Eating Dinner With My Family

Well another day without a proper refrigerator.  (grrrr)  My lovely friend invited us over for Mojitos and Pizza.  Both were delicious!  The Mojito recipe is from our friend Benny.  They are most likely the best mojito recipe on the planet!  They go down WAY to easy!  Since the pizza was from a local place, Luigi's, the only recipe I can include is the one one for the mojitos. Enjoy responsibly ;) I can't wait until I can cook properly again! Mojitos 1 Cup sugar 5 Limes 750 ml of bacardi white rum 1 Bunch of mint leaves Crushed Ice 1) Muddle the sugar and mint well 2) Add the juice of the limes and mix 3) Add the rum and stir Pour over a pitcher full of crushed ice.  Enjoy!:)

My new fridge! The fridge didn't get fixed.  Ok well I am excited to have a super cool new fridge, down side is it won't be here until Wed.  ( a week!)  WTF to do about dinners?!  We do have a back up fridge,but I just don't like it.  It is a a ratty old fridge in the garage.  (not to mention it is all the way in the garage)  OK I know, groan, hardly real problems.  Not only do I have a back up, but the ability to replace it with a sweet new upgrade. I am annoyed by the inconvenience, but depressed that I have seemed to lost my perspective.  Perhaps it is (only a smidge) the blog's fault.  I want to do my recipes and skip the processed shortcuts, and now I am now required to do that unless I want to waste a bunch of ingredients? So I am getting off the pity party, and going to say how tasty a Hormel Teryaki pork tenderloin with a packaged pear & gorgonzola salad mix and a baguette with butter is.  Truly it wasn't ba...

Well this morning, I thought the temp in the fridge was a little warm.  Thankfully my husband is a restaurant manager and a food safety expert.  A quick temp check showed that the fridge was about 45 degrees.  (DANGER ZONE)  That was the air, the food was still below forty, so we moved the uber perishable foods to the 'beer fridge' in the garage.  I called the appliance repair place my friend recommended.  She is totally the one who would know, so I am thinking my impression is wrong but..., they were so not helpful.  We had already replaced the motherboard on the fridge; my MIL's husband knows all about this kind of thing and has the same fridge.  He recommended switching it out because it fixed his problem and  it is what was the fix for 99% of the problems with the G/E profile artica fridge.  After spending about $200, (half was the motherboard) I didn't have confidence in the repair guy that came out, because of how vague he was,I ha...

I got this recipe from Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking.  I love the way she gives a base recipe and then all the variations on it, but it took some getting used to not having all the ingredients at the beginning of the recipe.  It makes sense really, but it just isn't what I'm used to.  This is one of those amazing meals that you just want to lick your plate.  It is a bit time consuming and requires a bit of planning, but it is not a lot of active  time.  You start with the marinade. It is a spice blend you rub on the meat and let sit in the refrigerator.  I put it on in the morning and leave it until I start cooking dinner, but there was no firm time to leave it on.  Before you start cooking, scrape off as much as you can with a butter knife. Take your time and get it nice and brown before you put it in the oven.  Also, don't be put off by the... aroma of the vinegar reducing.  Its not pleasant and it will burn yo...

Ok so I had no plan (again) as I wandered around the grocery.  For some reason, I decide I want a Philly Cheesesteak.  I get a steak and some rolls.  I briefly looked at a philly recipe and they said freeze and thinly slice before cooking, I wanted to try for medium rare meat. The steak was too thick when I sliced it.  The boy loved it, so did my husband, but it was too thick for me.  Next time I will follow the recipe for a Philly and freeze the meat raw, thinly slice and then cook,  I cooked the steak under the broiler as I usually do and put the meat on rolls with sauted onions and mushrooms, provolone and mayo. Oh and did I mention the meat was TOO DANG THICK!  It really annoyed me.

So at one point I had found a Rick Bayless recipe for a chorizo taco, but I could only find this adaptation.  I think it was pretty plain; I would have liked cilantro and sour cream.  So overall meh. Potato-Chorizo Tacos With Avocado Salsa       2    -3 (about 12 ounces total) medium red skin or smallish Yukon Gold potatoes peeled  and h cubes          (about 2 cups)       1    2-15 ounces Mexican chorizo sausage,store-bought (casing removed if       1    small white onion,finely chopped       4    ounces (2-3 medium) tomatillos,husked, rinsed  and cut into q       1    garlic clove,peeled       2    serranos or 1 jalapeno       1    large rip...

Tonight's dish is another family favorite.  I find this dish amazing for so many reasons.  First of all, I don't care for sasuage; the boys don't care for squash, yet somehow we all like this dish.  It is a perfect example that you should never say never when it comes to ingredients.  Sometimes it will be the quality that has put you off in the past.  (not true here for us becasue it's the same products we have been buying)   Sometimes it will be improper preperation.  (I do credit the recipe here a little but it is still me cooking it so that does keep it fairly consistent)  But most often it is just the recipe.  This one makes all the peices work.  I think I got this dish from the Fine Cooking emails, but I think I also saw it on the food and wine website so...  It is from Scott Conant.  I thought I was going to hate this guy when I saw him o...

This pasta dish comes from a cool little book of pasta sauces given to me by my mother in law.  I have only made a few from the book, but they have all been great.  I think I should go through the entire book, cooking one a week, and finally try them all.  This one was first made for us by my MIL for an anniversary celebration she had for us.  It is a family favorite and it is super easy.  Other than the ham, (and possibly the cream) it is things everyone might have on hand.  This is one of those dishes everyone should know how to make. It is easy and a crowd pleaser. Ham, Vodka And Tomato Pasta Sauce 4 Servings  1    onion Chopped  1/2  stick  of butter (4 TBSP)  1/2 c  of Vodka  1 c  of crushed tomatoes  1/4 lb of ham chopped   1 c  of cream or half and half   Cooked pasta   Tabasco to taste [Note: If you start the water boiling first the pasta and sauc...

The recipe for the black beans is mine. I wanted I it for dinner tonight, but I found a stack of printed out recipes and really wanted to try the fritters, so  I decide on both.  The fritters are a bit laborous; I am not the fryer in the house, and I had some issues with the breading.  (I have issues with breading always) I couldn't find the regular mozzarella in smoked; I could only find the fresh in smoked. Fresh mozzarella dosen't melt like the regular so there were consistancy issues, but still really tasty.  The beans are one of my favorite recipes and super easy.  I like to mix them with spinach; don't be tempted to just throw the raw spinach in at the end and cook it with the beans.  It changes the whole flavor of the dish. My Black Beans 4 Servings 1 sm Onion,Diced 1 sm Squash,Diced 1 stalk  Celery,Diced 1 cn Black Beans 2 ea Garlic,Minced 1/2    Chapotle In Adobo,Chopped Salt Olive Oil Balsamic V...

Well today I was going to do as the boy asked and have out tradtional Grilled Steak Salad for dinner. I almost always have all ingredients on hand.  It was a short day at school and I managed to stay out of the house for the entire school day! The girl slept until time for soccer, during soccer, I was out, and when I came home about 6pm, I realized I DONT HAVE ANYTHING I need for the salad except steak and lettuce.  Well poop!  SO, I decide we are going to have steak and salad (with some leftover carbs for the kids) but what to do to the steak so its not just steak on a plate with salad because then we would be missing the things I was out of.  Compund butter to the rescue!  I know I have said it before but they are great to have on hand.  I pulled some mustard butter out of the freezer and we had outselves a tasty dinner;)  1 grilled steak (see grilled steak salad post for reciepe) Mixed greens Balsamic Reduction (see same post) Blue Chese dressi...

Well I am still very miserable today.  I thought soup would be good for me, but I really don't care for chicken soup.  This soup is one I do like very much.  The boy, surprisingly, LOVES it.  I do make one change, I make the chipotle cream with the lion's share of the peppers and the soup more mild, so every taste can heat it up as they like.  (I'm thinking specifically of the baby who, while can take a little heat, doesn't want too much.  If you want to make it vegetarian, switch out the stock.  I used chicken because I'm sick.  I love the idea of it being a cool little shooter in a glass as an appetizer!   Butternut Squash Soup With Chipotle Cream 6 Servings 3 T  olive oil,divided 1    medium butternut squash halved lengthwise, seeds discarded, wash Salt and freshly ground black pepper 1    medium onion,chopped 2    stalks celery,chopped ...

I am still miserable today, and my husband left this morning for a week long conference.  (sob)  I feel like doing nothing, but there are kids to pick up and take to their activities etc...  For dinner I decided to do a dish my son loves and really isn't that hard.  However, it is a work in progress.  This is the original recipe and I try some variations on it when I make it to see if it can become an adult favorite as well.  Well considering I can't smell or taste, I have no idea if what I did was an improvement, but here it is.  I dusted the fish in flour, I  used lime juice, and not much, because I had an open one in the fridge and I thinly sliced a shallot to saute with the pepper.  I could have tasted like cardboard or ambrosia; I have no idea.  I gave each of us some leftover starches that were in the fridge and said screw the salad. I pray I am less miserable tomorrow.:( Jalapeño Fish 2 Servings 2    Fillets of...

OK so today I am miserable.  I have a fever, stuffy, sinus pressure, neck feels like I have been beaten and sore throat.  My husband, being the kind man he is, suggests eating out.  My thought, lets get take out.  I don't want out of my pjs and I can't smell, so I can't taste anything.  After much debate, a debate that involved numerous variables, we decide to have Thai.  Just so you can appreciate the length and scope of this debate, here are but a few of the variables: what do I feel like eating (me: nothing, him: somewhere nice for me), where do I feel like going (me: nowhere him: ditto), take out? (me: anything, him: most food doesn't travel well).  OK so I decide to get dressed.  The only opinion I can muster is that Thai food might have enough flavor to penetrate my taste buds despite my inability to smell.  The snafu, my daughter is allergic to peanuts.  Well we ended up at Thai, which we all enjoyed.  The girl enjoyed her ne...

Well tonight's recipe is a bit of a process; it is best suited for a weekend.  It is one of my husband's favorites.  I am not the biggest fan of ribs (or any meat on a bone) in general, but I have to say even I begrudgingly like it. It is loosely based on a short rib recipe from the must have cookbook. How to Cook Everything.   The Loaded Potato Salad is something I made up.  I know I have seen loaded potato salad before, but they looked like potato salad in that it was more mashed up and boiled.  I wanted something that would be good for the bag of multicolored potatoes I bought.  Short Ribs With Creamy Mustard Sauce 4 Servings 3 lb Beef Short Ribs 1/2    Onion,Grated Or Fine Chop 2 ea Garlic,Minced 1 c  Beef Broth,Plus More As Needed 1/2 c  Heavy Cream,Or More 1/2 T  Mustard Powder,Or To Taste Salt And Pepper Canola Oil Heat a large pan (not nonstick) over medium high heat.  Pat dry your ribs and seaso...

We got a date night!!!  My mother in law was visiting us, so we got to go out to eat, just the husband and I.  I have been dying to try Cress.  I first found it on Yelp a long time ago.  Recently, the chef was nominated for a James Beard Award, so now I am doubly excited.  I got dressed like it was a proper date, wanting to look nice for my man.  My son tells me as soon as the make up is on, "Mom you look really nice!", my mother in law tells me I look really beautiful.  I said thank you and now everyone has told me but the husband.  Well the drive to Cress is about 35 minutes.  Half way there, my husband gets a text.  As he is driving, he hands it to me to read it to him.  It is from his mom.  It says have fun and tell your wife she looks beautiful.  (now i would be remiss to fail to mention that as we got in the car he did say I looked good)  We both chuckle at the fact that I am reading it to him.  He says tel...

Well when I should have been browsing my recipe database, my darling husband was playing Icewind Dale on the computer.  As a result, I was totally unprepared when I was shopping during the boy's karate class.  As I wandered aimlessly around the grocery, I saw pizza dough in the deli case. Well we all love pizza and I was worn out and wanted to do nothing, and, as before, the "easy" pizza meal was more work than so many other dishes.  Why this time you ask?  Well, I couldn't decide on the type of pizza, so I decide on four kinds.  I like White Pizza. so that will be one.  We had a Buffalo chicken pizza at the Mellow Mushroom when we were on vacation, and my husband really liked it so I thought we would do that too.  Well the boy likes pepperoni pizza, so what the heck we will have a third.  OH, wait, I wanted to try to make that pizza I saw on the Best Thing I Ever Ate, Potato Pizza.  OK so we are having four kinds of pizza tonight.  That...

Well, last soccer season, it was tradition to have a grilled steak salad after the weekly practice.  I am trying to get through the MANY recipes I have in the To Try folder, so I am breaking tradition. (for now)  I did however still broil a steak, but tonight I decided to top it with a compound butter I have been wanting to try.  Also I had leftover rice I wanted to use, so I made my 'fauxsotto'.  It is my silly name for an easy way to use leftover plain white rice.  I used the leftover butter lettuce from last night too; I made a salad of the lettuce, cherry tomatoes and scallions.  I dressed it with a champagne vinaigrette I made.  Because I am trying to eliminate packaged foods, I am almost exclusively making my own salad dressings.  To do this I have about 7 kinds of vinegar. You can make a great of variety of dressings and they are quite simple.  My favorite is the champagne vinegar.  This one is pretty tasty but it i...

This recipe comes from a Korean friend of mine.  One season, her son and mine were on the same soccer team.  I first tasted this dish at our traditional end of season soccer party.  Everyone loved it!  I have made it once before.  I don't think it is as good as hers (and it most likely never will be), but I got a little closer with this one.  One thing that made a huge difference, (and it is something she was emphatic about) was that the meat was cut much thinner this time.  Last time I went to Publix, (not my regular one mind you but one close to where I was taking the boy) and the very nice teen behind the butchers counter tried his best, but it was way to thick.  My friend says she gets her's shave cut at the Publix by us, but this time I went to Ray's Quality Meats.  I called ahead to see if they could go the pork in a "shaved cut".  They were super nice and helpful.  They put it in the freezer and hand ...

Well I am going to start off by saying right now I am totally prejudice when it comes to this recipe but I'm still going to be a catty... witch because I don't feel like being tactful.  I try to always be diplomatic when it come to the recipes.  First of all, someone may like them.  I just personally may not care for them, and while that is OK, there is no need to slam the recipe.  Two, these people are paid to cook or teach cooking for a living, were I am simply a good home cook, so who am I to criticize their work with anything but a kind eye?  I cannot extend that courtesy here.  Let me start at the beginning.  I have had this recipe hanging around for a long time.  I know I originally put it in to the 'to try' database because I have been looking to find a way to replicate a fish with brown butter dish I had a long time ago.  Long before I was interested in cooking and eating well.  This recipe is from a chef I us...

Well I was the person who thought the least of the dish, but I didn't dislike it.  I think I would have liked more veggies and less chicken.  I didn't follow the recipe exactly, but only because I wanted to use what I had on hand.  I used beef stock because I had an open carton in the refrigerator.  I was short a 1/4 cup on the chicken, but I was using the chicken from the chipotle lime chicken tacos. I also cooked it on parchment paper for clean up purposes.  Other than that, I didn't deviate from the recipe.  I think it is a brilliant idea for leftovers. It was fairly simple.  Not as fast as it could be, but if I had the puff pastry thawing in the fridge overnight and only used things I had leftover, it would have gone a lot faster.  I used the edges I trimmed off. I baked them and then drizzled melted butter over them and sprinkled them with cinnamon sugar.  Not the best dessert, but it would have been wasted and we don't always have ...

I absolutely love arugula and arugula pesto, so I figured this will be great for me.  The husband is not a fan of tomatoes, so I made this on a night he wouldn't be dining with us.  My big surprise, the boy LOVED it.  He had two helpings and was done before myself or the girl.  (this is the boy who thinks nothing of taking 2 HOURS to finish a meal!)  It was very good!  Only thing I would have liked to changed were the cherry tomatoes.  The skins were too thick and made for some unpleasant textures in your mouth.  I would like to try it with oven roasted tomatoes instead or all chopped tomatoes in red, yellow and orange. The pesto was very nice and will be great on many things.  I think I drizzled a little too much oil on the couscous to prevent clumping.  It was a tad oily and I think that diluted the flavors a bit.  Still really excellent, but something to watch when preparing it.  It is completely vegetarian; in fact without ...

Well tonight we went with Mexican again.  It's funny, until I was pregnant with my son, I really didn't care for Mexican food.  Granted, I wasn't interested in food then.  I would eat Mexican when I had to, but I never wanted it.  That all changed with my first pregnancy when it was all I wanted.  Subsequently it became one of my favorite cuisines.  My husband was so pleased.  It is one of his favorite types to food too.  Not surprisingly, it is one of my son's as well.  Couple that with the fact that it is relatively quick to prepare, these dishes lend themselves to leftovers as well, which is always a big plus, and you have a staple in our house.  I found the original recipe a bit plain.  Not that there weren't good flavors, but I wanted something else on my taco besides chicken and crema. I think of tacos as one dish meals and I want lots of veggies on them.  I added lettuce, last night leftover...

Tonight we get to try a Rick Bayless recipe.   I'm so excited!!! It was all I thought it would be. It was simple and amazing.  I don't like to mess with a master but I did change the recipe a tad.  We didn't care for the pickled jalapenos, so we took them off.  I don't have a Latin market nearby so I used hoagie rolls from the bakery. The biggest divergence was we added fresh cilantro to the sandwiches, YUM!  The beans are so amazingly tasty, we are very sad that there are so few of them left., (I'm looking at you my dear. TWO sandwiches?!) On the bright side, really easy to make, so we can have them again any time:)    Mexican Tortas With Black Beans And Chorizo Yield: 4 Servings       1 T  vegetable oil,plus more for brushing     1/2 lb fresh Mexican chorizo casings removed       2    fifteen ounce cans black beans,drained      ...

I happen to love this recipe.  My husband and son have never raved about it before.  They are not the biggest fan of  the veggies, but they love the fish. (And they said it was perfectly cooked. (Blush)) I didn't change it much, but I did make a few alterations.  I added a bit more veggies. I also only used 5 oz fish fillets and only three of them.  I added the garlic  a little later than called for too. I went light on the salt because I didn't know how salty it would be once the broth reduced.  I figured we could add at the table.  My husband and I skipped it even though a sprinkle would have been nice.  The boy however wanted salt.  We usually sprinkle a pinch of kosher salt if needed.  That salt was out of his reach; the shaker was not however.  He WAY over salted his.  My husband kept saying, " I hope you learned your less son."  I don't think he did! Cod With Artichokes And Chickpeas Yield: 4 Servings 2 T...

Well tonight's scallop burger was really tasty, but really messy!  I did not cook it on a grill.  (something that would have been a viritual impossibility!)  I cooked the patties in a saute pan with butter.  They fell apart when flipped.  I don't see how they could have cooked on a grill without some kind of binder.  I did diverge from the recipe in that I used bay scallops instead of the sea scallops, but for $6 more a pound, I figured I'm pureeing them;  they didn't need to be large.  I can't see how that would affect the way the burgers were bound together. I also halved the recipe, but since I kept the proportions the same, I don't see how that would have affected them.  They were prepared well in advance, so the patties were well chilled and should have set.  I didn't have tabasco, so I used crystal and a dash or two of a homade chipotle hot sauce.  I would have liked the mayo a bit spicier, but that is just me.  I had ano...