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Post by auntieannie on Oct 11, 2011 19:30:57 GMT
Duck breast is easy to cook, CPB. cook them (in a frying pan) on the fatty side first - about 8 minutes and then about three minutes the other side. Should be cooked perfectly. Whilst it is resting inside aluminium foil inside a towel, prepare the orange sauce or sweet and sour sauce in the pan, using the suc left by the meat. you'll need to deglace the pan first with a little wine. it goes shhhhhh! and then you swirl the wine around the pan and then you add whatever t is you make your sauce with. mustard? orange juice? more wine? a little stock? herbs, spices, maybe pieces of fruit if you like that. (sorry for the threadjack - I'll post pics of my last three dinners in another thread.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 11, 2011 20:05:51 GMT
The best thing about duck for me is that it can be eaten rare and bloody (unlike chicken  ) -- I eat them like a thick steak. Annie sounds really complicated!  But the more you grill the fat skin side, the better it is!
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Post by Deleted on Oct 11, 2011 20:09:55 GMT
From one extreme to another, tonight I only ate a cucumber salad with onions, parsley and crème fraîche (and yes, olive oil, balsamic vinegar....).
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Post by Don Cuevas on Oct 11, 2011 20:59:06 GMT
Postponed the Filete de Pescado al Mojo de Ajo as too complicated at present energy levels. Looking at making a simple Sopa de Ajo con Huevos Escalfados.
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Post by lagatta on Oct 11, 2011 21:05:59 GMT
I don't like bloody duck! (Yes, I know that sounds like strong language). I do like it pink, however, which would be unthinkable with chicken, turkey etc. I do it very simply too, a bit of San-J teryaki sauce is plenty (that is a really good teryaki that is not too sweet).
But then, I don't like REALLY bloody (bleu) steak either. I want it a deep pink inside - light pink is starting to be overdone, beige inside is shoe leather.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 11, 2011 21:13:24 GMT
When I have guests, I have to overcook just about everything by my standards.
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Post by Don Cuevas on Oct 11, 2011 21:57:29 GMT
The simple Sopa de Ajo only required 3 pans/pots to make it, if you don't count the too small skillet into which I first poured the olive oil. But it wasn't really difficult. I was restrained, and only used 5 large cloves of garlic for 1 1/2 liters of light beef stock.
The Pescado awaits us mañana.
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Post by hwinpp on Oct 12, 2011 14:28:16 GMT
More good stuff at a seafood restaurant in Northern Jakarta. The area is called Mangga Dua. First the chilli sauce, everything is drizzled with the lime juice then mixed, chilli paste, onions and cut chillis.  The the simply fried butterfly fish (everything eatable, including the bones).  Then these shellfish, stir fried in fermented, brown bean sauce.  And because one fish isn't enough, a garoupa steamed with soy sauce and ginger.  I was a bit slow with these butterflied prawns in garlic.  BBQ'd aubergines with a sambal trassi filling.   Tomorrow I'll be on an early flight to Medan and the Sumatran curries 
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Post by auntieannie on Oct 12, 2011 14:38:00 GMT
tonight I'll be eating out with a friend. I think it'll be Thai.
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Post by bixaorellana on Oct 12, 2011 16:52:06 GMT
I am swooning over those Jakarata pics, HW! Guess you'll be really hungry after that flight, huh? I know you'll do us justice in the vicarious eating department!
Enjoy, Annie. There's no way to nip out & satisfy any Asian food craving here.
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Post by Don Cuevas on Oct 12, 2011 17:20:54 GMT
Lunch: Mexican patè tortas. The pescado still waits in the fridge.
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Oct 12, 2011 17:22:45 GMT
Thanks for the cooking suggestions...might have a go next week if I get time. ;D
Tonight we have baby potatoes baked in the oven with a little olive oil and sea salt....crispy green salad and quiche (brocolli and tomato)
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Post by auntieannie on Oct 12, 2011 22:18:07 GMT
I you like your meat a bit more cooked... just cook it longer on the fatty side. enjoy, CPB!
Bixa, we went for modern english cookery after a relaxing cocktail. delicious meal with a lovely friend = excellent evening was had by all.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 12, 2011 22:29:09 GMT
I made some excellent Tunisian briks using sheets of brik to wrap up mixed tuna, egg, onion, parsley, cheese, chilis, garlic, maize, etc. I made little wrapped rectangles and fried them until they were golden brown. Really good! Or at least it was what hit the spot tonight.
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Post by lagatta on Oct 13, 2011 0:10:59 GMT
Nothing as incredible as hwinpp's spreads, but I was very glad that I had made a good portion of DonC's potatoes sautéed in a cast-iron skillet in olive oil with abundant garlic. This, because there were little bison steaks marked down half-price at a local (small) supermarket. Why? Because they were two days before their "best before" date. That can be a problem with mince/ground meat or with poultry, but not at all with steak unless it is greenish or smelly. I bought two of the steaks and later regretted not buying more - it seems people with arthritis/rheumatism should not eat red meat every day, but at the same time there must be a reason I'm craving it. Bison is extremely high in protein and iron, and very lean, so one must watch it carefully or it will turn into shoe leather/very expensive cat food. I was proud with myself that I got it just right - nicely browned on the surface, no doubt overdone by K2's standards but still a wee bit bloody inside and most of the inside a very deep pink. Not at all shoe-leatherish. I added some (jarred) grilled red sweet pepper (Spanish, I believe) to the potatoes and it was a lovely, simple dish.
Speaking of the great Prairies, where on earth is imec?
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Post by bixaorellana on Oct 13, 2011 1:43:14 GMT
 Cheers, Annie -- sounds great!  Everyone's posts about their dinners start with variations of "I made" and all the suppers were inspired and showed pride in your kitchen ability and care for yourselves. I bought a roasted chicken at the bus stop downtown. I did make a little slaw with it & boiled the bones & avocado leaves to create something homemade later.
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Post by Don Cuevas on Oct 13, 2011 9:28:31 GMT
I finally turned my attention to the filetes de pescado late yesterday afternoon. First, I pressure cooked some large potatoes to serve as an accompaniment. Then, following recipe directions for Filete de Pescado Al Mojo de Ajo as closely as I am able (which is not too closely.), I squeezed lime juice over two filetes, then abundant squeezed garlic and S&P. These are covered with plastic film and refrigerated about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, I thinly sliced 6 more cloves of garlic, got a goodly handful of cilantro, already cleaned, then chopped; about 1/2 cup sliced almonds, got out the olive oil and butter. The printed recipe, as in so many others, makes a big, multi pan production of what, IMO, can be greatly simplified. I heated the olive oil in a large, cast iron skillet, slowly browned the garlic slices along with the almonds and set them aside. The fish filets are brought out of the fridge (I think the fridge step is probably unnecessary, especially in our cool climate.) and dredged in flour seasoned with S&P and cayenne or pimentón picante, optional. (This extra S&P is probably excessive) and the cast iron pan is reheated with just enough olive oil to gently fry the filets, about 3 minutes per side, or until the flesh flakes with the touch of a fork. The silly recipe  has you remove the fish to heated plated to hold while you now brown the garlic, squeeze in some lime juice, and pour it over the fish. But we cleverly already had fried the garlic, along with the almonds, and after the briefest reheating with the limey marinade (may contribute to overall salt levels), distributed that over the filets, y ¡ya hecho! The still steaming boiled potatoes were sliced thickly and plated, and a container of leftover Ensalada de Nopalitos was place on the table. It is a light, tart, refreshing salad, and healhful and safe when eaten with discretion. The filetes de pescado were tender and delicious, the rich "sauce" offset by the stolid blandness of the boiled potatoes. Ve trank some Rhein Wein vith dot. (I need to restock my cheap Sauvignon Blanc, from Costco.) In the future, I will be more sparing with the salt. I managed to get a picture or two. Here's one:
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Post by Deleted on Oct 13, 2011 12:30:34 GMT
I could eat that every day for a week. (Then I'd start craving spaghetti or something.  )
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Post by bixaorellana on Oct 13, 2011 16:11:20 GMT
Well, I didn't think I'd be craving fish again after the traumatic nastiness of that crap from the Bodega Aurrera, but your picture & description constitute a piscatory poem. That's definitely an argument for rejecting the recipe and going with ones informed instincts.
Filete al mojo de ajo is what I always order when visiting a seafood restaurant for the first time. If they screw that up, I don't ever need to go back.
Question: you say, "got out the olive oil and butter", but never say what you did with the butter. I'm assuming you mixed them?
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Post by Don Cuevas on Oct 13, 2011 18:28:43 GMT
The butter was used to finish the garlic and nuts.
Sent via an iPod at a Morelia Starbucks, after a breakfast of menudo.
A couple of hours later, a late lunch at Mariscos La Güera Campestre, where Doña Cuevas had a very nice brocheta de camarones, and I erred in ordered the ¡NUEVO! Tallarines con Camarones, which was terminally boring. I jazzed up the mostly tomato sauce with salsa chipotle, lime juice and cilantro.
I may dare to suggest to the owners, whom I consider friends, ways to punch up the dish somewhat.
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Post by hwinpp on Oct 14, 2011 4:47:17 GMT
Last night, went for street food, the road is called Jalan Semarang. Duck soup and yong tau fu (described in my Singapore thread).  Saté padang, the only disappointment. Very mediocre, tasteless peanut sauce, the one I had 2 nights ago in Jakarta was much better, you can see the difference.  A mix of BBQ'd and roast pork. The Indonesians don't seem to have religious hangups about food, halal and non halal eateries side by side (not like i Malaysia).  Fried chi cheong fun, a big flat layer of rice noodle that's roughly cut up and fried and then looks a bit like char kuai teow.  We needed more of that, so another portion, this time unfried was ordered.  And this is the street.  Looks a bit like parts of Phnom Penh ;D
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Post by Deleted on Oct 14, 2011 5:23:14 GMT
Those kinds of streets are the ones I always look for at dinner time!
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Post by bixaorellana on Oct 14, 2011 5:48:54 GMT
I may dare to suggest to the owners, whom I consider friends, ways to punch up the dish somewhat. Like leaving out tomato sauce, for instance? That could only improve it. Another yummyfeast, HW! Sorry about the saté padang, but it seems to have been your only disappointment so far. I wanna sink my fangs into that plate of mixed pork. You're in Mexico and you didn't call me?!
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Post by Don Cuevas on Oct 14, 2011 6:30:13 GMT
I may dare to suggest to the owners, whom I consider friends, ways to punch up the dish somewhat. Like leaving out tomato sauce, for instance? That could only improve it. I agree about the tomato sauce. Its use is very unimaginative. When we got home, I looked up shrimp with pasta recipes, first in my The Mediterranean Kitchen, by Joyce Goldstein (one of my favorite cookbooks for ideas, although I seldom make the recipes.) There are a couple of possibilities. One, Fettuccine Al Barese, in which peeled and deveined shrimp are sauteed in a little olive oil, removed from the pan and held, while more olive oil is added, and quite a lot of minced garlic and some crushed red pepper flakes are added, then some dry white wine which is used to deglaze the pan. The pasta (preferably fresh fettuccine) is cooked separately (I would have started the pasta water before doing the shrimp sauté.) The shrimp are returned to the pan, fresh lemon juice and butter are added, the butter melts, and you are done. I imagine that a sprinkle of chopped parsley (or for a Mexican touch, cilantro) could be added. The next page has a recipe for Fettucine a la Grecque, in which pizzaiola sauce and sauteed shrimp are combined, and chunks of feta cheese are dropped in. Rather more garish, I think, but it would still be an improvment over what I had yesterday. I'm also thinking of a Shrimp with Pasta and Creamy Pesto Sauce; not something I'd make at home, but more appealing than a dull, ordinary tomato sauce. I'm thankful that I didn't order the Paella. I can only imagine how they would execute that dish on a per customer basis al momento. Mariscos La Güera and its larger highway-side brother, Mariscos La Güera Campestre are two of my favorite restaurants in the Pátzcuaro area, but they do best when working in their area of competence, that is, non elaborate traditional Mexican seafood dishes. If tomatoes are required as a component, I would prefer fresh, diced tomatoes, sauteed with garlic and oregano.
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Post by Don Cuevas on Oct 14, 2011 6:42:35 GMT
Elsewhere in the Mediterranean Kitchen is a recipe for Pasta alla Cataplana, a take on a Portuguese dish. Here's the Portuguese version, Porco Alentejano, a pork and clam stew, no pasta, as served at Restaurant Sol Mar, in Tarrytown, NY.  In Goldstein's variation, a modest amount of fennel, chorizo or linguisa sausage is combined with red onions, tomato sauce, fresh rosemary or dried oregano or chopped cilantro, and whole Manila Clams, the latter cooked separately in white wine and finished with parsley. This is probably too elaborate for the restaurant in question in this form. I can see it being done with shrimp and chorizo, and possibly cilantro. Bold flavors that might win customers.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 14, 2011 13:24:17 GMT
Somebody has stolen three of the clams!
I must do something with chicken livers tonight.
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Post by mickthecactus on Oct 14, 2011 13:30:03 GMT
Somebody has stolen three of the clams! I must do something with chicken livers tonight. How about the Lambada? ;D
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Post by lagatta on Oct 14, 2011 15:23:25 GMT
I have a large leek to work with tonight. No, I'm not taking him out dancing. Don't know what to do. I have no époisses on hand. Perhaps a gratin, or a savoury tart.
Leeks are also good in stir fries, but I prefer using smaller ones for that.
I have three books by Joyce Goldstein on Mediterranean Jewish cuisines (given to me by someone who got them doing interviews of her and some other cookbook authors) but somehow I doubt the pork and clam stew is particularly kosher. I have had it at a Portuguese resto here - it is very tasty.
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Post by Don Cuevas on Oct 14, 2011 23:12:56 GMT
Today's dinner was a fortuitous mistake. I'd thought I'd taken a container of Italian Wedding Soup out of the freezer to thaw, but I found it was really Polpette in Mushroom Tomato Sauce. No big deal; I just boiled more rigatoni/fusilli and augmented the sparse sauce that was on the meatballs with a jar of Cirio Passata Rustica, rinsed out the jar with dry red wine, tossed in some vaguely Italian seasoning, and slowly heated it as the pasta came to a boil. We had crusty, hearth baked rolls with it and a mixed organic greens salad with some more ensalada de nopalitos. Passed the Big Green Tube of Powdered Parmesan-like substance. (I'd smoke it if I could.)
The beverage of the day was copious draughts of a Chilean "Chilensis" red wine, about $4 USD at the local Costco.
These type of meals are among our favorites, evoking a working class Italo-American family, sitting down to the the checkered tablecloth covered kitchen table, Papa in his undershirt, Mama bringing a huge bowl of pasta with meatballs to the table, a chunk of hard grating cheese, a loaf of crisp crusted bread (preferably with sesame seeds), a jug of "red ink", the whole great stereotypical scene.
By the way, I knew and grew up with those folks. Maybe that's the main reason I like that kind of meal so much.
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Post by Don Cuevas on Oct 16, 2011 8:01:49 GMT
Saturday afternoon, we went to our favorite pollos asados weekends only semi-outdoor restaurant, El Tejaban, at Tzurumutaro. The chickens are coated with spices, slowly grilled over charcoal and then a whole orange is squeezed over each chicken. It's good "to go" but even better eaten right there, with hot, handmade made tortillas, a sort of simple cabbage slaw that has pickled jalapeño strips (easily avoided), and carrot slices. There's an optional, brick red salsa roja on the table which is quite "dynamic." A whole chicken costs $60 pesos, tortillas are a little extra. Two can eat well for less than $8 USD. To start, I went to the little Mom and Pop grocery store next door and bought a plastic cup of mezcal from a small keg on the counter. It was a generous pour and it cost only $10 pesos. (75¢ US). A fresh lime was thrown in for free. You can have Tequila, if you prefer. This is the same store where we buy our jugs of purified water and eggs, so it has a neighborhood feeling, even though we live some miles more away. At El Tejaban, Sr. Abel mans the grill, on busy weekends, assisted by his grown son. Abel's wife, Sra. Rosa serves the customers and collects the money, while their niece, whose name I forgot, waits and buses tables. The Autumn day was bright and sunny and our appetites were keen. We ate all the chicken except for have a piece of breast, two plates of slaw and a bottle each of Fresca toronja (grapefruit soda.) The tortillas had lots of character and flavor, and we were well supplied by Sra. Rosa. Another woman actually makes the tortillas, but I don't know her name. El Tejaban is exactly the sort of restaurant I treasure among my favorites in Mexico. I didn't take a picture, but I have numerous past examples.  Sr. Abel at the grill.  Pollos al carbón.  The mariscos are long gone, but the pollos Tejaban live on.  A platter of pollo, hot and sassy.
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