Tuna Melt Bagels

I asked Steve to take a picture of both the tuna melts & chicken salad melts. I was going to post it but he made a comment about them being on paper plates and I sorta agreed with him. Anyway, yes, I made two types of melts last night. Tuna (albacore, red onion (finely chopped), celery seed, worchestshire sauce and s&p.) American cheese on top. For the chicken salad (Pulled cooked chicken, parsley, mayo, s&p) with provolone cheese. These were both served atop onion bagels. Some pieces had tomato on top of them. They looked pretty.

I baked up the bagels. Then I did a not so good of a job splitting them in half. At this point, I should've thrown on the broiler and toasted both sides. I had fears of over cooking them and drying them out too much. Anyway, I placed about 3/4" worth tuna & chicken salad on one bagel at a time. Yes, they were piled pretty high. The tuna salad was them covered with american cheese and the chicken salad was covered in the provolone cheese. I threw them under the broiler. Afterwards, again concerned about the texture of the bagel and the temperature of the salad, I set the oven to bake.

So, the melts. They were pretty good, not great. Usually, they hit the spot but we made the error of using Ray's frozen bagels. Can you believe they're not pre-sliced? Who wants the extra labor of cutting it in half? Anyway, the first one I had was the chicken salad melt. The cheese looked like it'd been bubbling and there were little burnt spots on it. It was pretty good. Then the tuna, that too, was pretty good. The yellow american cheese was burnt (dark, dark brown and very, very edible) on one little side. The edge. The problem with this dish is that these bagels weren't as light as say Lender's frozen bagels. Or I didn't toast them up enough which could've really been the problem. That's what sorta undid the greatness of the melts. The bagels.

Sidebar: I forgot something critical in yesterday's blog about Dottie's Zucchini, Chicken & Rice Casserole. I goofed. I forgot to mention one of the main ingredients: the cubed, cooked chicken. I'd made the chicken the previous night for our salad greens with baked chicken. When I looked in the 'fridge for the salad bag, I discovered that there wasn't one. Darnit! Now what?

So I made it into chicken salad and once again, pulled the meat apart with two forks. Steve said it was light. And it was very juicy. He said it tasted like it was from a fine, hotel restaurant. I was flattered. So that's the chicken I used for Dottie's casserole. I'm sure it imparted its own flavors into the dish. I used olive oil, salt-free McCormicks seasoning mix, dried tarragon, s&p.

I nuked some leftover casserole for Steve the day after and he loved it. It'd thickened up quite a bit. Makes one think twice about this dish. Oh, I almost forgot and this is important. The chicken in the casserole became a little too well done (slightly overcooked). Probably because it was already cooked and then got baked again for an hour. Thank goodness Steve made them into small pieces. Okay, here are some stupid words. I forgot. Oh well, Eat Something Good!

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Tuna-Rosemary Pasta

Very mixed reviews for this one. Last night for dinner, I made tuna-rosemary pasta (thin linguine). To some, this dish may sound disgusting. To me, it doesn't sound so bad but it sounds better in Italian. Something al' tonnato (sp?). So the dish exists, I didn't make it up. Actually the person who taught me the basics of Hungarian goulash taught me how to make this dish as well. It's a very simple dish. All you need is dried rosemary, garlic, tomato sauce (we used our homemade sauce) and the main ingredient: tuna packed in olive oil. Heat oil. Sautee garlic and rosemary. Add sauce. Add tuna. Heat through.

I happen to like this dish. I haven't had it in like fifteen years but it crept up in my mind from time to time. Steve's verdict. I'd have to say that he hated it. He definitely doesn't want that one in the rotation. As for myself, I'll be having the leftovers for lunch. Oh, I served it with escarole sauteed in olive oil, red wine vinegar, white wine and nutmeg. I didn't cook it enough for Steve. He couldn't eat that either. I do agree that it needed to be cooked a little longer, but I enjoyed it. It reminded me of the texture of a good kimchi (korean pickled/fermented cabbage).

In my mind, last night was a dinner bomb because Steve didn't enjoy it. I feel responsible to cook him or anyone a good meal. I want to see and hear satisfaction and perhaps even delight. I feel good knowing that a good meal was had. (But ya know, dinner bombs will occur from time to time so I'm not too discouraged.) Be nice to yourself today and Eat Something Good!

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China Garden

We ordered chinese food last night. I had the shrimp lo mein with brown rice and an egg roll. Steve had the shrimp chow mein with pork fried rice and an eggroll. It was all decent. Steve didn't gripe about how much he dislikes chinese food after he'd eaten it. That's the usual course of events. He'll want it, eat it then complain about how much he dislikes it. We don't love chinese food. We prefer vietnamese, korean or thai and I'm sure there are others. I like to have it once in a while. I get cravings. Oh, we shared an order of steamed dumplings and we both liked them a lot. Even Sid. He was being so bad while we ate on the couch in the living room on our tv tables. Usually, he'll try for a few seconds and the give up right away and lay down. Last night, he was unstoppable. I don't know how many times we had to shoo him away. Then finally, after I'd finished eating, I gave Sid the rest of my lo mein with brown rice. I thought he was satisfied afterwards as he'd just eaten his regular dinner (dry food) less then a half-hour beforehand. But no, while we weren't paying attention, he went for the last dumpling. Bad boy. I took it away from him and yelled at him. Steve wanted me to throw it out but I couldn't. It seemed like such a waste. So, I made him wait several minutes then I gave it to him like it was the most special treat in the world. He took his time to eat it. He savored it. He really likes them. I spoil him sometimes. It actually feels good to do so even though I know it's not good practice to spoil your dog. Anyway, I'm going to attempt to not eat much today. My weight loss efforts have come to a halt and though, I haven't gained weight, I'm having trouble continuing on the path. Topic switch. Linux. So far, everything I usually use (which isn't much) - I use firefox for the internet and a new IM client called Pidgen (instead of AIM which I was using). It's compatible with Aim, Adium (for macs) and a few others. Using linux, and with Steve's input, I'm noticing that there are so many things including widgets availabe. For instance, I have a virtual flower on my desktop that I have to water everyday for it to grow. No growth so far - forgot to water it yesterday. The only thing we can't figure out is how to get my game word racer going. Steve has been working on it. So, I do notice that things load faster. I was having a lot of trouble going from page to page, link to link. Linux is much better for that. I like Linux. It's not too different for my regular usage - which again - is primarily the internet. I haven't messed around with other applications as much. But it's not too difficult (even for me) to figure out how stuff works. Aside from the fonts changing and giving it a new face, everything I'm used to seems similar enough for me to handle. Okay, that's the word on my puting stuff. Have a nice day and Eat something good!

China Garden
980 S Lake Blvd
Mahopac, NY 10541

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Not McDonald's Filet-O-Fish

I tried to re-create the fish sandwich from McDonald's last night. The fish part was pretty good. It surprised me. It was quite meaty. And would you believe we bought store brand battered fish? Yes, stop n shop. I'd buy it again if the urge so strikes me. We don't eat fried fish that often. Actually, we don't have fish very often. I wish I could be disciplined enough to go to the store one extra time per week and have a fish night. So the fish sandwiches. I threw the battered fish filets on hamburger buns (no seeds) with american cheese and tarter sauce. I heated up the buns with the cheese in the oven before I put the batter fish filet and sauce on it. I wish I could say I really loved it. I mean I really wanted to - I put pressure on myself to like it. BUT! We made the fatal error of using McCormick's fat-free tartar sauce. It was too sweet and lacked depth. Just awful. I will never buy it again. It totally ruined the whole sandwich. I was a little bumbed.

So if you attempt to make something similar but are still trying to "diet" the way Steve & I do, stay away from McCormick's fat-free tarter sauce! Yeah, don't eat that stuff...Eat Something Good!

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Tuna Pasta Salad Shells

Last night, we were all upset because we wanted to have spaghetti and meat sauce but the local store cleared away their meats 1/2 hour before closing. Steve stood there and waited and waited and finally he got pissed and left. He was so upset he didn't want to eat dinner. I had an idea. I formulated something out of leftovers and tuna. I made a tuna pasta salad. Mayonnaise based. I used albacore tuna, mayo, mustard, worchestire sauce, celery seed and s&p. I took leftover grape tomatoes and quartered them. Then I added sliced red onion from leftover salad. I mixed it all together with pasta shells (medium) and added a hint more mayo to coat the pasta.

I wasn't sure if Steve would like it because I think he once said that he likes his tuna fish cold. Confession. Mine was served warm. Okay, so the tuna pasta salad wasn't entirely my idea. I used to go to NYC & Washington, DC deli's with a major buffet selection and they often had something similar with peas. I would've added peas to my salad had we had some.

Steve really liked it loved the tuna pasta salad. I gave Steve two types of shells last night. The tuna one and a serving with just browned (hazelnut they call it - I think) butter and freshly grated romano cheese, s&p. His grandma used to make this dish for him when he was just a little thing. So it's a comfort food for him. Anyway, I'm happy that dinner was a success.

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Broiled Squid

I'll just say it. I overcooked the hell out of dinner tonight. My vision was to have nicely broiled squids and separate tentacles marinated in lemon juice, olive oil, oregano, s & p. I wanted them to be slightly browned and burnt in places. I waited, waited and waited and no brown spots. I should've put them closer to the broiler. But I didn't. I just let them get cooked to death. I mean, I knew they were done but I wasn't getting the coloring so I kept hesitating to take them out. So we had salad. The dressing was too vinegary for Steve's liking. All in all, dinner was a failure. We decided to have a boca spicy chik n' patty to make up for it. I'm now haunted by the visions of tentacles. And indeed, I saved the overcooked squid for Sid's breakfast. (I hope dog's are allowed to eat squid.) Well, he already had some so I'll find out. I don't think I'm ever going to cook squid again unless it's in a seafood stew, cut into bit size rings and pieces. But I'll never cook that stew so nobody has to worry. It's a terrible feeling. Not life threatening but this lingering disgust over dinner and the nausea I feel when I think about it. Til the next dinner failure, I'll just have to Eat Something Good!

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White Clam Sauce

Last night I made linguini with white clam sauce. We went a few towns over to buy the baby clams. They call them vongole or something. Anyway, this is a total cheater's dish. I don't make most of it. Actually, it comes out of a can. Progresso white clam sauce. It's good on its own, but I like to saute shallots, deglaze with white wine, add the sauce and later on hit it with parsley. Right before I'm ready to serve, I add the baby clams and serve over linguini when they open up. Remember, don't try to eat the ones that don't open. We had a nice baguette with the meal. I can't remember the last time we had bread with a meal unless we were having sammies. The dinner was really good. Steve loved it. Thank goodness for pre-made products. Hehehe. Eat something good!

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Main Street Bistro

The weather wasn't great yesterday. It was overcast so we didn't take a motoride. Boo hoo. We did, however, take the car to New Paltz, NY. It's a cute, little place with lotsa little shops and restaurants. It was nice to look at but I wasn't loving it. The sidewalks were too small and hilly and windy. It was making me claustrophobic. I think I spelt that wrong. Anyway, for a late lunch, we stopped in at the Main Street Bistro. I found their site on-line and read through the menu before we got there. One of the items that interested me was the salmon hash so that's what I had. It was good. Not great. Steve had some of mine and liked it a lot more than I did. It had small chunks of salmon with fried potatoes (nicely done with little crispy parts), tomatoes, asiago cheese and Hollandaise sauce and two poached eggs on top. The waitress said their Hollands sauce was really good but I didn't taste it a whole lot. The asiago cheese really stood out though. I guess I wasn't really in the mood for fish. I guess that's why I didn't really love it. It was good though, overall. Afterwards, we drove up some mountain. I don't recall the name. (And it was just yesterday.) It was so uphill and windy that I was a little intimidated. People were parked where allowed and walked up quite some ways to reach the lakes and falls and stuff. I decided it was too hot and that I wasn't going to walk up a mountain. I was a poo poo head. The day was fun. It's always nice to have 'alone time' with Steve. Eat something good!

Main Street Bistro
59 Mainstreet
New Paltz NY 12561

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