Dinner - The Polyphonic Food Blog

[Pat]

Broccoli in spicy peanut sauce over long fusilli

[scottmcl]

Sort of a clean-out-the-fridge salad. Fried a pile of lardons until crispy and plenty of pork fat rendered. Fried up some croutons in the fat, and then fried a ton of sliced mushrooms with parsley and basil. Lay down some lettuce, seedless cucumber and a roma tomato. Pile on some left over turkey meat, the croutons, the shrooms and the crispy lardons. Surprisingly scrumptious - miracle of pork fat, I suppose

Scott

[scottmcl]

My sleep schedule is all whacked out, so I made another dinner around 6:00 AM!

I made a tasty Thai red curry turkey with eggplant. 1/2 a large onion sliced, 1/2 a large eggplant cubed, a minced serano chile (seeds and all), some turkey broth to deglaze the pan after cooking the veges, two cans of coconut milk, 4 tbsp or so of fish sauce, a small jar of Thai red curry paste, all the leftover turkey I had in the fridge (glad to be rid of that), fresh basil and parsley (unfortunately no fresh cilantro). Serve over some fragrant jasmine rice and voila - a nice (very) early morning dinner

Scott

[zoramargolis]

Enchiladas de pavo en molé negro de Oaxaca

Frijoles refritos

Arroz amarillo

guacamole & chips

pico de gallo

Cerveza Pacifico

[Pat]

Beef barley vegetable soup

Green salad with vinaigrette

Cornmeal-breaded fried haddock over rice pilaf

[Heather]

Omelets with herbs, goat cheese, and madrange ham, made with the last of my Sunnyside eggs

steamed broccoli

the last bottle of the last case of rose I bought from Ace Beverage

mascarpone ice cream

[zoramargolis]

Mushroom, barley and bean soup with turkey stock

Appalachian tomme and "camembert" from Stonyman/Walnut Hill Farm

Leftover chicken faux gras

Spiced olives

Marvy Market baguette

Trader Joe's chocolate chip ice cream sandwich

2005 Gobelsburger Gruner Veltliner

[edenman]

Tamales and Refried Beans.

Had a few mishaps here:

1) I bought 3lb of pork shoulder before thanksgiving, intending to cook it then. Things got delayed, and when I ended up finally opening the package, it turns out that 11 days in the fridge is too long Upside is that one of my guests was on his way to Giant for his own stuff, and he picked up a bone-in shoulder for $1.30/lb. It's been a while since I bought pork from Giant/Safeway, and I had forgotten how much cheaper it was.

2) I picked up some Poblano peppers at Whole Foods, mistakenly thinking they were spicy. Thus, the pork was green, but very mild in spice.

3) The masa was too dry. I think I just didn't use enough lard.

4) Without thinking, I used all my lard on the masa, and thus when I went to fry the beans, I had to improvise and fry up some guanciale and use the rendered grease from that to flavor the beans.

5) I forgot to add a penny to the steamer on the first go-round, and all the moisture evaporated, leaving me with a burnt-out pan and a bunch of charred corn husks. Luckily, the insides were still ok (for the most part), but my apartment still smells a bit burnt.

It could have gone worse, and there weren't any complaints (my guests are nice folks), but I was still disappointed. Ah well, there's always next time.

[porcupine]

caipirinha (Fazenda Mae de Ouro cachaca, aged one year in oak; I have some really good friends)

black bean soup

jerk pork (tenderloin)

roasted candied sweet potato

(lightly) creamed spinach

rice

pumpkin bar cookies

[zoramargolis]

Tamales and Refried Beans.

Had a few mishaps here:

2) I picked up some Poblano peppers at Whole Foods, mistakenly thinking they were spicy. Thus, the pork was green, but very mild in spice.

3) The masa was too dry. I think I just didn't use enough lard.

4) Without thinking, I used all my lard on the masa, and thus when I went to fry the beans, I had to improvise and fry up some guanciale and use the rendered grease from that to flavor the beans.

5) I forgot to add a penny to the steamer on the first go-round, and all the moisture evaporated, leaving me with a burnt-out pan and a bunch of charred corn husks. Luckily, the insides were still ok (for the most part), but my apartment still smells a bit burnt.

RE#2: The traditional pairing with pork in tamales is red chile, made with dried chiles. The usual chile used is guajillo,which is mildly spicy, so you can throw in a few hotter chiles in the mix if you want. Green chile is usually paired with chicken. It is difficult to predict how spicy a poblano is going to be. That's why it is important to taste them. And why you want to serve the tamales with a salsa, either raw or cooked. And have a bottle of hot sauce on the table.

RE #3: What you probably needed more of was broth. It's also very important to whip the lard to get it really fluffy before you start adding the masa, and then the broth. The way to tell whether you have a batter thats "just right" is called The Float Test. You take a cup of water and drop a teaspoon of batter in--it should pop right up to the top and float if it has been beaten long enough and has enough broth. If it sinks, you're not there yet. Making tamales with masa batter that flunks The Float Test will yield disappointing results. The voice of experience is speaking here.

RE #4: When I have been without lard, I have still been able to make tasty beans with olive oil. The key is to saute onion in the fat, and cook the beans with the sauteed onion and some cumin, Mexican oregano, allspice and bay leaf.

RE #5: I'll bet you never make THAT mistake again.

[zoramargolis]

Dinner tonight:

Roasted lamb meatballs

Steamed rice

Spiced carrot and chickpea salad

Tomato wedges with olive oil and basil

Tzatziki

Feta cheese

Kalamata olives and peperoncini

Quince mostarda

Afghan bread

Oatmeal-almond bars with date-fig-orange filling

Pear cobbler

2005 Castel del Monte Rosso

[legant]

tortellini pasta fagioli w/ spinach*

texas toast

Raspberry Zazz

*Comfort food redefined

[scottmcl]

Last night was pasta, tomato sauce with lots of spinach and homemade ground turkey meatballs - a bit of fridge cleaning: celery, leeks, garlic, fresh oregano and parsley and a little sage, a few green onions, pecorino romano, bread crumbs, an egg, salt/pepper, etc. Baked 'em this time around, but I think I prefer them sauteed in olive oil. Still yummy

[Pat]

Tonight was a big salad platter. The platter was covered with fresh spinach and baby arugula, with proscuitto-smoked salmon-mascarpone rollups around the edge and cured black olives scattered around. I drizzled lemon juice over the whole thing and then put warm spinach gnocchi (coated in olive oil and black pepper and dressed with a tiny bit of creme fraiche and fat free half and half, and sprinkled with grated pecorino romano) in the center. I grated a little more Romano over the whole thing and added a sprinkling of crushed hot pepper flakes over the gnocchi.

We also had baguette slices with soy spread. Very nice meal.

[zoramargolis]

Cream of sunchoke soup, made with duck stock

Mesclun and mache salad with bosc pear, Cashel blue cheese and pine nuts

2004 Domaine Bott-Geyl Gentil d'Alsace

[bioesq]

Cousin Ronnie's Harford County Black Angus beef in a stew with potatoes and root vegetables.

Biscuits

2004 Melanson Vineyard Syrah

Cherries soaked in moonshine.

[Pat]

Mayacoba beans from Rancho Gordo simmered with smoked turkey parts

Delicious! The beans held the smoky flavor really well, even if the turkey pieces were too big to fit in the soup bowls . The only other seasoning was some minced toasted Penzeys onions I tossed in while the beans were cooking. It didn't need anything else. (I would have put more flavoring in, but I was busy and distracted. I'm glad I didn't.)

[Anna Blume]

Any of you Rancho Gordo bean eaters notice the company is noted in the December issue of Gourmet? Christmas limas, of course.

Diiner to Watch Your Bathroom Ceiling Collapse By:

Tonight I decided to roast a pretty little Long Island pumpkin to make a soup w red lentils that Nigel Slater uses to launch Kitchen Diaries. Flavored w ginger, garlic, turmeric, etc. I sautéed a leek, added a carrot and subbed toasted guajillos for chili powder. Puréed. A caramelized onion mixture is tossed in as a garnish at end.

Pretty, but turmeric was too heavy-handed and I missed stock. I like sugar pumpkins quite a bit, but this type seemed to have contributed nothing.

[zoramargolis]

Tonight:

Yukon gold potato latkes

Homemade apple sauce

Sour cream

Oven-roasted Eco-Friendly chicken-- spatchcocked (gee, I love that word!)

2005 Feudi di San Gregorio Falanghina

[Pat]

Last night was kapusta, made with some recently acquired polish sausage and bacon. I don't know that it was the most authentic recipe, but it came out well.

We also had garlic bread and more of the smoky mayacoba beans. The beans could have gone right into the kapusta for serving, I think. I served them separately but ended up mixing mine together .

[Heather]

Chicken stew: Roast chicken and remove the meat from the bones. Simmer carrot, celery, a little diced onion, and thyme in double-strength chicken stock and a little water. Remove veg when tender and make a veloute with the stock. Enrich sauce with cream and pour over chicken and vegetables. Grind fresh pepper over at the table. Serve with hot biscuits.

[txaggie]

Dinner (made by cjsadler) on wednesday was beef stroganoff with roasted carrots and for dessert, we had flan. Both recipes are from Cook's Illustrated.

[zoramargolis]

Last night:

Roasted salmon with white miso crust

Braised bok choy with mushrooms

Sticky rice with toasted sesame seeds and scallions

Gingered miso-dashi broth

[Anna Blume]

Coq au vin

Roasted potatoes

Green Salad

Rice pudding

Back in high school, coq au vin was the height of sophistication and sometimes cold, snowy weather heightens nostalgia for me. Drumsticks from legs go into the stock pot, so I just cooked the thighs. The early purple shade of the chicken is rather unappealing and the skin of braised poultry is not terribly appetizing. Not traditional, but I always add carrots. Results more bourgeois than Piaf, but sauce was quite good and leftovers will probably end up in a risotto. Butter leaf lettuce w shallot vinaigrette and a few fine threads of Gruyere got a little bit of the sauce, too.

On the other hand, potatoes and dessert were both fantastic. Julia Child asks you to boil your lardons for 10 minutes, then blot them off and slowly cook them in butter, remove them, and brown your chicken before returning the bacon to the pot and proceeding with the recipe. Well, the resulting mixture of dairy, porcine and bird fats was just the thing to pour out of the Dutch oven and reserve. Peeled and cut up a couple of potatoes and boiled them. Turned them in the fat, sprinkled on salt and baked slowly for a good long while along with dessert, before turning up heat for the finish. Golden, puffy, creamy.

Recipe for pudding here. Used vanilla sugar (a little less) and just a tiny amount of grated zest from a Meyer lemon in one dish instead of individual ramkins. Longer time, stirring to prevent skin. Handful of gold raisins stirred in when done. Not part of family repertoire, so not exactly nursery food. But could be.

[Pat]

On a whim, I made a recipe last night I hadn't made in ages: angel hair pasta with sour cream, chives, and caviar. I was amazed I actually remembered which of my cookbooks it was from (the classic 365 Ways to Cook Pasta ) .

It's very simple but I made some changes because I didn't have the ingredients. I rarely change a recipe much the first time I make it, but when I have a feel for a recipe because I've made it a bunch of times, I'm not as concerned about how changes will turn out. I didn't have angel hair so used vermicelli, which was the thinnest pasta I had. I didn't have the chives, so I used chopped parsley for some green. I had salmon caviar (the reason I decided to make the dish). When I made it before, I would use red or black caviar from the supermarket. Since I had the salmon, I also topped the final dish with some pieces of smoked salmon encircling the mound of caviar on top of the pasta. (We also had a big green salad.)

The other main change was something I've done most times I've made this. Instead of tossing the cooked pasta with butter and then topping it with a dollop of warm sour cream, I omit the butter and toss the pasta directly with the sour cream. So, I pretty much didn't make the recipe in the book at all .

[MelGold]

Had friends over for a near-to-end of Hannukah dinner...

Latkes with sour cream, applesauce & cinnamon-n-sugar for accompaniment

Rotisserie chicken

Large green salad with black olives, artichoke hearts & feta with champagne vinaigrette dressing

Icebox lemonade pie for dessert

Bottle of Pinot Grigio & a bottle of Gewterztreminer (sp?)

[Pat]

Fennel-orange salad with balsamic-maple vinaigrette

Baked chicken legs

Fingerling potato salad

[zoramargolis]

Gewterztreminer (sp?)

Gewurztraminer.

[MelGold]

Gewurztraminer.

Thanks, Zora. I was just too tired to pull out my Wine Bible.

[squidsdc]

Had friends over for a near-to-end of Hannukah dinner...

Latkes with sour cream, applesauce & cinnamon-n-sugar for accompaniment

Rotisserie chicken

Large green salad with black olives, artichoke hearts & feta with champagne vinaigrette dressing

Icebox lemonade pie for dessert

Bottle of Pinot Grigio & a bottle of Gewterztreminer (sp?)

Same theme here:

Latkes with sour cream, and homemade applesauce (it has red-hots in it...there's the cinn/sugar!)

Rotisserie Chicken

Pan roasted carrots, oven roasted broccoli and cauliflower

Lemon Sorbet for dessert

Bottle of Sparkling Pinot/Chardonnay

eta: forgot to mention the whole wheat challah and brisket from costco

[DanielK]

Grandma's latkes with homemade applesauce (Suncrisp apples picked at Larriland Farms)

Jumbo lump crabcakes

Green beans w/almonds

Challah

[legant]

Salmon pot pie w/ leeks and shitakes

Pain au chocolat

2006 Champalou Vouvray

Music: Carmen McRae; Sarah: Dedicated To You

[Major procrastination mode today: came across a Cook's Country recipe for a salmon-leek pot pie. Unfortunately, my Cook's Illustrated login does not work with Cook's Country. In a fierce effort to clean out the fridge/freezer – I got rid of salmon, a leek, some puff pastry and cream – and avoid doing any actual work, I decided I was going to "wing" it. With help from several, more experienced cooks, I came up with the following:

Sautéed sliced leeks and shitakes; added and burned off some white wine. Cubed and seasoned (Old Bay) salmon fillet. Mixed all with a sorta thick Béchamel (because… as I was reminded… the vegetables and fish will release liquid while cooking. Which explained the smoke coming from the oven.). Placed in casserole and topped with puff pastry. Baked for 20m at 425, then 5m at 400.

Really quite simple. And… pretty darn tasty at that. Although I'm quite proud of myself , I really do need to thank mktye, cjsadler, and zoramargolis for suggestions and hints.]

[youngfood]

Cod Grapefruit Beurre Blanc

Roast Chanterelles and Cauliflower

Roast Brussel Sprouts and Chesnuts

Gaba do Xil Godello 2006 (hat tip to Don from several months ago, I've only just now found a Godello at CW for $9 and it went great with my otherwise mismosh dinner flavors and was much more interesting than any other cheap white I've had of late)

Chocolate Pound Cake

Acacia A Pinot Noir 2005

[Pat]

smoked turkey leg

(microwaved) baked potatoes with lowfat sour cream*

warm roasted beets tossed with with goat cheese and balsamic vinegar

roasted brussels sprouts with toasted sliced almonds and pecorino romano

*These were a last-minute addition when I realized my husband wouldn't be eating brussels sprouts. The sprouts came out quite well, and I had them all to myself .

[Pat]

Salmon pot pie w/ leeks and shitakes

Pain au chocolat

2006 Champalou Vouvray

Music: Carmen McRae; Sarah: Dedicated To You

[Major procrastination mode today: came across a Cook's Country recipe for a salmon-leek pot pie. Unfortunately, my Cook's Illustrated login does not work with Cook's Country. In a fierce effort to clean out the fridge/freezer – I got rid of salmon, a leek, some puff pastry and cream – and avoid doing any actual work, I decided I was going to "wing" it. With help from several, more experienced cooks, I came up with the following:

I'm glad you worked it out. It sounds great. I hate working with leeks, though I love leeks.

The formatting in this article is a bit off, including missing recipe titles, but it looks like it's here. (It's second from the bottom, the one that's from Cover and Bake.)

[rkduggins]

Pan seared chicken breasts with a green olive, caper and currant pan sauce

Couscous refreshed with cracked cardamom pods then stirred with toasted sliced almonds, pine nuts and pistachios

[zoramargolis]

The formatting in this article is a bit off, including missing recipe titles, but it looks like it's here. (It's second from the bottom, the one that's from Cover and Bake.)

I thought that the veal stew recipe--which is just above the salmon/leek pot pie recipe-- was extremely interesting. It's clearly osso buco without the ossi. Though it wouldn't be nearly as unctuous without the bones and their marrow, a signature feature of the eating experience, there's a lot to be said for the idea. Like the fact that the last time I looked at Whole Foods, veal shank was selling for $10.99 a pound, and veal stew meat was half that price. And the gremolata is one of my favorite things about osso buco.

[goldenticket]

Three-bean Turkey Chili (first batch of chili this season)

Trader Joe's Multigrain Tortilla Chips (Made with organic corn, wheat and steel cut oats - YUM)

Homemade Guacamole

[Pat]

fish tacos (w/mahi mahi)

[Pat]

I thought that the veal stew recipe--which is just above the salmon/leek pot pie recipe-- was extremely interesting. It's clearly osso buco without the ossi. Though it wouldn't be nearly as unctuous without the bones and their marrow, a signature feature of the eating experience, there's a lot to be said for the idea. Like the fact that the last time I looked at Whole Foods, veal shank was selling for $10.99 a pound, and veal stew meat was half that price. And the gremolata is one of my favorite things about osso buco.

This is making me think of the veal stock thread (i.e., using veal meat in addition to bones).

That did look like a worthwhile stew recipe to explore. The gelatinous byproduct(s) of the bones sometimes seems much more potent than others. I'm never sure if it's something I've done or the bones themselves.

[bioesq]

Duck scallopine with cognac and dried cherries

Spinach with garlic and olive oil

Roasted Yukon Golds

Last of the cherries soaked in homebrew

2006 Rocheux Pinot Noir

[legant]

Pat: You just made my day! The only difference between my concoction and the Oakland Press recipe: cooking the puff and the different seasonings. Gawd! Yesterday was a good day! There's hope for me yet!

[Anna Blume]

Minestrone w chard and farro

Blackberry-apple crisp w plain yogurt

[Heather]

Homemade pizzas: fontina, fresh thyme, chanterelles, egg cracked on top just before being tossed on a screamingly hot stone.

Butter lettuce, hothouse cucumber, fresh dill. Homemade ranch dressing.

Homemade buttermilk ice cream with sour cherry/almond sauce (this was a batch of jam that didn't set, repurposed) and toasted almonds.

[Pat]

Pat: You just made my day! The only difference between my concoction and the Oakland Press recipe: cooking the puff and the different seasonings. Gawd! Yesterday was a good day! There's hope for me yet!

You didn't need the recipe, after all .

Dinner last night was leftovers: fennel-orange salad, chicken legs, and kapusta.

[Xochitl10]

Sake-poached Iwate salmon

Spinach, tofu, and red chili pepper sauteed in sesame oil

Steamed rice

[zoramargolis]

Veal stew* bucco sans ossi-style with gremolata

Heirloom Carolina Gold rice

Haricots verts*

2005 Castel del Monte Rosso

*recent trip to Costco

[porcupine]

Minestrone w chard and farro

Would you mind posting the recipe?

[Anna Blume]

Would you mind posting the recipe?

You're sweet to ask, but I cobbled together something highly unorthodox. I recommend Lidia Bastianich's recipe in her Italian-American cookbook, though, which I kept in mind.

Usually the soup's made w cannellini and/or chick peas. I had a bag of borlotti (or Romano--Goya) and cooked a cup of raw beans separately before deciding to make the soup. (I use a 300 F oven and add bay leaf, strip of kombu, parsley, sliced garlic & small quartered onion along w un-soaked beans and boiling water.) If you soak them overnight with the intention of making the soup, they can be added directly to the soup pot; fortunately I hadn't drained my beans, so I was able to add the cooking liquid to the broth.

I had long-braised chard, chopped up stems and all, prepared with onion, parsley, garlic & paprika (Madison's big Vegetarian book) the night before and decided to combine the two to make the soup. Lots and lots of cabbage is traditional, usually w green beans or diced zucchini and maybe some spinach, too. However, I have to say I really preferred the chard and would use two bunches--or Tuscan kale.

Other ingredients:

Large onion or two, chopped (red, 1st choice)

Huge carrot, diced

Celery stalk, minced

4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

1-2 T tomato paste

Smoked ham hock (bacon or diced pancetta will do; also ham shank--I prefer having the bone in pot)

Rind from Pecorino Romano or Parmesan

14 oz. canned Italian plum tomatoes w some of the purée

3-4 pieces dried porcini

Parsley-minced, to taste, but at least 1/4 cup

1/4 t to 1/2 t cayenne (if using red chili flakes, increase to 1/2 t and add at beginning)

S & P; olive oil

1/2-3/4 cup farro

Use Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed soup pot. Heat around 3 T olive oil. Dump in onion w a little salt. Cover and sweat, low heat for around 5 minutes. Uncover, increase heat and throw in next 2 ingredients. Allow to soften. Mix in garlic, stirring all for a minute and then push to side.

N.B. If you're using pancetta instead of ham on a bone, add along w carrot and celery. Bacon? Blanch lardons (1/4 in. slivers) in water first, drain, pat dray and add, then, too. Or don't be such a fussy frog--throw in raw pieces; just go easy on the olive oil.

If bottom of pan is dry, add a little more oil and fry tomato paste for a few minutes until it colors and starts to seize up a bit. Then mix everything in pan together, adding cayenne, then hock, shank, whatever. If you keep the rinds of your Italian grating cheeses in the freezer like I do, now's the time to fetch one and fling it into the pot as well.

Add water to the pan so that it rises above the bone. Here's when you'd throw in your beans if they're raw, though I waited until later with cooked ones, and just added their broth. Moosh up the canned tomatoes with your hands, or let the Peanut do it, and plop them in along with the juice. Anything else catch your fancy? By all means. Just put a lid on it when it comes to a boil and turn the heat down to simmer until beans soften. They say the acid in tomatoes retards softening of beans, so you might want to add them later, along with greens. At any rate, check pot again after about 45 minutes or so to see if the beans are softening and swelling.

Meanwhile, thoroughly clean and roughly chop chard, preferably with leaves first stripped off of stems so the latter look like reddish celery bits. Add these to pot along with parsley after you think beans are close to done. (See what I say about tomatoes, too; if reserved, now's the time to add.) Continue cooking, partially covered.

At the same time, soak porcini in boiling water. When softened, fish out of water and chop. Filter grit from the soaking liquid and pour it into soup pot after you toss in the mushroom bits.

During the last half hour of cooking, you should plan to cook your farro in a separate, small pot, using lightly salted water. Bring to boil, cover and simmer around 20-30 minutes. Drain.

To serve: season soup to taste. Remove bone and shred meat to add back into soup. Add farro to each bowl and store leftovers separately from leftover soup since they would absorb all the liquid otherwise. (Another option is to add some of the farro to the amount of soup you plan on serving immediately and cook together for around 5 minutes so the grains absorb some of the broth.) I like squeezing a little lemon juice into the bowl, mixing it in, then drizzling on unfiltered olive oil OR grated Pecorino. I bet Zora would do a gremolata, instead. Basil-garlic-olive oil is traditional, but it ain't summer.

[Pat]

Green salad (romaine, tomatoes, avocado) with balsamic vinaigrette

Turkey chili with pinquito beans

White rice

Cornbread