Dinner 2023

[OlyveOyl]

Romaine, radicchio and curly leaf lettuce awaiting its dressing.

 

Tortellini, marinara, pecorino and ricotta…I wish I knew how to dance the Tarantella!

 

Chocolate cake, raspberries and sour cream ice cream.

 

[Norm Matthews]

I felt like doing something Autumnal as long as pumpkin spice wasn't involved.  I did a pork tenderloin roast with apples, shallots and spinach, and Dutch Apple Dumplings with brown sugar butter sauce and melted ice cream poured over.

[mgaretz]

Used the last of my char siu for dinner last night, so time to re-stock:

 

 

 

 

 

[MaryIsobel]

Italian wedding soup and same-day foccacia. I like to use ditalini in wedding soup but didnt care to leave the house this blustery day so fine noodles it was. No complaints.

[Honkman]

Potato and Chorizo Taco from Alex Stupak’s book - red chorizo made from ground pork, black pepper, coriander seeds, cinnamon, oregano, bay leaf, clove, guajillo chiles, roasted garlic, cider vinegar and sugar.
And salsa de arbol made with cumin, allspice, cloves, oregano, arbol chiles, roasted garlic, sesame seeds, sugar, pepitas and cider vinegar
Served with a cucumber salad with a yoghurt-dill sauce

[Dante]

Gochujang potatoes and eggs, side of sauteed kale.

[Dante]

Grilled cheese (cheddar, brie, muenster) with nectarines and prosciutto, side of roasted Blue Hubbard squash

[Dante]

stacked beef enchiladas

[Ann_T]

7 hours ago, Honkman said:

Potato and Chorizo Taco from Alex Stupak’s book

I would love these for breakfast.  

Last night's dinner. Grilled chicken breast with a side of Linguine in a tomato basil cream sauce.

[liamsaunt]

On 9/24/2023 at 7:29 PM, Katie Meadow said:

Believe it or not my daughter and her husband now have some kind of setup that keeps two kegs cold and you can have beer on tap whenever you desire.. What I love about it is that I don't need a giant glass, and can have a half glass at a time, nice foam and all.

 

The Kegerator.  We had one at our old house.  It was the size of a large mini fridge and held one half barrel keg or two quarter barrel kegs.  It was useful, but you do have to drink the beer sooner than you might think, or it goes flat.  And the lines are a real pain to clean in between kegs.  If you are a dedicated beer drinker or have lots of guests it can be worth it.  We were not using it enough, so got rid of it when we moved to our current house.  We kept all of the cool taps we had though.  When I stopped drinking entirely, my husband got a similar setup for wine, called the Plum.  It keeps two bottles of wine at the correct temperature, keeps it from oxidizing, and pours out measured glasses.  Of course, the company went out of business last year, so the CO2 refills are a pain to come by.  I don't think it can be repaired now either, so once it goes on the fritz that will be out of here too.  

 

Last night's CSA inspired dinner:  corn and arugula risotto with a chopped tomato and arugula salad on top

 

[Senior Sea Kayaker]

@MaryIsobel

What greens do you use in your Italian wedding soup?

I used to always make it with escarole which was readily available when I lived in Ontario but isn't available in Cape Breton.

 

[Deephaven]

Found a beautiful zabuton

 

Ate it with some baguettes following AnnT's process.

[KennethT]

1 hour ago, liamsaunt said:

 

When I stopped drinking entirely, my husband got a similar setup for wine, called the Plum.  It keeps two bottles of wine at the correct temperature, keeps it from oxidizing, and pours out measured glasses.  Of course, the company went out of business last year, so the CO2 refills are a pain to come by.  I don't think it can be repaired now either, so once it goes on the fritz that will be out of here too.  

 

For wine, the best device for having a little bit at a time is the Coravin.  The device is small and portable - it attaches to the top of a bottle and a needle is inserted through the cork.  Argon is used rather than CO2 so it does't carbonate the wine - adding argon pushes wine out the needle into your glass.  You can take 2 sips or several glasses, then remove the device keep the bottle standing up for maybe 10 minutes for the cork to heal then it can go back in your wine fridge.  I've had some bottles that we've removed a glass from once a year and the bottle is still the same except for the normal aging that it would have had in that time.

[MaryIsobel]

1 hour ago, Senior Sea Kayaker said:

@MaryIsobel

What greens do you use in your Italian wedding soup?

I used to always make it with escarole which was readily available when I lived in Ontario but isn't available in Cape Breton.

 

Usually spinach. I mentioned that I live in a pretty small town and things such as esacrole, raddicio, mustard greens, etc are just too durn fancy for our stores!

[liamsaunt]

2 hours ago, KennethT said:

For wine, the best device for having a little bit at a time is the Coravin.  The device is small and portable - it attaches to the top of a bottle and a needle is inserted through the cork.  Argon is used rather than CO2 so it does't carbonate the wine - adding argon pushes wine out the needle into your glass.  You can take 2 sips or several glasses, then remove the device keep the bottle standing up for maybe 10 minutes for the cork to heal then it can go back in your wine fridge.  I've had some bottles that we've removed a glass from once a year and the bottle is still the same except for the normal aging that it would have had in that time.

 

I misspoke.  The Plum also uses argon gas.  There aren't any places nearby to refill the canisters.  When Plum was in business, you would just send them back to the company for refills.  The Coravin sounds promising as a potential replacement when the Plum inevitably stops working, so thanks for that explanation.  

[KennethT]

1 hour ago, liamsaunt said:

 

I misspoke.  The Plum also uses argon gas.  There aren't any places nearby to refill the canisters.  When Plum was in business, you would just send them back to the company for refills.  The Coravin sounds promising as a potential replacement when the Plum inevitably stops working, so thanks for that explanation.  

The Coravin uses disposable argon canisters - they look like the CO2 charges used in a whipping siphon.  I forget how many glasses each canister is good for - I think 6-8 but they're not super expensive unless you plan to drink most of the bottle at once, which is not what it's really designed for.  We only use the device when we want to have a glass or so of a relatively expensive wine, so the cost of the argon is little compared to teh cost of the wine consumed.  I wouldn't use it with a $20 bottle.

 

Also, it doesn't work with screw caps or with the aggregate corks.  Only real cork.  It does, however, work really well on older wines - although REALLY old wines need a special super-thin needle to deal with a delicate cork.

[mgaretz]

20 minutes ago, KennethT said:

Also, it doesn't work with screw caps or with the aggregate corks.  Only real cork.  It does, however, work really well on older wines - although REALLY old wines need a special super-thin needle to deal with a delicate cork.

They do make screw top adapters that work well. Uses a membrane that self heals, not unlike a vial used for injectables.  I haven’t had an issue with aggregate corks. What it doesn’t work with is artificial corks.  I had a corker left over from my winemaking days, so I use that to replace artificial corks with real corks. If you’re quick not enough air gets in to make a difference. I used to shoot some argon in after removing the artificial cork, but now I don’t bother. 

Edited September 26, 2023 by mgaretz (log)

[MaryIsobel]

Going to make my take on these tonight: https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/shepherd-s-pie-twice-baked-potatoes/

I thought it was a brilliant presentation for cottage (because I will use beef, not lamb) pie. I will add mushrooms and do my own gravy-type sauce. While I have the oven on for an hour, I'll roast some beets to have with and probably throw in an apple crisp whlle I'm at it. Perfect fall dinner.

[Dejah]

On 9/25/2023 at 10:59 AM, heidih said:

I also trend to the bitter melon, beef, black bean prep. But my comfort dish is bitter melon stuffed with ground pork, mung bean noodle, wood ear poached in a light chicken broth. Used to be able to get it at a little Vietnamese market w/ hot food counter. like this  https://www.hungryhuy.com/bitter-melon-soup-canh-kho-qua/

That will make a nice change from the black bean garlic sauce.
I love bitter melon in soup with pork bones and rehydrated dried oysters, ginger, and tangerine peel. I checked the oysters at the Chinese grocery store a couple of weeks ago. The oysters were big and from Japan. Holy! +$50 for maybe 8 - 10 oysters! I didn't buy.

[Kerala]

I went to see the 2023 re-release of Talking Heads "Stop Making Sense" at the local IMAX. I've had that LP for 35 years but never seen the movie. Just wow!

So tonight was going to be my cheat night in my low-carb diet.

But look- Nando's with no fries! I did have a beer though. Very nice.

[KennethT]

4 hours ago, mgaretz said:

They do make screw top adapters that work well. Uses a membrane that self heals, not unlike a vial used for injectables.  I haven’t had an issue with aggregate corks. What it doesn’t work with is artificial corks.  I had a corker left over from my winemaking days, so I use that to replace artificial corks with real corks. If you’re quick not enough air gets in to make a difference. I used to shoot some argon in after removing the artificial cork, but now I don’t bother. 

Thanks! I haven't really kept up with any advances or new products they came out with.

[TicTac]

A few recent meals - 

 

My sons favourite mango salad at a great Vietnamese spot 

 

 

gluten free lasagna 

 

 

the makings of chicken soup

 

 

braised kanpachi collars, seared ‘blood line’ and king salmon belly

 

 

big ass taco salad! 
 

 

my ‘shopping list’ for my awesome sister in Paris for my favourite unpasteurized goat cheeses…I would do some damage at that store.

[haresfur]

On 9/25/2023 at 9:32 PM, gfweb said:

Parm with salad.  I had a plantain that was about to go south, so I made maduros for the salad.  Odd but not bad at all.

 

So you melt the cheese on the schnitzel then pull it out and put the sauce on top? That should help it stay crisp but is far from traditional where I live.

[heidih]

55 minutes ago, haresfur said:

 

So you melt the cheese on the schnitzel then pull it out and put the sauce on top? That should help it stay crisp but is far from traditional where I live.

I think it is the odd American "Chicken Parm". Don't like it. But tastes vary.  https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1017169-chicken-parmesan

Edited September 27, 2023 by heidih (log)

[btbyrd]

Enchiladas verde.