Dinner 2022

[BeeZee]

We had friends over for dinner last night, endive salad with pomelo segments, olives, and mustard viniagrette, vegetable lasagne (Barilla no-boil noodles, spinach, mushrooms, zucchini) and locally baked semolina bread. They brought dessert, cheesecake from Termini Brothers in Philadelphia, which was outstanding.

 

[gfweb]

Rigatoni and meatballs

 

[weinoo]

2 hours ago, CookBot said:

 

I suppose it would be pointless to inquire about that?

 

I was gifted a bag of this (eG-friendly Amazon.com link)...

 

 

So instead of soaking and using a few porcini and the soaking liquid in the braise, I used a teaspoon or so of this powder.  

[MaryIsobel]

41 minutes ago, weinoo said:

 

I was gifted a bag of this (eG-friendly Amazon.com link)...

 

 

So instead of soaking and using a few porcini and the soaking liquid in the braise, I used a teaspoon or so of this powder.  

And... How was it? Recommended?

 

[Marlene]

30th birthday dinner party for the lad.  Even though this is what we will have for the most part for Christmas dinner, this is what he wanted.   Prime rib, yorkies, carrots, mashed potatoes, gravy of course, my shortbread cookies and I made a chocolate bailey's poke cake as well . The yorkie picture keeps posting upside down so will forgo that one 

 

 

[rotuts]

@Marlene 

 

The Lad has learned a lot

 

overs his time 

 

a personal congratulations !

 

all around.

[weinoo]

45 minutes ago, MaryIsobel said:

And... How was it? Recommended?

 

 

If I had to choose between this stuff and high-quality porcini mushrooms, I'd choose the porcini. 

 

But this works in a pinch - it adds a little depth and savoriness to the sauce.

[CookBot]

4 hours ago, weinoo said:

 

I was gifted a bag of this (eG-friendly Amazon.com link)...

 

So instead of soaking and using a few porcini and the soaking liquid in the braise, I used a teaspoon or so of this powder.  

 

3 hours ago, weinoo said:

 

If I had to choose between this stuff and high-quality porcini mushrooms, I'd choose the porcini. 

 

But this works in a pinch - it adds a little depth and savoriness to the sauce.

 

I know just how you feel.  A Scottish friend sent me a tin of this stuff from the UK, and I've been sneaking it into all kinds of soups and stews.  But in truth I think I'm as much in love with the packaging as I am with the flavor.

 

Edited December 4, 2022 by CookBot
typo (log)

[KennethT]

 

Second to last meal of my Singapore chicken curry with homemade roti prata. I love this curry so much I eat the sauce with a spoon once all the chicken, potato and prata are gone.

 

Dessert 

[Norm Matthews]

I wanted to try pull a apart garlic bread and decided to have it with meatballs and spaghetti.  Charlie said it was the best garlic bread he'd ever had but it would be even better with some cheese on it.  I also made pecan pie cobble for desert.

[heidih]

@Norm MatthewsOh gosh your bread reminded me of my mom'. Italian loaf sliced thick with butter/margarinc, garlic, Italian flat leaf parsley AND a slice of "American" cheese layered in. She made it every week or so when the troubled young man she took under her wing came to dinner. We devoured it. Pure comfort. 

[liuzhou]

I've gone a bit European tonight. "Black Forest Ham" salad in wraps.  Served with a lovely Georgian red.

 

 

 

 

Edited December 5, 2022 by liuzhou (log)

[liamsaunt]

Cascatelli with pesto cream sauce, grape tomatoes, arugula, fresh mozzarella cheese, and spicy sausage.

 

[weinoo]

Had a fair amount of leftover brisket and it's cooking gravy.

 

 

Made for a great pasta sauce.

[Duvel]

3 hours ago, liuzhou said:

"Black Forest Ham" salad in wraps

 

Seeing the quotation marks, did it come from the black forest (like the one a few kilometers from here down the Bergstrasse) ? Or a black forest (in China) ?

[TicTac]

Couple meals….

 

 

” ain’t gone nothing on me Mickey D’s fillet o fish” was requested by the youngins, and who am I to disappoint?! 
 

gratuitous bite shot - Scharr makes a pretty darn decent gluten free ciabatta bun - not a bad crumb at all.  
 

 

True Sunday gravy - this version with pork ribs and pork/beef/pecorino polpette buried under all that unctuous sauce.

[mgaretz]

Orange chicken (from a Costco box), cooked in the air fryer, with rice from the IP and steamed green beans.

 

 

[Norm Matthews]

Charlie asked for pineapple bratwursts for dinner tonight so that's what we had. As I was getting ready to cook them, he suggested cooking them in beer.  He didn't have any beer and I only had 2 bottles from Holland and did not want to donate them so I steamed them with water and then browned them in the skillet.  A pretty quick and easy dinner.

Edited December 6, 2022 by Norm Matthews (log)

[heidih]

@Norm Matthews how funny - I was going to pick up some sausages today and the only ones they had other than chicken & apple were a pineapple one. I'd never heard of it. Never did thnk that beer simmer thing made a difference

[FauxPas]

On 12/4/2022 at 6:37 AM, weinoo said:

After I browned the brisket on medium heat, I sweated out some onion, shallot, celery, carrot, and garlic, then added a cup of red wine, scraped up the bottom, let the wine boil off, added some chicken stock and a can of Muir Glen chopped tomatoes, a bit of water, some secret mushroom powder, herbs, and braised it covered for an hour and a half; Uncovered for another half hour.

 

This sounds so lovely and the resulting meal looks so delicious. Significant Eater is a lucky woman.  🙂

 

I did want to ask you about the Muir Glen tomatoes though. I hate the use of calcium chloride in tomatoes and I can't find a Muir Glen product without it, not even the whole tomatoes. I know you used an immersion blender for your braising liquid so it probably wasn't a real issue there, but there is something about the texture of tomatoes canned with calcium chloride that I just can't stand. They taste rubbery to me. Is that just me? Do all the Muir Glen tomatoes use calcium chloride? I kinda get it for diced tomatoes as sometimes people may want to have the tomato pieces stay firm even after cooking (not me, usually) but I really don't get the need for it in whole tomatoes. Do other folks feel the same way? 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

1 hour ago, FauxPas said:

 

This sounds so lovely and the resulting meal looks so delicious. Significant Eater is a lucky woman.  🙂

 

I did want to ask you about the Muir Glen tomatoes though. I hate the use of calcium chloride in tomatoes and I can't find a Muir Glen product without it, not even the whole tomatoes. I know you used an immersion blender for your braising liquid so it probably wasn't a real issue there, but there is something about the texture of tomatoes canned with calcium chloride that I just can't stand. They taste rubbery to me. Is that just me? Do all the Muir Glen tomatoes use calcium chloride? I kinda get it for diced tomatoes as sometimes people may want to have the tomato pieces stay firm even after cooking (not me, usually) but I really don't get the need for it in whole tomatoes. Do other folks feel the same way? 

 

Yes.

 

For canned tomatoes I buy La Valle D.O.P. San Marzano -- no added calcium.

 

 

Edited December 6, 2022 by JoNorvelleWalker
spelling (log)

[FauxPas]

Having been somewhat snowed in for a few days, we worked with what we had. But it was still pretty good! 

 

Ham steak and made some au gratin potatoes to go with, along with frozen peas. Dry mustard in the potato sauce, basic mustard on the side for me, hot mustard for my husband.  Mmmmm, mustard - even basic mustard is good.  🙂

 

 

Chicken Cacciatore in a tomato-based sauce. Interesting to see @JoNorvelleWalker's version, sans tomatoes. But I love the tomatoes, along with onion, peppers, mushrooms, some really lovely homemade chicken stock (funny how some turns out so much better than others), wine, and the usual seasonings. I made a lot of sauce, but there is a bit of chicken under there.  🙂

 

 

Patties from some ground chuck, local bakery buns from the freezer, cheddar cheese, a really good tomato that was luckily still in our basket, red hamburger relish (I don't have to make my own anymore because Strub's) and some CSO-baked fries. Fries were ok, mine rarely look as good as @Ann_T's.  🙂

 

 

 

[FauxPas]

Just now, JoNorvelleWalker said:

La Valle D.O.P. San Marano -- no added calcium

 

Yes! I don't think I can get those particular ones locally (are they pricey where you are?) but I always shop around for my canned tomatoes and avoid anything with calcium chloride. Mine aren't always D.O.P. but I still find some decent ones. It's not easy to find ones that are really good. I wish @Shelby shipped hers. I'd pay a premium for those.  🙂 

[Norm Matthews]

55 minutes ago, heidih said:

@Norm Matthews how funny - I was going to pick up some sausages today and the only ones they had other than chicken & apple were a pineapple one. I'd never heard of it. Never did thnk that beer simmer thing made a difference

Hy Vee sells pineapple brats at their meat counter. At first I smoked them but later found out that they taste better with the pineapple flavor left alone.  I think beer adds flavor to regular bratwursts if they are cut in bite size pieces and simmered for around 20 minutes rather than cooked whole. 

Edited December 6, 2022 by Norm Matthews (log)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

13 minutes ago, FauxPas said:

 

Yes! I don't think I can get those particular ones locally (are they pricey where you are?) but I always shop around for my canned tomatoes and avoid anything with calcium chloride. Mine aren't always D.O.P. but I still find some decent ones. It's not easy to find ones that are really good. I wish @Shelby shipped hers. I'd pay a premium for those.  🙂 

 

I order from Supermarket Italy.  I try to stock up while they are on sale, which I see at the moment that they are:

https://supermarketitaly.com/products/la-valle-dop-san-marzano-peeled-tomatoes-28oz?_pos=10&_sid=8b6386875&_ss=r

 

US $6.49 for a 28 oz can.

 

Supermarket Italy sells other D.O.P. brands without added calcium but I have not tried them.