Thanks, we are still learning and I give my wife all the credit on our results. That said we look forward to eventually throwing pizza parties once the vaccination rate in our community gets high enough.

Romaine salad with dried cranberries, slivered almonds & dried jalapenos
Grilled chicken thighs over orzo
Goat cheese and basil sauce
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Swiss bistro restaurant:
cheese fondue
chicken schnitzel with spaetzle and vegetables
chocolate fondue

doppelbeck stout beer (500ml) draft - I finished “most” of it.

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Looks nice...is indoor dining allowed now?

grazie
we sat outdoors (masked when not eating) but indoor dining is allowed. Once my vax kicks in, I’m ready for indoor dining with vaccinated friends who are comfy with indoor dining. Our current reservations this week are outdoor dining.

ahh...looked like indoors so I was wondering if they allowed it with reduced capacity.

indoors is definitely allowed. I’ll be ready by May - technically I should be ready by 4/15 but I’ll wait til May.

with my severe restaurant reduction, I’m aware that I better appreciate restaurants when I reduce the patronage. Plus by going less, I’m better able to leave 25-30% tips. I really am excited for cheaper eats - taquerias, pho, ramen.

Corky, everything you make looks great. Restaurant-quality. Can I come over for dinner one of these days? I'll bring good wine!

Thank you---what a nice thing to say!!
I love feeding appreciative people ....you and your good wine are absolutely welcome. :tu: :cool:

I feel like a dinner party DO is in order at some point in the future. Too much talent and appreciation of good food here!

Hamachi bento from Kirala take out tonight, with Cupcakin Bake Shop cupcakes.

Wow. Mr CE got his 2nd vaccine at the University of Chicago this evening, and since we rarely are in Hyde Park we decided to check out Virtue for dinner. Amazing.

We had to start:
hoe cakes: pimento cheese, scallion
snap peas: butter lettuce, crunchy grains, harissa (they gave me sherry vinaigrette since I have a bell pepper sensitivity)
asparagus: midnight moon cheese, fried ham, caesar dressing

And for our mains:
salmon: Sweet peas, white beans, honey mustard
catfish: blackened, carolina gold rice, barbeque carrots

...with a side of cornbread and honey butter.

Desserts looked amazing but we were stuffed, so we'll save room for next time. Chicagoans, get to Hyde Park and check it out!

Sounds amazing! Next time take photos. Was the asparagus served room temp like a salad?

Tarpy’s roadhouse, monterey ca
pretzel
artichoke with chimichurri
spicy tuna tacos
pasta with cheese
chili-encrusted chicken with gruyere-scalloped potatoes & green beans

mango sorbet
ice cream cake

Tropical punch
Firestone union jack, Paso Robles draft beer


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A little warmer than room temperature but not hot.

Poke for dinner while we’re in the city. Ready for our Hawaii trip next week to get some poke closer to the source!

Edgar’s at Quail Lodge, carmel bread appetizer with butter & applesauce (“apple butter”), fried chicken with mash and Mac & cheese, duck with mash and sunchokes, cheeseburger & fries, chocolate ice cream, cheesecake, pot de creme (chocolate), alvarado brewing Mai Tai ipa, Shirley temple

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It has to be good.
It inspires me! :tu:

Trader Joe’s Carne Asada. Broccoli slaw with green onions, cucumbers, radishes, and TJs vegan Green Goddess dressing.

Spaghetti with pecorino
Ks beef meatballs
spaghetti with Rao’s marinara
spaghetti with Rao’s marinara and meatballs
Raw vegetable tray
mixed green salad

blood oranges
Girl Scout cookies

After all of the discussion about TJ's enchiladas, I decided to make them from scratch today (although I was feeling lazy, so I did a casserole style). Chicken, corn, green chilis and black beans with a red sauce and three cheeses (cheddar, jack and queso fresco).

I made a garbage salad of all the stuff in the fridge I needed to use:

• Crisp baby greens
• baby cut carrots
• leftover horiatiki salad I'd made (tomato, cucumber, red onion, feta)
• some grated parmesan, just because
• a sliced hard boiled egg
• half a chicken sausage
• balsamic

It was pretty good.

One of the best kind of salads!

Enchilada casserole was delicious...Mr. CE described it as one of his favorite comfort foods. And so easy.

In that case, I think we need a recipe.

The problem is, I wing it every time. Today's:

1 rotisserie chicken
2(?) cups frozen corn
1 can (4 oz) green chilis
1 can (14 oz) black beans
1 can (28 oz) red enchilada sauce
corn tortillas
grated Mexican cheese blend (jack and cheddar)
queso fresco

1. Chop chicken and mix with corn, beans and chilis
2. Spread enchilada sauce on the bottom of a 9x12 pan.
3. Add a layer of corn tortillas, cutting them into small pieces if necessary to fill in the gaps.
4. Spread on more enchilada sauce.
5. Add a layer of chicken mix, top with grated queso fresco and enchilada sauce. Maybe some grated cheddar/jack, too.
6. Repeat 3-5.
7. Top with tortillas, enchilada sauce and grated cheddar/jack.
8. Cover with foil, bake at 375 for for 25 minutes.
9. Remove foil and bake another 10-15 minutes until cheese is melted and brown.

Options:
1. Replace chicken with other protein.
2. Replace or supplement veggies with chopped onion (sauteed), different beans, chopped tomatoes, sauteed zucchini, etc.
3. Green enchilada sauce can also replace red sauce.
4. Top with whatever you like -- cilantro, beans, sour cream, etc.

Gracias!

Ugh, I haven't cooked for weeks. I've been too stressed and depressed from work, so I've just been either eating out, carrying in, or munching on watermelon or peanuts or whatever and calling it a meal.

I've really been needing to eat better lately, so tonight I got a couple of cartons of grape tomatoes, mixed them up with olive oil, garlic, and pepper, heated them up in the oven for a while, and then after about 15 minutes mixed in more oil and a bag of chopped kale. Baked that for about 15 minutes more and then mixed it up with some whole wheat rotini and parmesan cheese.

It was an experiment, but I think it came out very well. The tomatoes are flavorful and tender, while the kale is a bit crispy but not too dry. I'll definitely make it again but will use more tomatoes and a bit more oil so I cover the kale and pasta more thoroughly.

First indoor restaurant meal in over a year. Last outdoor restaurant meal was in September.
Happy hour/dinner with a couple of margaritas
Bar food that doubled as dinner: garlic fries, calamari, artichoke dip, edamame, sliders (also with fries), lots of hot bread & butter, It's a good thing that I walked there (1 1/4 miles) as it was a gut bomb.

post kid baseball scrimmage/batting practice and before an online school family association meeting:
Calibur cheeseburger, cheese fries, and chocolate milkshake
french toast
Teton polish beef sausage (stove steamed/cooked)
prosciutto & arugula sandwich on sourdough

blood oranges
girl scout cookies

how was it? I’ve eaten inside a food hall (like Anaheim packing station but with high high ceilings) at socially distanced tables. Once my vax kicks in, I’m looking forward to indoor restaurant dining with table service etc

All of us were fully vaxxed. We had a booth which was near the open door to the patio but even if it wasn't it would have been ok. Plexiglass between booths but the nearest people were 2 booths over. It is a Monday and we went early so not at all crowded. The poor servers all were wearing face shields as well as masks. It felt great to be around 3 other people unmasked while we were seated.

Wow, plexiglass. I haven't seen that here at all, but I'm sure there are a few places that have it. I'm glad you got your first indoor dining in!

We had a reminder of how different the rules are from place to place last week, and have a greater appreciation for the adjustment it will take to get back to normal. Although we've been eating indoors off and on for a while now, we were in Wisconsin where masks are encouraged but not mandated. Walked into a place to get a burger for lunch, and no one was wearing masks. Didn't need one to walk in, servers weren't wearing them, and so forth. No different than pre-pandemic. We're mutant :) half-vax right now. It spooked us a little just because it was so different than what we've been used to for the last year. I'm sure it was completely safe as it wasn't crowded, but it made us aware of what we've begun to see as normal. Of course, there are a couple practices I'd love to continue, like strangers staying 6 feet away from me :D.

That said, the burgers were very good!

Last night, beef fajitas. Tonight, chicken (probably grilled) and I'm going to attempt to turn some leftover potatoes into a vinaigrette-style potato salad with bacon.

Around here, a few restaurants have plexiglass dividing booths, and many bars have plexiglass dividing seats at the bar.

It's interesting, IL has been one of the strictest states, although it seems like in the last few months we've left that label behind. I believe all of our neighbor states are still less restrictive however. And I'd guess a few places here have plexiglass, I just haven't heard of or seen it. But I do expect "normal" is a long time off around the Chicago area. My wife and I have discussed how we expect to see people wearing masks in stores and restaurants here for years after the pandemic is over.

Kind of back on the dinner topic, even when restaurants are operating under normal conditions again, I'm pretty convinced we won't be going out to eat as much as we used to. It's been about once per week, usually a Saturday night, over the last few months, and not because we have any concerns. We've stocked up on tools like the sous vide and a new grill, and we're enjoying using them.

wild shrimp tonight. Recipe tbd - it’s frozen Costco wild so I’ll factor 30 minutes to thaw before cooking. Maybe a boil with melted butter ala king crab legs.
Raw veggie tray
mixed green salad 🥗

After I get some indoor meals with friends and/or my spouse, I definitely don’t want to eat at restaurants with my own family in San Francisco and it’s only for money reasons. A king crab leg supper with Costco $60 package of king crab legs plus raw veggie platter, mixed green salad, steak fries, and a quesadilla or grilled cheese or beef sausage will still cost less MONEY than a burger meal at barneys burgers factoring tip and extra Sf restaurant taxes. I will of course have 20 minutes of less cleaning housework plus 20 minutes of food prep, yet it’s not like I’m working and generating salary from 5-9p so it’s truly time and not money by dining at home.

I love the addition of corn and beans. I need to make this soon.

No pictures=no food.

Everyone should plate like corky and post the pictures.

Hahaha...I get a little obnoxious about it...don't encourage me. :p

Agreed. Corky’s dinners are spectacular, restaurant-quality. I joked that I would like to hire her to come and cook for me every day.

I don't take pictures because we have bad lighting in both our kitchen and our dining room. Both on the list of things to fix, but we haven't gotten there yet.

Lol...I don't even think about taking pictures. But my pandemic pounds are proof I do get fed.

Our kitchen has bad lighting too, which I can't figure out since it's a relatively new kitchen (but before we lived here). I have to turn on the hood light as well as all the under-cabinet lights when I cook. Every time you buy a new house, there's something disappointing. For me, this is probably the most annoying thing about ours. I'm not really complaining about it, because if that's the worst thing I can't fix, I'll take it, but I feel your pain.