So...whats for dinner?

Just wrote a post but managed not to post it successfully.😔

Dinner tonight will feature chicken thighs, a veggie and salad.

This is the abbreviated re-write

I grilled a petite sirloin filet late last night when I got home from rehearsal. Had some roasted Parmesan Brussels sprouts and half a nuked sweet potato with cinnamon. Tonight will probably nuke a small quiche and cut up one of my homegrown tomatoes. It's gonna hit 70 tomorrow, but then Fri. aft. the bottom will fall out and we're forecast to get the “s-word" (flurries) by Sat. morning. So I will pick the rest of the tomatoes tomorrow, even the ones that have yet to “blush.” Pity—the plants are still blossoming! Will also cut back the chives and mint to dry or freeze (they're perennials). Already repotted the basil, thyme & rosemary to spend the winter in the kitchen.

I love a good Rhone—whether a generic Côtes, a northern like Hermitage or a southern like Chateauneuf-du-Pape. It’s the quintessential winter wine—big without being tannic like Cabernet Sauvignon, more character than Malbec (which in France is a blending grape for Bordeaux), Merlot (ditto, except on the Pomerol side where it’s the primary grape), weightier than Beaujolais and less costly than Burgundy. And Costco is probably the best-kept (soon to be the worst-kept) secret in the wine world—especially their French wines (even actual Champagne) sold under the Kirkland label.

Latest forecast is that the storm will move through quickly Fri. aft. with temps still in the low 50s or upper 40s. When the bottom drops out in the wee hours of Sat., the moisture will even have passed MI. So hats, gloves & zipping the liner back into your coat—but no need for boots, shovels or rock salt….yet. Thanksgiving will be wet & raw but not snowy.

I took my nephew out for a quick lunch yesterday - Carolina pulled pork sandwiches - so I really wasn't hungry for dinner. I ended up eating 1/2 a cup of shelled pistachio nuts and two apples sliced & swiped in strawberry cream cheese.

Eric - hopefully there is no rush to sort out all the history in your Mom's house. My parents had been in the same big, old house for almost 60 years and I had basically 2 weeks to clear out everything. Aside from the furniture & the dishes we used every holiday, there were so many papers I wanted to spend more time reading. My dad had income tax files for every year since the 30's with copies of W-2s and other receipts that told great stories. My Mom had letters that her Dad had written her every week from the 30's to 1969. Thinking of you.

Nance - how is your Dad adjusting?

Crab cakes and a side of farro with a mixture of Italian cheeses from a bag. Dh mixed up a remoulade sauce. The farro needed livening up. Too bland. Crab cakes were very good.

Last night we had braised chicken thighs that were outstanding. NYT recipe. Garlic, crushed red pepper, fennel seeds, fresh rosemary, and olive oil. Olives with pits. Wedges of lemon. Thighs marinate for at least 15 minutes. Roast uncovered for 20 min. Then covered for an hour with the olives. Such a delicious flavor.

I feel for you Eric. I am still finalizing all of my Dad's Estate stuff and we just finally got an acceptable offer on his house. The low balling was just awful because much of the décor is outdated but it is in a very desirable area with low taxes, good schools and so we held out for a better offer and finally we got one. It is from an investor (one of the many who low balled us in the beginning) who is going to remodel it and flip it for a profit, but at least he realized we were not going to take pennies.

Good luck with all of the myriad of details that go into this process. I feel you.

Dinner is leftover chicken pot pie

Queen, if you can still get reservations, the Signature Room on the 95th Fl. of the Hancock does a great T-day dinner—full buffet plus trad sit-down entrees…..with leftover turkey & stuffing packed to go.

We’re going to our friends’ condo in Rogers (No)Park.

I did my Thanksgiving shopping today. It will be pork loin and I plan to make dressing w/sage (or stuffing depending on where you live). Tasty looking young asparagus was $1.77 & that will be my veg. It's just me & this is already too much food, so I'll likely forgo the potatoes. In memory of my Aunt, I'll probably stuff a couple sticks of celery w/pimento cheese for an appetizer/salad.

Still eating left overs. Tonight's supper will be a California Roll if I get hungry.

Bedo - I miss you. No one else eats crazy meals like I do. Hope your job is still going well and your daughter growing bigger.

Mmmmm……panettone! It makes insanely good French toast & bread pudding. (I was going to ask what color this year’s Pantone cake was, but that’s too snarky).

The sinus/scratchy throat seems to be going around, spontaneously (coming on too soon and of too short & intermittent duration to be infectious). High winds and (until tonight) unseasonably warm temps have allowed pollens to be released way past their usual end-of-season and carried them far & wide. Mold spores, too. But they stop doing pollen counts after mid-Oct. so we can only guess.

Redheaded, so good to see you at "the table" again! I know what you mean about comfort food....

Last night we couldn't get a reservation at our usual haunt near the TD Garden, so we made a quick meal at home before heading into town to see the Celts get creamed by the Warriors. I'd picked up asparagus (Minus!) on sale, so I sauteed that with yellow pepper, garlic, baby kale, and grape tomatoes, which DH put into an omelet. I made a cuke salad to go with it. Of course, DH needed to have a sausage/pepper/onion sub at the game, and I had popcorn.

Today I will try to get more organized about Thanksgiving. I am still harboring enough remnants of this "forever" virus to feel little energy. I hope everyone else is enjoying their holuday prep.

Carole, I appreciate your feelings of loss about your mother's changed life.

So sorry for all of you who are battling the cold/flu/virus thing - no fun!

carole - you asked for my MIL's black bean recipe, and I totally forgot, then got distracted by surgery. Here it is:

1 1/4 lbs. black beans, 3 sm.onions, chopped, 1 lg. gr. pepper, chopped, 1 t. oregano, 2 bay leaves. Cook the preceding in a pressure cooker for 40 mins., or with water or stock on the stove until al dente. Drain and return to pan. Mix together 5 cloves of chopped garlic, 1 c. olive oil, 1 1/2 t. paprika, and 1 t. red pepper flakes. Add to the bean mixture and cook uncovered for 20 min until beans are tender.

Disclaimer - I have not cooked black beans this way, but hers were good

Special, I hope you are feeling better and better with your recovery! You are such a trooper...never a complaint.

Nance, I feel for you with all the work related to your dad's care which is tinged with emotional overlay. And the start of the holidays ta boot! Sending you hugs....(((((Nancy))))) ....to help you through this.

So my understated T-giv just expanded to include our friends who have us to their home on Christmas for an amazing meal. Her sister in CT decided for the first time in forty years not to host the twenty folks in their extended family for Thanksgiving dinner, and her adult daughters need to work or be with in laws, so our friends suddenly found themselves on their own for dinner. Of course we want them to join us.....and of course I feel much more pressure than just having our son and his food averse financee! I may even pull out my mother's silverware, which has been sitting in a secure hiding spot for the past seven years. HaHa! And now I am looking up some recipes, will clear the piles of paper in my kitchen, enhance the apps a bit, and become a bit more concerned about timing of the meal. This reminds me of how much I have changed (not in a good way) since the days when I used to host Thanksgiving here for many years. Clearly my 71 year old energy level is showing...

It was really beautiful here today...sunny and around 60 degrees....so DH got the ladder out and washed the kitchen windows that he spatters with dishwater every night. Then we walked and stopped to buy some ground lamb for dinner. The store changed their lamb supplier and for the better, we think. So we had grilled lamburgers, with our typical add ins...garlic, rosemary powder, pepper, and feta cheese. Delish! I cooked up the leftover lamb which will be mixed with a grain and some onion/garlic and probably chopped kale as a stuffing for portabello mushrooms tomorrowthat have been awaiting their chance for stardom since last week. I see the cold wet weather that is on its way, so it will be a good indoor meal tomorrow.

Nance, I couldn't find your Pinterest page somehow, and am hoping to find the easiest way to make fluffy mashed potatoes. I never make them.....so for me it feels like a challenge. Silly, I know..... ;;;;)))

Bottom dropped out of the weather, and we had flurries this morning and never made it out of the 30s. Going down to the mid-20s tonight. After rehearsal, I rode the L home, drove to Target for some costume pieces and to Mariano’s for food for Bob to take to a party tomorrow aft (I’ll get there in early evening after rehearsal—no way I’m hauling it around with me all day w/o refrigeration). Met Bob at B’way Cellars (renamed just Cellars) for late dinner—we shared asparagus salad, fried baby octopus, gumbo, trout, sweet potato gnocchi and Brussels sprouts.