A wonderful (culinary) night

Careful, three_bags. JR often bitches when people post tasty filet recipes.

 

I bet he'll live.

 

Elvis would have agreed, spup.

 

Leo: Just put the shallots in a pot of boiling water for oh, 30 seconds or so. Drain, then peel.

 

i never thought of doing that. thanks, gee.

 

I've just begun scratching the surface on the difference heavy cream can make over milk and/or butter. It's what separates "warming something up" from "preparing a dish."

 

Just made smothered pork chops for when the girl comes home.

Went like this:

Brine the chops overnight. Melt 1 TB butter in metal skillet, and brown the chops one at a time on both sides (make sure to pat them dry). Set the chops on a plate to rest. When you've done all the chops, add butter and something to deglaze to the skillet (I used vodka because I had it handy.) Then add 1 minced shallot, three cloves minced garlic and minced fresh ginger to taste. Once the vodka boils off, hit it with come chicken stock and reduce to desired consistency (I go for coat the back of a spoon). Hit it with some heavy cream, take off the heat and stir in some fresh herbs (I used parsley) Set the skillet to cool.
Put the browned chops (they shouldn't be done all the way through) in a glass baking dish, and pour the sauce over the chops.
I then made some quick sauteed vinegar peppers with more fresh ginger. Once they were done I topped each smothered chop with a dollop of sour cream, put the peppers on top and covered with foil.

I'm guessing 20 minutes at 350 will do it in the oven.

 

Big whoop. Uma and I celebrated 15 years last Saturday. We're tired of cooking for ourselves so we allowed some overpaid chef the opportunity to do it for us.

But congrats to you anyway, honeymooner.

 

If I want to make a meal special, I make risotto. It's better if you use homemade chicken stock, but the first time I made it I used canned chicken broth.

Heat some olive oil in a deep pan and saute some onion for a few minutes. Add uncooked arborio rice (I don't think it will work with a different kind of rice) until it is just very light brown. Add a ladle or two of chicken stock and stir constantly. When the liquid is nearly gone, add another ladle and stir constantly. Repeat, repeat, repeat until the sauce is looking creamy and the rice has become soft enough to eat. Add a handful of freshly grated parmiganio reggiano, not the stuff from a shaker. Then you can add stuff.

The first time I made risotto, I added apples for the last 10 minutes of cooking/stirring and served with a simple roast chicken.

You can add a variety of sauted mushrooms and serve with a simple grilled steak or lamb chops.

Most often I poach scallops in the chicken broth and add to the risotto at the end. Shrimp would probably work. I've had lobster risotto in a restaurant.

You can also use some fresh tomato and basil and serve with some Italian sausage from the grill.

Carrot risotto is also good with chicken.

The important thing is to stir almost nonstop. It brings out the starch and makes the risotto creamy without using cream (although you can use cream, too, if you want, but add it only at the very end so it won't curdle).

 

I'm lazy today. We're going to Red Lobster after PSU completes the blood-letting.

 

Dr. J is a fantastic cook, but he's at his best with simple stuff.

This is a easy one, but it's excellent.

Marinate steaks for at least two hours. Broil to medium rare, serve with sauteed yellow squash, mushrooms and onions.

Serve w/steamed aspagras.

I would also highly recommend Take Home Chef's Cajun Chicken. Mmmmm.


BTW, congradulations. I would have much rather eaten the food on this thread than the $100 dinner we had on our first anniversary.

Tonight we're having lemon-pepper chicken, home made mashed potaters and broiled yellow squash.

 

Doc and I are going on a hot date tonight, but neither of us can pick a restaurant. He says I have to choose, so we're going to drive around this new city we live in and find some place nice.