OK, that’s just bullshit. This is when the boss or whoever is running the swap and ask that those gifters get a real gift for the giftee.
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I didn’t want to “rock the boat”. It was a good job and had a nice compensation package, so I just kept my mouth shut.
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Penne arrabbiata with hot Italian sausage/mushrooms/broccolini and shaved Parm/Regg. I used Rao’s arrabbiata as a base, then added some other stuff to make it even better
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Looks wonderful! How spicy is the Rao’s arrabbiata?
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At first I read Penne arrabbiata with a hot Italian. I think covid went to my brain 
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Thanks! 
It has a bit of a kick, but I added more spice and the sausage had some heat to it. The sauce was on sale, so I grabbed a couple of jars, one arrabbiata and one tomato/basil, makes a nice base when I’m not in the mood to make my own.
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Ever since @MunchkinRedux posted their luscious Lohikeitto I’ve been wanting to make it.
Well, today all the stars aligned: not only did our fishmonger have a 40% sale on all his frozen fish, where I picked up a couple of beautiful pieces of salmon, rainbow trout, and swordfish, but I also still had a few baby yellow potatoes and a bunch of fresh dill. Instead of the carrot I put in a sliced fennel bulb that needed to be used up, and I also added a small piece of wild-caught cod to the party. A cup of dill is a LOT of chopping, but I knew this would all come together beautifully, and it did.
I loosely based it on this recipe, but also used a bit of vermouth after sweating the leeks. Really fantastic, and leftovers – bonus!
We’re invited to a dear friend’s bday dance party that’s starting at 9pm and were going to keep it open, but…. TBH after 3 days in a row of socializing, going out, and playing a show last night (the best in recent memory) we’re feeling like homebodies tonight 
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Been under the weather all week but back to normal now. Took some raw chicken breasts and homemade chicken stock out of the freezer. Simmered together for Chicken and dumplings. Refrigerated biscuits for the dumplings later on. Very good. You really don’t need anything else with this meal.
In response to the original post. I have a Charlie Brown tree and love it. Most of my holiday shopping was done. Last night I had a couple hot toddies and finished off my shopping online.
We tried a Xmas swap one year at work. I gifted a bottle of Crown Royal because I figured he was a drinker. I heard later on through the grapevine that he would have preferred tequila. I received from someone else a very large ugly white fake leather purse that had probably been on clearance five years before. Nobody ever suggested a swap again.
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Playing with the new counter-top convection oven again.
Storebought egg-roll wrappers stuffed with a cooked filling of cabbage, carrots, mung bean sprouts, water chestnuts, and a little ground pork. Soy and honey for seasoning.
Pretty happy with the results. Not as tender as deep-fried, but tasty with a satisfying crunch (and better for me).
Along side: BBQ pork. Long grain rice.
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We enjoyed another outstanding dinner at Fiorentini Restaurant in Rutherford, NJ, including an excellent Fall squash veloute with truffles, pomegranate, balsamic and Fresno chili; honeynut squash cappelletto with soppressata, sage, and gorgonzola; acorn squash with Brussels sprouts, parsnips, and maple bourbon; seared venison steak with Brussels sprouts, parsnips, and au poivre jus; cacio e pepe tagliatelle; pistachio millefoglie with amarene and pistachio ice cream and chantilly. It all went great with an excellent red blend and cabernet.
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BF heated up the last of my black bean shtoup for himself and added some garbanzo beans, and a big salad for me with a beautifully poached egg.
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Respect for your salads! And inspiration to draw from.
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It turned into a miserable, rainy evening while I was walking around running errands (mainly buying a 50th birthday gift for a close friend which necessitated a trip to practically the only remaining bookstore nearby), so I slowly walked back via ALL the grocery stores in my neighborhood as hunger loomed large.
Found lamb chops (t-bone) on deep sale at one, so along with broccolini from a different store and a lonesome potato already at home, that became dinner.
Sometimes things just come together perfectly. The lamb was tender (reverse-seared) and flavorful with garlic, rosemary, and a touch of mustard, the mashed potato delicious with a bit of garlic, cream cheese, milk, and butter, and the broccolini benefited from being sauteed in the lamb fat that remained after I seared the chops.
I thought I’d eat 2 chops, but I only had room for 1. (The pimiento cheese and crackers I ate while waiting for the lamb to cook might have had something to do with it.)
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I wanted fish and chips tonight but the pub ignored my phone call. So I ordered Mexican online. A moment later I received a text saying the restaurant cancelled my order. I usually eat vegetarian or pescatarian on Fridays, and nothing I was finding online that was nearby looked right, and it was raining. Decided on take-out mac & cheese, this one has broccoli but it’s sort of lost in the sauce.
It looks better than it tasted but I was famished so I polished it off.
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I kind of feel that it’s wrong they put the Mac N Cheese in a pizza to-go box.
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I was thinking that it’s good they didn’t squish down a lid onto that melty, browned top
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It’s all mac & cheese to go, from a little take-out shack. Not worth your time in Toronto so I won’t mention the name of the business. I probably would have been just as happy with a $2.98 Cdn box of Kraft Dinner. I waited 6 minutes for this one, and the KD would have taken me 8 minutes to make at home. LOL
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One of the nice things about risotto, besides that it is nearly always a great dish, is that it is more or less a blank canvas which allows you to combine many different flavors. This risotto had asian influences with ginger, lemongrass, garlic, scallions, coconut milk, chicken broth, cilantro, peanuts and chicken breast.
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Congee-rotto?
Sounds good to me.
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