What's for Dinner ~ Friday Dec 7th

[Lucinda]

[livetohike]

1. Brown rice pilaf, steamed broccoli, and a fruit salad

[cbayer]

18. Sounds healthy, which I know you are.

Enjoy!

[livetohike]

43. Thanks! I'm getting the cookie recipes out and prepping a list for the grocery store

and hoping I can control myself while baking Actually, salt has always been my craving - chips and salted nuts specifically. I have no self control if a bag of pistachio nuts appears.

[Glassunion]

2. Not sure yet

Wife has not informed me what she wants. However I'm in a red meat and potatoes mood.

So I may do a skirt steak with a red wine gravy and velvety mashed potatos. I have Yukon Golds and too much butter and heavy cream in the house. Gotta rotate it out.

I may do that with some sauted collard greens and pancetta.

[cbayer]

9. Too much butter and heavy cream? Oh, the horror!!

[Glassunion]

31. And so it begins. Gravy time!

No organic/free range/non hormone/no antibiotic skirt steak available. So strip steak it is.

House smells like simmering wine and Worcestershire sauce.

[yellerpup]

3. Tacos tonight.

Nothing fancy, spicy ground beef for the filling. Refried beans, arroz amarillo, salsa cruda, and guacamole. I also fried up the last of the corn tortillas in quarters so we could have some really crunchy chips.

[cbayer]

5. Sounds great. It's one of my go to meals when we have guests.

I just cook the meat and beans, and chop up everything else. People can then build their own.

Enjoy!

[yellerpup]

8. I thought of inviting a few people in to share this.

But, no. Too much housecleaning! Not that it's unsanitary, but it is a little disheveled (or as my grandma, Amy, would say: beshoveled) and so I just dragged the vacuum around and shoved the Xmas decoration boxes aside. We'll just stay in and I think I'll add Margaritas to the menu. It will be mellow. It will be satisfying. And we will have a nice evening in, just the two of us.

[cbayer]

10. I know how you feel.

Much as I love to entertain, it's the straightening up that gives me pause before I issue invitations.

We just got back from emptying the holding tank and filling up with water, so the boat smells pretty good and I don't have to worry about water. So I think I will have some friends over tomorrow.

I am thinking about an antipasto assortment, so we can just hang out with an excuse to drink some wine.

Enjoy your night at home. We love those as well.

[yellerpup]

19. Antipasto assortment can keep you going all night!

I did that once for a brunch. When the appetizers were gone and I served the meal, one of my guests said, "What? I thought that (the apps) was it!" Not really... I love the kind of evening you're planning. Must do that soon myself. I have developed plantars fasiitis, so I'm not good to be on my feet for long hours couple of days in a row. (cleaning+cooking) I just did that last weekend and the pain afterwards caused me to not go ahead with a brunch buffet that I wanted to do. Getting better, though, just not quite fit enough to go the distance right now.

[cbayer]

21. Yep. I plan to have an assortment of meat (cold pork, salami & a pate),

cheeses (I have excellent ones I have been saving), veggies (raw, roasted peppers) and bread/crackers. And I just got an shipment of wine from my new favorite wine site, nakedwine. We will have a wonderful evening and, best of all, there will be little clean up.

I also have plantar fasciitis. It's a real bitch, isn't it? I blame it on bad shoes - heels with no arches - for years and years. It has significantly interfered with my life, is getting worse and I don't think there is a damn thing I can do about it.

[yellerpup]

29. The party should be fun for everyone,

especially the host. Yours sounds like one a group could settle into and enjoy.

The foot problem came into being late last winter through April when Broken Heart Land was in rehearsal, and I was going into NYC multiple times a week. It rained a lot and I had a brand new a pair of cheap but cute purple rain boots. I prefer walking in NYC, have always enjoyed walking from Grand Central to the Theatre District and back. Some time in the second week, my feet started to shriek and by the next morning I couldn't stand. I have a friend who is a retired physical therapist. The first exercise she gave me is to roll my feet around on tennis balls before I take my first step in the mornings, and stretch your feet and tendons as many times a day as you like. I find it pretty boring but after about a month of rolling on tennis balls, not going barefoot, and wearing either Crocs or New Balance walking shoes, I am seeing improvement. She also mentioned something about ice baths, but it's almost winter and that just doesn't sound doable right now. Have you been doing those things? Gotta go! Mr. Pup is barking!

[cbayer]

30. I've tried a lot of things, including the rolling and the stretching.

Inserts in my shoes. Yoga. Using them. Not using them. Cold. Hot.

Best thing seems to be massages - really deep ones. But that might be because the endorphins just give me a rush.

[yellerpup]

33. Just feet?

Or all over deep body massage? I've tried the same things you have. Ewww! I was hoping it would go away soon.

[blaze]

40. Good Feet!!!!

Last edited Sat Dec 8, 2012, 12:39 PM - Edit history (1)

I swear to (whoever) you'd have to shoot me dead to take these things away from me!!! I think I tried three different types of inserts... started with the supermarket brands.... went to a shoe store and tried two other brands $60 - $90!!!! Nothing.

I checked out Good Feet and turned around and left when I was told the cost! (It's been years ago now, but I think it was in the $400-$500 range.)

But I was desperate and went back and bought them.

I guard these things with my life.

I know that's a ridiculous amount of money, but they have been worth every penny to me.

Just FYI.

[yellerpup]

41. Great to hear there is a chance of relief!

Out of my price range for the moment, but if I don't get better I'll try anything.

[blaze]

42. I almost didn't mention them

because I would *hate* for someone to go shell out that kind of money... and then have them not work for them.

I have a set of three inserts. One set for "corrective" wear... when I'm experiencing pain. Haven't used those for years now. One for everyday wear. And one to wear when exercising.

Since then, I have found a pair of work boots that don't require the inserts. I'm not sure what's different about them, but I'm on my third set of them and I've been fine. I still use the "everyday wear" inserts when I'm wearing my sneakers.

Hope you find some relief soon.

[cbayer]

44. Just feet.

DH will do it, but only if I ask. And it makes me cry, so I avoid asking, but it does seem to help if I can get him to do it a couple of days in a row.

Don't despair. Yours might get better. I know some people that have had good success over time.

[yellerpup]

45. I do get a foot rub every night.

But he leaves the tender areas alone, so I've never cried over it. I've wanted to kick him at times, but that's a different story.... Since I am following orders very closely and not going barefoot at all (which has been my mode winter/summer for a lifetime) I am feeling some relief. I'm fortunate that they don't hurt when I'm walking. Also, taking magnesium supplements every couple of days seems to help. I'm so sorry your foot rubs make you cry. I hope you get better.

[NJCher]

35. give Aunt Amy the "word improvement award!"

Beshoveled! I love it.

So much better than desh-of-ulled.



Cher

[yellerpup]

37. She was often confused.

She called woodpeckers woodchucks. She pretended that she could write, and was offended if you said you couldn't read it. You could read anything back to her and she would just nod. Sweet as a summer rose, but that poor old girl could not cook a lick! I agree. "Beshoveled" is one of my favorite memories of her.

[cbayer]

4. Going out - not sure where.

Either Chinese or Mexican. Doesn't matter to me. I'm not cooking!

[fizzgig]

6. those are my two go tos when we go out for dinner

hope you enjoy whatever you get!

[cbayer]

7. Those are things I can make at home, but not nearly as well as they do.

Plus, they are inexpensive.

Why anyone would go to a steak house escapes me. Everything they make, I can generally make just as well. And the prices tend to be outlandish.

Give me some good ethnic food any day!

[Glassunion]

11. Let me guess. You're out on the West Coast?

[cbayer]

12. Yep! In a town with real Mexican and real Chinese immigrants.

Yum!

[Glassunion]

14. That explains it all.

The farther you travel from the origin of the cuisine, the worse the food gets.

I used to live in CA and that was awsome for Chinese and Mexican. I had even better Mexican on a trip to Texas, however the best was on a trip to Mexico.

However out here on the East Coast, there is no better Pizza. You can ship the wood, the wood fired oven, all of the ingredients and still it would be impossible to make a NY Pizza anywhere but in NY. I've had at best a decent pizza in CA, but still nowhere near the quality of a pie from Di Fara in Brooklyn.

May favorite journey was Italian. It's awesome in NYC, took a trip to Europe and in Ireland and it was awesomer, but once in Italy there was none better.

[pinto]

15. I really miss a good, thin crust pizza. (I'm in the "let's get a slice" camp)

Don't find it here in my CA neighborhood much, if at all.

[Glassunion]

20. The beauty about where I live

Is that we are the same amount of time from either NYC or Philly so if we want to go cheap it's either pizza or italian one way or cheese steaks and pretzels the other way.

But, if we want to go all out, both cities have amazing chefs to choose from. Boulud, Flay or Llaguno in NYC and Morimoto, Garces in Philly.

My wife's favorite is Morimoto, however I lean towards Garces. So Philly oddly enough is our favorite food city.

Not sure how far you are from Palm Springs, however there is a place you have to try. El Jefe is a sister restaurant to Distrito in Philly. They serve an interesting contemporary twist on Mexican street fare. Every dish is a small plate, you will not be dissapointed in any of them. I promise. Last time I went, we just ordered a ton of these plates and everyone shared.

If you are farther north, and near Napa I cannot stress enough that you have to try Morimoto's out. He is very expensive, but everything is awesome and worth every penny.

[cbayer]

23. Now you have gone and done it. Cheese steak (whiz wit) is one of my most

favorite things on earth. I was in Philly two years ago and dreamed of it for days.

Planning another road trip this spring and will put the Palm Springs place on my list. Small plates are the best.

[pinto]

38. Thanks for the tips. I love small plate dining.

Live on the Central Coast but I'm doing some CA weekend trips this year. El Jefe sounds good.

Some of my favorite Mexican food places are local spots in towns along 101 going up to SF. You know it's real when they mention which specific Mexican state a dish comes from...

[cbayer]

16. Agree about the pizza, and pretty much everything else out here.

I came here from New Orleans, so the let down in terms of eating was pretty huge.

But then I began to discover some ethnic foods that I just hadn't been able to get in NOLA.

And Italian food in Italy, Spanish food in Spain and French food in France? Drool.

I went to Kenya and Turkey last year and experienced foods I had never had before. One of my favorites was an Ethiopian restaurant where everything was served on a huge piece of hot, round bread. You tore off pieces and picked up whatever you wanted from the piles in the middle. Then you turned the platter so your neighbor could reach something new and you could, too. Out of this world.

[Glassunion]

22. The beauty of all of these places is their street or bar food.

Oysters or a Yo' Mama's Burger in NO LA.
Fried Fish or Calamari from a cart in San Fransisco
Pulpo or Ice Cream in Spain
Focaccia in Italy
Pretzels in Philly
Dirty Dogs in NYC
BBQ in Kansas City
Poutine in Montreal

Oh man I could go on...

Never been to France ... Some day I shall eat something in the street threre!!!

[cbayer]

24. Great website for you (if you don't know it already) - roadfood.com

It's by a couple who travel the country eating regional food. Best of all, for a very small fee, you can get an app that downloads into google earth and shows every restaurant reviewed on their site. I have rarely been disappointed in anything I have gotten from them and use them extensively on road trips.

[fizzgig]

25. i'm with you

[pinto]

13. Black forest ham, swiss cheese and diced pineapple baguettes. Dijon dip. Peanut butter brownies.

A trade for hosting my sister's dog today. It's our deal - I take care of her dog and she makes a deli run. Knew she'd go by this really great local place and find something that included ham.

[cbayer]

17. Except for the pineapple, I would be all over that.

I just haven't acquired a taste for it on sandwiches or pizza.

What I wouldn't give for a good deli over here.

Enjoy!

[fizzgig]

26. i've got a craving for bbq

i'm trying to get my husband to take me out to dinner

[cbayer]

27. Bribe him?

[Jazzgirl]

28. I have a taste for a BLTA.

Bacon, lettuce, tomato and avocado sandwich with homemade mayonnaise. Yum!

[pscot]

32. Quiche

Leeks, mushrooms and bacon. Swiss cheese. It's almost ready to eat.

[Glassunion]

34. All done.

Came out pretty decent. Super market had no skirt steak so we picked out a strip instead. No collard greens either, so squash it was.



Now I get to do the dishes... Crap.

[NJCher]

36. Mu Shu Pork

Mainly an excuse for me to imbibe hoisin sauce.

I also roasted a turkey breast to have for easy sandwiches the following week.


Cher

[Le Taz Hot]

39. Homemade lasagne

(made the marinara yesterday), homemade French Bread, cooked carrots and locally-grown green beans that I canned last summer.