Dinner 2017 (Part 6)

[lindag]

Along the same vein...

I made what I thought was an innocuous cheesy potato slow cooker soup last week...which gave some serious Hershey squirts.

Sorry if this is TMI for you.

[Anna N]

37 minutes ago, suzilightning said:

don't think the cats will be annoyed if the broccoli bothers me over the weekend....

  Maybe not. But I know how to scatter kittens. 

[Dave W]

Grilled b/s chicken thigh, melts yellow American cheese, pickled jalapeños, white hamburger buns. Sublime 

[Thanks for the Crepes]

14 minutes ago, Dave W said:

Grilled b/s chicken thigh, melts yellow American cheese, pickled jalapeños, white hamburger buns. Sublime 

 

b/s chicken thighs? Butter and salt? Do they have a Bachelor of Science?  It does sound like a good chicken sandwich, though.

[Dave W]

Boneless skinless. A little marinade I use with balsamic, lawrys seasoned salt, and garlic powder. 

[liamsaunt]

The other night, hake veracruzana with yellow rice

 

 

Last night, burrata caprese salad

 

 

and local bluefin tuna

 

[Katie Meadow]

Just curious: when you say "local" bluefin what exactly do you mean? Where do you live? Are you eating wild bluefin tuna? I know there are attempts to farm them, but these enterprises are fledgling and also controversial. Bluefin are one of the most awesome beautiful creatures on Earth and just in case you are unaware, they are seriously endangered. And yes, it's just one of those things I get really cranky about, so, sorry, I can't help myself.

[kayb]

No photos because it was not worth the waste of even a megabyte of space. I now remember why, and how much, I loathe Olive Garden. One of these days I'm going to recruit an Italian restaurant to this town, because there is not one fit for human consumption.

[Kim Shook]

@liamsaunt – that burrata salad looks gorgeous.  One of my favorite foods.

 

@kayb – we did the Olive Garden thing a few weeks back (gift card from a sweet, non-food person) and had the same reaction.  My town is big enough that we have quite a few medium range Italian restaurants with good food.  And yet every time you drive past the OG lot is FULL.  I have an otherwise lovely niece who was stationed in Germany and every time she came home she couldn’t wait to go to OG.

 

@Shelby - I keep meaning to ask you.  I know that you peel your tomatoes.  I was raised by a grandmother who thought that women who didn't peel their tomatoes were slatterns.    I detest the texture of a tomato skin - especially in a sandwich.  But I am terrible at peeling them.  If I'm going to cook with them, I just do the boiling water trick, but don't like that with raw tomatoes.  What knife/tool do you use to get them peeled so nicely?

 

Jessica was over for a “Good-bye to summer dinner”.  We started off with pimento cheese & pork rinds and Fritos & clam dip:

 

 

 

BLT’s:

 

With some marinated cukes and awful tomatoes:

 

Good corn:

 

Dessert:

 

And Alexa playing the Beach Boys.

[liamsaunt]

3 hours ago, Katie Meadow said:

Just curious: when you say "local" bluefin what exactly do you mean? Where do you live? Are you eating wild bluefin tuna? I know there are attempts to farm them, but these enterprises are fledgling and also controversial. Bluefin are one of the most awesome beautiful creatures on Earth and just in case you are unaware, they are seriously endangered. And yes, it's just one of those things I get really cranky about, so, sorry, I can't help myself.

 

I live in Massachusetts.  The tuna fishery is highly regulated here.  There is a strict quota and reporting system in place.  The boats go out of Cape Ann or Cape Cod and fishing is done by harpoon or hand line  The Atlantic bluefin tuna does not appear on the Massachusetts Divisions of Fisheries and Wildlife list of endangered, threatened, or species of concern.   In fact, the National Marine Fisheries Service increased the catch limit this season from one fish to four fish per vessel per day.  

[suzilightning]

@Kim Shook can we have Fritos and pimento cheese?  and local sweet corn?

 

I would be a happy camper....

 

[Shelby]

1 hour ago, Kim Shook said:

@liamsaunt – that burrata salad looks gorgeous.  One of my favorite foods.

 

@kayb – we did the Olive Garden thing a few weeks back (gift card from a sweet, non-food person) and had the same reaction.  My town is big enough that we have quite a few medium range Italian restaurants with good food.  And yet every time you drive past the OG lot is FULL.  I have an otherwise lovely niece who was stationed in Germany and every time she came home she couldn’t wait to go to OG.

 

@Shelby - I keep meaning to ask you.  I know that you peel your tomatoes.  I was raised by a grandmother who thought that women who didn't peel their tomatoes were slatterns.    I detest the texture of a tomato skin - especially in a sandwich.  But I am terrible at peeling them.  If I'm going to cook with them, I just do the boiling water trick, but don't like that with raw tomatoes.  What knife/tool do you use to get them peeled so nicely?

 

Jessica was over for a “Good-bye to summer dinner”.  We started off with pimento cheese & pork rinds and Fritos & clam dip:

 

 

 

BLT’s:

 

With some marinated cukes and awful tomatoes:

 

Good corn:

 

Dessert:

 

And Alexa playing the Beach Boys.

Your mother and I must be related  ( the word slattern does not get used enough in every day talk.  I must remedy that.)

 

 I learned a trick from my mom, I'm sure she learned it from her mom etc.  Hold the tomato in one hand and lightly run the back edge of your knife from the crown to the bottom with your other hand.  Repeat until you get all the way around the tomato.  This loosens the skin from the flesh.  Then, I poke the bottom of the tomato to get under the skin and peel it all off.

 

Ronnie thought I had drank too much wine and I was using the wrong side of the knife the first time he saw me do that lol.

 

Try it, it works--UNLESS the 'maters are really hard....like the store bought kind sometimes are.

 

I haven't eaten at Olive Garden for many years, but I did used to like their salad.  Maybe it's changed now.

Edited September 15, 2017 by Shelby (log)

[Toliver]

Just an FYI in case this helps...both Zyliss (click) and Messermeister (click) make soft fruit/tomato peelers.

[Anna N]

 

 As someone has already said, "summer on a plate".  @Shelby   I was skeptical. Very, very skeptical.  Had anyone else told me I could peel tomatoes easily using the back side of a knife I would not even have tried it!   But you haven't led me wrong yet so I tried it.  Worked like a charm.  Now I have a new trick up my sleeve. 

[Norm Matthews]

I didn't take a picture of dinner tonight but it was Colorado Sauce Enchiladas.  

[chefmd]

No cooking tonight.  Lovely warm evening in Arlington VA.  Prosciutto, salami, Parmesan, Gorgonzola, melon.  Eaten on th e balcony.

 

[Shelby]

16 minutes ago, Anna N said:

 

 As someone has already said, "summer on a plate".  @Shelby   I was skeptical. Very, very skeptical.  Had anyone else told me I could peel tomatoes easily using the back side of a knife I would not even have tried it!   But you haven't led me wrong yet so I tried it.  Worked like a charm.  Now I have a new trick up my sleeve. 

  I am SO happy that you trusted me enough to try it.  It's hard to describe how to do it, so I was nervous.  I've peeled a zillion 'maters using this method.

 

You have made my day  

[lindag]

1 hour ago, Toliver said:

Just an FYI in case this helps...both Zyliss (click) and Messermeister (click) make soft fruit/tomato peelers.

The Messermeister is my go-to peeler since way back when CI gave it its  top rating.  Howeve, while I agree it is the best peeler,   I,ve never tried it on tomatoes.

[Anna N]

Just now, lindag said:

The Messermeister is my go-to peeler since way back when CI gave it its  top rating.  Howeve, while I agree it is the best peeler,   I,ve never tried it on tomatoes.

 I have had one for ages but never have found it worked well on either tomatoes or peaches.  Not sure what brand I have. 

[chefmd]

Just now, lindag said:

The Messermeister is my go-to peeler since way back when CI gave it its  top rating.  Howeve, while I agree it is the best peeler,   I,ve never tried it on tomatoes.

I use it on tomatoes all the time and it works great unless tomato is super soft, probably more suitable to make sauce at that point.  You can even peel half of the tomato, slice it, keep the other half for later (cut side down room temp for couple of hours, in the fridge for couple of days).

[ElsieD]

1 hour ago, Toliver said:

Just an FYI in case this helps...both Zyliss (click) and Messermeister (click) make soft fruit/tomato peelers.

 

I have had the Messermeister for a long time and it works well on ripe tomatoes and peaches as long as they are not too soft.

[Tropicalsenior]

2 hours ago, Shelby said:

I learned a trick from my mom, I'm sure she learned it from her mom

Well, I'll be darned! It just goes to show that you can even teach an old dog new tricks. Remember some years back when every chef in the cooking shows prefaced their segments with a lesson on how to peel a tomato? I've hated peeling tomatoes ever since. This really, really works.

Tonight my housemate is out with his girlfriend so I'm having my usual solo sandwich dinner, with a twist. Today in PriceSmart I found some beautiful Hillshire Farms Polish kielbasa, which down here is a real treat. So I'm having a big fat, juicy sausage sandwich with nice, peeled sliced tomatoes, and creamy coleslaw with some orange slices in it.

Thank you, Shelby.

[Shelby]

9 minutes ago, Tropicalsenior said:

Well, I'll be darned! It just goes to show that you can even teach an old dog new tricks. Remember some years back when every chef in the cooking shows prefaced their segments with a lesson on how to peel a tomato? I've hated peeling tomatoes ever since. This really, really works.

Tonight my housemate is out with his girlfriend so I'm having my usual solo sandwich dinner, with a twist. Today in PriceSmart I found some beautiful Hillshire Farms Polish kielbasa, which down here is a real treat. So I'm having a big fat, juicy sausage sandwich with nice, peeled sliced tomatoes, and creamy coleslaw with some orange slices in it.

Thank you, Shelby.

Oh, thank you so much!  I'm so glad to pass on a helpful tip from my family.  I know my great gramma peeled them like this...then my grammy...then my mom and now me.  Nothing makes me happier than sharing helpful stuff like this.  

 

It really does work  (I checked with mom about how she learned  )

Edited September 15, 2017 by Shelby (log)

[kayb]

First time I've cooked in a week (it's been THAT kind of week!) and it was a 30-minute dinner, but it was what I wanted and it hit the spot.

 

 

Brats poached in beer, homemade sauerkraut, home fries. Topped off with the last of the homemade chocolate cherry ice cream. That with an early night should provide a wonderful night's sleep.

 

[Tropicalsenior]

1 hour ago, Shelby said:

It really does work  (I checked with mom about how she learned  )

I'm so tickled with this hint that it is hard not to get mushy about it. It's probably the best one I've had in 10 years. In fact, I had three tomatoes that were headed over the hill and I peeled them and made a nice fresh tomato sauce to serve over penne pasta with a nice spinach salad for tomorrow night. I may even go buy some more tomatoes tomorrow and put peeled tomato wedges in the salad.