So...whats for dinner?

Lacey, even that limited "hypoallergenic" Erbaluce dinner sounds divine.

Bob made it home by 6:45 last night, so we set out for Cellars. We knew (from their e-mail newsletter) they were having a 4-7pm happy-hour fundraiser for McCutcheon Elementary--a public school in the poorest part of Uptown, a struggling yet newly-discovered-and gentrifying neighborhood. The neighborhood demographic has been, at various times, Native American, Appalachian, Latino, Southeast Asian, African-American, and still a mixture thereof. It's ironic that there are gut-rehab condos cheek-by-jowl with shelters & SROs (single-room occupancy apt. hotels); and lately, a tent city that despite the city's attempts to disperse it, continues to re-appear under viaducts and along lawns along the northern reaches in Lincoln Park (the miles-long lakefront park, not the posh neighborhood further south that is its namesake). McCutcheon makes do with teachers digging into their own pockets to provide school supplies for their students--many of whom are homeless.

The e-mail said the fundraiser.would be in the front bar section and did not mention reservations, so we planned to have a drink or two to support the cause, then have dinner; after which I would head off to temple & Bob would bring home my leftovers. We paid our $4 via app to street-park (grabbed the last space, as besides the fundraiser there was a "cocktail-crawl" going on among several other neighborhood hot spots) and walked in. The place was absolutely mobbed--dining room and bar area. We would not be able to be served at a table for at least half an hour, and though we could sit at the bar, it wasn't guaranteed we'd be able to drink anything but water till the crowd thinned out. Our favorite bartender, though, immediately took our drink & food orders so that the tab would count towards the fundraiser. We split first a mesclun/haricots-verts/gorgonzola/walnut salad (of which I had about 1/3) and then the fish & chips special: four pieces of batter-fried cod, homemade slaw, and sweet potato fries. I had 1/4 of that, polishing off my mini-portion (just the perfect size for me) and took off for temple.

We had a smallish crowd at temple, because most of the newer members (<20 yrs.' duration) had no memory of Rabbi Edelheit (Rabbi Marantz, our current rabbi, had just met him hours earlier), and the family of the boy to be Bar Mitzvah this morning was in from out of town. Even though the entire congregation is always invited to Fri. & Sat. services at Bar & Bat Mitzvahs (and the "oneg Shabbat" coffee hours immediately following), most congregants feel uneasy "horning in" on what they feel are more properly celebrations for the honorees' families. So the congregation was the core of regulars, the Bar Mitzvah family, and many members from the Edelheit era (1973-92), including former religious school staff, for "homecoming."

Edelheit, when still our rabbi, became known as the "AIDS Rabbi," for his work as one of the first Chicago clergyman to minister to AIDS members (and the first local rabbi to welcome gay congregants and embrace interfaith families--he eventually got a PhD in Christian theology from U. of C.). In 1987, his first Yom Kippur sermon about HIV-AIDS and compassion caused several older politically conservative congregants to walk out of the sanctuary (something that had never happened before or since). With the Catholic and Lutheran churches in our neighborhood, he co-hosted an interfaith Bible study class culminating in a trip to Israel (in which my mom & I took part). By the time he left for a larger congregation in the Twin Cities, his activism had earned him worldwide recognition. (But that congregation, though 10x the size of ours, insisted on moving to the suburbs--where they would feel safer and not like such a minority). Passionate about serving the Jewish community and reaching out to other minorities and the Gentile majority in the midst of the city (as he was able to do in Chicago) he first joined the faculty of St. Cloud Univ. and eventually retired to Rio de Janeiro, where he teaches theology and advises Progressive Jewish congregations across Brazil, and continues his social justice & AIDS activism throughout the Third World.

I may have overindulged at the Oneg--a little fruit, a piece of rugelach and a sliver of coffee cake, the frosting off a mini-cupcake (the sweets were getting a bit cloying to me by then), and decaf. But not to the point of discomfort. I've discovered portion control is key, and that I need to pay more attention to the difference between taste-cravings, appetite and hunger. Getting a handle on it. Tonight Bob's back down in Oak Lawn, since he has a bunch of nursing homes to visit down there tomorrow.

After my rehearsal this morning (took a Lyft there in the pouring rain and the train home in a milder drizzle), which was productive & fun, I decided that the last thing I wanted to do today was pack a suitcase, drive 2 hrs., have a so-so late dinner out and sleep in a hotel room--slept in too darn many of those in the last couple of weeks. And then turn around and drive home while Bob works all day tomorrow. So we'll go out tomorrow night when he gets home. It's just me & the cats tonight--Gordy's spending the weekend with his GF (for whom he pined while in Vegas). Besides, someone's gotta feed the little furballs. So there's the last 1/4 of that fish & chips dinner waiting in the fridge, which I will supplement with one of our dwindling stash of ripe homegrown tomatoes.

auntienance, it looks delicious, what ingridients do you have in your sponge cake? There are those to purchase in the store but they might be too fluffy so crustard will just spak them wet and the pie will turn into semolina porrige. And the frosting, is it just melted dark chocolate or ganash?

SpecialK, this dog is so lucky)

ChiSandy, it islike reading a magazine article) How many cats do you have? I have one but she is a 7 kg furball.

It will be leftovers for today, yesterday I also baked a semi-large char so those who would find cassoulet too fat would have fish, no one even touched it. Cherry

Cherry, this is a basic vanilla two egg cake (but my eggs were small so I used three), but it has quite a lot of butter. It's denser than a sponge cake so holds up a little better. The topping is ganache.

Here is a reference to Boston Cream Pie history:

https://toriavey.com/toris-kitchen/american-cakes-boston-cream-pie/

It is one of my favorite desserts, and I also like the mini version in the form of a cream filled doughnut with chocolate glaze, lol!

SpecialK, you just have a link for any occasion, thank you, is I will Google Washington pie and cake too. I never heard of Boston cream pie before this thread but when I looked it up I thought it was simple and contained my favorite things. We have vanilla berliners here, if I spread some ganache on top of it, it will be a Boston pie donut, but I decided to go for a real deal.Cherry

I have two cats--Heidi is 12 yrs, old and about 13 lb.; her "brother" Happy is only 10, but easily 15 lb. (not quite 7Kg). The vet says they're both obese, but she's more worried about Heidi because she is part Ragdoll, with those short little "Corgi-cat" legs and petite frame that is less able to bear so much weight. Happy is tall, with long legs, but still blocky & beefy. He is always hungry--it's as if he has a feline version of Prader-Willi Syndrome (in which sufferers either make so much ghrelin & so little leptin, or are insensitive to leptin, that their brain never receives a satiety signal and they'll keep eating unless physically denied access to food). The vet says that's not uncommon in middle-aged male cats. Happy loves to play but Heidi is sorta lazy, though a more skilled hunter.

I love Boston Cream Pie. I've had it at one of its claimed birthplaces (there are rivals for its origin), Copley Plaza Hotel in Boston. Their recipe is two layers of sponge cake, with custard between, and then covered in chocolate frosting (not ganache) sometimes decorated in contrasting vanilla in a spiderweb type pattern. No "cream" despite the name. Dunkin' Donuts' "Boston Cream" donuts are yeast-raised, chocolate-iced, and custard-filled. Krispy Kreme makes two versions, both yeast-raised and chocolate-iced, neither of which have "Boston" in the name. One has a custard filling, the other cream (which they call "Kreme," sugar-sweetened whipped cream with a pleasantly slightly gritty texture). I prefer the latter. IMHO, Dunkin' does better cake-batter donuts and Krispy Kreme is better at yeast-raised.

Rumor is that the owner of Krispy Kreme (which also owns Panera) is in talks to buy Dunkin'. Here in the Chicago area, there's a Dunkin' seemingly every few blocks (even more ubiquitous than Starbucks), but almost all the local Krispy Kreme locations that opened in the late '90s closed a decade ago. Jewel supermarkets do sell boxes of the iconic raised glazed and the chocolate iced cream filled, as well as bags of mini-crullers (which unlike Dunkin's raised version are buttermilk-cake-batter). Sadly, that means if I want a Krispy Kreme I'm stuck buying six of them at a time. Somehow, they do get eaten, however.

Yum! Such good food pictures! I love Boston cream pie, too, and have probably never eaten anything as good as Nance has made from scratch. Those I have eaten came from a bakery or even a bakery section at the supermarket.

Cherry, your cassoulet sounds delicious.

Last night's baby back ribs were very good along with a baked potato and tossed salad.

Tonight is chicken breast, probably flattened and quickly panfried. One side will be baby lima beans. I have a frozen package and really like lima beans. I know that's a strange liking for some of you. We'll also have a salad.

Back in the 80 degrees range here.

Lunch was left over T-bone steak and asparagus. Supper was a bowl of plain, old, original cheerios w/a sliced banana. I never put sugar on my cereal. In fact even with hot cereal like Oatmeal, I only add salt not brown sugar or honey. Dessert is going to be a glass of Malbec.

I can't begin to describe how much I hate having to turn the lights on in the house by 4pm. It's only been one day back to the standard time and I can't imagine the slog ahead. It's 6pm and seems like 8pm. Oh well I expect I'll start being a recluse again for season. Not quite two months until the shortest day of the year.

Sandy - exactly. I just want to keep munching because it's dark WAY too early to do anything else.

The husband and son (the latter flying in from L.A.) of my friend Maryjane who died in June will be hosting all of us for Thanksgiving at the Fireside Inn (a neighborhood comfort-food restaurant) again this year. It's a tradition Maryjane started once she could no longer cook (she used to do the whole meal herself, with a turkey and a prime rib roast, even baking rolls and making the green bean casserole from scratch with fresh ingredients--including a bechamel, wild mushrooms and deep-frying her own crispy onion topping), but still wanted to extend her hospitality. And though there are more elegant or intimate settings for Thanksgiving dinner, keeping this particular tradition alive also keeps her spirit here with us.

Cherry, your gumbo looks amazing! Just like New Orleans gumbo! I like the okra cooked up the way yours is.

Last night's chicken breast dinner turned out to be a sheet pan dinner, characterized as "Mediterranean," which means it had lemon juice and zest and olive oil. Also fresh garlic and oregano. The veggies, covered with the marinade, were cherry tomatoes halved, canned artichoke hearts halved and Brussel sprouts (slightly precooked) in place of zucchini, which I didn't have on hand. All, including marinated chicken breast, cooked at 450 degrees. And quite edible. Chicken moist and not overcooked.

Tonight's dinner will be lamb burgers with home-made wheat buns out of the freezer. Yum. Love lamb burgers. Side will be bagged kale salad with some additions. A cucumber and yogurt sauce for burgers.

Thank you for the complements, now I am really proud of myself.

Auntienance, Seriouse eats have an article how to make a roix in microwave without constant stirring and no fuzz. I will try it next time. And I agree with you about Boston cream pie, it is simple yet you almost cannot do any mistake. I am always reading some elaborated recipes but not over-doing it, just looking for some clues or ideas.

ChiSandy, napalm was the word! I still have sore fingers, I did not have any idea it could turn that sizzling hot. In Russia they do something similar for borsch, but they take the fat from bone marrow stock, ladle it on the pan and add some flour, but there is more stock than the flour and it is usually done to dissolved the flour in the smaller amount of stock and then they put it back right in so they do not need to whisk it. I have not done it since 90-es so really was surprised over this part of the cooking chemistry. I could swear filé smells a bit like za'atar, but then the latter will not thicken anything. I will try to make a surf and turf gumbo from Jamie Oliver's cooking book. And I am considering to buy a pressure cooker.

Lacey - thanks for the fish simmer. I just bought a bottle of Raos yesterday w/no dedicated plan in mind. I'm sick about your books. It would be a real heartbreak for me.

As for doughnuts - I don't care for Krispy Kreme. Way too sicky sweet for my taste. It didn't do well in Houston either. I sure hope that either the merger fails or the powers that be understand we like our Dunkin the way it is.

Lacey, thank you for the recipe, I also like fish in any tomato sauce, I used to cook pasta puttana with canned tuna very often when we were still in university and the eldest was still small. I cooked it some time ago and she turned all nostalgic and wondered why we stopped eating it and at first I thought well may be it was a matter of what we could afford but then I tried it and thought, no, we just stopped cooking it for some reason because I do not care that is is one cheap meal, it still tastes so delicious, I squeeze a lot of lemon juice into it and even some zest.

Eric, may I have you honey sauce recipe or is it something you just buy at the store? In US you have an assortment that is totally unfamiliar to us in Europe, which is understandable, but I google a lot when I read all your posts, and learn a lot too. If you will coat these potatoes with a small bit of butter they will be even more crispy outside, I do it the same way but I only cut them in half.

Lamb burgers sound like a really good idea. I decided to cut on bread and sugar because I gained so much weight and today, even though it is being my bad day, we went for the walk in the forest and after 4,5 km we crashed at the local café and I ended up with coffee and a huge slice of apple pie for me and chocolate pie for my mom, you pay and then you cut a bit of a size you want, I cut two really big ones and took a sandwich. I was too tired to chew and we came home with pie and sandwich leftovers, so much for dieting. I will eat it up and no more food for today. The pies did taste good.