Eating Dinner With My Family

As the pork tenderloins came in a two pack, I had to find something else to do with the other one.  I had very high hope for this when reading it, was expecting disaster when I tasted the salsa alone, and came to rest with a happy medium of decent with the eating of it.  The boys, who I told to expect disaster, really liked it.  Here is the breakdown.  Pork alone was plain, the salsa alone was a bit oily and bitter if you didn't get a good bit of the dried fruit but together it was pretty good.  Another thing, dried currants seem to be MIA unless it is the holidays so I substituted dried tart cherries.  I considered cranberries, but they were pretty sweet and I thought that the tart cherries were a better sub.  Oh and while I enjoyed the broccolini, I think for the price, plain ole broccoli will be fine.    Grilled Pork Tenderloin With Herb Salsa   1 Cup flat-leaf parsley leaves 2 Tbl oregano leaves 1/4 Cup pitted green olives ...

So this post doesn't really count.  No real recipe here, just a record of our dinner.  Also just an idea for a slightly different dinner.  It isn't unusual, but it is easy to forget about some dishes.  The patty melt is a great example.  We have ordered them before, but I have never made one before.  No, it isn't a traditional patty melt.  I had some white/wheat swirled bread I bought on a BOGO whim, cheddar wedge left over from the skyrim dinner, and a onion.  Oh and confession time, I used frozen Bubba Burgers for the patty.  I bought them in a moment of "on sale" madness thinking it would be an easy lunch for the kids and their friends when they are over.  That never happened, so I am starting the war again on my pantry and fridge clutter:).

I had a gorgeous head of napa from my Front Porch Pickings basket, and pork tenderloins were on sale so this was what was on the menu tonight.  It was super easy to make.  While we all really liked it I had some thoughts for next time.  The broth was flavorful, but didn't seem to get in every bite, which was a shame since it made the meal.  I think next time, I will take everything out when it is done and add a bit of cornstarch dissolved in water to thicken the broth enough to make it stick to the meat and veggies.  Hoisin Pork With Napa Cabbage 1 Lb pork tenderloin cut into 1/4-inch-thick strips (about 3" long) 1 Tsp kosher salt more to taste 3 Tbs. hoisin sauce 2 Tbs. soy sauce 1 Tbs. balsamic vinegar 3 Tbs. canola or peanut oil 2 Tsp minced garlic 6 Cup napa cabbage cut into 1-1/2-inch pieces (about 3/4 lb) 1 red bell pepper cored, thinly sliced 1/4 Cup thinly sliced fresh chives In a large bowl, season the pork with 1/2 tsp. of the salt. In ...

My family is in town this weekend because we have plans to head over to Orlando to iFly to do some indoor skydiving!   As such, I thought I would prepare a special dinner.  Now this dinner isn't special because it is extra fancy. (I wasn't even sure it would be all that great tasting). This dinner is special because it is based on the foods of Skyrim.  Now I totally hooked on the game, but my brother is SERIOUSLY hooked on the game and I thought he would get a kick out of the plan.  If you aren't familiar with the game, it is Nordic themed and you do cook dishes that help restore your life more than the raw ingredients do.   Now many of the dishes are either totally impossible ( like 'horker stew' with a horker being something like a walrus) or just sounded totally gross like apple cabbage stew, but I found a few that could be prepared.   On the menu tonight: "seared slaughter fish" (talapia), tomato soup, "eider ...

I was totally at a loss about what to make tonight. I had a short list of recipes for this week, but as I prepared to go to the grocery, I went back to the 'to try' file and looked for something easy and fast. I had this burger in there for a while now and I never made it because I thought it would be too plain. I am so happy that I was so very wrong! It was simplicity incarnate! All I needed to so was slice, grate, mix, cook and... ambrosia! The consensus around the table was a 4.5 out of 5. Keep in mind we have become a bit snobby about food in general much less burgers! We were all pretty happily surprised by how tasty this was. This recipe was from Food & Wine magazine and they haven't steered me wrong... well ever is a bit of an exaggeration but 95% of the time their recipes are winners in my family. I followed the recipe pretty much to a tee except for the rice wine vinegar. I like the roasted garlic version of it. (Oh and I mixed up the sriracha and mayo to the s...

Well after that last Bloody Mary, I have rediscovered my love for them! I have always thrown some traditional ingredients in to some tomato juice, but I thought I would poke around for a recipe. I really liked this one. The curry in was noticeable but not overwhelming. This was a tasty take on a Bloody Mary! My only complaint was the let it sit overnight! When I was mixing this up, I wanted it then, but I do think that the overnight sitting in the fridge helped blend and mellow the flavors. A New-Look Bloody Mary   4 Cup tomato juice 1 Cup dill pickle juice 1/4 Cup fresh lemon juice 1 Tbl prepared horseradish 2 Tsp Worcestershire sauce 2 Tsp curry powder 1 Tsp Sriracha 1 Tsp kosher salt 1/2 Tsp celery seeds 1/4 Tsp black pepper 2 Cup vodka 8 celery stalks 8 lemon wedges Preparation Combine first 10 ingredients in a large pitcher. Chill overnight. Add vodka to pitcher; stir well. Fill tall glasses with ice. Divide Bloody Mary cocktail among glasses. Garnish ea...

Let me begin with we DID NOT put these on the grill and were very happy we did not!  That would have been a colossal mess!  My husband and I were concerned that this dish would be a bit dry, but with the tahini, veggies and hot sauce, it was really great!  I would say that the harissa was not optional since we all had some on our "burgers" and we all really liked them as is.  Harissa has got its own unique flavor that other hot sauces can't duplicate.  I did have a hard time finding it around town; I ended up finding some at, of all places, Marshall's/Home Goods!  I am almost out and will need to order some off the internet!    Grilled Chickpea Burgers With Creamy Lemon Tahini Sauce 1/4 Cup extra-virgin olive oil more for brushing 4 medium cloves garlic sliced 2 Tsp ground cumin 4 or 5 six-inch pitas 2  15.5-oz. cans chickpeas drained and rinsed 5 Tbs. tahini 1/4 Cup fresh lemon juice (from 1 medium lemon) 1 large egg Kos...