Whats for Dinner? ~ Friday the 27th

[Lucinda]

We are having roast pork and veggies.

My standard veggie mix is potato, sweet potato, celery, onion, and anything else that's laying around that holds up well to roasting. The veggies get tossed with a little olive oil and sprinkled with garlic powder, sea salt and pepper. The pork roast will get the same. I think I'll also add some fresh rosemary tonight.

We'll also have some Ain5 bread and maybe pears and cheese for dessert.


Whats for dinner where you are?

[hippywife]

1. Well, it's usually pizza night

but it's gonna depend on how the sick boy is feeling come dinner time. I love pears and cheese. What kinda cheese?

[Lucinda]

3. Will depend on what's available. Slim pickins around here

on a touristy weekend.

Hope B feels better soon!

[hippywife]

6. Thanx.

Why so touristy this weekend? I would think G'burg is pretty touristy most of the time.

[Lucinda]

7. It is. We have about a minute and a half in January that is quiet

the rest of the year it's pretty busy. :rofl:

There is only one real grocery store in town and anything cool gets grabbed early, especially on Fridays. There seems to be enough tourists cooking that the store gets picked over fassssst. Think swarm of locusts. :D You never know what's going to be available at the last minute. We usually try and shop early morning Mon-Thursday.

[hippywife]

17. I dunno how I'd handle that.

Anyway, I got a pizza in the oven in my 10" cast iron skillet. Ain5 crust(whole wheat/semolina mod) with garlic scape pesto, baby bellas, marinated artichoke hearts, green olive slices and banana pepper slices. We'll see how this goes down.

[Lucinda]

33. Sounds great to me!

I haven't used Ain5 for pizza yet...

[hippywife]

51. It was really delicious!

I was getting bored with pizza every Friday night but that was exceptionally good.

[Lucinda]

55. You had lot's of strong flavors that mix well in your choices.

I seem to be craving things with a big flavor punch lately, so it really appealed to me. :D

[yellerpup]

2. Going out tonight.

Either sushi or ... how do I explain the competition? Their family ran a restaurant in Sarajevo for over 200 years but after the seige that made Christiane Amanpour famous, the surviving family members moved here. They have a wood fired pizza oven, make the lightest, crispiest fried calamari ever, handmade pasta in your choice of sauces, scallops in a Barolo and cherry sauce, lamb sausage. Yeah, we had sushi last Friday. This week we are going around the corner. Yummy, I talked myself into it! Have a great weekend!

[Lucinda]

4. Sounds wonderful!

Especially handmade pasta. Yum.

[yellerpup]

8. I'm a fool for the gnocci with sauce Bolognese.

I'm getting a fire at the top of my lungs this afternoon. Mr. Pup was home with the flu two days this week, my boss has had it all week but keeps coming in (we share a desk). We may have to order out.

[Lucinda]

11. I hope you don't get sick.

There is a bad one going around. :(

[yellerpup]

23. I do have something, but it's not going to get me down completely.

Everyone around here has something. I work at a school, too, and children (while totally adorable) are really germy little creatures. I'll be okay. The older I get the tougher I get.

[Lucinda]

37. I'm just the opposite. I can talk to someone on the phone and catch a cold.

:eyes:
But I'm still here! :)

[yellerpup]

58. I used to be that way, but I'm much more resistant since I

quit smoking. Glad you're still here, Lucinda! The world is a brighter place with you in it!

[hippywife]

21. Bummer!

Hope you can keep it at bay. No one needs to be sick heading into the weekend! :hug:

[yellerpup]

24. Just had two cups of hot ginger tea with honey and lime.

We ended up ordering Chinese for dinner tonight. Hot & Sour soup for me and sesame chicken for Mr. Pup. Hopefully, I'll be over it by Monday. Thanks. :hug:

[hippywife]

5. Yeah, that second option

sounds delicious! :9

[yellerpup]

9. You'd really like these guys.

The food that comes out of their kitchen tastes authentic. Like your grandma would make if she was from the Adriatic region. Take care of yourself now that tornado season is coming on strong. That last killer crop passed just 3 blocks behind my brother's house. Hope you're feeling better. Dang flu is EVERYWHERE!

[Tesha]

10. how can you decide on what to have?

Those choices are amazing, and I'll bet there are quite a few more wonderful things on their menu....

red wine and cherry sauce? oh my, that sounds good what is it like?

[yellerpup]

22. They carmelize two large diver scallops first and (off)set them in a pool of the

red wine sauce. The sauce is simple, I think, a slight reduction of barolo finished with s lump of cold butter to make it silky at the end. The sour cherries are also added at the end and cooked just long enough to heat them through. They garnish it with lovely micro greens for an interesting interplay between bitter-ish frissee and arugula then drizzle the top with more of the wine sauce. This dish is an appetizer, but to me it is enough for a whole meal, and so delicious I don't want anything to change the taste in my mouth! :hi:

[Tesha]

26. I am SO going to make that...

thank you, I can almost taste it.... lucky you for having this gem nearby...

may I ask what you drink with this wonder?

Borolo or something lighter - maybe something sparkly?

[yellerpup]

27. Something sparkly sounds very good with it.

I rarely drink anything any more, but I fake drinking red wine by having pomegranite juice in a red wine glass. I stopped drinking when I stopped smoking because having a cocktail or glass of wine broke down my inhibitions just enough to make me crave a cigarette. I've not smoked for three years now, and I've fallen out of the habit. When I do drink wine it's usually warm sake (with sushi) and rarely I will have an after dinner liqueur like Frangelico. You have an adventurous spirit. Why don't you explore the possibilities and tell me what works best? If it's worth it, I'll give it a try!

[Tesha]

53. true adventure...

I think a champagne glass filled with a dry sparkling apple cider sound good - no alcohol to mess with your head...


and not smoking really turns on the tastes buds, no? congrats for quitting! it's not easy, but the rewards are endless. Thanks again for the idea for the scallops!

[yellerpup]

59. My pleasure, Tesha!

And thanks. :hug:

[Tesha]

12. Strip steaks

bought on sale as most of our meats are - tonight $1.50 off, frozen and defrosted in malt vinegar and bourbon bbq sauce and tossed on the grill by the old grill master - Mr T

with sauteed mushrooms and leftover french fries and onion rings..

I love how the house smells.... mmmmm, worth going out, just to come back in.

[Lucinda]

13. Sounds delicious!

We rarely buy any meat that's not on sale. There are always lot of good options if we get to the store before it's all been picked over. Tourist towns can be too pricey otherwise.

[NMDemDist2]

14. I took some of the Xmas ham slices out of the freezer

so ham with salad and An5 and ?mac&cheese? or ?saffron rice? or something :shrug:

[Lucinda]

15. Mac and Cheese!!!

Then you could email me some. I'm cheese hungry tonight. :)

[NMDemDist2]

16. that was Mr. Ketchup's vote too

guess I should get off my arse and get moving eh??

:evilgrin:

[Lucinda]

32. Hopefully dinner is a done deal by now.

And I never did have any cheese. :(
Tomorrow!

[hippywife]

18. I keep forgetting I still have

a nice chunk of the xmas ham in the freezer. Bill doesn't like ham and I rarely cook something just for me.

[NMDemDist2]

19. make him my Kentucky Granny's beans

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/AZDemDist6/3

[hippywife]

20. Oooh! Now that he'd probably eat!

Thanx!

[NMDemDist2]

25. Mr. K turned his nose up everytime I mentioned "beans and rice"

then one day I just made em cuz I was craving

they are a favorite of his now

Hope the Hippyman like em

:hi:

[pengillian101]

29. Great post and pics and it sounds wonderful!

Similar to how I make split pea soup.

Edit to say no rice involved.

[NMDemDist2]

36. split pea gets potatoes

of course :crazy:

:rofl:

[pengillian101]

40. Guess I musta also missed the potato ingredient...

...in your recipe, along with the rice, lol. :rofl:

Just trying to say, I use similar spices in a ham and split pea soup that is very excellent.

:9

[NMDemDist2]

41. I love taters

and often slip a couple diced small into my split pea soup

:hide:

[pengillian101]

42. Ohhhh!

I missed that subtle potato mention. I bet that's good :-)

**********

Did you get a chance to watch the videos of Depression cooking with Clara yet? She puts potatoes in most everything. Just like our foregrandmothers did.

I heard that her youtube video hit a morning/news talk show.

What a great thing - her great-grandchildren have filmed these videos and posted them for all to enjoy.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

30. Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh

I have all those ingredients on hand.

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

I gotta make some cornbread.

That looks wonderful. I never saw that before.

Thank you HUGHLY for re-posting that.

:hugh:

[NMDemDist2]

35. that post was way back in 2005

long before your time my dear ;) back when we were in deep mourning over Kerry's loss

I didn't go to GD for MONTHS, I hid in here and learned to cook and in DIY and remodeled my house on a shoestring

seemed a better choice than homicide or suicide :shrug:

enjoy! :hi:

[Inchworm]

28. I had simple

Carmalized some onions and shrooms +garlic

then added a bag of frozen, peppery "california veggies" with a little water.

Ate it with some of my sweet bread as I watched Flashpoint. I like that show now :)

:9

[Tangerine LaBamba]

31. That sounds so good

I fixed chicken quesadillas with tomatoes, lettuce, sharp cheddar, hot banana pepper rings, sliced onions, and a layer of garlic onion jam.

Your mention of carmelized onions and mushrooms and garlic reminded me of this.

I absolute adore the Stonewall Roasted Garlic and Onion Jam, but at almost 8 bucks for a small jar, well, that's just an outrageous price.



So I looked around the Internet(s) Tubes, and found this:

http://www.hungrybrowser.com/phaedrus/m1209F05.htm#1 (the first recipe)

I had to tinker with the recipe a bit, used more brown sugar, more balsamic, and I think I let it cook down a lot longer than the recipe called for. But it came out absolutely delicious! Better than Stonewall's.

Now, there's always a big jar of it in the fridge, and it goes on and into everything.

I'm hungry again.......................

[Lucinda]

38. Oh that jam sounds sooooo goood.

Gonna have to try that SOON.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

44. You will never be without it

In this home, onions and garlic are a Major Food Group. This jam just GOES! It's even good on apple slices.

On a bagel, with cream cheese. Yummy. Totally yummy.

And so damn easy.

Open wide..............

[Lucinda]

45. Us too. Onion and garlic go in everything we make that isn't dessert.

Or almost everything. I'm soooo looking forward to trying this. :)

[Tangerine LaBamba]

46. I just thought of this:

imagine tossing hot spaghetti with this.

Maybe heating the jam first - it liquifies - and adding some butter.

Making it a ragu.

I'd top it with chopped green onions.

I'm gonna try that...............................

[Lucinda]

47. Oh hell yeah. :)

I was just telling Bill I want it with bagels and cream cheese immediately, but hot pasta would rock.

[Inchworm]

39. I soooo snagged that recipe

only a week storage? :(

I'm still making some.

:yourock:

[Tangerine LaBamba]

43. No, I should have deleted that

I make it in big batches -using six pounds of onions at a time (did I mention I worship my Cuisinart?) - and it keeps in the refrigerator for at least a month. A hint - and you probably already know this, but it surprised me - the onions cook down to nothing, so make more than you think you'll eat. It keeps just fine, but you'll go through it.

Try it with cream cheese on a cracker. Triscuits are my favorite, or Carr's water biscuits. Or spread it on some good bread, top it with sharp cheddar, and run it quickly under the broiler.

I am telling you, it's even better than you think. But, hey, it's made of onions and garlic. How can it be anything but fabulous? I'm thinking of throwing some mushrooms in the next batch - your dinner menu put that in my head.

Enjoy, kid.

:toast:

[Lucinda]

34. Sounds delicious!

And I'm having sweet bread envy! :)

[grasswire]

48. All American cheese burgers and potato chips...

...and a big platter of raw vegetables with some jalapeno ranch dip. Also, purple cows for the teenagers.

[Lucinda]

49. I've never added jalapeno to ranch dip. Sounds really good.

Creamy with a little bite. :)

[grasswire]

50. this is commercial, made by Litehouse...

...found in the chilled dressings shelf at the grocery store. I like it for a dip. I also like it spooned over a block of cream cheese, with crackers, as a snack or appetizer.

[Lucinda]

54. Ahhh...thanks for the brand name! I probably wouldn't find it locally

but I think I could make my own version without too much trouble. :) All this talk of cream cheese lately has me reeeeeeealy wanting some.

[eridani]

52. Hauled out another frozen quart of turkey/veggie/barley soup

Still good. The nice thing about making a big mess cooking extras of whatever is that there is very littl mess when you dine on the surplus.

[Lucinda]

56. That IS a definite advantage.

:D
That's part of the reason we cook ahead the way we do. I made pork roast last night, which, actually, wasn't very messy at all now that I think of it, :D but anyway, I cooked more meat than we intended to eat. Now I have a big pile of pork that I can shred for tamales, tacos, egg rolls, or whatever else we decide to do with it. It will make several really good, no fuss, little mess meals.

[susanna]

57. I did roasted-vegetable beef soup.

Just used browned stew beef, carrots, onions, celery, potato, tomato and garlic. Roasted the veggies before adding them to the broth (thanks for the tip the other day alfredo - except I did it with soup instead of stew). I also got lucky last week and scored some just-dried bay leaves from a friend. That super-fresh bay flavor was amazing.

I made a no-knead french bread. It was tasty, but I was sort of meh on the crumb (more crumbly than the kneaded variety). I only did it because I wanted a quick yeast bread and it fit the bill. Plus all the amazingly dedicated bread bakers here were making me feel like a slacker LOL. Here is the recipe I used:

http://thewellseasonedcook.blogspot.com/2007/04/laziest-loaf-two-hour-french-bread.html