Dinner 2023

[heidih]

17 minutes ago, dcarch said:

Not a beauty contest 😁 

Just want to show you what I have been having from the garden for lunch  and dinner everyday last week. ( I don't normally eat breakfast)

 

dcarch

 

Well well - I'd be in line - mouthsores be damned

[MaryIsobel]

1 hour ago, dcarch said:

Not a beauty contest 😁 

Just want to show you what I have been having from the garden for lunch  and dinner everyday last week. ( I don't normally eat breakfast)

 

dcarch

 

Wow - what a gorgeous bounty - I'd be eating those around the clock.

[OlyveOyl]

Mixed mini tomatoes, shallots, chervil with a hot honey/mustard vinaigrette.

Coleslaw, radish, yellow peppers, parsley and chives.

Jumbo lump crab cake baked with a pat of butter @ 450* for12 minutes.

[liuzhou]

Whether you call it calamar or calamara or calamari or καλαµάριor or squid makes no difference to me. I'll call it 鱿鱼 (yóu yú) and I'll eat it like Mr. Bloom, with relish. But I seldom order it in restaurants; they rarely get it right. The best way is of course, when I cook it myself. This is not just rampant egotism; I cook it the way I like it. Fast and brief. Or slow and long. Usually the former; never anything inbetween.

 

But tonight, I made an exception. This came from a restaurant I have eaten in often and which is close to my home, so doesn't die on the short trip to me.

 

Billed as XO酱煸鱿鱼 (XO jiàng biān yóu yú), stirfried squid with XO sauce, it was spicy, tender, umami rich  and delicious. With garlic and garlic scapes. XO sauce is from Hong Kong and is made from dried seafood and ham; it is common in Cantonese cuisine, but also adopted locally.

 

Served with rice, 照常 (zhào cháng).

 

 

 

 

 

[KennethT]

I was (and still am!) exhausted after taking a long walk this afternoon, so it was fortuitous that Jamrock Jerk happened to be in our neighborhood and we passed it by.  You could smell the smoke a block away!

 

[rotuts]

@KennethT 

 

Im not much of a NYC person.

 

I understand its multi-attraction for some

 

having this down the street won't change my mind completely   

 

but this is something Id love to have.

 

down the street.

[FeChef]

20 hours ago, OlyveOyl said:

Mixed mini tomatoes, shallots, chervil with a hot honey/mustard vinaigrette.

Coleslaw, radish, yellow peppers, parsley and chives.

Jumbo lump crab cake baked with a pat of butter @ 450* for12 minutes.

 

 

I would take a crusty french baguette, slice it open, smash that crab cake in, and top with that amazing slaw, and make a Po Boy.

[OlyveOyl]

@FeChef and now I need more crabmeat!

[lindag]

Feeling the need for comfort food since summer foods are getting a little boring.

Found a new (to me) recipe that I' prepare tonight.  It's a bonus that it goes together quickly in this hot weather.

(recipe from TheSlowRoastedItalian.com)

 

 

Skillet Chicken Pot Pie 

 

▢3 tablespoons unsalted butter
▢1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into bite size pieces
▢1/2 teaspoon black pepper
▢1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
▢1/4 cup all-purpose flour
▢3 cups chicken stock
▢2 cups frozen vegetables, (corn, peas and carrots)
▢3 ounces fresh Parmesan cheese, grated
▢1 teaspoon dried parsley
▢2 cups all-purpose flour
▢2 ounces fresh Parmesan cheese, grated
▢1 tablespoon baking powder
▢1 tablespoon granulated sugar
▢1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
▢1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
▢1 cup whole milk
INSTRUCTIONS
 
Preheat oven to 450°F.
Melt butter in a (10-inch) oven safe skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook until chicken is browned, about 2 minutes each side.
Add flour and whisk to combine. Slowly add chicken stock while whisking skillet. Whisk until well combined. Add in vegetables and cheese. Stir to combine. Reduce heat to medium. Allow mixture to come to a boil, stirring occasionally.
Meanwhile: In a large mixing bowl combine flour, cheese, baking powder, sugar and salt. Whisk to combine well. Add butter and milk. Stir to combine.
Drop biscuits by the rounded tablespoon full on top of pot pie. Place skillet on cookie sheet and then slide into the oven. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until biscuits are golden brown.
Sprinkle with fresh parsley, serve and enjoy.

[liuzhou]

Near my home are two roughly equidistant branches of a small local chain of restaurants called 金龙砦 (jīn lóng zhài) which means “golden dragon stockade”. This chain specialises in local Guangxi food and is where I usually take first time visitors. My granddaughter ate at the branch to the south when she was two-years-old and then volunteered to help with the washing-up.

 

Tonight, I ordered dinner from the one to the north. Among their offerings (both menus are the same) are a number of dishes from the various local ethnic minorities’ cuisines. I chose a dish from the 瑶族 (yáo zú), Yao people, who live in Hunan, Guangxi, and Yunnan provinces as well as Vietnam where they are the người Dao and Thailand where they are the เย้า (yêā). The Yao are mainly rice farmers and have some of the worlds most spectacular rice terraces, including the famous Longji terraces here in Guangxi.

 

酸辣禾花鱼 (suān là hé huā yú) is literally ‘hot and sour 'grass flower' fish”. I’ve never found a real English or Latin taxonomic name for this species but they are small (10 to 12 cm / 4 to 4½ inch long) graminaceous* freshwater fish which live in the rice paddies of Guangxi.

 

The fish are fried whole and un-gutted then served in a broth with pickled red chillies and slivered daikon radish. The dish is neither over-spicy or over-sour but nicely balanced.

 

It is normally served as one of a number of dishes, but I had it alone with rice. I can only find one useful website on this dish but it’s all in Chinese. Some good images, though of both the fish and the dish.

 

Being a delivery dinner, mine was not attractively plated. I could have replated it and removed half of the broth, but I’m not really strong enough for even that, yet. Hopefully, next time. So, the fish were hiding underwater.

 

Image from 金龙砦 Jinlongzai Restaurant delivery menu

 

My delivery

 

Close up

 

*  Of or pertaining to grass, in this case, the grass being rice.

Edited August 14, 2023 by liuzhou (log)

[Shelby]

It's been so nice not having to worry about what Ronnie can or can't eat.  More so for him I'm sure lol.  

 

Hot wings, stuffed mushrooms, squash, tomatoes, cucumbers

 

 

Wonderful cantaloupe from the garden

 

 

 

Ribs, beans, broccoli salad, stuffed jalapenos

 

 

Salad and venison cheeseburger pizza

 

 

 

Quail from our hunter friend, pasta, stuffed jalapeños, squash

 

 

Peach/cherry sorbet for dessert.  Been really using the ninja a lot this summer.

 

 

 

[Paul Bacino]

Garden gave up some nice broccoli  -- Shrimp Pad See Ew

 

 

[scamhi]

small dinner for 5 last night

Stracciatella base with heirloom tomatoes and basil oil

main course of pork and clams from this recipe.

Wines were both excellent. The 1976 Vosnes still very alive although I would not hold it much longer

[liamsaunt]

Salad with yogurt marinated grilled chicken and tzatziki sauce, flatbread

 

[Dejah]

Picked up a package of bone-in chicken breast. Cooked all 4 as Spicy Oven Baked Chicken Breasts. Turned out well, and there's enough for 2 more meals! One breast was enough for 2. There was another the same size, and 2 smalerl ones. The meaty breasts remind me of the 10 lb chickens that were raised at a Hutterite colony for our restaurant.

The first meal with corn, baked potato and beets       ::

 

I was glad I had cooked all 4 breasts 2 days ago. Hubby and I got our Covid and tetanus boosters yesterday, and by night time, my arm was pretty sore. Thur' the night, I had the same reaction as I've had with previous shots : fever, chills, aches, pains. Slept most of the day but lacked energy. Did up a curry gravy with a block of Glico curry paste, cooked rice, frozen veg, and that was supper. Hubby enjoyed the chicken. I had the rice and veg as appetite was not up to snuff yet.

 

 

 

 

                                                                                         

Edited August 14, 2023 by Dejah (log)

[Dejah]

WHEW! Finally got through the chicken breasts from 2 nights ago. @lindag's post about Skillet Pot Pie came just at the right time.

The biscuits were amazing, SO good that I am going to make a pan of just the biscuits. The Parmesan cheese in the biscuits will work beautifully with the clotted cream that is being made in the oven right now!

 

 

                                                            

 

                                                               

 

 

For the clotted cream: p

1. Preheat the oven to 175 to 180 degrees F (80 degrees C).

2. Pour cream into a shallow glass or ceramic baking dish (an 8- or 9-inch square pan is ideal). Cream should be about 1 1/2 to 2 inches deep.

3. Bake in the preheated oven for 12 hours. Do not stir. Carefully remove from the oven and let cool to room temperature.

4. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until completely chilled, 8 hours to overnight.

5. Push aside a corner of the top layer of thickened cream; carefully pour liquid into a container for baking.

6. Pack thickened (clotted) cream into a ceramic crock or canning jar. Cover and refrigerate for up to 5 days.

 

                       

Edited August 15, 2023 by Dejah (log)

[liuzhou]

Tonight’s meal I think of as a Chinese equivalent of the Scottish classic of my childhood, mince and tatties. Obviously not in terms of ingredients, but there the lack of similarity ends. Both are simple fare, relatively cheap, easy to make but not particularly visually appealing. Both are flavoursome comfort food. Tonight’s dinner was one I often make, but this came from a local restaurant.

 

Mince and Tatties

 

Like mince and tatties, at its simplest, 酸菜肉末饭 (suān cài ròu mò fàn) consists of two elements:

 

酸菜 (suān cài) is literally ‘sour vegetables’, the sourness being that they are pickled. These vegetables are sometimes referred to in the west as Chinese Sauerkraut and some sources even go so far as to suggest that it was the origin for sauerkraut, having been brought west 1,000 years ago by Genghis Khan after he invaded China. Whatever the truth, there is solid evidence that suan cai was in existence 5,000 years ago.

 

In the north of China, especially Beijing its primary ingredient is cabbage but here it is more commonly mustard greens, which is what I had tonight. Other vegetables and spices are also added in smaller quantities depending on seasonal availability. The vegetables are dried and then salted and left for lacto-fermentation to do its thing, Before making this dish the suan cai is finely chopped or minced.

 

肉末 (ròu mò) is minced pork (as opposed to the beef in mince and tatties). Usually, a relatively fatty belly cut is used.

 

The two are then mixed together and fried. Most people make their own from scratch, but it is available in supermarkets. Also found is the very similar 雪菜 (xuě cài) or ‘snow vegetable’, a milder version popular in Shanghai.

 

The dish is normally served alongside other dishes family style and accompanied by rice. 酸菜鱼 (suān cài yú), suan cai fish is another popular dish which I have posted somewhere here in the past.

 

Suancai Pork Mince (酸菜肉末)

 

Edited August 15, 2023 by liuzhou (log)

[liamsaunt]

Mutter paneer, chicken curry, maharajah rice, naan

 

[dcarch]

1 hour ago, liuzhou said:

酸菜 (suān cài) is literally ‘sour vegetables’, the sourness being that they are pickled. These vegetables are sometimes referred to in the west as Chinese Sauerkraut and some sources even go so far as to suggest that it was the origin for sauerkraut, having been brought west 1,000 years ago by Genghis Khan after he invaded China. Whatever the truth, there is solid evidence that suan cai was in existence 5,000 years ago.

 

The big fight is about who invented kimchi. 🤣

 

dcarch

 

[liuzhou]

2 minutes ago, dcarch said:

The big fight is about who invented kimchi.

 

That battle is long over. Korea just pretends it isn't.

[Deephaven]

Skirt, chimichurri, plantains, avocado/tomato/cucumber salad

 

[Duvel]

Banh mi-esk dinner: baguette with sriracha mayo, lettuce, thinly pounded chicken steaks, scrambled egg, roasted onions, chili and pickled carrots. Fresh herbs plus some hoisin …

 

 

No complaints, except the lousy picture 🥳
 

 

 

Edited August 15, 2023 by Duvel (log)

[Dejah]

Had a couple of friends over today to see and learn how to make steamed Char Siu Baos. I have made the char siu last week in the Big Easy. Thawed the pork and diced it up last night.
For the filling, we stir-fried the meat, added some pork broth I made yesterday, Hoisin sauce, oyster sauce, cooking wine, sugar, and thickened with slurry. While the filling was cooling, we made up the first batch of the "bread". I used commercially prepared flour, so it was just adding sugar, milk, and a tbsp oil, all done in the Kitchen Aid. It took some practice for the 2 learners to get used to the tortilla presses, and pleating. In the end, we made 3 doz. Sent most of them home with my friends, and some to the neighbors and my family.

Still have a few baos to put into the freezer.

I also made 2 doz egg tarts, and they have all disappeared.

A pic of some of the baos my friends made, and a tart. Tea went well with both!

                                                                                       

 

                                            

                                                                                      

 

[liuzhou]

China’s northern Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region (内蒙古 - nèi měng gǔ) takes up most of the border with the Republic of Mongolia as well as part of that with Russia. It is mostly grassland and barren mountains. When I moved to China, I flew London to Beijing. I woke up shortly before we reached Beijing and all I could see from the window was what looked like the surface of Mars. Uninhabited, red tinged mountains for miles.

 

Unsurprisingly, the local food is very different from that down here in the tropics. Yet, Mongolian grub is popular throughout China. The region is known for being meat and dairy heavy. It is also one of the few parts of China which makes cheeses. But perhaps most famous are its hotpots and kebabs. Mutton is the main meat, unlike the rest of China which overwhelmingly prefers pork.

 

So tonight I went there via my food ordering app. I have been there bodily in the past. I ordered two 红柳羊肉串 (hóng liǔ yáng ròu chuàn), red mutton skewers; two 深海大八爪鱼须串 (shēn hǎi dà bā zhuǎ yú xū chuàn), deep sea octopus skewers; and two 炭烤白皮镆 (tàn kǎo bái pí mò), charcoal toasted bread buns*. These are all cooked over charcoal and generously sprinkled with cumin and chili powder.

 

 

 

I also toyed with the idea of ordering some 碳烤东北蝉蛹 (tàn kǎo dōng běi chán yǒng), charcoal roasted north-eastern cicada pupae, but decided I had enough as I also had some egg fried rice from lunch.

 

 

Despite everything being seasoned / spiced identically, the inherent flavour of each shone through.

 

* The are the same buns which, untoasted, I use for rou jia mo (qv).

 

Edited August 16, 2023 by liuzhou
typos (log)

[liamsaunt]

Broiled sole with lemon sauce, spinach and crispy risotto cake