So...whats for dinner?

eric - thanks, me too, I needed some quality sleep! Since he is my chef de firehouse, he would actually appreciate a soup tureen, but he is single and will be living alone for the foreseeable future, so I may hold off on that idea for a minute. I will likely send e-giftcards for outdoor wear and equipment to DS so he can stay warm and dry. The funny thing is that I am getting a set of kitchen knives for less domestic DD, she has submitted a request to Santa since she says her current knives are crap. I too was rooting for you to get to keep the blond tuxedo kitty, but I am glad it went home too to its little person! Do we have an explanation for why it was out and about where you were?

I forgot to add earlier that I had my first Dot's pretzels - I LOVE THEM!!! I found them at Target, of all places. Got them for a stocking stuffer for DH as he loves pretzels. I usually need them to be covered in chocolate or have peanut butter inside, otherwise they are not my thing, but Dot's are so good! Apparently our cat thought so too - he ripped open the bag and got one, but I think they were too seasoned for him since I found part of the pretzel later on the floor of my closet, lol!

Kitty escaped, was the answer. The little girl's aunt gave the kitty to the little girl and had only been at the new home for a week It was probably just enough time for them to let their guard down a bit, but not enough time for kitty to figure out that the new place was its forever home.

Good knives are a wonderful thing. I ended up buying a collection of knives...multiple manufacturers...with each knife being chosen based on how I liked how it felt in my hand. Sharon had her doubts about me spending so much on the knives, but now says that if I need some more knives like that to just go get them... :-)

Except for the bread knife, the knives are standard blades, but are sharp enough to cut a very over ripe tomato without making a juicy mess.

I also have two "family heirloom" knives. Dad said both were made in post WW2 China from the springs of a defunct duce and a half truck. The big "cleaver" weighs several pounds and reminds me of a hatchet. I haven't had the need to use it. It's been more than 50 years ago, and I probably didn't really want to commit the process to memory, but I do recall it being used on a recently slaughtered steer. The smaller one is about half again bigger than a standard cleaver and I use it to cut squash and pumpkins.

Good news that DS made it safely to CO, SpecialK. I like the image of a vintage mixer and Joy of Cooking on the counter. There was a time when I referred to Joy of Cooking frequently.

No inspiration on dinner menu.

Beaverintx, DH’s recipe for you, enjoy.

BRUSSELS SPROUTS

1/4 cup sunflower oil

1 - 1.5 pound Brussels sprouts

1 medium onion

4 cloves garlic

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Salt, pepper, garlic powder to taste.

Heat oil in large skillet.

Slice Brussels sprouts in half, and fry on medium heat, flat side only, do not turn or stir, until very brown on bottom. (Almost charred)

Add diced or sliced onion, cream, and minced garlic, stir everything around to mix well, add salt, pepper, and garlic powder, and continue to simmer with lid on, until tender, and cream thickens. Add Parmesan at the end.

I often like to include sliced mushrooms at the point with the onions and cream. Crumbled bacon is good too.

This is just a base recipe.

As with any recipe, all ingredients are adjustable to your liking.

Due to the extended stay of our thanksgiving guests, we had no turkey leftovers by day two. So DH cooked another turkey today. It’s delicious and will provide the proper amount of leftovers, soup and turkey ala king.

My Joy of Cooking was used so often it was beginning to fall apart...but then I got adventurous enough to "wing it," as well as loosely following online recipes. Decades of learning what various ingredients taste like and how they behave can hone a cook's instinct. (That and actually--as Julia Child gleefully declared even before becoming a chef--liking (actually, loving) to eat. My FIL used to chide me for "living to eat" instead of "eating to live;" as a (mostly) low-carb eater (I seem to be on temporary furlough), I've struck a happy medium. (And happy to still be wearing a size Medium).

Will eat the last of the leftover Shrimp Kow, as well as the diced acorn squash & cauliflower risotto (more truffles, of course). I have noticed that actual truffles do taste & smell far subtler than even the authentic (no chemical "essence") oils & salts---but at that price, once every 5 years (except when offered once again in a restaurant once the pandemic is under control) is often enough. Might, however, order a Cantonese BBQ duck from Sun Wah, which has finally started delivering through GrubHub. Vegetables in broth, too. (Soup--even low-calorie--is comfort food). I sooo want chow fun or lo mein...but...must...be...strong. (Especially since I finished off the remaining 1/3 slices of chocolate cream & passionfruit meringue pie last night).

I’ve gone through several editions of Joy of Cooking. It’s one of the select few I keep around on the cookbook shelf mostly for several go to recipes that you’d think I’d know my heart by now. I gave a current edition to each of my nieces when they married. Only one of five married a man who cooks (he’s Italian.)

It has been a frustrating day renovating with things not going smoothly, putting us behind in painting and culminating in my computer dying. I was lucky enough to find one in a store but I don’t have the time right now necessary to set it all up and customize it to my liking. Nor do I have the time to mourn all that I lost on there - pictures, word documents, etc. Some were backed up but not religiously. I know better. (Do as I say not as I do.) Oddly enough the most things I managed to recover are recipes.

I was so mentally fried that we ordered out gourmet burgers.

After seeing Reader's Scalloped Tomato recipe, I ran across something very similar but with canned salmon. Onion instead of brown sugar. Hmmmm

Oops - still has sugar in the recipe, just white instead of brown sugar. And the onions are an addition.

Yes, that does look good enough to eat!!😀😀

Illimae, that looks yummy and artistic. Great idea!

Was planning to make eggplant pizzas yesterday for dinner after a quick trip to DS2's to drop off an adorable used baby baby grand piano I bought for Mila. But after getting involved in editing my too long holiday letter, time flew and I decided real pizza sounded better. We ordered our typical mushroom/onion pizza and Greek salad. I especially enjoyed it since we haven't ordered out in a while. Tonight I'll likely use that eggplant.

She loved the piano....even with mittens and the freezing socially distancing in their garage!

Lacey - adorable child. So glad you're starting music early. Do you use a beaten egg in rice pudding? I'm still trying to recreate my Mom's rice pudding and haven't gotten there yet. She made it in a double boiler and never wrote down the recipe. My last experiment tasted good but I decided she must not have used egg since in my memory, hers wasn't "custardy". Of course said memory is now 60 years old.

Nance - I can't imagine the confusion you're going through. Do you think you'll be "installed" before Christmas? Wishing you "fast" painting.

Special - After my continuing questions about Prolia, my MO had recommended I see endocrinologist & my Gyn has agreed. Who knew there was a specialty for bone endos... Unfortunately I'm dealing with three different medical organizations so I'm having trouble getting an appointment with the one I want. He has written papers about bone health in ballet dancers and several on osteoporosis so sounds like a winner.

Dinner is left over chicken fried rice with a couple of over easy eggs. I like Shiraz/Syrah so am trying a new wine - Oak Grove Petit Syrah. It's OK but will keep looking for my dream. As mentioned often before, that dream will not exceed $15 per bottle - or likely $12. There are plenty of good wines at decent prices that the average person can afford w/o going into debt. It will be interesting to see how the Napa Valley fires affect future offerings.

Tonight's draw was Baked ziti and salad; tomorrow the plan is Turkey Tetrazzini using turkey in the freezer. I have a 6:30 zoom church meeting so I want something I can assemble early in the day to pop in the oven. We usually eat about then so this monthly meeting is a slight juggling act to get things all done a little earlier.

The piano is really cute! Especially with the cute child.

Last night was a fried brown rice dish with fresh shrimp. The prep was longer than putting it together in a skillet. Side was a tossed salad with many ingredients.

Minus, I'm impressed with your creative cooking for one.

Dinner might have been the cheesy breadstick I made as a snack. I rolled up some cheddar and mozzarella in a leftover 1/3 sheet of puff pasty, rolled it in Italian and garlic seasoning and baked it. Out of the oven I glazed it with butter and a sprinkle of sea salt and parmesan. Well, I ate the whole thing, oops. Not hungry now 🙂