So...whats for dinner?
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I never burned anything on the stove to the point of catching fire, although I have flambeed stuff intentionally. But one year I was over at my BFF's house celebrating my birthday. Her mom was in from Nova Scotia, and the two of them baked me a cake. I leaned in to blow out the candles, and one side of my long "Veronica Lake" 'do caught fire. Her husband threw a glass of 7-Up on it, extinguishing it immediately. But it was sticky & shaggy till I washed it at home that night. And I did trash a microwave once when I let a bag of popcorn go a tad too long—its entire core was a charred still-smoking blob of carbon. The lining of the oven had scorch marks and smelled of smoke. It needed replacing anyway. And back in my coffee-roasting days, I let a batch of beans in the roaster go a 5 seconds past "second crack," and the chaff began to smolder. I had to air the place out…in midwinter…in hopes my FIL wouldn't notice the smell when he got home from church. That was the end of my home-roasting days—considering one of the region's top roasteries, Metropolis, was four blocks away. Everything in stock there is no older than 5 days post-roast. They've spoiled me!
The paella class was fun. It was a demo, but the chef asked for volunteers, so of course my hand shot up. Unfortunately, I didn't get to eat my creation, as it had to be whisked away after simmering to bake for 40 minutes; but we all had part of the larger communal paella (which was sausage, pork confit, swiss chard & apples). Because there was no seafood involved, it stayed in the oven long enough to form a soccarat (crust on the rice), which IMHO is the best part. We started with pinxtos (sort of like amuse-bouches) of cockles conserva (high-end tinned clams) in saffron aioli on brioche toast, blood sausage with apple-date jam, and a mild red piquillo pepper stuffed with mushrooms & goat cheese. Next was tortilla español with sherry aioli; then roasted iberico ham "secreto" (the very tender flank of the pig) with crispy garlic—half of which I took home because I wanted room for the main event, the aforementioned paella. Dessert was a green cardamom flan with a very light caramel broth. Wine pairings will be listed in the "drinking" thread.
A bonus was a paella kit to take home: a carbon steel pan big enough for 2-4 servings, a bag of Bomba rice, little can of Spanish olive oil, imported smoked paprika, and a generous bottle of mancha saffron. I had a larger paella pan but it's in storage after the fire; and of course had to sacrifice all my unsalvageable foodstuffs—incuding Bomba & Arborio rices and a little jar of sofrito (sort of a cheat, containing the tomato sauce, garlic, onion and a hint of saffron).
After I dropped Gordy back off and said hi to Leslie (she was just coming home from work) and drove home, I crashed for what I intended to be a 30-min. nap. Three hours later, I awoke to BangBang sitting on my chest, nuzzling and purring. (She woke me up this morning 90 minutes before my alarm, so I'd had only 5 hrs. of sleep). Dinner was four smal leftover baby back ribs and a bowl of leftover hot & sour soup Bob brought home from "Adequate" (not so Great) Beijing down the street.
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Dinner last night was a large Old-Fashioned and cheese snack crackers. I thought about Minus. DH and I had a long day, arriving at the surgery center at 9 am. He was soon taken back for surgery prep but wasn't taken to surgery until about 1 pm. I waited in his room and got messages on his progress. He was finally brought to the room about 4. I left about 5:30 and made it home just before dark. We were told that his surgery went well and his x-rays of the knee were perfect.
It's icy again this morning but the sun is out and it will warm up. After I do some chores and get things ready for him to come home, I'll drive to the surgery center. I'm sure there's no hurry because being discharged always seems a slow process.
Thanks for your concern. Wish us both luck in week number one of recovery.
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Hi all! I have been MIA for a long time! I am not sure what happened, but I felt far more overwhelmed by the holiday season of 2024 and checked out of a number of things. I don't know if it is because I need to dial back on holiday gifts and decorating, or I am just getting older, but I was exhausted. I was recently diagnosed, incidentally during some cardiac tests, with COPD. I have never smoked and not worked in any hazardous environments, so there is not an easy explanation for the why part. I was supposed to be seen the first week of January by the pulmonary doc I have been referred to, but that appointment has been rescheduled twice. It is now set for Feb 3. I am not sure if this is contributing to my level of fatigue, but I do feel better now that the holidays are over, so… I apologize because I really enjoy our interaction on this thread, and should have signed on to wish everyone a happy holiday for whatever they celebrate. I am going to resolve in 2025 to be less absent…
chisandy - good to see you posting here again!
I know I have missed birthdays, anniversaries, etc., so I will issue a blanket happy congrats for those.
carole - hope DH is doing ok after the knee surgery.
Cooking has been pretty par for the course. I am still feeding DD, usually making salads and dinners in meal prep containers and giving them to her in sets of 8 - 4 lunches and 4 dinners, twice a week. Dinner last night was a pasta bake that I had also given to her for one dinner. She is gearing up for her event here in FL that spans the last couple days of Feb, first couple days of Mar. We have made some tweaks to how we do things which should improve the process (for my responsibilities) so I am looking forward to that being easier. I delivered meals to her last night and needed to count some merch inventory out in the barn - it was COLD!
My local grocery store (Publix) had standing rib roast on sale a couple of times in late December so I bought a couple and cut them into steaks and wrapped them in packages of two for the freezer. I may pull a package out for dinner tonight and reverse sear them along with some roasted broccoli and little red potatoes tossed with parsley and butter.
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@specialk and @chisandy - hello and nice to meet you and read about your food adventures. I’m relatively new to this thread and love it. So many tastes to imagine through the stories, individuals and families who share their love of cooking and eating here . Specialk - sorry to read about the COPD diagnosis. I hope it is manageable .
Carole - so glad the surgery went well. Now the recuperation period and strengthening begins , hope recovery goes just as smoothly.Hope there are no more fire stories though, omg. I can’t imagine how traumatic and painful that was Maggie!
Minus- enjoy La Boheme, one of my favorites.Was not feeling adventurous today, so made one pan curried tofu with peas and green beans with brown rice. Good vegan comfort food for a cold blustery day. Skipping the neighbors party, and settling in with a pot of China rose green tea and peppermint with a Deborah Crombie mystery.
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Carole, Good news on the positive surgery report. I hope the recovery goes well and you are not run off your feet.
Special, Good to hear from you but sorry to hear about your COPD diagnosis. It can be caused by other things such as asthma, respiratory infections or alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency (a genetic liver disease.) DB's SIL was diagnosed with AATD at about the same time they discovered my RIPF so we occasionally meet to do things together since she has the same restrictions I do. We had Thanksgiving dinner in her open garage the first year but she bought a second home in SC so she could do more outdoors in the winter. I do fine with 60% of my lungs functioning but pace myself to avoid fatigue. What a helpful mom you are but it's good you are stepping back a bit from your daughter's big event.
Rhonda, Curry is always good even if not adventurous. A pot of tea and a good book sounds more relaxing than a party.
Sandy, It seems you had a delicious meal even though it was not your group's creation.
Dinner tonight was oven fried chicken with acorn squash and tater tots for DH.
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DH seems to be suffering more with this second surgery than the first. The home health nurse is here now and she is being something of an alarmist. With any encouragement she would contact the doctor's office. The therapist is coming next. When he leaves, we will have a late breakfast.
For dinner tonight we will have a home-made soup that a friend brought yesterday, sausage, kale and lentil.
I'm glad dh doesn't have any more knees to repair. LOL.
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Oh…Carole, I hope DH's discomfort/suffering quickly goes away.
Hi, Special. Good to see you posting again. I'd been wondering "where did she go?". I'm sorry to hear about the COPD diagnosis. Hopefully the pulmonologist will have some good ideas for you.
Sharon made some taco shells today. They are quite a bit more "puffy" than the store bought ones, but taste great. She also made some chicken taco filling to go with the shells.
I spent the afternoon cleaning up the spare bedroom that had been used as a "get it inside" staging area. It's almost done…and only took 2-1/2 years to do it…and soon the room can be used for something other than "storage". :-)
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Carole, I’m sorry this surgery recovery has not started as well as the last one. Hopefully things will improve soon. It’s good you have home-made soup to heat up for dinner.
Eric, Items made from scratch may not have the uniform appearance of store bought equivalents but the better taste is what’s important. Well done on getting the “storage” room cleared out. Two and a half years is reasonable. At times I moved again before unpacking everything.
Dinner tonight was chicken parmigiana on ziti.
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