# What's for dinner? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 4, 2018, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-for-dinner/808139 "2018-02-04T00:53:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2018, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-for-dinner/808139/182 "2018-02-21T16:05:54Z")
Salmon loaf, mashed potatoes, and corn. I’m using a slightly different kind of bread crumbs today. It’s crustier. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2018, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-for-dinner/808139/183 "2018-02-21T17:33:37Z")
Sockeye fillet tonight, but I’ve got a pot of beans and ham hocks on the stove for tomorrow. Gotta make some cornbread tomorrow to go with. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2018, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-for-dinner/808139/184 "2018-02-21T17:39:01Z")
> [@Dendarii\_Dame](#): > > Salmon loaf, mashed potatoes, and corn. That sounds good. And I happen to have some red salmon in the cupboard. I may make that, with plenty of dill and a lemon-dill Béchamel sauce. No potatoes, and maybe asparagus instead of corn. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2018, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-for-dinner/808139/185 "2018-02-21T17:43:58Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > Last night we had ground beef, cabbage, and tomatoes over rice. Looks like vomit but it’s tasty. I’m proud of ya for not bothering to roll them up into stuffed cabbage. It’s a hell of a lot of work, and it tastes the same anyway. (Delicious.) I once worked with a first-generation Mexican-American whose parents ran a restaurant in Los Angleles. I told her about my favorite tortilla casserole, where you layer grilled chicken, various cheeses, salsa verde, and a homemade sauce with tortillas, and bake. “You see,” I said, “it’s like green enchiladas, but you don’t have to roll all those fucking tortillas.” “Sounds really good.” “D’ya think your MOM would ever make it, instead of enchiladas?” “God, NO.” ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2018, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-for-dinner/808139/186 "2018-02-21T18:51:28Z")
Aw, shucks, I just don’t know any better. However, I am a fan of cooking things in the way that takes the least amount of trouble or dirty dishes. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2018, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-for-dinner/808139/187 "2018-02-21T21:21:56Z")
Yeah, I make a tortilla “lasagna” sometimes, partly because the tortillas exactly fit my this: > **[eBay research tools | Seller Center](https://www.ebay.com/sellercenter/growth/ebay-research-tools)** > > Find more products, list more effectively, optimize inventory, and generate sales with eBay's research tools. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2018, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-for-dinner/808139/188 "2018-02-21T22:04:08Z")
Baked mostaccioli tonight, and a salad. I halved the recipe and it still filled a large casserole dish. Husband asked what rugby team we’re having over for dinner tonight. It’ll freeze well at least! ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2018, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-for-dinner/808139/189 "2018-02-21T22:09:31Z")
Aw, screw it: we’re having the beans and cornbread tonight. I added some Polish sausage to the pot, as the hock wasn’t very meaty. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2018, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-for-dinner/808139/190 "2018-02-21T22:11:15Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > And thus was tonight’s dinner at **Casa Silenus** born. Born? Aborted? How was it? I’m making the salmon loaf with lemon-dill Béchamel and asparagus for dinner tonight, but they had a display of polenta at the store, so I have it when I’m ready. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2018, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-for-dinner/808139/191 "2018-02-21T22:11:16Z")
So far a half a box of girl scout thin mint cookies, a liquor store beef jerky, and a handful of potato chips. ---
**Author:** ![Yorkshire\_Pudding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/59ef9b/32.png) [@Yorkshire\_Pudding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorkshire_Pudding)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2018, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-for-dinner/808139/192 "2018-02-22T01:02:00Z")
So, today was a sort of pinto and canellini bean stew affair: salt pork (accidentally over-salted a batch of bacon I was making, cubed it, froze it, kept it for just such duties), mirepoix, bit of tomato puree, molasses, smoked paprika, English and dijon mustards, splash of white wine vinegar, bay leaf, the aforementioned beans. And water, obviously. Side of what must, in this house, be termed “American Biscuits”, because a) they’re not what the word “biscuit” means over here and b) they don’t exist in British cuisine so they don’t have their own local name! ---
**Author:** ![GoodOldKJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc79bd/32.png) [@GoodOldKJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GoodOldKJ)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2018, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-for-dinner/808139/193 "2018-02-22T05:05:21Z")
Tonight we had steak, french fries and salad. Grilled the steak outside as it was 67° tonight. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2018, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-for-dinner/808139/194 "2018-02-22T06:23:41Z")
Tonight I made a ground beef dish with a biscuit top from a ground beef cookbook from 1967 which I used when I was in college not much after that. Pretty good but not terribly spicy, if I try it again I’ll throw in a bit of chili powder. This was a great cookbook when ground beef was 50 cents a pound and all you had to cook with was a double hot plate and a toaster oven. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2018, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-for-dinner/808139/195 "2018-02-22T16:22:43Z")
> [@Yorkshire\_Pudding](#): > > Side of what must, in this house, be termed “American Biscuits”, because a) they’re not what the word “biscuit” means over here and b) they don’t exist in British cuisine so they don’t have their own local name! Next time you make American biscuits, you’ll need to make some sausage gravy. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2018, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-for-dinner/808139/196 "2018-02-22T16:24:29Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Tonight I made a ground beef dish with a biscuit top from a ground beef cookbook from 1967 which I used when I was in college not much after that. Pretty good but not terribly spicy, if I try it again I’ll throw in a bit of chili powder. Every so often I like to make ‘tamale pie’. Taco-seasoned ground beef and corn, put into a casserole and topped with cornbread batter and baked. ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2018, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-for-dinner/808139/197 "2018-02-22T16:35:21Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Every so often I like to make ‘tamale pie’. Taco-seasoned ground beef and corn, put into a casserole and topped with cornbread batter and baked. I do that with my take on chili. Great meal. My father-in-law used to call it ‘upside down tamale pie’ but he was from Arkansas. Things are different there 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Yorkshire\_Pudding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/59ef9b/32.png) [@Yorkshire\_Pudding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorkshire_Pudding)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2018, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-for-dinner/808139/198 "2018-02-22T17:02:03Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Next time you make American biscuits, you’ll need to make some sausage gravy. 😉 I usually do! It’s my daughter’s favourite. I usually have to play around with the seasoning to get the sausage tasting right, but with judicious amounts of pepper and sage, it can be pulled in the right direction. My son’s historically been less bothered, but “Ooh!” he said, upon seeing the biscuits , “Have you made that sausagey sauce too?” It doesn’t get called gravy though, generally, as gravy pretty much exclusively means brown gravy over here, though sometimes jus might be called gravy too. But that’s it. What is essentially a white sauce would never be called gravy! And making it with bits of sausage is largely unheard of. _My_ kids are well versed in it, but most aren’t! ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2018, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-for-dinner/808139/199 "2018-02-22T17:29:56Z")
Try the gravy with bacon and sausage. American bacon has a lot of fat in it, so it’s great for the ‘roux’. (I don’t know, can you call it a roux if you don’t bother to take the dead animal bits out before adding the flour?) And if you have a part of a ham steak you don’t know what to do with, chop it up and throw that in too. ---
**Author:** ![Yorkshire\_Pudding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/59ef9b/32.png) [@Yorkshire\_Pudding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorkshire_Pudding)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2018, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-for-dinner/808139/200 "2018-02-22T18:45:57Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Try the gravy with bacon and sausage. American bacon has a lot of fat in it, so it’s great for the ‘roux’. (I don’t know, can you call it a roux if you don’t bother to take the dead animal bits out before adding the flour?) And if you have a part of a ham steak you don’t know what to do with, chop it up and throw that in too. We have ‘streaky’ bacon over here too, which - in smoked guise - is a similar idea to American bacon. I generally have a load of it in the freezer: bacon and pancakes is another American staple which is popular in this house. And yes, salted pig products of any type are never wasted! I’ve a load of salt pork too (I got the curing proportions a bit wrong on a batch of bacon)…so yes: all over it! I’d call that a roux: I certainly do when I make gravy in a roasting tin when I’ve hoiked the joint out, and there are usually all manner of dead animal bits left in there. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2018, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-for-dinner/808139/201 "2018-02-22T18:46:09Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Try the gravy with bacon and sausage. American bacon has a lot of fat in it, so it’s great for the ‘roux’. (I don’t know, can you call it a roux if you don’t bother to take the dead animal bits out before adding the flour?) And if you have a part of a ham steak you don’t know what to do with, chop it up and throw that in too. I also add some ground fennel and a lot of pepper, along with the sage. Tonight: The salmon fillet with saffron rice and toasted almonds and raisins. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-for-dinner/808139.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-for-dinner/808139.md?page=11)