What is/was for dinner?

[KaliYoni]

My favorite restaurants were the Asian places--even the ones that really didn't look like much outside

, their exterior was entirely forgettable, utterly nondescript, completely undistinguished, almost down-at-heel, but the food........the food was to die for.

My Asian restaurant rule is the more fluorescent strip lighting in the dining room, the better the food is likely to be. And if all the lights are turned on only when customers are present, even better!

Rick Bayless

Airport tip: I say anybody who finds themselves at ORD with enough time to grab a bite should go to Tortas Frontera. It's run by Bayless and perhaps the best sign of its quality is that there are always flight crews there...even from airlines that use neighboring terminals.

And while we're talking Mexican food, my fave meats are al pastor (Mexican shawarma. Yes, really.) and carnitas (statin drug makers of the world, rejoice!).

 

[Certificate of Excellence]

They are. I remember my mother using one quite a bit. I think I even remember her baking cookies in it when our oven wasn't working! I haven't used one much as an adult, although I'd occasionally acquire them second hand (and then donate them hardly used later on--I wasn't using them, and there were reasons that made me think they weren't worth holding onto). At some point, I started using one sometimes, and I wonder why I didn't use them more all along? I like the idea of thermostatic control (although interestingly there were stoves once that had a thermostatic burner). I also like the dead silence (vs. listening to the induction cooling fan) when cooking something a long time.

I never really used them - rather looked down on them to a degree to be completely honest. It was my wife who was in the habit. I scoffed at the first one that came home but have grown to appreciate their usefulness. Every young person starting out should have one - highly portable and one can cook from any wall plug. I cooked the entire meal out of that pan from boiling the pasta to frying the scallopini to building the Alfredo sauce and combining.

Very handy & useful appliance for the $40 my wife has in it.

 

[AlaskaMoose]

I never really used them - rather looked down on them to a degree to be completely honest. It was my wife who was in the habit. I scoffed at the first one that came home but have grown to appreciate their usefulness. Every young person starting out should have one - highly portable and one can cook from any wall plug. I cooked the entire meal out of that pan from boiling the pasta to frying the scallopini to building the Alfredo sauce and combining.

Very handy & useful appliance for the $40 my wife has in it.

There is another appliance that can be quite useful, specially for grilling if one wants to know the internal temperature of steaks (chicken, tuna, and so on). I have the the Ninja Foodi XL Grill. There are other models, but this one is more compact than the rest, and has enough room for grilling for two or three people. One can grill, bake, roast, air-crisp, and dehydrate small quantities or low volumes of foods. I grill a couple of steaks using the meat thermometer and the preset internal temperatures (rare, medium rare, medium, medium rare, medium well, etc.). I prefer the medium-well internal temperature of 140˚ F, and when the right internal temperature is reached, the digital display tells to get the food out and let it rest for a fe minutes before serving. But one can let it rest inside if that's what one wants.

One can also use the manual grilling like when grilling or baking on a regular BBQ grill (using a thermometer for internal temperatures), but the preset and automatic temperatures are quite handy, since I don't have to open the lid to check internal temperatures.

 

[Certificate of Excellence]

There is another appliance that can be quite useful, specially for grilling if one wants to know the internal temperature of steaks (chicken, tuna, and so on). I have the the Ninja Foodi XL Grill. There are other models, but this one is more compact than the rest, and has enough room for grilling for two or three people. One can grill, bake, roast, air-crisp, and dehydrate small quantities or low volumes of foods. I grill a couple of steaks using the meat thermometer and the preset internal temperatures (rare, medium rare, medium, medium rare, medium well, etc.). I prefer the medium-well internal temperature of 140˚ F, and when the right internal temperature is reached, the digital display tells to get the food out and let it rest for a fe minutes before serving. But one can let it rest inside if that's what one wants.

One can also use the manual grilling like when grilling or baking on a regular BBQ grill (using a thermometer for internal temperatures), but the preset and automatic temperatures are quite handy, since I don't have to open the lid to check internal temperatures.

I’ve never used one. It looks like a good piece of kit however. I like the grill to temperature function. I bet that is really handy to a lot of folks I wonder if they will release a version that grills from both sides … like a panini press.

 

[Certificate of Excellence]

My wife made saag aloo for dinner last night and it was delicious after a stressful afternoon.

 

[AlaskaMoose]

I’ve never used one. It looks like a good piece of kit however. I like the grill to temperature function. I bet that is really handy to a lot of folks I wonder if they will release a version that grills from both sides … like a panini press.

Yes, all this one does is to tell the user to flip the steaks over on a digital screen. It also makes sounds to alert the user to place the steaks on the grill after a grill preheating session, to flip-over the steaks or food, to get the food and let it rest for a few minutes. If I well remember it is 8-12 minutes. As long as you used the "preset functions" and use the digital thermometer (inserted in the thickest area of the food, all the notices appear on the screen, and at the same time it will make sounds to alert you. It is much like a very small convection oven with one heating element and air circulating fan on the lid. The grill or rack itself does not have a heating element; it's heated by fan and the heating element in the lid.

The Panini Press is similar to the "George Foreman" grill except that the latter is mainly used for grilling at high temperatures (searing and so on), or for grilling foods like hamburgers, etc., while the Panini is about perfect for sandwiches as it does not burn or overheat the bread and even grilling. The George Foreman grill does not have a thermometer, so I not longer use it.

 

[Certificate of Excellence]

My folks took the family out to the boys favorite pizza place on the east side of the mountains. Always a pleaser and I didn’t have to cook or do dishes

 

[WriteNow]

or do dishes

"No dishes" is always a selling point!

I have a hard time coming up with much enthusiasm for cooking these days. Part of it is how much I hate doing dishes.

 

[Sammael]

Garlic butter Salmon
Roasted Yellow Squash
Black Beans
H and 2 O

 

[AlaskaMoose]

Garlic butter Salmon
Roasted Yellow Squash
Black Beans
H and 2 O

If grilling salmon outdoors, give this a try: buy a Western red cedar board or plank at the local supermarkets. These boards are free of chemicals and sold for cooking. One hour before grilling the salmon, immerse the cedar board in clean cold water for about an hour (place a heavy pot or bowl on top to keep it immersed in the water).

Start the BBQ grill, place the salmon skin-down on the board, and then place the board with the previously seasoned salmon on the BBQ grill. Have a spray bottle full of clean water, and pay attention to make sure that the board does not catch fire at the edges. If it does, spray just enough water over the edges to put out the flames. Some smoke is preferred over a flame. When done, some of the "cedar wood" flavor is left in the salmon meat. Lift the salmon from the board with a spatula, leaving the skin attached to the board.

Just in case, this is what the cedar planks look like:
https://www.amazon.com/CEDAR-ALPHA-...8-2-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&th=1

 

[Sammael]

Thanks Alaska, I’ll check it out.

 

[KaliYoni]

My spouse and I were watching Wimbledon. Iga Świątek, in a post-match interview, casually mentioned a Polish dish that triggered confusion and surprise for a lot of people: pasta with strawberries. Yeah, I know it sounds strange at first for many of us but when I thought about it, it isn't really that different from strawberry shortcake. You've got strawberries and fat on top of something starchy.

I've been interested in Polish language and culture for awhile so when I came across a recipe, coupled with how it's the height of strawberry season where I live, we decided to try it. We always have labneh in our fridge so we macerated the strawberries and sugar in labneh, not "regular" yogurt or sour cream.

Guess what...as long as you're not a reactionary when it comes to Italian food, Makaron z Truskawkami is pretty tasty! I think the most important thing is to use very fresh, high quality strawberries so that you don't need to add much sugar and because the other ingredients have fairly neutral flavors.

 

[Sammael]

I ate too many chickpeas, now I falafel.

 

[Certificate of Excellence]

Last night was chili-cheese dogs (all beef frankfurter, sharp shredded yellow cheddar, diced yellow onion and a mild indian madras lentil as the "chili" topper) and air-fried tater tots (because TTs are awesome) for the whole fam except for the middle kiddo that insisted on chicken nuggets because "hotdogs are gross, Dad". I have no idea how I am related to this child but evidently he's a 99.999% match . Of course I had to add some color to this brown plate so I stuffed some blanched broccoli & butter on their plates as well as some exceptionally delicious sliced peaches. I was going to make a cream peach pie with these but they were so perfect that we ended up just eating them as is. I am going to go back and buy more.

For breakfast this morning I made a southern American classic Sausage gravy and biscuits. I make what I refer to as garden gravy - it is absolutely a classic sausage gravy however I add sliced garlic clove, small dice mirepoix and medium shredded zuchs (courgette for my European friends). I also sub 100% whole milk for that liquid volume as a ratio of 1to1 whole milk to chicken stock because it tastes awesome. Salt & pepper to taste and you're off to the races. I opted for a cheddar drop biscuit which I baked in my large cast iron fry pan because the crust you get on the bottom of the biscuit is next level. Anyhow, I served myself with a fried over hard egg and my wife with a scrambled egg and yeah it was delicious.

My older two kiddos snubbed it (oh darn, more for me) but my little one had no problems eating the gravy & bicuit just fine.

 

[Huntn]

Chicken Enchiladas… sour cream, cream of chicken soup sauce + minced onion, mix of white and yellow cheeses, wrapped in flour tortillas, baked. 😋

 

[edubfromktown]

Tonight: pan seared +grilled lamb loin chops.

Last night: fresh North Carolina backfin blue crab cakes.

 

[Certificate of Excellence]

Oh boy I do love crab cakes

Tonight’s dinner was an easy reheat of bolognese that I had made a double batch & froze along with some linguine & garlic bread. Kids always eat this one without complaint.

 

[WriteNow]

I never eat crab. If I did, I'd feel cannibalistic. 🤣

 

[edubfromktown]

Tonight: "stolen" chicken livers.

A woman loved a local Italian restaurant's chicken liver dish. The owners refused to tell her the recipe. She ended up working tables for them and learned the "secret". The restaurant owners decided to retire and no one took it over. After that, the recipe was revealed

Wash and dry them
Brown in a heated pan with no oil
Add light drizzle of olive oil and 1-2 minced garlic cloves
Remove from heat after stirring ~30 seconds or so
Squeeze lemon juice on them and serve with rice or pasta

 

[Certificate of Excellence]

Last nights dinner was variant on what I consider a midwestern classic hot plate chili-Mac (chili+macaroni and cheese).

In one pan I made a quick chili with trinity, beef chorizo, chili beans & chicken stock and in the other a gooey saucy macaroni & cheese with some extra sharp yellow cheddar, American cheese product (lol) chicken stock, whole milk, roux, S/P/G/O & elbow Mac.

In the bottom of the bowl went the macaroni & cheese deliciousness & over the top a generous pour of the beef chorizo chili mixture.

Of course some bias-cut scallion for the illusion of health.

 

[Certificate of Excellence]

This evening was a clear out the fridge dinner. Oldest kiddo got bao with a honey/tamari/sesame oil/rice vinegar and water dipping sauce/emulsion. Middle and youngest got air fryer chicken nuggets & fries with sliced Colorado peaches and sweet grapes from my grape vine. Wife n myself feasted on chili Mac leftovers lol.

 

[Certificate of Excellence]

Last night was curriculum night for my third grader which is effectively a teacher meet and greet along with overview of expectations, where the class is at and where they will go. Anyhow, My mom n dad came over to watch them for an hour while we were at the school so I had to throw down something fast and easy, so made the obligatory baked beef and bean tacos for the kids along with some hatch green Chile carnitas for the adults. Got that together in record time and on the table for my folks and the kids to walk in and sit down and wife to drive up from the office and scoop me.

I was really hungry, so I put together a quick little hand held burrito. Commander said she would eat when we got back lol.

I forgot how much I like green Chile pork carnitas. Deeeelish

 

[Certificate of Excellence]

Tonight’s fare was stuffed pork loin. (Stuffed with an herb stuffing & roast vegetables (potato, radish, zucchini, onion, carrot - topped with a generous green chile sausage gravy.

No complaints.

 

[edubfromktown]

I'm brining a spatchcocked chicken in spicy pickle juice.

Smoking it on the pellet grill @350 (and monitoring temps with two wireless Thermowoks RFX probes). The temp monitoring is such a huge improvement... on the grill, stovetop and in the oven as well.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Tonight’s fare was stuffed pork loin. (Stuffed with an herb stuffing & roast vegetables (potato, radish, zucchini, onion, carrot - topped with a generous green chile sausage gravy.

No complaints.

Sounds delicious; any garlic, or roasted apple with that?