Dinner 2017 (Part 3)

[sartoric]

Masala dosa (yet again) with a fresh tomato chutney, coconut chutney, veggie saagu, lime pickle and steamed basmati. During the week I read a book by Rick Stein wherein he advised making one dish repeatedly until you perfect it, that seems legit to me.

 

This time I made my own dosa batter, soaked the rice and urad dal, ground them, mixed them and left it overnight to ferment. I also noted the tomato chutney details for @FauxPas. In a blender grind 250 g chopped tomatoes, 1/2 red onion chopped, 6 kashmiri dried chillies roughly chopped, sea salt and a marble sized piece of tamarind.
In a deep fry pan heat 1/4 cup sesame oil (the mild Indian type) crackle a tsp of mustard seeds, a tsp of urad dal and fry til the dal browns. Add 20 or so curry leaves, then dump in the contents of the blender and simmer til thickened, about 10 minutes. Serve warm. Keeps in the fridge for about a week.

 

[FauxPas]

@sartoric, thank you so much for that and I think a few others here will appreciate reading your methods also!

 

And it ALL looks delicious! 

Edited March 26, 2017 by FauxPas (log)

[gfweb]

 Scallops topped with toasted Benton's ham crumbs, on chili creamed corn and  braised cauliflower.

 

[Shelby]

37 minutes ago, gfweb said:

 Scallops topped with toasted Benton's ham crumbs, on chili creamed corn and  braised cauliflower.

 

I need this.

[Okanagancook]

Yellow-mellow!  Looks fantastic!

cuury tonight, hope I can get some pictures.

[chileheadmike]

Home made beef and cheese enchiladas.  Spanish rice and refried beans. 

[Anna N]

This  would have really hit the spot tonight. It has been on my radar for quite some time.  But though the spirit was willing the flesh remained very unresponsive and the best I could pull together was this:

 

 

 It was tasty enough and will keep the hunger pangs at bay.  It just wasn't what I really wanted.   I will return now to counting my blessings.  #1 -- I will not go to sleep hungry.  

 

 

[liuzhou]

It's a short story, but I had a bit of a fall at home last night. Mainly bruised my dignity, but also have battered and bruised my lower back. OK! My backside. And I have a cartoon lump on my head. I woke up feeling miserable and in a lot of pain, but it has worn off a bit as the day progressed, The quack says I will live and only time can work its spell.

 

But I probably won't be doing much cooking. I did make some banana bread this morning, but several times thought I would have to abandon the attempt part way through as I felt dizzy and about to faint. Got there in the end, then went to hospital.

Tonight, I remembered that I had spotted a new, small restaurant about 5 minutes from home.

 

Their sign reads "正宗兰州拉面 - zhèng zōng lán zhōu lā miàn" The first two characters together mean "orthodox", then we have Lanzhou", the capital of Gansu province in China's NW,  and finally "lā miàn" or "hand pulled noodles".

Yes, Lanzhou is noodle central, home to both "hand-pulled noodles" and "knife cut noodles" among others. There are theories that the Japanese "ramen" originated here, but then veered off in its own direction.

 

The "orthodox" refers to it being a Muslim restaurant, Gansu being one of China's most Muslim areas. The two characters at the top "清真 - qīng zhēn" simply mean "Muslim". So, no pork.

The place is fairly small and seemed only to have two staff.

 

 

The cook is in the white jacket behind the glass partition and his wife(?) is front of house (and cleaner). She is seated behind the people to the right.

 

You can't miss the menu. There is one on each table and the wall to the left has photographs of each dish, while the wall to the right lists the text version (same as on the tables).

 

 

The table card immediately above is half the menu and lists noodle dishes on the left and stir fry type dishes on the right.

 

Edited to note, I have translated this menu over here.

The table also features a bottle of vinegar, a bowl of chili sauce (with the coloured spots), some toothpicks and the menu.

 

 

So, I chose the first item on the list. As with many small restaurants in China, you make your choice and pay before the food comes. I like this system - saves hanging around for and then arguing over, the bill.

 

"牛肉拉面 - niú ròu lā miàn" - beef hand-pulled noodles. Young man hand pulled them as I watched, then quickly served them up. I added a bit of chilli sauce and slurped away. Then limped home. Early night, I think.

 

Edited March 28, 2017 by liuzhou
added link to translation (log)

[Shelby]

@liuzhou NO more of this falling nonsense.  I won't have it.  My private plane is in the shop and I just can't fly over to keep an eye on you right now   Take care and have a shot of something before bed.

 

More pasta testing last night.  These were smoked mozzerella.  Good, but I liked the mushroom ones better.

 

[Ann_T]

@sartoric, what a great looking Indian meal.   

 

Last night's dinner.

 

 

Boned out chicken breasts but left the skin on.

Browned in cast iron skillet and finished in a hot oven.

Served with a lemon and  green peppercorn sauce.

 

[C. sapidus]

23 hours ago, sartoric said:

Masala dosa (yet again) with a fresh tomato chutney, coconut chutney, veggie saagu, lime pickle and steamed basmati. 

 

Sartoric, masala dosa is one of my favorite things on earth, especially with rasam (spicy soup). Even better is Mysore masala dosa, with a spicy red coating inside the dosa. Have you ever tried that?

 

Elder son and girlfriend visited so we and younger son spent a lazy Sunday shooting the breeze, solving world problems, and cooking tinga Poblana and arroz verde. Well I cooked while they solved world problems.

 

Tinga Poblana started with pork butt simmered until tender in chicken stock with bay leaves and thyme. Gosh that made the house smell good. After cooling the pork was broken up into bite-sized pieces and sauteed with onion and garlic, cooked down with chopped tomatoes and chipotles in adobo, simmered with the strained pork broth, and served with sliced avocado and feta cheese.

 

Arroz verde was cooked pilaf-style, with spinach, parsley, and cilantro blended with chicken stock, and topped with Poblano chiles, roasted, peeled and chopped.

 

I would have taken a picture of the leftovers but when younger son returned from the airport with Mrs. C in tow, she was famished and younger son decided to have a second dinner . . .

[mm84321]

Found me some nice mussels in the bay for dinner last evening..

 

[sartoric]

Something easy, salt and pepper calamari, garlic aioli and a salad.

 

[Kasia]

Today I would like to share with you the recipe for "Kohlrabi-carrot pancakes".  We ate them with horseradish except my son who used caster sugar:)

 

Ingredients (20 pancakes)
dough
2 kohlrabies
2 carrots
half an onion
2 cloves of garlic
a fistful of minced dill
2 eggs
5 tablespoons of flour
salt and pepper
oil for frying
additionally:
sausage
kale shoots
cherry tomatoes
horseradish

 

the whole recipe here

[Anna N]

Real food fast/real fast food (Nigel Slater's titles).  Could not get pizza delivered in the 20 minutes it took me to go from freezer to food.  And only one dish to wash. 

[Steve Irby]

Guanciale wrapped turkey tenderloin and chicken skin wrapped around a tarragon chicken sausage.  I used meat glue and sous vide in the prep of both items.  A quick pan fry and finished in the oven.   I was going to cook them over the weekend but ran out of steam late yesterday.  Served with the usual culprits plus pan charred fresh vidalia onions.  Topped with a simple tarragon infused cream sauce.

 

 

 

  

[Thanks for the Crepes]

8 hours ago, C. sapidus said:

Sartoric, masala dosa is one of my favorite things on earth, especially with rasam (spicy soup). Even better is Mysore masala dosa, with a spicy red coating inside the dosa. Have you ever tried that?

 

According to this article, rasam can be a hard thing to pin down. What kind do you like?

 

It is offered with one dish, the rasam vada app, that I could find on the menu of my local South Indian vegetarian restaurant, Udipi Cafe. They serve their dosa with sambar and coconut chutney. I like this place a lot, and apparently others do too, because it has been here for many years. It does offer Mysore masala dosa and many other types of dosa as well. They serve heavenly idlys here.

[Thanks for the Crepes]

I had dinner tonight at Primo Pizza. I was walking up to the area for groceries from Harris Teeter and vodka from the ABC state liquor monopoly.

 

Primo has a special on Mondays for a 14 inch cheese pizza for $6.99. They are thin crust New York style, and really good. They deliver here, but by the time I pay delivery fees, taxes and tip, it winds up costing a full 50% over the cost of the food, so might as well partake while I'm in the area. Also, their light, crispy chewy crust is always better when not subjected to steaming in a cardboard box for several minutes. I ate half of it, and wrapped the other three slices with the roll of plastic wrap I had carried with me, because pizza boxes can't really be crammed into a backpack, plus the plastic wrap holds the cheese in place when you turn the slices vertical to fit in the pack. I love their pizza and need to get up there more on Mondays.

[C. sapidus]

6 hours ago, Thanks for the Crepes said:

 

According to this article, rasam can be a hard thing to pin down. What kind do you like?

 

It is offered with one dish, the rasam vada app, that I could find on the menu of my local South Indian vegetarian restaurant, Udipi Cafe. They serve their dosa with sambar and coconut chutney. I like this place a lot, and apparently others do too, because it has been here for many years. It does offer Mysore masala dosa and many other types of dosa as well. They serve heavenly idlys here.

 

My mistake - I was thinking of sambar rather than rasam with masala dosa. Good catch, and thanks for linking that article. Sambars that I have had are usually thin, spicy, and tart, more a go-with than a star in their own right. My baseline is the one at Siddhartha, a long-closed south Indian restaurant in downtown Silver Spring. That is also where I discovered masala dosa and palak paneer.

 

I think I made sambar once, but it was not a big hit with the family. Fortunately they liked most other Indian foods that I made.

 

The other day I tried an Indian restaurant near work, and it was truly some of the worst Indian food I have ever had. Everything was completely bland, palak paneer tasted like cream of spinach, and butter chicken tasted like boiled chicken in Campbell's cream of tomato soup.

 

On topic, Mrs. C made a nice vegetarian pasta with chipotle and black beans for dinner last night, served with pickled cabbage.

Edited March 28, 2017 by C. sapidus (log)

[liamsaunt]

Reuben made with pollock

 

[Ann_T]

Goulash Soup with Spaetzle.

 

Last night's dinner.

 

 

[David Ross]

My take on "Poulet aux Ecrevisses"--Chicken with Crayfish.  It's a recipe from the "Saveur Cooks Authentic French" that I've been making for years.  This time instead of a crayfish sauce, I thinned it out and turned it into a crayfish bisque.  Served with white rice this time and a garnish of crayfish tails.  I can buy big bags of cooked, frozen crayfish from Louisiana at a local supermarket and they work great in this dish, lending a bit of spice. You can substitute prawns for the crayfish.  You wouldn't think that the flavors of shellfish go with chicken but it works incredibly well together.

 

[mgaretz]

SV salmon, maple-bourbon glaze and torch-seared.  Served with salad and the remainder of the spaghetti squash.  This time instead of pan-frying it in butter I tossed it in EVOO then baked it, finished with the broiler.  Tasted fine, but we both like the pan-fired version better.

 

 

[Kasia]

21 hours ago, Anna N said:

Real food fast/real fast food (Nigel Slater's titles).  Could not get pizza delivered in the 20 minutes it took me to go from freezer to food.  And only one dish to wash. 

 

Nice view and tempting taste, 

[sartoric]

Perhaps my all time favourite pasta - broccoli, anchovy and garlic with a little white wine and lots of parmesan. To go with, a salad of leaves, persimmon, rehydrated pomegranate seeds and cream cheese, dressed with red wine vinaigrette.

 

 

 

Followed by a slice of upside down nectarine cake cake with ice cream.