sunday dinner Archive

  • You’re definitely throwing down the gauntlet when you name something the “World’s Easiest Dinner.” the second my FIL received his Esquire and found it, they had to try it. Actually, they emailed everyone a scanned copy of the recipe, and tried it that night. We’re up next. The instructions are very easy. Take one air-dried chicken between 3-4 lbs (recipe says between 3-3.5 lbs). Rinse and dry very thoroughly. Make sure it’s dry because that’s the key to roasting rather than steaming the bird. We patted it dry and then left it out a little longer just to make sure....

    Esquire’s “World’s Easiest Dinner” Roast Chicken

    Posted on 2010.05.09 | 1 Comment
    You’re definitely throwing down the gauntlet when you name something the “World’s Easiest Dinner.” the second my FIL received his Esquire and found it, they had to try it. Actually, they emailed everyone a scanned copy of the recipe, and tried it that night. We’re up next. The instructions are very easy. Take one air-dried chicken between 3-4 lbs (recipe says between 3-3.5 lbs). Rinse and dry very thoroughly. Make sure it’s dry because that’s the key to roasting rather than steaming the bird. We patted it dry and then left it out a little longer just to make sure....

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  • Here’s where I make good on my promise to share not just the good, but also the bad and the ugly with you. Yep, no fooling you. That picture shows a pretty glorious looking apple tart there in the middle, right? And what’s that all over the edge? Could that be horribly charred something-or-other ringing the entire tart? It could be! Ooops! Last week I churned up a batch of Salted Butter Caramel Ice Cream to go with this apple tart. That was optimistic because I really didn’t know whether either had any hope of turning out. The ice cream...

    Sunday Dinner: Crispy Apple Tart

    Posted on 2010.03.14 | No Comments
    Here’s where I make good on my promise to share not just the good, but also the bad and the ugly with you. Yep, no fooling you. That picture shows a pretty glorious looking apple tart there in the middle, right? And what’s that all over the edge? Could that be horribly charred something-or-other ringing the entire tart? It could be! Ooops! Last week I churned up a batch of Salted Butter Caramel Ice Cream to go with this apple tart. That was optimistic because I really didn’t know whether either had any hope of turning out. The ice cream...

    Continue Reading...

  • Shhh… I actually made this on Saturday but if you don’t tell anyone, neither will I! I know brussels sprouts aren’t most people’s favorites, but for some reason in the past couple of years I have fallen in love with them. They can be a little bitter, but if they’re cooked right (especially golden brown… with bacon) that harshness mellows right out and instead they taste a little caramelized and little like green-vegetable popcorn. Or maybe that’s just my imagination. In this case I shredded the brussels sprouts so they cooked through more quickly, and the lively flavor of the...

    Sunday Dinner: Shredded Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Lemon Butter

    Posted on 2010.02.28 | No Comments
    Shhh… I actually made this on Saturday but if you don’t tell anyone, neither will I! I know brussels sprouts aren’t most people’s favorites, but for some reason in the past couple of years I have fallen in love with them. They can be a little bitter, but if they’re cooked right (especially golden brown… with bacon) that harshness mellows right out and instead they taste a little caramelized and little like green-vegetable popcorn. Or maybe that’s just my imagination. In this case I shredded the brussels sprouts so they cooked through more quickly, and the lively flavor of the...

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  • For Chinese New Year we decided to go with a Chinese soup — of Teo Chew origin, with some Hokkien in there too — so well tied to our heritage. It's essentially a big bowl of pork spare ribs, boiled up in all those spices so they penetrate the meat. And I have been craving it all winter. And here I will admit to some laziness. Because while I'm sure there are many recipes to be found (and include ingredients such as ginseng, star anise, cinnamon, cloves, dang gui, fennel seeds and garlic according to Wikipedia), I took the total...

    Sunday Dinner: Bah Kut Teh

    Posted on 2010.02.14 | 1 Comment
    For Chinese New Year we decided to go with a Chinese soup — of Teo Chew origin, with some Hokkien in there too — so well tied to our heritage. It's essentially a big bowl of pork spare ribs, boiled up in all those spices so they penetrate the meat. And I have been craving it all winter. And here I will admit to some laziness. Because while I'm sure there are many recipes to be found (and include ingredients such as ginseng, star anise, cinnamon, cloves, dang gui, fennel seeds and garlic according to Wikipedia), I took the total...

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  • Sunchokes may also be known as Jerusalem Artichokes, but they are no artichoke. In fact they are all brown and knobby and look a lot more like overgrown ginger (but don’t taste like ginger) than anything else. I feel like we’ve been seeing sunchokes everywhere (Top Chef anyone?). Lately they’ve been all over restaurant menus too — from fried to pureed — which I really enjoyed — and I was excited to see the sunchoke recipe in the latest issue of Fine Cooking. I whipped up a bunch of the roasted sunchokes with artichoke hearts today during the Super Bowl...

    Sunday Dinner: Sunchokes

    Posted on 2010.02.07 | No Comments
    Sunchokes may also be known as Jerusalem Artichokes, but they are no artichoke. In fact they are all brown and knobby and look a lot more like overgrown ginger (but don’t taste like ginger) than anything else. I feel like we’ve been seeing sunchokes everywhere (Top Chef anyone?). Lately they’ve been all over restaurant menus too — from fried to pureed — which I really enjoyed — and I was excited to see the sunchoke recipe in the latest issue of Fine Cooking. I whipped up a bunch of the roasted sunchokes with artichoke hearts today during the Super Bowl...

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  • We try to incorporate a lot of interesting whole grains into our diet — and quinoa is one of our favorites. But just boiling it up and tossing in some salt, pepper and oil is not that interesting, and even the lusciousness of tossing in some easily melting cheese like crescenza gets repetitive. So when I saw this recipe in the latest issue of Fine Cooking, I couldn’t wait to try it. I whipped up a batch as the side dish for our dinner tonight (braised short ribs again — I meant to do tequila-braise but we ended up with...

    Sunday Dinner: Quinoa and Avocado Salad with Dried Fruit and Lemon-Cumin Vinaigrette

    Posted on 2010.01.31 | No Comments
    We try to incorporate a lot of interesting whole grains into our diet — and quinoa is one of our favorites. But just boiling it up and tossing in some salt, pepper and oil is not that interesting, and even the lusciousness of tossing in some easily melting cheese like crescenza gets repetitive. So when I saw this recipe in the latest issue of Fine Cooking, I couldn’t wait to try it. I whipped up a batch as the side dish for our dinner tonight (braised short ribs again — I meant to do tequila-braise but we ended up with...

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  • Sunday Dinner: Calamari and Brussels Sprouts

    Posted on 2010.01.24 | No Comments

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  • I’ve been in love with Fine Cooking’s Cauliflower Soup with Marcona Almond and Piquillo Pepper Relish since finding it in the December issue last year and whipping up a batch for the holidays. Who wouldn’t love a recipe that’s super easy to whip up but tastes elegant and exquisite? With the added bonus of being “customizable” to taste with your personal amount of relish? The recipe suggests orange cauliflower, but when I saw this beautiful head of purple cauliflower at the store, I couldn’t resist the thought of a bowl of lavender soup.  The only question was, would the color...

    Sunday Dinner: OMG What’s That? Soup

    Posted on 2010.01.18 | No Comments
    I’ve been in love with Fine Cooking’s Cauliflower Soup with Marcona Almond and Piquillo Pepper Relish since finding it in the December issue last year and whipping up a batch for the holidays. Who wouldn’t love a recipe that’s super easy to whip up but tastes elegant and exquisite? With the added bonus of being “customizable” to taste with your personal amount of relish? The recipe suggests orange cauliflower, but when I saw this beautiful head of purple cauliflower at the store, I couldn’t resist the thought of a bowl of lavender soup.  The only question was, would the color...

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  • Tonight: Grilled quail, one of my favorite discoveries of this year. Super easy and seemingly always good. And people always seem impressed because quail is one of those “fancy” food items you don’t usually think about doing at home. But it’s fun. What’s not to like about eating the miniature bird? The meat is tender and moist, and full of flavor. The skin too, especially with the tasty marinade below. Recipe from Bones. Quail purchased today from the meat shop at Cafe Rouge on Fourth St in Berkeley. Quail were pre-butterflied (split open) but it’s easy enough to do at...

    Sunday Dinner: Grilled Quail with Sage Butter

    Posted on 2009.11.08 | No Comments
    Tonight: Grilled quail, one of my favorite discoveries of this year. Super easy and seemingly always good. And people always seem impressed because quail is one of those “fancy” food items you don’t usually think about doing at home. But it’s fun. What’s not to like about eating the miniature bird? The meat is tender and moist, and full of flavor. The skin too, especially with the tasty marinade below. Recipe from Bones. Quail purchased today from the meat shop at Cafe Rouge on Fourth St in Berkeley. Quail were pre-butterflied (split open) but it’s easy enough to do at...

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  • Last year we read about goat and where to buy it in the Bay Area (I’m not sure if this is the main article, but it’s one of them), and early this year, when we finally got around to it, we stopped by Cafe Rouge and picked up some goat and made it (I think I have some video which I still haven’t edited together). That was fun and turned out well, but wasn’t exciting enough to move us to keep going back for more. Yesterday we spotted goat at the Berkeley Farmers’ Market and picked up a piece of...

    Sunday Dinner: Braised Goat Shoulder

    Posted on 2009.11.01 | No Comments
    Last year we read about goat and where to buy it in the Bay Area (I’m not sure if this is the main article, but it’s one of them), and early this year, when we finally got around to it, we stopped by Cafe Rouge and picked up some goat and made it (I think I have some video which I still haven’t edited together). That was fun and turned out well, but wasn’t exciting enough to move us to keep going back for more. Yesterday we spotted goat at the Berkeley Farmers’ Market and picked up a piece of...

    Continue Reading...

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