[melomaniac]

no pix, insufficient light as it turn out...
 
using some squid ink, I made black fresh pasta (flour, squid ink, an egg, a spoon of olive oil, water to mix - knead, extrude, cut, dry a bit - or cook right away); and I stuffed the squid with a slice of red bell pepper, along with a mix of the ground-up tentacles, breadcrumbs, parsley, olive oil, salt and pepper. brown in a pan, and then simmer in white wine for close to an hour
 
serve with the remainder of the white wine

 

[kwkarth]

Quote:

onigiri! 
 

 

 
 
some spicy tuna, some kimchi (I suppose the latter ought to be called gimbap, since it is a Korean filling )

Yum!  I've been on a kimchi binge lately.  Can't get enough!  Lots of good brands locally.
 

 

[00940]

Nice season meal tonight for a dinner with a few friends: veal scallops with green asparagus.
 
- Peel the asparagus and cut the hard end.
- Put some butter and a bit of oil in a pan, melt at medium fire.
- Put the whole asparagus in the pan, let it cook for about 12 to 15min. A few minutes before the end, add sliced almonds to roast in the pan.
- While the asparagus are on the fire, treat the scallops: beat them a bit with something heavy so they're perfectly flat and make a few light cuts so that the meat doesn't retract when put on the fire.
- Remove the asparagus from the pan, keep on the side.
- Add a fair amount of butter in a new pan, still on medium fire, until it stop boiling and get brownish (being careful not to burn it).
- Add the scallops to the pan. Let them roast a bit, then set the fire a bit lower. Turn around the scallops a few times, without overcooking the meat.
- When cooked, remove the scallops from the pan and put them on a warm serving dish.
- Put the asparagus and almonds back into the pan, heat for about 30 sec and roll them in the juices given out by the meat. Pour everything on the meat and serve.
 
 
No need to serve with anything else. It's a rather light dish, so I served some simple spaghetti al pesto as a first dish.

 

[mochimon]

wouldnt really call this cooking, but yeah my lunch today.

 

[grokit]

Looks pretty good to me mochimon!

 

[rroseperry]

Handmade tortillas!

 

[grokit]

Those look great--I would love to hear more about your recipe/technique rroseperry.

 

[joe]

I came across this recipe for fried spinach parmeasan the other day, and the lil woman and I loved it, although we did have two each.
 
God knows it didn't hurt for me to eat something a little slimmer.

 

[rroseperry]

They're dead simple. I got the recipe from my friend's cookbook. Get a bag of Maseca masa harina. I tried the bulk stuff from my local grocery store, but it's preparada, made for tamales, which really does not work. Maseca is a reliable brand and probably easy to find if you live in an area that has any Mexican or South American communities.

Put 1.5 cups of flour in a bowl, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, and mix. Add about 1 cup of warm water. How much you need will depend on the temperature, humidity, and so on. What you want is the dough to have the consistency of play-doh and for it to be slightly shiny. roll it into about 12 balls and cover with a damp towel to keep them from drying out as you're cooking. You'll also want to keep some warm water to dampen your hands when you handle the dough.

Cut up a plastic bag into two sheets to line the tortilla press. You can hand pat them or roll them out, but a press works quickly and gets a consistent tortilla.

Heat up an un-greased skillet. (I used a nonstick griddle) to medium high heat. Place a ball onto the press (remember the plastic) and then press to desired thickness. Roll the tortilla off the plastic onto your palm and onto the pan. Cook for about 45 sec to 1 minute and flip. There should be brown spots and the cooked side should look dry. Cook the second side for 45 sec and flip. Tap the tortilla about 4-5 times and cook for about 15 sec. Flip, tap, and cook for 15 seconds. The tapping helps make little pockets so the tortillas will puff a little.

They should smell toasty and have a dull surface when done. Wrap the cooked tortillas in a clean cloth to keep them warm. They are good, I ate some straight off the griddle with butter, but there were even better later with home-made refried beans, cheese and salsa.

 

[grokit]

^ Thanks!

 

[melomaniac]

Timbales of braised oxtail, onions, and turnips (Paul Bertolli's recipe)
 

 

[melomaniac]

 
tea-smoked pork with red cabbage and mango, served with heirloom tomato

 

[Zida]

Very nice, what was your process for tea-smoking?

 

[melomaniac]

 
Quote:

Very nice, what was your process for tea-smoking?

line an old pan or wok with tinfoil - mix uncooked rice, tea (lapsang souchong is recommended because it's smoky already), sugar, spices - top with a rack - place pork on the rack - cover with tinfoil, leaving only a small vent - put on the stove until smoke begins to come out, then adjust heat for even smoking - keep on the flame for about an hour, depending on the size of your piece of pork
 
you'll get a nice, pink smoke-rim (almost an inch into the pork) and a colored crust (I don't use a spice rub for this, but you could - pepper and flour and salt might suffice) - you then put the pork into an ovenproof pot, submerged in the red cabbage, top with mango slices and some red wine (less than a cup) and cook it in the oven for about another hour, covered; the cabbage should be soft and slightly smoky, and the pork very tender

 

[melomaniac]

short rib tacos:
 

 
 
the sauce has carrot, onion, celery, wine, herbs and spices; the short ribs are browned in butter and then cooked in the oven in that sauce for up to 3hrs;
take the meat out, refrigerate the sauce to separate the fat; discard the fat, warm up the sauce, put the meat back in to heat it up, serve on fresh corn tortillas with cilantro