Reader Friday-Dine In or Dine Out?

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Simple question(s) today, TKZers! I’m liking simple more and more these days . . . you too?

Here goes.

1) Do you prefer dining in or dining out?

2) If you’re dining in, please share with us your favorite home-cooked meal.

3) If you’re dining out, please tell us what your favorite place is, and your go-to fave food to eat there.

4) AND, please tell us about a character you’ve written who has any foodie quirks.

 

Hungry yet?

 

 

Here’s my answers: I love salmon. I could eat it seven days a week and never tire of it. And I prefer a home-cooked meal to eating out. (Even if I have to cook it!)

 

 

By the time today is over, Annie Lee is convinced she has no tomorrow.

 

 

 

In my novel, No Tomorrows, the main character is Annie Lee. She’s a married mother of four who for years has served pork chops to her family every Thursday night. Why? She has fear issues, but that’s all I’m sayin’! You’ll just have to read the book…

 

 

 

 

This entry was posted in #writerslife, Food, Writing and tagged by Deb Gorman. Bookmark the permalink.

About Deb Gorman

Deb Gorman is an author, blogger, and speaker who escaped from a 9-5 job in the medical field to pursue what she really loves—words, words, and more words. A lifelong resident of the Pacific Northwest, she writes fiction and non-fiction in between long walks through orchard country with her husband, Alan, and playing with their German Shepherd, Hoka. You can catch up with Deb on her website, debggorman.com, and email her at deb@debggorman.com

31 thoughts on “Reader Friday-Dine In or Dine Out?”

  1. Dining in for sure. Restaurants tend to be very noisy. I like the quiet of home. Plus my dietary life is very boring–salads, fruits & veggies – I don’t cook. On the rare occasion I do eat out, I like ‘down home’ cooking Cracker Barrel style.

    As to characters–except for a recent character with a love for chocolate, I can’t think of any foodie issues with my characters. I think that’s because I write historical so the stories take place before we all got so spoiled by how easily we have access to food and a variety of choices on a daily basis. LOL!

    And kudos to you, Deb on the salmon. My diet would be healthier if it had a marine component but I have always despised any kind of seafood–even tuna fish! Just can’t make myself eat it.

    • Good morning, Brenda!

      I’m with you on the quiet of eating at home. Even if it’s a peanut butter and mayo sandwich, I prefer it to crowded, noisy spaces.

      Too bad about the salmon. I call it the best thing, and the easiest thing, to cook. It’s just so danged expensive these days, though. Aargh!

      Have a great Friday!

      • Have you ever made salmon patties? My mother used to make them make these and I love them. You can get canned salmon inexpensively, for $2-$3 a can. I got a can with my groceries today and plan to make them soon. They are super easy and fast to make. Of course, fresh is best but it is expensive.

  2. Used to love going out with Mrs. B, but of course the economic reality of recent years has prices up, quality and portions down. So more at home these days. I am master of the grill. Ribeye, ribs, chicken–out of sight. I also make a killer tableside Caeser salad, coddled egg and all. Learned it in my waitering days. Mrs. B cooks great salmon, you’ll be happy to know, and performs wonders in the kitchen. And a glass of good wine with dinner costs a few bucks, as opposed to $18-$25. We do have a go-to sushi place where we take out.

    On occasion we’ll go out. There’s a famous place called Duke’s in Malibu, where we enjoy the ocean view.

    • Hey, Jim…you brought back a memory of my Mom making Caesar salad like the fancy-schmancy restaurants do. She had a stint of working as a hostess/waitress at Yakima’s Airport Restaurant. In the ’60s, it was the swank of our little burg. She learned how to make it just as you described, and served it a couple of times that I remember on special occasions, to four wide-eyed tadpoles.

      Let me know when Mrs. B’s cooking salmon. I’ll drop by. Better yet, we all will! Wouldn’t that be fun! 🙂

      Have a great weekend!

  3. I love to cook and will cook just about anything. I love Asian cooking. My latest try was Bò lúc lắc (https://bunbobae.com/vietnamese-shaking-beef-bo-luc-lac/). Came out as good as the $25 a plate at my favorite Vietnamese place. I love shrimp as well. Shrimp, red beans and rice and we are ready to go.

    Like Mr. Bell I learned in commercial kitchens. When she was my girlfriend, my now wife loved that I had worked as a breakfast chef. “How would you like your eggs? Sunny side up, over easy, over medium, over hard, scrambled, poached?” What can I say.

    Now my children do their own cooking, some of the time. First thing in the older child’s kitchen, Daddy’s fried rice recipe.

    • Hi Alan!

      The Vietnamese dish sounds scrumptious! When I went with a medical team to Vietnam in 2007, we didn’t get to eat any fancy food but most of it was good anyway. Best ramen I ever ate, although I’m not sure that’s really Vietnamese!

      First thing in the older child’s kitchen, Daddy’s fried rice recipe. So fun to see our kiddos walk in our footsteps . . . most of the time, anyway!

      Have a good weekend!

  4. The older we get the more we prefer to stay home and cook. We can control the portion sizes, the ingredients, and the quality. And it’s cheaper. We grew up in southern Arizona, so Mexican food reigns supreme in our house. But we also have a meal we call Grill Flesh of Some Animal Plus Salad. It’s easy, quick, and not messy. And if we use a salad kit, very little is leftover. Clean up is a breeze. When we do go out, we like the family owned diners best. I have an unpublished novel where the main characters moved to a small town because they fell in love with the quirky diner and it’s even more quirky owner.

    • Hi Joe!

      Agreed . . . staying home and eating is simpler! We eat a lot of fish and chicken, plus some pork and beef. And we use salad kits all. the. time. 🙂 Also, I like to cook (not really…) enough for 2-3 meals at a time. Leftovers reign in my kitchen.

      Have a good one.

  5. We live in our motor home full-time, so staying put and cooking at home is our preference. When we lived in a sticks-and-bricks, we at out once a week. Not anymore!
    In one of my novels, my main character, Jinxi, who has zero experience at doing any kind of legal work, discovers she loves to cook while doing community service at a food bank. It was fun having her learn even the basics – scrambled eggs!

    • Good morning, Jane. I guess home is anywhere your wheels are, right?

      We just had a 3 day visit from my daughter and husband. He’s a long-haul trucker. The truck is their Motel 6. They parked it on the edge of our five acres and even slept out there, since they’re used to it. Said it’d be more comfortable than our guest room. 🙂 And when they’re on the road, they most often cook at the truck instead of eating in restaurants. They have a small grill, a refrigerator, and even a microwave in the cab. And since they’re on the carnivore diet, all they really need is the grill.

      Have a good day!

  6. My husband is a fantastic cook. He is a master at grilling, especially ribs, brisket, and various chicken dishes. He also has a pizza oven and makes the sauce and dough from scratch. I’m spoiled for any other pizza. He has a sour dough starter and makes bread almost weekly. He cooks and I clean up. I’m getting the better end of the deal, no doubt about it. We rarely eat out, but occasionally I have to have a Whataburger and fries when the craving hits. I just completed a manuscript in which the victim was a barbecue pit master who owned 3 Big Lou Smoke Shacks in San Antonio. His daughter grew up helping him at the pit. Mom was sick of the hickory smoke smell in her hair and hired someone to kill Dad. It’s Texas, after all.

    • Good morning, Kelly. I agree, you’ve got the best end of the kitchen stick for sure. The pizza sounds heavenly.

      Mom was sick of the hickory smoke smell in her hair and hired someone to kill Dad. Now there’s a unique “what if” question for a novel if I ever heard one! Also proves that Texas is indeed a land unto itself… 🙂

      Have a great weekend!

  7. We prefer eating in to eating out. I’m the family chef, so I’m always trying new things. I’m a meat guy over a fish guy, but I can enjoy either. And since the beginning of forever, Friday is pizza night at the Gilstraps’.

    When we do go out, there are some great restaurants around us–The Press Room, Bistro 112, Alma Bea, Martinsburg Thai, Stoney’s and more. They’re all family owned and serve great food. We avoid the national chain restaurants whenever possible. And if you like down home seafood, there’s always Mothershuckers, if only for the name.

    • Happy Friday, Mr. Gilstrap…

      Mothershuckers! I. Love. It. 🙂

      I don’t recall Scorpion ever eating there, though. (Just finished Zero Sum…another home run for ya!) Maybe you should introduce him to the place. Just a thought.

      Have a great Friday!

  8. We much prefer to dine in. Not only does it save $, but also time. Our meals are simple: pasta, soup, salads, etc. But my favorite meal (which we rarely have) is roast beef tenderloin. I have a good recipe for marinating the beef, and it’s an easy meal to prepare for guests.

    We do dine out at least once a week with friends. It’s a nice way to spend a couple of hours catching up with folks without all the preparation and clean up.

    • Hi Kay! Sounds like dining in most of the time is a TKZ trend.

      I smoked a pork tenderloin for the first time the other day. It was so delicious. Just a salad on the side, and we were good.

      Hope you have a great weekend, my friend!

  9. We prefer to dine-in as well. I tend to be the cook, and baked salmon, along with roasted veggies and Yukon gold potatoes, is a very dish of mine to make.

    When we do eat out, Detroit style pizza with friends is a real treat.

  10. Dining out! As soon as I type this I’m going to lunch with the women in my aerobics group. Our condo has a cafe and it serves excellent salmon. Also, homemade bread everything Thursday. I love warm bread and butter.

    • Hi Elaine…

      Salmon and warm home-made bread & butter, friends, and no clean-up! What could be better?

      Thanks for dropping in on your way out! 🙂

  11. We tend to split the difference… dining a la carry-out… typically Chinese from an atypically named storefront called Quality Chef that belies their great General Tso’s and Kung Pow Chicken (with eggrolls… but not in the little to-go boxes).

    …and while it’s not exotic – we’re pretty basic in our wants and needs – the bride is an awesome, grandmother trained southern cook, but will whomp-up an awesome non-southern meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and peas (a fav since I can remember).

    My WIP PI is a fly fishing fan, going after trout, seared over an open campfire…

  12. Nothing close where we live, so it’s mostly eating in. Hubster and I share the cooking duties. I like to experiment with new foods, although again, where we live makes procuring some ingredients problematic.
    Right now, I’m in Portsmouth NH, and we just had lobster rolls for lunch. Not cheap by any means, but when in (almost) Maine, lobster is a must.
    Many of my characters cook, and I like following them around the kitchen.

  13. Hi Terry!

    Lobster’s another one of my go-to seafoods, but only if we eat out. I’ve never had lobster rolls, though.

    Thanks for chiming in today, and have a great time & safe travels.

  14. I usually dine in, and often sous vide the meat. Tonight it was pork tenderloin and a salad kit. Tomorrow night I’ll eat the other half of the salad with another pork tenderloin… It’s hard to cook for one person. 🙂

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