Dinner! 2002

[tommy]

i tried the ole food mill again (thanks to you people) for my sauce last night. the same type of preparation as when i first tired it...canned tomato, onions, garlic, sausage, peas, basil, a bit of cream. i do like that food mill.

[Jinmyo]

Cremini mushroom spring rolls with a wasabi mayonaisse dip. Purple turnips, roasted in evoo, mashed roughly, with steamed broccolini (kind of a cross of broccoli and Chinese kale) and butter with P Reggiano shavings. Buttermilk-brined chicken thighs and drum sticks, breaded, done in 450 F oven.

[Liza]

Roasted chicken, with a messy puree of foie gras, pancetta, garlic, and fresh herbs stuffed under the skin. In the cavity, lemon and rosemary. Blasted at 550 for one hour and ten minutes. With roasted potatoes positively oozing foie gras drippings, and Lebanese cous cous.

Jinmyo - the purple turnips - were they local?

[Wilfrid]

Chevreuil aux pruneaux et armagnac, as I continue to work my way through Paris in a Basket. The recipe underestimated the liquid for the sauce, but that was easily corrected. The venison chops, from the French Butcher, were so high they were practically decomposing.

I poached and scrambled goose eggs for weekend breakfasts. Although there's a lot of white, there's a lot of yolk too, so the scrambled eggs were very yellow and rich (could definitely have used some smoked fish in there). I thought poaching (not coddling) might be difficult, and indeed the size of the egg caused the water to stop boiling when I introduced it to the pan. But the albumen is firm, and set quite nicely. You need a lot of soldiers to mop up the plate.

[Priscilla]

Saturday evening post-Fourth of July gathering, tri-tips on the grill, slowly cooked, cut into thin little slices to be used for tacos.

Lovely fresh corn tortillas. Two salsas, one what taquerias around here sometimes call salsa Mexicana, fresh and chunky, tomatoes, onion, jalapeno, cilantro; and Victoria's Green Sauce, a salsa verde, a staple. Also supplemental minced jalapenos, to be added discretionarily.

Homemade refried beans with cheese, and sweet corn cake, like a very moist cornbread, has whole kernels and cornmeal and masa flour. Corn flavor layering.

So personalized tacos, and cold things to drink, and then a little live music out on the flagstone, including a great poppy Bo Diddley-beatish "Sympathy for the Devil."

Burnt-honey ice cream, a Gale Gand recipe that was so good, made with the orange honey from the honey guy at the farmer's market. I usually buy sage honey, but there will be no sage this season, the honey guy says--due to the dire lack of rainfall the wild sage isn't blooming enough for the bees. But the orange honey worked very well, and in fact its tanginess was probably a plus in this application.

[Jim Dixon]

Some of the things I remember cooking over the last few weeks....

fritatta with fresh porcini (king boletus), garlic tops (from my back yard), and beet greens

rigatoni with fresh favas, already cooked cavolo nero (sauteed onion, added chiffonade of greens, splash water, cover and cook), already roasted cauliflower (this was one of those clean-out-the-reefer meals), golden raisins, and bread crumbs

pork tenderloin, brined w/salt-sugar 45 minutes, rubbed with pimenton, cooked over fruit wood fire using indirect heat and low temp for about an hour...served with lemon mint, garlic, caper, and preserved lemon salsa verde

catfish filets with same brine (shorter soak, about 20 minutes), grilled quickly over hot fire

leek and fava risotto (using my heretical microwave risotto technique)

crispy risotto cakes for the next couple of days (form into small patties, press into bread crumbs, pan fry in olive oil until crisp)

zucchini in a bag (adapted from Bugialli cookbook on the Italian islands, smooth-skinned Mediterranean zucch, rubbed w/oil, wrapped in foil, baked, served w/salsa verde above)

penne w/more of the cavolo nero, the leftover zucchin (and some of the salsa verde), oil-cured balck olives, crumbled bottarga, splash of dry marsala, and bread crumbs...lots more olive oil, Sicilian sea salt, and cracked pepper

[Rhea_S]

My mother taught me how to bone a whole chicken and make a galantine type dish this weekend. The uncooked,boned and stuffed chicken was a little scary. It looked like a headless, footless and handless baby. It was a big hit at a party on Saturday although I didn't eat much after seeing it in its raw state. I'll have to get over my aversion soon because I got requests to make two for the next party.

[Rachel Perlow]

We've been eating out a lot lately due to the remodel. Finally, I'd had enough. Tonight I made grilled chicken (Bell & Evans, brined with half a bottle of Snapple with a few spoons of salt added), sauteed lambs quarters (the spinach like vegetable) with olive oil and garlic, caprese salad, corn on the cob, some leftover cottage fries from Finks (BBQ takeout, they were still good).

The main reason I'm even posting about this dinner is the Snapple Brine. Drink some of the Snapple, add some salt, shake, put chicken pieces in a ziploc bag, add Snapple Brine (patent pending), squeeze out air, zip closed, put in fridge for a couple of hours, grill. Eat. Yum.

[Jinmyo]

Jinmyo - the purple turnips - were they local?

Ha ha, Liza. I bought them at a stall in Byward Market but that doesn't neccessarily mean anything.

[Miss J]

Since it's currently cold, wet and grey in the UK, I made a rib-sticking Sunday lunch for a crowd before heading back out to work in Dusseldorf on Monday. We had:

Roast pork with crackling (crisped with a kettleful of boiling water before popping into the oven)

Roast potatoes in goosefat

French-cut runner beans

Sweet-sour red cabbage with cream (a nice purple-y pink-y mess)

...all served with lashings of Sauvignon Blanc (from New Zealand), and followed by syllabub.

All very old skool and unhealthy. Great fun, though.

Miss J

[SobaAddict70]

Last night -- because I'm weird in my own loveable way, and because I like weird food combinations: cottage cheese, sauteed onions, a sprinkle of spicy Ms. Dash, and chopped tomatoes. I have this big container of cottage cheese in my fridge and wanted to try something new.

On a more sane note: Slow-cooked, sauteed onions in EVOO, one anchovy fillet packed in oil, a sprinkle of red pepper flakes, a tablespoon of capers, chopped oil-cured olives, a small handful of red currants, and half a can of crushed plum tomatoes; cooked the sauce down for about half an hour to forty minutes over medium-low heat, until the tomatoes thickened. Served over penne rigate; topped with some fried bread crumbs. Vanilla ice cream with crushed almond biscotti. Evian. Herb tea.

[Jinmyo]

Leek congee with peanuts, gomasio (roasted sesame salt), and lots of fresh white pepper; deep-fried breaded chicken livers and hearts with a dipping sauce of pureed garlic, ginger, scallions with oil and red wine vinegar; stir-fried shaved fennel with Thai bird chiles; steamed red-stemmed dandelion greens dressed with mirin and lemon.

[Priscilla]

Steamy hot yesterday. Appetites suppressed. Thin (#3) spaghetti with marinara, fresh paste tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, sage leaves, s & p, passed through the old food mill, as outlined in the Red Sauce discussion of some weeks back. Parmigiano Reggiano, Pecorino Romano finely finely grated in judicious amount; more at table for those (and there is at least one reliably present) liking a copious shower. Big cold redleaf lettuce salad, sourdough bread.

[jess mebane]

I made a great tomato soup with homegrown tomatoes and herbs, and since it was noteworthy enough to repeat, what's the best way to freeze soup (for next batch)?

[Robert Schonfeld]

Continued the fresh peas with pasta experiments:

-Marcella's pasta with peas, bacon and ricotta. Good, as usual.

-My own: fresh peas, half pureed, half left whole, fresh sugar snaps bias cut, pea pods, basil, lemon zest, lemon juice all pureed. Also good.

[Liza]

Jess,

As long as there's no cream or cheese in the soup, you should be fine freezing it. I keep extra ice cube trays for freezing liquids. Once frozen, pop the cubes into a good plastic bag and you can defrost more easily.

[jaybee]

Last night -- because I'm weird in my own loveable way, and because I like weird food combinations: cottage cheese, sauteed onions, a sprinkle of spicy Ms. Dash, and chopped tomatoes. I have this big container of cottage cheese in my fridge and wanted to try something new.

Soba, I love cottage cheese mixed with lots of stuff. (Nixon was excoriated for loving to eat cottage cheese with ketchup). Bacon, strawberry jam, chopped onion. But I never thought to put Mrs. Dash in it. I have a closet full of the stuff, and several of her offspring--little Dashes, each different combinations of herbs and spices. All low sodium.

So how did this inspired marriage taste?

[Andy Lynes]

Lightly salted cod, pan fried served with cannelini beans in a bacon and garlic cream, spinach and a salad of deep fried capers parsley and chives.

[Robert Schonfeld]

Those following the expensive/cheap thread will be especially amused that Mazal found a shoulder of veal for .99/lb in the supermarket yesterday. Braised it with a little white wine, garlic and rosemary. Four generous servings of tender, tasty meat for less than $1.00 each.

Sugar snap peas from the greenmarket, rolled in butter; arugula salad.

No potatoes because we forgot to buy them at the market.

[MaggieW]

My favorite dinner when it is so hot is just something simple. I wouldnt have posted it but other's have talked about adding soemthing to cottage cheese.

Mine:

1 lb cottage cheese

1 cup chopped fresh spinach

1/2 cup chopped green onions

1 tbls store bought blue cheese dressing

1tbls " " Italian dressing

1 TBls dried dill weed or basil

1 TBls Accent

Salt, pepper, tobasco or other hot sauce to taste.

I make this up and keep it in the refrigerator in the summer. Last night I had it and cold pear halves and sliced tomatoes from my garden.

[LaNiña]

In my family, we make something that I've known as "mayufka" in Polish - it's just cottage cheese with the following mixed in, chopped not so fine: radishes, cucumbers, scallions, green pepper. Also salt and pepper. And some sour cream.

I learned at some point that "mayufka" is the name for a May party, so perhaps at some point this was a dish traditionally prepared for such a party.

[Priscilla]

Andy: Very nice menu. Was each element of the salad fried. Which size capers.

Robert: Marcella's bacon, peas, ricotta is a staple! (Although the use of fresh peas elevates it beyond that damning-with-faint-praise level, doesn't it?) What pasta do you use for this I like penne rigate among others.

Saturday, a dinner for six (turned out to be seven), fulfillment of a contribution to a PTA-fundraiser auction: chicken saltimbocca (sage in my garden continues to loom large); risotto with arugula; fresh tiny green beans from the guy at the farmer's market sauteed in olive oil which had a half a garlic clove softened in there first; redleaf salad with grapefruit vinaigrette, grapefruit sections and a round of crispified goat cheese; caramelized peach tart with burnt-honey ice cream and peach sorbet with basil. Focaccia with embedded halved grape tomatoes and sage leaves and crunchy salt.

For way afters, offered a bottle of homemade arancello, icy cold. A chance to use cute tiny glassware.

Served outside. Even though the day had been hot and humid the evening weather was nice.

[Miss J]

Last night was a bit of a "using things up" night.

- Leftover boneless, skinless chicken breasts (my boyfriend insists on buying them), which I marinated in OO and a dribble of balsamic vinegar, grilled on the BBQ and served with a tangle of roasted peppers.

- Panzanella with toasted leftover bloomer, red wine vinegar, EVOO, fresh garlic and basil.

- Grilled courgettes.

It was hot & sunny in London this weekend - hurrah!

[Adam Balic]

What is "EVOO"? Have seen it mentioned several times but have been to shy to ask waht the hell it is.

If you would like to stop your boy friend from getting the skinless chicken breast things, just refer to them as "Carnivore Tofu" every time you see them, eventually he will stop buying them, as having to listen this is really rather annoying.

Dinner: Rape/Silver beet and riccotta ravioli, Pumkin flower fritters (not zucchini), grilled ribs and bistecca, cake and Vin Santo.

[Gavin Jones]

Elsewhere I saw this explained as Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

I use the strategy of categorising such cuts of chicken as a vegetable.

They may therefore be served 'on the side' of genuine food.

As befits a non-connoisseur, wandering through Borough Market on Saturday I picked up a 11/2lb piece of best end pork belly.

Having simmered it for a bit then slow roast for 3 hours, with a spot of honey to caramelise on top. I ate it all. Then had to have a nap.