Bun Thit Nuong
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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.
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
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).
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 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.
Chicken Pizzaiolo - at least that's what my sister and I call it. It's a dish my mother made. It's chicken and potatoes, braised in tomato sauce, water, garlic, olive oil, parsley, garlic, salt, and pepper - in a Pyrex baking dish (she always did). My sister and I started adding peas at the end of baking to make it a one-pot meal. Of course, some Italian bread to sop up some of the delicious sauce. A lot of memories in this dish.
Flounder meunière, crab cakes, vegetable soup, and fennel gratin Finally back in my kitchen. It seems I've gained ten pounds in two weeks. A lot had to do with trying to finish up stuff in the refrigerator before we left, and then a lot of carbs while up north. I'm trying to get back to our schedule of chicken (3), fish (2), meat (1), and vegetarian (1) - (days per week). My supermarket had fresh flounder that they scaled, filleted, and skinned for me. I had an urge for soup after all the carbs. I made a big pot of vegetable soup, which included butternut squash, celery, carrots, onion, some chopped fennel tops, potatoes, turnip, tomatoes, romano beans, corn, spinach, and peas. Garnished with evoo, grated parmesan, pepper, and parsley. Very good, but I've got like two gallons of it. Crab cakes - I never used canned crab before, but I wanted to try it. It wasn't bad. They were a little dry, but that might have been my adjusting the proportions of my recipe, which cal...
Vegetarian night (early) - Zucchini and onion frittata, cauliflower gratin, and stuffed mini peppers. The zucchini was one we grew! Four ingredients make the most delicious frittata. Cauliflower gratin topped with panko that I made yesterday and had ready to go today. Also, a couple of the stuffed mini peppers that I made yesterday also. My partner said he doesn't miss animal flesh at all on vegetarian night!
Grilled prime NY strip steak with compound butter, corn on the cob, and creamed leeks topped with crispy fried onions. We are going out of town Wednesday, so I spent the day cooking. I have a lot of stuff that needs to be cooked before we leave. I made a cauliflower gratin that I'll heat up tomorrow. I had three pounds of campari tomatoes that I skinned, seeded, and cooked. I also had a bag of mini peppers that I needed to deal with. I do this to myself. The tomatoes were $1.49 for a 2 lb clamshell, and I got a bag of peppers for $.99. I ended up making Indian-inspired stuffed mini peppers The stuffing was sauteed onion, some of the tomatoes I cooked, garam masala, cumin, ginger garlic paste, bulgur, and queso fresco (I needed to also use up some cooked bulgur I had). They came out pretty damn good. I'll make them tomorrow - early vegetarian day.
Korean fried chicken, Thai eggplant salad, and Korean cucumber banchan (oi muchim). I haven't made Korean fried chicken in a dog's age and I had the urge. I stopped by the Korean market recently and there were like three restaurants in the strip mall selling chicken. It's been so long, I forgot which recipe I used, if I even used just one. I went with America's Test Kitchen; while not always authentic, it usually yields good results. The only change I made was to massage the wings with ginger-garlic paste, salt, and white pepper, and let it sit out for a while. The results were terrific. Since I was frying, I thought I'd try the eggplant recipe, which was on the ATK channel earlier today. It was really good, but it was a bit of a bother to fry the eggplant, then twice-fry the chicken. It was good though. I have a ton of Thai basil and mint, so it worked out well. The cucumber banchan was just the standard recipe (I used Persian cucumbers), but it paired well with th...
Chicken bouillabaisse and roasted radishes. I had boneless skinless thighs and felt like making something different. What happens is I work from home, and a lot of the day I have the TV on tuned to cooking shows. Today, Jacques Pepin made c hicken bouillabaisse and I took that as my inspiration. I google the recipe, but it only used 1/4 tsp of herbes de Provence. I was looking for something with a little more punch. I added anise liqueur to the marinade, and didn't add the the aromatics. I wanted to cook them separately. I added lavender and bay leaves to the soup and I also have fresh herbs I'm growing in various places, so I made my own fresh herbes de Provence using the parsley, basil, tarragon, chives, oregano, thyme, and rosemary. I added lavender and bay leaves to the soup, and garnished with the fresh herbs, evoo, and oh, I also made a rouille. Delicious. The roasted radishes were also very good. I made the salad part with baby arugula rather than radish g...
Spaghetti puttanesca, swordfish, and fennel pizza. My partner went to "Dinner With Strangers." He's interested in getting out more and making new friends. We were friends with two other couples, but one of the couples died last year (yes, both of them). The other couple lives 25 miles away, and we've kinda slacked off on the friendship. It's hard without the other couple. My best friend of almost 30 years lives here in the same city. My partner doesn't have a BFF. We met 18 years ago at a MeetUp function where he was trying the same thing. Anyway, he went out to dinner and I cooked what I had on hand. UPDATE: He had dinner with five women in their late 50s. lol