- ham steaks
- crusty French bread
- big-ass salad
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Ham steak
Tonight's Menu
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Yummy leftovers
Tonight's Menu
And believe it or not, my house smells AMAZING right now. When's the last time you were able to say that after cooking brussels sprouts?!
- leftover roasted chicken thighs with garlic and potatoes
- caramelized brussels sprouts
And believe it or not, my house smells AMAZING right now. When's the last time you were able to say that after cooking brussels sprouts?!
Friday, February 16, 2007
Chicken!
Tonight's Menu
I had some nice bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, which I rinsed and patted dry and tossed into a baking pan (skin side up). I added some halved tiny red-skinned potatoes and a whole head of garlic, broken into unpeeled cloves. Then I drizzled on some EVOO, snipped some fresh rosemary over it, sprinkled on some kosher salt and ground some cracked pepper over the whole thing. I popped it in the oven at 425 degrees F for about 45 minutes and Bob's your uncle!
It was way yummy. The boy is becoming dangerously addicted to my chicken. Mwahaha!
- roasted chicken thighs with garlic and potatoes
- green salad
I had some nice bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, which I rinsed and patted dry and tossed into a baking pan (skin side up). I added some halved tiny red-skinned potatoes and a whole head of garlic, broken into unpeeled cloves. Then I drizzled on some EVOO, snipped some fresh rosemary over it, sprinkled on some kosher salt and ground some cracked pepper over the whole thing. I popped it in the oven at 425 degrees F for about 45 minutes and Bob's your uncle!
It was way yummy. The boy is becoming dangerously addicted to my chicken. Mwahaha!
Thursday, February 15, 2007
While we're waiting for inspiration to strike...
Hey everyone! Since I seem to have trouble remembering to write in this damn thing, and since I seem to be making the same old crappe over and over again anyway (steak! tacos! burgers! lather! rinse! repeat!), howsabout an update on the reason I started this blog in the first place?
Originally the purpose of this blog was to record the results of an experiment of sorts. (More info on that over in the sidebar.) See, I had always been the kind of mom who made two different meals for dinner every night -- one for the adults, and one for the kids. It was wearing me down and making me crabby, so on the first day of summer vacation last year, when my kids were 10 and 8 years old, I decided to start making ONE MEAL ONLY at dinner. I would make the adult meal, cooking enough for four instead of two. If my kids didn't want what I was offering for dinner, they were free to Make [Their] Own Damn Dinner! They had to have (at least) a protein and a veggie, approved by me, but they had to make it themselves.
At the same time, I stopped buying chicken nuggets, fish sticks and fruit snacks, which together were making up a huge portion of my kids' diets. I haven't forbidden them from ever HAVING those things -- they still eat them at school and when we go out for dinner -- I'm just not buying them to have at home anymore. If they want chicken, they can have one of the lovely chicken dishes I make (Thomas Keller's roast chicken and Nigella Lawson's chicken with lemon and garlic being two favorites). If they want fish, I am happy to cook up some salmon or tilapia or trout. If they want fruit, they can have some actual FRUIT. No more fake food around here, yo!
The primary goal, of course, was for me to stop being such a short-order cook at suppertime. In this, the experiment succeeded wonderfully. I now make ONE meal, and whoever doesn't want it makes his or her (say it with me now) own damn dinner!
The secondary goal was to get my kids to expand their palates a little bit. I thought for sure they would get tired of making themselves peanut butter sandwiches every night and start trying some of the food I made. In this, the experiment was only PARTIALLY successful.
The boy has amazed me. He now eats what I make a good 75-80% of the time. He has happily gobbled down steaks, salmon, ropa vecchia, spaghetti squash, tortilla soup and a bunch of other stuff that I thought he'd never consent to try in a million years. He's nearly always willing to at least TRY whatever I make for dinner. Sometimes he likes it, sometimes he doesn't and ends up eating peanut butter, but I am so proud of him for being adventurous!
And even better, he has expressed a strong interest in learning how to cook. He now helps me prepare dinner almost every night. I started him out slow but now he's wielding my Wusthof knives and sauteing stuff on our gas rangetop like a pro! He really enjoys learning about the science behind cooking -- how fats melt and sugars caramelize and cell walls burst to release liquids and stuff. I have taught him little tricks, like how to make sure things cook evenly and how to know when to turn things and stuff like that. We are having so much fun, and he is quite the little sous chef!
The girl, on the other hand, remains as finicky and stubborn as ever! She never makes a fuss at mealtime, but I can't get this kid to try anything new! Even when she, too, helps with the cooking, half the time she has no interest in eating whatever it is we've made (with the exception of dessert, sigh). Her standard dinner now is a cheese sandwich (whole wheat bread and American cheese, no condiments) and some raw baby carrots. She eats that at least four nights a week. That's also her standard lunch on school days because she's very rarely interested in the school's hot lunch (whereas I literally can't remember the last time the boy brought his lunch from home). Thank goodness for chewable gummy vitamins, is all I can say.
She has started eating a FEW new things, though. She'll happily eat a homemade hamburger. She'll eat steak but only if DH makes it. She'll usually eat a pork chop if it's just grilled or broiled with no sauce or anything on it. Other than that, she sticks to the old standbys she was eating before the experiment started. Sigh.
ANYWAY. I know the focus of the blog has changed a bit since then, but I thought some of you old-timers might enjoy an update on how the original experiment was going. It's going!
Originally the purpose of this blog was to record the results of an experiment of sorts. (More info on that over in the sidebar.) See, I had always been the kind of mom who made two different meals for dinner every night -- one for the adults, and one for the kids. It was wearing me down and making me crabby, so on the first day of summer vacation last year, when my kids were 10 and 8 years old, I decided to start making ONE MEAL ONLY at dinner. I would make the adult meal, cooking enough for four instead of two. If my kids didn't want what I was offering for dinner, they were free to Make [Their] Own Damn Dinner! They had to have (at least) a protein and a veggie, approved by me, but they had to make it themselves.
At the same time, I stopped buying chicken nuggets, fish sticks and fruit snacks, which together were making up a huge portion of my kids' diets. I haven't forbidden them from ever HAVING those things -- they still eat them at school and when we go out for dinner -- I'm just not buying them to have at home anymore. If they want chicken, they can have one of the lovely chicken dishes I make (Thomas Keller's roast chicken and Nigella Lawson's chicken with lemon and garlic being two favorites). If they want fish, I am happy to cook up some salmon or tilapia or trout. If they want fruit, they can have some actual FRUIT. No more fake food around here, yo!
The primary goal, of course, was for me to stop being such a short-order cook at suppertime. In this, the experiment succeeded wonderfully. I now make ONE meal, and whoever doesn't want it makes his or her (say it with me now) own damn dinner!
The secondary goal was to get my kids to expand their palates a little bit. I thought for sure they would get tired of making themselves peanut butter sandwiches every night and start trying some of the food I made. In this, the experiment was only PARTIALLY successful.
The boy has amazed me. He now eats what I make a good 75-80% of the time. He has happily gobbled down steaks, salmon, ropa vecchia, spaghetti squash, tortilla soup and a bunch of other stuff that I thought he'd never consent to try in a million years. He's nearly always willing to at least TRY whatever I make for dinner. Sometimes he likes it, sometimes he doesn't and ends up eating peanut butter, but I am so proud of him for being adventurous!
And even better, he has expressed a strong interest in learning how to cook. He now helps me prepare dinner almost every night. I started him out slow but now he's wielding my Wusthof knives and sauteing stuff on our gas rangetop like a pro! He really enjoys learning about the science behind cooking -- how fats melt and sugars caramelize and cell walls burst to release liquids and stuff. I have taught him little tricks, like how to make sure things cook evenly and how to know when to turn things and stuff like that. We are having so much fun, and he is quite the little sous chef!
The girl, on the other hand, remains as finicky and stubborn as ever! She never makes a fuss at mealtime, but I can't get this kid to try anything new! Even when she, too, helps with the cooking, half the time she has no interest in eating whatever it is we've made (with the exception of dessert, sigh). Her standard dinner now is a cheese sandwich (whole wheat bread and American cheese, no condiments) and some raw baby carrots. She eats that at least four nights a week. That's also her standard lunch on school days because she's very rarely interested in the school's hot lunch (whereas I literally can't remember the last time the boy brought his lunch from home). Thank goodness for chewable gummy vitamins, is all I can say.
She has started eating a FEW new things, though. She'll happily eat a homemade hamburger. She'll eat steak but only if DH makes it. She'll usually eat a pork chop if it's just grilled or broiled with no sauce or anything on it. Other than that, she sticks to the old standbys she was eating before the experiment started. Sigh.
ANYWAY. I know the focus of the blog has changed a bit since then, but I thought some of you old-timers might enjoy an update on how the original experiment was going. It's going!
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Chili Verde
Tonight's Menu
First I diced up some pork (about 1.5 lbs. boneless loin chops, because that's what I had) and browned it. Then I tossed a chopped onion and about 4 cloves of minced garlic in the pan and sweated them out a bit. Then I dumped in enough vegetable broth (canned) to cover the meat and let it simmer.
While the meat was getting tender, I tossed a bunch of tomatillos, a couple of anaheim peppers, and a poblano pepper with a little EVOO and roasted them in the oven for about 20-25 minutes at 400 degrees F. I seeded the peppers and removed the stems and then dumped the whole shebang into the food processor.
Then I added the tomatillo/pepper puree to the simmering meat/onions/broth, along with some oregano, cilantro, cumin, salt and pepper and let it simmer away until it had thickened up a bit.
Then DH came home and informed me that he does not like verde sauce. Uh, okay. So he had leftover shrimp from God knows how long ago instead. The girl had a peanut butter sandwich because GOD FORBID she should ever eat soup that didn't come out of a can.
The boy and I devoured a couple of bowls each of this stuff (no meat for him, sour cream on top for me). It was absolutely delicious.
- chili verde
- tortilla chips
First I diced up some pork (about 1.5 lbs. boneless loin chops, because that's what I had) and browned it. Then I tossed a chopped onion and about 4 cloves of minced garlic in the pan and sweated them out a bit. Then I dumped in enough vegetable broth (canned) to cover the meat and let it simmer.
While the meat was getting tender, I tossed a bunch of tomatillos, a couple of anaheim peppers, and a poblano pepper with a little EVOO and roasted them in the oven for about 20-25 minutes at 400 degrees F. I seeded the peppers and removed the stems and then dumped the whole shebang into the food processor.
Then I added the tomatillo/pepper puree to the simmering meat/onions/broth, along with some oregano, cilantro, cumin, salt and pepper and let it simmer away until it had thickened up a bit.
Then DH came home and informed me that he does not like verde sauce. Uh, okay. So he had leftover shrimp from God knows how long ago instead. The girl had a peanut butter sandwich because GOD FORBID she should ever eat soup that didn't come out of a can.
The boy and I devoured a couple of bowls each of this stuff (no meat for him, sour cream on top for me). It was absolutely delicious.
Monday, January 29, 2007
Tacos
No real menu tonight; we just had tacos. I put out bowls of seasoned ground beef, shredded cheese, lettuce, tomato, sour cream and various salsas and hot sauces and everybody made their own.
The Boy: meat only. Usually he has lettuce too, and sometimes hot sauce, but not tonight for some reason.
The Girl: cheese and sour cream only.
DH: meat, cheese, sour cream, lettuce.
Me: meat, cheese, lettuce, tomato, sour cream, hot sauce.
I'm the only one who likes tomato on my tacos. I don't know why I bother cutting one up.
The Boy: meat only. Usually he has lettuce too, and sometimes hot sauce, but not tonight for some reason.
The Girl: cheese and sour cream only.
DH: meat, cheese, sour cream, lettuce.
Me: meat, cheese, lettuce, tomato, sour cream, hot sauce.
I'm the only one who likes tomato on my tacos. I don't know why I bother cutting one up.
Sunday, January 28, 2007
And now for something completely different
Tonight's Menu
I am a big fan of spaghetti squash but I don't cook it very often because DH doesn't like squash. You can cook it in the microwave but all that does is steam it, and I like it roasted. As mentioned above, this caramelizes the sugars in the squash and just oomphs up the flavor a bit. I had DH cut it in half lengthwise (because I'm too damn wimpy to do it myself), then put it cut side down on a foil-lined baking sheet. Stick it in the oven for about 30 minutes at 375 degrees F (more or less, depending on the size of the squash). Scoop out the seeds and the center pulp, then use a fork to shred the flesh into strings. It's a nice, healthful alternative to pasta and really does have a great flavor.
This particular recipe (linked above) was really good, with the butter and olive oil and whatnot. Even DH liked it, and he HATES squash of all kinds!
Oh, and Vinho Verde is the PERFECT accompaniment to this dish. Just so you know.
- shrimp scampi with spaghetti squash
- leftover crusty multigrain bread
- leftover crisp green salad
I am a big fan of spaghetti squash but I don't cook it very often because DH doesn't like squash. You can cook it in the microwave but all that does is steam it, and I like it roasted. As mentioned above, this caramelizes the sugars in the squash and just oomphs up the flavor a bit. I had DH cut it in half lengthwise (because I'm too damn wimpy to do it myself), then put it cut side down on a foil-lined baking sheet. Stick it in the oven for about 30 minutes at 375 degrees F (more or less, depending on the size of the squash). Scoop out the seeds and the center pulp, then use a fork to shred the flesh into strings. It's a nice, healthful alternative to pasta and really does have a great flavor.
This particular recipe (linked above) was really good, with the butter and olive oil and whatnot. Even DH liked it, and he HATES squash of all kinds!
Oh, and Vinho Verde is the PERFECT accompaniment to this dish. Just so you know.
Friday, January 26, 2007
A cook-in!
Because it's winter, and too cold to cook OUT, silly!
Tonight's Menu
Brisket is really cheap down here and aside from the fat pad (which I leave on during cooking to keep the meat moist) it's solid meat. If you cook it "low and slow" it comes out really tender and can be sliced or shredded. Some people sauce theirs but I prefer a dry rub. Yum!
Tonight's Menu
- oven-smoked beef brisket
- cornbread from scratch
- Ranch beans from a can
- coleslaw from scratch
Brisket is really cheap down here and aside from the fat pad (which I leave on during cooking to keep the meat moist) it's solid meat. If you cook it "low and slow" it comes out really tender and can be sliced or shredded. Some people sauce theirs but I prefer a dry rub. Yum!
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Pasta
Tonight's Menu
However, they also offer some of their own stuff that has no equal in name brands, as far as I know. Like they have this line of frozen "artisan" breads that is really, really good. I buy the big whole-grain one, which is very rustic and crusty and full of seeds and bits of stuff, and I LOVE it. You just thaw it for 15 minutes, then bake it for another 15 and it's delicious. Instead of spreading it with butter or margarine, we've been dipping it in EVOO with a little parmesan and freshly ground pepper.
Yum!
- spaghetti marinara
- crusty whole-grain bread
- fresh green salad
However, they also offer some of their own stuff that has no equal in name brands, as far as I know. Like they have this line of frozen "artisan" breads that is really, really good. I buy the big whole-grain one, which is very rustic and crusty and full of seeds and bits of stuff, and I LOVE it. You just thaw it for 15 minutes, then bake it for another 15 and it's delicious. Instead of spreading it with butter or margarine, we've been dipping it in EVOO with a little parmesan and freshly ground pepper.
Yum!
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Steak and potatoes
Tonight's Menu
Okay, first the steaks: I minced a garlic clove and bashed it up (actually the boy child did; he's been helping me make dinner for the past week) with some EVOO in the mortar & pestle, then set it aside to steep while the steaks came to room temperature. I rubbed the steaks with the garlicky oil goodness, sprinkled with kosher salt & freshly ground pepper, and seared them off in a screaming hot grill pan for maybe 3-4 minutes per side (these were approximately 1.5-inch steaks, not the super-thin ones I usually get). I put them on a warmed plate and covered them with foil for maybe 5 minutes to make sure they weren't too bloody for DH. They were a perfect medium rare with a nice crust -- DELICIOUS!
For the mushrooms, they had this nice assortment of various fresh 'shrooms (shiitakes, oysters, chanterelles, etc.) for stir fry at the store. I just cleaned them up a bit, tossed them in a baking pan with some EVOO, salt & pepper and roasted them at 450 degrees F for maybe 20 to 25 minutes, stirring every now and then. They had a nice earthy flavor that really complimented the meat.
I made the potatoes the same way as always, and we ate up the last of the salad. I washed it all down with a couple of glasses of pinot.
SO yummy, y'all.
- NY strip steaks on the grill pan
- roasted assorted mushrooms
- tiny red potatoes, parboiled then chuffed up in a hot pan with butter
- the last of the leftover big-ass salad
Okay, first the steaks: I minced a garlic clove and bashed it up (actually the boy child did; he's been helping me make dinner for the past week) with some EVOO in the mortar & pestle, then set it aside to steep while the steaks came to room temperature. I rubbed the steaks with the garlicky oil goodness, sprinkled with kosher salt & freshly ground pepper, and seared them off in a screaming hot grill pan for maybe 3-4 minutes per side (these were approximately 1.5-inch steaks, not the super-thin ones I usually get). I put them on a warmed plate and covered them with foil for maybe 5 minutes to make sure they weren't too bloody for DH. They were a perfect medium rare with a nice crust -- DELICIOUS!
For the mushrooms, they had this nice assortment of various fresh 'shrooms (shiitakes, oysters, chanterelles, etc.) for stir fry at the store. I just cleaned them up a bit, tossed them in a baking pan with some EVOO, salt & pepper and roasted them at 450 degrees F for maybe 20 to 25 minutes, stirring every now and then. They had a nice earthy flavor that really complimented the meat.
I made the potatoes the same way as always, and we ate up the last of the salad. I washed it all down with a couple of glasses of pinot.
SO yummy, y'all.
Monday, January 22, 2007
Porky goodness
Tonight's Menu
ANYHOO!
I make this pork tenderloin all the time but I don't know if I've ever shared the recipe. It originally came from Taste of Home's Quick Cooking magazine, so a big thank you goes out to Nicole Pickett of Oro Valley, Arizona. Thanks, Nicole! This is way yummy and my family loves it!
What you do is take a pork tenderloin and whomp it in a pan. Then you take 2 Tbs. brown sugar, 2 Tbs. Dijon mustard, 1 tsp. paprika and 1/2 tsp. ground ginger and mix those all up. Spread half of it over the pork tenderloin, stick it in the oven at 450 degrees F for 15 minutes, then spread the other half of the glaze mixture over and stick it back in the oven for another 15-20 minutes or until cooked to whateverthehell temperature you're supposed to cook pork. Let it rest and then slice it on up. The original recipe includes a pineapple salsa but I don't love it (canned pineapple? um, no) so I don't make that part of the recipe very often.
The tenderloin on its own, though, is FABULOUS.
Woo! I think maybe I've had tee many martoonis!
- spiced pork tenderloin
- leftover quinoa
- leftover big-ass salad
ANYHOO!
I make this pork tenderloin all the time but I don't know if I've ever shared the recipe. It originally came from Taste of Home's Quick Cooking magazine, so a big thank you goes out to Nicole Pickett of Oro Valley, Arizona. Thanks, Nicole! This is way yummy and my family loves it!
What you do is take a pork tenderloin and whomp it in a pan. Then you take 2 Tbs. brown sugar, 2 Tbs. Dijon mustard, 1 tsp. paprika and 1/2 tsp. ground ginger and mix those all up. Spread half of it over the pork tenderloin, stick it in the oven at 450 degrees F for 15 minutes, then spread the other half of the glaze mixture over and stick it back in the oven for another 15-20 minutes or until cooked to whateverthehell temperature you're supposed to cook pork. Let it rest and then slice it on up. The original recipe includes a pineapple salsa but I don't love it (canned pineapple? um, no) so I don't make that part of the recipe very often.
The tenderloin on its own, though, is FABULOUS.
Woo! I think maybe I've had tee many martoonis!
Sunday, January 21, 2007
Fishes
Tonight's Menu
I made the trout the same way I always do -- sprinkle with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, saute in EVOO for a couple of minutes per side (skin side first, then flip). The salmon was brushed with a bit of EVOO, sprinkled with Jane's Krazy salt and garlic pepper, and baked (skin side down) at 450 degrees F for about 12-13 minutes (you want about 10 minutes per inch of thickness at that temperature).
I washed mine down with some Vinho Verde. It was sunny and in the low 60s today for the first time in FOREVER, so it was a good day for something nice and light.
Of course, it's supposed to be rainy and cold again all week so I may be busting out the soups and stews again after this.
- rainbow trout fillets sauteed in EVOO
- baked salmon fillets
- quinoa
- big-ass salad
I made the trout the same way I always do -- sprinkle with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, saute in EVOO for a couple of minutes per side (skin side first, then flip). The salmon was brushed with a bit of EVOO, sprinkled with Jane's Krazy salt and garlic pepper, and baked (skin side down) at 450 degrees F for about 12-13 minutes (you want about 10 minutes per inch of thickness at that temperature).
I washed mine down with some Vinho Verde. It was sunny and in the low 60s today for the first time in FOREVER, so it was a good day for something nice and light.
Of course, it's supposed to be rainy and cold again all week so I may be busting out the soups and stews again after this.
Friday, January 19, 2007
Chili redux
Tonight's Menu
For those of you unfamiliar with this delicacy, you put a layer of Fritos in a bowl, dump on some chili, and then add shredded cheese and sliced green onions (optional). I like to heat the chili before assembling it, but DH likes to layer the Fritos with cold chili and then stick the whole thing in the microwave so the Fritos go soft. For me the crunchy Fritos layered with the soft chili is part of the appeal, but whatev.
- frito pie!
For those of you unfamiliar with this delicacy, you put a layer of Fritos in a bowl, dump on some chili, and then add shredded cheese and sliced green onions (optional). I like to heat the chili before assembling it, but DH likes to layer the Fritos with cold chili and then stick the whole thing in the microwave so the Fritos go soft. For me the crunchy Fritos layered with the soft chili is part of the appeal, but whatev.
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Soup's on!
So hey, everyone! Sorry to disappear (again! I know!) on you like that. We've had some crappy weather lately and so I have been busy making soup!
Let's see... last week I made Portuguese Soup, this week I made Loaded Potato Soup, and just tonight I made chili for what I think is the first time ever!
My mom makes an awesome and very Yankee-fied chili that is similar to Cincinnati style but with kidney beans and without spaghetti. I have never tried to make it, though, and DH is allergic to beans. I've used the Wick Fowler's mixes for meat-based chili in the past, but this is the first time I've ever made it from scratch!
Anyhoo, what I did was cut about 2 lbs. of beef (I honestly can't remember what cut I used -- it was a cheap, heavily marbled roast of some sort) into a small dice and brown it in a big pot. Then I tossed in a chopped sweet yellow onion and three big cloves of garlic (minced). Once the meat was brown and the onions had sweated out a bit, I dumped in an assload of chili powder, some cumin, a little oregano and some salt. Then I added a big can of crushed tomatoes and a bottle of beer (Abita Turbodog, yo). I brought it to a boil and then let it simmer, uncovered, for about 2 hours before serving it with cornbread and some shredded cheese and sliced green onions on the side.
It was pretty good but a little too tomatoey and not nearly spicy enough for my taste. If I had it to do over, I'd use a bunch of dried chili peppers or maybe mix in some chipotles in adobo or something. It just wasn't peppery enough, you know? It was tasty, though!
I'm getting a little sick of soup so tomorrow will be something ... not soup-like. Stay tuned!
Let's see... last week I made Portuguese Soup, this week I made Loaded Potato Soup, and just tonight I made chili for what I think is the first time ever!
My mom makes an awesome and very Yankee-fied chili that is similar to Cincinnati style but with kidney beans and without spaghetti. I have never tried to make it, though, and DH is allergic to beans. I've used the Wick Fowler's mixes for meat-based chili in the past, but this is the first time I've ever made it from scratch!
Anyhoo, what I did was cut about 2 lbs. of beef (I honestly can't remember what cut I used -- it was a cheap, heavily marbled roast of some sort) into a small dice and brown it in a big pot. Then I tossed in a chopped sweet yellow onion and three big cloves of garlic (minced). Once the meat was brown and the onions had sweated out a bit, I dumped in an assload of chili powder, some cumin, a little oregano and some salt. Then I added a big can of crushed tomatoes and a bottle of beer (Abita Turbodog, yo). I brought it to a boil and then let it simmer, uncovered, for about 2 hours before serving it with cornbread and some shredded cheese and sliced green onions on the side.
It was pretty good but a little too tomatoey and not nearly spicy enough for my taste. If I had it to do over, I'd use a bunch of dried chili peppers or maybe mix in some chipotles in adobo or something. It just wasn't peppery enough, you know? It was tasty, though!
I'm getting a little sick of soup so tomorrow will be something ... not soup-like. Stay tuned!
Friday, January 12, 2007
My entire house smells like garlic
Tonight's Menu
Finally got around to making potatoes tonight!
- chicken thighs, slow-roasted with garlic and lemon
- tiny red potatoes, parboiled then chuffed up in a hot pan with butter
- leftover gigantic salad
Finally got around to making potatoes tonight!
Thursday, January 11, 2007
A quickie
Tonight's Menu
The steaks were brought to room temperature, brushed with a teeny bit of EVOO, sprinkled with salt (kosher) and pepper (freshly ground), then seared off quickly on my new IKEA grill pan. Very fast, very yummy.
I really like these thin-cut steaks my supermarket has been carrying -- they have strips and ribeyes, both. I love steak but I don't always want a huge slab of it, y'know? These cook faster than a hamburger and are so much yummier!
- thin-cut NY strip steaks
- gigantic salad
The steaks were brought to room temperature, brushed with a teeny bit of EVOO, sprinkled with salt (kosher) and pepper (freshly ground), then seared off quickly on my new IKEA grill pan. Very fast, very yummy.
I really like these thin-cut steaks my supermarket has been carrying -- they have strips and ribeyes, both. I love steak but I don't always want a huge slab of it, y'know? These cook faster than a hamburger and are so much yummier!
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
Yet more pork
Tonight's Menu
And I KNOW I just made pork spareribs for New Year's Day but they had MORE at the store today and I love them so. This time I rubbed them with a mixture of brown sugar, dry mustard, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne, Jane's Krazy salt and freshly ground pepper, put them on a rack in a roasting pan, added a little water to the pan, covered it tightly with foil and cooked them at 225 degrees F for about 2.5 hours. Then I cranked the heat up to 400, uncovered the pan, slathered the ribs with barbecue sauce (from a bottle, because I'm lazy) and cooked them for another half hour. They were falling-apart tender and SO yummy.
I loves me some pork ribs, y'all.
- oven-barbecued pork spareribs
- Ranch beans (from a can! I know!)
- coleslaw (from scratch! really!)
- sliced tomatoes
And I KNOW I just made pork spareribs for New Year's Day but they had MORE at the store today and I love them so. This time I rubbed them with a mixture of brown sugar, dry mustard, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne, Jane's Krazy salt and freshly ground pepper, put them on a rack in a roasting pan, added a little water to the pan, covered it tightly with foil and cooked them at 225 degrees F for about 2.5 hours. Then I cranked the heat up to 400, uncovered the pan, slathered the ribs with barbecue sauce (from a bottle, because I'm lazy) and cooked them for another half hour. They were falling-apart tender and SO yummy.
I loves me some pork ribs, y'all.
Saturday, January 06, 2007
Another lazy dinner
Tonight's Menu
I am SO DAMN LAZY.
But it was good!
- pork tamales
- steamed texmati rice
- leftover big-ass salad
I am SO DAMN LAZY.
But it was good!
Thursday, January 04, 2007
Shrimp!
Tonight's Menu
Boring, but easy. And most importantly: NOT pork or sauerkraut!
- cold boiled shrimp
- packaged garlic-butter rice
- big-ass salad
Boring, but easy. And most importantly: NOT pork or sauerkraut!
Monday, January 01, 2007
Happy New Year!
Tonight's Menu
In my family of origin we always ate pork and sauerkraut on New Year's Day. I don't know why, we just DID. Every single person in my family, on both sides. I'm relatively certain they all still do.
I usually do a pork loin with sauerkraut in the crockpot, but this year I got a wild hair and made SPARE RIBS with sauerkraut in the crockpot! I know! Crazy! All I did was cut the spare ribs into slabs of 3-4 ribs each, salt and pepper them, brown them off in a skillet, then stack them in the crockpot (making Xes with them as I went). I drained a jar of sauerkraut and kind of dumped it on top, poking it down in the spaces between the ribs, then sprinkled a little brown sugar on top. Cook on low for 9-10 hours and Bob's your uncle. WAY yummy, too!
The mashed potatoes? FROZEN ORE-IDA. The boy child ate about four helpings.
Now we come to the Texas portion of the meal. Down here, they are all about the blackeyed peas and greens on New Year's Day. I dunno why, something to do with money or good luck or something. I don't question it. I just DO IT. Because you HAVE TO.
So anyway, what I did there was to chop up a couple of slices of bacon and brown them off, toss in some (rinsed, drained) canned blackeyed peas, then add two packages of fresh baby spinach and let it wilt down, tossing it constantly to work the un-wilted leaves to the bottom. You need to do this in a big pan, but it'll cook down to almost nothing. When the spinach was wilted to my satisfaction, I stirred in some red wine vinegar and a bit of sugar, then seasoned with salt and pepper. Delicious!
So. What did YOU have for dinner tonight? Any traditional foods for good luck in the new year?
- pork spare ribs with sauerkraut
- mashed potatoes
- sauteed baby spinach with blackeyed peas and bacon
In my family of origin we always ate pork and sauerkraut on New Year's Day. I don't know why, we just DID. Every single person in my family, on both sides. I'm relatively certain they all still do.
I usually do a pork loin with sauerkraut in the crockpot, but this year I got a wild hair and made SPARE RIBS with sauerkraut in the crockpot! I know! Crazy! All I did was cut the spare ribs into slabs of 3-4 ribs each, salt and pepper them, brown them off in a skillet, then stack them in the crockpot (making Xes with them as I went). I drained a jar of sauerkraut and kind of dumped it on top, poking it down in the spaces between the ribs, then sprinkled a little brown sugar on top. Cook on low for 9-10 hours and Bob's your uncle. WAY yummy, too!
The mashed potatoes? FROZEN ORE-IDA. The boy child ate about four helpings.
Now we come to the Texas portion of the meal. Down here, they are all about the blackeyed peas and greens on New Year's Day. I dunno why, something to do with money or good luck or something. I don't question it. I just DO IT. Because you HAVE TO.
So anyway, what I did there was to chop up a couple of slices of bacon and brown them off, toss in some (rinsed, drained) canned blackeyed peas, then add two packages of fresh baby spinach and let it wilt down, tossing it constantly to work the un-wilted leaves to the bottom. You need to do this in a big pan, but it'll cook down to almost nothing. When the spinach was wilted to my satisfaction, I stirred in some red wine vinegar and a bit of sugar, then seasoned with salt and pepper. Delicious!
So. What did YOU have for dinner tonight? Any traditional foods for good luck in the new year?
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