What's for Dinner? - Friday edition.

It's Pork Chops with Rosemary and Garlic Roasted Veggies for us tonight. With fresh bread. Very inexpensive and yummy.

If I can't handle the chops, I'll just have veggies, bread, and a salad. I usually cut back on meats when I'm having abdominal pain. It's looking like that kind of day. :eyes:

So...I'll either pan fry the chops (if I am not having any) or roast them with the veggies. I usually brush them lightly with olive oil and then season with garlic powder, kosher or sea salt, pepper, rosemary and thyme. Sometimes I'll use Italian Seasoning instead of the rosemary and thyme. If I'm pan frying I'll dust them with flour after the olive oil and herbs go on, then fry in a little olive oil and butter.

I'm playing with juice reductions as the base for salad dressings today. I have a tangerine grapefruit I want to try.

What's for dinner your way?

I'm just about to make myself a bowl of shiritaki noodle soup to stave off binging on that pork I have in the freezer ready to make into sandwiches. It's what for dinner for the Guy. I'm probably going to have a huge salad and a teeny tiny Bambino Pizza from Trader Joes.

I'm going to be making cupcakes or something sweet for the kid-- to bring down to her when we visit on Sunday. I'm thinking pineapple/coconut with a browned butter glaze.

As does noodle soup right now. I can't seem to get warm today. Soup would probably do it!

2 whole chickens with visible fat removed
2 heads celery
2 2 pound bunches carrots
2 yellow onions (excess skins can be added for color)
8 quarts water
Seasonings
2 bags egg noodles
2 12 quart soup pots, or one 12 quart and multiple smaller ones.
strainer


Part 1
BROTH

Place 8 quarts water in 12 quart soup pot. If soup lacks broth at the end cut back on a bag of noodles or add 2-4 cups water and season accordingly. Bring to boil.

Remove any fat from chickens. Carefully slip chickens into boiling water. Quarter yellow onion, clean celery and carrots cutting into thirds, add to broth. Seasonings include 4-6 bay leaves, a dozen peppercorns (more for more heat, less for less), salt to taste, parsley, a dash of sage, dash of garlic powder, dash of sweet basil, again mostly to taste. Trick is not to let any one flavor overcome the aromatics and chicken, just underly it.

I season several times during the process. Once during broth making, once fresh ingredients are added back in and boiling, and save salt mainly for the end.

Bring to boil and simmer until chickens begin falling apart. Then remove chickens and place in fridge. Strain broth, disregarding mushy veggies, bay leaves, peppercorns, etc.

Part 2
SOUP

Clean remaining head celery and bunch carrots. Slice into about 1/4 inch sections. Finely chop onion. Bring back to boil. Add all three aromatics to strained broth.

Meanwhile clean chicken meat from bones, disregarding bone, fat, and skin. Cut meat into bite size pieces. Add to broth.

When veggies are just starting to cook, add the two bags of egg noodles. Cook until noodles are done, but not mushy. Usually 5 to 7 minutes. Less with such a large amount. Let soup set for 10 minutes after done and enjoy with fresh bread, crackers.

Notes

Fat can be drained off when broth is strained. A measuring cup does okay. If you have time it is better to do the broth the day before and save the chickens in a container.

Fat will be solid, and broth is always better made the day before imo. I freeze gallons of distilled water to put into the broth (unopened) when I make it a day ahead so the broth doesn't sit in the bacterial danger zone for long.

Definitely a project best reserved for when you are home all day. But I love making soups. Simple, wonderful, flavors, without a hint of yellow paste in site. Plus the smell drives people crazy. lol

:)

I've never added basil to a chicken soup before. I think I may try that next time around. I can almost smell it cooking from here. :hi:

I used to make a sourdough bread bowl for my soups at my cafe that was to die for. I like my soup thick with ingredients as well.

Glad I finally dropped in on this forum. I've only worked in two fields in my life. Computers and food, both being a passion. My kids love having an ex-chef for a father. They despise fast food, as well as mass produced foods, if you can call them that.


:hi:

Chip Chops are an Alton Brown recipe...Pork chops breaded with crushed up Salt and Vinegar potato chips, served with Mac and Cheese. :9

Is it a new one? We dumped cable last year so I'm way behind food tv-wise.

I'm making his baked mac and cheese to go with it, it's soooo good. :9

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/baked-macaroni-and-cheese-recipe/index.html

Hopefully that will atone for me eating the blue box m&c last night, inspired by another DUer who shall remain nameless. :P

so I usually grab a blue box if I get a craving. I'll try Alton's recipe next time!

I will probably pick up a key lime pie on the way, as I think it's a great ending to one of my favorite meals.

:hi:

I haven't made cheese fondue in years.

I like gruyere/emanthaler with bread, apples and grapes. I hope that is what the hostess is making!

:hi:

With a nice white wine, I hope?

The citrus in the pie will be a good counter to the creaminess of the cheese--great choice.

I've started a dessert at least.
Make your own bread? Can't eat it all before it begins to dry? Bread Pudding! milk, eggs, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg... splash of something alcoholic?

but what am I going to fix for dinner????

I do dessert as dinner from time to time. :)

Shredded cheese was on sale, as was my favorite brand of pizza sauce, so I'm all set.

:rofl: I was trying to make focaccia one day and ran out of time so I just punched the dough down, rolled it out, and threw some olive oil, herbs and cheese on it. It made a great crispy crust. We get 6 pizzas from one batch of dough.

with a huge salad, we'll eat light tonight.

Maybe a horizontally-sliced olive-artichoke focaccia, putting on it some smoked provolone slides, thin strips of country ham, some carmelized onions and garlic, a slice of grilled eggplant, and shredded mozzarella on top - run it under the broiler, just to heat it and to melt and brown the cheeses, and a nice big slug of Chardonnary.

Or maybe we'll order Chinese.

Or just have a cough drop.

The cough drop? Not so much! :D
Unless it honey lemon. Or licorace.

It's my wife's birthday, so she picked the menu. I made it almost all from scratch, from the shredded chicken to the tortillas to the salsa.

I've been cooking for about 2 hours, and I'm starting to get too tired to eat...:rofl:

Sounds good too!

:9

Spicy black beans with smoked paprika, liquid smoke, and a little salt, topped with tortilla chips and mango/peach salsa

Chicken breast tenderloins topped with more smoked paprika.

I love LOVE smoked paprika. :9 :9 :9 :9

with chicken, beans, and salsa on the side! Sounds delicious. :hi:

They have the BEST I've ever tasted, bar none.

http://www.penzeys.com/cgi-bin/penzeys/p-penzeysspanishpaprika.html?id=pZrVwJgd

Try it next time you fix carmelized onions. Nice touch.

Pepper jack cheese, onions and garlic.

Which were sauteed in GOOSE FAT first.

I love GOOSE FAT.

I've never cooked with goose fat.

And here's the good part. You can wash it off your fingers with cold water. So it's actually better for you than olive oil.

Roast potatoes in it. Saute vegetables in it. Rub it all over super market chicken to make it taste like something.

It melts really quickly too and heats up fast. I've fried eggs in it and they taste great.

Thanks for the info.

It's in the oven now. I promise no pictures of it tonight, tho. :hi:

I still have to clean up the kitchen carnage.
I baked bread then made dinner and we watched a video.
:)

I usually only eat one piece and I'm done.

I actually got to taste my first loaf of Ain5 bread last night. I had only made them and taken them to other people. I baked the last of the dough from the master recipe I made Monday night and it was awesome! Every bit as good as the bread served at Carraba's. :9

We've never gone longer than 4 days before the batch was finished.

and baked it Thursday night. When I took it out of the fridge and took the lid off, it smelled like beer. Bill thought it was great and he doesn't really like a white bread. It had a distinct sour taste.

I put the container back in the fridge until I can make another batch of dough tomorrow. I'm going to sub in some wheat and semolina flours this time, I think.

I'll look forward to your results!
I'd like to try a half batch with whole wheat, oats, and sunflower seeds added to the AP.

Nothing beats the look on the boys’ faces when they see a fresh homemade pizza come out of the oven.
It was vegetarian pepperoni, served with a side of steamed broccoli (because I'm still a mom).

I don't cook it often because it tastes too bitter to Bill. He's the same way with cauliflower, which I also love.

I just steamed some and tossed in a li'l milk and cheese. While it was steaming I sauteed some onions to add...

It's 12:30 in the morning but I had the munchies! :rofl:

:blush:

:rofl:
I am SOOOOOOO jealous.

Chicken wing meat left over from a party, carrots/peas broccoli/ Top Ramen and a cup of frozen Garbage Soup stock. Boil, put into two bowls. Eat.