.. a store-bought 'light' mayonnaise-type salad dressing for her ... just a very light sprinkle of olive oil & vinegar for me.
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What is/was for dinner?
- Thread starter Gutwrench
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Sounds delicious.
A French woman I knew (who was the chef in a small, local, excellent, award winning - Michelin Bib Gourmand - restaurant, one of the many casualties of the Covid pandemic), who, when I complimented her on her stunning French dressing, explained that she always used a little good quality runny honey in it.
To the best of my understanding, this served to both sweeten and may have helped to emulsify the dressing.
Finally: I have (eventually) managed to lay hands on a (small) bottle of Colatura di Alici, (which @yaxomoxay might find of interest), and which I am very much looking forward to opening (and cooking with).
A perennial favourite this evening for dinner:
Pasta with Gorgonzola sauce (lots of lovely melted Gorgonzola to which double cream has been added, plus some of the pasta cooking liquid), plus wilted greens (organic spinach).
Pasta with Gorgonzola sauce (lots of lovely melted Gorgonzola to which double cream has been added, plus some of the pasta cooking liquid), plus wilted greens (organic spinach).
There will be more than enough time spent around, or near, or at, the stove, or oven, over the coming days:
Thus, today, snacking, rather than dining, is the order of the day:
@Clix Pix would enjoy what is on the menu chez moi, this evening:
Raspberries (fresh) from this morning's fruit and vegetable delivery.
Olives (black Moroccan olives, green olives, and anchovy olives), semi-sundried tomatoes, glorious white balls of Mozzarella cheese, and fresh pesto, all from the farmers' market today (where I also treated myself to olive oil, and collected my freshly baked French bread).
Yes, it positively shouts - and is redolent of - what one might hope to receive in warm and sultry summers in mainland Europe and elsewhere - but, I don't care.
Firstly, I love this sort of food:
Secondly, one needs robust reminders that the sun does exist - and so does summer - and sometimes, such seasonal food will trigger and reinforce the memory of the sun and repasts taken in salubrious and cultured climates with treasured friends and family members.
And thirdly: Many - if not most - of the stalls in the farmers' market will be taking some (well deserved) time off, and won't return until February or March, and many of them will head away for a much needed holiday in the sun (today, one stall holder informed me that she will head off to Morocco immediately after Christmas, for food, travel, spices, culture, sunshine....for around a month) and thus, the market will be a sorry shadow of itself for the next month or two.
Thus, today, snacking, rather than dining, is the order of the day:
@Clix Pix would enjoy what is on the menu chez moi, this evening:
Raspberries (fresh) from this morning's fruit and vegetable delivery.
Olives (black Moroccan olives, green olives, and anchovy olives), semi-sundried tomatoes, glorious white balls of Mozzarella cheese, and fresh pesto, all from the farmers' market today (where I also treated myself to olive oil, and collected my freshly baked French bread).
Yes, it positively shouts - and is redolent of - what one might hope to receive in warm and sultry summers in mainland Europe and elsewhere - but, I don't care.
Firstly, I love this sort of food:
Secondly, one needs robust reminders that the sun does exist - and so does summer - and sometimes, such seasonal food will trigger and reinforce the memory of the sun and repasts taken in salubrious and cultured climates with treasured friends and family members.
And thirdly: Many - if not most - of the stalls in the farmers' market will be taking some (well deserved) time off, and won't return until February or March, and many of them will head away for a much needed holiday in the sun (today, one stall holder informed me that she will head off to Morocco immediately after Christmas, for food, travel, spices, culture, sunshine....for around a month) and thus, the market will be a sorry shadow of itself for the next month or two.
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You and I think alike! The other night after mulling over what I wanted for dinner I decided to make a meal I normally tend to enjoy mid-summer or at least in sultry, warm weather rather than in the middle of December. I just had this yearning for a salad-y meal, and so I prepared and savored it: mixed greens, lovely baby butter lettuce, anchovies, garlic-stuffed olives, Kalamata olives, tomatoes, feta cheese and mandarin orange slices, sprinkled with a light lemon-garlic dressing. Mmmm....so delightful! Yes, a taste of summertime in the midst of winter isn't at all a bad idea....
Tonight's dinner will consist of Prime Rib (technically Choice Rib because it has less fat) done on our Big Green Egg using Alton Brown's reverse sear method. Accompanied by twice baked potatoes and whatever green things the wife and offspring will make.
Tomorrow morning will be the traditional family Christmas Casserole (eggs, ham, bread, onions, milk), Crumb cake and Bacon. Lots of bacon that I plan on cooking on what I hope is my new Blackstone.
Tomorrow morning will be the traditional family Christmas Casserole (eggs, ham, bread, onions, milk), Crumb cake and Bacon. Lots of bacon that I plan on cooking on what I hope is my new Blackstone.
Haven't yet decided what will be for dinner, whether it will be more (pseudo-summer) snacking, or whether it will be a pasta dish (broccoli and anchovies, with onions and garlic, plus pasta is a possibility).
However, while pondering on that dilemma, I did prepare an apple and quince dish, which is now in the oven.
Have just prepared (as in finished the prep work; it is now in the oven) a roast apple and quince dish, which is easy to do, seasonal (well, more redolent of autumn, than of winter, but an oven with apples and cloves and butter and sugar will always have a divine aroma), tasty, with an amazing aroma, and is a dish that I like.
Peeled and thinly sliced cooking apples, and a peeled and thinly sliced quince put into a small roasting dish; grated lemon rind and the squeezed juice of that same lemon added; brown sugar (organic), added, along with a few cloves.
Then, this lot is dotted with butter, and placed in the oven where it will roast for at least 40 minutes; I'll check it in half an hour, give it a stir, and see how it is getting on.
I love quince; it is considered to be an old-fashioned fruit (and, unlike others, such as apples or pears, or plums), it must be cooked, for, it cannot be consumed, or eaten, raw.
However, it pairs well with any sharp cheese, (and any pork or bacon dishes, including sausages) and is superb when roasted with any combination of apples, pears or plums.
However, while pondering on that dilemma, I did prepare an apple and quince dish, which is now in the oven.
Have just prepared (as in finished the prep work; it is now in the oven) a roast apple and quince dish, which is easy to do, seasonal (well, more redolent of autumn, than of winter, but an oven with apples and cloves and butter and sugar will always have a divine aroma), tasty, with an amazing aroma, and is a dish that I like.
Peeled and thinly sliced cooking apples, and a peeled and thinly sliced quince put into a small roasting dish; grated lemon rind and the squeezed juice of that same lemon added; brown sugar (organic), added, along with a few cloves.
Then, this lot is dotted with butter, and placed in the oven where it will roast for at least 40 minutes; I'll check it in half an hour, give it a stir, and see how it is getting on.
I love quince; it is considered to be an old-fashioned fruit (and, unlike others, such as apples or pears, or plums), it must be cooked, for, it cannot be consumed, or eaten, raw.
However, it pairs well with any sharp cheese, (and any pork or bacon dishes, including sausages) and is superb when roasted with any combination of apples, pears or plums.
I have made corned beef, onion and potato pie. Something easy on what has been a busy and very drab and wet British day.
Sounds amazing, easy if you are practiced I guess.
Something that includes olives, lemons, garlic, anchovies,......perhaps?
These are ingredients that I never tire of.
Nearly every meal I eat includes olives! I'm absolutely mad about them! LOL! Tomorrow's meal is going to be another of my favorites: shrimp (lovely large ones) with rice, olives, garlic, tomatoes and broccoli, and again a light lemony vinaigrette as a sauce.
Last night's supper was pizza -- a frozen one which I doctored up a bit by adding more tomato paste, fresh tomatoes, several anchovies and a little additional mozzarella. Nice and gooey. Mmmm-good! Sometimes I buy flatbread "pizza" and do the same with that, but they didn't have the kind I like at the store that day so bought the frozen pizza instead and that was fine, too.
Hm, just thinking here: tonight I might make another favorite meal, a nice bowl of spaghetti with garlicky marinara sauce and the ever-present Kalamata olives......
Ah, changed my mind a little bit; looked in the pantry, spotted a can of imported whole DOP San Marzano tomatoes and thought, "ahhh....." So rather than opening a jar of commercial already-prepared Marinara sauce, I'm going to be more adventurous this evening and open that can of San Marzano tomatoes. After heating up a bit of garlic and olive oil, I'll toss the tomatoes in with that to cook down/reduce them to wonderfully flavorful sauce..... Voila -- Pasta Pomodoro!
I know that from doing this a few times in the past I will be rewarded with delicious results. Close to the end of cooking down the sauce, I'll then add a few fresh Basil leaves, let their lovely flavor add to the magic..... Come serving time, my beloved olives will play a side accompanying role this time.
Pasta Pomodoro sounds like just the perfect meal for me this Christmas Eve!
I know that from doing this a few times in the past I will be rewarded with delicious results. Close to the end of cooking down the sauce, I'll then add a few fresh Basil leaves, let their lovely flavor add to the magic..... Come serving time, my beloved olives will play a side accompanying role this time.
Pasta Pomodoro sounds like just the perfect meal for me this Christmas Eve!
Nothing beats a can of San Marzano tomatoes, and, when added to olive oil, garlic, perhaps, a finely chopped onion, and allowed to cook down, you will have an absolutely delicious tomato sauce.
Guanciale (finely chopped, or diced) also goes wonderfully well with san Marzano tomatoes.
Along with olive oil, lemons, garlic, sea salt, black pepper, San Marzano tomatoes are a store cupboard staple of mine.
That sounds delicious; do enjoy.
Everything is cooking away now.....the water is on to boil for the spaghetti, but I have needed to turn that down since the sauce isn't quite ready yet for prime time. it's doing quite nicely and smelling delicious, though! Glad I had this idea rather than simply opening a grocery store-commercially purchased already-prepared Marinara sauce. This Pasta Pomodoro will be so much more of a treat.....
Worth waiting for as over time it absorbs all the wonderful flavors of the DOP San Marzano tomatoes themselves plus the garlic and wonderful Agrumato olive/lemon oil and a touch of basil (I did add a few Basil leaves early-on, just because.....I could!).
Shouldn't be too much longer before I'm actually able to enjoy this nice supper!
Worth waiting for as over time it absorbs all the wonderful flavors of the DOP San Marzano tomatoes themselves plus the garlic and wonderful Agrumato olive/lemon oil and a touch of basil (I did add a few Basil leaves early-on, just because.....I could!).
Shouldn't be too much longer before I'm actually able to enjoy this nice supper!
When re-reading your post, SS, I noticed the mention of guanciale, and since I didn't know what that is I later ran a quick Google search and discovered that a) it consists of items (especially pork) I don't normally eat and b) it is actually banned in the US, or has been.... Well, so much for that! In any event, given the hour, I prefer to be soon enjoying a (small) bowl of Pasta Pomodoro the way it was meant to be appreciated all on its own. I'll also have
nice leftover sauce for another meal or two over the next few days!
nice leftover sauce for another meal or two over the next few days!
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Agree completely that preparing your own tomato sauce with a tin of San Marzano tomatoes is a lot better (and tastes an awful lot better) than using a jar of store bought sauce.
Yes, the San Marzano canned (tinned) tomatoes can be a bit expensive, but I think that they are worth it, for the wonderful flavour they give; secondly, of course, using canned tomatoes rather than a jar of sauce does take extra time, around 40 minutes of being cooked down on a low heat, in my experience, but again, to my mind, is well worth it.
Re pasta, these days, I sometimes add a small stock cube (usually chicken, as vegetable stock cubes can be too salty, even for me) to the pasta cooking liquid (rather than salting it), before adding the pasta, as I find that this, too can add flavour.
Lastly, may I recommend that you add a ladle or two - maybe a tablespoon or two - of that lovely pasta cooking liquid (when the pasta has finished cooking) to the simmering tomato sauce; it will add some lovely starchy liquid to the sauce, and adds to the flavour, too.