What's for Dinner #76 - the HO "Ho, Ho, Ho" Edition - December 2021

So jealous and what a great idea!

1 Like

PA for the weekend doing Christmassy things, including a visit to Longwood Gardens. Last night’s dinner was a midnight visit to the waffle house. No drugs or alcohol were involved in this decision. Food was cheap and satisfactory. Those hashbrowns!

16 Likes

It Was Thyme. For reading, naps and lap sitting.

And vampirish shows of toofies while Momma was trying to read. :laughing:

A pork tenderloin was seasoned with olive oil and Penzeys’ Ozark seasoning blend with a handful of additional dried thyme. Into a 375° oven for 20 minutes, then pan juices drizzled over and a rhubarb-ginger jam I had made awhile back that I found in my freezer slathered on top. Finished cooking in the oven for another 20 minutes or so.

Sides were orzo cooked in pork stock and drained, with butter, salt, Penzeys’ Mural of Flavor and yet more dried thyme added, and finally steamed green beans (no thyme…just flaked sea salt).

Plated with some of the pan juices drizzled over the slices of pork.

No wine. Not with a mostly stuffy head (even though it’s definitely better than yesterday).

17 Likes

:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:

3 Likes

It has been a few years thanks to Covid - time to get back! And welcome back to you as well, @linguafood - how are things and what have you been cooking?

4 Likes

We enjoyed another outstanding dinner at Cafe Panache in Ramsey, NJ including crispy panko crusted tuna with forbidden rice, Bok Choy, in a wasabi sake sauce; filet mignon with sautéed onions in a bordelaise sauce; tuna tartare; lobster bisque with plump mussels, and their awesome bread and butter pudding. It all went great with an excellent cabernet.








9 Likes

Stormy weather. Thai-ish shrimp soup. Sauteed shallots, garlic, ginger, red bell pepper and the white part of the bok choy. Added red curry paste, fish sauce, chicken broth, coconut milk and left it to simmer for a while. Seasoned and sauteed the shrimp and set side. When I was ready to eat I reheated the broth and added the green part of the bok choy and shrimp while the rice noodles were cooking. Poured the broth over the noodles and garnished with cilantro, omg hot chile and a squeeze of lime. Salad was cucumber, carrot, turnip, green onion, black sesame seed with sesame oil and rice vinegar dressing.

16 Likes

Was in the mood for something a little different yet quite filling. Delicious creamy shallot and garlic risotto finished with some peas and carrots. Topped with a blackened mahi-mahi filet with a brown butter and garlic sauce.

19 Likes

Dumplings with pork, napa cabbage, ginger, garlic filling and some fried rice with bok choy, mushrooms, egg, scallion (next time we will try to make our own wrappers)

17 Likes

It is a long, arduous, and relatively unbelievable story, the events which occurred this evening that led us to a Miller’s Ale House in Lancaster, PA. I try to avoid chains, especially on vacation, but the situation arose to eat here. It ended up being very good! A decent steak (with garlic butter) for me, Justin had meat loaf, and we shared a gigantic pretzel. The Tito’s martini with bleu cheese olives was a nice touch. Our server, Amanda, was excellent.

20 Likes

Talk about a teaser!

6 Likes

Saturday night was mezze night for us, to give me a break from cooking. I had some leftover mashed potato cakes, smoked salmon, and creamy Dijon mustard sauce from earlier in the week that I turned into into smoked salmon canapés. A little bit of green stuff—aka microgreens—brought a fresh, peppery bite.

Mini spinach pies, a lamejun, vegetarian grape leaves, and CSA carrots and kohlrabi to dip into hummus were our second course (not pictured). Korbani’s Bakery in Methuen, MA is our go-to for stocking up on such deliciousness.

18 Likes

Too $$$$. I ordered smoked salmon from a Jersey place last time (pandemic extravagance :-D) that was very good. I really need to hop on using that gift card!

1 Like

Thanks! I’ll try to share more of my meals here :slight_smile:

4 Likes

Dropping in after my inordinate laziness about posting meals (so. much. food.) to talk about these MOMOS we had for dinner tonight!

Potstickers on speed - the mutton ones taste like a delicious kabab in a dumpling wrapper.

The pork ones are classic and delicious.

The vegetable ones have a really delicious mix of veggies plus a bit of paneer.

Momos are usually served with “momo chutney” which can vary from chilli sauce to a fiery roasted tomato concoction (my friend’s Tibetan babysitter in nyc makes a bomb version of the latter). I took the momo chutney provided and added a few things to tone it down and tweak the flavor profile for my parents.

We made plenty of momos for dinner plus enough for late-night snacking… but sadly there will be none for late night unless someone cooks more late night :rofl:

YUM!

(Pics are from the momo people, because we did not have the patience to wait for me to take a picture or two.)


17 Likes

A HUGE Thank you to @Phoenikia who posted a recipe for a curried lentil and apricot soup on the SOUP Dish of the Quarter Thread. It was absolutely one for the best soups ever. I learned that a friend was having some health issues and since I had all the ingredients on hand I thought I’d make a some to bring to her. It came together so easily but tasted like you worked on it for hours. It definitely will be added to my regular soup rotation (I make a pot every week). The recipe suggested serving with yogurt but I didn’t have any and didn’t miss it.

I rounded out our meals with fried rice that used up several things hanging out in the fridge. I used pre-cooked basmati rice so I leaned the rice toward biryani flavors - garlic, ginger, cumin, garam masala and saffron. The pomegranate seeds added some much needed color and acid pop to the rice.

19 Likes

I couldn’t get the link in the Soup thread to work, but is this the recipe?

Thanks!

2 Likes

Yes it is. At first I thought that there was way too much garlic and ginger but there wasn’t. You may need to be a ginger fan - which I am - though.

2 Likes

Great - thanks! I’m a ginger fan too.

1 Like

So happy you enjoyed it!!