What's for Dinner #55: The March Forward Into Spring Edition - March 2020

Would you believe I actually don’t have a mixer? I have this very cute hand crank pasta maker that I realized hasn’t been used in a while. It gets the job done!

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No photos, but this afternoon I cooked a ton of veggies + a turkey meatloaf (w/shredded zucchini and yellow squash + a ton of dijon and spices). I generally cook a lot at once and then eat the same meals over and over again throughout the week, so this pandemic hasn’t thrown me for quite the same loop as many people. That said, I do find that I’m making some different items for the rotation, plus I have a freezer packed with lots of soups and other dishes I’ve made over the last 6-12 months. It’s fun digging through and finding what I have in there!

Tomorrow night I’m going to make Indian chicken thighs in honor of Chef Floyd Cardoz.

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Thanks @LindaWhit! The pets are probably disgruntled because they couldn’t have any of our dinner :slightly_smiling_face:

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Same here! I haven’t seen that side of 10am since…probably before baby!

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Tonight I made grilled cheddar brats in ww rolls, baked beans, and red wine vinegar slaw, served up with ruffled potato chips (Utz for you East Coasters). Both the sausages and beans were supermarket crap and darn-near flavorless. Slaw was spot on, and you can’t go wrong with Utz. Babe ate with gusto.

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We did takeout from La Rocca Osteria in Montclair. This place is a rebirth of the original beloved Osteria Giotto. We enjoyed branzino with sun dried tomatoes, fennel, white balsamic fennel and Spring vegetables; rack of lamb with herb bread crumbs, garlic, rosemary, roasted potatoes and Spring vegetables; olive crusted tuna with avocado, tomato, and red onion; beef carpaccio with white mushrooms, shaved parmesan, and celery. It all went great with a 2013 R&B Malbec.








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Braised pork shoulder, grilled radicchio with balsamic

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Indian food for the second time this week, but tonight we ordered takeout from Neelam in Middletown NJ. We shared a chicken tikka masala, chicken Kashmiri, bindi masala, the special kabob, and a vegetable korma (which they graciously gave on the house). For appetizers, we had vegetable pakora and samosa. Delicious as always! Happy to say that I inquired about how they are doing and they said their takeout business has been “crazy”. This is a great family-owned restaurant that my family and I have been dining at since we moved to New Jersey when I was four.

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I could never get the hang of a hand cranked pasta maker. I needed three hands. One to feed the dough, one to catch the dough, and one to crank. I’m just not that coordinated. No Italian grandmother to teach me

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Daughter is “trapped” here, rather than potentially quarantined in New York, and we are doing some kind of Instagram cooking chronicles. She has followers.


I’ve not eaten much gnocchi, and daughter says texture might be better.

We used mamma Emma

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Saw a few Brussels sprouts dishes here. I’ve been hunting this for the last 2 weeks, couldn’t find any.

Summer time change today. A few meals of the last days…

Red mullet with chorizo, pea and coriander cream soup that serves as sauce as well.

Malaysian village-style fried rice, kampung nasi goreng with fermentated shrimp paste and dried shrimps with clams cooked with white wine and garlic

Pasta with squid with chorizo, cherry tomato sauce

Tempura with pumpkins, mushrooms, radishes, leeks, new onions, shrimps and squids. Usually I tried to avoid deep fried food, as the hood isn’t particularly useful for the open kitchen for smoke and then all the oil projections… Very good, but not sure if I want to do again in the foreseeable future or maybe to get a odeurless deep fryer?

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This has gotten into my brain and now I want to make pasta, even though we don’t have a roller. I’m sure we can hack it with a rolling pin. Just won’t be as thin but :woman_shrugging:

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Totally can! The trick for me is to let it rest at least half an hour + before you try to roll it.

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Hi there…come over and visit us all on the New Jersey board! Lots of great information!

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Perhaps a filled or stuffed pasta like ravioli? tortellini? gnocchi? and the likes…I know hundred of years ago it was done by hand, but it took many years of learning to make it perfect.
We had a neighbor growing up whose grandmother was an immigrant from Sicily, but lived locally. On special occasions she would visit and our neighbor and her three daughters made home made spaghetti. They made a ton of it each time. I was lucky enough to live two doors down and one of the daughters was my friend…I never realized until many years later how special real home made pasta tasted, never mind their gravy.
So in these times since it seems we are going to be locked away, you might want to perfect the process and give us all of your tips!(lol)

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Saturday night dinner: harissa-glazed roast cauliflower in a spicy tomato sauce over freekeh. Feta, chopped Marcona almonds, and cilantro leaves scattered on top.

I’m turning intensive attention to pantry items, like a neglected box of freekeh I never opened. Plus odds and ends like a mostly used-up tube of harissa and a partial jar of spicy red pepper paste that I pressed into service.

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Inspired by @rooster who mentioned cauliflower steaks glazed with tahini on another thread. See how the ideas folks share spark imagination? Thank you!

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Oh my that’s what I called Deliciousness.

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Flatbread pizza thing - shredder Brussels sprouts, caramelized shallots, bacon, red pepper flakes, and mozzarella. Added some lemon zest before eating. Had our first family Zoom meeting wine hour last night. Weird times.

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Thank you very much and all our best wishes …

Stay home and stay safe.

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Saturday and Sunday Lunches … SUNDAYONEPASTRY90837563_10213862592953636_529860494580776960_o


Some Italian Vegetable Tarts each with a different filling …

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