What's for Dinner #169 [old]

[LindaWhit]

Yo-yo weather. That's what we're getting in New England. We've had temps down to 32°F last week, but yesterday's temp hit 75°F! It's rather whackadoodle. :-)

But today's weather dawned bright and sunny, with temps to be in the lower 60s. Good football weather. So what's cooking in your kitchen?

[roxlet]

Let's take the conversation here since we're over 300 posts!

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/875437

[mariacarmen]

damn you woman, i was JUST about to do that!!

[roxlet]

Same title?

[mariacarmen]

no, you're right, would not have been half as clever.

[roxlet]

:)

[mariacarmen]

extra-crispy mamachef chicken thighs will be WFD, and baked taters with lotsa butter, and a dollop of mexican crema. i think roxlet/lingua's slaw if making an appearance too. best go get to it. the boy will be at my heels soon, as all we've had to eat today were a couple of tacos and some banana chips. this with a hangover.

[mariacarmen]

aaaaargh!!!! dammit all to hell! just realized my chicken thighs are b/s!!!! no extra crispy skin for us!!!! wah.....

[LindaWhit]

Oh my. No lamb. No crispy skin.

Might I suggest a glass of wine?

[mariacarmen]

i may take you up on that in the form of "le nightcap". in a while.

[gingershelley]

a glass of wine will certainly help asuage the pangs! Now what's for dinner?

[Berheenia]

Took hubby out for his bday celebration last night. We went to a elegant old hotel bar that was recently renovated and was it packed but I persuaded the hostess that the birthday boy was so looking forward to 'The Martini Service" as this is his traditional birthday treat and she was able to get us a table. After polishing off the six enormous olives and two martini glasses each of lovely vodka we toddled on to a very nice dinner. As true home cooks we were most impressed with the bread basket and it's selection of bread, rolls and crackers and doggy bagged it home.
Tonight going to make a roast pork with some oven roasted fennel and potatoes and some chard. Sugar free Klondike bars for afters- not a bad little treat. Going to try to find some of that Blue Bunnie Ice cream that Linda is always talking about.
Patriots are playing well in jolly old England. We are the New England Patriots after all. If all goes well with Sandy we will be eating leftovers tomorrow that are properly reheated not cold.

[LindaWhit]

I had heard an interview with a local sportscaster with some Londoners asking them if they knew who Tom Brady was (no). The sportscaster said "he's the husband of Gisele - do you know Gisele?" The immediate response was "Of COURSE we do!"

Then the sportscaster asked "Which team do you like better?" And one guy said "the Patriots!" When asked why, he responded "Well, they've got England in their name!" ;-)

[Harters]

I confess to having to Google to find out who Tom Brady AND Gisele are. I'm now not really much wiser although I gather he plays that sport you Americans call "football" and the rest of the world calls "American football" as the rest of the world already has a different game called "football" ;-)

By the by, there are periodic attempts to popularise American football here - the nephew briefly played it when he was about 15 - then it fades away again. I suspect most Brits who are initially attracted soon find their way to one of the two versions of rugby that we play here.

[Berheenia]

Last summer when we were on vacation there was European football at Fenway Park -home of the American League Red Sox baseball team - with Liverpool and an Italian Team. We would have been in the stands with a fenway frank in one hand and a paper cup of guiness in the other if we had been in town. Food and drink feature highly in American Football culture.

[LindaWhit]

Yup. The owners of the Boston Red Sox also are part owners of the Liverpool football/soccer team. IIRC, that game was well received here as well.

[LindaWhit]

Well, the 84,000 people in Wembley Stadium mostly stayed for the blowout game, Harters (the Patriots won). And while I know some of them were Americans, the Brits who were there seemed to like the American football game well enough!

As for Gisele - we can't avoid here here in New England since she married our quarterback. But she's rather famous around the world. Fashion modeling must not be your thing. :-)

But yes - I figure American football will never really catch on since you have rugby.

[GretchenS]

Roast chicken stuffed with tarragon and lemon, on a bed of carrots and leeks from my farm stand, with cranberry tarragon rice. Hoping that the lingering smells of roasting chicken and later, simmering chicken carcass for soup, are comforting as the winds pick up tonight.

Stay safe in the storm everyone!

[mariacarmen]

mmmmm i can smell it from this Coast! you be safe, GS!

[alliegator]

Be safe and take care everyone in the path of the hurricane. I'll keep my fingers crossed for ya!
With my uncrossed fingers, I'm going to try something different tonight. My friend is making tom yum goong, and I was thinking pad grapow. But my friend is a huge egg roll fan. So, I'm going to make the grapow and fill eggrolls with it. I think it should turn out fine... you never know until you try :)

[LindaWhit]

So, we've got a big-ass storm heading up the coast of the Northeast. This makes the 3rd hurricane named after a family member that I'll have been in. Hurricane David (brother) in NJ in 1979, Hurricane Bob (father) while on the Cape on vacation in 1991, and now Hurricane Sandy (cousin).

Good chance of a lot of wind and rain. And potential outages. So what am I doing today?

Cooking. Chicken stock, roasted tomatoes, sweet and Andouille sausage, carrots and kale, along with various herbs and spices, will be combined into a soup for work lunches. (Gotta get rid of the last of the CSA kale!) Hope to get that frozen solid in the freezer in the garage.

Otherwise, it's mac & ham & cheese. I only use extra-sharp cheddar cheese, sticking with tradition (although I have tried other cheeses in the past), but I do add a couple of Tbsp. of Lipton Savory Herb & Garlic dry soup mix to the panko crumbs for topping. Maple ham will be chopped up and added to the elbow noodles before pouring the cheese sauce over top and panko crumbs for baking. Another small salad alongside. Will also make a few small mini-loaf pans for freezing for Mom. She can just defrost one, top it with Panko crumbs, and bake for an easy dinner.

Fingers crossed for anyone in Sandy's path. Stay safe!

[Chocolatechipkt]

Yum! I'm coming to your house! :b

Hope you stay safe, too.

[gingershelley]

Yes, - what LW said; please be safe and snug all you East Coast CH'ers..... beware the FrankenSandy!

[mariacarmen]

Ditto!

[roxlet]

I think we have to all plan meals to be cooked on the stove top as opposed to the oven! We're doing our roasting today! Make sure you close binds and curtains in case there is flying debris that might break a window!

[Berheenia]

I just talked to my son in Brooklyn and he said they are closing the subways tonight and all day tomorrow. I had no idea that the New York city area was in danger. Things changed since 9 am when I looked at the news on TV. Fingers crossed for you.

[LindaWhit]

The storm is slated to make landfall in south-mid New Jersey, Berheenia. So Manhattan will definitely get slammed.

[LindaWhit]

I have an electric stove/oven, so if power goes out? I'm eating PB&J. :-/

[mariacarmen]

didja stock up? fingers crossed it won't happen!

[LindaWhit]

No. I figure I can eat PB&J, cold mac & ham and cheese, and veggies and dip. I don't believe in the French Toast Alert System, as I won't be able to cook anyway!

[mariacarmen]

haha i saw something about French toast today on FB....

[buttertart]

My stove is gas, but isn't the ignition electric? I suppose i could cook if I lit the stove with a match??? Me kinda scared :(
Inspired by storm anxiety that needed assuaging, decided to cook the piece of shoulder of venison the nice people we buy it from (Burr Oaks in Iowa, really lovely stuff) sent as a lagniappe, am braising it with the usual suspects mirepoix, juniper berries, bay, thyme...in broth with a couple of TB of Corti Bros wine vinegar (a prized souvenir from our superduper CA vacation this summer). No wine open, so no wine in it. Himself just said it smells delicious. We eat late around these parts.
With: celery root in lemon, olive oil, and beaucoup mustard, to be joined by lemon filets and capers a la April B, and red cabbage from last Saturday's family party goose, rolls or some manner of spud.
Braker's crystal almond poundcake for afters if we're in the mood.
Best to all in the path of this nasty mess Mother Nature is visiting upon us...and all friends elsewhere.

[LindaWhit]

Yes, a match or a gas grill clicker-lighter will light the burners.

[gingershelley]

We had a huge windstorm here in SEA about 4 years ago, and my power was out for 5 days. Saving grace was being able to light the gas stove top with a match and cook, as well as run my cute little gas fireplace in the Pussywillow room. Managed to stay cozy with those two and lot's of candles.

It sounds good - stay safe BT!

[buttertart]

So far so good, just noisy.
Thanks for your concern! Battery-operated lanterns and radio at hand.

[Harters]

Boeuf Bourguignon. One of herself's all-time classic dishes.

With spuds of some sort. Cauliflower & runner beans.

(For WFD contributors who follow "Harters on tour", our Madrid reviews will be up on the Spain board in a few hours)

[mariacarmen]

hope you had a wonderful time, Mr. H! imma go check on your Espana posts soon....

[mariacarmen]

nice reports over there, Harters.

[LindaWhit]

Loved reading it all! Lucky you.

[mariacarmen]

pot roast and turnip puree, finally. i love the horseradishy, almost perfume-y taste of the turnips. pot roast was tender and gelatinous and mmmmm. i could not discern the hoisin i used instead of tomato paste, except for a vaguely extra sweetness in the sauce.

tomorrow, i wanted to make lamb. i planned to make lamb. i went to buy lamb: stupidmarket had these teensy little legs of lamb (cuts) for $20+ (for a piece maybe 1.5 lbs?). i don't remember lamb being that pricey...the size i really wanted was $40+. since i already have chicken thighs defrosted in the fridge, i forwent lamb. for now.

[LindaWhit]

I hate when I have a craving for something and price stops me from making it. But I'm glad your pot roast worked out!

[mariacarmen]

i know!
thanks LW.

[roxlet]

I think lamb is very expensive these days. My husband usually buys it at Costco, but the other day when I had to buy the lamb shank at my local supermarket for my guest to make her Eid meal, it was almost $11 for one lamb shank. So much for the more inexpensive cuts of meat!

[mariacarmen]

yeah no kidding. my sister goes to Costco every week practically (to feed herself, her girlfriend, and one sick little old Oldster!!) I'll have her check prices for me next time. thanks for the info.

[JungMann]

$4.99/lb for the leg and $12.99 for loin chops at my Costco. My local butcher sells the latter for $18.99/lb so you can bet I make the trek to Costco fairly regularly.

[mariacarmen]

These were $8.00 a pound for the leg! ok, off to Costco we go.

[gingershelley]

Pot roast and turnips sounds divine, MC. I LOVE turnips too (and rutabagas, parsnips, etc!).

Such a bummer on the lamb. I am with you - it is SO overpriced usually these days. I love it when I find it in the 'must sell' discount bin, otherwise, it doesn't make it on the table too often anymore either due to price!

[tiffeecanoe]

Saturday - my no cook day! I cook eighteen hundred meals during the week, Saturday is my day off. Well, I did make a lovely avocado, bacon, cheese and tomato benedict for breakfast this morning! We went out for pizza tonight to a place that we'd been meaning to try and I can't believe we've been living here for 9 months and just tried it for the first time. They have wood fired pizzas - YUM! I ordered a pizza called the Bella Bella - with "Rosso sauce, mozzarella, fennel sausage, mushrooms, roasted pine nuts and basil pesto drizzle" . Delicious.

[gingershelley]

cooking that many meals, Tiffee, certainly SHOULD earn you a day off! What kind of a place do you cook in?

The pizza sounds great..... and I just may head into my kitchen and reprise your benedict here in a few minutes:)

[tiffeecanoe]

just in a home kitchen these days ;) I cook 2-3 meals a day for husband and I and then baby versions of those meals per day! While I love having husband home for lunch, I always feel so obligated to cook something to keep him from going out to eat! Ha.

And I hope you did the Benedict - they were pretty darn tasty!

[gingershelley]

Tiffee, well cooking for a family full time is a pretty constant project for sure, and so I am sure it does feel like 1,800 meals a week sometimes - and nice you can have your husband home for lunch!

[tiffeecanoe]

Couldn't agree more Gingershelley! Especially seeing he's gone from 6am-11am and then again from about 1pm-9/10pm. Only 'til May though - which can't come soon enough. He'll have finished with his degree. Thank goodness!

[weezieduzzit]

Its a creative leftovers night. A diced onion was sauteed with two diced zucchini and several smashed cloves of garlic. A small chunk of cream cheese was stirred through with a splash of green enchilada sauce. Leftover roasted chicken from last night was chopped and added and the whole thing was scooped into red bell pepper halves. They're baking away but before they finish I'll sprinkle the tops with queso fresco and put them back in until that gets golden on top. A super simple "salsa" of diced campari tomatoes, an avocado, cilantro and a generous squeeze or three of lime juice to go with.

[roxlet]

My husband lit the BBQ today for a pre-apocalypse BBQ. For us, he did a side of salmon (which wer're having tonight), a chicken, and some sausage. A bunch of stuff was brought over by some neighbors. With our dinner tonight, we're having his "everything bagel potatoes," and a salad.

[linguafood]

"Everything bagel potatoes"? Do tell.

[roxlet]

It's his name for small red potatoes cut up and sauteed with the herbs and spices that season an everything bagel. Voila! Everything bagel potatoes.

[gingershelley]

I like the expression pre-apocalypse - beats 'Frankenstorm" for sure! Everything bagel potatoes are a great idea too!

[linguafood]

Well, the porkapalooza is shakin' out to be one tasty event! The house smells of pork and the marinade, the slaw has been dressed earlier today, and now we're just waiting for our friends to arrive with

- mac n cheese
- brussels sprouts
- veggie TBD
- veggie TBD
- key lime pie
- flourless chocolate cake

My man will make aviations or gimlets for those that wants it, and we shall have a good time.

Sandy be damned. I'll believe it when I see it '-P

[roxlet]

What slaw recipe did you use?

[linguafood]

Yours, of course :-)

I really think the onion makes all the diff!!

[roxlet]

And more vinegar that usual makes it tangy, which goes with a rich pork dinner!

[mariacarmen]

what's the slaw deets, por favor?

[boyzoma]

I'm with MC - OK - slaw is on my list this week. If you have an awesome dressing, please, please share SOON. It's on my menu for Thursday.

[linguafood]

It's pretty straightforward, actually. 3 parts mayo (Duke's, of course '-)) to 1 part vinegar (I used apple cider this time, but white wine is fine for sure), s& lotsa ground pepper to taste. Adding a very thinly sliced red onion (think mandoline) takes it over the top, I think. Best if it sits over night or has at least 4-5 hours to mellow.

[roxlet]

Thinly sliced onion and then chopped a bit. You want the onion to be present, but you don't want a mouthful. I slice the cabbage on the thinnest setting of the food processor, and then do the onion on the same. But then I take the onion out and chop it a little. I do prefer the white vinegar to the cider for this, and I usually give it an extra splash of vinegar. It's best to add a tablespoon or so of sugar to the initial mixture to mellow a bit of the sharpness of the vinegar, but you don't want to make it sweet.

[mariacarmen]

sounds great, thanks ladies! i have everything on hand, i think it'll go well with dinner! tho i won't be able to let it sit that long, as we'll be having dinner in a couple hours, prolly... i'd best get in the kitchen. sigh.... bye-bye, couch.... i miss you already...

[boyzoma]

Thanks lingua and rox. I'm always looking for something new. We don't have Dukes, but Best Foods will have to do. The "thinly" sliced onion is sounding like a must and a definitely a great flavor profile. Can't wait to try it. And I agree that the overnight will build the profile. Thank you both!

[mariacarmen]

me either, but i do have kewpie, which is a very good mayo.

[mariacarmen]

jeez louise! reading comprehension much?? first, i did 1 part mayo to one part vinegar. realized after the fact my mistake, dumped out a bunch of the extra juice. then, after it had sat for about 20 minutes, i tasted it again and decided it needed a little more salt. did i remember that the last time i'd used the salt, like 2 minutes before, for the chicken marinade, i'd used the spout, and left it on the spout?? nooooo. took a heaping spoonful of the salt-soaked cabbage/onion mixture out and rinsed it, then put it back in. tasted.... hmmm, i think it'll be ok.

[mariacarmen]

and i now just realized, after re-reading roxlet's post above, that i added no sugar to this at all. sheesh.

[linguafood]

that should be ok, i never add sugar and it tastes great.

[roxlet]

Since the slaw is served cold, it's best to over salt a bit when you make it. And linguafood-- a little sugar does take the edge off the tartness, imo, and makes the taste rounder.

[ChristinaMason]

Aviations AND gimlets? Lady, I would have made the trip for those + pork!

[Chocolatechipkt]

I'm using up more in the fridge/freezer, so tonight it's chicken with caramelized onion mustard and apricot preserves, homemade buttermilk biscuits, and sugar snap peas.

[LindaWhit]

Last night's dinner at Dali with friends was amazing, as usual! I got in some roast duck in berry sauce, as one of the other diners enjoys duck as much as I do. Yum.

Today was spent errand-running after a bit of a slow start from the sangria and Licor 43 drunk last night. ;-) Bought some new dishes for myself, as the ones I have from Pier 1 Imports are probably 20 years old and have seen better days (chips along some of the edges). I'll keep the mugs for extras, but will Goodwill the remaining decent plates, bowls, and salad plates. A bit of food shopping as well (avoided the local Market Basket, as it would be crazy there!), so I'm well provisioned for the impending storm, provided we don't lose power!

Tonight's dinner will be grilled garlic & cheese sirloin tips, baked potato with sour cream and minced chives, and a salad of Boston lettuce, radishes, and shaved carrots drizzled with a lemon-champagne vinaigrette.

I have ice cream for dessert, but I suspect it won't be needed. Just an early bedtime. :-)

[gingershelley]

I haven't posted for a couple of days, as no exciting cooking going on - out to dinner Thursday for fish n chips at a new (very good!) spot nearby. They do batter dipped, which is my favorite, and fries were big old-school steak fries... yum! Tarter a bit too sweet-pickly for me - I am a dill pickle person myself, but, all good. Just squeeze in more lemon:)

Last night was freezer-cleaning mode, and doctored up some leftover chicken pot pie filling with extra 'sauce (chix stock, a dab of cream, fresh thyme a little thickener), white wine, chopped artichoke hearts and a handfull of tiny peas from the freezer. Put in a deep pie dish, and topped with wedges of cream biscuits with thyme and cheddar added. VERY good! I kind of jumped the gun on what may be next months 'dish'.....

Tonight is going to be grilling in the rain! Steaks with blue cheese, and skewers of marinated mushrooms. A big salad with bay shrimp, avocado, cukes, radish and more. Probably TJ's sweet potato fries for a starch.

Salted caramel ice cream (Jeni's recipe), with sauteed apples over top for dessert. YUM!

[Berheenia]

Hearing the news about the storm named Frankenstorm cracked me up but it will have a definite effect on WFD Sunday and Monday. Will Linda be making frankenchicken? Can't wait to hear everyone's food plans. Of course I hope it blows out to sea and there is no damage to cities, towns and the countryside- fingers crossed.
We are celebrating hubby's bday tonight at a steak house and ending our dismal attempt to lose weight using yet another fad diet. Yesterday I hit Haymarket, Boston's historic open air market, for a load of fresh and cheap veggies. Not a farmers market but a terrific value especially if you buy in bulk. Everything is 2 for or 5 for X dollars but you need to buy the amount specified to get the price. So we are looking at roast cauliflower and a cabbage dish in the near future. And lots of zucchini.

[LindaWhit]

No Frankenchicken for me, Berheenia. Although that would have been a good idea for tomorrow night! (And it now sounds like Monday will be the rainy/windy day in the Boston area, although the storm track seems to be headed for the southern Jersey coastline.)

[PHREDDY]

BH..I heard that term last night on the NBC affilate and got a kick out of it, so since we are housebound today, I have a pot of "Frankensoup" on the stove...found two quarts of beefstock in the freezer from the beginning of the summer; to that I added some green onions, leftover roasted chicken, yellow onion ,3 or four cloves of garlic, a bay leaf, carrots, some cauilflower and broccoli (my daughter left in the fridge from her girls night on Friday). I will add some garbanzos and red beans (from a can) at the end...
I have been in the yard all morning securing the furnitiure, etc , the wind is really starting to kick up...there is definitely something to be said to all of you left coast posters , for your generally mild climate....

[roxlet]

So today is the Muslim feast of Eid al-adha, which celebrates Abraham NOT killing Issac and killing a lamb instead. One of my guests wanted to make a dinner that is made in Egypt -- Fata. It was certainly different than anything I've ever had, and I never had it when I lived in Cairo. Apparently, this is eaten as breakfast. (I remember waking up that morning in Cairo to the piteous sounds of animals being slaughtered. You chip in with your relatives and buy an animal that is slaughtered. One third goes to the poor, one third goes to your larger family, and one third goes to your immediate family.) Anyway, here's what she made. First, she boiled some water and threw in a couple of chopped onions ans well as the meat of a lamb shank. To that, she added several cardomom seeds, bay leaf, and some mastic. We searched all over for the proper kind of bread, which is like a thin pita that is broken off into small pieces and dried in the oven after first being tossed with some butter. Plain rice is also cooked. In a frying pan, copious amounts of garlic is friend in oil, and when the garlic is browned, white vinegar is added to the pan. The dried bread is put on the bottom of a large serving dish, and the rice is spooned over it. The lamb and the garlic sauce go over that. The dish is served by taking spoonfuls of the rice/pita/meat mixture and then pouring some of the broth from making the lamb over that. Salt and pepper are added in copious amounts along the way. In the Egyptian way, the meal was very starchy and somewhat bland, but tasty. A real home cooked Egyptian meal here in Westchester!

[JungMann]

That sounds like a splendid way to say Eid mubarak! The fatteh you had is the typically carby Egyptian version of a dish that is popular throughout the Middle East. I've never had the Atkins-offending fatteh, but the Levantine version is on my menu this weekend as a prelude to using up a rotisserie chicken for enchiladas on DOTM.

The base of fatteh will always be toasted bread ("fatteh" is roughly bits or crumbs in Arabic); I'm using pita chips, your guest was likely looking for markook. This forms the base of a casserole topped with shredded meat, yogurt garlic sauce, tahini, chickpeas, toasted pine nuts and a generous drizzle of brown butter and chicken stock. Vegetarian versions will sub fried eggplant for the meat and is somehow more decadent (and the type of fatteh I normally eat). The trick is to savor all the flavors hurriedly before the bread goes soggy. While this is the kind of rib-sticking comfort food that should make Middle Eastern food everyone's favorite, I have yet to see fatteh on a menu in NYC outside an Egyptian restaurant. Your guests certainly gave you a rare treat!

[roxlet]

Your Fatteh sounds very different from their fata (that's how they spelled it for me). Yours sounds tastier and less bland than our version, which of course, reminded me of the koshery we would eat when we lived in Egypt, and which my son hated, but at least had the fried onions and the hot sauce to give it some life. Good thing my son was out last night; I don't think he would have much cared for this meal. The meat was not shredded, it was in chunks (despite this, she insisted that a knife and a spoon were the proper implements to eat with!), and there was no yogurt garlic sauce, tahini, chickpeas, pine nuts, brown butter or chicken stock. And ours had literally about a 1/4 cup of chopped garlic sauteed in oil (she made a point to not use the olive oil), and then finished with white vinegar. And tossed over the top before serving. In addition to celebrating Eid, we also prepared for Halloween by keeping the vampires away.

[buttertart]

I think it sounds very interesting and tasty -- thrilling to have someone from so different a culture share their home cooking with you.

[roxlet]

Yes, my husband was very dubious, but he wound up liking it. Actually, it was so bland, there was nothing not to like!!

[gingershelley]

So interesting Rox - I would like to try this dish - agree JM's with yogurt sauce, etc. might be zippier and less garlic-heavy....

Need to try this and say 'Happy Eid' to someone!

[mariacarmen]

it doesn't sound bland at all - it sounds fabulous! wow, what a great cultural/culinary exchange you've got going on!

[buttertart]

What mc said. :)

[Berheenia]

Thanks for sharing this. My son's in-laws are all saying Happy Eid on their FB pages and I was totally in the dark about this holiday (the in-laws are Californians but Afghan expats too)
Sounds like a good one if you know the right butcher!

[Dirtywextraolives]

Lucky you, I bet that meal would have brought back some memories for some dear people in my life.... I will have to ask my cousins about it.... Thanks for sharing that!

[Chocolatechipkt]

I'm eating out of the freezer too, in advance of the coming storm. Tonight was lasagna ... not sure what tomorrow holds!

[Dirtywextraolives]

After a rather trying week, I am looking forward to a little relaxation, and some cooking. Been marinating some boneless, skinless chicken thighs since this afternoon in some mirin, ponzu, soy, fresh smashed ginger, a whole bunch of scallions and a healthy dollop of goochujang paste. Will broil those, and make some Japanese steamed rice, that I should be rinsing right now. And stir fry some asparagus & shiitakes to go with. Ice cream sandwiches for dessert.

[Cherylptw]

So, haven't been online all week so here's a summary of the weeks eats:

Monday, Chicken & dumplings or what some would say chicken & pastry; chicken simmered in the pot then picked of bones & skin...broth de-fattted then simmered with mirepoix, strips of pastry added to simmering liquid and chicken returned to the pot to warm. Served this with a side of peas & baby carrots and brown & serve dinner rolls.

Tuesday I cooked some chuck steaks rubbed in cajun seasoning, pan seared then finished in the oven. Served those with rice pilaf and oven roasted broccoli/caulifower mix. Wednesday, we had leftovers of Tuesday.

Last night, we had fried rockfish, pan fried potatoes & onions, mixed greens (turnips, mustards, hanover) cooked with some bacon, leftover peas & carrots and banana pudding with real custard & meringue.

Tonight, beef & sausage lasagna. I've got tons of bibb lettuce in the garden that didn't grow when I planted it in the spring crop up when I planted my fall garden so a salad is in order and some cheesy garlic breadstix.

[Uncle Bob]

Wish I were your neighbor!! Yum!

[Dirtywextraolives]

Yes, I agree w Uncle Bon, sounds all very homey and tasty!

[boyzoma]

Tonight is enchiladas, spanish rice and refried beans. I posted in the dinner of the month post. Was going to make this last night, but DH wanted to use our "groupon" coupon and go to the movies. They recently opened a Cinematopia here where you can sit in lounge chairs, have drinks and dinner. Went to see Alex Cross. Very disappointed. And their food was only meh!

[JungMann]

I recently decided to dive into the unknown recesses of my cupboards and freezer and was surprised by the bounty of doodads I had lying about, unbeknownst to me. After swearing up and down that my roommates were wrong, *I* couldn't possibly be the one who is hogging all the storage space in the kitchen, it's come time for me to clean through my wares. So on tonight's menu: Broiled milkfish (frozen 4 months) with chili vinegar (aging 2 years), pasta tossed with a garlic miso (who even knows) butter sauce, and a 1-month old assortment of pickled bittermelon, kimchi and takuan to round out the plate. I'd open a new box of Girl Scout cookies for dessert, but I fear I ought to tuck into the heart-shaped Reese's peanut butter cup Valentines first.

[Floridagirl]

Fabulous freezer dinner

[Dirtywextraolives]

Riotous! Can you please elaborate on the garlic miso?? I have a tub of "premium" white miso in my fridge, and not really knowing how long it keeps, I would like to use it up sooner rather than later....is it something you concoct (crossing fingers) or something you bought? TIA!

[JungMann]

It lasts longer than you think. I can't be sure, but I would not be surprised if the miso in my fridge came with me from my last apartment. The garlic miso butter sauce was merely a clove of garlic browned in teaspoon of butter with an equivalent amount of miso, a splash of of soy sauce and a splash of oyster sauce. I tossed my spaghetti in that and finished with scallions. Maggi would have been better than the soy and oyster sauces, but eh, I'm using what I've got on hand.

[Dirtywextraolives]

Cool, good to know. I must try that garlic miso trick soon, thanks!

[Floridagirl]

I'm doing my annual eat out of the freezer before holidays. I had a pork butt so I made a pork stew adapted from Frugal Gourmet that now I call disappearing pork because everybody goes crazy over it. That was 2 days ago and today I have a black bean soup simmering with the leftover pork, So far, smells great. The only reason there was leftover pork is because I cooked an 8 lb pork butt for 4 people. Also some home made French bread, in the rising process.In between we had steamed local clams and the first stone crabs,

[JungMann]

I think we're on the same page. My freezer purge is only making room for cookie dough, several ducks and a crowd of lamb for our Christmas feast.

[Dirtywextraolives]

Wow, to be in NYC at Christmas time is so special.... And it sounds like to be invited to your table then too would be an even better treat!! Can't wait to hear all about it, as cookies, duck & lamb are all favorites of mine....

[JungMann]

We traditionally have lamb kibbeh at our Christmas parties, but duck is new. Last year I rubbed down several duck pieces with vindaloo paste and roasted them, reserving the crispy skin and shredding the spice permeated flesh. The shredded duck got tossed with date chutney and wrapped in a 1-inch strip of scallion pancake topped with a piece of crispy skin and a toothpick as an hors d'oeuvre. Went like hotcakes and is likely to be a repeat this year.

[LindaWhit]

Oh wow - those duck scallion pancake hors d'oeuvres sound wonderful!

[gingershelley]

That does sound great, JM - I wonder if some of my stash of duck confit would be good served like that.... would just need to spice up the meat after sautéeing...

[JungMann]

I don't know if you can get the flavor to fully penetrate the meat if the duck is already confited, but I'd love to be proved wrong.

[Dirtywextraolives]

Sounds amazing! In fact I am making some pork vindaloo right now....Finally! I may have to steal that duck idea this holiday season....

[Dirtywextraolives]

Yum, pork roast and black bean soup, sounds heavenly! Not to even mention your stone crabs....

[GretchenS]

Floridagirl, can you give us the disappearing pork recipe please?

[weezieduzzit]

I made the man go with me to the taco shop at 10 last night to take care of my mad craving for a chili relleno burrito so tonight will be a nice home cooked meal. :)

Its looking like doro wat, a favorite of both of ours.

[Dirtywextraolives]

Oh, weezie, I sooooo know that feeling! And craving! Love chile rellenos + burrito is delish! I get mad cravings for stuff like that at least once a month....luckily Mexican is everywhere out here....

[weezieduzzit]

What I love about a late night/ middle of the night/ wee hours of the morning taco shop run is that for $4 you get food that is EXACTLY and consistently what you need it to be to hit that craving dead on, no further than a half mile in any direction. :)

I changed my mind on tonight... just a za'atar roasted chicken. I'm still busy working, no time for doro wat today. Soon..... very soon.....

[linguafood]

Let's see -- tomorrow is another pork-a-palooza @casa lingua, this time Cuban style: lechón asado, courtesy of a bushwickgirl recipe.

A massive pork butt (11.5 lbs.) will be scored all over, especially under the fat, and massaged with a marinade of OJ, lemon juice, lime juice, 2 heads of garlic, toasted cumin seeds, black peppercorns, 1 finely minced onion and olive oil. It'll sit in the fridge till around noon tomorrow, when I'll put it into the oven to slowly roast all day. Sides are a simple slaw and a veggie TBD, our guests are bringing mac n cheese, "something tart", and hopefully a key lime π.

Since it'll likely be a massive pig-out, tonight is simple: trout filets seared on the skin with lemon-butter, creamy cuke salad & sautéed spinach on the side.

[LindaWhit]

Oh, the key lime π would be a very nice completion to your porkapalooza - enjoy!

[mariacarmen]

i would like to be at table both nights, please.

[Dirtywextraolives]

Can I be your date?! That is if the BF doesn't mind....? ;-))

[mariacarmen]

you may! the BF likes to stay home!

[gingershelley]

Me too (!) - my pants are coming to join yours again, MC - crashing the table at casa Lingua!

[mariacarmen]

my pants ex-patted themselves eons ago. we'll show up at lingua's in flouncy skirts instead!

[linguafood]

Hey, clothes are optional @casa lingua '-)

[mariacarmen]

believe me, you don't want your guests to lose their appetites.

[gingershelley]

You sassy woman you:)

[gingershelley]

Sounds good - more room for the waist expanding food!

[LindaWhit]

Tonight? It's Sangria and Mango Martini Friday! That can only mean one thing - I'm going OUT to dinner with friends. :-)

[ChristinaMason]

I'm participating in a wedding this evening, which has meant "scheduled activities" most nights of the week and few dinners at home. I did manage to make a veggie lasagna (which came out a little soupy with its no-bake noodles) on Wednesday before the bechelorette party. Not entirely sure what's on the wedding menu tonight, but it's bound to be a wonderful party. I do know that the house cocktail will be dark 'n stormies. Tomorrow's breakfast will likely be coffee...and only coffee....with a side of ibuprofen.

[linguafood]

Have some gatorade, too, and don't forget to drink LOTS of water while partaking. It'll make tomorrow a better day.

[mariacarmen]

now cooking in the crockpot.... a 2.5 beef chuck blade something blah blah (touted as good for braising and/or pot roast). it's been in there since 9:00 p.m. carrots and celery are the base, browned the salted, peppered and floured roast, then added a boatload of butter sauteed garlic, brown button mushrooms, and onions, added a giant heaping tblsp. of hoisin instead of the recommended tomato paste (for fun), a little flour, mo buttah, beef stock (Better Than Bouillon), a bay leaf, a couple dashes of worcestershire, s&p, and also a couple squirts of Maggi for extra umami. The BF is in charge of turning it off in an hour, as i'm going to bed. it smells mighty good all up in here.

On the side i boiled peeled turnips and whole garlic, mashed them up with homemade chicken stock, turnip water, milk, s&p, and lotsa buttah.

I'M not even going to be home for dinner tomorrow night, dammit. the BF says he will wait to partake of this meal until Sat., but i'm skeptical.....

[LindaWhit]

Can't wait to hear how it turned out, mc!

[Dirtywextraolives]

Took out some frozen pulled pork and made enchiladas with it tonight. Mixed the meat with some queso con salsa and shredded cheddar, and I still have some filling leftover for more tomorrow. Gently heated some flour tortillas in red enchilada sauce and rolled them up and put them in the dish. Made a bowl of fresh guacamole with some ripe avocados ( and some over ripe ones) to serve with. Kids filled up on chips & guac beforehand, one loved the enchiladas, the other one, not so much. And so it goes with two kids in the house, hence why I gringofied them.....

[Chocolatechipkt]

BLA sandwiches -- bacon, lettuce, and avocado on toasted challah. (No tomatoes, but they were still yummy).

[roxlet]

We're spending the evening in the way-back machine eating Beef Stroganoff. I think we need rumaki, but it's not on the menu!

[linguafood]

Off on a little roadtrip tonight to see MST3K's "Birdemic" at a movie theater in Billtown with a few fellow geeks.... will likely grab some food beforehand -- the choices at this point are between 1 Eye-talian and 1 Italian or the Bullfrog Brewery -- good beers, pretty mediocre food. Lots of eating out this week, but a weekend porkapalooza @casa lingua is in the making.

[tiffeecanoe]

I am finally making Marc Vetri's Rigatoni w/ chicken livers, onions and sage. Thursdays are my pasta day as my husband is in class until 10pn - AND he's not a chicken livers fan, so more for me ;) I've been dying to try this since a fellow chowhounder posted about it here!

[linguafood]

Let's hear how it turned out! I had the appetizer portion of that at Osteria, and it was delicious!!

[PHREDDY]

TIFF...Jungman and I are avid liver lovers....I have seen that recipe, but never tried it...As I noted we have them once a month as Mrs Phreddy is slightly anemic and they are somewhat of a perfect medicine...Enjoy...

For us tonight a mild tomato ,fresh cream, " pink sauce" with turkey sausage and ground chuck, fresh sweet peas, over spinach liniguine topped with fresh scallions and basil. A salad of arugala Grana Padano parm, bean sprouts , cherry tomatoes and a blue cheese vinegarette...

[tiffeecanoe]

Well! SUCCESS. This dish is delicious. It's simple and not nearly as rich as I was expecting. I halved the recipe - thank goodness, I would have eaten enough for a family - but I do think I could have added a couple of extra sage leaves. I couldn't find cipollini's in my itty bitty city/town so I used shallots. Also, it's strangely un-livery! I mean, obviously there is a liver taste, but I actually think I could get my husband to enjoy this dish. I will make this again and I'll have leftovers most likely for breakfast, don't think I'll be able to wait until lunch! Ha. It is so very simple, I managed to throw this together with an almost 10-month-old climbing up my legs!

[linguafood]

Yumboski!!!!

[GretchenS]

sounds fabulous, going on my list, thanks tiff!

[gingershelley]

Last night was leftovers; a batch of Haitian beans and rice I made Sunday; just had a nice bowl of the creamy spicy bean sauce over rice, with some tomato, avocado and cilantro chopped over top. Wonderful! I forgot what a satisfying vegetarian meal that is, and brings back awesome memories of mom:)!

Not sure what tonight will be - today is the last day of my favorite local Farmer's market, sigh. Flowers ended last week, as did tomatoes. Hoping for some last of season plums, and of course there are pears, apples, squash. Tiny potatoes and peppers still. We don't have any meat vendors at this small market, but may swing by the butcher on the way home and do pork with apples, onions and prunes. More later.

[mariacarmen]

sigh.... got a new smartphone last night (first one) and spent half the night into the wee hours learning it and cursing at it. so, i didn't prep our pot roast for the slow cooker for dinner tonight. not sure, that might just mean take-out something, as i'm pretty sure the boy has eaten all the leftovers....

[gingershelley]

MC, you might just deserve some nice noodle dumplings or your favorite pizza after all that high-tech action! Sometimes NOT making dinner is just grand.....

[mariacarmen]

thanks, gs! i took out some chicken thighs to defrost, tho... maybe we'll whip those up quick-like instead.

[weezieduzzit]

Meatloaf with eggs, cream soaked oatmeal and sauteed and blended mushrooms for extra moisture. It will be served with cream sauce. The seasoning was za'atar with some added garlic powder and black pepper. Oh, and sauteed diced onion. Sides will be fauxtatoes and asparagus.

[Berheenia]

cream soaked oatmeal! sounds like a plan. Just made our first meat loaf with oatmeal and weren't happy but this might n the answer. The mushrooms sound great too. mmmm

[gingershelley]

I really like Oatmeal as a filler/moisture retainer in meatloaf - but it does need to be treated like a panade - soaked to work right:)

[roxlet]

For the first time, we have a houseful of FEMALE Egyptian squash players, and so far, they have been good eaters and totally not finicky. Last night, it was grilled marinated boneless leg of lamb served with a mushroom and artichoke risotto, and tonight my husband is doing up that perennial favorite -- fried chicken dinner. In addition to the chicken, there will be rice and gravy (or possibly macaroni and cheese), and squash casserole. The girls' eyes opened wide with anticipation and excitement when I mentioned the fried chicken. This afternoon, the mother of the 15 year-old asked if she could make a salad. I offered her lettuce, but she was more interested in tomatoes, scallions, cucumbers and carrots. She chopped everything finely and dressed it with a little olive oil, lemon juice and a little salt. It was very good, and we enjoyed our late afternoon appetizer.

[linguafood]

Coming over.

[mariacarmen]

surprise surprise, women are easier to deal with....

just kidding!

how fun to introduce them to fried chicken! that salad does sound refreshing.

[roxlet]

It was very good. Their favorite breakfast is bagels, which they just discovered, with cream cheese and tomatoes, except that mom used up all the tomatoes, so they may have to suffer through smoked salmon tomorrow!!

[PHREDDY]

RO....I hope you can send your son to visit them one day, and have a similar cultural exchange....My daughters were lucky to have that experience , after we hosted some Italian students....

[roxlet]

Phreddy-- My son and I went to Egypt for a month each during two summers, and we lived there for a year the year before the revolution. All of the people staying with us were people we met -- and my son played with -- in Egypt. He is a squash player, and the best young squash players (and coaches) in the world come from Egypt. They always win the world junior championships.

[gingershelley]

What a great cultural exchange you have going on there Roxlet! And love the fried chicken dinner - how American can you get for feeding your guests. Great stuff:)

Wondering what your favorite Egyptian food/dish is?

[roxlet]

Egypt is most definitely not a foodie place. It is considered to be the height of sophistication to eat in an American chain restaurant, of which there are innumerable in Egypt. MickyD's is much better than the US, for example, since they cook the meat to order. Friday's is so expensive, it's considered luxe. That being said, my favorite thing I had there was something called faatir (there are a zillion spellings of this, btw). Faatir is sometimes referred to as an Egyptian Pancake only because it's quite flat. Essentially, it is a dough that is extremely elastic that is rolled out very thinly, then folded over itself. Sometime, for a savory version, meat or cheese would go inside as it's being folded. For a dessert one, ghee is brushed as it's folded, and then honey is poured over it once it is cooked. Or powdered sugar. Or sugar and bananas. Or any of a variety of fruit with sugar and/or honey. It is so good.

[gingershelley]

Roxlet, that is so funny. My father was in Egypt earlier this year, and he said he ate very well - in homes of families, and in cafe's he was taken to by locals. Tiny birds, and lots of bean and grain stews he didn't know the name of.....

[roxlet]

The tiny birds are pigeons. It's the national dish, and there are these strange, whitewashed conical shaped structures up and down the Alex Desert Road where they are farmed. They are usually stuffed with rice, and you're supposed to eat the entire thing-- bones and all. One time, a pigeon flew into our kitchen while we were out, and I had my son run and get the bowab to come and help us get it out. He came up to our apartment, and quickly caught the pigeon. He politely asked if we would like it, and when we said no, he thanked us and twisted the neck of the bird and killed it. Dinner, anyone! The bean and grain stew he had was probably koshary. Ask him if it had fried onions on top. Usually, this is not made at home, but in special shops. And he probably had fuul, which is a kind of refried bean concoction that is served in a pita. There are fuul wagons everywhere in the mornings, and it is a very important meal to eat before dawn during Ramadan since it is known as the "rock in the stomach." For a few extra piasters, you can get some sliced hardboiled egg on top. I'm sure your father must have eaten that too.

[mariacarmen]

what a wonderful slice of life you gave us, roxlet.... i've had fuul here at a middle eastern restaurant, and made it once myself with canned fava beans. i liked it.

i'm not sure how i would have reacted re the pigeon. well, actually i do. hysterics! i'm a wuss.

[gingershelley]

Thanks for the explanation, Roxlet of what he ate! I will let him know - he did say he did not enjoy being expected to crunch through the bigger bones in the birds.

[GretchenS]

Wow, roxlet, what a story!!!

[PHREDDY]

That is absolutely great!!!!...I only wish my parents could have done that for me when I was a teeanger/student...Kudos to you!

[buttertart]

Do they have a similar breakfast bread there? Turkish simit are somewhat similar to bagels (any Turks reading, very sorry even to compare the two, I know simit are incomparably better than bagels).

[roxlet]

No, Egyptian breakfast is usually fuul (dried fava beans mashed to a paste -- like refried beans) in a pita. All of my guests would eat nothing but bagels and cream cheese. Mostly with sliced tomatoes, but today they are being brave and having smoked salmon, but a very little bit. I never saw any bread similar to bagels. I'm sure simit would have been welcome.

[LindaWhit]

I like the idea of that salad! Of course, the leg of lamb is right up my alley as well. As is the fried chicken. :-)

[deet13]

My cousins and I went flats fishing this weekend, and we snagged a few good sized flounders and some red drums (btw, it was sunny and in the upper 80's down here in Florida).

So I stuffed the flounder with leftover blue crab meat, celery, and cornbread. Then I served them alongside stewed tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, and okra over cornbread.

[PHREDDY]

D...Flounder with Blue crab stuffing...Sounds great...why didn't I think of that?

[Chocolatechipkt]

Instead of the Thai chicken pizza I'd planned to make, I made sweet potato, caramelized onion and Canadian bacon pizza. Very yummy.

[LindaWhit]

Dinner is a roasted Frankenchicken breast tonight - seasoned with olive oil and a store-bought Tunisian za'atar blend, with some additional marjoram and ground sumac added.

Alongside will be the much touted red cabbage sauteed in butter with caramelized onions, tossed with egg noodles and sour cream. I'll add some crispy bacon bits to the lot of the mixture, along with some salt and pepper, and hope it's as good as it's been sounding!

[LindaWhit]

Well, I didn't have a real recipe for the cabbage/noodle side dish, as none was given, so I winged it. It was good - could have used more bacon (there were two raggedy pieces from the package I had frozen about a month ago), and I wasn't sure how much sherry to use, so I just splashed it in after mixing in the sour cream into the sauteed cabbage/onion/noodle mixture to thin the "sauce". Pretty good! At least it got rid of a half head of cabbage from my CSA (and here's hoping we don't get more in tomorrow's last CSA share!)

[mariacarmen]

i totally winged it with the sherry too, LW. we ate the rest of ours tonight - tasted even better.

[mariacarmen]

leftovers tonight, chez nous. i think the BF is going to re-purpose the leftover pork steaks (yes, the ones that were asiatically marinated) as schnitzel, to go with our leftover cabbage noodles. and they're already cooked, so really they'll just take a super quick dip in egg/crumbs and into a hot pan of oil just long enough to crisp. im thinking i want to make more of the pickled cabbage/red onion/scallion slaw i made the other night for a truly fusiony dinner.

[boyzoma]

Well I spent the afternoon peeling, cubing, blanching, icing and vacuum sealing butternut squash for the winter. I'm so looking forward to soups. Last week was doing the same with spaghetti squash. Thank you to the Gods for my big freezer. DH's mother is now offering us her freezer, too! Hmmmmm - should we take it? Can anyone be so lucky as to have two????? It's a big upright and is "frost free" which mine isn't (almost 40 years old and still going strong). I do have the space for it in the store room.

So for dinner, it will be simple. Penne' alla Vodka with petite veggies and a romaine/tomato salad with "bacon" ranch dressing. The "bacon" is the meat for the night!

[gingershelley]

Wow, I could never have too much freezer space, BZ! If someone offered me another freezer for free, I would be gettin' down with a pastured lamb share right now..... Go for it!

[tiffeecanoe]

Meatloaf...as I took out beef and pork for yesterdays hoisin burgers, will turn what wasn't used into meatloaf. I've been craving stuffing so I'll throw together a little pan of that and I'll steam some cauliflower...and drench it in butter, salt and nutmeg ;)

[GretchenS]

So the meatloaf sliders with pickled red onions (and assorted condiments) were a resounding success at the potluck -- I make a mean meatloaf and I also know my audience, big meat lovers nearly all. There was loads of other great chow, we have a lot of fantastic cooks in the office!

I have a bunch of leftover meatloaf in the form of ends and odd bits and tonight will put all that into a pot of quick tomato sauce and make a yummy easy meat sauce. If I am good WFD will be some of that over whole grain penne with fresh-grated Parmigianno Reggiano. If I am bad I will get takeout from the new Cuban restaurant I have eaten at twice in the past week which is a little too close to doggie daycare to be at all good for me. Either way there will be lots of yummy meat sauce for the freezer.

[mariacarmen]

be baaaaad, GS, be as baaaad as you can be!

[GretchenS]

Well, saw that too late mc, so had the pasta and meat sauce, which was tasty indeed. And I will be at the Cuban place Friday night with friends... Mmmmmm, puerco asado....

[mariacarmen]

so the best of both worlds!

mmmmm puerco asado indeed...

[linguafood]

We're generally too lazy to cook after k-boxing, so we'll likely go to a local Chinese/Japanese restaurant -- I'd avoided it for years b/c the food sucked and the service was atrocious, but recently things have improved, particularly on the sushi front (really good sashimi), and they have a fab dish of stir-fried pea shoots that goes great with the raw fish.

Helps, too, that the resto includes a bar whose bartender really knows his shit and makes killer gimlets & aviations. Great sake selection as well.

[Berheenia]

I would be (groan) willing to take up Kick boxing again if I had a restaurant like that in the hood.

[linguafood]

Oh man, I hear ya. I am not fond of "working out" -- I prefer competitive sports, but this is great. Hey, I like punching and kicking things... and if it burns a boatload of calories, I'm all for it :-)

Dinner was good -- besides a miso soup, the sashimi platter and the sautéed pea shoots we had some braised pork ribs and beef negamaki as well. Too much food, of course, rendering an hour of exercise futile. Ack.

[JungMann]

I should be eating lightly. I should. But I've got these thick-cut boneless pork loin chops that need some using. Without the bone or much marbling, they tend to go dry rather easily if I pan sear them. But if they're stuffed, they become forgiving parcels of treasure. So fine, I'll stuff them with salty nips of ham and a dollop of pimento cheese and a slice of dill pickled green tomatoes. It's all I've got in the fridge! And while we're using up odds and ends, I suppose I should batter the stuffed pork with some panko and fry it off in bacon grease. I should be eating light tonight; but I won't.

[mariacarmen]

wow... poetry....
it sounds like a reconstructed cubano sandwich! don't forget the swiss.

[gingershelley]

"like'!

[LindaWhit]

batter the stuffed pork with some panko and fry it off in bacon grease.
~~~~~~~~~

:::::swoon:::::

[GretchenS]

right there with LW, swooning...

[boyzoma]

++++++2 - anything in bacon grease. Yum!

[PHREDDY]

JM....so how were the chops?...I have stuffed then and panfried with evoo, then into the oven....I just might have try that panko trick....

[JungMann]

I got home late and was too tired to stuff the chops so they're dry brining right now for when I get home which may, once again, be too late for a proper dinner. Rather than the cheese and ham stuffing, I've decided to go with an Italian sausage, sage and parmesan stuffing that I normally only get to have at Thanksgiving. And roasted broccoli heads with anchovy and lemon dressing for the side. I really hope I can get home in time to tuck in!

Last night was Whatever-I-Can-Put-Together-in-30-Minutes Night. Nothing more than pan-fried chicken livers with caramelized onions over salad dressed with dijon mustard vinaigrette. (I needed liver for my stuffing so I figured any extras could make a nice, light supper) Dessert was a lemon buttermilk sorbet with chopped almonds that involved little more than shaking up buttermilk in a mason jar with some flavorings and processing in my ice cream maker while I ate supper.

[PHREDDY]

JM...sounds delish....Mrs PH and I eat chicken livers once a month, (she is slightly anemic)...We have been eating them dusted and deep fried, lately ,over mixed greens , blue cheese, chopped red onion and a mustard sherry vinagrette....oh the simple quick meals....

[JungMann]

Sounds delicious! I don't think I've had fried chicken livers in too many years to count. They're so cheap and easy, I think I need to make them a monthly staple as well.

[PHREDDY]

Fried they make a great PO-boy on a French Baguette...

[mariacarmen]

yum to all the fried liver talk!

[JungMann]

I was already a broccoli fan but roasting them makes them near addictive. I am rubbish at drying my vegetables properly so the texture was a bit soft, but the crisped edges hinted at how nutty and delicious broccoli can be when done right. And even more so when dressed up with a funky tart emulsion.

[gingershelley]

That's some foodstuff combo JM! You go.....

[Friedbutter]

Fine Cooking's Beef Stroganoff

[Harters]

I'm going to do "something" with sausages and nduja. No idea what, as yet. Although, if I know me, then it'll be some version of Nigel Slater's sausage & bean casserole.

And then I'll be missing from our virtual dinner table for a little while, as we're popping over to Madrid for a couple of days (art galleries and good eats are on the agenda)

[LindaWhit]

"popping over to Madrid" - how nice it would be to be able to just pop over to another country! One of the detriments of living in such a big country!

[mariacarmen]

instantly green with envy! Vale, vale, enjoy España!

[Harters]

I shall choose my words very carefully so as not to cross board rules of politeness. But herself has just had an email from the hotel saying they can't accommodate us and are moving us to a sister hotel. Which is, let us say, "irritating" as we'd picked the place because of its location. Still, they are now throwing in free breakfast so that's a saving of €40 a day - easily enough to pay for lunch.

[LindaWhit]

Grrrr on them overbooking. But Yay! on the free breakfasts!

[mariacarmen]

the Spaniards! ay ay ay!

enjoy your free desayunos.

[gingershelley]

Well, it is so hard to have to 'pop over' the pond to the Continent for some Spanish fun...... we all feel your pain here, Harters:)!

[Chocolatechipkt]

Last night was apricot chicken, roasted acorn squash, green beans, homemade applesauce, and grapes. And then a nap lol.

Today it's supposed to be up to the 80s, and we're having Thai chicken pizza.

[weezieduzzit]

Tell me about this apricot chicken......

[Chocolatechipkt]

Sure! I browned boneless skinless chicken thighs (bone-in chicken would work too), and then put the chicken in baking dish. In the same pan I'd browned the chicken in, I sauteed about half an onion (more, less ...) and added a bunch of freshly grated ginger (I keep mine in the freezer). Then I added a little smoked sea salt, red pepper flakes, black pepper, and about half a jar of apricot preserves (so 3/4 c or so). I let it all cook down a bit, til the preserves had melted down and all the flavors had blended together, and then poured the mixture over the chicken. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 min., basting a couple of times, and enjoy. :)

[weezieduzzit]

Thank you, I've added it to the brain file. I wish we had apricot preserves now since i have thawed chicken quarters out for dinner tonight.

[eight_inch_pestle]

There was a small and beautifully marbled grass-finished chuck roast on sale yesterday, so today was beef and mushroom stew, easy on the liquid.

Cut up and browned the meat, sauteed a minced onion, deglazed with some cabernet, then poured more cabernet and a bit of port over both the onions and meat. Dumped in some diced carrot, dried shiitakes, chopped bacon, and a boatload of chopped garlic. Seasoned with clove, nutmeg, cinnamon. Split a couple dried red chiles and tossed in those puppies. Let barely simmer for most of the afternoon. Someone upthread was talking about the joy of simmering meat on a fall afternoon. Yes, yes, and yes.

Sauteed about a half-pound of quartered chanterelles, which are coming on in Washington State around now, in butter with minced shallot. Strained the liquid from the stew and returned just the liquid to a clean pan with some fresh booze and spices and reduced until stew-ish. Fished the meat out of the colander, reserving the carrots, onion, bacon, etc. for another use, and reheated just the meat and the sauteed chanterelles in the liquor. Stirred in some chopped parsley and cubed cold butter, topped with a bit of parm, and ate over noodles----because I walked to the store twice tonight and forgot fixings for smashed potatoes/polenta both times.

[LindaWhit]

Oh. eip. That sounds heavenly! Yes, the lovely scent of long-simmered dishes is just wonderful. And yours sounds great!

[eight_inch_pestle]

Thanks, Ma'am. Turned out really well. And nothing like a hearty beef stew to pair with a big Bears win. Thinking we might turn the leftovers into a small beef pot pie later in the week.

[mariacarmen]

thanks to mamachef, dinner was a hit. we had spicy beef, bangers, and Aidell's andouille sausages with dijon, whole seed, and yellow mustards. the red cabbage, caramelized onion, and wide egg noodle dish was the star - i hit it with some sherry instead of the vermouth i'd planned - wonderful, with about 3 tbls. of crema mexicana and plenty of dill and black pepper. on the side was a modified german cuke salad - just peeled and sliced with sugar, vinegar, spiced with salt, paprika, dill and parsley - didn't add the sour cream to that as i wanted something lighter. I did not like the Aidell's sausage and i have to remember that I never do. It had this weird ammoniac flavor. other than that, all good. love those noodles!

[LindaWhit]

Ooh - like the idea of sherry - I'm hoping to make the cabbage/noodle dish tonight. Although I'll omit dill, as I'm not a fan. I'll stick with my bacon. ;-)

But am I correct in seeing in that pic that you didn't stir the caramelized onions into the cabbage/noodle mixture?

[mariacarmen]

oh, that little golden pile is my onion/apple sauce - the caramelized onions were definitely mixed in with the cabbage, and then the whole thing mixed into the noodles.

[LindaWhit]

Ahhh, got it! Many thanks! Bacon and caramelized onions will be taken out of the freezer tonight for a quick defrost and crumbly cook on the bacon to be added to this mixture. (Wish I had thought to put them both in the fridge this morning!)

[mariacarmen]

sounds like it's going to be delish, LW!

[PHREDDY]

Mc...you forgot to mention the side of "remote"...

[mariacarmen]

ahahahaha! you're right, Phreddy!

[gingershelley]

Cute! I like a little sausage and cabbage/noodles with my remote.....

[twodales]

Dinner last night was at an upscale vegetarian restaurant called "Green Zebra"...Chef Shawn McClain. The dishes are seasonal small plates and lovely food it is.

My favorite dish was the silky Sunchoke - Granny Smith "soup" with a touch of preserved lemon, & thyme. I must set about duplicating it sometime. So, so yummy.

We celebrated the daughter's 21st. The cocktail of the hour was a successful take off of a Sazerac with a touch of Elderflower added to the orange, the bitters and the Templeton Rye. The Brit had a local brew called 'Domaine Dupage' by Two Brothers . He met them both (ordered two beers!).

So tonight with the grey and chilly rain having returned I've got a version of a goulashy type stew courtesy of my SIL from Australia...her recipe. Have not made it in ages. Leftover Apple Galette for afters. Will try to watch the debate...if I can take it. Got through the first one, half of the second not sure if I can make it all the way through tonight. I've made my decision at this point anyway. Have a good one folks.

[tiffeecanoe]

Green Zebra is delicious! I did a Vegan challenge for an entire year several years ago and I used to live in Chicago (for 11 years!) and Green Zebra was such a treat! They made this truffle potato salad that I still dream about. I still went back many times after my vegan challenge. What a great place - glad you enjoyed it!

[ChristinaMason]

<The cocktail of the hour was a successful take off of a Sazerac with a touch of Elderflower added to the orange, the bitters and the Templeton Rye. >

Nice twist. I approve. Good use for that elderflower syrup I have laying around from Ikea.

[vadusu]

taco beef bake and mexican brown rice with a load of fresh jalapenos from garden and sour cream.

[roxlet]

With our guest list of visiting Egyptian woman squash players having doubled from 2 to 4, I'm glad I made a double recipe of Bolognese sauce. And dinner time is all over the place: my husband is doing meet the teachers night at my son's school and will likely not be home until 9, while I feed 2 of our guests, my son and me at about 8PM waiting for the other two to arrive from the airport. I will probably just do a salad to go along with the pasta since I'm not sure what else will hold. I can dress salad as need arises...

[ChristinaMason]

That is a nice dish to arrive "home" to. You were debating recipes---what did the final hybrid look like?

[steve h.]

Cleaning out the coolerator. Last of the roast beef, some carrots and some mashed potatoes tonight. House red to wash things down. Football will be on the plasma.

Deb is celebrating her second 30th birthday so I'm taking her to a Dylan concert at the Hollywood Bowl. We leave tomorrow for LA and will return in a week. There will be good food in her future, I promise.

[weezieduzzit]

Happy B Day to Deb! That's a great gift, Steve.

[twodales]

Congrats to Mrs. Steve, Deb, Mrs. H (We share the last title :-) ....on her 30th. Enjoy the trip and each other.

[gingershelley]

Have a great trip to Lala land, and best wishes to Deb. Hollywood bowl is a great venue for a concert!

[steve h.]

Thanks for the kind thoughts.
I'll see you guys in a week.

[mariacarmen]

how fun!
yeah, will be interested to hear your report (on another board of course!) on L.A. eats. i grew up there, visited a lot over the years, tho not in the last 3-4, and have never been overly impressed. unless you're going totally ethnic, lower end, which i love, and which thankfully abounds. fantastic Thai food there. Mexican too.

Many Happy Returns to Deb, as it is said on this thread!

[roxlet]

Dylan's the man, Deb's the birthday girl, great celebration!

[LindaWhit]

You do *most excellent* birthday gifts - what a lovely trip! Enjoy!

[PHREDDY]

DEBGH....Many Happy Returns!...Say hi to Mr. Zimmerman for me!

[linguafood]

We're having a buddy over tonight to catch up on last night's episodes of Boardwalk Empire and the Walking Dead. So what better to have for dinner than grilled cedar-plank salmon rubbed with some brown sugar & drizzled with maple balsamic, creamy German cuke salad & garlicky sautéed (frozen) leaf spinach with a touch of cream?

Nothing. Ok, maybe the gimlets after :-)

[gingershelley]

Last nights WD episode was great! Enjoy. Best definitely not watched while eating red-sauced anything, so your dinner will be great:)

[mariacarmen]

ooh i just saw that you made a German cuke salad too! mine wasn't creamy.

[Uncle Bob]

Bourbon...
Beef Stew.....
Biscuits.......
Banana Puddin.........

[LindaWhit]

This dinner was brought to you by Bob and the Letter B!

[Harters]

"Bob and the Letter B". Sounds like a 50s rock & roll band.

[boyzoma]

Sounds like Sesame Street to me :-)

[steve h.]

Brilliant.
Bitchin' bites by Bob!

[LindaWhit]

Damn you. You were able to get all "B's" starting each word. :-)

[Uncle Bob]

Very clever everyone!! :))

[Dirtywextraolives]

Had a couple of phenomenal meals out with my dear visitor, and I showed him all the sights down here. One night was at an old school Hollywood Rat Pack place that serves very good steaks & Italian food, we had a New York steak, spaghetti & meatballs for the kids, veal Parm for my friend & lasagne bolognese for the hubby, plus lots of strong cocktails & laughs.

The second night was at an artsy coastal community at a farm to table place. We did a tasting menu, as its all so good & hard to decide. An amuse of a gougére topped with Proscuitto started us off on a delicious note. Starters were a perfectly cooked broccoli rabe served over lentils, a braised leek dish served cold with a large ball of Burrata, and a phenomenally cooked charred octopus with chickpeas & a fra diavolo sauce, it was incredible. Two salads were served, a butter lettuce with tarragon & blue cheese crumbles and a creme Fraiche dressing, and a shredded radicchio salad with a sherry vinaigrette, which was also wonderful. There was a pasta course, of perfectly al dente conchiglietti (small shells) with butter & lobster mushrooms, it was great. Mains were a roasted whole branzino, and a pork loin served over some creamy grits. We were so full & satisfied, we couldn't even look at dessert. Spectacular meal.

So back to earth today as my friend left for home. Tonight the kids will get some leftover lamb & rice pilaf, olive relish. I may sauté some shredded Brussels sprouts I need to cook with some bacon & garnish with fried capers. I will make some lamb gyros for myself with hummus, flatbread, and some halal sauce & the olive relish. I can't wait.....

[bg90027]

I made a risotto saturday night with shrimp, coconut milk, terragon, lime juice, fennel seed, onion, scallions and red pepper flakes. It was pretty good but the flavors were a little muted for our taste so I went to the Thai market yesterday and bought Thai Basil, Kaffir Lime Leaves, and Thai Bird Eye Peppers and spiced it up a little. It turned out much better. There's still a little left over so we'll probably finish that tonight.

I also bought a 3.5lb pork butt at the farmer's market yesterday and made a brine with cilantro, limes, garlic, salt, habanero peppers, and ginger root. I'm going to soak it overnight and throw it in a crock pot tomorrow morning to cook all day. Carnitas tomorrow night and a good chunk of the rest of the week. I've made some tomatillo salsa and habanero hot sauce to serve with it along with cotija cheese and nopales.

Finally, I made some cognac fig sauce that will be added to a goat cheese ice cream that I'm going to make tonight.

[mariacarmen]

yyyyyyyyyyum on that pork brine! sounds like a fantastic dinner.

and that dessert... wow.

[LindaWhit]

Double WOW! on that ice cream!

[MAH]

**SWOON** on the ice cream. would you share a recipe for either or both the fig/cognac sauce and goat cheese ice cream?

[LindaWhit]

+1 on the fig/cognac sauce!

[bg90027]

Here's a summary of the cognac fig sauce.

It's essentially just dried figs chopped up simmered with a mix of honey and water which forms a syrup. After it cools, you strain and reserve the syrup. Then take half of the fig chunks and process them in a blender or food processor. Then slowly add the syrup and 1/4 cup of cognac to the blended figs. You don't want it to be too runny so if it is starting to get too thin, don't add all the syrup. Then combine the sauce with the remaining chopping figs.

You want to make sure to chill the fig sauce before add it to the ice cream. I just made the sauce the night before I made the ice cream and kept it chilled in the refrigerator. She suggests not mixing it in with the ice cream while it is churning in your ice cream maker but alternating layers of the ice cream with thin layers of the fig sauce. It seems to end up mixing itself that way but the sauce doesn't blend as much into the ice cream itself so the ice cream retains its distinct flavor..

I hope this was permissible to share.

[LindaWhit]

Ohhh! So this is added as part of the flavoring for the ice cream. I thought it was something drizzled over top of it. Which I guess it could still be... Thanks very much!

[mariacarmen]

i thought the same thing. wow. sounds amazing.

it's fine to share your own recipes, and if it was someone else's published recipe, you just have to paraphrase it, and give credit (name the source).

oops, never mind. you already linked to the recipe.

[bg90027]

You could do either. It might be more elegant to drizzle it over it if it were for a dinner party and presentation mattered. It will probably take my girlfriend and I a couple of weeks to finish it though and the fig sauce will keep much longer integrated into the ice cream than kept separately as a sauce stored in the refrigerator.

[bg90027]

The recipe for both is from Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home by Jeni Britton Bauer.

I guess she shared the recipe with Bon Appetite so here's a recipe for the ice cream base:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/foo...

You just need to substitute the cognac fig sauce for the roasted red cherries. I couldn't find the cognac fig sauce recipe online so I can't share that. I think we're allowed to paraphrase though and provide ingredient lists. I'll post that separately though so if I'm wrong and share too much and the moderators need to delete it, they won't delete the ice cream recipe.

[ChristinaMason]

<Carnitas tomorrow night and a good chunk of the rest of the week. I've made some tomatillo salsa and habanero hot sauce to serve with it along with cotija cheese and nopales.>

I'll be right over! That sounds great.

[tiffeecanoe]

Hoisin burgers tonight! Salad with a nice gingery vinaigrette on the side.

[mariacarmen]

ooohhhh jealous....

[LaLa]

With the husband coming out of the fire house after a 48 hour stretch and a new baby in the house, my eight old asked for some food like we eat at his grandparents in Kentucky ....how could I refuse even though it i 85 degrees here in the coastal south? So tonight will be soup beans with ham hock served with chow chow, fried potatoes (in duck fat), salmon patties, and cornbread.

[roxlet]

Sounds like you've got a lot on your plate, LaLa, and I don't just mean food! I'm curious about soup beans with hamhock and chowchow. How does that all come together?

[LaLa]

the soup beans are cooked with the ham hock as the seasoning then the chow chow is spooned on top for serving at the table...and of course some cornbread crumbled on top too

[JungMann]

Last night was sausage and rabe pasta. I'm a lover of bitter flavors, but oof that was rough. All the recipes out on the interwebs were quite simple with the seasonings so I can only assume my error lay in technique. Tossed with Aleppo pepper and lemon juice they were somewhat edible. Once I splooged on the oyster sauce and a touch of Sriracha, they were much better. Perhaps I simply have an anti-Occidental palate.

Tonight, however, we are returning to form. Four lamb loin chops are resting in the fridge awaiting a dressing in oil, garlic, herbs and lemon zest. Sides have yet to be determined. I imagine Brussels sprouts are on sale so perhaps those cooked with a bit of bacon, maple syrup and miso will give a suggestion of Autumn. I'd like something a bit starchy along side, so I may roast and smash some celeriac, though low carb pasta with nettle pesto seems so much more flavorful. Dessert TBD. If I can get a buttermilk panna cotta to set within 2 hours, that is a contender, though I imagine we'll prefer to go easier by spinning some labneh in the frozen yogurt maker until it's dessertish.

[mariacarmen]

lamb lamb lamb.... as god as my witness, i'll have lamb again soon...

[gingershelley]

Lamb arm steak is what's on for tonight or tomorrow, MC - I cannot resist it's siren song much longer.....

[mariacarmen]

i'm afraid the boyfriend is just going to have to bite the bullet and endure a leg of lamb this weekend. i'm sorry, it just has to be. of course, if i really loved him, i'd just buy some lovely little frenched lamb chops because then he wouldn't have to deal with lamb leftovers, but where's the fun in that?

[Dirtywextraolives]

LOL, sorry to exacerbate your cravings for lamb, and please extend my apologies to the BF...... ;0))

[mariacarmen]

ahahaha - he'll live!

[gingershelley]

NONE! Since he must really love you, I am sure he will be fine with a pile of rare lamb leg slices (oh - the sandwiches!) lurking in the fridge.

I shall have to dig out my new-fangled mint sauce recipe for you. Mostly vinegar and fresh mint, but forget proportions I figured out.... anyway. Super for the leftovers on a sandwich!

[tiffeecanoe]

Oh my goodness. Dinner tonight sounds incredibly. Lamb, brussel sprouts... two of my favofrite things!

[Harters]

Nettle pesto? Is that homemade or a bought product?

Bravo - either to you or the producer, depending on which!

[JungMann]

As tasty as the stinging weeds are, there isn't much commercial demand for them so I must make the trek to buy them from foragers in the early summer to put up as pesto for the year. It's a tough life, I tell you.

[gingershelley]

JM, I am so jealous I did not have the foresight as you did to put up Nettle pesto for after spring supplies were gone! I LOVE nettles, and miss them terribly. Next year I am borrowing a page from your fine book of tricks.

[JungMann]

The season is regrettably short in NYC as the farmers who supply me stop foraging once their more lucrative early summer crops come in. I think this year we only had them for 4 weeks. I've learned my lesson.

[ChristinaMason]

Aw, JM. Sorry the rabe got the better of you. It can definitely be bitter. On trick is to blanch it before sauteeing----similar to gai lan preparation. That tames some of the bitterness.

[JungMann]

That's good to know for next time. Thanks for the tip.

[eight_inch_pestle]

There's a Roman (I think) preparation I like that sautés it with split grapes and sliced sausage. Unsurprisingly, fruit and spicy pig fat handle a little bitterness quite nicely.

[Harters]

Upcoming......pide (Turkish "pizza").

So that's baking then, innit?

Which means it's one of the black arts undertaken by Mrs H behind closed doors. Back in the day, we'd have burned her at the stake for such magic. Anyway, all I can tell you is that it's going to have a lamb & stuff topping; have a salad alongside and have a dollop of yoghurt somewhere around. So the black cat tells me.

[mariacarmen]

delicious brujerias going on over there!

[ChristinaMason]

mmmm....pide! you're reminding me I keep wanting to attempt this at home. i have about 4 lbs. of wily bread dough in the freezer, so maybe that's my excuse/opportunity.

[ChristinaMason]

Tonight we had American crunchy tacos (an itch the boy needed scratching) with salad with chipotle ranch. I seasoned lean ground beef with Penzey's Chili 3000, sauteed onion, garlic powder, onion powder, ground Ancho chili, cumin, tomato paste, soy sauce, Maggi, and thickened it up with cornstarch slurry. Topping were diced tomatoes, shredded iceberg, salsa, grated sharp cheddar, avocado, and sour cream. I lost count, but I think he had 6.

I made a second dinner for friends, which we'll share tomorrow: spinach salad w/ tomatoes, cukes, red cabbage, and LindaWhit's maple vinaigrette, a kale, kielbasa, and white bean soup with lots of herbs, white bread (probably going to shape into rolls), and fudge brownies. Will probably bring an aged pumpkin ale to crack open.

[roxlet]

My son gets that itch a lot!

[MAH]

Inspired by CM, i made a quick taco bar tonight: sauteed ground turkey with diced onions and Trader Joe's Taco Seasoning mix (which is great, btw). both crunch and soft (whole wheat) tacos, refried black beans, diced onions, salsa, shredded lettuce, sharp cheddar, sour cream. very quick prep. made it possible to get the toddler to bed and settle in for debate watching. no room, but there's leftover apple galette if anyone is inspired for dessert.

[weezieduzzit]

I made a HUGE amount of Hungarian gulas so we will have leftovers (being an item that is even better the next day.) Served with sour cream sprinkled with paprika, sauerkraut and wilted spinach (I've gotta lay off the bread so no knedlicky and yes, I am sad about it.)

I have to say I'm pretty happy with the chuck roast from Fresh and Easy- well marbelled, it turned out incredibly tender. I'm going to have to go back and get more while it's still on sale. We're finally enjoying some cool nights so it's nice to have something that simmers on the stove a while.

[Harters]

We ended up going out. A favourite local bistro had an offer on - three courses for £12.50 (approx $20). Amazing value, we thought. Except the food was quite poor - I think they'd cut too many conrers to get the price down. Hope this isn't final desperate measures before closure.

[LindaWhit]

Aww, not good if it's a favorite local bistro! Three courses for $20 USD is, quite frankly, rather insane!

[Harters]

Their usual set menu price is £16.95 ( approx 27USD) and we've never had a fault with that. I suspect the discounted strategy has been to get folk in and make the money on drinks.

[weezieduzzit]

Bummer. I hate a disappointing meal.

Dammit, there was a British ingredient or two I was going to ask you about. I'll have to see if I can remember....

[steve h.]

Brunch was a house-made roast beef hash topped by poached eggs. We washed it all down with a bottle of J (California sparkling wine). Giants were on the plasma and (barely) escaped with a win over the Redskins.

Supper will be another pasta dish: cacio e pepe. It's simple and tasty, a Roman standby. Jets and Patriots will be on the plasma. It will be war.

[steve h.]

Neglected to add: There will be a roasted pear, walnut and gorgonzola salad as a starter. House red to wash it all down.

[weezieduzzit]

Mmmmm... one of my favorite flavor combos (makes a killer pizza, too.)

[scubadoo97]

Nice way to start

[tiffeecanoe]

Shrimp and asparagus risotto over here! Nice salad with a garlicky vinaigrette on the side.

[LindaWhit]

Wow - that's a "dinner out" type of meal for me - enjoy!

[steve h.]

That's a great dish, pure comfort food. Leftovers will taste every bit as good, maybe even a little better.

[tiffeecanoe]

I thought about making just enough for the two of us tonight and figure... I'm making risotto darnit, I'm making enough for leftovers!

I rarely make it, and it's been awhile - hopefully I don't screw it up!

[mcel215]

Bill Granger's Carmel Chicken, with bone in and skin on chcken thighs. Stir fry veggies and rice. I am also making part of a b'day cake for a co-worker. I'll do the chocolate layers tonight and freeze and on Wednesday morning before work, I'll do chocolate whipped cream and slice strawberries on top. I may put a spread of strawberry preserve in the middle somewhere. :) It's kind of a made up cake with her likings.... hopefully it will turn out well.

www.saffron215.blogspot.com

[twodales]

I'm a fan of Bill Granger too.

[mariacarmen]

i've been marinating these pork steaks for like 4 days now (2 days in the freezer) - gochujang, grated apple, garlic, jalapenos, brown sugar, blah-blah-blah. going to quick sear them tonight finally. jasmine rice, maybe some eggplant or baby bok choy or something.... i'm so unfocused lately...

bought some english bangers, and some smoked spicy beef sausage, and i have apples that need to be eaten (honeycrisps), so tomorrow i think we'll have grill-panned sausages and applesauce, and maybe a potato pancake thing.... tho the danged BF is so ravenous when he gets home it gives me no prep time. i'll make the apple sauce today. but i can't hold shredded potatoes until tomorrow... guess i could actually make them, tho, and then just reheat/recrisp tomorrow... 's a thought....

[weezieduzzit]

You can hold shredded potatoes in a bowl of water in the fridge- just drain and dry 'em before using.

[mariacarmen]

ooh, thanks!

[weezieduzzit]

My Grandmother taught me that one! Just make sure the potatoes are completely submerged and they will stay firm and not turn color.

[kubasd]

I've parboiled and shredded potatoes and kept them overnight in a tupperware bowl with no ill effects. I didn't keep them submerged because I didn't think about it, and there was no color or texture change. I made hash browns with the the next day and they came out delicious!!

[mariacarmen]

good to know!

[mariacarmen]

the pork and blah blah was a hit! really tender, flavorful, juicy. took baby bok choy and braised it with chicken stock, chinese black vinegar, dark soy and sesame oil. also quick-pickled some thinly sliced red cabbage, red onions and scallions in rice wine vinegar and sugar. it came out so pretty, but the only picture i took came out too fuzzy. ah well.

i've got onions and apples slowly sauteing right now - the "sauce" will be chunky. i'm rethinking the potato pancakes - tho i adore them... i suddenly remembered mamachef talking about cabbage sauteed in butter and mixed with sour cream and egg noodles. i'm thinking that would be really REALLY good with the sausages. and some dill. it may rain here tomorrow - i guess our beautiful Indian summer is over.....

[LindaWhit]

I gotz lots of CSA cabbage - could you elaborate upon the butter-sauteed cabbage, mc?

[mariacarmen]

ooh, i'm going to have to find it. it was something like saute cabbage in butter until soft, maybe caramelized onions too, mix into cooked pasta.... i just sent mamachef a message, let's see if she responds. i was thinking of mexican crema instead of sour cream, cuz i have it, and i could eat that stuff with a funnel right out of the jar. and maybe even some paprika.... but what mc posted sounded so simple and yummy, i don't want to go overboard. although i'm thinking a drop of dry vermouth would not be amiss....

my apple/onion sauce now has the addition of a touch of cinnamon, a healthy sprinkling of aleppo, and a bay leaf.

[LindaWhit]

Caramelized onions and dry vermouth work for me. So does bacon.

Yes, I know. You didn't *say* bacon. But I did. :-)

[mariacarmen]

i didn't say bacon because apparently i'd lost my mind for a moment.

mamachef confirmed that was right - cabbage in butter, caramelized onions, mix into pasta.

can't wait!

[gingershelley]

That's sounding really good! I like the cabbage/noodle sour cream idea!

[JungMann]

That pork steak marinade sounds delicious! And following them up with bangers and boxties sounds like some enviable eats.

[mariacarmen]

thanks! yeah... the BF expressed some dismay at my nixing the boxties, so if he gets home early and wants to do the potato/onion shredding, we may still have a go at it, but otherwise, it's noodles and cabbage.

[MAH]

with the gorgeous weather, I think we're grilling cheeseburgers tonight, which will be topped with pepperjack; accompanied by grilled corn on the cob, tater tots and green beans. We went apple picking yesterday and have a boatload of them, so might make an apple galette with the toddler for dessert. but there may be a clamor for s'mores...

loving the perfect fall weather!

[twodales]

Last night the Brit and I split a NY strip marinated in evoo, fresh rosemary and garlic. We also split a lobster tail. Baked potatoes, Probably the last of the corn on the cob for this year (surprisingly sweet) and a tossed salad for him, a wedge of iceberg with blue cheese dressing for me. A really nice honey crisp & granny smith galette for afters.

[PHREDDY]

Mrs. PH says this is my cup of tea....enjoy!

[gingershelley]

Today, in the spirit of a perfect fall/Autumnal Sunday crisp and cool with mixed sun and clouds (nod's to Harters and LW), I am making several things today....

A course country pate, since I have ground pork, jowly bacon, some dark ground chicken, pork liver, etc. all in the fridge - even some ham for interior garnish.

There will also be a chicken brining (probably for dinner tomorrow), a batch of homemade hummus made, to go with lamb steaks for tonights dinner - with a greek salad - to satisfy my mediterannean cravings that you all have stirred up.

Also making some Haitian black beans; these will be bubbling on the stove since I soaked them yesterday(to go over rice) - my mom's recipe from a month long trip she and my dad made there when I was in my early teens - "Duriz Col I". says the index card I pulled from her old shelf-paper covered recipe box:). This is for weekday lunches.

That should do for today!

[steve h.]

The country pate sounds wonderful. I really need to do some homework and get busy.

[gingershelley]

Well, I more than "kind of" mashed together a couple of Micheal Ruhlman recipes for country pate - thinking that I remembered my riff's of last time (which were - not to be bold - pretty superlative). but so far, something seems to be amiss, as it has allready taken 20 minutes more for the pate in it's water bath to come to temp and be cooked. It also does not have that amazing smell' that I am used to....

So we shall see on that after it is weighted and cooled. Not expecting much other than a great meatloaf sandwich at this point...

[steve h.]

I never get things right the first time. I'm looking forward to the challenge.

[gingershelley]

Last night, I was FORCED by Steve's description of Carbonara at the resto off the Campo Fiori to make that for dinner. I was flying solo, so a perfectly easy meal for one.

And I had the good fortune to shop at the store that carries 'jowl bacon' - for 1/2 the price of bacon! Thank God someone hasn't figured out that this is actually guanciale, or the price would triple and I would have to go to the butcher counter for it. Haahaa!

Thank you Steve - it was delish, and the little bit of pasta water really does make a difference!

[steve h.]

Sounds like you hit it out of the park.
Spaghetti carbonara can be pretty special. It's a simple dish that requires top-notch ingredients and solid technique. When it's right, it's really right. Well done!

[boyzoma]

OK, now you both have me drooling. I already have a pasta dish on the menu for this week, but this is DEFINITELY going on the menu next week. You guys shouldn't have twisted my arm so badly. Now it hurts!

[gingershelley]

Grazie, prego.... it was truly delish Steve! Your right, when it works, it works. Well done is true.:)

[eight_inch_pestle]

GS---are you keeping this "jowl bacon" source secret? Don't blame you if you are...

I've actually been thinking about hitting up Rain Shadow for fresh jowl to try making my own guanciale.

[gingershelley]

Oh, 8 - inch! This stuff is the funniest find around - at Fred Meyer of all places, It is Fall's Brand (Brand is capitalized as part of the name) 'Hog Jowl Bacon". Guanciale by other names. Sure this isn't some wonderful pasture raised product - more like industrial bacon, but the taste is not like most bacon, IMO, it is fattier and not all tasting of commercial smoke. I like it diced for Carbonara, or to season greens. I can grind the really fatty parts into my paté mixture....

If I need super artisanal guanciale, there is someone at Ballard FM, and at the Edmond's FM that has it for sale, tho I don't remember the vendor's name.

[roxlet]

My husband is off in search of a pork loin, which we will have tonight in advance of some Egyptian house guests. For them, I am stirring up a big pot of Bolognese sauce...without the pork component. They will arrive tomorrow, so I want to have something ready to go because I won't know how exhausted they are until they arrive. With our pork loin, I am hoping for some potato pancakes and apple sauce. It's really the only time I like fruit with a protein meal. My husband turns his nose up at this, but I got to turn my nose up at his Kippers and eggs this morning. Literally.

Edit: No pork loin that fit his expectations of what a pork loin should be, so WFD will be salmon, but the preparation hasn't been decided upon. I like it when we have it two ways: he uses the tail meat to make a ceviche served over guacamole, and then smoke roasts the rest and serves with a red wine butter sauce. I'll see if I can convince him :)

[eight_inch_pestle]

"It's really the only time I like fruit with a protein meal."

No dried apricots or fresh dates with lamb or pork? This makes me sad. Salmon sounds amazing though!

[boyzoma]

Last night was a good old fashioned Beef Stew. The meat literally fell apart and was really moist. My stew contained potatoes, baby carrots, celery, onion, green beans, corn and peas. Nice and chunky. It also smelled of allspice and cloves and had a small can of tomato sauce stirred in. Delicious. Can't wait for leftovers.

Tonight will be Fried Chicken, mashed potatoes and peas on the side. A good country gravy will be on top of the potatoes, too!

[LindaWhit]

As for me, while I still have a container or two in the freezer, I figured I might as well make more meat sauce.

Ground beef, sweet sausage, diced onions, red and green bell peppers, sliced mushrooms - all will be browned/sauteed as it's supposed to be, and to it I'll add a can of crushed tomatoes, a cup of fresh tomato sauce, a bag of roasted tomatoes, tomato paste, basil and oregano, bay leaf, and a healthy pinch of salt and pepper. I'll let that simmer on the flame tamer this afternoon while I (hopefully!) do my Honey Do's around the house. I have a list. Let's see how much I can cross off it. :-)

Spaghetti topped with some meat sauce and grated Parm-Reg, some garlic bread, a salad, some wine, and the Pats whomping on the Jets in Foxboro, and it'll be a nice Sunday dinner.

[boyzoma]

I love the smell of simmering sauce. Sounds wonderful. Now if I only had "smell-a-net", that would make my day!

[LindaWhit]

I know! It's why I love slow braises and long-cooking foods...makes the house smell really good!

[gingershelley]

+1! I LOVE fall and winter Sunday's, when I am cooking things (mostly long-simmering), and popping in and out of the house cleaning up leaves, etc. outside and the whole house smells delicious - just love the smell and the cozy feeling. :)

[steve h.]

Yes to all the above.

[LindaWhit]

I've been vacuuming, dusting, changing the bed, doing laundry, straightening up, etc., before the game started, and every once in awhile I headed downstairs to stir the sauce. Smells SO good in here!

[steve h.]

That is so cool. Autumn in New England, to me, is all about colorful leaves, chilly nights (quilt season), football and the heady smell of stews and braises on the weekend stove.

[LindaWhit]

Bingo. The quintessential New England autumn weekend. Note *quite* as cool in the evening as I'd like, but still nice.