Dinner time

soflagator

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Looks good. I love chunky applesauce but this is a dinner thread.

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cover2

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Quick meal at the lake last evening. Catfish strips, Cole slaw, and sweet potato fries…

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cover2

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Find any bones in said catfish strips?
Nope. They started as filets and I always give them the once over to trim any skin and check for a stray bone that might’ve gotten overlooked. Mealed them with Zatarains. Very crispy.

Tonight’s meal was a little more upscale. Green beans, asparagus, baked potato, garlic cheese bread, mushrooms, and medium rare NY Strips…

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I guess the dinner drink wasn’t upscale, but it all turned out well. My son came for supper and as he’s now engaged to be married next March, his mama wants to treat him special as long as she can.
 

GR8 2B

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Nope. They started as filets and I always give them the once over to trim any skin and check for a stray bone that might’ve gotten overlooked. Mealed them with Zatarains. Very crispy.

Tonight’s meal was a little more upscale. Green beans, asparagus, baked potato, garlic cheese bread, mushrooms, and medium rare NY Strips…

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I guess the dinner drink wasn’t upscale, but it all turned out well. My son came for supper and as he’s now engaged to be married next March, his mama wants to treat him special as long as she can.
Congratulations, cover, on your new soon-to-be daughter-in-law!
 

soflagator

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Took my FIL out to dinner to celebrate his retirement tonight. Normally that’s a strict no in my house on a Sunday, but they have squid-ink pasta, plus the name carries some weight, so I conceded. My first time eating here. Their take on a whiskey sour to start.
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CDGator

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We had a bumper crop of black beans last summer so I made beans and rice. Grilled some spicy chicken and pan fried ham and andouille sausage. Topped it with salsa and grape tomatoes.

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cover2

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Tried our hands at Flautas this evening…

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Turned out well, could’ve been a tad crisper, but flavors were good. Filling was ground pork, sautéed onions and garlic, chicken stock, flour and water to help thicken, Monterey Jack, S&P. Oiled, stuffed, and rolled, then into the oven. Topped with lettuce, homemade pico, crema, and a squeeze of fresh lime. We enjoy SW, Tex/Mex, etc. and we’ve been trying to learn to prepare it. This recipe is a keeper.
 

NVGator

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Looks good. The only critique I’d give is you always want to add the pasta into the sauce, stir and let it finish in there for a minute or so. It sounds minor but it does make a noticeable difference in taste. Some will put a ladle of the pasta water in as well.
I like your critique. My only question, how do you measure pasta to sauce? I had 2.5-4.0 sauce to a pound of noodles. In addition we freeze leftovers. Can you freeze w/ noodles?
 

soflagator

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I like your critique. My only question, how do you measure pasta to sauce? I had 2.5-4.0 sauce to a pound of noodles. In addition we freeze leftovers. Can you freeze w/ noodles?

I'm sure there is a very specific rule to go off of here, but I don't know it. I've always just eyeballed. It makes it easy that my oldest eats pasta with just olive oil every night for dinner. So I always cook a whole bag of linguine at a time and can just keep adding it until I have the right amount in the sauce, knowing he'll eat the rest that night or the next. But I'd say just take out whatever amount of sauce you anticipate freezing and just keep the amount in the pan that you want to use that night. I wouldn't freeze the pasta itself. My mother always made extra sauce and froze some for quick use, so she'd only have to boil the spaghetti. I just make it every week(pretty much) for that night.
 

Gator By Marriage

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Looks good. The only critique I’d give is you always want to add the pasta into the sauce, stir and let it finish in there for a minute or so. It sounds minor but it does make a noticeable difference in taste. Some will put a ladle of the pasta water in as well.
Not sure I agree with the first point, but totally agree with the second. I always ladle out a cup of pasta water before dumping the pasta into colander and add it back as needed. I've also learned that more salt (and I'm not a big salt guy) is better in the water. I know some restaurant guys who put quite a bit of salt in their water when bringing it to a boil and swear by the technique. I also think using kosher salt makes a difference.
 

NVGator

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Not sure I agree with the first point, but totally agree with the second. I always ladle out a cup of pasta water before dumping the pasta into colander and add it back as needed. I've also learned that more salt (and I'm not a big salt guy) is better in the water. I know some restaurant guys who put quite a bit of salt in their water when bringing it to a boil and swear by the technique. I also think using kosher salt makes a difference.

Now we are talking technique and facts. Adding salt at boil raises the water temperature. Therefore shooting the boil time in no direction other than sideways. I like the mixture of noodles and sauce.
 

Gator By Marriage

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Now we are talking technique and facts. Adding salt at boil raises the water temperature. Therefore shooting the boil time in no direction other than sideways. I like the mixture of noodles and sauce.
Not sure what you mean by "sideways." You are correct of course about the effect of salt on water, but the advantage is the water either stays boiling or returns to a boil quicker after the addition of the pasta.
The problem with the mixing of the noodles with sauce comes when you are cooking for more than one or two. In my own family, everyone seems to like a different proportion of sauce to pasta. Having said that, we do make several dishes, most regularly Spaghetti Carbonara and Penne ala Vodka, where all the sauce and pasta are mixed together prior to dishing out.
 

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