I love her web site! So many great recipes!
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We enjoyed an excellent dinner at Jessica’s Cafe in Plainfield, NJ, including hot soppressata pizza with hot peppers and hot chili oil; short ribs pappardelle; bacon pappardelle with truffle oil; jumbo lump crab cake crepe; and mussels. It all went great with an excellent Syrah and Malbec.
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Crispy pan-roasted chicken thighs. Lemony orzo with garden peas and asparagus thinnings.
There will be brandied fruit for dessert.
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Cherry tomato pasta on Thursday night, Thai red chicken curry Friday, and last night was a shrimp stir fry with brown rice. Also lamb chops with Greek style pilaf and veggies on Wednesday. So…2 meals from March.
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Spring is right around the corner. Time to shut down the house heater and start grilling outside. Low 70 degrees next weekend.
Meanwhile oven baked pork ribs with store bought macaroni salad and coleslaw. Cheers
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Another delish potluck from the local cooking group I manage is in the books (well – mostly tummies). Among the many offerings this time: 4 kinds of wings, deviled eggs and crab dip, spanakopita triangles with tzatziki, mushroom croutons, more spanakopita from yours truly, broccoli salad, spam & pineapple musubi, mushroom miso & asparagus cream soups, pork panang with jasmine rice, blueberry cake, sourdough sticky buns with bacon, frosting & topping, German buttercake, a Carlota with raspberries, and various cocktails.
Nice crowd, good conversations, lovely food.
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I’m sorry to hear about your fiddlehead experience but I have never heard of boiling them. I usually sautée them in a little garlic butter for a few minutes (maybe 5 minutes tops?) or steam them the same length of time. Hopefully the mishap won’t discourage you from trying them again.
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I would have been ALL over these!
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I have never in my life been to a potluck where the food looked even half that appealing. Wow!
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Project-y dinner tonight for mom and sis (but less project-y because I’m so lazy and take so many shortcuts): Stuffed Shells.
I almost made fresh ricotta, but then remembered: I’m lazy and in the land of plentiful paneer! So I ordered Malai (cream) paneer and processed it with some whole milk instead.
Mom is being very careful about not eating too much rich food while she’s bedridden, so I tried to lighten up the rest of the enterprise by mixing in lots of vegetables: sautéed spinach, mushrooms, and aromatics of course.
Homemade tomato sauce (inspired by Marcella but recall lazy comment, so not exactly hers) that turns out remarkably consistent here given the tomato quality.
Less cheese than my sister would prefer and a bit more than mom would use, so the Goldilocks point for our family 
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Turned out pretty well, especially for a first attempt at stuffed shells. (Also, given first attempt, I made waaaaay too many, but realized that and have therefore frozen half without sauce for a future meal).
Also made some (indian) pickle-spiced deviled eggs because I love them plus DOTQ (and I’m pretty sure I’m hungry all the time because I’m not eating enough protein so I ordered a dozen eggs in addition to the ones that have been sitting in the fridge for too long and am now going to get yelled at about there being too many eggs).
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I am lucky to have so many talented cooks in my group! I kept seeing their meals and thought “hey, what if I organized a regular potluck so we can share all this deliciousness with each other.”
It’s been so popular this was the 4th one in half a year 
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Aw, don’t be so hard on yourself. That looks like quite a bit of work you put into those meals!
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The shells look delectable! I know your family is in very capable hands under your culinary care. Do others pitch in to cook, or is it mostly you? Do take care of YOU too - you’ve had quite a lot on your plate lately. Hopefully your mom is healing up on schedule, and things are going as well as possible.
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What? Turning down the house heater? I wish we could! Still below 20° ag night.
I was reading that PG&E has a big backlog in approving new electrical panel improvements for those who are transitioning to electrical appliances. $10K for an update? Ay yi yi!
Tell me, is that a counter top or service tray that is in your photo? I see the blue script underneath the plate and am intrigued.
It’s a well-loved lap tray. There is a picture of a basket of fruit on it and I believe the script reads “oranges”. The picture is starting to fade and the wooden frame along the left hand and lower sides have broken off. I would like to replace it at some point but I’m just waiting for the yard sales to start if we ever get spring this year…
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Thanks @Lambchop (and @Rasam too).
The shells turned out really well, so I’m very pleased (I ate a bite to check, then finished the leftover biryani from yesterday for my own dinner ). Plus I’ve now got a whole second meal prepped in the freezer!
My sis manages breakfast and lunch (with the helper), so I take over for the evening by which point she’s wiped. Daytime food is standard Indian fare, but my mom has always been a diverse eater and adventurous cook, so no one wants standard for dinner — which works well with what I’m comfortable cooking. (Plus she’s just fed up by evening and has no interest in eating by then, so making something that she’ll enjoy is my goal.)
Mom’s progress on track even though it seems slow to me… plus she’s mentally strong and very determined, which her physiotherapist and surgeon are both very pleased with in an 81 year old. Still, it’s a been a crap sandwich for her, and each day is as hard emotionally as it is physically.
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Oh my, what a spread and that beverage looks particularily interesting!
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“…so the Goldilocks point…” Oh, so true!
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