Cooking anything interesting this weekend ?

I'm making about 10 lbs. of Italian sausage. Going to cook it up in sauce with some meatballs, mushrooms, onions and sweet peppers and serve it with stuffed shells. Big family dinner tonight.

Not waiting for an invitation, Howie. I'll be there!

Dave, I still have a case of the '00 left- should I be worried?

These are not the Belle Helene Cuvee Yaniger so I cannot determine if you should be worried about what you have left in your cellar.

Grilled olive oil, garlic, Greek oregano and rosemary marinated lamb loin chops for an appetizer and paneer makhani (with roasted chicken which is probably not very traditional) as the main course for a dinner party tomorrow night for a friend of ours that is celebrating a transition to a new career.

Yum, Dave !! Homemade paneer ? I've seen this made on television, must try it one day. LOVE paneer. Makhani is cream and tomato sauce, right, like the one served with butter chicken ?

Hi *C*,

No cream in my sauce, but plenty of cheese and ghee.

It is odd that the dish was originated in a country known for sweltering heat and I am making the same thing to comfort friends on a blustery, nasty cold night.

Suppose it is about 80F and sunny in your part of the world.

Dave, my '00s are the normal cuvee. Now you're *really* scaring me.

Goodness, all these terms I don't understand !

Howie, does stuffed shells = stuffed pasta shells, or stuffed clams ? If it's stuffed pasta, do you stuff the pasta dry, or after it's cooked ? Your carnivorous feast sounds fantastic !

And Robin, is cavatappi a style of pasta ? I hope you chili judging goes well - what's your view on beans in chili ?

I've baked a lemon cream cheese cake for lunch today, and in the process of making beef curry puffs. Found some wickedly hot sri lankan roasted curry powder (marked MILD!!), which I'm using in the filling.

Jo Ann, it's just occurred to me that I've been using the wrong cornmeal ! I thought I had to use the coarser cornmeal, not the finer one. I'm going to revisit the recipe with fine cornmeal too. Although I'm pretty sure the coarser the grind, the healthier it's going to be for me.

[Robin Garr]

And Robin, is cavatappi a style of pasta ? I hope you chili judging goes well - what's your view on beans in chili ?

Oops, sorry, Celia. Yes, cavatappi is a fun short pasta. The name in Italian means "corkscrews," and they're sort of like a pasta version - short pasta pieces shaped like two or three turns of the corkscrew helix, hollow tubes with thin walls and a fairly large hole through the center.

This is the Ohio River Valley, not Texas. Up here almost anything goes in chili, and in tonight's competition, which is in suburban New Albany, Indiana, across the big river, chances are that almost everything will.

Dave, my '00s are the normal cuvee. Now you're *really* scaring me.

I appologize if I made you *really* scared, Stuart. As you proudly said, you have an entire case of them. Why not open one up tonight and judge for yourself?

Yes, cavatappi is a fun short pasta. The name in Italian means "corkscrews,"

Seems an appropriate pasta for the wine judge...



Thanks, Celia

Goodness, all these terms I don't understand !

Howie, does stuffed shells = stuffed pasta shells, or stuffed clams ? If it's stuffed pasta, do you stuff the pasta dry, or after it's cooked ? Your carnivorous feast sounds fantastic !...

Actually stuffed pasta shells, but it took a lot longer to make the sausage than I planned, so rigatoni instead. Dinner in about 45 minutes. Drive fast Jo Ann!

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Karen, I'd love to know how the Chana Dal goes. I've just bought some as well today to experiment with. It's going to take some practice to get identification right - they look very much like both yellow split peas AND yellow lentils. The pork sounds great, although the word Tequila always makes me scared - reflex reaction, I think. [/quote]

Yes Celia, I will let you know. I got them from Phillips Farms in Pescadero. I ordered late Thrusday, order came on Saturday!

I have no idea what it will be yet, but I was just informed that we're having friends over for supper on Sunday so I will need to come up with something at least marginally interesting. Will report back on what it turns out to be.

Stuart, the dough is rising. I hope you're on your way over with the wine.

I enjoy making soups, but I had never made Pho until today.

Today I tried something from a Weight-Watcher cookbook called "Faux Pho."

Faux it may be but the sesame flavors are very vivid and the radishes and watercress give it a wonderful fresh tang. We also had some chicken breast left over from a rotissery chicken and added those on top of the noodles and sprouts. It was lovely and I recommend this recipe. It also has the advantage of being cook-able in about half an hour.

http://www.pantryworks.com/RecipeCard.aspx?ID=1263

F

Cynthia, I'm caught in traffic. Be there asap.

I'm making about 10 lbs. of Italian sausage. Going to cook it up in sauce with some meatballs, mushrooms, onions and sweet peppers and serve it with stuffed shells. Big family dinner tonight.

Howie,
I am sure this dinner will turn out to be the best in some years. Or, at least the most appreciated. 10 lbs of sausage though seems excessive!

10 lbs of sausage though seems excessive!

Nah, he's probably got between 15 and 20 people at the table. 1/2 to 3/4 pound each should be about right.

I'm making about 10 lbs. of Italian sausage. Going to cook it up in sauce with some meatballs, mushrooms, onions and sweet peppers and serve it with stuffed shells. Big family dinner tonight.

Howie,
I am sure this dinner will turn out to be the best in some years. Or, at least the most appreciated. 10 lbs of sausage though seems excessive!

The man has five strapping sons, Bob !

Well, it's 8.30pm Sunday night, so my weekend's over now. I've ended the weekend with Martin's Tarte Tatin, lentil and bacon soup for the boys, and a white chocolate cake for this week's school lunches. All in all, a most satisfying weekend in the kitchen ! Hope you all fare as well !

Frank, the pho recipe looks interesting - I love the stuff, but like most people have never tried to make it. I've watched a couple of programmes on Vietnamese cooking, and the pho broth is like a trade secret, which cooks for hours and sometimes even days ! I'd never considered making a short-cut version - thanks for the suggestion !

Talking about faux soups though - today I had an astonishing faux shark's fin soup ! It was surprisingly good !

Cheers, Celia

PS. Forgot to mention that I also made white bean crackers, using the cannellini beans that I'd overcooked in the pressure cooker. They were delicious - half white bean paste and half soft flour.

I have no idea what it will be yet, but I was just informed that we're having friends over for supper on Sunday so I will need to come up with something at least marginally interesting. Will report back on what it turns out to be.

It is the same around here but usually worse. The call comes in around 3:30 PM on a Friday...

Jody: "Dave, remind me again about what you are doing tonight?"

Me: "Well, it has been a hellish week at work so I am going to work out and then just relax and read my book for the rest of the night."

Jody: "Ok, but I just got off the phone with Jenny and told her we would have dinner with them."

Me: " Owwkayy, which restaurant are we supposed to meet them at?"

Jody: "They just want, you know, home cooked food."

Me: "Sounds like a good idea. What time are we expected for dinner at their house?"

Jody: " Well, I told them you would make dinner... At YOUR house."

Me: "My house? But isn't it a little late notice considering..."

Jody: "And don't forget to take down those Christmas lights before they get there. I took mine down last month. And don't forget to re-shovel that walk way. You don't want them to slip and fall. Tim likes steak so you might want to pick some up on the way home from work. Jenny told me she is on a vegetarian diet these days so be sure to make something she can eat. They have a babysitter for the entire night. You did fix up the guest bedroom, right? Chives, too. Be sure to get chives. Jenny said she likes chives in her omlette in the morning..."

Well, veggie pizza was on the menu last night but that was nixed by an evening trip to the doggie emergency room. Puppy decided if bird seed was good enough for the resident flock of doves it was good enough for her, with the result of a nasty belly ache. She's better now, though I'm 150 dollars lighter. Poor Pup.

She's better now, though I'm 150 dollars lighter. Poor Pup.

Awww. Poor lovey! (The pup, not you. )

I was at a conference all day Saturday, but today (Sunday) is our 41st anniversary, so I cooked a seduction breakfast for my favorite wife and unplugged every gd phone in the house: Eggs Benedict with ham and asparagus topped with a sauteed shrimp, hash browns and Texas red grapefruit sections, all washed down with Tequila Sunrises. Yum and double yum.

Congratulations, Larry!

Tonight we are doing cabernet-braised beef short ribs. Recipe from most recent Cooking Light.

Last night we did seared scallops with wild mushrooms. Sauteed the mushrooms, reserved. Seared the scallops, reserved. Deglazed the pan with water, soy sauce, lemon juice, and a little cayenne (curry powder works too). Reduced this, then blended in butter. Put the scallops on a bed of 'shrooms and topped with the sauce. Very nice. Had Castle Rock Napa Chard with it....okay, but not a repeat....out of balance, acid overwhelmed fruit.