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Dinner - The Polyphonic Food Blog


JPW

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Guests for dinner tonight. Dinner for four.

- Velvety butternut squash soup w/ shallot, broth and finely diced apple

- Braised chicken with lemon and artichokes and rice

- Inspired by Monovano (thank you!), I made what I think was my first ever citrus pound cake with a strawberry honey compote and some Dolcezza vanilla gelato. Mine wasn't the equal of Monovano's but it was quite good and, most important, I know how I'd improve it the next time.

- An inexpensive, not-so-great Chardonnay our guests brought

- Very freshly roasted guatemalan Mad Cap coffee

- Equally freshly roasted Stump Town (decaf)

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Where did you buy the La Tur?

Cork market. Actually it was just a little off, which surprised me because I generally find Cork to have excellent cheeses. Last week I found an awesome month-old La Tur (runny!) at Grape + Bean (Old Town location). I've seen it at Cheesetique and Arrowine, too.

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Night before last, a simple dish of rice noodles and greens (I forgot what kind after I got them home - yu choi, maybe?) in a peanut / lime dressing.

Last night, Roasted butternut squash risotto

Savoy cabbage, quickly braised (paradox, I know) with Fuji apples and finished with that wonderful Lebanese apple vinegar from the Mediterranean Grocery.

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Baked “macaroni and cheese” (egg noodles; gruyere, cheddar, and brie sauce; smoked bacon; peas; breadcrumbs)

On Friday I put this together when I had leftover cooked egg noodles (miscalculated how much I needed for something else), cooked frozen peas, some cheese remnants, and an open package of Trader Joe's bacon pieces and ends that was at its sell-by date. The breadcrumbs came out of the freezer.

I dumped the noodles and peas into a buttered casserole dish put the bacon in the oven to cook while the oven preheated. I hadn't bought this bacon before and, due to the odds and ends nature of it, some pieces were thicker and more ham-like than others. I chopped the thickest pieces into small cubes and mixed them into the noodles and peas. Once the cheese sauce was ready, I poured that over top. The breadcrumbs, mixed with some more cheese and dotted with butter, made the top layer of the casserole. The peas suffered a bit from being cooked again, but this was really quite delicious and satisfying. (That's an especially good thing, since there are several more meals of it left :P .)

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Roasted pork tenderloin, simply seasoned with evoo, salt, and pepper

Red chile grits

Salad of romaine, walnuts, blue cheese and red Anjou pear with balsamic vinaigrette

We were supposed to have potato-chive bread with dinner, but I got started late after a 10-mile run, so it's still in the oven.

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Vietnamese Curry Fish Stew w/ rice.

Would be perfect with a medium-bodied white but forgot to pick one up.

Made this a few weeks ago with some rockfish. Using a sturdy hake, cod or other white fish, it's a truly wonderful and easy recipe for winter; several flavors add layers and nuance without a ton of work. One of the better dishes made in the past few months.

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This weekend I cooked some dishes from The Cultural Revolution Cookbook by Sasha Gong and Scott D. Seligman. As you would expect, the dishes from this book are very simple and easy to prepare. I had to work early on Saturday and was tired and lazy, so quick simple Chinese food fit the bill. On Sunday I had the good fortune to hear one of the cookbook's authors, Sasha Gong, speak about her experiences growning up in China during the Cultural Revolution. It was fascinating. At some point this weekend I realized it was also Chinese new year. I cooked the same dishes I made Saturday again on Sunday and added "fish-frangrant pork slivers" from Fuchia Dunlop's Land of Plenty (aka pork, fish style, aka pork in garlic sauce).

Greens (yu choy) stir fried with garlic, savory golden omelet, spicy white radish salad, fish-style pork (carrots are substituting for the bamboo because somebody (not me) doesn't like bamboo) and rice.

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I'm seeking advice re: tonight's dinner. I bought a rabbit at Union Market over the weekend with the intention of making a ragu for some fresh pappardelle, however I changed my mind yesterday and put it (whole) into a marinade (red wine, grated shallot and garlic, thyme, rosemary, blood orange zest, olive oil, salt and pepper) for tonight. I'm considering spit roasting it in the oven but I've been told that is unwise given how easy it is for rabbit to dry out. It's a small rabbit, around 2.5 pounds, and I plan on keeping a very low oven, turning frequently. Am I tempting fate? Should I just cut into serving pieces and cook in a moist, covered environment?

THANKS in advance!

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Monday, vegetarian Chinese (same dishes as Sunday without the fish-style pork):


Tuesday, chicken curry. I bought a whole chicken and used the breasts with green beans, potatoes, garlic, ginger and "East Indian Bottle Masala" from 660 Curries. This is my fall back when I don't feel like cooking. Bottle masala has about 20 spices in it and lots of dried chilles all roasted and ground. I always have a batch on hand. A mere 2 teaspoons makes a very hot and flavorful dish.


Last night, gai kolae, southern Thai style chicken curry with the legs, thighs and wings. It has a curry paste of dried chillies, shallots, garlic, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, shrimp paste (kapi), and fresh tumeric. The chicken is browned in ghee and simmered in coconut milk. The curry paste is fried in the leftover ghee and added to the pot along with palm sugar, lime juice, and fish sauce. I also made green mango salad with pork and peanuts (and lime, fish sauce, shallots, kaffir lime leaf, sawtooth coriander, mint, chillies and palm sugar) and raw and pickled vegetables and crispy chicken skin. Of course, everything is eaten with copious amounts of jasmine rice.


Tonight I'll make mango salad again to eat with the remaining curry and maybe egg and bitter melon, more vegetables, and rice.

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Monastero di Montebello linguine with a Red Apron bolognese sauce bought at Union Market

Tossed greens and veggies/mushroom with a basic vinaigrette

Plenty of freshly grated reggiano

Some of the Valentine's Day chocolate (a lovely Venezuelan, "Chuao" from Chocolat Bonnat)

2010 Langhe Nebbiolo

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Monastero di Montebello linguine with a Red Apron bolognese sauce bought at Union Market

Tossed greens and veggies/mushroom with a basic vinaigrette

Plenty of freshly grated reggiano

Some of the Valentine's Day chocolate (a lovely Venezuelan, "Chuao" from Chocolat Bonnat)

2010 Langhe Nebbiolo

Oooooh. Did you get the firecracker bar? It's amazing.

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We had a lovely dinner party for 6 to "break in" the new kitchen.

Drinks to start- Prosecco, Kir Royale, wine, beer

Apps- onion dip, pita chips with alderwood smoked sea salt, cracked pepper and paprika, marcona almonds, a variety of olives, cheddar.

Starter- Curried cauliflower soup (Jacques Pepin) with a finishing evoo drizzle. Sourdough (ANKB and sourdough starter) bread, butter.

Main- Marcella Hazan's Osso Bucco (finished with freshly grated nutmeg, lemon zest and parsley) over polenta with fulvi, and braised Kale.

Dessert- duo of blood orange panna cotta, syrup and segments/ Chocolate pot de creme, Bailey's whipped cream, toasted chopped hazelnuts and a hazelnut pirouette rolled wafer.

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We had a lovely dinner party for 6 to "break in" the new kitchen.

We had six tonight too. No new kitchen, though. ;)

Cinnamon and cayenne sugared almonds, olives.

Mushrooms and greens in a stone ground chile sauce, served over Salvadoran tortillas.

Roasted sweet potatoes with a chipotle, key lime crema.

Salad of jicama, grapefruit, and orange with a squeeze of lime and sprinkle of salt.

Passionfruit rum sorbet.

Sangria.

I wanted to make tamales, but the Foodway and Shoppers near me were out of corn husks. Are tamales traditional during Semana Santa?

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Tender greens salad with crispy fried shallots (from Burma rivers of flavor), น้ำพริกอ่อง minced pork with chilli and tomato (garlic, galanga, fermented soy bean, shallots), ต้มยำเห๊ด hot and sour mushroom soup (lime juice, fish sauce, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, galanga, red chillies, culantro, stock) ไข่เจียว crispy omelet (Thai basil, green chilli, shallots), น้ำพริกศรีราชา (sriracha sauce) in the middle, กับข้าว (with rice), and Brooklyn Brewery Sorachi Ace.
greens with crispy shallots, น้ำพริกอ่อง,ต้มยำเห๊ด, ไข่เจียว>

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DanielK: I can't seem to quote only a portion of Post #7722 above. Claudia Roden's recipe for blood orange olive oil cake is one of my favorite recipes ever; I don't know if DP of Smitten Kitchen names her source. I baked mine round and bought extra blood oranges to make a simple syrup. Poked holes in top and poured the hot syrup in the warm cake before glazing thin slices of reserved oranges to decorate top, though thin strips of zest would be nice, too. Recommendation was originally from a friend in Maine when consulted about what I should bring to a dinner celebrating Chanakah. As a result, it's become the go-to dessert for families in at least one corner of Sweden.

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alubias gigantes con chorizo y jamon (gigante beans slow oven-braised with eco-friendly chorizo, Surryano ham and aromatics)

*****

Fabada Asturiana?

(remembering your delicious dish from a DR picnic)

Very similar, but I used huge white beans instead of fabes asturianas, which are more like a tarbais bean or a large cannelini. I forgot to include dried lobster mushrooms and porcini powder in my ingredient list. The beans cooked for 3 1/2 hours with the mushrooms, and then I steamed and browned the chorizo to eliminate some of the fat before slicing them and adding them to the pot. Then it cooked for another couple of hours. The beans were incredibly creamy--some of them had completely broken down and thickened the braising liquid. I added the ham at the very end, so that it wouldn't get tough. Ai mami this was so tasty.

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No pressure, Fishinnards, but your plates are so delectable, that if you opened a restaurant, you'd have a guaranteed audience...that omelette alone would keep me happy, but combined w/ all the other dishes...yum!

Oooh. I (and no doubt legions of others who visit this forum from time to timer) would LOVE to see that happen. Would you ever, fishinnards?

Also, has that ever happened here on dr or in the earlier egullet days? Namely, a very accomplished but non-professional cook/member made the move into the professional ranks? It's a fascinating concept, at least to me since it'd be a great test of this community's ability to really help propel someone talented to greatness (or, at least, commercial success) not just be frequenting the place but also by enabling key connections between restaurant professionals and maybe playing the smallest of roles in helping first-time restaurant owners to avoid the land mines hit by others.

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After more than a week with the flu, I'm finally feeling like cooking again.

Roast pork loin rubbed with a melange of garlic, sage, crumbled bay leaf, thyme, salt and pepper

Garlic-roasted cauliflower, finished with parsley and lemon juice

Spinach sauteed with red onions and garlic, splashed with cider vinegar

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Half a bison Delmonico on pile of watercress and arugula

Pan-seared mushrooms; lemon

Potatoes roasted British-style (boiled first; finished on floor of oven)

Unusual string of carnivorous postings is a response to colder weather, though a French lentil soup prepared earlier in the week will be followed by another vegetarian soup with red lentils and some of my stash of dehydrated vegetables. Separate batches of crisp, caramelized onions and sweet-and-sour carrots on the side to add in at whim, or mix into rice.

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Pan-seared Weathervane scallops

Brussels sprouts sauteed with bacon, onions and tarragon

Bacon was from Red Apron Butchery at Union Market

The scallops were from Vital Choice. And while my cooking technique can't quite equal that of the scallops my husband had yesterday at Rappahannock Oyster Bar at Union Market, they were really quite good!

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pan-cooked eco-friendly pork rib chops with pan reduction sauce

roasted sweet potato mash

shaved brussels sprouts hot slaw with onions, sauteed in chicken schmaltz

deconstructed Almond Joy (bits of sea salt chocolate bar, roasted coconut chips, dry roasted almonds)

2009 Dom. La Bastide pinot noir (Weygandt)

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