[OGRipper]

last night did a great short rib recipe w/ gravy made from the braising liquid.

Give it up Narlus, I loves me some short ribs.

On Saturday I did a fun ride in Annandel state park in Santa Rosa followed by a proper post-ride spread that a friend and his girl laid out. Bunch of tasty munchies followed by grilled tri-tip and salmon. We drank Kenwood sauv. blanc, as well as Alexander Valley Vineyards' Pinot Noir, Syrah and Sin Zin.

Yesterday I made chicken in a pot with a bunch of veg and washed it down with a tasty syrah that I can't remember. Tonight I will use the leftover stock for pasta with sausage, garlic, and rapini.

 

[HRDTLBRO]

I had Thanksgiving at my mother's house this weekend...you know what I ate, and what I will be eating for the next week.

 

[narlus]

ogripper, from memory (could be a bit faulty):

preheat oven to 350
get 6 10oz short ribs, and season w/ S&P. lightly dust w/ flour and shake off excess
in a large skillet, heat canola oil and brown every side of the ribs well; don't crowd the pan, and do it in batches if you need to. set meat aside in a large flame-proof dish (le creuset makes the best).

coarsely chop one onion, one carrot, one celery stalk, and one small leek (white part only)
dice two tomatoes
take the leaves off two sprigs of thyme
chop one sprig parsley
1 tsp cumin

in the hot skillet, remove the fat drippings, and put in the carrot/onion/leek/celery. stir until softened. add a cup of red wine, and the parsley and thyme. stir and remove the bits. add the tomato and cook down for a bit.

put this liquid mixture over the ribs, and pour in 1 qt of chicken stock, covering the meat. put in oven (don't cover the dish) and cook for ~3 hr or until meat falls off the bone.

take the meat out, and strain the solids from the liquid, smushing to get the liquid out. reduce the mixture by 2/3rds and add a splash of red wine towards the end to brighten.

dig in.

 

[TN]

Sunday, fresh home made fettucini with gorgonzola & roasted red peppers & a Gewurstraminer Eiswein my aunt brought us from Germany.

 

[narlus]

i haven't made my own pasta in a long time....the kids have been using the pasta machine to shred newspaper.

 

[SkaredShtles]

It wasn't this weekend, but a few days ago we had a super simple dish that knocked our socks off:

Beans with sausage.

Accompanied by green beans and a *fantastic* Barbera:

2003 Maccario Barbera d'Asti Berro

Get some of this wine if you can. I paid $10.99/btl and I'm going to go back and get a case.

 

[TN]

this morn.
short stack & country ham & half a dozen cups of joe.
tonight.
stew.

 

[cannondalejunky]

yesterday i started off with a nice bowl of honey nut cheerios and a day old doughnut, then for lunch i bought a box of pizza rolls and then finished off the night with a raspberry yogert a peach yogert and a bannana...if you added that up i ate all that for under prolly 6 bucks...college sux

 

[narlus]

last night and tonight. curried lentil soup w/ crusty bread.

 

[skinny mike]

last night my dad made an awesome shrimp scampi. pasta, shrimp, scallops, broccolli, with a garlic and butter sauce. mmmmm.....

 

[SkaredShtles]

Got on the stuffed pork chop bandwagon on Saturday. Stuffed some 1" thick chops with bacon/red bell pepper/onion/sage/cornbread stuffing. Served with corn and rice pilaf. Oh, and a nice Rioja.

 

[narlus]

i like that rioja. very dependable, fairly inexpensive.

 

[SkaredShtles]

i like that rioja. very dependable, fairly inexpensive.

Yep - got it for $9.99/bbl last week.

 

[OGRipper]

The white version of that Rioja is pretty tasty too, it's a good "go to" wine at my corner market.

What did I eat this weekend? Well. On Thursday I rode my road bike from San Fran to Tomales where my girl and I stayed in a little cabin for three nights - the whole holiday weekend. The ride is a little over 50 miles (I think), not too tough and really gorgeous. Thursday night we went to Manka's Inverness Lodge for the holiday feast and oh lord did we feast. It was 7 or 8 courses of amazingly good simply prepared impeccable food. Highlights included venison carpaccio, a watercress salad with smoked pork belly, pumpkin soup and the main course, which was basically a turbo version of the typical turkey plate: fresh wild turkey, stuffing with rabbit sausage, garlic mash, fresh cranberry thing, beans, etc. Included a cheese course and desert. We drank some champagne, Frog's Leap Sauvignon Blanc, Neyer's Syrah, and a muscat. Holy crap it was good.

The next day I built a meal around a bottle of wine Sean Thackrey's Orion. The Orion is kind of a cult thing around here, very limited release made from unidentified grapes from 100 year-old vines in a small vineyard in Napa. Everything I read indicated that it would be a real powerhouse. Since I wanted to focus on the wine I made a very simple meal: ribeye with carmelized onions and a quick pan sauce of red wine and beef juice. The onions cooked down for almost two hours. The steaks were quickly seared to a crust in a hot iron pan with just a little olive oil and S&P. While they rested I reduced a little red wine in the pan, added a chopped shallot, then a few pats of butter. My girl made a simple salad of local greens and goat cheese, and we were done.

We drank a California sparkler and a Bonny Doon Cigare Volante while it was coming together. We gave the Orion a couple hours to breath. I was taking little tastes every 30 mins or so and was amazed. It was so dark it looked like it would stain the glasses. When we sat down to eat, the flavors were mostly deep, dark, mysterious - berries, leather, tobacco, musty attic. Very up front but with great depth and a long finish. Crazy good.

It is hard for me to decide which meal I liked better.

I won't bore you with the rest of the weekend but it should suffice to say that we took advantage of the local bounty - oysters, other seafood, local dairy and produce, and lots of wine...

 

[SkaredShtles]

<snip>
The next day I built a meal around a bottle of wine Sean Thackrey's Orion. The Orion is kind of a cult thing around here, very limited release made from unidentified grapes from 100 year-old vines in a small vineyard in Napa.

When you say "unidentified" do you mean they couldn't tell what kind of grapes they were, or they don't disclose what types of grapes?

 

[OGRipper]

I mean they have not checked out the genetics of the vines. At least that's my understanding. The general consensus is that it is syrah, maybe petite syrah, or another rhone varietal like mourvedre or grenache. The vines have been dated back to 1905 but as far as I know nobody has conclusively established the varietal.

 

[SkaredShtles]

I mean they have not checked out the genetics of the vines. At least that's my understanding. The general consensus is that it is syrah, maybe petite syrah, or another rhone varietal like mourvedre or grenache. The vines have been dated back to 1905 but as far as I know nobody has conclusively established the varietal.

That's pretty cool. I like not knowing exactly what's in my wine......

 

[OGRipper]

That's pretty cool. I like not knowing exactly what's in my wine......

Yeah, it's neat, adds to the mystery. But normally I prefer the California approach of identifying what's in the bottle over the Euro way of selling wine based on the region or winemaker.

 

[SkaredShtles]

Yeah, it's neat, adds to the mystery. But normally I prefer the California approach of identifying what's in the bottle over the Euro way of selling wine based on the region or winemaker.

Just think of it this way - all European wine is mysterious.

I generally find that non-U.S. wine is a better value than most U.S stuff. That's probably why about 80% of the wine we drink is either Euro, SA, or Aus/NZ.

Although you probably don't have that problem being out there, eh?

 

[OGRipper]

Yeah I guess being in Cali has advantages. I don't know too much about the wine business ('cept the business of drinking!) but it seems that I find local bottles for less than if they shipped across the country. But I also find myself drinking a fair amount of Aussie and New Zealand wines, especially Marlborough sauvignon blancs and Penfolds reds, they are super tasty and great value.

 

[SkaredShtles]

<snip> especially Marlborough sauvignon blancs <snip> they are super tasty and great value.

Great minds drink alike.

 

[narlus]

last night's meal was risotto, made w/ roasted garlic, thyme, toasted breadcrumbs and slivered almonds, and topped w/ a dollop of marscapone cheese.

the beuhler chard was nice enough.

 

[N8 v2.0]

steaming pile of poo.... poo...poo... poo...

You have got to change your avatar if you are gonna mod in here.

 

[narlus]

yeah, whatever.

 

[ThePriceSeliger]

Wow you guys really know how to cook, and eat well. So who is going to invite me to dinner, IAB, you are pretty near me.

 

[narlus]

the basic risotto recipe is dead simple, just a bit time-consuming.

heat ~5 cups of stock on simmer.

in a large pan or skillet (can even use a dutch oven), heat some oil over med-low heat, and soften a clove of garlic, stalk of celery and two med onions (all minced). add the arborio rice, increase heat slightly, and stir well, until rice turns translucent.

add in a cup of white wine, deglazing the pan and constantly stirring. when the liquid has been absorbed, cut the heat to a high simmer, and put in a half-cup of stock at a time, stirring constantly.

repeat until the rice is cooked through; if you run out of stock, just add a bit of water to the stock pot.

for the final bit, add in butter (jamie oliver calls for 5 tbsp but i think that's excessive) and 1/4 cup of grated parm reggiano cheese, stir gently, then cover and let sit for 2-3 min.

to add different flavorings, you can add stuff in w/ butter & cheese (stuff like steamed asparagus, sauteed shrimp, cooked sausage, roasted peppers, etc...risotto is really versatile).

for the recipe i did last night, i roasted two heads of garlic @ 425 for 30-40 min until soft, then let cool and squeezed out the roasted flesh (cut the heads off the uncooked garlic and remove as much outer 'paper' as possible). at the point when you start to add stock, i added the garlic and a handful of chopped thyme.

while the rice was cooking, i toasted some bread crumbs (in a food processor, i chopped up some stale bread) and dry roasted some almond slivers (in a cast iron skillet). i put this on top of the finished risotto, and added the marscapone.

at the end, i

 

[OGRipper]

MMMMM risotto, love the stuff. Sounds good Narlus. I would add that like meat, risotto keeps cooking when you take it off the heat. I like to stop just before the rice is totally done and when it is still just a little runny. The rice will finish and some stock will evap off, plus it gets a little more gloppy when the temp goes down.

I find that with shrimp and most small veg, you can actually add them raw when you take the rice off the heat. In the summer I like risotto with fresh corn, english peas, rock shrimp, and lemon - just make your basic risotto and toss in the shrimp and veg at the very end, then a squeeze of lemon to brighten it up a bit.

I've often heard people say you want to start the risotto with the same fat you use to finish. I think it has something to do with layers of flavor but I'm not sure. Also, if you are using commercial stock, be careful with salt, since most commercial stocks are pretty salty. Although a little during the cooking will provide depth, it's best to wait until you've cooked off most of your stock for seasoning.

And remember, everyone waits for risotto, but risotto waits for nobody. Hahaha - that was a chef friend's favorite saying.

Edit: At the end, i

 

[Qman]

MMMMM risotto, love the stuff. Sounds good Narlus. I would add that like meat, risotto keeps cooking when you take it off the heat. I like to stop just before the rice is totally done and when it is still just a little runny. The rice will finish and some stock will evap off, plus it gets a little more gloppy when the temp goes down.

I find that with shrimp and most small veg, you can actually add them raw when you take the rice off the heat. In the summer I like risotto with fresh corn, english peas, rock shrimp, and lemon - just make your basic risotto and toss in the shrimp and veg at the very end, then a squeeze of lemon to brighten it up a bit.

I've often heard people say you want to start the risotto with the same fat you use to finish. I think it has something to do with layers of flavor but I'm not sure. Also, if you are using commercial stock, be careful with salt, since most commercial stocks are pretty salty. Although a little during the cooking will provide depth, it's best to wait until you've cooked off most of your stock for seasoning.

And remember, everyone waits for risotto, but risotto waits for nobody. Hahaha - that was a chef friend's favorite saying.

Edit: At the end, i

Sounds good. We learned some ancient rule that you're always supposed to stir risotto the same direction....
mizQ loves the Osso Bucco.

As for this weekend, it was the Holiday Barrel Event in Washington's Napa, Walla Walla. Had some good wine and lots of cheese. www.wallawallawine.com
Apparently '04 is a bad year for Walla Walla grapes due to an unseasonal freeze. So you may want to stay away from the '04s unless you have a recommendation from somone. The most desireable wines out of that area right now are made by Cayuse Vinyards. We've only managed to find 4 bottles. You might have better luck outside of WA.

 

[narlus]

I would add that like meat, risotto keeps cooking when you take it off the heat. I like to stop just before the rice is totally done and when it is still just a little runny. The rice will finish and some stock will evap off, plus it gets a little more gloppy when the temp goes down.

you are absolutely correct. i should have typed that when the rice is al dente, you should remove from heat, stir in the butter/cheese, and let set for few minutes. which is what i did last night, just had a brain cramp typing from memory today.

the usual risotto we do is roasted red pepper and sausage. i did have a killer lobster and corn risotto @ a boston restaurant once. that was great.

 

[Brian HCM#1]

Went for sushi friday night and had Mexican food sat.

 

[Smelly]

Went for sushi friday night and had Mexican food sat.

mmmm...sushi. I did Sushi Friday and Sunday. Seaweed salad, miso soup, too.

 

[narlus]

Went for sushi friday night and had Mexican food sat.

brian, do yr kids eat sushi? the closest thing we could find which would interest them was tempura.

 

[BikeGeek]

brian, do yr kids eat sushi? the closest thing we could find which would interest them was tempura.

My nephew loves the stuff. I think it's mostly because of the "gross out" effect it has on his mom. His favorites are unagi (eel) and crispy salmon skin. Come to think of it, this is the same kid who was running around the house at age 6 with squid tentacles hanging out of his mouth.

 

[OGRipper]

i did have a killer lobster and corn risotto @ a boston restaurant once. that was great.

Funny, it was a lobster and corn risotto that inspired the shrimp one that I make. MMMMMM lobster, damn that is one thing I miss from the east coast. When I lived in Boston I was right down the street from the North End lobster guys, I was poor as hell and still, every now and then would splurge. And don't get me started on lobster rolls at the coast, I might have to move back.

 

[BikeGeek]

The wife is out of town this weekend, so tonight it's bratwurst, rotkohl, and kartoffelsalat, washed down with Ayinger Jahrhundert-bier.

 

[Silver]

Last night was moules marinieres, but I tossed a bunch of pasta in there because I didn't have any fresh bread baked. Tomorrow will be the same, but with the bread situation taken care of...

 

[narlus]

we rocked the mussels theme last night too...went over to a friend's house for a nice paella (served w/ a Campo Viejo rioja riserva, '99) and then we relived our punk rock youth by going to see X.

 

[Brian HCM#1]

brian, do yr kids eat sushi? the closest thing we could find which would interest them was tempura.

Both kids love Tobiko(flying fish eggs) Brent also like Tako & Ebi, Hamachi. We usually order teriyaki chicken for the kids, but they have some of my sushi. It's way cool

 

[S.K.C.]

...16 Holstein cows, an industrial drum filled with 500 raw eggs, a copy of “Barbara Streisands’ Greatest Hits”, a Volkswagen bus, and a rejected contestant from American Idol.

That last one gave me the runs, tho....

 

[OGRipper]

bump-diggity-bump...

Friday night was Thai food (delivered), including awesome beef peanut curry, papaya salad, prawn green curry, and pad thai. Bagels and salmon Sat morning, a super wet trail ride, then a holiday party with all kinds of tasty vittles, including a rad baked ham and so much red wine that at 3 am I tripped and landed on the coffee table, breaking many plates and glasses but somehow not getting cut too bad. (Yes, I was "that guy." About 30 minutes earlier I had told my girl it was time to leave...)

Yesterday I made a huge vat of pork and lamb sugo for a holiday party I am having tomorrow night, it simmered all day and is now resting comfortably in the fridge. I will finish it tonight by removing and shredding the meat and blending the sauce and veg, then on Tuesday it will be combined with pasta, fresh herbs and cheese, then baked to get a nice crust. Holy crap I can't wait...