What's for Dinner, Sat., Aug. 30, 2014
Happy Labor Day Weekend, everyone!
Here are some pics of the RG's creation last night. I'd never heard of this, but it's called a shawarma. It rotates on a grill, but since we do not have one of those devices, the RG had to figure out how to get it to roast all the way around. This is what he came up with.
He sliced a Vidalia so it lay flat. Then he layered his shawarma elements and finally, put the kebob skewers through it to hold everything in place.
What you see here is marinated turkey and pork. In addition, there was some type of thinly sliced meat like how prosciutto comes in the plastic package. It was highly seasoned and I think it said "cabba" on the label, but I'm not sure. I mentioned the marinade ingredients in my post on yesterday's thread:
Before roasting:
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Roasted:
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Then returned to the oven with a nice quality of bleu cheese on top for melting:
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It was divine! And there are leftovers, which I am so looking forward to.
This was served with a baby arugula salad that had tomatoes and bacon bits (real ones!) in it. Yeah, the RG isn't a Bac-O's kinda' guy.
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On another note, I have not heard back from Lucinda. Does anyone have her phone number? I'll call if you do.
Cher
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While it has many of the same ingredients, it is not your classic shawarma. These are the meats that are roasted then carved off. You have most likely seen them in Greek restaurants being sold as gyros meat or in eastern meditteranean areas. It is one of my favorite things in the world.
I do not have any other info for Lucinda. Hopefully someone else does.
We are having leftovers - milk braised pork, cabbage and I am making a salad from the lettuce I have been growing on my porch!
He said "shawarma" style and implied that it was Middle Eastern. When I looked it up to check the spelling, it appears shawarma is an Indian cooking technique.
When he sketched out his idea to me, he stressed that it wasn't going to be Middle Eastern, though, since he wasn't in the mood for that.
So it looks like a "fusion" type thing, you think? Mixing a style of cooking from one cuisine but ingredients from another.
Isn't it fun to harvest the lettuce you have sown yourself!? I am about to go up to my garden and put in a last round of lettuce and other short season cold weather crops. These would be
spinach
kohlrabi
kale
Chinese cabbage
turnips
All of which mature in 50-80 days.
Cher
I remember in Istanbul watching the men put their shawarma out on the spit in the morning.
The smell would begin about mid-morning and by mid-afternoon I was craving it.
Fusion is good. That's the beauty of knowing many different ways to cook. I wish I could spend a couple of days with your husband. He's got the creativity that I lack when it comes to actually designing your own food.
My lettuce was wonderful. Because I grew and picked it, I savored every bite. I will be going back to the boat soon and will miss my little garden. Yours sounds wonderful.
Your creativity sounds like it's in fine shape to me.
But what you said reminds me of a funny story.
A friend from Manhattan came out for a lazy afternoon of floating around the pool. The RG came up to the pool (it's up the mountain, as my place is built on the side of one) and asked us what we wanted for dinner. We responded that we didn't know, so he said, "Let's all go to the store and see what looks good."
Towels wrapped around our dripping bathing suits, we piled into the car and went to the local Whole Foods, a store so huge that it seems to go on forever.
My friend, whose name is Jenny, observed the RG with a different perspective than I, and she said, "Look at him--he's on a hunt! He's on a hunt for ingredients. He's putting them together in his head."
I started watching him as he stalked the supermarket aisles. Indeed, she was right. One could see the expressions on his face as he "tasted" in his head!
Modern version of hunter-gatherer. 
Cher
And that is the difference between him and me. I go with a list. I have already put my menus together.
I wish I had his ability, but I don't. He doesn't think it's anything special. It is.
But it's not bad being a recipe cook, not at all. I have a lot of fun looking at recipes on the i'net, cookbooks, etc.
Occasionally I do my own ideas, like he does, but it is uncommon. There is a real pleasure in being able to come up with something that no one else has quite come up with.
Cher
somewhat creative. I feel that I am getting a better sense, but I'm still pretty cautious.
It's got to be great to live with a real chef. I love to eat very good food.
I've got guests coming this week and they will be non-stop for about 2 weeks, so I am putting my recipes together. They are all people who love to eat, so this should be lots of fun.
Enjoy your Sunday evening, my friend.
That chicken died for you!
it's a family pack of bone-in, skin-on thighs that i didn't portion out before putting in the freezer because i'm special that way 
i pulled that out, too, that's all we'll eat next week.
You will not be sorry.
Can't wait to hear how it goes.
i'll report back when i can get around to making it
Open all the doors. Eventually a neighbor walks by - "Yo, pinto, that really smells good!"
The stove in my current place has an electric broiling element. The rest is gas.
However, the broiler has a short in it and I got a mighty shock the first time I went to use it!
No broiling for me.
I assume one could substitute fresh new potatoes if one wanted, right?
Cher
unless you cook them first.
appetizers.
Red pepper slices topped with honey goat cheese. Breaded zucchini slices with melted mozzarella and tomato sauce. Blue cheese. cabernet sauvignon.
Still mulling over the main course. May have soup that the RG made: turkey with vegetables.
Cher
I can see why constant turning would produce that nice, crisp edge. We were not able to do that (without constantly getting up from the table). I would love that! (what you described)
Cher