Friday Night Bites @bfcfridaynightbites-blog - Tumblr Blog

Hiatus

Taking what may be a week or a month away from blogging the food. I'll still be enjoying it and if anything amazing culinarily happens I might share it or I might not..

Simple Supper - Sausage with Peppers & Onions and a side of Sweet Potato Fries

Sometimes the best meals really are the simplest ones. This meal certainly qualifies in that category... The sausage and peppers are just like an upgrade to the carnival favorite. While the sweet potato fries are simply delicious salty and roasty.

Lets start with the plate overview..

Sweet Potato fries are simple. Just slice them into 1/2 inch sticks toss with olive oil and salt n pepper. Then throw them in the oven on 450 in a cast iron skillet. A little bacon grease never hurts either..

For the main course chop up peppers..

and onions..

Then throw on some Tony Sachere and saute until soft and delicious.

Add the sausages off to the side.

Serve it up on a delicious crusty french roll

Pair with salad and fries and voila..

Carne Asada Taco Salad

Simple Tuesday night supper that I pulled together right out of the pantry and fridge. The carne asada came pre marinated from Trader Joes. The veges were a simple saute of onions, peppers and broccoli with garlic cumin and paprika.

I planned on serving it as tacos on corn tortillas with sour cream and the other usual toppings. Dino got his own idea and transformed it into a delicious salad..

#Tacos #Carne Asada #Taco Salad

Gumbalaya

There is an interesting story behind this supper. Was out all afternoon hiking in the marin headlands got home exhausted and crawled into bed with good company.. I rolled over an hour later to an empty bed and was all sleepy and concerned. I went shuffling out to the kitchen to be surprised by Dino digging around in my fridge and preparing the following meal. Neither one of us was sure what was we were going to call it but the combination of leftovers and his inspiration turned out delicious..

Gumbalaya Recipe

1 Part Mirepoix sauteed until translucent

Add stew pork kielbasa and some green beans

Throw in some chopped sweet potatoes, some USF farmed acorn squash.

Mix it all together and let is simmer. Serve it over some leftover brown rice andd be ready for amazingly delicious things to stumble across your tongue...

Thanks again Dino for taking such good care of me even when I don't want to let you and it means I wake up in an empty bed...

#Dino #Gumbalaya #leftovers

FNB - Pot Roast alla Nonna - Green Beans El Greco - Drunk Cake de Taylor

Dinner Plate - Farafalle, Pot Roast, Green Beans

Dessert Plate - Strawberry Drunk Cake

A pile of chopped garlic and a beautiful bunch of farmers market parsley for both the pot roast and the green beans..

The recipes this go around are a little slim since I only prepared the pot roast. I'll try to get Dino to provide the recipe for the green beans and hit up Taylor for further details on the drunk cake.

Pot Roast Recipe

Brown the pot roast in a dutch oven. Add chopped garlic and onions and saute until translucent. Cover roast with crushed tomatoes and then lid and put into 300 degree oven for 5-6 hours or until roast starts to fall apart..

Here is a picture just before service.

Green Beans Recipe

All I can really tell you is it started with gorgeous green beans from castro farmers market.

It also included the garlic from earlier and some onions. Then it was stewed in a can of crushed tomatoes. There must have been some other magic in there though because look how amazingly they turned out.

Seriously I don't want to admit it but I'm pretty sure that the greenbeans totally out shone my pot roast.

Drunk Cake Recipe

Another One I'm not really sure of. I know it included strawberries, whipped cream, lady fingers, and rum.. Layered delicious and it gave me a wicked hangover...

#Pot Roast #Greek #Green Beans #Drunk Cake #Dino #Taylor

FNB (Friday Night Bites)Thai Fusion - Part 2 - Yellow Curry Burritos

The yellow curry burritos really have 2 crucial components. Yellow Curry Chicken and Thai cucumber salad. Now I know there are curry purists out there who feel the only authentic curries are made from scratch. I'm just not one of those people. I've made curry from scratch and frankly I'm not sure the reward was worth the time invested. Although I'm willing to try other peoples recipes. In the meantime I'll stick with Mae Ploy brand curry paste..

As for the cucumber salad its totally home made and the recipe is pretty straightforward.

Cucumber Salad Recipe:

1 - Half and seed a hothouse cucumber

2 - Thinly slice red onion

3 - Mix Marinade

a - 1 Cup simple syrup

b - 1/2 Cup rice wine vinegar

c - 1 Tablespoon Fish Sauce

d - 1 Teaspoon chili flake

4 - Let rest for at least 4 hours

Yellow Curry Recipe:

1 - Whole Chicken

2 - 2 Large Onions

3 - 1 Inch ginger grated

4 - Yellow Curry paste to taste. I use about 1/3 of a cup.

5 - 3 Cans coconut milk

Coat the bottom of the pan in oil and sear chicken pieces. Then toss in onions and ginger and cook until fragrant. Add yellow curry paste and mix until everything is coated. Pour coconut milk in and leave to simmer until chicken falls off the bone. Remove bones and its ready to serve..

Also served this with brown rice, chopped jalapenos, and fresh tomatoes with cilantro. All setup family style and allowed people to assemble their own which is why there is no picture of the finished product.

#Yellow Curry #Thai #Thai Fusion #Mae Ploy #Cucumber salad

FNB (Friday Night Bites) Thai Fusion - Part 1 - Thai Style Duck Quesadilla

Asian marinated duck breast seared without skin and then melted into a oaxaca and chevre quesadilla with scallions.

Marinade

1/4 cup Sweet soy

1/4 cup Rice wine vinegar

1/4 cup Olive Oil

2 cloves Crushed garlic

1 tsp. Pepper flakes

Mix all ingredients in ziploc bag and let duck breast, with skin removed, marinate for 2 -6 hours.

Remove duck breast and sear. Reserve liquid and reduce for dipping sauce.

Quesadilla

Oaxaca cheese

Chevre

Scallions

Seared Duck Breast

Tortillas

Assemble quesadillas and use duck skin/fat to fry the quesadilla.

Thai Fusion Test Drive

I hinted about this meal in last weeks post and now I'm going to announce the full menu.

Thai style Duck Quesadilla

Seared Duck Breast marinated in thai spices. Melted with goat cheese and queso oaxaca. Served with a reduction of the marinade as a dipping sauce.

Yellow Curry Burrito

Slow cooked yellow curry chicken, Thai fried rice, Cucumber Salad, Fresh Cilantro, Heirloom Tomato Salsa.

Sticky Rice

Served with persimmon reduction and a ginger dulce de leche.

#Burrito #Yellow Curry #Fusion #Thai #Mexican

Planning Ahead.

Made yellow curry tonight which normally would rate its own post but I forgot pictures and I'm way to excited about what this meal inspired. Dino and I've been bashing around ideas for food trucks or pop up kitchens and I think this is a winner. Thai-Mexican fusion!!! So far I'm thinking yellow curry burritos with pineapple fried rice and cucumber salad. Maybe a quesadilla appetizer? Be ready for next Friday.

Pad Kee Mao ( Delicious Thai Noodles)

Its a Thursday night. Company, that I'm very glad to have mind you, has decided to stay for dinner. Now I need to figure out what to cook that comes together fast and doesn't take long to clean up. Pad Kee Mao is incredibly delicious, it can really include whatever veges and protein you have in the fridge and its cooks super fast in one pan. Tonights version included 2 kinds of bell peppers, onions, pork, and swiss chard. The key to the recipe is the sauce..

Over the years my sauce has changed adding and subtracting ingredients as my palate shifts. There are however a couple hard and fast rules. It must have kecip manis (sweet soy sauce) fish sauce, traditional soy sauce or in my case braggs amino's, fresh ginger, and fresh garlic. Of late I've also been including rice wine vinegar and sriracha.

Like any good stir fry I cooked the meat hot and fast and seasoned with soy and a touch of fresh cracked pepper then put it aside and started on the vegetables.

I cooked up onions then peppers till they were nearly done pulled them to the edges and made a beautiful little nest for the rainbow chard. A splash of water and a lid and the veges were done.

I prefer to use fresh rice noodles. Living in SF this is not hard to find but I also keep a box of dried rice noodles in the pantry for just such an occasion. Some brands need to soak for 10 and some for 30. Be prepared to let them soak for twice as long as the box says. I failed to this round and although it was still delicious I don't think I like rice noodles al dente.

Once the vegetables are cooked down the pork goes back in. Keep wokking until everything is sizzling hot then toss in noodles and throw on the sauce. Keep on high heat and keep stirring until every piece is coated and the smell pulls people in from their work in other rooms... Dinner is ready and there are truly only 3 dishes to clean..

#Noodles #Thai #Pork

Seared Ahi on a bed of romaine with yellow heirloom tomatoes and fennel sprouts. Dressed with peanut oil, apple cider vinegar and braggs aminos.

Breakfast Retrospective

This post includes two different breakfasts. I'm not sure exactly when they were made but they were both amazing.

Mixed Berry Cobbler with Poached eggs & Fresh Strawberries with yogurt

The cobbler recipe will get its own post separately. If you want to know how to poach an egg I'm going to have to ask Dino. Thats not my bag. I do recall very clearly that it was incredibly delicious.

Continental Breakfast

Pan toasted baguette slices - Heirloom cherry tomato salad, dressed in olive oil salt and pepper - Triple Cream brie, goats mile cheddar - Applewood Farms smoked ham.

#Cobbler #Breakfast #Berries #Poached Eggs

So it begins

I've always loved cooking. So much so that a career in culinary arts has often been considered and suggested, more on that at some point. Back in early October I started a standing Friday dinner date. It was a great opportunity to see some people I really enjoy and cook some meals that I don't get to make on a regular basis. That Friday night meal is the heart and soul of this blog. Friday Night Bites will definitely make it up and any other outstanding creations from the week will get a post as well. I need to acknowledge the impetus for the blog and much of the photography due to Dino. If it weren't for him I wouldn't have had enough faith in the plates I put together and the photographs would all be blurry.. Hope you enjoy this as much as I do.

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