What's for Dinner #275 - The Four Letter Word Edition [to 2/16/2014] - old

Question

SNOW. That lousy four-letter word. It's coming in.

ENVY. Another four-letter word. And it's what those of us in the U.S. still have of Frizzle and those in the Southern Hemisphere.

FOOD. That's what this thread is all about. What's cooking, regardless of the hemisphere you're in?

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I'm not really hungry but the man will be when he gets home and he'll need lunch tomorrow (I cook extra so there are leftovers for his lunch,) so food must be made.

BISO thicken thighs will be spiced rubbed (cumin, cinnamon, garlic, s&p, za'atar,) and cooked on the grill. Asparagus or zucchini will be brushed with olive oil and sprinkled with some kind of seasonings to cook along side the chicken.

*ducking Linda's evil glares* Its just after 5 pm and the temperature just dropped below 80, I think it was 83 today and completely blue skied. We're supposed to be 62 for a high in 10 days, though. Its been a strange "winter."

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Last night: braised short ribs in a port wine reduction over rosemary polenta for the man and over mashed acorn squash for me. 

I went to Rochester and back today, so tonight I just snacked on some raspberries in cream, almond butter and apple, and some dates. I think it's time to go be horizontal. 

I'm so excited for more snow! I hope we get buckets-worth.

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I am being a brat and reposting here to join this thread.
Maesri green curry with chicken breast, orange bell pepper, zucchini and green peas in coconut milk finished with scallions and thai basil. Jasmine rice to go with.

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I made chow's broccoli and cheese soup, along with a basic loaf of white bread tonight, and it was delicious. The baby (15 months old) ate three bowls! The bigger kids enjoyed dipping their bread in it.

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We're in a cold spell here. 8 C doesn't *sound* all that cold, until you factor in the dampness, the total absence of indoor heating (including at the office) and not very well insulated buildings. 

So I made sauerbraten with homemade spaetzel. First time I've tried the spaetzel, after falling in love with it in Germany this summer. The upside down Ikea grater lid made a decent spaetzel press. Fried the spaetzel with finely diced smoked pork belly and some cheese.

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Snow is here also...and sleet....and rain. Later tonight, ice rolls in. Warm comfort food is a must on this day so I have a pot of chili on the stove as per the fiancé's request. Grilled cheeses for the DF and pieces of cheese (smoked gouda & white extra sharp cheddar) and crackers for me.

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Tonight it was as simple as it gets -- pasta with some sauce and meatballs from the freezer. I also cooked some SBCB and made a quick quasi chicken parm to have along with the pasta. Done and dusted in about 30 minutes.

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G came home too late to make the meatloaf I had planned so... into the wok went a TJ's one-pound bag of Harvest Hodgepodge which is a mix of broccoli, carrots, baby corn, mushrooms, water chestnuts, sugar snap peas, red peppers, and onions for an ab lib stir-fry. 

A quarter pound of ground pork and some chopped garlic was first cooked till meat was brown & garlic was golden then in went the vegetables. That was stir-fried for a bit then a mixture of soy sauce/chicken broth/bourbon/sugar/sesame oil/minced ginger/cornstarch was added and everything was tossed and fried till the vegetables were crisp tender. Served with steamed jasmine rice that was dinner. Quite tasty and satisfying. 

With any luck at all the meatloaf will make it's debut tomorrow.

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Awaiting the latest onslaught of snow here in Northern NJ; there's a nice pot of chili just finished that's cooling on the stove. I'll put it in the fridge in about half an hour. That'll be tomorrow's dinner, and as many nights after that until I dig out. (I'll freeze some of it tomorrow for the next snow day.)

Tomorrow, while the snow is falling, I'll be baking an Apple Pie. 

Is it March yet?

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On a fellow hound's rec I bought Gertler's Wurst Uber Kase Smoked Cheddarwurst at Costco while I was stocking up. They were fully cooked so I just stuck them in the oven on a rack for a bit while I made some steamed asparagus with melted butter and then toasted some hawaiian top cut rolls with a bit of kerrygold butter to make little sausage sandwiches with hot and sweet mustard from trader joes.
 I'm near Philly and they had moved the seven hundred dollar generators to the front of the Costco store where people were buying them. Ulp.
 I'm lucky enough to have a gas stove so I can heat up some potato soup with ham tomorrow even if I lose power. They were sampling David's Cookies cheesecake but I somehow managed to resist. I think I have some girl scout cookies around somewhere and a flashlight to find them if need be.

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It was -26C here this morning. You know it's cold when you open the front door and the clouds roll in. At least dinner warmed up the house with the ovens fired up. We had chicken breasts stuffed with mozzarella and ham, potatoes dauphinoise and Joe Beef's kale for a hangover. A couple of glasses of chardonnay (also in the kale) rounded it out.

The first time I saw Game of Thrones and heard the phrase "Winter is coming" I laughed my butt off. I don't think I'd be surprised if I saw an ice zombie. Heck, we're all so pasty and sun-starved looking I doubt you could pick one out in a crowd.

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I was planning on getting out of work on time to make stuffed shells that Mr Autumn has been begging for for a month, but then patient care happened. Like everyone's pain medications kicked in at the same time and all wanted their therapy NOW. After refusing all morning. . .

So we had chicken salad wraps using up refrigerator odds and ends. Since we are having a Go Team USA hockey party this weekend, space is good but the stuffed shells were sounding really good to me too.

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Looks like the storm hits us in nyc thurs.....(((sigh))). 

I had seaweed salad i picked up at whole foods that i put ontop of some greens, added shredded carrots and scallions. Also seared some tofu with a sesame/miso/soy sauce ontop that made it into the salad too. Oversized mug of miso broth on the side, x2. Candied ginger from chinatown (aka the spicy stuff!) for dessert. 

Soaking black beans for i'm not sure what yet tommorow...

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I have a huge eye round steak thawing. I'll put some kind of dry rub on it, cook it in the cast iron skillet, and slice very thinly. They are cheap as hell and actually delicious as long as you don't overcook them. I treat them like london broil. This one was like $4 and will easily feed the two of us.

I pulled Ad Hoc grits cakes from the freezer and I have some leftover creamed corn from the other night. The only thing we need is some kind of green thing. I'll probably just make a salad... maybe Alex Guarnaschelli's Grilled Romaine with Blue Cheese. Yum.

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WFD?
These were on sale, not sure what they are? Any suggestions on how to prepare?

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Here is my snow gage, a table out on the balcony off the bedroom....it was clean last night...
Maybe some comfort food tonight as another "snow day"..
Thinking eggplant , some chicken along with a nice bolognaise sauce in the freezer.
I think it is time for a temporary relocation of headquarters to the spread in South Florida!

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I vowed to cook something hearty and warming if it snowed, and since Mother Nature delivered, so must I. My coworker and his fiance are probably going to join us for chicken/turkey paprikas and spaetzle. Sides still TBD but I have some good, if heavy, ideas in mind.

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Put off making a ham earlier this week just incase I got snowed in today - and indeed home from work - going to bake a nice bone in ham - with a mango ginger glaze. right now I am baking a cake for breakfast and I have some no-knead bread in the fridge that I am about to take out and let proof so the house should smell good and cozy all day - heres hoping we dont loose power! I like t o see what I am cooking.

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Hey all- I miss you!! 

I am going thru some tough times right now. While I am not doing much cooking (or eating) these threads are a ray of sunshine.

Hope to get back in the saddle again soon.

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We are getting bombarded with about another 10" of snow, so are hunkering down, staying in and making the best of things. The bigger little one and I are making valentine's cookies today using a citrus sugar cookie recipe. some will be stained glass cookies with hearts cut out. some will be decorated with red icing.

Might make some pizzas with TJ's wheat pizza dough for lunch.

WFD may be chicken enchiladas with black beans and baby spinach. possibly made into a layered casserole if i'm feeling lazy by then.

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The plan was sole baked in tomato feta sauce, but the fish must have suffered the wrath of air as they were quite freezer burned. It was vacuum sealed frozen so I assume that there was a tiny hole. Fortunately, it's from TJs so no loss and I wasn't really in the mood for fish anyway. Instead, flank steak is on the menu. I might attempt to stuff it, though I gave up on stuffed meats many months ago. If so, spinach and mushrooms. If not, it will be served with spinach and mushrooms.

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Brrr chill from CNY. We're also expecting some snow, but not nearly as bad as other parts are getting. 1-3 inches today, 3-6 over night.

Haven't posted in a while so I'll recap.

Monday - pan fried salmon, leftover yellow rice with these tiny beans from a local Puerto Rican joint, sauteed spinach with garlic, onion, red pepper and parmesan cheese. Salad. Very yum.

Tuesday - out to dinner for my mother's birthday.

Yesterday was a dad's house day, so after we spent about an hour and a half after work cleaning up and throwing stuff away, I needed something quick and easy. I had some garlic and basil Belinksi chicken sausages in the freezer. These are fully cooked so I just sliced them and browned them up in a pan,then added some pasta sauce, boiled up some rotini, whipped up a salad and dinner was done!

Stay warm and safe everyone, and to those of you in the warmer climates, you don't know all the fun you are missing (wink, wink).

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Sorry, it's not cold here in CO either. Currently 55 and partly cloudy... lovely day :)

I learned last night that I shouldn't go to SO's hockey games. I decided to sit in the stands after all and some Big Fat Asshole tried to start a fight with SO (who is not a big person but can throw down if necessary), so I started yelling at the fat guy from the stands. Then SO got put in the penalty box cause the ref didn't see BFA trying to start something, only saw SO retaliating. BS. Anyway, after yelling I realized the little boy in the next group of seats might be BFA's kid. SO told me later that it wasn't, but I still felt bad for yelling "naughty" words with a kid nearby. Had dinner after, my yummy "honey turkey bavarian" sandwich that I always get at that bar... turkey sandwich with swiss and bacon and honey mustard on a pretzel bun. 

Tonight we head down to the big hockey arena to watch the movie Miracle on the jumbotron. They are raising season ticket prices for next season so I think they're trying to woo all of us to keep our tickets. There'll be free concession food so you bet I'll be taking advantage of that. $9 pizza slices for free? You betcha. 

On a side note, excited that men's Olympic hockey has started! USA had a great first game and so did Canada.

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The fiancé came home with a 30 lb box of turkey wings last night and after food savering all but a few this afternoon, those few went into the oven to roast basically seasoned with seasoned salt, pepper, onion powder, no salt seasoning blend and sage. 

I pulled a container of stuffing leftover from Thanksgiving from the freezer yesterday, intending to use it to stuff chicken breasts for today so that will be warmed up to go with the wings. A gravy will be made; broccoli will be roasted and I think this dinner calls for mashed potatoes. 

The good news; snow & sleet got washed away in the rains that followed..the bad news, it's a mud pit outside.

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A day's respite from the two four letter words blighting the UK - rain and wind. More tomorrow (sigh!). Tonight, butternut ravioli in a quick sauce of garlic, lemon rind, parsley and mascarpone, followed by apples baked with raisins and syrup.

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Oops, I just in the old thread by accident. Here's a repost:

I was so tired from my Olympics all-nighter yesterday that I didn't have more than a frozen pizza in me. Tonight I'm going to do much better. The rest of my boneless pork shoulder is becoming a pot of wonderful, slow-cooked green chili, with hot green chiles, roasted tomatillos, cilantro, onion, garlic and perhaps a hit of ground cumin ('cause I like it that way). Rice and pintos on the side, as well as some nice, fluffy, flour tortillas.

Not sure what's for dinner tomorrow. I'm working late, so the BF is making me dinner and has also promised a nice bottle of wine. We'll eat quickly so we can make the 11pm showing of some movie we've never heard of at our local B-movie theatre.

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DEAL.

That's my four-letter mantra as I look out the window at yet another foot of global warming.

Lunch on this snow day was corned beef on rye topped with quality Swiss. A little Gulden's mustard on top of the melted cheese for spice.

Supper will be leftover chicken and rice. This is a hearty meal up to the task of spitting in the eye of Old Man Winter. Beer and wine will be available. I'm in the mood for some classic film noir tonight. We'll see.

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I thought that all of you Halal Cart Chicken aficionados would find this article to be instructive.

http://jalopnik.com/the-best-halal-cart-in-nyc-1520229276/@sarah-hedgecock

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We went from snow to ice pellets to rain with more snow expected tonight. On the plus side a mystery neighbor seems to have shoveled my front walk all the way to my car! Having spent my formative driving years in Florida I try not to drive in snow and ice...the world doesn't need another fool on the road.

Dinner tonight will be a pot pie using the poached chicken from earlier in the week. Onion, celery, roasted carrots, parsley and some sort of re-hydrated dried mushroom covered with a cream chicken sauce. Probably some frozen corn and edamame will make it's way into the mix. 

Tomorrow is supposed to be clear during the day. A little sunshine would be nice!

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Got let out of work around 2:00 p.m. - later than we should have been let out, as it was right in the midst of a snowburst, so driving home was great fun. NOT. And then the spoke road for my townhouse hadn't yet been plowed when I got home, although everyone else had been been. Whassupwitdat? But the car got through the 5-6" of snow and into the garage. 

I started to shovel, and the mini plow came down our spoke road and cleared the road. He also stopped at the end of my driveway and apologized profusely - he somehow forgot about us while plowing out everyone else and only realized it when he saw my tire tracks. But when he finished with our little spoke, he turned the little mini plow at my driveway and pulled all of the snow out. So a 45 min. shoveling job ended up being only 5-10 minutes. :-) And my driveway was the only one he plowed out. Yay me! LOL

Anyway, I'm in the midst of trying to make some more Mom Freezer Meals (tm) before I head up there on Monday to take her shopping, so even though I had pasta last night, I'm having it again tonight. Baked Mac & Ham & Cheese.

Yup - there's wine.

Baked Macaroni & Cheese With Ham

2 Tbsp butter or margarine
1/4 cup unsifted flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dry mustard -- up to 2 tsp.
1/4 tsp white pepper -- more to taste
2 cups milk
2 1/4 cups grated extra-sharp Cheddar cheese -- divided
1/2 lb ham center slice, cooked -- sliced 1" thick ***
8 oz elbow macaroni
1/4 cup bread crumbs -- I use Panko crumbs
2 Tbsp Lipton's Savory Herb & Garlic dry soup mix

Cook elbow macaroni for 6 minutes in boiling water. Drain in colander. Cut ham slice into 1/2" cubes and set aside. Preheat oven to 350°.

In 2-qt. saucepan, melt margarine over low heat. Stir in flour, salt, pepper, and mustard until smooth. Slowly add milk in 1/4-1/3 cup increments, stirring constantly, until flour mixture and milk are well blended. Stirring constantly, cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes or until thickened. Turn heat to low. Add 2 cups of the grated cheese, stirring constantly until all cheese is melted.

Turn elbow macaroni into 2 qt. greased casserole dish. Mix in ham cubes, then pour cheese sauce over top of all, making sure sauce is mixed in well throughout. In a separate bowl, mix Panko crumbs and dry soup mix; sprinkle over top of macaroni & cheese, and sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup grated cheese.

Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until top is bubbly. Let sit for about 5 minutes before serving.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

NOTES : *** Ask for a 1" slice of Virginia baked ham from the deli counter...they'll look at you weird, but it's better than buying the packaged ham steak.

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I chose to get snowed in with the (delicious) David Lebovitz peanut sauce from this cold salad: http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2011/01/cold-noodles-with-peanut-sauce/ Yesterday I had it on cellophane noodles & steamed broccoli, today I had it on pan seared tofu and wilted arugula. I could happily eat it with a spoon.

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Hmm I might be a bit late to this post - but tonight we had eggplant parmesan. I somewhat followed Mario Batali's deconstructed version, but I peeled stripes on the eggplant (easier to chew for an almost 2 yr old with not many teeth), and breaded it before roasting in the oven. Then followed the rest of the recipe except for adding bread crumbs since the eggplant was already breaded. No snow coming down here yet (Mtl) but it's definitely frosty at -16C...

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Yesterday was our 1 year americannivsersary so I cooked rib eyes with chimmichuri (why haven't I made this before, it was so easy and delicious!) with griddled courgettes and a green bean, rocket and spinach salad. Little chocolate and almond cakes with raspberries and creme fraiche for dessert.

Snow day today so I made chicken stock then used it to make Ottolenghi ricotta and oregano meatballs (pork not beef) to have with spaghetti, Just the thing on a cold snowy night.

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I am feeling fortunate that the latest storm didn't hit Ontario. But it's still damn cold and I'm sick of it. So dinner tonight was takeout pho from one of our local Viet spots. It's conveniently located next to the one Asian grocery store in my area, so I placed my order and wandered over to the store. Picked up a green curry paste and some coconut milk to make green curry chicken tomorrow night.

Damn, I'm missing pasta and bread.

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Snow day + early V-day on account of travel tomorrow = fried chicken dinner. Chix, rice & gravy, string beans with Benton's bacon pot likker & squash casserole. No biscuit, regrettably.

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Lots of snow here today....again. Pepperoni chicken for dinner with roasted potatoes. Always popular in this house.

There was talk on another thread about steak for Valentine's day and I suggested grilling flank steak. Now I'm in the mood for that but it doesn't look like that will happen any time soon!

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The BF is still a bit under the weather and so was asleep when i got home, and hadn't cooked. as it happened, i had leftovers from the attorney lunch for him, which was going to be his midnight (pretty hefty) snack, but will now be his proper dinner, when he wakes up. Me, as it also happened, i walked through my very local FM on my way home and picked up 4505 Meats' merguez snausages, and a package of short ribs that were too expensive to even mention in front of the BF, but i'm trusting they'll be excellent. 

so, dinner was merguez and egg, a blood orange, and a glass of vino tinto... well-nigh a perfect meal....

the short ribs are going to be treated to a port wine reduction, ala gini, come Sunday....

and now, off to the Oldster's. he had another spill, but did not hurt himself terribly. i'm afraid we have just more of those to look forward to tho..... ack.

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Tonight I am having Cheesy Baked Potato Topped with Ground Beef Sauce and on the side, there will be a Caesar Salad with homemade croutons. Just sitting here waiting for the potatoes to bake... Trying to be patient....

http://www.yummyreads.com

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Bistro night ! I love bistro nights! Panini! Mmmm.....

I marinated chicken breast with an ottolenghi marinade (really into his recipes this week) in lemon juice, olive oil, cinnamon.... Very Mediterranean spices....all day in the fridge...

Sliced the breast thin and sautéed. The panini was -chicken breast, roasted red pepper and melty white cheese. In the grill, very sour dough bread, very nice.

Side salad was leftover spiced lentils and rice with artichoke heart and sun dried tomato.

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Feeling a little crappy tonight. 

Luckily I baked some beautifully crusty baguettes, so WFD: half a baguette, a knob of butter, sea salt. A little bit of cheese and some balsamic on the side.

Stressing about tomorrow. The bf and I don't want to brave the crowds, but I hadn't given a thought as to what to make until just now. He's not normally into V Day but is all about it this year suddenly. 

I'm thinking steak, haricots verts, and his only request: homemade rolls stuffed with cheese and bacon. Some other side probably needed, but no idea what.

Dessert... no idea.

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It's Valentine's day here. This year I've been hopeless and haven't bothered to cook something special. 

We're starting with bresaola topped with parmesan and balsamic vinegar. 

Soup is the main, (I'm not in the mood for a heavy meal) it's a pea and zucchini soup from a River Cafe book. The photo in the book shows an iridescent green concoction that looks perfect for a summer meal. 

I hope all you northern hemisphere folk are staying as warm and dry as possible. With storms in the US and floods in Britain it sounds like one crazy winter you're experiencing.

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Ground Hog Day the movie is live here. It's snowing and a man just plowed the driveway. Same as yesterday and a few days before that. More snow coming. Last night WFD was some TJ bounty- red potatoes and fennel roasted with chicken sausage. I forgot to buy my favorite chocolate chip granola bars so my snow day project is to try to make a similar bar. Tonight is chili and cornbread. The wine situation is good. :)

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The Asian-Style meatloaf was dinner last night and it was a huge success. Thank Goodness! The mix consisted of: 1 lb grnd lamb & 1/2 lb grnd pork, Panko, garlic, scallions, ginger, cilantro, chili garlic sauce, egg, white pepper, toasted sesame oil, soy sauce, bourbon. Glaze was: ketchup, Sriracha, Worcestershire. Baked covered at 375F for 45 min then uncovered and baked another 15 min. The result was a dense but tender loaf that held together perfectly, spicy and full of flavor. Very little to no fat w/o spillage. Simply delicious. Stir-fried kale was the side along with the almost obligatory steamed jasmine rice. There's plenty left for banh mi sandwiches on Saturday night. 

Given a choice for tonight's dinner of pork tenderloin or hearty soup G chose the soup. So I'll throw together cannellini, spicy sausages, collard greens, in a soffritto and chicken broth. With slices of garlic bread and a tossed salad it will be fine. 

Happy Valentines Day, everyone!

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Snow and ice but now the sun is shining and my office is open.

Last night's dinner was herb focaccia, BLSL chicken thighs in an herb marinade with garlic and diced preserved lemons, and corn (from the freezer as produce bins are empty). We didn't shop before the storm due to amassed food stores so it felt good to use things up.

Lentil soup from Wednesday night is for lunch. I'm on a kick to finish up the jar of preserved lemons so I've added that to the soup which really kicks up the flavor.

Tonight, pizza with the last of the freezer dough. Guess I'll be making more of that this weekend.

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The storm was pretty pathetic in Boston proper yesterday - we had a bit of snow in the morning and then it turned to rain. Roads were slushy, but not too icy. We ended up with chili topped with scallions and sour cream last night.

Tonight, I'm grilling up duck breasts to serve over an herbaceous, lemony risotto. There will potentially be some sort of vegetable as well. 

Chocolate souflees for dessert.

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gonna try to wrangle a casserole out of leftover ham and my disaster of a creamed spinach - hopefully some eggs+cheese and a bake in the oven will help it out. 

and some maple/ginger ice cream I made last night that should be nice and firm now.

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My valentine informed me that tonight's dinner will be an old Friday favorite grass fed flat iron steak with anchovy butter and sauteed mushrooms.

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Because of nasty road conditions, we ended up moving last night's Sichuan jour fixe from our usual downtown joint to the hot pot place that was easier to get to. Perfect weather for hot pot, anyway. 3 of us got the spicy broth (Sichuan-style, ma la), my man got the tom yum which was also very nice -- heavy on the citrus, which I dig. The goodies to be cooked were lamb, chicken, tilapia, shrimp dumplings, veggie combo & shanghai bok choy and udon noodles.

Stuffed, we went home. 

Tonight is looking like cheeborger club at the local bar where 3/4 of my band plays every Friday night -- no extra-speshul meal for us, as we don't give two shits about Valentine's Day :-D

But then we're also expecting yet another snow storm after yesterday's 8-10 inch extravaganza.... supposta start at 4 PM. Might be a great excuse to be lazy and skip k-boxing.

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I ended up getting tied up on the phone last night so scratched the pot pie. Ended up with an asparagus and Jarlsburg omelet with roasted tomatoes on the side.

Tonight is going be spent in flannel jammies with a House of Cards binge! Wine, cheese, charcuterie and a variety of homemade pickled goodies. My first venture into pickled watermelon rind has been delicious with brie and good bread. Looking forward to tweaking the recipe this summer!

Happy Valentines Day and hoping everyone has a lovely evening!

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I do traditional steakhouse stuff for Valentine's Day. Tonight will be roasted prime rib, creamed spinach, mashed potatoes chantilly, and Caesar salad.

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We don't really do Hallmark holidays and the man will probably have the opportunity to work late tonight which is fine by me since I have about 5 years worth of work to do (really... not an exaggeration- I figured that with just the inventory that has been counted I could list 25 items a day, EVERY day and not run out of merchandise for over 5 years!) The skies are blue and the windows are open- it's a good weekend for me to take lots of pictures and get a lot of work done so food will have to be easy.

So..... there are more chicken thighs in the fridge to be cooked- if there is still fennel I might go crispy braised chicken thighs with preserved lemon, fennel and olives a la Keller's Ad Hoc. A london broil was thrown in marinade this morning for tomorrow night at the earliest and a whole chicken that needs to be Zuni-fied at some point today for possibly Sunday, maybe Monday. I am considering making the man some kind of special dessert, though- maybe a blood orange cheesecake with the last couple of them. He's had a hell of a work week.

I also picked a napa cabbage that had kind of gotten away from me in the garden. After having a bucket's worth of outer leaves removed and being cleaned it is still larger than a bowling ball and weighs 9 pounds 3.2 oz!!!!! I forgot to buy ginger at the store so it may get turned into sauerkraut and I'll kimchi the next one.

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Supper tonight will be in the dining room. Good china, good crystal, good silver will make an appearance.

First course is a lobster bisque. Deb started the process over the weekend per Jasper White's (and Escoffier's) instructions. I'll boil up a whole lobster for the claw meat to give depth to this decadent dish.

Main course is Steak Diane. Simple, classic.

Wine is a decent champagne (brut rosé) followed by a California Pinot Noir.

Cheese and Port for afters.

Billie Holiday will be on the box. There may be some dancing.

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Well DF is not getting home until probably around 8 p.m so no going out or cooking for me tonight. He's getting leftover chili.

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The husband and son are on their way to Baltimore for a tournament scheduled on Valentine's Day weekend by those heartless bureaucrats at US Squash. My parting with my sweetie included a lovely box of chocolates, and last night's fried chicken dinner was our family celebration. Frankly, I am at a loss as to what to make for dinner tonight! The freezer is full with all manner of "inventory," as rjbh20 likes to call it, so it's just a matter of figuring out what appeals. Decisions, decisions!

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I've picked up some local-ish chincoteague oysters to have with a shallot vinaigrette (the nice man in WFM winked and tossed in a few extra oysters whilst wishing me Happy Valentines!)

Olive-oil poached cod with mashed potatoes and spinach.

Followed by passionfruit souffles (I finally found some passion fruits - wow, they are expensive here!) 

Some french fizz that's not champagne (and therefore cheaper) but came highly recommended by the lovely french man in my local liquor store - maybe the first one'll be mixed with blood orange juice and a dash of Grand Marnier or something.

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Tonight's dinner is Thai green curry chicken with green beans and sweet red peppers served over sticky rice. 

I must admit that I cheat and use a packaged spice mix, as they are super convenient to have in the pantry to pull out any time. I really like this brand, as the ingredients are totally legit with no weirdness. The green curry spice paste ingredient list:

"Fresh green chillies, lemongrass, garlic, shallot, salt, galangal, fish sauce, basil leaves, white pepper, shrimp paste, kaffir lime peel, cumin, coriander."

greyelf, if you're reading along this is the brand that I was telling you about re: beef rendang. I included a photo below for your reference. The company is "Asian Home Gourmet" (I got the name wrong before).

This is one of DH's favorite dishes, so even though we don't celebrate the big V (we celebrate on our own terms -- flowers and gifts whenever we feel like it, dammit!), he is very, very happy.

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Is it awful that the most exciting thing happening at our house tonight is two or three episodes of House of Cards? We practically high-fived when we saw it was available starting tonight. 

I made a batch of chile verde yesterday to surprise my husband for Valentines. It's one of his favorites and will be much easier to prep and serve tonight than the duck two ways I'm sure he'd prefer, or the veal chop I've been craving. 
He didn't seem particularly surprised by the stew when he saw it, so I'm betting the other two meals are in our near future.

I chilled some bubbly and picked up three delicious looking tartlets from a favorite local bakery, just so there's some element of surprise. 

Last year I think I did a seafood pasta extravaganza and the year before that it was probably steaks in front of the fireplace, a la picnic-style. This year, ain't nobody got time for that. :)

I may set the table.

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Happy Valentine's Day to all that participate. Happy Friday to those of you who do not.
Tonights dinner was by request. He really let me off the hook.
pesto chicken breast with aged provolone
roasted asparagus with blender hollandaise 
roasted rosemary red potatoes
and I threw in a half pound of U12 pink shrimp with cocktail sauce for good measure

Here is where it took a weird turn. We agreed to no gifts but he came strolling in with a huge bouquet of lilies, some colossal crab legs and two porterhouse steaks professing that he was making me VDay dinner tomorrow. I have to say I am down with that even if I will be eating the steak for leftovers considering how big the steak and crab legs are. I can manage that. This is a first time that he has cooked a holiday meal for me so this will be quite the treat.

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My Valentine's gift was "re-purposed" kibble left at the top of the stairs by one of the cats who then tried to "cover it up" by leaving scratch marks in the rug (luckily able to be rubbed out). :::Sigh::: Gee, thanks boys. I appreciate the effort. :-/

A simple dinner tonight figured out on the drive home from work: scrambled eggs with a garlic-herb cheese added, slowly cooked so the eggs stay soft. Bacon, and toasted and buttered English muffin.

No wine.

More snow on the way tomorrow night, although I'm hoping we don't get what is expected to hit the Cape. I'm really REALLY done with this white stuff.

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Tonight the spouse is grilling up some steak. It is a friends Birthday today, so we are having a few peeps over for steak, salad...and lotsa, lotsa wine.

Cupcakes for dessert from a "Cupcake Wars" champion winner. Should be fun :)

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NYC is ALWAYS a disaster on V-day, and given all the weather drama, it was obvious this year was going to be a bust. I had asked DH what he wanted earlier in the week, but he didn't have any special requests, so I was sort of playing things by ear.

Well, by the time I got home and we dug the car out, it was late and we were hungry, so I decided to do breakfast for dinner. Heart-shaped egg-in-a-hole for DH, fried up in bacon grease with some pork sausages on the side. I'm not a fan of runny yolks so I just did a scramble for myself. Not fancy, but DH loved it. A scotch and a Chocolove Cherry-Chili bar for dessert!

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Marcella Hazan, wherever you are, you rock! Tonight was osso buco with gremolata and risotto Milanese. TK's bouchons for dessert. I'm in a food coma. So is hubby. Life is goooood.

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our non-V Day dinner: bf cooked up a chuck cross-rib steak (i don't know what the hell that is but it was good) with butter, garlic and parsley, shrooms sauteed with mustard greens, a really delish cheesy potato dish, and a green salad with his blue cheese dressing. we'll go out later tonight for drinks, pool, and public displays of every-day affection. 

and for those of you not paired up today/not celebrating today.....

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Italian food. 

Arugula and tomato "raisin" salad that I saw on a batali COTM thread. Tossed in a soft cooked egg just cause. It didn't harmonize with the tomato, but I didn't care.

Main dish of pasta e fagioli with prosciutto, onion, potato, beans and a big mess of parmesan.

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The boyfriend cooked me Valentine's dinner. Chicken Marsala topped with shiitakes and portobello mushrooms on a bed of pappardelle pasta, all topped with a garlic-infused rosemary gravy and Pecorino Romano cheese. Dessert was strawberries and chocolate fondue. All of this was prepared while I sat on the couch playing on Pinterest. Yayyyy.

http://www.yummyreads.com

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The bloke requested pasta tonight so we used the last of the gorgeous pici pasta the in-laws brought back from Italy as a gift for us. It's a very fat spaghetti. The sauce was fresh tomatoes, skinned and seeds removed cooked down with garlic. Black olives and fresh oregano finished it.

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Tonight will be Banh Mi with the rest of the Asian meatloaf. It won't be terribly authentic but the spirit will be there. I'll make a daikon and carrot Vietnamese pickle (from Andrea Nguyen's book "Into the Vietnamese Kitchen") this afternoon. 

We'll Try to find a proper roll and if we can't find them I'll use an Italian sub roll w a crisp crust. The filling will be: sliced cucumbers/meatloaf/chopped cilantro/sliced jalapenos/ a few slices of Genoa salami I want to use up/the D & C pickle. The bread will be slathered w Sriracha mayo.

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It feels like Christmas! The new freezer just arrived, the new crock pots are working on lunch and dinner, and I finally unpacked the Food Saver I got for Christmas. Dinner will be pretty simple. I was going to try Guarnaschelli's roasted mirepoix but instead I decided on braised chicken thighs with a mirepoix and white wine sauce.

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WFD will be Ham and Cauliflower Mac and Cheese - not Michael Symons but my own version. The recent Trader Joe's bounty includes a bag of cauliflower and broccoli florets and a hunk of Cheddar Gruyere. I almost forgot the ham steak I bought Monday- the SNOW is freezing my brain. I'm in the mood for dinner in a bowl- white wine on the side. Thanks to somebody on this board we decided to look into House of Cards and are now just catching up season one- got a free month on Netflix.
Thanks whoever you are.

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I'm going Mexican tonight. We booked our trip last week and I'm so excited! I must have had Mexico on the mind for the past couple of weeks because I now have FIVE bunches of cilantro in the fridge!

Anyway, tonight dinner comes from last May's COTM: Mexican Everyday. I'm doing the Chipotle Beef Tacos with Caramelized Onions and Cowboy Beans. I don't have any green veg to turn into a suitable side but we have leftover grilled romaine salad from last night so that will work well enough.

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Had a power outage before I even got out of bed this morning - and the snow hadn't even started! LindaWhit without her cawfee ain't a pretty sight! And a Buster without his chicken isn't a happy kitty! (I couldn't make a new batch as he had finished it up last night.) Luckily the power came back on within an hour.

Showered, and out the door for errands - including more ice melt. Flurries started on my way home, but they're still very light by me. The bulk of the storm is supposed to be overnight - the Cape and the Boston area is supposed to get hit the hardest.

On the food agenda is some of my roasted red pepper and chicken corn chowder for Mom, and making dinner for myself. A biso Frankenchicken breast was rubbed with oil, and seasoned with salt, pepper and za'atar, and will be roasted at 400°, spooning any juices in the pan over top as needed.

Israeli couscous alongside, along with broccoli florets tossed with olive oil, sprinkled with lemon juice and salt and roasted.

Oh - and since I didn't have any last night - Wine. :-)

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I'm attending a potluck with an Italian focus tonight.
Made Pollo Alla Cacciatora from Saveur adapted from a Marcella Hazan recipe.

Wonderful aroma! Hopefully the group will enjoy the dish.

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Groundhog Day, the movie:

Brunch was blood orange mimosas and lobster bisque.

Supper will be beef tenderloin, peas and potatoes roasted in duck fat. A California red to wash it all down.

It's snowing. Temperatures will drop to single digits tonight.

Weather happens...

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It's been raining all day...dinner tonight is grilled chicken & smoked sausage gumbo. Grilled spinach herb tortillas to go with.

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Last night I just could not deal with stopping at the grocer on the way home, so I made due with what was in the house:
butter/white wine/lemon poached shrimp over a lemony/chivey/parlsey risotto. A decent white alongside (someone brought it to our house long ago) and chocolate souflees for dessert.

It finally started snowing for real where I live in Boston this afternoon - I put a pot of chili on the stove to simmer, lit the wood stove, and am now contemplating when I'll dig in. 

Happy snow day!

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My poor DH has been really missing his bread while on this stupid gluten-elimination test. So I dove into my next gluten-free baking experiment and made the sandwich bread recipe from the King Arthur web site. I used Namaste's Perfect Flour Blend. 

Well, well, who would've thunk that a loaf of gluten free bread could actually be decent? Certainly while I was making the dough, I was *highly* skeptical. But the end product was more than edible -- it was actually pretty good.

DH got his grilled cheese (with a side of lentil salad) and I got enormous brownie points. :0)

A Cremant de Limoux is tonight's quaff.

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I am marinating some chicken pieces from a cut up fryer in the Trini chicken marinade. I bought something called sambol oelek as the hot sauce portion because I could not locate scotch bonnet hot sauce at Safeway. I am going to fry the chicken in vegetable and sesame oils as the recipe calls for but I think others have grilled it. I am making pearl rice with butter, parsley and lemon zest to go with it. Probably steamed broccoli and ice cold orange slices to combat the heat(and the possible brief loss of consciousness when the heat hits the back of my throat):):) Living dangerously!!!

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We waited around all day for the "storm" to hit and basically got nothing - maybe an inch or two of snow. However, it didn't stop until after dark, so bad timing for digging out the car, etc. So, we watched a marathon of Face Off and had a tasty dinner of chicken and basil meatballs (from Costco) in a quick marinara, accompanied by an orzo salad with kale, olives, roasted cauliflower and some leftover tahini dressing from earlier in the week. Very satisfying!

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I just posted about my Trini chicken *enterprise* going on here this afternoon. When I cook a new recipe (especially one that CH posters endorse on here ) I like to use the authentic ingredients listed in the original recipe. Can anyone please give me some name brands of scotch bonnet sauces? I just posted that I purchased a sambol oeluk sauce after not having located scotch bonnet@Safeway yesterday. I realize now I should have found the section that has assorted hot sauces@Safeway. Thank You:)

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Tonight is slated to be Valentines Day The Sequel. As I mentioned last night James brought home two colossal crab legs and two huge tbones that one of may as well be a porterhouse. Lots of drawn butter and some spinach will be the accompaniments. Now, fingers crossed James gets his tail out there before it gets to late and we have grilled cheese and tomato soup. ;-0

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tonight at the oldster's we're doing take-out indian food, since he's actually requested it a couple times that we've passed by a resto. cream pepper chicken and palak paneer, take me away....

tomorrow i plan on doing that peanut/sichuan peppercorn/tea sauce that someone posted earlier (sorry, i can't remember who), with some chicken and rice noodles, and prolly some type of cabbage salad.

monday - and oh THANK HEAVEN for a three-day weekend! - i'll braise the lovely short ribs in some port i picked up today (thanks, gini!), with rosemary and other usual suspects. i haven't decided yet if i'll make buttered wide egg noodles with that or some creamy polenta. vee shall zee....

i also have a chicken to roast but i think that will have to wait until next weekend.... spurred by the monthly TJ's thread, i bought some african smoke seasoning, as well as ground dried ghost pepper, and i can't wait to try them out. i may roast a chicken for the oldster tomorrow - sans all that flavah, of course.

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Sliced eggplant, tossed with OO, garlic, S&P, and ran under broiler. Put leftover marinara through the food mill and warmed with fresh basil. Cooked giant rigatoni in water. Most of those overly expensive things split down the sides. But no worry, combined them all. Voila! Pasta alla Norma, which even the vegetable hating teenager liked. And I had mine with a good grating of ricotta salata.

Paired up with thin shaved fennel in vinaigrette and a San Pelegrino Limonata.

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We spent the day organising excess belongings today. A chore we had put off since arriving in the country almost a year ago. After much lifting and shifting we were too tired to cook a proper meal. 

Dinner was no knead bread fresh from the oven and a Calabrian spread. I don't know what it's called as the recipe is just entitled 'explosive mixture' but it's a mix of aubergine, courgette, green tomato, capsicum, chilli, capers, garlic and olives. The fresh vegetables are treated to a day in salt to remove moisture, then a day in vinegar. The drained mix then goes into preserving jars with olive oil to seal. If anyone knows the correct name for this I would be much obliged.

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Dinner tonight is easy: beef bourguignon pulled from the freezer over rice with roasted broccoli. 

I'm also going to start working on the chocolate peanut butter cheesecake that was posted on Smitten Kitchen as well as making some Bagel Bombs from the Momofuku Milk Bar Cookbook.

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Sunday dinner tonight will a regular ole roast chicken, one I've been making ever since forever. It's the way my mother did it and one of my husband's favorite meals. In the cavity goes S & P, a lemon sliced in half, and a handful of unpeeled garlic cloves; I like to slice off the root end so if they've cooked well we can slip the roasted garlic out of their skin. I usually don't rub or drizzle EVOO or butter over the chicken unless it's called for in a specific recipe. 

In the same roasting pan will go sliced potatoes, onions, and carrots that have been seasoned with S & P, sweet or smoked paprika, and EVOO. These will be strewn around the chicken. The same seasoning will be sprinkled over the chicken breast. No oil, tho. Into a pre-heated oven it goes to roast for about 1 hr 15 min. Rest before serving. (My father loved to take a hunk of fresh Italian bread and swipe through the pan juices, until his doctor told him not to. Poor guy.) A tossed salad will be served.

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Made a crazy good pork shoulder with root beer. I know! Here's what I did. Cooked onion, garlic and jalipeno. Stirred in can of root beer (organic, of course), sm. can of tomato sauce, big squirt of ketchup, t. cinnamon, few shakes of liquid smoke, couple minced chipotles, T. mexican oregano, t. of instant espresso powder, S&P. I had 4 lb pork shoulder, but I think this made enough it could of handled more meat. Cover and throw in 325 oven for 4 hrs. or more. I poured the liquid off and refrigerated. Cooled the meat and shredded. Next day easily removed fat and mixed with meat and heated.

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I was going to post my excitement @ last night's dinner concoction on fb, but then thought there'd be more who can relate, here! I'm new to trying to be creative with healthy cooking,and having fun.

I put chickpeas, canned pumpkin, almond/hazelnut drink, curry powder, cumin, turmeric, salt, pepper, a little mirin, wine and vanilla in blender. Browned some tempeh (am not vegetarian but used to be and still eat that way some of the time) in olive oil, removed from pan, then heated up green beans in vegetable stock for couple minutes, then added back the tempeh and blended sauce. Served it over whole wheat couscous cooked in the veggie stock.

A couple other things I made recently came out ok, not great, but this one was so good that dh overate it and licked the pan clean!

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My nose won't stop running....I finally went to the Penzey's store. I'm on the border of regret and glee. I stocked up on some old favorites and bought a ton of new things. I'm glad dinner is already cooked so I can spend all day coming up with new ideas. Friday I made smothered pork chops in the crock pot on a bed of cabbage and bacon. I'm looking forward to tasting how it turned out.

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SO got a last minute invite to play in a hockey tournament in Cheyenne with all of his old friends from his hometown, so, that is how we spent our Valentine's weekend. So romantical. 

Schedule consisted of driving up on Friday late afternoon, cleaning up puppy puke in the car after a run to Home Depot to buy cleaner, paper towels, and Febreeze because I forgot to pack my stash (still smells weird in there), check into hotel, game #1 then dinner at Pizza Hut, then on Saturday, game #2, then breakfast at Village Inn, nap, game #3, lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings, nap, game #4, then dinner at a local brewpub. Sounds exciting eh? And, it was our first trip with the pups in a hotel room. Went pretty well, although I think we'd get a suite next time, only so there's more room to run around. 

We're heading home here in a few, and dinner tonight will be easy and will produce lots of leftovers.... my "gringo" enchiladas (ground beef, flour tortillas, canned sauce, cheese). I am dining with my cousin tomorrow night, and SO has a work dinner Tuesday night. Rice A Roni mexican rice on the side of course.

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Turns out I'll be back in the kitchen tonight after all, as our drinks & dinner & karaoke invite for this evening was cancelled due to a sick hostess. Wah.

This means I can finally use up the English cuke and campari tomatoes & a lonely red onion that have been sitting around, and I think I'll make a salad that buttertart posted on FB recently: tossed with soy sauce, rice vinegar, crushed garlic, serrano peppers and cilantro.

The main "protein" is TBD, though I could imagine seared pork tenderloin or something similar plus a veggie we're in the mood for. A trip to Wegmans is likely and should clear up the remaining mystery ingredients for dinner.

Last night out was decadent: numerous cocktails, Chengdu edamame, pork dumplings, two Cantonese roasted half ducks, beef & asparagus in xo sauce.... and our friend offered to pay for everything (we host a LOT and so she felt like reciprocating -- not gonna argue with that :-))!

Think after a party weekend that basically started on Wednesday, tonight will be mellow and couch-y: TWD and True Detective are on, after all. Oh, and Downton. 

Yep. Looks like a teevee night to me.

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PORK. Another four letter word.

There's a pork shoulder in the oven, been there for some time, and it's beginning to smell delicious.

Pulled pork is on the menu tonight. It will be topped by cole slaw on a potato bun. Beer and wine will be on the counter.

I shoveled the driveway for the umpteenth time this year: no need for a health club. Snow is forecast for Tuesday. Weather happens. I'm pushing back by plotting an August road trip in Northern California. After Car Week in the Monterey Peninsula, I'm taking my bride north to the "Lost Coast" region. I'm still noodling the details. There will be shunpiking. I'll post on the California board as I begin to flesh out plans.

Maybe a Hitchcock movie on the plasma tonight.

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We're having friends over to celebrate their return from a month at sea in the Pacific with Jason (ROV). Robots are so cool.

Anyway, here's what I'm making:
olive tapenade, marinated goat cheese, rosemary crackers to start (with some bubbly, perhaps)
roasted butternut squash risotto with thyme and sage
seared sea scallops
fennel and grapefruit salad
cranberry-pear pie with almond gelato (gelato maker = the best thing my in-laws have ever gotten us)

They're bringing the wine. Good thing it's not a school night.

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DH said he was just going to have a salad for dinner tonight. So I've decided to totally blow the supportive wife bit and make full-of-gluten, loaded mac and cheese. I pulled out some homemade breakfast sausage (a Jimmy Dean knock off I make and keep in the freezer), diced up some red onion and chopped up some broccoli and cauliflower. The sausage and veggies will all get sauteed together. Then I'll make a cheese sauce with some Bella Vitano cheese (sort of an aged parm/cheddar cross that I recently shred and froze), some leftover local beer I had saved in my freezer for just this application and some magical sodium citrate. I'll toss the cheese sauce with the elbow macaroni and the sausage and veg mixture. I'll bake it up for half and hour and then do my best to eat the whole thing so DH won't be tempted...because I'm considerate that way. ;)

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A relatively lazy day, other than shoveling the bit of snow left on my driveway after it was plowed, and getting out on the deck and shoveling off the 3' of snow on there. What had been melting there was icing up on my driveway, so the 30 minutes of shoveling was hopefully well spent.

Picked up some raw medium in-shell shrimp yesterday, so a quick shrimp scampi will be WFD. Basmati rice and steamed haricots verts. A glass of wine for me, some wine for the scampi. :-)

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Taking full advantage of the abundance of fresh, ripe tomatoes I decided to make tomato soup and BLT's with Amish bacon.. I used the bacon fat to fry a small onion, a stalk of celery, a part of red pepper and a few cloves of garlic. Then I added some tomato paste to fry. I added several seeded and peeled and chopped tomatoes in along with a bay leaf, some dried thyme, some savory, some Italian seasonings, badia and pepper and chicken stock and let it bloop bloop away for a while. I added a heavy glug of half and half at the end and some salt and a pinch of sugar to temper the acid in the tomatoes. I used the stick blender to smooth it out. I used a spoonful of ranch seasoning powder to season mayo for the sandwiches. They are going on toasted sourdough. Mine will be minus lettuce, add egg.

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I did a big prep for the week today.
WFD was Gnudi ( Pecorino parsley) with chicken meat balls (a panade with garlic and parsley,butter milk, and bread) and shredded parm over everything.red wine...copious amounts..

Bella babe ;)

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Appetizer: Baked Portobello Mushroom Fries with Homemade Marinara Sauce for dipping

Main: Apple Roast Chicken

Dessert: Bread Pudding & Nigella's Guinness Chocolate Cake

Two desserts tonight because I just like dessert. Don't judge me. :)

http://www.yummyreads.com

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My plan was to make stuffed chicken breasts but I'm home alone tonight so I browsed the fridge for leftover inspiration. I had a piece of white whole wheat/bread flour pizza dough left so I brought it to room temp, rolled it out, brushed with olive oil topped with chopped garlic, cut steamed broccoli, shards of oven crispy prosciutto, provolone and a sprinkling of coarse black pepper. Into the oven @ 500 F. for 8 minutes. A small bowl of butterbeans on the side.

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I finally made the pork chops I wanted to make on Thursday.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Cider-Dijon-Pork-Chops-with-Roasted-Sweet-Potatoes-and-Apples-51163600

I replaced the fennel with onions, and we both really liked it. Sweet potatoes are not as scary as I was thinking. I thought they'd be overwhelming in some way, but I found them quite pleasant.

When I first took a bite of the pork chop, I was really sad. The sauce was very strong. It grew on me, though.

I wish I had taken the time to put a salad together, but a most enjoyable meal overall. :)

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I was able to attend a shitake log culturing workshop today. The event leader had fruit, cheese and crackers available so I nibbled between the steps involved.

Ran errands after and was famished when I arrived home at 5:30. So a turkey meatloaf sandwich with cranberry relish was inhaled for dinner.

Here's hoping for lots of mushrooms come September!

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A long marinated London Broil will be grilled with some asparagus. I just picked an incredible amount of snow peas so there are plenty for snacking and dinner. :) I'm sure I'll just warm them through with butter- anything longer defeats the purpose of eating snow peas! 

The prosecco and blood oranges that never got opened at breakfast will become dessert. 

Hope the man gets home soon- otherwise I'll be drunk and full!

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I had been marinating chicken pieces for the NYT Trini chicken and I just finished pan frying it. I made a buttered parsley rice to go with it. I used sambal oelek chili paste in the dipping sauce(it was soooo delicious!). The chicken looks just like the pic online so pretty and mahogany colored. Very delicious BUT I can barely tolerate 5 spice because of the cloves so I will make my own 5 spice powder and use less than a microgram of powdered cloves next time. All in all I love the dish/recipe because of both the taste and the overall ease of preparing it. I will grill it outside once spring sets in (that will be even more savory than pan frying).So I started out with 3 chicken dishes to try. I have done 2: Halal Cart Chicken which is delicious but there are way too many steps involved for me:) NYT Trini chicken keeper!!!! Next will be FieldHawk's Chicken with milk. BTW I will do the Halal Cart Chicken again because I love the marinade for the chicken but it will have to be on one of my *manic* days when I feel like working non-stop:)

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many thanks to THewat for posting the David Liebowitz peanut sauce recipe - it completely ROCKED. i could and did indeed treat myself to spoonfuls of it. I can think of many things it would be delicious on - including, funnily enough, boiled potatoes - there is a Bolivian dish called Papa a la Huancayna that uses a spicy peanut sauce (the Peruvian version of the same dish is a cheese sauce, which i actually like better, but this peanut sauce is above and beyond good) over cold boiled potatoes, with sliced hard boiled eggs, a couple of olives, and maybe a wedge of cold corn on the cob. tonight i did the sauce with BLSL chicken breast i boiled with some ginger and garlic, cooled and shredded, and thinly sliced red cabbage, iceberg, scallions and chopped cilantro. The sauce is truly drinkable - i could definitely taste the sichuan peppercorns and would even add more next time. couldn't really taste the tea, even though i stopped at a fancy tea-house to buy some. i balked at the $16 for 2 oz stuff that i originally wanted to get, got the $9 for 2 oz instead. (i'm not a tea drinker so this felt like quite a splurge.) anyway, the sichuan peppercorns, the lime juice, and ginger were the dominant tastes (plus heat from a big fat red jalapeno), and it was just excellent. i froze half the sauce - the recipe makes a lot. i think it would be delicious on cold tofu, on just a wedge of iceberg, or over shrimp. yum. make this, people! http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2011/01/cold-noodles-with-peanut-sauce/

thank god it's another "Saturday" tonight. going out later for cocktails and pool with the BF (and leftover cold chicken and peanut sauce!), and besides taking the Oldster for an appt., have the whole day to myself to putter around the apartment and work on the short ribs.

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started us on a new thread, here: 
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/965711

Your post has been published!

What's for Dinner #275 - The Four Letter Word Edition [to 2/16/2014] - old

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