What's For Dinner #74 - The Long "Fall Into Darkness, Warmth & Comfort" Edition - October 2021

Picked these items from the freezer section . Beer battered fish pieces . Frozen fries. Cooked the fish in the oven on a sheet pan in some oil . Fries stovetop in oil . Would I cook this again yes . Satisfied
Tartar sauce , cocktail sauce, malt vinegar. Side of Cole slaw. Cheers .

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Made lobster and cheesy grits at my sister’s. TJs Unexpected Cheddar in the grits. Tiny lobster tails partially steamed, cut up, then finished in Kerrygold butter, Slap Ya Mama, and Spanish smoked paprika. So good on a rainy evening.

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WOW !!! Truly exceptional as always …

And the Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve ! My second favourite red grape wine. Truly a class act !

Have a wonderful Sunday.

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Ohhh, there’s definitely a difference! I currently have their Indonesian Korintje in my spice cabinet, but I’ve had the Vietnamese as well (I don’t recall having tried the China Tung Hing or the Ceylon). I’ll be interested to see what you think! How are you going to test the various types?

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Thank you @Barca ! The food and wine was truly exceptional.
Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

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Had a nice fall date night on one of the few remaining water front out door dining available for the season. This is the Pearl restaurant at the Oyster Point Hotel in Red Bank NJ, this was also the location of my oldest child’s christening!!!

Started with Cesar salad and drunken clams (not pictured)

Entrees: porterhouse pork chop for me and a shrimp and scallop casserole for the wife, both excellent.

Glass of house red zin and a few martinis to compliment the evening.

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@ccj I saw this podcast about Alpha Gal and thought it might interest you (and others here): https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cub21ueWNvbnRlbnQuY29tL2QvcGxheWxpc3QvYWFlYTRlNjktYWY1MS00OTVlLWFmYzktYTk3NjAxNDY5MjJiLzlhMTY1MTZkLWNkNmItNDI4ZS1hM2IzLWFhYzUwMTgxNzEwYS9iNGRiZjUyYy1kNzgzLTRkNGEtYWI1Ni1hYWM1MDE4MTcxMTQvcG9kY2FzdC5yc3M/episode/MmQyNzUxOTctNmIyZS00Y2E4LWFjMmYtYWQ4MzAwZmVkYTRj?ep=14

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Looks like Porto, in northern Portugal ! The views are stunning.

Nice dinner too.

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Pop culture reference for you, international rock-star Jon Bon-Jovi lives approximately 1 mile away on that water-way. The opposite coast-line is where Bruce Springsteen resides. Those are the most recognizable “locals” to the area, unfortunately John Stewart just sold and moved!

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Wow ! Bruce Springstein is amazingly extraordinary.

We got to see him at a concert many years ago (late 1980s or early 1990s). He is a magnificant performer. He started at 21.00 hours and continued to 2.00 am … He puts his heart and soul into his music. Loves Spain …

Interesting neighbours !!!

Thanks for the info !!!

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Thank you for thinking of me. I had been very very busy lately with manual labor to eradicate my very invasive evening primrose and lamb’s ear as I could not find any laborer even after 4 appointments, they never showed up.

I also went to consult Dr. Tomas Platts Mills at the University of Virginia in Charlottsville , It was a very difficult 6. 5 hours one way driving trip and 3.5 hours of tests but it was very productive… I had never thought I have alpha gal as it is a very sensitive but not specific test. My internist who is a neighbor knows that I am an avid gardener, working in the garden 6-8 hours, weather permitting . W hen he asked me in 10/2018 if I need a sleeping pill I responded I never take them except when my hives are severe as what happened in 8/2018. Knowing I do suffer from a lot of allergies, having autoimmune ulticaria ( hives) for which I need monthly shot of Xolair, an immunisuppresant. Unknown to me, he ordered alpha gal test which came in extremely high. I was not aware that I am allergic to red meat, not sure what I ate that night of 8/2018 that required 75 mg of Benadryl and a sleeping pill.

Very few allergist are familiar with alpha gal. My allergist refused to give me intradermal test or food challenge. I visited another "famous " allergist in another state who gives scratch and intradermal test but he is not familiar with alpha gal either. So, I finally went to see Dr Platts Mills who is a British actor, now practicing at U of Va. In fact he was the one who discovered alpha gal syndrome. He is an excellent clinician, and in the 3.5 hours I was there , he came and chatted with me and has a very good sense of humor… He would have been able to give me an oral challenge but sadly, the scratch and intradermal tests were strongly positive for red meat. So, there was no reason to give me even the more extensive basophil activation test which has not been approved by FDA , and which I am told I had to travel to either Italy or Switzerland for the test. He can do the basophil activation test which would differentiate between sensitization and actual anaphylaxis. In fact when one is given an oral challenge which consists os 2 slices of jimmy Dean’s sausage, and if positive, some patient can take Benadryl to avoid anaphylaxis. He says my number is very very high and that the Basophil test which is a more labor intensive test nor the oral challenge is not necessary.
In fact, he gave me a paper that he wrote recently which suggest that my alpa gal may have been from chigger bites as chigger is the larvae of ticks, as I have had tick bite but never reacted to them. I had many many occasions of chigger bites, one of the worst was way back in 1972 when I had a severe case of chigger bites that required iv cortisone as well as oral cortisone dose pack. I was really very sick then. Since then, I have had many chigger bites as I sit on the ground when I garden. He also found some people with alpha gal syndrome are allergic to tuna as well bec of the way tuna is harvested. Dolphins often travel with Tuna, dolphins being mammals, has alpha galactose.

Hopefully I can eradicate the evening primrose before my shipment of bulbs and flowers arrive October 24. Shrinkwrap can identify with how hard it is to eradicate evening primrose.

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Gorgeous color on those scallops

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Killing it Eli! Always amazing food

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Poached some chicken, then shredded it. Mixed it with sauteed chopped onions, red bell peppers, and some canned green chiles, and drained black beans.

Homemade red enchilada sauce schmeared inside, the chicken/bean mixture spooned in, some shredded Monterey Jack and Cheddar cheese sprinkled in, then rolled up.

Additional enchilada sauce spooned on top with some more cheese, and baked at 350° for about 20 minutes.

Sour cream, green onion, and parsley as the toppings.

It wasn’t until I cut into one that I realized I forgot some leftover rice that could have been added to the chicken mixture. Oh well, it still tasted great!

Wine. And YAY PATRIOTS!

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I added heavy cream and passata to leftover pork and pepper braise. Mixed with pasta and Pecorino and served with an arugula and pear salad. Very tasty.


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Papperdelle with hens-of-the-woods
Screen Shot 2021-10-24 at 5.18.47 PM

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The Pacific Ocean is roaring this evening, it must be angry at something.
Soup and salad for dinner. Italian sausage, bacon, carrots, celery, onion, garlic, jarred piquillo peppers, s&p, dried thyme, bay leaf, chicken broth and swiss chad from the garden, served with shaved parm. Salad of romaine, radicchio, sun sugars, avocado, green onion, ranch dressing and warm buttered telera roll.

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We started watching that yesterday, it’s good!

Excuse the shittier than usual lighting, our power has been out for the last 8 hours. But two outlets in one wall in kitchen are working, so the fridge/freezer is ok. Stove is gas, so we just lit it with a match to cook.

Chicken Milanesa with a fried egg, salsa fresca and rice. Very Bolivian meal, tho I’d usually make the Milanesa with pounded steak, or even pork. Deboned thighs were pretty small. But they turned out great Just egg and panko -crispalicious.

dinner by candle and LED flashlights. :stuck_out_tongue::heart:

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October trudges along. Last two nights were more museum fundraising events. Raised a lot of money thankfully. I was there again this afternoon for maintenance and filming promos for next weekend’s happenings. I’m exhausted but glad I was able to cook tonight…and have a drink!

A martini…or two! Extra olives. Obviously.

Rigatoni with chicken, broccoli, and roasted red peppers in vodka sauce. Didn’t know what kind of pasta I wanted, so I threw it all in! Side of garlic bread with fresh mozzarella and balsamic glaze.

Friday night we ordered some pretty decent pizza for our volunteers while last night my boss donated a catered dinner for us (no pics).

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