What's for dinner?

I'm not Catholic, but love to cook Cajun style food on Fat Tuesday, which is tomorrow. But I can't tomorrow because I'm working late, so I'm making a lower fat, quick cooking version of Jambalaya tonight. Fat Monday, yay :)

I am a devout Foodie. I honor any holiday associated with food. I hosted a family Chinese New Year party on Sunday. I read the recipe for Shrimp Toast wrong, and got twice as much shrimp as I needed. Tomorrow the excess will be Shrimp Etoufee (with rice) and we'll have King Cake for dessert.

Tonight we had Triple Citrus Chicken and Fried Rice, both leftover from the party, and stir-fried veggies (broccoli, snap peas, mushrooms, red sweet peppers) with just a hint of sesame oil.

Jeannie we would never have guessed this about you!

be glad you have someone to cook for jeanne . im in a cycle of no appetite = too lethargic to rattle around in the kitchen . happens every winter with me . maybe its a human form of hibernation . it gives the muscles time to heal but makes ones brain a little anxious . im not self medicating ( much ) this winter so thats a big adjustment in itself .
i have some chicken thawed out to fry later today . doesnt sound appealing but rotten chicken on the counter wont end well either .

Yesterday I made bbq ribs with baked potato. Today might be left overs cuz today is another visit with the doctor which takes up most of my day. Good Lord here I go again.

The soup was AWESOME. Unfortunately, I knew from the first bite that mom wouldn't eat it - too spicy for her. I froze the rest of the batch into serving-size portions for myself for future meals.

Mom comes home tomorrow morning so I am having my 2 brothers over for dinner. It will be the first talk we have had without SIL, Nephew, or Mom around because I really need to let them know my "demands" , or maybe better put,,,,,,the only circumstances, I will be able to handle this job now.

I'm making baby lamb chops, their favorite Syrian rice side dish and asparagus. We will each be having a xannex and a glass of wine with the hummus appetizer. We are all pretty much on the same page, but I want a real conversation about things before Mom gets here tomorrow. I've missed Y'all but staying away was best for my stress level and depression for a while. I am VERY thankful for all the notes and messages and caring since my H.A. Love you guys!

Cheers Boni!!! Syrian Xannex is a perfect idea.

Boni, hope it went well. I'm doing chicken soup and meatloaf ( lamb and beef) to which I added smoke paprika and herbes de Provence.

Dinner was taco salad, with lots of fixin's. Also a new Bundt cake recipe with buttermilk and sour cream and coconut. Calls for almonds on the top but I was out so I substituted macadamias. Great combination -- I'll never use almonds in this recipe. Sometimes accidents or mistakes turn out for the best!

Last night was chicken with a honey garlic sauce, baked potatoes, and asparagus coated with olive oil and garlic, wrapped in bacon that had been pressed in brown sugar and cayenne pepper, and roasted.

I really want to start an asparagus bed in my front yard this spring!

Hope your talk with your brothers was as good as your menu, Boni!

Don't know if this is the right thread for this but does involve food. It was a report on an article from Scientific American regarding loss of tast in dementia patients who eat too little. the study was conducte in japan and involved paople with various types of dementia and older adult volunteers. The particiapants were shown relicas of three common Japanese dishes and asked to name the main ingredients and the expected taste ie sweet, sour etc. Replicas were used so that paricipants would not be cued by smell.
SURPRISE the non dementia people scored higher so it was assumed that diminished taste contribute to dementia patients reluctance to eat. Didn't anyone tell the researchers about memory loss in dementia. Where do they find these expert researchers?
Time for my breakfast nutritional drink at least I won't choke on that and I do remember what chocolate tastes like.

I made macaroni and stewed tomatoes.. my favorite meal when they serve it a work. This was my first time making stewed tomatoes.. I used a Mr Food recipe.. it was awesome!! Mom even ate a whole small plate full, and a strawberry shortcake! Win win for me!

Tonight we had pulled beef (crock pot), American fries, creamed corn with jalepenos, cherry tomato/asparagus salad. Very good.

The potatoes started life as parsley buttered last night, with a roast turkey, were American fries with red sweet peppers tonight, and will probably be hash tomorrow. :) Sometimes making too much is a good thing!

My grandson gave me a awesome cookbook for my birthday. I've been enjoying recipes out of it. One good one was Boundary Waters Wild Rice Soup, with leeks and chicken and mushrooms (and wild rice, of course). Definitely will be making that again!

Yum! So many delicious sounding meals! You all put me to shame.

Tonight we brought dinner to my folks. Nothing fancy because Dad won't eat it, just comfort food. We brought meatloaf, mashed potatoes, green beans and salad. I made a cherry crisp for dessert. I use canned black cherries which taste so much better than the pre made cherry pie stuff.

You all put me to shame. Hubby is away so its a can of soup or Kraft Dinner for me tonight. Perhaps toast and cheese. LOL!!

I hear you Gershun, when I'm home alone for dinner I sometimes just eat cold cereal :)

Hey cold cereal....now thats an idea! :)

No shame in keeping it simple sometimes!

I suspect that if I didn't have boarders to cook for I'd often be standing in front of the open refrigerator eating cottage cheese out of the carton!

I hear that!!

my stone pounding season is in full swing so i need to find something that can be prepared with very little effort ,. i only eat one meal a day so maybe ill ask ednas NH how much theyd charge me to eat their jail food for dinner each evening . its pretty wretched stuff but no doubt balanced by the dietician / dishwasher / heroin connection .

Captain, my MIL's assisted living only charges 5 bucks and it's good food. Sometimes they don't even bill her for it.

It's a long time since we had one of Pam's home cooked dinners. last night was an exception we went out to our favorite resteraunt which just reopened for the season. I had a lamb chop with a baked potao and culiflower followed by a cherry parfait which had cherry hering in it. they throe in a home made cheese spread with crackers a sampler tray and salad all of which would make a meal in itself and hot rolls. other wise my evening dinner is usually cottage cheese with jam. I love the texture of the 4%. I only cook one meal a day these days and sometimes not even that if I can get away with it. hubby claims he does not know how to cook but i know MIL taught her boys but he says he has forgotten it is too long ago.

pork, lima beans, turnips - very good - and a mix of jello, pudding, and cut-up banana - and ice cream!

oh goodness.... almost forgot about this thread.

Well, since it's just me and the dogs now, temperature hitting the 90's for several long days.... dinner is whatever I can scrounge up. Omelet ...poached eggs/cottage cheese/tomatoes? Cereal? Taco salad?

Here's my fast food: buy fresh veggies and fruit and favorite cheese and some meat treat or hummus. Line a plate with a few romanine lettuce leaves, raw veggies, and the other items. Make it pretty, put on some relaxing music and enjoy.

Alternate fast food for dinner: steam any favorite vegetables in a metal steamer with a little water or in a pot with one just enough water to cover bottom for 5 minutes: summer squash, zucchini, carrots, kale, broccoli, cauliflower, snow peas.
You could toss a few pieces of shrimp in, a couple of dumplings from Trader Joe's. While it's cooking on low, stir up some rice vinegar, Thai chili sweet sauce, a bit of tamari sauce. Taste to you liking. Then dip the finished food one at a time in the sauce.

Finally back on track with our low-carb eating after Mom's fall and stay in the hospital. Feels great to be back on track and having more energy and getting back to my "normal". I've done more today than I've done all week, and it's because I have more energy.

Last night's dinner was Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls - essentially all the ingredients for cabbage rolls (except the rice, a no-no for low-carbers) tossed into a pot and cooked up like soup or a casserole. Awesome stuff. Fast and easy too, if you buy the pre-shredded cabbage in a bag! 10 minutes of prep, 30-45 minutes of cooking and you have a great dinner with leftovers for the next day. :-) A win-win in my book.

I did screw one major thing up last night - I left a 2-lb. container of strawberries out of the fridge where Mom could see them and get to them. Woke up this morning to find them gone, all but the 3-4 berries that were starting to get soft - she ate almost an entire 2-lb container of berries all on her own. I mean, I'm glad it wasn't like potato chips or cookies, but 2 lbs of berries....she'll be lucky to get out of the bathroom at all in the next couple of days....guess I need to go back to hiding things and doling them out in portion-size servings.

OK I have been asked for some typically English recipes: specifically Sausage Roll,iced Squares, Vanilla slices, Shepherd's Pie, Rice Pudding So here goes peeps:
Sausage Roll
You have several options on pastry here so if I explain the methods I use and then you can choose which you want.

If I do the pastry part tonight I will follow on with the rest of the recipes tomorrow so please be patient with me:


The Pastry

RULE OF THUMB - COLD EVERYTHING

Shortcrust Pastry - great for sausage rolls if you don’t want flakes of pastry everywhere but not as nice as flaky pastry in my opinion - I use it to top a pie or if I am making a base for lemon meringue

Probably the simplest to make and can be used for savoury and sweet pies, tarts and flans. There are several different ways of making shortcrust pastry but I am going to stick to the easiest

• 8oz plain flour (daft as it sounds when I am making pastry I tend to weigh the flour out and put that in the fridge the night before - it just produces better pastry as the house is kept warm for mum
• 2oz lard straight from the fridge (if you cant get lard then shortening is fine)
• 2 oz butter straight from the fridge

I cut the fats into pieces the night before so they are both cold and chopped or I find they warm really quickly

• half a teaspoon of salt
• 2-3 tablespoons cold water that has been in the fridge overnight

Make sure you bowl is cold too - if you live in a warm area put the bowl inside a bowl with ice in it. No hot hands please - rinse them for a good while in cold water and as they start to warm back into cold water again

Sift the flour and salt - I always sift twice to be sure it is combined properly

Now I know people will say can I use a food processor - the simple answer is yes but if you overwork the mixture the pastry is nowhere near as good and it is very easy to overwork it so I always use my hands

Rub the fat into the flour but raise your fingers high above the bowl to keep the mixture light and airy and let the mixture cascade backing the bowl. Lightly - Not scrunched up between your palms only your fingertips - continue until you have a fine breadcrumb mix in the bowl

then add the water a little at a time - I have seen many cooks use their hands at this point but to keep the pastry ‘short’ you should use a knife - remember ice cold water. Once it has formed to large lumps of dough use your hands to gather it together as you roll it around the sides of the bowl it will soon come together.

At this point I knead it very lightly until it is perfectly smooth then wrap it in either floured cling film (saran wrap?) or pop it into a floured plastic bag and dump it into the fridge for half an hour - gives you time to clean up and get ready for the next stage!!

I have a marble slab and a marble rolling pin but failing that you still need to keep everything cool - you have taken so much trouble thus far it would be a shame to ruin it at this stage.

Now you need to have in your mind what you are making you will need long narrowish oblongs for sausage rolls and rounder shapes for pie dishes (unless of course they are square!!)

Roll always away from you and only ever in one direction and turn regularly to keep the shape if you want the round shapes - if you are needing a longer shape make sure the bottom doesn't stick to the marble by lifting it and if need be dusting underneath.

If I am putting it on a pie I lift the pastry by rolling onto the rolling pin and using that to transport it

FOR SWEET FOODS

Use only butter and then instead of adding water in stages add a beaten mix of
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 and a half teaspoons superfine sugar
• 3-4 teaspoons of cold water
also in stages


Puff Pastry - this is the pastry I use when I am making salmon and prawn horns, vol-au-vents and vanilla slices

This is really a more professional pastry but it is easy to make although takes time. I cheat I buy mine to be fair

8oz plain flour
pinch of salt
1oz lard
5fl oz cold water
5oz butter

Sift together the flour and the salt and rub in the lard only. Stir in enough of the water to make a soft dough, against saran wrap and chill for half an hour.

When I actually bother to make this for myself I cheat and use this method
Put the butter between 2 pieces of greaseproof paper - you can use saran wrap but I find greaseproof easier and flatten out with a rolling pin until it is a rectangle 4 inches by 3 - you're not rolling it per se but flatten it out - I have a paddle and it gives me great joy bashing the butter!

Roll out the dough to another rectangle that measures 10 inches by 5

Take the butter out of the paper and put on one end of the dough rectangle.

Bring the corners of the dough together and pinch the edges together lightly to make a sealed envelope.

Chill for 1/4 hour (drink tea!!!) You have to to do the chilling or the fat bleeds out and everything turns nasty and becomes very greasy and the pastry is just plain tough

A
Roll your dough envelope on a floured surface so that it is three time longer than it is wide

B
Turn the top third down and turn the other third up on top of the edge you just turned down. Seal the edges lightly with a rolling pin and turn the pastry 1/4 turn

Repeat A and B and chill for 30 minutes.

Repeat A and B twice more and then chill for another 30 minutes and then repeat A and B two more times - so 6 times in all - I know it seems a lot but you need this to get the layers of pastry

Now roll out and use as required.

If some of the butter does bleed through dust with a tiny bit of flour butter might come through the surface, if this happens, dab on a little flour.

Flaky Pastry - The best for sausage rolls but equally good for jam puffs

Now everything needs to be really cold or it will FUBAR trust me - the fat melts and it goes very very wrong - this one takes a while top make too it’s all the chilling but you mustn’t try and skip that stage

8oz flour
pinch of salt
1.5 oz lard
3oz butter
1.5 oz lard

Sift the flour with the salt and rub in 1.5 oz of lard. Add enough cold water to bring the flour to a soft dough.
So far pretty standard
Mix together the rest of the lard and the butter not too soft but soft enough to stay in blobs later
Roll out the dough to make a rectangle about 10 inches by 5 again.

And this is where it gets more complicated but pay attention and all will be well

A
Dot 1.5 oz the butter/lard mixture over two-thirds of the rectangle.

B
Fold the third without the fat on it up over the middle third of the pastry. Bring the other third down on top of the upturned flap. Seal the edges with a rolling pin (make sure they are sealed if not it will get ruined and also get very messy later on) C
Now you need to know which bit was where so take note because when you take it out after chilling it you must have the folded side to the left and right and the pinched edges will be top and bottom OK? OK now chill for 1/4 hour

Repeat stage A,B and C twice more and then a third time but with no addition of fat (on account of there wont be any left!) Chill the final mix for half an hour


Rough Puff Pastry - this is sort of a cross between the last two and works well for sausage rolls too

8 oz flour
1 tsp salt
8 oz butter, at room temperature, but not soft
about 8 tablespoons of cold water possibly less possibly more

This time you sift the flour and salt then roughly rub the butter in but not too much you should still be able to see the butter bits (ie it is not breadcrumbs)

Add about 4 tablespoons of the water more if you need it until you have a firmish dough then wrap in cling film and pop in fridge for half an hour.

Take it out and knead it into an oblong shape. Then you have to roll it into an oblong that is three times as long as it is wide - try to keep the edges as straight as you can (I am utterly useless at this bit) then fold the top third down and the botom third up over the newly turned down top the make 1/4 turn and repeat - cling film again and at this point it will be too warm to use so back into the fridge - the pastry not you that is!!!!

Baked potato plus leftovers on the side.

Jude, thanks!

I've got to tell you, Americans are not big into cooking with lard. :) The one place I do like it, though, is pie crust, so maybe putting it in pastry wouldn't be too traumatic.