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What did you have for dinner? -Part dois

The grandkids are cooking dinner and I'm sitting back with beer #4 for the day, Brooklyn Brewery Amber Dark. Chewable and yeasty.

The kids are grilling a load of marinated and herbed chicken, a variety of sausages, and jumbo shrimp doused with lemon juice. They made new potato salad with green peppers and onions along with my homemade mustardy mayonnaise, roasted fingerling potatoes brushed with olive oil, garlic and herbs, tomato and cucumber salad in a light vinaigrette with fresh mint, and dozens of fresh baked biscuits. Seeded watermelon and crenshaw melon balls, quartered fresh peaches and red grapes with a variety of cheeses for dessert. Orange, pineapple and blueberry punch, fresh squeezed. They get a kick out playing with the juicer.

They put the twins on KP duty. I think they bathed as they washed out pots, pans and preparation bowls. Grandma made them put on dry clothes before they sat down to eat. As if it mattered to them.
 
we got two pizzas from a local place. there are lots of leftovers, and i froze them. i gave my tiny dog a nice serving of pizza, too. she is five hundred years old and deaf, but she can still dance and eat some pizza.
 
The grandkids are cooking dinner and I'm sitting back with beer #4 for the day, Brooklyn Brewery Amber Dark. Chewable and yeasty.

The kids are grilling a load of marinated and herbed chicken, a variety of sausages, and jumbo shrimp doused with lemon juice. They made new potato salad with green peppers and onions along with my homemade mustardy mayonnaise, roasted fingerling potatoes brushed with olive oil, garlic and herbs, tomato and cucumber salad in a light vinaigrette with fresh mint, and dozens of fresh baked biscuits. Seeded watermelon and crenshaw melon balls, quartered fresh peaches and red grapes with a variety of cheeses for dessert. Orange, pineapple and blueberry punch, fresh squeezed. They get a kick out playing with the juicer.

They put the twins on KP duty. I think they bathed as they washed out pots, pans and preparation bowls. Grandma made them put on dry clothes before they sat down to eat. As if it mattered to them.

That sounds like a wonderful time. I am very happy for you. I long for the day there will be a gathering where the family can come together in celebration. Today I did break isolation and went to a couple of places I have not been in months. Of course I was taking precautions and it felt so good. But for Memorial Day, after spending time remembering those who are gone and sacrifices made, we got Chinese takeout for dinner. It seemed so wrong. No cookout, no family. Our kids when they do stop by, they walk on eggs and self distance for fear of giving us something. This is all so wrong.
 
Meatloaf made with Italian bread crumbs, golden mushroom soup, canned mushrooms and baby red potatoes.

meatloaf.jpg
 
That sounds like a wonderful time. I am very happy for you. I long for the day there will be a gathering where the family can come together in celebration. Today I did break isolation and went to a couple of places I have not been in months. Of course I was taking precautions and it felt so good. But for Memorial Day, after spending time remembering those who are gone and sacrifices made, we got Chinese takeout for dinner. It seemed so wrong. No cookout, no family. Our kids when they do stop by, they walk on eggs and self distance for fear of giving us something. This is all so wrong.

In many ways we are fortunate to have a dozen of the grandkids for an extended stay, even tho they all live within walking distance and pop in and out of here incessantly. I freely admit there is also a downside, I miss moments of solitude and quiet, and more so private quality time with my wife.

Isolation is terrible for human beings. We are social beings who thrive on touching and being touched by those we love. We thrive from our family associations and emotional and sensory interactions, and again with those who are friends. Like you I miss being near my now adult children, and the interchanges of family gatherings. My two older sisters are healthy and approaching their 80's, I haven't been with either of them for months. It is unnatural. I miss them worse than if they had passed, even tho I can speak with them and do so daily, and see them with Facetime. I miss that loving smack in the back of the head.

This afternoon, one my granddaughters pranced out of one of the bedrooms into the living room, announcing "I am hot" while modeling a home made bikini. He brother, a year older, pretended to puke. It took me a full five minutes to rescue him from the beating he was recieving. I wanted to chuck them both out a window. I am too old to more than observe this sibling shtik and chuckle, go back to my professional napping.

Take heart, your family loves you, and this won't last forever. The paranoia will pass. It is all so wrong.

BTW, the food was not as good as it sounded or looked. The chicken a bit overcooked, the potatoes in the potato salad a bit undercooked. Thank god they can't ruin fresh fruit, nor the beer. Of course, I went back for seconds. A gourmet, mais non, a gourmand, merci.
 
Last night

Fried cheese curds, salad, ribs, gratin potatoes, cole slaw, roast veggies
Strawberry Shortcake

Tonight
Chicken, Salad.
 
Omelette with lots of fresh herbs, caprese salad.
 
Pork belly dish.


Short version...

Score the fat with cross-hatching, rub in salt/pepper/spices, brown on top (I also browned the bottom a bit). Deglaze pan w/ wine + chicken stock. Pork belly goes in oven-worthy pan. the wine/chicken stock stuff is supposed to fill it so that 3/4ths of the pork belly is submerged. That braises. The top fatty layer crisps under the heat. 355F for 2.5 hours, then 10-20 minutes at a higher temp (425...450) for any extra crisping.



I aimed for a newer mix of spices that I recently used to give an interesting twinge to a ham soup, but changed it around:

- Several whole pods of cardamom, cracked with a light hammer tap
- Several bay leaves
- Several thai chilis
- Szechuan peppercorns
- Kaffir lime (powdered), galangal (powdered), garlic powder, chili powder, smoked spanish paprika, and a smaller amount of: coriander, allspice, cumin.

This was briefly and lightly browned in oil. Then the pork was browned. Then the pan deglazed.


On the pork (before and after browning):

Truffle salt (5% black truffle bits), pepper, chili powder, garlic powder, smoked spanish paprika, coffee rub.





We'll see. I did it rather differently last time. Fortunately I haven't screwed anything up such that I said "ewf...nope" since I was teaching myself how to cook.
 
Impossible Whopper with cheese
Diet coke.

I had stress stomach today, so that was the only thing that sounded good. Putting in a lot of hours.
 
Dinner was pronounced quite good, but in the future:

- Refill the braising liquid a bit part way through

- Maybe don't do the high heat at the end (I wanted the crispy bit to be 1/16th of an inch. Instead it was more of 1/8th, maybe a bit over, and a little blacker than intended.
 
Norwegian salmon fillet sprinkled with Old Bay seasonings and oven grilled, sliced and seasoned gold potatoes sauteed in olive oil until brown on outside and tender on inside. Strawberry ice cream for dessert.
 
Amy's vegetable pot pie. it was great for a worked stressed stomach. i feel better now. even the dairy free one is pretty good.
 
While checking out amateur recipe tips yesterday afternoon, I stumbled on this one, tried it tonight for the dinner main dish, never told the grandkids it wasn't real bacon.

 
For Lunch, it was sweet and sour chicken with egg fried rice today. :)
 
grilled provolone on wheat
barbecue kettle chips.
 
Another giant order from the authentic Chinese place we love. They brought back some favorites that were missing for a few years.

Cumin Lamb
Family Style Beef Tendons
Shredded Pork Tripe with Chili Pepper
Pig's Trotter w. Deep Fried Garlic
Smoked Tea Duck Sichuan Style
Mala Spicy Pot (fatty beef, beef tendon, pork belly, beef tripe, beef stomach)
 
While checking out amateur recipe tips yesterday afternoon, I stumbled on this one, tried it tonight for the dinner main dish, never told the grandkids it wasn't real bacon.



No. ..
 
vegetarian turkey and provolone sandwich with mustard
Parmesan pasta side dish.
 
I'm making coho salmon croquettes, to be accompanied by home made rotini in a sweet red pepper gravy, with mushrooms and broccoli florets. A large green salad with olive halves, onion, cherry tomatoes, cucumber slices and raw snap peas, with a garlicky yogurt and mint dressing. Home baked baguettes and olive oil for dipping. A fresh made iced fruit punch from Syrah grapes from eastern Long Island, lemons, black berries, fresh cherries and the last of our apple cider. Dark Lindt chocolate pudding and almond tortes for dessert with iced teas.

The Long Island vineyards are already heavy with fruit thanks to the relatively mild winter. Far more than can be used for winemaking, and they are quickly showing up for table use in local produces stores for as low as 99¢ per lb. Yesterday I picked up 5lbs of Syrah, 5lbs of Muscat and 5lbs of Chardonnay grapes. The Chardonnay disappeared within an hour of my arrival before dinner yesterday. Big, fat, crisp and honey like. I would have bought more but my back pack was overflowing, and Dog's pack was filled with early Eastern peaches. A mere six block walk from home, and I was stuffing my face with two ripe peaches before I got home. I will go back tomorrow afternoon for more of everything. They also had some lovely red plums and huge tangy red and purple fleshed mangos from India. The latter superb when quickly roasted with fish, to be served over rice with peppers.
 
Striploin steak and jumbo shrimps in garlic butter, green beans
 
I got lazy, so: bucket of KFC, gravy, homemade mash taters, homemade biscuits (they dont have them here so I gotta make them :(), slaw, and cookies and cream ice cream.
 
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