dcandohio

We will have one free night on a Wednesday in early June. Would like a restaurant that is near the center of the old part of town - walking distance from the Moxie hotel if that helps anyone. We will be coming off of many hours of travel., so nothing too fancy or too rambunctious. Thank you!

My first visit to a small local grocery store, chain renowned for its meat and fish, netted a pack of individually sealed, frozen red trout fillets. I defrosted one last night and pan seared it in ghee and then finished it simply with lemon juice, capers, and parsley. Nice crispy skin! Served over rice cooked in chicken stock, with a tomato and avocado salad. The fish was very high-quality. A really easy and quick dinner.

I had some jarred pesto that I needed to use, so last night, I sautéed shrimp, garlic, and baby tomatoes with pesto. Easy and delicious. I also sautéed some yellow squash and zucchini with onion.

I haven’t been doing very much cooking, but I had a cookout for a friend who was visiting. I bought bratwurst and hot Italian sausages from Aldi. Someone I trust told me that they were very good and I concur. We grilled the sausages and served them on buns, along with a pesto pasta salad made with mini farfalle, fresh, mozzarella, tomatoes, and cucumber. I also made a slaw with red wine vinegar, olive oil, and lots of salt and pepper and basil. Finished with chocolate chocolate chip cookies. I wasn’t certain that it would go over, but it was a huge hit!

Purely gringo quesadillas with ground beef and cheddar cheese. I had less than a pound of ground beef that I needed to use and this was simple, quick, and quite fun.

After hearing my friends discuss their air fryers with nearly religious fervor, I acquired one yesterday. Holy moly, my first attempt at chicken wings made me very happy! I generally don’t like many devices, but I think this one will be a winner.

Yesterday I made a batch of chicken Tinga following a combination of all the recipes that I found on the Internet. I poached the chicken first, then added the poaching liquid to a blender with sautéed onions and garlic and tomatoes that had been cooked down plus chilies in adobo, chipotle powder, cumin, smoked paprika. The sauce was blended and reduced a bit, and then I put the shredded chicken in. I’m just experimenting with masa harina. I was trying to duplicate a small tostada appetizer served that one of my favorite Mexican restaurants. I just added water to the MASA, but next time I think I want to use chicken stock instead of water, and add in a little bit of fat. A friend told me to bake them in the oven, which got them crispy, but not brown. Any advice on working with masa is appreciated!

Fresh market had nice looking tuna steaks on sale. I crusted one with black pepper and a Yuzu seasoning I bought at an Asian store. I seared it rare and sliced it, and served it with mashed potatoes and sautéed cabbage. Weird combination, maybe, but it was what I wanted!

On a whim, I bought a bag of frozen langoustines from Aldi. They have been languishing in my freezer until I decided to make a Mardi Gras meal for my neighbors. Artichoke spread on Parmesan garlic toasts Pickled shrimp on a salad Langoustine étouffée on rice. A king cake from fresh market It was a fun meal!

As we get closer to Mardi Gras, this New Orleans girl craves hometown food. I had some roast beef and gravy in the freezer, and that became last night’s roast beef Poboy. I was sad afterwards that I had not thought ahead to make potato salad to serve with it.

That is, indeed, very pretty.

Broiled salmon, topped with a mixture of maple syrup and chili crisp. Sounds weird, but it was a great sweet heat combination. I served it with salad of French lentils and artichokes that I had made on Sunday, and sliced tomatoes.

I used things from the freezer last night and made a baked chicken cacciatore pasta casserole with mushrooms and spinach. The flavor was awesome, but it was too dry because I should’ve covered it with foil while it was cooking. I also should’ve waited to put the mozzarella cheese on at the end because it got really crunchy, which I like. I think my guests did not love it as much. I had an abundance of apples to use. So I made an apple clafoutis. There was also salad with a pomegranate vinaigrette.

Some friends stopped by who are not really big eaters. It was cocktail hour, so I served little cups of crawfish etouffee over rice. I made mini corn muffins studded with prosciutto, which were a big hit. Then I rounded out the event with oil-cured black olives, cheese and crackers, and celery stuffed with hummus. Dessert was a big bowl of grapes.

I’ve been looking for an excuse to make roast beef. One of my best friends came back from a long trip and is suffering from Jetlag so I invited him over for dinner. Roast beef, mashed potatoes, sautéed green beans, and a mixed green salad… A perfect meal. we also enjoyed a bottle of Cooper and Thief 2019 red wine blend. One of my favorite pours.