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What's on your plate today?

Years ago, my buddy sent me a recipe for a garlic dipping paste, similar to the beloved paste sold by a small chain of Armenian chicken joints local to LA called Zankou. I kept the recipe knowing at some point I'd want to try to make it. Yesterday was the day. Pretty simple to make. Holy eff is this stuff potent and I have a whole tub of it. My GF is gonna hate me for the next month or so.

If you like garlic (and I mean, you *really* gotta love garlic), give this recipe a shot.

Wasn't that the place that had one family member murder another? Are they still open?
 
Wasn't that the place that had one family member murder another? Are they still open?
Yes it is. I believe the patriarch of the family killed his mother in a murder/suicide. I read about it a while ago. Despite that history the small chain of restaurants is still in business and still very popular in SoCal.
 
A friend of mine on Twitter posted a spaghetti sauce recipe that looked so good I actually bought myself a Calphalon Dutch oven to try it out.

Starts with browning pork "country ribs," then sauteeing a bunch of garlic 'n onions, adding crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste ...

And spices, and red wine, and time. It's got about an hour of simmering left to go & it already tastes amazing.

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I'll post a plated pic later on. It's getting hard to wait!

~Boar
 
A friend of mine on Twitter posted a spaghetti sauce recipe that looked so good I actually bought myself a Calphalon Dutch oven to try it out.

Starts with browning pork "country ribs," then sauteeing a bunch of garlic 'n onions, adding crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste ...

And spices, and red wine, and time. It's got about an hour of simmering left to go & it already tastes amazing.

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I'll post a plated pic later on. It's getting hard to wait!

~Boar
Thats gravy, not spaghetti sauce.
 
I cooked a couple of bone-in ribeyes yesterday that I bought at the farm store near the airport. They're a mom & pop shop that sources everything from local farms, or grows it themselves: Eggs, beef, honey, jams, etc. They were probably the best steaks I've ever had, not because of the cook, but because of the product. To go with the meat, I bought some Swiss chard at the farmer's market and picked up some organic carrots at the grocery store. I tried out a glazed carrot recipe from Thomas Keller and they were awesome! With a few pickled pearl onions to cut the richness of the dish.

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Saturday night was date night. I got a couple nice steaks for the GF and I. I decided I wanted to try making steak au poivre. Not really traditional since I didn't have cognac (I used brandy) and I didn't have heavy cream (I used half & half), but it turned out very tasty regardless. My GF doesn't like pepper so this was as far away from her preference as I could imagine. Paired with some roasted potatoes, Asian sesame salad, and caprese on the side, along with red wine. We dined out on the back patio and it all made for a great date night.

The steak was enormous. I had half leftover for impromptu steak and eggs for Sunday morning breakfast.
 
A couple of days ago the wife was at the grocery store and asked if I needed anything. It was a cold rainy afternoon so I told her to buy onions and I'd make soup. I don't really have a favorite food, but French Onion Soup is high on my list of things I really love. It's so simple to create something so flavorful that I don't know why I don't make this more often!

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There's a microbrewery in town that makes a hamburger they call the Red Goat Burger, which is one of my favorite burgers of all time. It's beef patties with goat cheese and red pepper jam on a brioche bun. The flavors are amazing. We were at the farmer's market yesterday and saw goat patties for sale, so I got inspired to make my own version. When we got home, I made a red pepper jam. It was new territory for me, but surprisingly easy. I grilled the goat patties, toasted the brioche buns, then built the burger with pickled red onions, lettuce, burger, goat cheese, and the red pepper jam.

I also found these beautiful golden beets, so I roasted the roots and made a simple salad with wilted greens, some diced pearl onions I had pickled last week, and a few crumbles of goat cheese to tie the dishes together. The golden beets were my favorite part of the meal.

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A couple of days ago the wife was at the grocery store and asked if I needed anything. It was a cold rainy afternoon so I told her to buy onions and I'd make soup. I don't really have a favorite food, but French Onion Soup is high on my list of things I really love. It's so simple to create something so flavorful that I don't know why I don't make this more often!

View attachment 31238

Love this as well, do you have a favorite recipe?
 
We got an air fryer for Christmas and we're still experimenting. French fries are down pat now: Cut a couple of potatoes, soak them in water for 20+ mins, drain and pat dry. Toss them with a little olive oil and salt, put them in the fryer at 400 degrees for 20 mins, turning them every 6-8 mins. If I just do one potato, it doesn't take as long, because they aren't as crowded in the basket.

We've done a lot of chicken wings in it, as well as experiments with soft-shell crabs, asparagus, chicken strips, cauliflower bites, onion rings, mac 'n' cheese balls, etc. It takes a little bit of oil to get things to turn out browned and crispy. I'll either toss things in olive oil, or just use an oil spray to give everything a light coat. Plus the cleanup is tons easier than an oil fryer.
 
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