This week in the kitchen

Monday/30-Nov-20: Picked up an order at Leclerc today. Dinner was a halfish version of A Night in Tunisia (web), which sounded good, but was only so-so. Followed by a big salad. And more pumpkin cake.

Tuesday/1-Dec-20: Yogurt on overday.

Dinner was a halfish dose of Gulai Udang Dengan Labu Kuning—Shrimp and Zucchini Curry (TLPacSEA, p81). I wonder what the veg should have been,since I don't think of zucchini as a Malayan veggie. And I bet the lemon juice should have been lime. Nevertheless, it was good stuff. Served over basmati rice. A pair of chocolate-covered madeleines for after.

Wednesday/2-Dec-20: We're out of bread, so this evening I made another loaf of English Muffin Bread (BMB, p17).

Dinner was a big half of Rigatoni with White Bolognese (Essential, p344; cookbooker). I used 5% ground beef and 8oz of Hazan's Italian sausage from the freezer, which made about a pound and a quarter altogether, when 2# was asked for the whole recipe. No celery in house; I added some dried celery leaves to the carrots and onions. Happened to have some rigatoni, so used that. Very good. Then a small salad. And a pair of chocolate-covered madeleines each for after.

Thursday/3-Dec-20: Dinner was about a third recipe of Braised Balsamic Chicken (web). This was pretty easy and pretty good. Took the skin off the thighs, since we don't like that braised. Nice sauce. Served with polenta and a little made-up salad of cuke and radish. A pair of chocolate-covered madeleines each for after (the last sack expiring tomorrow).

Friday/4-Dec-20: Made some Apple Chipotle Jelly (Raichlen1, p215) this morning. The recipe calls for an enormous amount of sugar. On the web, I found that jellies made with apple juice generally asked for +/- twice the amount of sugar as juice. (I used sucre pour confiture that has the pectin already added.) Given that cider vinegar was part of liquid (three cups in total), I used three cups of sugar. Tastes good, but it hasn't jelled up. 

 

Dinner was a halfish dose of Lasagne coi Gamberi e Canestrelli—Lasagne with Prawns and Scallops (ClassPasta, p142). This was barely seasoned, just tasty with the shellfish and the bechamel. Pretty good, but nothing special. Then a salad. Then some mini HD ice cream cups.

Yogurt on overnight.

Saturday/5-Dec-20: Made a loaf of Maple Oatmeal Bread (BMB, p41) (Basic/Rapid/S/m/-), using only 1/4cup maple syrup as my previous notes said. The loaf turned out very high; maybe cook as Medium, even though flour-wise it's Small. It's a tasty bread but too soft inside, which makes it hard to cut.

Picked up an order from Intermarché Drive today. Annoyingly several items were not included, even though they are still in the assortment on the site. Think someone was rushed and didn't feel like collecting the items. Ordered a bit of rumsteack for a beefy meal sometime; it's thin and the size of a small placemat! Ordered a turkey leg to roast for making gravy to go with a cornbread stuffing dinner we're going to have before long. Weighty thing, it's 1.638kg; I've had turkeys not much bigger than that!

 

Dinner was a halfish recipe of Boulettes de Poisson Blanc, Sauce Piquante (VPG; web; mine). I'm puzzled by what was piquante in the sauce, but it was good nevertheless. For the tomato sauce, I used a bit of Marcella Hazan's famous tomato sauce from the freezer; I added a bit of Cajun spice mix along the way. A marinara-ish sauce might work too. I used a moulinette to grind the (fresh, not frozen) fish, but I expect the cuisinart would work just fine. I added some cilantro to the fish. I did not add the oil to the pan before cooking the fish balls in the sauce. Served over long-grain brown rice (fiber!) with some lemon-sprinkled steamed broccoli. A pair of chocolate-covered madeleines each for after.

Sunday/6-Dec-20: Didn't feel like making what was one the plan, and the cooking of that will work better tomorrow, so I made a halfish dose of Shrimp and Leek Spaghetti (CL; web). This was easy, quick, and good. While I was making that, I also made some Crème au Chocolate Express (mine). We should have had three nights of these, but I managed to drop one of the  bakjes as I put it away, leaving a half-ful dish and a mess on the floor. Ed ate the remaining half and we'll make two servings from the remaining three dishes. 

 

Made the batter for Overnight Bread.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: 5; #2 BACKLOG: yes 

This month: #3 GUESTS: n/a
This year: #4 SHORT: no; #5 LONG: no
On-going: #6 READ; #7 RECYCLE; #8 NEW

This week in the kitchen

Monday/23-Nov-20: Made some Cranberry-Port Relish (MC; web) for Thanksgiving. Prepped the pork for tomorrow's meal.

Dinner was from a food truck—yay, no cooking!

Yogurt on overnight.

Tuesday/24-Nov-20: Dinner was Pork Vindaloo (Q&E, p33). Cooked this off in the crockpot, since we were away a good part of the day. Served with plain basmati rice, Pan-Grilled Zucchini (MJFamily, p173) (cooked in a cast iron skillet with no extra oil), and Yoghurt with Cucumber and Mint—Kheere ka Raita (MJ1, p162). All are old favorites.

Wednesday/25-Nov-20: Made a loaf of English Muffin Bread (BMB, p17) in the morning. Delicious bread, but tiny 2# loaf.

Made up the roulades for tomorrow's meal. Baked a pumpkin cake.

Dinner from the freezer, chicken adobo stew, served over brown rice, with a salad. A pair of chocolate-covered madeleines for after.

Thursday/26-Nov-20: Yes, it's Thanksgiving, with a doctor's appointment in the middle of the day, which limited what could be done.

For the table, I trimmed the little tulips we got from Intermarché last week. They have held up remarkably well. Dutch tulips in a Delftware vase.

We started with Smoked Salmon with Dill-Mustard Sauce, (VegHarv, p4). I've made this nice little starter before. The rolls of salmon look pretty lonely on the plate some I added some sliced cucumbers, which go nicely with the sauce.

For our main, we again had mini versions Shane's Turkey Roll using turkey scallops. I really do have to write up his recipe to save it properly. These were accompanied by: 

• Balsamic Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Cranberries & Pecans (web). Picked the sprouts up at a Drive this morning, so didn't have time for marinating as I often do. (We like marinated roasted sprouts as a starter.) This was a new recipe and definitely a keeper. I thought I'd ordered 500g of sprouts, but it was only 250g (and ended up being on sale, although the quality was fine, just a mix of sizes, big and small), which is barely enough for two.
• Started out to make Tornado Potatoes (web), but failed at the cutting, so I turned them into hasselback potatoes with the same coating. (I've got lots of the coating left. It might end up on something else in the next days.) And, of course, there was ...
• Cranberry-Port Relish (MC, web), which is my standard recipe, much liked here and very easy. Unfortunately took the picture before I added cranberry sauce to the plate, so it looks a bit colorless.

For dessert, there was Pumpkin Cake (MC), another favorite, although not so old. We'll be eating it for days, but it keeps well. 

Yogurt on overnight.

Friday/27-Nov-20: Dinner was, sort of, Salmon Leek Pie with Lemon Dill Crust (PotPies, p132). I had bits of salmon and of lieu noir in the freezer, so I used those together rather than all salmon. Instead of the lemon-dill crust, I used smashed potatoes with dill and lemon zest added. Pretty good it was. Followed by a salad. Then some pumpkin pie. 

Forgot to make bread during the day, so

Saturday/28-Nov-20: I used a new recipe to make blueberry pancakes for breakfast. Oops, recipe didn't work very well. I poured all the batter in the pan and made a kind of pancake cake. Edible, but not pretty.

Scallops were supposed to be on the menu tonight. But the two packages that were supposed to be freezer weren't to be found. I'm puzzled where they've gone since we haven't had scallops in a while. While rummaging through the freezer, I found a package of gyozas, pork-and-kimchi, that I found at Leclerc Drive. I steamed those, made some rice, a bit of dipping sauce (web), and a salad of shredded chineeskool, broccoli stems, carrot, and red onion, with a ginger-sesame dressing. All was pretty good. Have another package of plain pork gyozas for another night. Pumpkin cake for after.

Made up some batter for Overnight Bread.

Sunday/29-Nov-20: Baked the Overnight Bread this morning. Ed insists this is his all-time favorite. He also said I could do the pancake cake again. 

An easy dinner, Curried Fried Rice (MW@Home, p226), which is an old favorite. I didn't cook the rice ahead and chill it as one should; I just cooled it on a big plate. Used red Thai curry paste for the curry bit. It was good. Some mini ice cream cups for after.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: 2; #2 BACKLOG: yes
This month: #3 GUESTS: n/a
This year: #4 SHORT: no; #5 LONG: no
On-going: #6 READ; #7 RECYCLE; #8 NEW

This week in the kitchen

Monday/16-Nov-20: My sack of chicken bones in the freezer overfloweth, so I started a pot of stock today.

Dinner was Fennel-Leek Frittata with Goat Cheese and Black Olives (Bishop, p84; cookbooker). This was quite tasty, plus it was easy and quick. Then a salad. A pair of chocolate-covered madeleines for after.

Yogurt on overnight.

Tuesday/17-Nov-20: Made a loaf of Authentic French Bread (Magic, p22) (Basic/Rapid/M/m/-), with 2c T65 and 1c T110. This is the recipe I used to make by heart. It's supposed to be baked in the oven, but I don't believe I've ever done that. It comes out quite nice from the bread machine.

Dinner was Chile-Garlic Shrimp (MC; CL/apr08; web), a recipe I've made a number of times. Broccoli in the sauce, and served over brown rice. Spice chocolate ice cream for after.

Wednesday/18-Nov-20: I boned the leftover chicken from Sunday and we had soft tacos with guacamole and pico de gallo. Satisfying. And a pair of chocolate-covered madeleines for after.

Thursday/19-Nov-20: Made a loaf of Whole-Wheat Soda Bread (Magic, p66) this morning. Haven't tried it yet.

Dinner was soup from the freezer, and good it was. Followed by a big salad. And a pair of chocolate-covered madeleines for after.

Friday/20-Nov-20: Put a rouelle of ham on to brine today, following Adler's instructions (Everlasting, p169).

Picked up an order from Intermarché Drive today, so it was fish for dinner. I ordered three packets of four chicken thighs (three because thighs frequently don't show up, eve though ordered, and we're out), and was puzzled when there were four packets. Two of them, it turns out were short-life products, expiring today, and about a third the price. Quick into the freezer with them.

Dinner was a half recipe of Gratin de Poisson et Pomme de Terre (VPG). This was okay, if nothing special. Followed by a salad.

Yogurt on overnight.

Saturday/21-Nov-20: Brined the chunk of pork like Adler suggested, and cooked it the same way, Pork Roast (Everlasting, p169). Very yummy. Planned on smashed sweet potatoes as a go-with, but happened to read about using chopped broccoli sautéed in olive oil with garlic, served over linguine and sprinkled with chopped fermented black beans (Colwin2, p195), and did that instead, with tagliatelle. All was good. Buddy and Sophie enjoyed some fatty treats after. And a pair of chocolate-covered madeleines for after.

Started a batch of Overnight Bread.

Sunday/22-Nov-20: Baked off the Overnight Bread. Yum.

We're not sure why, but our Intermarché order also included a bos of tiny white tulips. These have prettily opened a pale pink.

Froze up almost four liters of chicken stock. I've boiled it up every day, and even added to it, but it's time to be finished. Smells good.

Dinner was Thai Black Pepper Chicken (MC), with skinless, boneless chicken thighs. (These are mightily have to come by here; only one more packet in the freezer and no way to get more, since they're not carried at any Drive that I attend.) Good stuff. I got this recipe ages ago from the Guild of Food Writers' site; it seems they no longer have recipes. Too bad. Anyhow, it's good. Served with Broccoli in Oyster Sauce (Delightful, p58), an old favorite, and plain basmati rice. Some mini HD ice cream cups for after.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: 4; #2 BACKLOG: yes
This month: #3 GUESTS: n/a
This year: #4 SHORT: no; #5 LONG: no
On-going: #6 READ; #7 RECYCLE; #8 NEW

This week in the kitchen

Monday/9-Nov-20: Dinner was a half dose of an old Allerhande recipe, Farfalle with Smoked Salmon Sauce and Broccoli (MC). Didn't really have enough salmon, but that was okay. Used mafalda, which is much nicer, instead of farfalle. Mini cups of HD ice cream for after.

Tuesday/10-Nov-20: Yogurt on overday. 

Made a loaf of Italian Bread (BigGerman, p17) (Basic/Rapid/L/d/-). All T65 flour.

Dinner was Sheet-Pan Harissa Chicken with Carrots and Cauliflower (web). This was good, It's easy to make, but takes a bit of time. It's a one-dish meal. I had four thighs, so made a half recipe. The half dose of the marinade was just enough for the thighs; I had to make up a bit more for the veggies. We pigged out for afters and had 1) a cube of Pavé s'Affinois (cheese), 2) a slice of the new bread (yes!), and 3) two squares of chocolate.

Wednesday/11-Nov-20: Dinner was an halfish dose of Butternut Squash with Pecans and Blue Cheese (web), made with the remains of last week's potimarron. Unfortunately some of the squash got a bit past the done state. Served over short-grain brown rice. Good as a whole; would have been better without burnt squash. A pair of chocolate-covered madeleines each for after.

Thursday/12-Nov-20: Picked up a grocery order from Intermarché today, so it was fish for dinner. 

We had Trota Salmonata all'Aceto Balsamico (TuscKitch, p139), with regular salmon instead of salmon trout. I thought about doing it in a skillet like last week's one-sided salmon, but instead baked in it in the oven. It was good. Served with polenta and steamed broccoli.

Friday/13-Nov-20: Made another loaf of Italian Bread (BigGerman, p19) (Basic/Rapid/M/d/-), this time using 2cups bread flour (T65) and 1cup white whole wheat flour (T110). I didn't remember that I'd made the large loaf last time, so there are two variables in this loaf.

Dinner was a half recipe of Farfalle with Cauliflower and Turkey Sausage (web; CL/dec08). Pretty good stuff, and easy. I used more sausage than asked (four of six in the package, the other two will make sandwiches for lunch), but it didn't feel like too much. Should have made a salad, but was too lazy.

Saturday/14-Nov-20: Made up the chocolate broth for tomorrow's ice cream, and put the chickie on to marinate. No more oomph for cooking, so it was pizza for dinner.

Sunday/15-Nov-20: Made a 1-1/2# loaf of DeDe's Buttermik Bread (MagicHints, p142, which is slightly different from the same recipe in Magic, p16) (Basic/Rapid/M/d/-). I used 2cups of bread flour (T65) and 1cup of white whole wheat flour (T110). Good stuff.

It was a special meal today because it was Ed's birthday and we couldn't go out. We started with artichoke bottoms, spread with green tapenade, topped with a bit of chabichou (a localish goat cheese), run under the broiler till it's all melty and the cheese is turning browning. 

Our main was Butterflied Grilled Chicken with a Chile-Lime Rub (web), with the chicken cooked like this. Very yummy it was. We had grits, and broccoli-and-corn for sides. 

Dessert was Aztec "Hot" Chocolate Ice Cream (Scoop, p29), which is still yummy.

We ate well, but no pictures.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: 3; #2 BACKLOG: no
This month: #3 GUESTS: n/a
This year: #4 SHORT: no; #5 LONG: no
On-going: #6 READ; #7 RECYCLE; #8 NEW

This week in the kitchen

Monday/2-Nov-20: Picked up an order from Leclerc today.

Another week, another day when I didn't feel like making what was on the meal plan. Sigh. Instead we had Warm Broccoli and Potato Salad (MDSalads, p15), an old standby. Satisfying and good, as always. Store-bought riz au laits for after.

Yogurt on overnight.

Tuesday/3-Nov-20: Dinner a halfish dose of Pappardelle with Butternut and Blue Cheese (web). Used a potimarron instead of a butternut; half of the cubes went into the freezer. Roquefort for the cheese, because that's what there was. Pretty good stuff. The other pair of store-bought riz aus laits for after.

Wednesday/4-Nov-20: Made a loaf of Buckwheat Bread (BigGerman, p38) (WW/Rapid/M/-/-). Very tasty, nice texture

Dinner was a halfish recipe of Grenadins de Porc à la Crème (VPG; web), thick slices of varkenshaas with a sauce of crème fraîche and shrooms. Served with the last of some kind of pasta, I think it was kind of whole wheat fusilli, not very tasty. And some corn, peas, and red bell pepper (from the freezer, that). Some squares of chocolate after.

Thursday/5-Nov-20: Picked up an order from Intermarché Drive today.

Dinner was a half recipe of Saumon à l'Unilateral Chardenoux (BistroWells, p145), skin-on salmon fillets cooked in butter without turning. Served with Smoked Potatoes (BistroWells, p146) as suggested. Then a salad of sucrines, beets, and onion with some of the dressing left from Monday's broccoli-potato salad. Some chocolate-covered madeleines for after.

Friday/6-Nov-20: Dinner was a halfish recipe of Chicken Fajitas with Spiralized Zucchini and Peppers (Spiral, p126). Pretty good, if not fantastic. The recipe isn't very well written, e.g., ingredients whose use is divided between steps are not indicated as divided. I used my new Oxo spiralizer (single blade). I gave the electric one to a charity shop, a big clunky thing (four blades) that I didn't use very much. The Oxo one is small and make better spirals for just a bit of effort. A pair of chocolate-covered madeleines each for after.

Yogurt on overnight.

Saturday/7-Nov-20: Made a loaf of Buttermilk Bread (BigGerman, p18) (Basic/Rapid/M/d/-). Pretty good stuff. Made with 2cups T65 (bread flour) and 1cup T110 (white whole wheat flour). 

Dinner was Egg Noodles with Goat Cheese Sauce (web). This was simple and good, but I forgot to notice that it was meant as a starter, not as a main. Followed by a big salad. Then Ed had some bread with more goat cheese. And some mini HD ice cream cups for after.

Sunday/8-Nov-20: Yesterday's Buttermilk Bread being almost gone, I made a loaf of Oatmeal Bread (BigGerman, p26) (Basic/Rapid/M/d/-).

After last night's dinner, I developed an itch for something Thai or otherwise SE Asian. We had a halfish recipe of Spicy Ground Chicen—Laab Gai (Delightful, p91). This was pretty darn good, in spite of the face that I was out of limes. (Used lemon juice instead.) Served with Thai Cucumber Salad with Peanuts (web), my go-to Thai salad recipe. For "dessert" we each had a slice of Oatmeal Bread.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: 3; #2 BACKLOG: no
This month: #3 GUESTS: n/a
This year: #4 SHORT: no; #5 LONG: no
On-going: #6 READ; #7 RECYCLE; #8 NEW