My name really isn't Don, but I used to be anónimo.
Joined: Feb 2009 Gender: Male Posts: 2,952 Location: Michoacán, México
Re: What's for dinner tonight? « Reply #6060 on Aug 8, 2012, 11:45pm »
Paella del Mar at Mariscos La Güera Campestre, between Morelia and Pátzcuaro. It much was better than I expected, although not among the All Time Hits. Sra. Cuevas had Brochetas de Camarones, which have never failed to please.
Here's a photo, taken with my wretched camera phone.
My name really isn't Don, but I used to be anónimo.
Joined: Feb 2009 Gender: Male Posts: 2,952 Location: Michoacán, México
Re: What's for dinner tonight? « Reply #6063 on Aug 11, 2012, 4:09pm »
For our comida today, we are having a variant on Churipo, the Purhépecha take on Mole de Olla.
Yesterday I went to our favorite carnicería to buy beef and soup bones. Over on the side of the cutting table I saw what turned out to be pata de res (beef lower leg). I had the bitcher butcher add some to my several kilos worth of meat and soup bones, as I knew that the cartilaginous pata would add cuerpo to my caldo.
When we got home, I spent a while preparing to meat to make stock, using this recipe: http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/how_to_make_beef_stock/ In the past, my attempts at stock making were less than satisfactory, but this time, I hewed more closely to the recip, browning the meat, the bones and onions, garlic and carrots in a very hot oven for 45 minutes. Still, they weren't as browned as I liked. When I deglazed the roasting pan, I added a couple of TBSPS of Kim Lan Thick Soy Sauce, which did the trick.
Then all the ingredients were put in our large vaporera (big enameled kettle) to come to a boil and quickly settle down to a mere ebullition for about 6 to 7 hours.
When I strained the solids from the stock, and separated the cooked vegs from the meat and bones, I tasted a cup. It was mind bendingly delicious, needing just a toch of salt and pepper.
For the later stages of making Churipo, I need to toast and soak a few medium picante chiles, roast some tomatoes, blend the tomatoes and chiles, add them to the soup. I don't want to forget the epazote herb which I bought fresh just for this purpose.
Additional vegetables are added, notably carrots, calabacitas, green beans, chayote and wedges of cabbage. Small cuts of corn on the cob are also added.
The meat component of this soup/stew is small compared to the veg part, but I think it will be very satisfactory.
Traditionally, it's served with corundas, pyramidal tamal like steamed corn dough. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corunda But that's beyond my ability. We have a neighbor friend who makes them on special occasions, but I don't think she'll be around today. Instead, we heated some wood fired oven telera rolls from the Panadería La Espiga. They have the right durability to withstand some soaking and mopping up of the soup. http://mexkitchen.blogspot.com/2006/06/la-espigauna-panaderia-tradicional.html. After: it was near awesome. I ate two large bowls of it. Departing from tradition once again, I kept the puree of chiles anchos and pasillas, garlic and tomato in a separate bowl, as Sra. Cuevas has a sensitive stomach lately. I, however, applied liberal lashings of the sauce, which was in the low to medium picante range. I supplemented it with salsa chile de árbol, from a bottle. Of course, there were lime sections to squirt on.
I couldn't figure out what to do with the "tunas" (green cactus fruits) so I peeled and sliced them, simmered in lightly salted agua, and added them to my bowl. They were sweet when they should have been sour.
Similarly, the soup itself has a tendency towards sweetness, a result of the various vegs, esp carrots, so I corrected that with a little pineapple vinegar.
« Last Edit: Aug 11, 2012, 10:53pm by Don Cuevas »
Joined: Feb 2009 Gender: Male Posts: 34,579 Location: Paris, France
Re: What's for dinner tonight? « Reply #6064 on Aug 11, 2012, 4:34pm »
Last night I just took a few Japanese vegetable dumplings out of the freezer. Extremely easy to make: you just brown them (still frozen) in a skillet with some hot oil for about 2 minutes, and then you add a glass of water and let them cook for another 3 or 4 minutes.
Joined: Feb 2009 Gender: Male Posts: 34,579 Location: Paris, France
Re: What's for dinner tonight? « Reply #6066 on Aug 11, 2012, 5:22pm »
They shouldn't be hard to find if they have an 'exotic' section. I think they are really quite good, although I need to do some more experiments with additional seasoning and side items.
In this particular case, I just put them on top of some chopped Chinese cabbage and bean sprouts and threw chopped Thai chives on top with a bit of soy sauce. But the more I think about them, the more ideas I get.
Gosh, Don! I just saw your recent post. It looks fantastic, too. Great to have here when the weather is cooler.
It's a day and a half's work, but you can take it in easy stages.
I'm still waiting for the cabbage to cook tender. Then I can add the zucchini/calabacitas, already cooked corn and the parcooked green beans.
To ease the waiting, I'm sipping some Kirkland Ultra Premium Tequila, with a Cerveza Victoria chase.
Also, lacking either corundas or tortillas, we'll have some rustic, wood fired oven teleras, from la Panadería La Espiga, in Pátzcuaro.
Tomorrow we will have three guests for comida, but the menu is sort of Southern USA style, based on Popeye's Chicken and Biscuits. Stay tuned.
EDIT: Mi amiga (whom I have never met), Nora Cris DeCecco, has an easier version of Mole de Olla on her blog. She uses a pressure cooker to great advantage. She also has tremendous energy in order to write her blog, provide step by step photos, and answer comments from her legions of fans. (I'm one of them.) http://tinyurl.com/moledeolla
Joined: Feb 2009 Gender: Female Posts: 3,224 Location: Greenest UK
Re: What's for dinner tonight? « Reply #6070 on Aug 11, 2012, 8:12pm »
tonight, my dinner was some asian fusion dish.
I softened a chopped onion (made me cry!) in olive oil, added a finely chopped carrot and a finely chopped courgette. then after a few minutes, I added some stock, some dried mushrooms and dried bellpeppers, as well as some turmeric and garam masala. Once everything looked like it was almost cooked, I added rice noodles.
Re: What's for dinner tonight? « Reply #6071 on Aug 13, 2012, 8:01am »
Kerouac, your 'pot-stickers' are my favourite part of a Japanese meal. Well, I THINK they are called that? When looking for a place to have lunch in Rue St Anne I had them in mind.
My name really isn't Don, but I used to be anónimo.
Joined: Feb 2009 Gender: Male Posts: 2,952 Location: Michoacán, México
Re: What's for dinner tonight? « Reply #6072 on Aug 13, 2012, 9:12am »
Prepared and served a major afternoon dinner for 3 friends yesterday. The theme was Southern Cooking, in the style of Popeys's Chicken and Biscuits.
We started with a few incongruous appetizers in Mediterranean style.
, accompanied by a bottle of red wine a guest had brought.
Then we moved into the Popeye Chicken world (I although I must say that I outdid the fast food chain.)
Coleslaw, oil free but with fresh pineapple this time; Fried Chicken Tenders, accompanied by mixed chard, mashed potatoes, Cajun Gravy, corn cob segments, Angel Biscuits, plus a palette of ancillary items. Lemon marmalade (all these items are home made.), Bread 'n Butter Pickles, Mango Tamarind Chutney, honey (from hives of a nearby beekeeper, kosher style dill pickles.
Chard
Mashed potatoes and corn on the cob, bread 'n butter pickles, lower right.
Angel biscuits.
Fried chicken tenders.
[b]Partial view of the dining room table.
For dessert, a warm Mixed Berry cobbler with optional ice cream. Coffee, We also offered beer and iced tea. It was a great meal for a cool and drizzly day. Inside, we were warm and happy with our lively and articulate guests.
My name really isn't Don, but I used to be anónimo.
Joined: Feb 2009 Gender: Male Posts: 2,952 Location: Michoacán, México
Re: What's for dinner tonight? « Reply #6074 on Aug 13, 2012, 2:08pm »
Angel Biscuits are very light and tender. The use both yeast and chemical leavenings.The wet dough passes at least 12 hours in refrigeration before forming the biscuits.
What we call biscuits in America are similar to, but not identical to scones on the other side of the Atlantic.
Re: What's for dinner tonight? « Reply #6075 on Aug 13, 2012, 5:07pm »
Oooh, that is a big difference! Then they are something totally different. Scones are simply flour ,salt and baking powder rubbed into butter, then adding an egg and water , very lightly forming the dough into a flat one inch layer before cutting out with a cookie cutter or glass, then popping into a hot oven for 20 min. Don, maybe you would part with your recipe? I would like to give it a go. Thanks!
Joined: Feb 2009 Gender: Female Posts: 3,224 Location: Greenest UK
Re: What's for dinner tonight? « Reply #6077 on Aug 13, 2012, 5:50pm »
I've been cooking asian-inspired dishes all week. One dal currently simmering away on the hob, but if it isn't ready soon, I'll have to have it tomorrow and have a pizza at the cinema instead.
Here in SA we buy Semolina as a pudding product. Or, in some cases as a breakfast! Couscous is fairly new to the supermarket shelves in the run-of-the-mill supermarkets, but has been on offer in specialist shops. Thank goodness Kerouac can guide us through a maze of foodstuff terminology
well, i know the word semolina only from the dictionary, and there it was translated as griesbrei, which i would also think closer to pudding...
My name really isn't Don, but I used to be anónimo.
Joined: Feb 2009 Gender: Male Posts: 2,952 Location: Michoacán, México
Re: What's for dinner tonight? « Reply #6082 on Aug 25, 2012, 9:56am »
Yesterday, Friday, August 24, 2012: another excellent comida at Parrilla y Canilla, an Uruguayan-Italian restaurant, in Sta. María del Guido in Morelia, Michoacán, México.
We started our meal sharing a superlative warm salad of Lechuga Orejona a la Parrilla. It's a large section of romaine lettuce, cut lengthwise, dressed with olive oil, and quickly grilled over a wood fire. It's topped by grilled tomato slices and adorned with shreds of Parmesan cheese.
I also had a Jugo de Carne, a fairly rich beef stock attractively served in nice china. It came with sliced avocado, chopped onion and cilantro, lime sections and a bottle each of Maggi seasoning and Worcestershire Sauce. Nice, but not compelling.
Our friend JJ had her favorite vacio steak, término medio, which to the grill cooks at Parrilla y Canilla means "sear the bloody thing and plate it.", but JJ enjoyed it. It would have been too rare for me. It came with nicely done French fries, an item hard to find properly cooked in Morelia.
Sra. Cuevas homed in on a Filete de Salmón en Salsa de Jamaica y Vino Tinto. This was a beautiful dish, although she said that the sauce had a tendency to overwhelm the salmon.
The vegetables, as before, were skillfully cooked, just to the right point of doneness.
I ordered Filete de Mero Nicolás Pérez, not my my usual sort of thing. It was a modest sized filet of grouper blanketed by a rich cream sauce infused with white wine and a touch of lemon. I was able to eat it all with no hesitation. However, I would normally a simpler, less rich treatment.
JJ had her favorite Strudel de Manzana, while Sra. Cuevas ate the very good, accompanying ice cream.
The desserts are rich, and the best I could do was a very nice wedge of Pastel de Chocolate. It was moist, but not with the excess of a tres leches cake (the standard cliché cake hereabouts). However, it could have been skipped without regret.
When we go there again, I will probably return to a nicely cooked steak, which is, after all, their specialty.
My name really isn't Don, but I used to be anónimo.
Joined: Feb 2009 Gender: Male Posts: 2,952 Location: Michoacán, México
Re: What's for dinner tonight? « Reply #6084 on Aug 28, 2012, 9:33pm »
Cheeses! That looks good.
August 28, 2012: comida today, an old favorite. Pasta (this time tortiglioni) with homemade meatballs in homemade basil tomato sauce. Bruschetta, sort of. A vegetable medley somewhat akin to that in K2's picture above. L.A.Cetto red wine from Baja CA. Surprisingly good!
Joined: May 2009 Gender: Male Posts: 5,379 Location: Winnipeg
Re: What's for dinner tonight? « Reply #6087 on Aug 30, 2012, 3:03pm »
Thanks htmb! I'm happy to have finally found a fresh mozzarella which is consistently creamy - not rubbery like some of the inferior products. And my basil plant is doing so well that I can harvest loads at a time.
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