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Dinner - The Polyphonic Food Blog


JPW

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Generally, I observe the prohibition on posting while drunk, but I have had one hell of a week, so I am throwing caution to the wind.

I am happy to report that our holiday meal was one of the best we have had.

Congratulations! It's nice when it turns out well, isn't it?

But, where on earth did you get the idea that there is a "prohibition on posting while drunk?" Heck, if that were really the case, half the stuff on here would never see the light of day (including the Founder and Moderator of DR.com :) )!

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Way to go, Chris and Monique! And, Barbara has a good point about posting.

Tonight I'm weary from shopping and laundry and getting ready for work tomorrow, so a simple dinner:

Cheese, goose liver pate, and paper-thin slices of Rovagnati Porchetta (from Wegmans' deli)

Andre et Mireille Tissot Cremant du Jura Brut 1995

Pan-seared dry-aged rib eye steaks

Caramelized sliced onions

Fresh peas in butter with tarragon

Ken Wright Cellars Elton Vineyard Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 1998

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I don't usually tell you what we make for dinner; it's just not that interesting and, besides, we can't figure out how to post pictures.

Nevertheless, tonight I fixed the rack of lamb I bought yesterday at the very chaotic Safeway. We ate dinner at a restaurant for NYE.

The problem was that our plans were sorta interrupted by an invitation to our building engineer's apartment during halftime of the Redskins game. It turned out that he had grilled some sausages and was liberally pouring libations. I left as soon as the game was over because I had grated potatoes and onions sitting in water, waiting to be made into potato Latkes. I'm not Jewish, but I DO get the urge to make these during Hannukah. Go figure.

I was forced to call and make sure that DH was sent home in a timely manner. After all, I had retrieved the fancy tablecloth and napkins from the drawer, polished the candlesticks, and opened the wine.

It was all just fine. I use Julia Child's recipe for the lamb and it was perfect, as usual. I love that woman.

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Sunday, made a 7-pound roast chicken with "Moroccan spice rub" from Real Simple. Tasty. I was a little nervous about the high temp method (450) but it sure did work out just right. Leftovers have already made their way into yesterday's lunch of Samosa Soup and, tonight, will make another appearance as shredded chicken in some burritos or enchiladas.

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Sunday, made a 7-pound roast chicken with "Moroccan spice rub" from Real Simple. Tasty. I was a little nervous about the high temp method (450) but it sure did work out just right. Leftovers have already made their way into yesterday's lunch of Samosa Soup and, tonight, will make another appearance as shredded chicken in some burritos or enchiladas.

How long did you cook it?

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How long did you cook it?

Recipe said an hour for a 3- or 4-pound chicken, in a roasting pan on the bottom rack of the oven, uncovered. After 20 minutes, pour a cup of water into the bottom of the roasting pan (I assume to keep the drippings from burning?) Then just leave it there until a thermometer in the thigh meat says 180.

I left it in an extra 20 minutes because of the size. Then let it rest for 15 or 20 minutes out of the oven. Worked like a charm.*

(*Except that I didn't put it on a rack inside the pan - I don't have one - at first, but after the pre-water 20 minutes I put a coil of crumpled foil in the bottom of the pan to lift the chicken up, and that worked fine. The rack is important.)

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Bratwurst topped with sauerkraut and mustard, German potato salad on the side, washed down with Sprecher's Root Beer. Nice accompaniment of polkas played on the accordion.

Dessert will be caramel heathbar frozen custard.

It's Brat Nite at the Dairy Godmother (nee Del Ray Dreamery) in case you hadn't guessed. :)

I love that place - it felt like we were at a neighborhood picnic, only indoors :o

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Last night I cooked a "one-pot meal" for a school committee meeting. Of course, since there are always a few vegetarians who come to these gatherings, there were two "one-pot meals", but I now have two big Le Creuset Dutch ovens, so it worked out. For the veggies, I made a three-bean red chili, with kidney, black and cannellini beans, New Mexico and ancho chiles and my secret ingredients--diced kabocha squash for some sweetness, a bottle of full-flavored slightly bitter beer, and some chocolate--cocoa actually. And for the rest of us, I made posole, which was a huge hit. [For those who might never have eaten posole, it is a stew made with pork, roasted green chiles and white hominy corn.] I also added roasted tomatillos and some of of the white cannelini beans that I had pre-cooked for the chili. I had never put beans in posole before, but it really worked well, and extended the volume, which turned out to be a good thing because people were going back for seconds and thirds. I had a quart of veal stock in the fridge that I'd made a few days ago, so that went in along with a bottle of beer. I used canned Goya hominy. I've decided that I like it just as well with canned hominy as when I have found dried posole corn and used that. In California, I used to be able to get nixtamal (fresh lime-treated corn), which gives it the most authentic earthy flavor. But canned hominy works. I did both pots in the oven at 275 for three hours. The posole was served with chopped fresh cilantro, and it really was delicious--savory, spicy and with a great meaty, earthy depth of flavor. A number of people asked me for the recipe afterwards. That's always a challenge, because I can tell people what ingredients I used and how I made it, but I don't measure when I cook, I just eyeball things. I'm pretty sure I had bought six poblanos and a bit more than two pounds of pork shoulder, and the veal stock was in a quart container, but I added cumin and oregano several times and I don't know how many cups of onion, beans, water, etc.

Edited by zoramargolis
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My husband's official birthday dinner:

Rack of lamb, coated with dijon mustard/garlick and then panko breadcrumbs stirred with olive oil.

Butternut squash ravioli (frozen organic) with a brown butter/balsamic vinegar sauce and toasted hazelnuts.

Frozen peas sauteed in butter with a little dried tarragon.

Before dinner we drank Adriano Adami Bosco di Giea Prosecco Brut.

With the lamb we drank Vosne-Romanee "Les Beaux Monts" 1er Cru 1993.

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Tonight, posole (aka pozole - pork and hominy stew). Here's the basic recipe (I change the way I season it almost every time I make it, and I rarely measure anything).

Cut a 2 lb piece of pork (shoulder or loin, trimmed of some fat) into a few large chunks and place in a pot with just enough water to cover (with a bay leaf, a chunk of onion, and a dried habanero or two). Bring to a bare simmer, skim, and simmer until just barely cooked. Let the meat cool in the broth, then shred or chop the meat, and strain the broth.

Meanwhile, in some pork fat (I render it from fatback or salt pork; bacon would work, but it gives a different flavor) cook a medium sweet onion, chopped, and some minced hot peppers (I like serrano, about 4; adust for your taste). Add about 1/2 cup of paste made from dried ancho peppers and garlic (clean, seed, devein, fry, soak, puree the peppers) and cook for a few minutes. Add 2 20 oz cans posole (I get much better results with canned than dried), and season with cumin, coriander, black pepper, oregano, and a bay leaf. Add the strained pork broth and salt to taste. If it needs more liquid use chicken stock. Bring to a simmer and add the shredded pork; cook until somewhat reduced and thickened. (Sometimes I'll add homemade chicken boullion if needed to punch up the flavor). Roast, peel, and chop about 2 red bell peppers and 3 poblano pepper and add to the posole.

Serve in big bowls with lots of shredded Monterey Jack cheese or cheddar. (Many people serve it with separate bowls of chopped onion, cilantro, hot peppers, lime wedges, you name it. Sour cream is good with it, too. So are flour tortillas. Or corn bread. And a good Belgian ale.)

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I had homemade wild mushroom soup (shiitake, oyster, porcini, hen-of-the-woods, enoki, and honey) made with cultured butter, shallots, sherry, and a mix of mushroom and beef stocks. Paired this with open-faced grilled cheese of sourdough and tete de moine with red pepper and oregano. souped up (ha!) comfort food.

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Maple-chipotle chicken sausage sauteed with spinach, dried cherries, and onion confit. Served with brown rice.

The best part? I get home so dang early from the new job that I had time to go to the store and prep the brine for my entry in the Palena chicken project before I cooked dinner.

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Pan-fried red snapper fillet with cucumbers and Lillet sauce, over my first batch of homemade whole-wheat linguini. (People who sell Durham flour within walking distance of here: Nobody) Next time could do without the capers...made the sauce a little sour. The cucumbers were almost pickly. Not badly so, but not what I was going for. Probably poach the fish next time. Served with Lillet.

snapperwithlilletsauce4bp.jpg

Edited by shogun
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I think I saw durum wheat flour at Shopper's Food at Potomac Yard the other day.  It was in the international aisle.

Should have known! Oh well, I was more than happy with how the whole wheat turned out, and there will be plenty of pasta making in the future!
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Had some friends over tonight for a rustic Italian meal.... Started with antipasti of rosemary and thyme focaccia, some cured meats, and roasted artichokes. Then, inspired by Palena's current gnocchi version, I tried some yukon gold gnocchi with a pork sausage ragu (with some homemade sausage that CrescentFresh, mdt and I made). I figured out that cake flour makes a much more tender gnocchi (don't know why I didn't think of this before). Still haven't figured out Ruta's full gnocchi secrets, though. I'm not sure how his 'yukon gold' gnocchi are stark white, when yukon golds have yellow flesh. Hmmmm.....

gnocchi2pg3bq.jpg

And then some ricotta fritters for dessert (as I got a fryer for Xmas):

fritters2zo.jpg

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Charcoal-grilled tri-tip, the last gasp of Sunnyside Organics VA Kobe Beef (sob!)

Oven roasted baby brussels sprouts with shallots and lemon

Steamed Basmati rice--'cause Veggie-teen was having Ashoka Palak Paneer as her main

Flourless Grand Marnier Chocolate Cake

2003 Venta Mazzaron tempranillo

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This thread is both inspiring and somewhat embarrassing. In an effort to balance out my restaurant week fun and holiday food extravaganza, I've been on an omelette, salad and seared fish kick of late, peppered with the occasional crabcake. Shogun, I don't know why I've never thought to cook with Lillet but what a great idea. Yum, Lillet. Is it too early to have some now? And CJsadler, the gnocchi look incredible, I'm impressed.

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Sometimes the simplest things are best:

Baby Greens salad (dressing was with fresh pressed walnut oil purchased in France last month and Balsamic purchased in Italy in September)

Trio of Cheeses: Epoisse, Raw Milk Camembert, amd Saint Felicien Exceptional (made only during the winter months with a higher creme content).

Homemade Fig Jam from France also.

Toasted Whole Wheat Bread

and a nice heavy Australian Shiraz.

(I am so blessed to be able to travel so much even if it is work)

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Last night:

Panko-crusted skate wing, sauce remoulade

Pan-fried new potatoes

Broccoli puree

Mache salad with pear and pinenuts

Flourless Grand Marnier chocolate cake

2003 Joao Piret Portugese dry muscat

Tonight:

Polyface fresh ham steak pot roasted with fingerling potatoes, carrots, baby turnips and prunes

Sweet-sour braised red cabbage with juniper and caraway

More flourless chocolate cake with strawberries

2002 Domaine des Varinelles Saumur Champigny

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tonight i am going to try a fried penne recipe (basically penne cooked in butter, then water added until done and topped with parmesan), from the heavy joy of cooking-ish italian cookbook that everybody was buying last month. this is a fun book and the recipes provide a lot of latitude. desserts appear to be one of its strengths, and there are a lot of them, though i haven't tried any yet.

has anyone attempted the new york times magazie recipe a couple of weeks ago for scrambled boiled eggs cooked in water? i plan to tackle it, but first need to purchase a proper strainer and will serve it for dinner.

Edited by giant shrimp
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I'm going to make a suggestion here-- that we share only special deliciousness with each other in this thread, and self-edit on the fast food, take-out, frozen and ordinary fare. Much as I'm fond of y'all, I don't need to read about it when you eat fried eggs and frozen pizza...

I don't know...I am curious about it but maybe it's just the social scientist in me. If we limit it only to special stuff then it becomes a showoff thread and not all of us are special fabulous cooks. The dinner thread on eG has become just like that, and it's much less interesting as a result. There is some comfort in knowing that even on a board full of the food obsessed someone will admit to eating cold cereal for dinner.

Plus, I've occasionally gleaned ideas from some of the more mundane posts.

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I don't know...I am curious about it but maybe it's just the social scientist in me. If we limit it only to special stuff then it becomes a showoff thread and not all of us are special fabulous cooks. The dinner thread on eG has become just like that, and it's much less interesting as a result. There is some comfort in knowing that even on a board full of the food obsessed someone will admit to eating cold cereal for dinner.

Plus, I've occasionally gleaned ideas from some of the more mundane posts.

I agree, Heather. I enjoy reading about the special stuff, but reading about Al Dente's tuna melt and silent bob's sunnyside up eggs gives me hope!
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I get an e-mail every time someone posts to this thread, and I've gotten in the habit of reading it when I'm checking my e-mail. I know that I can just delete and ignore. But I like to read about what people who think about food and care about it are cooking for dinner. And I do get ideas from simple things here, too--like Al Dente's tuna melt with Emmenthaler cheese on good bread--that was not what I was referring to. But do you guys really need reassurance by reading that other people can be lazy about meals and heat up frozen pizza for dinner, like we all do sometimes? Or have kung pao chicken delivered from the local joint? Taking up bandwidth and other people's time and attention to report this kind of meal seems to be a form of solipsism that assumes that other people will be interested to know about every single detail of one's life, no matter how mundane. Now, if ScotteeM or CJ Sadler were to write about making fried eggs for dinner, that would certainly pique my interest. Because, they were probably Moulard duck eggs sourced from someplace of real interest, gently stewed in organic goose fat and served with brioche toast rounds and duck bacon. This is not "showing off" -- it may inspire envy and resentment in others who interpret it that way-- it is reporting about one's creative efforts in the kitchen, in the same way that restaurant diners report on meals they have enjoyed, elsewhere in this site. If posters to this thread have found a delicious way to combine ordinary pantry items and turn them into a satisfying dish, I would certainly like to know about it. I would rather not hear that you are lazy, that's all. I know you are. I am too, sometimes.

Edited by zoramargolis
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[in all seriousness, I'd be happy to start a second thread for "Special Occasion Dinners" although I suspect the majority is happy with the way it is now. Please don't debate this here - PM amongst yourselves or send me your thoughts in a note (but please don't expect me to reply to all of them). Cheers! Rocks]

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I got some more crabs at the Great Wall today. (I'm not even gonna tell you what they cost. :) ) Dh said, before I went, that he didn't want to crack or suck anything at dinner. I thought I would steam them, extract the meat and then have enough of the goodies for a couple of meals. No such luck. I didn't weigh the meat, but it didn't look like the amount you get with a pound in the plastic bucket.

So, what to do with it? Crab Newburg? Crab Imperial? I looked in my cookbooks and, lo and behold, there was a recipe for Crab Imperial in "The Commander's Palace New Orleans Cookbook" that seemed simple enough and didn't require anything I didn't already have on hand. (DH brought this home from a yard sale shortly after Katrina ruined everything.)

I combined everything and managed to fit it all into two small souffle dishes. It's been awhile since DH commented on the goodness of a dish he hadn't eaten before, but he did tonight. I can't compare and contrast with the Crab Imperial at the Prime Rib (too much time has passed). Except that mine cost a whole lot more. Although, I have to say, the crabmeat was without a doubt the freshest I have ever had. Which makes sense, since those bad boys where alive until this afternoon. :o

I needed to get some wine for tomorrow, because we have been invited to somebody's home (you know who you are), so I picked up a Sauvignon Blanc to go with the crab tonight. It cost twice as much, and wasn't nearly as good, as the SB we routinely buy at Whole Foods on P Street. There it is.

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Shogun, I don't know why I've never thought to cook with Lillet but what a great idea. Yum, Lillet. Is it too early to have some now?
I'm a big fan of the stuff for cooking. I think I cook with it more than I straight up drink it (I typically look to Campari for my aperitif needs), though in this case it was a great accompaniment with the sauce. I think it makes a great sauce for fish (and probably would chicken for that matter), and I did a Lillet vinagrette for a tomato salad at the eGullet DC chicken tasting that I think had potential with some tweaking (I would have tweaked more at the time but that batch killed off my supply! :) )

Dubonnet does well, too.

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I finally found my usb cable for my camera, so I thought I'd post a few of the things I've cooked in the last couple weeks that have been sitting on my camera for a while. A few are pretty low-brow type grub but they tasted pretty damn good. Hopefully they measure up.

Last Sunday - Several Greek mezzes from Meze by Diane Kochilas. I've made a few recipes from this book that I've liked and some that I didn't. This batch was all winners. Shrimp sauteed with garlic, white wine and breadcrumbs, Ground lamb (I used beef) Kabobs, Warm Potato Salad, and Walnut-Garlic Yogurt sauce.

mezze8ph.jpg

Earlier this week - Cream of Roasted Tomato Soup with grilled cheese made with English Cheddar, Fontina on Cheese Bread. This is a great recipe. The pureed tomatoes by themselves make a great pasta sauce, too.

tomatosoup8cc.jpg

Tonight - Smoked Brisket using a modified "Minion Method" finished in the oven, with my own KC Style Sauce and a simple creamy coleslaw. Finishing it in the oven made the process much more mangaeable and faster, but it still got a kick-ass pink smoke ring after about five hours in the smoker.

brisket7vv.jpg

brisketsandwich1bx.jpg

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Bilrus, that all looked fabulous. Lucky you!

I had a good cooking night. Never did I think that I would enjoy and even look forward to cooking, but it's getting easier and more fun each time. Tonight I made the braised short rib ragu served over penne featured on the cover of Fine Cooking (March 2006 issue). It was delicious. My boyfriend, who is so generally complimentary about my new interest in cooking that I have begun to question his sincerity, raved enthusiastically and ate two bowls of the stuff. Score! Personally, I loved it.

Dessert was a simple apple-pear crisp with vanilla ice cream (Edy's Slow-Churned Light).

This is the first issue of Fine Cooking I have purchased and as a novice cook, I find it perfect for me. Definitely not for the more experienced in this crew, but I'm glad I bought it.

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I had a good cooking night.  Never did I think that I would enjoy and even look forward to cooking, but it's getting easier and more fun each time.  Tonight I made the braised short rib ragu served over penne featured on the cover of Fine Cooking (March 2006 issue).  It was delicious.  My boyfriend, who is so generally complimentary about my new interest in cooking that I have begun to question his sincerity, raved enthusiastically and ate two bowls of the stuff.  Score!  Personally, I loved it.

Don't question his sincerity, girlfriend. Just keep on cooking. Food is love, and the more you love the process of cooking for the two of you, the more love he will feel for you. Trust me on this.

My boyfriend was mine, totally hooked after I prepared chicken marengo, rice pilaf and asparagus with hollandaise sauce for him on a two-burner electric hotplate. We are still together, 35 years later! :)

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Had my first dinner party in a while on Saturday. Main dish of yassa (Senegalese chicken stew) served over rice with butternut squash and kale on the side. Well received, but the appetizer was an even bigger hit: endive with orange sections, goat cheese, and honeyed walnuts, drizzled with a balsamic/orange juice/honey reduction. Out of this world.

All Cooking Light recipes, if you can believe it.

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Tonight - Smoked Brisket using a modified "Minion Method" finished in the oven, with my own KC Style Sauce and a simple creamy coleslaw. Finishing it in the oven made the process much more mangaeable and faster, but it still got a kick-ass pink smoke ring after about five hours in the smoker.

Can you recommend me your smoker? I'm in the market, but have no idea what makes for a good/reliable/cost-effective smoker. Thanks!

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