Supper on this first evening of the weekend, Friday, 2023 August 18

[taxlady]

We went out to supper with the brother-in-law. We went to our favourite Greek resto, La Porte Grecque. DH had the oregano chicken. I had the bacon wrapped scallops, and the BIL had souvlaki. the meals come with a salad, rice pilaf, and roast potatoes. DH and I are eliminating nightshades, so we both skipped the roast potatoes, which makes me a little sad - they are soooo good. But, that rice pilaf makes up for it. We had Mateus (Portuguese rosé wine), it's BYOB. For dessert DH had chocolate cake, I had baklava, and the BIL had baklava cheese cake. Very enjoyable outing and meal. We made a quick stop at Sheng Tai, an Asian supermarket very near the resto.


What did you have?

 

[Aunt Bea]

with a crunchy romaine and onion salad.

 

[Andy M.]

Shrimp in a white wine and butter sauce with marinated artichokes.

 

[msmofet]

View attachment 65592
with a crunchy romaine and onion salad.

That doesn’t look like the picture on the box.

 

[msmofet]

We had McDonald’s

 

[Jade Emperor]

Chicken Cassoulet

Cooks Notes:
We used to do a cassoulet in the restaurant but I never liked it at all. Chef insisted on canned beans and powdered stock. Just never tasted right.

This recipe was from Curtis Stone, and it was (no word of a lie) absolutely delightful. The chicken was beautifully moist, the beans a real delight.

I will be adding this to my repertoire, and now that I have done it exactly to the recipe, I can think about how to elevate.

No added salt, I use my own chicken stock which has no added salt anyway. This dish doesn’t need any other spices, apart from the oregano and thyme in the recipe. You won’t be tasting and then adding stuff as you go.

The flavour develops as it cooks, from the fennel, onions and garlic.
It has a very delicate French cooking flavour, but still tastes wonderful.

As always, hit me up if you want the recipe

 

[cjmmytunes]

An individual serving size container of Cheddar-Broccoli Rice-a-Roni, sliced tomatoes, cucumber sticks, watermelon, and dark chocolate.

 

[dragnlaw]

Pan fried Cod in Chipotle infused Olive Oil. Roasted potatoes and zucchini along side.

Yes Jade, recipe please!
(and could you post a link to the thread here, makes it easier to find later )
Thank You!

 

[Jade Emperor]

How to make French cassoulet: Curtis Stone’s chicken, bacon and fennel casserole

Based on a classic French dish, this version is lighter but just as cosy when the mercury dips.

www.smh.com.au

 

[Jade Emperor]

How to make French cassoulet: Curtis Stone’s chicken, bacon and fennel casserole

Based on a classic French dish, this version is lighter but just as cosy when the mercury dips.

www.smh.com.au

I used borlotti beans which I soaked overnight.

 

[dragnlaw]

Thanks Jade. Marked it!
I would probably use canned, and probably white. Or borlotti should I see them. By the way, we call them Romano Beans in Canada. In the US I believe they are called Cranberry Beans. So funny!

I have all sorts of dried beans in the pantry but they are never used. The few times I've put them to soak, something invariably happens and they never get cooked. So they just sit there in the pantry awaiting some adventurous chef - and I use canned.

 

[Jade Emperor]

@dragnlaw - canned beans would certainly work easily well in this dish. Being my first time to try this recipe, I went with exactly as it was written, as I always do on the first go round.

It can get confusing to know what other countries call things. Coriander = cilantro. Arugula = rocket. I could make a whole thread!

As long as it tastes good, it’s all that matters to me

 

[Jade Emperor]

My method for dried beans is this:

Put beans in a bowl and cover with water and a bit of salt and some vinegar.
Refrigerate overnight.
In the morning, I will drain all the water off and put in another round of water, leaving it on the bench until cooking time.

 

[Aunt Bea]

Thanks Jade. Marked it!
I would probably use canned, and probably white. Or borlotti should I see them. By the way, we call them Romano Beans in Canada. In the US I believe they are called Cranberry Beans. So funny!

I have all sorts of dried beans in the pantry but they are never used. The few times I've put them to soak, something invariably happens and they never get cooked. So they just sit there in the pantry awaiting some adventurous chef - and I use canned.

Chuck ‘em in the crockpot and let them cook overnight.

Freeze in one pint containers and don’t buy any more!

Crock-Pot Basic Beans Recipe - Crock-Pot Ladies

 

[GinnyPNW]

We had cheese enchiladas and Mexican Rice. Hit the spot!

@Aunt Bea - I love crock pot beans! Thanks for the link...and here's the link to my "fat-free" refried beans: Refried Beans - I always double the recipe and end up with 9 cups that I freeze for future. For me, 4.5 hours on high is just perfect, for these beans. And, I do add a few spices when mashing.

 

[msmofet]

I do refried beans in my Instant Pot.

 

[Kathleen]

I had BLTs again.

 

[blissful]

Soft shell corn tortilla tacos with fava beans in tomato, brown basmati rice, onion and peppers cooked, tofu walnut ground not-beef, salsa, and tofu lemon garlic cream.
Frozen peach bars for dessert.

 

[dragnlaw]

OK Aunt Bea, I will give it a try. But just not quite yet. Have to reduce freezer content... soon!

Am posting a question in my inquiry of Slow cookers - just to keep it all together?

 

[taxlady]

Thanks Jade. Marked it!
I would probably use canned, and probably white. Or borlotti should I see them. By the way, we call them Romano Beans in Canada. In the US I believe they are called Cranberry Beans. So funny!

I have all sorts of dried beans in the pantry but they are never used. The few times I've put them to soak, something invariably happens and they never get cooked. So they just sit there in the pantry awaiting some adventurous chef - and I use canned.

Here are methods for cooking beans, which include quick soak and hot soak, both of which are quicker than overnight soaking. BTW, it also gives a conversion for dry beans to cans of beans.

How to Cook Dry Beans from Scratch

If you've avoided cooking dry beans from scratch because "it takes too long," consider the actual "hands-on" time can be just minutes! All it takes is a little planning ahead for a time to soak the beans and a time to cook them. One pound (2 cups) of dry edible beans yields about 6 cups of...

food.unl.edu