Show Us Your Dinner! (Home Cooking ONLY please!)

Wings and Things

I found myself inspired tonight, so I thought, "Why not?" and let fly.

First, my beloved's most excellent Fan Tan Rolls, from scratch.

Next, some tweaked succotash: sweet nibblets, edamame, and fire roasted red peppers.

Next, some skin-on mashed purple potatoes, with caraway seeds, butter, cream, fresh-grated-pink peppercorns, fresh-ground Chinese long pepper, and black truffle-infused sea salt.

Next, some nice baked chicken wings: dusted with fresh-ground green peppercorns, and sea salt.

Next, a fine dipping sauce: butter, olive oil, grated Parmesan cheese, black truffle-infused sea salt, white pepper, minced fresh garlic, onion powder, garlic powder, crushed Trader Joe's Golden Rounds crackers, and minced garlic chives from the garden.

Finally, a nice See's chocolate truffle.

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Enjoy,
Rich P
 
Im up at moms in NC tonight, I come up once a month since my father died. My brother and I grilled up some ducks fresh from the sky in eastern NC. The ducks had a little red wine drizzled over them topped off with an orange marmalade cognac reduction. Some red beans with green peppers and tomatoes over couscous, the best Caesar salad made with homemade croutons, and lots of anchovies. Grilled up some fresh Italian bread with pressed garlic soaked in olive oil. Finished it off with a mud pie made with a quality coffee ice cream and Oreo cookie crust, the key is to add a few instant coffee crystals to the ice cream when you soften it to spread in the pie dish. Topped that with whipped heavy cream. Washed it all down with a few bottles of red.
The grill has a motion sensitive light over it, every time, and I mean every time my bro went to do anything on the grill the light would cut off, It didn't help that I'm laughing my ass off as he is getting more frustrated with that pesky light. You couldn't have timed it more perfect if you tried. That and sitting in the driveway with my sister inlaw syncing her phone to her Highlander, we ended up singing along with Miley Cyrus belting out (Jolene), which is really good by the way. Couldn't have had a better night at any restaurant anywhere, only thing being missed was dad.
I learned something hilarious about dad tonight. He and mom lived in Italy for many years in the late sixties, mom late 20's dad early 30's building a textile mill in Frosinone, still active. When a waiter would bring the wine and pop the cork pour a little, you know the routine, dad would as serious as can be stick the cork and twist it in his ear then give the waiter the ok on the bottle, most of the time in pretty swanky joints. All the while never breaking the seriousness, funniest dude I've ever known.
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Made a short video of the duck.
 
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Lebanese Night

Growing up, one of my best friends was Lebanese. Not surprisingly, I developed a real taste for the great food his mom made. Last night, my bride, and beloved sous chef, wanted to have falafel (deep-fried patties of ground chick peas and other ingredients), to go with the remaining Greek salad from the night before. I said, "OK, but where's the MEAT?" We settled on kibbeh (tasty little deep-fried footballs of ground and spiced beef or lamb). Wow! It sure hit the spot.

First, some Greek salad: Thin-sliced red onion, minced garlic, quartered kalamata olives, extra virgin kalamata olive oil, red wine vinegar, fresh-ground black pepper, chopped fresh dill, crumbled Israeli feta cheese, baby arugula, and baby spinach.

Next some fresh-baked Arabic flat-bread, from the Middle-Eastern market down the street from my house.

Next, the falafel: ground chick peas, chopped onion, chopped parsley, chopped cilantro, sea salt, red pepper flakes, minced garlic, cumin seeds, baking powder, and flour. This is formed into small patties, and deep-fried so that the outside is crunchy and the inside is tender and moist.

Next, the kibbeh: The filling consisted of minced onion, ground beef (we had no ground lamb), ground allspice, sea salt, cinnamon, fresh-ground black pepper, and toasted pine nuts, sauteed in olive oil. The outer layer consisted of fine bulgur wheat, chopped onion, ground beef (we had no lamb), ground allspice, sea salt, cinnamon, and fresh-ground black pepper. The outer layer is flattened out into thin patties in your hand, and a bit of filling is spooned in. Then the outer layer is wrapped around the filling, and shaped into a sort of football shape. The results are deep-fried, so that the outside is crunchy and the inside is done to juicy perfection.

This is all served with a nice plain Arabic yogurt, for dipping the falafel and kibbeh.

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Enjoy,
Rich P
 
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Oh, man. I'm headed to the Lebanese place down the street for a lamb shawarma! Thanks for the reminder.
 
Scrambled Eggs and Papadum

My beloved's favorite food, if she had to choose, is food from India. Mine is food from Thailand. She wins today.

I have tried so many different breakfasts lately, and have been a bit disappointed. So...time to try something new. Folks, this hit the spot just right.

The substrate is a nice, plain papadum (a flatbread made with lentil flour), cooked to a crispy state in our convection oven.

Next, some nice, specially spiced scrambled eggs: eggs (from the girls in the back yard), diced yellow onion, diced jalapeno chili, cumin seeds, ground turmeric, Greek yogurt, a particularly dark heirloom tomato (diced), chopped cilantro, and fresh-ground black pepper.

To wash it all down, a nice glass of ice cold, plain Lassi: Greek yogurt, milk, salt and sugar.

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Enjoy,
Rich P
 
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Light Indian Dinner

I have been having a definite taste for this stuff lately, and tonight is the right night. Making a good Masala Dosa is a bit of an acquired skill. I really love this stuff. This is a rare day indeed, since no creature had to die to feed me, at all.

First, a nice bowl of South Indian Sambar: toor dal (pigeon peas), turmeric, salt, cumin seeds, black mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, asafetida, curry leaves, ground sweet New Mexico red chile powder, dark red heirloom tomatoes (diced), sliced broccoli, sliced purple carrots, diced jalapenos, pearl onions, and cubed crook-neck squash.

Next, some nice Paneer Makhani: a sort of Indian farmer's cheese, cubed, in a special sauce: chopped tomatoes, chopped onions, minced garlic, minced ginger, and chopped cashew nuts.

Now for the Dosa (a sort of crispy Indian crepe): a ground mixture of short grain rice, urad dal (black lentils), fenugreek seeds, and salt...all fermented for a couple of days.

The Dosa filling: black mustard seeds, cumin seeds, dried Thai dragon chiles, diced yellow onion, salt, ground turmeric, asafetida, minced ginger, minced garlic, curry leaves, diced jalapenos, cubed gold potatoes, and chopped cilantro, all sauteed in butter.

To wash it all down, some nice Strawberry Lassi: pureed combination of sugared fresh strawberries that have been frozen, Greek yogurt, milk, salt & sugar.

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Enjoy,
Rich P
 
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i'd post a pic but not sure the remains would be good enough. only thing left? are the backbones. cant eat crunchy bones.
but i do enjoy eating the fins nice and crispy and tasty.

but 2lbs of fresh new hampshire smelts, i pan fried in olive oil, and cabots butter.
coated smelts in a mix of beaten egg/ seasoned finely ground cornmeal- salt pepper, old bay, garlic and onion powder.
fried in batches in a cast iron pan.
3 mins per side.

*to the remaining butter in pan- add a few more pats of butter, 1 whole lemon squeezed, fresh minced garlic. i let it go just before it turns to dark butter.
 
Lebanese Night

Growing up, one of my best friends was Lebanese. Not surprisingly, I developed a real taste for the great food his mom made. Last night, my bride, and beloved sous chef, wanted to have falafel (deep-fried patties of ground chick peas and other ingredients), to go with the remaining Greek salad from the night before. I said, "OK, but where's the MEAT?" We settled on kibbeh (tasty little deep-fried footballs of ground and spiced beef or lamb). Wow! It sure hit the spot.

First, some Greek salad: Thin-sliced red onion, minced garlic, quartered kalamata olives, extra virgin kalamata olive oil, red wine vinegar, fresh-ground black pepper, chopped fresh dill, crumbled Israeli feta cheese, baby arugula, and baby spinach.

Next some fresh-baked Arabic flat-bread, from the Middle-Eastern market down the street from my house.

Next, the falafel: ground chick peas, chopped onion, chopped parsley, chopped cilantro, sea salt, red pepper flakes, minced garlic, cumin seeds, baking powder, and flour. This is formed into small patties, and deep-fried so that the outside is crunchy and the inside is tender and moist.

Next, the kibbeh: The filling consisted of minced onion, ground beef (we had no ground lamb), ground allspice, sea salt, cinnamon, fresh-ground black pepper, and toasted pine nuts, sauteed in olive oil. The outer layer consisted of fine bulgur wheat, chopped onion, ground beef (we had no lamb), ground allspice, sea salt, cinnamon, and fresh-ground black pepper. The outer layer is flattened out into thin patties in your hand, and a bit of filling is spooned in. Then the outer layer is wrapped around the filling, and shaped into a sort of football shape. The results are deep-fried, so that the outside is crunchy and the inside is done to juicy perfection.

This is all served with a nice plain Arabic yogurt, for dipping the falafel and kibbeh.

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Enjoy,
Rich P
I love Lebanese food, especially falafel. That looks great, nicely done!
 
MIddle-Eastern Fusion for Lunch

Today, I asked my beloved bride (and sous chef) what kind of sandwich she would like. I suggested Greek gyro sandwiches, and she said she liked Lebanese kibbeh better. So, I thought about how to convert kibbeh into something to put into a sandwich. I decided to try to make kibbeh burgers. I made patties of a meld of the traditional kibbeh outside and the filling. They turned out great.

First, we had some nice steak fries.

And then, the kibbeh burgers: kibbeh patties (ground beef, Bulgar wheat, chopped onion, ground allspice, ground cinnamon, fresh-ground black-pepper, salt, and pine nuts), with iceberg lettuce, sliced Roma tomatoes, thin-sliced red onions, and dressing (hers: tzatziki sauce, his: Greek yogurt), on fresh-baked Iraqi samoon bread (from the Middle-Eastern shop down the street).

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Enjoy,
Rich P
 
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