Reverse Engineering Entrees You've Enjoyed at Restaurants

[Teasing the Korean]

Does anyone else do this, and if so, have you had any success?

This past weekend, Ms. TTK and I recreated a gnocchi dish with wild mushrooms, spinach, and roasted squash.  It was in a white creamy sauce that I think was mostly mushrooms, onions, and cream.  In addition to the usual salt, pepper, onion, and garlic (mild), the main spice was sage, which I sautéed separately in butter until it was crispy, and then added to main sauté pan. The squash was partially roasted in advance, and cooked the rest of the way with everything else.  When served, the dish was topped sparingly with crumbled feta.

I got the flavors pretty close; the consistency, not so much.

Anyway, the butter and sage give this dish an autumnal quality.  It may become my signature Thanksgiving dish.  It also may work well as a side dish without the gnocchi, but I will have to give this some additional thought.

[rostasi]

One of the reasons my wife and I give for not moving away to certain towns that we've considered is the lack of food variety in these places that don't ever measure up to the variety that we have here in North Texas.

... but, since the beginning of the pandemic, we've successfully recreated so many things that we'd normally get in a favorite restaurant that it isn't as much of an issue anymore.

Edited September 4, 2024 by rostasi

[JSngry]

Ingredient availability...

[rostasi]

Yup! It's incredible how much stuff is available these days - 
and it just keeps getting easier over time.

[mjazzg]

On 9/4/2024 at 5:38 PM, Teasing the Korean said:

Does anyone else do this, and if so, have you had any success?

This past weekend, Ms. TTK and I recreated a gnocchi dish with wild mushrooms, spinach, and roasted squash.  It was in a white creamy sauce that I think was mostly mushrooms, onions, and cream.  In addition to the usual salt, pepper, onion, and garlic (mild), the main spice was sage, which I sautéed separately in butter until it was crispy, and then added to main sauté pan. The squash was partially roasted in advance, and cooked the rest of the way with everything else.  When served, the dish was topped sparingly with crumbled feta.

I got the flavors pretty close; the consistency, not so much.

Anyway, the butter and sage give this dish an autumnal quality.  It may become my signature Thanksgiving dish.  It also may work well as a side dish without the gnocchi, but I will have to give this some additional thought.

That sounds very good, I may give it a whirl one day.

Did you make the gnocchi yourselves? I did once, never again

Edited September 5, 2024 by mjazzg

[Teasing the Korean]

4 hours ago, mjazzg said:

Did you make the gnocchi yourselves? I did once, never again

No, we used a prefab skillet gnocchi for this dish, as I wanted to see how everything went overall the first time.

I've never tried to make gnocchi.  I gather from your response that it's not easy!

[mjazzg]

13 minutes ago, Teasing the Korean said:

No, we used a prefab skillet gnocchi for this dish, as I wanted to see how everything went overall the first time.

I've never tried to make gnocchi.  I gather from your response that it's not easy!

I didn't find it so, no

[Dan Gould]

I don't think I could pick gnochhi out of a lineup.

 

[rostasi]

Gnocchi making takes practice. It's very easy to add too much flour
and then they get very hard and dense ... and sometimes they immediately
fall apart in the boiling water... but if you like a challenge...

Edited September 5, 2024 by rostasi

[Teasing the Korean]

On 9/5/2024 at 6:25 PM, rostasi said:

Gnocchi making takes practice. It's very easy to add too much flour
and then they get very hard and dense ... and sometimes they immediately
fall apart in the boiling water... but if you like a challenge...

Maybe one day!