What's for Dinner ~ Thursday Oct 25th

[Lucinda]

Leftover King Ranch and a salad for me tonight!

What's for dinner where you are?

[cbayer]

1. Sautéed Chicken with Sherry & Olive Pan Sauce & Toasted Almonds

and some wilted greens (because the recent thread on them gave me a hankering).

Hope you get a better taste of your meal!

[livetohike]

3. Sounds great and I love wilted greens (any kind)

[Lucinda]

5. Taste buds still on strike here today.

Your dinner sounds yummy though!

[yellerpup]

10. I once lost my sense of taste after

taking a zinc supplement to ward off a cold. It came back after 24 hours but I was terrified that I wouldn't be able to get it back. Hope your tastebuds rev back up soon!

[cbayer]

12. Same thing happened to me. I don't know what I would do if I lost it permanently.

[yellerpup]

16. It's just the most awful surprise, isn't it?

No more zinc chewables for me!

[Lucinda]

23. Hmmm...zinc may be the culprit here.

I have been taking a supplement! Thanks for the info!

[yellerpup]

32. Aha!

Such a strange side effect. Hope your back to enjoying your noms soon!

[Lucinda]

34. Thankie! And thanks for mentioning it! I'd never heard it before.

[yellerpup]

35. ....

[yellerpup]

8. Lovely!

I could dive into that dish.

[livetohike]

2. Barley-Mushroom Pilaf, Steamed Broccoli and a Cucumber-Radish Salad

Baked apples for dessert. It is 78 F. here!! Unbelievable for late October.

[Lucinda]

4. Eek. It's not that hot here, but it is warmer than usual.

I have broccoli envy! It sounds sooo good right now.

[livetohike]

26. I really like all the cruciferous vegetables- always have

. We are going to have snow next week depending on the track of that huge storm. The ground will be so warm, that the snow probably won't lay here.

[yellerpup]

9. Mmmm...

I am constantly in awe of your creativity in vegetarian cooking. Awesome!

[livetohike]

27. Thank you

It's nice to have the luxury of time to plan meals and I get to look for new recipes to try.

[yellerpup]

33. The luxury of time...

so true. I'm always inspired by reading new recipes.

[cbayer]

13. Hot here too, but the nights have been very, very cool.

[livetohike]

28. Have I mentioned how much I loved October in California?

It really was my favorite time of year when we lived in SoCal.

[cbayer]

29. It's really lovely right now.

And the tourist traffic has declined significantly, which we like.

Unfortunately, the water is once again too cold for swimming, but that was great while it lasted.

If you love to hike, and haven't been to Catalina Island, I would encourage you to consider it. The hiking and camping are great.

[yellerpup]

6. The requested main course for the evening is pork chops.

(Sometimes I think I'm married to Homer Simpson) I'm going to sear them and put them in the oven with some white wine and sage. I will stuff some of those awesome crimini mushrooms I have too many of with finely chopped mushrooms, bread crumbs, a little onion and a little butter and bake them. For myself I am making scalloped potatoes made with goat's milk. I also have too many baby bok choy (Costco trip) so I will serve them caramelized, cut side down and then finish with a brief steaming. The fresh applesauce is made and cooling in the fridge. Gonna be a big meal tonight, and pretty good I think!

[cbayer]

14. Sounds great, particularly the home made applesauce.

That's the very first thing we made in home ec back in 7th grade and I will never forget it.

[yellerpup]

17. I love it. I was given a French cookbook

as a wedding gift, lo all those many years ago, and have used this recipe since then. I took home-ec at a country school and we learned to make biscuits first. Then we learned pie crust, yeast bread and cinnamon rolls, and after that puff pastry! I've never had the urge since then to make puff pastry from scratch. Mrs. Kuhn was pretty ambitious and home-ec class included all the girls from 9-12 because it was a very small country school. She loved me in cooking class and despaired of me in sewing.

[cbayer]

19. Although I loved home ec, I really wanted to be in shop.

[yellerpup]

21. My girlfriend and I wanted to take drafting.

Big NO! "Girls are too distracting" and besides, "drafting is for guys." Ah, the Olden Days.

[yellerpup]

7. If I could ear that King Ranch casserole

I certainly would! Delicious!

[pinto]

11. World Series TV meal - Broiled Italian sausage rolls, potato salad w/horseradish mayo, etc.

Hot and sweet sausages, broiled. Sliced thin and packed in whole wheat bun with broiled onions and tomatoes.

Basic potato salad (sans eggs, I'm out) with a little kick - horseradish mayo dressing. Fresh horseradish cooked with the potatoes, removed and diced, blended into the mayo for the dressing.

Celery sticks stuffed with cream cheese, chives and paprika.

Romaine, cucumber, shredded cabbage, zucchini side with oil 'n vinegar.

[cbayer]

15. What? No peppers on those dogs?

Thinking of those carts outside Fenway makes my mouth water.

Enjoy your meal and the game, pinto.

[pinto]

20. Sausage with peppers and onions! Off the carts outside Fenway or little store fronts at the beach.

Classic. I remember the debates about which was the best, which was "real" sausage, peppers and onions. Who'd been there longer. Who's grandmother came from (name an Italian region). And so forth.

LOL - checking to see if there's a pepper or two in the fridge.

[yellerpup]

18. What a perfect menu

for the World Series! Enjoy your tailgate-at-home tonight!

[greatauntoftriplets]

22. Pork chops baked in a casserole...

with potatoes in a gruyere and cream sauce. Sliced tomato on the side.

[cbayer]

24. Oh yeah! That sounds great.

I love gruyere cheese.

[greatauntoftriplets]

25. Thanks. It was good.

And I've got leftovers for another night or two.

Your dinner sounds good as well.

[GoCubsGo]

30. Fabio's Creamless Creamy Squash Soup

One of my favorite soup recipes: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Fabios-Creamless-Creamy-Squash-Soup-104547

I don't add the amaretti, and I use chicken broth instead of water. It's also great with crumbled feta cheese and some minced red bell pepper added to it.

[grasswire]

31. greek meatballs with mint, yogurt, feta, garlic, lemon, fresh greek oregano

....along with a bulgar pilaf, and sauteed green beans. (It feels so fancy to have green beans from France via Trader Joe's. Ha!)

I have to get some more of my big potted crop of fresh mint cut and dried before it gets any colder at night. And I'm tucking branches of it in dirt in various spots around the property so a crazy crop gets going. Love my mint.

Nice day here, 65 degrees and sunny. Showers for the rest of the month, though.

One more farmers market, this upcoming Sunday. Boo hoo. Have been stuck at home for a few days with my border collie's health issues, but hopefully can get to the market!

[Lucinda]

36. I'm intrigued with the meatballs!

I love those flavors and usually make pizza when I get the urge...I'll have to try it!

Hope the collie is doing better today.