Show Us Your Dinner! (Home Cooking ONLY please!)

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What meat does it resemble most, that most Americans can get a hold of? We can get bison, or elk, or other meats.

I'm developing a taste for Nigerian Goat Soup (with fufu) sometime in the near future. I gues that I will have to make some nice ginger beer to go with it.

Enjoy,
Rich P
It's very close in flavor and texture to lean beef, but a bit more full flavored and generally tougher in its texture. I always braise it here which I like it very much. I also eat a lot of goat here as well. Beef is super expensive and of a lower quality here IMO, so I usually cook buffalo or goat for my red meat fix. I have a traditional market here in town so everything is always very fresh. I'll be cooking again this afternoon. My girlfriend and I always cook at the weekends.

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Except for the toughness, what you describe might lend itself to the use of a nice Texas tri-tip. I am familiar with the spice pallets of several neighboring peoples. Let me explore and see what I can discover with the Indonesian inspiration you have caused...

Enjoy,
Rich P
 
Pad Thai

This is one of our go-to meals around here. Her-Heidiness has it down to an art. I make the sauce, and she brings the dish to life. It has received a stamp of approval from my Lao friend, Ek. And he does not give such approval easily.

Special rice noodles, scrambled egg (with garlic and soy sauce), cubed chicken thigh meat, chunks of kosher crab (surimi, fish that has been processed to imitate the look, taste and texture of crab meat), and Pad Thai sauce (water, tamarind paste, Vietnamese palm sugar, Vietnamese fish sauce (Red Boat), and sea salt), scallions (whole and chopped), chopped fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped peanuts, fresh-squeezed lime juice, mung bean sprouts, and powdered Thai dragon chilis (from our garden).

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Enjoy,
Rich
 
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Japanese Joy

As you know, nigiri sushi is a form of art. However, in trimming the fish for the proper shape, one winds up with all kinds of bits, odds, and ends. I believe that this dish was developed to use these bits of perfectly good seafood. In any case, this is one of my favorite dishes when I go to a sushi bar. I do get powerful hankerings these days, and I just have to have whatever it is that is calling to me. Without my local fish monger, we would have to settle for whatever is in the frozen section at the supermarket. This fellow gets 2 - 3 deliveries of fresh fish each day, and it generally heads straight out the door. He did have some nice selections when I arrived, so I splurged.

Now for the dinner:

First, Miso Soup: cubes of extra firm tofu (pan-fried in a caste-iron skillet, in a small amount of peanut oil), and sliced scallions, in a broth consisting of shiro miso paste in dashi (clear broth made from dehydrated shiitake mushrooms, kelp, and shaved bonito).

Next, edamame (blanched young soy beans, in their pods), dusted with sea salt.

Next, some tasty nasturtiums (spicy, edible flowers), which are most abundant out in the garden right now.

Next, sliced shiitake mushrooms (from making the dashi), splashed with soy sauce, and dusted with toasted and crushed sesame seeds.

Next, Japanese shishito peppers, caramelized in a caste-iron skillet with a small amount of peanut oil. These are then splashed with toasted sesame oil and toasted and crushed sesame seeds.

Next, a bowl of Japanese short-grained rice, sprinkled with black sesame seeds.

Finally, Baked Seafood Dynamite: slices of Chilean sea bass, Scottish salmon, Ahi tuna, kosher crab (surimi, fish that has been processed to imitate the look, taste and texture of crab meat), and Crimini mushrooms. These are adorned with strips of fresh scallion, and slathered with a special sauce, consisting of mayonnaise, sriracha (a red pepper/garlic sauce), Vietnamese fish sauce (Red Boat), fresh-squeezed lime juice, and a bit of sugar. The results are then baked until the sauce caramelizes, using only the top element in the oven. On top, we had some fresh onion chives from the garden out back.

Of course, this was all washed down with some nice grapefruit juice and vodka.

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Enjoy,
Rich P

Very nice. I'm now extremely hungry for Japanese cuisine. My herb garden is showing signs of life now and chives are the first thing to pop up.
 
Leftovers, Asian Style

Here are two ways to deal with leftovers in tasty ways. Sometimes one just does not want to put out the effort for something complicated. These were satisfying and very tasty. Please note that I intended to put chucks of kosher crab in the egg foo young, but forgot. We did not miss it, but will have to find another use for it, before it goes bad.

First, ad hoc fried rice: leftover Japanese short-grained rice, sliced Japanese shishito peppers, sliced sweet red pepper, sliced scallion whites, gochugaru (Korean red pepper flakes), fresh-ground black pepper, toasted and crushed sesame seeds, sea salt, all fried in peanut oil.

Finally, ad hoc egg foo young: Scrambled eggs, sliced crimini mushrooms, chopped scallion greens, and mung bean sprouts, all pan-fried in hot olive oil (best for eggs), and drenched in egg foo young sauce (a browned roux of flour and butter, reduced chicken broth, soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, and ground white pepper).

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Enjoy,
Rich P
 
A half pork loin stuffed with yellow, green, and orange bell peppers and plenty of mozarella cheese. Statement from my four-year-old son prior to me placing it in the broiler: "That's a monster body!" My under-the-weather wife (flu) and I had a hell of a laugh. :rflmao:

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A half pork loin stuffed with yellow, green, and orange bell peppers and plenty of mozarella cheese. Statement from my four-year-old son prior to placing it in the broiler: "That's a monster body!" My under-the-weather wife (flu) and I had a hell of a laugh. :rflmao:

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Just did pork loin also, no pics though. Did it in my set it and forget it little oven with salt,pepper,adobo,garlic powder. Made spicy yellow rice with home grown ghost peppers, and salad.
 
... Made spicy yellow rice with home grown ghost peppers...
Home grown?! Yowza! The fact that you don't have to go to the store sort of lessens the fear of the beatdown your taste buds are about to receive as there is no trip, search, selection, line, check out, and trip back home prior to indulging. I like food with a little bit of inrigue. Combining the peppers with the unexpected rice versus the expected meat and the sky-high number of scoville units in the chilis (1,041,427 per wikipedia) prompts adventurous types to race to the table. I hope everyone is enjoying (or has enjoyed) the meal.
 
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Home grown?! Yowza! The fact that you don't have to go to the store sort of lessens the fear of the beatdown your taste buds are about to receive as their is no trip, search, selection, line, check out, and trip back home prior to indulging. I like food with a little bit of inrigue. Combining the peppers with the unexpected rice versus the expected meat and the sky-high number of scoville units in the chilis (1,041,427 per wikipedia) prompts adventurous types to race to the table. I hope everyone is enjoying (or has enjoyed) the meal.

Yes everyone enjoyed it. We use a slice or two of the pepper, so it's not overly hot to the taste buds. Sits nicely with a nice after taste, and just the right amount of heat. BUT, you need to make sure you take them out after cooking, as it's not a fun time biting into a slice and swallowing it afterwards.

We do 3 different types of peppers, 3 different types of mint, and several other veggies.
 
Braciole, Stuffed flank steak. I butterfly the flank then add what ever I can think of or have :). Just don't make it too thick. This one had Marinated artichoke hearts and roasted red peppers.
Capers, hot peppers and Asiago cheese also work well. Or spinach, Kale, Swiss chard, red onion could be endless combinations.

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Except for the toughness, what you describe might lend itself to the use of a nice Texas tri-tip. I am familiar with the spice pallets of several neighboring peoples. Let me explore and see what I can discover with the Indonesian inspiration you have caused...

Enjoy,
Rich P

Sorry Rich as a 3rd get native Californian I must take exception to "Texas" Tri-tip and set the record straight :) It is clearly a California discovery, most likely the Santa Maria claim is accurate for no other reasons than the pervasiveness of Santa Maria BBQ in the Central Coast and I’m from Santa Barbara. When Texas and most every place else were still grinding tri-tip into HB it was a regional specialty. To this day you can get a fantastic tri-tip sandwich at gas stations, car washes and roadside stands. Just follow your nose to the aroma of beef on oak and enjoy.
 
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Sorry Rich as a 3rd get native Californian I must take exception to "Texas" Tri-tip and set the record straight :) It is clearly a California discovery, most likely the Santa Maria claim is accurate for no other reasons than the pervasiveness of Santa Maria BBQ in the Central Coast and I’m from Santa Barbara. When Texas and most every place else were still grinding tri-tip into HB it was a regional specialty. To this day you can get a fantastic tri-tip sandwich at gas stations, car washes and roadside stands. Just follow your nose to the aroma of beef on oak and enjoy.
Yes, Santa Maria Tri tip. Speaking of following the aroma on the streets, I miss those south of the boarder style bacon wrapped hotdogs...roasted onions and hot peppers.
 
Beans and Hushpuppies

This is getting pretty close to my roots. Due to a variety of early life events, my sisters and I wound up being raised by my maternal grandparents. They lived through the Great Depression, and developed the taste for the foods that kept them going during those days. This one was fairly regular fare, but, as I am generally wont to do, I have tweaked it. For example, instead of the ubiquitous cornbread, I opted for hushpuppies. I also modified the simple recipe for the beans, and changed the meat used.

This hushpuppy recipe is new for me, and the results were the best hushpuppies I have ever had. Normally, hushpuppies are a bit dense, but tasty. These turned out to be light and fluffy, like savory doughnuts, but with a nice, crispy outer crust.

Now...the hushpuppies: cornmeal, all-purpose flour, baking powder, sugar, sea salt, baking soda, buttermilk, lightly beaten egg (from the girls out back), finely chopped onion, and corn oil. Hushpuppy size and oil temp are critical here.

Finally, the ranch-style beans: pinto beans, cubed beef bacon (Brother and Sister brand), chopped onion, chopped jalapenos, minced garlic, sea salt, fresh-ground black pepper, and water.

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Enjoy,
Rich P
 
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