So...whats for dinner?
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Thanks, Nance, for the good wishes. I do feel better tonight. Actually began to feel more normal this afternoon. I, too, buy butter on sale. Usually have a couple of lbs in the freezer. Sam's has multiple packs that average to $3 a lb. I read about making ghee when I was reading about Middle Eastern and Indian cooking but haven't made it. I should dust off those cookbooks.
We had the chili again tonight but Cincinnati style over pasta. Again with grated cheddar. We felt a little sad because our long time Cincinnati friends are now deceased.
I might dig a chicken out of the freezer and make chicken sausage gumbo tomorrow. But that would mean buying some smoked sausage. None of that on hand. I can always send dh on a hunter gatherer mission.
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To me, truffles taste sort of like a cross between wild mushrooms and garlic, only stronger. It’s more about the aroma. I actually tried buying a little black Burgundy (aka “summer”) truffle and later a white Alba truffle back when Eataly had one-day sales on them; but truth to tell, I really didn’t get much out of them compared to using truffle salt (which contains pieces of black truffle) or a good, authentic truffle oil. (Last year for my birthday we went to Spiaggia, and one of the courses was pappardelle with wild boar and shaved black Perigord truffle, but I didn’t get much truffle “impact” out of it--so I’m not buying any more fresh truffles, which cost an arm & a leg and have to be used w/in a few days). IMHO, truffle salt is a better way to get an introduction to truffle flavor, because it contains the real thing. Almost all truffle oils have never seen an actual truffle--scientists have been able to duplicate the esters that make up the essence of truffles’ aroma, and even the oils that claim to have been infused with truffles have synthetic “truffle essence” as their main ingredient--after olive oil, of course--and “mushrooms” as the second one. The only true truffle oil I’ve found with no synthetic “essence” whatsoever is DaRosario--and it’s hideously expensive: $8-10 for a one-ounce bottle of either black or white truffle. White is more complex & delicate, black stronger. But both can fade after a couple of months and go rancid w/in 6 mos. So it’s a waste of money to buy bigger bottles of the stuff. The “truffle fries” or “truffle mac & cheese” found in most restaurants are made with truffle oil. And cheap truffle oils smell too funky to be savory. You shouldn’t really be able to taste the truffle per se--you should just be able to taste a heightened degree of “umami” (the “fifth taste,” which is primarily meaty/savory--which is in most meat protein foods as well as anchovies, tomato paste, egg yolks, mushrooms, Thai or Vietnamese fish sauce, Chinese oyster sauce, Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, and--yes--MSG. Soy sauce layers umami on top of salty).
I got my black truffle salt at Sur La Table--a 1/4 c. jar was about $9 and seems to have held its flavor for over a year (it’s heavenly on scrambled, fried or soft-cooked eggs, as well as Brussels sprouts). The Sicilian orange & caper salts I bought in a little wine-and-candy shop in Taormina, Sicily. The espresso sea salt came as a freebie with a shipment of steaks from Snake River Farms--which had been part of Signorello Estates’ wine & meat club; but Signorello discontinued it and now requires members to purchase a la carte from a periodic “allocation” (like the way Willams-Selyem does, except you don’t have to go on a waiting list before being eligible to buy--Signorello’s past club members are grandfathered in).
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specialk, Manhatten Beach is beautiful! How nice (smart!) that you moved from one warm climate state to another. My husband and I have spent time in San Luis Obispo, and surrounding areas like Morrow Bay and Cambria. I love central CA. I lived in Studio City for ten years before I got married and moved to Santa Monica. Just Mayo is the only pre made brand I'll purchase. Typically, I like to make my own mayo. I love your baked potato salad technique. It makes sense with respect to lack of water. One of the first techniques my mother taught me is the key to good mashed potatoes is to cook out any extra moisture in the potatoes, before adding cream, butter,etc.
Carole, Anne Burrell is my favorite chef on FN. her chicken cacciatore and quick duck confit recipes are truly perfect. Are you watching Worst Cooks in America? Lol, kind of staged, IMO.
Tonight, I got kind of fancy. Grass fed beef tenderloin, seared with a beautiful crust, and finished it in the oven to a perfect mid rare. Topped this with Roquefort chives cream sauce and a drizzle of aged balsamic. Made a fresh batch of mashed potatoes for my dad, and sautéed crimini mushrooms, shallots and garlic, topped with fresh Italian parsley.
I also have to jump on the "salt" bandwagon. Right now, I have black truffle salt, grey salt, Atlantic sea salt, Pink Himalaya sea salt, hickory smoked and Danish smoked salt. As far as investibg in truffle salt, make sure that it's black truffles as opposed to truffle oil: most commercial truffle oils are synthetic, flavored to taste like truffles.
Minus, my husband went to college at Rice for architecture. Houston is a great city.
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hsant - I didn't make a direct move from warm climate to warm climate, lol! My husband spent 28 years in the Air Force so we lived overseas, upstate New York, briefly in central California. Washington state, southern and northern Virginia, Alabama, back to northern VA, and the final assignment in Florida, which became permanent after he left active duty but has continued to work for Special Operations Command. A variety of climates and places
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I feel truly "salt challenged" on this forum! I have the pink Himalayan and white Australian which I bought on our trip to down under in 2014. Aside from that I have sea salt and Kosher. I have never had truffles of any color or truffle salt or oil. I looked at black truffle oil recently in the Winn Dixie and wondered what it tastes like. The price was much bigger than the bottle. I try not to use much salt because of bp and salt sensitivity.
hsant, your beef tenderloin puts my lowly rump roast to shame!
It's so nice to have new foodies at the table.
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Hmmm. As usual I always learn new things. I have salt in the blue container with the girl & the umbrella - Leslies or Mortons depending on where you live (unless there is yet a third name for the same product back east)
hsant - my son graduated from Rice. He now lives in No. California (where I grew up) and says he will never move back to this heat & humidity. Never is a long time. Carole will understand the humidity part. I'm used to it and my blood is thin.
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I think I'm salt challenged too. I have Mediterranean sea, pink Himalayan, fleur de sel, smoked, grey and kosher. A friend of ours who was house sitting for us once, asked me "what do you do with all that salt?" I had to laugh. Another time, I had a group of women friends at my house for a meeting and I found two of them in my kitchen at my whisk collection, pulling out one or another and saying to each other "what do you suppose this one's for?" Too funny.
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I've got a ham bone in the freezer as well. Carrie, if you do call the FBI, ask for Special Agent Clarice Starling. :-) See Silence of the Lambs..
I ran some more tonight, but I'm not shivering, so I guess I didn't work as hard this time.
Carole, I'm glad you're getting a chance to relax and hope you normal again soon.
Auntie, I like "regular" corn bread too. My wife likes the sweet "corn cake". In Phoenix, I can get corn meal that feels like sand, all the way to super fine flour. I prefer the finer flour over the meal. The butter here is about $4 per pound for the good stuff. It's kind of expensive, but it sure does go well with warm corn bread!
My older 'test daughter' lives about 25 miles north of Washington, DC. I've sent her a text message asking for a picture of her yard. I hope she, and everyone else in the storm's path, stays warm and safe and can (sorry, I can't resist) just chill out...
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I also have some alder-smoked sea salt (killer on salmon or halibut), fleur de sel, and Maldon. Plain ol’ rock sea salt in my grinder for everyday. And for seasoning meat, fish or poultry before and veggies during cooking, kosher salt (Morton’s or David’s, whichever is cheaper) can’t be beat. (For salting pasta water, plain generic table salt).
If you want to try truffle oil, stay away from whatever is in your supermarket--whether Winn-Dixie, Publix, Whole Foods, or Safeway. It will be overpriced and almost totally synthetic--even those pricey cans of La Tourangielle you see in Whole Foods have never even seen a truffle. Go online and look up DaRosario--the only totally natural real truffle oil out there. Buy an ounce, store it away from light and use it w/in 3-6 months. Use it VERY sparingly--a little goes a long way. You want to taste the savoriness of the food you add it to. Too much will give an unpleasant whiff of not just mushroom & garlic--but even reminiscent of burning rubber or gym socks. One inexpensive way to get an idea of truffles’ subtlety without resorting to “better living through chemistry” is to start looking for wild ramps and garlic scapes in your produce section, starting around late Feb.-early Mar. (earlier in warmer climates). Combine them with shiitake mushrooms (or reconstituted dried porcini or morels, if you got some of the latter as a gift). You get all the good flavors of truffle without the yucky funk.
Indulged myself today at Forever Yogurt--a couple oz. each of the “Signature Tart” and sugar-free mint varieties topped with some dark chocolate chips. And had my free birthday drink at Starbuck’s--the barista couldn’t believe I wanted only a short breve cappuccino instead of some venti sugar-bomb. (Sure, a great big mocha would have been delicious, but it wouldn’t have been worth the extra pound on the scale in the morning).
Tonight I may have made the best piece of salmon I’ve ever tasted (she said modestly). I took a couple of 5-oz. pieces of the $8.99/lb. sustainably farmed Icelandic salmon I got on sale at Whole Foods yesterday. Salted them lightly with kosher salt, then rubbed them with WF’s Thai Ginger marinade cut with a little Ponzu sauce and a tiny bit of Tupelo honey. Pan-seared them on med-high in coconut oil for 30 sec., then turned the heat to med. Flipped them when they were opaque halfway up (abt. 2-3 min.) and turned off the heat. Took about another min., then seared the sides for 30 sec. ea. Plated them with some stir-fried veggies (baby corn, choi sum, snow peas, scaliion bottoms) and topped then with scallion tops (finely sliced on the bias. Drank the last 3 oz. of that Mumm’s Napa Brut Rose Reserve. Dessert (if I have room) will be some Greek yogurt & assorted berries, with a squirt of honey and a few drops of vanilla.
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Greetings!
Wow, it has been a busy few days. Thursday night's dinner was a veggie-loaded chicken curry on rice with naan bread and a side salad. I use the jarred curry, but wold love to make my own curry paste someday. Yesterday 7 high school freshmen boys ended up here after school with my son. They went through all the frozen pizzas, granola bars, popcorn, and even found my secret stash of peanut butter pop tarts. Then called Dominoes Pizza for more. I love having them here, and I love that they like being here.
Hubs and I had a delicious bacon wrapped pork tenderloin with a apricot preserve-dijon mustard glaze. (I found the recipe on Kitchn.) Sides were roasted potatoes and steamed broccoli.
AuntieNance: We live right outside St. Louis in Clayton. We relocated here from Atlanta when my husband had a job change 5 years ago. I never thought I'd end up in the mid-west, but I really like it here. Even the cold winters!
Off to wake up my daughter..gymnastics practice at 8am.
Amy
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Amy, your meals sound yummy.
A sound night's sleep does wonders. I feel good. Hmm. Sounds like a song lyric from my past. A step on the scale this morning changed the plan for the whole chicken thawing out. I will split it open, as in spatchcock, but leave the backbone in, and roast it tonight and also roast some broccoli and turnips that are in the produce drawer. I haven't mentioned gumbo (whispering) to dh so he won't be disappointed. The man loves comfort food especially when it's cold.
The sun is shining today. Makes the day look a lot more cheerful than yesterday.
Eric, I love seeing pictures of beautiful snowy scenes.
Minus, I really can't blame your son for not wanting to live in a humid climate.
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Thanks Chi and everyone on the tutorial about the truffles and salts...who knew? I don't think my palate deserves all these specialty delights as I don't think I would know the difference when tasting them. Mario Batali loves cooking with the real truffels...but of course he is rich.
We do see a lot of different salts around here, they always have these in the wineries for sale and of course we mine salt from the lakes here, so there is always someone making up quirky blends. I am sucker and buy them but have to be careful cause a pinch goes a long way.
Carole any special recipes you use for the Cincinnati chili? do you add the chocolate and cinnamon?
Cream of broccoli soup here and maybe a grilled cheese.
So bizarre for upstate ny to not have any snow and poor daughter in NYC getting whalloped. You know its a bad storm when she is hunkered down and making chili! Haha she does not have the cooking gene....she got the ADD, lets run around the city and eat out gene.
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Minus, I haven't heard of Leslie's salt in a long time. But I have heard of it. My dad worked for Leslie Salt Company in Amboy, California right after he retired from the Marine Corps. I was five or six when he left there, but I clearly remember the red work truck he drove between home and work.
Chi, I found a tiny grocery store that carries Artisan Salt Company products. I'm guessing they have at least 50 different smoked flavors on the shelves and I'm hoping I can work my way through all of them....Alder is one of them and so far it's my favorite flavor.
Daisy..... When DD (high school senior) is swimming, her appetite has no problem keeping up with the boys... I was telling my mom about her "eating feats" and mom reminded me of my high school cross country and swimming days. :-)
I was going to make corn bread but it will have to wait. Sharon has to be at her school for a soccer game and I've been drafted to help her...we leave in about 20 minutes.... :-)
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Eric - looked up Amboy on Wiki since I couldn't place it. There's a picture of the salt ponds, but the population reported in 2000 was only 4 (yes four).
The first commercial salt works on the SF Bay was started in 1854 by a guy who failed to find gold with the 49ers. Eventually consolidated in 1901 w/Leslies, and they invented the first mechanical harvester in 1936. It takes about 4.5 years in progressively saltier ponds to go from salt water to harvesting. The higher the salt content, the redder the pond. I love history. I remember seeing all the salt ponds as a child going across the Dumbarton/Bay Bridge from Palo Alto to Oakland.
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The snow has finally started.
I have more salts than any one person needs to own, but I use them all for different flavors. I love alder-smoked salt on raw apple slices. Just a touch. Mr 02143 counted his black peppers while C was with us. He is down to only 8. Don't get me started on vinegars!
I have a 7-bone roast in the oven, braising a la Hazan. She only uses tomatoes, onions, garlic and thyme. This will braise for a few hours. Then I will let it cool so I can defat and slice before it goes back into the oven to warm back up. We will eat this with some polenta, glazed carrots, and some kind of spinach concoction. Last night, I made the Buttermilk Lemon Pudding Cake. None of us was quite patient enough to let the custard set, but it didn't matter. I slathered the plates with a blackberry sauce, spooned the soft pudding cake on top and handed out spoons. I will rework the recipe with better mixing directions. This is clearly a "chef-y" recipe which assumes you will know what to do. And I do. I just didn't use common sense.
*susan*
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I also apprecite the truffle and salts tutorial! I am probably the most salt challenged here. I own one box of Morton's, one of sea salt and a big box of kosher salt. The Morton's gets ignored for cooking, anymore. I like the idea of getting the black truffle salt since I am loath to buy an oil that will go bad on the shelf while not being used frequently.
I could never live comfortably in an often hot humid climate, thus my contented adult "root planting" up here after sweating through the summers, growing up in South Jersey. Wow, Special, you have seen a lot climate-wise. And I bet you enjoy the "frequent mover bonus" of not having over three decades worth of collections in your house!
The meals being described here sound so wonderful! Last evening at a popular casual spot near Boston TD Garden, DH and I split an arugula salad with pecans, grapes and goat cheese, then he had crabcakes and asparagus, and I had salmon over a surprisingly decent risotto that included asparagus, butternut squash and grape tomatoes. It was better than that might sound in combo. Tonight I will do something with the chicken breasts I bought a few days ago if they are fine. We'll eat the chicken chili tomorrow during the big game.
So Carrie, is the addition of chocolate and/or cinnamon that which makes chili, "Cincinnati", in addition to having it over spaghetti? Maybe your DD will develop a NYC "slush-induced cooking gene" over these next weeks!! But she is in a good place to support her "cooking style".
I was so surprised to see how often DS1 and DDIL ate restaurant prepared meals when living in Manhattan. Amy, I broke into a smile upon reading about your DS and co. hanging at your house. That was how we spent life when DS2 was growing up. He had (still has) a great group of friends who we enjoyed knowing through their adolescence....and now as grown men, professionals, husbands, dads. It is very sweet indeed.
It is finally snowing here....forecasted to be small potatoes by our standards. I feel badly for all the areas more south of us that are not really equipped to deal with sizeable snow storms. I heard that some of our equipment was sent there to support their efforts. Hope folks are able to stay safe
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Daisy, we are transplants from Webster Groves and DS and DDIL still reside there. DH was a St. Louis county native while I migrated across the river from Illinois some 45 years ago (holy CRAP that sounds like a long time!) We've been here since 1998 but we are frequent visitors to the St. Louis-St. Charles county areas.
The ricotta is draining, the sauce is thawing. As soon as the ricotta chills a bit, I'll make the manicotti filling, then make the pasta. I also decided at the last minute to make some seeded Italian bread. It won't be as good as usual because it won't have the overnight rise but it will be good enough to sop up tomato sauce :-)
Someone gave me a small bottle of truffle oil a couple of years ago. I was underwhelmed. Now I know why.
Lacey, I find that I use the Morton's mainly for salting pasta water and for cleaning the bread dough out of my mixer bowl.
Carrie, I like your daughter's genes lol!
Wow, a 7 bone roast! I'd kill for one of those. The only way to get one of those around here these days is to get a side of beef. I'll have to ask our independent butcher if he can cut one for me. Can't imagine what they cost now.
All of you storm people, stay safe. And no falling off any roofs!
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Most of my flavored sea salts, including the black truffle, are from Artisan. Their full-size plastic jars have dual-sided lids--one side for spooning, the other for shaking. Makes them last forever. Last year for Christmas, I got a set of their little glass jars with cork lids: rosemary, black truffle, espresso & merlot--came with a tiny spoon and a couple of dual-wall borosilicate glass mini-dishes, which were as delicate as crystal and broke pretty quickly. I now use the smallest tempered glass prep bowls that I can find (less than a Tbsp.), put one right on the dinner plate and put a tiny bit of flavored salt in it so I can sprinkle with every bite. I keep about a half-cup of my kosher salt in a lidded saltcellar on the counter, and use the scoop to transfer some into a prep bowl so I can season raw meats & fish without dipping my fingers into the saltcellar and contaminating the entire supply with the fingers I use to handle the meats. (Sometimes, there’s just no substitute for using your bare hands--such as “making it rain” with salt, a la Mario Batali.
We’re lucky in Chicago to have a branch of Batali & Bastianich’s Italian superstore Eataly. (Saw one in Rome, and have since learned that there’s one in every major N. Italian city--coals to Newcastle)? The place is two levels--has espresso (Illy on the ground floor, their own brand on the second), gelato, pastry/candy, crudo, wine, beer, pizza, pasta, sandwich/salumi & raw bars; meat, fish and vegetarian sit-down restaurants (walk-up, first come-first served); wine, tools, and condiment sections; a salumi & cheese deli counter & cases; several aisles of sweets & coffees; butcher, fish and rotisserie counters; and a produce section that will make you weep with joy...and cry even harder once your selections are rung up and you get sticker shock. Their flagship fine dining restaurant, in the basement, is called Baffo--quite pricey (we go once a year or even less often), but IMHO sort of inconsistent (one night the pasta was mushy but on another is was so al dente the center crunched; we’ve had overdone meat too). But the tasting menus are mostly delicious and always imaginative, with thoughtful wine pairings. We managed to escape the upcharges, but a friend wasn’t too lucky. For the pasta course, the waiter asked (as they usually do for parmesan cheese) if anyone wanted some freshly shaved white truffle. Of course, everyone in her party raised their hands, so the waiter “made it rain” flakes of truffle on each dish. Then the bill came--there was a $150 upcharge, that was hidden in small print and low-contrast ink on the already-small-font menu. Ooops.
When we visited Cagliari in Sardinia, the tour guide pointed out the city’s vast salt flats--after tourism, sea salt processing is Cagliari’s main industry. Because there are tiny brine shrimp in the seawater, the flats are popular breeding grounds for flamingoes. The flamingoes start out gray, but as they mature and eat more of those pink brine shrimp, their skin and feathers turn pink!
Bob surprised me today for my birthday--he got up earlier and walked to B’way Cellars for brunch (so crowded on weekends now that it’s almost impossible to get in) and brought me home quiche and salad! Their quiche is so high and fluffy it’s almost a flourless souffle-in-a-crust (and the crust is deliciously flaky). Today’s quiche was ham/Swiss/artichoke hearts. Yum! (Huge slices, so half of it is in the fridge awaiting Gordy when he gets up).
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eric - my son also ran cross-country and swam - he is built like Michael Phelps exactly. I had to have food in the car with me when I picked him up from practice for both sports - I could not feed him enough! He would eat and be hungry again later. DD also did those sports but did not have that appetite.
lacey - yes, I did benefit from moving often - you have to be ruthless when deciding what to move because you have an imposed weight limit that is paid for - above that, you pay! I did clean out my parents house in 2005, they bought it new in 1959 and threw away NOTHING in the intervening years. Interestingly enough, I just started going through a bin of things from their house yesterday! I put a bunch of stuff I knew I needed to sort through in bins but then never really did it when we moved here. I need to reclaim the closet they are in so I am starting! Weather-wise we lived in upstate NY for four winters and DS was born in 35 below with wind chill in January. I didn't want to take him out of the hospital I was so sure he would freeze no matter how warmly I wrapped him up! DD was born in August and it was sweltering with no AC, as was common in that area. You only have a few weeks when you need it - happened to be when she was born! My two extremes. We lived in Washington state for two of the worst winters on record, and the coldest summer between them. Poor kids were playing T-ball in parkas, lol! Otherwise, we saw the odd blizzard in Virginia, but it was mostly fun because there weren't that many. I have video of DH skiing on the golf course when we lived in SE Virginia.
daisy - my house was the house where all my kid's friends hung out too - I loved it and it was also a good way to keep an eye on them, lol! I always cooked and baked so they would keep coming back! Even my out-of-town in-laws (parents and siblings) knew the friends because they all assembled at my house!
chisandy - Happy Birthday!!!
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If today is your birthday Chi, then happy birthday and cheers!
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Happy Birthday Chi! What a nice breakfast/brunch surprise!
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Lost a long reply. Lacey see what you started? Im on my new computer and strange things happen. sigh.
but I too have a ham bone in the freezer. Cant make bean soup til the DH comes home for the weekend. Otherwise theres no room in the freezer for the containers at least I can push them off on him then. LOL
Happy Birthday Chi.
Eric, my girls danced 30 plus hours a week. they rivaled the boys for eating. But could never tell their teacher what they ate or she would tell them they were eating too much. She was 5"3' and they were 5'11" and 6'1" and about 14 and 12 years of age. So I let them EAT. It astounded me the dance teacher would come down on them for second portions when they were the only kids eating salads and veggies with their meals. So i told them to write down what the other kids ate and ignore her. The DD1 at 5'11" weighed 140. nice and healthy but people guessed her weight at 99 lbs. LOL. she got those genes from her fathers side. LOL
I hope every one is safe from the weather. Its not impacting us here so we watch everyone in DC going ape over the snow. I used to live in VA and know there isnt the snow removal equipment there, but what the heck is NY's exuse? There have been bad storms before. LOL
I bought a pork tenderloin for dinner. That with a baked potato will get me through for the weekend.
Much love to all and stay safe and warm.
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That's what I searched all over Chowhound for was a good Italian grocer in Dallas when I took DD to Love Field in Sept. Nada. Maybe one way out in the northern suburbs but way too far out for my few hours trip. There is nothing here like that. I guess N TX just doesn't have enough Italians. But what they do have is plenty of Mexican restaurants. Tonight is the 20th anniversary of our Mexican food group so we're going in to Ft Worth after DH gets home from work. I think we went to the 1st "meeting". DD would have been 8. It's a pretty decent place and where the 1st meeting was. I'll probably bring home a to go box. Not sure if someone is hosting coffee afterewards. Sometimes it's spontaneous.
Lacey - I hear Nantucket is being (or will be) slammed. My poor geography had to look up exactly where that was. I've had the Weather Channel on all day plus TVN storm chasers on the net.
I shopped too long yesterday so had DH put in a totally unappetizing Stouffers chicken lasagna. But it was hot and filling and I didn't have to cook it.
Happy Birthday Sandy and what a nice treat your hubby brought you this morning.
I'm salt deprived too. I have good ole' Morton's sea salt, a pink Himalayan and some very gray Celtic that I have to watch what I put it in unless I want gray food.
No bones in freezer at the moment. Planning on some sausage kale soup this week. Just a week late because it should (haha) warm up this week.
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Happy Birthday Chi!
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Happy Birthday Sandy.
*susan*
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Happy birthday, ChiSandy! Bob sounds like a keeper.
Enjoying the stories about hungry athletic kids.
The gourmet salts have been around for a while. I remember reading an article about 5 years ago (maybe longer?) in a cooking magazine and didn't pay it much attention. .
I prepped broccoli and turnip roots for roasting and then noticed a container of sliced leeks in the refrigerator and remembered the blanched kale. So I took those containers out. Sautéed the leeks in olive oil. Threw in some frozen cubes of chicken broth. Minutes later added the kale to the skillet. Added some sliced water chestnuts for crunch. Searched for cream cheese. No cream cheese. Will add some yogurt and sour cream to make a creamed side. The dry brined chicken is in the oven. The broccoli and turnip roots will have to wait their turn.
Yay. We're having a cocktail tonight.
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Carole, I love your creativity and flexibility as you prep dinner! I relate to it, as it is always interesting to see what is in my fridge that I might have forgotten. And since I cook in a rather ADD way, it is hard to document the amounts and process/times in a recipe...unless I write it down as I go....would rarely happen! This is why I am a lousy baker!
I was thrilled this afternoon to discover that the chicken breasts I bought earlier this week (fortunately, the "best by" date was Jan 27th) were totally fresh in aroma! I'm such a skeeve! Oh, and they were on a huge sale, so I was very happy! Horrifying how expensive meat and fowl are these days. Butter can be purchased (as you point out, Minus) when on sale and frozen. If I freeze meats, I often forget about them, so I try to buy meats that we are eating that week. That said, I did pound a few pieces of chicken and apportioned them for a single dinner and popped into the freezer, well labeled.
So for tonight, I decided to use up the meyer lemons I still had left and combine them with the chicken.....meyer lemon chicken piccata. I was a bit worried since the reviews included some that complained about the tart, bitter taste. But I steeled myself against those and carried on. Well, it was delightful...and given that DH likes strong tastes, (once at a Boston restaurant, a server noticed that the item he ordered suggested he enjoyed " challenging" flavors..ha!) he was in heaven....actually, so was I. We had it with orzo and a huge red lettuce garden salad dressed with EVOO and white balsamic. I made the chicken in my largest cast iron skillet, of course:
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/meyer-lemon-chicke...
Monica, sorry to " spread my virus".
I have yet to contact the mods since the problem seems to have disappeared. But the very next time, I'll be using that link for sure!Enjoy your cocktail, Carole. We enjoyed the sauvignon blanc that the recipe required us to open for the sauce reduction. Yum, on both counts!
Regarding the storm, I am getting annoyed! Since my last post it has been snowing heavily, and there is no way that we will get just three to six inches!! Darn! I just received a weather notice that it will stop at 7AM. I really hope that is incorrect. It does look light, fortunately.
Luv, Nantucket is an island south of MA coast, and they (as well as MV) are predicted by our local forecasters to get hit much harder than we are. I can totally handle what we are experiencing since it should be definitely less than a foot. And DH has his trusty roof rake ready along with the snow blower, and no access to a ladder!!!
Just hoping that this storm is not a harbinger of what is to come. We really need a bit of a snow break this winter...and I'm sure that the people south of us are going to feel like we did last year with our 95 inches given their sudden unusual 30". My DDIL's mother has been posting pix on Facebook of her husband dealing with their mounting snow in NJ (DS1 is probably "on call", fixing hands that have been severed in snowblowers), which seems to be over two feet so far. 0 -
And happy birthday from me too Sandy.
Lacey - I often buy in bulk & cook before I freeze. So I have a bunch of lightly poached chicken breasts that I can manipulate into Laurie's Salsa or whatever. And chunks of roast pork tenderloin that I can use for stir fry or medallions, etc.
Lunch was grilled cheese - Jarlsberg on pumpernickel bread. Yum. With a side of apple slices. Dinner was another large salad w/whatever was still in the fridge - lettuces, radishes, celery, carrots, mushrooms. Carole - thanks for the reminder - I should have added the water chestnuts in the cupboard. Tomorrow I'll see what else is canned to add to the lettuce. Or cook some frozen veggies to add. I'm headed out of town in 10 days so I'm trying not to buy a lot of fresh veggies & fruits.
Unfortunately I had the munchies after my salad. Finished a couple of Pepperidge Farm Raspberry Milanos. Even worse, I ate a bunch of Ruffles w/Ridges and dip. Sigh.
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I made beef empanadas (think calzone, but with Mexico style spices) tonight and DD found some avocados, so she made home made guacamole "by guess and by golly"....no recipe...just "what I noticed at the restaurant" items. It's good.
After trying to scoop out the flesh from the skins, she asked if there were a better way to do it. She just rolled her eyes in a "why didn't I think of that" manner when I suggested a potato peeler. I got a "DAD!!!!" when I dared to smile! :-)
At the store, they had pork shoulders at $0.89 per pound, so I bought one 23 pound package. It's all cut up and in the freezer. Earlier I was at the meet market and I got 1-1//2 pounds of prime grade New York Strip steaks. It's not a budget keeper, but it sure is good!
The older test daughter--the one that lives north of Washington, DC--sent me a picture of a tape measure stuck into the snow in her front yard. The snow was at the 21 inch level. I sent back a picture of a tape measure with the end resting on the driveway and you could see the little sliver "claw" on the end of the tape. :-) She said that wasn't nice. :-) I figured it wouldn't be good to tell here I was in my bare feet when I took the picture.
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SpecialK, wow! That is a lot moving, but how cool is it that your hubby was in the Air Force! Special Commands Operations=sexy! My dad was a flight surgeon in the Air Force back in the day when it was required that doctors serve two years in the military.
Amy, pork surrounded by pork. Yum... I love using preserves for various sauces and glazes. Mixed with Dijon and whatever spice or herb one deems appropriate makes a great easy sauce.
Carberry, my girlfriend and her family went cross country skiing thru Manhatten yesterday. Crazy!
Susan, would love to hear about various vinegar. This is becoming my new obsession. I have red wine, white wine, sherry, champagne, a 6 year true balsamic (a lot of them are really flavored to taste like balsamic), an aged fancy balsamic, used only as a finisher, and a white balsamic, that I'm sure isn't a real balsamic. Also, I'm getting into different oils. Somewhat recently, I've added macadamia nut oil and avocado oil into my salad and marinade recipes.
Minus2, pumpernickel and jarlsberg, big yum! We go back to Houston every 4 or 5 years for reunions. Yes, it definitely can get hot and humid, but it is a great city. Pepperidge farm anything, proof there is a God and she is a woman.
Lacey, chicken piccata made with Meyer lemons sound delicious! The sweetness from the orange I would think would balance the tartness of the lemon. I lived in Boston for four years when I was in college. Fantastic food city.
Carole, you certainly know how to put together a dish last minute. How did the chicken turn out? More importantly, how was that cocktail?
Went out for dinner last night. Had a Caesar salad, double cut pork chop cooked to medium and roasted wild mushrooms. It was nice to get out of the kitchen.
I made a pot of lentil soup this morning, so will have that tonight with chicken Parmesan and leftover mashed potatoes from the other day.
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