Lunch! What'd ya have? (2017)

[MelissaH]

17 minutes ago, Katie Meadow said:

 

I've grown to love being a downer! Don't forget that Chinese Mitten Crabs may be harmless in Liuzou and Fuchsia Dunlop parts of the globe, but they are a troublesome invasive species here in the US. They burrow into levees and weaken them, causing damage to flood control efforts. Also they are aggressive and omnivorous and can threaten local species. They have been found in Chesapeake Bay, where they threaten blue crab habitat. Just saying'!

Which probably means I'll never get to eat one, unless they become so troublesome in the United States that someone hires Fuchsia to create a market for them here.

[Katie Meadow]

I read a bit of background about mitten crabs this afternoon and dug up this: 

 

"Claudine Fontana from the Natural History Museum advised: "You could eat the meat from the mitten crabs at any time of the year, but it is actually the gonads of the Chinese mitten crabs that are considered a delicacy and these can only be eaten when they become sexually active in the Autumn months."

 

That doesn't exactly make them more appealing to me, that's for sure, although anyone who can locate a crab gonad in all that other stuff inside the shell has my respect. Govt experts say that if you catch one in the US you should report it. Apparently there are plenty of them in the Thames, but would you eat something from that river? 

 

 

[liuzhou]

8 hours ago, Katie Meadow said:

"Claudine Fontana from the Natural History Museum advised: "You could eat the meat from the mitten crabs at any time of the year, but it is actually the gonads of the Chinese mitten crabs that are considered a delicacy and these can only be eaten when they become sexually active in the Autumn months."

 

I think Ms. Fontana is mistaken in her terminology, at least. The gonads are not what is prized as a delicacy. It is the roe. This is why the females are more expensive than the males. Both have gonads, but obviously only the females produce roe - in autumn.

Gonads are edible at any time, if not particularly appealing. The only prized delicacy involving gonads that I can think of in Chinese cuisine are frogs' oviducts aka hasma which are used in sweet concoctions.

 

[scubadoo97]

Lunch today was at a restaurant in San Sebastián outside of old town.  

 

Started with an assorted  plate of sardines, anchovies, octopus and peppers in olive oil and moved on to grilled octopus and prawns with onions and green and red peppers

 

We really liked this place. Very casual

 

 

[HungryChris]

I really don't know the difference between a cured and an uncured brat.(If you had asked me as a child, I would probably have pointed at one or two of my sisters, as being a bit of the uncured variety). I got this uncured one at Aldi this morning and had it for lunch. Loved both the flavor and the way it dominates the roll with it's size. I paired it with sautéed onion and an immature green bell pepper from the garden. I find the flavor and skin of the immature GBP to be quite pleasant after a just few minutes in the  pan with some olive oil and a bit of salt. You GBP haters will just have to move on!

HC

Edited October 3, 2017 by HungryChris (log)

[rotuts]

do you still have the package from ALDI for that Brat ?

 

I was just there are got their Stadium Brats and a smoked brat from the same manufacturer  

 

the Stadium brat was the best.

 

the smoked was good , but the SB  was much Brattier.

[Katie Meadow]

On 10/2/2017 at 1:32 AM, liuzhou said:

 

I think Ms. Fontana is mistaken in her terminology, at least. The gonads are not what is prized as a delicacy. It is the roe. This is why the females are more expensive than the males. Both have gonads, but obviously only the females produce roe - in autumn.

Gonads are edible at any time, if not particularly appealing. The only prized delicacy involving gonads that I can think of in Chinese cuisine are frogs' oviducts aka hasma which are used in sweet concoctions.

 

 

Amazing. I am impressed that it says "nutritive dessert." You would have to eat it of course to get the benefits. As for the mitten crabs, I hope you are right that it's the roe that is the delicacy. Makes a lot more sense to me, but what do I know?

[HungryChris]

17 minutes ago, rotuts said:

do you still have the package from ALDI for that Brat ?

 

I was just there are got their Stadium Brats and a smoked brat from the same manufacturer  

 

the Stadium brat was the best.

 

the smoked was good , but the SB  was much Brattier.

I enjoy the stadium brats as well. This was labeled as a "seasonal item".

HC

[rotuts]

its a shame I missed these.

 

unfortunately there is no way for me to check before I go back to look for them

 

the Stadium Brats are fairly finely ground, something I like.

 

and the Queen of all Sausages  

 

[ed.:  ]

 

is of course the 

 

Weisswurst

 

http://www.asausagehastwo.com/german-sausage-guide-weisswurst/

 

haven't had these in such a long time

 

[robirdstx]

My husband was running an errand at lunch time and mentioned that he was going to stop at Subway. I asked him to get a 12 inch of his usual Italian BMT so I could share it with him. Not a real pretty picture but a tasty lunch!

 

 

[Anna N]

 

 Not terribly interesting but quite tasty. Broccoli with cheese sauce. 

[CantCookStillTry]

My lunch, and the place setting I have most days. There is nothing I have done that makes my lunch postworthy, however the Ham snuggled inside my hasty Sammy is worthy of some kind of recognition. I live in a teeny tiny town, and the Butchers hams are exceptional. Up until November we can generally afford to buy a half leg ham every now and then, so much better than what our one shop offers in the Deli (ohgoshtheslime), and ham is a lunch box essential for the kid. When November hits, so do the Christmas prices, and demand, and we move on to Corn Meat (something I learnt was drastically different in Australia to the UK). 

 

Classy Lady hey 

[chromedome]

36 minutes ago, CantCookStillTry said:

My lunch, and the place setting I have most days. There is nothing I have done that makes my lunch postworthy,

 

Classy Lady hey 

 

Well, just to put that into context for you...I'm a chef and former restaurateur, and my lunch most days is whatever leftovers are in the fridge (usually slopped onto a plated, or into a bowl, and microwaved). I eat oatmeal for breakfast almost every day, and dinner usually involves kids and grandkids, so lunch is my opportunity to make leftovers go bye-bye (my GF, bless her heart, simply doesn't see them). 

 

On days when I'm caught up on the leftovers situation lunch might be a sandwich not unlike yours, or if I'm really pressed for time and energy I'll just nuke a hot dog. Not that I won't do a nice lunch if there's a reason, you understand, but it's the exception rather than the rule. I'm sure the same holds true for a lot of people here, so post away whenever the mood strikes. We won't judge.

[Kim Shook]

3 hours ago, chromedome said:

 

...so lunch is my opportunity to make leftovers go bye-bye (my GF, bless her heart, simply doesn't see them). 

 

 

LOL!  This could be Mr. Kim talking.  He dutifully packs leftovers every single day for his lunch.  As I scan the fridge for lunch, my eyes go right over any leftovers without registering them.  

[shain]

Quick pan fried quick bread, with yogurt, zaatar and tomatoes.

[liuzhou]

Today, an old friend was passing through town on the way home from a wedding reception in another city. She kindly dropped off here to say hello. It's five years since we saw each other' although we talk/online chat almost every other day. The plan was to meet her at the train station at 13:30.

 

So, I grabbed a quick bowl of noodles at a local noodle emporium I had never visited before. Strange place. You go in and are handed a menu by the girl on the cash desk hard by the door. I say 'girl' not out of any trumpian politically incorrect attitude to women! She looked about 12. She rang up my desired lunch, took my cash (¥15 - $2.40 USD) and handed me receipt with a large printed number on it - 111. I chose a table and nearly died from apoplexy when a booming PA system yelled "108" and a man jumped up and ran to a small window on the back wall. He returned with a tray containing his desired lunch.

 

"OK", I thought, "Three to go then it's me." Wrong! They shout out the numbers at random. If you order more than one dish and, for example,  you are number 123. Every customer will hear "123, 125, 126, 123, 127 , 124" Except few people can work out what she is saying through the distortion. Also, just for amusement value, she speaks a rather odd dialect with a strong accent which few people can understand at all, so they jump up at every number to check.

 

I have a cunning plan. I loiter by the window attempting to look innocent until something that looks like I might have ordered turns up, then claim it mas mine no matter what she says. It probably causes utter chaos if I pick up the wrong dish, but I like a bit of cabaret while I'm dining.

 

What I end up with is pretty much what I ordered, so no cabaret today.

 

It is described as "牛肉炒生面  (niú ròu chǎo shēng miàn)" on the menu. That means beef fried noodles. But that penultimate character describing the noodles is a weird one. 生 (shēng) means 

 

Quote

give birth to; bear; grow; existence; life; livelihood; living;
get; have; light; unripe; green; raw; uncooked; unprocessed; unrefined;
crude; unfamiliar; unacquainted; strange; stiff; mechanical; very; pupil;
student; the male character type in Beijing opera, etc.

 

The noodles aren't raw or uncooked, so that can't be what they mean. They aren't crude or unrefined. I don't know what they could be learning as students and I can hear nothing operatic. In fact it just means noodles.

 

 

The dish was OK, if slightly over seasoned, but the cacophonous number shouting probably means I wont return. I  finished them then headed to the station.

[HungryChris]

A liverwurst spread,  some homemade smoked salmon (both with chopped onions)  and prosciutto panino from Aldi on saltines.

HC

[kayb]

I've eyed that proscuitto panino before. Good?

 

 

 

[HungryChris]

12 hours ago, kayb said:

I've eyed that proscuitto panino before. Good?

 

 

 

I thought it was pretty good, but it did seem a bit salty. In the future, I would try to assemble one myself. The next time I go to Whole Foods, I am hoping the Prosciutto has come down a bit in price. In the past, when I buy it, I buy 10 slices and savor every one.

HC

[HungryChris]

Homemade smoked salmon on a crispy French baguette with cream cheese, capers and a chopped red onion, along with a locally crafted American Pale Ale.

HC

[Anna N]

Rissole.

 

Have not been able to get my mind off rissoles since that post. I riffed off a recipe on Serious Eats.  Finally had some leftover roast beef.  Not bad but too faffy to bring back any real memories. I can give 100% guarantee that nobody who cooked in my family at that time would have known a garlic clove if they had tripped over it. I suspect that the results I grew up with contained little more than minced Sunday joint (lamb or beef), an onion and some salt and pepper (and most certainly not black pepper). Perhaps an egg and a little leftover gravy to moisten them and help hold them together. 

 

 

Anyway lunch was a taste test. It was one tiny rissole and a lettuce leaf. 

[CantCookStillTry]

Cheese & Bacon Quiche for lunch today. Quiche is an absolute favourite in this house but I rarely find the time (effort) to make it. Not that it is in any way technically difficult, I just hate having to get up at the crack of dawn to beat the climate and make pastry. I most often make Quiche when I've ended up with cheese odds and ends as a way to 'clean the fridge'. Today I used some Maasdam we had bought to try and a double cream Brie that I had bought for a cheeseboard but... and I don't know what the technical terms are.. it just wasn't 'gooey' enough for me. 

 

 

[liuzhou]

6 minutes ago, CantCookStillTry said:

Cheese & Bacon Quiche for lunch today.

 

Can't cook? I think you just demonstrated the opposite. That is a fine looking quiche. Bet it tasted just as good as it looks, too.

[CantCookStillTry]

5 hours ago, liuzhou said:

 

Can't cook? I think you just demonstrated the opposite. That is a fine looking quiche. Bet it tasted just as good as it looks, too.

 

Thank you Liuzhou, you are too kind.  It was pretty good, not 100% sure Maasdam is a brilliant quiche cheese, as it cools it rediscovers its somewhat rubbery texture. 

Edited October 8, 2017 by CantCookStillTry (log)

[Duvel]

On 10/3/2017 at 11:12 PM, rotuts said:

its a shame I missed these.

 

unfortunately there is no way for me to check before I go back to look for them

 

the Stadium Brats are fairly finely ground, something I like.

 

and the Queen of all Sausages  

 

[ed.:  ]

 

is of course the 

 

Weisswurst

 

http://www.asausagehastwo.com/german-sausage-guide-weisswurst/

 

haven't had these in such a long time

 

If you are not set on the shape, but just happy with the taste you can make some at home. Couple of spices needed and depending on your taste ground veal & fatback, either minced or run half-frozen through a food processor ...

Can be cooked in screw-top glasses to internal temperature of about 75 oC ...