What's For Dinner #63 - the Giving Thanks Edition - November 2020

I had a feeling you were going to say H Mart. I don’t think I’ve seen the Korean pepper at the more Chinese-centric local stores. I usually go to the market in Marlboro. I thought the one attached to Crown Palace closed when it opened.

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Is there a market next to the Crown Palace in Marlboro too? I’ve never gone to that one (market or restaurant). Not a fan of the restaurant in Middletown, but the market is decent enough when we don’t feel like making the trek to Edison. I also picked up a bag of Manzu pork and zucchini dumplings that were quite good.

No, the market is about 1 mile up 79 from Crown Palace, toward Freehold. It’s real name is Asian Food Market. It’s part of a chain and is much bigger than the store in Middletown. But for some reason I have it in my head that the one in Middletown used to be related.

http://www.asianfoodmarkets.com/

I usually hit the Marlboro store if I’m not heading to Edison.

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Got my Thanksgiving food shopping done today with minimal fuss. BJs Wholesale Club was surprisingly civil at 11:15 a.m. although I’m sure after noontime it would have been much more frustrating. Even got paper towels, which I was almost out of. Not my choice of Bounty, but the store brand will do and is way less expensive.

Dinner was a pan-seared boneless pork chop, finished in the oven with some plum-ginger liquid from the last time I made Eating Well’s Plum Ketchup. There was too much liquid for the ketchup, so I spooned off some of it and froze it. Perfect for a pork chop.

Sides were leftover mashed sweets and fresh steamed asparagus. And TPSTOW, of course. :wine_glass: :wink:

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I wanted tacos but didn’t want to deal with making the tacos. Rice bowls instead! Brown rice with dry rub chicken thighs, guacamole, cilantro and onion, a yogurt lime thing and queso fresco. Delicious!!!

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We had another excellent dinner at Cafe Panache. We enjoyed poached lobster with pumpkin agnolotti; excellent wild boar bolognese with a ton of meat; creamy lobster bisque with steamed mussels; warm shrimp salad, and coconut cake with cinnamon ice cream for dessert. It all went great with an excellent 2013 Malbec.











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Since 2/3 is more favorable odds than 1/2, this weekend while my husband is away taking care of his parents (yep, we’re in that part of our life now), my little little and I made a 2 squash lasagna. Zuke and some type of orange flesh. Like a hubbard or kabocha. Layered with mozz, garlic/parm ricotta, and a parm-onion bechamel. It was delicious!

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I came home to discover the BF was busy decorating the back patio. And while Nov. 21 is still too early for Christmas lights in my book, it was not too early for a drink in their glow.

Dinner: We both worked on this Tuscan Chicken over polenta. A rich sauce of heavy cream, tomato paste, Parmesan, chicken stock, dry vermouth, spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, red peppers, onion, and garlic. We put the remainder of the sauce in a bowl so we could soak our bread in it.

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@paryzer, @Sasha, and @gcaggiano … I’m drooling over all of your meals this morning!

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@Sasha Can you please share that lasagna recipe?

A lazy, gray, cold(er) day. So comfort food was in order. My mac and ham and cheese fit the bill. And some liquid grapes alongside.

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Chicken French Onion over garlic mashed. Using boneless thighs was the key. So much flavor. Side of asparagus not pictured.

There was a Maker’s Mark Old Fashioned.

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It’s this one - couldn’t find it online (even in their store):

It’s shelf stable - not like the Smithfield stuff.

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I didn’t use a recipe, but am happy to share a method. I roasted the orange flesh squash whole, and separated the flesh from the skin after. I blended it with just enough water that it would blend, until I got a smooth puree. Set aside. Cut zukes into coins and roasted them with s&p and oil until they were soft and browned. I made a bechamel by sauteeing onions in butter, then adding flour, milk, s&P and some shredded parm. Finally, I mixed up a cup of ricotta with an egg, a couple of minced garlic cloves, and a little more ricotta. Then I used no cook lasagna sheets and shredded mozz, and did 2-3 layers of all of this in a pyrex. 375 covered in foil for 40min, then uncovered for 15min, then another maybe 5 min under the broiler to brown the cheese.

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Hmm. It’s called “side meat” and it’s shelf stable. That’s bizarre. Do you find it in your store in the meat area, or where the cold cuts are, or where they hang the pepperoni on the ends of the aisles?

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Love the liquid grapes comment!!! :heart:

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In a display near the fresh meats and refrigerated hams.

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Chicken cutlet Parmesan, haven’t made this in years but had a craving

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It was that time of the month for our Sichuan feast. We have enough leftovers for two more dinners :yum: We enjoyed our usual hot and spicy lobster, hot and spicy jumbo prawns, eggplant in garlic sauce, lamb stir fry, spicy chicken ding, spicy baby wontons in chili oil, and ants climbing a tree. It all went great with an excellent ridiculously inexpensive petite Syrah. For anyone in the tri-state area you should buy a case of this wine for only $3.99 a bottle and $19.00 shipping from Empire wines in Albany, NY. I’m not sure if they ship to other states. This Crane Lake wine is the steal of the century!









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Defrosted Vietnamese caramel pork I made last week. BF thought it might have too much fish sauce in it (it didn’t, it just smells stronger than it tastes), I let the pork simmer in a can of unsweetened coconut milk with 4-5 Thai bird chilies, baby bok choi, and TPST of basil. Pork was fall-apart tender, and oh! that broth! Over jasmine rice, with marinated cukes.

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