Food, Drink and What's for Dinner Tonight

This here's the spot for general discussion of the culinary arts and gustatory pursuits. It's a topic near and dear to my heart--and stomach--as I would think it should be for all Bondheads.

Dinner at Perilagu's palace tonight will be Welsh rarebit--a beer-and-cheddar sauce over rye toast--and asparagus braised in broth, butter, oregano and rosemary. Should make for a square meal.

Bloody hell, that sounds good. Have yet to try Welsh rarebit but might have to give it a crack.

Last night’s dinner was beer and lots of it.

If you've got the right kind of beer, what more could you need?

Tonight it'll be salmon coated in chili powder and crushed pecans, pan fried and surmounted with a lime cream sauce. Not sure about the side dish just yet.

Hopefully the topic is not confined to dinner: I went for a very Bondian breakfast this morning. Scrambled eggs with a slab of bright yellow butter melted in, thick sourdough toast with home-made marmalade, and a big cup of (very) black coffee. Could've used some figs.

Green figs, specifically. And Turkish yogurt.

Going out for dinner tonight, not sure where.

Last night was pan-fried trout wrapped in jamon (Spanish ham) and served with a sauce comprised of olive oil, sherry vinegar, guajillo pepper, garlic and Italian parsley. Accompanied by baked potato wedges spiced with salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder.

Perilagu Khan wrote:

Green figs, specifically. And Turkish yogurt.

Going out for dinner tonight, not sure where.

Last night was pan-fried trout wrapped in jamon (Spanish ham) and served with a sauce comprised of olive oil, sherry vinegar, guajillo pepper, garlic and Italian parsley. Accompanied by baked potato wedges spiced with salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder.

I can tell you are a connoiseur of the finer things in life.

Phantom Commander wrote:

Perilagu Khan wrote:

Green figs, specifically. And Turkish yogurt.

Going out for dinner tonight, not sure where.

Last night was pan-fried trout wrapped in jamon (Spanish ham) and served with a sauce comprised of olive oil, sherry vinegar, guajillo pepper, garlic and Italian parsley. Accompanied by baked potato wedges spiced with salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder.

I can tell you are a connoiseur of the finer things in life.

I am. And that is one of the reasons James Bond appeals to me so much. He is an aesthete par excellence.

Perilagu Khan wrote:

Phantom Commander wrote:

Perilagu Khan wrote:

Green figs, specifically. And Turkish yogurt.

Going out for dinner tonight, not sure where.

Last night was pan-fried trout wrapped in jamon (Spanish ham) and served with a sauce comprised of olive oil, sherry vinegar, guajillo pepper, garlic and Italian parsley. Accompanied by baked potato wedges spiced with salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder.

I can tell you are a connoiseur of the finer things in life.

I am. And that is one of the reasons James Bond appeals to me so much. He is an aesthete par excellence.

True. Him and Hannibal Lecter.

Phantom Commander wrote:

Perilagu Khan wrote:

Phantom Commander wrote:

Perilagu Khan wrote:

Green figs, specifically. And Turkish yogurt.

Going out for dinner tonight, not sure where.

Last night was pan-fried trout wrapped in jamon (Spanish ham) and served with a sauce comprised of olive oil, sherry vinegar, guajillo pepper, garlic and Italian parsley. Accompanied by baked potato wedges spiced with salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder.

I can tell you are a connoiseur of the finer things in life.

I am. And that is one of the reasons James Bond appeals to me so much. He is an aesthete par excellence.

True. Him and Hannibal Lecter.

Ha ha! Thank you very much!

If breakfast talk is permissible (it is the best meal after all), then it was a bagel with ‘everything’ seasoning, New Zealand smoked salmon, cream cheese, red onion, and capers.

The taste of Noo Yawk, only I didn’t get mugged.

For dessert, I probably need a mint.

CJB wrote:

If breakfast talk is permissible (it is the best meal after all), then it was a bagel with ‘everything’ seasoning, New Zealand smoked salmon, cream cheese, red onion, and capers.

The taste of Noo Yawk, only I didn’t get mugged.

For dessert,  I probably need a mint.

Sounds lovely. I melted butter in a pan, fried me some bacon, eggs, onion and tomatoes, spread it over slices of bread and added a little mustard. First had a slice of ginger as an aperitif, and finished the meal with a lime. Weekends are the only days I do eat breakfast.

I do like smoked salmon, but I don't think I could handle it for breakfast (especially not with onion and capers in the mix too).

I rarely eat breakfast, but my favorite is biscuits and sausage gravy, a thick slice of fried ham, hash browns, black Sumatran coffee and grapefruit juice.

Tonight's dinner will be something of an oddity: a cheddar cheese ball with crackers and mango chutney. Still trying to think up a side dish and am open to suggestions.

Phantom Commander wrote:

Weekends are the only days I do eat breakfast.

I try and at least get some fruit in during the week, but likewise, only get a chance for 'proper' breakfasts on the weekend.

Blunt Instrument wrote:

I do like smoked salmon, but I don't think I could handle it for breakfast (especially not with onion and capers in the mix too).

Ain't for everyone. Mind you, 100+ years ago our ancestors would've sooner eaten a whole trout for breakfast over sugary cereal and milk and the other stuff that became mainstream breakfast food in the last few decades.

Perilagu Khan wrote:

Tonight's dinner will be something of an oddity: a cheddar cheese ball with crackers and mango chutney. Still trying to think up a side dish and am open to suggestions.

First thought would be some kind of tomato and jalapeno salad. Something bright, tangy and fresh to offset the richness of the cheese.

Also a question to the coffee-drinkers here: do you have a preferred brewing device/method?

I've previously tried Chemex but never really mastered it. Don't really have the patience for it (brewing time and clean up). Also dabble with Turkish coffee which is pretty idiot-proof, but it only produces an espresso-sized portion and not the proper mug of Joe I usually want.

Considering giving the French press a go.

Suggestions?

I use a Corningware percolater that retailed in in stores between DAF and LALD. Connoiseurs may scoff at percolaters, but mine makes a proper cup, and it couldn't be a whole lot easier to use and clean.

A lot of people who fancy themselves coffee snobs proceed to drown their coffee in weird pseudo-milk made by squeezing nuts and oats, so take no notice.

Personally, I've never scoffed at American-style percolator coffee and consider it no worse than the Nespresso/pod coffee just about every household here uses.

Tonight it's Tijuana pork burritos, which is chunks of pork that have been marinated in a chipotle-based sauce and then cooked. You put the pork, along with shredded lettuce and guacamole on warm flour tortillas and do what comes naturally.

There'll be a radish salad on the side.

Bulgogi tonight. This is a Korean dish made of beef strips briefly marinated in soy sauce, tons of garlic, sesame oil, crushed red pepper, black pepper and scallions, and then broiled and served over rice. (Doubtless a favorite of Oddjob's although sub cat for beef.)

Steamed broccoli florets to accompany.

Coq au vin Alsacienne and braised asparagus tonight.

This chicken dish is one my mom made from my very earliest days and I still make it today. Skinless, bone-in chicken breasts are sprinkled with lemon juice, salt, pepper and thyme and then browned in olive oil. A sauce is then made with butter, chicken broth, white wine, bay leaf and mushrooms. The chicken is then baked in the sauce and served over rice. There are few things more delicious than this.

Nuthin' like a rich helping of C.A.V. with baguette for mop-up duty.

CJB wrote:

Nuthin' like a rich helping of C.A.V. with baguette for mop-up duty.

That's right. I always make extra sauce just to be mopped up at a later date. Usually the next day. It's liquid gold.

Tonight is just plain old ground beef tacos and Ranch Style Beans.

Italian fondue tonight. Fontina, mozzarella, permesan, garlic and white wine with Italian bread and a green salad.

Hot Honey Dough Balls, BBQ Beef pizza (with garlic butter dip for the crusts) and raspberry sorbet with chocolate gelato last night. With a 660 ml bottle of Peroni.

In other words, I went to a pizza restaurant last night.

Blunt Instrument wrote:

Hot Honey Dough Balls, BBQ Beef pizza (with garlic butter dip for the crusts) and raspberry sorbet with chocolate gelato last night. With a 660 ml bottle of Peroni.

In other words, I went to a pizza restaurant last night.  

Ah. On a healthfood kick, then...