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@Ann_T You always do Beef perfectly . Yum Yum

Tonight's dinner - Steak and Frites. Picked up two more of the Sterling Silver Top Sirloin cap steaks. The flavour is so good and the steaks very tender. Cooked on the grill and served with a wine sauce with twice fried "shoestring French fries".

I decided to bake something I haven't baked in probably 6 or 7 years - my Caramelized Onion and Poppy Seed baguettes. Started the dough with one of the small sourdough starters with the addition of yeast, for a same day bake. The initial mix After the 1st stretch and fold. Dough had three more stretch and folds before being left on the counter in a covered container for a room temperature bulk fermentation. Last batard was out of the oven by 3:30. After dinner tonight, Moe had a slice buttered.

Breakfast of ham omelette with toasted wholemeal bread.

Zingerman's annual "Balsamic Blowout" is back.

I went to the farmers market to buy turnip greens this morning and spotted this robiola in the cheese counter. The cheese smelled great thru the paper and it had right kind of squishy feel. I've decided to take a chance and brought a piece home. OMG it was perfect. The producer is Boxcarr Handmade Cheese in Cedar Grove NC. The price came out to be about $19/lb which is a bargain for artisanal cheese. Served with a sourdough bread from Craft Bakery.

I stopped at Sprouts this morning to pick up a couple of things. As I passed by the case with take and bake meals, I spotted a sign for meatballs for $2.99/lb. They expire tomorrow so were half price. I grabbed one. Since it was expiring, I popped it into the toaster oven a while ago. I had planned to just freeze for future use, but they smelled and looked so good I changed my supper plan. And dang, why didn't I buy another package, too!

Thanks for the clarification. I definitely prefer tortillas over the gas burner if available. Occasionally I will steam tortillas for a crowd.

Five-spice pork ribs: Marinated the ribs with soy sauce, fish sauce, 5-spice powder, garlic, sesame oil, sugar, cilantro, and whiskey. Grilled the ribs and then finished in the oven, mopping with marinade from time to time. Meat was chewy, which I expected, but quite delicious. I would love to try slow-smoked ribs with a similar marinade. Friend brought over green beans, and Mrs. C made falafel and tahini sauce. Sliced cucumbers, red bell peppers, and scallions to round out the meal.

I mentioned the dry pan method because we have a glass top electric stove here in AZ. When in MX I throw the tortillas directly on my gas burners a quick off and on. On the duck, brand is Maple Leaf Farms. I found it a tad tough the first few times I seared it (medium to med-high heat, 12 minutes). After research and trial/error, I now sear at low for 20 minutes, starting in a cold pan. I don't touch them during that time, other than to tilt the pan to spoon off (and reserve) the duck fat. Yesterday's result was the most tender with crispiest skin. I turn them over at the 20 minute mark for 3 or 4 minutes. Then I rest for another 7 minutes. It's not fast, but happy with outcome.

Thanks for that information. I expect to be out in the Yuma area in a few weeks. There are at least 2 Fry's there; maybe I can find duck breast at one of them! Thanks also for the tortilla-management information.

Some sort of mashup between a Beef with Broccoli and Jap Chae. King Oyster mushrooms, Chinese Broccoli and sweet potato noodles in a beef and broccoli sauce.

Last night I seared 2 duck breasts; one we made into a 'proper' dinner meal (see post in Dinner 2026). I saved the smaller 1 for today's lunch. fyi, I buy these at the Tucson grocery chain, Frys Foods; they come frozen 2 to a pack with no separation between them. Impossible to separate the breasts unless you thaw the entire pack. Lunch was the duck, fresh corn off the cob (surprisingly sweet for January), chopped green onions and cilantro. I quickly browned the flour tortillas in a hot and dry non-stick pan, immediately wrapping in foil to keep them soft. To assemble I slathered the open tortilla with hoisin sauce (and a few dots of siracha) before adding the fillings and rolling them up. We both agreed we liked this meal better than dinner last night.

Happy 2026, Everyone! Made this for new years day for dinner. It was lovely. THEN, something, a piece of shell broke a tooth! Luckily, my cousin and her hubby are dentists, and they took me in next morning even tho' the office was closed. Bouillabaisse from a Weight Watchers cookbook: Next day, even tho' I didn't have any residual pain. I took care to not bite down on the "cavity" Made wonton soup for dinner.

@Smithy more of those potatoes , please.

Last night I put together my down-and-dirty version of Potatoes Anna. No recipe. I sliced 2 russet potatoes as thinly as possible, used a cup of butter left over from a lobster dish, some half-and-half, garlic powder and smoked paprika, and baked at 400F. As it all finished I topped it with the last of some roasted broccoli and tomatoes. Then I didn't eat it, because I already had too much food for dinner. Some of it is lunch instead. Okay, it looks overcooked (the vegetables definitely are) but it's delicious. If this were a rice dish, I'd be saying "look at that tahdig!"

Leftover larb lettuce wraps, topped with a fried egg

Sausages, peppers and onions, and acorn squash.

Baked four smaller baguettes with poppy seeds yesterday morning. I normally don't eat breakfast, but I sliced one of the small baguettes horizontally, toasted and topped with fried ham and tomato. Moe had toasted sourdough, with fried ham and buttered basted eggs for his breakfast.

This one speaks very directly to my own sense of humour. At one point, when my kids were small, my then-wife and I were in the kitchen cooking or cleaning (I forget which). My wife, gesturing absently in my direction: "Pass me over a towel, please?" Me: (Drops towel on the floor, picks her up - eliciting a startled squawk - and passes her over the towel) This is the place where I often say "I found it much funnier than she did," but in this particular case she also laughed pretty hard.

Found by my GF on Facebook:

Sunny summer salads for multiple dinners or sometimes late lunch with occasional use of the BBQ

Chicken larb, from the dinner thread. I was late getting groceries so I opted for ground chicken to save time.

More or less a repeat of last night's dinner. This time I added spinach for greenery, and used my panini press, opened flat so everything could be griddled at once. Then when it was time to fold the tortilla I folded the press over and griddled both sides at once. Not much difference in the final result, as far as the equipment was concerned. (I think the A4 box may get a bit hotter then the panini press.) I fear the spinach was more window dressing than benefit to the flavor. I get virtue points for the greenery, but that's about it. 😁

Poached chicken in a chilli, garlic, green onion sauce with rice and smashed cucumber salad.