So...whats for dinner?
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Tonight we're going to Mardi Gras dinner at Big Jones--the upscale low-country restaurant where we celebrated with a Creole Reveillon dinner Christmas Eve. Four courses, all Cajun or Creole, cocktails to match. Laissez les bons temps rouler!
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My dad, not too long out of USMC boot camp, was being sent, via train to San Diego. The train broke down in New Orleans...during Mardi Gras and it took three days to get it fixed. He said that was "very rough duty." :-)
That's good news about Heidi needing only a teeth cleaning, and I hope your cleaning was as pain free as the cleanings I get..I've fallen asleep during the process.
Sharon wasn't feeling well last night, so we passed on the anniversary other than the "happy anniversary".
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My teeth cleaning was sort of painful when the hygienist used the ultrasound tool (but some CBD beforehand helped me withstand the pain: "oh--that hurts...how interesting"). Scraping with the hand instruments was a piece of cake. Signal problems slowed the trains home, but I didn't have to wait too long for either the Brown or Red Line. (The walk home from the station, against the wind howling in from the west, was a bit of a trial).
Dinner at Big Jones was excellent. Knowing we'd be drinking, we wisely opted not to drive there (they don't have a parking lot anyway) and took a Lyft instead. We had the Mardi Gras prix fixe menu and split everything. Starters were gumbo ya-ya:
...and boudin (pork & crawfish sausage) fritters over frisee:
Bread service was jalapeño-cheese cornbread (Hazzard Free Althea's Farm white cornmeal, aged Hook's cheddar, pimiento butter):
Entrees were alligator-andouille etoufée:
...and gumbo-fat fried chicken (fried in the drippings from making gumbo) with collard greens, red beans & rice (I apologize for the lack of focus and failure to photograph the greens, but after a stiff Hurricane and half a glass of rosé artistic integrity sorta fell by the wayside):
Desserts were a "winter bread pudding" (brandy and orange peel, spiced apple butter-salted sorghum ice cream, toasted oat streusel):
...and sourdough rice calas with spiced caramel peanuts, palm sugar, benne and hot fudge drizzle:
Let's hear it for Bob, our background model (beads provided by the restaurant)! I fill up fairly quickly these days (and as to alcohol, I'm a cheap date), so one fritter, half the fried chicken, and one cala went home with us. Breakfast tomorrow should be awesome.
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Sandy, the candy company who makes Heavenly Hash and Gold Brick candy eggs is Elmer's and it is located in the boonies of the north shore, the town of Ponchatoula. I'm sure the candy is sold in New Orleans stores like Walmart and CVS and Walgreen's.
I had planned to go out to dinner tonight at Sal & Judy's in Lacombe, about a 30 minute drive. I have a hankering for their oysters and spaghetti. But my weight is up and my rings are tight from retained fluid, so I will cook tonight instead. Probably pork picata made with pork tenderloin.
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I have been accompanying a friend to the gym after she is done with work (dinner time frame) so have been doing an assortment of things for dinner - leaving already made dinner for DH in the fridge, making something in the crockpot, or timing something in the oven to be ready just before I leave. We haven't eaten much together, but he seems ok with it and is happy I am at the gym again. Having been taken off Femara and Prolia due to the unrelated dental issues (I find out tomorrow if I can have an implant) I feel like I need to do all I can in the diet and fitness department. Last night was a chef salad and broccoli cheese soup.
chisandy - Bob looks festive in his beads! I like his shirt/tie combo!
eric - hope Sharon is feeling better!
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Dinner was chicken enchiladas. I discovered leftover roasted chicken thighs in the refrigerator and diced up the meat. Mixed with black beans, shredded mozzarella, and diced roasted red bell pepper. Plus a splash of red enchilada sauce that was very good. I prefer the corn tortillas and bought white corn. The finished dish was delicious. I love chicken enchiladas. Side was romaine tossed salad with our usual additions.
The shrimp truck was out today but I didn't feel like dealing with fresh shrimp. That will have to be another day.
The gym has to be before noon for me. I couldn't handle the dinner time workout. It's probably a mental block. Besides, 5 o'clock is cocktail time!
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carole - I too love chicken enchiladas! I like the Frontera red enchilada sauce, it comes in a handy packet. I would prefer to work out during the day but I’m trying to provide moral support for my friend - she had BRCA1+, TN breast cancer at 37, did the BMX and chemo, and is now trying to get back in shape. I don’t think she will go to the gym on her own so we go together and it’s fun, but it’s putting a cramp in my dinner prep, lol! I don’t partake in cocktail hour often, but maybe I could drink in the morning when I’m not at the gym? It’s five o’clock somewhere, right
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Dinner tonight was a chicken /cheese green chili burrito. Tomorrow will be the last of the chicken & I thank both Carole & Special for the meal idea. I will do a riff on Laurie's Mexican Chicken crossed w/flour tortillas.
Eric - there was a bread recipe in our paper today that made me think of you. Dutch Oven Crusty Bread - a no knead recipe w/only four ingredients. I don't have a heavy dutch oven or I'd try. Let me know if you want the recipe.
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I love the gym hour discussion. I agree with Carole & would miss happy hour, but Special's right - nothing bad about morning Bloody Marys in order to fit in your drink of the day. I have two neighbors who hop out of bed at 6am and head for the gym before 7am. Mind you - we are all retired. I was never a morning person and NO WAY am I going to set an alarm clock to go work out. Lately my preferred gym time is 11am. I beat the noon rush of people who are still working. Afterwards I run errands and come home to make my main meal of the day to eat around 4pm. I've found I sleep much better if I eat before 6pm.
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Like minus, I am not getting up that early to work out. I sleep in and enjoy my coffee slowly. I have Silver Sneakers on Thursday at 11 am and the rest of the week I head out around 10:30 amor 1:00 pm depending on how my morning is going or plans I have.
Tonight was a big batch of lasagna, some to keep and some to share.
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Well rather than a mexican/chicken/enchilada mixture to use up the last of the gift chicken, I decided creamed peas & chicken on toast sounded good for this dreary day. It was yummy, even if I did forget the toast. And I have 1/2 of the white sauce left over for something else - maybe mac & cheese? Maybe add brandy & use w/pork loin slices? Hmmm - any ideas for this exceptionally rich white sauce?
Since there seem to be lots of small packages of leftover rotissarie chicken in the freezer, I'll go ahead and invent a "jump up" with leftover beans, barley, chicken bits, green chili salsa and cheese on top for tomorrow. Think I'll add some corn that I froze last summer.
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Last night I made crumbled Italian sausage "bolognese" with penne.
I made a lamb shoulder roast on Sunday, with roasted parsnips and carrots to go with it. We'll be having the leftovers tonight, and a green salad.
I bought fresh chorizo from the butcher shop yesterday, and plan to make potato chorizo tacos tomorrow night if I can remember to pick up tortillas and cilantro.
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minus - the "old school" creamed chicken sounds good - I love stuff like that! Chicken pot pie is a fave but nobody in my house likes it - wah!
magari - I am coming to your house for the chorizo and potato tacos, lol!
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Last night, DH was at a conference dinner so I got to enjoy my solo meal....jalapeno and pineapple hummus with sweet potato tortilla chips. Felt decadent?
Tonight, I still didn’t feel like cooking, so heated up some leftover kale soup, made a multi green salad including an avocado, and a packaged Alessi farro mix that included bits of kale and butternut squash. Pretty tasty. That would be an interesting farro dish to prepare with bigger pieces of fresh squash and kale. DH seemed to go along fine with my thrown together veggie meal.
Tomorrow night we are going to an event at a local sports restaurant to watch the Cs play the Lakers (in LA). So not sure if we will eat here first, or get sportsbar food. This was a game we had thought we would bring my brother to, until my DIL insisted we come in Feb instead of March. We never did learn why. He’s a big sports fan and even with his limited cognition would have enjoyed seeing the game.
I am also not a morning person, and go to the gym (when I go!) either around noon or for a class late in the afternoon. I wish I could get my body to appreciate morning exercise, but since I’ve never been oriented that way, it’s not likely that will happen at 73!
I had a chat with the head of our fitness center today about bringing back the stretching class we used to attend which has inexplicably morphed into a rigorous core class (in which I managed to both reinjure my torn rotator cuff, and strain my back over the past year). Really hope he decides to accommodate that, since lots of folks really seemed to enjoy the stretching class, and our trainer would like to do it too. I find it much more fun to exercise in the classes when possible, rather than do my solitary workout. But nonetheless, I do need to get back to my exercise regimen, snow covered walkwaysor not!
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The talk of Mexican food caused me to seek lunch at our favorite Mexican restaurant (30 miles from our town.) I had shrimp fajitas, which were wonderful. Other meals this week included jambalaya on Tuesday, French bread pizza, taco salad, and cheese and veggies omelets tonight. I also had paczki for the first time this week. Wow - glad those only come around once a year!
Still no spring here. I resent having to lose an hour of sleep while it's still winter. (Actually I resent losing it period.)
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Oh and today I found that wonder of wonders - a 3 pound chicken! In fact, one came in under 3 pounds. Rare indeed.
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Fascinating Nance - a food new to me. I had to look it up (see Wiki below). Sounds delicious. I thought the dough might be related to the Czechoslovakian Kolaches but that will take more research to determine. There is a huge Czech population in Texas & I've had "real" kolaches several times.
In Poland, pączki are eaten especially on Fat Thursday (Tłusty Czwartek), the last Thursday prior to Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent.[17] The traditional reason for making pączki was to use up all the lard, sugar, eggs and fruit in the house, because their consumption was forbidden by Christian fasting practices during the season of Lent.
Lunch was California Roll with Lemon Wasabi mustard. Dinner club crackers swiped in soft butter - my latest 'go to' snack. The Kirkland butter from Costco sure tastes wonderful compared to grocery store brands. Dessert was a big bowl of fresh raspberries very lightly sugared but swimming in heavy cream.
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Thanks for that reference work, Minus. I’d never heard of paczki before, but it sounds right up my culinary alley!
Nance, your week sounds like you enjoyed some good eats! I agree about the missed hour.
And we are in for another messy storm on Sunday in case we might delude ourselves to feel like Spring is on its way.Minus, that rasberry dessert sure sounds delectable! I haven't had a Costco membership for a number of years to avoid overbuying for just the two of us but I do recall that a lot of their Kirkland products were of high quality. DH really liked their tuna. Every once in a while, I think I might re- join...but our area is so flush with competing food stores these days, I’m not sure I need to access another one.
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The paczki I had were filled with a bavarian creme. They were awesome! Others were filled with apple or "jelly" but I know they come in other flavors. I'm sure the ones Sandy gets are way better and she probably gets a better variety of flavors. What's your favorite Sandy?
The paczki were my consolation prize for Fresh Thyme not having my sour cherries and to make matters worse, my backup supplier - Costco - no longer carries their triple cherry blend of frozen cherries. They were a mixture of sour and sweet cherries that were pretty good. No cherry home baked goods in my immediate future :-(
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I enjoyed a birthday lunch yesterday with four other senior women, all golfing friends. Two at age 91 and 86 no longer play golf. We met at Ceasar's Italian restaurant (that's his spelling of his name) and were served by Ceasar's wife. Homemade rustic bread slices with olive oil and balsamic dipping sauce. I ordered calamari appetizer for the table. It was fried crispy and came with a marinara dipping sauce. Very good. I brought the leftovers home and heated them in the toaster oven for a dinner appetizer.
My lunch was very good. A small salmon portion with a light cream sauce with capers. Small side portion of linguini with what the menu called saute sauce. Olive oil, garllic and grated cheese. Excellent.
I asked Ceasar where he is from in Italy and he said "northern Italy." When I said that the heavy red sauce is southern Italian, he answered that there is no heavy red sauce in Italy. Only in America! DH and I will have to start going there occasionally even though the location is not in our "neighborhood."
For dinner I cooked shrimp and linguini, so I ate linguini twice yesterday. Side was a tossed salad.
The comments about Costco make me wish we had a Costco. The closest ones are Baton Rouge and New Orleans, much too inconvenient.
Since I have the cocktail habit, I'm glad I don't have the dessert habit or dessert making talent. We have a tiny French bakery nearby. I've heard that its pastries are outstanding and I have never visited it. One visit might encourage more visits!
Off to the gym this morning. I wish we had a stretching class, too. I do my own workout with strength machines and cardio machines. On the later I distract myself with the tv.
No clue about dinner yet.
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Happy (belated?) birthday Carole! Your lunch sounds wonderful. You're right about dessert being a habit. I find that I must have something even if it's a piece of chocolate. DH and I try to limit ourselves to dessert just on weekends. The paczki was an exception.
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Happy (belated?) birthday Carole! Your lunch sounds wonderful. You're right about dessert being a habit. I find that I must have something even if it's a piece of chocolate. DH and I try to limit ourselves to dessert just on weekends. The paczki was an exception.
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carole - Happy Birthday!
Dinner tonight is a small pork roast, oven roasted potatoes and green beans - not very exciting, but easy!
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Carole - more belated birthday wishes. Glad you had a fun lunch.
My jump up dinner sounds a little strange but turned out quite good - leftover lentils & barley, chicken pieces, chopped spinach, Mrs. Renfro's green chili salsa with cheese on top. I forgot to take the corn out of the freezer.
Tomorrow afternoon I'm going to see the play "Little Shop of Horrors" with a friend and we'll eat an 'appetizer' dinner at Eddie V's after the show. I first saw this show off Broadway around 1984 and I'm looking forward to seeing how this small, rep theater does the staging.
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Since I've been somewhat international this week, tonight is Singapore pork and noodles, with a couple of spring rolls.
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Aha--was wondering why Jewel had pačzki last Friday instead of waiting till Monday. The ones I got were apple. My fave filling is chocolate mousse.
Just tuned into the PBS 75th birthday tribute to Joni Mitchell, listening to Kris Kristofferson slaughter "A Case of You." (To be fair, he's got some mild cognitive impairment). Fortunately, he had Brandi Carlile singing along in places (who then did a great job on "Down to You"). Joni was my favorite when I was starting out at 18 as a singer-songwriter. I spent the first 10 years trying to sing & write like her (even played a lot of open-tuned guitar); the next 15 trying not to, and the next 10 trying to figure out who *I* sound like and how I wanted to write. Think I've got it now.
Dinner tonight? Depends on when Bob's coming home and if he's eaten yet. He's observing Lent-Lite (meat only once a day Mon-Thurs and Sat; meatless Fri., and as much meat as he wants Sat.). Once again, the main thing he's given up for Lent is Mass. Took out some Chilean salmon filets to thaw yesterday morning. En route home from the Subaru dealership and a side trip to Costco to top up the tank before gas prices skyrocket ($2.49 even there!), I stopped off at Meatheads, a higher-end burger chain I'd often passed and wanted to try. Didn't feel like any of the burgers on the menu, though (no Impossible Burger, boo hiss) so I went for the fish & chips to go. Surprisingly good & ample for nine bucks--came with a cucumber-wasabi aioli as an alternative to tartar sauce. I couldn't get through half of it for dinner. So if Bob comes home too late for dinner, I'll kill off the rest of it along with some oil & vinegar slaw; if he wants dinner, it'll be "surf & surf:" fried fish and seared salmon, black rice and either asparagus or broccolini.
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Last night's dinner came together in 30 minutes and was quite tasty. I cooked thin chicken breast fillets once again using the simple recipe from Ellie's Real Good Food. Thin film of Dijon mustard and pressed-on grated romano, cooked on medium in skillet until crusty brown. Fresh sliced zucchini cooked with mild Rotel. Green salad with leafy lettuce and additions.
DH liked the chicken and didn't remember we had it once before.
Yesterday I bought a carton of oysters with the intention of cooking oysters Mosca tonight. Baked oysters with topping of bread crumbs, garlic, olive oil and grated Italian cheese. Served with hot French bread. Side will be a salad.
DH has to fast tomorrow for a colonoscopy on Tuesday.
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My 1st stroganoff from scratch and it turned out really good. Having Brussels sprouts on the side.
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Today we both had a big lunch at an excellent Mexican restaurant so dinner was popcorn, cheese, and a glass of our favorite viognier (Cass from Paso Robles, California, recently named one of the nation's best wineries and where we used to volunteer).
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Last night, Bob came home hungry, so I cooked: pan-seared salmon (turned out to be wild sockeye), steamed asparagus w/lemon-dill sauce, nuked Whole Foods lentil-barley blend. Tonight he brought home food from the pan-Asian joint around the corner: I had some of the Chinese food (wonton soup, shrimp siu mai, beef potstickers) and Korean chicken jap chae; he also had Vietnamese rice paper rolls, beef lo mein, chicken & broccoli (in that gross brown sauce again), and kung pao chicken.
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