What's for Dinner?

@ibglowin : Happy Belated Bday! We head to RC's about once a year and it's always good. Something about a nice meal with good service where they never seem to want you to leave. Very relaxing. Have never done the tomahawk though. A little jelly over here.

Cool, damp and in the 50's today. Upon returning from a great camping trip, I was all ready to make Cianghiale, but called an audible and decided to do a modified Bolognese instead. Using boneless short ribs instead of ground beef. Cubed them up and got a nice sear on them and set aside. Then added the celery, onion and carrots, followed by some pancetta. After that, a little tomato paste, then the beef went back in with some wine to deglaze. Topped up with beef stock and simmering now - I just hope I have enough time for the short ribs to become shreddable in time for dinner. Simple Caesar salad and garlic bread will accompany. Will try to remember some pics later.

Chinese take out.....

And it was good...

On a recent business trip, my DW ate at an Uzbek restaurant, and was introduced to plov. She thought it was yummy, and commissioned me to investigate and replicate. It turns out that plov is cognate with pilaf. What that denotes, necessarily, is a rice dish cooked in broth.
After a crash course in googling, it seems that plov is generally made as follows (listing the essential elements only): Brown/sautee chunks of meat (beef, lamb, or chicken, generally), carrots, and onions. Season with coriander and cumin. (Again, these seem to be necessary; paprika, pepper, or other things are optional.) Top this mixture off with a layer of uncooked rice, then cover the whole shebang with hot broth. Add whole head(s) of garlic. Simmer or put in oven until rice is cooked and absorbs broth.

It was very tasty. Pictures do not do it justice. I served it with seared/braised bok choy (seasoned with marjoram).

Octoberfest! Smoked a 2.5lb link roll of my ho-made sausage tonight over some charcoal and pecan. Served it with some potatoes o' brien (peppers and onions) as well as an artisanal sauerkraut. Might be some CH4 production later tonight......... LOL

ibglowin said:

Well I officially made it yesterday to the Big Six O Club! Got my AARP card and everything! LOL The Kids took us out to Ruth's Chris Steakhouse celebration for Retirement/Birthday. It was quite the evening. First time eating there. I have to say it was easily a Top 5 best steak ever. They recommended the Tomahawk Ribeye (for 2) and it did not disappoint. USDA Prime, they serve on plates that are heated to 500F before being brought out to the table so your meal stays warm. They do a nice table side prep removing the bone and cutting the steak up into parts. Pre printed menu with my name on it was a nice touch along with a special birthday dessert. Pretty sure I committed blasphemy in CA by ordering a WA State wine but hey it was the diamond in the rough for sure. Found a 2014 L'Ecole "Frenchtown" right bank Bordeaux blend (90Pts WS) that didn't break the bank and was excellent with about 30 mins of airtime while we had our salads. Needless to say a nice doggy bag was brought home as well!

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Happy Belated birthday to you, Sounds like you had a great time and nice wine choice. We're doing BJ's Brewery tonight for my 61st, probably stick with the Jeremiah's Red Ale and ribs. We really do need to meet up one of these days! Mike

Your on my 'bucket list" to meet up with before you escape to AZ! Hope to get out to Burbank more now than I am retired and our grand daughter is growing like a weed. Perhaps we can meet in the middle between Burbank and Covina (maybe Pasadena) for lunch some day and exchange a bottle.

Kraffty said:

Happy Belated birthday to you, Sounds like you had a great time and nice wine choice. We're doing BJ's Brewery tonight for my 61st, probably stick with the Jeremiah's Red Ale and ribs. We really do need to meet up one of these days! Mike

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Busy day, men's breakfast this morning, take daughter to school for County field hockey tournament game (if they win today, they are County champs), run back up to work to pick up a phone I ordered for my son that arrived after I left yesterday, hit the Giant for odds and ends to make my daughters curried salmon and rice dish she requested for her b-day dinner (don't ask, not sure where that one came from), but still had time to start ye old charcoal snake in the Weber kettle grill this morning. Put a nice 4 lb chunk of brisket flat (some deckel included (fat)) on the grill for a nice slow cook. Hanging around 162*F (stall) but have plenty of time to get through that (grill temperature averaging 250*F). If necessary I'll wrap, but I don't think I'll need to this time. Will serve with some type of potato and petite green beans later this evening.

Oh, simple kosher salt/thick ground pepper rub (Texas style I think they refer to it as). Hoping to make @ibglowin (Texas native) hunger for some hometown beef brisket.

After cooking pictures. Wrapped in butcher paper when it hit 170*F (pulled it at 207*F and let it sit in the paper on the countertop for 55 minutes). Made some shredded hash brown type taters and steamed some petite blue lake green beans. After cutting into it I figured my brisket was a piece of the flat right where the point attached, nice internal layer of fat that just melted in my mouth. Made up a simple bbq sauce (Franklin bbq inspired). Definitely didn't need it, but I made a sammy using some french bread and put a little on it, it was fantastic! I can see a philly cheese steak with a brisket base tomorrow to help my Eagles win against Carolina. Go Eagles!

BTW, I love grilling, I love the USA, I love my freedom that others have fought and secured, and I love all of you! No I haven't been drinking, much, in my opinion.

I would say you nailed that brisket big time! Good job Craig.

Sorry to say I don't have a fully documented report on dinners this weekend. As alluded to in another post, we had a nice trip to the Bay area, mostly Berkeley. We had a number of nice meals that will remain "undocumented," including a spectacular dinner at Rivoli that featured lobster risotto, portobello fritters, and trout. It was worth the very many pennies it cost.

On Sunday, I indulged my DW's and my obsession with Dungeness crab. We went to Ranch 99, an Asian market that has everything you could possibly want. Their seafood section is amazing. In particular, they have hundreds of live (and soon to be deceased) Dungeness crabs. They even have two tanks, one for crabs that have all 10 limbs intact, and another for those who have lost one or more. ($6.99/lb for the latter, and $7.99/lb for the former.) We breezed in at 8:30 pm and bought two Dungeness crabs, just ahead of a nice couple who bought 3 and had them butchered/halved on premises with a casual cleaver. We brought our prizes home intact and boiled them whole, then served with LOTS of butter and garlic, sauteed yam leaves (onions, sherry), and fresh Asian rice noodles. The blue handles you see in the picture are genuine Channellocks waiting to crack the shells of our crusty friends.

As for tonight, I am (likely) bidding adieu to the grilling season. As a send-off, I picked up a thick "Woo-Hoo" ribeye steak, and dry-brined it. I also boiled some artichokes, and sauteed some escarole (garlic, lots of EVOO, and braised in sherry). I halved the 'chokes, slathered some oil, then grilled them until crispy, and served with lemon and lots of melted butter.
I grilled the brined steaks, then seasoned with paprika, garlic, and pepper. Meanwhile, DW sauteed up some ripe plantains, with garlic at the end, and served with lime juice. Scrumptious.

sour_grapes said:

As for tonight, I am (likely) bidding adieu to the grilling season.

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Grilling is a year around sport. I am thinking a man of your intellect could find a way and a place to grill a bit further into the season! A wind break can be made of many different shapes and materials. I am awaiting reports of your first try to foil mother nature's attempt to end your grilling season.

Plus I don't want to wait five or six months for you to start grilling again and sharing pictures of your yummy results. (Call me shelfish)

ceeaton said:

A wind break can be made of many different shapes.

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Are you saying I am breaking wind?

A fairly blah effort today, but it turned out okay. I picked up a Woo-Hoo pork shoulder steak for the princely sum of $1.56. Seared it, then sauteed some 'shrooms and leeks, then braised the whole lot until the pork was tender, and seasoned with fennel. I sauteed some shallots and turnip greens, braised with sherry, and seasoned with marjoram. (This was the weak point of the meal - kinda "meh.") Roasted some redskin 'taters in EVOO with just salt and pepper. Finally, roasted some broccoli in EVOO, then doused it with sauteed garlic, lemon juice, and capers. Now that is what I am talking about!

Friday, no pizza night tonight (yea!). After picking up the youngest and taking her to meet my wife and have a yearly checkup, hit the Giant on the way home. Knew it was going to be the boy and me (everyone else had plans), so picked up a small skirt steak and a few peppers for some beef fajitas. Pounded the 1 lb steak, coated with kosher salt, pepper and crushed cumin seed, then seared it on a hot grill for a few minutes. Cut in half and got the boys portion a little more well done in the oven. He then proceeded to make some beefy quesadillas for dinner. I added to some sauteed peppers and onions, with some fajita type seasonings thrown in. Served on a jalapeno wrap with sour cream and some shredded queso/cheddar cheese mix. A bit messy but good, served with a cheap cold beer. Really hit the spot, that skirt steak is almost worth the $9.99/lb price.

Have some leftovers for omelettes tomorrow and some lunch for my wife who left looking very sad after hearing what was for our dinner (not her's).

Cool and wet day, so nice time to do a long meal prep. Made a ground beef ragú from a tried and true recipe I've made close to 50 times (estimation). Used a dough recipe I normally make our pizza crusts with, but did a short rise and formed into an Italian loaf to make some garlic bread. Chopped up a few veges for a salad, wifey cooked up some pasta, and dinner was done. Great thing is the kitchen is now nice and warm from running the ceramic top stove to cook the ragú and bake the bread. Might have to go drink a few beverages up there (and bottle a batch of wine).

Too quiet around this thread so throwing up some leftovers. Tri-tip salad with Cotija-Cilantro dressing. Paired awesomely with a bottle of 2015 Rotie Cellars Northern Blend Syrah (Rocks Funk).