You Are What You Eat: January 28 through February 5
This summary encompassed my Super Bowl trip, so there are a number of restaurants and parties here that wouldn't be in a normal week. Let's get to it.
Monday, January 28 - Dinner had two dishes:
Roasted Winter Vegetables - My mother put this roasted vegetable recipe in the cookbook she made it for me. I'm not sure I've ever made it exactly as it was laid out there, as you can always swap in other vegetables, particularly root vegetables. I used up some watermelon radishes in this dish.
Seasoned Black-Eyed Peas - New Recipe - This came out of the new January/February 2019 Eating Well, from a section on southern cooking. Despite the name, M and I both agreed that this was pretty bland. It was edible, especially on top of the roasted vegetables, but not nearly interesting enough to eat again.
Tuesday, January 29 - Slow-Cooker Chicken Cacciatore with Polenta - New Recipe - For the third week in a row, I prepped a chicken dish from the January/February 2019 Eating Well in the slow cooker on Monday night and ate it Tuesday night. This was was the best of the three, with a rich sumptuous vegetable sauce. The polenta was made Tuesday night and was good, although rice or pasta would have been equally delicious.
Wednesday, January 30 - M didn't make it back for dinner on Tuesday, so we had plenty of leftovers and ate those instead of cooking.
Thursday, January 31 - Chili-Hot Shrimp with Bell Peppers - New Recipe - 660 Curries is my Indian cookbook of choice. I've made a number of delicious recipes in it over the years. M and I agreed that this one was the perfect amount of hot and spicy flavor, and it will absolutely be added to the rotation.
Friday, February 1 - I had a tuna sub at the Subway in Terminal B of the Cleveland Hopkins airport. Not terribly exciting, but better than starving.
Saturday, February 2 - For most of my Super Bowl trips, Mike and I and some combination of his family members have gotten breakfast at the Springfield Diner near their house. This year it was all four of them and me. I splurged and had a Belgian waffle with mint chocolate chip ice cream, plus a hot chocolate. The kids were slightly envious.
In the evening when everybody gathered at Mike's house we had pizza and assorted party food. I drank most of a bottle of rum with no ill effects, but the coke I mixed with the rum gave me terrible heartburn the next morning. Isn't getting old a blast?
Sunday, February 3 - H and I and her three month old daughter got breakfast at the Bittersweet Kitchen in Media, PA. I had a vegetable enchilada special that was very tasty. After H offered me a taste of the biscuit that came with her breakfast, I ordered a plate of three with some honey butter. The biscuits already had a delightfully crinkly edge from the butter in the dough interacting with the hot pan. All this and we managed to arrive at the perfect time to be seated immediately in the very crowded restaurant.
In the evening we went over to Joe's for the Super Bowl. I ate an assortment of food, including hummus, vegis, smoked chicken thighs and other food of varying healthiness.
Monday, February 4 - There is a Bar Symon in the Philadelphia airport. I had eggs and toast and then slept all the way through my first flight. I then bought a pre-made salad at the Detroit airport, which alas did not lead me to sleep all the way through my second flight.
Lemony Lentil Soup with Collards - New Recipe - For dinner, I made this soup recipe from (again) the January/February 2019 Eating Well. M and I agreed that it was in the "happy to eat it, probably don't need to make it again" category.
Tuesday, February 5 - Chicken, Quinoa & Sweet Potato Casserole - New Recipe - the January/February 2019 Eating Well has had an abnormally high number of interesting recipes in it. This one came out reasonably well. Most notably, the broth wasn't fully absorbed as it should have been during baking, so it was very liquidy. Perhaps as a result, the casserole was very soft. M thought it needed some more crunch, like a panko crust or something. I may try it again, as it smelled really good, tasted good, and just needed a slightly better mouth feel to be a winner.
Totals For This Post
Days Covered: 9
Meals / Dishes Cooked: 5 / 6
New Recipes: 5
Eating Out Meals: 5
Eating Out Drinks/Dessert Only: 0
Parties / Friends Cooked: 2
Overall Totals from January 2
Days Covered: 35
Meals / Dishes Cooked: 26 / 31
New Recipes: 16
Eating Out Meals: 11
Eating Out Drinks/Dessert Only: 1
Parties / Friends Cooked: 5
Monday, January 28 - Dinner had two dishes:
Roasted Winter Vegetables - My mother put this roasted vegetable recipe in the cookbook she made it for me. I'm not sure I've ever made it exactly as it was laid out there, as you can always swap in other vegetables, particularly root vegetables. I used up some watermelon radishes in this dish.
Seasoned Black-Eyed Peas - New Recipe - This came out of the new January/February 2019 Eating Well, from a section on southern cooking. Despite the name, M and I both agreed that this was pretty bland. It was edible, especially on top of the roasted vegetables, but not nearly interesting enough to eat again.
Tuesday, January 29 - Slow-Cooker Chicken Cacciatore with Polenta - New Recipe - For the third week in a row, I prepped a chicken dish from the January/February 2019 Eating Well in the slow cooker on Monday night and ate it Tuesday night. This was was the best of the three, with a rich sumptuous vegetable sauce. The polenta was made Tuesday night and was good, although rice or pasta would have been equally delicious.
Wednesday, January 30 - M didn't make it back for dinner on Tuesday, so we had plenty of leftovers and ate those instead of cooking.
Thursday, January 31 - Chili-Hot Shrimp with Bell Peppers - New Recipe - 660 Curries is my Indian cookbook of choice. I've made a number of delicious recipes in it over the years. M and I agreed that this one was the perfect amount of hot and spicy flavor, and it will absolutely be added to the rotation.
Friday, February 1 - I had a tuna sub at the Subway in Terminal B of the Cleveland Hopkins airport. Not terribly exciting, but better than starving.
Saturday, February 2 - For most of my Super Bowl trips, Mike and I and some combination of his family members have gotten breakfast at the Springfield Diner near their house. This year it was all four of them and me. I splurged and had a Belgian waffle with mint chocolate chip ice cream, plus a hot chocolate. The kids were slightly envious.
In the evening when everybody gathered at Mike's house we had pizza and assorted party food. I drank most of a bottle of rum with no ill effects, but the coke I mixed with the rum gave me terrible heartburn the next morning. Isn't getting old a blast?
Sunday, February 3 - H and I and her three month old daughter got breakfast at the Bittersweet Kitchen in Media, PA. I had a vegetable enchilada special that was very tasty. After H offered me a taste of the biscuit that came with her breakfast, I ordered a plate of three with some honey butter. The biscuits already had a delightfully crinkly edge from the butter in the dough interacting with the hot pan. All this and we managed to arrive at the perfect time to be seated immediately in the very crowded restaurant.
In the evening we went over to Joe's for the Super Bowl. I ate an assortment of food, including hummus, vegis, smoked chicken thighs and other food of varying healthiness.
Monday, February 4 - There is a Bar Symon in the Philadelphia airport. I had eggs and toast and then slept all the way through my first flight. I then bought a pre-made salad at the Detroit airport, which alas did not lead me to sleep all the way through my second flight.
Lemony Lentil Soup with Collards - New Recipe - For dinner, I made this soup recipe from (again) the January/February 2019 Eating Well. M and I agreed that it was in the "happy to eat it, probably don't need to make it again" category.
Tuesday, February 5 - Chicken, Quinoa & Sweet Potato Casserole - New Recipe - the January/February 2019 Eating Well has had an abnormally high number of interesting recipes in it. This one came out reasonably well. Most notably, the broth wasn't fully absorbed as it should have been during baking, so it was very liquidy. Perhaps as a result, the casserole was very soft. M thought it needed some more crunch, like a panko crust or something. I may try it again, as it smelled really good, tasted good, and just needed a slightly better mouth feel to be a winner.
Totals For This Post
Days Covered: 9
Meals / Dishes Cooked: 5 / 6
New Recipes: 5
Eating Out Meals: 5
Eating Out Drinks/Dessert Only: 0
Parties / Friends Cooked: 2
Overall Totals from January 2
Days Covered: 35
Meals / Dishes Cooked: 26 / 31
New Recipes: 16
Eating Out Meals: 11
Eating Out Drinks/Dessert Only: 1
Parties / Friends Cooked: 5