What's for Dinner?

[Ensign Steve]

I am going to have a few slices of Papa John's chicken alfredo pizza and not less than one bottle of Chardonay.

Thank fucking god its friday.

[pescifish]

Originally Posted by JoeP

Yay! Where did you find them? Don't tell me you had to order them from here.

Oh, I've never heard of them except from your post and link, so, yeah, off that link's U.S.A. distributor.

I tried the sauce this morning -- it's very tasty! I hope they catch on here and they become more available (and reasonably priced.) Thanks again for the tip!

[Dingfod]

What's for supper?

Cracked wheat crackers with store brand peanut butter washed down with Diet Dr Pepper and Tennessee whiskey. Fuck the low carb diet tonight, I'm coming down with a cold and don't fucking care.

I'm PWI too.

[viscousmemories]

Originally Posted by pescifish

I hope they catch on here and they become more available (and reasonably priced.)

I went grocery shopping at Kroger today, and guess what jumped out at me from the upper left-hand corner of the jarred and canned olives section? I would've bought a jar just to try 'em out, but I wasn't prepared to pay $7.00.

[lisarea]

Originally Posted by viscousmemories

I went grocery shopping at Kroger today, and guess what jumped out at me from the upper left-hand corner of the jarred and canned olives section?

Was it a monkey?

[Ymir's blood]

a camel spider, perhaps?

[Gawen]

Me?

[Gawen]

Anyway, even though I just posted on the sammich thread...and I'm hungry...it'll be Golden Corral in just a few minutes time...

[Kamen]

Originally Posted by RevDahlia

Kamen, you're a genius. In my experience, there are two kinds of mac-n-cheese cooks: the kind who insist that one must first make a custard, with eggs and milk but no flour, and then add the cheese and macaroni and bake until the sucker forms a solid, kind of annealed brick, and those who maintain that the bechamel-with-cheese approach is the way to go. The former is tricky -- the custard usually separates disgustingly -- and the latter is boring. You appear to have negotiated a truce between the two factions, and I am looking forward to trying your recipe.

Thank you. I will make sure to pass on your praise to my friend. I am merely a recipe thief.

[seebs]

Originally Posted by seebs

Let's see.

Favorite food, which I make lots: Garlic pasta.

Serves one very hungry and slightly overweight person three times.

Recipe (approximate):
1. In small frying pan, mix about 6oz olive oil, 6oz minced garlic, 1tsp black pepper, 2tsp cayenne pepper, 2tsp salt.
2. Make pasta; use about one pound of spaghetti.
3. While pasta is cooking, simmer the oil-and-garlic over low heat.
4. Divide into roughly equal parts, put two of them in tupperware things.
5. Add cheese to taste. I use about 4oz of grated parmesan.

Net result: Girls who are not used to garlic will not kiss you for the rest of the day. Mosquitoes will avoid you, too. Cures the common cold, and just about everything else. MMMMMM.

And no, I'm not kidding about the cayenne pepper. But it might be a whole tbsp.

I omitted the italian herbs; I just get generic shakers of the stuff, and use about 1-2tsp per batch.

[livius drusus]

Do you add the Italian herbs to the sautee along with the peppers and salt?

[seebs]

Originally Posted by livius drusus

Do you add the Italian herbs to the sautee along with the peppers and salt?

Yup. Although I'm not entirely sure "sautee" is the right word with that much stuff; it's more like deep-frying garlic in olive oil, at that point.

[Dingfod]

I'm really hoping that there is one thing for dinner, only one thing--food.

[JoeP]

Originally Posted by warrenly

I'm really hoping that there is one thing for dinner, only one thing--food.

Given the title of this forum, I assume you are explicitly excluding drink. I'm glad I have never accepted an invitation to dinner at your place.

[Dingfod]

Originally Posted by JoeP

Given the title of this forum, I assume you are explicitly excluding drink. I'm glad I have never accepted an invitation to dinner at your place.

In my case, the drinking never stops, so I don't really include it on the dinner menu. Anyway, I don't recall inviting you to dine at my place. I'm not saying I didn't, I drink a lot and may not remember. Well, if any of you are in the neighborhood, drop in and we'll barbecue a horse or something.

[Jennie]

Necromancy okay?

I invented something for the garlic lovers about a week or so ago.

6 lamb shoulder chops
6 cloves garlic
tablespoon red wine
tablespoon olive oil
salt (I think about a half teaspoon)
flour

Mince the garlic, mix it with the oil and wine, then add enough flour to make a paste. Spread it on the chops and let sit at room temp for an hour.

Sprinkle a 9x13 pan with flour, fairly thickly, put the chops in paste side up and bake at 375 for twenty minutes. Turn over, notice after about ten minutes that the garlic smells a bit burnt, so splash some red wine over each chop. Bake another ten minutes, and contemplate adding the wine five minutes earlier next time. You can make some gravy with the flour remnants, or not, as you choose.

Eat. It's yummy! I have no idea what this technique might be called, sort of a paste marinade.

I'm also experimenting with egg soups lately. If people don't object to necromancy, then maybe I'll post some about that later.

[viscousmemories]

Necromancy is fine, but this is one of those perennial threads anyway.

to the , Jennie.

[livius drusus]

Yum! That looks great. I'm going to try it with some pork chops I have lying around glaring at me.

Welcome to FF, Jennie.

[Jennie]

I think I'd try white wine with pork chops, and maybe add a bit of thyme as well. Let me know how it turned out for you either way, pork is a touchier meat than lamb, I think.

Last night we had onion/barley/egg soup

6 cups meat stock
2 big onions
two cloves garlic
bay leaf
salt
two handfuls hulled barley
olive oil
four eggs

I chopped the onions, then browned them in an 8qt pot with the olive oil (enough to cover the bottom of the pot). Then I stirred in the minced garlic until I could smell the garlic, then added the meat stock. I tossed in the hulled barley (you could use pearled barley too, but don't cook it as long) and simmered it for the afternoon. When it was done I added salt to taste, then I whisked the eggs in a small bowl and added about a cup of the soup while I stirred, then I added the egg and soup mix to the rest of the soup off the heat while I whisked vigorously. It came out with little custardy bits of egg in the soup, which means it cooked a little too quickly, I should have let the cup of soup I mixed with the eggs cool for a few minutes before I used it I think. I peppered my bowl after serving, as I like pepper a good bit more than the rest of my family.

Meat stock is easy to make, just save your bones from chops and the like in the freezer, when you have a bunch toss them in the crockpot and cover with water. Cook on high for at least three hours, longer is fine. Strain out the bones, put the liquid in the fridge, when it's cooled use a fork to lift off the nasty fat on top. I do the same thing to make chicken stock, except I save the skins from the chicken thighs as well, and often mix in the spare turkey necks too.

Tonight I'm making focaccia bread. Probably with mozz and onions and tomatoes sliced thin on top.

[livius drusus]

Originally Posted by Jennie

I think I'd try white wine with pork chops, and maybe add a bit of thyme as well.

Excellent idea. How about rosemary? I'm always partial to rosemary with pork.

Last night we had onion/barley/egg soup

That looks fantastic too. I always have stock and barley (pearled, in my case) in the pantry, so I could easily scare this up.

Tonight I'm making focaccia bread. Probably with mozz and onions and tomatoes sliced thin on top.

I'm not a fan of sliced tomatoes cooked on top of things, but overall, another yum. The only foccacia I've ever made was a simple rosemary, garlic, sale grosso thing. It was delicious, but the work:satisfaction ratio is a bit high so I don't do it very often.

[livius drusus]

P.S. - Jennie, have you ever made no-knead bread? I can't rave about it enough.

Originally Posted by livius drusus

P.S. - Jennie, have you ever made no-knead bread? I can't rave about it enough.

But if there's no kneading, my cat would just be in the way with nothing to do!

[Jennie]

No, I haven't and it looks really good. I've been trying to learn how to make bread using a fantastic cookbook my little sister got me last Christmas called The Bread Baker's Apprentice; but I can never get the rustic breads to get those nice big holes in them, they all turn out like mini-sandwich loaves for texture. Flavor's good, so that's a minor comfort.

One tip I have found is to substitute about one eighth the flour for barley flour, which adds a certain something to the flavor that I really like.

Bet that cat kneading adds vital fiber to your bread too. Do you still need to floss after a sandwich?

Oh, I forgot to answer your first post, I got so caught up in the bread thing. Yes, rosemary is good with pork too; but thyme just seemed the right thing at the moment. I like to roast a pork blade roast with rosemary shoved under all the tie strings.

[curses]

Tonight was cornbread, spanish rice a la Zatarain's, and chicken. I cooked the chicken in a pan, no seasoning, threw in onions and 3 cloves of garlic after the chicken was almost cooked through, tossed in some cumin, chili powder, salt and paprika, then when the onions were opaque I added in some marinara. Simmer it for about 10 minutes, and serve over rice. It was tasty.

I wanted jalapenos, but I seem to be out.

[livius drusus]

Originally Posted by Jennie

I can never get the rustic breads to get those nice big holes in them, they all turn out like mini-sandwich loaves for texture. Flavor's good, so that's a minor comfort.

That's where the no-knead method of 24 hours of yeast activity combined with the dutch oven cooking steps in. I never thought I could achieve that baker's texture, but it can be done, and astonishingly easily. All you need is time.

Oh, I forgot to answer your first post, I got so caught up in the bread thing. Yes, rosemary is good with pork too; but thyme just seemed the right thing at the moment. I like to roast a pork blade roast with rosemary shoved under all the tie strings.

That's a classic. It's how my dad makes it, and he makes a fabulous pork roast. (Makes his own apple sauce too. Yum!)