Dining In

These days I'm dining in.

I have three good reasons for dining in:



1) No one is available (or can afford) to dine out with me (I don't like to dine alone)

2) The food at the restaurants that I've dined at, isn't as good as my own cooking

3) It is too expensive to dine out

I've always like cooking. I'm not a gourmet cook. I don't cook fish, most meats or any exotic food. I'm a comfort food cook.

At one time of my life I used to like cooking for company but I have lost interest in that over the years. Occasionally I'll have a friend over for a meal, but nothing like pot luck for multiple folks. That's not my style.



One of my all time favorite dishes is Eggplant Parmesan. I always ordered this out because I didn't think I could cook it. Another favorite of mine is French fried potatoes. I don't deep fat fry food in my house because I don't want that greasy smell permeating my curtains and the upholstery of my living room furniture.



Because of the difficulty of finding a friend to dine out with me, I decided to take matters into my own hands.



Guess what? I can do it! I now have a recipe for Eggplant Parmesan that is better than any I've ever had at a restaurant. I also have a wonderfully delicious recipe for oven baked potatoes that is so much tastier and healthier than anything that I can buy at a restaurant.

Tomorrow I'll post the recipes of my Eggplant Parmesan and Oven Baked Potatoes.



Now my only goal is to master preparing Chicken Quesadillas as good as the one I have at the Brickside Grill in Eagleview, PA. I've had Chicken Quesadillas at other restaurants but they've all been cheesy messes. Only the Brickside Grill prepares this dish with pumpkin seed and fresh salsa. Other restaurants say they have "fresh salsa" but it's not the truly fresh salsa which is fresh tomatoes, onion, and jalapeno peppers and NO tomato sauce.



Another problem I have in dining out in this poor economy is that the restaurants I've been too have had a noticeable drop in quality of food. I think it's because they're cutting back on their supplies and don't the customers will notice. I've noticed and won't be back anytime soon.



Except for my weekly breakfast outing, I'll be dining in.....alone.

The Three B's

Bob, Bob and Bill, are the Three B’s I had dinner with last night. I had to redeem myself from the Dinner Disaster of last week with Bill, Bob and Jay. Dinner last night was a success. The only missing ingredient was our friend Jay, who returned to his home in Landisville, Pennsylvania. I’ll make it up to him the next time he drives his new Subaru Imprezza through the flat coastal plain that is Sussex County, Delaware.

The menu was very simple last night – Swiss steak, Smashed Potatoes, and salad. For dessert we had Hawaiian Wedding cake. My Swiss steak recipe is a longtime staple of mine. I measure nothing when preparing this recipe. It’s a little different each time but always good. Last night was no exception.

As is always the case with a gathering of old friends, it was a night of good conversation and gentle teasing camaraderie. Sometimes it is best to have a meal at home instead of fighting traffic to get to a restaurant to face uncertain service and a roll of the dice for food quality. The only thing certain with dining out in the Rehoboth Beach area is that it’s going to cost you a lot. That is my great disappointment about living in this area of southern Delaware, the lack of reasonably priced good restaurants. They just aren’t here.

That said, last night was an enjoyable repast and we will have to do it again soon. As for today, I’m off to my dentist in Dover for a teeth cleaning. I can hardly wait.