Beebs

Mmmm... I love Pi(e) Day! I have a purchased frozen tourtiere to heat up for dinner tonight.

Something a bit different last night for the schnitzelling - Hong Kong Pork Chop Rice. It's kind of like a cutlet parma. It's not something I usually make at home, but it's one of two dishes I often order at the Hong Kong-style cafes here (the other is Portuguese/Macau Baked Chicken Rice ) Breaded pork cutlet being sliced & placed on top of fried rice. Pork cutlets were tenderized with the pointy side of the mallet & marinated. Didn't do a good job with the frying this time. Too impatient for the oil to get sufficiently hot, so the first couple cutlets were too greasy. Fried rice is frozen mixed veg & Maggi Sauce. Tomato sauce (canned whole tomatoes, ketchup, soy, oyster sauce), bell peppers, onions on top, and cheese. Baked for about 15 mins, with broiling at the end. Unappetizing mess on a plate made worse with hideous lighting. Tasted great. DH super happy.

Those roast potatoes look incredible. How did you do them?

Cold beer.

Is there any seafood dish worth doing in the IP (other than seafood stock)? Octopus maybe? Sounds like by the time anything even gets up to pressure, it'll be beyond dead already.

What does he think of stew?? I have a Rachel Ray cookbook (yeah, yeah, I know! ) and there are a couple recipes for something she called "stoup". Stew + soup. Watery stew or thick soup - I can't wrap my head around it, but ok sure.

A meal pill wouldn't be for me. However, it would be nice to have some better ready-to-eat meals for when I'm at work. I've got some frozen pastas, ramen cup noodles, and canned soup at work, for those days when I don't have a lunch to bring or don't/can't go out. Or just feeling the wallet's a bit thin. I'm bored of all my back-up meals. Some of the better-looking frozen meals take up too much time in the microwave. 8 minutes...really? My coworkers would revolt if I hogged the micro for that long during lunch! When I was running marathons I would consume energy gels (Guu, Cliff Shots, Power Gels). Basically a small pouch of flavoured maltodextrin and caffeine, for quick fuel delivery. Not very tasty, but did the job. I've since switched over to Honey Stingers gummy candies, which take a little longer to do the same thing but taste way better than a mouthful of goo. I've known people to consume energy gels and gummies in the middle of a work day as a meal replacement, even though that's not the intended use. That's not for me, either.

Here's mine! Pardon the weird lighting in the 2nd photo.... It's been awhile since I made schnitzel. I followed some of the tips posted here and gave the cutlets a nice long rest, post-breading. Turned out really nicely, crust didn't fall off or get soggy. It's pork loin, pounded thin, and panko crust. Leftovers for schnitzel sandwiches the next day.

Feeling under the weather the last couple days, so congee was in order. I meant to use 1 cup of rice, but in my cold-induced haze, I threw in 2 cups of rice. Oops. Came out like tar. Anyway, kabocha pumpkin, store-bought chicken broth & ginger. Used the Porridge setting. Had to add another 4 cups or so of liquid to the tar and simmered it on the Saute for a few extra mins.

I have discovered the joys of steaming whole beets in the IP.

Ugh. Valentine's Day out is the worst. Usually we opt to stay in and have pizza and beer and a movie. If I have time, I'll make a dessert. This year, DH has graciously agreed to give up the movie in favour of us (me) watching Olympic women's hockey (CAN vs USA!!). I'm making gochujang chicken wings and a sticky toffee pudding for dessert.

Ok I gotta ask... is the gravy thing more of a Eastern Canada thing? I don't see as much of the gravy-love here in BC (or Vancouver, at least). We're more likely to dump coffee on everything.

Canadian seasoning? You mean the maple syrup, bacon and beer we put on everything? What about quatre epices? Nutmeg, cloves, ginger, pepper (but I think some quatre epices blends sub in allspice for one of the other spices?). Used in tourtieres and other French Canadian dishes.

Oddly, I didn't take too many pictures of the schnitzel! Most of them were taken after I'd eaten most of it already, and the only one not yet eaten was actually three smaller pieces of veal schnitzel. Maybe DH has a good photo. I don't remember having any that were bigger than a dinner plate. They are quite wide, but also very thin. I'd say they took up maybe half to 3/4 of a plate??

Yummmm! I went to Austria & Germany last spring and ate a lot of schnitzel. A lot. DH had it almost every day. We had both pork and veal schnitzels, and I think there may have been a chicken cutlet once also. Served with the ubiquitous Bavarian potato salad. I like mine plain, with just a squeeze of lemon. Tomorrow is DH's birthday and it will be at a local German/Austrian restaurant. We will be having schnitzel.

Delicious little knobby grenades of flatulence....ugh. I ate them the night before a long training run, as did DH. Let's just say gas-propelled running isn't advisable.

Burp. Ate way too much. As usual. No pictures, but I ended up serving a nibbles plate with some veg, olives, crackers, smoked oyster dip; baked tortilla roll ups with spinach & goat cheese; retro Ritz crackers topped with brie & habenero jelly; cheeseburger sliders; Two-Bite Brownies (purchased). People brought chicken wings, dry ribs, salad, pork tenderloin roast, guacamole, chips, and ice cream bars. Good game all around - I like close games. Especially that the team I was rooting for came out on top. Forgettable half-time show - no Janet!

Ok, please help me settle a..."passionate discussion"...I had with DH today, about how much Super Bowl food (variety-wise) is enough food for 7-10 people. So far I'm contributing cheeseburger sliders, and a few people are bringing two meaty dishes (don't know what they are - probably mini corndogs or dry ribs), and pakoras. Someone always brings chips & dip/salsa or popcorn. DH says that's enough food. I say, no way!! There's enough entree-type things, but we'll need at least a few more snacky things, something veg, and something sweet! What say you, eGullet?

And then there's the "raw water" fad in parts of the US & Canada..... https://www.cnbc.com/2018/01/08/what-to-know-about-the-raw-water-trend.html I'll pass on that glass of untreated water full of fecal matter, e. coli, & giardia, thank you very much.

@liamsaunt Tuna poke! Can I come to your party? Along with the cheeseburger sliders, other people are bringing pakoras, "something porky", and "something meaty". Someone else will probably bring chips & salsa. Need to add a few more things, preferably a meat-free, dairy-free item, and something desserty. Maybe Bloody Caesar shrimp cocktail and smoked salmon roll ups. Scallion pancake or potsticker with dipping sauce? Summer rolls with peanut sauce? I feel a not as organized this year.

Here we go again! What's for eats this year? Thinking of cheeseburger sliders. What's a good way of making a bunch of mini burger patties? I don't want to form a pile of individual patties and grill them (lazy!). Has anyone tried making one giant flat patty in a pan, baking in the oven, and slicing them up into squares? Like a flat meatloaf.

Some years ago I woke up extra early on my DH's birthday and made him pancakes to take to work for his breakfast. His coworkers were very envious of his birthday pancakes. Until he bit into them. I had forgotten the baking powder. He had bravely tried to eat them, but only managed to get through one - they were so heavy and dense. We now call them Dense Cakes. I threaten to make them for him every birthday. I recall having a heated argument with some friends about which orifice eggs come out of. So we called up a biologist friend who set us straight. Cloaca - word of the day!

That's really too bad. I had that recipe saved to try later. I love French onion soup but I don't care for onion mush soup. I still really love the onions from that Onion Confit topic some years back. I did it in a slow cooker overnight (DH wasn't thrilled with the lovely onion smells lingering in our apt for days....). I recall it being a bit too soft & sweet for onion soup, but it was great for smearing all over bread. I think I'll have a go again in the Instant Pot's slow cooker setting - hoping the smells might be better-contained in the IP.

@Kerry Beal what is that plushy-looking thing hanging off your purse?

Bathtub chocolate is the most bad@$$ thing I've seen in a long while - way to go, Kerry! Any bathtub caramel bonbons in the works?