O.T.F. Survey: What did you have for dinner?

[Palomine]

OK, some will undoubtedly feel that I'm really reaching for it here... just asking any damn question that might make for a decent thread. Well, maybe they're right, but I tend to find these way O.T. threads entertaining, and I prefer topics that  don't have anything to do with politics as they tend to reveal large differences between myself and folks here that I quite like. Call me chicken (no, that's not what I had for dinner! )

Anyway, food is enormously important to me... I'm something of a 'foodie' in my quest to hunt out exceptional, little-known restaurants ahead of time when I go travelling to another city or around my own. My car has a couple of well-thumbed, heavily annotated (by me) restaurant guides in it (not Zagat, I'm not crazy about it) and though I'm no Graham Kerr (showing my age, eh?) I am fairly fluent in the kitchen... ex-GFs have made clear their appreciation for my culinary talents. In my finite experience and slightly-senile-opinion, I think that some folks who are highly motivated in terms of erotica often are also enthusiastic when it comes to food... which is not to say that there aren't exceptions who like food but view it primarily as fuel rather than entertainment, but if I were looking back to my pantheon of former GFs, I can I think draw a correlation between those who were the most passionate and who also were as interested in good/new/unusual food as I am. So (my limited logic goes), it stands to reason that there are probably other foodies here at the BEA... another thread in this forum re: New Year's Eve plans would seem to support this theory. Thus (in my long-winded way) why not take a sampling as to what folks had for their Sunday night repast, and see?

Here goes:

For reasons too mundane to go into here, I no longer have a stove in my kitchen and have been using my barbeque (propane, don't scoff) two or three times a week for cooking (it has an extra side burner, so I can make a pot of pasta, rice or couscous in addition to whatever I'm grilling). Yes, it's a little cold out for BBQ (even here in SoCal) but w/a hat and sweater it was quite pleasant.

Tonight I decided to try barbequing pork for the first time (I usually do salmon twice a week, or some kind of chicken and/or grilled veggies). So, pork teriyaki it was (I added a little sugar to the sauce to aid carameliztion) using hyper-lean meat from the local butcher (really, it looked like this stuff was never on an animal it was so flawless and lean). My BBQing practice enabled me to cook it exactly right (the most important part of any cooking IMHO is  NOT to overcook!) It was perfect... moist inside despite the thickness of the meat and perfectly crisply glazed outside... seriously, I don't think I've had better ever even in a Chinatown (NYC, SF or Vancouver) restaurant.... even in the best places BBQ pork is often dry and tough inside.

To go with it, I also BBQd some Gala apple slices and sliced onions (using a little of the left-over teriyaki) and as I almost always do, I also grilled a package of whole white mushrooms (just drizzle w/olive oil, sprinkle w/kosher salt and put 'em off in 1 corner of the grill to do their own thing... give 'em a little jiggle once or twice to turn and they take care of themselves). To go with all of the above, I also made a simple salad (romaine, feta, tomatos and herbs w/a fat-free vinagrette. The entire process was maybe 20 minutes from start til eating (I sauced the pork yesterday and left it in the fridge). The propane BBQ (my first, always used charcoal before) may be sacralige for purists, but it makes BBQing so easy that it's no effort to use it 3 or 4 times a week as I do these days.

As I was cooking out on the deck, a neighbor stopped by and ate with me. Compliments were received and appreciated. There's enough left over for lunch tomorrow, then it'll be time for the market again.

How 'bout you? Are you a foodie? Do you cook/BBQ/just watch? What'd you have tonight?        

[gOOber]

 I can`t boil water. Mrs gOOber fixed some:

cole slaw

fried catfish and hush puppies

grits with red eye gravy

collard greens

fried okra

key lime pie  

     

[Zorlond]

I can definitely appreciate well-made food (Uno's is my take-out of choice, for example), but my own cooking skills are limited.

Tonight, I had a store-bought chicken pot pie (quite boring, nothing to tell about it, really), but normally it's variations on pasta. I can make a very nice chunky beef sauce when the mood strikes, and my take on mac-n-cheese really sticks to the ribs (if your arm's not getting sore stirring it, there's not enough cheese ).  

[Palomine]

I  luv catfish (fried or blackened) and hush puppies (and cornbread, pecan pie, country gravy, etc...) and also collard greens (made with a nice smoky  ham hock). I've never liked grits all that much (must be my Northeastern chromosones) nor solf polenta (somewhat similar). You're a lucky guy goober!

I once had a key lime pie that was so unbelievably tart that no one I was with could actually eat it.

[Zasha]

In another life (before he met me) my husband was Head Saucier at a big hotel.

He does most of the cooking, and takes special pains to accomodate my diet needs.  We often have some pasta variation, with spicy meat sauces to match.

Tonight's special:

Steamed linguini with chunks of lemon-roasted chicken (skin removed) and peanuts and his secret Thai sauce (I know he fries the peanuts in Hot oil, and uses Hot oil for the linguini somewhere along the line).  Usually rice with some kind of spicing on the side.

[MunchWolf]

I usually fight my sis for rulership of the Kitchen because I LOVE to cook ... lately she's been winning though ... we had lumpkies ... no ... latkas?  ... laftas? ... I dunno .. they were potato pancakes ... her 5-year old kid wanted em ... so c'est la vie ... yesterday was potato soup ...

-Munch "We have too many potatoes here" Wolf

[Palomine]

LatkEs. Delicious and easy to make. For those unfamilar with them, they're potato pancakes as gOOber said... sort of like a more finely grained hash brown made from potato shreds. Some egg, some salt (I add a little finely grated onion) and simply saute in butter (or if you're watching your cholesterol, I suppose you could use olive oil). I haven't made them in ages.

Good with sour cream or apple sauce, but please DON'T use ketchup (or catsup for that matter).

[rtpoe]

Since we're swapping recipes:

Fettucini di Bengodi

"There was also an high mountain wholly made of Parmezane, grated cheese, whereon dwelt people, who did nothing else but make mocharones and raviolies, boiling them with broth of capons, and afterward hurled them all about to whosoever can or will catch them."

Giovanni Bocaccio, The Decameron, Day 8, Story 3.

Cook fettucini in seasoned chicken broth. Toss with melted butter and grated Parmesan cheese.

(There's more where that came from...)

rtpoe

p.s. Tonight's dinner was leftover stew over rice.  

[Zasha]

OOH!  Yum...!  Throw in some Cajun broiled shrimp and I'm there!

[Imaginos]

Dinner has been sparse for the last few nights or 6 due to lots of work on the site and the fact that i loathe cooking for myself. Love to cook if someone else will enjoy it but its a damn waste of time for myself when only i'm going to enjoy it and know that I can be satisfied with something simple.

So lets see last night was 5 of the smallish corn tortillas, steamed with red onion, sharp cheddar cheese, cucumber and seasoned turkey. Oh and Iced Tea to drink.

Imaginos  

[sheber]

You've seriously got to move closer...

[Ryee_Whiskee]

Hmm, dinner?  Lets see...

I am much like Imaginos in the fact that I love to cook, just not for myself.  That truely sucks.  So I go to my friends house and I cook for them when I tire of not being able to cook.

My specialty is Italian...let me explain that I made for Christmas dinner two hams and a larger than life kettle of sauce for the pasta, so...

Last meal I prepared was Fried Spegetti.  Heat up a frying pan, add real butter to suite your tastes (I like alot of it), add leftover pasta (from the xmas dinner, which is alrdy lightly coated with the sauce), fry the pasta in the butter as you add the leftover sauce (which btw was prepared with tons of hot or mild sausage, tiny meatballs-peices of beef, pork, and pepperoni-1/4'ed green peppers, and cooked for an entire day), lightly brown the pasta, then add the rest of the sauce to cover it fully.  Sprinkle on parma and Romanio cheese (I spell for crap), and eat it!  You can also bake it in the oven after it is fried, with tons of mazzarela (sp)and romanio and parma cheese coating it.

I generally drink either green tea or diet pepsi and I call it a day. IMHO left over pasta can be prepaired in many diferent ways, and in my kitchen it usually is.  

[Tux]

I can cook, and fairly well (though nothing compared to my aunts, one of which was a pro caterer and another who is a food writer for a magazine owned by Hearse's publishing empire) according to family and the few friends whom I have had over.  Though I'm limited in the sort of dishes that I can cook since I've only really dealt with sectioned poultry (just breasts, thighs, legs) and not the entire bird.  I can cook Chinese stirfry and I can make pasta.  I can also grille steaks and chicken and I can bake (or rather I could bake if it weren't for the fact that my oven is broken at the moment and that the convection toaster oven isn't large enough for baking sheets).

Of course most of what I cook isn't terribly fancy looking (stir fry dishes tend not to look fancy), but it makes up for that in taste.  Oh and garlic is my friend (you wouldn't believe how much it helps liven up ground meat). ^_^

[St Stephan]

I wanted to reply when Palomine started this thread (unfortunately I let it slide) because what I had that evening was...stuffed breast [now can we move this to an on-topic forum? ].  OK, broiled chicken breast stuffed with shallots, parsley, chopped breast meat, served on rice with a sauce of the same ingredients, plus bacon, in cream and white wine.  Good?  You bet!  But I didn't cook it.

Yesterday, New Year's Eve, I cooked steak au poivre, simple and delicious, as long as you like black pepper.  Anyone want the recipe, just ask.

0 ( _{( o} ^! < J
Thanks & a tip of the halo to Tom Taylor for drawing my avatar - now with almonds animation.    

[Zasha]

Hi Ryee!  Where've you been?

[MunchWolf]

I got to cook tonight .. woowee ... course it was just fondue ... (you know .. swiss and white wine melted in a pot) ... traditionally we do that last night (NYE) ... btu .. we were out watching mimes (don't ask) ...

Did you know Gruyere is twelve dollars a pound !!!!?  Damn ... New York Strip isn't even that much ... I'ld rather spend the money on a nice steak to cook up then some fancy swiss ... actually .. I'ld go for a porterhouse first ... mmmm ...

-Munch "never get a t-bone at an IHOP" Wolf  

[MunchWolf]

Got to cook again tonight ... made a simple pasta dish ... it was bow-tie noodles with stuffed shells ... some meatablls ... a veggie sauce (some of the family is veggie .. some carny) ... and garlic bread ...

And for dessert ... chocolate chip cookies (with walnuts) ...

-Munch "iron chef" Wolf

[Palomine]

There are some carny folks in your family?

[MunchWolf]

Well .. there's the bearded lady (we call her mom) ... and the freak (me) ... and ... hey wait .. maybe I ment Carnie? ... or should I have said Vore?

-Munch "Not that we eat live animals or nuttin" Wolf

[Zasha]

Um..Not to be picayunish or anything, but what exactly is Swiss wine?  And aren't wines already liquid?  Why would you melt them?

-Zasha "the only 'white' wine I know about is 'lightning'" Kryschenyi

[MunchWolf]

swiss CHEESE and white wine ... ya know .. fondue is a melted cheese thing ... Gruyere swiss is the recommended brand ... but screw that ...

-Munch "Pbth" Wolf

[Catch]

Lasagna, garlic bread, and celery stuffed with salsa.

[Tux]

Oven fried chicken (it involves breading the chicken, frying it, then baking it), asparogus, and potatos.  Pretty tasty.

[homevintner]

    There hasn't been much cooking, or for that matter, eating dinner around here for a while. I spent a few days with the crud that's going around. That, and my wife and I haven't been on the same schedule much lately. Last night she made a ham and noodle dish(and I brown bagged it for lunch today). Tonight will be carry out pizza and salad from a place that's been in business under the same owner since the 40's, so you know it's good stuff.
    The last time I cooked I grilled bacon wrapped venison steaks, served with home made applesauce, green beans, and garlic biscuits.  

[Zasha]

AAAUUUGGGHHH!!!!

I MUST stop reading this thread!!

I want to eat all this stuff!!!

[MunchWolf]

I made more cookies tonight ... and some wild rice to go with chili ...

-Munch "What's wrong with food?" Wolf

[Zasha]

My hubby and I only allow ourselves one night per week to not eat clean...We both drink a lot of Corona (and not the foo-foo light stuff, either); it's my constant cheat, so I have to eat extra clean all of the time to make up for it.

We often eat out on that night, or he'll fix up something extra special yummy (good thing HE can cook...).

Bacon wrapped venison steaks...*whimper*  

[homevintner]

Good food, like good times, is meant to be shared with good friends.  

[Catch]

I know it has something to do with a diet regimen, but what exactly is this "eating clean".

BTW made bacon and egg salad and hour ago. Must buy more onions!

[Zasha]

Eating "clean" essentially means none of Munchie's cookies, chips, crackers, almost all processed foods, etc.

The cornerstone of clean food is FRESH veggies, fruits and meats that are prepared in my (ok, my hubby's) kitchen.  How fresh do you think the lettuce is at your local restaurant?

As I am not a believer in the "low-carb" diet, I have to pay strict attention to my fat intake, as well (a severe curtailing of most pork, for example).  I work too much and too hard to deprive my body of the required carbohydrates to perform.  (The "low-carb" diet, oversimplified, is the theory that fat clings to carbohydrate, so if one's carb intake is down, one can consume more fat and not have it solubolize and accumulate)  And I have to keep the protein level cranked to build and maintain muscle.

Yawning, yet?  

[MunchWolf]

Hey ... my cookies are fresh and clean ... I make em from scratch .. no mixes here ...

-Munch "I had thought for a sec it was the Fight Club definition of 'clean' food" Wolf

[Tux]

Just don't have that lobster bisque!

Anyway, last night was pinapple chicken and broccoli beef.  Ah and I played a few rounds of DDR at my friend's house, so I feel a tad better about myself (well I at least got about 30-45 minutes of slightly anaerobic activity and had fun, so it's all good).

As for what I'm going to have tonight, I'm not sure since we're taking my mother out to dinner.

[Ryee_Whiskee]

Hiya Zasha...Hard drive problems, then Hard drive problems, then my EverQuest account was hacked, then working on comp with my bestest buddy, then...well suffice it say I have been busy.  Thanx for the welcome back!  

Hmm last night I ate Pizza with 2 wings, and later I finally hit into my antipasta...umm umm!  I was happy, then I worked on my guilds Message board and fell to sleep while doing it.    

[Tux]

Ah, O.K., went out for a family birthday and ate salad greens with smoked salmon & olives and had duck with cranberry sauce of sorts.  For dessert I had tiramisu.

[Scarab]

A bowl of AppleJacks cereal



-Scarab