December 2017, What's for Dinner ?

So far today I have thrown away about half of what i made. By throw away, I mean squashed down and started over.

Like I said, have FUN playing with your clay! LOL

You'll get 'IT' back ~ it's just like riding a bike ((which, by the way, I wouldn't suggest you try, especially if you're cold enough for ice already this year.......))

I tried riding a bike again a few years ago. I was pretty wobbly on that too. And it was a lot harder to go up hill too.

Today I was going to make my own beef demi-glace but Joe nixed the idea. Said he didn't want to smell it for 2 days. So I think I need to buy a portable induction burner for those "stinky" days and cook outside. What I am not sure about is brand. I have been looking at the NuWave, Duxtop and Secura. They range from 1300w to 1800w. I am not sure if that makes much of a difference if I am just simmering for hours. Do any of you own a portable induction burner?

Bugster2 wrote:Today I was going to make my own beef demi-glace but Joe nixed the idea. Said he didn't want to smell it for 2 days. So I think I need to buy a portable induction burner for those "stinky" days and cook outside. What I am not sure about is brand. I have been looking at the NuWave, Duxtop and Secura. They range from 1300w to 1800w. I am not sure if that makes much of a difference if I am just simmering for hours. Do any of you own a portable induction burner?

DD doesn't have a portable one, but has one on her electric range.
She likes it, but still would love to have gas. The only thing, is it needs a pot with metal bottom to work the electronics....

Let me check with Grandma Evelyn ....I think she bought one last year.

Thanks Jimmy. It is one of those things I will only use once or twice a year. It will be great when I am boiling up the turkey carcass. Keep the smell outside.

No supper tonight....well, HE'S having leftovers of some sort.

Today was Ladies' Movie & Lunch day.....ended up being a really late movie. Had lunch at 1:00 and had to wait until 3:45 for the movie. We saw 'Wonder'....a do-gooder, feel-good movie. We ladies in the neighborhood don't like sad or scary movies so we don't go as often as we did in the past.

But we never skip lunch!

LOL

Oh, my, Imelda.....I'll have a big bowl of your slaw, please. It's so colorful and fresh looking!

I wish, now, I had picked up some of the little Thai chili peppers when I was at the Oriental Market in Orlando last week. I was rushed when there, just going in to get a couple bottles of the Korean BBQ Sauce I like so much. Well, that and the kabocha squash I did pick up in the produce section.....

I really need to plan better to have more time to walk through the store, although, truth-be-told, I would absolutely love to go with someone who could translate some of the labels which are in a language foreign to me. I cannot even figure out what it is from the picture on the label or what it would be used for.

I still have one Meyer Lemon on my window sill and five or six hanging on the tree. I have got to think of something to do with them soon, although I'm waiting for Andrea and her family to get here for Christmas in hopes they will want to take them home with them. I have a quart of juice in the freezer from the first 'crop' that fell off the tree and I can always thaw that out to make some Lemon Pudding Cakes (oh, so yummy) or the Lemon Cornmeal Cake......as well as a big pitcher of fresh lemonade.

First snow of the season is definately griddled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup supper!

How was your steak supper? I know Tina wanted her French Toast but was nice enough to stop for a steak for you. It's nice to be able to make whatever each wants without it being a huge inconvenience. At least I don't mind once in a while.

Of course, other times I'm just not in the mood and it's a "Take-It-Or-Leave-It" sort of night.....

Hopefully we'll be having my pork Banh Mi Sandwiches tonight. We went out for a big breakfast so it'll be our only other meal of the day.

Tomorrow we're going out with two other couples to have an early holiday celebration.

bethk wrote:Oh, my, Imelda.....I'll have a big bowl of your slaw, please.  It's so colorful and fresh looking!

I wish, now, I had picked up some of the little Thai chili peppers when I was at the Oriental Market in Orlando last week.  I was rushed when there, just going in to get a couple bottles of the Korean BBQ Sauce I like so much.  Well, that and the kabocha squash I did pick up in the produce section.....

I really need to plan better to have more time to walk through the store, although, truth-be-told, I would absolutely love to go with someone who could translate some of the labels which are in a language foreign to me.  I cannot even figure out what it is from the picture on the label or what it would be used for.

I still have one Meyer Lemon on my window sill and five or six hanging on the tree.  I have got to think of something to do with them soon, although I'm waiting for Andrea and her family to get here for Christmas in hopes they will want to take them home with them.  I have a quart of juice in the freezer from the first 'crop' that fell off the tree and I can always thaw that out to make some Lemon Pudding Cakes (oh, so yummy) or the Lemon Cornmeal Cake......as well as a big pitcher of fresh lemonade.  

We have a large Asian and middle eastern population out here and we have the grocery stores. It is such a treat to go into one. We call them the "Mystery Markets" because we have no idea what we are looking at because, as you said, the labels are in a foreign language. The Asian markets have these huge tanks full of lobsters, crabs, fish, clams, oysters and baby abalone. You can't get any fresher than that. The produce is also mysterious and exotic. There is some kind of fruit that looks like a giant blowfish with spines all over it. Kimchi? you wouldn't believe the selection. And dumplings!
At the middle eastern market there is a line of people waiting to buy a three foot long piece of some flatbread that they make right in front of you. They give it to you on a piece of brown paper and you hang it over the handle of your shopping cart to cool. I watch them making the dough. It actually looks rather slimy and slick like a half cooked egg white. It sure tastes good though. It is used as a wrap to hold meats and vegetables.

bethk wrote:First snow of the season is definately griddled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup supper!

How was your steak supper?  I know Tina wanted her French Toast but was nice enough to stop for a steak for you.  It's nice to be able to make whatever each wants without it being a huge inconvenience.  At least I don't mind once in a while.

Of course, other times I'm just not in the mood and it's a "Take-It-Or-Leave-It" sort of night.....

Hopefully we'll be having my pork Banh Mi Sandwiches tonight.  We went out for a big breakfast so it'll be our only other meal of the day.

Tomorrow we're going out with two other couples to have an early holiday celebration.

The steak was a Strip Steak; dry cured. It was tough, and chewy.
Tasty, but not tender. Even Tina agreed after she tasted it.
I made it medium too!

Must have been a New York strip steak. A Kansas City Strip would always be tender.

NormM wrote:Must have been a New York strip steak. A Kansas City Strip would always be tender.

Norm, Kansas or New York would never have that steak on the shelf.
I think it came from a water buffalo that was lying in the river in Zimbabwe
fighting off buzzards as it lay in distress.....

Tonight was (finally) the Pork Bahn Mi Sandwiches. I started the vegetables in the pickling mixture three days ago and got distracted with other meals and going out. But they were fine and still crispy ~ nice and tasty sweetly pickled vegetables ....... carrots, celery, cucumber, onion & radish ~ all sliced or cut in a fine julienne.

The meat was the leftover (and frozen for a bit) cranberry bbq pork. I scraped most of the sauce off the sliced meat before I cut it into a julienne to reheat with a bit of water just to keep it moist. It was surprisingly tasty.

The buns were store bakery sub buns and I pulled some of the bread out of the top bun so there was room for lots of the pickled vegetables. I toasted them in the toaster oven so the ingredients woudn't soak into the bread too much. Then I added some mayo (yes, REAL mayo for a change) and shredded lettuce. Dane's sandwich got some sliced fresh jalapeno on his, mine did not.

All in all, it was a very tasty 'left over' meal. The kind of leftovers I like, tasted nothing at all like the original meal!

That looks really tasty Beth.

Joe, Katie and a couple other women at going to the winter sawdust Festival and then out to dinner. I am battling an infection and the antibiotics are making me feel puny so I stayed home.
We are still burning out here. 83 degrees during the day.The winds have stopped but the humidity is around 3%. I am itching like crazy even after taking a grease bath.
Dinner for me will be a leftover burger. I ground my own meat and made my own mix of sirloin, chuck and brisket. Pretty good. Not too greasy or dry.
I ran across a cookie recipe that both Katie and Joe loved. Made out of a Funfetti cake mix and rolled in sprinkles. It has white and chocolate chips in it. Katie doesn't like dark chocolate so I will mix up another batch of just white chips for her. I freeze most of the dough and just pull out what I need.

12.10.2017.....
Dinner was a griddled cheese and tomato for Tina.
A cheeseburger with tomato and mayo on white toast for me!

Pulled out the makings for spaghetti tonight. I saw a recipe for a bread where you score a round loaf, butter, garlic and mozzarella in the slits and baked. Gonna give that a try tonight.
Another warm day today: in the mid eighties. Not Christmas weather at all. Those poor people in Santa Barbara may not have a Christmas at all. The fires are going to keep the schools closed until January. If I was a kid, I would be thrilled. I have several friends that have had to leave. I hope they don't lose their homes. Fortunately, one has gone to her parent's house in Brentwood, so she doesn't have to stay in a hotel or try and find a hotel. Another friend of mine got a call from the assisted living facility where her father (who has Alzheimer's) at 1AM. They told her to come and get him because they had to evacuate. She lived two hours away. She ended up finding a room for her father and his caregiver 50 miles away from the assisted living facility. What a pain, but at least he is safe.

Bugster2 wrote:Pulled out the makings for spaghetti tonight. I saw a recipe for a bread where you score a round loaf, butter, garlic and mozzarella in the slits and baked. Gonna give that a try tonight.
Another warm day today: in the mid eighties. Not Christmas weather at all. Those poor people in Santa Barbara may not have a Christmas at all. The fires are going to keep the schools closed until January. If I was a kid, I would be thrilled. I have several friends that have had to leave. I hope they don't lose their homes. Fortunately, one has gone to her parent's house in Brentwood, so she doesn't have to stay in a hotel or try and find a hotel. Another friend of mine got a call from the assisted living facility where her father (who has Alzheimer's) at 1AM. They told her to come and get him because they had to evacuate. She lived two hours away. She ended up finding a room for her father and his caregiver 50 miles away from the assisted living facility. What a pain, but at least he is safe.

Those poor people that will lose their homes. The winds are the fans of the fire.
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Spaghetti sounds good for here too! We have the sauce and meatballs from the other day.

The electricity is out in at least half of the kitchen. It is a revelation how late it is when the sun comes up enough to light the kitchen and how soon it gets dark. We have a light switch in the dining room that is wonky. First it isn't a regular switch. It has a night light built in and it does not turn off unless you hit it extra hard or twice and the light it turns on has flickered lately. I went to replace it but all the wires are black, not green, red and white. So I decided to get an electrician to replace it. When I put the wires back in the switch and turned the breaker back on, all the electricity on that circuit was off including the microwave. Half the outlets in this room, the dining room lights and a lot of the kitchen are out and an electrician won't get here until Wed. It has been out since Friday. We have been making sandwiches by the light of a lantern since then.