GRANPA PLANNING EASTER DINNER 2017

The lamb roast is marinating and will be cooked later in the day.

I am making a ragu/meat sauce to use with my homemade egg noodles- spaghetti. A small ham with pineapples spears. Vegetables will include broccoli, mushrooms sauteed in oil with garlic, rosemary potatoes roasted in the oven, red peppers, brussel sprouts, peas and carrots.
Barb makes the appetizers- veggies and dip, olives and pickles, cheese and crackers and fruit platter for the dessert table. The girls bring the remainder of the dessert- cookies and cupcakes.
The little grandchildren have their Easter egg hunt before dinner. Everyone has their favourite beverage.

                                                              Images of past dinners.

A little slice of my Canascione with dessert is a must too. I might just have some for breakfast.
#lamb#canascione#easterdinner#ragusauce#pasta#rosemarypotatoes

GRANPA MAKES A SALAD FOR A BIRTHDAY BASH

Easy request for my daughter's birthday get together. Barb made her devilled eggs and I made a simple tossed salad. Pizza and appetizers- simple meal. Of course a birthday cake from Longos. My kind of simple celebration. Granpa loves to cook but also likes to eat with family.

GRANPA DINES AT A FRIEND'S HOUSE

Barb has two university friends she has known for over 46 years. Mary and Ben entertained us and our friends Rose and Paul

A nice array of appetizers allowed for friendly chatting until moving to the dining room.

Salad with a slice of Apple for appeal. Oil and Vinegar dressing.

Homemade lasagna by Mary.

Ben barbecued the steak and potatoes. Mary made the seafood platter with vegetables along with beans, asparagus and broccoli.

Red and White wine was served. Some of us just drink water.

Dessert was Zeppoles in honour of St. Giuseppe March 19th.

Tea and Coffee and more chatting, laughing and enjoying the evening. Time to leave came too soon. It's my turn to make dinner for the next get together. Granpa likes to cook but Granpa also likes to taste good food by others especially close friends.
#diningatafriends'shouse#zeppoles#fruitplatter#seafoodplatterswithvegetables#steakandvegetables#appetizertray#funtodineout#granpalovestocook#granpaloveseatingatafriend'shouse

WEEKEND OF LASAGNA MAKING OR HOW TO MAKE LASAGNA

A friend from the Club brought some farm fresh eggs for me to buy. Lovely yolks-big! Fresh egg noodle!  So I decided to make some pans of lasagna for the girls. Ended up with two large pans and made fettuccine with the rest of the home made egg noodle for Barb. Lasagna is so labour intensive, I always say I won't do that again. Plain homemade spaghetti with ragu sauce is my favourite. One of my earlier posts gives all the instructions for a homemade lasagna. Visit it for details.
March 8, 2012- Lasagna alla Granpa Adolfo.

ZUPPA DE PESCE FOR A FRIDAY NIGHT

I surprised Barb with a wonderful dinner on Friday night. Initially we were going to eat something simple. But a trip to a supermarket with good seafood. I came home with shrimps, scallops, white fish, mussels and clams. .

Chopping up some celery and onions, sauteing in some olive oil before adding the pieces of white fish.

Adding 1 can of tomato puree and 1/2 tin of tomato paste, letting it simmer for about 10 minutes- ecco la- zuppa de pesce/fish soup.

With some crunchy Italian buns from Grande Cheese and using up some Romaine lettuce to make a Caesar Salad, Friday night dinner was special. Barb had her usual glass of white wine.  She works hard for us. Besides when Granpa cooks for her, he gets to eat well too. Ho mangiato com'un porco!
#zuppadepesce#clams#granpalovestocook#italianbuns#tomatopuree#scallops#mussels#fridaynightdinner#cookingforBarbafterahardweekatwork#usingabigpotforzuppa

GRANPA SAYS FEBRUARY COOKING NEEDS SOME ENCOURAGEMENT

Cooking every day can become monotonous. The same old. So I have been making some eggplant casserole. Good hot and cold. Over the weekend made a big pot of vegetable soup. Barb likes to freeze some and take it for her lunches to heat up at work. We made some gnochhi with the ricotta cheese recently as we received it as a bonus from spending more than $50.00 at Grande Cheese. Barb always has trouble spending under $50.00. It is her favourite store! Of course when the grandchildren slept over, pancakes, bacon and scrambled eggs for breakfast were a standard hit for them. They love Granpa's pancakes! Barb is an easy customer- she is not fancy about her food like I am. As long as there are several food groups she is fine! Maybe I need to watch some more food shows to get inspired or even check my own recipes on this blog! Now that's an idea! Happy cooking everyone!
#februarycooking#eggplantcasserole#vegetablesoup#cookingforthefamily#gnocchiwithricottacheese#grandchildrenlovepancakes#breakfastistheasymeal#scrambledeggs#cookingeverydaycanbeboring

SLOW COOKER RIBS FOR SUPERBOWL SUNDAY

Quick note to say, Barb made plain slow cooker ribs. Simmered all day in water with onion and garlic. Then taken out to broil for 15 minutes in the oven to crisp them. Barb put barbecue sauce on her ribs. Some carrots and celery sticks with dip along with homemade bread maker French bread, it was a simple night off for Granpa not having to cook. Now to watch the Superbowl!
#slowcookerribs#granpalovestocook#granpalovestowatchthesuperbowleatingribs#barbmakesribsforsuperbowlsunday#homemadebreadmakerfrenchbread