Maison Rustique

@Smithy, That salad of beets, sauerkraut, capers, olives, etc. sounds intriguing. I need to do some Googling to see if I can find something similar.

Sorry I did not take any photos. Aside from a bit of family drama at the very beginning, our dinner at Lidia's was fantastic. There was entirely too much food. First course was served family style: Caesar salad; a walnut, celery and cheese salad ( I lucked out and got the leftovers); mushroom arancini, beef and pickled veggie toasts; tuna on toast; salami; mortadella ; and bread with a hummus and avocado-something and olive oil. All were wonderful. As if that wasn't enough, servers showed up with huge pans of pasts---a rigatoni in Bolognese and butternut squash ravioli in a sage brown butter sauce. The ravioli had a touch of cinnamon and something else slightly sweet in them. Delicious! By the time my short rib arrived, I took one bite and left it to get packed up. It is fabulous and I can't wait to have it for supper tonight. Pete had manicotti that looked wonderful, Heidi also had the short rib, my sister Kathy had pork loin that was stuffed with bourbon-soaked prunes and Aaron had salmon that looked lovely. They brought 2 trays of desserts--pumpkin cheesecake, various biscotti, tiramisu and candied orange peel. I had a couple of bites of tiramisu, but honestly at this point I was on overload. We had a couple of bottles of a very nice red wine (Montepulciano of some sort, though I didn't pay that much attention) and a wonderful time was had by all. And we all went home with lots of doggie bags and some turkey breast that Heidi had cooked, so we all get turkey sandwiches, too.

Happy Thanksgiving all!!

I might need to look into one of those grills now that it is just me. I'm not sure I'd fire up the regular Weber just for myself.

@Shel_B, congrats on the good results. Doesn't sound like fun, though.

I bought one today. Same price but mine did not come with the rack. Only size they had there. I was hoping it was a bit smaller and lighter, but it is still lighter than the huge one I've got. I'm going to try to pawn that one off on my sister tomorrow.

Better get a couple of beds--I'm coming, too. With cat.

Thanks for posting this. A few years ago, my ancient slow cooker died. I absolutely loved it---it was huge, had a stoneware insert and worked great. Naturally, they didn't make them anymore. I found another with a stoneware insert and it was even bigger, so I went for it. Well, at that time I still had a husband who ate and was hosting lots of holiday dinners. Now, I've got this behemoth that is very difficult to store and I never use it. I just might pitch it and pick up one of these if my Costco has them. I plan to go today or tomorrow so will check. I want to get measurements for it and check the one I've got. to make sure it is enough smaller that I'll be happy with it.

I have started going to Olive Garden every month or so. Not my favorite place but if I go around 4 pm, it is quiet. I sit at the bar, order a glass of wine and then order a meal with soup and one of their $6 entrees to take home and bake--all to go. Then I have at least 5 or 6 meals (I pop the soup and extra entree into the freezer) that are easy and hot and I don't have to cook. For $30 or thereabouts, I've got lots of food and got to sit somewhere besides my house with a glass of wine.

@Smithy I feel like I could have written that post. For me it started a couple of years ago when my husband's dementia began getting bad. He got odd about food and stopped eating much aside from sandwiches and sweets. Then when he went into memory care, I mostly ate crackers from a baggie in the car as I was going back and forth to see him. Then, my hip started giving out and my subsequent hip replacement. I'm still not really back to normal and am using a cane most of the time, so not cooking yet. I lost entirely too much weight and have started force-feeding myself but that is mostly canned soup and frozen dinners unless my family is here and they drag me out to eat. I honestly don't know if I will ever feel like cooking again.

I like it, too, but haven't even heard it mentioned since I left Boston. I recall having it grilled once and it was delicious.

Had half a burger for lunch (a lot more than usual) so didn't want much for supper. Nuked a bag of popcorn--ate half and a hunk of cheese for supper.

My sis and BIL are here helping me. They treated me to dinner at local favorite Osteria Bianchi. No pix. BIL had duck, sis had taglietelle and I had my favorite mortadella pizza which is my favorite pizza and I'd been craving it.

I'm not sure that fish chili would have occurred to me, but why not? Makes me think of an old online acquaintance from the days when I sold on eBay regularly--anytime I'd mention having fish tacos, he would throw a fit. Could not imagine how anyone could ruin tacos by putting fish in it. He's probably turning over in his grave looking at this. Ha!

Yesterday's fine meal. Doctored with butter and cheese. A friend brought me some of her famous chili (She developed it for PBS' Great American Recipe), posole, cornbread and toppings yesterday. I did not dive right in as my system was feeling a bit off and I didn't think spicy would be good. Will play it by ear today.

Here is the Tomolive recipe. Whoever I got it from was the person who had them at Temple Bar. Tomolives If tomatoes are larger, cut in half or quarters. If small, make a couple of holes or slits in them so the brine gets inside. Pack the tomatoes snugly into a jar. Add 4 cloves garlic and a tsp of pickling spice. Bring ¼ c. salt, a pint of Heinz white pickling vinegar, and a pint of water to a boil. Pour over tomatoes, let cool, and store in the fridge. The Temple Bar in Manhattan served an "old South martini," garnished with tomolives, which is where I first had them. They're also great in bloody marys.

@Smithy No, neither of those. I'll see if I can find it on Facebook. My Medicare provider sends free meals after you've been in the hospital. Just tried one. They arrive fresh but you can freeze for longer storage. I am impressed with the varieties they sent. Just had this one. Was it great? No but it wasn't the worst thing ever either. Broccoli was crunchy and flavorful. And it was more than I could eat!

Pretty sure I posted a recipe here at some point for Tomolives--little brined green tomatoes. I believe I got the recipe here years ago. They taste just like olives. I'm still hunting for my recipes since my PC burned up or I'd share it again..

Have been really sick for a couple of days (doc feels unrelated to hip) so I have had nothing but ginger tea and bone broth for a couple of days. Will ease back into trying to eat today. Doc says low fat and no dairy for 2 days. I can't even look at food pix right now but will catch up on your delicious meals later.

[Host's note: this post was split from a spam-flagged topic, hence the abrupt start.] My problem is that I have friends who bring me food all the time but I never know when. My sister didn't believe what a problem this is until she came to stay with me during recovery. If you go shopping and plan a meal, someone will show up with 3 different entrees, 2 bags of salad and fresh produce that need to get used right away. I end up tossing so much food because I just can't keep up with it. I have occasionally told one friend that I appreciate him bringing xyz, but right now my freezer is full and I already have 3 things that need to get used right away. But I hate to do that too often because I honestly do appreciate what is gifted to me and especially since I can't care for myself right now. I don't want the food gifts to stop, but it makes it terribly difficult to plan meals.

Did not take pix, but last night my sis made me meatloaf, mashed taters and roasted baby carrots. It was wonderful to have some real food. I even had a tiny taste of wine, but not much as I think pain pills and wine are frowned upon.

@Tempest63 That looks and sounds delicious. I need to hunt for a recipe.

I had a chopped salad with Saltines and butter--didn't have any bread. I'd forgotten how much I love Saltines with butter.

I love this idea, but the last time I checked there were no participants in this area.

Fixed it. LOL!