dcandohio

Early pregame dinner of Caesar salad and red sauce made with spicy Italian turkey sausage from Whole Foods. I ladled the sauce over store-bought cheese ravioli.

French lentils marinated in a Dijon and tarragon vinaigrette on romaine salad with prosciutto.

To Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals! Joe started his college career at Ohio State, where I was on the faculty. And then he ended up at LSU, my alma mater! So happy for him.

I made a one pan meal last night of chicken tenders and cubed potatoes on a bed of spinach, topped with a mixture of chopped cherry tomatoes, onion, garlic, olive oil and Italian seasonings. I added a little chicken stock to the bottom of the pan, but I probably put too much because it came out kind of soupy. Delicious, nevertheless.

Getting rid of some of the stuff in the refrigerator yielded a lovely smoked trout salad. Mix of the various greens that were needing to be used, piece of a yellow pepper, a handful of beautiful multicolored tomatos, celery, blue cheese, smoked trout, and the last of the blueberry vinaigrette.

More friends for dinner. -Smoked trout salad in the Athena pastry shells. I really like the Trader Joe’s smoked trout, as I find it to be a consistently good product. -Arugula salad with another round of the homemade blueberry vinaigrette, with blueberries, blue cheese, and almonds. -Shrimp stirfry with lots of red and yellow peppers, yellow onions, tomatoes, garlic, and seasonings served over farfalle. I made a huge portion of the shrimp stirfry, thinking that I would have leftovers for tomorrow. My guests kept going back into the kitchen for more servings, which thrilled me, but there is zero food left!

My Snowbird neighbors came over for dinner. -Salad of spinach, roasted Delicata squash, blueberries, and blue cheese. I meant to put almonds on the salad but I forgot. A friend had given me some homemade blueberry jam and so I used that to make a blueberry vinaigrette. -Shrimp étouffée -Mini lemon tarts with kiwi and whipped cream. I got an inspiration from watching my sister use the Athena tart shells that you can get in the freezer section of the supermarket. I put a slice of kiwi and then about 3/4 of a teaspoon of lemon curd. Topped with a little decorative mound of whip cream. Surprisingly, these were a big hit.

Shrimp and corn chowder using homemade chicken stock and frozen white sweet corn from Trader Joe’s.

I marinated flank steak for the grill, and my sister made a very spicy chimichurri to accompany. I had a Delicada squash, so I cut it in half and scooped out the seeds, and then sliced it longways. I tossed the slices in olive oil, salt and pepper and put them on the grill. Superb. That’s my new favorite vegetable to grill! Add a green salad with homemade Caesar dressing. And now I have lots of leftover flank steak for steak salad today.

My sister arrived last night too late for a proper dinner. Instead i made curried chicken salad and a Thai-inspired salad with shrimp and smashed cucumbers (lime, ponzu, fish sauce, sesame oil, garlic, ginger, chilis, cilantro).

Finding myself with three small hot Italian sausages and a lot of zucchini, I stuffed zucchini. I cut them lengthwise and scooped out the pulp which I put aside for another use. I then browned the Italian sausage and added chopped onions, red bell pepper, celery, garlic, a can of diced tomatoes, and some breadcrumbs. I sprinkled grated Parmesan on the top before baking. Easy and pretty. Served with a big yet simple salad. There will be leftovers today!

My friends treated me to the chef‘s table at Masseria last night, and I was blown away. We did the eight course tasting menu, and it was such a pleasure to watch the ballet taking place in the kitchen. Obviously Masseria has a very well trained staff who has a lot of respect for their craft. Standouts for me were the sweet bread course, and the risotto. The service was excellent and professional while still maintaining an air of joviality. The entire experience was just magical.

Pork chops baked in a sauce of grainy mustard, a bit of scotch, olive oil and onion. Buttered green beans and sliced tomatoes served on the side.

Wherever you go in the city, be aware that you need to either show a vaccine card, or proof of a recent negative Covid test to dine indoors. Same for indoor music venues, museums, etc.

Hi. I’m going to be returning to DC for a weekend, spending time with friends in Dupont Circle. And the Thursday night I arrive, I will be on my own, and I would like to have a great dining experience at a bar, either in the Dupont area or on 14th St. area, perhaps between N and U. I’m very familiar with the area, but I do not know what is new since I left in 2015. Does compass rose have a bar? Will I have a snowball’s chance in hell of walking in on a Thursday night at 7 o’clock? Other ideas? THANKS!

I haven’t posted in a while because my meals have been so boring. But I had guests tonight, and I tried to have a nod to summer and fall. Summer was citrus shrimp salad over mixed greens with avocado and toasted almonds. Fall was sweet potato soup with ginger, onions, garlic, and garam masala.

Portuguese shellfish rice, with fresh clams from Whole Foods, and a frozen seafood mixture (scallops, shrimp and calamari) from Trader Joe’s. I was really surprised at the quality of the Trader Joe’s frozen product - The seafood tasted fresh, the calamari were tender, and everything held together beautifully. Since I had out the mini processor to buzz up a shallot for the salad dressing, I also threw in a bunch of celery leaves to my basic lemon and olive oil dressing. Very nice addition and great for a simple green salad.

Stirfried vegetables (zucchini, red onion, mushrooms, carrots, jalapeños) with shrimp. Flavored with sesame oil, hot chili oil, five spice powder, white pepper, soy sauce. I completely forgot to add garlic, but in the end I didn’t miss it. I ground some Szechuan peppercorns into the hot oil before the stirfry, and the dish was pleasantly hot, but not overly so.

Thin pork chops on the grill brushed with homemade barbecue sauce. Potatoes and onions in a foil packet on the grill. Tomato and Romaine salad with Caesar dressing.

Sam, blessings to you and to all of the other residents and helpers in New Orleans who are trying to help the city avoid further disaster. My sister left the Esplanade apartments on Friday, and she is currently with me here in Fort Lauderdale because it’s just too dangerous for her right now to go back to the city with no power. New Orleans is like no place else on earth, and the resilient spirit of the people and deep love for the city is going to save her!

Well Jose Andres and world central kitchen were in New Orleans last night getting ready to serve food, so I think that is always a worthwhile organization to support. Red Cross was helpful to my family during Katrina.

All of my family left New Orleans last night. This storm has all of the makings of a disaster. At the very least, there will be widespread flooding and long-term power outages. EVERYTHING closes.

It’s hot and humid here, and we are having Saharan dust which makes it hard to breathe. Friend coming for dinner means minimal cooking but big flavors. I made shrimp ceviche with a lime and orange juice dressing, lots of cilantro, mango, cucumber, red pepper, red onion. I made a salad dressing from a recipe that I got on the river boat which is the “Uniworld famous Mrs. Tolman’s Dressing.” It’s really a basic Caesar dressing with soy sauce instead of Worcestershire and no anchovy. My neighbor loved it, but I would’ve just prefered regular Cesar dressing. I served a side of deviled eggs with the salad We had store-bought brownies with praline ice cream for dessert. Plus port.

Had neighbors over tonight, and I cooked steelhead trout brushed with chipotle mayo and then sprinkled with salt, pepper, and coriander. I made chipotle lime rice, a la chipotle restaurant. I thought mine was pretty good. I also made a classic Caesar dressing that I served on a kind of a mixed salad. It was a pretty simple meal, but it seemed to make everyone very happy.

Happy birthday and many happy returns to Don, our fearless leader!