What are you eating?

[Lethevich]

So many chocolates OMG

[DavidRoss]

So many chocolates OMG

Sounds like heaven.

[Lethevich]

It should be My problem is that when my friends don't know what to buy me for a gift, they buy me chocolate, and at the moment I have about 2 metric tonnes of the stuff sitting there whispering "eat me".

[DavidRoss]

So it is heaven. 

[Sergeant Rock]

Plans for chestnut soup were frustrated by early closing times of stores on the 24th... so I ended up with pork tenderloins a red wine reduction and in a heap of mushrooms and chestnuts.

Sounds good. Last night we had pork tenderloin with an onion marmalade sauce: onions, Schwarze Johannisbeer (black currant) jelly, balsamico vinegar, dried rosemary, salt and pepper).

Chestnut soup until postponed tomorrow, in delightful company... a better wine and, just to show what kind of a class act I am, a screening of "Caligula" (uncut) to someone with but a faint idea of what that film contains. (Hey, it's Helen Mirren and Peter O'Tool... it's *art*!)

Caligula and chestnut soup    How did that evening turn out?

Sarge

[jlaurson]

Caligula and chestnut soup    How did that evening turn out?

Sarge

That's exactly how that evening turned out.  And most amazing of it all, we didn't even watch any bit of Caligula.

I love the powers of inspiration of great art.

[SonicMan46]

For New Year's Eve, we had one of our 'snack' dinners - a little 'real' cheese, smoked trout spread, smoked salmon, a few veggies w/ a mild blue cheese dip, and of course some caviar, which we love - over the years we have switched to the American offerings and prefer either Hackleback or Paddlefish - last night 2 oz. of Hackleback purchased from Marky's HERE - online and shipped overnight.  Of course, we use to eat plenty of the Caspian Sea options but pricing (and authenticity?) are issues (just check the prices on the link!) - and always w/ some Napa bubbly (this time Mumm Cuvee M) - 

BTW - HAPPY NEW YEAR to all!  Dave 

[Sergeant Rock]

For New Year's Eve, we had one of our 'snack' dinners - a little 'real' cheese, smoked trout spread, smoked salmon, a few veggies w/ a mild blue cheese dip, and of course some caviar, which we love - over the years we have switched to the American offerings and prefer either Hackleback or Paddlefish - last night 2 oz. of Hackleback purchased from Marky's HERE - online and shipped overnight.  Of course, we use to eat plenty of the Caspian Sea options but pricing (and authenticity?) are issues (just check the prices on the link!) - and always w/ some Napa bubbly (this time Mumm Cuvee M) - 

BTW - HAPPY NEW YEAR to all!  Dave 

Hey, Dave. We had "caviar" too...sprinkled on deviled eggs. That was the snack between supper (fondue and various salads) and midnight. Drank Bowle (a punch made with sparkling wine and red and black berries) in the hours leading up to midnight.

Sarge

[abidoful]

a Cream Pie.

[(poco) Sforzando]

Haven't visited this thread lately. I've started dipping into Amanda Hesser's new New York Times Cookbook, and have found some excellent things as well as a few duds. The worst thing was the chicken thighs with creamed corn, which tasted as bad as it sounds and may force me to throw away the leftovers uneaten.

One really good thing is the veal beau sejour, veal chops cooked with garlic and thyme, and finished with a bit of vinegar and chicken stock. And the lamb shanks in mustard-mascarpone sauce, which is a lot of work and sounds like a kitchen sink of unrelated ingredients (including shallots, garlic, Dijon mustard, rosemary, marsala wine, cumin, tomato paste, and a garnish of crisp bits of pancetta). It is in fact fantastic, and even better with its intended accompaniment of barley cooked with cumin and a garnish of scallions, walnuts, and raisins. (But that's not in the cookbook; you have to dig up the original NYT article for that recipe.) Good thing I made a lot of extra sauce to use with lamb chops, 'cause lamb shanks are a pain in the ass to work with.

[(poco) Sforzando]

It should be My problem is that when my friends don't know what to buy me for a gift, they buy me chocolate, and at the moment I have about 2 metric tonnes of the stuff sitting there whispering "eat me".

Send me whatever you don't want!!

[Mirror Image]

Tonight was taco night.

[SonicMan46]

Tonight was taco night.

MI - such a cursory description - tacos can be whole chapters (if not more) in a cookbook!  You must provide much more detail, e.g. hard vs. soft & the contents (beef, chicken, seafood, or other) and any toppings - thanks for any further info - Dave 

[Bogey]

MI - such a cursory description - tacos can be whole chapters (if not more) in a cookbook!  You must provide much more detail, e.g. hard vs. soft & the contents (beef, chicken, seafood, or other) and any toppings - thanks for any further info - Dave 

I do not touch a taco without a bottle of this at hand:

[jlaurson]

A little deer steak with sweetened onions... a three-minute job (a little longer to clean the cast iron pan).

The peanut-satay sauce did a great job; itself unnoticeable but its effects well appreciated. A liberal hint of Scotch to deglaze. Fresh pepper. Voila.

[abidoful]

I had my 30th BirthaDAY and it was -i'm glad ton say- a success
I served,
-Champaigne ("BOLLY"- that is; Bollinger)
and those hors d' ouvres,
-that Lousiana Crab (not Crap!!) Salad,
- Mini Burgers
- and those mini Cream Pies (those were delicious...)
nice it was

[mahler10th]

For whatever unspecified reason, I am currently nibbling bits of this.
I love cheese!

[DavidRoss]

For whatever unspecified reason, I am currently nibbling bits of this.
I love cheese!

Something else we have in common!  Currently enjoying a bit of:


http://www.youtube.com/v/ciayqUMCViY&feature=related

[SonicMan46]

Something else we have in common!  Currently enjoying a bit of:

Well, how can one not like Cheese!    We consume the 'low fat' stuff on a more routine basis, but just not the same as REAL cheese, which we now enjoy more for special occasions!  Also, as we've AGED, the blue cheeses have become some of our favs!  Dave

[SonicMan46]

Today we received a package from D'Artangan which contained a lot of GOODIES for a number of meals, e.g. pheasant, quail, & duck breasts - tonight, we had the Moulard Duck Breast (pic from their website shown below) - the Moulard is a hybrid cross of Peking duck and Muscovy duck; cooked medium rare & just delicious - served w/ a simple veggie (i.e. peas) & some Patricia Green Oregon Pinot Noir - no problem for me!  Tomorrow night, some quail -