Truth Be Told...Anybody Still Cookin'?

[3WholeCardamoms]

I was wondering if we would reveal what we still make at home because I'm feeling that aspect of our culinary worlds is often de-emphasized in this forum - for whatever reasons. Home cooking remains in the shadows of our 'greater' discussions of where to get this and buy that, and how good or bad it was. People make reference to ingredients bought for home use but we seldom hear or discuss what we made or who was with us. No disrespect to the other 'threads' or the conversations held within, I'm just wondering about 'the other side of eating' - shared meals at home - that we made for ourselves.

I know "people are busy" and "I cook all day at work..." might come up a lot and I know many of us may not want to share the less glamorous and revealing little secrets we keep about eating-in (like last night's snack of crackers and salsa). Maybe I'm just asking to see what the napkin-scribblers really eat when not darkening the doors of Vancouver/Western Canada's finest establishments! Maybe it will open the discussion up for those who don't eat out as much by choice, habit, tradition or financial neccessity.

So...

Last Night: Corn tortillas, rice, beans and fresh tomato salsa (ok, I know there are no fresh tomatoes in March). Fed three friends.

Night before: Sockeye (from last season) in tamari/ginger/garlic and grated apple marinade - on the bbq. Alu Gobhi. Fed two friends - one brought the fish from last years' stint in the Charlottes.

Day Before: Roasted Acorn Squash and yellow pepper soup. Fed Two friends.

3WC

[Coop]

I cook everynight.

Last Night . Pizza Margaretta and Pizza Funghi. I buy pizza dough (frozen)from a deli in Port Moody. The rest I do myself. Drank a $10 Negromatro.

Thursday. Sirloin steaks with mushroom demi sauce. Goat Cheese mashed potatos and succotash. Drank a Pipasso Valpolicella.

Wednesday. Made the Pasta pie with meat crust I saw a lady make on Ciao America.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/re...6_25822,00.html

Drank a cheap California Zinfandel.

The Coop family loves to eat.

[Kayaksoup]

I cook at home almost exclusively. Don't have the budget to eat the kind of food I want to in restaurants.

Last night was halibut baked in parchment with fennel, shallot, lemon and butter. Thursday night, chicken with casabel chili rub, mint potatoes and salad.

Wednesday was Pork chops with homemade BBQ sauce, white beans with spinach, sdt and bacon ( I know double pork It was just a little leftover bacon) and salad.

I am having a bit of a low-rent week.

[*Deborah*]

Good thread idea!

I don't know if I'll be able to remember the actual last three things I cooked (well, some of them would be boring steamed broccoli) so how about the actual last meal and then the past two interesting meals?

Last night: My so glamourous dinner consisted of toasted squirrelly bread with butter and cheese I can almost always be tempted by a cheese sandwich.

Last interesting meal: Caramelized onions, with garlic and peppers, and hot Italian sausages made at my market next door (Nester's), served with nice crusty bread and an organic baby spinach salad with avocado and a bit of bacon and Litehouse's One Carb Southwestern Ranch dressing (which I got for its chipotle flavour, not its carbs or lack thereof--it's pretty tasty). We drank a few bottles of red with that. Query: does anyone ever see dark curly mature spinach? all I ever seem to see is that pale baby stuff, and I miss the other one, full of sand though it may be.

Second last interesting meal: Specialty, $25 dollar chicken from a butcher at GIM (I'm still not sure what was so special about it, but it was very delicious) roasted with a rub of olive oil, fresh thyme (I finally learned the trick of removing the thyme leaves from the stalks, duh), garlic, and lemon zest, stuffed with a lemon, and the fabulous gravy...mashed potatoes with sauteed leeks, and steamed broccoli. We're heathens, and drank two bottles of red that night as well

Edited March 19, 2005 by *Deborah* (log)

[Chocoholic]

I am getting a new kitchen at the moment ( ) so after everything is hooked up again and the construction equipment is out of the way I am going to be doing some very serious cooking. One more week and counting...in the meantime, it is takeout food or restaurant visits every evening...

Edited March 19, 2005 by Chocoholic (log)

[Ling]

This morning: 4 soft-scrambled eggs, coffee (this is my usual breakfast, so I won't be posting this anymore as it's rather boring!)

Thursday night: rare sirloins, asparagus, and I baked 4 dozen chocolate chip oatmeal coconut cookies

Wednesday night: I just had an omelette for dinner because my friends were coming over right after.

Tuesday night: fried chicken livers, rice, and I baked 4 dozen chocolate chip cookies

[dodger]

Friday night: Tender strips of Sirloin with broccoli in a ginger/garlic (lots of garlic) sauce. Served over basmatti with a small mug of Riesling.

Thursday Night: Meat lovers Pizza! I have not made a pizza at home in at least 10 years so I was excited about this one!

Dough from scratch (now I remember why I haven't made pizza at home in 10 years...ughh..) smothered with a rich home-made tomato sauce...pulled from the back of the freezer... topped with salami, pepperoni, chorizo, jazzed up ground sirloin, ground veal , lots of onions & finished with raw tomato and basil feta. Lots of cold Heineken and Stella....awesome.

Wednesday Night: Dinner out at The Keg...

Tuesday Night: Comfort Food Night! Spicy Shepards Pie and a bottle of Dry Rock Cabernet/Merlot (Gehringer)...gotta do the comfort foods!

[TPO]

Friday: Ravioli (store-bought) with marinara sauce and garlic bread

Thursday: St. Patrick's Day corned beef boiled dinner, but someone else did the cooking

Wednesday:Turkey tenderloins with mashed potatoes, gravy, and spinach

Tuesday:Pizza (homemade crust from the bread machine) with onions and green peppers

Edited March 19, 2005 by TPO (log)

[saffron]

AAA Canadian beef tenderloin with spicy eggplant concasse, cauliflower "rice" and steamed asparagus. Absolutely loving the new Karen Barnaby "Gourmet Low Carb" cookbook.

Edited March 19, 2005 by saffron (log)

[peppyre]

At the moment I am making an omlette with mushrooms, onion, bacon and some cheese. With that I will have a sausage and some tater tots. For desert, fresh strawberries with a gaufre de liege from Patisserie LeBeau.

This is the only cooking that I have done so far this week.

[rooftop1000]

well I was doing really good for a while but twisted my knee and when it went pop the pizza menu came out......

sunday obscene huge steaks with sauteed onions and homemade butternut squash ravioli with brown butter and pecans

monday pasta with meat sauce from the freezer ....nothing else...well girl scout cookies

tuesday cheeseburgers tater tots big salad

wednesday take out pizza

thursday pork loin braised with apple juice beef base and juniper berries with boiled new potatoes sauerkraut and red cabbage....have to love that remote probe thermometer

friday out for tacos

not too bad and my knee feels a little better

[SuzySushi]

I usually cook dinner 6 or 7 nights a week. Sometimes it's something really simple -- just a bowl of Asian noodles with leftover meat & veggies thrown in; sometimes it's leftovers from the freezer. This week was unusual because we ate out twice (because we were out on errands around dinnertime and everyone was hungry).

So:

Monday: Steak with Sauce Chateau, served with Chevre Mashed Potatoes

Tuesday: Homemade Pate (an experiment in French cuisine) served with salad and homemade potato salad

Wednesday: Mexican food, ate out.

Thursday: Corned Beef & Cabbage in Ale (including potatoes and carrots)

Friday: Thai food, ate out.

Tonight: I'm not sure what! I'm on my way to the greenmarket and will decide when I get there!

Edited to add: Well, by the time I didn't make it to the greenmarket, I had just $3 cash left in my wallet -- my daughter cleaned me out asking for her allowance! -- so no point in going. Besides, I knew there were a lot of odds and ends sitting in the vegetable bin. So tinight's dinner was a stir-fry using up the rest of the corned beef from Thursday, plus a pork chop and all those veggies. See my post in the "Dinner" thread for a picture.

Edited March 20, 2005 by SuzySushi (log)

[daniellewiley]

We try to be good, but I'm out a lot in the evenings, and my husband and daughter end up going out.

Monday: Spaghetti and Meatballs with a Big Salad (My 3 year old helped quite a bit with this one)

Tuesday: Roasted Vegetable Meatloaf (bad recipe from Bon Appetit), mashed potatoes, and my father-in-law brought a Greek salad.

Wednesday: I went to Bunco - the family went out.

Thursday: We signed with a realtor and didn't finish til late, so we ended up at the Outback. It was quite good, surprisingly.

Friday: I worked - the family went out for BBQ.

Tonight: we are going to a fundraiser.

[Toasted]

Ok. I have four kids and two are babies so give me a break huh?

Wed. Frozen pizza, cut up fruit, ice cream for dessert

Thurs. Black beans and rice with salsa and sour cream and fresh green beens with garlic (eat up-cus it's soccer night!)

Fri. Thank God! Butternut squash lasagna with roasted garlic bread and a green salad with homemade garlic crutons and what ever salad dressing the kids want to make them eat the salad. Fresh mangos for dessert (3 for $2.00 at the store!).

You know, it's not the cooking that's so hard because I love to do it. It's the cleaning up. I still have dirty pans in the sink from tonights dinner and if I wasn't such an Egullet slut they would be done by now.

[SushiCat]

Good idea for this thread! Thanks 3WC - and when are we baking, I'm a cardamom addict

hmmn, I've been jet lagged from my trip to Germany, so I haven't been cooking, except last night. Other nights, Mr. Cat cooked or nobody cooked ...

Friday: homemade pizza (dough from Tonina's deli) but made a nice sauce with crushed tomatoes, two types of olives and plenty of herbs/spices. Pizza toppings of sausage, peppers and mushrooms - pretty good but one side baked faster on the stone, so it was nearly burnt - gotta make more pizza to get over this baking hump!

Wednesday: pasta with mushrooms and cheese. If you use good ingredients, simple is best! Broccoli on the side.

Tuesday: Barbecued chicken with orange/ginger/soy etc. as a marinade. Steamed carrots and potatoes ... mr. cat thinks these count as veggies!

Tonight - roasted chicken with citrus and spices, Morrocan carrots and polenta with a ceasar salad and two additional eaters.

Ling, I'm happy to feed you some chicken etc. if you stop by with some of those cookies for dessert!

Edited March 20, 2005 by SushiCat (log)

[Luckylies]

what is this.. cooking... you speak of?

today..blt with some almost rotten but just right heirlooms from fresh direct and mariah thick cut bacon (almost chipped a tooth) boston lettuce, white bread. dropped half on the floor, as I was still hungry (always) also made toast with sliced avocado, salt, hot pepper flakes and lemon juice.

bbq roasted chicken sandwiches (oxymoron, yes) tomato, mayo, salt, pep.

eggs over light with melted havarti on top toast.

since I've been in culinary school all I want are simple sandwiches... food has become. too foodie? or perhaps it's just that I eat all day... french food.

[jgarner53]

Friday night: leftover stuffed eggplant and salad, sliced mango for dessert

Thursday night (after working a full day): stuffed eggplant, salad, work pastries for dessert

Monday (and Tuesday and Wednesday): A simple tomato and bean stew over polenta (hey, I was beat after the whole pastry wrap up last weekend and didn't feel like slaving.

Wednesday night I also made a chocolate caramel pecan tart

[purplewiz]

I cook six nights out of seven for a variety of reasons.

Two nights ago: Corned beef and cabbage, creamed cauliflower on the side.

Last night: Beef Chorizo sausage from Whore Foods with a reduction sauce of the juices, zucchini "fettucine" in sun dried tomato alfredo sauce, tossed salad with the zucchini "handles" chopped up, cucumber, green onion, and greens.

This morning: ham, onion, and mushroom frittata with cheese, whole wheat toast with almost the last of the homemade blueberry jam, coffee.

I would have cooked tonight, too, even though we usually go out Saturdays, because my husband is ill. However, we spent the day homebrewing and I am TIRED. (Have to get things going NOW if they're going to be drinkable in the time frame they're needed.) So I went out and got burritos and I'll make the chicken soup tomorrow night.

Marcia.

Edited March 20, 2005 by purplewiz (log)

[Grub]

Fillet Mignon Béarnaise with Duchess Potatoes. Was going to do the Béarnaise sauce from scratch, but at the last moment, discovered that I only had a single egg left, so I made it from a sauce pack (hey, I'm no snob!) and used the egg for the Duchess potatoes instead (rather than the planned baked, fanned potatoes). Adapt and improvise I say. I'm just barely good enough where I can improvise things like this -- it used to be, if I was missing a single thing, I would be completely stuck (or would just destroy the meal).

Blue cheese chicken & pear salad, a simplified Blanquette de Veau, chocolate mousse. Everything worked out just right on this one.

Bun Bo Hue (first recipe I've attempted off of eGullet!). Ended up a lot spicier than I expected -- but I'm not too familiar with Vietnamese food.

[patti]

For dinner tonight I braised a garlic stuffed tenderloin in beer, made a reduction and served it with white rice, black beans, corn and dinner rolls. That was for the menfolk. I ate slices of the pork loin with a nice salad.

For lunch today I had pan fried batterless chicken thighs (a la Susan in FL) and a lovely salad of spring greens with sliced red onions, and really ripe and tasty cherry tomatoes.

For dinner last night I baked tilapia filets and steamed some broccoli.

Not a fancy dish among 'em, but all home cooked.

[Ling]

Tonight - roasted chicken with citrus and spices, Morrocan carrots and polenta with a ceasar salad and two additional eaters.

Ling, I'm happy to feed you some chicken etc. if you stop by with some of those cookies for dessert!

←

Your dinner sounds great (Morrocan carrots and polenta! ) but if you knew me a little better, you'd know that most of the cookies have long disappeared. I only have 2 or 3 left! But I'll bake some for you soon, if you come out for lunch with us one day!

[Brithack]

Just cooking Italian sausages with lentils, oregano and tomatoes.

Yesterday did wild mushroom risotto with truffles and wild rocket (US = arugula). Yum.

Friday had home-smoked chicken, rocket and mango salad with lime juice dressing.

[3WholeCardamoms]

Last night: Beef Chorizo sausage from Whore Foods with a reduction sauce of the juices, zucchini "fettucine" in sun dried tomato alfredo sauce, tossed salad with the zucchini "handles" chopped up, cucumber, green onion, and greens.

Marcia.

←

Damn

This is my favourite egullet sentence ever.

You got some nasty stores down in CO.

3WC

[SushiCat]

Tonight - roasted chicken with citrus and spices, Morrocan carrots and polenta with a ceasar salad and two additional eaters.

Ling, I'm happy to feed you some chicken etc. if you stop by with some of those cookies for dessert!

←

Your dinner sounds great (Morrocan carrots and polenta! ) but if you knew me a little better, you'd know that most of the cookies have long disappeared. I only have 2 or 3 left! But I'll bake some for you soon, if you come out for lunch with us one day!

←

Sure, lunch anytime, preferrable Fridays. the Morrocan carrots turned out not quite as expected, but very good, probably the fancy shmancy olives I got at Les Amis du Fromage, also I love pine nuts ... I'm well on the way to mastering polenta, last nights was the best I have made - only started making it after our Vancouver event at West. That combined with the very creamy polenta mr. cat had at HSG during DOV made it a must try. Even my little nephew is walking around saying 'lenta, yum'

note: he is sure to be an early adopter of egullet, likely once he can actually type words on the computer. Currently olives are his favorite food

Edited March 20, 2005 by SushiCat (log)

[gourmande]

On average I cook dinner 6 nights out of 7 (breakfast and lunch every day, or almost)

This week's dinners

Monday: Linguini marinara, salad of mixed greens

Tuesday: Leftover osso buco with sausage, basmati rice, green salad

Wednesday: Chicken Parmigiana, pennine rigate, mixed salad; little chocolate cakes with warm caramel sauce

Thursday: Guinness lamb stew, champ potatoes, green salad; warm apple cake and cream

Friday: Steamed mussels à la marinière with bread and beer!

Saturday: We were out on a mission scouting for a new location for our British Car Club meetings so it was appys at a number of pub style eateries. We all came back here for a "night cap": tea (Darjeeling) and apple cake

Sunday: (tonight) Sauerbraten with egg noodles, glazed carrots, mixed salad; pana cotta with rhubarb compote