Dinner 2022

[Annie_H]

Made a few salads Friday night for the weekend after a big veg delivery. Chili crisp/kimchi potato salad. Loaded tuna salad we had in butter lettuce wraps and slaw. 

 

[gfweb]

Flat iron steak, broccoli  salad with cornbread croutons, stuffed potatoes.

 

[Shelby]

5 minutes ago, gfweb said:

Flat iron steak, broccoli  salad with cornbread croutons, stuffed potatoes.

 

I love stuffed potatoes.  But I hate making them.  Yours look super good.

[gfweb]

29 minutes ago, Shelby said:

I love stuffed potatoes.  But I hate making them.  Yours look super good.

🙂

Onion powder, parm, pimenton and mayo this time. 

[Shelby]

22 minutes ago, gfweb said:

🙂

Onion powder, parm, pimenton and mayo this time. 

Mayo!  That's new to me.  I always do sour cream.  Sounds good.

[gfweb]

54 minutes ago, Shelby said:

Mayo!  That's new to me.  I always do sour cream.  Sounds good.

 

I don't mash the potatoes, just break them up with a fork. That way needs less mayo and therefore less fat. 

[Ann_T]

My favourite beef is sold at a grocery store that carries Sterling Silver beef.

This week they had their beef tenderloin on from $33.00lb to $19.99lb.

I went to Thrifty's before work this morning and had the butcher cut me the centre from two whole tenderloins.

What I would call the Chateaubriand cut. One was just under 2 lbs and the other just over 2 lbs.

I cut one thick steak off of the smaller of the two. It is destined for a favourite recipe, one of Julia Child's recipes that I have been making for years,

but haven't made it recently. (Beef Burgundy)

And two steaks off of the larger piece, that I have presalted and intend to smoke tomorrow night for dinner.

The other two pieces are both over 1lb and I left them whole so I have options.

Depending on how my first attempted at smoking steaks goes, at least one of these will be smoked whole.

Edited July 18, 2022 by Ann_T (log)

[KennethT]

More cooking....

Sambal mahi mahi. Sambal made from scratch to be like Old Lai Huat in Singapore. This is the closest I've come and is pretty close. I was really happy with it.

 

[Honkman]

Mochitlan-style beef stew - beef chuck pieces cooked in pressure cooker with chickpeas and a sauce made from plenty of guajillo chiles, cumin, oregano, cloves, onion and garlic. Afterwards briefly cook some zucchini and finish with lime juice and cilantro - served with some corn tortillas.

 

[liamsaunt]

On 7/16/2022 at 11:21 AM, KennethT said:

Personally, I wouldn't call it unattractive!  Is taht paratha or naan?  Do you make from scratch?

 

Naan, and it is homemade. Recipe below

 

On 7/16/2022 at 11:33 AM, Tropicalsenior said:

I'm not a great fan of Curry but your naan always look so beautiful. I know you told me once how you made it but I seem to have lost the recipe. Could you please repeat it for me. Thank you.

 

It is so simple.  I just dump everything in my stand mixer all at once:

 

2 1/4 cups flour

2 1/4 tsp. yeast

1/2 cup full fat yogurt

1 tsp each salt and sugar

1 tbsp. softened butter, ghee, or other oil

1/2 cup milk (sometimes I need a little more.  I used to use water, but switched to milk, which makes the bread very tender )

 

Mix everything with the dough hook for 10 minutes, and then let rise for one hour.  Divide into four pieces for large naan, or eight pieces for smaller.  Roll into balls and then roll out flat.  Heat up a cast iron skillet on medium heat until nice and hot, then cook the naan one at a time until spotty browned on both sides.  Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with salt when they are done.  They are best eaten the day you make them, but in a pinch you can reheat them.  

[Norm Matthews]

I get recipes sent by Thermoworks fairly often.  The ones I try are alway good.  This one for Asian Sticky Ribs was very different from the way I normally do ribs even it included smoking them for part of the cooking and then braising in the oven. They were totally falling off the bone. Normally that would not be a good thing but these were good.  We had a couple of people eating with us and every one liked them.

[liuzhou]

22 minutes ago, Norm Matthews said:

I get recipes sent by Thermoworks fairly often.  The ones I try are alway good.  This one for Asian Sticky Ribs was very different from the way I normally do ribs even it included smoking them for part of the cooking and then braising in the oven. They were totally falling off the bone. Normally that would not be a good thing but these were good.  We had a couple of people eating with us and every one liked them.

 

 

 

 

What makes they 'Asian'?  They don't look Asian to me. 

 

Why is falling off the bone bad? 

 

I am sure they were delicious, but... 

[Ann_T]

I did it!!!

Smoked my first steaks on the Masterbuilt smoker. Two beef tenderloin filets.

Smoked quicker than I expected so next time I will lower the temperature from 250° to 225°F. Internal temp reached 108°F in less than 30 minutes. Steaks were at room temperature.

I really didn't think that the steaks had enough time to pick up much mesquite smoke flavour in such a short period of time, but was pleasantly surprised.

 

Finished on a very hot gas grill.

Served with roasted potatoes cubes.

[Norm Matthews]

@liuzhouI'm not Asian, I can't determine what makes it Asian or not Asian.  It was in the name of the title of the recipe. Perhaps it is because it has a few Asian ingredients in it, like  5 spice powder, hoisin and soy sauces and ginger.  

 

In competition BBQ judging, rules say that there should be some "tug" in the bite.  Meat that falls off the bone is considered over cooked.  That is a competition rule. Competition participants seldom cook for friends and family the same way for them as they cook for judges.    Competition BBQ is judged by a single bite (and there are  points given for things other than taste.  They can even be disqualified for things that have nothing to do with taste such as a garnish that isn't green.  it is done in an attempt to make the playing ground as even as possible but that really isn't possible.  It is one reason I have no interest in ever competing against anyone else in a contest.

Edited July 19, 2022 by Norm Matthews (log)

[Smithy]

Tonight I cooked an impulse buy from our local grocery store: stuffed scallops and stuffed clams. They were in the same case as the Maryland-style crab cakes, and looked like a fun novelty that might be delicious. I bought two of each for us, for a grand total of about $10. (This was quite an attractive price, given that the snow crab was $49.99/lb!) The store clerk was good enough to include cooking instructions for each on the labels, and the two were compatible on time and temperature.

 

 

Here they are, unwrapped but not yet grilled:

 

 

And here they are on our plates. I guess the extensive ingredient list on the packages should have been a clue. Neither of us could taste seafood as such; there's a great deal of bread, some spices, a few other additives. Nothing like the briny delicious seafood I'd been hoping for. The cross-section at the bottom of this next collage tell the tale.

 

 

Welp. You win some, you lose some. At least it was only $10 for that experiment, and the asparagus was good! 😄

[Honkman]

Stir-fried celery with shiitake mushrooms, ginger and scallions and a sauce made from chili-fermented black beans, soy sauce, rice vinegar and toasted sesame oil - served over rice

[pastameshugana]

1 hour ago, Honkman said:

Stir-fried celery with shiitake mushrooms, ginger and scallions and a sauce made from chili-fermented black beans, soy sauce, rice vinegar and toasted sesame oil - served over rice

 

This sounds (and looks) very nice! And in my book, I think you've nailed the 'topping to rice' ratio perfectly!

 

[scamhi]

air fried skinless boneless chicken breasts, homemade tzaziki, greek salad.

and a biodynamic Fleurie.

[Anna N]

2 hours ago, scamhi said:

air fried skinless boneless chicken breasts

Can you say more about this? I am a huge fan of the air fryer but not necessarily of boneless, skinless chicken breasts. I think they are one of the hardest things to cook so

as to make them edible. Looks as if you have found the secret. Thanks. 

[heidih]

12 hours ago, Smithy said:

Tonight I cooked an impulse buy from our local grocery store: stuffed scallops and stuffed clams. They were in the same case as the Maryland-style crab cakes, and looked like a fun novelty that might be delicious. I bought two of each for us, for a grand total of about $10. (This was quite an attractive price, given that the snow crab was $49.99/lb!) The store clerk was good enough to include cooking instructions for each on the labels, and the two were compatible on time and temperature.

 

 

Here they are, unwrapped but not yet grilled:

 

 

And here they are on our plates. I guess the extensive ingredient list on the packages should have been a clue. Neither of us could taste seafood as such; there's a great deal of bread, some spices, a few other additives. Nothing like the briny delicious seafood I'd been hoping for. The cross-section at the bottom of this next collage tell the tale.

 

 

Welp. You win some, you lose some. At least it was only $10 for that experiment, and the asparagus was good! 😄

Sorry for your unmet expectations. Ya might have set that bar too high . My expectation from the package (which you noted was a clue) was of stuffing with scraps of the seafood.  But once in a blue moon one can be quite pleasantly surprised

[Shelby]

@Smithy I'm so glad your venison roast turned out so well--even if the spices weren't quite to your liking.  I've made a note in my SV book so I'll be trying your way for sure.  I guess my temperature tries have been too high and my time has been too long.

 

@Norm MatthewsYour meatballs done on the grill look great.  I'm craving spag. and meatballs.  Also that cherry chocolate cake!!!

 

We have been getting up before dawn--around 5:30--due to the extreme heat.  I go out and feed/water/play with the cats, then come in for some water and then Ronnie and the dogs and I hit the gardens.  It's supposed to be 107F today--and that doesn't include the humidity.  I've become a siesta taker  .  Kinda nice to have a nap then get up and putz around the kitchen.  I've found myself more than once wishing for some of @blue_dolphin's popsicles.   It's supposed to be 100 or over for the next week at least.

 

Anyway, it's been a while since I posted any dinners.

 

Ronnie smoked some ribs that I finished in the IP.  Broccoli salad and more creamed peas and new potatoes on the side

 

 

 

Pepperoni/Canadian bacon/mushroom/spinach calzones with eggplant parm--kind of.  I didn't fry the eggplant, just baked it in the oven before layering with cheese and sauce.

 

 

 

Big fat deli meat turkey sandwiches

 

Oysters, fried shrimp, salad and mushroomy pasta

 

 

 

Got a lot of cucumbers--that has slowed down a lot since the high heat hit.  But, I have one crock done and three more going of pickles

 

 

 

Had to have sandwiches again to go with the first made pickles of the year

 

 

Got about 3 lbs of beautiful tomatillos from Misfits.  Since I have tons of onions and jalapeños from the garden I decided to make a green enchilada sauce and have some for the freezer.

 

 

 

This was kind of a long project.  Before bed I started a pork roast in the slow cooker that I seasoned all up and added some wonderful leftover "juice" from the last Mexican-ish pork I made from the freezer.  That cooked overnight and was done when I got up.  Later I made the above sauce.  Then I put some RG beans in the IP, roasted, peeled and stuffed some poblanos, assembled the enchiladas and finally dinner was done.

 

 

 

First Nirvana corn from the garden on Sunday!

 

 

Getting a few good bigger sized tomatoes ...dunno how long that's going to last because...the heat.

 

 

 

Fried up some chicken quarters

 

 

Chicken, tomatoes, corn, squash and Mac and cheese for Sunday dinner

 

 

A few days ago Ronnie cold smoked a little pork pork roast that he had brined.  Then I SV'd it for 4 hours at 135F yesterday afternoon.  It's not quite as "hammy" as ham is, but close.  It's good.

 

 

More tomatoes, baked beans and fries to go with

 

 

 

Try to not burn up everyone and drink lots of water.....and a personal beverage or two as @rotutswould say  

 

 

 

[Annie_H]

18 hours ago, liuzhou said:

What makes they 'Asian'?  They don't look Asian to me. 

 

Why is falling off the bone bad? 

What is missing in the look of them?. The red food coloring?. It isn't necessary for the flavor. I know some red is from bugs but most is probably from petroleum or such creations. 

 

I find there is a sweet spot where the meat is tender but can be presented to the plate with the bone and meat connected and a gentle tug held in hand releases. Just a classic rib desire. Some may think if it falls off on the plate or before, it is overdone. But it is 'pulled pork' at that point. No longer a rib dish if a fork is needed. But not necessarily overdone. 

 

The only problem we have had occasionally is underdone. A well known mediocre dim sum buffet I returned the ribs to the meat counter.--they charge extra per plate left on the table not consumed. (I recall 5$). No argument but it was inedible and did not want to be charged. 

Prices have gone way up. 27$ per person lunch. 57$ for dinner. Children cost is like a carnival. 7$ for 2-3ft tall and 10$ for 3-4ft. (or something like that).😂

 

[Annie_H]

One of our favorites and comes together quick-ish. Cast iron seared two sirloins Sunday but even .75 pounds was a bit much. 

Noodle bowl last night with a load of vegetables. Kombu master stock with miso and hajiki. 

New bowls purchased the past prime day. Meh. A bit 'discotecka' for my taste being a bit glittery but the size is exactly what I've been looking for so worth the 20$ for two bowls to try the size. Fortunately the glitter glaze is mild at the table. Camera phone exaggerates the disco glitter. 

I've posted before the excellent avocados we have been getting the past few years. (misfits) Tiny pits and creamy texture. 

The noodles I took a rif from theWoksOfLife

Excellent broth, seasoned noodles, nice noodle lunches today. 

 

 

[Annie_H]

4 hours ago, Shelby said:

Got about 3 lbs of beautiful tomatillos from Misfits.

I only ordered one pound and that was a big mistake. I will not see garden tomatillos until September. I plan to smoke mine with onions, peppers, garlic, and the last of the frozen hatch chilis in the freezer this weekend. Smoked tomatillo salsa. 

[Shelby]

21 minutes ago, Annie_H said:

I only ordered one pound and that was a big mistake. I will not see garden tomatillos until September. I plan to smoke mine with onions, peppers, garlic, and the last of the frozen hatch chilis in the freezer this weekend. Smoked tomatillo salsa. 

I don't know what day your order window opens but mine is Sunday and they had them available again.