Food and Recipes while under Coronavirus quarantine #8

[snooptroop88]

Tonight we went to Noble Roots in Pooler GA. The food was excellent. The liquor lockers were really neat.

Robert had She Crab Soup, snapper and fries. The round slices of potatoes were fried. I’ve never seen them done that way.

Kristine had the 8 oz filet, garlic mashed potatoes and Cesar salad. She said the steak was very tender and the croutons must be homemade because they were very good.

I had the Cuban Sandwich on Naan Bread with house made chips. It was excellent. I couldn’t eat it all.

I head back to FL tomorrow. It’s been such a nice break from the blazing soul sucking heat. Of course chilling with Bri the wild Frenchie has been fun.

Wine Bar | Noble Roots | Pooler

Take your dining experience to the next level. At Noble Roots everything is done with a unique twist. We want you to relax and enjoy your food and wine, as well as your company. Come as you are and never forget your roots!

www.nobleroots.net

A Cuban on naan, what a great idea, honestly.

I wonder if you could work a Cuban on a pita. I would think so?

Gonna try that, lol. But that "gonna try" list is pretty long, I've still got tamales on there, I still have mole on there. I still have bao buns on there. Steak Diane.

 

[iamshadow21]

I bought a box of Great Value Pumpkin Spice Quick Bread and Muffin mix at Walmart earlier this week. I haven't used it yet and was wondering if any of you have used it or a similar mix. It calls for combining the mix with 2/3 C water, 2 eggs, and 1/2 C vegetable oil. The mix contains "dried pumpkin flakes," but I'm considering adding some canned pumpkin and maybe raisins, and either chopped walnuts or pecans.

Thoughts? It's been ages since I baked something like this and I'm hoping it will be good with some non-pumpkin spice coffee!

Whenever you add a wet rather than a dry ingredient, you're changing the chemistry, so you have to account for that.

Adding things like raisins or nuts should be fine, I do that regularly with recipes. Depending on your recipe, you might want to coat the additions in your flour before you mix them in, this can help stop them sinking in a lighter cake.

If you ever want to make a pumpkin bread from scratch, I absolutely love and have had complete success with this recipe for years. It converts perfectly to gluten free if you or anyone you know needs that, and I've made it with butter at times, olive oil others, both worked great, so it's good without dairy if needed as well. https://smittenkitchen.com/2016/10/pumpkin-bread/

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

Tonight we went to Noble Roots in Pooler GA. The food was excellent. The liquor lockers were really neat.

Robert had She Crab Soup, snapper and fries. The round slices of potatoes were fried. I’ve never seen them done that way.

Kristine had the 8 oz filet, garlic mashed potatoes and Cesar salad. She said the steak was very tender and the croutons must be homemade because they were very good.

I had the Cuban Sandwich on Naan Bread with house made chips. It was excellent. I couldn’t eat it all.

I head back to FL tomorrow. It’s been such a nice break from the blazing soul sucking heat. Of course chilling with Bri the wild Frenchie has been fun.

Wine Bar | Noble Roots | Pooler

Take your dining experience to the next level. At Noble Roots everything is done with a unique twist. We want you to relax and enjoy your food and wine, as well as your company. Come as you are and never forget your roots!

www.nobleroots.net

You certainly had a gastronomic vacation experience Loved your food photos and restaurant links. Safe travels home.

 

[anneg]

Whenever you add a wet rather than a dry ingredient, you're changing the chemistry, so you have to account for that.

Adding things like raisins or nuts should be fine, I do that regularly with recipes. Depending on your recipe, you might want to coat the additions in your flour before you mix them in, this can help stop them sinking in a lighter cake.

If you ever want to make a pumpkin bread from scratch, I absolutely love and have had complete success with this recipe for years. It converts perfectly to gluten free if you or anyone you know needs that, and I've made it with butter at times, olive oil others, both worked great, so it's good without dairy if needed as well. https://smittenkitchen.com/2016/10/pumpkin-bread/

Thanks for your helpful comments! I'm waiting for the weather to turn cooler before baking, but I'll let you all know how the pumpkin spice bread--or muffins--turn out.

 

[IceIce9]

Today is National TV Dinner Day.

This brings up find memories for me, because when my brothers and I were growing up TV Dinners were a rare treat.

Our mom always cooked from scratch, and always served nutritious meals. But on the rare occasions that we had a babysitter we were allowed to choose a TV Dinner.

In our freezer she kept several varieties of Swanson and Banquet dinners. We would “shop” to choose one and we always thought it was so much fun.

I really liked the Mexican varieties, probably because our mom didn’t cook Mexican food, and I had never been to a Mexican restaurant. So the Mexican dinners were really special to me.

My brothers liked the Salisbury steak with butter corn and mashed potatoes, or fried chicken dinners.

It is funny that we thought the fried chicken in the frozen dinners was so good, because our mom made EXCELLENT fried chicken.

Some of the Swanson dinners had a 4th compartment that contained a dessert. A tiny square of brownie, and cherry cobbler are two that I remember.

NATIONAL TV DINNER DAY | September 10

NATIONAL TV DINNER DAY National TV Dinner Day is observed annually on September 10th. In 1953, C.A. Swanson & Sons changed the prepackaged meal business

www.nationaldaycalendar.com

 

[snooptroop88]

Today is National TV Dinner Day.

This brings up find memories for me, because when my brothers and I were growing up TV Dinners were a rare treat.

Our mom always cooked from scratch, and always served nutritious meals. But on the rare occasions that we had a babysitter we were allowed to choose a TV Dinner.

In our freezer she kept several varieties of Swanson and Banquet dinners. We would “shop” to choose one and we always thought it was so much fun.

I really liked the Mexican varieties, probably because our mom didn’t cook Mexican food, and I had never been to a Mexican restaurant. So the Mexican dinners were really special to me.

My brothers liked the Salisbury steak with butter corn and mashed potatoes, or fried chicken dinners.

It is funny that we thought the fried chicken in the frozen dinners was so good, because our mom made EXCELLENT fried chicken.

Some of the Swanson dinners had a 4th compartment that contained a dessert. A tiny square of brownie, and cherry cobbler are two that I remember.

NATIONAL TV DINNER DAY | September 10

NATIONAL TV DINNER DAY National TV Dinner Day is observed annually on September 10th. In 1953, C.A. Swanson & Sons changed the prepackaged meal business

www.nationaldaycalendar.com

Does anyone remember the meatballs and mashed potatoes Swanson's? The meatballs were kind of along the lines of Swedish meatballs, light gravy. And they had a sliced turkey, too, in gravy, if memory serves me correctly.

And agreed, the Swanson fried chicken was tasty, I still like it. (And I admit it, I still eat Chef Boyardee sometimes. They've got frozen Chef Boyardee now, I want to try them.)

On this note, I finally got my furikake for rolling sushi, LOL

 

[iamshadow21]

It's my birthday in five days, so today, I had a double root canal on my top front teeth. I was fortunate, I was asymptomatic and my dental specialists were amazing, I was twilight sedated, and I have no pain less than twelve hours later.

So, naturally, I'm scouting for recipes for birthday cakes.

I'd been wanting a coffee cake, and then I remembered an amazing recipe book I bought years ago because it's almost totally gluten free, that I have never got around to baking from. And I pulled it off the shelf, and there it was - a coffee and walnut cake with marscapone icing. Perfect.

I've got to buy marscapone and muscavado sugar, but when I do, I'll be making it, and I'll let you all know how it goes.

Oh, the book is Red Velvet and Chocolate Heartache.

 

[PayrollNerd]

Today is National TV Dinner Day.

This brings up find memories for me, because when my brothers and I were growing up TV Dinners were a rare treat.

Our mom always cooked from scratch, and always served nutritious meals. But on the rare occasions that we had a babysitter we were allowed to choose a TV Dinner.

In our freezer she kept several varieties of Swanson and Banquet dinners. We would “shop” to choose one and we always thought it was so much fun.

I really liked the Mexican varieties, probably because our mom didn’t cook Mexican food, and I had never been to a Mexican restaurant. So the Mexican dinners were really special to me.

My brothers liked the Salisbury steak with butter corn and mashed potatoes, or fried chicken dinners.

It is funny that we thought the fried chicken in the frozen dinners was so good, because our mom made EXCELLENT fried chicken.

Some of the Swanson dinners had a 4th compartment that contained a dessert. A tiny square of brownie, and cherry cobbler are two that I remember.

NATIONAL TV DINNER DAY | September 10

NATIONAL TV DINNER DAY National TV Dinner Day is observed annually on September 10th. In 1953, C.A. Swanson & Sons changed the prepackaged meal business

www.nationaldaycalendar.com

My girls thought Kid Cuisine frozen meals were the bomb. I also cooked everything from scratch. So they were a big deal. But when I needed to drop them off with a sitter, we always stopped at the store first. We would get one for the other child too.

 

[slowpoke]

Today is National TV Dinner Day.

This brings up find memories for me, because when my brothers and I were growing up TV Dinners were a rare treat.

Our mom always cooked from scratch, and always served nutritious meals. But on the rare occasions that we had a babysitter we were allowed to choose a TV Dinner.

In our freezer she kept several varieties of Swanson and Banquet dinners. We would “shop” to choose one and we always thought it was so much fun.

I really liked the Mexican varieties, probably because our mom didn’t cook Mexican food, and I had never been to a Mexican restaurant. So the Mexican dinners were really special to me.

My brothers liked the Salisbury steak with butter corn and mashed potatoes, or fried chicken dinners.

It is funny that we thought the fried chicken in the frozen dinners was so good, because our mom made EXCELLENT fried chicken.

Some of the Swanson dinners had a 4th compartment that contained a dessert. A tiny square of brownie, and cherry cobbler are two that I remember.

NATIONAL TV DINNER DAY | September 10

NATIONAL TV DINNER DAY National TV Dinner Day is observed annually on September 10th. In 1953, C.A. Swanson & Sons changed the prepackaged meal business

www.nationaldaycalendar.com

I remember the frozen dinners came in aluminum foil trays. Yes, it was a “treat” to eat them, even though I thought the taste was subpar, lol. A fun novelty. Good memories!

Are there any frozen dinners that are tasty and worth trying today? I remember about 20+ years ago, Stouffer’s (I think) used to offer a Lemongrass Chicken that I thought was surprisingly good. Pretty sure it’s no more.

I still will buy pot pies once in a great while, and maybe macaroni and cheese, and lasagna. But I’m not sure of what brand names I’d get since it’s so infrequent.

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

I remember the frozen dinners came in aluminum foil trays. Yes, it was a “treat” to eat them, even though I thought the taste was subpar, lol. A fun novelty. Good memories!

Are there any frozen dinners that are tasty and worth trying today? I remember about 20+ years ago, Stouffer’s (I think) used to offer a Lemongrass Chicken that I thought was surprisingly good. Pretty sure it’s no more.

I still will buy pot pies once in a great while, and maybe macaroni and cheese, and lasagna. But I’m not sure of what brand names I’d get since it’s so infrequent.

I used to keep an assortment of Lean Cuisine frozen meals on hand but haven't had them for years due to lactose intolerance. I know that the Lean Cuisine line expanded with high protein varieties and ethnic offerings, but I never tried any of those.

 

[IceIce9]

I remember the frozen dinners came in aluminum foil trays. Yes, it was a “treat” to eat them, even though I thought the taste was subpar, lol. A fun novelty. Good memories!

Are there any frozen dinners that are tasty and worth trying today? I remember about 20+ years ago, Stouffer’s (I think) used to offer a Lemongrass Chicken that I thought was surprisingly good. Pretty sure it’s no more.

I still will buy pot pies once in a great while, and maybe macaroni and cheese, and lasagna. But I’m not sure of what brand names I’d get since it’s so infrequent.

Right, aluminum foil trays and had to be baked in the oven.

I liked pot pies too, and I think Amy’s and Blake’s aren’t too unhealthy. Fine for an occasional treat.

I make a home made vegetable pot pie, a recipe from Food Network that my family has enjoyed for quite a few years.

Vegetarian Pot Pie

Get Vegetarian Pot Pie Recipe from Food Network

www.foodnetwork.com

 

[Puzzles8]

Today is National TV Dinner Day.

This brings up find memories for me, because when my brothers and I were growing up TV Dinners were a rare treat.

Our mom always cooked from scratch, and always served nutritious meals. But on the rare occasions that we had a babysitter we were allowed to choose a TV Dinner.

In our freezer she kept several varieties of Swanson and Banquet dinners. We would “shop” to choose one and we always thought it was so much fun.

I really liked the Mexican varieties, probably because our mom didn’t cook Mexican food, and I had never been to a Mexican restaurant. So the Mexican dinners were really special to me.

My brothers liked the Salisbury steak with butter corn and mashed potatoes, or fried chicken dinners.

It is funny that we thought the fried chicken in the frozen dinners was so good, because our mom made EXCELLENT fried chicken.

Some of the Swanson dinners had a 4th compartment that contained a dessert. A tiny square of brownie, and cherry cobbler are two that I remember.

NATIONAL TV DINNER DAY | September 10

NATIONAL TV DINNER DAY National TV Dinner Day is observed annually on September 10th. In 1953, C.A. Swanson & Sons changed the prepackaged meal business

www.nationaldaycalendar.com

You and I had identical childhoods! TV dinners were a rare treat and meant a babysitter. My mom never cooked Mexican either and I never had Mexican food until I was an adult!

 

[IceIce9]

You and I had identical childhoods! TV dinners were a rare treat and meant a babysitter. My mom never cooked Mexican either and I never had Mexican food until I was an adult!

Other than tv dinners, the first Mexican food I ever had was at a Chi-Chi’s in Dayton Ohio when I was probably 19. And yes, I realize that Chi-Chi’s was Tex-Mex and not truly authentic Mexican.

After eating at Chi-Chi’s I found some recipes in a library cookbook for enchiladas, burritos, and tacos. But our local grocery stores did not even carry taco shells or tortillas.

The city where I lived for most of my childhood did not have any Mexican restaurants, not that it would have mattered anyway because we never dined at restaurants unless we were on vacation. Our mom cooked every meal at home.

The tv dinner I remember most was a Banquet dinner that featured an enchilada, a tamale, refried beans, and rice.

I recently saw on eBay that people were selling vintage tv dinner boxes from the 60s for over $100 each. Who would have ever thought to save tv dinner boxes?

 

[snooptroop88]

I remember the frozen dinners came in aluminum foil trays. Yes, it was a “treat” to eat them, even though I thought the taste was subpar, lol. A fun novelty. Good memories!

Are there any frozen dinners that are tasty and worth trying today? I remember about 20+ years ago, Stouffer’s (I think) used to offer a Lemongrass Chicken that I thought was surprisingly good. Pretty sure it’s no more.

I still will buy pot pies once in a great while, and maybe macaroni and cheese, and lasagna. But I’m not sure of what brand names I’d get since it’s so infrequent.

Gordon Ramsay actually makes what I'd view as tv dinner type entrees now. Tried the fish n chips, so good, if the other offerings are as good as that, that's better than fast food & worth the price.

Gordon Ramsay with tv dinners! We're so spoiled, lol. A bunch of other chefs, too, had these out, like I had Andrew Zimmern Swedish meatballs (so profoundly good, seriously, but I only managed to get it the one time/lucky I can make Swedish meatballs myself, but I don't make them like "that" often). Guy Fieri, got to try his crab rangoon, super yummy. Cholula makes some frozen, too, frozen entrees, I wish I could try some of those. Tapatio, too. I don't get a lot of the frozen Mexican meals, but I cook a ton of Mexican dishes, so I still get some yummy Mexican food. (LOVE Mexican food, & really need to make tamales.)

Stouffers has really yummy ones, chicken a la king, & a fried chicken patty with mash. Love their Swedish meatballs, the Lean Cuisine Swedish meatballs are also pretty good, but it's a lot thinner on the sauce. Like the Stouffers lasagna, not crazy about the mac n cheese, but I'm not a huge lover of mac n cheese anyway.

I'll eat the lowliest pot pies available, I hardly ever make pot pie, so I usually just get the deals on the frozen and never mind them. I just like them, period, lol, even the cheapest (which is Banquet).

If LaChoy still made the tiny egg rolls (anyone remember these?? they looked like pizza rolls??) I'd probably eat them, too.

 

[slowpoke]

As I’ve mentioned before, I am Japanese by heritage but having grown up in Southern California, Mexican food was familiar and loved by me and my family. It’s funny to think back to my 1st generation little grandma making cocido (beef and vegetable soup) and my dad making chorizo and tamales!

@snooptroop88, not frozen, but my favorite “egg rolls” these days are the Vietnamese ones called Cha Gio. I put it in quotes because the wrapper is actually rice roll wrappers. I’ve only had it from restaurants, so far, never made it at home. You wrap them in a lettuce leaf and dip them in a Vietnamese dipping sauce.
Here’s a picture of it from a local restaurant:

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​

 

[Puzzles8]

Other than tv dinners, the first Mexican food I ever had was at a Chi-Chi’s in Dayton Ohio when I was probably 19. And yes, I realize that Chi-Chi’s was Tex-Mex and not truly authentic Mexican.

After eating at Chi-Chi’s I found some recipes in a library cookbook for enchiladas, burritos, and tacos. But our local grocery stores did not even carry taco shells or tortillas.

The city where I lived for most of my childhood did not have any Mexican restaurants, not that it would have mattered anyway because we never dined at restaurants unless we were on vacation. Our mom cooked every meal at home.

The tv dinner I remember most was a Banquet dinner that featured an enchilada, a tamale, refried beans, and rice.

I recently saw on eBay that people were selling vintage tv dinner boxes from the 60s for over $100 each. Who would have ever thought to save tv dinner boxes?

IMO, the only people that might have saved stuff like that are certified hoarders!!

 

[snooptroop88]

As I’ve mentioned before, I am Japanese by heritage but having grown up in Southern California, Mexican food was familiar and loved by me and my family. It’s funny to think back to my 1st generation little grandma making cocido (beef and vegetable soup) and my dad making chorizo and tamales!

@snooptroop88, not frozen, but my favorite “egg rolls” these days are the Vietnamese ones called Cha Gio. I put it in quotes because the wrapper is actually rice roll wrappers. I’ve only had it from restaurants, so far, never made it at home. You wrap them in a lettuce leaf and dip them in a Vietnamese dipping sauce.
Here’s a picture of it from a local restaurant:

View attachment 613948

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​

I WANT THIS, lol.

Already looking up recipes. The one I have now is noting jicama, I can never get it.

It's even pretty, LOL.

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

A Cuban on naan, what a great idea, honestly.

I wonder if you could work a Cuban on a pita. I would think so?

Gonna try that, lol. But that "gonna try" list is pretty long, I've still got tamales on there, I still have mole on there. I still have bao buns on there. Steak Diane.

I've only had a Cuban sandwich twice and recall both occasions well. Once was at a Cuban restaurant in Los Angeles while we watched a Red Wings game. The other was in San Juan following a cruise and waiting for our flight home. Similarly to corned beef, pastrami, or Rueben sandwiches, it's all about the rye bread. I can't imagine a Cubano on anything other than grilled rye bread.

Speaking of naan, we had naan pizzas last night. Stonefire naan makes a wonderful base for pizzas. We put the naans in the oven for a few minutes before adding the toppings so the bottoms get crispy. Last night, we topped the pizzas with slice tomato, fresh mozzarella, and marinated artichokes. They were delicious! We've made pizzas with English muffins (my dad did this) and bagels. Mini-bagel pizzas are a nice appetizer. When my niece and nephew were little, I used to let them make their own pizzas with a choice of toppings. They still remember that is was so cool when Aunt Bette let them cook

Stonefire Authentic Flatbreads

There’s 2000 years of tradition baked into our genuine, stone-fired flatbreads. You can taste it in every bite of our naan, pizza crusts and flatbreads. Find recipes and more.

www.stonefire.com

 

[snooptroop88]

I've only had a Cuban sandwich twice and recall both occasions well. Once was at a Cuban restaurant in Los Angeles while we watched a Red Wings game. The other was in San Juan following a cruise and waiting for our flight home. Similarly to corned beef, pastrami, or Rueben sandwiches, it's all about the rye bread. I can't imagine a Cubano on anything other than grilled rye bread.

Speaking of naan, we had naan pizzas last night. Stonefire naan makes a wonderful base for pizzas. We put the naans in the oven for a few minutes before adding the toppings so the bottoms get crispy. Last night, we topped the pizzas with slice tomato, fresh mozzarella, and marinated artichokes. They were delicious! We've made pizzas with English muffins (my dad did this) and bagels. Mini-bagel pizzas are a nice appetizer. When my niece and nephew were little, I used to let them make their own pizzas with a choice of toppings. They still remember that is was so cool when Aunt Bette let them cook

Stonefire Authentic Flatbreads

There’s 2000 years of tradition baked into our genuine, stone-fired flatbreads. You can taste it in every bite of our naan, pizza crusts and flatbreads. Find recipes and more.

www.stonefire.com

I've still got pitas to use, MUCH thanks on this because the creative crust discussion reminded me that pitas really make excellent pizza crust. (Saw this on a cooking show.) I can transform some of those pitas into little mini pizzas.

Switching into sushi for a second, the sushi rolling's one of the happiest chapters I've had in making food, I just love it. I could never hope to get sushi "on demand" before, like ever. Now, thanks to a large amount of fake crab in here, I can have it whenever I want, lol. Yes, the knife's terrible. Yes, the cuts are rough (haha, putting it mildly.) But I've started adding toasted sesame seeds in and furikake, this tastes like "real" sushi. I'm going to be trying for sushi grade rice pretty soon, and tempura shrimp. And the sushi with the rice on the OUTSIDE, so far, too wimpy to attempt it. Down the road, I want to get a couple of special sauces I've seen noted for it.

It's unbelievable to me to be able to get sushi at home, seriously. It's such a big deal, lol...

 

[slowpoke]

I've still got pitas to use, MUCH thanks on this because the creative crust discussion reminded me that pitas really make excellent pizza crust. (Saw this on a cooking show.) I can transform some of those pitas into little mini pizzas.

Switching into sushi for a second, the sushi rolling's one of the happiest chapters I've had in making food, I just love it. I could never hope to get sushi "on demand" before, like ever. Now, thanks to a large amount of fake crab in here, I can have it whenever I want, lol. Yes, the knife's terrible. Yes, the cuts are rough (haha, putting it mildly.) But I've started adding toasted sesame seeds in and furikake, this tastes like "real" sushi. I'm going to be trying for sushi grade rice pretty soon, and tempura shrimp. And the sushi with the rice on the OUTSIDE, so far, too wimpy to attempt it. Down the road, I want to get a couple of special sauces I've seen noted for it.

It's unbelievable to me to be able to get sushi at home, seriously. It's such a big deal, lol...

I’m happy to hear you have been successful with your sushi-making. Yay!
Coincidentally, I was thinking of making what we call “roll your own” spicy tuna temaki (hand rolls) this evening.

We were fortunate to receive some bluefin tuna from a friend who just caught it. But, I may just eat it just as sashimi slices with steamed rice instead, since I’m feeling lazy and it’s now dinner time.