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

And a re-up of some of my favourites that were lost in the Great Photobucket Arseholery of 2017.

Turbot, langoustines, and veg with hollandaise

[/url


Spaghetti vongole

[url=https://flic.kr/p/XtNa4n]



Last new year's main course was côte de boeuf with a mixed roots puré, glazed carrots and shallots (which got "a little" dark because we forgot to turn the stove off while we were out watching the fireworks), and a truffle beurre rouge




Braised cabbage with pork belly, and sausages. It's not pretty, but the taste is awesome!




Greenland halibut, Jerusalem artichoke puré, sautéed kale, caper beurre blanc

[/url]
 
Tonight pretty simple...

Gonna try this fresh from the oven peasant loaf with some olive oil and balsamic and olive oil and black pepper dipping. Not sure it will work with that stuff considering a little rye and a little whole wheat in there. All else fails some butter.... :)

20171010_192213.jpg
 
Korean Challenge

A couple of weeks back, I showed you the results of my Vietnamese Pho (beef noodle soup) test, by my good friend from Laos. If something is not authentic or tasty, he will speak up frankly. I got a solid 'A.' He was actually concerned that I would not want to go to his house for Pho, after tasting mine. I was greatly honored.

During the dinner, the topic of other Asian foods came up. He boldly stated that he does not like Japanese or Korean food. I interpret such kinds of statement as righteous challenges. Hence, I have asked him to come and teach me how to make his iconic "Ek Rolls." His name is Ek, and he used to sell his egg rolls by the hundreds at the workplace that we shared. In exchange, I said I would do up the dog [sic] and make him and his wife an excellent dinner. What I did not tell him was that the dinner will be entirely Korean. Let's just say, that I love making people happy with food, and expanding their horizons is part of that task.

In preparation for the Korean challenge, I invited a couple of our best friends over, to try out my intended Korean offerings. I wanted to make sure that they were tasty, before presenting them to Ek. Let's just say that there was very little left over, and I had been in the kitchen for many hours. The results were quite encouraging.

Before we go on, here is a list of generally unfamiliar ingredients: Moo (Korean white radish, generally 2 - 3 lbs each), Kombu (a special Japanese species of kelp), Gochugaru (coarse ground red Korean chile, essential in Korean cooking, and purchased in large bags),

For the test meal, I was limited to "gluten free" for one of our friends. Working around such complications is a good exercise for a chef. Also, I tapped my comfort with Asian spice pallets, and tweaked the recipes, to put my own stamp on each.

The main entree was a popular soup in Korea, Moo Guk (Beef and Radish Soup): beef brisket (guk), moo, onion, garlic, kombu, scallions, ginger, soy sauce (makes the results not gluten free), sesame oil, salt and pepper. For my gluten free friend, I offered a nice bowl of Pho, which is gluten free, since moo guk is not.

To go along with the Moo Guk, I prepared an eclectic selection of Banchan (Korean appetizers or side dishes):

Bean Sprout Salad (Kongnamul): mung bean sprouts, scallions, gochugaru, soy sauce (left out for gluten free), sesame oil, sesame seeds (roasted and crushed), garlic, Vietnamese fish sauce, and salt.

Mild Kimchi (from a jar, I found a good source for living kimchi)​

Moo Salad: moo, scallions, dressed with a special sauce (gochugaru, fish sauce, sugar, garlic, salt)​

Pink Radish Pickles: red radishes, pickled in a special sauce (rice vinegar, sugar, water, sea salt)​

Spinach salad: blanched baby spinach, in a special sauce (scallions, garlic, sea salt, sesame seeds (roasted and crushed), sesame oil)​

Fish Cake Dish: Korean fish cake, onion, multi-colors of sweet peppers, dressed in a special sauce (soy sauce, honey, rice wine, garlic, sesame oil)

Stir-Fried Potato Dish: Russet potatoes, red onion, carrots, sea salt, sesame seeds (roasted and crushed), black and white pepper)
MooGuk.jpeg

Pho.jpeg

Goodies.jpeg

PlatedGoodies.jpeg

I am confident that we are ready for Ek...

Enjoy,
Rich P
 
Last edited:
Korean Challenge (part two)

We did not have much left over from our Korean Challenge dinner. One way to use up leftover banchan (Korean side dishes) is a stone bowl dish called "Bibimbap". I figured, "in for a penny, in for a pound," so why not. I have to have something for breakfast, and this does have eggs in it...

To add to the leftovers (see my post up-thread), I made some fresh ingredients:

Specially marinated beef: thin-sliced and torn rib-eye, marinated in a special sauce (soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, garlic)

Sauteed carrots

Sauteed mushrooms​

Rice: I used a nice jasmine rice, cooked specially for the ability to crisp it up, and to have distinctly separate grains​

Bibimbap sauce: gochujang (special Korean chile paste), sesame oil, sugar, water, sesame seeds (roasted and crushed), rice vinegar, and garlic.​

This is most correctly prepared in hot stone bowls, but they are expensive, so I used cast-iron skillets. First, the bowls are coated with oil, leaving some in the bottom. The bowls are heated to a good heat, and the cooked rice is spread in the bottoms. Then, various items are arranged on top of the rice, while it is cooking. The rice on the bottom will crisp up like a Persian tadig. The ingredients arranged on top can vary, and we used what we had from last night: spinach salad, moo salad, stir-fried potatoes, bean sprout salad, and kimchi. To those we added the fresh ingredients listed above. Then the Bibimbap sauce was distributed between the arranged ingredients, and the results are topped with a fried egg. What a nice breakfast.

Bibimbap1.jpeg

Bibimbap2.jpeg

Enjoy,
Rich P
 
Last edited:
Looks awesome what are we talkin' burgundy, cream, sour cream? I can't buy non special organic mushrooms anymore. Really should try to grow them.
 
Carolina shrimp and grits

shrimp-and-grits.jpg
 
Quick Korean Rice Bowl

The cool thing about Korean banchan (side dishes) is that they are good at room temperature or even cold from the fridge. So, when I'm hungry, but lazy, all I need to do is start up the rice cooker, and bring out whatever banchan are waiting in the fridge, and...voila!...a tasty, nutritious meal with minimal effort. Behold:

KoreanIngredients.jpeg

KoreanSides.jpeg

KoreanRiceBowls.jpeg

Enjoy,
Rich P
 
Last edited:
First dish in the new braiser pan. Braised tri tip with roasted veggies (radish, parsnip, brussels sprouts, carrots) and of course mash potatoes. Not the choice cut of beef to use but still came out nice. Short ribs is best for this. Dishes are topped with a non-garlic gremolata (chopped flat leaf parsley, lemon zest). Came out very nice for a 3 hour braise. Longer is always better. :D

slow.jpg
 
London Broil Panini

Once in a while, one just gets a hankering for a good sandwich. Tonight was one of those times. First a nice mini-loaf of sesame-seeded bread, filled with goodies: shaved London broil; sauteed mushrooms, garlic and red onions; roasted and peeled pasilla chiles; sliced black olives; a sprinkle of rice wine vinegar; and a sauce, consisting of mayo, country dijon mustard, Thai fish sauce, sea salt, and black pepper.

To accompany the paninis, two-phase fried potato wedges.

PaniniPair.jpeg

Panini.jpeg

Enjoy,
Rich P
 
Last edited:
Asian Fusion

I was feeling adventurous tonight, so...

Sriracha/Lime Duck Legs, Yakisoba with fond from the duck confit, and my wife's cauliflower/cheese/horseradish dish.

SrirachaPair.jpeg

Sriracha2.jpeg

Enjoy,
Rich P
 
Shriveled Perdue natural carcass w teriyaki mayo. I like Perdue especially for their small size option. So much better than the big uns.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_1045.JPG
    IMG_1045.JPG
    91.1 KB · Views: 13
India/Persia Fusion

Tonight, we had some friends from Israel over. I love making people happy with food, so, of course, several hours of prep for the meal. This resulted in raised eyebrows and aahs all around.

First, south Indian Sambar: Toor dal (cooked apart, with turmeric and salt), with tempered spices (cumin seeds, black mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, asafetida, pasilla chile powder and curry leaves), chunks of heirloom red tomatoes, tamarind pulp, cauliflower, broccoli, baby carrot, chopped poblano chiles, sliced red radishes, and sambar powder (a collection of special spices).

Next, Chelow with Tadig (Persian rice with a golden crust): basmati rice cooked in several complicated stages, with cumin seeds. The crust is made by adding oil, Greek yogurt, and cumin seeds to a bottom layer in the Dutch oven, enhanced with cubes of European-style butter (less water, more butter fat).

Finally, Persian Tamarind Fish with Black Lime Butter and Chives: Cubes of Chilean sea bass, marinated in tamarind paste, turmeric, kalamata olive oil, and grated sweet onion. The fish is placed on soaked wood skewers, alternating with fresh bay leaves (they smoke on the grill, imparting a special facet of flavor), and basted with the marinade, and grilled. When the skewers are served, they are drizzled with a special sauce, consisting of a simmer of Persian black limes, verjuice (the juice of sour green grapes), fresh lime juice, fresh thyme, European butter and fresh chopped chives.

Our guests also brought a nice fresh salad (unknown but tasty ingredients), and a nice basbousba (an Egyptian cake). I will investigate these later.

Sambar.jpeg

Fish.jpeg

Salad.jpeg

cake.jpeg

Enjoy,
Rich P
 
Last edited:
Back
Top Bottom