So...whats for dinner?

MinusTwo

Mae - so glad to see on another thread that your voice is coming back. What a long haul you've had.

Mommy - good to see you. Omelettes sound delicious but I have to eat or toss spinach salad today (no pun intended). And then there's the leftover pizza and also the fried rice. I'm not really complaining since I do like leftovers. I just have so many different things I'd like to make.

Just finished wrapping the last of the outside faucets & pipes with last summer's swimming noodles. Supposedly we're going to have the coldest sustained spell in 70 years.

auntienance

Special - never heard of frog eye but I can see why it’s called that.

Turkey pot pies tonight. Time to use up the last of that Thanksgiving turkey! King cake rising for dessert.

MinusTwo

Here's the Chinese BBQ Pork recipe. From 1963 San Francisco Chinatown restaurant "Tao Tao". Hope it's legible.

Beaverntx

The comment re availability of pork tenderloins is interesting. Yet another example of how things have changed!

ChiSandy

Running all the faucets, with the cabinet doors beneath the kitchen sink open. (That's the only pipe that's near an exterior wall). The bldg. housing the former Apple Store on Michigan Ave. had a pipe burst (the place was vacant, so nobody to take freeze precautions) and caused a huge slushy mess all over the sidewalk & into the roadway (like a frozen Slurpee sans flavor).

Last night Bob wanted Cajun/Creole, so I ordered out from Big Jones ("Mardi Gras dinner for 2") and he picked it up en route home from work. Started with oyster-okra gumbo; then BBQ shrimp (messy peel & eat, including heads, but yummy); alligator sauce piquant; crawfish etouffee; jalapeno cheese cornbread; and beignets. Yeah--carby as all get-out, but it's also c-c-c-c-COLD out; and I had smaller portions (1/3 of each dish for me, 2/3 for Bob) and none of the rice. First beignet I'd eaten since we were in NOLA 2 yrs ago for a medical convention and visited Cafe du Monde. (With it, Bob drank a K-Cup of Emeril's dark roast; I had a Nespresso decaf Vivalto Lungo espresso with mine. One beignet remaining--not calling dibs on it). Leftovers tonight.

Bob no longer has an office by a Polish bakery, so he won't be bringing home paczki for Fat Tuesday. Ordered ahead online from Bennison's in Evanston to pick up Tues. if it doesn't snow too hard (may have to double-park with flashers on: the "order ahead" window has no line). It's also a no-no on my diet, but I haven't had one (nor any kind of donut) since last year. No bakery that delivers them to our address. Dunkin's jelly or Boston Creme donuts are simply not the same.

For breakfast, I nuked a Jimmy Dean "Eggwich:" sausage patty & jack cheese between a "bun" made of 2 mini-omelets.

ChiSandy

Just too cold out (high of 5F) to risk driving & even handing off to a valet, so we canceled our dinner res. and will order out instead. My stomach was doing flip-flops all day over the prospect of that challenge--I realize that one of my greatest worries is logistics, whether about appointments, reservations, even gigs: where to park, how long it'll take to get there, bad-weather driving (had a freeway spin-out 10 yrs ago en route to Memphis that's still haunting me), drawing an audience, etc. I'm constantly catastrophizing. Now normally, I realize it's a neurosis that I need to work on, but sometimes (as the old joke goes) "just because you're paranoid it doesn't mean nobody's out to get you." Seeing as how it's brutally cold and driving is still hazardous due to snow & ice patches, sometimes anxiety is justifiable and so is avoiding the stressors.

illimae

We never go out to eat on VD, do I made Stuffed Chicken with Sherry sauce, Brussels sprouts, sautéed creamy kale and roasted red potatoes. It was delicious, I ever drank some of the sauce, lol

auntienance

Really delicious Valentine’s Day dinner tonite - grass fed lamb chops for me and a beef tenderloin filet for dh - both reverse seared to medium rare, scalloped potatoes and a salad of baby butter lettuce with a simple vinaigrette. Steak house fare and very satisfying.

We finally got vaccine appointments for February 25th although have to go to our old hometown to get it. We still have doctors there and the info came through our patient portals so we jumped on them. Hope the weather cooperates by then because right now we’re waiting like a lot of you for a big (for us) snowstorm. Thankfully it looks the the subzero temps are going to moderate after this week. Minus, have you lost vegetation?

ChiSandy

We're looking at a foot or more of snow here by the lake by Tues. evening. (We got about an inch today, and the heavy stuff starts around rush hour tomorrow). Supposed to go to Evanston to pick up some (prepaid) paczki--my last carb-cheat before going back to keto--late Tues. aft. My snow guy might take me in his truck.

We ordered out from a place near Gordy tonight. Delivered 1/2 hr. late due to the weather. Chili to start; then shared a crab cake, slaw & tossed salad; then we each split Brussels sprouts, grilled glazed salmon (very good) and 1/2 rack of baby back ribs (meh). This may be heresy for a Chicagoan, but I vastly prefer spare (St. Louis) ribs. Not just that, but these weren't really BBQed: Chicago-style ribs are parboiled, sauced and then oven-baked. Not just that, but what little meat they have is "fall-off-the-bone," which I find insanely boring. Might as well be pulled pork. I like my ribs to fight back, and be meaty to boot.

Probably eat alone tomorrow night, as Bob will likely stay in Oak Lawn so as not to get stuck trying to get through our snowy alley into the garage. (On-street parking? Hahahaha...assuming you can even find a space, you need to dig out your car; and most spaces are marked by "dibs," a disgusting Chicago tradition of marking one' s empty dug-out--or even fortuitously-discovered--spot with substantial but expendable stuff like milk crates, folding chairs, traffic cones, etc. in order to reserve it).

Betrayal

Sandy: That tradition also exists in South Philly and God forbid if you move someone's marker. It leads to an outright war. You could also identify any South Philly transplants in your neighborhood because they would do this at their new residence. It is illegal to "mark" the space but try telling that to them. It is not practiced just during snowstorms but if you want to reserve on street parking in front of your house at anytime. LOL.

MinusTwo

Mae - that looks delicious. Can you share your sauce?. Nance - your meal also sounds great. Hooray for vaccine appointments.

Three cheers to everyone on the dinner thread who is actually cooking. Oh how I MISS Susan. Eric - are you doing OK? I had the last two leftover slices of homemade pizza for dunch.

Moonflwr912

Here to weigh in on 2 things. 1. Its fookin cold here ( Canadian reference joke,LOL) as it minus 4 right now. AND 2. Its American Chop Suey in Milwaukee area. Hot dish in Minnesota, where I lived for 3 years. Although in the western part it may be hot dish too, but I grew up calling it American Chop Suey. Mom made it with 2 big bags of noodles ( my Dad preferred curly egg noodles, so that's what she used.) and 3 lbs of ground beef. It filled the large oval blue splatter roaster pan to the lid. Fed all10 of us for our supper, which was at 4:30 as Dad went to bed by 8:30. He worked early.

Dinner was leftovers tonight, sigh. Stan was helping our DD2 again as she was working today, and her husband, while getting better, still cant chase the little one! LOL He Left by 9am, got home at 6, but he ate a late lunch at 3 so wasnt hungry. So i put the beautiful chops in the fridge for tomorrow, and ate the leftovers. LOL Happy Valentines. LOL. I did get roses, and he made coffee for me, even thought he didnt have time to drink a single cup. Ah, love...

illimae

minus, here’s the recipe, enjoy!

https://ifood.tv/chicken/401095-stuffed-chicken-breasts-with-sherry-sauce

Moonflwr912

Hope all are doing well. I hear San Antonio got a LOT of snow. Ouch! Stay warm everyone. Think I'm making those pork chops with butternut squash and a baked potato. Or maybe just a baked sweet potato. I guess it will depend on what my DH brings home from the store. LOL

Stay warm and much love

Beaverntx

Moonflwr, I'm in New Braunfels and the snow was heavier here than in SA; according to the news SA has around 2 inches, we have up to 7-- hard to tell because the winds led to deep drifts and almost bare spots on the ground. The below freezing temps are probably creating more problems than the snow itself -- ice under the snow, frozen water pipes, power outages due in part to increased demand for electricity. Definitely not business as usual in South Central Texas.

auntienance

I'm with you on the rib thing Sandy. I prefer spareribs, more meat and more chew. I find myself buying and preparing baby backs when I'm short on time or they're on sale.

A sheet pan dinner tonight - a hoisin glazed pork tenderloin on a bed of tiny potatoes. I have some broccoli that needs using so that will probably be the green element.

Snow snow and more snow. It's 3 degrees right now, the hottest part of the day. I was shocked to see a picture of Galveston with snow onthe sea wall and beach. Strange times.

ChiSandy

Leftover veggies & salad from last night, then freezer-foraged: a few chunks of turkey breast and a couple of rib tips, and the last two lumpia (Filipino mini-spring rolls). Bennison's Bakery delivered a half-dozen paczki before the snow got too bad--had I known when I'd ordered them that I'd be home alone (no HK, no Bob) for at least 2, maybe 3 days I'd never have bought that many. I had a chocolate custard-filled one (with a carb-blocker chaser) tonight. My snow guy will enjoy at least two when he returns tomorrow--it got so bad by rush hour tonight he & his crew had to knock off & go home--the blowing & drifting are too much for even the most powerful snowblower and even plows. Bob made it to his hotel tonight (in time for the free wine & hors d'oeuvres), and the plows are having a devil of a time keeping parking lots clear. We've gotten a foot since yesterday, getting another 6" overnight and possibly over 20" by the time this winds down tomorrow evening. Tonight, now that the wind has died down, I'm comfy in the drafty front room wearing just a shelf-bra camisole & long johns under my thermal-knit PJs--finally able to take off the sherpa fleece jacket.

Avocado toast & an egg tomorrow morning. Keto-bread grilled cheese for brunch today. Sunday I made us steel-cut Irish oatmeal for the first time since it was (sparingly) reintroduced to my diet. Forgot how much better it is than even rolled oats, much less the instant stuff. I gave Bob real maple syrup, and imitation (Stevia/erythritol) for mine.

illimae

Well, we lost power last night, hopefully it’s back by the time I have to think about dinner. Minus hasn’t been around in a couple days, I assume she’s out too. We are ok with the fireplace but definitely aren’t prepared for this kind of weather. Brrr.

Beaverntx

Illimae, just talked with my son who lives in Magnolia. Their power was out for 24 hours but is back on now. They and none of their neighbors have water. We are still dealing with rolling blackouts and no water. It's a Texas mess! Stay warm and hope for a hot meal!

auntienance

Wow warm wishes for all our Texas friends. This is brutal. We ended up with 7 inches of snow. It's now 8 degrees and (yay) sunny - the warmest it's been in a couple of days. Our "pod" friends in our old neighborhood lost heat because the new furnace quit in the middle of the night. Yike! When I went to bed at midnight the HOA guy was out shoveling our driveway and sidewalk. Yay for the HOA. I'm done with winter. But perhaps I'm repeating myself, Carole - how did you guys fare?

Dinner will be jambalaya, garlic bread and a salad. Happy Mardi Gras y'all.

ChiSandy

We got 18" by this morning, with a total of 21" on the ground since the weekend. Factoring in shoveling, plowing and wind-drifting, our "snow mountains" are anywhere between 3-4 ft. high. Supposed to get a little more tomorrow night into Thurs., then a mix on Sun., then Mother Nature is supposed to start having mercy on us. (Not looking forward to flooding and water-over-ice skidding due to the impending abrupt thaw, as happened in 2014).

Brunch was guacamole toast with chopped tomato, onion & cilantro, topped with a fried egg. Snack was half a cream-cheese paczki (can't freeze it because of the powdered sugar--will freeze the other ones which have fondant icing. Gave two to our snow guy). Dinner tonight will be tossing those thawed-out turkey breast chunks in pesto, with sides of seared asparagus & roasted fennel (ATK recipe).

illimae

I just now have internet capability again, hi everyone! Still out of power and just lost our water but we’re prepared, I even tapped into my emergency cocktail mixers, lol.

I’m grateful to have good shelter, clothing and emergency preps (food, water, booze). Unfortunately, there are many in the city without, we’re ok and can wait it out. I prefer to think of this as a big 2021 adventure.

Beaverntx

Dinner (microwave baked potato with butter, sour cream, Italian seasoned ground turkey [precooked, from the freezer] and shredded cheddar) with canned apricot halves for dessert was finished shortly before the next rolling power outage. We do not have internet when we do not have power. The ones during the day today have been about 1.5 hours each. With the freezing rain weather forecast, have no idea what the morning will bring. Expect at least one outage overnight. Are we having fun yet? Still concerned about propane, the local office is closed and trucks are not running due to dangerous road conditions. So much for our "regularly scheduled" delivery on Feb. 1 5.

SpecialK

To all the Texan friends at this kitchen table - hang in there and keep warm! I may live in Florida now, but I lived in Spokane, WA during the coldest/snowiest winter in 100 years, 12 years in southern and northern VA, where snow and cold happens but every now and then a whopper occurs, but also spent four winters in upstate NY, including giving birth to my firstborn during a blizzard where the high was 18 F, and the low was -14 F, with wind chill was much colder. I didn’t want to bring my 7 lb newborn outside of the hospital to get in the car to go home! I sympathize with everyone as they try to stay warm in trying conditions! Be careful!

Dinner tonight was pork tenderloin with a sour cream mustard sauce, taco potatoes, and chopped and sautéed spinach. Last night was beef and veggie stir fry over ramen noodles.

Tomorrow will be the last dinner I cook on my old gas Kitchenaid cooktop. My new one goes in on Thursday. That stove has been a fantastic workhorse, and many great celebrations - including DH’s retirement party from active duty and DD’s college grad party -15 years of holiday dinners and brunches, and many other parties had food prepared on it. I just recently did a thorough clean, but will touch it up and then take it to the Habitat for Humanity Restore where hopefully someone will continue to enjoy it!

eric95us

When DD was born in Jan 1998, my in-laws (and brand new grandparents) were EXTREMELY frustrated because they were unable to share the good news. All of Sharon's family lives in upstate New York family and the early 1998 ice storm power outages/evacuations meant everyone was out of touch.

Stay safe, and warm everyone in the areas that have been transported to north of the Arctic Circle.

I won't talk about the weather here.

Lacey12

Holding our Texas kitchen table-mates in my thoughts with hopes for you to be done with this terrible weather scourge soon! Our news channel featured a picture of a bathtub of frozen solid water in a Texas home that had “prepared” for the storm. Yikes! Mae, I love your approach to this crisis. And I hope everyone remains safe and warm. Would love to hear from Minus, and hope that her silence is only due to the internet being interrupted with the power outages.
Nance, good choice of your new residence....does the HOA staff rake roofs, too, to prevent ice dams? We finally hired landscape “guys” to clear our driveway and walks of snow, and DH sold the snowblower. But our big weather related warning now is for the ice dams that form on snowy roof edges after a “warm up” (yesterday) followed by a freeze (now) and then another warm up, forcing melting snow back up under roof shingles and down the house’s inside walls. Not fun damage. So as I was preparing dinner, DH was out raking snow off our family room roof, (while he was firmly planted on the ground!), which is the roof most vulnerable to our forecasted weather.

Dinner last night was Trader’s spanakopita with my regular garden salad and a side of roasted brussels sprouts, onions, and portobello mushrooms. I must remember to make that side more often, as we really enjoyed it.

Late next week I go for my second vaccine shot, and am hoping by then the muscles in my left arm are no longer sore so that another injection is not compounding that pain, which has yet to abate. Has anyone else received a second Pfizer shot? Reactions?

Sending kind implorings to Mo Nature that she ease up on folks soon.

carolehalston

We're doing fine. Thanks for the inquiry. Ran a dribble of water the past two nights to prevent pipe freezing. No electricity loss so the all house generator hasn't come into use.

Lacey, I didn't feel good the day after my second Pfizer shot. I kept an appointment with the dermatologist for an incision to remove a skin cancer on my arm and was checked for fever and cleared for the procedure. DH, however, felt fine and played golf.

We've been having meals including the last of the meal kits but I've been lazy about writing posts.

I intended to return to the gym today but it's still freezing and the advice is to stay off the streets.

SpecialK

lacey - my DH has had his second Pfizer, it produced the same response as the first, just a sore arm and a little fatigue.

carole - I was just about to post wondering where you were - glad to hear from you!

Beaverntx

Carole, good to hear you folks are OK. We have water again but pressure is low never thought I would be so happy to wash my hands with soap and water after 2+ days of only hand sanitizer! Guess one benefit of the pandemic is having lots of sanitizer on hand. Still doing quick to prepare meals as power is still off and on.

auntienance

Ugh - really hope you guys get relief soon. I have two nieces in Texas - one in Houston area and one in San Antonio. They both have water but power is intermittent. Would really like to hear from Minus. Hope she’s able to check in soon.

Chicken enchiladas tonight using frozen rotisserie chicken taking up space in my freezer. Might throw ia couple of frozen tamales into the meal. Wish I had an avocado but sadly I don’t. Will have to make do. Side will undoubtedly be beans since we had rice last night in the jambalaya. The jambalaya was unsatisfactory. Too many tomatoes - not something I say often.