What's for Dinner- Part the third

[Arete]

Spaghetti with meatballs and sausages. Generous amount of Romano cheese. Three cheers for Italian-Americans. :D

Cabbage and carrot salad.

I've got several recipes from mynewroots bookmarked for when I start cooking on my own again, RachelB. I'm always on the lookout for tasty vegan recipes.

[RachelB]

:)

The Partner is out of town. I miss him, but this week I am eating all the things I like that he does not. (Asparagus in many forms, celery root, rye bread.)

Last night, I cooked with a friend. We roasted asparagus, dressed it in a lemon-mustard-olive oil sauce, put it on toast, then plopped a poached egg on top of each serving. We chased this with a salad of little green lentils and celery root with hazelnuts and mint. Dessert was fresh strawberries with whipped cream. It was wonderful.

Tonight I'm having leftovers of the salad, to accompany ravioli filled with asparagus, Parmesan, and Meyer lemon zest. Possibly the rest of the strawberries for dessert.

[catlady]

tonight was a rare restaurant night. after a mad dash from work to home (to pick up cousin who can't stay alone for very long due to disability) then to mechanic to drop off car for inspection and brake work--17 miles at rush hour--Mr. catlady got hung up at work and couldn't pick us up as planned. so cousin and I hoofed it 1.5 miles to a cute little Italian restaurant for Sicilian Pizza. it was really good. Mr. catlady met up with us halfway through. the hike made me realize how badly out of shape I got this winter, but the snow's nearly gone so let the dog-walking resume!!

[Arete]

Spring has finally arrived in NJ via California! Tonight was artichoke hearts braised with potatoes, peas, and sliced carrots in an olive oil and lemon juice sauce. Sauce was finished with chopped dill. Bread to make sure no sauce was wasted.

[nerds08]

You all are amazing for having the time to cook such fancy meals!

I'm probably just going to have homemade chicken salad. I had leftovers from a rotisserie chicken I bought at the store, so I just threw that, some mayo, grapes, onion and seasonings together. Smear it on bread with some cheese--voila!

[RachelB]

Yay for spring, AreteJo!

I've got a friend coming over to help me cook and eat dinner tonight. We're making South Indian food-- a sambar with cauliflower in it, a mint chutney, a spicy and coconutty cucumber salad, accompanied by rice and poppadums. She is bringing dessert-- something tropical fruity.

[Arete]

Nerda08, to tell the truth, my great aunt has been supplying my dinner these last 3 months since an accident required surgery and major rehab for me. I am being supplied directly from her family menu, God bless her. She would, however, laugh at the description of her meals as fancy. With the exception of Sunday dinner where fancy is sort of required, her cooking is very much traditional Greek village/peasant cooking. :mrgreen:

[Arete]

Potato, broccoli, and cheese frittata. Salad of sautéed Swiss chard, avocado, and roasted red peppers. Bananas and an apple in the fruit bag.

[OkToBeTakei]

Nerda08, to tell the truth, my great aunt has been supplying my dinner these last 3 months since an accident required surgery and major rehab for me. I am being supplied directly from her family menu, God bless her. She would, however, laugh at the description of her meals as fancy. With the exception of Sunday dinner where fancy is sort of required, her cooking is very much traditional Greek village/peasant cooking. :mrgreen:

Which is just heaven to me.

JUST finished booking a wee trip to Crete for October and am already salivating AJ!

In food news, I am currently contemplating nightshift, so in preparation have just made myself the most droolworthy (to me) comfort omelette.

Organic eggs, chestnut , portobello, and porcini mushrooms, with a touch of garlic and fresh parsley. So simple and so yummy. Wholemeal granary seeded toast on the side.

[Quiverfullofit]

Pork with nopales and a little bit of choritzo in a light chili sauce.

[Arete]

OKTBT, Agio Nikola in Crete is one of my favorite places in all Greece, and Cretan women have a well earned and justified fame as some of the finest cooks and "mistresses of the home" in all Greece. Enjoy your trip! :) If you haven't been to Crete before, don't let it's capital of Iraklion put you off. It unfortunately has a well deserved reputation as one of the UGLIEST cities in Greece. By that I mean visually. Don't be disheartened, because the rest of the island is stunning.

Today was kreas vrasto, which is a first cousin to the Italian bolito mixto, or mixed boiled meat. So this was whole chicken, chuck roast, and some sausages simmered in a stock pot with star anise, pepper corn, bay leaf, clove, onion, and some salt. You want lots of broth here. Last 30 minutes you add whole peeled potatoes and carrots. Meat and veg removed and sliced, broth strained. Broth was served as soup course after watercress had been added and simmered. Meat and veg was served as main course after dressing with olive oil, vinegar, capers and parsley. Last year's mixed pickles of green tomato, baby eggplant, carrot and cauliflower on the side. Carrot salad. Tangerines for the finish. I love Sunday dinner.

[Arete]

Pork with nopales and a little bit of choritzo in a light chili sauce.

What are nopales, Quiverfullofit?

[Quiverfullofit]

What are nopales, Quiverfullofit?

Cactus! Prickly Pear Cactus pads.

It's usually served in breakfast plates but also makes an amazing soup.

[RachelB]

I am steaming an artichoke to have along with leftover Sweet Pea, Tarragon, and Pistachio Primavera, Version 4.0 (adapted from a Gray Kunz sweet pea gratin):

3/4 lb. orechiette or other small pasta

1 c. half-and-half

2 c. shelled peas (frozen will do)

3 Tbsp. salted butter, plus extra for noodles

at least 1/4 c. chopped shallots

1 tsp. salt

1 1/2 c. Riesling or other white wine

2/3 c. shelled pistachios, toasted and divided

1/4 c. chopped tarragon

3 Tbsp. chives if you have them (in fact, could use more)

2 c. stemmed and chopped pea shoots (sprouts will also work-- we used sunflower sprouts this time)

Blanch and shock the peas, which will take about two minutes. Drain well.

Melt the butter, then cook the shallots in it until they're translucent. Add the salt. Add the wine, bring it to a boil, and reduce it by a third. Add the half-and-half. Because the half-and-half does not have the fat content of the cream the recipe initially called for, it will curdle when combined with the wine, but do not despair; you'll be fixing that later. If you are using dried tarragon, add it now. Cook it down for a good 15 minutes or so.

Meanwhile, bring a pot of salted water to a boil and add the pasta to it. Cook until al dente.

Grind half the toasted pistachios. (These will help thicken the sauce and help it to adhere to the noodles, while distributing the nut flavor more evenly throughout the pasta.) Add the resulting nut meal to the sauce and blend the heck out of it using an immersion blender. Add the peas to the sauce, plus the pea shoots and chives (along with the tarragon, if you're using fresh tarragon).

Drain the fettucine and toss with a little extra butter (a Tbsp. is probably enough). Combine with sauce. Top with the remaining pistachios at table, plus some Parmesan if you'd like.

[OkToBeTakei]

OKTBT, Agio Nikola in Crete is one of my favorite places in all Greece, and Cretan women have a well earned and justified fame as some of the finest cooks and "mistresses of the home" in all Greece. Enjoy your trip! :) If you haven't been to Crete before, don't let it's capital of Iraklion put you off. It unfortunately has a well deserved reputation as one of the UGLIEST cities in Greece. By that I mean visually. Don't be disheartened, because the rest of the island is stunning.

Today was kreas vrasto, which is a first cousin to the Italian bolito mixto, or mixed boiled meat. So this was whole chicken, chuck roast, and some sausages simmered in a stock pot with star anise, pepper corn, bay leaf, clove, onion, and some salt. You want lots of broth here. Last 30 minutes you add whole peeled potatoes and carrots. Meat and veg removed and sliced, broth strained. Broth was served as soup course after watercress had been added and simmered. Meat and veg was served as main course after dressing with olive oil, vinegar, capers and parsley. Last year's mixed pickles of green tomato, baby eggplant, carrot and cauliflower on the side. Carrot salad. Tangerines for the finish. I love Sunday dinner.

Oh great!!! And good to know about the capital. Off top of my head (at work) I think Analipsi may be where we are at. To be honest Aretejo I have been in Greece so many times over the years you could stick me on a mouldy tent and I would be happy. That even includes the kitchenette up on concrete blocks studio circa 1995 in Faliraki . Even in that tourist nightmare there is ALWAYS fabulous food and hospitality to be found. I suppose i just fell hard at a young age and my passion never dims.

As for dinner I had Basque Chicken which I made last week and portioned and froze so I could cheer myself up on this cold nightshift. I had it with a delicious glass of.... Pomegranate juice :lol: wine of course would be nicer :)

[RachelB]

OKTBT, I have been to Greece only once, but it was memorable, and I long to go again.

Tonight, I'm making huevos rancheros, more or less.

[Arete]

Lentil soup with cheese and bread on the side.

OKTBT,

I was once in Faliraki for about 24 hours. We were going to Rhodes and decided to disobey a direct order from my grandmother, the late, great Madame AreteJo, to avoid Faliraki like the plague. Air of forbidden fruit and all that. Well, we couldn't take the combination of the crowding and the drinking. The drinking, my God! :roll: Who the hell wastes money to go to an island as beautiful as Rhodes to get wasted, be loud, and retch on the walkways? Idiots in their gap year, that's who. We called Athens, confessed to the mess we were in, and within the hour grandma found us 2 different places to evacuate to. We chose to stay with a couple who had a small B&B arrangement built on their property. We would hitch a ride to a central bus stop every morning with the lady half of the couple and would pick a bus and visit a different place every day. The gentleman half made dinner every night for the guests, local ingredients and local recipes. Good times. :D

[Arete]

[align=right][/align]Today was Orthodox Palm Sunday. Greeks get a dispensation on Palm Sunday that allows them to eat cod ( no gilled fish during Orthodox Lent). Specifically dried, salted cod called bacalau. So, fried bacalau with lots of skordalia ( garlic sauce). Braised artichokes. Cabbage and carrot salad. Kiwis and bananas.

[Bethella]

Easter Dinner: Michael Symon's roast leg of lamb, roasted potatoes with lemon dill vinaigrette, tzatziki, and steamed asparagus with deviled (Easter) eggs for an appetizer and a chocolate egg-shaped cake with marzipan frosting for dessert.

[cindyluvs24]

I joined Weight Watchers and consider this thread food porn. :). Keep posting!

[Arete]

Whoa! Where is everybody? Yesterday was pastichio, which is a casserole of long tubular pasta, meat sauce, and béchamel baked together. Asparagus with lemon on the side. Leftovers from yesterday on the menu for tonight.

[DrPusey]

I need to find a good vegetarian pastitsio recipe.

Tonight we're having pepperoni and provolone croissants from the co-op and roasted asparagus with balsamic brown butter. I'm pretty full but we have raspberries and blackberries to go with Alden's Vanilla Bean ice cream if we feel like it .

(The end of the semester is really kicking my butt, so I haven't had time to cook much lately. If I'd been posting, it would have been a "frozen pizza of the night from Trader Joe's" kind of thing). :)

[Maggie Mae]

I had nachos. The cheese was starting to turn and smelled like feet, so I loaded it up with pickled jalapeños, chicken, salsa, and refried beans. And I ate while watching Jurassic Park, because I am 12 apparently

[HomemadeLaundrySoap]

Pasta Primavera (whole wheat pasta with chicken, peas, broccoli, scallions, garlic, spices, and olive oil) and Italian Rice Pudding. Here's hoping it turns out good!

[Arete]

I need to find a good vegetarian pastitsio recipe.

Tonight we're having pepperoni and provolone croissants from the co-op and roasted asparagus with balsamic brown butter. I'm pretty full but we have raspberries and blackberries to go with Alden's Vanilla Bean ice cream if we feel like it .

(The end of the semester is really kicking my butt, so I haven't had time to cook much lately. If I'd been posting, it would have been a "frozen pizza of the night from Trader Joe's" kind of thing). :)

For veggie pastichio use chopped brown cremini mushrooms instead of ground meat and prepare in the tomato sauce as if you were using beef. You can also use the same substitution to make a veggie moussaka. I've made both those dishes with that substitution and it is delicious.