What's for Dinner #73 - School's Back In! Edition - September 2021

Thank you! I remember once comparing one of their breads to something at Costco. Where do you get it?

Polenta on the Table called Polenta alla Spinatora di Abruzzo. Lunch on Friday.



12 Likes

The photos look as good as they did on July 3rd. I wish I could make polenta like that. And the ecological pork looks tasty.

1 Like

Fabulous steak night dinner!!!

3 Likes

Lovely presentation! The round shape looks so appealing. I imagine it’s possible to make an indentation in the middle of the polenta to better hold the sauce?

I want to try serving polenta this way the next time I make some. Yum.

3 Likes

Well I rarely post anything I don’t cook, so I probably average Chinese food once a week, but you’ll never see me post about it unless there’s an amusing story to the meal. Earlier in the week I cooked and posted chicken picatta I made, last week was chicken marsala etc.

I’ve been a big steak eater all my life, though in the past 5 years my appetite has changed and those big heavy meals aren’t as appealing anymore. That’s why a meal like this is more for the 5 guys I had over last night then for myself. I love these meals so I guess I take more pride in posting them, I’ve lived in steakhouses most of my life and even owned a few, so it’s a bit ingrained in me.

I don’t usually post any take in that I have, but I love Chinese food (American) - Japanese /Sushi - Thai - Indian I enjoy but sometimes my tummy doesn’t - Italian is a favorite as well and something I post fairly frequently are my Sunday gravy meals, complete with a big pot of…meatballs!!! lol

Negative on vegetarian (though I have a top employee who is vegan and she has gotten me to eat a lot of vegan food which has truly surprised me) - French I"m meh on.

12 Likes

Cheers!!! I hope you enjoyed that, the martini looks fantastic!!! Welcome back out into the bar world, enjoy it while it lasts!!! (hopefully not, but I think we are heading back into dark times)

2 Likes

I was really pleased with it. I was thinking “huh, dressing the arugula salad before putting it on the pizza?” but the slightly lemony dressing gave it a nice tang.

7 Likes

There is an indent however, it could be a wise idea to place a washable kitchen mat underneath the polenta or a wooden board.

The recipe is:

Flour of Italian Polenta 600 grams
20 grams of salt

Ragú:
1 kilo of pork meats
10 tablespoons of Italian Extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves of garlic sliced very fine
salt and fresh ground black pepper
100 ml. dry white wine
2 tablespoons of tomato passata (paste)
1 kilo of red bell peppers
2 guindillas (air dried esplette or cayenne chili peppers)
3 tablespoons of Champagne vinegar (can use Sherry or white vinegar)

For Serving:
Reggiano Parmigiano Aged Cheese (the older the better)

Note: first prepare the Ragú …

6 Likes

Wow, thank you for sharing the recipe for the ragu as well. I’m getting hungry just reading it.

1 Like

I get mine at my local Fred Meyer store (Oregon coast), which is owned by Kroger. I suggest you go to their website and see if they will provide a location for you.

1 Like

You are welcome. As you can see, I used Fresh Spanish Sausages which give the recipe a bit of kick ! And I also threw in a couple of carrots and green olives …

If you need the full recipe, I will do my best to translate it tomorrow late in day.

Have a nice weekend.

1 Like

@Saregama I am here! I am cooking but it has been largely uninspired sort of fare to get us fed. But I have to share this picture of these gorgeous late summer sliced tomatoes. Absolutely perfect. I hope to get back into actual cooking rather than grilled chicken!

15 Likes

The recipe you gave me will do nicely. You sketched out the ingredients and the overall method of preparation, which is perfect for me.

Enjoy your weekend and thank you again!

1 Like

You are welcome.

Same to you and have a wonderful weekend.

1 Like

Whoops I did it again…Baked feta/tomato/chickpeas to accompany our takeout pizza. I love amping up a recipe that we like. That typically means more garlic, more heat/spice.

Made with a delicious local feta (Cricket Creek) and almost all local ingredients for our local farm or close by (tomatoes, garlic, gorgeous citrusy spicy habanero and jalapeño, cilantro, parsley). The only non-local things were the salt and pepper (purchased from my local Penzey’s, olive oil, and canned chickpeas). Everything was a walk or short bike ride away which puts me in my happy place.

Made a wonderful dip for our pizza crusts/heels.

Before:
image

After:
image

Oh, and I snuck in a chunk of tofu to see how that would fare in this dish. Yum.

19 Likes

Tonight was “recycling” night after my steak pallooza last night. Steak tips and eggs, as well as rigatoni and broccoli. The left over potatoes became a quality NJ Diner deserving home fries.

Darn good eats!

20 Likes

Hello Friday night.
It’s about time you got here.

Wait…what’s that, you say?
You’ve been coming around here the same time every week?

Yeah, but sometimes you’re just WAY too slow to show up!
Like today…you let the day drag on.

So, how are you going to make it up to me?
Oh, Pfffft…you REALLY think a nice dinner will suffice???

Well, lucky for you, you were right.
THIS time. :wink:

Steak tips with Ballymaloe steak sauce, half a baked tater with TPSTOB and sour cream, and asparagus.

Oh, there WAS wine!

18 Likes

Wonderful lamb and rice stuffed grape leaves from the Armenian market heated with tomato sauce and feta (so good!), tzatziki and Kalamata olives. G&T. TGIF!!!
image

15 Likes

Looks delish but also looks like a single steak tip. Don’t stint yourself, looks way too good for that!!

2 Likes