What’s For Dinner #87 - the Holiday Menu Planning Edition - November 2022

Last night at my sister’s, we made a Leite’s Culinaria recipe originally for skate, but changed at some point to sole (and the friend who gave me the recipe used cod, which is what i used too, in a saffron cream sauce. So good! Sauteed veggies were leeks, shallots, yellow bell peppers, and I added zucchini because my sister had a ton left. She had the great idea that fennel would have been a good addition, either to the veggies or steeped in the cream sauce, so next time. I also made crash hot potatoes again, but they got super charred (almost burned!) in the first 20 minutes because my sister’s oven was apparently set to convection. I don’t mind char, and at they were really crispy this time. I’d make this whole dinner again.

the recipe isn’t online, so if anyone’s interested, with my notes…

Leite Culinaria’s Fish (skate, sole, cod, etc.) in Saffron Broth

For the Saffron Broth

• 2 cups low salt chicken or seafood stock
• 1 cup heavy cream
• ¼ teaspoon saffron – crushed
• Kosher salt and freshly ground white pepper
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 6 medium leeks, white and pale green parts only. Halved lengthwise, sliced into ¼” half-moons, rinsed and drained well
• 2 tablespoons minced shallot
• 1 Yellow bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and cut into ¼” squares (I added diced, sauteed zucchini)
• Kosher salt and freshly ground white pepper
• 2 ½ lbs. of sole fillets
• Kosher salt and freshly ground white pepper
• All-purpose flour for dredging
• 2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil
• Freshly chopped flat leaf parsley

  1. Combine the stock, cream and saffron in a small sauce pan and bring almost to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until reduced to about 1 ½ cups – about 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt and white pepper. Keep warm.
  2. Heat the oven to warm. Slide into the oven a sheet pan with a rack.
  3. Heat the butter in a medium sized skillet or sauté pan over a medium heat until the foam subsides. Add the leeks and shallots and cook, stirring frequently until softened, about 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in the yellow bell pepper and cook another 2 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Scrape into a small bowl and cover to keep warm.
  4. Heat the olive oil in a large non-stick fry pan over a medium to high heat. Pat the sole fillets dry with a paper towel and season lightly with salt and pepper. Dredge them in the flour, shaking off the excess flour. Add the fillets to the hot oil and sear them in batches – 2 minutes or so on each side. {I finished with a chunk of butter) Transfer the sauteed fillets to the rack in the oven to keep them warm while you finish the rest of the fish, adding more oil if necessary.
  5. To serve, spoon the vegetables into bowls. Pour the saffron broth on top of and around the vegetables. Place the sole fillets on the vegetables and then sprinkle the chopped parsley on top.
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It was 75+ degrees here today, so I have been out in shorts and a t-shirt smoking ribs. In fact, I’m still doing it, just in the dark since 4:45 or so :face_with_symbols_over_mouth::face_with_symbols_over_mouth::face_with_symbols_over_mouth::face_with_symbols_over_mouth::face_with_symbols_over_mouth:. Really hate standard time. At least the ribs should be good!

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That sounds and looks amazing mc!! Are you fully recovered? When are you going to tell us about Barcelona?

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Sauteed sausage, roasted broccoli, and penne in a garlicky-herby Parma-ish sauce. Knorr’s garlic and herb sauce packet with 1%, heavy cream, white wine, TPSTOH, a pinch of Aleppo pepper, and a half cup of tomato sauce make a tasty, quick sauce. A schprinkle of grated Parm-Reg on top.

Wine.

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Pasta and beans, with pecorino, thyme, and olive oil.

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Holy moly, the skies opened up this afternoon and dumped apstor on me. I have a river running down my driveway.
Lots of pasta tonight. My dinner was spaghetti and meatballs. Garlic bread, mixed greens and veg salad, oo&v dressing. Wine to soothe the nerves.

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Burger night on the grill. Wagyu beef with garden veg and bakery pub buns.

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This looks so comforting and delicious!

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Last Night’s Halftime dinner was Hot Dog Soup. I modified a “Glen and Friends cooking” recipe. I assembled it during commercial breaks during last night’s game, let it simmer a bit and served at Halftime. It’s actually quite good and filling. Oh and its pink because I add Chamoy sauce to it.

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Lamb feast with a buddy. My sweets marinated the chops for 48 hours and grilled them perfectly MR. I made tzatziki, Greek lemon potatoes & Greek salad, our friend brought a vanilla bundt for dessert.

The Botanist martinis with grilled olives to start. I used the Pioneer Woman’s recipe for the lemon potatoes, and that just might become my standard from now on. The potatoes came out perfectly.






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Lemon potatoes! Fabulous idea and I look forward to trying it. Your pictures look beautiful too.

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Not mine, but a standard Greek side. This is the recipe I used and liked very much, but there are tons out there. The ingredients are usually the same, give or take: olive oil, garlic (fresh or powder), oregano (fresh or dried), lemon juice, salt, chicken broth. You can tweak to your liking - I’m big on lemon so I might add just a bit more next time, although I thought the proportions were well-balanced :slight_smile:

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After you mentioned the Pioneer Woman site in your first post, I did visit the site. It’s interesting that most of the few reviewers on that site have not actually made the recipe yet! Your positive experience with it increases my confidence to try it out.

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That all looks delicious!

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Thank you, it really was :slight_smile:

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Ellie Krieger has a version where she add beans part way through and feta at the end. It’s good stuff.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/recipes/lemon-potatoes-beans-and-feta/17481/

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Trying to catch up on the October and November threads.

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Mexican Pork Tinga Rice and Zucchini with Cream - Pork tinga was made by braising diced pork butt with onion, garlic, chipotle in adobo, oregano and thyme in a mixture of chicken broth and tomato sauce in the oven and for the last 30 minutes you add and cook rice so that it nicely soaks up the flavors. As the side vegetable dish we used a Diana Kennedy recipe where you throw together diced zucchini, tomatoes, peppercorn, cilantro, mint, cinnamon stick, cloves, chili and creme fraiche and simply cook it for 30 minutes.

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Meanwhile, it’s 37 today in my corner of WA state, and it’s been snowing on and off today (first snow of the season). Yesterday’s dinner was very apropos (but no pix). Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and mushroom gravy.

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