I am making “chicken under brick” and a ciambotta. The ciambotta usually contains potatoes, but I have one diner who is on a diet that excludes potatoes. When Eilene heard that there was going to be no potatoes in the meal she said, “No Potatoes!!” To try and please everyone, I decided to make a separate potato dish.
Karl’s Roasted Italian Potatoes
Filed under Potatoes, Side Dishes, Starches, Vegan, Vegetarian
It is Tuesday and Eilene’s friends are coming over. Today’s theme is pumpkin. My original thought was to make pumpkin soup, but one of the friends is going to make that. I remembered my mother’s pumpkin bread and Eilene liked that idea.
Karl’s Pumpkin Bread
Filed under bread, Side Dishes, Vegetarian
Before I left home for the first time, I sat down with the recipe box of my mother, Claudia, and wrote down my favorite dishes. This is the original recipe. I, of course, had to make a few changes when I made it.
Claudia’s Pumpkin Bread
Filed under bread, Side Dishes
My potato plant died this week, so I harvested the potatoes. This was actually a sport from the year before, but if it really wanted to grow who am I not to water it? I ended up with five small potatoes. These were not enough to make a dish by themselves, so I would have to add them to something.
Karl’s Minestrone with Mini Italian Meatballs
Filed under Chicken, Main Dishes, Pork, Poultry, Soups, Stews, Vegetables
Miriam was working in Rome this week and she was coming back through Chicago. Needless to say, it took her two days to get back and she is exhausted. As a result, the kids are not coming over this Sunday for dinner. Instead of my usual feast, I will be making a gumbo, a Louisiana signature dish.
Karl’s Filé Gumbo
(Andouille, Chicken & Shrimp)
I was shopping at Lucky supermarket and I noticed that they had whole salmon for $3 a pound. It may have been a weekday, but I could not pass that up. Personally I prefer to barbecue salmon, but it is a weekday and with all of the fires in California it has been constant “spare the air” days.
Karl’s Baked Salmon with Lemon and Thyme
Filed under Fish, Main Dishes, Seafood
I wanted a vegetable/starch side dish to go with my baked salmon. Lately, I have been making dishes with noodles in white sauce for Jan and Eilene. Today, I decided to make it a green sauce.
Karl’s Noodles Florentine
Filed under Casserole, Pasta, Side Dishes, Vegetables, Vegetarian
My girls have been feeling run down lately and they requested dong quai chicken soup. Dong quai is also called women’s gensing, because it is supposed to do for a woman what gensing is supposed to do for a man. It would not harm a man to eat this soup, but if you are a man—or a woman who does not need it—it simply smells really bad. If you are a woman in need of feminine (yin) balancing it—apparently—smells wonderful.
Karl’s Medicinal Dong Quai Chicken Soup
Filed under Chicken, Chinese, Clay Pots, Main Dishes
I have a problem with casseroles. In the forty years that Jan and I have been together, I have made maybe three tuna casseroles. Last month, bowing to pressure from both Jan and Eilene, I made a seafood casserole. They both really liked this dish. They both had seconds and barely left enough for two more servings as their lunches.
Karl’s It’s Still Not a Tuna Casserole!
Filed under Fish, Main Dishes, Seafood, Shrimp, Vegetables
Dong quai steamed chicken is one of those dishes that I had in Chengdu and reconstructed from the memory of the taste. You steam the chicken for hours until the meat is falling off the bones. I remember that it had ginger and Chinese broad beans and was finished off with pea top. Pea tops are the tender leaves at the ends of the pea plant.
Karl’s Chinese Steamed Ginger Chicken
karllueck
Miriam
Jabberwocky Stew 