What's For Dinner?

I have a meeting in Vancouver today. So either dinner at the Italian restaurant or at a place called Joe Fortes. The latter is a chop house with lots of seafood options.

 

Went to Tucson for a quick sight-seeing trip, ate dinner at El Charro Del Rey (the seafood focused outlet of this popular local restaurant group). Very good food, recommended (for the mussels and Enchiladas) if you visit:

Roasted Artichoke (meh)
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Mussels with Chorizo Broth (super yummy)
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Grilled salmon (meh)
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Seafood Enchiladas (super yummy. From the bottom to the top - shrimp in green sauce, halibut in white sauce, lobster in red sauce)
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Coconut Tres Leches Cake with Pineapple salsa (meh. Little mom/pop place in my WY town's is far superior)
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D

Well okay, that pretty much blows away most of the recent postings!
T

 

I hope you're sharing that with an army of people.
T

 

Dinner from Tuesday and Wed eve. Asparagus and mushroom chicken dish in white wine and sage. Then a nice turkey burger.
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What's the sauce with the turkey burger?

 

A little mayo and ketchup. I was out of Siracha but I think that would of been a nice touch.

 

You like spicy? Potatoes, cauliflower, mapo dofu, and a Chongqing chicken that lit me up...

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That's so much food LOl.

 

There were 3 of us eating, but enough food for probably 8.

Tab was a whopping 118 RMB ($17.48). Including 4 beers and 2 Cokes.

 

That's incredible.

 

That turkey burger looks quite tasty. I often find them too dry compared to beef burgers, but that looks top shelf.
T

 

The food in the middle pic looks like muy caliente!
T

 

Incredible. Can't wait to get to Asia.

Done in the skillet. Super juicy. I know exactly what you mean and I really can't think of an explanation for that. Every time I've used ground turkey, the battle is with the water the meat puts off.
I've been making meatballs with this recipe but baking them. They come out fantastic if you heat up whatever you're baking them in hot enough to get a good sear on them. I like the pyrex. Other wise they fall apart. Burgers were left overs from the 3# I had tossed in the freezer.

https://www.skinnytaste.com/skinny-italian-meatballs-turkey-1-p/

 

Most turkey burger now is treated with rosemary extract. It is getting hard to find any that isn’t. This makes it last a bit longer as far as freshness and shelf life (rosemary is anti-oxidant), but it also changes the cooking characteristics, making it tend to scorch to a pan as one of the changes, and imparting an off taste and smell. What I do is buy fresh ground from breast and thigh mixed (or it gets too dry), not prepackaged, or buy logs of Shelton’s of Pomona Ca. Shelton’s has no rosemary extract added. Then I cook it on a skillet with an inverted ss bowl or cooking dome over it, and make more of a ball of it than a pattie. This helps keep it moist. And you have to watch the cook time carefully. I will often add something to help moisten it, like raisins, aminos, or a filler that helps it retain moisture like flax or chia seeds ground and lightly soaked, or some wetted slippery elm.

I went to mainly turkey at one point when I had to give up beef due to sensitivity/allergy to beef as a result of mosquitoes/tick bites. There is a University of Virgina study on this where you can read about the mechanism behind it. It was a struggle getting turkey burgers right for a while when I first had to make the change over.

 

That all looks amazing, as do all of your pics from this trip.

Would be very appreciated to get a quick summary post when you are back with a few of the places/information!

 

I ended up getting a beef taco pizza. Tonight is sashimi night, its been a few days.

 

Hi Max, I hope you’ve been feeling good these days! It’s been a long time since I had sushi or shashimi. Enjoy your evening!

I will have juice from all the usual suspects tonight-tapering down for a fast this week. I added some chicken broth to the menu also. I made a pot of mashed red potatoes and mushrooms for coming back onto solids later... a week or two ahead if all goes well.

I forgot to mention shrooms often go into my turkey burgers, and Lisa reminded me she has them blend breast with thigh for a less dry burger for me as well, when having it ground fresh.

 

Breakfast lunch and dinner.

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Burgers
Medium
Oh baby!
(In Canada it’s “against the law” to serve burgers not well done)

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In Pingyao tonight, so some Shanxi specialties.

Pingyao cold beef (very similar to corner beef, with a bit of a tuna after taste), potatoes, stir fried mountain noodles (noodle rings with the consistency of dumplings), fried eggplant with a sweet sauce, and a noodle/soup dish.

I love the noodles here - they are thick and chewy, with a rough texture that holds on to the sauce.

(Sorry, some pictures we didn't wait to start eating... )

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Beer, bacon, bbq and your buds. You, Jason, have hit for the cycle. Well done.

We did leftover brisket for dinner after a long day of manual labor and doing my taxes.

T

 

We schlepped 25 miles out to the valley to have a pizza at one of my favorite childhood pizza joints before they close their doors, and it was just as good as ever!

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