What's for dinner?

[MushCreek]

Tonight, we're having the traditional......Chicken and Andouille Sausage Gumbo! Why traditional? Because the family travels on Thanksgiving Day, so we do the real traditional feed tomorrow. The gumbo pot will be hot when they walk through the door, along with rice, salad, and lots of crusty home made bread to dunk in da gumbo.

[muldoon]

Tonight, we're having the traditional......Chicken and Andouille Sausage Gumbo! Why traditional? Because the family travels on Thanksgiving Day, so we do the real traditional feed tomorrow. The gumbo pot will be hot when they walk through the door, along with rice, salad, and lots of crusty home made bread to dunk in da gumbo.

sounds good, can you post the recipe sometime? 

[Jens]

First, risengrød, a Danish rice and milk pudding.  Then roasted turkey balls, and whatever sides our friends bring.  Then, latkes, sufganiyot, fried oreos, fried PB&J sandwiches, and whatever else we decide to throw in the fryer.  Add copious quantities of wine, tea, and some chocolate Chanukkah lollipops. 

[muldoon]

I have been playing with this recipe all fall, and have made it 5 times in the last few months.  I even took some deer meat to Colorado to make it for my inlaws; made it again for new years day at my aunts house.  It's gotten great feedback and reviews.  I think it's worthy of being called a damn good chili recipe.

big batch - but it can be halved easily enough.

4 lbs ground deer meat - this was ground 80% verison, 20% pork.  the deer was from thanksgiving weekend. 
3 tomatoes
2 green bell peppers
2 green poblano peppers
2 serranos
3 jalapenoes
2 bunches of spring onions/scallion onions
2 big yellow onions
2 big red bell peppers
1 15 ounce can goya black beans
1 14 oz can del monte diced tomatoes
3 8ounce cans hunts tomatoe sauce
paprika
garlic powder
ground cumin
cayenne pepper
dried chopped onion
chili powder
mustard seeds
kosher salt



veggies all washed and prepped.  these are going on the grill. 



grilled the peppers and tomatoes and spring onions until blackened.  turn every now and then, cook them over fire until they are slightly blistered and blackened.



at the same time inside, heat up a big pan and toss in some olive oil. 
cut the yellow onions up and begin cooking them in the pan, once they start to soften up a bit and are getting carmlelized add the meat.  brown the meat and the onions together. 



back at the grill, once the peppers are done and nicely blistered and black, submerge them in ice water, blanching them to stop the cooking.  under the sink run cold water and was them off.  the black part can easily be peeled right off the peppers and disacrded.  Whats left is is a very sweet and roasted flavored pepper.  the black part is bitter - thats why you remove it.  Once you peel off the blackened bits, sliced and chop them into chunks about nickle size.   Once the meat is all browned, add the shopped peppers in. 



after about 5 minutes, it should look like this:

---
once the liquid from the peppers has filled the pot up a bit -like above picture -
add:
1 can diced tomatoes
3 cans tomatoe sauce
3/4's a bottle of beer.  lucky you gets the rest. 
mix it up well and let it sit for about 10 minutes.

now add:
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 tablespoon choppoed onion flakes
1 teaspoon cayenne
3 tablespoon ground cumin
1.5 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
simmer 1 hour.

add can of black beans (optional). 
simmer 1 more hour. 

--
serve with chopped onions, shredded sharp cheddar cheese, frito scoops, cold beer. 
(the chili is not that spicy, as we have small kids we "spice up" our bowls, this is done with some extra spicy hot sauce added just into the final bowl and mixed in.)

[Homegrown Tomatoes]

That looks delicious, Muldoon.

We had omelettes for supper... having to use the eggs immediately the last few days because by the time I get them in the house they're half frozen.  And broccoli slaw with sesame dressing. 

[OlJarhead]

Not sure what's for dinner but I just pulled two loaves of Rye bread out of the oven (first time I had a good rise with Rye -- always seem to struggle with it -- though I let it rise a little too long so it caved a little, but it's risen enough to know it will be soft and fluffy!  The Best!) and am about to stick two loaves Honey Whole Wheat into the oven  So ya, fresh bread is on the menu tonight!

I've been making bread for over 20 years now and only in the last few years have I really begun to get decent at it.  I used to use bread making machines but after I wore out 3 or 4 I switched to a big Kitchen Aid mixer and won't ever go back!  I also mill my own flour which makes a HUGE difference

So ya, fresh home made bread made with home milled flour  That's for dinner!

[Sassy]

Yummmm!  Can I come over for dinner?   

[OlJarhead]

Yummmm!  Can I come over for dinner?   

haha long drive!  Though if you make it in 30 minutes you can have some hot Whole Wheat too

[MushCreek]

While we're on the subject of bread, here's a 'little' 4-1/2 lb loaf of French Country Bread I made. My favorite recipe, it's a mild sourdough that's great when you're having a crowd over. We had 15 last night, and there's still some left!

[OlJarhead]

While we're on the subject of bread, here's a 'little' 4-1/2 lb loaf of French Country Bread I made. My favorite recipe, it's a mild sourdough that's great when you're having a crowd over. We had 15 last night, and there's still some left!

Very nice!  My Dad likes to make sourdough and while I love the bread I haven't made that leap yet...he left a culture for me but then I forgot it and well, it died   So perhaps in the near future I'll try again.

[Homegrown Tomatoes]

Yum!  All the bread looks so good.  Your loaves all look pretty enough to be on the front of a cookbook.

[OlJarhead]

Thanks!

I wouldn't mind making some kind of Tomatoe bread (do i sound crazy) with tomatoe powder made from garden grown   Add some spices and some cheese...hmmm..

My wife LOVED the Rye which was a surprise   Simplest recipe I've ever made, flour (rye and home milled whole wheat), molasses, salt, yeast, oil and water...that's it.  Turned out very nicely

I also make a flax bread which I need to try a recipe change on (currently made with white and wheat) to all whole wheat and would like to add flax to my rye and pump recipes.

Funny thing is, I enjoy making bread for some crazy reason -- always have.  It's a mystery to me for the most part -- the gluten window test still baffles me.  But somehow I fake it.

[MushCreek]

I love making bread, too. Somehow, it's therapeutic for me. That French bread isn't a real sourdough. You make a starter with whole wheat flour, water, sugar, powdered milk, and dried yeast. It ferments for a day, then you add more flour and water. The third day, you add salt and make your dough. The 3 days gives it a lot of flavor without being too tangy. Makes incredible toast!

[OlJarhead]

I love making bread, too. Somehow, it's therapeutic for me. That French bread isn't a real sourdough. You make a starter with whole wheat flour, water, sugar, powdered milk, and dried yeast. It ferments for a day, then you add more flour and water. The third day, you add salt and make your dough. The 3 days gives it a lot of flavor without being too tangy. Makes incredible toast!

Might have to give it a try sometime -- my problem is that I'm pretty spontanious and having to wait 3 days would kill me! hahaha  I'd probably already be changing course and driving to the cabin having forgotten the dough and returning to a much more 'pungent' odor! haha

[fishing_guy]

As the temp is above freezing for the first time in months, I fired up the smoker today.  Cherry is the wood of choice.

As I hate to waste space, I am smoking several pieces of "bargain" meat:

1- 26 1/2 lb turkey bought around thanksgiving at 0.39 / lb.
2- 22 lbs of pork loin bought today at 0.99 / lb.  3 separate loins.  One has Gates hot rub, one has Gates mild rub and one with no rub as my honey doesn't like hot rubs.

They'll be done about 10 pm tonight and we'll freeze what we don't chow down this weekend.

[Redoverfarm]

Tonight was the bi-monthly supper for friends and family.  It was "breakfast for dinner" night.

Buckwheat cakes and fresh maple syrup
Country ham , bacon and sausage
Sausage gravey and biscuits
Homemade Sour Dough bread
Scrambled eggs
Fried potatoes
Gingerbread pancakes
Coffee, tea or milk

Then for about 2hrs of Old Tyme music by the kids to top the evening off.  

[Redoverfarm]

Well it was for Dinner last night and I took some for my lunch today. Half & Half chilli.  Half beef and half venison.  A little French bread and it's a warm lunch thanks to the Wood Cookstove.

[Redoverfarm]

Out to eat tonight.  The community is having a benefit spaghetti supper for a friend that has had two heart surgeries in the last year.  There will also be music provided by the "Bing Brother" which is a local based  ( Nationally know) Bluegrass/Old time band.  It not a fancy italian resturant but we are neither.

[Homegrown Tomatoes]

Feeling completely uninspired by cooking these days... back on the 'gestational diabetes' diet, which takes out whole food groups.  Cleaned out the freezer the other day so that now we only have a few squash and sweet potatoes left from the garden last year.  Tonight I'm thinking about making a spaghetti squash casserole and using lots of cheese in hopes that it will balance out the starch from the squash and won't make my sugar go crazy.  That'll be the last of the spaghetti squash.  We ate the last of the roosters we butchered last summer just the day before yesterday.  I cut it up and baked it with celery, onions, garlic, tomatoes, mushrooms, oregano, basil, and rosemary and tabasco.  It was pretty good and didn't even need any salt (I'm sure the canned tomatoes probably had some salt in them.)  Thought about buying more chicken when I went to the store, but after eating homegrown ones all winter, it just wasn't an appetizing thought, so I guess we'll wait until we have more that are butchering size.  So far I don't have to be as strict as I did with the last pregnancy, so I told  my husband we need to eat up all the squash and sweet potatoes before they start really messing with my blood sugar. 

[StinkerBell]

HGT <HUG> I hated having gestational diabetes.

To night am  baking (in the oven as I type this) speghetti squash. I will fry via a skillet  some ground round with garlic, salt & pepper to taste. Then I will through in the baked squash stur up then serve. I am considering adding some diced tomatoes to the skillet.

[Redoverfarm]

Nothing real heavy tonight.  I hate days that you can't get out and burn off calories and work up an appetite.  This morning for Brunch I made French Toast.  This evening will be Potato Soup and Salad.  The kids will get grilled cheese in addition.  They have burned off the toast as they have been playing outside, sleigh riding , plowing and enjoying the outside.  Youth is wonderful.   I almost forgot.

[MountainDon]

Grilled garlic parmesan beef, grilled marinated beef brisket, grilled turkey wrapped with bacon, grilled brown sugar glazed ham, grilled glazed pineapple, grilled pork loin, grilled beef tenderloin, grilled beef sirloin tips wrapped with bacon, grilled veggies (bell pepper, onion, squash, zucchini), marinated mushrooms, spiced roasted potatoes, cheesy mashed potatoes, fried banana, excellent bread, assorted salad.....

http://www.tucanos.com/    A night out at Tucanos Brazilian Grill   



Frank, if you've not been there you must give them a try. My only gripe is that's down on Central and 2nd in ABQ. The meats are brought to the table on skewers. The meat waiter carves off what you want. Everything else is at what must be the best "salad bar" we've been to anywheres. No limits on the amounts either.

[Sassy]

Wow, now that's a feast!

[Homegrown Tomatoes]

Yum, Don, that sounds really good.... makes me think of a place we went to in Korea one time that had a huge salad bar, and then they had a meat bar too.  You tell them what all you want and they come cook it at your table, and there is no limit to how much you eat.  They just charge a per-person fee, which was pretty reasonable...

[glenn kangiser]

You reminded me of the family run Chinese Food in Sunnyvale, Homey....well.... not actually you....

... your comment did...

It was great  and didn't make my stomach all growl-y... NO MSG..