NFT: What are you eating this week(end)?

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sounds great Bill!

Mrs. requested mussels with linguini for tonigth, so will do that, probably a white wine sauce with some diced fresh tomatoes.

I'd like to grill some steaks tomorrow, we'll see how the weather is. If not maybe Sunday. I have some nice rib eyes in the freezer, will us my espresso dry rub.

In comment 16465971 Ham and Cheese said:

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What kind of cheese?

In comment 16466004 smshmth8690 said:

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sounds great Bill!

hey, Drew. I hope it's good :) Here's the recipe, from Milk Street. I'm doing beef rather than lamb.

One-Pot Lamb Meatballs with Eggplant and Chickpeas

Meatballs
1 pound ground lamb or beef
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon ras el hanout
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon table salt
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Eggplant and Sauce
1 pound eggplant, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 onion, chopped fine
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon ras el hanout
1 teaspoon table salt
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed
3/4 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup pitted green olives, halved
1/4 cup harissa
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro, divided
1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh mint, divided
Directions
Harissa is available in spicy and mild varieties; we prefer spicy, but you can use the mild kind here or less of the spicy variety if you're spice averse. You can substitute ground beef for the lamb, if desired. Couscous makes a nice side dish.
FOR THE MEATBALLS: Combine lamb, panko, egg, ras el hanout, lemon zest, garlic, and salt in large bowl and mix with your hands until thoroughly combined. Divide into 16 even portions, about 1¼ ounces each. Using your hands, roll each portion into ball.
Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add meatballs and cook until well browned all over, about 5 minutes. Transfer meatballs to large plate, leaving fat in pot.
FOR THE EGGPLANT AND SAUCE: Heat fat left in pot over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add eggplant, onion, garlic, ras el hanout, and salt and cook until vegetables are beginning to soften, 8 to 10 minutes, stirring frequently.
Stir in tomatoes, chickpeas, raisins, water, olives, harissa, and lemon zest. Nestle meatballs into sauce. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover; and cook until eggplant is very tender and meatballs register 160 degrees, about 10 minutes.
Off heat, stir in ¼ cup cilantro and ¼ cup mint. Sprinkle remaining ¼ cup cilantro and remaining ¼ cup mint over top and serve.

Ras el hanout:
Ingredients
2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
2 teaspoons ground coriander
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons turmeric
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon cardamom powder
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
Directions
Mix all the spices together.
Store in an airtight container.

In comment 16466016 Victor in CT said:

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Mrs. requested mussels with linguini for tonigth, so will do that, probably a white wine sauce with some diced fresh tomatoes. I'd like to grill some steaks tomorrow, we'll see how the weather is. If not maybe Sunday. I have some nice rib eyes in the freezer, will us my espresso dry rub.

Sounds delicious, Victor. Let's hope for good weather

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In comment 16466411 gtt350 said:

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For the porn version? I'm waiting for permission from the mods :)

Sounds wonderful.

Butcher had prime grade strips so I got a couple of those. I just toss them in cast iron and season them. Baked potatoes with those.

Chicken speidies on Sunday. The Lupo’s sauce I ordered didn’t come in time so I’m using the salamidas chicken marinade. Not as tasty but a good substitution. I’m thinking potato salad with it.

Now I know what I’m making tomorrow. I forgot I had a jar of the stuff (also called “35 spice powder”) from a side-visit to Casablanca last fall (just before their earthquake). I wasn’t particularly impressed by Morocco itself, but the 2 meals I had there were extraordinary, one of which was a chicken tagine.

So, out comes my souvenir jar of spice powder to take a stab at some chicken tagine. Will go with bone in thighs I think for this. No tagine pot, but I figure one of my Dutch ovens will suffice.

Thanks Bill for the unintended inspiration/idea. I had been meaning to do this but simply forgot.

In comment 16466830 Steve L said:

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Sounds wonderful. Butcher had prime grade strips so I got a couple of those. I just toss them in cast iron and season them. Baked potatoes with those. Chicken speidies on Sunday. The Lupo’s sauce I ordered didn’t come in time so I’m using the salamidas chicken marinade. Not as tasty but a good substitution. I’m thinking potato salad with it.

No green vegetable with the steak and potatoes? Are we savages, lol? Ah, speidies rears it's head again. Enjoy it all

In comment 16466849 CRinCA said:

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Now I know what I’m making tomorrow. I forgot I had a jar of the stuff (also called “35 spice powder”) from a side-visit to Casablanca last fall (just before their earthquake). I wasn’t particularly impressed by Morocco itself, but the 2 meals I had there were extraordinary, one of which was a chicken tagine. So, out comes my souvenir jar of spice powder to take a stab at some chicken tagine. Will go with bone in thighs I think for this. No tagine pot, but I figure one of my Dutch ovens will suffice. Thanks Bill for the unintended inspiration/idea. I had been meaning to do this but simply forgot.

lol, I didn't know there WERE 35 spices, Chuck. Is it a Bobby Flay recipe? :) Dutch oven should be fine for tagine. I hope it comes out great.

The Moroccan meatball recipe was from ATK, not Milk Street. I had made a Moroccan fish recipe from Milk Street which was only good last week. Just finished dinner, and this was very good. Thumbs up from Mrs. in UT, who is a tough critic. I did not pan fry the meatballs, I added them raw to the simmering sauce, as I usually do. I made them pretty small (11 from 1 pound of meat) so they only needed about 20 minutes to cook. We probably ate less then half, so leftovers and we'll make again. (I only used 2 tsp of harissa powder in the sauce)

So flying fish and cou cou.

No not a Flay recipe. I’ll just noodle around online until I find one that catches my eye- driven largely by my preferred ingredients (pass on preserved lemons, probably to dried apricots, definite yes to olives, etc).

I like this combination I started making as a variation of eggplant lasagna..

I slice eggplant real thin, bread and fry to brown
In a casserole dish, with homemade tomato sauce, put a small layer down on bottom. Follow with layer of strips. Then add sautéed mushrooms and chopped artichoke hearts. Layer of both grated mozzarella and parmigiana then sauce. Another layer of the eggplant, top with sauce and more cheese.

Obviously veggies can be substituted…onion great in the mix too…and I sometimes add pepperoni

Pflaumekuchen for desert (I mix blueberries with the plum slices)!

Oh, then casserole is baked ….

late than never. Yesterday started with a chorizo, egg and cheese hero for breakfast then some almonds. Last night was chicken parm heroes. I took advantage of last week's 2 for $5 Purdue sale at Stop & Shop. Got their spicy breaded cutlets. Some sauce, cheese, hero rolls and chips later I was a full happy guy as I watch my Knicks get a game closer to a possible 2 seed.

Today I have no clue what I want to eat. There are no cravings to satisfy. I may get burgers, I may have some healthy cereal, I may fast. Who knows.

Sunday dinner is good old comfort food. Ham hocks and butter beans over rice with blanched broccoli. It starts today. I have about 15 smoked ham hocks that I'm going to put in a tall pot of water, bring to a boil and then let simmer for about 5 hours or so. By then the hocks will be fall off the bone tender. I let them cool then I de-bone them. Saving the water. Tomorrow I sauté onions and garlic, add the beans(canned not dry), hocks and water and into the oven at 350 for 2 hours. All that's left is to spoon it over white rice with broccoli on the side. I might even get biscuits

In comment 16467055 Giantimistic said:

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So flying fish and cou cou.

The national dish of Barbados. I hear that flying fish are hard to come by, did you have the real thing?

In comment 16467081 CRinCA said:

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No not a Flay recipe. I’ll just noodle around online until I find one that catches my eye- driven largely by my preferred ingredients (pass on preserved lemons, probably to dried apricots, definite yes to olives, etc).

I didn't really think it was Flay, but I did make a 16 ingredient spice rub of his many years ago. He creates great flavors, but I generally shy away from his dishes because of all the ingredients. I think you need a couple of sous chefs as helpers if you want to cook like Bobby Flay

In comment 16467126 Pokgiant said:

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I like this combination I started making as a variation of eggplant lasagna.. I slice eggplant real thin, bread and fry to brown In a casserole dish, with homemade tomato sauce, put a small layer down on bottom. Follow with layer of strips. Then add sautéed mushrooms and chopped artichoke hearts. Layer of both grated mozzarella and parmigiana then sauce. Another layer of the eggplant, top with sauce and more cheese. Obviously veggies can be substituted…onion great in the mix too…and I sometimes add pepperoni Pflaumekuchen for desert (I mix blueberries with the plum slices)!

Thanks for the recipe, I'm always looking for eggpplant dishes. I assume you're baking your own cake if you're adding blueberries to it

In comment 16467183 DG_89 said:

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late than never. Yesterday started with a chorizo, egg and cheese hero for breakfast then some almonds. Last night was chicken parm heroes. I took advantage of last week's 2 for $5 Purdue sale at Stop & Shop. Got their spicy breaded cutlets. Some sauce, cheese, hero rolls and chips later I was a full happy guy as I watch my Knicks get a game closer to a possible 2 seed. Today I have no clue what I want to eat. There are no cravings to satisfy. I may get burgers, I may have some healthy cereal, I may fast. Who knows. Sunday dinner is good old comfort food. Ham hocks and butter beans over rice with blanched broccoli. It starts today. I have about 15 smoked ham hocks that I'm going to put in a tall pot of water, bring to a boil and then let simmer for about 5 hours or so. By then the hocks will be fall off the bone tender. I let them cool then I de-bone them. Saving the water. Tomorrow I sauté onions and garlic, add the beans(canned not dry), hocks and water and into the oven at 350 for 2 hours. All that's left is to spoon it over white rice with broccoli on the side. I might even get biscuits

yes, better late than never :) That ham and bean dish looks terrific, enjoy

In comment 16467327 Bill in UT said:

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In comment 16467055 Giantimistic said: Quote: So flying fish and cou cou. The national dish of Barbados. I hear that flying fish are hard to come by, did you have the real thing?

Had the real thing down at the Oistens fish fry. It’s great. Lots of Mahi Mahi as well.

The real winning is the Bajan pepper sauce.