Most favorite dinner ever

[Xipe Totec]

What is your most memorable dinner?

I'm talking one that makes your mouth water, even years after the event?

For me it has to be boiled Dungeness crab, San Francisco sourdough bread, and Anchor Stream beer.

Sometimes, simple pleasures are the best.

[kayakjohnny]

1. My dad used to make the best flank steak ever. He'd spend all afternoon marinating and preparing.

And then my mom would cook Rice-a-Roni to go along with it. And then whatever else. Veggies and bread and all.

It's still the best memories of home-cook meals that I can remember.

I wish I could duplicate that today, just for the memories.

I don't think I can do it.

It was always like Christmas when they started on that meal.

Those sure were the days.

[Xipe Totec]

5. My marinade for flank steak

key limes, fresh crushed garlic, salt, and black pepper. Poke the flank steak with a fork, so that it absorbs as much of the marinade as possible.

Marinade overnight,then cook on the grill using charcoal. Toss slices of onion directly into the coals to moderate the flames. If they're still too hot, douse the flames with beer.

Cut the meat across the grain, and serve over flour tortillas with pico de gallo.

[old mark]

2. I loved Thanksgiving dinners so much that I learned to cook everything myself.

Every year I make a great turkey, filling and everything associated with it, including several kinds of pie. I'm on a diet, but there are times you just have to celebrate.

My favorite dinner is turkey, filling, fresh cranberry sauce, and a fresh green vegetable...with lots of gravy.


mark

[Xipe Totec]

6. I miss my mother's way of cooking turkey

The stuffing was made with ground beef, walnuts, prunes, raisins, and green olives.

The basting was just sour oranges. Not green or unripe oranges, but a special variety of orange called a sour orange.

[driver8]

22. That is my favorite meal, too.

Since I was a kid, this has always been my favorite -- Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and gravy.

[grace0418]

36. For years I struggled because my parents retired and moved away as soon

as I graduated from high school, so no more Thanksgiving dinners for me. My then boyfriend's (now husband's) family is Asian so they didn't really get it. They'd make a turkey (and a damn good one) but not much else. I finally started making a bunch of sides and so did everyone else. Now we have great Thanksgiving dinners. Although nothing beats the pies I used to make. My dad grew black raspberries, ground cherries, grapes and currents. In addition, my family would go blueberry picking every summer and freeze tons of berries. So at Thanksgiving I would make all kinds of berry pies (still my favorite), plus french silk pies (multiple, I have a lot of siblings) and pumpkin pie. I loved all the pie.

[bif]

3. The one I made last night.

Chicken Paprikash with knokadle(A Hungarian version of spetzle only fluffier). and a Greek salad. I make it about twice a year because it's time consuming and the cleanup is a pain in the butt.

[Xipe Totec]

7. It sounds wonderful!

I'd love to have the recipe.

[Redstone]

26. Oh, my good God. I'm salivating, just reading that.

Redstone

[applegrove]

4. I used to make a vegetable/meat lasagna garnished with lots and lots of tarragon.

[Xipe Totec]

8. Mmmm! Lasagna!

I love it!

[applegrove]

13. In this recipe you roast the veggies, you use a mixture of mozza, havarti and cheddar.... and you

sprinkly dried tarragon on each cheese layer.

[proteus_lives]

9. This great dinner in Lisbon.

Crab, soup, all the sides, pepsi in the those little glass bottles, you could smoke in the restaurant. Ahh, I still dream of that meal.

[Xipe Totec]

10. Ever seen Lisbon Story?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bOhxGBRXAU

[proteus_lives]

15. Putting that on my to-watch list.

Thanks!

[cherokeeprogressive]

11. A small restaurant in Naples...

Three of my sailor buddies and I were walking the streets in the early afternoon, looking for a place to eat. We saw the sign down a street that looked more like an alley.

When we entered, the dining room was empty. The place only had 6-8 tables, complete with the red and white checked tablecloths. Suddenly this man and woman emerged from behind a curtain with a jug of wine, and a basket of breads and sausages, and a knife with a cutting board. "Eat all you want, we'll bring more" seemed to be the man's favorite expression.

I remember pasta, stuffed pork chops, lasagna, and a host of other yummy sides and entrees. I remember the meal taking somewhere over two hours, and all the while, we were the only customers with the man and woman hovering over us. I think I almost caused an international incident when I started cutting my spaghetti noodles with my fork. The look of horror on the man's face as he took the plate was priceless. He brought a fresh plate and patiently taught me to twirl it with my fork and spoon. Hey what can I say, I was taught as a kid to cut my sketti.

Our bill was unbelievably low, compared to what the same meal would have cost here in the states. It was something like $40 American for all of us. We left twice that as a tip and I thought the man and woman were going to cry. We promised to return on our next liberty day and there were hugs all around before we left. Three days later when we went back, there was a line of Sailors out the door and down the street. I guess word got around on the aircraft carrier. We never did get back in the door.

I couldn't say it was a "dinner"... it was a Dining Experience, the likes of which I've yet to repeat.

[driver8]

23. I have been to that restaurant in Naples!!

One of my favorite dining experiences, ever...

[Arugula Latte]

24. Great story.

:thumbsup:

[yankeepants]

12. It isn't so much the dinner

meaning time of day but Mr. YPs and I are famous for our insomnia but more famous for our breakfasts. Most weekends we do not stand on ceremony where food is concerned and are known to wake at 3:30 Am and watch movies while a full on turkey dinner (Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, squash, cran the works) is in the oven. Other times it's a stew or a roast or a chicken or fish we don't care. We like it over the top and served up with a good movie by 7 AM at the latest.

Then we can get on with our day.

Stop over some time.

[MiddleFingerMom]

14. 1981 -- about 4 months after I was in what SHOULD have been a fatal motorcycle crash...

.
.
.
...dinner in a fine French restaurant in an 18th Century farmhouse
in Pennsylvania with perhaps the hottest woman I've ever been
with in my life (who picked ME up the week before -- and when I
eventually asked why, with the condition I was in at the time, she
said "Even on crutches, you walked in like you OWNED the place.").
.
Seated near a huge crackling fireplace in January, we started with
escargot. I had talked her into ordering some, too -- even though
I told her that they would come out on the biggest damn plate she
had ever seen in her life. "Why", she asked... and I told her it was
so she'd have time to finish them all before any had enough time to
crawl off the plate.
.
NOW do you understand why she was so attracted to me?
.
Breast of chicken Oscar and asparagus in lemon and butter.
.
RICH Dark chocolate mousse with fresh raspberries and whipped cream.
.
We drank a bottle of wine with dinner and talked the waiter into
selling us a bottle to go and went home and had all-night-long wild
monkey sex for the very first time.
.
.
.
I've since had better food -- but never that level of dining experience
.
.
.

[nolabear]

17. Hell I need a cigarette after that meal.

And I haven't smoked for years.

[Xipe Totec]

18. Awesome dining experience

Reminded me of the night I spent with three coeds on the campus lawn.

But there was no dinner involved that night.

[hobbit709]

16. The stuffed flounder I had in Port Aransas

It was stuffed with crabmeat and blue cheese. I ate until I was full. Then I ate until it hurt to swallow. I used the last crust of bread to sop up the last of the sauce.

[Xipe Totec]

19. I wish the Crazy Cajun Food Factory was still in business

In Seabrook on NASA Rd 1.

I had a steak stuffed with flounder, chicken fried alligator, file gumbo, red beans & rice with Andalouie sausage.

And Shiner Bock.

Their Motto:

"We gonna make you hurt youself"

I do miss Texas!

[sarge43]

20. Wasn't a dinner; it was a breakfast.

My uncle went out at the crack of dawn and caught four brook trout. Mom pan fried them with some morel mushrooms. She had made jam from wild strawberries, toasted her home made bread and served with green tea. Simple, elegant and unforgettable.

[hippywife]

21. The first time I ate at Louis Tambellini's in Pittsburgh.

We went in the bar for a few glasses of wine since it was too early for dinner. They had a really delicious bleu cheese spread with crackers for us. It was delicious.

When you walked into the dining room you were met by the aroma of garlic and seafood.

Then dinner I had veal scallopini ala marsala (this was before I knew about veal) and angel hair pasta in a lovely light and fresh pomodoro sauce.

Now I've had more expensive meals at much more expensive restaurants around the country when I used to travel for my job and entertain clients, but this was the most memorable because it was so delicious and I felt at home there. Being half Italian and learning to cook from my Italian gran, making really delicious Italian food at home myself, I cannot eat in many Italian restaurants without being disappointed. This was an entirely different experience.

This was years ago, probably 15 years. It has new owners now so I don't know what it's like anymore. It was family owned at the time. I hope it's still as good as it always was, even though I'll never be able to get back there again.


:hi:

[Redstone]

25. Probably the one I'm making tonight:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=105x9531889

Every one that Mrs R makes is more memorable than the last, but I'm going to outshine myself tonight because she's working.

Redstone

[ProfessorGAC]

27. Roast Breast Of Duck In Walnut Sauce

We went to a restaurant in the foothills of the Alps near Grenoble. The restaurant was called Le Grille.

Beautiful setting in walnut groves in east central France. Really nice walnut paneled place, too.

The breast of duck was to DIE FOR! I had never had grilled duck before. I considered asking to be transferred to the French site just to be able to take my wife there a few times a year.

It was so tender, so perfectly prepared, so elegantly presented and the sides were so terrific, it was the best meal experience i've ever had.

And, my wife and i have been to LeFrancais and Charlie Trotter in Chicago, and i've been the Hotel d'Opera in Paris. Nothing was as good as this meal.
GAC

Edited because i remembered the name of place after i hit post message.

[pokerfan]

28. Grilled lobster with steamed asparagus and potato wedges

[Crystal Clarity]

31. Bah! Never again!....I can afford real food now!

:P

[Demoiselle]

29. I love you all. And now I have to wipe the drool off my laptop. Thank you.

[Crystal Clarity]

30. I don't really remember the food

I just remember that beautiful night in Jifna, Israel. That is all. Oh wait... the hookah too ;-)

[applegrove]

32. I had a piece of pie in Italy while sitting on a bridge in venice. The pie was made of layers of

cheese, mushrooms and I think ham. W O N D E R F U L.

[Old Troop]

33. Home-made meatloaf, mashed potatoes and fresh green beans

[datasuspect]

34. when i got out of the joint

the bus stopped at mcdonalds on the way to houston. they had given us checks upon release and a bus ticket and the first thing i bought was a quarter pounder. after that i crossed to street to the liquor store to get a steel reserve and pack of squares.

[kwassa]

35. Lobster, corn on the cob, beer.

some joint in RI on the way home from the beach. Zero atmosphere, great food, low price, a bunch of drunks singing in the bar, skin nicely toasted from a day on the beach, and still sticky from the salt.

[RandomThoughts]

37. LOL, nuts, you saw that :)

LOL,

Depends what filters you use, what it means.

[Capn Sunshine]

38. I really have to second that

sitting on the benches on the Wharf, back when there were like ten crab vendors, and five or six sourdough sellers. With a girl I met in the Haight. In 1967. We ended up in Sausalito on her boat. Best. Crab. Ever.

Good second favorite meal was Charlie Browns in the Marina, Steak, Lobster, and Krug Zin.

[grace0418]

39. I've got a few. One was in Paris, our first day there.

It was a beautiful October day. The kind where the sky is incredibly blue and the light takes on that particular gold color that makes everything look surreal. We'd been walking around and stumbled into a corner shop for a snack. They had a small case displaying mini quiches and long, skinny sandwiches. We ordered one of each and some apples and a couple of drinks to go. They carefully warmed up the quiche and sandwich, wrapped them up, and sent us off with a "Bon Appetit!"

We sat down on the steps of a square just outside a beautiful old church. I unwrapped the quiche, my husband unwrapped the sandwich and it was one of those eyes rolling in the back of your head moments. It was the single most delicious quiche I had ever tasted and the sandwich was just as exquisite. A little old lady passed us and said "Bon Appetit!" with a big smile. The French were very nice to us.

[Iggo]

40. My cousin grills the best ribeye.

But I had one at Claim Jumpers the other night that came pretty damn close.

Served with baked potato and something green.

[Sweet Charming Dem]

41. Mediocre pizza at Soho House in NYC

Purely in a "woah, I will never be surrounded by so many models in my life again" sort of way.

LOL

[HEyHEY]

42. Hey, bud!

Coming back here soon at all? When were you last here? What month was that?

[WinkyDink]

43. It was a lunch. Liege, Belgium. DH and I ordered mussels in white wine. Ate 10 1/2 DOZEN!

The Chateau Eze on Bastille Day, with the best restaurant dinner I have EVER had (lamb chops, some kind of eggplant, can't recall all) while on the patio watching fireworks over Cannes.

Le Cygne, Brussels, on some national day, where lunch was 3-Star multi-veal, followed by a colorful historical re-enactment on the Grand Place, and sidewalk-stall frites-in-a-paper-cone for dinner!

Casali's near Ravenna, where you sat down and had food delivered to your table with unlimited wine.

Lobster and Chardonnay on the deck of the Fisherman's Wharf, Boothbay Harbor, ME.

I could go on!!

[kimmerspixelated]

44. My Mom used to make a fantastic spaghetti with Blueberry muffins.

[Lyric]

45. Oh boy. I don't have just one.

Smoked pork shoulder: Mrleftyclimber made it, and dear god...I could have eaten half the pan myself, it was so good. And he shared some of the burned ends with me...*drool* Leftyclimber made a homemade coleslaw with raisins and poppy seeds to go with it, and sent us home with leftovers.

My homemade cabbage rolls: I cook them in spicy tomato juice with a few tablespoons of red wine, and stuff them with a mixture of pork, beef, rice, sauerkraut, sautéed minced red bell peppers, garlic, and onions, and assorted spices. My secret is that after I parboil the cabbage (just enough to get it soft so I can peel the leaves off whole) I fry them in bacon fat for a few minutes before wrapping them around the stuffing. This is served with cheese-and-potato pierogies, fresh bread, and a salad. Of course it's loaded with fat, so I only make them about once a year.

Our homemade spicy southern fried chicken. We make it with buttermilk, seasoned flour, and my own mix of spices, and it's to DIE for. We also fry it in melted pork lard, which gives it a much better flavor and crispier skin than vegetable oil or shortening. Again--it's very unhealthy, so we don't make it more than once a year or so, but we always serve it with mashed potatoes and sweet corn.

Lastly--our homemade meatloaf. I NEVER use ketchup on a meat loaf. I make my own thick, seasoned tomato sauce with rich beef stock, and I mix it into the meat loaf and pour the rest on top. It's incredibly good, and the meatloaf sandwiches the next day are even better.