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Post by imec on Aug 21, 2010 20:50:20 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Aug 21, 2010 20:59:33 GMT
Looking good! The sausages survived in one piece!
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Post by fumobici on Aug 21, 2010 21:50:04 GMT
Burgers and dogs, grilled on the deck. Summer.
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Post by Don Cuevas on Aug 21, 2010 23:10:31 GMT
August 21, 2010 Chicken Piccata, sauteed diced fresh tomatoes, capers, white wine and a touch of garlic over otherwise plain spaghetti. Chopped arugula and romaine over it, sliced cucumbers to one side; roasted peppers, olives and cheese antipasto, but served along with the pasta.
Chilean vino blanco. "Maipo".
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Post by lagatta on Aug 22, 2010 1:03:05 GMT
Your deck (and the river - is that the Red River or an affluent? - look lovely). And the impromptu grill looks great. I remember cooking wonderful fresh cod bought at the docks with a friend at Gaspé. We had no camping equipment (in principle, we weren't camping, but staying at hostels). We made an impromptu cook station with some aluminium pans and foil - and found garlic butter. Although our wine was "Château Dépanneur" (Dépanneur - small grocery store with just the basics = dépannage) it was a memorable supper.
It was chilly here, and I made a lentil dish - Du Puy type lentils but Canadian grown, cooked up with the rind of an end of prosciutto I bought. I added a spoonful of one of the Indonesian sambals I had bought in Amsterdam. I strained the lentils and cooked down the liquid with some homemade tomato sauce (with garlic, onions, dried mushrooms and herbs) and chopped up a preserved lemon (a North African staple). In another pan I sautéed some chopped red onion and a bit of garlic, and combined everything. I also added some finely-chopped prosciutto from the end I'd bought, and at the end quite a lot of fresh flatleaf parsley.
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Post by bixaorellana on Aug 22, 2010 1:45:01 GMT
The new deck is a beauty, as is the view from there. What a clever ad hoc grill! I have to say, though, I'm worried about the fate of your nice roasting pan.
Thanks for the explanation/recipe for the cauliflower. I'm itching to go out and get a cauliflower so I can make this.
The other stuff looks wonderful too. Haven't had brocoslaw, but recently decided that slaw is one of the best uses for chayote, if you get them where you are.
I'm glad I just ate, or that extravaganza with the nice touch of plain spaghetti would have me starving for it.
Ditto that extremely elegant and richly yummy-sounding lentil dish you made, LaGatta -- you were inspired! What "starch" did you have with it?
My supper was the end of the straightforward but okay pork stew I made (backbone, chayote, poblanos, carrots, tomato puree, onion, garlic, herbs), heated up with leftover wholewheat pasta spirals, then made more interesting with chopped white onion & some asadero cheese.
Does anyone know this cheese? In crumbliness and tang it's a great deal like a very young blue cheese, but with no veins.
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Post by Don Cuevas on Aug 22, 2010 7:18:40 GMT
I bought some queso asadero in the Pátzcuaro mercado, but other than a certain saltiness, it's quite bland. The texture is slightly spongy with lots of small holes.
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Post by bixaorellana on Aug 22, 2010 14:33:47 GMT
Keep trying it. I've bought it when it was like an indifferent jack, but when you get the crumbly kind I described above, you'll have to force yourself to stop eating it.
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Post by lagatta on Aug 22, 2010 15:26:19 GMT
bixa, just a bit of North African semolina bread. It is Ramadan, so the Maghrebi shops around here have all kinds of special breads and of course pastries. Some of the latter are just cloyingly sweet, but others are very refined. (No, I haven't eaten any this year, but remember those made by a Moroccan friend's mother for her wedding).
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Post by Deleted on Aug 22, 2010 15:53:47 GMT
I almost bought 2 kg of oxtail again, but I decided to wait for cooler weather before I start another oxtail project. Therefore, I have no idea what I will eat tonight. Perhaps "freezer surprise"?
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Post by rikita on Aug 22, 2010 18:57:40 GMT
red pasta with white sauce. which is strange as i usually eat white pasta with red sauce.
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Post by bixaorellana on Aug 22, 2010 19:14:39 GMT
Oh, that wild and crazy Rikita!
If you'd bought the oxtail, Kerouac, you could be working on a batch of future freezer surprise right now.
LaGatta, the bread sounds heavenly and must have been perfect with your lively lentils.
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Post by cristina on Aug 22, 2010 20:32:36 GMT
imec, I keep checking airfares to Winnipeg so I can sit at your dinner table. Unfortunately, it seems I can fly to Europe for less, lately. As always, your meal looks delicious and I am impressed with your grilling resourcefulness. Last night, I went to a going away party for some neighbors who are moving. Everyone brought a dish to share (I had dessert detail). One of the guests grilled carne asada which might have been the best I had ever eaten. Another guy made macaroni and cheese which included corn. This is not something I ever would have done but I have to say it was delicious. Tonight, I am making an odd assortment of things, due to the fact that the freezer door was not shut tight last night. The meat stayed frozen but puff pastry sheets and filo dough did not...
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Post by lagatta on Aug 23, 2010 1:50:00 GMT
Well, those are not unsafe, cristina, but due to textural concerns you will want to use them now. So you've made all manner of savoury pastries?
Yes bixa, the bread was lovely, and they brought it out in a basket after apologising that their bread with nigella seeds was already reserved. And amazingly, just enough for one person - like a large, flat bun for 85 cents Canadian. I didn't finish it but ate the rest for breakfast.
Where I stay when in Amsterdam, I always buy wonderful bread from a Moroccan shop. Only problem is the language barrier, as I speak very little Arabic and am useless counting in Dutch, and they don't speak French (as all Moroccans here and in France do).
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Post by Don Cuevas on Aug 24, 2010 8:39:36 GMT
I don't know if I can ever live this down, but, here it is.
After a long morning and the early part of the afternoon spent getting our Mexican visas reviewed, we were in no mood for complicated, fancy lunches. So I voted to go to the Gastronómico Food Court at the Plaza La Huerta in Morelia. I immediately got a second, so off we went.
We had in the past found some good eating places there, especially the "City Tortas", which now, in addition to their line of good hot or cold tortas, also serves a comida "casera" for $40-50 MSN.
But I had a yen for some junk food, and I finally succumbed to the urges of my most perverse appetites. We went to the Comida China Express, which usually has the longest lines of any fast food outlet in the Gastronómico. I decided to have a plateful of Arroz Frito, two Rollos de Primavera and some sort of Tso-Tso chicken in a dark orange sauce with more than a hint of caramel. There was a strong and enjoyable orange component.
I convinced Doña Cuevas not to get a noodle dish strongly resembling spaghetti (whch we had at home), so she also got the chicken in orange sauce and some vegetable stir fry with either pork or chicken.
I can now understand why this food is popular. It's hot, fresh, cheap $14 MXN per plate.), and tasty (at least what we had.) There were free chiles serranos toreados (fire blistered hot green chiles) for the taking, more thin, sweet and sour sauce, and a really good dark, runny, chile and sesame sauce for pouring on al gusto.
We really liked the chicken and its sauce; the fried rice was o.k. The rollos not bad, not great.
The bottled soft drinks were $10 MXN apiece, and our total bill was $90. Tipping was optional.
The only small negative for me were the Lilliputian forks* and the scarcity of napkins. The nice lady at the neighboring City Tortas gave me a couple of decent spoons so we could better slurp up the tasty sauces. Not a place for the discriminating China gourmet, perhaps, but fast and satisfying; at least in our first experience. (We'd once gone to their big brother restaurant, Comida Oriental, on Av Enrique Ramírez, but hadn't cared for it much.
* You can tell its not an authentic Chinese restaurant because they don't offer chopsticks. <That was a joke!>
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Post by mickthecactus on Aug 24, 2010 12:22:46 GMT
Don, every time I read your posts I find myself dribbling over the keyboard........
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Post by Don Cuevas on Aug 24, 2010 15:56:53 GMT
Try to control yourself, Mick.
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Post by mickthecactus on Aug 24, 2010 15:59:28 GMT
Mick, that pork dish sounds like the quintessence of everything I find yummiest. However, I cannot get cardamom. Should I try to substitute something, or wait until I go to the States & lay in a supply of that nothing-else-like-it spice? Love kidneys. Love kidneys in wine sauce even more. Actually, kidneys would be lovely with LaGatta's teeny beanys, which must have been perfect on their own, as well. Bixa, I realise there is a recipes thread so am shifting it there. Cardamom is absolutely essential and is the heart and soul of it. Use no substitute and don't stint on them either. I do a fair bit of Indian cooking and it's my favourite spice.
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Post by mickthecactus on Aug 24, 2010 16:00:12 GMT
Try to control yourself, Mick. I'm at that age...........
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Post by lagatta on Aug 24, 2010 23:29:41 GMT
Mick, I also love cardamom. In Paris, I saw cardamom Hagen Daz ice cream (in a North African shop). Of course the pods are best, but I also buy it powdered, for recipes where the pods are not practical.
Tonight, TFal indoor grill - grilled small, white eggplant/aubergine and boned chicken thighs (which were on sale at a shop I like). Made enough of both to eat cold or warm up for subsequent meals.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 25, 2010 19:23:32 GMT
Tonight, I was supposed to be good and finish off my leftover ricotta & spinach tortellini, but I didn't feel like it. So I made brik à l'oeuf. I chopped up an onion and fried it a little in olive oil, added chopped Italian parsley and some spices -- salt, pepper, ras al hanout and cayenne. Removed it from the pan and put it in a bowl, to which I added a can of tuna a mixed it up. Then I got out my sheets of brik, which are always so thin that I use two at a time. I spooned my mixture into the center, cracked an egg over it and wrapped it up. Then I put it in the frying pan to brown it on both sides. I had enough of the mixture to make three, but I only made two. I am thinking of taking the third one to the office tomorrow to eat cold, but I'm not sure if they're any good cold. There's only one way to find out. not my photo but this is exactly what it looks like I just had a brainstorm and am thinking about putting sour cream inside the next time I make them.
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Post by Don Cuevas on Aug 26, 2010 7:14:02 GMT
August 25, 2010: White cut chicken breast, lightly drizzled with oyster-mushroom sauce, dark soy sauce, sesame oil and salsa macha; served with some of our dwindling supply of Jasmine Rice and steamed acelgas (green chard). White cut chicken is made by bringing previously made chicken stock to a simmer along with some sliced spring onion (which I didn't have, so I used white onion) and sliced fresh ginger. The skinned, bone-in chicken or breast is immersed in the simmering stock for 15 minutes. Then, with the lid on, it's left to slowly cool for 2 or 3 hours. It comes out flavorsome, tender and juicy. It's then sliced and plated, and the sauces are poured over to taste. The remainder or the sliced, boned chicken breast was Ziplocked and frozen until such day as needed again. (Sorry, it was just dinner after a long but enjoyable day of cooking, so there are no photos..) This is someone else's. Why didn't I think to put cilantro on it? I have some. Coming on Saturday, a Texas Style Smoked Brisket BBQ here at the Rancho. Various sides are in the works, both from us and our guest contributors. Wish me good luck, as I've never smoked a brisket before. It's going to take 12-14 hours. La Sra. and I are writhing the schedule for the smoker shifts.
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Post by Kimby on Aug 26, 2010 21:28:38 GMT
The skinned, bone-in chicken or breast is immersed in the simmering stock for 15 minutes. Then, with the lid on, it's left to slowly cool for 2 or 3 hours. It comes out flavorsome, tender and juicy. It sounds lovely, except the food police tell you not to let food sit at room temperature for more than 2 hours.
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Post by bixaorellana on Aug 26, 2010 23:05:59 GMT
If that were true, I would have died horrible spoiled-food-related deaths many, many times by now.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 27, 2010 5:13:41 GMT
I've sometimes left things out 48 hours (depends on what sort of item). I must not have any germs in my kitchen.
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Post by Don Cuevas on Aug 27, 2010 9:08:07 GMT
Kimby, is Venerable Chinese Recipe proven by millions of Chinese cooks. It must reach a safe internal temp in the first 15 minutes of simmering, then slowly cools to a warm temp over two hours.
That's not so bad: consider Peking Duck, where after various brief scalding and sugar syrup coating, it's hung raw under a blowing fan for 8 or more hours in order to dry the skin. Only then is it roasted.
Anyway, there are no Food Police in Mexico. ;D
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Post by hwinpp on Aug 28, 2010 5:16:52 GMT
That chook looks just perfect, Don! Can you believe I'm living in Phnom Penh and cannot, absolutely cannot find white cut (we call it Hainanese) chicken on the streets? They have it in every country neighbouring us, just not here. Very frustrating!
The first dish my girlfriend had on her recent visit to Bangkok was this.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 28, 2010 5:23:50 GMT
I am defrosting a relatively small piece of leg of lamb which will find some cooking method by this evening.
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Post by bixaorellana on Aug 28, 2010 5:46:43 GMT
You make it sound like the poor little lamb that's lost its way.
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Post by Don Cuevas on Aug 28, 2010 8:55:16 GMT
The 12-hour smoked brisket is sitting on the kitchen counter, wrapped in heavy aluminum foil. The meal won't commence until about 2 p.m. today.
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