Lunch 2023

[Duvel]

Fantastic spread, @BonVivant!

[BonVivant]

Thanks, @Duvel! Prost!

 

Konstanz, 2014. No, I didn't do a bike tour.

[heidih]

@BonVivant Wonderful assortment and lovely garden and pumpkin/squash display. I have not had Leberknoedel in forever - must rectify. You mentioned lovage love before. I used to market it as "Bloody Mary" herb as the thicker stems can be used as a straw to sip a Bloody Mary cocktail to give that celery flavor. 

[OlyveOyl]

Salad of cucs, tomatoes and avocado.

Mortadella, provolone and some “recycled” peppers and marinated eggplant from the night before.

 

[blue_dolphin]

Pasta with shrimp, asparagus and cherry tomatoes and TJ's lemon pesto, doctored up with a big squeeze of lemon juice.

 

[btbyrd]

Prime rib sandwich with provolone, arugula, and horseradish mayo.
 

[MaryIsobel]

13 minutes ago, btbyrd said:

Prime rib sandwich with provolone, arugula, and horseradish mayo.
 

That looks absolutely incredible - the perfect sandwich in my opinion.

[btbyrd]

46 minutes ago, MaryIsobel said:

That looks absolutely incredible - the perfect sandwich in my opinion.

Thanks! It was epic. There was a lot of beef on there…

[blue_dolphin]

Broiled black cod collars over white rice, watermelon radish marinated in shiso vinegar, steamed broccoli, pickled ginger and a soy/citrus dipping sauce, which turned out to be entirely unnecessary. 

The black cod collars, which look like a pile of charred birds in my photo, were an add-on item in my fish share.  They were very good, if messy, to eat. 

 

Pre-broil, two of them just got sprinkled with salt, the others got a 30-min miso/mirin/sake marinade. I have more in the marinade to cook tomorrow and see if that makes a difference. 

 

 

Edited September 22, 2023 by blue_dolphin (log)

[heidih]

1 hour ago, blue_dolphin said:

Broiled black cod collars over white rice, watermelon radish marinated in shiso vinegar, steamed broccoli, pickled ginger and a soy/citrus dipping sauce, which turned out to be entirely unnecessary. 

The black cod collars, which look like a pile of charred birds in my photo, were an add-on item in my fish share.  They were very good, if messy, to eat. 

 

Pre-broil, two of them just got sprinkled with salt, the others got a 30-min miso/mirin/sake marinade. I have more in the marinade to cook tomorrow and see if that makes a difference. 

 

 

Wow quite an interesting inclusion in your 'ish share. Detai apprecated. 

[Katie Meadow]

I never post in the Lunch topic, mainly because I don't really eat lunch. We typically eat a late breakfast and an early dinner and a late snack. But on vacation we must adjust. Yesterday was a rehab day of sorts, so we stuck close to home in Highlands NC. We had some hardware store shopping to do and maintenance tasks. The hardware store in Highlands is so huge it made me dizzy. We needed brighter lightbulbs and a flashlight; the shelf space devoted to both was amazing. Since by the time we managed to get  ourselves into town it was already after 2:00 pm we decided to try lunch outside at the place that had the fabulous grouper, so I had fish and chips, which I rarely eat, partly because I don't really deep fry anything and, and mostly because places that make it in the Bay Area rely on Tilapia, which I hate. This fish was cod, thick and very fresh. The batter was light and crisp, really delicious. I can't say the same for the fries, which I believe were battered instead of double-fried. They were tasteless and boring. Why is it so hard to get good restaurant fries? Really, I may have to learn how to deep fry in my dotage. Yes, I always wear shoes in the kitchen.

 

One thing I've learned about the mountains in September is that it's too chilly to eat dinner outside, especially for a wuss like me; these folks don't believe in outdoor heaters until winter. So lunch outside is a great luxury. It's so dark in the cabin that by the time we get out of bed it's practically lunch time anyway. Of course we are staying up late, because we have a big TV here and we are re-watching all of Breaking Bad for the first time. But now thYat we have better lightbulbs and have rearranged some of the furniture I now have a cozy spot I can read in. In Highlands we have nothing but time and have limited ourselves to one waterfall a day.

[blue_dolphin]

15 hours ago, heidih said:

Wow quite an interesting inclusion in your 'ish share. Detai apprecated. 

 

I took my guidance from this article, The Making of Maneki's Black Cod Collar Miso about how it's done at a Seattle restaurant. I also tried to improve my photos from round 2 but I lack the skills to make black food look appetizing.  At least, they should give you a better idea of what I did.

I'll start with a photo of the finished plate.  Anyone squeamish about raw fish parts should stop here. 

This was an excellent, finger-licking meal.  Kinda like black cod wings!

I did the rice again, mostly to catch any juices from the fish.  Since this is very much finger food, I figured corn on the cob was a good combo.  Same shiso-vinegar pickled watermelon radish and pickled ginger as I had yesterday, both nice to cut the richness of the fish.   

These guys got an O/N marinade in same miso/mirin/sake marinade I used for a short time yesterday and the longer time made a nice difference. Even some of the charred fins were tasty.  

In the article I mentioned above, it sounded like the restaurant is rinsing the collars after the marinade so I tried both rinsing and then adding a sprinkle of salt and just blotting off the marinade.  

 

In the photo below, they've already been marinated but look pretty much the same as they did before that step.  

The two on the left just got blotted so you can see some little flecks of miso, the other three got rinsed and then blotted.  I couldn't taste much difference in the fish itself but I think fins that still had some marinade on them were more tasty.

They do look like birds, don't they?  For scale, that's a 1/4 sheet pan.  I weighed the 4 collars that I cooked yesterday and they came to 240g before cooking or about 60g/collar.  They do vary in size so I should have weighed the whole bunch for a better estimate. They were $3.00/lb and I ordered 2 lbs for $6.00, which was pretty inexpensive for such a tasty treat. 

 

Here they are after 2 min under the broiler: 

I flipped them and gave them another 2 min.  I was trying to see if there was a difference between starting skin-side up or skin-side down.  I think I got crispier skin with the skin-side up start but both were good.  Yesterday, I just cooked them all skin-side up and didn't flip for fear of drying out the meat but I think cooking them on both sides makes them a bit tastier and they're so fatty, there wasn't a risk of overcooking. 

 

[KennethT]

Pho ga using my homemade chicken stock and sawtooth and rau ram from the garden.

 

[Katie Meadow]

On 9/22/2023 at 2:03 PM, blue_dolphin said:

 

I took my guidance from this article, The Making of Maneki's Black Cod Collar Miso about how it's done at a Seattle restaurant. I also tried to improve my photos from round 2 but I lack the skills to make black food look appetizing.  At least, they should give you a better idea of what I did.

I'll start with a photo of the finished plate.  Anyone squeamish about raw fish parts should stop here. 

This was an excellent, finger-licking meal.  Kinda like black cod wings!

I did the rice again, mostly to catch any juices from the fish.  Since this is very much finger food, I figured corn on the cob was a good combo.  Same shiso-vinegar pickled watermelon radish and pickled ginger as I had yesterday, both nice to cut the richness of the fish.   

These guys got an O/N marinade in same miso/mirin/sake marinade I used for a short time yesterday and the longer time made a nice difference. Even some of the charred fins were tasty.  

In the article I mentioned above, it sounded like the restaurant is rinsing the collars after the marinade so I tried both rinsing and then adding a sprinkle of salt and just blotting off the marinade.  

 

In the photo below, they've already been marinated but look pretty much the same as they did before that step.  

The two on the left just got blotted so you can see some little flecks of miso, the other three got rinsed and then blotted.  I couldn't taste much difference in the fish itself but I think fins that still had some marinade on them were more tasty.

They do look like birds, don't they?  For scale, that's a 1/4 sheet pan.  I weighed the 4 collars that I cooked yesterday and they came to 240g before cooking or about 60g/collar.  They do vary in size so I should have weighed the whole bunch for a better estimate. They were $3.00/lb and I ordered 2 lbs for $6.00, which was pretty inexpensive for such a tasty treat. 

 

Here they are after 2 min under the broiler: 

I flipped them and gave them another 2 min.  I was trying to see if there was a difference between starting skin-side up or skin-side down.  I think I got crispier skin with the skin-side up start but both were good.  Yesterday, I just cooked them all skin-side up and didn't flip for fear of drying out the meat but I think cooking them on both sides makes them a bit tastier and they're so fatty, there wasn't a risk of overcooking. 

 

KMN. That sounds amazing. It's possible the collars could handle cooking on both sides. It's pretty hard to overcook black cod.

[KennethT]

The last of my bak kut teh...

 

[BonVivant]

------------ #1 ------------
Plain Leberkäse with sharp mustard

Liver dumpling in a creamy soup with chard

A simple "Wurstsalat" ("sausage" salad)

------------ #2 ------------
Offal cold cuts with pickled silverskin onions

Grated horseradish, pungent Styrian mountain cheese and a salad.

 

------------ #3 ------------
Roast chicken is one of Oktoberfest classics (at the fest you get half a bird). Red sauce is mojo picon from Lanzarote.

Boiled or steamed bread dumplings in a creamy mushroom ragout is a typical Bavarian dish. This version is a not typical at all... mushrooms and sweetcorn cooked with a bit of cream, and the bread dumplings (previously cooked) are fried cuz I like a crispy crust sometimes.

And now the beers, in my private "Wies'n" (="field")! 2 packs of Oktoberfest beer styles from different breweries. (Can you imagine yourself taking a pack of these home on the back of your bicycle? It's quite normal for us here to bring most things home on our bikes.)

I enjoy checking out different beers each day

FYI, this is the site of Oktoberfest the year it was cancelled. The world's biggest beer drinking event was cancelled due to Corona. Not once, but twice!

 

Have been to the pumpkin farm 3 times now. 11 kilometres/6,8 miles from my house, first half of the way biking on country roads through a village, second half right through the woods, then exit to this country road to reach the farm (50m/55 yards) behind me).

 

Second haul.

[liuzhou]

15 minutes ago, BonVivant said:

FYI, this is the site of Oktoberfest the year it was cancelled. The world's biggest beer drinking event was cancelled due to Corona. Not once, but twice!

 

Corona beer isn't so bad that they have to cancel a beer festival, is it? Oh! Wait. Yes, probably! 🤪

[heidih]

23 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

 

Corona beer isn't so bad that they have to cancel a beer festival, is it? Oh! Wait. Yes, probably! 🤪

White surfers in Baja buy it by the case - a clue...

[Kerala]

[Kim Shook]

@Katie Meadow – your retreat sounds lovely!  The fish and chips made me envious.  I’ve been obsessed with finding great batter fried fish for a couple of months and have still not been satisfied.  I agree with you 100% about those awful battered fries.  I’d honestly rather just have frozen regular fries than those limp things.

 

We are not doing restaurants this month.  Retirement is looming and Mr. Kim is trying to determine what a true food budget eating at home looks like.  So, instead of after church brunch out Sunday before last, I set out an assortment of stuff to nibble on while we watched football:

TJ’s Unexpected Cheddar, cream cheese, cranberry Wensleydale, bologna. Gouda, and hard salami. 

 

Apple slices, red pepper jelly, honey fig spread, cocktail sauce, mandarin orange segments, and butter. 

 

Crusty bread, Ritz crackers, and Raincoast Crisps.

 

One day, I got a craving for a Dagwood at lunchtime:

Lettuce, bologna, ham, salami, Swiss, American, sweet pickles, mayo and mustard.  I managed half.  I knew I wouldn’t be able to eat the whole thing.  I saved the other half for Mr. Kim’s dinner! 

Edited September 27, 2023 by Kim Shook (log)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

10 hours ago, Kim Shook said:

@Katie Meadow – your retreat sounds lovely!  The fish and chips made me envious.  I’ve been obsessed with finding great batter fried fish for a couple of months and have still not been satisfied.  I agree with you 100% about those awful battered fries.  I’d honestly rather just have frozen regular fries than those limp things.

 

We are not doing restaurants this month.  Retirement is looming and Mr. Kim is trying to determine what a true food budget eating at home looks like.  So, instead of after church brunch out Sunday before last, I set out an assortment of stuff to nibble on while we watched football:

TJ’s Unexpected Cheddar, cream cheese, cranberry Wensleydale, bologna. Gouda, and hard salami. 

 

Apple slices, red pepper jelly, honey fig spread, cocktail sauce, mandarin orange segments, and butter. 

 

Crusty bread, Ritz crackers, and Raincoast Crisps.

 

One day, I got a craving for a Dagwood at lunchtime:

Lettuce, bologna, ham, salami, Swiss, American, sweet pickles, mayo and mustard.  I managed half.  I knew I wouldn’t be able to eat the whole thing.  I saved the other half for Mr. Kim’s dinner! 

 

No ketchup and peanut butter?

 

[Kerala]

I was in Nottingham at lunchtime, getting my mother in law's vintage Omega serviced. I took a few free hours. Lunch was whatever I wanted, and I came across a relatively new place, Risa's Thai. Looking online now, I see it's part of a chain.

Chicken larb.

Not as piquant as I'd like, but this is The Midlands, so I'm grateful it was at least spicy hot and had some corriander for herbal fresh notes. I would go back to try the green papaya salad.

[heidih]

10 minutes ago, Kerala said:

 I would go back to try the green papaya salad.

Nice find. Green papaya salad is my touchstone dish for Thai and I've been lucky to have a great one at the big Buddhist temple here in North Hollywood. Pounded innffrront of you. I dream about it. Been too long.  https://www.latimes.com/food/story/2022-06-13/wat-thai-temple-food-court-thai-food-sun-valley

[weinoo]

Using the leftover poached shrimp from dinner the night before...

 

 

Made some ramen soup, from a base of dashi, shrimp stock, miso and a lot of crisper vegetables.  Ramen noodles from Sun.

[gulfporter]

Grilled pork tenderloin with store-bought stuffed mushrooms that were surprisingly good grilled with the pork.  The raw mushrooms were stuffed with cheese and topped with pico de gallo. 

 

I am slowly learning what prepared foods here in Tucson suit us as a quick side.  

 

We are mostly eating lunch out at various wonderful eateries scattered around Tucson (it's one of those spread out cities) and having light dinners at home.  

 

We fly back to Ajijic in 2 weeks.  So far every other month travel between the two venues is working for us.  Mi esposa gets "Mexico Fatigue" and I get "USA Fatigue." 😎