Imec, I've tried basa twice -- once in a good restaurant & once at home & just can't hack that strange texture. What did you do to get rid of that simultaneously rubbery yet unpleasantly uncooked aspect of the basa.
Huh? Mine had no such texture - in fact I just tried the leftover piece in the fridge to be sure of it. But then, what would a prairie lad know about fish? I simply dredged it in seasoned flour and pan fried it in olive oil and butter - pretty high heat - and served immediately. Maybe it was fake basa... Either way, I'm keen to try it again - I think it would be nice battered and fried with (real) chips!
Re: What's for dinner tonight? « Reply #5941 on Jun 19, 2012, 3:12pm »
I have had a fillet of fish at our local fish restaurant as the 'Catch of The Day' - it was called Bassa. I tried it and it was delicious. Very similar to hake or even Sea Bass. There is another fish the Brits are trying to promote called Pollock. I tried it and didn't like the slippery texture of the meat. Here a similar type of fish was once on the menu's of restaurants called 'Silver Something-or-other' and that was horrible.
Joined: Feb 2009 Gender: Female Posts: 3,224 Location: Greenest UK
Re: What's for dinner tonight? « Reply #5944 on Jun 19, 2012, 4:43pm »
Mark, I am surprised that as a tough northern lad you've never had this national delicacy! here fish has bollocks "that big" - they serve it as an "amuse-bouche" in fish restaurants
Not sure what I'm going to cook tonight. Maybe risotto.
Joined: Feb 2009 Gender: Male Posts: 34,415 Location: Paris, France
Re: What's for dinner tonight? « Reply #5945 on Jun 19, 2012, 5:17pm »
I really really wanted pork belly tonight, especially since when I went to my Chinese supermarket on Sunday, they were sold out. Well they had just sold out this evening as well, so my frustration remains intact. I bought some pork ribs instead and am trying an experiment with them. There will be a photo later if it is not absolutely awful.
Joined: Jan 2013 Gender: Female Posts: 373 Location: NOLA,USA
Re: What's for dinner tonight? « Reply #5947 on Jun 20, 2012, 1:36am »
These beautiful shrimp from the market this morning turned into the above Goong Maa Now, a Thai Lemon dish served over locally grown jasmine rice. Very yummy.
Joined: Feb 2009 Gender: Male Posts: 34,415 Location: Paris, France
Re: What's for dinner tonight? « Reply #5948 on Jun 20, 2012, 5:05pm »
So anyway, I went wild last night and put some of my spare ribs and miscellaneous pork pieces in an oven dish with:
chopped garlic tandoori sauce lemon juice cardomum pods Cayenne pepper cinnamon turmeric masala powder nuoc mam olive oil Chinese marinade powdered ginger chopped carrots brown Belgian Trappist beer enough to cover all the rest
Then it went in the oven. I would not have dared to do this if I had any dinner guests.
I served it over raw chopped Chinese cabbage, chopped green onions, stewed white beans and chopped cilantro.
My name really isn't Don, but I used to be anónimo.
Joined: Feb 2009 Gender: Male Posts: 2,939 Location: Michoacán, México
Re: What's for dinner tonight? « Reply #5950 on Jun 20, 2012, 11:42pm »
Comida today with friends at the Restaurante San Felipe in the Hotel Misíon Pátzcuaro. Highlights of the meal include the salsa roja of roasted tomatoes and mild chiles.
Also special praise for the salsa verde:
both accompanying some freebie totopos with frijoles:
There was an interesting appetizer of crisped chile pasilla, cheese, onion, chopped chiles manzanos, cilantro and crema for a sort of make-your-own-taco dish:
I had an above average Sopa Tarasca:
Sra. Cuevas had a Crema Tangaxhuan (corn with bacon and little croutons floating on top.)
In my opinion, the quality declined somewhat with the main courses. I had a chuleta adobada:
which was a bit thin and tough and would have been dry but for the adobo coating. But still, not bad.
Dessert was a poorly made flan (ever had chewy flan?) or an attractive and tasty Crepas a la Naranja.
Overall, a nice meal, despite a few flaws, but most of all with interesting company.
« Last Edit: Jun 20, 2012, 11:45pm by Don Cuevas »
Joined: Feb 2009 Gender: Female Posts: 25,274 Location: Mexico
Re: What's for dinner tonight? « Reply #5951 on Jun 21, 2012, 1:59am »
Re: basa: who knows what fish is being sold under that name here. Even tilapia gets renamed. I know & like catfish, so I don't think it's that.
Casimira, you MUST share that recipe, please! (Your table is exquisite.)
Kerouac, that looks gorgeous, tasty, & healthful to boot.
DonC, the rustic salsas look ambrosial, ditto the sopa Tarasca. Don't know crema Tangaxhuan at all.
My dinner was a late lunch at @3:30 ~~ I made a lovely nopal salad & included tiny new potatoes in it. Also cooked cubed chayote with chorizo & broke an egg over it at the end.
Re: basa: who knows what fish is being sold under that name here. Even tilapia gets renamed. I know & like catfish, so I don't think it's that.
Casimira, you MUST share that recipe, please! (Your table is exquisite.)
Kerouac, that looks gorgeous, tasty, & healthful to boot.
DonC, the rustic salsas look ambrosial, ditto the sopa Tarasca. Don't know crema Tangaxhuan at all.
My dinner was a late lunch at @3:30 ~~ I made a lovely nopal salad & included tiny new potatoes in it. Also cooked cubed chayote with chorizo & broke an egg over it at the end.
Here it is Bixa, in with the Lemon recipes, Reply #10
There is also a beautiful pic of Imec's version of it in this thread, reply # 5,271,page 176 I think his looks prettier. Regardless, it's a fabulous dish and really easy to make.
Re: What's for dinner tonight? « Reply #5955 on Jun 22, 2012, 5:13pm »
I have been at home all day working on my Trip Report so got a big pot of Scotch Broth on the go. For tonights supper I took some out and added noodles. My husband gave me the thumbs up! PS - It's very cold today so soup was ideal.
Joined: Feb 2009 Gender: Female Posts: 25,274 Location: Mexico
Re: What's for dinner tonight? « Reply #5956 on Jun 23, 2012, 2:04am »
Thanks, Casimira!
Oh gosh ~~ that sounds ideal, Tod.
I'm having guias, which are technically the little leaders on a squash vine, but also a bunch of other mixed greens, including wild stuff & cut up corn on the cob & slices of squash. It all comes cleaned & cut up in a bag from market ladies. I make mine soupy (pot likker) & am having it with toasted french bread.
Joined: Feb 2009 Gender: Male Posts: 34,415 Location: Paris, France
Re: What's for dinner tonight? « Reply #5957 on Jun 24, 2012, 10:40am »
I was going to make chicken couscous last night -- the ultra simple version where you just buy a big tin of "couscous vegetables" and add a thing or two to it, and then you just cook your meat and steam your couscous.
Everything was going fine until I discovered that I was out of couscous! I could have run down to the store to buy a box of semolina, but I decided the-hell-with-it so I made buttered saffron rice instead. It turned out fine.
Joined: Aug 2009 Gender: Female Posts: 1,072 Location: Southern California
Re: What's for dinner tonight? « Reply #5958 on Jun 25, 2012, 6:34am »
Now that I have mastered the switch from PC to Mac and finding all of my login IDs, I am starting to feel confident in posting. My first tomato from my balcony farm plot(reference a page back):
That was a salad plate, for size reference, so it wasn't a huge tomato. But it was MY first. And it was delicious. (My kitchen counter is black stone; so the photo looks a bit more staged than my phone camera is normally capable of producing...)
Lots of new tomatoes in various stages of development. Stay tuned for my upcoming reports of tomato rapture....
Re: What's for dinner tonight? « Reply #5960 on Jun 25, 2012, 7:18am »
A magnificent tomato Cristina, and what goes better with tomato than anything else ..those basil leaves of course! I can't wait to put in some of the seeds I recently bought in England. Will I get some of those wonderful red juicy ones that are pictured on the packet?
Now that I have mastered the switch from PC to Mac and finding all of my login IDs, I am starting to feel confident in posting. My first tomato from my balcony farm plot(reference a page back):
I just switched to Mac OS X Lion, and although I'd read up on it, some things are driving me batty. On the other hand, some features are totally cool.
We are in New Jersey and the tomatoes are so much better than what we've had in Mexico. (See? back on topic.)
My name really isn't Don, but I used to be anónimo.
Joined: Feb 2009 Gender: Male Posts: 2,939 Location: Michoacán, México
Re: What's for dinner tonight? « Reply #5963 on Jun 28, 2012, 10:28pm »
Today, a large lunch at Sol Mar, a Brazilian and Portuguese restaurant in Tarrytown, NY. Again, we met our niece and her husband there.
This year, the sol was somewhat marred by less than stellar food than last year.
But the appetizers were very good, especially accompanied by a caipirhina or a glass of chilled vinho verde.
Caipirhina
We had grilled octopus with garlic.
The tasty Bolinhas de Bacalau (Codfish fritters) were o.k.
Sauteed Portobello Mushrooms were nice.
Sra. Cuevas had some sauteed pompano.
A very good, cold, sun dried tomato vinaigrette was a nice accompaniment to the pompano.
The Porco Alentejano (Pork stew with Little Neck clams) was somewhat less than successful. It was salty and the segments of pickled cauliflower were a jarring note. But, it looked nice.
We tried several desserts, first was a Mango Mousse pastry. The candle is for Sra. Cuevas' birthday;
There was also flan, chocolate mousse cake, a cafe espresso, a couple of glasses of Vinho Verde, and a Caipirhina cocktail to start. So in all, we didn't do so badly.
My name really isn't Don, but I used to be anónimo.
Joined: Feb 2009 Gender: Male Posts: 2,939 Location: Michoacán, México
Re: What's for dinner tonight? « Reply #5967 on Jun 29, 2012, 10:02pm »
This is a description of a wine, from the Raymond Vineyards website, that may or may not be the one I opened. I think this text is hilarious.
This dense, dark Cabernet opens with the fresh aromas of blueberries and linen, with a twist of the more opulent overtones of roasted meats, cigars, and the forest floor. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied and powerful as minerality and earthiness intermingle with the sweetness of elderberry and currants. This wine is evenly structured and well balanced with a beautifully extended finish.
This is a description of a wine, from the Raymond Vineyards website, that may or may not be the one I opened. I think this text is hilarious.
This dense, dark Cabernet opens with the fresh aromas of blueberries and linen, with a twist of the more opulent overtones of roasted meats, cigars, and the forest floor. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied and powerful as minerality and earthiness intermingle with the sweetness of elderberry and currants. This wine is evenly structured and well balanced with a beautifully extended finish.
I would like a job writing such colorful BS.
Does anyone do such extreme pretentious violence to the language as wine snobs and copy writers aiming at them? Much of reads like ridiculous parody.
My name really isn't Don, but I used to be anónimo.
Joined: Feb 2009 Gender: Male Posts: 2,939 Location: Michoacán, México
Re: What's for dinner tonight? « Reply #5969 on Jun 29, 2012, 11:36pm »
A cold glass of buttermilk infused with the impudent effervescence of sparkling water. Mineral salt judiciously sprinkled on the superstructure, plus a few grinds of imported black peppercorns.
(That's what I just drank. It was good, but the orange flavor added to the otherwise pure sparkling water gave it a flavor note of a school lunchroom on a warm Spring Day.)