Dinner 2018

[ProfessionalHobbit]

These are from dinners in the past few months since it's been a while, right?

 

60 ml extra-virgin olive oil
30 g unsalted butter

2 large onions
10-12 oil-preserved anchovies
3 tbsp. minced Italian parsley
freshly ground black pepper

 

Melt butter in oil over medium-low heat. Add onions. Fry onions until onions are translucent. It'll take a while during which time they shouldn't brown. Maybe 30 minutes.

 

Then add anchovies to pan. Mash with the back of a wooden spoon or with a fork. When anchovies disintegrate, cook for 1-2 more minutes. Stir in parsley.

 

Add in cooked pasta, then toss. Grind black pepper over. Then serve IMMEDIATELY.

[shain]

Wheat berry pilaf, with mushrooms, chestnuts, chickpeas. Plenty of thyme, butter, also cumin and garlic. A hint of cinnamon and mace.

Spicy tomato salad.

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

48 minutes ago, btbyrd said:

Vegetarian stir fry.

 

 

 

 

Final product photo could be better, but my camera’s battery died and dinner was ready.

 

 

Beautiful!

 

[robirdstx]

 

Fresh Homemade Pasta with Basil Pesto, Hot Italian Sausage and Roasted Red Peppers; served with Grated Parmesan and Garlic Toast

 

 

[Dejah]

@liuzhouNeed to be brave and try goat meat once of these days!

 

Pork loin roast coated with whole grain mustard and fresh rosemary. I was quite pleased with the moistness of the meat considering it's so lean. It was great next day in a sandwich for lunch.  The beets were wrapped in foil and in the oven at the same time. For once, they were sweet without any "dirt" taste.

                                                

 

Had lots of running around today, so I picked up some drumsticks that were marinated with buffalo spices. Threw them into a bag with Shake'n'Bake fried chicken coating and they were great - spicy and crispy!
Threw left over crumbs onto steamed carrots and into the oven for last 10 minutes. Steamed green beans were tossed in a hot pan with 2 cubes of Chinese fermented tofu (fooyu), the only way hubby would eat green beans!

                                              

 

 

 

 

 

[heidih]

@Dejah Goat is pretty common here with so many Mexican immigrants from various states. Goat birria being a big big deal. If you like lamb, you will like goat. See our chardgirl's feast. Also our dear departed Jonathon Gold's tribute  https://www.laweekly.com/restaurants/birria-forever-and-everand-ever-2129873

 

 

[liuzhou]

1 hour ago, Dejah said:

@liuzhouNeed to be brave and try goat meat once of these days! 

 

If you like lamb or mutton, you'll like goat. In fact, in many cultures the are described as being the same. "Lamb' in India is nearly always actually 'goat'. This is not any attempt to defraud; they just think they are the same.

In Chinese they are usually both given the same name, (羊 Mandarin: yáng) unless it is really necessary to differentiate, when they describe goat as 'mountain sheep' (山羊 Mand: shān yáng). Same in Cantonese. Unusually the meat I used was fully labelled as 'goat'.

 

I can only get either infrequently here. Always in winter. People like it in hot pots , but it is relatively expensive. But, in northern China it is much more widely available and more affordable.

 

You can't miss it in the supermarkets or markets when it does arrive. The Chinese aren't squeamish about proving what animal they are selling.

 

 

[HungryChris]

Even though the clam beds finally opened for the first time in months, low tide was at 8:30 AM and the temp was at 24 F when it was time to leave the house. I chose to stay in bed. I have driven all the way there and walked all the way out, only to be driven away by the ice cold breeze at the shore, before I have dug enough clams for a decent meal. Deb was so looking foreword to a clam dinner, that I picked up some chopped sea clams at the supermarket for the purpose.

HC

[mgaretz]

Chimichangas, made in the BSOA on airfry mode , stuffed with last night's leftovers of carnitas, rice and beans.  Came out a tad overdone but still good.

 

 

[liuzhou]

 

苦瓜肉片(kǔ guā ròu piàn). Bitter melon with pork and fermented black beans.

 

 

[BonVivant]

Iriomote island, dinner at my lodging. Owners and their families are pineapple and mango farmers who run the guest house and do all the cooking. Workers stay and eat here during harvesting season. Good food every day but the best thing is the island itself.

 

 

 

Tuna and marlin.

 

 

Home-made flavoured liquor.

 

My own dinner at home.

 

 

 

Didn't like the first photo so I made it again with leftover puree.

Edited December 15, 2018 by BonVivant (log)

[liamsaunt]

U10 scallops with butternut squash risotto

 

[shain]

Cornmeal, sour cream and rosemary biscuits.

Beans and corn salad with tomato, avocado, onion, coconut cream, chili, coriander seeds and leaves.

 

 

[Anna N]

 

 One doesn’t easily associate a bechamel  sauce with a Japanese dish.  However, doria, a rice-based gratin, is apparently quite popular. 

 

 

[FauxPas]

This is for @Kerry Beal. I don't usually take photos in restaurants, but we went to a new Tucson restaurant, Tito & Pep, and I decided to try the pork chop. Completely agree with Kerry that a good pork chop is sometimes hard to find. This one was mesquite-grilled. The smartphone photo doesn't show the pink very clearly, but it was pretty much perfectly done, with a lovely quince puree, hazelnuts on top. 

 

 

We also had their roasted carrot starter, which reminded me of Ottolenghi dishes. Roasted carrots, lebne, sunflower and pomegranate seeds with a lot of herbs. Too much dill for my liking, but tasty otherwise. 

 

 

Didn't take photos of the calamari or my husband's shrimp dish. 

[Nicolai]

It was a Damascus Friday.....

 

We could not finish the dishes for the first time ever....actually the third time..... age is catching up.

 

These are delectable meals but not for the fainthearted. The cooking is done with Samn Hamawi (meat fat) and EVOO.

 

It smells and taste great and make sure you are carrying your health insurance card.

 

1- Starters

 

- Makdous Loubieyh. Fresh pickled green beans, walnuts and traditional spices + EVOO

 

 

 

 

- Harak Esbao: (Fingers Burning) which is a lentils based dish with pasta and toasted bread with a Pomegranate Molasses sauce base + EVOO

 

 

 

 

- Batersh: which is an Aubergine and minced meat/pine nuts/almonds + Samn Hamawi. It is a very yummy dish to be scooped with Arabic bread but very heavy.

 

 

 

 

2- Main Dishes

 

- Ouzi Pie: Rice - minced meat - chickpeas - green peas - Grilled nuts. This is a beautiful dish.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

- Shakrieh: Tender beef cubes slow cooked in Yogurt. It is served with the Ouzi pie + Samn Hamawi

 

 

 

 

- Fattet Makdous: Stuffed Eggplants with minced meat - Pine nuts - Yogurt and Tahineh + Samn Hamawi

 

 

 

 

 

 

3- Dessert

Buza Ghazl al Benat: (Arabic Clotted cream Ice Cream with Resin Tree Mastic (Arabic Gum) - Pistachio and Spun Cotton Candy strands.....to die for........

 

 

 

 

and now off traveling for the Xmas hols.

 

Merry Xmas everybody from a giant happy Teddy Bear...

 

 

 

 

and a giant smiling Reindeer....

 

 

 

 

and a giant Xmas tree Bauble......

 

 

 

[FauxPas]

Hard to post right after @Nicolai!  🙂

 

We started last night with a Tequila Negroni. 

 

 

Used the Instant Pot's slow-cooker mode to make this Mexican Beef with Lime Crema and Pinto Beans from Serious Eats. I used Rancho Gordo's Rio Zape beans. We liked the seasoning blend. Nice with some avocado and tomato. 

 

 

 

 

[shain]

@Nicolai A beautiful cuisine it is, and looks well executed. The ouzi pie is new to me - what is it wrapped with? 

[Nicolai]

16 minutes ago, shain said:

@Nicolai A beautiful cuisine it is, and looks well executed. The ouzi pie is new to me - what is it wrapped with? 

 

You can wrap in Puff Pastry or Filo Pastry.

 

This particular one is uniquely wrapped with Kellaj which is a variant of Puff Pastry used mainly for Arabic fried sweet parcels of Cheese or Ashta or Semolina...etc

I think this place is the only one using Kellaj instead of Filo for the Ouzi Pie.

 

I do not have the recipe for Kellaj. The main difference with Puff Pastry is the thickness of the pastry sheets and the use of animal fat instead of butter for such dish. Butter is used for sweet pastries.

[kayb]

18 hours ago, Dejah said:

@liuzhouNeed to be brave and try goat meat once of these days!

 

 

 

Here in the Mississippi River Delta, goat was always a prevalent meat in the African-American community. I have been to many a goat barbecue; a whole goat, roasted over coals for several hours, periodically mopped with a vinegar-based barbecue sauce. It's wonderful. Takes well to barbecuing, but it wants a slow, slow cook.

 

There's also a Jamaican restaurant in Memphis that does goat curry periodically. That's some of the best stuff I ever ate. It's in a fairly mild (odd, for Jamaican cuisine, I guess) curry that appears to be either yogurt- or coconut-based, since it's creamy. I detected no coconut taste, though.

 

@Nicolai, I want to tag along on one of your eating-out excursions. In what city are you finding these wonderful dining options, or is it various places? 

 

@FauxPas, how did you like the slow cooker mode for the beans? I got rid of my slow cooker when I got my IP,  but I find I never use the slow-cook mode and things I might once have slow-cooked I just do in pressure cooker mode now. I've heard the slow cook mode is less than desirable because it heats only from the bottom.

[HungryChris]

Tonight we had duck soup with Cheddar Bay Biscuits (I had no cheddar cheese, and substituted Swiss instead). We enjoyed both the soup and the biscuits.

HC

[Kim Shook]

44 minutes ago, HungryChris said:

Tonight we had duck soup with Cheddar Bay Biscuits (I had no cheddar cheese, and substituted Swiss instead). We enjoyed both the soup and the biscuits.

HC

Am I the only one who can't see "Duck Soup" without thinking of the Marx Bros.?  I'm not even that old (59)!

[chromedome]

I think of the scene with the lemonade vendor every time I make lemonade (just turned 55, myself, and raised a couple of Marx Brothers fans currently aged 30 and 25).

[robirdstx]

 

Blackened Catfish with Asparagus at Floyd’s in Webster.

 

[HungryChris]

49 minutes ago, Kim Shook said:

Am I the only one who can't see "Duck Soup" without thinking of the Marx Bros.?  I'm not even that old (59)!

Yes, I think you are! Our differences aside, Deb was apprehensive about duck soup, but actually had seconds!! I call that a winner!!!!!! 

HC