Dinner 2026

[C. sapidus]

Leftovers from yesterday's family holiday meal: spinach soup (palak shorva) mixed with stir-fried cabbage with fennel, my brother's scalloped potatoes, and some crumbled feta. Too late, Mrs. C pointed out that we also had leftover ham, which would have been nice.

 

Mrs. C will only eat palak (or saag) dishes with the lights very low, claiming it looks too much like messes she had to clean up in patient rooms at the hospital . . .

 

[liuzhou]

Last night. Clams with bamboo shoot and Hunan pickled hot 🔥 peppers.

 

 

 

[sartoric]

There was a bowl of things, shredded roast chicken, baby pak choy, vermicelli noodles, crushed peanuts in bone broth.

 

Then, another bowl of things. Laksa with prawns, tofu puffs, rice noodles, more pak choy and toppings. Note a new bag of bean sprouts. Countdown is reset. 

 

[Maison Rustique]

@Duvel, I had not heard of baking cheese in the container like that. Fascinating!

 

 

Last night was yet another bagged salad from a kit--I buy this kit when I see it for the little cheddar cheese pretzel balls. They are delicious and I can't seem to find them to buy anywhere. Plus another meatball. I froze the remaining 2 meatballs.

 

 

[gulfporter]

Shiitake and scallion pancake.  A tad disappointing compared to what we get at Asian restaurants.  But my dipping sauce perked it up. 

[YvetteMT]

Pasta with bear sausage

 

 

And since I have dental work again this week,  I made one of partners favorites that I don't like- turkey. With mashed potatoes and stuffing (both should be soft enough for me post dental work)

 

[MaryIsobel]

9 hours ago, YvetteMT said:

Pasta with bear sausage

 

 

And since I have dental work again this week,  I made one of partners favorites that I don't like- turkey. With mashed potatoes and stuffing (both should be soft enough for me post dental work)

 

I don't know if this has been asked before - but what kind of bear? We have a lot of black bears around here but I have never tasted any kind of bear. I assume that it would be gamey but how does it compare "gamey wise" to venison or moose?

 

[Smithy]

11 minutes ago, MaryIsobel said:

I don't know if this has been asked before - but what kind of bear? We have a lot of black bears around here but I have never tasted any kind of bear. I assume that it would be gamey but how does it compare "gamey wise" to venison or moose?

 

 

The (black) bear I've had has been very mild, almost sweet.

[YvetteMT]

1 hour ago, MaryIsobel said:

I don't know if this has been asked before - but what kind of bear? We have a lot of black bears around here but I have never tasted any kind of bear. I assume that it would be gamey but how does it compare "gamey wise" to venison or moose?

 

 Black bear from Canada.  Not gamey at all,  quite mild.  Their taste is highly dependent upon their diet. The ones living on fish are actually fishy to the point that most hunters won't take a coastal bear to eat. Between deer and moose, closer to the sweetness of moose than the mildness of deer.

[liamsaunt]

On 1/9/2026 at 8:11 PM, MaryIsobel said:

Thanks for this - I got an eggplant in my Odd Bunch (similar to Misfits) box. My husband isn't a fan but maybe he would like it this way. I did think of parm - your version looks very appetizing compared to some I've seen. I assume that is toasted breadcrumbs on top?

Yes, breadcrumbs on top. I used Jamie Oliver’s recipe from New York Times Cooking. I like it because the eggplant is baked plain rather than breaded and fried. You can taste the eggplant more that way. 
 

 

[MaryIsobel]

1 hour ago, liamsaunt said:

Yes, breadcrumbs on top. I used Jamie Oliver’s recipe from New York Times Cooking. I like it because the eggplant is baked plain rather than breaded and fried. You can taste the eggplant more that way. 
 

 

Good to know - I avoid frying whenever I can, thanks.

[Honkman]

Campanelle with Squash, Walnuts, and Sage Brown Butter from “Anything’s Pastable” - delicata squash is roasted in the oven with rosemary. Sage leaves, crushed walnuts, garlic and red pepper flakes are sautéed in butter and used as a base for the sauce with pasta water, parmesan, lemon juice and zest as well as parsley. Everything is then mixed with the campanelle and finished with more parsley and parmesan

[Neely]

 

We had what we call lamb cutlets with mash potato and ”greens”. I “Frenched” the cutlets to take the fat off the long bone and each became a tender two mouthfuls.

 

[Maison Rustique]

I bought everything to make Swiss steak, but then realized late afternoon that it was too late to get it going. I knew the thin pork chops I'd gotten would cook quickly, so went with that and some vintage Aldi brioche lemon & thyme stuffing from the pantry. I'll get to the Swiss steak another day.

 

[Shelby]

Salad (sigh) and SV'd lamb chops

 

 

 

Italian stuffed peppers and cooked to death green beans

 

 

 

SO tired of making the same things so I did Drunken Noodles with shrimp (noodles were shirataki) and a cucumber carrot salad with a lime juice/honey/rice vinegar/sesame oil/chili pepper dressing.  

 

 

 

Had to go out to eat for lunch and took home some uneaten fried mushrooms--reheated them in the air fryer and I was really impressed.  Ronnie liked them better than the first go around because they were nice a crisp.  Air fryer is probably getting a permanent place on my ever dwindling counter space.

 

 

Deviled eggs, shrimp scampi and SV'd steaks also

 

 

 

[Steve Irby]

Dinner was SV turkey breast over celeriac and potato mash with wilted spinach and carrots.  The turkey was half of a turkey breast half that was divided length wise after coming out of the water bath.   The breast was seasoned with Cavender's Greek Salt,  lemon slices with fresh sage and rosemary.  I browned the breast prior to serving and deglazed the pan with the bag juices to make a  sauce. 

 

 

 

 

The breast was seasoned and sealed the day prior to being cooked.  I left it in the circulator for four hours at 141F.  

 

  

[sartoric]

I don’t know what possessed me to buy a 1kg tub of Thai green curry paste, but because I have SO much, I always use TOO much. This green chicken curry was Thailand hot. The kinda hot where food cart aunty looks at your pale skin, wags her finger at you and screams TOO HOT FOR YOU !

[Honkman]

Barley-Lentil Stew with Mushrooms, Crisped Prosciutto, and Dill from “Ancient Grains for Modern Meals” - stew is cooked with hulled barley, pearl barley, puy lentils, prosciutto, leeks, cremini mushrooms, chard stems and leaves, garlic, morita chili, marjoram, oregano, dill, parmesan rind, soy sauce and vegetable broth. Topped with crispy prosciutto, sour cream and dill

[liuzhou]

Pork and dried tofu with red and green chillies - Hunan style.

 

 

 

[C. sapidus]

Improvised Thai red curry with shrimp and roasted butternut squash. Jasmine rice and cucumber salad to go with.

 

We had cubed butternut squash that needed using so I roasted it at 400°F with olive oil, black pepper, and Aleppo pepper. Meanwhile, I combined pre-made red curry paste with red chile, ginger, garlic, shallot, and lemongrass and whizzed it up in the Preethi. Sauteed onion, fried the curry paste, and then simmered with coconut milk, fish sauce, palm sugar, and spices. Poached the shrimp in the curry, and then mixed in the roasted squash.

 

Could have used something crunchy, but I liked the flavor combination.

 

[Smithy]

I'm still trying to work through the bucket of potatoes given me last October. Sometime last week I boiled a bunch and mashed them, peels and all. I had the idea of making potato madeleines (see this old topic) but decided I didn't have the energy for such fussiness. Besides, they probably aren't smooth enough with all that peel.

 

So...potato ball fritters! I rolled them in a mixture of bread crumbs, corn meal, garlic salt and oregano, then deep fried in my Fry Baby. I know I've shown this before but I'm showing it again. The "dipping sauce" that's working out best is mayonnaise and Boursin with garlic and cheese.

 

The pictures aren't pretty, but the flavor is good. Crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside, and not nearly as watery as the original mash.

 

Edited 7 hours ago by Smithy
spelling (log)

[Honkman]

Miso-Smothered Chicken with Pineapple-Pickled Jicama from “Smoke & Pickled” by Edward Lee - the bone-in chicken thighs are braised in a mixture of caramelized onions, flour, garlic, red miso, cayenne pepper, bourbon, orange juice, chicken broth and soy sauce. Sliced shiitake mushrooms are added towards the finish. Jicama, red and yellow bell peppers are pickled for two days on a mixture of pineapple juice from fresh pineapple, white wine vinegar, sugar, red pepper flakes, star anise, cloves and mint. Served over rice

[Maison Rustique]

@Smithy How did you store these potatoes to get them to last so long? No matter if I get mine at Sprouts or a regular grocery chain, they are sprouting within 2-3 weeks.

[Smithy]

1 hour ago, Maison Rustique said:

@Smithy How did you store these potatoes to get them to last so long? No matter if I get mine at Sprouts or a regular grocery chain, they are sprouting within 2-3 weeks.

 

They're sitting in a 5-gallon bucket in an unheated garage. Here, at this time of year, it means they're all frozen. I mean, really frozen. When I bring some in to wash them I get a glaze of ice on the exterior when the water hits them!

 

There's some degradation in texture -- that is, as I scrub them some of the peel comes loose as that layer thaws -- and there may be some loss of flavor by now, but it's an interesting experiment. They're certainly edible.

 

Incidentally, these are russets. I've no idea whether more waxy potatoes would behave the same way.

 

Edited to add: I've just rediscovered a topic on potato storage, here. I wish I'd thought of it last October!

Edited 9 hours ago by Smithy
Updated the post (log)

[liamsaunt]

Some recent dinners. Penne with pesto and grape tomatoes

 

 

Chicken tinga tacos

 

 

Glazed salmon and roasted broccoli with rice