So...whats for dinner?

susan_02143

Mr. 02143 informed me that there is a side effect of my appetite suppressing drugs for him too. His weight as of today is a number he has not seen since 1983. He is actually quite pleased since he has felt that he was carrying a few extra [sometimes more than a few] pounds for some time now.

I have some split green peas soaking. This should turn into soup tomorrow. The peas are odd..... if they suck when I wake tomorrow the manager of the local Whole Foods will get a piece of my mind. It took me 30 minutes to pick out the rocks, hulls, defective peas, and the unknown yellow things.

Bedo, cats can be troublesome that way, but I don't think I have ever heard of a computer dying from cat love. Do you have some compressed air to remove the residual hair?

Eric, for fun, we should both photograph our family pieces. The cast iron pieces I have bought were all crap. I was young and poor and bought the cheapest hardware items. And they were worth less than I paid for them! The kid has adopted one of these pieces, created a lovely patina, and she is so proud of her heirloom.

Daisy, I can't wait to hear what other creations you are inspired to create. How many kids do you have home during snow?

Nance, talk to me about pressure cooker stock. I think I have too many bones for the size of my pot, but would love to hear how you prepare this. Veggies? Roast the bones? How long in the cooker?

*susan*

hsant

Hi all! So nice to see a cooking thread. I hope it's okay if I just jump in...tonight was poached salmon. I had leftover Pomii tomatoes from a sloppy joes sauce I made the other day, so thought I would poach salmon in said tomatoes, a littles Chardonnay, lemon juice and saffron. Gotta be honest. I over cooked the salmon, but my dad and uncle were fine with it. Had mashed potatoes, so the boys were good😀

hsant

auntienance, I would love to know your technic for carmelizing onions in the oven. It takes me HOURS in a Dutch oven

susan_02143

p.s. Special, how are you healing from your last surgery?

auntienance

hsant, did you mean the oven or slow cooker?

Here's the oven:

http://www.tastebook.com/recipes/980094-Caramelized-Onions,

And the slow cooker:

http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-caramelize-onions-in-the-slow-cooker-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-193413

Susan, you can brown the bones or roast them. Mine were too large to brown So I roasted them. Some say you don't need to do either and I was going to try it that way, but changed my mind. I used a proportion of about 1:2 bones to water. Additions are no different than you would do normally. I used aromatics, a little salt, peppercorns, a small amount of tomato paste and a splash of vinegar. I cooked mine for 55 minutes with a natural release, but next time I will do 80 or so because the bones I have are large and not cut into small enough pieces, so it didn't gel much. (Maybe I can get dh to take a hack saw to them.) It really is some of the best beef stock I've made. I've already used most of what I made so I'll be doing it again this weekend. I'll experiment a little more.

Lacey12

This is so exciting! We are expanding in leaps and bounds on our little "dinner thread". Welcome all!

I made my old recipe of kale, sausage (Trader joe's Italian chicken low-fat), and cannelloni bean soup. It was really good after we came in from the cold! We just paired it with some cheese, apple slices and crackers, and olives since I was not feeling too creative at 7:15 when we got home.

Nance, I am very encouraged to learn that you and DH were able to avert shoulder surgery, which is my hope. My orthopod knows how much I want to try to deal with this without any scalpel assist. I see her Friday and am willing to face a long process of PT if necessary...and maybe a cortisone shot...if it is unlikely to set off LE. Right now it is less troublesome than my left knee all of a sudden....but I think I can baby that along and it will calm itself. Ahh, the sweetness of aging!

Tomorrow is kindergarten teaching day, and Friday night we head into the Celtics/Bulls game (compliments of DS1 and DDIL) and have dinner at our favorite pre-game casual spot, West End Johnnies (compliments of DS2). Looking forward to it!

Not looking forward to snow this weekend, and hoping we get the mouse's share... Can't help but recall that exactly a year ago this weekend our snowcapalypse started. Oh dear.....

SpecialK

susan - it has been a month and about a week since the surgery.  I am healing well, but had drains longer than I usually do (mostly from chasing the kitten, lol!)  This surgery was placement of a new expander and the plastic surgeon did not add any fill at the time of surgery.  I just had the fourth small fill yesterday so things are starting to take some shape and match up to the other already reconstructed side.  It is a welcome sight after 18 months with a mismatched situation, and some doubt on the part of all whether this would even work!  Thank you so much for asking - it is sweet of you to remember!

Tonight I cooked some sandwich steak (like for Philly cheesesteaks) with some peppers and onions and added some beef gravy and served it to DH over the leftover buttered egg noodles from last night.  He is having the leftovers for lunch tomorrow, along with a soft brioche roll and some boysenberry jam and a banana for breakfast.  DD has requested a combo of torn chicken breast, baby cucumbers, tomatoes, goat cheese with some balsamic vinaigrette for lunch tomorrow.  I am going to put that together in a minute - she has a 6am show time for work tomorrow!  We had a moment of scurrying earlier - she appeared on a fishing show on NBC Sports this afternoon and one of our DVRs won't power on - we recorded it on the other one at the last minute but I have to go do a swap of cable boxes tomorrow! At least I don't have to brave the snow to do it!  Stay warm everyone!

eric95us

Hi Hsant. Welcome! I like salmon, but don't cook it as much as I'd like. Yours sounds good.

Auntie...We're thinking along similar lines. I've got chicken broth in progress. DD has been using the turkey broth I canned at Thanksgiving and Christmas for her rice and it's going fast (which is good). I'm not going to get enough broth out of the chicken bones to make it worthwhile to can it, so I'll just freeze it this time around.

I'd like to know about the pressure cooker stock too. My canner works perfectly as a pressure cooker.

Susan, when my mom gave me the cast iron collection, she pointed out what she bought, what her mom gave to her and what belonged to her grandmother. Most of my mom's stuff was made by Griswold, my grandmother's stuff was made by Wagner and most of my great grandmother's stuff has no name. I stripped off the old seasoning, derusted some of the stuff and reasoned it all. It's all now glassy smooth and absolutely non stick.

I ran 5-1/2 miles tonight and despite changing into dry sweat clothes and drinking hot coffee, I'm shivering so much that I can hardly type. I always shiver like this after a demanding run, even when it's in the 90F degree range. 10 minutes under a hot shower will fix me right up.

eric95us

Special...we crossposted. I'm glad things are looking up for you..

Lacey12

Me too, Special! You have endured a lot....like a trooper!

SpecialK

eric - thanks! It has been a winding road, but I think this will finally work out!

ChiSandy

Minus, Paxton--I just found out that we’ll be staying not at the Marriott but at the Hyatt Grand Resort Hill Country. So to get into S.A. proper we’ll be renting a car. The echo course is from Apr. 7-10, mornings only. Hill country.....wineries.....mmmmm......

Last night we were at the United Center for the Springsteen concert--so I had the innards of an Italian beef sandwich (beef, sweet peppers) plus some of the soaked part of the roll (it sorta tagged along, like the non-sentinel nodes removed in my SNB). I drank only a bottle of water--hate diet soda and wasn’t gonna waste my alcohol allowance (not to mention eleven bucks) on a beer in a plastic cup (even if it was a Goose Island IPA). After 3-1/2 hrs/ of dancing & bopping in front of my seat and singing along at the top of my lungs, I was ravenous when I got home--so I chopped some peppers & scallions and sauteed them with some corned beef hash, topped with a sunny-side up egg, washed down with seltzer and a wedge of lime, then a decaf espresso macchiato.

Tonight I decided to be a tad more conscientious, so I went with fish. Yesterday, Whole Foods had fresh mahi mahi on sale (deep discount). I salted & peppered it and pan-seared it in coconut oil. I topped it with a beurre blanc: chopped garlic sweated in butter, then fresh chopped homegrown basil, lemon juice, & Sicilian caper sea salt. Veg was broccolini--microwave-blanched and sauteed in olive oil, garlic & lemon juice, finished with salt, pepper and a few red pepper flakes. Drank some Mumm’s Cuvee Napa Brut Rose Reserve with it. Only bummer was that the fish guy hadn’t scaled it, so the skin was inedible (the skin is usually my favorite part of fish filets).

hsant

Thank you, auntienance! I will definitely try the oven technique

carolehalston

The rump roast cooked to med rare was very good last night. Sliced very thin. It will feature in tonight's dinner as a sliced beef sandwich on home-made buns from the freezer. I'll warm up the beef in some sauce from the roasting pan.

Breakfast was buckwheat pancakes with chopped walnuts added to the batter. Bacon from The Pig fried crisp. I had sugar free syrup and dh had sugar full. Haven't had pancakes since summer in MN. I made a large batch so I had some extra to freeze.

DH is making chili tomorrow.

Great news that you're doing well, SpecialK.

carberry

I think I am the only one here that does not own a cast iron pan (skillet) I do have a dutch oven in cast iron. I have put a bug in my sons ear about this so maybe for my birthday.

Susan I always thought of chemo as like being pregnant...some days I was nauseous and others had mad cravings like dill pickles (I think I needed the salt) and steak or beef (probably low iron) My DH and friends were always so gracious and tried to accommodate my wishes.

tonight will be a quiche with peppers, onions, tomatos and cheese with sausage patties on the side Breakfast!

Carole going back to a former post about your creations and buttons...My daughter is in NYC and her job is production and development of buttons and trim for major retailers. Everyone calls her the button girl. we have the most fun looking at and talking about buttons Haha something probably no one else can understand her office has walls filled with little card catalogue drawers filled with buttons...sooo much fun to play with.

hsant

Tonight is chicken paprikash, left over mashed potatoes and roasted Brussels sprouts. I planned on making a big pot of lentil soup, but I had to much to do today.

Carberry, I love breakfast for dinner. Your quiche sounds delightful

luvmygoats

Wow I didn't realize I was as far behind. Just reread my last post about this week being warmer. HaHa - not happening. Been mostly cold all week. Just hauled warm water out to the goats.

Not been too much cooking going on. Trying to use stuff up. Had bean burritos for 2 nights and I just finished the last 2 tortillas with some spready cheese and a bit of ranch dip and a ton of spinach. Tonight is non-exciting spaghetti but DH sounded pleased with it. The tortillas were interesting. A TX brand you had to heat in skillet, puffed up and browned. I like them, much much better than plain store bought. I had had some from WallyWorld from the refrig. section. These are much better and are in with the reg. pkg. tortillas.

Welcome Paxton. Yes we love our food thread. I'm from NW of Ft Worth.

Welcome DaisyQ. I've been lax about catching up but determined to do it today.

Yes Susan sounds like marvelous house progress. Oh that soup sounds so yummy. Oh and I absolutely agree not sappy at all. Connections are what keep us human.

Funny about the hack saw Nancy. DH has hack sawed a large turkey carcass. I did have a dedicated blade for it.

Carrie - I don't own any cast iron either. I have a smooth cook top and too afraid of scratching it. I never really learned to cook in one anyway so I'm not so much missing it.

No idea what dinner will be. Since I started writing this a couple of hours ago. We might just snack thru and not make the spaghetti. DH just had a chicken salad sammie when he came in so he won't be hungry for a while. Might be canned soup - I know not exciting.

Welcome hsant. We love new people, new ideas, new food.

SpecialK

I love breakfast for dinner too - but, nobody in my house does!  When I was growing up we did it about once a month.

Tonight is burgers on the grill with brioche buns and a red potato salad with dill and sour cream dressing.

carole - thanks!

auntienance

All the cast iron talk has made me want cornbread so I pulled a hambone from the freezer and made navy bean soup. It's cold, dreary and snow covered here so soup will be good.

Everyone's meals sound good. I'm glad the roast turned out Carole, I don't have much luck with rump roast, although my MIL made one every Sunday of her married life.

Tomorrow, an outing! DH has an eye doc appointment and we'll make a Costco run. Good for cabin fever!

hsant

specialk, brioche buns are the best! Buttery goodness. I'm thinking about making blue cheese burgers with roasted potato salad tomorrow. Potato salad dressing consisting of stone ground mustard, white wine vinegar and evoo. Besides dill and sour cream, what else do you put in your potato salad dressing?

auntienance, well, I take my proverbial hat off to you. How does one just pull a Hambone out of the freezer? And I thought I was a serious home cook. Lol

Luvmygoats, who doesn't love a burrito? Personally, I love spaghetti anything.

auntienance

Hsant, lol, I think you'll find on here that a lot of us have an assortment of bones, carcasses of various kinds, and other animal or vegetable parts in our freezers. Susan's freezer is particularly magical.

susan_02143

Lots of cooking cooking [or cooking intentions] going on! Today was wacky. Mr 02143 did a Costco run this morning and then when he got back, we both headed to our Market Basket. Thursday morning and we had to circle the parking lot to find a space. The place was packed! Random carts meandered up and down the aisles, often on the wrong side. They sell so much food at this tiny store that there are always big carts of food stacked waiting to be placed on the shelves. The stocking folks work very hard, and are so darn nice. One of the meat guys found me something in the back room. Someone else opened a palette so that I could grab some Cannelini beans. I do love my MB, in spite of those obstinate grandmas!

So, today I made 1 gallon of split pea soup. 1 quart will be pureed for my son-in-law's grandfather. The rest I will mix with the rest of the Christmas ham and store for me. He isn't allowed to have any non-pureed food, so I get all the ham! Then I trimmed up all the Costco beef, prepped it for grinding, and ground. I made my Chili Powder, and have prepped the additional peppers. And then I made dinner.... spice rubbed pork tenderloin [great sale at MB], saffron rice and steamed green beans. I made a little jus for the meat. This was a really nice supper! I just don't ever buy pork from a supermarket, but this piece claimed to be a heritage breed raised without antibiotics. Tomorrow, I will make the chili, and the chicken stock. And then, I will scale back to only making two meals a day. And maybe, just maybe, I will have the energy to make the Lemon-Buttermilk Pudding Cake. Those remaining Meyer lemons are calling to me.

*susan*

Redheaded1

Susan I have split pea soup on the stove right now. Never made it before but when I went to the Hill with my friend Maria, we got Prosciutto bones at Volpi's and I had a lb of split peas, so I put the peas, the bones, the carrots, the onion, the garlic, the oregano, the pepper, a bullion cube and water in and it is on the stove.....I hope that is how you do this. And I hope I like it

ChiSandy

Going to grill a grass-fed boneless ribeye, seasoning it with a mix of ground pepper and espresso-infused sea salt. Veg, will be primarily Brussels sprouts (likely blanched and then sauteed in olive oil, balsamic vinegar and finished with black truffle salt). My son will also get cornbread, while I will have the rest of an heirloom tomato with balsamic vinaigrette & chopped fresh basil. Will accompany it with a pinot noir of some sort.

Got some fresh Icelandic salmon filets from WF today for $9/lb. Saved two for tomorrow night and froze the rest. (We had mahi mahi last night, so tonight feels like a steak night).

SpecialK

hsant - Hello fellow California girl - I am a native although live in Florida now - I grew up in Manhattan Beach and then Northridge, went to college in San Luis Obispo, and then moved to Sacramento and met my military husband.  In the red potato salad dressing I do equal parts of sour cream and mayo (I use Just Mayo), salt and pepper, and dill.  I toss the cooked red potatoes in the dressing and then add thinly sliced scallions.  I also make a baked potato salad with russets - baked and diced, also with the half mayo half sour cream, with S&P, then add scallions and crumbled bacon.  I like that recipe because the potatoes don't have any additional moisture to make the dressing watery and the potatoes seem to cool off faster.  In a pinch you can do the potatoes in the microwave if pressed for time.

hsant

Susan , sounds delish! How wonderful that you've made something nutritious and easy to chew and swallow for your father in law. I live in southern CA, but I spend winters in OH taking care of my dad.

So, what the heck is in your freezer? I'm on the edge of my seat.

luvmygoats

Joyce - that beef stew would make a good potpie for a 2nd night dinner. I agree with lasagna being too much for 2 people but I have no trouble freezing stuff.

Those magical freezers - mine did a not so nutritious but quick no mess TaiPei beef with broccoli. Just enough for the 2 of us. Think I will have a pear later and more tea for the chill.

Susan - I bet lots of people were betting on the storm of the century hitting Boston which I don't think it is, right? Forgot to say how much I loved the stories of C's visit.

Red - what in the heck are Prosciutto bones? I barely know what Prosciutto is. Which reminds me I think that is what I have frozen. BTW the frozen "velveeta" like cheese "Dutch Garden" brand made great mac/cheese. I chunked it it the white sauce, would never know it had been frozen.

Sandy - I'm going to have to get some of those special salts. I know there is a Penzey's In Arlington but not really where I go and not even close to DD's place. There is a specialty spice store in Ft Worth but it concentrates on chile stuff though I've been surprised at some of the things they have. Hmm maybe Central Market? Unfortunately I don't have anything in town until Feb when I have yearly mammo. I am really trying to save money though am shopping some tomorrow. But the county seat where I'm going is OK but not stupendous. Having never had truffles what does that taste like?

auntienance

Prosciutto bones! Wow! Should make for some excellent soup.

Chi, I thought I had a lot of different kinds of salt, but you have me beat lol!

Lemon buttermilk pudding cake sounds lovely. I make some small lemon pudding cakes to serve with fresh berries that are wonderful. I imagine the Meyer lemon is even more so.

MinusTwo

Tonight was large green salad w/whatever happened to be left in the fridge, which turned out to be a winter theme - red leaf lettuce, cauliflower, mushrooms, celery, radishes, Brussels sprouts. Also some left over Uncle Ben's Long grain & wild rice. Desert will probably be 1/2 cup of Brookside Dark Chocolate Acai & Blueberry candies.

Well, edited to say I posted after the earlier page, so missed an entire page of posts & now it's another page!! Yum for the lemon pudding cake. I don't use cast iron either. Special - hope things are still healing well. Susan - did you start meds again on Tuesday? How's it going? Sorry to miss an entire day.

Lacey12

This time my lost post was my fault...arggggh! Touched something that popped me over to private messages.

So, quickly....tho we had the leftover kale soup tonight, with crusty bread (yes, DH is back to his carbie ways, and he had some cut up sausage with peppers and onions) I made some chicken chili with black beans (DH's request) which we will have over the weekend. Clearly chili season has begun!

The lost post spares you my obsessing about my new fears about snowstorms and great relief that we are forecasted to miss most or all of this East coast monster. Yay!

Looking forward to dinner out tomorrow evening before the Celts game.

Before that, I head to the orthopod to decide what very conservative Rx we can do for my small rotator cuff tear. Fortunately, she is not scalpel happy.

Happy cooking, everyone!