July '06 -- what are you eating?

Happy Canada Day! There's a holiday that looms large here on the Missouri/Kansas border.

Like I said, grilled chicken breasts marinated in KC Masterpiece Barbecue sauce thinned with tamari, served with grilled corn-on-the-cob, and Idaho and sweet potatoes, cut up into fries for the girls, coated in olive oil, salt and onion powder and roasted at 450 degrees. (They have roasted potatoes once or twice a week, but cut them into french fries, and it's a real treat.)

Accompanied by Alamos Malbec 2005. Bam.

Very, very hot here today. A simple dinner. Brie with mushrooms and Caesar salad. A little Edna Valley Chardonnay to go with it.

Gulf shrimp in lemon butter with artichoke hearts and capers over red snapper.

Went quite well with a bottle of Perfect 10 blond.

For Canada Day with Canadian bman, mussels in a Cajun broth and Buffalo steak.

Last night:

Fresh backfin MD crabcakes.
Home made french fries.
Green salad in Raspberry Vinaigrette.

PH

Ribeyes on the grill. No wine, thank goodness.

quote:

Originally posted by Board-O:
Ribeyes on the grill. No wine, thank goodness.

Wuss.

First time I laughed today.

quote:

Originally posted by Board-O:
Ribeyes...No wine, thank goodness.

Who ARE you?? And what have you done to Board-O? Don't you know about the anti-oxidants in red wine that are needed to offset all that red meat? Don't you understand the concept of rationalization at all??

Tonight , we're going to try out a Malaysian restaurant, which I think means a glass of beer unless they have an interesting white on their list.

quote:

Originally posted by Seaquam:

quote:

Originally posted by Board-O:
Ribeyes...No wine, thank goodness.

Who ARE you?? And what have you done to Board-O? Don't you know about the anti-oxidants in red wine that are needed to offset all that red meat? Don't you understand the concept of rationalization at all??

Tonight , we're going to try out a Malaysian restaurant, which I think means a glass of beer unless they have an interesting white on their list.

Who ARE you?? And what have you done to Seaquam? Don't you know about the phenols in wine that are needed to offset all that MSG in Malaysian cooking? Don't you understand the concept of rationalization at all??

Oh, I'm sure I still have plenty of anti-oxidants in my system.

quote:

Originally posted by wineismylife:

Who ARE you?? And what have you done to Seaquam? Don't you know about the phenols in wine that are needed to offset all that MSG in Malaysian cooking? Don't you understand the concept of rationalization at all??

Understand it? I embrace it!!

And you are completely correct-- I will have wine with dinner tonight. I completely forgot about the MSG.

As always, you remain my conscience, Joe.

quote:

Originally posted by Seaquam:
As always, you remain my conscience, Joe.

That, and a thorn in your side.

July 4th Hot Dog Eating Record Set
Tuesday, July 04, 2006
The Associated Press

A 160-pound wonder from Japan set a new record by devouring a sickening 53 3/4 frankfurters in 12 minutes to win the annual Independence Day hot dog eating competition on Coney Island.

The feat earned Takeru Kobayashi, 27, his sixth straight title in the event, held at the original Nathan's Famous hot dog stand on Brooklyn's seashore.

He broke his own record of 53 1/2 hot dogs, set at the same competition two years ago.

Thousands of raucous spectators jammed the streets in front of the hot dog stand, a block from the famed Coney Island boardwalk, to watch the competition and Kobayashi - a top-ranked eater who once ate 17.7 pounds of pan-seared cow brains to win $25,000.

His strongest competition was Joey Chestnut, a 220-pound civil engineering student from San Jose, Calif., who set an American record by eating 50 hot dogs during a qualifying tournament in Las Vegas.

Chestnut jumped out to an early lead in the competition, sometimes jamming franks into his mouth with two hands as the crowd roared.

But Chestnut struggled, red-faced, with veins bulging in his forehead, the Japanese star methodically chomped dog after dog, often dipping them in a soft drink before cramming them into his mouth. Kobayashi passed Chestnut with about three minutes left in the contest.

When the clock expired, Chestnut had swallowed 52 Nathan's franks - not quite enough.

Among the other competitors were another favorite, 100-pound Sonya "The Black Widow" Thomas, of Alexandria, Va., who once ate 65 hard boiled eggs in a little more than 6 1/2 minutes, and a local favorite, Eric "Badlands" Booker, a 425-pound subway conductor from Long Island who holds speed-eating records for pies and matzo balls.

I wonder if they understand the concept of rationalization at all?
Chateau Latour or Screaming Eagle to rince it down?

Alaskan King Crab with garlic goat butter

Fresh pan fried flounder

Broiled sea scallops and steamed sugar snap peas.

Last night . .

MD Crab Cakes with 2005 Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc Sooo Good!

Too hot tonight to eat heavy. So, tonight, it was frozen grapes, honeydew, some warmed brie with jalepeno/mint sauce, and my Quivira Zin. (Wouldn't usually put the Zin together with this, but booyah!...) Lovely...

Roasted Chicken Breasts w/ Steamed Broccoli

The chicken breasts were great, and it was so easy to make.

2 bone-in, skin-on split breasts
any fresh herb(s)
2 cloves garlic
1/3 cup chicken stock
2 slices butter... about 1/2 tablespoon

Preheat oven to 475 (yes, four hundred seventy five degrees)

Slice garlic into the thinnest slices you can

Seperate skin from meat on breasts

Place fresh herbs under skin (we used rosemary, but you can use whatever you like here)

Place garlic slices under skin

Season breasts w/ salt and pepper and place a slice of butter on top of each breast

Pour chicken stock into over-proof pan.

Place breasts in pan, skin side up.

Cook for about 25 mins, or until done.

For Heaven's sake, use an oven mit or two to remove the pan from the oven. (I learned this the hard way once.)

Remove chicken to a plate, and place the pan on a burner w/ high heat. The juices should be pretty thick already, but if not just reduce over the burner and pour over breasts when reduced to desired thickness.

The chicken was delicious and very juicy. I love it when prep and cooking is quick and easy, and the dinner comes out wonderful.

This is one sickening recipe.

Maybe you had a bad piece of chicken breast and didn't cook it long enough?

I know some people who can eat raw chicken. Have you tried chicken ceviche? You should. There is no better way to entertain friends than with ceviches made with uncommon ingredients such as chicken, pork or even certain exotic vegetables.

quote:

Originally posted by grunhauser:
... ceviches made with uncommon ingredients such as chicken, pork or even certain exotic vegetables.

Tonight, I'm making roasted Sockeye salmon in lemon grass sauce, cucumber gazpacho, and grilled dry-rubbed rib-eyes.

marinated skirt steak

Porcini mushroom risotto with chicken and spinach sausage.

Tonight: broiled Atlantic salmon filet, pan seared diver scallops with nutmeg and toasted sesame; steamed asparagus with hollandaise - washed it all down with an '02 Chateau de Chamirey Mercurey. Delightful!

Gnocchi with grilled Italian sausage in light tomato sauce.

1999 Le Macchiole Toscana IGT Macchiole, great match with the sausage, very silky wine with plenty of flavour, good acidity, and long finish.

Last night, made red snapper covered with browned butter, lemon, capers, parsley (excellent Epicurious recipe). Nice match with 2004 Tohu Sauvignon Blanc.

Enjoyed Bastille Day at Cafe de Paris. I had a duck leg confit cassoulet.
Tonight, we are descending on Greektown, and will either wind up at Samos, if we can get in, or, if not, Ikaros.
These are not gourmet places, but if you are in Baltimore and feel like Greek food, this is where you go.
Teddy, the owner of Ikaros is a client of mine.

I'll second Irwin's props for Ikaros; good eats! Oh, by the way:

ribeye with green peppercorn sauce, (thanks yet again Board-O), grilled pattypan squash, a bit of wild rice and a very nice QPR Chilean cab!

Ok, Gf..... this is two mentions of the Chilean Cab. What are you drinking man?

PH

an '03 Marques de Casa Concha Cab; 14 bucks -what a bargain!

and even better watching Linda Ronstadt and the Stone Ponys - Different Drum

What a woman!

Sushi and Lambert Cremant de Loire. The dynamite roll was dynamite. Cremant de Loire + sushi = perfect match. I am going to buy a case of the next decent one I come across.

Tonight, it's king crab and lobster, to celebrate the fact that we're taking next week off, with my favourite affordable chardonnay, Columbia Crest Estate Series.

Dinner at The Bridge with TBird, wiml, sprnplr, and assorted spouses. I won't be getting the buffalo steak, but anything else is fair game.

My wife's rack of lamb was possibly the best I've ever had. I've already recommended The Bridge Cafe to two others.

Any chance you know now what the regular corkage fee is, and if it's available all week?