Cookaholics Bulletin Board

Folks,

To give you an idea of California Cookin':

We had to run & empty the dishwasher tonight, so my DW insisted on low-dish meal. So, I bought some frozen cornmeal pizza crusts (Viccolo), and put did: Red onion, corn kernels, black olive, mozarrella and pesto pizza, and a Chantrelle mushroom, red onion, romano and garlic pizza. We had these, with a green salad.

Last night was more interesting; I tried to make a Burmese garlic/ginger/lemongrass curry dish, but cut some corners to save time. I'm not sure it entirely worked, but I liked it and my wife claimed the leftovers for lunch. The main purpose of the menu was to try out the "Ultimate Chopper" device I found in my in-laws' attic; would it puree lemongrass & ginger or not? While the dish was questionable, the Ultimate Chopper was a success as a time-saving alternative to mortar & pestle.

I'm excited because this move allows me to make dinner for an entirely new crew, and since they've never tasted anything I've made I can make old standbys that are received with rave reviews. Tonight it's Chicken Parmesan, and if I can find mascarpone here in Faribault I'll make tiramisu. I should have stopped at Byerly's on the way home last night and picked some up, but after a long work week I just wanted to GET HOME.

I'll probably make bolognese tomorrow (I'm going to try a new recipe if I can find it) so we can have it through the week.

Carnitas sound great too - I should stop by the store today and get a pork butt. I have a decent crockpot carnitas recipe that I stick under the broiler when I get home to crisp up the outsides (it's from the eGullet board). That'll be another easy weeknight dish.

I threw together some fajitas this morning and have to make a little guacamole now. My daughter is in a play and I have been doing the refreshments so everything has been on the run the last couple days.

As an interesting side note, all but one of the baked goods donated by the parents were home made. Some with greater success than others but still...

Mary

Mary
That's great that they are trying. Do you think it was your influence? Or do you think that they made home cooked stuff & are just not that good/
Kathy

Tonight is CI's Simple Lasagna with Hearty Tomato Meat Sauce. Always a hit with family and friends and very tasty.

We are having sauerkraut with potatoes and sausage. DH brought home an excellent loaf of dark rye yesterday. Sauerkraut sounded like an excellent go-with.

I also made a big ol' pot of chili with all of my new Penzey's spices. It will be tomorrow' dinner with cornbread, and lunch through the week.

Janet

Kathy,
This seems to be a country of baking women. Even those who are not good cooks can usually whip up a decent cake. And if everyone is bringing in a home made cake then, by golly, you will too. I think my influence is beyond minimal, especially as I didn't make anything for this sale but have been manning the stands for the last 4 performances with one more to go today.

As for the menu, my husband is cooking tonight. His specialty (meaning he doesn't do all that much more) is thinly sliced meat in paprika cream sauce. I will make some frozen green beans with goat cheese to go with it and a salad too as the meat dish totally drains all his creative juices and he can not move on to sides. He may be able to deal with the noodles though. He does do laundry though so don't see this as a complaint, just an observation.

Mary

Tonight, we're having chili-cheese dogs with my grandmother's homemade chili dog sauce recipe. Yum.

This thread needs to be revived. I run out of ideas. This week I made a rabbit stew that was delicious. I had never cooked rabbit before. The stew had prunes in it that melted & made for a very flavorful broth. I think I will make this recipe with chicken next time. The recipe was from [u][u]Everybody eats well in Belgium Cookbook [u]

Also made corned beef & cabbage with red cabbage. The cabbage turned the pots a nice soft purple.
Kathy

Cooking today for four tomorrow night: Classic andalusian Gazpacho (adopted from El Faro, Cadiz, Spain) made with frozen heirlooms, my version of scalloped corn (a type of corn bread), Country Captain from the NYTimes, and panna cotta with raspberry coulis from CI. I've done all of these many times before and they were very well received. All are great comfort foods for the onset of winter - the fireplace will be ON! Of course, the wines will only be spectacular. It is so nice to able to slice and chop and other cooking stuff now that my shoulder and elbow are pretty much healed; there is no way I could have done this a month ago. WHOOPEE!