Baron von Costume
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Like an iron maiden made of pillows... the punishment is decadence!
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Post by Baron von Costume on May 2, 2024 10:42:33 GMT -5
I'm kind of fascinated by a new trend in my little suburb. My county is ~7% Muslim, and I would guess that's somewhat concentrated in my town, which has two mosques and a significant Asian population. One of the main business drags/state highways through our town has always had a number of Indian/Pakistani and Mediterranean restaurants, most of which are halal, and now ... coffee/tea shops are becoming a thing. There's now a second Adeni chai/coffee house opening two plots down from the first one that opened about two years ago, there's a bubble tea place across the street that serves chicken sandwiches, a "Muslims of the World" coffeehouse in our downtown... I love it, but I'm wondering just how many coffee/chai shops this area can support! Similar thing here but with south Asian population. My parents end of the city used to be white af with the suburb across the river being heavily white but with a strong 'growing affluence' east Asian population as well. Now it seems that the Chinese/Viet groups are either moving further south or to a newer suburb and it's mainly south Asian folks moving in and as a consequence literally every restaurant that's opened between my house and theirs in the past two years is some form of curry house or tiffin service. In some ways this is great as the only good curry joint in our end of town previously closed not long before the pandemic but I really have to wonder how many of them can survive. I imagine the answer is many of them won't and I know part of the reason for the changeover is that flood of restaurant openings that follows a few years after an immigration influx then waning as second/third gen kids don't want to take over the business but man I miss some old faves. I think part of the sadness for me is that much as I like indian food it's also kind of sad to order as a single person. Either you're only ordering a dish or two and getting no variety or you're ordering too much and then you burn yourself out on it cause you ate it 4 nights straight to get through the leftovers.
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LazBro
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Post by LazBro on May 2, 2024 11:10:55 GMT -5
I'm kind of fascinated by a new trend in my little suburb. My county is ~7% Muslim, and I would guess that's somewhat concentrated in my town, which has two mosques and a significant Asian population. One of the main business drags/state highways through our town has always had a number of Indian/Pakistani and Mediterranean restaurants, most of which are halal, and now ... coffee/tea shops are becoming a thing. There's now a second Adeni chai/coffee house opening two plots down from the first one that opened about two years ago, there's a bubble tea place across the street that serves chicken sandwiches, a "Muslims of the World" coffeehouse in our downtown... I love it, but I'm wondering just how many coffee/chai shops this area can support! I think part of the sadness for me is that much as I like indian food it's also kind of sad to order as a single person. Either you're only ordering a dish or two and getting no variety or you're ordering too much and then you burn yourself out on it cause you ate it 4 nights straight to get through the leftovers.This bit is interesting to me and has always been a weird thing to me in TV shows and movies. There will be a scene where 2-4 people have ordered Chinese (or Thai or whatever) and they've got, like, 20 of those little white rice boxes and they're all just kind of digging around in them.
Do people really order that way? Order a bunch of entrees and sides to try a little bit of everything? Any group I've ever been in, when ordering takeout, each person would order their meal, and that was their meal. None of this family-style thing. Not in my (admittedly limited) experience.
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Post by Pedantic Editor Type on May 2, 2024 11:27:49 GMT -5
I think part of the sadness for me is that much as I like indian food it's also kind of sad to order as a single person. Either you're only ordering a dish or two and getting no variety or you're ordering too much and then you burn yourself out on it cause you ate it 4 nights straight to get through the leftovers. This bit is interesting to me and has always been a weird thing to me in TV shows and movies. There will be a scene where 2-4 people have ordered Chinese (or Thai or whatever) and they've got, like, 20 of those little white rice boxes and they're all just kind of digging around in them.
Do people really order that way? Order a bunch of entrees and sides to try a little bit of everything? Any group I've ever been in, when ordering takeout, each person would order their meal, and that was their meal. None of this family-style thing. Not in my (admittedly limited) experience.
I've seen things happen both ways - because Chinese, Thai, Indian and other Asian/SE Asian food tends to be served as a large dish of protein/veg/sauce + rice, it's easy to take a scoop of rice and top with the saucy dish and to share them. I have certainly been at restaurants and done takeout where everyone gets their dish and doesn't really share, but I've also been in groups where we ordered a bunch of different things and had a little orange chicken, a little kung pao, some lo mein...
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Post by Pedantic Editor Type on May 2, 2024 11:29:42 GMT -5
I'm kind of fascinated by a new trend in my little suburb. My county is ~7% Muslim, and I would guess that's somewhat concentrated in my town, which has two mosques and a significant Asian population. One of the main business drags/state highways through our town has always had a number of Indian/Pakistani and Mediterranean restaurants, most of which are halal, and now ... coffee/tea shops are becoming a thing. There's now a second Adeni chai/coffee house opening two plots down from the first one that opened about two years ago, there's a bubble tea place across the street that serves chicken sandwiches, a "Muslims of the World" coffeehouse in our downtown... I love it, but I'm wondering just how many coffee/chai shops this area can support! Similar thing here but with south Asian population. My parents end of the city used to be white af with the suburb across the river being heavily white but with a strong 'growing affluence' east Asian population as well. Now it seems that the Chinese/Viet groups are either moving further south or to a newer suburb and it's mainly south Asian folks moving in and as a consequence literally every restaurant that's opened between my house and theirs in the past two years is some form of curry house or tiffin service. In some ways this is great as the only good curry joint in our end of town previously closed not long before the pandemic but I really have to wonder how many of them can survive. I imagine the answer is many of them won't and I know part of the reason for the changeover is that flood of restaurant openings that follows a few years after an immigration influx then waning as second/third gen kids don't want to take over the business but man I miss some old faves. I think part of the sadness for me is that much as I like indian food it's also kind of sad to order as a single person. Either you're only ordering a dish or two and getting no variety or you're ordering too much and then you burn yourself out on it cause you ate it 4 nights straight to get through the leftovers. I tend to order Thai food when I'm alone, and get two apps/sides and a main dish and then eat it over two nights. But yeah, Indian can be tough that way, it's always so much food!
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Post by Ben Grimm on May 2, 2024 12:29:20 GMT -5
I think part of the sadness for me is that much as I like indian food it's also kind of sad to order as a single person. Either you're only ordering a dish or two and getting no variety or you're ordering too much and then you burn yourself out on it cause you ate it 4 nights straight to get through the leftovers. This bit is interesting to me and has always been a weird thing to me in TV shows and movies. There will be a scene where 2-4 people have ordered Chinese (or Thai or whatever) and they've got, like, 20 of those little white rice boxes and they're all just kind of digging around in them.
Do people really order that way? Order a bunch of entrees and sides to try a little bit of everything? Any group I've ever been in, when ordering takeout, each person would order their meal, and that was their meal. None of this family-style thing. Not in my (admittedly limited) experience.
We do that all the time; it's one of our go-tos when family is visiting, but I used to do it with friends in grad school every so often, too. During COVID we'd consciously over-order take-out to have leftovers for a few days, too.
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Baron von Costume
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Like an iron maiden made of pillows... the punishment is decadence!
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Post by Baron von Costume on May 2, 2024 14:45:03 GMT -5
We used to do that, though to be honest we very rarely ever got takeout. My friends who I'd do takeout and hangout at home type things with are really unadventurous food wise.
That said the friends I was more likely to eat out with we'd always family style then everyone would divvy up their faves for takehome boxes. (Or we'd massively overorder at dim sum)
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LazBro
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Post by LazBro on May 2, 2024 15:44:06 GMT -5
We used to do that, though to be honest we very rarely ever got takeout. My friends who I'd do takeout and hangout at home type things with are really unadventurous food wise. That said the friends I was more likely to eat out with we'd always family style then everyone would divvy up their faves for takehome boxes. (Or we'd massively overorder at dim sum) I will say, in-restaurant dining like dim sum is a totally different vibe. Order a bunch of stuff and start passing the plates is the way for sure.
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Post by liebkartoffel on May 2, 2024 15:45:11 GMT -5
This bit is interesting to me and has always been a weird thing to me in TV shows and movies. There will be a scene where 2-4 people have ordered Chinese (or Thai or whatever) and they've got, like, 20 of those little white rice boxes and they're all just kind of digging around in them.
Do people really order that way? Order a bunch of entrees and sides to try a little bit of everything? Any group I've ever been in, when ordering takeout, each person would order their meal, and that was their meal. None of this family-style thing. Not in my (admittedly limited) experience.
We do that all the time; it's one of our go-tos when family is visiting, but I used to do it with friends in grad school every so often, too. During COVID we'd consciously over-order take-out to have leftovers for a few days, too. Same. If C and I are ordering Chinese we'll get three entrees and 1-2 appetizers and enjoy leftovers for a couple of days. It is interesting how specifically east Asian cuisine is associated with family style eating in American takeout culture. Growing up, we always did family style for Chinese and Thai, but if we ordered, say, Italian (Indian too, come to think of it) we'd each get our own entree and it would have been weird if we shared.
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Post by Liz n Dick on May 3, 2024 8:42:16 GMT -5
In a shocking turn of events, when I went to make my extremely basic pasta salad last night... HORRORS! I didn't have enough mayo. There are ALWAYS lots of replacement jars of mayo in my pantry! In fact, so many that I've recently been like, "Self, don't go down that aisle in the store to grab another jar of mayo. There's plenty at home." I seem to have overcorrected!
So Boomer offered to run out to the store, but come on. Mayo is makeable! And something I've long felt I should at least try. So make my own mayo I did, using Kenji's single-egg, immersion-blender-in-a-jar technique. It was fun! And turned out well! The pasta salad was excellent! And I'll be trying it on a sandwich today, but I'm not gonna lie -- for all the "Oh, homemade mayo is SO much better, it'll change your life and you'll never buy Hellman's again" rhetoric, it reminded me a bit of the phenomenon of homemade ketchup. The final product is good! There's no argument there! And it tastes, for lack of a better word, more "quality". But like how Heinz ketchup is the standard, and that specific product is what you're looking for when you look for the thing called "ketchup", I absolutely do not see homemade mayo ever replacing Hellman's at my table. It's just a completely different thing that I might sometimes want to use in certain situations but won't want all the time.
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Post by The Sensational She-Hulk on May 3, 2024 12:40:07 GMT -5
Homemade mayo is fabulous for when it really, really counts as a main ingredient of something, but otherwise I'm a Duke's devotee. The other big problem with homemade mayo is that it tends to break down much faster, so you really have to consume it in a couple of days. There's no making a batch for the week or month with it.
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Post by The Sensational She-Hulk on May 3, 2024 13:01:19 GMT -5
We do that all the time; it's one of our go-tos when family is visiting, but I used to do it with friends in grad school every so often, too. During COVID we'd consciously over-order take-out to have leftovers for a few days, too. Same. If C and I are ordering Chinese we'll get three entrees and 1-2 appetizers and enjoy leftovers for a couple of days. It is interesting how specifically east Asian cuisine is associated with family style eating in American takeout culture. Growing up, we always did family style for Chinese and Thai, but if we ordered, say, Italian (Indian too, come to think of it) we'd each get our own entree and it would have been weird if we shared. Meanwhile, my family: "Everybody order what you want but you'd better be willing to surrender a few bites so we can see if we like what you ordered and get that next time."
Honestly, I'm a big fan of the mix-and-match approach when ordering with others. But I am the kind of person who could also happily live forever just eating appetizers. I'll go along with what the majority wants to do, but I admit I do get a little bummed out when people are like...almost offended at the idea of sharing meals family-style.
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Baron von Costume
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Like an iron maiden made of pillows... the punishment is decadence!
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Post by Baron von Costume on May 3, 2024 13:36:56 GMT -5
I am meeting up next week with a group of old internet foodie friends in Vegas and like 5 days of sharing plates and eating high end stuff is going to be heaven.
Also booze, so many fancy cocktails.
Diet is going to suffer til I'm back though.
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Post by Pedantic Editor Type on May 6, 2024 8:30:06 GMT -5
A few weeks ago I made some frequently-requested cookies for TWBE to take to a work party; some of the grad assistants had them and like lost their minds. They're just chocolate chip cookies + peanut butter chips, but I do make some damn good chocolate chip cookies. Anyway, he went to graduation yesterday and when he returned handed me a card from one of the GAs, effusively thanking me for the cookies and calling them "life-changing" ... you heard it here first, folks And then she slipped in a request for the recipe hahaha which of course I am glad to provide, so I wrote it out for her and sent it back to work with TWBE today. And now for the week in food: Sunday: I made some tortas milanese pollo for Cinco de Mayo and they were quite tasty if I do say so myself Monday: I have a work social thing tonight so I will eat there Tuesday: Potato flatbread Wednesday: calzone Thursday: homemade taquitos
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Post by Liz n Dick on May 6, 2024 10:12:16 GMT -5
I have sufficient leftovers for lunches for this week already, which takes a whole annoying requirement out of my meal planning. Yay!
Monday: I liked the NYT Cooking recipe for creamy pasta with asparagus and peas so much last week that I'm doing it again this week. (Also, I still have a lot of frozen peas left.)
Tuesday: We've got some shopping errands, so we'll get burritos for dinner while we're out.
Wednesday: We do a group workout with our former trainer on Wednesday evenings now, and I'm always all energized after that, but also muscularly exhausted. So it's a weird combo on Wednesdays of feeling like I can conquer the world but also wanting to just lie on the couch and not move. Last week I did a more world-conquering amount of work prepping dinner, so this week I might just do a really basic pasta with minimal effort.
Thursday: I'll come up with something, based on whatever comes in the farm box this week. Maybe a nice dinner-grade salad?
Friday: It's the start of my first "there is nothing on the agenda either day!!!!" weekend in a month. It's like a mini-vacation! I CAN'T WAIT! We'll kick off the festivities with pancakes and Fleet: The Dice Game with dinner!
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Gumbercules
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Post by Gumbercules on May 6, 2024 14:00:13 GMT -5
Monday: I liked the NYT Cooking recipe for creamy pasta with asparagus and peas so much last week that I'm doing it again this week. (Also, I still have a lot of frozen peas left.) I made that last week and it was so good. I used to do the ricotta lemon garlic pasta (I believe it was this one) but this new version will overtake it.
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LazBro
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Post by LazBro on May 7, 2024 8:32:38 GMT -5
I had yesterday off of work, which I spent all day on errands and house work and little fun, but one thing I failed to do all that time was come up with much of a plan. I'm going to have to revisit the brainstorming on Wednesday and make another store run.
Sunday: I had planned tacos, it being Cinco de Mayo and all, but then the Mrs. wanted a margarita so we ended up going out for a Tex-Mex lunch instead. If I eat lunch, I never have the appetite for dinner, so I just made something simple for the kids.
Monday: Revisiting Sunday's plan, I made breakfast for dinner on the griddle, with bacon and toast for the kids, and breakfast tacos for me. Pulled some of the Christmas beef rib out of the freezer which I griddled up and added to scrambled eggs and cheese on flour tortillas. Monstrously rich, but very good.
Tuesday: Pasta night. San Francisco-style Vietnamese Garlic Noodles is the dish of the day, and since it's no additional effort, I'll make some plain/butter noodles also. And I'm going to sautee up some simple chicken breast to provide a protein option. Kind of testing a "safe foods" model I've seen suggested a lot for parents in my situation. It won't work, because my kids' actions aren't based on comfort, preferences, or taste. Their actions are driven by malice. But then, I'm their dad, so get what you give.
Wednesday: ? ? ?
Thursday: ? ? ?
Friday: Pizza
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Post by Liz n Dick on May 8, 2024 11:01:23 GMT -5
My first box from my fancy new CSA arrived just now. It is AMAZING. It's like the old days with my beloved former CSA -- head lettuces, lettuce mix, radishes, two bunches of gorgeous asparagus, leeks, fabulous purple scallions, boc choys, rhubarb (of which I am not a fan, but I'm still looking for savory ways to prepare it), the requisite farm-box kale! And a dozen eggs as an add-on purchase! I messaged Hugs to tell her how great it was, and she responded, "You've been so used to crummy box shares for too long!" HA! I still feel bad for the farmers who had to give up on their dream, but... yeah, it's nice to be a member at a better (for now!) farm. I haven't seen a May bounty like this in YEARS!
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outforawalk
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Post by outforawalk on May 8, 2024 13:29:40 GMT -5
This seems as good a place as any to say that I've returned after maybe 7 years away, specifically to track down Liz n Dick's spice cookie recipe which I misplaced years ago. Grand success, and impending cookie plans! In the spirit of... paying it forward??... in the time that I've not been on ye olde forum, I've discovered my favorite cookies courtesy of Martha Stewart: Chewy Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies. If combining ginger and chocolate doesn't sound confusing and wrong to you (a reaction which is confusing and wrong to me!) and you haven't tried them, you really should. At the moment I have mildly grand plans to stick around here, but we'll see how that shakes out. Hope you all have been well this whole time!
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Post by Liz n Dick on May 8, 2024 14:18:42 GMT -5
This seems as good a place as any to say that I've returned after maybe 7 years away, specifically to track down Liz n Dick 's spice cookie recipe which I misplaced years ago. Grand success, and impending cookie plans! In the spirit of... paying it forward??... in the time that I've not been on ye olde forum, I've discovered my favorite cookies courtesy of Martha Stewart: Chewy Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies. If combining ginger and chocolate doesn't sound confusing and wrong to you (a reaction which is confusing and wrong to me!) and you haven't tried them, you really should. At the moment I have mildly grand plans to stick around here, but we'll see how that shakes out. Hope you all have been well this whole time! Good to see you again, and thanks for bringing a great recipe to share! Don't be a stranger, and enjoy those spice cookies!!
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LazBro
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Post by LazBro on May 9, 2024 11:54:48 GMT -5
Hosting the family this Saturday. It started as a simple "I've got a menu I want to try out, but no one in my house eats anything, so please come over and let me cook for you" kind of thing, but we ended up combining it with another gathering scheduled for next weekend (and also Mother's Day, I guess), which was a celebration of my parents' fiftieth wedding anniversary. So it's an anniversary party, Mother's Day, and Bro feels like cooking for folks all rolled into one. Efficient!
The menu is Hawaiian. I've never been to Hawaii, but my parents have, and they l liked it, so uh, yeah, appropriate theme.
Huli Huli chicken - a sweet and savory island teriyaki kind of thing, grilled over charcoal Kalua pork - my version will be a whole pork shoulder seasoned with Hawaiian pink salt, smoked low for several hours, then wrapped and finished in banana leaves Hawaiian macaroni salad - a relatively "plain" pasta salad with mayonnaise base, onions, carrots, sugar, salt, and lots of black pepper. I find it so addictive Sticky rice Pineapple
For snacks I'm keeping it simple with packaged goods, but I am going to make one thing: a sweet "salsa" of strawberries and mangoes, and crunchy baked flour tortilla chips with cinnamon sugar dusting for dipping.
I'm no good at cocktails, but I'll have common ingredients available if anyone wants to make a tiki drink. Got the little umbrellas and everything.
Finally, for the kids, I've concocted a mocktail of Sprite, pineapple juice, grenadine, and orgeat, with a maraschino cherry and pineapple garnish. Tested them this week with my kids, and they're fabulously delicious and quite pretty. This being a 50th anniversary, I've named my mocktail the Hawaii 5-0.
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Post by The Sensational She-Hulk on May 10, 2024 11:32:57 GMT -5
outforawalk 's post gave me the idea to make that olive-oil cake today, so thank you! I had four blood oranges starting to dessicate in my produce drawer, plus an eight-ounce bottle of blood-orange olive oil that I was going to forget about otherwise, so I used those for the cake that is currently in the oven. I used Campari in lieu of Grand Marnier because I have it on hand and added about 1/4 tsp. each of cardamom and nutmeg. Also, about a tablespoon of really good vanilla extract. It smells delicious in here already!
The reviews on that recipe crack me up, though. "It's so much oil!" Brenda, you don't even use that much butter in a regular sponge cake. Calm down.
I'm making pho ga for dinner tonight. It's unseasonably cool and wet today and I want pho, dammit.
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outforawalk
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Post by outforawalk on May 12, 2024 21:12:10 GMT -5
That sounds really good. I've never had an olive oil cake that wasn't fine, but I also have never been blown away by one. Making it super orangey sounds like a promising direction to go in.
Speaking of orangey I purchased a Mexican chocolate cinnamon roll from a farmer's market stand today and it was divine. Very orangey, very cinnamony. I think the only chocolate was in the cream cheese frosting (probably also additional cinnamon in that?) but there could have been a bit of cocoa in with the cinnamon swirly bits. Anyway chocolate cream cheese frosting is apparently something I need more of in my life.
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Post by Liz n Dick on May 13, 2024 8:14:47 GMT -5
Food! Again!
Monday: It's a rare Monday night where Hugs is home with us for dinner, so we can't just have, like, kale and eggs. I ended up doing frozen pizza last night, because I could punt our plan of chicken-leek pasties to today. For those of us with refined taste, there might be some kale on offer, too. But it's Monday. There might not be.
Tuesday: I AM ADDICTED TO THE CREAMY ASPARAGUS PASTA FROM NYT COOKING! We're doing it again! Hugs was grumbling about not wanting to have any of it, when I said she could just have her pasta with the sauce but without the asparagus and peas. She was like, "Ugh, this sounds really unfortunate," and I was like, "Does it really? Because the sauce is heavy cream and parmesan cheese, simmer for a couple of minutes to thickness." She was like, "Forget I complained!"
Wednesday: Chicken fingers and freezer-section french fries.
Thursday: We're on the cusp of getaway week before vacation. Time to kick off the festivities with a Chinese takeout night!
Friday: Pancakes.
Weekend: Saturday is always pasta night, and I'll probably just do spaghetti and meatballs, barring something very exciting in either farm box. Sunday will be a chicken curry, to generate some leftovers going into Getaway Week!
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Post by Pedantic Editor Type on May 13, 2024 8:30:12 GMT -5
They finished (I think) rearranging the grocery store and then got new carts which I don't like much - they're 100% plastic (except for maybe the wheels) and instead of a flat spot by the handle to place your wallet or whatever, which is where I usually put my list, it's just like a vertical slot that doesn't hold much. I put my list in there and within 5 minutes it had blown away and I couldn't find it, so I had to shop sans list. Annoying.
But I think I got everything.
Sunday: "old school" ground chicken tacos in hard shells
Monday: Chicken enchiladas
Tuesday: Buffalo chicken mac n cheese
Wednesday: Black bean empanadas
Thursday: Breakfast-for-dinner
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LazBro
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Post by LazBro on May 13, 2024 8:31:19 GMT -5
Positives: - The party was a success. We lied to my parents about the arrival time (because they're always exactly on time if not early) so that my sister and her family could arrive early and decorate. It was pretty funny, because the theme ended up being classic 50th wedding anniversary but also it's a luau.
- Really happy with how all the food turned out. I don't know that wrapping my pork should in banana leaves had a huge impact on flavor, but it was a very tasty, easily pulled pork shoulder. The huli huli chicken was a big hit. No matter what I cook, my family always gravitates toward the poultry. You can spend $250 on a massive prime rib for Christmas and they will be more than happy to tell you how much they liked the turkey. Mac salad and rice turned out as wanted, and my last minute addition of some steamed and sauteed asparagus with cherry vinegar, just to add a vegetable, got multiple compliments.
- For the adults, I made a big pitcher of Painkiller. A classic tiki drink made of pineapple juice, orange juice, cream of coconut, nutmeg, and Pusser's Rum. (It's a trademarked drink, and while no one at home should care, any business that offers a Painkiller using another kind of rum is technically at risk of litigation. Anyway, I bought the Pusser's to be traditional.) As I set about the work and mess of squeezing 8 large oranges for their juice, I feared that nobody would care or want one. Again, offering a cocktail is unusual for me. But, everybody partook, and all enjoyed. (And I've been enjoying the leftover mix, only done my way with 1oz Appleton Estate Jamaican Rum and 1oz Kraken black spiced rum.)
- For the kids, because this was a 50th wedding anniversary slash luau, I crafted what I'm calling the Hawaii 5-0. A blend of pineapple juice and Sprite, with small additions of both grenadine and orgeat (almond syrup), mixed over ice and topped with an umbrella and a garnish skewer of pineapple and maraschino cherry. I never thought of a second one, but the kids really liked this, and each of them drained three glasses.
- Except for the flies, which are inescapable this time of year, the weather was perfect for enjoying the patio. Even got to use the new shades we finally installed since the wind was low.
Negatives: - My sister's family brought ice cream for dessert, two half-gallons of Blue Bell, and when they arrived they let their boy (yes, THAT nephew) carry it in. I was busy pulling pork when this kid walks in, shouting over and over, "Where do I put the ice cream? Where do I put the ice cream? Where do I put the ice cream?" Like rapid fire. Now, I respect that everyone has different parenting styles, and I acknowledge that mine can be ... brusk. But if that was my kid, I would have smacked him and told him to act right. That is not the behavior of a guest. What happened instead was my BIL raised his voice at me, saying, "Hey! He's asking you where to put the ice cream." (And this is besides the point, but like, "I don't know, guys, how about the freezer?!")
- This couldn't have been more than a minute later, my BIL goes to my garage fridge and shoves his beer in there. I learn of this later when I go to get something myself and see that he's knocked over several glass bottles and jars. Thankfully nothing broke, but some undetermined thing was dripping, and I had a big mess to clean up.
- Nephew was picking on my son JJ pretty bad, but they were inside while the adults were outside on the patio visiting before dinner. I was running back and forth at that point, grilling the chicken, finishing up the rice, prepping the asparagus, just generally being stressed the way 10 minutes before the dinner bell at a big party always is. I happened to be in the kitchen at the moment to witness nephew shove my son away from the snack table and say, "JJ, don't do that, you'll make crumbs." I immediately shouted, "[Nephew!], you do not push my son. You do not police other people in this house. Just because you want something done a certain way doesn't mean you get to have it. You've been picking on him since you got here, and you're being a bully." He went white and looked shocked. He has literally never heard the word "no" in his life. God it felt good. (I don't know why no one likes me, it's a mystery.)
- When the party was over and people were done with the ice cream, my sister didn't want to take it home. They live an hour away, so this makes since. She placed it back in the door freezer, and off they went. I discovered the next morning that when she returned the ice cream that night, she placed one of the containers in such a way that the freezer didn't quite close. Unfortunately I did not notice this until the morning. On the upside, the crack was so slight, that everything in there except the ice cream was saveable. I just quickly moved what I could to my other freezer while I cleaned up. On the downside, for reasons yet to be determined, this has ruined the ice maker. It still makes ice, and deposits that ice in the bin, but the motor no longer turns. I'm still working on it. Possibly the thawing and freezing sloshed some water around and now it's hard stuck. I've tried manually manipulating it, running hot water on the gears, but the thing just won't turn. So we have a working ice maker, but it will not dispense.
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LazBro
Prolific Poster
Posts: 10,049
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Post by LazBro on May 13, 2024 8:33:06 GMT -5
Oh, and one more negative: - This has left me completely fried and brainless. I have no idea what to make for dinner this week.
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Post by Liz n Dick on May 13, 2024 8:41:15 GMT -5
Oh my god, LazBro, your family is making me incandescent with rage! How wretched! Good for you knocking that brat down a peg, but WTF with the sloppy freezer/fridge behavior from the adults?!? UGH! That said, the meal sounds amazing and like maybe SOME people there don't deserve to be fed so well!
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Post by The Sensational She-Hulk on May 13, 2024 10:08:08 GMT -5
For real! Dude, I'm not a mechanical expert, but it sounds like she burned out the motor of your ice maker because it was struggling to keep up during the thaws/refreezes. You might just need to call a repair shop and get someone out to replace the motor. As someone who has to make ice in trays like a peasant (and broke a tray the other week by banging it too hard on the counter to loosen ice cubes), I am enraged by the fact that your ice maker is broken due to total carelessness. I've always been so careful with other people's things, even going back to childhood, and there's very little behavior that sends me into a tailspin of rage like people being cavalier with others' belongings. The one time in culinary school I lost my temper was with a classmate who wouldn't stop "borrowing" things out of my knife roll. I'm nonconfrontational almost to a fault, but I had my own Henckels in there, not the school-issued garbage.
It rained so much on Friday that I lost the will to leave the house. I'm making the pho ga broth right now, and my apartment smells incredible. I had to go to two different grocery stores yesterday because the first one didn't have bean sprouts, but it'll be worth the effort to have pho now and for the freezer.
Also, that olive oil cake turned out great. Not too sweet at all! Probably because I used Campari rather than Grand Marnier, but it also doesn't call for a ton of sugar to begin with. It's somehow even better several days after baking it. My parents were delighted that I brought them a giant wedge of the stuff.
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Gumbercules
AV Clubber
Get out of my dreams, and into my van
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Post by Gumbercules on May 14, 2024 11:37:18 GMT -5
Tuesday: I AM ADDICTED TO THE CREAMY ASPARAGUS PASTA FROM NYT COOKING! We're doing it again! Hugs was grumbling about not wanting to have any of it, when I said she could just have her pasta with the sauce but without the asparagus and peas. She was like, "Ugh, this sounds really unfortunate," and I was like, "Does it really? Because the sauce is heavy cream and parmesan cheese, simmer for a couple of minutes to thickness." She was like, "Forget I complained!" Unfortunately, my wife thinks she might be lactose intolerant now. She's been cutting out all dairy (except butter, which she says is fine), meaning I don't get to make this pasta again. Last weekend for Mother's Day, I made a dirty garden mint ice cream using lactaid milk and Califia Farms Heavy Whip (dairy-free heavy cream). It came out good, though slightly icy. The heavy cream substitute is made from coconut. It has a very slight coconut taste, meaning I can't use it in a pasta dish or in mashed potatoes. Or, I guess I could try it. That taste didn't come through in the ice cream, but there was enough mint and chocolate in that to mask any other taste.
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Gumbercules
AV Clubber
Get out of my dreams, and into my van
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Post by Gumbercules on May 14, 2024 11:43:22 GMT -5
- Nephew was picking on my son JJ pretty bad, but they were inside while the adults were outside on the patio visiting before dinner. I was running back and forth at that point, grilling the chicken, finishing up the rice, prepping the asparagus, just generally being stressed the way 10 minutes before the dinner bell at a big party always is. I happened to be in the kitchen at the moment to witness nephew shove my son away from the snack table and say, "JJ, don't do that, you'll make crumbs." I immediately shouted, "[Nephew!], you do not push my son. You do not police other people in this house. Just because you want something done a certain way doesn't mean you get to have it. You've been picking on him since you got here, and you're being a bully." He went white and looked shocked. He has literally never heard the word "no" in his life. God it felt good. (I don't know why no one likes me, it's a mystery.)
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