Lunch 2021

[rotuts]

@Kim Shook

 

I believe you !

[heidih]

1 hour ago, Kim Shook said:

These are one of the trashiest and most ridiculous of snacks, from the depths of the 1960s suburban USA.  There are many variations around.  My mom used to make a version with either apricot jam or orange marmalade and BBQ sauce and homemade meatballs.  The very trashiest version is the one that Jessica made: a bag of frozen meatballs, a jar of grape jelly and the same amount of your favorite bottled BBQ sauce.  You dump the bag of meatballs in a slow cooker, mix the jelly and BBQ sauce in a saucepan and pour it over the meatballs.  Two to three hours on HIGH or about six on LOW and there you go.  Everyone laughs like mad at them and then they evaporate in 15 minutes and you wish you'd made more!  😁

he long soak if yo will really lets the sauce penetrate and they are good halved in a sandwich  - think highy flavored meatloaf sandwich (speaking of meatball version)

[chileheadmike]

1 hour ago, Kim Shook said:

These are one of the trashiest and most ridiculous of snacks, from the depths of the 1960s suburban USA.  There are many variations around.  My mom used to make a version with either apricot jam or orange marmalade and BBQ sauce and homemade meatballs.  The very trashiest version is the one that Jessica made: a bag of frozen meatballs, a jar of grape jelly and the same amount of your favorite bottled BBQ sauce.  You dump the bag of meatballs in a slow cooker, mix the jelly and BBQ sauce in a saucepan and pour it over the meatballs.  Two to three hours on HIGH or about six on LOW and there you go.  Everyone laughs like mad at them and then they evaporate in 15 minutes and you wish you'd made more!  😁

I made this version for my wife for the Superbowl. 

They turned out about as well as the game. 

[Anna N]

7 hours ago, Kim Shook said:

These are one of the trashiest and most ridiculous of snacks, from the depths of the 1960s suburban USA. 

I have memories of these. At one point in the past 20 years I’ve purchased the makings. Something held me back from actually making them. Eventually the grape jelly was flushed. 😂

[kayb]

Along this line, on a whim today I bought Little Smokies. They, too, are awesome eith a jam/BBQ sauce long, slow cook. Or, hell, I might out 'em in cassoulet later this week.

[Kim Shook]

@CantCookStillTry's husband over here in this thread inspired me to dig out my sandwich maker and make a pastrami and Swiss toastie:

Unfortunately, the deli cut the pastrami too thick this time and you could hardly bite through the sandwich.  It was really difficult to eat, but tasted good.

[gulfporter]

Grilled shrimp and grilled eggplant slices.  Served with chipotle mayo drizzle. 

 

[Margaret Pilgrim]

Flower rolls with hot chicken broth

[heidih]

34 minutes ago, Margaret Pilgrim said:

Flower rolls with hot chicken broth

 

Pretty rolls. One of my favorite steamed breads. Did you make them? I have never had them in broth. Adore them with thin sliced vinegared cucumber and Longanisa though. 

 

 

[Margaret Pilgrim]

1 hour ago, heidih said:

 

Pretty rolls. One of my favorite steamed breads. Did you make them? I have never had them in broth. Adore them with thin sliced vinegared cucumber and Longanisa though. 

 

 

Yes, made them.    Not in broth but served along side mugs of hot broth.   'This recipe, method, is foolproof although I needed to add more water to the dough.

[BeeZee]

Mushroom barley soup

 

[Raamo]

Lunch today, wanted some fish to try out a 2017 Le Debut Chardonnay from HDV that should pair well with tomorrows 4 course french meal we picked up from our local French restaurant.  

 

Scallops were on sale so why not.  Paired super well.  The side is couscous with some red onion cooked in a chicken stock. 

[Margaret Pilgrim]

22 hours ago, BeeZee said:

Mushroom barley soup

 

If only I could digitally print this bowl of soup I would be a happy camper.  

[BonVivant]

A north German classic. Potato-beetroot mash, matjes and a fried egg.

 

 

 

 

The black mass is Korean seaweed

 

Tofu puffs

 

 

[heidih]

@BonVivant all looks good - that seaweed looks like it really gelled up?

[chefmd]

Caviar, creme fraiche, potato chips, champagne.  Celebrating Valentine’s Day.

[Raamo]

So restaurants around us can open if they want, but not all will.  So our favorite local French restaurant Meritage occasionally offering Meritage a la maison which is French for Meritage at home.

 

We like supporting them and the meal kits they offer always are cold so the final cooking / assembly is done at home.  This time it was a large 4 course meal!

 

I asked a good friend of mine at HDV what wine would go with all 4 pairings and he suggested their 2017 Chardonnay Le Debut (younger vines, they make 3 different tiers of Chardonnay) and it's in a French style  - this wine paired perfectly, I drank at least 2/3 of the bottle over the course of the 2 hours.  We would eat a dish then prepare the next to space it out.  The rose was included for free as a thank you for supporting them.  

 

The first course arrived in 5 different containers:

 

 

Fully prepared:  These 3 small appetizers were all simply awesome.  The dishes are all Japanese and designed for dipping sauces and tea but worked great for these dishs.

 

 

The second course was in 3 containers, the crab was breaded but uncooked:

 

This dish was again simply amazing!  The plates for the following dishes are noritake china that belonged to my grandparents - the rims are platinum!

 

The 3rd course involved duck, I had already cooked sous vide the duck to 135F and cooled it down, this was right before I rendered the fat:

 

We were getting quite full so I only prepared a few of the potatoes and about 1/3 of the duck:

 

I'm still not a fan of Brussel sprouts but my wife really enjoyed them.  

 

 

The final course required basically no preparation:

 

It's chocolate and cake - I'm not really a fan but my wife loved it of course.  It's very thematic for the day too.  We're not the types to buy flowers or go out to eat today, so this was a neat treat to do at home.

 

This card was included and I love the use of the mask in the heart.

 

Covid-19 has meant a number of our local restaurants have permanently shut down so this is great we can support them.

[KennethT]

8 minutes ago, Raamo said:

So restaurants around us can open if they want, but not all will.  So our favorite local French restaurant Meritage occasionally offering Meritage a la maison which is French for Meritage at home.

 

We like supporting them and the meal kits they offer always are cold so the final cooking / assembly is done at home.  This time it was a large 4 course meal!

 

I asked a good friend of mine at HDV what wine would go with all 4 pairings and he suggested their 2017 Chardonnay Le Debut (younger vines, they make 3 different tiers of Chardonnay) and it's in a French style  - this wine paired perfectly, I drank at least 2/3 of the bottle over the course of the 2 hours.  We would eat a dish then prepare the next to space it out.  The rose was included for free as a thank you for supporting them.  

 

The first course arrived in 5 different containers:

 

 

Fully prepared:  These 3 small appetizers were all simply awesome.  The dishes are all Japanese and designed for dipping sauces and tea but worked great for these dishs.

 

 

The second course was in 3 containers, the crab was breaded but uncooked:

 

This dish was again simply amazing!  The plates for the following dishes are noritake china that belonged to my grandparents - the rims are platinum!

 

The 3rd course involved duck, I had already cooked sous vide the duck to 135F and cooled it down, this was right before I rendered the fat:

 

We were getting quite full so I only prepared a few of the potatoes and about 1/3 of the duck:

 

I'm still not a fan of Brussel sprouts but my wife really enjoyed them.  

 

 

The final course required basically no preparation:

 

It's chocolate and cake - I'm not really a fan but my wife loved it of course.  It's very thematic for the day too.  We're not the types to buy flowers or go out to eat today, so this was a neat treat to do at home.

 

This card was included and I love the use of the mask in the heart.

 

Covid-19 has meant a number of our local restaurants have permanently shut down so this is great we can support them.

very nice... one thing that jumped out was the quantity of duck fat included.  What did they intend you do with it all??

[Raamo]

3 minutes ago, KennethT said:

very nice... one thing that jumped out was the quantity of duck fat included.  What did they intend you do with it all??

 

It was for frying the potatoes, they gave us extra on purpose - I have a full duck in the freezer so I plan to use a bunch of it to confit the legs.

Edited February 15, 2021 by Raamo (log)

[Anna N]

41 minutes ago, Raamo said:

We like supporting them and the meal kits they offer always are cold so the final cooking / assembly is done at home.  This time it was a large 4 course meal!

It all looks quite spectacular but my curiosity is about the Billi Bi soup. This is something I have always wanted to try. Can you comment on it, please.

[Raamo]

9 hours ago, Anna N said:

It all looks quite spectacular but my curiosity is about the Billi Bi soup. This is something I have always wanted to try. Can you comment on it, please.

 

I'd never had it before, there were 2 mussels in it and they were good, the soup it self was very lusciously and rich,  I wouldn't want a full bowl of it at this richness.  It worked perfectly to counterbalance the other 2 dishes.

[Anna N]

17 minutes ago, Raamo said:

 

I'd never had it before, there were 2 mussels in it and they were good, the soup it self was very lusciously and rich,  I wouldn't want a full bowl of it at this richness.  It worked perfectly to counterbalance the other 2 dishes.

Thanks very much. Your description matches pretty much my expectations. It was of course the name that first attracted me. There are various explanations as to the origin of the soup and its name.  Here is one. 

[Dejah]

It's been such a change in our weather. A cold snap has had temperatures around the -30Cs, with night time temp around -40 and windchill -50C. The sun shines but the wind freezes water pipes and knocks out power. We are lucky, staying at home, have power, and monitoring everything. Soup is something that keeps us warm from the inside out.

 

Loaded congee with bones from crispy BBQ pork (siu yook), pork slices, fuyu, pork floss, Chinese crueller, and crackling.

 

                                                                        

 

Rice vermicelli with leftover crispy BBQ pork (siu yook), bean sprouts

 

                                                                        

 

Traditional for CNY, but I love this anytime I can find lovely daikon: Savoury Tang Yuen. A little saucer of soy sauce mixed with sesame oil and white pepper for dipping.

 

                                                                        

 

 

 

[liuzhou]

37 minutes ago, Dejah said:

Savoury Tang Yuen

 

I've never had savoury tang yuan; only the sweet ones served as a dessert, which to be honest I don't really like. What's in the savoury variety?

[Raamo]

Today Chili, I made a huge amount of this yesterday and having it for the first time for lunch today.  Fresh cilantro on top with some sour cream to finish it off.