I was just reminded elsewhere - I made this recently:
It was one of those, “Hmmm, I have some fresh pineapple, and some chevre that I need to use up, what can I make” type things. I served it on some greens. I liked it because it reminded me of those weird retro recipes I’m always looking at (I did consider adding a vienna sausage, upright, in the center, just for presentation), but it also tasted really good and was something I never would’ve thought of putting together.
Making this right now. When do you toss in the mushrooms?
Yes I’m the person who reads the directions as they go along. Shame on me!
Well I think it turned out okay. Not as fancy looking as the @anon33932455 version! I tossed in the mushrooms near the end. Then I realized I never started the rice. Ack!
Also, hello puppers!
we’re making chicken parm. you can accompany the chicken cutlets with any red sauce you like, the trick for mine is the breading. i use the following proportions:
1 cup plain bread crumbs
i cup kraft parmesan/romano cheese, the kind in the plastic cylinder
i packet good seasons italian dressing mix
2 tablespoons crushed red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon dried thyme leaves
2 teaspoons dried tarragon leaves, crushed
1 teaspoon white pepper.
mix those together thoroughly. we use a process of breading which uses flour and an egg wash consisting of two extra-large or jumbo eggs to one cup oi water and then whisked to a uniform consistency. then the process is:
flour
egg wash
breading.
we fry them in 350 degree oil for around 5 minutes or until breading is a pleasant brown.
I put the mushrooms in towards the end, because I like them a bit firm.
How’d it taste?
Tasted great, but I think I need more practice!
Before Christmas work sent everyone in the company a gift pack of a copy of Ottolenghi‘s “Flavour” and a box of some of the more unusual ingredients like black limes. This is Noom’s Black Lime Tofo - fried tofu in a sauce of onions, garlic, black limes, cumin and tomato paste. With spinach, rice and semi-pickled onion. It was pretty damn good.
I get inedible, thoughtless crap like Harry & David. Can I come work for your company, please??!!
Back in September, I was woken one morning by a pretty strong earthquake. Soon after the initial quake and some small aftershocks, there was some forceful banging on my front door. I opened the door with some trepidation… and found a Maggie Beer hamper, from work, on the doorstep. You don’t want to work for the same company I do, though. Apart from lots of other issues, their timing is terrible.
Dammit, the hamper photo won’t load. But Maggie Beer is quite well known in Australia. Started as a cook and now produces a whole range of foods, sauces, etc
They used to have amazing fruit that they would ship all over the country. If someone sent you H&D but didn’t spring for the Royal Riviera pears, then that was a great example of a “gift” that was as much a middle finger as anything.
I remember! And they were GOOD.
I’m old enough to remember when getting a gift box of oranges and grapefruit sent from Florida (to the Midwest) was considered an amazingly thoughtful Christmas gift.
we wanted to do something different from the usual fish/rice/veg weekend lunch and went for a vegan dish. went for a West African ata din din. what an explosion of flavor!
mixed mushrooms (used baby bellas, crimini, chanterelles, and a few white button 'shrooms) sliced and tossed in olive oil and roasted on the sheet pan with thyme sprigs and kosher salt on top. roast at 425F for 25-30 minutes, turning once.
while they roast, drain a jar of roasted red peppers (lazy, I know) and plonk those in the food processor with half a red onion - chopped - two cloves garlic, sliced, about 1inch peeled, sliced fresh ginger. pulsed until lightly pureed with some small chunks. drop into a skillet with 1/4 cup of olive oil. one or two scotch bonnet pepper sliced in half only and simmer 8-10 minutes. when liquid is almost cooked away and sauce has darkened, turn in the roasted mushrooms. remove the pepper halves and thyme sprigs. incredible!
we made quinoa and served like a sort of taco on warmed hatch green chile corn tortillas from a NM company that does mail order. tortilla, quinoa, ata din din, fresh cilantro, parsley and pickled red onion shreds.
complete recipe at NYTCooking which, sadly, is a paysite that I cannot seem to copy to post, but it was so awesome, I wanted to share!
sorry for the long post. I am so happy how this came out.
Sounds delicious!
And also, it’s lines like this:
Amid the broader recipe that always remind me I’m with my people! Because I can totally relate, but really, who among “regular” folk would consider anything about this meal “lazy”? 
Made karaage today. Marinated chicken tenderloin chunks in equal parts sake, mirin, and soy sauce, with lots of grated ginger and garlic for an hour+. Dredged in potato starch directly from the marinade and let the coating set for 30 minutes in the fridge. Double fried in oil - 3-4 minutes at 325 deg F then 1 minute at 375.
The crust was crispy and the chicken was amazingly juicy and tender. Things to remember for next time:
If you make karage and okonomiyaki then you could say you were having chicken and waffles! I bet okonomiyaki cooked in the waffle iron would be pretty fantastic……
Considering how often the topic of cooking with cast iron comes up, and the fact that I’m one of those old-school types who keeps saying ‘really, they’re not snowflakes, they’re much tougher than you think’, I wanted to share with y’all:
Yesterday at lunch I reheated some food that had wide, flat noodles and sticky brown sauce. I forgot to put any oil in the pan, so there were bits stuck when I was done. I filled the Lodge frying pan about halfway with water to soak for a bit.
Today at lunch, I noticed the pan still sitting on the stove with the water in it. I dumped it out – the stuck bits slide right off, of course – and set it in the dish rack to dry.
That’s what I mean: you don’t have to baby your cast iron! Influencers are discovering things for the first time, and making it seem like everything is so difficult until you learn their secret 20-step process, but really, cast iron is not that big a deal to care for.
I love my cast iron and is usually my first choice when cooking. Placing a cold pan in a cold oven and heating it up to the temperature I want for the range is slow but efficient. It takes some pre-planning though.
