Whatcha cookin' or eatin', Thursday, August 16th

[buckytom]

when i get home this a.m., i'm going to brown the pork sirloin and loin chops with some garlic in evoo, then it's going into the crock pot on low with a bunch of skinned and seeded tomatoes from the garden, while i catch a few z's. when i get up, i'll add onion (browned), zucchini, and onions, and some dried herbs. a few short hours later, in'll go a load of fresh basil, and the plug gets pulled.

ain't nothing like a good garlic-y, basil, garden tomato sauce with fall-off-the-bone pork.

i'm jonesing for a piece of bread, slathered in butter, dipped into the hot sauce so it just starts to melt the butter, then sprinkled with grated locatelli.

the house is gonna smell good today.

so, what's on your menu today?

 

[Uncle Bob]

Yo BT...All I can think about at this hour is Coffee & Chicory! Hot and strong!

The pork dish you describe sounds awesome!


Enjoy!

 

[thymeandthymeagain]

Tonight will be a Cobb Salad, or maybe a P(pancetta)LT with blue cheese. Dh will be late getting home tonight. I want something that can be prepared ahead and then when he gets in we can sit and eat.
I want to watch 'So you think you Dance' tonight. Last night was the final and I would like to see who wins. I think Danny maybe the winner. He really is a great dancer, but I would like Neil to win as I think he has so much talent and has a great personality!!!

 

[LEFSElover]

''salad of substance'' calls my name for tonight.
alas, the hubster will be alone for several days so dinner's on him.
Calgary Canada, here I come, whatcha got for me in the way of grub?​

 

[YT2095]

plain pan fried loin pork chops, french salad, and cheese panini bread.

 

[Barb L.]

Grilling some chicken legs for me, hubby Italian sausage, (not a chicken lover), corn on the cob and salad.

 

[GotGarlic]

I have some huge cucumbers from the garden, as well as several tomatoes, so I think I will make tzatziki and pork souvlaki to serve in pita bread with romaine and tomatoes, and some sliced red onion for DH (I don't like raw onions). I will also make caprese salads and pita chips to dip in the tzatziki.

 

[Mel!]

I made some bread, with apples, honey, cinnemon and nutmeg on it.

Mel

 

[Regallion]

Seems it's pork-chop-a-go-go on DC today! I hereby proclaim that Thursday night is Pork Chop night!

I was planning on doing something similar to Buckytom actually (which is spooky).

Layer of potatoes, olive oil, fresh rosemary from the garden, pork chops on top smother the whole lot in olive oil and a squeeze of lemon. Pop in the oven for an hour or two.

 

[Fisher's Mom]

Oh, man, I don't have any chops!

I'm going to try again with T-bone steaks. Made 2 yesterday and they were pretty good. Tasted good but were overdone. But I also made a lovely wine sauce with the pan gunk, red wine and butter. It was fabulous! I think I know what I did wrong with the steak so I'm going to try again tonight to see if I can get it perfect! Also, we'll be having fresh green beans, sliced tomatoes, and a lovely tiramisu I bought from La Madeleine. I'll let you know how the steaks turned out.

 

[Regallion]

Getting steaks right can be real tricky. Depending on the thickness and size not to mention how people actually like it done!

It's real easy to think a steak is just not cooked yet when in reality once its rested for 10 mins, relaxing and all those hot juices re-distributing to the centre it continues to cook. Make sure it's at room temp before cooking too.

 

[Fisher's Mom]

Getting steaks right can be real tricky. Depending on the thickness and size not to mention how people actually like it done!

It's real easy to think a steak is just not cooked yet when in reality once its rested for 10 mins, relaxing and all those hot juices re-distributing to the centre it continues to cook. Make sure it's at room temp before cooking too.

Boy, are you right! I have only once managed to make a tender, juicy steak and it was a complete accident in that I don't know how I did it. And I had not been aware of the room temperature thing until recently but it does seem to make a big difference. I also don't think I had the pan hot enough last night so it didn't sear properly so I think I overcooked it trying to get it to look "right". But now that you have brought up the 10 minute rest, obviously I will need to get it out of the pan even earlier. How do ya'll figure all this stuff out, Regallion?

I think I will drink the wine tonight instead of making sauce!

 

[corazon]

We will be having steak tacos tonight. I will marinate some flank steak in lime juice and red chile powder. Then I will put it out on a very hot grill. Gonna serve it with hot corn tortillas, guacamole, cilantro, cheese, lettuce, tomato and green onions. Should be tasty! I might grill some corn too.

Probably chocolate for dessert.

 

[Regallion]

How do ya'll figure all this stuff out, Regallion?

Watching too many cookery shows and making too many over-done steaks!

Resting meat properly is just something that's really been drummed into my head over the past couple of years. It's SO important. The bigger the joint, the longer you need to rest it - like 20 to 30 mins for a roast beef joint. Just cover it with tin foil and leave it in a relatively warm place.

Actually, I bought two Rump steaks for this Saturday

 

[Caine]

Ovaltine and salad for breakfast and supper, respectively. As far as lunch goes, a credit union is coming into my place of employment today to try to recruit members, and they're bringing pizza! I may end up joining, just to get another $1,000.00 of life insurance they give members for free. That would make 4 credit union memberships, and $4,000.00 in life insurance, which should be enough to cremate my remains and spread my ashes over the Dixie Chicks.

 

[keltin]

It’s going to be chicken wings with a pomegranate chili sauce, eggplant fries, and vinegar slaw.

 

[BBQ Mikey]

All I can think about was the dinner I had with my lady friend the other night. A three course meal (kinda). Ill just describe it since Im trying to re-create a portion of it tonight. Ill do my best to describe their recipes, or the general idea, they didnt divulge their secrets to us. For some reason we were both in the mood for chicken.

Appetiser: Changs Soothing Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Chicken stir fryed with peanuts, walnuts, water chestnuts, green onions and white onions, had a sweet soy glaze. Served on head lettuce leaves as to roll up. A sweet soy, chili paste, mustard mixture was used as an additional sauce to add to the lettuce cup.

Main Courses
Changs Spicy Chicken
(a sweeter and spicer version of general tsos) there wasnt much of a breading, it appeared to be pan seared chicken breast nuggets with a spicychili/scallion/sweetened soy mixture. It was delicious.
Chow Yun Fun
Stir fryed noodles with chicken and shrimp, strong taste of ginger and scallions. Really good dish, at first I liked the Changs spicy chicken, but after a while I found myself sampling more of the noodles, they grew on me. Very savory sauce, couldnt describe it, just a ginger/soy type deal.

Dessert
Banana Spring Rolls
These were delectible. Bananas and a breaded "won ton" (they didnt really use wont ton wraps...i dont think), They were fried and drizzled with a pineapple banana glaze with blueberries and strawberries for presentation. In the center was a chunk of vanilla ice cream and inside of it were pineapple chunks and coconut.

I had some imported japanese beer and she had Martinis.

So I kinda wowed her she didnt expect a grandiose dinner. And since I knew the server, the desert and appetiser were on the house. Im going to try to make the lettuce wraps again, Ive done so in the past but its hard to make my soy a "pot sticker" sauce which is pretty much what they use.

 

[elaine l]

Yum BBQ Mikey. I have had the banana spring rolls. I have never had Chang's chicken lettuce wraps. Good luck recreating. Sounds like a nice date.

For dinner here tonight I made guacamole and store bought chips. Chorizo with peppers and onions served on a roll with garden wax beans as a side.
Dessert will be leftover apple pie.

 

[BBQ Mikey]

Heres a better recipe for the Changs Lettuce Wraps.
I tried them for lunch, came out alright...I can never make em like they do.

Ingredients:


8 dried shiitake mushrooms
1 teaspoon cornstarch
2 teaspoons dry sherry
2 teaspoons water
salt and pepper
1-1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken, minced
5 tablespoons oil
1 teaspoon fresh minced ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 green onions, minced
2 small dried chilis (optional)
1 8 oz. can bamboo shoots, minced
1 8 oz. can water chestnuts, minced
1 package cellophane Chinese rice noodles, fried in oil for a minute or two, until they puff nicely.

Cooking Sauce:


1 tablespoon Hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon dry sherry
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
Lettuce of your choice to make lettuce "cups" (Butter or Bibb lettuce is my choice.)

Directions:

Cover mushrooms with boiling water, let stand 30 minutes then drain.
Cut and discard woody stems. Mince mushrooms. Set aside.
Mix all ingredients for cooking sauce in bowl, and set aside.
In medium bowl, combine cornstarch, sherry, water, soy sauce, salt, pepper, and chicken.
Stir to coat chicken thoroughly.
Stir in 1 teaspoon oil and let sit 15 minutes to marinate.
Heat wok or large skillet over medium high heat.
When the pan smokes a bit, add 3 tablespoons oil, then add chicken and stir fry for about 3-4 minuts. Set aside.
Add 2 tablespoons oil to pan.
Add ginger, garlic, chilis (if desired), and onion.
Stir- fry about a minute or so.
Add mushrooms, bamboo shoots and water chestnuts; stir fry an additional 2 minutes.
Return chicken to pan.
Add mixed cooking sauce to pan.
Cook until thickened and hot.
Break the cooked cellophane noodles into small pieces, and cover bottom of serving dish with them.
Then pour chicken mixture on top of noodles.
Spoon into lettuce leaf "cups" and roll.


Im gonna post this somewhere else too.

 

[Robo410]

fresh made tomatoe and zucchini soup with garlic and cumin ... pita and humus on the side. really yum, but also soft...dental work today.