Dinner 2017 (Part 6)

[Katie Meadow]

kayb, thanx! The corn around here has been especially good this summer, so we're eating it like crazy; recipes are stacking up. My rule of thumb for mayo works for about 90 percent of all recipes, at least for me: cut the amount in half. Of course it's Hellman's / Best Foods, depending on the coast. My feeling is that in order to love Duke's or Miracle Whip you must be spoon fed it from birth. What do they actually use in Mexico?

 

[kayb]

3 minutes ago, Katie Meadow said:

kayb, thanx! The corn around here has been especially good this summer, so we're eating it like crazy; recipes are stacking up. My rule of thumb for mayo works for about 90 percent of all recipes, at least for me: cut the amount in half. Of course it's Hellman's / Best Foods, depending on the coast. My feeling is that in order to love Duke's or Miracle Whip you must be spoon fed it from birth. What do they actually use in Mexico?

 

I have no clue if they actually use mayo in Mexico. That's just a holdover from the tomato pies of my childhood.

 

[C. sapidus]

6 hours ago, weedy said:

Tell us about that chutney. 

 

How'd you make it?

 

 

Thanks for asking! Recipe is from My Bombay Kitchen by Niloufer Ichaporia King.

 

1/2 cup grated coconut (fresh or frozen)

1 cup cilantro leaves and stems

1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds, pounded

12 fresh mint leaves (I use more)

3 green chiles (I use serrano)

2 cloves garlic

1 tsp (or more) salt

juice of 1/2 lime (or more - I probably used 2)

1 1/2 tsp sugar (or to balance with the lime)

 

Whomp everything up in a blender, and then adjust sweet / sour / salty to taste. Fantastic stuff - wonderful in raita, among other things.

[gfweb]

@Shelby I love smoked turkey breast cooked SV. Makes a fabulous turkey salad. I keep cooked and smoked breasts in the freezer for emergencies.

[gfweb]

On 9/3/2017 at 7:13 AM, liuzhou said:

 

My son decided one day that parsnips were definitely inedible if not actually poisonous, so for years after that I only ever served him "Chinese white carrots", which he loved. They were, of course, the same parsnips.
 

In a similar vein, one of my younger brothers decided as a pre-teenager that he hated onions. One day, we were eating dinner as a family and said brother exclaimed "What is this soup! It is wonderful. Can I have more, please?"  The rest of the family, me included, fell about laughing, to his utter confusion. Yes, it was onion soup. He is now head chef of a large New York restaurant (I won't say which but there can't be too many with British head chefs) and hates anyone telling that story.

Sorry, bruv!

Jason Atherton or Gordon Ramsay.

[Thanks for the Crepes]

6 hours ago, Katie Meadow said:

kayb, thanx! The corn around here has been especially good this summer, so we're eating it like crazy; recipes are stacking up. My rule of thumb for mayo works for about 90 percent of all recipes, at least for me: cut the amount in half. Of course it's Hellman's / Best Foods, depending on the coast. My feeling is that in order to love Duke's or Miracle Whip you must be spoon fed it from birth. What do they actually use in Mexico?

 

 

I'm with you on the light on the (real) mayo, Katie.

 

Your theory about being brought up with a certain mayo or substitute might be flawed, though. I was brought up on Miracle Whip. My R.N. mom thought it was a healthier alternative at the time, along with margarine. Now, I think any mayo wanna be with sugar in the ingredients is just fake and not very good. That includes most commercial ones, including Kraft, and Hellman's. I think Julia Child, rest her soul, would be with me on this one, as I don't think she ever included sugar in the ingredients for her mayo. Duke's is one of the few mayos that does not contain sugar, and that is why I have been using it as an adult for decades. I also haven't had margarine in the house for many years. 

 

In trying to find out what mayo was used in Mexico, I came across McCormick Mayonesa with lime juice. It contains sugar, which makes it fake in my book.  I also came across this interesting discussion between some people in Mexico and others in the States that is mostly about whether mayo needs refrigeration. A sailor and others testify it does not. There's also a link to an interesting ChowHound discussion about refrigerating mayo. The takeaway for me from that rabbit hole, is do not contaminate your container of mayo by using anything other than scrupulously clean utensils to dispense it.

 

@kayb, 

 

I'm sorry you said your recipe you tried for red Mexican rice wasn't very good (IP thread). The rest of the dinner looks so fabulous that I was trying to figure a way to get to Arkansas before the leftovers were gone. Too bad about the Mexican street corn pie. It looked absolutely delicious.

 

If you like the Tex-Mex style red rice served in a hundred thousand restaurants, after many years, I discovered the secret. I was trying to go high end with fresh tomatoes, but never really liked it as much as I liked the slightly greasy offering at the Tex-Mex joints. That secret is Knorr Caldo de Tomate cubes. They are widely available around here, even at Dollar General, and they also offer a powdered version in a jar that I don't like as much. They are like big chicken bouillon cubes that will flavor two cups of water. They have dehydrated tomato powder, and tasty MSG. I chop some white onion and saute it in oil in the rice cooking pot. The Mexican restos seem to use more oil than I can bring myself to, and that is probably why theirs is always slightly better, and a rare treat. You want it translucent, not browned, but enough to drive excess water out. Now add a cup of regular long grain rice. I tried it with short and medium grain and didn't like it as well. You want to saute the rice just long enough to get every grain coated with oil and just cook it a little. It starts turning whiter and more opaque. I like to add chopped jalapenos at this point, but the restaurants usually don't. You could also add poblanos for lower heat or any other pepper you want. Then add two cups of water, one Caldo de Tomate cube, and bring to boil, bringing down to simmer for 15 minutes, covered. If you know your rice, you can adjust down the water from 2 cups for very dry long-stored rice to less for fresher rice. Turn off heat and let stand covered for five minutes, but it will hold longer if needed. For single eaters like me, this makes four serving, but freezes well if scooped into Baggies and stowed in a freezer bag in the freezer. You could add peas, corn, carrots or other stuff, but you'd deviate from the Tex-Mex restaurant rice.

 

@Shelby,

 

That is the best treatment of turkey breast, which can so often be sawdust dry, I believe I have seen. What kind of good-looking cheese is that on the sandwich fixin's plate? I can't recognize it, but it looks like something I want.

Edited September 5, 2017 by Thanks for the Crepes
punctuation seems beyond me at times :-) (log)

[Thanks for the Crepes]

I had another Greek salad tonight. Nothing new, but you have to repeat some things when you live alone or waste a ridiculous amount of food. I still found it very enjoyable.

 

Then I had some thawed out vegetable curry that had been in the freezer. It's really good over rice, but I felt like pasta, so I cooked up some angel hair and served it over that this time. I can't remember pasta dishes on the menus of any Indian restaurants around here, but I felt like doing it anyway. So while I was eating my creation I thought to be outre, I did some research on whether anyone else had thought of this. In looking at the Indian menus of local restos, I found no pasta offerings. Everything is served with basmati rice. Turns out pasta is common in Indian cuisine, though. Then I remembered having some sort of yellow (turmeric?) vermicelli and vegetable dish from an Indian buffet years ago that was very good. Then I remembered seeing an entire aisle of pasta product at Patel Brothers Indian grocer. So much for inventing a delicious new dish.  Okay, and further research seems to indicate that pasta actually originates in Asia, probably China, long before it was brought to Italy. In our culture at least, Italy gets all the credit. Whoever figured out noodles though, is a genius. My dish was really good, and I will be repeating my unoriginal idea.

 

Then I reheated a couple of chicken wings in my little Dutch oven that were left  over from a Chinese place I ate at yesterday , one at a time as I ate them so they would be at their best.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Tonight a salad of tomato (yes, it is still that time of year) and bib lettuce.  Followed by a baguette and a generous wedge of Podda Classico from Sardinia, accompanied by much Soave and bunch of concord grapes.  Hard to get much better.

 

But the main meal was in the middle of the afternoon.  My family took me to a local Chinese restaurant.  My dear daughter-in-law was hungry for the squirrel fish she had had in China.  The menu offered sweet and sour perch.  She and I went with that.  My son ordered Szechuan beef and my grandson ordered Szechuan lamb.  The server had overheard our conversation and offered that the Szechuan dishes were prepared American style but could be prepared Chinese style upon request.  My granddaughter murmured something to the server in Mandarin.  My son and I loved it.  My grandson couldn't eat it.

 

But he did not go hungry.

 

And the fish was excellent.  Whatever the menu said, my granddaughter pointed out the POS system printed "Squirrel fish" on the check.

 

[Thanks for the Crepes]

@JoNorvelleWalker,

 

We have a Chinese restaurant here within my walking distance that still offers "Fried fish like squirrel tail with sweet and sour sauce".  It has gone down in quality, since the original chef opened his own restaurant in Morrisville. Super Wok is still open, but the Yelp stars went down some when this happened. I learned this on Chowhound, but failed to remember where the original chef went, since it couldn't benefit me, as I can't get myself there. I am quite sure that restaurant is great though.

[Shelby]

7 hours ago, Thanks for the Crepes said:

 

I'm with you on the light on the (real) mayo, Katie.

 

Your theory about being brought up with a certain mayo or substitute might be flawed, though. I was brought up on Miracle Whip. My R.N. mom thought it was a healthier alternative at the time, along with margarine. Now, I think any mayo wanna be with sugar in the ingredients is just fake and not very good. That includes most commercial ones, including Kraft, and Hellman's. I think Julia Child, rest her soul, would be with me on this one, as I don't think she ever included sugar in the ingredients for her mayo. Duke's is one of the few mayos that does not contain sugar, and that is why I have been using it as an adult for decades. I also haven't had margarine in the house for many years. 

 

In trying to find out what mayo was used in Mexico, I came across McCormick Mayonesa with lime juice. It contains sugar, which makes it fake in my book.  I also came across this interesting discussion between some people in Mexico and others in the States that is mostly about whether mayo needs refrigeration. A sailor and others testify it does not. There's also a link to an interesting ChowHound discussion about refrigerating mayo. The takeaway for me from that rabbit hole, is do not contaminate your container of mayo by using anything other than scrupulously clean utensils to dispense it.

 

@kayb, 

 

I'm sorry you said your recipe you tried for red Mexican rice wasn't very good (IP thread). The rest of the dinner looks so fabulous that I was trying to figure a way to get to Arkansas before the leftovers were gone. Too bad about the Mexican street corn pie. It looked absolutely delicious.

 

If you like the Tex-Mex style red rice served in a hundred thousand restaurants, after many years, I discovered the secret. I was trying to go high end with fresh tomatoes, but never really liked it as much as I liked the slightly greasy offering at the Tex-Mex joints. That secret is Knorr Caldo de Tomate cubes. They are widely available around here, even at Dollar General, and they also offer a powdered version in a jar that I don't like as much. They are like big chicken bouillon cubes that will flavor two cups of water. They have dehydrated tomato powder, and tasty MSG. I chop some white onion and saute it in oil in the rice cooking pot. The Mexican restos seem to use more oil than I can bring myself to, and that is probably why theirs is always slightly better, and a rare treat. You want it translucent, not browned, but enough to drive excess water out. Now add a cup of regular long grain rice. I tried it with short and medium grain and didn't like it as well. You want to saute the rice just long enough to get every grain coated with oil and just cook it a little. It starts turning whiter and more opaque. I like to add chopped jalapenos at this point, but the restaurants usually don't. You could also add poblanos for lower heat or any other pepper you want. Then add two cups of water, one Caldo de Tomate cube, and bring to boil, bringing down to simmer for 15 minutes, covered. If you know your rice, you can adjust down the water from 2 cups for very dry long-stored rice to less for fresher rice. Turn off heat and let stand covered for five minutes, but it will hold longer if needed. For single eaters like me, this makes four serving, but freezes well if scooped into Baggies and stowed in a freezer bag in the freezer. You could add peas, corn, carrots or other stuff, but you'd deviate from the Tex-Mex restaurant rice.

 

@Shelby,

 

That is the best treatment of turkey breast, which can so often be sawdust dry, I believe I have seen. What kind of good-looking cheese is that on the sandwich fixin's plate? I can't recognize it, but it looks like something I want.

 

It's a smoked cheese--smoked salami cheese actually.  I don't know why the salami part is in there except for maybe it's because of the shape of the cheese.  It's great on sandwiches.

 

 

[Shelby]

Doves wrapped in bacon with jalapeños done in the CSO.  Mac and cheese.  Found a bag of teal hearts and livers in the freezer so I did a play on livers and onions.

 

[Katie Meadow]

RED RICE:

For a red rice with a little less Texas,  try using achiote paste or annatto oil. I've seen recipes that use it instead of tomato but also many that add both to make red rice. I got into it when I became interested in Daisy Martinez's Puerto Rican recipes. She calls it yellow rice, and of course there are infinite varieties, some using bacon, peas or other vegetables, etc. I love the flavor of achiote. I've used it on fish and chicken.

 

 

[mgaretz]

Two nights ago it was still too hot to heat up the kitchen for a full meal, so we had lox, but I did fry up the left-over mashed potatoes, mixed with some green onion, into pancakes:

 

 

Last night it had cooled off considerably so I made a hunk of char siu with pork tenderloin.  Cooked SV at 140F for three hours (from frozen), basted with honey then seared.  Made it into a chow-meiny dish with noodles, cabbage, mushrooms, celery, carrots, onion and snap peas.

 

 

 

[weedy]

Seated tuna (after quick low temp Sous Vide) with mango salsa and arugula salad. 

 

 

[Tropicalsenior]

On 9/4/2017 at 4:06 PM, kayb said:

On 9/4/2017 at 4:01 PM, Katie Meadow said:

kayb, thanx! The corn around here has been especially good this summer, so we're eating it like crazy; recipes are stacking up. My rule of thumb for mayo works for about 90 percent of all recipes, at least for me: cut the amount in half. Of course it's Hellman's / Best Foods, depending on the coast. My feeling is that in order to love Duke's or Miracle Whip you must be spoon fed it from birth. What do they actually use in Mexico?

 

I have no clue if they actually use mayo in Mexico. That's just a holdover from the tomato pies of my childhood.

Latin Americans love mayonnaise. In my experience living here, most of them prefer mayonnaise with more lemon in it. Here in Costa Rica, two of the favorite brands ar Krafts and Hellmans. They also have some local brands that aren't is good as the first two.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Fagiolini  all'Aglio -- *not* Bugialli's recipe.  Bugialli and all true Sardinians may spit on my grave.  But I assert my 0.3% Sardinian genetics.  This was my thirty second green beans with the sauce from Bugialli's Sardinian Pollo al Guazzetto.  Most excellent.

 

Baguette of course and no lack of Soave.

 

 

[Tropicalsenior]

Dinner last night was three cheese pizza with homemade Italian sausage and sauteed mushrooms. Oh, with anchovies, with a side salad of tomatoes and avocado. Pizza ready to go in the oven.

And finished pizza with salad.

 

Edited September 6, 2017 by Tropicalsenior
Typo (log)

[Shelby]

Venison meatloaf

 

[Anna N]

 

Salad of green beans, walnuts dried cherries and blue cheese. 

[Smithy]

Chicken thighs with curry seasoning and a skillet relish of peppers, tomatoes, broccoli, cauliflower and garlic.  We've been visiting family, where red meat rules, vegetables and spices are in scant supply and poultry is utterly absent.  It's fun to visit them, but it's nice to be on our own again.  I suspect they feel the same way. 

 

[liuzhou]

Spiced up pig's liver and onions with okra and mashed potatoes.

 

[naguere]

Pork patties.

about a kilo of minced pork (15% fat)

a large bag of chips(crisps)  balsamic flavour

a slice of good bread or a roll, soaked

one egg

herbs of choice then salt and pepper

mix all together then form the patties

as mine are quite large i cooked the first for 30 mins in the oven.

[robirdstx]

 

Pan-fried Panko and Parmesan Crusted Chicken Tenders with a Creamy Parmesan Garlic Sauce, Buttered Green Peas and Crash Hot Potatoes with Rosemary

Edited September 7, 2017 by robirdstx (log)

[Anna N]

 

Sharp cheddar on toast with onion jam and a side of pickled green beans. 

Edited September 7, 2017 by Anna N (log)

[scubadoo97]

Did a little shopping in advance of Irma.  No water, no bread except hotdog and burger buns.  

 

Picked up some veggies.  White corn 10 for $3.00, string beans and zucchini squash and lettuce.  Figured I needed to hit the freezer for a protein and hope we don't lose power for too long.  To many good things in there.  Replenished  my propane tanks for the grill just in case, although my stove is propane as well

 

Pulled a couple chicken breasts from the freezer and seared in cast iron with guajillo pepper and  s&p.  Made a medley of white corn, string beans, orange and green peppers

 

 

 

Edited September 7, 2017 by scubadoo97 (log)