Pat Posted January 2 Share Posted January 2 31 minutes ago, reedm said: I didn't know that was possible. How did you do it? The particular model he bought (Duo Crisp + Air Fryer) has a sous vide setting. There's a line on the inside of the pot for the water fill. Still, it's different than the Sous Vide Supreme that I have (that was from a Christmas several years ago), so I still need to get used to it. The veal didn't cook evenly in the water. The sear made up for that, but I need to figure it out. The SVS has racks that you can use to keep the pouches upright so the seal stays above water. That machine has to be stored away to have counter space for the Instant Pot, and this is a different shape, so I don't think those racks would fit. I had trouble keeping the pouch positioned in this. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Pat Posted January 4 Share Posted January 4 Tonight I finally made the Ina Garten creamy tomato bisque I'd been planning to make for meals over Christmas and didn't. Then it was supposed to be over New Year's and wasn't. I had the heavy cream for it, just waiting (and aging) and the leek (which, for some reason, has been a difficult to obtain item for me during the pandemic) but hadn't gotten it together to make the soup. So, tonight I made it, or, rather, I made a half recipe and it still yielded a lot of soup. My husband really enjoyed it. The recipe is from Modern Comfort Food. It was excellent, but I should have cut the various alliums a little smaller. The bisque was accompanied by leftovers of Ina's lamb shanks and some white bread I baked yesterday, and Armenian stuffed grape leaves that were for New Year's. Last night: Open-faced roast beef sandwiches with gravy Green beans with toasted almonds and French’s fried onions Leftover corn pudding Leftover broccoli cheese casserole I made some gravy using Better than Bouillon, and it came out pretty well. More of the white bread to serve the beef on (deli-sliced, from Red Apron, via NRG). 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
saf Posted January 4 Share Posted January 4 I continue to work on clearing out the freezer. Well... There were hot dogs in the freezer that had been there a while. Good hot dogs! (Zweigel's white hots). There was also a thing of meat sauce spice. OK, that wasn't in the freezer but in the pantry. Got it at the Rochester Public Market last time I visited my parents. So I got some ground beef and made meat sauce. Made a small thing of potato salad. Also, of course, lettuce salad. I drank a Genny, while the boy had a Saranac. So, an all Rochester dinner. (I note, now that I have the meat sauce spice, I am SO tempted to make garbage plates. But the boy will not eat them, so it would be a waste of time. Also, now I am out of hot dogs, so I will just wait until I am back in Rochester, and go out with my brother for garbage plates.) This did result in having to get ground beef, which I do not usually keep around. So we also got some ground pork, and I made a bunch of meatballs and froze them. Big ones, so we can have meatball subs next week or the week after, and little ones, so that I can easily make a small batch of Italian Wedding soup soon. So, at least the meat in the freezer is new? 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Katya4me Posted January 4 Share Posted January 4 Last night's dinner was coconut braised butternut squash over parmesan couscous. We've been getting a butternut squash with each of our Misfit boxes and I decided to try this recipe on the latest squash. The broiling definitely makes the dish as you don't want the squash to turn into puree and it kept it's shape perfectly. I really liked how the harissa melded with the coconut milk and my husband did as well. 6 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
naxos Posted January 4 Share Posted January 4 Last night NYT recipe for Thai inspired chicken meatball soup https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1020631-thai-inspired-chicken-meatball-soup Added lemongrass, galangal and makrut lime leaves to the broth and increased the broth/coconut milk ratio to favor the broth. It was delicious but most surprising were the chicken meatballs, which I baked rather than fried. I’d never thought about making chicken meatballs but used Bell and Evans ground chicken breast and they turned out great! I think I’ll try making Italian seasoned meatballs next. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
saf Posted January 5 Share Posted January 5 I spent the day schlepping the cat from vet to vet (and have to go back to Friendship tomorrow). So I was not up for cooking. Luckily, we had made chili with pork from the freezer and white beans yesterday to eat some night this week. So, salad, chili, and tortilla chips. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Pat Posted January 5 Share Posted January 5 24 minutes ago, saf said: I spent the day schlepping the cat from vet to vet (and have to go back to Friendship tomorrow). Oh, no. I hope your kitty's okay. Sounds worrisome.😿 Mundane here. We mostly had variations on leftovers tonight. Some new stuff provided the variations. Saffron gougeres Leftover sweet potato, kale, and black-eyed pea soup Leftover pork tenderloin Cranberry sauce Steamed green beans with toasted almonds and French’s fried onions Leftover corn pudding + steamed broccoli The gougeres were remaining from ones I picked up at Souk on NYE Day. They're starting to get dried out by this point. There were a dozen little ones but it seems like an endless supply since we've only been eating a couple at a time. Using the last of the Costco cranberries, I made some more of my cranberry-clementine sauce to go over the porcini pork leftovers, which worked nicely. I also finished off the green bean supply and half of the remaining broccoli. I mixed the broccoli together with reheated corn pudding and it made a good combination --color, flavor, and texture. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
saf Posted January 5 Share Posted January 5 1 minute ago, Pat said: Oh, no. I hope your kitty's okay. Sounds worrisome.😿 Mehitabel has had issues for quite a while. We think it is a slow moving gastric lymphoma. I hope they can do something again this time. She hasn't eaten since Friday night. (although since we came home today she has had some food). So we got worried and started with her vet. Then off to Friendship for ultrasound, but got there too late. Of course, they didn't tell me that until an hour after we got there. It took another 2 hours to retrieve her. Tomorrow she goes back to actually get the ultrasound. And this whole pandemic means the cat goes in to the vet alone... and I wait in the car. Yet another reason to hate the pandemic. Poor girl. And thank god for a flexible job. (And as I type, she just cleaned the leftovers out of the boy's ice cream bowl, and is now eating cat treats!) (That's not her in the pic. Thats Mr. Kitty. He is long gone now, but they overlapped. She's a brown tabby. And doesn't eat like he did!) 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Katya4me Posted January 5 Share Posted January 5 Last week, I made a loaf of bread and it didn't rise. Same recipe as I always use in the bread machine, just didn't work for whatever reason. I hadn't thrown it out yet because I thought I might be able to use it for bread crumbs or similar. I was in the mood for something comforting for dinner, and saw a recipe for tuna rice casserole. It called for croutons on top, so I took my sad little loaf, chopped it up, and tossed it in the oven. I'd forgotten that we were out of onions and celery so this really was the perfect recipe for last night. We both wanted a little more flavor in the white sauce, so I tossed in some Penzey's Fox Point seasoning, roasted onion powder, oregano, and a sprinkle of cayenne powder. It came out perfectly and we both enjoyed it. 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
weezy Posted January 5 Share Posted January 5 New favorite way to do zucchini. Cut into strips or wedges, toss in olive oil, s&p and za'atar, roast in the air fryer until golden. So damn good. Now I have to buy more zucchini 5 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
saf Posted January 6 Share Posted January 6 Another round of vet visits, another night of not wanting to cook. So chili rellenos, stuffed with cheese and pulled pork, from the freezer, battered and fried. Some days I am glad that we put a lot of food in the freezer over the summer. Also salad. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
saf Posted January 7 Share Posted January 7 We got a vegetable box a few weeks ago. So there was a spaghetti squash here. I do not eat squash. So we had salad. And I had a steamed artichoke. And he had spaghetti squash, roasted, then tossed with tomato sauce, parm, mozzarella pearls, and fresh basil. Then more fresh basil on top. I love artichokes. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
saf Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 Tonight was, as ever, salad. Then, due to a vegetable box containing (nasty!) chard, we had potato, sausage, kale (kale replaced with chard) skillet. And it made the chard edible, and was pretty tasty. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dcandohio Posted January 9 Share Posted January 9 Chicken Tinga quesadillas, served with a simple salad. I poached and shredded three chicken breasts. They were set aside while I made the Tinga sauce. In a blender, I combined plum tomatoes, chicken stock used for poaching the chicken, chilies in adobo sauce, onion, garlic, cumin, and oregano. I then cook the sauce until it was very thick, add it in the chicken, and let it simmer for a while. Nicely spicy. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
saf Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 Salad. Fried chicken stuff. Biscuits. It was good! Later there will be brownies, and experimental frozen peppermint stuff. It was homemade vanilla ice cream with smashed up peppermint candy. Sadly, the cream appeared to be less thick than usual, so... it was very icy. So today I got (another brand of) cream, whipped it, softened the ice cream, and whipped it into the whipped cream, and put it back into the freezer. We will see how it came out. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
saf Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 Some days when you are working on eating down the freezer, you eat weird things. Salad, of course. But then, we had found some tiny sausages, frozen, having been intended for pigs in a blanket for a party that had not happened. So, pigs in a blanket for dinner! Why not? And the boy rejoiced. The ice cream repair came out fairly well. And with brownies, it was extra good. 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DonRocks Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 10 hours ago, saf said: So, pigs in a blanket for dinner! Why not? And the boy rejoiced. Your husband? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
saf Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 35 minutes ago, DonRocks said: Your husband? Yes. Pigs in a blanket is one of his favorite snacks and he doesn’t get it often. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
saf Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 Salad again. I made a new salad dressing, and am enjoying it. Then, meatball subs! This meant a trip to Litteri's this afternoon for sub rolls. Well, sub roll. Those are big rolls. So we split one. I always enjoy trips to Litteri's. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
naxos Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 Lamb tagine with carrots, apricots and dates. Served with couscous ( not traditional I know but not in the mood to make bread. And a side salad 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Katya4me Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 Tonight was spicy squid with basil. Nice simple recipe, I added some white pepper at the end and I think it helped the flavor. I had brown basmati rice in the pantry, so that's what I served it over. Last night was apple and cheddar pizza again and definitely staying in my favorite combos column. 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
saf Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 Spaghetti Caruso, salad, focaccia. Cheap red wine. OK, not really spaghetti Caruso. Linguini. The end of a jar of red sauce, sautéed mushrooms, sautéed chicken livers. But tasty! 1 hour ago, Katya4me said: apple and cheddar pizza Oh, that sounds tasty. Do you make it? What else is on it? 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Katya4me Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 37 minutes ago, saf said: Spaghetti Caruso, salad, focaccia. Cheap red wine. OK, not really spaghetti Caruso. Linguini. The end of a jar of red sauce, sautéed mushrooms, sautéed chicken livers. But tasty! Oh, that sounds tasty. Do you make it? What else is on it? I've made it using this recipe twice now. Slivered red onions, drizzle of honey, so good.... 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
saf Posted January 15 Share Posted January 15 On 1/13/2021 at 9:38 PM, Katya4me said: I've made it using this recipe twice now. Slivered red onions, drizzle of honey, so good.... It's on the list for next week. Thank you! Tonight was leftover meatball subs. Still tasty. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dracisk Posted January 15 Share Posted January 15 On 1/13/2021 at 8:59 PM, saf said: Spaghetti Caruso I never heard of spaghetti Caruso. That sounds so good! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dcandohio Posted January 15 Share Posted January 15 I had defrosted some ground beef, and was looking on the Internet for inspiration when I came across a Thai-inspired ground beef stirfry. I made a sauce of soy sauce, fish sauce, sesame oil, chili paste, garlic, ginger, lime, and brown sugar. Browned the ground beef and separately sautéed yellow bell peppers, carrots, onions, and celery. I added the sautéed vegetables to the ground beef along with the sauce, and at the end threw in a whole jalapeño, sliced thin and let that cook together for a bit. Topped with cilantro and served over rice. Success! 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
saf Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 23 hours ago, dracisk said: I never heard of spaghetti Caruso. That sounds so good! I never had either, until we went to AV for the first time. We had heard about the white pizza and wanted to eat it. White pizza for apps. Then mains. And here was this thing I had never heard of and it had chicken liver! I had to have it. So tasty. NYT has a good recipe, as does Lidia. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dracisk Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 1 hour ago, saf said: I never had either, until we went to AV for the first time. We had heard about the white pizza and wanted to eat it. White pizza for apps. Then mains. And here was this thing I had never heard of and it had chicken liver! I had to have it. So tasty. NYT has a good recipe, as does Lidia. I think I only went to AV once. I remember the white pizza! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
saf Posted Saturday at 09:06 PM Share Posted Saturday at 09:06 PM 16 hours ago, dracisk said: I think I only went to AV once. I remember the white pizza! We used to go there for happy hour semi-regularly, and for "fancy" dinners when we were young and broke. (And to the Moroccan place that was right there too. Marrakesh? I wish there was still a Moroccan place around. I LOVE north African food. Anyhow.) Yes, their white pizza was very good. And their house wine was affordable on our broke folks budget. I also used to love the white pizza at Listrani's. The one on MacArthur Blvd. That was good too. And actually, even after Uno got to the point that I didn't enjoy them, I still liked their white pizza. Maybe I have a thing for white pizza. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Katya4me Posted Saturday at 09:35 PM Share Posted Saturday at 09:35 PM Last night was sweet potato soup. My husband did all but the blending, so I'd definitely recommend making it the same way again. It was delicious and I could see really enjoying it on a much colder evening as well. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dracisk Posted Sunday at 12:35 AM Share Posted Sunday at 12:35 AM 3 hours ago, saf said: (And to the Moroccan place that was right there too. Marrakesh? Wow, I completely forgot about the Moroccan place. I never made it there. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
saf Posted Sunday at 03:47 AM Share Posted Sunday at 03:47 AM 3 hours ago, dracisk said: Wow, I completely forgot about the Moroccan place. I never made it there. It was very tasty. And the interior was fun. We took my Moroccan brother in law there once. He kept scaring away waiters by trying to speak Berber to them. Turns out the place was owned (and staffed) by a Lebanese family, so they didn't so much speak Berber. But he liked it anyhow. Couldn't go very often. They had a fixed menu, and it never changed. The BiL's comment was, "Very good food, but not an everyday menu. More of a party menu. You wouldn't have all this on the same night unless it was a holiday or a party." Had belly dancers. I acquired my love for chicken bastilla there. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
saf Posted Monday at 01:57 AM Share Posted Monday at 01:57 AM OK, did I find this recipe here? Can't turn up where it came from on a search. Anyhow, I appreciate whoever shared it. Dinner tonight was salad and "Cheesy Chicken Enchilada Skillet." Quite easy, quite tasty, and used a lot of leftover chicken out of the freezer. And now there are leftovers. Lots of leftovers. (Didn't use the cilantro or jalepenos, as we did not have those. Did top it with leftover scallions.) Dessert will be later. It will be a delicious cookie/cake/tart thing. No blackberries here though, so blueberries from the freezer. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
saf Posted Tuesday at 12:37 AM Share Posted Tuesday at 12:37 AM I did a bit of batch cooking the other day. Last night's enchilada skillet will be at least 2 meals. Tonight we ate stew. This will also be at least 2 meals. I do not generally love stew, but this one was good. The boy saw the recipe, and mustard is one of his favorite things, as are mushrooms, and we had a number of the ingredients needing to be used (Carrots, mushrooms, beef in the freezer). So we made it, with a few modifications. (Less beef, extra mushrooms, extra carrots, added some potatoes that were hanging around. Gotta work with what you got.) Pretty tasty actually. Also salad. Also rolls. Again, I had things to use (potato flakes!). The rolls were quite good. Nice texture. The freezer is really coming nicely under control. I can put stuff in it again! Need to use up a bunch of pork still, and we need a grill-worthy weekend day to use this (giant!) hanger steak. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
saf Posted Wednesday at 02:38 AM Share Posted Wednesday at 02:38 AM On 1/13/2021 at 9:38 PM, Katya4me said: I've made it using this recipe twice now. Slivered red onions, drizzle of honey, so good.... That apple, cheddar, onion pizza was dinner tonight. (along with salad, of course) It was very very good and will be dinner again. Thank you for the recipe! Here, let me offer the recipes for the 2 fruit pizzas we make regularly. Limited to when the fruits are in season, but so good. Maybe you will like them. Cherry, Brie, and Gorgonzola pizza Peach, Prosciutto, Ricotta, and Basil pizza 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Katya4me Posted Wednesday at 06:15 PM Share Posted Wednesday at 06:15 PM 15 hours ago, saf said: That apple, cheddar, onion pizza was dinner tonight. (along with salad, of course) It was very very good and will be dinner again. Thank you for the recipe! Here, let me offer the recipes for the 2 fruit pizzas we make regularly. Limited to when the fruits are in season, but so good. Maybe you will like them. Cherry, Brie, and Gorgonzola pizza Peach, Prosciutto, Ricotta, and Basil pizza So glad you liked it too. That peach pizza looks fantastic and definitely want to try it this summer. In the summer, I like to grill naan pizzas and one time I had leftovers from a jerked peach and chicken recipe that worked fantastically on the pizza. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
saf Posted yesterday at 12:12 AM Share Posted yesterday at 12:12 AM 5 hours ago, Katya4me said: In the summer, I like to grill naan pizzas I wish we could do that. Maybe next summer. I am not the griller here, and he enjoys grilling so much that he chooses things that take a long time, so he can spend more time grilling (and listening to baseball games). Maybe if I get a bunch of veg he can grill for me (he loves to grill peppers for rellenos, and eggplant for baba ganoush, and so on.). Then he can grill for a long time, and then grill pizza.... 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
saf Posted 11 hours ago Share Posted 11 hours ago Leftovers are so convenient. And now, time to make a list for next week. Need some menu items so that I can make a grocery list! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Pat Posted 9 hours ago Share Posted 9 hours ago Wow. It's been weeks since I posted. We have actually been eating during that time. I've been trying to get more efficient with leftovers so too many don't pile up. Tonight the only new item was a celery and pear gratin recipe I found following a private chef on twitter. I had to adjust a little based on what I had, but it was really good. (I'd link but I can't find where I found it...) For the Inauguration dinner, I used food from an NRG order and only made a salad: Spring mix with cucumber, radishes, and craisins; feta; citrus champagne vinaigrette Spanakopita (NRG) Cassoulet (NRG) Monday night: Rigatoni with lemony ricotta and breadcrumbs Meatballs in sauce (Iron Gate/NRG) Eggplant braised with tomatoes, mushrooms, serrano pepper, and cinnamon stick (my own creation and the cinnamon really made it pop) I've done a bunch of variations on salads, including a marinated black-eyed pea one with tuna served over baby arugula. Some other highlights: Salisbury steak with mushroom gravy; lasagna (ground beef, kale, ricotta, mozzarella, Parmesan) accompanied by andouille sausages and broiled broccoli rabe with hot pepper flakes and honey; loaded baked potato soup; beef-barley-vegetable soup the way my Mom made it; mini French onion tarts (premade pie crust in muffin tins, filled with caramelized onions and Gruyere, some with broccoli also); eggplant Parmesan served in the shells; turkey kofta pitas with tzatziki (harissa, bread crumbs, onions, garlic, cream for the kofta; yogurt, mint, garlic, cucumber, cream for the sauce); superb David Lebovitz recipe for potato gratin Tartiflette; Mexican-style shrimp casserole from Washington Post (tasty but made a lot); Crispy Sesame Baked Tofu & Mushrooms (I used cremini) from food 52 + radish greens, with Thai purple sticky rice; a lemony ricotta spread from Dorie Greenspan served with crackers, then repurposed as a sauce for the rigatoni mentioned above; excellent Air-Fryer Gochujang Chicken Wings from food 52; baked chicken breasts the way my Mom made them (butter, lemon, s+p); and Carne Asada/Fajitas: broiled dry-rubbed flank steak with sauteed red onion and red and green bell pepper strips and sour cream and cilantro garnishes. This was the last of a rub I came up with for some other cut of beef more than a year ago. Still good. On 1/16/2021 at 4:06 PM, saf said: And to the Moroccan place that was right there too. Marrakesh? Yes. Marrakesh. We ate there a few times. It was an experience. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
saf Posted 9 hours ago Share Posted 9 hours ago 11 minutes ago, Pat said: superb David Lebovitz recipe for potato gratin Tartiflette; I have been staring at that recipe. It looks so good. And I have been trying to remember - there used to be a place I ordered tartiflette ALL the time. It was so good. But where was it? Was it at the crepe place on 18th in Adams Morgan that was at some point the rocket ship themed Indian place? (I think so. And it annoys me that I cannot remember the name of either incarnation of that space.) Was it at the French place in Cleveland Park next to Nanny's? (I don't think so but it has been suggested.) Some other French place that I have forgotten ever existed? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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