It was sooooo good. Thank you so much for posting it.
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That pretzel is hilarious.
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A small chuck roast was chonked into large pieces, browned, and removed from the Dutch oven.
Onions were chopped, carrots were peeled and also chonked, garlic cloves were smashed and minced, cremini mushrooms were thick sliced and halved again, and all was sauteed until the onion was translucent, adding the garlic in the last 30 seconds.
Meat added back in with beef stock, a large bay leaf, a small handful of dried thyme and s/p, and simmered for 45 minutes, skimming if needed.
Added about 3/4 cup of pearl barley, 2 medium Yukon Gold potatoes peeled and cut up, and a half cup of chicken gravy from the freezer.
Let it go for another 30-40 minutes, adding peas at the last minute for color and additional s/p to taste. (There IS barley in there…it’s at the bottom.)
A buttered Pepperidge Farms crusty roll alongside with a small glass of wine.
Lunch for a couple of days as well as feeding my freezer.
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When the stars make you drool just like a pasta e fasule
That’s amore…………((so many years my father in law would belt that song with the strolling band sitting in the window of toarmina in Little Italy during this time of year. A throw back to some old family memories 
)
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Our friend held his annual Christmas party at old school Italian restaurant Parkside, in Queens, NY, upstairs in the cool Marilyn Monroe room. They had live music. It was a lot of fun. We ate langostinos oreganata; veal scallopini with brandy and chestnut sauce; hot antipasto; their awesome pork rolls; tartufo and Italian pastries for dessert.
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I made this very simple Portuguese bean and sausage soup tonight, cutting back on water and adding kale.
Hit the spot. Would make it again.
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As soon as I get home and get to a computer I will tell all. I just hope it’s worth it!
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i made a shitty risotto at my sister’s last night - not sure what happened. the texture turned out great, flavors, meh. Wild mushroom, onion, thyme, bay leaf, parsley, scallops, and i used a freshly made, rich chicken stock. I think it needed a bit of lemon, and maybe shallots instead of onions, and maybe i didn’t like the bay leaf in this. It was just blah. Whatever it was, there’s a ton left over and i’m not sure I even want to try to use it for arancini, but i can probably doctor it up. And it took about 1.5 hours of stirring to get to the right texture! And i didn’t let the scallops brown enough, my fault, so in addition, it was ugly. sigh… I’ve made successful risottos before, so I’ll just look forward to making the next.
Tonight, however, the BF showed me up big time. He made Chef John’s pierogi (farmer’s cheese & mashed potato, and he made the dough last night), and Polish cabbage rolls, plus a salad with a Georgian walnut dressing he’s made before. Amazingly good, especially the pierogi. So buttery! The rolls needed a little salt, and I might have added some dill myself, but they were super tender and the flavor of the cabbage was delicious. Took him all day. An A+ dinner after last night’s C- one.
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I wish someone would make cabbage rolls for me. I love them. My dearly departed sister-in-law make kick ass cabbage rolls and used toothpicks to hold them together. But the last time she made them she was at another brother’s house and he had cinnamon-flavored toothpicks for some reason and the cinnamon just ran through the whole batch of them and we were all really bummed. Haven’t had them since.
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oh man… huh- i could almost see cinnamon working!
so sorry about your sister-in-law…
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Leftovers. A couple slices of fried meat loaf with ketchup/salsa sauce, cauliflower and cheese, mixed greens salad, tomatoes, onions, avocado, blue cheese and ranch dressing. And the dregs of a bourbon and tonic.
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Oh my! Have you been abducted by aliens?!
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That escalated quickly!
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Looks like a neat place. Did the chestnut sauce sit a while, tho?
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@digga and all concerned, here is my tale from Saturday night! This may rival @NotJrvedivici’s story about Pierre the Lobster, if you care to read it.
Lancaster City was buzzing all day. Christmastime is one of the best times of year to visit. The weather was also beautiful. The BF and I decided that for dinner we would go to Annie Bailey’s, a large Irish pub in the city. I figured I would go on their website to attempt a reservation but was quite sure they would be unavailable due to tourists and even the locals. Surprisingly enough, there was an 8:30 PM reservation available, which I quickly snagged up. Still, something was bothering me: WHY was there a reservation available? Whatever. We were thrilled.
Neither of us drink to excess when we eat out since one of us has to drive and I while I do Uber when needed, I would rather have control over my situation via my own vehicle. But this was a Saturday night, let’s go all out! I had a little bit left on an Uber gift card and booked a reservation to be picked up at the hotel at 8 PM. The hotel was only 4-5 miles away but with traffic it is about a 15-20 minute ride. We get picked up exactly at 8 and made it to the pub earlier than expected.
Upon arrival we noticed hordes of people. Everywhere. Every single restaurant had a line out the door. Everyone was wearing Christmas sweaters and/or Santa outfits. What was going on? We inched our way to the door of the pub and told the person checking ID’s at the door we had a reservation. We were able to walk past, no joke, about 20 people in the doorway. We get to the hostess stand inside and our eyes lit up. Our jaws dropped. I am not exaggerating when I say there must have been 300 people in this bar. It is a large building, and there was not an inch of space. Maybe more than that.
I’m talking COVID super-spreader. I’m talking fire hazard. I’m talking, LITERALLY, if COVID was not even a thing, this was literally a threat to everyone’s health. I’m talking if there was a fire, it would have made news internationally. I’m talking people eight deep at the bar. I don’t know how the bartenders could even keep track. We found out that this was actually part of Lancaster’s “Santa Stumble” which is basically bar-hopping while dressed festively. We should have walked out right there, but we were determined.
The hostess tells us, “Sorry, but just letting you know your table is kinda in the middle of things.” That was sign number two to book it. We followed her to the table anyway. It took five minutes to walk about 20 feet. The table was up against a beautiful fireplace that would have been romantic and highly desirable if the situation was different. She turned it off so we would not be roasted but it did not matter. People swarmed our table. They bumped into the table. Peoples’ asses and legs literally were knocking it back and forth. There was not even space enough to take our coats off.
We looked at each other in horror and even though we knew we were leaving, still sat there for about 10 minutes. It would have been impossible to eat. Hell, it would have been impossible for a server to even get through. We couldn’t even stand up at this point because of how crammed it was. How would a person with a tray of food get through. Shame on this place for even offering this table. I say, “We’ll just go somewhere else that’s not part of the Santa Stumble or head back to the hotel” (there were a few chains and a bar or two nearby). Then it dawned on me…I don’t have my car! No problem, we will walk around the beautiful city, eat somewhere, and Uber back from there.
We exit the building through about 500 more people and lo and behold it is pouring like a bastard. The pleasant weather was nowhere to be found. It was coming down in buckets. The wind was whipping. On the verge of a nervous breakdown, the BF kept cool and got us an Uber back to the hotel, a Hilton Garden Inn. He said we would regroup there. This would have been easier at an earlier time, but it is Pennsylvania and a lot of places close by 9 or 10.
The Uber arrives and it was a bit sketchy. He was very talkative and so I asked if there were any good bars open late-ish near the Hilton Garden Inn. He says, “Where’s the Hilton Garden Inn?” BF and I look at each other as if to say our goodbyes that we would surely be abducted and murdered by our Uber driver. I say, “It’s where you’re taking us”. He says, “Oh, right.” The rest of the ride was better, even though I waited for a gun to be drawn at any moment as we sailed past the hotel. But we arrived safely. As a parting pleasantry, the driver says, “I wish I could give you more recommendations but I really don’t go out and have much of a life.”
We regroup at the hotel. It is 9 PM. There’s a divey looking bar nearby but they closed at 10 and we just wanted a chain at this point. Something non-crazy. Ah, there’s a Longhorn 1.5 miles away! Perhaps I can get a decent steak and one or two overpriced cocktails. We shoot right over. This was my first time at a chain steakhouse in a while. Don’t they all smell the same? It was nostalgic. We sat down in that booth and felt the happiness Moses must have felt when he finally made it out of the desert. “I’m so happy to be here right now” by BF said. “Me too!” I affirmed. Our waitress came over, he orders a beer, she asks for his ID, he gladly gives it to her, and she says, “Sorry, this expired last week.” His jaw dropped. My eyes opened as if lasers were to shoot from them. “I can’t serve you,” she says to him with a gleeful smile, thrusting the ID back in his face, and then turns to me, “And what would you like?” I asked for a water. He tried to assure me it was fine, go ahead and get drink, etc, etc. I said absolutely not am I going to sit here on vacation drinking while you have water. So we get up again and go to the Miller’s Ale House about a mile away from Longhorn, taking the chance he would not be carded. Thankfully it paid off, as they did not card his 26 year old self. We ended up having a great time. The food was decent and the drinks were cheap. One of the better chain experiences I’ve had. There was some big UFC fight on TV and a big crowd. Honestly, it was lightyears ahead of a place like Buffalo Wild Wings or any similar chain sports bar you can think of.
The end.
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Thanks! Yes, the brandy and chestnut sauce might have coagulated a bit. There was live entertainment and it probably sat around a little bit, until the singers finished, before they could serve everyone. The veal was very tender though.
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So relieved you left Annie Bailey’s - frightening. What a hair-raising story, but it least it (finally) had a happy ending!
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It’s comfort food season here in the north east, chicken pot pie! One of my favorite “cheat” meals. (by cheat I mean I make nothing it’s all combined pre-made foods. Crust pillsbury biscuits rolled out, stuffing chicken breast that I do pre Pan fry - sauce Campbell cream of anything soup and 1 pack frozen vegetables) It’s still a pain in the ass but it’s delicious every time!!!
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I’ve not heard of Miller’s Ale House (local PA chain?) but probably would have picked it over Longhorn. Glad the evening ended well after the horror of Annie Bailey’s!
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