WHAT'S COOKIN'? Week of January 10th ************************

[Phentex]

Instead of a daily What's for Dinner?, lets' try a weekly thread.

Last night I made a pot of lentil soup and used a smoked pork jowl for flavor. I liked some of the ideas in the other thread so I experimented with some seasonings too. My family seemed pleased. My mother used to put small fried potatoes in hers plus pastina but I just put in regular diced potatoes and skipped the pastina. It's been cold so this really hit the spot.

What are you cooking this week? I need ideas. :)

[Tesha]

1. well...

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/01/03/FD3K1B9G52.DTL

husband went foraging and brought home a Sirloin Portion Pork Roast
we had it last night as the Pork Stew and we'll have it as something else later in the week
boy was it good!


here it was after braising then sitting for 24 hours...

[hippywife]

4. That looks drool-worthy, Tesha!

I love a good white pork roast. And yours looks really wonderful. :9

[The empressof all]

2. Spicy Chicken Stew with Rice

Costco sells these bags of small red and yellow sweet peppers that are just lovely and last a long while in the fridge. I sauteed some of those up with two onions and some skinless chicken thighs. I added 6 or 7 cloves of chopped garlic and some red pepper and deglazed with some red wine. I then added a can of fire roasted tomatoes with green chili and stuck it in the oven for an hour. When I took it out I added a can of Garbanzo Beans and a can of Corn. (From the canned veggie stock I keep in the Earthquake kit). I thickened it up a bit with some Wondra and let it bubble for a while on top of the stove to reduce. SO thought it was just ok. I'll add some olives to the leftovers tonight to jazz it up a bit. I served it over Jasmine Rice because that's what I saw first in the pantry...It would have been great with brown rice or couscous IMO.

Even more exciting though is I rendered down all the chicken skin and made some liquid gold..... Chopped liver is in my future.

[Phentex]

20. That sounds good. I am ashamed to admit I bought a bag

of peppers like that, used plenty, shared some with a neighbor and STILL had some end up in compost. I needed to use them up but ran out of steam.

I am taking notes in this thread!

[ginnyinWI]

3. it's soup weather.

Last week it was veggie chili one night, then yellow split pea another. Tonight I'm trying a new cabbage soup recipe. Each time I make soup it's good for at least two meals. It's been hovering around zero degrees here for a while.

[hippywife]

5. Odd that you should ask.

This weekend, I'm back to my normal Sunday kitchen, making things to last through the majority of the week.

Last night we had a chicken and stuffing casserole, with cranberries and a fresh spinach salad. I was trying to use up some homemade croutons from the freezer and I had an apple cake that wasn't made right (the recipe was incomplete as posted.) It had apple chunks and chopped pecans. We were not eating it because it was kind of dry and dense, so I got the idea to use it with the croutons for the stuffing. It worked very well!

I also seared a chuck roast in beef tallow and then put it in the crockpot with a tsp. of Better than Bullion, a cup of water, large peices of onion and mushrooms. That will be for later in the week.

I also made a batch of Ain5 dough with bread flour, whole wheat, and semolina so we'll have dinner bread and pizza crust for the week.

And last of all I made another Fanny Farmer cake recipe which I will post the recipe for in a separate thread.

Good idea to revive this, Phentex! :hi:

[Warpy]

6. I slept around the clock last night

because I'm flaring again, but should I awaken sufficiently today I have potatoes and leeks for my weekly soup and my Irish soda bread is getting down to the heel so I need to consider what I want for breakfast in the way of bread over the next few days. Right now I'm thinking of something with both wheat and cornmeal, the end of which might end up as French toast with a super crunch.

The temperatures here in the high desert have finally started to edge up a bit and we're predicted to be a balmy 50 today, not really bread or soup weather like it's been, but still cold enough to justify both.

Lunch today will likely be a wee bit of halibut and some baby bok choy.

Suppers I skip nowadays.

Irish soda bread:

6 cups bread flour
1 t baking soda
1 t baking powder
1 t salt
1/2 c dried currants
2 T caraway seeds
2 1/2 cups buttermilk

Mix, let stand for 10 minutes, form into 2 round loaves. Slash the tops and place on a cookie sheet dusted with cornmeal. Bake at 375 for 45 minutes or until fully browned on top and hollow sounding when tapped on the bottom. Let rest for at least an hour before you cut into it.

This makes a very dense, highly flavored bread, perfect for those of us who stagger out to the kitchen in the morning without the ambition to cook anything. It's great with marmalade or a smear of cream cheese but I usually end up eating it plain. It's that good.

[yellerpup]

7. Fish tacos with tilapia

in corn tortillas, brown rice, black beans, salsa cruda, goat cheese and purple lettuce. I'll make pepita-shortbread bars for dessert and will ask Mr. Pup to pick up dulce de leche ice cream on the way home. I'm also making a loaf of NYT whole wheat & semolina bread, but we'll have that in the morning with the clementine marmalade I made for Christmas. We had too much red meat last week, so this week we'll be eating lighter fare even though it is :scared: cold outside. :hi:

[Phentex]

12. I need to do this...

I get tired of the regular tacos (boys love 'em) so I tend to make them when I am going to be elsewhere for dinner. :)

This would be a nice change of pace.

[yellerpup]

13. We briefly lived in NC and there was a Cabo Fish Taco

in the next block. I'd never had fish tacos before then, but they are quick and simple to make. The salsa cruda takes longer to assemble than the fish for tacos do. I also like fruit salsas on fish tacos starting with any mixed citrus like sections of peeled grapefruit and lime, tossing in a tomato and avocado then adding an orange or mango for sweetness before finishing up with chiles, cilantro, onion, garlic, etc. that you'd usually chop for salsa. I don't know how old your boys are, but if they are given to culinary experimentation they might enjoy coming up with an original salsa for taco night. Nice of you to start this thread...feels neighborly! :-)

Edit to add chiles to the recipe!

[Paper Roses]

8. Arroz con Pollo.(Chicken with rice) My version.

My kids hated this dish and my husband was not fond of it either. Since I am now cooking for myself, I took the old NY times cookbook recipe and have added some stuff that will make it more interesting for me. I had always made half the recipe but I now add some carrots and chunks of celery. It is not the same recipe but when I make it, it serves me for 2 nights. I small salad and thats it.

Hard cooking for one. The second night is a hit or miss thing. Some stuff, like stews are better, a stir fry is a disaster but I eat it anyway.

There is probably a cookbook about cooking for one. Never looked. I do run out of ideas.

[Tesha]

9. I know what you mean...

when I was living alone I found it easy to lose weight - it just wasn't as much fun...

but there are tons of resources now for DIning for One!


how about..
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/11/22/sunday/main5734469.shtml
The Pleasures of Cooking for One
Cookbook Editor and Author Judith Jones on the Joys Found When Dining Solo

[Vinca]

10. The other thread about the onion soup has had me salivating for days

so I made a pot today. Other items on the weekly menu include beef stew, a Mexican chicken casserole we like and another onion soup meal. I've got a split pea soup craving, too, so that will get made sometime this week.

[hippywife]

11. That's one of the great parts about being in this group.

We not only give advice, share experiences and recipes, we also inspire each other. :hi:

[eleny]

14. Farina because I felt shmoopsy

It made me feel better!

[Lugnut]

15. I roasted a whole chicken.

I also roasted some carrots and Yukon gold potatoes to go with it. Later this week I'll make some chicken salad and chicken pastine soup from the leftovers.

Tomorrow we're having leftovers. There's some pepperjack tomato soup and black bean chili left from earlier meals so we'll try to wipe that out.

[Callalily]

16. Made some meatless

meatballs for an appetizer for my meeting this evening.

Instead of frying them, I just baked them in the oven. Worked out just fine.



Meatless Meatballs
Ingredients
1 pound stale country-style bread , crusts removed and cut into thick slices
1 1/2 cups milk
3 large eggs
1/2 cup grated pecorino or Parmigiano-Reggiano
1/2 bunch Italian parsley, leaves chopped to yield 2 tablespoons
1 bunch basil, leaves chopped
1 clove garlic, thinly sliced
Salt and pepper
1 cup extra virgin olive oil

Directions In a large bowl add the bread slices and milk. Let sit until the bread is soaked through, then squeeze dry. Crumble and tear the soaked bread into smaller pieces and process in the food processor, using quick pulses, to yield 4 cups soaked crumbs. Mix the crumbs in a bowl with the eggs, cheese, herbs, and garlic, adding salt and pepper, to taste. Form into round balls about 2 inches in diameter. Set aside on a rack or plate to dry for about 15 to 20 minutes. In a saucepan or deep skillet over medium-high heat, heat the oil to frying temperature, about 360 degrees F, and fry the bread balls until brown on all sides. Remove the balls as they brown and drain on a rack covered with paper towels.

[Phentex]

21. Interesting!

Sounds delicious.

(Bacon would be good too! LOL)

[Warpy]

24. Put in a pinch of allspice

next time. You won't believe the difference it makes in making veggie balls taste meaty.

[Dora]

17. Enchilada casserole

Last night I made an enchilada casserole because I was too lazy to roll the enchiladas.

I sauteed three small zucchini cubed and w/ garlic, cumin, and rehydrated onions, then added a shredded cooked chicken breast and some 1/3 cup enchilada sauce for juice and let it simmer for a few minutes.
In a baking dish, I put a thin layer of enchilada sauce on the bottom, then a layer of yellow corn tortillas. Put the zucchini/chicken blend on top of the tortillas, and some grated cheddar on top of the zucchini/chicken. Tore some more yellow corn tortillas in half, and covered the top with those. Mixed the rest of my enchilada sauce with 1/3 c sour cream, poured that over everything in the pan, and 2-3 generous handfuls of grated cheddar on top of that. I heated it in the oven until it was bubbling, then ran it under the broiler to brown the cheese.

Hatch brand is the BEST green chile enchilada sauce. It's the closest I've ever found to Nani's green chile, Sonora style. This is not a tomatillo sauce, it's green chile, and it's yum.

[kfred]

18. Salmon Casserole

Hubby needs something for lunch tomorrow, so it's perfect. It's just a tuna casserole except for using canned salmon. 'Shroom soup, salmon, noodles, seasoning, topped with parmesan and crumbs from sesame crackers hubby didn't like but should like this way. It's a Minnesowta hotdish complete with the Campbell's Soup!!

[pengillian101]

19. Welcome kfred!

You are my kindred tuna noodle hotdish soul-mate here in MN.} Glad to see ya :-)

Fun video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5QLtPLBAWk

[kfred]

26. Piffle and see below re: cheese made

I just didn't "reply" right.

As for the farmer cheese made - too futsy - been there done that and I'd rather bake with it.

[pengillian101]

28. Gotcha

"I just didn't "reply" right."

It takes awhile to get the hang of this board, but once you do, it's pretty much a snap. :-)

Re: making Farmer's cheese - I've never tried it - is it good?

[surrealAmerican]

22. I made cheese.

I had a lot of extra milk (the gallon is usually on sale for less than the half gallon at my local supermarket). Rather than throw it away, I heated it up, added lemon juice, and strained it through cheesecloth. It's draining over a bowl in the refrigerator now.

I'm not sure what I'll do with it yet, but it curdled pretty well.

[kfred]

25. Casserole vs Hotdish

I came from SoDak, West River - it was casserole. Eastern SoDak and MN it was hotdish only with tatertots and canned vegies - NOT the way I was raised. I've been educating my fambly's palate here in MN ever since. Flavor, spices!!!!!

Chuckwagon IS a favorite casserole.

Browned hamburger and your favorite sausage either ground or links chopped up (breakfast type) - Maybe 3/4 of burger and at least 1/4 of sausage. We like it 50/50.
Bacon - maybe 6-8 slices precooked and diced (or is it the other way round?).
elbow macaroni cooked, but not dead or mushy
can of tomato soup or (my druthers) chopped tomatoes whether canned or fresh but not very seedy
Chopped onion and celery
Oregano, basil, S&P to taste
Bake for an hour at about 350-375 (depends on quantity made)covered
Uncover and top it with cheddar in the last 15 minutes - OR stir the cheddar in and don't fuss about it.

Makes a ton and just gets better the next day.

[Tesha]

27. wait!

my mom used to make that... in upstate NY :hi:

only simplified

hamburger and onion sauteed
a can of tomato soup
and either cooked macaroni (or rice if she had some pepper to stuff)
cheese mixed in and some sprinkled on top with crumbled saltines

that's it - I made it for my adult kids a while ago and they thought it was another gourmet creation....



Kids today!

[Inchworm]

23. Simple spaghetti sauce cooking now

I have the stuff to make (or try to make :rofl: ) New England Clam Chowder. I do like my Manhatten style, but it took me several attempts to get like I like it. I just never seem to have stuff for the NE style.

Umm.. I have 5 pounds of carrots, 10 pounds of chicken quarters, and a box of dry milk to play with. No plans yet :)

:hi:

[eridani]

29. Recovering from a bad cold that flattened me and DH for 2 weeks

Ah, the pleasures of a well-stocked freezer!

Back to cooking again, and I made some tortellini stuffed with ricotta (in freezer, homemade last summer), garlic and truffle oil. Letting them sit in the fridge so they seal well and don't come apart when being boiled. Had enough pasta left over for some angel hair, which I served with tomato sauce and meatballs.

[pscot]

30. Our local market had whole chickens

for 99 cents a pound, and cod filets, so we've been eating fried cod and potato salad, orange roasted chicken , and for variety, a vegetable beef soup made from trimmings from a costco round tip roast. And homemade bread, which I'm not quite satisfied with yet.

[Phentex]

31. What's up with the bread?

What has you dissatisfied?

What kind of potato salad do you make? (Yes, I'm nosy.) ;-)

[pscot]

32. I'm learning the Artisan bread in 5

method, and it's still a work in progress. Everyone has their idea of what a loaf of bread should be. I'm still adjusting the salt. And I'd like it to rise a bit more than what it's doing. I'm sure I'll get there with a little practise. The potato salad was just the usual mosh of egg, celery, chopped onion, mayo and mustard. Oh, and potatoes. We don't do it very often, but it seemed like a goood fit with the fish.

[NJCher]

33. I like the idea of this thread

Thanks for posting it. I've already gotten many ideas from it.

I'm not the official chef around here but this week THE chef made:

1. lamb stew with carrots, fennel, and potatoes
   
2. eggplant-almond enchiladas (based on Mollie Katzen recipe) which were, a few nights later, morphed into chicken tortillas
   
3. and last night: pork sandwiches. Cilantro and hot sauce (homemade, of course) with olive oil mayonnaise and chopped Texas onion on top. Tossed salad to go with.
   ...
   

We have been doing a complete kitchen renovation since Nov. 18 and only have the butler's pantry to cook in, so all this has been done with small appliances like the electric skillet, slow cooker, etc.


Cher

[Phentex]

35. I know we're foodies but

I often need inspiration and sometimes I tire of digging through cookbooks. I'm reading each thread!

The pork sandwiches sound delish!

[yellerpup]

34. After working overtime every night last week

plus working all weekend last week and looking forward to having another weekend just like it THIS week, Mr. Pup and his crew at the office don't know WHAT day of the week it is. The company stopped buying them dinner when they work late and stopped paying overtime to management among the staff in order to 'save everyone's job'.

Money and time is short for all the workers and when I finally got my check for jury duty on Thursday, I made dinner for everyone and delivered it nice and hot at 7:30 last night.

They enjoyed: Asparagus and Cremini Mushroom Quiche
Black-Eyed Pea Soup with Ham
Green Salad with chickpeas, artichoke hearts, black olives, cucumber & tomato and a nice Tarragon-Mustard Vinaigrette
Banana Bread with walnuts & chocolate chip
Navel Oranges

They took about 12 minutes to eat and went right back to work, very grateful to have a healthy, home-cooked meal.

[NMDemDist2]

36. I made steak and eggs last night with my heart attack hash browns

tonight good old fashioned spaghetti and tossed salad

i have a couple T-bones defrosting in the freezer for tomorrow

[grasswire]

37. updated salmon-tuna patties

A riff on my former MIL's salmon patty recipe.

1 pouch pink salmon
2 cans chunk light tuna, drained
4 scallions, thinly sliced
2 eggs
pinch dill weed
pinch celery seed
3 T lemon juice
1 sleeve saltines, crushed
1/2 cup heavy cream

Mix it all together with a fork. Melt couple of tablespoons of butter in a big saute pan on medium heat. With a big spoon, drop a spoonful into the pan and shape into a tidy patty. Repeat to fill the pan. Brown patties on one side, flip and brown the other. As they cook off, remove to a warm plate and cover. This batch made about ten patties.

I served it tonight with baked potatoes and steamed broccoli-cauliflower. Simple and retro.

[Richard Steele]

38. Well, I came across a good deal on some shrimp yesterday , so....

I'm gonna lay them in a large baking dish,
smother them in freshly-diced tomatos and onions,
add the liquid from the last jar of asparagus
we grew last summer, and then cover it all
with a layer of bread crumbs & parmesan before
I put it under the broiler.

Side dish ideas are still brewing in my brain.