So...whats for dinner?

All dinners sound fantastic! I would eat any of them. My daughter who lives close dropped by, and helped me decorate for fall. It made me so happy. I took her out and treated us both to a nice dinner. She had a seafood platter, I had Bengali shrimp. Ooooh so good. I justified it as a late bday dinner, what I would have had if I wasn't in he hospital that day. The really good news, is when my DH gets home this weekend, maybe I can talk him into taking me out for crab or shrmp for my birthday. That might actually work, hmmmmm....... LOL

Oh you guys are killing me with the seafood dinners.  We are going out to dinner tonight, I may have to indulge.

The TV show Parenthood is "giving" the lead lady breast cancer this season.  I do not watch the show but it will be interesting to see how they present this.

Moon- Sounds like you are on the mend. And happy for you that you got to celebrate a birthday dinner with DD, you can make your birthday a birthday month and celebrate all month long with DH too! They owe you big time for all you have been going through.

Kay- I need to get my passport too, you can use it to get a pass (can't remember what its called) so when you go to the airport you don't have to stand in line forever, you jump right ahead of everyone or at least until everyone else does the same thing it seems like a good idea. Happy for you that you are going to paris.

My new bed arrived this morning I am so happy, we bought a 12inch foam mattress bed it usually retails over $1,000 but got it brand new and unopened from Amazon and only paid $ 400 for it. Our old mattress was sinking in where I met my husband in the middle every night so uncomfortable and made my back hurt. hope this one  helps now I have to find some one who will come and get it and take it to the dump for us.

Going out to dinner tonight with some old friends whom we havn't seen for awhile, yay don't have to cook tonight!

Enjoy your new bed Debbie.

Dunno what is for dinner tonight....was thinking ribs but they are still in the freezer ?   It is so warm here (34 at the mo) so something bbq'd with salad and corn methinks.

Everyone have a fab weekend whatever your may be doing. 

bedo - LOL!

moon - sounds like me - grazing the fridge and cupboards!  Your post made me laugh!

I was laughing too, and um, have to confess I am eating the last couple girl scout cookies too! LOL

Y'all are too funny ( so that answers Bedo's question)!

I think we could do the five questions if we want, no one has a copywrite on that idea!  Start us off, Bedo!  Maybe we should make a rule that one question has to involve food, eating, recipes, etc.

 We went out to dinner with JoyceK and her DH.  As usual, we had a fabulous time!  We drank a whole big pitcher of Sangria...after we had each ordered an individual drink   The food was tapas-style, so we had about 10 different dishes, ranging from naughty pesto cheese fries to beautifully sauteed scallops, a veggie dish for good measure, and one shared dessert.  We so enjoy their company!  The guys are playing in a golf tournament tomorrow.  It will be an early wake-up call!

Deb - that's a great idea.  And I'll even add my mom's high school grad picture.  I have them all scanned in and I'm going to try to put them together so you can see the similarities.  But I need to do it in the morning.  It's late and I've got two glasses of Sangria and a grapefruity martini sloshing around!

I haven't been here for so long.. i check in, but have been super busy with office work.. lot's going on.  I envy all you who get to eat such nice seafood.  The midwest has it's advantages, but seafood is not one of them.

Apple, you have got go have someone hook a lake Michigan salmon or trout and plop it on the grill an hour later! Talk about good seafood! I admit I love shrimp, but fresh or smoked salmon comes pretty close.

Moonflower & Apple - I buy the bags of salmon fillets at WalMart. Granted not fresh but with a little roll in olive oil, sprinkle of dried dill, tiny bit of salt and bake in oven I can do OK with that. DH won't eat it so more for me.  Might just thaw a couple out for late lunch.  Carrie - I lived in Hawaii as a child. Love Mahi Mahi. When they had it for school lunch (1962) Mom let me buy 2nd helping.

I have a dilema. Have 1.5 lbs thick sliced bacon just out of date. It's OK; used some in recipe earlier in week.  Anyone have a cook in oven recipe and then I can freeze it. I just hate to waste it and just don't want to spend time cooking on stove. I do have some cookie racks I can drape it over to bake.  The thick sliced (HA HA) just seems to mean more fat on it. Can you say Splatter!! I may save the bacon fat in freezer for future use. Know it's going to make a bunch.

Used the bacon earlier this week in "Reunion Black Eyed Peas". Saute 1/2 c chopped onion and 3 slices bacon diced for about 5 min. in heavy ovenproof casserole. Drain drippings (I didn't); when dish is hot don't notice it. Stir in 15 oz can blackeyed peas, 1/2 tsp salt, dash coarse pepper, 1/2 tsp dry mustard, 1/2 tsp ground ginger, 3/4 c brown sugar. Bake covered 325 degrees 45 minutes. Very unusual. This might be good cold but the bacon/bacon fat does get a little weird cold.

Doing the Happy Saturday dance.

I have received an awful lot of PM's about my cooking, so guess I will be a bit more active. This weekend is all about preparing the end of this year's summer vegetables for the winter and stocking the pantry.

Last week's Calabrian bread is being turning into breadcrumbs. According to this book, Calabrian women keep two cannisters of breadcrumbs, very fine and fine. I tried the traditional grating of the dried bread and that is NOT going to fly, so I am using her backup, the blender. You then put them through a sieve removing the very fine, and then re-process to get the fine.

24 lbs of tomatoes, onions, garlic, and lots of herbs is in the oven. This roasted tomato sauce is a favorite of ours over ravioli. It is a very dense sauce, but freezes very well in zip-lock bags.

Next up is making a roasted tomatillo sauce. This is the first year that our local farms are growing this item, so the prices at the end of the season have been very low. Again this freezes beautifully.

Since the husband has requested chicken enchilladas, I will poach a whole chicken, and then use the poaching liquid and chicken bones to create a rich stock.

None of this actually adds up a meal, so I might make the ricotta today and serve that with some Italian sausage and pasta. I think I will use boxed pasta though. Or perhaps use the last of the corn harvest for a corn soufflé. I am never hungry on these big cooking days.

Susan - that's an ambitious list!  The roasted tomato sauce sounds delish! Do you blanch the tomatoes and peel them before roasting?  Or can you leave the skins on? 

Deb - good luck with your follow-up visit, I hope the end is in sight for your cellulitis.

Just poping in quickly. Deborey, nice pictures! You haven't changed much at all!