So...whats for dinner?

ChiSandy

Update: my first sous vide attempt was a qualified success. The only flaw was that I set the circulator to 120F for 30 min., which is the doneness temp ATK recommended for Pacific salmon (farmed Atlantic should be at 125F). The recipe on Anova's site called for 130F for 30-60 min,, but for 1" thick fillets--mine was 1/2" at its thickest. I should have set it to 115F, because of the subsequent pan-sear; I could have used more olive oil, grated ginger and scallions in the bag, and distributed it more evenly. So it came out a bit firmer than I'd have liked, but not tough or dry--it still cleaved apart in slabs with a fork, albeit not as silky as Atlantic salmon. (Hence the need for more oil). Accompanied it with sauteed snap peas & sesame seeds, and steamed asparagus finished in the still-hot snap-pea pan with butter, lemon & sea salt.

Tomorrow, the bison filet--but if it's still frozen, the other dark roast chicken quarter (unless Bob eats it for a midnight nosh).

MinusTwo

Hammer - welcome back. So glad to hear from you. Sorry about all the nasty treatment, but sounds like your dealing & moving forward. What is a Mississippi roast?

carolehalston

HappyHammer, so glad you're doing well. Your son sounds like a special guy.

My little used multicooker has a sous vide function. Unused to date. Stovetop and oven cooking serve my purposes well.

Last night it was stovetop. The prep required more time than the cooking. Peel and devein large shrimp thawed from the freezer. Peel garlic and use garlic press. Zest lemon and juice lemon. Grate romano cheese. Get out box of linguine.

Dinner was shrimp, cooked in skillet skampi style. Mixed with cooked linguine. DH put together a large tossed salad.

Tonight may be leftover rotisserie chicken put to good use in chicken enchiladas.

A hard freeze in the forecast for tomorrow morning.

SpecialK

eric - Happy B-Day to the Marines! Your mom was a woman ahead of her time, I know you miss her.

Happy - so good to hear from you and it sounds like you’re doing well, that’s great! So glad you got to spend some quality time with your son, sounds like it was perfect for all of you.

Everyone's meals sound delish! Yesterday was stadium food at the Buc’s game, day before I put a chuck roast in the crock pot with onion and mushrooms, some beef stock, and a package of dry onion soup mix. Didn’t salt since the dry soup is usually salty. I usually add mushroom soup but didn’t have any, so when the cooking time was up I removed the roast and added sour cream to the leftover liquid. Served with buttered wide eggnoodles and sautéed zucchini.

minus - sending you a PM

auntienance

Two inches of wretched snow today, so it's pot roast with vegetables tonight.

Eric, SK and all the other military families out there, thank you for your service.

SpecialK

auntie - thanks, that’s so nice of you to remember. I will pass on your thanks to my DH. He is currently at the car dealership turning in his leased vehicle and getting a new one - not usually a fun time, so a sweet thank you will be just the thing!

Beaverntx

My thanks today to all who are active duty military, veterans or family/supporters of those who are either.

Tonight will be leftovers, either chili relleno and chicken burrito from lunch out yesterday or pizza from Friday. With just the two of us, we do lots of repeats! That will be changing as DS with his wife and one daughter will arrive the end of next week and plans currently are that they will be here until January with their other two daughters arriving as their fall terms in college are completed. At least some members of DDIL's family will also be here Christmas week.

MinusTwo

Oh goodness Beaver. I know you're excited to have them but I do hope you'll let them jump in and do most of the work.

Lacey - worried about you girl. How are you? Yes, OK, I know, how is DH, but I'm mostly worried about his caregiver - and we all know who that is.

I almost had a heart attack this afternoon when I was checking ingredients for Lacey's Tomato Cod. Panic City - I couldn't find the recipe. Turns out it was in the middle of the cupboard with a can of artichokes on top so I wouldn't forget to add those when I make this delicious dish. Whew.

ChiSandy

3+" of sticking snow here today--going down to 10F overnight, high of 22 and low of 6 (!) tomorrow. Nothing above freezing till Thursday...but it'll come with more snow. Lived here 41 years, and have never had winter weather THIS early before. Climate change is messing with jet stream patterns--CA burns while the Midwest freezes.

Will sous-vide a bison filet mignon tonight, then cast-iron sear top & bottom to finish it. Path of least resistance for the veggies: reheat kale and a broccoli/cauliflower "Italian" blend from Whole Foods' hot bar.

eric95us

87F degrees here. I just ran 6 miles and "killed" my appetite.

MinusTwo

Our temps dropped from 75 at 4pm to 55 at 6pm. Supposed to keep going down to 33 tonight & 29 tomorrow night. Like Eric, we have WIDE temperature swings.

For all you veterans - our paper had a really nice special section. As part, they re-printed various front pages for surrenders or armistices or peace treaties. I wanted to share this .

The first was Nov 11th 2018 when Germany surrendered. The "home edition" of the paper was a total of 12 pages and cost $0.03.

The second was May 7th & May 9th, 1945 for VE Day. The price had risen to $0.05 and the special edition was 44 pages.

Then July 27,1953 - "Korean Battle Fronts Stilled" - 38 pages and no price

Followed by January 27, 1973 - "Peace Treaty signed in Paris" - don't know how many pages but $0.15.

And finally February 28, 1991 - "Iraq's Army is defeated: Bush orders an end to fighting" - up to $0.25.

As everyone else has said, thank you all for your service - and your parents & spouses & children.

HappyHammer

Thank you to all who have served! Happy Veteran's Day!

Minus- The Mississippi roast is the latest thing in our area.

All done in crock pot unless you decide to sear first. I did not and it was still delish.. There are several variations on Pinterest.

Here is the one I used and adjusted to our tastes.

Ingredients:

• Pot Roast–chuck or round or bottom roast (I use chuck usually about 3 lbs.)
• Ranch Seasoning Mix- 1 packet.
• Au Jus Mix- 1 packet.
• Pepperocini Peppers– These don't add spice, fear not! ( I put about 5-6 on top of the roast and add about a cup to the bottom of the crock pot.)
• Butter- Consider unsalted for lower sodium content. (I used butter the first time but not the second. The roast has plenty of fat IMHO!!!)
• I also add about a cup of veg broth and carrots, onions and parsnips like a reg pot roast.
• This makes a nice brown gravy so I made mashed potatoes one time and rice the other. Served with a big tossed salad.

Directions:

• Sear the roast and transfer to the Crock Pot.
• Sprinkle the Au Jus and Ranch Dressing Mix over the roast.
• Top with cubed butter and pepperoncini peppers.
• Cook on low for 8-10 hours, or on high for 5-6.

Please let me know what you think if you try it. It is going to be freezing here for the next few days so I have vegetable soup and taco soup from our freezer thawing.

Supper tonight was a "sort of" Thai seasoned pork tenderloin and salad of mixed greens, red onion, walnuts, avacado and balsamic vinagrette.

eric95us

Minus, I'm surprised they didn't include VJ Day. VE day was a *HUGE*. VJ day was when everyone could finally breath a sigh of relief that WW2 was completely over.

Dad, US Marine major. Mom, US Navy lieutenant. Sharon, US Navy lieutenant.

Thank you to all the veterans...words can not express my gratitude.

MinusTwo

Yup - me too Eric. Because I was raised on the West coast, all of my HS teachers & parents friends had served in the war in the Pacific. So all the stories I heard - in school & out - were from that war. That was true for California, Utah & New Mexico. I don't know if that was coincidence or related to where you signed up. I didn't know anyone who had been in the European theater until I moved to Texas when I was 30.

Thanks Hammer. I don't have a roast on hand but will look forward to trying as the weather continues to get colder.

ChiSandy

The bison filet worked great in the sous-vide. Rubbed with a little ghee, seasoned with salt & pepper, added a sprig of rosemary and sealed it into a ziploc. Once it hit 125, I let it go for about 40 min. or so (I set the machine for 125 and went upstairs to shower, then down to woodshed some alto parts (I hate singing alto harmony, especially mezzo or first alto, since the lines have all the accidentals that form the chords but make utterly no sense on their own and are a bear to memorize)--so probably about an hour from start to turn it off. Seared it in cast iron 1 min. per side. It came out perfectly rare-to-medium-rare, with the grain still apparent (if you sous-vide red meat too long, the texture turns spongy-mushy with no grain, as if it were processed).

WorryThePooh

Made beef mince chow mein... nice easy dinner to cook on a very hot day here.

carolehalston

DH is making beef stew for tonight's dinner. He did the grocery shopping on his own without mentioning his plan to cook dinner.

It's a cold nasty day here. My younger sister, her granddaughter and I are going shopping for the granddaughter. We'll also have lunch. It's nice to know I won't be responsible for dinner!

Beaverntx

Minus, yes, the family coming is both good and stressful. However, they know they are responsible for their rooms, bathroom and laundry. Also breakfast and lunch are basically forage for yourself and clean up after yourself so it is one group meal a day. The major stress is the increased level of confusion when the number of folks in the house is doubled , tripled (and they are also bringing their small dog). Because that is primarily my problem I can adjust so long as my Tamoxifen crankiness does not rear it's ugly head!

eric95us

Sharon cooked enchiladas tonight.

Beaverntx

Leftover pizza tonight, tomorrow have to start fresh again!

ChiSandy

Tried ATK's recipe for sous-vide poached eggs—a disaster, even when following directions precisely. First go-round, I loaded the eggs when I turned on the circulator—they came out nearly hard-cooked but with whites that fell apart. Second time I waited till the water came up to temp, but while the yolks were perfect (looked firm until I cut into them and they oozed nicely) the whites were so runny that they dribbled away into the sink, leaving only yolks! I will poach the eggs old-school for tomorrow's Benedict and save the sous-vide machine for meat & fish.

WorryThePooh

ChiSandy, that sounds rather frustrating with the eggs, at least you tried!


Tonight I made tuna carbonara pasta, kids complained I had no salad for a side dish....deary me, they have been spoiled I think.

carolehalston

Tonight's dinner menu features crab cakes made with lump crabmeat. Yum.

auntienance

Sandy, good to know about the eggs. I've never tried them in the sous vide. Susan used to cook them all the time. Wonder what her secret is. I miss Susan.

Cornbread tonight with sides of polish sausage, sauerkraut and mashed potatoes. For me, it's all about the cornbread.

Beaverntx

Tonight was a long time winter favorite: turkey tomato shortbread casserole-- ground turkey browned with chopped onion, stir in 1/3 can cream of mushroom soup, sprinkle with shredded chrese; make biscuit topping with flour, salt, baking powder, 3/4c diced canned tomatoes with juice, mustard and sugar, spread on meat mixture and bake 450F 20 to 25 minutes. Mix and heat the rest of the tomatoes and soup for a gravy. Today was a cold day so a hot casserole hit the spot!

Reader425

Dinner tonight was a delicious recipe from an old Joanna Lund cookbook. Actually I combined 2 recipes because I was missing ingredients from each one. Chopped cooked chicken, carrots, peas, evaporated skim milk, a little flour, mustard, a little chedder cheese mixed with biscuits cut into quarters. Served with a side of applesauce with cinnamon. DH and I both enjoyed this one.

carolehalston

Reader, a version of chicken pot pie?

Dinner last night was not as planned. We decided to eat leftovers. Mustard greens, cabbage/potato/carrot casserole and freshly baked cornbread. Quite satisfying.

HappyHammer

Reader and Carole- any type of chicken pot pie sounds good with the frigid weather we are having!

Carole- my DH would love crab cakes. Do you have a favorite recipe for them?

Chi- You and your culinary equipment are amazing. I would never try sous vide and in 3 or 4 days you have done it 3 times- wow.

Eric- Sharon's enchilada's sound good. May put that on the menu for the weekend.

Supper last night was roasted chicken thighs, baked potatoes, steamed broccoli and a big tossed salad.

SpecialK

Did some digging on susan’s sous vide eggs, found an old post where she said she followed instructions from seriouseats. Here is a poached recipe, and a soft boiled.

https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2013/10/sous-vide-soft-poached-eggs.html

https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2013/10/sous-vide-soft-boiled-eggs.html

MinusTwo

Cooked Lacey's Cod and it was delicious. I sauteed onions, garlic, bell peppers, mushrooms. Then added artichoke hearts and campari tomatoes. Per instructions, I took the veggies out of the pan & plopped in the cod. When it was almost done I added Raos sauce, put the vegetables back in & simmered covered. Because I had spinach that was a use or lose proposition (and tomorrow is garbage day), I tossed that on top the last couple of minutes. Served over leftover pasta from last night's volunteer thank you dinner at Olive Garden. Angel hair with asparagus.

I only cooked one piece of cod, which I quickly devoured. But plenty of left over veggies to serve tomorrow on Spaghetti Squash.