suzilightning

linda- the actual phrasing a la po-town is "oh dear, oh my, oh gollygosh." cusina- can you get pickled okra? it is my favorite. (especially when the okra is gone i drink the pickling brine - hangs head). you can add them to the gumbo but remember to hold some out for garnishing.

apparently has the metabolism of a soccer player. She eats enormous amounts and never gains an ounce. this is the director where i work... we say she has the metabolism of a gerbil i also agree - i love to cook for an appreciative audience though one of my co-workers hates it. she complains that she hates to spend hours (perhaps inefficient use of time here) cooking but then having the meal demolished in 15 minutes(hellooooooo pacing?). just because you live with 3 males doesn't mean you throw the food on the table to let them inhale it!!

Bingo! ← ditto. though i have to plan for leftover meals on mondays, wednesdays and thursdays. these are the nights johnnybird and i work late® and have our dinners at work. meatloaf for sandwiches. roast chicken becomes chicken pot pie. soups are portioned and frozen. gumbo and rice as well. the other variable in the equation is if john has to go out of town for business(as he will on monday - hopefully having dinner with betts and her hubby in ft. lauderdale). currently in the fridge are leftover mac & cheese, sauteed chard and garlic, some pasta, beef pot pie, gumbo and bolognese sauce. tomorrow the pot pie for john's lunch. the mac and cheese will be lunches for both of us on saturday. the gumbo for lunches sunday. pasta and sauce with the chard for dinner saturday. new cooking will be crab imperial and asparagus tomorrow night and shrimp scampi with pasta primavera sunday. then i'm single until friday and then again for the weekend... any offers?

made my chicken and andouille gumbo yesterday and let it "mellow" in the fridge overnight. just had some and all i can say is not bad though with some alternations from what i consider standard. for the roux: 1/4 cup duck fat and 1/4 cup wondra flour. took about 35 minutes to bring it to mahogany color over medium/medium high heat. in went 1 large onion, 1 each red and green bell pepper, 4 garlic cloves sliced. 2 tsp thyme, 2 tsp basil, 2 tsp oregano, 2 Tbsp file powder. 1 14 oz can chopped tomatoes 2 cups chicken broth 1 1/2 lbs of chicken thighs, cut up and browned 1 lb andouille sausage peeled, split in half and chunked an hour at a simmer then cool down and into the fridge. i chickened out on using okra since john can taste it two states away so contented myself with chopped pickled okra on mine. today when i was refilling the bird feeder the carpenter rebuilding my neighbor's house asked me WHAT was i cooking the day before because it smelled so good it was driving them nuts as they were siding.

growing up on the east end of long island they were big - especially in southold and bridgehampton. now here in new jersey you did have to do a bit of a trip down to around near trenton/jamesburg to get some good ones - especially mendokers bakery. the local pathmark had some but they looked pathetic and they still have cruishiki? WTF?

chufi/klary so wonderful. the pictures, the food. perhaps erwtensoep? then you can also post in the soup blog . (sorry my entire familiarity with dutch and freisen food is through romance novels by the late betty neels - your pictures now add more vividness to when i read her books. thank you, thank you, thank you) do you cook any regional specialities? or are you now being influenced by access to the broadband world?

betts - thank you. i was just going on to check and you had started this thread. my husband will be going down next week for business and he is willing to eat at someplace OTHER than chili's or outback even if he is an engineer. hmmmm...if your husband is in the business, too tell him to look for a guy from new jersey melissa - thank you!! have noted names and pertinent info to pass on.

i was wondering what to make for dinner tuesday that will carry on through the week. aiiiieee i'm in and will try to sneak some okra into johnnybird's. the only modification i will have to make is with the trinity since i can't use celery in my cooking as it bothers me(like in heart palpatations). andouille, chicken and some tasso...peanut butter roux...some cayenne... a tiny bit of salt after i see how the tasso flavors it. maybe a shrimp gumbo for friday - very light roux.... we spent our first year of married life in ne texas(hooks - near texarkana) and our first and third wedding anniversaries in new orleans. i was in the (former) jax beer brewery that had a good cooking store in it and was chatting to a wonderful man who kinda looked like col. sanders w/out the beard when this woman came up and asked us what "filly" powder was. do you mean file? i asked. that's it. i told her i had seen some over here and had picked up some other ingredients, blah, blah, blah. said goodbye to the sweet gentleman and steered the woman in the direction of the file. one of the floor staff asked me if i knew who i was talking to - no, a really nice guy who knew some stuff about what my husband(safety engineer) did and gave me some great tips about a new cuisine for me - cajun and creole. turns out it was justin wilson. hated the overblown persona he projected on tv - loved the 15 minutes or so we just chatted about somethings he was passionate about.

what time is dinner,bilrus? i'm with your wife!! john was off today and i made the mistake of asking him what he wanted to eat for dinner . he wanted pasta so, instead of our usual meatless friday, he got penne with bologonese sauce mixed greens with grape tomatoes and red onions and a vinagrette have beef, brats, cheap cheddar cheese and chicken defrosting for meals to take us through this weekend and tuesday lunch.(actually the chicken is for my 18 year old dying cat - her one thing that she loves is her roasted meat. probably since that is the one sense she hasn't lost yet to her cancer)

neither john nor i particularly like mushrooms but in the pathmark i saw 10 oz of cremini for $1.00. why not? did everything as maggie said but had to add some fresh thyme from the counter pot and some nutmeg(maybe 1/2 tsp. the house smelled wonderful and it tasted divine!!!

everything looks wonderful... tonight was "date" night though someone came home late and drank too much alkeyhall...... started with some mushroom soup from the soup thread that was incredible main course was duck breast that had been scored then rubbed with a mix of sea salt,white pepper and herbs(parsley, dill and tarragon) served with an apple pepper slaw made with red cabbage, red and green peppers, apple and a dressing of toffuti sour cream, miracle whip light, key lime honey, white pepper and sherry vinegar.

i like to use the leaves finely chiffonaded in soups and the stems finely chopped and sauteed for a vegetable or added to a rice or pasta.. one of my favorite vegs and can't wait til the lafayette farmers market opens again

free range austrlian beef filet on sale this week with pp card - 3.99/lb, limit one. got one about 3.5 lbs for 19.80. cut it up into 10 steaks(about 1") and the tail piece that was summarily seared, finished in the oven and sauced with a sauce of shallots, port and beef stock.

[i find, however, that by the time I sit down to eat I already feel satiated. This has puzzled me for years. Am I alone in this? It isn’t because of “excessive” tasting or pre-meal snacks. I’ve suspected that this occurs because I’ve been looking at food and smelling it as it cooks. This may satisfy my hunger center. It’s not unusual to serve my guests and have to struggle to sit down and eat. I do, of course, because I enjoy their company. Oddly, this doesn’t occur as often when I cook just for myself. Would someone please tell me that I’m not alone with this phenomenon? Is there a way around it? this is exactly what happens to me. i taste but not excessivly but i really think that the smell of the food permeates my mind and makes me feel as if i have already eaten.

let me add to the clamour - percyn that has got to be the most mouthwatering picture i have ever seen. now that i have my new dutch oven i must try that. dinner last night was cincinatti chili 4 ways: pasta, sweet chili, beans, grated cheddar cheese (with black olives and sour cream but they don't count) green salad simple but filling and john had never had sweet chili before. he inhaled it.

before i headed for the gym made toad in the hole for our breakfast with some nicely spiced pork breakfast sausages a co-worker brought me from her last trip to canada. they were wonderfully balanced in the seasoning department. ...and iced tea for me. hey, it was almost back up to freezing.

johnnybird's plane landed at newark at 1:43. there's an accident on rt. 80 near the mall. guess he'll be walking in in about 20 minutes and, knowing him, will hit the house and say he's hungry. luckily while cooking tomorrow night's dinner and baking him more tea breads i prepped everything for tonight. jasmine rice sweet and sour shrimp and chicken (with red and green peppers, onions, garlic, water chestnuts, carrots and enoki) oven roasted broccoli have a bottle of this weeks WOW a 2002 Tribach reisling chilling though i have been craving green tea

you know it's about 0 degrees when you go outside and the nose hairs freeze . actually the max/min thermometer had -2 for an ambient overnight. after the gym i came home and have done the following: pumpkin raisin tea cake doped pecan tea cake a big pot of "queen of chilis" from the stern's real american food for dinner tomorrow night. probably a 4 way baked chicken nuggets and i'm all prepped for tonight's dinner john's flight landed at 1:43. there's an accident on route 80 near the mall. i figure i've got about 20 minutes before he walks in the door...

i don't know. when john's sister got married it was so stressful. who had to be invited since her dad was well known in the area. for that reason, too, he insisted she have a sit down dinner, etc. etc. etc. and it was all oh, this one wants to bring a date or we need to invite so and so, the food has to be fancier. thank goodness i was in control and paying for it.

we will be married 23 years this may. for the first ceremony outside at my mom's house we had: clam quiche quiche lorraine stuffed eggs pate with miniature pumpernickel bread green salad with a basic vinaigrette trays of cold cuts and cheese portugese sweet bread and oatmeal bread potato salad coleslaw chocolate chake with vanilla buttercream frosting white fruitcake for the groom's cake my mother, maid of honor and i made everything but the cold cut and cheese tray the second ceremony with john's family was a hot and cold buffet that was catered in the Cottonwood Inn in Millbrook, NY. since john is the way he is there was no dancing though we did have two young ladies from the mid-hudson philharmonic play - violin and harp. no cake ceremony either. we ate, we laughed, we drank, we talked and had a good time. i think if we were doing it again today i'd want to have a barbeque - hmmmmm newburgh isn't that far from poughkeepsie- but i would definitely do all the sides all over again.

just had lunch with my dangerous english friend at: Thai Nam Phet 296 Rt 46 East Rockaway, NJ 973-627-8400 tues - thurs 11:30 am - 10 pm fri & sat 11:30 am - 10:30 pm sun 3:00 pm-9:30 pm and, Rosie, BYO wink.gif DISCLAIMER i am no thai food expert(though i play one on tv and want to get better acquainted). we walked in and were greeted and seated immediately. ice water was poured and the upselling began - asking if we wanted tea, coffee, thai iced tea, thai iced coffee or hot apple cider (1.50-2.50). the menu covers entrees and appetizers and in the back is the lunch special menu served mon- fri 11:30 -3:00 pm. we decided on the lunch specials: Pad Preow Whan and Tom Yam Gai for me, Pad Thai and Thai salad for 'chelle with Po Pia Tod to share. and a thai iced tea for me. i asked the server what was in it and he said "things from Thailand". ok. the salad, soup and iced tea came out immediately. the soup was spicy without being lip searing and i loved the hint of lemongrass and kaffir lime. the thai peanut dressing on 'chelle's salad really gave it a wonderful flavor. before we had finished the spring rolls came out: 4 crispy little cigars of hot goodness with plum sauce. oh, my wub.gif wub.gif the pad thai was beautifully presented and the pad prew whan i had with chicken. crispy cucumber, softened tomatoes, pineapple, onion strips, scallions in a non-gloppy sweet and sour sauce which could have been a tad more sour(that's just me). one thing 'chelle noted that she liked this cuisine because it seemed less oily than most of the chinese food she has had around here. the total was 23.70 plus tip. i think i could also get johnnybird to try this because not all of the dishes are spicy and i want to try more of the spicier dishes. i want to try the larb, Yum Ped Yang(duck salad), Mee Grob, curry puff, Tamarind duck, Chicken Yellow Currry, Ginger duck and beef with oyster sauce.

acme friday - thursday as well

let''s just say zoe's, martini beach, the new thai place and american grill got some votes

when you have just finished a wonderful meal with a friend and you start talking about recent places each of you have eaten and what you MUST order at each. happened just last week...and i started laughing right then and there...

gave johnnybird some key lime honey i picked up down in the keys on vacation. he used it as dessert with some biscuits.