What's For Dinner #40 - 12/2018 - The Hearth and Home Edition

I recently got a bottle of laoganma spicy chili crisp condiment and tried it for the first time. Good stuff! Made some noodles with the laoganma, following this recipe more or less:

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Frittata. Cleaning out the fridge . Wine to drink . A dry Riesling from Oregon. Gravel Bar 2015 Columbia valley. Cheers 20181221_221838|393x700

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Nice hour drive from San Francisco down the Pacific coast to Half Moon Bay, along CA hwy 1. Lots of surfers carving up the breaks off Ocean Beach. Not much seafood available on Johnson Pier (Pillar Point), only Dungeness Crab and Black Cod (Sablefish, Butterfish). Lucky for us, we love Black Cod.

Next front approaching. Batten down the hatches!

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Fishing weather has been less than optimal, not many boats venturing out, and Dungies were in short supply. The Bernice was selling crab by “Reservations Only”. The line for crab at the only other boat was longer than I’ve ever seen here. Dungeness crab is a Christmas Dinner tradition for many West Coasters. Some families will just have to settle for Safeway or Costco frozen this year. eek! :frowning:

The Lisa and the Northern Light were selling freshly caught Black Cod. We purchased four beauties from the Northern Light. The captain gave us a GREAT price on the fish, along with some interesting insight to the local Black Cod fishery. Although Black Cod are in our waters year round, each fishing vessel has a quota of only about 800 ~ 1,000 lbs per month. The fish hold in very deep waters, anywhere from 1,000 ft to over 1,500 ft. The fish do not have swim bladders (???), which explains why they don’t balloon up when pulled from the deep, and they don’t get bug-eyed like other deep harvested denizens.

Four 2 pounders. Two for dinner tonight, two more for the freezer to be savored later.

Tonight’s dinner now working in the oven. Scored and slathered with a mixture of garlic, serrano chiles, lemon, green onion, soy sauce and peanut oil. Black Cod is/was always a great tasty fish, even before Nobu put this simple fish on the culinary map.!

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Really enjoyed the snapshots!

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Thanks for taking us along!

I’ve only had sable smoked and love it. Would like to try it fresh!

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Seafood pot stickers and tofu with Chang’s Ssam sauce and leftover cauli rice pilaf.

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I strongly encourage to try it when you get a chance. It is one of our favorite fishies.

Simple dinner tonight.

A bowl of congee for starch. Stir Fried Taiwanese Cabbage with dried Sakura Shrimp, hand carried back from Taiwan. :slight_smile:

The Guests of Honor.

Rice, Fish and Vegetable. My perfect meal.

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Some noodles with Bolognese sauce.

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The crust on those potstickers is aspirational :heart_eyes:

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Last night’s ambition was for ordered-in tandoori chicken, butter chicken, dal makhni, and roomali roti - a family favorite takeout feast.

Then we started making cheese toast for the kids, the adults started circling, and everyone had cheese toast for dinner :rofl:

Vegetable sides varied by preference: sliced cucumbers, tomato salad, steamed green beans.

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Went to grocery store again to buy carrots, celery and fennel for wild boar Italian Stew but returning home, son says they are not going to stay for dinner, same as last night ( so NY strip for lunch yesterday will be for my poms and the mussels in the fridge since Thursday went into the trash. He does not seem to understand the I have to defrost most of my food which takes one day in refrigerator and that if I plan a red meat meal for them, they are not staying for dinner, 2 days in a row, ( perhaps tomorrow also?), food are wasted bec I cannot consume red meat!

Anyway, I will prepare the D’artagnan’s Italian wild boar stew as it is supposed to be better overnight , follow their recipe but will sear the meat on high heat using some duck fat and butter after dredging with sweet potato starch to give it a better crust as well as add flavor and thickens the final product.

Then I prepared a mirepoix of caramelized onions, anise, carrots, fennel;, celery , added D’artagnan’S 1.7 LB OF wild boar . Add around 1 cup of beef broth, 3 bay leaf, teaspoon full of and a cup of red wine, simmered for around 2 hours. After 2 hours, added a cup of cream, a teaspoon of fennel and simmered another hour.
pic #! mirepoix #2 browned wild boar #3 wild boar stew fuly8 cooked to be reheated and served with fettuccine

Will refrigerate and have it ready for their lunch or dinner wheneveiXkct1B9Sb68edYwVSiLBw

r they are going to eat at home

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So, with my son and his guest leaving for dinner out last night, I refrigerated the Italian wild boat stew for them and for my dinner had Costco’s D’Angelo’s Eggplant Parmesan cooked in microwaved for 18 minutes, then per suggestion, added more parmesan.
It was yummy and on sale, package of 2 (36 ounce for 11.49 minus 3.80) That comes to only 3.35/pack. I bought 2 packages of 4.
Review was good. It retails elsewhere smaller 30 ounce single pack for around 8.00.
The sale ends 12/24.
I wish I could go to Costco and stock up more.
I thought that with my son and his friend


eating out often and if I cooked red meat for them, I probably would not feel like cooking for myself.
On their way out. they tasted the parmigiana and loved it although going out for the night for dinner, they had almost half of it.

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The stew looks delicious! It should freeze well if need be…

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will see if they will eat it today as I had planned on scallops and chilean seabass for the next 2 days being holidays so we can all eat together. I am sure it is good but not allowed to taste it bec of my allergy

Been in Queens for a couple days. The kid’s aunt has been spoiling her silly. Kids everywhere. People running in and out all day. Some I haven’t seen in years, others I’ve never met before. It feels like what the holiday season is supposed to be. Here are some random food pics. I’ll post more here and there

Magnolia Bakery Cupcakes

Bagels are just better here. Ate way too many bagels and bialys.

Alfajores, Pionono, and Puff Pastry, all filled with Dulce de Luche. From a Peruvian home baker. I make good alfajores, but these were next level. I claimed all the left overs, no shame.

Italian restaurant. Pics show: Eggplant parm, salmon, seafood pasta.

I’m not used to so much gluten any more. Had some stomach pain, but I’m okay now.

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Once a year, Rolex hands these chocolates out to employees at their holiday party. Four flavors.

Someone brought cupcakes in a jar. Nice of them, but not for me.

Sitting at Dim Sum right now. My favorite is the dumpling filled with watercress and shrimp.

image

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What is inside the fried bird shapes? Chicken or duck? Too cute!

Wow!

Incredible. What interesting snacks.

OK, that’s all the festive food shopping done! If we ain’t got it now, we ain’t going to eat it.

The day started early with a trip to the farmers market - mainly Cheshire cheese purchased. It really has a bite to it. Mr Bourne (the farmer/producer) said it was made in September last year, so it is really, really mature. Then to the supermarket to buy enough fruit and veg to keep us going if World War 3 should break out in the next week. And finally, a trip to a second supermarket to collect the turkey for the in-laws - they are too frail to join the usual Xmas Day family gathering, so Mrs H and one of her sisters are cooking lunch for them at their home. In the evening, the third sister is cooking for the family gathering - more turkey of course. She’d ordered a couple of desserts from there, so we collected them and delivered.

Been a long day, so I’m glad I made a ragu yesterday. Half is in the freezer for a future brown gloop meal. The other half is going with radiatori (and a heavy sprinkling of Parmesan). Before that, a slice of proscuitto cotto, salad and giardiniera. Never had giardiniera before, not even in Italy (is it an Italian American concoction?)- but someone at the last farmers market was selling jars. For dessert - Sicilian lemon tarts (supermarket purchase).

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