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Anyone make anything good lately?

218K views 2K replies 122 participants last post by  Spinster 
#1 · (Edited)
I really haven't. Writers block? Usually when I get back from one of these trips, go through the notes I write on the plane and the first thing I do is try and recreate things that I really liked. Seem to be stuck in the mud as I haven't even tried. Need some ideas, got any? This is what I have been doing.



Pork Piccata.............. Learned this doing the Martin PDRA in a place in Grand Rapids. Been there, done it before. Boring!



Burger with sautéed Onions, Smoked Gouda cheese, Spinich and Heirloom tomatoes from my deck garden. It was OK, still just a burger n fries.



Deep Fried Chicken Livers n Mashed Tators. Kinda a change of pace but I can get the same thing at a Grandees fast food place for $5.99. It was OK.



One of my standard summer meals, done several times before. Boring! Pan Seared Mahi Mahi (which did have a perfect sear!) Mango/Avacado Pico de Gallo, and Curry Carmel glazed Heirloom Carrots. (The Carrots were killer! The rest, it was all right.)

Curry Carmel Glazed Carrots

Put the Carrots in a pan with a little Olive Oil and a goo pinch of Salt. Roast for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Throw a chunk of butter into a pan, small handful of brown sugar and a couple good pinches of Curry. Low heat to melt everything. Prior to serving, throw the carrots in and using medium high heat to gel the Carmel so it sticks to the Carrots.

Anyone got any ideas to get me out of this funk? And no, BBQ isn't a new idea.

Denny
 
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#45 ·
Haven't been home in months to make anything, over in Europe for business. Managed to score the chef's spot at &samhoud places in Amsterdam. Interesting take on some things, but not too bad. Bill wasn't too fun to pay but whatever. 2 Michelin stars.



Caviar


Eel on a kale chip (bleeeeeh)


Two ways steak with a beet salad




If you're ever in AMS, it's worth a visit if you want to impress a client or two. I did not, I showed up in jeans and an Alpinestars tshirt
 
#46 ·
Thought this was good. My "Lamb". Well, being it was a Pork Standing rib roast, slow cooked it like I would do a Prime Rib and did a reverse sear.



Did an Apple reduction Carmel Sauce with it. Basically just a bottle of Apple juice, add some butter to it, reduce it and add some brown Sugar. Once it starts to thicken add some sliced Apple.

Denny
 
#51 ·
Made lentil soup last night.
One pound of lentils, in 12 cups of water. Add salt, pepper, garlic, 2 tbl spoons balsamic, 4 tbl sp of EV olive oil, simmer for 4 hours or so.
Add chopped carrots half way through, and baby spinach a half our or so before its done. Healthy and tasty.
 
#55 ·
This is more than good.........! Not sure what size you would even call these, but 6 of them weighed 18oz. Biggest Shrimp I recall seeing and was all over then like stink on poop when I spotted them. Being an early spring here, gearing up for summer food already.




Seasoned with McCormick's Montreal Steak seasoning, about an hour prior to cooking. Let um rest for 45 minutes, light coat of Olive Oil and then wrapped in Bacon. What else........Grilled!



Severed with a Saffron Rice Pilaf and grilled Zucchini. Hard to beat. Real hard to beat.

Denny
 
#65 ·
This is drop dead delicious. Thai Crab and Shrimp Butternut Squash Bisque. With Coconut milk, Curry and Basil. Just finished making it for tonight and one of the better soups I've done lately. Addictive even, as I want to go back and sample some more. Shrimp and Crab blended into the Bisque with chunks of jumbo Shrimp.



I'll present it with some fresh basil on top and fresh bread with butter on the side. The day started out raining like hell so a good soup to go with the meal sounded good, now the sun is shining bright even though they are predicting a 100% chance of rain. I predict a 100% chance of eating some later regardless.

Denny
 
#67 ·
100% chance indeed............I'm surprised I haven't heard an alert from the national delicious service come across my cars radio like the weather alerts.

Nice........I'll bet a conch fritter or something of the sort would be a nice addition ( like the bread) as well..

Ever heard of a hoe cake?........similar to a corn fritter.

My bride likes me to add jumbo lump crabmeat to the mixture, she is not a fan of the conch fritter, but loves the crab fritter.......I think the whole slimy conch deal freaks her out a little.

You probably know this, but the term hoe cake came from the workers grinding up corn meal , making a batter and sitting the flat part of their gardening type hoe over the fire close enough so that it would cook up a couple of fritters of the cornmeal mixture for lunch.
Very popular term amongst the Gullah cuisine folks in the low country of SC........a style of food that I love.
 
#73 ·
Thai Crab and Shrimp Butternut Squash Bisque




This is one where you are going to have to adjust the spices to your tastes as it’s one I winged making. What prompted me making it is it was a shitty rainy day and after working out my workout partner and I decided on a comfort food lunch going to Whole Foods. We both got soup n sandwich getting Butternut Squash and Crab soup. She said something to the effect that my soups were better so I told her I would work on it and give her some.

Ingredients:

1 lb of Jumbo Shrimp (Chopped into bite sized pieces and seasoned)
½ lb of Crab Meat (Optional due to being expensive)
1 large or 2 small Butternut Squash
1 14 oz can of Coconut Milk
3 cups of Chicken Broth
ÂĽ th medium Sweet Onion
2 gloves Garlic (smashed and chopped)
1 tablespoon Curry Powder (about, adjust to taste)
Hit of Cinnamon
Tablespoon or so of Olive Oil
Couple squeezes of Maple Syrup
Small Handful of Fresh Basil
Salt n Pepper to taste
Optional: Sirachia Hot Sauce to taste

Directions:

Medium dice the onion and add to a pan with the Olive Oil and Garlic, turn the heat to medium low. Using a peeler remove the skin from the squash, half, remove the seeds and cut into a 1 inch dice. Once the Onion starts to turn, add the squash, Curry Powder, Cinnamon, and a pinch of Salt n Pepper. Stir to coat and place a lid on top occasionally stirring. Cook for about 5 minutes.

Add Broth, Coconut Milk, Syrup and simmer till the squash is tender. Add ½ the Shrimp and cook for a couple of minutes till the Shrimp start to turn. Add mixture to a blender, add the Basil and blend till smooth. Return to pan and return to a simmer. Taste, adjust spices, and adjust thickness. Five minutes prior to serving return to a simmer adding remaining Shrimp and Crab Meat. Serve and garnish with fresh Basil.

Denny
 
#74 ·
Lobster Bisque (Enterprise Seafood Company - Santa Barbara, Ca)

My wife and I had befriended the manager of the Enterprise Seafood Company restaurant in Santa Barbara. He had stopped by our table and I had remarked on how much I liked the Lobster Bisque. When getting the check there was a folded sheet of paper underneath the bill. He had copied the restaurants recipe and gave it to me. It was for five gallons so I had to cut it down, but as good as I have had anywhere.

Ingredients:

16 oz Cream
16 oz Lobster
16 oz canned Tomatoes
2 stalks Celery
1/2 large Onion
1 Large Carrot
4 oz Sherry
16 oz Lobster/chicken broth
2 Tablespoon Cornstarch

Directions:

Remove lobster meat from shells and boil shells in 16 oz chicken broth for at least 2 hours. Add water to retain volume. Dice the vegetables and add veggies, tomatoes, sherry to pan and simmer for at least 3o minutes. Strain, broth and veggies.(Yep...... ya throw the veggies away just keeping the broth.)

Add two tablespoons cornstarch to 4 ounces broth mixture and whisk. Dice lobster and add lobster, cornstarch and cream to pan. Ladle 3/4th of the mixture into a blender and blend for 15-20 seconds. Add back to pan. Bring to boil/simmer and immediately turn heat off. Serve with an Antipasto appetizer and good bread.

Denny
 
#78 ·
Once again, a nicely detailed recipe Denny, I'm sure for someone wanting to try this you just made it that much easier.... Kudos.



I tried Lobster Bisque, once...., albeit I'm not a fan of Lobster or crab meat but I tried it anyway because it looked good, I couldn't of been more wrong, one sip and I thought I was going to hurl, I definitely won't make that mistake again, more for y'all I reckon.
 
#80 ·
I don't need to post how to make Sushi?:) Just lucky I guess, honestly pretty much like it all. Man, you would have hated traveling with me to places like Japan. A typical breakfast is grilled fish, rice with little dried up fish in it, Miso soup and a side of Pork n Beans.




All washed down with a liter of beer.




Denny
 
#79 ·
I'm a fan of ladling crab bisque over a bowl of grilled shrimp and grouper chunks.........bisque s to me have great flavor but not near enough goodies floating around in it.......I get the refined flavor, creamy texture and all that and I do like it by itself sometimes, but when we eat it at our favorite joint I normally get them to bring me a side of the grilled seafood bites and I dump them in the bisque.

Kind of like a crab gravy.........and you know how ******** like their gravy.
 
#88 ·
This...............









The king of all rice dishes, Persian Rice. Special occasion rice made in Iran for holidays and celebrations. And..... I fucked it up. You mix some of the par boiled rice with Yogurt n oil in a Dutch Oven with Cumin Seeds and pack it in the bottom of the pan. Complicated sucker to make and you even wrap a towel around the lid so it gets the exact amount of moisture. My cooktop cooks hotter than the recipe called for and burnt it on the bottom, so I didn't get the best part which is the crusted rice at the bottom. Next time. Now I know.

Denny
 
#89 ·
This was good! We had rain coming in so a simple comfort meal sounded good.

SW Hatch Pepper and Corn Chowder





With a Smoked Ham and Brie Panini on Asiago Cheese Bread. Store bought Easter Ham and I always put them into a low temp smoker to warm then up using Apple Wood.



Denny
 
#90 ·
This was good.............


Pineapple Fried Rice





Ingredients:

1 Fresh Pineapple
2 Cups (prior to steaming) Steamed Basmati Rice
2 Eggs lighten beaten and seasoned
½ Red Pepper (sliced)
½ Green Pepper (sliced)
Big handful of salted Cashews
½ bunch of Green Onions (diced)
1-2 cloves Garlic (smashed and chopped)
Soy Sauce to taste
1 teaspoon Fish Sauce
1 teaspoon grated Ginger
1/8th teaspoon 5 spice seasoning
Big handful of diced Cilantro or Basal
½ small Lime
2-3 tables cooking oil
Optional: Sriracha Hot Sauce to taste

Directions:

Steam Rice and set in fridge. Get Wok semi-hot, add 1 tablespoon oil. Add egg and scramble, set aside in bowl. Rinse and wipe Wok. Return Wok to high heat and add remaining oil. Once oil starts smoking add Pineapple and Peppers. Cook till the edges of the Pineapple start to char (3-5 minutes). Set aside adding with the eggs in the bowl. Add Ginger, Garlic and Green Onion to pan and cook for about a minutes.

Reduce heat and add Rice, Cashews, Fish Sauce, Cilantro to Wok and stir. Add Eggs and Pineapple mixture to rice and stir in. Add Soy Sauce to taste and squeeze the Lime in. Time to eat.



Denny
 
#91 ·
Damn.......that's right up my alley.......digging the different textures and potential flavor profiles.

Could see adding some ham chunks in that and making a " bog" out of it......

Bog referring to a dish in the south like " chicken bog" sometimes referred to as a perloux .........chicken , sausage, mirepoix and rice mixture.

As always, thanks for sharing.
 
#97 ·
Appears it is a S Carolina dish and it is spelled Perlou. Gonna say it runs in the same family as a Red Jambalaya.


Shrimp and Oyster Perlou





This classic South Carolina rice dish is filled with the flavors of the South! This simple recipe can include vegetables, seafood, or cured pork.
Ingredients


  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 12 ounce piece smoked pork sausage (like kielbasa) cut on a bias into 1/3 inch thick pieces
  • ÂĽ cup diced Aged Country Ham (or Tasso or Virginia ham)
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic
  • 2 cups diced yellow onion (about 1 large yellow onion)
  • 1 cup diced red bell pepper (about 1/3 inch dice)
  • ½ cup diced green bell pepper (about ÂĽ inch dice)
  • ÂĽ cup sliced scallions cut on the bias, plus more for garnish
  • 1 cup Carolina Gold Rice (or other good quality rice)
  • 1 1/4 cups low sodium chicken stock
  • 1 cup chopped oysters in their liquor (liquor separated) (from about 1 dozen freshly shucked oysters - about 7- 8 ounces shucked)
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 cup tomatoes
  • 4 sprigs of thyme
  • 2 dozen medium shrimp (peeled, tails removed, deveined if necessary)
  • ÂĽ teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1/2 lemon juiced (only need 1-2 tablespoons)
  • 1/3 cup chopped flat leafed parsley (from ½ large bunch)
  • hot sauce

Directions


  1. In a heavy bottomed cast iron pot or Dutch oven, heat the oil until shimmering. Add the smoked sausage slices in one layer and cook until beginning to brown, about 8-10 minutes. Add the aged country ham and stir. Cook a few more minutes until aged ham begins to crisp a bit.
  2. Add the onions, garlic, red and green bell peppers and cook until beginning to soften about 8 minutes. Add the sliced scallions and the rice. Stir until the rice is well coated with oil.
  3. Add the chicken stock, ÂĽ cup of oyster liquor, salt and freshly cracked pepper. Stir in the tomatoes, and bring the liquid to a boil. Add the sprigs of thyme. Cover, reduce the heat to low and let the rice cook untouched for 15 minutes.
  4. After 15 minutes, listen to the sounds of the pot. You should start to hear the rice crisping (a popping sound) on the bottom of the pan, as the water evaporates. Once you start to hear the popping sound, remove the lid. Lay the shrimp in one layer over the rice. Sprinkle the cayenne over the shrimp. Don’t stir through. Cover the pot again and let the rice pop and the shrimp cook for 3 minutes.
  5. Remove the lid, add the oysters and their liquid.
  6. Finish the dish by squeezing lemon juice over (about 1-2 tablespoons to brighten the flavors), and a dash of hot sauce. Add the chopped parsley and stir through. The heat of the dish will cook the oysters.




Denny
 
#98 ·
Most common versions I've seen are chicken bogs........there is a small town in SC ( loris) that has a bog off every year .....shut Main Street down and all the locals come out and compete to see who's is the best.....I've been to it a few times and it was great to meet the families and teams and see the different versions.

The basic recipe is to stew a chicken with onions, celery,carrots.......debone the chicken, toss it back into the stock, add some cooked smoked sausage( or ham), some good rice ( correct amount to stock volume) and then just cook like you would rice until all the moisture is absorbed.

We dump ours into a large pan and fluff it with a fork , but some like to serve it more as a sticky rice version......we like to add fresh thyme when we fluff the rice.

The rice picks up all the flavors of the chix, mirepoix ,sausage..............the old school perloux I've had from the Gullah regions leave the chix pieces whole and you fend for yourself with the bones and all, flavor is great but I prefer to debone the chicken for all of our bogs.

Some variations of it are .....seafood bog, using rice, sausage, lemon in the broth and cooking until almost done and then adding some peeled and deveined shrimp , lump crab and grouper cheeks for the final ten minutes of the rice cook.........it's a killer dish and the seafood comes out great and not overcooked.........only downside to the seafood bogs are they aren't as good reheated later and are meant to be eaten the first sitting..............straight up chicken bogs are like a good soup and are always better the second time around.

It's an easy dish, Google chicken bog and make your own version " Denny style"........the pineapple rice you showed just gave me the idea of how close it would be to an Asian style bog if I added some protein to the recipe......ham and pineapple go great together, so?...........ill let you know how it turns out, I will be making it.

I guess now that you guys say it, maybe it's not so much a southeast dish as it is a low country of SC and Coastal Georgia dish.......that does seem to be where I find it it on menus a bunch and they do have a pretty prevalent rice history..........whatever the case, it's a good inexpensive buffet style dish and rarely do people not go back for seconds.
 
#99 ·
This was good.

This is a bit more of the standing Pork Rib Roast thinking it was initially Lamb that I converted into two bone thick Pork Chops. Only this time I tried the reverse sear method instead of browning it first. Held the internal temp between 110 and 120 for about six hours to tenderize it some, then seared it on the outside. With my usual Carmel Apple topping and Scalloped Potatoes n Ham on the side. Thinking reverse searing may be the way of doing it.






Denny
 
#101 ·
This was good! Kinda boogered it up trying to get it out of the pan, (shit happenes right) but it tasted the same. Spinach n Sausage Manicotti with a grilled Bacon Caesar Salad.




Bit of a hassle to make and for sure a weekend dish unless you make it ahead (I made it in the afternoon and put it in the oven for dinner) but worth it.


Manicotti




Ingredients:
8 manicotti shells

Sauce:
1/4th lb Sweet Italian Sausage
1 32-ounce can of Tomatoes
3 to 4 cloves garlic (crushed n chopped)
1 small onion (medium chopped)
1/2 teaspoon sugar
Small handful of fresh basil, (course chopped)
Few Sprigs of Tarragon (chopped while chopping the basil)
Small handful of fresh parsley (course chopped)
Kosher salt and ground black pepper to taste
Couple tablespoons Olive Oil

Filling:
8 oz fresh Spinach
Tablespoon or so of Olive Oil to sauté Spinach
Salt to taste
1 glove of Garlic (crushed and chopped)
2cups ricotta
1 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
Kosher salt and ground black pepper to taste
1 Egg (lightly beaten)
2 cups shredded mozzarella

Directions:
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt the water and cook the manicotti until shy of al dente, 5 to 6 minutes. Drain and cool to handle.

For the sauce: Brown the Sausage, fine chop when brown and set aside. Place in a food processor (I used a Vitamix blender) the canned tomatoes, garlic, onion, sugar, basil, tarragon, parsley, salt and pepper to taste and the Olive Oil. Blend until smooth, place the sauce in a pot and simmer 20 minutes.

Pour half of the sauce into large baking dish.

For the filling: Sautee/season the Spinach, drain, and chop. Mix together in a large bowl the spinach, ricotta, half the Parm, salt and pepper to taste. Taste to adjust seasonings before adding the egg. Once the egg is incorporated, spoon the filling into a large plastic food storage bag and trim the corner. Pipe the filling into the manicotti and put in the baking dish. Cover the stuffed pasta with the sausage, remaining sauce, mozzarella and Pharm. Cover and store for a make-ahead meal.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F and bake until brown and bubbly, 30 to 35 minutes.

Denny
 
#102 · (Edited)
This meal was more than good, it was outstanding. My workout partner turned 55 yesterday so I had her and 4 of her girlfriends over for lunch before they headed up to OK to do some gambling for her birthday. Let's just say this is the way I like to eat and so did they. Got some real brownie points out of this one. Fricken great meal and one I'd be happy with in a fairly high end restaurant.

Appetizer: Eggplant Fries with a Honey Mustard dipping sauce.





Main Course: Shrimp and Avocado Salad with Pan Seared Salmon.

Before the final garnish of Bacon and Shrimp as you can see the salad part better in this picture. Over a bed of Arugula with a Basil/Tarragon vinaigrette. Basil and Tarragon picked fresh from my deck garden picked about two minutes before the vinaigrette was made. The Salmon was brined for about 5 hours and done using the pan seared no oil technique for a better crust. Killer meal!!



After final garnish.



Desert: Why birthday cake of course.

I've posted how to make both before and the Shrimp/Avocado is just a slight variation where I cubed the Avocado instead of making a stuffed Avocado. Outstanding meal and highly recommended if you like healthy food with a lot of texture and flavor.

Denny
 
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