Dinner 2021

JoNorvelleWalker · June 16, 2021

Last night’s dinner: penne all’arrabbiata from The Romagnolis’ Table. However I am penneless, and made do with gemelli — or as I have always called it, farmer’s pasta.

The dish was fine but I was mainly looking for an excuse to practice my photography.

FeChef · June 16, 2021

1 hour ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

Last night’s dinner: penne all’arrabbiata from The Romagnolis’ Table. However I am penneless, and made do with gemelli — or as I have always called it, farmer’s pasta.

The dish was fine but I was mainly looking for an excuse to practice my photography.

Damnit. I have been trying to avoid Pasta these past few weeks. I have some bratwurst that i been wanting thaw to grill and slice to add to some pasta for some time. You pushed me over the edge.

JoNorvelleWalker · June 16, 2021

15 minutes ago, FeChef said:

Damnit. I have been trying to avoid Pasta these past few weeks. I have some bratwurst that i been wanting thaw to grill and slice to add to some pasta for some time. You pushed me over the edge.

Always glad to help. I attended work-required slip and trip training this morning, and I now know how to do that.

I have a die for extruding this shape pasta but the gemelli I used last night is store bought via nuts.com. They don't name their supplier but they say the gemelli is made in New Jersey by a 45 year old family business that employs brass dies and 100 percent super coarse semolina. Whatever you call it, it is one of my favorite shapes.

I thought the pasta really was rather exceptional.* And my sauce was not half bad.

*good thing because I have two pounds.

weinoo · June 16, 2021

16 hours ago, David Ross said:

I choose extra small oysters from the Washington coast

Kumamotos, or is there another variety we should know about? They're a fave.

weinoo · June 16, 2021

9 hours ago, Katie Meadow said:

Now, about those beans. If only I had packed some of my stash of RG Domingo Rojo to take with me. Okay, so I went with the South's favorite, Camellia. No contest. Not very exciting, but did the job

What about Sea Island red beans? Do you see any Anson Mills stuff in the stores down there? (Don't get me wrong; I love the RG Domingo Rojos!)

Katie Meadow · June 16, 2021

52 minutes ago, weinoo said:

What about Sea Island red beans? Do you see any Anson Mills stuff in the stores down there? (Don't get me wrong; I love the RG Domingo Rojos!)

Good idea. When my husband goes to Publix this morning he can check to see what Anson Mills products they might stock. Also he can look for Marsh Hen, aka Geechie Boy, and see if they have a presence there. We are all blown away and and tired, so tonight is takeout from Community Q (the shortest abbreviation of barbecue you can devise.) My daughter has cravings. She didn't have them while pregnant, so she's making up for lost time; she wants Q's brisket and mac n cheese. I ain't about to make that from scratch right now. She doesn't remember this: she wouldn't touch my home made mac n cheese but she was a major fan of Kraft as a kid. Two portions of stale poor quality elbows and toxic powder we referred to as Agent Orange. I had my own desperate moments in those days. Whatever was left in the pot was mine.

Katie Meadow · June 16, 2021

1 hour ago, weinoo said:

Kumamotos, or is there another variety we should know about? They're a fave.

Don't forget about Olympias! Teeny little things that almost disappeared and are now, slowly, making a comeback. I've only had them a couple of times, but they are fantastic. If they are for sale or on a menu get them.

**David Ross** · June 16, 2021

2 hours ago, weinoo said:

Kumamotos, or is there another variety we should know about? They're a fave.

Those are my favorite. I also like Yaquina Bay oysters that come from the Oregon Coast, and Kushi oysters from British Columbia.

Ann_T · June 16, 2021

Started a 1000g batch of baguette dough early yesterday morning and baked late afternoon.

Baked seven loaves of assorted sizes. Moe likes fatter loaves to slice for toast and I like baguettes that I can slice lengthwise.

Neither of us was hungry for a big dinner so I made another one of Moe's favourite appetizers - Escargot in mushroom caps - with lots of fresh baked baguette for sopping up all the garlic butter.

Kim Shook · June 16, 2021

13 hours ago, Katie Meadow said:

Being in Atlanta and finding out my daughter and her husband love red beans and rice, I set about collecting ingredients. Smoked ham shanks don't seem to be popular, only hocks. Too bad, I like the meatier shanks. However, Broadbent's bacon, something I've heard about on Eg for years was very available. Never had it before and it was delicious on its own and in the beans. BLTs are planned in the next few days.

Now, about those beans. If only I had packed some of my stash of RG Domingo Rojo to take with me. Okay, so I went with the South's favorite, Camellia. No contest. Not very exciting, but did the job. But the Domingo Rojo is an addiction. Before I discovered them I used to order the organic dark red kidney beans from Purcell Mountain. They are good, way better than Camellia but not near as good as those RG DR's. One thing can be said about Camellia beans: dirt cheap and no shipping.

So, along with the redfish and deep fried okra from several days ago, the tally of new-to-me Southern specialties stands at 4. Still can't find a source for varieties of Hagen-Dazs, but our first planned trip to Publix is tomorrow will also be a first. Hope against hope, desperately seeking Cookies and Cream. Can't say as Krogers is a very appealing store.

In our area, at least, Publix is very much superior to Kroger. Wegman's is the best we have as far as non-specialty grocery stores go.

weinoo · June 16, 2021

2 hours ago, Kim Shook said:

In our area, at least, Publix is very much superior to Kroger. Wegman's is the best we have as far as non-specialty grocery stores go.

I always enjoyed shopping at Harris-Teeter when we were in DC. Do you have those?

All I can think of when I think of Publix is years and years of my parents in Delray Beach, and Publix being THE grocery store. I was in wonderment at how wide the aisles were!

shain · June 16, 2021

More from my smilingly ever-increasing backlog.

Those are from two French-bread pizza nights. Both night were accompanied by a variety of beers, pickles and some sliced veggies or a salad.

The breads were sliced length wise into thirds, buttered/oiled and half-toasted. Then toppings go on and all baked until the bread is crisp and cheese is melty.

I don't have a photo of the plain cheese pizza, but here is one of a slice topped with some Lao gan ma.

A build-your-own pizza for the little one (not my little one, no plan for kids any time soon 😅 )

"Greek" pizza, mozzarella and feta, tomatoes, oregano, chilies, olive oil. Onion, olives and more tomatoes after baking.

Black beans flavored with smoky chipotle, coriander seeds, cumin, oregano. Mozzarella, cheddar. Finished with pickled onions and chilies.

Black beans, cheddar, tomatoes, onion, fresh chilies. Finished with a bit of lime.

Experimental #1 - Mozzarella, scallions, sesame oil, Szechuan peppercorn. Finished with chili oil.

Experimental #2- Mozzarella,zaatar, tomatoes. Finished with sumac.

Edited June 16, 2021 by shain
Please don't eat lice... (log)

Katie Meadow · June 16, 2021

5 hours ago, Kim Shook said:

In our area, at least, Publix is very much superior to Kroger. Wegman's is the best we have as far as non-specialty grocery stores go.

Publix has plenty of Hagen-Dazs! Even pistachio, which I never see in the Bay Area. Publix is my new friend. But they didn't have Broadbent's bacon and my husband couldn't find any Anson Mills products. He might not have known where to look and he hates asking for directions. He comes from a family where all the men seem to have a built in compass. He knows what direction he's facing even in unfamiliar places. Well, usually.

liuzhou · June 16, 2021

1 hour ago, shain said:

lice topped with some Lao gan ma

I may give that a miss! 🤣

shain · June 16, 2021

2 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

I may give that a miss! 🤣

😰

Lao gan ma makes many things taste much better, but that's really stretching it!

Anna N · June 16, 2021

14 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

I may give that a miss! 🤣

And I thought you were such an adventurous eater.

liuzhou · June 16, 2021

1 minute ago, Anna N said:

And I thought you were such an adventurous eater.

Yeah, but I've overdone that Lao gan ma! I prefer a different dressing on my lice, these days.

Kim Shook · June 17, 2021

7 hours ago, weinoo said:

I always enjoyed shopping at Harris-Teeter when we were in DC. Do you have those?

All I can think of when I think of Publix is years and years of my parents in Delray Beach, and Publix being THE grocery store. I was in wonderment at how wide the aisles were!

I love Harris-Teeter, but we don't have them here. They skipped right over us - they are in NC, Charlottesville, Williamsburg, and, of course, NOVA. But not in Richmond.

4 hours ago, Katie Meadow said:

Publix has plenty of Hagen-Dazs! Even pistachio, which I never see in the Bay Area. Publix is my new friend. But they didn't have Broadbent's bacon and my husband couldn't find any Anson Mills products. He might not have known where to look and he hates asking for directions. He comes from a family where all the men seem to have a built in compass. He knows what direction he's facing even in unfamiliar places. Well, usually.

I've found that for some unfathomable reason - even in the deep south - good quality, small batch grits can be really hard to find in grocery stores. But I'm not aware that Anson Mills sells through stores at all. Please correct me if I'm wrong - I'd love to get some.

JoNorvelleWalker · June 17, 2021

Something unusual for me: for the first time in a year and a half I ate in a restaurant. My dinner was fish and chips, with malt vinegar and a pint of cider. Some minutes after our meals arrived the server returned with a large platter of fries for us. He said there had been an executive decision in the kitchen that the fries I had been served were not up to the restaurant's standard. There was nothing wrong with the original fries, though admittedly the second batch of fries were prettier.

My dinner companion took most of the platter home, as well as the fries remaining from my plate. (She had opted for a healthy salad in place of having fries.)

It was also the first time in about a year and a half that I've had dinner with anyone besides myself.

Ann_T · June 17, 2021

Pollo Alla Marengo.

Easy dinner on a work night.

Haven't made this in a while. Forgot how much we both like it.

Margaret Pilgrim · June 17, 2021

17 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

My dinner companion took most of the platter home, as well as the fries remaining from my plate. (She had opted for a healthy salad in place of having fries.)

Reminds me of an old limerick:

There once was a lady named Maud

who was a deceitful young fraud.

She never was able to eat at the table

but back in the pantry, Good Lawd.

Katie Meadow · June 17, 2021

1 hour ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

Something unusual for me: for the first time in a year and a half I ate in a restaurant. My dinner was fish and chips, with malt vinegar and a pint of cider. Some minutes after our meals arrived the server returned with a large platter of fries for us. He said there had been an executive decision in the kitchen that the fries I had been served were not up to the restaurant's standard. There was nothing wrong with the original fries, though admittedly the second batch of fries were prettier.

My dinner companion took most of the platter home, as well as the fries remaining from my plate. (She had opted for a healthy salad in place of having fries.)

It was also the first time in about a year and a half that I've had dinner with anyone besides myself.

I have not found it easy adjusting to the lowering of restrictions. Eating out only three time since the pandemic, only the last one, a few days ago at a pub's patio, seemed sort of familiar. I felt much anxiety in the airports and on the plane. What an incredibly strange year and a half we've all had.

weinoo · June 17, 2021

9 hours ago, Kim Shook said:

But I'm not aware that Anson Mills sells through stores at all

They do, but probably just "gourmet" shops. For instance, I can get some of his product at Formaggio Essex...it's actually kept refrigerated! (I think they get big bags, and decant it into 1/2 lb. and 1 lb. packs).

weinoo · June 17, 2021

8 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

My dinner companion took most of the platter home, as well as the fries remaining from my plate. (She had opted for a healthy salad in place of having fries.)

I love this:

"I'll just have a salad." And then take the fries home and shove them down my throat when no one except the cat is watching.