Dinner! 2002

[Miss J]

The pho sounds great. Miss J, does the steak stay raw or does it cook a little in the broth?

It cooks a little in the broth, leaving the strips red in the middle and cooked on the outside. If I had made a more proper pho (rather than a quick one), I would have also had well-cooked meat from the stock around to put in too.

[cabrales]

Last night, I made a satisfactory meal from large, moist morels (e.g., some were the length of my pinkie). I heated up Rouge Rillettes (inaccurately described as goose and pork pate on the label) and added some water, fresh chives, and crushed peppercorns. The morels were braised in the resulting very flavorful liquid until they had softened and the rillettes and morels had absorbed back some of the flavors. I wasn't sure what wine would go well with this dish, so I had a fairly run-of-the-mill champagne. Then, I cut into eight pieces the medium-sized, purple-exterior fig I had also purchased. I began by pouring in a dessert wine, Grgich Hills Violetta (Napa Valley late harvest) 1995 (natural sugar at harvest 30% by weight, residual sugar 11% by weight). I added some honey and a few squirts of lemon juice. The figs sat in this liquid for about 15 minutes. The resulting fruit was acceptable, arguably more interesting than fresh figs.

[bigbear]

Turnips boiled and through the handmill with a dash of soy to contrast.

My family has always used a dash of Lea & Perrins. Thanks, I'll try the soy for a change.

[Jinmyo]

Liza, sounds very nice. I often use wasabi with mashed neeps.

[tommy]

inspired by previous discussion with researchgal and mynamejoe, i attempted a summer pasta today with fresh tomato.

results were pretty good for a first round.

fresh tomatoes, cubed, with evoo, s/p, fresh thyme, chunks of garlic, in the oven for 20 minutes or so.

tossed with penne and fresh muzz (as italian-americans might say) in the roasting pan.

added fresh basil, fresh mint before serving.

served room temp.

the next time, i'll be more aggressive with the thyme. it needed more methinks. also, it needed a bit more salt. for some reason, i hate adding salt for salt's sake. i would probably use capers or maybe anchovy next time.

thanks to all for the inspiration.

and i'm beginning to see that 1.3 megapixels just ain't cutting it these days...it wasn't as, umm, dark in real-life.

[SobaAddict70]

Mmmm.

Let's hear it for cabby.

Tonight's dinner was the first TRUE dinner I've had in about a week. Unfortunately, it will be the last one until next weekend as I will revert to a corporate slave for the next five days. Oh well.

Roasted figs with rosemary, goat cheese and pancetta. Fettuccine with caviar and ricotta. Mixed berries with zabaglione.

SA

[mynamejoe]

fresh tomatoes, cubed, with evoo, s/p, fresh thyme, chunks of garlic, in the oven for 20 minutes or so.

tossed with penne and fresh muzz (as italian-americans might say) in the roasting pan.

added fresh basil, fresh mint before serving.

served room temp.

1.3, 3.1, whichever! It still looks good. How did the mint work with the rest of the flavors? I would normally think it to be too overpowering, so haven't ever experimented with it.

[tommy]

How did the mint work with the rest of the flavors? I would normally think it to be too overpowering, so haven't ever experimented with it.

i used it very sparingly. it added a nice dimension. also, it served well since this was a "summer dish".

[Jinmyo]

Mint is very commonly used with pasta, especially in Rome.

[bushey]

Here's a quick summer vegetable dish, from a Roman friend:

Steam green beans until they're al dente and toss with EVOO, minced garlic and sprinkle with salt, pepper and fresh mint. Serve at room temperature.

The mint really adds a nice flavor dimension to the green beans. Since I find it hard sometimes to spinkle fresh cut herbs (they bunch up when I chop them after rinsing, and if I don't rinse they'e too gritty ) I zap them briefly in the microwave until they crumble nicely.

tommy, the pasta looks fabulous. Wish I had some of the leftovers, if there were any, for lunch today.

[Wilfrid]

Pintade au choux - yes, still working my way through those wintry bistro classics. The legs were a bit tough, even after brining, but the breast meat worked well with Savoy cabbage, carrot and smoked bacon batons, braised in beer.

Followed by a ripe blue cheese from the Basque country, an English Cheshire (oh, joy), and a slice of smelly Robiola. Thanks to Artisanal.

[Jinmyo]

Frenched double lamb chops, marinated with a green Thai basil paste, grilled. Atop a rough mash of Yukon gold potatoes with with red bell pepper shavings with a cardamom, curry and lime vinaigrette and fresh mint on a bed of shredded iceberg lettuce. Carrot broth (carrot juice and coconut milk, cumin and curry seasonings). Roasted mushrooms and red onions (green chile and Dijon sauce).

[Suvir Saran]

CHICKEN AND MIXED PEPPER STIR-FRY

Serves 4

This is inspired by a northern Indian street food called taka-taka – any stir-fried dish of meat, chicken or vegetable in which the foods are chopped with two large knives right on the griddle making a sound that sounds like "taka-taka". In India, we roll these in roomali rotis, which are handkerchief thin rotis, but in America I serve it rolled in warm tortillas with Mint-Cilantro chutney spooned over the inside of tortilla.

1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut crosswise into 3/8-inch-wide strips

1 talespoon ground coriander

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/4 teaspoon turmeric

Pinch coarsely ground black pepper

Juice of 1 lemon

3 tablespoons canola oil

1 1/2 teaspoons cumin seeds

1 large onion, sliced

2 inches fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated

1 teaspoon chopped garlic

2 bell peppers (use 2 different colors), cut lengthwise into 3/8-inch strips

1 jalopeno pepper, halved lengthwise and then sliced crosswise 1/4 inch thick

1 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs, whisked until smooth

3/4 cup chopped cilantro

1. Sprinkle the chicken with the coriander, turmeric, cayenne, black pepper and lemon and stir to coat the chicken with the spices. Let stand while you prepare the rest of the dish.

2. Heat the oil with the cumin in a large wok or frying pan over high heat until the cumin turns golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes.

3. Add the onion and ginger and cook, stirring, 3 minutes.

4. Add the peppers, garlic, jalopeno and salt and cook, stirring, until the peppers soften slightly, about 3 minutes.

5. Meanwhile, pour the egg over the chicken in the bowl, add the cilantro and stir to mix. Then add the chicken and egg to the wok and cook, stirring, until the chicken is cooked through, 7 to 8 minutes.

[rich]

Had a dinner party for six Saturday.

Started with:

Asian Gucamole with pappadrums.

Smoked Salmon Pizza (dill crust) with Montana caviar.

Red Lentil Kofte with Mango/Cucumber salsa.

Thai Fish Cakes with Tamarind dipping sauce.

Served with Lieb (North Fork) 1994 Brut.

Room temperature Watercress & Basil Soup.

2000 Adler Fels Gerwurztraminer.

Rigatoni with EVOO, halved Grape Tomatoes, basil, marjoram and sage (set to marinate six hours).

1999 Windsor (Sonoma) Petite Sirah.

Grilled Grouper with Thai Fish Sauce.

Grilled Eggplant with Tamarind Chutney.

Jasmine Rice with shredded carrots, almonds and scallions.

1998 Franus (Napa) Zinfandel.

Strawberry/Banana whip.

Cheese Course (5) with sliced pears and/or thin sliced semolina toast.

1998 Pugliesi Late Harvest Johannisberg Riesling (North Fork).

Some opted for more of the sparkling wine here.

[Suvir Saran]

Red lentil kofte...

How do you make those Rich? They sound amazing..

For that matter... your menu was grand. What a great feast you created.

[Jim Dixon]

brined a few shoulder cut pork steaks and boned, skinned chicken thighs (a tip o’ the salty hat to col klink), then grilled them over direct heat to brown, finished with indirect heat and the meat on sprigs of fresh oregano, served with simple oregano-mint salsa verde

green beans with anchovy vinaigrette

grilled fennel (split bulbs, brushed with oil, browned over direct, finished indirect and covered) and zucchini

Jim

[LaNiña]

Sauteed some young spring onions in olive oil, added sliced summer squash, a handfill of chopped dill, and threw in some chicken livers. Salt and pepper and a tiny bit of cayenne, and some balsamic vinegar. Yum.

Served over rice. Green salad. Fresh corn. Dry riesling.

[Wilfrid]

Found someone had been cooking liver (beef liver?) when I got home, but it looked a bit dry and boring. Sauteed some diced potato (for crunch), added chopped onions and garlic, then tossed pieces of the liver in the pan with a generous splash of (too) expensive armagnac. Some red pepper flakes, checked seasoning, and served in a cute little terracotta bowl (I found some on sale in Williams and Sonoma, $3.99). Appetizer. Then round two with yesterday's guinea fowl, and a cheese plate. Burp.

[Liza]

Blow fish tails (!) sauted in butter and olive oil, with early cherry tomatoes and squash blossoms. Lovely texture and taste to the tails, btw. Available from the Karlin's on Mondays and Saturdays at Union Square.

[rich]

Suvir - The basic ingredients are red lentils, bulgur, chicken broth, cumin, red curry paste and coriander. The mixture is made into patties and fried.

However, I tried something a little different. I shaped (by hand) them into timbale-like structures and baked them at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. I knew that would make the kofte a little drier, but more intense flavored. Therefore the mango/cucumber salsa. Everyone seemed to like it.

By the way, Kalustyan's is one of the great stores in NYC. I don't purchase their chutneys, I enjoy making those myself.

[Miss J]

Stewed chorizo piccante and potatoes in a wee bit of rice wine.

Ate wrapped in steamed corn tortillas, with shredded Chinese leaf on the side.

It was like fusion, but not. And surprisingly deeply flavoured.

[researchgal]

Played hooky and went to beach so had an equally decadent meal to top the day off:

Chilled lobster tails over locally-grown red leaf and boston lettuces, lemon-shallot vinaigrette

Grilled ginger-soy marinated red snapper, that grilled radicchio (again), brown basmati rice

Spanish white that I can't remember the name of but it was kind of effervescent and perfect w/the food and this weather

Berries and ice cream

[bellaS.F.]

Beautiful, fresh ahi, cut in thick chunks, dipped in beaten egg white and then coated with chopped macadamia nuts, just seared on all sides in a cast iron skillet. Only did a couple at a time. Problem was, when making the next batch, the first batch somehow dissappeared... it was lucky that any made it to the table.

[FoodMan]

Sunday Dinner:

broiled (it was raining for the grill) Lamb/beef kofte (ground meat, mint, parsley, onions, cumin, allspice). Served with homemade "babba ghanooj" (roasted eggplant, gralic, tahina, and EVOO dip). For a salad I made an english cucumber/red onion/mint salad with a reduced balsamic vinegar and EVOO dressing. And of course toasted and soft Pita bread to go along.

Monday:

A simple risotto-- with caramlized red onions, parmesan and goat cheese. Topped off with some toasted almonds and breadcrumbs in olive oil and thyme.

FM

[polly]

S For a salad I made an english cucumber/red onion/mint salad

FM, what sort of cucumber do you call english?

Is it the fat one with lots of seeds and thin skin, or the small ones or maybe the long ones?