Dinner 2021

[Anna N]

1 hour ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

How do you air fry your potatoes?  I have potatoes and I have an APO.  I've been hungry for French fries.  But not hungry enough to double fry a batch in oil.

 

It’s been quite a while and I no longer have the appliance. Perhaps @Shelbycan offer some ideas. 

[liuzhou]

5 hours ago, weinoo said:

 

Interesting; one of the reasons to toss potatoes with the vinegar soon after cooking (i.e. while still hot) when making potato salad, is because of how well they absorb the vinegar taste. I wonder if actually adding vinegar to the cooking water would bump that up even more.

 

That is essentially what I did.

[gfweb]

1 hour ago, Anna N said:

It’s been quite a while and I no longer have the appliance. Perhaps @Shelbycan offer some ideas. 

Maybe the airfryer is why @Shelby
only makes 5 fries?

[weinoo]

 

Chirashi night. Poached wild gulf shrimp, ikura, avo, gari. Nice to be able to throw this together - prepping the toppings and the sides while the rice cooks.

[liamsaunt]

Roasted vegetable tacos (sweet potatoes, bell peppers, corn, onions) with guacamole, crema and queso fresco.  

 

[cteavin]

I've been all about potatoes this week. Here, I've taken slices of the loaf and fried them in rendered chicken fat. I've only ever used chicken fat to boost the flavor in a saute, it's my first time frying with chicken fat alone and the results were delicious. 

 

(Looking at the two photos side by side, it's looks like a summer vs winter body.)

 

 

I served them with Japanese hambagu and a vegetable medley. 

 

 

[kayb]

Warning: long post. Because it was a dinner that calls for a long post and lots of pictures.

 

I was in St. Louis this past week, and having had to miss my planned dinner at Bulrush year before last, I was determined to get there this time. And I did. And it was spectacular.

 

The opener was a raspberry shrub-ish, non-alcoholic cocktail. Very tangy, very good.

 

@gfron1 was on point from the very first course:

 

This may have been my very favorite course of the night. The panna cotta was just very lightly sweet, the buttermilk foam was a wonderfully savory counterpoint. The asparagus sphere was a shell of -- maybe cocoa butter and something? It had a white chocolate-ish texture, but wasn't sweet. It encased a marvelous asparagus juice. The sliced asparagus and the tip were just very lightly steamed, and positively leapt with flavor.

 

Next up:

 

Apologies -- I had already eaten the radish and started to dive into the croquette when I remembered to take the photo. The pecan croquet was like a pecan bar, but savory; the concept had never occurred to me, but I liked it. It played wonderfully with the creamy mousse, which was also savory. 

 

 

I always thought of walleye as a Great Lakes fish, but apparently it is native to the Ozark plateau as well. Tremendously creative step of poaching it in rhubarb juice and vinegar, and the rhubarb compote, again, was just very lightly sweetened. Reminded me a bit of some of the fish I ate in Japan, where it was a regular on the breakfast buffet. Very rich and very tasty dish.

 

We had different drinks with each course. This was the wine with the walleye. It was perhaps the best riesling I have ever had. I'm ordering a case ASAP.

 

Then it was on to a playful take on French fries:

 

Parsnip fries were good, but the beet ketchup stole the show. I don't like beets. This was superb. Made from trimmings from kitchen waste from a previous course that was beets three ways (I was not sorry I missed that one).

 

Two pics of this one, because I loved the bowl.

 

I contemplated licking the bowl on this one. Decided it wouldn't look very good. But I damn sure scraped it out. I really liked the Floriani grits -- a good, coarse grind. The whole dish was smoked with cherrywood, which wafted out when you removed the top. Pork was ground, SV'd and then smoked. Phenomenal. This was my other favorite course of the night.

 

Main Course time:

 

I wish I'd waited to photograph this until I'd drizzled the black walnut sap/sorghum on it. Chicken was breaded in rice flour. "Waffle" was crunchy. The syrup combo was wonderful. I have the liquid left from a jar of preserved black walnuts, and I have sorghum. It won't be as good as this, but I'm gonna try it.

 

Finally:

 

 

Dear Sweet Baby Jesus. I don't have a lot of experience with rhubarb, but this...this was wonderful. (Yes, I know I am overusing that superlative.) The goose egg custard was very rich and creamy; the hickory almond mousse was much less sweet and much lighter. The acorn miso oat crunch puts all other granola I've had to shame. Thank God it was small. Because had it been any larger, I would have probably died before I left any of it in that bowl.

 

If the QR codes will scan (I may have lost too much resolution), they'll take you to a video of Rob describing each course.

 

My dining companion said the walleye was his favorite. I'd rank the asparagus first, the pork second, and then the dessert. But I did not leave a single bite of any of them. Portions were perfectly sized for me; I left the restaurant full, satiated, but not miserable from having eaten too much. And there was not a thing on the menu I did not love.

 

All in all, just a stunning, gorgeously done dinner. If you get a chance, go.

 

Rob -- thank you for a  great evening!

 

[Duvel]

We are still trying to entertain out houseguest ... today we went to nearby Darmstadt. Visiting the Waldspirale, designed by Friedensreich Hundertwasser, and then doing some window shopping in the city center (as far as CoVid19 restrictions permit) ...

 

 

After the cultural exposure I decided some more approachable food was in order ... Burgers !

 

Grilled, with Brioche burger buns ...

 

 

 

Cherry Old Fashioned as aperitif ...

 

4 varieties - each as individually requested: simple cheeseburger with salad for the niece, „Arnau“burger with BBQ sauce and roasted onions for my wife, double „Arnau“burger for me with extra pickles and a burger with fresh pineapple and teriyaki sauce for the little one ...

 

Simple food is sometimes the best ! Served with my hometown beer (for me, of course) ...

 

Little one enjoyed as well (together with a BBC documentary on sharks) ...

 

[patti]

2 hours ago, kayb said:

Warning: long post. Because it was a dinner that calls for a long post and lots of pictures.

 

I was in St. Louis this past week, and having had to miss my planned dinner at Bulrush year before last, I was determined to get there this time. And I did. And it was spectacular.

 

The opener was a raspberry shrub-ish, non-alcoholic cocktail. Very tangy, very good.

 

@gfron1 was on point from the very first course:

 

This may have been my very favorite course of the night. The panna cotta was just very lightly sweet, the buttermilk foam was a wonderfully savory counterpoint. The asparagus sphere was a shell of -- maybe cocoa butter and something? It had a white chocolate-ish texture, but wasn't sweet. It encased a marvelous asparagus juice. The sliced asparagus and the tip were just very lightly steamed, and positively leapt with flavor.

 

Next up:

 

Apologies -- I had already eaten the radish and started to dive into the croquette when I remembered to take the photo. The pecan croquet was like a pecan bar, but savory; the concept had never occurred to me, but I liked it. It played wonderfully with the creamy mousse, which was also savory. 

 

 

I always thought of walleye as a Great Lakes fish, but apparently it is native to the Ozark plateau as well. Tremendously creative step of poaching it in rhubarb juice and vinegar, and the rhubarb compote, again, was just very lightly sweetened. Reminded me a bit of some of the fish I ate in Japan, where it was a regular on the breakfast buffet. Very rich and very tasty dish.

 

We had different drinks with each course. This was the wine with the walleye. It was perhaps the best riesling I have ever had. I'm ordering a case ASAP.

 

Then it was on to a playful take on French fries:

 

Parsnip fries were good, but the beet ketchup stole the show. I don't like beets. This was superb. Made from trimmings from kitchen waste from a previous course that was beets three ways (I was not sorry I missed that one).

 

Two pics of this one, because I loved the bowl.

 

I contemplated licking the bowl on this one. Decided it wouldn't look very good. But I damn sure scraped it out. I really liked the Floriani grits -- a good, coarse grind. The whole dish was smoked with cherrywood, which wafted out when you removed the top. Pork was ground, SV'd and then smoked. Phenomenal. This was my other favorite course of the night.

 

Main Course time:

 

I wish I'd waited to photograph this until I'd drizzled the black walnut sap/sorghum on it. Chicken was breaded in rice flour. "Waffle" was crunchy. The syrup combo was wonderful. I have the liquid left from a jar of preserved black walnuts, and I have sorghum. It won't be as good as this, but I'm gonna try it.

 

Finally:

 

 

Dear Sweet Baby Jesus. I don't have a lot of experience with rhubarb, but this...this was wonderful. (Yes, I know I am overusing that superlative.) The goose egg custard was very rich and creamy; the hickory almond mousse was much less sweet and much lighter. The acorn miso oat crunch puts all other granola I've had to shame. Thank God it was small. Because had it been any larger, I would have probably died before I left any of it in that bowl.

 

If the QR codes will scan (I may have lost too much resolution), they'll take you to a video of Rob describing each course.

 

My dining companion said the walleye was his favorite. I'd rank the asparagus first, the pork second, and then the dessert. But I did not leave a single bite of any of them. Portions were perfectly sized for me; I left the restaurant full, satiated, but not miserable from having eaten too much. And there was not a thing on the menu I did not love.

 

All in all, just a stunning, gorgeously done dinner. If you get a chance, go.

 

Rob -- thank you for a  great evening!

 

Great review! Looks like a stunning meal.

[rotuts]

this passes for dinner

 

but late afternoon. a few days ago

 

its was warm here then , but not as hot as it is now

 

I had some ' cold cuts ' to use up

 

some PowerSeed bread  and some bagged savoy spinach

 

not baby , more adolescent-ish .  the leaves were too small

 

to sub for lettuce in a sandwich , as they would just fall out

 

all over the place but it did taste like spinach

 

and have good spinach texture.

 

so :

 

toast the PS in the CSO.  make a ' stack ' of the 

 

remaining ham / turkey / domestic swiss

 

and micro it to just barely melt the cheese

 

cut in 1/2 

 

add to the two slices of toasted bread :

 

 

and lightly torch.  a little Kalamata EVOO

 

chop the spinach uo , add the chopped ' on the vine tomato '

 

use  ( prepare yourself for this ) American " California Style French '

 

from the bottle.  the stuff that is a bit flourencent orange ?

 

( ( did grow up in CA )   its a little sweet , and a little tart 

 

and not available Im sure in France 

 

 

and dig in.  the sandwich was dry.

 

solution ?

 

 

no stars awarded , but I liked it.

 

a keeper for hot days.

 

did I luck out or what !

Edited May 23, 2021 by rotuts (log)

[heidih]

@rotuts Catalina, French, Russian - the Wishbone dressings of yore. I had a flashback yesterday when stepmother brought home Russian dressing to make "Chicken Fantastic". Chicken, can of cranberry sauce, packet of Lipton onion soup, and the dressing - gets baked. I did not partake.

Edited May 23, 2021 by heidih (log)

[rotuts]

mine was 

 

Aldi generic

 

I do remember those dressings 

 

before  trans-fats , and high fructose corn syrup

 

that can't have been the bad !

 

Im stilll here !

 

Ill have to look up Catalina.

 

maybe Aldi has some  ?

 

and , Aldi CFD will have its place here

 

just not too much at a time

 

during the 95 F high humid days.

[rotuts]

of note :

 

this is California French

 

of course

 

nothing from Dijon sacrificed 

[blue_dolphin]

I made the Aubergine Dumplings alla Parmigiana from Ottolenghi's Flavour to deliver to my cousins.  She avoiding meat, he a die hard carnivore.  I got good reviews from both of them. 

Cubed eggplants are first roasted, then mashed and mixed with breadcrumbs, ricotta, Parmesan, parsley, garlic and egg before being shaped into balls and fried to brown on all sides.   They're then baked in a simple tomato sauce and topped with basil, kalamata olives and more Parmesan.  From the photo, I can see that the sauce and polenta thickened up on reheating at their house but they did not complain. I saved a small portion for myself and would make it again. 

[BonVivant]

I don't usually eat steaks. It's been a while.

 

 

Thinking of Baja Sur.

 

Hopefully next year.

 

My very first fish and prawn tacos in Mexico, in Guerrero Negro to be precise. Came back every day for the tacos. I think they had to refill the chilli sauce when I was done. 2 rounds of these.

 

Ate them standing next to the taco truck (this rare moment when it was not crowded so I could make this photo on another day). The street is the same road that runs from CA (USA) all the way to the tip of Baja California peninsular.

[TdeV]

On 5/21/2021 at 7:11 PM, JoNorvelleWalker said:

How do you air fry your potatoes?  I have potatoes and I have an APO.  I've been hungry for French fries.  But not hungry enough to double fry a batch in oil.

 

Jo, try this recipe for https://steamandbake.com/combi-steam-almond-crumbed-fish-sweet-potato-chips/

and then, if you like, you can skip the fish.

 

These chips (fries) are now a regular thing at my house. I find that I prefer the flavour of sweet potato chips with homemade mayonnaise than regular potato chips.

[gfweb]

Korean chicken wings, mac and cheese, corn and a macarpone fruit torte

 

Edited May 24, 2021 by gfweb (log)

[Shelby]

3 minutes ago, gfweb said:

Korean chicken wings, mac and cheese, corn and a ricotta fruit torte

 

Did you omit the corn picture in homage to @liuzhou

 

 

Beautiful tart.

 

Also impressed you can find wings.  None to be had around here.

 

Edited May 23, 2021 by Shelby (log)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

1 hour ago, TdeV said:

 

Jo, try this recipe for https://steamandbake.com/combi-steam-almond-crumbed-fish-sweet-potato-chips/

and then, if you like, you can skip the fish.

 

These chips (fries) are now a regular thing at my house. I find that I prefer the flavour of sweet potato chips with homemade mayonnaise than regular potato chips.

 

The link is not working for me.  Thanks but what I was looking for was how to air fry a facsimile of French fries, not sweet potato fries.

 

[Captain]

Personalised individual Pizza night. 😀

 

Made by me and cooked in the Kamado.

[Anna N]

12 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

The link is not working for me.  Thanks but what I was looking for was how to air fry a facsimile of French fries, not sweet potato fries.

 

I was hoping @Shelby will would come to your rescue but perhaps she is busy. As best as I can remember I used russet potatoes cut into chips. I soaked them in cold water for at least an hour. I drained them and then dried them with kitchen towel. I put them in a bowl and tossed them with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil then into the air fryer basket making sure that they were only one layer deep. Cooked in air fryer preheated to 375°F for 12 or 13 minutes. Tipped them out into a paper towel-lined bowl, sprinkled with salt and served them.  

Edited May 23, 2021 by Anna N
Bunch of typos. (log)

[btbyrd]

Strip steak with blue cheese. Also a massive arugula/parm salad and the better part of a bottle of Malbec. Maybe I’m watching the Eurovision Song Contest… maybe I’m not…

 

Edited May 24, 2021 by btbyrd (log)

[Shelby]

3 minutes ago, Anna N said:

I was hoping @ShelbyI would come to your rescue but perhaps she is busy. As best as I can remember I used russet potatoes cut into chips. I soak them in cold water for at least an hour. I drained them and then dried them with kitchen towel. I put them in a bowl and toss them with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil then into the air fryer basket making sure that they were only one layer deep. Cook in air fryer preheated to 375°F for 12 or 13 minutes. Tip them out into a paper towel-lined bowl, sprinkle with salt and serve. 

I'm sorry!  I meant to respond.  My mind is in a million places right now.  A lot has been going on.   

 

I am pretty sure I've never done fries in the air fryer.  It's too easy for me to just do them in oil.  I should air fry them for health reasons, but Ronnie loves his fries so much that until I have to, I'll stick with.  Also, the basket is so dang small.....BUT for one person it's perfect.  For us--Ronnie eats a lot of fries--it would take forever.

[patti]

59 minutes ago, gfweb said:

Korean chicken wings, mac and cheese, corn and a ricotta fruit torte

 

Oh my! That tart looks fabulous! Wow. 

[gfweb]

27 minutes ago, patti said:

Oh my! That tart looks fabulous! Wow. 

Made by Mrs gfweb!