Dinner 2023

[weinoo]

14 minutes ago, liamsaunt said:

None of us had tried Korean rice cakes before.

 

At the original Momofuku, Chang griddled those rice cakes, so the exterior would be a little crispy - they were so good. Now he'd probably stick them in his microwave, and in addition to selling you the rice cakes, would try to sell you the bowl the rice cakes were cooked in, as well as the microwave.

 

Last night, I cut up a "heritage" chicken, and made Coq au Vin...

 

 

Breast was removed while the legs and wings continued cooking. Significant Eater's plate...

 

 

And mine, with a wing and a thigh and a lot messier...

 

 

I served this over couscous.  Much prefer mashed potatoes, or potatoes in any form with this dish.

Edited April 14, 2023 by weinoo (log)

[Duvel]

Bacon cheeseburger …

 

[rotuts]

@Duvel 

 

fine looking burger !

 

how far did the ' jus ' run down your arm while consuming ?

 

1/2 way down to the elbow is about right for a perfect burger + amendments.

[Duvel]

3 minutes ago, rotuts said:

@Duvel 

 

fine looking burger !

 

how far did the ' jus ' run down your arm while consuming ?

 

1/2 way down to the elbow is about right for a perfect burger + amendments.

 

Ha @rotuts ! You sure know burgers 😜

 

Some of it landed on my shirt - luckily, I had a "free evening", and the shirt made its way into the dirty clothes hamper before the rest of the family came home ...

[KennethT]

16 minutes ago, Duvel said:

 

Ha @rotuts ! You sure know burgers 😜

 

Some of it landed on my shirt - luckily, I had a "free evening", and the shirt made its way into the dirty clothes hamper before the rest of the family came home ...

That's one thing I miss when I make the non-beef burgers - like the elk the other night or bison.  They're really lean - maybe 10% fat - but we're trying to be healthy so cutting out lots of beef fat is a priority.  I try to compensate by using something else that's fatty - like the guacamole - but it's not the same, although the guac certainly does have a tendency to squish out of the bun and land on my shirt!

[heidih]

1 hour ago, liamsaunt said:

Tteokbokki mash up.  I used this recipe as a jumping off point: spicy tteokbokki  

 

I swapped out the beef for shiitake mushrooms, stock for water, and used pea shoots and mini red bell peppers instead of cabbage because that's what I had in the house.  None of us had tried Korean rice cakes before.  Husband loved them, I thought they were fine, and my sister hated them!  So we will probably never have them again haha.  We all liked the sauce and agreed it would be very good to enjoy on a vegetable stir fry minus the rice cakes and with regular rice to keep my sister happy.

 

I usually see that style used as @nakji did here https://forums.egullet.org/topic/97326-eg-foodblog-nakji-our-girl-in-hanoi/?do=findComment&comment=1334509

I porefer the discs - about size of a US 50 cent piece. Kept in freezer and pop off desired quantity - direct into a soup where I want a chewy dumpling feel. Don't absorb liquid like noodles so leftovers remain souplike and rice cake not soggy.

 

[Duvel]

22 minutes ago, KennethT said:

That's one thing I miss when I make the non-beef burgers - like the elk the other night or bison.  They're really lean - maybe 10% fat - but we're trying to be healthy so cutting out lots of beef fat is a priority.  I try to compensate by using something else that's fatty - like the guacamole - but it's not the same, although the guac certainly does have a tendency to squish out of the bun and land on my shirt!

 

I don't think it's necessarily only the fat. I usually go for medium rare, and with that doneness there should be plenty of meat juices leaking, even with leaner species. Sometimes I buy "lean beef" (aka 10% fat percentage), and that's messy, too ☺️

[KennethT]

31 minutes ago, Duvel said:

 

I don't think it's necessarily only the fat. I usually go for medium rare, and with that doneness there should be plenty of meat juices leaking, even with leaner species. Sometimes I buy "lean beef" (aka 10% fat percentage), and that's messy, too ☺️

I cook mine rare - maybe 120-125F in the center.  It's definitely red.  But not really juicy like a beef burger made from shoulder would be.  The meat comes preground in a vacuum pack, and when I open it, there's almost no liquid in the pack either and no diaper...  I think it's a function of the meat itself.

[Duvel]

2 hours ago, KennethT said:

I cook mine rare - maybe 120-125F in the center.  It's definitely red.  But not really juicy like a beef burger made from shoulder would be.  The meat comes preground in a vacuum pack, and when I open it, there's almost no liquid in the pack either and no diaper...  I think it's a function of the meat itself.

It might help to up the doneness. Once you get to the „contraction“ phase (temperature-wise) of the meat fibers, juices start to appear …

[KennethT]

1 hour ago, Duvel said:

It might help to up the doneness. Once you get to the „contraction“ phase (temperature-wise) of the meat fibers, juices start to appear …

I really think it's a function of the meat more than anything at this point.  When I was young, my father used to make burgers of a similar size using 75% shoulder and 25% something leaner - sirloin maybe?  He ground it himself but I don't remember what he did exactly - but I knew it was mostly shoulder (chuck, here in the US).

 

He always made mine really rare - like 120F (probably a bit more rare than I made mine the other night) and juices literally ran down my arm and dripped off my elbow!

[rotuts]

@Duvel 

 

thinks the way I do :  my burgers were charred on the outside , 

 

but as rare as possible on the inside .  juicy for sure 

 

then :  the ripe juicy tomato , lettuce still damp  ,  mayo 

 

its a bit of an art creature one for the 1/2 elbow trip .

 

the second issue for the Very Perfect Burger :

 

should it be constructed so you can not put it down 

 

but just barely in the ' can't put it down '  group

 

and some of the best burgers ever are in the class 

 

that you can't put down .

 

you just adjust the size of the Creation 

 

to 3 good bites

[Kim Shook]

@Norm Matthews – I will have to try that trick with the deviled eggs and the ranch powder. I know we’d love that. 

 

Easter dinner.  Predinner snacks were an assortment of pickles/olives and these seasoned mini-saltines:

We found the cracker seasoning mix in a little boutique in Staunton while on our anniversary trip.  It’s from a company called Savory Fine Foods.  They have a few different flavors.  This one was just a tad spicy with a little onion, garlic, and cheese flavor.  You mix the dry powder with oil and then add the crackers to the seasoned oil in a large ziplock bag and toss it around for a day or so.  Really good.  I’m planning to order a bunch for Xmas gifts.  Next time, though, I’ll measure it out by weight and make a half batch. 

 

The buffet:

 

Ham:

Like others I’m not a fan of spiral sliced hams.  I do like the ease of carving that a boneless ham offers.  We buy Costco’s Master Carve boned out ham.  It is nothing like a canned ham or even other boneless hams.  To me it is indistinguishable from a regular city ham in taste and texture – just incredibly easy to carve.   Done in the slow cooker – patted down with a brown sugar/mustard/pineapple juice crust and cooked on a rack over a puddle of Co’cola.  Not pictured was @Tropicalsenior's amazing mustard sauce.  I am no longer allowed to serve ham without the sauce 😁! 

 

Jessica’s deviled eggs didn’t get their own picture (though they are in the buffet shot), but they were excellent, as always.  She really has a way with them.  Mine are good (everyone’s are GOOD) but hers are fantastic. 

 

@Shelby’s cucumbers:

Which Jessica requests with every special meal.

 

Broccoli salad:

Which I never get quite right – this time I didn’t make enough, and I had WAY too many chopped pecans!  It was still delicious and even my BIL requested a second serving (he hates mixed up things).

 

Jessica’s Watergate salad:

 

Jessica’s pineapple casserole:

 

Creamy Dijon Garlic Potatoes Dauphinoise:

Which tasted great, but my old dauphinoise enemy – hard potatoes – showed up.  Mostly they were fine, but there were still some that were harder than they should have been.  I will make adjustments next time. 

 

Jessica’s A-fricking-mazing mac and cheese:

Not only is it one of the best I’ve ever tasted, but it tasted even better leftover and steamed in the CSO.

 

Southern green beans:

 

Earlier this week, I found a chair to replace a broken down one in our family room.  One of Jessica’s friends very kindly offered her vehicle and her muscle to help us get it home.  Afterwards, to say thank you, all four of us went out for Chinese for dinner.  We shared the crab Rangoon (real crab) and an order of their fantastic ribs:

 

 

 

The others got soup which I forgot to take pictures of and I got an egg roll:

 

Our guest got coconut chicken.  I was happy she offered me a bite because I love it but it’s too sweet for me to have an entire portion of:

 

Jessica got the Beef Chow Fun:

 

I got the Moo Shu Pork:

It was odd, every part of this dish was good – crisp vegetables, tender and tasty pork, tender pancakes, etc. – when it was all wrapped up and eaten it lacked something.  Not enough richness.  When I ate it at home the next night, using our bottle of hoisin, it was MUCH better.  That had to be the difference, I think. 

 

Mr. Kim was not thrilled with his:

(Sorry for the blurry picture).  I think this was the Szechuan beef.  It wasn’t spicy enough for him, of course, but he said besides that, it just didn’t taste good to him.  I tasted the beef and it seemed ok to me. 

[Raamo]

Almond Walleye with lemon butter shallot thyme sauce.. and mashed potatoes.

 

 

I've never made this at home, costs about $30 for bigger piece of fish at local restaurant, and they put cream in their sauce.

[liamsaunt]

scallop roll with smoked paprika aioli

 

[Ann_T]

@weinoo, I haven't made coq au vin in a while.  Yours looks so good with all those pearl onions. 

 

 

Picked up fresh halibut for dinner last night.

 

Pan roasted served with a lemon dill brown butter sauce.

Beautiful big white moist flakes.

[OlyveOyl]

Radicchio salad vinaigrette, broccoli soup with cheddar, pastry cream with berries.  Farmers Mkt. Is on Sunday, using up the produce at hand.

[Duvel]

Picking up the little one after a week at my parents … this is what Germans have pretty much everyday for dinner: Abendbrot. Usually with a rye bread instead of the rye rolls, and maybe with one or two cold cuts less. But that’s essentially what I grew up with …

 

 

[rotuts]

@Duvel 

 

very interesting.   

 

at about 7 O'Clock - ish

 

is that the freshly ground pork , w the fresh onions ?

 

excellent .

[Smithy]

17 minutes ago, rotuts said:

@Duvel 

 

very interesting.   

 

at about 7 O'Clock - ish

 

is that the freshly ground pork , w the fresh onions ?

 

excellent .

 

I have the same question. Is it cooked? It doesn't look like it.

[Duvel]

24 minutes ago, rotuts said:

@Duvel 

 

very interesting.   

 

at about 7 O'Clock - ish

 

is that the freshly ground pork , w the fresh onions ?

 

excellent .

Yeap … so fresh that you can still hear the pig squeaking 🤗

[Duvel]

14 minutes ago, Smithy said:

 

I have the same question. Is it cooked? It doesn't look like it.

Mett !!!

[rotuts]

@Duvel 

 

so you keep the Mett 

 

to your left , ad a beer to your right ?

 

smart .

[Smithy]

6 minutes ago, Duvel said:

Mett !!!

 

This seems so (heh) foreign to me. In the United States there only recently has been a relaxation of the standards for cooking pork, to make sure trichinosis is not an issue. Was that never a problem in Germany?

[Duvel]

34 minutes ago, Smithy said:

 

This seems so (heh) foreign to me. In the United States there only recently has been a relaxation of the standards for cooking pork, to make sure trichinosis is not an issue. Was that never a problem in Germany?

Germans eat a lot of pork. When we say „Fleisch“ (meat) it is usually understood that it means pork. That being said, every slaughtered animal will undergo the Fleischbeschau by a veterinarian, where selected organs and cuts will be examined for potential diseases. For pork this examination includes a test for trichinosis. The last reported case of trichinosis in Germany as a food-borne illness was in 1970.

[Kerala]

My buddy Nigel is over for the weekend. I made the bangers and mash, which looked pretty standard, and Nige made this Yorkshire pudding.

Lots of gravy to go with it!