Dinner 2025

[sartoric]

I’m behind, it’s already Boxing Day in Oz. Christmas Eve dinner was garlic lobster tails with roast potato and caramelised onion salad, plus a warm green veg salad. Blue hydrangeas from the garden. 

 

Then, on Christmas Day after the mandatory mango margarita, we had duck leg confit with roasted carrots on garlic whipped yogurt with leftover potato salad. I was hangry and didn’t take care with the pic. Sorry. Also on this plate some Davidson plum jam (an Australian bush tucker food). 

[Neely]

 

We had a traditional Christmas lunch with all the usual suspects plus a large rocket, beetroot, goats cheese and walnut salad. There’s also ham, gravy in the jug and cranberry sauce.

 

We are now into Boxing Day 26th and I must say that the left over salad went better with the cold turkey and left over stuffing this next day. The drink is the Italian Chinotto below. 

 

 

 

[Okanagancook]

Sorry no pictures as i am not in tune with using my phone camera to do that.

but we had an artisan smoked ham that my brother Ian brought from his pork stash from a purchase of half a pig.  We cooked it slowly while i made scalloped potatoes ,broccoli in lemon and butter along with some sauteed mushrooms . We glazed the ham with a mixture of rum, maple syrup, grainy mustard and  marmalade.

the ham was so juicy and not at all salty.  Cooked to 150F internal temp.  Delicious.

 

while taking the ham platter back to the kitchen my accident prone brother managed leave a trail of ham juice from the table all the way back to the kitchen and down the front of his shirt and pants……the dog was happy.

 

everyone’s meals look very accomplished .

 

merry Christmas.

Edited Friday at 04:03 AM by Okanagancook (log)

[Dante]

Yuletide dinner: Slow cooked ham, slow-sauteed carrots, roasted potatoes, and roasted koginut squash.

[liuzhou]

Not the prettiest dish in the Chinese canon, I agree. However, it does taste good.

 

Scrambled eggs with prawns, chives and kelp. Served with rice.

 

 

 

Edited Friday at 11:32 AM by liuzhou (log)

[sartoric]

Back to things in bowls here. A little leftover duck, thick noodles, lots of green veggies, herbs and chicken broth. The bean sprouts countdown is on.

 

[Smithy]

Green salad and what I may as well call potato fritters.

 

 

The fritters are the real victory, of the snatch-the-bacon-from-the-fire variety. Sometime a week or two ago I made a huge batch of mashed potatoes with greens, cream, garlic, and possible some cheese, from some of the Russet potatoes I received back in October. This mashed potato dish was intended to mimic something wonderful I'd eaten last July in Kenya, but it failed miserably. I've been pecking away at it  despondently, wondering whether I could salvage it or should simply give it to the local wildlife.

 

Sometime ago I rediscovered my darling's "Fry Baby" from a hidey hole atop a shelf in the hall closet. He used it a lot before we were married. We haven't used it much since then, but hadn't given it away. Hmm. Maybe I could put it to good use.

 

I did. I made little balls of the mashed potato mix, rolled them in a mix of Italian-seasoned bread crumbs and corn flake crumbs, and fried them. Success!

 

 

Is it worth writing down and trying to reproduce what I did? No. But I'll be able to use the rest of those potatoes, and the Fry Baby.

[sartoric]

3 hours ago, Smithy said:

Green salad and what I may as well call potato fritters.

 

 

The fritters are the real victory, of the snatch-the-bacon-from-the-fire variety. Sometime a week or two ago I made a huge batch of mashed potatoes with greens, cream, garlic, and possible some cheese, from some of the Russet potatoes I received back in October. This mashed potato dish was intended to mimic something wonderful I'd eaten last July in Kenya, but it failed miserably. I've been pecking away at it  despondently, wondering whether I could salvage it or should simply give it to the local wildlife.

 

Sometime ago I rediscovered my darling's "Fry Baby" from a hidey hole atop a shelf in the hall closet. He used it a lot before we were married. We haven't used it much since then, but hadn't given it away. Hmm. Maybe I could put it to good use.

 

I did. I made little balls of the mashed potato mix, rolled them in a mix of Italian-seasoned bread crumbs and corn flake crumbs, and fried them. Success!

 

 

Is it worth writing down and trying to reproduce what I did? No. But I'll be able to use the rest of those potatoes, and the Fry Baby.

I’m guessing Fry Baby is a deep fryer, either stove top or electric?? 
Nice save !

[Smithy]

41 minutes ago, sartoric said:

I’m guessing Fry Baby is a deep fryer, either stove top or electric?? 
Nice save !

 

Yes, thanks! It's a small electric deep fryer, with no temperature adjustment. I'll post photos. I'm rather embarrassed to admit that it's fitting the bill for this purpose. We had set it aside for our cooking and health purposes, and forgotten its existence. 

[patti]

No pics of Christmas Eve dinner (gumbo) or Christmas Day lunch, but last night was finally a relaxed meal, and it was meatballs (frozen Costco) and baked ricotta, and air fryer roasted broccoli.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Ann_T]

 

We wanted something simple for dinner last night so I made a quick tomato, garlic, basil

sauce with Kalamata olives and grilled Italian sausages. 

 

 

 

[weinoo]

The meatballs I recently made:

 

 

Served over penne, with a good hit of parmigiano.

 

[Smithy]

16 hours ago, sartoric said:

I’m guessing Fry Baby is a deep fryer, either stove top or electric?? 
Nice save !

 

15 hours ago, Smithy said:

 

Yes, thanks! It's a small electric deep fryer, with no temperature adjustment. I'll post photos. I'm rather embarrassed to admit that it's fitting the bill for this purpose. We had set it aside for our cooking and health purposes, and forgotten its existence. 

 

Here it is, in its diminutive glory.

 

 

It's 7" high and 6" at the mouth. I don't know whether it originally had a basket. I used a slotted spoon last night.

 

Edited to add: my thermometers say it's heating the oil to just under 400F. I'm seeing 390F and a few degrees higher.

Edited yesterday at 07:56 PM by Smithy
Updated with temperature information (log)

[TdeV]

@Smithy, just looking at that thing makes me certain that everything fried in it will add 15 grams of fat for each. 😜

[rotuts]

I had a few things to use up 

 

standard Campari's , Spinach .

 

and some russets needing baking .

 

I had a Leidy's smoked andouille sausage , it being on sale , if course.

 

and used it in a few dishes .  I slice it into 1/8" rounds , the dice that up.  I dry fry it until one side is crispy.

 

its not a soft sausage , has some chew to it

 

So ...

 

 

spinach chipped , tomatoes in 1/8th , a little olive oil , and in this case some Penzey's  pico & fruta .  that sits until the dried spices hydrate

 

potatoes micro'd  5 min or so , ( 4 large , Ill use the extras tomorrow ) 40 min CSO conventional bake , 400 F  until the skins are very crispy

 

Ive learned to slice up the hot potatoes into good sized chunks , add a little butter .  cutting these potatoes ' on the plate '

 

is a bit of a challenge as the skins are ' durable '  window green onions .

 

I thought this was going to be good , maybe a little better than that

 

but it turned out ... to be outstanding .  chili from the sausage , texture from the sausage and the potato skins 

 

etc.

 

this is a new keeper for me , and oh so easy to make.  the Campari added acid to the dish.  the sausage a nice ' glow '

Edited yesterday at 10:17 PM by rotuts (log)

[Paul Bacino]

Recent Dive trip in Grace Bay!!

 

 

 

Ceviche!!   I also ate the pistol!! ( Raw )

 

The "conch pistol," a digestive appendage from the conch, is culturally believed to be a natural aphrodisiac, often called the "Bahamian Viagra," boosting vitality and sexual health due to its rich nutrients like lean protein, zinc, magnesium, iron, and B12, though scientific proof for aphrodisiac claims is lacking; the meat itself is highly nutritious

 

Edited 8 hours ago by Paul Bacino (log)

[Ann_T]

I baked an extra Tourtiere so that I could freeze slices. Moe loves it for breakfast and makes a quick dinner on a work night.

Sliced the extra pie into 8 pieces and I still had 3 leftover pieces from the Christmas Eve pie and put them into the vacuum bags and froze them prior to vacuum processing.

If you process them before freezing the vacuum will squish the pie.

 

But if you wait until they are frozen, this doesn't happen. He now has 11 slices in the freezer.

[weinoo]

Last night's diner, with a salad...

 

 

Pan pizza? Focaccia? Flatbread?  Baked on a sheet pan, half mozzarella and tomato, half imported baby artichokes and tomato.  Parmesan sprinkled on it all.