Lunch 2021

[BonVivant]

From a new series "ShaiN's brief visit to Greece".

 

 

 

 

My new favourite and it's very Greek: lamb's live in red wine

 

Just broad beans that I left in beetroot liquid for a while before making the puree.

 

Pickled peppers. Some are spicy.

 

Even managed to find Griek Riesling. Lidl had a Greek themed week a few weeks back and I bought 2 bottles. Perfect for this lunch now.

 

 

 

The only time I like airports is arriving there or departing.

 

[chefmd]

Cod with purple potatoes 

[BonVivant]

Lemonbalm from the garden

 

 

Coarsely process with some peas

 

Burrata & honey

 

Forget the other 2 when I have Kaltbach

 

Spring elixir is here again. Watched the fishmonger clean it and then I biked as fast as I could home. Quality deteriorates enormously once it's gutted.

 

Butter from the sea "new catch Matjes"

[heidih]

@BonVivantThanks for the lemon balm heads up. I've never grown or used it. The pea spread screams  SPRING

[BeeZee]

Leftover pasta salad from the weekend, topped with some jarred tuna.

 

[rotuts]

@BonVivant  

 

Ive got serious herring envy

 

after seeing those on your late

 

congrtulations

 

[shain]

@BonVivant You were faster to cook some Greek than I was Delicious looking as always! 

[Duvel]

My wife and the little one woke up this morning with a cold - not unsual, given how weird the weather behaves. With both at home I decided to run to the market, get veggies and a nice chicken and prepare a chicken soup (pressure cooker be praised). Served with dumplings, veggies, rendered chicken schmaltz and some crispy chicken skin. Not much to look at but very welcomed by both of them …

 

[rotuts]

@Duvel 

 

pls tell me a li9ttle more about those dumplings.

 

I went through a ( delicious ) dumpling phase

 

a while ago.  made them every night.

 

my template was this book :

 

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/165778/the-german-cookbook-by-mimi-sheraton/

 

also made the saurbraten

 

 

[Duvel]

27 minutes ago, rotuts said:

pls tell me a li9ttle more about those dumplings.

In principle, they are Markklöschen. One of the ingredients is beef bone marrow, that however can be substituted 1:1 with butter - as in this case.

 

60 g Butter (or bone marrow or mixture), molten

60 g Panko or finer breadcrumbs 

1 tbs starch

parsley

2 eggs

salt, pepper (white) and nutmeg

 

Combine all ingredients except the eggs. Beat the eggs, add and let rest for several hours in the fridge. Form little dumplings (I like round) and poach in barely simmering salted liquid/stock until they float to the surface. Freeze them at this point, if desired, or add to soup/stew …

 

Edited June 24, 2021 by Duvel (log)

[Duvel]

Another day, another congested family member (😉), another chicken turned into a restoring chicken soup. This time with some extra ginger added. And with a proper picture (because yesterday’s really sucked) …

 

 

I really like the addition of the fried chicken skin at the end. Can’t quite remember where I saw that, but it is a nice addition …

[Duvel]

Little one is getting better and wasn’t feeling like chicken soup. He would have liked pizza, but remembered that pizza night is Sundays 😉 …

 

So I made him Focaccia (Escalivada, anchovies & olives; potato, garlic & rosemary; potato & chanterelles).

 

 

[weinoo]

A friend and I took a drive up to Great Barrington, MA yesterday. We had tried to have lunch at this place on our last trip, but their hours are (or were) a little strange, and on that day they were closed. Instead, we ate garbage from the Citgo gas station, located next door.  

But yesterday they were open, and we scored.  It's a hipster run diner, basically in the middle of nowhere...

 

Quote

The West Taghkanic Diner opened its doors in 1953 as one of four Taghkanic Diners, all built to serve travelers along the Taconic Parkway. With a large neon sign out front and retro exterior, the diner quickly became an institution and remained one as the decades passed.

 

https://www.wtdinerny.com/

 

We ordered almost everything, including stuff to take home for our respective dinners with spouses.

 

 

That's the gazpacho (pickled beet and tomato), a small order of chili beans, his turkey club (and not shown, my pastrami reuben), and the wings, which happened to be excellent. I would go again. And maybe eat less.

 

First stop though, was in Great Barrington - we hit the diner on the drive home...

 

[Wait. Wot]

Today's lunch: romaine, celery, radish, baby bella mushrooms, avocado, cheddar cheese cubes, cherry tomatoes, pepperoni, grilled swordfish (cold), blue cheese cubes and sliced hard boiled egg.

 

Grillo's half sour pickle on the side. 

[heidih]

Nice assortment. not dressed?

[BonVivant]

Marrowfat peas in frittata loaded with double-smoked ricotta (the cheese is common in Sicily).

 

 "Meze" again, but not Greek.

 

 

Here they are again, glorious glistening new herring.

 

Based on Swedish "midsummer" lunch but this is my version.

 

 

On 6/20/2021 at 11:14 PM, heidih said:

@BonVivantThanks for the lemon balm heads up. I've never grown or used it. The pea spread screams  SPRING

On 6/21/2021 at 6:58 PM, rotuts said:

@BonVivant  

 

Ive got serious herring envy

 

after seeing those on your late

 

congrtulations

 

On 6/23/2021 at 7:06 PM, shain said:

 You were faster to cook some Greek than I was Delicious looking as always! 

 

Golden hour on a traffic-free island in the Wadden Sea.

[Wait. Wot]

1 hour ago, heidih said:

Nice assortment. not dressed?

I was dressed, the salad was dressed just after the picture was taken.

[weinoo]

 

Ensaladilla Rusa with potatoes, piquillo peppers, carrots, celery, cornichons, capers, Spanish tuna, lemon and mayo.

[Kim Shook]

Due to COVID we had postponed celebrating Jessica’s January birthday dinner until our favorite dim sum place in Wheaton MD – Hollywood East – reopened.  The restaurant itself is not available for seating, but they’ve put tables out in the mall.  You order using a QRcode and they bring it to your table all masked up.  It was the three of us and Jessica best friend.  Every single thing was delicious. 

 

Golden Roast Pork Buns:

Inside:

 

Baked Roast Pork Croissants:

 

Shrimp Rice Noodle Crepes:

These look so bland and ordinary, but they were full of perfectly cooked shrimp and really fantastic.

 

Deep Fried Shrimp & Pork Dumplings:

I thought these were the best thing on the table.  The crust was amazing – flaky, tender, crisp. 

 

Shrimp Toast:

The best shrimp toast I’ve ever had.

 

Steamed Chives & Shrimp Dumplings:

 

Chicken Ginger Dumplings:

 

Sticky Rice Sautéed with Chinese Sausage:

 

Bacon Rolls Stuffed with Minced Shrimp:

These were probably tied for the best things on the table. 

 

Then came the dessert dim sum.  Egg Custard Tarts:

 

Baked Custard Buns:

These had a lovely craquelure topping that I hadn't seen before. I thought they were the best of the dessert-type dim sum we had.

 

Deep Fried Sesame Balls with Lotus Paste:

Amazing texture and flavor.

 

Steamed Red Bean Buns:

 

Mr. Kim had given up by this point and these were the only things that got a big NOPE from Jessica and me. Her friend liked it, but we didn't care for the flavor of the red bean paste at ALL.  We all wished that we had a similar restaurant in Richmond.

 

Yesterday I was alone in the house for the first time in ages.  So, this was lunch:

Saltines and smoked oysters.  It looks awful – even to me – and Mr. Kim hates the smell.  But it was wonderful. 

 

 

 

Edited July 1, 2021 by Kim Shook
Edited to fix photos. (log)

[Duvel]

@Kim Shook: fantastic 🥳

[Paul Bacino]

@weinoo

 

"  We ordered almost everything  "  I can see why   

 

[liuzhou]

Brined and slow cooked pig's tongue. The tongue was trimmed of excess fat and gristle then brined for 24 hours. In retrospect, a heavier brine would have been better. Don't ask me what the ratio was. I just threw in what I thought to be a reasonable amount of salt. Next time. Then it was slow cooked for around 4 hours. The timing is a little uncertain because a technical error with the slow cooker (i.e. me forgetting to put the lid on!) confused the issue a bit. The meat is slightly overdone, but not unpleasantly so.

Served cold with home-made Chinese pickled vegetables (泡菜 (pào cài)).

 

 

 

[BeeZee]

Desk lunch: cous cous salad, tuna, avocado. I had bought a bag of mini avocados from TJ's and every one has been perfect so far. They work very well for single serving.

Edited July 1, 2021 by BeeZee
photo (log)

[heidih]

25 minutes ago, BeeZee said:

Desk lunch: cous cous salad, tuna, avocado. I had bought a bag of mini avocados from TJ's and every one has been perfect so far. They work very well for single serving.

 

I am with you on the small avocados as the pit is also proportionately small. Good value. Plus in the bag a bazillion clueless shoppers have not given them a hard squeeze

[Kerala]

Pancakes with mushrooms, Gruyere, and an egg. The first one always turns out ugly.