What's For Dinner #75 - the " Thanks and Giving Season" Edition - November 2021

Orecchiette with shrimp, salami, fennel, fennel seeds, garlic, lemon zest, smoked paprika and white wine.

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Thanks! Ikea and Lenox Tin Can Alley :laughing:

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My friend browned a stick of butter, poured it into a jar with a bottle of bourbon, and put it in the fridge for a few weeks. Then he poured it through a coffee filter to remove the fats and browned solids. This process is called fatwashing, FYI.

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Those look phenomenal! And Lawrence is adorable!

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I made Kare Pan again (curry stuffed bread dough that’s deep fried). This is what they look like on the inside. :slight_smile:

(I posted a recipe earlier but there wasn’t a nice ‘inside’ shot.)

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My personal Thanksgiving was today. Had a Scooby Snack for an early lunch of Monterey Jack with Stoned Wheat crackers, manchego and membrillo, prosciutto, grapes, and cashews.

Made the cran-orange relish and apple galette before the turkey breast was brought up from the downstairs fridge to go into the oven.

Sides were sour cream mashed potatoes, glazed carrots, and roasted Brussels sprouts and maple butternut squash with toasted pecans and dried cranberries.

A 2017 Paul Hobbs chardonnay as the libation.

I think Mom would have enjoyed this meal (sans the wine, as she never was a fan).

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We enjoyed another excellent dinner at Drew’s in Keyport, NJ. Below is a link to details and pictures for those that might be interested.

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The rest of our holiday meals, starting from Thurs. night at my sister’s. We had a snacky brunch (TJs horseradish & chive ruffled chips, TJs truffle dip, delice de bourgogne, goose pate, tataki, truffle butter, baguette, and mandarins), and then takeout Sichuan for dinner - ginger/scallion roasted Dungeness crab, dan dan noodles, 1000 chili fish filet in chicken broth, and blistered green beans. Outstanding, all of it. We made amaretto sours to go with - not super sweet ones.

Friday morning i picked up some pastries from a French bakery, and there was more snacking, and then I made Clams Casino and oysters on the halshell, with my sister’s sherry vinegar mignonette. Bubbly with. Clams were actually a bit too bacony, even for me. Just a bit, i wanted a little more claminess to shine through - but still, this dish is a knock-out. i followed a Serious Eats recipe, halved.

Saturday lunch was The Kitchn latkes fried in duck fat with creme fraiche and ikura, second batch added the smoked trout we forgot in the first! More bubbles. Super yum, we ate two giant Idaho potatoes worth, just the two of us.

Late dinner that night was a block of pate de foie gras that i’d meticulously quadruple-wrapped over 2 years ago and froze - defrosted beautifully. Cut it in half and seared one half - which gave us a lovely sauce but of course reduced the pate really quickly. so the second half we ate cold. Both delicious, with a boysenberry gastrique i made, and pom arils. To drink, a beautiful Semillon.

Thxgiving snacks

China Village crab, green beans, tan tan noodles

Le Marais pastries

Noble Semillon - Viu Manent

now to prep dust salads and water for the week… and to catch up with all your kitchen doings! hope everyone had a great holiday…

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These meals are worth 2 likes.

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hah, i don’t know how i posted it twice. Deleted one now. Thanks!

omg on those croquettes!!

and kitty - such a handsome boy!

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that pie crust is stunning!

Today we brought dinner to our friends whose little one was sick all holiday - chicken pot pie, cucumber salad in red wine vinaigrette, locally made apple butter ice cream, and a bottle of French Sauvignon Blanc.

Then for our dinner I made pork coppa steaks (marinated with garlic, olive oil, crushed fennel, rosemary, and red pepper flakes and fresh sage, then seared in butter). I fried CSA potatoes and pear wedges in the drippings. Plus some buttered peas with dried mint on the side. Really tasty - I saved some of my steak for tomorrow.

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That pie for your friends is beautiful and so is your dinner.

How do you do your pork coppa steaks, with details if you don’t mind. I have tried a few and they were gorgeous raw but I feel like I let them down because they weren’t that great the way I prepared them. Yours looks amazing.

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We’ve had several neighbors (one in her 90’s and one in her late 70’s) whose Thanksgiving plans were derailed by Covid concerns (all about grandchildren). This virus is not leaving us anytime soon. We shared our meal with an old friend - all of us are vaxxed, boosted and live reclusive lives.

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We enjoyed another excellent dinner of our favorites, at Bloom in Verona, NJ, including short ribs, bulgogi with kimchi fried rice, shrimp with gochujang and wasabi aioli, escargot, bulgogi tacos, butternut squash soup, fried shishito peppers, and truffled fries. It all went great with an excellent Syrah.







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These were about 2" thick and reasonably marbled, which helped. From eating I feel like there’s a lean side* and a side with more intramuscular fat, which is more succulent.

I already told you about the marinade. I took the steaks out about 20 minutes before cooking. At cook time, melted 1 Tbsp butter in a large non-stick skillet on MEDIUM heat. Misted the pan with canola oil as well. Then I cooked the pork on all sides, flipping about every 3 minutes, until I started getting temp readings around 130-135°F. Then let the meat rest before serving. I never raised the heat above medium and turned it to low for the final few minutes.

Hope that helps?

*ETA: I just read that the coppa is “a collection of muscles that is an extension of the loin that runs through the pork shoulder. When butchered, it has a barrel shape and is best suited for charcuterie or slow roasting. Being in the shoulder, it has a lot of fat, and it is a muscle that gets used a lot, resulting in more flavor. The tenderness has a lot to do with the quality, breed, fat content and diet of the animal.”

This makes sense - I felt like the leaner side was loin or similar to loin.

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BF made açorda à alentejana - one of our favorites from Lisbon, a garlic, egg & stale bread soup. He makes an excellent version. Big glugs of good Portuguese olive oil. So delish. I had mostly broth with egg, asparagus, and a little of the tomato/olive salad. Giving the old tum a bit of a rest (after our usual fries brunch today!)

Fries brunch

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Lamb stew with kabocha squash, potatoes, carrots, chick peas, raisins, tomatoes in a mixture of coconut milk and lamb stock. Cardamom, fennel seeds, cumin, coriander, bay leafs and star anise as seasoning and finished with fresh mint, pomegranate seeds and a gremolata of almonds, parsley and orange zest.

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After too many days of eating too much, and having a few last CSA veggies to use up, I decided to make a make a quick shakshuka for dinner. It included onions, Swiss chard, kale, roasted tomatoes, olives, a poached egg and topped with feta. Served with the obligatory potato latke for the first night of Chanukah. Sour cream added later.

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