Dinner - The Polyphonic Food Blog

[Pat]

After another night of steak tacos, yesterday was pork sausage cheese balls over rice pilaf, both from the freezer.  I spiced this up with a little Cholula. The rest of the meal was fresh: steamed green beans with toasted pine buts and buttered corn on the cob.

[Pat]

Salad of romaine, heirloom yellow tomato, and cucumber; balsamic vinaigrette
Sourdough bread and extra virgin olive oil with rosemary and black pepper for dipping
Breaded and braised chicken drumsticks
Linguine with fresh chopped tomato, brie, and basil

[TrelayneNYC]

Insalata caprese.

It's practically one of the easiest salads you can think of with only five ingredients (tomato, basil, mozzarella, olive oil, salt) and yet you can still err as evidenced by the version I had last week where the restaurant we went to apparently didn't believe in seasoning. And they added lettuce.

Don't be like them.

Chicken braised in white wine with mushrooms, garlic and rosemary

Melon and strawberry salad for dessert

 

[Pat]

Pork and tofu stir-fry with broccoli, snow peas, mushrooms, basil, and bell pepper
Sesame and scallion peanut noodles

[TrelayneNYC]

Ravioli all'ortica (nettle ravioli) with Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and black pepper
Green salad, shallot vinaigrette
Fresh fruit for dessert

[MarkS]

Spanish last Saturday night.  Tomato toast with anchovies, tomato and beet salad with balsamic reduction. Seafood Paella to die for.  4 Bottles of Rioja Riserva and grand Riserva served us well.

[dcandohio]

Because we may take a direct hit from Irma and lose power, I am cooking out of the freezer tonight for my friends.

Italian sausage roasted with peppers and onions,  corn cooked on the cob, and then the kernels cut off and tossed with basil and garlic butter, salad. 

[Pat]

Last night was the last few of an order of takeout Buffalo wings and an open-faced broiled tomato and cheese sandwich on olive bread.

[Pat]

Salad of romaine, radishes, cucumber, and yellow and red heirloom tomatoes with homemade sourdough and olive bread croutons and blue cheese dressing
Lrftover braised chiciken drumsticks

 

[TrelayneNYC]

tonight:

Zucchine alla parmigiana ("zucchini Parmesan")
Fagiolini romani all'umido ("Romano beans stewed with tomato")
Peaches and bananas for dessert

[TrelayneNYC]

Steamed red snapper, Cantonese style
Steamed brown rice
Cardamom currant snickerdoodles for dessert

[Pat]

Squash blossom and shrimp quesadillas

[Pat]

Pizza with red sauce, tomato, mushrooms, olives, jack/pepper jack/parmesan cheese, and hot pepper flakes

[Pat]

Rice pilaf with leftover shredded chicken breast mixed in near the end of cooking

[Pat]

On August 6, 2017 at 0:00 AM, TrelayneNYC said:

Roasted figs.

These will be part of tomorrow's breakfast, served over Greek yogurt.

Split 1 lb. figs in half, then top with a mixture of: red wine vinegar, pinot noir, extra-virgin olive oil, wildflower honey, sea salt and black pepper. Roast for 20 minutes in a pre-heated 375 F oven.

Took me a while to find this post again.  I saved the directions for the figs, though.  Very, very good. Thank you, Trelayne.  

I roasted the figs and then served them over of a bed of baby arugula that had been coated with some of the same dressing, and then topped the plate with dollops of whole milk ricotta. So very good. The rest of the meal was slices of a whole wheat sourdough boule from Whole Foods with butter.  To drink: more of the Pinot Noir, 2015 Tri-County Verada Pinot Noir from CA that I bought on promotional special at Total Wine.

[TrelayneNYC]

Glad you liked them.

We're having roasted plums with honey and Marsala for brunch tomorrow, and a few other things. Will post a pictorial so stay tuned for that.

Baked chicken with olives and tomato
Pearl couscous with onion, cumin and golden raisins

[Pat]

Roasted pork tenderloin (coated with dijon, rosemary, and homemade whole wheat breadcrumbs)
Mac and cheese (cavatappi and cheese from the freezer with ham, gorgonzola, and extra milk and Parmesan)

 

[TrelayneNYC]

Orecchiette with sausage and broccoli

Next time, I will have to be more specific and tell my partner to get RAW UNCOOKED Italian sausage instead of simply "a package of Italian sausage". Oh well. Turned out ok in the end, made possible by a tablespoon of lard and some Parmigiano-Reggiano.

[Sundae in the Park]

We've been making chicken enchilada casseroles quite often lately. Satisfies my love of casseroles and leftovers and his of enchiladas (which, after almost 15 years together, was a surprise). You can make your (red) enchilada sauce, and I did, the first few times, but the kind in the can tastes absolutely fine as well. Using fresh corn sautéed with a bunch of peppers and black beans instead of refried really ups the nutrition (and IMO tastiness) factor.  Add some salsa and guacamole, and whatever fresh fruit you have available for the table (mangoes go particularly well) and you have a really well-rounded but super simple meal.

[Pat]

Tonight is Chicken and Vegetable Salad with Asian Dressing, an Ellie Krieger recipe from the Post.  I used a prepared broccoli slaw, which includes carrots and red pepper, to make this.  I used most of the meat from 2 baked chicken breast halves (the rest went to a happy cat).  I ate this as is, without the lettuce leaves. It strikes me that making rice paper (summer) rolls with this would be really good too.  Will be making this again, in some form.

[Pat]

More of the salad in summer rolls with peanut dipping sauce. Very good (except I could be better at rolling the rolls...)

[ktmoomau]

All your photos look so good, I am so jealous.  Well life since the beginning of September for me has been meetings and events for at least 2-3 days of each week in addition to weekend time and events.  I have managed to get very little cooking in.  Last week, I made a big london broil that was marinated in teriyaki sauce.  We ate that with roast Brussels sprouts and broccoli.  We had a lot left, so since that time it has created fajitas and salad toppings.  I managed to make more roast salsa, as well, which has been good. 

[TrelayneNYC]

We had French for dinner last night.

Roast chicken was the entrée. 

The bird was seasoned with salt and pepper inside and out several hours ahead. Prior to roasting, I stuffed the cavity with lemon wedges, rosemary and thyme sprigs, and garlic cloves, then trussed it. Roasted for 15 minutes at 450 F, then for 1 hour and 20 minutes at 350 F per the 1997 edition of Joy of Cooking.

And for our side, I made a batch of ratatouille from Volume 1 of Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child, pages 503-504.

Not a bad way to start the week, don't you think? 

[Sundae in the Park]

23 hours ago, TrelayneNYC said:

Not a bad way to start the week, don't you think? 

Looks lip-smackingly delicious, per usual!

We had peppers and sausages tonight. Sausages are started in a cold pan over medium heat, and once you have some browning and fat rendered, dump sliced peppers (we usually do 1:1 for the # of sausages:peppers) in the pan, dust with salt and pepper, cover, and let it go low and slow until the peppers are done (with an occasional stir to distribute the juices). And by done, I mean confit-ed into a savory, almost jam-like substance. We sometimes have it with rice or in buns, but tonight I ate them with stewed zucchini and roasted cauliflower. If you have any leftovers, they go really well with eggs and toast.

[dcandohio]

Clean out the frig vegetable soup. 

[ktmoomau]

One Pan: apple chicken sausage, potatoes, caramelized onions, bacon, brussels sprouts and spinach with a little Lyonniase sauce.  I had an apple that I should have added, but I forgot.  

[Pat]

Salad of red leaf lettuce, radishes, cucumber, tomato, and avocado with balsamic vinaigrette
One-pot spinach and lamb meatballs with orzo

The meatballs recipe originated in a Molly Gilbert book, but I found an adaptation of it on someone else's blog. So I'm not sure if some of the oddities of it were from the original or the adaptation.  It was basically good, but the times given were longer than it was taking for things to be done so they got a bit overdone. I had extra spinach because the recipe called for a thawed 9 oz. box of frozen chopped and all Whole Foods had was 1 lb. bags of frozen chopped.  I used about half of it in the meatballs and then scattered the rest in among the meatballs and orzo when the casserole went into the oven to bake.  At the point at which the lid was supposed to be removed for the final stage, I mixed in some pine nuts I had previously toasted and which really needed to be used.  My modifications worked out well. Next go round I'll go shorter on the times.

[Pat]

Grilled Jarlsberg and pickle sandiwiches
Pumpkin beef stew

[Pat]

Avocado pumpernickel toast
Coq au vin

(OK. Weird combination, I know. I was going to make  salad to accompany but was getting tired so instead toasted some very good pumpernickel from TJ's and smashed some avocado onto it, with olive oil, salt, and pepper.)

[ktmoomau]

Empanadas and vinegar based slaw with feta.

[Pat]

Salad of red leaf lettuce, cucumber, radishes, bacon, and tomato; balsamic fig dressing
Leftover coq au vin with sautéed sliced zucchini added in for the reheating
Leftover green beans gremolata with fresh mozzarella

[Pat]

Kale, sausage, and potato soup
Pumpkin tortellini Aflredo

[ktmoomau]

Veggie penne with pesto (a bit bland pesto to be honest, I had to punch it up a bit- my fault it was homemade), peas and ham.

[Pat]

Baked chicken breasts
Buttered parsley noodles
Green beans with caramelized pecans

[TrelayneNYC]

B and I have dinner at a restaurant in San Francisco that's nearly impossible to get into - at least for us, anyway - so I decided to start on tomorrow night's dinner in advance.

I whipped up a batch of schmaltz and gribenes.

Then:

I prepared some matzo ball batter which will be finished tomorrow. This mixture needs to rest in the fridge for at least one hour. I suppose I can cook the balls tonight too. Actually, now that I think about it, that's probably better.

[DonRocks]

!

[TrelayneNYC]

Matzo balls, just for Don 

I'll start on the soup tomorrow.

Incidentally, we bought

to go along with the usual chicken soup ingredients. 

To be continued....

[TrelayneNYC]

Chicken soup with matzo balls.

B raved about it and declared the matzo balls "the best I've ever had!". Well now, I'll have to remember this recipe for the future.  And start saving more chicken skin too.

Fresh cantaloupe for dessert.

[DonRocks]

6 hours ago, TrelayneNYC said:

Chicken soup with matzo balls.

B raved about it and declared the matzo balls "the best I've ever had!". Well now, I'll have to remember this recipe for the future.  And start saving more chicken skin too.

What does the chicken skin do? Permeate the matzo balls?

[TrelayneNYC]

for schmaltz

and gribenes

guess what I'm having for breakfast today 

[Katya4me]

Made beef banana curry with rice for dinner after rejecting my husband's suggestion of banana chicken casserole.  I can't remember the last time I made beef curry on the stove top prior to this, but it turned out delicious and I'll definitely make it again.  

[Xochitl10]

Our visiting friend from Maryland requested "actual New Mexican food." So I made:
Tacos filled with ground beef, potatoes, and carrots, the way my Mexican grandmother made them
Calabacitas -- sauteed zucchini mixed with corn
Whole pinto beans

[Pat]

Oven spare ribs
Leftover buttered parsley noodles
Baked beans

[TrelayneNYC]

2 hours ago, TrelayneNYC said:

for schmaltz

and gribenes

guess what I'm having for breakfast today 

buttered toast topped with gribenes

hard-boiled eggs

mango lassi

@DonRocks - the chicken skin becomes schmaltz once the fat is rendered and then eventually gribenes. I like to combine it with onion. gribenes is a traditional seasoning for chopped liver, from what I understand. and is great on just about any savory thing. 

the matzo ball batter had 4 tbsp. schmaltz which I had subbed in place of the usual vegetable oil. that ramped up the flavor by a factor of ten and made them that much richer. three balls were sufficient for last night's dinner. if anyone wants to fly to San Francisco and take the extra off of our hands, you'll be more than welcome.  

[DaveO]

On 10/8/2017 at 11:51 PM, TrelayneNYC said:

Top photo/center.  Is that ginger? Parsnips?   No turnips?  That help creates old world goodness.

Looks beautiful 

[TrelayneNYC]

@DaveO - thanks!

Clockwise from top left: 1 whole chicken, cut up by our butcher into nine pieces (two breasts, two legs, two wings, two thighs and the backbone); chopped parsley and chopped dill; 1 lb. chicken feet, trimmed of its nails and hacked apart by a Japanese chef's knife; 2 large onions, unpeeled and diced; parsley stems; 1 tbsp. salt; 1 tbsp. black peppercorns; 4 celery stalks, chopped; 8 carrots, peeled and chopped; 2 parsnips, peeled and chopped.

[ktmoomau]

Friday night I made rice noodle soup with ham, spinach, hard boiled egg.  The broth needed a little work, but it was ok.  Saturday night I made NY Strip steak roasted peppers and onions with a little soy sauce and focaccio bread with roasted tomatoes.  Last night was empanadas with cole slaw with sirracha honey sauce.

[Sundae in the Park]

Tri-tip meal this week! We've been having this quite often since about midway in my pregnancy, when I needed low-carb meals I actually wanted to eat and we discovered the beauty of at-home tri-tip. I buy a whole, untrimmed tri-tip and only take of the silverskin and some of the fat if it is over a half-inch thick. We use a Santa Maria-style dry rub and grill it till the big part is medium rare. At that point, the skinny part of the meat is medium-well to well done, which is perfect for a pregnant lady who doesn't want to be a bother to others (and is so great for guests with a variety of meat done-ness preferences!). We usually serve it with creamed spinach, sauteed mushrooms, sauteed zucchini, and bread and/or potatoes of some kind. Leftovers are great as-is but also wonderful in sandwiches. Inspired by a dish at the Avofest, we've been eating this round of leftover meat as sandwiches on French bread with a lot of guacamole and and a little salsa.
 

[Pat]

Last night was leftover spare ribs, leftover baked chicken, and white rice with peas and lots of black pepper.

[ktmoomau]

Last night would have been a somewhat depressing dinner in my office- except that I brought in focaccio bread for my office, so I made a roast beef sandwich with muenster cheese, oven roasted tomatoes on the bread and popped that in the toaster oven to get crisp and melty.