Dinner - The Polyphonic Food Blog

[Tweaked]

Pasta with pesto

sliced tomato salad, drizzled with olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, s&p, topped with anchovies, crumbled blue cheese and basil.

[zoramargolis]

too rainy to grill, so...

oven roasted, spice rubbed, herb brined Eco-Friendly pollo rosso <whew!>

fresh creamed corn/artisan grits

green beans with roasted red pepper, garlic and lemon

Toigo peaches, last of the cherries from the cobbler, minus the crust, which got a bit soggy

2009 Brancott sauvignon blanc

[Pat]

Salad of red leaf lettuce, tomato, cucumber, carrot; vinaigrette

Chicken cordon bleu (with prosciutto and swiss)

Sauteed zucchini and yellow (straightneck) squash with thyme

[lperry]

The tomatoes are ripening in force. Paella to the rescue. The best part about being an adult is you get to play with your food.

Here's the socarrat. Slowly but surely, I'm figuring out the telltale noise of browning rice.

[zoramargolis]

last night:

enchiladas suizas ( chicken enchiladas with roasted poblano-tomatillo salsa, cheddar cheese and creme fraiche)

refried beans (La Costeña)

pico de gallo

HD vanilla with dulce de leche and fresh blackberries

Cerveza Pacifico

[Rhone1998]

HD vanilla with dulce de leche and fresh blackberries

I think I need to get more sleep. I stared at this for at least 10 seconds trying to reconcile "high definition" with "vanilla".

[monavano]

I think I need to get more sleep. I stared at this for at least 10 seconds trying to reconcile "high definition" with "vanilla".

It's vanilla, turned up to 11 .

[zoramargolis]

I think I need to get more sleep. I stared at this for at least 10 seconds trying to reconcile "high definition" with "vanilla".

Good thing my shorthand for Ben and Jerry's is B&J. Without the ampersand, it could get quite risqué... BJ with dulce de leche, on the other hand, sounds like fun

[Toogs]

Semi-inspired by Alton Brown's recent taco episode and definitely inspired by the abundance of tomatoes and peppers from CSA, it's taco night.

Edit: I made his very easy salsa recipe, and it's really quite good. Just the right heat level, and that's with discarding all of the seeds. And I used random peppers from CSA rather than the red pepper.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/salsa-recipe/index.html

[Pat]

Salad Caprese

Leftover chicken Cordon Bleu

Leftover sauteed green and yellow zucchini with thyme

Brown rice

Corn on the cob

[zoramargolis]

tomato salad with capers, olives, parsley, basil, olive oil and balsamic vinegar

veal pojarsky with tarragon aioli

green beans

fresh corn polenta

Toigo peaches

2009 Ch. Montaud rosé

[bettyjoan]

Prosciutto, peach, and butter lettuce salad

Blueberry-peach cobbler

(From the August and July issues of Cooking Light, respectively)

[Xochitl10]

Meat/bean burritos on Azami's homemade tortillas

[lperry]

Fresh sweet corn madeleines

Squash casserole, adapted from the Washington Post. Yellow crookneck squash, Vidalia onion, feta cheese, sour cream, a small amount of smoked paprika, and panko. Really, really good with the hint of smokiness and crispy topping. I need to look at their recipes more frequently.

A pumpkin pie driven up today from the Jamestown pie company (in Williamsburg). Not so great. Pasty filling and a Crisco-tasting, doughy crust. A real shame because Mr. lperry knew the previous owners and loved their pies.

[Pat]

On the grill:

Filet mignon

Baked potatoes

From the kitchen:

Homemade tortilla chips

Homemade pico de gallo

Green beans with butter, s+p

Raspberry swirl cheesecake

[Pool Boy]

'tandoori' chicken

grilled zucchini

couscous

naan

vino

[legant]

A "Clean the Fridge" project:

I went into a 24-hour cooking frenzy. The vegetables from last week’s farmers market haul didn’t fare so well; it was a “use it or lose it” situation. The cucumbers, sage, cilantro and salad mix had to be tossed.

I started off by roasting about 2 quarts of cherry tomatoes with olive oil, balsamic, basil. Next came the basil: added some steamed spinach and walnuts (that had been hiding in the freezer) to make a pesto.

The rest of the spinach was sautéed with some garlic and shallots and red pepper flakes, to be used… with Cherry Glen ricotta… as a topping for a pizza.

Next I needed to tackle the banana peppers. Seeded a half dozen peppers; stuffed with a mixture of Truck Patch Italian sausage, the roasted cherry tomatoes, Cherry Glen ricotta; wrapped/baked in puff pastry. The mixture was a little too chunky for the peppers so I ran it through the food processor. Not bad. Not bad at all. The aesthetics were another thing; I played around with different shapes to wrap the peppers; the envelope shaped ones looked much more appetizing than the crescent or pig-in-the-blanket or the sui mai -- I had several cherry bomb peppers as well -- shapes.

I baked the remaining puff in a ramekin; filled with mascarpone and Kuhn's peaches.

Finished off this madness this morning with cream biscuits topped with McLeaf’s apple butter.

I do still have some eggplant to use. I might try this eggplant ricotta crostini or roasted eggplant and garlic on polenta squares tonight.

That’s the good thing about cooking for one: you can make stuff like this -- a week's worth of appetizers… add a glass of wine or cocktail… and call it dinner. Last night it was the stuffed banana peppers and an Aperol Sunset.

Whew! Stick a fork in me; I’m done.

[monavano]

Packed up sungold cherry tomato soup for tommorow. I oven roasted the tomatoes, red onion and garlic with evoo and s/p. Blended with basil, chicken stock, Greek yogurt and half and half. Drizzle balsamic.

Dinner was cheddar corn chowder (Ina Garten and added dried thyme) and tomato pie (WaPo).

(thank you summer!)

[Pat]

Homemade tortilla chips

Homemade pico de gallo

Hoisin-glazed salmon with plum-ginger relish

Twice-baked potatoes with bacon and cheddar

[lperry]

Inspired by the tomato soup recipe Pat posted in the tomato thread, Brandywine tomato soup with Parmagiano-Reggiano palmier "croutons" made with homemade puff pastry.

Three big Brandywines from the garden went on the grill with about ten cherry tomatoes of various and/or dubious parentage, half a Vidalia onion, and a few cloves of garlic from the garden. Basil from the windowbox went into the pot along with some raw cherry tomatoes, cream, and butter. Grilling the tomatoes whole made for great flavor ranging from charred to fresh. It also made it really easy to get the skins off.

[Anna Blume]

legant, brava! I kinda did something similar last Friday and still haven't gotten around to the eggplant stew (sort of a ratatouille, but I hate slimy zucchini, so not quite).

Fettuccine w pesto

Glass of cheap Rhone wine

Salad of roasted beets, toasted walnuts (yes, I know), last tiny cube of feta and all of last week's red leaf lettuce (rejuvenated in ice water before spinning, then wrapped in paper towels inside plastic bag in fridge while eating the pasta, minus gnarly bits)

Quaker Valley's amazing green grapes

[goodeats]

legant, brava! I kinda did something similar last Friday and still haven't gotten around to the eggplant stew (sort of a ratatouille, but I hate slimy zucchini, so not quite).

Please share recipe! I have been looking for such a recipe to use up my eggplant & zucchini. Yippee!

[zoramargolis]

panzanella (I managed to cube and oven-toast the uneaten part of a several-day-old baguette before it got moldy!)

cedar-planked sockeye salmon with tzatziki

broccolini with lemon

2008 Bonnet muscadet

[bettyjoan]

Citrus-chipotle pork loin

Green beans

Red onion-cilantro-orange salad (took the edge off the spicy pork)

[Tweaked]

Watermelon salad with feta, red onion, kalamata olives, mint, arugula

Naan flatbreads topped with pesto, carmalized onions, sauteed mushrooms, cherry tomatoes

[DanCole42]

Grilled local, grass-fed flat iron with pickled jalapeno chimicurri, grilled local corn with lime-cumin compound butter, grilled garlic-rubbed homemade sourdough to soak it all up.

[Pat]

Baguette

Salad plate: yellow heirloom tomato; buffalo mozzarella, alphonso olives, pickled banana peppers

Chicken breasts with mushrooms and artichokes in a white wine sauce

Couscous

[lperry]

Mr. lperry returned from a trip to Norfolk with bags of produce.

Grilled veggie burgers with yellow tomatoes from the garden

Grilled sweet corn with butter and coarse salt

Quinoa salad with chickpeas, sun dried tomatoes, and feta

Blackberries

[bettyjoan]

Pancetta-wrapped chicken breasts

Pesto orzo with tomatoes

Frozen peas

[Anna Blume]

Please share recipe! I have been looking for such a recipe to use up my eggplant & zucchini. Yippee!

No real recipe. Literally, a ratatouille without the zucchini. If there's an eggplant topic here, I probably have contributed to it since eggplant is one of my favorite things-in-the-world-that-others-tend-to-hate. Cooked lots and lots of various types of fresh onions on low heat in olive oil, covered, then took off lid, added chopped savory (thyme good, too) and let it caramelize a bit. Chopped fresh garlic, lots of strips of variety of colorful frying peppers, one red bell pepper and one long chili pepper. After soft, chopped tomato seconds. When latter started to turn from fruit to sauce, my two long, leftover Asian eggplants were added, cubed. Torn basil leaves to finish. Same without savory, basil or tomatoes and with lots and lots of lemon juice and paprika is quite good, too.

[Grilled local, grass-fed flat iron with pickled jalapeno chimicurri, grilled local corn with lime-cumin compound butter, grilled garlic-rubbed homemade sourdough to soak it all up.

Thanks for inspiration! I'm planning to grill a bison skirt steak tonight and don't feel like making Suzanne Goin's tapenade and mayo. Think I'm going to roast up a batch of fresh chili peppers, then steam them.

[monavano]

Turkey meatloaf stuffed with cheddar and spinach, topped with a reduced sauce of roasted tomatoes, leftover homemade tomato sauce, brown sugar, balsamic and red wine vinegar, cumin, chili powder, smoked paprika and honey. The meatloaf was incredibly moist* from adding half and half, ketchup and grated onion, garlic and bell peppers.

Smashed buttermilk and cheese (2 wedges of Laughing Cow) potatoes.

Garden salad.

*I haven't used a loaf pan for meatloaf in some time. With fattier meats, it seems to drown in grease, but with this turkey meatloaf, it was perhaps my most successful version of meatloaf. Thinking back on making free-form meatloaf, I wonder that while allowing the grease to drain away from the loaf, if baking it this way actually dries it out.

[goldenticket]

You can tell it's tomato season by many of the recent posts! Same was true at my house last night.

Dinner was panzanella inspired by the Rustico chef's demo at the Crystal City market. I'd had panzanella on the brain all day for some reason and they had a very nice version.

I was able to put it together with:

- beefsteak tomatoes (99 cents/lb!) from Toigo's 'second' bin. (not sure why they were seconds as they looked pretty darn good to me, very minor bruise or bumps to be cut out)

- little red onions and cucumbers from Bigg Riggs

- "Rustic Bread" from Baguette Republic (I think)

chopped/tore up the above and mixed it with red wine vinegar, olive oil, S+P, and threw in some cubed leftover fresh mozzarella and a few leaves of thyme from the garden - simple, quick, and refreshing.

[lperry]

Continuing the tomato theme, Thai drunken noodles. I had been looking all around for those big sheet noodles, and I was thinking about them as I walked past the wonton wrappers in the refrigerated case at H Mart. (Smacks forehead.) So wonton "noodles," a big Brandywine and a yellow beefsteak tomato, crimini mushrooms, onion, garlic, a load of Thai basil, and a decent sauce I made up from reading a slew of recipes online. I made these last year during tomato season, but was much happier with the end product this year.

[Pat]

BLTs on baguette

Asian salmon pasta salad

[zoramargolis]

last night:

gazpacho

applewood-smoked, herb-brined Eco-Friendly chicken with uncooked bbq sauce (best chicken I've made in eons--crisp skin, moist smoky meat, amazing flavor)

new potato salad

haricots verts

coconut popsicles

[DanCole42]

I love making sandwiches from leftovers. Almost as much as I love making pizzas from leftovers.

Homemade sourdough (rubbed with cumin-lime butter and broiled), grilled flat iron steak, pickled jalapenos, quaso blanco, romaine, chimichurri...

[monavano]

^I love using leftovers on pizza and in fritattas. Leftover steak usually goes into an "entree salad" or gets used on the weekend for steak and eggs. Plus the pups get some too.

Cheddar Corn Chowder reheated from the other night, with lardons.

[lperry]

French-style tomato tart with coarse brown and Dijon mustards, caramelized/browned Vidalia onion, feta, and one, very large, very oddly shaped Brandywine tomato.

There is also one black cherry tomato in the center. I did this pastry with all white-whole-wheat flour. Egad, what a painfully fragile dough. I had to roll it in pieces and fit it together in the pan. I'll try 1/4 and 3/4 next time because I really like the richer flavor of the whole wheat with savory tarts.

Served with summer yellow crookneck squash with shallots, feta, and mint. The tomatoes, squash, shallots, and mint came from the garden.

[DanCole42]

Homemade flour tortillas (made w/ cumin-lime butter), avocado, fresh lime juice, queso blanco, cilantro, pickled jalapenos, sour cream, pork shoulder slow-roasted over hickory for twelve hours: possibly the most delicious thing I've ever made!

[Pat]

Couscous salad with chickpeas

Spicy pork meatball soup with ginger, cilantro, and scallions

[bettyjoan]

Roast chicken with pasta gratin

(Breasts, seared in the pan then finished in the oven with some carrots, onions, celery root, and parsnips, served with farfalle "gratin" with goat cheese, ricotta, mascarpone, cream cheese, and parmesan)

This was the third recipe from The Athlete's Palate cookbook, and I just haven't been a huge fan. Certain components of each dish have been good - for example, the pesto orzo that went with the pancetta-wrapped chicken was REALLY tasty - but then the rest have been kind of bland and meh. The gratin in this dish was REALLY dry, which I suppose is to be expected when you're trying to keep things healthy and you don't use cream/butter/etc. The best part about the meal was the roasted veg - yum!

[leleboo]

farfalle "gratin" with goat cheese, ricotta, mascarpone, cream cheese, and parmesan)

{...}

The gratin in this dish was REALLY dry, which I suppose is to be expected when you're trying to keep things healthy and you don't use cream/butter/etc.

Sure, there's no cream or butter, but all that cheese must have counted for *something* right? What am I missing?

[Fishinnards]

Ma Po Dau Fu, Bitter Melon, Rice (not shown) and Stone Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale

[monavano]

^Beautiful food, and I love your name!

[zoramargolis]

Sure, there's no cream or butter, but all that cheese must have counted for *something* right? What am I missing?

My thought exactly. Just thin the cheeses (goat, mascarpone, cream cheese AND ricotta...sounds pretty bland) with some low fat milk. There's plenty of butterfat in there already. Probably was baked too long and/or at too high a temp, so whatever liquid was in there evaporated. Why not just stir in the cheeses and heat it on top of the stove, like an alfredo and forget about the "gratin"? This is a form of mac and cheese, and oven-baked mac and cheeses do much better when they are made with a bechamel base. It takes experience, but eventually you start reading recipes with a critical eye--you won't have to make it to find out it's not a well-conceived dish.

[bettyjoan]

Well, true that there were a variety of (part-skim or reduced fat) cheeses in the gratin, but they were in small quantities (I believe, in total, there were five to six tablespoons for a whole 14-oz box of pasta). When I mixed everything up, I thought, hmmmm, this is going to be dry. So, I did thin it with half and half, and I only had it under the broiler until the top got a little brown and crusty. Ah, well. I think you're on to something in terms of forgetting "gratin" and doing it over the stove.

[bettyjoan]

Oh, and Fishinnards, I love love love that Stone Sublimely Self-Righteous. Delicious!

[porcupine]

BLTs. Rustic Italian bread from DiBonaventures, heirloom tomatoes (Arkansas Traveller, Rose, German Striped), homemade mayonnaise. More tomatoes on the side 'cause we couldn't stop eating them.

Peach-blackberry pie for dessert.

[Choirgirl21]

pickled jalapeno chimicurri

Recipe/instructions please?

[lperry]

Whole wheat linguine tossed with pesto and chopped fresh Brandywine tomatoes, served just warm. Dessert is a banana, blackberry, bourbon, chocolate chip "bread" that is still cooling.