Jump to content

Lunch - The Mid-Day, Polyphonic Food Blog


Anna Blume

Recommended Posts

Working at home has culinary benefits. Lunch today was roasted tomato risotto redux as crispy pan-fried patties, romaine dressed in a sherry vinaigrette, and banana with homemade "nutella." Sparkling water in the glass, and a lovely lunch companion at the table.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Made a whole bunch of pasta salad for lunches and a Wolf Trap picnic this week - elbow macaroni with peas, green and red onions, parsley, red bell peppers, lemon zest, and a cream cheese/dijon/sour cream/shallot/lemon juice dressing. Sprinkled a few chopped bacon pieces over top as well.

With a grilled chicken breast, beats most any lunch in the area! ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Korean chapchae noodles chopped up and mixed with green peas, julienned carrot, and a peanut/lime dressing. I like room-temperature noodle salads in the summer. Light but filling, and enough carbs to fuel the evening's run or bike ride.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Italian hoagies*

Dill pickles (Bubbies)

Route 11 Pickle flavored potato chips

*Costco hoagie rolls (eh, but serviceable), vinaigrette with fresh oregano and garlic, shredded lettuce, prosciutto, bresaola, provolone, peperoncini, banana pepper slices, tomato slices. Very good. Very filling.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

For lunch today: BLTs.  Summer would not be complete without a few BLTs.  Everything on it was bought this morning at the Dupont Farmers Market.

Bacon: Benton Bacon from EcoFriendly

Lettuce: Loudoun Lettuce and Onion Microgreens from Endless Summer Harvest

Tomato: Beefsteak from Spring Valley Farm

Bread: Whole wheat, toasted, from Atwater's

Dessert: a nap

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

^Laura--glad to see you are enjoying the bounty of the Dupont Market, now that you have moved in from the 'burbs!

Thanks, Zora! We are so happy with our new location. Walking to the Dupont Market on Sunday mornings? My version of paradise!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A quick and dirty marinara made from the ripest heirlooms on the counter, a splash of leftover red wine and rosemary olive oil, poured over spaghetti and topped with shavings of pecorino romano.  A 15 minute lunch that was better than 95% of the restaurant food I've had this month. 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm not sure if it was a late breakfast or early lunch, but first meal of the day:  a banana, and a mix of succotash and macaroni and cheese that had been combined together in a leftover container (about 1/2 a cup total).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Leftover quesadillas from last night's dinner

Fusion tortilla soup [white rice cooked in chicken broth with Thai red chili paste, serrano pepper, kaffir lime leaves, parsley, and mint; leftover stir-fried pork, tofu, and vegetables added to broth and cooked rice; a squeeze of lime juice; topped with crushed tortilla chips]

The soup was amazingly good.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Lunch today:

EggsFlorentine1_zps780463d6.jpg

Eggs florentine. I poached the eggs using Julia Child's technique: make a pin-hole in the large end of each egg shell; lower the eggs into boiling water and let them boil for ten seconds; remove them from the water; reduce heat so that the water is just below the simmer; add vinegar to the water; crack the eggs into the water from just above the water's surface; poach for 3 1/2 to 4 minutes, depending on the size of the eggs and the desired runniness. I had never actually tried this before, since it always sounded like an awful lot of folderol, but it's hardly any trouble and the eggs hold their shape beautifully. I don't think I'll ever do it any other way from now on. I made the hollandaise according to my own adaptation of Julia's method; she uses cold butter for the first addition to the egg yolk, and melted butter after; I use cold butter all the way. It works beautifully, it's easy to control the temperature (and avoid scrambled eggs), and you don't dirty a second vessel melting the butter.

With a punctured yolk:

EggsFlorentine2_zps5674d33b.jpg

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

^

Looks amazing!

I poached eggs this morning and I add vinegar to the water then crack each egg into a ramekin that gets lowered into the water, allowing the water to come in and gently wash the egg into the water.

Worked nicely-- I tend to get feathery eggs, but these were really solid.

Served Benedict style with last year's Easter ham leftovers and bernaise sauce.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Served Benedict style with last year's Easter ham leftovers and bernaise sauce.

What, no picture? And really, last year's Easter (i.e., 2012) ham? Or last Easter (2013)? Do you freeze leftover ham successfully? (Well, it's not so much the freezing as the thawing and serving....)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

^

Looks amazing!

I poached eggs this morning and I add vinegar to the water then crack each egg into a ramekin that gets lowered into the water, allowing the water to come in and gently wash the egg into the water.

Worked nicely-- I tend to get feathery eggs, but these were really solid.

Served Benedict style with last year's Easter ham leftovers and bernaise sauce.

Did you oil the ramekins?  I want to try this method.  I don't like those little tendrils.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Did you oil the ramekins?  I want to try this method.  I don't like those little tendrils.

No and I don't think you'd need to since the water comes in and washes the egg out with it.

That reminds me that I also tried the Saran wrap method. The first time I didn't spray the plastic and the egg got stuck. The second time I did spray, but the method was too much trouble. I think that knowing which pan works best, how much vinegar to add and just the right low simmer is the KISS for me.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Why are you resisting St. Julia's technique?

I'm not resisting, it just hasn't worked really well for me the few times I've tried it.  I've even done it counting along with her while playing the egg episode on the iPad.  For some reason, probably operator error, the eggs I've used have become difficult to crack after the initial boiling, and it turns out pretty messy.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

chicken noodle casserole. like tuna noodle, but with homemade cream of mushroom "soup" made with homemade chicken stock, white wine, crimini and porcini mushrooms, onion, garlic and bechamel enriched with half-and-half and mascarpone. used up leftover poached chicken and a misguided chicken noodle soup with carrots, to which I had added way too many noodles. enhanced with frozen peas, chopped celery leaf, parsley and green onion, topped with panko. if asked for my definition of comfort food, I would point to this dish. I don't think I would ever make this from scratch, but it was a delicious way to repurpose leftovers

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Spaghettini al pomodoro:

SpaghettinialPomodoro_zpse8445373.jpg

Talk about simple pleasures. This was just chopped garlic sauteed in some good olive oil, and then a little 8-oz can of Sun of Italy tomato sauce (69 cents, I think?), salt and pepper, and a little dried oregano. Drain the pasta and toss with the sauce and some parmigiano, and dish it up with a little more cheese over the top. The only way this could have been improved would be with some flat-leaf parsley, but I didn't have any. I don't think I've ever enjoyed a plate of food more.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

For my snow-day lunch, a soupe í  l'ail gratinée, a garlic soup prepared in the manner of an onion soup. Strong chicken broth, a lot of sliced garlic briefly sautéed in olive oil, sliced shallot, parsley; toasted crusty bread floated on top with (cheap domestic) swiss cheese and parmigiano reggiano; run under the broiler.

IMG_49321024x768_zpsc6dc89e3.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Everona goat cheese

Is Everona making goat cheese now? I haven't paid that much attention to what's going on with them since Pat Elliott died, but they were 100% sheepmilk cheese. Or was it Fire Fly goat cheese? I presume the cheese was "sourced" at the Dupont market, along with the mache and the duck eggs...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

13808229224_0f90659b4c_z.jpg

Shrimp with baby spinach, caramelized pineapple, pickled kumquats and kumquat vinaigrette.

Kumquat vinaigrette: 1 tablespoon honey, 3 tablespoons kumquat vinegar, 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil, sea salt and a pinch of piment d'Espelette.

Pickled kumquats: 9 kumquats, 1/2 cup white wine vinegar heated until boiling, 2 crushed green cardamom pods. Combine all ingredients in a heat-proof container and cool. Set aside, covered, in the refrigerator for 48 hours.

Recipe: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/26/magazine/26food.html (but slightly tweaked; the pineapple was caramelized in a heated skillet with a tablespoon of olive oil and a sprinkle of sea salt; the shrimp was fried in olive oil with some chopped garlic, sea salt, black pepper and parsley; I ditched the frisée and substituted baby spinach and arugula, and wilted those)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Is Everona making goat cheese now? I haven't paid that much attention to what's going on with them since Pat Elliott died, but they were 100% sheepmilk cheese. Or was it Fire Fly goat cheese? I presume the cheese was "sourced" at the Dupont market, along with the mache and the duck eggs...

erm.... you could be right about Everona.  Pity I won't be at DM today to have a look.  And yes, it was all sourced from DM.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Banh mi sandwich - leftover grilled chicken, toasted baguette from Breadfurst, cilantro from the garden, sliced cucumbers, sriracha mayo (just mixed regular mayo and rooster sauce in a 4 to 1 ratio for not too much spice), and quick, sweet pickled daikon and carrots (Serious Eats recipe).  Next time, I'll use some jalapeno slices too for added heat kick.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ok, feeling really good about my current lunch choices- healthwise.  Leftover quinoa pasta with veggies and sausage (but not a huge portion) and grapefruit.  I was going to turn my three grapefruits into a citrus salad, but there was no good citrus at the HT, so I ended up sectioning it and adding a tiny bit of salt.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...