Dinner 2021

[Captain]

22 hours ago, Shelby said:

What pray tell is this

 

These things..  So good.

[scamhi]

a Bryan Flannery dry aged hanger steak pan seared. oven roasted cauliflower with some parmesan and flat leaf parsley added just to melt.  And a super villiage wine thank you @KennethT

[patti]

 

I made a garlic cream sauce, but browned the butter a bit too much, hence the color of the sauce. While it doesn’t look appetizing, the taste was still good. 

 

 

Edited May 4, 2021 by patti (log)

[Ann_T]

Pork chops in a mushroom gravy.

 

Served with mashed potatoes (hiding under the pork) squash and Brussels sprouts.

[weinoo]

16 hours ago, Duvel said:

There is this point in your life where you realize that the leftovers in your fridge are most likely better than ...

 

SV duck legs

 

But - are they really leftovers, or do you make duck legs for just this (and maybe some other) purpose?

[Duvel]

4 minutes ago, weinoo said:

 

But - are they really leftovers, or do you make duck legs for just this (and maybe some other) purpose?

No, they were „real“  leftovers. I made Cassoulet last week and miscalculated the amount of beans. So, got two duck legs surplus plus some saucisse, that served as a pizza topping yesterday (amongst other applications) ...

[AlaMoi]

left over flat iron, into open face roast beef sandwiches....

[liamsaunt]

Grilled blackened swordfish wrap with pineapple salsa

 

[liuzhou]

Fish 'n' chips.

Red drum was the fish. I spent the afternoon de-scaling, de-skinning and filleting it. Beer battered, of course.

 

 

The chips weren't great. I have a serious issue with  Chinese potatoes. They are either excellent for chips (1% of the time) or roasting or completely useless unless you boil 'em. They only have two varieties. Red skinned potatoes (99%) which  are hopeless for frying or sometimes white potatoes which are either great for frying or decidedly not. You can't tell which are which until it's too late.
 

I bought the hopeless variety. They never brown properly; they never crisp up.

Anyway, still edible. Try again soon.

 

 

[Tropicalsenior]

49 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

the hopeless variety. They never brown properly; they never crisp up.

All the potatoes here in Costa Rica are hopeless for frying but I finally figured out a way to do it. I cut them in wedges and boil them until they are just about done. I add about half a teaspoon of baking soda to the water. Then I drain them and let them thoroughly dry. I stir fry them in about 2 tablespoons of butter and one tablespoon of oil. Last night, on a hunch, I added a teaspoon of dark soy sauce to the butter and oil and it took them right over the top. Dark and crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, and just the right amount of salt. I wish that I had taken a picture.

[liuzhou]

7 minutes ago, Tropicalsenior said:

All the potatoes here in Costa Rica are hopeless for frying but I finally figured out a way to do it. I cut them in wedges and boil them until they are just about done. I add about half a teaspoon of baking soda to the water. Then I drain them and let them thoroughly dry. I stir fry them in about 2 tablespoons of butter and one tablespoon of oil. Last night, on a hunch, I added a teaspoon of dark soy sauce to the butter and oil and it took them right over the top. Dark and crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, and just the right amount of salt. I wish that I had taken a picture.

 

Par-boiling the  chips is becoming more and more standard thanks to Heston Blumenthal's triple-cooked chips. I've been doing that for decades.

What is butter?

The day I add soy sauce to my fish and chips, please shoot me!

Edited May 4, 2021 by liuzhou (log)

[Tropicalsenior]

3 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

Par-boiling the  chips is becoming more and more standard

The trick is parboiling them in a little bit of soda. Check with mr. Google, there are a lot of references about the effect of crisping and Browning.

Yeah, if you're deep frying your potatoes (which I never do) I can see not using the soy sauce. But please check out the effect of the baking soda. It really does make a difference. I've been fighting with these ugly potatoes here in Costa Rica for 30 years and have learned a few things over the years that do help.

[shain]

1 hour ago, liuzhou said:

Fish 'n' chips.

Red drum was the fish. I spent the afternoon de-scaling, de-skinning and filleting it. Beer battered, of course.

 

 

The chips weren't great. I have a serious issue with  Chinese potatoes. They are either excellent for chips (1% of the time) or roasting or completely useless unless you boil 'em. They only have two varieties. Red skinned potatoes (99%) which  are hopeless for frying or sometimes white potatoes which are either great for frying or decidedly not. You can't tell which are which until it's too late.
 

I bought the hopeless variety. They never brown properly; they never crisp up.

Anyway, still edible. Try again soon.

 

 

 

Are frozen fries available for you? I know some will argue about their quality or flavor, but they will be surely made from proper starchy potato varieties, and I personally quite like the texture of fried-frozen-refried chips. Kenji did a whole writeup about it in Serious Eats a few years ago.

 

If they are not, you can try boiling the potatoes, dry, and dust with potato starch. Similar process to sweet potatoes which can't yield good fries naturally.

[Tropicalsenior]

18 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

What is butter

Just out of curiosity, is butter not available at all in China?

[liuzhou]

2 minutes ago, shain said:

Are frozen fries available for you?

 

Very little food in China is frozen and never vegetables. I know that there are get arounds to fake crispy fries, but I'm a purist.  Good chips are potatoes fried, preferably in beef fat. End of story.

[liuzhou]

Just now, Tropicalsenior said:

Just out of curiosity, is butter not available at all in China?

I was half joking. It is available, but only in larger cities and is rather expensive. Most is imported from Europe. And when I start frying my chips in butter, shoot me again!

[liuzhou]

Please remember, despite my China connections, I am British and we don't mess with our national dish! Potatoes, fat. Fish, beer batter. Salt and vinegar. Anything else is sacrilegious!

Edited May 4, 2021 by liuzhou (log)

[Tropicalsenior]

8 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

And when I start frying my chips in butter, shoot me again!

Here again we have different cultures, different solutions. Beef fat is totally unavailable. The only breed of cattle they have here is the type of Brahma that has no fat and no marbling. I don't deep fry because good cooking oil is so expensive and my only other choices are lard and palm oil which I refuse to use. So I'm left with the oven roasting or stir fry.

Come to think of it, I haven't had good fish and chips for over 30 years.

Edited May 4, 2021 by Tropicalsenior (log)

[liuzhou]

4 minutes ago, Tropicalsenior said:

I haven't had good fish and chips for over 30 years.

 

I had good fish and chips a couple of weeks ago. I usually do. Just, today, I had a potato fail.

[Tropicalsenior]

3 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

 

I had good fish and chips a couple of weeks ago. I usually do. Just, today, I had a potato fail.

I will admit that your fish and chips always look beautiful. Someday you are going to have to post your recipe for beer batter.

[liuzhou]

1 minute ago, Tropicalsenior said:

Someday you are going to have to post your recipe for beer batter.

 

Nothing could be simpler. I'll do it tomorrow. Late here and I need my beauty sleep!

[mgaretz]

Tri-tip steak, cooked SV then seared, served with steamed Brussels sprouts and frozen corn.

 

 

And homemade dairy-free peanut butter-salted caramel ice cream served over a sliced banana.

 

 

[Objective Foodie]

Second attempt for our chicken with vin jaune and morels. For this one we filled the chicken thigh with sautéed morels. It really hits the spot.

 

Edited May 4, 2021 by Objective Foodie (log)

[Duvel]

1 hour ago, Objective Foodie said:

Second attempt for our chicken with vin jaune and morels. For this one we filled the chicken thigh with sautéed morels. It really hits the spot.

 

Nice ! The chicken is done SV before searing ?

 

Ahh ... and more importantly: which wine ? 😊

Edited May 4, 2021 by Duvel (log)

[patti]

Chicken shawarma and jasmine rice, homemade hummus.