Dinner 2022

[Duvel]

Inspired by @Norm Matthews post on brisket-style tri tip (and the ensuing discussion) I decided to give it a go …

 

After about 6h in the smoker (last 2.5h wrapped):

 

 

With a quick coleslaw, beans and a brezel roll …

 

 

It was ok. Family was not impressed. Taste was good, it was reasonably tender, but slightly dry. I attribute this to mainly two issues:

 

1) German beef is not particularly fatty, and meat quality is average. This tri tip was too lean and thus the succulence of the rendered fat was missing.

2) I pulled at 187 F because it was dinner time. Should have gone to 200 F. Well … would have, should have, could have. A weekday is not perfect for experimenting with long cooks. As usual, my old lab wisdom hold true: If you don’t have time to do it right, reserve the time to do it again.

 

To be repeated …

 

[weinoo]

36 minutes ago, Duvel said:

Inspired by @Norm Matthews post on brisket-style tri tip (and the ensuing discussion) I decided to give it a go …

 

After about 6h in the smoker (last 2.5h wrapped):

 

 

With a quick coleslaw, beans and a brezel roll …

 

 

 

1) German beef is not particularly fatty, and meat quality is average. This tri tip was too lean and thus the succulence of the rendered fat was missing.

 

 

 

You'd probably be better off grilling that tri-tip to, say, a medium rare.

[Duvel]

16 minutes ago, weinoo said:

 

You'd probably be better off grilling that tri-tip to, say, a medium rare.

Fully with you … best SV, then sear as @mgaretz demonstrates so perfectly. Or like you say ”just” grill. But the idea here was that the tri tip functions as smaller (and maybe better) version of a smoked brisket. And I’d like that idea 😊

[rotuts]

@Duvel 

 

interesting reGerman Beef.

 

that trip-tip

 

would be  nice  

 

SV 130 F until tender

 

but you know that .by experience. 

 

pleased you tried the brisket    

[Honkman]

Orecchiette with Caponata (eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, over-roasted red peppers, onion, garlic, rosemary)

 

[mgaretz]

8 hours ago, Duvel said:

Fully with you … best SV, then sear as @mgaretz demonstrates so perfectly. Or like you say ”just” grill. But the idea here was that the tri tip functions as smaller (and maybe better) version of a smoked brisket. And I’d like that idea 😊

I have made it that way, smoked to rare then seared, and it’s quite nice, but my wife doesn’t like smoked beef, unless it’s pastrami. 

[Dante]

Veggie Tian, side of tater tots with fry sauce

[weinoo]

 

Crab cakes. 

 

 

Served with ramp pesto potatoes and house made cocktail sauce. Salad on the side.

[rotuts]

@weinoo  

 

you cooked those CC's in a FondLess ?

[weinoo]

59 minutes ago, rotuts said:

@weinoo  

 

you cooked those CC's in a FondLess ?

 

Of course - I'm not fond of fond for crab! And what fun is fond feasting on fine crab cakes? 

[KennethT]

Vietnamese style grilled cod with mango salad and rice noodles. I marinated the cod in a paste of black pepper/dried chilli powder/lemongrass/cilantro stems/garlic/fish sauce/turmeric, then wrapped in banana leaf and grilled.  Mango salad with herbs was made with the ataulfo mangos - even though they were soft, they still didn't compare to the other mangoes I had earlier in the week - so they needed quite a bit of enhancing.  The dressing was black pepper/garlic/cilantro stems/fish sauce/tamarind water/lime juice/palm sugar/thai chilli/fried shallot.  Herbs were mint and rau ram (laksa) from the garden plus cilantro and garlic chives.

 

My building has no gas service, hence the portable stove top (15000 BTU!)

 

 

The plating was crappy but I didn't care - it was late and I was starving!

 

[TicTac]

On 5/18/2022 at 12:10 PM, KennethT said:

Sorry - that's not what I meant by explosions.  Sometimes, when frying things wrapped in rice paper, there's a little free water there from wetting the rice paper to get it flexible and those drops of water cause explosions!  Once you wrapped the rolls, did you blot them dry or anything or do a really efficient (no extra water) dipping job? Or just get lucky? 🤣

Must have been luck, but again I am using minimal amounts of oil in a non stick pan (one of the rare circumstances I use it), certainly was some splatter, but I did it on a lower heat this time and kept turning - came out well.

[KennethT]

1 hour ago, TicTac said:

Must have been luck, but again I am using minimal amounts of oil in a non stick pan (one of the rare circumstances I use it), certainly was some splatter, but I did it on a lower heat this time and kept turning - came out well.

Ah!  Now I get it... for some reason, I assumed you were deep frying them...

[Anna N]

55 minutes ago, KennethT said:

Ah!  Now I get it... for some reason, I assumed you were deep frying them...

Me too and having tried that once or twice…

[Shelby]

@KennethTYour cod salad looks so good.  I really need to branch out and try some new things like this.  You've inspired me to order some mangos if they have them from Misfits this week.

 

@HonkmanI would love to have your caponata dish tonight.  I'm craving pasta (well, to be fair, I'm always craving pasta lol).

 

I try not to make Ronnie eat my spaghetti sauce too often because I could eat it every other day --but sometimes I just need it.  Salad from a kit that isn't too bad.

 

 

I have had @curls' gyro meat on my brain for a long time and I finally got around to making it.  Lamb and venison.  Thanks to her for sharing her recipe.  It's exactly what I wanted!

 

 

The tzatziki sauce

 

 

A greek-ish pasta salad

 

 

The Campari tomatoes weren't half bad

 

 

So good.  

 

 

Ronnie wanted fried chicken on Sunday

 

 

 

Turkey sandwiches with the tiniest pickles ever lol.

 

 

Found some doves in the freezer from last fall.  Thought we didn't have anymore but boom.  There they were lol.

 

 

Salad and some asparagus pasta to go with.

 

 

 

Gyros again--this time with some shishitos

 

 

 

My cleaning angel friend brought me this huge bowl of berries from her garden yesterday.  I am a lucky person.  SO sweet and good.

 

 

 

 

Then, Ronnie went fishing and for the first time in YEARS he caught some keeper Walleye.  Oh, I had forgotten how good those are.  3 is the limit.  The rest are white bass.

 

 

So, yesterday was quite a fun feast.

 

Asparagus from the garden

 

 

Fried walleye

 

Mac and cheese and spinach too

 

And, since the beautiful berries were here, I made a little shortcake and had fresh cream with strawberries.

 

 

Then I rolled myself off to bed.

 

And I had more cake and berries for breakfast 😁

 

 

[KennethT]

29 minutes ago, Shelby said:

@KennethTYour cod salad looks so good.  I really need to branch out and try some new things like this.  You've inspired me to order some mangos if they have them from Misfits this week.

 

@HonkmanI would love to have your caponata dish tonight.  I'm craving pasta (well, to be fair, I'm always craving pasta lol).

 

I try not to make Ronnie eat my spaghetti sauce too often because I could eat it every other day --but sometimes I just need it.  Salad from a kit that isn't too bad.

 

 

I have had @curls' gyro meat on my brain for a long time and I finally got around to making it.  Lamb and venison.  Thanks to her for sharing her recipe.  It's exactly what I wanted!

 

 

The tzatziki sauce

 

 

A greek-ish pasta salad

 

 

The Campari tomatoes weren't half bad

 

 

So good.  

 

 

Ronnie wanted fried chicken on Sunday

 

 

 

Turkey sandwiches with the tiniest pickles ever lol.

 

 

Found some doves in the freezer from last fall.  Thought we didn't have anymore but boom.  There they were lol.

 

 

Salad and some asparagus pasta to go with.

 

 

 

Gyros again--this time with some shishitos

 

 

 

My cleaning angel friend brought me this huge bowl of berries from her garden yesterday.  I am a lucky person.  SO sweet and good.

 

 

 

 

Then, Ronnie went fishing and for the first time in YEARS he caught some keeper Walleye.  Oh, I had forgotten how good those are.  3 is the limit.  The rest are white bass.

 

 

So, yesterday was quite a fun feast.

 

Asparagus from the garden

 

 

Fried walleye

 

Mac and cheese and spinach too

 

And, since the beautiful berries were here, I made a little shortcake and had fresh cream with strawberries.

 

 

Then I rolled myself off to bed.

 

And I had more cake and berries for breakfast 😁

 

 

I agree - you definitely need to have some mango!!!  But I'd avoid the Tommy Atkins mango - they're probably the most popular by volume sold in the US, but I'm not a fan - they're fibrous and mostly flavorless.  I see that Misfits also has Kent mangoes - but I'm not familiar with them so I can't comment.  If you're feeling flush, there's a Facebook group called "fruit 4 sale" that has a lot of growers in Florida who ship by Fedex or USPS.  Some of these growers are fantastic, and their product is excellent.  But unfortunately pricey.  I've been putting off getting some, but I know that one day I'll succumb.

[Ann_T]

 

Pizza Night. Italian Sausage, Mushrooms and Olives. Sourdough Crust.

[shain]

Rice noodles with red fermented tofu, stir fried zucchini, eggs. 

 

[shain]

Not very photogenic, but tasty.

Potatoes risotto style topped with mushrooms. Cubed potatoes are boiled, mixed with some cooking water while mixing so that some starch releases. Butter, Fontina cheese, a bit of fried garlic, and pepper mixed in.

 

 

[Annie_H]

We have been wanting to try a new-to-us merguez. (just lamb, olive oil, lots of spices in lamb casing like the brand we've been having). This one is better so I'll stock up.

Quick pasta dish. Started the sausage with sliced onion and garlic, gathered more ingredients. Leek, celery, fennel, parm rind. Removed the merguez to the oven to slow roast. Olives, marinara, chili crisp, lacinato kale. 

[Annie_H]

Avocado and fruit with Italian saba for dessert.

[KennethT]

A good use for chicken breast - Panang curry...

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

 

Egregious plating.  The green stuff is broccoli rabe. Good.

 

[Tropicalsenior]

1 hour ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

green stuff

What green stuff? Everything else looks wonderful but the broccoli rabe looks like you cremated it.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

31 minutes ago, Tropicalsenior said:

What green stuff? Everything else looks wonderful but the broccoli rabe looks like you cremated it.

 

As the recipe calls for.*  Crispy and delicious.

 

 

*blanched, then dried, then roast 425F for 20 minutes.  My new favorite recipe for broccoli rabe.