This week in the kitchen

Monday/13-Jan-14: A busy day out and about today. Bought some lamps that may be our over-the-sink lamps, although not 100% sure yet. Not what we had in mind, but maybe they work. Visited Géant to get some pasta, not very successful in that area. Looks like they're cutting back selection. They used to have a huge produce section, with lots of "exotic" things and a large selection of lettuces and herbs and such with misters to keep them cool and moist. That's all gone. Produce selection down to ordinary, Too bad.

Dinner was Broccoli Mac and Cheese (web; cookbooker). Good stuff it was too. Except it was meant as a side dish, since two of us easily ate what should have been for four. A funny Cooking Light job; they want you to use low-fat cheese (yuck), then add bacon and butter. Huh?

Tuesday/14-Jan-14: Yogurt on overday. Turned off somewhat before the time set.

Having some brussels sprouts left, I found a recipe for Tortellini met Spruitjes (Allerhande, web) and manipulated it to suit what needed to be used up, mostly the magret séché I bought at a marché de noël and some mushroom ravioli from the freezer. Pretty good it was, although Ed thought the duck was too dry (well, yes). Then a big salad. Finished off with mini magnums.

Wednesday/15-Jan-14: Shopping today.

Dinner was Hoisin-Glazed Salmon Burgers with Pickled Cucumber (CL jun/12; web). Did this without the burger bits, just served all (two patties) per person; Ed wanted more. Very good. Bet it would work fine with canned salmon too, so you didn't have to chop up salmon fillet. Served with Mama's Garlic Coleslaw (Handybook, MC).

Thursday/16-Jan-14: Lunch out today, prior to going to a concert in Limoges this evening. Not much happened in the kitchen today.

Friday/17-Jan-14: Crockpot dinner tonight, Chipotle Lentil Soup (SWCrock*, p24), which filled my old crockpot very full. The lentils didn't quite get done, so I simmered it for a bit on the stove. Have lots left, some for lunch and more in the freezer for another dinner. Made Cayenne Cornbread (BigGerman, p182) as a go-with, and ate most of it.

Saturday/18-Jan-14: Yogurt on overday. Timer definitely flakey.

Lamps over the sink installed. Much brighter now. Not 100% sure about them yet.

Didn't feel like roasting the chicken I've got thawed; instead made Chiles Rellenos Casserole (CL90, p147). Used a big can of poblanos and a 250g package of mozzarella; add a teaspoon of chile powder to the batter. Pretty good for fairly easy. Made a salad of tomatoes, avocado, shallot and other stuff. We split a Magnum classic for dessert.

Sunday/19-Jan-14: Dinner was Spiced-Rubbed Lemon Chicken (web); it was pretty good. I used 1 teaspoon for peppercorns (instead of 1/4) and spatchcocked the chickie so it would cook faster. Put in the pan on top of some chunked potatoes, carrots, and parsnips. These weren't done when the chicken was, so I cooked them in a pot while the chickie rested. For a salad, I roasted the rest of the brussels sprouts and tossed with a lemon vinaigrette and some shredded lemon peel. All very good.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 COOKBOOKS: *yes, #2 VEG/FISH: 2
This month: #3 PASTA: no, #4 FotW: no, #5 BREAD: no

This week in the kitchen

Monday/29-Apr-13: Made Myrtle Allen's Brown Bread (BeardBread, p74), a 100% whole wheat no-knead bread. This was really tasty, although it was a bit too long in the oven. Also, I let it rise a bit too much so there was no real "spring." But yummy and nice dense texture.

Dinner was a halfish dose of Linguine with Tuna Fish Sauce (PastaCarluccio, p24). Very good, fast and easy. Followed by a salad. Then we split a crottin of goat cheese.

Tuesday/30-Apr-13: The brown bread held up well overnight. It was really tasty for breakfast.

Lunch in Angoulême after Bill's arrival today; we were all stuffed. For dinner there was Chipotle & Garbanzo Bean Soup (SWCrock, p23; cookbooker), which was quite good for minimal effort.

Wednesday/1-May-13: FInished off the brown bread for breakfast today. It was still very good, which is pretty amazing.

Yesterday we bought some pork chops for tonight's dinner. This morning's email brought a recipe that included a Cajun spice rub. I made a third recipe of that (using a teaspoon where a tablespoon was asked). The interesting thing about that post was that it called for anointing the meat with Worcestershire and Tabasco after rubbing it, and letting everything sit for 15 minutes. So I did. Then broiled the chops about 5 minutes on each side. Served with an Ottolenghi salad. Then the three of us shared a little crottin de Chavignol. Then we had a third of a gaufre (waffle) each, with the last of the strawberry ice cream and some strawberries (not especially good ones) that I bought yesterday.

The rub was 2tsp salt, 1tsp cayenne, 1tsp back pepper, 2tsp paprika, 2tsp garlic powder, 2tsp onion powder, 1tsp dried thyme, and 1tsp dried oregano. It was a bit too salty, only 1tsp would be better probably. There's more left for another day.

Thursday/2-May-13: Dinner was Baked Chicken with Ethiopian Lentils (web; cookbooker), easy and good. Three of us ate it all up. Then a salad. And for dessert, Prune Coffee Cake (web; cookbooker). Very good and easy.

Friday/3-May-13: Barbecued some poultry merguez and sausages for dinner. Also had Broccoli Slaw (MC) and sweet potatoes mashed with orange juice and chipotle. Some Lemon-Zucchini Sorbet from the summer for dessert. Not a hit. I enjoyed the lemony taste, but Ed and Bill say they don't like sorbets. Would be a nice entremet perhaps, but not a satisfying dessert.

Saturday/4-May-13: Out all day. Dinner in Brantôme. Nothing happened in the kitchen,

Sunday/5-May-13: Lunch out today. Nothing much happened in the kitchen.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 IHCC/COOKBOOKS: yes, #2 VEG/FISH: 1
This month: #3 PASTA: yes for April; no for May, #4 BREAD: yes for April; no for May