What's cookin', good lookin'?

[DeepGreenEyes]

Made some comfort food from my youth tonight as I am missing my Grandmother deeply and this is one way I can bring her back into my day for a little while.

Classic meatloaf smothered in ketchup, peppered, mashed, and whipped potatoes, simple green salad with croutons, onion, mozzarella and Italian vinaigrette, and for dessert sliced strawberries sprinkled lightly with brown sugar and a dollop of sour cream.

What a great way for someone to live on. Sometimes, when I miss my grandparents, I get a craving for steak grilled in just a certain way, with mushrooms; peas with pearl onions, and pineapple cream pie ( ).

Food: fuel for the memory machine.

 

[Curious_in_Cali]

What a great way for someone to live on. Sometimes, when I miss my grandparents, I get a craving for steak grilled in just a certain way, with mushrooms; peas with pearl onions, and pineapple cream pie ( ).

Food: fuel for the memory machine.

Pearl onions and peas are memory fuel indeed. Pineapple and cream cheese are yummy together, so as pie seems like it has promise.

One that I remember with my paternal Grandmother is that she would slice a very ripe cantalope in quarters and scoop out the seedy center and put a scoop of french vanilla ice cream in the rounded valleys of the lope. I remember thinking she was nuts, but then I tried it and it was actually really good on that hot summer night so long ago. Giggling as lil kids do about calling them creamy lope boats is a great part of that memory too.

 

[TarevaChine]

Pineapple and cream cheese are yummy together, so as pie seems like it has promise.

SNIP

It does! Add a couple more ingredients and you have a Pina Colada Pie. I have been making this pie for years and people still rave over it.

 

[Curious_in_Cali]

It does! Add a couple more ingredients and you have a Pina Colada Pie. I have been making this pie for years and people still rave over it.

Sounds like I need his recipie! Please?

 

[TarevaChine]

Sounds like I need his recipie! Please?

Absolutely! I will get it to you later today.

 

[DeepGreenEyes]

Pearl onions and peas are memory fuel indeed. Pineapple and cream cheese are yummy together, so as pie seems like it has promise.

One that I remember with my paternal Grandmother is that she would slice a very ripe cantalope in quarters and scoop out the seedy center and put a scoop of french vanilla ice cream in the rounded valleys of the lope. I remember thinking she was nuts, but then I tried it and it was actually really good on that hot summer night so long ago. Giggling as lil kids do about calling them creamy lope boats is a great part of that memory too.

Your grandmother told you, when you grow up, you canalope, didn't she?

It does! Add a couple more ingredients and you have a Pina Colada Pie. I have been making this pie for years and people still rave over it.

It sounds good. Pie and alchohol.

 

[DeepGreenEyes]

Homemade vegetable beef soup, you are my autumnal yes.

 

[IrisAlthea]

Osso Buco with Risotto Milanese. Yum!

 

[butterfly_flip]

Cheesy potato and broccoli bake with bacon. Was absolutely divine

 

[CutieMouse]

I bought myself an enameled cast iron braiser for Christmas, and since it was a drizzly, damp, and miserable outside, I decided to christen it today - Beef Bourguinnon & homemade baguettes fresh from the oven.

My house smells like some divine manly French hunting lodge. I've never made beef bourguinon before, and I almost cried pouring a $13 bottle of Pinot Noir into a freaking stew, but ohmysweetgoodness was it worth it.

 

[AevaLynn]

I have a potato soup in the crock pot today. It's a little different , you use frozen hash browns and cream cheese. Needed something I could throw together quickly and this got good reviews. It smells good so we shall see !

 

[midwestyankee]

I bought myself an enameled cast iron braiser for Christmas, and since it was a drizzly, damp, and miserable outside, I decided to christen it today - Beef Bourguinnon & homemade baguettes fresh from the oven.

My house smells like some divine manly French hunting lodge. I've never made beef bourguinon before, and I almost cried pouring a $13 bottle of Pinot Noir into a freaking stew, but ohmysweetgoodness was it worth it.

Which recipe did you use for the boeuf bourguignon?

 

[Curious_in_Cali]

I made a huge pot of simple navy bean soup yesterday, and after letting it rest in the fridge overnight I will be SLOWLY warming it up and letting it simmer today as well as it was a HUGE ham bone to cook down that I think still has more to give to my soup. It already smells INCREDIBLE. Once I bubble out the last bits of flavor, I will pull out the used up bones & bits and then I will be adding in a little thickener and cream for a belly warming chowder.

Me thinks I need fresh baked bread for dipping, yup... I really do.

 

[IrisAlthea]

Dates filled with almonds and wrapped in bacon.
Shrimp soup as a first course.
Then we will have veal with herbs, blue cheese, cream, tomatoes and potatoes. Baby leaf chard, spinach and a vinaigrette to go with that.
Almond paste mousse with spicy orange salad for dessert.

 

[ultramarineblue]

Homemade pizza with sausage, mushrooms, artichoke hearts, olives and about 5 or 6 different cheeses.

 

[Curious_in_Cali]

Baked salmon drizzled with a simple home made BBQ sauce served over a ceasar salad with shaved parmesean cucumber, and pistachios. Dessert... chunky baked applesauce with cinnamon and nutmeg. The smells of the baked BBQ salmon and applesauce dancing about in in my kitchen are divine! I almost didn't want to eat because it will quiet the aroumas...well, almost.

 

[Sir_Winston54]

I baked three loaves of banana bread yesterday. She took one to work today, and said it lasted maybe 20 minutes. We mostly killed one loaf last night, and about half of the last loaf this evening. I think it was probably okay.



I think I'll probably have to make more before too long.

 

[juicyfruits]

chicken casserole with mash potato

 

[seela]

Dear Foodies,

I'd like to whip up a dinner for two, with entrée, main and dessert, when I finally return back home, and because it's been way too long since I've actually cooked myself, I'm completely blanking on ideas. So help, please?

It'll be a "it was your birthday while I was gone and yay I'm back home" sort of thing. Nothing super fancy, but still festive, because it'll be for his birthday, too. And he's not a picky eater.

Pretty much the only thing I've decided on is gravlax rolls for entrée, which is something he really loves. It'll be slices of gravlax topped with spiced creamcheese, herbs and arugula and rolled into bitesize pieces. And then some light salad to go with it. But I'm certainly open for other ideas as well, and definitely open for ideas concerning the light salad part of my gravlax roll thought.

For main I was thinking about steak, but after not having done pretty much anything in the kitchen for five months, I'm not sure I can pull off a decent, lump-free sauce (because that's never been my strongest suit). And even if I decide on steak, there's still the question of sidedish.

For dessert I don't even have any ideas yet. He prefers his dessert on the light and fruity side rather than a heavy chocolate mudcake, for example.

The catch is, though, that I have to get everything done (including shopping, setting the table, doing the dishes and primping myself) in four or five hours for it to be a surprise. The dinner won't happen until in February, so there's still a lot of time. I just wanted to start planning early. Because that's just what I do.

Thanks for any ideas you might have!

 

[YourCaptor]

Dear Foodies,

I'd like to whip up a dinner for two, with entrée, main and dessert, when I finally return back home, and because it's been way too long since I've actually cooked myself, I'm completely blanking on ideas. So help, please?

It'll be a "it was your birthday while I was gone and yay I'm back home" sort of thing. Nothing super fancy, but still festive, because it'll be for his birthday, too. And he's not a picky eater.

Pretty much the only thing I've decided on is gravlax rolls for entrée, which is something he really loves. It'll be slices of gravlax topped with spiced creamcheese, herbs and arugula and rolled into bitesize pieces. And then some light salad to go with it. But I'm certainly open for other ideas as well, and definitely open for ideas concerning the light salad part of my gravlax roll thought.

For main I was thinking about steak, but after not having done pretty much anything in the kitchen for five months, I'm not sure I can pull off a decent, lump-free sauce (because that's never been my strongest suit). And even if I decide on steak, there's still the question of sidedish.

For dessert I don't even have any ideas yet. He prefers his dessert on the light and fruity side rather than a heavy chocolate mudcake, for example.

The catch is, though, that I have to get everything done (including shopping, setting the table, doing the dishes and primping myself) in four or five hours for it to be a surprise. The dinner won't happen until in February, so there's still a lot of time. I just wanted to start planning early. Because that's just what I do.

Thanks for any ideas you might have!

Do you have a specialty?

 

[seela]

Do you have a specialty?

Most of what I cook isn't very fancy, so I don't think my specialities will do this time. I'm really bad at coming up with complete menus that work well, and that's also why I'm reacing out to you guys.

 

[Curious_in_Cali]

Dear Foodies,

I'd like to whip up a dinner for two, with entrée, main and dessert, ... <snip>For dessert I don't even have any ideas yet. He prefers his dessert on the light and fruity side rather than a heavy chocolate mudcake, for example.

One light n fruity dessert that is a crowd pleaser is fruit pizza. It is sugar cookie dough as the crust (baked and cooled) then you schmear it with a thin layer of cream cheese icing and then drizzled the icing with (slightly watered down) marmalade.... then you take beautiful slices of whatever fresh fruit sings to you (or him) and arrange it over the top. I usally go with strawberries, peaches, blueberries, and kiwis because the color is so pretty....but really anything you like will work. The crust baking, icing, and fruit slicing can be done the day before....but I wouldn't place the fruit on more than a few hours before serving to keep it looking fresh.

 

[seela]

One light n fruity dessert that is a crowd pleaser is fruit pizza. It is sugar cookie dough as the crust (baked and cooled) then you schmear it with a thin layer of cream cheese icing and then drizzled the icing with (slightly watered down) marmalade.... then you take beautiful slices of whatever fresh fruit sings to you (or him) and arrange it over the top. I usally go with strawberries, peaches, blueberries, and kiwis because the color is so pretty....but really anything you like will work. The crust baking, icing, and fruit slicing can be done the day before....but I wouldn't place the fruit on more than a few hours before serving to keep it looking fresh.

This sounds really good and I'm definitely filing the idea away for future reference. I'll have to see what kind of fruit selection there is in the supermarket when I get there. It's hardly the prime season for any ripe fruits in Finland at the moment.

Some kind of a menu is starting to form. And at the moment it looks like chopping and slicing will be the most time-consuming part of my cooking. I'll be baking some of the things in the oven and the steaks I won't do until he gets home anyways, so I think I could pull off the fruit pizzas for dessert even if I have to do it all in those few hours.

 

[YourCaptor]

Most of what I cook isn't very fancy, so I don't think my specialities will do this time. I'm really bad at coming up with complete menus that work well, and that's also why I'm reacing out to you guys.

I wouldn't worry about "fancy". You could take moms boring mash potatoes, add a little more butter, cream it a little more, and serve it in a wine glass and everyone will think it's amazing.

Plus if you wanted "fancy" fancy you'd be going to a restaurant right, this is more personal I think.

Which is why it's also difficult to suggest things, because food is so personal. Culture, childhood, the distinct flavor of local food, it all factors in.

What I would do is first look up what locally non-supermarket shelf type stuff you could use, and what will be in season.

Things that may be in season in your locations could be, oyster, mussels, crab, bunny, kale, butternut squash, fennel, leeks, and turnips, plus many more.

Once you know of some good ingredients look up recipes, but watch out for the web, be aware of culture.

And practice if it will be a first time you make it thing.

 

[YourCaptor]

Damn, now I want oysters... with fennel... man that could be amazing.