Eating Dinner With My Family

I have a problem, I adore sriracha!  I want to put it on everything.  I know I am not alone in this, but it is still something I feel a bit guilty over:).  So, when I saw there was a Sriracha cookbook, I wanted it!  I haven't gotten it yet, but his recipe was available as a preview on amazon.  When I saw this burger, I knew I would have to make it and soon.  Problem.  My husband does not share this love.  He is more of a Crystal man.  Not being a fan of Sriracha, he was less than excited to try this burger.  (oh he doesn't like blue cheese either!)  I, however, kind of forced the issue and chose to make this tonight.  I halved the recipe, but at 5 tbsp, I was worried that it would be a little too spicy for even me.  Was it?  No!  My husband, who wasn't expecting to like this much, ate more than 2 burgers!  He felt ill afterward, but said it was worth it.  I really enjoyed it too.  Not as enthusiast...

I found this recipe while working on one of my newsletter for Front Porch Pickings .  They are a local and organic produce company.  We had cabbage this week and I wanted to find something really different to do with it.  I looked at this originally for a laugh.  Cabbage and marmalade sounds like a recipe for disaster. (LOL no pun was intended but...)  Once I looked at it, I thought it looked good and was excited to try it.  I loved the marmalade, but thought the "pizza" was just ok.  I also used it in place of butter as the author recommended and I thought it was good, better even that way. Cabbage and Onion Marmalade   2 Tbl olive oil 1 to 1 1/4 pounds onions quartered lengthwise and thinly sliced a 1 Lb cabbage shredded or finely chopped Salt and freshly ground pepper 3 garlic cloves minced 2 Tsp fresh thyme leaves or 1 teaspoon dried thyme 1 Tbl capers drained, rinsed and mashed in a mortar and pestle For pizza: 1/2 recipe whole-w...

Well, it is freezing here in Florida tonight, and by freezing, I mean "Florida Freezing" and that is mid forties.  Since there is a chill in the air, I thought of soup, and I decided to try my hand at french onion soup.  I like that this recipe called for toasting the crouton instead of broiling the entire bowl of soup with the cheese over it.  Now I love a bubbling cauldron of cheese, but I simply don't have the crocks.  It wasn't a fast dinner, (25 minutes for caramelizing onions alone!) but it was a tasty dinner.  Next time I would make homemade broth; I felt that the cartons I used took a bit a way from the end result.  However, we all enjoyed it.  Even the three year old ate heartily.  French Onion Soup   1/2 Cup unsalted butter 4 onions sliced 2 garlic cloves chopped 2 bay leaves 2 fresh thyme sprigs Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 Cup red wine about 1/2 bottle 3 heaping tablespoons all-purpose flour 2 Qt bee...

My husband wanted back in the kitchen, so I let him:).  He didn't want to do the post, so I cut him some slack and said I would do a brief one for him.  He cleaned up the extra pancetta I bought and the one loose head of broccoli we had lying around.  He also found this frozen pie crust in the freezer in the garage.  He is as happy as I with his critical blow to the food clutter!  I thought the end result was really yummy!  If I were to give any critique or advise, it would be to make sure that the pancetta was well rendered.  I am only saying that because 1 (yes only one) cube of pancetta was a bit rubbery.  Every other bit was perfect, chewy goodness.  I think that piece was just a bit larger than the others, and constitutes no mistake, but if you aren't familiar with pancetta, keep that in mind. He wrote down the recipe as he cooked it.  Will also take this moment to not complain about the sub par pictures he took, but I was out wit...

Yum!!!  Meatless Monday was a huge hit tonight. I did make some small adjustments based on what  I had in the fridge.  I had a 1/2 a red onion and a 1/2 a yellow onion, so rather than cut up a new one, I used those.  Also I had jalapenos on hand, so they went in for the Serrano.  I also did not follow the tip to mince up the lemon zest.  I really like the texture of the microplaned zest and it's easier.  The dish its self is really easy to make.  The most taxing part was grating the Pecorino and mincing the gremolata.  I was quite surprised at the world of difference the gremolata made.  If we had each eaten 1/4 of the dish, there was probably enough of it, but we ate a little over 3/4 and used it all.  Now I have a bowl of pasta and none of the yummy topping that took the dish from good to wow.  What makes this a must try dish?  Well, it's easy. fast, it doesn't have any ingredients that are hard to find and won't g...

Bear with me, the recipe is worth it!  A while back, I found this great site called Foodbuzz.  It was like facebook for food bloggers.  It helped us connect with each other, trade recipes and help promote others doing what we do.  Then Foodbuzz decided to take a perfectly great thing and ruin it.  It is now kind of a newsletter of what's hot right now. :/  Why am I ranting about this now, many months later?  Well, this recipe was from a fellow blogger and I noted the web address through Foodbuzz.  That page no longer exists and I can't find the recipe with a Google search.  I really tried and went through pages and pages of the search.  So, I can't give credit where credit is due and provide a link for the source of the recipe.  If through some quirk of fate, the person who posted this or someone who knows the person who posted this, reads this, PLEASE let me know so I can use a link to your recipe.  OK!  Blogger stuf...

It's Monday and we are trying to do Meatless Mondays.  While we have had at least one day a week in the past that has meatless dinners, we are making an effort to have the entire day be meatless. (for the kids when possible)  I decided I wanted to do something I have always wanted to try, grilling pizza.  My husband scoffed at the idea of grilling pizza. (He scoffed at the idea of grilled romaine too, but he loved it)  My husband was not as enamored with this pizza as he was with the grilled romaine.  I can attribute this to two reasons.  1) He has an aversion to the texture of raw tomatoes, and these were lightly cooked.  2) He did the actual grilling.  Its Florida and it's summer; it is hot sweaty work, which is why I happily took him up on his offer to do the grilling.  I prepped everything he needed and gave it to him as needed:)  There were some logistical issues with the grilling that really needed some familiarity with the process...

While the tide is turning in my favor in my battles with my food supplies, I know that if I am not vigilant they will regroup and then I will have to start over.  The food had some sneaky troops stationed neither in the fridge nor the pantry!  There were a plethora of tortillas, never opened, from a long time ago.  I turn to the fridge and note that there is a large block of queso fresco left over from our chilequiles.  Seeing as they are both ingredients for Mexican, but knowing that quesco fresco isn't exactly 'melting' cheese, I decide to experiment with it all and make a quesadilla and hope for the best.  So I am taking out the tortillas  and the queso before they go bad.  That's two.  I notice one lone small red pepper that some how was hiding behind the fruit and a small 1/2 of a red onion that needs to be used.  Ok all working so far.  I had the remnants of a large bag of shredded mozzarella.  Ha I will clean that up too:)....

With a moniker with all the doubles, this burger was not as amazing as one would think.  Not bad mind you, but it didn't make want to, as they say in the colorful vernacular of the south, "slap your mama!"  I have to say, while I am trying to make every recipe exactly following instructions, (for learning the process and giving me a starting place to work on the recipe for my family's tastes) I am really getting tired of a recipe for four burgers calling for a pound and a half of meat!  These burgers were monsters! I would never make larger than 1/4 pound burger for myself.  Often when I make burgers of my own creation, I make the pound in to different size burgers based on the person. (think like papa bear, mama bear and baby bear) The absolute best thing about these burgers was the Camembert!  I love Camembert, but it is just amazing on a burger.  It melts in to almost a sauce.  It was also perfect in that it mellowed the Gorgonzola.  Double-P...

Well. I was going to make these Asian meatballs wrapped in lettuce leaves, but the recipe called for ground beef, pork and veal (which I don't eat so it won't be in the recipe), but I only had the beef.  I figured I could have made it with all beef, but seeing as there aren't many seasonings, I think the mixed meats are pretty important.  A quick search of Food and Wine website found me this recipe by the same people who made the Stilton burgers with the port wine reduction.  I still had umami dust left from that one and all the ingredients on hand, so hey, it's what's for dinner.  I think this technique of cooking the burgers with the onions is awesome.  It makes for some tasty, juicy burgers and awesome onions.  I did not use the bread and butter pickles.  I would have tried it if I were buying ingredients for this meal, but our family is not a fan of the sweet pickles and they wouldn't have been in the house. Cheddar-And-Onion Smashed Burgers...

This recipe is an OLD one I haven't made in a very long time.  It came out one of those (I now think horrible) little cookbooks you find in the grocery checkout line. Despite it's origins, this is a tasty and quick meal.  The original fillings lost in time, but this is ours:) Grilled Loaf 1    loaf of fresh bread not cut 1/4 c  of pesto sauce (or more if you like) 1/2 lb Sliced deli turkey 1/4 lb Salami 1/2 lb Provolone Cheese 1    Onions,Caramelized 1/4 c  Roasted Red Pepper,Sliced And Patted Dry 1.Slice top off of the bread 2.Hollow out the loaf leaving a ½" wall 3.layer the fillings starting with the meat, then cheese, then sauce, then veggies. Repeat ending with cheese Wrap in foil and bake in a 250 oven for about an hour Can also be thrown on a grill and cooked that way over indirect heat for about 30 minutes Cooking time will vary based on size and shape of bread.  Even a cool center wouldn't be dangerous t...

Well I felt like pizza again, but as I am determined to do this blog every day (and have only missed a few on the days we have eaten out), and I don't want to repeat recipes, I had to search for new toppings.  I am actually enjoying the process of forcing myself and my family out of our comfortable rut of a couple dozen favorite recipes and trying stuff that we may not have, despite the fact that the recipes sound like ones we might like.  I did not plan quite as well as I should have.  In a brief scan of the Onion, Gorgonzola and Bacon pizza, I read 12 (yes 12!) cups of sliced onion as 1/2 so I didn't have but 2 when time came to cook the pizza.  (it was still good but 12 would be better:)  Also, the Salmon Pizza called for 2.5oz of smoked salmon, and I had 3oz, but it wasn't enough.  I guess I should have weighed my dough.  I think I made too large a pizza for the "sauce" and toppings.  Well I absolutely LOVED the caramelized onion one....