So...whats for dinner?

ChiSandy

Minus, you can find it at americastestkitchen.com. Basically, you take two English cucumbers, cut them in thirds, place them in a ziploc bag, and whack gently with a small skillet--you want them slightly smashed, not crushed. Leave the cukes unpeeled for crunch. (Don't use regular cukes because their skin is too thick and waxy, and peeling them makes the cukes too mushy; Persian cukes have too high a seeds-to-flesh ratio so you end up losing a lot of volume). Take them out of the bag, tear them roughly into 1-2" chunks and put them in a colander over a bowl. Toss with a tsp or two of kosher salt and let sit for about 15-20 min.--you should see abt. 1/4-1/2 c. liquid in the bowl. Discard the liquid. For the dressing, ATK suggests Chinese black vinegar--hey, doesn't everyone have that in her pantry? I substitute soy vinegar (have no idea where it came from), whisked with toasted sesame seed oil, a little sugar or honey, and chili flakes to taste. Pour over the cucumbers & enjoy.

MinusTwo

Thanks Sandy - Interesting recipe.

The Book Club was soooooo funny. Neat to see "old" ladies having fun on screen. Pure fluff, but hilarious. I haven't been in a movie with standing room only since the first Star Wars - especially at 1:30 in the afternoon. Not one seat left. There were even a few brave men accompanying their wives or sisters.

The South African food was delicious. Most of the foods were cooked in lots of liquid & spooned over rice. I had a shrimp dish served over sauteed cauliflower. (The rice had Cilantro and that absolutely makes me sick) One friend had oxtail, and the other had curried chicken. Nice South African wine - Bastion from Durbanville Hills.

I think I'll try a new recipe for Peanut Noodles today.

carolehalston

Minus, I use fresh pineapple. I think I first got the idea from Ina, the barefoot contessa. The dressing is Hellman's Light mayo and a sprinkle of white balsamic. The cabbage name is eluding me. Not the common variety and not savoy. Crinkly and mild.

Sandy, I eat other mustards, too, but like the yellow, the only mustard in our house during my growing up years. It is essential in the mashed potato salad that I make, my mother's recipe. The potato salad has to have a yellowish tinge.

I do have the a/c on, but today was a much more pleasant day than yesterday. DH and I played golf and didn't get overheated. We did have trouble keeping our head gear (hat/ visor) on. It was quite breezy and didn't seem terribly humid.

Tonight is pork tenderloin, marinating in a mixture of olive oil, fresh rosemary, onion and garlic power, s & p, and Aleppo pepper. I seem to have left the cayenne at home. I also forgot to bring the instant read thermometer I rely on at home. I have a different, cheaper thermometer that I'll use, but the trick with pork is not to overcook. Thirty minutes in the grill/oven should be sufficient. We'll also have corn cut off the cob, sauteed in butter, and the rest of the romaine in a salad with tomato and avocado. My cheese supply I brought up didn't include blue cheese, for some forgetful reason. I will put blue cheese on my grocery list. And fresh garlic.

All the weekenders have gone home and the campground is quiet. The way I like it best!

MinusTwo

Dinner ended up being left-over Laurie's Salsa Chicken. Served over steamed spinach this time. One chicken breast & beans lasted for 3 meals.

I need some thoughts on the crock pot. For those of you who are new to the recipe - it's basically 2-4 chicken breasts, one jar of salsa & one can of black beans drained - baked covered 1-1/2 hours at 350 degree oven. Embellishments after cooking are grated cheese the last 5 minutes & then sour cream. Shred chicken if you choose (I usually serve whole the first time) & serve over rice. Good left over rolled in tortillas.

Someone wrote at one point that Laurie's dish could be transposed to a crock pot - cooked 3 hours on HIGH with the chicken cut in 1 inch strips. (maybe Carole?)

I started out with one breast cut in medium chunks and 1/2 a jar of Mrs. Renfro's jalapeno Green Salsa in a one quart crock pot for 90 minutes on HIGH. When the timer rang, it was bubbling like mad and the chicken tested more than 3/4 done. I drained the black beans & added the whole can (I like lots of beans) and continued to cook on LOW for not quite an hour. Probably could have been less. Did it cook this fast because I have a small crock pot? Or because there was only one breast? So would it work just as well for 3 hours on LOW if I put everything in up front? Thanks for the input of any other crock pot users.

Egads007

Carole, ditto on the mustard, my mum did the same for colour and zing. I love and have tried many different types but when it comes to potato salad, slaw and hot dogs it has to be French’s classicyellow.

Magari

We're just back from a couple of days in Carmel, for my oldest friend's daughter's wedding. It was a lovely weekend, and our first getaway since before surgery/chemo etc. I'm now 11 weeks PFC and feeling pretty good in general, but get tired more easily than previously and am pretty wiped out this evening.

I'm making pasta with tuna in olive oil, garlic, chili flakes, basil and a bit of tomato.

MinusTwo

Oh Magari - one of my most favorite places. So restoring. Great that you had this get away. Where was the wedding?

I spent my first honeymoon at the Pine Inn. The last couple of times I've stayed at the Green Lantern. Fun to drink at La Playa - the 1905 mansion. My friends son, Chef Jean Hubert, owned the wonderful Le St. Tropez restaurant, but sold it two years ago & moved to Las Vegas. My brother lived in the "highlands" many years ago. I'm so jealous.

How is it going back at work? Do you have enough energy to get through the day? I think you've got awhile yet to go on the H &P.

ChiSandy

Oh, how I miss the Monterey Peninsula! When Bob & I were impoverished grad students in Seattle, our vacations would be tent-camping down the coast (101 to Mendocino, peeling off to the PCH the rest of the way). One year we spent most of the time in the Napa Valley; another, when we attended the Int'l Congress of Genetics in Berkeley, we continued afterwards further south to Big Sur (Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park). We would always detour for the 17-Mile Drive, and ooh and aah at the Del Monte Lodge--wondering if some day we could ever afford to stay there. 12 years later, Bob was a cardiologist and had a couple of CME courses--one at the SFO Crowne Plaza and one at the Fairmont in S.F. Gordy was 18 mos. old. We decided we would precede the courses with a long weekend at the Lodge at Pebble Beach, which was what the Del Monte had become. We were pinching ourselves that we had such luxury: a golf cart took us to our villa, which had a hot tub, a brass crib for Gordy, and a woodburning fireplace--wood included. It was the last day of the Pro-Am, and the golfer who won bought Gordy a milk--the traditional drink of the winner. The restaurants were wonderful. And the view out to the cypresses and the ocean... Couple years after that, another cardiology CME course at the Fairmont, but this time we reversed the order and decompressed from the course down at the Inn at Spanish Bay, which had just opened (still partly under construction) and the promo rate was $100/night. Not as luxe as the Lodge, but still pretty posh--with full access to the restaurants and amenities at the Lodge. At both places, Gordy collected golf balls and tees he found in our rooms as souvenirs. We spent a day touring Carmel--and it was the first time we ever encountered upscale restaurants with white paper over the tablecloths and crayons for kids. Times have certainly changed since then--I hear the Lodge and Inn were bought by a Japanese firm that's using it as a private club & corporate retreat, though Pebble Beach & Spyglass Hill are still in use for tournaments.

Gorgeous and mid-80s here at the lakefront. So we grilled out on our deck today. Copper River salmon--even though I oiled the fish basket six ways from Sunday, it still stuck in spots, but the upside of that was that smaller portions allowed everyone to take enough--with a bit left over (and fish crumbs for the kitties). I'd goten up horribly late (almost 1pm!), courtesy of the Lyrica I had to take at 4 am for an extremely painful Morton's neuroma attack in my R foot; but hit the ground running. Sliced and boiled the potatoes for the Greek potato salad, smashed and seeded the cukes for the Chinese cucumber salad, minced the herbs & garlic, mixed the vinaigrettes, made the two-color-tomato Caprese with burrata, nuked the corn, and preheated the grill--scrubbing it once hot, and oiling the grates several times till they were slick & shiny. Should have trusted that--bet the fish wouldn't have stuck. Friends brought their "green slime" fruit salad, only it was pink this time (strawberry & peach jello). They also brought a Caprese...with burrata...just like ours...but we opted to use ours first. Forgot to toast the Poilane bread, but everyone was satisfied with the salmon & sides. Nobody wanted fruit for dessert (I had berries, cherries, papaya and litchis), so Bob and one of our friends went down the block to Lickety Split, braving the extremely long lines, and brought back a quart each of strawberry & chocolate frozen custard. I forgot how rich that stuff is--I can eat barely half a cup before I fill up, even less than I can gelato. Gordy & Leslie decided to hang out with friends (he was stuck in Grand Rapids all weekend); our BFF's son and fiancee (to whose wedding we're going in four weeks) were exhausted from a weekend in St. Louis with her sisters and wanted "me time;" and my housekeeper and her DH had stayed an extra day in B'ham and were on the road home. So there were only 7 of us, and everyone was so full that they didn't want sausages, hot dogs or burgers (which had defrosted). We have lots of pretzel and brioche buns, and a can of kraut...so guess what dinner tomorrow will be...

carolehalston

Minus, I'm glad you brought up making Laurie's salsa chicken in a crockpot. That will be an easy dinner idea for me this summer. It always seemed to me that the black beans should go on the raw chicken first and then the salsa. I'm not sure why.

Yesterday afternoon dh and I drove 45 minutes to Walker, MN, so that I could attend one of the few WW meetings in this region. I was thrilled when I weighed and was told I was down .2 lb!!! I was expecting to be up a few lbs.

After the meeting dh and I stopped in the little town of Dorset and had dinner at La Pasta. I have been craving pizza, so ordered a flat bread with Italian sausage, basil, tomato sauce and mozzarella. It was delicious and just the right size, not too big. I also had an appetizer portion of toasted ravioli, which wasn't nearly as good as the St. Louis version that I once enjoyed in a restaurant on the Hill.

DH ordered linguine with Italian sausage and sautéed onions and green peppers. He has had this before and couldn't resist ordering it again. The Italian sausage is wonderful.

Dinner tonight will be the leftover pork tenderloin (which turned out perfect, even without the magic thermometer) and cabbage in a stir fry, not my favorite cooking technique. I will pull out the soy sauce to please dh. The side will be a beet salad with sweet onion on dh's portion.

Magari

Minus and ChiSandy - The wedding was at a place in Carmel Valley called Holly Farm. Which is not a farm at all, but a 7 acre property filled with fantastic tropical plants that has all sorts of different groves and spaces. Truly unusual, and beautiful. http://www.hollyfarm.com/index.html It really suited the couple's style, and they had use of the location for the entire weekend. So had lawn games and a taco truck on Sat afternoon, a Sat evening luau following the rehearsal dinner, and the wedding on Sunday, which started at 3:30 and went on until long after we left.

The wedding party stayed at Quail Lodge (and played golf, which we do not.) That place is quite pricey, as is the Cypress Inn, where we spent our "mini moon" nearly 12 years ago. We stayed at a motor inn-type place in Carmel proper, which was nothing special but well located and had availability at a reasonable rate over Memorial Day weekend. We walked past both the Pine Inn and the Green Lantern in our strolls around town.

Had surgery this morning to install a new port on the opposite side after having a problematic one removed a week and a half ago. Since my veins are lousy and I have Herceptin/Perjeta infusions every 3 weeks through November to get through, it is a relief to have that taken care of.

I'm making spicy black bean soup for lunch - a quick recipe, using canned beans. And probably tortilla pizzas for dinner to use up some fresh mozzerella. Nothing ambitious today.....

MinusTwo

Gracious Magari - I can't believe you're up & cooking after port installation. Hope this one works better. I loved my port, unlike some. I'm sure it helped that my PS allowed me to choose the location so it didn't show with scoop neck clothes. Thanks for the wedding location link. Quite lovely.

Carole - When you do Laurie's chicken, do let me know what your final 'directions' are.

I made Peanut Noodles yesterday from AllRecipes and was disappointed. The flavor was good but no matter how much extra liquid I kept adding, it was so thick & heavy that it turned the noodles into a big clump. Needed a knife & fork to cut & eat. I'll add some chicken broth to the leftovers - only because I have open broth in the fridge. I have researched other recipe sources but I'm not likely to make it again soon unless someone here has a good recipe???

Magari

Minus - Here's more or less the peanut noodle recipe I use (I think I found mine originally on NYT Cooking and have adapted it over the years.) https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/sweet-and-spicy-peanut-noodles-51183640

I like mine more spicy and less sweet, so skip the hoisin sauce and brown sugar, double the rice vinegar and chili paste, and add about 1/4 to 1/3 cup water or stock to thin the sauce. I also usually use spaghetti rather than linguine unless I happen to have Asian noodles on hand, and add finely chopped celery along with the scallions just before serving. This is a pantry staple that I make fairly often when we are hungry and there's not much in the house.

I find Epicurious a great source for recipes that actually taste good, since they are taken from Gourmet (RIP) and Bon Appetit magazines, and the search function works well. I always look at the user ratings and comments before choosing a specific recipe, and then save ones I make and like to my "recipe box."

eric95us

The peanut noodles recipe from allrecipe that I found is very similar. I don't think mine used hosin sauce and I also used "non-chunky" peanut butter.

Key Lime Pie... HI SusieM... I love key lime pie, but Sharon (wife) gets annoyed when I make it....my recipe is about 1,000 calories a slice (!) and is obviously not diet friendly.

Dinner tonight is probably going to be a medium sized chicken salad. I just got back from for what I call a loaded speed walk...105F degrees, 3 miles, 42 minutes, 47 pounds in my pack..... For those that prefer metric, 41C degrees, 5km, 42 minutes, 21.3Kg pack..... Anyway, when I do something like that, my appetite tends to fall off.

MinusTwo

Magari & Eric - thanks.

Eric - I worked in the yard digging out weeds for 2-1/2 hours, but it was only 97 degrees. I guess that makes me a wimp, but I still didn't want anything to eat all day except a salad tonight.

Suzie - welcome. You must live somewhere that it's not so bloomin' hot.

eric95us

Minus, I think a Houston 97 degrees is FAR WORSE than a Phoenix 105 degrees. :-) I think the relative humidity today (here) was well below 10%, so it's quite dry. That makes it comfortable, but very bad if a wildland fire starts.

Magari, I too tend to like the more tart and spicy recipes, so one of the first modifications to a recipe is to reduce sugar and increase the "sour stuff". As for spicy, I usually substitute the stronger peppers than the recipe calls for..

carolehalston

Dinner menu is in the decision stage. I'm thinking we'll have a grilled ribeye with typical sides: baked potato and tossed salad.

Last night's skillet dish of cabbage and leftover pork tenderloin was ho hum. The skillet didn't get hot enough for a stir fry. More of a saute. The reduced sodium soy sauce was thin. I'll have to buy some regular. The pork tenderloin was good. I was careful just to warm it, not cook it.

DH plays golf with a men's group at Headwaters Golf Club this afternoon. Hope he has a good time. I played with the women's group on Tuesday and plan to play every week. We play together only out of necessity! He likes a bit of competition and I like the female golf personality better than the male.

It's delightfully cool here this morning, in the 60's. I will be going for an exercise walk.

illimae

It’s hot, ugh. I think It’ll be an easy grilled cheese sandwich and leftover beef/barley soup for me.

carolehalston

The ribeye went back into the freezer before it thawed. We decided to go somewhere for a good burger after dh's golf game.

ChiSandy

Leftover salmon & cuke salad last night--plus I stripped a corn cobbette and made elotes. Tonight, a wedge of lamb curry pie I picked up on the way home from The MRI From Hell. And passionfruit meringue for dessert. Tomorrow night, the skybox BBQ buffet--Bob & I are going to the annual Christ Hospital outing to Comiskey...I mean Sox...Park...I mean The Cell (US Cellular Field)...I mean The "G-Spot"... (Guaranteed Rate Field).

MinusTwo

I had the Peanut Noodles leftover tonight. I added chicken broth and they were quite good. Served with mixed sauteed zucchini & yellow squash. Also got a recipe from my DIL adapted from the Moosewood Cookbook.l She says they make it often & my son likes it (wonders never cease). Of course she adds tofu.

Joyce - didn't a group of you from the East Coast make the trek to Moosewood for lunch when Michelle was still alive?

eric95us

Sharon asked that I make the vege burgers again. They are good and now that I've made them a few times, quick to make.

Here's the link in case I didn't include it before..

https://iowagirleats.com/2012/06/18/chipotle-black-bean-burgers/

I add more pepper and adabo sauce than mentioned, and then add a bit more of the bread crumbs to make up for the extra liquid. Since dividing the mixture into just four patties makes them so big that they fall apart, I make five or six patties.

I also "did it the slow way" cook some white tepary beans. The taste reminds me of "ice cream meets pine nuts". I'm going to look for some recipes that use these beans. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phaseolus_acutifolius gives way more information that most would like to know....basically they are a good bean that does well in the drought, heat and very alkaline desert soil.

carolehalston

We ended up going to nearby Clancy's restaurant last night with three of our campground neighbors. DH was through playing golf by 4:30, too early for dinner. At Clancy's I had the two-piece dark meat broasted chicken dinner. Substituted baked potato for fries and salad instead of coleslaw. There were joking references to When Harry Met Sally since I created my own dinner! The smallish drumstick and thigh were delicious. Crispy skin and so tender that I easily pulled the meat off the bone. The baked potato was small and I ate half of it with butter, skipping the sour cream. The house salad was mostly iceburg lettuce. But even iceburg is edible with blue cheese dressing. The dressing portion was small, one of those little plastic cups. I did the dip-the-fork-in-the-dressing trick.

Tonight we're supposed to eat out AGAIN after playing couples golf at noon. The whole group go out to eat. We have not been to the chosen restaurant.

I remember reports and photos from those lunch outings with Michelle.

MinusTwo

Thanks Joyce for reminding me. I too loved the pictures.

Carole - lol "I'LL HAVE WHAT SHE'S HAVING"!!!

carolehalston

I had a wonderful dinner last night at Hilltop House, a little restaurant in Hubbard, which is not a town, more of a village or neighborhood. There is a summer theater there.

I loved the menu which was a nicely printed large sheet of paper. I had been told in advance by Kay, a member of our golf foursome, that the walleye at Hilltop was delicious. I chose the pecan crusted baked walleye fillet which was plated on a small amount of a white sauce. Two sides came with the entree. I bypassed much recommended garlic mashed potatoes and sweet potato fries and had mixed fresh veggies that included asparagus, green beans, carrots and yellow squash. The veggies looked beautiful on the plate and were cooked tender crisp. Also chose a garden salad that was mostly lettuce but not iceburg. Blue cheese dressing. Everything was delicious. Large enough portions but no to-go boxes needed.

There were 24 older folks in our couples golf group, so I'm sure getting all those meals out at one time was a challenge for the small restaurant. One couple shared a prime rib dinner and the prime rib looked yummy. I definitely want to go back to Hilltop even though its location requires a bit of driving from our campground. We also got some tips on other restaurants in other villages and towns. We've fallen into the habit of going to restaurants where we've already had good meals.

I'm wearing jeans and a sweatshirt this morning and the heat pump is on in the camper home. Temperature outside in the 50's. It's overcast outside with a forecast for 90 per cent rain. A good relax inside day. We're happy campers with this cool weather. Two families with children here for the weekend probably aren't as happy.

I think Bedo was in that group that went to lunch at the NH restaurant? Maybe someone could repost a picture?

eric95us

It was already in the low 90F degree range this morning at 8:30am.

But it's a dry heat...the feeling one gets when opening the door to a hot oven. :-)

MinusTwo

I tracked some of the Pickety Place lunches but I can't get the pictures to come up. Maybe some of you will have better luck.

9/30/12 on page 337

11/3/13 on page 556 - but there's a great picture of Michelle with Special K

1/17/16 on page 855

ChiSandy

Last night was typical ballpark food: Italian beef sandwiches (sort of like French dip but with shaved beef and seasoned au jus, plus sweet peppers--a Chicago specialty); bratwurst, hotdogs, Caesar salad, cole slaw & kettle chips. Dessert was melon slices, cookies (I picked chocolate chip, which Bob ate), and make-your-own sundaes (chocolate or vanilla ice cream, quartered brownies, toppings) in a souvenir mini-helmet.

PatsyKB

Rats. Every time I think "Hey, I'll share on So...what's for dinner?" I realize I've already eaten it all up and neglected to take a photo. However, if you're in the mood for a REALLY healthy dinner, here's what I had - Carrot Fennel Citrus Salad accompanied by leftover Israeli Couscous Salad with Roasted Cauliflower, Pistachios & Dates (I added some garbanzos to the latter for protein). Caution: I'm primarily vegetarian.

The only change I made to the carrot/fennel salad is that I use whole carrots, cut them into reasonable bite sized pieces and blanch or partially cook them because otherwise the big fat raw pieces are just too much munching and crunching. Oh, and I used sugar-free pancake syrup instead of half the sweetener.

http://www.costcoconnection.com/connection/201806?pg=67#pg67

https://www.thefullhelping.com/israeli-couscous-salad-roasted-cauliflower-pistachios-dates/

Bon Appétit!

MinusTwo

Patsy - Welcome to dinner (or lunch or breakfast). Thanks for the recipes. They both look delicious.

I finally made the Bombay chicken tonight. Used pieces of a grocery story rotissarie chicken. It called for cooked chicken and I had to freeze the chicken I bought last week due to timing. Lot of butter, curry, sauteed onions, flour to thicken, chicken broth, and cut up chicken pieces - with lemon zest added. It was really very good. Served over rice. Next time I'll try the "Indian" rice with the salted cashew pieces and raisins.

ChiSandy

We wanted a change of pace tonight and realized it'd been years since we'd had any Vietnamese food other than an order-in bowl of phô during a bout with a cold, or the faux (vegan??!!!) banh mi sandwiches Whole Foods attempts to make. So we went to our old neighborhood to eat at the revamped Pasteur. It had become upscale-casual (the old atmosphere had been French colonial, with a much bigger menu with French influences), with only non-Asian hipster wait staff. But the food was still very good and about the same price. We each started with a "small" bowl of pho (Bob had chicken, I had the traditional brisket) that was bigger than either of us thought. I think I ate more noodles than in any pasta course I had in Italy. We then shared a green papaya/shrimp salad, Saigon shrimp and wild mushroom crêpe, and stir-fried steak, which was perfectly medium rare. The crepe and the steak came with salad, salad, and more salad. (Thank goodness I like cilantro, daikon & Thai basil). No room for dessert--all of the offerings were heavier than I'd have liked (deep-fried bananas over green tea ice cream, tiramisu, chocolate mousse cake, tapioca, or Vietnamese iced coffee--too much caffeine for 10pm, and I certainly didn't need all that sweetened condensed milk).

When we left, the Cubs-Mets game was in the top of the 11th inning, tied 1-1. Got home in the top of the 12th (listened on the car radio), but once we got home it took a long search on satellite (and as soon as we found it in the top of the 13th, the storm cut off signal 30 sec. later) and cable--till I figured out that the program listed for Ch. 32 was likely pre-empted by the game. Tuned in just in time to see the last out by the Mets.