Author: Philip

Lunch

Having collected a guest from Burbank Airport, we all decided it was easier to stop at the Country Deli for lunch. A variety of meals were eaten.

• Average price with tax and tip, $18.63 per person.

Although our guest paid, so at one level it was free!

Dinner

Our guest had specifically requested Filet Americain, which is fair as he was the one who suggested we try it when in Amsterdam. Although raw beef is not for everyone, we all love it. The astute foodie would recognize that this is a Steak Tartare variation.

We had previously prepared this in Amsterdam last year (video will be coming shortly) but the primary difference is in the food supply. In Amsterdam you can buy ground beef ground specifically for tartar. This is different from regular ground beef which should NEVER be used for tartare or Filet Americain.

In the absence of store bought ground beef, a sirloin steak was chosen. Fat was trimmed and the meat cut into coarse cubes before being put in the freezer for about 15 minutes. The freezer time creates a firmer meat that cuts better in the food processor, and it not as prone to overheating in the food process.

In the absence of a food processor, cut finely.

The recipe makes six serves.

• The sirloin was $17.47 or $2.92 per serve
• The shallot added 98c or 17c per serve
• Mayonnaise cost $3.49 for the jar, and 1/5 was used, or 12c per serve
• Worcestershire sauce is $4.13 per jar but only two tablespoons (not four) were used which works out to 5c per serve.
• Similarly mustard adds 7c per serve.
• The baguette was $2.00 or 50c per serve (for four).

Dinner tonight cost just $3.83 per serve.

Lunch

Since we still had chicken it was an obvious choice.

• Split four ways, the $9.99 chicken is $2.50 or $1.25 per serve
• One quarter of the $2.74 salad is 69c
• The flatbread is 50c
• Hummus is $3.99 per container and we used about 1/6 or 33c per serve

Lunch today cost $2.77 a serve.

Dinner

We had expected an Australian guest, so we though that quintessentially Australian dish – the rissole – would be a great choice. Unfortunately our guest was unable to come, but since we’d already made them, we stayed with the program.

For some variety we made a salad of cooked beets, blue cheese, almonds and arugula. It has only the most tenuous of Australian food connection: pickled beets are common on a hamburger down under!

The ground beef came direct from the farm in our Prather Ranch meat delivery.

• Dry aged 85/15 ground beef $8.57 or $2.85 per serve
• 8 oz Panko breadcrumbs are $2.99 and we used half, or 75c per serve
• A pastured egg is 50c or 25c per serve
• The onion is 6c per serve.
• Blue cheese comes in a $6.99 tub, but we used so little, it comes to 22c a serve
• Arugula is $1.99 a pound, or 25c per serve
• The pack of beets cost $2.50 and was split between three for 83c per serve
• The almonds are $6.99 a pack but we used 1/10th or 23c per serve.

The perfect sauce is, once again, my brother’s home-made tomato relish, another Australian tradition.

Dinner tonight cost $5.44.

Lunch

Another Burbank Monday and foodie Philip once again goes for the Double Double Animal Style at In & Out Burger.

• Double Double is $4.03 with tax

Dinner

A second adventure with a Reuben casserole. Truth be told, we got the corned beef with this in mind, as it was so good last time.

It was every bit as good this time as it was back on March 15.

The recipe makes six good size serves. We did try serving it as if it were four serves, but neither of us ate more than the smaller portion.

• Six slices of rye bread are roughly half the $1.99 loaf, or 17c per serve
• The other half of the corned beef is $12.90, or $2.15 per serve
• Trader Joe’s have a Sauerkraut with Persian Cucumbers which combines two ingredients for $3.99 a jar, or 67c per serve.
• Packaged, shredded Swiss Gryere $4.99 or 83c per serve. Although we used the full packet, it was probably closer to three cups than four.
• A pint of half and half is $1.49 and half was used or 13c per serve.
• Organic eggs are 50c each or 25c per serve.
• Greg made “thousand island” dressing with a mix of mayonnaise and shrimp sauce, for about 20c per serve
• We skipped the caraway seeds for taste reasons but the mustard adds another 15c per serve.

This dish is a great way to reuse corned beef, or to have a reason to get a corned beef should in the first place. Dinner tonight cost us $4.55.

Lunch

For lunch today we had wild caught smoked salmon and avocado on an English muffin.

• The wild caught smoked salmon was $5.99 or $3.00 a serve
• An English Muffin is 50c
• The avocado works out to 50c per serve.

Today’s gourmet lunch cost $4.00 per serve.

Dinner

Tonight’s dinner is a play on the traditional ‘Irish’ boiled dinner of corned beef, boiled cabbage and boiled potatoes. Except we’re swapping out the boiled potatoes for Crash Hot Potatoes, and substituting a beet sauerkraut for the cabbage.

Technically we’re staying within the original: potatoes are boiled before being baked, and sauerkraut is cabbage.

Because the corned beef is organic, it has not been treated with sodium nitrate, so it has a more gray appearance than meat treated with nitrates.

• The corned beef came from Whole Foods and was $25.80. We used half for this meal, or $6.45 a serve
• I allowed 55c for potatoes
• Cream, butter and flour run another 50c per serve
• The Wildbrine Red Beet and Red Cabbage salad is $6.99 for the container. We used half or $1.75 a serve.

Tonight’s dinner was a great riff on the standard boiled meal and cost us $9.25 per serve.

Lunch

For lunch we resisted a favorite: our take on a quesadilla now that we have access to the flatbread again. Today we tried Trader Joe’s Refried Black Beans with Jalappeno Peppers and it was very good. It made up for the lack of Fontera salsa

• One flatbread (half of two) costs 50c a serve
• Half a can of refried beans, shared across two halves: 26c
• Fontera salsa is expensive (and tasty) at $4.69 a jar, but sadly it was almost empty so 5c per serve
• 2 oz of cheddar split between two is 50c per serve

Lunch today cost $1.30 per serve and came together in about 10 minutes. Frying in bacon fat is recommended.

Dinner

The Lemon Chicken Orzo soup is close to being our most-cooked dinner. It’s a great dish as it take little time to prepare because it uses pre-cooked chicken. The meyer lemon is again perfect for this dish because it lacks the extreme sourness of most lemon. The recipe made four serves.

For the observant, this is basically just a grown up version of chicken noodle soup!

We served with a par-baked Roast Garlic Bread. And, since it was National Gin and Tonic Day, a G&T with meyer lemon was the perfect pairing. Even when it’s not national G&T day!

• Carrots cost 25c or 8c per serve
• Celery, thyme, oil and garlic adds 20c per serve
• Chicken broth cost 40c per serve
• The store-bought rotisserie chicken breast is $2.25 each leg and thigh, or $1.13 per serve
• The orzo is $1.42 for a 1 lb box, but only half was used for our three serves, or 24c per serve
• Add in 15 c for the other seasonings, etc.
• Served with Simple Truth Ready to bake garlic bread – $3.99 for the loaf (expensive for bread but delicious) or $1.33 per serve

Dinner tonight cost $3.53 per serve!