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6 hours ago, deangold said:

Cukes from Twin Springs w/Ume Paste

Purple Yams baked, butter salt & pepper

Champion Missile IPA

Now this is a serious, hipster vegan dinner, and I'll bet it was pretty good, too, although you may be experiencing something like beet urea today.

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Monday:

Grilled Salmon with light tomato sauce
Wilted spinach
Garlic baby potatoes
Chevillon-Chezeaux Bourgogne Hautes Cotes de Nuits - BRIGHT red, vibrant nose, but zero follow through.  Not my best purchase.

Tuesday:

Burgundy Beef Stew - I have yet to find a recipe that can match one that appeared in Cooking Light magazine around 1990, and I've sadly lost the recipe.  This was fine, but didn't have as much flavor as I was hoping for
Caesar Salad
Parker House Rolls

Started with Stone Tower's Blanc de Noirs.  I don't love all of Stone Tower's wine, but this cremant de bourgogne is something we usually keep on hand and enjoy. 
With the stew, 2015 Chateau Treytins Pomerol, which turned out to be the highlight of the meal.

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16 hours ago, DonRocks said:

Now this is a serious, hipster vegan dinner, and I'll bet it was pretty good, too, although you may be experiencing something like beet urea today.

I need to go out and get some ironic tats right away!

Don't you just hate forgetting you had beets last night and going to the bathroom in the morning? But the purple yams don't seem to have similar powers. 

By the way, I think that purple yams might be better steamed. I just really discovered them as a stand-alone veg sampling at H-Mart Fairfax {or is that being too cheap to go buy lunch Saturday at K-Mart!}

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Rib eye steak done on the stovetop in a cast iron skillet
Baked mashed potatoes topped with shredded cheddar and bread crumbs
Spinach and cottage cheese casserole

Cooked the steak maybe a minute longer than I wanted, so it was between medium-rare and medium. Delicious nonetheless. We split the steak and there was still some left, plus a meaty bone I must be able to do something with.

I realized the amount of mashed potatoes I had leftover was not enough to make a full cottage pie, so I just packed them in a small ceramic dish, topped them, and baked them.

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Last night I made spinach stuffed shells.  I see no point in only boiling part of a box- I am much more likely to thaw a whole pre-made dish than to go through making them again.  So I boiled the whole box, and stuffed and then topped with sauce and froze a tray for my SIL and one for us.  We ate the rest. Very tasty.  I have actually never made stuffed shells before, but will definitely make them again.

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4 hours ago, ktmoomau said:

Last night I made spinach stuffed shells.  I see no point in only boiling part of a box- I am much more likely to thaw a whole pre-made dish than to go through making them again.  So I boiled the whole box, and stuffed and then topped with sauce and froze a tray for my SIL and one for us.  We ate the rest. Very tasty.  I have actually never made stuffed shells before, but will definitely make them again.

Made spinach lasagna last night and froze half for daughter with infant but you reminded me how I used to make stuffed shells which are a whole lot easier;)

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Was in MoCo today so I went to PescaDeli in Bethesda before coming home. Theya re the poeple behind A and H seafood who we bought from. They have great stuff. I picked out a whole flounder, about 2.2#. They gutted and trimmed the fins.I told him I wanted him to leave the meaty part of the fins because they were good eating and he like that I knoew my stuff.

Took a sheet pan with a rack and lay the fish on it, coated with olive oil, salt, pepper. Made a bef of rosemary and thyme leaves and 4 slices of lemon and lay the fish on it. Then I coated to top side with thyme, rosemary and 4 very thin slices of lemon, then sprinkled everything with spice rub. Baked at 425 for 20 minutes but it should have been 25.

The lemon slices on top got crispy and were delicious. Fileted the fish and served it with walnut, sage, thyme & rosemary pesto. I had a mandarin and zested and juiced it into the pesto. A touch of sherry wine vinegar and a goodly bit of sriracha. 

We have about 1/3 to 1/2 the fish left over. It was really too rare so I popped it back in the oven when we were done and it will be part of an avocado, fish, cuke salad for tomorrow. 

Wine: David Bruce Santa Cruz Mountain Chardonnay 2000 which was in outstanding shape once the funk blew off. It stood up to our eating the lemon slices. Better with the fish than on its own. 

This dinner was a home run!

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We had assortment of the remaining little bits of leftovers last night (steak, chicken, shrimp, pizza), rounded out with an old, old original Moosewood Cookbook recipe for spaghetti squash. The squash is roasted, scooped out, and then combined in a casserole with onions, garlic, mushrooms, herbs, tomatoes, breadcrumbs, and cottage and mozzarella cheeses and topped with grated Parmesan before being baked. I had one slice of pizza and half a dozen shrimp. My husband (who never gains weight) had everything else, including about 1/3 of the casserole! :lol:

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The leftover fish from last night went into a salad with greens from Spring Valley, with red onion slivers, avocado, jarred artichoke hearts {Wegman's private label and I am surprised Wegman's would put their name on such crappy artichokes, every heart had inedible bits}, horseradish sprouts, with a dressing of ume shisho vinegar, olive oil, house made mustard, white shoyu and fish sauce. 

Cocktail: Kay: Boulevardier made with Old Grandad, Don Ciccio Rabarbaro, Capotoline white vermouth, Bitterman's orange citrate bitters, Bitter Truth peach bitters.

Me: 3 to 2 gibson w/Brokers London dry gin, Dolin dry vermouth, Peychaud's bitters, Bitter Truth olive bitters. Bracing, balance martini w/the olive bitters adding a spice rather than any discernible olive flavor. 

Wine: The David Bruce chardonnay we enjoyed so much the previous night had the slightest bit of cork taint that blew off the first night. Tonight, despite being under coravin, was undrinkably tainted. 

Nightcap: Borough High Rye Mashbill Bourbon. Mine with Bitter Truth chocolate bitters which made for a broad rich feel in the mouth and a much better balanced dram. Kay's had Bitter Truth peach and either I did not use enough pach or it wasn't the best choice of bitters, but while it mellowed the bourbon a tad, it left little flavor or aroma change. Not a bad choice of bitter, but one that did far less than the chocolate bitters.

A note: the Borough is locally made and is $38 wholesale {suggested retail is $50}. I had this bottle from the closing. In my opinion, while this is a fun product, its pricing is very high! I can but some pretty great ryes from the VABC for what a bottle of the Bourough would cost. I can get Four Roses single barrel, Wild Turkey Kentucky SPirit} which are far better sips. The Bourough has a great story, but unfortunately the quality/price ratio is well below that of other brands. I might buy it again, but certainly my next few bottles on my Bourbon wish list won't be this. 

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Sashimi plate from H Mart w/salmon, tuna, marinated baby octopus, fluke and the engawa {the fin flap} from the fluke served with cherry blossom shoyu, and sashimi grade tamari {I don't know what makes it sashimi grade but it is yummy} and wasabi from powder. Really good, the salmon fat, and the fluke & octopus quite wonderful. Tuna eh.

Cincoteague little neck clams soup. Guanciale fat, king mushrooms, green onions, hon dashi powder, white wine, butter. I saute the garlic, green onion and king mushroom stems in the guanciale fat, then added butter, the mushroom tops, the onion greens. Everything went into a pot of boiling white wine with lots of thyme branches. Next I added the clams and boiled for 5 minutes, added more butter and let it simmer 2 more minutes. 

Champion Missile IPA which is truly outstanding. Champion along with Solace are really standout beers for the local scene.

Draft Makkoli

After dinner ti punch w/rhum agricole Neisson white, lime end, sugar just like Ed Hamilton showed us on his visit to the Grotto. 

Cheese: pecorino with black peppercorn {fresco not stagionate}

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We'd been out and contemplated eating at a restaurant afterwards but decided instead to come home. So dinner was a late, quick meal of leftovers -- spinach and cottage cheese casserole and spaghetti squash casserole -- plus whole wheat naan and butter.

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Got a Dungeness crab from HMart yesterday and steamed it. Let it sit in the fridge overnight. Took the tomalley and mixed it with mayo and yuzu juice. 

Potatoes from Twin Springs, boiled and chunked. Mixed with slivered green onion, ume shisho vinegar, Chinese soy, sesame oil. We dipped it into wasabi.

Roasted veggies: beets, turnip, black radish, watermelon radish, parsnips all from the farmers' market plus king mushroom & Korean daikon, all seasoned with salt, pepper, spice rub & roasted. This was dipped into the leftover crab dip.

Martinis {well Gibsons actually, I like cocktail onions}: Hendricks 3 parts 2 parts Dolin dry, Peychaud's bitters. Mine also had BitterTruth olive bitters while Kay's had half Bittter Truth olive and half Bitter Truth cucumber. The bitters difference was pretty strong with Kay's being much smoother and rounder. 

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Dates stuffed with Camembert
Iceberg lettuce and radicchio with carrot coins, sliced red onion, avocado, pepperoncini, and walnut halves; bottled vinaigrette
Ricotta - stuffed pork chops
Buttered asparagus with hot pepper flakes

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Clams with green garlic, thyme, white wine

Sazerac: Peychaud's bitters {aromatic 4 dashes, 2 dashes whiskey barrel} sugar cube, splash Chartreuse since I don't have absinthe. 

A glass of Alcesti Grillo from Sicilia

Pecorino Pepato

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We have been eating a lot of leftover from the kitchen.  Last week was leftover stuffed shells, chicken fajitas, rice bowls with the leftover chicken fajita fixings.

I cooked in the instant pot some chicken with some garlic butter, and shredded it, and made slider sandwiches Friday night for a party with chicken, pesto, roasted red pepper, artichoke and mozzarella, then brushed it with garlic butter/oil mixed with a little Worcestershire, basil and oregano and baked until it got brown and melty.  We have been eating the leftovers of those.

Hubby that night had some guys over, so we also have been eating leftover Monterey's Pizza.

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Local porkchops marinated in half shio koji and half fish sauce for 3 days, then grilled on our yaki niku grill. 

Potato salad w/lebne, soy, ume vinegar, green onion

Pickled beets

Roasted veggies.

Capirhina 

Rockland 1998 Petite Sirah {truly fantastic, rich, smooth, touch of funk}

Untittled Gin #2

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Last night was the last of the leftovers sliders with steamed broccoli. 

We had a cup and half or so of broccoli that wouldn't fit in the pan, salami and gouda from a cheese plate, so I made broccoli salad (this is one of my favorites) with broccoli, red onion, sunflower seeds, cheese, salami, the last of the blue cheese dressing mixed with a little mayo and a little apple cider vinegar.

I used the last of the chicken fajita chicken and peppers and made a pasta salad, added riced cauliflower, chickpeas, an extra roasted red peppers, olives, tossed in the last of the salami and the last of the gruyere.  So now we will eat other leftover this week... But hoping some of this will be eaten as lunches (the broccoli salad certainly will be, I could eat a whole large bowl of this)

And I made banana bread chocolate chunk cookies from a Food52 recipe that are just stellar.

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I made this tonight. And by "this" I mean: I left out the ginger because I was out, used zucchini instead of potatoes, and basically just riffed. But one of the reasons I love Colu Henry's recipes is because riffing works. (I'm an unfussy cook, if you haven't noticed.)

It was superbly flavorful and now I want to eat it all the time.

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1019962-sheet-pan-harissa-salmon-with-potatoes-and-citrus

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Marinated broccoli, roasted orange bell pepper, red onion, and grape tomato salad; toasted sliced almond garnish
Roasted chicken with lemon, rosemary, and thyme
Rice Pilaf
Leftover asparagus
Leftover cauliflower korma

 

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Chicken legs braised in white wine, pomodoro doppio, leeks, green garlic, thyme & rosemary

Mashed potato with just the slightest touch of butter and cream.

The rest of the butter & cream

ShioKoji pickled Korean Daikon & greens

The rest of the Rockland 98 Petite Sirah. Damn, that was good!

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Roasted duck. Dry brines 48 hours. None of this newfangled rare breast stuff, slow roasted at 300 degrees for 2+ hours, then finished at 425 for 15 minutes. The last half hour at 300, I added potatoes to the duck fat.  Skin crispy, meat juicy. 1/2 left over. 

I will cook the bones for stock. I have had mixed results making stock from cooked bones after dry briing. But I have the neck and some parts to add to the pot. We will see!

Last of the shiokoji pickles radish

sauerkraut

Corpse reviver #2

Glass of Ahlgren Zinfandel 2000 Livermore ~ OMG it is amazing. The grapes were from very old vines in Livermore, probably part of the original Wente plantings. Probably a McMansion today.

This winery was legendary, one of California's best ever and it did not survive the death of founder Dexer Ahlgren. As far as I know, Valerie lives close/with her daughter in Felton. Dear friends who made wonderful wines! 

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Filet medallions with sliced potatoes and wilted greens.  Got distracted by a ranting 4 year old and overcooked the steak.

2016 Chateau Du Retout bordeaux from Haut-Medoc.  Not mind-blowing, but at $17 at the local Total Wine, I felt like this one was punching above its weight. 

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All leftovers in some form last night: cold tofu and broccoli stem salad with honey roasted peanuts, orange and sesame soy ginger vinaigrette; baked chicken; and rigatoni with broccoli and gorgonzola.

We also had avocado toast, which I guess fits as a leftover because it utilized half of an avocado left in the fridge.

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17 hours ago, deangold said:

Roasted duck. Dry brined 48 hours. None of this newfangled rare breast stuff, slow roasted at 300 degrees for 2+ hours, then finished at 425 for 15 minutes. The last half hour at 300, I added potatoes to the duck fat.  Skin crispy, meat juicy. 1/2 left over. 

Next time, I will do more to render the fat...

I will prick skin well, taking care not to penetrate to meat.

I will parboil the duck by holding it by it's legs and giving the duck a 2 minute dunk in boiling water {I tied the legs together so I will use a wooden spoon thru the legs to hold the duck in the water and to remove it without steam burns}

I will lower the 300 degree cook time to 1.5 hours, 45 breast up followed by 45 breast down. Then I will raisetemp to 425 and when the oven is preheated, place the duck in back up for 15 minutes and then breast up for 15-20 minutes. 

We got almost 2 cups of duck fat: liquid gold at cooking temperature. 

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The leftover duck, crisped in the oven for about 30 minutes. Even better tan the first night!

Ciabatta.

Persian cukes w/ume paste

Manhattan: Old Overholt, Cocchi Vermouth di Torino, Bitterman's Orange Cream Citrate bitters, Bitter Truth Jerry Thomas Bitters, Luxardo cherry.

The rest of the Ahlgren Zin.

Tonihgt's dinner was better the second time around.

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Romaine, grape tomatoes, radishes, kalamata olives, Italian parsley; white wine vinaigrette
Spaghetti and turkey meatballs in Rao's arrabiata sauce

The spaghetti and meatballs was good comfort food. I don't usually use turkey for this, but it worked well. The spicy sauce neutralized any blandness in the turkey.

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Leftover chicken legs that had been stewed in white wine, pomodoro doppio, Chinese leeks, green garlic, garlic served with/on bucatini.

Sauteed farmer's market greens: mustards, kales, frisees, hand~torn, garlic, onion, cherry blossom soy

Old Fashioned: Old Granddad, sugar cube, Bitter Truth Jerry Thomas Bitters, Bittermans orange cream citrate bitters, Luxardo cherry.

Banana

Later tonight: Pistacchio geleto from our Cuisinart ice cream maker. I have amazing Bronte pistacchio paste and I used TJs dry roasted pistachio.

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Baked chicken breasts
Roasted cinnamon & nutmeg - spiced butternut squash reheated with leftover maple bacon brussels sprouts
Baked tiny shells and cheese topped with homemade bread crumbs

Trader Joe's dark chocolate covered almonds

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Crockpot Chicken Tinga on flour tortillas.  With 2 small kids at home while working full time, I think the crock pot is going to get a workout for awhile.

Strawberry Bud Light Seltzer (my secret shame... maybe not so secret anymore) with dinner.  Much later opened a bottle of Campo Viejo Rioja Gran Reserva.  It was on sale at Costco, and I regretted buying it.

Side note - I would encourage more members to post in this forum, even if their dinners aren't so exciting.  The restaurant threads are going to be a little quiet for awhile, and I could always use some inspiration...

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Romaine, grape tomatoes, bacon; mustard - white wine vinaigrette
Beef and broccoli stir-fry (carrots, onions, ginger)
Whole wheat couscous

I had blanched old broccoli that needed to be eaten soon and had leftover flank steak from fajitas, so I made a stir-fry. I tinkered with a sauce recipe I found in the Post and ended up using a mixture of low-sodium soy sauce, mirin, small amounts of fish and oyster sauces, and water, with cornstarch to thicken.

There is still some steak left for another meal, since I originally cooked a whole Costco pack that was 2+ lbs. and there are only two of us. The couscous could have used some color, but I was too lazy to chop up some of my remaining stash of parsley. The stir-fry went on top of it anyway, so it didn't really matter.

 

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Leftover tofu salad
Chicken lime soup with crushed blue tortilla chips
Buttermilk biscuits and butter

I discovered a small box of Bisquick that I bought for...some reason. It was unopened, with an expiration date two months ago. Making one batch of biscuits used about half the box and they came out fine, so yay!

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For St Patrick’s Day (pre-packaged Trader Joe’s, simmered about 3.5 hours - made for one heck of a bagel sandwich for lunch today).
 

(Don’t let the grey color deceive you; that’s the outer layer from being long-simmered - this was really good considering it was bought « fresh vacuum-packed » and not home-corned.

65AB2F8B-C1B2-4C87-BC44-CBE39DA63AD5.jpeg28636680-2507-4718-982E-D5C49FE8BDDF.jpeg

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Tonight is ground turkey enchiladas, made in casserole form so that I could utilize some smaller broken taco tortillas, with some cut up roasted peppers and onions I roasted earlier, and green enchilada sauce from the Frontera Grill line.  Served with refried beans, I mixed with some cheese and maybe some guacamole, and hot sauce.

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2 hours ago, DonRocks said:

For St Patrick’s Day (pre-packaged Trader Joe’s, simmered about 3.5 hours - made for one heck of a bagel sandwich for lunch today).

And for a third-straight meal (to finish off the corned beef), one whale of a hash.

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Tuesday: went shopping so I picked up some H-Mart sashimi. Fluke & yellowtail. Superb except for two tail bits from Yelowtail that were super fishy. 

Assorted pickles and rice w/umeboshi.

Draft Makkoli

Homemade saffron gelato & pistachio gelato.

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