What's For Dinner?

From my perch, you guys don't know jack and should clam up.
 
Back on topic...its supper time.

Chicken thighs with brussel sprout and bacon hash
 
I reprised my steak dinner with the other pound of Choice Sirloin... mmmmmmmm
 
Just cold spam, dried apricots, some green onions, tomato juice and a couple oat sodas tonight, but the duck that’s defrosting for dinner tomorrow is going to taste great with orange sauce, “hobo potatoes” ( potatoes sliced thin, with some onions and garlic rolled up in tinfoil with a scoop of butter and grilled) with gravy, parched snow peas, and french bread with honey, sided with a dry Cabernet.
 
Sous vide ribeye finished in cast iron skillet. Served with a side of 10% ABV Barleywine (IIPA). If someone says this is fishy, they will set this thread adrift!
 
I'd substitute a porter and add a baked potato, but that sounds very good.
 
I'd substitute a porter and add a baked potato, but that sounds very good.
Finding a good porter is becoming difficult - thank goodness for Great Lakes EF if you are in the Midwest. For a ribeye though, I’d bias towards more bitter to counterbalance the buttery/fatty that a ribeye comes with. Throw in a side like a baked tater, which sops up the fatty bits, and the equation changes.
 
Here it used to be impossible, but lately there's some local outfit making a nice one. My tastes aren't all the complicated...I like porter because the 'maltiness', if that's a word, makes it smooth and mellow. That said, your math makes sense...I probably wouldn't order a porter with Thai food, but only because in my head it would be weird, not because I know why it would be weird. For Thai, I'm reaching for a Pepsi. :)
 
I'd substitute a porter and add a baked potato, but that sounds very good.


Make the porter a stout and I’m with you. Hard to beat a ribeye or chuck eye reverse seared on a charcoal grill, a baked potato with butter (and maybe cheddar), and a pint of Guinness. Perfection can be quite simple, after all.
 
Here's a cheap & easy meal we had tonight that even the kids will eat: pork chop sandwiches.

I keep a container on hand of a meat rub that I use on everything from chicken to brisket.... it's roughly 1 cup kosher salt, 1 cup of paprika, 1 cup of brown sugar, 1/4 cup black pepper, then a couple tablespoons each of onion &garlic powder, and a tablespoon or so of cayenne and celery seed depending on how hot you like it. It's good on everything. At this point I don't measure, just kind of throw it together until I like how it tastes.

The meat is thin cut pork chops from Aldi. They're like 2oz a piece, so I like a couple to make a sandwich, but Teresa & the kids will just eat one. Sprinkle liberally with the meat rub (or sparingly if you're feeding kids), grill 'em up, add half a slice of cheese...meunster or Swiss for adults, American for the kids. Caramelized onions really make them outstanding. Quick, easy, and cheap if you have the rub on hand. The rub is also surprisingly good on a whole chicken or turkey breast for another cheap & easy meal. I even use it on the Thanksgiving turkey.
 
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The best meal is the one made at home, provided someone at home has learned to cook. I shop and buy in bulk when the price is right, last fall I bought 30 pounds of New York strip at $5/pound (granted as primal cuts and had to cut and wrap it myself) but there is something (to me atleast) satisfying about sitting at the table with my wife and kids, eating a nice steak dinner, and it costing less than going through the drive through at McDonald’s. I’m just about out of lamb (bought on the hoof, dressed out at $0.75/pound but I processed it myself). And about 1/4 of a hog my brother raised left in the freezer ( that went to a locker and the price for the pig and processing fee was about a wash compared to just stocking up from the store when they run a special). And to quote Julia child, “freshness is essential, that makes all the difference” when it comes to vegetables. And “you need some fat in your diet for your body to process your vitamins”.
 
:pReverse sear!
Definitely an good option when going grocery store to table same day. I lucked into a wicked deal on ribeyes and grabbed two primals and broke them down into roasts and steaks and then vacuum sealed them. Searing a dozen steaks could be a drag. Plus I’d probably ate half of them on the spot. But, freezer to dinner table in about 90 minutes wasn’t bad.
 
Definitely an good option when going grocery store to table same day.

We've found it's better to let them age in the refrigerator for 7-10 days before cooking. Or before freezing, for that matter.
 
45 minutes. What do you be eating? Im not good at sharing...especially food. Been working on it since pre school.

Never mind. We just filled up on fried chicken, rice & gravy, and corn. I'm pretty stuffed.
 
All this fish and chicken fried talk is making me crave snapping turtle dredged in flower and corn starch and twice fried, first low heat to cook it through, then drained and cooled then fried again quick at high temp to brown the breading.
 
All this fish and chicken fried talk is making me crave snapping turtle dredged in flower and corn starch and twice fried, first low heat to cook it through, then drained and cooled then fried again quick at high temp to brown the breading.

Does snapping turtle taste anything like frog legs or gator tail?
 
It depends on which part, there are 15 different flavors to the meat depending on we’re it’s cut from ranging from lobster along the spine to catfish close to the ankles.
 
Make the porter a stout and I’m with you. Hard to beat a ribeye or chuck eye reverse seared on a charcoal grill, a baked potato with butter (and maybe cheddar), and a pint of Guinness. Perfection can be quite simple, after all.

..... and so we did exactly that tonight.

SWMBO picked up some ribeyes on sale last week and we've been aging them in the fridge. We decided to split one for dinner. Lit the charcoal this evening and did a reverse sear to a nice medium rare. Baked potato (just butter) and a Guinness. Ahhhhhh.......

Now I just need to nap until bedtime.
 
That sounds good....

Chicken piccata tonight, which is one of my favorite ways to do chicken and gf says it's easy. Cooking light recipe. With broccoli on the side, and iced tea.

If there is a tip, it's to butterfly the chicken, pound it flat and don't overcook it. That last thing is beyond my skill level...mine would be dry unless I did it sous vide and sear.
 
Put on a clinic tonight. Heard the special. Challenge accepted. 42oz tomahawk with the Parmesan crust. They did neglect to say the price and since it wasn't on the menu I had no idea it was a $115 steak.

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Put on a clinic tonight. Heard the special. Challenge accepted. 42oz tomahawk with the Parmesan crust. They did neglect to say the price and since it wasn't on the menu I had no idea it was a $115 steak.

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I think you can buy a whole cow for that.

Looks good, though. Just needs a little Heinz 57.....

(I keed, I keed!)
 
If there is a tip, it's to butterfly the chicken, pound it flat and don't overcook it. That last thing is beyond my skill level...mine would be dry unless I did it sous vide and sear.
Salting the chicken beforehand helps. 30 minutes for pounded chicken breast works well. Piccata works well for me too, but sometimes when I'm feeling lazy I just sprinkle it with pepper and chile lime salt then toss it on a super hot grill.
 
Salting the chicken beforehand helps. 30 minutes for pounded chicken breast works well. Piccata works well for me too, but sometimes when I'm feeling lazy I just sprinkle it with pepper and chile lime salt then toss it on a super hot grill.
GF does chicken or pork chops in a skillet in something like 10 minutes or so, and they're always perfect. Cooked through but just enough, never dry. She used to cook at a diner to put herself through school. Thinks I'm mentally deficient for having to sous vide anything, but does admit that it's good for thick steaks. I'll agree I might not be firing on all cylinders, and if I cooked chicken in a skillet it would be leather...but I don't think cooking is the most obvious tell for my deficiencies.
 
Tonight I cooked a picanha (sirloin cap) steak, in the Brazilian style, seasoned only with salt, skewered over an open flame, taking off slices as they were seared. Served with garlic toast and a kinda-Brazilian sautéed spinach and onion/bacon dish (more traditionally done with collard greens, which I couldn't find up north). Shrimp cocktail for an appetizer, and a really excellent bottle of champagne that a neighbor gifted us for putting up with 2 years of their renovation work next door.

I wish I had taken pictures.

We treated it as a belated Valentine's dinner, since travel prevented us from celebrating it back in Feb.

Tomorrow I'm converting a pork butt into carnitas, to be served with frijoles a la charra. I've got the pinto beans soaking overnight. Tacos tomorrow, the leftovers probably going into enchiladas on Sunday.
 
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