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dcandohio

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Everything posted by dcandohio

  1. 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!
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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!
  5. 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!
  6. 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!
  7. 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.
  8. 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.
  9. 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.
  10. 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.
  11. 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.
  12. “Orphan” Christmas dinner coming up later: Charcuterie tray (duh) with some cruditè and fruit. Cheddar cheese shortbread. Cheesy zucchini bites. Jambalaya. Romaine, cabbage, and radicchio salad, with dried cranberries, feta, sunflower seeds, and raspberry vinaigrette. Bread and desserts TBA brought by guests!
  13. Lately, I’ve been eating a lot of leftovers out of the freezer or throwing things together, but yesterday yesterday I made a proper meal. I had some chimichurri sauce left over from empanadas, so I mixed it with some olive oil and extra garlic and topped a tilapia fillet. Cubed sweet potatoes with olive oil, salt and pepper went into the oven. I made some rice and plated the tilapia, which I baked, over the rice, with sweet potatoes and some steamed spinach on the side.
  14. There were certainly people at lunch without jackets, but almost as many with.
  15. One of my dear friends came for Sunday dinner. It was a good excuse to make a big meal. We started with deviled eggs, then a butter lettuce salad with a raspberry vinaigrette, dried cherries, Gorgonzola, and toasted almonds. The entree was a pork tenderloin, marinated in mustard, soy, maple syrup, garlic, and Siracha. I served that with cabbage sautéed with a lot of onions, then mixed with some breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese, and baked until soft. Dessert was chocolate hazelnut beignets from Wild Fork. Their frozen desserts, which are defrosted right before eating, are super delicious.
  16. I made my annual holiday visit to my family in New Orleans. The Friday after Thanksgiving we had lunch at Clancy’s, in an old wooden building on annunciation Street uptown, close to Audubon Park and Zoo. This is traditional, old-school, New Orleans dining, with bread brought to the table in a white paper sleeve, and tablecloths, and men wearing sports jackets at lunch. It’s not a tourist place, and it doesn’t get the love or attention of newer and fancier places. But if you are in New Orleans, and looking for a true New Orleans style meal, including an excellent homemade turtle soup, check it out.
  17. Chicken breast marinated Greek style and pan seared. I marinated the chicken breast and olive oil, lemon, crushed garlic, oregano, dill. Then, after they were cooked, I moved them to a plate and quickly sautéed parboiled potatoes and spinach in the good stuff leftover in the skillet. I plated the chicken over the spinach with the potatoes on the side. Nearly as delicious as the crazy busy Greek restaurant right down the street from me.
  18. I had some shredded chicken and spinach that needed to be used. I made a “from the refrigerator and pantry” pot of what I called Tuscan chicken soup: onions, garlic, celery, tomatoes, chicken stock, carrots, spinach, kidney beans, chicken. Seasoned with the traditional medley of Italian spices. Added a bit of sugar and a healthy glug of red wine. Served with a drizzle of olive oil, and Parmesan cheese.
  19. Yesterday I made a Thai inspired salmon curry with lots of spinach. I used lite coconut milk, because that’s what I had. The taste was lovely, even though the sauce was thinner than it would’ve been with full fat coconut milk.
  20. A friend came over for dinner last night, and I was thrilled to produce the entire meal out of my freezer and pantry without having to go to the store. I used canned artichokes to make artichoke balls as an appetizer. Shrimp from the freezer were tossed with remoulade sauce and served on a salad. And the chicken gumbo came straight out the freezer and just needed to be heated up and served over rice. I love having leftovers/ingredients in the freezer for these impromptu meals.
  21. Last night’s neighbor get together: spinach salad with pears, almonds, and homemade blue cheese dressing; pot, roast with gravy, mashed potatoes, steamed broccoli; pumpkin spiced Madelines purchased from the grocery store. It was a really basic, Midwest sort of meal that was highly enjoyable.
  22. A jar of tandoori sauce from Aldi formed the basis of a curry with light coconut milk, chicken stock, broccoli, green beans, onions, garlic, ginger, vindaloo paste, hot curry powder, and a steelhead trout fillet. There’s enough of the sauce and vegetables left over to add some shrimp today and have shrimp curry.
  23. Broiled steelhead trout topped with lemon, dill and Trader Joe’s Everything bagel seasoning. Roasted mixed vegetables from whatever was in the refrigerator. A decent Simi valley chardonnay.
  24. I bought a Costco rotisserie chicken, and was not happy with the way it tasted, so I took all of the meat off of the bone. I decided to make burritos for the freezer. I put together some homemade enchilada sauce with a few dried chilies I had in the pantry, canned tomatoes, chicken stock, spices. And then I doctored up a can of fat free refried beans from Trader Joe’s. I mixed the chicken with a little bit of the sauce. For assembly, I spread the beans on the tortilla, then put in some chicken, then a little drizzle of sauce, then pre-shredded “quesadilla cheese.” I had one for dinner last night with a little extra cheese melted on the top and some sauce. Tasty.
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