Dinner - The Polyphonic Food Blog

[Tweaked]

Pasta, Pesto, Poached Egg (the egg was overcooked by about one minute)

[Al Dente]

It's been close to 14 years since I've lived on my own and last night I fired up the stove for the first time in my new swinging bachelor pad. Mixed greens dumped on plate. Annie's Goddess dressing drizzled on. Seared a hanger steak to medium rare (oops, I don't have any oil yet. oops, I don't have salt or pepper yet). Slapped it on top of the greens. Stood near the sink and ate it up in 5 minutes. Watched Caps game. Fell asleep on the couch. 

[Pat]

Toasted multigrain sourdough bread
Eggplant Parmesan
Spaghetti and meatballs with marinara sauce

Knowing I was going to be at the Nats' game in the afternoon, I had made the meatballs and eggplant the day before. All I had to do for dinner was reheat the foil-covered eggplant in a low oven and the meatballs in marinara sauce on the stove while making the spaghetti.  Topped everything with some grated Parmesan. Very good.

 

[DaveO]

Meatballs again a la TrelayneNYC:   Chopped beef, chopped veal, mild Italian Sausage, breadcrumbs in lighter volume of water, Italian spices, eggs, minced garlic, nutmeg, Italian parsley, salt and pepper.

Another version also better than my previous versions:  Also good.  I think I'll work on this a bit over the months to get down a most favored version. 

[DonRocks]

On 6/5/2018 at 12:42 PM, Al Dente said:

It's been close to 14 years since I've lived on my own and last night I fired up the stove for the first time in my new swinging bachelor pad. 

Al Dente's swinging bachelor pad.

 

Life is good.

[Tweaked]

Zucchini and corn fritters

[dcandohio]

Tuna seared rare, crusted with salt, Sichuan pepper and TJ's everything bagel seasoning. (DaveO, I'm using it on LOTS of things!), and dressed with a bit of ponzu. Served with a simple salad.   I like how the bagel seasoning played well with an Asian theme. 

[Pat]

Thursday:  Braised chicken and mushroom ragu over pipe rigate (a very good recipe I found via the Joy the Baker blog and have made a few times)
Friday: Pot roast with tomatoes, garlic, potato and carrots (based off this recipe, with potatoes and carrots roasted separately)
Saturday: Poulet à la Moutarde from David Lebovitz's My Paris Kitchen (have made several times; this time served with steamed cauliflower, which was great coated in the creamy mustard sauce)
Sunday:  Iceberg lettuce, sliced tomatoes, and ranch dressing; leftover pot roast, potatoes, and carrots.

[ktmoomau]

Tonight was kale salad with homemade balsamic dressing, topped with chicken that I unthawed that had a random spice rub I put on it, not sure what, I then put in the instantpot with leftover duck sauce squeezed from packets, butter and water (it was way better than any of this sounds). Also, I added the brussels sprouts, charred carrots and goat cheese leftovers from dinner the other night.  Roasted some tomatoes and zucchini in the oven and threw that in.  Also we have very few sweets and snacks as I haven't gotten groceries in a long time now, but we had a box of ghiradelli brownies, so I whipped those up too. I also made iced tea. I am soldering on without grocery shopping, save the couple veggies I picked up last week at the Farmer's Market for another solid week.  Woot, woot.

[dcandohio]

I experimented with a Trader Joe’s cauliflower pizza crust.  The entire cost is 480 calories.  Serving is 1/6 of a crust, but that would only work if you were making that an appetizer or part of a larger meal. It’s kinda small. 

Be sure to follow the baking instructions, or it won’t get crisp.  I topped it with store-bought marinara, Parmesan, mozzarella, salami, and prosciutto.

There is a definite cauliflower taste to this, which I, frankly, like.  Edges got really crisp, but I would not say this mimics real pizza.  However, as a tasty treat with pizza-like flavors, it was really good.  I might play around with another one as an appetizer,  cutting up the crust first, and crisping it, and then serving it with room temperature toppings, like maybe goat cheese and tomatoes.

If someone you know is gluten-free, I think this is worth a try, though at four dollars per crust, it seems expensive and something I might be able to re-create cheaply if I bothered.

[Pat]

Borscht
Rye toast
Leftover mustard chicken and cauliflower

[DaveO]

On 6/11/2018 at 8:18 AM, Pat said:

Thursday:  Braised chicken and mushroom ragu over pipe rigate (a very good recipe I found via the Joy the Baker blog and have made a few times)
Friday: Pot roast with tomatoes, garlic, potato and carrots (based off this recipe, with potatoes and carrots roasted separately)
Saturday: Poulet à la Moutarde from David Lebovitz's My Paris Kitchen (have made several times; this time served with steamed cauliflower, which was great coated in the creamy mustard sauce)
Sunday:  Iceberg lettuce, sliced tomatoes, and ranch dressing; leftover pot roast, potatoes, and carrots.

Thanks for the recipes.  The top one is a great fun read with excellent photos.  I'll definitely give that one a whirl.

[Pat]

9 hours ago, DaveO said:

Thanks for the recipes.  The top one is a great fun read with excellent photos.  I'll definitely give that one a whirl.

You're most welcome.  I love Joy's blog.  Using the dried porcini in that recipe is truly worth it in terms of the depth of flavor. It might just be me but I find that I end up chopping the chicken rather than being able to fork-shred it. It's not that it's not tender, but just the way that cooked boneless chicken thighs seem to be.

After the Caps parade, I stopped on the way back this afternoon to watch the rally on tv and eat a mushroom pizza. I ate half and brought the other 4 pieces home for my husband's later dinner. I doctored it up with additional sautéed cremini mushrooms and shredded pot roast, plus fresh basil from the plant on our porch, banana pepper rings, provolone, mozzarella, and Parmesan. He called it "loaded" pizza and wolfed it down. I ate the dregs of it and thought it was pretty good. I also made a salad of iceberg lettuce, sliced cucumber, and sliced strawberries, plus crumbled feta and a grating of black pepper. Homemade balsamic vinaigrette.

 

[Tweaked]

Coconut curry fried tofu, stir fried baby bok choy and snap peas, wild rice, mint, cilantro, lime.  The tofu was an experiment whereby the tofu is cooked in a mix of coconut cream, fish sauce, sugar, curry powder, and a little oil.  Unfortunately the tofu didn't pick up much coconut/curry flavor.  It ended up being a nice dinner but not quite what I was hoping for.

[Tweaked]

double post

 

[Tweaked]

2 minutes ago, Tweaked said:

 

sorry, double double post

[ktmoomau]

Zucchini boats stuffed with rice, a little Italian sausage, a green spicy sauce leftover from Indian takeout, topped with cherry tomatoes.  A little zippy, and good.

[Pat]

Wednesday was baked cod with thyme, lemon, and butter; roasted broccoli and baby potatoes; and sautéed chopped kale.

Last night was fish tacos made from the leftovers (cod, kale, chopped tomato, jalapeno; lime juice and sour cream); rice pilaf; black beans).

[DonRocks]

1 hour ago, Pat said:

Wednesday was baked cod with thyme, lemon, and butter; roasted broccoli and baby potatoes; and sautéed chopped kale.

Last night was fish tacos made from the leftovers (cod, kale, chopped tomato, jalapeno; lime juice and sour cream); rice pilaf; black beans).

Now this is a true home cook.

[DaveO]

On 6/12/2018 at 9:24 PM, Pat said:

You're most welcome.  I love Joy's blog.  Using the dried porcini in that recipe is truly worth it in terms of the depth of flavor. It might just be me but I find that I end up chopping the chicken rather than being able to fork-shred it. It's not that it's not tender, but just the way that cooked boneless chicken thighs seem to be.

It's a terrific blog; a fun read, folksy, a little humerus, wry, and clever.   Photos are helpful and of course they show beautifully.  Its easy to follow.  I've noted some of the recipes and will try a few.  Thanks.

[Pat]

Mini cheeseburgers with lettuce and tomato
Purple hull peas with rice and bacon

I bought the people hull peas at Eastern Market...a couple of weeks ago.  I wasn't sure how to cook them, so looked up traditional recipes, which is how I came up with the rice and bacon combo. They really didn't seem different from regular green peas in the pod, except the pods were prettier. I used leftover rice pilaf for this and made roughly 1/3 of a recipe because I only had a cup of shelled peas.

I bought some smoked cheddar from the same stand yesterday (Sunnyside?) and used it on the burgers. I bought the meat at Union Meats inside the market. Their butcher's blend is fantastic.

[TrelayneNYC]

Fish soup
Steamed garden vegetables with butter, salt and pepper
Fresh fruit for dessert

[porcupine]

Shakshouka. I glanced at the recipe in Plenty but didn't follow it; used cumin, fennel seed, a little onion and garlic, homemade tomato sauce from last summer, smoked eggplant, roasted red bell pepper, black olives, and urfa pepper. Plated it with crumbled feta and a generous amount of fresh tarragon. I think the eggplant and urfa pepper really made it special.

[Pat]

Chicken drumsticks with bbq sauce
Smoked cheddar - jalapeño mac and cheese
Steamed green beans
TJ's multigrain sourdough bread and evoo or butter

 

[Pat]

SALAD SAMPLER
Beet salad with basil, feta, toasted walnuts, and balsamic vinaigrette
Fruit salad (strawberries, blueberries, cherries, and basil chiffonade; macerated in a glug of red wine and sprinkling of superfine sugar)
Potato salad
Tuna salad plate (green leaf lettuce, sliced tomatoes, sliced cucumbers, cornichons)
Toasted TJ's multigrain sourdough bread (I used mine to make a  tuna salad sandwich.)

 

 

[Sundae in the Park]

We went to the Asian market!!! So this week we had 1) Shanghai noodles with shitakes, baby bok choy, and chicken, 2-3) gochujang noodles twice (one with long noodles and once with rice cake ovalettes, and the noodles are accompanied by more boy choi and ground pork), 4) pork and spinach potstickers, and 5) chicken and pork/vegetable steamed buns.

On the side, we ate loads of honey mangoes (have to, when you buy a case and don't want any to go bad) and cake rolls from the store bakery.  

[smithhemb]

Andouille sausage, fregola with corn, and an arugula salad with tomato raisins and lemon vinaigrette.  

[Pat]

Last night I had curried popcorn and a handful of Trader Joe's "ode to the classic" potato chips. 

[DaveO]

1 hour ago, Pat said:

Last night I had curried popcorn and a handful of Trader Joe's "ode to the classic" potato chips. 

I have dinners like that, more frequently than I probably should.  Chips with dip, big fan of popcorn, and top it off with ice cream with syrup, chocolate or caramel.  

Never see that type combo on the healthy eating lists!

[Deborah Lee]

Lunch at home from Green Almond Pantry (at Cleveland Park Saturday Farmers Market)

In love with Cagla Onal's cooking!  I could eat her food every day.

• Stuffed Squash Blossoms with Arborio rice, sweet onion, fresh herbs, lemon, cinnamon stick
• Mozzarella with Celery Walnut Pesto, celery leaves, parsley, lemon, garlic, extra virgin olive oil
• Local Zucchini Caponata with sweet onion, carrot, celery, golden raisin, pine nuts, capers, wild honey, red wine vinegar, tomato puree
• Kale & Almond Pecorino Salad with lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper
• Japanese Eggplant braised with basil, garlic and tomato puree in sparkling water
• Leeks with Carrot & Rice braised in orange juice
• Spicy Arrow Head Cabbage, tomatoes, gaeta olives, garlic, lemon, hot pepper, parsley, capers
• Braised Artichoke with sweet onion, bay leaf, extra virgin olive oil, termite olives, lemon peel and fresh herbs
• Spicy Roasted Rainbow Carrots with walnuts, flaxseeds, cumin, pickled mustard seeds, hot pepper, red wine vinegar, rosemary

[Pat]

A sausage pizza from Red Rocks via Door Dash and sangria cobbled together from open wine, orange juice, and leftover macerated fruit.

[DonRocks]

On 6/23/2018 at 2:38 PM, dslee said:

Lunch at home from Green Almond Pantry (at Cleveland Park Saturday Farmers Market)

In love with Cagla Onal's cooking!  I could eat her food every day.

• Stuffed Squash Blossoms with Arborio rice, sweet onion, fresh herbs, lemon, cinnamon stick
• Mozzarella with Celery Walnut Pesto, celery leaves, parsley, lemon, garlic, extra virgin olive oil
• Local Zucchini Caponata with sweet onion, carrot, celery, golden raisin, pine nuts, capers, wild honey, red wine vinegar, tomato puree
• Kale & Almond Pecorino Salad with lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper
• Japanese Eggplant braised with basil, garlic and tomato puree in sparkling water
• Leeks with Carrot & Rice braised in orange juice
• Spicy Arrow Head Cabbage, tomatoes, gaeta olives, garlic, lemon, hot pepper, parsley, capers
• Braised Artichoke with sweet onion, bay leaf, extra virgin olive oil, termite olives, lemon peel and fresh herbs
• Spicy Roasted Rainbow Carrots with walnuts, flaxseeds, cumin, pickled mustard seeds, hot pepper, red wine vinegar, rosemary

That's a pretty sweet-looking (and healthy-looking) plate!

[ktmoomau]

Last week I made some chicken in the instant pot with stock and a little salsa that we used for burritos, tacos and kale salad. 

I finally did some cooking again (our AC is busted so the temps have to be pretty cool to turn on the stove) this weekend.  I steamed some chicken bbq buns.  The next evening I made homemade re-fried bean and cheese pupusas, and chicken and cheese pupusas.  I also made honey sriracha cole slaw to go with them.  I also made homemade croutons for my office, and a wax bean, butter bean and smashed cucumber salad to take to a friend's dinner last night.  And then I prepped for a bunch of other stuff for this week. 

[Smita Nordwall]

The salad sound awesome! But what do people in your office do with croutons? 

[Deborah Lee]

12 hours ago, DonRocks said:

That's a pretty sweet-looking (and healthy-looking) plate!

Yes, Cagla's food is insanely delicious.  I forget I am eating vegetables.  My photo doesn't do justice.  

[ktmoomau]

1 hour ago, Smita Nordwall said:

The salad sound awesome! But what do people in your office do with croutons? 

Well, we always have bread, lunch meat, cheese, and boxed mixed lettuce in our office for lunches.  So we normally make salads and sandwiches.  But people don't love the heels of the bread, so if they put them in the freezer, when there is enough I take them home and make seasoned croutons for people to put on salads to spice up the variety a little.  It really helps take a fairly plain salad to the next level.  (We also normally have homemade greek or poppyseed dressing that I make from time to time.)

[Smita Nordwall]

OMG, that's so awesome. You are a wonderful co-worker.

 

[ktmoomau]

On 6/25/2018 at 12:21 PM, Smita Nordwall said:

The salad sound awesome! But what do people in your office do with croutons? 

Salad was based on this recipe- I added the wax beans because I didn't have a huge amount of cucumber.  https://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/smashed-cucumber-salad-butter-beans-and-tarragon

[DonRocks]

4 hours ago, ktmoomau said:

Salad was based on this recipe- I added the wax beans because I didn't have a huge amount of cucumber.  https://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/smashed-cucumber-salad-butter-beans-and-tarragon

 <--- Butterbean

[ktmoomau]

Last night was a Thai red curry noodle bowl with green peppers, onion, carrot and chicken.  So good we ate it to fast to even take a pic.

[dcandohio]

I made a tabouli using cauliflower rice instead of bulgur wheat.   It was very good, and I served it with a broiled lamb shoulder steak that I had dressed with olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper.   

[Pat]

I haven't been cooking a whole lot with the extreme heat. I haven't turned the oven on in quite some time and have been using the stovetop, sparingly, and the microwave.

Over the weekend, Saturday was
Green leaf lettuce, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, crumbled bacon, hard-boiled eggs, avocado, and radishes; sesame-soy-ginger vinaigrette
Pipe rigate pasta with hot Italian turkey sausage, tomatoes, broccoli, mushrooms, and Parmesan

And Sunday was
Leftover salad rounded out with extra lettuce
Cold Asian noodles (Whole Foods prepared foods section)
Deviled eggs with bacon

Monday:
More leftover green salad
Egg salad on poppy seed kaiser rolls
Sweet potato tahini dip and vegetables (carrots, celery, peppers)

Last night:
Thai red curry marinated steak over cold Asian noodles
Cold steamed broccoli with hot pepper sesame oil
3 Bean salad
Leftover sweet potato dip and veggies

 

 

 

[Deborah Lee]

TACO OF THE DAY: Lightly sautéed Maitake Mushrooms with chopped bulbs of Purple Spring Onion in Dashi Tobiuo; Roasted Mini Sweet Peppers with red wine vinegar, fresh garlic and fresh herbs (Green Almond Pantry); healthy smear of Organic Mousse Aux Cèpes (Trois Petits Cochons); topped with slices of Avocado; chopped tops of Purple Spring Onion; Dried Chipotle Chile Pepper and Dried Cilantro served on Sprouted Corn Tortilla (One Degree Organic Foods)

 

[dcandohio]

Casual 4th of July beach picnic:

Asian cucumber salad with lots of cilantro 

Shrimp cooked in Zatarain’s seasoning and then marinated in lemon juice, olive oil, sliced onion, garlic, capers, loads of coriander.

 Miniature red, yellow, and orange peppers stuffed with a mixture of goat cheese, fresh corn, mild hatch chilies, cilantro.

Brownies

Sangria

[Deborah Lee]

From July 1, 2018, Cagla Onal's delicious cooking from Green Almond Pantry at Palisades Farmers Market:

• Stuffed Squash Blossoms with Arborio rice, sweet onion, fresh herbs, lemon, cinnamon stick
• Braised Fava Beans!
• Local Zucchini Caponata with sweet onion, carrot, celery, golden raisin, pine nuts, capers, wild honey, red wine vinegar, tomato puree
• Marinated Beets with balsamic, extra virgin olive oil, spices and fresh herbs
• Local String Beans with crispy Serrano ham and Sicilian pine Nuts, local fresh shelled peas braised in Cava
• Braised Local Yellow and Green Roma Beans with sweet onion and heirloom tomatoes
• Roasted Mini Sweet Peppers with olives, red wine vinegar, fresh garlic and fresh herbs

 

[ktmoomau]

Saturday I made homemade baked beans in the instant pot with butter, pinto and white beans, and some bacon and normal sauce ingredients- ketchup, molasses, mustard powder, pepper, apple cider vinegar, etc.  They were delicious, why does anyone buy pork and beans?  I also baked red pepper jelly with cream cheese dip and  honey sriracha coleslaw to go with the chopped pork and smoked chicken the caterers were providing at a friend's bbq/pool party.  

Sunday we picked crabs, so Monday I made a pasta with crab, roasted tomatoes and zucchini with a white wine, garlic, parsley, lemon, olive oil sauce.

Tuesday was leftover bbq and slaw sandwiches.  

[TrelayneNYC]

Hamburgers with the works - lettuce, tomato, grilled onions, homemade bread-and-butter pickles and our version of "secret sauce"

Potato salad with mint, lemon and scallion

[Sundae in the Park]

July 4th grill-out was Korean BBQ and Gochujang chicken thighs, corn, and tomatoes, with sauteed zucchini, roasted cauliflower, sliced cucumbers, watermelon, cherries, tater tots, and brownies. 

Yesterday we cooked a bunch of food to prepare for our end of the national heat wave and made beef-turkey meatballs, lots of pasta, guacamole, more roasted zucchini and cauliflower, and an apple spice cake (random, but I had some old apples to use up). 

We've been making a lot of "pink drink" for the kids, which is usually a medley of frozen berries and/or cherries, lemonade or OJ, and maple yogurt (this is key!). I threw in some frozen mango this time and it didn't change the flavor or color appreciably, but probably added some different nutrients. Very refreshing in the heat, and I think I'm going to try making this concoction into popsicles. 

[Pat]

Yesterday was roasted chicken breast halves, roasted potatoes, and sautéed baby spinach, mushrooms, and garlic with bacon.  

Thursday:
Leftover 3 Bean Salad
Leftover sweet potato dip and veggies
Tortilla chips and guacamole
Steak tacos

[TrelayneNYC]

Crostino with sheep's milk ricotta cheese, basil and slow-roasted cherry tomatoes
Coniglio all'Ischitana ("Braised rabbit in the style of Ischitana") - Rabbit is browned in olive oil, then braised in a mixture of wine, lard and tomatoes. Any offal that comes with the rabbit is sliced, then wrapped in basil leaves and placed throughout the pot.
Fagiolini al pesto ("Green beans and potatoes with pesto")