Dinner 2023

[dcarch]

3 hours ago, weinoo said:

What to do with leftovers?  

 

 

"Composed" salad?  I poached some of the shrimp from last night's scampi, so we had a little shrimp cocktail. With some braised baby artichokes. And the gorgeous Castelfranco, with a little Chioggia thrown in for good measure.

----------------

Most of you know the difference between "dry" scallops and "wet" scallops. It's a waste of money and time in cooking if you don't use "dry" scallops.

 

Likewise, save up money, if you have budget issue, and only buy fresh shrimps like these in the above pictures. Those "Easy Peel" frozen shrimps is a joke.

 

dcarch

 

 

[weinoo]

1 hour ago, dcarch said:

Likewise, save up money, if you have budget issue, and only buy fresh shrimps like these in the above pictures. Those "Easy Peel" frozen shrimps is a joke.

 

And I'd add to only buy wild shrimp, not farmed!

[rotuts]

I just bought a bag of TJ's medium , cooked shrimp.

 

Fz.

 

it was right there in front of me !  

 

Ive had these a zillion years ago 

 

and was surprised they were not over cooked 

 

and were tasty after defrosting in a light salt solution 

 

w  ice .   patted dry , nice for me.

 

I did see an ad for EZ peel shrimp , at MarketBasket 

 

but am starting w Tj's.

 

they will go in a dinner that starts out w stock

 

and those Keep Forever  cooked noodles  @ TJ's.

Edited January 12, 2023 by rotuts (log)

[TdeV]

13 hours ago, Honkman said:

Asian inspired bowl from Melissa Clark’s Dinner cookbook. Oven roasted Brussels sprouts and shiitake mushrooms, pan-fried tofu, quickly pickled carrots, cilantro, toasted sesame seed and a really nice and “potent” vinaigrette made from oil, rice vinegar, white miso, garlic, lime zest and juice, honey and plenty of ginger (which gave it a nice kick). Served over quinoa.

 

 

Honkman, lovely dish! Could you please say how those carrots were quickly pickled?

[Duvel]

Lamb cutlets with hummus, zaziki and a tomato/cucumber/olive salad …

 

[rotuts]

@Duvel 

 

it might be my current Fluid Management  ,

 

but this

 

 

 

looks like some sort of car from the late '30's

 

w a Rumble seat .  just saying

 

and this 

 

 

might be ..

 

I also note 2 out of three have the aboe

 

but not the third.

 

as no movie was mentioned , guess its not Movie Night.

 

looks very tasty anyway you describe it .

 

 

[Duvel]

1 minute ago, rotuts said:

and this 

 

 

might be ..

This is a dried tomato / herb compound butter …

 

No movie, just regular workday night (finished by a round of Rummikub).

[&roid]

8 hours ago, weinoo said:

What to do with leftovers?  

 

 

"Composed" salad?  I poached some of the shrimp from last night's scampi, so we had a little shrimp cocktail. With some braised baby artichokes. And the gorgeous Castelfranco, with a little Chioggia thrown in for good measure.

 

The ultimate use of leftover Marcella beans is, in my opinion...

 

 

Minestrone.  Pasta undercooked separately and added at service, so as not to absorb all the damn liquid. Which will have happened to leftovers of the leftovers.

Love it, @weinoo  - beautiful looking greens and shrimp, and that minestrone looks perfect 👌🏻

[&roid]

To continue my week of overpriced (but bloody delicious) Italian vegetables, tonight we had a baked delica pumpkin stuffed with farro, Comte (not canon but it’s what I had), dried chilli and parsley. 
 

This was a recipe in the Saturday paper and really appealed as a veg driven sharing dish that blew the remaining Christmas cobwebs away. 
 

It was a fantastic dinner, it’s the second time I’ve had one of these pumpkins and I absolutely love them. Will definitely be making it again. If anyone follows the linked recipe (and you should), I had to extend the first part of the cooking to another 30 minutes at 180°C convection as the first 30 at 160° did nothing. These delica squash are cured for quite a while to dry them out so that might be a factor. But plan a bit of leeway into your timings. 
 

[weinoo]

58 minutes ago, &roid said:

 

 

Looks great....and you can't fool us - I see the Falk in the background.

 

1 hour ago, &roid said:

Love it, @weinoo  - beautiful looking greens and shrimp, and that minestrone looks perfect 👌🏻

 

Thanks!  Those various Italian greens are so great for assertive dressings.

Edited January 12, 2023 by weinoo (log)

[&roid]

1 minute ago, weinoo said:

Looks great....and you can't fool us - I see the Falk in the background.

It still has pride of place on the top! 😊

[Okanagancook]

@&roidyour stuffed squash looks delicious.  I was curious as I have not seen Delica squash here in Western Canada.  We tend to grow Kabocha squash which are related to Delica…there are no strips on the Kabocha.  Both supposedly have a good nutty taste.  I really enjoy Kabochas.  https://specialtyproduce.com/produce/Delica_Winter_Squash_18579.php
Thanks for sharing.

[Margaret Pilgrim]

3 hours ago, &roid said:

To continue my week of overpriced (but bloody delicious) Italian vegetables, tonight we had a baked delica pumpkin stuffed with farro, Comte (not canon but it’s what I had), dried chilli and parsley. 
 

This was a recipe in the Saturday paper and really appealed as a veg driven sharing dish that blew the remaining Christmas cobwebs away. 
 

It was a fantastic dinner, it’s the second time I’ve had one of these pumpkins and I absolutely love them. Will definitely be making it again. If anyone follows the linked recipe (and you should), I had to extend the first part of the cooking to another 30 minutes at 180°C convection as the first 30 at 160° did nothing. These delica squash are cured for quite a while to dry them out so that might be a factor. But plan a bit of leeway into your timings. 
 

The photo in your linked article is a sad attempt compared to yours!    Well done.

[heidih]

1 hour ago, Okanagancook said:

@&roidyour stuffed squash looks delicious.  I was curious as I have not seen Delica squash here in Western Canada.  We tend to grow Kabocha squash which are related to Delica…there are no strips on the Kabocha.  Both supposedly have a good nutty taste.  I really enjoy Kabochas.  https://specialtyproduce.com/produce/Delica_Winter_Squash_18579.php
Thanks for sharing.

Kabocha lover here and the one  on my counter is quite stripey. I turned it upside down to show off the stripes. 

[Ann_T]

Moe and I shared a platter of dungeness crab tonight

and dessert was also shared.

 

Baked my favourite brownies before leaving for work and made a caramel sauce when I got home

We shared a Brownie Banana caramel sundae.  The banana component was all Moe's.  I don't care for bananas. 

[Honkman]

12 hours ago, TdeV said:

Could you please say how those carrots were quickly pickled?

You simply grate one large carrot and mix it with rice vinegar and a bit of sugar for one hour

[Honkman]

Quick orecchiette with Italian sausage, mix of spinach, arugula and frisee (the planned escarole seems currently impossible to find), garlic, raisins, pine nuts and parmesan

[&roid]

9 hours ago, Okanagancook said:

@&roidyour stuffed squash looks delicious.  I was curious as I have not seen Delica squash here in Western Canada.  We tend to grow Kabocha squash which are related to Delica…there are no strips on the Kabocha.  Both supposedly have a good nutty taste.  I really enjoy Kabochas.  https://specialtyproduce.com/produce/Delica_Winter_Squash_18579.php
Thanks for sharing.

I reckon this recipe would work really well with lots of types. Something quite dense like a kabocha would be perfect. Can’t recommend the method highly enough if you’re a pumpkin lover. 

[&roid]

13 hours ago, Duvel said:

Lamb cutlets with hummus, zaziki and a tomato/cucumber/olive salad …

 

Looks great @Duvel - a Barnsley chop?

[Duvel]

1 hour ago, &roid said:

Looks great @Duvel - a Barnsley chop?

Thank ! Had to google that, but yes - a Barnsley chop aka Lammkotelett 🤗

[liamsaunt]

16 hours ago, &roid said:

To continue my week of overpriced (but bloody delicious) Italian vegetables, tonight we had a baked delica pumpkin stuffed with farro, Comte (not canon but it’s what I had), dried chilli and parsley. 

 

That looks delicious!  

 

Last night, spicy chicken madras, maharajah rice, and naan

 

[Duvel]

Tonight pantry/freezer raid: Tteokbokki for me (rice cakes, mandu, fish cake & eggs) …

 

 

… and individual hotpots for the other two.

 

 

Little one wanted to try the tteokbokki, had three rice cakes with some sauce and five glasses of water: “Very good, papa, but also a little bit spicy” 🤗

[Senior Sea Kayaker]

Sausages over Molly Stevens' braised cabbage, roasted acorn squash, mixed greens with tomato and cucumber salad with a glass of pinot gris.

 

[Kim Shook]

Well, I have to say that there is no way possible for me to comment on everything I have been seeing on this thread.  Due to Christmas and COVID and the impact on my energy levels, I haven’t been posting, but I’ve been LOOKING and I’m just knocked out by the quality of y’all’s food, as always.  I hope everyone had lovely holidays and here’s to a wonderful and healthy 2023 for us all!  Sorry for the long LONG post.  Now that I’m caught up, I’ll try to stay that way!

 

@scubadoo97 – Sorry I missed your good wishes almost a month ago!  We are all feeling much better, but still getting ambushed by exhaustion.  Thank you so much.

 

@Marlene – your roast pork dinner from before Christmas bypassed my lack of appetite!  That exact meal was one that I grew up on.  I have to say, though, that your gravy looks much better than my mother’s Bisto!  I will remember to add a bit of lard to my next batch of roast potatoes. 

 

@Steve Irby – I remember every upscale seafood restaurant had their own version of stuffed flounder or stuffed shrimp. I always felt so elegant ordering it as a teenager.  Yours looks gorgeous!

 

@Shelby – I loved your Christmas day interspersed with cats, good food and naps!  And your NYE dinner made me gasp – that seared foie!  Happy Anniversary! 

 

@Ann_T – I just loved that turkey, dressing, and gravy dinner you posted on the 27^th.  I have a turkey tucked away in the freezer and I think February is going to have a holiday meal in it this year! 

 

@Dejah – Happy Birthday to your Mr.

 

Back before Christmas, we got some take out from our favorite Thai place and I made some Trader Joe’s green onion pancakes that I had in the freezer to go with it:

 

My favorite shrimp and pineapple fried rice:

 

Mr. Kim and Jessica got curries and I wasn’t interested enough to take pictures, to be honest.

 

A couple of days before Christmas I roused myself enough to come up with this menu 🙄:

Whomp biscuit corndog wraps, butter beans, mac and cheese (homemade, but from the freezer), and apple sauce (from the orchard we visited in Charlottesville in November. 

 

Out of quarantine and with all three of us working on it, we managed quite a nice and tasty Christmas Eve dinner.  Even before we got COVID, we knew we didn’t feel comfortable hosting the usual horde of family and friends this year.  We did ask Mr. Kim’s immediate family, but they had already made plans together and didn’t say anything about us joining them 😳.  So, we invited Jessica’s best friend and his dad for dinner.  They lost his mom in 2021 and the friend is in the middle of a separation.  They needed comfort and tradition, and they are always with us for Xmas Eve, so they decided we were safe and came to us.  With five of us at the table I set a Christmas Eve table for the first time that I can even remember:

 

For appetizers Jessica did dried apricots filled with almonds and a mixture of ricotta and goat cheeses and drizzled with a balsamic reduction:

Really good.  The other appetizer was just ok.  She heated up blocks of feta and topped them with red and green pepper jelly:

It was ok when first served but didn’t fare well at all as a leftover. 

 

I did a Coca-Cola and peach ham in the slow cooker:

This was one of those Costco Master Carve hams.  Boned out and so easy to serve, but still a REAL ham and they taste fantastic. 

 

I served it with @Tropicalsenior’s Gourmet Mustard, which is nothing short of remarkable:

 

Everyone loved it.  Mr. Kim’s relish assortment:

 

Jessica requested @Shelby’s cucumbers, which are the perfect no-cook, make ahead veg:

 

Jessica’s challah and dried fruit dressing and pineapple casserole:

 

Both absolutely perfect with ham.  Her chive and onion cream cheese stuffed peppers:

 

I made Ina Garten’s pan roasted Brussels sprouts drizzled with Saba:

Due to my potassium issue, I’ve been avoiding these and was SO happy to have a small serving! 

 

Jessica also made her sweet potato latkes with Brie and dressed arugula.  Without the greenery:

And with:

This is such a weird dish, I always think.  It seems like it shouldn’t work, but it truly does! 

 

I actually served whomp biscuits with dinner.  Pillsbury cornbread rolls:

I blame COVID 😁.  I had lemon curd all ready to go into tart shells, but no one ever wanted dessert.  There was also fruit salad, but I forgot to take a picture of it until I served it with Christmas breakfast:

 

One night we stopped for Greek/Italian.  Tiropita:

 

Salad:

 

Mr. Kim had the Chef’s special baked spaghetti:

Basically, all the meats plus mushrooms.  I had the chicken alfredo:

 

Their incomparable bread:

 

We took home some of their wonderful limoncello cake:

 

We had New Year’s Eve at home this year – just the three of us.  Jessica requested most of the goodies.  Chippy Dip:

 

Crackers, chips, and seafood spread (some store thing – I wanted shrimp cocktail but didn’t have the energy – still fighting the COVID exhaustion):

 

Crackers and hot bacon and Swiss dip:

 

Bite:

It tasted as good as it always does, but I had a problem with it: it “broke” – it separated into the creamy, cheesy part and lots of oil.  Does anyone have any idea what might have gone wrong?  The only thing I can think that I did differently this time was to use good Gruyere cheese rather than supermarket Swiss. 

 

Momma’s meatballs:

Just good old 1970s apricot preserves and BBQ sauce.  Three of us and a bag of frozen meatballs – almost none left at the end of the evening!

 

Those little ham and cheese sliders brushed with mustard-mayo-poppy seed sauce and baked:

 

We were all so worn out that we barely saw in the New Year:

 

New Year’s Day, I was still so tired.  I did manage to dig out some sidemeat and make black eyed peas and use the IP and make some kale:

 

 

For ham and cornbread, there were leftovers from Xmas Eve and instead of making my usual scalloped tomatoes, there were some Camparis in a bowl on the island, if anyone wanted.  I think I had a nibble of each and crashed on the sofa. 

 

On the second Mr. Kim found some energy and smoked three butts.  SO good.

I’m not sure I ate anything that day except pickings from these!

 

My MIL came over for dinner last Friday.  Predinner nibbles:

Cream cheese with pepper jelly, melba rounds, kumquats, pickles, and olives.

 

Dinner was Colleyberry’s Shepherd’s Pie:

 

I got this recipe many years ago from @Marlene.  It’s so dern good – I have no idea why I make it so rarely.  Sometimes this can be a little dry, so I made some beef gravy (you almost always need it with leftovers):

 

Sides were some apple/pear sauce that I made with the last of the apples we got in Charlottesville back in November:

 

And an apple/walnut green salad:

 

Dressed with shocking pink cranberry vinaigrette:

 

And some of @Shelby’s white bread:

 

Dessert was lemon curd tarts:

This was made with @Tropicalsenior’s microwave lemon curd. 

 

Saturday dinner:

This is so often a meal for me these days.  Between trying to figure out what I should eat re: the potassium issue and still being in an exhausted fog from COVID, I tend to grab bread/crackers, an apple or pear, and some kind of cheese or ham and call it a meal.  All three of us have still been so tired and trying to rest when we can that a stop for fast food or opening a can of something is happening a lot. 

 

Tuesday was all leftovers:

Leftover egg and sausage from Friday’s breakfast out, slaw from some I bought to go with Mr. Kim’s BBQ, and a freezer bagel. 

 

Whew.  Still with me?  

[Tropicalsenior]

5 minutes ago, Kim Shook said:

Whew.  Still with me

Wow! You passed me up at the very beginning. Everything looks so good.