithy said:

 

'MBP" = "Magic Browning Powder", a Modernist innovation that's caught on among some folks here because it gets the maillard reactions (browning) going more readily on meats.  Here's the formulation that ElsieD uses.  I haven't tracked down the original reference in the sous vide topics.

 

Edit: it's usually a mix of baking soda and dextrose.

 

 

As far as I can tell, it gets credited to @paulraphael.  

[mgaretz]

1 hour ago, rotuts said:

with MBP :  do you taste ' burnt sugar ' or the bicarb ?

 

No on the burnt sugar, but I thought I detected a bit of the bicarbonate with the original ratios (3 parts dextrose to 2 parts bicarbonate), so that's why I reduced the bicarbonate.