The What's For Dinner Thread - March '11 (recipe index in OP)

[shovan]

Hey y'all, Dinner was a rather yucky new place for take out pizza. Chris needed us to watch Alexis until late this evening. But it was nice to have her here & we did get to watch UP & Pirates at world's end!


I'm praying for all of you in Irene's path! Gretchen, Marilyn, Robin, Nancy, Laura, Becky! Gosh that's a lot of friends who could be have troubles from this!! Please be safe! I'm really worrying, but trying to pray more!


Thanks for all the kudos on the pics! A lot easier to wow y'all when I haven't posted a picture in months!

Robin, My pics look a lot better during the summer! The lighting in my house is just awful!
I'm really praying that y'all will be fine! And that you don't lose power, that would be a lot of beef to start cooking & trying to save! I hope you put some gal. size water jugs in there to freeze, it will help to keep the food cold longer.

Laura, Praying that Liam is able to have the foods without any problems!! I would be scared too, poor boy.

Kathy, I'm sorry you are sick!! Feel better my friend!
You know what? We need to get all of our problems out NOW!! If we're going to have tooth problems, stomach bugs, aches or pains, let's do it & get it over with before October!!! Just saying!

Lindsay, I hope you start feeling better! Prayers for you, Chloe & Ryan! Poor kiddos!

Princess, Really pretty! You live in a gorgeous place! Thanks for asking, Jude is doing better! He's still using his lungs a bit more, but none of the screaming fits! My daughter did put a call in to his dr. yesterday but I didn't find out what they said. DD believes it's gas, constipation problems, so we'll see.

Janice, Darn you! I've been craving french toast!!!

Becky, Marinated Provolone?! You'll have to tell us about that!

Jen, Glad that J is enjoying theater!!

It's super late, so I apologize if I missed someone!

 

[PrincessInOz]

Lindsay - I hope you're feeling better and looking after yourself. Depression is one of those things that shouldn't be ignored.

Robin - My camera is ALWAYS with me....come to think of it, it might actually be fused to my eye. And I hope you're doing okay with the wind.

Glynis - 118? We can bowl together!

Kat - Hope you're feeling better!

Janice - French toast!!! I was craving it too.

Sheryl - Hope J is feeling better.

And all you East Coasters - stay safe. I see Irene is down to a Cat 1. For that I'm grateful.

WFDT? We're having gnocchi.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Tea Cake


Whenever I have unexpected visitors pop in, this is my favourite go-to recipe for a simple and delicious cake.

My starting ingredients:

• Butter, 60 g
• Castor Sugar, ⅔ cup
• Vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon
• Self Raising Flour, 1 cup
• Egg, 1
• Milk, ½ cup

For the topping:

• Castor Sugar, 1 tablespoon or so
• Cinnamon, ½ teaspoon or so
• Butter, 1 tablespoon or so

Pre-Heat oven to 180 C.

Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the egg and the vanilla extract…

…and mix in thoroughly. Then add the milk.

The cold milk will make the batter look like it has curdled. This is normal.

Sift the flour and add to the batter.

Gently combine flour into the batter.

Transfer to a lined cake tin. I have made this with round cake tins and also as cupcakes and it really comes down to personal preference. For this time, I used a square tin.

Cook in the oven for 30 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Remove from oven. Mix the sugar and cinnamon together for the topping.

Whilst the cake is still warm/hot, spread the butter so that it melts and moistens the cake top.

Sprinkle the topping over the cake and set aside to cool slightly on a rack.

Serve warm!

My cake slice!

 

[LindsayDunn228]

Popping in to say good morning!

Thanks for the well-wishes. I am feeling SO much better! More each day! Monday is my birthday so we are doing some fun stuff this weekend. I have some errands to run at our mall so we are going to P.F. Chang's for lunch. They have something called ginger beer there that is out of this world. It's non-alcoholic, not sure why it's called beer. Anyway, it's ginger, lemon, water and cane sugar. It tastes like a delicious lemonade with ginger and boy is it good! I am enjoying that time of the month right now (note the sarcasm) and some ginger will do me good.

All of you affected by the hurricane: STAY SAFE!!!!!!!!!!!!

I promise you guys, I am going to get back in the swing of things and stop doing drive-bys

 

[PrincessInOz]

Popping in to say good morning!

Thanks for the well-wishes. I am feeling SO much better! More each day! Monday is my birthday so we are doing some fun stuff this weekend. I have some errands to run at our mall so we are going to P.F. Chang's for lunch. They have something called ginger beer there that is out of this world. It's non-alcoholic, not sure why it's called beer. Anyway, it's ginger, lemon, water and cane sugar. It tastes like a delicious lemonade with ginger and boy is it good! I am enjoying that time of the month right now (note the sarcasm) and some ginger will do me good.

All of you affected by the hurricane: STAY SAFE!!!!!!!!!!!!

I promise you guys, I am going to get back in the swing of things and stop doing drive-bys

Good morning to you and good night from me. I'm heading to bed early tonight.

It's called beer because they brew it like beer. You stick a piece of ginger root with water and sugar and I think some yeast? (not sure). Anyway, ginger beer is then left to brew like beer is i.e., to ferment. After a number of days, the solution is fizzy and it has that ginger taste. If fermented this way, the natural side product is alcohol.

Commercially made ginger beer doesn't have any alcohol in it. It's just carbonated to get that fizz.

 

[Rogue26]

Just a quick check in, gotta go to work. It looks like we are just going to get tropical storm winds as long as it doesn't move east.

Sheryl- My basement freezer is just beef and it's packed. As long as we don't open it I'm sure it will be fine. Our regular fridge, well I haven't had time to grocery shop so there's not much in it to loose!

Princess- I love making different kinds of tea cake. I bake them in many loaf pans.

Okay I need to get going. We need to prep at work today (and I though I left things to the last minute.) They did give us the day off tomorrow.

Stay safe all.

 

[HERSEY]

Robin[/B I am glad the storm will lessen by the time it gets to you. I would still be fearful about power loss. I hope you don't loss your power.

Sorry all I didn't mean to feed into a craving . We didn't have the pancake french toast. I will post the recipe I found as soon as my coffee kicks in. We had Beef sammies from my fav place. If you are ever coming through Chicago try Portillo's beef. There are some other small places that have good beef too. Just like Chicago deep dish pizza there is nothing like Chicago Italian beef sandwiches.


I'll be back later with the recipe and some fig recipes. I have been on the hunt since it is beginning to be fig season.

 

[Goofyluver]

My cake slice!

Yummy!

Let me ask you a question. Do you know how to convert grams to tablespoons for the butter? I would love to make that recipe, but I'm unsure of your measurements.

Popping in to say good morning!

Thanks for the well-wishes. I am feeling SO much better! More each day! Monday is my birthday so we are doing some fun stuff this weekend. I have some errands to run at our mall so we are going to P.F. Chang's for lunch. They have something called ginger beer there that is out of this world. It's non-alcoholic, not sure why it's called beer. Anyway, it's ginger, lemon, water and cane sugar. It tastes like a delicious lemonade with ginger and boy is it good! I am enjoying that time of the month right now (note the sarcasm) and some ginger will do me good.

All of you affected by the hurricane: STAY SAFE!!!!!!!!!!!!

I promise you guys, I am going to get back in the swing of things and stop doing drive-bys

Enjoy your birthday lunch!

And I don't care why they call it beer, it sounds delicious to me!

Please have fun!

I'll be back later with the recipe and some fig recipes. I have been on the hunt since it is beginning to be fig season.

OMG. My wife will love you.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Good morning everyone. I slept till 8. That's so nice after getting up at 5:30 every morning for work.

We are going to relax today, and enjoy our family.

Tonight's dinner is mongolian beef.

Sending good thoughts to all of you affected by the hurricane.

 

[TigerKat]

Still praying for my gals in the northeast, keep us posted please.

Sheryl – I’m sorry, I forgot to mention how much I enjoyed seeing your food pics again, you know I’m a fan. You’re right, we need to get all of our ailments, aches and pains out of the way for October!

Lindsay – Glad to hear you’re feeling better! Enjoy Changs, we love that place!

Princess – The tea cake looks great!

WFD - Pan seared filets, 'Ohana potatoes and asparagus bundles wrapped in prosciutto.

Thanks for the well wishes, I'm feeling a little bit better today.

 

[liamsaunt]

Good morning! The marinated provolone was delicious. Here is a picture:

Kathy, I hope you are feeling better today. I hate stomach bugs.
Lindsay, glad you are feeling better too!

As of now wunderground has the storm going over us as a category one tomorrow morning into the afternoon. But, since Irene made landfall as a one, I think it might not be able to sustain that strength all the way up here. I am guessing it will go over as a tropical storm. That won't be too much fun either. We were on St. John last summer during a tropical depression and the thunder and lightning were unbelievable! Of course, at least at home I am not surrounded by water!

Not sure what is for dinner yet. Have a good day all!

 

[HERSEY]

Fig and Cream Cheese Bars

crust
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour ( about 6 ounces)
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons butter, chilled and cut into small pieces

Filling
2 cups dried figs, stems removed You can use fresh figs just omit the water
1 cup water
1/2 cup granulated sugar, divided
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3/4 cup reduced-fat cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 large eggs
2 teaspoons powdered sugar


Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife In a bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, and salt, stirring well with a whisk.
Cut in butter with a pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse meal. Press mixture firmly into a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.
Combine figs, water and 1/4 cup granulated sugar in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook 5 minutes or until figs are tender and sugar dissolves.
Cool slightly. Place fig mixture and juice in a blender; process until smooth Gently spread fig mixture over prepared crust.
Place remaining 1/4 cup granulated sugar, cheese, vanilla, and egg in a medium bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until smooth.
Pour over fig mixture; spread to edges. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until set and lightly browned.
Cool in pan on a wire rack; sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Fig Cinnamon Jam

3 pounds Black Figs (approx 30 Figs)
2-¼ cups Sugar
1-½ cup Water
1 teaspoon Lemon Zest
½ whole Lemon's Juice
2 whole Cinnamon Stick

Take the stems off the figs and cutting them into quarters.
After they’ve been quartered, combine the water and sugar in a pot until the sugar is dissolved. Then add the lemon zest, lemon juice, cinnamon and throw the figs in. Bring the mixture to a simmer and let it cook for a hour, but definitely check back at the 30-minute mark. You don’t want it to cook down too much or else it’ll be like paste. When the jam is absolutely perfect, which it will be if you follow this recipe, then fill up three pint jars .

You will need to process in a hot water bath for 10 minutes.

 

[Disney Ron]

...

 

[Glynis]

Happy Saturday, all!

Here's hoping that all you in the path of Irene are doing ok.

We had a late night last night, and our dinner ended up being Wendy's drive thru. Alan scored some tickets to an outdoor production of Aida (Elton John/Tim Rice), and some of our neighbors were in it. So, we found a sitter for Timmy, and took the rest of the kids to see it. It was so good! Wonderful voices, and pretty good for an outdoor amphitheater! We got home really late, though, and crashed!

Had to get up really early this morning, as our church declared today a "day of service." There are several families in our area who were really in need of some help around their homes (organization, yard work, light construction and plumbing, etc.), and our congregation turned out en masse to help out. We had a huge pancake breakfast beforehand, and then started to work. It was a great way to spend a Saturday morning, but after our late night last night, we're all pretty tired, now.

In about an hour, we are attending my niece's baptism. After that, we'll have a late lunch/bbq at a local park. I've made cake batter rice krispie treats, pretzel toffee brownies, and a yummy salad made with corn, edamame and tomatoes. We'll visit and eat, and try to enjoy another 100 plus degree day.

No idea what we'll do tonight. I was hoping to have a date with Alan, but he got called out to cover a fire caused by lightning at 3:00 this morning, so he's really tired!

Have a great day, and stay really safe, everyone!

 

[TigerKat]

Just wanted to say...Stay safe to some of my old friends out there.

I've been thinking of and praying for y'all, stay safe.

 

[shovan]

Morning Y'all,

I'm glad to see that Irene is a Cat 1, hopefully she won't cause much damage.

I'm going to grill lamb chops this afternoon. Maybe try making arancini with the leftover risotto, and a salad. Angelina & Jude are coming over!!

Here's the original avocado soup reciipe ( my changes are on the bottom). I have topped it with different salads or salsas, shrimp, or fennel & orange or fennel & onion. Just don't use something to strongly flavored, it will overwhelm the soup.

Chilled Avocado Soup with Louisiana Blue Crab Salad


Simple orange-infused crabmeat floats atop a rich, creamy soup. If the soup seems a little too thick, add 1 to 2 tablespoons more buttermilk.

Yield:**4 servings


3/4 cup fat-free buttermilk
1/2 cup chopped fresh tomatillos
1/2 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
3/8 teaspoon salt
2 ripe peeled avocados, pitted
1 serrano pepper, seeded
1 small garlic clove
2 tablespoons minced red bell pepper
1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon grated orange rind
8 ounces lump crabmeat, drained and shell pieces removed
1. Place first 7 ingredients in a blender; process until smooth.
2. Combine bell pepper and remaining ingredients; toss gently to combine. Spoon about 3/4 cup soup into each of 4 bowls; top each serving with about 1/3 cup crabmeat mixture.,

Changes: 1/2 cup salsa verde I couldn’t find tomatillos, left out Serrano pepper. I also added ½ seeded diced jalapeno pepper to crab salad & seasoned it with salt & pepper.

 

[bigmerle1966]

Hello all. Just checking in for those that aren't on FB. A lot of rain and some winds but not too bad yet. Had a little adventure this morning. DM locked her keys in her car at work and I had her extra's. Met up with my BFF and she, I and she one DS went to rescue her car and do some last minute shopping.

While at Target she caught her little finger on a broken piece of plastic or metal in a freezer and punctured it. She went off to tell someone so they could fix it and they insisted she go to the minute clinic.

We also ran to Radio Shack where we scored some D batteries. They had some they had been holding for customers who didn't come in by the deadline so we grabbed them.

 

[shovan]

Marilyn, I'm glad the weather isn't too bad! Sorry your Mom had such a rough day!


I did grill lamb chops & made arancini. They were delicious!

Little bitty lamb chops, so we need really big balls!

I didn't have fresh mozzarella in the house, but did have laughing cow sundried tomato basil mozzarella. I put that in the middle of the rice balls & it worked great. Even better than the food was having Angelina & Jude spend the day!

 

[shovan]

Princess, I realized I forgot to say: That cake looks so good!! You are one great hostess to bake a cake for unexpected guests!! My unexpected guests are lucky if I open the door!

 

[PrincessInOz]

Quiet on the boards all round today. I'm hoping everyone is safe.

Glynis - Aida sounds great! But that 'day of service' doesn't sound quite so great.
How did the baptism go?

Marilyn - Hope you're doing okay and sorry that your DM had a bad day.

Jen - I believe that 1 tablespoon = 15 g. So, for the recipe, you might need 4 tablespoons of butter.


WFDT? At the moment....nothing. We headed out to a festival out in the 'country'...well, it used to be 20 years ago....and stuffed ourselves with food that we don't normally eat. I have pictures...but I'm too tired to load up into Photobucket right now.

Stay safe everyone.

 

[HERSEY]

yesterday I made jam with the remaining figs. I had some on my toast this morning.

I hope those of you that Irene has past are doing well. Those of you who she has not yet visited stay safe.

Dinner is marinated flank steak grilled bok choy and potatoes.