Dinner - The Polyphonic Food Blog

[zoramargolis]

lamb merguez meatballs with minted yogurt sauce

chickpea, roasted pepper and cucumber salad

roasted fennel

basmati rice

blackberry bread pudding

2007 Delas St. Esprit Cotes du Rhone

[Pat]

Shells with gorgonzola, pistachios, and salmon

Cheddar cheese toasts

[Xochitl10]

Broiled salmon and Great Northern beans over spring greens and orange slices, Kalamata olive vinaigrette

[Pat]

Saturday night:

Chicken andouille sausage hot dogs with banana peppers

Potato salad with hard-boiled egg, radishes, frizzled prosciutto, and green onions

Tonight

Butter lettuce salad with cucumbers, tomatoes, and radishes; vinaigrette

Chicken thighs with mushroom sauce (Jacques Pepin recipe)

Roasted vidalia onion bulbs

The potato salad last night was completely improvised and is possibly the best one I've ever made.

[lperry]

Hot hot hot outside, so salad it is. Spinach salad with goat's brie, toasted pecans, and dried cranberries in a walnut oil, sherry vinaigrette.

[Xochitl10]

Weather-inappropriate deliciousness courtesy of a care package from Japan: senbei (rice cracker) soup. Chicken-based soup with carrots, burdock root, Chinese cabbage, seaweed, ito-konnyaku (devil's tongue jelly threads), thinly sliced pork belly, and broken rice crackers. The rice crackers took on a kind of wonton quality in the soup and became nice and chewy. Served with a side of soy-sauce-based chopped mixed pickles (carrot, burdock root, daikon, who knows what else; also from the care package).

I love my Kitakami peeps.

[flygirl]

Tonight:

http://52mealsinoneyear.blogspot.com/2010/05/im-keen-for-quinoa.html

[LauraB]

Asparagus soup

Persian cucumbers marinated in dill vinaigrette

Alaskan halibut steaks roasted in tomato-herb sauce

[Pat]

Roasted pepper and tomato soup

Open-faced sandwiches with ricotta, spring mix, and fried eggs

The original Cooking Light sandwich recipe called for arugula, but I had the mix, so that's what I used. The bread was Farmhouse wheat from Marvelous Market.

The soup was boxed Pacific Natural brand, which I doctored with a little heavy cream and black pepper. I buy soups (boxed, canned, dehydrated) to have on hand, "just in case," and then don't use them. I either need to stop buying them or make a conscious effort to rotate my stock more often. The soup was fine, even though the date on the box was January .

[monavano]

Saturday night:

Chicken andouille sausage hot dogs with banana peppers

Potato salad with hard-boiled egg, radishes, frizzled prosciutto, and green onions

Tonight

Butter lettuce salad with cucumbers, tomatoes, and radishes; vinaigrette

Chicken thighs with mushroom sauce (Jacques Pepin recipe)

Roasted vidalia onion bulbs

The potato salad last night was completely improvised and is possibly the best one I've ever made.

Pat, how did you dress the potatoes?

Last night was a tossed salad highlighted by watermelon radish from New Market Farm. I also used ramps from NMF for a braise of bone-in chicken thighs (lightly coated in flour, s&p, paprika and browned first), morels (Spring Valley), white wine, chicken stock and leeks. Finished off with heavy cream. The braised chicken was served over papardelle and garnished with parsely.

I was guided by this recipe for braised chicken with morels and ramps that I made last year.

For dessert, we reheated bread pudding with caramel sauce that we got "to-go" from Dixie Bones on Sat. night.

[Pat]

Pat, how did you dress the potatoes?

It was a hybrid. I started off making a vinaigrette with EVOO and apple cider vinegar, and then whisked in some Dijon mustard. I added a dollop of mayo to the product of this and thinned it a bit with some dribbles of a white wine that I had open. Seasoned with salt and pepper. One thing I didn't add which I usually do is celery seed. I was surprised that I didn't miss it at all.

[Anna Blume]

Sheep's milk ricotta gnocchi w ramp pesto also drizzled over sauté of asparagus, pancetta, green garlic, ramp bulbs, Shitake and Royal Trumpet mushrooms

Champagne mango

[Pat]

Butter lettuce with cucumber, radishes, tomato, and avocado; vinaigrette

Farmhouse wheat bread with Asian-ish eggplant spread

Roasted chicken thighs

Asparagus with nori butter and toasted sesame seeds

[DanCole42]

Sockeye salmon w/ garlic dill butter

Broccoli braised in whey

Couscous with dill

[kat6185]

Leftovers from Sunday ...kicked up a bit

Fresh egg linguini with ramps, leeks and sorrel mushrooms (it was a good day at Dupont Farmers market)

---kicked up today with wilted arugala and a bit of Pt Reyes Blue Cheese (Cowgirl Creamery)

Not bad for a random Tuesday night of leftovers.

[qwertyy]

Soft tacos with chicken marinated in tequila, lime, garlic, chili powder, red pepper, and cider vinegar

A mango

10 Cane with tonic and lime

I miss the beach.

[LauraB]

Grilled lamb merguez sausages

Flageolet beans with tomatoes, green beans, shallots, white wine, parsley, tarragon

Cabbage slaw with arugula, persian cucumbers, scallions, parsley, dressed with vinaigrette of olive oil, garlic, crushed fennel seeds, tarragon, parsley, lemon zest, capers, shallot, champagne vinegar

[zoramargolis]

gin and tonic/dark and stormy

jarred Rasika Goan curry sauce with chicken thighs, chick peas, green beans and carrot

basmati rice

corn and coconut salad

raita

Patak eggplant pickle

coconut popsicles

[goodeats]

Black bean stew made with Bell's Hopslam & Smith Meadows's Salt-cured fat meat bits.

1 teaspoon full of B&J's Chocolate Brownie.

[leleboo]

Dinner will be cavatappi with a fresh tomato sauce and freshly made mozzarella, in the company of the incomparable GennaroE.

How freshly made?

Well, this just happened:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/leleboo/sets/72157624000644468/show/with/4582089971/

[Pat]

Porter braised boneless short rib sandwiches au jus (open-faced)

Leftover asparagus with nori butter

Farmhouse wheat bread (same as for the sandwiches) with Asian-ish eggplant spread

I had thawed three pieces of the ribs but didn't know what to do with them, so I put them in the crockpot and figured I'd decide on a use later. Maybe because the crock was not very full, they were cooking on too high a heat, even on low. I didn't want boiled meat but didn't have another plan either. Finally, after 3 1/2 hours, I took the ribs and the onions I cooked with them out and packed them and the liquid separately in the refrigerator. Close to dinner time, I finished the ribs in a cast iron skillet. The fat was easy to remove from the juice because it had solidified during its fridge time. (I hate removing fat from hot liquid and never seem to get it all.) The meat was still pinkish in the center but very tender. I decided on a variation of an ale house open-faced roast beef sandwich. I would never have thought of using short ribs for that, but it worked. (I cut the meat on the diagonal in chunks.)

[monavano]

I think AB asked somewhere upthread if anyone does leftovers. Yes-we do, and a lot!

Leftover braised chicken thighs in a morel, ramp, white wine cream sauce over papardelle with a bit of sauteed rapini mixed in. The rest of the rapini went into a frittata that I made to serve my visiting in-laws tommorow morning.

Dessert was the rest of the bread pudding and caramel sauce from Dixie Bones.

Oh, started with a tossed salad and tomato vinaigrette that I made a fews days back. Green leaf lettuce really holds up- this was the third serving of a large salad.

There's still another helping of the chicken and pasta which will probably be Mr. MV's lunch tommorow.

[lperry]

Pita chips with wasabi chevre

Mixed nuts

Adirondack chairs

A lovely breeze

A large pitcher of homemade sangria

Life is good

[Pat]

Guacamole, bean dip, and tortilla chips

Farmhouse wheat bread with soy spread

Roasted pepper and tomato soup

Green salad with tomatoes

Baked chicken thighs with raspberry chipotle sauce

[monavano]

We have my in-laws overnight and after a long, long day of driving, they were happy to stay in and have a home-cooked meal.

We started with leftover soup I had made a few weeks ago and froze- roasted caulifower and potato with nettle pesto, served with almost no-knead bread and butter.

The main was a roasted organic chicken (found 50% off in the clearance bin at Safeway) with sage, rosemary and lemon, pan gravy mixed with a jar of Boston Market chicken gravy (my dirty little secret for extending the gravy and getting a thicker consistency).

Sides were pommes dauphinoise and string beans with bacon and pecans, braised with a bit of chicken stock after a saute in bacon grease.

Dessert was rhubarb crisp with French vanilla ice cream.

Decaf coffee.

[DanCole42]

Whole wheat tortillas (one caught on fire again when it puffed into the broiler... damnit!)

Tacos! - Chicken, swiss chard, roasted poblanos, creme fraiche, garlic, thyme, onions, whey

[zoramargolis]

slow roasted farmed salmon (from BlackSalt)

fresh corn polenta

cucumber salad dressed with brown rice vinegar, soy sauce, green onion, cilantro and red pepper flakes

rhubarb compote

2008 Strauss gelber muskateller

[Pat]

Spring mix, cucumber, tomato; vinaigrette

Sea scallops with nori butter over angel hair pasta, topped with toasted sesame seeds

[monavano]

A really shiteous CPK frozen pizza. The only way to redeem our night after that was a trip to The Dairy Godmother.

And all was right again.

[Pat]

Salad plate of cilantro, radishes, red spring onions, avocado, mozzarella, pea shoots, lime juice, evoo, coarse sea salt, freshly ground black pepper

Leftover baked chicken thighs

Baked cheese manicotti with tomato sauce

[flygirl]

Whoa, I like the Mozz making...

Here was dinner:

http://52mealsinoneyear.blogspot.com/2010/05/easy-peasy-carrot-fennel-soup.html

[zoramargolis]

last night:

iceberg lettuce salad with blue cheese/buttermilk dressing

charcoal-grilled rib-eye

potato gratin

frozen peas (by request: "it's my favorite vegetable" <sigh>)

pomegranate popsicle

2008 El Ganador malbec

[leleboo]

frozen peas (by request: "it's my favorite vegetable" <sigh>)

I've used them to make pea puree before -- they aren't all bad!

[Pat]

frozen peas (by request: "it's my favorite vegetable" <sigh>)

I also like frozen peas. Fresh are even better, but they're not available very often. My mother used to comment on how much I loved peas as a baby. They were my first favorite vegetable, before I discovered lima beans .

[monavano]

Pan-seared Pecan Meadows NY strip steak* with a pan reduction sauce (I'm getting better at these with regards to taste, not appearance), McCleaf's Orchard roasted asparagus, yams with spices, McCleaf's strawberries over French Vanilla ice cream. The strawberries were fresh and firm, but not what I would call OMG! sweet just yet, or perhaps with this particular variety.

*It's been a long time since I've had grass-fed/finished beef-there is a difference, and I can't say that I have a really strong preference for it, rather, it was intensely flavorful and juicy. The yellow fat was distinctive and proof that I was getting what I paid for. All in all, we were happy and will repeat business (among other protiens from Pecan Meadows).

[Pat]

Last night:

Linguine with bacon and pea shoots

Asparagus with toasted hazelnuts

[monavano]

I made a huge "kitchen sink" turkey meatloaf using leftovers including Blue Ridge mozzarella, smoked mozzarella and ricotta, and my leftover nettle pesto. I glazed it about 10 minutes before it finished in the oven with a mix of ketchup, mustard, honey, cumin and chili powder.

Polenta with rosemary and leftover green beans on the side.

[lperry]

Steamed artichokes with drawn butter and coarse salt

Quinoa salad with chickpeas, sun dried tomatoes, rosemary, and Locatelli in a lemon juice, sun-dried-tomato-jar oil, hot sauce dressing. A bit cross cultural, but I'm trying to replace pasta with grains, and this was delicious. I had to put it away to keep enough for lunch tomorrow.

The other half of the lemon went into a sidecar for the chef

[DanCole42]

Spice rubbed cod and chicken (I wanted cod, wife wanted chicken): paprika, turmeric, onion and garlic powder, cayenne, uh, and some other stuff

Brussel sprouts braised in whey

Couscous

[Pat]

Turkey burgers with mozzarella

Miso soup with peanut butter and fine egg noodles

[LauraB]

Risotto with salmon, white wine, lemon zest, mint, tarragon, parsley, onions, garlic, ricotta salata

Steamed asparagus

Strawberry-rhubarb cobbler

[bettyjoan]

Last night:

Southwestern salmon cakes (from America's Test Kitchen)

Cilantro-lime dipping sauce

Side salad

The salmon cakes came out great - they were moist and flavorful enough that you didn't even need the dipping sauce, but I'll never say no to an extra kick of cilantro!

[monavano]

Bettyjoan-I'm with you on never having enough cilantro. The first time I ate it, I thought it tasted like soap (which brought back horrible memories!), but I've come to love, love it.

Dan-I've noticed that you've been using whey in your dishes. Can you tell me about using whey? Whey, um why?

[DanCole42]

Dan-I've noticed that you've been using whey in your dishes. Can you tell me about using whey? Whey, um why?

Because cheesemaking makes a very small amount of cheese, but a lot of whey.

It's flavorful, full of protein, what's not to love? I use it in place of water when making rice. It always gives a nice cheesey flavor when used to cook vegetables without all the calories. I keep meaning to bake bread with it, but don't remember I want to do that until after I've already added water to flour.

I wouldn't seek it out, nor would I make whey specifically for this purpose, but it's a good use for a byproduct.

[mdt]

Because cheesemaking makes a very small amount of cheese, but a lot of whey.

It's flavorful, full of protein, what's not to love? I use it in place of water when making rice. It always gives a nice cheesey flavor when used to cook vegetables without all the calories. I keep meaning to bake bread with it, but don't remember I want to do that until after I've already added water to flour.

I wouldn't seek it out, nor would I make whey specifically for this purpose, but it's a good use for a byproduct.

What kind of cheese have you been making? Worth the effort?

[DanCole42]

What kind of cheese have you been making? Worth the effort?

Just ricotta for pizza. Nothing exciting. I don't know if it's worth the effort, but it's certainly fun!

[lperry]

Continuing with the heavy salad theme, and working off a roasted butternut squash because I wanted to warm up the house, warm butternut squash - spinach salad with chickpeas, dried cranberries, chopped pistachios, and scallions, dressed with a preserved Meyer lemon/olive oil dressing warmed up with garlic, cinnamon and a bit of nutmeg. Next time I'll go for regular lemon and omit the preserved lemon to up the brightness. This meal would have been low-glycemic index were it not for Mr. lperry's contribution of a baguette.

[monavano]

Veal cannelloni from The Italian Store with red sauce and leftover Blue Ridge ricotta.

Broccoli with garlic, pepper flakes and finished with a squeeze of lemon.

[Pat]

Pea shoots, radishes, cucumber, feta, and toasted hazelnuts; vinaigrette

Chicken stew with farro and mushrooms

Turkey meatloaf sandwich

[zoramargolis]

Eco-Friendly goat tagine with apricots, olives and mushrooms (because I had a big box of criminis from Costco)

cous-cous

roasted asparagus with EVO and meyer lemon

cucumbers with yogurt and zataar

gigante beans in tomato sauce (canned)

HD vanilla with dulce de leche

2008 Cantina Zaccagnini Montepulciano

(the girls had pomegranate juice and sparkling water)

my daughter K is no longer a vegetarian ( ) but her friend, at our house for dinner, is. Instead of goat tagine I gave K's friend some haricots verts, mushrooms and shallots, left over from the previous night. I opened the can of gigante beans so that she would have some protein, and everyone else had some of them, as well.