Ah! Then I’d be aiming for my first choice. If it was good, those combos would be next in line.
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Cookin again
- Thread starter Dannyalcatraz
- Start date
Zardnaar
Legend
He says it's Turkish street food. No idea but it's different to the other kebab places. Think we have around 10 Turkish places to pick from reasonably close by.
Over ate the normal kebabs at game night.
The crab cakes, cocktail sauce and tartar sauce are all from Whole Foods. The cake on the left was pricier- made with lump blue crab- and had a better texture, but their flavors were both fairly similar. The pricier one did have a better finish.
Nobody was that impressed either the sauces, however. They were OK , but the cocktail sauce had an odd hint of sweetness, while the tartar sauce lacked dill- both as a seasoning and relish (which was completely absent). Bookbinder’s cocktail sauce has more horseradish kick and depth of flavor, and doesn’t have that sweetness. And a traditional tartar sauce’s crunchy dill relish was missed.
Where did the sauces come from? Whole Foods as well?
I ... make my own seafood sauces, a cocktail-ish thing and a bastardized remoulade, when I need them. Since it's almost always (even in the Before Time) just Sara and me, I don't make them all-the-way from scratch--that's way too much; the recipes I have make like a third-cup, which is about perfect for two people.
Yeah. Some brand they carry. I definitely make a better tartar sauce. And if I had horseradish on hand, I’m sure I could top theirs as well.
Felt like having some CNS today, but couldn’t find all the standard ingredients in my fridge or pantry. So I made do with what I had:
I don’t buy long pastas, so I used cavatappi, which I cooked directly in the broth. I also added bullion for a deeper flavor.
Veggies were some green onions, carrots, celery, bamboo shoots and radish, added just as the noodles were just getting done. Parsley flakes were also added.
After that, I added a couple of whisked eggs (seasoned with salt and pepper) drizzled into the broth slowly and turned off the heat. A few stirs to mix, and it was ready to eat.
But what about the chicken?
Well, I was out of fresh or canned chicken. So I took some Boar’s Head golden classic sliced chicken cold cuts, cut it into little strips. Then I simply put the strips into the serving bowl and ladled the soup over them. Doing this prevented the chicken from disintegrating during cooking.
Garnish was a bit of garlic sprouts.
I actually used too much noodle & veg, so it looks heaped in the picture, but I assure you there’s a tasty broth below. It was slightly under seasoned, but a couple shakes of garlic salt fixed that.
For something thrown together, it came out OK. The veggies still had some crunch, even. But I need to intensify my broth flavor next time.
Zardnaar
Legend
Tonight's game night. Went back to same place as last week.
One if my players ordered a honey chicken. It's was nice but to sweet. Mate liked it but probably wouldn't order again.
Fried chicken was beautiful sauce eh.
For my dish I ordered a Spicy Chongqing Chicken. No idea what it was.
It was quite nice but tiny bits of chicken with the bone in it. Just annoying to eat but tasted good. Wouldn't order again in a hurry just get something else. Chilli sauce was great added to it.
Wife had last week's satay. She'll keep eating that until she finds something I have that she likes better.
One if my players ordered a honey chicken. It's was nice but to sweet. Mate liked it but probably wouldn't order again.
Fried chicken was beautiful sauce eh.
For my dish I ordered a Spicy Chongqing Chicken. No idea what it was.
It was quite nice but tiny bits of chicken with the bone in it. Just annoying to eat but tasted good. Wouldn't order again in a hurry just get something else. Chilli sauce was great added to it.
Wife had last week's satay. She'll keep eating that until she finds something I have that she likes better.
I’ve noticed that some cuisines not only favor different FLAVORS, but textures & cuts as well. More than once, I’ve had dishes that had what I’d consider oddly cut bones. Or more bones than I felt like messing with for fish.
I have had “authentic” Asian food a couple of times here in Texas, always in places where the head cook had an impressive resume from back home, and the clientele was Asian-centric. They had Americanized food, which was our usual go-to, but they also had native language menus westerners didn’t usually get to see.
In one, I had a seafood udon that included things like sea cucumber, and learned that I don care for that critter’s texture. In another, I had the soft shelled crab.
Now, I’ve had soft shelled crab more than once in my life, and I do like it. So when I found out this place served it- I saw several Asian families wolfkng down piles of them- I ordered some myself. They looked different from what I usually got served- almost chocolatey brown as opposed to golden- but I put that down to batter.
NOPE!
They cooked those soft shelled crabs until they were almost like jerky! The flavor was good, but the texture... Tasty, yeah, but my jaw was physically tired by the time I finished chewing my crab.
I have had “authentic” Asian food a couple of times here in Texas, always in places where the head cook had an impressive resume from back home, and the clientele was Asian-centric. They had Americanized food, which was our usual go-to, but they also had native language menus westerners didn’t usually get to see.
In one, I had a seafood udon that included things like sea cucumber, and learned that I don care for that critter’s texture. In another, I had the soft shelled crab.
Now, I’ve had soft shelled crab more than once in my life, and I do like it. So when I found out this place served it- I saw several Asian families wolfkng down piles of them- I ordered some myself. They looked different from what I usually got served- almost chocolatey brown as opposed to golden- but I put that down to batter.
NOPE!
They cooked those soft shelled crabs until they were almost like jerky! The flavor was good, but the texture... Tasty, yeah, but my jaw was physically tired by the time I finished chewing my crab.
Zardnaar
Legend
Yeah I think our "Chinese" food is American. You can find authentic as well.
Mist if our Turkish isn't authentic. Turkish pizza is great but it's not really pizza as such.
Shared a bag of these this week with the group. Last week tried them and liked them.
This week they were great.
Mist if our Turkish isn't authentic. Turkish pizza is great but it's not really pizza as such.
Shared a bag of these this week with the group. Last week tried them and liked them.
This week they were great.
Zardnaar
Legend
Got lazy and the pub/restaurant in my suburb was right there.
Garlic flatbread starter with hummus.
Some sort of Gnocchi dish. I sampled it and it was nice. Wife quite liked it.
I went for the burger. Brioche bun, onion relish, some sort of sauce, gherkin and that slice of "bacon" is a slice of smoked cheese. One of the best burgers I've ever had. Delicious cheeseburger.
Lemon creme brulee with gingernut biscuits. Quite nice wife enjoyed it.
Here we have a baked desert called apple crumble. It's like stewed apple with baked oats topping. This was an Otago summer fruit crumble. Apple, peach and apricot.
Garlic flatbread starter with hummus.
Some sort of Gnocchi dish. I sampled it and it was nice. Wife quite liked it.
I went for the burger. Brioche bun, onion relish, some sort of sauce, gherkin and that slice of "bacon" is a slice of smoked cheese. One of the best burgers I've ever had. Delicious cheeseburger.
Lemon creme brulee with gingernut biscuits. Quite nice wife enjoyed it.
Here we have a baked desert called apple crumble. It's like stewed apple with baked oats topping. This was an Otago summer fruit crumble. Apple, peach and apricot.
Nice!
This is what I made for St. Patrick’s Day:
Corned beef braised in Kirin beer
Cabbage with bacon, onions & carrots
Unfortunately, I started my braising too late for it to be ready for dinner, so we’ll be having it tomorrow...along with some oven roasted Yukon gold potatoes. (Got a taste of both tonight before putting the food in the fridge.)
Dad will be getting the first meal out of it, though- I made him a Reuben for lunch tomorrow. Instead of fully assembling it, I put the sauerkraut in a ziplock and the thousand island in a spice vial, so only the Swiss cheese and beef are on the bread right now, wrapped in food service film. Everything is boxed up in a Tupperware container, complete with a set of plastic flatware (for assembly) and a napkin.
This is what I made for St. Patrick’s Day:
Corned beef braised in Kirin beer
Cabbage with bacon, onions & carrots
Unfortunately, I started my braising too late for it to be ready for dinner, so we’ll be having it tomorrow...along with some oven roasted Yukon gold potatoes. (Got a taste of both tonight before putting the food in the fridge.)
Dad will be getting the first meal out of it, though- I made him a Reuben for lunch tomorrow. Instead of fully assembling it, I put the sauerkraut in a ziplock and the thousand island in a spice vial, so only the Swiss cheese and beef are on the bread right now, wrapped in food service film. Everything is boxed up in a Tupperware container, complete with a set of plastic flatware (for assembly) and a napkin.
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Zardnaar
Legend
Looks good but I can't eat cooked cabbage. Haven't enjoyed sauerkraut ever and got fed boiled cabbage as a kid.
I'll eat it raw quite happily.
Beef looks good.
Thanks!
If you like raw cabbage, let me share this slaw recipe with you. It’s from a place called Vincent’s, a Greek restaurant that was a Dallas institution for 80+ years. And this was one of their most popular dishes. I’d drive 30 minutes across town to their last location to get this stuff.
Vincent’s Cole Slaw
Vincent's Famous Garlic Coleslaw
Ingredients
Serves 8
Place shredded cabbage into a large bowl. Gather chopped garlic into a mound on a cutting board and pour salt over top. Using the flat side of a chef's knife, smash the garlic and salt together and transfer to a bowl. Whisk grapeseed oil, mayonnaise, apple cider vinegar, ground paprika, ground white pepper, sugar, and celery seed together with garlic mixture until dressing reaches a uniform consistency.
Pour dressing over shredded cabbage and toss to evenly coat. Press coleslaw down into the bowl using the back of a spoon or place another bowl on top. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Stir before serving.
Footnotes
Cook's Note:
Per Serving: 182 calories; 16.5 g fat; 8.2 g carbohydrates; 1.8 g protein; 3 mg cholesterol; 434 mg sodium.
If you like raw cabbage, let me share this slaw recipe with you. It’s from a place called Vincent’s, a Greek restaurant that was a Dallas institution for 80+ years. And this was one of their most popular dishes. I’d drive 30 minutes across town to their last location to get this stuff.
Vincent’s Cole Slaw
Vincent's Famous Garlic Coleslaw
Ingredients
Serves 8
- 1 medium head green cabbage, finely shredded
- 3 tablespoons finely chopped garlic
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/3 cup grapeseed oil
- 1/3 cup mayonnaise
- 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 teaspoon ground paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon white sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon celery seed
- Prep15 m
- Ready In1 h 15 min
Place shredded cabbage into a large bowl. Gather chopped garlic into a mound on a cutting board and pour salt over top. Using the flat side of a chef's knife, smash the garlic and salt together and transfer to a bowl. Whisk grapeseed oil, mayonnaise, apple cider vinegar, ground paprika, ground white pepper, sugar, and celery seed together with garlic mixture until dressing reaches a uniform consistency.
Pour dressing over shredded cabbage and toss to evenly coat. Press coleslaw down into the bowl using the back of a spoon or place another bowl on top. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Stir before serving.
Footnotes
Cook's Note:
- Canola oil or peanut oil can be substituted for grapeseed oil. A sugar substitute like stevia works great.
- You absolutely MUST use fresh garlic for this slaw. I tried using pre-minced garlic from a jar, and my slaw simply didn’t have the right flavor...until I added fresh minced garlic.
Per Serving: 182 calories; 16.5 g fat; 8.2 g carbohydrates; 1.8 g protein; 3 mg cholesterol; 434 mg sodium.
I buy pre-minced, too. But like I said, this recipe requires the extra kick of fresh-minced garlic. The first time I made this, I went through 90% of a new jar and still didn’t get the right flavor. A few minced fresh cloves and I was in business.
And basically, I do the mincing with a knife & cutting board. A grater or a mini-processor would work, too. It doesn’t need to be puréed. Having those tiny bits of fresh garlic gives it a punch that puréed garlic wouldn’t.
And basically, I do the mincing with a knife & cutting board. A grater or a mini-processor would work, too. It doesn’t need to be puréed. Having those tiny bits of fresh garlic gives it a punch that puréed garlic wouldn’t.
Finally got to eat the meal I made:
Lenten dinner
Pan fried tilapia with butter-wine pan sauce.
Turmeric & butter rice
California mix veggies
Pan fried tilapia with butter-wine pan sauce.
Turmeric & butter rice
California mix veggies
Tilapia is a kind of fish that is commonly farmed (at least, as a proportion of what one finds in the US). IIRC, it's a pretty mild-flavored fish.
And as you guessed, "Lenten" is the adjective of "Lent." During Lent, Roman Catholics (among others) don't eat meat on Fridays. Fish is not-meat, under those rules (for most denominations).