So...whats for dinner?
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Thank heavens the storm has been & gone here. We did have some fierce winds in the night but only 1" of rain. I passed the time by starting to sort the two shoe boxes full of recipes that i have clipped or copied from the internet. These are recipes I've never tried but sounded good. I'm tossing all the cookie recipes and kept only one of two for cakes & pies. Only kept bread that does not have to be kneaded - since my hands won't do that anymore. But of course I have to read every recipe, so this will be a multi day task, and will likely require a second cull. And this doesn't even take into account my 'active' recipe files.
I'm driving downtown tonight for a concert of the Bach Brandenberg Concertos on period instruments. Excited about the concert but not the drive or the downtown parking. At least the streets are dry. A friend is joining me and we will eat at Laurenzos - formerly called house of prime rib. Looking forward to a prime rib french dip.
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Scrolling through to get some ideas for dinner, I am not feeling inspired today.
Yesterday I made Moussaka and it was delicious, made it with a new recipe using beef mince (ground beef) instead of lamb which I have used normally, and surprisingly it was very good. So many steps involved though, it's simple but takes quite a long time to do all steps and assemble, even before putting in the oven.
SpecialK I thought to myself that turkey meatballs with seafood seemed an unusual combo, but then remembered Americans use the word Marinara instead of Napolitana. Whereas elsewhere Marinara refers to seafood in a tomato based sauce. I hope you're enjoying Hawaii, I so want to visit there one day!0 -
Thank you, Minus. :-)
DD and Sharon were in Flagstaff, AZ, skiing for a few days and got home last evening. On the way home, DD called and asked that I cook some beans and rice. When she got home, she mixed up (no recipe) a bunch of vegetables, and other stuff--bell peppers, corn, broccoli, onion, garlic, ginger, peas-sauteed in sesame oil, lime juice, sweet pepper sauce and some soy sauce. All of that went into a rice-beans-"the rest of the stuff bowl". It was both very good and very filling.
DD turned 22 a couple of days ago. I can close my eyes and still "see" her in the little plastic basket on the scale and now in less than 5 months, she'll be walking across the stage to receive her university diploma. All I can say is "WOW!!!!!!!!!!".0 -
Double WOW, Eric! I feel like I've been there for the last part of the growing up process. It's so nice to hear about a parent's enjoyment of a relationship with a young adult child. The beans and rice bowl sounds. . . interesting to someone who grew up with beans and rice as a frequent food.
Nance, I use oil spray when I oven fry fish. I don't have a good spritzer at present so I rely on the canned olive oil spray. And I use either a glass pyrex dish or a metal pan.
However... I didn't oven fry the catfish last night. I pan fried it in a small amount of canola oil heated almost to the smoking point. I had four smallish fillets and we devoured them. DH as always slathered his with his home-made tartar sauce. I squeezed lemon juice on mine. The side was a mashed potato salad, a rare treat. I used the last of some potatoes that were soon headed for the garbage can.
Today I'm thawing pork tenderloin with the idea of slicing it into medallions and making pork piccata. I never know whether an "idea" will materialize when the time comes to cook! My best bet is to do prep before I have my 5 pm cocktail.
Worry the Pooh, it's good to have you check in. I read on another forum that you're dealing with smoke from the fires in Australia. I was fortunate to visit your country and I hate seeing all the pictures on tv. Your moussaka dish sounds good. Do you have your own recipe or do you follow a particular recipe from a cookbook? I haven't cooked moussaka in years because the bechamel sauce adds so many calories. And so much richness and flavor!
DH just came in from his workshop and turned on the football. Now that the Saints are out of the competition, I don't care about any of the games. Of course, all of Louisiana will be watching the LSU/Clemson game tomorrow. People who were lucky to graduate from high school are avid college football fans.
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Oh my gosh Eric, seems like your DD was just in high school! Time flies too fast these days.
We are in the midst of a major painting project - the master suite. My hands don't allow me to do much painting so I'm the "gofer", paint brush washer, roller loader, etc. Today is day three, and we're both ready for it to be done. It's especially tiring because the area has vaulted ceilings which require an extension ladder to reach. Lots of up and down. Unfortunately, there is probably one more day of work after today.
Last night instead of cacciatore we had comfort food - chicken fried steak with sous vide mashed potatoes and fresh green beans with butter and sunny Paris seasoning. Tonight will be the cacciatore. In between moving drop cloths and washing paint brushes, I made an apple crisp for dessert.
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Eric - I too am just shocked that your DD is 22. Where does the time go?
Carole - I'm the same about prep work. Somehow I always think about piccata with pork medallions but end up with brandy cream sauce.
Nance - I'd be happy to welcome you to paint my house. Oh, I will wait until you finish yours. (LOL) And the bonus is, no vaulted ceilings. Like you, I can no longer paint with my hands. Thank you cancer for neuropathy. I keep putting off hiring someone with the theory that I need to get rid of more stuff first. That's happening, but not nearly fast enough.
French Dip sandwiches made with prime rib were delicious last night. My friend had never been to this restaurant and she was astounded how tender they were.
edited for spelling
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Tonight I had a good laugh. Sharon was cooking and needed 4 whole cloves of garlic, so I got the garlic out and peeled it for her.
That brought back a memory of college and that got me started laughing/giggling. Mickey was cooking and she needed a whole clove of garlic. Unfortunately, neither of us understood the difference between a clove and a head of garlic.
When she tasted the dish, "Ahh....I think there's too much garlic in it." :-)
My neighbor, Liz, when we asked her about it, laughed as she showed us what a clove of garlic looked like. "You used an entire head of garlic? Oh, my!"
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Too funny Eric. The first time I made chicken with 40 cloves of garlic, I peeled 40 cloves. In subsequent preparations, I stopped well short of 40 cloves. I hate peeling garlic, even just smashing the cloves to remove the skin. When I go to the Chinese market, I always buy a large container of peeled cloves. What a luxury.
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The garlic confusion was the first of the scrunched face and "ahh....." moments. Another one was caused by using baking powder instead of corn starch for gravy. Baking powder, if one uses enough, will work, but it doesn't taste "right". My excuse is I had bought different brands of baking powder and corn starch and both were in round white "cans". Clabber Girl brand puts the corn starch in a yellow container and the baking powder in a white container....so that never happened again. :-)
It was in early 2012 when the oncologist called with the diagnosis and DD was in 8th grade. That's when I showed up, so it's been almost 8 years.
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Apple playing her piano.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsXQAhe8uYY#action=share
I hope this is OK to share.
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Oh yes. Apple was such a treasure.
Here's one of Apple's food posts on this thread from November 2012
For breakfast just about every morning I've been having a home made veggie soup with lots of tomatoes, topped with goat cheese and croutons. yum - I just keep making it. I am hooked.
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That was sweet Eric - I think about Apple often. Especially when there's talk of squash :-)
More painting today. Oh our aching backs. No dinner inspiration thus far. Oh wait, while rummaging around my recipe box yesterday I came across my Singapore pork and noodles recipe. Haven't had that in a while - bingo!
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I did the prep/cooking yesterday at 4 pm and we did have the pork piccata but it turned out excessively piccata. Very salty because I used the rest of the preserved lemon. I had steamed broccoli as my only side. DH had the broccoli, too, but I made him a romaine salad with additions.
Tonight we plan to go to Crabby Shack. I will probably have a salad topped with fried oysters. Or they always have a fish dinner with baby drum which is good.
I actually like painting because it's so transformational. My last major job was our master bath (which I've learned from the H&G network is en suite!) I need to paint the adjoining half bath and laundry room but haven't worked up the ambition. Flexibility for painting in tight areas is a problem these days. My hands still work fairly well.
What an ugly day we're having so far. Dark and rainy outside.
Does anyone else find it amusing that the media is so intrigued with the life decisions of British royals?
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Eric, that was really moving to see/hear Apple playing. You seem rich with poignant memories. I’m amazed to think the your DD is almost finished with college....feels like she just left home for that next life adventure.
This weekend we cared for DGD here overnite to give her over scheduled parents a break, and get into training for having her for four days at the end of the month while her parents go away prior to DS2 starting a new job. We were exhausted by the time DS2 picked her up yesterday. That experience, along with your comment about DD’s life stage reminded me of a (poorly paraphrased) statement I heard someone tell an expectant mom on starting her maternity leave, “Enjoy your baby. The days are long but the years fly by”. And that is so true.A few days ago, I made turkey chili and thought it had a bitter after taste to it. So I looked at all my spice dates and discovered that many of them were several years old. Thus, I am busy replacing all I use fairly frequently. I was shocked at how old some were...and have no idea if the bitter taste was due to the aging spices. We managed to enjoy the chili for two meals anyway.
Tonight off to the Celtics, and looking forward to my standard salmon entree at The Harp. Lately, I ask them to just include sautéed broccoli with it, which feels so healthful...and I then feel less badly enjoying popcorn at the game which DH always gets at halftime.
Minus, I would never have guessed that you were not adventurous about food orep. And, of course, I love your creative meal choices that are out of the standard fare!
Worry, i have also not made moussaka for many, many years due to how many steps are involved and the high caloric content. But it sure is delicious! I hope you and yours remain safe from the fires and traveling smoke.
Nance, I wish I had your energy for home improvement efforts. The clear out is the first effort which is huge. Minus, impressed that you are getting that started
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Special - I meant to post earlier and you may not be checking in while you're on vacation, but I enjoyed the Kualoa Catamaran boat tour. https://www.kualoa.com/catamaran-boat-tour/ We went out to Chinaman's Hat and watched turtles feeding. It's only 45 minutes from Waikiki. Also loved the Turtle Bay Resort on the North Shore. It's by the Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary. And has an Arnold Palmer golf course if you golf.
Dunch was Quesadillas on flour tortillas - filled with sauteed mushroom, spinach, green onions & grated 4-cheese mixture. Actually quite good but I'll adjust and put cheese on the bottom before the mushrooms & spinach next time - as well as on the top - to hold the fillings inside more firmly. The recipe included shrimp but I was too hungry to even defrost them in cold water. Can be served with salsa, sour cream, and guac for dipping. Again - I was so hungry I forgot to even get the sour cream out of the fridge.
Served with a new Zinfandel I got for Christmas - Paso Ranches from Paso Robles. It is aged in bourbon barrels. Maybe as good as the 1000 Stories Zinfandel that I've been hoarding.
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Worry, stay safe..and my thoughts go out to the emergency services folks there. That is dangerous work and it gets more dangerous when people are exhausted.
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We weren't in the mood to go out to eat last night. The weather was rainy and nasty. DH went to the nearby Subway and bought sandwiches, which served as dinner after our usual pre-dinner routine.
We're into the winter fog season. Warm, muggy, foggy outside.
No menu for dinner yet.
An excess of celebration on local tv this morning. Imagine what could be accomplished if people would get behind a good cause the way they get involved with a football team winning a sports event.
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Couple of days ago I used Amazon Fresh to order from Whole Foods around the block because it was snowy & icy outside. They had medium peeled & deveined thawed white shrimp on sale for $10/lb, so I bought some. I made a stir-fry with half of them, plus bok choy, snow peas, orange & poblano peppers, shiitakes, a bit of carrot, and homegrown (in a water glass!) scallions over a frozen cauliflower rice blend. Last night I was lazy and wanted to watch both Jeopardy and the debate, so I ordered out from a new place--fried Brussels sprouts with bacon and remoulade, and Buffalo wings with ranch. Surprised and disappointed to discover the wings not only didn't come with celery sticks but also appeared to have been floured before being fried. (Delicious, but I'm paying for those carbs today. Will have to skin the leftovers and re-toss them in wing sauce). This afternoon for brunch I made two eggs shakshuka (with olives & feta). Tonight, will use up the rest of the shrimp in a keto-Mediterranean recipe using basil, tomatoes, garlic, oregano and feta. I know that Italians find the combo of fish & cheese to be anathema, but I've had shrimp with garlic, broccoli & parmesan over linguine and it was delicious. As a side, I will probably blanch and then sauté broccolini with lemon, garlic & red pepper flakes. Dessert will either be a square of sugar-free dark chocolate or berries...or even no dessert. Likely a decaf unsweetened almond milk cappuccino, though. (I need to be more disciplined about brushing & flossing my teeth and putting my retainer right back in afterward--my ortho said I could wear it only at night, but I'm finding it feels quite tight puttting it back in after it's been out for as few as 3 hrs).
Tomorrow Bob is at Union Health near Greektown all day, so I'll probably Uber it down there (if it's not too icky out I might try the CTA trains and walk from the Pink Line station) and we'll go to dinner at Santorini for Greek salad, baby octopus, dandelion greens, and whole grilled snapper. That was my plan last time I went there, but I was seduced by the roast leg of lamb that was the special of the day. The bummer about being near-keto at Greek restaurants is not being able to have the taramosalata (often made with a "panade" of soaked bread), crusty bread, and yogurt with wildflower honey & walnuts for dessert. (The yogurt & walnuts are allowed, but I find it too sour w/o the honey). I also like moussaka, pastitsio, roast potatoes, avgolemono soup with rice, baklava and sweet Greek coffee--but I don't miss them.
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We went hiking today, but got a late start as one of Sharon's high school classmates called to say hello...so we didn't leave the house until just before 11am and we didn't get hiking until 11:30am.
We got home around 6pm, so dinner was one of those "jump ups". Sharon had spaghetti and I had a vege burger.
The hike is in the White Tank Mtn Regional Park and is 8.6 mile walk on the Mesquite, Ford Canyon and Willow Canyon trails. There is quite a bit of climbing and descending, and the map suggests the reasoning behind the trails' nickname of "the lollipop". Our hike route is highlighted in red.
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wow Eric - hell of a hike. I know you run regularly. Hope Sharon's legs won't be too sore.
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She's fine. Since Sunday she's walked, hiked or run 30 miles. She's happy about it as she's finally "climbed off" of her weight loss plateau.
Wings without celery sticks & ranch dressing? Breaded wings? Eeewww. Out here, that's like "there" having the hot dog cart guy putting catsup on your hot dog without you asking for it. :-)
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Ketchup on hot dogs? That's a capital offense in both NYC and Chicago!
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Last night was flattened chicken breast fillets spread with Dijon mustard and with grated Romano pressed onto both sides. Cooked on medium in skillet until brown and crusty. That’s the goal, anyway.
Side was frozen succotash cooked on stove. I can hear the yucks!
Off to the gym again today. Too wet for golf. Yesterday I went to a Pilates class. I was able to perform some of the movements but not the more advanced ones.
The hike sounds great, Eric. I used to love hikes with some elevation but dh is not up to hiking any more at 80. He has circulation issues with his legs. You and Sharon are living a good retirement. I’m happy for you
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Carole: Succotash was my Father's favorite. Old memories!!
Taking my nephew to lunch today after silver sneakers. It's a old time Italian place, but I'm thinking I'll be good an have a big salad.
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It's a capital offense in my house too. In fact, ketchup has very limited use imho - the occasional French fry or onion ring, meatloaf sandwiches and thousand island dressing (and not even much there.) In places most people use ketchup I favor chili sauce. DH disagrees and will use ketchup in a variety of places. But not on hot dogs anymore lol!
All this talk of meatloaf must mean it's meatloaf night.
Eric, I'm in awe of you and Sharon.
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Carole - we love succotash. I have an awesome recipe that I make at thanksgiving but we like it all.
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Speaking of meatloaf, I just made one in the Instant Pot and we loved it. First time using a pressure cooker for meatloaf. Used a new to me recipe that called for barbeque sauce. The honey pecan sauce I used likely was part of the attraction!
It is back to just the two of us and it did not take very long to adjust to, and enjoy, having a quieter house. Now to catch up on things that were allowed to slide for the two months we had people in and out all the time...
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Bob worked all day at his Union Health office near both Greektown and Little Italy (he eats really well for lunch those days), and was done by 4:30. His car's tire pressure sensors lit up Wed. night despite having recently replaced two tires, so the plan was for him to take the CTA Red and then Pink Line to the office while we would take care of his tires and then I'd drive down to meet him for an early dinner. Turns out the impending flats were due to neither bent rims nor faulty sensors but very cold weather (he admits he doesn't use the tire gauge I bought him), so all they needed was air. He slept through two alarms so had to take a taxi instead.
He had his heart set on our sharing Santorini's whole grilled fish, filleted tableside--last time I got seduced by the roast baby lamb that was the Thursday special, and he barely made it through the fish himself, especially since I gave him all my roast potatoes. So we had the snapper this time--they'd run out of black sea bass--which was what we wanted anyway. It was terrific--napped with lemon-garlic-oregano olive oil. We started by splitting grilled eggplant and a Greek salad topped with octopus; with the fish we had a side of garlic-lemon sauteed dandelion greens. (No saganaki because it has to be floured before frying; no taramosalata because they do make it with a "panade" of white bread). We killed off the fish, but brought home leftover salad & greens. Finished the meal with Greek coffee but made w/o sugar--was able to taste the cardamom much more clearly, and it was truly yummy. (I never sweeten my coffee, not even espresso, anyway).
Got to talking with our waiter--I noticed his braces and showed him my retainer--and found out we're neighbors, living just four blocks apart! He goes to St. Andrew's Greek Orthodox church (which lets my temple use its parking lot for overflow) and we've both attended its annual Greek food fest (though this year only Bob went--too carby for me).
Gonna snow, and snow hard, tonight, so we won't go out. Besides last night's leftover veggies, I have some leftover fried (no starch) Brussels sprouts with bacon and remoulade, Buffalo wings (floured, alas--will freeze them), and 8 shrimp I boiled with Old Bay to make a cocktail. Bob wants steak tonight (it's been a fish-and-chicken week for us) so I'm defrosting a bone-in grass-fed ribeye which I will sous-vide and then sear. No starch necessary--though Santorini sent us home with more crusty bread last night, so I'll have Bob go nuts on that (with olive oil) if he wants.
For brunch today I made a 2-egg pepper & mushroom omelet with cheddar & Swiss. Had the tiny "heels" of a loaf of low-carb (4 gm. net per full-size slice) whole multigrain bread with French salt butter, followed with an unsweetened vanilla almond milk cappuccino.
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Meatloaf sandwiches for lunch today, yum.
The only thing I hate more than snow is ice - which is what we're getting right now, until 9 tonight then turning to all rain (hopefully.) Ugh.
Sheet pan fajitas tonight with flank steak. The only side will probably be refried black beans.
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Snow began an hour ago--1/2" thus far, 3" by the time it turns overnight to "wintry mix" and eventually rain before the polar vortex moves in during the day tomorrow and turns us into Chiberia. Hopefully, the rain will wash away the snow and be off the ground before the mercury plummets--at least here on the N. Side. The south 'burbs are expected to bear the brunt of the ice.
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