So...whats for dinner?

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  • Lacey12
    Lacey12 Member Posts: 2,951
    edited February 2015

    Yes, Eric I saw that there was a lot of fog today. Didn't know that Phoenix had fog...just recall the layers of smog when I visited there a few times long ago.

    I am committing a mortal sin, posting during the big game, but I am actually also making my faux French bread to use with sausage and peppers and onions for DH's Super Bowl dinner. So my game inattentiveness will be overlooked, I'm sure. We are a party of two also tonight....and awaiting a much uglier storm than the last one.

    So yesterday morning we heard from DS2 that he bailed on the trip, given that he still had a fever, and also worried about making it back with the upcoming storm. So I spent the day making him chicken soup (including kale, with which he was fine) and my most healthy smoothie, and DH and I drive in with those and other supplies. Now, mind you we were heading to South Boston, where one dares not park a car in a shoveled out spot. DS2 thought we'd be fine if we sort of double parked in front of his truck where a cone was placed (he felt we were safe since those people were away for the weekend). Well, we were extremely relieved that we had no tire slashings after our brief visit.

    Then we decided to have dinner in Southie and went to the only restaurant we know that has a parking lot. Well, I might re-think that next time.... This is a neighborhood place frequented by lots of families as well as the younger set. We ordered what looked like very healthy, colorful entrees. DH had stuffed haddock with pilaf and broccoli. I had filet of salmon with asparagus and broccoli...no carbs. Well, I have never in recent years tasted something that looked as good but had NO flavor! It seemed so weird to have a full stomach and no sense of being sated. DS2 texted us after we were home to see how dinner went and decided that our palates are too developed for Southie food. LOL! We were tricked by the tasty sounding offerings on the menu.

    Tonight we are having the soup I made for DS2.... Chicken vegetable with orzo....definitely an improvement over pastina which turns to mush. I made the bread on which we had the hot sausage covered with mozzarella and parm. Pretty good!By the way, Red, I am certainly the most unworthy of the group you mention! But thanks for the lovely compliment

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  • susan_02143
    susan_02143 Member Posts: 7,209
    edited February 2015

    Today I played with my Christmas gift for the first time... a sous vide machine. For my "brunch" I made soft boiled eggs. Oh do I love a well cooked soft boiled egg. Since the egg just hangs out in the sauna, cutting the top off was easy since the egg wasn't that hot. We too had Italian sausages for dinner, but with a quick marinara sauce and some pasta. I used the sous vide water bath to cook them, and then just browned them on the stovetop. Mr. 02143 made the request for "red sauce." Sadly, the box of spinach I bought at the end of the week was busy rotting, so no salad for dinner. Since the snow should start soon, there will be no salad tomorrow either. Looks like the world will be shutting down tomorrow.

    The rest of the house is watching the game. I can't quite gather enough interest.

    *susan*

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  • bedo
    bedo Member Posts: 1,866
    edited February 2015

    Decided to eat salmon for more protein so made the corn/salmon/red potato chowder. Well, I only had 1/3 the amount of salmon so I put that in and only 1/2 the amount of vegetable broth and had no idea how to convert shallots to onions, so put in one. Looked too oniony. One cup of milk didn't seem to equal 1 cup of 1/2 and 1/2 so I added two. Then it seems too sparse, so I added a can of salmon with the 2 cups of corn. Looked about right, but plain, so I added pepper. Now I have a "bucket" of chowder.

    It kind of reminds me of when I cut my daughter's hair and it got shorter and shorter as I tried to even it out.

    I hope everyone is safe and warm in the Next storm coming tomorrow

    Now I'm addicted to being lazy. I lied. I was always lazy. I've been checking out automatic kitty litters and found one where I touch nothing except empty a bag once a week. My Neato slowed down and I went over to see what "Hazel" was doing, and she said, "I'm going back to my charger now" She did and then went back to where she left off after charging. I told her to get back into the kitchen when she was done and bake me a pie. I kind of like being the Husband. No offense Eric, and Mr. Ladies, silly stereotype. :).

    The "cook" (crock pot) will be making more soup when I finish this soup.

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  • susan_02143
    susan_02143 Member Posts: 7,209
    edited February 2015

    I think I have posted a link to this recipe before, but here it is without a link. This Turkish soup just makes me so very happy! Will be the basis for tomorrow's dinner. This recipe makes 8 cups, and when I serve it as a main course soup, I serve up 2 cups per person. When part of a larger meze meal, I serve about 3/4 cups. The original ingredients are not changed, but my modifications are below. My changes make it better. :-)

    I gave up on the dried mint from stores; just tastes dusty to me. When I use my own dried mint, it is good. Next summer, i will dry a TON more mint for this soup. The lemons are essential, squeezed at the table.

    Enjoy!

    INGREDIENTS

      • 1 cup red lentils, washed and drained
      • 1 medium potato, peeled, washed and cut into 1 inch / 2.5 cm dices
      • 1 medium carrot, thoroughly washed and cut into 1 inch / 2.5 cm dices
      • 1 medium onion, peeled and cut into 1 inch / 2.5 cm dices
      • 6 cups water
      • 1/2 tsp ground cumin
      • 1 tsp fine sea salt
      • 4 tbsp butter
      • 2 tsp all-purpose flour
      • dry mint, for serving
      • red pepper flakes, for serving
      • 1/4 cup toasted sunflower seeds, for serving (optional)
      • melted butter / olive oil, for serving
      • ==
      • susan's changes
      • 1 tbl tomato paste with the vegetables
      • 2 tablespoons fresh parsley
      • 1.5 tsp cumin, divided, .5 tsp with the vegetables
      • 1 tsp Allepo peppers, divided, .5 with vegetables
      • 2 tsp Urfa peppers, with salt and cumin
      • added dry mint with salt mixture
      • lemon wedges at the table
      • no sunflower seeds
      • roux is not needed for at home dinners, just 2 tbl butter at the end

    INSTRUCTIONS

      1. Place the red lentils, diced potato, carrot and onion in a pressure cooker. Pour over 6 cups water, close the pressure cooker tightly, bring to a simmer, reduce the heat to a minimum and cook for 30 min. Release all the steam before removing the lid. If not using a pressure cooker, cook the lentils and vegetables in a pot with a tightly fitting lead for 50-60 min, until the lentils turn into a smooth puree. Once done, remove from the heat, add cumin and sea salt. With an immersion blender puree the soup into the homogeneous creamy texture without any lumps.
      2. In a small pan melt the butter in the medium heat and once it starts sizzling stir in the flour. Continue stirring as the roux changes its color from golden to light caramel. At the roux starts browning slightly (after about 2 min), pour it in the soup and stir with the blender. Place the soup pot on the stove, bring to a simmer and let cook for 2-3 minutes on a low heat to let the flour thicken the soup into its comforting velvety state.
      3. Serve immediately, sprinkled with the dry mint, red pepper flakes, toasted sunflower seeds and drizzled with a bit of melted butter / olive oil. You can also temper it with infused butter like here. After being refrigerated overnight the soup thickens; you might want to add a bit of water when reheating it.
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  • susan_02143
    susan_02143 Member Posts: 7,209
    edited February 2015

    A few thoughts on the soup. I don't bother with the pressure cooker. I find that the lentils and potatoes dissolve at around 30 minutes. I am sure that a blender would work as well as an immersion blender. I have also seen recipes that use bulgar or rice instead of the potato. In fact, I am considering a cooking class in Istanbul that could include this soup as one of the items taught. How cool would that be?

    *susan*

    p.s. Turkish is hard! I have been studying my book and I don't think I will pull this off. Just not clever enough.

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  • bedo
    bedo Member Posts: 1,866
    edited February 2015

    Thanks! What are urfa and allepo peppers and what does .5 mean? And are there suitable substitutes if I can't find them? Also, how do I dry mint from the store?

    Thanks! Can't wait to try.

    I can't believe you are reading Turkish.

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  • susan_02143
    susan_02143 Member Posts: 7,209
    edited February 2015

    Allepo and Urfa peppers are both red peppers from that area of the world. They both have some heat, but mostly they have warmth, and flavor. You might have some success finding the Allepo peppers. I would substitute equal parts Italian red pepper flakes and smoked or sweet paprika, both ground. This should not be a wildly spicy soup so maybe hold back on the red pepper flakes. .5 just means half.... So, if 1.5 teaspoons, divided. .5 of a teaspoon. Does that make sense? I just leave mint out for a few days, and it is dried enough. Heck, don't you have a wood stove? Lay them out on a cookie sheet near the stove and they will be dried in no time.

    And no, I don't believe I will have any success with Turkish.

    *susan*

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  • carolehalston
    carolehalston Member Posts: 6,887
    edited February 2015

    Yes, Susan, you did share that recipe previously.  I saved it into my documents.  I'll try to put a footnote into my brain!  After our houseguests depart this week, I'll make it. 

    They should arrive this afternoon, returning to NO from their brief cruise.  Our weather has turned cold this week.  It's windy outside and in the 40's.  Dinner will be shrimp and linguine and tossed salad.  The shrimp recipe is a simple scampi with butter, EVOO, garlic, lemon zest, lemon juice and grated romano.  The salad is romaine with typical salad ingredients.

    Susan, do you like the sous vide machine?  I googled sous vide and learned that the cooking technique is widely used in commercial food preparation.  I, too, really like soft boiled eggs and it's always a challenge to get them perfect with soft yolk and cooked white.  I don't like a runny white.  I have not mastered poaching eggs and haven't tried often.  I usually order a fancy poached egg dish on those occasions when we eat out at a good breakfast restaurant.  I'm salivating as I remember poached eggs and crabcakes in Anchorage. 

    Pressure cookers are back in favor.  I used one years ago when we lived on a sailboat.  The new ones are fancier and have safeguards.  Mine just had a little toggle that waggled once the cooker was up to steam.  To release the steam, you held the toggle in one position until the pressure had all hissed away.  I can sense Bedo gagging as I divulge that I used the cooker to cook beef tongue back in those days when we ate really cheap.  The tongue cost almost nothing and tasted great sliced up on sandwiches.

    Nance, how was the chicken and "slicks"?  I watched that episode of ATK and have the recipe printed out.  That was when I learned that the MS dumplings I grew up eating are a type of home-made noodle.  It had always puzzled me that so-called "dumplings" in other areas of the country are blobs dropped into broth.  My mother is from MS and I learned to make chicken and dumplings watching her cook up a big pot for our large family. 

    The Super Bowl game was thrilling!  And I didn't care who won.  It was like a parable of the ups and downs of life. 

    Eric, how is your mom?

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  • susan_02143
    susan_02143 Member Posts: 7,209
    edited February 2015

    Carole,

    I love my pressure cooker and use it for cooking beans regularly. Haven't explored everything that it can do, but it is worth the cupboard space just for its bean wizardry. As to the sous-vide machine, I am early in this game. The eggs were perfect. The sausage was great. Next up is salmon fillets with skin on. I plan to sous vide, and then crisp up on the stovetop. I will also try "poached" egg. I am using seriouseats.com as my initial egg cookery guide.

    Finally got around to the English muffin bread this morning. It is rising now. Simply put, I need, and want, a Lemon meyer marmalade delivery system!. Maybe with a soft boiled egg!

    *susan*

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  • auntienance
    auntienance Member Posts: 4,216
    edited February 2015

    Susan -- the e-muffin bread will be a worthy delivery system no doubt! I don't get sous vide. I know it's wildly popular but from what little I know about it, it seems like it's a lot of trouble and takes too long. The end result must be well worth it. I know Kenji Lopez-Alt LOVES sous-vide. He is my Serious Eats idol.

    Carole - the slicks were wonderful. I found that I have the best result when I use butter instead of shortening or lard. I'm not familiar with the ATK recipe. I'm not even sure I remember where I got this recipe. All I know is, after much trial and error, they are the closest I've been able to get to my great grandmother's which for me, is the standard by which all others are judged. She was one of those marvelous southern cooks who never measured or wrote down anything so most of her wonderful dishes have been lost to me. I was 19 when she died and cooking was the farthest thing from my mind at that time. Stupid me. One thing I discovered about "slicks" is that if you cover the pot, you get an entirely different product.

    I love soft boiled and poached eggs. I'm better at poached than soft boiled. Can never get the top off right. Unike DH, who likes his whites very set and the yolks firm, as long as the white is opaque and the yolk warm, I'm good. I just watched a food and wine video that explained how to poach a dozen eggs in a muffin tin in the oven. I might give that a try. It's easy to reheat poached eggs in a water bath. One of the very first dishes I ate my first time in New Orleans was Eggs Sardou at Brennan's. Wowza!

    I got nothin' for dinner. It's either leftovers or eat out.


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  • auntienance
    auntienance Member Posts: 4,216
    edited February 2015

    Susan -- thanks for the recipe -- I missed it the first time around. I like the idea of potatoes with the lentils. Sunflower seeds -- not so much. I buy Aleppo pepper in bulk at Penzeys, I use so much of it. Haven't tried Urfa however. I can see that I'm going to have to buy some because I just found this recipe that has some of my current favorite things in it:

    http://www.thespicehouse.com/recipes/hummus-with-preserved-lemons-and-ras-el-hanout

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  • Redheaded1
    Redheaded1 Member Posts: 1,600
    edited February 2015

    Dinner will be something from the bowling alley----burger? grilled chicken? fries, of course, unless we all spring for a PIZZA......

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  • bedo
    bedo Member Posts: 1,866
    edited February 2015

    Thanks Susan

    Carol, I've eaten it all, as a child my Mom made liver and onions, minute steaks, I ate tongue when I was eight, demanded that she buy Kangaroo tail soup in a can and she demanded that I eat it, octopus, chicken livers and I think brains. Not sure, I may have imagined that. Wow! you lived on a boat!

    I will be eating that chowder for days. Can't get out of the house with the snow. But I certainly have gotten organized! Not a lot else to do. Schools and things closed today and tomorrow.

    Think I'll order Frozen Movie, it would be nice and appropriate and I hear that it's really good and grownups enjoy it too.

    Red that's hysterical about your Dad Excavating the pot!

    Lacey good for you on your busy day.

    Sorry for anyone I missed. Stay warm! Cats "love" me all of a sudden and have to plaster themselves to me and sleep under the covers with me. I am not fooled.

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  • susan_02143
    susan_02143 Member Posts: 7,209
    edited February 2015

    Nance, I skip the sunflower seeds. Never seen them in any other recipe for this soup, and don't really see what they bring to the party. Urfa peppers can be hard to find. But, my Armenian store carries it. PM me if you want me to mail you a bag. A cup or so is about $4.00, so it isn't a cost thing at all. I also buy my Aleppo peppers from Penzey's. When Aleppo was invaded I was devastated. Turns out, they buy their Aleppo peppers from Turkey.

    Bedo, cats do like warmth, and if it comes from a radiator, great. If it comes from a human, great. They aren't that picky, but they will always find the warmest spot in the house.

    Our local bowling alley is now also a wood-fired pizza restaurant. i just wish I liked their pizza more. Odd ingredients... maybe this is Millennial Pizza. Dinner tonight was a small bowl of the Red Lentil soup, and then I made 2oz koftas. He got two, I got one. Served with sumac onions and a simple yogurt dressing. I could have used more soup.

    Still snowing out there. It is totally out of control. We shoveled at least 16 inches this afternoon, and it appears that at least 6 more inches has fallen. Ba Humbug!

    *susan*

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  • auntienance
    auntienance Member Posts: 4,216
    edited February 2015

    Thank you for the offer Susan, I may take you up on it. Let me check around St. Louis at my favorite spice shop. They have a good selection of peppers and I may get lucky.

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  • bedo
    bedo Member Posts: 1,866
    edited February 2015

    Punxsutawney Phil's cohort attacked Sun Valley's Mayer in the ear and bit him on camera.

    The real Punxsutawney Phil said 6 more weeks of winter

    Does anyone have a crock pot recipe for Punxsutawney Phil?

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  • MinusTwo
    MinusTwo Member Posts: 16,634
    edited February 2015

    Nance: Please let us know if you try the poached eggs in muffin tins. I've read that before but never tried. My Mom's favorite was Coddled Eggs and she made sure we all had a Royal Worcester 'coddler.' Picture below if you've never seen one. You can do soft boiled & not have to worry about the shell.

    Egg Coddler Baby Food Warmer Lavina Royal Worcester

    Bedo - You are doing a much better job than I am w/responsible food. After reading the list of "delicacies" you've eaten, I can believe you might give "Phil" a try. My goofy dinner was Chicken Stove Top Stuffing and a left over chicken breast from the back of the freezer. Now I'm going to have raw radishes, cauliflower & carrots with some Penzey's Green Goddess dressing/dip for my evening snack.

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  • MinusTwo
    MinusTwo Member Posts: 16,634
    edited February 2015

    Sorry for the huge picture. I posted a tiny clip & it blew itself up.

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  • bedo
    bedo Member Posts: 1,866
    edited February 2015

    Royal Worcester 'coddler !!

    Green Goddess Dressing!

    Had both!

    Be still my heart. Don't know where to get either.

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  • auntienance
    auntienance Member Posts: 4,216
    edited February 2015

    bedo, don't know why this wouldn't work with the crockpot

    http://www.foodrepublic.com/2011/04/21/braised-groundhog-recipe

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  • Redheaded1
    Redheaded1 Member Posts: 1,600
    edited February 2015

    Bedo, I have a wild game cookbook, I"ll see if I can rustle up something to do with Phil! I know it has a squirrel with dumplings recipe......

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  • auntienance
    auntienance Member Posts: 4,216
    edited February 2015

    You won't like them bedo -- they taste like chicken LOL!!

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  • susan_02143
    susan_02143 Member Posts: 7,209
    edited February 2015

    Making its way around Facebook... couldn't agree more.

    image

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  • bedo
    bedo Member Posts: 1,866
    edited February 2015

    Stooooooop!! www.947hits.com

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  • SpecialK
    SpecialK Member Posts: 16,486
    edited February 2015

    Thank you all for the laugh - I needed one today! 

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  • susan_02143
    susan_02143 Member Posts: 7,209
    edited February 2015

    Nancy, if you find Urfa peppers, or if I send you some, you will want the wonderful harissa recipe I found in SPICE, by Anna Sortun. This harissa is KILLER!!!! Well, if you like Harissa.

    Dinner tonight was Chinese. We made it to Costco today and I bought some flank steak. As usual, there is more meat in a package than a small family can eat. One of the steaks was exactly 24 oz. How convenient! All my Chinese recipes call for 12 oz of meat. So that steak was divided. The other one I put into a bag whole and filled the bag with some fajita marinade. The other half of steak one also cruised into that freezer. The remaining piece was turned into dinner. I used a recipe from Breath of a Wok, by Grace Young. And then I also stir-fried a head of napa cabbage and kept it simple. Onions, shallots, and garlic, then some cabbage. No sauce, just salt and black pepper. What a lovely supper. And, since I made 12 oz of meat, there is enough for another meal!

    I am a bit embarrassed to say, I have finally brought my Roden Middle Eastern Food up to my office. I can't even remember WHO has this book, but tomorrow, I should have time to compile a list of my favorite recipes from this book.

    Opera tickets have been purchased. I am appalled at the cost, but Mom02143 was so happy with the idea of opera, we are going!

    Where is Lacey? I am hoping that she isn't stuck in a snowbank somewhere. You guys would not believe how much snow we have. And there is more in the forecast. Mr. 02143 and I are heading to the supermarket tomorrow. We are simply running out of food that is fresh.

    *susan*

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  • Lacey12
    Lacey12 Member Posts: 2,951
    edited February 2015

    Lacey here....enjoying catching up on all of your culinary histories (Bedo) and current adventures and preferences (everyone else!). I also really like poached eggs and make them for myself for dinner over sauteed greens when dining solo.

    So happy to see a recipe for braised groundhog! In my case if I could capture our annoying resident, I would also get my kale fix since he devours all my plants.

    Susan, I may just trek to Arlington once the streets are a bit wider to look for those peppers at Penzeys. I suspect Arlington might be a mess. Our town, at least where we live (near a school), has done a good job on the roads and sidewalks, but the giant mountains of snow at every corner make pulling into an intersection pretty scary....and I am an intrepid driver.

    This morning, donned my warmest coat and boots, cleaned off the car, and headed over to my Whole Foods class on eating Green Strong (or some such name). The better cook was the teacher this time, so it was fun to listen to her. She demonstrated how to carmelize onions using no oils. Since the scale was VERY far up this AM, I was thrilled to learn a way to give up 200 calories. In fact I made a veggie sautee tonight using that method, and it tasted fine. DH liked it too, but was not so thrilled about the pan cleaning. :/

    While shopping at WF I tasted a new cumquat type fruit that was so delicious! Bought some (can't share the name because the check out lady misnamed it a tangerine....as I now notice on my receipt). Anyway, added slices of one to my kale/veggie sautee and it was great! We had chicken breasts rubbed with Trader Joe's Ras El Hanout spice blend and simply baked, then my "go to" cuke salad since as usual I was in a rush. The spice blend was very nice...North African flavors.

    Enjoyed the pic of the lovely coddler. Have one similar my brother sent me from England when he lived there. Coddled eggs reminds me of how civilized and elegant it feels whenever we stay (DH does way more than I) at the beautiful estate in the Berkshires, and the owner gets up and makes coddled eggs for the guests...and I think it is he who makes them, not his house staff. I must get out there again. Have been staying home when DH has board meetings, but in June I think he is going to DJ a party for the outgoing head of the hospital, so I will definitely join him for that....my man of many interests! ;) He is busy prepping for his donated DJ gig with the Girl Scout father/daughter dance this weekend (I think I am in charge of games...yikes!) while frantically working on a major healthcare consulting job for one of his old firms. Fortunately, yesterday he was on the phone for so many hours for that project that he was happy to get up from dinner and spend three hours clearing the massive snow dump we received. I was totally expecting to get the condo lecture, but I think he enjoyed the physical challenge. :)

    Tomorrow I'm heading off to the gym. Have missed my stretching regimen with all these Monday snow cancellations so I think I will ask Sarah (trainer) to run through our missed routine with me during our individual training session.

    Off to get some shuteye.....


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  • Lacey12
    Lacey12 Member Posts: 2,951
    edited February 2015

    Special....hope all is going well....I think most of us are benefitting from any humor that we can come by these days

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  • SpecialK
    SpecialK Member Posts: 16,486
    edited February 2015

    lacey - thanks for the shout out - I have been accompanying one of my husband's staff, and her husband, to oncology appointments for the last couple of weeks and yesterday was our consult at the NCI center right down the street that has a sarcoma department.  The news we received was very disheartening, and this gentleman is young and has young children.  On top of that my husband had an abdominal scan for symptoms, which turned out to be diverticulosis, but as we all know scans pick up all kinds of stuff, and he has multiple nodules in both lungs (he has never smoked, but has had exposure to asbestos and radiation during his military career) - which now need a consult with pulmonary.  My 6-month with the oncologist was in December and we discussed new and worsening one-sided hip pain, but then I had that awful flu, so just had a bone density scan last week and scheduled the bi-lat hip and lumbar MRIs for the first week of March - so I am in a state of worry on a few fronts. 

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  • susan_02143
    susan_02143 Member Posts: 7,209
    edited February 2015

    Special, no time for a real message right now, but my goodness... that is all too much for one person! *susan*

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