May, 2019 What's in the kitchen?

I don't know.....maybe I'll thaw one of the marinated steaks.

Or maybe not.

Or we'll go out. Or just not eat.......nah, that's not an option.

Whatever I make for dinner, it has to be better than those carbon disks we had last night. I am still chipping away at the burnt on cheese on my stone.

I've been eating out so much lately, I have to go through my fridge and throw some stuff out. Am going to make a stirfry with veggies, and I have some frozen mixed seafood to defrost.

Bugster2 wrote:Whatever I make for dinner, it has to be better than those carbon disks we had last night. I am still chipping away at the burnt on cheese on my stone.

Sorry you didn't have any luck with the method you used.  I went back through my files and came across some pics of when I made pizza on my gas grill.  Maybe the pictures will help you get your desired result. I'm impressed with ME! These pics are from April, 2014.

The pizza dough ready to be pressed & formed on non-stick foil. Toppings were sauce, onions, green olives & thinly sliced fresh mozzarella.




The pizza crusts getting their first pre-cook on the grill. When lightly browned I brought them back into the house to turn over and add the sauce, toppings & cheese. Then back to the grill to brown & crisp up the bottom and melt the cheese.




When done (it doesn't take long on a hot gas grill) I brought them in and let them cool slightly on a rack so the bottoms didn't get soggy.




Supper was served!

bethk wrote:

Bugster2 wrote:Whatever I make for dinner, it has to be better than those carbon disks we had last night. I am still chipping away at the burnt on cheese on my stone.

Sorry you didn't have any luck with the method you used.  I went back through my files and came across some pics of when I made pizza on my gas grill.  Maybe the pictures will help you get your desired result.  I'm impressed with ME!  These pics are from April, 2014.

The pizza dough ready to be pressed & formed on non-stick foil.  Toppings were sauce, onions, green olives & thinly sliced fresh mozzarella.




The pizza crusts getting their first pre-cook on the grill.  When lightly browned I brought them back into the house to turn over and add the sauce, toppings & cheese.  Then back to the grill to brown & crisp up the bottom and melt the cheese.




When done (it doesn't take long on a hot gas grill) I brought them in and let them cool slightly on a rack so the bottoms didn't get soggy.




Supper was served!

Those look a heck of a lot better than my pizzas. Do you know how hot your grill was? Mine was 700 degrees. I guess next time I will only let it get up to 450 or 500.

Bugster2 wrote:




Those look a heck of a lot better than my pizzas. Do you know how hot your grill was? Mine was 700 degrees. I guess next time I will only let it get up to 450 or 500.

I'm sure it was in the 500° area.....those thermometers on the grill never last for me so I'm not sure. But when you put the dough on the hot grates you drop the flames down to just one far away burner and close the lid so it's like an oven. You don't want flames underneath to burn the dough. When you take the pre-baked crusts in to finish them you can relight the burners to medium and keep the lid down to get the inside temp back up to baking temperature. I've not had a lot of luck trying to cook on a hot stone on my grill. The one time I attempted my baking stone cracked in half.....either too hot or too extreme of temperatures when I opened the grill. I used those two halves for another year in my kitchen oven by just pushing the sides back together. I'm so cheap! LOL

It's a learning process but this works for me.

I did thaw out one of the London Broils that I have marinated in the freezer. I really love the way the marinate really flavors the meat as it thaws. Before I grill I always drain well, dry with a few layers of paper towels and then put on some oil so it doesn't stick to the grill. There's honey in the marinate so that can really make it stick. I think Ina still oils her grill grates instead of the food and it drives me nuts.

Of course she has someone else available to scrub her grill! LOL

Potatoes pre-cooked in the microwave and then finished up on the grill. Penzey spice blend on the buttered green beans and Grandma's Everyday Salad.

Niagara Visitor wrote:Not much cooking going on in my house.  Busy with sister and medical appointments, and just "Hanging out."  Her cancer has spread to her pelvis.

So sorry, Lore. Prayers still headed your way.

bethk wrote:

Bugster2 wrote:Whatever I make for dinner, it has to be better than those carbon disks we had last night. I am still chipping away at the burnt on cheese on my stone.

Sorry you didn't have any luck with the method you used.  I went back through my files and came across some pics of when I made pizza on my gas grill.  Maybe the pictures will help you get your desired result.  I'm impressed with ME!  These pics are from April, 2014.

The pizza dough ready to be pressed & formed on non-stick foil.  Toppings were sauce, onions, green olives & thinly sliced fresh mozzarella.





The pizza crusts getting their first pre-cook on the grill.  When lightly browned I brought them back into the house to turn over and add the sauce, toppings & cheese.  Then back to the grill to brown & crisp up the bottom and melt the cheese.




When done (it doesn't take long on a hot gas grill) I brought them in and let them cool slightly on a rack so the bottoms didn't get soggy.




Supper was served!

What temperature? and grill cover closed??
The first time I cooked pizza grill, I just put the dough and toppings in the pan ( 16 inch dia, ) but had to be very careful, because it browns very quickly. 500 F

Tonight was meatloaf. I have a recipe where you sprinkle some grated cheddar on the meat at the very end of cooking. Somehow, I managed to touch the rack with the bag of grated cheese and it melted open. I had melted cheese all over my oven door and floor. Hell of a mess.

Bugster2 wrote:Tonight was meatloaf. I have a recipe where you sprinkle some grated cheddar on the meat at the very end of cooking. Somehow, I managed to touch the rack with the bag of grated cheese and it melted open. I had melted cheese all over my oven door and floor. Hell of a mess.

Alas, Debbie, it sounds like you didn't remove the meatloaf to the stove top before trying to pour on grated cheese from the bag. Like I learned long ago, and which took Brian a lot longer than me to learn, those kind of "shortcuts" always end up taking a lot longer once you factor in what CAN go wrong, what WILL go wrong, and the time it takes to clean up the mess that will probably happen!  

We had cheeseburgers the other night with some fresh ground beef 80/20, which to me is the perfect mix for burgers.

I made a different pasta salad to go with the burgers. I cooked 12 oz. of good quality fusilli and dumped in almost 16 oz. of olive salad (the BEST, as it was from Central Grocery). I was going to strain it and use the extra olive oil if I had to but once the olive salad was room temp, I just dumped it all in as there wasn't a whole lot of extra oil showing in the jar. I added some really nice pitted Kalamata olives that I got at a super olive bar in our local grocery, Rouses. (They have lots of different condiments and salads using those condiments, like marinated mushrooms, pickled onion slices and roasted garlic. They also have several different really yummy kinds of imported olives, mostly in types of olive oil salads. All delicious.

I stirred in a zested and juiced lemon, a bit less than 1/4 lb. of sliced salami that I cut into strips, and the same amount of cubed pepper cheese and strips of Provolone. I added some red pepper flakes and then seasoned with Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Rather than add too much salt, I added a bit more lemon juice. I didn't want to rinse the pasta so I just stirred it in the big strainer for a bit with a wooden spoon to cool it down. But it was still warm when I added the rest of the stuff and after sitting for only 20 minutes for the flavors to meld, it was divine. Though I liked it room temp or warm, it was really good ice cold out the fridge, too, as we had leftovers. We still have a bit left so I'm going to add some green onions and some garlic chives into this afternoon and freshen up the flavor with some lemon juice and a little oregano and basil -- yum.

Crybaby wrote:

Bugster2 wrote:Tonight was meatloaf. I have a recipe where you sprinkle some grated cheddar on the meat at the very end of cooking. Somehow, I managed to touch the rack with the bag of grated cheese and it melted open. I had melted cheese all over my oven door and floor. Hell of a mess.

Alas, Debbie, it sounds like you didn't remove the meatloaf to the stove top before trying to pour on grated cheese from the bag. Like I learned long ago, and which took Brian a lot longer than me to learn, those kind of "shortcuts" always end up taking a lot longer once you factor in what CAN go wrong, what WILL go wrong, and the time it takes to clean up the mess that will probably happen!  

I knew better, but I was lazy.

Crybaby wrote:We had cheeseburgers the other night with some fresh ground beef 80/20, which to me is the perfect mix for burgers.

I made a different pasta salad to go with the burgers. I cooked 12 oz. of good quality fusilli and dumped in almost 16 oz. of olive salad (the BEST, as it was from Central Grocery). I was going to strain it and use the extra olive oil if I had to but once the olive salad was room temp, I just dumped it all in as there wasn't a whole lot of extra oil showing in the jar. I added some really nice pitted Kalamata olives that I got at a super olive bar in our local grocery, Rouses. (They have lots of different condiments and salads using those condiments, like marinated mushrooms, pickled onion slices and roasted garlic. They also have several different really yummy kinds of imported olives, mostly in types of olive oil salads. All delicious.

I stirred in a zested and juiced lemon, a bit less than 1/4 lb. of sliced salami that I cut into strips, and the same amount of cubed pepper cheese and strips of Provolone. I added some red pepper flakes and then seasoned with Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Rather than add too much salt, I added a bit more lemon juice. I didn't want to rinse the pasta so I just stirred it in the big strainer for a bit with a wooden spoon to cool it down. But it was still warm when I added the rest of the stuff and after sitting for only 20 minutes for the flavors to meld, it was divine. Though I liked it room temp or warm, it was really good ice cold out the fridge, too, as we had leftovers. We still have a bit left so I'm going to add some green onions and some garlic chives into this afternoon and freshen up the flavor with some lemon juice and a little oregano and basil -- yum.

That's what I always refer to as a 'SUPER SUPPER SALAD'! You had all the food groups included in one big bowl. And I would have chowed down with you because I just KNOW you would have left the cheese in big enough pieces that I could pick 'em out.....LOL

Our supper tonight was braised......Braised Pork Steak, Ms. Tina's Braised Potatoes & Onions, (Dane's favorite) Lima Beans and the rest of the bag of Broccoli Slaw with the Ramen Noodles, etc. and the Oriental Dressing.

Pork chops braized with potatoes carrots and peppers.
Yellow rice for an added starch.

I separate the bones and cook them with the tender meat.
I'm a bone eater. woof woof!

Leftover tortellini casserole tonight.

I just read about the latest lethal, legal brew. People are buying bags of poppy seeds (the kind you might have on your spice rack). They are making a tea/brew out of them with water. Apparently this "tea" is loaded with opiates from the seeds and people are overdosing on the stuff. Who'da thunk?

Joe is trying to grow pumpkins this year. We'll see.

I had some marinara with a bit of meat in the freezer and let the jar thaw in a bowl of cool water for most of the afternoon. I knew Dane would want to have something along with pasta, like a vegetable, to lighten up his carb count so I decided to have the roasted beans & mushrooms ~ man, I really love the way my new convection option roasts and browns a sheet pan of vegetables. The beans were blanched and I cut them into smaller pieces and thick cut most of a package of crimini mushrooms ~ a bit of olive oil, sprinkle of s&p and on a foil covered sheet pan to roast at 450° of screaming hot blowing air for about 12 - 15 minutes, tossing once.

The pasta I used was some I must have picked up on a shopping trip out of town ~ it's an imported from Italy Pappardelle Rigate (wide noodles with lines). It said to cook for 9-11 minutes but I let it go for a good 18-20 and it was still firm.....probably not as al dente as some like, but still firm to the tooth, as they say.

I chopped about 4 of the mushrooms to saute in a bit of butter to add to the marinara ~ kind of a 'meat fake-out'. I really don't care for much meat, not even in marinara. But, hey, to each their own.

Boring! Boring! Boring.....day

It's been raining off and on most of the afternoon. I suppose I should be happy the raindrops held off until after our weekly Ladies' Luncheon, but rainy days are just so...……..boring!

So I wasn't really inspired to do much for supper. I had thawed out some boneless chicken thighs and couldn't come up with anything new or exciting so I just chunked them up and gave them a light brown in some oil & butter and then a quick and light glaze.

Fried up some zucchini & onions and baked a sweet potato.

Boring......yeah, BORING!

Finally made a dinner for myself at home, after so many days of eating out. I pan fried two lovely Ocean Perch fillets, and made a great salad of yellow pepper, radishes, snap peas, onion, tomatoes and feta cheese. I was afraid that I had forgotten how to make a meal, but I guess it's like riding a bicycle. LOL

I saw a list of new cookbooks, picked out some that I though would be interesting and let Charlie narrow it down to two.  The first recipe we tried was not good.  This one was better. It is a Thai recipe with tempura fried chicken thighs and an orange sweet sour sauce.   Charlie went to a Korean store and brought home some cucumber Kimchi and kim bob which we had with the chicken.

NormM wrote:I saw a list of new cookbooks, picked out some that I though would be interesting and let Charlie narrow it down to two.  The first recipe we tried was not good.  This one was better. It is a Thai recipe with tempura fried chicken thighs and an orange sweet sour sauce.   Charlie went to a Korean store and brought home some cucumber Kimchi and kim bob which we had with the chicken.

Norm, I read on your blog how you made your chicken coating. Did you do a shallow fry in oil or a deep fat fry? I can never seem to get the crisp I like on the chicken. Yours looks yummy!