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Dinner - The Polyphonic Food Blog


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A half packet of ramen because I only have a small coffee cup in my hotel room into which you can only fit a half packet of ramen.

But I'm okay with it because this was lunch (I [heart] Ethiopia):

That looks fabulous. Ooooh. :angry:
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Leftover grilled flank steak turned into fajitas tonight. I also made fresh salsa verde and "refried" black beans. I used Penzey's Taco Rojo sauce for the peppers, onions and beef. It didn't pack too great of a punch, so I added crushed cumin seeds.

It was an unholy mess, but very tasty.

4277067027_d8d7ccb757.jpg

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Tonight:

Pita bread

Lamb Shanks braised in Pinot Noir

Lemon Israeli couscous

The lamb shanks are the best I have ever made. Tender, flavorful and delicious.

Last night:

Leftover salad

Toasted Palladin bread

Sake poached sea bass in parchment

Wild rice mix

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Pantry / Freezer Raid Time!!!

Butternut squash ravioli (from the last Fairfax Farmer's Market back in October)

Brown butter

Blanched onion, leek, parsnip, and carrot (from a pot au feu a while back)

Toasted pistachios (crushed from a bowl set out for a New Year's Day party - thanks leleboo!)

Vanilla

Balsamic drizzle

Who says we have no food in the house???

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Keeping with the freezer raid theme,

Roasted mushrooms and potatoes in pasilla sauce, served over homemade gorda-tortillas (I really need a press) with avocado and chevre on top.

Cranberry margaritas that I made in the blender with crushed ice to create that cheesy Mexican restaurant ambiance.

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Chicken soup

Dijon potato salad with olives

Pulled BBQ pork on onion hamburger rolls

The pork was shoulder/Boston butt cooked much of the day in the crockpot, mixed with my favorite bbq sauce (365 tangy), which has been discontinued :angry: .

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Sunday night I made Jamie Coliver's "Perfect Roast Chicken." I was skeptical, but it was really good--the meat was juicy and the skin was nice and crisp. He roasts his bird with veggies, which were also mighty tasty.

Monday night was Thai chicken curry, from America's Test Kitchen. Absolutely delicious, even though I royally screwed up the brown rice (I don't know what I was smoking, I make it nearly every other day with no problems). Thank goodness for leftover basmati rice!

Last night was pork chops in a whiskey sauce with mashed sweet potatoes and steamed green beans, also from ATK. My parents swore up and down all holiday season that they didn't like sweet potatoes, but darned if these didn't change their minds. Yum.

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Sunday night I made Jamie Coliver's "Perfect Roast Chicken." I was skeptical, but it was really good--the meat was juicy and the skin was nice and crisp. He roasts his bird with veggies, which were also mighty tasty.

Monday night was Thai chicken curry, from America's Test Kitchen. Absolutely delicious, even though I royally screwed up the brown rice (I don't know what I was smoking, I make it nearly every other day with no problems). Thank goodness for leftover basmati rice!

Last night was pork chops in a whiskey sauce with mashed sweet potatoes and steamed green beans, also from ATK. My parents swore up and down all holiday season that they didn't like sweet potatoes, but darned if these didn't change their minds. Yum.

I've not hit my stride with making brown rice, although I'm trying to eat it more. Basmati rice is my absolute favorite-it transfroms dishes!

My dinner was similar to yours last night. I made center-cut pork chops with a Pom Shallot sauce (from Cooking Light), mashed Yukon potatoes and parsnips with a bit of cheddar, sour cream and half + half, sauteed string beans.

Seared scallops with pineapple chutney was another winner from Cooking Light. The recipe called for Mahi Mahi, but Safeway had large scallops on sale, so I went with the shellfish. The sauce had a real kick from the addition of a habanero pepper.

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Hey, kids, which of the elements of this set doesn't belong? :angry:

mozzarella. everyone knows that you're supposed to use jack cheese or queso blanco for quesadillas. :lol:

last night:

stachowski brand bratwurst

mashed potatoes with chives

braised cabbage with caraway seeds

lentils stewed with garlic and roasted red pepper

Bell's brown ale

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Last night:

Green Salad

Sticky Chinese Chicken Wings

Rocklands Corn Pudding

Baked Beans

The corn pudding was quite good, though it required a longer baking time than the recipe called for. My jalapeno wasn't too hot, so it could have used more of that too. It's one of those from the Washingtonian recipe sleuth collection. (Warning: uses canned creamed corn.)

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Healthy "fish sticks," from an episode of Elie Krieger's show that we happened to catch yesterday. It was basically flounder battered in homemade wheat breadcrumbs, which I didn't particularly care for. Not sure what the nutritional difference is between them and regular breadcrumbs or panko, but if it's negligible, I'll stick with the latter.

The sauce was really nice--MUCH better than tartar, in my opinion. It had Greek yogurt, a little mayo, Dijon mustard, worcestershire, chives, and cayenne pepper. Yum.

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Chicken Vegetable/ Kitchen Sink soup-this soup is a hybrid of a chicken soup, minestrone, pasta fagiole and vegetable soup. I recently read about adding flavor to vegetable soup by adding a vegetable drink such as V-8. So, I thought, hmm..I have Toigo's Bloody Mary mix called "Hell Pain" or " Birth of Pain" or something (it's got a KICK), and I added a few glugs of that to impart tang and a bit of heat. I highly recommend.

I also made potato dill bread-2 loaves.

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BURGER TIME!!!

The Star!

Homeground sirloin/chuck/short rib burgers griddled in beef tallow rendered from the trimmings (waste not!)

Butter toasted homemade buns with pre-toasted (otherwise, what's the point?) sesame seeds

The Toppings

Shaved onions, homemade dill pickles, secret sauce*

*Homemade mayo, ketchup, Tabasco, soy sauce, fish sauce, Worcestershire sauce, homemade sour pickles, lemon juice, cider vinegar, salt, pepper

The Sides

Chilled green beans with sherry vinagrette, cayenne and nutmeg

Purple fingerling potato salad with shallots and tarragon

The Libations

Bell's Winter Ale

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Sautéed snapper wtih herb butter

Mixed baby greens with homemade rye-garlic croutons and homemade classic French vinaigrette

The rye croutons might be the best thing I've made in weeks. I would eat them by the handful, or use them to convey pretty much any topping or sauce to my mouth.

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I pulled leftover pork and saurkraut from the freezer and made mashed potatoes with chives to accompany them. Fresh chives and hot potatoes are really amazing. I don't think that I ever really appreciated this until last night. The smell was heavenly.. just from adding chives. I've been making a concerted effort to utilize every bit of my fresh herbs when I buy them. When in doubt about using them to the end, I throw them into salad. I can't tell you how many times I've pulled a bag of brown herbs from my fridge and wind up kicking myself for wasting.

Blueberry cobber with French Vanilla ice cream.

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Black and kidney bean chili topped with diced tomatoes, feta cheese, and smashed up pita chips. This was a pantry/fridge clean out meal. There will be more as I go on a mad cleaning spree to procrastinate finishing the paper I should be writing. :angry:

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For some people, "grilling weather" is 90 degrees, sun shining, beer in hand, kids playing by the pool.

For me, though, the heat of the grill is much more satisfying and comforting if I can contrast the heat with the nipply [sic] chill of January, and the orange flames with the nighttime sky. Something about being huddled around a warm fire with your back to the cold, then coming inside to the smell of bread baking.

Grilled brined chicken with tarragon and cinnamon, finished with beurre monte and served with dijon mustard

Grilled leeks marinated in soy sauce and red wine vinegar

Grilled portabello mushrooms marinated in same

Fresh baked pain à l'ancienne with cultured butter and sea salt

Bell's Winter Ale

Snicker... "nipply"

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Beef Cheek Pierogi. Had these a couple years ago at Lola in Cleveland and loved them. Found the recipe online (for some reason, I can only pull up a cached version right now) from Michael Symon's new cookbook. Never made pierogi before, but the dough eventually worked great-- just needed to add about a 1/4 cup or so more flour than the recipe calls for in order to get a workable dough. I winged the braise, using all wine and no stock. Found the beef cheeks at the Arlington farmer's market this past Saturday.

Also, his Spicy Tomato and Blue Cheese Soup. You might wonder about the combo of siracha, tomato, and blue cheese, but it works. Quick and easy-- the recipe is here.

I like his ideas. I might have to buy this book.

All with some Fog Cutter cocktails (a favorite drink of mine). Use the Trader Vic version on this page.

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Also, his Spicy Tomato and Blue Cheese Soup. You might wonder about the combo of siracha, tomato, and blue cheese, but it works. Quick and easy-- the recipe is here.

I've made this several times in the past couple of months. I like the combination too. My husband isn't fond of blue cheese, though. The first time I made it, he ate it, despite the presence of the cheese, but subsequently I've made it without the cheese and crumbled some into mine at serving time. I think he'd also like me to cut down some on the sriracha as well, but I'm holding firm on that one :angry:.

Last night:

Small bread and cheese board (sourdough baguette, brie, prosciutto)

Chicken wings

Baked shells with tomato sauce, ricotta, and baby mozzarella

I coat the wings in seasoned flour and bake them. Then I douse them in my own version of wing sauce: butter, Frank's hot sauce, vinegar, and lime juice. Haven't made these in a while. They are good :lol: . My husband was starving and the pasta was ready first. As a result, he was fairly full by the time the wings were ready, so we have plenty of leftovers.

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Snicker... "nipply"

Eons ago, I was a film extra in a "summer wedding" scene being filmed in a large, unheated mansion in Riverdale north of Manhattan, in the dead of winter. We were dressed in summer clothes. It was there that I came up with the word titsicles. (Just to let you know how long ago this was, the film was "Love Story" with Ryan O'Neill and Ali McGraw...)

oh, yes. dinner:

merguez (lamb) meatballs with yoghurt/cilantro dipping sauce (didn't have any mint in the house)

basmati rice

leftover vegetable korma

cucumbers in yoghurt

2007 Ch. Mourgues du Gres Costieres de Nimes

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(Just to let you know how long ago this was, the film was "Love Story" with Ryan O'Neill and Ali McGraw...)

This was part of orientation at college. The Crimson Key society -- sort of cheerleaders for freshman -- had a whole MST3K routine with it. It was much funnier years later during senior week.

Dinner:

Balsamic-glazed chicken legs over mustard-laced cauliflower purée

Grilled zucchini and eggplant

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