[Marlene]

Ok ok, how can we not have a daily cooking thread? I'll get us started with a couple of dinners I made last week while my sister in law was here:

The first night was Penne ala Vodka with Garlic Bread:




The second night was a rack of pork with mashed and green beans sauteed in a mustard compound butter:






The third night, Jake came over to have dinner with us and I did Prime Rib, Yorkies, roast potatoes, ceasar salad and gravy, but alas, we totally forgot to take pictures.

So what are you cooking?

[Jake]

I can attest to the prime rib dinner! It was excellent and I've never seen puffier Yorkshires. I have no idea why we forgot to photo it, perhaps the lovely Brunellos we were consuming?????

[SobaAddict70]

I don't know what you'd call this. I suppose roast vegetables topped with sauteed mushrooms.

Mise:



Clockwise from top left: crimin mushrooms, carrots, potatoes, half an onion, chives, marjoram, rosemary, unsalted butter.



Diced potatoes (with their skin on) and peeled carrots sliced with a bias cut tossed in EVOO (extra-virgin olive oil), kosher salt, cracked black pepper and rosemary.



Clockwise from the top: roughly half a package of thinly sliced crimini mushrooms; 2 cloves of garlic, minced; chopped parsley ; diced onion; chopped marjoram.



1 T. unsalted butter, melted.





Added the mushrooms and a splash of riesling.



Added another knob of unsalted butter, then the marjoram.



Added some light cream and let the ’shrooms absorb the liquid. Adjusted seasoning.



Mushrooms. It was incredibly difficult trying to stop myself from scarfing this.



Roasted the potatoes and carrots at 350 F for 45 min. and at 375 F for 15 min. Topped with the mushrooms and herbs. I had this with some leftover broiled skinless boneless chicken breasts. (I’ll spare you a pic of said breasts.)

Half the roast veggies were topped with mushrooms.

The remainder will be turned into salad with a lemon-balsamic viniagrette this weekend.

This post has been edited by SobaAddict70: 07 September 2006 - 10:48 PM

[Marlene]

Aside from the mushrooms, that looks pretty good. Stash, I know you cook for yourself often. Do you find it hard to get motivated to cook when you're alone? Sometimes my dinner can be just popcorn when I'm by myself! Do you have any special tips or tricks you use in cooking for one?

[SobaAddict70]

Usually aesthetics go out the window because I'm not particularly judgmental about myself. Me, I'll eat anything. I do stay away from processed food for the most part, but I won't hesitate to use canned stock if I don't have any homemade in the freezer. I won't hesitate to use Mrs. Dash. Flavor combinations that would horrify most normal people aren't a big deal to me. As long as it satisfies me, that's my mantra.

Now, if it were someone else, then I need to be a bit discerning.

Motivation: not difficult. I can get motivated just thinking about food. I look to other posts/blogs/sources for inspiration. Lately, I've been trying to be more observant and to notice more things around me. This has practical applications outside the realm of cooking; for instance, it lends itself quite well in creative writing. (As an aside, I'm getting back into serious poetry and fiction writing as evidenced on my blog.)

There's a nice vegetable and imported food store near the 86th St/Lex subway stop. Last night, on a whim -- and also because I was thinking about dinner, I decided to stop by and see what might be good for a future meal. I hadn't visited for a month or so as I've been distracted by other projects.

There was a special of oyster mushrooms for $5.99/lb. Picked up a couple, along with ginger root and a couple of heads of broccoli and a container of kalamata olives.

Those mushrooms will combine with the remaining crimini for omelettes this weekend. Stir-fried broccoli and zucchini with ginger and oyster sauce. I'll roast some brussel sprouts and use them in a Sicilian style puttanesca with some rigatoni over the weekend.

You're probably thinking, does he eat meat? Oh yes, of course. Its just that its not as sexy as vegetables can be. If anything, that's where most of my inspiration comes from during this time of year -- from starches and veggies. Oftentimes, a piece of broiled chicken breast or maybe some poached salmon will suffice. Once fall and winter set in, then I start to think about braises, stews and more substantial fare.

I hope that was helpful.

[gourmande]

Since I'm impossibly slow at uploading images from the camera (actually I wait until Dale does it since he's faster at it...) this post should be under Two Days Ago I cooked...

Anyhow...

Friday night dinner started with marinating some salmon in olive oil, maple syrup, soya sauce, a generous grind of black pepper and a light sprinkling of Kosher salt.


... and reheating some leftover scalloped potatoes (not very glamorous, I know)


While the salmon was grilling (about 10 minutes) I prepared a simple salad of romaine, grape and zebra tomatoes, cucumber and scallions, gently tossed with olive oil, Balsamic, salt and pepper, and topped with grated Parmigiano Reggiano (tossed again just before serving)


The plating is a bit messy but it was very good

[SobaAddict70]

Tonight's dinner.



Brussel sprouts, tossed with EVOO, kosher salt and cracked black pepper. Roasted at 375 F for 25 min. and finished with chopped Italian parsley.






Onion and garlic.



Kalamata olives and grape tomatoes.



Anchovies packed in oil and capers.



Chopped fresh marjoram and chopped fresh Italian parsley.









Added drained pasta, more EVOO, cracked black pepper and chopped fresh mint.

There were some broiled chicken breasts but those aren't as interesting.

This post has been edited by SobaAddict70: 11 September 2006 - 11:34 PM

[Marlene]

Since I'm on the temporarily disabled list, hubby did the cooking tonight. Which meant we kept it simple. A "salad" with the rest of the tomatoes Jake brought from her garden, with red onion, parmesan, and drizzed with olive oil and balsamic:



And a steak sandwich. Rib eyes on the grill and grilled kaisers:

[Madge]

As a few previous posters have mentioned it is nice to get into the cooler weather and get the braises going again. I love summer but find I am not terribly motivated to do much other than BBQ. This weekend I made lamb shanks from a Mario Battali recipe. It is pretty much the usual ingredients with the addition of orange segments (they melt into the braise) and then green olives at the end with orange zest. I served them with risotto cakes and it made for a very tasty dinner. Even better the next day!!

[Jake]

I'm not sure what I'll be cooking today yet, but I picked up some beautiful WILD chanterelles on my travels yesterday!

Hmm, maybe risotto? Or a pasta of some sort? I definitely want the chanterelles to be the star of the show.

I also picked up some quince that are not quite ripe yet, so they'll make an appearance in the near future. And some gorgeous swiss chard.

[Madge]

Yesterday I made this absolutely simple, but delicious borscht. I had some roasted beets, combined with a can of consomme, a cup of V-8 juice, a cup of sour cream, some horseradish, some lemon and some spicy basil from the garden and pepper. Whiz it up in the blender, garnish with sour cream and a few sprigs of basil and there you go. This is a Bonnie Stern recipe that I have used for years with rave reviews. If time is short a can of beets will do but the colour and flavour not as intense.
Had a Ace bun with goat cheese and tomato toasted in the George Forman. Great lunch.

[Marlene]

dinner tonight as showcased in the grillin and smokin forum was ribs and roasted mini potatoes with garlic.

[pixelchef]

I'm happy to see you're just as carnivourous as ever, Marlene! I followed your smoking triumphs (meat, and otherwise! lol) a while back, which were inspiring to say the least. Mmm. I hate some meat tonight myself:


Grilled rib-eye, roasted asparagus and cherry tomatoes. Simple stuff, yet oh-so-satisfying.

[gourmande]

Last night's dinner... 'cause I can never get pictures uploaded in time for "today I cooked"

grilled chicken and grill-roasted potatoes ...


with oven roasted veg dressed with a bit of balsamic.
(carrots, parsnips, broccoli, chopped rosemary, and tomatoes tossed in near the end)

[Marlene]

pixelchef, on Sep 21 2006, 01:34 AM, said:

I'm happy to see you're just as carnivourous as ever, Marlene! I followed your smoking triumphs (meat, and otherwise! lol) a while back, which were inspiring to say the least. Mmm. I hate some meat tonight myself:



Grilled rib-eye, roasted asparagus and cherry tomatoes. Simple stuff, yet oh-so-satisfying.

Welcome Chris. That asparagus looks interesting. Care to share the method? Oh yes, I'm still a carnivore. And since I took an unlabelled package out of my freezer last night and have discovered it contains a porterhouse steak, guess what I'm having for dinner?

[pixelchef]

Thanks, babe.

The asparagus is just simply roasted in the oven at 400 (after being blanched/shocked) along with the tiny tomatoes with a drizzle of olive oil, s/p and that's it. Once the tomatoes blister and pop, they let their juices mix with the olive oil and that's when I take 'em out. Yum.

[gourmande]

yup... I was inspired too, pix. Tonight we're having grilled rib-eyes as well

The sides will be grill "fries" and grill roasted green beans and red pepper finished with white Balsamic and shaved Manchego...

[Marlene]

pixelchef, on Sep 21 2006, 06:32 PM, said:

Thanks, babe.

The asparagus is just simply roasted in the oven at 400 (after being blanched/shocked) along with the tiny tomatoes with a drizzle of olive oil, s/p and that's it. Once the tomatoes blister and pop, they let their juices mix with the olive oil and that's when I take 'em out. Yum.

hey, only my husband gets to call me babe. Seriously, I like the idea of mixing the tomatoes and asparagus. I love asparagus but usually just roast it with oil and kosher salt and use balsamic and parm to finish. I think I need to try this next.

[persimmon]

My husband is out of town, so dinner was very simple...but pleasing!

Popcorn
Gin & Tonic

Pureed root vegetable soup
Toasted Italian cheese bread covered with extra parmesan cheese

White wine

Two teaspoons (heaping) of Nutella, eaten over the sink

[Marlene]

persimmon, on Sep 21 2006, 10:37 PM, said:

My husband is out of town, so dinner was very simple...but pleasing!

Popcorn
Gin & Tonic

Pureed root vegetable soup
Toasted Italian cheese bread covered with extra parmesan cheese

White wine

Two teaspoons (heaping) of Nutella, eaten over the sink

Do you know, I've been craving popcorn all day? I just haven't been home long enough to make it! You and Jake will get along just fine as I believe popcorn is her dinner of choice when her other half is away.

(god, its been years since I had Nutella!)