A bit of burn out set in yesterday…
Dinner plan was a Shrimp Stir Fry, but neither of us felt like rattling pots & pans…
We did have a fresh loaf of Russian Rye Bread. And our favorite deli cuts. So sandwiches served. DW’s was a Grobbel’s Corned Beef, mine, an Eckrich Ham Off The Bone. Michigan grown produce as a side…
I feel your pain. A few years ago, right index finger tip, slicing cooked beets no less before wifey got home. While I’ve just bandaged and waited it out to heal before, I knew this one was not going to go the same direction. As I was getting in the car to drive to the walk in clinic, she pulled in the driveway
Finished the dish the next day. My inspiration was to use carrot tops. Go figure
Bought a few pair of Kevlar gloves to use when using a mandolin
On a still-warm Saturday evening we hosted our neighbor for clam chowder, lobster rolls, and cupcakes for dessert. I baked off spinach and feta tiropitas (little triangles of fillo dough with filling) from the freezer for a warm appetizer.
And I didn’t prepare any of the dinner myself—everything either bought ahead or takeout. Instead we focused on setting up our patio space, tables, and dining accoutrements for social distancing.
As my husband reminded me, “The reason to get together with people over food is people. You can obsess over the food another day.”
So I didn’t worry about cooking and we seized the moment. Glad we did.
Saffron risotto with a bit of red kale, and a nice baby lettuce salad with turmeric spice dressing (Evoo, cider vinegar, honey, turmeric, ginger, salt, pepper, cayenne).
Dinner last night was red beans and rice. I linked to and quoted @Mr_Happy because I too used a rice mold. grin
I was on a short yacht delivery and this was my choice for dinner the last night. Beautiful boat, really deficient galley equipment. Glad I brought my own chef’s knife. grin Onions, garlic, celery, carrots in a saute pan. Kidney beans (I couldn’t source real red beans) in a pot. Cooked aromatics into the pot with sliced Andouille sausage and carefully add chicken stock until just below the lip of the pot. All stirring had to be very careful (remember a boat is a moving platform) as the pot was barely adequate.
Reception was quite good. Crew of five ate what should really have been enough for eight. Downside was that people didn’t eat much breakfast today.
Dave tirade on chicken stock. I really don’t like bouillon. At all. The stuff is chicken flavored salt. Certainly homemade is lovely but just doesn’t happen for me much of the time. At the moment I’m out of Ball jars so it won’t happen for a while. After a good bit of research a few years ago and some personal testing I have settled on Kitchen Basics Unsalted as my “house brand.” The Tetra Pak ™ is shelf stable. It’s the same size as the UHT milk I buy which appeals to my organizational OCD. It’s good enough that sometimes I just warm some up and drink it from a mug. A little pepper, some oregano…happy place.
Shared Pastas … and a lovely array of fresh hot breads and a bottle of red wine and of course, a simple lovely sorbete with fresh fruit, espresso and a few licores … Very italiano.
Brava!
I know of Kitchen Basics, and have heard the expression Tetra Pak, but can’t figure out how they are related. Is it the Kitchen basics in the box that you keep in the fridge after opening?
I see. Maybe Tetra Pak is a patented form of packaging…
We made a quick, homey country dinner: grilled b/s chicken breasts with BBQ sauce (TJ’s Kansas City seems to be a winner with everyone), local COTC with TPSTOB, smothered green beans, corn muffins, and sliced local tomatoes with s&p and Mrs. Dash.
Exactly. They are great.
Lovely stuff, Barca. Any additional description of the tubular pasta and/or the last dish? Both look luscious.
I love cooking with Kitchen Basics and willingly pay the premium for the product here in my local Kroger. But the product packaging is not recyclable here in Michigan. Containers have to go into the trash.
Have you tried the Better than Bouillon paste? It is not nearly as good as homemade stock, of course, but miles better than bouillon cubes, and better than most store-bought stock I have tried. Takes up a lot less space, too!
Quiet day. I didn’t even watch the Patriots beat the Raiders. But they did. 
I needed sauce for a fat chickie boobie, so I went rummaging in my upstairs freezer, and found some Sticky Chicken glaze, along with a couple of Tbsp of an orange-ginger sauce. Combined them, cut the fat boobie in half lengthwise, spooned on some sauce, and let them bake for about 40 minutes in the oven.
Sides were Israeli couscous and steamed broccoli and wine.
But are they recyclable? I think for most municipalities, the answer is no.
I wanted something fresh but mindless to prepare. Baked salmon, summer ish corn salad in the fall and broccoli. The kid had seconds!
Hi everyone, we’re back from our 18th anniversary weekend getaway. It was pretty blissful. We ate and drank A LOT.
Dry AF martini (i forgot my vermouth and friends didn’t have any on hand!)
brontosaurus rib eye
made my first onion rings! turned out nice and crispy/lacy, a very thin batter, which is how I like them.
we drove to Bolinas to pick up lunch and a restaurant gift certificate for our friends for letting us stay at their house. really great pizza, which we took to go and ate outside by ourselves on a little empty wharf. Thin thin thin, juicy, bendy. my perfect pizza.
Hung out by the beach for a couple hours
found some blood orange vermouth in Bolinas and made a kick-ass martini
view from balcony of their house
veggies marinating in chimchurri
two kinds of sausage: Basque and Toulouse, from the butcher where i bought the rib eye
also, corn on the cob, fresh mozz with evoo and balsamic, and a wonderful bottle of bubbly friends left us!
and our usual fries brunch - different locale and with onion rings added.
pretty perfect weekend… now to catch up with all your meals!
hospice care people are truly amazing. i love your grandmother’s phrase! and so very sorry that you all didn’t get to go out for dinner with her these past months.
that dressing sounds fantastic, copied it down for the future!
the risotto looks fab too!
