What is/was for dinner?

[Mellofello808]

Eggplant Parmesan last night

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Eggplant Parmesan last night

Oooooh.

Yum.

Drizzled in olive oil?

What tomatoes did you use? Tinned tomatoes, roasted tomatoes, sautéed tomatoes?

Anyway, it looks delicious.

 

[Rafterman]

Not sometimes, but "Always", I wish that they wouldn't put calories on a menu; save the calories debates for dismal private kitchens and bouts of self-flagellation.

I mean, by definition, a burger saturated with Guinness, and served with sautéed onions and mushrooms, bacon jam, mozzarella, mayo, roasted tomatoes will have a lot of calories. That is the whole point of such a seductively tasty offering.

Anyway, it looks delicious: Do enjoy.

Cheese and ketchup - all I need. And even cheese isn't always necessary

 

[Mellofello808]

GF's grandmother just passed away at 102 years old. Just 3 years ago I was in her kitchen on Cape Cod, and she whipped up her famous pork chops, along with 3 starches, and apple compote.

She could out eat me at 99.

Made a bit of a commemorative meal for her tonight. 1.75 inch thick center cut pork chop with lots of tenderloin, sauteed spinach and shallots, honey crisp apple compote, tater tots, and garlic bread (2 more of her favorite foods). Topped it off with a white whine, and honey Dijon pan sauce.

Pretty sure Grandma would have gone back for seconds after this massive plate, and then had 2 helpings of desert.

Absolute legend

 

[decafjava]

Cheese and ketchup - all I need. And even cheese isn't always necessary

The meat must of of top quality as sometimes too many toppings can hide the taste.

@Mellofello808 sorry for your loss, she must have had a full life and this meal is an excellent way to honour her memory.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Cheese and ketchup - all I need. And even cheese isn't always necessary

Yes, ketchup for a burger almost goes without saying.

 

[Mellofello808]

Speaking of burgers, we had our first beach BBQ of the season today.

Just well seasoned with SPG, and the topped with ketchup, and American cheese on Brioche buns.

Nothing more needed for a tasty

 

[Scepticalscribe]

No burgers, but a classic, especially when one craves comfort food on a cold, wet, miserable, dark day.

This evening I craved, and thus, dined on sausages (sautéed sausages, artisan handmade sausages), with slowly sautéed caramalised onions, and divinely delicious mashed potatoes (generously, very generously, the sort of generosity that is positively prodigal, or, what you will find in a good restaurant, anointed with butter, plus, a little double cream, freshly ground sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, finely chopped and diced parsley and French onions/scallions).

Exactly what the day demanded.

 

[decafjava]

Missing Greek salad already, the wonderful fricasseed lamb with greens and lemon sauce, minced kebab with pita, orange syrup cake and especially "xhorta" boiled greens with olive oil and lemon - so simple, so healthy and tasty and yet I cannot figure out which "greens" are used to make it!! In Canada where I grew up often it was made incorrectly with spinach (love spinach but it's not the same).

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Missing Greek salad already, the wonderful fricasseed lamb with greens and lemon sauce, minced kebab with pita, orange syrup cake and especially "xhorta" boiled greens with olive oil and lemon - so simple, so healthy and tasty and yet I cannot figure out which "greens" are used to make it!! In Canada where I grew up often it was made incorrectly with spinach (love spinach but it's not the same).

This recipe calls for "lightly boiled" greens, rather than slightly sautéed greens?

Chard?

Perhaps lightly sautéed salad greens?

Years ago, (in an arty, avant-garde pub), I was once served a lettuce soup which I have never forgotten, because it was simply superb.

However, I agree with you.

Those flavours of olive oil, garlic, and lemons - tasty, healthy, and, above all, redolent of summer - are wonderful.

I totally empathise with the craving for greens at this time of year.

Last Saturday, in the farmers' market, I treated myself not only to spinach, but also to lamb's lettuce and rocket leaves, which I shall dress with some sort of (homemade) French dressing, or an olive oil and lemon dressing some day soon.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Missing Greek salad already, the wonderful fricasseed lamb with greens and lemon sauce, minced kebab with pita, orange syrup cake and especially "xhorta" boiled greens with olive oil and lemon - so simple, so healthy and tasty and yet I cannot figure out which "greens" are used to make it!! In Canada where I grew up often it was made incorrectly with spinach (love spinach but it's not the same).

Do you have a recipe for that "fricassed lamb" (with greens and lemon sauce)?

And Greek salad - even the idea of Greek salad - just summons summer.

 

[decafjava]

Do you have a recipe for that "fricassed lamb" (with greens and lemon sauce)?

And Greek salad - even the idea of Greek salad - just summons summer.

This looks pretty close:

https://marilenaskitchen.com/lamb-fricassee-with-avgolemono/

Traditional Lamb Fricassée with Avgolemono Sauce

Save Print

Prep time

20 mins

Cook time

1 hour 20 mins

Total time

1 hour 40 mins



A lovely Spring dish with succulent lamb, tender greens and a creamy avgolemono sauce!

Author: Marilena Leavitt

Recipe type: Main Course

Cuisine: Greek

Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 3 lbs. of boneless leg of lamb
• ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium leek, sliced
• 10 scallions, chopped
• 3 stalks of celery, with their leaves, chopped
• 3 cups chicken stock
• 2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. pepper
• 2 heads of lettuce, (Little Gem or Romaine), coarsely chopped
• a bunch of fresh dill, chopped
• For the Avgolemono Sauce:
• 3 medium eggs, separated
• --- juice of 2 medium lemons
• 1 Tbsp. cold water
• ½ tsp. corn flour

Instructions

1. Trim most of the visible fat from the lamb then cut the meat into 1½” - 2” chunks. Pat down the lamb to remove any excess moisture then brown it on all sides over medium-high heat in the olive oil in a large Dutch oven.
2. Add the leeks, onions, and celery to the pot and sauté until the vegetables soften. Add the chicken stock to cover the mixture and season it generously with salt and pepper. Cover and cook on medium heat for about 40 minutes.
3. Mince the dill, reserving some for garnish. Chop the lettuce and add it to the pot, along with the dill. Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes, or, until the lamb is fork-tender and a small amount of liquid (about a cup or so) remains in the pot. Turn off the heat.
4. Prepare the egg-lemon (avgolemono) sauce. In a small bowl whisk the egg whites with the teaspoon of cold water and a little corn flour until very frothy. Whisk in the egg yolks and lemon juice (start with only one lemon if you do not like the acidity of the lemon too much). Temper the avgolemono sauce by slowly adding one ladleful of the hot liquid from the pot to the small bowl with the eggs, while whisking the whole time. Continue with a second ladleful of the hot liquid and whisk again. Now add the avgolemono to the pot and stir gently to incorporate. Shake the pot a few times to make sure everything is thoroughly mixed together.
5. If you need to reheat the lamb fricassée before serving, do so very gently, making sure the stew does not come to a boil. Place on a serving platter, topped with the reserved minced dill, a drizzle of olive oil and a few wedges of lemon. Good, crusty bread is a must and a Greek salad on the side is always a good idea.

Notes

Using a boneless piece of leg cuts down the cooking time considerably. To speed up to process even more, ask the butcher to cut up your leg of lamb to pieces and remove some of the visible fat.

What I had was made with lamb on the bone which is fine except be careful with small bone fragments. Still the meat came off the bone quite easily.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

This looks pretty close:

https://marilenaskitchen.com/lamb-fricassee-with-avgolemono/


What I had was made with lamb on the bone which is fine except be careful with small bone fragments. Still the meat came off the bone quite easily.

Wow.

That looks absolutely delicious.

Of equal, (or greater) importance, it reads as though it meets my two key requirements when I consult a recipe:

1: Will it be delicious, flavoursome, tasty when prepared?

Answer: Yes.

2: Can I make it - does it lie within what I am able to do - in other words, what I culinary skills I have mastered - when preparing dinner without cursing and swearing and seething in frustration?

Answer: Yes.

Thank you, @decafjava; much appreciated.

I love lamb; that dish, with appropriate tweaks, (dill is very difficult to find, at the moment) shall be added to my list of recipes.

 

[Mellofello808]

Forgot it was pie day. The only 2 decent pizza places by my house were doing promos, but we're backed up when I called.

Desperate times call for desperate measures. Still had some 15 inch tortillas laying around, so I made cracker crust pizza.

Half BBQ Chicken, half broccoli, pepperoni, and onion with fresh mozzarella

Came out delicious for a emergency pizza. Super thin, and crispy.

 

[decafjava]

Excellent, I also do "emergency" pizzas when I buy say a frozen pizza by adding extra cheese and toppings.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

@Mellofello808 and @decafjava: That does bring back memories. My mother used to buy a pizza base in one of the supermarkets - you could do this at the time - load it with ingredients, weigh it (you paid by weight), bring it home, then cook it.

While it was usually quite delicious, unfortunately, domestic ovens (well, our domestic oven), rarely (actually, never) managed to become as hot as would be necessary when baking (and hoping for) a really good pizza.

 

[Mellofello808]

If you get a pizza stone or steel plate, you can make some pretty restaurant quality pizza with a home oven. So long as you cook it on a vessel that can retain a lot of heat, you can get a nice crispy crust, and kissing the top with the broiler will get nice color on your toppings.

I have a dedicated pizza oven that goes up to 800+ degrees, but I actually find that the ideal temp for my style of pizza is closer to 600.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

GF's grandmother just passed away at 102 years old. Just 3 years ago I was in her kitchen on Cape Cod, and she whipped up her famous pork chops, along with 3 starches, and apple compote.

She could out eat me at 99.

Made a bit of a commemorative meal for her tonight. 1.75 inch thick center cut pork chop with lots of tenderloin, sauteed spinach and shallots, honey crisp apple compote, tater tots, and garlic bread (2 more of her favorite foods). Topped it off with a white whine, and honey Dijon pan sauce.

Pretty sure Grandma would have gone back for seconds after this massive plate, and then had 2 helpings of desert.

Absolute legend

Hadn't spotted this before now.

My condolences on the death of your GF's grandmother.

She sounds like an absolute legend.

Actually, her healthy appetite brings to mind my mother, who was also well able to do justice to a well laden plate of food.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

With all of the discussion about pizza over the last number of posts, I ordered a pizza (from a local, and extremely good, Italian place) for dinner this evening.

 

[Mellofello808]

BBQ with a view

 

[Mitthrawnuruodo]

Home made based on the memory of Ramen:

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Home made based on the memory of Ramen:

View attachment 2360741

Ramen.....

Did someone just mention ramen?

I love ramen; actually, I have yet to encounter an Asian cuisine that I dislike.

 

[Mitthrawnuruodo]

I have yet to encounter an Asian cuisine that I dislike.

I'm much the same, but with one exception: I cannot stand coriander (aka cilantro), so anything with that in it is (more or less) ruined.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Something soothing, comforting, rib-sticking was required for dinner this evening, as it has been such a rotten day.

Pasta Carbonara - I had all of the ingredients to hand - struck me as meeting my requirements.

Thus, dinner comprised: Diced (by me) - and subsequently sautéed - guanciale, grated (by me) Pecorino Romano, egg yolks (from free range, organic, etc eggs bought from the person who actually collects them by hand from their own hens, which were mixed with the grated Pecorino Romano), a few teaspoons of double cream, a few ladles of pasta cooking liquid, lots of freshly ground black pepper, and - of course - cooked pasta.

 

[Mellofello808]

Went to a pretty phenomenal all you can eat Yakiniku (Korean BBQ) place. This is only a small sampling of all the delicious meats we ate.

Highlights for me were the red wine marinated pork belly, one spicy Cajun marinated Calamari steak. Bulgogi, and shaved brisket were also top notch.

I am a different level of full right now, and it will be mostly healthy food for the weekend. Going to take a few days to digest this feast.