Dinner 2023

[BeeZee]

Local supermarket had snow crab legs on sale, so we had a feast. Five minutes in boiling water to heat them, and they were perfect. Served with salad and sweet potato fries (frozen, cooked in oven). Melted butter for dipping.

[weinoo]

 

Cafe Katja. Krainerwurst on sauerkraut.  Roasted vegetables subbed for the standard accompaniment, trying to be healthier.

 

[gfweb]

13 hours ago, Shelby said:

I've never been to Outback but I've heard the onions are so good. 

 

Outback : Steakhouses as Olive Garden : Italian restaurants

 

Not actually bad, just a firm baseline that you can find in small towns across the country.

[Ann_T]

@Smithy, @rotuts, @Norm Matthews, @Okanagancook

Thank you for your Anniversary greetings.

 

I finally got around to grilling burgers on the new grill.

 

 I had offered to make homemade fries but Moe said

he would be happy with potato chips.    Made for an even easier worknight dinner. 

Tomatoes from Matt's tomato garden. 

 

[zend]

19 hours ago, liuzhou said:

 

Your overlong link doesn't work.
 

Uyghur lamb skewers are never oven baked. They don't have ovens! They are grilled and they are almost everywhere called 羊肉串 (yáng ròu chuàn). The /r/ ending in 羊肉串儿 (yáng ròu chuàn ér) is only used in Beijing dialect where they add it to almost everything. Beijing is over 3,000 Km / 3,800 miles from Xinjiang, home of the Uyghurs.

 

 

LiuZhou, I sense a very negative vibe from your side to whatever I may post. 

 

A couple of points for your attention:

 

1. I've lived in BeiJing for more than 3 years, and I speak passable Chinese - with the local BJ accent. While your China experience may be considerably longer, it does not mean that all around you are newbies and ignorant.

2. I've had yangrouchuanr in BeiJing, ChengDu, Urumqi (yes, I've been there, too), and in many other places, since this is one of my favourite foods. I know precisely how they're cooked, but:

3. I live in an apartment - if I fire up a charcoal grill here, I'll have the fire squad kicking down my frontdoor in no time. The oven created the least amount of smoke, so oven it was. 

4. I tried to replicate the taste - and it worked out quite ok. I mentioned this was an ATTEMPT, not a guide, not an I-know-it-all. Uyghurs don't marinate lamb in onions, either. Turks do. Since Turks and Uyghurs share quite a lot of culture/language/etc, I tried to combine the approaches.

5. Uyghurs DO have ovens. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 27, 2023 by zend (log)

[liuzhou]

I was sceptical but had to try.

 

As I’ve mentioned before, despite my living very close to Vietnam, very little of their cuisine makes its way here. So, I was surprised to find this on my food delivery app today. A restaurant apparently called Saigon. Or perhaps, not. I’ll get back to that.

 

 

So, I scrolled through the menu and was surprised to note that many of the dishes listed and beautifully illustrated appeared to me to be more Thai than Vietnamese. Tom Yum soup included.

 

Some dishes

 

Fish in Tom Yum Sauce (Viet-Thai?)

 

Lime Sour Fish Soup

 

Vietnamese Sausages

 

Mint Grilled Pork Ribs

They had their take on phở, but only phở gà, the chicken version, labelled in Chinese as 越南鸡肉米粉 (yuè nán jī ròu mǐ fěn, Vietnam chicken rice noodles). No phở bò, Vietnam’s national dish, the beef version. Hmm.

 

Phở Gà

 

I didn’t have much of an appetite, so decided just to have one of the the bánh mì they were offering, labelled in Chinese as 越南三明治 (yuè nán sān míng zhì, Vietnam sandwich). Their illustration looked reasonable.

 

 

What arrived with me was this.

 

 

Which, rather sensibly if I say so myself, I opened to reveal this.

 

 

So far so good. The bread was exceptionally good. Made with Vietnamese rice flour, according to their description. However, they had sliced the sandwich into four; I've eaten hundreds of bánh mì in Vietnam and never had one sliced like that. Or sliced at all.

 

The slices tipped over to show you the contents.

 

The contents were what looked like liver sausage but wasn't. It was bland and tasteless. I think it was MRM chicken formed into a sausage shape. I want my liver pâté in my bánh mì. Then there was what I think was meant to be char siu. It was hard to tell what the dry meaty stuff was. This came with a load of salad (as it should) which had been smothered in Kewpie "mayonnaise".  It wasn't rank but disappointing. Only the bread saved it. I'd still try some of their other dishes though, even though it was kind of expensive for here..

 

I still don't know what the restaurant is called. The app listing said Saigon. The box containing the bánh mì said Charm of Honey Viet. The plastic bag everything came in said Le Charme de Saigon. I know where they live, so I'll visit once I regain my mobility and will check it out.

 

 

The first seven images are from the restaurant's listing on the delivery app.

 

Edited August 27, 2023 by liuzhou (log)

[Shelby]

Happy Anniversary @Ann_Tand Moe!

 

Heat wave finally broke yesterday.  We should have few nice days but then it gets back to the 100's ugh.  I haven't had enough tomatoes to can a single jar this summer.  I can eke by with what I have from two years ago but we better have a banner crop next summer or we're in trouble.  I can't complain though because we have enough to eat our fill each night.

 

Big salad--potatoes, green beans, cukes, smoked turkey, chicken, peppers and artichokes

 

 

 

 

Odd combo but it was good--grape/blueberry galette for dessert

 

 

Finally got around to making bread

 

So BLT's with air fryer onion rings

 

 

Venison meatloaf

 

 

Savory galette using tomatoes (no your eyes aren't deceiving you, I didn't peel the cherry tomatoes....I might need to see a doctor....)squash, corn and peppers.

 

 

Fried potatoes, eggs, crawfish boudin and a sausage kolache to go with

 

 

Chicken and hatch chili quesadillas

 

 

 

Cantaloupe sorbet for dessert

 

 

Got my Rancho Gordo Bean box yesterday and the newsletter had a good looking recipe so I made it --Summertime Heirloom Bean and Tomato Salad

RG Alubia Blanca beans, our red onions, tomatoes and cukes, garlic, vinegar, olive oil, salt, pepper and our basil.  Really good.

 

 

Pepperoni, mushroom and pepper pizza to go with

 

 

Edited August 27, 2023 by Shelby (log)

[rotuts]

@zend 

 

thank you for your response .

 

it was polite 

 

and informative .

Edited August 27, 2023 by rotuts (log)

[Okanagancook]

@Shelby lovely looking meals.

”air fryer onion rings”….can you elaborate on how you make them please?

[Shelby]

1 minute ago, Okanagancook said:

@Shelby lovely looking meals.

”air fryer onion rings”….can you elaborate on how you make them please?

Oh this will disappoint you--I used frozen Nathan's brand lol.  Preheat the fryer at 360F for 5 mins.  Airfry for about 10 mins.  They were very crispy.

[Okanagancook]

😲 i suspected…… but was hoping 

[dcarch]

Where's The Beef?!
 

I read about an interesting plant, toona sinensis. In China it's young leaves are used as a vegetable. Not many tree leaves can be eaten.

Interesting plant, so I decide to grow them in my garden. Interesting, to many the leaves taste like beef. That’s why some call the plant beef plant.

 

To me, toona sinensis has a nice flavor, but it does not make me think of beef.

 

Anyway, I made a roast beef sandwich with toona sinensis.

 

dcarch

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 27, 2023 by dcarch (log)

[liuzhou]

7 minutes ago, dcarch said:

I read about an interesting plant, toona sinensis. In China it's young leaves are used as a vegetable. Not many tree leaves can be eaten.

 

It is known in English as 'toon' and is a relatively popular vegetable here, yes. I've bought it in Engand in the past, too.

 

Bay leaves are from trees. Lime leaves are eaten. Mango leaves. There are quie a few.

 

 

[KennethT]

 

2 hours ago, liuzhou said:

I was sceptical but had to try.

 

As I’ve mentioned before, despite my living very close to Vietnam, very little of their cuisine makes its way here. So, I was surprised to find this on my food delivery app today. A restaurant apparently called Saigon. Or perhaps, not. I’ll get back to that.

 

 

So, I scrolled through the menu and was surprised to note that many of the dishes listed and beautifully illustrated appeared to me to be more Thai than Vietnamese. Tom Yum soup included.

 

Some dishes

 

Fish in Tom Yum Sauce (Viet-Thai?)

 

Lime Sour Fish Soup

 

Vietnamese Sausages

 

Mint Grilled Pork Ribs

They had their take on phở, but only phở gà, the chicken version, labelled in Chinese as 越南鸡肉米粉 (yuè nán jī ròu mǐ fěn, Vietnam chicken rice noodles). No phở bò, Vietnam’s national dish, the beef version. Hmm.

 

Phở Gà

 

I didn’t have much of an appetite, so decided just to have one of the the bánh mì they were offering, labelled in Chinese as 越南三明治 (yuè nán sān míng zhì, Vietnam sandwich). Their illustration looked reasonable.

 

 

What arrived with me was this.

 

 

Which, rather sensibly if I say so myself, I opened to reveal this.

 

So far so good. The bread was exceptionally good. Made with Vietnamese rice flour, according to their description. However, they had sliced the sandwich into four; I've eaten hundreds of bánh mì in Vietnam and never had one sliced like that. Or sliced at all.

 

The slices tipped over to show you the contents.

 

The contents were what looked like liver sausage but wasn't. It was bland and tasteless. I think it was MRM chicken formed into a sausage shape. I want my liver pâté in my bánh mì. Then there what I think was meant to be char siu. It was hard to tell what the dry meaty stuff was. This came with a load of salad (as it should) which had been smothered in Kewpie "mayonnaise".  It wasn't rank but disappointing. Only the bread saved it. I'd stil try some of their other dishes though, even though it was kind of expensive for here..

 

I stil don't know what the restaurant is called. The app lsting said Saigon. The box containing the bánh mì said Charm of Honey Viet. The plastic bag everything came in said Le Charme de Saigon. I know where they live, so I'll visit once I regain my mobility and will check it out.

 

 

The first seven images are from the restaurant's listing on the delivery app.

 

Fascinating.  Kind of like a Viet/Thai hybrid.  Those sausages definitely look Vietnamese... like nem.  I'm glad the bread for the banh mi was good - to me, that's what makes it.  Although from my research, they don't use rice flour in Vietnam - it's wheat flour with some kind of "dough improver" built in - some say it's like Vitamin C powder.  I think the pale meat like substance is not a liver or chicken but a product in Vietnam called Chả lụa which is some kind of emulsified pork sausage.  It's a common component of banh mi in Saigon (along with a few other meats).  It's also a common addition to banh cuon:

in the upper right.

Edited August 27, 2023 by KennethT (log)

[liuzhou]

2 minutes ago, KennethT said:

Although from my research, they don't use rice flour in Vietnam

 

My information doesn't agree. While I know bánh mì is southern, I have a close friend in Hanoi whose family have two restaurants and she insists rice flour is incorporated. Whoever is running the restaurant here in Liuzhou may be from the north (it is closer) but I don't know.

I do know chả lụa. This wasn't that, but was made to look like it, I guess. It had less taste than blotting paper.

 

When I recover, I'll go and interrogate Torture may be involved.

 

 

[Dejah]

On 8/26/2023 at 11:30 AM, heidih said:

So cheeks sold separately? Nice. One of my many favorite food descriptions is Madeleine Kamman about her Mimi-Cherie reserving the fish cheek as the cook's treat to mash later with mayonnaise spread over bread that she'd generously rubbed with garlic. 

I had pre-ordered the cheeks a couple of months before the usual delivery time. These were all packaged flat and quick frozen.
Unfortunately, this supplier only sells baby sauger/ pickerel, so the cheeks are small. I can only use them in stir-fry. I love them battered or coated with bread crumbs.
I have another supplier for bigger pickerel, so may order some cheeks from him.

[Dejah]

10 hours ago, Senior Sea Kayaker said:

 

Pickerel cheeks! I'm envious. That's usually the shore lunch cook's treat.

 

I love them when I steam the whole fish. My Dad used to have the honours. Now, both of them are MINE!

[Dejah]

It was a busy day yesterday as I was making my yearly stash of Peach Apricot Pineapple conserve.

I had 2 frozen Dr. Oetker pizza in the freezer. Hang my head in shame as I always see @Ann_T and others who make beautiful pizzas from scratch...

However, I doctored up the Dr: the 4-Cheese one I added veg and lots of black olives. The Sun Sugar tomatoes were a lovely addition.

The Pollo Pizza, with very little pollo, I ramped it up with salami and lots of black olives. Both had an addition of Tex-Mex cheese. They were edible and I was soon back at the stove boiling up the fruit!

 

     

[MaryIsobel]

3 hours ago, Dejah said:

It was a busy day yesterday as I was making my yearly stash of Peach Apricot Pineapple conserve.

I had 2 frozen Dr. Oetker pizza in the freezer. Hang my head in shame as I always see @Ann_T and others who make beautiful pizzas from scratch...

However, I doctored up the Dr: the 4-Cheese one I added veg and lots of black olives. The Sun Sugar tomatoes were a lovely addition.

The Pollo Pizza, with very little pollo, I ramped it up with salami and lots of black olives. Both had an addition of Tex-Mex cheese. They were edible and I was soon back at the stove boiling up the fruit!

 

     

When I was a kid and Mom was canning all day, we knew that either Dad would take us to A&W or it would be grilled cheese for dinner. I considered both a perk of canning days!

 

[Ann_T]

Hadn't really planned dinner but was thinking of a simple pasta using tomatoes from the garden.

And maybe boneless chicken breasts on the grill. But I hadn't taken the chicken out of the freezer.

Offered Moe the choice of pasta or a tomato salad with the chicken and he choose the salad.

Since neither of us was overly hungry I pulled just one boneless chicken breast out of the freezer

and zapped in the microwave on 30% power, for 4 minutes,

just long enough start the defrost and then sliced it horizontally into two filets.

Much easier to slice when still partially frozen.

Pounded out, rubbed with garlic, Dijon mustard , salt, pepper, juice of a lemon and some olive oil.

Left on the counter for 10 minutes while the grill heated.

Sliced a number of ripe tomatoes, seasoned with dried basil,

sliced white onion, fresh minced garlic, olive oil and a little red wine vinegar, salt and pepper.

Set aside to marinate. Washed some lettuce.

Chicken only took a few minutes on each side.

Tossed the salad with the lettuce and served.

We were eating within 30 minutes after I got home for work.

[Honkman]

Cardamom Beef Stew from Charlie Trotter - beef chuck braised with celery, carrots, onions and a sachet with plenty of crushed cardamom pods and a halved garlic bulb. Served over oven roasted mix of potatoes, parsnip and celery root.

[Senior Sea Kayaker]

Last evening's dinner: Broiled beef rib bone (and and few NY strip bones thrown in to gnaw on) with Montreal Steak Spice, garden beans with mushrooms and a grilled tomato stuffed with blue cheese, herbs and breadcrumbs.

Glass of Cote de Rhone to accompany.

 

[Paul Bacino]

Smash Bison burger w Spicy Bacon Tomato Jam

 

 

 

Tomato Jam

 

 

[liuzhou]

 

Tonight's dinner was advertised on the delivery app as 清香藤椒鸡 (qīng xiāng téng jiāo jī) and promised it would contain 小米椒 (xiǎo mǐ jiāo) a dialect name for 朝天椒 (cháo tiān jiāo), facing heaven chilli peppers, but also used for other cultivars.

 

藤椒 (téng jiāo) is green Sichuan peppercorns, also referred to as rattan vine peppers. The American Mala Market, importer of Sichuan ingredients, claims that these are only used fresh which is erroneous. I have both fresh and dried here at home. To my amusement, they claimed this in a description for industrially prepared Rattan Pepper Oil. Duh! They do not stock the peppercorns. In fact they are not widely available even in China. They have the oil.

 

The green peppers contain more of the essential Hydroxy-alpha-sanshool which gives all Sichuan peppers their numbing power than do the more common red variety. Also, the fragrance is stronger so eating them is more intense.

 

Fresh Green Peppercorns

 

Dried Green Peppercorns

Anyway, back to my dish. It was generously loaded with sliced, on-the-bone chicken thigh meat, the required rattan peppers and two types of chillies, red and green. Finished with a sprinkling of white sesame seed, Chinese chives and peanuts. Damn but it was good.

 

¥21.40 / $2.93 USD inc delivery.

 

Edited September 1, 2023 by liuzhou (log)

[OlyveOyl]

Brown was the color of the day at my house. We had a quiche/tart of sautéed onions, fennel bulb, Swiss chard stems, sorrel and garlic chives , sage.Cubed ham was added in abundance along with an egg, milk and grated Parmesan.  The crust was particularly tasty as it had dry mustard and grated cheese added to the usual mix.

Delicious tomatoes with St. Agur , the FM tomatoes have been top notch.

Dessert was a plum, fig, blackberry torte served with a dollop of sour cream.