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Beef Cheek Pierogi. Had these a couple years ago at Lola in Cleveland and loved them. Found the recipe online (for some reason, I can only pull up a cached version right now) from Michael Symon's new cookbook. Never made pierogi before, but the dough eventually worked great-- just needed to add about a 1/4 cup or so more flour than the recipe calls for in order to get a workable dough. I winged the braise, using all wine and no stock. Found the beef cheeks at the Arlington farmer's market this past Saturday.

Also, his Spicy Tomato and Blue Cheese Soup. You might wonder about the combo of siracha, tomato, and blue cheese, but it works. Quick and easy-- the recipe is here.

I like his ideas. I might have to buy this book.

All with some Fog Cutter cocktails (a favorite drink of mine). Use the Trader Vic version on this page.

I took inspiration from this tomato soup and used what I had in my fridge and cupboards; it was a great way to use up odd and ends. I used sauteed onions and garlic, oven-roasted campari tomatoes, crushed tomatoes, chicken stock, dried herbs, chili flakes, low-fat Greek yogurt and chevre. It was thick and creamy, and would be fantastic even without the cheese, although I do want to try this soup with a mild bleu cheese*.

I served the soup with a garden salad and toasted potato dill bread (this soup calls out for dipping!)

Dan & Zora- this one gets me every time!

*On a tasting note, I adored the tangy flavors of the yogurt and chevre, but the tomato had just a tad too much of an acidic edge. Next time, I think I'll grate a carrot into the mix and see if that "rounds out" the flavors.

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Tonight's dinner came together like jazz.*

Salad of minutina, bacon and Royal trumpet mushrooms

Campanelle w red bell peppers, red onions, garlic, goat cheese and spoonful of winter [parsley] pesto

Pink Lady apple

Apple cinnamon tea

Outstanding salad would have been even better thrown together last Sunday w new purchases. Pays to spin the salad greens ahead of time, wrap them in a tea towel before chilling in a plastic bag. Last of my stash of bacon roasted and when done, I coated thick slices of the mushrooms in the fat and put those into the oven to roast. Dressing: anchovy, garlic, Meyer lemon, Dijon and olive oil.

*Which member of the current administration am I evoking?

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Shaved manchego, pimento-stuffed Sevillano olives, Jamon Iberico

Garlic bread

Bacalao al Pil-Pil

Spanish tortilla

My technique could have been better on the salt cod dish and the tortilla, but everything tasted good.

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I initially misread this as "minutiae." :angry:

Micro-greens?

Lperry--good luck w editing out the superfluous bits and being lucidly concise.

Zora: There's green in your grem, and botanical bits around your bones, so... Perfect meal for a day like this.

Regardez, monsieur. Il y'a un ligne entre les mots de Heather et les miens!

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Italian Wedding Soup

Leg of Lamb au jus

Pasta* with mushrooms

The lamb (boneless, Costco) was utterly delicious. I had all kinds of fancy intentions but in the end just seasoned the outside with garlic powder, salt, and pepper.

*Fusilli Bucati Lunghi. Long pasta twists. Had to look it up, since I didn't have the original package anymore.

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Italian Wedding Soup

Leg of Lamb au jus

Pasta* with mushrooms

The lamb (boneless, Costco) was utterly delicious. I had all kinds of fancy intentions but in the end just seasoned the outside with garlic powder, salt, and pepper.

*Fusilli Bucati Lunghi. Long pasta twists. Had to look it up, since I didn't have the original package anymore.

I love Wedding Soup! Never heard of it until I spent time in Pittsburgh. Did you make little meatballs, and if so, what meat(s) did you use? Just curious.

Last night, Mr. MV grilled porterhouse steaks* on our snowy deck, and I served them with Point Reyes blue cheese from Cheesetique(excellent service and help with my query about what type of blue would be melting and delish on beef).

Bartard from Cheesetique

Pommes Dauphinoise**

Caramelized brussel sprouts with lemon and butter.

*steaks (nicely marbled) were generously supplied to us by a friend of Mr. MV's, and were part of a half-cow purchase from Hollin Farm in VA. We also received a pound of ground beef, which I plan to use for hamburgers. If the burgers are anywhere near as good as the steaks, we may consider going in for a quarter-cow.

**this recipe completely changed how I approach cooking any version of scalloped potatoes.

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I love Wedding Soup! Never heard of it until I spent time in Pittsburgh. Did you make little meatballs, and if so, what meat(s) did you use? Just curious.

I made the meatballs. The recipe I found called for part ground turkey and part chicken sausage, removed from the casings. I found the chicken sausage very dry. It was hard to get out of the casings and crumble. I think next time I would buy my own ground chicken and add sausage seasonings to it. Or I could just use all ground turkey :angry:.

That steak sounds wonderful. My parents used to buy half a side of beef from a local butcher when I was a kid and stock the big freezer with it. Unless I clear out pretty much everything else, I don't think I'd have enough room for that, but the idea is intriguing.

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I made the meatballs. The recipe I found called for part ground turkey and part chicken sausage, removed from the casings. I found the chicken sausage very dry. It was hard to get out of the casings and crumble. I think next time I would buy my own ground chicken and add sausage seasonings to it. Or I could just use all ground turkey :angry:.

That steak sounds wonderful. My parents used to buy half a side of beef from a local butcher when I was a kid and stock the big freezer with it. Unless I clear out pretty much everything else, I don't think I'd have enough room for that, but the idea is intriguing.

Thanks Pat! You see, that's why I asked. I have never made the meatballs for the soup with any type of sausage, but the idea really intrigues me. I use different ground meats, depending; meatloaf mix, all beef, turkey, pork...

We are fortunate to have a large freezer in our basement, so a trip out to Deleplane may be in the near future. I think the burgers will be a good litmus test.

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Turkey and two-bean chii. For those who find chili with beans an abomination, consider it turkey-and-two-bean stew. Ground turkey, pinto and small red kidney beans, finely diced onion, green bell, and jalapeno pepper, no-salt-added canned tomatoes and juices, vegetable stock. Cumin, chili powder, garlic. Simmer. (Still simmering.) Raw onion, shredded cheddar, and day-old French baguette croutons for serving. (It smells good in here right now...)

:angry:

Last night: mousse de foie de canard aux truffes, avec cornichons et moutarde; fondue au fromage; salade viniagrette. Hell, what could be better on a snowy night, when you have to miss the 30th birthday party of one of your best friends in the world because the District of Columbia doesn't think your streets need to be plowed and salted? (Sorry, Dan!! But do you control if Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow this year?)

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Last night:

Chickpea Stew with Sweet Onions (from Lorna Sass' Great Vegetarian Cooking Under Pressure)

Kale Ceviche (recipe courtesy of KMango)

Tonight (planned):

Beef Stroganoff - a childhood favorite, recipe from 'Cooking with California Wines' (or something like that)

more Kale Ceviche

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Lamb tortellini

Salad of raw Tuscan kale, roasted parsnip and slivered red onion

Baked apple w cognac topped w Greek-style yogurt and shaved, toasted walnuts. (David Tanis, A Platter of Figs.)

Next time you are tempted to pick up stuffed pasta from The Copper Pot, ask Stefano Frigerio how to cook it!!!

Warmed up a little olive oil and threw in fresh rosemary leaves that were chopped fine w garlic.

Waited for the aroma, then added Meyer lemon zest.

(Not advised, but then added a little of the lemon juice, and when that cooked down a bit, a teaspoon of gelled brodo)

Slipped the frozen (important; at least, these cooked perfectly) tortellini in boiling water.

Meanwhile, I substituted a little pomegranate molasses and sherry vinegar for the Balsamic vinegar that I lacked. Reduced.

Fished the tortellini out and tossed them in sauté pan as sauce finished, penetrating the sealed edges and coating the pasta. Basta cosi. (No cheese.)

Unbelievably tender--never bought pasta of this quality before. Advice for preparation perfect. Absolutely delicious!

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last night:

coq au vin rouge starring an Eco-Friendly stewing hen*

mashed potato and celery root puree

HD vanilla with warm dulce de leche

2003 Jaboulet Beaumes de Venise "Le Paradou" (rouge)

*made with Eco-Friendly bacon, Farm at Sunnyside golden turnips and carrots, H Mart cippolini onions and maitake mushroom

red wine for braise was 2006 Dom. de Cassan Beaumes de Venise

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Last night:

Cranberry walnut bread with butter

Lamb curry with rice, spinach, and cottage cheese

I'd made the bread around Thanksgiving. The chunk in the freezer defrosted and reheated nicely. I didn't put raisins in the curry as I usually do, but the cranberries and nuts in the bread complemented the curry nicely.

The lamb was leftover from leg of lamb a few days ago. Curry is one of my favorite things to make with leftover lamb, even more than lamb stew. I love the curry flavors with lamb. Instead of making the rice separately, as I usually do, this time I toasted the rice in with some sauteed garlic and onions and prepared it more pilaf-style, with everything going in to one pot. Near the end I tossed in a couple of cups of frozen spinach and put the lid back on the pot for it to steam. Swirled some cottage cheese in at serving.

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Taco Night!

Because, once again, nothing says "snomg" like the flavors of the southwest...

Skirt steak marinated in a variation on Zora's recado: roasted tomato, onion, garlic, and serrano, plus allspice, cumin, lime, cilantro, tequila

Pickled onions and serrano (red wine vinegar, lime juice, agave syrup, allspice, bay leaf)

Sliced avocado with lime juice

Sour cream, cheddar cheese

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Taco Night!

Because, once again, nothing says "snomg" like the flavors of the southwest...

Skirt steak marinated in a variation on Zora's recado: roasted tomato, onion, garlic, and serrano, plus allspice, cumin, lime, cilantro, tequila

Pickled onions and serrano (red wine vinegar, lime juice, agave syrup, allspice, bay leaf)

Sliced avocado with lime juice

Sour cream, cheddar cheese

ha ha! totally agree. I had a yummy black bean/mushroom/spinach/onion concoction that you could use in a burrito or serve over rice. I used it for nachos. I did not have any avocado but did use yummy sharp cheddar.

Cutie tangerines

Brownies in the oven now.

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Leftover Italian wedding soup

Leftover sausage-stuffed acorn squash

Various breads spread with brie, fig preserves, and sliced almonds and run under the broiler

Trying mightily to use up the leftovers before making much more new food. Don't want to throw things out because it's going to be a long time until our next trash pickup.

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Butternut squash soup w/fried sage, chicken-liver paté, salad w/mustard vinaigrette, garnacha & cab sauv, & NATE THE GREAT (friend mentioned in the snowpocalypse thread). #snomg win.

ETA: Nate was not part of dinner. (No fava beans and a nice chianti ... and by the way, can we add Hannibal Lecter references to the trite food list? ;) )

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Chicken stew. I used an Ina Garten recipe that I thought would be underspiced, but it was perfect comfort food. Unctuous, and very chickeny. ;) Chicken, chicken stock, butter, flour, sauteed onion & carrots, peas, salt, pepper, parsley, heavy cream.

Buttermilk biscuits.

Vanilla ice cream with a little Root poured over it.

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Chicken stew. I used an Ina Garten recipe that I thought would be underspiced, but it was perfect comfort food. Unctuous, and very chickeny. ;) Chicken, chicken stock, butter, flour, sauteed onion & carrots, peas, salt, pepper, parsley, heavy cream.

Buttermilk biscuits.

Vanilla ice cream with a little Root poured over it.

Ina is the queen of chicken. She makes it for her husband every single Friday when he comes home.

We had broiled crab cakes, steak fries and Asian slaw.

Blueberry compote (with honey and lime juice) over cheesecake.

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Mushrooms stuffed with ground turkey in a Cabernet-ketchup sauce. (I swear this is better than that sounds.)

Haricots verts sautéed with shallots.

Macaroni with butter and garlic.

^the most old-school, comfort food night EVER.

Cinnamon-chocolate fudge. Deep, dark, chocolatey goodness. I can't believe this only took ten minutes to make (and 2 hrs to chill) -- this is incredibly dangerous, as now I will make it all. the. freaking. time.

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Salad (romaine, campari tomatoes, cucumber, radishes, feta and ranch dressing)

Mini baguette and butter

The last of the Italian Wedding Soup, rounded out with a bit of freshly-made chicken broth

Roasted chicken

Mashed potatoes

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our neighbors waded through the snow to cross the (unplowed and untraversed) street to have dinner with us:

apps:

jamon serrano, queso mahon, queso cordobes, dulce de membrillo, marcona almonds and olives

prosecco

salad of frisee, shaved fennel, cara cara orange segments, with an orange vinaigrette

fabada made with dried alubias de Tolosa and fresh borlotti beans,* chorizo, morcilla, slab bacon, smoked pork loin

2005 Castaño Solanera

chocolate tart

*I bought a small amount of alubias de Tolosa in Spain, to try them--a round deep reddish-purple bean from the Basque country. But the 1/4 kilo wasn't going to be enough to feed four, so after the dried beans had cooked for almost an hour, I added two cups of fresh borlotti/cranberry beans that I got at Super H last week. The fabada spent about 8 hours in a very low oven, and the beans were creamy and hadn't fallen apart or split.

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Seriously, people, can someone come eat some ribs?

They look good, and I'd love some, but it's not happening. Enjoy!

I'm the only one watching the game, but we'll eat at halftime: potato skins (I wanted a Super Bowl appetizer); braised short ribs in red wine* over polenta and salad.

*Lydia Bastianich's Antico Peposo

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