Dinner Last Night (panko!)

jmcquown said:

Last night I prepared dinner for myself and my brother (he had the last
chest tube yanked yesterday and was tired and uncomfortable - thank goodness
for his pain meds!). Sea scallops with couscous and steamed spinach.

I dressed up the plain (quick cooking) couscous with chopped button
mushrooms, garlic and just a touch of fresh rosemary he has growing in a pot
on his patio. I made him a small salad of romaine, diced celery and spring
onions, a nice ripe tomato and crumbed feta. He selected a bottled
vinaigrette dressing.

I usually just pan-sear the scallops in olive oil, unadulterated except for
a little pepper. But he had some panko breadcrumbs a friend had given him.
So I pressed (as opposed to dredged) the scallops onto the panko to very
lightly coat top and bottom. Proceeded as usual, olive oil, fairly high
heat to get a nice brown crust on each side, then turned down the heat to
cook them through until just opaque. Sorry folks, but I don't see what all
the fuss over panko is about.

Your brother is going to be on a speedy road to recovery with meals
like this!

Karen

On Fri, 5 Oct 2007 11:12:10 -0500, "jmcquown" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

I usually just pan-sear the scallops in olive oil, unadulterated except for
a little pepper. But he had some panko breadcrumbs a friend had given him.
So I pressed (as opposed to dredged) the scallops onto the panko to very
lightly coat top and bottom. Proceeded as usual, olive oil, fairly high
heat to get a nice brown crust on each side, then turned down the heat to
cook them through until just opaque. Sorry folks, but I don't see what all
the fuss over panko is about.

Next time you want to make oven-baked chicken fingers or fish fillets,
dredge one in regular breadcrumbs and one in panko, and then
compare... you'll really see the difference that way! Panko makes a
beautiful light crispy oven crust...

Karen said:

jmcquown said:

Last night I prepared dinner for myself and my brother
Sea scallops with couscous and steamed spinach.

I dressed up the plain (quick cooking) couscous with chopped button
mushrooms, garlic and just a touch of fresh rosemary he has growing
in a pot on his patio. I made him a small salad of romaine, diced
celery and spring onions, a nice ripe tomato and crumbed feta. He
selected a bottled vinaigrette dressing.

Your brother is going to be on a speedy road to recovery with meals
like this!

Karen

<G> Yes, he's improved quite rapidly since he got home (anyone would, I
suspect!). His boss and his boss' wife are planning to bring over homemade
meatballs in red gravy tonight. They are "Italian-American" transplants
from New Jersey. He's certainly not going to starve!

Jill

"jmcquown" <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

<G> Yes, he's improved quite rapidly since he got home (anyone would, I
suspect!). His boss and his boss' wife are planning to bring over
homemade
meatballs in red gravy tonight. They are "Italian-American" transplants
from New Jersey. He's certainly not going to starve!

Just curious ... did they call it gravy?

nancy

Nancy Young said:

"jmcquown" <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

<G> Yes, he's improved quite rapidly since he got home (anyone
would, I suspect!). His boss and his boss' wife are planning to
bring over homemade
meatballs in red gravy tonight. They are "Italian-American"
transplants from New Jersey. He's certainly not going to starve!

Just curious ... did they call it gravy?

nancy

Yep, they call it red gravy.

Jill

Karen AKA Kajikit said:

On Fri, 5 Oct 2007 11:12:10 -0500, "jmcquown" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

I usually just pan-sear the scallops in olive oil, unadulterated
except for a little pepper. But he had some panko breadcrumbs a
friend had given him. So I pressed (as opposed to dredged) the
scallops onto the panko to very lightly coat top and bottom.
Proceeded as usual, olive oil, fairly high heat to get a nice brown
crust on each side, then turned down the heat to cook them through
until just opaque. Sorry folks, but I don't see what all the fuss
over panko is about.

Next time you want to make oven-baked chicken fingers

Can't think of the last time I made chicken fingers. But then, I don't
really like chicken 😉

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

or fish fillets,

Tomorrow, cod fillets. No panko, sorry! Just baked cod with a little milk
in the pan to keep the fish moist; dried dill weed, sea salt, pepper and a
dash of lemon.

Quoted message said:

dredge one in regular breadcrumbs and one in panko, and then
compare... you'll really see the difference that way! Panko makes a
beautiful light crispy oven crust...

I suppose it depends on if you want a crust. The only time I really want a
crust is on fried chicken, and I don't fry chicken. If I want crispy fish I
want *battered* deep fried fish. And I don't deep fry, either. So...
panko? Nope.

I only dredge fish fillets in any sort of coating about 25% of the time.
Normally I just bake them as outlined above. If I do want some sort of a
crispy coating I do like Zatarain's "fish fry" coating. It's fine cornflour
with just enough spice to give it a little kick without being hot. I don't
care for "bready" things. Panko definitely isn't something I'd spend $ on
now that I've tried it.

The scallops were tasty but would have been just as good sans panko.
Overall the meal was a success!

Jill

On Oct 5, 6:01 pm, "jmcquown" <[email hidden]> wrote:
Panko definitely isn't something I'd spend $ on now that I've tried
it.

Quoted message said:

If you ever do salmon croquettes (aka patties), try it. We use it only
on the outside. Quite nice. We get ours at an Asian store, $1.25 for a
package that lasts for months.
Also an occasional pork chop or chicken cutlet. We don't have luck
baking with it; seems to turn out soggy. Like I said a package lasts
for months.

stark said:

On Oct 5, 6:01 pm, "jmcquown" <[email hidden]> wrote:
Panko definitely isn't something I'd spend $ on now that I've tried
it.

Quoted message said:

If you ever do salmon croquettes (aka patties), try it.

My salmon patties are from a recipie my mom gave me from the 1960's and they
include crushed corn chips (aka Fritos these days). They have plenty of
crunch and way more sodium than recommended. No need to add any sort of
breading, much less panko. Maybe on crab cakes? I dunno, I've managed all
these years making crab cakes without panko. Ditto veal piccata which I
simply dredge in seasoned flour. Panko? Nope.

The Japanese are good with electronics. They are good with cars. I like a
lot of their food, too. But panko is just a big "who gives a [censored], let's
sell our leftover bread crumbs to the tourists". And EXPORT it. They'll
buy anything!I'm NOT impressed.

Jill

jmcquown said:

Quoted message said:

My salmon patties are from a recipie my mom gave me from the 1960's

and they include crushed corn chips (aka Fritos these days). They
have plenty of crunch and way more sodium than recommended. No need
to add any sort of breading, much less panko. Maybe on crab cakes?
I dunno, I've managed all these years making crab cakes without
panko. Ditto veal piccata which I simply dredge in seasoned flour.
Panko? Nope.

I don't even know what Panko is!

jmcquown said:

Quoted message said:

My salmon patties are from a recipie my mom gave me from the 1960's

and they include crushed corn chips (aka Fritos these days). They
have plenty of crunch and way more sodium than recommended. No need
to add any sort of breading, much less panko. Maybe on crab cakes?
I dunno, I've managed all these years making crab cakes without
panko. Ditto veal piccata which I simply dredge in seasoned flour.
Panko? Nope.

I don't even know what Panko is!

jmcquown wrote on Sat, 6 Oct 2007 08:20:44 -0500:

j> stark wrote:
??>> On Oct 5, 6:01 pm, "jmcquown" <[email hidden]>
wrote:
??>> Panko definitely isn't something I'd spend $ on now that
??>> I've tried it.
??>>>
??>> If you ever do salmon croquettes (aka patties), try it.

j> My salmon patties are from a recipie my mom gave me from the
j> 1960's and they include crushed corn chips (aka Fritos these
j> days). They have plenty of crunch and way more sodium than
j> recommended. No need to add any sort of breading, much less
j> panko. Maybe on crab cakes? I dunno, I've managed all
j> these years making crab cakes without panko. Ditto veal
j> piccata which I simply dredge in seasoned flour. Panko?
j> Nope.

j> The Japanese are good with electronics. They are good with
j> cars. I like a lot of their food, too. But panko is just a
j> big "who gives a [censored], let's sell our leftover bread crumbs
j> to the tourists". And EXPORT it. They'll buy anything!I'm
j> NOT impressed.

Sorry to disagree! Panko is the most in bread crumbs, IMHO , and
I don't think it is all that expensive. I might mention that a
packet can kept in the freezer and there is no need to defrost.
One use where it works better than anything else that I know of
is in "oven-fried" fish and chicken. I would not incorporate it
in a mixture like in hamburgers where making your own crumbs is
as good as anything.

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

E-mail, with obvious alterations:
not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

jmcquown wrote on Sat, 6 Oct 2007 08:20:44 -0500:

j> stark wrote:
??>> On Oct 5, 6:01 pm, "jmcquown" <[email hidden]>
wrote:
??>> Panko definitely isn't something I'd spend $ on now that
??>> I've tried it.
??>>>
??>> If you ever do salmon croquettes (aka patties), try it.

j> My salmon patties are from a recipie my mom gave me from the
j> 1960's and they include crushed corn chips (aka Fritos these
j> days). They have plenty of crunch and way more sodium than
j> recommended. No need to add any sort of breading, much less
j> panko. Maybe on crab cakes? I dunno, I've managed all
j> these years making crab cakes without panko. Ditto veal
j> piccata which I simply dredge in seasoned flour. Panko?
j> Nope.

j> The Japanese are good with electronics. They are good with
j> cars. I like a lot of their food, too. But panko is just a
j> big "who gives a [censored], let's sell our leftover bread crumbs
j> to the tourists". And EXPORT it. They'll buy anything!I'm
j> NOT impressed.

Sorry to disagree! Panko is the most in bread crumbs, IMHO , and
I don't think it is all that expensive. I might mention that a
packet can kept in the freezer and there is no need to defrost.
One use where it works better than anything else that I know of
is in "oven-fried" fish and chicken. I would not incorporate it
in a mixture like in hamburgers where making your own crumbs is
as good as anything.

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

E-mail, with obvious alterations:
not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

"James Silverton" <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

Sorry to disagree! Panko is the most in bread crumbs, IMHO , and I don't
think it is all that expensive. I might mention that a packet can kept in
the freezer and there is no need to defrost. One use where it works better
than anything else that I know of is in "oven-fried" fish and chicken. I
would not incorporate it in a mixture like in hamburgers where making your
own crumbs is as good as anything.

I love panko! The texture is wonderful. Luckily it's become
easier to find over the last few years.

nancy

"James Silverton" <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

Sorry to disagree! Panko is the most in bread crumbs, IMHO , and I don't
think it is all that expensive. I might mention that a packet can kept in
the freezer and there is no need to defrost. One use where it works better
than anything else that I know of is in "oven-fried" fish and chicken. I
would not incorporate it in a mixture like in hamburgers where making your
own crumbs is as good as anything.

I love panko! The texture is wonderful. Luckily it's become
easier to find over the last few years.

nancy

"Ophelia" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

jmcquown said:

Quoted message said:

My salmon patties are from a recipie my mom gave me from the 1960's

and they include crushed corn chips (aka Fritos these days). They
have plenty of crunch and way more sodium than recommended. No need
to add any sort of breading, much less panko. Maybe on crab cakes?
I dunno, I've managed all these years making crab cakes without
panko. Ditto veal piccata which I simply dredge in seasoned flour.
Panko? Nope.

I don't even know what Panko is!

A larger, jagged edge bread crumb, specifically for coating the outside of
foods that you would fry or oven bake. The larger surface area is supposed
to give a crisper crust. It is a Japanese food item that has become popular
in the Western world in recent years. Panko crumb is not a by-product of
anything; a special wheat bread is made especially to make Panko crumb.
Janet

Janet B. said:

"Ophelia" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

jmcquown said:

> My salmon patties are from a recipie my mom gave me from the 1960's
and they include crushed corn chips (aka Fritos these days). They
have plenty of crunch and way more sodium than recommended. No need
to add any sort of breading, much less panko. Maybe on crab cakes?
I dunno, I've managed all these years making crab cakes without
panko. Ditto veal piccata which I simply dredge in seasoned flour.
Panko? Nope.

I don't even know what Panko is!

A larger, jagged edge bread crumb, specifically for coating the
outside of foods that you would fry or oven bake. The larger surface
area is supposed to give a crisper crust. It is a Japanese food item
that has become popular in the Western world in recent years. Panko
crumb is not a by-product of anything; a special wheat bread is made
especially to make Panko crumb. Janet

Many thanks Janet🙂

"Nancy Young" <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

"James Silverton" <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

Sorry to disagree! Panko is the most in bread crumbs, IMHO , and I
don't think it is all that expensive. I might mention that a packet
can kept in the freezer and there is no need to defrost. One use
where it works better than anything else that I know of is in
"oven-fried" fish and chicken. I would not incorporate it in a
mixture like in hamburgers where making your own crumbs is as good as
anything.

I love panko! The texture is wonderful. Luckily it's become
easier to find over the last few years.

nancy

I think panko's only good attribute is it's texture. I like panko crumbs
but only if I season the hell out of them. Bread crumbs (store bought) or
say crushed corn flakes have generally better flavour but panko's texture
is way better. So I find myself using panko more often tham bread crumbs.

--

The house of the burning beet-Alan

It'll be a sunny day in August, when the Moon will shine that night-
Elbonian Folklore

"Ophelia" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Janet B. said:

"Ophelia" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

jmcquown wrote:
>> My salmon patties are from a recipie my mom gave me from the 1960's
> and they include crushed corn chips (aka Fritos these days). They
> have plenty of crunch and way more sodium than recommended. No need
> to add any sort of breading, much less panko. Maybe on crab cakes?
> I dunno, I've managed all these years making crab cakes without
> panko. Ditto veal piccata which I simply dredge in seasoned flour.
> Panko? Nope.

I don't even know what Panko is!

A larger, jagged edge bread crumb, specifically for coating the
outside of foods that you would fry or oven bake. The larger surface
area is supposed to give a crisper crust. It is a Japanese food item
that has become popular in the Western world in recent years. Panko
crumb is not a by-product of anything; a special wheat bread is made
especially to make Panko crumb. Janet

Many thanks Janet🙂

You are very welcome.
Janet

"Ophelia" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Janet B. said:

"Ophelia" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

jmcquown wrote:
>> My salmon patties are from a recipie my mom gave me from the 1960's
> and they include crushed corn chips (aka Fritos these days). They
> have plenty of crunch and way more sodium than recommended. No need
> to add any sort of breading, much less panko. Maybe on crab cakes?
> I dunno, I've managed all these years making crab cakes without
> panko. Ditto veal piccata which I simply dredge in seasoned flour.
> Panko? Nope.

I don't even know what Panko is!

A larger, jagged edge bread crumb, specifically for coating the
outside of foods that you would fry or oven bake. The larger surface
area is supposed to give a crisper crust. It is a Japanese food item
that has become popular in the Western world in recent years. Panko
crumb is not a by-product of anything; a special wheat bread is made
especially to make Panko crumb. Janet

Many thanks Janet🙂

You are very welcome.
Janet