Dinner 2025

[Ann_T]

Quick and easy work night dinner.

I bought three racks of pork (loins) recently and cut a couple of chops off one of them.

Got home from work about 5:15 tonight and we were eating at 5:55.

Put a pot of water on to boil for my rice. I cook rice the same way I cook pasta.

Big pot of boiling water. When al dente, the rice is drained and put back into the pot covered with paper towels and lid and left to steam from its own heat.

The chops were seasoned with fresh garlic, oregano, pepper, olive oil and fresh lemon juice, and left on the counter, while the rice cooked and the grill was heating.

While all that was going on , I made the Greek Salad.

 

When the rice was cooked, the chops went on the grill and didn't take very long on high heat to reach 140°F.

Let rest for five minutes and dinner was ready to serve.

 

[gulfporter]

Bangers and Mash....and Ash. 

 

Grilled a banger and served with leftovers of mashed potatoes, green beans and bacon, and chile ash sauce (from a MXN take-away meal).  

 

 

[Smithy]

2 hours ago, gulfporter said:

Bangers and Mash....and Ash. 

 

Grilled a banger and served with leftovers of mashed potatoes, green beans and bacon, and chile ash sauce (from a MXN take-away meal).  

 

 

 

Are you joking about a poorly executed sauce from the takeaway joint, or is chile ash sauce a thing? If the latter, please tell more!

[Tropicalsenior]

That intrigued me too so I Googled it and found this recipe.

[gulfporter]

3 hours ago, Smithy said:

 

Are you joking about a poorly executed sauce from the takeaway joint, or is chile ash sauce a thing? If the latter, please tell more!

 

Chile ash cream sauce is divine!  They mix the charred remains of toasted chiles into the sauce.  I could (and do) drink down the last drops!

 

Here is menu we ordered from; it's a special the chef makes about once a month. 

 

 

[Tropicalsenior]

Great menu. I wish I could find something like that in Costa Rica. Mexico has amazing food. People don't think of anything but the typical Mexican food but there is a lot of International food. My favorite place to stay in Mexico City is the Zona Roja. There are restaurants there from all over the world and they do it well.

[rotuts]

@gulfporter

 

Id love to try Chili Ash sauce 

 

You bet !

[gulfporter]

1 hour ago, Tropicalsenior said:

Great menu. I wish I could find something like that in Costa Rica. Mexico has amazing food. People don't think of anything but the typical Mexican food but there is a lot of International food. My favorite place to stay in Mexico City is the Zona Roja. There are restaurants there from all over the world and they do it well.

 

We live in a little village on the shores of Lake Chapala, Mexico's largest lake.  We are less than an hour from the Guadalajara Metro area with a population of 6.5+ million.  

 

When we first visited here in 2007 Guadalajara did not have much of a restaurant scene; it now rivals CDMX for inventive eateries.  At the Lake in 2007, there were a few gringo-owned places serving American foods, one or two decent Italian restaurants, a couple of Argentine steak places. but mostly it was local fare.  

 

Mexico's middle class has exploded in the past 15 years.  And similar to the US in the 1970s and 1980s, they have disposable incomes that allow them to sample different foods in restaurants; this demand has caused an explosion of a variety of international eateries, both in Guadalajara and here at the Lake.  

 

Tapatíos (as residents of Guadalajara proudly call themselves) have always come to the Lake on weekends; some day trippers, some upper class families that have owned homes on its shores for generations.  Without their business, most of the better restaurants here would not survive.  

 

More and more properties in my village (Ajijic) are being sold to Mexicans, reversing the decades long trend of sales to expats from US and Canada.   

 

 

[Tropicalsenior]

16 minutes ago, gulfporter said:

We are less than an hour from the Guadalajara Metro area

I love Guadalajara. The last time we were there was about 2012. It was probably just starting to develop more. I got hooked on the pork tortas. I don't remember what they were called but I love them. I could spend days and days in Tonalà and Tlaquepaque.

[liamsaunt]

This week's dinners.  Sunday we had truffled mac and cheese and roasted broccolini

 

 

Monday was spaghetti and meatballs 

 

 

Tuesday we had miso noodle bowls with jammy eggs

 

 

Wednesday was freezing so we had soup again, this time a lemony greek potato, spinach, and dill one with feta cheese

 

 

Last night nephew braved the frigid temps and grilled some peri peri chicken.  He also made the tomato rice.  I contributed the flatbread and chopped salad

 

[Tropicalsenior]

Everything you make always looks great but I get a special twang of envy when I see your flatbread. Try as I might, even with your recipe I can't get it to look like that. Do you use much grease on your griddle? Do you use oil or butter or what?

[gulfporter]

2 hours ago, Tropicalsenior said:

I love Guadalajara. The last time we were there was about 2012. It was probably just starting to develop more. I got hooked on the pork tortas. I don't remember what they were called but I love them. I could spend days and days in Tonalà and Tlaquepaque.

Tortas Ahogadas (drowned sandwich) is THE dish of Guadalajara and nearby communities including ours.  There are at least 7 torta stands within a 20 minute walk of my home.  A few make them with shrimp during Cuaresma (Lent).  

[Margaret Pilgrim]

On 1/7/2025 at 2:41 PM, gulfporter said:

https://littlesunnykitchen.com/instant-pot-oxtail/

 

I've used this recipe a few times.  My changes are:

I use 8 to 10 carrots, cut in 1 to 2 inch chunks

I use a really large onion, large size chop (not diced)

I use 4-5 garlic cloves, halved

I use 1 cup hearty red wine (whatever I have on hand, usually Tempranillo, Carmenere, Red Zin)

I use 1 1/2 cups beef broth or chicken broth 

I use much more cracked black pepper than called for, to our taste

I set the Instant Pot for 55 minutes; let it depressurize naturally (allow at least 35-40 minutes)

When I open the Instant Pot, I either:

Remove the oxtails and veg then set the Instant Pot on High Sauté until liquid is reduced quite a bit, almost by half.  

Or, drain off the liquid from the Instant Pot into a saucepan and boil it down stovetop to about half.    

 

My one gripe about Instant Pot is the amount of liquid I'm left with, but my pot has Warning!! do not underfill with liquid.  So that's why I end up reducing the liquid afterward. 

My method, actually a dumbed down version of French Laundry, is similar to  yours but Iet the meat marinate overnight in the wine and veg combo.   As you say, outstanding!