Cookin again

[Jahydin]

Somewhat agreed.

Gotta find yourself a small, (probably) family-run place.

I sure do. Being from a small California town, I'm spoiled rotten when it comes to great Mexican/Cali-Mex restaurants (and oddly enough, Thai). Everything else not so much though. Our last Italian joint literally just reheated frozen Stouffers (I was friends with the family so was let in on the "secret"). It didn't last long...

Thankfully, work has me travel around the US a lot, so get to try out some great restaurants.

Oh, and to be fair, Rao's brand sets a pretty high bar for everyone I think.

I haven’t done frozen pizza in 40+ years, and rarely hit the major chains anymore, except for dine-in.

My favorite pizza place closed a few years ago- I think the owner either died or moved back to Sicily- but my #2 is just around the corner from me. (Amusingly, it’s owned & operated by an Indian dude. It’s doubly funny because most of the pizza places near me are Romanian or Armenian owned.)

Jealous! We do have one good pizza place that's been here since the 70's, but it's been hit or miss depending on the owners. Just got bought out by some great people though, so hoping for the best. Their claim to fame is the best ranch I've ever had (1/2 cup mayo, sour cream, buttermilk + one packed Hidden Valley Restaurant ranch powder) and a peanut butter, pepperoni pizza that's actually pretty good...

 

[Jahydin]

Just got back from Vegas and ate at the Golden Steer. Probably the best meal I've ever had and highly recommend (make reservations ahead of time though)! As Vegas' first steakhouse, there's a lot of history there; mobsters, Rat Pack, Elvis... really neat.

To make it though COVID, they started selling their seasonings and merch online. They even have a bunch of recipes posted to entice buyers for those that are interested.

One of their most popular plates, Wagyu New York steak + lobster:

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Speaking of best evers…

The Friday before Father’s Day, a friend of ours took us to 1845 Taste Texas (a traditional steakhouse) to celebrate my Dad. It was one of the best steakhouse experiences I’ve had. Their shtick is that they source everything from in-state farms, etc., and it was aces all around. Good food, great service. Looking forward to going back one day.

(No pix in part because our host tried to pass out do to her blood-sugar bottoming out.)

 

[MoonSong]

I think I might have finally nailed the impossible cake/chocoflam. Considering I'm using oats instead of flour and avoided condensed milk... (seriously, it has a ton of sugar, yikes)

I'll know in the morning once it has fully cooled to the desirable temperature.

Also pictured, my nth attempt at banana and oats cake made on a pan.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

HEB just opened a HUGE grocery store near me a couple weeks ago- it’s like the size of a large Sam’s Club. When it opened, we decided to give it a look on our next grocery run.

Really nice deli & cheese section. Big produce section with good looking stuff. And some products that are kinda hard to get easily.

For instance, tonight’s dinner is a store-made chicken pot pie, and a simple side salad of greens & tomatoes. The pot pie is surprisingly good. I know places I can get better ones…but they’re only available 1 day/wk. HEB’s take is a pretty good option, available daily.

Even rarer, they had watercress, a leafy green I haven’t had in at least 30 years. If you haven’t had it, it’s sorta peppery and slightly bitter- not something I want straight, but nice as a note in a broader dish. And it blended in nicely with the tomatoes, romaine and baby spinach in my side salad tonight.

 

[trappedslider]

made taco bowls for my dinner tonight

 

[the Jester]

Currently on the stove is a pot of what you might call almost chili, almost goulash: two cans of stewed tomato, two cans of kidney beans, half a bell pepper, and about 1.5 lbs of ground beef. Seasoned with salt, black pepper, chili powder, paprika, and garlic powder, and I'll finish it with some fresh basil when I serve it.

It's not really chili- purists would be aghast at having tomatoes in it- and it's not really goulash- that would need pasta. It's kind of half way in between. Simple and easy, and quite delicious.

 

[jian]

Currently on the stove is a pot of what you might call almost chili, almost goulash: two cans of stewed tomato, two cans of kidney beans, half a bell pepper, and about 1.5 lbs of ground beef. Seasoned with salt, black pepper, chili powder, paprika, and garlic powder, and I'll finish it with some fresh basil when I serve it.

It's not really chili- purists would be aghast at having tomatoes in it- and it's not really goulash- that would need pasta. It's kind of half way in between. Simple and easy, and quite delicious.

When I make chilli it pretty much always has tomatoes - it’s just tastier that way. The above basically just sounds like a good solid chilli recipe to me.

 

[the Jester]

When I make chilli it pretty much always has tomatoes - it’s just tastier that way. The above basically just sounds like a good solid chilli recipe to me.

I use them too.

My chili has a number of other ingredients - onions, more peppers, a bit of honey, etc. And it's usually much spicier than this will be.