So...whats for dinner?

Deb, i loved the pictures! So darned cute.

And Susan I'm glad your cousins visit went so well. I wish your tx would go better.

Reading about the salmon cream cheese I love it. But wondering if your salmon is cold cured or hot smoked? We just pretty much get the hot smoked here. After my DH would catch the salmon we'd take it in for smoking. Yummy stuff. Leftovers were rare but sometimes we had to freeze the salmon and get it smoked later for a special occasion. We re down to only one smoker in town now that Smith Brothers is gone. But nothing like 10 lbs of smoked salmon on a table looking up at you. LOL

Yesterday we had our Holiday Round Robin. Thank goodness I didn't have to host this year. Lots of apps at one house. Entrée at the second house was chicken and risotto. So good. And an array of wonderful deserts at the last house. I even got my cut out cookies! First ones this year. Shhhhh. They gave me a few to take home. LOL and yes. I still have some. Well, less than i had when I left the party house. LOL.

It's so cold her I have a sweater on for bed. And 2 pair of socks. Am seriously considering wearing a hat. LOL

DH got sick so didn't make it home for the round Robin. I told him people would appreciate his not sharing the germs so stay there. Of course that means it will take me a week to put away christmas stuff and he'll have to take the lights off the tree next weekend. I hate that. Nothing looks good with ones all over.

Well I love reading all the stories even if I don't write all the time.

Much love.

After so much baking yesterday my floor needs cleaning too. I walk around barefoot too much and hate getting little pieces of dough and flour stuck on the bottom of my feet.

Monica, the salmon I'm doing is cold cured but the canned I was referring to was hot smoked I think. At least that's the way it looked to me. It certainly tasted like it. Cold or hot, it was delicious.

Carole, from what little I know is that the difference in the Japanese milk bread is the addition of a roux. For my recipe, bread flour, milk and water are heated until it makes a paste, cooled then added to the other ingredients. It makes for a very fluffy texture that stays fresh for a couple of days. Supposedly milk bread is available in a lot of Asian markets, but I can't say that I've ever seen it, or at least I've never noticed.

Off to the kitchen, there is a bagel calling my name.

Might take out a package of ground beef and hamburger buns to go with what is left over from dinner last night.

Monica, it’s a ways south of you, but there’s a great kosher deli in a strip mall just off the Brown Deer eastbound exit off I-94 in n. Milwaukee. Do you have a Roundy’s or other chain supermarket in Port W.? You’ll find prepackaged lox, gravlax & cold-smoked salmon in the deli or fish sections there.

Last night after my friend played fiddle at a Cajun dance, the band took us out to Enoteca Roma in West Town. Started with arancini (rice balls) and arugula-chevre-almond salad. Entree was chicken pizzaiolo (breast sauteed in tomato sauce) with cremini mushrooms and (sadly overcooked & bland) broccolini. Later that night my husband brought home half a Cuban sandwich....of which I took half. Tonight will probably be some sort of stir-fry with leftover pork shank & chicken.

I like the bread porn too. Like was said, beautiful buns! :-)

Deb, Your GS and I are probably the same age...we could get into so much mischief! Good to see you again. I'm glad you are doing well and are starting dating again.

Tomorrow I meet with a lawyer regarding getting the paperwork started so I can sign for my mom (it's all in a trust)....and also setting up all the necessary stuff for having a household employee....The next door neighbor has been looking after mom and it's getting to the point where he should be paid.....he's a mostly retired LPN and a military veteran that mom really likes......I can sure see why folks just pay under the table...the taxes and fees are a fact of life, but the paperwork is way far on the wrong side of painful.

I'm being "paged".....sigh....

Well the pressure cooker stock was a beautiful surprise. Deep yellow and flavorful and not cloudy at all. Not quite as gelatinous as I would like so next time I'll cook the bones longer and maybe add some chicken wings. At any rate, I'm pretty pleased with it and especially the ease of it all. Plus I have ready to eat chicken for some pot pies later in the week.

To celebrate this stock, tonight is chicken piccata and risotto with asparagus and parmesan. Not sure if I'll include a salad or not. I'll be using one of the lemons I bought the other day that are as big as oranges and boy are they juicy and lemony! The risotto will be done in the pressure cooker. This will be interesting. No standing and stirring required. Be still my heart. I usually only make risotto when DDIL is here because I make her do the stirring and adding of stock. She doesn't mind. She likes being my sous chef.

Still lots of snow on the ground, which I hate, but the advantage is that we can actually see the wildlife in the woods. They don't stand out too much against the brown leaves. We just saw a large Great Horned owl sitting in a tiny little tree. I spotted him flying low through the trees when he landed. Way cool!

I like breakfast for dinner....sounds good to me. It is like below zero here with the wind chill.....If I had bacon, I might do the same, but I am not going out again....

http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/benno-and-leos-brined-pork-chops-with-fennel

Luv, this us really delicious if you can get a fennel bulb. Of course, I only made it for 2 people. Worked great.

My plan for pancakes and bacon for tonight got changed to a steak, mashed potatoes, veggie and garlic bread. So what I had planned for dinner tonight will be tomorrow's dinner!

Well I had breakfast for lunch and leftovers for dinner. I bought some stuffed sole for dinner tomorrow. I would have cooked them today but had to eat the leftover stuff. Also bought some fresh polish at Sendicks to see if it's better than the Fox Brother ones. I have some cabbage I might cook with the potatoes to go with that. Or maybe I'll save that for the smoked sausage. LOL I have that frozen.

It was below 0 this morning but is supposed to warm up tomorrow. Our news in WI was focused on the Frost Quake heard in 3 or 4 counties. It's when the ground freezes hard fast and cracks the rocks below the earth. Read earth shaking and loud booms. Scared many people. And I've never even heard of that before. Frost heaves, but not quakes. Learn something new every day.

Oh Chisandy, it only takes about 20 minutes to get to Brown Deer. Sounds like you know Milwaukee. I'm about a half hour north of there. And yes, I'm showing my Midwest accent in using time to delineate the distance. LOL. For that, read 30 miles north of MKE. LOL

Much love to all

Monica, I have NO idea what the actual distance is as the crow flies between here and various suburbs--I, too, measure distances by time!

luvmygoats, you might not want to read further.

Bob (DH) stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn at Midway last night--the snow on the S. Side was SO bad that not only couldn't he make it home from his office, he couldn't even get down to the Oak Lawn Hilton (he had to read echoes at Christ Hosp. early this a.m.) because Cicero Ave. hadn't been plowed or salted. Streets & San. was well-prepared for Sat.'s slush-storm, but last night caught them by surprise. Because he got an early start this morning, he wanted to go out to dinner tonight--and asked me to get a res. at Girl & the Goat. Best I could do was 9:30. Because I am no longer drinking enough to require an Uber or a cab, I drove. Now, these dishes sound bizarre (well, not the first course or dessert), but they were AWESOME.

We started with wood-roasted oysters in bacon cream. Next was duck tongues (!) with cracklings, tuna poke & arugula. Then roasted pig face (!!) atop veggie hash, topped with a sunny-side up egg. Next, confit of goat belly with lobster, crabmeat, crispy vermicelli, edamame & black beans in a bourbon cream sauce. Dessert was “blood orange surprise:" a frosted half-dome of orange cake infused with blood orange syrup, accompanied by a Greek yogurt mousse studded with chunks of blood orange and candied pistachios. I nursed an Italian brut rose sparkler all evening; Bob had a “Doctor's Choice" (bourbon, vermouth & ginger beer), a Rioja, and finished with an Uruguayan dessert wine (very ruby-port-like but much smoother). Coffee was Dark Matter's “Goat's Head" (they're a local roaster whose espresso beans I sometimes buy).

We were easily the oldest folks in the place--it was full of hipster foodies (as well as probably a lot of bond-traders-by-day who'd changed into comfort clothes after work)--at 10:30 all the young'uns deserted the place, probably to get home in time to make it to their jobs on LaSalle St. at 0-dark-30 tomorrow. The music playing was eclectic rock & melodic hip-hop--but half the songs were older than most of the patrons! We didn't bring home leftovers. But we'll definitely go back. (The secret is to go at off-hours on a weeknight).

Yup, Monica--Stephanie Izard is the chef-owner. Had we been unable to get in, we’d have tried its sister place, Little Goat Diner, across the street. Despite it being the coldest night of the year, it was packed and we had to wait 15 min. for our table.

I’ll be in London for 3 days at the end of March (then Lausanne & Paris). While in London, I’d love to try Fergus Henderson’s all-offal restaurant.

Tonight we had the pancakes and bacon!

Last night I made some of my Merguez sausage [found another bag in the magic freezer, YAY!] with a tomato sauce, and saffron bulgar. Tonight was fried chicken, vinegar cole slaw and biscuits. I bought a new biscuit cutter, and damn, if those biscuits didn't rise and get fluffy. Way more than usual. Very enjoyable. Oncologist in the AM, then off to pick up C in NH. We might just go out to dinner tomorrow night.

I would love to go to Chef Izzard's restaurants, but have passed on Henderson's in London.

*susan*

Dinner was poached wild caught sockeye salmon and some long grain & wild rice. Dessert will be another of those truffles from Harry & David. Yup - I've managed to stay with my plan to limit myself to only one each night.

Monday I went with a friend to Capital Grille. I know it's all over the country, but we wanted to check it out as a lunch venue since it seems most of them aren't open for lunch. They have "winter lunch plates" for $18.00. She had Tenderloin sliders & a field greens salad. I had grilled shrimp w/creamy risotto and clam chowder. HUGE portions. Both meals were good & the bread was excellent. While we probably won't go again anytime soon, it's another venue that my ex-DH will like, so I'll let him take me there. The only problem was I gained 3 lbs. - no kidding - literally. Eeek,

Tomorrow I'm meeting another friend at La Madelaine's. I'll have to decide whether to have the French Onion or the Mushroom soup, and the quiche or salad. Again, wonderful French bread, which I'll probably pig out on and skip the pastries.

All of your meals sound wonderful. Eric - congrats on your DD's birthday. I loved reading your memory of laying her in the scale. Susan - good luck at the oncologist. I'm sending you energy for the rest of your cousin's vacation.