Breakfast/lunch/Dinner, what are you having?

A take on - or tweaked version of - Catalonian suquet, with blue mouth (a fish that is related to scorpion fish), olive oil, loads of garlic (for once, the recipe calls for this, and I had no need to double the quantities used), grated tomatoes, thinly sliced potatoes, parsley, stock, and white wine.

My tweaks included a very finely diced onion, dissolved anchovies, - to set things up and provide a nice base for the rest of the dish - and a little saffron.
 
And dessert - which I rarely eat - took the form of roasted (thinly sliced) cooking apples, in a little water, butter, organic brown sugar, and grated lemon rind.
 
Sushi rice (rather than basmati), with a medley (or selection) of roasted vegetables: Aubergine, (eggplant), courgette, (zucchini), vine tomatoes, red peppers, onions, chilli peppers, two heads of garlic (unpeeled), carrots, parsnips, all roughly chopped, and drizzled, very generously, with olive oil.
 
A simple soup from scratch on a cold day waiting for the rest of the snow dump.

Chopped onions lightly sautéed in olive oil, then lots of roughly chopped carrot, minced celery popped into the same sauté pan for a few minutes while I trimmed up some kale and made ribbons of its leaves, meanwhile also heating some chicken broth in a roomy saucepan. I just used part of a big container of low sodium shelf-stable chicken broth and a little water.

Added some dried marjoram, thyme and a tad of salt plus the sautéed veggies and about a cup of leftover white beans to the broth as it came to a boil, then just let that simmer a few minutes. Popped in the kale ribbons at the end, then nuked some leftover brown rice and served the soup over that in a big bowl.

On the side: artisan bread run under the broiler with a couple pieces of cheddar laid on it.

Mighty fine for a lunch that took less than half an hour to put together. I love having fresh veggies and leftover other stuff around from which to make soups in winter. I was really craving the greens even when I woke up this morning. Grateful to have re-upped on a bunch of salad fixings before the storm came through.
 
Roast pork belly, loosely based on a Gordon Ramsay recipe.

This started with scoring the pork belly rind, into diamond patterns and rubbing sea salt (and, in my case, I also added brown sugar) into the crevices.

In a roasting dish - Gordon had called for a bulb of fennel which I forgot to buy yesterday - so, for vegetables, I used roughly chopped carrot, celery, onion, (the classic soffritto), plus parsnip, (I am a northern European, that is a root vegetable - and root vegetables go well with pork - and it is still winter), I sautéed vegetables, and later, fruit, and spices.

Unlike Gordon, I thought that fruit - a large cooking apple and a large conference pear - both sliced and peeled - would work well with pork. And a tin of apricots, their juice added later to the stock - I decided to forego citrus.

The vegetables (and fruit) were sautéed in olive oil in a large roasting tin; spices - several (around seven for me, whereas Gordon had mentioned a mere three) bashed (and peeled) cloves of garlic were added, as were several star anise, bashed cardamon seeds, and a fistful of caraway seeds. (To my surprise, my well stocked spice cupboard did not have the fennel seeds that Gordon suggested).

The inevitable sea salt and black pepper; the pork was seared on both sides; then a large glass of white wine was added, the alcohol allowed to burn off, after which I added the liquid from the tin of apricots, and some stock.

Next, into a preheated oven at 180C (360F) for two and a half hours.

Now, debating whether to have potatoes - sautéed, or roasted, to accompany.
 
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^^^ That sounds delicious. Parsnips are always present in my house during winter too... I like to make pan-glazed carrots and parsnips and have them with green beans as another side, if I'm having something like chicken for a Sunday dinner.

But for me tonight, just a Sunday night shortcut to an enjoyable repast: grabbed a little box of Zatarain's Dirty Rice from the pantry, cut up a carrot and a couple stems' worth of kale, dumped the prescribed bit of olive oil and rice mix (plus half a cup of extra rice and an extra cup of water to dilute the salt) into a cookpot.

Got all that to a boil for a couple minutes, dropped the heat under it and stirred in some diced tofu, then added the kale and carrots to let them steam atop the mixture.

Then added a fairly brave couple pieces of a gettin' spicy kind of dried red chili (a guajillo) to the mix --just to supplement whatever Zatarain's figures the average American can tolerate, which is apparently not much past pretty mildly hot.

But I'll admit I sometimes fish the added guajillo out halfway during the cooking. Tonight I left it in, figuring the spicier it is, the less of the dish I'll scarf down at one sitting. I love rice dishes so much (too much) because they go with all kinds of veggies, so I have to invent ways to ensure leftovers.

On the side tonight, just some steamed broccoli drizzled w/ olive oil and a bit of lemon juice. Tea w/ lemon, and a sliced Gala apple still in the wings for a late dessert.
 
Dinner was delicious, though I say so myself.

Decent Brother phoned as I was about to seat myself, so, a cruel dilemma ensued; a hot dinner or a discussion about Ukraine.

With the dinner, I served a (slightly troublesome, but horribly delicious) French sautéed potato dish my French hosts had taught me (because I loved it) years ago in France.

Peeled and diced (large dice) potatoes (as many as you think you will want; always more than you think).

The trick - two tricks - is/are: Steep in water (not just rinsed a number of times) as with rice, and for the same reason. Dealing with starch. Today, because of Ukraine, the potatoes were soaking for well over an hour, closer to two, not just the half hour that I would normally take. And it did them all the good in the world.

Second trick: Dry them (in kitchen tissue) before they meet the (heated) olive oil in a sauté pan. Then, (also a pain) this dish wil take at least half an hour of slow sautéing, closer to forty or fifty minutes. Stirred occasionally, and sprinkled with sea salt.

But, sigh: It is amazing.

And, yesterday, I had prepared a dish of roasted apple (cooking apple); sliced and chopped (and peeled) cooking apple - I like the tartness; grated lemon rind (preferably unwaxed), brown sugar (organic), some butter, a little (half a wine glass) of water, were all added whereupon the dish went into an already hot oven, and half an hour, later,....voilà.

The remains of that - along with a handful of apricots rescued from the tin - and, yes, pickled ginger, (which I love, and not just with sushi) was also served with tonight's roasted pork belly.
 
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Hrafn said:
Air fried butternut squash, baby potatoes and chicken and apple sausage.
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Butternut squash is pretty amazing, it's one of those things that people don't make that much, it might seem a little daunting, but it's so simple, and pretty inexpensive.

We do this Asian soup, it's a whole prep for the soup base, noodles, pork slow cooked then pan seared (I'm getting to it ...), and roasted butternut squash - then it all combines into this mind blowing bowl of deliciousness - and then gets an egg on top! Holy shit.

IMG_8267_1920.jpg



(roasted butternut on the left ...)
 
DT said:
Butternut squash is pretty amazing, it's one of those things that people don't make that much, it might seem a little daunting, but it's so simple, and pretty inexpensive.

We do this Asian soup, it's a whole prep for the soup base, noodles, pork slow cooked then pan seared (I'm getting to it ...), and roasted butternut squash - then it all combines into this mind blowing bowl of deliciousness - and then gets an egg on top! Holy shit.

View attachment 12367


(roasted butternut on the left ...)
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That looks amazing!
 
A steak sandwich:

Toasted French baguette bread, and sautéed fillet steak (in olive oil and butter; medium rare, I usually cook it rare, but should have been paying closer attention).

Sautéed (in olive oil) - until caramalised - a very finely chopped chilli pepper, and a minced head of garlic, and a finely grated onion.

This caramalised onion/garlic/chilli mix was served (on the toasted French baguette bread), with steak, and the contents of a small dish of mayo, French mustard and horseradish sauce, mixed. Plus a little jalapeno jelly/jam.
 
Hrafn said:
That looks amazing!
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Yeah, it's super delicious, and the bonus is you put the bowl together when you service, so the veggies on top are fresh and you have all the components separate. Want some pulled pork without soup, got it! A little side of roasted squash, yes! Just a nice hot bowl of soup broth, can do!

We ate here on the way home from Ikea yesterday, we were cutting through this area to avoid The Players traffic, and were on the lookout for a good place to eat - and wow, it was an excellent choice, we will definitely go back.

www.southnocatee.com

South Kitchen Nocatee

www.southnocatee.com www.southnocatee.com
 
Dinner was classic comfort food: Sausage and pasta:

Firstly, finely diced onion was sautéed until soft in olive oil, then half a head (around seven or eight cloves) of peeled, minced, garlic was added to the pan, and also sautéed until soft, and golden.

Merguez sausages, (artisan made) three of them (peeled of their casing and broken into chunks) were added to the pan, and browned; meanwhile, a few chopped tomatoes (a mix of vine tomatoes and a few cherry tomatoes) were roasted in the oven (for around 40 minutes - seasoned with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, and drizzed with olive oil); this (plus the olive oil, seasoned with tomato) was then also added to the pan and mashed and mixed through.

In a separate saucepan, boiling water (salted with a dash of olive oil) awaited pasta (fettuccine); a few tablespoons of the pasta cooking water were then added to the sausage, onion, garlic and roasted tomato mix and stirred through.

The pasta was drained, seasoned with a little olive oil and black pepper, then added to the sauté pan, where it was mixed through with the sausage, onion, garlic and roasted tomato mix. Chopped parsley was added, and then it was served.

Dessert took the form of a compot of blueberries and sliced strawberries - with a few teaspoons of honey and the juice of a small freshly squeezed lemon.
 
Scepticalscribe said:
Dinner was classic comfort food: Sausage and pasta:
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It all sounded so delicious... If you're not going to write a book about your OSCE and diplomatic adventures, then maybe you should consider a book of how to construct fine dining at home, from market to table!! Recipes are one thing but the way you write them up is worth the read.

On Thursday I made colcannon for supper with a nod to some Irish ancestors.... but then having lived in NYC for so long where "everyone is Irish" on St. Patrick's Day, apparently I never needed an excuse to put greens and potatoes on the dinner table for the 17th of March. Not that I limit my consumption of that dish to that occasion, either. Truly I think I've never seen a potato I didn't fancy.
 
Chicken Fricassee:

Chicken Fricassee (Gordon Ramsay does a very good version) is a French rustic dish.

Chicken thighs (skin and bone attached, and seasoned with sea salt and black pepper) are sautéed (in a large sauté pan) in olive oil until golden, and diced pancetta, chopped - or diced - onion and roughly chopped cloves of garlic (I have a generous hand with garlic) added, and sautéed until all are soft. Mushrooms - halved (or quartered, depending on size) - are next added to the pan.

Fresh rosemary (and thyme, if you have it; I didn't have it today) are added; that is, you strip the "needles" - leaves - of both herbs, for that is what is to be added to the pan - and discard the woody stems.

Then, some white wine (around a small wine glass) is added, and let cook down until reduced. Next, in with some chicken stock, and let this lot simmer away for around twenty minutes, (uncovered) and a further ten minutes or so, with a lid - slightly covered, so that the steam can escape.

That is when you can add (should your inclinations lie that way) a generous glug (or more, I used around half a mug) of double cream. Allow that to simmer for a further five to ten minutes. Check for seasoning. Then, serve.

Today, I served it with sautéed (small, salad) potatoes, parboiled first, then sautéed in a little olive oil, sea salt, black pepper, and roughly chopped (fresh) parsley.
 
Yah I was thinking about whether I had any chicken in the freezer while reading that. But no, I think there are just some frozen white fish of some sort in there at the moment, and headed not long from now into the fridge to thaw and then ultimately into a fish chowder. We're to have snow over the weekend, alas, as as another last (?) gasp of winter. So a chowder with some fish, corn, potatoes, onions and a bit of red bell pepper for extra color sounds worth making.
 
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