pizzoccheri-stuffed cabbage
Next time I make pizzoccheri I’m using at least twice as much cabbage.
First batch of lazy cassoulet-ish stuff came out as soup. The leftovers were closer to the mark but too much meat for the amount of beans and cooked a little too long so it came out dry (should have added a little bean broth partway through). I’ll probably try again if this punishing sub-50 cold wave continues.
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Made this steak last night. I can be a bit of a wimp with anchovies so I only used five IIRC. I’ll up it next time.
I also got the anchovies from Amazon. They’re Ortiz and I love their Spanish tuna.
https://www.amazon.com/Ortiz-Anchovy-Fillets-Oil-Gram/dp/B000BTHHF6
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how did you like the anchovies? The Spanish take their canned goods seriously.
Because I reduced the # and also with the other flavors it wasn’t very anchovy-ish but I’ll up it next time. I ordered from Amazon and when I saw Ortiz that was good enough for me. I just adore that tuna
Anchovies go surprisingly well with beef. Some French daube recipes call for them. A place I used to go for steak served them with anchovy butter.
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I have about four jars sitting in my pantry. I love them, and so does my stepson. He and I split the first jar when they were delivered.
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It looks it!
This will be titled “What Will Be Cookin’”
We’re leaving town soon and suddenly the fridge is full of a little of this and that. So I’m doing one of my (not-so) famous “melanges” tonight. Clockwise from 12 is rice, grape tomatoes (they’re roasting as I type), chicken, baked potato and spinach, garlic and anchovy sauce, egg noodles, black-eyed peas (I call them BEPs) with rice that we had them with. I’ll add some grated cheddar cheese - in or on. Wish me luck. I’m married to a very trusting guy.
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It’s in the oven with grated cheddar on top, covered with foil. After 20 minutes (oh,yeah, at 350) I’ll remove the foil and go for at least ten more minutes. Keep your fingers crossed 
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tonnarelli with shrimp, scallop, and squid ragù inspired by a dish Massimo Conti used to make
Not my handiwork.
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Had to put the photo up first to help remind me just what all was in this. Some home ground pork that I seasoned with fennel seed, RPF, s&p, oo, onion, garlic, red bell pepper, shishito pepper, mushrooms, capers, kalamata olive, calabrian chili ‘relish’? some red wine. Simmered covered for maybe 20 minutes. But do to life interfering we didn’t have it that night but the next and it was really good. I also like that the sausage had broken down a lot more so there weren’t chunks (which I like also). Linguini and Parm. I had hoped to have enough left for a lunch but 'always-needing-to-gain-weight Bob finished it off 
And here’s the Calabrian chili ‘stuff’ that I got from Amazon.
Oh, wait, and the bread of course. LOL
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So one of my great embarrassments about participating on FTC is that I don’t cook (although I obviously bake intermittently). And the other embarrassment is that I don’t recognize many chefs’ names (but that’s a diff thread entirely, I suppose).
At any rate, partner and I decided last year to try a meal-delivery service b/c we thought it might help w/ food budgeting b/c we thought we’d be able to substitute going out for a meal w/ the food kit. The budgeting part didn’t work out so well b/c we apparently don’t eat anything close to healthy portion sizes, which we only realized when EVERY meal we made w/ from service looked positively TINY (so it’s really not a substitute for eating out).
Once we decided that the meals would be more satisfying (e.g., leave us less hungry) if we used them as weekend lunches, I decided that I might try to cook some. It was kind of painful b/c I literally don’t know how to peel an onion, and so meals literally took 2-3x the listed prep time b/c I have to watch YouTube videos on how to do basic things. That, and our knives stink. But we all have to start somewhere, right?
We took ~5 mo break from the service and recently restarted deliveries. This weekend’s meals were a banh mi burger and Spanish-spiced salmon. The burger didn’t resemble or taste like a banh mi, and I have no idea what spices were in the prepared spice bag, but I was pretty proud of myself b/c this is the first time I’ve done a burger or cooked fish (!). And they only took me ~2x as long as the listed prep time. Heh.
Partner didn’t like cooking w/ the meal kits b/c he likes more spontaneity in his cooking and found the directions very fussy. For those of us who are newbies, the very specific instructions are a godsend… So I’m considering the meals as my self-directed cooking school.
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Good for you! As with everything, it just takes practice. I predict it will not be long before you will toss the instructions aside and freestyle it, just like your partner. You’re already ahead of the game because you know what food should taste like and you care how it tastes.
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I think your work looks great! It’s always an interesting journey learning new things…and always an accomplishment when you complete every step.
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Yes, we do. Thanks sharing your story and your dishes. Good idea about the weekend lunches. Psst… it takes me almost 2x as long as a recipe calls for and I’ve been cooking since I was a kid. Double psst… I don’t recognize many chefs’ names either. 
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Looks delicious! Are those sliced onions in your scalloped potatoes?
I ignore instructions that say “while the pasta is cooking…” I get as much prepped and cooked as possible and then cook the pasta. And I love my rice cooker for that reason. One fewer things to worry about. BTW, I’m a recipe follower. I figure it’s why they get paid the big bucks.
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