Truth Be Told...Anybody Still Cookin'?

[Catherine Nash]

I love this topic - it's very voyeuristic, n'est-ce pas?

I was visiting friends this weekend and we ate all our meals out (my friend has an eensy kitchen and no dining room table) but normally I cook all week long, 3 meals a day, and then we eat out on the weekends. Then there are weeks where it's reversed.

So, last three cooked dinners (I'll include tonight since I already bought the ingredients):

Tonight: tomato pie (an old French recipe with Dijon mustard and gruyere) with sauteed okra and a green salad

Monday night: potage Saint-Germain, which is just a fancy way of saying pea soup with fresh lettuces and mint, and chunky homemade croutons

Last Tuesday night (I had food events Wed and Thu): lentils topped with freshly wilted spinach and goat cheese

(Hmmm. All very vegetarian, completely by coincidence. Must grill a fat juicy steak soon.)

[racheld]

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.

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Is your grocery store for real, or an inside foodtrade joke?

Anyway, it was my laugh for the day. Along with zucchini handles---I keep imagining the little extra flab around the middles.

I made a lovely chicken pot pie last night, with just chicken, baby peas and creamy-soft red-skinned yukon golds, under an egg-washed soft crust. Sides of baby carrots glazed with sugar, butter and Buttershot; tiny green limas which were gobbled by the handful by our youngest grandchild. Salad of iceberg and grape tomatoes with dilljuice ranch, and fruit kebabs with ricotta/turbinado dip.

Sunday was tender, juicy country ribs from the grill (hubby's contribution), baby red potato salad, crusty brown-sugar baked beans with about a cup of shredded pastrami---I went looking in the fridge for an extra ingredient, and why not?

And sweet onion sandwiches on Wonder Bread with Blue Plate mayo and salt.

Tonight is fried catfish at the only place within 200 miles that makes it the real Southern way.

rachel

[SushiCat]

Fri dinner: cheated with frozen M&M meat pies because had to rush out to meet friends.

Tell me this isn't what I think it is....No chocolate involved, right?

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Rehovot, just noticed your query - it is actually quite funny! Here in western Canada we have a chain of stores called M&M meats (or some such thing). They have a lot of frozen foods that have been prepared or partially prepared - and I am sure there was not chocolate in the meat pies.

BCinBC - does this count as cooking dinner?

owing to massive leftovers and the Adesso dinner on Sunday, all I have made lately is - leftover polenta turned into a quick lasagna, layer starting with tomato sauce (with olives), hubby added sauteed onions and mushrooms, I was informing about the layering and he heard onions onions onions, because I am trying not to eat so many onions lately - I added a cooked hot italian sausage and to make it international, we layered aged gouda of some sort on the top to give it that cheesy-ness that a baked dish needs.

[Viola da gamba]

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

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We've been eating that pasta pie for a while (there's only two of us) - man it's good. Cheap & cheerful Italian red went very well. And hey - now we have a freezer full of the left over tomato sauce!

Before the pasta pie, we made the Ragu alla Nonna from Ciao America - also very good, although we probably wouldn't use chicken in it again.

In between - miscellaneous scratch food - a lot of stir fry, some pasta with whatever cheese & veg are handy - and soup. We cook at home way more than we eat out - at least partly because of where we live.

Looking forward to Friday - we're going to be doing grilled asparagus and halibut cheeks marinated in a ginger/lime/chilli mixture, and a roast butternut squash & roast garlic risotto - hooray for weekends and the end (or beginning, as it were) of leftovers!

Edited March 23, 2005 by Viola da gamba (log)

[chromedome]

Ummmmm....tonight was oxtail soup, since I found a reasonably cheap package of oxtails at Safeway for the first time in a long time. Remember when they used to be cheap?

Last night...(scratches head)...a sausage sandwich. Plain ol' supermarket pork sausages, but at least it was my own home-baked bread (dark rye/white bread swirl). Monday night (really digging, now...) my wife was out, so I made some chowder with snapper and salmon and just a bit of saffron 'cause I love saffron with seafood.

Don't generally have time to eat breakfast, and lunch is at work.

I work in two kitchens, fulltime and part-time, but I still cook and bake when I'm at home. Usually. Unless I'm napping.

[Ladybug]

Yesterday: Out & about all day, so just threw together a quick chef salad with iceberg, tomatoes, peppers, spring onions, mozz & prov cheese, ham & a white balsamic vinaigrette.

Tuesday: Braised BBQ pork sandwiches on onion rolls, roasted spiced sweet potato wedges, coleslaw, devil's food cake w/ brown sugar buttercream

Monday: White pizza with bacon, carmelized onions, mozz & parm, baby carrots, oatmeal lace cookies sandwiched with orange buttercream

Sunday: ate leftovers

Saturday: Tyson chicken strips, tater tots, corn, mac & cheese, miniature apple tarts (The kids picked the menu. I know it's nasty commercialized food, but they like it and my lazy self enjoys a break sometimes. They don't eat like this all the time. Actually, that sounds better than the reality of it - in real life, they pick the onions off the white pizza, complain about baby carrots (but eat them) and eat all desserts with glee.)

[Susan G]

Tonight: Indian-style chicken (heavy on the cardamom) in a tomato-based sauce over basmati rice with peas. Yogurt with cucumbers and black pepper.

Last night: Keilbasa, and sauerkraut with caraway seeds and garlic slivers. Spinach salad with blue cheese and walnuts.

Night Before Last: Mother-in-law's spinach lasagne. I made a cream of mushroom soup, heavy on the sherry.

[Ling]

-steak, sauteed mushrooms with butter and dill, mashed potatoes with butter and cheese

-asparagus and mushroom frittata

-baked 4 dozen chocolate chip cookies and 1 bourbon pecan pie this week

[mrsadm]

I would like to invite any of you over my house this week to cook!

I have had a rotten cold all this week so my cooking was pretty limited.

Tuesday - Steak with frozen onion rings

Wednesday - Hamburger with tater tots

Thursday - Campbell's tomato soup

Friday - Freezer meals to the rescue - Penne with Bolognese sauce

This evening - Tomato soup again???

You get the picture (sniff, sniff) ....

[SuzySushi]

I would like to invite any of you over my house this week to cook!

I have had a rotten cold all this week so my cooking was pretty limited. 

Tuesday - Steak with frozen onion rings

Wednesday - Hamburger with tater tots

Thursday - Campbell's tomato soup

Friday - Freezer meals to the rescue - Penne with Bolognese sauce

This evening - Tomato soup again???

You get the picture (sniff, sniff) ....

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Virtual chicken soup on the way! Feel better soon!

[jennahan]

I'm now a stay at home mother to a 16 month old, and am pretty fussy about what he eats (just because he is a baby does not mean that he deserves second class food!). I do cook everyday because I want him to grow up knowing what properly cooked fresh food tastes like. Usually he eats what my husband and I eat, but if it's too rich, I'll make Baby something simpler. I also have an omnivorous lunch and a vegetarian dinner. Here is a sample:

Today: Grilled dry-aged NY strip steaks gratine with Roquefort cheese and a shallot/balsamic vinegar/butter sauce served with an arugala and tomato salad (us). Beef stew with white sweet potato, carrot, and leeks for Baby (lunch) and pasta with a brocoli and parmesan sauce (dinner)

Yesterday: Israeli couscous with roasted root vegetables (dinner), Tray-baked salmon with roasted tomato, green beans, and pine nuts (lunch)

2 days ago: grilled chicken with caramelized onions, avocado, and grapefruit (lunch) Lentil salad and grilled sweet potato (dinner)

[kayswv]

We cook at home almost every evening but do eat out occasionally depending on not only opportunities but schedules. We usually save our eating out for our trips away from home.

Last evening meals this week were:

Tonight-Braised veal breast with onions and garlic served with polenta (leftover), roasted red beet quarters and braised rapini. Dessert was red grapes.

Friday-Spinach and three Italian cheese ravioli with spicy red pepper and tomato sauce. Baby greens salad with avacado and sliced roasted beets and an Italian herbed dressing. Served with warm sourdough bread.

Thursday-dinner at the local Thai restaurant following a meeting and church.

Wednesday-New England boiled dinner-corn beef, potatoes, carrots and cabbage.

Tuesday-Steamed WA mussels, green salad and sourdough rolls.

Monday-dinner party here. Appertizers of toasts with goat cheese and fig jam; olive assortment and wasabi peas. Dinner was pork tenderloins with cider and cream gravy, polenta, and smoky chard saute. Salad was argula, frisee and red endive with toasted walnut pieces and mandarin oranges dressed with a walnut vinegarette. Dessert was fresh strawberries with a devonshire cream, almond cookies and truffles.

Cooking at home is half the fun. Kay

[MarketStEl]

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[...]

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Is your grocery store for real, or an inside foodtrade joke?

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An outside-foodtrade joke, probably.

Yet another nickname for Whole Foods Market, which is often referred to as "Whole Paycheck."

[touaregsand]

We cook every day. We rarely eat out, but our food budget is still about $1000.00 a month for a family of four, two adults and two small children. We live in LA, true we have a lot of great inexpensive "ethnic" markets around here, but we also crave French cuts of meat which are usually outside of our budget. My husband and son are big meaters, the boy will turn two next month, but he weighs 40 pounds and is 40" tall. He's built like a rugby player. I think the meat eats into our budget alot and cheese. We buy most of our cheeses at Trader Joe's, but my husband eats so much of it. My husband and children pretty much ask for the same things all the time. I try to get them to be more adventurous.

Anyway, we usually cook French, Algerian and Korean in our home. A little Italian and Japanese is fairly common. Sometimes Chinese and Mexican too.

The Kids:

Somen noodles in anchovy broth

Rice with kim (roasted seaweed)

Myulchi bokkeum (sauteed tiny anchovies)

Fish cakes

Seaweed soup

Soy bean sprout soup

Fried tofu

Salted croaker, pan fried

Pasta, simply buttered or with a marinara sauce (the girl shaves fistfulls of Parmagiano on it)

Mac and Cheese

Mexican beans and rice

Couscous (the girl eats it plain, the boy eats the carrots from the tajine)

Roast chicken

Steak Bordelaise (the girl loves this)

Steak with a reduction sauce (the girl loves this)

Corn on the cob

Spinach rolls or Spinach Bourek

miso soup

chicken legs cooked in sweetened soy

Brie cheese sandwiches or croutons

Cheese quesadillas

Chicken enchiladas

The man depending on the season:

Kalbi or bulgogi with rice and napa cabbage kimchi

He also likes fish cakes and Korean omelets

Roast chicken

Couscous with Lamb tajine

Boeuf au carrottes

Potato gratin

Green salad, steak and cheese course

Salad, grilled sausages and cheese course

The man is a creature of habit at home, so he's pretty easy to cook for. Anyway the things above would represent the usual things. But when the mood strikes we get more elaborate with the French, Algerian and Korean meals. We don't do much fusion either, if at all.

[tejon]

I also live on the outskirts of Los Angeles and cook every day. Slightly different food budget, though! I spend around $350 a month for a family of two adults and two small children. This is after quite a bit of work to trim all our bills, as we don't have a lot of income coming in. I menu plan weekly, but don't assign anything to a particular day and tend to plan things around whatever is in season or freshest.

Meals so far this week for us:

Chicken Enchiladas, salad with orange, red onion and avocado

Roast beef sandwiches with caramelized onions and au jus, braised red cabbage

Chana dal, Basmati rice, roasted cauliflower with cumin

[saskanuck]

We cook every day too, although Monday nights are usually just grilled sandwiches or frozen pizza because the kids have Scouts night. Last night it was frozen thin-crust Dr. Oetker spinach pizza (these are pretty damned good for a quick meal).

Sunday dinner: roast beef, mashed potatoes, gravy, and peas

Saturday dinner: homemade slow-cooked chili, garlic bread from a good bakery

Friday dinner: grilled garlic/lime chicken, white rice, steamed broccoli

And of course, a mixed drink or a glass of wine is standard with the above.

[ivan]

I just looked in on the Dinner! thread. At this moment it contains 9,152 posts.

I think people are still cooking.

[jm chen]

With a new British one-pot cookbook (they're always calling for rocket or capiscum or other added flavour) I've been in a cooking renaissance lately. So it's a well-timed thread!

Sunday: pot of chicken stew with leeks, carrots, onion, garlic, and tarragon. Chicken simmered on the bone with veggies in chicken stock and apple juice, cooled for defatting and bone removal, then reassembled and heated through with a little sour cream and brown mustard. Mmmmmm.

Monday: Sausage and penne, red wine sauce.

Yesterday: Lentil soup with the leftover sausage, I'd intended to box it up for lunches the rest of the week but just kept going back to the pot for another helping. One lonely serving remains, which I will probably have tonight.

[wine&dine]

Yes we are all cooking...isn't that why we love this site?

Monday: Grilled Halibut with a Papaya and mango salsa. tossed salad and Pinot Noir

Tuesday: Grilled Chicken Kabobs with a honey barbeque sauce, mixed greens salad and brushetta

Wednesday: Risotto with spicy chorizo sausage, roasted peppers and peas, and chilled white wine.

This thread is great for ideas.

[rosewaters]

Although I'm trying to get onto a regular meal-eating schedule, I'm finding that 3 meals really doesn't work for me. Four is better. When I'm working (teaching) I usually have a pretty small breakfast and lunch. So then I eat something small when I get home at four o'clock and then again later at 7 or 8.

So, yesterday afternoon: big bowl of snow peas sauteed in olive oil and garlic, cut up blood orange and strawberries with sprinkle of fresh nutmeg, handful of almonds, slice of cheddar, chocolate chip cookie.

yesterday evening: artichoke with mayonaise, bowl of popcorn with salt, sugar, a little melted butter.

the day before: I didn't work, so just one big stir-fry of zucchini, carrot, green pepper, snow peas, pea sprouts, a little new york steak, and some leftover green curry from a Thai restaurant. Nobody patient enough to wait for rice.

[winyang]

I've found that moving to a small (pop. 30,000) town in Italy has helped considerably in encouraging me to cook every day. I previously lived in Brooklyn, and the five-borough dining options were just too much of a temptation most of the time (and I don't think any crispy watercress salad I could attempt would ever come close to Sripraphai's). And so much of the time, the cost of ingredients (particularly at my neighborhood Garden of Eden) for making what I wanted to eat was so exorbitant that sometimes it cost less to eat out.

So now, I can't get any quasi-authentic non-italian food unless i cook it myself. And finding ginger here can be a a giant pain in the tochus. Not to mention liimes and cilantro. (Yes, I find myself craving Thai and Mexican most here). And all food shops and supermarkets are open from 8am-1pm and 3:30-7pm. but not on Sundays or Thursday afternoons. And the markets run Wednesday and Friday mornings until 1pm and then Saturday only in the afternoon. So meal planning takes considerably more thought here. If I don't plan properly, I can find myself with no real meal options. And no, there's no delivery. Also the dining options (two restaurants and two pizzerias) are limited enough that eating out totally loses its appeal.

But that said, I am eating pretty well these days.

For lunch: spaghettini tossed with wild fennel, cime di rape, and cipolline. lots of olive oil and lots of parm.

Dinner last night: big bowl of sautéed cime di rape covered with hummus (inspired by a wolfert recipe).

Lunch yesterday: couscous and tuna. not a whole lot of cooking going on with this one.

[dans]

Sunday: Pork osso bucco in a tomato rich sauce (OK I added too many tomatoes and it was very tomato-y - it was still pretty good)

Monday - lasagne

Tuesday leftovers from Sunday and Monday

Wednesday - Cheese souffle

We make most of our meals at home. We do eat out at least once a week to "give the cook a break"

Dan