Birthday Dinner

[ProfessorGAC]

My wife has a cold so we didn't want to go out for my bday. I actually only bother with prime number birthdays, which this is.
So, went to the supermarket and got scallops & to the butcher for one NY strip.
Pan seared the steak & finished in the oven. Served with a sherried mushrooms & shallot mix with garlic, paprika & cinnamon.
The scallops were also pan seared but didn't need the oven. Served with a butter & white wine sauce.
As a side, a parmesan potato puree with saffron.
So, I made my own bday dinner rather than going out.
Just kickin' back now.
If my wife feels better, we might go to the wine bar to hear the woman singer/guitarist who is playing tonight.

[MLAA]

1. Happy Birthday! What a feast!

Edited to add: Happy 37th!

[ProfessorGAC]

5. Thanks

I have the searing of scallops nailed! They looked fantastic on the plate.
My only Oops was the puree. I use half & half, but....
There was a carton in the fridge, so I didn't buy any. It was spoiled, so I had to use 2%. Everything else was ready so I couldn't run to the store.
Tasted great, but too thin.
Oh, well.

[Diamond_Dog]

2. Happy Birthday ProfessorGAC!

Had mine about a week and a half ago. Cooked my own birthday dinner too, but we went out for a nice dinner a week later.

I’d take that dinner you made ANY time! Sounds delicious! Hope your wife feels better soon!

[Emile]

3. Happy Birthday

[greatauntoftriplets]

4. Happy birthday!

That sounds like a wonderful dinner. I hope that your wife feels better.

[ProfessorGAC]

6. She's Not Feeling Great Now

But, was better earlier. She's kind of up & down with a slight fever & head congestion.
She's pretty stuffed up right now.

[Lunabell]

7. Happy birthday!!

That sounds so delightfully delicious!! Surf and turf is my go-to birthday meal. Except, I usually have shrimp. Sea scallops are not in my budget. And it's ribeye for me. I can never find a NY strip that is tender.

Hope the wife feels better soon!!

[ProfessorGAC]

10. I Like Ribeye, Too

But, strip is easier to pan cook. I got a great Maillard crust on it. Looked like Ruth's Cris!
We can't get fresh scallops here, but I learned a trick to shed excess moisture from freezing.
If something takes me close enough to the city I'll scope out fresh scallops. But, if frozen is all there is, we make do.

[Lunabell]

15. My wife is the grill queen.

Charcoal is her method of choice and thinking about a medium rare ribeye with just salt and a perfectly caramelized cap is making my mouth water! I will occasionally use A1 steak sauce, but usually not.

My wife is also the meat whisperer. She makes it perfectly. I used to despise white meat chicken because my motherused to hammer it and that's how I thought it was supposed to be: sawdust! So, I never ate it until my wife made it for me. Wow, what a difference!!

[BComplex]

8. Happy Birthday, Professor!!

Please send me the recipes!!!

[ProfessorGAC]

11. What Recipe? LOL!

Part of the fun of cooking for me is winging it. A bit of this, taste, next thing, taste, and so on, until I like it.
Actually, there's a lie in there. I don't use a little bit of anything.
I've been chief cook since I retired & have never followed a recipe. The closest I came is to see what spices are in a dish, but I couldn't find the measuring spoons if someone offered me a million for the set.
The only thing I measure is rice & water to get the right ratio.
Other than that, I'm seat of my pants.

[BComplex]

16. I think you've got it right

by the seat of your pants!

[BoomaofBandM]

9. Happy Birthday!

[electric_blue68]

12. Happy Birthday 🎉 Very nice dinner!

[70sEraVet]

13. Happy birthday!!

[pwb]

14. Have a good one Prof.

I am on the bottom rung of prime numbers. Lucky eh?

[lucca18]

17. Happy Birthday ProfessorGAC!🎂

A delicious gourmet dinner!
You can cook!
Happy Birthday 🎂

[malaise]

18. Happy Birthday Prof

[LuckyCharms]

19. Happy Birthday! Sounds like a great dinner.

[tavernier]

20. Yum!

I saved your post bcuz now I want all of it!
HappyBirthday, btw!!
How do you make those potatoes?
Just out of surgery and haven’t had a good meal in days. Can you tell??

[ProfessorGAC]

23. Pretty Simple, Really

I used russets today, but I've used Yukon Gold, & red potatoes too.
Peel the potatoes and cut them in half. Then cut the halves into about half-inch slices.
Put them into a 2 quarter sauce pan boiling water with plenty of salt. I don't measure, but if I did I'd say there's at least a tablespoon of salt.
When tender, move half to a blender. Add about a tbsp of butter, a shake of parmesano, and a pinch of granulated garlic.
Take a dozen or so threads of saffron and mix it with about a half-ounce of the hot potato water. Add a couple ounces of heavy cream or half & half, and hit the blender button. When it bogs down, stop, add the hot saffron water, & the rest of the potatoes. Mix with a spoon, then use the blender until smooth. At the end, add a pinch of nutmeg & run the blender again for a few seconds.
It takes longer to type this out then it does to do it!.
Has a luxurious mouth feel & the cream & saffron give it richness. My wife absolutely loves it. I make squash, turnip, and sweet potato purees the same way, but those are seasoned differently.
Hope you recover quickly from your surgery.

[tavernier]

26. Wow, thanks! I made so much work for you on your birthday!

You are a nice person.



And hope your bride feels better soon.

[LoisB]

21. Happy Birthday. That was one heck of a dinner. I would never have thought of cinnamon with

the sherried mushrooms but I am going to have to try it.

[ProfessorGAC]

24. I Use Cinnamon & Nutmeg A Lot

Like cumin, they are warming spices. Used heavily in South Asian cooking, as well as North African cuisine.
I even add cinnamon to my pasta sauces; red & white.
Geez, I even use them for tacos! They work very well with cumin. Nice warm offset to the heat from the roast jalapeños and the acid from the lime.
I just grab stuff & add until I dig the flavor. I'll try anything once.

[LoisB]

30. Very interesting. I am going to have to become more adventurous.

[ProfessorGAC]

32. Over The Last Several Months...

...I've also gotten into allspice, cardamom, and sumac. Especially in Asian dishes.

[Permanut]

22. Happy Birthday ProfesorGAC!

Sounds like a perfect dinner; this isn't birthday #97, right?

[ProfessorGAC]

25. Old, Not That Old

67 today. Oddly enough you went to 97. If I live that long, there's only one prime number in the 90s.
At least there were 2 this decade! There's 3 in the 70s if I live to 79.
We shall see.

[livetohike]

27. Happy Birthday! Great celebration so far! n/t

[Picaro]

28. You sound like a serious chef

Glad you enjoyed your birthday meal.

[AllaN01Bear]

29. happy , happy. hope your wife feels better.

[Evolve Dammit]

31. Way better than going out. Seriously. Hate paying lotsa $ when we can do better. Happy Birthday!

[debm55]

33. Happy Birthday, Professor.

[Karadeniz]

34. Sounds FABULOUS!!!

[alittlelark]

35. Happy Birthday !!

I have the same Prime Number Birthday thing - I thought I was the only one cuz ppl look at me funny when I say that.