What's for Dinner (Lunch, Elevenses, Second Breakfast, etc.)

[Kelshandra]

In honour of Anzac day (think a war memorial day equivalent for your country, this one is for Australia and New Zealand) I've just made a batch of Anzac biscuits using the original recipie. I've got one batch in the oven now and at least a biscuit or two of the dough in me (very very very yummy and warm). I'm being good and stepping away so I don't eat the rest before cooking it!

I've also jumped on the sourdough trend- early experiments with soft pretzels are promising (it's a good way to use the starter discard) but I have my first proper loaf of bread rising at the moment. I hope it's rising, anyway!

[Penners]

Last night was a smoked salmon and king prawn salad with my own version of thousand island dressing (I add extra paprika and cayenne pepper for more kick).

Tonight will be slow-cooked lamb shanks, red wine gravy, and roast veg.

[phalarope]

It's Penners!!!! Waves frantically.

Weird comfort food eating. Yesterday's dinner was shad roe* fried in bacon grease with mashed potatoes. Steamed spinach on the side.

*This is a springtime regional speciality**

**Any seasoned traveller soon learns to avoid anything wished on them as a ‘regional speciality’, because all the term means is that dish is so unpleasant the people living everywhere else will bite off their own legs rather than eat it. (LC)

[Catch-up]

Yum! To all of the above.

Tonight it was the ultimate comfort food - pizza.

[Pat]

I made meatballs and sauce from the recipe IKEA (I assume) released. Not bad, though I need to learn to chop onions finer.

[steeljam]

I made meatballs and sauce from the recipe IKEA (I assume) released. Not bad, though I need to learn to chop onions finer.

Good old Gordon showed me.
But be warned you should start slowly; a good sharp knife close to your finger creates red onions!

[annebn]

I made meatballs and sauce from the recipe IKEA (I assume) released. Not bad, though I need to learn to chop onions finer.

Grating the onion works best for mestballs. But it might make you cry.

[Sandra]

I don't make meatballs - but I do make stuffing balls. Generally I cut the onions to make them a feature texture of the stuffing but I have used a food processor before. That's really very fine, and you might want goggles as there is so much of the lacrimator released. (I cheated by adding bread after the onions were fine enough, absorbs the juice and helps clean out the processor at the same time.)

[phalarope]

Coffee ice cream with semi-sweet chocolate morsels on top. Oh, and a chicken quesadilla.

Last week I made a figgy pot roast. The leftover gravy with mushrooms and onions is about to become stoo. Mmmmmmm, fall comfort food.

[Nonny Mouse]

Anyone who sees me on Facebook knows I've been doing a lot of French cooking lately. September I declared dessert experiment month, using fall fruits. The faves turned out to be tart tatin, or apple caramel upside down pie, and poire belle helene, which is poached pears with chocolate sauce and ice cream. Mmmmm!

In October sometime I mean to make a pumpkin gooey cake. Not French but I haven't made it in years.

[phalarope]

Just made a huge pot of spaghetti sauce (I think the equivalent of spag bol?). Smelled it simmering all day, then had it over angel hair for dinner. Also figured out a new way to make parsnips. Pulled out the huge bar of Dairy Milk I bought back in March for prezzies that I've never been able to gift out, and decided it was my gift to myself.

[Nonny Mouse]

I did make the gooey cake, but then cooking kind of fell off for me as I prepare to make Thanksgiving for the first time since getting married (!). On the one hand, I'm not out of practice since I make turkey for Christmas usually, but on the other hand, I don't have any days off beforehand.

But I think it'll work out, since I anticipate the day before Thanksgiving to be really really dead at work, and I can do some prep work (gravy, cranberry sauce, dressing) while keeping an eye out for emails. Also I don't have to make dessert, since we are meeting the grandparents for (edit: socially distanced, outside) pie later and I"m just bringing a premade chocolate one while they bring pumpkin. The holiday salad and elaborate dessert I make for Christmas stay with Christmas.

I'm thinking I want to do a fancy roast for Christmas since I won't make turkey twice. This may be easier and involve fewer side dishes, like baked potatoes.

[phalarope]

Chicken. It's been chicken for 2 weeks now. Defrosted a 10 pound bag 'o legs, an early covid panic purchase, when we thought we might run out of food. Since I'm living alone for now, it's REALLY hard to get rid of 10 pounds of chicken legs by one's self. Chicken cacciatore. Jambalaya. Chicken soup. Curried chicken. Baaaak, baaaak, baaaack! Cluck!

And there's two more bags where that came from..... Hello pulled chicken barbeque. At least I'll have made room to freeze some of that.

[Nonny Mouse]

Chicken. It's been chicken for 2 weeks now. Defrosted a 10 pound bag 'o legs, an early covid panic purchase, when we thought we might run out of food. Since I'm living alone for now, it's REALLY hard to get rid of 10 pounds of chicken legs by one's self. Chicken cacciatore. Jambalaya. Chicken soup. Curried chicken. Baaaak, baaaak, baaaack! Cluck!

And there's two more bags where that came from..... Hello pulled chicken barbeque. At least I'll have made room to freeze some of that.

My favorites are chicken noodles and poulet au vinaigre. Chicken chasseur is also really good.

[chrisboote]

I yesterday made a bunch of tandoori chicken thighs that actually worked - the yoghurt dried and coated them, rather than separating into curds and whey
Grilling them and accepting that the grill pan would need a thorough elbow grease clean* afterwards was the trick

Slightly spicier than I intended, but so good hot last night with sweet potato and grilled courgettes, and cold in a sandwich today for lunch with mango chutney and the rest of the courgettes

* And as I cooked, Julia did the cleaning, so ...