What's for Dinner, #184 - the BRRRRRR edition (for most of us) [old]

[mariacarmen]

wotta week. Stayed home monday sick. BF sick too. i was about to start dinner (ground beef tacos, about all i could muster) when the lights in the kitchen started flickering, all at different times - a regular light show. then they went out. my pilot was still on, so i continued to stir the ground beef. then, from the hallway of our apt. bldg., "FIRE!! EVERYONE GET OUT!" long story short, fire on our floor, no one hurt, everyone evacuated, me in my jammies and a coat and some sandals i managed to jam my feet into. fire extinguished, but NO POWER in the bldg. for foreseeable future! no power, no heat, no hot water, NO INTERNET (yikes!) - nada. well, the stove was still working. so some of the lights were still flickering and we went in and finished our tacos. Red Cross wanted to put us all up in a shelter, but i said uh uh, no way, not with us being sick. so we high-tailed it to a nearby motel. yesterday still no power. bags of ice went into the fridge to keep the food cold, i packed my bags and went to my dad's. the BF, being a MAN, decided to tough it out in the apt. ("it's like camping!"). whatever! anyway, finally back at work today, not sure when we'll have power again, not sure when i'll be cooking next!

[foodieX2]

Another movie night with friends! This time I did succumb and will be watching Looper. So many mixed reviews coupled with violence tell me it wont be fave.

I making Giada's polenta squares with mushroom ragu as a nibble while we have a cocktail and catch up. I am making a couple tweaks as I plan to cut out small rounds and grill the polenta before topping with ragu.That along with Ina's thyme roasted marcona almonds should start us out right.

Dinner is from the latest Bon Appetit- Rigatoni with spicy Calabrese style pork ragu. I am subbing penne for the rigatoni. We will have a hearty bread for soaking up the sauce and mixed green salad. Bought one of favorite every day red's to go with-Peppoli Chianti Classico.

Also if is still beyond cold here so no fire in the fire place….

[LindaWhit]

foodieX2, we've started a new thread - look at my post just above yours....

[foodieX2]

thanks I'll repost!!!

[roxlet]

...

[LindaWhit]

I've started a new thread here:

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/887399

[Bacardi1]

Last night's chill screamed for comfort food. I had 2 turkey drumsticks & wings thoroughly wrapped & frozen from Thanksgiving. Minimally defrosted them in the microwave, parked them on a bed of sauteed-veggie-tweaked bread stuffing, & baked @ 350, covered, for about 45 minutes. Served with buttered Brussels sprouts.

Boy was that good. What I really liked was the fact that those turkey parts tasted just as good as the rest of the turkey did on Turkey Day - moist, crispy-skinned, & fresh.

Dessert was a loaf of "Roasted Banana Nutella Bread", courtesy of of a "Chow" recipe.

[suzigirl]

Roasted banana nutella bread. Yummy yum yum. Bet that is good.

[Bacardi1]

It was/is delicious & extremely moist, & best of all - since I'm not much of a baker - super easy. The only "problem" I had was working with the Nutella, which I found a bit gluey. But other than that, it came together relatively quickly. It's a "Chow" recipe.

http://www.chow.com/recipes/30562-roa...

[suzigirl]

That looks so good. I can't wait to try it. Thanks for the link.

[Bacardi1]

What's especially nice is that you don't have to wait to have overripe bananas to make it. The roasting of the bananas is wonderful, & really intensifies the banana flavor, not to mention making the bananas oh-so-soft & easy to mash.

[icey]

Last night was a deconstructed, if you will, turkey sheppard's pie. I sauteed mirepoix then added extra lean ground turkey. Once it was nicely browned, I added a tbsp of flour and deglazed with water and some Vegeta buillion. Added petite pois at the very end. In another pot, I boiled some mini new potatoes and once they were down, I smashed them, added sauteed onions, and put under the broiler to crisp up. Put the turkey mixture in a bowl, and topped it with the potatoes. Was actually really good!

[Berheenia]

Last night we had a chicken pot pie. It didn't snow much overnight, just a dusting, but it's getting colder. Tomorrow our highs will only be in the teens. I may bake a loaf of the Artisan bread from the dough we made Saturday as an excuse to turn on the oven!

[LindaWhit]

Ohh...your house will smell SO good!

[Frizzle]

It's Dan Dan noodles tonight. The second meal in the week of the bloke's favourite dinners only. Can you tell I'm feeling a little flat about not cracking open a recipe book and venturing into the unknown? It seems like days since I tried something new.
In other more exciting news he claims he's bringing home a new laptop to finally replace our deceased one (I actually asked for a puncture repair kit for a flat pram wheel). Having a keyboard will be a treat as I've only had my iPhone and my fat thumb for months.

[thymetobake]

Well, there's a reason to repeat the bloke's favourite dinners. :)

[mariacarmen]

much better today, throat pain almost nil (until about an hour ago, drat it.) went to the Oldster's, sister is sicker than me. made him shepherd's pie with the requisite ground lamb. turned out good.

came home, BF out of it, poor guy. i rustled us up some leftover soup with slices of the neverending pork roast and a splooch of chili garlic sauce to help us sweat this thing out. a little buttered rye toast on the side for the BF.

tomorrow - carnitas tacos. the roast that keeps on giving!

[LindaWhit]

Colds/symptoms always worsen in the afternoon evening - hopefully it's ALL gone this morning!

[mariacarmen]

so funny - it was bad last night, woke me up at 4 this morning, with the pain, got up at 6, emailed my office, got up again at 7:00 to get ready to just go sit at the doctor's office, and of course, it felt MUCH better. i went anyway later on, no strep. just a cold.

[suzigirl]

Whew...dodged the strep bullet. Lucky you. Glad you are feeling better today

[LindaWhit]

Double Whew! on no strep!

[mariacarmen]

yep, thanks ladies....

[gingershelley]

Glad it's a cold, MC; how DO they know if you have that flu thing?

[mariacarmen]

i don't really know. i looked up flu here: http://www.flu.gov/symptoms-treatment...

i have not had a fever, among the many other unsavory symptoms that a flu can entail. no body aches either. just a bad cold. everyone's getting it around here.

[GretchenS]

"the roast that keeps on giving" -- mc your timing on having that around was perfect!!! And do you currently have all your utilities? :) And recovering health?

[mariacarmen]

GS - yes, thanks! all utilities are go, plumber is at the house right now hopefully fixing the leak in our ceiling. i went to the doctor, don't have strep, just a bad sore throat from the common cold (implicitly heard, "you big baby"), back at work (yuck) so all is better. thanks!

and totally on the pork - tacos tonight!

[gingershelley]

Brave, Brave girl... and taco's to boot!

[Cherylptw]

Pepper steak with onions, green beans with boiled potatoes, garden salad

[ChristinaMason]

Last night's dinner plans were postponed to have a jam session, pizza, salad, and brownies with friends. I'm back on the low-carb wagon tonight making the aforementioned gai lan w/ beef, mushrooms, and water chestnuts, served with riced cauli.

[aching]

I made a pork and beef ragu today (from the February issue of Bon Appetit) which I am planning to serve over rigatoni. It is seriously the best ragu I've ever made, and maybe the best I've ever tasted. You know how sometimes when you're making something you can't stop tasting it over and over (just to make sure it's edible *wink*)? This is like that. And it's a perfect winter food, although it's no longer BRRRRRRRRRR in LA.

[mariacarmen]

mmmmm... beef and pork... sounds awesome. i'll have to look that up. totally get what you mean....

[aching]

The recipe's not on Epicurious yet, but I'll try to remember to post the link when it is. We're going to eat it tonight - can't wait!

[GretchenS]

sounds fabulous!! nothing beats a great ragu in the winter...

[roxlet]

Uh-oh! That cover photo had been talking to me all week. I'm horrified that it was so delicious!! How do I fit THAT into my weight loss plan!

[GretchenS]

on spaghetti squash?

[aching]

Small portions, with lots of veg on the side?

[roxlet]

Hmmm. I guess. Maybe for a splurge!

[suzigirl]

It sounds worth a splurge.

[wyogal]

Lleftovers: cornish hen, cut in 4 pieces, no stuffing, roasting with some Italian sausages, peppers, garlic, red chili flakes. Will have with some leftover marinara, and turn some dinner rolls into garlic toasts. i have half a package of linguine.
More cocoas mocha cake and ice cream for dessert.

[linguafood]

Ack. I guess this is more of that "old age" crap.... my back decided to spas out on me this AM, so I've been trying not to move around too much, and have been 'munching' on muscle relaxants and the occasional pain killer. Yum.

This means no Hobbit @the movies tonight, which was the original plan, but staying put at home.

This also means my man will prepare a chuck-eye roast for me, while I will try to make the side -- romaine lettuce w/blue cheese dressing, hopefully without too many groans and moans. Wah. Maybe we'll splurge and open a can of Trader Joe's corn, too :-)

Party hardy hardee har. Not.

[LindaWhit]

I've had one of those spazzes - towel-drying my hair in the shower! I could barely move for almost a week. Hope yours eases up very quickly!

[alliegator]

Ugh, hope it's feeling better soon, lingua. Last (and only) time that happened to me was shoveling a snow/ice chunk mixture last year :( Uncool.

[linguafood]

Ha! If only I had physically exerted myself to justify the spazzing out '-D

All I did was sit on my lazy ass, and all of a sudden.... SPAZ!

I'm sure I'll be ok again tomorrow. Hopefully.

[alliegator]

It's tomorrow, hope it's all good now!

[suzigirl]

Boy. It seems everyone around here has the funk. I sure hope you are back on your feet very soon. I hope everyone is.

[mariacarmen]

awww, sweetie! take it easy, let the man spoil you! that sucks. the BF has recurring back issues - i know how bad it can be. hopefully the meds will help... and the chuck roast.....

[GretchenS]

feel better fast lingua!

[linguafood]

Thanks all! Feeling better again already today, tho I'll likely have to forego k-boxing today.

The roast was a-ok, considering my dear man came home with the wrong cut -- eye of round instead of chuck-eye. We still managed to roast it to an acceptable medium, not too chewy, and relatively tasty thx to a quick rub (paprika, sea salt, crushed rosemary, cayenne). The salad w/blue cheese dressing and the delightfully sweet canned corn on the side made for a nice, fast dinner.

Checking out a new Chinese buffet place. Yes, yes I know. We'll hafta see if it's good at all.

[gingershelley]

Glad the spasm-chasm passed, and that the BF helped dinner was fine. I'll take the blue cheese salad for sure on the side of a beef roast.

Hope the vocal cords not impacted by the back!

[suzigirl]

Tonight I am back on my feet. Gastroparesis is behind me again. Hopefully for a while, forever would be better. I am making the bf Italian sausage and cheese stuffed shells. Serving a broccoli,raisin and pine nut salad. I am having Campbell's chicken noodle to be safe

[LindaWhit]

I hope it's gone, suzi!

[suzigirl]

Thanks so much. I sure hope so too. My tummy only knows

[mariacarmen]

poor baby! yeah, i hope it's gone for good too.

[GretchenS]

oh dear, hope it stays away a long time!!!

[suzigirl]

So do I. Been struggling off and on since May with this. One simple stomach flu and now I have 25% of my tummy working right. But i still love my food.

[mariacarmen]

wow, that's some serious flu! sorry suzigirl, but glad you can still appreciate your food.

[suzigirl]

I've lost thirty four pounds since May but you can't keep a good chowgirl down. Must keep cooking and loving food.

[roxlet]

That's a tough way to lose weight, but hope you're on the mend!

[LindaWhit]

Wow - that is NOT a good way to lose weight, suzi!

[suzigirl]

Definately not how I wanted to get down to my fighting weight but you deal with what cards you are dealt right? It is getting better so I am greatful for that. Hopefully I get to a place that it never comes back and they take me off these darn meds

[mariacarmen]

oh man, i hope you had the 30 lbs. to lose! what a hardship on your poor body! good to hear you are dealing with it.

[suzigirl]

I am at a healthy weight for my height now but I wouldn't wish the pain and ill feelings on anyone. I wanted to lose weight but you are right, it was a hardship on me. Always have my chin up though.

[alliegator]

My god, that's a lot of weight to shed in that manner. Your 'tude is great and I hope you start feeling well soon. And treat yourself to some new spring clothes when it's time :)

[suzigirl]

I live in Florida. Its always spring clothes weather. And i just bought myself two new pairs of jeans the other day. I love shopping.

[gingershelley]

Keep to the delish' food suzie, and hope the weight comes back of you want it - mostly it's great to have a healthy appetite, and be able to eat a variety of foods without compromising health. That's all I ask for:)

[suzigirl]

A variety of foods without compromising my health is all I want too. I have to limit my variety, but i still love to cook and eat and plan to stay here and share with all of you

[PHREDDY]

Simple.....It is
Monday....prepared all the fixin's for beef stew last night ...it is cold here in the apple....went into the slow cooker this am....an added treat...picked up some lobster ravioli. ...they are going into egg wash and panko with some garlic powder, onion powder and a bit of cayene...deep fried.... a little dab of butter on top..., a glass of malbec..nice start to a comfort meal in celebration of the inaugration!

[mariacarmen]

wow - fried lobster ravioli - food fit for the celebration! lifting my glass with you, Phreddy!

[PHREDDY]

It actually took me about 10 minutes to do the preparation and about 10 minutes to fry....delish! The slow cooker beef stew was it usually good stuff....Hope your abode is back up to normal!

[Musie]

I'm making trout burgers served up in fresh kaiser buns tonight. The burgers I'm making myself, the buns are from the supermarket bakery. I'm also going to whip up a batch of olive and herb scones for my lunches this week.

[linguafood]

Trout burgers? Care to elaborate?

[Musie]

I roughly blended together 1lb of thawed uncooked trout with 1/3c of fresh breadcrumbs, 2 chopped scallions and 1/2tbsp of dry dill weed and some seasoning. It make 4 burgers.

[linguafood]

Interesting! I guess I never thought of making burgers with trout, but that's probably b/c I almost always buy them fresh & whole (we're lucky enough to have a trout farmer in town who sells them on Fridays, caught that same day), and usually just throw them on the grill.

But I love trout pretty much anyway -- smoked, grilled, pan-fried. OK, maybe not raw '-)

[Musie]

I have to admit, it wasn't my favourite way to use trout, but I'd make them again just because they were so easy and quick. I also think they'd be a great way of getting kids to eat more fish.

I should have added that I cooked the burgers on a medium heat in a frying pan.

[gingershelley]

So Musie, is this trout you have to bone out, or can you get fresh/frozen trout fillet's, cut up, etc. where you are? Which is where?

So interesting... I guess like salmon burgers, but less fatty/pink...

[alliegator]

Jambalaya tonight at Casa Al. I happened to have some of this and some of that for ingredients, and grabbed a few other things from the store. It's been quite a while since I've made it, so I'm hoping it comes out tasty!

[alliegator]

I was worried for nothing--it turned out great. I don''t know why I don't make Jambalaya more often.

[LindaWhit]

Nice!

[GretchenS]

Very nice allie!

[suzigirl]

Looks wonderful

[alliegator]

Thanks! Wish y'all could have dropped in, I made way too much.

[suzigirl]

I'm not to proud to eat leftovers :-)

[gingershelley]

Awe, I would take a bowl of leftovers, Allieg!

[steve h.]

Monday being a holiday was a partial reprise of Sunday: I squeezed the last of the blood oranges and made bellinis; leftover deviled eggs and the last of the clam dip were the mid-day nibbles.

Supper will be veal piccata (capers fit my mood). Sides TBD. I'll parole something tasty from the wine jail.

Today, January 21, is known to some as Blue Monday, aka the most depressing day of the year. Condolences to you Patriots and Falcons fans, congratulations to the victors. Super Bowl XLVII in New Orleans should be interesting.

The Northeast is plunging into the deep freeze effective tonight and will stay there for at least a week. I'm not happy about this. Comfort food is in my future.

[PHREDDY]

Steve..my compadre....I feel for your blue Monday...but as you know my NY/actually NJ teams are long gone.....eat my friend all of the comfort foods you can find....pitchers and catchers in 6 weeks!!!!!

[steve h.]

Amen, brother.

[GretchenS]

Food for the football game last night was Lidia Bastianich's pork spareribs roasted with vinegar and red pepper flakes -- excellent but you have to leave them in twice as long as she says after glazing them (recipe on Lidia's Italy website) -- roasted veggies and a giant heaping serving of crow. The first two were very tasty; the last gave me indigestion and a sleepless night. Will be cheering for the Niners in the SB; the way they overcame that 17-0 deficit made me an admirer.

[LindaWhit]

All of those damn tiny little bones in the wings of the crow. Hate them. :-/

[juliejulez]

Tonight is some chicken paillards seasoned with cumin, paprika, and pepper, with a pan sauce made with fresh orange juice, honey, a bit of lemon juice, cinnamon, crushed red pepper, and butter. Side will just be some couscous and some simple sauteed zucchini.

Question, the recipe calls for a cinnamon stick to be put in with the pan sauce while it cooks. I don't have any sticks, just ground cinnamon, and I don't want to go buy a whole jar of sticks just for this one recipe. It should be fine to just put in a bit of ground cinnamon to taste, right?

[LindaWhit]

A very wee bit of ground cinnamon should be fine, julie. Like a bare pinch.

I use cinnamon sticks in a recipe called "Orange-Clove Rice" that is one my Mom has made for ages to go with a chicken recipe. Scroll down a bit in this post:

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/7783...

[juliejulez]

That rice sounds delicious Linda, I will save it :) I have an orange chicken (not of the asian variety) recipe I want to make soon and I bet that rice would be great with it. And thank you!

[Frizzle]

Tonight was a Japanese and Korean infuenced meal. Grilled aubergine with a sweet miso glaze and tofu with a Korean dressing. The bloke has asked that we take a week off trying new recipes and has requested some of his favourites, this being one of them.

[Cherylptw]

Last night's dinner was a simple braised rabbit with sage, s & p, garlic and some crushed red pepper....sides were rice pilaf and carrots glazed & simmered in oj, ginger, brown sugar and a bit of butter.

[Frizzle]

I know you say 'simple' but I think it sounds incredible. Rabbit is such a rare treat for me.

[JungMann]

Rabbit braised with sage seems like perfect cold weather food! What was your braising liquid? Just chicken stock?

[Cherylptw]

Chicken stock....

[JungMann]

Thanks! Now all I need is a rabbit...

[roxlet]

Where are you located? We get ours from Sal at Biancardi's on Arthur Avenue.

[JungMann]

It depends. Sometimes I get them from Fairway, sometimes from Chinatown. They're not too difficult for me to get whole, though it'd be nice if I could get them butchered.

[juliejulez]

Sounds tasty. I had my first rabbit over the holidays and I really liked it.

[eight_inch_pestle]

Last night was cardamom-spiced pork burgers, tossed greens, and a fresh mint ice cream for dessert. Pizza delivered tonight.

[mariacarmen]

throat closing in on me has not stopped me from eating today. the BF has antibiotics for .what we thought was strep throat, but he tested negative. i won't be able to get to the dr. til tues. hoping it's just some other throat malady. i am SO DONE WITH THIS COLD

ANYHOO... pork is the order of the day, still. i'm going to make a koreanish/spicy dip for slices of the reheated pork to wrap in lettuce leaves, with some jasmine rice.

earlier today i roasted leftover fennel bulb, some turnips and butternut squash. made a great salad with them for lunch with some curly endive and the rest of the grapefruit/walnut oil dressing. but not sure they'd fit in with the koreanish theme.

[mariacarmen]

ETA: It worked! not koreanish, really, but... i made a dressing for the roasted veggies of sesame chili oil and rice wine vinegar, and added sliced scallions and basil.

for the pork, i napped thin heated slices of the roast with a similar sauce of, again, sesame chili oil, rice wine vinegar, and added garlic chili sauce, a bit of sugar, and minced fresh ginger. served it with red leaf lettuce for making wraps, and some jasmine rice. simples.

[GretchenS]

yummy-sounding simples! so sorry you are still feeing awful...

[mariacarmen]

thanks! much better today.

[alliegator]

Looks fantastic! Glad you're feeling some improvement. Hopefully more is on the way!

[wyogal]

Cornish hens, boned, except for leg and wing, stuffed with: diced dried out baguette, cooked wheat berries (toasted, cooked with chicken stock, garlic, bay leaf) prunes that have soaked in marsala overnight, diced garlic, rosemary, onion, finely diced ripe pear, browned bacon bits, moistened with chicken stock, and bacon grease.
Will glaze with plum jam melted with rosemary.
Serve with roasted carrots.
I'll try and remember a pic later.

[Frizzle]

Wow, what an incredible sounding meal.

[mariacarmen]

wow is right - those prunes sound fantastic - the whole thing does.

[wyogal]

... and chocolate mocha cake and ice cream for dessert.

[GretchenS]

fabulous wyogal!!

[wyogal]

Thanks!

[gingershelley]

Beautiful meal! Was it a special occasion Wyogal?

[wyogal]

Nah, just dinner and darts.... ;) Continuing to enjoy our newly finished space: family room/dart parlor, guest room.

[scubadoo97]

Well done wyoga. Looks wonderful and really like the stuffing

[Dirtywextraolives]

Told the family that today, the big screen, hi def 3D TV was all mine.....lol! Even though I was very tired, I made the pork tenderloins and gnocchi a for dinner last night, so I wouldn't have to cook today, so I can watch the games.

So the plan is munchies and football food for the day. Started with the orange food first, cheese puffs, at the kids' request, carrot sticks and hummus. Getting a pizza & buffalo chicken sandwich delivered for lunch. Then on to the red and green foods, guacamole, chips & salsa, maybe some mini corn dogs. Not sure what to make the kids for dinner, maybe mac & cheese or sliders, but the man & I will have báhn mi sandos with some thinly sliced pork tenderloin, liverwurst in for the pâté, pickled carrots, sliced jalapeño, cilantro and garlic aioli made with kewpie mayo.

May make some chocolate chip cookies and give the kids cookie ice cream sandwiches for later.

[Disneyfreak]

Dinner tonight: Sunday Gravy with sausage, meatballs and pork. Pasta, salad and bread too. I can't wait!

[lovessushi]

That sounds so good!! We're cutting back on meat here, but every time I hear about Sunday Gravy, I think I should go out and buy some beef!

Having Mujadarrah tonight - very homey and warm - lots of fried onions and greek yogurt on top! It's fairly plain though - I'm considering adding cumin and/or cinnamon today...

[rasputina]

I think this cold must be going around, my husband is also sick, he caught it at work. Last night was frozen pizza, because I was feeling lazy and I ended up burning my lip very badly on the cheese. Sat there for 4 hours with ice on it and took advil before it started to feel better.

Tonight I'm making chicken with clementines and arak from the COTM and basmati rice on the side along with the left over spicy chickpea salad we had for lunch.

[mariacarmen]

owwww! that sounds really painful, rasputina! poor baby... and your hubby too. hopefully it won't last long for him.

[steve h.]

Today is all about football.

Nibbles and finger foods will be the order of the day: clam dip; olives; deviled eggs; ham sliced razor thin on hot, buttered biscuits; duck pâté; potato chips. I made blood orange bellinis to help us settle in.

I don't have a team in either game so I'll just kick back and be a well-fed couch coach.

[LindaWhit]

Loving the sound of those bellinis! Enjoy the fingers. ;-)

[Berheenia]

I thought you lived in New England Steve. They are the New England Patriots in spite of the aura of massholism that seems to permeate Gillette Stadium.
(spoken like a true Rhode Islander)
We're having stromboli and I see a few nips of Bulleit on the counter top. May come in handy.

[LindaWhit]

Pssstt....Berheenia, he lives closer to that other state that has two football teams - both of which are not playing. I'm pretty sure that's where his alliance lies. :-)

[Berheenia]

I know but can't you see he secretly wants the Pats to win. Just trying to welcome him to our side of the border. Enjoy your chili. We had ours last night with doctored TJ's corn bread. I love that stuff.

[steve h.]

Yeah, born in NYC, raised in New Jersey, schooled in Massachusetts. Lower Fairfield County seemed like a good fit when Deb and I returned to the states.

[steve h.]

Stromboli is brilliant. Good call on the bulleit, too.

Deb and I live in lower Fairfield County, that means Giants for football, Yankees for baseball.

[Dirtywextraolives]

Mmmmmm, clam dip..... I usually only think to make this in the summer, not sure why.....

[steve h.]

Shellfish in the winter always works for me.
Fried clams/clam rolls are a summer treat.

[Dirtywextraolives]

Me too, I can eat fried clams any time of year, but for some reason I crave a good retro clam dip in the summer.... Reminds me of my shore dinner days on the Sound, I guess....

[steve h.]

San Francisco, after stinking up the joint in the first quarter, righted the ship and came out with a win. It was a good game to watch: lots of adjustments by coaches, lots of hard-nosed play on the field plus some bonehead stuff to make it even more interesting.

Nibbles have been very good so far. Ham and biscuits will be added to the mix for the New England game.

[Cynsa]

We're in San Francisco... sports' weekend; end of NHL lockout; wave action for surfing at Mavericks this morning - we enjoyed the blue skies and counting the smaller 20' waves at Ocean Beach; San Francisco 49ers win; and it's one more game to go at Gillette Stadium, where the New England Patriots and Baltimore Ravens go to it — on tv.
I'm doing a quick no-brainer Chicken Dijonnaise, mashed potatoes, and green beans. Simple, no fuss.
Lovely 60°F today/no wind - after what seemed like endless temps of too-cold 41°F. Cold weather makes me cranky. I'm relaxed and comfortable at 60°F. Leftovers of flourless chocolate cake for a sweet ending.

[LindaWhit]

Are you ready for some FOOTBALL? I am. :-)

Picked up yet a few MORE paint samples this morning - hopefully one of them will click.

Otherwise, it's perfect game day food for dinner tonight - chili and cornbread, and alongside, a spinach salad. Well, OK - the spinach salad isn't typical game day food. But I have the spinach, and it needs to be used, so it has become game day food for me. :-)

GO PATS!!! (The wind is *crazy strong* right now - hopefully it dies down a bit before game time!)

[juliejulez]

Add a bacon vinaigrette to the salad and it becomes game day food... bacon turns anything into game day food :)

[LindaWhit]

LOL! Very true, julie!

[Breadcrumbs]

Your meal sounds perfect for game day Linda and you're right, it's definitely a chili-chilly kinda day!

I just went down to the basement and pulled out some frozen ground chicken as I found a recipe for a Mexican Hash Casserole in Clifford Wright's Bake Until Bubbly Cookbook. WIth nothing but super-cold blustery weather forecasted for the week ahead I thought I'd prepare this today so we have it on hand for a couple of weeknight meals. It sounds very similar to chili but less virtuous w a slathering of cheese atop!!

Enjoy the game!!

[LindaWhit]

Oh, there *will* be cheese on top of the chili - along with sour cream. So we're in a similar boat. I just can't bring the chili to work for lunches. I don't think my coworkers would appreciate it. :-o

[Breadcrumbs]

That's good of you to perform such a public service Linda, no doubt your colleagues are grateful!! I shared this w mr bc who was already planning to take our leftovers for lunches - he snickered and said..."even more reason to take it!!"

I hadn't thought about sour cream but now you mention it, I'll be sure to put some on the table tomorrow as well!! Thanks!

[jmcarthur8]

Last night's dinner was brought about because of an earlier thread on cubed steaks. I cooked them up quick with a mushroom, shallot, sherry and sour cream sauce and threw some gnocchi into the sauce just before serving. For the side, I roasted Brussels sprouts with a little olive oil and gray sea salt, then sprinkled Pecorino Romano on them at the end.

Tonight will be homemade falafel with tahini in pita bread. I have the chickpeas soaking now- haven't made falafel homemade before, so this will be fun.
DH is making stuffed grape leaves to have with it. That's another new experience for both of us. I'm looking forward to it!

[LindaWhit]

Love the sound of that sauce, jmcarthur!

[Bacardi1]

Last night I made my "Crockpot Chicken with Noodles", an easy favorite that only uses the crockpot for the chicken mixture & a pot/colander to cook the egg noodles. No "pre-braising/browning" in a separate pan. Green salad with lots of "toppings" as usual on the side.

[Dirtywextraolives]

Do you mind sharing, Bacardi1? I'm on the hunt for more crockpot recipes, thanks!

[Bacardi1]

Here ya go. (Leftovers reheat nicely in the microwave as well.)

Bacardi1 Crockpot Chicken and Noodles

One package boneless skinless chicken thighs - OR - one package boneless skinless chicken breasts (in my opinion, the thighs produce a better & moister end product, but breast pieces work if you’re a white-meat-only fan)
½ a stick of unsalted butter, melted
1 can Campbell’s “Golden Mushroom” condensed soup
1 small packet dry Italian dressing mix
4 oz. container “Chive and Onion” cream cheese (this time I used a pkg. of Boursin “Shallot & Chive” cheese)
¾ Campbell soup can full of dry white wine (Chablis, Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc)
One 8-ounce package white button mushrooms, rinsed & halved
Chopped/minced fresh Italian flat-leaf parsley for garnish (optional)
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Egg noodles for serving, cooked according to package directions

Add melted butter, soup, wine, Italian dressing mix, & cream cheese to crockpot. Whisk until relatively smooth. Stir in mushrooms & nestle whole chicken pieces into sauce, spooning a little sauce on top of chicken. Cook on low for four (4) hours (no lifting the cover to peek – it skews the cooking time!). Remove chicken, shred or cut into bite-size pieces, & return to pot. Serve over cooked egg noodles garnished with parsley & freshly ground black pepper.

[Dirtywextraolives]

Thank you so much! I appreciate you taking the time to type it out for me! It looks really good!

[Bacardi1]

You're very welcome!

What I like about it is that except for the little Pyrex dish I use to melt the butter in the microwave, there's only the pot & colander for the noodles & the crockpot! No saute this, pre-brown that. And it really is delicious - a nice winey brothy chicken (again - the boneless thighs work best - & they're cheaper to boot!) over egg noodles.

Even though - gasp - it uses canned soup, dry "Good Seasons" Italian dressing mix, & herbed cream cheese, it really hits the spot some nights. ;)

[mariacarmen]

it sounds very deliciously homey.

[Dirtywextraolives]

Yes, I agree, love the low maintenance of not having to brown the meat before adding to the pot, which is really the only way I will do beef in the crockpot!

And I love using thighs, as I know how dried out & tasteless breasts become after slow cooking, they just aren't made for it. I'm not worried about the canned soup aspect, just glad it's not a "cream of..." One since I can't really stomach those, literally! Thanks again, will let you know when I try it.

[ChristinaMason]

I picked up a big bunch of gai lan (Chinese broccoli) at the store a few days ago with plans to make Chinese broccoli. I'll probably hybridize a few recipes I found online:

http://www.gowstakeout.com/2009/10/19/stir-fried-beef-with-gai-lan/

http://www.homemadechinese.com/2010/01/kai-lan-gai-lan-with-beef.html

http://www.tigersandstrawberries.com/...

I'm avoiding grains, so I'll attempt to thicken the sauce w/ a touch of xanthan gum, and will serve the stir-fry over riced cauliflower.

[linguafood]

Love me some gai lan. One of my favorite Asian veggies.

[ChristinaMason]

This bunch cost me $5, so I'd better not screw it up. Stupid Harris Teeter (or stupid me for shopping there).

[juliejulez]

Tonight is jalapeño popper Mac and cheese. I have a big hunk of pepper jack cheese to use up, along with some cream cheese, and the recipe popped up on one of my favorite blogs a couple weeks ago, so we'll give it a shot. No roux based sauce involved.

[Dirtywextraolives]

Yum, sounds really good!

[juliejulez]

I didn't end up making it :( We had a very late lunch around 3, so I just nibbled on the leftovers from the carne asada tacos I made on Friday. But I have all the ingredients so I'll make it soon.

[boyzoma]

Last night was chicken stir fry. Diced chicken breast, red, green, yellow julienned peppers, sliced onion, mushrooms, celery, water chestnuts, bean sprouts and yakasoba noodles. Rice on the side as well as "pancakes" to wrap it all up in. Yum.

Tonight will be my version of pigs in a blanket. Pounded strips of round steak with bacon on it. Rolled up and secured with toothpicks. Seared and then braised for a couple of hours. Mashed potatoes and gravy with green beans as a side. I'll make some rolls to go with.

[LindaWhit]

LOVE your "pigs in a blanket!"

[Dirtywextraolives]

Those braised piggies do sound delicious! What did you braise them in?

[boyzoma]

Braised in beef broth and a tad of white wine. Also I added a half of onion in the mix. After I took the meat out, I used a slurry and mixed with a "boat motor" to blend the onion chunks into the gravy. Between the rolls and meat, it made the house smell divine. Potatoes were a red potato mash.

[ChristinaMason]

Looks awfully tasty!

[Dirtywextraolives]

Thanks, sure looks great!

[Breadcrumbs]

MC I am so very sorry to hear about your home. Like others here, I'm happy to know you are both safe but sorry to learn of your flu. Do take good care!

It's blustery and cold here this morning so mr bc isn't relishing the thought of braving the winds to grill the steaks he decided he wanted for dinner this evening. We're in "clean out the freezer" mode and there's no end in sight as we dive into the depths of chest freezer to see what we unearth!

Yesterday I discovered a package of chicken sausages with garlic that I used in a pasta and mushroom dish. Yes it was decadent but it served to use up most of the heavy cream we had leftover from Christmas and, a small bag of peas that I found in the freezer that were at least a year old!! Thankfully the pasta was lovely and made for a decadent treat before the hockey game. (you need to load up on carbs before a game right? ....ok, maybe not if you're just watching!!)

[mariacarmen]

thx bc! i'm always amazed at what treasures you all unearth from these deep freezers! it looks really good!

[LindaWhit]

That looks great, Bc!

[Breadcrumbs]

Thanks MC & Linda. That pasta definitely hit the spot and I'm sure we'll see it on our hips tomorrow!! LOL!!

[foodieX2]

Big game tonight! I am making BBQ beef brisket for the main and then all regular suspect as the sides/

Go Pats!

[mariacarmen]

Soup was even better than i expected, especially with slices of that fatty pork roast in it. the BF also made thick cut fries which we ate with mustard and salt. perfect sickie-food. AND we have heat again! plumber is coming tues. (they would have come today, but we were truly too sick to get out of bed and clear out the living room, so we called them off.) those jerusalem artichokes are my favorite newly refound item. even though they have, um, cleansing properties, that rabaja clued me in to. a little cleansing never hurt anyone.

[LindaWhit]

YAY! on the heat! And hopefully you continue to get better so the plumber can come on Tuesday!

[Frizzle]

Glad to hear you have heat at least. I hope the sickness disappears soon.

I love this article by Hugh FW with ideas for Jerusalem artichokes - delicious little things, you might enjoy the read.
http://m.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/...

[mariacarmen]

hey thanks, will check it out!

[Frizzle]

Yet another lazy meal on the cards for tonight. Pork sausages cooked on the BBQ will go onto a buttered slice of white sandwich bread. Fried onions will be piled on as will Fuchsia Dunlop's spicy coriander salad. The bread will be rolled around the sausage and eaten with hands. Dessert will be whatever fruit looks and smells the sweetest from the shop.

[Frizzle]

And the photo of our lazy but delicious dinner. Tomato sauce got added to some. I love the low bread to meat ratio you get using sandwich bread. No bread rolls for sausages in our house. I recall trying to explain this to an American workmate a few years back. He was not convinced but kindly supplied a loaf of bread for us at his next BBQ.

[LindaWhit]

A day of errands and nothing done on my Honey Do list. Hopefully tomorrow. But I *might* have found a new couch for the living room. Will probably wait to purchase it until after the taxes are done.

Dinner tonight will be a couple of chicken thighs thoroughly rubbed with za'atar and roasted, some mashed sweet potatoes with ginger, and sauteed green beans. I am *not* a hockey fan, so I'll watch a movie from my ever-growing list of "Should See" movies.

[Frizzle]

That sounds like a lovely meal LW.

[linguafood]

Let's see. The pork tenderloin medaillons I made on Thursday came out rather bland.... guess the flour could've used some more seasoning. They just tasted flat, and mostly of paprika.

The Brussels shproutzens and baby bella combo in mustard sauce, however, was a great success. Which is good, b/c I overdid it a bit with the sherry vinegar in my walnut vinaigrette, so my currently favorite fennel salad didn't turn out ideal, either. Gah.

Maybe that's why I decided to go out for dinner yesterday at our local sushi & cocktail haunt: beef tendon salad in a fantastic Sichuan-style dressing heavy on the ma la, a lamb casserole that was more like a soup with daikon radishes I didn't like AT ALL, and neither did my Armenian man.... can you say floppy skin?, and yellow chives with beef -- this was outstanding.

Tonight will be another night out in a small town nearby -- two of my bandmates have a gig at a local brew pub that gets great reviews for its food. We shall see.

Oh, and hockey is back, so I have a happy man again :-)

[juliejulez]

Hockey night here in Colorado too! But their game (the first) is an away one so we're going to "our" bar which is a "hockey" one, to watch and eat. I'm looking forward to maybe some wings or a big fat cheeseburger.

[Berheenia]

Not big hockey fans but the Bruins are back and making a lot of people I like happy and the opening game is tonight at 7 (how come they get the great times for their games?) I think some chili and a fire is in order. Going to make some cheddar corn bread to be washed down with Labatts and some sav blanc.

[chefathome]

Brrrr! Tonight is to get down to -37. Tomorrow will be braising day. :)

Today I am baking gluten-free focaccia bread which will sop up the juices from the miso cod en papillote with baby Hasselback potatoes. Syrupy Sherried mushrooms on the side.

[Cherylptw]

Would you share the gluten free focaccia recipe?

[thymetobake]

Wow, hope they get all that fixed soon. What a mess.

Tonight is roast beef with rice and cajun gravy. Broccoli and cheese sauce on the side, probably. Tomorrow I'll make beef and veg soup with the left over roast. Thinking about a muffaletta for lunch. Still have homemade bread in the freezer for that. :-)

[mariacarmen]

As GS said, no more biblical calamities, knock on our now-warped hardwood floors. no sign of a plumber either, tho. it's scary looking at the seams on the ceiling that were softened by water.... we were supposed to head out of town but besides still being sickos, we don't trust that we won't come back to a flooded apartment.

so i got back in the kitchen today, finally. riffed on linguafood's dinner. made a slow roasted bone-in pork shoulder, though the only seasoning was kosher salt. 6 hours at 250 degrees, 1/2 hour at 420 to crisp up the skin. also in the 420 degree oven went sliced sunchokes which i'd tossed in olive oil and salt, with a couple of cut garlic cloves. they were FANTASTIC! i am going to go buy out the market's supply. also, copying lingua, i made a salad of curly endive, fennel, grapefruit segments, toasted walnuts, goat cheese, and a walnut oil (FINALLY bought a fresh can of the stuff) and grapefruit juice vinaigrette. i do love a walnut oil dressing. great salad. thanks, lingua!

also, made broth from a ham hock, and soaked some more black-eyed peas. just finished making basically the same soup as last week, sans spanish chorizo and kielbasa, but added sliced sunchokes. it smells divine. since it looks like we're not going anywhere this long weekend (wah, i had 4 days off!), we have plenty of food.

[Frizzle]

Oh my goodness. That looks and sounds incredible! I'm guessing sunchokes are also Jerusalem artichokes? Love them too.
Sorry to hear about the soggy ceiling and warped floors and lack of weekend away. I hope things improve for you soon.

[mariacarmen]

yes, same thing. thanks!

[linguafood]

lovely looking dinner, mc. always happy to inspire.

[LindaWhit]

Glad to hear you're back in the kitchen, mc - dinner looks great! And I do hope a plumber shows up today - warped floor and ceiling is not good!

The landlord has some 'splainin' to dooooo!

[wyogal]

That looks marvelous!

[Cherylptw]

Went to a wake this evening unexpectedly and had taken rockfish out to cook earlier....so that was what dinner was (fried) when we got home at almost 9 pm. and some potatoes & onions

[mokafeinomane]

A big casseroleful of Endive and Ham Gratin was bubbling furiously in the oven, had to wait a bit before taking a bite. It was delicious, I added way more garlic than in the original recipe, some pecorino on top too. Really good to warm up in this weather !

[mariacarmen]

wow that sounds delicious....

[ChristinaMason]

I'd love your recipe, if you don't mind? :)

[mokafeinomane]

Two weeks late, but oh well.

I took 4 medium belgian endives, pulled any damaged leaf and cut the very end of the 'tail', so it stills holds together, In a large pan I put a bit of butter and just lat the endives soften a couple minutes, turning them every so often. After that, I'd layer two thin slices of smoked ham one after the other and roll an endive in it, then put in a small casserole. Repeat for the three others.

I made a basic Béchamel sauce with one grated onion and two grated cloves of garlic, some fineley grated nutmag and freshly cracked black pepper. No need for salt with all this cheese and ham. When it's all thick and nice, I pulled it off the burner and then added a spoonful of grainy mustard and a good handful of cheddar. Mix to melt then pour over the casserole. Maybe two cups of sauce... who's counting ? Well not me. The sauce should almost cover the endives, they shouldn't drown in it.

I grated some pecorino atop then put the casserole in the oven for half an hour at 375°F to grill the top a bit.

[ChristinaMason]

That sounds pretty fantastic. Thanks for coming back to comment!

[aching]

I'm making the Halal Cart Style Chicken that someone (Roxlet?) posted about recently. I've already made the marinade (which I could eat with a spoon, it's so good) and the white sauce, and I'll start cooking the chicken and rice in an hour or so, when hubby gets home from yoga. I have a good feeling about this one!

[Dirtywextraolives]

That's the bomb. And roxlet gets the props.

[aching]

It WAS pretty amazing! Each component was delicious and the complete dish really worked. Hubby loved it. Next time, though, I would make twice as much marinade and half as much white sauce. I also might try it with chicken breasts instead of thighs just to make it a little less sinful - and grill them on the BBQ.

[Dirtywextraolives]

I agree about half the sauce, though I did use some on some gyros I made with leftover roast lamb, but yes, it makes a lot, then I had to toss it eventually. I think the grilled breasts sound good too!

[gingershelley]

I.MUST. MAKE. THIS. Been in 'the menu file' for a while.... Halal chix, here comes Sunday!

[Disneyfreak]

Can someone point me to this recipe? I tried to do a search but I couldn't find a recipe from Roxlet. Thanks!

[mebby]

Here's roxlet's original post, including a link to the recipe. Sounds great!
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/8663...

[aching]

Yes, the Serious Eats link in that post is the one that I used.

[roxlet]

Glad you all enjoyed it. It's a permanent part of the repertory!

[gingershelley]

Thanks Mebby; I did find it, and archived it finally - sounds like dinner in a couple of days!

[Frizzle]

We're having a using up leftovers day here. The ricotta (from milk) I made a couple of days went into Nigel Slater's blueberry and ricotta pancakes for breakfast. These were sublime. I'm still thinking about them hours later. The leftover lentil salad will be lunch. The bloke is on dinner duty tonight and he's said it's pan fried bits of chicken thigh in wraps with the leftover kachumber salad and the leftover yoghurt and mint. It sounds fairly good for a lazy Saturday night, especially good as my only task will be ensuring his wine glass is never empty while he puts it all together. It should clear the fridge of leftovers too so we can start fresh tomorrow.

[Berheenia]

Friday means drinks at the local, cheeseboigahs and a bag of caesar salad in a chilled bowl and oh boy is it cold here! Looking forward to a three day weekend ... Patriots!

[LindaWhit]

CHEEBOIGAHS! Yum. But ::::Grumble:::: I don't get a 3-day weekend. :-/

[steve h.]

Homemade mac&cheese with ham is on the menu. This is a really rich version but it tastes so good. I'll open a California Pinot Noir to wash things down. Deb's cooking, I'm cleaning. I'll stream some NCIS stuff to the plasma for entertainment.

I'm still steamed over last night's Top Chef.

[LindaWhit]

You must be REALLY steamed, steve, since Top Chef was 2 nights ago. ;-)

And what's your "rich version" of mac & ham & cheese?

[steve h.]

Steamed to the point where it seemed like only yesterday.

The mac&cheese sauce calls for copious amounts of butter, milk, heavy cream, Dijon mustard, cheddar cheese. The benign ingredients include flour, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper.

The topping calls for fresh breadcrumbs, melted butter and more cheddar.

It's a mighty tasty heart attack in a bowl. Porkette (smoked pork butt) was the ham.

[LindaWhit]

Ahh, so you use prepared mustard? I've always used powdered mustard mixed in with the flour for the roux.

[steve h.]

Absolutely. The vinegar and white wine in the Dijon add flavor to the mix. Colman's has its place, just not in this dish.

[LindaWhit]

Interestingly, I've never bought Colman's powdered mustard - I use Penzey's Canada powdered mustard.

[alliegator]

Well, I was going on about the Thursday night mobile pizza oven in my hood last night, but the mr. was not in a pizza mood. So we got takeout yakisoba, which was great.
I'm going to take inspiration from the stromboli thread, pick up a can of dough, and fill mine with ham, pepperoni, green peppers and mushrooms for tonight's dinner since pizza was not in my belly last night.
Desert is a nice bowl of disgust as we'll dine in front of Lance Armstrong part 2 on the tube.

[tcamp]

I had to look back for the THUR post to see what a mobile pizza oven was. I had imagined an actual mobile woodfired oven - people bring out their breads and pizzas to cook. Stand around and sip wine while items baked. Wouldn't that be fun?

[suzigirl]

I have seen one of those on something like "Eat Street". Maybe another show but it exists. He made one according to Tuscan traditions, iirc. It cracked in the first fire but he mended it and it was off and running on a trailer. I want one here. Although mobile pizza is nothing to snub. I would replace all the ice cream trucks in my hood for one pizza truck, for sure.

[alliegator]

Here's the mobile oven that comes to my neighborhood. They do park it outside of a wine bar, though! People sit around in the wine bar and collect their pizza when it's done.
It would be fun to have one where you bring your own stuff!! But the pies from this place are outstanding.
http://ilcanerosso.com/catering.php

[mariacarmen]

that is so fun!

[chefathome]

Tonight I am making Kung Pao Chicken to go with mung bean noodles. Japanese cucumber salad. Simple but flavourful.

[suzigirl]

That sounds tasty. What is in your cucumber salad? I would love to know

[wyogal]

We put up the dartboard that I got for my husband for Christmas. It just came in yesterday, cherry cabinet, finishing touch for the new family room/finished basement that he just completed.
So, dinner and darts tonight. I am working this afternoon and will be stopping at Wmart on the way home. I'm thinking of picking up bar type food, you know, turn oven on to 450F...
He mentioned he likes the breaded ravioli, so will pick up some of those (no, I don't feel like making them from scratch tonight)
along with a jarred marinara.
I have some garlic cheese spread, may slather that on bread, then cut them into slices
I may do a retro bacon/waterchestnut, too.
Not sure what else... other than shots and beers.

[Dirtywextraolives]

Sounds like my kind of evening! My husband loves darts and beers as well; come to think of it, if he comes home early enough, maybe I'll challenge him to a few games ;-))

[alliegator]

Sounds like a fun evening!! And glad to see that you're obviously feeling much better.

[Bacardi1]

I know this is late to your party Wyogal, but for future reference, Walmart's own "take & bake" pizzas are quite good. We often buy the plain cheese ones & add our own toppings at home.

[wyogal]

We usually have pizza, but I will have to remember about their take-n-bake.
I picked up chicken tenders and prosciutto (will wrap and bake), beef ravioli (breaded), a jar of marinara ("Tuscan Herb"), and I know it's over kill, but large shrimp that I'll season kind of spicy and wrap with bacon. Oh yeah, a french loaf (medium one) that I will spread with the garlic cheese stuff, and some small potatoes that I'll roast.
a new bottle of Ranch to round it out. ha!

[Bacardi1]

Yeah - Walmarts "take and bake" is nice when I want "anchovy & onions" & hubby wants "plain & mushrooms". Works out great.

[wyogal]

Here it is....... Husband set the "table," the coffee table in the family room.

[juliejulez]

Looks like quite the spread! My mom has placemats almost exactly like that, only it's polka dots instead of stripes and the other side is a red and green quilt pattern :) I want them but she won't give them up!

[wyogal]

The flip side is solid red, which is my preference! I need to get some more, we used to have quite a few "quilted" placemats and cloth napkins. I want to get some that will go with the family room, naturals, blues, nautical.
It was a good feast, I put the leftover potatoes and shrimp in the same pan as the chicken, will have as leftovers tomorrow, just pop it in the oven. Sauce heated separately.
Darts are fun...
Morgan and Coke....

[LindaWhit]

Nice Scooby Snacks for playing darts! (Did you win?)

[wyogal]

:) Nah, he won two games! But we had a great time! It was a very enjoyable evening!

[gingershelley]

Nice dart party Wyogal! Good times....

[suzigirl]

That sounds tasty and fun. Lemme grab my heels so i can be tall enough to play...

[juliejulez]

SO might be coming down with a cold, so we might just do some grilled cheese and tomato soup. But, if he's feeling up to it, I might take him out on a hot date for burgers at the new place I tried for lunch on Wednesday.

[juliejulez]

I ended up getting some carne asada beef at the meat counter at Sprouts, on a whim. The guy at the counter told me how good it was, so tonight I'm making some tacos. I'm starting to feel stuffy myself so my tacos will have a generous serving of some really spicy salsa that I have in the fridge.

[foodieX2]

tonight is roasted butternut squash and carrot ginger soup. I roasted the squah last night and then started it in the slow cooker this am. It will be ready to puree when I get home. Woot!

I also have the bread machine making baguette dough so we can have fresh bread with it too. Bakes up quick so dinner will be ready in no time.

It is FREEZING here today. Brrrrr is right!

[Frizzle]

The soup sounds delicious and fresh bread too. What a nice sounding meal.

[Bacardi1]

Another late night last night for hubby, so we enjoyed another "quickie". (Uh - that's a food-related "quickie" - lol!!)

"Turkey Chili Turkey Dogs", with all the usual trimmings (cheese, chopped sweet onion, etc., etc.).

[ChristinaMason]

What a story, mariacarmen! I can only echo the others in saying I'm glad you and BF are safe. Hopefully power will be restored very soon.

Last night was low-carb fish tacos: cod in a coconut-flour batter (with a bit of dried grated coconut added), more or less per this recipe: http://lusciouslowcarb.blogspot.com/2...

We rolled the fish in trimmed savoy cabbage leaves and topped 'em with avocado, sliced serrano, cilantro, and an agave-lime-chipotle crema. Lime wedges for squeezing. On the side was a salad of mixed greens with jicama, cucumber, and goat cheese in a spicy honey-chipotle-lime red wine vinaigrette.

It worked, although I won't say that either the coconut or the cabbage leaves were perfect substitutes for their carbier brethren.

[mariacarmen]

thx CM! those tacos sound great, nonetheless.

[ChristinaMason]

They made pretty good leftovers for lunch the next day! Sometimes I am my own worst critic because food I take time preparing sometimes doesn't taste good to me the day of. Palate fatigue, I guess.

[augustiner]

Phew! after that terrible fire on capp st. just recently, i've been so nervous about one in my building. just a year ago, my building benefited from my nocturnal hours when i heard a smoke alarm going off in the building that wouldn't stop beeping at 5 in the morning. i found the apartment and banged on the door until the tenant woke up. he had passed out drunk with a pot of instant ramen on the stove, which was shooting flames towards the ceiling. i put it out in time, but i think my lungs are still black from smoke inhalation. apartment fires are no joke.

anyways i'm glad no one got hurt. as for what i've been cooking in this chill: yukgaejang, korean spicy shredded beef soup loaded with chili powder, garlic, bean sprouts, fern shoots, green onions, and egg. with rice and kimchi, of course.

[mariacarmen]

augistiner, neighbor! i saw pics of that capp fire, glad it didn't get to you. scary story, you were the
hero for sure. our bldg fire alarms did NOT go off. landlord is getting a ton of grief from everyone.

your dinner sounds great. haven't made anything koreanish in awhile...

[LindaWhit]

Whoa. The fire alarms didn't go off? That's seriously dangerous. Are they hard-wired, or battery-operated?

[mariacarmen]

i'm not sure, LW, we certainly have had these periodic 'we are testing the alarm system' warnings multiple times, so i'm not sure what is up.

[gingershelley]

Be sure to mention that MC to the fire inspector who should be around at some point. Your landlords should be fined for that. SO dangerous to you tenants!

[MAH]

Tonight was a gorgeous lamb steak pan seared and then oven roasted. Paired with a relish of Greek feta and sliced olives. Simple roasted vegetables on the side. Have made this dish with tbone chops. This was made with a boneless beautiful chop marinated aggressively in fresh garlic and olive oil -- well salted and peppered. Yum.

[mariacarmen]

damn that sounds good...

[Cherylptw]

Homemade pizza tonight: red sauce & cheddar/mozz blend; the bf got venison sausage & pepperoni on his....mine had added smoked gouda, caramelized onions and pepperoni. Garden salad to go with

[boyzoma]

Num, Num! Sounds like a winner to me! Love homemade pizza.

[jmcarthur8]

MC, my husband laughed out loud when I read your OP to him, at the part about the BF being a MAN. (He's one of those MEN, too, and totally gets it. )

[mariacarmen]

hah, too funny. yes, most men have had the same reaction to the story!

[Frizzle]

It's sweltering here in Sydney. 110 and climbing. After a trip to the pools this morning we're now in lockdown mode with blinds shut and the air con doing its best. Dinner has to be scrounged from the fridge and pantry.

What's appealing to me is trying to make dosa for the first time. I have a Jamie Oliver recipe that doesn't need to ferment. Obviously it will lack the lovely sour flavour you get in proper dosa but I'm hoping a coconut chutney will be so tasty I won't notice the missing flavour too much. I will do a quick kachumber salad to go with it. If the bloke says he's going to be home in time for dinner I'll also do some potatoes so he can have a more substantial masala dosa and get him to pick up a mango on the way home to finish the meal.

[Frizzle]

We ended up at 115 f - the hottest day on record for Sydney. The verdict on the no-ferment batter is that it's ok for masala dosa (as the recipe recommends) but lacks the lightness needed for standard dosa that you dip into sauces. It sure was fun experimenting though and the sides made the meal. A yoghurt and mint sauce made the line up in the end too. All-in-all a nice meal but serious room for improvement in dosa execution on my part.

[LindaWhit]

OMG, that's nuts, Frizzle! I hope the heat cools down overnight a bit!

[mariacarmen]

yikes that's crazy! and you still have the energy to cook!

[mariacarmen]

that heat really sounds horrid, hope it cools down for you. what is kachumber please?

[Frizzle]

Kachumber salad is just a quick salad of tomato, cucumber, onion. There are lots of versions but I just dressed mine with lime juice and ground cumin. I think it's possibly more of a North Indian dish (not sure) so it was a little out of place in the South Indian dosa meal. I was just keen for something fresh and crunchy and I had ingredients for it.

The heat died down last night before I cooked thank goodness. We threw the kitchen doors open and enjoyed the thunderstorm and wind.

[mariacarmen]

tomato/cukes/onion is a favorite salad around here - i usually serve it when i make milanesa (basically, very thinly pounded breaded/fried steaks) and rice. lots of lemon juice. love the way it blends into the rice.

[Dirtywextraolives]

Wow, and I thought I was having a shitty week! Glad to hear no one was hurt in the fire, and you have somewhere to stay, Mariacarmen! So funny what the BF said, why is it that men always think it's so cool to "rough it"?!

So this week has been a leftover/takeout/drive through kind of week so far, hard to be psyched to make dinner when we rushing around to activities after school and the kids are starving and not up to waiting to be fed! I've got to get more slow cooker recipes up my sleeve!

Anyway, tonight is American chop suey, the ground beef/macaroni skillet supper. Didn't have elbows so using whole wheat egg noodles, we'll see how that flies.... Tomorrow I'm planning on cooking Parmesan gnocchi that have been in my fridge, with a butter-Parm sauce, and pan grilling some chicken and cheese sausages, along with a spinach-arugula salad on the side. I also thawed out some pork tenderloins for the weekend, going to marinate in the Indonesian marinade I have and pan roast. Maybe some braised cabbage on the side. And definitely seeing some bahn mis in the future for lunches.....

[mariacarmen]

thx, dirty! mmm can u tell us more about the indonesian marinade?

[Dirtywextraolives]

Sure, it's from Fatty 'Cue, a place in Brooklyn, NY that I dream of going to someday! It's a blend of red bell peppers, fish sauce, lime juice, red jalapeños, garlic & ginger with some honey, rice vinegar, brown & coconut palm sugars blended in. You can get it at Williams-Sonoma, seriously tasty stuff.

[linguafood]

OMG! Did you have the coriander-cured slab bacon as an appetizer? I loved the food there, but the music was unbearably loud, and got increasingly so over the course of the evening.

Must be that "hip" thing....

[Dirtywextraolives]

Oh, I wish, linguafood! I am on the West Coast so I haven't been back to my old haunts in NYC or southern New England in quite a while.

And yes, I believe it is the new "hip" thing, we have that same problem out here as well!

[mariacarmen]

sounds great, i think i'd like to try my hand at recreating that... would have to find the coconut palm sugar tho....

[Dirtywextraolives]

When you have a chance check the Asian mates by you, hey might have it. And I know what you mean, when the supply is exhausted, I would like to try also.

[marietinn]

They carry coconut palm sugar at most whole foods, if you have access to one.

[mariacarmen]

thanks. after i heard some asinine statements the owner of WF recently made, i vowed never to go again (tho in truth i hardly ever went). i think i can find that at some nearby asian food stores. but thanks!

[MidwesternerTT]

Fire tacos - great story to go with the new recipe name, and glad it has a (reasonably) happy ending.

Dinner here was Baked Ham and Swiss Poppy Seed sandwiches and a fresh fruit salad of diced pear, strawberries and diced/sliced kiwi.

6-8 Buns filled with 8 oz thin-sliced ham and 4 oz shredded Swiss Cheese, placed close together in greased 8 x 8 pan and this (microwaved to melt together) mixture spooned over the top:
1/4 cup butter
1 teaspoon poppy seeds
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons prepared mustard
4 teaspoons brown sugar

Today, I made these in the morning and refrigerated until dinner time, which allows flavors to blend more. But I've also made & baked right away. Bake 350 degrees 10 minutes (25 minutes if refrigerated) covered with foil, then 10 minutes uncovered.

[mariacarmen]

i must be hungry, everyone's food sounds like exactly what i want NOW. thx for sharing!

[suzigirl]

Wow that sounds good. I have most of the ingredients to make this. I don't have straight poppy but i have an everything bagel mix that would be decent sub. I may have these sandwiches for lunch tomorrow

[linguafood]

Aí carámba, mc, fires are no fun! Hope your apt. has electricity again soon!!!

It's pretty damn chilly here, too (32°F), so tonight will be a comforting dinner of pork tenderloin medallions tossed in seasoned flour (paprika & cayenne, mostly, and s&p of course) and seared to medium, a sauté of baby bellas & shredded Brussels sprouts with a mustard cream sauce, and shaved fennel salad with toasted walnuts, grapefruit sections, and blue cheese crumbles in a walnut-mustard-vinaigrette.

I'm on a bit of a fennel trip lately, and could eat this salad every. freaking. day.

[mariacarmen]

ay ay ay lingua, that dinner sounds PERFECT. thx for well wishes. the saga continues. heat is on, power is on, i am back home. however, last night we had water come gushing through our ceiling! no idea why! we now have a large hole in the ceiling, waiting to see if anyone is coming to do something about it. home today, because i woke up with a very sore throat - the BF has strep! hoping i don't. when it rains it fricken' pours!

[LindaWhit]

Oh NO!!! on the water coming through the ceiling AND the BF's strep throat!

[GretchenS]

mc, nooooo, first fire, then flood, then horrible sore throat (plague) -- you gotta stop with this biblical stuff!! Glad you are safe, hope you are feeling better!!

[steve h.]

+1

[gingershelley]

Gretchen speaks the truth - all you have left is pestilence - better get some fried grasshoppers to eat, and head that off with some pro-active action MC!

No seriously - at this point, your landlords should be putting you up in a hotel....

[mariacarmen]

hah - looking out for the locusts now!

Red Cross put up two ladies (in the burned up unit) in a motel for a week but now it's over, they're on their own dime. our landlord is only a few steps above a slum lord. well, not really, but he is cheap. i love this building, i truly do, i adore our apt. so i hope they get things right soon.

[gingershelley]

For your sake, MC, I hope they do too, since you love where you live. Hope the meals coming out these days compensate for the living hassles!

[mariacarmen]

thx gs.

[speakhandsforme]

I know it's heresy to those living in the frosty regions, but it's been 80 degrees during the day here in January in Orlando and it's driving me insane. UGH. I want soup weather, dangit!

Anyway, it's an egg salad sandwich for me on toasted country white. BF is eating a leftover pork chop, as he doesn't do mayo (just about his only fault).

[mariacarmen]

enjoy it while you can! love that about your BF's only fault. it's a biggee!

[steve h.]

Herbed split pea soup (La Soupe de Pois Casses aux Herbes) is on the menu. The recipe is courtesy of Patricia Wells', Bistro Cooking. Crusty bread on the side, modest red to wash it down. Maybe some olives for nibbles before the fact. There is cheesecake if a sweet is required after the fact.

[jmcarthur8]

Well, mariacarmen, I guess you could call it an adventure. Hope it all gets repaired soon!

It's actually snowing a bit here in Georgia tonight. It's been rainy and gloomy for days, so I felt like making something with the ham stock I cooked up a few weeks ago.
Found a bag of dried mayocoba beans in the pantry. I'd never had them or heard of them before I bought this bag, but if I see an unknown bean at the store, I'm all over it. I soaked them all day, then put them in a pot with some of the ham stock and water, cooked that for a couple hours. Meanwhile, I sauteed some red and yellow onion, garlic, chili powder, cumin, oregano and jalepeno and let that sit. When the beans were done, I added them to the skillet and mashed about 2/3 of them with the potato masher. DH and I had the beans on steamed corn tortillas with a little shredded chedddar and sour cream.
Perfect dreary day comfort food.

[mariacarmen]

thx, jm!

that sounds SO. GOOD. were the beans exceptional to your taste, as beans alone? i've read that there are new (or newly re-found) strains of beans popping up in the South. i've never heard of those either.

[jmcarthur8]

You know, mariacarmen, they really were delicious. Refried beans times a thousand.
They're an ivory color like cannellini, but they are much richer and creamier.
The rest of the beans are still in the broth, and I just may zhoop them with the immersion blender and make soup out of them for tomorrow's dinner.
These mayocoba beans are a definite keeper. They're from Peru.

A while back, I got some dried Sea Island Red Peas from the CSA store. Fixed them up the way it tells on the Anson Mills website, and served them with Carolina Gold rice. What a wonderful combination! Both the peas and the rice are of the newly re-found stock that you mentioned.

[mariacarmen]

nice. you are making me very hungry for beans. may have to be WFD tonight!

[speakhandsforme]

I used mayocoba beans for a pot of ham and beans one time. They were almost creamy. Mmm, beans...

[tcamp]

Looks like the snow is going to stay south of us so while chilly, not a snow emergency as forecast by the semi-hysterical weather people.

Dinner. I left chicken thighs out to defrost so probably them cooked with artichokes and olives in the oven or stovetop. Roasted potatoes and something with cabbage. Hopefully the muses will visit me on my drive home from work.

[alliegator]

Wow, what a crappy week for you, mariacarmen! But you have a great attitiude. Hope everything works out soon. Last time we lost power, the mr. just never paid the bill--it just started going to his junk mail. It went from about 8am-6pm, and I wanted to strangle him! Luckily, my battery is great in this comp. and I could borrow wifi from a neighbor, hehe...
Tonight is pizza Thursday here. A local place with fantatic neopolitan pies has a mobile oven that come to the neighborhood, so we always grab a pie. Usually it's of the meaty variety, but I'm feeling a bit veggie-ish today and will probably go with that.

[mariacarmen]

thanks allie - wow, traveling pizza! awesome.

[chefathome]

It is truly BRRRR here at -26. Snow on the ground since October 11 so we have REAL winter. ;)

Anyway, tonight is Columbia Chicken Pepian; Roasted Butternut Squash with Sweet Spices, Lime and Green Chile ("Plenty"). Perfect day to stay indoors and cook my little heart out as I do most days.

What a difficult thing to hapen, mariacarmen! I hope your power comes on very soon.

[mariacarmen]

ack, 26! i was complaining about it being 49 this morning on my way to work!

thanks chef!

can you tell what makes the Columbia chicken columbian? or wait, is that colombian??

[chefathome]

And it is a MINUS 26 as in -26! Yuck. :(

I meant Guatemalan, not Columbian (or as I should have said, Colombian)! It is from "Gran Cocina Latina" which is one of my most treasured new books.

[mariacarmen]

yikes - MINUS!

[chefathome]

Yes but it is so conducive to cooking. When one cannot (or does not feel like!) spend time outside, the kitchen is all the more appealing. Not that I ever need an excuse to cook...

[JoanN]

Tell me more about the pepian. Have had it often in Guatemala, but have yet to make it myself. What did you think of the recipe in GCL?

[JerryMe]

Geez - we lost power throughout the whole neighborhood for about three minutes last nite and it totally freaked us out! You have such a good attitude!

Dinner last nite was leftover pulled pork sandwiches with ranch beans and polished off the rest of the Ghardelli brownies. A warm and brown meal.

Dinner tonite is DS's birthday treat at a restaurant we've been wanting to try. I'm looking forward to it and am hungry already. Dessert will be ice cream from Cold Stone Creamery as he doesn't like cake. No cooking for me!

[mariacarmen]

thanks! hah - believe me, if i was actually sitting in my apt. i'd not have this attitude. luckily i can stay at my dad's. and, i have to say, i really did think of the Sandy victims when it happened, some of them not having power for months now, so i definitely felt i needed to turn any whine way down....

love "warm and brown meal"!

[boyzoma]

First off, I'm so glad to hear you are OK, mariacarmen. What a mess to go through, especially being sick! I hope you get your power back soon.

Well, we had roast chicken the other day, so yesterday, I made chicken stock. Lots of stock. Slow simmered the bones of that (along with a couple of other bags of bones I had in the freezer) for about 8 hours. Strained and chilled overnight. Today I took it out and skimmed off any additional fat. Put up several quarts and using the rest to make some chicken noodle soup for dinner. (After all, Thursday's are soup night during the winter at our house). To go with, we are having some toasted tuna sandwiches. Just a simple, warm and cozy dinner.

[mariacarmen]

thx bz..... toasted tuna sounds just about right these days...

[ButterYum]

Wow - that's not the kind of thing you want to have happen. Hope they restore your power soon.

Dinner for us tonight will be leftover Italian Wedding Soup. Sorry I can't share a bowl or two with you.

[mariacarmen]

aw thanks! sounds yummy and warming.

[LindaWhit]

If I'm not too exhausted when I get home tonight, it'll be homemade baked mac & ham & cheese with a garlic & herb Panko topping. I'll make a small casserole dish for myself, and a few small foil pans to wrap up and freeze for my Mom. Maybe a salad if I get ambitious.

[mariacarmen]

i need to try that ham & mac sometime....

[juliejulez]

Concur w/ the others mariacarmen, glad you're OK! I definitely wouldn't be toughing it out in the apartment either... I did that once when the whole neighborhood power was out for a few days in the summer and... never again!

Tonight's dinner is very easy (and green!)... boneless chicken breasts that I'll cut in strips and slather with pesto and top with mozzarella, and bake. Side of broccoli and orzo. I'm sure SO will love it, he always loves and raves over the stuff that takes me no effort at all.

[mariacarmen]

aw thanks julie, and everyone. too sweet.

[Klary]

Glad you are ok mariacarmen! What a scare.

I cooked a really nice dinner for friends yesterday. Savory carrot cake with dill and feta, served with fennel/apple slaw with buttermilk caraway dressing. Then baked butternut and porcini risotto with lots of sage, served with grilled belgian endive and crispy fried strips of chicken. Dessert was vanilla pudding with a layer of quince gelee, served with freshly baked madeleines (which were a little dry, don't know why, it's a recipe I've made many times, but they were still great for dunking in the pudding.)

Had leftovers of the carrot cake with the tangy slaw for lunch, that really was a great flavor combination.

Tonight will be very simple: pasta with fried zucchini cubes and loads of parmesan. After that, venturing out into the bitter cold again, for beers with a friend. Brrrr, indeed.

[mariacarmen]

thanks Klary!

whoa whoa whoa... more about that savory carrot cake, please? that sounds amazing.... that whole dinner!

[Klary]

I use a very basic loaf cake recipe minus the sugar (150 gram selfraising flour, 75 grams softened butter, 2 eggs) and then add whatever I feel like - this time it was grated carrots, some fried onions, cubed feta and lots of dill, but really anything works. Pan fried mushrooms and blue cheese is good, or olives and parmesan, little cubes of fried eggplant, bacon, well you get the idea :)
I bake it in a loaf tin, because I like the look of the sliced cake, but you coul easily bake it in a round tin and cut into wedges.

[mariacarmen]

what a great idea! never thought of this. thanks!

[Berheenia]

MC- What a bummer! If the weather doesn't get you these days you start thinking you're safe from disaster! At least you have a good excuse to go out for breakfast, my favorite restaurant meal of the day.
Thanks to someone in the Ides thread we are having meatloaf and mashed potatoes for dinner- yippee! Don't know about the peas- I think I am low to out on peas.. but there is a surplus of zuke and broccoli as usual.

[Lillipop]

MariaCarmen I am glad to hear that your home is intact and you and your loved ones are safe. I hope it is not that dreadful flu that you are suffering from.Get well quick. Your meatloaf sandwich sounded heavenly....it is one of my top ten comfort foods.No avocado for me (and I have a 65 year old avocado tree in my back yard that produces like crazy) and a bit of mustard with the other condiments you mentioned and I feel like I have won the delicious food jack pot:).It really releases my "inner glutton" so I only made a large savory meatloaf maybe every six months. I am glad you are ok because I enjoy your posts immensely.

[mariacarmen]

thanks lillipop! we were totally unscathed, just inconvenienced. and yes, it is the flu, but i really must have got a mild version, compared to stories i am hearing. lucky you with your avocado tree!

[scubadoo97]

Feel better soon

[scubadoo97]

I'm not sure I should be posting on this thread. Currently no BRRR and hopefully not on the horizon.

I posted this on the old thread but dinner was very simple. Used the left over meat from making gyro to make gyro kabobs. Fancy hamburgers

[juliejulez]

Yum. How do you make your gyros?

[mariacarmen]

as i said "MOST of us" - good for you that you aren't, scuba!

your gyro sounded really great, i can't imagine making that at home.

[Frizzle]

Reposting from me too. Glad to hear you're ok MC!

I've got some cheat's ricotta (made from milk not whey) doing it's thing right now. Dinner will be cold lentils tossed with some very finely chopped red onion, baby spinach leaves and a vinegar (or lemon) & mustard dressing. It will be topped with the fresh cheat's ricotta and drizzled with olive oil.

I should be thinking ahead to tomorrow night and doing prep today as it's forecast to be another absolute scorcher but I'm feeling incredibly lazy plus I have a fridge full of things I'm not sure how to combine. They lend themselves to be a salad that would go well with BBQ meat, but with the weather supposed to switch from scorching hot to thunderstorms I'm not sure tending a BBQ in wind, rain and lightning strikes is very sensible.

[aching]

Scorcher? You must be in Australia! In the US it is absolutely freezing!

[Frizzle]

Yes, Sydney, Australia. It's supposed to be 100f here tomorrow.

[mariacarmen]

hah - yes, frizzle is the one who actually inspired me to amend the title of this latest thread re the "brrrrr".... she's having opposite day down there!

frizzle, that lentil dish sounds amazing. i make a lentil salad with arugula, avo slices, hard boiled egg wedges, and a very lemony, finely minced shallot, dijon vinaigrette - these sound very similar. i love the addition of the fresh ricotta.

[Frizzle]

Oh, yum. I might do your dressing I think. I only have a shallot in the pantry and anything with Dijon gets me excited. The original dish I based this on and where I got the ricotta idea is from the antipasti chapter of river cafe easy. They use basil and rocket (arugula for the US I think) with a red wine vinegar dressing and no mustard. I just tend to sub out what I have on hand and do it as a one dish meal.
It's very sweet that you thought of me in the midst of fires and illness, I feel honoured.

[mariacarmen]

yes, exactly, rocket = arugula = ruccola (in Italian).

i'm totally intrigued by your life down under, frizzle! pleasure to have you here.

[Frizzle]

Thanks! I'm only here for a few more months before we finally return home to New Zealand. Soon all my posts will mention rain, lamb roasts and hobbits.

I have to say I love hearing about the food people eat in other parts of the world. I've never had meatloaf so it sounds exotic to me although it sounds like a comfort meal to people in the US. I'm yet to eat pulled pork but reading so many posts about it I'm keen to try that too. I'm waiting patiently for LinguaFood to declare she's found the perfect combination of brining, rub and cooking time so I can replicate her method.

[mariacarmen]

can't wait to hear of your favorite prep for hobbit! new zealand... even more exoticism.... i have a very dear friend from their who visits every year or two... perhaps you know him? just kidding! pulling out the old ugly american act for ya.

[Berheenia]

Which island? Had a trip of a lifetime to NZ in 2003.

[Frizzle]

I feel rather proud of little ol' NZ when I hear someone say they've done a trip of a lifetime there.

We are from the North Island. I've done an embarrassingly small amount of travel in the South Island. From all accounts it's amazing down there. The dream is to hire a campervan and spend a month or so exploring. We've done plenty of exploring in the North Island, our method was to pack the car with camping gear, toss a coin to see which direction to drive and then only travel on the narrowest roads marked on maps. I'm looking forward to doing that again soon.

[mariacarmen]

i'd love to visit someday... is there 'typical', besides that fantastic lamb?

[Frizzle]

I'm struggling a bit here. Whitebait fritters perhaps. They're tiny fish that we cook in egg. There is a strict season and limit on catch numbers so they are a delicacy. It was a breakfast dish when I was growing up. I think the NZ ones are smaller than whitebait you get elsewhere in the world. In general our seafood is fairly good. Bluff oysters are wonderful.
Our beef and lamb is grass fed so has a very different flavour to grain fed meat. Having grown up with grass fed meat I've found the grain fed meat I get elsewhere to taste weird so I hardly ever have red meat now. A good rare steak will be one of the first things on the menu when we return.

[mariacarmen]

nice, thanks!

[Berheenia]

We were on a coach tour so we were fed mostly chicken but I had heard about the green lipped mussels which had my husband in a tizzy as he isn't a fish lover but we never saw them on our plates. Every town had delicious local beers and wine and that stands out along with one of the best cheese scones ever hot out of the oven in some hole in the wall diner. I think there was one lamb dinner the whole trip and on non coach days we ate mostly pub food.
We were surprised to see the herds of domestic deer raised for food although they were never offered on our menu and of course we loved the famous national dessert, Pavlova. I hope to go back some day...

[LindaWhit]

:::Big sigh:::: New Zealand lamb. My favorite. And now that I "know" you, I have a friend to visit if I ever make it to your side of the world. :-)

[Frizzle]

For sure LW! NZ lamb is something special indeed :)

[linguafood]

Aw, shucks, frizzle... I'm honored :-)

While I could (and may well) continue to futz around with that pork shoulder -- and I don't eventually pull it.... we just tear it apart with large forks and toss it at each others' mouths hahaha -- I'm really quite happy with the instructions I followed from this website:

http://www.kevinandamanda.com/recipes...

I do up the cayenne a bit, and added toasted fennel seeds, b/c I like 'em. I also think it could use slightly more brown sugar in the rub....

I found that, at 225°F, you should plan on 1.5-2 hrs. / lb. The last shoulder I did was about 7 lbs. and took 12 hours.

It really is ideal for larger groups, and delicious. Do give it a shot once it's not sweltering anymore DU.

[Frizzle]

Thanks Linguafood. I'm noting all of that down in my recipe app.

[Bacardi1]

Nice jumbo shrimp at the market, so tonight tried a new Martha Stewart recipe: "Shitakes, Shrimp, & Snow Pea Stir-Fry". Served on a bed of Jasmine rice, & it was quite nice. Although I AM glad I tweaked it, as I seem to do with nearly every "Martha" recipe. I rarely find her recipe test kitchen up to snuff.

[eight_inch_pestle]

[whoopsie-doozie, reposting here 'cause I missed Maria's link in the old thread...]

Last night was marinated roast chicken thighs with a citrus aleppo sauce, on top of bulgur tossed with mint and fresh orange juice (somehow the garden mint is still kicking). Side salad of avocado and pickled red onion and some more mint, just because I didn't want to throw out the avocado and it wasn't gonna last more than another day or so.

Tonight is an herbed skillet souffle with some sort of super simple side salad involving dandelion greens---maybe crumbled blue cheese, buttermilk dressing, and some more pickled onion.

Couple of the uncooked thighs leftover from yesterday's dinner are currently sitting in an orange, cinnamon, and rosemary brine for tomorrow's eats. Not sure what we'll end up doing with them.

[mariacarmen]

mmmm on that sauce, EIP!

and please elaborate on the skillet souffle? is it a real souffle?

that orange cinnamon chicken - sounds like it would make a great salad with bitter greens - like endive! - and couscous.... maybe throw in some toasted pine nuts...

[eight_inch_pestle]

Well, if a comely soufflé come-hithered a dashing frittata from across the café, nine months later you'd have this inter-eggy loveliness. Basically you make a frittata, 'cept you separate your eggs and beat the whites to soft peaks before incorporating. It's from Jerry Traunfeld's "The Herbal Kichen."

Happy to provide a full recipe if you're interested, of course.

[tcamp]

I'd be interested in the recipe as it touches on two of my loves - skillet suppers and herbs.

[mariacarmen]

yes please! spoon feed me! thx, EIP.

[eight_inch_pestle]

Here you go. Credit, again, to Jerry Traunfeld. This is something I like to throw together when I'm feeling tired or lazy and have eggs or herbs to use up. Fast and cheap, the short stint in the oven is just enough time to throw together a simple salad and clean the kitchen.

We definitely prefer the higher amount of herbs. It's fun to mix-and-match various combinations; just make sure they're soft-leaved and be careful of going all out with a single strong herb. Dill works brilliantly, as does tarragon or basil. In the spring sorrel is a special treat. If I'm trying to be frugal I'll often add some parsley to make up the volume, but I don't use it alone. And of course you can sub a variety of semi-hard and hard cheeses for the gruyére, from Parmesan to Emmenthal.

3 tablespoons bread crumbs
1/2 c. milk
8 eggs, separated
1/2 c. - 1 c. chopped fresh herbs of choice, one or a mixture of as many as you like
1 tsp. kosher salt
black pepper to taste
3/4 c. shredded gruyére
2 tbsp. unsalted butter

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Dump the bread crumbs and milk into a big mixing bowl and let them soak for 10 to 15 minutes. Lightly whisk the egg yolks and add them to the bowl, along with all of your herbs, the salt, pepper, and 1/2 cup of the cheese.

Beat the egg whites until they hold very soft peaks. Heat a 12-inch skillet over medium heat and melt the butter in it. While the butter melts, quickly and gently fold the egg whites into the rest of the mixture. Pour the batter into the pan, sprinkle with the remaining cheese, and pop it in the oven for about 15 minutes. When ready it'll be nicely browned and puffed. Hot you can spoon it up for serving like a soufflé, cold it cuts like a frittata.

[mariacarmen]

that sounds so lovely EIP, thanks!!

[gingershelley]

Lovely 8IP, I am of course a particular fan of my local fave, Jerry T and the Herbfarm (Not as much of his post HF Poppy, but I still love his oeuvre). This looks delightful; is it from one of his cookbooks, as I expect?

This could be a breathe of 'spring' on a winter's eve....

[eight_inch_pestle]

Indeedy. From The Herbal Kitchen. We didn't love Poppy either, but only went once, during restaurant week, and it's become clear you can't judge a restaurant based on restaurant week.

[linguafood]

I love the sound of the avocado / pickled red onion salad (reminds me to pickle some onion again soon -- love it!!) -- anything else in there besides the mind? I guess cherry or grape tomatoes would work well?

[eight_inch_pestle]

I never remember pickled onions either. Nothing else to that particular salad but mint and lime and salt. Grape or cherry tomatoes would be great, I think.

[linguafood]

HA! I just saw that I wrote "mind" instead of mint. Durr. A mindful salad, indeed.

[eight_inch_pestle]

Far worse than your typo is the amount of time it took me to figure out what you meant.

[linguafood]

Maybe I wasn't all that off, then, with a mind salad.

[gingershelley]

I think sometimes I could use a mind salad.....

[Cherylptw]

Pulled pork bbq sammich with slaw and a side of mac salad for me...baked pork chops, rice & gravy and leftover green beans for the bf.

[mariacarmen]

you guys always do different meals - "one thing for him, one thing for me" - i love it! i wish the BF would be into that. i'd eat a lot more fish.

[Cherylptw]

We have the same things about 50% of the time...but, if I want something that I know he won't eat (he is not at all Chowish) or I know he'd rather have something else, I'll either give him something already left from another meal or make him something else then I'll have what I want. He don't care if we're not eating the same meal.

[steve h.]

Hi mc,
Glad you're safe. Fire tacos sound great.

[mariacarmen]

thx!

[eperdu]

I just want to say thanks to everyone for posting what they are cooking. It's really inspirational to me to see what the rest of the world does. I have such a limited scope and sometimes I get frustrated with myself.

So, thank you and keep on cooking! I'm getting to be a better cook as a result of all your posts.

[LindaWhit]

It's always good to see what others are making. Sometimes just reading something that someone else has made gives you ideas to combine ingredients to make your own meal!

[mariacarmen]

we all feel the same way, eperdu - which is why we're on our 184th WFD thread! wheeeeeeee!

[juliejulez]

I agree. These threads have been encouraging me to try more exciting things for dinner :)

[suzigirl]

I just started here very recently and am glad i did. Its very incouraging and fun to peek over someones shoulder into their kitchen. I love getting to do that here via internet

[thymetobake]

You can edit the title yourself now. I did it yesterday. But just tried to re-edit the title and couldn't. Maybe it only let's you for a short amount of time.

So sorry about your situation! At least you and your stuff didn't get burned up!! There always seem to be more fires in winter. Here anyway.

[mariacarmen]

i tried to edit immediately and it wouldn't erase all the text! it's ok.

thanks! yes, we were definitely lucky.

[gingershelley]

Glad your safe and sound MC, and hope that the mgmt. of your building treats you right during clean up, etc.!

[mariacarmen]

oops, i didn't mean for all that to be in the title! ah well. Mods, can you then please put an [Old] sign on the last thread? thanks.

by the way, the Fire Tacos, as i'm now calling them, were simple but good. Gr. beef, minced onions, garlic, chili powder, s&p, oregano. shredded jack cheese, red cabbage, avocado slices, charred corn tortillas, habanero sauce for me, Tapatio for him.

oh, and when i got to my dad's house yesterday afternoon, made myself a sammie from the meatloaf i'd made for him on Sunday. heated, on a nice big white bun, buttered and toasted, mayo, ketchup, and avocado. yum.

[eight_inch_pestle]

Glad you're safe, MC! Hope normalcy returns soon.

[mariacarmen]

thanks, EIP.