What's For Dinner #66 - the Candle Lights in Chilly Nights Edition - February 2021

Quick and easy chicken in mango curry using heavily doctored Patak’s simmer sauce. The addition of onion, garlic, cilantro (in the sauce and on top), butter, cream, spices, and six crushed dried red chilis made this a decent Monday night dinner, though without such alterations would have been beyond bland. We also switched over to a big bag of Hom Mali rice instead of the usual Basmati.

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Torta with soyrizo, eggs, cheese, and avocado, refried black beans, potato chips.

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I returned mine a few years ago but have been using one consistently through the pandemic.

I go 5 degrees lower on most things, to allow a bit of room while searing. Lamb at 125F for example, so when it’s browned later it doesn’t overcook.

I like to save the liquid that’s exuded - even if I don’t need a gravy for the dish at hand, I freeze it and use it later where I’d use stock for flavor.

Longer projects have been among the more successful - 48-72h chuck roast for example, 13-16h korean short ribs, and the like.

I dislike most applications that replace quick other methods - eggs, fish, other seafood.

I did have fun making preserved lemons and limoncello recently - it shortened a month long process to a couple of days.

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Sous vide is great for cooking lean meats evenly. Chicken breast, pork tenderloin, flank steak - they only take an hour or two to come to temp and end up cooked exactly as you want them (go 5-10 degrees under to allow room for browning after).

I also use it for longer cooks like duck confit, braised pork belly, etc. I would say I use it once a month on average, so it has definitely earned its spot in my cupboard.

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Thank you @TheCookie and @Saregama. :heart: The quiche was seriously good, one of the best I’ve made. Brought the last two quarters in to work on Monday and Tuesday for breakfast.

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:::::GASP!::::::

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Kenji on seriouseats.com gives a lot of useful information on times and tempertures.

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He can’t be related to either me or DH! :scream:

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Tonight I’m going to use the sous vide for the first time . Lamb loin chops . Seasoned with a little salt and pepper. A sprig of rosemary and a small amount of lemon zest . From your recommendations. I will cook in the bath at 125 degrees for 2 hours then sear when finished. Also asparagus at 180 degrees for 6 to 8 minutes. So looking forward to this .

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I have done lamb chops sous vide before - it works really well. The fat layer doesn’t exactly render in the sous vide bath, but it gets very soft and gelatinous, so it renders very quickly and thoroughly when searing and gets nice and crispy. Same with duck skin. Enjoy your meal!!!

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A simple quiche with white cap mushrooms, French Emmenthal and a little bit of lacon, a Galician ham.

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Inspired by a dish at David Chang’s Majordomo and @Barca’s veggie photography I made a Bounty Bowl - sprinkled w/Smoked Maldon Salt and an Avocado Green Goddess Dip.

Dip was greener than the photo. :thinking:

It’s served w/the Green Goddess Dip & spicy XO Sauce at the restaurant, but we also had this spicy dish (previously posted) so I nixed the XO. :grimacing:

Nakji Bokkeum (spicy stir-fried octopus)

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Love the colorful meal!

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I made my great Uncle Bill’s sausage ragu with black olives – a real Italian-American style sauce with plenty of garlic. I subbed ground turkey and turkey sausage to make it more waistline friendly, and pasta portions were 4 oz. The kiddo and I made spaghetti (came out great with a dough rest and mix of AP and semolina flours). Green salad topped with tomatoes marinated in garlicky red wine and oregano vinaigrette.

Could have plated separately, but who wants extra dishes? :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

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Thanks!

i use my slow cooker way more than that.

it’s a nice tool to have on hand when you need it.

I’m loving this already . Maiden voyage tonight . Lamb loin chops , with asparagus. What a cool tool .

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Barcelona night. Butifarra (a mild pork sausage - just love saying the name and it was a favorite when I lived there) from The Spanish Table, and my tortilla de patata to go with. Tortilla once again got a little dark on the top (well, bottom), but still super tasty. BF made wonderful sherried, garlicky mushrooms, and doctored up a can of cannellini with thyme, sage, and garlic. No salad, because Spain.

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Like when you have shoes and then need to get a dress, I had a veg side (Ottolenghi miso onions) and needed the rest of dinner. The onions - and green beans - were pretty tasty, but the miso flavor didn’t come through and it certainly didn’t wow me the way I expected an Ottolenghi recipe to do. [Detailed review on another thread.]

I paired this with white rice and beef stew cooked a bit Asian-y with the addition of ground bean paste, star anise, and some peas at the end. People in my house generally gobbled it up.

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After the first bite . I was convinced. The best asparagus ever. Slight crunch to the bite . Hint of lemon , olive oil and salt . Dressed with chopped tomato and lemon . Sous vide . Loin chops were tender to the bite being rare . 2 hour cooking time . Well this certainly changes everything. Cheers.

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