So...whats for dinner?

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  • SpecialK
    SpecialK Member Posts: 16,486
    edited August 2019

    I would agree with 4 ribs per person to make sure you have enough, and prob use St Louis. Some folks may opt for the burgers and/o dogs and sides and not eat ribs, but it's always hard to know or predict.

    joyce - good to hear from you and hope you’re healing well enough to come to FL on your expected schedule.

    auntie - ouchie on the stings! I’m super allergic and have noticed wasps lately in the grass when I take the dog out - I’m vigilant about trying to avoid them because I’m not sure what my reaction will beand I’m often the only one home.

  • auntienance
    auntienance Member Posts: 4,216
    edited August 2019

    Fortunately, I've never had an allergic reaction although I know that can change at any time. In fact, I don't get bit or stung very often. The last bee sting I got was several years ago when a honey bee got caught in my flip flop. The little bastard that stung me yesterday planned to keep on until I high tailed it out of there before he could call his friends to join the fun.

    Tonight is gyro style lamb burgers on pita with tzatziki and a Greek salad. Since DH is barely tolerant of ground-meat-that-is-not-beef, I'll make some Greek style potatoes as well.

    When I was making the tzatziki, I had added the garlic and lemon juice then licked the spoon I had stirred with. BLECH! I had accidentally bought vanilla Greek yogurt instead of plain - big mistake and not a good taste lol! Thankfully, I hadn't added the cucumber, although that might have improved the taste some.

  • ChiSandy
    ChiSandy Member Posts: 12,133
    edited August 2019

    Happy belated birthday, MInus!

    Nancy, lemon & vanilla Greek yogurt play well together...garlic, not so much. I don't think the cukes would've rescued it. Bummer about the stings. Do you carry an Epi-Pen (or the budget equivalent)? When I was 10 up in the Catskills, unbeknownst to me a wasp had gotten into my cardigan overnight--at first it felt like I'd gotten one of those old-fashioned drycleaning-tag staples in my arm, but then YEE-OWWWWCH! I spent the entire morning in the resort's chlorinated outdoor pool up to my neck. My upper arm had swollen worse than a bad vaccination injection site reaction. Fortunately, no respiratory distress. I got stung by a yellow-jacket on the back of my neck as a teenager, waiting for the ferry back from Liberty Island. It hurt like having a zit lanced, but no other symptoms; in my 20s, I got stung by those little "sweat" or "meat" bees on my foot while driving. Not too painful, but not fun. I used to carry a Epi-Pen after that (Bob's fellow UIC residents urged me to because I have allergies to ragweed & penicillin too, which can increase the cumulative effect of bee & wasp-venom stings till a dangerous allergy to those develop too. I stopped carrying it because I'd never used it. Recently discovered it in an old purse--but I doubt it's still good after 40 years!

    Friday night we went to Froggy's up in Highwood--"our" French restaurant. Our first time there was our 11th anniversary---right now it's 48 & counting. We had the "Chef's ChoiceTrio " 3-course menus: appetizer, entree, salad & dessert. We got to specify hot or cold app., and fish or meat entree (both courses had "trios" on the plate), and the chef chose what to serve us. I went "hot" app and fish, Bob cold app and meat. Well, the hot app included a wild mushroom raviolo and mini crab cake, so I traded them to Bob for a piece of cold seared ahi and salmon sausage. Entrees came--and I was better able to avoid the carbs (the veggies lay atop a small scoop of mashed potato). I had three fishes: pan-seared skate wing, grilled wahoo and broiled scrod. After a palate-cleanser salad with Dijon vinaigrette, we had dessert, which was where the carb-control wheels fell off. Bob had sorbet; I chose the seasonal berries over passionfruit mousse, which came with chocolate-dipped tuile cookies. I left the cookies (by then Bob was too full to take them), but against my better judgment ate the mousse. It was worth it, however.

    I had more discipline at Riva Sat. night, where we went to watch the penultimate Sat. summer fireworks off Navy Pier. We had a cold seafood tower for two (2 ea. Cotuit & Blue Point oysters, jumbo shrimp, 3 ea. king crab "bites" and a generous portion of tuna tartare). My entree was a pan-seared filet of Chilean sea bass over steamed spinach. We split mixed berries for dessert and still took some home.

    Last night I grilled a grass-fed ribeye (from my first Butcher Box shipment) and broccolini, and nuked some cauliflower mash that tasted just like spuds. We had some wine left over, so instead of desseet I put together a cheese plate of gruyère, La Dama Sagrada (goat), nettle gouda (WI), Swiss, Tillamook extra sharp white cheddar, and Bayley Hazen raw cow blue from VT.

    Tonight, the king salmon filet I'd been defrosting was still frozen, so I rummaged through the fridge and threw together "My Big Fat Greek Salad:" mixed lettuces, sliced red & yellow homegrown tomatoes, kalamata & niçoise olives, red onion, feta, and the second half of a can of sardines. Dressing was the olive oil from the sardines and a squeeze of lemon.

  • carolehalston
    carolehalston Member Posts: 6,887
    edited August 2019

    The meatloaf (mixture of beef and pork) was not to die for but, after all, it was meatloaf, a meat option dh likes so I make it occasionally. I made mashed potatoes using a large new potato and not peeling it. Yum. Very tasty. Salad was fresh sliced beets and cucumber, addition of onion for dh.

    No plan yet for tonight's dinner.

    Thanks for the advice on the ribs. I was also thinking 3 or 4 per person. So imagine me standing at the meat counter counting ribs in the slabs. LOL. DH has done a good job of e-mailing everyone and getting confirmation of the sides they will bring. Hope we have good outside weather. Otherwise the gathering will move into the garage/recreation building.

  • MinusTwo
    MinusTwo Member Posts: 16,634
    edited August 2019

    Carole - regarding meat loaf - I make it a couple times a year because I LOVE cold meatloaf sandwiches. The original dinner? Not exciting.

  • SpecialK
    SpecialK Member Posts: 16,486
    edited August 2019

    You guys need to make this meatloaf - it is that naughty one I have written about.

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  • ChiSandy
    ChiSandy Member Posts: 12,133
    edited August 2019

    I love meatloaf--but it has breadcrumbs as a binder so it's a no-no for me (as are meatballs and crabcakes for the same reason).

    Tonight the salmon was still frozen so I did lettuce wraps (tuna salad & chopped liver) with a leftover half tomato for dinner (brunch was avocado toast--this time I used the plastic 'cado tool--and an olive-oil-fried egg).

    Speaking of tomatoes, I'm fuming: one of the two almost-ripe-enough-to-pick Cherokee Purples was stolen by a squirrel overnight. (And they weren't half as big as the behemoth that took me 3 days to eat last week). All we have left on the vines now are 9 small hard & green ones--hoping we can nurse them into Oct. or at least mid-Sept. Got an equal number of ripening ones on the sill. From what I hear, we did better than most of our neighbors--and we have only 4 plants this year. We will have a bumper crop of Concord grapes, but they're not good eating out of hand. They're fine for jam & jelly, but require so much sugar! Bob jokingly asked if I could try to make Passover wine out of them. We shall see. Of course, the leaves are great for dolmades--which I make with ground lamb instead of just rice--and the pruned canes cure nicely for smoking on the grill.

  • carolehalston
    carolehalston Member Posts: 6,887
    edited August 2019

    Darn! Lost my post and it was my own fault.

    Last night was chicken enchiladas. The chicken filling included roasted hatch chilis and a roasted jalapeno. I bought the hatch chilis at a local supermarket and roasted them and some jalapenos on the grill. It was easy so I may buy more if they're available. Side was sliced tomatoes and cucumbers from the farmers market. Very enjoyable meal.

    Tonight will be dinner at LaPasta with neighbor John the Texan.

    I ended up not doing my Labor Day shopping yesterday so plan to do it today. Being outdoors should be more pleasant today since the sun is shining and it promises to be a nicer day.

  • Reader425
    Reader425 Member Posts: 653
    edited August 2019

    Hi everyone, tonight was baked chicken breast with crumbs and a sprinkle of olive oil, a beautiful romaine and tomato salad and twice baked potatoes. I hadn't done those before and they were simple. Hubby, who doesn't love baked potatoes really liked these (and I kept the ingredients pretty slim-a little skim milk and light sour cream to mash and less cheese than usual on top 🙂).

  • ChiSandy
    ChiSandy Member Posts: 12,133
    edited August 2019

    Today was National Red Wine Day, so I pan-seared a couple of wild Alaskan sockeye salmon filets, and sauteed snap peas in garlic-ginger oil with toasted sesame seeds. For Bob, I nuked a container of brown & wild rice. (I had my starch--a slice of hi-fiber low-carb, 3 gm. net, Sami's Bakery cinnamon-raisin toast with cream cheese--for breakfast). For lunch, I had a packet of "Flackers" flax seed crackers (my MO says flax as a food is perfectly safe--as a weak phytoestrogen it competes with human estrogen for tumor cells' estrogen receptors, but the tumor cells can't use it to fuel growth). They have 1 gm. net carb per packet (about 9 crackers)--made only from flaxseed & apple cider vinegar. I used them to scoop up hummus, baba ghannouj, and spinach-yogurt dip. (There's a Middle Eastern bakery near us--called "Middle Eastern Bakery"--that makes nearly the silkiest hummus I've had outside Israel; Michael Solomanov, the chef-owner of Philadelphia's Israeli restaurant Zahav, makes the best I've ever had, plus ethereally pillowy pita, which--alas--is a no-no for me. He did a pop-up dinner & cookbook signing here in Chicago at Spiaggia, at the invitation of Tony Mantuano).

  • Lacey12
    Lacey12 Member Posts: 2,951
    edited August 2019

    Again, catching up after a busy week...

    We had our crazy weekend with the five adults, one baby and two dogs, and much to my relief, it all turned out fine...even the chicken frying in the backyard part. That was Saturday, which included DH and I starting our day at a contentious assoc meeting (was supposed to be an easy vote on some not too controversial changes to the by-laws) due to a member who decided the whole idea offended his libertarian righteousness. He forcefully took over the meeting, swaying new members to join him in voting the effort down. I felt badly that the bi-laws committee (comprised of some very reasonable, thoughtful folks who worked on this for three years, with meetings to hear any concerns throughout that time) wasted a lot of their time and effort. Interestingly, people commented on the experience being similar to what we are dealing with in our country. Ugh! After that mess, we ran home to find my sister arriving with her dog (who behaved well for the full day...no counter surfing, no trying to bite DS2’s Scottie dog, no aggressing the baby). Whew!

    We all piled in three cars due to baby seats and dog arrangements and went into the town for the Town Day activities related to the bicentennial, but couldn’t find parking easily, so ultimately bought some sandwiches for lunch, ate them at home, and headed off to the beach....baby bathing beauty pic below.

    I was really glad my sister came to meet the baby. She is named after my mother, to whom my sister was very close, so it meant a lot to her.

    After the beach, we christened the “turkey fryer” with the chicken...si ce there was not a turkey to be found in this town!, and had a nice simple dinner with that, mashed butternut squash, garden salad and sour dough bread. We’d planned to get local corn, too, but DS2 decided we needed to leave more room for dessert. My sister made and brought one of her delicious blueberry pies, and DDIL2 had made a blueberry cobbler. Both were delicious! My sister insisted on making the long drive back over the mountains home that night, and I was relieved she made it back safely.

    Sunday, it was hard to say goodbye to our little sweetpea GD. She is getting to the stage of really responding to everyone around her, so we enjoyed lots of her smiles. But aside from her cuteness, we were again reminded of the demands of a young infant, and I was exhausted after the weekend.

    Monday evening we headed home for DH’s long awaited doc visit on Tuesday. Clearly, this doc is a revered 40 something orthopod, with lots of experience doing hips, and while he exudes confidence, he is also very nice. His practice is like a well oiled machine, and we met with six different staff members each carrying out a specific task related to the overall process of the procedure. When the doc heard that DH was eager to get this done, he had his scheduling person offer DH the first (only) cancellation she had...Sept12th! DH had neglected to say that he is not actually available until Sept 23rd due to an important board commitment. So he had to give that up, but they promised there would be another cancellation he could be slotted into before his official date in LATE NOVEMBER! I sure hope so...

    So today, after taking care of “stuff” at home, we drove back...mostly in rain. For dinner we had a small hodge podge....the leftover pizza from last night’s dinner, a Sicilian lentil soup I made from an Alessi package, (a really nice soup for a dry mix) and a garden salad. DH thawed out the last two pieces of my sister’s blueberry pie for us, which I had with a scoop of ginger ice cream. Yum! All this wanton eating must come to a stop soon!

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    Sweet pea DGD showing off her beach attire before she grows out of it, and later sporting her “gator” onesie for the Florida/Miami game. I believe here she was demonstrating how to kick a field goal for the guys!

  • Lacey12
    Lacey12 Member Posts: 2,951
    edited August 2019

    Almost forgot....hatch chilis are foreign to me. Does anyone on the East Coast find them

  • SpecialK
    SpecialK Member Posts: 16,486
    edited August 2019

    reader - I'm a potato girl, love them in any form, but twice baked is a fave!

    chisandy - thanks for the info about the Flackers, DD is once again Keto-ing.

    lacey - we have hatch chilies in the store here in Tampa, but confess to only now noticing them due to the discussion here. DGD is a doll!!!

  • carolehalston
    carolehalston Member Posts: 6,887
    edited August 2019

    We arrived at the little village of Dorset last night to have dinner at LaPasta. Closed. Walked across the street to the popular Mexican restaurant. Closed. The Chicken Shack was open, benefitting from the reduced hours of its neighbor restaurants, so we ate there. I had the California burger with lettuce and tomato (the only "dressed" burger in these parts) and it was delicious. The meat patty was juicy and perfectly cooked. The fries were crinkled but fried crisp. I ate a few of them.

    DH had a broasted chicken meal. We both thought the amount of food was skimpy.

    John ordered a meal that seemed way too ambitious for a restaurant of Chicken Shack's caliber, but he liked it. I'm sure the mushroom ravioli came from a food supply truck.

    At this time of year when the lake summer people close up and go home and high school and college workers go back to school, restaurants reduce their hours and then close after Labor Day. A few restaurants stay open year round.

  • ChiSandy
    ChiSandy Member Posts: 12,133
    edited August 2019

    Think I'll head to Mariano's for a smoked chicken half or leg quarter (unless Bob comes home early enough for us to go to Cellars, where I'll have the roast half chicken, no gravy, double veg.). Gotta replenish the crisper--out of red peppers & romaine. (I love Little Gem--perfect for mini lettuce wraps--but not willing to have to buy a "clamshell" with three varieties of frisee to get it). Gonna be away most of the weekend (playing a folk festival, then going to Ravinia for a concert), but lettuce should keep. Have an abbondanza of tomatoes--and counted 16 green ones of varying sizes still on the vines. Hot weather today should accelerate them.

    Big possible dilemma. The best Italian joint in town (Spiaggia, possibly one of the best in the country) is sponsoring a chef/owner-led tour of Northern Italy this fall or early winter: 9 days in Milan, Verona, Venice & Florence. (I spent 2 hrs in Verona and only an evening & half-day in Venice back in 1996--never been to Milan or Florence). Now, I know a Southern Italian tour could go heavy on the seafood & veggies and be more diet-friendly; but the North will be heavy on the pastas & breads (though I could still do meats, salumi, cheeses and Venetian seafood). Worth it? They haven't firmed up the dates yet (might have to miss some Bar Show rehearsals).

    Just got Bon Appetit (or is it Food & Wine--I get them both and they sort of run together). Its feature is "The Best Restaurants in the World," and I've been to the one on the cover--St. John in London--twice (and twice had the signature dish of bone marrow, parsley salad, & crostini). And two others are in, respectively, Savannah and an "honorable mention" in Charleston (which are doable if we go to Hilton Head Island. Another is a no-reservations-taken fishmarket joint in SF.

    Decisions, decisions....

  • ChiSandy
    ChiSandy Member Posts: 12,133
    edited August 2019

    Floridians, stay safe! (Calling my cousins in Hollywood, Aventura & Cocoa Beach to make sure they'll be okay).

  • SpecialK
    SpecialK Member Posts: 16,486
    edited August 2019

    chisandy - my DD is driving through Jupiter now on the way to Titusville over on the east coast of FL for work before she heads back to Tampa on Saturday and I just spoke to her after she dropped the first of my MIL's recipe books to one BIL, dropping the other tonight to the other BIL. She is reporting that some of the gas stations, and this is about 6 miles off the I-95, are already out of gas. Hoping that they will get deliveries before the end of the weekend, but if Irma is any indication, they may not. She is trying to stay topped off in her huge pick-up truck so she can make it back home on Sat, but it may be tough to do. Hope your cousins will be ok - I am worried about everyone over there - both of my BILs are staying put - ugh...

  • eric95us
    eric95us Member Posts: 2,845
    edited August 2019

    Yes. Stay safe, everyone in FL. A couple of medical teams were sent to Puerto Rico, but they, fortunately, were not needed, so they are being moved back to the mainland where they won't be in any danger, but, if needed, can get into FL relatively quickly.

    Dinner tonight was a stir-fry with lots of Serrano peppers. My mouth has a nice tingling feeling. :-)


    There was a thunderstorm here last night that dropped quite a bit of rain on us. This morning, when I started my 3-1/2 mile run, the nearby weather station was reporting 87F degrees and 93% relative humidity. I had to mop the floor after I came inside from the run. :-)

  • carolehalston
    carolehalston Member Posts: 6,887
    edited August 2019

    Last night was leftover chicken enchiladas heated in the microwave and a romaine salad with additions. Easy and satisfying. Have I mentioned (a hundred times) how much I like chicken enchiladas. The roasted hatch chilis and jalapeno added such a good taste. I need to get to the supermarket for more hatch chilis if they're still available.

    Cool weather is nice but our weather has been too cool and windy for outdoor happy hour in the late afternoon.

  • auntienance
    auntienance Member Posts: 4,216
    edited August 2019

    No hatch chilis here, sadly. I love chicken enchiladas too Carole, I like green sauce, DH likes red. When making them, I usually do half and half. When in New Mexico, I always order "Christmas."

    Last night was a baked chicken and rice dish using the royal rice blend (brown, red and wild rice), it was fairly good although it seemed to be lacking salt.

    I may grill a bone in ribeye tonight with a baked potato and another Caesar salad.

    Special, hope you and yours are safe from the storm!

  • Magari
    Magari Member Posts: 354
    edited August 2019

    Last night we had fresh ling cod, which I just pan seared, with heirloom tomato caprese salad.

    Tonight will be leftover chile verde or lamb barley soup. (Whichever we don't eat goes in the freezer.). And a green salad with grilled corn and tomatoes.

  • ChiSandy
    ChiSandy Member Posts: 12,133
    edited August 2019

    Tonight was salad night: heirloom (Cherokee Purple) Caprese salad, Caesar (no croutons), and an antipasto plate of capacolla, prosciutto, smoked tuna, olives, marinated mushrooms and aged sharp Provolone. (I love supermarket olive bars)! Mariano's had an "artisan lettuces" clamshell with three mini-heads of Little Gem (one red!) and one of red oak. Good thing...frisee is getting kind of old.

    Tomorrow night will be whatever the tavern next to the motel (Comfort Inn) serves that I can eat. In years past when I was low-carb on Labor Day weekend & the Fox Valley Folk Festival, it was bratwurst & kraut for dinner and whatever egg dish the motel breakfast buffet served. But the festival's green room has cold cuts, cheeses, & crudités to distract me from the vegan chili and all the breads & sweet stuff. Coffee & bottled water, too. I perform tomorrow morning and again at 1pm. If the Songwriters' Collective needs me to emcee Mon. morning, I will head for home as soon after noon as I can to be able to make the train to Ravinia for our dinner res and Steely Dan. No idea what I'll eat Sun. night--maybe go into town for bunless burger or something, or have an Atkins bar, string cheese & celery in my room.

  • Lacey12
    Lacey12 Member Posts: 2,951
    edited August 2019

    Last night I made a chicken balsamic stir fry with onions, zucchini, carrots, and yellow squash, which we had with rice pilaf spiced with saffron, and the side of a green salad. Tonight we had leftovers of that, while I also cooked up slices of chicken sausage and roasted a whole chicken. Those last items are for a pasta casserole I’m bringing to tomorrow evening’s Labor Day beach party.

    Weather here has also cooled down considerably, Carole. As a matter of fact, the young gals who are organizing the beach party have labeled it a Hawaiian luau theme. However, I suspect that any Hawaiian designed clothing will be under warm parkas once the sun goes down! And...my casserole is not going to be remotely Hawaiian!

    My good friend in South Florida is sweating out the hurricane’s delayed arrival. She’s been spending the last couple of days in lines for water, gas, batteries, etc., and since they have no storm shutters, she is in a panic about staying or leaving their house. Last year they lucked out with a large downed tree just missing their house. At this point the changing track and speed of the storm makes it hard to know what will happen. I sure hope you and your family will be safe with no damage, Special.

    Eric, are you still on the deployment list for such weather crises? Or are you retired from such duty?

  • M0mmyof3
    M0mmyof3 Member Posts: 9,696
    edited September 2019

    Going to make thin spaghetti with bacon crumbled into an Alfredo sauce, salad and garlic bread for dinner.

  • illimae
    illimae Member Posts: 5,710
    edited September 2019

    When you ask your chef friend to cook.... 😋

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  • Reader425
    Reader425 Member Posts: 653
    edited September 2019

    looks delicious illimae! As the old somg says "that's what friends are for!"

  • auntienance
    auntienance Member Posts: 4,216
    edited September 2019

    Thinking of you Lacey

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  • eric95us
    eric95us Member Posts: 2,845
    edited September 2019

    The dive boat that caught fire off of Santa Barbara.... The school that DD attended, each year, chartered *that* boat for a week long 8th grade marine biology trip during the Labor Day weekend.

    This year the trip was moved to next week and is obviously now cancelled.




  • auntienance
    auntienance Member Posts: 4,216
    edited September 2019
  • SpecialK
    SpecialK Member Posts: 16,486
    edited September 2019

    eric - too close for comfort! It’s a scary situation for sure. That water is very cold, spending any time in it is problematic.

    We are hanging out, worrying about family and friends on the east coast. We tried, in vain, to get the West Palm brother and fam to come over here. The other brother has a cinder block home they are renovating further inland so they have a place to go as their primary home is right on the water.

    Had patty melts on rye with sweet potato fries last night. Took some unfrosted cupcakes out of the freezer, just in case we lose power, lol! Not really... Frosted them and ate them for dessert. Have been freezing empty large jars/juice bottles for use in coolers if need be. DD has a lot of fishing friends/resort owners in the Bahamas - she is bummed out by what has happened and worried for them. Waiting the storm out has left me doing in depth cleaning to burn off nervous energy, which has in turn made me need to use my LE pump because my arm is aggravated. Bleh. Compared to what others are experiencing, or are going to, it’s an inconvenience - nothing more

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