lunch – Page 4 – Simply Delicious: The Cookbook Project

8-13: Japanese Beef Casserole

Jamie Martin Group 08: Beef, Section 2: Main Courses October 12, 2020October 12, 2020Asian, bamboo shoots, beef, beef bouillon, beef broth, beef tenderloin, braised, canola oil, casserole, celery, chard, dairy-free, dinner, easy, egg-free, fairly inexpensive, frozen, Japanese, Japanese soy sauce, julienned, kale, lunch, meal prep, mushrooms, salt, sautéed, sesame oil, sherry, shoyu, sirloin, soy sauce, spinach, stir-fry, untested, vegetable oil, white pepper, yellow onions

Usually, I give Simply Delicious a hard time for their attempts at “cultural cuisine”–I had gone into 8-13: Japanese Beef Casserole with the same expectations. I even cooked the recipe with that thought in mind–that this was just another lame attempt at something “exotic” for the 1980s housewife crowd to try to excite their disaffected family about. I mean, read that description below and try to imagine how that would go in real life.

However, while researching for the write-up (the last part of this multi-step process), I found some interesting “similar” recipes. I’m still not sure if I’m right or wrong about this one.

Here’s my thoughts on the two things this recipe could be (given my new findings):

They might be trying to attempt nikujaga (Japanese “beef stew”), but it’s missing potatoes which are a crucial (and easy to obtain) part of that dish.
They’re attempting some sort of pan-Asian sautéed beef/Asian veggies dish that you’d be more likely to find in a dead mall’s food court and just calling it Japanese casserole.

I’m guessing it’s the latter, but if you’d like to decide for yourself, keep reading.

Oh, and that dead mall link above? That’s another one of our projects…

5-17: Crab-Filled Crêpes

Jamie Martin Group 05: Eggs & Cheese, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters October 2, 2020October 2, 2020all-purpose flour, batter, black pepper, breakfast, brunch, butter, Cheddar, cheese, crab, crêpes, dill, dried herbs, eggs, fairly expensive, fairly hard, filling, griddle, herbs and spices, krab, lunch, melted, milk, roux, salt, seafood, shellfish, shredded, untested

You thought I’d run out of crêpe recipes by now, didn’t you? Here’s yet another for you (#7, at the time of this posting), 5-17: Crab-Filled Crêpes. Simply Delicious has featured both sweet and savory crêpe recipes, and this one would probably be EXCELLENT for a nice brunch.

WAY, way back, when I first started this project (April 2014), crêpes were a new frontier–something I’d never done before. You can read about it in 5-24: Meat-Filled Crêpes.

Now, they’re easy. Time changes so many things.

3-29: Herbed Cucumber Soup

Jamie Martin Group 03: Soups, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters October 1, 2020October 19, 2020appetizers, apple cider vinegar, black pepper, chilled, chives, cucumbers, diced, dill, dried herbs, easy, egg-free, garnish, gluten-free, grated, green onions, healthy, herbs and spices, inexpensive, lemon juice, lemons, lime juice, limes, lunch, mint, parsley, peeled, red bell peppers, salt, scallions, soups, summer, tzatziki sauce, untested, vegetables, vegetarian, vinegar, white wine vinegar, yogurt

Soup isn’t usually thought of as a hot weather food (unless you’re Lisa Simpson). However, if it’s summer and you’re looking for ice-cold soup options AND gazpacho isn’t your thing, maybe try 3-29: Herbed Cucumber Soup instead.

It’s not technically summer anymore at the time of posting this (October 1), but we’re still hitting 100ºF temps here in California, so I think it counts.

2-19: Country Bean Salad

Jamie Martin Group 02: Salads, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters September 27, 2020November 14, 2020beets, black olives, country-style, dairy-free, dried herbs, easy, egg-free, French, garlic, gluten-free, green beans, herbes de Provence, herbs and spices, inexpensive, julienned, lemon juice, lunch, minced, olive oil, parsley, salads, string beans, untested, vegan, vegetarian, yellow onions

I had intended on using the entry for 2-19: Country Bean Salad to make the tired joke about how no one likes bean salad or the person who brings it to a party. And to point out how it was always a skip for me at the salad bar (RIP salad bars/buffets, I will REALLY miss you).

But there’s got to be a reason why “bean salad” is still a thing. Someone must still like it, for it still to exist. And not just in an ironic hipster “I like it specifically because it’s uncool” way. Maybe the vegans? I eat mostly vegan, and it’s still a no-go for me.

Simply Delicious says that this particular variation of bean salad is “typically French”, but I can’t find too many references online that specifically corroborate that claim. I did find a fancy version of this dish done by one of the Top Chefs that might be worth looking at, if you’re interested in bringing this recipe into the 21st century.

Apparently it was part of a particularly infamous (red) wedding meal in Game of Thrones as well. I watched GoT, but the food on the table wasn’t exactly the focus of that scene, so I must have missed it.

Even if it’s been on TV, it’s still not that appetizing to me. But again: someone must be into this stuff, so if it’s you, read on.

13-15: Vegetarian Lasagna

Jamie Martin Group 13: Vegetarian Dishes, Section 2: Main Courses September 22, 2020September 22, 2020basil, black olives, blender, canola oil, cheese, chili sauce, chopped, cottage cheese, dinner, dried herbs, Feta, food processor, frozen, herbs and spices, lasagna, layers, lunch, meal prep, melted, Mozzarella, olive oil, pasta/noodles, peeled, Ricotta, sautéed, shredded, spinach, tomatoes, twice-baked, untested, vegetable bouillon, vegetable broth, vegetable oil, vegetables, vegetarian, yellow onions

We’ve covered lasagna dishes on this site before, and 13-15: Vegetarian Lasagna introduces yet another variation of the traditional dish by eschewing tomatoes completely. This version is similar to the Stouffer’s Vegetable Lasagna that my aunt used to bring to dinners all the time as a “homemade dish”. This has no tomato sauce, instead going for cheese and spinach layered between lasagna noodles.

There’s also onions and olives in there as well (I LOVE olives), as well as…chili sauce? I’m not sure why they thought chili sauce was a good addition to this recipe, but at least you can adjust it based on preference.

1-31: Crab Cocktail

Jamie Martin Group 01: Hot & Cold Appetizers, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters August 23, 2020August 23, 2020appetizers, avocados, chili sauce, chilled, cocktail, crab, cubed, dairy-free, diced, dill, dressing, easy, egg-free, emulsion, fairly expensive, flaked, gluten-free, granulated sugar, grated, hors d'oeuvres, horseradish, iceberg lettuce, krab, lettuce, lunch, mushrooms, olive oil, parsley, peeled, red wine vinegar, salads, seafood, shellfish, sliced, spicy, sunflower oil, tomatoes, untested

Feeling a bit of déjà vu? Maybe you’ve seen 1-31: Crab Cocktail before, or maybe you haven’t. I was doing some recent experimentation on the backend of my website, and long story short: I needed to do a rollback to an earlier version and this one got deleted. So I’m reposting/rewriting it again–however, you’ll miss whatever witty remarks I included with the first version.

I remember saying something about this being a good option for a meal instead of an appetizer (since there’s no parties allowed), and that you should picture yourself eating it near the coast with the breeze in your hair, since between COVID and wildfires, I don’t know if we’re ever getting to leave the house again.

2-21: Shrimp Salad

Jamie Martin Group 02: Salads, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters July 1, 2020July 2, 20201980s, avocados, chilled, chives, chopped, cooked shrimp, crème fraîche, dressing, easy, eggs, fairly expensive, garlic, gluten-free, grated, hard-boiled, horseradish, lemon juice, lettuce, lunch, mayonnaise, minced, peeled, saffron, salad shrimp, salads, seafood, shellfish, shrimp, sliced, sour cream, stiff peaks, summer, untested, whipped, whipping cream

Summer 2020 has been quite the disappointment so far, and still being stuck at home is tough. If you’re looking for something to lift your spirits, 2-21: Shrimp Salad probably isn’t going to do it. However, if you close your eyes while you’re eating it, maybe you can pretend you’re on the beach instead of your couch.

This salad features not one but TWO cream-based dressings, so you know it’s fancy. I recently covered 2-5: Caribbean Seafood Salad which also features a shrimp-based salad. However, that one includes apples, bananas, and asparagus, so this one might be a safer choice.

8-37: Roast Beef in Puff Pastry

Jamie Martin Group 08: Beef, Section 2: Main Courses June 3, 2020June 3, 2020beef, brushed, butter, Cheddar, cheese, chilled, cooked beef, cooked chicken, cooked shrimp, eggs, fairly expensive, fairly hard, garlic, green onions, leeks, lunch, minced, Monterey Jack, mushrooms, puff pastry, roast beef, sautéed, sliced, slit, snacks, turnovers, untested

I’ve already covered various types of turnovers (beef/spinach/crab), and 8-37: Roast Beef in Puff Pastry can now be added to that list, even if it’s not officially referred to by Simply Delicious as a turnover.

I wasn’t able to pinpoint when ready-to-bake puff pastry was first available in stores–my guess would be somewhere around the 1960s-70s, but I could be totally wrong.

Think of this recipe as a fancy Hot Pocket, because that’s essentially what it is. Look at you, all sophisticated with your fancy Hot Pocket.

2-31: Smoked Chicken Salad

Jamie Martin Group 02: Salads, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters May 27, 2020December 16, 2020basil, breasts, canola oil, cheese, cherry tomatoes, chicken, dinner, dressing, dried herbs, dry mustard, easy, fairly inexpensive, granulated sugar, herbs and spices, lunch, Mozzarella, oregano, parsley, Provolone, rolls, salads, salt, sandwiches, sliced, smoked chicken, smoked turkey, spinach, sunflower oil, thyme, tomatoes, turkey, untested, vegetable oil, white wine vinegar

Given the header picture, I suppose it’s not much of a secret that I’ve made some adaptations to 2-31: Smoked Chicken Salad. Namely, that I’ve changed it from a salad to a sandwich. Here’s the thing–it’s a sad salad as written, but can be made into a pretty decent sandwich that doesn’t require anything different than what’s already required/recommended.

See those rolls in the back of the picture (the ones suggested in the blurb above)? Here’s the quick and dirty: cut one open, take the (very few) salad ingredients, stack inside, eat. Not much more to it than that, but if you’d like to see how that went for me in greater detail, please continue reading.

7-31: Lime Cayenne Pork Chops

Jamie Martin Group 07: Pork, Section 2: Main Courses May 26, 2020June 16, 2020black pepper, boneless, cayenne pepper, chopped, cilantro, citrus, deglazed, diced, dinner, fairly easy, fairly inexpensive, fruit, garnish, grated, green onions, grill pan, grilled, Hutton house, lime juice, limes, lunch, marinated, meal prep, oranges, parsley, pork, pork chops, relish, revisited, salsa, salt, Southwestern, summer, supreme, tomatoes, vegetable oil, zested

In these trying times (are you tired of hearing that yet?), it’s important to make the food you have go as far as you can, and to reduce the amount of food being wasted. Even before “the Rona“, I’ve been spending many a Saturday (or Sunday) meal-prepping for the upcoming week, which has brought down our grocery bills (and our waistlines, but apparently not as quickly).

7-31: Lime Cayenne Pork Chops was part of a “pork chop” meal-prep week, prepared in tandem with 7-53: Cider-Braised Pork Chops and served with some mixed roasted potatoes courtesy of the CSA box. It’s “meat and potatoes”, but maybe with a healthier twist?

My mom apparently made this back in November 1993, and it was “good” and “easy”. I’m not sure who ranked it as such (since she doesn’t eat pork), but we’ll go with that recommendation.