What's for dinner?

[Menolly]

I bought a cold rotisserie chicken from Publix.
Will reheat and serve with some garlic mashed potatoes and peas.

...I do love eating mashed potatoes and peas in the same forkful on occasion.

[stonemaybe]

Mashed potatoes and peas are GOOD!

Tonight I had yesterday's superb curry, reheated (which of course makes it even better!)

[Vader]

I just can't understand how the Brits get the peas on the back of the fork ... looks like you need to be a Shaolin monk to eat them this way.

[stonemaybe]

I just can't understand how the Brits get the peas on the back of the fork

(Not that I'm a brit, of course, but....) with honey!

edit: oh woops that keeps them on my knife, dunno how they stay on the back of the fork!

[Vader]

I do it this way:



But my English uncle insists to hold the fork with the curvy side up so the peas are placed on the back of the fork. Why do things the easy way if they can be done more complicated.

[Menolly]

I've never seen it done the way you describe your uncle does it, Vader. On the blade of a knife like Stone suggested , yes. In a Laurel and Hardy movie. But never on the back curve of a fork...

[Vader]

www.ehow.com/how_2040313_use-knife-fork-england.html

Never use the fork like a spoon (with the tines pointing upwards.)

In Germany we also hold the fork in the left hand and never put down th knife and switch the fork to the right.

[Menolly]

Being a southpaw, my fork goes in my right hand and my knife in my left. But I also do not set the knife down between bites, unless I am switching to the side dish. Then the knife is set down and I eat with fork (or spoon, if soup or dessert) in my left hand.

But yes, for the entree, or anything that needs to be further cut like asparagus, I tend to hold the fork with the tines pointing towards the plate as I bring it up off the plate. For things like mashed potatoes or peas though, the tines point upwards.

I admit, I had to really stop and think about how I hold my cutlery for different parts of the meal though

[Vader]

It's fork left and knife right here. Knife is never set down between bites - only when you have to leave the table or drink something. You usually hold the fork with the tines pointing down (It's easier to pierce pieces this way) but her you can hold the other way and use it like a sppon (Pushing stuff with knife on your fork).

[stonemaybe]

I eat my peas with honey
I've done it all my life
It makes the peas taste funny
But it keeps them on my knife

[Harbinger]

I've been on a big surf and turf kick lately. One of the only things I really like about El Paso is the cheap seafood at Albertson's. I know, cheap seafood in El Paso, WTF?

The snow crab legs have been $4.99 a pound for months (king $9.99) and the warm water lobster tails were on sale for $5.99 for a 3-4 ounce tail a few weeks ago. UNBELIEVABLE. I was a glutton. I had a bone-in ribeye and six tails one night. Yum. Even the fresh fish is a couple of dollars a pound less than I would expect.

So two or three nights a week for the last couple of months it's been ribeye and surf.

Anyway, as I am leaving El Paso in a couple of days, I went out yesterday and got ten pounds of snow crab and grilled them. Oh yeah, this was for three guys. I got to tell you, we were stuffed. I didn't feel a bit guilty about not eating the thigh and claw meat off my legs (the other guys snatched it up).

The cheap seafood plus the gas station chile rellenos burritos will be the only things I miss about Hell Paso.

[Menolly]

It's fork left and knife right here.

I think that is the case here for those who are right handed.
I don't think we Americans have a more proper etiquette regarding which hand cutlery is held in; it is more based on handedness. Again, since I am a southpaw (left handed), I hold my knife and fork the opposite of the way someone who is right handed normally would.

But I do think nearly all Americans do put their knife down when eating something that does not require it and eats with their fork in their dominant hand at those time. I'm not 100% sure though; I don't recall ever having full lessons on proper etiquette regarding it.

Of course, put me in front of a full 15-piece cutlery formal place setting and I would be totally lost:
Something about the fish fork goes on the left, but the shellfish fork goes on the right, while the dessert fork and spoon go above the plate facing opposite directions...

Knife is never set down between bites - only when you have to leave the table or drink something. You usually hold the fork with the tines pointing down (It's easier to pierce pieces this way) but her you can hold the other way and use it like a sppon (Pushing stuff with knife on your fork).

Yeah, I don't think in my family such fine points were ever addressed. I do know a childhood friend of my mom's commented once on seeing me eat when I was like seven, "Pam eats the European way! She doesn't switch cutlery between bites." Which is why you mentioning this grabbed my attention. I had never heard it mentioned since.

One of the only things I really like about El Paso is the cheap seafood at Albertson's. I know, cheap seafood in El Paso, WTF?

The snow crab legs have been $4.99 a pound for months (king $9.99) and the warm water lobster tails were on sale for $5.99 for a 3-4 ounce tail a few weeks ago. UNBELIEVABLE. I was a glutton. I had a bone-in ribeye and six tails one night. Yum. Even the fresh fish is a couple of dollars a pound less than I would expect.

*nodding*

Most of our Albertson's have closed but I think at least the snow crab legs have been on sale nationwide. I don't recall the lobster tails being that cheap, but I prefer whole lobster over tails, so I may have just disregarded the price.

[Menolly]

Well, after all that discussion here yesterday regarding mashed potatoes, peas, and cutlery, Hyperception came home from work and told me he really wasn't in the mood for chicken. Which, as you shall see later, wasn't exactly the case. He was more in the mood to not eat at home.

Anyway, time started to slip away from me last night, so instead of peeling and cubing potatoes for the mashed, I stuck a couple in the oven to bake. As they were about half way done, and I was going to add the rotisserie chicken to the oven, that is when Hyperception came home and told me he wanted to go out instead.

So I called Olive Garden for call ahead dining. Being a Friday night, we wanted to cut the wait as much as possible. But I was told they don't do call ahead anymore, and that the wait would be about half an hour. We decided to go anyway.

The parking lot was full when we arrived, so Hyperception dropped me off to put in our name and get the pager. I went to the hostess stand and was told the wait had dropped to about 20 - 25 minutes. All well and good, since we expected the wait to grow longer after I called. I took the pager and went to stalk the tables in the bar area, which are always available first come - first serve.

The bar area of our Olive Garden has been completely redone since I was last there. Before, they had cast iron (perhaps aluminum, but it looked like cast iron) patio-style round tables and matching chairs. Now it is all light colored wood. Mostly high top tables with a couple of booths. I hate high top tables, but will sit there if no other choice is available.

The bar area was also totally full, but I noticed one high top where the couple seemed to be closing out their bill. I watched them and yep, within five minutes they got up and left. I glanced around to be sure no one who had gotten there before me was waiting for the table, then went over and claimed the dirty high top. As I did so, Hyperception and Beorn walked in, so I waved them over and gave Beorn the pager to return to the hostess stand. As he did so, the waitress came over to collect the credit card receipt left behind and begin bussing the table. I apologized for grabbing a dirty table and she smiled, reassuring me it happened all the time (which I knew, having learned we could do it by seeing others do it in the past) and she would be right back with menus. Still, I felt an apology was appropriate. Hyperception and I each got an ice water with lime; Beorn got a water with ice only and a separate Coke.

Because Hyperception is low carbing, I had suggested Olive Garden so he could get the soup, salad, and bread sticks, but concentrating on the salad. He had agreed, saying he wasn't super hungry and all-he-could-eat salad (he does like Olive Garden's dressing) sounded perfect. Yet, once there, he changed his mind. After telling me he didn't want chicken at home, he got chicken breasts with broccoli over orrechiette pasta in a garlic cream sauce. I encouraged him to ask if they would do double broccoli in place of the orrechiette, but he said believed Beorn would finish the pasta for him, so he got the standard meal.

Beorn almost always gets "The Tour of Italy." But he is not a fan of the Fettucini Alfredo. We saw a new-to-us item called "Five Cheese Ziti al forno," and figured it was a baked ziti. Beorn loves Olive Garden's five cheese marinara sauce; it is the sauce he always starts with in the never-ending-pasta bowl. So first he politely asked (I was proud of him!) if it was possible to substitute the ziti for the alfredo on the Tour of Italy. She told him if it was up to her she would do it (right...) but that it was not possible. So with a little hemming and hawing, he finally decided on the ziti.

When I went to Seafest Denver, our first meal together was at Olive Garden. Jenn got a then new item called Chianti Braised Short Ribs with Risotto. I usually avoid long braised or stewed meats like the plague, but she offered everyone a taste, and I really liked the bite I had. Since then, I had gotten the short ribs with gnocchi, thinking the ribs were the same preparation but served with pasta instead of risotto. It wasn't, and I was disappointed. So, last night I finally tried the dish Jenn had.

Hyperception got the salad with his meal, and the waitress was kind enough to bring extra plates so Beorn and I could have some if we wanted. Beorn is not a salad eater, but I definitely had some. Beorn and I each had the pasta fagioli, Beorn stating since he wasn't having the Tour of Italy that he might want a second soup after his meal. No surprise there; he eats as much, if not more, than I do at a sitting.

When we finished our soup our entrees arrived. As you can see in the link above, Beorn's was not a baked ziti; it was simply ziti with the five cheese sauce on a plate with some extra cheese on top but having been put under the salamander to melt it. He didn't complain though, which surprised me. The bigger surprise was halfway through he asked us if we wanted to finish, as he was getting full then excused himself to go to the bathroom. Neither Hyperception nor I wanted it, and when he returned he did finish it.

Hyperception's chicken and broccoli dish was good, but not something I would order. I am just not a boneless/skinless chicken breast fan, no matter how well prepared. I did have about half his orrechiette though.

And my short ribs...
They were everything I remembered from Denver. Fall apart tender and succulent; the sauce rich and enticing.
The risotto though...
I know risotto is supposed to be "creamy." But this didn't look at all like the mound of risotto as pictured in the link above; it was more like orzo in gravy, although it was the same rich sauce.
I've never had risotto before, but I never expected the arborio (sp?) rice to be indistinguishable from orzo. Every recipe for risotto I have ever seen says to stir in the cooking liquid a little at a time until the rice absorbs it. So, I understand the creaminess. But I honestly expected a texture more like creamy oatmeal cooked in milk instead of water, than an orzo and gravy consistency.

The flavor was awesome though.

The dish was served with a small mound of haricort verts and sliced portabello; both excellently done.
I would have loved more of the portabello; I think I got four thin slices.

We all skipped dessert.

After Beorn finished his meal, he sat silently waiting for us. Not even reading his book.
He was holding his head in his hand, and slightly slurring his words said, "I just got a really bad headache."
Hyperception commented he was looking very flushed. I felt his forehead at the table and he felt clammy.
There had been no sign of anything prior to that; as I said, he was even stating he might want a second bowl of soup after eating if the ziti wasn't enough.
But I went ahead and took his temperature with the Thermo-Scan when we got home.

Our Thermo-Scan tends to read a little cool. Normal comes up about 97.5, instead of 98.6.
He was 101.0.
Because of his febrile seizure as a toddler we always allow fever to burn without medicating up to 101.
But at 101 he gets an ibuprofen.
Which we did and sent him to bed. He was out within twenty minutes.

He woke up about 7:30. Says he has phlegm he is bringing up and the Thermo-Scan then read 98.7.
Seeing as it usually reads cool, I am regarding it as a low grade fever and attributing that to the ibuprofen still being in his body.
He is doing his laundry chores, dishes, and homework as he feels better with only a slight headache lingering. But I told him to go slowly with frequent rests as needed. I then took his temperature again at noon, since that was over 12 hours since he took the ibuprofen.

He is holding at about 99.8 on the Thermo-Scan and although he's tired, he is continuing to work on homework with frequent breaks. We're keeping him hydrated and will allow the fever to burn itself out without additional ibuprofen, unless it goes up to 101.0 again.

Here's hoping this passes by Monday. He really can't afford to miss any school between now and the end of the year with the international papers coming up for the Cambridge program he is in...

Anyway, dinner tonight will be three cheese scalloped potatoes, slicing the two baked potatoes I made yesterday and the reheated rotisserie chicken. My now standard mesclun, chevré, and craisin salad alongside.

[aliantha]

I hope Beorn feels better soon, Menolly.

You're right about the risotto, btw. The consistency should be creamy, not like orzo and gravy.

[Menolly]

Tilapia filets, with a squeeze of lime, some "Zestfully Yours" seasoning, granulated garlic and dill weed, wrapped in foil and baked
Mahatma brand yellow rice with green peas added the last five minutes of cooking
mesclun salad, et. al.

[Harbinger]

I love that Mahatma saffron rice. I'm not a rice lover at all, but I do like good fried rice dishes- and I'm damn picky about them. I'll eat it when it's part of a dish, but Basmati and the Mahatma saffron are the only ones I like by themselves or as a side.

[Menolly]

*nodding*

The Mahatma saffron/yellow rice is Beorn's favorite as well.
We've tried switching it out for the Vigo yellow rice, which is slightly less expensive, and he picks it out every time.

[stonemaybe]

Last night's dinner in seoul was fantastic. I wish i could post a picture - it's kust how I imagined/hoped it would be. 5 of us went out, the outside of the restaurant was horrible, but we had a private lovely room inside. low table, we sat around it on the floor. the table had a wood burner grill type thing that i didn't notice at first - i just noticed the beef which looked (and was) completely raw. lots and lots of small dishes on table and we cooked little pieces of beef as we wanted them. everyone had their own little bowl of rice, everything else you just took a chopstick-full as you wanted. i'm so so so glad i've spent the last 6 months practicing with my chopsticks at work! oh, i almost forgot - whole cloves of garlic that were also cooked on the grill thing. sorry i can't givemore details - i have no idea what the small dishes were. lots of chilli'ed things - spring onion in one, cabbage in another, a type of soup in another, chilli and soya paste in another. we did take photos though, so i can post in the album when we get home.

[Menolly]

Was it something like this, Stone?
*from kimwolhee's First Trip Home (for grown infant Korean adoptees) Facebook album*



As far as here goes...

Our beautiful local Melting Pot here in Gator Town that was situated in a renovated church and which Hyperception and I frequented several times a year to have dessert fondue in the wine bar which was in the choir loft overlooking the main dining area has been closed for a while now. The nearest Melting Pot is nearly 50 miles away in Ocala. We haven't been able to justify the cost of gas to drive 100 miles round trip, on top of the cost of the meal.

However, I won a $25 Melting Pot gift card on Facebook a few weeks ago, which will more than make up the cost of gas, and today is our 22nd wedding anniversary, so tonight, The Melting Pot in Ocala it is.

I've been looking forward to this.

[Kaydene]

Happy Anniversary, Menolly.