Dinner - The Polyphonic Food Blog

[Pat]

We pretty much finished up our Christmas prime rib yesterday. I had made stock with the bones and chopped up some of the slices to go in the beef barley vegetable soup I made with it yesterday.

I was sick all weekend* and enjoyed a big bowl of soup, while my husband supplemented his soup with a slice of prime rib and leftover rice pilaf.

*Pretty much all I accomplished this weekend was stock, soup, and laundry.

[monavano]

We pretty much finished up our Christmas prime rib yesterday. I had made stock with the bones and chopped up some of the slices to go in the beef barley vegetable soup I made with it yesterday.

******

I saved our prime rib for soup too. I thought it a worthy use for the leftovers. Not making it today-- I'm going to simmer bean and ham soup.

[qwertyy]

We pretty much finished up our Christmas prime rib yesterday. I had made stock with the bones and chopped up some of the slices to go in the beef barley vegetable soup I made with it yesterday.

******

I saved our prime rib for soup too. I thought it a worthy use for the leftovers. Not making it today-- I'm going to simmer bean and ham soup.

I made chili with leftover prime rib one year. It was outstanding.

[weezy]

I've made stock from the bone and bits of the prime rib I had at Xmas dinner. Will turn it into french onion soup sometime soon.

[Pat]

Monday night:

Cranberry cheddar cheese

Potted cheddar horseradish cheese

Tapenade

Baguette slices

Arugula and fennel salad

Baked chicken breasts

Rosti

Last night:

Kale soup with potatoes, chorizo sausage, and black-eyed peas

Caesar salad with white anchovies

Rice pilaf

The soup for last night was from Molly O'Neill's A Well-Seasoned Appetite. The black-eyed peas were my addition and worked very well with the rest of the soup. I had been planning to make a Marcus Samuelsson recipe for black-eyed peas that I've made a few New Year's in a row but wasn't feeling up to cooking an extra dish, so I added black-eyed peas to the soup instead. I'd definitely do that again.

[monavano]

Last night I used my oven's built-in thermometer for the first time.

The good- it worked really well with roasted rack of pork which I cooked to 145 before resting. I seasoned with s&p and rubbed sage and let sit for 45 minutes before starting it at 450 degrees for 25 minutes, then reduced the temp to 325. I repeatedly basted with a sauce of maple syrup, dijon, apple cider vinegar and evoo. It turned out delicious with 2 pieces left that are stored with the rest of the marinade/basting liquid.

The bad is that the oven's thermometer does not begin to register, and just reads on the screen as "Lo", until 130 degrees. So, SOL with roasts of beef, pretty much.

[The Hersch]

Osso buco. It was just me, and I decided I didn't want to go to the bother of risotto alla milanese, so I did mashed potatoes (with chives), which went wonderfully well with the veal shank and sauce. Tasty doesn't begin to cover it.

[Sundae in the Park]

Osso buco. It was just me, and I decided I didn't want to go to the bother of risotto alla milanese, so I did mashed potatoes (with chives), which went wonderfully well with the veal shank and sauce. Tasty doesn't begin to cover it.

Oh that looks goooood!

We had a nice resolutionary meal of baked sole and roasted superskinny asparagus and potatoes.

[Pat]

That osso buco is gorgeous!

Last night:

Crostini with tapenade

Toasted everything bagel with cream cheese and smoked salmon

Leftover chicken breast

Kale mashed potatoes

[lperry]

I'll have a week or two of working on the challenge of using up this and that, so there is a remains-of-a-veg-platter inspired soup simmering on the stove. Mirepoix, diced tomato, black beans, tomato paste, and stock with whatever herbs smell nice in the garden and some pasta to be tossed in during the last ten minutes. I'm pretty sure I've got enough leftover marinated olives in there to do a bit of tapenade on toast as well.

[rkduggins]

Using the leftovers theme, sliced some kielbasa and sauteed with two bags of cole slaw mix, season with cider vinegar, a splash of rice wine vinegar, teaspoon of sugar and a sprinkling of caraway seeds.

[Fishinnards]

Some things I've been cooking,

Pork stir fried with red curry paste and vegetables (mu pad pet) roasted eggplant salad with pork (yum makeau pro), omelet stuffed with pork (kai yat sai), fresh vegetables, pickled mustard green soup (gaeng chud pak dong), fish sauce with chillies (prik nam pla), brown jasmine rice.

Sri Lankan lentils (paripoo)(aka masoor dhal), cabbage curry, salad of cucumbers, tomato, onion, chillies, cilantro. lime juice and salt, piles of rice.

Thai chicken biryani (khao mok gai), vegetables and sweet chili sauce

Cucumber salad (yum taeng), red curry (gaeng pet), pickled mustard green soup (gaenge chud pak dong), grilled pork skewers with sweet chili sauce (mu ping), and rice.

[hillvalley]

Roasted marshmallows

Latkes with sour cream

Arugula mushroom lemon salad

Smores using homemade chocolate sauce and bits of crystalized ginger

There are officially no more holiday goodies left.

I hate January.

[Pat]

Leftover fennel arugula salad

Chicken stew with root vegetables

[monavano]

Fishinnards, as usual, your food looks stunning. I have red lentils and want to make the masoor dhal, but I'm finding some significant variations in recipes. Can you share yours?

[Fishinnards]

Fishinnards, as usual, your food looks stunning. I have red lentils and want to make the masoor dhal, but I'm finding some significant variations in recipes. Can you share yours?

Here is the recipe I used, complete with video:

http://riceandcurry....ippu-sri-lanka/

BTW there are thousands of ways to cook masoor dhal. Let me know if want a north Indian recipe. This Sri Lankan recipe is very easy and always comes out tasty.

[monavano]

^

Thanks!

Tonight I took some help from the store and got a rotisserie chicken with gravy and made collards and a cauliflower gratin with mozzarella and gorgonzola.

[thistle]

Took the leftover Thai basil, sprouts, jalapenoes, & lime from yesterday's pho, & added it to homemade chicken broth, w/ frig dehydrated mushrooms (sad, but I didn't want to chuck them) & shrimp...thought about adding leftover NYs collards & blackeyed peas, but I wisely tossed them...

[rkduggins]

Tonight, Marcella Hazan's Tomato and Anchovy sauce over spaghetti. Rich, velvety, delicious.

[Sundae in the Park]

Friday night: chicken and green beans in red curry, curry-roasted cauliflower, and rice

Last night: roasted chicken, potatoes, carrots, and broccoli, homemade bread, and lemon bars. The broccoli is just as good as cauliflower (1st time, same prep - sliced thin)! The lemon bars were a tad overbaked but very lemony.

The fridge is almost empty enough for us to leave on vacation.

[weezy]

Have a chuck roast braising right now, will serve on polenta, with steamed broccoli with lemon butter and a horseradish cream to drizzle on top.

[Heather]

Lamb stew with parsnips, carrots, turnips, potatoes, and dill

Soda bread

Green salad

Clementines

No dessert. I had enough sweets in December to last until March.

[DonRocks]

Lamb stew with parsnips, carrots, turnips, potatoes, and dill

Soda bread

Green salad

Clementines

No dessert. I had enough sweets in December to last until March.

(See? I really do.)

[monavano]

No dessert. I had enough sweets in December to last until March.

*****

We're getting to the bottom of our baked stash here. One more biscotti and some bourbon pecan pie left. All I need is a wafer-thin mint.

[Pat]

Re: above....We still have cookies and fudge left from last month, and I didn't really make that much.

Last night's dessert was a square of cranberry - pistachio fudge heated in the microwave, then topped with a couple scoops of Ben and Jerry's NY Super Fudge Chunk, heavy cream whipped with confectioner's sugar and almond extract, and Luxardo maraschino cherries scattered over top. That was actually supposed to be Christmas night dessert but we eat very little dessert and didn't get to it until last night. The cherries really made that fantastic.

Tonight is a salad of butter and red oak lettuces with red currants, feta, and cucumber; champagne vinaigrette; and, leftover chicken and root veg stew reformulated with mushrooms and served over egg noodles with chives.

[bettyjoan]

Chicken enchiladas with pumpkin sauce - really easy and super flavorful.

[lperry]

Last night, crimini mushrooms in red wine sauce over brown rice, roasted broccoli with romano cheese.

Tonight, leek and potato soup, leeks from the garden, red-skinned potatoes that didn't help.

[LauraB]

Turkey Tagine: red onion, leek, 1 lb turkey breast, cubed, Fuji apple, carrot, parsnip, red pepper, jewel yam, diced tomatoes, chickpeas, orange zest, homemade vegetable broth, cumin, ginger, cinnamon, turmeric, chopped dates

This was really good and didn't require any side dishes. Looking forward to leftovers.

[Heather]

(See? I really do.)

The lamb recipe was from Mark Bittman's How To Cook Everything, and as is usual with his recipes, the ease of assembly was accompanied by a lack of developed flavor. He does not call for browning the lamb before braising so it would most likely be one-dimensional, but I like to try a recipe as-written sometimes before tinkering with it.

[zoramargolis]

last night:

dinner for SIL, two nieces and their fellas

guacamole and pico de gallo with chips, peanuts, pretzels and beer for the football watchers

mixed salad with shaved fennel, cuke and roasted red pepper, lemon vinaigrette

vegetarian lasagna, tomato/roasted red pepper sauce, homemade ricotta with spinach and basil, crimini and porcini duxelles, roasted eggplant

grilled eco-friendly hot Italian sausages

2010 Cantina Zacagnini montepulciano

oven baked spiced quinces poached in lemon grass-palm sugar syrup, cardamom-orange scented sponge cake, vanilla creme fraiche

espresso

[Heather]

Beef vegetable soup with egg noodles

Buttermilk cat's head biscuits with white cheddar and dill

[Pat]

Chili

Mac and cheese

Bread

[darkstar965]

Daniel Bouloud's recipe for (Stachowski) hangar steak with shallots

Crispy, thinly sliced sweet potato chips w/ sea salt

Greens tossed with a moutarde de meaux vinaigrette

Bottle of inexpensive (and not so great) malbec from WF

[goodeats]

Roast Springfield Butcher duck leg roasted low temp with kabocha pumpkins

Slow cooked WF baby backs rib (requested to cut in a 1x1 riblet size) with daikon

WF daikons come with stems, so I stir-fried those for some greens.

Rice

[Fishinnards]

Last night, Jeaw Bon. Beef simmered with kaffir lime leaves, galanga, and lemongrass. I used some homemade chicken stock in lieu of the more traditional beef bullion cube and MSG. I also added some beef tendon balls instead of tripe, lung or other parts (in deference to others taste). Simmered for about an hour till it was tender then added fish sauce, lime juice, roasted chilli powder, roasted rice powder, and sliced shallots (basically the dipping sauce Jeaw, which is also the dressing for Laap). I opted for regular fish sauce instead of Pla Rah/Pa Dek, a fish sauce made from fresh water fish (often snakehead) that has been deemed too pungent by the powers that rule my household. After seasonings are added, the hot soup/stew/curry is poured over some fresh greens (gai lan, as pak boong aka morning glory, swamp cabbage was not available) and Thai basil. Also stir fried some bok choy, made some pork larb (laap mu), and some egg with sriracha. We had jasmine rice (instead of sticky rice). Jeaw bon is usually served hot pot style, but I opted for a (slightly) less messy eating experience.

[bettyjoan]

Seared tuna with eggplant and scallion saute

[lperry]

Risotto with roasted summer tomatoes (from the freezer) and fresh goat's cheese. Thinking warm.

[porcupine]

A soup of lamp shoulder (browned in bacon fat; the lardons went back into the broth; braised in amber ale) and navy beans, lots of carrots and celery, a little garlic, rosemary, thyme.

[darkstar965]

Ayrshire Farm brats grilled to be partly cooked and then finished in a covered deep skillet with SweetFarmSauerkraut in which we'd integrated some browned onion. SweetFarm is a new, very small kraut-only producer at the Bethesda Farmers' Market. Great kraut! They have four kinds currently; we used the "classic" to pair with the brats.

Also a side of cherry tomato, white onion, avocado salad w/ sea salt.

[zoramargolis]

a chicken and vegetable drawer stew, using meat from a Costco rotisserie chicken. 'cause how can one go shopping there and not buy one? onion, leek, garlic, fennel, carrot and potato sweated in olive oil and then cooked in homemade chicken stock and dry vermouth with a pinch of saffron, bay leaf, thyme and parsley until the potato was almost completely done. Then added a few chopped leaves and stems of chard, half a dozen chunked asparagus spears, some roasted red pepper and then the chunks of chicken meat. finished with a splash of sherry vinegar, chopped fresh basil, parsley and rosemary and some grated reggiano. served with warmed Atwater olive bread.

last of the sponge cake with spiced quinces and a small dab of vanilla ice cream

what was left of a 2010 Yalumba chardonnay

[bettyjoan]

Thai basil chicken lettuce wraps

Saffron rice

TJ's reserve chardonnay (the nicest wine I had available, lol)

[lperry]

A roasted dinner for a rainy, cold evening. Roasted Brussel's sprouts tossed with a little honey in addition to EVOO S & P, roasted carrots with thyme (carrots from a friend's farmshare), and mashed potatoes with butter, olive oil, cream, and hot sauce. Hot sauce sounds weird, but a little makes a big difference.

[Anna Blume]

Lemony veal meatballs

Savoy cabbage w juniper & black pepper cream

Crusty baguette

Roasted apple-pear sauce

[zoramargolis]

small roasted eggplants stuffed with Moroccan-spiced eco-friendly ground beef, basmati rice, cilantro, mint,

topped with tzatziki-esque yogurt sauce

haricots verts in chermoula vinaigrette with chopped tomatoes, olives, feta

fat tire

last of the spiced quinces

[darkstar965]

So, I'm no chef. And it's highly debatable that I even merit the label of 'cook.' That said, I'm good at following directions and an eager learner. When the skill level is so low, progress in leaps and bounds can be had with little advance warning; albeit very inconsistently and regression or disaster are equally likely on any given day.

I've noticed just in recent weeks that many people with real expertise have interesting takes on what separates the great from the merely good in Chefdom. As just two recent examples, docsconz highlighted "blending of flavors" in his just-posted review of Fabio Trabocchi's work at Fiola. The food journalist in Jiro Dreams of Sushi (which we just watched) talks about "always improving" and "passion" along with three other factors to support his adulation of Jiro Ono.

I don't disagree with any of that but I'd add another thing which I find many restaurants struggle with. And, unsuprisingly, I struggle mightily with it at home. Temperature/doneness. Cooking seafood, poultry, beef, pork or other proteins to perfect doneness consistently over time seems challenging for some of those that are trained, highly experienced and generally know what they're doing. It's a 12-sided rubix cube for me despite having relearned some of the basics about feel, a good thermometer, resting and other tricks over and over again.

All of which sets up why I was so very proud of what I pulled out of a hat tonight.

- Two gorgeous pork chops* (maybe 2.5 or 3" thick)* brined for 18 hours from yesterday and then seared and crisped on cast iron, pan roasted and finally basted. After resting, they finished up at about 148-150 degrees. Ideally they'd have been 140 or so but they still tasted wonderful.

- A celery root, celery and horseradish salad* with a fresh squeezed lemon vinaigrette, celery leaves and parsley.

- Roasted and carmelized white and red sweet potato wedges tossed in EVOO, s&p, a bit of maple syrup and garlic

2009 J.K. Carriere Shea Vineyard Pinot Noir (Willamette Valley, OR)

* None of this would have ever been possible had it not been for the help of two key entities. First, Stachowski Market in Georgetown, who were delighted to cut the thick chops for me while I waited. Awesome raw material that probably got me 70% of the way to a successful outcome. And, the current January, 2013 issue of Bon Appetit, a magazine to which I don't subscribe and almost never read. An impulse buy prompted by the cover photo, which I set out to try and duplicate however futile and almost did it. Found the salad recipe in there as well.

[Pat]

Shrimp - orzo salad, with tomato, green onions, parsley; lemon vinaigrette

Pita bread

[Heather]

Potato & cheese pierogies

Sauerkraut & potato pierogies

(both from the Kielbasa Factory)

pan-fried in olive oil and served with sour cream

Fresh steamed broccoli

Hortex brand czarna porzezcka nectar, mixed 30/60% with plain seltzer & a squeeze of lemon juice*

I love blackcurrant, and assumed that it just wasn't popular in the US. Now, thanks to Wikipedia, I know that it was actually banned for more than a century.

[zoramargolis]

boeuf bourguignonne (boneless shortribs in a 4-day cooked wine marinade)

red chard with shallot and balsamic

basmati rice

orange sponge cake with blueberry compote and vanilla mascarpone

2009 Benotto Nebieul (nebbiolo)

[Xochitl10]

We had a shinnenkai (New Year's party) with some friends last night. No drinking, but we made a ton of takoyaki (octopus fritters) and taiyaki (sweet filled pastry in the shape of a sea bream).

[hillvalley]

Homemade challah and butter
Pizza with caramelized onions and buffalo mozzarella
Homemade potato gnocchi
Short ribs braised in a tomato/black olive goodness
Sautéed veggies with lots of garlic
Almond cake
Flour-less chocolate torte*
Scotch
Wine from Minnesota that tasted like wine from Minnesota

*On NYE the six year old was told he could have anything he wanted from the bakery. The dad assumed he'd pick a cookie or cupcake but instead he chose the torte. It was so rich 10 adults only ate half.