Art2mis dishes

Salt-baked potatoes

2012-01-08T21:43:00.002-05:00

There used to be a restaurant within walking distance that I loved. It was a good steakhouse, but what I really craved were the salt-baked potatoes. I've searched for years for a method to produce those potatoes...slightly crusty on the outside, salty but not over-salted, fluffy and creamy on the inside...I finally hit upon it tonight.

For 2 medium-to-large Idaho potatoes, scrub them and then bury them in rock salt in a large metal loaf pan. It takes about 2 cups of rock salt. Bake them at 350 for at least 90 minutes. Remove the potatoes and brush off all the rock salt. You can re-use the salt, so keep it for the next time.

Simple perfection. I may never eat potatoes another way again. We roasted them at the same time we were roasting some beef, and frankly we much preferred the potatoes to the beef.

Orange Pork Stir-fry

2012-01-06T12:33:00.003-05:00

Cooking for my family is tricky.

B (8) would subsist on dessert, if he could. He eats like a bird, and always, ALWAYS leaves at least one bite on the plate. The trick is to give him small portions so there isn't so much wasted. He's underweight and pretty small, and only somewhat physically active. He does like spicy food, though.
Kiddo (8) would subsist on carbs and cheese if he could. And ketchup. He cannot stand even the hint of spiciness. He's a little overweight but very physically active and never seems to stop growing.
E (12) toys with vegetarianism, is growing like a weed, and worries overmuch about food safety. She's prefers simple spices.
Meli is tall and thin and could stand to gain some muscle weight. He seems to be able to eat anything and not gain weight -- 7 donuts in a sitting? Check. Double cheeseburger and fries? How about two? An entire large pizza? Why not? His cholesterol could be better, though. He's currently cutting out most carbs. I'm not entirely sure why. He's a great cook, but it tends to be heavily fatty and saucy comfort food.
I've gained 15 pounds since I met Meli, yikes! I love to cook and get bored with the kid's preferred foods. I work out about 4 days out of 7, if not more, and count calories, but hey, I'm over 40 and it's hard to get that weight off and keep it off. My cholesterol could also be better. Meli and I both love spicy foods from all sorts of ethnic backgrounds.

So I was thrilled when what I made last night pleased EVERYBODY. I kept the veggies and the meat separate and didn't put any sauce on them, and served the sauce separately. I didn't measure or write it down while cooking, sadly, but here's the gist.

1-2 cups rice
2 thick boneless pork chops
1 navel orange
4 cloves garlic
1 small knob of fresh ginger, peeled
2 Tbs soy sauce
3 Tbs mirin
salt
1 bell pepper, red or orange or yellow
1 small head broccoli
2 cups snow peas
1 Tbs sesame seeds
1 container shitake mushrooms
Sesame oil and peanut oil

Start the rice cooking
Put the chops in a glass dish
Zest and juice the orange into the dish
Mince the garlic and ginger, add to the dish
Add the soy sauce and mirin and a pinch of salt per pork chop
Set the pork aside to marinate while you're preparing the rest
Heat a wok
Slice up the bell pepper into thin rounds
Break up the broccoli into flowers
Chop the mushrooms
When all the ingredients are prepped, add a splash of sesame oil and enough peanut oil to the wok for stir-frying...about 2-3 Tbs?
Add the bell pepper to the wok, stir-fry for about a minute
Add the broccoli, stir-fry for about 2 minutes
Add the snow peas and the sesame seeds, continue stir-frying until all the vegetables are crisp-tender
Transfer the vegetables to a serving dish and keep warm.
Add the mushrooms to the wok but keep them to the sides of the pan
While they sweat, remove the pork from the marinade and slice it somewhat thinly...about 1/2 inch slices. Save the marinade in the dish.
Add the pork to the wok and stir-fry with the mushrooms until it's done, it should spring back when pressed. About 5 minutes?
When it's done, put it into a serving dish
Pour the marinade into the wok and boil it for a minute, then transfer to a sauceboat.

Serve everything separate -- the carb-lovers get lots of rice, the kids who can't stand spice get fairly plain veggies that taste great because of the sesame oil and seeds, the sauce is amazingly good for those who can stand a little spice, everyone loves the pork which is juicy and tender and only very slightly flavored by the orange sauce, and since it's all cut up small not much went to waste.

Pear and Ginger Phyllo Triangles

2011-12-11T21:15:00.001-05:00

These are amazing. Sweet, savory, tart, creamy, crunchy...I really wish they weren't all in the freezer now awaiting reheating for the party.

Meli and I made these, Jezebel sauce, sugar cookies (not yet decorated) and raisin-filled Christmas cookies this evening. Oh, and dinner. I'm exhausted, but it's been a great day.

1 egg
1 lemon, zested and juiced, zest chopped finely
8 oz mascarpone cheese
1/4 cup candied ginger, chopped finely
3 oz triple creme goat brie (or regular brie), chopped
2 medium pears, cored and chopped
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
1 pound phyllo dough

Preheat oven to 350F.
Beat the egg in a medium bowl with a whisk.
Add the lemon juice, zest and mascarpone and mix well with a rubber spatula
Add the ginger and brie and pears, mix well
Make the triangles:

Take a sheet of phyllo, lay it on a large cutting board long side up, and brush it with butter
Take a second sheet of phyllo, place it over the first sheet, brush it with butter
With a sharp knife, cut the phyllo lengthwise into four strips
Place a heaping teaspoonful of filling at the bottom of each strip
Fold from the bottom right corner over to the left side, then fold the resulting triangle up, then the next resulting triangle over to the right side, then up again. Continue in this fashion up the strip.
Put the triangles on a cookie sheet.

Bake them for 20 minutes.
If not serving immediately, transfer the slightly cooled triangles into plastic storage containers lined with parchment or wax paper and freeze. Make sure there is paper between each layer. Freeze. They can be reheated for 10-15 minutes in a 350F oven straight out of the freezer.

Christmas party and Children's play

2011-12-11T10:22:00.001-05:00

When we were young, my parents threw an annual Christmas party where one of the features was that the children put on a holiday play. It was so much fun!

I am my mother's daughter, and decided to attempt to replicate her insanity this year. We've had over a dozen kids over here rehearsing for the production and generally making (adorable) menaces of themselves. The house has been transformed into a space suitable for putting on a play and having a bunch of people over. This weekend, we are decorating, cooking, cleaning, and shopping for the party next weekend.

I find that a lot of advance planning and cooking are the key to enjoying myself at parties. Luckily, Meli agrees! The shopping list is being split into "today" and "later", the cooking list has assignments and days written on it.

Here's the progress on the menu so far:

Spanakopitas - Mom will make these, they can be frozen and reheated night of.
Gingered Pear & brie triangles - I'm going to make this up today, I'll be creating the recipe so will blog about it later (hopefully). Also will be frozen and reheated night of.
Deviled Eggs - Meli will make on Friday
"Crack" dip and Tostito scoops - Meli or I will make on Saturday, it's so easy...look up Rotel Sausage Dip on the web
Fried duck, pancakes and duck sauce - Meli will fry the duck on Saturday and chop it up, I'll make the pancakes and duck sauce on Thursday and steam them right before serving.
Crab beignets and Aioli - Meli will make these right after frying the duck, the aioli will be made Friday night.
Roast beef sticks - deli roast beef (Whole Foods in-house is the best!) spread with a horseradish garlic oil, covered in arugula and wrapped around grissini (skinny Italian bread stick). I'll prepare those Saturday morning or possibly Friday night.
Dolmades! I'm going to make these Tuesday or Wednesday, put them at the back of the fridge in their serving dish, which is a nice stoneware pot with a lid.
Gravlax and toasts - Meli will make the gravlax on Thursday evening.
Crudites & blue cheese dip - day of. Crudites also include "ants on a log" which is something I had never heard of before, celery sticks filled with cream cheese and topped with raisins. Meli makes the blue cheese dressing and it's fantastic, I think he'll make it Friday night.
Cheeses and crackers - Baked Goat Brie with Fig Preserves, Cheese ball, and cream cheese topped with Jezebel sauce. Jezebel sauce will be made today by Meli, cheese ball will be made Thursday or Friday.
Hummus and pita
Fruit tray with yogurt sauce and chocolate fondue - I already made an orange pound cake for dipping last night, it's in the freezer.
Scotch egg nog, will be made early in the day on Saturday.
Cookies - I made chocolate-hazelnut meringues this morning, Meli made dough for sugar cookies last night, we'll decorate those today, Meli will make raisin filled sugar cookies as well, and macaroons will be made on Wednesday or Thursday.

Spanakopita

2011-07-10T10:58:00.002-04:00

This is the recipe from The Grecian Plate, a fantastic cookbook produced by the Greek Orthodox Church in Durham, NC. I've made a few annotations in italics, because I do it slightly differently

3 (10-oz) packages of frozen chopped spinach, thawed (or lots of fresh spinach or dark leafy greens, kale is great!)
4 medium onions, chopped (I only use one large or two medium onions, usually)
6 whole green onions, chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup water
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper (I use fresh ground, and probably more like 1/2 tsp)
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
1/4 cup minced fresh dill (optional)
1 tsp cream of wheat
5 eggs, beaten
1 cup cottage cheese (can be replaced by chevre for the lactose intolerant)
1 1/2 cups crumbled feta cheese
1 pound phyllo
1 to 1 1/4 cups butter, melted and warm (I don't usually use this much butter. I start with one stick and add a bit of olive oil, that's usually enough for the whole pie)

(If using frozen spinach) Drain spinach thoroughly in colander, squeezing out excess moisture.
In a large skillet (if using frozen spinach, or a large non-reactive pot if using fresh greens), saute onions in olive oil over medium heat until tender, stirring constantly.
Add spinach, water, seasonings and herbs; cook until liquid is absorbed.
Sprinkle cream of wheat over top; cool.
In a large bowl, combine eggs and cheeses; stir in spinach mixture, blending well.
Set aside.
Assemble pita (following directions are mine, the cookbook has a slightly different detailed set plus diagrams)

Phyllo should be defrosted
Set out two large cutting boards, and a large, wide baking pan. Have the melted butter and a pastry brush ready.
Carefully unfold the phyllo on the first board, cover with waxed paper and a very slightly damp towel (not too wet) -- this might not be required at all if you can work quickly enough so that the phyllo doesn't dry out.
Working as quickly as you can, transfer a sheet to the second board, brush it lightly with the pastry brush and place the phyllo into the pan. Overlap each sheet, allowing overhang on all sides. Use about 2/3 of the phyllo in this manner.
Pour the filling in, then fold the overhang over the top of it.
Add the remaining phyllo sheets on top, this time not overhanging.

Bake at 350 degrees for 55 to 60 minutes, or until golden brown (or you can freeze it, bake it later.

Vanilla Mint Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream

2010-08-08T16:10:00.002-04:00

Yesterday, Mr. D brought over beautiful fresh peaches, cream and milk and an ice cream maker and we all made ice cream. Kiddo was so enamored of the process (but not so crazy about the peach flavoring) that he decided we should make ice cream again today, but this time with mint and chocolate. "Dark chocolate, Mom." He helped with all the steps, encouraged me to make up the recipe and write it down. Smart kid!

This makes 3 quarts.

3 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped
6 large egg yolks
1 cup sugar
1 bar (minus a few pieces to snack on) of Escazu 70% dark chocolate with sea salt, chopped finely
1 large bunch fresh mint, washed and spun dry, chopped finely
1 Tbs green creme de menthe

Add cream and milk to a large heavy saucepan
Add the split vanilla bean and seeds
Bring to a simmer, then turn off the heat, cover and set for 20 minutes
Whisk the egg yolks and sugar together
When the milk mixture has steeped for 20 minutes, add a few ladles of the milk to the eggs and whisk, then add the eggs back into the saucepan with the milk. Remove the vanilla bean
Bring the custard to a low simmer, stirring constantly, until the mixture reaches 165 degrees
Refrigerate the custard in a clean bowl until chilled
Add the mint, chocolate and creme de menthe to the custard
Follow the directions on your ice cream maker

Shrimp and Mushroom Phyllo Triangles

2010-07-23T16:47:00.003-04:00

On July 11th, I was feeling pretty sad and missing Ms. N tremendously. So I did what I often do as therapy...I cooked. Something she would have been able to eat and would have enjoyed, something new. Bonus: I froze the triangles and will use them at a dinner party I'm having tomorrow night.

The mix for these turned out a bit too soupy, so next time I'll strain the juices from the pan or add more feta.

1 bunch green onions, chopped

1 lemon, zest and juice

8 ounces mushrooms, quartered

1 lb shrimp, shelled

1/2 lb goat milk butter

Big bunch mint, chopped

1 tsp crushed red peppers

salt & pepper

1 Tbs olive oil

3 eggs

1/2 lb goat or sheep milk feta

1 lb phyllo

Heat the olive oil, add the mushrooms and shallots and saute until the mushrooms start expressing their liquid
Add the shrimp and lemon juice, salt, pepper and crushed red peppers. Saute until the shrimp are done
Take the mixture off the heat and toss in the mint, let it cool
Beat the eggs, mix in the feta. Add the shrimp and mushroom mixture
Make triangles as detailed here.

In Progress: Custard, Mango and Strawberry Tarts

2010-05-16T17:08:00.002-04:00

Yesterday, Kiddo and I went to Farmer Fred's for pic-yer-own strawberries. I got a basket's worth, some a bit overripe (on purpose). There's a charity sale at work next week, and I intend to go all out on some pies.

Yesterday, I hulled and separated -- about 2 cups were very ripe or overripe, and I set those into a dish in the fridge. The rest I put in a freezer bag and froze.

Today, I used Jaime Oliver's recipe for Short Crust Sweet Pastry to make enough pastry for 4 tarts. This is a rich, eggy pastry, it should go well with the custard. I got to the point where the pastry is in the fridge resting. I'll bake the crusts blind tomorrow or the next day, then freeze them. This is definitely a multi-day project! The plan is to make a vanilla-bean custard, spread it in the baked pie shells, top with the sauce and then layer slices of mangoes and strawberries on top. Then freeze the whole thing.

Then I combined the two cups of strawberries with two tablespoons of sugar and simmered and squished them into a sauce...I suppose I might run it through a blender and strain into a coulis, but I haven't decided yet.

Oh, by the way, the custard and the pie crust both call for lots and lots of egg yolks. I'm keeping the whites and will make meringue cookies with hazelnuts and dark chocolate, they are stunning.

Pasta with Tuna, Spinach and Chickpeas

2010-03-08T20:12:00.002-05:00

Have I mentioned how much I like being on my own? And that I love to cook for myself?

I had an extremely busy weekend, and was truly excited to have a Monday night all to myself. I didn't feel like shopping, so threw this together out of my pantry. Seriously delicious.

Ingredients

12 oz Tomato Basil Garlic Fettuccini (Rossi Pasta)
16 oz Organic Frozen Chopped Spinach
15 oz Garbanzo Beans
5 clove Garlic*
2 tbsp Sage, Fresh
1 tbsp Lemon Peel
3 tbsp Lemon Juice
1/4 tsp Coarse Kosher Salt
1/4 tsp Pepper, Black
3 tomato Tomatoes
3 serving Bonito Del Norte In Olive Oil (Ortiz)

Directions

Bring a large pot of water to the boil, and put a large frying pan on to heat.

Chop the sage and garlic together, combine with lemon zest, fresh ground black pepper and kosher salt in a small dish.

Drain the garbanzo beans.

When the water boils, add the frozen chopped spinach. When the water boils again, add the pasta. Boil for about 5 more minutes, then drain. The rest of the steps happen whilst boiling and draining.

In the meantime, add the tuna in it's oil to the pan, breaking up the chunks with a wooden spoon. Add the sage/garlic mixture and saute briefly. Add the garbanzo beans and allow to simmer, stirring occasionally.

Chop the tomatoes and juice the lemon, add them to the tuna mixture and saute -- basically you want to soften the beans a bit, warm the sauce and incorporate the flavors.

After draining the spinach and pasta, and when the "sauce" is ready (taste!) toss them together.

Kneading for Shah

2010-02-13T14:50:00.002-05:00

I had to put my 18-year-old cat Shah to sleep today. It is gut-wrenchingly sad, more than I expected. She always loved to knead my belly, so in her honor I made a big batch of pizza dough.

50% White Whole Wheat pizza dough

Using a mixture of white whole wheat and white flour make the pizzas lighter yet with added nutritional value and texture. I like to make a big batch (which is what is described here) and freeze the extra rolled out personal pizza crusts. They can then be used easily for a weeknight meal.

Ingredients

Directions

Dissolve the yeast in warm (not hot) water and add the honey. Let stand for at least 5 minutes.

Sift the flour and salt into a large bowl.

Make a depression in the center of the flour, add the oil and the yeast mixture slowly, incorporating into the flour.

Flour a kneading board (preferably with a dusting of semolina flour or very fine corn meal) and knead the dough for 8 to 10 minutes.

Let rise at least 1 1/2 hours in a lightly oiled bowl, covered with a dishcloth. I like to put it in the oven to rise as my house is pretty cold.

For 12 individual thin-crust pizzas, divide the dough 12 ways and roll out thinly, again using semolina or corn meal to prevent sticking. Before topping with whatever you want, brush with a very thin coat of olive oil. Bake at 450 for 10-12 minutes, or about 2 minutes more if frozen.

Sour Cream Biscuits

2010-01-31T15:03:00.003-05:00

These are very light, high-rise biscuits with a sweet and tangy flavor. The use of three rising agents make them foolproof. Variation on Bradley Ogden's Buttermilk Biscuits...I never have buttermilk on hand, so usually just use regular milk, but today I didn't even have enough milk. The sour cream was fantastic! As was the goat milk butter, but it's probably not necessary.

Kiddo and I had these with crisp turkey bacon and scrambled eggs, and wow...what a great breakfast for a snowy NC morning. I baked half of them and put the other half of the dough in the refrigerator. I'll post if that doesn't work out.

The Livestrong.com site finally has a recipe builder that works!!! It's nice to have nutrition facts.

5 cup All-purpose Flour
4 tbsp Sugar
3 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Salt
3/4 cup Unsalted Butter
1/4 cup Goat Milk Butter
2 tsp Active Dry Yeast
2 tbsp Water
1 1/4 cup Skim Milk
3/4 cup Light Sour Cream

Preheat oven to 475 degrees.

In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast in the water, making sure the water is warm but not hot. Add a pinch of the sugar. Let stand at least 5 minutes while you go on to the next step.

In a large mixing bowl, sift together the dry ingredients. Cut the shortening in with a pastry cutter or a fork. Make a well in the flour and add the yeast, the milk and the sour cream., then mix until just moistened.

Turn the dough out onto a floured board. The dough should be soft but not sticky, add more flour if it is too sticky. Pat or roll the dough out to a 3/4 inch thickness. Fold over and repeat this procedure two or three times. Cut with a 2 1/2 - 3 inch biscuit cutter. Place biscuits about 1/2 inch apart on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 13-15 minutes, turning the sheet once.

You can bake all the biscuits or save half of the dough in the refrigerator. Makes 24 biscuits.

Serving Size: 1 biscuits

Amount per Serving

Calories 184

Calories from Fat 75

% Daily Value *

Total Fat 8.1g: 12%
Saturated Fat 5.3g: 26%
Cholesterol 24.4mg: 8%
Sodium: 7%
Total Carbohydrate 20.4g: 6%
Dietary Fiber 0.8g: 3%
Sugars 2.4g
Protein 4.5g: 9%

Est. Percent of Calories from:

Fat: 40%
Carbs: 44%
Protein: 9%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calories needs.

Moroccan Crock-pot chicken

2010-01-09T19:42:00.004-05:00

Last night I was working late, and sometimes in my work I have to start processes, wait a bit and then go back and check things, fix things, start another process, panic, write emails, etc. In one of the lulls, I saw that a friend had posted a very intriguing crock pot recipe, and since I'm flying out on Sunday, needed to empty my fridge and had most of the ingredients on hand resolved to try it.

What I had on hand wasn't quite what was called for...but collaborating, we figured it could work. What I did is below, followed by the original recipe. It was delicious, although benefiting from a bit of table salt. My friend Ms. P came over and we thoroughly enjoyed it with some Prosecco and a nice Tzaziki salad, before proceeding to dismantle my Xmas tree. (Thanks, P!) I figure my version is probably less fatty, is a little easier because no de-fatting is required and is more appropriate for a small supper for four people -- sounds like Mr. B's feeds a crowd.

3 boneless skinless chicken breast halves, about 1.4 lb

1 small onion, chopped

1 15-oz can chickpeas, drained

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 Tbs extra virgin olive oil

1 Tbs fresh ginger, minced or shredded

Juice and zest of 1 lemon

3/4 cup dried fruit, I used black cherries

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp turmeric

Chicken broth to cover, about 24 oz.

1 cup whole wheat couscous

Put everything except for the couscous into a crock pot and cook on high for 4-5 hours. Spoon out the solids (the chicken will shred nicely into the stew) and add the couscous to the crock-pot, cook for about 5 minutes.

The chicken did not dry out at all, which was Mr. B's chief concern with using skinless/boneless breasts.

The original recipe from my friend Barry Campbell:

Here's one of Uncle Barry's favorite crock pot recipes, by request of G.S..

4 large bone-in chicken breasts
2 cups cooked chickpeas (or use a big can drained and rinsed)
Chopped onion, garlic, grated fresh ginger, turmeric, cinnamon, raisins, etc to taste
(I do not use a recipe for this, but - two big handfuls chopped onion, a good half-handful or more of fresh grated ginger, etc.)
Juice of one lemon
Vegetable or chicken stock to cover the above

Slow-cook on high for 4-5 hours. If you like the raisins to look like raisins, don't add them until the last 30 minutes or so; I like to put them in at the beginning and cook them to mush.

Pull the chicken breasts out at the end - the meat will shred nicely. Skim fat, and then use some of the reserved cooking liquid to make couscous. Add some green veg or a salad and it's a nice supper.

Biscuits and more biscuits

2010-01-03T13:45:00.002-05:00

At church today (Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Raleigh) we were having a "sharing together" breakfast at 9:30 and the kids were doing a pajama party at 11:00, so Kiddo wanted to go to both services. I made the biscuit recipe from Bradley Ogden's Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner, but didn't have any buttermilk -- they are just as good with regular milk, even skim. This recipe is pretty much foolproof because it uses three rising agents: baking powder, baking soda and yeast. I doubled up the recipe and filled about half of them with ham and cheese and brought honey for the other half. They were all gone by the end of the second service, and Kiddo was upset, so I made another batch for lunch. The diet starts tomorrow! I do these with butter rather than shortening, and they are rich!

Perhaps I'll transcribe the recipe later, but I do recommend the book. I especially love the fantastic pancake recipes. Apple/cottage cheese and Banana/sour cream are amazing.

New Year's Resolutions

2009-12-31T10:43:00.003-05:00

Goodbye, 2009! You were an interesting year, to say the least. I can't remember all my resolutions from last year, but know that losing weight was one of them, and I did manage to lose 20 pounds, so hooray!

I have some resolutions for this year that I think should be easy to keep. :)

1. Enjoy my time with Kiddo, friends and family to the utmost.
2. Get divorced.
3. Stay single! Continue to explore this wonderful state of single-hood. Try to avoid falling in love.
4. Date as many interesting men as I can handle, but don't waste time on dating anyone more than once if they don't impress immediately. Continue to be happy going out without a date.
5. Travel more.
6. Try new things.
7. Cherish my friends, and make new ones.
8. Lose 10 more pounds, and then be content.
9. Turn 40 with flair!
10. Start updating this blog with new recipes and entertaining notes -- I've never stopped doing either, just wasn't in a good place to be writing about it.

Speaking of entertaining, I had a very fun group of people over last weekend (the day after Xmas) for a "top-your-own" pizza party. I made the dough on Xmas and then for the party set out crusts and toppings, and everyone topped one and then we shared the results. Very fun, very easy! Because I am who I am, the toppings were fairly gourmet -- I had marinated and grilled some chicken breasts, there was a salad with a caprese dressing, artichoke hearts, black olives, pesto and tomato sauce, mushrooms, mozzarella and feta cheese, anchovies, sliced tomatoes. My favorite pizza was pesto, artichoke hearts, feta and grilled chicken.

After eating, we all headed to the Carolina Hurricanes game, which was a nail-biter! Unfortunately, we lost in a shoot-out at the end.

Mozzarella-stuffed chicken breasts with Sauteed Spinach and Shallots

2009-03-28T19:41:00.005-04:00

I really had no idea what to make tonight, and headed to the store with no list. Whatever I made had to have an associated lunch application, as we were having a play date tomorrow after church that I wouldn't have time to really cook for, but had promised lunch to the other Mom.

Luckily for me, my inner cook woke up and created something lovely. That hasn't been happening a whole lot lately. The recipe may look verbose, but it's not difficult.

This serves 6 for dinner -- we only had 2 of the breasts tonight and I'll detail the lunch application below for the other 4 breasts.

3 large whole skinless, boneless chicken breasts -- about 2.5 pounds
1.5 ounces basil, washed and spun dry, large leaves separated out (I can't wait for my herb garden to be producing!)
1/2 pound fresh mozzarella, sliced thinly
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp freshly ground pepper
zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 medium tomato, diced
Olive oil

Preheat the oven to 425 F with a stoneware baking sheet (preferable) or a shallow glass or metal baking dish inside.

Slice the mozzarella, put in a small bowl and combine with the salt, pepper, lemon zest and lemon juice. Let marinate for a few minutes, while preparing the chicken breasts.

Separate the chicken breasts in the middle. Using a sharp knife, cut a pocket into each, starting at the thick end of the breast and cutting lengthwise.

For each breast, take a basil leaf and place one of the slices of marinated mozzarella in it and roll lengthwise, then stuff into the pocket. Repeat, so that each breast has two basil/mozzarella rolls. Make sure you have a fork to retrieve the mozzarella slices from the bowl so you don't have to use your fingers and contaminate the mozzarella with raw chicken juices.

When the oven is ready, spray or coat the baking sheet lightly with olive oil. Spray the breasts as well. Add the breasts shiny side up to the dish (it should sizzle) and return the sheet to the oven. Set a timer for 10 minutes.

Add the diced tomato to the remaining marinated mozzarella and mix thoroughly. Put this mixture on the table to be used to top the breasts.

When the timer goes off, use tongs to turn the chicken breasts over. Turn off the oven and turn on the broiler on high. Broil the breasts 5 minutes one side, then turn and broil a further 5 minutes on the other side.

While the breasts are broiling, prepare the spinach.

When they are done, the cheese should be melted. Remove from the sheet and pour the juices from the pan over the top.

Sauteed Spinach and Shallots

1 large shallot, peeled and sliced thinly crosswise
pinch or 2 of kosher salt
9 oz fresh spinach
1 Tbs olive oil
splash of balsamic vinegar

Heat a large pot, preferably something like a Le Crueset on medium heat.

Add the olive oil and the shallots. Sauté the shallots, adding the salt, until lightly brown.

Add the spinach in handfuls, sautéing and wilting.

Splash with the vinegar, serve.

For lunch tomorrow, I intend to slice the remaining chicken breasts crosswise and serve them atop a tossed mixed greens salad with the remaining marinated mozzarella mixture.

Fettucini with Tuna, Pine Nuts, Lemon and Herbs

2009-03-05T20:54:00.003-05:00

Adapted from the Quick from Scratch Italian cookbook (I've mentioned this series of cookbooks from Food & Wine before - they are fantastic).

Kiddo helped me with this meal, which we were preparing with love for Hub who had to work late. Kiddo peeled the garlic, helped to chop the dill and the garlic, stripped the thyme leaves from the branches and juiced the lemon. What an excellent sous-chef he's turning into! Oh, and I am in love with my new citrus juicer from the Pampered Chef. That thing is amazing.

3/4 cup pine nuts
12 oz Rossi Pasta Lemon Pepper Fettucini
4 cloves garlic, minced
8-oz jar of Ortiz tuna in oil
grated lemon zest and juice from one juicy lemon - I pick smaller, heavy lemons
3/4 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp fresh-ground black pepper
1 large bunch dill weed, chopped
1/2 cup fresh thyme leaves, chopped

In a small frying pan, toast the pine nuts over moderately low heat until golden brown but not burnt! I always seem to burn a few.

In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the fettucini until just done. Drain.

Meanwhile, in a large frying pan, pour the oil from the jar of tuna in and heat it. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for one minute. Stir in the tuna and break it up with a fork. Remove from the heat. toss the linguine with the tuna mixture, the lemon zest, lemon juice, salt pepper, herbs and the toasted pine nuts.

Servings: 4
Calories: 786

Christmas Cinnamon Rolls

2008-12-25T11:05:00.002-05:00

We just finished opening presents, but for me, I think this morning I enjoyed the cinnamon rolls I made even more than the gifting! I used a recipe from Bradley Ogden's Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner, which required me to make the dough yesterday...but what is Christmas Eve for other than baking? I baked all day yesterday -- prepping the rolls, and making two types of cookies for sharing at the evening church service.

Of course, today we will be making a standing rib roast, roasted root vegetables, horseradish cream sauce, maybe Yorkshire puddings(?). Should be a good day. :)

Christmas tree

2008-12-01T22:00:00.002-05:00

They say the holidays are especially hard for those who have lost someone recently.

I hate Xmas anyway, I'm a real Scrooge. So this year is sure to be interesting. Tonight we decorated the tree, though, and it was ...nice? The tree itself is our usual fake one, and the ornaments are the usual motley assembly. I believe Xmas is for kids, but I also do enjoy the festival aspects. I am a firm believer in trees being populated with ornaments that mean something, that remind us of something. Theme trees are downright weird in my opinion.

Our tree has always been kind of a joke, but I was never in competition with N. I stood in proper awe for her perfectly lit and decorated live tree every year, and she enjoyed the homeliness of ours.

Kiddo had so much fun putting the ornaments on and making up stories about them...he really considers them more as toys than ornaments. That's OK by me, it imparts even more meaning. As I told him tonight, this holiday is all about the kids.

I miss going over to admire the amazing tree. She had taken a class on tree decoration years ago, and she just loved transforming the house. Last year there were actually too many lights, though...you couldn't even see the ornaments. We had to admire the tree lit and unlit so we could actually appreciate the ornaments. Butterflies and bows...

I wonder where the Christmas ornaments went?

Thanksgiving

2008-11-27T21:56:00.002-05:00

I didn't host this year. I couldn't.

Last year I was calling N. up at 3:30 -- are you ready yet? We're all ready over here...and she and B. and the kids arrived a few minutes later. Bro-in-law (who we had just met the night before, was still Sis' boyfriend) popped up from his seat, saying "More family?"

"No, well, yes, practically..." from me. Later, N. weighed in on Bro-in-law, asserting that he may be the one. "He says he'll follow her anywhere."

Last year it was so warm that we all ate outside on the back porch. There were macaroni & cheese, fried turkeys, turnips and turnip greens (the fancy version), mashed potatoes a la Sis, green salad a la N., gravy, cranberry sauce, sweet potato biscuits, oyster stuffing that was a bit odd, maybe spanakopita? Individual pecan pies, N. -friendly. Actually, if I remember correctly almost everything was N. -friendly, which means no butter, no milk. The mac & cheese and stuffing were the exceptions.

This year we ate at Yia Yia and Pa Pou's. We had fried turkeys (we love these...and it leaves the oven free), mashed sweet potatoes with crispy shallots, Mediterannean-flavored turnips and greens, potato croquettes, green beans, stuffing (the less said about it the better), rolls, and two amazing pies. Pear and pecan. Lots of butter used.

Afterwards we played Monopoly. It was a lovely Thanksgiving. There are so many things I am thankful for this year. My family, my friends, my work, the beautiful area in which we live, my sister's happiness with her new husband.

Some things I am devastated by, of course.

I wanted to leave a seat open for you tonight, Nancy. I'm sorry there wasn't physical room around the table. I felt your presence, though. Thank you. I will forever be thankful for your friendship, and for having known you.

Pies 'n' Play

2008-11-23T15:23:00.004-05:00

We threw our first official party since July last night. It was very unsettling not to have Ms. N there. But I had to get back on the horse sometime!

It was a "pie party." If you've never heard of this concept, don't worry, neither have I. I just happen to like to make pie and Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. So I thought it would be nice to have people over to make pie with me and let the kids run around like maniacs and take over the neighborhood. Both things happened quite well.

I made 18 Butter Pie Crusts (click on the title to link to the recipe) the night before. As people arrived with their filling ingredients, I asked them to write down on a whiteboard the temperature they would require and whether or not they needed one or two crusts. Then I got to rolling and the other pie-makers got to filling.

Since the oven was occupied, Hub grilled some hot dogs and hamburgers, and Ms. P threw together a potato salad for me. Ms. J brought some fabulous crab dip from Whole Foods and we also had lots of cheeses, crackers, cantaloupe, pretzels, chips, hummus, etc. for nibbles. We started at 3:00 so the kids would have ample time to play outside and stay out of the kitchen. According to Hub, Kiddo did a great job hosting the kids and leading the charge.

It worked out well. Not a bad first foray back into entertaining...but I do miss her terribly and kept on looking around for her last night. I'm sure that feeling won't go away for a long time, and in some ways, I'll be sad when it does.

Another odd thing? I bought N-friendly foodstuffs for last night, like turkey for burgers and I thought about using shortening instead of butter for the pie crusts and had lots of goat cheese out and had to keep reminding myself that it wasn't necessary. Like I said, unsettling.

Election day in North Carolina supper

2008-11-04T21:00:00.002-05:00

I'm so nervous right now.

So, got up really early to walk over to our polling site with Ms. D. We arrived at 6:25 AM and stood in the drizzle with our fellow voters. It only took about 30 minutes -- we were voters 42 and 43. So exciting to see a line. I vote in every dang election, even the off-time issue elections, and am used to being the only one there.

After my walk home, I took a pork shoulder roast out of the fridge and rubbed it with a dry rub, put it in the Crock Pot and poured 1/2 cup of our friend R's secret BBQ sauce. Turned it on low, went to work.

I called home at 5:30 and asked my Mom to put Farmer Fred's sweet potatoes into the oven.

Then, when I got home, I took some turnip greens and tatsoi from F.F., sauteed them in olive oil and garlic and stewed them for about 15 minutes.

The pork turned out just like traditional pulled pork! I need to get some liquid smoke for next time. We heard about this "cheater BBQ" on the Splendid Table this weekend, and it really works.

Ahhhhh. An easy, balanced, very NC-centric meal. Hub liked it so much he overate.

Back to watching the polls and worrying.

Pizza!

2008-10-25T20:11:00.005-04:00

It has been AGES since I've even attempted to make pizza, and frankly I was never any good at it. I used to have a pizza stone and would have a terrible time with a peel getting the dang things on and off of it, and toppings would leak, and frankly the whole thing seemed like an indulgent waste of time.

Tonight, however, I tried again...Hub had mentioned that it would be fun to make something participatory. I ended up doing the whole thing (not that I minded) but it's not like Kiddo would want anything but cheese on his anyway. He was too busy building Bionicles to build a pizza anyway.

Oh, wow, was it good. Wow! I've been appalled lately at the price of ordering pizza from the chains, so this experience may have put an end to that practice. We'll see...

This is the method/recipe I followed, modified slightly from a book called The Complete Book of Pizza which I believe arrived with the pizza stone as a wedding gift from my first marriage. So...an old book, I kind of doubt it's still in print.

2 cups whole wheat flour

2 cups white flour

semolina flour for sprinkling

1 tsp salt

2 pkgs dry yeast

2 tsp honey

1 1/2 cups warm water

4 Tbsp olive oil, separated

Dissolve the yeast in 1/2 cup warm (not hot) water and add the honey. Set aside for at least 5 minutes.
Sift the flours and salt into a large bowl
Make a depression in the flour and add 3 Tbsp of the olive oil and the other cup of warm water, and the yeast mixture.
Prepare a kneading surface by sprinkling it with semolina flour
Mix the dough in the bowl with your hands. When it has combined well enough, transfer the dough to the kneading surface.
Knead for 8 to 10 minutes. The dough should be elastic and cohesive. Breathe deeply, enjoy the transfer of energy to the dough. My counter is too high, so I stand on a stool which allows me to use pressure and not strain my shoulders.
Put the final Tbsp of oil in a large clean bowl. Place the dough in the bowl and turn it so it is coated with the oil.
Cover the bowl with a clean towel and put in a warm, draft-free place (my laundry room when I'm doing laundry is the only place that works for me) for at least 1 1/2 hours.

Pizza assemblage

Preheat the oven to 500 F
Sprinkle the cookie sheets with semolina
I cut the dough in half and rolled it out as thinly as I could (sprinkling the board and the dough with semolina to avoid sticking) in an oval shape to fit the cookie sheets I was going to use, then transferred the dough by rolling it up on the roller.
Roll a short edge to keep the toppings in
Brush the dough with olive oil
Add a thin layer of marinara sauce
On one pizza, I put lots and lots of mozzarella (for Kiddo) - probably about 3/4 pound
On the other, I put slices of fresh tomato, mushrooms, some pepperoni and some zucchini we had sauteed in garlic last week, plus a bit of mozzarella (1/4 pound?) and some feta cheese.
Baked the cheese pizza for 10 minutes, and the other one with more toppings for about 14 minutes.

Wait a few minutes before cutting to let the cheese coagulate just a bit.

Vegetable Soup

2008-10-24T12:25:00.003-04:00

Sis and Bro-in-law are in town for a couple of days between the honeymoon and Sis having to go to Pakistan on a posting for 3 months. Honestly! Sudan then Baghdad then Pakistan? Do her bosses hate her? Anyway, we had a family meal with Mom and Dad and the newlyweds and Kiddo last night.

It was the day to pick up veggies from Farmer Fred and I wasn't feeling super-well, so decided to make Vegetable Soup. I've been doing that very frequently with the farm veggies, and have more than one friend extolling the healing powers of the soup. This is more about technique, and of course you can use whatever vegetables you have around. It's never quite the same, except for the initial part with the olive oil, onions and tomatoes. In fact, you could probably just up the number of tomatoes and have a lovely basic soup with just that and the broth.

OK, even though I've described what to do with each of the ingredients in the ingredient list, the idea is that you do your chopping during the cooking. No need to prep all ahead.

Basics:

1 onion, roughly chopped

2 T olive oil

4 medium tomatoes (1 lb) cored and sliced

64 oz. vegetable broth (I like Pacific brand organics)

Smooth ingredients:

1 small eggplant, peeled and thinly sliced

3/4 lb sweet peppers, seeded and roughly chopped

1-2 small hot peppers, seeded and roughly chopped

Chunky ingredients:

1/2 lb green beans, ends trimmed and cut to roughly 2 inches apiece

1 lb potatoes, scrubbed and diced into very small cubes

sink-full of greens (turnip greens and bok choi, last night), well washed and chopped coursely

Salt and pepper

Parmesan cheese for serving

Heat the olive oil in a very large stockpot on medium heat
As the oil is heating, chop the onions, then add them to the oil
As the onions are cooking to translucent, core and slice the tomatoes, then add them plus any juices
Add the other "smooth" ingredients as you get them ready (but not the broth!), stirring occasionally
When they've cooked down fairly well, add the broth and then use some method to blend all the "smooth" ingredients. I have a blender wand, which is the easiest thing to do, OR you could hassle with a food processor or blender.
Now start adding the chunky ingredients as you get them ready, potatoes first and greens (if you are using them) last.
Reduce the heat to simmer and cook until the potatoes are done.
Taste, add salt and pepper (or allow guests to add their own)
Serve with crusty bread, some nice cheese and parmesan in a grater to pass around. This amount easily served six adults with double portions and had leftovers as well. And we were all satisfied...even though it's a one-dish meal.

NC State Fair food

2008-10-22T12:34:00.003-04:00

We took Kiddo and his friend I. to the State Fair last night. The food was 1) awful, 2) expensive and 3) oddly not very kid-friendly. Hub and I settled on country ham biscuits. We had to search far and wide for chicken nuggets for I. and Kiddo had a nasty piece of cheese pizza.

We spent a ridiculous amount of money last night, but I guess I feel good fueling the local economy. :) The kids loved the rides and I got to see at least one exhibit. Growing up in a very small town I never had the opportunity to go to the State Fair and always thought it must be wonderful...I did 4-H as a kid and loved the county fair. Really? It's sort of like going to a very hick outdoor mall. But again, the kids loved it, so that puts a shine on it.

Work has been completely insane -- I wanted to go to the fair on Sunday, but was working -- and also missed the hearing last week due to work, so the very fact that I could carve a few hours out of a gorgeous N.C. evening and hang out with my Hub and a couple of 5-year-olds was precious. Even if the food was awful. :)

Bread

2008-10-12T18:14:00.002-04:00

What a week! Sis was married last week on Saturday down in SC, then we rushed home so I could be deposed. Talk about an abrupt mood change.

I've been cooking, of course...not much entertaining, but that's only to be expected. Tonight we're making Greek Chicken and I decided to attempt making bread again. I'm following Jaime Oliver's technique but using a cup of white whole wheat in place of one of the cups of bread flour.

One thing he recommends is to make a pile of flour on a large open surface, put a well in and pour the liquid in. What he completely fails to mention is that you need some sort of barrier on your surface or any break in the "dam" of flour will create an incredible mess and half of your yeast mixture will end up on the floor! Thanks, Jaime! I suppose I should have thought ahead, but what do I know? A bit more now.

I've always had difficulty rising bread in this house, unless I'm doing laundry...our house is just too cool and drafty except in the laundry room if the dryer is running. It's still difficult.

Anyway, dinner is in the oven so I'll have to post back with an update to how the loaves turn out. I'll think I've described Greek Chicken before? Time time I picked any likely herbs from the herb garden, chopped them up and pushed them under the skin, along with some lemon zest, salt and pepper. That takes a bit more time than sprinkling, but is very, very nice.

Caprese Salad

2008-08-31T20:21:00.004-04:00

Farmer Fred is going on hiatus for the month of September, but I used his fantastic cherry and little yellow tomatoes tonight to make a Caprese Salad. Basically, halve or quarter the tomatoes, chop up fresh basil (from my herb garden, which is doing surprisingly well!) and slice fresh mozzarella. Layer tomatoes, basil, mozzarella twice deep in your dish (a glass one where you can see the layers is especially nice, but not necessary), sprinkling each layer of tomatoes with a little fleur de sel and ground pepper. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

We also made the Carolina BBQ ribs tonight for a neighborhood party (yes, we do still have those, darnit). That's what Ms. N brought to our party the night before she died. They were really, really good, she would have been happy to chow down.

I'm bracing for Tuesday, when the search warrants will be publicized. I have no idea what to expect.

Kiddo's birthday

2008-08-15T13:02:00.002-04:00

Nothing new on the Nanner front, sadly. I know the police are still working on the case, I just wish the wheels of justice turned faster than, say, a wooden cart drawn by a recalcitrant donkey.

On a positive note, Kiddo turns 5 next Monday! Usually we do a party at home, but due to the circumstances acquiesced to his wish to a party at one of these places that caters to kids (which generally I really hate). Saves me from cooking up a storm, but it's kind of strange for me.

Breaking Point

2008-08-08T16:54:00.002-04:00

For a while now, I've been re-reading a comic strip from Ohio University that the creator (who happens to be my ex-husband) has been blogging about 20 years later. It's about college as a "Breaking Point", and the smaller points of decision/derision/derailment/discovery for each of the characters involved.

The last couple of weeks I've been thinking about how this tragedy is a breaking point for me. But not only for me. I think that my relationship with my husband and family will come out stronger, but I worry about how far and how deep the cracks of this will spread into my neighborhood, my circle of friends, my community...will we break apart? Or will the welds we use to fix the break end up making us stronger?

Nan was a hub. The wheel is now spinning freely. This bit of poetry also keeps running through my mind:

Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold -- William Butler Yeats

Two years ago today

2008-07-25T09:41:00.002-04:00

Two years ago today, I was hosting a party to welcome Ms. N's beautiful new daughter, then called Gabriella, into the world.

I wasn't at all upset that my birthday was forgotten in the hoopla.

I'm not upset today, at least about my birthday...it's just not important.

When I get home, I'll add a picture from that day. She was radiant.

Personal Statement

2008-07-24T20:17:00.004-04:00

I can't post this on http://nancycooper.blogspot.com, but I can post it here...

I am a patriot
I believe in due process
I believe in the rule of law
I believe justice will eventually be done
I believe the safety and well-being of Bella and Katie is paramount
I don't believe in trying cases in the media
I believe in the presumption of innocence
I believe that each person has the right to proclaim their beliefs publicly
I am proud of each and every one of my friends for standing up and proclaiming their beliefs in pursuit of a cause they believe in
I miss Nancy more each day

I did cook a very nice meal for the R. family tonight and dropped it off, I hope they enjoy it. In a time like this, it's nice to set goals for oneself that are achievable...I can check "cook for the R's" off my list now. That is a great comfort.

I rotisserie'd two chickens, make a Greek salad with Farmer Fred's cucumbers and herbs from my garden, made a potato, green bean and yellow squash salad (all Farmer Fred produce) and a double batch of the baked Macaroni & Cheese that I've referenced before.

Not Your Ordinary Potato Salad

2008-05-26T14:49:00.004-04:00

We've spent a very enjoyable Memorial Day spring cleaning and cooking, and we're off to a party at the T's in the cul-de-sac behind us. I wanted to make a potato salad, but with the edge of a remoulade sauce, but without any mayonnaise or cream, and also incorporating farm veggies. Since it was for a picnic, I also wanted something that wouldn't go bad sitting out on a buffet. Basically, a potato salad without all the elements of traditional potato salads. This is what I came up with. It's savory and colorful and creamy in a completely novel way (at least to me).

This makes a large amount, probably enough to serve about 12 people.

I know I put "vegetarian" on the label, and here I go putting anchovies in -- but all you'd need to do is replace the anchovies with salt, probably. And many vegetarians will eat fish, so I guess it would work for them.

3 lb small (but not tiny) red potatoes, scrubbed and quartered

1 head of broccoli, florets only

1/2 lb snow peas, with tips snapped off and stringed

2 boiled eggs, peeled and chopped finely

6 sweet gherkins, chopped finely

2 Tbs capers, drained and chopped finely

3 Tbs grainy dijon mustard

3 oz anchovy fillets, chopped finely

2 Tbs pimentos

1/2 lb creamy goat's-milk feta or chevre

2 Tbs champagne vinegar

Cover the potatoes in cold water in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil and boil for about 20 minutes, just until potatoes can be easily pierced with a fork (I tend to use my sense of smell to know when they are right).
When the potatoes are ready, scoop them out and drain them in a colander. Add the broccoli and snow peas to the boiling water and cook for about 3 minutes, just until bright green. Drain.
Meanwhile, in a medium bowl put all the rest of the ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon until well blended and creamy. Let stand in the refrigerator until you're ready to mix it all up. I kept on adding things and using a potato to taste-test.
When the potatoes and vegetables are cool, toss them together with the sauce in a large bowl.

Spanish Greens

2008-05-24T12:33:00.003-04:00

In spring, Farmer Fred grows lots and lots and lots of greens. Kale, tatsoi, bok choi, swiss chard, spinach. Prior to joining the CSA, I always thought of kale as being decoration on a salad bar (that's what we used to use it for at good old Rax Restaurant). Now I discover that it's quite delicious! And very cheap and plentiful.

This recipe can be done with spinach only, or any combination of greens. Tougher greens may just take a wee bit longer to cook. Even people who don't like spinach tend to love this dish.

Serves 4

10 oz fresh spinach
6 oz other greens (kale, tatsoi)
1/3 cup golden raisins
1/4 cup dry sherry
1/4 cup pine nuts
4 cloves garlic
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
salt & pepper

Soak the raisins in the sherry
Wash the greens (a large sink-full of cold water and lots of swishing helps), removing tough stems. Spin mostly dry and chop or tear coursely.
Heat a very large pot, and toast the pine nuts. Remove them to a mise bowl.
Add the oil and heat. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant.
Add the greens in bunches, stirring with a wooden spoon to coat with oil and wilt.
Add the sherry, raisins and pine nuts. Cover and cook gently for about 10 minutes, or until the greens are silky but not overcooked.
Salt and pepper to taste.

Spanakopitakia

2008-04-26T10:38:00.005-04:00

These have been altered to be Ms. N-friendly...she cannot digest any cow-based dairy products, but is fine with goat's milk. Frankly, the changes to the traditional mixture make these even better, more savory, lighter and crispier. The original recipes are from the Grecian Plate, a cookbook put out by the Greek Orthodox church of Durham, NC. It's an excellent cookbook with detailed instructions on things as esoteric as how to dye a really, really red greek easter egg.

These and the tiropitakia are my favorite make-ahead party foods. I can make them and freeze them well in advance, and just heat them up straight out of the freezer right before serving.

1 med. onion, minced

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 10-oz. pkg frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained

1/2 cup chopped dill

1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

1 tsp salt

fresh-ground pepper to taste

1/4 lb sheep's or goat's milk feta cheese (make sure the check the label, most commercial feta in the states is made from cow's milk)

1/2 cup chevre cheese

1 egg, beaten

1 lb phyllo, thawed according to package instructions

8 oz goat's milk butter, melted OR you can use olive oil

Saute onions in hot oil until soft
Add spinach and salt; saute a few minutes
Cool slightly
Stir in cheeses and egg, blending thoroughly
Prepare the triangles as directed here, using two sheets of phyllo for each set
Brush with a little more butter or oil
Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes

You can freeze them after baking and cooling. Reheat at 425 degrees for 10 minutes. I do not recommend freezing unbaked triangles...they tend to stick even if you are careful to layer waxed paper between them.

Meatball soup

2008-04-24T20:11:00.003-04:00

The CSA started today! Hooray!

I've been so excited about getting vegetables from Fred the Farmer again, and went to the Hilltop Farms website just a few days ago to see what was going to be available. Immediately, I started thinking about a meatball soup I could make with greens, because Hub had picked up some ground beef earlier in the week.

We're trying to eat more vegetables, and also trying to save money, so my plan is to pretty much keep with the CSA vegetables as much as possible this season, supplementing with high-quality proteins and a few carbs. Hub and Kiddo have promised me an herb garden, but I'm not holding my breath.

Makes six servings as a main course, but see notes below on how to stretch further...

1 lb lean ground beef

3 small young onion bulbs (~ 1 1/2 cups), chopped

2 handfuls dill, chopped

1 cup whole wheat panko

2 large cloves garlic, chopped finely

1 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper

1 egg

2 lbs kale, tatsoi or other dark greens, torn and with large ribs removed, rinsed

4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, divided

3 cups beef broth

Mix the ingredients up to the egg in a bowl
Heat 1 Tbsp oil in a large stockpot
Form small meatballs and brown them in the oil (they do not need to be cooked through) in three batches, adding a tablespoon of oil in between each batch. Drain them on paper towels
Add the last tablespoon of oil to the pot, and add the greens
Saute briefly until wilted
Add the meatballs and the broth, bring to a simmer
Cover and simmer for ten minutes
Serve with fresh grated parmesan

Hub had two big bowls. I think even more greens could be added and more broth, because as written it was very, very meatball-centric. Also, adding orzo pasta or another small pasta would be lovely, we're just limiting our starches. I almost thought there were too many onions, but in the end the broth tasted like a lovely French onion broth...quite delicious.

Lamb Chops with Fava Beans and Mint Dressing

2008-03-05T20:34:00.002-05:00

The daffodils are up, and spring is in the air! At least here in North Carolina...

Fava beans are a serious pain in the neck to prepare, but they are absolutely worth it at least once a year. And since the season for them is very short, that's usually all the time I have. By the time the next year rolls around, I remember the smooth fresh silkiness far more than I remember the hassle. Sort of like pregnancy, I guess.

This meal will serve four if you add salad and couscous.

2 lb whole fava beans - look for big, fresh ones

1 handful mint

4 lamb loin chops - about 1 1/2 pounds

2 Meyer lemons

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil - preferably Greek

Salt & pepper to taste

Shell the fava beans
Cover the beans with cold water and set over a medium flame. Cook until the beans are fragrant and just turning from bright green to slightly yellow. Put into a colander and spray with cold water to stop cooking.
Salt the chops lightly and let them sit for a few minutes. Broil the lamb chops on low heat for about 15 minutes on the first side, turning midway, and about 10 minutes on the second side, turning midway
When the beans have cooled, pinch each one to remove the tough outer skin. Put the inner beans into a bowl.
Add the zest of one of the Meyer lemons and the juice of both of them to the bowl.
Clean and chop the mint and add it to the bowl.
Add the olive oil and stir briskly with a wooden spoon.
Serve the lamb chops with the fava bean/mint dressing and with couscous.

White Chile con Queso

2008-02-19T20:06:00.002-05:00

I'm making chile for a "contest" at work tomorrow, and it's just like me to make something up that I've never even thought of before. :)

This makes a LOT of servings.

3.2 lb turkey breast

2 T canola oil

22 oz Queso Fresco, grated

12 oz Monterey Jack, grated

32 oz chicken broth

3 chorizo sausages, 2/3 lb

2 medium onions, chopped

2 jalapenos, chopped and deseeded

1 poblano pepper, chopped an deseeded

5 fresh tomatillos, husked and chopped

1/2 cup masa flour

28 oz canned tomatillos

15.5 oz can Navy Beans

15.5 oz can Pinto Beans

16 oz frozen white corn

4 oz canned mild green chiles, chopped

Heat the canola oil in a large, heavy pot (a Le Creuset would be perfect). Sprinkle salt and pepper on the turkey breast and brown it well all over.
After it is well browned, add the chicken broth, turn the heat down and put the lid on. Braise the breast for 1 hour.
In a large stockpot, start cooking the chorizos
After they've expressed some oil, add the onions, peppers and tomatillos (include the liquid in the can)
Saute until the chorizos are done, and remove them.
Add the masa flour to the vegetables, stir
Cut the chorizos up
When the turkey breast is done, remove it from the broth. Add the broth to the stockpot and stir. Also add the frozen corn and beans with their liquid. Bring to a simmer.
Remove the skin from the turkey breast and cut into cubes, add to the stockpot
Start adding the shredded cheese, gradually, whisking.
Simmer for about 10 minutes, or until the cheese is smooth.

Mushroom and Brie Phyllo Triangles

2007-12-09T09:17:00.000-05:00

Ms. S invited us over for drinks and appetizers last night, after which we called a cab and went dancing. I hadn't been shopping, but I created these delicious phyllo triangles with what I had on hand. The were definitely worth repeating, and a nice change from my usual spanakopitas and tiropitas. I wonder what the Greek word for mushroom is?

1/2 lb phyllo, thawed - I love the Athens brand.
8 oz Baby Bella mushrooms, brushed and chopped coursely
1/4 lb brie, chopped - keep the rind
2 Tbsp chopped fresh dill
2 Tbsp chopped italian parsley
3-4 cloves garlic, minced (~ 1 Tbsp)
1 stick salted butter or 3/4 cup olive oil
salt & pepper
2 eggs

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Melt the butter (or heat the oil) in a small saucepan, add the garlic and cook gently until the garlic is just golden and fragrant. Remove from heat and cool slightly

Combine the mushrooms, brie, herbs, salt & pepper and the egg yolks in a bowl

In another bowl, whisk the egg whites briskly until very frothy. Add to mushroom mixture

Working quickly, fill and fold the triangles, using two sheets of phyllo and brushing each sheet with the garlic butter. See these directions at the Athens site -- use the Step 3C directions for large triangles, but only use 2 phyllo sheets and only about 1 Tbsp of filling.

Bake the triangles for 15 minutes

Pork Chops and Applesauce

2007-11-16T19:36:00.000-05:00

Yes, that is a deliberate Brady Bunch reference. Served this tonight with Jaime Oliver's spicy squash, and both Hub and I drank the sauce from the plate. Seriously yum!

4 thick pork chops, bone in
1 tsp olive oil
6 med. Gala apples, peeled, cored and chopped coarsely
1 Tbs fresh thyme, chopped
1 lemon, zested and juiced
8 oz creme fraiche

Heat a large frying pan that has a lid.

Add the olive oil to the hot pan, swirl, then add the pork chops

Sear the chops on each side, about 2 minutes a side

Meanwhile, combine the rest of the ingredients except the creme fraiche in a bowl (or you could do that before even starting the chops, up to you)

Lower the heat on the chops, and smother them with the apple mixture.

Cover and simmer for about 10 minutes, or until the chops bounce back when pressed.

Remove the chops to plates, add the creme fraiche to the apples in the pan and raise the heat

Briefly (about 1 minute) boil the sauce to thicken it a bit...it will not be a thick sauce

Pour the sauce on the chops, and serve

Butternut Squash Soup with Chestnuts & Hazelnuts

2007-11-10T11:46:00.000-05:00

The party people are back in town! Hub and I realized recently that we just haven't had a party recently, and were feeling itchy. We spent most of the summer as gym rats and hardly cooked or entertained, instead working on our health and hotness factors. Well, now we're ready to let loose again, so we had a cocktail party last night. It was lots of fun, and the kids are getting to the point where they pretty much entertain themselves, which is a relief.

One of the dishes I made was a lovely winter squash soup -- I had first made it back in 2001 or so for the C's. Since Ms. C can't digest any milk products, this soup is perfect -- very different from most squash soups in that it is entirely vegetarian. I gave her a call yesterday to see if she still had the recipe (I couldn't find it) and she did...but I didn't get it early enough to get some of the key ingredients. Besides, my farm guy had been producing lovely acorn squash that I wanted to use instead of butternut squash. Anyway, I did a few substitutions and it was just as delicious. I'll transcribe both the original recipe and my modifications in italics.

Oh, and smooth soup is excellent for parties with an appetizer motif -- just put the soup out in a crock pot and put small cups out for sipping. It was all gone at the end of the evening, which is kind of too bad since I didn't have any leftover to take over to Ms. C, who couldn't make it to the party.

3 1/2 pounds butternut squash or acorn squash, halved and seeded
6 Tbs olive oil
1 1/4 cups chopped shallots
1/2 cup dry marsala
2/3 cup coursely chopped peeled roasted chestnuts from a jar or pine nuts, not chopped
2 cups plain soy milk
2 cups vegetable broth (I like the Pacific brand)
1 Tbs dry white wine
1 tsp chopped fresh thyme, rosemary & marjoram or 2 Tbs thyme, rosemary and sage
1/2 cup hazelnuts, toasted, husked, coarsely chopped since this is a garnish, I skipped this entirely for a drinking soup

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Brush cut sides of squash with 2 Tbs of the oil. Place brushed side down on large baking sheet. Roast until tender, about 40 minutes. Cool slightly.

Meanwhile, heat remaining 4 Tbs oil in large pot on medium heat. Add shallots; saute until soft, about 4 minutes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add marsala. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer until all liquid evaporates and shallots are deep golden brown, about 4 minutes. Add chestnuts or pine nuts, saute 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Scoop squash flesh into pot, combine.

Working in batches, puree the mixture in a blender or food processor (or use a soup wand), adding the soy milk and broth, until smooth.

Strain the soup back into pot. Stir in wine and herbs. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead -- cool slightly, then cover and chill)

Bring soup to a simmer. Ladle into soup bowls; sprinkle with hazelnuts.

Red Cabbage and Green Apple Slaw

2007-07-01T22:38:00.000-04:00

We had the M's over tonight, along with Mr. M's parents. After our personal training session at 2:00, we swung by the store and picked up two chickens, some pineapple and a watermelon, some Granny Smith apples, corn, a couple of bags of Alexi brand frozen potatoes (they are soooo good) and various and sundry other items. Kiddo was exhausted and actually volunteered to nap (that's a first!) when we got home, so then we had three hours to ourselves to cook and clean. It was very soothing. I've taken to listening to a audiobooks on my iPod while I prep, and enjoyed finishing Christopher Moore's _You Suck_.

We rotisseried the chickens, grilled the corn, I made my famous Tzatziki dip and tried again to craft a good slaw from Farmer Fred's fabulous cabbage. This time, everyone agreed I got it right!

POINTS® Value: 1
Servings: 16

Ingredients

* 3 small heads red cabbage
* 1/2 large red onion
* 3 large Granny Smith apples
* 1/4 cup peanut oil
* 2/3 cup apple cider vinegar
* 2 Tbsp mustard seed

Instructions

- Slice the cabbage, red onion, and apples thinly, put into a large plastic container with a lid.
- In a small bowl, whisk the peanut oil, apple cider vinegar, mustard seeds, about 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt and 1/4 teaspoon of freshly ground pepper.
- Pour the dressing over the slaw, put the lid on the container and shake to toss.

Bagna Cauda and Raw Vegetables

2007-06-11T20:31:00.001-04:00

Sorry it has been so long. I've been slammed at work, had some surgery, had strep throat due to the bugs in the hospital (I'm convinced), had a follow-on terrible cold for the same reason, went to Oakland for an excellent business meeting week where I had dinner with my Aunt at tha amazing Chez Panisse in Berkeley and basically have just recently come up for air.

I made this tonight for Hub and I based on the fantastic appetizer I had at Chez Panisse. Also based on the fact that we are getting so many fabulous vegetables from our farm share, and I'm loving coming up with ways to enjoy them. Not really low-fat, but everything in this is GOOD FOR YOU! and it tastes truly amazing.

I adapted the Bagna Cauda from a recipe in Susan Schneider's _A New Way To Cook_, which is a previously mentioned incredibly good cookbook...when I had the Bagna Cauda at Chez Panisse, I immediately remembered this recipe and figured it would be similar. It was honestly a near-perfect match. I wonder if Alice Waters has been reading Sally Schneider?

POINTS® Value: 10
Servings: 6 for a light meal, probably 12 for an appetizer

Ingredients
1 cup Filippo Berio Extra virgin olive oil
4 clove garlic clove(s)
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
2 oz anchovies canned in oil, drained
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 cup fat-free chicken broth or vegetable broth to make it truly vegetarian
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 cup parsley
3 oz baby carrots
1 medium zucchini
2 medium yellow summer squash
4 small turnip(s)
1 cup green snap beans

Instructions

Slice the turnips (peeled), squash and zucchini very, very thinly and toss in a large bowl.
Peel and top the baby carrots and snip the ends off the green beans and add to the bowl, toss.
Mince the garlic, chop the anchovies.
Heat the oil, garlic and red pepper flakes over low heat until the garlic is very soft, about 5 minutes.
Stir in the chopped anchovies and oregano and cook for 1 minutes longer.
Add the broth, increase the heat to high, and bring to a boil.
Boil for 30 seconds, or until the sauce is emulsified.
Stir in the lemon juice and parsley, then pour over the vegetables.
Serve with focaccia bread for sopping.

Steak Kabobs

2007-04-19T19:24:00.000-04:00

Poor Kiddo has a stomach virus today, but Hub and I decided to grill out just for ourselves anyway (the prior plan was to have a play date tonight including my parents and Sis, who is breezing through town during her hiatus from the Sudan). Anyway, the kebabs were very nice and very easy. A party centering around people building their own kebabs from an array of cut vegetables and meats (and tofu) works very well...we've done it in the past, as have the M's.

POINTS® Value: 7
Servings: 4

Ingredients

* 1 pound Beef, New York steak, trimmed, raw
* 2 cup mushroom(s)
* 3 medium zucchini
* 1 medium red onion(s)
* 1 medium yellow pepper(s)
* 4 sprays cooking spray
* 1 tsp table salt
* 1 tsp black pepper

Instructions

Cut vegetables and steak into cubes, thread onto 8 skewers...this can be done by each individual according to taste.
Grill over medium heat for about 20 minutes.

Stuffed Trout

2007-04-16T21:28:00.000-04:00

POINTS® Value: 4
Servings: 4
We always serve this with couscous, which mixes beautifully with the spinach/parsley "stuffing". I used to stuff whole trout instead of doing the fillets, but recently Whole Foods stopped carrying whole fish! And not everyone likes fish heads.

Ingredients

* 1 pound rainbow trout (2 large fillets)
* 1 cup parsley, from one large bunch
* 3 garlic clove(s)
* 3 1/2 oz spinach
* 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

Instructions

In a food processor, pulse the garlic, parsley, spinach, some fresh sorrel or dill if you have it, lemon juice, salt and pepper
Spread the mixture on the bottom of a glass 13x9 baking dish
Lay the trout fillets, skin side down, on top of the spinach mixture
Broil on high heat for about 8 minutes, or until the skin is pulling easily away from the fish
Using a large spatula, turn the fish and spinach mixture over, broil for 3 minutes more.

Green Vegetable Soup

2007-04-15T18:48:00.000-04:00

Hub talked with his Mum in Scotland yesterday, and she mentioned she had lost 2 stone on the Weight Watchers plan so far...and her secret was to make homemade vegetable soup. So here's my first stab at it...even Kiddo loved it. I think I'd put in more fresh peas next time, they were delicious little surprise packets of green yumminess. Hub was not crazy about the whole peppercorns, but I enjoyed the occasional blast of pepper in a mouthful.

POINTS® Value: 1
Servings: 16

Ingredients

* 1 Tbsp olive oil
* 1 medium leek(s)
* 10 medium carrot(s)
* 3 stalk broccoli
* 1/2 pound green snap beans
* 1/2 cup peas, raw
* 2 small potato(es)
* 2 tsp kosher salt
* 1 Tbsp peppercorn
* 1 oz fresh oregano
* 2 clove garlic clove(s)
* 12 cup fat-free, reduced-sodium chicken broth

Instructions

Chop garlic; wash and chop leek, white and green parts. Add olive oil to large stockpot and heat, then add garlic and leek and saute briefly.
Add the chicken stock, and then chop and add all the rest of the vegetables. For the broccoli, peel the stalks and add them as well, chopped.
Add salt, peppercorns (not ground) and oregano branches.
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about an hour.

Mediterranean Garden Fagottini

2007-04-03T17:19:00.000-04:00

OK, this post may look a little bit weird, but I've finally started a diet. Weight Watchers Online has some cool features such as a "Recipe Builder" where I can add my ingredients and it figures out the points value. And then I can just copy and paste the thing into here! Wish me luck on the diet thing...only two days in and I'm huuuuungry!

POINTS® Value: 5
Servings: 6

Ingredients
18 oz (2 packages) Mediterranean Garden Fagottini - we got it at Harris Teeter. The one I used has 290 calories per serving, 5g fat and 2g dietary fiber -- if you use something with cheese or meat in, it will probably increase the point value.
1/4 pound semisoft goat cheese - I like goat gouda, but feta or chevre will also do
3 medium tomatoes
5 oz mixed baby greens
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

Instructions

Cook the pasta according to directions
Grate the cheese, chop the tomatoes, toss in bowl with 1T of olive oil, balsamic vineger, salt and pepper
Wilt the greens in other 1T of olive oil, add to bowl
Add drained pasta to bowl with 1/2 cup of pasta cooking water, toss and serve

Sunday Night is Party Night!

2007-03-26T19:30:00.000-04:00

We are finding that Sundays are great nights to have casual dinner get-togethers with kids. Last night we had the C's and the M's over for the first cook-out of the Spring, since it was 80 degrees yesterday. I tried to keep things simple, but I can't help myself and cooked waaay too much food.

Assorted cheeses and crackers - I tend to keep an assortment on hand, especially a wide range of goat's milk cheeses
Old-fashioned potato salad like my mom used to make, with eggs, pickles, carrots and a little bit of red onion, mayonnaise and mustard and a hint of fresh thyme
Fruit salad
Teriyaki salmon - I got this idea from Bro, who likes to use Soy Vay's Very Teriyaki sauce. Just pour on salmon, let sit for about 30 minutes, then grill
Grilled asparagus - put in tupperware container, squeeze a lemon over, drizzle with olive oil, add salt and pepper, put lid on and shake. Then grill. :)
Turkey burgers with fixings
Brown rice

It was a lovely time, but did mean I didn't get the taxes done like I was supposed to.

Oh, and last week we had another two families plus a neighbor who was in town from China over. I made two lasagnes (one meat and one veggie) and we are still eating the leftovers. That's another bonus to Sunday night cooking -- lots of leftovers to eat throughout the week.

Mustard-Mushroom Pork Chops

2007-03-14T21:09:00.000-04:00

I realize it has been awhile. Hopefully this represents a return to normalcy.

1 cup light sour cream
1 can cream of mushroom soup with roasted garlic
2 tsp oregano
1 Tbsp grainy dijon mustard
1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper
3 Tbsp flour
8 oz sliced mushrooms
1 lb thinly sliced pork loin chops (5)

Preheat oven to 350

Combine all ingredients except mushrooms and pork chops in a bowl

Spread mushrooms evenly on bottom of 13x9 glass baking dish

Layer pork chops on top of mushrooms, and cover with sauce

Bake for 30 minutes

Serve with whole wheat rotini and steamed green beans. I think this time, I finally got this right...the sauce, when stirred up after baking, is exactly the right consistency. It was very easy and relatively quick. Hub loves any kind of sauce or gravy, and gave it a big thumbs up.

Ginger-Lime Swordfish with Pineapple and Mango Salsa

2007-01-28T15:49:00.000-05:00

We haven't had swordfish in years because of overfishing and mercury concerns, but I figured last night it couldn't hurt...and now I'll have to forcibly restrain myself from having it every week. This meal was that good.

Before starting any other prep, start cooking some short-grain brown rice.

Ginger-lime swordfish
4 swordfish steaks, about 3 pounds all in
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 limes, zested and juiced
3 Tbsp fresh ginger, peeled and chopped finely
3 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper

Combine all ingredients except swordfish in a bowl, whisk.

In a glass baking dish or similar, lay the fish out and pour the marinade over. Let stand for about 30 minutes.

Grill over low heat for about 20 minutes, turning every 5 minutes and brushing with marinade

Pineapple and Mango Salsa
1 fresh ripe pineapple, trimmed and cut into small chunks
1 fresh ripe mango, trimmed and cut into small chunks
1 lime, zested and juiced
1 Tbsp fresh ginger, peeled and chopped finely
3/4 oz fresh basil, cut into thin strips

Toss all of the above together, serve with the swordfish as a "sauce"

I also made a tossed salad with arugula, one avocado and three small tomatoes. I find the best way to dress such a salad is to drizzle the greens with a bit of olive oil and toss until the greens are well coated, then to add the rest of the ingredients, drizzle with balsamic vinegar and toss. Then add a bit of kosher salt and fresh ground pepper, toss again.

Kota Soupa Avgolemono

2007-01-14T08:41:00.001-05:00

Mom had surgery on Thursday, which went very well. As a consequence, both of my siblings plus Sis's Beau came in last night. Sis had called me last week to relate my recipe for Avgolemono soup like Mom makes it, and I had been wanting it all week.

It's bizarrely warm here right now, which meant we could eat on the porch. We had soup, Greek salad and crusty organic wheat bread for dipping. It was a lovely evening, and I think Bro, Sis and I are all feeling very fortunate and blessed that Mom was there with us, looking and feeling so well.

3 large chicken breasts, bone in but skinless (Mom uses a whole chicken, but that takes longer, is more hassle and the soup ends up a bit too greasy unless you skim, skim, skim -- so this is my change)
8 cups chicken broth, or 8 cups water plus 4 boullion cubes
1-2 onions, chopped finely
3 carrots, chopped finely
kosher salt (if using unsalted or low-sodium broth -- for regular broth, there's already more than enough salt)
fresh ground pepper
2 lemons, juiced
1 cup long-grain rice
3 eggs

In a stockpot, bring chicken, broth, vegetables and fresh ground pepper to taste to a simmer, and simmer for 30-45 minutes, just until the chicken is done.

Remove the chicken and vegetables, add 8 cups of hot water, and bring to a boil uncovered

Add the rice, reduce heat to simmer, put on the lid and simmer until rice is done, about 20 minutes

Meanwhile, remove the bones from the chicken and cut it into cubes, and season the chicken and vegetables with kosher salt (if you used unsalted or low-sodium broth) and fresh ground pepper

When the rice is done, seperate the eggs into two bowls (I usually put the yolks into the bowl I have the lemon juice in)

Beat the egg whites until frothy, then add the yolks and lemon juice. While still beating, add a couple of ladlefuls of hot soup.

Continually beating (I use a big whisk at this point), add the avgolemono sauce into the stockpot. Then add the chicken and vegetables. It should be the right temperature to serve at once, or you can warm it gently. Keep stirring to avoid curdling the avgolemono sauce...but honestly, if you did the beating and slow addition of the broth properly, curdling is not likely to happen.

Shrimp and Feta Stew

2007-01-11T22:31:00.000-05:00

I just had a request from Sis-in-law for this recipe. It is fantastic. We do vary it slightly by using cans of diced tomatoes with green chilis in them already, rather than plain diced tomatoes. Plus, sometimes we'll throw in a little grated goat gouda for a slightly thicker stew.

Sorry for the long hiatus, I kind of burned out this holiday season. I didn't stop cooking or entertaining, but decided I could give myself a break and not blog about it for a while. :)

I've been writing the recipes down, though...I have a backlog. Now I just need to start typing them in again.

Mushroom and Tomato Lasagne

2006-12-17T19:29:00.000-05:00

I must be crazy to attempt this recipe. It's from the Food & Wine 2001 cookbook (I always get their year-end cookbooks, even though I no longer subscribe) and it took something like 5 bowls, 4 pots and 3 1/2 hours to make. It's not even done yet, and I started cooking it at 4:30 -- it is now 7:30. Here's hoping it's worth it!

On Friday, we had the M's over for supper and play, which was lovely. I hit 40 hours at 4:15 on Friday, and left promptly to swing by Whole Foods and pick up a couple of chickens, 3 huge beautiful locally grown Ruby Red sweet potatoes and some wine. Hub and I are cutting back on alcohol during the week, but were happy to enjoy some wine with our friends. We rotisseried the chickens, roasted and mashed the sweet potatoes and also had orzo. Delicious, and the kids ate some of everything...except for Kiddo, who didn't even try the sweet potatoes with brown sugar sprinkled on them. Ah, well.

Last night Hub and I dropped Kiddo off at YiaYia and PaPou's to spend the night, as we were invited to a party in town. What a great party! I. was "re-warming" her house after moving back in recently. She asked guests to bring an appetizer or a beverage. There was so much food! I brought the Minty Lamb meatballs and tzatziki that I had frozen...unfortunately, it did NOT thaw well. The best part was the great conversations with intelligent, engaging people, most of whom we had never met. I. has a charming, small house in an old neighborhood in the city, and the floor plan plus her lovely back porch was very conducive to mingling. She spread the appetizers through several rooms, and the whole party was both easy and elegant.

Grilled stuffed chicken breasts

2006-12-09T19:14:00.000-05:00

Sorry it's been so long since I've posted...this getting back to work outside the house thing is really cutting into my cooking and entertaining and blogging time. It's not that I'm not doing any of it, it's just hard to remember to blog about it.

1.5 lb chicken breasts, skinless, boneless (3 halves)
2 oz fresh goat cheese (chevre) - if you can find it with lemon zest flavoring already, that will save you a step
zest of one lemon stirred into the cheese, if the goat cheese was not already flavored
6 large leaves of Basil
3 oz Prosciutto
1/2 teas. salt
1/2 teas. fresh ground pepper
1 cup orzo
1 Tblsp. olive oil
1 oz fresh grated parmesan

Light a grill, spray the grill rack with non-stick spray, put water on to boil for the orzo
Using a meat mallet or a rolling pin, pound the chicken breasts under a sheet of plastic wrap to a fairly even depth.
Use a thin, sharp knife to slice pockets into the sides of the breasts
For each breast, lay out one basil leaf, cover with 1/3 of the cheese, 1 or 2 slices of prosciutto and the 2nd leaf. Stuff the basil "sandwich" into the center of the chicken breast.
Salt and pepper the breasts on each side, and put on the grill
Grill for about 10 minutes a side, or until done. One reason to enclose the filling in the basil leaves is to insulate the inside of the chicken from the prosciutto - if you put the prosciutto on the outside of the "sandwich" it can make it difficult to see if the chicken is done, as the pink color can throw you off.
Cook the orzo according to package directions, toss with olive oil and parmesan.

Fish in Grape Leaves

2006-11-30T19:56:00.000-05:00

Last night, we had Ms. N and her two little girls, I. and Baby K. over. Ms. N is a very dear friend and we have cooked together for years and years...I told her I was in the mood for fish wrapped in grape leaves, and she said "Wow, we haven't had that in a while" and I responded that I thought she had done it last -- four years ago?

Anyway, follow the link for the recipe. The only modifications I made were to use Tilapia and to use goat butter for the sauce. The sauce is best if you don't cook it hardly at all, just slightly over low heat until the flavors are blended.

I am now looking into Hungarian dishes for Saturday night. We're having a couple of friends over who are interested in cooking with us. And of course, it will be more fun if I'm learning too!

Italian veggies

2006-11-27T21:13:00.000-05:00

Yesterday we went for a play date/supper at Ms. J and Mr. B's house. Kiddo and M. had a grand time after learning how to negotiate with each other -- it's a little odd having two such verbal and manipulative small ones to deal with. I've learned from another parent at Kiddo's school that he is a "ringleader." I'm not quite sure what to make of that, if anything. Hub asked at school and they very diplomatically said he simply takes the lead on activities, because he is so excited to be doing them. They're so nice. :)

Ms. J toiled over a lovely dish that her father makes. She was nervous to mess it up on two fronts -- one, it's one of her Dad's signatures, and she had a mental taste/look picture that she was going for. Two, she was cooking for me. I reassured her that honestly, I was just happy to be there! And I was.

Funny thing is, I don't usually like peppers very much. Hub loves them, so I kind of put up with the occasional grilled or roasted pepper. The dish Ms. J was making was ALMOST ALL PEPPERS! And Mr. B even was amazed at how much they had cost...so I was steeling myself for disappointment.

It was lovely. I mean it. I had seconds and thirds. Whee! I've found a way to enjoy peppers! This had 2 red onions (two!), something like one green, one yellow and one red pepper (but it may have been two of each?), garlic, a quart of cherry tomatoes and bowtie pasta, with parmesan on top. I'll either ask Ms. J for the recipe, or try to figure it out on my own.

She also has a HUGE frying pan that I covet.

Tonight, Hub made dinner and it was edible. Enough said.

Thanksgiving at my brother's

2006-11-24T08:17:00.000-05:00

Whoo hoo! For one of the first times in years, I didn't host Thanksgiving at my house. Instead, we went down to Bro and Sis-in-law's down in Wilmington. Bro had always wanted to try a deep-fried turkey, especially since he now resides in the South. Hub picked up a fryer at Home Depot a few days ago, and since then, the two of them have been studying up on the dangers and methods of using the thing.

Make sure the turkey is completely defrosted (or fresh, which is the option we went for) and dry. If not, kaboom!
Make sure the fryer is outside, not under a roof, and not on a combustible surface (we had it on the patio surrounded by sand). If not, kaboom!
Make sure the oil is not too hot and not overfilled. If not, kaboom!

The guys did a fantastic job, and the turkeys were amazing (they did two). I've cooked a lot of turkeys in my life, have done some pretty interesting things like injecting them with wine/butter solutions, roasting them in a bag, brining, etc. I've even roasted a goose. Never has the carcass been subject to every single adult picking at it. And a super-bonus is that the oven was free to make/heat big pans of macaroni & cheese, stuffing, dinner rolls, sweet potato casserole, turnips & greens, gravy...the only "missing" item was mashed potatoes, but since Sis wasn't with us, no-one cared.

My contribution to the meal was to make two pies and bring the leftover frozen turnips and turnip greens from my last big dinner party. I actually made a fresh pumpkin pie, which was 100 times better than any pumpkin pie I've ever had before. I don't usually like pumpkin pie, to tell the truth. This was great. I'll post the recipe when I get back home. The other pie was a chocolate scotch pecan pie, also delicious. Kiddo helped me in the preparation of both...if by "helping" we can also include the slurping of leftover pumpkin pie filling with a spoon.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Slow cooker beef stew

2006-11-22T21:05:00.000-05:00

Also on Sunday night, Hub followed my directions to prep for a slow-cooker beef stew. This is part of our effort to figure out how to actually work out of the house and get dinner on the table and not resort to fast food too often. He did the prep Sunday night, then I threw everything into the pot on Monday morning. YiaYia and PaPou came over and brought bread...other than that, it was a complete meal and provided enough leftovers for the next night's supper and for my lunch today! I love leftovers...

2.5 lb cheap beef (beef chuck underblade is what we bought)
1 cup white whole wheat flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp fresh ground pepper
2 onion, coursely chopped
4 medium potatoes, cubed to about 2"
1 12 oz bag of baby carrots
2 branches rosemary
1 bay leaf
1 cup mushrooms, quartered
1 quart mushroom broth (Pacific brand is what I used) or I suppose beef broth would work

Cut beef into 2" cubes, removing fat and membranes as desired
Mix flour, salt and pepper in a freezer bag
Put beef into the bag and shake, refrigerate
Mix vegetables and herbs and broth in a bowl, refrigerate
In the morning, put the beef on the bottom of the crock-pot, then throw everything else on top. Set on low.
When I got home, the potatoes were still a bit hard (they were cut too big) and I put the heat on high for 30 minutes. But I think if the potatoes were cut smaller like I've said in the recipe, that wouldn't be necessary.

Herb-crusted rack of lamb

2006-11-22T20:46:00.000-05:00

On Sunday, we picked up a rack of American-raised lamb at BJ's -- we're not crazy about the meat there usually, but it's never bad. This turned out to be lovely. I called Ms. J to see if they wanted to come over, but they had other plans. Turns out Hub and I ate the whole thing up, anyway. :)

1 frenched rack of lamb, 8 ribs, about 1 1/3 pound
1 teas. black peppercorns
1 teas. kosher salt
Leaves from 1 branch rosemary
1/3 cup packed mint leaves
2 cloves garlic
1/3 cup breadcrumbs
zest and juice of 1 small lemon
1 Tbsp. olive oil

Preheat the oven to 450
Put all the ingredients (except the lamb, lemon juice and olive oil) into a mini food processor, pulse them together.
Mix the lemon juice and olive oil in a small bowl
Place the rack in a small square glass baking dish, and pour the lemon juice and olive oil over.
Press on the breadcrumb/herb mix
Cook for about 35 minutes, or until an instant-read thermometer reads 130 degrees
Let rest for 5 minutes before carving. A normal portion would be 2 ribs per person, unless you're pigs like us.

Sherry-mushroom pork chops with Braised Red Cabbage

2006-11-16T22:54:00.000-05:00

OK, another not-quite-right recipe, but it's definitely worth trying again...the leftovers were delicious, and the red-cabbage side dish was AMAZING. Easy, satiny, rich, completely stole the thunder from the entree. Sometimes, I really impress myself. :) In addition to these, I did some simple buttered noodles, which Kiddo ate like a dog. Literally, he just stuck his face into the bowl. Ideally, the dishes should all come out at the same time...

Cabbage:
- 3 slices country bacon
- 1 small head red cabbage, sliced thinly
- 1 can butter beans, drained

In a large dutch oven, cook the bacon at fairly high heat until crispy, remove to drain on paper towels
Add the cabbage, lower heat to low and braise for 30 minutes
About 5-10 minutes before completion, add the beans and the crumbled bacon.

Pork:
- 4 pork chops, boneless, fairly small, about one pound total weight
- 2 cups sliced "baby bella" mushrooms
- 1 cup light sour cream
- 1/4 cup sherry
- 1/2 tspn salt
- 1 Tbspn chopped fresh thyme
- 1 Tbspn flour? (The problem I encountered was that the sauce was thin...flour would help. A roux would definitely help, but I don't really think any butter is needed in this recipe)

Preheat oven to 400? (That was the other issue, it took too long...we started at 350 and raised the temp to 400 later on)
Layer the pork chops in a small square baking pan
Add the mushrooms
Combine the rest of the ingredients in a bowl, then spread over the chops
Cover with foil and put in the oven for 30 minutes?

Ham and potato gratin

2006-11-16T22:33:00.000-05:00

I did cook this week, Tuesday and Wednesday, but each time we didn't end up eating until after 8:00 pm, and then I pretty much went straight to bed...no time for blogging! I think we'll be able to work out a normal schedule, though.

More because this is the season of change and I'm re-discovering my Fall/Winter cooking bona fides, both of the dishes I did this week weren't quite right. But in the spirit of blogging, I'm going to go ahead and post them...and that way, when I try again, I can remember my mistakes and correct them.

2 cups Emmenthaler cheese, grated
1/2 onion, chopped
1/3 cup chopped parsley
1/3 cup breadcrumbs
2 Tbsp butter, melted
Fresh-ground black pepper
4 medium potatoes, sliced thinly (I use the slicing blade of a food processor)
1 1/4 cups chicken broth
4-5 slices ham (not very sugary, Virginia ham is nice), chopped
Dark green leaf lettuce

Preheat oven to 385 or so? We did 350, and it wasn't hot enough.
Butter a 13x7x2 glass baking dish
Mix the breadcrumbs, parsley, black pepper and butter together
Layer the ingredients, starting with potato, then onion, then cheese, then ham, then lettuce, then potato, then cheese, and finally the breadcrumb mixture.
Pop in the oven and bake for something like 35 minutes?

Iron Man

2006-11-12T08:57:00.000-05:00

Congratulations to Mr. B! Last week, he competed in his first Iron Man triathlon, and finished in under 13 hours, which is an excellent time. Last night, Ms. N threw a party to celebrate his achievement, and to celebrate that she'll get a little bit more hub-time for a while. Except that he's already signed up to do two more of these crazy races in the next 12 months. And he has a full-time job and is getting his MBA at night school and has two small daughters. I thought I was tired...obviously I'm just not doing enough.

The party was lovely, with lots of cheeses and dips and crackers and chips and wine and turkey meatballs (Ms. N's signature appetizer) and wine and friends and more wine. And small children running around like maniacs.

My small child wasn't there until late, because he went to the NC Zoo with YiaYia and PaPou and his cousins. Hub and I had ALL DAY to ourselves. We went to the mall and shopped for work clothing, since he also has a new contract starting on Tuesday. Then I spent the afternoon cleaning the crud out of my closet so I'm no so overwhelmed in the mornings. And Hub raked leaves.

Easy Turkey Chili

2006-11-11T16:26:00.000-05:00

I had forgotten how exhausting working in an office can be. The commute...the conversations with extremely talkative people...the politics...the commute again. The deciding each and every day what to wear. The attempt to put dinner on the table after said commute.

That being said, I'm really, really enjoying it! The pro's are far outweighing the cons. And, while I haven't cooked that much this week (mostly due to outside circumstances, or the fact that Hub decided he was going to cook) it wasn't because I couldn't due to lack of time or energy. The one night that I did, it was this super-easy, fast and very mild chili...mild enough for Kiddo to enjoy. I'm almost embarrassed to bother to write it down, but perhaps others have not used the "use every can in the pantry" method of cooking chili before...or if you have, now you don't need to be ashamed anymore. You are not alone!

1 Tbsp cooking oil
1 lb ground turkey
1/2 large onion, chopped
1 can kidney beans, 15 oz
1 can black beans, 15 oz
2 cans flavored diced tomatoes, 28 oz total (I used one with mild green chilis and one called chili recipe)
1 tsp salt
1/2 t coriander

In a large pot, heat the cooking oil. Add the onions and saute until translucent. Add the turkey and the salt, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, and cook until all the pink is gone.
Add all the contents of the cans and the coriander. At this point, you might want to up the heat with chili powder or pepper or something.
Bring to a boil, and boil for about 5 minutes.
Reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer for as long as you like (within reason), it will only get better...but really, it's good to eat right now.

We had it over brown rice. The rice took longer to cook than the chili did, so did require a modicum of forethought. Otherwise, the whole thing took about 25 minutes, if that. And Kiddo liked it, which is always a shock. Plus, there were lots of leftovers to pack for my lunches.

The fake farm and the real farm

2006-11-05T10:40:00.000-05:00

I have just signed up for a Community-Sponsored Agriculture (CSA) program with Hilltop Farms for next year, and I really can't wait until April to start picking up produce! Just imagine the recipes I'm going to have to create. Mmmmm.

I've been wanting to do this for a while, but never remembered to do the signing up in November when most CSA programs fill up. Strangely, this year that's exactly when I thought of it. Neat!

We went to a completely different kind of farm "experience" yesterday. I started a new job on Wednesday, and managed to snag an invite to the Fall corporate day out at a place called Hill Ridge Farms. They don't seem to do much actual farming here anymore (except maybe some corn, hay and pumpkins to support the real enterprise), it's more of a farm theme park. No matter -- Kiddo had a great time on the hayride and the little train, and I got to schmooze a bit. Hub actually did a much better job at the schmoozing than I did - occasionally the Scot comes out for a blether.

Regardless, we did pick up a nice fresh pumpkin. I have visions of a real pumpkin pie dancing in my head. With fresh ginger? More mmmmmm.

Stuffed Chicken Breasts, Parmesan Orzo and Lemony Broccoli

2006-11-01T19:49:00.000-05:00

Well, even though I started a new job today, I still cooked. My fabulous Hub seemed to sense that it would calm and center me after my first commute/cubicle/commute day in over three years. He reminded me of something I usually like to do in the summer -- grill chicken breasts stuffed with ham and cheese. Except this time we both came up with some twists that made it fantastic. He did the shopping with Kiddo after picking him up from daycare, and also bought a very nice bottle of French wine (going over our usual $14/bottle top limit) as a celebration.

This amount will only serve 3 as opposed to my usual 4 -- but it's very easy to expand.

And for once, this is an entire menu. The sides are super-easy and can be used with almost any entree.

3 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
2 oz chevre -- Hub found some already flavored with lemon zest, but if its not pre-flavored you can add the zest of one lemon or the juice from 1/2 lemon to a similar effect
6 large leaves of Basil
3-6 slices Prosciutto (depending on the size of the slices)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 cup orzo
1 tblsp. olive oil
1 oz grated fresh parmesan
2 small heads broccoli, flowers only
juice from 1/2 lemon

Light the grill
Put 2 quarts of water on to boil for the pasta
In a small bowl, combine the chevre, salt, pepper and lemon zest or juice (if using) with a fork
Pound the chicken breasts out to a relatively even thickness
With a sharp knife, butterfly the breasts, making sure to leave a solid "seam" on one side, and open them up.
On each breast, place 1 basil leaf (or several smaller ones to cover the side), 1/3 of the cheese mixture, 1 or 2 slices of prosciutto and then cover with another basil leaf. Close the chicken breast.
Grill the breast over medium/low heat for about seven minutes a side. Don't overcook.
Put the orzo into the boiling water, cook according to package directions
Squeeze the juice of the 1/2 lemon over the broccoli in a microwave-proof dish, and use the vegetable setting on your microwave. If you don't have a vegetable setting, cook on med heat for only about 3 minutes.
When the orzo is done, drain and combine with the olive oil and parmesan.

Enjoy!

No recipes this week

2006-10-29T21:06:00.000-05:00

1. There were so many leftovers from Saturday night's dinner party, it fueled most of the week's suppers. And lunches.
2. The one night we cooked, it was Hub doing his famous fried fish. Unfortunately, he doesn't measure anything, so I don't think I can do the "recipe" justice.
3. I've been singing, singing, singing, my voice out over the past few days. We have a yearly UU Choir Festival in NC, which takes lots of preparation and then one very long day of group rehearsals before a big performance. This was yesterday (the "mass choir" pieces were a few selections from Orff's Carmina Burana and a fantastic piece called _The Awakening_ by Joseph Martin.)
4. Today my parents and I and a few other members of the UUFR choir went up to the Peace Fellowship in North Raleigh to perform one of my father's compositions, _Evolution_. I felt like I disappointed him because my high notes were simply fried from yesterday, and I had to sing the soprano part an octave lower. Oh, well...I don't think I'm really a soprano anyway, I just tend to be placed in that section because I have a very strong (think loud) voice, and for some reason sopranos seem to be hard to hold on to in many choirs.
5. I start a new job this week Wednesday, so we'll see about new recipes this week.

Roasted Root Vegetables

2006-10-24T21:45:00.000-04:00

Oh, wow. Just finished watching the most recent episode of Heroes.

Ms. J has given me the compliment of not only reading the blog, but actually cooking from it recently. Today she sent me an email asking for an appropriate vegetable accompaniment for the pork loin recipe. This is what I gave her -- not recently tested or measured, but it's a pretty easy concept.

Get an assortment of turnips, parsnips, carrots and medium-size yellow-skinned potatoes (or sweet potatoes), cut the carrots and parsnips in half lengthwise, quarter the turnips and potatoes. Toss lightly in olive oil and some fresh thyme, kosher salt and black pepper. Roast at 450 for about 40 minutes (I think, this is from memory, it might be a bit less) -- actually since you're doing the pork, just put them on the bottom rack and they will likely take the same amount of time as the pork, at those temps. Stir them around occasionally. They should carmelize a bit.

Dinner Party report

2006-10-22T22:09:00.000-04:00

I'm only now feeling somewhat recovered from last night. It went both really, really well and also maybe not so well from a planning/execution standpoint. But did we have fun? Oh, yes, oh, definitely, oh my was my head hurting this morning. But not so much that I don't remember the excellent conversations we had, and I did manage to make it to church to sing a gorgeous piece that I didn't want to miss.

I think I forgot to mention that this was a politically-themed party, and I selected my guests carefully to ensure that we all fell on the liberal side of politics -- not necessarily Democrat, but definitely liberal. This close to an election, I get very, very sensitive about politics, and I wanted a group where we could loudly declaim this or that policy, and not get into actual fights about it. That's exactly how it turned out -- we had wonderful, very loud discussions about a fascinating array of topics.

The loudness was one of the logistical problems. Kiddo, E. (5) and A. (2) were upstairs with the hired sitter, as planned. But they did not go to sleep. I've discovered that our house, with it's open floor plan, is just not suited for our party-loving children to tune their party-loving parents out enough to go to sleep. Hence, Kiddo and I did not go to bed until 1:00 AM. Oops! I think next time, I'll have him stay at Yia Yia's and Papou's house.

Logistical problem #2 - the schedule slipped due to A. still being asleep at 5:30. So the first guests didn't arrive until about 6:15. The rest of the adults trickled in over the next hour, with the final couple arriving at 7:15 or so. No big deal...Ms. C and Ms. J brought appetizers, so no one was hungry. I had made some cheese quesadillas for the boys - since they arrived a bit late, it was already too dark to play outside, so they went upstairs to the pinball machine, skipping dinner downstairs. I think it was close to 8:00 when Ms. C reminded me that they should probably be fed! The parenting skills were definitely a bit loose last night.

Logistical problem #3 - after we had soup, we convened back in the kitchen so I could cook the dinner. I don't have enough burners on my stove for the menu I had planned! So it took a fair amount of time -- enjoyable, loud, fun time, and Mr. M and Mr. E both chipped in to help (they are both excellent cooks in their own rights). So, in a way, this was not at all a bad thing. Dinner parties are NOT restaurant experiences!

I think we finally sat down to eat at around 10:00. On a plus note, everything turned out absolutely perfectly. On a minus note, I made waaaay too much food. I think we have enough chicken/duck to last a week of sandwiches. And I've frozen the turnips and turnip greens in the hope that they will reheat well for Thanksgiving.

Mr. D called to say he and Ms. P and their girls would not be able to make it after all, which was too bad. But the ice cream and dark chocolate bark worked just perfectly for dessert. And then everyone pitched in to help with the cleanup. Mr. T and Hub stayed up until 3:30 or so gabbing (T is Irish and Hub is Scottish, they are both champion talkers), and then Hub stayed up even longer to do more cleanup.

Exhausting, fun, delicious and we met two new friends who are thinking of moving to the area (Ms. C and Mr. M brought them, and we clicked immediately). Overall, a success. I'll be ready to do it again in about six months. :)

Dinner Party prep

2006-10-20T22:08:00.000-04:00

I just spent an enjoyable evening preparing for a dinner party I'm having tomorrow night. I really can't remember the last time I had an honest-to-goodness sit-down dinner party. With china and everything. I think it was before Kiddo was born.

Dinner parties are quite different from bigger, appetizer-heavy grazing parties. The menu planning must include courses, side dishes, presentation. I am not a Martha Stewart fan...for the most part, I let the food speak for itself, and any presentation finesse is provided by Hub. In our house, he's the one who can arrange flowers, he's the one who will drizzle sauce expressively on a plate, he's the one I turn to when meats must be sliced Just So.

And really? It's because I think that's all hooey. What I always remember from any party or gathering is the conversation, and how happy and comfortable I felt. Too much presentation lowers actual hospitality, in my opinion. In fact, my brand of cooking may even lower the hospitality meter, because I love to cook...sometimes it dissuades those who don't love to cook from inviting me over for dinner. What most people don't understand is...I'd be happy with pizza and beer! Plus the right combination of people to talk to.

For this one, I've hired a sitter to watch kids here, if the parents so desire. Partly that's because I remember being sent upstairs when my parents had parties, with my siblings and the other children who came. We always had an excellent time. Our children are still a bit too small to send up on their own. Not all the participants are planning to bring their kids (some have decided they'll have a better time if they don't have to think of them in the house) but enough are coming to provide playmates for Kiddo.

So here's the plan -- I'll let you know how it actually turns out:

Start at 5:30 pm -- adults start grazing on appetizers (which my friends Ms. C and Ms. T have graciously voluteered to provide, we thought cheese fondue with bread and crudites would be lovely) and the kids in attendance will have quesadillas, veggies and juice boxes, then be sent out to play on the playset with the sitter. Hub's planning on mixing his killer martinis.

When the light starts to fail (7:00 or so), send the kids upstairs with the sitter. At our house, the TV is upstairs, along with Dance, Dance Revolution, Kiddo's playroom and a real, full-size pinball machine. The hope is, they'll mostly stay there. Sitter will be provided with popcorn when needed, and pajamas, and maybe we'll set up a group bath. Or what we call "Penis Soup" since most of the kids in the cohort are male.

Actual recipes for the following will depend on whether they turned out well or not...

Soup course. Roasted Butternut-Squash and Garlic, which I prepped for by roasting the squash and garlic and doing the food-processor thing (Kiddo ran it). I'll reheat, add Greek yogurt and seasoning tomorrow.

Dinner. Spice-Rubbed Chicken/Duck with Port Wine Sauce. Hub removed the skins from the duck breasts tonight and I made, then rubbed in the spice mix. Also, I prepped the sauce.
Brown-butter orzo, no prep needed
Turnips and greens, no prep needed

Dessert: I made a dark chocolate/dried cherry/walnut bark last weekend, which I will serve with vanilla ice cream. And Ms. P (who can't make it until dessert) promised some kind of divine-sounding chocolate pie.

I don't have enough good china to go around. Oh, well. Like I said, that's not what matters!

Fig-Stuffed Pork Loin Roast

2006-10-18T21:14:00.000-04:00

Today was a good day. I slept last night (having given in to the realization that Benadryl is simply necessary right now). I resigned my current job yesterday, and signed a contract for a very exciting new project. I had no contact with any of the excessively dramatis personae of my life today. I walked with Hub, played with Kiddo, started transferring my work.

And I cooked something really, really satisfying. In November, I won't be able to start a roast at 5:30, because I'll be in an office again. That will certainly be a change, one I'm more than ready for, as working from home has become lonely. Roasts will be weekend food again. Still, this one didn't take much time at all...

1 ¼ lb boneless pork loin roast
4 figs, sliced
1 bunch parsley, chopped
1 t kosher salt (Is it common knowledge that a small t is a teaspoon, and a large T is a Tablespoon? I learned that a long time ago when getting my cooking badge for Girl Scouts, but does everyone know it?)
½ t fresh ground pepper
1 T olive oil
1 cup water

Preheat the oven to 450°
In a small bowl, combine the sliced figs, 3 Tablespoons of the chopped parsley, the olive oil, the salt and pepper
Using a long, thin knife (like a slicing knife), pierce the roast lengthwise, running the knife down close to the hilt but making sure you don't get too near the outside circumference.
Do it again, making an X lengthwise down the roast.
Stuff the cavity with the fig/parsley mixture.
Roll the roast in the rest of the parsley, then put in a roasting pan. Top with any remaining parsley.
Add 1 cup water to the pan
Roast for 15 minutes
Reduce heat to 350°, roast for 40 minutes more or until a meat thermometer reads 150°.
Let rest for 10 minutes before slicing.

I served this with fried polenta (purchased, sliced, then fried in olive oil) and turnips and greens (frozen), so it was very easy. Kiddo opted for chicken nuggets, but that's not unusual. Really, they are just a ketchup delivery system. He did try a little polenta. Maybe if I let him put ketchup on everything, he'd eat more of my food?

Mussels and Swiss Chard

2006-10-16T20:15:00.000-04:00

We just got back from the NC State Fair, which, for the first time, surpassed my expectations. I always loved going to our little county fair growing up, and idealized what the Ohio State Fair must be like. Six years ago, when we moved here, I was terribly excited about finally going to a real state fair! I ended up being disappointed.

This year, with a 3-year-old experiencing everything for the first time, and Hub in tow (he had declined to accompany on the previous visits) we had a grand time. We rode 2 of the available 4 ferris wheels, ate a giant turkey leg and sweet potato fries, saw 8 piglets follow their mama pig around rooting for a nipple, and Hub won Kiddo a HUGE Nemo fish - it is bigger than Kiddo. He did this at the start of the afternoon, so he got to carry it around the whole fair for 4 hours.

Hub is a former carnie himself, and knew the trick to this particular game of skill, so it only took him one try for $2. You could tell the guy running the game was none too pleased. Hub, on the other hand, gloated...so carrying the fish for 4 hours was not really a burden.

Anyway, last night I did cook something new...recently I've been working from recipes a bit more, hence haven't had as much to write about. But I was inspired to try a new spin on a mussels dish last night, and it turned out beautifully.

1 bunch swiss chard
3 med tomatoes or 8 small
2 lb mussels
1/4 cup cornmeal
1 shallot
Rossi parsley garlic fettucini (I seem to be tearing through this box fairly quickly)
4 T salted butter
2 anchovy fillets
2 rosemary branches
1 cup wine (red or white, I find it doesn't really matter, both taste nice. Last night I used some Pinot Noir)
2 T chopped flat-leaf parsley
Fresh grated parmesan

Soak chard in the sink, in cold water. Stem it, chop coarsely, spin dry.
Check the mussels - if they are not very clean, scrub with a brush and pull their "beards" off. Discard any that are open or that do not close when prodded. Put mussels in a large bowl, cover with cold water, and sprinkle the corn meal over. Let rest for about 20 minutes. The mussels will feed on the corn meal and disgorge sand.
Start heating water for the pasta
Start heating a large, heavy pot, such as a Le Creuset
Chop the shallot
Separately, chop the tomatoes and smash the anchovies.
Heat the butter in the large heavy pot
Add the shallots, saute until butter is golden
Add the anchovies and tomatoes, stir
Add the wine and rosemary branches
Using a slotted spoon, transfer the mussels from the bowl of water into the pot, checking to make sure they are closed tightly.
Put the chard on top.
Cover and steam for about 14 minutes. The chard should be wilted, and the mussels should be open...but it will be difficult to check the mussels since they are buried under the chard.
Start cooking the pasta after you cover the mussels, cook according to package directions.
Serve the mussels over the pasta, with chopped flat-leaf parsley and fresh grated parmesan on the side.

Lost recipe - Blueberry-vodka cream sauce with roasted chicken and pasta

2006-10-09T22:36:00.000-04:00

Darn it. I knew this would happen sooner or later...I'm diligently trying to write down my recipes as I cook them, but if I don't run in and transcribe them...they get thrown away. And this was a REALLY good one, too! Don't worry, though, I'll try again.

What the heck, I'll try to do it from memory. Later I'll come back and test it again. This fed five adults (Mom, Dad, Hub, Sis and me) on Friday night, and there was 1/2 a chicken breast as leftovers. Sis was in town on her way to Mexico.

This recipe (or a variation thereof) that I invented years ago is one of the reasons I ordered the Rossi pasta recently.

1/2 cup dried blueberries
Vodka to cover (about 1/2 cup?)
1 small container creme fraiche
3 large chicken breasts, bone-in, skin-on
Juice of 2 lemons
1 pkg Rossi lemon pepper fettucine
Salt & pepper

About 2 hours ahead of time, put the blueberries into a small bowl and cover with vodka.
Preheat the oven to 425.
Wash and dry the chicken breasts, put skin up in a roasting pan. Juice the lemons with a reamer right over the breasts (no need to strain). Salt and pepper them.
Roast for about 35 minutes.
When there are about 15 minutes to go, heat the water for the pasta and cook it.
Put the vodka/blueberry mix into a small saucepan and heat gently. When warm, stir the creme fraiche in.
Toss the pasta with the sauce. Serve with the chicken and a green salad.

If you don't have lemon pepper fettucini (poor you!), you could add lemon juice and pepper to the sauce. In the past, I've usually used boneless, skinless breasts and sliced them and sauteed them in olive oil and lemon juice, and then incorporated them into the pasta. But this time, I forgot to specify for Hub, and he arrived home with the bone-in, skin-on variety. Honestly...I think it was even nicer.

Friday was actually pretty crazy, hence the need for Hub to go shopping. There was a huge explosion at a chemical plant not too far from here late Thursday evening, and Kiddo's daycare was in the evacuation zone. We were a bit nervous we would have to be evacuated ourselves. Ms. J and Mr. B and their kids were right on the edge, and fled to Ms. H's house. So I took the day off work and Kiddo and I went over to Ms. H's to join the news-watching and fretting. The kids played, the mothers worried...after noon, Ms. N and I and our kids returned to our cul-de-sac, let Kiddo and Boo run around for a while (outside! by that time we had relaxed a bit about toxic fumes) and then retired to nap. So I never got a chance to shop.

After dinner, I dragged Sis to a birthday party at Ms. D's. There was o-so-much wine and crazy conversation. At one point, Sis told me I am in a sorority. I am? Wow. I've never been in a sorority before. I guess the difference is, I'm not paying for the privilege and I don't have to live with these women. And our menses are not in sync.

Saturday afternoon, the church had a block party, and I ran a Name That Tune booth. We kazoo'ed tunes for people to guess. It was a riot.

Saturday night, Bro and Sis-In-Law came in, and we all joined the sorority and fraternity (the husbands) for a big night out to a comedy club in the City. At dinner time, I found myself channeling the General (my dearly departed Aunt who ran social events with an iron fist). Someone needed to organize this crazy party of 16! We dined at a fantastic restaurant right next to the comedy club. While Hub did have to send his sea bass back, the tilapia that came out to replace it was excellent.

Sunday was quiet. I was exhausted.

And then tonight I went out with girlfriends again. Do I never learn???

I'm tired. Good night.

Shrimp and Shiitake stir-fry

2006-10-05T20:28:00.000-04:00

Sunday night at the concert, we ran into The Lint Queen and Ms. H and their significant others, and I had my first inkling that someone might be reading this blog other than Jenorama. I think Ms. H's comment was something like "I thought I was a pretty darn good cook until I saw the out-of-everything mac'n'cheese...did you have to go milk the cow?"

Which is soooo not the point! I was kind of hoping to impart my heck-try-it-it's only food philosophy, not make anyone feel daunted. Anyway, she was kidding and we've decided we'll do a cook-together gathering soon, which should be fun. And yummy.

Another thing the ladies had to offer was advice on the alcohol (and cheese and chocolate) issues I had been having, which was...gastro-esophogeal reflux disorder (GERD). Helooooo, Pepcid AC! Yes, I know, I should see my doctor.

I haven't been cooking much this week, but tonight put together a shrimp stir-fry that turned out very, very nicely. Hub's comment upon first taste was "what kind of butter did you use?" None, of course (who uses butter in a stir-fry?) but somehow the combination of the mushrooms and the sesame oil created both the mouth-feel and taste of a very rich butter sauce. Odd.

I know this seems like a long ingredient list, but this is the kind of stuff I keep in my pantry, in case the stir-fry mania strikes.

1 cup short grain brown rice, cooked according to package directions. If you don't have a rice cooker, get one!
1 lb shrimp (I tend to buy 2 lb bags of frozen easy-peel shrimp)
1/4 lb snow peas
1 small head bok choy
1/4 lb shiitake mushrooms
3-4 cloves garlic
1 knob fresh ginger or 1 T ground ginger
Juice of 1 lime
2 T Thai fish sauce or soy sauce
1 T chili-garlic sauce
1 T sesame oil
2 T rice vinegar
peanut oil

Mise bowls!

Start defrosting the shrimp, if it's frozen.
Get the rice started. Expect it to require about 45 minutes, if not a bit longer.
Wash the snow peas, snip the ends off, transfer to a mise bowl.
Brush any dirt from the shiitake's, remove the stems and slice the heads into strips, put in a mise bowl.
Slice the bok choy widthwise, put it into a salad spinner, wash and spin dry.
Mince the garlic and ginger and put in a small bowl.
Add the lime juice, fish sauce, chili garlic sauce, sesame oil and rice vinegar to the bowl, and whisk with a fork.
Shell and de-vein the shrimp.
When the rice is done or almost done, heat the wok. When it is quite hot, add 1-2 T peanut oil...really not much.
Very carefully add the shrimp (since it's wet, it's likely to splatter) and stir-fry for about 1 minute, just until barely pink.
Add the mushrooms, stir-fry for about 30 seconds
Add the snow peas and bok choy, stir-fry for about 30 seconds
Add the sauce, stir completely and then cover the wok. Let steam for about 3 minutes.

Dance party!

2006-10-01T15:17:00.000-04:00

Last night was busy for us - we had two parties to go to. Kiddo was so excited he couldn't nap, and instead bopped around the house singing "We're going to a party, a party, a party, we're going to a party, yay, yay, yay!" Of course, by the time 4:30 rolled around he was about to fall asleep on his feet, but as soon as we got to the first party he perked right up. Nothing like the promise of birthday cake and the presence of lots of kids to get that boy's motor running.

The first party was a 2-year-old's birthday party in the cul-de-sac behind us. Ms. D had sandwich makings, chicken nuggets, yummy chips and dips, meatballs and plenty of adult liquid refreshments...after all, how do we parents get through the 2's? It was great fun.

The second party also started at 4:30, and I had promised Ms. K to make Mint Pesto pasta, so I had run that over at 4:00. We arrived at about 6:15 and the fun was in full swing. Although Ms. K's birthday had been the week before and her eldest daughter's birthday was on Friday, this party was really more in celebration of her mother-in-law's visit. Sort of a "meet our crazy friends" event. And we lived up to it! Mr. J's mother is a hoot, and we had a fun, fun time...by the end of the evening, we were all dancing to 70's and 80's music. Kiddo did not want to leave, but we managed to drag him out just before 10:00. He fell asleep within about 30 seconds of his head hitting the pillow.

Tonight we're off to see Aimee Mann and the Indigo Girls. Whee!

Yogurt-marinated Lamb

2006-10-01T14:55:00.000-04:00

Something about writing this blog is actually inspiring even more creativity in the kitchen. I prepared this Thursday night before choir practice, and it was juicy, tasty and delicious. I served it with tzatziki (Yogurt and Cucumber Salad - I use a recipe from A Little Greek Cookbook, but this one I found on the web is pretty close...just add 1 1/2 T finely chopped fresh mint), couscous and steamed broccoli. We managed to convice Kiddo that couscous is really macaroni, and he also ate the broccoli (hooray!). The lamb was really enough for four people.

1 lb lamb leg sirloin steaks
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup Greek yogurt (Fage Total, if you can find it...if not, use regular plain yogurt that you have strained for 30 minutes or so)
1 T Aromatic Pepper (recipe from A New Way to Cook by Sally Schneider, reproduced here:
- 2 T black peppercorns
- 2 T white peppercorns
- 2 T pink peppercorns
- 1 T allspice berries
- 1 T coriander seeds
- All ground up together )
1 T olive oil

Combine everything except the lamb and stir
Coat the lamb in the yogurt mixture and let stand for about 30 minutes
Grill over medium/indirect heat, turning about every 5 minutes, for a total of about 25 minutes.

Turkey roulades

2006-09-27T20:59:00.000-04:00

I didn't write down the measurements for this one, because as I was just trying to get Kiddo to allow me to cook, Mr. M and Ms. C and their boys came over to play. I was so happy! There's no better distraction. So here it is from memory...and by the way, Hub and I ate it all up, so it's a recipe for 2.

0.8 lb turkey cutlets
~ 1 T fresh mint
1 bunch parsley (I just shave the main bunch of leaves from the stems with a sharp knife)
1 small wedge goat cheese (4 oz? not sure)
pepper
3-4 slices country-style bacon
red wine

Put the mint, parsley, cheese and pepper into a food processor, pulse
Pound the turkey cutlets out, then spread the parsley mixture on them, fold, and wrap with bacon. Use toothpicks to secure.
Heat oven to 350º
Heat a frying pan that you can transfer to the oven (ie, metal handles). Put the turkey roulades on the pan and sear on as many sides and you can, about 2 minutes a surface.
Splash about 1/4 cup of red wine into the pan, and transfer to the oven
Cook for about 10 minutes, then turn roulades over and cook another 5 minutes.

Out-of-milk Macaroni & Cheese

2006-09-23T22:50:00.000-04:00

What a busy day! We went to the NC Zoo for the afternoon. It's about 1 hour 20 minutes away, which is a very comfortable distance for me because from the little town where I grew up, the nearest "big" city was pretty much 1 hour 30 minutes away. And for a while up in Cleveland, my commute was 1 hour 20 minutes each way...on a good day.

We arrived home after 5:00 and I was too hungry to go shopping, so I had to make do with what was on hand. This is actually my favorite time to cook, because according to Hub it forces my creative juices to flow. If I ever get any more readers/commenters in this forum, I plan to do a sort of "Stump the Cook" thing like Splendid Table does. It would be fun to see if I could come up with something delicious given five ingredients any given someone has on-hand.

I had corn on the cob. Husked it, broke it in two, covered with cold water, put on to boil. Check.

I had a leftover piece of grilled London Broil that Hub sliced thinly and we ate cold, sort of more as a side dish.

I went to make Macaroni & Cheese, and immediately noticed two problems - 1) out of milk. 2) no regular cheddar. Plenty of cheese in the house, but all a bit more esoteric. This is how I managed to do the dish, and it was honestly some of the yummiest mac & cheese we have ever tasted.

2 T butter
2 T flour
6 T light sour cream
1 cup shredded goat cheddar
1 cup shredded feta (really, 2 cups of whatever cheese you have on hand will probably work, but go easy on bleu cheese)
1/2 lb macaroni

Put the water on to boil for the macaroni
Melt the butter over low heat in a large saucepan
Add the flour to the butter and cook over low heat just until it starts to turn golden. Stir constantly to remove lumps. I like a wooden spoon for this.
Add the light sour cream gradually, stirring, stirring, stirring. This will be very thick.
Add the cheese 1/2 cup at a time, stirring, stirring, stirring
It's much too thick at this point, but here comes the magic - add 2 tablespoons of the hot pasta water and stir, stir, stir. Voila!
Drain the pasta and add it to the cheese, stir (once more) and serve.

Just as we were finishing up, Ms C. called and offered us tickets to see a circus/dance performance. Unfortunately, she wasn't feeling well. So we up and went (luckily the venue is only about 5 minutes away) and it was very fun.

Plus, so far, potato vodka isn't making me ill. It's probably only a matter of time, but at least there's one option still open.

Allergy to alcohol?

2006-09-21T17:29:00.000-04:00

I seem to be developing an intolerance to alcohol. It started with any kind of grain alcohol...even just one beer or one glass of single malt whiskey would leave me feeling ill in the morning. If I mixed that with any wine, it was a recipe for serious upchucking.

I'm not talking about getting drunk here...and up until this started happening (about one month ago) I had a very high tolerance for alcohol.

So, I stopped drinking anything with grain. Then I started noticing that after one glass of wine, the wine would start tasting like vinegar. And now I'm feeling very ill the next morning if I have more than one glass of wine.

This stinks. I really like to relax with a glass of wine. I like pairing wine with food. Hub and I used to collect single malt scotches, for goodness' sake. I know this can only be good for my health, but I'm still very annoyed.

Off to drink some green tea...

Tortellini with Lemon Chicken

2006-09-20T15:06:00.000-04:00

On Sunday, we went to the local Greek Festival. Then on Monday, my parents returned from a 3-week trip to Greece. One might think I would have cooked some Greek food last night for dinner welcoming them back? One would be wrong.

20 oz fresh, filled tortellini (filling is pretty much your choice)
1 lb skinless, boneless chicken breasts
8 oz cremini (baby bella) mushrooms
3-4 medium tomatoes
2 zucchini
5 cloves garlic
.75 oz fresh sage
2 lemons
olive oil
salt & pepper

I find the order of preperation for this dish important, so here it is explicitly. I use "mise bowls" - little glass bowls to put all the prepared ingredients into so that they are all ready to dump into the saute pan.

Put on a pot of water to boil
Chop the tomatoes and put them in the serving bowl.
Slice the garlic very thinly. This may seem laborious, but it's worth it
Slice the sage thinly lengthwise
Brush and quarter the mushrooms. Did you know you shouldn't wash mushrooms with water? They soak it up. Instead, use a mushroom brush.
Dice the zucchini into small cubes
Heat 5 T olive oil in a large frying pan. Add the garlic and saute briefly, about 1 minute, just until turning golden. Then add the sage and saute about one minute more until garlic and sage are crispy. Use a slotted spoon to remove the garlic and sage from the oil and set aside in a mise bowl. By the way, this crispy garlic & sage trick is one I absolutely love, you can apply it to so many dishes.
You probably want to put the pasta in to cook right about now.
Add the mushrooms and zucchini to the oil, and saute until the mushrooms start to express some of their liquid. Transfer all the contents of the pan to your serving bowl.
Add 2 T olive oil to the pan and heat.
While that is heating, slice the chicken breasts lengthwise in approximately 1/2 inch wide strips.
Add the chicken to the pan and saute, just until pinkness disappears. Salt and pepper to taste.
Using a reamer (preferably), juice the 2 lemons directly into the pan. Who cares about seeds?
Turn down the heat and simmer for about 2 minutes
The pasta should finish up right about now, so drain it and add to serving bowl. You may want to add a ladle-full of the pasta water as well.
Add the chicken and it's sauce to the bowl, toss. Top with the crispy sage and garlic and serve.

That's the last time I buy cod

2006-09-17T12:49:00.000-04:00

I was so excited yesterday...I saw what looked like a nice piece of cod at Whole Foods, and an idea popped into my head -- wrap it in sliced figs and prosciutto and saute in a lemon and wine sauce. Sounds good, yes? So it put me in the mood for Spanish food and I picked up potatoes for a Spanish Tortilla (completely unrelated to a Mexican tortilla, the Spanish one is sort of a huge potato omelette) and chard for Spanish greens with raisins, garlic and pine nuts. Both of these dishes turned out absolutely perfect, which is a good thing because when I put the prosciutto wrapped chunks of cod into the pan, a LIVE PARASITE started wiggling around. We had to toss the whole pan out, which due to the cod and prosciutto and figs was a $20 pan of food.

I called up Whole Foods, and the fish guy said that it was fairly common for cod and grouper to have parasites, but very uncommon that they are still alive. They'll refund my money or give me another piece of fish. I think I'll take the money.

I'm a pretty fearless eater, I love things like sushi and rare meat, but when you pick a little worm out of your pan of fish...I'm still shivering with disgust.

Linguine with Tuna, Walnuts, Lemon and Herbs

2006-09-12T19:34:00.000-04:00

Have I mentioned my heavy usage of the Food & Wine Quick From Scratch books?

Tonight I prepared this recipe, with some variations so I'll go ahead and write the whole thing down. It was incredibly good.

3/4 cup walnuts, toasted and then chopped
Rossi Lemon Pepper fettucini - 12 oz
1 jar Ortiz Bonita del Norte tuna in oil (I'm trying to find a link, haven't yet)
1/3 cup olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
zest & juice from one juicy lemon
2 fillets Ortiz anchovy in oil, chopped
1/4 cup thyme, chopped
1/4 cup mint, chopped
1 zucchini

Put a large pot of water on to boil for the pasta
Toast and chop the walnuts, and put in a big pasta serving bowl
Use a vegetable peeler on the zucchini to make "ribbons", add them to the bowl
In a small bowl, combine the lemon zest, lemon juice, anchovy and herbs
Heat the olive oil in a frying pan, and add the garlic. Cook, stirring for 1 minute. Add the tuna and its oil, breaking it up with a spoon. Cook for 1 minute just to heat the tuna through.
Cook the pasta according to package directions (Rossi pasta cooks fast). Add it to the big pasta bowl, top with the tuna and oil and toss. Then add the dressing from the small bowl and toss some more.

For once, this requires no added salt or pepper. The anchovy provides nice, mild salty flavor (but Hub could not detect my "secret ingredient" at all), and the lemon pepper fettucini has plenty of peppery bite.

I've used regular canned tuna in oil before, and it's very good...but this Ortiz stuff is on a whole other level. We're lucky to have it stocked at the local Whole Foods. I'll search the web to see if I can find a good source for mail order.

I hate Chick-Fil-A

2006-09-11T19:54:00.000-04:00

It has to be the worst-tasting chicken of all, even surpassing McDonald's level of badness. Why is it only the truly terrible fast-food restaurants have the play areas, where I can read my book/newspaper while Kiddo runs wild? Oh, I know...because otherwise, adults would never eat there.

Bleagh. Maybe this nice glass of wine will wash away the taste.

Calves liver and mushroom pasta

2006-09-09T20:03:00.000-04:00

Ms. J's potluck was a rousing success...she completely embraced the spirit of the thing by having Mr. M actully do her cooking for her. Another sign of relaxation? Her hub, Mr. B, had forgotten that he was expected at a poker game in the neighborhood, so at 9:30 or so he had to leave. She was surprised and pleased at how easy the whole thing was. Hooray!

My favorite dish of the evening was one Mr. M brought and prepared on site -- tuna medallions seared with garlic and oil, and then green beans and halved cherry tomatoes added to the pan. It was fantastic with a splash of soy sauce.

Hub challenged me tonight by bringing home 1/2 pound of calves liver. He knows that I love liver, but he's more hesitant. Here's what I did, I thought it turned out very well. Hub even went back for seconds!

1/2 lb sliced calves liver, cut into 4 pieces
1 pkg Wild Mushroom Linguini (from Rossi pasta, of coures)
8 oz mushrooms, quartered
4 shallots, sliced very thinly crosswise
2 T chopped fresh thyme
6 oz spinach (one bag, if that's how you like to buy it), coursely chopped
6 slices country smoked bacon
1/4 cup flour
salt, pepper (do I even need to list these?)

Put on the water to boil for the pasta, lightly salted. (I know this step seems obvious, but Hub always forgets)
In one large frying pan that has a lid, heat the olive oil, then add the shallots. Fry them, stirring, for a few minutes until they turn golden brown. Watch them! They very quickly could turn dark brown, then black, and then all that careful slicing was for naught. Anyway, when done, use a slotted spoon and transfer them to a plate with a paper towel, and sprinkle with about 1/2 t kosher salt.
Add the thyme and mushrooms to the oil, and saute until well coated with oil. Then add the spinach in handfuls, letting each addition wilt a little so there's room in the pan for the next. Saute to make sure everything has a very light coating of oil, then put the lid on and steam for a few minutes, just until the spinach has released it's water. Slide the whole panful into a serving bowl Cook your pasta and toss it in. Add salt and pepper to taste, and about half of the shallots.
Meanwhile (don't you hate that?) you should have been cooking the bacon in another frying pan until it's crispy. Remove from the pan and drain on a paper towel.
Combine the flour and about 1/2 t each salt and pepper on a board, and dredge the liver in it. Then, over medium-low heat, cook the liver on both sides in the rendered bacon fat just until it springs back when prodded. Don't overcook! Liver is nasty when overcooked. If you think you hate liver, it's probably because your mother killed it in the frying pan when you were young, cooking it to the texture of rubber. I know mine did.
Serve the liver sprinkled with the rest of the shallots.

Rossi pasta

2006-09-08T14:37:00.000-04:00

I'm soooo excited! I just got a box of Rossi Pasta in the mail. This is by far the best pasta I've ever had, and the amazing flavors always inspire my pasta creativity, so expect to see some pasta recipes soon. This company actually started in little Athens, OH where I'm from, and now does the Williams-Sonoma brand pastas...but unfortunately, it is not available in stores here. Ah, well, instead I got a big box in the mail!

I'm taking a half day today, went to get my toes done with Ms. N and Ms. C earlier. Ms. J stopped by to say hello, and decided as we spoke that she was interested in doing the Friday night potluck thing at her house. She's new to the group, so kudos! In fact, she organized the Thursday night play date just last night (we met at a park rather than at a house) so obviously, she fits right in.

So, I'm rotisserie-ing a couple of chickens right now, then at 3:15 I have a haircut/dye job scheduled. Rotisseries are fantastic...if you are in the market for a new grill, get one. We have the Turbo STS with the rotisserie added as an option. Other than the cleanup (which I mostly let Hub do) it's really easy to use. Thread the chickens on the bar, then turn on the motor and shake on lots of herbs. Maybe I'll post a photo..they are really pretty. :)

Roasted Rabbit

2006-09-04T16:16:00.000-04:00

I need a vacation from my vacation. Kiddo has yet to play on his own for any length of time...even though he is very imaginative, he likes to have at least one other person involved in his play. That's usually me.

Last night after Ms. T's party, I decided I'd better roast that rabbit we picked up from the farmer's market. Rabbits really need to be cooked and not held in the fridge for any length of time...they really start to stink.

I mostly followed a recipe from Sally Schneider's fantastic A New Way to Cook. It was kind of stressful, but turned out delicious -- very like the chicken I've had in Europe, which tastes so much better than our bland chickens here. (By the way, my only modification was due to a lack of prunes and of 8 hours. I used currents and soaked them for about 1 hour. The stuffing was lovely.)

Quesadillas

2006-09-03T16:56:00.000-04:00

We just got back from Ms. T's very, very relaxing pool party. The day was hot, the pool was cold, the kids splashed and played, and the parents drank pomegranite/blueberry mimosas or beer. Ms. T supplied a couple of party platters of very nice cut sandwiches, and everyone else brought a dish -- my favorite was the tomato/basil salad Ms. T's sister-in-law brought. Simple, classic, delicious.

I didn't have much time after church to prepare anything fancy, so I threw together some quesadillas. I've been playing with quesadillas for a while now, and the trick seems to be to get the ingredients fairly dry. This is what I had in my fridge, so this is what went in today...

1 bag tortillas (6)
1/2 block monterey jack cheese, shredded
1/2 round queso fresca, shredded
8 quarters of marinated artichoke hearts, chopped and rolled in a paper towel to remove some moisture
2 handfuls salad greens, dried and chopped
1 big squeeze of cilantro in a tube (I would have used fresh if I had it)

Heat a griddle
Combine the grated cheeses in a bowl
Combine the other fillings in another bowl
On one tortilla, spread out a layer of cheese, a layer of filling, and a little more cheese on top
Press another tortilla on top
Spray lightly with oil
Toast gently on the griddle until the cheese starts to melt, then spray the other side and flip it
After you take them off the griddle, let rest for a few minutes before cutting into wedges.

Shrimp, Green Beans and Mushrooms in Garlic Sauce

2006-09-02T18:40:00.000-04:00

A few years ago, I subscribed to Food & Wine, and they have a line of cookbooks called Quick From Scratch. These are amazing cookbooks, I highly recommend them. Anyway, I was going to prepare the Shrimp-and-Feta Stew for the potluck last night, but Ms. T was already making a fish stew, so I went to the book and saw Shrimp in Garlic Sauce. I've done this one before, but from a Spanish Tapas book. Anyway, I also had a pound of fresh green beans and 1/2 pound of mushrooms in the fridge, and decided they could easily complement the sauce. Basically, I followed the recipe from the book up to the point the shrimp were cooked through. I removed them with a slotted spoon and added the quartered mushrooms and the beans (which had been cut and blanched). I omitted the sherry and used the juice of 2 lemons. Tossed it all together, and it was wonderful!

Mint Pesto

2006-09-02T18:27:00.000-04:00

As Ernesto passed through NC yesterday, it was grey and dour. In the morning, I received an email from Ms. T inviting a bunch of us to her house for a pool party on Sunday. I realized we hadn't had an impromptu Friday potluck in a while. So out went the email: potluck party tonight!

The party was very well attended, pretty much everyone could make it on such short notice except for Ms. L (who wasn't at work, and didn't get the email) and Ms. D (who was on her way to Virginia Beach to run in a half marathon). That's one of the things about this neighborhood -- we all have kids, and most of us hang out on the weekends...and any excuse to get the kids all together where they can entertain each other is a good one.

I quit work at 3:00 and checked out the fridge and pantry, and here's what I made. It's super-easy and usually a big hit.

1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted and cooled
2-3 cloves garlic
2 oz parmesan, cut into manageable chunks
Large bunch mint, about 6 oz before stemming, stemmed, washed and spun dry
2-3 T olive oil
salt & pepper

1 box rotini pasta
1/3 lb feta, preferably goat's or sheep's milk

Throw the pine nuts, garlic, parmesan chunks and mint into a food processor, pulse.
Add the olive oil, pulse some more
Add salt and fresh-ground pepper to taste

That's the pesto...I use it in several ways -- on brushetta with a smear of chevre, spread on a tortilla then topped with herb-roasted turkey from the deli and rolled up, then sliced for party rounds. But the most common way is to cook up a pot of rotini and toss it with the pesto and some nice goat's milk feta. This is popular with the adults and the kids, who call it "green mac & cheese".

Reporter magnets

2006-08-30T18:32:00.000-04:00

On Saturday, our little town (not really so little any more, but it likes to maintain a facade of small-townness) threw it's annual Lazy Daze Arts & Crafts Festival. There were upwards of 50,000 people there, but for some reason, my boys were both featured in the local newspapers.

First, a reporter from the town newspaper asked to take Kiddo's picture while he painted on a wall. It's on the front page of that paper today. Above the fold, no less. The link above goes to the picture.

Then, a reporter from the big Raleigh paper cornered Hub and asked him how he felt about the recent spate of civic "disasters." He had his quote featured in Sunday's paper. That was a bit more buried inside the City&State section, but still one of our friends read it.

Honestly, what are the odds?

Spanakopita

2006-08-23T20:51:00.001-04:00

Sorry, I don't have a recipe to share...this is my mother's specialty. They are off to Greece and Turkey for a few weeks, for the last Big Fat Greek Wedding my generation is likely to have, so tonight we went there for dinner. Kiddo shocked me by eating and enjoying spanakopita, then following that with eating an entire carrot. Hooray!

I'm tired and grumpy, so I'll do a meme I stole from Jenorama

TECH-OLOGY:

Number of contacts in your cell phone?
<10. It's new, and I hate cell phones.

Number of contacts in your email address book?
<100

What is the wallpaper on your computer?
Hub and Kiddo.

What is your screensaver on your computer?
It's a laptop -- a screensaver would be a power-waster.

Are there naked pictures saved on your computer?
Yes. Of me, chronicalling the hugeness of pregnancy.

How many landline phones do you have in your home?
Does VOIP count? If so, 4.

How many televisions are in your home?
One, and it's only 27". And over 10 years old.

What kitchen appliance do you use the least?
The bread machine. It seems to think it's a brick-making machine.

What is the format of the radio station you listen to most?
NPR

BI-OLOGY:

What do you consider to be your best physical attribute?
Eyes.

Are you right handed or left handed?
Very, very, very right-handed.

Have you had anything removed from your body?
A baby.

Would you like to?
I doubt it.

Which of your five senses do you think is keenest?
Sight, ever since I had it fixed with Lasik.

When was the last time you had a cavity?
I've never had a cavity. Ever.

What is the heaviest item you lift regularly?
Kiddo, who is almost 40 pounds. He's a bruiser.

MISC-OLOGY:

If it were possible, would you like to know the day you're going to die?
No.

If you could change your first name, what would you change it to?
I love my first name. It suits me perfectly.

How do you express your artistic side?
Cooking. My work is surprisingly artistic (Software architect). Singing in choir.

What color do you think you look best in?
Bright blue.

How long do you think you could last in a medium security prison?
As long as the library is well stocked, I could do a few years.

Have you ever swallowed a non-food item by mistake?
I have no clue.

If we weren't bound by society's conventions, do you have a relative you would make a pass at?
No.

How often do you go to church?
Regularly, if you count a Unitarian Universalist Fellowship as church. Many UU's would loudly protest that designation. :)

Have you ever saved someone's life?
No.

Has someone ever saved yours?
No.

DARE-OLOGY:

For this last section, if you would do it for less or more money, indicate how much.

I just won't bother with the last section. I wouldn't do any of those things for money. I'm just not that kind of girl.

Kiddo is 3!

2006-08-21T23:49:00.000-04:00

In the airport on Friday evening, Hub called in a bit of a panic - E. coli had been detected in our town, and there was a Boil Water Advisory. This put a wrinkle into our planned water play for Kiddo's birthday party. But a quick call to Ms. C netted us the use of their big bouncy castle.

I made a solemn vow to NOT COOK A THING for this party. This is really hard for me. I guess I'm cook-proud -- I feel like I have a reputation to uphold or something stupid like that. I am proud to say that I managed to do this party without breaking the vow. And remember, this was a 4-7 pm party for kids and parents. Dinner was expected.

The menu:
- PB&J sandwiches (the frozen Smucker's kind, 32)
- Juice boxes
- Bottled water (lots, especially since tap water was out of the question)
- Mac & Cheese, which Mom made
- Fruit salad, which Dad made (OK, my solemn vow does not include my parents)
- Veggie tray, which Mom made
- Spinach dip, that I bought
- Hummous, that I bought
- Deli station, which consisted of sliced meat and cheese I had to call to Raleigh to order (because of the whole Boil Water Advisory thingy) and which I ordered way too much of, but am very much enjoying the leftovers of...
- 2 lbs roast beef
- 2 lbs roast turkey
- 1 lb sopressata (really not a mover. But I love it)
- 1 lb cheddar
- 1 lb havarti
- 1 lb lemmi (don't ask me, they recommended it)
- mayo
- 2 mustards
- sliced tomatoes
- lettuces
- 3 types of excellent bread
- butter
- assorted pickled veggies
- purchased fancy roasted potato salad
- purchased fancy cole slaw
- beer
- wine

We had 28 kids. Actually, 30 if you count the infants. I'm not even going to try to count the adults. It was a really fun party, with multiple generations and everyone pretty much stayed in the backyard and we didn't lose track of Kiddo too many times and he only had one pass-out episode and no one else got hurt...he has a strange reaction to hitting his head, which is really too frightening to even write about...but luckily it happened 5 minutes into the party and he recovered by 30 minutes in.

Generally, it was a really good party. Kiddo was very happy, surrounded by all his friends. And that was the point.

Today we went for his 3-year well child visit and received a height prognosis...6'1" to 6'4". I'm a little freaked out by that. Where is that coming from? I'm 5'4" in shoes and Hub is 5'9". The only tall guy in my family is my brother, who's adopted. I buy mostly organic milk and meat, so it's not hormones...and yet Kiddo has been at least 95th percentile in height practically since he was born.

BTW, I would be remiss in not mentioning all the amazing cleanup, de-bugging (literally, our backyard is full of mosquitos) and toy setup Hub did for this. He's a rock.

Pasta with fresh tomato sauce

2006-08-15T21:46:00.000-04:00

I have about a hundred permutations on this theme...so easy, so delicious. This is what I accompanied the lamb meatballs with tonight.

2 large tomatoes
1/3 lb feta cheese, preferably sheep's milk, also preferably in brine
1 zucchini
2 T mint
12 oz whole wheat or multi grain pasta

Cook the pasta according to package directions
Chop the tomatoes, put in a bowl, making sure you keep all the juices. At my house, that means guarding the cutting board from Hub, who is very likely to stick his face right down onto it and slurp.
Chop the mint, add to the bowl
Use a vegetable peeler on the zucchini to make "ribbons", keeping the peel but stopping when you hit seeds. Toss those into the bowl.
Crumble the feta into the bowl
Add a little salt and pepper to taste, and toss.
When the pasta is done, take 2-3 ladlefulls of pasta water and add them to the bowl.
Then drain the pasta and add it to the bowl, toss, and serve.

Minted Lamb meatballs

2006-08-15T21:35:00.001-04:00

As mentioned in the previous post, I'm in a minty mood lately and have been buying and using a lot of it. Tonight I made minted lamb meatballs, which I served separately from pasta with a fresh tomato sauce (which I'll put in the next post, sort of trying to keep a recipe index thingy going here). The reason I kept them separate is for Kiddo's sake, they could be thrown in. Also, I froze the leftovers for use as an appetizer for Saturday's big 3-year birthday party. Which I'm starting to stress out about. I did a preliminary count tonight and we are expecting at least 25 kids, plus their parents. What was I thinking?

1 1/2 lb ground lamb
2 cloves garlic
1 t kosher salt
3 T mint
1 egg
1/2 cup bread crumbs

Toss all of the above into a food processor (or bowl, in which case, mince the garlic)
Mix it up.
Fry in olive oil, turning frequently
Drain on paper towels

Minted Shrimp salad

2006-08-15T21:35:00.000-04:00

If you follow the link, you should see the recipe that inspired this one. I made this last night for my parents. Basically, the substitutions are due to what I had on-hand. As you can tell, I've been in a minty mood lately.

2 lb shrimp, shelled, deveined and poached, cooled
1 cup quinoa, cooked according to package directions, cooled
Juice of 1 grapefruit
.75 oz Mint, chopped
2 T Olive oil
2 green onions, green and white parts, sliced
2 large tomatoes, chopped

Combine the shrimp, grapefruit juice, olive oil and 2 T mint in a bowl to marinate for about 30 minutes
In another bowl, combine the quinoa, green onions, tomatoes, salt to taste and rest of mint (about 5 T).
Mix it all together

I didn't put any feta in last night, and I think it probably could use it.

A summer week of fun...

2006-08-14T15:52:00.000-04:00

Two reasons for not posting recently... 1) just not in the mood to cook so much and 2) been hanging out with my buds too much. But here's the lowdown on the past week.

Tues. 8/8: went to book club, where we selected the books we'd be reading for the next nine months. Ms. H2 made a gorgeous fruit tart, I'll have to get the recipe.
Wed. 8/9: went to the pool in the evening with Kiddo, ate really bad pizza
Thurs. 8/10: headed over to Ms. H's house for Thursday night play date. I'm a somewhat infrequent participant in these because during the year I have choir rehearsal on most Thursdays, but it's a neighborhood women and children night and the guys go for beers. I brought the corn and tomato salad, but instead of zucchini I used an avocado, which made it quite different...nice and creamy. I think I prefer the zucchini, though. Ms. H. made an excellent linguine with tomato and goat cheese sauce, which was incredible, and Ms. D. brought and nice salad with walnuts and dried cranberries. The kids ate mac & cheese, chicken nuggets and broccoli, and basically ran wild. Kiddo was very, very happy.
Fri. 8/11: I have no idea what we did on Friday. Nothing, I think. Chilled. Played with Kiddo.
Sat. 8/12: Actually hired a babysitter for the first time, because my parents were out of town. We went to Mr. T's (that sounds funny) 40th birthday party, and it was great. They live on the lake, and Ms. T. hired caterers to do a "Hawaiian BBQ". Also hired a steel drum band, and even a bartender...it was swank, and I drank waaaaay too much white wine. I had great conversations with new and old friends, and it was a great night out. And Kiddo had fun with his sitter!
Sun. 8/13: We were going to have Ms. N. et famille over, but they canceled, so we did ribs for ourselves again. This time we tossed the broth, though, since I'll be out of town later on in the week.

OK, I have some cool cooking plans tonight, I'll see if I can actually write down any of the recipes. My parents are home, and haven't seen Kiddo in 2 weeks, so they're coming over. It is shocking how much he has changed in only 2 weeks, actually -- and he'll be 3 on Friday! Check out my budding chef...cutting ribs with his Dad.

"Asian" noodle soup

2006-08-07T20:59:00.000-04:00

After making Carolina BBQ Ribs, you'll have a big pot of lovely broth left. Let it cool, then skim the fat off the top. Then have fun creating your own "Asian" soup - this is what we did on Sunday, but it all comes down to what we happen to have in the fridge and pantry.

3 Quarts broth
4 pork chops
2 inches fresh ginger, skinned and chopped
4 cloves fresh garlic, chopped
4 green onions (we happened to have the whole bulbs, not the green parts)
1 box rice noodles
2 hearts of Romaine, chopped
2 T hoisin sauce
2 T chile and garlic sauce

Simmer the broth
Add the ginger, garlic and green onions
Add the pork chops, cook gently for about 30 minutes
Remove the pork chops
Add the rice noodles and lettuce, cook for 5 minutes
Add the sauces
In the meantime, cut the pork chops from the bones, remove the fat and cube the meat.

Serve in big noodle bowls with chopsticks. If you have cilantro and lime, garnish away.

This is soooooo good. You can substitute about a million ways - using tofu or chicken for the protein, using actual bok choy or spinach for the greens, adding mushrooms, heck, you can even use angel hair instead of the rice noodles. The real key is the fresh ginger, I think.

Oh, and by the way...we threw this together as a quick meal before going to see Fiona Apple in concert last night. Kiddo really enjoyed the cubed pork and noodles, sans broth. And he enjoyed his first non-classical concert, too. The boy is destined to play in a band, I'm sure of it. After all, his mom did!

Carolina BBQ Ribs

2006-08-07T20:25:00.000-04:00

Ms. C. called at about 10:00 am on Saturday, with the news that they were filling up the wading pool and doing a casual cookout at 5:00. This is not atypical, and really one of the best things about this neighborhood -- spontaneity.

We had picked up a couple of racks of ribs when at BJ's earlier in the week, so we decided that would be our contribution to the potluck. This is an all-day process, but not at all difficult. I can't be specific on some aspects of it...but here goes.

2 racks pork baby back ribs
1 onion
vinegar-based BBQ sauce, mixed up with some ketchup

Fill a very large stockpot (I use this one) half full of water. Add about 1 T salt.
Cut the ribs at every 2 ribs
Chop the onion coarsely
Simmer the ribs and onion in the water gently for 1 hour, basically until the house smells strongly of pork&onions.
Using tongs or a slotted spoon, remove the ribs from the water and put in a large container,
If you are so inclined, keep the broth for the next recipe.
Pour the sauce over - this is where I have to be vague. We have a good friend, Mr. R., who makes batches of the best vinegar-based Eastern North Carolina BBQ sauce that we've ever encountered. He has instructed us on how to combine it with ketchup, but beyond that, it's a secret recipe. We get batches by feeding him regularly. I would have to guess that it contains apple cider vinegar, red pepper flakes, whole peppercorns, lots of other spices...oh, heck, who knows? Find a BBQ sauce you like.
Fire up the grill, get it hot, then put the ribs over indirect heat.
Cook them over low, indirect heat for 2-4 hours, turning every 30-60 minutes or so.

The party was great fun. Everyone brought something, cooked or bought - including a cole slaw, potato salad, green salad, lots of chips/crackers and dips. Mr. M. grilled turkey dogs for the kids and set out bowls of popcorn and chips for them. For the adults (fed after the kids) they grilled a turkey breast and a pork loin that had both been marinated in teriyaki sauce. There were 2 coolers on the back porch - one for juice boxes and bottles of water, one for beer.

Out front there was the "wading" pool - a bit larger and deeper than your traditional plastic one - and lots of camp chairs for the adults to sit around and holler at kids from. Kiddo actually got completely wet (he tends to resist his head going under) and learned lots of bad splashing habits from the older boys -- at one point, they decided the best game was to soak me (the sole watching adult) and did a fine job of it.

We ended up closing out the night, as our Kiddo likes to stay up late, as do Ms. C and Mr. M's kids. The only downside of the evening was that Mr. J. cut his finger pretty badly on a bottle that didn't open properly, and Ms. H had to take him to the emergency room. He's OK, though.

Macaroni & Cheese

2006-08-03T17:42:00.000-04:00

I used to always make mac & cheese by first making a white sauce, then stirring in grated cheese. While this is still a fun thing to do, my sister-in-law found a super-easy, lower-fat baked mac & cheese recipe for Thanksgiving a few years ago...I found the link as she did on the Cooking Light website. Try it! It is really great.

Insomnia

2006-08-02T01:52:00.000-04:00

I hate insomnia. I should be used to it, it seems to hit me about once every month for 2-3 days at a time. Unfortunately, I have no clue why, maybe I need to start an insomnia diary. What did I eat today? Where am I in my cycle? What is the weather like?

Nah. I'll just ride it out like always.

What I'm mulling over is what to do for Kiddo's birthday, which is on Friday the 18th. I'll be travelling for work that day (argh) but probably want to have the party on Saturday anyway. I certainly don't want to spend much time cooking or preparing for it, because Kiddo will be wanting serious Mommy time - today when Hub told him I would be traveling on an airplane, he said "But I just miss Mom all the time." He then repeated that sentiment to me...making me feel glad, very loved, and guilty as hell.

So, do I give in and get the catering trays from Chick-Fil-A? Ms. H. did that for A's birthday, and it was a hit. Or do I have Hub grill burgers and hot dogs, and make mac & cheese, etc, etc? That's what I usually do, I just don't know that 1) Kiddo will appreciate that and 2) it's his day, not mine. None of the 3-year-olds will care if I made the pesto from scratch.

I'm thinking a compromise...get the catering trays, but make the cake myself. And Kiddo can help me make the cake. I'll even make it chocolate, which he loves, but which revs him up to insane speeds.

Cornish Hens with Herb Butter

2006-07-31T21:26:00.000-04:00

We went shopping at BJ's yesterday. I know, the name sounds like a bad joke, but it's our version of Sam's Club/Costco. One thing they tend to have is fresh Cornish Hens, which we picked up in addition to things like fruit snacks, toilet paper, and _Nanny McPhee_.

This is what we did with them tonight - it's a variation on a very generic theme, taking advantage of whatever herbs/seasonings you have in the fridge or in the garden. Me, I have a black thumb, you know whatever I'm using came from the store.

2 Cornish Hens
4 T butter (I used goat butter tonight, because I had some - wow, that was nice) OR olive oil
Handful of dill, chopped, or parsley, or oregano, or mint, or rosemary, really whatever strikes your fancy here. I've used them all, they're all nice. You can even go dried, but fresh is nicest.
Fresh-ground pepper
1 lemon OR 1 lime
If you like heat, add 1 seeded jalapeno, chopped, or some paprika

Preheat oven to 450°
Split hens lengthwise, removing breastbone with a sharp knife or kitchen shears
Arrange hens in a baking dish, not too shallow (probably not a rimmed baking sheet)
Use a zester to get the zest from the citrus. I love the Oxo one. Then, chop the zest up.
Juice the fruit. If you don't have a wooden reamer, get one. They are hands-down the best way to juice a citrus fruit. And I just like the fact that I own a reamer. Cue Beavis & Butthead laugh.
In a small dish, combine the herbs, butter (if you are using butter), pepper, zest and juice. Mash it up as well as you can.
If you decided to use olive oil, drizzle some on the hens
Smear the mixture over the hens, then pour whatever wasn't incorporated over.
Put the hens in the oven on the top rack, and bake for about 45 minutes, or until the juices are basically boiling under the skin. You probably want to turn the pan around a few times to account for uneven oven temps.

We usually have this with a salad and some nice bread. The bread is used to mop up all the gorgeous crusty bits in the pan. This is not a first-date dish, it is messy and decadent and greasy and GOOOOOOOD.

I now resolve to go running in the morning. Believe me, I need to.

What to do with tomato pulp

2006-07-30T20:22:00.000-04:00

Hub decided he absolutely needed gazpacho tonight. I was very lazy and kiddo wanted to play with me, so he manfully followed a recipe (sort of) and ended up with a bowl full of leftover tomato pulp/seeds/skins and also more garlic than the recipe called for. It called for 4 cloves, he chopped 9, he's that kind of guy. He tossed the extra garlic into the pulp and said "hey, we can make pan con tomate". True, but we didn't have any fresh bread. We were drinking the gazpacho with ice, sort of virgin mary-ish, and were still wondering about dinner. So, I heated up the pulp, threw some frozen whole-wheat raviolis in a pot, chopped some parsley and grated some fresh parmesan.

It was fantastic. The gods were smiling, that was a really excellent tomato sauce. And no tomato wastage!

Life Experience

2006-07-27T14:42:00.000-04:00

Bold the ones you've done..

01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said 'I love you' and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby's diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne.
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was shit faced
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched wild whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer then you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger's table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your cds
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Posed nude in front of strangers
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on television news programs as an "expert"
83. Got flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Had a one-night stand
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one/both of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently
95. Performed in Rocky Horror.
96. Raised children.
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
98. Created and named your own constellation of stars
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn't stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn't have survived.
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Petted a stingray
110. Broken someone's heart
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone's mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Petted a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad
135. Selected one "important" author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you're living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146: Dyed your hair
147: Been a DJ
148: Shaved your head
149: Caused a car accident
150: Saved someone's life

Now, it's your turn. Do it on your blog, and then leave a comment saying you've done so.

Art2mis dishes

Salt-baked potatoes

Orange Pork Stir-fry

Pear and Ginger Phyllo Triangles

Christmas party and Children's play

Spanakopita

Vanilla Mint Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream

Shrimp and Mushroom Phyllo Triangles

In Progress: Custard, Mango and Strawberry Tarts

Pasta with Tuna, Spinach and Chickpeas

Ingredients

Directions

Kneading for Shah

50% White Whole Wheat pizza dough

Ingredients

Directions

Sour Cream Biscuits

Nutrition Facts

Amount per Serving

% Daily Value *

Est. Percent of Calories from:

Moroccan Crock-pot chicken

Biscuits and more biscuits

New Year's Resolutions

Mozzarella-stuffed chicken breasts with Sauteed Spinach and Shallots

Fettucini with Tuna, Pine Nuts, Lemon and Herbs

Christmas Cinnamon Rolls

Christmas tree

Thanksgiving

Pies 'n' Play

Election day in North Carolina supper

Pizza!

Vegetable Soup

NC State Fair food

Bread

Caprese Salad

Kiddo's birthday

Breaking Point

Two years ago today

Personal Statement

Not Your Ordinary Potato Salad

Spanish Greens

Spanakopitakia

Meatball soup

Lamb Chops with Fava Beans and Mint Dressing

White Chile con Queso

Mushroom and Brie Phyllo Triangles

Pork Chops and Applesauce

Butternut Squash Soup with Chestnuts & Hazelnuts

Red Cabbage and Green Apple Slaw

Bagna Cauda and Raw Vegetables

Steak Kabobs

Stuffed Trout

Green Vegetable Soup

Mediterranean Garden Fagottini

Sunday Night is Party Night!

Mustard-Mushroom Pork Chops

Ginger-Lime Swordfish with Pineapple and Mango Salsa

Kota Soupa Avgolemono

Shrimp and Feta Stew

Mushroom and Tomato Lasagne

Grilled stuffed chicken breasts

Fish in Grape Leaves

Italian veggies

Thanksgiving at my brother's

Slow cooker beef stew

Herb-crusted rack of lamb

Sherry-mushroom pork chops with Braised Red Cabbage

Ham and potato gratin

Iron Man

Easy Turkey Chili

The fake farm and the real farm

Stuffed Chicken Breasts, Parmesan Orzo and Lemony Broccoli

No recipes this week

Roasted Root Vegetables

Dinner Party report

Dinner Party prep

Fig-Stuffed Pork Loin Roast

Mussels and Swiss Chard

Lost recipe - Blueberry-vodka cream sauce with roasted chicken and pasta