Dinner 2020

[Margaret Pilgrim]

25 minutes ago, Smithy said:

 

More about the cake, please. Got a recipe? I can understand your husband's pique, even as I applaud your swapping-choices.

[patti]

So many beautiful meals to look at! I will go back through them again and linger more. This group has access to such a variety of ingredients!

 

Several different dinners, from super easy to complex (for me).

 

Good old reliable, never disappointing, BLT.

 

 

Vietnamese One Pan Caramel Chicken. Recipe from Marion's Kitchen.

 

 

 

I regretted not taking the sauce a little further, so after supper I worked on it a little more. Here's a pic of leftovers packed up for my son's girlfriend and you can see how much darker it is.

 

 

 

Mexican pizzas, Taco Bell copycat.

 

 

 

Tonight's dinner was chicken rendang. By far the dish that took the most work. There were a number of recipes with varying ingredients, so I sort of used one as a base, and then added a few things from others. 

 

Edited October 4, 2020 by patti (log)

[liuzhou]

1 hour ago, patti said:

Good old reliable, never disappointing, BLT.

 

 

Looks more like a BOT to me.

 

😂

[patti]

41 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

 

Looks more like a BOT to me.

 

😂

True!
 

I did add lettuce, but the bacon and tomatoes were too pretty to cover up. I didn’t even think of that when I posted. 😂

[liuzhou]

11 minutes ago, patti said:

I did add lettuce

 

Ah! So it was a BLOT!

 

😂😂

[CantCookStillTry]

Rubbish Photo but Rib Steak Sangas for the boys tonight. BBQ sauce, cucumber, lettuce, onion, beetroot. I forgot the carrot. 

 

 

I spent an hour this afternoon preparing work snacks for my husband, hence the easy dinner. Half an hour in I was thinking to myself how good I am to him. 

 

Don't worry I spent way more than an hour actively telling him how grateful he should be 😂. 

 

((It's my own choice - I'm too cheap to pay the $55 kg for shelled ones he gets)) 

 

Edited October 4, 2020 by CantCookStillTry (log)

[heidih]

@CantCookStillTry I find shelling pistachio (and other nuts) meditative and comforting. BUT what is the Aussie beetroot thing? Does it have a history? I really like them from fresh pulled and roasted but will eat tinned in a vinegar/sugar dressing. Just curious. 

[shain]

10 hours ago, Kim Shook said:

would you possibly share the recipe for those cornmeal sour cream biscuits?  They look delectable. 

Thanks!

 

Edited October 4, 2020 by shain (log)

[weinoo]

11 hours ago, Kim Shook said:

 Last night I made @weinoo’s (eG) Spaghetti with Clams, shared with Jessica.  My meez:

 

This was absolutely excellent.  Jessica, who had never had it before loved it.  I grew up on linguini with clam sauce made with straight Progresso white clam sauce.  That’s what my friends’ moms made, too.  I always liked it just fine, but this is a whole other thing.  Since it calls for really concentrating the sauce and finishing the pasta in it, the flavor is so much more intense than any I’ve had before except in restaurants. 

 

Thanks so much, @weinoo!

 

 

You're welcome - looks great!

 

10 hours ago, MokaPot said:

@Kim Shook, did you put both the Bumble Bee chopped clams and the Matiz wild cockles in your pasta dish?

 

Your food looks extra-delicious today.

 

The reason for the Bumble Bee/Snow's is that they are packed in "natural clam juices," whereas the Matiz are packed in a sea-salt brine. You could get away with using clam juice (I like Bar Harbor) in lieu of the Bumble Bee stuff, but reducing the juices, as mentioned by @Kim Shook, is important. 

[liuzhou]

Squid and garlicky shrimp salad with couscous, Tonkin jasmine, morels.

 

[KennethT]

55 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

Squid and garlicky shrimp salad with couscous, Tonkin jasmine, morels.

 

What is the Tonkin jasmine?  I don't think I've heard of it beore... and I'm drooling over your morels.  I always slice them in half lengthwise to make sure there's nobody living in there (I've read multiple sources that say to do that) but I've never seen it done in restaurants. I'd much rather leave them whole. What are the chances of getting a surprise inside?

Edited October 4, 2020 by KennethT (log)

[liuzhou]

6 minutes ago, KennethT said:

What is the Tonkin jasmine?  I don't think I've heard of it beore... and

 

Tonkin jasmine (Telosma cordata) goes under many names such as pakalana vine, Tonkinese creeper, Chinese violet, cowslip creeper, telosoma etc. In Chinese it is 夜香花 or 夜来香.

 

It is a flowering plant native to Guangdong and Guangxi of China and also cultivated in Vietnam (on the Bay of Tonkin, hence the name.)

 

It has a delicate lemony scent and is used in both southern Chinese and Vietnamese cuisine (where it is known as bông thiên lý.)

- from my blog.

 

 

7 minutes ago, KennethT said:

I'm drooling over your morels.  I always slice them in half lengthwise to make sure there's nobody living in there (I've read multiple sources that say to do that) but I've never seen it done in restaurants. I'd much rather leave them whole. What are the chances of getting a surprise inside?

 

Wash them in salty water. The critters quickly evacuate the premises.

[liamsaunt]

Last night my sister, my husband and I got a seven course dinner takeaway from our favorite restaurant in Wellfleet, Ceraldi https://www.ceraldicapecod.com

 

The food comes completely cooked, but chilled, so you have to reheat it.  That worked out great because we were able to stagger the courses over time.  First course, focaccia with olive and pine nut tapenade.  We opted to split one piece three ways and save the other two for a different meal (the picture is of one slice before I divided it).  The tapenade was incredibly flavorful.

 

 

Second course, local greens salad with beet dressing.  The picture is of one serving.  We dressed two servings and split it three ways

 

 

Third course, corn soup.  This looks like nothing but it was so delicious!  It was vegan but tasted very rich and creamy.  We opted to split this soup three ways so I have two servings left for another meal.  

 

 

Fourth course, arancini stuffed with mushrooms and cheese, with a hubbard squash butter sauce.  We split two of the arancini and saved one for another meal.  We all agreed that the arancini was a little bland but the hubbard squash butter was incredible.  I ended up abandoning the arancini and just eating the sauce

 

 

Fifth course, penne with smoked tomato sauce, parmigiano, and herbed ricotta.  We split one serving three ways (photo is of one serving before splitting).  It was delicious, but we were starting to flag and really wanted to eat the next course.

 

 

Sixth course, striped bass with potato puree and leek sauce.  Delicious.  I could not fish mine though despite trying very hard.  

 

 

Final course, apple pear strudel with sea salt caramel sauce.  We each had one bite because we were STUFFED.  I am not a big sweets person so did not think much of this. Husband said it went very well with coffee.  

 

 

We have enough leftovers for at least two more meals.  My favorite course was the soup, followed by the salad and the focaccia.  

[BonVivant]

Steamed eggs and kelp

 

Some doenjang on the side in case I needed more. It's also in the soup.

 

Where my kale and squashes come from: 45mins biking, farms in the countryside next to the woods where I go for walks every week.

 

 

[curls]

pie & tart for dinner along with salad (not photographed). Leftovers will become lunches.

 

mushroom, onion, & Jarlsberg

 

tomato & Jarlsberg

[CantCookStillTry]

9 hours ago, heidih said:

@CantCookStillTry I find shelling pistachio (and other nuts) meditative and comforting. BUT what is the Aussie beetroot thing? Does it have a history? I really like them from fresh pulled and roasted but will eat tinned in a vinegar/sugar dressing. Just curious. 

 

I have no idea. Never ate it before I came here and it was on every Pub burger and steak sandwich - I've just gone with the flow because it works! Maybe @Captain or one of the others can shed some light. 

[Captain]

 

@CantCookStillTry@heidihI have no idea other than it's good.

Schweinshaxe.  Or Pork hock,  Cooked low and slow in the Kamado with a last minute blast to get the crackling.

 

A few other things went into the BBq as well.

[BeeZee]

A labor of love, since I don’t eat beef...Whole Foods had a good sale on short ribs so I made a bunch for my husband (2.5 lbs), also mashed gold potatoes, and salad. I had tofu in coconut curry instead of the beef, which I enjoyed.

 

[robirdstx]

Pork and Shrimp Fried Rice

 

 

 with Pork Egg Rolls

 

 

Edited October 13, 2020 by robirdstx (log)

[KennethT]

Indian tonight...

Tandoori-ish chicken with masala potatoes

[Franci]

First time ever the husband did bbq ribs on the Weber. Side of collard greens and sauté watercress 

[ambra]

On 10/4/2020 at 5:24 AM, patti said:

Vietnamese One Pan Caramel Chicken. Recipe from Marion's Kitchen.

This dish as always piqued my interest, yours looks great! Just one question, did you find it very, very sweet?

[shain]

Decided to be a bit creative and create a Chinese flavored take on hummus. Just to be clear, this is not hummus - hummus is only hummus if made from chickpeas and tahini.

I made a paste of yellow split peas (which I know are used in Yunnan, not sure about their popularity in the rest of China). I added sesame paste and peanut paste for richness, some rice vinegar, garlic, five spice mix, chili, MSG, a pinch of sugar.

Topped it with more unblended peas; peanuts, home made chili oil and a bit of light soy sauce; douchi with garlic and black vinegar; spicy pickled mustard stem; and a bit more five spice and toasted peppercorn.

Served warm with fluffy pita. Not bad at all 

 

 

Edited October 5, 2020 by shain (log)

[liuzhou]

Busy day. Leftovers and fridge food (nearly).

 

Roast duck, re-crisped skin, white chilli, garlic, shimeji mushrooms and tagliatelle.

 

 

 

[liuzhou]

2 hours ago, shain said:

I made a paste of yellow split peas (which I know are used in Yunnan, not sure about their popularity in the rest of China).

 

Where I live borders Yunnan, but I've never seen split peas in China, so I'm guessing not popular. I can't even find them on the online shopping portals except one where they are imported from India (and little is imported from India - relationships are not good).

Anyway, your dish looks and sounds great.