Dinner - The Polyphonic Food Blog

[Al Dente]

I had the leftovers from this kick ass mushroom lasagna that I made the other night.

Perhaps there should be a lasagna thread.

[zoramargolis]

Oven braised beef short ribs

Roasted garlic mash

Brussels sprouts with almonds and meyer lemon

Caramelized comice pears with vanilla ice cream

2004 D'Arenberg Laughing Magpie Shiraz-Viognier

[purplesachi]

red-cooked pork belly (from molly steven's art of braising)

prawn crackers

rose brut champagne

[jm chen]

Coney dogs, followed by a disproportionately fancy dessert of Greek yogurt topped with oranges in honey-cardamom syrup, sprinkled with chopped pistachios and a touch of lavender salt.

[Pat]

Ethiopian sampler (spellings may vary). Injera platter topped with

Tibs Wat (spicy beef stew)

Doro Wat (spicy chicken stew)

Yegomen Kitfo (collards with spiced cottage cheese)

Yebeg Alicha (mild lamb stew with onions and green peppers)

Yemiser Wat (spicy red lentil stew)

Yetakelt Wat (spicy mixed vegetable stew)

Everything came out well, except the doro wat was a bit overseasoned (despite my scaling back the berbere from the main recipe I used.) The lamb stew was the best overall dish, in my biased opinion. I found lots of descriptions of it online but had trouble finding a specific recipe, so drew on the description and a couple of different recipes. I was quite pleased with that.

The spicy vegetable stew was runner-up. I got that one from Sundays at Moosewood Restaurant.

We've still got plenty of food and injera left, so we'll be eating Ethiopian food for days. I had wanted to make tekil gomen and had the ingredients but substituted the spicy vegetable stew instead. If we still have injera before finishing the other foods, I'll make up a batch of tekil gomen.

I contemplated making just one or two dishes and focusing on them, but one thing I love about eating at Ethiopian restaurants is getting a platter with a lot of different selections. I still miss The Red Sea . The platter looked impressive, if I do say so myself.

The spiced butter came out really well and despite scaling back on the amounts of butter called for in the various dishes, I've already met my butter quota for the entire month...and then some .

And the next time my husband asks if I really need all those mixing bowls filling the kitchen cabinets, I can truly say yes. I used all but one of them making this meal .

[DanCole42]

-Wild mushroom* and sausage risotto with Parmesan and truffle oil

*Shiitake, morel, wood ear, chanter- ... ... ... ok ok ok, so I bought one of every dried mushroom Harris Teeter was selling. So sue me. It gave a great, deep mushroom flavor. Go to hell.

[bioesq]

A quiet Valentine's dinner in the ice-surrounded empty nest, and without predatory pricing:

Roasted red pepper soup with shallots and shrimp

Ducktrap Smoked Trout

Fruit tart—Balducci’s

NV Krug

Music by Miles Davis

Lipitor by Pfizer

[zoramargolis]

Pair of lasagnas, both made with LaPasta fresh pasta sheets: bolognese (made from leftover shortribs), and mushroom (portobello and porcini)

Salad with roasted beets, homemade chevre, mache-frisee-butter lettuce and Meyer lemon vinaigrette

An adaptation of "Katherine Hepburn's Brownies" from the Gourmet Cookbook (3 oz. 70% chocolate vs. 2 oz. unsweetened; 1/2 the sugar; small amount of chocolate-covered cocoa nibs vs. a cup of walnuts; 10 minutes less baking time). They turned out delicious!

2005 Borgo Nuovo Nero d'Avola--a superb bargain (less than $10) from Paul's.

[Pat]

We've been eating leftover Ethiopian food for dinner every night. Last night I decided to go for a little variety to start out the meal, so I made a batch of very out-of season cream of roasted tomato-basil soup, and gougeres from a Jacques Pepin recipe. The gougeres were wonderful floated on top of the soup and also just eaten straight from the bread basket .

[DanCole42]

-Wild mushroom* and sausage risotto with Parmesan and truffle oil

Turned the risotto into cheese-less suppli with a dijon-madeira herb crust, served with sun dried tomato and balsamic puree

[Anna Blume]

For the new lunar year, found a whole black bass and with a nod to both the Summer Challenge and the Year of the Pig, made

Huo Tui Dong Gu Zheng Yu

Steamed broccoli w Meyer lemon juice

White rice (medium grain)

• After scoring, the cleaned fish first marinates in rice wine infused with bruised gingerroot & salt
  
• Stuff all the slits in the skin with prosciutto & slivers of shitake sautéed briefly in peanut oil, the fresh a substitute for dried black mushrooms; since I forgot to tell the fishmonger to clean the bass through the gills (ha!), I also stuffed the belly
  
• Place fish on steamer tray (or chicken-roasting thingy on top of steamer grill) inside wok. Pour on soy sauce and cover tightly till done
  
• Wipe out wok, pour in toasted sesame oil & when warm, use it to drizzle on fish
  
• Cover with shredded scallions & gingerroot
  

[legant]

Thai-Style Chicken Soup (Cook’s Illustrated, Jan/Feb 07) with Jasmine rice.

Pretty good. Anything with coconut milk makes my knees go weak.

[Okay, now my Epicurious.com-styled comments: Couldn’t find lemongrass so I used Gourmet Garden’s lemongrass herb blend. Wasn’t too crazy about it, but it worked in a pinch. I think actual lemongrass would have added the extra “kick” needed.

Does red curry paste lose its potency? Don’t know how long that bottle has been sitting there: although the recipe called for 2 teaspoons, I added 4 teaspoons and still couldn’t get the “pow” that I wanted. Finally add a (very) generous splash of Sriracha; that did the trick.

I was out of lime juice (forgot to check the freezer before going to the store) so substituted lemon juice.

Could/should have added broccoli or spinach to get in my serving of green vegetables. And, varied the mushrooms. Shitakes would have been a nice addition.

Oh! And, I really need to work on my knife skills. Or, get my knives sharpened. I was really hungry and a bit careless slicing the chicken and mushrooms into uniform, consistent slices. Rather big chunks of each. (Yet, nothing goes to waste; I’ll be making chicken stock next weekend.)

It has been a while since I’ve had Tom Khaa Gai, but this version worked for me. Four forks. If (when!) I do this again, I would try roasting the chicken, shredding it and then adding it to the soup. Would have preferred the chicken with a bit more “umph” yet realize this may distract from the overall flavor of the soup. Who knows? This may become my I’m-sick-and-need-comfort food. (Let’s be real – anything with coconut milk is de facto comfort food.)]

[brr]

wanted to use the leftover Niman Ranch ham steak from Fridays split pea soup so came across a nice and easy white bean soup/stew recipe

saute some garlic in oil, add a can of tomatoes, 2 cans canneloni beans, ham, chicken stock and some pepper - bring to a boil, reduce heat, stir in baby arucola until wilted....serve with bread/toast.....tasted great and I have it for lunch today

[zoramargolis]

Homemade roasted turban squash soup

" baba ghanouj

" hummos

Olives

Felafel sandwiches in pita with yogurt-tahini sauce, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, feta cheese, cilantro and hot sauce

(I went to Shemali's--in the same Foxhall Square building where Ace Beverages is located--and found their own homemade felafel dough in the freezer. It was very tasty, spiced with onion, garlic, fresh parsley, cumin and fenugreek.) J. called them "Middle-Eastern tacos."

Pistachio baklava from Shemali's

2005 Grove Mill Pinot Noir

[zoramargolis]

White bean- escarole- mushroom soup with veal meatballs

Bosc pear crisp

2005 Borgo Nuovo Nero d'Avola

[Pat]

gougeres

red lentil vegetable stew

mixed cabbage slaw with dried cranberries, chopped apple, and creamy vinaigrette

Andouille sausages simmered in beer

[brr]

Jasper Hill farm Winnemere cheese

Gorgonzola

Jasper Hill farm Constant Bliss

Bread

2003 Zenato Valpolicella ($9.99 @ CW)

whats not to like?

[xcanuck]

I made lentil soup for dinner a few day's ago and I think it turned out remarkably well. Here's the recipe:

Ingredients

* 1 lb lamb merguez sausages (mine were homemade )

* 1 cup lentils

* 2 cups beef broth

* 2 cups water

* 1 14oz can tomatoes (diced, of if whole then hand crush)

* 2 carrots, cut into small dice

* 1 small onion, cut into small dice

* bunch fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped

* whole cumin and coriander, toasted and then ground into a powder. About 2 1/2 tbsp total of powder.

* 1 tsp red chili powder (cayenne)

* 1 tbsp harissa (I would think it's optional but I had some leftover from making the merguez)

* salt and pepper to taste

Sautee the whole sausages in a little olive oil just long enough to brown them, then slice them into 1/3" pieces and brown the cut sides. Set aside.

Using the same sautee pan, sautee the onions and carrots until soft and browned. Add a little salt to extract the moisture and help deglaze the sautee pan. Meanwhile, bring the lentils to a boil in a pot with the beef broth and water. Once it hits a boil, back down to a simmer and add the carrots, onions and tomatoes. Season with add'l salt, pepper, cayenne, harissa (optional) and ground cumin/coriander. Continue to simmer until lentils are soft (about 45 mins).

Once the lentils are soft, ladle off about 1/3 of the lentils into another bowl and puree with a stick blender. Add it back to the pot and stir in the sausages. Simmer for at least 30 mins to let the lamb flavour permeate. Toss in the parsley shortly before serving. Goes well with whole wheat buns.

[Anna Blume]

That does sound really good, especially with the home-made lamb sausages! I'd be tempted to throw in some slivers of raw spinach right before serving leftovers.

* * *

And since the avatar & personal info to the left creates a lot of blank space after a two-line post, I'll share, too. I can't say I've ever eaten a sardine knowingly before last year. After discovering fresh ones on ice at WF and decapitating and gutting the glossy little things, I've even found myself buying those flat little tins when they're on sale at the supermarket even though I've always associated them with little old, slight-shouldered men in brown cardigans who sit on the edge of their chenille bedspreads to sew the leather buttons back on when they get loose. Finally used up a fennel bulb with one of these cans last night by making the following:

Orange salad (thin rounds) with fresh mint, slivers of red onion, red chili flakes & cured black olives drizzled with olive oil

Pasta di sardi, a Sicilian dish with chopped onion, fennel, sardines, anchovies, plumped currants, pinenuts and toasted breadcrumbs, traditionally made with bucatoni. You boil the fennel bulb whole first, until most of it is softened, reserving the water to cook the pasta.

[qwertyy]

Homemade roasted turban squash soup

" baba ghanouj

" hummos

Olives

Zora, how do you make your baba ghannouj? Sudanese style is one of new addictions, with its (I think) tiny-diced tomatoes and red peppers and a good deal of spice; the texture is more tapenade than dip. I've made one attempt to replicate it and was profoundly unsuccessful.

[zoramargolis]

Zora, how do you make your baba ghannouj? Sudanese style is one of new addictions, with its (I think) tiny-diced tomatoes and red peppers and a good deal of spice; the texture is more tapenade than dip. I've made one attempt to replicate it and was profoundly unsuccessful.

Mine was very UN-tapenadish. I roasted a whole eggplant until it was squishy and collapsed. Then scraped the pulp away from the skin into the blender with a few cloves of roasted garlic, about 1/4 cup of tahini, some harissa and salt, a squeeze of lemon juice and some lemon zest and a tablespoon or two of Greek yogurt. It was very creamy with a slight sweetness from the roasted eggplant and a back note of spiciness.

[xcanuck]

Mine was very UN-tapenadish. I roasted a whole eggplant until it was squishy and collapsed. Then scraped the pulp away from the skin into the blender with a few cloves of roasted garlic, about 1/4 cup of tahini, some harissa and salt, a squeeze of lemon juice and some lemon zest and a tablespoon or two of Greek yogurt. It was very creamy with a slight sweetness from the roasted eggplant and a back note of spiciness.

Zora - Do you make your harissa from scratch? If so, can you share your recipe. I was disappointed with the stuff I made last week. Kinda bland...

[zoramargolis]

Zora - Do you make your harissa from scratch? If so, can you share your recipe. I was disappointed with the stuff I made last week. Kinda bland...

Nah. I've got a squeeze tube of the stuff--can't recall exactly where I got it. Rodman's maybe?

[lackadaisi]

Corn and Crab Bisque

Shrimp Creole

Coconut Cupcakes

Pralines

[xcanuck]

Wine

Guiness

Martinis

[Heather]

Wine

Guiness

Martinis

No solids?

Tonight we're having homemade refried beans (from Zora's recipe), shredded stewed chicken, lettuce, salsa verde, pickled jalapenos, and sour cream on homemade flour tortillas.

[Pat]

Last night was Braised Green Cabbage from a Molly Stevens recipe (excellent) and slices of baguette with smoked salmon and proscuitto.

[DanCole42]

Lazy Cheaters Pulled Pork Sandwich

With a craving for pulled pork at 7:30 Saturday night, I of course wouldn't have nearly enough time to braise, BBQ, or what have you the pork in time to eat at a reasonable hour (7:30 already pushing it). So I cheated - I used a food processor to try to simulate the texture of pulled pork, and was mildly successful. Next I sauteed the "pulled pork" in an iron skillet before passing it into some hot, homemade BBQ sauce for about 30 minutes. Then I toasted a kaiser roll and, lacking coleslaw or even mayo, spread on some chunky blue cheese dressing. The effect was mouth watering, delicious, and ridiculously easy.

I love challenging myself to cook something with whatever random ingredients I have on hand. I think it's a great way to push one's culinary creativity.

My BBQ Sauce

Sweate (halfway between a saute and a sweat) some onions and garlic in skimmed fat I had frozen from my balsamic braised short ribs. Then add:

A few chunks of frozen braising liquid from the aforementioned short ribs

V-8 juice

Soy sauce

Balsamic vinegar

Liberal amount of ketchup

Maple syrup

Molasses

Oregano

Ancho chili powder

Cayenne chili powder

Paprika

Kentucky bourbon

Salt

Pepper

Faux pulled pork

Put on a high simmer for 30 minutes to reduce by 25-50%, then right before serving add another splash of the bourbon. Probably the best BBQ sauce I've ever had.

Heap the BBQ pork on a toasted kaiser roll smeared with blue cheese dressing.

In retrospect, I'm not sure the pork needed the separate saute. Given that the pork was sitting in my freezer door for god knows how long, I figured better safe than sorry. These were lean pork loin chops, not quite fatty enough, so I also added some sliced pancetta to the mix.

[txaggie]

A couple of weeks ago, cjsadler, legant, a non-DR.com friend, and I got together for dinner to celebrate Chris and Louise's February birthdays. The theme was Italian, and each person was assigned a course (or two).

Louise was in charge of the appetizers.

Besan foccacia

An Antipasto platter

Deviled eggs

The first course was a mushroom soup made by Eric.

The main course was lamb stew (Binni) with creamy polenta (Chris).

The side was Louise's cauliflower with tomatoes and olives.

And for dessert, I made the Tiramisu cake from Dorie Greenspan's Baking From My Home to Yours.

[legant]

A couple of weeks ago, cjsadler, legant, a non-DR.com friend, and I got together for dinner to celebrate Chris and Louise's February birthdays. The theme was Italian, and each person was assigned a course (or two).

Txaggie forgot to mention: Eric has a wheat allergy. We challenged ourselves to create a non-wheat Italian meal. The cake was the only "wheat" item. And, I was more than happy to eat Eric's portion of the cake. (This proved to be the exception to the "no cake for breakfast" rule. )

[The eggs were made with sour cream, capers, rosemary and sun dried tomatoes.]

[Erin11]

Salmon and spinach in mustard cream sauce (heavy cream, Boetje's mustard, mayo and white wine vinegar)

Diced potatoes (sauteed in olive oil, finished with salt and pepper)

Pinot noir to drink

[Pat]

I made a snowy day crockpot vegetable bean stew yesterday. The seasoning was a bit off, but it was otherwise good and hearty. (I added dried herbs about 2/3 way through to keep them from cooking down too much, but they didn't cook off quite enough .)

[Heather]

Eaten after the kids went to bed:

Spaghetti with a drizzle of olive oil*, fresh parm, truffle salt, pepper, and a runny egg.

Butter lettuce and cucumber salad.

Hot chai and a syrup biscuit from Harrod's.

*(the last of the good stuff from Nice gifted by Waitman & the Mrs )

[zoramargolis]

Buttermilk fried chicken (fried portobello mushroom for Veggie-teen)

Pan-crisped cheese grits cakes

Braised kale with Frank's hot sauce

Buttermilk biscuits with Toigo apple-peach blossom honey

2005 Tamar Ridge Pinot Noir

[brr]

very simple fish dish but tasted great and a good quick mid week dinner

season some flounder fillets and place in baking dish

mix together some panko, parmesan, olive oil and melted butter.....sprinkle over fish

cook 15 mins at 425

[Pat]

Warm potato salad

Bacon lettuce tomato (ahi) tuna sandwich on multigrain baguette

[porcupine]

Winter Vegetable Curry from Fields of Greens. Strangely, the first vegetable called for is "fresh tomatoes". Must be a California thing.

[Pat]

Potato salad (cold this time; lots of vinegar)

Fish Tacos

Refried Black Beans

[zoramargolis]

Roasted beet salad with sumac and homemade goat cheese

Roasted eggplant, chickpea and tomato stew--a riff on a recipe from Paula Wolfert's _The Cooking of the Eastern Mediterranean_

Merguez meatballs (lamb) with minted yogurt sauce

Chickpea crepes

Carrot and squash puree with dukkah (Egyptian nut-spice powder)

Cucumbers in yogurt

Mixed olives

2004 Beryna Alicante

Chocolate pastries from Marvelous Market (our dinner guests' contribution to the meal)

Spiced tea

[Pat]

leftover braised green cabbage

wine merchant steak (the recipe is viewable on page 85 here)

I've been making the steak recipe for years. It's one of my standards for the winter.

[zoramargolis]

Smoked arctic char with frisee salad, roasted beets and tomato

--Fresh char was salt/sugar cured for 4 hours and hot smoked with applewood chips in the Cameron stovetop smoker

2003 Venosa Terre de Orazio Dry Muscat

Osso buco with gremolata

Risotto

2004 Argiano Rosso di Montalcino

Cheese plate: La Tur, gorgonzola picante, Manchego, Appalachian tomme, Bosc and

Comice pears and home made membrillo

2004 Saggi Columbia Valley Red (Sangiovese, Cabernet and Syrah blend)

Meyer lemon tart

[Pat]

Buttered egg noodles

Braised chicken thighs

Green beans from last summer (still haven't finished cleaning out the freezer)

Wine sauce

...all layered in a glass lasagna pan for serving. This was great comfort food.

[Heather]

Lentil soup, from the Bouchon recipe. Kids loved it.

[legant]

Pan-fried Panko encrusted trout

String beans almondine

Tater Tots

[legant]

Flounder stuffed with tomatoes, spinach and shallots

Sesame Spinach

A (not so perfect but it did the job) Manhattan

[Anna Blume]

Roasted beet salad with sumac and homemade goat cheese...

As usual, entire menu sounds wonderful, but I've got one huge roasted beet left, sumac in the freezer and a tiny log of goat cheese.

Please tell me more.

[Xochitl10]

Pork shoulder braised in white wine and water (did not discover the lack of chicken broth until dish was ready to go in the oven) and finished with fresh thyme

Fried polenta

Steamed green beans

[zoramargolis]

As usual, entire menu sounds wonderful, but I've got one huge roasted beet left, sumac in the freezer and a tiny log of goat cheese.

Please tell me more.

Pretty simple, really. I just made a little mixed lettuce-frisee-mache salad (any greens will do), dressed it lightly with a lemony vinaigrette, peeled and sliced the roasted beet, sliced some cucumber and plated the greens, beet and cucumber slices, and a slice of chevre log. Then I sprinkled sumac on the beets. The sumac isn't a very forward flavor--it just adds an extra tang to the beets.

[silentbob]

Two recipes I tried over the weekend in hopes of adding them to this Saturday's dinner party menu:

"Bombay sliders" with garlic-curry sauce

French lentil soup

Both turned out great. Love the garlic-curry sauce on the turkey burger. I may add bacon to the soup as well.

Because one of the dinner guests doesn't eat meat, I will likely be making the lentil soup with vegetarian stock requiring lemongrass that should be "stemmed and pounded" -- what does that mean? Never cooked with this ingredient before.

[legant]

Roasted deviled chicken thighs

Pan-fried Polenta cake

Vegetable melange (brocolli, corn, red peppers) w/ mustard-parmesan butter