What's for Dinner?

[geek]

And it tastes really good too.

 

[sour_grapes]

Quick and easy meal tonight -- due to lots of love and hard work much earlier! Last summer, I made a delicious jerk pork shoulder recipe. I put a pound or two of it into a foodsaver bag, then froze it. Took it out a few days ago to thaw, and popped some into the microwave this evening. Nice! Instant jerk pork, reminiscent of summer. I paired this with some baby bok choy, cut in halves, browned/charred in a skillet, then braised with ho-made chicken stock and seasonings. Also cooked up some rice noodles, served with spicy sesame oil and soy sauce.

 

[JohnT]

You all have made me VERY proud!!!
Not a single comment???
I am a little surprised.

Chicken was on sale at my local. I bought a packet of 4 boneless chicken breasts for $8. The size of the breasts was amazing. They were huge! I have never seen them that big. each one well over a pound! I guess all of the toxic waste in NJ created mutant chickens.

 

[Boatboy24]

You all have made me VERY proud!!!
Not a single comment???
I am a little surprised.

I gave you a like.

 

[ceeaton]

You all have made me VERY proud!!!
Not a single comment???
I am a little surprised.

I was going to say that those aren't fall-off-the-back-of-the-truck prices, depending on how much over a pound they were, but then I thought about it a little and decided I like my breasts smaller, much like clams they are sweeter that way.

 

[sour_grapes]

Had a guest over to essentially kill the jerk pork I referenced above. This was a large pork shoulder I BBQ'ed last summer; you debone the shoulder, beat the large hunk o' meat to something ~1.5" thick, then make accordion slices, and then marinate in HOT stuff. The heat of the BBQ mellows it out, but leaves some spice and kick behind. That delicious dish was served with smashed 'taters; mustard greens that were blanched then sauteed with shallots and braised with sherry; and roasted asparagus smothered in cheese and balsamic vinegar. It was good!

 

[geek]

 

[sour_grapes]

Yesterday, my neighbor and good friend fell and hurt himself pretty bad. He is the primary cook, so I offered to feed them dinner tonight. I was a bit late getting out of work, so tried to think of something that could be cooked fairly quickly.

I wound up making Buccatini all'Amatriciana. I did not have enough guanciale (i.e., pork-jowl bacon) on hand to feed all of us, so I substituted regular bacon. I also made two large dishes of roasted broccoli, with lots of EVOO, garlic, and lemon juice.

 

[heatherd]

As promised, last night was chicken parm night.

I started in the am by making up a nice batch of rich, thick 100% home made sauce.

Chicken was on sale at my local. I bought a packet of 4 boneless chicken breasts for $8. The size of the breasts was amazing. They were huge! I have never seen them that big. each one well over a pound! I guess all of the toxic waste in NJ created mutant chickens.

With a sharp knife, I made 3 fillets out of each one. So, had made 12 portions (or 2 sheet pans) of parm. Guess what I am eating this week!

Here are some pics. I am very happy with the sauce. Just look at how thick it is.
View attachment 47146 View attachment 47147

John, that looks really yummy! I got my hubby an air fryer for Christmas and he made chicken parm in it, and it turned out very crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside.

 

[JohnT]

John, that looks really yummy! I got my hubby an air fryer for Christmas and he made chicken parm in it, and it turned out very crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside.

Are those air fryers really any good? Does it really compare to the real thing?

Just wondering because I hate the smell of frying oil. It stinks up the whole house but it does make for tasty chicken.

 

[ceeaton]

... I hate the smell of frying oil. It stinks up the whole house but it does make for tasty chicken.

That's why I fry in the garage (on top of the tractor with a piece of cardboard to soak up any splashed oil).

 

[ceeaton]

Love leftovers for lunch. Corned beef on rye w/swiss cheese, kraut and 1000 island dressing. Sorry, phone image, not the best of quality...

Served with a cold unsweetened tea (they frown on alcoholic drinks around here for some reason).

 

[ceeaton]

Pretty nice day compared to what we've had lately. Got out some charcoal and did some jerk pork loin skewers. Served with rice and cold beer, my head is sweating (though the less heat tolerant residents don't seem to mind it).

Edit: this has really good flavor!
https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/223047/chef-johns-grilled-jerk-pork-tenderloin/
Only addition was some coriander (1/2 tsp) -- did it on some bamboo skewers verses the larger loin pieces

 

[sour_grapes]

Happy St. Patrick's Day. My favorite legal substance is Corned Beast. I cooked this example sous vide until tender and flaky (which is one of the ways I like it!). This was accompanied by roasted mushrooms with thyme; roast carrots; a sweet potato; and a fennel&leek gratin, baked in ho-made chicken stock and topped with bread crumbs before broiling. Washed down with a beer (a Maibock during dinner, and a porter afterwards).

 

[heatherd]

Are those air fryers really any good? Does it really compare to the real thing?

Just wondering because I hate the smell of frying oil. It stinks up the whole house but it does make for tasty chicken.

The air fryer that we have (Phillips Avance https://www.usa.philips.com/c-m-ho/cooking/airfryer-top/airfryer-avance) is nice in that you're not deep-frying in oil so you don't get that stinky/greasy frying issues. We like it. I stuck some Starbuck's sous vide egg bites in to reheat and they were very nice and crisp. We've made hamburgers, tots, fries, chicken parm, etc in it. Things come out nicely crunchy and done on all sides. There's a setting for frozen fries, but you can also bake by temp and time. Because it's small, it gets to temperature quickly. In terms of cleaning, the food is cooked on a mesh screen, so that has to get washed, and the bottom of the air fryer has to get wiped out - no dealing with frying oil.

 

[ibglowin]

We have enjoyed our Phillips Air Fryer as well. Mrs IB got it for me for Xmas.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M8HZLZ3/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

I was reluctant at first at what it could do but I am a believer in the technology now for sure!

One of the best things she also got after reading the reviews was a "double layer rack" Cook 2X as many wings or whatever at one time.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00H8OAXYY/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

The other really nice add-on was the precut parchment papers. Use one of these and it will help soak up grease and make clean up even more of a breeze. All removable pieces are dishwasher safe.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073J5TF8Q/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

I think these work the best for small families or couples. Larger families may be impractical to use. Oven (convection) may be faster for larger families.

 

[GreginND]

Some recent meals - on the road to NOLA.

Vegan lunch in ATL.



Vegan happy hour in the French Quarter.



Hotel vegan breakfast to start the day.



Vegan working lunch at the Renaissance hotel.

 

[ceeaton]

Found some buy-one-get-one-free top round cuts. Used a GF Weber Chicago spice rub overnight, then added some steak siciliano marinate (my mom's recipe) for a few hours. Fired up some charcoal on the bottom part of the weber bullet, too nice of a day to cook inside (got up to about 55*F). Wifey made some twice baked taters with half and half, garlic and some left over mozzarella cheese. Served a salad on the side (had a ripe mater that my Mom brought back from Sanibel Island, FL). Yum!

Have one of the london broils left over, will be making steak wraps tomorrow for dinner (and maybe a quesadilla or three).

 

[JohnT]

I sat around for hours trying to decide what I was in the mood to have for dinner.

Then I saw an IKEA advert.

AH-HA!!! Swedish Meatballs!!

I made mine off of a recipe I quickly downloaded from the internet. I made mine with 5 different types of mushrooms (shitake, Portabella, Oyster, button, and porcini).

NAILED IT!!! They were simply awesome. Even better than IKEA's meatballs. Amazing how much better it is without the sawdust

Served with a nice, crusty, buttery garlic bread.

MMMMMMMM!

 

[ibglowin]

And perhaps the horse meat!

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/02/25/horsemeat-scandal/1933037/

They were simply awesome. Even better than IKEA's meatballs. Amazing how much better it is without the sawdust