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Post by kerouac2 on May 20, 2022 15:59:29 GMT
Leftovers tonight: mashed potatoes and saucisse de Strasbourg.
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Post by tod2 on May 21, 2022 11:49:52 GMT
It's a miserable rainy day but Mt.Tod is over the moon as his water storage tanks are filling fast....in the meantime I've been sorting out my recipes torn from loads of magazines I will be dumping. I came across a recipe for Leeks from my Marmiton magazine I bought at the railway station somewhere. It has a recipe for Gratin de Poireau au Saint-Nectaire. I spent half an hour on my computer translating the whole thing but alas I cannot get my hands on the AOP Saint-Nectaire made in a small area of Puy-de-Dom & Cantal in the Avergne. Kerouc, what ( if any) replacement could or would you use?
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Post by tod2 on May 21, 2022 14:52:40 GMT
Dinner on a rainy day - young lamb chops done in the oven with boulangère potatoes and cubes of leek all in one pan. A ton to thyme and a good glug or more of chicken stock and butter. Gem squash and fresh young green beans on the side. It was an amazing simple meal.
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Post by kerouac2 on May 21, 2022 16:18:49 GMT
I cannot get my hands on the AOP Saint-Nectaire Saint-Nectaire is just a cow cheese, so even if it is not a perfect replacement, even something as ordinary as camembert could work. It wouldn't be the same for ewe or goat cheeses...
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Post by casimira on May 21, 2022 16:53:33 GMT
As a reward for tending to a neighbor's garden for a week while they were on vacation, they gave me two beautiful Yellowfin Tuna steaks fresh from the Gulf in Florida.
We are going to grill them this evening. I'm not sure what I will serve with them. I have several options: fresh green beans, spinach and or some salad. There are some baby zucchinis growing in the Community Garden nearby but, I want to double check that I can harvest a few and grill them along with the tuna.
They also gave me a bottle of Graham Beck Sparkling Rose (from South Africa) which they know I love. T. is not crazy about it, so I guess it is up to me to drink it all. He has other options, so I don't feel at all guilty about being greedy and not sharing.
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Post by tod2 on May 22, 2022 10:35:14 GMT
Thanks Kerouac. As you mention camembert it must obviously be a soft cows milk cheese and nothing like cheddar cheese. I prefer a Brie then.
Casimira - Graham Beck is a mid-price range wine. I certainly still find it far too expensive at around R225 -00 ( $16.00) for simply quaffing. You lucky gal!
"Graham Beck is well known for its sparkling wines and this Brut Rosé is yet another stellar offering. A combination of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, this award-winning wine is a pale silver-pink in colour. It boasts a bouquet of raspberry and cherry aromas at first, followed by mineral notes. In the mouth there is a fine, vibrant mousse, with delicate red berry flavours enriched by a bracing acidity. Further dashes of lavender and oyster shell round out the flavour profile. A flirty, yet structured and sophisticated wine, it is ideal for every season and any celebration."
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Post by casimira on May 22, 2022 15:55:59 GMT
Casimira - Graham Beck is a mid-price range wine. I certainly still find it far too expensive at around R225 -00 ( $16.00) for simply quaffing. You lucky gal! "Graham Beck is well known for its sparkling wines and this Brut Rosé is yet another stellar offering. A combination of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, this award-winning wine is a pale silver-pink in colour. It boasts a bouquet of raspberry and cherry aromas at first, followed by mineral notes. In the mouth there is a fine, vibrant mousse, with delicate red berry flavours enriched by a bracing acidity. Further dashes of lavender and oyster shell round out the flavour profile. A flirty, yet structured and sophisticated wine, it is ideal for every season and any celebration." Tod, the woman who gave it to me knows her wines and she had introduced me to Graham Beck several years ago and I fell in love with it. I knew it was a tad pricey. I'm not sure I could say that I picked up on all those hints of flavors mentioned. I'm not that much of a connoisseur of fine wines but I do know a decent wine when I taste one. And yes I drank the whole bottle over the course of the evening. Wish you were around to have shared it with me.
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Post by kerouac2 on May 22, 2022 18:31:19 GMT
Tonight I cut up a chicken breast (my least favourite piece of chicken) and put it in a baking dish with chopped onion, chopped green banana (unsweet) and chopped red chillies, covered with coconut milk. It came out nice and juicy and tasted fine -- definitely different!
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Post by tod2 on May 23, 2022 10:15:07 GMT
We also had chicken but in thigh meat. Roasted in the oven hence the very charred appearance. I had the oven on a high temp. as I had put a tomato tart in the oven as well. I used shop bought shortcrust pastry....Never again. It was like concrete. Anyway the olive tapenade with anchovies and the roasted tomato were ok. Vegetables ready for the oven:
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Post by kerouac2 on May 23, 2022 16:45:27 GMT
I like your vegetable mix.
I had a sliced tomato salad and a big plate of beef carpaccio, both with loads of olive oil.
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Post by mickthecactus on May 23, 2022 17:41:59 GMT
Lasagne and salad.
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Post by tod2 on May 24, 2022 11:49:54 GMT
Huge effort going into todays dinner....trying to emulate my latest flame ( TV Chef) Jean-Pierre Brehier. I have no idea if this is a new series or several years old already but he is so entertaining. I'm doing his recipe for crab cakes but I have no crab so using monkfish fillets. I have great hopes this will turn out great.
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Post by cheerypeabrain on May 24, 2022 14:29:30 GMT
Griddled fillet steak with a small baked potato and corn on the cob probably with a fried egg.
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Post by tod2 on May 24, 2022 16:34:58 GMT
This always happens when planning something special - No Electricity the entire day and into the night. This affected me only slightly as I had to use my airfyrer not the oven. (Airfyer is on solar - thank goodness!) I par fried the cakes on my one and only gas ring, then transferred them to the air fryer. I found the "meat" of the fish cake too solid but that is entirely my fault for not incorporating small chunks of bell pepper. Mine was solid monkfish, prawn tails and hake fish. Too dry. Never mind it was edible with a lovey salad.
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Post by kerouac2 on May 26, 2022 15:50:02 GMT
I'm having a chicken salad tonight using sliced chicken breasts that I deep fried in panko last night.
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Post by kerouac2 on May 26, 2022 15:51:10 GMT
This always happens when planning something special - No Electricity the entire day and into the night. This affected me only slightly as I had to use my airfyrer not the oven. (Airfyer is on solar - thank goodness!) I par fried the cakes on my one and only gas ring, then transferred them to the air fryer. I found the "meat" of the fish cake too solid but that is entirely my fault for not incorporating small chunks of bell pepper. Mine was solid monkfish, prawn tails and hake fish. Too dry. Never mind it was edible with a lovey salad. It seems like you pulled a victory out of the jaws of disaster.
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Post by mickthecactus on May 26, 2022 16:42:42 GMT
I'm having a chicken salad tonight using sliced chicken breasts that I deep fried in panko last night. Wouldn’t olive oil be easier?
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Post by kerouac2 on May 26, 2022 17:07:17 GMT
Can't afford enough for deep frying for which it would be inappropriate anyway since it starts smoking at a much lower temperature.
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Post by tod2 on May 27, 2022 16:08:46 GMT
Another day of Electricians sorting out cables and switch plugs. At 4pm they were ready to go and I was ready to start dinner because the beef I had bought needed a certain amount of braising. So onward I ventured and had the entire meal of Braised steak and onions all ready by 5.30pm. I also did sauteed mushrooms, small baby potatoes and courgettes on the side.
I was very pleased with the Angus beef. The slices were tender and not stringy.
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Post by tod2 on Jun 1, 2022 8:20:44 GMT
Last night I prepared a big red Bell pepper as a side dish to the fish and chips I was serving. I stuffed the halves with diced onion, baby Brie cheese, little tomatoes and some basil pesto. Roasted in the airfryer for 30min or so. Was delicious.
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Post by kerouac2 on Jun 5, 2022 17:38:41 GMT
I had a microwave dinner out of total laziness, but also because when you buy a set of "3 for the price of 2" tartiflettes, you have to use them sooner or later. Actually, they are quite good (after eating the second one). But I still don't feel that I have had a real dinner.
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Jun 6, 2022 20:26:27 GMT
I made a huge chicken, ham and leek pie made with with BOUGHT puff pastry. Had it with stemed veg and a little mashed potato. It was very filling.
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Post by biddy on Jun 6, 2022 23:14:21 GMT
Cheery - 'Bless me Father for I have sinned' I too occasionally use BOUGHT puff pastry.
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Post by kerouac2 on Jun 12, 2022 17:37:31 GMT
I improvised a vegetarian dinner of sautéed carrot slivers with chopped ginger, to which I added sliced boiled potatoes and chopped red chillies. But the main ingrediant was fresh spinach leaves, added at the end so they wouldn't wilt too much. I used sesame oil for the cooking, and also added soy sauce and nuoc mam for extra liquid, and the end result was quite tasty.
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Post by kerouac2 on Jun 14, 2022 16:53:47 GMT
Salad nights as the weather heats up... head cheese and fried haloumi with cucumber slices, cherry tomatoes, red onions and other stuff fried prawns and squid tentacles with bean sprouts, blanched broccoli and carrots, red spring onions, pickled Turkish chillies and who knows what all
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Post by lugg on Jun 15, 2022 17:37:12 GMT
Both salads look lovely - I am having Salad niçoise tonight - its quite warm here too.
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Post by kerouac2 on Jun 15, 2022 18:08:55 GMT
Tonight I had cold Japanese udon noodles with bean sprouts and thin strips of omelette as the basic ingredients. There was also some flat parsley, carrots sesame seeds and sesame oil with a bit of soy sauce.
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Post by tod2 on Jun 17, 2022 15:36:39 GMT
We have been away for a week. I have been the appointed chef to the construction workers and If I say so myself they thrived on what I served them three times a day. As you can imagine hard slog requires lots of carbonates so meals where based on that.
Tonight I went very light with a dinner of sauteed prawns in vegetables.
Mr.Tod would give his eye teeth for that head cheese,....
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Post by lugg on Jun 18, 2022 17:59:27 GMT
I really dont know what head cheese is ?? but it looks good
Tonight I am cooking chicken and pepper kebabs , with grilled aubergine, flat breads and tzatziki - just awaiting daughter now to enjoy them with me .
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 18, 2022 18:09:02 GMT
You all eat so well! Lugg, are you familiar with brawn? en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Head_cheeseTodd, I used to make headcheese -- Louisiana style, of course. It's a little project that would be right up your alley! This is very detailed, so worth reading no matter which recipe you ultimately choose -- there are many online. twoguysandacooler.com/hog-head-cheese/
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