Dinner 2020

[Shelby]

19 minutes ago, Smithy said:

 

It all looks good, but I edited the quote to focus on this salad. What is the dressing? It has a beautiful color!

I used this recipe and scaled it down. Omitted the water.  It was Good https://www.mydeliciousmeals.com/recipe/shrimp-salad-with-lettuce-and-tomatoes

[KennethT]

1 hour ago, robirdstx said:

$25 Mexican Pesos currently equals about $1.33 US Dollars.

Right - I figured it would be about $0.50 for a taco...

[haresfur]

Lamb carnitas cooked in a clay pot with black beans, avocado, lime and corn tortillas. There's a place in Melbourne that makes the best corn tortillas I've ever had.

[rotuts]

@BonVivant 

 

i haven't seen many options for carnitas on your various tacos.

 

is it unusual in Baja ?

[Smithy]

@haresfur, that all looks delicious. I particularly love those serving dishes. Am I correct that most of them are unglazed terra cotta? Is the plate near the upper right corner partially glazed?

 

I also have a question for anyone familiar with serving tortillas this way. I assume they're warm. Is it possible to warm them all at once, or was that stack individually warmed (or cooked fresh) and then stacked into the towel and serving dish?

[heidih]

1 hour ago, Smithy said:

I also have a question for anyone familiar with serving tortillas this way. I assume they're warm. Is it possible to warm them all at once, or was that stack individually warmed (or cooked fresh) and then stacked into the towel and serving dish?

 

Here most homes and restaurants use a plastic tortilla dish - a bowl bout tortilla size with a lid. For warming I wrap a short stack in a lightly damp towel and nuke. Easy to pop up from  table for round 2 - you are not cooking them. 

[Smithy]

1 hour ago, heidih said:

 

Here most homes and restaurants use a plastic tortilla dish - a bowl bout tortilla size with a lid. For warming I wrap a short stack in a lightly damp towel and nuke. Easy to pop up from  table for round 2 - you are not cooking them. 

 

You nuke them in the towel inside those plastic dishes? I've seen "microwave tortilla warmers" in many stores, more or less like this one, but haven't wanted to figure out where to store it.

 

I have a tortilla warming pouch made of quilted fabric, but in my experience when I nuke the flour tortillas in it they get soggy. Haven't tried it with corn tortillas. Warming the tortillas separately is a pain and then putting them in that pouch to keep them warm is a pain, though. I'm sure I'm doing something wrong. 

[Duvel]

Despite a heavy storm approching, we headed north to Lower Saxony to visit my parents for the first time after our return from HK (usually they come around).

So, tonight we had comfort food at its best: my moms tongue stew, prepared from cured ox tongue, simmered in a madeira-flavored sauce, finished with heavy cream, mushrooms and a certain kind of “frankfurts”. 
 

 

Served with red cabbage and potato ...

 

And an off-dry white Riesling from the Mosel with the peculiar name “Naked Ass” 😉

[Smithy]

@Duvel, that stew looks delicious. My compliments to your mother! I bet the off-dry Riesling cut through its richness perfectly.  

[heidih]

21 minutes ago, Smithy said:

I have a tortilla warming pouch made of quilted fabric, but in my experience when I nuke the flour tortillas in it they get soggy. Haven't tried it with corn tortillas. Warming the tortillas separately is a pain and then putting them in that pouch to keep them warm is a pain, though. I'm sure I'm doing something wrong. 

 

OK I was in corn tortilla mode. Yes flour can have a sog factor. Honestly I have a 4 burner and lay them directly on grids and stand there for the few seconds it takes - flipping with tongs in hand. Then into the serving dish with towel. I imagine restos do them on the flat top. Again just warming.  They don't stick.

Edited February 8, 2020 by heidih (log)

[Margaret Pilgrim]

41 minutes ago, Duvel said:

... my moms tongue stew, prepared from cured ox tongue, simmered in a madeira-flavored sauce, finished with heavy cream, mushrooms

 

 

Oh my...Am I too old to be adopted by your mom?

[Duvel]

10 minutes ago, Margaret Pilgrim said:

Oh my...Am I too old to be adopted by your mom?

Trust me that you do not want to move from SF to the Lower Saxonian pampas, regardless of the quality of the local offal stews ...

[shain]

Peas, stir fried zucchini, paneer in tomato curry, with blended carrots, onion chili. singer, dill, coriander leaves and seeds, cumin, fennel seeds, mustard seeds, curry leaves, fenugreek - tempered in butter.

Lentils with coconut milk, browned onion, plenty of makrut lime leaves, ginger, coriander seed, fenugreek, cumin, fennel seeds, mustard - tempered in coconut oil.

Rice with toasted cumin and mustard. Yogurt.

[haresfur]

6 hours ago, Smithy said:

@haresfur, that all looks delicious. I particularly love those serving dishes. Am I correct that most of them are unglazed terra cotta? Is the plate near the upper right corner partially glazed?

 

I also have a question for anyone familiar with serving tortillas this way. I assume they're warm. Is it possible to warm them all at once, or was that stack individually warmed (or cooked fresh) and then stacked into the towel and serving dish?

 

The meat was cooked on the gas cooktop in the unglazed terracotta pot. The tortillas were warmed in the terracotta warmer. I got the cloth damp, put a stack of tortillas on top, wrapped the corners of the cloth around the stack, and microwaved for 2 minutes. The bottom one ends up a little bit too soggy but no fuss. I have soaked the warmer in water first, instead of using the cloth but that's a bit too much effort for me.

 

The plates were purchased. They have a copper-red and other glazes.

[BonVivant]

The homemade tortillas here are massive, the size of a wheel.

 

The cooks are women and they cook with woods.

 

 

The dark chilli paste again

 

It's dark inside and the photo is blurry but you can kind of see the green stuff which is cactus.

 

Giant homemade tortilla filled with flank steak cooked over an open fire

 

 

  

On 2/7/2020 at 11:57 PM, KennethT said:

Are those prices on the board typical?  Is that the price for 1 taco?

 

Yes. Still cheap. Everything only gets more expensive after Guerrero Negro.

 

8 hours ago, rotuts said:

i haven't seen many options for carnitas on your various tacos.

 

is it unusual in Baja ?

 

I haven't seen many carnitas places so far. The wet/stewed beef and offal tacos are more common. Fish/prawn/scallop/octopus tacos are king.

[heidih]

The whole wheat tortilla is much talked about https://www.newyorker.com/culture/annals-of-gastronomy/in-praise-of-flour-tortillas-an-unsung-jewel-of-the-us-mexico-borderlands  

 

Carnitas are more a central Mexico item I think - as usual I could be wrong. But for eye candy  https://www.lataco.com/the-top-five-carnitas-in-los-angeles/ if you are near the coast "skip the pork". What we have seen from Bon Vivant re seafood is so much more enticing to me. 

[haresfur]

1 hour ago, BonVivant said:

The homemade tortillas here are massive, the size of a wheel.

 

The cooks are women and they cook with woods.

 

 

The dark chilli paste again

 

It's dark inside and the photo is blurry but you can kind of see the green stuff which is cactus.

 

Giant homemade tortilla filled with flank steak cooked over an open fire

 

 

  

 

Yes. Still cheap. Everything only gets more expensive after Guerrero Negro.

 

 

I haven't seen many carnitas places so far. The wet/stewed beef and offal tacos are more common. Fish/prawn/scallop/octopus tacos are king.

 

Looks great. I would love to visit Loretto, a friend has a kayak touring business there. The marine park is a treasure.

[Margaret Pilgrim]

Batching it = can eat what I want.   ->   Half a jar of baby artichoke hearts, lemon.     Jalapeno spiked refried pinto beans topped with poached egg, Hatch chili sauce, splat of Mexican sour cream, cilantro.     A few tablespoons "Hot Scream"  salted caramel swirl ice cream, which is spiked with chili.   

 

Content!

[BeeZee]

Baked eggplant and chicken parm casserole. Bought pre-made eggplant planks (made locally, very good, panko crumbs), cooked a few chicken tenderloins simply with s+p and sliced garlic, cut in to pieces. Layered in a dish with sliced canned artichokes, simple tomato/basil sauce, parm, topped with plenty of mozzarella. Served with some tagliatelle, also locally made/fresh.

[blue_dolphin]

Bright Pink Pasta from A Modern Cook's Year 

The header notes describe the color imparted to this pasta by beetroot as "nature's neon."  I don't believe either sensors in my camera nor my monitor can capture and display just how brilliant this color is.  

This isn't a fresh pasta made with beets in the dough.  Beets are shredded and sautéed in olive oil with capers while the pasta (whole wheat is called for, I used a chestnut pasta) is par-cooked separately, then finished in the pan with the beets and some of the pasta cooking water and topped with chopped dill and a squeeze of lemon.   Suggested optional additions are goat cheese or feta. I went with goat and also added a sprinkle of crunchy breadcrumbs.
Small portions of this would be a very fun starter for a Valentine's dinner.

[heidih]

From freezer lamb shank soupy stew, rice from cooker - best Calrose I've ever done (and I do alot) without measuring - just instinct) and a mustardy/mayo coleslaw. 

[heidih]

@blue_dolphin where did you source the chesnut pasta and any cooking tips? I am chesnut nutty! esp after reading David Lebovitz's post on chesnut paste a bit ago.   https://www.davidlebovitz.com/chestnut-puree-creme-de-marrons-clement-faugier/

[blue_dolphin]

Just now, heidih said:

@blue_dolphin where did you source the chesnut pasta and any cooking tips? I am chesnut nutty! esp after reading David Lebovitz's post on chesnut paste a bit ago.   https://www.davidlebovitz.com/chestnut-puree-creme-de-marrons-clement-faugier/

 

I bought the pasta at Eataly. The brand is Alta Valle Scrivia. It appears to be 25% chestnut flour and the rest semonlina/durum wheat flour.  It's relatively subtle but there is a nutty/earthy chestnut flavor that comes through.  So far, I've only used it to make a pasta con fungi dish but figured it would work well with the beets so I decided to throw it in here. 

[Dejah]

Been using the Flashfood App from our Canadian Superstore  where they have food items reduced by 50%. Each day they post different items. The most frequent one I've found are the Country Style Pork Ribs. They are fabulous for Char Siu. Don't know why these are always overstocked, but instead of $20.00 per pkg, I have been picking them up at 50%. Today I grabbed 3, and I roasted one package in the oven.
So for supper, it was Char Siu Ho Fun with sugar snap peas and bell peppers.

The marinade was my usual one from my old restaurant: Hoisin sauce, oyster sauce, soy, sesame oil, sugar, and 5-spice powder. Even marinating for 6 hours, the flavour was good!

[Dejah]

2 hours ago, heidih said:

From freezer lamb shank soupy stew, rice from cooker - best Calrose I've ever done (and I do alot) without measuring - just instinct) and a mustardy/mayo coleslaw. 

Have not been able to find lamb shanks in our city. I love doing these in the Instant Pot with coconut milk, Thai red curry paste, and some vegetables.  Soon, I hope!