Cooking in a hotel room, revisited

On Tue, 16 May 2006 14:12:38 -0500, in rec.food.cooking, "jmcquown"
<[email hidden]> hit the crackpipe and declared:

Quoted message said:

It's two weeks until the trip and I've had a couple more thoughts.

It was mentioned, and I'm leaning towards pan-fried steaks. He loves filet
minon; I'd go with either that or pan-fried NY strip. Heck, I even told him
I'd nuke "baked potatoes" LOL

Last year we did use leftover pasta after I used the first two chicken
breast halves to make stuffed chicken parmesan in a tomato sauce. The
remaining two chicken breast halves were used with artichoke hearts, etc. to
prepare a second meal a couple of nights later with the leftover pasta. It
worked out very well.

Anyway, last night I had a dream about this. You fish nay-sayers may
criticize all you wish, but I would think a hotel room that has a kitchen
provides some sort of relief from cooking scents. Besides, this isn't a
hermetically sealed suite; the windows actually open. And now I'm not
talking about fish, I'm talking about already cooked frozen shrimp. Not
like I'll be boiling cabbage. So I'd like your opinion, given I dreamt
about this last night:

*snip rest of erratic ramblings for sanity's sake

So it sounds like you have you mind already made up on the subject, so
why the elongated brainfart to Usenet?

Please spare us your errant thoughts, in short:

Go blow a goat.

jmcquown said:

It's two weeks until the trip and I've had a couple more thoughts.

It was mentioned, and I'm leaning towards pan-fried steaks. He loves filet
minon; I'd go with either that or pan-fried NY strip. Heck, I even told him
I'd nuke "baked potatoes" LOL

Saute some broccoli florets in olive oil until tender-crisp. Throw in lots
of garlic (I'm picturing 4-6 cloves, slivered) and maybe some sliced
mushrooms. Continue to saute until garlic is lightly browned and mushrooms
are tender. Deglaze the pan with a splash of white wine or squeeze a small
lemon into the pan. Add medium-sized cooked frozen peeled deveined shrimp.
Add half & half and simmer until the shrimp are heated through and the sauce
has reduced. Season with salt & pepper, perhaps some Italian flat-leaf
parsley (I don't want to go heavy on or buy a lot of herbs). Serve on a bed
of pasta.

If you're concerned about stinking out other guests, then lose both the
broccoli and the garlic. Both of those are very strong smelling.

Quoted message said:

Jill

--Bryan

jmcquown said:

It's two weeks until the trip and I've had a couple more thoughts.

It was mentioned, and I'm leaning towards pan-fried steaks. He loves filet
minon; I'd go with either that or pan-fried NY strip. Heck, I even told him
I'd nuke "baked potatoes" LOL

Last year we did use leftover pasta after I used the first two chicken
breast halves to make stuffed chicken parmesan in a tomato sauce. The
remaining two chicken breast halves were used with artichoke hearts, etc. to
prepare a second meal a couple of nights later with the leftover pasta. It
worked out very well.

Anyway, last night I had a dream about this. You fish nay-sayers may
criticize all you wish, but I would think a hotel room that has a kitchen
provides some sort of relief from cooking scents. Besides, this isn't a
hermetically sealed suite; the windows actually open. And now I'm not
talking about fish, I'm talking about already cooked frozen shrimp. Not
like I'll be boiling cabbage. So I'd like your opinion, given I dreamt
about this last night:

Saute some broccoli florets in olive oil until tender-crisp. Throw in lots
of garlic (I'm picturing 4-6 cloves, slivered) and maybe some sliced
mushrooms. Continue to saute until garlic is lightly browned and mushrooms
are tender. Deglaze the pan with a splash of white wine or squeeze a small
lemon into the pan. Add medium-sized cooked frozen peeled deveined shrimp.
Add half & half and simmer until the shrimp are heated through and the sauce
has reduced. Season with salt & pepper, perhaps some Italian flat-leaf
parsley (I don't want to go heavy on or buy a lot of herbs). Serve on a bed
of pasta.

And there's always hamburgers. He and I both love mushroom swiss burgers.

The whole point of this is not to impress but to save money. We could go
out for a steak dinner and spend $75, or we could make use of the kitchen in
the room and spend about $15-20 for the same dinner. He's bringing the wine
🙂 We could go to an Italian restaurant and spent $50 on a shrimp and pasta
dinner, or (again) make a similar dinner in our room.

NOTE: I'm not trying to nay-say any ideas but I *will* say I'm not carrying
cooked food with me on the plane LOL I'm just trying to get a little
creative without having to spend a fortune eating out for six days, four of
which we'll be tired from working at the art show.

I can sympathize. I'm married to a Scout leader who loves outdoor
cooking. Last year when we were forced to spend more days in a motel
than we had anticipated while waiting for a ferry, I bemoaned the fact
that we hadn't rented a housekeeping unit since it would be nice to
have a home-cooked meal instead of blowing more of our budget on
restaurants. I was reading a good book so didn't pay much attention
when DH said he was going for a drive.

I heard him return but he didn't come in to the room. After a while,
getting curious, I looked out to see him sitting on a folding chair by
the car. He had his one burner stove going and was cooking us supper:
Salmon poached in a court bouillon, new potatoes, fresh green & yellow
beans. It was delicious and a heck of a lot cheaper than we could have
purchased in a restaurant.

Gabby

On 16 May 2006 12:43:24 -0700, in rec.food.cooking, "Food Snob"
<[email hidden]> hit the crackpipe and declared:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

If you're concerned about stinking out other guests, then lose both the
broccoli and the garlic. Both of those are very strong smelling.

As are your Jockey shorts, I'm sure.

I guess I feel if I found it necessary to cook while traveling, I probably
wouldn't go. A big part of travel for me is doing nothing I do at home,
including cooking. I suppose for those who don't mind, it's fine.

--

Wayne Boatwright
_____________________________________________________________

"How can a nation be great if it's bread taste like Kleenex?"

Julia Child

Wayne Boatwright said:

I guess I feel if I found it necessary to cook while traveling, I
probably wouldn't go. A big part of travel for me is doing nothing I
do at home, including cooking. I suppose for those who don't mind,
it's fine.

It's a paycheck, Wayne. Also an opportunity for me to see my long lost love
again for the first time since February. It was my idea to cook in the
room. I hate exhorbitant restaurant prices and often restaurant food, not
to mention the suite with the kitchen is very nice.

Jill

On Tue 16 May 2006 01:21:27p, Thus Spake Zarathustra, or was it jmcquown?

Quoted message said:

Wayne Boatwright said:

I guess I feel if I found it necessary to cook while traveling, I
probably wouldn't go. A big part of travel for me is doing nothing I
do at home, including cooking. I suppose for those who don't mind,
it's fine.

It's a paycheck, Wayne. Also an opportunity for me to see my long lost
love again for the first time since February. It was my idea to cook in
the room. I hate exhorbitant restaurant prices and often restaurant
food, not to mention the suite with the kitchen is very nice.

Then for you, at this juncture, it makes perfect sense. I realize the trip
is for business apart from the opportunity to be together. My situation
for travel would simply be different.

It should be an interesting challenge, nonetheless, and I'm sure you'll to
a great job of it.

--

Wayne Boatwright
_____________________________________________________________

"How can a nation be great if it's bread taste like Kleenex?"

Julia Child

projectile vomit chick said:

On 16 May 2006 12:43:24 -0700, in rec.food.cooking, "Food Snob"
<[email hidden]> hit the crackpipe and declared:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

If you're concerned about stinking out other guests, then lose both the
broccoli and the garlic. Both of those are very strong smelling.

As are your Jockey shorts, I'm sure.

Commando.

--Bryan

jmcquown said:

It's two weeks until the trip and I've had a couple more thoughts.

It was mentioned, and I'm leaning towards pan-fried steaks. He loves filet
minon; I'd go with either that or pan-fried NY strip. Heck, I even told him
I'd nuke "baked potatoes" LOL

Just watch out for the hotel smoke detectors. Even a little smoke
(sometimes just a little vapor) from normal cooking can set them off.
Have a towel ready to wave in front of it to fan the smoke away. The
hotels also tend to provide real thin pans. It's easy to overheat them.

Don't ask me how I know. But I know. ;-)

Rusty

"jmcquown" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

It's two weeks until the trip and I've had a couple more thoughts.

It was mentioned, and I'm leaning towards pan-fried steaks. He loves
filet
minon; I'd go with either that or pan-fried NY strip. Heck, I even told
him
I'd nuke "baked potatoes" LOL

Last year we did use leftover pasta after I used the first two chicken
breast halves to make stuffed chicken parmesan in a tomato sauce. The
remaining two chicken breast halves were used with artichoke hearts, etc.
to
prepare a second meal a couple of nights later with the leftover pasta.
It
worked out very well.

Anyway, last night I had a dream about this. You fish nay-sayers may
criticize all you wish, but I would think a hotel room that has a kitchen
provides some sort of relief from cooking scents. Besides, this isn't a
hermetically sealed suite; the windows actually open. And now I'm not
talking about fish, I'm talking about already cooked frozen shrimp. Not
like I'll be boiling cabbage. So I'd like your opinion, given I dreamt
about this last night:

Saute some broccoli florets in olive oil until tender-crisp. Throw in
lots
of garlic (I'm picturing 4-6 cloves, slivered) and maybe some sliced
mushrooms. Continue to saute until garlic is lightly browned and
mushrooms
are tender. Deglaze the pan with a splash of white wine or squeeze a
small
lemon into the pan. Add medium-sized cooked frozen peeled deveined
shrimp.
Add half & half and simmer until the shrimp are heated through and the
sauce
has reduced. Season with salt & pepper, perhaps some Italian flat-leaf
parsley (I don't want to go heavy on or buy a lot of herbs). Serve on a
bed
of pasta.

And there's always hamburgers. He and I both love mushroom swiss burgers.

The whole point of this is not to impress but to save money. We could go
out for a steak dinner and spend $75, or we could make use of the kitchen
in
the room and spend about $15-20 for the same dinner. He's bringing the
wine
🙂 We could go to an Italian restaurant and spent $50 on a shrimp and
pasta
dinner, or (again) make a similar dinner in our room.

NOTE: I'm not trying to nay-say any ideas but I *will* say I'm not
carrying
cooked food with me on the plane LOL I'm just trying to get a little
creative without having to spend a fortune eating out for six days, four
of
which we'll be tired from working at the art show.

It sounds good, but honestly, if I was cooking in a hotel room, and it was
very short-term, and I was planning on being exhausted, I'd probably opt for
things that didn't require much from me at all. It's not like this is a
lifestyle, so if it's a little unbalanced, what difference does it make?

And I wouldn't want to end up buying ingredients that I had to use up or
throw away before I left, unless it was so cheap that I didn't care. Burger
buns come in 8-packs...do you use condiments? Want pickles? Things you take
for granted at home, you won't find in the hotel fridge. You're stuck buying
everything from salt and pepper to butter and oil, all of which adds up. And
if you forget something, you're not going to want to run out and get it at
the last minute.

Rotisserie chicken, bagged salad, some kind of nuked veggie or potato. That
would be fine. Buy some pasta and a good jarred sauce, if you know there's
one you like. Couple of steaks is simple.

Find out if there's a good local deli and pick stuff up there. Pizza. Sub
sandwiches. If this was a 3-week thing, cooking more complicated food might
be worthwhile, but for a couple of days, I'd be eating stuff I don't eat
much at home.

By the way, what kind of art show is this? You mentioned Olathe...is there
anything else in Colorado?

Donna

In article <[email hidden]>,

jmcquown said:

Anyway, last night I had a dream about this. You fish nay-sayers may
criticize all you wish, but I would think a hotel room that has a kitchen
provides some sort of relief from cooking scents. Besides, this isn't a
hermetically sealed suite; the windows actually open. And now I'm not
talking about fish, I'm talking about already cooked frozen shrimp. Not
like I'll be boiling cabbage. So I'd like your opinion, given I dreamt
about this last night:

Jill

My kitchen vent fan vents to the outside. My kitchen windows open. You
can still smell the strong smells after a bit. Do what you will --
because you will anyway, right? :-) Cooked frozen shrimp? I'd be
making shrimp creole - but that's just me - and my opinion. Have a good
trip.

--
-Barb
<http://jamlady.eboard.com> Updated 5/14/2006, Visit #17 to Mount
Calvary.
"If it's not worth doing to excess, it's not worth doing at all."

jmcquown said:

It's two weeks until the trip and I've had a couple more thoughts.

It was mentioned, and I'm leaning towards pan-fried steaks. He loves filet
minon; I'd go with either that or pan-fried NY strip. Heck, I even told him
I'd nuke "baked potatoes" LOL

Don't forget the shallots and shrooms. I'd prefer a ribeye, but I
wouldn't turn up my nose at any good steak.

Quoted message said:

Saute some broccoli florets in olive oil until tender-crisp. Throw in lots
of garlic (I'm picturing 4-6 cloves, slivered) and maybe some sliced
mushrooms. Continue to saute until garlic is lightly browned and mushrooms
are tender. Deglaze the pan with a splash of white wine or squeeze a small
lemon into the pan. Add medium-sized cooked frozen peeled deveined shrimp.
Add half & half and simmer until the shrimp are heated through and the sauce
has reduced. Season with salt & pepper, perhaps some Italian flat-leaf
parsley (I don't want to go heavy on or buy a lot of herbs). Serve on a bed
of pasta.

Sounds good to me. In fact, I'm kinda hungry now...

Quoted message said:

The whole point of this is not to impress but to save money. We could go
out for a steak dinner and spend $75, or we could make use of the kitchen in
the room and spend about $15-20 for the same dinner. He's bringing the wine
🙂 We could go to an Italian restaurant and spent $50 on a shrimp and pasta
dinner, or (again) make a similar dinner in our room.

For me, the money saving works like this : Go to the store, and find a
way to cook what's on sale. This means I'm usualy the idiot walking
around the store in the unorthodox order. I hit the meat dept first,
then go back to the produce. If I don't want to be an idiot, I'll read
the flyers, but they don't always have the complete list of what's on
sale.

Dean G.

jmcquown wrote on Tuesday, May 16, 2006:

Quoted message said:

It's a paycheck, Wayne. Also an opportunity for me to see my long lost love
again for the first time since February. It was my idea to cook in the
room. I hate exhorbitant restaurant prices and often restaurant food, not
to mention the suite with the kitchen is very nice.

Well, scatter some peanut shells on the floor and it will feel like
you're in a
restaurant. (or not)

KevinS said:

jmcquown wrote on Tuesday, May 16, 2006:

Quoted message said:

It's a paycheck, Wayne. Also an opportunity for me to see my long
lost love again for the first time since February. It was my idea
to cook in the room. I hate exhorbitant restaurant prices and often
restaurant food, not to mention the suite with the kitchen is very
nice.

Well, scatter some peanut shells on the floor and it will feel like
you're in a
restaurant. (or not)

Only if I can sue if I hurt my leg! LOL

Rusty said:

jmcquown said:

It's two weeks until the trip and I've had a couple more thoughts.

It was mentioned, and I'm leaning towards pan-fried steaks. He
loves filet minon; I'd go with either that or pan-fried NY strip.
Heck, I even told him I'd nuke "baked potatoes" LOL

Just watch out for the hotel smoke detectors. Even a little smoke
(sometimes just a little vapor) from normal cooking can set them off.
Have a towel ready to wave in front of it to fan the smoke away. The
hotels also tend to provide real thin pans. It's easy to overheat
them.

Don't ask me how I know. But I know. ;-)

Rusty

True, but when I cooked there last year it wasn't a problem. And the
windows *do* open, for which I'm grateful. I like fresh air 🙂 As for the
cookware, yes, it's thin, cheap stuff. If they provided top of the line
imagine how much of it would walk out the door!

Jill

D.Currie said:

"jmcquown" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

It's two weeks until the trip and I've had a couple more thoughts.

It was mentioned, and I'm leaning towards pan-fried steaks. He loves
filet
minon; I'd go with either that or pan-fried NY strip. Heck, I even
told him
I'd nuke "baked potatoes" LOL

Last year we did use leftover pasta after I used the first two
chicken breast halves to make stuffed chicken parmesan in a tomato
sauce. The remaining two chicken breast halves were used with
artichoke hearts, etc. to
prepare a second meal a couple of nights later with the leftover
pasta. It
worked out very well.

It sounds good, but honestly, if I was cooking in a hotel room, and
it was very short-term, and I was planning on being exhausted, I'd
probably opt for things that didn't require much from me at all. It's
not like this is a lifestyle, so if it's a little unbalanced, what
difference does it make?

Well, for John it *is* a lifestyle. The poor guy generally stays in a
campground and eats tuna-fish or grilled cheese sandwiches. LOL

Quoted message said:

And I wouldn't want to end up buying ingredients that I had to use up
or throw away before I left, unless it was so cheap that I didn't
care. Burger buns come in 8-packs...do you use condiments? Want
pickles? Things you take for granted at home, you won't find in the
hotel fridge. You're stuck buying everything from salt and pepper to
butter and oil, all of which adds up. And if you forget something,
you're not going to want to run out and get it at the last minute.

True, but he carries basic stuff like mayo, mustard and pickles, even butter
and olive oil in his insulated cooler in the truck (he empties and puts in
fresh bags of ice every day). He has salt & pepper, stuff like that. We
didn't spend much money on food last year and I didn't cook anything that
would leave us with leftovers to discard unused. The hamburger buns might
be a problem, you have a point there...

Quoted message said:

Rotisserie chicken, bagged salad, some kind of nuked veggie or
potato. That would be fine. Buy some pasta and a good jarred sauce,
if you know there's one you like. Couple of steaks is simple.

If this was a 3-week thing, cooking more complicated
food might be worthwhile, but for a couple of days, I'd be eating
stuff I don't eat much at home.

Heh, I don't eat like this at home. It's only rare occasions I cook
anything like I'd expect to find in a restaurant 🙂 My home cooking tends
to be pretty simple fare.

Quoted message said:

By the way, what kind of art show is this? You mentioned Olathe...is
there anything else in Colorado?

Donna

It's an outdoor fine arts show, although you'll find a few people who sell
"crafts" things there. John is a freelance oil painter (all originals).
There is also generally a lot of hand-blown glass, hand-made jewelry,
pottery, stuff like that. The mention of Olathe is another show in Kansas
(I can't remember the name of the park where they hold it). John doesn't
work outside of the mid-west. It's too much effort to make the drive,
especially now with gas prices the way they are. He's in a 22 ft. box van
which he calls "home" when he's on the road unless I'm with him, then we
find a hotel to stay in.

Jill

Hi, Jill,
So glad you're going to see your sweetie. Chicken breasts stuffed with
ham and spinach would work well, I would think. And a fabulous dessert
(bought at the bakery) would be good. I hope you'll have a fabulous
time!
Cheers,
Nancree

Melba's Jammin said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

jmcquown said:

Anyway, last night I had a dream about this. You fish nay-sayers may
criticize all you wish, but I would think a hotel room that has a
kitchen provides some sort of relief from cooking scents. Besides,
this isn't a hermetically sealed suite; the windows actually open.
And now I'm not talking about fish, I'm talking about already cooked
frozen shrimp. Not like I'll be boiling cabbage. So I'd like your
opinion, given I dreamt about this last night:

Jill

My kitchen vent fan vents to the outside. My kitchen windows open.
You can still smell the strong smells after a bit. Do what you will
-- because you will anyway, right? :-) Cooked frozen shrimp? I'd be
making shrimp creole - but that's just me - and my opinion. Have a
good trip.

Thank you for your opinion and the good wishes. Actually, poor John has
problems with things like shrimp creole. Anything more than a little black
pepper and his mouth is burning. But you've given me another idea. Shrimp
and sausage jambalaya (using the Zatarain's mix). I can use mild sausage
for him and spice mine up in the bowl! Thanks!

"Food Snob" <[email hidden]> wrote in news:1147812389.623123.160540
@j55g2000cwa.googlegroups.com:

Quoted message said:

projectile vomit chick said:

On 16 May 2006 12:43:24 -0700, in rec.food.cooking, "Food Snob"
<[email hidden]> hit the crackpipe and declared:

Quoted message said:

>
If you're concerned about stinking out other guests, then lose both

the

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

broccoli and the garlic. Both of those are very strong smelling.

As are your Jockey shorts, I'm sure.

Commando.

--Bryan

The *only* way to go :-)

--
Peter Lucas
Brisbane
Australia

At this spectacle even the most gentle must feel savage, and the most
savage must weep.

Turkish Officer
400 Plateau
24May1915