"What's for dinner?" is a regular refrain around Casa Brillig. For the most part, my status as the at-home parent means I am the Dinner Decider. We've got a short set of meals I make often, for which no recipe is needed. Others did come from someone else's recipe, however, and there's always that moment when it's apparent we're in a dinner rut and need a new idea. For a look into where those ideas come from, follow me below the orange cavatappi after a word from our sponsor ...
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Because I'm old predate the Interwebs, I still use cookbooks. Actual, paper, take-up-space-in-my-kitchen cookbooks. Some are tried-n-true classics that I've had for decades and never fail to provide either basic techniques, or inspiration. The Joy of Cooking. The Betty Crocker Cookbook (two editions 30 years apart, which makes for interesting comparisons on recipes!). I'm Just Here For The Food by Alton Brown. Others are much newer and the result of specific needs, such as my current favorite inspiration, Make It Fast, Cook It Slow.
Casa Brillig also has subscribed to Cooks Illustrated since way before America's Test Kitchen was a show. This is in fact my food bible; I have yet to make anything from it that didn't work as described if you follow it... and several times I've had something turn out exactly as I wanted it because their "we don't like it this way" experimentations are exactly the way WE do!
You can find everything on the Internet, so they say... and when it comes to food inspiration, that's definitely the case. I know many people love Pinterest, and sure I have an account, but for me that's like window shopping, not a targeted "I need a side dish for tomorrow" method. I use The Google with whatever keywords strike my fancy (or describe the ingredient I'm looking to use!) and pull up four or five similar recipes, then check for similarities to gauge how likely it is to work. This is how I ended up with a simply delicious Thai Peanut Pork for my slow cooker that had every one of us (including the girl who isn't a pork fan and the boy who isn't a peanut butter fan) licking their plates. FWIW, also works well with chicken :-).
Lastly, the method that's been around longest, and is the way humans have learned to cook since we first started throwing the meat on the fire: "Hey, that {insert dish name here} was delicious!! Can I have the recipe?" Black bean, roasted corn and avocado salad, I'm looking right at you.
Where do YOU get your recipes? Inquiring hungry minds want to know!
I know where to find an able collaborator who makes this gig fun... BeninSC!
Brillig's ObDisclaimer: The decision to publish each nomination lies with the evening's Diarist and/or Comment Formatter. My evenings at the helm, I try reeeeallllyy hard to publish everything without regard to content. I really do, even when I disagree personally with any given nomination. "TopCommentness" lies in the eyes of the nominator and of you, the reader - I leave the decision to you. I do not publish self-nominations (ie your own comments) and if I ruled the world, we'd all build community, supporting and uplifting instead of tearing our fellow Kossacks down.
Comment 'flags' tonight!
Flagged by blindyone, this comment by gramofsam1 tells a simple truth about law enforcement and their misguided 'code.'
Flagged by navajo, this comment by slksfca is a screenshot of a remarkable Tweet!
Flagged by art ah zen, this comment by jan4insight may offer stain removal options for Fox News?! (I'm sure they could use that! And oh so much more!)
And Puddytat found all these fine flags!
Flagged by leu2500:
This pithy comment by triplepoint. From Marco Rubio: Support for marriage equality is a 'real and present danger' to religion by Laura Clawson.
Flagged by Timaeus:
This great comment by OIL GUY on the possible effects of Pope Francis on Catholic Republicans. From Republican dilemma: Is the Pope infallible or just a nice guy with an opinion by Barbara Morrill.
Flagged by SottoVoce:
This fine comment by grumpynerd on the same topic, also from Republican dilemma: Is the Pope infallible or just a nice guy with an opinion by Barbara Morrill.
From leu2500:
In the "if you can't beat them, join them" spam diaries by LaFeminista, here, and Dumbo, here, trumpeter (with this comment) and river rover (with this one) had me LOL!
From brillig:
This touching comment by JG in MD was posting in BeninSC's Top Comments diary last night. Sometimes even the simplest 'investments in self' are not cheap.
Jen Hayden brings us the sad tale of NY elementary principal shames poor students, keeps them from attending end-of-year school carnival, and a number of commenters spoke eloquently in the comments: sasidechick points out shaming the poor kids isn't new but is long remembered. And to a troll who felt "If the principle [sic] isn't going to teach your kid that some things cost money who is?" came top responses from elfling and Older and Wiser Now.
What Laurence Lewis wants in Meteor Blades' livestream of Bernie Sanders' candidacy announcement? I want that too.
Top Mojo for Monday, May 25, 2015, first comments and tip jars excluded. Thank you
mik for the mojo magic! For those of you interested in How Top Mojo Works, please see his diary
FAQing Top Mojo.
1) Competing with enslaved labor. Race to the bottom. by FishOutofWater +109
2) Again, it must be pointed out by jayden +78
3) It's not the electability of the GOP 2016 nominee by Infected Zebra +76
4) This eagle seemed fitting for today. by jwinIL14 +74
5) And yet many D's will continue to deny it and/or by Words In Action +71
6) As always, thanks for this diary, MB by navajo +66
7) My point in that diary was not to argue... by Meteor Blades +63
8) Happy Towel Day, Doug Adams fans! by CoolOnion +62
9) The American Swastika is an apt name by Karl Rover +61
10) Human Trafficking and Slavery by Betty Pinson +58
10) three dai weekenz! by KrazyKitten +58
12) I saw that. which is my point about why honor by chaunceydevega +56
13) Have you hugged a chicken today? by glb3 +55
14) Flipper? Is that you? by kerflooey +54
15) And I look down to the ground by Santa Susanna Kid +51
16) Thanks for the diary Marti by high uintas +49
16) Human beings were never the point, anyway. by MrJayTee +49
18) Deray was on CNN talking about this today. by smoothnmellow +48
19) Oh Hai The Marti & Kossacks... by leonard145b +47
20) ohai pootie peeps by Chrislove +46
20) I like the way Matt Taibbi expressed it 6 years by LI Mike +46
20) Confederate soldiers cannot, in any sense, by tommymet +46
20) We don't have to look too far to find slave labor by Shockwave +46
20) Feeling pretty distracted today... by Elizaveta +46
25) "the war to end all wars"... by MBNYC +45
26) I'm an old white guy by wolfbane in AZ +44
26) I am saying it was a team effort. by Bob Johnson +44
26) Deray McKesson is an exceptionally fine by blueoasis +44
26) How's that for timing? by dkmich +44
30) Both (captured) parties share the blame, bigtime! by bobswern +43
2015-05-26 Top Comments with Pictures, courtesy of
jotter!