Dinner 2017 (Part 5)

[Anna N]

 

Don't think I would ever attempt to cook a pork loin any other way. 

[mgaretz]

Hash made with the leftover pork chop, cauliflower instead of potatoes, onions and peas.  Mixed in a little BBQ sauce.

 

 

 

[sartoric]

Fettuccine rigate with pesto, a salad of rocket from the garden and garlic bread.

[robirdstx]

 

Pork Fried Rice

 

 

[Okanagancook]

We had quite the treat last night.  My 65th B-day celebrations included live and kicking Spot Prawns from Vancouver.  Wow.  If you have had them you know what I'm talking about...tender, juicy, sweet, tasting of the sea.  Not cheap mind you but one is only 65 once and OAS (Old Age Security) payments kick in, so what the heck.  A local restauranteur who I have met and talked to over the past several years ordered the prawns from his local fish monger and just included it in with his usual shipment and he didn't even add a little something for his efforts which included a few emails and several phone calls!  Who does that nowadays?

 

First picture are the beauties in the shipping box.

Second on is one of the larger ones on my DH's hand.

Third picture is them in my pouching liquid.  I brought a salted court bouillon to the boil; turned it off, added the 20 shrimp and covered the pan for four minutes.  Perfectly cooked.

Fourth picture is the plated appetizer.

 

My hubby and I had one raw.  They were so tender and sweet.  At the table with the cooked prawns I did muster up the courage to suck the head out of one.  It was really tasty but I was a bit squeamish.

 

Today I made a bisque with all the heads and shells.  I am going to drop off a serving for the chef to try.  I know it is good and he will appreciate it.  Such a nice fellow!  It is hard to get good seafood here in the British Columbia interior and the chef says, 'anytime you want something, let me know.  I order Wednesday and Saturdays. " He get the product from a fish monger in Kelowna who is very busy and very successful.  There are a lot of ex-Vancouverites living in Kelowna who are seafood starved and there seems to be no shortage of cash up that way......most Millionaires per capita in Canada.

 

[Mysstwalker]

Well, dinner is nowhere near the caliber of what I see here, but Chris and I enjoyed it. Dinner tonight - not sure if it is a Spanish tortilla or a frittata so I shall call it a Torttata! Shredded Gruyere, red potatoes, baby bella mushrooms, all done in my Instant Pot! Very tender fluffy egg, Chris kept muttering "mmmm...wow...omg...mmmm" the whole time he was eating lol.

[scubadoo97]

Lahamagine 

Love these 

 

[Kim Shook]

@Shelby – those strawberries look remarkable!  How I miss the strawberry farm that used to operate near us.  They had a few bad years and now only do pumpkins and plants.  Every single meal looked wonderful, but I especially loved the ‘welcome’ snacks!  They reminded me of when we’d arrive at my grandparents’ farm late at night and my dad and grandfather would go right to bed after hellos.  My mom, my grandmother and I would stay up talking with a block of rat cheese, a sleeve of Ritz and slivers of chess pie!

 

@kayb – I know you are a good Southern girl, but do you have British relatives?  You said something “worked a treat”.  That was a phrase I’ve only ever heard from my English stepdad.

 

@liuzhou – I had to giggle at your horrible “Western” meal.  It just reinforces what I’ve always believed – that you NEVER try to serve someone their ‘home’ food.  My poor mom would always try to cook something vaguely ‘French’ for my English uncle and his French wife.  I used to tell her to make crabcakes, sliced tomatoes and corn on the cob in summer and chicken and dumplings in winter. 

 

@Okanagancook – Happy Birthday!  Those shrimp are just amazing!

 

@scubadoo97 – I had to Google ‘Lahamagine ‘.  Looks and sounds delicious!

 

I was interested in the vegetarian talk – I adore meat and could never be one, but my biggest problem is that I don’t care for many vegetables.  I hardly think a plate of mashed potatoes, butter beans and corn would be healthy.  There ARE some green vegetables that I eat, but not many. 

 

 Still not doing a lot of cooking – but I am getting ready for a nice dinner with my in laws tomorrow.  I’ve already made the gravy for my roast beef. 

 

One dinner was salad and soup.  The same chicken noodle that I served a few days back, so no picture.  The only reason that I took a picture of the salad was the amazing looking watermelon radishes I found at Kroger:

They were beautiful and crisp, but tasteless.  I also started my summer cucumbers:

Cukes, onions, vinegar, Splenda and pepper.

 

We had my MIL over for dinner since we didn’t get to see her for Mother’s Day.  Started with some snacks:

Gougeres and crab meltaways.

 

Dinner was Tequila shrimp, Rice, Snow peas, Bread and Geoffrey Zacharian’s Caesar Salad.  Flaming the shrimp:

Finished:

 

Rice:

Is there a duller looking dish than white rice in a white bowl?

 

Snow peas:

Steamed and sautéed with ponzu and soy.

 

Salad:

This is my favorite Caesar – it is made with white anchovies and torn-bread pan fried croutons.  So good.

 

Dessert was Croissant Panini w/ Biscoff Spread and bananas:

 

A friend had a bad fall and ended up in the hospital for a day, so I made some vegetable beef soup to take to them.  Kept some back for us:

 

Served with halloumi and pita:

 

Dinner tonight – ham and cheese (Cheddar and aged Gouda) quiche:

 

[kayb]

11 hours ago, Kim Shook said:

 

@kayb – I know you are a good Southern girl, but do you have British relatives?  You said something “worked a treat”.  That was a phrase I’ve only ever heard from my English stepdad.

 

 

Not for many generations back. But my light reading of late has been British murder mysteries, so I guess that's where it worked in.

[ninagluck]

I went to Hungary today to buy some non correct food, so not much time for cooking left ;-) simple pasta with anchovis, capers, spring onions, white wine and some cherry tomatoes. 

[Anna N]

2 hours ago, ninagluck said:

I went to Hungary today to buy some non correct food

What, may I ask, is non correct food.  Sounds a bit racy.

[sartoric]

Tandoori chicken masala, Bengali cauliflower curry (no onions, no garlic), creamy spinach dal from the Punjab, garlic naan, rice, cucumber raita, tomato chutney, green mango pickle.

 

[Norm Matthews]

@Kim Shook I plan to make some quiche with breakfast sausage tomorrow.  Yours looks delicious.

 

For dinner tonight I baked some red peppers stuffed with Quinoa, pepperoni, mushrooms and pizza sauce.  In case my son isn't too excited about stuffed peppers, I split and hollowed the end of a  loaf of French bread and filled it with some extra filling.  I tried a piece of the bread pizza and think I may leave out the peppers next time.

Edited May 25, 2017 by Norm Matthews (log)

[liamsaunt]

Last night: Faroe Island salmon with red rice, guacamole, sautéed plantains, and a poblano-chipotle-tomato salsa

 

[mm84321]

the lemons are sweet down here, enough that you can eat them after squeezing over your fish

 

[scubadoo97]

@liamsaunt  gorgeous color on your fish.  Looks picture perfect 

 

@mm84321  your crust also looks picture perfect.  Very thin and crisp 

[liuzhou]

Back in my kitchen after a three day absence. Last night a slow-cooked chicken curry with okra.

 

I also spiced and roasted half a ball of round eggplant/aubergine. Details on this topic thread.

 

With rice and homemade yoghurt.

 

Chicken and Okra Curry - needs something else!

 

Spiced Roast Eggplant/Aubergine

 

That's better.

Edited May 26, 2017 by liuzhou (log)

[Shelby]

@Okanagancook  Those shrimp are a thing of beauty.  I can almost taste how fresh they are through the screen!  And, happy belated birthday!!

 

@Kim Shook  I love seeing your meals and your tequila shrimp are also calling to me. 

 

Fried fish and shrimp last night

 

[kayb]

I had the best dinner last night I've had in ages...met some friends at Uncle John's, one of the three retail establishments (with the liquor store and the convenience store) in the thriving Delta metropolis of Crawfordsville, AR, population maybe 200. It's been there 30 years, which is about how long I've been eating there.

 

Homemade ravioli, meat and cheese filling. "Spaghetti gravy," a deep, dark red meat sauce, not heavily spiced, a little tang from some red pepper, the most tomatoey thing I've ever put in my mouth. Garlic toast, plain old Texas Toast style bread brushed with butter, garlic, olive oil and grilled on the flat top; salad with iceberg lettuce and some tomato, and a simple, tangy, oil and vinegar dressing. Good, solid, Italian peasant food. Food that greets you from the plate with what feels like a warm hug after a long, harried day, and says, "Hey, sweetie. Sit down and take a break."

 

Glass of Scotto Family old vine Lodi zinfandel. And bread pudding. Wonderfully, ethereally light bread pudding, no nasty raisins, a bare hint of cinnamon and nutmeg, soaked in a bourbon sauce that is so good I could drink it. Approximate 4,500 calories per bite, and I Did Not Care.

 

I woke up at 4 a.m. thinking about that dinner, how much I enjoyed it, and how good it was. THAT is a good dinner that can make you do that.

[liuzhou]

Tonight, fish and chips Liuzhou-style. I was right out of fish, so had to make do with lobster. And sparrow juice.

 

 

Found I was also right out of beer (some idiot must have drunk it all), but luckily was able to make do with some sort of bubbly wine from "Campaign" or something similar.

 

 

All in celebration of nothing at all.

[mgaretz]

Sirloin steak, cooked SV then torch-seared, served with buttered cauliflower (a la Voltaggio), salad and a yummy red blend that comes in a box from Oak Ridge (Lodi) called Rocky's Blocks.  I have never actually bought a boxed wine before, but this was really excellent, especially since a 3L (4 bottle) box was just $19.99.  Unfortunately it's only available at the winery.

 

 

Edited May 26, 2017 by mgaretz (log)

[Kim Shook]

@kayb – too funny!  I, too, am an aficionado of British murder mysteries – especially from the Golden Age.  Between those and my English family, I think I’ve picked up a lot of ‘British-isms’.  I have been asked if I’m British fairly often on internet sites. 

 

@ninagluck – I, too, want to know what “non correct food” is!

 

Had my in-laws and my mother over last night.  Haven’t seen @Marlene here much lately, but my dinner ended up a bit of an homage to her!  America’s Test Kitchen Roast beef:

 

I don’t cook a rib roast very often and the last time I did it, I used what I call the Scary Method – putting the roast in a 500F oven, leave the oven on for 5 minutes per pound for medium-rare, then turn the oven off and don’t open the door for 2 hours.  This worked perfectly for me the time that I did it, but I’ve heard so many people say that they had a disaster – raw meat mostly – when they went to serve it that I decided to try the ATK method.  It is slow roasted and extremely easy – figuring out the timing is the hardest part.  I was very happy with the results.  I was serving 2 people who like meat well done, so I took it JUST over medium-rare.  The center cuts were just slightly more than we really like.  Since this roasts at 200F, you first sear the roast in a pan and when it is done and has rested, you broil the fat cap until crisp.  I was tempted to slice that off and eat it in the kitchen all by myself!  It was incredible.

 

Marlene’s Crispy Smashed Potatoes:

 

Marlene’s Broccoli Gratin w/ Streusel:

 

Marlene’s Yorkies:

Which suffered a bit by timing – and a bit too much fat in the cups, I think.  Still very good.

 

Gravy and horseradish sauce:

The gravy was excellent.  As much as possible, I make my gravies ahead of time.  Sometimes a few weeks ahead and then freeze them.  I made this the day before.  For me, it is the only way to go.  No last minute frenzy getting it ready – I just heat it up.  If whatever I’m making has good drippings, it just defat them and dump them in the gravy as it is heating up.  Dessert was sugar free Lava Cakes:

 

Edited May 26, 2017 by Kim Shook (log)

[ninagluck]

@Anna N and @Kim Shook I bought duck foie gras, shame on me, but could not resist!

[Anna N]

37 minutes ago, ninagluck said:

@Anna N and @Kim Shook I bought duck foie gras, shame on me, but could not resist!

Nothing shameful on my account though I do understand others might object. 

[ninagluck]

@Anna N, it's there in abundance in regular supermarkets for little money