Food and Recipes while under Coronavirus quarantine #3

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Trudie

Trudie

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Spouse loved the pumpkin butter over chicken breasts. I wanted to add some sage but couldn’t get to the store in time. I put in a spaghetti squash while the chicken was cooking - the only squash I’ll eat, because it isn’t squash-y at all.

I used to host dinners at least once a week pre-covid. If we were in normal times, I’d totally make the pumpkin butter chicken and serve with a butternut squash or potato leek soup (topped w roast pumpkin seeds) and maybe a simple arugula salad.
 
Does anyone have a Ninja Foodi digital air fry oven? I just got one from Costco (the 9-in-1 version). I've never even had a toaster oven before, so trying to figure out how to use it. The info that came with it seems sparse to me. It looks like there are videos online and cookbooks available too.

It will air fry, air roast, broil, toast, reheat, and more. Tonight I used it to air roast frozen tempura shrimp from Trader Joe's. They came out great.
 
anneg said:
Does anyone have a Ninja Foodi digital air fry oven? I just got one from Costco (the 9-in-1 version). I've never even had a toaster oven before, so trying to figure out how to use it. The info that came with it seems sparse to me. It looks like there are videos online and cookbooks available too.

It will air fry, air roast, broil, toast, reheat, and more. Tonight I used it to air roast frozen tempura shrimp from Trader Joe's. They came out great.
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Mine is the Ninja Foodi Grill and air fryer. I love it.
 
Busy prepping for my trip but I did find some pjs for $39 on sale at Kohl's. Yay! I won't freeze, hopefully.

Sunday we went out for my friend V's birthday at Gulf Drive Cafe & Kokonut Hut on Anna Marie Island (FL). None of us were impressed by the food and it was way overpriced. The ambiance was lovely, right on the beach. I wanted the pulled pork and wasn't told that they were out until we were ordering. That should have been our first clue.

So I picked the grilled salmon plate. First problem - they didn't put salmon on the plate - they put blackened grouper. Only I didn't realize it until I took a bite. Now I love grouper. But this was an overcooked thin piece of fish. I have no idea what is in something called "blackened" but it was too spicy for me. I didn't react to it thankfully.

They took my entire plate back, and brought out the correct meal. It was the thinnest piece of salmon I'd ever seen in my life so it had to have been a tail piece. It was so over cooked that it was hard on the edges, like peel off crispy backing kinda hard. There wasn't any skin on it either. It had a drizzle of teriyaki on it. It came with mashed red potatoes that had something in them - I had a friend taste them first. It was some kind of butter sauce. Instead of broccoli I asked for coleslaw.

I showed the waitress (nice lady) how dry it was. She apologized and I told her it wasn't her fault. I didn't want her to feel bad. All my friends told me to send it back. But seriously, I know kitchen staff get mad when you do that and then you leave your meal open for retaliation. So I didn't eat but a few bites. I started getting really nauseated and couldn't eat. I brought it home and I did eat about half the mashed potatoes and the coleslaw the next day. I threw the salmon out. They took $1 off my $27 meal.

On top of all that, they wouldn't split the check or do separate checks. So one friend put it all on her credit card. The rest of us were digging thru our wallets for cash to give her to cover the bill. Two of us spoke up to the waitress about it and her response was it was the owner's rule. Well, screw him, none of us will ever go back!!
 
So I was traveling through a state where they have raised the minimum wage. Every restaurant, gas station, grocery store, etc. added a “minimum wage surcharge “ to the bill. In some cities and towns there were three different taxes on the receipt: State Tax, Local Tax, and Minimum Wage Surcharge.

So the state raised minimum wage but the businesses are not paying it. They are passing the difference directly on to the consumer.
 
PayrollNerd said:
Busy prepping for my trip but I did find some pjs for $39 on sale at Kohl's. Yay! I won't freeze, hopefully.

Sunday we went out for my friend V's birthday at Gulf Drive Cafe & Kokonut Hut on Anna Marie Island (FL). None of us were impressed by the food and it was way overpriced. The ambiance was lovely, right on the beach. I wanted the pulled pork and wasn't told that they were out until we were ordering. That should have been our first clue.

So I picked the grilled salmon plate. First problem - they didn't put salmon on the plate - they put blackened grouper. Only I didn't realize it until I took a bite. Now I love grouper. But this was an overcooked thin piece of fish. I have no idea what is in something called "blackened" but it was too spicy for me. I didn't react to it thankfully.

They took my entire plate back, and brought out the correct meal. It was the thinnest piece of salmon I'd ever seen in my life so it had to have been a tail piece. It was so over cooked that it was hard on the edges, like peel off crispy backing kinda hard. There wasn't any skin on it either. It had a drizzle of teriyaki on it. It came with mashed red potatoes that had something in them - I had a friend taste them first. It was some kind of butter sauce. Instead of broccoli I asked for coleslaw.

I showed the waitress (nice lady) how dry it was. She apologized and I told her it wasn't her fault. I didn't want her to feel bad. All my friends told me to send it back. But seriously, I know kitchen staff get mad when you do that and then you leave your meal open for retaliation. So I didn't eat but a few bites. I started getting really nauseated and couldn't eat. I brought it home and I did eat about half the mashed potatoes and the coleslaw the next day. I threw the salmon out. They took $1 off my $27 meal.

On top of all that, they wouldn't split the check or do separate checks. So one friend put it all on her credit card. The rest of us were digging thru our wallets for cash to give her to cover the bill. Two of us spoke up to the waitress about it and her response was it was the owner's rule. Well, screw him, none of us will ever go back!!
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I’m sorry you had such a disappointing experience. I posted about dry salmon a couple of pages ago. I was served four very thick planks of beautiful salmon, except that it was so overcooked, hard, and dry that it was nearly inedible. From an expensive, highly recommended restaurant!

I hate to waste food so I took the salmon home in a box. I sliced it into thin pieces and soaked it in some good vegetable broth until it softened a little. Then I poached it in the broth just until it was warm. This made it edible, but what a disappointment.
 
PayrollNerd, I'm sorry to hear that the birthday dinner wasn't so happy. DH and I had a less than stellar experience at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse for his 73rd birthday last Friday. The food was wonderful, as always, but service bordered on incompetent. We've had the waiter previously and know that he's been working at RC for several years, but the tag-team staff were new and not particularly well-trained. Our shrimp cocktail appetizer was sent to the wrong table, and the wrong steaks were brought to our table. Manager was very apologetic and comped two full-size desserts instead of presenting DH with the small complementary birthday dessert. We asked for the Bread Pudding and Cheesecake to-go and enjoyed them at home for a couple of days. We don't go to Ruth's Chris often and consider it a special occasion restaurant. Dinner for two with a nice bottle of wine usually costs @ $300, and we expect the experience to be perfect. It wasn't bad enough to not return, but we were disappointed.
 
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I don’t know why salmon is so difficult for restaurants, especially “better” restaurants. Often they excel with steak, prime rib, etc. but ruin a nice piece of salmon.

I don’t consider myself an expert chef but I can do salmon better than 90% of the restaurants where I have ordered salmon.

There is a lovely small, local mom & pop restaurant run by the sweetest couple and their adorable teenage kids. The husband and son cook, wife and daughter wait tables. An amazing family, the teens are so friendly and seem to really enjoy their work and engaging with customers.

They unfortunately serve only salmon, beef, and pork entrees and I don’t eat beef or pork. They get rave reviews for their food but the salmon is always terribly overcooked, and I have tried it on several occasions.

I’ve thought about mentioning to them that the salmon could be cooked a little less but can’t really figure out what to say without hurting their feelings. And it is possible that other diners like their salmon thoroughly overcooked.
 
IceIce9 said:
I don’t know why salmon is so difficult for restaurants, especially “better” restaurants. Often they excel with steak, prime rib, etc. but ruin a nice piece of salmon.

I don’t consider myself an expert chef but I can do salmon better than 90% of the restaurants where I have ordered salmon.

There is a lovely small, local mom & pop restaurant run by the sweetest couple and their adorable teenage kids. The husband and son cook, wife and daughter wait tables. An amazing family, the teens are so friendly and seem to really enjoy their work and engaging with customers.

They unfortunately serve only salmon, beef, and pork entrees and I don’t eat beef or pork. They get rave reviews for their food but the salmon is always terribly overcooked, and I have tried it on several occasions.

I’ve thought about mentioning to them that the salmon could be cooked a little less but can’t really figure out what to say without hurting their feelings. And it is possible that other diners like their salmon thoroughly overcooked.
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That's a dilemma! Maybe something like: "I'd like my salmon cooked medium, please." I wonder if that would work.
 
Another thing that annoys me about some restaurants is when they charge a fee for an extra plate, or a fee to share an entree.

Restaurant portions are often huge, and it isn’t always practical to take leftovers with you. It often makes sense to share an entree.

I make good use of restaurant leftovers, usually taking them to work for my lunch. But if we are on vacation, or I am working out of town and staying in a motel I am not able to store boxed leftovers.
 
I’ve never tried this, but I bet it’s delicious! Take leftover (chocolate, presumably?) Halloween candy and fold it into brownie batter and bake as usual. I’d imagine you’d want to do one pan with assorted chocolate bars, and one pan with peppermint patties. I’m not a big chocolate fan, but Snickers baked into brownies has to be amazing, right?

(I usually pick out all the candies that my kids don’t like or that will break their teeth and post them on a local “buy nothing” page and they’re gone in minutes!)
 
I don’t care for salmon, but pre-covid I used to go to Ikea often. (Kids ate free on Tuesdays, so we’d go to zoo or museum in the morning and meet up with friends there for lunch). I’ve heard their salmon is quite good.
 
Is cheese healthy? Dietitian shares health benefits and risks (today.com)

So, you love cheese. What’s not to love? It’s decadent, creamy, and delicious. And it’s just as great as a simple snack as it is artfully arranged on a cheese board. It’s also the perfect addition to meals like tacos, pasta and salad. Plus, cheese provides a slew of beneficial nutrients. Cheese contains protein, fat and saturated fat, sodium, calcium, phosphorous, potassium, and vitamin B12, among other nutrients. However, amounts vary, depending on the type of cheese you select. While many of these nutrients are necessary for optimal health, some, like saturated fat and sodium, are discouraged...
 
In north Georgia couch surfing with my friends. I told them to quit feeding me so well. I’m going to go home 10lbs heavier!!

Sooo much good food. I’ll catch you all up with the restaurants later. Lots of excellent food & great service everywhere.
 
IceIce9 said:
@PayrollNerd what is the issue with splitting checks anyway? Technology makes it very easy to split checks multiple ways.

Heck, I used to split checks multiple ways back when I was a server, using my pencil and the back of the order pad.
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I think the owner just doesn’t want to have to deal with it. Jerk.
 
Shamrock1 said:
I’ve never tried this, but I bet it’s delicious! Take leftover (chocolate, presumably?) Halloween candy and fold it into brownie batter and bake as usual. I’d imagine you’d want to do one pan with assorted chocolate bars, and one pan with peppermint patties. I’m not a big chocolate fan, but Snickers baked into brownies has to be amazing, right?

(I usually pick out all the candies that my kids don’t like or that will break their teeth and post them on a local “buy nothing” page and they’re gone in minutes!)
Click to expand...
That sounds delicious!

I have made quick sweet rolls for breakfast with fun size Milky Way bars and Pillsbury Grands biscuits (refrigerated tube)

Just push a Milky Way bar inside each biscuit and bake accordingly to package directions.
 
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