What is/was for dinner?

[Scepticalscribe]

Pasta e fagioli.

Pasta e fagioli: (Pasta and beans):

This recipe - classic comfort cooking, soothing winter cooking, what Italian friends describe as "classic peasant food" is deceptively simple, yet utterly delicious.

I started with the classic soffritto: Very finely diced carrot, celery, and onion, - sautéed in olive oil until soft (something that always takes a lot longer than you think), and then added four fat cloves of finely sliced garlic to the (large, copper) sauté pan.

Next to be added was some finely diced guanciale - pig cheek, which - to my mind - is even better - far better - than pancetta, and fulfills a similar function in Italian cuisine; the rendered fat adds a most wonderful flavour to the finished dish.

Once they were soft and translucent and tasty - I added the contents of half of a jar of excellent quality (Spanish, because that was what I had to hand) cannellini beans to the sauté pan. In this instance, a jar was better than a tin, as the jar containing the rest of the beans could be kept in the fridge.

Meanwhile, in another saucepan, water - actually, stock, to which I added some olive oil - was set to boil, at which point fettuccine was added.

A generous half cup (that is, a Le Creuset mug, not the formal American measurement) of pasta cooking water - nice and starchy - was reserved, and added to the sauté pan, where it met with, mingled with, (a stir with a wooden spoon aided this process), merged with and married the other ingredients already in the pan, and they were brought to a smart simmer for a few minutes.

The pasta was drained and then, the rather tasty sauce added, whereupon dinner was served, with napkins, tablecloths, proper glassware, and so on.

 

[dannyyankou]

My mom still does most of the thanksgiving cooking, but the past few years I've been making this Mac and cheese recipe as my contribution. I am culinarily inept, but I think it came out pretty well. Gruyère and White Cheddar with a bread crumb topping.

 

[anika200]

My mom's making my favorite for me right now: chicken lasagna

Sounds great, never heard of it before. Is it a certain recipe?

 

[anika200]

Gruyère and White Cheddar with a bread crumb topping.

You cant go wrong with that combination of cheeses.

 

[dannyyankou]

You cant go wrong with that combination of cheeses.

I've been trying the same recipe for the past few years, but I always mess up the roux and the sauce ends up watery (it thickens up in the oven though). This year though, I nailed it. It was a big hit.

 

[myscrnnm]

My mom still does most of the thanksgiving cooking, but the past few years I've been making this Mac and cheese recipe as my contribution. I am culinarily inept, but I think it came out pretty well. Gruyère and White Cheddar with a bread crumb topping.

View attachment 2117906

A coworker put mac and cheese from the Costco deli in a plate and told her family she made it herself for Thanksgiving this year.😂

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Reading recipes for Pasta All'Amatriciana.

It would appear that I have all of the necessary ingredients to hand.

 

[Gravydog316]

Sounds great, never heard of it before. Is it a certain recipe?

it's my favorite oh my god: lasagne noodles, chicken, carrots, broccoli, chicken gravy/sauce stuff, breadcrumbs, spinach, onions, mozzarella, cheddar, ricotta, parmesan cheese...

(my mom was making beef lasagna & my grandma told her to try making it with chicken, because beef is greasy & it's my favorite)

you put big noodles on the bottom, & layer it & put one on the top & put breadcrumbs & cheese on top so it bakes

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Reading recipes for Pasta All'Amatriciana.

It would appear that I have all of the necessary ingredients to hand.

And yes, it does appear that I have all of the necessary ingredients to hand.

Pasta All'Amatriciana:

This is a deceptively easy recipe, is very tasty, and is one that uses very few ingredients, but, like all such recipes, it stands or falls on the quality of the ingredients used.

The first step is to prepare the guanciale, the pig's cheek.

Cut off the rind and the peppered side, and discard (although the rind can be retained and used to flavour stock, or soups).

Slice it, and then dice it, and put it into a large pan (I used a large copper sauté pan) where a small quantity of olive oil has been heating. The diced guanciale will become translucent and transparent, the fat will render (and will give a glorious flavour to the sauce) and blend with the olive oil.

When the diced guanciale has rendered - and you can stir it with a wooden spoon - the meat soft, the fat luscious and succulent, add a small glass of white wine to the pan, and stir, allowing the alcohol to burn off.

Meanwhile, prepare the tomatoes: These will come from a tin - San Marzano (an excellent Italian brand, for preference); Open the tin, and tip the contents into a bowl or dish, where you mash them and cut them up; season them (with sea salt, - some recipes insist that this is not necessary as the guanciale is already quite salty - but I am of the opinion that tomatoes, in common with potatoes and eggs, that tomatoes also require the addition of some salt - freshly ground black pepper, and a dash of sugar, I used organic brown sugar); this is then added to the sauté pan, where the chopped and sautéed guanciale awaits; let this cook, at a simmer, stir occasionally, for around twenty minutes.

While the sauce is simmering, prepare a green salad if you wish: Today, I used mixed leaves (organic), and prepared a dressing: Olive oil, red wine vinegar, sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, locally sourced organic runny honey (instead of sugar), French mustard.

I also grated some Pecorino Romano, to be served with the finished dish.

Water (rather than stock, the sauce will be sufficiently flavoursome, the pasta does not need the addition of being cooked in stock to enhance its flavour) is put to boil, with a little salt and olive oil added, and the pasta is then added once it has reached the boil. When almost ready, the pasta is drained, and added to the sauté pan, and a little of the pasta cooking water is retained, should a little more liquid need to be added to the sauce.

And this is when dinner is served.

 

[ssledoux]

After days of eating my Thanksgiving leftovers, I’m making some good ole’ beef tacos with a huge bowl of guacamole. Can’t wait!

 

[dannyyankou]

My mom still does most of the thanksgiving cooking, but the past few years I've been making this Mac and cheese recipe as my contribution. I am culinarily inept, but I think it came out pretty well. Gruyère and White Cheddar with a bread crumb topping.

View attachment 2117906

At my 4 year old's school, they all talked about thanksgiving, and he said the mac and cheese was his favorite food. And we all know 4 year olds are honest, lol. My mom cooked a lot of great things as well, but I gloated a bit to her lol.

 

[ssledoux]

After days of eating my Thanksgiving leftovers, I’m making some good ole’ beef tacos with a huge bowl of guacamole. Can’t wait!

That taco meat made its 3rd meal tonight. Had quesadillas last night, and made a taco casserole with the rest tonight. And the avocados have been perfection!

 

[Scepticalscribe]

@yaxomoxay: I am currently reading pasta recipes (while taking breaks from reading about Roman history with Mary Beard) from an interesting website that goes by the name of Recipes from Italy, and, while Pasta/Spaghetti Carbonara (I have all of the ingredients to hand, where have I been all my life that I had not made the acquaintance of guanciale?) is (more than likely) on the menu for this evening, other recipes I have been reading include Pasta alla Norma (which sounds delicious, must prepare it some evening soon), and one that I had never even seen written (or referred to) anywhere until now: Pasta all'Ortolana, which reads as though it would be incredibly flavoursome.

Have you ever come across this last named pasta dish?

 

[yaxomoxay]

@yaxomoxay: I am currently reading pasta recipes (while taking breaks from reading about Roman history with Mary Beard) from an interesting website that goes by the name of Recipes from Italy, and, while Pasta/Spaghetti Carbonara (I have all of the ingredients to hand, where have I been all my life that I had not made the acquaintance of guanciale?) is (more than likely) on the menu for this evening, other recipes I have been reading include Pasta alla Norma (which sounds delicious, must prepare it some evening soon), and one that I had never even seen written (or referred to) anywhere until now: Pasta all'Ortolana, which reads as though it would be incredibly flavoursome.

Have you ever come across this last named pasta dish?

Absolutely! It’s basically pasta and veggies, very easy to make, nutritious, and cheap. I think that there are many variations of it depending on season and region.

In case you wonder, this is an ortolano, not sure how it would translate in English, basically a store that sells veggies and greens. “Orto” is a veggie garden.

Addendum: Pasta alla Norma is simply a great, tasty dish. Highly recommended.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Absolutely! It’s basically pasta and veggies, very easy to make, nutritious, and cheap. I think that there are many variations of it depending on season and region.

In case you wonder, this is an ortolano, not sure how it would translate in English, basically a store that sells veggies and greens. “Orto” is a veggie garden.

View attachment 2121065

Addendum: Pasta alla Norma is simply a great, tasty dish. Highly recommended.

Ah, thank you!

That makes sense, for I had never encountered the word "orto", and this particular dish was completely unknown to me.

Yes: Pasta alla Norma shall make an appearance some evening soon; I keep forgetting just how much I love aubergines (er, eggplant). Actually, I adore, adore, adore caponata, - there is no such thing as too much of it - but, unfortunately, I never seem to be able to lay hands on it here, unless I prepare it myself.

Okay: Aubergines (eggplant) here I come, at the farmers' market this coming Saturday.

 

[yaxomoxay]

Ah, thank you!

That makes sense, for I had never encountered the word "orto", and this particular dish was completely unknown to me.

Yes: Pasta alla Norma shall make an appearance some evening soon; I keep forgetting just how much I love aubergines (er, eggplant). Actually, I adore, adore, adore caponata, - there is no such thing as too much of it - but, unfortunately, I never seem to be able to lay hands on it here, unless I prepare it myself.

Okay: Aubergines (eggplant) here I come, at the farmers' market this coming Saturday.

Well… if you want to go full Italian remember that in a few days it’s New Year’s Eve which means… cotechino e lenticchie. According to the tradition, lenticchie on NYE will bring you money.

Cotechino con Lenticchie

Cotechino is an Italian fresh pork sausage with a creamy, delicate flavor. It's served with tender and flavorsome green lentils in this recipe for a cozy meal.

www.allrecipes.com

Cotechino con lenticchie

Il cotechino con le lenticchie è un tradizionale piatto di buon auspicio che si prepara per festeggiare l'ultimo dell'anno! Scopri qui dosi e ricetta.

ricette.giallozafferano.it

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Well… if you want to go full Italian remember that in a few days it’s New Year’s Eve which means… cotechino e lenticchie. According to the tradition, lenticchie on NYE will bring you money.

Cotechino con Lenticchie

Cotechino is an Italian fresh pork sausage with a creamy, delicate flavor. It's served with tender and flavorsome green lentils in this recipe for a cozy meal.

www.allrecipes.com

Cotechino con lenticchie

Il cotechino con le lenticchie è un tradizionale piatto di buon auspicio che si prepara per festeggiare l'ultimo dell'anno! Scopri qui dosi e ricetta.

ricette.giallozafferano.it

Wonderful!

And thank you.

I very much doubt that I will be able to lay hands on Cotechino, but, a small, excellent, specialist artisan sausage maker I buy from does make fresh Italian sausages to order (and French, and German...), - for what it is worth, I shall expect to receive a small delivery from her this coming Friday, and a larger one on December 23rd (that will contain venison sausages, a seasonal specialty....she also makes Merguez sausages to order), so these may have to suffice.

But lentils, yum........I have prepared a similar dish with French (Toulouse style) sausages; however, the lentils do need an age - close to an hour, in my experience - to cook properly, and yes, they do need a well flavoured stock, and a soffritto style start (mirepoix).

 

[anika200]

it's my favorite oh my god: lasagne noodles, chicken, carrots, broccoli, chicken gravy/sauce stuff, breadcrumbs, spinach, onions, mozzarella, cheddar, ricotta, parmesan cheese...

(my mom was making beef lasagna & my grandma told her to try making it with chicken, because beef is greasy & it's my favorite)

you put big noodles on the bottom, & layer it & put one on the top & put breadcrumbs & cheese on top so it bakes

It really is a thing, wow, who knew, I am making it this week, thanks.
I am going to base mine on this guys recipe, maybe it is something like it.
Chicken Lasagna

 

[BugeyeSTI]

Was craving steak and potatoes last night... Oh and an old fashioned

 

[anika200]

Was craving steak and potatoes last night... Oh and an old fashioned

View attachment 2123808

That just looks so amazing, Thanks.

 

[Gravydog316]

It really is a thing, wow, who knew, I am making it this week, thanks.
I am going to base mine on this guys recipe, maybe it is something like it.
Chicken Lasagna

awesome haha!

 

[anika200]

Wonderful!
But lentils, yum

Every time I make lentils, however simple, it blows my mind how good they are.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Every time I make lentils, however simple, it blows my mind how good they are.

I think that I may have mentioned that the Turks serve an amazing lentil soup; you can find it almost anywhere in Turkey, although, I daresay that recipes differ subtly from restaurant to restaurant.

And, while it looks nothing, very nondescript, the aroma is amazing and it tastes absolutely divine.

 

[decafjava]

Lentils: simple, nutritious and tasty.

 

[anika200]

I took the picture too late, everything is gone?

Hahaha, it still looks better than my meal.