Ms. Ingie wrote:I sent my son-in-law to the freezer yesterday to retrieve some meat for tonight's dinner. He brought in a package of ground beef. Cooking for my family of five can be rather daunting. I have food allergies, one daughter doesn't like beef other than ground, the other only likes rare steaks. One loves pork, the other doesn't. Luckily my son-in-law eats most everything.

You made a great dinner that pleased everyone? Congratulations, because you do have some challenges.

Regards,
Cathy2

So far today, I not have not really 'cooked.' My sister made a brisket to share at lunch. My Mom peeled potatoes, though I cooked and mashed. The peas went from freezer to microwave.


Since I had time on my hands plus apples bought two weeks ago, I made my Oma's apple cake. Oma had already died before I realized I needed to know how to make it. I found a recipe in the Joy of Cooking, then amended it to our tastes.

It's been so long since I made this cake, I don't remember when I made it last. We were already eating seconds and thirds when I realized I never took a picture.



The brisket will get a little reworking for the next meal. I will saute mushrooms to add along with sour cream. It will be served over yolkless egg noodles. I bought them thinking yolk or no yolk, it will be about the same. Not crazy about yolkless egg noodles, cannot wait until I make or buy the regular type.

I am contemplating starting a batch of bagel bread, because tomorrow will be a warmer day.

My sister suggested having lunch next Sunday, because at least she would get out of the house and have someplace to go. She is the only person allowed in our house since quarantine began. I cannot believe we have 4.5 weeks more of this to go.

Regards,
Cathy2

Fresh Farms Niles/Touhy was well stocked today. Lamb, beef, flour, yeast, baking powder, lots of chicken, veg, fruit. Most of the stuff that has been mentioned as hard to find at other grocery stores. Not too crowded, decent social distancing around 1pm Sunday.

G Wiv wrote:Fresh Farms Niles/Touhy was well stocked today. Lamb, beef, flour, yeast, baking powder, lots of chicken, veg, fruit. Most of the stuff that has been mentioned as hard to find at other grocery stores. Not too crowded, decent social distancing around 1pm Sunday.

Good to know. Thanks, for the intel. For better or for worse, I haven't had to enter a grocery store since March 16. But at some point that's likely to change and Fresh Farms on Touhy is my default first choice.

Dinner tonight was solid, definitely not spectacular but still, a crowdpleaser . . .


Wild Sockeye Salmon
From one last year's Sitka Salmon Shares boxes. Lightly oiled and seasoned, cooked on the indirect side, canola-oiled grate, Royal Oak lump.


Wild Sockeye Salmon
Turned out great but it got to temperature -- ~125F -- a little too quickly, hence the albumin on the surface. I should have moved it a bit farther away from the coals.


Skirt Steaks
The last pound of the three I bought last week. This was cryovacked, so it was fresh and ready to go, with no need for freezing or thawing, which is really convenient.


Skirt Steaks
I was feeling lazy, so I used some Back Of The Yards rub from Spice House that I received as a gift late last year. Nothing wrong with it but I almost never buy or use commercially made rubs. It was tasty and more importantly, super easy.


Green Salad
Bibb lettuce, arugula, micro greens, leftover Mighty Vine tomatoes


Green Salad
Wait -- back the truck up! I found a wee avocado that was ready to eat.


Quinoa
Sauteed ramps, green garlic and mushrooms . . . yes, the leftover quinoa from earlier in the week.


On The Plate
Those are the leftover scalloped potatoes from earlier in the week at the 8:00 position.


Skirt Steak
Money shot - rare/medium-rare

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:Money shot - rare/medium-rare

Nice looking dinner but that skirt steak is causing a stir in my nether regions.

tried out serious eats scallion pancakes tonight. pretty great!

Sitka Salmon salmon night for us too

Fresh picked chive and Marcona almond pesto, tagliatelle and green beans with mustard vinaigrette. Nice Sunday supper.

Shrimp and Chickpea stew from the latest issue of Milk Street.
Very simple and quick recipe, although there's a messy step where the seared, paprika-coated shrimp are supposed to have their tails removed and the flesh cut in half.
Served with a chunk of monopoly game-won french bread (oddly, the recipe did not describe what sort of staple would be served with it, and you want that rich, pimenton-heavy broth soaked into something).

boudreaulicious wrote:Fresh picked chive and Marcona almond pesto, tagliatelle and green beans with mustard vinaigrette. Nice Sunday supper.

B0520252-B206-46F3-81B1-09167886A22C.jpeg

Lots of great looking meals on this thread. Boudreau, could you elaborate on the ingredients in the pesto--I'd love to give it a go...

G Wiv wrote:

ronnie_suburban wrote:Money shot - rare/medium-rare

Nice looking dinner but that skirt steak is causing a stir in my nether regions.

Samesies.
Next time I get my hands on some skirt, there's gonna be issues.
Killin' me, Ron.

Probably my most frequently cooked breakfast, beans and eggs . . .


Beans & Eggs

Here it's the Three Sisters Garden adzuki beans I made a few days ago, topped with a trio of over-easy eggs (broke one on the transfer) and grated cotija cheese. The jalapeno is one of the four peppers from the bean pot. Not surprisingly, this is delicious in -- or not in -- the midst of a pandemic.

=R=

thaiobsessed wrote:

boudreaulicious wrote:Fresh picked chive and Marcona almond pesto, tagliatelle and green beans with mustard vinaigrette. Nice Sunday supper.

B0520252-B206-46F3-81B1-09167886A22C.jpeg

Lots of great looking meals on this thread. Boudreau, could you elaborate on the ingredients in the pesto--I'd love to give it a go...

Thanks TO—this thread has been a bright spot for inspiration for me as well!! Basically, I had ramp envy from posts here and on FB, and no ramps, but lots of lovely chives thriving in the garden. I didn’t measure anything so take these amounts with a lg pinch of salt

3 Tbsp rough chopped chives
1/4 cup Marcona almonds
1 tbsp rough chopped garlic
1 tbsp rough chopped shallot
3 tbsp rough chopped Italian parsley
Juice of 1 lemon
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt & Pepper to taste
2 tbsp grated Parmesan

Buzz everything up to the lemon in the Cuisinart. Once combined, drizzle in the olive oil til it’s incorporated. If it’s too thick, drizzle in water til it’s a sauce-like consistency. Season with S&P to taste. If too sharp from the garlic/shallot, nuke for a minute (My garlic and shallots weren’t as fresh as my chives so I had to do this). Add the Parm and stir well. I tossed this with the tagliatelle and some chopped vine tomatoes and also topped the salmon with it. Enjoy!!

BLT = lunch.




BLT, count me a Fan!

Hi,

Yesterday, I did make Bagel Bread and Banana Bread. The Bagel bread holds up well for sandwiches. The banana bread may as well be dessert or coffee cake.


I still had some lamb leftover, though my interest to stuff grape leaves faded. During the night, I remembered a Turkish dish of tiny meatballs and sour cherries. I did not want to break open my container of sour cherries in the freezer. I finally settled on something Indian-ish: lamb meatballs in a Tikka Masala simmering sauce, bought when it was marked down at Jewel. The meatballs called for garam masala, well I substituted Chinese five-spice powder and finally dipped into fresh mint growing outside the door. I did have Basmati rice available, though I needed something to challenge myself.

Sometime ago, I clipped a recipe for Persian-Style Rice with Golden Crust (Chelow) from Milk Street. I made a half-recipe because if I blew it, there would be so much less mistake to eat (or throw away). It takes an hour, the crust did not burn, loved the crunch texture and something we'd really like on our table again.


Cleared from the pantry shelf: a packet of heat and serve Madras Lentils from Costco.


We finished our meal with a hodge podge of salads left from prior meals.

Effectively lunch is now dinner, and dinner is now something light.

Regards,
Cathy2

Cathy Two - If you like that Persian rice, there are special rice cookers for it. Some you can even set the amount of "crisp".

Inspired by C2 and Serious Eats, tried making Detroit-style pizza. Probably would have been better with actual brick cheese — all I had was part-skim Mozzarella. A higher fat cheese would have been better. Still, not bad ... maybe a B or B-

Xexo wrote:Cathy Two - If you like that Persian rice, there are special rice cookers for it. Some you can even set the amount of "crisp".

I didn't know about those. I will have to look up to understand how they function.

Edit: Found an article on Persian rice cookers.

Thanks!

Cathy2

You are most welcome! Be sure and let us know if you get one and how well it works.

Cathy2 wrote:

Xexo wrote:Cathy Two - If you like that Persian rice, there are special rice cookers for it. Some you can even set the amount of "crisp".

I didn't know about those. I will have to look up to understand how they function.

Edit: Found an article on Persian rice cookers.

Thanks!

Cathy2

I'm sinking lower and lower.

Tonight's dinner:

Lentils Dijonnaise
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfflVyts3Xw&t=334s

Quite simply, the EASIEST lentil recipe that I have seen and it offers quite a good flavor. It takes 10 minutes of preparation and 40 minutes of cooking.

Bacon Wrapped Stuffed Arizona Medjool Dates

I am down to the last 2# of 77# of dates that I received from the Borderlands Produce Rescue in 2018. I have to admit that I will NOT be unfappy to see these go to free up more of my indoor freezer space.

Each and everyday, we find something that can be used up in preparing the two or three meals each day.

Avocados Are In, Pork Bellies Out in Era of Pandemic Eating

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles ... mic-eating

boudreaulicious wrote:
Thanks TO—this thread has been a bright spot for inspiration for me as well!! Basically, I had ramp envy from posts here and on FB, and no ramps, but lots of lovely chives thriving in the garden. I didn’t measure anything so take these amounts with a lg pinch of salt

This is great, I have lots of nice chives coming up, thank you!

G Wiv wrote:I'm sinking lower and lower.

Hold.
My.
Coors Light (Vintage 2017.)

Hearty Soup Of The Day:
Flash Fried Ramen from the Jin region of Korea, reconstituted in bone broth laced with varietal Asian capsicum. Summer harvested vegetable medley marinated 72 hours in a blend of organic extra virgin olive oil, and buerre blanc from the Aldi region of North Riverside. Protein option included is slow roasted shoulder of beouf, cold marinated in it's own jus for 48 hours.


AKA: Spicy Jin Ramen, 3 day old leftover frozen veg, and some 2 day old pot roast:

Seebee - thanks for the laugh!

seebee wrote:the Aldi region of North Riverside.

OMG yes, I've been and fell in love with the rugged coastline, beautiful women, wine and song. Not to mention delectable woven wheat crisps, aerosol aged cheese and boeuf de buddig.

Thanks for the memories!

G Wiv wrote:

seebee wrote:the Aldi region of North Riverside.

OMG yes, I've been and fell in love with the rugged coastline...

Thanks for the memories!

Ah, the mighty Des Plaines. Lovely this time of year. Not to mention the abundant, and delectable Fruits De Mer therein.

Tea Dinner. Random items anchored by dolmades. Could use sharp cheese and crunchy fresh veg.




Tea Dinner, count me a Fan!

Channeling my inner belle...my mom’s (kinda) recipe for pan fried chicken thighs, leek mashed potatoes and stewed green beans with roasted tomatoes and ham.

I found a box of Jiffy's pizza crust mix. I really wanted to duplicate Cathy2's pizza from posts back. The crust was an absolute disaster as it did not rise. However, the dough never rose. I stretched the crust into a baking dish and used it. The pizza turned out very well despite the crust.

Mrs. jlawrence01 took one look at the box and said, "Did you know that this expired in 2015?" Well, no.

We ordered a lot of meat this week ... pork butt, ground beef, a whole chicken, and smoked pork neck bones from Krogers. We received nothing as it was out of stock. Maybe we will get better delivery from Walmart.

annak wrote:tried out serious eats scallion pancakes tonight. pretty great!

That recipe calls for the coals on one side of the grill. I assume you cook on the cool side, but its not clear. What did you do?