So...whats for dinner?
Comments
-
Kids crossed the AR state line into TX an hour ago, and expect to get to the Hill Country (between Austin & San Antonio) about 12-1am. Hope for their sake the grid holds. There's a woodburning fireplace but the stove's electric. It's supposed to get down to a -7 wind chill there tomorrow. (Tropical compared to Chi., but I digress). Leslie's sister & her BIL are flying down there from Anchorage...which thanks to climate change is warmer than TX.
Safe travels, Lori & Eric/Sharon. Since your flights cross paths, maybe you can wave at each other's planes?
Bob made it safely from Union Health (W. Loop area) down to Oak Lawn tonight. Hope the hour's drive to the hotel (after his shift at the hospital ends) is uneventful. I made him wear layers (long johns, shirt, sweater, polypro socks) and take his galoshes so his gym shoes (all he wears on his feet except for formal occasions) don't get wet in the snow and freeze his toes.
We walked to Regalia last night...because we could. Not ashamed to admit I cheated majorly, because I'll be dining alone on leftovers and freezer-foraging through Sat. aft. For an app, we shared the house special pasta of ricotta gnocchi (more like gnudi) with truffle butter, with the owner shaving an entire Italian black truffle over it. (Bob can take or leave truffles, so he had the lion's share of the gnocchi and I the truffle). His entree was veal marsala, mine was branzino filets on charred Brussels sprouts with romesco sauce. Was going to forgo dessert until I found the special was...cannoli (which I haven't had in nearly 2 yrs.). 2 per order, we each had one. Delicious, the shells were flaky and still warm. Owner also comped us a couple shots of housemade pistachiocello (vodka, cream, pistachio liqueur). After dinner, I managed to fast till 3pm today, when I got home from my mani-pedi.
Hunkering down now. If the subzero wind is still blowing the snow around tomorrow aft., I will have to cancel my "winterizing" app. at the Subaru dealership. (Their car wash will be closed anyway). It'll be at least another 2 weeks before I can get another slot, but it is what it is.
0 -
Special, that looks delicious!
I had leftover alfredo, so I added sautéed Brussels sprouts, carrots, squash and spinach with halved turkey meatballs and rigatoni (add mushrooms for DH). Turned out pretty good.
0 -
I went to a friends for 'happy hour' and she had made "eggnog cookies". Quite good. Dinner was leftover LARGE broccoli salad from Chicken Salad Chick served with macaroni & butter because it's COLD here. The temperature dropped from 53 at 2pm to 33 at 6pm. Still dropping. My area of Houston is predicted to be 14 tonight. Carole - we can have a contest (LOL).
Oh my Mae - did I read that right? Minus 5 degrees?? Let's hope the promises from Austin a couple of days ago that the grid is secure are true. Is the trailer heated by propane? The Alfredo mix looks great for this weather.
Eric - hope your daughter got there. And hope Goldie got North out of Phoenix.
Special - Great to see you. Thanks for posting. We did miss you. I love the story about the boat parade & so glad your BFF was there to visit.
0 -
Dinner tonight was leftover branzino & a Brussels sprout, reheated with cherry tomatoes (seasoned with EVOO, a bit of salt, Penzey's Tuscan Sunset and grated pecorino Romano) and topped with sliced almonds. No wine--trying to stay hydrated in these bitter temps. Not easy to do when the drinking water is cold. (Tapwater is not terrific).
Illimae, where in TX are you staying right now? Stay warm!
Currently 1F, and dropping to -10F by morning. We got another inch of snow, and some gusts are blowing it eastward off the roofs. Definitely not worth going out tomorrow for a routine car appt. Sat. night we will call a taxi to take us to Big Jones for late Reveillon dinner. (Parking is difficult there under the best of circumstances, and walking a block or two with below-zero wind chills is not fun). I will wear my way too big Hanukkah sweater over a slightly-too-snug Christmas one. Also my warmest down full-length puffer coat. (Shearling, from my fatter days, is too big, Mom's mink's sleeves too short).
0 -
i continue to enjoy all the interesting meals you all make or take. I don't quite lurk here (and on the drinking thread) but read more than post, I guess.
Our nephew and family treated us to a perfectly done medium filet along with hassellback (type) potatoes, asparagus and arugula salad. A delicious port before dinner and a red with it made for one fabulous meal served with love.
0 -
Reader - thanks for the reminder. I made Hasselback potatoes once & loved the result. And I have a bag of potatoes I need to use. And it's certainly cold enough to turn on the oven. So - Hasselback this weekend. If we still have power...then I'll defrost a chicken breast & saute/steam some asparagus. And I'll dig a pork roast out of the freezer for Christmas Day. Have to hurry with this oven cooking because it will be back up to 75 in a week.
Philosophically - watching the temperature fall is not nearly as exciting as watching ocean waves. It's been below freezing for 6 hours and still steadily dropping - 21 now. The wind is still howling though I don't have an anemometer. My staying awake certainly won't make any difference. And if we're old enough to remember the Shirelles (whee ooo), we know "the darkest hour is just before dawn."
0 -
Thank you, SpecialK, for the perfect description of the majority of our meals. Sustenance.
Minus, my laptop tells me it is 23 degrees and Sunny. Do you have to run a trickle of water when the temperature dips into the teens? Our house is on a slab but we do run the trickle in the kitchen sink. DH has lights set up in the little pump house because we have a well and electric pump.
Thanks for the report on Lacey. I do wish she would come back to our forum. I miss her.
I didn't see a post from Bedo so I'll have to backtrack.
Our sustenance today will be mustard greens from the freezer. I also have a large carton of cremini mushrooms and looked up a recipe for mushroom soup. Winn Dixie was completely out of cream so I will have to substitute half & half.
I also spotted the perfect word for my Christmas attitude. Minimalist. It's so much nicer than Scrooge. LOL.
I use the refrigerator in an outbuilding for overflow food supplies. It occurred to me that the contents of the refrigerator would probably freeze so I'll need to bring some items inside.
DH just went to the gym. Life as usual for him.
Stay warm.
0 -
Made it to MI just fine. Thanks all for the safe travels. Dinner tonight will be Salmon Picatta. My brother has his house decorated to the nines for me!
Eric, I hope your DD made it safely.
0 -
Well it's been another eventful week here in Lake Woebegone . . . . . Monday night we had a visit at our house and dinner out with some good friends. They were fine. After they went home they both woke up in the night with COVID. Sigh. So now we are isolating for ten days. Postponed Christmas with the kids until New Years (assuming we don't get sick) so now it will be just us. I bought and trimmed a whole brisket which I had planned to marinate then braise for Christmas eve dinner. The brisket is now in the freezer. DH and I will now have a couple of steaks which were gifted to us. It's going to be difficult to pan sear them. I usually do it on the grill so as not to set off the smoke alarms but it's currently -1 right now and doesn't look to much better tomorrow night. So we'll see how that works out.
Regarding COVID, our friends were not boosted but we are so I hope that makes a difference. We were told to test tomorrow. So far we are fine and I hope it stays that way. It's not the first time for it just being the two of us for Christmas but its a rare occurrence. Truthfully, it's a lot easier on me lol. Carole - I find my attitude toward everything, including Christmas, more minimalist every year. And other than worrying about getting sick, I'm not too sad about not entertaining.
As Carole mentioned, one year DH and I went to NOLA for Christmas and enjoyed two Reveillion dinners. Unfortunately, I couldn't enjoy the first at the Pelican Club as much as I would have liked due to a severe case of acid reflux - the result of an earlier dalliance at Café du Monde. But i would do it all again in a heartbeat.
I hope you all are safe and warm. I was -7 last night and the winds are horrific. Thankfully, we replaced our 22 year old furnace this summer. Luckily, our snowfall was very light.
Carole - a note about Potato Leek Soup - I use a Serious Eats recipe that includes the addition of buttermilk which gives it just that much of a needed flavor boost.
I can't make hasselback potatoes to save my soul. They always end up greasy and not quite done - nothing like the beautiful pictures.
Did I miss something posted about Lacey? I miss her too.
Tonight is meatball sandwiches with a salad. DH is requesting tater tots which are nothing but hash browns imho. Although I do like the Alexia yukon gold ones but boy are they expensive for glorified hash browns.
0 -
Nance - so sorry that you're quarantined. I too am a big fan of a more minimalist holiday every year. My son usually works over Christmas so I was glad to see them the week after Thanksgiving.
Lacey didn't post, but we are in sporadic touch by email. (I'm a horrible correspondent). I know she wouldn't mind my sharing that they are OK but overloaded with preparations for last minute changes in the holiday plans. She will now have all children & grandchildren at their house.
Goldie - oh hooray. I worried about you while I was watching the temperature drop last night.
Everything was on hold at my house as the water dried up (or rather froze up) around 9am. I was hesitant to start cooking with no way to clean up. The taps finally started trickling again at 2pm. Since the day won't even get above freezing, I think I'll have leftover shrimp scampi and save elaborate cooking for tomorrow & Sunday.
0 -
We trickle the taps whenever it gets down into the single digits. We bottomed out at -9F overnight, but with wind gusts up to 50mph the "real-feel" was -37F. We stayed below zero all day--didn't hit our high of 0 until half an hour ago, and it's -1 again. Wind is howling--can't tell if what's blowing around right now is yesterday's snowfall or the predicted flurries. Thankful I didn't have to leave the house (I'm home alone with the kitties, as Bob is working into tomorrow evening).
Brunch was an "Outer Aisle" broccoli-cauliflower crust pizza, crisped in the air fryer and topped with hand-shredded mozzarella, chopped tomatoes, mushrooms, shishito pepper, grated pecorino, and basil. Dinner was a mini-Caprese over field greens (EVOO & balsamic), knob onion & grass-fed NY strip (actually, only half the steak) seared in cast iron, then tsauteed mushrooms & parsley in butter & beef juices with the flame off, while the steak "rested." Hoping to resist carbing it up late tonight (last night I'm ashamed to admit I had a bowl of Cheerios & raisins and provolone melted over a slice of whole wheat matzo--I rationalized it as "fuel").
We dined out Wed. night, removing our masks at table. Had a test kit that expires Sunday, and decided to make sure my vasomotor rhinorrhea (which I've had most of my adult life in reaction to temp changes) was just that (and my dry throat was thirst due to the dry air) I tested. Negative, whew. Drinking more water now--I still can't seem to get my 1/2 gallon per day in. Anyway, we're safe to go to Big Jones tomorrow night.
0 -
Good to hear those traveling are safe. We missed the ice storm on our little boot; seattle got hit.
Last of the au gratin/ham potatoes with broccoli tonight. Tomorrow, duck breasts, sauteed red cabbage and sweet potatoes. Hope the winds don't pick up or we have zero power issues. So far, so good.
0 -
Hi all
Christmas eve here in Perth, Western Australia, 9.50pm.
It's going to be a nice 31C here tomorrow for Christmas day. Have been seeing all the bad weather in the US on the news. We have a cyclone way up north but it won't make it this far down.
I have been busy today making a trifle, cauliflower cheese, potato salad and finishing wrapping presents. We are having Christmas lunch at my sister's.
Hope that everyone has a great Christmas.
0 -
Greetings of the Season to all! Nance, I hope you and your friends fare well getting through, or avoiding Covid.
All these posts make me hungry! SpecialK, the pumpkin chocolate chip cookies sound heavenly esp. with brown butter icing! So does the butternut squash lasagna! Illimae, your pasta looks delish, too!
A week ago I had the norovirus which was. not. pretty. It took almost a week to recover but glad to get it over before Christmas.
My mom never cooked on Christmas day. She made ham and fixin's the day before then we ate buffet style for a few days. I do the same. My menu today is ham, cheesy potatoes, sweet potato casserole, green beans….also Waldorf salad again, and this time I used the apple-corer slicer contraption to slice up the apples and it worked wonderfully, speeding up the process.
Last night I pulled a Marie Callendar pie out of the oven. I forgot to place it on a cookie sheet, and the pie pan crumpled in half, spewing cherry pie filling and streusel all over the inside of the 400 degree oven door, dripping down inside to the drawer below all over the cookie sheets I store there. Yeah. What a mess! Dh helped me clean it up. Dh and ds aren't much for dessert anyway, so no great loss!
Ds and I have perfected a spinach-artichoke dip recipe; all ingredients dumped into the slow cooker. Couldn't be easier and very yummy. So that’ll be the appetizer today. One year my sister made her own version then added a can of salsa which was pretty spectacular, too.
One of the senior citizens where dh works gave him a container of homemade chocolate fudge with nuts and also peanut butter fudge. I make really good fudge; hers was better!
We'll go to my sister's tonight. I consider her the best cook I know. She always has a beautiful spread of food. Tomorrow we'll visit my other sister who serves the best vegetable lasagna which is another of my favorites.
Certain encounters with food are highlights in my life, like some mentioned above! One Christmas Eve my sister had homemade horseradish she bought from a Polish church group. Spread on one inch slices of kielbasa, it remains one of the best things I ever ate! Too bad, it was the last year the folks at the church made the stuff, they were all getting up there in years.
Wishing everyone a warm, happy Christmas and holiday, however you celebrate!
0 -
Goldie, yay for your safe arrival! Enjoy!
Nance, boo for isolating at Christmas. But it's definitely minimalist!
Our electric pump stopped cycling on and off during the freezing night. We still have water since our well is a flow well. DH went out to the pump house and repositioned lights. Hope the pump will come back to life.
DH made his Quaker oats oatmeal chocolate chip cookies yesterday. They are as tasty as always. We will bring them to Christmas lunch at my sister's house tomorrow where they will be most welcome.
The weather is supposed to start warming up tomorrow afternoon. I enjoy some winter chill but not this extreme. The plus has been sunshine.
Aussie, good to have you check in. Your dishes you're preparing sound good. Hope you have a happy Christmas.
Meanwhile there is the usual question looming. What will be sustenance tonight?
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone.
0 -
Carole, I've learned to do my best to keep Christmas simple. I don't decorate because I have to, I wait until I feel like I'm in the Christmas spirit. It really makes a difference. I don't go overboard on decorations, it doesn't take much to add some festive cheer to the house. Shopping has been simplified over the years, too. I see too many women making sure everyone else enjoys the holidays, getting immersed in the hyper-busyness of the season, and they leave themselves out of the mix. I used to be a big subscriber to that mentality, but I no longer fall prey to it.
0 -
DD is seeing the new home for the first time.
0 -
Oh Hooray Eric. She made it!!!
Devine - lovely to see you. When you get a minute, I'd love your recipe for the spinach-artichoke dip if you don't mind sharing. Aussie - thanks for checking in from down under. Wally - glad you missed the ice storm. Carole - fingers crossed for the pump's recovery.
0 -
Goldie, if you flew on Delta Airlines, you probably were on the same plane that DD took coming to Phoenix. I was looking at the flight schedules and the plane DD rode turned around to go back to Detroit.
DD's flight was about an hour late leaving the gate and then sat on the tarmac for another 45 minutes before taking off.
0 -
Hasselback Potato report - oops... My favorite potato for this recipe is Yukon. But when I pulled out the bag of potatoes, what I had was mini reds. Luckily it was only me and the 'artistry' didn't matter - so I boiled for 10 minutes then spread out in a pan, poured the the butter/oil/garlic/rosemary liquid on top & baked awhile foil covered and a bit more uncovered to crisp. Served with steamed & sauteed asparagus. This is the recipe I like best: https://www.aspicyperspective.com/crispy-hasselback-potatoes-rosemary-garlic/
0 -
Tonight was a roast on the rotisserie with oven roasted rosemary potatoes, roasted rainbow carrots, creamy garlic Brussels sprouts and Yorkshire pudding. I’m stuffed and there’s still the cheesecake I made earlier. Food coma coming.
0 -
I am desperately trying to type coherently as I fight off my incipient food coma.
I ate lightly during the day (2-egg herb & Boursin omelet and an espresso), anticipating our 9:30 dinner res at Bob Jones for the Creole Reveiilon menu (confirmed yesterday). But got a call at 6 pm, moving our res up an hour because regardless of what the Resy app (and their site said), 8:30 was their last reservation. Bob made it home in plenty of time--and we FaceTimed with the kids down at the Air BnB in Dripping Springs, TX. Just as we were zipping up our coats at 8pm, to step out on the porch & order our taxi, they called again saying we had to get there by 8:30 because after that they were closing their doors.
Fortunately, the cab came right away even as we were locking the front door, and we got there by 8:10. The owners (including James Beard-awarded chef Paul Fehribach) came over and apologized for the snafu. First course was Rappahannock oyster stew with diced tasso in cream. Next came a Little Gem & oak leaf lettuce salad with candied pecans, MI pears and Point Reyes blue cheese. Bob's entree was a creamed venison "pie" (more like a large galette) and mine was Alaska sockeye stuffed with crab on a bed of charred Brussels sprouts and a "schmear" of cauliflower puree. Dessert was a crazy-decadent brandy-soaked toffee-pudding filled individual fruitcake (haven't had fruitcake since before I started my diet in 2019), topped with toasted meringue and glazed cranberries. We were SO stuffed I had to pack half my salmon & dessert & Bob packed all of his. We each ordered the wine pairings, not realizing they'd be 6-oz. pours. I barely touched more than a few sips of each of mine; Bob had a martini when we first sat down, and by dessert declared "I never thought I'd say this, but there's too much wine!"). Should have ordered one set of pairings with some empty glasses for sharing.
By the time the check came and our leftovers were boxed, they were about to close up. Along came two mugs of hot buttered spiced citrus rum--and a shopping bag full of desserts to go: two more fruitcakes, two portions of Doberge cake (pound cake layered with orange curd, chocolate ganache, and hazelnut praline), and fennel Springerle cookies.
We had Christmas dinner delivered today from L. Woods Tap & Pine Lodge: turkey, dressing, gravy, spuds, green beans almondine and cranberry cobbler. Will reheat it when Bob gets home from work. I will have my salmon leftovers for brunch tomorrow, maybe with some spring mix & vinaigrette. Likely freeze my leftover steak (which I'd planned to have with eggs today but thought better of it).
Layered up like crazy: polypropylene base layers under black knit pants, Tipsy Elves Christmas sweater (the black-background one that lights up (not the blue one with sequined tree lights, because the sequins are scratchy) and a red knit swing jacket over it. Midi length packable down coat--deceptively lightweight but very warm; hat, gloves, and a mask (for warmth).
0 -
Your meal and drinks were definitely Food Heaven, Sandy.
We had a strange combo of foods for our sustenance last night. Homemade cream of mushroom soup and a side of butternut squash flavored with brown sugar and butter. The soup was really good despite having to omit a few ingredients like marsala wine and fresh thyme. I substituted a small amount of powdered thyme and had to use half and half since no cream was available at the supermarket. I will make the soup again with fresher crimini mushrooms. The ones I used had aged a bit sitting in the refrigerator.
This morning I will make a creamed spinach dish that my sister enjoys. We will take that and dh's oatmeal chocolate chip cookies and tubes of crescent rolls for a noon dinner. She is cooking a turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes and cranberries. Since there will be a small gathering, I am not cooking a pork roast this year, nor did I make the shrimp mold.
DH and I told each other Merry Christmas this morning and agreed that we have much to be thankful for, including the water pump that came back to life and is doing its job.
Happy Christmas Day to all.
0 -
I made the zimt kuchen this morning.
0 -
Merry Christmas (and Happy Hanukkah) or Happy Holidays!
Dinner was just the two of us this year. I made mashed potatoes, stuffing, and baked chicken breast with a mixture of yogurt, celery seed, onion powder, lemon zest and paprika. We also had some leftover roasted cauliflower. I thought about adding some asparagus (the plate needed some green!), but thought it would be too much good. I made enough for leftovers so I don’t have to cook tomorrow on my day off from work.
I’ve been indulging my sweet tooth with panettone and chocolate. So far, the scale is either being kind or it is lying to me about not gaining weight.😉
0 -
I had butterball soup for breakfast, more for lunch and cheesecake for dinner.
0 -
I hope everyone had a great day. We did......
Turkey, garlic mashed potatoes, onion gravy, sourdough dinner rolls, stuffing, cranberry sauce, air fried brussels sprouts, stuffed acorn squash. Everything except the turkey was vegan
DD did the cranberry sauce, brussels sprouts and garlic mashed potatoes. Sharon made the stuffing. I did the turkey, onion gravy and rolls.
Like Chi (I think it was her) mentioned earlier, I too had to fight my way through the food coma while we were cleaning up.
0 -
Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend whichever holiday you are celebrating. You are all in my thoughts.
For Christmas Eve I treated myself to one of the specials from the Drinking thread - the French Hen. The recipe was 1 oz each of Baileys, Chambord and Kahlua. I subbed Tia Maria for the Kahlua. Very smooth. None left over for Santa!!!
My day was full of phone calls & emails with pictures from family all over the country. Mostly now we exchange food or gift certificates except for the little kiddos. My most exotic present was from my son - a set of coasters from Raffles in Singapore.
Dinner was a rotisserie chicken breast simmered in a mushroom wine sauce - served over recycled 'dressing/stuffing' from the freezer with some fresh spinach added. Supper was Marcona almonds & chocolate mint truffles.
Tomorrow back to normal activities - paying bills.
0 -
I have probably already posted this..leftover duck and sweet potato; I did make some sauteed red onion/red cabbage with balsamic vinegar. Everything was wonderful. I had a tiny pour of kirkland "baileys" in a decaf coffee tonight. My "dessert" was a small handful of cashews.
I'll be glad when life opens up and things are "normal" again. The winds have been strong but we, sadly, already hit 51. I am NOT ready for summer!!!
Glad to hear everyone had a wonderful day, visiting and eating. Hope you all can make it home safely and with less hassle, safe and sound.
0 -
DH had warmed up dressing and mashed potatoes for his dinner last night. Lacking gravy, he spooned on some of the cream of mushroom soup and said it worked great as a gravy substitute. I had an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie since one big meal a day is always enough for me.
I got to meet great niece Hannah yesterday, almost 4 months, and she is one of the most charming babies I have ever seen. She smiled at everyone and never once cried.
Eric, I wondered if DD had stuck to the vegan eating plan and surmised from your post that she has.
I look forward to your posts in 2023!
0
