Maison Rustique

I finally made the Swiss steak I'd been planning, but I think I've forgotten how to cook. It is just not like I used to make. First of all, I realized that I'd taken all my large baking pans to the other house and was not going to make a trip over there in this frigid weather and wind. So, made it in a Dutch oven stove top. It just tastes so blah. I think I got the green peppers from Aldi, though it may have been Sprouts. I used 3 of them. They have no flavor. I can't even smell them. I've never had green peppers so tasteless--usually they overpower everything else. I'm blaming the mediocrity of this dish on the peppers and not my poor cooking skills. Maybe sitting in the fridge for a day or two will make it better. The buttered spinach was good!

Thanks, @liuzhou. I've got a bag of potatoes and a few apples. I just might give it a try!

@Smithy How did you store these potatoes to get them to last so long? No matter if I get mine at Sprouts or a regular grocery chain, they are sprouting within 2-3 weeks.

@rotuts That's disappointing. TJ's has/had a Citrus/Garlic spice blend that I love and use a lot. I'd have expected this to be equally good and would have jumped on it. Sorry to hear it was disappointing.

I bought everything to make Swiss steak, but then realized late afternoon that it was too late to get it going. I knew the thin pork chops I'd gotten would cook quickly, so went with that and some vintage Aldi brioche lemon & thyme stuffing from the pantry. I'll get to the Swiss steak another day.

Yes, jarred sauces can be very good and as Smithy said, you can have them over rice, pasta, potatoes. You don't even need to freeze. You can buy par-cooked rice in microwave bags. Heat one up, put in a bowl, pour some sauce over it and gently nuke a little more until the sauce is hot. Sprinkle a little shredded cheese over and voila!

I got a gift certificate for Olive My Pickle for Christmas. My order just arrived. I got Dill Pickle Kraut, Smoked Black Pepper & Garlic Kraut, Classic Kosher Dill Pickles, Spicy Kosher Dill Pickles, Horseradish Pickles, Veggie Medley (giardiniera) and a free Kosher Dill Brine. I'll be a real sour puss now!!

I found this site that has some guidelines and a cheatsheet to show adaptations. I'm not sure how good the suggestions are, as I haven't used it. Freezer Meals 101 I know many people who do "meal planning" where they cook one day and pack up meals for freezing. You might try looking for some of those websites, as it is rather popular with many busy moms/caretakers.

I've been fortunate to have my sister come to take care of me and feed me the couple of times I've been in recovery. My Medicare Advantage insurance provided prepared meals for a week or two after both surgeries, but I don't think my new provider does this. Not that they were wonderful meals. After my hip replacement, for whatever reason, I simply lost my appetite and no matter what it was, it made me sick. My sister would force me to eat. She had surgery a couple of months ago and went through the same thing. I reminded her of her force-feeding me. She said, "Yes. And I'm so sorry I did that to you." Ha! At any rate, soups are always good. Easy on the stomach for the most part and easy to freeze in portions.

@Duvel, I had not heard of baking cheese in the container like that. Fascinating! Last night was yet another bagged salad from a kit--I buy this kit when I see it for the little cheddar cheese pretzel balls. They are delicious and I can't seem to find them to buy anywhere. Plus another meatball. I froze the remaining 2 meatballs.

Yes, I've ground dried mushrooms and made blends with them to include salt/pepper/herbs/spices, depending on how I plan to use. I love to use on roasted veggies, in soups, stews, etc.

As I read @blue_dolphin's comments, Vivian Howard's book also popped into my mind. I hope to get back to cooking more once I get moved (which we made some progress at yesterday).

A chicken stew that a friend brought me. Good winter supper!

I also thought about pickled green beans or carrots, too. I would take the cocktail sauce in a jar, take all other components in baggies and put them together at the hostess's house. I'd never be able to juggle all those little cups. And I just checked and I have exactly the right size plastic cups for them. And pretty sure I've got some fancy cocktail picks unless they are packed. But that's easy to pick up.

I'm invited to a "Galentine's" dinner this year. I asked the hostess what to bring. She said it would be nice if I brought "shrimp cocktail or whatever appetizer you want". Since there are around a dozen people attending, I think I'd have to take out a loan if I actually made shrimp cocktails for everyone. Here's what I'm thinking--please shoot me down or add ideas: Marinate and cook shrimp in bloody mary mix and vodka. Take small glasses (bigger than shot glasses but not much), put in doctored cocktail sauce, a skewered shrimp, pickled asparagus spear and couple of skewered olives. So, it isn't a drink and has more than just a decent sized shrimp, but isn't nearly as expensive as making a full-size shrimp cocktail for each person. Does it sound too small?

@Norm Matthews, here is a link to your post about the cookbook.

I've never tried that but now I'm curious.

I'm buying stock in pharmaceuticals who make cholesterol and cardiac drugs. While I drink as much alcohol as possible.

Yesterday at Costco I found a couple of steals I couldn't pass up. I'll share some with my sis but will not need to buy cheese again for a while. And no photo, but for tinned fish lovers, they also had packages of 3 tins of a spicy flavored tuna by Fishwife. I don't know size of tins, but cost was $15.xx. Since I've yet to use the Tonnino I got a couple of weeks ago, I did not buy.

Last night's meal of small salad and 2 meatballs was way too much for me. I thought I was paring down just having one meatball tonight but my side was extra heavy, though delicious. Mashed potatoes with spinach and some artichoke and lemon pesto from the back of the pantry. It turned out great. I'm calling it Deb- anized stoemp.

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!

@TdeV, personally, I would not freeze it. I think you will wind up with cabbage mush which to me does not sound appealing at all. If you really want cabbage you can freeze, I'd just make a cabbage soup of some sort. Just my own preference, but the texture of frozen cabbage is not going to be good.

Well, since I'm still trying to adjust to cooking for just myself, maybe I need this. I'll mull it over. Too many cookbooks!!!

Since NYE is my birthday, my sister and BIL treated me to a night out at our favorite local restaurant, Osteria Bianchi. It was absolutely stellar. Here is the menu. We all started with the beet salad and it was fantastic. I had the Rotolo and sis and BIL both had lobster risotto. Then I had Veal Osso Buco and both of them had the short rib. For dessert, we had Pistachio Souffle. We had their wine pairings so I don't recall what they all were. I know we started with a French Chablis and a Chateauneuf du Pape with the Osso Buco. We had a bottle of prosecco with dessert and then a little champagne when we got home--most of which went home with them the next day, as we went to bed at 9:30. Old people.