Dinner 10-24-2014 ~ Friday Feast or End of Week Clean-out

[powerplantop]

Roch and PPO....beautiful pics, so yummy looking!

Thank you!

 

[CWS4322]

i've never seen a 4 colored pepper before.

actually, that sounds really good. i've seen that called sausages murphy around here.



i've never heard of pickled mussels before.
and stuffing a lobster with those and crab? sorta like gilding refined gold, as the saying goes.


looks tasty as usual, rock.
i thought of you when i heard a joke tonight.
a famous nhl goalie was pulled over by a cop for running a red light on his way home after a terrible loss.
the officer noticed who he was, so the goalie thought he was gonna get out of receiving the ticket, but the cop said, " of all people, you should recognize a red light"...



bc, did the pork end up kinda dry? i use sirloin end roasts (bone in if i can get them) if i' going to slow cook them.

The pickled mussels were cooked in white wine first, and then removed from shells, and put in a marinade of white wine vinegar and maple syrup. The lobster tail was sliced and the crab salad put in the middle, wrapped in a "ball" using film wrap, put in the fridge to chill. This was served on top of avocado puree with the mussels around it, topped with puffed rice noodles and a drizzle of a hot pepper-tomato sauce. It took 2.5 hours to make that--but there were a number of steps that had to be photographed. Love having my own sous chef and someone manning the dish sink. I'd still be doing dishes if she didn't join us.

 

[Rocklobster]

Looks good, Roch. Never had it before. I'll have to look into it.

Thanks, all. Andy, there are many different recipes out there. I usually read three or four, then make my own version with the ingredients I know I am going to like. I went with a light batter of eggs, cooking wine, soy sauce, cornstarch and a little bit of flour. Fry the pork pieces crispy and have the pre made sauce ready to go. One of my favorite choices at Chinese restaurants. Very rich, though...

I was hesitant about using tomato ketchup in the sauce, though. Doesn't seem too authentic to me. But it worked quite nicely....

 

[GotGarlic]

Actually, Roch, ketchup is surprisingly authentic in a recipe like this: http://www.foodtimeline.org/foodsauces.html#ketchup

 

[Rocklobster]

I guess I never considered ketchup to be an authentic ingredient in Chinese cooking. Interesting....

 

[GotGarlic]

Yeah, many "foodies" have turned away from ingredients associated with the mid-20th century without thinking about where they came from. Like mayonnaise, for example. Many people turn up their noses at it as if there's something really bad about it. Is a sauce made from eggs really that much better or worse than one made from milk (Greek yogurt)? Or is Greek yogurt just the new hot thing that's perceived as being different from/better than that old-fashioned stuff?

 

[Mad Cook]

yeah, sauces and gravies fix a lot of little things.

i've been thinking of other uses for pork loins. i've tried brasciole with a lean loin recemtly and it was the same thing. the sunday gravy made it work.

i woke up too late for dinner at home (dw made pad thai), so dinner for me tonight will be either a boigah or a rueben, either with fries and pickles. and mustard with the latter.

as discussed, pickles are my veggie. can mustard count too?

What I want to know is - does a glass of red wine count as one of the our fruit and vegetable daily ration.

 

[Mad Cook]

Fusion food gone mad!

Neighbour's gas was off due to a gas escape in his house last night so I said he could have dinner with me but it would be "convenience". He offered to cook so as I was busy I let him. Gave him a packet of fresh tortellini to boil and reached, without looking, into the cupboard for a jar of sauce, put it down on the counter and rushed out of the kitchen to do something else. Voice comes from kitchen "Are you sure I'm supposed to use this sauce?" "Yes, that's what I gave it to you for".

I was using bleach in the bathroom so my sense of smell was compromised

15 minutes later we sat down to dinner. I stared at my plate. "Well, you said it was OK" he said.

Actually, spinach and ricotta tortellini with bhuna curry sauce is quite tasty! (Well the colour was right. I just hadn't looked at the label )

 

[Rocklobster]

Yeah, many "foodies" have turned away from ingredients associated with the mid-20th century without thinking about where they came from. Like mayonnaise, for example. Many people turn up their noses at it as if there's something really bad about it. Is a sauce made from eggs really that much better or worse than one made from milk (Greek yogurt)? Or is Greek yogurt just the new hot thing that's perceived as being different from/better than that old-fashioned stuff?

I remember some recipes my mother used to make which were called "Chinese" ribs and wings. You know, the recipe with the ketchup, soy sauce, garlic powder. I figured it was a Western take on things but I see now that it was more authentic than I thought....I still like it to this day. should make some soon.....

 

[Mad Cook]

I remember some recipes my mother used to make which were called "Chinese" ribs and wings. You know, the recipe with the ketchup, soy sauce, garlic powder. I figured it was a Western take on things but I see now that it was more authentic than I thought....I still like it to this day. should make some soon.....

The garlic powder would worry me more than the ketchup.

In fact, the ancestors of ketchup came out of China originally but obviously not tomato. Tomato is only one variety of ketchup. There's mushroom, walnut, oyster, fruit. (You do NOT want to taste banana ketchup - bleuch!). It came to Britain via the East Indies and India and English settlers took it to America, so it's very well travelled.

Let's face it, our national diets would be very dull if they were limited to only indigenous ingredients. Where would Europe, India, China and the Far East be without tomatoes, peppers and chillis?

 

[CWS4322]

"Dinner" started at 7:00 a.m. as I got things ready for the food photographer. The first main up was coriander-crusted tuna steaks with toasted couscous and ratatouille. We had to do a re-shoot of a beef dish (I didn't make it--a Chef did), and then we did lobster stuffed with a crab salad and pickled mussels. Fancy-dancy, fiddly-diddly.

Thank goodness I have two friends who want to play in the kitchen with us--they did the dishes, helped the photographer get things ready while I cooked.

I'm stuffed. Give me a couple of weeks, and I'll post a link to the pics. The tuna dish was EXCELLENT.

We didn't let the The dish chill long enough before the flavours to meld. Definitely needs that time. Here's a pic of the PEI Seafood dish. We probably could've done a better job with the avocado and cucumber balls and the celery and green onion curls. Hindsight.