Dinner! 2002

[Wilfrid]

Roasted a chicken. (Usual method: half a lemon inside, bit of butter outside, bit of salt.) And let me tell you, it was great . Once again I was left wondering at how something so insanely easy can be so good.

You remembered to switch the oven on and didn't shake supermarket seasoning all over it.

[Malawry]

Latkes with homemade applesauce and sour cream

Greek salad

My belated birthday cake, a buttery layer cake with milk chocolate buttercream. Usually I serve broiled grapefruit with candied ginger at the end of a latke feast, but the cake was good.

[Coop]

Tuesday Night: Made fried rice with savoy cabbage, carrots, shallots and left over pork warmed in a pretty realistic faux asian bbq sauce.

Wednesday Night: Veal Cops with sage jus ( from the Dean and Deluca cook book) with rissotto milanese and Eddamame (soy beans) with greek olive oil and parsely. Anyone in the Vancouver area who loves food must go to Cioffi's Deli and Butchery on Hastings in Burnaby. Great thick veal Rib chops for $9.98 lb.

[Priscilla]

Last evening, on account of the lovely ongoing Dungeness discussion right here in Cooking, and also on account of being in a Little Saigon supermarket where they do not look askance when a person wants to see her crustacean athletically swimming in the tank and then wildly flailing the air when fished(!) out, two >2 pounders, beautiful things they were, put to death on my stove with the greatest respect.

Plus, as well on account of being in Little Saigon, the fantastically Frenchy-French rolls (as for bahn mi, which indeed they are as for), JUST the right soft middle and chewy thin crust. Cube of Lurpak. Lime-juice mayonnaise. Ketchup-horseradish-lemon-Worcestershire cocktail sauce. Little arugula salad from the garden, sprouted from seeds I was certain I'd flooded out in an all-too-common episode of Gardening Ineptitude. Newspaper-covered table, crackers and picks. Argentinian Chardonnay, at least that's what it's says on the label, but if it WAS Chardonnay wouldn't I find it undrinkable?

Heavenly cross-pollination--and I am a great believer in the hybrid vigor resulting from cultural cross-pollination. Situationally overlooking, that is, not meaning to gloss over, the crimes of colonialism--contributing to my never taking for granted, not even for a second, the flabbergasting propinquity of small perfect real-butter croissants and 75-cent iced Vietnamese cafe (which starts with whole-bean French roast right there!), cheek-by-jowl with typically mind-blowingly delicious takeaway Vietnamese dishes.

[Kikujiro]

I think if I start posting here it might encourage me to cook more often.

Monkfish studded with garlic, simmered in olive oil with bits of black olive and cherry toms; wok-wilted spinach; spring onions doused in olive oil, salt and lemon and chargrilled. All cooked while reading and posting intensively on eGullet, but luckily nothing went too badly wrong. The end of a bottle of Pouilly Fumé that I had in the fridge.

Bought M&S pannacotta, an experiment; rather dull.

Edited December 5, 2002 by Kikujiro (log)

[Shermar]

My roomate and I had Southwestern Turkey Soup made with leftover turkey, turkey stock,tomatos, spinach, mashed potatoes, mushrooms, peas, and carrots. Seasoned with garlic, onions, pepper, sea salt, red pepper flakes, sage, bay leaf, and rosemary. The secret ingredients are light condensed milk and chopped hard boiled eggs. Crumbled southwestern white corn chips and fresh chopped parsley as garnish.

The salad was baby mesclun greens with dried cranberries, dried apricots, walnuts, and goat cheese with a parmesan vinaigrette.

Snow? What snow?

[Blondie]

Larb

[torakris]

My first meal cooked since I have arrived in the States. I went shopping yesterday neglecting to check out what was in the freezer of my parent's house first and thus decided to buy only veggies,since I didn't know what kind of meats were there or how much space.

Came back home to find a freezer packed full of frozen veggies and three small chicken breasts. so we had:

stirfry of chicken with broccoli,red peppers and onions with a tangerine sauce

Japanese rice

simple salad with lettuce mix and carrots and cucumbers

variety of ice creams for dessert

[FoodMan]

Last night it was a very satisfying Lebanese vegetarian dinner. I made some rolled grape leaves stuffed with a mixture of rice, tomatoes, parsley, onions and mint. This was served with some lentils cooked with tomatoes and onions. for a sauce I made my favorite accompaniment to grape leaves: Homemade yogurt dipping sauce infused with garam masala and curry powder.

Since I made a big batch of yogurt I will probably try Suvir's Korma over the weekend.

FM

[Priscilla]

FoodMan, that spiced yogurt sauce for your stuffed grape leaves--is it trad? (I am aware that curry powder is probably not, but seasoning the yogurt at all?) The Bulgarian friend's dolma recipe I use, from his grandmother and HER grandmother and so forth, indicates a little cinnamon in the yogurt sauce, a surprising touch that totally turned me around on cinnamon.

Last evening, nice Il Fornaio ciabatta, cube of Lurpak, and some cheeses, including a goat cheese from Wisconsin which is by far the best American goat cheese I've had. Had some finesse, which is just what I too often find lacking in American goat cheeses. Also a sheep's-milk cheese from England, which only says on the label, sheep's-milk cheese, very white and firm and delicious. Runny ripe Camembert, or Canadabert, as we call it, as it's from our friends Up There. Super strong soft Stella Gorgonzola, somewhat past its prime but still having something attractive about it.

Peachy Canyon 2001 Paso Robles Zinfandel, really surprisingly good, had a good dose of the aforementioned finesse. Aromatic in a really wonderful, desirable, way, rather than the fumey overripe vapor that some Zinfandels off-load.

[FoodMan]

FoodMan, that spiced yogurt sauce for your stuffed grape leaves--is it trad?  (I am aware that curry powder is probably not, but seasoning the yogurt at all?)  The Bulgarian friend's dolma recipe I use, from his grandmother and HER grandmother and so forth, indicates a little cinnamon in the yogurt sauce, a surprising touch that totally turned me around on cinnamon.

Priscilla, you are correct the Garam and Curry powder are certainly not traditional Lebanese seasonings. However at my mother's house she quiet often seasoned the yogurt dipping sauce at least with salt and sometimes a little crushed dried mint, and if eating a more substantial meal like "Grilled or Fried stuffed Kibbi" she also added some chopped cucumbers. I do that sometimes too but I really love the spicy/fragrant addition of Indian spices. Cinnamon sounds interesting as well and I'll try it tonight with some of the leftover grape leaves.

FM

[Kikujiro]

Salmon (farmed, organic), dusted with chilli flakes and seared on a ridged grill, served on the rest of the spinach (had to finish it off). Not an entirely successful invention: too much chilli, grill too hot -- but it was okay. Accompanied by rock shandy because I've been drinking a lot recently. Organic yoghurt.

[Sandra Levine]

Last night: Roast chicken in the approved eGullet manner (lemon inside, etc.) with latkes and green salad

Tonight: Braised short ribs with red wine, mushrooms and onions

Roasted carrots

Watercress salad

Guigal Cote de Rhone (best wine! come on!

Spiced poached pears (cardamom, cinnamon, clove, lemon zest)

Quady Orange Muscat

[tommy]

duck confit in puff pastry with hoisin and sliced scallion. pinch of cinnamon. 95 argyle brut.

ribeyes, on a cast iron grill pan, as it's way too cold and white outside to use the grill. cooked perfectly med-rare without a meat thermometer.

Heston Blumenthal's egullet approved roasted potatoes.

jim dixon's egullet approved roasted cauliflower.

2001 joel gott zin. (love that url, "gott wines". needs a question mark though)

bliss for dessert.

i'm looking foward to doing this duck thing with something besides hoisin. suggestions welcome. no fruit.

Edited December 8, 2002 by tommy (log)

[snowangel]

ribeyes, on a cast iron grill pan, as it's way too cold and white outside to use the grill.

Those of us in Minnesota believe it rarely ever too cold to grill outside, but then again, we are never shut down by 6" of snow. It takes over 18" of snow and 30 degrees below zero to close schools and make us think twice about grilling.

But, I do know, that when it gets so cold you can't (meaning the meat just won't cook) grill outside, don't grill in the garage unless you move the cars into the driveway unless you want your cars smelling like steak for the rest of the winter...

[Liza]

Bison "Minute Steaks" in the middle of refried beans, spinach, Ras el Hanout, sharp Cheddar, lamb sausage, pulverized figs and creminis. All wrapped up in tortillas and baked.

Honest.

With a Clos Manyetes, 1999 Priorat. Soft and Lush. (Me and the wine)

[Jinmyo]

i'm looking foward to doing this duck thing with something besides hoisin.  suggestions welcome.  no fruit.

tommy, very nice. Pretty pixures.

How about citrus? I know its fruit but I find pureeing then straining whole (skins and all or at least the zest) limes or lemons and a head of roasted garlic, taking the juice and then emulsifying with grapeseed oil and a bit of chile and sesame oils and then seasoning it either towards Western or Eastern flavour profiles works well with duck confit.

edit:

Liza, that's wild. That's really wild. That's wild.

Edited December 8, 2002 by Jinmyo (log)

[Varmint]

We've been without power since Wednesday night (I'm at work now), so we spent last night at my in-laws' house. I made about 2 gallons of mushroom barley soup and drank several bottles of an inexpensive super Tuscan. That warms the body and soul. Hopefully, we'll have power by Monday. I hate ice storms!

[Anna N]

Not sure if this posting should go hear "what we ate" or "kitchen disasters":hmmm:

Made a sort of impromptu brunch for daugher and son-in-law after babysitting my 3 year old granddaughter all weekend! Three-year-olds do something to the brain I think! Anyway, ignored all the rules and tried to serve something I have done only once before and then for only two people - Eggs Benedict - thought I'd try the pre-poached eggs approach and followed Mark Bittman's directions in "How to Cook Everything" - unfortunately it's not very specific after "drain the eggs on paper towel". Needless to say I left them on the paper towel and needless to say they stuck like glue! Oh well - you live and learn - no one went home hungry and they all lied graciously about the delicous brunch, but I still have more egg on my face than they had on their muffins!

[Liza]

Low-cooked salmon, with squash slices cooked in ginger-beurre monte, with a roasted onion relish and Jean-Georges' beet tartare.

Miguel Merino Rioja Reserva 1994 - which we decided was delicious.

[Miss J]

Pork loin braised in milk

Steamed broccoli with lemon (a good balance for the rich sauce)

All followed up with more than a few tastes of the chocolate-covered toffee I made last night. Quality control, y'know?

[Adam Balic]

Deep fried wonton with pork/dried shrimp/ herb/spice filing

Green Papaya salad

Beanshoot salad

Pork larb

Mussels with Thai coconut currry and mangostens

Crispy fried Sea Bass with ginger sauce

Rice flavoured with pandanus leaf

Banana, passionfruit and coconut clafoutis, again flavoured with pandanus leaf.

[Miss J]

Wow, Adam. Bit of a Thompson-inspired blow-out?

[Adam Balic]

Wow, Adam. Bit of a Thompson-inspired blow-out? 

Well spotted, but only mussels and beanshoot salad is from the Pink Bible. Larb made by my wife from old family recipe (Australian Women's Weekly Thai cookbook, circ. 1992), wonton and papaya salad from your's truely, sea bass my impression of a favoured Vietnamese recipe.

[Kikujiro]

Adam,

Care to divulge your method for green papaya salad?