What's for Dinner #90 - the Days are Lasting Longer Edition - February 2023

That sounds good!

It was delicious! The recipe is definitely a keeper.

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Link please!

Here it is: https://celebritygoat.com/bow-tie-pasta-with-pan-roasted-tomatoes-and-goat-cheese

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From left to right - Pepper Jack, Havarti with dill, Mushroom Jack, St. Andre

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I recognized the dill Havarti (yum) and am intrigued by the mushroom jack.

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I get pine mouth if I eat inferior pine nuts from China, Korea, Russia, or Vietnam. About a day after eating them, everything has a metallic taste for 3-7 days. :worried: And when I say everything, I mean everything, including toothpaste and water.

The only kind I’ve found I can eat without a reaction are those from the Mediterranean (usually labeled pignola). So I limit myself to packages I buy online designated as from Mediterranean countries. I pay TPSO $ to buy them, so I use them judiciously.

Whole Foods’ and TJs’ choices both come from the 4 countries I mentioned above, as do pretty much all pine nuts you buy in regular supermarkets. Wegmans used to have small pint deli containers of Mediterranean pine nuts on their shelves at a very reasonable price, but they disappeared a few years ago and now have tiny jars from Spain at a higher price. (And they are more difficult to harvest, so I understand the high price.)

Suffice to say if I’m making pesto, it’s not with pine nuts.

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Wow! I never knew of such a reaction. I am sorry you have to deal with this. I will look more carefully into my purchases of pine nut’s origins. I used to buy them with the shells on. Mom would get them from a Mexican grocer with the shells on. I am always suspicious of processing methods, especially when the product is hulled; like what do they wash the nuts with/in…contaminated water? I found a few pine trees on a hike in southern California once and ate their nuts. No squirrels or birds around. The nuts were as fresh as can be. I will look into the Mediterranean producers. Would walnuts or macadamia work for you?

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The mushroom turned out to be subtle. It came across a little more assertively as the cheese came up to temp.

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I’d previously read that “pine mouth” happens when non-culinary pine nuts are substituted for the edible variety. But Bon Appetit claims otherwise.

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I made pork “skirt” steak (cooked medium), braised limas with chimichurri and lemon, and a little gem salad with avocado and ranch. Crusty bread for the bean broth.

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Just a word of caution to all of you discussing pine nuts. My first cousin is so allergic to them that he could have a fatal allergic reaction if he eats any. He’s had this for years. Before he started carrying an epi pen, he had to be rushed to the hospital after eating something in a restaurant that had undisclosed pine nuts in it. He almost died. I was there, and it was horrible. Better to be safe than sorry, and besides, they’re super expensive and often spoiled!

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Takeout. Shredded beef chivichangas from Sonoratown. To paraphrase an old Black Flag single, we’re going to have a chivi party tonight.

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I’ve never made pesto with pine nuts because of their cost. I usually substitute walnuts, but at the end of last summer, I had pistachios and used them in the last few batches of basil pesto I made. DH & I both liked it better than with walnuts.

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THANKS FOR THE EAR WORM. I hereby throw a hex on you.

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Those are what I usually use.

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But for those of us not allergic to trees nuts… there’s really no issue. Or did I miss something?

California and Mexican piñón nuts are slightly different. I’ve not tried them to compare against the Mediterranean pignoli nuts or the Far East pine nuts. Mostly because I don’t want to run the risk of having pine mouth again. LOL. They ARE supposed to be the most “buttery” of all pine nuts sold.

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Yup, I’ve made pesto using pistachios as well. Usually the way I go. In fact, I have a large bunch of store-bought fresh basil in my fridge that I might make into pesto before it goes bad.

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I bought the big container of baby spinach last time I shopped. Don’t ask me why. But it means I’ve got to use it more frequently before it goes bad.

Since I still haven’t replaced the chest freezer in the garage, I’ve also got to use up stuff in the 2 fridge freezers to give a little breathing room for what’s in there now.

A large rectangular pizza was made with a larger-than-usual ball of pizza dough (usually I’m good at splitting store-bought dough balls in half, but this was closer to 3/4’s), sweet Italian sausage, sauteed spinach, caramelized onions, sauce from a mini tetra-pak of Cento pizza sauce (to which I added a healthy glop of tomato paste, some Penzeys roasted garlic powder, and dried Penzeys Turkish oregano), grated mozzarella, a light schprinkle of grated Parm-Reg and into a 425° oven for about 12 minutes. Julienned fresh basil added after it came out of the oven.

I usually slide the parchment paper directly on to the preheated stone in the oven but this pizza was too big, so I baked it on the baking sheet. Crust could have used more crisp, but it was still good. And gives me lunch for a couple of days.

Wine.

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