Lunch 2020

[chefmd]

Swordfish and cast iron charred broccoli.  Salsa verde not shown.

[BonVivant]

Hake from the fishmonger

 

No particular theme. Cured salmon belly and other odds and ends to be used up.

 

[KennethT]

Chicken skin crackers

[Dejah]

Had a request from a former HomeEc student (circa 1989?) from when I taught the high school classes as a favour to the high school where I taught 10 years before as an English teacher!
The principal and former colleague thought I could handle the job because I loved to cook!
Chris was one of my students, and he wanted the wonton soup that we made in class. As he was coming into town to visit his parents, I made them a big container.
There was enough to feed 3 people for Chris, our bachelor neighbor who clears our driveway in the winter, and us!

 

Broth was sent in separate containers

 

                                                                                 

and for us:

 

                                                                                                                                             

[ambra]

On 11/8/2020 at 4:46 AM, KennethT said:

A picnic in our local park to enjoy the beautiful weather and great energy in the city today. Champagne being popped all over the place...

That sandwich looks so good! What's in it?

[KennethT]

1 hour ago, ambra said:

That sandwich looks so good! What's in it?

It's a chicken pesto panino. Chicken breast, what they call "pesto mayo", arugala and tomato

[shain]

Rehoused mussels.

 

 

Conchiglie pasta with smoked mussels with a bit of tomato, some garlic, lemon zest, chili, dill and parsley.

 

Edited November 10, 2020 by shain (log)

[Anna N]

28 minutes ago, shain said:

Rehoused mussels

I recently ran across another pasta recipe that called for smoked mussels and I have to admit that I could not quite get my head around it. That is rather sad because smoked mussels are cheap and an easy pantry potential. So how did you enjoy this? Would you make it again?

[shain]

43 minutes ago, Anna N said:

I recently ran across another pasta recipe that called for smoked mussels and I have to admit that I could not quite get my head around it. That is rather sad because smoked mussels are cheap and an easy pantry potential. So how did you enjoy this? Would you make it again?

 

Sadly, over here it's neither cheap nor easy to get. So that was my first time trying smoked shellfish.

My conclusion is that I'm not a fan of smoked mussels (at least not this product, or until it might grow on me). I think that's mostly because their smell reminds me a milder version of smoked fish, which I never liked.

This is why I made pasta, it doesn't hide the mussles, but it dilutes the smoker fish taste to a level I can enjoy. I enjoyed the combination with a small amount of tomatoes, as well as garlic, lemon and herbs. I did find the long pasta from last week to work slightly better texture wise.

The mussles are added at the end so that they don't overcook. Some of their canning oil used for frying the garlic.

It's a different beast from pasta with fresh shellfish (how I wish I had some of those at hand).

I also got a can of non smoked, I'll see if I like them better unadorned.

 

Tl;dr, if they're cheap and you enjoy them, do try throwing them on top of pasta as a quick meal.

Edited November 10, 2020 by shain (log)

[Anna N]

12 minutes ago, shain said:

Sadly, over here it's neither cheap nor easy to get.

Thank you very much for your exhaustive response. Smoked mussels or smoked oysters are less than three dollars a can and sometimes go on sale for even less than that. I can easily eat a can of either with some crackers and enjoy them. I just have a hard time with the idea of them on pasta. But I will add them to my next shopping list (I’m surprised there are not a few cans in the pantry already!) and give it a try. Thank you again.

[rotuts]

I can see SM's in pasta

 

fine diced , and not too many 

 

in a pasta dish   that did not have a lot of sauce.

 

i have not had smoked oysters 

 

maybe TJ's has them ?

 

zillion years ago

 

SM's  cut to the right size

 

went into cherry tomatoes , cut and barely opened 

 

as a very sofisticated canapés.

 

well after stuffed celery stalks gave up their ghosts 

 

just saying.

[Margaret Pilgrim]

Back in my youth, I quite overdosed on smoked oysters that we heated over candle flame to accompany martinis.   Too many smoked oysters is not a good supper.

[heidih]

I'd never had smoked mussels until the caterer was starting to close the buffet at a wake. I "re-homed" the smoked ones and stuck them in the fridge. I like smoked fish a lot. Local vendor smokes a variety. It is a strong taste. A friend suggested a light cream sauce with pasta. We liked it. Left them whole., Not everyone's taste but I think that kind of sauce  tamed the smokiness more than tomato based. Still prefer the fresh local ones which are quite inexpensive (thank you Southern California oil platforms)

[Kim Shook]

I adore smoked fish.  I always have.  Santa has left smoked oysters and clams in my stocking since I was 5 years old.  I agree with @heidih - cream sauce is the way to go to tame that smokiness a bit.

[rotuts]

@heidih 

 

I like the idea of muting the intensity of smoked mussels w cream

 

heavy cream so it can go w some reduced dry white wine,

 

Ill try to remember this.

 

wine ?  ive got plenty.

 

Ill try to remember to look at TJ's for some smoked mussles

 

and Il grab a bar or two of ' cream cheese '

 

fz it

 

works great for heavy cream once you dilute s Tbs or two out w

 

milk or water.  the fat content stays high enough so it does not split

 

w the acid from the wine.

[Kim Shook]

I had physical therapy today.  We picked up Jersey Mike’s on the way home for lunch:

Classic #13. 

[LeaSim]

My homemade tonkatsu.

My man is a Japanese chef, and he said I made the best tonkatsu~ (okay maybe he likes to compliment his wife hahah😊)

But I choose to believe him anyway. Cause it is pretty delicious.....

 

With age growing, I am looking for ways of making dish more healthy, but delicious is always the most important thing. The pork chop is very lean meat, but buy washing it right and break its fibre we could make it very very tender. Also I used fewer oil, but the result is just .... very crispy , which, dont laugh at me haha, I think is the most important factor for a good tonkatsu.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I used rice wine to eliminate the bad sad of any meat.

 

[gulfporter]

Lunch today was a new potato hash with bacon, onions, sweet peppers, poblanos and (mostly) runny eggs.  

 

Sadly, there's always one bad egg in the group 🍳

 

 

 

 

[Raamo]

Salmon Cakes for lunch,  with a spicy adobo sauce, and a nice side salad.

 

[weinoo]

Decided to make some congee for lunch in the new Zojurushi...

 

 

When ZOJ let me know it had finished cooking, I stirred in blanched peas and carrots, along with a few pieces of raw halibut and 2 large scallops.  Closed it up for another 5 - 8 minutes, and...

 

 

Seafood congee with scallop and halibut.  The "keep warm" function is a pretty perfect temperature for poaching fish.

 

The cooker certainly made this congee faster than my stovetop version. And it was delicious, lots of cracked pepper, some soy, some vinegar, scallions, ginger oil, etc.

 

I love this product.

Edited November 14, 2020 by weinoo (log)

[Dejah]

Cheater Clam Chowder:
Cream of Mushroom soup, clam meat, crispy bacon, frozen corn, milk, fresh dill

Quick and easy lunch!

[BonVivant]

North Sea shrimps and 3 different types of rye bread

 

 

Red Kuri pureed together with some doenjang. The natto is also for smearing on bread.

 

 

[chefmd]

Wild rockfish and roasted turnips.  Salsa verde.

[KennethT]

I don't have much experience making Mexican food, but both my wife and I love it. This was a first experiment making duck birria tacos.  Birria has become a huge trend in NYC - but I still haven't had a chance to try it yet, but it just looks and sounds so good.  Also, I used some pasilla de Oaxaca, which is ridiculously smoky, along with "fire roasted" canned tomatoes, and I charred the onion/garlic and duck legs with my propane torch - needless to say, when I put the duck/sauce in my SV bath for its 180F 8 hour soak, it smelled like a campfire.  My SV bath water still smells like a campfire!  After I took the bags out of the bath and cooled them a bit, I let them sit overnight in the fridge.  Today, the smoke is still present, but it's definitely mellowed.  This was really tasty - I'm glad I made 2 meals worth at once.  Next time I'll make 4!

 

Edited November 15, 2020 by KennethT (log)

[heidih]

@KennethT nice. I prefer chivo (goat) but duck hits that profile. Ya gotta - really you do - sip the broth alongside. The essence that ties it all together.  Some inspiration perhaps https://www.latimes.com/food/la-fo-where-to-eat-birria-in-la-tacos-20190515-story.html

Editing to add J Gold's birria tribute https://www.laweekly.com/birria-forever-and-ever-and-ever/

Edited November 15, 2020 by heidih (log)