Stouffer's Veal Parmigiana

Last week I bought a couple of frozen dinners. I normally try to eat only Lean Cuisine or Weight Watchers. (I'm biased against Healthy Choice because when they first came out and I tried it - it had no flavor. I was not pleased.) Being off my healthy'ish kick, I decided to buy Stouffer's (the red box.) And with all the calories it has to offer. I was surprised. It wasn't too bad. 430 kcals. I can live with that as being my total caloric intake for lunch.

The veal parm was actually a breaded patty. Yes, a patty. Less than an inch thick. I thought it was pretty good sized. Steve loves veal patties. And one day we decided to try a super cheap brand that happened to be on sale. They were made by On-cor or En-core. I don't recall. I still see it in the supermarkets. Anyway, as you may have already guessed, it was pretty gross. Stouffer's veal patty is thicker and it's topped with marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese. (I don't remember seeing any cheese on the other brand's.) On the side, they gave you spaghetti with marina sauce.
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Stouffer's veal parmigiana. The idea of a veal patty is unappealing to me. Nonetheless, I got a craving. Once I came to terms with its texture, I was alright with it. I actually enjoyed the flavor of it. It tasted like it was breaded with one of those italian herb-cheese flavored breadings. I didn't love the spaghetti. I expect frozen (or canned) spaghetti to be overdone. I knew it going in. And though I didn't love the flavor of the sauce (which tasted like Prego with that dried basil & oregano combination that I don't love.) Don't get me wrong, I love oregano but I prefer it in Greek dishes like chicken oreganata over italian dishes though it definitely does have a place there. So the sauce, didn't love it but that's just me. But for some reason, when I was eating it - I would twirl a little pasta onto my fork and then stab the veal patty and tear off a piece - when I was doing that, I didn't mind the sauce at all. It worked for me. So once in a while, I'll be buying Stouffer's veal parmigiana if it's on sale. I usually only buy frozen foods when they're on sale. This was a nice change from sandwiches for lunch. Ok guys, you don't have to cook to Eat Something Good!

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Gino's Trattoria

We had a great dinner last night. It was almost perfect except the waitress could've been a little more attentive. Usually, service at Gino's (not Gigi's Pizza we always go to) is very good. Adults, not teenagers. Anyway, I wrote a review about Gino's a while back. A couple of years ago. Definitely over one. (I think.) Anyway, in the review I described my favorite dish there: Veal Francais. Most chicken francais are in a light chicken stock/lemon sauce. I assumed the veal would be the same. Nope. The sauce is an orange ee/brown with bits of cooked herbs in it. Perhaps parsley. They give three (somewhat small) thin pieces of veal (lighyly battered, perhaps just in egg). And a side of pasta. I got linguine with tomato sauce. Oh, and to start we had salads (mine with italian; his with bleu cheese) and bread that included a good crusty, hearty italian bread and long sticks of focaccia flavored with rosemary. We also had an appetizer. Fried calamari that came with a thick, chunky, deep red, herbed tomato sauce for dipping. The calamari were all just small rings, about the size of a quarter. No tentacles, my fave. Oh well. Steve had one of his standbys. Chicken Gorgonzola with peas. He had a side of linguini as well but he got his on his plate with the cream sauce. I had mine on the side. They give you the option.

I loved my veal dish. I've had it many times before. We used to go to Gino's quite regularly. They've recently started delivering and I think they'll make a killing. Their pizza is quite good as well. The pasta, salad, and bread were all good. Nothing special. The fried calamari. I thought it could've been fried a little longer. They were a very light color and I would've preferred a golden color with a little crisp or crunch to it. Steve thought they were delicious. He loved them just the way they were. I tried some of Steve's chicken dish and it was rich and delicious. Very smooth and creamy. It wasn't a strong gorgonzola flavor. I didn't see any blue veins in it. But it definitely did something nice to the sauce. We didn't have dessert cause we were too full. Steve even had to take his belt off when we got home. Hehehe. Okay, well. You guys are the best! I love the comments - I read them all. Eat Something Good!

Gino's Pizzeria (Trattoria)
597 Route 6
Mahopac, NY 10541

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