What's For Dinner #61 - the Back to (Home) School Edition - Sept. 2020

So damn hot (still 102 at 7 pm). Got up early to do cooking for the in-laws delivery tomorrow. And there was a small chicken that need used, so I roasted it with carrots and potatoes then reheated it for dinner. Some TJ’s mac and a salad on the side. Cab Franc to drink. I’m so ready for a cool fall breeze.

For our delivery I made carrot ginger soup, some lamb meatballs with a saffron cream sauce, and chocolate chip cookies. Also got some bread and pastries. My father-in-laws cancer has spread significantly so we are trying to do more; of course, that’s also a challenge as both DH and I are working (and not staying as isolated as during our initial lock down) so cooking, delivering, and staying distanced is hard and sad. But, we are grateful to be able to help and see them still.

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How? We tried the classic squirt gun but our cat Emma loves water. One of her favorite games is playing in a running bidet. sigh

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Dr Frankenstein visited us and brought a recipe with him. Trying to be a gracious host, I agreed to pull together a meal for us all. Since I don’t read German, there was more then a bit of pointing, jostling and low level aggression between us at the stove to pull this dish together. In pictures, here’s how the casserole came together:
Ground beef & pork browning


Velveeta on Triscuits

Roma tomatoes added (not shown, the Mexican Salsa add in)

Cantonese Egg Noodles added

grated Mozzerella Cheese added

Out of the oven after 45 minutes at 325

Served

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Ich spreche ein bischen Deutsch.

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And me, none. :pensive:

We had a fabulous dinner outdoors at Drew’s Bayshore Bistro in Keyport, NJ on a gorgeous day. Details and pictures are in the main Drew’s link below.

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Fantastic.

Lamb on mashed potatoes. Zucchini. Cheers.

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Amazon indeed :joy:

Saturday: Had a bite out while doing some retail therapy. My grandsons, going on 9 and 8 have spent the weekend with us … My mom in law joined us … A COUPLE OF THE LOVELY DISHES WERE: BEEF CARPACCIO WITH WHITE TRUFFLES FOR THE KIDS & Dear, and fresh figs (“brevas”) for dessert. A lovely red, Syrah and I had Prosecco And a Margherita with fresh basil, Mozzarella di bufala and fresh tomato and Fresh Figs called Brevas in Spanish !

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Gorgeous boys!

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We had a socially distanced barbeque with another couple to mark the holiday weekend. I say barbecue though we actually bought most of the food ahead in order to focus on preparing our social distancing set up.

I prepared separate appetizer set ups for each couple so we could enjoy nibbles and beverages seated at separate, spaced tables. Warm spinach and feta tiropitas (triangles) from Sophia’s Greek Pantry (Lowell, MA) were the star app. Easy to keep in the freezer. I couldn’t make better myself!

Smoked ribs and redskin potato salad from Alpine Butcher (Lowell-Chelmsford line). Served with corn on the cob from the farmstand down the street. Our friends brought watermelon from their CSA share.

I did all the reheat/cooking indoors and carried food outside because actually using the grill would have impinged on the patio space for distancing.

Dessert was M&M brownie gelato sandwiches from Cafe 12 (Chelmsford, MA), made in-house by the delightful owner.

No pics since it’s more effort than I thought to set up everything socially distanced. It helped that we have a long folding table, where we could place food and supplies at either end.

Great weekend to be outdoors here and we made the most of it.

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Lazy day.

Super simple dinner: roasted BISO chicken breast seasoned with a mix of olive oil, lemon juice, minced rosemary and parsley, dried roasted garlic powder, s/p and honey.

Sides were roasted potatoes (olive oil, s/p, Penzeys Tuscan Sunset and ground sumac) and steamed broccoli.

Wine. And an ice cream sandwich for desseet.

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All I have to do is get up from where I am and say “FINNY!” in a stern voice and walk towards the two of them and Finn breaks away from Alfie. He often tries to go back for continued beating up, but if I hover nearby he finally stops.

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Ah. You have established a hierarchy and Finny tests the limits. When Emma misbehaves she does stop when my wife says her name sharply. When I catch Emma and say her name she (Emma) checks with my wife. Clearly we have a hierarchy as well, and I know where I stand.

For an animal with a brain the size of a walnut Emma is pretty smart. She knows she is supposed to be on the counters. When I wake up in the middle of the night and swing my legs out of bed, Emma hears me and I can hear her jump off the counter in the kitchen. Bad Emma! grin Boundary testing.

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You too can have barbecue pizza. A couple leftover pork ribs, an ear of corn, slices of summer tomato, grilled red onion, BBQ sauce, and odds and ends of cheese will do it.

Guardian of the grill while your pizza cooks is optional. Except at our house, where a certain good dog insists on keeping watch.

image image

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Good dogs are precious.

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A while back I bought a few pounds of gnarly, bony pork chops - my favorite for long marinades and grilling. These ended up with Vietnam-ish flavors including fish sauce, brown sugar, lemongrass, makrut lime leaves, and bird’s eye chiles then frozen for later eating. That eating was tonight. Served with a green papaya salad. I really only ate half but the whole chop made a better picture.

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We enjoyed a sensational INDOOR dinner out for the first time in six months at Il Nido in Marlborough Township, NJ. All of the tables were nicely spaced and the servers were fully masked. The owners added hepa filters for better air circulation. We enjoyed a delicacy of 36 month aged culatello with hazelnuts; ricottina with white figs, fig jam, and prosciutto; basil pesto fettuccine with lobster; lobster risotto; wagyu bavette; honey nut squash with brown butter and rosemary. It all went great with an excellent Shiraz and cabernet.














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Tried to hit one of our favorite restaurant tonight but the crowd and wait were enormous, so we swung over to a nearby Greek place for takeout. Excellent as always. I had chicken souvlaki and not pictured were mom’s falafel platter and BF’s falafel wrap and Greek fries. Even grabbed a bottle of Ouzo from the liquor store across the street. Haven’t had it in years. Remarkable as an aperitif.

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