Eating Dinner With My Family

We decided to make this for our European tour themed progressive dinner on Saturday. So I wanted a practice run  just to prepare for the big day and it is Thursday.   It is really an outstanding dinner and not too hard to make, but is really decadent, so it can't be an every day dinner.  We had it with mashed potatoes this time; we thought it would be a good side for the upcoming dinner, and this was the test run.  It worked really well.  Sorry for all the short posts, I am a month behind. Roast Pork with Mustard Sauce 3 lb pork roast 4 T  pork fat 2 T  butter optional 1 1    onion sliced 1    carrot sliced 2 ea garlic I bouquet garni 1/3 c  cider vinegar 10    peppercorns crushed 1 1/2 c  whipping cream 2 t  mustard dry mixed with an equal amount of water 1  -2 tablespoons butter unsalted and softened Preheat oven to 325....

The boy took the pictures.  Not great :) For throwback Thursday, I chose a meal I didn't really want again as I was going to be out.  My husband loved this the first time we had it, and while I enjoyed the flavor, it was my issues with raw chicken, again, that prevented me from being able to enjoy it.  Even the boy likes it despite the presence of those evil mushrooms ;). Chicken In Tarragon-Mustard Cream Sauce 3 Tbl extra-virgin olive oil 1 1/2 Lb skinless boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1/2-in Salt and freshly ground pepper 1/2 Lb white mushrooms thinly sliced 1 large shallot minced 3/4 Cup dry white wine 1 1/4 Cup chicken stock or low-sodium broth 1/2 Cup heavy cream 2 Tbl grainy mustard 2 Tbl chopped tarragon Buttered noodles for serving 1. In a very large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and add it to the skillet in a single layer.    Cook over high heat, turning once, until browned bu...

So for the second installment of throwback Thursday, I picked these short ribs. My husband had mentioned them recently believing them to be PBE (pre blog era) and wanted them. However they were on the blog so I surprised him with them tonight. I was off to the monthly wine tasting, and since I don't dig meat on a bone, I wasn't too disappointed to be missing dinner. The boys adored them. This time, by throwing in the potatoes in with the meat, it made for an easy meal. Just toss a salad and you are done. Yes the braising takes a bit of time, but the only real work was the chopping the onion and browning the ribs.   Short Ribs With Creamy Mustard Sauce 3 lb Beef Short Ribs 1/2    Onion Chopped fine  1 c  Beef Broth, Plus More As Needed 1/2 c  Heavy Cream, Or More  2 Tbsp Dijon or other good mustard Salt And Pepper Canola Oil 1 pound of red potatoes, quartered unless really small, then half them Heat a la...

My boy loves salmon!  He choose this recipe for dinner tonight and he loved it!  I am putting it in the fixable file. Why?  Well there was a ton of mustard to salmon ratio.  I think next time I would like whole grain mustard with the English powdered mustard I have. The recipe just says powered mustard, and perhaps the strong horseradish flavor in the English mustard coupled with the Dijon was what made it sinus cleaning!  :0. Once I scraped the mustard off the little girl's portion, she liked it. I ate my bites with the potatoes to help cut the mustard. (Giggle) The potatoes were another issue. I cooked them at least twice as long as recommended and they still were not done. I even bought the small "two bite" red potatoes and quartered those. Also, the crust didn't brown in the time allotted, so I turned on the broiler.  So, while not terrible, I think it could be fixed.  I liked this Salmon with Whole Grain Mustard much better.  The only t...

Salmon is quickly becoming a favorite in this house.  I find that funny, because originally, I barely tolerated it.  I attribute my change of heart regarding salmon to two things.  First of all, we switched to wild salmon.  Not only is it better for you, but it tastes so much better.  Oh, I am running off on a tangent here, but I am big in to the responsible eating and perhaps one  of the most important things you can do is to ensure that you eat sustainable seafood.  I have a free app called seafood watch.  I think it is easy to use and lets you know not only what particular seafood is ok to eat, but what fishing practices used to catch them are preferable.  I strongly suggest you find yourself this app or one similar to help you make informed seafood choices.  Ok, tangent over!  The second reason I think I like salmon so much better now, is that I cook it way less.  The original recipe (which I changed a good bit) had the sal...

I need to make a bit of a disclaimer here, I have issues with raw poultry that make me queasy enough to be unable to enjoy the meat once cooked.  If I don't see it raw, I can live in denial;).  I also am not a huge fan of tarragon.  So, I had issues with the dish, but still found the sauce to be very tasty,  (the one bite of chicken was too, but my issues made it hard to enjoy)  The boy loved the pasta and sauce as well, and liked the chicken.  My husband loved it!  It was easy and pretty fast to make.  The most work was the knife work.  If you are a fan of dark meat, you will love this.  It didn't photograph to well, but my husband said don't worry about that, taste is what counts. Chicken In Tarragon-Mustard Cream Sauce   3 Tbl extra-virgin olive oil 1 1/2 Lb skinless boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1/2-in chunks Salt and freshly ground pepper 1/2 Lb white mushrooms thinly sliced 1 large shallot minced 3/4 Cup dry wh...

So, if you follow the link to the original recipe, you will see I changed it a bit.  Biggest change, was that I cooked it the way I cook pizza, and not for 20 minutes at a lower temperature.  Also I changed the  frisée to mixed salad greens.  (because I don't care much for it, it is pricey and they didn't have it at publix)  I also tweaked the amounts a bit.  I increased the dough by 1/4 lb and used less mustard than they recommended for the 3/4 lb pizza.  I also added a pinch of the mustard to the dressing but still had about 1.5 tsp. left that I didn't use. Oh and I used garden variety Swiss cheese instead of Jarlsberg.  My husband was looking at me like I was crazy while I was making this, but he had to admit that the smell of bacon cooking and then shallots was pretty wonderful.  I thought  the 1/4 cup mustard called for was a bit excessive, but I measured out that amount and then spread it on the dough from...

Tonight we have a guest blogger, my son.(he is 11)  He had a reading project that included a creative aspect.  I'm happy and proud that he chose the culinary one.  He made the entire diner himself.  I assisted only with advice and the occasional sous chef duty.  He chose the meal, chopped, put things in and out of the oven and got the occasional grease spatter that happens when you prepare a meal.  I loved watching him work and am so amazed (but not surprised) at how well he did.  I am giving him the post tonight; I am only writing this intro and typing in the ingredients for the  recipe. Casserole Sauteed Pork Chops with Mustard, Cream and Tomato Sauce [Cotes de porc Sauce Nenette] Ingredients 6 Pork Chops 1" thick (we made only 4) 3-4 Tbsp Rendered Pork Fat, Lard or Cooking Oil (we used bacon fat) 2 Tbsp Butter 2 Cloves Garlic, halved Salt, Pepper and Thyme 1 1/2 cups Heavy Whipping Cream 1/4 salt pinch pepp...

I had gotten some potatoes from my Front Porch Pickings basket.  I know that the potatoes were going to be the last thing that would spoil, but today is Sunday and I had more time to play with the dough.  Dough is my nemesis.  I hate making it, it is always too sticky and flour enjoys messing with my measurements and doughs.  I avoid dough making at all costs.  At least the dough that needs to be kneaded. (giggle)  I enjoyed this dish despite the fact that my kitchen looks like a flour and dirty dish bomb went off.  The boy was liking it, but said when he dipped it in some of his salad's balsamic vinegar it became a tasty favorite.  I could never count it as a favorite just because of my battle with the dough; also my Lithuanian great grand father always made pierogies with beef and mushroom filling and that is kind of what I think of when I think of pierogies.  All in all tasty if someone other than me makes it:).  This recipe is from ...