O.T.F. Survey: What did you have for dinner ?

Palomine · « **Reply #150 on:** August 21, 2004, 09:57:05 PM »

Quote:

Quote:

That's very funny! Like "Eating Raoul" or "Delicatessen" ...both good movies involving cannibalism. To answer the first Q, I said that I hadn't met the right girl, which is true... or if I have I just don't know it yet!

Palomine, that foremost morsel looks like brain matter. What is it?

If you mean the bite sized pink thing closest to the camera... that's a medium rare morself of Tri-tip. Or more accurately, it WAS.

Palomine · « **Reply #151 on:** October 17, 2004, 08:04:57 PM »

Roast Pork Fried Rice (serves 4)

Make some cooked rice:

1 cup white rice and 1.5 cups lowfat chicken broth or water (cook as per instructions).

1 pound (more or less) lean pork (loin or shoulder), cut into strips, coat in Char Shu sauce (chinese BBQ sauce, available at most markets), dust with chinese five spice mixture and then grill over LOW heat til almost done (cook slowly and don't overcook). Then remove from grill and chop into cubes (smaller than bite size).

Coat a hot wok with a little peanut oil. Lightly salt and quickly stir-fry the following ingredients til they're lightly cooked and then remove from wok:

1/2 cup peas (use frozen or if canned, drain thoroughly)
1/4 cup scallions (green onions, chopped finely)
1 onion (any kind, chopped)

With the wok still very hot, add a bit more oil to coat and then put in the cooked rice. Move the rice around constantly... coating it with oil and it will gradually turn brown... shouldn't take more than 3-4 minutes on high heat. Now add all the other ingredients: the chopped pork and vegetables, along with:

3 eggs, scrambled in a cup

...don't forget to always keep the mixture moving. If you want, you can add a dash of soy sauce, stir a bit more and then remove from heat. That's it.

Of course, you could substitute/add chicken, defrosted shrimp or firm tofu cubes instead of pork, and if you want carrots or some other vegetables that's fine too. Enjoy.

F_Cup_Fitzgerald · « **Reply #152 on:** October 17, 2004, 10:25:09 PM »

Barbecue sandwich, but on a hamburger bun, not processed-within-an-inch-of-its-life white sliced bread. Beef brisket, with that small strip of reddish-pink around the outer edge. And small bites of jalapeno. And indifferent fries with a lot of black pepper on them. And iced tea.

Palomine · « **Reply #153 on:** October 30, 2004, 08:21:48 PM »

Pasta with sauteed shallots and Italian ham (serves 2-3)

In the mood for a change from my usual grilled or stir-fried something or other over rice or couscous, I thought that something comfortable (i.e.: loaded with carbs and fat) would be nice on a brisk October evening. I was right.

1 pound fresh Rotini (spirals) ...of course you can use any shape you like (and substitute dry pasta if fresh isn't an option). I prefer Rotini for dishes like this (with a thin sauce) since the tight spirals hold onto the sauce tenaciously.

1/4 pound Capicola, roughly diced into small pieces (spicy Italian ham... preferably imported and not overly lean). You can substitute Pancetta or Prosciutto if you like (Trader Joe's used to have packages of very decent diced Prosciutto, though I haven't seen on their shelves recently). If you're getting the ham from a decent deli as I did, have the butcher give you thick slices which you can then cut into small pieces.

2 medium sized shallots, chopped fine

2 ounces of sweet, unsalted butter

1 small handful of fresh basil, roughly chopped or torn

2-3 ounces of freshly grated Rarmesan Reggiano cheese (you could use any good, flavorful, hard aged cheese... Asiago also works well). Like the ham, buy decent quality ingredients... the simpler a dish is, the more important it is that every item count. The tiny wedge of cheese I bought for this (maybe 5 or 6 ounces total) cost US$8.

olive oil, salt and pepper to taste

Cook the pasta till it's al dente (done but still firm... don't overcook it!) in salted water, drain and set aside for sauce.

The sauce: in a little olive oil, saute the shallots. Just as they're starting to turn golden and translucent, add the ham and move everything around for a couple minutes (till the ham is warmed and any visible fat has melted. Add another splash of olive oil, the butter and salt and pepper to taste and remove from heat, working everything around till the butter is melted (less than a minute). Pour sauce over drained pasta and add the chopped basil and grated cheese. Incorporate everything gently (so as not to damage the pasta) and serve promptly.

Enjoy with a salad, some good warm bread and a glass of wine. Good company always aids digestion too.

Palomine · « **Reply #154 on:** November 11, 2004, 02:45:15 PM »

Spicy stirfry pork and asparagus with rice noodles:

As usual, feel free to make substitutions as you prefer, just be sure to adjust cooking times accordingly (i.e.: shrimp or tofu would need less time in the wok than pork). The quantities below make 3-4 decent portions.

Ingredients:

1 package (contains 3 pouches/portions) of rice noodles
1 pound boneless pork (loin or shoulder is fine) lean and sliced thin (less than 1/2"... most stores have it this way in addition to the usual thicker slices) then cut into strips
1 bunch asparagus (not too thick... thinner is always better)
1 onion, any kind you like, roughly chopped
1 red bell pepper, large and roughly chopped
a couple cloves of garlic, minced or crushed
1 can of straw mushrooms, drained
4 eggs, scrambled in a cup
2 large spoons of Hosin sauce
2 large spoons of red miso paste (I used 3 packets of red miso soup mix with the water from the canned mushrooms instead)
Seasonings: salt, pepper, chili-garlic sauce (I like it hot, use what you want), Chinese 5 spice seasoning

Night before: cut the thin pork cutlets into strips, coat liberally with the chili-garlic sauce and a bit of salt and pepper, wrap well and refrigerate overnight

Day of:

Make the noodles first: follow mgfr. instructions... the ones I got said to boil for 2 minutes and then drain and rinse under cold water to stop them cooking. I actually used the wok to boil the water (a bit of oil first, then 2/3rds filled with water) being lazy and wanting to save myself the washing of another pot. They came out perfect and made a nice change from rice and couscous. The ones I got were the wide, firm rice noodles often used in Chow Fun... use whatever you prefer.

Now, the wokking:

Basically, I add stuff in reverse order of cooking time required, bearing in mind that the stuff in first will have been in for the whole time. As always, make sure the wok is hot as hell and lightly oiled, and keep everything moving around. Here's the order and approximate durations:

Onions, red pepper and garlic: about 2-3 minutes till they've begun to soften and char just a bit.

Asparagus: another couple of minutes at most... thin stalks take less time of course.

Pork strips and drained mushrooms: another 2-3 minutes... for the love of Graham Kerr, don't overcook the pork!

Then add the scrambled eggs, stirring constantly to cook and distribute them throughout. They should be almost done in about a minute.

Almost done: add the Hosin sauce, the miso paste, the 5 spices and if you want, more chili-garlic, salt and pepper to taste. Now, toss the drained noodels back in and incorporate everything together for a minute or so. That's it!

Serve with a good brand of cold beer or a dry wine and enjoy!

F_Cup_Fitzgerald · « **Reply #155 on:** November 11, 2004, 03:16:12 PM »

For dinner? Fuggedaboutit! Greek salad and a "panino" from Jack-in-the-Box.

OTOH, for lunch, just now, a pretty good Italian restaurant. Two bottles of chianti classico and three bottles of Italian white for the six of us. For an appetizer: antipasti (cold cuts and cheese, but quality cuts), prosciutto and melon, plus fried cheese with dipping sauce. I had a filet, very tender, with mushrooms in a brown sauce.

Haknslash · « **Reply #156 on:** November 11, 2004, 06:14:34 PM »

Just got back, had Chicken Marsala with a great vegetable medley.

Tiggo · « **Reply #157 on:** November 11, 2004, 06:51:57 PM »

Palomine, that isn't that Strawberry Blonde beer is it?

How can you DRINK that?

I drink all the time, and I could barely choke that goat piss down!!

But the dinner looks really good...

I had spaghetti, heavy on the garlic, heavy on the Italian sausage, heavy on the Parmesan cheese, with strong iced tea and a side salad (iceberg, cubed sharp chedder cheese, white onion, spanish olives, baby carrots, splashed with Newman's own Oil & Vinegar dressing)

No beer tonight (getting ready for tomorrow night!!

)

scarface182 · « **Reply #158 on:** November 11, 2004, 07:19:06 PM »

Last night- Home made fish n chips made with a beer batter with home made tartare sauce,coleslaw and chocolate gelato for dessert.

Tonight- Bragiole with salad, and frozen orange for Dessert.

I posted the recipe on another non food thread, but here it is again anyway. If you don't have much time, or friends turn up and you only have some steaks in the freezer it is quick and delicious.

Scarface 182's Bragiole by numbers!

Pick up 4 pieces of prime tender steak, 8 slices of primo parma ham (proscuitto), 1 large onion, fresh parmesan cheese, 1 large can of spicy condensed tomato soup, mushroom dark soy sauce, dry spaghetti and various herbs.... Pay for them if you have to.

Drink beer.

Trim fat from steak. Flatten steak with your best friends head, or a meat tenderizer, whichever is handy...

Drink beer

Place 2 pieces of parma ham and a generous sprinkle of Parmesan cheese on each fillet and roll 'em up like big doobies. Keep 'em together with toothpicks, skewers or those whacky asian based hair things your wife wears to Sex and The City dress up parties

Drink beer

Fry each rolled up fillet gently until medium rare in large frying pan. Take out to rest

Take piss (NOT in large frying pan). Drink beer.

Place can of tomato soup, splash of the mushroom soy sauce, chopped onions, garlic and any herbs (oregano, parsley, etc) you wish into a large pot and heat until simmering.

Drink beer, kick dog and change cd.

Place your cooked bragiole into the tomato mixture from a height of less than 1 foot. Simmer until meat is tender. While you wait, cook a SHITLOAD of dry spaghetti. Add olive oil and salt to the water before you add pasta.

Drink beer

Remove bragioles from tomato sauce, place on a heated plate/oven. Mix cooked spaghetti with sauce mixture in pot and serve as a starter.

Drink red wine.

Then serve bragiole with a salad of lettuce, tomato, rocket and pickled onions on the side. Crusty bread is optional, as is crusty wife.

Serve whilst watching Sopranos.

Voila.

Scarface 182's Simple Frozen Orange.

Scoop the flesh out of 5 Valencia (or other sweet) oranges into a bowl and mash a little. Divide into 4 separate portions on their own piece of tin foil. Sprinkle well with sugar and fold up into 4 separate packages.

Put in freezer until the sugar has crystalized, but do not freeze. (it sounds simple but try it- it's great!)

Eat.

Now i'm hungry. Gonna go have a pastrami and mustard roll with potato chips on the side.

See ya

GizmoWidget · « **Reply #160 on:** November 11, 2004, 09:33:13 PM »

Macaroni and cheese with tabasco sauce, and fishsticks with Caesar dressing.

F_Cup_Fitzgerald · « **Reply #162 on:** November 11, 2004, 11:18:15 PM »

A Panini from Jack-in-the-Box. Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned.

Palomine · « **Reply #164 on:** November 12, 2004, 12:24:57 PM »

I don't stir-fry every night of course... so I do rely on frozen foods (including Mac and Cheese, usually the Cedar Lane organics one) for both convenience and comfort. I too like to put stuff in the M&C... usually turkey meatballs from Trader Joes... I just plop 4 or 5 in and give it an extra minute of cooking time. Then add a bit of hot sauce, maybe a small salad and some bread, a cold beer (or near beer... O'Doul's Amber isn't bad for alcohol-free) and I'm set. Best enjoyed in front of the tube with a halfway decent episode of Enterprise or Stargate on, or of course a new Simpsons.

Been working my way thru menus at two local Thai places... eaten everthing from Pad Thai made with glass noodles and fish sauce to pig leg with homemade pickles to a wide variety of brown and clear soups with all kinds of oddities floating in them. I love chinese brocolli (very popular in Thai dishes) with all it's funk and pungency... had some yesterday in a dish with wide rice noodles, lots of pepper and some properly cooked shrimp. I could have eaten 3 or 4 dishes of the stuff it was so good!

Re: O.T.F. Survey: What did you have for dinner?

Re: O.T.F. Survey: What did you have for dinner?

Re: O.T.F. Survey: What did you have for dinner?