What's for Dinner?

[Boatboy24]

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So, it did not matter to him if the kids liked dinner or not. One had to be grateful for what on had on his plate.

I have been noticing that parents today no longer say "you are not leaving this table until you have finished your vegetables". I am not sure why this is no longer important to parents.

I say, cook what YOU want. If they pick some stuff out, so be it.

I generally cook what I think is a good (meaning well rounded, not necessarily delicious) meal. There are times - increasingly frequent as the boys get older - that they turn their noses up to part or all of a meal. I tell them 'you don't have to eat it, but its all you're getting'. Hard part is getting my wife to go along and not make them a snack later. :: But both kids have gone to bed complaining that they didn't have enough to eat at dinner. I'm trying to instill in them that not every meal is going to be the best thing you've ever eaten. Sometimes, you eat just to nourish your body and not for enjoyment. They'll get it eventually.

 

[ceeaton]

I generally cook what I think is a good (meaning well rounded, not necessarily delicious) meal. There are times - increasingly frequent as the boys get older - that they turn their noses up to part or all of a meal. I tell them 'you don't have to eat it, but its all you're getting'. Hard part is getting my wife to go along and not make them a snack later. :: But both kids have gone to bed complaining that they didn't have enough to eat at dinner. I'm trying to instill in them that not every meal is going to be the best thing you've ever eaten. Sometimes, you eat just to nourish your body and not for enjoyment. They'll get it eventually.

Same here. With two diabetics I've got to watch the fat and obviously the carbs. We make a balanced meal and will make them eat their veges, though the boys need no prodding, just the youngest daughter. I've been blessed with kids, especially the boys, who enjoy things like broccoli, cauliflower and especially brussel sprouts. Now a treat like a raw tomato isn't high on their list, but I'd admit I was the same way when younger. My oldest daughter likes a lot of the veges I like, grilled asparagus, swiss chard and hot peppers, not necessarily all in the same dish.

 

[sour_grapes]

I have been noticing that parents today no longer say "you are not leaving this table until you have finished your vegetables". I am not sure why this is no longer important to parents.

That would not always be good parenting, IMHO. I am glad it worked out for you, but I am aware of tragic and/or damaging results from too firm an insistence on cleaning your plate.

I agree with "let them pick it out," though.

 

[Rodnboro]

My father was NUTS on cleaning your plate. When he was growing up in end of WWII Hungary, no one had enough to eat. Dad had had to steal planted seed potatoes from neighboring farms just to survive.

So, it did not matter to him if the kids liked dinner or not. One had to be grateful for what on had on his plate (or a spanking would be used to quickly change your mind).

I have been noticing that parents today no longer say "you are not leaving this table until you have finished your vegetables". I am not sure why this is no longer important to parents.

I say, cook what YOU want. If they pick some stuff out, so be it.

My dad grew up poor also and made us kids "clean your plate" before we could leave the table. I can remember staring at a pile of stewed squash for what seemed like hours before I took the plunge. Sometimes we could leave if we ate enough to satisfy them so we tried all the tricks like spreading the veggies around or mounding them taller to make it look like we ate most of them. It didn't work.

 

[Sweetiepie]

I agree, you guys have wonderful looking meals and honestly I haven't heard of most of them, nor do we have that type of ingredients up here. It is mostly blah, Norweigan cooking up here. Meat and potatoes and don't do anything suspicious.

As the kids leave the nest I find it harder to cook than when I had many kids at home. My husband is just as bad about foods having weird textures, both son and husband are perfectly fine not eating the meal if they don't like it. (Since I don't enjoy cooking for just me, I cater to them) Either one or the other will not eat mushrooms, fresh peppers, rice, beans (such as chili, etc.). My husband likes hot spicy foods, I do not, I like sweet, he does not. The only vegetable I can add to a meal besides potatoes is corn. So like a soup can only have corn or potato in it. I have gotten sneaker and I dehydrate vegetables and then turn them to powder and add them to soups and stews, so far so good.

When the kids do come back home their requests are for those same blah meals of steak, potatoes and cheesy green beans and buns. Since all the food comes right off the farm including the dairy and the flour etc they say it's the best and they can't find that anywhere else. So no trying new things out on them.

Just to re cap totally loving the pictures.

 

[ceeaton]

I do agree not to force kids to eat, but at least try a bite is my minimum. If they don't like it, that is fine, at least they tried it. My wife was the recipient of "you must eat it or you can't leave the table" type of an up bringing. She does not like any type of seafood, which makes it hard when you cut a whole protein group out like that, but I work around it and make sure any night the boys and I are home for dinner without the girls we get a serving or three of fish/shrimp/lobster/scallops/crab/salmon/whatever seafood is available.

Tonights dinner was liked by all, I think. Beef stew, image as I was creating it, second image after cooking on low for 10 hours in the crock pot. The sauce was delicious, I think I tasted some of the wine I used for deglazing the pot I browned the chuck in. Served with rice and iced tea to drink

 

[Johnd]

I'm whipping up a pot of smoked sausage and fresh Louisiana crawfish jambalaya, served with some yeast rolls. Pretty much always a hit when I can come home early enough to get it done. Needs to cook a little while yet, til the rice has absorbed all of the spicy water.

 

[ibglowin]

You might want to close the drapes and throw the deadbolts on the doors after posting that pic...

I can hear "Queen Ida and her Zydeco Band" playing in the background just looking at that!

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObM0dwPT0yI[/ame]

 

[geek]

Plain corn flakes...

 

[sour_grapes]

And so right you are! We are having a beautiful woman who fancies my cooking and her dog over for dinner tomorrow. I always want to outdo myself for these guests.

Well, it all worked out!

I had absolutely no idea what we were going to serve when I walked into the grocery store. I flitted about, and decided on BOTH the pork tenderloin AND the snow crab clusters (on sale). Turned out very nice. Plus, I "hid" the crab from the girls (who both love crab), and surprised them with it at table.

So, we had: Pork tenderloin, cut into ~2" pieces, then smashed into 3/4" medallions by fist. I seasoned these with coriander, thyme, and fennel, then dredged in flour. I then sauteed on high for ~3 minutes/side, then into the 200F oven to rest. In the meantime, I made a pan sauce with sherry, garlic, fresh thyme, butter, capers, and lemon (kind of piccata sauce), and eventually served this over the pork.

I made a pasta dish that was a modification of pepe e caccio. I cooked some angel-hair spaghetti, and in the meantime combined butter, fresh marjoram, garlic, salt, and pepper into a sauce. I finished the pasta in the sauce (along with some pasta water) and plenty of grated Parmigiano-Reggiano and Manchego cheese, and it was delicious.

For a veggie, I did a standard dish of the Sour_Grapes household, viz., I cut some Brussels sprouts in half, charred them in oil on the stovetop, then added some liquid and let them cook through. Then cover with grated parmesan cheese.

Finally, I sprung a surprise on the girls. I bought some snow crab clusters, which were on sale. I hid them from them; I heated a pot of water to ~150F, and held it there, then threw the crab legs in just before dinner. The crab legs were delicious (especially when drenched in butter + garlic!).

We often try to assess the impression of each meal by assessing how "nice" (by which we mean "expensive") the meal would be in a restaurant.

We are of the opinion that many of these meals are "restaurant worthy," and tonight's fare was worthy of a good restaurant.

 

[Johnd]

Well, it all worked out!

I had absolutely no idea what we were going to serve when I walked into the grocery store. I flitted about, and decided on BOTH the pork tenderloin AND the snow crab clusters (on sale). Turned out very nice. Plus, I "hid" the crab from the girls (who both love crab), and surprised them with it at table.

So, we had: Pork tenderloin, cut into ~2" pieces, then smashed into 3/4" medallions by fist. I seasoned these with coriander, thyme, and fennel, then dredged in flour. I then sauteed on high for ~3 minutes/side, then into the 200F oven to rest. In the meantime, I made a pan sauce with sherry, garlic, fresh thyme, butter, capers, and lemon (kind of piccata sauce), and eventually served this over the pork.

I made a pasta dish that was a modification of pepe e caccio. I cooked some angel-hair spaghetti, and in the meantime combined butter, fresh marjoram, garlic, salt, and pepper into a sauce. I finished the pasta in the sauce (along with some pasta water), and it was delicious.

For a veggie, I did a standard dish of the Sour_Grapes household, viz., I cut some Brussels sprouts in half, charred them in oil, then added liquid and let them cook through. Then cover with grated parmesan cheese.

Finally, I sprung a surprise on the girls. I bought some snow crab clusters, which were on sale. I hid them from them; I heated a pot of water to ~150F, and held it there, then threw the crab legs in until just before dinner. The crab legs were delicious (especially when drenched in butter + garlic!).

We often try to assess the impression of each meal by assessing how "nice" (by which we mean "expensive") the meal would be in a restaurant .

We are of the opinion that many of these meals are "restaurant worthy," and tonight's fare was all worthy of a good restaurant.

Well it sounds good, but apparently, it never really happened............... unless my iPad is hiding your photos.

 

[Boatboy24]

Finally, I sprung a surprise on the girls. I bought some snow crab clusters, which were on sale. I hid them from them; I heated a pot of water to ~150F, and held it there, then threw the crab legs in until just before dinner. The crab legs were delicious (especially when drenched in butter + garlic!).

Did you use the SV? How long in the 150F water?

 

[sour_grapes]

Did you use the SV? How long in the 150F water?

I should have mentioned that the snow crab clusters (i.e., halves) were precooked. No, I did not use the SV. I thought about it, but decided to just do it on the stovetop. They did not have to be in the water long, just long enough to heat through. I had them there for maybe 4 or 5 minutes.

 

[ceeaton]

Never know what I'll find in the local Giant, especially on an evening where no set dinner is planned. One child of my loins had two provolone and ham toasty cheese samwitches, another had whole wheat english muffins with Welches grape jelly, another had left over beef stew and the last had smoked salmon on Brenton GF herb crackers. I found some catfish on sale, fried it up with a coating of GF flour mixed with GF taco seasoning in european style butter, and loaded it into some taco shells for some scrumptious catfish tacos. Plan on a fish samwitch tomorrow for lunch, and probably for the next few days. The fillets were about 3/4 lb each and ran me under $6 total.

 

[ibglowin]

OK I give up. What the heck is that red stuff!

 

[Boatboy24]

Take out salad topped w/ skirt steak and blue cheese.

 

[sour_grapes]

The rest of those snow crabs from last night, some polenta with blue cheese, and braised Swiss chard with onions, coriander, and cardamom. The crab was just as nice the second night, but it is hard to go wrong with butter + garlic! Washed down with some CC Showcase Rosso Fortissimo.

 

[geek]

You're killing me [emoji23][emoji23]

 

[ceeaton]

OK I give up. What the heck is that red stuff!

Unlike most I like my fish tacos with a zing, a bit of habañero sauce.

Take out salad topped w/ skirt steak and blue cheese.

The rest of those snow crabs from last night, some polenta with blue cheese, and braised Swiss chard with onions, coriander, and cardamom. The crab was just as nice the second night, but it is hard to go wrong with butter + garlic! Washed down with some CC Showcase Rosso Fortissimo.

Nice to see you two are roughing it with take-out and leftovers!

 

[Boatboy24]

Nice to see you two are roughing it with take-out and leftovers!

Hey, its baseball season. I haven't 'cooked' yet this week.