You Are What You Eat: February 26 through March 6
This edition has new recipes, new (to me) restaurants, an old Thanksgiving recipe returned, and concert beer. It also occurs to me that I may have already made more different recipes thus far this year than my mother would in a full year. Of course, she was cooking for kids, including me. I'm cooking for myself, M and the occasional guest, so it's hardly comparable.
Tuesday, February 26 - Peas with Pearl Onions and Pancetta came from the March 2019 Eating Well. Of course, having given up red meat, for this first attempt I substituted chicken chorizo for pancetta. The recipe is also scaled for a large party, so I cut most ingredients in half. The end result was both quick to make and delicious. M and I both liked it. With extra chicken chorizo it could be a main course, or with less it serves as a very heavy side. This will be made again.
Wednesday, February 27 - Dal with Mango & Mustard Seeds was the one recipe in Adventures in Slow Cooking that I liked when I checked it out last year. I do love a good crock pot dish, and I do love a good curry, and the combination is divine and generates lots of leftovers.
Thursday, February 28 - Red Wine Braised Mushroom Sauce is an old favorite from the September/October 2014 Eating Well. It tastes great over pasta or on its own.
Friday, March 1 - We had a work poker night, so I stayed there and ate a number of bar foods, like chicken strips, potato skins (they offered a bacon-free version) and pizza. I did not, alas, win at poker.
Saturday, March 2 - M and I took my cousins out for her birthday. She chose Moxie, which has long been on the list of places I've been meaning to eat. I had a very tasty onion and mushroom risotto. M and Amy had the sesame tuna, and Deanne enjoyed the paella. Our waiter picked up on the birthday and brought Amy a dessert of his own volition. It's a bit pricey for everyday eating, but I'd go back.
Afterwards we went to their house and enjoyed a wide range of desserts, which I will count as "Parties / Friends Cooked."
Sunday, March 3 - In the morning, M and I joined many of our friends for the annual pilgrimage to Burton, Ohio for the Fire Department pancake breakfast. I learned my body cannot cope with mass amounts of carbs as well as it used to in my newer, low carb diet. I'm counting this as "Parties / Friends Cooked" since it's not quite a restaurant.
That evening my parents were in town en route to another trip to Palm Springs. If it's anything like last year, I thought they'd prefer not to eat out, so I made Chicken Fesenjan from the September/October 2017 Eating Well at M's suggestion. I'd made a lamb variant for Thanksgiving 2017. The chicken is just as good, in large part because the walnut sauce is the real prize here. It tasted great over rice and with a nice Délice de Bourgogne.
Monday, March 4 - I no longer recall what led me to the Miso Soup recipe from AllRecipes that I've been using since 2013. I usually put in more tofu, more to not have leftovers than for any other reason. It still tastes good.
As a side dish, I tried a new recipe from the March 2019 Eating Well: Sautéed Broccoli with Peanut Sauce. M helped make the dressing. We both enjoyed this; M loves peanut sauce, and this one came out well and is quick to make. We'll eat this one again.
Tuesday, March 5 - Another Tuesday, another curry in the crock pot. This one was the Slow Cooker Dal Makhani from the September/October 2016 Eating Well. It's got a combination of lentils and kidney beans and tastes far richer than you'd expect from the humble ingredients. It's also stupid simple to make, even by crock pot standards.
After dinning I went to the Beachland. I enjoyed some adult beverages, except they were actually fancy root beer.
Wednesday, March 6 - I've been making the Chickpea & Chorizo Fideos from the September/October 2013 Eating Well almost since the day I got that issue. I still make it regularly with chicken chorizo. This is one of my personal favorites.
As a side, I made the Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Fish Sauce Dressing from the September/October 2017 Eating Well. The fish oil is a really pleasant change of pace for the classic roasted Brussels.
Totals For This Post
Days Covered: 9
Meals / Dishes Cooked: 7 / 9
New Recipes: 2
Eating Out / Take Out Meals: 1
Eating Out Drinks/Dessert Only: 1
New To Me Restaurants: 1
Parties / Friends Cooked: 2
Repeated Recipes: 0
Overall Totals from January 2 Onward
Days Covered: 64
Meals / Dishes Cooked: 46 / 57
New Recipes: 25
Eating Out / Take Out Meals: 20
Eating Out Drinks/Dessert Only: 7
New To Me Restaurants: 10
Parties / Friends Cooked: 7
Repeated Recipes: 1
Tuesday, February 26 - Peas with Pearl Onions and Pancetta came from the March 2019 Eating Well. Of course, having given up red meat, for this first attempt I substituted chicken chorizo for pancetta. The recipe is also scaled for a large party, so I cut most ingredients in half. The end result was both quick to make and delicious. M and I both liked it. With extra chicken chorizo it could be a main course, or with less it serves as a very heavy side. This will be made again.
Wednesday, February 27 - Dal with Mango & Mustard Seeds was the one recipe in Adventures in Slow Cooking that I liked when I checked it out last year. I do love a good crock pot dish, and I do love a good curry, and the combination is divine and generates lots of leftovers.
Thursday, February 28 - Red Wine Braised Mushroom Sauce is an old favorite from the September/October 2014 Eating Well. It tastes great over pasta or on its own.
Friday, March 1 - We had a work poker night, so I stayed there and ate a number of bar foods, like chicken strips, potato skins (they offered a bacon-free version) and pizza. I did not, alas, win at poker.
Saturday, March 2 - M and I took my cousins out for her birthday. She chose Moxie, which has long been on the list of places I've been meaning to eat. I had a very tasty onion and mushroom risotto. M and Amy had the sesame tuna, and Deanne enjoyed the paella. Our waiter picked up on the birthday and brought Amy a dessert of his own volition. It's a bit pricey for everyday eating, but I'd go back.
Afterwards we went to their house and enjoyed a wide range of desserts, which I will count as "Parties / Friends Cooked."
Sunday, March 3 - In the morning, M and I joined many of our friends for the annual pilgrimage to Burton, Ohio for the Fire Department pancake breakfast. I learned my body cannot cope with mass amounts of carbs as well as it used to in my newer, low carb diet. I'm counting this as "Parties / Friends Cooked" since it's not quite a restaurant.
That evening my parents were in town en route to another trip to Palm Springs. If it's anything like last year, I thought they'd prefer not to eat out, so I made Chicken Fesenjan from the September/October 2017 Eating Well at M's suggestion. I'd made a lamb variant for Thanksgiving 2017. The chicken is just as good, in large part because the walnut sauce is the real prize here. It tasted great over rice and with a nice Délice de Bourgogne.
Monday, March 4 - I no longer recall what led me to the Miso Soup recipe from AllRecipes that I've been using since 2013. I usually put in more tofu, more to not have leftovers than for any other reason. It still tastes good.
As a side dish, I tried a new recipe from the March 2019 Eating Well: Sautéed Broccoli with Peanut Sauce. M helped make the dressing. We both enjoyed this; M loves peanut sauce, and this one came out well and is quick to make. We'll eat this one again.
Tuesday, March 5 - Another Tuesday, another curry in the crock pot. This one was the Slow Cooker Dal Makhani from the September/October 2016 Eating Well. It's got a combination of lentils and kidney beans and tastes far richer than you'd expect from the humble ingredients. It's also stupid simple to make, even by crock pot standards.
After dinning I went to the Beachland. I enjoyed some adult beverages, except they were actually fancy root beer.
Wednesday, March 6 - I've been making the Chickpea & Chorizo Fideos from the September/October 2013 Eating Well almost since the day I got that issue. I still make it regularly with chicken chorizo. This is one of my personal favorites.
As a side, I made the Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Fish Sauce Dressing from the September/October 2017 Eating Well. The fish oil is a really pleasant change of pace for the classic roasted Brussels.
Totals For This Post
Days Covered: 9
Meals / Dishes Cooked: 7 / 9
New Recipes: 2
Eating Out / Take Out Meals: 1
Eating Out Drinks/Dessert Only: 1
New To Me Restaurants: 1
Parties / Friends Cooked: 2
Repeated Recipes: 0
Overall Totals from January 2 Onward
Days Covered: 64
Meals / Dishes Cooked: 46 / 57
New Recipes: 25
Eating Out / Take Out Meals: 20
Eating Out Drinks/Dessert Only: 7
New To Me Restaurants: 10
Parties / Friends Cooked: 7
Repeated Recipes: 1