Dinner 2018

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Dinner:  baguette, apple, wine, and cheeses.  You know what it looks like.

 

Last night Alose Grillee --  Raynond Sokalov, The Saucier's Apprentice (p185)...

 

 

 

 

On bed of watercress, wild rice, asparagus.  Unashamedly served with Hollandaise Piment d'Espelette, rather than Beurre Blanc as called for.

 

 

[liuzhou]

Spicy squid with sugar snap peas. A popular pairing round these parts.

 

Squid, peas, garlic, ginger, chilli, oyster sauce. With rice.

 

Couldn't get much simpler, but too many restaurants overcook the squid. In fact,  I never order it in restaurants any more.

 

[Norm Matthews]

@heidih The strawberry pie I made has all the same ingredients as the one pointed out but different amounts.  The one made was for a regular pie but the one I saw was for a deep dish pie and the crust, instead of graham cracker, used: Crust
    •    1/2 c. 1 stick butter, softened
    •    3 Tbsp. sugar
    •    1 c. flour

[KennethT]

I was finally able to make a decent Singapore style roti prata... 

Granted it's not nice and round like it should be, but it was crispy on the outside, a little flaky inside and nice and tender.  Not as flaky as I'd like, but that is for future experiments.  Also, this is a "healthy" prata, which means that is made with copious amounts of olive oil, rather than margarine as would be typical.  I used a different recipe for these than what I linked to a few pages back.  I tried that recipe, but they came out like bricks.  The new recipe is a similar 50% hydration, but uses a lot more oil in the dough, which makes it really slack... but it stretches easily to a thinness that is basically transparent.

 

I made the dough and stretched them last week, then shaped into the coil shape, bagged and froze.  Yesterday, they were removed from the freezer around noon, and then I made them around 7.  I couldn't tell a difference between these and the one that I made fresh, never frozen.

 

We had these last night with a nyonya chicken in black nut curry (but without the black nuts!) which is a curry that has no coconut milk, but is a spice paste with lots of fermented shrimp paste and tamarind.

[weinoo]

Liuzhou inspired. Before...

 

 

After...

 

 

2 small red snappers.  Steam roasted. Chinese and European celery stir-fried with ginger and garlic.

Edited March 6, 2018 by weinoo (log)

[Okanagancook]

12 hours ago, gfweb said:

I'm never happy when I make my own dough for potstickers. Perhaps I should try again. My last fail was a while ago. ...

I use the hot water dough method.  Just two ingredients, a little knead, couple of hours rest and rolled out to #4 on the Kitchenaid pasta roller.

[gfweb]

3 minutes ago, Okanagancook said:

I use the hot water dough method.  Just two ingredients, a little knead, couple of hours rest and rolled out to #4 on the Kitchenaid pasta roller.

I am too impatient to let it rest.

That's the problem.

 

[Okanagancook]

Make the dough just before going to bed!

[rotuts]

@heidih

 

I agree

 

MarieC used to make the best  pies.

 

as good as home made

 

a long long time ago

 

and only a few blocks away !

[Tropicalsenior]

4 minutes ago, Okanagancook said:

Make the dough just before going to bed!

Do you steam them or fry them? I've heard that you need a different dough for each method and I can't remember which is which.

[Nicolai]

 Sunday is Lebanese dinner time........

 

 

- Tabbouleh

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

- Batata Harrah

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

- Mutabal Bandjan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

- Balila

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

- Kabab Halabi

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

- Kabab Khashkash

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

- Shish Taouk

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

- Kebbe Meshuyeh

 

[Shelby]

Venison burgers and potato salad

 

[rotuts]

@Nicolai

 

what time do you start eating ?

 

Ill be right over on that dot !

 

fantastic looking stuff !

[Okanagancook]

Regarding the potstickers,  I use Andrea Nguyen’s Asian Dumplings book.  She also has a website http://www.asiandumplingtips.com/asian-dumplings-recipe-index.html

 

I make the pot stickers so they are fried first for a couple of minutes until the bottoms are browned.  Then water is added to a depth of 1/4 inch in the fry pan and a lid is put on for 7 minutes.  Then remove lid and continue cooking for another 3 to 5 minutes until the liquid is gone and the dumplings are crispy on the bottom.

 

Andrea notes in her book that “wheat flour dumpling wrappers are made with hot or cold water—the temperature is traditionally dictated by the cooking method.  Boiled dumplings are said to require thicker skins made from cold water dough in order to withstand the pressures of boiling, whereas pan fried and steamed dumplings require thinner skins made from hot water dough for their gentler cooking processes.  Over the years, I’ve found that homemade wrappers of medium thickness, a scant 1/8 th inch in the centre and about 1/16 at the rim, work well for all cooking methods.  If dumplings are gently boiled there is no need for thicker wrappers.  Producing medium thick wrappers is easier with hot water dough as it is more yielding than its cold water counterpart.”

 

On her website there are very good videos on making these dumplings.  I use her rolling method as well as the pasta roller method.  Her Asian Dumplings cookbook is excellent.

Edited March 6, 2018 by Okanagancook (log)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

56 minutes ago, Nicolai said:

 Sunday is Lebanese dinner time........

 

 

- Tabbouleh

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

- Batata Harrah

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

- Mutabal Bandjan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

- Balila

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

- Kabab Halabi

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

- Kabab Khashkash

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

- Shish Taouk

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

- Kebbe Meshuyeh

 

 

Was that all?

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

46 minutes ago, Okanagancook said:

Regarding the potstickers,  I use Andrea Nguyen’s Asian Dumplings book.  She also has a website http://www.asiandumplingtips.com/asian-dumplings-recipe-index.html

 

I make the pot stickers so they are fried first for a couple of minutes until the bottoms are browned.  Then water is added to a depth of 1/4 inch in the fry pan and a lid is put on for 7 minutes.  Then remove lid and continue cooking for another 3 to 5 minutes until the liquid is gone and the dumplings are crispy on the bottom.

 

Andrea notes in her book that “wheat flour dumpling wrappers are made with hot or cold water—the temperature is traditionally dictated by the cooking method.  Boiled dumplings are said to require thicker skins made from cold water dough in order to withstand the pressures of boiling, whereas pan fried and steamed dumplings require thinner skins made from hot water dough for their gentler cooking processes.  Over the years, I’ve found that homemade wrappers of medium thickness, a scant 1/8 th inch in the centre and about 1/16 at the rim, work well for all cooking methods.  If dumplings are gently boiled there is no need for thicker wrappers.  Producing medium thick wrappers is easier with hot water dough as it is more yielding than its cold water counterpart.”

 

On her website there are very good videos on making these dumplings.  I use her rolling method as well as the pasta roller method.  Her Asian Dumplings cookbook is excellent.

 

 

Thanks!  I was just reading about dumpling dough last night in All Under Heaven!  Yesterday I got a Chinese rolling pin. Once ground that fatty pork @chefmd mentioned is for my first try at steamed dumplings.

 

[Nicolai]

4 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

Was that all?

 

 

No. There was the Desserts and Drinks as well  

[Nicolai]

14 minutes ago, rotuts said:

@Nicolai

 

what time do you start eating ?

 

Ill be right over on that dot !

 

fantastic looking stuff !

 

LoL. You are most welcome to our table anytime.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Are you sure you are above 18yo  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Work those biceps  

 

 

 

 

 

We do not have a fixed eating time. Breaky is around 10/11 am, lunch mainly for business and then dinner depends as to what is planned for the evening. Most of the time dinner is an early one as the nights out are double barreled with more than one night spot and mostly canapes and drinks. Unless it is a formal dinner. So it starts around 8:30pm till 4:00am...ish.

 

You cannot party and eat heavy. You know what I mean, don't you  

 

 

 

Just someone's Anniversary the day before yesterday.

 

Gotta do it.

[Okanagancook]

@JoNorvelleWalker I recommend being generous with oil in the fry pan and to brown the bottoms well before adding water....otherwise they can stick.  Once the second frying is complete they should lift off the pan relatively well.  You can use chicken stock instead of water if you like.

 

Now I have a serious dumpling want on

[rotuts]

@Nicolai

 

BTW

 

may I ride the carousel ?

 

what was for dessert ?

 

just asking.

 

baklava ?

[Nicolai]

5 minutes ago, rotuts said:

@Nicolai

 

BTW

 

may I ride the carousel ?

 

what was for dessert ?

 

just asking.

 

baklava ?

 

As everybody is flat plastered with drinks. Nobody rides the carousel unless licensed to do so. 

(license consist in drinking a full Jéroboam and touching your GF nose tip in one movement. If you can do that, you're also good to apply for driving a Tesla in space)

 

Nooooo. Baklawa is so last century.

 

We had a Palestinian dessert called Tamrieh which consist of fried filo pastry triangle folded with a semolina pudding and a sprinkling of Cinnamon powder. This was coupled with an ancient recipe of Carob Molasses and Tahineh mixed and scooped with Arabic flat bread.

It's got to be Carob Molasses for the true Lebanese/Syrian taste as Turkey uses Grape Molasses and Egypt uses Dates Molasses. It is not the same taste.

[rotuts]

@Nicolai

 

I can do the finger thing , but I might still need some assistance from the Carousel Assistants.

 

"" Carob "

 

 

you don't have Chocolat ?

 

I don't might last century.

 

I lived there for quite some time.

 

no Pomegranate M ?

 

my  PM comes from Lebanon.  Cortas

 

 

I love the stuff

 

Id very much like to hear more about the desserts

 

and every thing else

 

once you sober up

 

of course !

 

I more than bet every one had a fantastic time

 

my kind of celebration

 

good for you !

[mm84321]

17 hours ago, KennethT said:

@mm84321 wow, I hope I am not to blame for your chicken addiction... Not that I blame you - that's why I take great pains to avoid that place at all costs!

 

You are not to blame. The 5 piece chicken tender meal with an apple pie is solely culpable; we are just now learning how to make our relationship work.  

[KennethT]

Just now, mm84321 said:

 

You are not to blame. The 5 piece chicken tender meal with an apple pie is solely culpable; we are just now learning how to make our relationship work.  

I've never had the chicken tenders... do they use the same breading as the standard popeye's (spicy version)?  Also, if you have access to dark meat chicken fried in lard, why would anyone choose the tenders?  Are they still juicy?  Just saying... not much better than Popeye's spicy thighs....

[mm84321]

5 minutes ago, KennethT said:

I've never had the chicken tenders... do they use the same breading as the standard popeye's (spicy version)?  Also, if you have access to dark meat chicken fried in lard, why would anyone choose the tenders?  Are they still juicy?  Just saying... not much better than Popeye's spicy thighs....

 

It's a different breading- much flakier than standard. I had a chicken thigh meal with some popcorn shrimp that was also very good. I suppose I prefer the tenders for their ease of consumption, and I do really like their crust and the BBQ dipping sauce.