Eating Dinner With My Family

No one was excited about these toppings but me.  I think I made some converts;).  One issue, the artichoke hearts.  I didn't squeeze them dry, and the layers of the artichoke hearts held some water.  I had to blot dry spots of the pizza.  Despite the excess of water, a really tasty combination of flavors.  We did NOT try to make it half calzone as stated in the recipe.  It was a geometrical conundrum that we said, fudge it and make it as a pizza only. I guess if we were making personal pizzas the part calzone would have made sense.  It was good with out it. Pizza Vesuvio With The Works 1/2 c  frozen artichoke hearts thawed, sliced  Extra-virgin olive oil Salt and freshly ground pepper 1/2 lb pizza dough,thawed if frozen  All-purpose flour,for dusting 1/2 c  fresh ricotta (4 ounces) 3/4 lb fresh mozzarella,cut into 1-inch cubes 2    ounces thinly sliced baked ham,cut into 1-inch  strips 2 ...

Another battle in the war of the over stocked pantry/freezer.  I had plenty of extra scallops from the progressive dinner, veggies I had accumulated with the intentions of loading our meals with them or only used part of them for a recipe, and cornmeal.  I thawed the scallops and you MUST pat them dry.  Really dry!  Heat some butter and oil in a skillet over fairly high heat. Put the scallops in the pan and let them cook about 2 minutes a side.  I then removed the scallops,put a good splash of veggie broth and scraped the pan clean, added a bit more butter and threw in sliced bell pepper and some broccoli florets that had been boiled about 30 seconds.  These veggies were sauteed until they were crisp but tender.  Add a splash more of broth if they need to steam a bit.  Remove the veggies and boil down any liquid left in the pan.  Throw in a large pat of butter into the syrupy liquid and remove from heat and let the butter just ...

I am undecided about this recipe.  It is a pretty fast way to make something from scratch.  I did bake it ahead of time, and reheated it.  I don't know if this compromised the quality any.  I made it even though we didn't eat it for dinner because the tomatoes needed to be used or they would go bad.  We had house guests and I didn't want to make them guinea pigs.  We had two family favorites, fish tacos and bahn mi, which pleased my husband to no end:) I think will keep the recipe but play with it. Quick Tomato Macaroni And Cheese 12    oz macaroni 7 oz bread,preferably stale, for making breadcrumbs 1 3/4 lb super ripe tomatoes 1 ea of garlic,peeled 2    large handfuls of fresh basil 2 oz sun-dried tomatoes,chopped 2    anchovies Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper 3    handfuls of freshly grated Parmesan cheese 1 pt single cream (half and half)  1 T  red wine vinegar ...

We all enjoyed this pizza.  The boy had 4 slices! 4!  OMG  Needless to say, he pronounced it a favorite.  My husband was leery of the pizza, but when he saw it come out of the oven he declared that the thought it looked great.  I was worried that it is supposed to be grilled at first and finished on a pizza stone. I loved it too, but I think next time, if I don't start it on a grill, I would put a drop or two of liquid smoke in with the olive oil (or maybe knead it in to the dough) just to try and replicate the smoky flavor you get on a grill.  I think that really would have added to the overall taste.  Even without it, it was a very tasty pizza and I am a little pissed that the boy ate so much of it because I want to have leftovers of it.  There are only 2 slices and I kinda feel like I should save them for him but I also kinda want to just have them myself;) I also didn't make the dough, I got mine from the Publix bakery. Al Forno Inspired Pi...

I am fighting the urge to go to the grocery.  I have plenty in the house, but not everything I need for recipes I want to try.  I am determined to use up what I have before I start new recipes.  I do have two recipe ingredients, but I need to use up leftovers too. So, I made a red curry shrimp.  There was a small portion of frozen shrimp I "cleaned up."  I had some random veggies that I could use up and I had half a can of coconut milk in the freezer.  I also had some plain orzo pasta that I used in place of rice. Basically I put the coconut milk with some vegetable broth and heavy whipping cream (to make up for the part of the can of coconut milk I had used) with some red curry paste. (about a 1 1/2 tsp)  I simmered that for about 5 minutes.  I then threw in (all diced): 2 stalks of celery, 1/2 bell pepper, a hand full of baby carrots, a hand full of onion, and the stalk of a broccoli floret (peeled). I also put a about a tablespoon of fish sauc...

Pretty? Yes.  Labor intensive? Yes. Fattening? Yes. Delicious? Maybe.  I am pretty annoyed that I popped for the expensive crab from the seafood department from Publix, ($26) and the crab tasted weird.  I did get it in a container as opposed to the legs in the case, but I didn't want to have to crack crabs as part of making the dinner and I figured this would taste better than the canned stuff.  I think the canned would have been better.  I think this combination of butter, eggs and crab would have been a stellar meal, but the crab here really killed it. I think I will put this in to the fixable file, but I don't know when I will make it again. Maybe one day? Buttery Crab Bread Pudding 10    ounces lump crabmeat,picked over 1 T  finely chopped parsley 1 T  finely chopped chives 2 t  fresh lemon juice Pinch of cayenne pepper Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper 1    unsalted butter,softened, plus more ...

Well it wasn't the best burger ever, but it was pretty good.  Because the amount of effort put into a dish often negates some of its tastiness, this dish may have lost some points for the shoestring potatoes.  The potatoes were a bit of an ordeal. (next time Steak n Shake or the crispy ones you can buy in the grocery!)  The first batch of the potatoes were like nest.  My husband managed to keep them pretty much separated on the next batch. However they all cook at different times and had to be taken out one at a time. Long story short, while they came out tasty, the potatoes took 3 times as long as the burger.  I liked the texture of the burger that processing it gave it; my husband not so much.  The real winner of the dish was the "not so secret" sauce. Its basically a homemade ketchup with some Latin flavors.  LOVED it. Frita Cubana – The Original Cuban Hamburger Burgers 1 lb ground beef 3/4 lb ground pork 4 ea garlic,mashed and finely minced ...