Gourmet dinners on a Budget

[Kayelle]

That dinner club sounds like a lot of fun!
I wish we can organize something like that here but my friends and family tend to just want to come to my place for our casual every-other-weekend dinners and get-togethers. They all refer to my home as Park Drive Bar & Grill.
They don't like to host, always coming up with excuses. I'm the only good guy in our group, it seems like.
Off topic, but I always wondered about people who don't like friends/family coming to their homes for dinners or whatever...

AhhHaa...now I see about your location...Park Drive Bar & Grill. When we first met, I thought you owned the place...guess you do!
Hosting all the time can be tiring, but I bet you have the best house for entertaining. You're yard set up is spectacular!!

 

[tenspeed]

I've had times when the meat inside the mussels was tiny, but for the most part, one pound of mussels per person is about right. We had a memorable meal with some bike riding friends last summer. A pound of mussels per person, salad, and a good loaf of dutch oven bread (and a lot of wine!). Simple, but most enjoyable (especially after a seacoast ride). She had never made mussels at home, only had them out. Here's Anthony Bourdain's take on mussels:

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2000/aug/12/features.weekend1

Dragnlaw - the commercially available mussels around here all come from PEI.

 

[caseydog]

That dinner club sounds like a lot of fun!
I wish we can organize something like that here but my friends and family tend to just want to come to my place for our casual every-other-weekend dinners and get-togethers. They all refer to my home as Park Drive Bar & Grill.
They don't like to host, always coming up with excuses. I'm the only good guy in our group, it seems like.
Off topic, but I always wondered about people who don't like friends/family coming to their homes for dinners or whatever...

I love to have people over, but it seems people, at least here in the Dallas burbs, don't do that kind of thing. Families with kids have something to do almost every day and night, and people don't like to commit to anything.

I used to have a house with a great yard near where our company softball team played. Every week, it was softball, then to my house. I'd grill hot dogs (baseball food) and people brought snacks and beer. Some weeks, I'd have 40 to 50 people show up.

BTW, they always helped clean up after the gathering. Good guests do that.

Now, I have a hard time getting a handful of people to come over for a cookout. They will go out to a restaurant, where we all pay our own tab, but seem to feel "obligated" to do something in return if you cook them good meal. That, and coming over to dinner is an obligation. Meeting a bunch of people at a restaurant is easy to "bail out" on if something better comes up, or you change your mind, for some reason.

CD

 

[roadfix]

I've even put family members on the spot, especially during the Holidays. A 'never host' family member will ask who's hosting Thanksgiving dinner next month and I would be blunt and say how about you guys doing it for a change.

 

[Kaneohegirlinaz]

My first chime-in here Dragn

What is gourmet for us?

I really like Lobster Tails, though they are spendy, I watch for them on sale for $4.99USD per previously frozen tail.

As to Mussels Dragn, I like to buy New Zealand Green Lip Mussels for DH.
They're HUGE!!
I can get them in the Asian markets down south from here.
I get a coupla 3-4 boxes frozen, 2 pounds each;
divvy them in half and usually make them with Marinara over pasta for him --- very happy 10 year old, whiny little picky eater, I mean very happy husband
I think I pay about $8 now for that box and I hide them in the deep freeze outside, so he isn't asking from them every Sunday

A pound of pasta is about $1.25/pound now, so a gourmet seafood supper for us would be, what?

For my Lobster Pasta dish:
$4.99 + $0.16 (for 2oz of pasta) + EVOO, Garlic & a splash of white wine $1.00 = $6.15

For DH's Mussel Pasta dish:
$4.00 + $0.16 + $1.00 (same as above) = $5.16

Oh add in some nice bread from Trader Joe's please, I think that's about $2.99/loaf and we eat half of it at a time... $1.50

Grand total = $12.78, for two, for a nice meal at home.

What do you figure you'd pay in a "fancy" restaurant for this meal?
DH and I play this game all the time: what do you think this would cost us if we ate at XYZ Cafe?
At least twice as much, because they've gotta make a buck too, let's be honest. The profit margin is usually 100%, am I right?
Now, I don't fault restaurants for that, that's business.

Oh, at my "restaurant", it's come as you are and BYOB

<edit: DH's total was as Mussel Aglio e olio as was mine, rather than Marinara, sorry--- Marinara would be even less expensive >

 

[blissful]

You can scrape mussels from seaside rocks just about anywhere.

2003-me and the kids, 20, 17, 14, flew to alaska, camping in kenai, fog and mist, fishing licenses, we picked up mussels on the shore where we camped, lots of them. Then when we got to the house we stayed at, we cooked them up with lots of other goodies available in alaska (seafood) that isn't available here in wisconsin. Twas, a great experience. For the kids, it was a once in a lifetime experience.

 

[Cooking Goddess]

Sounds like a wonderful experience for the troops, bliss.

...my friends and family tend to just want to come to my place...

And that's why I'm always dithering about having my dearly loved SIL and her hubby over here whenever a "holiday" comes around. After a while it just gets old being the one who shops/spends/cleans/sets table/preps foods/cleans up from dinner while SIL breezes in with her contribution of pie or some other dessert. When we got together on Easter I pointedly said "it looks like if I don't invite you guys over to eat we never get together anymore".

Now taking bets on how long I can hold out before caving in and asking them if they want to come over for Mothers' Day. I swear if she invites us I'll keel over dead and you guys will never know she did. Well, if I stop showing up around then, I guess you can just assume...

 

[buckytom]

2003-me and the kids, 20, 17, 14, flew to alaska, camping in kenai, fog and mist, fishing licenses, we picked up mussels on the shore where we camped, lots of them. Then when we got to the house we stayed at, we cooked them up with lots of other goodies available in alaska (seafood) that isn't available here in wisconsin. Twas, a great experience. For the kids, it was a once in a lifetime experience.

Mussels are so abundant everywhere I fish (saltwater, of course, although I've seen but never eaten freshwater mussels and snails) and they're the cheapest seafood available in stores, and they're so easy to cook that I wouldn't consider them gourmet by any stretch. I still eat them frequently, though.

I've done survival training where we were given a knife, blanket, flint, water filter and a pound of ground beef and were sent into the woods down the Jersey shore years ago. We were supposed to build a shelter, make fire, acquire water, and survive for 5 days. I ate the meat the first 2 days, then lived off of mussels and clams for the next 3. Gourmet survival, I guess.

 

[dragnlaw]

Think I put mussels into the Gourmet department because not many of my friends will cook them. They just don't know how or are afraid to end up with chewy little bits of rubber. To them they are something you have when you go out. Mind you, more and more of them are becoming braver.

All this winter the mussels at the grocers have been really small, so I drove the extra distance and paid the extra dollar to get some from a proper fish monger.

I don't often see Green Lip in the stores. Plus I also - don't really know how to cook them from frozen. Are they in their shells? Do you defrost first? Are they already cooked?

LOL - I have a bag of squid in my freezer - been there since Hector was a puppy - just don't know what to do with them or how to deal with them! Defrost, stew, fry??? Probably won't matter, by this time they'll be nothing but freezer burn. .. been afraid to look.

 

[buckytom]

dragn, mince 3 or 4 cloves of garlic and a dice a half an onion very small, toast in some olive oil in a deep saute pan, add a jar of your favorite tomato sauce, add a pinch of red pepper flakes and basil, and simmer uncovered stirring frequently until it gets very thick.

Add your frozen squid and cook for just 4 or 5 minutes, maybe less until the squid are just cooked through.

Viola', calamari marinara.

Actually, we often used frozen squid along with small mussels, shrimp, and bay scallops to make Fruitti di Mare. About a pound of each served with linguini is a super easy dish to make that'll serve a lot of people.

 

[dragnlaw]

OK! Thanks bucky. I'm noting that all down. My next problem will be timing it for when you and yours arrive.

I only know one other couple that would enjoy it for sure. I'll package up the leftovers for them to take and keep one serving for myself. This is always my biggest problem whittling a recipe down for one.

 

[tenspeed]

You cook calamari until it is just done or for 45 minutes. In between it's rubbery. Here's Chef John's recipe:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSsRx72M9BA&t=210s

I haven't made this recipe yet, but it's on my list of things to try.

 

[Kayelle]

Love the exotic look there!!

 

[dragnlaw]

I had seen those videos tenspeed, thanks for pulling them up for me again. The stuffed squid has always caught my eye too. Just can't get over the fear of rubbery bands.

Took me awhile to see Lydia B's video with doing the mussels in a large saute/frying pan. No more over cooked mussels from the bottom of the pot! or trying to stir into the depths of the pot.

I agree Kayelle, exotic - certainly not in your everyday weeknight supper list . Well, except maybe if you lived around the Mediterranean!

Every time I see or think of squid I'm reminded of the Two Greedy Italians, when Gennaro pulls a squid from his bathing suit and gives to Antonio to cook... too funny!

 

[caseydog]

I had seen those videos tenspeed, thanks for pulling them up for me again. The stuffed squid has always caught my eye too. Just can't get over the fear of rubbery bands.

Took me awhile to see Lydia B's video with doing the mussels in a large saute/frying pan. No more over cooked mussels from the bottom of the pot! or trying to stir into the depths of the pot.

I agree Kayelle, exotic - certainly not in your everyday weeknight supper list . Well, except maybe if you lived around the Mediterranean!

Every time I see or think of squid I'm reminded of the Two Greedy Italians, when Gennaro pulls a squid from his bathing suit and gives to Antonio to cook... too funny!

I loved that series of shows. And, yes, I remember the episode you described, but I believe it was a small octopus -- not sure. I wouldn't want either one in my pants... and why do old European men wear Speedos?

CD

 

[tenspeed]

I loved that series of shows. And, yes, I remember the episode you described, but I believe it was a small octopus -- not sure. I wouldn't want either one in my pants... and why do old European men wear Speedos?

CD

Old French Canadian men wear them as well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPKvJDJVQ5I

 

[dragnlaw]

Old French Canadian men wear them as well.

I was just about to say that! but got distracted.... Too funny!!

 

[Kaneohegirlinaz]

I just asked DH, what is it that I make that you feel would be gourmet?

He said:
"Folks here on the mainland would probably think that the Poke and Sushi as well as some of the Chinese and Japanese dishes that you make would be something they might think of as gourmet".

Hmmm ...

To me, I USE TO make, Cream of Asparagus Soup, Pate, Escargot ... and then I got married
Gee, now I need to go looking for those recipes

My Dad and I would trade off on Sundays, making a real fancy meal for the fam... small casserole dishes filled with Scallops in a Mornay Sauce, Baked Oysters (I forget now in what but ... ). Dad found these Time/Life Magazine recipe books from different Countries and we'd cook something real cool. I loved that. He knew how much I loved to cook way back, when I was a kid and would encourage me.

... but I do drone on ...

 

[dragnlaw]

Keep droning Kgirl, keep droning!

Between the suppers posted for tonight and this, e-gads... I'm in a bad state... I'm scribbling all this down!

 

[Kaneohegirlinaz]

I'm with ya Dragn!
I went hunting for my recipes for Pate and that soup,
FOUND IT!
AND, I learnt that WWW thingy, that I can freeze Pate, YAY!!
(I know already that DH WILL NOT eat that )
Oh man! A huge slice of Pate on some fresh bread, a little dijon, a glass or three of nice wine ... HEAVEN!!
But by no stretch of my imagination would I call that BUDGET
I'll save my pennies ... HEH! wait a minute, I still have the proceeds from my Bake Sale items ... BINGO!!