Dustin's DL Food Blog

  Fried shrimp, smoked paprika aioli, carrot and green bean salad, and a nice thick piece of pita. The shrimp goes in just egg, then flour, and the shallow fried. I made homemade aioli. The dressing for the green beans and carrots was Good Seasons, to which I added a bit of evoo, minced garlic, and fresh basil. The pita came out of the freezer, but originally from the Middle Eastern market.  After getting it all on the plate, I decided it needed something else, so I broke out the fermented giardiniera I made last week. 

Stuffed peppers in tomato sauce, and made pasta on the side. I used a jar of the tomato sauce I made last weekend, and they were pretty good. A nice sweetness to it. I finished cooking the pasta in the sauce the peppers cooked in. It was exceptionally good. I cant remember the last time I made stuffed peppers, and I really enjoyed it.

Grilled salmon with compound butter, creamed leeks, roasted cauliflower and broccoli with garlic and romano cheese, and roasted radishes with tahini, yogurt, and honey sauce.  

  Zucchini, onion, bacon frittata.

  Korean dinner - Grilled chicken thighs, cucumber salad, broccoli salad, kimchee, and jasmine rice. I also managed to make five pints of salsa for canning. I had to use up the last 10 lbs of tomatoes. And the Latino market had beautiful, large avocados 2 for $.97. I couldn't pass that up, so I made some guacamole for my partner. Crazy day - busy work day too. I was up at 5:30, so I did my walk and was back home by 7:30. I got a lot done, except a shower. I haven't made it in yet.

Pesce alla Ghiotta (Sicilian Fish with Potatoes and Olives), Italian green beans I've been almost the same recipe with cod for a long time, but never say it with potatoes, so I actually used the recipe (more or less). I'm going to add some golden raisins when I put the cod in. I cooked the green beans, and sauteed some garlic, anchovies, red pepper flakes, and panko bread crumbs. Will add the green beans and a bit of parsley, and give it a good mix.  https://enzasquailhollowkitchen.com/pesce-alla-ghiotta-sicilian-fish-with-potatoes-and-olives/#recipe

  Beef lo mein from Szechuan Chinese Restaurant

Lamb tagine, baked sweet potato with compound butter, and couscous. I had the rest of the halal lamb rib chops that I picked up a few weeks ago from the Middle Eastern market. I decided rather than grill them, I'd braise them. I seasoned with salt and pepper, gave them a hit of meat tenderizer, coated them in flour, and seared them. I put them aside, and sauteed chopped onion, garlic, cumin, ras el-hanout, and ground coriander, I added some romano beans, green olives, raisins, preserved lemon, white wine, and chicken stock, and stuck it in the oven.  I put the sweet potatoes in the oven at the same time, and mixed up some butter with cumin, ras el-hanout, cinnamon, and brown sugar. Also made some couscous.  It all turned out great, considering I didn't have a recipe, and just winged it. I don't have a tagine, but I cooked all in my braiser, which is essentially the same thing. But I guess it's not officially a tagine unless it's cooked in a tagine.

Shrimp scampi, wheatberry salad, and fennel gratin. More Iranian nougat and hami melon for dessert.x  

 Hami melon with prosciutto, chicken fricassée, a  few bites of the fermented giardiniera, sauteed spinach with garlic, chili pepper, and lemon, and a piece of the pagnotta I made yesterday. And a piece of pistachio candy I got at the ME market. I believe it was Iranian nougat.

I made a hummus and a loaf of bread (pagnotta) during the day. I made a smaller loaf and kept the 75% hydration. I actually made the dough yesterday and baked it off today. It came quite good.  Dinner is mushroom ragout with polenta, and borani kadoo with yogurt mint sauce (Afgani pumpkin dish but using butternut squash).

  Grilled Swordfish Steaks with Lemon Oregano Marinade,  cauliflower and potato gratin, and wheatberry salad https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/grilled_swordfish_steaks_with_lemon_oregano_marinade/

  Orange chicken, Asian dumpling soup, and vegetarian Pakistani eggroll. I had boneless/skinless thighs from the package I opened for Saturday's dinner. Something about General Tso's chicken turned up on my feed, but it didn't sound good to me. Then I remembered my partner like orange chicken, so I was off and running. I used Brian Lagerstrom's recipe, but of course I changed it up a little.  As for the soup, some water, chicken broth, ginger, white miso paste, soy, shaoxing wine, and green onion. I just winged it. The dumplings came out of a bag from Trader Joe's.  The eggrolls came out of a box I got from the Middle Eastern market, but it made since I had the oil already, and I had the time because the chicken went into the orange sauce. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVlx27mBCmo&t=434s

  Grilled NY strip, halushki, and an eggplant/pepper/tomato dish. The NY strip is a prime one I bought when they were on sale which I pulled out of the freezer yesterday. We made some compound butter to top it. I linked to the eggplant/pepper/tomato dish, which was quite good. I had two small eggplant that we grew that needed to be cooked. I also had a bunch of yellow/red/orange bell peppers that were already cut and cleaned (you'll see why), and I used some of the 50lbs of Campari tomatoes I bought (they were $.49/lb, I'll make passata). I added some herbs (fresh parsley, thyme, and basil, dried oregano, ground fennel, and crushed red pepper) because the recipe as written seemed a little bland. It came out great. Mine was also prettier because our eggplant was bright yellow. I made haluski (cabbage, onions, egg noodles) because I also had a lot of leftover thin sliced cabbage. Why, you may ask. Because I bought a couple of fermentation jars with an airlock. I made sauerkraut e...

 Grilled salmon with compound butter, steamed broccoli, and roasted baby potatoes. The salmon got topped some compound butter - it's our new favorite way. The steamed broccoli was fixed very simply with crushed garlic, evoo, lemon juice and salt. I roasted the baby potatoes and added chopped fresh rosemary and garlic to them 10 minutes before they came out of the oven. I have a pear, some cherries, and a pumpkin spice cookie for dessert. 

  Grilled chicken thighs, tomato salad, roasted carrots, and leftover wheatberry salad. My partner ordered dual-pronged grilling skewers that he was keen to try out. I bought skinless boneless thighs that I cut, pounded, and marinated in oil, lemon juice, garlic, oregano, rosemary, parsley, and some spicy red Thai chili that I grew. He skewered and grilled it. I reserved some of the marinade (before adding the chicken) and rested it in that after it came off the grill. Tomato salad was standard, oil, vinegar, oregano, garlic, basil, and a bit of green chili I also grew. I mixed the carrots with oil, honey, and a ton of spices (aleppo pepper, ground cloves, coriander, cumin, cinnamon, turmeric, paprika, just a bit of each) and roasted them. Topped them with a mix of parsley and mint. Typing this out, it sounds really busy, but it wasn't. It had an nice, pleasant, Middle Eastern flavor. I also had a half of a bazlama (Turkish bread, like a thick pita) to sop up the wonderful juices f...

Macaroni and cheese, Romano beans salad, and stewed tomatoes. I used my go-to mac and cheese recipe from Fannie Farmer. I used Gruyere and Costco Coastal cheddar instead of just cheddar. I cooked the Romano beans until tender, added toasted walnuts and crumbled feta, and dressed with EVOO. I also opened a can of stewed tomatoes. Does anyone know what one does with stewed tomatoes? The only thing I served them with is mac and cheese. The chef at my old work cafeteria served it with his mac and cheese and I always like it, so I now do the same. But that's the only thing I use them for. Anyone know what people do with them? I bought another Canary melon, so that's dessert.  

 Scallops, white bean salad, and creamed leeks. Central Market had U-15 scallops for $19.99/lb. They haven't put them on sale for a long time. And I had a $2 off coupon. A scallop feast. I seared them, and made a pan sauce from white wine, herbed butter, and lemon juice. I made the white bean salad (piyaz) and creamed leeks (my partner loves them). A glass of chardonnay - all was good.