Light football dinner for a picky eater
l pinkmountain
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
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Olychick
6 years agoRelated Discussions
What's for Dinner 254
Comments (103)I forgot to write that last night we sat next to "Seinfeld's parents", LOL. They were hysterical! All 4 of them - 2 from Staten Island and 2 from Brooklyn, now moved out here to the famous town in our area where all the over 55 communities are located. They were just the funniest ever - I wish Jerry could have been there to listen - he could have started a whole new sitcom! And they weren't trying to be funny, that's what was so cool. I had my back to them so I couldn't see what they looked like but Ken kept looking and we were just cracking up the whole time! They were just on the good side of sleazy, LOL, not in a really bad way. If you know what hard core Brooklynese sounds like, then that's them :) Our waitress, the pleasant and efficient Lee Ann, seemed to enjoy them and of course they loved her like their own granddaughter :) The other thing I had wanted to mention was that the chef came out later in the evening and spoke to every table, such a nice and thoughtful thing to do we thought. It was just a lovely experience for us, one we haven't had in a long time in our area. I know, it sounds like I'm plugging my own place, LOL, I only wish it were! Back to reality tonight - grilled chicken ala Ken but I do hope to buy chorizo today so I can make Debbie 814's sweet potato/spinach/chorizo/feta warm salad :)...See MoreHelp, I need vegetarian recipe for Christmas dinner
Comments (29)My experience doesn't match msazadi's. I know vegetarians who are foodies. One is in my kitchen at the moment making cornbread. Two nights ago he made ravioli with a citrus sauce. For Thanksgiving, the meat eaters amongst us went to my DIL's sisters house for turkey lunch. In the evening we hosted a vegetarian Thanksgiving meal. My DS invited an fellow grad student and her room mate (both Indian and vegetarian). We wanted to make something they would like without doing Indian food. This Tunisian Chickpea Soup from Olive Trees and Honey went over well. Spicy enough to be familiar to them without attempting to be Indian. 1/4 c olive oil 1 large onion, chopped 3 carrots, chopped 1 small (~10 oz) celery root, peeled and chopped or 2 stalks celery chopped 2-4 cloves garlic minced ~ 10 c water 1 lb (2 1/3 c) dried soaked chick peas 2 bay leaves 1 tbsp cumin seeds or 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin 1 to 2 tbsp harissa or 1 tsp cayenne 1 tsp salt or 2 tsp kosher salt ground black pepper 1/2 c chopped fresh cilantro, mint or parsley 2 to 3 tbsp fresh lemon juice or 1 c plain yogurt 3 to 4 c french bread cubes or pita bread (optional) (I didn't) 3 to 4 c French bread cubes or pita bread In large pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion, carrot, celery, garlic and saute until softened, ~ 10 min Add water, chick peas and bay leaves. Boil, cover and reduce heat and simmer until tender, ~ 1 1/2 hours Toast cumin seeds (if using) in a dry skillet until lightly browned - shake or stir - don't burn them. Grind. Add cumin, harissa or cayenne, salt and pepper to soup. Cover and simmer 15 min. Discard bay leaves. Coarsely mash the chick pease a bit with a wood spoon, potato masher or stick blender. Can be stored in fridge and reheated for serving. Add the cilantro and lemon juice and heat through before serving. If desired, add 1/2 cup bread pieces to each bowl and ladle soup over. Drizzle with olive oil. (We were having falafal and pita bread after plus I made cranberry walnut whole wheat bread so we didn't do bread in the soup bowls. I didn't drizzle the oil and it was fine.) Moroccan variation in case you have non-spicy types - omit cumin and harissa. After mashing the chick peas, add 2 lb stemmed chopped spinach or chard or frozen spinach thawed and squeezed dry and the lemon juice, cover and simmer 2 to 4 min. Home made pita and falafel were great but not low effort. About half the falafel recipes used soaked and ground chick peas. The other half used soaked, cooked and mashed chick peas. I did a half batch each way - the ones using soaked and ground but not pre-cooked chick peas came out much better - very good flavor and texture. Sephardic Leek and Cheese Casserole also from Olive Trees and Honey - a very good book if you want to expand your vegetarian repertoire - is good and pretty easy. It reheats well so you could make it ahead. Too late for Jessy I'm afraid. 1/4 c olive oil 3 lb leeks ( 1 1/2 lb if you do the zucchini varient), white and light green parts only cut into thin lengthwise slices and washed 1 large onion chopped (optional - I've always used it) 1 c water 2 cups (~1 lb) grated zucchini 2 tsp salt or 4 tsp kosher salt 1 cup (5 oz) crumbled feta or 1 c (8 oz) farmer or pot or 1 c grated kefalotyri or Parmesan cheese or a combination (I've always done the feta) 1 c shreded kashkaval, Goueda, Muenster or Cheddar (did this the first time and thought it didn't add much - other times I've done just the feta) 5 large eggs, lightly beaten 2 tbsp olive oil ground black pepper to taste or 1/2 tsp cayenne 1/4 c chopped fresh dill or 1/2 tsp grated nutmeg (optional) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and oil a 9 " square or 8 by 11 inch baking dish or two 9-inch pie plates. In a large sauce pan (she must have really large sauce pans - I use a small soup pot), heat oil over medium heat. Saute leeks and onion until softened. Add water, zucchini if using, 1 1/2 tsp salt or 3 tsp kosher salt, cover and simmer until leeks are tender (about 15 min). Drain Combine cheeses, eggs, remaining salt, pepper and dill or nutmeg. Add leek mixture. Put in baking dish. Bake until set and golden brown, about 50 minutes. Variant - you can leave out the cheese msazadi and cook 2 lb peeled, diced russet potatoes with the leeks. Kind of mash it after the draining step. I usually still put in the feta or you can put in 1/2 c Parmesan cheese. Really fancy and a good side dish for the meat eaters would be a nice Biryani. I have made one with cashews and pistachios in the top layer of rice but it was more work. There are some simpler ones on line....See MoreDinner issues
Comments (12)When my kids were in elementary school and middle school my number one priority was to come together at dinner as a family and share a pleasant meal. So I had a lot more rules about dinner conversation than manners or nutrition. I have many friends with different priorities and their families turned out just fine, so I'm not saying my way is the only way or my priorities the best priorities. It was very important to me that dinner be pleasant, so here are the things I did. First, I gave a warning depending on what the kids were doing that dinner would be in X number of minutes. Depending on what they were doing, sometimes a couple of warnings. So they were rarely yanked out of the middle of an intense battle in the tree fort or building a Barbie house. They had some warning to wind things down. At the final call for dinner, everyone was expected to come pretty quickly. Next, I was not very picky at all about food eaten or manners. Nothing gross was allowed like egregious chewing food with the mouth wide open, but I didn't care if they put their napkins in their laps or not. I put healthy choices in front of them, they could eat or not as they chose. When younger they had to try one bite of everything, but as they got older I didn't care. My most important rules were about conversation. Everyone had to participate. My husband and I didn't discipline the children or complain about their behavior, etc. I tried to keep my husband and my conversation confined to things that would be somewhat interesting to the children. So work conversation between the adults was brought down to a kid level and kept fairly short, or at least I tried. I tried to keep my eyes open during the day for interesting dinner topics, jokes, etc. My kids picked up that habit as the years passed by, and they do the same thing now. My daughter often got overlooked and no one but me was interested in her school day. And she was often very quiet and hard to draw out. So for awhile we had the "magic knife". Whoever had the "magic knife" got to talk, and only mom could overrule. I used the "magic knife" to teach some conversational manners - don't monopolize the time, pick topics of general interest, tell about your day but don't spend forever and not give sister a chance to talk, etc. But I put those things in positive terms, not negative ones. For example, rather than "shut up and let your sister talk" I'd say, "We loved hearing about your day and now I know you want to hear about sister's day". We also had the "blessing cup", which was sparkly and had gold stars. Anyone caught being a blessing got to drink from the "blessing cup". They had to either be caught, or someone else had to tell me. The blessing couldn't be self-reported, in other words. My kids needed to learn very good manners because they sometimes met business contacts at conventions, etc. So I sometimes had dinners just to teach manners. I told the children in advance what I was doing and why. I tried to make it fun - I cooked foods they really liked, they decorated the table and used candles. I tried to keep things light and funny. We brought out the china, silver with all the place settings, crystal, bread plates, etc. And me being me, I spent as much time teaching them proper conversational manners at business and charity dinners as I did which fork to use. But I'm not sure how to describe it - it wasn't presented in a bad way but in a positive way, like learning to drive a car. But those types of dinners didn't happen that often. I put a lot of thought and effort into making dinner pleasant. It didn't always come easily, and sometimes it felt like I was the only one who cared. But my efforts paid off. My kids are young adults now and they are wonderful dinner companions, if I do say so myself. They can converse with a variety of guests if they need to, on a variety of topics. When we all sit down to dinner now we almost always linger a long time after the meal is over, talking. It's worth every minute I spent listening to the elaborate plot of an Animorphs book or the details of an epic battle for control of the tree fort. Or debating what I'd most like to be - a cobra or a black mamba and why. In fact, we had a fascinating discussion about Russian polar bears just a couple of weeks ago. Enjoy those mealtimes together, they go by way too fast....See MoreTried & true meatless main dishes for a die hard meat eater?
Comments (54)I'm a vegetarian and I am constantly trying out recipes. I can't promise your husband will love them, but maybe you can judge from ingredients if he might. These are some hearty / filling recipes I love. 101Cookbooks Coconut Red Lentil Soup Tempeh Curry - I like to do roasted cauliflower and potatoes instead of just potatoes Double Broccoli Quinoa Almost Cheeseless Pasta Casserole Spinach Rice Gratin Zucchini Ricotta Savory Cheesecake Smitten Kitchen Huevos Rancheros Acorn Squash Quesadillas and Tomatillo Salsa Warm Butternut Squash and Chickpea Salad Other Pad Thai Brown Rice Noodles - I make brown rice noodle, broccoli and tofu pad thai adapted from the recipe on the back of this box. I often lazily use pre-made sauce (Sisters Pantry Peanut Sauce) to make it quickly on a weeknight. Roasted Sweet Potato Black Bean Quinoa Salad - I add avocado Breakfast Burritos - Just cook up scrambled eggs and wrap in tortillas with with cheese, avocado, olives, salsa, etc. Chili - Vegetarian chili is very hearty. The recipe I use is from a backpacking recipe book, but I'm sure you can either find or concoct something delicious....See Morelilacinjust
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