I outdid myself.

I was thinking: DINER. Not dinner. And I was thinking what could I make that was typical DINER fare. I was thining DINER because I'm trying to get us reservations at Phily Diner in Runemede for our one family night together. I think I've accomplished that fete. Guarantee will be on Monday.

I've been working on getting us a place in the Diner for several weeks. One person tells me we have too large a crowd for the diner, another says I have to be in their event room. Another says the event room may be booked. Another says the event room may be too big. Well, tonight I finally got through to the person in charge, and was told we COULD meet in the diner -- in the OLD part -- exactly where we want to be!!!! Isnt' that great!

To my DINER meal:


I made pork chops, mac & cheese, and succotash. How fattening and diner-esque is that?

The pork chops were boneless, and very thick. I first braised an onions, roughly chopped in a little bit of butter, lightly salted. Then when the onions were almost translucent, I put the chops in the pan on top of the onions. I seasoned the chops with salt/pepper and garlic salt and browned them on each side. Then I covered the pan with the chops in it, and lowered the heat down to "low" (on my flat-top electric range). They simmered for about 15 minutes and gave me a lot of juice from which to make a really nice gravy.

To the pan drippings I added 1/4 cup HEAVY cream and 1 tablespoon of gravy bouquet (to darken it), then I thickened it a little bit with cornstarch and water mixed. The gravy was delicious.

The mac & cheese was my easy recipe, same as my moms -- well, it changes every time I make it, as did my moms, but basically it was:

macaroni (1 cup uncooked), 2 cups freshly grated sharp cheddar, 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, 1/2 cup heavy cream, 1/4 stick of butter. After the macaroni was cooked and drained I put it all back into the pot, and stirred it over low heat until it all mixed together. It was really good and creamy. Not at all dried out like my meatloaf was yesterday (See yesterday's post). Mom ALWAYS topped hers with broken up saltines. I didn't top my with anything today. I often top it with bread crumbs and then bake it for 1/2 hour or so. Today I scooped the mac and cheese right out of the pan.

And then we had succotash. Alan's favorite veggies.

I didn't care how I slopped it on the plate, since it was diner fare, and we just enjoyed it tremendously.

ttfn

Dried meatloaf

Can anyone tell my why my meatloaf was so dry last night? I mean, yuck. I don't particularly care for meatloaf anyway, but this one was awful. It tasted okay if I slathered it with stewed tomatoes, or for Alan, with ketchup, but it was dry.

I guess I just can't do an oven roasted meat loaf. I usually brown it on top of the stove, then cover the pot, and cook it on top of the stove. That's the way my mother did it. But I chose the lazy route yesterday, and made the meatloaf and cooked it all in the same pan.

Then I made fried noodles, and for some reason the butter just wouldn't stick to the noodles. They were good, though. Fried noodles is something that is a natural side dish for meatloaf. I used to have mashed potatoes, but they are too much trouble. I just hate peeling potatoes, and I'm not fond of the skins, so smashed potatoes isn't often an option. I only smash the potatoes, skin and all, when I'm desperate.

Hunts has a new diced tomato -- it has oregano, basil, onion, and garlic in it. It's my mother's stewed tomatoes in a can, all I have to do it thicken it a bit. It sure was easier than trying to make sure I got all the spices in the right quantities for the way I have prepared stewed tomatoes all my "cooking" life.

Oh, enough, already. I'm on to other things, and cooking isn't one of them.

If you have a perfect meatloaf recipe -- one that gives you a moist meatloaf every time, let me know.

ttfn