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Paul,

You ever try any of this?

Achiote Paste. Incredible flavor for a rub/marinade.

Umm, no, I was ignorant of it. I shall seek it out tout de suite. (Errr, I guess I should have said "pronto" instead of "tout de suite" given the subject! :) ) Sounds like an excellent thing to have on hand!
 
It is the backbone of a very, very good Achiote (as-show-te) Marinade that works wonderfully on chicken and pork.

2 oz achiote paste (ground annatto seed paste)
2 to 3 limes squeezed
1 orange squeezed
2 tbsp vinegar (apple cider)
2 tbsp grapeseed oil
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp ground cumin
3 cloves garlic (minced)
1 tbsp chipotle pepers in adobo sauce (or to taste)
1/2 cup cilantro (chopped)
2 tsp kosher salt (or to taste)
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Umm, no, I was ignorant of it. I shall seek it out tout de suite. (Errr, I guess I should have said "pronto" instead of "tout de suite" given the subject! :) ) Sounds like an excellent thing to have on hand!
 
This was Friday night's dinner. Lobster, Shrimp and Scallops, Steamed Cauliflour, and Alfredo noodles.

Looks delish. Good thing you had the lobster shell to provide at least a soupcon of color!! :)


When my wife and I make a meal, such as chicken breast, cauliflower, and potatoes, that winds up with very little color, we refer to this as one of our "ecru meals." :D
 
Pan Fried Chicken, Velveta/Bacon mac and cheese topped with crushed Ritz crackers, and creamy potato salad. All home made!

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I think I came up with an original recipe last night that’s fast, healthy, tastes great and easy to make for one or two servings.
Correct me if this is a common technique and I’ve just never seen this done but I’m going to keep it in my bag of quickie tricks.
Slightly pounded boneless skinless chicken breast, salt, pepper, tomato slices, grated garlic, basil and finely grated parmesean. Baked at 425 for 30 minutes. Tomatoes got a mushy/saucy with a slightly sun dried flavor, the parm added a little crust and crunch and the chicken stayed really moist and flavorful.

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Mmmmmm, yer killin' me, Jim!

An elderly neighbor of mine died yesterday. (He died a good death on his own terms.) I offered to bring dinner to his widow this evening, and she accepted. I had a very limited amount of time and a hectic schedule, but managed to make tabouleh, broccoli with lemon/garlic/butter/caper sauce, and orange roughy meuniere. It really turned out delightful (except, of course, for the occasion). We quaffed a Cline Viognier and an Angeline Chardonnay to drown our sorrows. It was as good an evening as it could have been.
 
Well thank you, Jim. It is funny -- the number of times I have made dinner for neighbors in stress has not been very large. I really should do it more often. But, due to a confluence of events, I have done this FOUR TIMES in the last week! I hope my neighbors' lives are a bit more peaceful in the next few months!
 
Made a seafood omelette with the leftover shrimp from the other night's cook. Some eggs, a dash of tabasco and old bay, along with shrimp, red peppers, parmesan, mozzarella, provolone and a little fresh italian parsley. Probably the worst omelette flip I've ever done, but it didn't affect the taste. :D

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Last Saturday:

After clothes shopping with the wife (seriously, why do women think men actually like doing that??), I did the week's grocery shopping and then spent some quality time in the kitchen.

While grocery shopping, I could not help but notice the following on sale..

Cabbage - 17 cents a pound,
Potatoes - $1.47 for a 5 pound sack
Corned beef - 98 cents a pound (with store coupon)
Tupperware was also on sale

Being that I am not Irish (but fall in the "wish he was" category) I did not go with the traditional boiled Corn Beef Diner. The way I see it, boiling the meat, cabbage, potatoes, and perhaps carats is a great way to make a very flavorful stock. but most folks actually pour that down the drain and eat the bland flavorless solid remains.

So I did this, I brazed the corned beef in beer for about 6 housr, made a creamy potato salad, and made my Hungarian cabbage salad. Each is in its own container in the fridge.

I also bought some really good fresh baked rye bread, so, it's corned beef sandwiches this week.

After all of that, went to work cooking some tomato sauce and some chicken parm for Saturday night dinner.

I am eating good this week!
 
We have a Cub Scout meeting tomorrow night, so I'm doing my Corned Beef and Cabbage tonight. It doesn't come out bland and flavorless is you season the water properly. I'll have to dig up my recipe. I used to cure my own corned beef, but the last few years, my grocery store has carried Boars Head corned beef and it is pretty good.
 
Last night, along with a small steak, I sauteed shallots, garlic, removed from skillet, added kale and put garlic and shallots back on top of greens. After they sauteed down a I added rinsed cannellini beans to warm up. I recommend that.
 
Man, I need to be better about taking pictures!...

on Saturday it was goulash and home made spaetzle. On Sunday, I wanted a really nice dinner...

I got two 2" thick filet mignons (butt end). Coated them in a little bit of salt and a whole lot of black pepper. Pan seared them in a little olive oil to develop a nice bark, bathed them in a little butter I added to the pan, then put them in a 400 degree oven for another 12 minutes (they were thick). The cook on them was a perfect medium rare! yum.

What broke my heart was that I did not deglaze the pan. All of that lovely flavor in the pan was wasted. Since it is lent, and I gave up wine, I could not think of anything to deglaze the pan with. oh well....

Served them with baked potato, fresh spinach (sautéed in some olive oil with salt and pepper), sautéed mushrooms (again just in olive oil and seasoned with salt and pepper), and a garden salad with thousand island dressing.

For dessert, I baked a chocolate cake. I cheated on this by using a pillsbury cake mix and a can of generic icing.

What a feast! The problem is that it was just way too much food for 2 people. We never even got to the cake.

I did notice one thing though.. The goulash on Saturday took 4 hours to cook. Making the spaetzle took a good hour. All that work for a meal that is considered as rather common. My Sunday dinner took an hour start to finish and is considered as a rather elegant meal. Anyone else notice something similar?
 
What broke my heart was that I did not deglaze the pan. All of that lovely flavor in the pan was wasted. Since it is lent, and I gave up wine, I could not think of anything to deglaze the pan with. oh well....

Beef broth would have done a decent job, IMHO.

I did notice one thing though.. The goulash on Saturday took 4 hours to cook. Making the spaetzle took a good hour. All that work for a meal that is considered as rather common. My Sunday dinner took an hour start to finish and is considered as a rather elegant meal. Anyone else notice something similar?

Yes, that has occurred to me before. Maybe that is why I wind up "throwing money at the problem" more often than not! :D
 
Asian marinated flank steak with stir fried veg and soba noodles. And I'm pairing it very poorly with a big bold Italian red. Sadly, nothing that would pair well with it was striking my fancy during the prep phase.
 

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