Saturday's dinner was:

Clams Casino
Angel-Hair Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Basil
Chicken Milanese with Winter Vegetables
Orange Meringues with Frangelico-Chocolate Béarnaise

The clams were nicely flavored, but although the shells were a healthy size,
the clams themselves were much too small for their shells. Next time I'll
buy twice as many clams and only fill half as many shells.

The pasta was originally going to contain pine nuts as well, but I decided
not to put them in, since we weren't certain how old they were.

The chicken was very good, and the "Winter Vegetables" I made were carrots
and fennel cooked in olive oil until slightly caramelized, then seasoned
with a good amount of salt and a bit of sugar. They were excellent together,
and it somewhat surprises me that I've never seen them paired together
before.

We were too full to have dessert, so we left it until Sunday night. The
meringues were excellent, like little crispy marshmallows with a very slight
orange flavor. I followed the "Meringue Suisse" recipe in my venerable
Gourmet cookbook set. The sauce was made from Frangelico, orange juice, egg
yolks, and Dove milk chocolate with hazelnuts. Although both elements of the
dessert were sublime, I'm not sure that the meringues were improved by
adding the sauce. I probably should have served the meringues as is, with an
accompanying "gianduja" drink of Frangelico, Godiva chocolate liqueur, and
Grand Marnier in coffee. But at least now I know that it definitely *is*
possible to make a Béarnaise sauce with chocolate in place of butter.


Sunday brunch was:

Mimosas
Eggs to order
Toast (sourdough for Lin, multi-grain for me)
Plantain, Onion, and Smoked Pork Chop Hash

Lin thought it was all great, but I wasn't happy with the hash. The flavor
was fine, but the plantains never got the right texture. I probably should
have diced them and cooked them separately in very hot oil, then added them
to the onions and diced smoked pork.

I've also gotta say that our homemade mimosas seemed to taste a lot better
than any mimosa I've ever gotten in a restaurant.


Bob

In article >,
"Bob Terwilliger" > wrote:

<snippety>

> Sunday brunch was:
>
> Mimosas
> Eggs to order
> Toast (sourdough for Lin, multi-grain for me)
> Plantain, Onion, and Smoked Pork Chop Hash
>
> Lin thought it was all great, but I wasn't happy with the hash. The flavor
> was fine, but the plantains never got the right texture. I probably should
> have diced them and cooked them separately in very hot oil, then added them
> to the onions and diced smoked pork.
>
> I've also gotta say that our homemade mimosas seemed to taste a lot better
> than any mimosa I've ever gotten in a restaurant.
>
>
> Bob

Steamed mushrooms with leeks and saute'd shrimp in coconut oil, served
over a bed of raw baby spinach and some Shiritaki noodles marinated
overnight in Braggs liquid aminos.

There is still some left over. ;-d

I'm considering tossing some more of that into some eggs like I did
yesterday morning.
--
Peace! Om

I find hope in the darkest of days, and focus in the brightest. I do not judge the universe. -- Dalai Lama

Om wrote:

> Steamed mushrooms with leeks and saute'd shrimp in coconut oil, served
> over a bed of raw baby spinach and some Shiritaki noodles marinated
> overnight in Braggs liquid aminos.

When I first read that, my eyes put together "raw baby spinach" with
"liquid" from the line below, and I read, "over a bed of raw baby squid".

Now THAT's adventurous!

Bob

In article >,
"Bob Terwilliger" > wrote:

> Om wrote:
>
> > Steamed mushrooms with leeks and saute'd shrimp in coconut oil, served
> > over a bed of raw baby spinach and some Shiritaki noodles marinated
> > overnight in Braggs liquid aminos.
>
> When I first read that, my eyes put together "raw baby spinach" with
> "liquid" from the line below, and I read, "over a bed of raw baby squid".
>
> Now THAT's adventurous!
>
> Bob

<lol> I'll pass on raw squid. Have had it as sashimi.
Too rubbery.
--
Peace! Om

I find hope in the darkest of days, and focus in the brightest. I do not judge the universe. -- Dalai Lama

On Feb 16, 7:46*am, "Bob Terwilliger" >
wrote:
> Saturday's dinner was:
>

snipped for space

We had my husband's favorite: Murgh Makhani (which I've probably
butchered
the spelling of), a simple pullao, and a salad dressed with lime
juice, rice vinegar,
ginger, ground cumin and coriander seed, and white pepper. Part of
the salad
was broccoli slaw that had been marinated in the dressing for a few
hours along
with some very thinly sliced onion. That was served over lettuce
(his: iceberg;
hers: romaine) with some thinly sliced radishes and cucumber.

Murg Makhani (Butter Chicken)

1 large whole skinless, boneless chicken breast (both pecs from one
chicken)
Stuff to turn the chicken breast into Chiken Tikka (I like Patak's
paste)

2 tablespoons butter
1/4 large sweet onion, thinly sliced and cut into 1-inch lengths
a jumbo garlic clove (or more), crushed
1" fresh ginger, peeled and grated finely
0.5 teaspoon cayenne
0.25 teaspoon cinnamon
0.25 teaspoon nutmeg
0.125 teaspoon powdered cloves
0.25 teaspoon cardamon powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon coriander
salt to taste
1 cup (half a 14-oz can) of crushed or diced tomatoes, drained
1 cup heavy cream
more butter to taste
cilantro, chopped roughly, for garnish

Marinate the chicken breasts for chicken tikka. I prefer to salt them
before marinating, but I'm just that way. Grill them until they are at
least half-cooked (get a nice color on the outside; the insides
can finish cooking in the sauce).

In a large frying pan, melt 2 tablespoons butter. Sautee the onions
over
medium heat until translucent. Add the ginger and garlic. When
they start to smell good, add all of the powdered spices. If the
pan seems too dry, add a little butter. Sautee the spices until
they release their odors. Stir in the tomatoes, and cook until
they are thoroughly blended with the spices and aromatics.

Add the cream, and cook briskly until the sauce reduces and is as
thick as you wish. Adjust the seasoning with salt.

Cut up the chicken breasts and add to the sauce. Cook until they are
done through. Plate as you wish, garnishing with cilantro.

You can fully cook the chicken ahead of time. If you do this, make
sure
it's cooked through to avoid food-borne illness.

If you're going to cook the chicken at the last minute, you can make
the sauce first, then cook the chicken. The sauce will hold while
you are at the grill.


He made the pullao, so I can't reproduce the recipe without aid.

The salad dressing was made by guess and by golly.

Sunday morning we had our cheap knockoff of Perkins' potato pancakes
and Nueske's bacon. I ate too many of the pancakes and laid around
like a sloth until about 1 pm.

Cindy Hamilton

On Mon, 16 Feb 2009 04:46:13 -0800, "Bob Terwilliger"
> wrote:

>Saturday's dinner was:
>
>Clams Casino
>Angel-Hair Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Basil
>Chicken Milanese with Winter Vegetables
>Orange Meringues with Frangelico-Chocolate Béarnaise

snipped rest of a delicious looking foodie weekend.

What a great weekend you guys had. I really like the fennel and carrot
dish, I have both so I'll try that for dinner tonight.

koko

--

There is no love more sincere than the love of food
George Bernard Shaw
www.kokoscorner.typepad.com
updated 02/14

On Mon, 16 Feb 2009 04:46:13 -0800, "Bob Terwilliger"
> wrote:

>Saturday's dinner was:
>
>Clams Casino
>Angel-Hair Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Basil
>Chicken Milanese with Winter Vegetables
>Orange Meringues with Frangelico-Chocolate Béarnaise
>
great weekend of food snipped.

Our weekend of food was kind of hit and miss. It wasn't until later
last night I realized I hadn't eaten. Good thing I hit up the Deli
case at the grocery store so I had a nice little snack.

This and a glass of red wine and I was happy.
I sliced up some Gruyere and Parmesan cheese, got out the Genoa salami
and Sopresata. To this I added some fennel slices, apple slices.
almonds and California Mix which is pickled olives, garlic, pearl
onions and pimento.
http://i44.tinypic.com/a6yx2.jpg

Hit the spot.

koko
--

There is no love more sincere than the love of food
George Bernard Shaw
www.kokoscorner.typepad.com
updated 02/14

On Mon, 16 Feb 2009 06:25:47 -0800 (PST), Cindy Hamilton
> wrote:

>On Feb 16, 7:46*am, "Bob Terwilliger" >
>wrote:
>> Saturday's dinner was:
>>
>
>snipped for space
>
>We had my husband's favorite: Murgh Makhani (which I've probably
>butchered
>the spelling of), a simple pullao, and a salad dressed with lime
>juice, rice vinegar,
>ginger, ground cumin and coriander seed, and white pepper. Part of
>the salad
>was broccoli slaw that had been marinated in the dressing for a few
>hours along
>with some very thinly sliced onion. That was served over lettuce
>(his: iceberg;
>hers: romaine) with some thinly sliced radishes and cucumber.
>
>Murg Makhani (Butter Chicken)
>
>1 large whole skinless, boneless chicken breast (both pecs from one
>chicken)
>Stuff to turn the chicken breast into Chiken Tikka (I like Patak's
>paste)
>
recipe snipped for brevity.

Thank you so much Cindy. You just solved my _what am I going to do
with all this cooked chicken_ dilema.
I make chicken stock yesterday and I have all that cooked chicken.
This and chicken and dumplings of course :-)

koko
--

There is no love more sincere than the love of food
George Bernard Shaw
www.kokoscorner.typepad.com
updated 02/14

In article >,
koko > wrote:

> Our weekend of food was kind of hit and miss. It wasn't until later
> last night I realized I hadn't eaten. Good thing I hit up the Deli
> case at the grocery store so I had a nice little snack.
>
> This and a glass of red wine and I was happy.
> I sliced up some Gruyere and Parmesan cheese, got out the Genoa salami
> and Sopresata. To this I added some fennel slices, apple slices.
> almonds and California Mix which is pickled olives, garlic, pearl
> onions and pimento.
> http://i44.tinypic.com/a6yx2.jpg
>
> Hit the spot.
>
> koko

That looks really nice. :-)

Other than the shrimp and mushrooms I fixed late Saturday, I did not go
all out. I did not eat at all on Sunday which is typical. I tend to
try to get caught up on lost sleep on Sundays,
--
Peace! Om

I find hope in the darkest of days, and focus in the brightest. I do not judge the universe. -- Dalai Lama

koko wrote:

> This and a glass of red wine and I was happy.
> I sliced up some Gruyere and Parmesan cheese, got out the Genoa salami
> and Sopresata. To this I added some fennel slices, apple slices.
> almonds and California Mix which is pickled olives, garlic, pearl
> onions and pimento.
> http://i44.tinypic.com/a6yx2.jpg

Lovely presentation! Is it safe to assume that you had a California wine
with your California mix? ;-)

--Lin (busy mask making in my studio this week)

On Mon, 16 Feb 2009 08:16:04 -0800, koko > wrote:

>On Mon, 16 Feb 2009 04:46:13 -0800, "Bob Terwilliger"
> wrote:
>
>>Saturday's dinner was:
>>
>>Clams Casino
>>Angel-Hair Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Basil
>>Chicken Milanese with Winter Vegetables
>>Orange Meringues with Frangelico-Chocolate Béarnaise
>>
>great weekend of food snipped.
>
>Our weekend of food was kind of hit and miss. It wasn't until later
>last night I realized I hadn't eaten. Good thing I hit up the Deli
>case at the grocery store so I had a nice little snack.
>
>This and a glass of red wine and I was happy.
>I sliced up some Gruyere and Parmesan cheese, got out the Genoa salami
>and Sopresata. To this I added some fennel slices, apple slices.
>almonds and California Mix which is pickled olives, garlic, pearl
>onions and pimento.
>http://i44.tinypic.com/a6yx2.jpg

Looks yummy Koko. I don't hear many people here talking about
sopresetta. I've got a signature dish on the RFC site that has that
and Genoa salami in it. It's wonderful if I may say so myself.
There's still no picture because my camera sucks

Lou

On Mon, 16 Feb 2009 09:59:34 -0800, Lin >
wrote:

>koko wrote:
>
>> This and a glass of red wine and I was happy.
>> I sliced up some Gruyere and Parmesan cheese, got out the Genoa salami
>> and Sopresata. To this I added some fennel slices, apple slices.
>> almonds and California Mix which is pickled olives, garlic, pearl
>> onions and pimento.
>> http://i44.tinypic.com/a6yx2.jpg
>
>Lovely presentation!

Thank you.

>Is it safe to assume that you had a California wine
>with your California mix? ;-)

lol, I just went and looked, yes. Angelina from Santa Rosa CA. I get
it at Costco I really like their Cabernet Sauvignon

I get the California mix from a little beef jerky stand in Parker AZ.
I stop by there on the way to my daughter's. I really like their
olives.

>--Lin (busy mask making in my studio this week)

koko
--

There is no love more sincere than the love of food
George Bernard Shaw
www.kokoscorner.typepad.com
updated 02/16