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Dinner - The Polyphonic Food Blog


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Tonight:

Leftovers

Last night:

Sweet potato biscuits and butter

Frisee and red leaf lettuce, cucumber, Campari tomatoes, and radishes; balsamic tarragon vinaigrette

Wine merchant steak (Boneless NY strip with red wine shallot mushroom sauce)

Creamed spinach

Mashed potatoes with chives

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I made yudofu (simmered tofu and vegetables) and steamed rice for dinner on Thursday. I used Twin Oaks organic extra-firm tofu, farmers' market napa cabbage and daikon, burdock root, fresh shiitake, and some dried wakame seaweed. The bottle in back is yuzu ponzu from Ando Shoyu in Kakunodate, Akita Prefecture. I carried it back with me from Japan this past winter. It's totally delicious, and was our dipping sauce for the yudofu.

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tonight Big Dog Don Rockwell graced our dinner table with his presence. We had:

martinis on the rocks

(I had a glass of white wine)

asian slaw (savoy cabbage, jicama, fennel, cucumber, carrot, ripe jalapeño, scallions, baby ginger, cilantro, sesame seeds dressed with brown rice vinegar, grape seed oil, light soy sauce, fish sauce, lime juice, toasted sesame oil, agave syrup)

korean-inspired seafood noodle bowl (fresh wheat noodles; shrimp stock, white miso, light soy, fish sauce, ginger, toasted sesame oil; fresh wild shrimp, squid, black cod; braised sliced pork belly pan-fried and glazed with gochujang sauce; sauteed bok choy; sauteed oyster and shiitake mushrooms; daikon radish kim chee; garnished with roasted seaweed, toasted sesame seeds, scallions, cilantro; sriracha

fresh pineapple, fuyu persimmon, raspberries, lime juice, ginger, mint

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tonight Big Dog Don Rockwell graced our dinner table with his presence. We had:

martinis on the rocks

(I had a glass of white wine)

asian slaw (savoy cabbage, jicama, fennel, cucumber, carrot, ripe jalapeño, scallions, baby ginger, cilantro, sesame seeds dressed with brown rice vinegar, grape seed oil, light soy sauce, fish sauce, lime juice, toasted sesame oil, agave syrup)

korean-inspired seafood noodle bowl (fresh wheat noodles; shrimp stock, white miso, light soy, fish sauce, ginger, toasted sesame oil; fresh wild shrimp, squid, black cod; braised sliced pork belly pan-fried and glazed with gochujang sauce; sauteed bok choy; sauteed oyster and shiitake mushrooms; daikon radish kim chee; garnished with roasted seaweed, toasted sesame seeds, scallions, cilantro; sriracha

fresh pineapple, fuyu persimmon, raspberries, lime juice, ginger, mint

Here's a picture of that incredible ramen.

The smartest thing I did tonight was immediately take my spoon and try some broth by itself. It was amazing. Made from shrimp stock (only 1 of fully 21 ingredients comprising this insanely complex dish), it tasted like reduction of essence of shrimp - mild and sweet while at the same time remarkably intense. All subsequent bites were amazing, with the combinations becoming more and more assertive, viscous, and ample as the bowl headed towards bottom, but nothing topped that very first taste of simple broth.

The two pieces of pork belly were aggressively marinated and grilled, and were very powerful in opposition to the delicate stock. Their visual was worth a lot to me, but I preferred them as a garnish since this dish was otherwise 100% seafood and vegetarian. Zora offered me some Sriracha, but I put only a few drops on the side and didn't mix it in because I didn't want to unbalance the delicacy of the broth for the same reason I didn't want to distribute the pork belly (which was, of course, homemade).

Dessert sounds so simple, but the mint and lime juice raised all ingredients beyond their ordinary capabilities. The small portion was gone in seconds, as the football game was beginning and I didn't want to wear out my welcome, but, especially with the unusual use of persimmon, this was the finest "fruit cocktail" that I've had in memory.

The slaw, other than a little fish sauce, was entirely vegan, and served its role as the perfect appetizer (and I mean that quite literally - even though it was a substantial portion, it whetted my appetite for the ramen that was to come, and I was even hungrier when I'd finished the slaw than before I started it).

An incredibly elegant, detailed meal, with a balanced, three-course, sonata-like flow, by one of the greatest home cooks I've ever known. I will never forget the ethereal simplicity of that first bite of shrimp stock which Zora said was just made from heads and shells (and maybe some white miso, I can't remember) which she would have otherwise discarded - it was just sitting there in her freezer, and she somehow managed to throw this all together.

Thank you, Zora and Jonathan, for your indefatigable hospitality and generosity.

I am so envious of these two wonderful people - there is nothing better in life than to stumble across an evening such as this.

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Since my inspirational visit to Toki Underground during the summer, I have made this type of layered ramen a couple of times prior to last night. This was the first time I made it with seafood. Prior efforts have been with pork, either pork belly or tenderloin, and those were based on a chicken or turkey stock from my freezer stash. As I explained to Don last night, whenever I am cleaning a large number of fresh shrimp--especially shrimp with heads--I use the shells and heads to make stock, with aromatic vegetables and herbs and some white wine. I store it in plastic leftover containers in my freezer, and use it as the basis of seafood stew or paella. To make the broth for last night's ramen, I defrosted about 4 cups of shrimp stock and added white miso to it, along with some water, a few drops of Red Boat fish sauce and a bit of light soy.

Right now I have a fair amount of smoked turkey stock in the freezer, made from the bones of the Thanksgiving smoked turkey. I also have chicken, duck and veal stock, some of which is buried in the back and will require excavation to find.

As many experts will say, the difference between good cooking and great cooking is homemade stock.

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Monday night was a big meal. Last night was leftovers.

Monday

Brie and Smoked salmon with red onion on toasted onion dill rye bread

Kale and red cabbage salad with avocado, red onion, and bacon; apple cider vinaigrette

Leftover pork loin

White rice fried with green beans and bread crumbs

Tuesday

Leftover kale - cabbage salad

Leftover pork with rice and green beans

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Went into Wagshal's yesterday for some lamb for tonight's dinner, then had the brilliant idea of going to the deli while I was there. So dinner last night was some of that fantastic pastrami and gruyere on Russian pumpernickel. After spending all day in the kitchen prepping for tonight, a simple meal like that really hit the spot. I think I've imprinted on both the pastrami and the pumpernickel.

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Indian dinner for some friends:

gosht poshto (lamb in poppy seed sauce)

kutchi paneer (paneer in a spinach and chickpea flour sauce)

dhulli masoor dal (red lentils, Bengali style)

vatana nu leelu shaak (peas with an awful lot of spices, garlic, chilies)

aloo gobhi (potatoes and cauliflower)

gajar halwa (carrot pudding)

rasmalai (sweet paneer in reduced milk and saffron)

cara cara oranges

The rasamalai were a disaster (really tough). I've never attempted it before and still don't know what I did wrong. Have any of you ever made it?

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Salad (red leaf lettuce, Campari tomatoes, cucumber; champagne - caper vinaigrette)

Hot turkey meatball subs with mozzarella and tomato sauce

Rosti

The sandwich was what we would have called a grinder when I was growing up in the Philadelphia area. It was good but I went a little overboard on the tomato sauce and the sandwiches got a little soggy, even though the bread was toasted. (I cut a couple of sections out of a baguette.)

This is the first time I've successfully made rosti or its equivalent. Everything held together and was nice and brown. Usually things fall apart when I try this. The recipe was from Saveur. I guess the key is starting from cooked potatoes and then refrigerating for a while before grating them. I think I refrigerated them for about 3 hours. I also used lard :P .

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Last night featured two completely different types of food. I was trying to use up leftovers and things I had.

Jewish rye bread with chopped liver and eggs

Pickles

Rigatoni with turkey meatballs and tomato sauce

Originally, I intended to put the bread and chopped liver and pickles out as an appetizer/starter, but everything ended up being put on the table at once. Everything was good. It was just a little weird having it together.

The chicken livers were what was left of a pound after I made Jacques Pepin's recipe for spinach cayettes on Friday night (spinach, ground pork, ground beef, and chicken livers). The previous time I made the cayettes, they were fantastic. This time they were way too greasy. It finally occurred to me that I had used very lean ground beef the last time but 85% lean this time. I'll have to remember to go with the extra lean meat in the future.

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I got a cold on Thanksgiving that lasted a week and played havoc with my cooking. When I was finally back to normal I made some green curry with beef, roasted eggplant salad with pork, shallots, mint, peanuts, fried shallots, toasted coconut, lime chillies and fish sauce, crispy chicken skin with garlic, coriander root and white pepper, blanched cauliflower, green beans, arugula, cabbage, lettuce, and basil, fish sauce with chillies, soup with pork, spinach and fried garlic (not pictured), and heaping helpings of jasmine rice.

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Another memorable meal from "Rivers of Flavor" (Burmese food) was Kachin pounded beef, pickled ginger salad, spinach and tomato salad and piles of jasmine rice. Actually, this may have been before I got sick. I think it was the last of the decent fresh tomatoes.

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Last night we had some food from "Climbing the mango tree", Madhur Jaffrey's wonderful memoir. The recipes in the back are fantastic. I made Maya's meat and potatoes, pumpkin (kaddu) (actually acorn squash), and hari chutney (mint, cilantro, chillies, lime), papads and rice.

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I'm making green curry again tonight because I made enough paste for two curries, and maybe some laab. I also have all the ingredients for a lamb biryani that I bought right before my cold disrupted my culinary endeavors, so biryani is in my future :) .

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Monday was linguini in a vodka pink sauce (the last from the freezer) with a salad of romaine dressed in a tarragon vinaigrette.

Last night was a mushroom stroganoffy dish (onion, thyme, sherry, and fresh goat's cheese in the sauce) served over a mix of brown and forbidden rice. An interesting mix of colors, to say the least. Roasted asparagus as well, as I succumbed to the siren song of imported spring veg.

There will be much rice in the next week or so. I let a bag of brown rice go rancid, and there's nothing I hate more than wasting food. The pantry challenge is on for a while until the myriad bags of grains get used.

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Sunday

Waldorf salad on a bed of red leaf lettuce

Beef stew with red wine and horseradish-chive cream

Rye bread

Monday

Nachos with pork sausage, refried beans, mozzarella, pepper jack, and cheddar; tomatoes, scallions, and sour cream

Last night

Ciabatta and olive oil

Leftover beef stew

Steamed spinach with lemon

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Baby romaine salad with Campari tomatoes, bacon, and croutons; poppy dressing

Linguine with tomato - fennel meat sauce, Parmigiano - Reggiano, fresh bread crumbs, and baby spinach

I had a pound of pork sausage in the refrigerator that had defrosted some time ago and I really needed to use it soon, so it became the base for a pasta sauce last night. I added some excess ground fennel I had powdered from seeds earlier this month and stashed in an unmarked jar. It seemed like it would be good with the sausage and also that it would be good to use it while I still remembered I had it :rolleyes: . Along with some red wine and cheese, it livened up the sausage, which was pretty mild.

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Salad of green and red oak lettuce, cucumber, Campari tomatoes, and hard-boiled egg; orange vinaigrette

Leftover deviled chicken wings

Baked penne with leftover tomato meat sauce, topped with grated Parrano cheese

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Roasted turkey breast

Rolls

Haricots vert with butter and lemon

Spinach Rockefeller

The spinach is something my mom used to make: chopped spinach, onions, butter, bread crumbs, eggs, cream, herbs, grated parmesan, salt & pepper, mixed and scooped onto halved tomatoes and then baked. It's a Ladies Home Journal bastardization of the Oysters Rockefeller topping.

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Chicken Mus-Sa-Mun (Yellow) Curry

Rice

Sauvignon Blanc

Brownie with vanilla ice cream for dessert; I want it and he'll go along :D

Thai, with peanuts? (Did you know Mus-Sa-Mun (sometimes spelled Massaman) means Muslim? (It's "Muselman" in French.)) Sauvignon Blanc is a good call with this dish.

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Yes, with peanuts. Got the recipe from a Fairfax County Adult Education Thai cooking class; it was 3 weeks long and I got 3 curry and 3 noodle recipes out of it. The class is being held again in March and you don't need to be a Fairfax County resident to attend.

Got the Sauvignon Blanc from UnWined Belle View.

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charcoal grilled butterflied leg of lamb, marinated for 4 days in yogurt, mint, onion, cumin and lemons

tunisian spiced carrots: roasted in olive oil with garlic, dressed with caraway, cumin, harissa , lemon juice, olive oil and chopped cilantro/mint

basmati rice with za'atar

warm pita and hummus

Guiness Stout ginger cake with vanilla whipped cream (Clear Creek Dairy)

2011 La Cartuja priorat

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simple straightforward ;lovely Christmas dinner of prime rib, roasted asparagus, mashed potatoes, and asiago & rosemary rolls, and inspired by the recent chat with Gerry Dawes, a Rioja to go with which was a great foil for the richness of the beef, with cookies afterwards.

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maybe next time you'll only need to open one bottle, since chablis is made with 100% chardonnay grapes...

It was best that we had the two bottles open - the chablis was nice and dry and crisp, which I prefer, while the chardonnay had what I can best describe as a "funk." Just a buttery/fruity combo that was not my style at all.

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We had to go up to Carol County to Truck Patch Farms to pick up our pork order for this week. Did you know you have to actually hit send for an email to go thru in time for the pork to be delivered to DC? So we wound up with two meals....

Sunshine Burger at the intersection of Georgia and New Hampshire. Big burger, overcooked {Q: Do you want me to leave it pink? A:Yes! Result Grey} but so much better than any of the 5 guys burgers I have ever had. If you are driving by, worth a stop if only for the scuzzy location and the nice folk running the place.

Turkey from Truck Patch rubbed with a spice rub and roasted, spicy gravy. Ridge Buchignani Ranch Carignane 2002. Stuffed {us, not the turkey} and tipsy. The only improvement we could have made is a vegetable to go with it.

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Braised cubed chuck in the style of Emeril Lagasse's Osso Bucco. Served over pressure cooker Carnaroli rice risotto with some peas tossed in at the end.

i used Emeril's recipe the first time I made Osso Bucco. I was so nervous, buying expensive veal shanks, but they turned out great.

I need to tweak the timing on the risotto recipe, but it has great promise and I've generally produced better risotto using Carnaroli vs. Arborio; creamier with individual grains of rice when I manage to get it just right.

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Inspired by lperry's suggestion in the Kitchen 911 thread, I made pasta triangles filled with mushroom and ricotta. But I didn't like how the sauce came out (should have asked for a recipe), so I served them with a simple butter and sage sauce, with a little Parmesan and some prosciutto on top. Side dish of escarole braised in butter and orange juice.

The other half of the bottle of red wine went into an onionless beef bourguignon, to be reheated for dinner tonight or tomorrow (Julia says it's better the next day) and served with fingerling potatoes.

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