Dinner 2023

[KennethT]

14 minutes ago, heidih said:

So if the paste is in the shell how is it iccorprated into the eating experience? Suck it out between bites? Interesting.

Yes, I dug it out of the shells with the back end of a spoon.

[Anna N]

1 hour ago, KennethT said:

I didn't want it to dissolve in the curry, so I wanted to put it in a shell to cook as if I had the whole thing.

Thanks very much. 

[Honkman]

Doesn’t look particularly photogenic but quite tasty - lentil, hardboiled eggs and winter root vegetables (carrots, celeriac and rutabaga) pie (sauce made with diced tomatoes, red wine, vegetable broth, thyme, tomato paste, onion, garlic) with potato and sweet potato mash (with egg yolk and cheddar)

[Dejah]

On 1/21/2023 at 9:50 PM, Kim Shook said:

@Dejah – your ham always looks so moist! Mine tastes good, but can be a bit dry.  How do you manage it?

 

I find buying bone-in skin-on hams make a difference. The first couple of hours I brush with maple syrup or marmalade or whatever and bake with water in the pan and covered. Then I take the foil off and finish baking the last hour. There is always liquid left in the pan, I make sure to save this and use it to reheat leftovers.

 

Kim: I don't know HOW you and @Shelbymanage all the super meals with the after effects of Covid!

 

[Dejah]

Haven't maintained the traditional CNY cooking and dishes since my Mom passed so many years ago. Every year I cook fewer and fewer dishes due to empty nest.

 

Tonight, I managed Stir-fried Nian Goh / rice cakes. I shared with my brother and s-i-l. They brought over some Jai, just the way my Mom made it, with preserved olives (lam see), soy beans, black beans and cubes of taro with mung bean noodles. This is eaten wrapped in a lettuce leaf. I combined these 2 main items on a plate, and added some sauteed shrimp in spicy tomato sauce.

 

                                                                                                     

 

                                                                                          

 

For dessert, we had a slice of Chinese Sponge Cake and tea. I made 2 cakes as my kids and kidlets love this cake with a glass of ice cold milk.

                                                                                                    

 

   I make the cake in this basket handed down from my Mom. It's probably circa 1958!  It brings back a lot of memories making this with my Mom.

 

                                                                                               

[Paul Bacino]

Little post Chiefs  Dinner

Scallops,  bacon, caramelized red onion compote,  Yukon tators...Toasted

 

[liamsaunt]

Yesterday's dreary weather called out for roast chicken and mashed potatoes with gravy, roasted watermelon radishes, and green beans.

 

[Shelby]

We went to Wal-Mart a couple of weeks ago and while perusing the meat section I ran across ox tails at a semi-decent price--$6.89 or something close to that.  Years ago we could have gotten them way cheaper than that...but...ever since I saw @blue_dolphin's ragu she made the other day I've been craving oxtail ragu.  So, I threw the tails in my cart and went to check out.  OMG we must have misread the sign because that price was PER POUND.  Soooooo...these were over $18.  I think Ronnie must not have noticed because he'd have taken that package straight back to it's spot in the meat case.  Good news is we have tons of leftover to put in the freezer.

 

I present the world's most expensive ragu LOL:

 

 

[Anna N]

 

Leftover kimchi soup (kimchi jigae) with a few frozen shrimp thrown in. Spicy but oh so good.

[Paul Bacino]

 

 

I only subscribe to two cooking services  NYT and Great British Chefs (  Gold Member  )

 

This from GBC  --Smoky butterbean stew with Blk Kale 

[Ann_T]

Last night's dinner.

Roasted a small top sirloin roast. It was a work night, so kept it simple with just mashed potatoes, gravy and buttered peas.

Roast took less than 30 minutes at 500°F.

[heidih]

1 hour ago, Shelby said:

We went to Wal-Mart a couple of weeks ago and while perusing the meat section I ran across ox tails at a semi-decent price--$6.89 or something close to that.  Years ago we could have gotten them way cheaper than that...but...ever since I saw @blue_dolphin's ragu she made the other day I've been craving oxtail ragu.  So, I threw the tails in my cart and went to check out.  OMG we must have misread the sign because that price was PER POUND.  Soooooo...these were over $18.  I think Ronnie must not have noticed because he'd have taken that package straight back to it's spot in the meat case.  Good news is we have tons of leftover to put in the freezer.

 

I present the world's most expensive ragu LOL:

 

 

I assumed the oxtail price you posted WAS per pound and thought that a good deal. Love the lip smackyness of that collagen.

[heidih]

8 hours ago, Dejah said:

Haven't maintained the traditional CNY cooking and dishes since my Mom passed so many years ago. Every year I cook fewer and fewer dishes due to empty nest.

 

Tonight, I managed Stir-fried Nian Goh / rice cakes. I shared with my brother and s-i-l. They brought over some Jai, just the way my Mom made it, with preserved olives (lam see), soy beans, black beans and cubes of taro with mung bean noodles. This is eaten wrapped in a lettuce leaf. I combined these 2 main items on a plate, and added some sauteed shrimp in spicy tomato sauce.

 

                                                                                                     

 

                                                                                          

 

For dessert, we had a slice of Chinese Sponge Cake and tea. I made 2 cakes as my kids and kidlets love this cake with a glass of ice cold milk.

                                                                                                    

 

   I make the cake in this basket handed down from my Mom. It's probably circa 1958!  It brings back a lot of memories making this with my Mom.

 

                                                                                               

Nice assortment of dishes, textures and flavors. Fascinated by the cake and the  basket. Trying to imagine how it works. I assumed a steamed process?  Years ago I was at a Taiwanese neighbor's house and my eyes got big when I saw she was steaming a cake - a fixed up box mix.

[Dejah]

27 minutes ago, heidih said:

Nice assortment of dishes, textures and flavors. Fascinated by the cake and the  basket. Trying to imagine how it works. I assumed a steamed process?  Years ago I was at a Taiwanese neighbor's house and my eyes got big when I saw she was steaming a cake - a fixed up box mix.

Yes. The cake is steamed in the basket shown, lined with parchment paper.

It's so simple to make:

Bring pot of water to boil. (use large steamer or like me, I used my big wok with a rack and domed lid.
Beat 6 eggs and 1 1/2 cups sugar for 20 minutes.

Shift 1 1/3 cup flour and gently fold into the batter.
Pour into parchment lined basket.

Steam for 20 minutes. I wipe the lid after 10 minutes.

Flip onto a platter and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

It's so soft, fluffy, and delicious!

 

I think one of the dim sum steamer baskets would work well. They are deeper, so not sure about the time. I have only ever made it in the old basket.

Don't think it will survive another round of "hand-me-down"!

 

[MaryIsobel]

On 1/21/2023 at 10:50 PM, Kim Shook said:

@Dejah – your ham always looks so moist! Mine tastes good, but can be a bit dry.  How do you manage it?

 

Wednesday night our dinner was suggested by Jessica and made up of leftovers and pantry items.  She suggested some kind of chicken, broccoli, and rice casserole.  We had some chicken that needed cooking, frozen broccoli, a long grain and wild rice mix, and some of the frozen cheese sauce that I used in the macaroni and cheese I made a few days ago.  I used a recipe off the internet to get the basic ratios, but I changed a lot: a rice mix rather than regular rice, the cheese sauce thinned with a little chicken Bisto rather than canned gravy.  It tasted much better than I expected it to and was augmented by Jessica’s Truckle Cheesemongers cheese share for this month.  It was one of her Christmas gifts and she was generous enough to share with us.  Cheeses and glazed pecans:

From 12 o’clock: Ciresa Taleggio, Wensleydale with mango & ginger, Fromager d'Affinois, Carles Roquefort, and OG Kristal.  The Wensleydale and d’Affinois we already had.  It was all fantastic. 

 

The casserole:

 

 

For Christmas of 2021 we received a gift certificate for lobster tails from my cousin and his wife.  The certificate disappeared and was presumed lost.  Mr. Kim was cleaning the kitchen floor and unearthed it from underneath a freestanding cupboard. So, on Thursday we finally enjoyed our 2021 Christmas gift.  I forgot to weigh them, but they were in the 12-14 oz. range.  I steamed them for 20 minutes on 210F in the CSO:

That was slightly underdone (because they were so large) so a couple of additional minutes did the trick.  The meat was delicious – very sweet and delicate, but a bit tough (again, due to the size, I think):

 

Served with a salad, corn, long grain and wild rice:

 

 

 

and little brioche rolls:

 

so that everyone could make their own little lobster rolls if they liked:

Lovely meal. 

 

As I said on a recent lunch post, I miss the egg rolls of my youth and so, yesterday I embarked on a quest to find that childhood egg roll – or as close as I can come in Richmond.  I posted this at the Richmond Dine & Drink FB group: “We have a favorite local Chinese restaurant that we've been going to for many years. We love the food and the people. But I'm missing something from my childhood. I grew up in Northern VA and we ate in Chinese restaurants in Arlington and the District's Chinatown very often. What I loved was the classic eggrolls that almost all of these places served: super crisp with a bubbly skin, tightly filled with tiny shrimp, pork, and still-crisp cabbage, bean sprouts, and shredded carrots. Does anyone know if there is any place in the Richmond area still doing eggrolls like that? “

 

I got lots of recommendations and we started on the research mission last night.  Jessica and I ate at a place we’d only ever been to once, many years ago when we lived close by. We had hot & sour and roast pork wonton soups, crab Rangoon, coconut chicken, and EGG ROLLS.  My report back on the egg roll:

“It was good - super crisp skin, tiny shrimp but the cabbage was not as green and as crisp as I wanted. No carrot or celery that I could discern. The quest continues!” The egg roll in question:

 

 

Also, the soups, Rangoon and the chicken:

 

 

 

 

Jessica made dinner tonight.  What she called Sloppy Giuseppes:

That would be Italian influenced Sloppy Joes 😁!  Ground beef and Italian sausage in a thick, seasoned tomato sauce served on top of a slice of Texas Toast garlic bread and topped with mozzarella.  It was very good!  Served with roasted Brussels sprouts sauced with a mixture of saba, honey, and whole grain mustard. 

We make sloppy Giuseppes too. It's one of my "don't feel much like cooking meals." We like them infinitely better than regular sloppys Joes.

[mgaretz]

Chicken wings (plain, from frozen) made in the NFG on air crisp mode, honey/water glaze with a touch of soy.  Served with fried rice made from yesterday's leftover rice.

 

 

[gulfporter]

Forgot to plan ahead for a Lunar New Year recipe.

 

Had grilled shrimp leftover in fridge and some nice toasted peanuts (MX peanuts are great!).  

 

Mixed up a sauce of various Asian shelf products....sesame oil, rice vinegar, chili-garlic sauce, soy, yuzu, hoisin then added grated ginger, fresh lime juice.  To thicken a bit I made 1 tsp. corn starch slurry.  Heated briefly to get the starch to take effect.

 

Added the shrimp then a small bag of well-rinsed pre-cooked udon noodles.  Cooled to just above room temperature.  Plated and sprinkled with peanuts.  

 

Would have been better with green onions, but alas my intent to grow them from the bulbs remains, well, an intent 😎

 

Sorry no pic, but would make again.

 

Happy Year of the Rabbit!

 

 

 

Edited January 23, 2023 by gulfporter (log)

[Anna N]

Leftover KFC (Korean fried chicken). 

[heidih]

Wow that looks generously cirspy crunchy. Wondering if the batter or coating has extra stuff in it to provide that texture. 

[Norm Matthews]

 Charlie reminisced about his mom making bulgogi stew when he visited her. He said she made it once a week with leftover bulgogi and asked if I could make some. I had never had it or even recall hearing about it but I looked up a recipe and went to the Korean store. I wasn't looking forward to making bulgogi then turning it into a stew. I went to get some ready made bulgogi but actually found packets of Bulgogi stew.  All I needed to do was tear open the package and heat it up.  It's really good but Charlie said it was much more intensely flavored than his mom's.  Her broth is almost like Korean Bone Soup he said.  He thinks he will water it down when he heats up left overs.

Edited January 23, 2023 by Norm Matthews (log)

[Anna N]

24 minutes ago, Norm Matthews said:

All I needed to do was tear open the package and heat it up.

Wow, that would be handy to have in the fridge. 

[Norm Matthews]

1 minute ago, Anna N said:

Wow, that would be handy to have in the fridge. 

It is handy and they have other kinds too.  

[Anna N]

1 minute ago, Norm Matthews said:

It is handy and they have other kinds too.  

I am very jealous. We don't seem to have many options in ready to eat meals although perhaps if I lived in Toronto there might be a better variety. 

[lemniscate]

29 minutes ago, Norm Matthews said:

It is handy and they have other kinds too.  

Was that an HMart purchase?   That looks good.

[Ann_T]

Italian Roast Chicken.

Ready for the oven.

Bone in Chicken breasts.

"Fred's Italian Chicken" recreated from the New Marconi Restaurant in Sault Ste Marie back in the mid 90's.

Served with a side of Spaghetti Aglio E Olio.