Dinner 2023

[MaryIsobel]

7 hours ago, Kim Shook said:

I know!  My first thought was, "Dammit, Mark"! 😄

 

@Raamo – I’ve always wanted to try bastela and never had the opportunity.  Looks really good. 

 

Happy birthday to Madam @TicTac! 

 

@NadyaDuke – I love using sturdy spinach for cooking.  My favorite is savoy, but that is impossible to find in any grocery store in my area.  I’m determined to make an effort to find a farmer that grows it this year. 

 

@Shelby – I’m making that broccoli salad for dinner tomorrow.  And your creamy cucumbers – special request from Jessica. 

 

Found a great price on boneless short ribs and did a quick IP cook with hoisin.  Served on ramen noodles w/ blistered sugar snaps:

It was so satisfying and it felt good to serve a balanced REAL meal. 

 

Mr. Kim was out playing poker one night, so Jessica and I had cheese fondue with all the dippers.  A not very interesting photo of the fondue:

This is a Lidl product.  It is shelf stable and tastes great to us.  Various dippers, crudité, and pickly things:

Ham, tiny roasted potatoes, cornichon, cocktail onions, dill pickles, bread, radishes, and cukes. 

 

Monday night no one wanted much dinner and they definitely didn’t want it at dinnertime, so we all just wandered into the kitchen at various times and grabbed something. Mine:

That’s a gorgeous Mineola, some Cheddar cubes leftover from my church coffee hour hostessing, an English muffin, and a horrible photo of some soup I made from Mr. Kim’s BBQ judging leftovers, some boxed stock, a bag of Veg All, and some Bisto:

Tasted very good, though.  

 

Thursday night, in what has become a tradition in the last few years, we dyed Easter eggs and ate pizza – take out this year:

 

Along with some crudité:

 

Our efforts were fairly perfunctory this year:

We buy a similar shelf stable fondue. I add a little extra splash of wine when heating. It makes for a great camping meal using our old fondue pot and a can of Sterno. Very hoity toity for camping according to some of our friends but it is just as easy to make as Kraft dinner or hot dogs!

 

[Margaret Pilgrim]

3 hours ago, Norm Matthews said:

. Bone-in not pre sliced is my preference. This kind of ham tastes best to me and makes the best leftover ham and egg salad. I cooked it until warm through with an apricot glaze.

 

Could not agree more.   IMHO,spiral sliced hams are less useful than whole halves/hams.   Slices too thick for many leftover purposes.    Edges dry.    I enjoy having the option of shaved  pieces or juicy chunks.    But I'm swimming against the tide.

[MaryIsobel]

8 minutes ago, Margaret Pilgrim said:

Could not agree more.   IMHO,spiral sliced hams are less useful than whole halves/hams.   Slices too thick for many leftover purposes.    Edges dry.    I enjoy having the option of shaved  pieces or juicy chunks.    But I'm swimming against the tide.

I bought a spiral ham once and never again. Like you say, dry edges and no ability to make "chunks." Ham is pretty easy to carve so I don't get the attraction.

[NadyaDuke]

@Kim Shook I’ll look for savoy when the farmers market gets going!

 

Tonight I made dirty rice with some link sausage from a local company. I like their barbecue sauce so bought this on spec and it’s good and while not andouille it worked. 
 

That was just a prequel to the fancy part, which was a sour cherry clafoutis my husband made with some frozen cherries. Second time we’ve made this and it’s a great payback for not a lot of work, if you start with pitted cherries.

 

It’s  hard to take a glamour shot of dirty rice!

 

 

Edited April 9, 2023 by NadyaDuke (log)

[Duvel]

Second day of the plan …

 

Weather did not support and we ate indoors. This was an interlude between Good Friday fish and Easter lamb, so …

 

 

Some sausages to snack …

 

Leberkäse …

 

 

With a mustard-lingonberry dip - very good !

 

 

Bratkartoffeln …

 

 

Kartoffelsalat …

 

 

Burrata, tomatoes and garlic croutons …

 

 

And Matjes „Hausfrauen Art“ 

 

 

And those who wanted got a fried egg on top of their Leberkäse. Actually just my father and me, the only two Cholesterol-deficient people in the family 🤭

 

 

Happy faces 🤗
 

 

 

Edited April 9, 2023 by Duvel (log)

[KennethT]

@Duvel - that's just a snack? 🤣

[TicTac]

1 hour ago, KennethT said:

@Duvel - that's just a snack? 🤣

He's testing his metabolism rates, referenced above

 

Purely for science, of course.

 

 

[Duvel]

1 hour ago, KennethT said:

@Duvel - that's just a snack? 🤣

Yeees … just look at the tiny dish in the upper left part of the picture. Snack !

 

[Duvel]

Easter linner as per the plan …

 

This was meant to be our dinner, but the Easter bunny (in its human reincarnation as my sister) brought little one tickets for the new Super Mario movie, starting on Easter Sunday at 17.45h. Complete with oversized softdrinks and popcorn, so a full dinner was out of question. Instead I moved everything to 15.00h, which posed a minor logistic challenge as the conventional lamb roast needed 8h in the oven. But hey - sleeping long on Sundays is overrated anyway …

 

The setup …

 

 

The meats - it is complicated: my wife, little one and me like our lamb medium rare, my mother and my sister can’t eat pink meat and prefer conventional roast texture. My father has a trauma from his childhood (after the war), when in his family pretty much any sausage was „enhanced“ with the cheaper mutton meat. You know, the old ones. So he doesn’t eat lamb …

I bought a whole leg of lamb at our Turkish butcher, deboned it and made two roasts, seasoned with garlic, thyme, rosemary, dried yuzu and chili. One went into the SV setup for 24h@56oC, the other (larger one) was roasted low and slow for 8h@120oC over a huge bed of veggies, that were replenished now and then. My father got a 5h@120oC beef rib. All meats were tender and tasty. My father was delighted with the rib bone.

 

 

The roasted veggies - kind of samfaîna/caponata style …

 

 

Some appetizers were had, cheeses, dips, olives. Chickpeas with roasted garlic, onions, tomatoes and beef drippings. Couscous with dried apricots, pistachios and lemon.

 

 

I made some hummus plus flatbreads for mopping up the juices …

 

 

There were also potatoes with garlic & thyme. They‘ll probably make good Bratkartoffeln tomorrow …
 

My first plate - that’s the SV lamb …

 

 

All enjoyed with a nice red …

 

 

No complaints 🤗

 

Everyone retreated to their rooms for a nap, while I cleaned up, did the kitchen and then went into the mancave for a well deserved Yamazaki 12. Happy Easter !

[liamsaunt]

Chicken tinga tacos with pineapple and pickled jalapeño salsa

 

[Raamo]

Good old Fish and Chips - recipe out of ATK

 

 

 

Don't do this often cuz it's quite fatty

[mgaretz]

Sirloin (pre-cooked and sliced from Costco, reheated sous vide) with roasted baby potatoes, carrots and onion.

 

 

[gulfporter]

Grilled rack of lamb.  Planned on side of grilled asparagus; saw some Wednesday and said, Oh, it's too early to buy that.  Not a stalk to be seen since then.  My old saying (from my Bisbee days) haunts me:  See it, Like it, Buy it.  

 

Ended up with a grape tomato and Persian cucumber lite pasta salad.  Lite = lemon and olive oil dressing.  Chipotle-cherry dipping sauce.   

 

 

Edited April 9, 2023 by gulfporter (log)

[gulfporter]

Forgot mi esposo's dessert.  Chocolate créme brulee.  

 

 

[Tropicalsenior]

1 hour ago, gulfporter said:

My old saying (from my Bisbee days) haunts me:  See it, Like it, Buy it.  

That's the mantra of anyone living in a Latin American country. And I might add to it, because you may never see it again.

[Honkman]

Orecchiette with Sugo Bianco - made with ground beef and veal, carrots, celery, onion, garlic, rosemary, bay leaves, juniper berries, parsley, white wine and beef broth

[Shelby]

@KennethTIt's a good thing I don't live with you guys...I'd make you stop and get that sushi at least once a day.

 

@Norm MatthewsBeautiful deviled eggs.  I have a thingy to make the yolks pretty like that, but I lack the patience.

 

@DuvelLovely Easter weekend meals.  Your mom is very talented with the bunny ears!

 

Breakfast for dinner.  Not very appetizing looking.  Did the eggs in the IP--exactly like I did the last time-- but somehow these were over done sigh.  Boudin and hash browns.  I'm having a major asparagus craving and all I had was a can of white asparagus.  I actually like canned asparagus.  It's nothing like the "real" fresh asparagus, but I keep that in mind lol.  Heated this up in a skillet and put some fresh parm on top.  Ronnie even liked it.

 

Next night...spicy, olive/caper/pasta thing, roasted chicken and livers.

 

 

Thawed out a chicken and halved it.   Shockingly there were several livers in the cavity.  Just like the good 'ole days.  So I did them up with some caramelized onions, mushrooms and sherry.  Really good.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was rummaging around in the basement when I came across our panini maker.  It's been a long time since I made those.  Cleaned it up and made some bread.

 

 

Turkey/ham/swiss/mayo mixed with little green dress/mustard/sliced cherry tomatoes.  

 

 

And for Easter

 

 

I've been terrible and don't have any spring decor or anything up--Christmas got put away and all is still very bare.  But, can't have Easter without Grammy's egg holder

 

Roasted mushroom salad

 

 

Brussels sprouts/bacon/maple syrup

 

 

Scalloped potatoes

 

SV'd lamb chops

 

 

 

Boughten carrot cake banana pudding.  I'll make it myself next time...it needed more bananas lol.

 

 

Edited April 10, 2023 by Shelby (log)

[rotuts]

@Shelby 

 

great stuff !

 

how did you do that 1/2 chicken ?  CSO ?

 

what's in the bottom of the pan ?  stock + drippings ?

[Shelby]

1 minute ago, rotuts said:

@Shelby 

 

great stuff !

 

how did you do that 1/2 chicken ?  CSO ?

 

what's in the bottom of the pan ?  stock + drippings ?

Yes, I poured it in a bowl and we both had some with our chicken.  Good stuff.

 

[liamsaunt]

We skipped making a special meal for Easter this year, and instead I made the Milk Street recipe for no-fry eggplant parmesan that's on the cover of their newest magazine.  We all enjoyed it-much lighter than the usual breaded and fried type.  Leftovers will be tasty chopped up and added to pasta sauce.  

 

[Norm Matthews]

6 hours ago, Shelby said:

 

 

@Norm MatthewsBeautiful deviled eggs.  I have a thingy to make the yolks pretty like that, but I lack the patienc

 

Thanks. Great looking food.  i cut the corner out of a baggie, insert a large cake decorating thingie in it and use that to  pipe the filling in.  If I am doing several eggs, it is actually a time saver.

[Norm Matthews]

Here are a couple things I did with leftover Easter ham: ham and bean soup and ham and egg salad that everyone likes.

[Shelby]

17 minutes ago, Norm Matthews said:

 i cut the corner out of a baggie, insert a large cake decorating thingie in it and use that to  pipe the filling in.

Ohhhhhh what a brilliant idea!  Then you can just throw the baggie away and not have to clean the filling holder.  

[Smithy]

6 hours ago, liamsaunt said:

We skipped making a special meal for Easter this year, and instead I made the Milk Street recipe for no-fry eggplant parmesan that's on the cover of their newest magazine.  We all enjoyed it-much lighter than the usual breaded and fried type.  Leftovers will be tasty chopped up and added to pasta sauce.  

 

 

It's nice to see someone else do that recipe, and apparently without the liberties I took with it. Did you have any trouble with burning the eggplant slices in the oven after you'd brushed them with oil, or are you attentive enough to avoid that particular problem? If you have a special tip (other than to pay closer attention) I'd love to hear it.

[Dante]

Skillet pizza with beetaroni on top