October, 2017.....What's for dinner?

Crybaby wrote:

NormM wrote:I baked some bread today. Last time the second loaf got moldy before we got to it so I did one loaf and put the dough for the other one in the freezer.

You are a BREAD MASTER, Norm!  You wouldn't have any bread going moldy if we were around.  Brian adores bread and would eat it at every meal if I let him.  

Am curious -- did you use the convection feature or just used the regular oven?!  

This loaf was baked in a Cuisinart Steam Oven. I have not used the convection oven on my new stove yet. When Beth mentioned Pete, I knew who she was talking about but I could not remember his name. All I could remember was that he was that old goat who was always talking about survivor stuff.

UNCLE JIMMY wrote:
That's like with me! I wake up; sit at the counter, check the bank for what was paid, and before I even have that first sip of coffee, Tina is saying,"What do you want for supper hon?" I'm like,"Paleeze!!!" Let Me wake up. LOL I'll admit though, I drop the same question on her sometimes.

I know what you mean, Jimmy. My father used to ask what we wanted for the next meal WHILE WE WERE EATING one meal -- it used to drive my mom crazy, too, as it just made her feel gluttonous, I think. Brian did it to me for a while until I shut that down right away -- I got him laughing about how ridiculous it was as I told him I couldn't enjoy one meal without him bringing up another one!

He, too, tried it first thing in the morning for a while. I got him to stop THAT just by shooting him a look that could wither a vine -- something anyone seems to be able to muster up first thing in the morning!

Norm wrote:When Beth mentioned Pete, I knew who she was talking about but I could not remember his name. All I could remember was that he was that old goat who was always talking about survivor stuff.

The "old goat" crack had me laughing, Norm, as I remember many members of the forum referring to him in that fashion.  I remember asking him and that Bob the Chef or whatever he called himself to take their political Nazi type talk to private email as I found it offensive.  That old goat said something like, "Why would breadmaking be offending you?" and went on and on down that tangent on a ridiculous rant about what a jerk I was to be offended by bread making.  It was all I could do not to rail away at him as though he sounded nuts on a regular basis, he was about as nuts as a fox.

I don't know if you remember, Norm, but you were one of the several men on that forum who stood up for me back then when that Chef Bob or Chef Whatever and the old goat attacked me online after I objected to their really nasty comments they were all of a sudden making openly about people not like them.  I never forget a favor and you've done a couple or three for me over the years.  You're such a good man that you probably don't even remember, as you probably just do it as a matter of course.  I've thanked you over the years but please accept my thanks again!      

Since today is Monday, it could be pan fried cod for supper......why? you ask...

because MONDAY is trash day and I know I can place all the stinky fish stuff in the trash and it'll go out and I won't have to smell it in the can. I do sometimes put stinky trash in a sealed bag in the freezer but it usually gets forgotten until a month later!

I picked up some green beans today when I stopped for the fish ~ they only had the pre-trimmed in a bag kind (the fresh looked like they had been sitting in the sun for 3 days off the plant). Thank heavens I don't cook them 'in the bag' in the microwave. These were well past prime. I tried to trim them, which made me angry because I paid a premium for ready to cook, but after I cooked them I took one taste and knew we wouldn't be eating them with our meal.

So, it was panko crusted pan fried cod and cast iron pan seared yukon gold potatoes.

Since I had a nice 9 oz. piece for Dane he was OK with no veg for a change.

Niagara Visitor wrote:Seeing the pictures of all that bread surely makes me want to get out the yeast, flour etc. and start kneading something.  I made some really good breadsticks a while ago.  I am going to my uncle's 85 th. b-day party next week.  Family will be going out for dinner, after that friends and neighbours will come for drinks and finger type snacks.  I think I'll break out that breadstick recipe and make some more.  They were fun to make.  Tomorrow will be baking day!  

My version of "breadsticks" is made with puff pastry cut into strips about 1/2 to 3/4-inch wide, pressed into a plate with some grated parmesan or Romano cheese mixed with a bit of minced parsley and, then twisted into "twists" with only the ends pressed down on the baking sheet as you lined them up so they don't unroll. I used to bake them in a really hot oven until golden. Once they cooled, I would stick them in little jars or vase-like vessels I had on hand all over the places people wandered when we entertained -- they made the best party snack and are luscious with a cocktail or a glass of wine, Champagne or Prosecco! I haven't made those in years, Lore, but Brian will thank me 'cause he loves 'em!

Cookingirl wrote:I am loading up on all my favorite food, especially chewy stuff. I am having some dental surgery on the 30th.. I will be eating oatmeal, Pastina macaroni, ice cream, smoothies, and pudding for a few weeks... along with chicken broth and soup...

Hope it goes well, Cindy, as it's no fun for sure having anything done involving a dentist, particularly a dental surgeon. I've been neglecting my visits for several years to a periodontist who'd done some gum and bone surgery for me. It didn't hurt (that was a first for me) but I just hate anyone working in my mouth. But I've got to go soon and get one of those deep cleanings. Used to be over $600 so I can only imagine what it's up to these days...

Take it easy and enjoy your soft foods as best you can!

Thanks Michelle.

Beth you reminded me that my mom used to double wrap and freeze garbage so it would not smell until the garbage man was a long way away.

PS Michelle, were you talking about BBailly? His name was Bob and I think he was friends with Tourist. Now that was one opinionated guy.

bethk wrote:It's good to have you back, Michelle!  I just knew you were still in the middle of 'the remodeling horror' and would check back when you had the energy.

And I agree you'll either have to go out and get a 'smart phone' with a camera or pull some stranger off the street to come in and take pics to share as soon as it's all over.  Inquiring minds want to know!!!

Believe it or not, I bought an expensive camera just about a year ago and it's still in the box.  I've GOT to get it out and start using it, as it is Wi-Fi capable and would send pics to your phone automatically so I figured I could get it to send them to my laptop, too.  I'm going to make an effort to get it out and learn to use it.  Hope the battery I did put in when I got it is still good (stupid grin)!

***************

bethk wrote:No cooking last night.  We were over at Lyn & Bill's discussing our upcoming trip to Myrtle Beach, SC and all went out for burgers after our planning session.  We had a planned trip to Hilton Head Island when Irma hit and that got cancelled.  Lyn got a call that their Marriott Time Share would honor their 'lost' week IF they found something they liked to use before the end of the year.  She found the condo in Myrtle Beach for the end of this month and we all decided it would be a great time.  Dane & Bill will golf for a few days and Lyn & I will find something to amuse ourselves with, I'm sure.  We'll stop on the way back and spend a day & night in Savannah which is a personal favorite for Lyn & me.  

It always amazes me how much we are able to do and see now that we're retired.  I love the fact that we can pack up and go in no time at all.  

I know -- isn't retirement wonderful?  I'm so glad we both lived to enjoy it as we're having a ball.  I've always wanted to go to Savannah, Beth, but have never made it.  Charleston, too. Briand and I have spoken about taking a car trip to one or both down the line...  Can't wait for your trip, as I enjoy hearing about the excursions you and Lyn take!

[/size][/quote]

I must've missed your birthday, Jimmy. Happy Belated Birthday!

And I just had to run that pic again, as that little sweetie gets cuter and cuter!

NormM wrote:Thanks Michelle.

Beth you reminded me that my mom used to double wrap and freeze garbage so it would not smell until the garbage man was a long way away.

PS Michelle,  were you talking about BBailly? His name was Bob and I think he was friends with Tourist.  Now that was one opinionated guy.

YEP, Norm, that was what he called himself!! He seemed to think of himself as an authority on EVERYTHING. No one could tell him anything -- he'd done it, eaten it, cooked it and hell, even invented it. Oh yeah, I remember Tourist, too. Glad we're over here in Niceville now. Thank you, Beth!

Crybaby wrote:
[/size]

I must've missed your birthday, Jimmy.  Happy Belated Birthday!  

And I just had to run that pic again, as that little sweetie gets cuter and cuter![/quote]

Thank you Michelle.

NormM wrote:Thanks Michelle.

Beth you reminded me that my mom used to double wrap and freeze garbage so it would not smell until the garbage man was a long way away.

PS Michelle,  were you talking about BBailly? His name was Bob and I think he was friends with Tourist.  Now that was one opinionated guy.

"B Bally" .... ( Bob Ballantyne )  Catering Chef

OMG .... tourist was the knife sharpener. He was ready for the funny farm.

I got some ox tails at the Asian market last week and made a stew with them today.

Crybaby wrote:

UNCLE JIMMY wrote:
That's like with me! I wake up; sit at the counter, check the bank for what was paid, and before I even have that first sip of coffee, Tina is saying,"What do you want for supper hon?" I'm like,"Paleeze!!!" Let Me wake up. LOL I'll admit though, I drop the same question on her sometimes.

I know what you mean, Jimmy.  My father used to ask what we wanted for the next meal WHILE WE WERE EATING one meal -- it used to drive my mom crazy, too, as it just made her feel gluttonous, I think.  Brian did it to me for a while until I shut that down right away -- I got him laughing about how ridiculous it was as I told him I couldn't enjoy one meal without him bringing up another one!  

He, too, tried it first thing in the morning for a while.  I got him to stop THAT just by shooting him a look that could wither a vine -- something anyone seems to be able to muster up first thing in the morning!

When I used to be in a meal planning rut, I wrote a whole bunch of meals on a piece of paper. Folded each piece a couple of times, threw them all onto a bowl, and after we had finished supper, I'd have hubby pull a piece out of the bowl. That would be what I'd make the next day.

Sounds like a winner~winner dinner, Jimmy. I'll go with Tina on this one and smash up my boiled potatoes and then spoon the sauerkraut and juices over.

You can have the noodles.....be sure to add some chopped parsley so you can say you had your green vegetable!

**************

I've got a pot of marinara going ~ jarred store bought doctored up for my tastes today. I did some fine chopped celery, onion & grated carrot and then browned one 6 oz. burger patty so I had a bit of meat. The jar of sauce got supplimented with a pint of my home-canned tomato juice and a little of this and a little of that out of the pantry Penzey spice supply. I'll let it simmer for a couple hours on the very lowest of heat.

I've got a spaghetti squash cut in half and baking in the oven. That will be my 'noodles'.

Personally, I just like the plain spaghetti squash with butter & s&p but a certain someone else doesn't. So, one time I made it and put the marinara over ~ ~ He loved it.

So, we'll see if the second time works as well.

If he doesn't like it.....I guess he'll have to have cheese & crackers or go hungry.

No more trying to do two meals.

I'm back to the old days when I was a kid: We always had two choices for supper ~ ~

TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT.



Hahahahahahaha

UNCLE JIMMY wrote:

NormM wrote:Thanks Michelle.

Beth you reminded me that my mom used to double wrap and freeze garbage so it would not smell until the garbage man was a long way away.

PS Michelle,  were you talking about BBailly? His name was Bob and I think he was friends with Tourist.  Now that was one opinionated guy.

"B Bally" .... ( Bob Ballantyne )  Catering Chef

OMG .... tourist was the knife sharpener. He was ready for the funny farm.

Yep -- B Bally was another one who joined the old goat in his "gotta have guns to protect the food they're going to try to get from us." It was like the people who were freaking out about Y2K.

I once got in a cab in N.O. to go to the doctor and the idiot cab driver passed me a sheet on how the world was practically going to end 'cause of Y2K! I looked at it, saw what was on it and when I got out, I told him I'd have gotten out once he handed me that stuff except I didn't want to be late for my appointment!

And yes, the lovely Tourist! I read his messages on another site one day making fun of everyone on the Cooking forum -- how he just wanted to promote his knives and how everyone on there was an idiot, and how he was using all of us and how stupid we were to not even realize it. He was even making fun of some of the people who used his services and bought his ridiculously overpriced knives! ''

I remember hearing something on NPR once about how if you're unwilling to admit what you don't know, then a con man immediately knows you're a good mark. My late sister, bless her heart, was such a person. She had done it all, seen it all, eaten it all and like B Bally, invented it all! And yes, I saw her get taken advantage of on several occasions -- not to hear her tell it but to see it with my own eyes. And of course, she immediately severed relationships with those people but it was always too late. And no, she never admitted being conned -- she just didn't have it in her to do so. Most of us would not only admit it, but would want to make sure the next person isn't taken advantage of. I know I wouldn't want someone to make the same mistake I did...

Niagara Visitor wrote:When I used to be in a meal planning rut, I wrote a whole bunch of meals on a piece of paper.  Folded each piece a couple of times, threw them all onto a bowl, and after we had finished supper, I'd have hubby pull a piece out of the bowl.  That would be what I'd make the next day.

At least you waited until the meal was over, Lore!!!

The spaghetti squash and marinara was a hit.

Of course, when he tallied up his calories for the day he found that he had 'under-eaten' and would probably be hungry in an hour.

Too bad - so sad.......

LOL

bethk wrote:The spaghetti squash and marinara was a hit.

Of course, when he tallied up his calories for the day he found that he had 'under-eaten' and would probably be hungry in an hour.

Too bad - so sad.......

LOL

Wow! He even calorie counts. He's one serious guy about that stuff!

Crybaby wrote:

bethk wrote:The spaghetti squash and marinara was a hit.

Of course, when he tallied up his calories for the day he found that he had 'under-eaten' and would probably be hungry in an hour.

Too bad - so sad.......

LOL

Wow!  He even calorie counts.  He's one serious guy about that stuff!  

Yeah....he drives me nuts asking questions about how to spell stuff.....like 'spaghetti' ~ Geeze Louise....look it up!

Then he'll want to know how much he ate. Guess what? I DIDN'T WATCH! OK, so I'm being mean ~ but it's OCD to the nth degree and it drives me nuts.

I don't know if any of this has made the national news yet, but if it hasn't, it soon will be.

There's been a HUGE embarrassing shakeup for chef John Besh and his restaurant group, Besh Restaurant Group (BRG), that hit the paper three days ago and continues to explode every single minute!

https://www.nola.com/business/index.ssf/2017/10/john_besh_restaurants_fostered.html

Not only have two employees filed complaints with the EEOC about sexual harassment, but when the newspaper was researching the story (BEFORE the Harvey Weinstein stuff came out recently), he would ask the women if they knew of other females who would speak to him.  TWENTY-FIVE current and former female employees came forward.  

Evidently, not only was John Besh fooling around with employees, one in particular, but the culture at just about every single restaurant here (he has 12, 2 of which I think are in other states and he's currently working on opening one in Houston or so I've read recently) was outrageous.  Women were treated horribly including grabbing, groping, and listening to all kinds of crap from male employees AND supervisors, but if they complained to other supervisors, it was dismissed as the way things were, or they were asked if they wanted to be a whistleblower, or female managers or supervisors indicated they didn't want to rock the boat.  I was flabbergasted when I heard it, as I like him, I watch his shows and I have one of his cookbooks (it was a gift but I always wanted others of his, as he and his chefs are always winning awards including the coveted James Beard awards).  

But then I heard something I could not believe.  BRG has no Human Resources Department -- none!  I was stunned as I've had HR supervisors you could go to when I worked for businesses as small as 12 or 15 people.  I read yesterday he has 1200 employees -- oh, and yes, they hired a HR person this past October 12 (yep, 12 days ago, and also after Besh, one of his big co-owners (another letch from what I've read and heard on TV in the past couple of days), and his lawyer met with Besh prior to publishing the first story.  

Besh resigned from BRG over the weekend saying he wanted to devote time to his marriage and his family (he has four sons).  I feel terrible for his poor wife. Perhaps she knew something was amiss if she was aware of the EEOC filings but she may not have been.  I sure hope she didn't find out about his affairs (he said it was only one, yeah, right) by being surprised by this article.  

Then yesterday the local PBS station said they would no longer air his shows (he has two that run).  Today PBS said they would pull both Besh shows from ALL the stations they currently run on in the U.S.

I just saw an interview with the reporter who wrote the first story and he said they began investigating this story a while back, long before the
Weinstein stuff hit the airways.  He said more women kept coming forward until it reached 25. He also said the paper has heard from many MORE women since the story broke.

I'm sooo disappointed, as Besh gets a lot of accolades over here for his charitable foundation, his work after Katrina and he's also been doing a lot of good for Houston and other areas, including Puerto Rico, where flooding has occurred due to the recent storm(s).  But you know, all that tends to disappear when you find out his restaurants were run like they were run, all with a wink and a nod from management and owners. I just read that 37% of all EEOC complaints are filed by restaurant workers.  Pretty sad.  And really unacceptable.

Lots of people really liked him, including me. I'm surprised the national media hasn't picked it up yet, especially the gossip shows but I figure we would've seen the ads touting it if it was showing, as that's the kind of teaser they love...

Norm, those look divine!  I love, love, love tacos -- Brian, not so much.  

I would indulge in every single add on you've got out there, too.  Yummy!  I love your squirt sour cream, too.  Perfect for this use and maybe it would make me use less sour cream, which I could certainly stand to do.

Brian just took a peek at this picture and said he would definitely help himself to these -- "what a setup he's got there!" is a direct quote.