Last night was carne asada with meat from a local little meat shop and homemade salsa and guac. nummy. Even better - my husband made dinner. (Things nearly always taste better if someone else cooks them.)

Wrong kind of meatloaf. Mine doesn't sing.

No, but after a few days in the fridge, it hums.....


...and tonight is Punkin Soup.

I had lil' smokies and a can of pillsbury biscuits in the fridge. Dinner ensued...

Five guys

Zocalo

Does Bongiovi come in jars?

Good for you!

Sometimes, it's just too easy...

...only when they're on the road? ;)

For some reason, we never got around to the pie

PIE!!!

I've been robbed.

Turns out we had Lasagne instead. Oh well...

Last night was grilled chicken tacos...er..tostadas. And a delightful desert trifle I made with homemade pound cake, blackberries slightly cooked then mashed and cooled, vanilla custard (aka instant pudding) and homemade whipped cream. The children refused to try it and it was so good I didn't make them. ;)

No real dinner last night since I cooked for the week, by the dinner came around I was not hungry. Except for a piece of cherry tart (yum).

Tonight will be either chicken chili or red cabbage and kielbasa and more cherry tart.

I was going to make tacos last night but the guys decided they would rather have loco tacos. The teenager thought they were the bomb, he has only been eating Doritos or tacos for that matter for less than a year. The husband liked the firsst one but by number two said they were too salt. I had half of one and it was OK but I like my homemade tacos better than any fast food taco.

Tonight we will turn our hamburger into something everyone can agree on for dinner!

The pink slime ground beef thing really turned my stomach. I'm not generally that sensitive to icky food things - but cooking ground beef after seeing/reading about the slime? I couldn't help but think about it the whole time.

Even worse is the price of ground beef - generally at least $3.60 a pound for 70/30 and nearly $5 for the good stuff.

How much is all the other beef? The same price and sometimes a LOT less. I've been using my food processor and testing out various cuts of beef. You just have to cut it into chunks first.

Chicken breasts work too - good for stuff into pasta or making meat...er, chicken balls with.

I can't get all that worked up about "pink slime". Despite what Jamie Oliver says, they don't dunk it in liquid ammonia. There's no evidence of any safety concerns. It's not even particularly "yucky" parts of the cow (it's just standard muscle tissue, aka meat, that's been separated from fat). *shrug* No more or less unsettling to me than any other part of the slaughtering/butchering process. Yeah, it passes through some ammonia gas. So? There's trace amounts of ammonia gas in the air you breathe daily. Is there any evidence that the ammonia gas is somehow in the meat, and bad for you? Nope.

Michelle Obama looked stunning! Samantha Cameron's dress, however, was FUUUUUG-ly!


(What? This isn't the State Dinner thread?)

It more was the idea that what I used to think was a slab of meat, ground up, isn't and is more than an effin' slab of meat I could grind myself. Like adding breadcrumbs to meat to make it "go farther"... only in this case the bread crumbs is actually partially cooked fat that they couldn't sell any other way.

Why not buy the slab of meat for the same price or less?

I gross out over meat now and then - chorizo in particular I can't cook because it looks icky. Not a vegetarian though and while I find the fact that our cows have to be fed bunches of antibiotics just to live long enough to slaughter also icky, I'm still a meat eater.

So maybe I'm also a hypocrite or something too. ;)

I suppose I should already be marinading tonight's meat actually... carne asada. Maybe I'll save that tomorrow so it has longer to juice up.

Well, in that case have we got a product for YOU !! I LOVE this thing. - Homemade Chicken, Pinenut, & Spinach sausages. MMMMmmmmmmmmm.

:snap: Chicken, pinenut and spinach sausages sound delish! I was thinking of the attachment for the kitchen aid mixer that I already have but some of the reviews had me second guessing that.

How is the clean up on the Sunbeam one?

you can always buy a different cut of beef and have it ground

Cleanup's easy, by hand if you have a bottlebrush (I a regular bottlebrush that we got in our brewing kit)

I have also stuck the bits in the dishwasher..... :)

Do Sunbeam USA have one? I couldn't find it on their website... (we're separate companies, believe it or not...)

I should have saved the chicken and dumplings to make today with all this cold cold wind and rain we're having. I need a good reason to turn on the oven or stove and help warm this place up.

I refuse to use the heater. We're on a propane tank and you can practically watch the meter drop when you turn on the heat.

So... I have no idea now what to make for dinner. I've got some beans. I suppose I could go the mexican food angle and make refried beans, rice and some chicken... but that would make me want to grill the chicken and that's not going to happen. Same with burgers. Grill it. In only a weeks worth of nice weather I'm already in the grilling habit.

I'm making Beef Stroganoff tonight.

Ha Ha! JW's Stokin'Off his Beef !!!!

Bangers with leeks and onions

Actually, I sliced it into thin strips and cooked it with mushrooms, onion, sherry, tomato, and a little salt and pepper for taste. Then I served it over egg noodles with a Dollop of sour cream. Bill loved it!







;)

Whiskey!

I made a weird dinner that tasted good but looked rather like dog food. It was odd.

Well, at least it tasted good.

Dinner of champions

Leftovers from two meals I didn't much care for the first time around.

My Aunts margaritas -

2 shots tequila
1 shot lime juice
1 shot agave

really good

Large pasta shells stuffed with chicken and mozzerella baked in a pan with red sauce on the bottom and alfredo sauce on top, salad, and homemade french bread.

Pasta and salad was pretty good... but the bread? My best loaves to date so far. I think the key is to knead it in the mixer longer than I had been and using a digital thermometer and a scale.

Pasta al queso

IE: Mac & Cheese...

Actually, it should have been pasta al fromagé

Pasta Alla Formaggio !!

:p

We're having chilli con viande tonight.

:D

We had mango chicken, chicken rice and extra mango.

Tonight's dinner was bacon-wrapped Irish sausage. Bacon trumps sausage like paper covers rock :)

We had turkey bacon sandwiches on toast with lettuce and mayo. Delish.

I still can't imagine trying to get a Turkey to mate with a Pig.

You should have seen it! :p

Tonight, dear reader, I am grilling up chicken that's currently marinading with some sage, rosemary, thyme and garlic. Mmm Mmm.

We'll have that with a little salad and maybe a baked potato - which I never have anymore since the kids don't eat them. (go figure). Kids aren't home tonight so I might as well.

Oh - and I noticed the chives are growing well in the garden again - so fresh chives on the tators too.

...and lashings of sour cream, I hope ! :snap:

Susan's meatloaf. It has bacon.

You're all making me hungry. Tonight I'm having split pea soup with rookwurst.

Mine does too.

You know it! The works. And man was it good.

Cacio e Pepe

I stuffed chicken breasts with cream cheese, green onion and bacon. Then breaded and baked, it was delicious!

Hm, note to self, use bacon in your meatlof next time.

Nice!

Italian sausage cooked with garlic, red onion and red chili flakes, then add kale and cooked orichiette, toss with cheese.

Canned chicken soup with a side of black olives.

Chicken tacos - and enough chicken leftover for tacos tomorrow too.

Farfalle with bacon, turkey, and peas in a butter sauce

Cream Of Cauliflower Soup.

It's Cruciferous Vegetable Night. Hope I don't get Cholera. :D

Last night we had Tulsa Rib. Highly recommended for anyone in Orange County.

I made a lasagna using thinkrisps as the pasta. Didn't quite get the layered effect I was hoping for, but it came out tasty and pretty! Needs a bit of tweaking before primetime.

Nobody watches The Big Bang Theory ?

Oh, and Stoat liked the soup so much he requested it again tonight.

The boy and I love BBT!

Sorry, I must have been asleep when I read it because the reference went right over my head :blush:

That sounds wonderful!

That sounds intriguing!

Tonight it's pizza. Or it's supposed to be pizza but the dough didn't rise. Hrmph. I made a second batch and made sure to proof the yeast longer this time.

If not - it's sandwiches. I guess. :|

You got good Korma!

Instant khorma?

khorma's a b!tch

Khorma Chameleon

CPK

Spicy Chicken Thighs with Cucumber Rhubarb salsa. Really good and super easy. I think next time I'll use breasts though, the thighs were really greasy.

Recipe

Tonight was short soup with pork and chive gyoza. Nom.

Turkey & pastrami sandwich from the Meet n' Potatoes truck. It was yummy, but holy fückballs it was salty! :eek:

I've consumed almost two liters of water since dinner and I'm still thirsty. Feeling thirsty with a "sloshy" stomach sucks. And with all this water in me, I'm afraid to go to bed. :(

SM: That's always horrible when you load up with water and you're still thirsty.

...in other news. Stoat got his favourite Mac N Cheese A La Bear for his Birthday Dinner.

Chicken and dumplings by special request Cook's illustrated recipe - which makes dumplings like biscuits - not like puffy noodles all stirred in which is just weird. :P

Reminds me of biscuits and gravy of another flavor - and I chop the veggies in the food processor so they are too small to pick out. Kids actually eat them and ask for more. One of the few times. Not to say it's a healthy dinner mind you. It's comfort food for a overcast and getting cooler, evening that has made the house smell great all afternoon.

Recipe please, he asked nicely. :D

I use boneless skinless chicken breasts instead of thighs which I found rather stringy - but I don't usually care for thighs so YMMV. As a result, I add more butter to make up for the lack of chicken fat from the skin. I put the veggies in the food processor and whir them around (except for the peas) as my family is veggie-phobic and picked them all out the first time around. This makes a great sauce though and I've used more veggies at times I've made it - if I had more on hand or just wanted to "hide" more in it. I like to kind of caramelize them a bit to begin with - not just get them soft. As chef Anne always says "brown is flavor". Makes up for not browning the chicken I think. I start with the veggies and add the raw chicken with the broth - or in my case I used water and "Better Than Bouillon". When the chicken in nice and tender, I use 2 forks to break it up right in the pot. I use a small ice cream scoop (golf ball size) and get them all in the pot pretty quick that way. The stew part is pretty a pretty forgiving recipe - I rarely measure for it. But the dumplings are like baking and I always measure for those.



CHICKEN AND DUMPLINGS

Serve 6 to 8. Published February 15, 2005.

Don't use low-fat or fat-free milk in this recipe. Start the dumpling dough only when you're ready to top the stew with the dumplings.


INGREDIENTS
Stew
5pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
4teaspoons vegetable oil
4tablespoons unsalted butter (1/2 stick)
4 carrots , peeled and sliced 1/4 inch thick
2ribs celery , sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 large onion , minced
6tablespoon unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4cup dry sherry
4 1/2cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/4cup whole milk
1teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves
2 bay leaves
1cup frozen green peas
3tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves
Dumplings
2cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1tablespoon baking powder
1teaspoon table salt
1cup whole milk
3tablespoons reserved chicken fat (or unsalted butter)
INSTRUCTIONS
1. For the Stew: Pat the chicken dry with paper towels, then season with salt and pepper. Heat 2 teaspoons of the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add half of the chicken and cook until golden on both sides, about 10 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate and remove the browned skin. Pour off the chicken fat and reserve. Return the pot to medium-high heat and repeat with the remaining 2 teaspoons oil and the remaining chicken. Pour off and reserve any chicken fat.

2. Add the butter to the Dutch oven and melt over medium-high heat. Add the carrots, celery, onion, and 1/4 teaspoon salt and cook until softened, about 7 minutes. Stir in the flour. Whisk in the sherry, scraping up any browned bits. Stir in the broth, milk, thyme, and bay leaves. Nestle the chicken, with any accumulated juices, into the pot. Cover and simmer until the chicken is fully cooked and tender, about 1 hour.

3. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board. Discard the bay leaves. Allow the sauce to settle for a few minutes, then skim the fat from the surface using a wide spoon. Shred the chicken, discarding the bones, then return it to the stew.

4. For the Dumplings: Stir the flour, baking powder, and salt together. Microwave the milk and fat in a microwave-safe bowl on high until just warm (do not over-heat), about 1 minute. Stir the warmed milk mixture into the flour mixture with a wooden spoon until incorporated and smooth.

5. Return the stew to a simmer, stir in the peas and parsley, and season with salt and pepper. Following the photos below, drop golf-ball-sized dumplings over the top of the stew, about 1/4 inch apart (you should have about 18 dumplings). Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook until the dumplings have doubled in size, 15 to 18 minutes. Serve.

TECHNIQUE
Getting it Right: Adding the Dumplings


1. Gather a golf-ball-sized portion of the dumpling batter onto a soup spoon, then push the dumpling onto the stew using a second spoon.


2. Cover the stew with the dumplings, leaving about 1/4 inch between each.


3. When fully cooked, the dumplings will have doubled in size.

That sounds fantastic!

It's loaded into my cooking database.

BTW: Does anyone else use a recipe database? The one I use is called Home Cookin' and it's GREAT. (not a paid advertisement :) )

I use something called One Note, it is great to be able to add my own or copy off a website and it keeps track of where I got it from.

We don't have a dessert thread, so I'm putting this here. Tonight I adapted a Paula Deen recipe for peach cobbler into a mixed berry cobbler. By "adapted" I mean it was a loose jumping off point ;) In case anyone wants to try it:

I put about 2 cups worth of strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries in saucepan with 1 cup sugar and 1 cup water (in retrospect, could have gotten away with less, especially the water), and a little fresh squeezed lemon, brought to boil then simmered for like 10 minutes.

Melted 3/4 stick of butter in a large casserole dish in the oven at 350

Stirred 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, 1 1/4 tsp baking powder and 1/4 tsp salt together in a bowl, then SLOWLY (to prevent lumps) stirred in 1 cup of milk. Added some lemon zest as well.

Poured batter on top of butter in casserole (no stirring! Ever again! EVER!) then spooned the fruit in, followed by gently pouring in the liquid from the fruit. 40 minutes in the oven

That sounds so yummy! I will try it. I love berries.

Since we're doing desserts - here's one for you. It's dessert. Not health food.

Strawberry Cream Cake - adapted from Cook's Illustrated. Here is the original recipe followed by my changes:

Cake

1 1/4cups cake flour (5 ounces)
1 1/2teaspoons baking powder
1/4teaspoon table salt
1cup sugar (7 ounces)
5 large eggs (2 whole and 3 separated), room temperature
6tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
2tablespoons water
2teaspoons vanilla extract


Strawberry Filling

2pounds fresh strawberries (medium or large, about 2 quarts), washed, dried, and stemmed
4 - 6tablespoons sugar
2tablespoons Kirsch
pinch table salt


Whipped Cream

8ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1/2cup sugar (3 1/2 ounces)
1teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8teaspoon table salt
2cups heavy cream

INSTRUCTIONS
1. FOR THE CAKE: Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour round 9 by 2-inch cake pan or 9-inch springform pan and line with parchment paper. Whisk flour, baking powder, salt, and all but 3 tablespoons sugar in mixing bowl. Whisk in 2 whole eggs and 3 yolks (reserving whites), butter, water, and vanilla; whisk until smooth.
2. In clean bowl of standing mixer fitted with whisk attachment, beat remaining 3 egg whites at medium-low speed until frothy, 1 to 2 minutes. With machine running, gradually add remaining 3 tablespoons sugar, increase speed to medium-high, and beat until soft peaks form, 60 to 90 seconds. Stir one-third of whites into batter to lighten; add remaining whites and gently fold into batter until no white streaks remain. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake until toothpick or wooden skewer inserted into center of cake comes out clean, 30 to 40 minutes. Cool in pan 10 minutes, then invert cake onto greased wire rack; peel off and discard parchment. Invert cake again; cool completely, about 2 hours.
3. FOR THE STRAWBERRY FILLING: Halve 24 of best-looking berries and reserve. Quarter remaining berries; toss with 4 to 6 tablespoons sugar (depending on sweetness of berries) in medium bowl and let sit 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Strain juices from berries and reserve (you should have about 1/2 cup). In workbowl of food processor fitted with metal blade, give macerated berries five 1-second pulses (you should have about 1 1/2 cups). In small saucepan over medium-high heat, simmer reserved juices and Kirsch until syrupy and reduced to about 3 tablespoons, 3 to 5 minutes. Pour reduced syrup over macerated berries, add pinch of salt, and toss to combine. Set aside until cake is cooled.
4. FOR THE WHIPPED CREAM: When cake has cooled, place cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, and salt in bowl of standing mixer fitted with whisk attachment. Whisk at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes, scraping down bowl with rubber spatula as needed. Reduce speed to low and add heavy cream in slow, steady stream; when almost fully combined, increase speed to medium-high and beat until mixture holds stiff peaks, 2 to 2 1/2 minutes more, scraping bowl as needed (you should have about 4 1/2 cups).
5. TO ASSEMBLE THE CAKE: Using large serrated knife, slice cake into three even layers. Place bottom layer on cardboard round or cake plate and arrange ring of 20 strawberry halves, cut sides down and stem ends facing out, around perimeter of cake layer. Pour one half of pureed berry mixture (about 3/4 cup) in center, then spread to cover any exposed cake. Gently spread about one-third of whipped cream (about 1 1/2 cups) over berry layer, leaving 1/2-inch border from edge. Place middle cake layer on top and press down gently (whipped cream layer should become flush with cake edge). Repeat with 20 additional strawberry halves, remaining berry mixture, and half of remaining whipped cream; gently press last cake layer on top. Spread remaining whipped cream over top; decorate with remaining cut strawberries. Serve, or chill for up to 4 hours.


I used a sheet pan for the cake, using flour dusted parchment paper. I cut this into fourths (up/down, side to side) and stacked it four smaller layers tall, in a rectangle shape. I baked it until it was done... you'll have to use your own judgement as I set the time for 10 minutes and then set it a few minutes more, I think.

I didn't use kirsch in the filling - didn't have any and didn't want to buy it for 2 tablespoons. I also didn't line the sides with whole strawberries. I whirred them all in the food processor until it was smallish chunks. Still drained and reduced the syrup part which seemed important. It intensified the strawberry flavor and didn't cook the strawberries.

The whipped cream frosting stuff is to die for. The first time I made this, someone had used a few tablespoons of the cream cheese for bagels, so I subbed in an equal amount of butter figuring you use butter in frosting recipes anyway. I think I will use this as a standard frosting for other things from now on. So good.

I've also made this recipe using Black Magic Cake (chocolate cake with coffee in it) and without the strawberries. Sort of a ding dong type of theme - but on a more gourmet level.

The family has been trying to get me to make this into a rolled up cake - where I originally go the idea from before finding the above recipe and deciding to stack it.

It's a really pretty cake though - and impressive for guests - while being pretty easy to make. Sweet but not too sweet.

chicken chili with black beans. It may be mid-May, but we're having a cool spring, so far!

Tonight (because we're living in a scooped-out unit with barely any cooking utensils in it) we're going to the Hornsby Seafood Restaurant and having Peking Duck.

...didn't you know that Duck was seafood?

Lashbear probably already has the recipe for this one ...
 

Our wonderful butcher does a burger of the week. Recently, it was Greek burgers (feta cheese and olives), for example.

This week, it's kangaroo. Two of us are game to try the hoppy burger. The rest of us will just have the regular kind.

Medium rare is the key - goes nice with a Merlot.

Now you just need a Emu burger and you've eaten our coat of arms.

Kangaroo tastes lean. I suppose all that jumping gives you muscle tone.

Tonight: won ton soup.

Well.... Technically, she will have just eaten your supporters, not the whole coat of arms. I see a few more animals in there she would have to sample in order to do that.

We have leftover chicken fajitas so I am making chicken fajita quesadillas. I'll add some refried beans, sour cream, cheese sauce and chips and voila.....dinner!

Well, OK, but know that I can dig up recipes for Australian Piping Shrike Pie, Roasted Black Swan and Braised Red Lion.

Hopefully gonna have coyote roadkill for dinner.

*Meep* *Meep*

You better not be roastking a Black Swan, they are beautiful creatures! :eek:

And lambs are adorable...but fvcking delicious.

But a black swan is a majestic creature and should not be eaten, although they can be mean!

Actually, I have a real antique cookbook (British) with an Australian section featuring Roasted Black Swan (and Creamed Bandicoot. Yes, really). I will have to scan it for you ! :eek:

Pork roast. Asparagus. Garlic bread. Buttered noodles.

Pizza and the more pizza. We're having a very small graduation party and somehow when I was counting heads and buying pizza to bake from winco (they have a pizza place you can buy your pizza baked or bake it at home).

They had a grad special for either 3 pizzas or 5 and 3 didn't seem like enough. 5 means we're going to eat pizza tomorrow too.

I am baking like crazy for a friends bday party tonight so Gary has to cook, which means BBQ for lunch and leftovers for dinner.

That sounds pretty good. I think I'll add that to my list of new things to try.

Irish Stew made by MamaStoat.

Tonight is the last meal we'll have as a family until next month. I asked what the man wanted to eat for his last home cooked meal for a while and he requested ground beef tacos - so that's what it's going to be.

Mixed greens salad, spaghetti, and rhubarb tart. Oh, and sangria. :D

bleu cheese burgers and waffle fries.

Tonight was Thai Fish Cakes.
Tomorrow: Fish Pie
Day after: Fish Soup.

We got fresh fish from the neighbours yesterday.....

2 chicken apple sausages, sauteed with onions and mustard, on buns with sliced tomatoes, and an ear of corn, buttered, with seasoned salt and chili powder

Apple-Barley Pudding for dessert tonight - its cold and rainy and that just seemed the perfect comfort dessert.

Sauteed chicken breaded in panko and parmesan and topped with a salad of olive oil, garlic, fresh basil, and assorted cherry tomatoes (from our garden!).

Dry Aged New York Strip (aged at home)


I followed this tutorial. The results were OK, but not great. I'll have to keep experimenting with this because a good dry aged steak is one of life's great pleasures.

A Dodger Dog.

Chicken salad sandwiches and shrimp bisque. Not intentionally together. I made the first, and my brother's family dropped by later with the second.

*sigh*

You win.

No he doesn't - not unless its Grilled. Steamed is for pussies.

Chili coke roast with potatoes and salad and some sort of frozen veg.

(chili sauce, can of coke, package of onion soup mix and a chunk of beef)

Harris Ranch tri tip. It's amazing.

Pumpki-tato Soup

Poulet Cacciatore sur de Pâtes Cheveux d'Ange

Bâtonnets de Pain d'Ail

Salade avec Vinaigrette au Champagne

Tarte à la Crème de Noix de Coco

Isn't that one of the dinner specials at Mimi's Cafe?

Côtelettes d'agneau

Pommes de terre rouges avec beurre à l'ail

pois

sorbet framboise

I think Jw moved to France!

The boy and I had shake and bake chicken. On the side of the package it said to drizzle it with honey for the last 10 minutes, it was really yummy!

It just sounds better in French.

The Pike - Fish & Chips with a pint of Stone IPA

poulet avec du riz

maïs

bière

pop acidulée

Fried pork chops, rotini with browned butter and parm (aka: noodley stuff), and a salad. I will also have carrots but the rest of the family will pretend they don't exist.

The lasagna from Costco is pretty good. And it works out to be a little over $1 per serving. Paired with the garlic toast (also from Costco) and it is a quick, easy, and inexpensive good meal.

Tirée de Porc

Frites de Patates Douces

Salade avec Vinaigrette Ranch Crémeuse

Menthe Barres klondike

Tonight is grilled chicken burritos... with homemade salsa I think I'll make right now so I can snack on it.

We had apple and Gouda sauages with Mac and cheese. The kid picked dinner.

If it's Tuesday it must be hot wings.

Well, it was Tuesday when I ate them.

Spanikopita and salad, it was good. Especially the scoop of vanilla ice cream with fresh berries later.

The berries and ice cream sounds like the best part. That's my favorite!

Tonight is homemade pizza. Dough is rising. Oops - forgot to turn on the oven and heat up the pizza stone. Better do that.

Gatorade and bread so far. Maybe pho later but no guarantee.

Nothing for me tonight, too busy coughing up a lung.

Celeriac mash, Romano green beans and kielbasa with the most amazing chipotle lime mustard.

Leftovers

Stir fry with ginger, and (my usual for dinner) a rosemary roasted chicken wrap.

I made homeemade chicken soup. That's what's for dinner tomorrow.

We made pizza.

A Manhattan

With a sphere of ice?

Not Restes?

The guys who own our favorite Gastropub have a new venture. It's a deli and they feature a grilled cheese of the day. Today's is Manchego and Point Reyes Blue Cheeses, topped off with "Friends In Cheeses" Lavender Plum Jelly. And it's so good. They've had all kinds of interesting ones all of them amazing.

Bacon cheese burgers (that is to say, bacon IN the burger, not on it), followed by the only thing worthy of following such epicness: fries dipped in KFC gravy.

Low-fat low-cal night in our house!

That sounds good right now. I am really craving Persian right now though. Oh how I wish I lived in a big city so I could have some. I can't wait for Vegas in June and going to Zaytoon every night.

You know, it's the simplest darn thing, but chicken leg quarters marinated in garlic herb marinade are freaking epic.

And using the juices from the baked chicken to make a sauce for egg noodles? Genius.

Junk

That's what we had for dinner.

Roasted beets with blood oranges in balsamic.

A roasted lemon-chicken wrap with roasted red pepper and my favorite daily indulgence, a 1-oz baby brie from Trader Joe's. All fromage that I've bought over the last few years comes from their single-serving cheese line. That way I'm not tempted to cut more than I need.

Made buffalo chicken strips, not quite the same as real wings but pretty darn good and around half the calories. A fair trade in my book.

Glorified macaroni and cheese

AKA fettucini Alfredo

Damn, now I want Fettucini...

Writing this down before I forget how I did it:

1/2 box Barilla farfalle
1 T butter
reserved pasta cooking water
1 T sour cream
parmesan cheese
garlic powder
salt
peach balsamic vinegar

Yeah, I kind of fiddled about at the stove to make tonight's pasta side dish, but it worked. Had that with a rotisserie chicken from the market :)

I have never seen peach balsamic vinegar, that sounds interesting.

Amazing stuff. It's a white balsamic, and in my opinion one of the most flexible of the flavored balsamics. I've used it in pastas, on vegetables... good for more than just bread dipping and salad dressing!

There is a place in Salem that has cinnamon roll pancakes. No they are not made from a cinnamon roll but somehow they get the cinnamon bullseye pattern on top and then smother it in glaze. They were divine!

I literally read about BBQ Pulled Pork Cinnamon Rolls just before reading your last post cirquelover.

Whatever it is, it's gluten free. Whee.

After eating them twice we suspect they take a butter and cinnamon sugar mixture and pour it one the hot griddle, bullseye pattern, then quickly pour on the pancake batter. The cinnamon swirl is crunchy and only on top of the pancake.

They also have filet mignon chicken fried steak. The first time we went Ihad the Trucker Love Platter. It was prime rib hash with a biscuit and gravy. I don't eat eggs so instead they brought a cup of the freshest fruit I have ever had I during the winter!

I'm not sure what we're having, but it smells good.

Farfalle in artichoke lemon pesto with chicken italian sausage

Food

This evenings fare will be chicken enchiladas, got all the fixings, just need to had the filling and bake them. Perfect for the chilly day here.

Rather makes me wonder what do you all the other nights.

I think it's best not to ask.

I made Blue Bayou potatoes with ham bits and extra cheese.

Chicken Pestachio

2 boneless skinless ckn breast (~1lbs)
2 cups (packed) fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup shelled pistachios
2/3 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup grated Parmesan (or romano or other similar cheese)
1 medium romano tomato, sliced
salt and pepper to taste


Make the pesto:
Add pistachios, basil, and garlic to a food processor. Pulse to coarsley chop. Add olive oil. Process until smooth. Salt and pepper to taste.

Preheat oven to 400. Lightly oil the bottom of a baking 9x9 baking dish and place the chicken breasts in the middle. Soon the pesto onto the chicken until it's covered. Sprinkle half of the cheese on top.

Bake the chicken uncovered for 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes place the sliced tomatoes on top of the chicken, then sprinkle the remaining cheese on top. Bake for another 10 minutes.

Serve. Enjoy.

Cacio e Pepe - which is much simpler than the fancy name implies, but delicious all the same.

OH! SHELLED pistachios! No wonder mine came out so crunchy! I'll have to try it again...

Dessert:

1-2 graham crackers, crushed
2 small handfuls of small marshmallows (I had the mini jet-puffed type on hand, but might I suggest chopping up some Plush Puffs caramel swirl instead?)
Hot fudge (Sanders being the correct choice)
2 Luxardo cherries

Preheat oven to 400
Put the crushed graham crackers in 2 small ramekins until there is a solid layer on the bottom.*
Fill the ramekins to a little below the top with marshmallow. Place on a baking sheet and bake until marshmallows begin to brown.
Remove from oven, put a generous dollop of hot fudge in the middle of each. Return to oven for ~2 minutes, or until fudge has heated.
Remove from oven, top with cherry (and some of the syrup).

Serve with oven mitt because the ramekins are fvcking hot at this point. If you let it cool, the caramelized marshmallow and other sugary stuff will probably start to harden, so it needs to be served hot. Need to refine a bit. The below change might help.



*Ideally, instead of just crushing the graham crackers, I'd do a full graham cracker crust, but I didn't want to take the time last night.

GD, you might also like Toschi Amarena Cherries, they're yummo! I get them locally at Molinari's (if you ahve any Italian groceries, you can prolly find them, too)

Your dessert sounds yummy, but, not on myu list of eatables. Sorry to say.

Probably shouldn't be on my list either...but thanks to my innate laziness it won't be often.

What's for dinner, Super Bowl edition.

So what's everyone doing food wise for the big game?

I'm using it as an excuse to create a kick ass Fajita bar, home made ice cream (just run the machine outside, no ice needed :( )

Plus beer, wine, and of course margaritas (The real kind not the Slurpee)

The prep starts today with a full 24-hour marinade for the skirt steak, chicken and shrimp.

Chips and dip

And a nice tri-tip

No idea. Just us at home so probably the same ol' crap.

Now comes the part of the party I hate....

8-Hours of cleaning and cooking to get everything ready.

Starting with:
Making a double batch of custard soup to put in the ice cream churn
A quadruple batch of Fajita marinade to use with the Beef, Chicken and Shrimp.

The lime zest in place of lime juice is the key.

I had to work but the kiddos had burgers, chips, hot dogs, watermelon, guacamole - all the usual stuff.

Marinated tri-tip (Costco consistently has great meat), baked taters, and corn-on-the-cob. Stuffed but happy.

Tonight is leftovers to help clear out the fridge. I plan on making chicken chili this weekend and baking something. Not sure what just yet, really want to make some bread.

We really shouldn't admit to using Hamburger Helper, but this really works.

There is a marinated tri-tip which we love from Costco, but of course the smallest we can get is usually 2-3 pounds. We we make a great dinner out of it and then cut the leftovers into small pieces and use another night with the stroganoff HH. Yeah, a non-boxed stroganoff would be better, but since we both work late and have long commutes, this makes for a great solution.

Is it obsessive that I created a spreadsheet to plan for Sunday Dinner?

MeaBall?

It's a Cosmos viewing party, so Meat ball's. Three different type/sizes.

Swedish (made with Lamb), Honey BBQ (gluten free) and Italian.

Yes it is.

Especially since you've apparently included stuff you don't need. And cardamon twice. And don't put lingonberry jam on your Swedish meatballs, that's just a lie Ikea tells.

Also, since milk only comes out of one of a cow I'm not sure what the distinction of "sweetend milk" would be.

But it sounds like a prank farm boys tell city boys to get them to pull on a bulls willie.

And thyme without an h doesn't taste quite right.

I don't believe in Lingonberry jam or Mint Jelly with Lamb but people seem to expect it....

Wonderful weather out so I'm having ribs and green beans on the bbq while I sit out and read.

Day-1 prep is complete.

BBQ sauce, Italian Tomato sauce, and first set of meat balls are chillin in the fridge ready for tomorrow. That leaves me two more meat ball mixes, Ceaser salad, homemade ice cream, and chocolate chunk cookies.

Sounds like you are very organized! I like the spreadsheet, it helps make sure you have everything you need. I hope all goes well today!

And.........the gas ran out. So tonight it's steak and green beans with a full tank.

Delicious steamed jumbo artichoke!

Saw it on the Internet and had to try it.

Homemade Internet Apple Pie.

Yeah, I went there.

Details/Photos to follow. It's baking now.

Well that mostly worked. I present to you my Internet Apple Pie!

Step one, Gather all the ingredients. See if you can spot the "special" ingredient that started this whole thing....





Here is the top "crust" rolled out and the Apple's diced and coated in the filling goo.


And 45'ish min later Ta Da! Pie!


Ummm! Delicious!


Makeing the pie did create a bit of a mess, but it was so worth it.


Using Cinnamon rolls for the crust was a mixed result. They were still a bit gooey in parts, I suppose because I did not get them rolled out thin enough. Still the parts that are crispy are freaking awesome! It was an excellent proof of concept that I will undoubtedly tweek for the upcoming holiday season.

That looks tasty!
Did you par-bake the crust?

I did not pre-bake the crust, that is one of the "tweaks" I might try next time I try this recipe.

Today, it's a fall College Football game day, so.....

Time to fix up a pot of slow cooked Texas Red chili. Oh yeah.

I would suggest not using the cinnamon roll crust for the chili. Just sayin...

But perhaps The Grands Biscuts for a chili pie for any left overs might be interesing!

I wonder if you can make a crust from cornbread...

Actually, I have made chili and put cornbread on top for a crust, it's good!

I want it to be pho with tofu and mushrooms. I really want it to be pho with tofu and mushrooms.

However, since I eat dinner with Tom and since he is not a pho fan, I guess we'll have chicken salad.

It was a toss up if I should put this here, or in "What Stpid Thing Have You Done Today?"

For dinner tonight, I'm making Beef Stew in the slow cooker, but I thought to myself, why make plain old beef stew when you have Cognac handy? You can make Beef Bourguigon!

So I did. And..... I'm 30 min late to work. It takes a long time to prep that stuff. Still I should be happy tonight!

Don't be like me and forget to plug the crock pot in - that was a bummer when I got home.

Thanks for the tip!

It turns out when your recipe includes a pound of bacon, you probably don't need to add extra salt. So the stew was just meh. Too salty. Lesson learned for next time.

Still, there is cognac...

Nope, used the last of it to make the dish. #FirstWorldProblem

ABG: Sriracha. Making pasties better. :)

Oh how I wish I had Photoshop right now…




In case your still not seeing it, note the missing "r" in the highlighted word.

I believe that's not a missing R - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pasty

I still maintain there's a missing 'r' - facts be damned

ABG: Not really pies - there's no top and bottom crust, just a folded circle. It's closer to a Calzone than a pie, really. The only REAL pie is, of course, the Australian Meat Pie.

...and Mrs. Lovett's Meat Pies, of course..... :D

PS: Just to stay on topic, tomorrow night is indulgence night, and in true spirit of preparation for our upcoming USA trip, I'm making Fried Chicken with Biscuits and Country Gravy.