What's for Dinner?

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Well, I tried to pull all the stops for St. Valentine's Day. Wellll, almost all the stops. This was a meal that said, "I love you, honey, but I am not willing to pay absolute top dollar on you." :) (Explanation below.)

We had a lovely surf and turf dinner. The "surf" was king crab legs, but they were "broken" king crab legs, at $14/lb instead of $19/lb for intact legs. The "turf" was filet mignon, but it was a Kroger's "woo-hoo" special, at ~$10/lb instead of ~$18/lb, as it expired tomorrow.

Beyond those impecunious details, the dinner was lovely. First course was the king crab legs, steamed to ~150F, dunked in copious amounts of tarragon-flavored butter, and served with a ho-made Chardonnay (Master Vintner). The main course had roasted artichokes (lemon juice and EVOO); mushroom risotto with ho-made beef stock; pencil-thin asparagus (first crop of the year from Mexico), broiled and topped with parmesan; the above-mentioned filets mignon, fried hard in butter and served with cracked pink peppercorns; and a reduction sauce of mushrooms, shallots, garlic, fresh thyme, red wine, ho-made beef stock. We really enjoyed it.

The red wine started with my ho-made CC Showcase Walla Walla Cab Merlot, which is one of the few (~3 or 4) batches I have made that I would put up against commercial wines. As if to prove the point, the replacement when we kicked that bottle was a WTSO special of a Mockingbird Hill red blend from Sonoma; this was better than mine, but only slightly, and only if you like oak.
 
My viking range is no more. The oven door is unrepairable and replacement costs for the range would amount to 1,500.00.

So I say goodbye to my oven. Like a trusted and valued friend, he will be missed.


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Now my viking range (I called him Sven) was a 36 inch pro model. Not many of that size on the market and each one is very expensive. I shopped for weeks until I found one that truly needed a home. It came yesterday. It is a 6 burner. I named him Hans (German made). At 2,100.00 (installed), it was a very good deal...
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Somewhat easy button. Lot's of things from the fridge/freezer used on this one. Noodles with chicken and a peanut sauce. I was getting sick of pizza (I know, how could I), so I made a dough for the others and made this for me. Had to hurry it along to get out of my wife's way since she was in charge of making the pizza. Fortunately it comes together rather quickly.

Thawing an 11 pound turkey for tomorrows smoking session. Sunday is out since it is standard to go to my MIL's to eat, drink and watch the Daytona race. I usually eat, drink and read a good book. I like enjoying a race (much like a baseball game) on the radio while I'm puttering in my garage and cooking something that takes a long time in the driveway.

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My viking range is no more. The oven door is unrepairable and replacement costs for the range would amount to 1,500.00.

So I say goodbye to my oven. Like a trusted and valued friend, he will be missed.

Looks like a great upgrade and pretty awesome pricing, time to get it dirty and give it a nick or two!
Mike
 
Now my viking range (I called him Sven) was a 36 inch pro model. Not many of that size on the market and each one is very expensive. I shopped for weeks until I found one that truly needed a home. It came yesterday. It is a 6 burner. I named him Hans (German made). At 2,100.00 (installed), it was a very good deal...
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That's a great price. Gonna take it with you when you move south? :p
 
Got plans tomorrow so had to get my smoking "fix" in today. Actually a cool day but that sun is starting to get stronger, so didn't feel real cold. Put an 11 lb turkey on around noon. Some ice still in the cavity and the initial breast reading with the Inkbird was 32*F. Up to 131*F right now, got an hour to go so I'm loading 'er up with some charcoal at the moment. Did it in the Weber Smokey Mt cooker, started with a snake as the base cook (used some cherry and apple wood chips). Have had to add charcoal to it so I'd have enough fuel to complete the cook. Will serve with some sliced cheesy potatoes (sort of au gratin style) and some steamed veges. Should make for some good leftovers for lunches this week.

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I got my smoking meat fix taken care of for a bit. 12 pound brisket, simple rub off salt and pepper with a little bit of onion and garlic powder. I had to cut it in half too fit in my smoker. Smoked until 150, wrapped and then cook until about 185 or so. Very juicy, very tasty. My pregnant daughter couldn't eat any said it tasted too meaty, but the rest of us ate way more than we should have. Had a nice Kirkland Merlot with it and then some old vine zin from the swill I make. IMG_20190212_071714_01.jpegIMG_20190216_082118.jpegIMG_20190216_165311.jpegIMG_20190216_165749.jpeg
 
Tonight we had: pepper-crusted Ahi tuna, seared briefly, and served with Roy Yamaguchi's two sauces, viz., soy/dry mustard/rice vinegar, and beurre blanc (augmented with tarragon); Brussels sprouts (browned then braised, covered with parmesan cheese); chunks of butternut squash (sauteed with garlic then braised, then browned); slices of king oyster mushroom (brushed with oil, then broiled and dusted with granulated garlic); and leftover/reheated broiled asparagus. Pretty tasty.

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Had a date with my 2-year boyfriend the other night. Instead of steak and wine usual, we had chicken parm with herbs sprinkled on top, a vinaigrettes salad on the side and 2 glasses of Chardonnay (red wine goes with red meat, so it came out to me the other way might work as well). Loved it but didn't know about my boyfriend. He always gives good comments.
Oh and the recipe i followed was of healthy kitchen 101 blog. I ditched the spaghetti because we had consumed loads of carbs that day.
 
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