Grilled ribeye steak with confetti mashed potatoes and broccoli
John grilled a steak and we split it. John takes the eye part and I have the cap. It is yummy. I also made this mash which I call confetti mash. I had some leftover mashed potatoes and added parsnips, carrots, and parsley to them. It came out looking pretty festive. And now that it is getting more wintery out I am thinking we will be seeing a lot of broccoli.
Today I start out with coffee cake especially made for me by our daughter for my birthday. It replicates the ones that we used to get our house when I was growing up from the Dugan man with his expandable case of wares. It is delicious. The recipe she uses is from the Simply Recipes site and is called Swedish Coffee Bread (Tea Ring.) You can also find it at http://www.braisinhussy.com/2016/12/08/dugan-ish-coffee-cake/
Swedish coffee bread (tea ring)
For dinner we dine out with our friends, George and Karen. George has a birthday the day after mine so we always celebrate together. This year is pretty low key since George is recovering from Achilles tendon surgery. We go to a local place called Piatti’s and I have penne with merguez sausage. It is good but I take most of it home.
Penne with merguez sausage
This is not dining lite. It is my birthday eve and I get to pick what I want to eat for dinner and John will make it. So I choose fried scallops, tater tots (because our daughter is eating with us,) and spinach. Somewhere along the way the spinach got lost.
Fried scallops with tater tots
Fish Market tartar sauce for the scallops and ketchup for the tater tots. Boy howdy, do I love this dinner! It almost makes up for having to say that I am a year older.
It is chilly and gloomy in sunny California today. I need something warm for lunch! I look in the refrigerator (rummage, rummage) and I find some chicken from last night’s sous vide, a container of brown rice that I made on Monday, half of a carrot, half of a green onion, some wilting dark greens from a ready-to-eat salad mix, and a partial box of chicken stock. Sounds like soup to me! Two minutes of chopping, two and a half minutes of microwaving, and thirty seconds of picture taking and I am having my lunch soup in 5 minutes!
Leftover chicken, rice, and vegetable soup
Sous vide chicken with mashed potatoes and green beans
Still recovering from my upset so I was just looking for something soothing tonight.
We made this cheesecake for my birthday celebration that was supposed to occur this past Sunday. We were going to take it over to share with the grandkids and family.
Cheesecake with sour cream topping
I am notorious for not liking desserts but this cheesecake recipe which I got from the Kraft site is very similar to the one my mom used to make and I like it a lot. Then I got sick and the party was cancelled. So a cheesecake that was supposed to be shared by 7 or 8 became a dessert for only 3! I have had two slivers so far now that I am feeling better but that is already 100% more than I intended to eat.
After my happy return to cooking this past Friday, I promptly got sick with a bad bout of intestinal misery. Needless to say I did not do much eating. I am pretty much better now and back in the kitchen.
Turkey loaf, brown rice, and zucchini
I think Santa approves of my foray back into eating. Although turkey loaf can never replace meatloaf, this is a pretty good try. The secret is to use plenty of mushrooms that you have whizzed up in your food processor and then cooked until all the water has steamed off. Turkey loaf also needs a lot of seasoning. In addition to salt, I also used Worcestershire sauce and my favorite flavor fixer, fish sauce. I made a couple of cups worth of brown rice using the oven method. There’s not much to say about the zucchini but John liked the results.
So happy to be home! So happy to be cooking my own dinner!
Chicken cacciatore with cellantani
Bad food in the Southeast. Also bad vibes. But now that we are home and away from heat, humidity, fried food, and bugs, it is time to get back to cooking real food.
Chicken breasts were sous vide, the sauce some great fresh veg plus poblanos and some bell pepper, poblano and peppedew. Add some onion, garlic, and zucchini, and with some chicken stock and cherry tomatoes, there is a sauce.
We served the chicken and sauce with cellantani pasta and the sauce.
So wonderful to be home again!
I am on vacation until December. Currently in South Carolina where there is a LOT of fried food!
Hushpuppies!
Instead of a basket of bread we received a basket of hushpuppies served with honey butter! Too addictive!
The steamed vegetables side I chose was pretty sad.
Overcooked vegetables with horrible baby carrots!
And on the retro scene apparently salad bars are still a thing here. I really prefer a salad ordered and served.
Bright spot of the day – I did make a good choice at lunch by ordering a spinach salad with grilled shrimp. Yay, me!
We are in eat-down mode since we are heading off to the East coast tomorrow. Our daughter has picked her final produce and I used some of it in a salad.
Harvest tomatoes with crunchy vegetables and Parmesan cheese
We ate this interesting spaghetti regati from Barilla tonight. The pasta is striated strands and is kind of square shaped. Due to its increased surface area it cooks in only 6 minutes! Our sauce was doctored spaghetti sauce from a jar and some frozen meatballs.
Spaghetti regati with tomato sauce and neatballs
Omnivore 