I need to pull that cookbook off the shelf and revisit it. The recipes I’ve made from it have become keepers! This chicken recipe is appealing - most of the ingredients are in my fridge or pantry.
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Continuing with “Passover is over - now I can eat anything” theme:
Caught a closeout price on corned beef at Costco. I had missed cooking one for St. Patricks Day since I was in Florida and my Dad nixed the idea.
The corned beef was braised for 2 hours on the stove with a porter for the liquid. Transferred it to a roasting pan, thickly coated the fat cap with Lusty Monk mustard and brown sugar. Continuing to cook low and slow for 2 or more hours.
Sides tonight will be steamed carrots and baby potatoes and skinny slivers of cabbage cooked in bacon grease.
LOTS of Ruebens will be showing up in the week ahead: marbled rye, kraut, swiss and 1000 Island! PLus a carrot stick or two so I can pretend it’s a healthy, balanced meal!
The beer/drippings liquid will become some sort of bean soup, probably lentil or split pea.
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Mmm sounds amazing!
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Since it is still the weekend we dined out at Sayola in Montclair, NJ. Below is a link to the details and pictures.
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Where’s the salivating emoji…
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Late lunch / early dinner was a friend’s family’s Greek Easter celebration which was a FEAST.
Spit-roasted lamb (perfectly tender and delicious), cheese pie, spinach pie (made with homemade phyllo), a big salad, roasted baby potatoes, stuffed pasta, pita, tzatziki, and some more things I’m forgetting because my plate was already piled precariously high.
When we were too stuffed to eat any more, we lingered at the table and chatted while the food settled so dessert could be done justice. (Half the family apparently took a nap while “watching tv” during this phase 
).
The nappers stumbled back in looking for a caffeine fix, so coffee was made, and then dessert put out - this was a WHOLE second meal. Ekmek (kataifi topped with custard and cream), chocolate mousse cheesecake, profiteroles, fresh fruit, koulourakia cookies, and some more things I’m forgetting because… yup, plate was too full.
We rolled back home with leftovers (there were special containers for this purpose) because of course we’d be hungry later, right?
I love moms, and family holiday celebrations 
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Awesome. Just awesome!
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After canned meat sandwiches for the past couple of “dinners” we splurged:
The Russets were a pound a piece and dressed with a PSTOB!
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Always a pleasure Linda. I’m sure it was fabulous. Hope there was wine . Happy Monday.
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I’m sure we ate that very same dish weekly in the late 60’s. Classic!
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You are beyond brave. Last year we did tacos (catered) and this year ribs (definitely catered!)
It still makes me grin realizing that I bought these cards over time (probably 6-8 months, I waited every 3 weeks to get the new pack of cards?) when I was only 14-15 years old. IIRC, I made this dish once when Mom wasn’t going to be home in time to get dinner ready (after she approved me making it) and she deemed it “not bad!”
I’ve got several of the cards taped inside a 3-ring binder cookbook I made for myself of my favorite recipes (or ones I thought interesting from newspapers and magazines, of which I probably only make 5 of them on any regular basis) and every single General Mills card has handwritten notes next to them with my changes. I recipe-tinkered even way back then. 
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Thanks for the blackberry recipe, Linda. Deffo one to try.
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Last year I did a Hawaiian luau and it was way too much work and too many leftovers. This year we are doing hot dogs and grilled kielbasa. Weiner dog theme.
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Ha, a true HO even then! I’m so impressed that you still have them. I also had those cards and loved them.
I spent a month at my aunt’s house the summer I was 13. She had gone to culinary school (which, I now realize, was pretty cool for a woman at the time) and encouraged me to experiment. I distinctly remember that my family did not appreciate that when I came home. I can only imagine the concoctions I came up with. 
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Pizza delivery or pick up works and is low stress
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And they’re still out there, @bear. Selling on eBay right now, including the same neon green box that I received. You can get categories like “Come For Coffee”, “Entertaining on a Shoestring” “Dessert Spectaculars” and “Men’s Favorites.” LOL
https://www.ebay.com/i/301774331560?chn=ps
I love that your aunt went to culinary school and encouraged you to play in the kitchen.
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I recently found what looks to be a complete set. The owner had neatly cut blank cards to the same size and made her notes in very prcise cursive. She noted recipe changes, menus and which family member favored which dish. I think there is one card with a faint stain . Looking through the box and reading her notes it’s apparent that she put much care and thought into her family meal planning. It saddens me that no one in her family wanted the recipe box.
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So much to catch up on, will try to post meals from last 2 weeks over the next couple days. Most importantly, however…
A houseguest gifted us an ice cream maker two weeks ago, along with Ben & Jerry’s ice cream recipe book, and 2 insulated freezer containers. If you aren’t afraid of raw eggs, and as long as the freezer bowl has been freezing for 24 hours, you can quickly whip up a batch of ice cream with most of the Ben & Jerry’s recipes. The texture is between homemade Philadelphia-style and the cooked custard-style bases, which is exactly the texture I prefer for ice cream. We’ve made 10 batches of 5 flavors already. (For matcha, I did have to use hot milk and then chill before churning. Also, pasteurizing whole eggs at home is a pain, unless you have sous vide.)
The difference between this machine and my old ice/rock salt machine is night and day. I can never go back. In fact, I’ve used the built-in compressor machines before and this freezer bowl style may produce superior ice cream to those.
Even though some nights I would eat only ice cream for dinner, it was still really bad for my waistline. (We just stepped on the scale yesterday and I immediately pulled the freezer bowl out of the freezer.) My favorites were cantaloupe and maple pecan, both pictured below. Anyway, I was really excited and just wanted to share with you all. If, like me, you were using 10 egg yolks to get decent ice cream from your old-fashioned machine, just upgrade. It’s worth it, even if you have to buy another freezer bowl to do back-to-back batches.
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