Dinner - The Polyphonic Food Blog

[zoramargolis]

Zora, if you are willing to post or PM either recipe (short ribs or squash soup), I'd be very grateful.  As a novice, I do better with a roadmap.  Thanks for sharing, either way!

To any cooking novices who would like to build their skills, I recommend _The New Making of a Cook_ by Madeleine Kamman, subtitled "The Art, Techniques and Science of Good Cooking." Madame Kamman has run a culinary academy in Boston for many years, and this book is her magnum opus. Here you'll find complete, clear, precise and easily understandable explanations for cooking just about anything. Not simply recipes to follow, but how and why it should be done that way. I learned so much from an earlier book of hers: _The Making of a Cook_ when I was an eager novice, back in the Pleistocene era.

[Gastro888]

30 pieces of sushi at Kotobuki. With one rockin' green tea mochi as a dessert. I wonder how many visits will it take before they stop looking at me strangely as I order enough sushi for a football team!

[cjsadler]

After numerous kitchen failures, this came out pretty well. It's a mushroom napoleon, from Patrick O'Connell's (Inn at Little Washington) "Refined American Cuisine" (borrowed it from the library-- it has some good ideas in it). Bad picture, though.

and txaggie made us some tasty gratineed fennel soup....

and some madeleines...

[JLK]

Inspired by ya'll, I made short ribs braised in red wine and cheese grits. I'm really pleased with the outcome, definitely one of my [rare!] successes in the kitchen.

[silentbob]

A big bowl of irish-cut oatmeal with Trader Joe's mango sauce. I'm been feeling really lazy.

[porcupine]

Grilled bacon and cheddar sandwiches. Bacon!!!!!!

[amyblues]

As if I'm not turkeyed out already, a big bowl of my dad's homemade turkey soup with dill, carrots, celery, onions and egg noodles. I brought 3 quarts back with me and am already done with 1.

[mdt]

Feeling a little retro this morning.

[Sthitch]

Thanksgiving with my mother-in-law cannot be simple, and since I am the designated cook, it is up to me to top the previous year's feast. This year I ordered a wild shot Scottish pheasant from D'artanian. When I opened the package, the smell of wild game filled the kitchen and drove the dogs nuts. The bird looked rather small, and I feared that there was not going to be enough for the three of us, I could not have been more wrong.
Because of the nature of Pheasant I decided to make two dishes out of this one bird. I braised the legs and thighs in a broth of Calvados and apple cider, seasoned with onions, juniper, and thyme. With about 15 minutes left, I tossed in some sliced Nitney apples. When it came out of the oven I shredded the meat to remove all of the tiny bones that are inherent in a pheasant. I served this with a side of roasted whole spiced endive (whole coriander, cumin, cardamom, fenugreek, and fennel seeds, this is similar to what is found in one of the Craft cookbooks). I also strained and reduced the cooking liquid, fortified it with butter, and dressed the plate with it along with the shredded pheasant. This was matched with a 1982 Beychevelle, an elegantly beautiful wine and a perfect match for this dish.
The second dish I made out the meat was a bacon wrapped breast. I sliced the very meaty breasts into thirds, rolled them, and wrapped them in bacon. I then pan seared them, and finished them in the oven. These were served with a pheasant stock reduction (made from the carcass), grilled broccoli rabe, and truffled pecorino risotto. This was matched with a stunning Pegau Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Reserve.
To finish the meal, we had a ricotta cheese cake. This not so sweet desert was accompanied by a honey like 1998 Inniskillin Oak-aged ice wine.

[Sthitch]

After my Thanksgiving of rich pheasant, I followed it by an equally rich meal of a trio of duck. For this I made duck confit ravioli (black pepper pasta stuffed with shredded duck confit, with caramelized shallots, and goat cheese) topped with a tangerine butter sauce, seared foie gras with a yuzu (I found them at Balducci's and could resist using them) cranberry sauce, and a pan roasted duck breast (from Cheestique) with cocoa scented lentils and wilted arugula dressed with a vinaigrette of duck fat and sherry vinegar. With this dish I served a 1998 Monbousquet, and followed it with a bottle of 1990 Cuvee William Duetz Champagne.
Everyone loved the meal but me. I found faults in each item, that no one else realized. But I guess we are all our own worst critic.

[shogun]

Good food should remind you of things. As I sit here, having just returned home from CT, eating some half-decent pasta I made (Bacon, onions, jarred sauce), I am reminded about the time when I left my new pasta maker in CT.

Oh wait, that was today. Crap.

[Jonathan]

antipasto plate with green bean and walnut salad, house made olives, bresaola and capacola.

short ribs with onions braised with chimay.

braised giant beans in tomato, pancetta and rosemary.

[ScotteeM]

Today was my birthday, so we had steamed live Dungeness crabs (from The Great Wall), with a lemon risotto (lemon from my friend's tree), and stir-fried baby bok choi

It was what I wanted, and it was good!

[MelGold]

Happy Belated Birthday!

[cjsadler]

Some caesar salad, then

Pork tenderloin with apple-ricotta dumplings, pancetta and cider reduction

The dumplings weren't so hot-- it's really tough to get apple taste into a pasta like that. The recipe is from here. I definitely recommend the Apple Balzano Cake out of there.

And an asian pear and bourbon crisp...

[ScotteeM]

Happy Belated Birthday!

Thanks! It was fun.

Tonight was Orange Peel Chicken, War Shu Opp, and Eggplant with Garlic Sauce delivered by Chinatown in Burke. It was all very good.

Chinatown is a tiny, carry out/delivery place in the Burke Village shopping center. I believe it's been there as long as we have lived here, which will be 25 years in February.

The prices are great (cash only) and I've never gotten anything awful there. Their Sam Su Bow is a mighty tasty dish. I love their egg foo yung and their chicken wings with black bean sauce (a lunch special).

[Heather]

Tempura! shrimp, catfish, peppers, assorted mushrooms, and broccoli. dipping sauce spiked with chilis. yum.

[B.A.R.]

On a snowy night in front of a fire with my wife and 2-year old daughter:

Crusty bread, olives, pomegranate, Humbolt Fog, aged goat cheese, Shropshire blue, misc. aged cheddar, mission figs-d'anjou pears-proscuitto di parma, homemade borscht with creme fraiche, random bottle of '01 Cotes du Rhone. Chicken nuggets. Milk.

[Capital Icebox]

Ray's McDLT

Demi-baguette split in two. One the cold side: sun-dried tomato and mayo spread; spinach leaves. On the hot side: Ray's New York Strip (sliced); medium cheddar cheese; just a bit of butter.

[jm chen]

Felt the winter chill when I was riding the bus home yesterday, so I cooked up a big pot of Texas-style chili -- cubed beef, no beans -- and served it up with extra-sharp cheddar, raw red onion, and thick corn tortillas. Winter chill? Zapped.

[Gastro888]

At Hunan Manor in Burtonsville last night:

Cold appetizer plate of 5 spiced beef, deboned duck legs, pig's intenstine and beef tendon in spicy (holy crap, was it spicy) chile oil sauce

Chowed egg noodles with scallions, bean sprouts and fried sardines

2 lobsters stir fried w/ scallions and ginger

Steamed whole chicken with scallion and ginger sauce

Steamed whole fish in soy and scallion sauce

Stir fried sea cucumber and shiitake mushrooms

Snow pea sprouts w/ garlic

Two types of pork intestines stir fried w/ mixed veggies in a garlic sauce

It was a family outing with family friends and I was with some of their kids (all preteens) and they were complaining about eating the sea cucumber and intestines. (Mind you, they were not complaining about eating duck feet!) You know you've reached a certain age when you can make a child eat something they dislike just by saying:

"Eat it. It's good for you, it'll make you smart and 'sides, you're Chinese, you're SUPPOSED to like funny stuff!"

[jparrott]

I can't believe it. My tgiving turkey came out so good, I'm home roasting another one. Supermarket "minimally processed," brined 15 hours, roasted upside down with herbs and truffle butter under the breast meat. And red wine gravy.

[ScotteeM]

Choucroute & mashed potatoes tonight.

Last night was roasted boneless leg of lamb, pasta in a creamy parmesan sauce, and asparagus sauteed with pecans.

[AlliK]

Sweet potato, celery root and ginger soup, inspired by "Chocolate and Zucchini" - somewhat odd sounding combination but it turned out to be very good. With a salad of sliced clementines, shaved fennel, walnuts, and balsamic vinaigrette.

Dessert was crepes suzette!

[zoramargolis]

Do you know the feeling, when you taste something and you say to yourself: "Damn. It just could not be any better than this"? That was the braised lambshanks I made tonight. American lamb from Union Meats at Eastern Market. Big and meaty. I marinated them for four days in a cooked wine marinade. Browned and set them on a brunoise of aromatic veg and garlic, deglazed the pan and added it and the marinade, homemade stock, balsamic vinegar, a teaspoon of beef base, some soy sauce, a slug each of dry marsala and brandy, and three tablespoons of leftover homemade marinara sauce, bay leaves, Italian parsley and fresh thyme. Braised in a Le Creuset pot in a 275 degree oven for 2 1/2 hours. Removed shanks, strained and degreased the braising liquid and reduced it by more than 50%. Served with cheese grits made with Comte, aged Gouda and roasted garlic, Siberian kale with garlic and red pepper flakes, and roasted cippolini onions with rosemary. 2001 Louis Martini Napa Valley Cab. The meat was melt-in-the mouth succulent, full of flavor and the sauce was a rich deep brown color and was so damn delicious that even after I put the leftovers away, I could hardly bear to wash the pot. I kept scraping the sides with a spatula and licking it so that no smidgin of flavor was lost. The best news is that I made four shanks, and we only ate two of them. Leftovers to die for!

[Gastro888]

You can marinate meat for four days and it doesn't turn to mush? Really? Or is it b/c it's the shank cut? Just curious.

[zoramargolis]

You can marinate meat for four days and it doesn't turn to mush?  Really?  Or is it b/c it's the shank cut?  Just curious.

1) Lots of connective tissue--I wouldn't marinate a steak for four days.

2) No vinegar or salt in the marinade--cooked red wine is not that acidic--goal is deep flavor not tenderizing. The long, slow oven braise takes care of tenderizing.

[Jonathan]

lamb shanks with preserved lemon and olives served atop a mash of yellow split peas and apricots.

[JPW]

Pork chops -- seared off then simmered in white wine with onions, peppers, olives, capers.

Sauteed escarole with garlic dressed with lemon juice.

Breadline baguette.

A decent bottle of Brouilly.

[shogun]

Mashed Potatoes: Observations

1. Five pounds of Yukon Golds do not mash up to as much finished product as you might expect.

2. Three roasted heads of garlic, pureed, do not flavor ~1.5# of mashed potato as intensely as you might expect.

3. Two roasted, pureed poblano peppers similarly do not flavor a different batch of ~1.5# of mashed potatoes.

3a. Two good drops of Dave's Insanity Sauce, stirred into the aforementioned quote-unquote 'roasted pepper mashed potatoes' still tingle your tongue quite well, and suitably punch-up said deficiently heated potatoes.

4. Tasting three batches of mashed potato, no matter how delicious they turn out, gets tedious once you have tried enough to constitute your entire Dinner entry for the evening. If I don't wake up tomorrow (There are like, seven kinds of dairy products in these potatoes), somebody please bring the mashed potatoes to the Faculty Confrence Center around 1.

[jparrott]

So in the simple stuff thread I mused about boneless, skinless chicken thighs. So I took the plunge, and made a gumbo-ish stew thusly:

Render some salt pork, reserving the pork (of course). All further cooking in the salt-pork fat.

Season and brown the thighs, quartered (about 3.25 pounds). Deglaze with some riesling and reserve.

Brown and slice 12oz of supermarket (Aidell's?) andouille.

Rough cube and brown some sweet potato.

Sweat and brown onion, scallion white and carrot, add garlic, ginger, shrooms, then scallion greens and pork. Deglaze again and reserve.

Make a bit of brown roux with the rest of the salt pork fat. Add the rest of the wine and whisk, then add all the stuff. Add chicken broth to cover, season with paprika and chili powder.

Bring to boil and braise in the oven (250F) for about 2.5 hours.

I gotta admit, for a total kludge, it's really really good.

[shogun]

Spaghetti aglio e olio as a vehicle for some leftover steamed broccoli from last week's disasterous dinner. Used some tomato spaghetti I'm particularly fond of. Not pictured: grated cheese, as I never seem to remember to add it until I'm about half way through the pasta.

[JPW]

From Batali's latest book

Meatballs in a broken white sauce.

Some steamed broccoli on the side.

[cjsadler]

Thin crust pizza.

Boy, do my pizza shaping skills suck. This was supposed to be a circle, but things, er... got out of hand.

Edited December 20, 2005 by cjsadler

[jm chen]

Last night's dinner was another polenta variation, and turned out quite nicely. While the polenta boiled, I sauteed red pepper matchsticks and hit 'em with balsamic, then fried up cubes of dry salami in a little butter. Got the salami out of the buttery pan and got the polenta into it (watch out: this spits!) and stirred while cooking the rest of the water out of the polenta. Hit the polenta with garlic powder, S&P, and a couple ounces of Bruderbasil cheese. Dumped the polenta over the pepper strips and fried salami, mixed it up, washed it down with hefeweissen.

Ahhhhh.

Nice-looking pizza, Chris!

[cjsadler]

Had a friend coming over for dinner, but also needed to clean out the fridge before Xmas. This resulted in.... pork tenderloin stuffed with dried fruit (rehydrated in bourbon) over quinoa with sunchokes and fava beans, drizzled with a ham hock vinaigrette and balsamic (whew!). Many thanks to Cathal A. for sharing the ham hock vinaigrette technique with me.

Made some pear and gorgonzola flatbread to start and finished with some sticky toffee pudding, which I've been experimenting with for an Xmas dessert.

[ScotteeM]

Oysters on the half-shell (see the What are you eating now thread), pan-seared chuck eye steaks, baked Peruvian purple potatoes, and sauteed sugar snap peas with shiitake mushrooms.

[Heather]

Tonight:

Bouillabaise, rouille, croutons

Green salad

Dessert: total yogurt, peach blossom honey, toasted walnuts

Tomorrow:

Crown roast, chorizo stuffing

Baked acorn squash with apples

Butter lettuce, spiced pecan & dried cranberry salad, dijon-thyme vinaigrette

Epoisses, Petit Basque, Humboldt Fog

Dessert: Claudia Flemings Guinness cake, spiced ice cream

[ScotteeM]

Tonight:

Oysters, Gerish Island and Pepperell Cove

pate & cheese

Champagne, Michel Turgy Reserve Selection, Brut Blanc de Blanc

Veal Marsala

Roasted baby pattypan squash & leeks

Creamy polenta

Peter Michael "Les Pavots" 1992

Gewurtztraminer Selection de Grains Nobles 1983 (Lorentz)

[too full! scratched the] Chess pie

edited to add wines and delete dessert

Edited December 25, 2005 by ScotteeM

[Barbara]

Christmas Eve Dinner: Biba Caggiano's Tuna Steaks with Sweet and Sour Onions, roasted potatoes and a beet, pear and goat cheese salad with Balsamic vinegar dressing. The only reason I am telling you all this is because both Craig and I have had really bad colds for more than a week and haven't felt like cooking, or eating, much of anything.

We drank a bottle of Prosecco with this and it was quite festive and tasty at the same time.

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!!

[zoramargolis]

Christmas Eve:

Shrimp tacos with fresh masa tortillas

Pico de gallo and guacamole

Pork and green chile tamales (we're, of course thrilled that the Bush family is also having tamales)

Squash, chile and tomatillo tamal for Veggieteen

Mole verde and red chile adobo

Frijoles refritos

Ensalada verde

Sticky toffee pudding

Tomorrow afternoon:

Caviar

Crab Bisque

Charcoal-grilled Sunnyside Organics VA Kobe rib-eye steaks

Haricots verts

Garlic mash

Epoisses, if we're up to it

More sticky toffee pudding

Monday:

Breather, but since we are a multi-culti family, we are lighting Chanukah candles. We do not, however, celebrate Kwanzaa. I remember when Ron Karenga invented Kwanzaa. Sorry, but I don't care to celebrate a "traditional" holiday that was actually dreamed up by a UCLA professor.

Tuesday night: crowd coming for

Potato latkes

Homemade applesauce

Sour cream

Charcoal-roasted Cornish game hens

Melange of roasted root vegetables

Salad and cheeses

Wine-poached spiced Seckel pears

Guiness Stout ginger cake, if I'm up to making it.

[deangold]

Prime rib

roasted yukon gold potatoes with garlic shallots and rosemary

veggie soup

robiola in chestnut leaf

3 year old provolone

raw milk aged asiago

dont know what I am drinking yet... need to go to the cellar and search.

[bookluvingbabe]

Tonight:

Braised beef shanks

Mashed yukon gold potatoes

Roasted asparagus

Not sure if I'm baking a pie today or if the Christmas cookies will suffice. (My hands are still green from the food coloring for the icing...)

[deangold]

Well so far, we have dug into the 3 year provolone with a 1985 Ridge York Creek Cabernet. The Cebernet was wonderfully smooth and went down way too fast. Lucky for me I have the best part of a case of it left in the cellar. With the cheese it was a spiritual experience!

We are now firmly ensconsed in a bottle of Laurel Glen 1985 Cabernet. WOW! Its bigger and fuller than the Ridge, which I didn't expect. So far we have discerned cherries, purple raspberries, a little red plum, mushrooms, smoke and more. It too is wonderful with the cheese. The prime rib is between 80 and 100 degrees and the potatoes just went into the oven!

[jparrott]

Chinese delivery with my wife but without family. At least I'm not sick anymore. And there's a pretty good place in Manassas.

[ScotteeM]

Cheeses & pate

Rully "Maizieres" 2003, Vincent Dureuil-Janthial

Walnut-crusted rack of lamb

Mashed potatoes

Brussels sprouts roasted with chestnuts and applewood-smoked bacon

Echezeaux, 1990, Ann & Francois Gros

edited to say: We decided to save the elderly TBA till later in the week. We're wiped out! Also, the walnut crust on the lamb was a little bit bitter. I have to work on that. It was a Food TV recipe.

Edited December 26, 2005 by ScotteeM

[deangold]

Last red- Caymus 1985 Estate Bottled Cabernet. Big and a little simpler, much woodier than the above two we started with. Still quite wonderous.

[Halloween]

Generally, I observe the prohibition on posting while drunk, but I have had one hell of a week, so I am throwing caution to the wind.

This is to notify the world that, on Christmas freaking day 2005, for the first time in my life, I made the dressing. You heard it here first, people. I MADE THE DRESSING. In my family, this is a big f--- deal. Until this year, I have been entrusted only with sauteeing the vegetables for the dressing, but I have never staged the entire event. Yes, a few years ago, the sweet potato pudding was turned over to me, but the dressing had remained in my mother's amazingly capable hands. My brother, who recently started a catering business, has never made the dressing. Yes, he has chopped the celery, onions, and green peppers, but he has never finished the product.

Well, ladies and gentlemen, for the first time, I dug the turkey neck and giblets out of the turkey, held them in my hands, and then made stock of them. I also sauteed the vegetables. The best part is that I knew when they were done, based on texture, color and scent, not taste. Yeah, baby! In the end, my mother determined that the stock was good, but that I had not made enough of it. My solution? More butter! More salt! Everything will be fine.

I am happy to report that our holiday meal was one of the best we have had. My brother made the turkey, prime rib, string beans, collard greens, macaroni and cheese, key lime pie, apple pie and a mario batali appetizer and I made the stuffing/dressing/stuffing. It was one of the best meals we have prepared, and everyone raved about the stuffing (and, of course, the sweet potatoes)! Oddly, I am the culinary lightweight in the family. My father, a butcher at one point in his life, has his own recipes for, among other things, turkey sausage and scones. But, for one day in 2005, I reigned supreme with my cornbread stuffing festivus miracle!

And now, back to my drinking!

[cjsadler]

A birthday dinner for my girlfriend. We started with some spicy tuna tartare with sweet potato chips, then had my best stab at "Scallops ala Corduroy":

And the "caesar salad" (a parmesian flan) from the French Laundry cookbook:

Then, by request, some chocolate cupcakes with coffee buttercream, with homemade white chocolate peppermint-stick ice cream.

[RaisaB]

A birthday dinner for my girlfriend.    We started with some spicy tuna tartare with sweet potato chips, then had my best stab at "Scallops ala Corduroy":

And the "caesar salad" (a parmesian flan) from the French Laundry cookbook:

Then, by request, some chocolate cupcakes with coffee buttercream, with homemade white chocolate peppermint-stick ice cream.

How sweet of you! She must have been thrilled, I know I would have been!