So...whats for dinner?
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Yes, the chicken-Jasmine rice dish can be served hot. There is enough rice to get the rest of the stuff very warm. However, I think it tastes better if the flavors are given a chance to "mingle".
I guess I'm a bit more lucky than Bedo. All I have to do is have my gear with me as I can be flown out from just about anywhere.
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I googled pig farmers in Louisiana yesterday and up popped some farms that grow Berkshire pigs. I talked to a man at one farm in Alexandria and he is sending me a brochure. They sell half or whole hogs, $300 and $500. A half hog is about 110 lbs and dresses to 75 lbs. The processing fee is $5 a lb. So the cost comes to about $9 a lb. Pricey (or spendey as the MN folks say). Susan and Nance, is that in line with what you pay for Berkshire pork from the farmer? This farm delivers to restaurants in New Orleans so we could arrange to pick up an order in New Orleans which is much closer than Alexandria.
I just watched a PBS program that featured a chef at St. Jude's Hospital. Their whole approach to feeding the sick children makes you want to send St. Jude's a check. The program showed footage of children in a kitchen area building their own pizzas from fresh ingredients. The food is all fresh. Nothing pre-portioned or out of a can.
Last night I was catching up on Nutrition Action newsletters (Center for Science in the Public Interest) that were delivered during the summer and I read a horrifying true story about a man who ate soft French cheese his wife had bought at a Whole Foods. The cheese had been contaminated with Listeria bacteria that originated with a ricotta salata from Italy that the store re-packaged and sold under its own label. It was speculated that bacteria from the ricotta salata had been transported from rubber gloves of an employee to the shelving or outside packaging of the French cheese. The man became dangerously ill and nearly died during a period when the hospital drs. couldn't figure out what was wrong with him. Interestingly, the man's wife ate the cheese and didn't get sick. One of my favorite food stores repackages feta cheese which I have bought and enjoyed.
I guess eating soft cheese like most things in life is a gamble. :-(
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Carole, ouch! That's pricey! My half pig costs $165 and processing is around $1 a pound, depending on what cuts I want. I'd look some more. The place I'm getting mine is Alexander-King Farms. They have a website.
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I guess all pigs aren't equal..... :-) DD is reading the book, 1984....
Sorry, I couldn't resist that.
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Ha Ha, Eric!
Leftovers of chicken last night along with mashed butternut squash and cuke salad. So I'm really looking forward to tonight's meal at erbaluce with the ladies! Our weather is cold and rainy and not hospitable for tourists, so I'm truly disappointed about that for Minus and her friend. But once inside the restaurant tonight we can forget about the weather.
Bedo, I'm sorry you won't be able to join the group tonight.Am about to start baking some zucchini bread and/or zucchini-carrot muffins for a coffee hour tomorrow.
Susan, Sarma sounds like such a great spot for interesting food. And your stamp of approval means a lot!
Luv, it sounds like DD had a fun trip! She scored with the weather that week! Around here weather can be so changeable, the local saying is...."If you don't like the weather, wait a minute!". Great if that would be true this weekend!
Carole, enjoying your pig quest. From what I know, St. Jude's is a high quality place. My next door neighbors are loyal contributors to that hospital.
Better get to my baking...especially since I am not Nance with the baking gene!
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Oops...Animal Farm..not 1984...
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Nance, thanks for that feedback. The pork price sounded high. Especially the processing fee. I think the deer processors charge about $3 a lb.
Eric, I enjoyed a bowl of the leftover chicken rice salad for lunch. I thought about your daughter eating all of your leftovers of that dish for her lunch!
Dinner will be leftovers. We have the chicken rice salad and the beef broccoli soba noodles and garden salad makings. DH never minds leftovers.
Happy dining for the What's For Dinner group in Boston.
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I had some hamburger that was in the "need to use it up soon" category. This morning..hamburger for breakfast....cooked with onions and garlic, all served atop hash browns and topped off with an egg.
This morning, before I go replace the gas tank on one of the old Jeeps, I've been going through the old cooking magazines...cutting out the pages I want to keep and tossing the rest. I've got about 1/2 of a bookshelf free. Uggh...the dust...one could never guess we live in the desert. :-)
I'm thinking of making dinner around a pot roast tonight. DD likes the one I braise in beef broth and balsamic vinegar. She can save the unused 'juice' to put on potatoes. I guess Sharon's French Canadian genes are expressing themselves in a 'vinegar on french fries' way.
Back to cleaning.
Stay safe, everyone, both in and outside of the storm area.
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I am back from the "What's For Dinner" Boston Get together. We ate an Italian [not Italian-American] restaurant named erbaluce. Everyone else was early as can be and met up at the bar. Me? I was early and waited outside in the cold. At the early-by-15-minute-mark, I went in to checkin with the hostess since the reservation was in my name. Turns out, they were all there and we were seated immediately. As people drank a bit of wine and we got to know each other, it was clear that the night was going to work out very well.
It took us quite a while to even get to reading the menus. The waiter was very attentive and didn't come over until he saw that we were actually looking at the menu. And then the specials monologue, and when asked, he even gave us the prices! It did take us some time to make our decisions, but eventually, we all picked something that appealed to us.
On the table, there were some really wonderful sesame bread sticks. Not too hard, not too soft. We were then served both a white and grain bread with a purée of lima beans, garlic, salt, and olive oil. It was almost a hummus, but not. Not sure I need to eat that again, but it was actually good once you started to "understand" it and it complimented the bread. It could not have been too bad since we totally finished the dish!
Starters: Minus chose not to order one since she wanted some dessert. Lacey ordered a salad [was it radicchio?] that she very much enjoyed. MinusFriend ordered the prosciutto with local peaches, and I ordered the grilled mackerel with greens and tomatoes. The mackerel, which can be a mighty unpleasant fish if not cooked/prepared properly, was so delicious! It was not a small little fishie either. This guy had some heft. Grilled mackerel is the best way to cook these guys, and this preparation included bay leaf, lemon zest, some other spices that were very subtle, and I would guess, some olive oil. Both Lacey and Minus gave it a try and [I think] were surprised by how good it was.
Mains: Minus got one of the most interesting dishes from the specials menu. They steam a 1/5-2 lb lobster and then pull it from the shell and poach it in olive oil. It was served [as were three of the mains] with gigantes beans. The plate was garnished with lots of fresh herbs. MinusFriend, was brave and ordered the flounder [cooked a bit more than you might usually.] It arrived standing like a stadium with a greens salad nested within, on top of those same beans. Lacey chose the duck breast which was also served with the beans. I ordered the Pappardelle with Boar Ragu. Instead of a modest Italian serving, this was HUGE! The sauce was so delicious.... I shared with everyone who wanted to try, but ended up taking home enough pasta to feed two adults. Everyone seems to enjoy their mains tremendously.
Desserts: Lacey ordered the panna cotta which was the perfect texture and arrived set amongst some lovely berries and a raspberry puree. Minus ordered the local peach. Was it poached and then grilled? One, the other? I have no idea, but the bite I ate was spectacular. The dish was garnished with just a bit of a cinnamon cookie. Not too sweet.
As the bill was delivered, the owner arrived to ask us about our meal and to give us a plate of golden raspberries and chocolate truffles. I have never had a golden raspberry, and it was such a vibrant flavor. The chocolate was very high quality, and should be the bar that all chocolates aspire to reach.
I don't remember any times when the conversation lagged or we had any awkward silences. It was a wonderful evening.... pictures of people [not food] were taken and maybe someone will post one. Minus is onto the cruise ship tomorrow... I hope that the seas are not too frothy for them.
All for now,
*susan*
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p.s. When I arrived home, Mr. 02143 wanted to taste this ragu. "oh," he murmured. "This is good. This meat sauce is so good" and before you knew it, at least 3/4 of that pasta was GONE! Now I have to plan for another lunch tomorrow. Our leftovers for two are now down to one.
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Susan, many thanks for your wonderful dinner review! You got it all in! Glad DH enjoyed your pasta with boar ragu. I still cannot get over the size of that mackerel appetizer you were served. DH salivated when I told him about it! He and I will need to go there....maybe when we go in to see Beautiful ....or LaBoheme. I did enjoy that restaurant. Thanks for including it on the list of possibilities!
I wish that more of you could have joined us....even with our less than ideal weather! I was impressed with all of the touring that Minus and her friend got in yesterday, andbefore we met up with them tonight. They leave on their cruise tomorrow.
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p.p.s. And a small follow up... turns out I could have ordered a half portion of the pasta based on some reviews I read this morning, and my stomach is not churning or gurgling at all! Clearly, this goes onto our special occasion restaurant list. Mr. 02143 however cautions that he is glad I didn't know about 1/2 portions since he enjoyed his late night snack tremendously.
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Sounds like a wonderful time and meal. So envious! Please, someone post pictures!
My dad used to grow golden raspberries. I love all raspberries, but these are indeed special.
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Homemade Chicken Soup! Should be enough to keep my husband fed for lunch for a few days!
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Okay folks....one pic...sorry no food pics, but I think that Susan did a colorful enough description that we can all visualize. We honestly were so busy "chatting" through the meal that it wasn't until we were ready to leave that I thought of taking this shot....which Minus's lovely friend and traveling companion took of the " dinner threaders".
Next time you will all have to join us!
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I love it!
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Good golly, I drooled on the keyboard. Boar sauce on wide pasta,,, yummmmmmmmmmm. Sounds like an evening that will live on in everyones memories for a long time.
Thinking about making chili- it is cold here again today. High of 67 and overcast and windy.
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Only in the 50s here today, so I made a chicken pot pie
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Thank you for the excellent food report, Susan! You are very good at this kind of reporting. You must have inherited some of your mother's journalistic talent. I'm glad your dh enjoyed your leftovers. I've seen boar ragu prepared on tv cooking shows. I wonder where the restaurant gets the boar meat. We have wild boars in the woods and swamps and people kill them because they're vicious and can be a nuisance but I haven't heard of anyone eating the meat.
I have never seen a picture of Minus or Susan so I don't know who is who in the picture. I recognize Lacey.
I plan to cook leek potato soup tomorrow using the recipe I've used before, one that Susan recommended. I will add some ham left over from today's heavy noon meal at my mother's house. The weather has cooled off enough to enjoy soup.
I hope Minus has a wonderful vacation.
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I'm glad to be seeing pictures of some of the folks on here. I think I know who is who. From left to right...Lacey, Minus and Susan. Is that right? I hope I didn't embarrass myself (or anyone else).
Fall has finally fallen here. It was 107F degrees last week. Yesterday and today it was in the low 90s.
Sharon and I turned today into a "get a lot of projects done" day and DD was doing homework..so today was a fend for yourself for dinner night.
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Carole, I get the warmest feeling about you being home and back at your mother's for Sunday dinner!
And our weather has cooled off enough to REQUIRE soup making! Apologies for not naming photo subjects....Lacey on left, Minus in middle, Susan on right.
Went to Farmer's Market today and loaded up on really big arugula, beautiful spinach, pea tendrils, my favorite lettuce bowl lettuce, scallions, tomatoes and assorted other veggies. Corn was dirt cheap so DH got 14 ears...pretty poor end of season quality, as my father used to say, "cow corn". I have yet to decide if it is even worth trying to make a chowder with. If not, maybe, I'll leave it out for our returned groundhog. Ha! He is so annoying and entitled!!
So I spent the rest of the afternoon sorting and cleaning food stuffs until I developed an annoying headache and sore throat, leading to my deciding we could do take-out pizza tonight and I would just make a salad, which we did.I used some of all my precious greens, some red onion, a shaved carrot and golden raisins, dressed with evoo and white balsamic. Very nice with our take-out margherita pizza. Some chocolate brownie ice cream later in an attempt to soothe my throat. Annoying to catch a virus as soon as Fall starts.
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Eric, yes you win the "name that threader" prize. ;)We were cross posting.
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I'm so glad that everyone in the Boston dinner group had a good time. I was on call for Nothing!
Speaking of soup, it's time for soup!
And to stop with the fish, as the fishing is difficult here in the winter, so here...ta da...
Is the World's Best Split Pea Soup
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/split-pea-soup-with-rosemary
Also made butternut squash soup from a squash from the fall garden and froze it
Made terrariums with DD and Son in Law today.
So sorry I missed everyone.
Minus I hope that your trip is so beautiful that it results in many many memories of a place that is different from where you live.
I love to go to different geographic areas, it is so mind and soul opening.
xo
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Lacey, late season corn is excellent baked with nothing but butter (and salt and pepper):
http://ruhlman.com/2014/09/late-summer-baked-corn
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Thanks Nance! Interesting link, too. Am hoping the corn is happy to wait since I feel so crappy the last thing I feel like doing is dealing with food today. Tho I bet my ailing body would be thankful if I got more of those healthy greens into me. Will try....
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Lacey, we need to thank Susan, she introduced me to that recipe.
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Bedo, I think you are the vegan that eats fish, so I have to ask, would some ham be ok added to the split pea soup?
When I went to the hill I n St. Louis I got a couple of prosciutto bones that Maria said her hubby adds to split pea soup.
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Entrance to the restaurant. Next to gas-fired lantern.
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G I am Not sure redheaded it's kind of a different tasting soup but I know that split pea usually has potatoes and carrots and ham bones in it and it's supposed to be very good
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Hi everyone! Remember me??? I wanted to pop in and say...perhaps make an effort to come back. Life has been so busy! As the boys are getting older our schedule seems always so full. We had an amazing summer with a lot of camping trips and trips to the lake several weekends. My boys finally learned how nice it is to sleep in this summer which was amazing. Not so amazing now that school has started and I have to wake them up every morning now!
We are getting ready to head to our last camping trip this weekend for Columbus Day weekend. For those of you who remember this is our Halloween Camping weekend where the campground has trick or treating, pumpkin carving, hay rides etc, year every year. This is our favorite trip of the year and will be our 5th year doing it which is kind of amazing considering my youngest is 5 1/2!
My oldest son turned 8 this past weekend and we had a camping themed friend sleep over, 7 boys! His bff has a birthday a few days after his so the other mom and I did a joint party and it was cheap and a blast! 7 boys and the other mom and I all slept in our camper for the night. They had nerf gun wars for 5 hours outside. We gave head lamps as party favors and they played flash light tag until they collapsed. Loads of fun!
I have come across a chicken enchilada recipe which is wonderful. http://www.food.com/recipe/simply-sour-cream-chicken-enchiladas-129926?nl=email_share
Seeing everyones names in the posts made me smile. I hope everyone is well and I promise to pop back in and try to keep up. Miss you all and hope everyone is well. Hugs to all!
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