Dinner - The Polyphonic Food Blog

[darkstar965]

We usually get our chicken from one of the farmer's markets in NW DC or in MD. So much better than WF and most other places.

One dish I've been able to near-master (as much as I "master" anything as an enthusiastic yet proud amateur) is a simple braised chicken with tomatoes dish that can be used for two dinners. Sort of a chicken cacciatore. It is pretty simple, which is likely why and how I've mastered it. 

Large heavy skillet in which to brown dredged chicken pieces.  Then remove the chicken when mostly done.  Brown thin-sliced onions and bell peppers (not green), oregano, chicken broth and a few cans of good-quality whole peeled tomatoes with their liquid. Put the chicken back in to slow cook and absorb all the great flavors.  Top with fresh shredded basil and some reggiano. Serve with pasta or rice if GF.

Did that this week and then, night two, converted to a casserole with a short, higher-heat bake to brown mozzarella and reggiano (a magic cheese imho).

Wine.  A good tossed salad with farmers' market veggies and an original vinaigrette and this all works out pretty well.  Even healthy.

[zoramargolis]

Ruh Roh! You are starting down the path of deprecating your cooking ability again, DS. Nicht gut. If you don't mend your ways, the moderators are going to get together and spank you with al dente bucatini.

[Pat]

Ruh Roh! You are starting down the path of deprecating your cooking ability again, DS. Nicht gut. If you don't mend your ways, the moderators are going to get together and spank you with al dente bucatini.

The chicken dish/technique sounds good and not terribly far off from the paprika chicken I made last night.  If you're looking to branch out:  http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/braised_paprika_chicken.html

[darkstar965]

The chicken dish/technique sounds good and not terribly far off from the paprika chicken I made last night.  If you're looking to branch out:  http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/braised_paprika_chicken.html

That's interesting.  Yours is a much heartier dish with the sour cream (more Hungarian/Middle Europe than Italian/Mediterranean) but also seems pretty straightforward. I'll try it but probably without the green bell pepper.  Thanks!

FWIW, this is the inspiration for what I do though the photo here does a terrible job of portraying the finished product. Mine is an adapted version of that.

[hillvalley]

No cooking for a while...

Store bought boiled eggs with maldon and fresh pepper

Truffled tomme

Three grain Swiss crackers

Dark chocolate

[Ilaine]

With the cooler weather, got the cooking urge this weekend, and cooked up a storm.  The goal was cooking dishes that require minimal supervision, that will reheat well during the week, and may be be frozen for later.

• Beef stew;
• Moussaka;
• Red beans and rice;
• Chili;
• October beans and three greens soup.

The kitchen smells heavenly, and I need to make some more stock soon.  Why, oh why, did I wait so many years before taking the plunge into making my own stock?  It's like liquid gold.

One concept I researched heavily before finally giving up, andouille/tasso stock.  I finally just threw the andouille and tasso (from LaPlace, Louisiana), directly into the red beans and the beans and greens soup.  Maybe one doesn't make stock with them because the meat is so good, so why exhaust it making stock?

One thing vexing me.  While I was carefully selecting October beans at the Burke Farmer's Market Saturday, and turning up my nose at the dried-out looking boxes of shriveled-looking other beans next to me, a lady came by and bought both entire boxes of "other" beans, gleefully proclaiming that they were purple-hulled peas aka Crowder peas, and she was going to take them all home and enlist the grandchildren into helping her shell them.  And the vendor poured both boxes into a trash bag and she marched out, triumphantly.  I WANT some of those beans! They would be perfect in my soup!

[bettyjoan]

I got the cooking bug this weekend, too. Lots of stock-making and baking. Dinner tonight was a yummy result of some of my efforts: squash and apple soup. Not too sweet (especially with the addition of a dollop of Greek yogurt), and perfect for a cool fall weekend. Dug the recipe out of an old Martha Stewart cookbook.

[Pat]

Herbed roasted turkey breast

Sweet potato and squash seed bread stuffing

Buttered green beans

Rice pilaf

[Fishinnards]

Saturday, à¹à¸à¸‡à¸›à¹ˆà¸²à¹„à¸à¹ˆ (gaeng ba gai) jungle curry with chicken, pumpkin (potimarron), long beans, and the last of the holy basil from the garden ,  ผัดà¸à¸°à¸«à¸¥à¹ˆà¸³à¸”อภ(pad kalam dok) stir fried cauliflower, ไข่เจียว (kai jiew) Thai omelet, ยำปลาà¸à¸°à¸žà¸‡ (yum pla kabong) smoked herring salad, vegetables, and jasmine rice.

Sunday, Debel Kari Ayam, Malaysian Portuguese Devil Curry with chicken, Acar Rampai, mixed pickle with cauliflower, long beans, and cucumbers. Jasmine rice.

[Rhone1998]

smoked herring salad

wat? 

[Fishinnards]

wat? 

Yum pla kapong is canned fish salad, usually canned mackerel in tomato sauce. I decided to try it with canned kippers. I used cabbage, sliced shallots, sliced lemongrass (using up the lemongrass from the garden this weekend), cilantro. The dressing was lime juice, chili sauce (fresh chillies, vinegar, garlic), fish sauce and roasted ground rice powder. Garnished with sliced red prik ee nu chillies. I would use green onions in this as well, but I was out of them.

[bookluvingbabe]

Cooking failure--liverwurst. My food processor is to small and I didn't pulse it long enough to get it really smooth. And it cooked in a water bath rather than a more traditional poaching.

The flavor is good but the texture is a train wreck.

I also did a bison roast in the crockpo that should reheat nicely for dinner tonight.

[bettyjoan]

Beef barley soup, with the beef stock I made yesterday. Yum.

[darkstar965]

- Pan-fried red snapper with crisped skin and a simple lemon/oil/herb sauce

- Pan-fried sliced baby potatoes with onion

- Farmers' market salad with great ruby carrots, tomatoes, greens, red onion and a lemony viniagrette

- Bottle of 2012 Gobelsburger Gruner Veltliner

[zoramargolis]

almost meatless Monday

kabocha squash soup with persimmon, carrot, fennel and leek (chicken/duck stock)garnished with creme fraiche and meyer lemon zest

grilled romano beans with ripe poblanos, scallions, nií§oise olives, caper-dill vinaigrette

bonaparte bakery mini-baguette garlic toast

2012 Pine Ridge chenin blanc-viognier

[TrelayneNYC]

Chard, with pancetta and poached farm egg

You can vary the combo almost infinitely -- just pork, egg and veg.



Scarola e pomodoro ("escarole and tomato")



Spaghetti con gamberetti e pomodoro ("spaghetti with shrimp and tomato")

[porcupine]

I almost never cook meat anymore, though I'm not a vegetarian; I just prefer to base my meals on produce.  But I came home from a day in the Shenandoahs with a big bag of apples and a craving for pork, so I riffed on a Nigel Slater recipe.

stew of white beans, apples, sweet Italian sausage, and pork chop, cooked in fennel broth and apple cider, seasoned with thyme, bay leaf, and crushed fennel seed

radicchio, apple, and guanciale braised in apple cider and finished with apple brandy

'tis autumn

[Pat]

Turkey soup with rice, noodles, lima beans and sweet potato

Hot turkey and cheese sandwiches

Rigatoni with meat sauce

The pasta was an add-on that will mostly turn into work lunches for my husband later in the week.  I had tomato sauce in the refrigerator I needed to use and 4 oz. of ground beef I had taken out of the freezer, so I cooked up the remnants of a box of rigatoni and threw it all together for an extra dish.

The soup broth came from the turkey breast carcass from Sunday's dinner, and most of what went into the soup came from various leftover containers in the refrigerator.

[Pat]

Tonight:

Broiled rainbow trout and braised baby artichokes with garlic-lemon-tarragon sauce

Leftover rice pilaf with cherry tomatoes, basil, and parsley

[lperry]

Half of the one spaghetti squash not maimed by garden-invading rodents, baked cut side up. (Cut side down just steams.  Might as well use the stovetop.  Really.  Try roasting for real.)  Topped with heirloom tomato, red wine sauce and shaved pecorino romano.

[bettyjoan]

Roasted vegetable soup

Grilled cheese sandwich (old school style, with Kraft slices)

It was a fitting end to a sick day spent at home with the critters.

[zoramargolis]

last night I needed a quick dinner plan after spending a fair amount of kitchen time making dulce de membrillo and spiced quince syrup out of the load of quinces I bought last weekend from toigo. The beans were cooked with nueske's bacon earlier in the day...

tostadas with stewed fresh spring valley cranberry beans, eco-friendly chorizo

toigo bosc pear crisp

[Pat]

Nicoise salad with fresh albacore tuna

Savory pop tart (from Curbside Cupcakes Cafe--egg, bacon, and cheddar) --depicted earlier

[dcandohio]

Chicken noodle soup with the stock I made Wednesday.

Salad of avocado, arugula, butter lettuce, and a dressing of fig balsamic, wine vinegar, dijon mustard, greek olive oil, salt and pepper.

Cheese bread.

[bettyjoan]

Chicken, cheddar, and caramelized onion quesadillas

Had to take a break from soup, just for one dinner. 

[porcupine]

Had almost but not quite enough bean and pork stew for a second meal, and was wondering what to make as a side to stretch it out, then realized I had a bag of chickpea flour.  So, leftover stew with socca.  I love donrockwell.com.

[zoramargolis]

last night we actually had some trick-or-treaters. the year before--none. J ended up eating all of last year's candy, and there were few enough visitors last night, that he has plenty to nosh on this time. I gave the adult chaperones small containers of dulce de membrillo.

dinner:

pan roasted "German-style" pork sausages from Whole Foods

stewed sweet and sour red cabbage, fennel and bosc pear

mashed potatoes with roasted garlic, chives and dill

whole grain mustard and cornichons

frozen banana-pineapple-coconut milk soft-serve

2010 Blockheadia pinot noir

[TrelayneNYC]

Last night's dinner and tonight's (11/01/2013):

Farfalle, with chard, lemon and bottarga

Mozzarella cheese, "melted" leeks and tomato

"Clam chowder" -- pan-roasted cod fillet, with crispy pancetta, heirloom potatoes, littleneck clams, clam and watercress broth

[lperry]

2010 Blockheadia pinot noir

Lucy Van Pelt, winemaker.

Warm lentil salad with red pepper and carrot in a tarragon, mustard, honey dressing.

[bettyjoan]

Saffron and butternut squash risotto. So. Stinking. Good.

Served with steamed peas and a nice Albarií±o. Yay.

[darkstar965]

Gambas al ajillo (shrimp with garlic) on linguini.  We love Spanish food and this was one of the better gambas recipes I've tried (have tried many over the years!) because it incorporated a shrimp stock along with the normal garlic, lemon, fresh parsley, red chili pepper, good olive oil, etc.

With a tossed (farmers market) veggie salad dressed with a garlicky red wine vinaigrette.

Would have been even better with some great crusty bread I didn't have but the leftover albarino worked nicely.

[TrelayneNYC]

Autumn's in full swing here in NYC (even though today was in the mid-60s)...



Roasted brussels sprouts, with pancetta and sherry vinegar




"Beans and greens" -- radish greens, with cranberry beans, onion and lemon





Squid, with German butterball potatoes and sweet peppers




Spiced poached pears, vanilla ice cream, candied ginger

[porcupine]

^Your photos are inspiring.

[Pat]

Mixed lettuce salad with radishes, tomato, and walnuts; white balsamic vinaigrette

Striata baguette with extra virgin olive oil and butter

Maqluba (layered cake of tomato, eggplant, cauliflower, chicken, rice, and garlic) from Jerusalem

Yogurt and cucumber sauce

The components of the maqluba came out fine, and it more or less held together when flipped out of the pan.  I was quite impressed with myself that it didn't stick to the pan.  It was, however, way too wet.  Even though the rice cooked completely through, there was excess liquid at the end, and that was the cause of it not holding together as much as it was supposed to and not really crusting/browning sufficiently.

I couldn't figure out what went wrong, until it occurred to me that it was odd the recipe called for adding back in 5 cups of the chicken poaching stock, when only 4 cups had gone into it the poaching liquid to begin with.  (I made the rest up with water, as it said to do if there wasn't enough to cover the rice.)  I looked back at the recipe and realized that what looked like a 5 was actually a 3.  I'd had problems with the font and 5 vs. 3 at multiple points in the recipe and confirmed with a magnifying glass.  That last one, however, really looked like a 5 and I never thought to double-check.  My husband's vision is much better than mine and, at first look, he thought it was a 5 too.  

This was a fair amount of work but nothing horribly onerous if one has a few hours in the kitchen.  I'll try it again sometime with the correct amount of poaching liquid and see how it turns out.

[bettyjoan]

Fiery "fried" chicken

Sautéed Brussels sprouts with shallots and bacon

Pineapple slices

[lperry]

Semi-adherence to a Martha Stewart recipe tonight with a quinoa "hash" with leeks and red peppers from the garden and sweet potatoes from a Southern VIrginia farmers' market.  Topped with cocotte eggs and seasoned with a significant quantity of hot sauce to counteract Mr. lperry's nasty cold.  I'll toast to the universe (with La Tribu, 2009) for blessing me with perfect health while everyone around me is down for the count with the creeping crud.

[Xochitl10]

Emerald Martini: Bombay Sapphire East, M&R dry vermouth, Chartreuse

Pumpkin lasagna with Snider's housemade loose sausage and sage bechamel

Spinach salad with dried cranberries, blue cheese, toasted walnuts, and apple cider vinaigrette

Sage focaccia

[Fishinnards]

Spicy food needed tonight. Green papaya salad, no long beans or green beans but extra cherry tomatoes (goodbye tomato season ) and lime, tamarind, peanuts, palm sugar, chillies, salt, and fish sauce.

Fried chicken (Ayrshire farms chicken), Jarret Wrisley recipe from a Bangkok street vendor. The best recipe so far. As always, pepper, garlic, coriander root, (fish sauce, salt) but made into a batter/marinade with chicken stock and rice flour. Super! I also fried some pieces of chicken skin...

ส้มตำ ไà¸à¹ˆà¸—อด Som Tam, Gai Tord with homemade Chicken Sauce  น้ำจิ้มไà¸à¹ˆ (Nam Jim Gai) and Siracha sauce (Shark Brand) with raw vegetables and copious quantities of rice.                      

[zoramargolis]

roasted boneless chicken thighs with za'atar, sumac, lemon and cippolini onions--adapted from a recipe in _Ottolenghi_

Israeli cous-cous

leftover grilled romanesco cauliflower with spinach, roasted ripe anaheim chiles, pine nuts and caper-dill vinaigrette (also adapted recipe from _Ottolenghi_)

2011 Montes cabernet

it appears that all of Ottolenghi's chicken recipes are variations on a basic technique: cut-up raw chicken is mixed with differing combinations of spices, herbs, citrus, onion&garlic, vegetables, olive oil, salt&pepper, and some other liquid (chicken broth, Arak, etc) marinated for several hours or overnight, spread out single layer in a roasting pan and then roasted in a hot oven for 30-40 minutes, skin side up so that the skin gets brown. Liquid is drained off the pan and reduced, then poured back over as a sauce.

[Pat]

Sweet potato cornbread with honey butter

Pork loin chops stuffed with collards, bacon, and pecans

Leftover vegetables and rice from maqluba

[squidsdc]

Roasted eggplant in a peanut-sesame sauce, served over rice.

Would like to see your recipe--I would sub cashew for peanuts though. I'm interested in finding more ways to use eggplant, but need pointers and tips on how to actually prepare the egglpant in the dish.

Last night we improvised using the hot Golden Curry sauce they always sample at HMart, with Costco chicken, fresh broccoli, carrots, peppers and eggplant added over rice. I cubed the eggplant and broiled it until golden on both sides. Very little oil used on bottom of pan and brushed lightly on top of eggplant...I'm not interested in frying--too much oil. And since it was very fresh I didn't salt it. I liked the eggplant, but Mr. S thinks it tastes too bland and is not really an eggplant fan.

And I think I saw the book Zora was referring to Costco on Saturday. If Zora's recipes are from that book, I'll probably get it! (We almost bought it but Mr. S decided to wait--can't recall why, though)

[zoramargolis]

And I think I saw the book Zora was referring to Costco on Saturday. If Zora's recipes are from that book, I'll probably get it! (We almost bought it but Mr. S decided to wait--can't recall why, though)

I have the British edition of _Ottolenghi_, which was published before _Plenty_. The version that is new here is the same book but with cup measurements instead of metric. It's often true that the first cookbook contains the recipes that made the chef popular. So, if you like a chef's later cookbook, it may be worth getting their first one.

[lperry]

Would like to see your recipe--I would sub cashew for peanuts though. I'm interested in finding more ways to use eggplant, but need pointers and tips on how to actually prepare the egglpant in the dish.

The peanut-sesame sauce is a basic mix I use that's the juice of a lime, some rice vinegar, soy sauce, ginger, sesame oil, and then peanut butter.  Use probably half the amounts of vinegar and soy as lime, start with a half cup or so of nut butter, and if it's too sour, use a little honey.  If you like Xiaoxing wine, that's a nice flavor to add as well - maybe a tablespoon.  Don't stress too much about the proportions, just taste it and add more of something that's lacking, or if you need to balance something else add it's complementary component.  The only thing to be careful with is the soy, as some are really concentrated, and others are not.  The Vietnamese soy sauce I have right now goes in a half teaspoon at a time.  The sauce is mixed with the Bamix, then I sometimes stir in some toasted, semi-crushed sesame seeds at the end.

A really nice, quick, and easy way to prepare eggplant is to cube or dice it, toss with some oil and salt, and roast it in the oven.  You can choose the oil, oilve, sesame, walnut, etc., to work with the sauce you have in mind.  I've also used this method under the broiler and in a toaster oven.  It gets soft, with concentrated sweetness, and then you can toss the cubes with all sorts of sauces and they will hold their shapes.  You can also make a salad with chickpeas, feta, lemon, and mint during the summer.   I've got two or three more in the garden, and that will be it for this summer.

[zoramargolis]

do you ever use tahini in Asian peanut-sesame sauce, or just toasted sesame oil? sometimes I use both.

[squidsdc]

Guess I'll need to dig out my recipe for substitute soy sauce! I figured the recipe probably had it so not a surprise. And glad to see I did okay with the eggplant...I just chose not to salt it this time since the curry is so highly salted.

So after roasting or broiling the eggplant, you toss the cubes in the sauce...but do you saute for a period to integrate the flavors, or just toss-in.stir and that's it? And just eggplant or do you add any other vegetables?

[lperry]

do you ever use tahini in Asian peanut-sesame sauce, or just toasted sesame oil? sometimes I use both.

I don't because it is typically raw sesame seeds, and I like the toasted flavor much more in this context.  You can buy huge bags of the seeds at Super H, then toast your own on the stovetop until they are popping, then crush them a little in a mortar and pestle.  The aroma is just wonderful.

Guess I'll need to dig out my recipe for substitute soy sauce! I figured the recipe probably had it so not a surprise. And glad to see I did okay with the eggplant...I just chose not to salt it this time since the curry is so highly salted.

So after roasting or broiling the eggplant, you toss the cubes in the sauce...but do you saute for a period to integrate the flavors, or just toss-in.stir and that's it? And just eggplant or do you add any other vegetables?

I don't cook it any more, but I don't know if what I do is the "right" way, or just what I happen to do.  I usually cook each vegetable separately, then put them all together with the sauce and heat it only if I want/need to.  I imagine you can add whatever you'd like.  I also like this peanut sauce in room temperature noodle salads in the summer, and I put edamame, peas, carrots, or whatever's on hand into those along with rice or sweet potato noodles.

Is your soy sauce problem a soy or a gluten issue?  If it's gluten, the VIetnamese sauces are made with rice.  If it's soy, just leave it out.  No harm done at all.

[Fishinnards]

do you ever use tahini in Asian peanut-sesame sauce, or just toasted sesame oil? sometimes I use both.

Also, Chinese groceries sell toasted sesame paste (like tahini but made with roasted sesame seeds). It's usually labeled something confusing like "salad dressing". I always keep a jar in the fridge for Dan Dan noodles and other stuff. I wouldn't substitute with tahini.

[bettyjoan]

Arancini with marinara sauce

Steamed broccoli

[ol_ironstomach]

"Do something with leftovers" night: Bolognese base recast as taco meat.  Orange-braised fennel.  My last, lovely, formerly misplaced bottle of '06 Texier "Opále".

[darkstar965]

- cioppino the 'time-consuming but worthwhile' way

- caprese salad

- a well-priced bottle of a 2011 nebbiolo/barbera blend I picked up at the Italian Store