Dinner 2019

[dcarch]

9 hours ago, kayb said:

@dcarch, the BBLT is a thing of beauty. Tomatoes are just about all gone down here; burned up in the September heat. (96 here yesterday, 93-97 all week...sigh...)

 

 

Thank you!

 

We have the opposite problem. Nights are getting cold, and the tomatoes are having a tough time getting ripe.

 

dcarch

[kayb]

9 minutes ago, dcarch said:

 

Thank you!

 

We have the opposite problem. Nights are getting cold, and the tomatoes are having a tough time getting ripe.

 

dcarch

 

Forecast was wrong. It was 98 today. All I want to eat is ice cream.

[TdeV]

@dcarch, that BBLT was truly gorgeous! Are you able to make things with green tomatoes?

(I've watched @HungryChris's green tomato posts but I don't seem to be able to get the hang of it 🙄).

[kayb]

@TdeV -- allow me to chime in. Slice green tomatoes 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Dip In milk and egg wash. Then bread with a mix of half and half flour and cornmeal, seasoned with salt and pepper. Fry on medium high heat until golden. Top as desired

 

They're marvelous in a BLT, and work well as the base for eggs Benedict. 

 

 

[dcarch]

1 hour ago, TdeV said:

@dcarch, that BBLT was truly gorgeous! Are you able to make things with green tomatoes?

(I've watched @HungryChris's green tomato posts but I don't seem to be able to get the hang of it 🙄).

 

What do you mean?

Green as in un-ripe tomatoes?

or Green as in GWR tomatoes? (Green When Ripe)

GWR tomatoes never turn red. They always stay green even when fully ripen. Amazing group of tomatoes to grow. My favorite.

 

dcarch

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I am sad.  Three Jersey Boy tomatoes were left.  One had past to another state of being.  These are some of the finest tomatoes I have eaten.  I may never be able to grow tomatoes again.

 

 

 

Accompanied by bread and assorted cheeses.  Much wine.

 

 

Edited September 17, 2019 by JoNorvelleWalker (log)

[TicTac]

9 hours ago, dcarch said:

 

What do you mean?

Green as in un-ripe tomatoes?

or Green as in GWR tomatoes? (Green When Ripe)

GWR tomatoes never turn red. They always stay green even when fully ripen. Amazing group of tomatoes to grow. My favorite.

 

dcarch

 

Curious to hear about your attraction to them...

 

We have grown around 4-5 Green varietals over the years and while they are enjoyable, I find them inferior to their Orange and Yellow fleshed cousins.

 

Certainly enjoyable for variety, however.

 

 

[Franci]

Still diet food but not too bad, at least adios low fat.  I never ate so much chicken in my life, I much prefer duck. But a calabrese spicy sauce makes everything better 😁. Chinese eggplants, shishito peppers and broccoli on the side. 

[dcarch]

25 minutes ago, TicTac said:

 

Curious to hear about your attraction to them...

We have grown around 4-5 Green varietals over the years and while they are enjoyable, I find them inferior to their Orange and Yellow fleshed cousins.

Certainly enjoyable for variety, however.

 

Let me answer you in a different way. For me, GWR tomatoes satisfy me in every way about tomato growing, except for one thing:

 

You will always have difficulty finding the ripe ones on a plant. !

 

dcarch

[TdeV]

56 minutes ago, TicTac said:

Curious to hear about your attraction to them...

 

I've been following

@HungryChris's luscious-looking posts about unripe green tomatoes for years now. I've tried to cook them a couple of times without anything exciting having developed. I figure I'm not doing something right. I'm going to try @kayb's prescription next. Any recommendations to add, @dcarch?

[liamsaunt]

Garlicky shrimp spaghetti with cherry tomatoes

 

[Shelby]

Hatch chile and chicken enchiladas with RG beans

 

Fried bass, mac and cheese, zucchini

[Kim Shook]

@Captain – your Toad In A Hole looks so much better than mine!  Do you do yours in a loaf pan?  It looks much deeper than mine - I just use an 8X12-inch pan and it comes out very flat.  Your gravy looks lovely, too!

 

@Shelby – you SAY that is a pepperoni pizza.  I am not seeing any pepperoni.  I see what looks like fungus and HOT🔥.  As always, the crust/sauce/cheese parts are gorgeous!  Also, looking at your chicken quarters done in the CSO, I really think that rather than a whole chicken is the best way to go.

 

@Ann_T – I love the plate that your stacked Greek salad is on.

 

@SharonEM – lovely tomato pie.  Next time I hope you’ll take a picture of the inside – I would have loved to have seen that. 

 

@gfweb – that cauliflower gratin is about as appetizing and delicious looking as I believe I’ve ever seen cauliflower look.  Bravo!

 

@dcarch – I don’t think we can ever say enough about that incredible assortment of tomatoes or that bacon blanket.  Bacon blanket❤️. 

 

@Dante – what am I looking at?  I think I see biscuits underneath…???  Is that beans?  Or maybe chickpeas? 

 

Mr. Kim was monopolizing the kitchen a week ago Friday night prepping to do some smoking on the weekend, so we ended up at Five Guys:

This was fine by me!

 

That Saturday ended up being breakfast-for-dinner, which we love:

NC sausage, eggs, and my most successful rendition of home fries ever.  They were tender and crisp and really, really good.

 

My sister was visiting from Florida last week for a couple of days.  One dinner was a whole chicken in the CSO:

Cut up:

The wing tips and the ends of the legs got a little singed before I put foil on.  Gravy:

/

Just drippings and chicken Bisto.  Plated with Ukrops (local prepared food company) Duchess potatoes, slaw, Sister Schubert rolls and leftover Smoky beans from Sunday:

 

The other night that she was here I did Steak and Onion Pie.  My gravy was a little too thin, so I added a bit of Bisto:

A little too much.  Topped with the pie crust (purchased):

 

Out of the oven:

 

Gravy was a little too thick, but it turned out delicious:

 

Served with salad:

 

A couple of days ago, I really needed some comfort food for dinner.  It had just been a really exhausting day.  This was supposed to be soft boiled eggs on toast:

☹️

 

Night before last was almost all leftovers - Hot chicken and gravy open faced sandwiches, Duchess potatoes and Smoky Beans:

(See, @Anna N, you can have a hot sandwich without peas.  Very good it was, too.😉)

 

Old school dessert:

Fudge ripple ice cream, Hershey syrup, and caramel sauce.  I can’t remember the last time I made myself one of these.

 

Last night was Cheesy Chicken Casserole, rice, and broccoli:

Something is conspiring against me.  The is the second time I have tried to make rice recently and had trouble with it.  Again, it was gooey and underdone.  I am currently trying to quit smoking.  I’m a bit fragile.  I’ve been on Chantix – finished the starter pack yesterday and when I went to get my next batch, the pharmacy informed me that they are out and will have it on the 19^th.  It is probably a good thing that I was at the drive-thru and there was extremely thick glass between us. (If you are a FB friend of mine, please do not mention this - to most of my family and friends I have masqueraded as a non-smoker for about 20 years ).   Anyway, the rice made me angry.  Everyone in the house was tip-toeing around me and that just pissed me off even more.  The “fix” I tried was to add more water, crank up the heat and treat it like pasta to get it fully cooked and then I put it off the heat, covered it with a towel, then the lid and let it steam for a couple of minutes.  It helped a little – anyone have any other fixes?

 

I’m sorry in advance if I rant a little more than usual in the next few weeks. 

[Shelby]

14 minutes ago, Kim Shook said:

tried to make rice recently and had trouble with it

(((hugs))) Kim, I feel for you!  You have a lot on your plate and quitting smoking on top of that is hard!  Rant all you want!

 

Have you tried using your Instant Pot for rice?  I've been rice-challenged my whole life until I started doing it in there.  

 

Using regular Uncle Ben's rice

1 cup of rice

1 1/2 cups of water

Stir

8 minutes on high.  Quick release.

 

Turns out good every time for me.

 

PS.  I swear there was pepperoni under there--probably not enough, though.  Ronnie likes a really meaty pizza....me, not so much.

PPS.  Your chicken looks perfect and I now want ice cream.  Ice cream is something I can't keep in the house very often.  I will eat it all.  In one sitting.

Edited September 17, 2019 by Shelby (log)

[Kim Shook]

7 minutes ago, Shelby said:

(((hugs))) Kim, I feel for you!  You have a lot on your plate and quitting smoking on top of that is hard!  Rant all you want!

 

Have you tried using your Instant Pot for rice?  I've been rice-challenged my whole life until I started doing it in there.  

 

Using regular Uncle Ben's rice

1 cup of rice

1 1/2 cups of water

Stir

8 minutes on high.  Quick release.

 

Turns out good every time for me.

 

PS.  I swear there was pepperoni under there--probably not enough, though.  Ronnie likes a really meaty pizza....me, not so much.

PPS.  Your chicken looks perfect and I now want ice cream.  Ice cream is something I can't keep in the house very often.  I will eat it all.  In one sitting.

 

LOL!  Thank you, ma'am!  I actually haven't tried the IP for rice.  I guess because I've never had too much trouble with rice.  No matter the kind, I've always used a little less water than called for, cooked until tender (by actual taste, not time - usually a little less than called for), taken off the heat, covered with a dish towel and the lid and let sit for 5 minutes.  Perfect fluffy rice.  Grrr.  I will try the IP next time!

[rotuts]

w the iPot I wonder why use converted rice ?

 

recently Ive been doing Basmati in the iPot  

 

using the pot-in-the-pot method.

 

Ill post this later

 

wash the basmati , or what ever raw rice you are using

 

to get rid of the rice-starch they use to keep the greens separate in the bag.

 

rinse until the water is clear.   strain out the rice and place in the smaller bowl

 

add the amount of water to that bowl that suits your taste :

 

Im using a heaping cup of Daawat Basmati   ( more on this brand later )

 

and just a little over one cup water

 

place the bowl on the trivet in the iPot.  don't forget top add one cup of water to the iPot first

 

6 min on high , 10 minute release 

 

https://thisoldgal.com/pressure-cooker-perfectly-cooked-pot-in-pot-rice/

[chromedome]

35 minutes ago, Kim Shook said:

LOL!  Thank you, ma'am!  I actually haven't tried the IP for rice.  I guess because I've never had too much trouble with rice.  No matter the kind, I've always used a little less water than called for, cooked until tender (by actual taste, not time - usually a little less than called for), taken off the heat, covered with a dish towel and the lid and let sit for 5 minutes.  Perfect fluffy rice.  Grrr.  I will try the IP next time!

Is the rice your usual brand?

I recently bought a bag of "whatever," and discovered to my disgust that it needed several minutes' rinsing to get rid of the excess starch. The first time or two I cooked with it, "gooey" would be a polite way to put it.

[Anna N]

1 hour ago, Kim Shook said:

See, @Anna N, you can have a hot sandwich without peas.  Very good it was, too.😉 )

 Nope. You can but I can’t.😂

[Ann_T]

46 minutes ago, Anna N said:

 Nope. You can but I can’t.😂

 I agree with @Anna N,  got to have peas with a hot chicken/turkey sandwich.  

[rotuts]

yes indeed !

 

always peas

 

becomes more controversial 

 

the type of peas :

 

personally , " Diner Peas '   ie canned.  

 

fresh or frozen fresh  ,  are for Pot Pies.

Edited September 17, 2019 by rotuts (log)

[Kim Shook]

8 minutes ago, rotuts said:

yes indeed !

 

always peas

 

become more controversial 

 

the type of peas :

 

personally , " Diner Peas '   ie canned.  

 

fresh or frozen fresh  ,  are for Pot Pies.

<shudder>  I can deal with a few fresh/frozen peas strewn in pot pie or chicken noodle soup or pasta salad, but canned peas give me a full body shudder.  

 

@chromedome - yes, BUT it is a store brand, so their supplier could have changed, I suppose.  I've been buying Food Lion brand rice for years - switching between Jasmine, Basmati, and long grain.  Never had this issue before.  

Edited September 17, 2019 by Kim Shook (log)

[rotuts]

@Kim Shook

 

that's OK.   More for Me.

[Margaret Pilgrim]

5 hours ago, Kim Shook said:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

/

 

 

The other night that she was here I did Steak and Onion Pie.  My gravy was a little too thin, so I added a bit of Bisto:

A little too much.  Topped with the pie crust (purchased):

 

Out of the oven:

 

Gravy was a little too thick, but it turned out delicious:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Magnificent!    My mother used make the occasional steak and kidney pie.   I haven't had, even SEEN, anything close in many, many years.

[Kim Shook]

43 minutes ago, Margaret Pilgrim said:

 

Magnificent!    My mother used make the occasional steak and kidney pie.   I haven't had, even SEEN, anything close in many, many years.

My stepdad - eG member @Ted Fairhead, who passed away a few years ago was English and used to make Steak and Kidney pudding/pie.  My mom loved it, but as a kid, it freaked me out and so I never tried it.  Wish now that I had.  Momma made a much less scary beef pie that we all would eat (even my English stepsisters didn't eat kidneys) that was really just a beef stew in a pie crust.  Always one of my favorite things, though my friends thought it was odd!

[TdeV]

8 minutes ago, Kim Shook said:

steak and kidney pie

 

I liked this as a child but never wanted to try to make it.

Kim's pie looks just right though.

Edited September 17, 2019 by TdeV (log)