August 4, 2016 Lunch. Central Grill. Dinner steam oven baked chicken and squash casserole

August 4, 2016 Lunch. Central Grill.  Dinner  steam oven baked chicken and squash casserole

Peter seller and I worked on a contract his morning until 11:30.  I suggested we go out for lunch at Central Grill, which Peter had never been to.  We arrived a few minutes before noon.  I ordered a bison burger and fried onion rings. Peter ordered a burger also. We then claimed the last unoccupied table.  The word is out on Central Grill.  Apparently it is the most highly rated restaurant in Albuquerque by Yelp or some other rating system.  I think deserves its rating due to its consistently good quality ingredients, efficient service and moderate prices.  This was my second visit, we were served our food.  The waitress brought us refills of water, napkins, and mayonnaise quickly, even though I the restaurant was filled with customers.  

I enjoyed my bison burger.  The onion rings were home made, which was a plus, and a little over battered and over fried, which was a negative.  We drank water.

Dinner. I knew we had thawed chicken thighs and three zucchini squash that needed to be cooked, so it did not take long to plan dinner.

I had talked to Susan Palmer about getting together for dinner on Sunday evening and suggested I make squash casserole.  I decided to make a squash casserole to try out a recipe, some people looked on the Internet and immediately foundation this recipe:

4.5 from 17 reviews

Squash Casserole Recipe

 

Print

Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

45 mins

Total time

50 mins

 

Squash Casserole is an essential dish for holidays and special events. Topped with a buttery cracker topping, this squash casserole is an all-time favorite!

Author: Robyn Stone | Add a Pinch

Serves: 12

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons butter

• 4 cups sliced yellow squash

• 1 medium onion, chopped

• 2 eggs

• 1 cup grated cheddar cheese

• 1 cup milk

• 2 tablespoons butter

• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)

• ½ teaspoon salt

• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper

• 1 sleeve Ritz crackers

Instructions

1 Preheat oven to 350º F.

2 Melt 2 tablespoons butter in medium skillet or saute pan over medium-low heat. Add squash and onions and cook until tender.

3 To a large bowl, add eggs and lightly whisk. Add cheese and milk and whisk into egg until well-combined. Add cooked squash and onions to egg mixture and stir well to combined. Melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter in skillet used to cook squash and onions. Add to squash casserole mixture. Add cayenne pepper, if using, along with salt and pepper. Stir well to combine.

4 Spray a 9x13 casserole dish with cooking spray and pour squash casserole mixture into the baking dish. Top evenly with crushed Ritz crackers. Place in preheated oven and bake 45 minutes, or until top has lightly browned and casserole does not "jiggle" when the dish is moved.

Allow to sit for about 3 minutes before serving.

I had all the ingredients except the Ritz crackers and had Progresso seasoned bread crumbs that I could substitute for the crackers.

Bob’s Zucchini Casserole

I followed the above recipe except I substituted zucchini for the yellow squash and bread crumbs for the Ritz crackers.

The casserole congealed nicely and was delicious.

When Suzette came home around 5:30 she decided to bake the chicken thighs in the steaming oven to miniseries any extra fat.

She reviewed the instruction manual and then asked what flavoring I wanted.  I said, “A smoked paprika rub would be fine.”

Instead of 45 minutes, it took only thirty minutes to cook the squash casserole at a top and bottom convection setting at 350 degrees. 

Likewise, it took only thirty minutes to cook the chicken to perfection in the steam oven, instead of the usual 45 to 60 minutes it used to take.  

This is the first time I had made squash casserole by myself.  I think the recipe turned out very well.  The zucchini and onions were well cooked and the custard binding the ingredients was light and held the ingredients in a pleasant suspension.

These new cooking gadgets are highly efficient.

I had chilled two bottles of wine.  One an Italian Vermintino and the other the old reliable Rose of Pinot Grigio.  Here are the two bottles.

A lesson.  I bought a case of the 2010 Vermintino at a deep discount at Quarters without trying the wine and it appears I got a bad case of wine.  We have now tried three bottles of it and only one bottle has been good.  So, do not buy a case of discounted wine that you have not tasted to make sure it is not spoiled.  We can probably use this Vermentino wine for cooking, but not drinking.

 I opened the 2014 Conte prolapse Rose of Pinot Grigio delle Venezie, which is a wonderful bottle of wine carried by Total Wine for $7.99 and discounted to $6.39 when Total Wine featured a  20% discount for Italian wines.  It is my favorite bottle of rose for the money at Total Wine, or anywhere in Albuquerque.

We wanted a little something else and Suzette decided to check on the fig situation in the neighborhood.  The neighbor's figs were not yet ripe, but Suzette found four lovely ripe figs on our little bush in the back yard.  She cross hatched the tops and stuffed the figs with fresh California goat cheese from Costco.

I added a dab of sweet Mango chutney to my plate to give the chicken a bit more flavor.

After dinner Willy came by and Suzette fixed him a plate and he stayed and we watched Nigeria beat Japan in Olympic men’s soccer and some of the daily craziness of the election until 10:00, when I went to bed.  

Bon Appetit