LTH Home

What are you making for dinner tonite?

What are you making for dinner tonite?
  • Forum HomePost Reply BackTop
    Page 63 of 100
  • Post #1861 - May 1st, 2022, 8:09 pm
    Post #1861 - May 1st, 2022, 8:09 pm Post #1861 - May 1st, 2022, 8:09 pm
    Jazzfood wrote:He said "tugged pork".

    I grilled hot dogs and Italian Sausage tonight. Which, I promptly Tugged!

    click to enlarge
    Image

    Tugged, count me a Fan!
    Hold my beer . . .

    Low & Slow
  • Post #1862 - May 1st, 2022, 10:43 pm
    Post #1862 - May 1st, 2022, 10:43 pm Post #1862 - May 1st, 2022, 10:43 pm
    G Wiv wrote:
    Jazzfood wrote:He said "tugged pork".

    I grilled hot dogs and Italian Sausage tonight. Which, I promptly Tugged!

    click to enlarge
    Image

    Tugged, count me a Fan!

    Haha, yep! I tugged my pork and pulled my bone all on the same day. I was highly productive! :lol:

    Btw, the sausages look great, Gary!

    =R=
    Same planet, different world
  • Post #1863 - May 3rd, 2022, 6:16 pm
    Post #1863 - May 3rd, 2022, 6:16 pm Post #1863 - May 3rd, 2022, 6:16 pm
    It'd been a while since our last stir-fry but with rain falling and wind gusting, I scrapped my plans to fire up the grill and called an audible with some flank steak . . .

    Image
    Mise En Place & Hitohira Tanaka Kyuzo B#1 Migaki Gyuto, 240mm
    4x gelatinous pork stock, veg oil, oyster sauce, marinated flank steak, minced garlic, minced ginger (hiding), Shaoxing cooking wine, dark soy sauce, double-brewed soy sauce, red bell pepper, scallion bottoms, scallion tops and broccoli florets.

    Marinated the beef in a mixture of the liquids pictured -- minus the stock -- plus a light sprinkle of corn starch. From there, followed a fairly standard progression. Seared the beef first, then removed it until the end, when I added it back. Did my best to add the remaining ingredients so that everything was done at the same time, and so the finished dish had the desired sauciness. The concentrated stock is very gelatinous so it, plus the bit of corn starch in the marinade, helped greatly on that front.

    Image
    On The Platter
    Stir-fried flank steak, broccoli and bell pepper. I always prefer to get it out of the wok and onto a platter, so it stops cooking sooner and so I can quickly clean the wok before it sits too long.

    Image
    Plated Up
    With spicy cucumber salad that I made over the weekend and some leftover/reheated jasmine rice. Garnished with homemade, G Wiv-recipe chili oil, scallion greens and some toasted sesame seeds (gotta use them up before they go bad).

    =R=
    Same planet, different world
  • Post #1864 - May 5th, 2022, 7:01 am
    Post #1864 - May 5th, 2022, 7:01 am Post #1864 - May 5th, 2022, 7:01 am
    ronnie_suburban wrote:Stir-fried flank steak, broccoli and bell pepper.

    Looks terrific, one of Ellen's favorites.

    Salad for dinner. Warm spinach salad with mushroom, radish, onion, garlic, shallot, egg and lots of bacon. Dressing made with warm bacon fat. Tasty.

    click to enlarge
    Image

    Bacon, count me a Fan!
    Hold my beer . . .

    Low & Slow
  • Post #1865 - May 5th, 2022, 6:46 pm
    Post #1865 - May 5th, 2022, 6:46 pm Post #1865 - May 5th, 2022, 6:46 pm
    G Wiv wrote:Dressing made with warm bacon fat. Tasty.

    Yes sir, Senator! :)

    I was getting a bit twitchy because it had been well over a week since I'd cooked our #1 protein. :D So, I grilled up some chicken thighs tonight. But first, a little side-dishery . . .

    Image
    Green Bean Mise En Place & Hitohira Tanaka Kyuzo B#1 Migaki Gyuto, 240mm
    Minced garlic, salt, cold-pressed sesame oil, yuzu kosho and green beans. Not pictured was some outstanding Kishibori shoyu, which was a key part of the dish. Drizzling it around the edge of the hot wok during cooking imparts a sensational, complex flavor and it worked particularly well on green beans.

    My favorite knife retailer recently started carrying some Japanese pantry items, including a couple kinds of yuzu kosho. Of course, I ordered them (and will break them out soon) but seeing them reminded me that I had this little jar -- purchased a while back at Mitsuwa -- in the fridge. I waited until after I'd killed the heat to mix a bit in. It delivered a potently aromatic hit of salty, citrusy spiciness to the green beans.

    Image
    Stir-Fried Green Beans
    With garlic, shoyu and yuzu kosho. It was a really nice marriage between the garlic, the caramelized shoyu and the top note of the yuzu kosho.

    And let's not forget the bird . . .

    Image
    Grilling
    Used the ends of a couple of different rubs -- one homemade and one store-bought. Standard method -- about 27 minutes covered, indirect.

    Image
    Plated Up
    Charcoal-grilled chicken thighs, stir-fried green beans and a blob of the weekly slaw.

    =R=
    Same planet, different world
  • Post #1866 - May 6th, 2022, 6:59 pm
    Post #1866 - May 6th, 2022, 6:59 pm Post #1866 - May 6th, 2022, 6:59 pm
    Not dinner but a substantial part of my overall cooking day. This is the cutting/chopping/grating portion of another round of low-carb breakfast bombs. For a dish that is supposedly comprised primarily of leftovers, this is quite a bit of prep but since everyone around here loves them, I keep making them . . .

    Image
    Mise En Place, Hitohira Tanaka Kyuzo B#1 Migaki Gyuto, 240mm & Global Cheese Knife
    Diced jalapeno, scallion tops, scallion bottoms, red hot finger chiles, chives, mild cheddar, leftover breakfast sausage, Newsom 'Preacher' ham, sharp cheddar and aged sharp cheddar.

    Can't beat the skeletonized Global knife for soft cheeses. It handles them really well . . . nice, even cuts and very little mushing or sticking. In the end, the bars turned out as they always do, pretty darned good . . .

    Image
    Low-Carb Breakfast Bars
    aka Breakfast Bombs. I cut the 9x13" pan into 12 pieces, which should last through most of the week.

    Next up was the actual dinner prep, which started with some gussied up quinoa . . .

    Image
    Mise En Place & Hitohira Tanaka Kyuzo B#1 Migaki Gyuto, 240mm
    Quinoa, 4x gelatinous pork stock, evoo, fresh-aged shiitake mushrooms, yellow onion, salt, black pepper and minced garlic.

    The method I accidentally discovered for aging shiitakes -- trim, wash, dry, store in the fridge in a paper bag, forget about them for a few days -- leaves them in a slightly leathery state but quite pungent in aroma. For these, it's valuable to have a heavy, sharp knife because a lesser blade can sometimes slide off the caps, which get a bit tough on the exterior. Cooking them with the onions, garlic and stock (I also splashed in a little white wine), reconstitutes them into a nicely al dente state. From there, I added the entire mixture to the finished quinoa, which Mrs. Suburban cooked in the Zojirushi.

    Meanwhile, I was back at the grill. Time time, with some lamb chops . . .

    Image
    On The Platter
    Charcoal-grilled lamb chops. A couple of different styles of chop here -- round bone and blade bone -- both cut from different parts of the shoulder, I think.

    Image
    Plated Up
    Lamb chop, shiitake quinoa and a mache/arugula salad with homemade buttermilk dressing.

    =R=
    Same planet, different world
  • Post #1867 - May 7th, 2022, 9:06 am
    Post #1867 - May 7th, 2022, 9:06 am Post #1867 - May 7th, 2022, 9:06 am
    ronnie_suburban wrote:Can't beat the skeletonized Global knife for soft cheeses. It handles them really well

    I haven't used a serrated knife on cheese. Would it work well for making little blocks for a cheese tray or skewers?
    And in your cutlery collection, do you have one of these?Image
    Mundial Cheese Knife
    For when you really need to cut the cheese.

    Actually works well for cutting up big blocks of cheese, or for cutting pans of fudge into nice even cubes.
  • Post #1868 - May 7th, 2022, 10:24 am
    Post #1868 - May 7th, 2022, 10:24 am Post #1868 - May 7th, 2022, 10:24 am
    tjr wrote:
    ronnie_suburban wrote:Can't beat the skeletonized Global knife for soft cheeses. It handles them really well

    I haven't used a serrated knife on cheese. Would it work well for making little blocks for a cheese tray or skewers?
    And in your cutlery collection, do you have one of these?Image
    Mundial Cheese Knife
    For when you really need to cut the cheese.

    Actually works well for cutting up big blocks of cheese, or for cutting pans of fudge into nice even cubes.

    The serrations are helpful for getting through the rind but it's the open sides that really aid in cutting soft, mushy cheeses. So, yes. It's exactly the right knife for cutting cubes.

    I do not have a mundial cheese knife. Looks cool and I do like my knives but I rarely have occasion to divvy up pieces that large. When I do, a heavy 240mm gyuto (like the Kohetsu Addict, for example) does the job just fine. :)

    =R=
    Same planet, different world
  • Post #1869 - May 9th, 2022, 6:58 pm
    Post #1869 - May 9th, 2022, 6:58 pm Post #1869 - May 9th, 2022, 6:58 pm
    SausageFest! :lol:

    Started with the side dish. It felt weird making a cabbage dish with a freshly made batch of slaw in the fridge but that slaw left behind some remnants I wanted to use up and Mandy at Souped Up Recipes just posted a video for Hand Torn Cabbage, which looked great. Spoiler alert: it was! :D

    Image
    Cabbage Mise En Place & Hitohira Tanaka Kyuzo B#1 Migaki Gyuto, 210mm
    Cut + torn red & green cabbage, dried heaven-facing chiles, 5-year aged black vinegar, veg oil, sliced garlic, salt and Kishibori soy sauce.

    Cutlery lovers might raise an eyebrow at any dish that's torn. But fret not. In spite of the fact that the cabbage is ultimately torn, there was some cutting required. Because I used traditional western-style cabbage instead of Taiwanese cabbage, it was a lot more dense to begin with and definitely required some knife work.

    Image
    Hand Torn Cabbage
    In spite of using the firmer cabbage, this dish turned out great. Mandy continues to be a reliable, solid source for Chinese cooking instruction and guidance. I loved the way the soy and vinegar morphed into even more complex flavors when they hit the hot wok and caramelized. I'm certainly no expert when it comes to Chinese cooking but in my limited experience, this was one of the simplest Chinese preps I've encountered. Very few ingredients, and technique forward. To this relatively inexperienced home cook, this felt more Japanese in spirit. And in this case, less really was more. We loved this one.

    And of course, there cannot be a SausageFest without sausages . . .

    Image
    Grilling
    Cevaps and cured/smoked kielbasa. These all cooked indirect most of the way but I moved the kielbasas directly over the coals to finish them.

    Image
    On The Platter
    Charcoal-grilled cevaps and kielbasa.

    Image
    Plated Up
    With some spicy/sweet cucumber salad that I made over the weekend and the (near) end of some homemade cherry bomb sambal that I made last year.

    Happy Monday! :)

    =R=
    Same planet, different world
  • Post #1870 - May 11th, 2022, 6:11 pm
    Post #1870 - May 11th, 2022, 6:11 pm Post #1870 - May 11th, 2022, 6:11 pm
    It was back to the grill and wok again tonight. First up, the wok . . .

    Image
    Long Bean Mise En Place & Tanaka Blue #2 Gyuto, 210mm
    10-year-aged black vinegar, bell peppers, veg oil, Kishibori soy sauce, smashed/sliced garlic, ramp bottoms, ramp leaves and long beans. A ripping hot wok and a very rapid stir-fry . . .

    Image
    Stir-Fried Long Beans & Bell Peppers
    Got some really nice caramelization and great flavors on all of this.

    Next up, a couple of minor twists on grilled chicken . . .

    Image
    Grilling
    Went with leg quarters, as opposed to our beloved thighs. :shock: They were fine. The bigger twist is that I went with a kefir-based marinade (kefir, lemon juice, garlic, turmeric, coriander, cumin, black pepper and salt) rather than a dry rub. With the marinade, you're usually trading in a crispier skin for a more intense flavor throughout the bird. That was certainly the case here. It's really hard to crisp up a marinated chicken skin on the grill. I normally make this with yogurt but decided to give kefir a try this time. Next time, it'll be back to yogurt, which I prefer for its tanginess and intensity.

    Image
    Plated Up
    Charcoal-grilled leq quarter, stir-fried long beans and a blob of the Mothers' Day edition slaw.

    =R=
    Same planet, different world
  • Post #1871 - May 12th, 2022, 7:26 pm
    Post #1871 - May 12th, 2022, 7:26 pm Post #1871 - May 12th, 2022, 7:26 pm
    Sooner than later, I'm going to run my wok directly over the coals on my Weber kettle. However, it being in the low 90's, today was not the day to experiment with that. It's just too hot to be effing around out there. But because it's so fast, cooking a batch of mapo tofu inside didn't seem like it'd be too big a hassle (and as it turns out, it wasn't) . . .

    Image
    Mise En Place & Takamura Chromax Gyuto, 210mm
    Corn starch (for slurry), 4x gelatinous pork stock, coarsely ground pork, leeks & scallion bottoms, ramp bottoms, ramp tops, soft tofu, scallion tops, fermented black beans, granulated sugar, veg oil, pixian douban (aka broad bean paste), freshly ground Sichuan peppercorns, minced garlic and soy sauce.

    This is a mostly-faithful take on the recipe that appears in Fuchsia Dunlop's cookbook, Land Of Plenty. However, because it's season and I had them, I added the ramps (and dialed back the leeks) and I used the homemade pork stock instead of chicken because that's what I had on hand. Whenever I make this, I always have the corn starch and soy sauce at the ready but experience has taught me that they're not always necessary. The dish is inherently salty, so sometimes the soy sauce isn't necessary. And sometimes the 'sauce' is thick enough on its own that the corn starch slurry is superfluous. In this case, the soy wasn't necessary, so I left it out. I did use a wee bit of the corn starch slurry but I'm not sure it was really needed.

    Image
    Plated Up
    Mapo tofu with pork, spicy/sweet cucumber salad and a freshly cooked batch of jasmine rice from the rice cooker. I love this dish and really liked the way the ramps worked here. Maybe not the best allocation of such a precious commodity but I figured that as long as I had them, I might as well use them.

    =R=
    Same planet, different world
  • Post #1872 - May 13th, 2022, 4:04 pm
    Post #1872 - May 13th, 2022, 4:04 pm Post #1872 - May 13th, 2022, 4:04 pm
    I have been severely limited this week in what I can make. Jennie and I have tested positive for covid and a family has been bringing us food. I cannot ask this family member to go to a specialty store and get real ingredients ( when I asked her to get a jalapeno I had to describe the color and size and where it was in the store ), but actually did something new.

    Per Samin Nosrat in her book 'Salt Fat Acid Heat' I took a whole chicken and spatchcocked 24 hours in advance. I salted heavily on both sides and set in a rimmed sheet, uncovered, in the refrigerator for 24 hours or so. The bird first sweats liquid from the salting and then forms a brine on its surface which is then reabsorbed into the bird and after 24 hours you have totally dry skin.

    I grilled and it was a wonderful bird with great skin.
  • Post #1873 - May 13th, 2022, 7:30 pm
    Post #1873 - May 13th, 2022, 7:30 pm Post #1873 - May 13th, 2022, 7:30 pm
    Oh, Lou, I am sorry to hear you and Jennie are ill. I am trying to think of something I could make or bring to you to eat that would not take any effort on your part to stand up and cook.
    "Your swimming suit matches your eyes, you hold your nose before diving, loving you has made me bananas!"
  • Post #1874 - May 13th, 2022, 8:44 pm
    Post #1874 - May 13th, 2022, 8:44 pm Post #1874 - May 13th, 2022, 8:44 pm
    lougord99 wrote:I have been severely limited this week in what I can make. Jennie and I have tested positive for covid and a family has been bringing us food. I cannot ask this family member to go to a specialty store and get real ingredients ( when I asked her to get a jalapeno I had to describe the color and size and where it was in the store ), but actually did something new.

    Per Samin Nosrat in her book 'Salt Fat Acid Heat' I took a whole chicken and spatchcocked 24 hours in advance. I salted heavily on both sides and set in a rimmed sheet, uncovered, in the refrigerator for 24 hours or so. The bird first sweats liquid from the salting and then forms a brine on its surface which is then reabsorbed into the bird and after 24 hours you have totally dry skin.

    I grilled and it was a wonderful bird with great skin.

    Good to know you still have an appetite and that food's still tasting good to you. I hope you're well soon.

    =R=
    Same planet, different world
  • Post #1875 - May 14th, 2022, 5:29 am
    Post #1875 - May 14th, 2022, 5:29 am Post #1875 - May 14th, 2022, 5:29 am
    Thank you.

    I never had any symptoms and Jennie only had cold symptoms. I assume double boosted helped. We only tested because a co-worker of Jennie's tested positive. CDC says we can go out tomorrow.
  • Post #1876 - May 14th, 2022, 8:03 am
    Post #1876 - May 14th, 2022, 8:03 am Post #1876 - May 14th, 2022, 8:03 am
    lougord99 wrote:CDC says we can go out tomorrow.

    Glad you are on the mend.
    Hold my beer . . .

    Low & Slow
  • Post #1877 - May 14th, 2022, 6:06 pm
    Post #1877 - May 14th, 2022, 6:06 pm Post #1877 - May 14th, 2022, 6:06 pm
    Most of the day was taken up with a whole bunch of annoying choring that, with the exception of some seasonal garden prep and open-bottle liquor sorting, had nothing to do with food or cooking. After that, it was time for dinner prep . . .

    Image
    Mise En Place & Tanaka Blue #2 Gyuto, 210mm
    Deep breath . . . shoyu, veg oil, chicken thigh, Shaoxing cooking wine, broad bean paste (aka pixian douban), Chinese-inspired spice mix, ground Sichuan peppercorns, spicy soy bean sauce, ramp leaves, mung bean sprouts, red hot finger chiles, minced ginger, minced garlic, fermented black beans, snow peas, sliced shiitakes, ramp bottoms, 4x gelatinous pork stock and white pepper . . . exhale.

    Just winging it here, trying to use stuff up and hopefully, stumble upon a combination that worked well. That's why I didn't portion out a lot of these ingredients before I started; figured I'd just be tasting along the way and adding stuff on the fly. It worked out pretty well . . .

    Image
    Plated Up
    Stir-fried chicken with snow peas, ramps, shiitake mushrooms and bean sprouts. With leftover/reheated jasmine rice.

    =R=
    Same planet, different world
  • Post #1878 - May 15th, 2022, 6:19 pm
    Post #1878 - May 15th, 2022, 6:19 pm Post #1878 - May 15th, 2022, 6:19 pm
    Not by any conscious design, this was the third Chinese-inspired dish I cooked this week and the second Chinese-inspired chicken dish in as many days. This one, Sichuan-style cold, poached chicken -- which I love -- -- I've made a few times and had already decided on/shopped for earlier in the week. "My" method is nothing more than an aggregation of assorted guidance that I picked up from a few of my favorite youtube channels. It starts with poaching the chicken . . .

    Image
    Chicken Mise En Place & Tanaka Blue #2 Gyuto, 210mm
    Leg quarters, Shaoxing cooking wine, smashed ginger & garlic and leek tops & scallion bottoms. All this (just a few splashes of the Shaoxing) goes into a pot filled with cold water. Bring it to a boil for 15 minutes, kill the heat and let it sit for a few hours. Later, once the chicken was removed from it, I strained and heavily reduced the poaching liquid to use as a 'stock' later. I normally prefer a more neutral stock but even though this one's quite specific, it's really special, too.

    While that was going, I prepped the sauce/dressing and garnishes . . .

    Image
    Sauce Mise En Place & Tanaka Blue #2 Gyuto, 210mm
    Scallion greens, salt, minced garlic, cilantro leaves, Chinese celery leaves, minced ginger, roasted peanuts, Chinese celery ribs, freshly toasted/ground Sichuan peppercorns, Kishibori shoyu, granulated sugar, msg, gochugaru, homemade chili oil, sesame paste, 5-year-aged black vinegar and toasted sesame oil.

    Everything except for the peanuts, celery parts and some of the cilantro goes into the sauce/dressing. Those remaining components are used to garnish the dish. The sauce should not be emulsified but more of a loaded oil. This can be tough and I was only semi-successful because the sesame paste is a big-time emulsifier. Once the sauce is assembled, the prep is fairly simple. Remove the meat and skin from the bones and cut/tear it up as little or as much you want. From there, spoon over the sauce, garnish as desired and serve . . .

    Image
    Plated Up
    Sichuan-style cold, poached chicken with wedge of iceberg lettuce and leftover/reheated jasmine rice.

    =R=
    Same planet, different world
  • Post #1879 - May 15th, 2022, 9:02 pm
    Post #1879 - May 15th, 2022, 9:02 pm Post #1879 - May 15th, 2022, 9:02 pm
    Making me miss Snack Planet
    "In pursuit of joys untasted"
    from Giuseppe Verdi's La Traviata
  • Post #1880 - May 15th, 2022, 11:18 pm
    Post #1880 - May 15th, 2022, 11:18 pm Post #1880 - May 15th, 2022, 11:18 pm
    Jazzfood wrote:Making me miss Snack Planet

    Some of the ingredients have pretty distinct flavors, so it was reminiscent and pretty good though, hardly an exact match. But just like with a lot of things I've cooked lately, one of my goals is to replicate dishes that have disappeared or become difficult to find in the new paradigm. Sometimes I win, sometimes I lose but I feel like, either way, I'm learning, enjoying the process and keeping the family fed.

    =R=
    Same planet, different world
  • Post #1881 - May 16th, 2022, 6:23 am
    Post #1881 - May 16th, 2022, 6:23 am Post #1881 - May 16th, 2022, 6:23 am
    Jazzfood wrote:Making me miss Snack Planet

    Sometime ago, you mentioned they moved to the suburbs. I searched high and low at the time, but never came up with anything. Do you have any new information or is it simply gone?

    Thanks!

    Regards,
    CAthy2
    Cathy2

    "You'll be remembered long after you're dead if you make good gravy, mashed potatoes and biscuits." -- Nathalie Dupree
    Facebook, Twitter, Greater Midwest Foodways,
  • Post #1882 - May 16th, 2022, 8:14 am
    Post #1882 - May 16th, 2022, 8:14 am Post #1882 - May 16th, 2022, 8:14 am
    Jazzfood wrote:Making me miss Snack Planet

    Ditto

    A copy of Snack Planet's Szechuan Poached Chicken (Nanshan Spicy Chicken) shows up a few times a month at our house. Szechuan Poached Chicken

    All components, even the poached chicken (princess chicken at the BBQ kiosk) are readily available at Richwell Market on Dempster. Though, without a doubt, self-poached as Ronnie did, is tastier.

    Richwell Market
    6120 W. Dempster St.
    Morton Grove, IL. 60042
    847-966-0637
    Hold my beer . . .

    Low & Slow
  • Post #1883 - May 16th, 2022, 11:19 am
    Post #1883 - May 16th, 2022, 11:19 am Post #1883 - May 16th, 2022, 11:19 am
    G Wiv wrote:
    Jazzfood wrote:Making me miss Snack Planet

    Ditto

    A copy of Snack Planet's Szechuan Poached Chicken (Nanshan Spicy Chicken) shows up a few times a month at our house. Szechuan Poached Chicken

    All components, even the poached chicken (princess chicken at the BBQ kiosk) are readily available at Richwell Market on Dempster. Though, without a doubt, self-poached as Ronnie did, is tastier.

    Richwell Market
    6120 W. Dempster St.
    Morton Grove, IL. 60042
    847-966-0637

    Yeah, Richwell has become one of my favorite places to shop. It's small in size but mighty in inventory. It's a real gem. And the 'Jason BBQ' kiosk is great, too. I've never purchased their Princess Chicken but the charsiu bbq pork is excellent.

    Doubt that poaching my own is any better than a pro version but having the leftover poaching liquid is a beautiful thing. I strained, then reduced yesterday's batch down to a dark and gelatinous quart. It'll be great in some upcoming stir-fries, etc.

    =R=
    Same planet, different world
  • Post #1884 - May 16th, 2022, 6:30 pm
    Post #1884 - May 16th, 2022, 6:30 pm Post #1884 - May 16th, 2022, 6:30 pm
    Spring has (unofficially) sprung! :)

    Quickie, grilled dinner tonight featuring my all-time second (or third)* favorite seasonal produce . . .

    Image
    Grilling
    Trimmed, peeled at the bottom, lightly olive-oiled and salted. These took about 10 minutes, covered, on the indirect side.

    Image
    Grilled Asparagus
    Just a beautiful first batch of the season and so sweet, too.

    There was also flank steak but the asparagus was so good, it was kind of an afterthought . . .

    Image
    Plated Up
    Charcoal-grilled asparagus and flank steak with a blob of the weekly slaw.

    *Corn and asparagus can battle for the #2 spot but tomatoes will always be #1 in my book.

    Happy Monday! :)

    =R=
    Same planet, different world
  • Post #1885 - May 17th, 2022, 6:06 pm
    Post #1885 - May 17th, 2022, 6:06 pm Post #1885 - May 17th, 2022, 6:06 pm
    Back into it. CDC said I could go out on Saturday. Never had any symptoms and started back out yesterday.
    ImageNot Mapo Tofu.

    Tofu is fried and not simmered in hot water.
  • Post #1886 - May 17th, 2022, 6:47 pm
    Post #1886 - May 17th, 2022, 6:47 pm Post #1886 - May 17th, 2022, 6:47 pm
    lougord99 wrote:Back into it. CDC said I could go out on Saturday. Never had any symptoms and started back out yesterday.

    Not Mapo Tofu.

    Tofu is fried and not simmered in hot water.

    Good for you. Very happy to hear it. :)

    For us, wild king salmon on the Weber kettle . . .

    Image
    Salmon Mise En Place
    Cold-pressed sesame oil, wild king salmon, seaweed salt, togarashi and granulated shallots. Rubbed the salmon with the oil, then seasoned it up lightly with the 3 dry ingredients. This togarashi is the best I've ever tasted. It's spicy, flavorful and indescribably aromatic.

    For a side, a quickie but new/old favorite, steamed broccoli with miso butter . . .

    Image
    Broccoli Mise En Place & Nakagawa Hamono Ginsan Gyuto, 240mm
    Unsalted butter, broccoli florets and shiro miso. I love this simple prep. Rarely do three ingredients come together like these to pack such a pronounced punch. Was sorry I only had broccoli (and later, chives) to cut up because I just sharpened this knife and it is screaming sharp right now.

    Image
    Plated Up
    Charcoal-grilled salmon with steamed broccoli & miso butter. Leftover/reheated jasmine rice. On the plus side, I actually managed to create an emulsion with the miso butter. On the minus side, the fish cooked a bit hot and oozed some albumin (I was impatient and didn't wait for the fire to die down). It still tasted great and at least I was able to pull it nice and early, so it didn't overcook.

    =R=
    Same planet, different world
  • Post #1887 - May 19th, 2022, 6:47 pm
    Post #1887 - May 19th, 2022, 6:47 pm Post #1887 - May 19th, 2022, 6:47 pm
    Burger night. Got caught in indecision between patty melts and Oklahoma onion burgers, so stumbled into an odd but tasty hybrid . . .

    Image
    Mise En Place & Nakagawa Hamono Ginsan Gyuto, 240mm
    Unsalted butter, yellow onions, Polish rye bread, smashed beef patties, shredded lettuce, homemade garlic/dill pickles, 'Merikan cheese, salt and black pepper.

    Naturally, there was also more asparagus, because the avalanche is upon us . . .

    Image
    Steamed & Chilled Asparagus
    Dressed with beurre (almost) blanc. I say 'almost' because the white wine vinegar I started with was pretty dark. But it turned out really well and held its emulsion.

    Image
    Plated Up
    Oklahoma-ish Patty (sort of) Melt. Asparagus never made it to my plate. I just ate it with my fingers right off the platter. Hey, I'm not proud! :lol:

    =R=
    Same planet, different world
  • Post #1888 - May 21st, 2022, 12:49 pm
    Post #1888 - May 21st, 2022, 12:49 pm Post #1888 - May 21st, 2022, 12:49 pm
    As the sun rises in the east, so too comes our most mainstay side dish, the weekly slaw . . .

    Image
    Green Cabbage, Carrot & Konosuke Fujiyama B#1 Damascus Gyuto, 240mm

    =R=
    Same planet, different world
  • Post #1889 - May 22nd, 2022, 6:42 pm
    Post #1889 - May 22nd, 2022, 6:42 pm Post #1889 - May 22nd, 2022, 6:42 pm
    The weather is just perfect -- sunny, low 60's, light breeze -- so, another glorious night at the Weber . . .

    Image
    Flank Steak
    All told, I think this took about 10 minutes. Cooked it direct the whole way and just kept it moving throughout.

    There was also a bit of side-dishery . . .

    Image
    Sauteed Zucchini
    In evoo, with some leftover carrot, salt, black pepper and plenty of minced garlic. Garnished with chives.

    Image
    Plated Up
    Charcoal-grilled flank steak, sauteed zucchini and a blob of the weekly slaw.

    =R=
    Same planet, different world
  • Post #1890 - May 22nd, 2022, 10:04 pm
    Post #1890 - May 22nd, 2022, 10:04 pm Post #1890 - May 22nd, 2022, 10:04 pm
    Friday was pizza night. Recent sales on hot capicolla and mushrooms led to, you guessed it, mushroom & capicolla:Image
    Today we had a post-graduation meal at the Saddle Club in Hoffman Estates. Pickled pears on the cheese board led to a request to make pickled pears. After looking over several blog recipes, some that sounded too sweet, some way too large for an experiment, I worked out this one:
    Simmer
    1/2 c cider vinegar
    1/2 c water
    1/4 c sugar
    1/2 tsp canning & pickling salt
    3 cloves
    1" piece Ceylon cinnamon stick
    1/4 tsp black peppercorns
    1/4 tsp whole yellow mustard seed
    1 green cardamom pod
    Peel and slice
    1 pear (I used red Anjou)
    Place pear slices in 1 pint jar. Pour over brine. Refrigerate.

    We'll see how they taste in a couple days.

Contact

About

Team

Advertize

Close

Chat

Articles

Guide

Events

more