Dinner - The Polyphonic Food Blog

[Anna Blume]

It was getting late. I had just arrived in Rome, left my bags in my room and passport at the front desk.

Map in hand, I headed for Piazza Navona to make like Santa Teresa under the golden shaft of an angel, only with a little plastic spoon and a frozen ball of gelato in a paper cup.

Dinner first: my introduction to spaghetti carbonara. At the far right corner of the piazza, there was one trattoria open that was willing to let me order only a primo and a salad. Sweaty, pudgy waiter who needed a shave, more comfortable shoes and something to look forward to. Slimy strands slick with oil, speckled with black pepper and fatty porky bits adrift in a winy sea. They must have just run out of eggs. Nor was the Tartufo afterwards the ecstasy I recalled from years before.

I bet Zingerman's cures guanciale now. I know they carried this amazing, thick spaghetti from a place in Pisa that stuffs the dried pasta into bright yellow bags and I must have had a source for pancetta somewhere in Dearborn, if not at Sparrow across the street in Kerrytown. Nonetheless, the first truly good bowl of carbonara I ever had was in Ann Arbor, Michigan where Rod and Pam cracked eggs from the supermarket and mixed them with American bacon and Ronzoni. I thought they came up with the idea at the spur of the moment and it was only after looking for a recipe at home that I connected carbonara to that greasy dish in Rome.

Side-tracked and hungry, the other night I remembered the thick slice of pancetta in the freezer and made carbonara instead of the more time-consuming meal I had planned. Set water on to boil. Washed fresh spinach leaves whose stems I had already chopped and added to soup. Put them in a frying pan on the back burner w olive oil, slivers of garlic and anchovies; sprinkle of Kosher salt.

Let the crisp little cubes of pancetta sit in the fat for 5-6 minutes off the heat before pouring in the egg beaten with Romano, and worried that the Dutch oven really wasn't a good idea since the mixture looked more cooked than I would have liked.

Set the colander over a big, clunky white bowl and drained the spaghetti before tossing it in with the eggs, cheese and pork and tightly covering it for a minute. Poured the hot water out of the bowl and wiped its toasty surface dry. Took the lid off the pot and smiled.

Every once in a while hunger reminds you how good ordinary, routine parts of your life can be. Glass of cheap wine. Anouk Aimée. Jean-Louis Trintignant. Dah Dah Dah dadadada-da' dadadada-da' dadadada-da' dah dah dah...

[zoramargolis]

Pan-fried buttermilk marinated chicken thighs

Collard greens

Anson Mills artisan white grits with cheddar cheese

Bread pudding with canned peaches and blackberry coulis

2006 Dom. de Couron Viognier

[porcupine]

Quiche with apple, fennel, onion, and Stilton

Spinach, red onion, bacon, and Stilton salad

2005 Plan de L'Om Coteaux du Languedoc

Dessert sounded good in concept - miniature tarts with creme patissiere and spiced cherry compote - but the cherries overwhelmed the pastry cream. Needs work.

[rkduggins]

Shepherd's pie

Braised Savoy cabbage with nigella seeds

Guinness chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting (it looks like a freshly pulled pint but tastes like chocolate heaven)

[zoramargolis]

Crimini-porcini mushroom lasagna with mozzarella di bufala and homemade ricotta

Mixed green salad

Leftover bread pudding

2005 Zardini Ripasso Valpolicella

[jm chen]

Chicken sausage, and the kale/savoy/bread soup from Jamie Oliver's cooking show a couple weeks back. Good stuff.

[zoramargolis]

Smothered Eco-friendly pork chops

Mashed potatoes with lots of smothering gravy

Green beans with roasted garlic, red pepper and lemon

2004 J.P. Champagnon Fleurie

[Pat]

Last night:

Corned Beef and Cabbage

Tonight:

Leftover pork shoulder with couscous, doctored up with some organic chicken broth and a dried chipotle from Whole Foods (previously rehydrated and stored in the fridge).

Pita bread

Guacamole and chips

[Anna Blume]

Dessert sounded good in concept - miniature tarts with creme patissiere and spiced cherry compote - but the cherries overwhelmed the pastry cream. Needs work.

Belated response, but I never would have thought this would be a problem since pastry cream is sort of comparable to whipped cream on top of desserts, i.e., there for purposes other than distinctive flavor. Maybe some almond extract in the creme and a little almond flour in the tart shells? Alternative: just a little zest.

[porcupine]

Belated response, but I never would have thought this would be a problem since pastry cream is sort of comparable to whipped cream on top of desserts, i.e., there for purposes other than distinctive flavor. Maybe some almond extract in the creme and a little almond flour in the tart shells? Alternative: just a little zest.

But I like the flavor of pastry cream. The real problem is the compote. I cooked the cherries with a few slices of ginger and half a cinnamon stick; the spices didn't exactly overwhelm the cherries, but the compote would be more appropriate with roasted duck or venison in December than with pastry in March. I think just fresh sweet cherries would work best, and like you said, with a bit of lemon zest and a touch of almond.

[monavano]

Last night: Leftover braised beef (more like pulled beef), which turned out very good with a crazy mix of coke, onion soup mix, and chili sauce. Herbed gnocchi and asparagus.

[Pat]

Grilled corned beef on rye with cabbage and provolone (1000 Island on mine; husband doesn't like it)

Black bean soup with chipotle (from a TJ package I've never tried before)

[MelGold]

seared tuna steak seasoned with pepper, some amazing citrus EVOO and chardonnay salt that HV gave me for the holidays &

sauteed squash, zucchini and onion

[zoramargolis]

Maiale al latte-- boneless pork shoulder butt from Cibola Farms slow braised in milk and aromatic veg a la Madeleine Kamman

Wild mushroom risotto

Marinated lentil salad (for Veggie-teen, with some mozz di bufala)

Haricots verts with Meyer lemon

2006 Dom. du Tariquet Cotes de Gacogne*

*This is a blend of ugni blanc and colombard that I picked up at P Street Whole Foods for $6.99. It's probably in the last stage of its optimal drinking window, but it is drinking wonderfully right now, and it has all that you could want in an everyday food-friendly white wine: terrific balance of fruit/acidity/minerality. Very refreshing. I'm going back for a few more bottles at that price. (edited to add: when I went today, it was $7.99. I don't know whether the price went up or I wrote it down incorrectly. Still a good deal IMO.)

[Pat]

Mesclun* with campari tomatoes, mozzarella strings, and shiitake sesame vinaigrette

Rice pilaf with fresh English peas

Baked chicken thighs

*When I was in PA last week and took my aunt to dinner at our usual spot near her apartment, I did a double take when I saw Sesame Chicken and Mescaline Greens on the menu. The description, to be sure, said "Mescaline greens with crispy fried noodles and walnuts topped with our spicy plum and sesame glazed fried chicken." [$9.95]

I thought there might be an odd menu thread around here somewhere but I couldn't find it. So that specimen is posted here for your enjoyment.

.pdf of the menu with said salad here: http://www.caseysdh.com/menu_index.asp

[Mrs. B]

Mesclun* with campari tomatoes, mozzarella strings, and shiitake sesame vinaigrette

Rice pilaf with fresh English peas

Baked chicken thighs

*When I was in PA last week and took my aunt to dinner at our usual spot near her apartment, I did a double take when I saw Sesame Chicken and Mescaline Greens on the menu. The description, to be sure, said "Mescaline greens with crispy fried noodles and walnuts topped with our spicy plum and sesame glazed fried chicken." [$9.95]

I thought there might be an odd menu thread around here somewhere but I couldn't find it. So that specimen is posted here for your enjoyment.

.pdf of the menu with said salad here: http://www.caseysdh.com/menu_index.asp

but the "real" Cheez Whiz made my tastebuds stand up and pay attention. Although I wouldn't feel that way after real "mescaline" I don't think.

[Pat]

but the "real" Cheez Whiz made my tastebuds stand up and pay attention. Although I wouldn't feel that way after real "mescaline" I don't think.

. The real Cheez Whiz caught my attention too. Can't be using the fake Whiz. I'm not sure if Whiz has hallucinogenic properties, but we can imagine.

There are several of those restaurants in that area of PA, along where the trolley lines used to be. I don't know if they all have the same ownership or are independently owned. The menus seem to vary store to store. The one in my home town is not as good as this one, so I'll cut them slack on the goofy menu descriptions.

To take this back to dinner relevance, the meal in question was a week ago and I had a turkey club and bacon-cheese fries. (It was a $2 charge to sub a half order of the cheese fries app for the fries that come with a sandwich.) It was a filling meal, and the remaining half sandwich made a good breakfast the next morning.

[zoramargolis]

Shepherd's pie made with leftover braised short ribs

Veggie-teen had leftover mushroom lasagna

Mixed green salad with feta, pine nuts and balsamic vinaigrette

Almendrades--almond cookies with Meyer lemon, made for Veggie-teen's Spanish class pre-Spring Break party

2005 Capçanes Mas Donis

[monavano]

West African Groundnut and Chicken Stew, fresh Cilantro

Long grain rice

Toigo hot house cukes with a bit of vinegar, sugar and dill

blackberry bundt cake

[porcupine]

Almendrades--almond cookies with Meyer lemon

Would you please post the recipe in the cookie thread?

[Pat]

Chilled asparagus salad

strawberries; balsamic blood orange vinagrette; toasted sesame seeds

Marinated antipasto subs

provolone; cheddar; proscuitto; salami, soppressata; tapenade; pepperoncini; pickles

The dressing for the subs is a little of the same used for the salad, plus some dried oregano, basil, and thyme.

[zoramargolis]

Dinner tonight:

Charcoal-grilled spice-rubbed rib-eye

Chiles rellenos stuffed with homemade queso fresco, salsa ranchera

Arroz amarillo

refried beans (La Costeña brand canned)

Trader Joe's corn tortillas

Cerveza Pacifico

Dessert was unusual--a hybrid dacquoise and pavlova. The base was a large crispy rectangular shell of baked meringue that was made with ground roasted hazelnuts incorporated into the beaten eggwhites and sugar, spread with vanilla pastry cream flavored with St. Germain elderflower liqueur, and decorated with circles of sliced fresh fruit: strawberries, bananas, seedless muscat grapes, clementine sections and blueberries, served with whipped cream. It was both beautiful and delicious.

It all started last night, when Veggie-teen asked me to make something for her to take to her French class' pre-spring break party. Something French. I mentioned that I had a box of frozen Trader Joe's puff pastry dough. We talked about possibly millefeuilles, or a napoleon. I remembered that I had just bought two boxes of strawberries, and I suggested a tarte aux fraises, which would feed more people. That sounded great to V-T, but if we made it the night before, it would be soggy. In any case, her French class was in the afternoon, so I suggested that I make it this morning and she said she could come home during lunch break to pick it up. Then, last night we made almendrados to bring for her second period Spanish class. And this morning, she took along some ground Peet's, the press pot, some blood orange peel and cinnamon sticks to make Spanish coffee to accompany the almond cookies.

After she left for school this morning, I made vanilla pastry cream for the tarts, and used six eggyolks, which left all of those eggwhites. And there was a lot of pastry cream left over. I thought about a pavlova, and then I noticed a small container of hazelnuts sitting on top of the microwave, and one thing led to another and I used whatever fruits I had in the house and it turned into an amazing dessert.

When I pulled a steak out of the freezer to defrost for dinner, a bag of peeled ripe poblanos that I froze last fall fell on the floor, and they were so perfectly shaped they called out to be stuffed with cheese, but what kind of cheese did I have in the house? Well there was the rest of that container of whole milk I'd bought for the pastry cream... and another thing led to another, and I spent all day in the kitchen.

But Veggie-teen's Spanish class loved the almond cookies and flavored press pot coffee, her French teacher was over the moon about the beautiful, homemade tarte aux fraises, and we had an incredibly good dinner, even if I didn't make the tortillas or the refried beans from scratch.

[Xochitl10]

Tonkatsu plated with shredded cabbage and tonkatsu sauce

Shira-ae (tofu and sesame dressing) mixed with simmered carrot, shiitake, and konnyaku (devil's tongue jelly)

Miso soup with wakame seaweed and more sliced shiitake

Steamed rice

Dainagawa Sannin Toji sake from Yokote, Akita Prefecture

[Pat]

beef vegetable barley soup

spinach lasagna

baguette

[Pat]

Butter lettuce with hard-boiled eggs, tomatoes, cucumber, and Emmental cheese, with blood orange-balsamic vinaigrette

Bunny bread (bunny shaped brioche from Marvelous Market) and butter

Ham studded with cloves and drizzled with honey, served with crushed pineapple

Scalloped potatoes

Steamed broccoli with butter

[dcdavidm]

Lunch: Pizza al Formaggio

Dinner: Susanna Foo's Honey grilled lamb chops with jalapeno puree

Grilled asparagus with soy sauce and sesame oil

Orzo with scallions, parmesan, and jalapeno peppers

[mojoman]

I cooked dinner.

"French wonton" (brie and raspberry in wonton wrappers, deep fried).

Sour cream "three ways" (in a smoked salmon/cucumber/shallot "salad," with brown sugar on a sauteed apple slice, with horseradish) served with reibekuchen

Shrimp/asparagus/orange/arugula salad with tangerine gastrique

Boeuf Bourguinion with garlic potato puree

Vanilla panna cotta with orange supremes and an ginger-orange reduction

Cakelove cupcakes

[monavano]

I used the last of my brisket-cubed it up, made some more "gravy" and put it over sliced Eve ciabatta bread.

With leftover roasted asparagus- I boiled up potatoes in chicken stock, added the asparagus and pureed a bit to make a nice soup.

[Banco]

The in-laws were visiting from Germany, and I made Easter dinner. A roast leg of lamb after a Pepin recipe, with braised artichoke hearts and a gratin of potatoes boulangere (with oninons, garlic, chicken stock and white wine.) The lamb was OK, but a bit messy; and my artichoke prep skills need serious work.

The best course I think was the appetizers: little rounds of brioche sauteed in clarified butter, topped with goose foie gras terrine that we brought back with us from Alsace over the holidays, a slice of black truffle, then a little dollop of blackberry marmalade and finally a sprinkle of fleur du sel on top. I served them with a 2003 Chateau d'Arche. Fantastic. My seven year-old gobbled four of them up faster than I could count. As I looked forlornly at the few remaining for me, my wife looked at me and said, "At least be glad that he likes them."

[Pat]

marinated asparagus

baked chicken thighs

chilaquile casserole

remainder of brioche from yesterday (aka bunny butt)

[monavano]

Shrimp and talapia with orzo and an egg based lemon sauce.

Next Step's gnarly carrots with honey, red wine vinegar, brown sugar and crystalized ginger (gnarly=they look like Keith Richard's fingers)

[Anna Blume]

Pugliese Stuffed Eggplant w Capers

Pilaf w Noodles

Spinach

Strawberries

The eggplant was prepared ahead since the flavors improve over time. Dish was introduced by a native who recommends the traditional method of frying the empty shells of eggplant halves in olive oil.

To reduce calories, I used a trick from David Downie, parboiling the whole eggplant for 5 minutes. Once cool enough to handle, I split it and cut out the flesh.

Flesh pulverized in food processor, it gets sautéed in heated olive oil until soft and starting to color. Then add ground beef (1/4 lb. per half of large supermarket eggplant) and break up with fork, cooking till all pink gone.

Cool mixture, then incorporate beaten egg, fresh bread crumbs, grated Romano and a little salt and pepper. Use judgment for amounts. Nothing else, but since you're going to use canned tomatoes at this time of year, a little garlic and and herbs would not be bad. Purity of taste is aim, though.

Then, take a nice simple tomato sauce, thinning it with water if it's not something you purchased, such as the Italian boxes of passata now available in supermarkets. I used Mario Batali's, my latest favorite, made w grated carrot, onion, garlic and a little thyme. Used the immersion blender to smooth out when cooked.

Top the eggplant halves w generous amount of runny sauce and dot liberally with capers. Bake at 350 (or 425--which I ended up switching to) for 40 minutes, adding more water to sauce given long time in oven.

Let cool to room temperature. Just okay first day, but a real joy the second when brought back to room temperature. Don't serve hot.

Lots of good bread is traditional accompaniment, but I love Paula Wolfert's pilaf w browned fragments of dried angel hair pasta.

[Pat]

To reduce calories, I used a trick from David Downie, parboiling the whole eggplant for 5 minutes. Once cool enough to handle, I split it and cut out the flesh.

Many years ago, this is how I used to make eggplant parmesan (except I sliced it an inch or so thick and parboiled it). I didn't use any kind of recipe to make it, but it always came out really well. I remember I had neighbors who liked it when I made this. Once I started consulting recipes, I changed the way I did it, and I don't know if I even remember my original method any more.

I love stuffed eggplant. I'll have to come back to your description next time I make it.

[Pat]

Corned beef hash with fried eggs

Mini BLT's

[legant]

Penne with asparagus, roasted shallots, mushrooms, toasted panko and Gorgonzola

Pear and Gorgonzola

(Tonight's dinner was just an excuse to indulge in a 1/4 lb. of blue cheese; I'll pay for it tomorrow.)

[Anna Blume]

Many years ago, this is how I used to make eggplant parmesan (except I sliced it an inch or so thick and parboiled it).

I do something less austere: swiping both cut surfaces of eggplant w olive oil and baking them until soft. Batali does it, too. For some reason, I've been on an eggplant kick these days. That and yogurt w rhubarb compote and granola.

(Tonight's dinner was just an excuse to indulge in a 1/4 lb. of blue cheese; I'll pay for it tomorrow.)

Even better than eggplant! There's a great, indulgent recipe in the first Union Square Cookbook that is fussier than all get-out that I bet you'd like. You make an infused cream (flavored w red onion, etc., strained) and then add slivers of roasted beets, toasted walnuts, Gorgonzola and Parm. Toss in some penne. Garnish w parsley. Wicked.

* * *

And a shout-out to indulgent mothers of veggie-teens and the proud parents of a seven-year-old w an adventurous palate.

[Erin11]

Black bean burger w/ cheese (recipe from Cooking Light, very easy to put together)

Roasted sweet potato "fries"

Sabayon ice cream

[Xochitl10]

Negitoro don -- chopped toro, sliced green onions, and julienned thin sweetened omelet on top of steamed rice, then mixed in with soy sauce and wasabi

Miso soup with shiitake and wakame

Renkon kinpira -- sliced lotus root quickly fried with togarashi (Japanese red chile pepper), then simmered with sake, sugar, mirin and soy sauce

[zoramargolis]

Me: Beef and white bean ragout

Veggie-teen: Falafel sandwich

Dessert: Lychee panna cotta

[Pat]

Butter lettuce salad with campari tomatoes, alphonso olives, artichoke hearts and vinaigrette

Baked macaroni* and ham and cheese with cracker barrel cheddar and borough market stilton

Costco dinner rolls and butter

*actually cavatappi

[zoramargolis]

Greek elephant beans--I got interested in these after reading about them in John Thorne's book *Mouth Wide Open* and found dried ones at the Middle Eastern Market near Rabieng in Bailey's Crossroads. They are huge, as befits their name. You eat them one at a time. They take a long time to cook, even when soaked overnight, but keep their shape while insides are creamy. Very, very tasty.

Caponata--made last night and eaten at room temp today. One of those savory-spicy agrodolce dishes that are hard to stop eating.

Homemade ricotta--made with creamline whole milk from the new dairy farmer at Arlington Farmers Market.

Mixed green salad with avocado, cuke and tomato with balsamic vinaigrette

Olives

Baguette from Le Pain Quotidien

More lychee panna cotta

2003 Chateau Coupe Roses Minervois

[Xochitl10]

Dengaku tofu -- grilled miso-topped tofu

Kinpira gobou -- julienned burdock root and sliced togarashi simmered with sake, sugar, mirin, and soy sauce

Nanohana no karashi-ae -- rapini parboiled and dressed with ground sesame, sake, mustard, and salt

Takuan from my language partner

Clear soup containing sliced shiitake and naganegi (Japanese bunching onion)

Steamed rice

[mojoman]

Butter lettuce salad with campari tomatoes, alphonso olives, artichoke hearts and vinaigrette

Baked macaroni* and ham and cheese with cracker barrel cheddar and borough market stilton

Costco dinner rolls and butter

*actually cavatappi

Campari tomatoes don't compare to a good, local summer tomato but are the only consistent ones when it's not tomato weather.

[zoramargolis]

Last night:

Slow roasted salmon, from BlackSalt Market

Farro with sauteed shiitake mushrooms, fennel frond and Meyer lemon zest garnish

Steamed asparagus

Blackberry panna cotta

[Pat]

Last night:

Beef vegetable soup

Leftover chilaquile casserole

Baked yam with butter and maple syrup

Baguette and brie (Trader Joe's brie--big hunk--less than 3 bucks)

I'm planning an experiment for tonight. We'll see how that goes .

[Pat]

The experiment:

I made an enormous roasted stuffed eggplant (split in two) and topped it with meatballs, spaghetti sauce, and provolone, then put it back in the oven to heat through. The eggplant shells are filled with roasted eggplant, basmati rice, tomatoes, parsley, thai basil, and some of the cooked meat mixture from the meatballs, all topped with toasted pine nuts. The meatballs are pork/veal/beef, parsley, Thai basil, garlic, onion, egg, bread soaked in milk, salt and pepper, fried in olive oil. (There are 3 meatballs down the center of each shell, so the stuffing isn't totally covered. There's a stripe of spaghetti sauce over the meatballs, then one large slice of provolone over the top of each eggplant shell.)

OK, it's good. It's like an overstuffed eggplant meatball sub.

[legant]

Last night:

Split pea soup w/ Pancetta

Grilled cheese sandwich

Chai

[Comfort food after a particularly nasty and rainy day.]

[zoramargolis]

Elephant beans baked in tomato sauce

Farro salad with asparagus and scallions

Caponata (tasting even better after resting for a few days)

Baked homemade ricotta en cazuela

Mixed green salad with balsamic vinaigrette

Olives

Marvy Market striata

2006 Thorne-Clark Shotfire Shiraz

The baked ricotta was really simple and so good--this is the second time I've made it, inspired by a dish in Suzanne Goin's book, *Sunday Suppers at Lucques*. The fresh ricotta was mixed with some olive oil and chopped thyme and parsley in a small round ceramic baking dish, more herbs sprinkled on top, drizzled with olive oil and a sprinkling of fleur de sel, and baked in a 375 degree oven for about 20 minutes. The top was puffed and browned, and there was a light crust underneath where the cheese had made contact with the oiled baking dish. And inside it was lucious and moist with a slightly sweet nuttiness. This dish is going to be in the regular rotation. So delicious spread on good bread. I am sure it would be tasty with a good quality commercial ricotta, as well.

[zoramargolis]

Last night I grilled a steak that I'd bought at Eco-Friendly last weekend: a chuck eye steak that had been aged for fifty days. It had not been frozen previously, and was reasonably priced (compared to their other dry-aged steak) at $12.99 a pound. I don't often get to eat Eco-Friendly beef, because Jonathan does not like the taste of grass-fed beef, and we usually share one steak when we grill. I hadn't seen chuck eye offered before. I knew there was a chance that it would be tough--or at least chewier than a typical rib eye or strip loin. Wrong. Wow. Tender, juicy, and with an amazing depth of beefy flavor. The steak was slightly over a pound in weight, and I ate less than a third of it, it was so satisfying. J is coming home late tonight from his trip to Mexico, and I plan to serve him some sliced steak in a sandwich tomorrow, to see if he will reconsider his avowed distaste for grass-fed beef. I want to eat this again.

Since Veggie-teen wasn't having any steak, there was a variety of other comestibles on the table:

More elephant beans in tomato sauce with rosemary

Fennel slaw with Meyer lemon and olive oil

Green beans with balsamic vinaigrette

Feta cheese

Labne with olive oil, sumac and zataar

Cucumbers and tomatoes

Leftover farro salad

Fresh pita bread from Mediterranean Bakery in Alexandria

Baklava for dessert

Veggie-teen drank soda water with tamarind syrup

I had a glass of Thorne-Clark Shotfire Shiraz

[zoramargolis]

Last night:

(Feeding two teenagers, one whose food preferences were unknown, so a safe choice)

Baked mac and cheese

Haricots verts with Meyer lemon and olive oil

Mexican chocolate bread pudding (leftover from the previous evening, when it was made and taken to a potluck committee meeting)

Strawberries and whipped cream

2006 Joao Pires Vinho Blanco

Oh, and the grass-fed chuck-eye steak sandwich got a big thumbs up!