Dinner! 2002

[BigMac]

My wife's birthday: prime rib-eye and baked potato. Ah, what a meal. Also, some Central Coast '94 Cab (Castoro Cellars, if anyone cares).

[SobaAddict70]

Dinner tonight at g. and yvonne johnson's place, along with Toby, myself, Sandra Levine and her Beloved, and Wilfrid and his Beloved. g. johnson was le chef de cuisine, Sandra provided dessert.

Wines (in no particular order):

2000 Daylight Chamber "Trumps" (65% Grenache, 35% Shiraz)

2000 Montagny Premier Cru-Les Gouresses

1996 Il Pareto Tenuta Di Nozzole

1997 Amarone Della Valpolicella

Sparkling water (ESPECIALLY for me.) (I did try a little of the Trumps and a bit of the Amarone. In any event, enough to fill two thimbles, in case any are curious.)

Sauteed scallops accompanied by a sweet pepper and red onion salad [citrus and herb viniagrette] (unsure as to the composition of the viniagrette, others may care to comment);

Wild mushroom lasagna, with frisee. (wild mushrooms, garlic, shallots, LOTS of butter; homemade pasta) (again, unsure of the components of the viniagrette which dressed the frisee, so g. or yvonne might comment);

Duck confit, mashed potatoes, sauteed haricot verts;

Cheese course: Caerphilly, St. Felician, L'ami du Chamberlin [table water crackers, raisin and nut bread]. Some of us partook of a little cabrales (although IMO, the cabrales was [understatement alert] *a little* past its prime...)

Dessert: caramelized orange tart (pate brisee with an almond cream filling, topped with caramelized orange slices), rustic apple tart -- both served with vanilla ice cream and regular cream;

Coffee, tea, brandy.

Applause to g. and yvonne johnson for an excellent, excellent dinner and Sandra for an amazing pair of desserts, especially the apple gateau. Not to mention that the quality of the dinner was only exceeded by the company.

SA

Edited November 24, 2002 by SobaAddict70 (log)

[tommy]

just my luck, i get to attempt to follow that outstanding meal prepared by g. maybe i'll hold off on posting until tomorrow (not that *all* of the meals posted here aren't anything less than spectacular).

had a raw fish hankerin, and made a tuna and salmon appetizer.

after spending some time thinking of a way to delimit the two fishes, varmit suggested something akin to a earthy/salty vs spicy/citrus approach. i ended up with a sea and earth approach.

tuna mixed with a bit of spicy sauce, crumbled nori, topped with salmon roe. opposed by salmon mixed with ponzu and scallion.

mostly the tuna side, although you can see a bit of salmon on the other.

[Suzanne F]

Don't worry, tommy, that looks very close to professional. What's that sticking up in between the 2 fish -- radish sprouts and enokis? Nice, very nice.

[Jinmyo]

Very nice, tommy. What's the sauce squeezed on the plate? Are those dabs of wasabi?

[tommy]

fettuccine bolognese with a bit of ree-gawt on top, 'cause we eye-talian americans like it dat way. green salad with japanese cucumber, scallion and chives.

[tommy]

Very nice, tommy. What's the sauce squeezed on the plate? Are those dabs of wasabi?

yup, wasabi right from the tube.

hot sauce made from sriracha and mayo. used a squirt bottle for the first time. it was rather enjoyable. i plan to do it more. this stuff impresses non-foodie friends no end.

Edited November 25, 2002 by tommy (log)

[Priscilla]

ree-gawt

Wow way south, your antecedents were from, I'll bet. All the way to Sicily?

Very delicious-looking plate o' pasta, too, she hastens to add.

[SobaAddict70]

Penne with spicy tomato sauce -- Pomi crushed tomatoes, clove of garlic, EVOO, chopped onion, red pepper flakes. Fried bread crumbs on top.

Evian. Pineapple chunks.

SA

[Jinmyo]

Mashed and then roasted parsnips with sage.

English bangers (pork sausage).

Layers of scalloped turnips, apples, green daikon, and onion with cream.

Romaine and watercress salad with crumbled Stilton.

Crostini with brandade.

[Wilfrid]

It's been a long while since I had a decent banger.

Lamb loin chops casseroled slowly in a clay pot witha little olive oil, white wine and some sprigs of fresh rosemary.

[Varmint]

Bacon, potato and corn chowder with baby scallops

Seared tuna with porcini crust

Barolo risotto with roasted grape tomatoes

Slow-roasted haricots vert

Hot fudge pie with vanilla bean/bourbon ice cream

And, as always, lots of grappa.

[Monica Bhide]

Hosted a large dinner party last night:

menu

Starters: Portuguese Shrimp on Crispy Okra

Bhel Puri plates -- Indian street food

Suvir's Patri Ni Machi -- Individually wrapped steamed fish fillets with green chutney .. THANKS SUVIR

Dinner:

Murg Makhani: Chicken in butter and cream sauce

Goan FIsh curry: Fish fillets simmered in coconut tomato sauce

Garam Masala Okra

Spice Scent Rice: Basmati cooked with bouquet garni (sp?) of warm spices

Red Onions with Vinegar

Paneer Achari -- Panner sauteed with pickling spices

Various Breads

Tomato Chutney

Kokum Kadi: A cold lavendar colored soup

Dessert:

Alphonso Mango Kulfi ( no cooking no eggs needed)

Saffron Tea

I am one tired puppy today :-)

[Miss J]

Last night I made pho bo. It was pungent, flavourful, and still not as good at the ones you get in Asia.

Fruit. Ditto.

Am now seeking a cure for the post-holiday blues...

[Rhea_S]

Lamb and Quince Tagine (from Chez Panisse Fruits). Unfortunately, I haven't had a chance to eat any of it except a bite since cooking it Sunday night. I've been too busy preparing for Thanksgiving. I have the turkey in an apple cider brine and I made the cornbread for the cornbread dressing.

[Adam Balic]

Last night I made pho bo. It was pungent, flavourful, and still not as good at the ones you get in Asia.

Fruit. Ditto.

Am now seeking a cure for the post-holiday blues...

Miss J - Welcome back, expect full report of food at your leisure.

I make pho, pho not so good as back in Australia, as it lacks Vietnamese mint (my favourite herb, not avalible in UK ) and beef tendons (no idea where to get these).

Cure for post-holiday blues? Tough one considering weather and all. Ride bike through Hyde Park? Drink? Yes drink I think.

[Priscilla]

Glazed ham, broccoli and cauliflower tossed with a lot of crispy buttered bread crumbs, heart-shaped sweet potato biscuits, honey and butter and cherry tomato preserves.

[maggiethecat]

The last time I made onion soup gratinee I think I was wearing a Marimekko tshirt. But upon perusal of Jacques and Julia Cook at Home, Jacques gave me permission to use chicken stock instead of beef stock. As I have roughly eight gallons of stock in the freezer (His Handsomeness makes stock as a hobby, I think) I forged ahead.

It was really good. The croutons, the gruyere, the naplam- like consistency of the topping before it cooled. Actually (and I am by nature a fairly modest woman!) it was one of the best onion soups I've ever eaten. Will do it again before twenty years elapses.

Pear and gorgonzola salad . Beautiful boscs were selling for 39 cents a pound.

Bottle of Argentinian red plonk. Good enough.

[mixmaster b]

Late dinner last night due to the delayed arrival of out-of -town guests.

Veal stew with small artichokes, white wine, lemon thyme.

Salad of shaved fennel with pink grapefruit and orange sections, oil-cured olives, fresh oregano, citrus vinaigrette.

Crusty bread and cheeses: talleggio, some sort of truffle cheese, and plain French goat cheese.

[mixmaster b]

Am now seeking a cure for the post-holiday blues...

Cure for post-holiday blues? Tough one considering weather and all. Ride bike through Hyde Park? Drink? Yes drink I think.

I recommend this thread whole-heartedly.

Also, bolognese just like Tommy's should help, followed by peaches or pears baked for a long time in red wine and sugar.

Hope you feel better!

[Anna N]

I made pan-fried pickerel with tartar sauce and garlic mayonnaise and it was excellent. Chose to have nothing else with it - no distractions! My first post to the board so forgive if this seems too simple.

[Vanessa]

Every few years I go through a substantial phase of loss of interest in cooking and this has happened for most of this year. It seems to be passing. Last week I made a very successful large dessert from an Emily Luchetti recipe in an old US magazine. I brought it to work and it got demolished in no time: a kind of tiramisu made of layers of light cocoa-flavoured sponge well soaked in espresso alternating with a good zabaglione. Single substantial layer of grated plain chocolate on top.

Then I made a paté: I'm not crazy about paté but it is a technical exercise I put myself through every now and then because I find it impossible to make a good one. They usually turn out horribly leaden. This one was rather better than average, but there is still some way to go. Made of a mixture of veal, pork, calves liver. It included some bread/milk/egg, quite a bit of alcohol, and strong spicing - definitely important I think and some chopped ham and sauted mushrooms added. Then there is always the bother of finding a butcher who will cut back fat in suitable thin slices for lining the terrine. I used the mincer attachment on my Kenwood mixer which has been sitting unused in a cupboard for about 8 years and suspect that this was partly responsible for the better than average consistency of the paté - i.e. better than using a food processor.

And last night for dinner - Rybnaya Solyanka - Russian fish soup. OK without being exciting. 2 litres of fish stock as the base, made from a container of supermarket fish stock from the freezer, plus the head/bones/trimmings from a mackerel and the skin of some strange scrap of Arctic haddock (or something like that) brought to the boil gently with a couple of small onions, a carrot, a bayleaf and some peppercorns. Skimmed as it came to the boil with the only skimmer in the world that actually works - bought from Muji - it has the finest mesh I've ever seen.

Then the soup elements are cooked briefly in the strained stock: the fish flesh, a chopped onion fried gently in butter with tomato puree, a couple of pickled cucumbers (they should be salt cucumbers but I wasn't anywhere near a shop that would stock them) cut into segments, some olives, capers - can't remember if I added anything else. Served in a bowl with a dollop of creme fraiche, a slice of lemon and a bit of chopped parsley and thyme. Dill, or even coriander, would have more appropriate but I didn't have any.

v

[Liza]

Vanessa - wow. Glad you evaded the cooking ennui.

Last night: D. marinated chicken legs in something brilliant and mysterious, but I'm guessing it was plum sauce, garlic, ginger, sesame oil. These were then grilled.

I bathed some tomatoes and an onion and garlic in olive oil, thyme, S&P. Roasted them. Mushed em up to a nice dip for some grilled bruschetta. A bottle of "Cherry Red" bought at Nancy's.

[La Niña]

Sweet and sour braciole, made with raisins - the gravy is so thick and rich - yum. Served with egg noodles, salad, bottle of Weinert cab.

[Adam Balic]

Pork loin on bone, braised in full cream jersey mill with garlic, rosemary, cinnaom and cloves. Quarted fennel bulb added at last 20 minutes of cooking. Side serves of Yellow footed Chanterelle risotto, baby savoy cabbage, first class smoked bacon with above mushroom trimmings and chestnuts braied in butter.

Have some type of brain virus thing at the moment, got distracted and burnt milk sauce and fennel bulbs , over cooked the cabbage . Sauce tasted very good before burning episode .

Poached Comice pears and Bourbon vanilla icecream.