Category Archives: Dinner

Braised lamb shanks

I made this recipe for braised lamb shanks today – a dish very similar to oso bucco. It was pretty good, the shanks were succulent and fall-of-the-bone (even though I cooked them under 2 hours, rather than the 2 1/2-3 the recipe called for). The sauce was pretty nice, but nothing outstanding. I’d probably look for a new recipe next time.
I served it with whole wheat couscous and steamed broccoli.

Azorean food

I finished my “A” cuisines several years ago, only to later find out that I had neglected to cook any Azorean food (the Azores are little islands that belong to Portugal). There is a whole website online dedicated to Azorean recipes, but I wasn’t really inspired by them. I did find a very good recipe for chicken with wine, which was all I cooked for my Azorean menu.

Saucy country-style oven ribs

Country style pork ribs are almost always on sale, but I never buy them because I never know what to make with them (other than carnitas). This time I figured I’d look for a recipe before I went to the supermarket. This recipe for saucy country-style oven ribs from epicurious got great reviews and seemed relatively easy to make. It was, but the results weren’t really my cup of tea.
Like some of the reviewers suggested I only boiled the ribs for 15 minutes, and they were pretty tender (though not forked tender) when they were done. I also cooked them in my braising pan, rather than a baking pan, I’m not sure how much of a difference that would have made.
My problem, however, was with the sauce, not the ribs. It was just too tangy for my taste. It wasn’t too overwhelmingly tangy, but I just prefer less tangy flavors. Mike, on the other hand, liked it. But as I’m the one cooking, I wouldn’t make it again.

Honey and vinegar-braised short ribs

I made this recipe for honey and vinegar-braised short ribs a few days ago (sorry, no pictures). I really love short ribs and I’m hoping to find the definitive braised short ribs recipe some time soon. Unfortunately this was not it. The sauce was very good – and there was a lot of it, even though I had decreased the recipe by 1/3rd, but it wasn’t out of this world. It also didn’t really infuse the ribs with enough flavor. All in all, I liked it – but not as much as other recipes. I probably won’t make it again – and will continue my search for the best braised short rib recipe ever. If you think you have one, LET ME KNOW!.

Hoisin-Marinated Tri-Tip Roast

Safeway has been periodically having tri-tip roast on sale for something like $3-4 a lb. Pretty cheap, all in all. It’s not the tastiest of cuts, specially the Safeway brand which emphasizes tenderness over flavor, so I looked for a recipe that would infuse some flavor in it. This recipe for Hoisin-Marinated Tri-Tip Roast sounded pretty good and it got good reviews. Alas, it wasn’t as good as I’d hoped. The outside of the meat was nicely caramelized and very tasty, but the flavor didn’t make it all the way through. I don’t think I’d bother making it again.

Halloween party 2007

Last night I threw my annual Halloween party – a smallish event (as I have a small house) for both kids and adults. I was originally thinking of making a Creole menu – but then my friend Arthur asked me to make empanadas, my signature dish. Arthur is moving away (darn him!) so I figured I’d owed it to him. That meant changing my menu, which wasn’t that big a deal, as I recycled many old favorites. I served.
-Tortilla chips with guacamole (storebought)
Deviled eggs (Mike’s favorites)
Meat empandas
Chicken Satay
Chocolate chocolate chip cookies
-Pumpkin pie (from Costco)
Spider cake
The menu wasn’t very Halloweenish, but I wasn’t inspired this year. The food, however, was great. Mike loved the deviled eggs and was happy to have some leftover for today. The meat empanadas received raves – specially from Arthur. I was very happy with the chicken satay. I changed the recipe a little bit because I remembered that last time the sauce had been too spicy to eat. I used 1 Tbsp of red curry paste in the peanut sauce instead of the 3 I originally had written in the recipe – and 1 1/2 tsp of red curry sauce in the chicken marinade instead of 2. It was great, the chicken was only slightly spicy and the sauce was restaurant-quality. I’m going to modify my recipe to show this.
The cookies were pretty good, not spectacular but child friendly. I think next time I’d try another recipe, though, just to see if I can find something even better.
The cake turned out just like the one in the picture. Once again I used a bunt cake from Lucky’s (old Albertsons), good n’plenty’s cut in two for the eyes and a pink full good n’plenty for the nose. Kids loved it.
For drink we had water, coke, Tropical punch and wine. I don’t know what the first few bottles we had were (people brought them with them), but the latest was a 2005 Virgin Vines California shiraz which my friend Alistair in particular liked very much. I’m not one for Shiraz in general, but this one was very nice – even though it came with a screw cap (a la Australian wines). I’m pretty amazed that Virgin has gotten into wines as well, they seem bent on getting into every industry. In any case we enjoyed it.
The party went very well, we had as many adults and children as our house could accommodate and the kids seem to have a great time running around and playing. I was really surprise how 12 kids could not only fit in our house, but play so well together. Hurray for little kids!

Pollo al Chilindrón

Pollo al Chilindrón
Some times mistakes can turn up well. Last Monday I went to the supermarket with my shopping list, which was supposed to include 2 1/4 lbs. of sweet onions for a Calabrian onion soup I meant to make. Alas, I wrote 2 1/4 lbs of sweet peppers instead – an easy mistake to make given that I had peppers on my mind, Calabrian cuisine uses a lot of peppers. I didn’t buy 2 1/4 lbs of sweet peppers because that seemed like a lot, peppers don’t weigh that much. I saw a little bag of small sweet peppers, though, and decided to buy those instead. When I got home I realized my mistake, and I was left with the problem of what to do with the peppers.
Amazingly enough, I couldn’t find any recipes for baby sweet peppers – other than stuffed peppers, which I wasn’t crazy about. So I thought and thought and decided to go with what I knew, and make this recipe for pollo al chilindron or chicken with peppers. I didn’t do it exactly like last time, I didn’t use green peppers, both because I didn’t have any and because I thought that would make it too spicy for the kids (not that I should have bothered, as they didn’t eat any). The results were pretty good, however. It wasn’t delicious, but it was homey and satisfying, comfort food. I ate the sauce with bread and it was very good.

Coq au vin

Last night I made Coq au vin, a favorite recipe of mine. I got that recipe from The Frugal Gourmet Cooks with Wine, and I’m not sure how authentic it is. When I’ve had coq au vin at restaurants, the sauce has been more bitter and more liquid. However, it’s absolutely delicious (if incredibly fattening), and I’d recommend it as a special treat.

A birthday meal for Kathy

My sister Kathy came to visit us this weekend. Her birthday is on Monday, so we decided to celebrate it while she was here. She wanted a special dinner, and I told her I’d cook anything she wanted me to (except for Beef Wellington, I just couldn’t commit to that). She chose this recipe for Short Ribs Braised in Porter Ale with Maple-Rosemary Glaze that I had made before. I decided that I wanted to braise with wine instead, so went to epicurious and found this recipe which sounded pretty good. It was! Restaurant quality I would say.
I did use 3 1/2 tablespoons of the herb mixture on the ribs. I considered putting the rest of the mixture on the pot (I think there must be another use for the mixture or they wouldn’t ask to make so much), but ultimately didn’t. Not sure if it’d have made a difference. I also didn’t put the vegetables on the blender after cooking. I’d already messed up enough plates and I didn’t have to have more dishes to wash (we don’t have a dishwasher). The sauce was a little chunky but still delicious.
In all, I’d make this recipe again in a heartbeat.
I served it with mashed potatoes, and, before the meal, my Mixed Green Salad with Gorgonzola Vinaigrette, which is delicious and a favorite of Kathy. For dessert we had birthday cake.

Rosemary Chicken

I made this 1956 recipe for Rosemary chicken a few nights ago. I rotisseried the chicken rather than roasting it, which meant I couldn’t really baste it during the cooking process. It was fine. Mike really liked the flavor of the chicken, though it was too mild for my taste. The skin tasted great, but it wasn’t crispy enough. I don’t think I’d make it again.
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