Dinner 2017 (Part 2)

[scubadoo97]

16 minutes ago, Okanagancook said:

I LOVE avocados.  Looks fantastic.  A bit messy to eat though?

The avocados were rich and creamy Hass and absorbed some of the juice.  Wasn't really messy at all but a little messy is ok with me as long as it's justified by the taste.  It really pushed my buttons last night 

[sartoric]

Chicken parmigiana with potato cauliflower mash and buttery garlic spinach.

 

[mgaretz]

The cold and rainy weather predicted for yesterday and this week called for cabbage soup.  Of course today it's sunny (but still cold), so I am having leftovers for several days anyway.

 

 

[mm84321]

Smoked salmon/caviar potato 

beef a la royale (stuffed with sweetbreads/foie gras/truffle, sauce thickened with blood..

[Porthos]

I have to start remembering not to read this thread on an empty stomach. So much great looking food.

[ElainaA]

4 hours ago, TicTac said:

More often than not, fish and red wine do not pair well.

Actually that depends. I am by no means a wine expert but I have done some reading on this. My favorite comment that I found is "Sommelier and restaurateur Paul Grieco of New York wine bar Terroir and restaurant Hearth believes the red-with-meat and white-with-fish rule is severely outdated. “The last time this expression held true, Nixon was still in the White House. Everything is up for grabs these days, except for the supremacy of Riesling,” he told Serious Eats" (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/30/red-wine-and-fish_n_5412005.html) (I would disagree on the supremacy of Riesling. In my opinion possibly very good but hardly supreme.) The basic guidelines are that meaty fish - such as salmon and steelhead trout , which is more similar to salmon than to other types of trout, work well with reds depending on how they are prepared - roasted or broiled dishes being ones that can go well with red wines. 

I do think you are correct in suggesting a more acidic wine -but I would probably stick with red.

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(I don't know why this second quote box is here - and I don't know how to get rid of it.)

 

Edited February 22, 2017 by ElainaA (log)

[TicTac]

As I said, it is a rule of thumb to go by that many sommeliers at 2 and 3* restaurants will echo.

 

I surely would not venture with a Cab Sauv for a fish dish - perhaps that is just me, but that blend is a big wine and would overpower the fish.

 

Perhaps a Pinot Noir or something else lighter might work (potentially nicely even!), but typically I would go the white route. 

[blue_dolphin]

@ElainaA,  my first pick with that salmon dinner would be a Pinot Noir.  

Edited to add that because of the beets, I'd go with a younger, fruitier version so the earthiness doesn't get out of control.  Or a crisp German Riesling.  

Edited February 22, 2017 by blue_dolphin (log)

[TicTac]

I don't disagree that a Pinot would work with that salmon dinner, but my first pick would most likely be a Chablis.

 

But then again that is simply my opinion

 

At the end of the day, go with what tastes best to you!

[Okanagancook]

A Gamay might work too.

[ElainaA]

Thanks for all the suggestions. Since my husband really liked this and also since I have several steelhead trout fillets in the freezer (they have quite suddenly started showing up at our local Price Chopper) I will certainly repeat the fish if not exactly the whole meal. I would probably try a pinot noir or gamay - or ask my husband to choose.

[liamsaunt]

@ElainaA my husband will often choose a pinot noir from his collection when I tell him I am making salmon for dinner.  I have always enjoyed the pairing.  I cook the food, he pairs the wine, and it usually works out.

 

Monday I made a platter of linguini with swordfish and roasted cherry tomatoes.  The teens had spaghetti and meatballs.  

 

 

Last night I made a feta-brined chicken sandwich with feta puree, cucumbers, arugula, roasted peppers and red onions from the current issue of Food and Wine magazine.  I think I would have preferred it in a pita rather than on the suggested ciabatta bread.

 

[Anna N]

 

Since I had dinner for breakfast… Orzo "confetti" with an egg and some grated cheddar cheese.

[Porthos]

Bratwurst topped with sauteed onions, rotini pasta dressed with a white wine/mushroom reduction with sour cream and garlic, and steamed asparagus. I ate the asparagus with nothing else added - no salt, no lemon jouce, no mayo (my fav). It was so fresh and tender it didn't need anything. Now I get to clean a lots of pans.

[Shelby]

SV'd pork tenderloin.

 

[liuzhou]

 

First time cooking in what seems like a long time. Actually only about four days.

 

Pan fried salmon fillet with capers, leeks, ginger, yellow pepper and shiitake mushrooms. Rice on the side for carbs.

 

 

And just to help it down, the last bottle of my 2010 Verdicchio, a favourite. I have some 2012 on the way.

 

Edited February 23, 2017 by liuzhou (log)

[Ann_T]

Grilled chicken with a side of pasta.

[kayb]

Dinner last night was a steak at La Boca Argentine Steak House in the Warehouse District. I had a blade steak that was marvelous. No photos; I forgot.

 

Off to Antoine's in a few for eggs Benedict.

[David Ross]

For 29 years now I've tried to duplicate a recipe for "Szechuan Beef" from a restaurant in Portland, Oregon.  I worked at a small advertising agency near KGW TV Studios and we would walk across the street to a place I think was called Yum Len.  It's long closed and no records exist.

 

I've got the beef marinade and coating where I want it.  Marinated in cornstarch, soy sauce and Chinese wine.  The coating is half cornstarch and half potato starch, and the beef is deep-fried crispy then tossed in the sauce.  As I remember it, the sauce was sweet and had soy sauce flavors, yet not too hot.  It didn't taste like a chili sauce and I don't recall if there was a dusting of Szechuan peppercorns.  I've tried many online recipes for Szechuan beef, crispy beef, crispy orange beef and Peking beef, but nothing really matches the sauce for those years ago.  Does anyone have a recipe for something along the lines of Szechuan beef?

 

[sartoric]

Corn and zucchini fritters with tzatziki and a mixed salad. The salad comprises leaves, mango, toasted macadamias and tiny tomatoes with a preserved lemon dressing.

 

[HungryChris]

Fried, local Stonington scallops, fries and coleslaw.

HC

Edited February 24, 2017 by HungryChris (log)

[Martin Fisher]

34 minutes ago, HungryChris said:

local Stonington scallops

 

Lucky you Chris! 

[Porthos]

Boneless pork chops cooked SV 143 F for 2 1/2 hours in Lawry's herb and garlic marinade, seared in my trusty Griswold #8 and a bit of sauce made from the juice from the bag. Red Skin mashed potatoes with Parmesan cheese and steamed Italian-style veggies. (Yes, you have correctly noticed that I steam most of my veggies).

Edited February 24, 2017 by Porthos (log)

[Shelby]

Spaghetti red and a salad that would have been really good except the bleu cheese that I bought at the store was new to us and it did not go at all with the salad.  It made everything taste like old sweaty socks.

 

[HungryChris]

9 minutes ago, Shelby said:

Spaghetti red and a salad that would have been really good except the bleu cheese that I bought at the store was new to us and it did not go at all with the salad.  It made everything taste like old sweaty socks.

Too bad about the blue cheese. Try the crumbled blue cheese from Aldi, it's pretty good in salads.

HC