What are your weekend food plans?

[wildeyed]

I am planning a blood orange and chicken dish we were talking about in another thread for tonight (2 bags of blood oranges for $3 and an organic chicken that was $4 off :woohoo:). I will do a fresh baked loaf and salad with that.

Tomorrow night is New Orleans influence. Red bean and andouille sausage soup with fried tomatoes and corn bread. I started soaking the beans already. I may do a red pepper/butter pecan ice cream for desert if I get around to it. Does anyone here match spicy and sweet? Sounds interesting, but I have never done it before.

So anyone else have fun food plans for the weekend?

[Callalily]

1. Today it's soup

day. Making Shrimp Courtboullion with Rice. And like you, I too plan on making Red Beans and Rice.

[MelissaB]

3. I've never made red beans and rice.

Anybody care to share a recipe?

[NMDemDist2]

11. here ya go...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=236&topic_id=4865

[MelissaB]

13. That sounds wonderful.

Thanks for the cornbread tip on that thread, too. I wish I had learned to make cornbread the way my mother did from scratch. It was the best.

[NMDemDist2]

14. you're very welcome! how is the tea? n/t

[MelissaB]

2. We're making baked ziti this weekend.

Yum yum! This is one that takes a while, thus the weekend effort.

[mike_c]

4. I'm going to braise some lamb chops I think...

...with white beans, chopped carrots, and rosemary for dinner tonight. Not sure what's on tap for tomorrow. I have a freezer full of leftover portions that I need to eat, so that's a possibility.

[japple]

5. Pork loin and sweet potatoes, maybe with stuffing since I've

go all the makings in the freezer. Or maybe a pilaf of some sort. Anyone have suggestions for pilaf?

[The empressof all]

6. I'm doing beef stir fry tonight

It may be beef and bok choy if I can get to the market that has the wonderful baby bok choy SO loves. (It's one of the few greens he'll eat.

Chicken has been cheap here lately at .59 lb so we're getting a little sick of it.

I may see if they have a nice pork roast at the market for tomorrow's meal. Pork with sauerkraut and roast potatoes sounds like a nice plan for Sunday.

[Stinky The Clown]

7. I've been just plain jammin' with work .......

My workload has recently ramped up beyond what is humanly possible and I have been working about 12 to 18 hours a day for the last month or so. I've been working all day today, but tonight I'm taking a break.

I'm gunna play with flour ...... homemade macaroni with whatever strikes me (as I make the 'ronis) for a gravy. I'm pretty sure it will involve tomatoes ..... but maybe not.

I had also hoped to make sfogiatelle and biscotti ..... maybe tomorrow.




I make my biscotti with almonds and apricots.

I was also going to make some Rhode Island or Manhattan Chowdah cuz I gotta big can of huge hunks of clams and an big can of clam juice.

[eleny]

8. Hubby's birthday is tomorrow

I just got back from making the shopping rounds. He likes veal <gasp> parmesan. So I picked up some cutlets, mozarella cheese, bottled <gasp> sauce and Italian breads. The V/Parmesan and salad is tomorrow's meal.

I also stopped at the Polish market and got some of the long, skinny smoked sausage, rye bread and a jar of Polska sauerkraut.

Nice sale on the blood oranges! Hope your chicken is ooh-la-la!

[wildeyed]

9. Chicken was not as good as last time.

I didn't have fresh herbs, so that was a negative. Also, I have two sick kids and a husband who worked today, so I didn't pay as close attention as I ought. I put too much (non-alcoholic) wine in at the start, so the chicken was more steamed than roasted. Oh well, it was still good. It was a last minute plan, due to the fortuitous sales anyway.

Mmmm, sauerkraut. No one here will eat it other than me, so it never gets made. But I do like it very much. Sigh.

[eleny]

10. Aw shucks, better luck next time

We all have those days when things go sideways a little.

[NMDemDist2]

12. a HUGE costco shop so who knows

i'll find something delish to have to eat

I have an executive membership and got my rebate certificate last week so I'm in like Dutch at Costco

:woohoo:

[wildeyed]

15. I'm an executive member, too.

I plan to purchase the new vanity for my master bath through the website and get the tires replaced on the van at their tire repair place. I should be good for a biiiiig check at the end of the year.

[NMDemDist2]

16. since I use it for business my check was very close to the max they'll

give ya. I'm gonna have way to much fun re-stocking the pantry and freezer :evilgrin:

[wildeyed]

17. If I maxed out, I suspect my husband would be very annoyed.

But I feel I would be fully capable of doing that, even without the business's contribution. There is so much more to Costco than just food. :)

[NMDemDist2]

18. true, but I can see your hubby's point. that's a lotta stuff

:rofl:

[Lugnut]

19. Oh yes

I made eggplant parm and braciole this afternoon. Tomorrow night we're going out for pizza.

[wryter2000]

20. I'm performing an experiment

What happens when you add the water to bread dough twice and end up with a soupy mess? I added a bunch more flour. Of course, all the other ingredients are off now, but I figured I'd let it do whatever it could and see what the results are.

Your weekend sounds much better than mine. :)

[wildeyed]

21. I have done that, too.

Mine was something about adding all the water and half the flour for a starter, then half the water again and half the flour. I just kept adding more flour as it kneaded, and it turned out ok. Not great, but edible.

[wryter2000]

23. Glad to hear

It is rising. Slowly.

[Stinky The Clown]

22. A real wet dough would turn out sorta like a ciabatta bread .....

Lots of this big old holes in it and a nice crust.

[wryter2000]

24. I so hope you're right

I'd love that. I figured I'd already wasted most of the ingredients. Might as well see what it did. I think more than anything I'm afraid it won't have enough salt and it won't taste good. But it will be a learning experience.

Ever since C&B convinced me I needed a Kitchenaid mixer about a year ago, I've been having so much fun with bread.

[Stinky The Clown]

25. C&B convinced yu to buy a Kitchenaid mixer ..... ?

I can't imagine anyone here would do such a thing :hide:

[eleny]

26. S-u-u-u-r-e

[wryter2000]

27. Don't try looking innocent

:evilgrin:

Ironically, what finally put me over the edge was the easy puff pastry recipe, but I've yet to try that.

[wryter2000]

28. Well, that was interesting

I ended up with way too much dough for one loaf of bread, so I pushed it out until it was about 1/2 inch thick and cut 4 inch rounds. I thought I'd get sandwich rolls. The things rose like crazy and puffed up even more in the oven. They came out more like little free-form loaves of bread about the size they serve clam chowder in in SF.

Very nice crunchy crust and tender interior. Too little salt, no suprise there. These are definitely good! I guess I'll freeze them because I have about a dozen. I think I'll make these again. Maybe I'll try flavoring them with herbs next time.

Any other ideas on how to flavor them? Maybe cheese? I have a nice Romano.

[Stinky The Clown]

29. Roll the dough out pretty thin and flat ..... but be gentle .... then ....

Maybe, rather than saying to 'roll it out', I should say press it out. The point is, you want a rectangle of dough about the length of the loaf you want.

Spread an herb mixture on the flattened out dough then roll it up, pinwheel style, and seal the edge. Allow to proof then bake.

We make this with parsley (Parsley Bread ... duh) mixed with a bit of olive oil and garlic. The garlic might be raw and chopped fine, chopped fine and sauteed, or finely chopped roasted garlic. Each gives a different flavor and intensity. Mix the garlic and olive oil with chopped parsley and that's what you spread.

You can vary this any way you want and use any herb or herbs that strike your fancy .... or taste buds.

Here's a little thing I do with parsley that isn't often done. You don't want too much moisture on the inside of your bread as you bake it. It will steam the inside of the loaf and make the area where the herbs are a bit mushy or doughy. After you chop the parsley, put it in a pile in the middle of a cotton cloth and roll it up tight. Now wring the hell out of the cloth. Lots of green water will come out. Do that as hard as you can and the parsley will be much drier but will not have given away much in the way of flavor.

Of course, this will cost you whatever cloth you use as the green stain is nearly impossible to get out.

[wryter2000]

30. Thanks

I have a lot more experimenting to do. The problem is, who's going to eat all this bread?

[Wordie]

31. mmmm...red bean and andouille sausage soup. Could you post the recipe

for that? It sounds very tasty, and I've got some left-over sausage frozen right now, so I'd like to try that soup.

[wildeyed]

32. It was really good!

1 lb dried red beans
1 ham bone
1 yellow onion chopped
1 celery stalk chopped
2 cloves garlic chopped
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp thyme
1 tsp Tabasco or more to taste
salt
pepper

1/2 lb andouille, 1/4" slices

spring onions chopped


soak beans overnight

combine ham bone and 6+ c water in large pot. Lively simmer for 1 hour.

remove ham bone from water, let cool. Remove meat from bone, discard fat.

skim stock. Return bone to stock.

Drain beans, add to stock. Also add onion, celery, garlic, bay leaf, and thyme. Bring to boil then simmer for about 2 hours.

discard ham bone and bay leaf. put a few cups of beans and liquid in blender and process until smooth. Return mixture to pot.

Cut up ham and add to pot.

Brown andouille sausage.

Ladle soup into bowls, add some sausage, then snip some green onion over the top.

Enjoy.


This was very good. I highly recommend not skipping the green onion step. Also, it was better today than yesterday, so some time in the pot improves the flavor.

[Wordie]

33. Thanks! That really does sound good.

I love hearty soups for cold weather, so that sounds perfect. Is that recipe your own invention, or is it a classic, or?

[wildeyed]

34. From the Williams-Sonoma series.

New Orleans: Authentic Recipes Celebrating the Foods of the World

Bought it from a fundraiser right after Katrina hit. Williams-Sonoma donated 100% of the purchase price to relief efforts. The soup is actually the first recipe I have made. Hopefully I will have more time to delve into it later. There is a very nice sounding red bean and rice salad that would be lovely on a summer picnic and some great sounding deserts, too.

[Wordie]

35. OK...I have a question.

I would really like to make this recipe, but I don't know about the ham bone. Is that something that one can usually buy at the supermarket? I don't think I've ever seen anything like that there, but I could have missed it. If my supermarket doesn't carry hambones, is there anything I could substitute?

Or do I need to go to a butcher to obtain one?

[wryter2000]

36. I'm off on Monday

My coworker's birthday is on Tuesday, so I'm thinking of baking her something. I'm not much of a cake eater, but I thought I'd look up Cooks Illustrated's recipe for chocolate ganache. Or, I might finally get the blackberries that I picked off my volunteer plant out of the freezer and make a pie.

[wryter2000]

37. LOL

I didn't realize this was last week's thread.

[wildeyed]

39. Well it's the weekend,

we can do it all over again.

My in-laws are in town. Last night I made a quicky dinner, but ended up with the most exquisite cauliflower side dish, of all things. I subscribe to an organic produce co-op, and you kind of get what you get as far as variety goes. So this week, one of the items was cauliflower, which I hardly ever make. I did it sauteed with butter, garlic and a bit of curry powder. It was fab.

Tonight I made a lamb roast, which is one of my solid standby entertaining favs. Tomorrow we go out :)

[politicat]

38. Cinnamon rolls for tomorrow's game and something else...

Dunno what yet, though. It can't have cheese, peppers, peanuts or much hot sauce in it.

[Lefty48197]

40. Steak au Poivre

I'm salivating already...