So...whats for dinner?

SpecialK

susan - I had totally forgotten stagefree (Ebru) was there - I read her posts often, how awesome you got to see each other, and what a wonderful sounding day you had together! Yay!

carolehalston

Susan, what a wonderful post!  I enjoyed the whole adventure through your experience. 

carolehalston

DH and I signed a contract today for solar panels.  He was more gung ho than I was and he usually has good instincts. 

We had delicious poboys today for lunch from Firehouse Poboys.  Brisket on wheat.  The bread is good and the meat is tender and really flavorful.  DH humored me and went to pick them up.

Nance, I love your nature scene at your house. 

I'll have to look for the Rao marinara recipe. 

Dinner will probably be dh's beef stew and rice, warmed up. 

carolehalston

Post no. 3 in a row:  does anyone have an expresso machine?  I've been reading reviews and trying to decide whether to buy a small home machine. 

auntienance

I have a small Krups that I've had for a long time but never use. It makes pretty good espresso but I like cappuccino and the milk was a pain to clean out of the frother. Yum on the poboys and great idea on the solar panels.

Susan - wonderful that you got to spend time with ebru - she sounds like such a lovely interesting person. Your trip gets better and better.

I never cared much for gnocchi -- too doughy or something (which is odd considering how much I love doughy dumplings) until my DSIL made them with ricotta instead of potatoes. Not exactly sure what her process or recipe is but they are really good.

bedo

Wow! Wonderful pictures Susan!

Nance, love the hummingbirds!

I don't know how to post pics of the wedding but it was great. They are on my DD's Facebook page. They are in Panama for their honeymoon. I cried during the ceremony. What a surprise to me!

When Susan gets back I will send her pics of my kitchen -way late for that theme lol.

Hi to all. Work makes me tired. I have to get up at 6:30 am : ( 4 days a week. Can't wait to retire.

Talking to my financial planner tomorrow. All the more reason not to post pics Ha ha

MinusTwo

Bedo - thanks for the wedding report. Did you manage to avoid the ex-in-laws?

It's been a couple of days while I ate up leftovers, but tonight was the Rao's marinara with leftover turkey breast & artichoke hearts. I LOVE this gravy, and I don't like very many. I may have to save my nickels & dimes to continue purchasing Raos. Carole - if you find a recipe, please post. Nance - are you the one who mentioned the lemon chicken by the Rao's chef? I'd love that recipe too.

auntienance

Ok, no more wild kingdom for today.

Minus, I will post both recipes for you. Bedo, yay for the wedding update!

auntienance

http://www.marthastewart.com/339001/raos-famous-le...

Minus, this link has the lemon sauce within it and if you follow to the next recipe, the marinara.

MinusTwo

Thanks Nance. Yum. Although for one person it may make more sense to buy a jar of marinara. I use less than 1/2 a jar per meal. Yes, I could freeze 7 cups from the recipe, but...

I'll definitely try the lemon sauce.

SpecialK

auntie - OMG - cutest baby deer ever!  I actually said OMG out loud.

bedo - yay for the excellent wedding!  I am firmly convinced that if either of my grown children ever gets married I will be a blubbering idiot.  I have a track record - I even cried when my son was awarded "Swimmer of the Year" when he was about 10.  Like, uncontrollably - although thinking back it was probably perimenopause that caused it, lol!

eric95us

Leftovers tonight. I left work at 5:01pm--as in the car and moving in the parking lot at 5:01--and got home at 6:35pm...This is about normal.....sigh....

We (DD and I) worked on the car some more tonight. It starts and there are no leaks. More Freon needs to be added to the air conditioning system...once the headlamps come in there will be another couple of hours of work to finish it up. DD is getting anxious. :-)

Lacey12

Susan, what a wonderful, exquisite and personally enriching day for you and Ebru. Sooo happy for you nd DH. Loved the travels around the palace! And who better to have a serendipitous chance to personally thank a chef than you!

Carole, lots of our neighbors have installed solar panels. You will probably be happy with that plan.

Nance...sooooo darling! You do have the best nature views!

I must check out the site for those recipes.

Tonight we ate in Harvard Sq. at The Red House. We had an assortment of small plates.....a pea tendril salad with goat cheese, a warm kale salad, scallops over shredded parsnip and carrots, calamari over mizuna (sp?) which looked liked dandelion leaves, so I was afraid to try it, and DH had a small plate of drunken lobster rigatoni. They were all good! We saw Mandy Patinkin in a two man vaudeville musical with Taylor Mac, The Last Two People on Earth. I was amazed at how perfectly they sang the lyrics to 30 songs without a break! I kept wondering how long MP had to practice them...and how tired one must be after a show like that.

An uplifting thing happened in the theater right before the show. Soon after an elderly couple got settled in their seats directly in front of us, an usher came up to them asked their names, and presented the husband with his wallet. He was baffled...and the usher explained that the restaurant manager from down the street brought the wallet to the theater after the man left it on the table. Apparently they had heard the couple talking about going to the performance. So the theatre staff looked up where the couple was sitting and brought the wallet to him. He was amazed and thankful, and really happy to see all of his credit cards and cash. For all of the bad behavior we hear about everywhere, it was lovely to see this act of honesty and kindness.

Early kindergarten class tomorrow due to a needed switch in schedule.

bedo

Yum for all your recipes.

I have been eating a lot of fish trying to lose a bit of weight for my daughter's wedding last Sat. I tried Monk Fish, "the poor man's lobster" from Whole Foods

It was good. Unfortunately I cook it all the same way as I am not a good cook-broiled or baked with olive oil, S+P garlic and lemon. I want to try some of the less popular local fish.

Special I not only a blubberer but a babbler.

The feared former SIL turned to me in the in the buffet line and asked, "no wedding cake?" "No," I said, "they all do cupcakes now, they're popular" "interesting" she replied coolly, and turned her back on me. I stared at the back of her head.

Before, when I advised her that I wanted to try immersion Spanish (their side of the family is from Spain) she asked me if I spoke any and I panicked and replied, in Spanish "Why, yes! Please remove your pants and underwear and have a seat on the table! This will not hurt. Please pay up front! " and "How much is the black beans and white rice?" - I used to work in a male STD clinic and ate lunch across the street-it's the only two things that I can say. She was speechless for once. haha.

And yes I do like the beans and rice, but am trying to cut carbs, as that is all I used to eat it seems.

carolehalston

Bedo, lol at the Spanish conversation at the wedding!  Priceless!  Glad that everything went well.  Your in-laws sound like you're much better off with them in the "ex" category.

Eric, what a momentous project you undertook with your dd's auto.  I'm amazed at and impressed with your knowledge and motivation.  It's so much easier to shell out some $$ instead of going to all that effort.  Especially when you're such a busy man with your responsibilities. 

Nance, the fawn is adorable.  You definitely need some nature cameras set up on your property.  We once were partially surrounded by woods and saw deer but development has wiped out most of the forested areas.  We're left with many squirrels and I am seeing a bunny rabbit out in the yard.  I hope he/she is careful because we have hawks on the lookout for unsuspecting prey. 

Minus, in your situation I would probably just buy the Rao since it is so delicious.  There's nothing unusual about the recipe.  It's pretty much what we all follow to make our basic marinara.  The difference may be in the quality of the tomatoes but Nance and Susan have their home-grown tomatoes.  I can buy the San Marzano (sp?) canned tomatoes at Fresh Market and have done so but I have to question whether they're that much better than good CA tomatoes.

Lacey, your dining out experiences continue to make you our dining out queen!  There are definitely advantages to living in a major city.

The components for tonight's dinner, all out of the freezer:  4 boneless skinless chicken thighs, 2 cartons of cooked white beans, smoked sausage, small carton of turkey broth.  DH got the 4 qt. Crockpot down before he left to head for the golf course.  I plan to brown the chicken thighs and the smoked sausage and let all the ingredients cook in the Crockpot.  There is more cooked rice in the refrigerator from the delivered meals.  And some salad makings. 

Looking forward to another Susan post.

MinusTwo

Bedo: you've made my day. Love your spanish phrases & the perfect application. I hope you really DID tell those snotty ex-in-laws exactly that. Looking forward to more details when you get time.

susan_02143

For some reason, today was a "my back is sore day" and then I worked it hard! We arrived at Aya Sophia at 9:20, just before the cruise ship passengers, and spent hours exploring this former church/mosque. I took so many pictures, and they take so long to load, I am going to have to pare back substantially, but here you go:

*susan*

eric95us

Wow....

auntienance

Bedo -- lol -- perfect! You go girl!

Oh Susan, what pictures! Marvelous!

Lacey, what a nice story about the elderly couple. It does make you hopeful. Seems like the St. Louis news is nothing but murder and mayhem.

Busy day here. I started with ricotta. I wanted to try making it with 2% milk, mostly to get an idea of what the difference in taste and texture would be. Like you Carole, I did use cream. It turned out quite good. Don't know if I'll make it that way all the time, but now I know it still is better than what I can buy.

From there I moved on to the Rao's Marinara. It's such a simple recipe I really didn't have great expectations here either. I was pleasantly surprised at how excellent it is. Perhaps its the amount of olive oil or the tomatoes. I don't know, but I can heartily recommend the recipe. I did add fresh basil and oregano at the end, but I don't think those were the deciding factors.

Next was pasta. Nothing surprising here. I made enough for tonight's lasagna and enough to freeze for a couple of other meals. While I was all floury, I decided to make cream biscuits to go with some macerating strawberries I made yesterday. I set aside a small amount of ricotta which I sweetened lightly and added a tiny bit of vanilla, will serve it on top of the strawberries.

It took about as long to clean up all this mess as it did to make it. Whew!

DH, bless his heart, had the nerve to ask if we were having homemade bread with the lasagna. Really??!!

auntienance

The zoom function on my phone camera isn't wonderful and I had to shoot the pictures through the glass because Mommie Deerest is a bit skittish with the little guy. I upped the contrast to get them to show up better that's why the pictures look a little funky.

carolehalston

I may have to think about a trip to Istanbul.  The pictures are so enticing. 

Nance, I made my ricotta the same way:  2 per cent milk and cream.  It was delicious and creamy.  I have never eaten cream biscuits but they sound wonderful.  With or without strawberries.  Bread is one of my favorite food categories. 

When I read the Rao recipe, I noticed the large amt. of olive oil.  I'll have to give it a try without modifying.

auntienance

Carole -- they're great if you're not counting calories lol. They are nothing but self rising flour and cream. That's why I only made 2. I'm sure the 2% milk will balance the all the calories out ;-)

bedo

Why yes, Minus,

"poor fa vor, day kay tar say los pan-till owns, E los pan till owns see ohs E see in toe say! lol, you can imagine the rest. I can't read Spanish. This is my guess at phonetic spelling. lol

I'm an idiotic

I hope to honor the Spanish language by leaning it and by becoming as fluent, as best I can, we are the only country that only speaks one language!

susan_02143

After spending the morning at the Aya Sophia, we moved to the Topkapı Palace next door. I do NOT suggest doing both sights on the same day. Just too much, but we had bought the tickets so we ignored the back pain and continued. The Topkapı Palace was the last palace built by the Ottoman empire so there are lots of European influences. They have turned the kitchens into display areas for all the serving dishes owned by the palace, though one room had actually cooking utensils and pots. Sadly, they do not allow photos in that area. As you can imagine, Sultans lived mighty well as these pictures can prove!

Cafe where we had lunch on the edge of the Topkapı Palace.

Ceiling dome.

Sultan's couch in his Harem living room.

Tiles... lots and lots of tiles.

*susan*

carolehalston

Enjoying the pictures, Susan.  Cannot identify with being a sultan.  It must have been nice for them.  I would probably have been in the servant class.

Took out a boneless lamb shoulder roast last night to thaw.  It's not oven weather but we need to eat the food in the freezer.  Will probably use fresh rosemary, garlic and olive oil as seasoning agents along with s & p.  If I were in top moving about and walking condition, I would use the outside gas grill as an oven but that would entail lots of trips to the patio checking on the cooking status.  Plus I don't have a disposable drip pan.  So I'll probably just let the a/c and oven heat duke it out.

Polenta will be an easy and delicious side.

Nance, I'll bet that lasagna was out of this world?

susan_02143

6pm here, and we are sitting in our hotel-apartment having a cup of coffee. This was our very last day in Istanbul. In the morning we went to the Grand Bazaar specifically looking for gifts. I was thinking a scarf for the girl child and maybe something leather for the boy one. We walked, and walked and walked. I finally found something that I loved. It was an embroidered scarf with interesting colors. Once the discount was offered and the number translated, we were talking $700!!!!! For a scarf! The next one he showed me didn't have a color scheme I liked but was "only" $250. Do you think I left with a gift? Nope. For that kind of money, I could buy her two first-quality Le Creuset dutch ovens, or a refrigerator for goodness sakes! Very few of the shops sold anything of value though. Mostly mass-produced trinkets and baubles. It was exhausting. I decided that except for the aggressive beggars,I was simply going to be pleasant. I can't count how many times I said "No thank you" or "Not today" with a smile. It was exhausting.

We left with nothing. [The leather goods were all crap.]

So we went back to the Spice market in search of sour cherry syrup. None. We found none at all. Everyone stocks pomegranate syrup, but no sour cherry. So I finally settled for an artisanal sour cherry jam. And a cheap, cotton scarf with a very pretty pattern. We had lunch at an ancient restaurant which was perhaps overpriced, but the tandoori lamb was delicious and VERY filling. This plate of food with eggplant, potatoes, and lots of different vegetables had more butter than I usually eat in a week!

Tomorrow, a driver should arrive at 9:30 to take us back to the airport, and we begin our journey home. I think the flight is about 11 hours long. I think it will be a very long day indeed. My next installment won't happen until I am home once again, looking ahead to chemo for life.

*susan*

auntienance

Susan, love the pictures. I find shopping exhausting under the best of circumstances. I must say though, I find the thought of a market just for spices thrilling. I'm a little sad the trip is ending. It's been a wonderful time, thank you for sharing it with us.

Carole, this is where a pressure cooker comes in handy. You could cook the lamb in a very short period of time with a small amount of heat.

The lasagna was mighty delicious. It was the first time I've made most of the components from scratch.

Looking forward to my pedicure today. Dinner is tbd.

carolehalston

DH and I prepped the lamb shoulder roast.  It was enclosed in netting, as expected.  I cut the netting off and unfolded the roast.  DH chopped some fresh garlic cloves and sprigs of rosemary picked off the bush on the patio.  A liberal amt. of olive oil, s & p, and the garlic/rosemary mixture all over the interior.  Then dh tied the roast securely with kitchen twine and it is sitting in the refrigerator.  It has a nice fat cap that should help keep it moist when cooking. 

It weighs 2.15 lbs so the cooking time at 40 min. per lb will only be about an hour and a half for medium.  Most of the recipes online call for 325 degree oven. 

Susan, the cotton scarf with the pretty pattern sounds really nice to me.  I can't imagine paying $700 for a scarf that could be lost or damaged with use. 

I ordered a deLonghi home expresso machine that gets a good rating from Consumer Reports.  It was less than $100 so not a big gamble.  I ordered my mother a bright red mini Keurig.  It's called shopping from the convalescence chair!  My foot seems to be healing well, for which I am thankful.  Today I get to take a shower!

bedo

Susan those pictures are so beautiful I almost feel as I am there! Thank you so much for sharing them. I feel as though my world has been expanded (as you must)

Here are some of the local fish sold at the local Farmer's Market on Saturdays and Wednesday afternoons.

Bluefish • Butterfish • Cod • Crab • Flounder / Fluke • Haddock • Littleneck Clams • Lobster • Mackerel • Monkfish • Mussels • Oysters • Pollock • Quahogs • Scallops • Scup / Porgy • Sea Bass • Sea Robins • Skate Wings • Squid / Calamari • Steamers • Striped Bass • Swordfish • Tautog • Tuna

I have a lot of exploring to do!

Although my landlords know a place to dig Quahogs. They won't tell me. People in Rhode Island would rather share their spouses than their Quahog digging spot.

carolehalston

Great selection of seafood, Bedo.  Digging clams seems like a fun activity.