Eating Dinner With My Family

I love most greens.  Chard, beet, you name it, I love them with two exceptions: Mustard and Collard.  I am not saying I don't like them, but I have never eaten them and been wowed. (well except for the Cornbread Dressing with Sausage and Collard Greens , that was amazing)   I got some collard greens this week in my Front Porch Pickings basket, and decided to try this recipe out.  I had just shy of a pound of the collards, so I cut off the beet greens off my beets I also received in the basket and used them to make up the difference.  The only other change I made was I used dried ancho chiles since I couldn't find any dried chipotle. And guess what?  I loved them!  The boy didn't care much for them; I remember being very sensitive to certain flavors as a kid so I kind of understand, but the adults really dug it!  Since I knew the boys would need something besides this dish, my husband fried up some chicken.  (keeping with the ...

This week for meatless Monday, I used some of my Swiss chard from my Front Porch Pickings basket.  I really loved this recipe.  My husband, who hates chunks of tomato and olives, wasn't as impressed as I was.  I did slightly change how I made it.  First of all, I had huge onions, so I only used one.  It was most likely just shy of two onions.  I also only had one bunch of chard.  Next time, I will make sure I have two.  I missed having more.  I was doubly impressed that I not only liked it, but it was reasonably low calorie. I think the nutritional information at the end of the recipe said 1/4 of it was just under 400 calories.  It was pretty quick to throw together too.    Whole-Wheat Spaghetti With Swiss Chard And Pecorino Cheese 1 Tbl olive oil 2 onions thinly sliced 2 Bunch Swiss chard trimmed and chopped (about 14 cups) 3 garlic cloves minced 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes with juices 1/4 Cup dry white win...

I decided to make something up for the chicken legs I got for my boy.  (he loves drumsticks)  Since I was planning to make the Thai Bok Choy recipe tonight, I opted to make it similar to the chicken and 40 cloves but seasoned with five spice and end it with a quick broil with hoisin sauce to make a glaze.  I am not a fan of meat on a bone and I thought it was pretty good.  The boys loved it!  It was very easy but it does take some time.  It is inactive time and you could leave it unattended for a bit. (like to pick up a child;)  If you aren't familiar with five spice powder, it does take some getting used to.  The cinnamon particularly makes me think of desserts and it can be odd the first time you try it. (or first few times)  Once you are prepared for it, it makes for an amazing dish. The hoisin, one of my favorite Asian sauces, is perfect for glazes.  It is thick and a little sweet. If you are making the bok choy only,...

The whole is greater that the sum of it's parts.  That is so true of this dish that was miles better than the original dishes.  So I had all these leftover cornbread muffins that were quickly going stale.  I love dressing/stuffing (or savoury bread puddings) but not cornbread dressing,  but it is the only thing I can think of to do with them and I don't want them to go to waste.  So I look around my fridge trying to use up things that are just taking up space.  I was keeping the clutter under control there for a while but they are winning this round. (for now!)  In addition to the muffins, I have collard greens that need to be used, the pot liquor from cooking the greens and like two bags of celery.  I have my husband pick up some raw sausage patties since I know the little bit of bacon in the muffins won't be enough meat for the boys.  This is one of those dishes that you just can't get enough of.  My husband said, and I quote, "that wa...

This one is for you, A.  I had gotten some collard greens from my Front Porch Pickings basket.  The timing couldn't have been better.  I chose to use them as tonight's recipe because they were adored by a friend that has left us.  I have never cooked, nor even eaten, collards before. (not that my friend didn't always try)  I wanted to do them right and southern so she would have approved.  So when I think southern, I think Paula Deen.  (Doubly perfect because of a practical joke she played on her husband involving taping pictures of Ms. Paula Deen were they would surprise him.  It was very funny!)  I have to say that they were very tasty but unbelievably salty!  I used smoked turkey leg as my meat, but I think the culprit was the 2 TABLESPOONS of salt mixture that this recipe called for. It may have been that the large "bunch" should have been bigger than I had, but they fit just right in the water which leads me to believe that I ...

If you read the post about the shrimp on flat bread with Romesco sauce, you know that I had a dish I liked and wanted to recreate and improve upon.  I am feeling like the flu is having its way with me.  It involves aches, exhaustion and the occasional coughing bout.  My darling husband offered to wing a meatball recipe and I made the sauce.  Like a real life version of chopped, he had a refrigerator of ingredients to use and he made a really fine meatball out of them.  The Romesco sauce was a "smoked" version that went on a tuna steak.  I thought it would be a nice take on it.  I didn't think much could live up to the sauce we made for the shrimp, but I wanted tomato too as it was needing to be a runnier sauce to go over the meatballs.  Turns out that all the smoked almonds were eaten so I used plain salted.  I am interested to try the smoked version, but his sauce was pretty kick a$$ if I do say so myself.  The meatballs were amazi...

Delicious but not photogenic First of all a great big THANK YOU to The Red Apron for a second nomination for the Versatile Blogger award. I am very pleased and excited to be part of the food buzz blogger community.  I am getting to know so many cool individuals in one of the best ways possible, through their food! As for the dinner, I was a little upset when I realized this wasn't a proper burger on a bun.  All that disappointment faded with the first bite.  When I googled the recipe in the grocery store, I saw some other bloggers had tried this and recommended adding to (some even suggested doubling) the amount of kimchi.  I decided to measure a full cup of the kimchi after chopping.  It was perfect.  The panko coating was wonderful substitute for a bun.  The mayo was great; the spinach was out of sight!  My only complaint was I would have made more spinach.  I liked an equal portion of pork and spinach with a little mayo for each...

Well tonight's dinner was easy, and not too pricey but those were the only things it truly excelled at.  The dish it's self wasn't terrible, but it lacked some moisture.  Either some of the pasta cooking water, cream or tomato sauce would have helped save the dish.  It was dry and chunky.  I liked the flavor but it was very one dimensional.  If I were to make this again, I think I would play around with the ricotta and try to make it more of a sauce.  Not a complete fail, but not a resounding success either.  I think the main issue my boys had with it were the fact that it was not as high fat a dish as they would have likes.  And in the case of the boy, I think that he objected to the nutmeg a bit.  I think I would keep this in the fixable file.  It is more for me than the boys.  It was a super quick and filling dinner and sometimes that's just what you need. Baked Rigatoni With Spinach, Ricotta, And Fontina 1 lb rigatoni ...

I figure this dish cost about $14 dollars.  That is a little higher than I figure my cost is because I had several ingredients that I needed to use.  I did use slightly less than a pound of shrimp.  I think our society eats too much meat and I always go a bit light on the amount of meat called for in any recipe. I also try to go heavier on the vegetables.  For instance in this dish I doubled the spinach. This is one that my husband really liked.  The shrimp don't look too pretty because of cooking in the bacon fat, but they taste great. Lemon Barley “risotto” With Shrimp, Bacon & Spinach 6 sl bacon 1 lb large shrimp(21-25 count) peeled and deveined Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 1/2 c  chopped shallots or onions 1 1/3 cups quick-cooking barley 1    Tbs. fresh lemon juice 2 1/2 cups homemade or low-salt chicken broth 1/4 lb (4 cups loosely packed) baby spinach,washed and spun dry 1/3 c  freshly grated Pecorino ...

     So while I am not trying to do tasty meals for $70 for the week, I am starting to figure what do the meals actually cost.  I figured: rice sticks: 2.55, chicken 5.35, sherry 0.35, hoisin sauce 0.52 , Shiitake 7.00 , spinach 2.25, meal total 18.02.  Almost half of  the cost are the shiitakes which you could sub out regular mushrooms for $4 less.  I still think not too bad for a meat, veg and a starch for 4.  I happen to adore mushrooms and shiitakes are one of my favorites so I totally think they are worth the splurge.  Bonus for me, mushrooms are one of the two items my son is allowed to veto eating, so I get his portion.  YAY!  I would count having hoisin sauce as part of my pantry, but since most wouldn't I have figured it into the cost.      So the good news, you could shave another buck twenty five off because there is no need to make so many rice noodles because there was too much noodle...

I decided to make this to use up the rest of the kale from the lentil stew.  I cooked off the kale when I made the stew because I was afraid that it would get funky in the fridge uncooked.  I was worried about this recipe when I started sauteing the onion and chorizo. They really filled the pan 10" pan called for in the recipe and I didn't see how with the kale and eggs it would fit in an already full skillet.   So I bust out my 11.5" pan and get it ready to cook the frittata in, oil and all.  I test my theory by slowly adding the egg mixture to the 10" pan. It was a perfect fit. Doh!  So I dump out the 10" pan into a bowl and wipe it out.  Add the oil from the 11.5" pan to the 10' one and follow the recipe.  I set the timer for 8 minutes when I was cooking it on low and added one minute at a time until the required 1" border was set.  It took 11 minutes on my stove. I then baked it for about 17 minutes and it was set.  I liked it; the boy re...

Well another meh for the week of $50 for dinner.  The issue began as soon as I opened the can of salmon.  One would assume that canned salmon was boneless and skinless.  WRONG!  On the can is a teeny tiny asterisk with the note that soft bones and skin are completely edible and a great source of omega -3's  Now, while that is true Chicken of the Sea, I would appreciate that your company put that in larger letters in the future.  At least the can was full of fillets that had been pressed in to a tube shape.  I was able to remove the skin and most of the bones including a rather large spine!  Ewww.  I think I wasted about 1/3 of each can. Ok that being said, the salmon cake was probably the tastiest thing in the recipe.  I love beet greens and these were not so good.  Orzo was ok but pretty bland. I reheated the beets from last night and they were good.  I love roasted beets, but I also think they could have u...

Another new pizza tonight.  I did not try the dough recipe.  I have recently been inspired to try baking breads, so maybe next time.  However, getting dough from the deli or a local pizzeria is a HUGE time saver.  So dough aside, everything else was the same save the escarole.  There were only very small heads available, so I used the whole head but it was most likely the same as a half of a normal size head. I happened to love the escarole, chorizo and manchego combo, but found the shrimp superfluous.  They didn't detract from the pizza, but I didn't notice them adding either.  The boy, who has proclaimed that he loved escarole in the past said he didn't like it tonight.  I'm not buying it;). Shrimp-And-Chorizo Pizza With Escarole And Manchego Dough 1/2 t  honey 1/2 c  warm water 1 1/4 t  active dry yeast 1 1/2 c  bread flour 1 1/2 t  extra-virgin olive oil,plus more for brushing 1/2 t  kosher salt Topping...

This was a quick and easy dish to make.  It was pretty tasty too.  I may have been a little light on the Gorgonzola, (I had a scant 1/2 cup in fridge)  but it was nice that the cheese didn't overwhelm the dish. It is a personal thing, but I would chop the spinach next time.  I knew we would prefer it chopped but didn't for fear that it might go through my colander.  The one with the big holes was clean, the other was dirty and I do like to make the recipe exactly as written the first time through.  This is one we will keep and make again.  I think I would like more spinach just for more veggies and remove the need for a salad.  I forgot to reserve pasta water (Arrrrghhh!) so I used a couple of teaspoons of beef broth that was in the fridge to help loosen the sauce up.  Bottom line: FAST!, EASY and tasty. Penne With Spinach, Gorgonzola, And Walnuts Kosher salt 8 oz fresh baby spinach leaves (10 lightly packed cups) 1/4 c  coa...

Well I wanted to try a pork tenderloin recipe from Anthony Bourdain, but pork tenderloins come in two packs.  I wasn't going to cook both for dinner for just the four of us, so a quick search of food and wine and I found this.  I was a little leery, ground ginger and raisins.  Neither are some of my favorite things.  Top that off with the use of apple juice.  I know there are pork chop and applesauce lovers out there, but I am not one of them.  I am getting over my reluctance to try anything that mixes sweet and savory but I still am not a fan.  Well I prepped the Bourdain recipe for tomorrow and trimmed the tenderloin for tonight's dish.  (I'm proud of myself; this is another (one of many) issue of mine.   It was good.  We all liked it better than we thought we would.  The ginger was unmistakable, but not overpowering. It suggested steamed greens with it, but my boys wouldn't be too happy with greens in general so I opted...

This was my second time making this.  The first time we cooked it the boy loved it, but the hubby and I weren't wowed.  I couldn't find the escarole the first time round and substituted kale as recommended by gourmet sleuth. I saw some escarole in the store the other day, so I thought I would try this one again.  Now I love kale, but this one was so much better with the escarole.  I thought there were so much escarole, I skipped the salad. Spaghetti With Escarole And Bacon 4 Servings 1/4 lb Bacon,Cut Crosswise Into Thin Strips 2 T  olive oil 3 ea garlic,minced 1/4 t  red-pepper flakes 1 1/2 t  anchovy paste 1    head escarole (about 1 1/2pounds),leaves cut into 1/2-inch strips 2/3 c  canned low-sodium chicken broth or homemade stock 1/2 t  salt 3/4 lb spaghetti 1/3 c  grated Parmesan,plus more for serving 1 T  butter [Note: Crisp bacon complements escarole so well that you may be tempted to s...

Well, I had bought pizza dough for last night's leftovers, but realized I could use up the French bread instead, so tonight we are having some pizzas I have been wanting to try.  I have  to say they were pretty yummy. I thought I would not love the salad with  apples on the pizza,  but it was really delicious.  I did a few things differently.  I didn't make the dough for the Fontina one; I worked thyme into the dough I bought from the bakery.  I also crushed up the tomatoes in the Gouda pizza.  I would have been OK with whole, but my husband isn't a fan, so when they came out of the oven, I mushed them up a bit with a wooden spoon.  I also didn't make individual pizzas, just two big ones. (less time consuming) Oh and I used olive oil in place of the grapeseed.  I wasn't buying an expensive bottle of oil I don't have any uses for. Fontina, Prosciutto And Caramelized Onion Pizzas        ...

I enjoyed this but not as much as I expected.  We are big scallion fans here, but while it wasn't bad, we were just like meh.  We are deleting it. The next day, it was less tasty. Orecchiette With Sautéed Greens And Scallion Sauce 3/4 lb orecchiette pasta 4 T  unsalted butter 1 bn of scallions,thinly sliced 3    garlic cloves,thinly sliced 3/4 c  dry white wine Salt and freshly ground pepper 2 T  extra-virgin olive oil One 5-ounce bag of baby arugula 6    large Swiss chard leaves stems and central ribs -discarded, leaves 1/4 c  mascarpone cheese [Note: Our Pairing Suggestion   For these orecchiette, Chris Blanchard suggests pouring a Sauvignon Blanc from the Loire Valley in France, which has a lightly grassy zestiness, such as a Pouilly-Fumé or a  Sancerre.   ] 1. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the orecchiette until al dente. Drain, reserving 1/4 cup of the cooking water....

Picture taken by flashlight! Well tonight's dinner was an adventure to say the least!  In the middle of sauteing the chard, the power kept flickering.  It continued to do so until the sauce making stage where it completely went out.  I make about 1.5 of the recipe, or as I said to my husband when the power started flickering, one and a half a$$ed!  It was cold but tasty.  I personally am not a big fan of tarragon, but it was subtle enough for me. The best part of the meal was the rice.  I just put 1 c. rice in my rice steamer with chicken stock instead of water, and a 1/2 cup of golden raisins along with about a tablespoon of soy sauce and about 1.5 tbsp of unsalted butter.  Cooked it in the steamer and when it was done, added chopped walnuts.  Yum!  We ate by candlelight which made up for the cool temp of the food:) Sauteed Tilapia Over Swiss Chard With Tarragon Butter       1    Tbs. extra-virg...

The new fridge arrived today! (Whoo Hoo!)  It was a soccer night, so I make a steak salad, but I made a new one.  My only divergence from the recipe was I used about half the meat.  It was delish!  I like my salad a bit more but it is pretty close!  I made garlic bread out of last night's leftover baguette! Grilled-Steak And Arugula Salad With Mustard Caper Vinaigrette 1 1/2 lb sirloin steak,about 1 inch thick  6 T  olive oil  Salt  Fresh-ground black pepper  1 lb arugula,leaves washed and torn in half (about 2  2 c  halved cherry tomatoes (about 3/4 pound) 1 1/2 t  Dijon mustard 1/2 t  anchovy paste 1 T  red- or white-wine vinegar  2 T  drained capers 1.Light the grill or heat the broiler. Coat the steak with 1 tablespoon of the oil. Sprinkle the steak with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Grill or broil the steak for 5 minutes. Turn the meat and cook to your taste, about 5 mi...