What's For Dinner? Part 85 [old]

[onceadaylily]

(Note: A new What's For Dinner thread has been started here: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/781314 You're welcome to comment on the posts below, but if you have a new dinner to add, please jump to the new thread. -- The Chowhound Team )

This is the time of year when our menus all but declare our locales, and even with those of us feeling the delay of spring, there is new produce, the savoring of favorite stews, and much anticipation of the changing plates. Share all of it here.

[onceadaylily]

I do like being useful, so I've started a new thread here :http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/781314

[mariacarmen]

you are useful, but your link isn't working (at least for me....) let's try this again?
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/781314

[onceadaylily]

Prolly because I did that thing where I label the new thread with the same number as the old thread, and then, after the lip-biting realization of having done such, have to go back and edit the title of the new thread, but I'd already copied the number 85 **redux* URL and then pasted that in this thread before I realized what I had done, and I think the URL changes when you edit the OP, and so here we are. AGAIN. Because I made the same mistake before.

Useful. Yeah. Thanks for correcting the link, MC. ;)

[chef chicklet]

I'm so excited!

I learned how to make sushi and a proper miso soup yesterday!

My Japanese friends mom wanted to learn my scone recipe. So why she was preparing the rice, etc., I made cranberry and blueberry scones with my friend. I had no idea what's involved with sushi rice making! Flavored with rice wine, I think a little saki, and seaweed (layed on top for flavor). Then fanned and carefully turned, this took about an hour or more and to also cool the rice. On it's own it tasted divine. Then she prepared the tuna for spicy tuna, then the crab, and shrimp. Cucumbers, and butter lettuce. Oh and I finally got to taste kewpie mayonniase!! I can't wait to get my hands on a few bottles of that. Then came the rolling, with my sushi mat in hand (once I watched momma-san) with great trepidation I made my first sushi. Lightly moving the rice around the nori so you don't mash it, spreading it gently & not too thick! (or you will have a fat sushi roll.) Then laying the crab very neatly again not too much, cucumber and avocado and then begin the roll. Carefully and tightly making sure you give just the right amount of pressure. The borders seal, and there you have it! Now slice it! I always wondered why the slices were just a little too big for my one bite (but that's how you do it) and the reason is, when cut into equal portions, it just works out that way. One of the daughters just ate the hole long roll like a burrito. The mom made me eggs with dashi, and light soy, in her small square frying pan. omg, scrambled eggs will never be the same! so good! I learned to make the kind of miso soup that's as good as my favorite Japanese restaurant in San Franciso. Fujiya's is no longer there but the soup was spot on to there's! soooo much so much to learn! No wonder my attempts at Japanese have never tasted right! I'll be making sushi for my friends and family now!
Sushi & Scones!!!

[buttertart]

Jealous jealous, what a fabulous opportunity for you both. Very nice indeed. Thanks for sharing the experience.

[chef chicklet]

I had the best time. Cooking to Japanese videos was so much fun! Then another friend, a Thai/Lao girl came over because she wants to cook some of my dishes too! I have her promise to teach me Green Papaya Salad. She got rather tongue tied trying to describe the ingredients and procedure, I think that dish is is going to be hard! She wants to learn some of my Italian dishes like Chicken Picatta and Crab Canneloni. Oh so much fun is in store. I feel a cooking club forming....

[BombayUpWithaTwist]

That's sounds like a ton of fun sharing International recipes :o)

[buttertart]

Just great, I would love to do this with someone. Must see about it!

[onceadaylily]

Very cool, chicklet. You ladies were lucky to find each other. What fun! Years ago, someone gave me a sushi-making kit for Christmas. "Look," I said to the boyfriend, "it comes with place mats." He had a good laugh at my expense. :)

If you have the time to post the miso soup recipe, I'd really like to have that.

[chef chicklet]

Yeah I too had the mat, not a kit, just the mat. Obviously I'm so inept I had not a clue how to begin let alone make it! It's not hard, just takes practice with the pressure and the amounts so they're not too big, So much fun oadl, I can't even tell you, it was sooo much fun. I was there from 2 - 7 pm!

Oh and the miso soup was heaven absolute comfort food. She did the most unusual thing too, she puts the miso into a large ladle, dips it so a little water goes in then stirs it over the pot of boiling water to dissolve the miso! Then patiently stirs and stirs, and mixes it thoroughly. Me? I'd of dumped the miso into the pot of water directly! The miso so surprised me, I mean it is perfect. I'll try to get Y to write it down for us. (well she said she would anyway!)

[BombayUpWithaTwist]

Sounds like you had a fun time and some good sushi! I love making sushi at home. I'm having a small dinner party on Sat night and will be serving sushi & sashimi. Instead of making whole rolls, I have each guest make their own small hand roll.

Great that you found something new for your repertoire!

[chef chicklet]

oh not just sushi, we are sharing our recipes, and we've been cooking together now a couple times. We plan on keeping this going so I can really learn to cook Japanese, and she can learn all the dishes that I make. I cook Italian, Mexican, Chinese, and many more, etc. so she is picking out things she likes and I show her. This is a very good exchange of talents. I'm not just trying to learn a few trendy dishes. In fact she told me they don't usually eat sushi this way, they do it rather differently. Along with food recipes, I'm learning about the culture and traditions. She gave me these little dolls for the Festival of the Moon. I plan on setting it up in on the date she told me ( I forgot!) I've always been fascinated with anything Asian and Japanese alwasy so much harder. (delicate) I recommend that everyone finds a friend of a different ethnicity and do this!

[chef chicklet]

Here are the first sushi rolls that I did, and also my scones - blueberry and cranberry.
I surprised myself!

[BombayUpWithaTwist]

Love the photos! Especially your scones!

Isn't it pretty amazing how you CAN make sushi at home. It really does sound like you are starting a cooking club...fun!

These are past photos from my "sushi parties"...

and explanation in my blog...
http://myhomecookedmeals.blogspot.com...

[chef chicklet]

Beautiful! I saw the sashimi plate when you first posted it that looks mouthwatering (and its doing it right now!) But not the open rice and fish on nori, however they told me that they often will do this, and put the additions on the table so their family can make their own. I don't remember the egg either, but it looks wonderful. What's amazing ot me is that they can take a modest amount of foof or ingredients and produce plate fulls and plate fulls of lovely tasty food!
It is all time consuming, even the eggs. I'm getting a real lesson in patience. : )

[Phurstluv]

Beautiful job, chef chickie!!

[chef chicklet]

oh! what kind of sushi are you making? Do you go through that looooong process with the rice too?

[BombayUpWithaTwist]

Chef Chicklet I had never added sake to my sushi rice before, so I looked into how to do that and also added Kombu (Dried Sea Kelp). Thanks for inspiring me! I'd only added vinegar, salt & sugar in the past, but with the sake & kombu, the rice went up a notch in taste! We had a wonder sushi/sashimi feast. I posted on my blog if you would like to read more details about it...

http://myhomecookedmeals.blogspot.com/

[mariacarmen]

wow, how fun for you! i took a sushi-making class 100 years ago and never did it.....

[chef chicklet]

I know, it's intimidating (at least it was for me) I got nervous when momma-san set out our mats, and placed everything so perfectly in front of us. But her rice! oh my gosh, that was incredible. Perfect sticky rice, full of flavor, faint taste of the sea, and the rice vinegar and saki just made it taste sooooo wonderul. She doesn't measure anything. She shows me her portions like when she pinches the dashi, and her hands are so much smaller of course!!!

[mariacarmen]

ok, now i want the recipe, if you can paraphrase it, for the rice. please?

[chef chicklet]

I need to get measurements written down, we were cooking and she pours a little of this and a little of that, I tried to keep a watchful eye, it was hard. No it was amazing. We will have all that we cooked written down soon, and I promise you can have it. I hope you have some little Japanese fans and a rice paddle? Oh and another thing during the making of the sushi, we used about 3 no 4! different forms of seaweed! One tiny bag filled with these small crunchy bits of seaweed. I forget where that went..

See this is where I get so ticked at recipes I see, they leave a whole lot of necessary information out! I'm planning to go to the Japanese market with them very soon!

[mariacarmen]

great, thanks!

[Harters]

I'm having a sheet of supermarket ribs - part cooked and slathered with sauce. 20 minutes in the oven. Followed by a virtuous leaf salad, mainly rocket & watercress. Then ice cream.

Herself is having unknown other crap.

[mariacarmen]

AHAHAHAHAHA "unknown other crap"! love it.

[BombayUpWithaTwist]

Dinner tonight was my go-to lazy dish. Chicken Teriyaki , rice & a tomato/red onion salad.

[Novelli]

Tonite I made some homemade egg tagliatelle with brown butter, sage, and lots of hot chile.
Turned out tasty!

[rabaja]

where's the like button?
That makes me want to ditch my lean ground turkey/bulgur/oddball veg creation and go down to the square for some sinful pasta dish and a bottle of red.

[mariacarmen]

you mean, where's the drool button! that looks sooooo good, that is my favorite type of pasta, bar none, and i'm jealous that i still haven't made homemade pasta, ever. beautiful, Novelli, bravo.

[Novelli]

thanks guys!

I had chopped up some parsley to toss with the pasta, but thought "what the hell" and hap-hazardly threw it in between the pasta sheets while rolling it out, that's why there's the little green bits showing in the dough.

@mariacarmen - you really need to make yourself some fresh pasta someday. It takes all about 10 minutes to mix the dough, and about 15 minutes to roll out and cut...and is soooo worth it. If you ask me, it's easier than throwing a batch of chocolate chip cookies together.
I'd love to see your experiments!

[onceadaylily]

Care to share your pasta dough recipe, Novelli? I went a different way with dinner last night, and was toying with the idea of making my own pasta for the salmon dish, but every time I look at recipes, I get hung up on what type of flour to use. On hand I have Bob's Red Mill no. 1 durum wheat semolina, and AP flour.

The boyfriend is working late tonight, and I'll have some time on my hands to play with it. He bought the pasta machine (a hand crank Imperia) for me in November, and is a little disappointed that I haven't used it yet.

[Novelli]

Absolutely!

for this particular venture, I used:

1 1/2 cup of AP flour (EDIT: I'd say start with 1 1/4 cups of flour first. If the dough seems too sticky, then dust with more flour if needed)

1 large Egg and 3 yolks

I put it in a bowl and mix it up with the handle of a wooden spoon until it comes together. Toss it on the table and do a minute or 2 of kneading to get the flour fully incorporated.

Wrap in plastic and let rest for 20-30 mins.

Machine rolling: Obviously, you'll start on the widest setting. Pass throught each setting 3 times (the first 2 passes, you're going to fold the dough over onto itself-this is where I added the parsley). For tagliatelle, I stop on the second to last setting on the roller because I like the texture and bite of a thicker noodle.

Cut the sheets into 10-11 inch long pieces. Let the sheets sit for about 10 or so minutes before cutting into noodles. This step gives them a nice, almost leathery, feel which prevents sticking when cutting.

[onceadaylily]

Thanks, Novelli. This is similar to an egg noodle recipe I used before, but more yolks (which I like) and no water.

One of the reasons I keep balking is that my machine is one of the older models, and came to me second-hand. I've been advised to make a batch of dough to *clean* the machine with, and then discard that batch. Semolina is not cheap! But this won't pain me to part with (I can make a half batch for the cleaning), and egg noodles will pair very well with the salmon, I think. Thanks for the recipe and the tips!

[Novelli]

After each use, I clean my machine rollers with some damp papertowels folded up thick. I then pass them through the rollers (not too tight) to the point where, as I'm cranking it, I'm able to pull the pepertowels up out the opposite way. This usually pulls out any hard crumbs and flour left behind and lkeaves me with nice shiny rollers for the next job.

[onceadaylily]

Now *that* is excellent advice! I never would have thought of using a paper towel. There is the standard caution not not ever get the pasta machine wet (rusting), but if I squeezed the paper towel out very well, it would hardly have more moisture than the pasta, I think. And I could always run a dry one through after.

[mariacarmen]

oh, see, i need the machine! my sister has a hand-crank one, with a clamp, i could borrow hers....

[bigfoodgood]

http://www.squidoo.com/really-fat-foods share your creations here

[iL Divo]

osso buco.
trying to come up with a starch to serve with it.
gnocchi or papardelle or risotto, or or or

[Phurstluv]

soft polenta....

[iL Divo]

Couldn't even think of polenta altho I'm a fan husband isn't. It's a texture thing with him no matter how it's prepared. But appreciate your input.

[sunflwrsdh]

Dinner tonight was farfalle with spinach meatballs that I made on Saturday and pulled out of the freezer, and plain red sauce (quick, homemade....quartered an onion and simmered it in some crushed tomatoes, seasoned with kosher salt and pepper for about 20 minutes (while pasta water came to a boil and pasta cooked)......simple and satisfying.

[Phurstluv]

I've been packing for our camping trip for the past two days so we have been eating down the fridge with the yummy Easter leftovers of lamb chops, couscous, potatoes au gratin & asparagus. (So much for the diet!)

Tonight will be a mish mash of freezer items like orange chicken from TJ's, some brown rice, fresh snow peas, spinach and cremini mushrooms. I have just made Ina Garten's Peanut Butter & Jelly bars and the kitchen smells great. I'll pack those up along with a batch of chocolate chunk cookies for our trip. Figured they'd be perfect for two little hungry guys after a day of hiking!! Will be back next week to catch up on all of your wonderful sounding meals!!

link: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/in...

[sunflwrsdh]

I find myself wanting to bake too, Phurstluv, but have so far resisted for this week. I've started losing, and want to really keep at it, so I'm trying to only have fruit or sugar free jello for dessert. But I do really miss the experience of baking. I've got 15 pounds to go till I reach my goal, and then I will plan to bake probably once a week. but for now...best if I don't. Having said all that, tonight for dessert, my daughter and I took the kids to a wonderful home made ice cream place (the Ice Cream Man, in Greenwich NY). They were in a Throwdown a few years ago with Bobby Flay for warm apple sundaes, and I tried theThrowdown sundae tonight. (with sugar free, fat free vanilla ice cream!) It was very good, warmed apples in a caramelly, but not too thick or sticky sauce, with a hint of cinnamon, but again, not overpowering and some chopped walnuts.

[Phurstluv]

Good for you, on resisting, I know it will probably be tough while out in a cabin in the woods, having the food around, but I am convincing myself that I will still control my portions and be more active!! Sundae sounds yummy, too!

[mariacarmen]

have fun camping!

[AdamD]

Home made veggie croquets for the kids, ma pa nasu for the adults.
Wakame soup, rice, and green salad with daikon sprouts, onion dressing.

[Breezychow]

Last night we enjoyed seared Sake-Wasabi-Mustard-coated tuna steaks accompanied by a stirfry of brown rice, julienned carrot, broccolini, shitake mushrooms, & yellow summer squash.

Tonight I'm "cheating" - lol! Frozen four-cheese tortellini with some jarred (but tweaked a little) Alfredo sauce & a big green salad.

[Harters]

From the Harters cookbook of the moment - Jamie Oliver's "Jamie's Kitchen" (2002):

Lebanese lemon chicken

http://viciousange.blogspot.com/2006/...

- of the options, we're using farikh and white wine. And Oliver's idea of sour cream as a sauce is a load of crap - we're using yoghurt (with plenty of chopped coriander)

[GretchenS]

Having experienced such success with celery root puree (reported in COTM thread) I am going for cauliflower puree tonight (simmer in half milk, half water with some onion and/or garlic till soft, then puree in batches in FP), to which I will add a lovely Nueske's bratwurst and a beautiful artichoke I bought yesterday, steamed. I just had about a quart of leafy greens and other zero points veg for lunch so that's covered for today.

[mariacarmen]

ooh, i made fritters this week with both cauliflower AND celery root puree (3 pts for 2), and i think they would go divinely together as a puree. sounds like a great meal.

[soytoy]

Ooh, never tried making cauliflower fritters before.... *mind starts spinning*

[mariacarmen]

here: http://www.skinnytaste.com/2009/02/ca...
mine looked JUST as good, and tasted wonderful.
you'll never even know they're weight-watching friendly.

[soytoy]

Thanks for the link! What a fun way to serve cauliflower!

[BombayUpWithaTwist]

Yum, cauliflower AND celery root...

[Harters]

Cauliflower puree is *the* thing to serve with scallops in UK restaurants these days.

[mariacarmen]

Really! i love the sound of the taste of that (?), the sweetness of each, but doesn't that make for a lot of white on the plate? Here, it used to be a pee puree under scallops. probably still is....

[roxlet]

We have left over porchetta, so tonight we're going to cross boarders and make Cubanos, but without the yellow mustard. I also picked up some nice artichokes, and I will make them stuffed, Italian-style, for either tonight or tomorrow's dinner. Maybe tonight since a sandwich feels a little skimpy...

[onceadaylily]

I have some salmon thawing, and am thinking I will bake it in a dijon mustard glaze with tarragon, and serve it with limas in cream, and maybe some quinoa.

Or I might follow Roxlet's lead and toss it with some pasta. I have orecchiette in the pantry that has been tempting me. We've already had a lovely garlicky-lemony-creole shrimp pasta just a few days ago . . . but it was really good enough to have again, even so soon. And, of course, it sounds more appealing than the healthier dish above. It's not a fair fight, is it.

[JungMann]

Lent is over and I'm back to eating and posting about it! Hallelujah.

My roommate and I were talking about spaghetti and meatballs and I realized I have completely forgotten what that combination tastes like. Here I am in the heart of Italian-American coutry and I can't even recall such a quintessential meal. I set out to rectify that by doctoring a jar of Classico (no easy feat) and using it to simmer prepared turkey meatballs and serving that atop spaghetti. On the side, panroasted brussels sprouts with garlic, finished with Chinkiang vinegar.

I don't know why I don't eat more Italian-American food. It was quite an easy meal to put together and although it isn't my typical flavor profile, it's not a bad change from the usual. For dessert I noshed on the white chocolate cake truffles I made for Easter with cardamom and rose filling and sesame seed and Aleppo topping. Now *those* are flavor profiles I could get used to.

[linguafood]

Any of those white chocolate cake truffles leftover? I'll send you my address :-D

[buttertart]

Put me on that mailing list too, please!

[JungMann]

They're all mine! I already did my 40 days of sharing! ;-)

[buttertart]

Now, now, JungMann. At least tell us how you confected them (and what brand of white choc you used).

[JungMann]

My roommates have been extoling the virtues of simple cooking, so I tried one of their convenience recipes for Easter. Following their instructions for cake pops, I made a boxed white cake to which I added about 8 pods' worth of powdered cardamom. Once it cooled, I picked it apart and moistened it by mixing in half a container of vanilla frosting and about 6T of rosewater. The combination was beyond sweet, so I had to improvise to make them palatable (I am not a fan of sugary desserts). I proceeded to form the cake balls and dipped them in melted white chocolate which I had dyed pink (I used Callebaut because it was convenient, but it has a tendency to clump). Before chilling to set the chocolate, I sprinkled a generous pinch of sesame seeds on top and followed by a bare dusting of finely crushed Aleppo pepper. The result is an immediate hit of nuttiness and richness followed by the fragrance of the cardamom and roses tempered by the suggestion of heat and bitterness from the Aleppo pepper.

I did find that the sweetness of the cake balls mellowed out after a night in the fridge (or in the freezer if they are dipped to prevent the chocolate from weeping), so this is a recipe best made ahead of time.

[buttertart]

Wowie...zowie!

[mariacarmen]

oh my god, those sound amazingly decadent, and exotic!

[linguafood]

Oh, boooh.

[mariacarmen]

was there any garlic bread?? it's been so many YEARS since i've had garlic bread!

[JungMann]

I scratched the garlic bread itch back in January after I realized I hadn't had that in a while, too! I don't know if this is a Midwestern thing, but garlic bread with pasta was a restaurant treat. When we had spaghetti at home (or at the cafeteria or a casual restaurant), we ate pasta with a couple slices of white bread or a buttered roll.

[mariacarmen]

Yeah, we didn't have it that much growing up at home either, but at places like Shakey's pizza, or some other Italo-American joint. But it was always so yum with the red sauce!

[Phurstluv]

You're making me crave spaghetti & meatballs now. I grew up on SoItal food, but never liked meatballs much, until I made the Cook's Country Big Italian style. They are absolutely scrumptious. Will have to make those when I get back.

[BombayUpWithaTwist]

Dinner tonight was leftover NY Steak sliced thinly and served Japanese style. I put grated daikon, chopped green onions & ponzu/soy sauce on it. I served it with rice, miso soup and some cold tofu.

[linguafood]

Yowzah. That looks delightful!! I've been thinking about steak for our last night states-side.... but the man doesn't want to crank out the grill. Dang. Might have to go out for some grilled cow.

[BombayUpWithaTwist]

Thanks Lingua! If you do break out the grill, follow Phurstlove's way of prepping steak, it's either up thread or in the previous one. But it's always easy to make reservations too;-)

Have a wonderful time in Berlin! Do you have relatives over there since you spend the whole summer?

[linguafood]

I lived there before I moved to the States. So each summer, we have to find a new (furnished) pad, but it's part of the fun. We get to live in a different neighborhood each year - this summer, we're back in the East (Prenzlauer Berg aka Pregnant Hill) where we haven't stayed in 7 years! LOTS of new restos to discover, much beer to be drunk.

[chef chicklet]

My Japanese friend made this for us a few weeks ago. It's excellent! We enjoyed it with rice, and a salad. I just noticed the fragrance and we used ponzu for dipping, and of course there was a lot of scallions.

Yours looks so perfectly cooked too.!

[BombayUpWithaTwist]

Thanks Chef Chicklet! I love this dish, especially with warm rice :o)

[sunflwrsdh]

That steak looks great, Bombay!

[BombayUpWithaTwist]

Thanks Sun and it really tasted great as a leftover too! I finally got posted on Foodgawker with this photo too :o) So happy....

[rabaja]

It is a gorgeous picture. Made me salivate this morning.

[rabaja]

How odd, I can't reply to posts, but I can reply here...
OADL, I hope your migraine has passed. A good friend of mine gets them and they seem like the worst thing ever. Hope you got some dark peace and quiet and are on the mend.

Tonight I made my favorite roast chicken breast (bone-in, 450F for 35 min., always super moist). I roasted it on a bed of quartered onions, green garlic, carrots, delicata squash and cherry tomatoes. With some thyme and maras and some z'aatar on the chicken it was heaven.
I harvested some arugula this afternoon, my first real harvest so far, and that made a nice salad on top of the chicken and veg, with bulgur at the bottom of my bowl.
The green garlic came from the garden as well, and I picked lots of cavolo nero kale and both red and cutting celery for future use. Finally, a little something is coming out of the "Winter" garden!
I put a second raised bed in for the summer and will be planting that up this week. I'm tempted to fill it with lettuces. They grow so fast and it's so nice to have them right outside the door. At some point I'm sure it breaks even too. Or maybe not, but it's fun.

[BombayUpWithaTwist]

Your dinner sounds very delicious and I'm very jealous that you have such an awesome garden!

[sunflwrsdh]

Wow, Rajaba! I am impressed..your own arugula...nothing tastes as good as harvesting your own greens! We often do our lettuces in plastic window boxes, and stagger the plantings so that we can harvest all summer. It really is fun. and your chicken sounds great too.

[rabaja]

You must try arugula if your already growing lettuces! It truly is the easiest thing I've ever put in, and it pops up so quickly.
The nice thing too is that your can harvest the arugula and other lettuces when they are tiny and have a pretty, ploufy micro-green salad (or garnish) and then cut the second growth a bit bigger, or as heads (for the lettuces). Lots of fun, minimal effort. Although I will have to remember to start watering, as it seems Spring is here to stay in Northern California.

[JerryMe]

Ground turkey burgers on w/w buns. Never made ground turkey burgers before - added an egg and some panko to bind it up along w/ some sriracha, Montreal seasoning and Worcestershire. DS stopped by and saw my efforts - added crushed macadamia to his portion along w/ ketchup (Yuck), caramelized onions (Yuck) and cheddar. Eating mine w/ dill pickle, mustard and Havarti cheese. OM - This one's a keeper.

[onceadaylily]

We just went through a pound of havarti. Havarti tastes so good with pickle.

[sunflwrsdh]

Tonight was my granddaughter's dance night, and the adults got a turn to select the after dance restaurant, so .not McDonald's for a change! Friendly's, where I had coconut shrimp (not the best I've ever had, but not too bad either) and a small hot fudge and peanut butter sundae. Granddaughter had a build your own "Peeps" sundae, which was very cute......very tall dish of ice cream, with three little cups filled with her choice of 3 different toppings and a chocolate dipped yellow "Peep" on top:) Not so Weight Watcher friendly for me, but I have actually missed eating for a couple of days this week due to oral surgery, so I think I came out even:)

[mariacarmen]

i'm sure you did - and after your surgery, well deserved little splurge.

[Phurstluv]

How exciting for your granddaughter! And, I haven't heard the name Friendly's in so long, we had one in the small town I grew up in, and have very fond memories of it, and it's fries, cheeseburgers and Jim Dandies!! ; )))

[twilight goddess]

I hold many fond memories of evenings out at Friendly's -- when I was little, for a special treat peppermint stick ice cream cones with my mom, at the window or sitting in a booth feeling special. Later, we spent many Friday nights there laughing our heads off, a big bunch of counselors from the day camp where I worked when I was 16 and 17. I used to order Lime Rickeys at that point, and we always shared big plates of fried appetizers -- mozzarella sticks. Calories didn't exist in my mind at that point, ha ha ha.

[sunflwrsdh]

Nice memories, twilight goddess! I have always loved friendly's too, something so humble and family feeling about the place.

[roxlet]

After the excesses of Easter, tonight will be a simple aglio olio with the remainder of the hot smoked salmon from Saturday night. I just lightly saute some garlic with red pepper flakes and coarse salt. When the pasta is almost al dente, I break up pieces of salmon and put them in the pan with the garlic and olive oil just to warm the salmon. Then in goes the pasta. We're following that with a nice salad.

[onceadaylily]

I'm trying to crawl out from under a migraine, and the only thing that sounds remotely appealing to me right now is a comforting plate of potatoes and eggs. Girls with shaky hands and blurred vision are wise to avoid a mandoline, so I'll just dice the potatoes and fry them until golden and crispy, along with onions, shallots, green bell peppers, and mushrooms, and top the vegetable mixture with over easy eggs. I am out of ketchup though, and love to put *both* ketchup and hot sauce on this type of dish, so I am trying to figure out how to make ketchup from tomato paste. But since I have neither molasses nor corn syrup, and feel little excitement for the project, I might ask the boyfriend to stop on the way home for a bottle of the good stuff. I am fairly certain that this request will be met with an emphatic, "AARRGH". That's the sound he makes when I ask him to stop at the market on his way home.

And I really do prefer spelling it 'catsup', but have learned that I am in the minority, and have been trying the alternate spelling out. I don't like it.

[LindaWhit]

1. I hope the migraine goes away quickly!
2. Good idea on NOT using the mandoline.
3. You spell ketchup/catsup any way you damn well please. :-)

[mariacarmen]

ditto, poor baby!

[BombayUpWithaTwist]

Hope you feel better soon :o) You are a trooper that you still cook when you have a migraine!

[Phurstluv]

Words out of my mouth, BuWAT! Feel better soon!

[roxlet]

Feel better!

[chef chicklet]

Sorry about your migraine, I can relate.
I don't know how you do it! But your dinner sounds like comfort to me!

[onceadaylily]

Thanks all. I slept for almost eleven hours last night, and feel *much* better today.

And I did try to make catsup. I wound up with a decent product, but thought it needed a little something, and added a little of this and a little of that, and then it snowballed, and I was soon surrounded by a dozen jars and bottles. I was standing there with my tasting spoon when the boyfriend walked in and asked what smelled so good. "Barbecue sauce," I admitted. Because I accidentally made barbecue sauce. "Again?" he asked.

I stubbornly put some on my potatoes, and regretted it with every bite, as the boyfriend kept raving about how flavorful his (without the sauce) was. I used extra butter and olive oil to cook the mushrooms, peppers, onions, and shallots, and then poured the excess off to cook the potatoes in, and tossed it all together at the end.

[twilight goddess]

Whatever I make for dinner in the near future will be embellished with my latest batch of homemade chicken stock! I am pleased to report that I froze the whole vat of it in one- and two-cup increments (double Ziploc), and also some in ice cube trays!

Method: I roasted chicken backs and browned a few wings, and then simmered all of that for three hours, with the juices of course, plus a couple of carrots, one potato, three plum tomatoes, a handful of parsley, a bay leaf, four stalks celery, and water to cover by an inch. Skimmed throughout, double-strained and chilled, removed the top layer of fat the next day. Lovely deep golden color, delicious flavor.

Yayyyy! 1st time freezing in the cubes, so that should be fun for individual quickies... even a handful of tortellini in my own broth for a quick dinner after work.

[BombayUpWithaTwist]

Twilight, I love homemade stock too! I always have some in the freezer. I bet yours tasted great since you roasted all the bones. I've never heard of putting a potato in it, doesn't it disintegrate?

[twilight goddess]

My first time with the potato and the tomato -- both listed in the recipe for broth in Marcella Hazan's Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking. I guess it might disintegrate, but it doesn't matter because the stock is double-strained anyway.

:-) Yes YES on the deep flavor with roasting the bones. That wasn't a step in Marcella's version, but I know it deepens the flavor so I went for it (on a cookie sheet lined with foil, then parchment on top of that -- no mess).

By the way, my friends and coworkers will NOT tolerate my gushing over a stock created with chicken backs (or NECKS, ha). Sometimes I keep saying it just to watch them cringe, and I was a vegetarian for nearly ten years. Of course, I do know that those at chow can appreciate the coolness of a stock made in this old-school manner (with the less-appreciated necks/backs)!

[BombayUpWithaTwist]

Using the parchment to cover the bones is a great idea!

I'm with you, I gush about necks, chicken backs & chicken feet to make stock...lol One of my friend's thinks it's the most disgusting thing touching a raw chicken;o)

What a change from being a vegetarian!

[sunflwrsdh]

I froze home made turkey stock in 1-cup containers last night as well:) Great minds....

[Harters]

Upcoming - one of herself's favourite light meals. She came across it a year or so back in a side street restaurant in Rome.

So, a bed of rocket on the plate, topped with thin slices of sirloin steak and shavings of Parmesan. Dressing of olive oil and balsamic. Crusty bread.

The only problem might be getting the steak rare enough. It was a discounted offer at the supermarket - 28 day aged so impossible to refuse - but it's very thin (less than 1cm)

[buttertart]

Blistering hot pan? A friend in Montreal's mom used to do steaks like that all the time - first time I ever had rare meat. In, few seconds, flip, few seconds, fini.

[Harters]

Herself is the steak cooker of the house. She uses one of those ridged griddle pans - blisteringly hot as you say - a smidge of oil on the meat, not the pan. If it's thickish meat, you get nice char bars on the steak without it overcooking.

[buttertart]

For this she might want to consider a regular flat-bottomed pan, that's what my friend's mom used to do.

[linguafood]

She might want to try another super light arugula salad I fell in love with a few years ago:

Arugula/rocket with lemon oil, a squeeze of lemon juice, fresh ground black pepper, and shaved parmesan, topped with those little Atlantic shrimp.

Superfast, superlight, supertasty!

[iL Divo]

Asked my husband what he wanted for Easter dinner tonight, Happy Easter by the way, and he told me:
Roast beef
Mashed potatoes
gravy
green beans
hot rolls
salad with lemon dressing
and a mini blizzard, my version, for dessert

[sunflwrsdh]

Roast turkey, roasted garlic mashed sweet potatoes, broccoli cheese casserole, home made whole wheat bread. Angel food cake with strawberries for dessert, which actually hasn't happened yet:)

[LindaWhit]

More painting today, but home in time to prepare a beef tenderloin with red wine and mushroom sauce, roasted Yukon Gold potatoes, and steamed broccoli.

I'll sleep well tonight after yet MORE packing. :-)

[mariacarmen]

jeez, you're a powerhorse LW! Painting AND a yummy homemade dinner!

[LindaWhit]

I think that'll be the last real "cooking" I do until I move in. Leftovers for a few nights; then there's always meat sauce in the freezer for a spaghetti dinner on Wed/Thursday. :-)

[linguafood]

After a semi-long-ish cooking break due to social engagements, gigs, poker games with take-out food, etc., tonight was our first home-cooked meal in a while.

We had some leftovers from the incredibly delicious giouvetsi my man made yesterday for a farewell party friends threw for us (we're heading to Berlin for the summer): lamb shanks braised in a Dutch oven with lots of rosemary, tomatoes, orzo, and some grated cheese - usually kasseri, but no Greek cheese around, so we made do with younger pecorino.

I had also made a chicken liver pâté (based on the JoC recipe with a few tweaks, such as cracked peppercorns on top, but none of that made it out of the party '-).

Since we're leaving in just a few days, I thawed some shrimp and made a shrimp salad with some leftover red, yellow, and orange bell peppers, some celery, avocado, and scallions & parsley, all tossed with a sriracha-mayo-lemon sauce. Couldn't finish it, but was delightful.

[mariacarmen]

wow, your return to cooking was much more productive than mine! those lambshanks sound wonderful.

How wonderful for you, going to Berlin for the summer! Can't wait to hear all your cooking adventures from there.

(will you get to perform while there?)

[linguafood]

honestly, my man did most of the work. it's such a great comfort dish, especially when it has rained for what seems like months at a time and no spring is in sight. >sigh<

i tend to cook a bit less in berlin b/c of ALL the restos i need to try, but i won't fall off the home (cooking) plate entirely, promise.

as for singing - i'm hoping to catch a few open mic nights while i'm there.

[Breadcrumbs]

We started off our day w "Easter Bunny" cocktails and French Toast made w Pannetone and topped warm maple syrup while watching our neighbour's kids hunt for eggs (from the comfort of our kitchen chairs!!)

Lunch was a bit of a "graze-fest" w a selection of antipasti and wines.

Dinner was a casual affair for mr bc & I. I tested out my first recipe from a newly acquired book; "Ciao Italia" by Mary Ann Esposito. We had the yummy Farfalle Piccante which appealed because of the peas & prosciutto combo. Happy to say it didn't disappoint! Have a lovely evening everyone!

[sunflwrsdh]

Sounds great. Love the tradition of Easter bunny cocktails! Your farfalle Piccante looks great too!

[mariacarmen]

what IS an EB cocktail?

[Breadcrumbs]

Thanks sunflwsdh and mc! mc, that cocktail is a creation of my good friend "Andrew". It's a mix of fresh carrot juice, orange juice, ginger and vodka. He makes the carrot, orange ginger juice first in his fancy juicer then adds the vodka. I've made them at home w great success by using my own freshly squeezed oj w purchased carrot juice and fresh ginger that I simply strain out. I make these by the pitcher when we're entertaining. I mentioned them in a recent COTM thread and Gio tried them w Gin instead of vodka and she just loved them.

[sunflwrsdh]

Yum! I will definitely try those!

[soytoy]

Oh wow, that sounds fantastic. *eyes juicer*

[Phurstluv]

Happy Easter, my Chow friends!

Breakfast was a Challah french toast with pecans and orange zest, found the recipe online (but the zest was my addition), since I needed an overnight casserole type, since it was a busy morning. Served with bacon and warm maple syrup, of course.

Then after Mass, I made a nibbles plate with hummus, baby carrots, pita chips, green & black olives, sliced cheddars, manchego, and some soppressata, with some flatbread crackers.

While I'm sipping my Prosecco mimosa, I'll prep the dessert which is a Lemon-Blueberry Trifle. My Sister found the recipe online at KingArthurFlour.com and made it several weeks ago, and claimed it was to die for. Since it required no baking on my part, it was a shoe - in for my Easter dessert.

Then I'm serving Rack of Lamb Persillade, my Mom's au gratin potatoes, Israeli couscous with toasted pinenuts, roasted asparagus with lemon, and a spinach salad with strawberries and feta, since I'm out of goat cheese.

Hope the kids can wait long enough for a decent dinner, after all the chocolate and jellybeans they've consumed since 7:30 this morning!!

[Breadcrumbs]

Oh my goodness what a fabulous day of food from start to finish Phurstluv! I just kept getting hungrier and hungrier as I went along!! I hope you had a fabulous celebration.

[roxlet]

What a great day of great food. Happy Easter!

[BombayUpWithaTwist]

Sounds like a wonderful day of feasting :o)

[Phurstluv]

Thank you all, BuWAT, Roxlet & BC, it was a big day of feasting, and totally made up for fasting on Good Friday. Here's the pics:

[mariacarmen]

what a gorgeous plate of food!!

[BombayUpWithaTwist]

It looks all beautiful! I love all the colors.

[Phurstluv]

Thank you both ladies, I sent it on Twitter to the LATimes food blog, so hopefully it makes it!

[BombayUpWithaTwist]

Good luck with that Phurst! I didn't even know that you could send photos to their food blog. Is it because you used their recipe?

[BombayUpWithaTwist]

I just saw it on the LA Times blog! That's so exciting!! Congrats!!

[Phurstluv]

Thanks, no I do it through Twitter and they ask you what you've eaten over the weekend and upload your photo to their blog, and they usually publish it, even my crappy no-natural light photos!

[Rubee]

Nice! I posted a link, everything looks fabulous. I also just followed you on Twitter (Rubee100) ; )

http://www.latimes.com/features/food/...

[Phurstluv]

Awesome, Rubee, thanks!!

[mariacarmen]

I AM COOKING TONIGHT! It's been like 2 weeks?? maybe more. there will be spicy thai-like chicken of some sort, there will be butternut squash with sriracha, there will be celeriac in some form, there will be cauliflower fritters i just saw on skinnytaste.com, and there'll be some sort of cabbage-peanut slaw. quite the mishmash, but these are all things i want, at least right now.

[rabaja]

I've made those fritters. Pretty darn good!

[mariacarmen]

they were really REALLY GOOD! i can't believe they're only 3 pts. for 2. i steamed some celeriac along with the cauliflower and added that to them too.

alongside, not a good match, but still: boneless, skinless chicken thighs that i marinated for about an hour with sriracha, juice of 3 lemons, sambal, granulated garlic, green onion, cilantro, fresh ground coriander seed, dried basil (had no fresh on hand), minced ginger, sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, rice wine. Poured the marinade off, salted and placed thighs in baking pan for 20 mins at 375 degrees, then stuck them under the broiler for 5 or so. Simmered down the marinade in a pot and then spooned over the thighs. Really good and spicy. Also made a roast butternut squash that i sprinkled some of the coriander over, with drizzles of sriracha and chopped cilantro. Everything was pretty orange at this point, but we had a salad of thinly sliced cukes, cabbage, green onions, chopped cashews, with a drizzle of pomegranate syrup, drizzle of sesame oil, drizzle of olive oil, lemon juice, s&p. Pretty tasty. i LOVE those fritters. didn't use all the flour it called for, nor all the oil (again, i can't believe they're so low in pts - 1/4 cup oil to fry!)

[Breadcrumbs]

Mmmm, I'm on a bit of a fritter spree right now and those sure sound yummy mc! Welcome back to the kitchen & bon appetit!

[mariacarmen]

thanks BC! i'm going to try that recipe with shredded carrots too.

[BabsW]

Those fritters sound really good.

[rabaja]

Off to the East Bay to enjoy a day with family and squeeze my nieces.

My parents are grilling lamb and smoking salmon. It's a combination of Easter dinner and the continuation of Passover, so we will hopefully have something for everyone.

I made a batch of matzo crack last night, and I'm about to make a flourless chocolate roll filled with cream from Smitten Kitchen, but a friend asked me to make dinner rolls as well. I feel bad about tempting those who haven't had bread since last Sunday!

Happy Easter, Happy Passover and Happy Spring!
eta: points shmoints

[mariacarmen]

"points shmoints" - LOVE IT. your dinner sounds wonderful, enjoy every bite!

[Breadcrumbs]

rabaja, your "squeeze my nieces" brought such a smile to my face. . . how lovely. I hope you had a wonderful visit and a fabulous, guilt-free meal!

[sunflwrsdh]

What a lovely blending of traditions! Sounds great!

[Harters]

Spring on a plate at Harters Hall:

Asparagus, melted butter

Lamb shoulder, roasted; duck fat roast spuds; new season carrots; gravy; mint sauce

Rhubarb fool (ish) - poached rhubarb and orange, whizzed up with cream & yoghurt.

That's going to be one happy Harters and one happy Hartess.

[roxlet]

Sounds divine, Harters! Very springy, indeed!

[sunflwrsdh]

Sounds very springy! And delicious, Harters.

[vafarmwife]

Easter dinner today is ham, scalloped potatoes, macaroni cheese, roasted asparagus, brussel sprouts with bacon, broccoli salad, red bliss potato salad with dill and dijon, cornbread salad (special request from neighbor), rolls, coconut cake, sweet tea and lemonade

Wow I have three dishes with pork- is that a bad thing????

[mariacarmen]

you KNOW the answer to that! ( : Never!

[Breadcrumbs]

Sounds absolutely delicious, especially that coconut cake! YUM!!

[sunflwrsdh]

Nope, sounds wonderful.

[Breadcrumbs]

We celebrated w some friends last night and lamb is a tradition for us at this time of year. I was able to get 4 fresh Ontario lamb shanks which inspired us to select one of our favourite dishes for last night's menu, the Silence of the Lamb Shanks w Chianti Glaze and Fava Beans. This is a dish we first enjoyed at The Stinking Rose restaurant in San Francisco and I purchased their cookbook with the hope that we could replicate the dish at home. We've made it on several occasions since then and it never disappoints. It's always best w fresh favas and this time I was fortunate enough to find those as well. Dessert was a Tiramisu from our favourite Italian bakery.

[mariacarmen]

ahahhaha The Silence of the Lamb Shanks!! love it.

[roxlet]

That is very funny, Breadcrumbs!

[Phurstluv]

Sounds wonderful, and I adore fresh favas, never thought to serve them with something braised!

[Breadcrumbs]

mc, roxlet and Phurstluv, thanks so much. We loved the humour in this dish the first time we saw it on the restaurant's menu. Our friends always get a kick out of it when we tell them what this dish is called. The fresh favas are a real highlight, so delicious!

[LindaWhit]

Looks absolutely heavenly, Breadcrumbs!

[BabsW]

That looks amazing!

[BombayUpWithaTwist]

It looks like it came out perfectly :o) I love the name...lol And I love fresh fava beans! In Japan they just boil them and eat them like edamame.

[Breadcrumbs]

Thanks BUWT, we love favas and have eaten them like you suggest as well, w a spritz of lemon juice as well. In Italy we were served fresh favas, raw. They were heaped in bowls on the bar and you just popped them from their outer skin and enjoyed them as is, freshly picked. They were delicious with a creamy, nutty flavour.

[GretchenS]

BC, would you mind paraphrasing the Silence of the Lamb Shanks recipe at some point? It sounds great and I couldn't find it by googling although admittedly I am not a highly skilled searcher. Thanks! (No cooking this weekend, just massive decluttering of my father's house in advance of an open house next weekend, which I only learned about on Thursday -- yikes!!!!!! So as Phurstlove says, I made reservations.... And thankfully, dear friends invited us for Easter. Loved hearing what the rest of you made.)

[Breadcrumbs]

Gretchen I'd be happy to paraphrase it. I'll do so in the next week or so. I loaned my book to my neighbour yesterday. Evidently her husband could smell the lamb braising on Saturday when he was out doing yard work and had said "you have to get that recipe"!! We have a half acre lot so it goes to show you how far those garlicky-good aromas can travel!!!

[GretchenS]

Wow!!! Now I REALLY can't wait to make it, thanks so much!!

[BabsW]

Today I'm planning on Jaeger Schnitzel with Spaetzle, green beans and RotKohl (stewed red cabbage). I've been hankering for the schnitzel for a while and as I'm alone today, I thought Id treat myself to some German comfort food. :)

I'd love to round it out with a mini Black Forest Cherry cake, but not sure if I can find a 3 in. cake pan on such short notice. lol

[Phurstluv]

love, Love, LOVE Schnitzel & Spaetzle, soooo yummy, I could eat that everyday!!

[BabsW]

It's comfort food for me. :)

[sunflwrsdh]

That really sounds great, BabsW!

[BabsW]

It was pretty tasty. I really love spaetzle.

[BombayUpWithaTwist]

I love Spaetzle too, I love the Spaetzle maker that you put over the pot, it's fun to make that way! Did you also make the mind Black Forest Cake? I'm always impressed when people make such a nice meal when they eat by themselves, you don't even know what type of stuff I eat when I'm alone...lol

[BabsW]

I didn't make the Black Forest cake; I made an apple tart instead.

I love the spaetzle press.

Sometimes when I'm alone I end up eating toast, but other times I like to treat myself. :D

[Rubee]

I've had a paper bag from a local restaurant that has no chemicals/ink that I had been saving to finally try the technique of roasting turkey in a paper bag. One of my best friends is coming out for a weeklong visit next month so I wanted to clean out the freezer to restock, and found a forgotten turkey. I greased the inside of the bag, rubbed the bird with seasoned butter, stuffed with lemon, carrots, and celery, set it on tinfoil, stapled the bag shut and placed it in a roasting pan. For a 12-pound turkey, I cooked at 375 for about 2-1/4 hours, which was a little too long (temp was 175, I usually cook to 165). It was still extremely moist however, since it basically self-basted. I'm surprised at how brown it got even though the skin was not as crispy as oven roasting. It also made a lot of pan juices, although I had also defrosted some turkey gravy so I didn't use them. It was a pleasant success and I'm glad I finally did it, but it won't be replacing my usual method. Fun to try though.

[Phurstluv]

Good for you, Rubee, that's turkey looks beautiful. It's always nice to find a treasure in the freezer, isn't it? I've never heard of using a paper bag, where did you find such a technique?

[Rubee]

Hi Phurstluv! It seems to have been a common method years ago. I first read about it in a Saveur article years ago. http://www.saveur.com/article/Travels/Mama-Lous-Thanksgiving

Here's one Chowhound thread:
Brown Bag Roasted Turkey
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/748460

[Phurstluv]

Oh, okay, I guess I missed it. And you're right, it must be hard to find a paper bag these days with no ink or anything else on it!

[sunflwrsdh]

I've never heard of that method....and you're right, these days finding the appropriate paper bag could be a challenge! Your turkey looks good!
I cooked the last of my frozen turkeys today as well, we got them for 39 cents a pound on the day after Thanksgiving. I've cooked a turkey a month all winter. I guess Spring is really here!

[BombayUpWithaTwist]

Looks beautiful Rubee!

[Breezychow]

Well, since I have a goodly amount of cooking to do tomorrow & would like to start with a clean kitchen, tonight we're just having takeout sub sandwiches from the local pizza place; but last night we started with nice big Greek-style salads (mixed greens, cucumber, tomatoes, Kalamata olives, & feta cheese), followed by two lovely, full, & absolutely delicious lobsters served with melted lemon butter.

[sunflwrsdh]

Chicken enchiladas, which came out great:)

[Phurstluv]

Love chicken enchiladas!!!

Well, over here at the Phurstluvs, I've been prepping all day for my Easter dinner, and had to call Mom a couple of times for her advice, : ) So, I have to put together some type of baked french toast casserole for breakfast as well, and work with one oven tomorrow, so spoiled to have two, but the upper one has a broken hinge and won't stay shut, therefore won't turn on. I'm very tempted to use duct tape, until I can get it fixed!!

Anyway, with all the prep work, from hard boiling eggs to dye tonight with the sons, then they had two breakfasts and then one skipped lunch, since he had a buddy over and was too busy to eat (tho I notice now that the friend went home, he's starving & wolfed down his piece of cheese pizza) then I've been researching recipes, and reworking my menu since the timing was hard. To get a nice breakfast made, and an Easter egg hunt all in before mass at 9:30 is a tall order. So tonight, I am making one of my favorite things for dinner: Reservations!! Actually I don't even need them, we are going to a local old school Mexican place that my DH loves, so that's what we're doing for dinner tonight.

[rabaja]

Love old school Mexican. I'm jealous!

[roxlet]

Sounds like a day you've had too!

[mariacarmen]

which place in l.a.?

[Phurstluv]

It's on the Westside, in Santa Monica, and much to my DH's chagrin, not the place he loves in East LA with the monster burritos, but it's called Casa Escobar. It's one of those places we've always wondered about, my DH more so since he's worked on the Westside of LA for over 15 years. And it's classic, no windows, dark and red inside with chili pepper and Christmas lights all over the bar and moldings. And the dining room ceiling is covered in kids' pinatas, it's really cute, and serves good margaritas and decent food.

[sunflwrsdh]

Sounds like a great place! I hope you enjoyed your dinner!

[mariacarmen]

i used to live in W. Hollywood, until i was 13 years old, and then Orange County and Long Beach before i moved to San Francisco, so frequent trips to L.A. were made. My standbys were El Cholo, the Gardens of Taxco, and El Abajeno (Culver City). But, this was a long time ago.

[Phurstluv]

El Cholo & El Abajeno are still around, not sure about the Gardens. My DH's fave is El Tepeyac in East LA. Bet you miss the Mexican we have down here.....

[mariacarmen]

Well, since i'm mostly a taco girl, i'm ok, because we have lots of good taquerias. just not a lot of the standard full-on Mexican restaurants. but enough. I had El Abajeno in early 2010, when i was down there moving my parents up here. Still loved it! My favorite is their chile relleno.

[Phurstluv]

I'm a taco girl too ; )! I will have to give then a try, b/c I LOVE chile rellenos, I have to order them about 99.7% of the time!

[BombayUpWithaTwist]

I've never been, but Gardens of Taxco in West Hollywood is still around. It's been getting pretty poor reviews lately on Chowhound. I'm sure it was much better when you were still going 13 years ago, MariaCarmen :o)

[mariacarmen]

hah - make that 35-40 years ago! we used to go as kids with my parents.

[BombayUpWithaTwist]

I misread, 13 years old...I thought it said 13 year ago...

I didn't realize Taxco were around that long!

[BabsW]

Spicy pan-seared shrimp with corn grits and roasted corn.

[BabsW]

A visual:

[Phurstluv]

YUM!!!!

[twyst]

looks fantastic!

[mariacarmen]

oh god... heart skipping a beat. other bodily regions also involved.

[BabsW]

LOL! I love that visceral reaction from food. :D This my first time with stone-ground corn grits, and wow, are they ever good!

[LindaWhit]

SERIOUSLY good visual, BabsW!

[BabsW]

Thanks! I have a good camera, but lighting is ALWAYS an issue. I'd like to buy a really good flash once I get my tax return. I have an awesome macro lens, but I need better lighting.

[BombayUpWithaTwist]

I keep reading all over the place to never use flash for food photography, but I'm not sure what they expect you to do when you take pics of dinner. That's great that you have such a good macro lens. Hubby just bought one for me and it should be delivered today :o)

[Harters]

I suspect the comments you've read relate to food photography in restaurants. Folk using flash are one of my pet hates. I am likely to mutter offensively about it very loudly. And am perfectly happy ot be (a) more direct than muttering and (b) more offensive.

Please, if you must take photos in restaurants, get a camera that will work in low light. That way, you won't be spoiling other folks enjoyment not will they think of you as simply a selfish basta&d.

The reason why you might not want to use flash at home is that it will amplify shadows and, possibly, distort the colour of the food.

[BombayUpWithaTwist]

No, the no flash for food photos advice is for taking at home. I think they say that because the flash can be harsh, so natural light is better.

I completely agree with you about people using flash in restaurants. It's really not that hard to take a quick no-flash photo even in a dimly lit place.

[BombayUpWithaTwist]

I recently started a food blog, so I've really been reading alot on photography lately, since it's so hard to get on Tastespotting etc. ;o)

[BabsW]

Yeah, natural light source is the preferred light source, but many kitchens don't always have the right quality or amount of natural light, and lately, the only time I am home to cook is long after the sun has set.

I try to do several dishes on the weekend and take pictures when the natural light is available, but I've seen results from really good flashes, like Canon Speedlite 430EX, which are far better than what you'd get from just the weak incandescent lighting which is usually I have to work with at night or early in the morning. *sigh* So many plans, so little time to accomplish them all.

Although I do try to provide nice pictures whenever possible - limited by my beginning photography skills lol though a few of mine did make it onto Tastespotting - if I had to sacrifice something, I'd rather put up really good recipes than just blog posts doctored up with pretty pictures featuring so-so food.

[BombayUpWithaTwist]

I love corn and the seared shrimp looks fabulous!

[BabsW]

Thanks! This recipe has really turned me into a grits-convert. :)

[roxlet]

Tonight's dinner is salmon two ways. For our first course, we are doing Simon Hopkinson's salmon cerviche with a guacamole. For our main, it's hot smoked salmon and haricote vert. We have been cooking all day for Easter -- I made Easter bread and ricotta cheesecake, and the DH made a rabbit and pork terrine, which is in the oven now.

[Phurstluv]

RABBIT & PORK TERRINE??? Oh my, how lovely, roxlet, that sounds divine!! I've been prepping all day too, but your salmon dinner sounds very nice too!

[roxlet]

Thanks. The terrine is pressing now, but the DH thinks he might have overcooked it. As some of the water bath evaporated, the temperature rose faster than he anticipated. I still think it will be divine -- studded with pistachios. The salmon cerviche was absolutely scrumptious. I think I could eat that every day!

[Harters]

Do let us know how it is to eat. I love bunny but wonder, as it's such a delicate meat, if it'll get overwhelmed by the pork. Pistachios - great addition to any terrine!

[roxlet]

The rabbit loin running through the center of the terrine worked out really well and allowed you to really taste it.

[Harters]

Excellent. I hadnt appreciated you had the rabbit running through the middle. I've done similar with strips of chicken or vegetable and it really does make for a good contrast

[roxlet]

The DH is still complaining about having let the terrine get too done, but I think it looks divine. We will take one to Easter dinner and keep one here.

[Rubee]

Beautiful!

[mariacarmen]

oooh, i'm so jealous....

[Phurstluv]

That's gorgeous, almost too pretty to eat!! Nice job, kudos to the DH!

[buttertart]

Gorgeous, even if it does include the unthinkable. That DH of yours...

[mariacarmen]

i know.... bunnies.....
on the other hand, YUM, BUNNIES!

[linguafood]

Wow!

[buttertart]

I'm telling you...

[sunflwrsdh]

Beautiful terrine!

[roxlet]

Despite the DH's fears, the terrine was not overdone -- it was absolutely delicious. What you can't see here (and sorry buttertart) was that there was a rabbit loin in the center of the terrine. We all majorly chowed down on this before the porchetta dinner. It was really fantastic too!

And thank you all for the kind comments. I will let the master know, lol!

[buttertart]

I'm sure it was utterly delicious. It's M who has the complete prohibition against rabbit, due to his bunny of yore (named "Fluffy" so you know how yore) having met an untimely end at the hands of the people who were supposed to care for him while the family was living away for a bit. I honor it to humor him. Don't ever leave your bunny with German farmers...

[roxlet]

Oh -- MY -- GOD!! FLUFFY!!!!!!

[mariacarmen]

i know! she's all, "DH made a rabbit and pork terrine"... as if that was just normal and everyday behavior for a DH or a BF or whatever your SO is! my BF cooks for me on almost a daily basis, and deliciously, i must say, but i don't know WHAT i'd do for him if he was making me such delicacies.... boggles the mind what i'd do do for a homemade terrine waiting for me.

[Phurstluv]

RIGHT??! very classy bunch, that roxlet & her DH!!! ; ))

[BabsW]

Sounds wonderful!

I'm curious: where did he find the rabbit?

I was hoping to make Hasenpfeffer for today, Easter, but could not begin to imagine where I could find rabbit. I have no Whole Foods near me, and haven't been able to source a spot for game just yet, and I am not up to going to into a pet shop and buying a bunny there. :o

[roxlet]

I don't know where you are located, BabsW, but we get rabbit on Arthur Avenue in the Bronx. I would imagine that if you have an Italian area near you, you might find rabbit there.

[BabsW]

I'm in Syracuse, and we do have a tiny Little Italy on the north side. I'll have to see if there are any specialty shops still open. :)

[BombayUpWithaTwist]

The terrine looks beautiful and you are so lucky to be able to shop on Arthur Ave! I've never been, but have seen it on several food shows and have always wished there was a place like that near me. I even got the Arthur Ave Cookbook!

[roxlet]

I love going there, and I love that many of the patrons and shop owners speak Italian with each other. I feel like I've had a mini Italian vacation when I go.

[Floridagirl]

A beloved neighbor is moving back up north today and another neighbor, who drives a moving van for a living, is driving the moving van. I'm making comfort food for everybody. Smothered chicken, green beans, mashed potatoes, homemade bread with bacon jam, blueberry buckle with homemade ice crean for dessert.

[sunflwrsdh]

That meal does sound really comforting!

[Phurstluv]

Nice, nice. Do you make your bacon jam or buy it?? I have not seen any out here in LA, and briefly ran across a recipe for it the other day. Now, if I can only lay my hands on it.....my DH and boys would be in HEAVEN if I made or found it!!

[buttertart]

After a week of dullish fare (retreads of the chicken keema that I foolishly made with preground turkey instead of food peocessor-ground chicken breast, do not do this, lamb chops with bulgur and Sichuan broccoli-stem salad, and spag carbonara last night after a killer lunch out), tonight's the night for a big cook, I think - not sure what though. Tomorrow: cold asparagus soup, mariacarmen's pernil which I want to start marinating tonight, Marcella's artichoke and potato gratin, some manner of salad, and lemon meringue pie.

[rabaja]

Last night I steamed some fish (I think it was a cod of some sort, it was frozen and something I bought in Japan Town last month or so) with sliced ginger, scallions and black bean sauce. It was so good.
I'd intended to have the fish with leftover ma po tofu, but the fish was so delicious I didn't even have any of the second dish. Just lots of flaky white fish over fresh brown rice with the delicious sauce that pooled in the plate from steaming.
I really want to find one of those tools to get the plate out of your wok/pot without tipping anything over.
I could eat this dish everyweek, and it was quite point friendly!

[BombayUpWithaTwist]

Your cod sounds great! I don't cook fish much, but I want to more. I may have to try your recipe! Do you steam it in the wok in a bamboo steamer?

[Phurstluv]

Me too, friend me too. Yes, Rabaja, we like cod here, I will have to try that.

[rabaja]

It is so darn easy. I considered making it again tonight, it's that good.

BUwaT, I used a plate to steam my fish. Big pot, little rack, couple inches of water in the pot and a plate slightly smaller in diameter than the pot. Does that make sense?

For unknown reasons I got rid of my bamboo steamer, and I've yet to get my own wok.

I really must remedy those two things.

And now I think a Saturday night gin martini is in order.

[BombayUpWithaTwist]

Rabaja, yes, the way you steamed the fish makes perfect sense! Thanks for explaining the method. I think I really need to try this recipe!

I also love gin martinis! As a matter of fact, I had a couple last night ;o)

[Harters]

The good weather in in north west England co-incides with a change of the Harters cookbook of the week to, appropriately, Sophie Grigson's "Sunshine Food" (2000). I dont recall the accompanying TV programme so it was probably a daytime show - from the book it must have been a fairly broad, generic, spin round the Mediterranean. Some nice recipes, even if we've probably got other versions of most in specific national/regional cuisine books.

So, eclectic as the book is, so is dinner.

There'll be socca (which is a new one on me) - a sort of thick pancake-y thingy made with chickpea flour and cooked in the oven. Comes from Nice apparently.

There'll be a Syrian bazargan - a salad of bulgar wheat, caulflower, radish, hazelnuts, pinenuts and walnuts - in a dressing of olive oil, pomegranate syrup, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, tomato puree and lemon juice & zest.

There'll be chicken kebabs. Not a recipe from the book but marinated in my "standard" Cypriotish mix of olive oil, thyme, garlic and lemon juice and then stuck under the grill

And, back to Sophie, a Moroccan orange salad - sliced oranges, sliced dates, flaked almonds, a little icing sugar, a little orange flower water.

[onceadaylily]

I've never heard of socca. I'm curious, Harters, is this supposed to be topped with anything, or served with butter?

[Harters]

Nope. Seems to be eaten just as it as - as a snacky carb. It's just flour and water. You then heat oil in a roast tin and pour the batter in with a topping of finely chopped rosemary if you like (I think I like)

[onceadaylily]

I just looked it up online. It looks interesting, very rustic. I always put rosemary and salt on my flatbread before I bake it, and this looks similar (a bit thinner though, and very crisp). I saw a picture of one that looked to have shaved parmesan on top . . . as well as some that are prepared as 'pizzas'. I doubt very much that is the traditional way to serve it though. It seems to be meant as a simple bread, perhaps served with olive oil, but mainly enjoyed on its own. Thanks for opening my eyes to this.

[buttertart]

I've heard about socca for years (living in Berkeley at the onset of the "gourmet revolution" one tended to pick up on things) but never made it - successful or no? Worthwhile? I understand it has to be a bit scorched to be comme il faut.

[mariacarmen]

i've had it a few times, never super crispy tho. rather like a stiffish pancake. A little too dense for my taste.

[Harters]

Socca was successful. At least we think it was. Sort of pancake texture but much thicker (Brits might understand if I say even thicker than a Staffordshire oatcake - although even that's a bit regional). And quite oily.

Glad we've done it but no great rush to repeat it. Now the bargazan - that's an absolute keeper.

[mariacarmen]

was yours a bit oily? i've only had it in Berkely, CA, and it was a bit oily, which i don't hold against it..... but i didn't love it.

[buttertart]

And the barzagan recipe, sir?

[mariacarmen]

hah - i copied it down from his post on the old thread:

"a salad of bulgar wheat, caulflower, radish, hazelnuts, pinenuts and walnuts - in a dressing of olive oil, pomegranate syrup, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, tomato puree and lemon juice & zest."

i was going to make it tonight, but got sidetracked by cauliflower fritters and an asian slaw.

[buttertart]

Thanks mc2, that sounds excellent - like an Egyptian salad we used to get at a place on the Upper East Side here a while ago (plus beaucoup garlic).
We had YOUR pernil - absolutely delicious but not as garlicky as I expected, despite the 14 cloves. Wonder if there's a non-nasty dehydrated garlic out there I could use to get it to anti-vampire level. With: Cold asparagus soup to start, bulgur pilaf, and very nice fresh artichokes with sour cream with shallots and salt and pepper in it with the roast. roxlet's fab lemon meringue pie to finish.

[mariacarmen]

hmmm, i wonder why not so garlicky? tho maybe because of slow cooking it mellows, so not the bite you expected. glad you enjoyed anyway. is the sour cream stuffed between the choke's leaves, or is that a dipping sauce?

[buttertart]

Dipping sauce. It's modeled on one I read about in Elle magazine about a century ago (when we lived in Berkeley!) - that was made with creme fraiche. When feeling virtuous I use fat-free Greek yogurt, but hey, it was Easter!

[mariacarmen]

so it's just sour cream, minced shallots, salt and pepper?

[buttertart]

Yes'm, and quite tasty at that.

[buttertart]

Made dynamite tacos last night with some of the pork fried up a bit and fresh guac and pico, yum yum yum. The garlic is (pleasantly) more evident when it's cold.

[mariacarmen]

isn't that the BEST for tacos? it's really my sole reason for making it.

[buttertart]

Love it. Your recipe is mine for good now!

[JungMann]

When I've had socca, I've eaten it as a filled crepe. It's particularly good with a thickish lamb stew. The chickpea flour is lends itself to myriad palates: Provençal, Spanish, North African or even Indian.

[chef chicklet]

May I? Thank you my friend!

Rabaja, LindaWhit, PhurstLuv, MariaCarmen and onceadaylily - Thank you - all for such kinds words, and I appreciate every single one of them! We are celebrating Saturday night..

For the popovers I very quickly found a recipe on line, I wasn't able to take time searching here on CH with Alex home today, so I found one crossed my fingers and used it. I am going to guess when I say that they turned out fairly well.

The recipe, 1 cup of ap flour, 1 1/4 c milk, 1T melted butter and extra butter for the po tin, a teensy bit of salt, 2 eggs whipped well, and then mixed the other ingredients into that. Into a preheated oven 450F for 15 mins, then reduced the heat to 350F for 20 more mins. Crispy exterior, and sort of softish in the middle?? I am thinking this is as they should be?

I ate mine with butter and apple jelly, totally yummy. The recipe only made 5 but read that it was enough for 6 and I did fill the cups correctly, 3/4 way up. The sixth one was really puney, so I tossed it. Perhaps filling 3/4 was incorrect, but once baked they seemed to be perfect and pretty. The little hint of making an incision or two on the sides once you remove them from the oven was very good information and it did keep them from falling over or into themeselves.

For popover sandwiches, I read about that online, about a restaurant in New York that served these terrific sandwiches on giant popovers, they sounded so wonderful I made a mental note to make them one day.

http://newyork.seriouseats.com/2010/0...

I think a sandwich on a popover seems terrific, I will give it a go one of these days. I probably will use a chicken salad or tuna as a first try, maybe though it would be too squishy. I better think it through!

Considering my busy little companion and the fact that I was really tired for some reason, here's a few pix of what I was up to this afternoon - as you see dinner was on the lighter side today.

[mariacarmen]

my favorite thing we used to do with popovers was spread them while hot with orange honey butter. OH GOD, to die for. i could see the sandwiches being good with a smear of goat cheese, or brie and jelly..... i think, for me, anything heavier would overpower the lovely delicacy of the popover. Thanks CC!!! my BF's never had popovers (Fie!), so i'm going to have to make him some someday soon...... gaaaad, if i ever cook again.....

[onceadaylily]

Yes, you may, darling. And I think I might know what popover recipe you were looking for on CH. Because when CindyJ posted her recipe, I remember thinking that I had never made popovers, and maybe I should try my hand at them. *Yours* look gorgeous, though.

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/7722...

[BombayUpWithaTwist]

Both your popovers and soup look yummy!

[Phurstluv]

That sounds just like the recipe I used, even with the slit, etc. I must have gotten the recipe here, though I can't really remember. But I would make them again, they are so easy! Slathering them with butter, fruit jelly or honey sounds TO DIE FOR!!

[chef chicklet]

I just typed in popovers and got a recipe off the internet. Later looking more at recipes, I saw one from the FN of Alex Guarnaschelli, and her's is exactly the same. Actually it tasted not too eggy which was what my main concern was.(the last one stayed nice and tall all day too!)

Honestly, that popover tin with its tall cups, and bar like attachment to hold them together is one of the most intimidating things I've seen!

[Phurstluv]

I know! It took me over 2 years of it sitting in my cupboard before I was brave enough to use it!!

[mariacarmen]

i've only ever used large a muffin tin, and it worked great! i wonder if they're better with the tall cups.... probably less dense? although i never thought ours came out dense at all.... they just poofed up attractively, like souffles.....

[sunflwrsdh]

My husband made Cornell chicken on the grill tonight, and I made mashed potatoes with aged Gouda and buttermilk, along with mashed butternut squash and honey cornbread, which was from a mix, but was pretty good.

[BombayUpWithaTwist]

What is Cornell Chickend? Mashed with Gouda sounds really good :o)

[sunflwrsdh]

Cornell chicken is a grilled chicken with a "baste" I guess you would call it, made of cooking oil, an egg, cider vinegar, poultry seasoning and salt, all whisked together, and brushed on the chicken about every 5 minutes as you grill it. Mashed with gouda is really good!

[Phurstluv]

Wow. That. Sounds. Awesome. I've heard of Cornell chicken, but didn't really know the specifics of it, for some reason, I thought it involved a gravy? Wrong recipe, obviously. Will definitely give that a try this spring & summer. Thanks!

[BombayUpWithaTwist]

Thanks for explaining Cornell Chicken, it sounds interesting! Using vinegar & egg on chicken is so different!

[sunflwrsdh]

It smells heavenly on the grill, too!

[Phurstluv]

Wow, can't believe I'm the first to post, WOOHOO!! Anyway, thanks to my good friend, Chef Chicklet, I am trying out my TJ's chimichurri salmon. Now, if any of you know me, you know I am not a huge fan of salmon, unless it's smoked or cured. One son had fish sticks and mac and cheese, which he loves. The other was at a playdate and ate there so is not hungry. The DH is, surprisingly, home for dinner tonight (yeah, the one night I'm not making good stuff!!) so he's getting the rest of the meatloaf, since he loves it, and doesn't have the meat restriciton I do since it's Good Friday. So he's got a leftover baked potato with it, and I've made some packaged chicken & broccoli linguine to go with my fish, cuz I need something yummy on my plate in case I don't like the fish, and I will feel incredibly deprived if I don't!! Cuz that is how I roll, and my poor DH has to put up with me, he's a saint!!

Anyway, will let you all know what I thought of the salmon. Seriously, this is huge for me!!

[chef chicklet]

PL, I have to say my dh is so picky picky whenerver I make salmon. The other day I'd bought some at Costco that they were sampling. The salmon is in the frozen section and its got a sauce of paprika and I want to say olive oil. The little one loved it, so I bought it, I thought it was pretty good, but my dh as always just can't get used to it, but ate it anyway since I constantly remind him of the beneits.

[Phurstluv]

Glad to know I'm not the only one!! My husband won't even touch it, not even when smoked or cured either! Anyway, I was a good girl, and ate my portion. It was okay, I had to add some fresh lemon on it, but the chimichurri sauce was not as flavorful as it is when made fresh, so I doubt I'll buy it again, but I'll consider it my Penant Sacrifice for the season!! The cat will get the rest of it, that is, if he doesn't turn his nose up at it due to the sauce!!

[chef chicklet]

that's so funny!
What drives me wild, is he loves it raw - sushi/sashimi! Most of the sushi stuff he loves it! So how 'bout you? Is this it, only salmon the fish that you're not fond of?

Pretty laid back here in No Ca, watched The Kings Speech last night which was Amazing, and Country Strong this am. Gweneth was exceptional, one if her best. I love her in any Englishy old periods, this was different and good! I needed some good muffins or a coffee cake with it this morning!!!

[Phurstluv]

I just don't like strong tasting fish, my Mom ruined me in the seventies when she insisted on making salmon patties with the canned stuff, which is supposed to be SOOOO good for you, since there's tiny bones in it for calcium. AND, my Dad used to have an important client that took him out blue-fishing every summer, (even though my Dad hated it, he had to go) and then of course, being from a country where you don't waste a precious crumb of food, he'd come home with a bunch of bluefish and my Mom dutifully cooked it, but I doubt any of us girls ate it. So, I've never liked any strong tasting fish.

And with sushi, I usually just stick to ahi, I am too chicken to try salmon!!! I probably should, just so I know, but I'm a wimp, and the DH is not a huge sushi fan, so I usually get it by myself or with GFs. But don't get me near some gravlax or lox, b/c I'll eat it all day!! Funny how that works.

I can't wait to see "The King's Speech", everyone had told me how wonderful it is, and was not that interested in "Country Strong" but now that I know someone who's seen it, I'll tell the DH to put it on his rotation for videos by mail. Good to know, thanks, Sweetie!