So...whats for dinner?

When I'd go camping, we'd usually take a Lipton freeze-dried entree or REI "astronaut meal" and cook it over the fire or a backpacking stove. But when we were poor grad. students in Seattle, living in married-student housing with no air conditioning (and inadequate wiring and the wrong windows to install it), on (the few) hot summer nights we would go across the street to the Genetics & Biochem bldg. (which was air-conditioned), cook that stuff over a Bunsen burner, and then take it up to the lounge with a bottle of wine and enjoy the view of the sun setting over the city & Mt. Rainier. Ah, Lipton Chicken Supreme or Beef Stroganoff....tastes like grad school...

april485, gosh, thanks for checking on the ginger dressing. I'm in the southeast and I shop both at Publix and Walmart but neither carry it any longer in the stores near me. I'm not much of an online shopper, and this is a refrigerated item anyway. Now that I've been talking about it, I really want some...so I will pressure the Publix manager a little harder! They are more responsive than Walmart, who won't even stock Israeli couscous that my kids adore (but Publix does!).

Tonight was a made up on the spot dinner of seared pork chop with Montreal steak seasoning, finished in the oven with a sauteed onion and mushroom cream sauce, then served over brown rice with roasted carrots. Pretty darn good, really tender, and super easy! DD came home from college feeling under the weather but at least she ate a good dinner.

Eric, orange right, you have a lot of those, here comes the recipe. I increased amount of flour and doubled the zest, added one more egg for the recipe and used real melted butter (Minus))) instead of coconut oil, I do not like the latter in particular. Cranberry are not very common here but I always buy them when I see in the stores because as soon as I get a certain inflammation I mash some with sugar and just eat it. Orange cranberry is a well-known US combo, I remember when I first came to NY with my eldest on the last day of our vacation I bought these huge muffins in a deli nearby for DH, he devoured them all even though they traveled at least 12 hours, but cranberry orange was his favorite. So, many years later I finely baked it, it was gone the day after, moist and tender.

https://www.joyfulhealthyeats.com/moist-orange-cra...

My paternal grandfather was in World War II, 21 years old, already had eight men under him, they were in artillery, battle of Moscow in December 1941. he got a piece of shrapnel in his head between the eye that somehow did not leave him disabled but he did not return to the front after that. The only thing that he missed was his sense of smell and he always complained that the food did not taste the same because of it. I actually look like him, he lived until he was 79, we were very close.

SpecialK, this is very beautiful that the grandchildren are so engaged in the life in in that case in the dead of their grandparents. And you, well, it sounds that you are about to open a restaurant. I also wanted to make those Hawaiian sliders but we do not have any Hawaiian rolls here, in that case I have to bake them myself, I really need this Artisan to get here soon). May I have your recipe of this bacon cheese strawberry ring, I actually had to read it twice trying to visualize it but you are saying it is delicious and I believe you and am willing to try.

I actually did look up annelini too, Chi Sandy, the casserole (or I would call it a casserole) you described we had it with different types of pasta. We stayed at a large all-inclusive but we never opt for the full pension because we want to dine out too but this time we had so called "semi-pension" where the dinner was included and we did not regret it, every single night I said to myself, no, you will eat salad, you have to look good in these bikinis for the vacation pictures and every time I was standing there holding this deep plate to my chest looking at these different delicious pastas unable to walk away. I swear I have never ever had a better spaghetti even though it looked like all it contained was olive oil, garlic and chili flakes, but when you ate it it was an explosion of the flavors. I found the picture of these eggplants they used on the boat to cook Pasta alla Norma for the whole bunch of people in this tiny cockpit during our trip to Panarea. It is hard to see on the picture but they were huge in size.

When we were poor students and I left my former husband and moved together with future DH our canned food was canned tuna, I used it in pasta putana, in the salads, spreads. This is the only fish product the eldest likes maybe because she is so used to it. She did started to eat salmon because I basically forced her to and also fried cod like fish fingers but when I buy a nice piece of cod file and do it the Swedish way with bechamel and diced hard boiled egg on top she would say, neh..))

Yesterday I decided to bake whole-wheat pizza and ended up with the dough enough for four of them only to find out that DH ans the youghest were going to the movies with her cousin and they were eating out. So, by 7 PM I was sitting there with one Tex Mex pizza (utilizing leftovers), one mozzarella&parmizziano, one white pizza with porcini and the last one with sliced shallots and red onions, red bell pepper and sliced tomatoes for myself, and no one to eat those, well, except for me. So now plenty of leftovers pizza, the rest of the family is skating somewhere and eating out again I suspect, so more pizza for me, yay. I can only add that the vegetarian pizza got too sweet, one has to add something sour or salty like anchovy or probably capers.

Lacey, may I have your bourbon glaze recipe, please.

I still have my artichokes and will make something called artichokes barigoule inspired stew I found on Food52, it contains fava beans, sugar peas, peas, onions and then a curried mayo for the leaves. I have not been eating any meat for a week and frankly I do not miss it but tomorrow I will.

Dinner tonight was part of my Christmas present from my DS. Clam Chowder and Original San Francisco Sourdough bread from Boudins. Yum!!!

Tomorrow will be pork medallions in Brandy cream sauce - probably on noodles. Next day will be Lacey's cod in marinara. We don't have a grocery store anywhere close to me so if I want to do "real meals" I pretty much have to plan menus for a week before I make the trek to shop. This is probably one reason I often have strange meals.

Yesterday was a mini-salad with chopped English cucumber, chopped black olives, julienne canned beets and a handful of leftover lettuce/cabbage mix tossed with ranch. That was accompanied by a bowl of macaroni in butter. Much to my dismay, that dish caused me to realize I bought butter that is "unsalted". I have 3 cubes left that I'll have to add salt.

Making chili tonight

The ceremony was very nice, no problems this time. We had good weather, not hot or cold. I think finally getting to this step, with both parents together provided needed closure and peacefulness for all. We had a nice gathering at the house afterward. Here are a couple of photos:

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Snowing on & off since last night--the first inch was pocked by rain, then more snow flurries. About 2" thus far. Will still prove slick footing, so I will take my cane with the removable rubber tip (which reveals a tungsten carbide ice-breaker tip). Gonna go get ready for the party.

Hi everyone I went back to work this week and as predicted....so much less "me" time!

I came back to these pages and it was as if I've been away a month! 

SpecialK I'm glad all went well at the ceremony. The photos are lovely. You must have had your hands full.

Chi-Sandy you got me interested when you wrote about the baked annelini  that I looked it up. I do a very similar dish very regularly. Only I've never used annelini before. I usually use large pasta forms like macaroni tubes or cellentani (curly whorlies) or fusilli. Or else I use long grain rice. I make it at least once a fortnight and when I make it, I make double ad it freezes well. I can give my recipe if anyone wants it. 

With all the previous talk of kale, I managed to get lots of fresh kale from my local store this week. I tried boiling a small amount.... but no go we decided it was too bitter and it got thrown away. So I made another big pot of smoothie using a bunch of kale, broccoli, 1 red and 1 green apple, 1 pear - I simmered these in water with a little honey and then added the water instead of adding apple juice - a banana and frozen pineapple. Yes I liked it and very low calorie count. Also very filling!

So Friday I made a big dish of baked rice and yesterday we ate the remaining half. Today we had lightly fried minute veal steaks with thinly sliced oven-baked marrows, aubergines layered with tomato, mushrooms and mozzarella, and potato mash (the real thing). Tomorrow I will likely get something out of the freezer and probably the rest of the week too! My freezer is currently full of prepared meals so I dont have to cook after I come home for the next week or so. 

I'm still settling in at work, after a few weeks away.... and I always find it stressful rebalancing my life! Wondering how to fit into time for walking, pilates! At the moment I sem to be back to walking up to the washroom!

Tonight is Lasagna and The Alienist.

Thank you, Minus) I know that but I just get so depressed when I sit and do not do anything. My cooking and bow even my attempts to exercise are bringing some normalcy into our family’s life. I usually sleep as long as I want in the morning but today is my first day of rads and I woke up early and fixed my youngest’s pizza leftovers grilled cheese and I saw how she looked at me being ”back” in the kitchen in the morning.

I had my husband’s artichoke petals with garlic dip in the morning, delicious but maybe not very smart as I later came to the clinic and had to talk to all these people.

Banana bread is on my baking schedule for today and all these possible leftovers for dinner. Here comes pics of my artichoke barigoule.

Great game, great party. Will not discuss the adult beverages, except to say I'd better not drink at all till next Sunday. (Yup, blew my 3-drinks-per-week max in one evening). Food: chopped salad with garbanzos & green beans; brisket chili; mini-bratwurst; Italian beef with giardineria; gouda mac & cheese; pickle-brined chicken tenders; chips & guacamole; and fruit salad (pineapple and melon chunks) for dessert--plus one Hershey's Special Dark miniature.

Not sure about tonight. Gordy will stay home with me, but if it's snowing at Christ Hospital as hard as it is up here, Bob will probably head to the Oak Lawn Hilton again. Not sure if I want to tackle the annellini tonight. Will bake skillet cornbread. Will also rifle through the freezer to see what I can cook--although with a variety of sausages & a can of sauerkraut I'm thinking choucroute garnie. I have a grocery delivery coming tomorrow--including a container of shucked oysters which I will coat with flour, egg and panko to deep-or-air-fry, and whatever veg I feel like making. Also in the order are salmon fillets and frozen calves' liver--haven't had liver & onions in ages.

Shocked to announce that the cornbread turned out great! (Still ordered a set of measuring cups & silicone spatula).

A lot of the cornbread is, to me, much too sweet. The cornbread I'm used to eating is basically a bit of bacon grease to coat the skillet, eggs, white flour, corn meal, buttermilk, "sweet milk" (regular milk), baking powder and baking soda.

About the only other thing I remember is to mix the dry stuff apart from the wet stuff and then slowly mix them together. My mom copied my Aunt Hattie's cornbread recipe. I will have to find it for the "usual and customary amounts" of ingredients.

We both like it for "mopping up" chili or soup, but unlike me, Sharon doesn't like it by itself.

Dinner tonight was the remainder of the stuffed peppers.

I need to figure out what to cook tomorrow, but it will be a bit of a challenge compared to usual. One of the regular school bus drivers went home sick today with the flu, so (I'm the substitute driver) I'll be driving their bus tomorrow. There is also a field trip tomorrow, so I'll be gone most of the day.

I'm looking through my recipes to find something that won't take too long.

Cherry, I’d love to share the bourbon glazed salmon recipe, but it isn’t mine. I order it from The Harp restaurant when we eat there before Cs’ games. All I can say is that I can taste a wee bit of bourbon, so nothing is overpowering. I bet Pinterest has loads of similar recipes.....or you can just google it for a ton of variations. When I make salmon, I mainly bake it with a ginger teriyaki marinade. Also, I so admire your level of energy and the way that you are gradually re-integrating your more typical family routines into your days, even tho you are stillgoing through active treatment. As I said, admirable! None of this is easy....

Special, the box is so beautiful and I loved all your food options and their presentation. Your family and visitors must have felt very nurtured. I’m glad the service went as planned this time.

Last evening, to watch the SB, we gathered at the home of the friends with whom we usually share Christmas dinner. I brought potato skins as well as hummus and baba ganoush with mini pita rounds. I won’t be making potato skins again any time soon....waaaay too many steps for the yield, and not as tasty as I’d like. I used small potatoes, oiled and baked them, cooled and scooped them, then re-toasted them and ultimately stuffed them with veggie chili that I’d made, melted blended cheese over them, then topped with sour cream or avocado and an olive. They were all eaten by our friends, but not my faves. I am just not really someone who does well with any potato recipes, so I will not offer same anymore. I actually still have the potato that was scooped out for the skins. Maybe potato soup? I’ll post a pic of the appetizer buffet table (which I didn’t think to take until half the guests had made a significant dent in the offerings). Our host also made a delicious veggie chili chuck full of portobello mushrooms, which we had again tonight since our friend sent us all home with take out containers.

Speaking of corn bread, one of the guests last night made a casserole topped with cornbread that she cut into squares for finger food. When she arrived and opened her casserole carrying case, we were all swooning over the corn bread aroma and look of the dish. They were really tasty squares...some meats, cheeses and peppers. I suspect there are many recipes online that have a cornbread topping. I might explore.

I was more into the food and socializing than the game last night. I’ve not really followed football much this year, mainly because it feels too much like watching gladiators destroy their brains for our entertainment. I was happy for the Eagles winning for the first time. I recall the elation of Red Sox fans who experienced their first World Series win after a drought of many many decades.

I tried toreduce the pic, so I hope it comes out that way. In previous posts, my reduced pix regrow!

Even though I've lived in the South for 25 years, the only cornbread I've ever made was boxed "Dromedary" mix. And I haven't made any in at least 20 years. I'm not even sure they make Dromedary any more, but I do have a box of "Jiffy" mix in my cupboard. Maybe I'll make when my son is here.

Lacey - looks delicious. Thanks for sharing.

Below is the latest word on wine, so I had 1-1/2 glasses tonight.

It turns out that "clean eating" should include a glass or wine with two at dinner. According to new research from the University of Rochester Medical Center, low levels of alcohol consumption actually keeps inflammation at bay and clears your brain of toxins — including those associated with Alzheimer's disease. "Low doses of alcohol are potentially beneficial to brain health," Maiken Nedergaard, lead study author, says in a statement. "[Alcohol in moderation] improves the brain's ability to remove waste."