What did you cook today?

[ronnie_suburban]

For the most part, it was back to the grill tonight . . .


Savoy Cabbage and Masamoto KS, 240mm
As posted earlier on the Knives-n'-Cabbages thread. This was the start of a pretty successful coleslaw, an item that usually vexes me. The dressing included buttermilk, mayo, finely grated sweet onion, apple cider vinegar, horseradish, ground mustard seeds and cracked black pepper.


Mixed Grill
Italian sausage and a half-dozen leftover scallops that I didn't cook in last night's risotto . . . all cooked on the indirect side. Oiled the grate and the scallops flipped easily, taking about 2 minutes per side.


Grilled Scallops
So few, I should have never told my family I was making these.


Hot Italian Sausage
Dragged these directly over the coals for a few minutes before they came off the grill.


Plated Up
Sausage, scallops, coleslaw -- topped with the first of our homegrown tomatoes! -- and mashed potatoes. The 12-year-old in me is still giggling over all the fantastic plating possibilities I passed up here. Anyway . . . I've been shortcutting some potato dishes lately, this being one of them. I instant potted them for 11 minutes, after which I put them through a food mill with some cloves of homemade garlic confit and then gussied them up on the stovetop with butter, buttermilk and Mexican crema.

[mauichef]

Ronnie.......I love it!!!!!!!

[XexoX]

First time and Low and Slow, by G, Wiviott, lesson 1, lots of room for improvement. Didn't wait long enough for the charcoal to get started correctly. Way too much smoke.

Chicken in case you can't tell. And that is a Misen 8" chefs knife. At least the chicken wasn't dried out, just too smoky for my tastes. I try again Friday, and Saturday.

[ronnie_suburban]

So many little things I'll do differently next time but my inaugural attempt at Pad Thai went relatively well . . .


Cucumber & Masakage Koishi Gyuto, 240mm
Not part of the pad thai but part of the side dish.


Cucumber & Masakage Koishi Gyuto, 240mm
Another part of the side dish. Maybe I should have posted this pic on that other silly thread.


Shallots & Masakage Koishi Gyuto, 240mm
One last shot of the very striking and highly effective Koishi. These shallots were actually part of the pad thai.


Roasted, Salted Peanuts & Konosuke Fujiyama FM Blue #2, 240mm
One more of the many components that went into the pad thai. I had a hunch this blade might be a better match for the peanuts than the Koishi.


Mise
Deep breath . . . garlic, palm sugar, eggs, preserved sweet daikon, lime, tamarind paste, diced extra firm tofu, rice noodle sticks, Thai ground chile, fish sauce, mung bean sprouts, shallots, scallion greens (subbed in for garlic chives), peanuts and scallops. That was a lot of prep and even more still ahead, as I had to push the tamarind though a fine-mesh sieve and combine it with melted palm sugar and fish sauce to make the pad thai sauce. The noodles had already been soaked in cool water for about an hour. Once I got the wok hot with a bit of peanut oil, it was scallops in, scallops out, followed by garlic/shallots/radish/tofu, then noodles and sauce, then the eggs, which get broken-yolk-fried on one the side of the wok and then mixed into the rest. After that the heat is turned off and the scallops go back in, followed by the bean sprouts, scallion greens, half the peanuts and a tiny sprinkle of ground Thai chile. Stir it up until the greens are a bit soft and it's ready to serve.


Thai-Style Cucumber & Cabbage Salad with Grape Tomatoes
Basically a Thai slaw in the style of som tum, with a dressing that included lime juice, fish sauce, palm sugar, garlic, serranos (I had no bird chiles) and peanuts. This sat for several hours after I dressed it and the flavors were really nice.


Pad Thai with Scallops
The end of the superior quality scallops I scored earlier in the week. Seemed like a perfect use for them.

Again, so many things I'll do differently next time (e.g. more advance prep of certain components, less tamarind in the sauce, slice the greens thinner or wait for garlic chives, use a different protein, etc.) but now that I've made it once, I'm confident I can do it better next time.

[mauichef]

Tomahawk steak and West Japan Tools Carbon Steel Skillet designed by Takayuki Shibata.
Yummy x 2!

[XexoX]

Tomahawk steak and West Japan Tools Carbon Steel Skillet designed by Takayuki Shibata.
Yummy x 2!

Oh my, that looks delicious Mr. Chef. Much better than the Panda Express I had.

[mauichef]

Tomahawk steak and West Japan Tools Carbon Steel Skillet designed by Takayuki Shibata.
Yummy x 2!

Oh my, that looks delicious Mr. Chef. Much better than the Panda Express I had.

I find pandas take too long to cook!

BTW...love your signature lines

[gladius]

Leftover lamb curry with ginger, green beans and Daawat Basmati rice (thanks BobZ) preped with Moritaka bunka. Hit the spot for a late lunch/early dinner.

[Fredward]

Didn’t take many pictures but made a mushroom and onion stroganoff with a juicy ribeye on top. Did the ribeye reverse sear like I do my normal steaks instead of cooking small bits with the sauce like normal.

[Altadan]

I'm trying to elaborate on that Garam Masala beef I tried last week;

Then I only added cherry-toms to a rather bare-bone recipe. This time I'm adding an eggplant and garlic (how could I not?)
~

Ingredients include: Chuck, white & Shallot onions, eggplant (why not?) cherry toms, garlic, and a Garam Masala mix
Oh shoot! Just in writing this I realized I forgot to add cinnamon to the Masala mix
Oh well, it's already in the oven...
~

Chopped fine, diced, and generally cut

After about a month of owning this MM B#2 I'm finally getting to know its ins and outs better. The tip is magnificent, and the chopping area is definitely to the mid-to-heel area. So smooth!
Hard to get used to such a light 210, though. The 240 Ginsan feels significantly heavier, and so does my Tanaka VG10 210... just a very different handling, or... balance.

Anyway,
into the pot it all went; bed of onions and then eggplant, and then the rest, with the spices mixed with EVOO and lathered on top of the meat. The idea with the toms was to add moisture. This worked perfectly last time, AND added very nice flavors to the tortillas later on.

pre-warmed dutch-oven, oven-bound
Since I had the better part of 4 hours left till dinner time, I set the temp to about 320F, otherwise, with 3hrs I'd put it in for 350.
The "hardest" part in this simple dish is the physical tearing of the meat.
I'll update later on this evening, though that might really repeat rather recent photos

[ronnie_suburban]

I find pandas take too long to cook!

Plus, I hate restaurants that don't serve their namesake items.

That's a beautiful steak, Ray!

I'll update later on this evening, though that might really repeat rather recent photos

Looks great so far. I find that taking shots throughout the cooking (or after the mise is all set) helps keep me organized but it also reminds when I forgot something, too (and yes, sometimes it's too late to do anything about it)!

[XexoX]

I find pandas take too long to cook!

BTW...love your signature lines

Like Mr. Suburban mentioned, they don't even serve Panda, maybe because it takes too long to cook!

Thanks on the signature lines. Most kind of you. Take care, but don't take umbrage. it can upset your stomach.

[stevem627]

I just noticed Ronnie that you're using what looks like a Blanc Creatives skillet on the scallops. I sure wish they still made the original style hammered finish line. The new ones they have look a lot like a MADE IN skillet actually.

You guys are making me hungry every day with all these great dishes and wonderful ingredients.

[Altadan]

Here's a shot if how this piece of central Chuck (as opposed to last week's Mock-tender) turned out,

cooked, shrinked

And then...

Pulled, torn, and shredded
I don't have any plated shots... We were too hungry.

[ronnie_suburban]

I just noticed Ronnie that you're using what looks like a Blanc Creatives skillet on the scallops. I sure wish they still made the original style hammered finish line. The new ones they have look a lot like a MADE IN skillet actually.

Ok, this is just weird. This is literally the third mention I've seen/heard today about Made In. I've never cooked on any of their stuff. Do you own any/like it?

Yes, the scallops were cooked on a Blanc Creatives 12" pan that I bought back in June 2016. I've been using it more and more lately. I wasn't aware that their designs had changed. My favorite piece of theirs is the 13" Rondeau. Its straight sides, overall depth and size and heat retention have made a lot otherwise-daunting cooking projects significantly easier. It's a great tool that's a lot more versatile than I expected it would be.

[Jeff B]

You guys make my simple country cookin' look like simple country cookin'.

[mauichef]

Maui Venison Heart Tacos
I love cooking Mexican food

[ronnie_suburban]

Interesting thing about documenting our dinners: very easy to know that last time we had something. It felt like we just had skirt steak but it had actually been over two months since our last skirt steaks . . .


Grilled Corn
Lightly oiled, salted and peppered, this cooked mostly on the indirect side of the grill but spent a few moments directly over the coals, too.


Corn & Mac Mighty 6.5" Hollow Edge Santoku
My one and only santoku, a style of which, I learned, I'm not a fan. I bought this in 2005 and it has sat largely unused since then. However, I sharpened it today, after which it was so sharp, I thought it would be fun to use it (and it was). And cutting the kernels off the cob perpendicular to the cutting board meant no knuckle banging. This is a very low clearance knife but at least it's damned sharp now.


Skirt Steaks
So juicy, they could have been called squirt steaks. One of these pieces was so thin, it actually fell through the grates and onto the coals. I ate it, anyway.


Plated Up
With grilled corn esquites and quick-sauteed, locally-foraged chanterelles.

[Jeff B]

As I've said before Ronnie, you make the simplest of meals look soooo good!

[Jeff B]

This one's for Ronnie.

Chicken thighs, raining like hell so just roasted them in the oven for 30 minutes. Steamed brussel sprouts and some noodles with a simple Alfredo sauce.