Dinner 2022

[Shelby]

 I gotta get to a grocery store soon.... I seem to be out of a lot of things.  I hope I can find them when I get there.

 

I've been using up leftovers a lot.

 

Made steak quesadillas

 

 

Goose and noodle soup with a salad (dressing got away from me here lol)

 

 

 

Last night I opened some Wellfleet oysters

 

 

Made another salad

 

 

And did a shrimp alfredo

 

[shain]

Quick dinner, but still delicious.

Thai century egg. Chinese rice, cooked with more liquid than usual, but far from being congee - still plenty of bite, just more sticky. Light soy sauce, black rice vinegar, plenty of ginger and scallions, some plain chili oil, sesame oil, sugar.

 

 

 

[shain]

More weekday meals. Savory French toast with green Thai curry paste, coconut milk, ginger, makrut lime leaves, coriander seeds, green chilies. Fried in coconut oil. Tamarind chutney.

 

[Dejah]

2 hours ago, TicTac said:

Looks great (as usual).

 

Can you compare the level of bitterness of bitter melon to any other veg?  Say for example radicchio?  Never tried BM, but have always been interested (I like a little bitterness, but nothing overwhelming). 

I haven't had a lot of experience with radicchio, other than small amounts in a salad.
But I think bitter melon, and the Indian Kerala would be much more bitter.
I always blanch the bitter melon before stir-frying. Even tho' we both love the bitterness, we enjoy it with a little less than  stir-frying from fresh.
Maybe @liuzhou can give his thoughts.
I did find this chart:

[Dejah]

2 hours ago, Shelby said:

 I gotta get to a grocery store soon.... I seem to be out of a lot of things.  I hope I can find them when I get there.

 

I've been using up leftovers a lot.

 

Made steak quesadillas

Goose and noodle soup with a salad (dressing got away from me here lol)

Last night I opened some Wellfleet oysters

Made another salad

And did a shrimp alfredo

 

 

Quite the amazing meals for someone "running out of stuff" and "using up leftovers"!🤪

[heidih]

Regarding bitter melon - as someone who did not grow up eating it-  I find its bitterness very different from radicchio. If i had to explain I would say that on the taste buds it hits a single note "cringe". I like it a lot. @Dejah's classic prep with fermented black beans I like. I was first introduced to it in Vietnamese cuisine in a stuffed prep in chicken broth. That I find comforting. Like this. https://www.hungryhuy.com/bitter-melon-soup-canh-kho-qua/

[Smithy]

Apologies for following up days after the fact, but this beautiful dinner caught my eye and I'd like to try it. How did you go about coating and cooking that halibut, please?

 

On 1/17/2022 at 12:51 PM, Ann_T said:

A few meals from this past week...

Parmesan Crusted halibut

with oven roasted potato wedges, ...

 

Guidance on the potatoes would not be amiss either, but it's the fish I'd especially like to try making.

[Margaret Pilgrim]

On 1/20/2022 at 10:01 AM, Annie_H said:

Cod Cakes. A family favorite. Spicy horseradish cream. 

Last night's wings. 

 

Salt or fresh cod?   I love both.

[liuzhou]

 

1 hour ago, Dejah said:

Maybe @liuzhou can give his thoughts.

 

The trouble with discussing bitter melon's bitterness is that there are different varieties of the gourd and the different varieties vary in the bitterness stakes.

 

I first ate it in India in the 1970s and found it to be almost impossibly bitter. I eat it regularly here in China (usually with pork and fermented black beans) and find it less bitter (although sometimes I hit on a super bitter renegade). I don't know which type you are getting.

The most bitter thing I have consumed is probably 苦钉茶 (kǔ dīng chá) or bitter tea (not to be confused with 苦瓜茶 (kǔ guā chá) which is bitter melon tea, made by steeping dried bitter melon slices in hot water.) Real bittter tea is a shocker the first time you try it.

[Anna N]

3 hours ago, shain said:

More weekday meals. Savory French toast with green Thai curry paste, coconut milk, ginger, makrut lime leaves, coriander seeds, green chilies. Fried in coconut oil. Tamarind chutney.

Oh Wow! Did you come up with that? I should have such an imagination. 

[Dejah]

25 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

 

 

The trouble with discussing bitter melon's bitterness is that there are different varieties of the gourd and the different varieties vary in the bitterness stakes.

 

I first ate it in India in the 1970s and found it to be almost impossibly bitter. I eat it regularly here in China (usually with pork and fermented black beans) and find it less bitter (although sometimes I hit on a super bitter renegade). I don't know which type you are getting.

The most bitter thing I have consumed is probably 苦钉茶 (kǔ dīng chá) or bitter tea (not to be confused with 苦瓜茶 (kǔ guā chá) which is bitter melon tea, made by steeping dried bitter melon slices in hot water.) Real bittter tea is a shocker the first time you try it.

This is the variety that I buy, and some of my Chinese elders grow in their gardens:


I see this variety, I presume, Indian Kerala? I bought it once and didn't care for it using my usual black bean sauce. Maybe better in curry?

 

THIS is the "cooling tea" my Gramma and Mom  used to make me drink to stay healthy. It was bitter! But I always got a chaser - sugar cane juice.😘

[liuzhou]

Yes, your first image is the Chinese variety and the second the Indian. The drink you show, 王老吉 (wáng lǎo jí) is extremely popular here, but I don't find it in the least bitter - at least no more so than Coca Cola. What I am talking about is 'bitter nail tea', which is infinitely more bitter!

[Dejah]

1 hour ago, heidih said:

Regarding bitter melon - as someone who did not grow up eating it-  I find its bitterness very different from radicchio. If i had to explain I would say that on the taste buds it hits a single note "cringe". I like it a lot. @Dejah's classic prep with fermented black beans I like. I was first introduced to it in Vietnamese cuisine in a stuffed prep in chicken broth. That I find comforting. Like this. https://www.hungryhuy.com/bitter-melon-soup-canh-kho-qua/

We enjoy the stuffed version as well.
I had to laugh about the single note "cringe" - describes how many react on first taste.
I also make a long simmered soup with loads of ginger and re-hydrated dried oysters.
 

[TicTac]

Very interesting.  I had assumed, like radicchio or endive that each specimen may vary in terms of bitterness, but that chart and the cringe factor kind of scared me away.  Perhaps one day if someone else makes it, I will try it out.  Not sure it would go over well if I cooked it up for my 8, 6 or 4 year olds...sure would be interesting to see their reaction, though! 

 

[shain]

56 minutes ago, Anna N said:

Oh Wow! Did you come up with that? I should have such an imagination. 

 

Thanks ☺️ 

It's been on my ideas list for a while, but I'm pretty sure it was inspired by a curry flavored ice cream I've had read about (I should try making the ice cream as well).

I think I'll make it again some day. Though I would swap the tamarind with lime juice.

[Annie_H]

1 hour ago, Margaret Pilgrim said:

Salt or fresh cod?   I love both.

I love both as well. I do have a box of salt cod purchased over the holidays. But this is fresh. I salt it overnight for 10-12 hours. It draws out moisture and firms the flesh. A rinse under water and a milk/yogurt/water soak until ready to poach. Is not salty at all. Salt will 'pull' water until about the 18-24 hour mark, then start to enter the flesh and start the salt cod curing. At that point it is called a 'pickle'. I like soaked salt cod for Mediterranean seafood salads. Dream about it...capers, olives, celery, cucumber....

[Margaret Pilgrim]

1 hour ago, Annie_H said:

I love both as well. I do have a box of salt cod purchased over the holidays. But this is fresh. I salt it overnight for 10-12 hours. It draws out moisture and firms the flesh. A rinse under water and a milk/yogurt/water soak until ready to poach. Is not salty at all. Salt will 'pull' water until about the 18-24 hour mark, then start to enter the flesh and start the salt cod curing. At that point it is called a 'pickle'. I like soaked salt cod for Mediterranean seafood salads. Dream about it...capers, olives, celery, cucumber....

Thanks!    I love this method.    In fact, asked husband just a bit ago whether he wanted fried or flash-salted brandade.    Will advise.

[MaryIsobel]

7 hours ago, Shelby said:

 I gotta get to a grocery store soon.... I seem to be out of a lot of things.  I hope I can find them when I get there.

 

I've been using up leftovers a lot.

 

Made steak quesadillas

 

 

Goose and noodle soup with a salad (dressing got away from me here lol)

 

 

 

Last night I opened some Wellfleet oysters

 

 

Made another salad

 

 

And did a shrimp alfredo

 

You're meals look amazing for someone who "has to get to the grocery store!"

[liuzhou]

Re: Bitter Melon

 

Here is one favourite dish I didn't mention. The melons are sliced into chunks and cored then stuffed with a mix of ground pork and shiitake mushrooms. Spicing can be added to your preference. These are sold pre-prepared in supermarkets, but I make 'em myself to get the spicing as I like it.

 

They are then either pan fried or steamed (on top of rice in the rice cooker)

 

 

and here are the dried bitter melon slices sold for making 'bitter melon tea'.

 

 

[Margaret Pilgrim]

Light supper of quick salted cod brandade, splash of EVOO, grilled red onion, broccoli and raw mushroom with repurposed Bearnaise sauce.   

 

Tomorrow, will saute up leftover brandade and top it with fried egg(s).   

[Shelby]

Another mushroom salad

 

 

with pizza night--ham, mushroom and pepperoni

 

 

[Steve Irby]

My Mother told me not to play with my food but I was a stubborn child.  Six decades later I'm still playing.  After seeing what people are paying for chicken wings on the eG Cook-Off #88: Wings thread I was struck by how many millions of Americans can no longer afford wings and are relegated to drumsticks and thighs!   I thought I would attempt to alleviate this crisis by developing faux flats and drumettes.  Results to date have been very promising.  I think under the right circumstances (smoky bar, 4th quarter of super bowl, AYCE buffet) you wouldn't even notice.  Dinner last night was a mixed grill.  Bacon wrapped turkey tenderloin,  bacon wrapped and sausage stuffed deboned legs,  Thunder Drums skin on and bone in, Thunder Drums bacon wrapped and sausage stuffed, Franken Flats served alongside high dollar, conventional flats and drumettes.

 

 

 

I've had a lot of laughs while working through this hairbrained scheme and I'm pretty sure the Thunder Drum will never fly (yes pun intended).  However the thigh experiment has been very rewarding.  I removed the large muscle from the thigh and prepared it as Chicken Picatta and it was great. Tender, succulent and nice serving size.  The remaining muscle (dorsal side) remained attached to the bone and was easily formed into the Franken Flat.  I vacuum bagged and sous vide the flats which could be incorporate into various dishes.

 

Franken Flats sous vided and ready to fry

 

 

 

 

A little height reduction surgery.  For the deboned leg I remove the bone.  For the bone in leg I removed a bone section and cartilage\bone from the joint.

Edited January 23, 2022 by Steve Irby (log)

[mgaretz]

Beef stew with carrots, celery, onion, potato, peas and corn.  Made in the IP.

 

 

[shain]

Cauliflower and chickpeas in a sambal of dried chili peppers, coconut, sesame paste, garlic, tamarind, coriander seeds, onion.

Salad of cabbage and beetroots, with some tomatoes, chickpeas, scallions, peanuts, crisp fried peas, dried shrimp. Sauce is fish sauce, sugar, sesame paste, lime juice, chili, coriander seeds.

 

 

[shain]

And Saturday is a cold day's dinner - Cholent. Not the prettiest of foods, but really delicious.