Dinner 2026

[Maison Rustique]

I finally made the Swiss steak I'd been planning, but I think I've forgotten how to cook. It is just not like I used to make. First of all, I realized that I'd taken all my large baking pans to the other house and was not going to make a trip over there in this frigid weather and wind. So, made it in a Dutch oven stove top. It just tastes so blah. I think I got the green peppers from Aldi, though it may have been Sprouts. I used 3 of them. They have no flavor. I can't even smell them. I've never had green peppers so tasteless--usually they overpower everything else. I'm blaming the mediocrity of this dish on the peppers and not my poor cooking skills. Maybe sitting in the fridge for a day or two will make it better.

 

The buttered spinach was good!

 

[patti]

Ham & mushroom crustless quiche, air fryer roasted cauliflower.

 

[liamsaunt]

Seared scallops on pistachio risotto with roasted shiitake mushrooms and spinach puree. 
 

[Duvel]

Reconvalescence dinner #2 for DW: I picked something dear to my heart - Din Tai Fung, an eternal favorite ever since I set foot into their Xinyi branch in Taipei during my graduate studies. 
 

The works …

 

 

Their „house appetizer“: smoked tofu, bean sprouts, vermicelli & konbu …

 

 

Cucumbers with chili oil …

 

 

Braised beef with celery, peanuts and cilantro. Basically Fuji Feipian, with a Taiwanese twist. Very good !

 

 

(Commercial) Xiao Long Bao - no 18 folds, like Din Tai Fung prescribes it, but pretty decent. Will need to scratch that itch before we have their original XLB in May at their London branch …

 

 

Sesame noodles with spicy meat topping. A version of Dan Dan Mian - it disappeared together with the rest in a fraction of the time it took to make it. Which made me happy 🤗

 

 

So - again - no complaints 🥳 DW is getting better … what else is there to ask for ?

[KennethT]

3 hours ago, Duvel said:

Reconvalescence dinner #2 for DW: I picked something dear to my heart - Din Tai Fung, an eternal favorite ever since I set foot into their Xinyi branch in Taipei during my graduate studies. 
 

The works …

 

 

Their „house appetizer“: smoked tofu, bean sprouts, vermicelli & konbu …

 

 

Cucumbers with chili oil …

 

 

Braised beef with celery, peanuts and cilantro. Basically Fuji Feipian, with a Taiwanese twist. Very good !

 

 

(Commercial) Xiao Long Bao - no 18 folds, like Din Tai Fung prescribes it, but pretty decent. Will need to scratch that itch before we have their original XLB in May at their London branch …

 

 

Sesame noodles with spicy meat topping. A version of Dan Dan Mian - it disappeared together with the rest in a fraction of the time it took to make it. Which made me happy 🤗

 

 

So - again - no complaints 🥳 DW is getting better … what else is there to ask for ?

Wow - it took me a few minutes to realize that you didn't pick this up from your local DTF!  You never cease to amaze me...  We loved DTF ever since we had it in the Causeway Bay branch in HK.

[sartoric]

On 1/17/2026 at 7:20 AM, Duvel said:

doused with Duvel dust

I need more info, are we talking chicken salt here ?

[sartoric]

Once again I forgot I’m back posting here. So here’s a catch up.

Things in a bowl with miso chicken, rice, baby pak choy and the last of another bag of bean sprouts.

 

Roti canai using potatoes instead of chicken, smashed cucumber on the side.

 

A cheat, seafood risotto at the local tavern which was sooo good I forgot to take a photo until partly demolished.

 

A mixed veggie dal with rice, cucumber salad and a pappadam.

[Duvel]

13 minutes ago, sartoric said:

I need more info, are we talking chicken salt here ?

Kind of … salt with spices. My version can be found here 🙏
 

 

 

Edited 16 hours ago by Duvel (log)

[Maison Rustique]

2 hours ago, Duvel said:

Kind of … salt with spices. My version can be found here 🙏
 

 

 

 

I now use this all the time and even gave some to family/friends. Thanks again for sharing your recipe!!

[patti]

Chili crisp shrimp stir fry.

 

[gulfporter]

I bought jumbo shell-on, head-on shrimp at Costco.

 

Simple lemon/garlic short marinade, grilled on gas grill 3 minutes a side.   Reserved marinade doubled as finishing sauce.  

 

Served with cheesy pinwheels I made with puff pastry, jack cheese, cream cheese, green onions and Spanish pimentón.  

 

Entire meal eaten sans utensils.  Messy but tasty!

 

 

[liamsaunt]

Crab cake with caper aioli, an arugula fennel apple and pistachio salad, and roasted asparagus

 

[Duvel]

Reconvalescence dinner #3 for DW: Sukiyaki (Kanto style) 🤗

 

 

I can’t tell you how much time it took to slice up some 700 g of chuck eye roll (the most marbled beef you can find in Germany) into thin slices. And it still looks like a mess …

 

 

Veggies, tofu, algae, mushrooms - all nature has to offer to offset the beef …

 

 

Udon for the finish …

 

 

“Fry“ the beef in a tare based on sweet soy sauce …

 

 

Mix up some raw egg …

 

 

And start dipping the barely cooked beef with all the sweet soy clinging to it into the raw egg. Heaven 🤗

 

 

After the meat, all the veggies get cooked …

 

 

And finally the udon noodles are stirred into the concentrated juices …

 

 

Some shichimi togarashi and the conclusion of the meal is ready …

 

 

No complaints - none at all. And DW is getting better quickly 🥳
 

 

 

Edited 7 hours ago by Duvel (log)

[gfweb]

@Duvel algae?

[Duvel]

2 minutes ago, gfweb said:

@Duvel algae?

Kombu …

 

(part of the sweet soy stock, too)

[C. sapidus]

Started by s-l-o-w-l-y brown-frying four large onions down to almost nothing:

 

 

Green chicken korma: Pureed most of the onions with cilantro, mint, serrano chiles, and raw cashews. Sauteed ginger, garlic, bay leaves, green cardamom pods, and cinnamon stick. Seared the chicken, sauteed with ground cumin and coriander, and then simmered with the puree, lime juice, and sugar, and then finished with coconut cream. This is a Muslim-style curry so I wanted to test it for friends. Test passed with flying (green) colors!

 

Peas and carrots with cumin: Sauteed the remainder of the brown-fried onions with garlic and ginger, added ground coriander, cumin (whole and ground), and chile powder, and then reduced with crushed tomato before adding the peas and diced carrots. 

 

Edited 2 hours ago by C. sapidus (log)

[rotuts]

@C. sapidus

 

I like the look of that pan.

[Smithy]

I spent a little time today making a new-to-me salad dressing, and a lot of time shoveling snow and doing other outside chores, and when I came inside I was too hangry to think straight. Dinner was a sandwich with salami, turkey, and 2 kinds of cheese, griddled on my panini press, and a roasted vegetable salad described here.

 

 

 

Unfussy. Easy. Appropriate for dinner when the time arrives and I haven't prepared. Interestingly enough, while I was looking for items with which to make a rice dish using those roasted vegetables and some kind of meat, I excavated packages of meat and fish that definitely will be making appearances here before too many more days. But none of them was thawed, and I needed quick and easy tonight.

[Dr. Teeth]

Tuna marinated in soy, pixian bean paste and miso, then seared.

 

Served over package wavy noodles with avacado, cilantro and garlic crisps.

[gfweb]

35 minutes ago, rotuts said:

@C. sapidus

 

I like the look of that pan.

But no fond  😉

[rotuts]

well

 

it having been established

 

as we all know :

 

Fond (total ) = Fond ( pan ) + Fond ( stuff )

 

Q.E.D.

 

Fond (pan ) gets ripped off of Fond ( stuff )

Edited 1 hour ago by rotuts (log)

[C. sapidus]

19 minutes ago, gfweb said:

But no fond  😉

I am fond of the pan. 😉

 

Thanks again @rotuts!