What's for Dinner #50 - The Spooky-licious Edition - Oct 2019

So, I’m curious, are there backstories for all this tomato hatred? A few too many spaghetti nights as a kid?

Weren’t those comments intense?!? I had no idea that sausages are so polarizing! I’ll post about the results. These sheet pan dinners always sound good in theory…

1 Like

That’s a mom’s life, eh?

2 Likes

Yummmmmm

1 Like

It was a brown neal. But it was a good meal.

Lamb steak marinated overnight in a combo of olive oil, lemon juice, fresh minced rosemary, dried thyme, salt and pepper, and then grilled on a grill pan and finished in the oven.

Sides were roasted Brussels sprouts and roasted Herbs de Provence baby tri-colored potatoes.

Was there wine? Like DUH. It’s Friday, after all!

15 Likes

Fuyu, fresh goat cheese, raspberry vinegar / heavy cream dressing

Eggplant, pepper, potato, Italian sausage stew

16 Likes

The sausage/grape combo was interesting. I will try it again with some tweaks and a different kind of sausage. I would have preferred everything to be cooked down more but the natives were getting restless. Sides of mixed roasted root veggies and broccoli.

16 Likes

Quimet & Quimet is an amazingly extraordinary tavern.

One of the most fascinating tapas is the Fakir ( a bed of nails ) in which slices of filet mignon of beef are seared on a hot bed of nails.

2 Likes

Hahaha… Mine always tells me that he’s not a fussy eater. Guess what, fruits like melons (any kind) and papaya are a straight no for him too. He would only enjoy the parma ham on its own without the melon! :joy:

1 Like

Ah… I don’t think so. My mother-in-law seldom cooks, even till now.

Tonight’s dinner before the mister goes to work every night on a long public holiday weekend.

Mixed rice with potatoes and dried shrimps; asari clam miso soup; and steamed Spanish mackerel with ground chicken and tomatoes. And yes, the tomatoes are mine again. :laughing:

13 Likes

Thanks for the test drive!

1 Like

I made chicken tortilla soup slow simmered in the IP. I used a whole chicken to make homemade broth and added fresh corn at the end. Turned out great! Toddler would not touch :roll_eyes:

20 Likes

Why are they so frustrating?? I’m scratching my head how mine has endless energy but eats nearly nothing.

1 Like

Short ribs! I forgot how long this recipe takes but I always double it and get at least 3 dinners out of it. It is a good hour of hands on attention then 3 in the oven. Sides of mashed potatoes, brussel sprouts and wine. Hearty meal!

I had lofty plans of black dal, chicken curry and Jasmine rice for tomorrow, but after 3 grocery store visits and no black dal (is it really that rare???), I’m back to the drawing board.

16 Likes

Been Cookin’…

Miso Soup w/Fresh Mushroom Medley, Tofu & Nori

image

Next day w/leftover rice

The soup was cloudy because I wasn’t happy with the flavor and kept adding more miso paste, then realized the miso paste is what I didn’t like (cold mountain miso). :frowning_face: It has sweet, sour and not much savory. I’m not married to one particular brand and most have worked. But now I’m wondering - what miso brands do you miso lovers favor?

Gone Fishing (not really)…

Last of Wild King Salmon, Baked w/Soy Sauce & Mayo


This was so simple, maybe too simple. It needs a little tweaking - a longer marinade in soy sauce (recipe has 30 mins max) maybe a little heat (spice). Also the recipe isn’t clear whether it’s baked skin up or down… paging @meatn3. But these are minor - it’s tasty and definitely my kind of dish.

Leftovers w/Sriracha, Furikake, Everything Bagel Seasoning and Hillbilly Heirloom Tomatoes (I think)

Pan-fried John Dory


I’m not the best high-heat sautée-er. To practice & challenge myself I purposely used the All-clad not the Non-stick. “Get the pan and oil really hot and don’t forget to shake it to get the oil under the meat.” I forgot to shake it. But the inside flesh cooked perfectly, the skin was passable and the stuck-on crispy parts didn’t stick too much - they made a nice, crispy, crunchy topping. :slightly_smiling_face:

Beginnings of Sauce. Lemons in da’ house!

John Dory, Pan-fried Potatoes, Miso Buttered Corn

image
The potatoes & miso buttered corn (charred, sautéed w/shallot, garlic, chiles, micro shiso) were really delicious. :yum: The Cold Mountain miso paste works better in the corn and salad dressings. I also used a bit of powdered miso soup just in case.

Gettin’ Porky with it…

image
Pork meatballs (panko, egg, shallots, garlic, chiles, ginger, 5-star spice, smoked salt, sriracha). Pan sauce/glaze w/sesame oil, lite soy sauce, curry-ketchup (yep), sriracha, shaoxing wine, rice vinegar, served on spaghetti because I had spaghetti, garnished w/chiles, shallots (I really need to start growing scallions) & everything bagel seasoning. This was f-ing delicious! :heart:

Salads…

Got this really nice Lettuce Mix at the Farmers Market, tossed in Micro Shiso Leaves & Dressing of Grapeseed Oil, Vegenaise, Miso Paste, Mirin, Citrus Ponzu, Rice Vinegar, Black Pepper. Perfect

Tenerelli Orchard’s White Nectarines, Small Heirloom Tomatoes, Peppery EVOO & Syrupy, Tart, Sweet, White Balsamic, Kefir Labneh, Micro Shiso, Basil, Mint, Mild Smoked Maldon Salt, Cracked Pepper.

It was inspired by a dish currently on Republique’s menu @aussieshepsx2!

Toss and it’s a bowl of fruit & vegetable comfort food.


It was a tad overdressed and I wished for more of those salad greens to toss with it… but a spoon worked out just fine. :blush:

Happy Fall Eating!

19 Likes

Wow! You’re really cookin’!

Re: what side up with salmon. I like to eat the skin. I like it crisp. So I cook it skin side up and make sure the pan under the fish is well lubricated. My Dad hated the skin. So he cooked it skin side down and felt the cooked flesh separated from the skin quite nicely with that preparation. Skin side down looks better from a presentation standpoint.

2 Likes

Ready for some home cooking after a couple of weeks away. Nice drive to Half Moon Bay (California) today in this glorious weather, even the Pumpkin shopping traffic was somehow bearable. :slight_smile:

Johnson Pier had off the boats: Sea Urchin, live Rock Cod, Albacore Tuna and Black Cod. We picked up a couple of Black Cod. My wife prefers the large ones, I like the mid-size ones. We compromised and bought one of each size. Fish is braising now, and will be surely wonderful.

We had a great Chinese dinner with friends last night for our first meal back. Gotta enjoy the Indian summer while we can, will be winter overnight. As always.

17 Likes

Mushrooms…deconstructed mayo: Meyer lemon, EVOO, egg yolk

Ground round, crusty pappardelle, cauliflower curry

15 Likes

I had a couple of pounds of trimmings from a big package of flap meat I bought at Restaurant depot recently, so I tossed it into the grinder and made big fat burgers. Yum. Beefy flavor was excellent but the grind could maybe have used a little more fat; however, since I cooked them rare they were still plenty juicy. Caramelized onions and blue cheese (my Costco has recently started carrying St. Agur, one of my faves) on top, side of sauteed Brussels sprouts for something green.

10 Likes

A visit with Mom.
Some antiquing with Sis afterwards.
Food shopping after that.
Dinner thought about on the drive home.

Mushroom Chicken Inperial from an updated 1950s recipe from Good Housekeeping.

I added dried thyme and some heavy cream to the original recipe to thicken the sauce.

Leftover rice pilaf and some fresh steamed green beans alongside.

There was wine.

17 Likes