Eating Dinner With My Family

I have improvised a white pizza before, but I thought I would follow an actual recipe this time for Meatless Monday.  It was pretty good!.  I think I would have liked some greens in there somewhere.  Adding cooked spinach to the white sauce, or finely shredding some for on top to just wilt with the heat of the pizza would make it more to my liking, but the boys liked it as is, and so to did the baby girl.  I didn't bother with making the dough, and I didn't go to the local NY style pizza place to get their dough, I went to the Publix bakery because it is the easiest for me.  If you are feeling like making the effort, please do make your dough from scratch! New York-Style White Pizza   1 New York-Style Pizza Dough ball 12 ounces (recipe follows, or buy one) Unbleached high-gluten or bread flour cornmeal, or semolina flour for dusting 1 1/2 Cup ricotta cheese 1/4 Tsp salt 1/4 Tsp dried or chopped fresh thyme 1/8 Tsp coarsely ground black pepper 1...

So I am still cleaning out my food stores. I was looking through all the recipes I have in my to try file and this recipe sounded yummy and I had everything I needed for it.  It was outstanding!  I loved it.  It was fairly easy too.  I didn't bother with the croutons, instead, I just added all the garlic to the soup and then gave everybody hunks of baguette.  Easier, less oil and still really delicious!  This is going to be a favorite of mine!  It was pretty spicy with the 1/4 tsp of cayenne, next time, I will most likely reduce this amount a bit and let the everyone spice up the soup to the heat level they prefer.  The person who really couldn't take it was the 3 year old.  Really amazing.  I am full but I want more now! Spicy Onion-Garlic Soup With Poached Eggs 3 Tbl extra-virgin olive oil 3 large garlic cloves minced 1 medium sweet onion cut into 1/8-inch dice 1/2 Tsp sweet paprika 6 Cup chicken stock or low-sodium broth 1/4 Ts...

My son requested shrimp tonight.  I like shrimp well enough, but I hate peeling them.  And even though I buy 'deveined' I always need to get rid of that little bit by the tail that they never seem to get rid of.   So I was poised to be annoyed and not very impressed with the dish. I gotta admit, they were really good and it was super fast to make. (OCD peeling of the shrimp aside)  I got a baguette and quickly made a green salad and dinner was done in about 15-20 minutes.  Sizzled Shrimp Provençal   1/4 Cup extra-virgin olive oil 1 1/2 Lb jumbo shrimp peeled and deveined Salt and freshly ground pepper 2 large garlic cloves very finely chopped 2 Tbl small capers drained 1/4 Cup fresh lemon juice 2 Tbl finely chopped flat-leaf parsley 1.In a very large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil until shimmering. Season the shrimp generously with salt and pepper. Add the shrimp to the skillet and cook over high heat until they...

Well for no other reason, this dish is awesome because it is quick, easy and inexpensive. I chose it because feta was BOGO so I had an extra one. Even not counting feta as a free ingredient, it was totally economical. Now it isn't a wow or an omg, but still pretty tasty and a different twist on your typical spaghetti. The boys were hovering around a 3.5 , but I thought solid 4 and its my blog so 4 it is! ;)  I forgot to save the pasta water, but I don't think it needed it and I used all the parsley in the morning's juice so I didn't have that, but it was still a good dish.  The only thing I would recommend is to season well with salt.  I went light because I know how salty feta is, but upon tasting it, I think it needed a good bit more.  Start with a light salting of course and taste, but just keep in in mind.  If I made this again, I think I would like to roast my own peppers:).  Oh and btw, we are having a meatless Sunday, since tomorrow we are cooki...

I loved tonight's dinner. We had our "Meatless Monday" tonight as we had guests Monday night and just swapped days we made meatless. I had an eggplant from Front Porch Pickings so yippee I get to make some even though the boys aren't fans.  Just one more great reason to use a csa or community sponsored agriculture.  (Although FPP is better than any other one I have used. I love that you can customize your baskets.)  Funny story my husband started singing "you down with FPP " so of course I answered "yea you know me". Your welcome for the ear worm.  But back to having a CSA, there are so many reasons I love and advocate for people joining one.  First and most important to the foodie in me is that the quality, flavor and variety can't be matched by a large grocery.  Secondly it is the healthiest option for your produce.  Local means more time to mature on the plant and more nutrients in your food.  The delivery of local and seasona...

Well, shoot!  I lost another post because of the blogger app!  GRRR  Not only was this a frustrating recipe, but a frustrating post!  Ok I will paraphrase what I had written.  The end of the recipe's instructions says "cook until the meat is soft and you can pull it apart easily with a fork."  I should have realized that it would have needed to be a very long cooking time, but for some reason I was thinking only an hour.  After an hour it was still raw inside.  We cut it in to 5 pieces or so and cooked it hours more until it was finally done and we could put it away and go to bed!  The end result was that it wasn't as tender it should have been, but the flavor was good.  I am looking forward to doing this again but with an all day cooking time. Roast Pork For Cuban Sandwiches 4 - to 6-pound pork shoulder roast 1 head garlic – about 10 to 15 cloves 1 Tsp salt 1 Tsp black peppercorns 1 Cup sour orange juice (If you can't get -...

My darling boy is finally home after a fun filled week at my MIL's house. I let him choose his welcome home dinner, and he choose Nillawan's Smoked Salmon Pasta . (Good choice might I add:)  Since I have been kind if slacking on the blog since summer started, I decided to make a new salad dressing for a blog recipe. This was a great salad dressing. My husband thinks it just might be his favorite yet. I got it off Food & Wine's website and it billed it as a lightened up version of a ceaser type dressing made by Bobby Flay. While not a lot of work, the roasting of the garlic does add on some, largely inactive, time, but as I think dressings taste better after sitting, it can be made ahead of time. Creamy Garlic Vinaigrette 15 medium unpeeled garlic cloves 1 Tbl extra-virgin olive oil 1/4 Cup white wine vinegar 2 Tbl water 2 Tsp Dijon mustard 1 Tsp mayonnaise 1 Tsp honey 1/4 Tsp Worcestershire sauce 1/8 Tsp Tabasco 1/3 Cup canola oil Kosher salt and freshly...

I was going out to get my geek on and see the new Star Trek movie.  And while I thought it was visually amazing and Benedict did a great job as Kahn, the story was totally predictable.  As, I was out, I asked my husband to pick a meal and if it was quick, I would make it when I got home about 7 or he could cook if he wanted to.  He choose this recipe and to cook, and I am so glad I didn't have to cook this!  It was a lot of steps, and according to him, in terrible order.  Touch raw chicken, touch veggies, touch more raw chicken (this was accompanied by a very cute little "dance" I called culinary jazz hands)  was the thing that annoyed him.  (he is a restaurant manager and notices these things :)  I came home to a wonderful smell, but didn't have to deal with all the annoyances he did.  We all liked the dish too, but it didn't deliver on what it promised.  For example the garlic paste, great idea, but the method of cooking didn...

This recipe is out of Top Chef: The Cookbook .  I have made it before, long, long ago and really loved it.  It was still tasty this time too.  My biggest problem that happened, then and now, was the pasta just didn't get done enough.  Before, I used angle hair pasta as I couldn't find fideos, but this time, I spotted some in the store and thought I would try it again with the proper pasta and it will get done enough.  Wrong.  It was edible, and yummy at that, but seemed ill prepared.  I don't think this is how it came out when made by the chef.  And while I expect that they will make a dish much better than I could, I am perplexed as to how to work around this issue I keep having with out adding a lot more liquid and increasing the cooking time.  So while I wholeheartedly recommend you make this dish, I just want to give you a heads up on what to expect.  If you find the solution, please clue me in:)! Fideos with Clams & Saffron ...

My husband wants to know what's up with this putting salad on pizza.  We have only done a few, and most of the time they are topped with arugula.  I don't really consider arugula a "salad".   I love arugula and it make my salad but it is more like spinach to me.  This pizza was very good!  I was afraid there wasn't enough of the garlic paste (and truth be told I would have liked a bit more) but it was really great.  The dough rolled that thin made it almost like a cracker, the garlic paste was heaven and I plan on figuring out other ways to use it so we can have it often, and every bite made me happy.  Even the boy loved it. (he ate 6 pieces!!) Roasted-Garlic Pizza With Bacon And Arugula   1 head of garlic separated into unpeeled cloves 3 Tbl extra-virgin olive oil 4 anchovy fillets 1 Tbl oregano leaves 1/4 Tsp crushed red pepper 3 ounces thickly sliced bacon cut into 1/4-inch dice All-purpose flour for dusting 1 Lb fresh or...

The original recipe (click link on the recipe title) served this dish in a more traditional way.  (wrapping it in lettuce leaves and other condiments)  I went a little more simple and just had it with some rice and an salad with some "Asian" flavored salad dressing.  I put Asian in quotes because the tahini made me think more middle eastern.  I loved the chicken, but the boys had some issues.  That is most likely because I had some thin breast cutlets for me and they had thighs.  I admit it, I messed up the thighs.  The recipe called for boneless, but there weren't any at the store.  I couldn't pound them thin and long story short, the large thighs weren't great, the small ones were much better.  Even with really liking the marinade flavors on the chicken, the dressing was what I really loved!  I think I will buy more of the plum paste just to make this often!    Sweet And Spicy Barbecued Chicken (Dak Gui) MARINADE 2 Tb...

I had bought a butternut squash for a recipe I keep wanting to try, but just can't bring myself to.  (too long to explain just enjoy the mystery;)  I decided when I was buying the won ton wrappers for my Year of the Snake Dumplings, I would get a second set and make ravioli with them.  This is something I have never done, but was excited to try.  I just kinda made it up as I went.  I have made a sage cream sauce before (don't remember the exact recipe but this is probably close), but I think I used fresh sage last time.  There was no fresh sage on hand, so dried it was!  I thought the end result was really yummy.  In fact I thought it tasty enough for our rarefied list of  "menu items" if we ever win the lotto and can open our own place, but for one thing: looks.  They weren't the prettiest ravioli by a long shot.  So, I turn to you all and ask, what did I do wrong and how can I make them look better in the future.  (I am looki...

Not too long ago, I made a lasagna.  I know what you are thinking, but there isn't a lasagna on the blog.  It is true, I didn't put it on the blog.  Why?  Well I think every one and their mother knows how to make a lasagna, and this particular one was nothing special.  Also, I just wanted to go in and clean up some ingredients and relax and cook with out having to write it all down.   However, this applies to this dinner because I made way too much of the ricotta layer.  I put what was left in a gallon zip top bag and pressed it in to a thin layer and froze it.  I have been starring at it wondering what to do with it and since the hamburger calzone came out so good, I thought I would make a lasagna one.  My husband wanted some meat in it, so I let him saute up some bacon (and while he was at, I let him do the onions and garlic as well:).  This is recipe is, unfortunately, very vague.  I know generally w...

I made one deviation from this recipe, I used burger patties made from 1/2 ground chuck and 1/2 ground pork. Why? Well because I had some ground beef & pork leftover from the last time I made meatballs. We mixed those meats and made patties and froze them in vacuum bags. We didn't have enough meat to make patties from one type of meat but we had enough for 3 if we mixed them together. What was I going to do with them? I turned to the burger master, Bobby Flay, and the cookbook I got free on iBooks (Called Bobby Flay's Bold Flavors).  This is like a Cuban sandwich and a burger had a baby and those are two of my favorite sandwiches.  All I have to say is DANG it was good.  We all devoured our burgers.  I think we had patties that were a bit bigger than the 1/4 pound called for and that was my only issue with the burger; I thought the patty was a bit big, but that's my fault:).  We all were really pleased with the whole  meal.  A solid 4.5. Miam...

Chicken leg quarters were on sale at Publix for $0.99 a pound.  I bought two packages and am freezing one.  I figure the best way to cook them is ala the 40 Cloves and Chicken recipe we love, but I wanted it to be a different recipe.  I had plenty of potatoes on hand so I decide to use those since the idea of them roasting in garlicky chicken drippings and a bit of olive oil sounded heavenly.  So I kind of made this up as I went along.  Long story short, it was enjoyed by all.  Meat very tender, potatoes tasty, and while it took 1.5 to roast, it was not much active time cooking. Roasted Chicken and Potatoes 4 chicken leg quarters 4 large Yukon gold potatoes 1 tablespoons of olive oil salt 5 sprigs of thyme 1 bulb of garlic peeled 1/4 cup olive oil Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat the tablespoon of oil in a large oven proof skillet over medium heat. Add the legs skin side down and cook until well browned. Flip and lightly brown on the ...

Ok, I am going to be merciless on this recipe.  I discovered, after I bought the ingredients for it, that it was from Rachael Ray.  I can't stand her, and if you would like to read why, you can check out the post Tilapia With Balsamic Browned Butter And Creamy Farfalle With Bacon, Tomato to hear me rant about her:).  Well, I decide to make it work.  It looks pretty plain, so I decide to make a Parmesan, garlic and sage cream sauce to go with it.  I had some fresh sage on hand, and I remember loving a pork saltimbocca I had as a seasonal special at Stonewood that  had a similar cream sauce on it.  So while the devil lady's chicken tenders are cooking, I decide to improvise a sauce.  The chicken was ok, we guess, we were too busy slathering it with the uber tasty sauce I made.  (I know it's a bit immodest, but that wasn't my summation, it was my husbands;)  I have an additional dig to make at Ms. Ray, the recipe, which I copied exactly ca...

The family consensus is that this is a 4 or a 5 depending on who you ask.  For me personally it is a 4.5 that could be bumped up to a five because of it ease of preparation and economical price tag.  This dish and a salad would cost about $10.  It would depend on where you are and how inexpensively you could get the ingredients.  For  example, I got the Publix goat cheese that was exactly a 1/4 lb and it was $3.99 and the most pricey ingredient in the whole thing.  I got sliced salami because I didn't really read the recipe ahead a time, but it worked fine. I do think cubes would be better texturally.  This recipe was one of those delicious yet easy ones that made my son ask to have a college cookbook file created on the computer.  DONE!  I also think it would be a great thing to give friends that are setting off to college.  The only deviation was that I had an open carton of beef stock and I used that.  I also used half ...

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...

I have a pasta sauce cookbook I got from my MIL.  It has lots of really great recipes.  It is called Sauces for Pasta .  It is a small, simple, cookbook that only has sauce recipes.  Many of our favorite pasta sauces have come from here. Tonight, I wanted to try another one, and the anchovy sauce has intrigued me from the beginning.  I think anchovy paste makes some dishes amazing, but the little bone filled fillets have filled me with something close to terror:).  This recipe only called for two, which, almost, seemed like too little, but in the end it wasn't.  My major issue with the book, and the sauce, is that there is no guidance on the amount of pasta you should serve the sauce with.  I have always made the assumption that it was either 3/4-1 pound of pasta.  I used 3/4 of a pound, but it seemed like much too little sauce.  I added another tablespoon of butter at the end just to make sure every noodle was coated.  I ...

I had plenty of leftover cooked lentils and Israeli Couscous after the vegan burger fiasco.  I also found like 3 containers of lemons.  The war with the fridge was on, again.  Lemons made me think of seafood; I choose shrimp as we hadn't had them in a while.  I knew I wanted to try to make a side of the lentils and couscous, but they needed something.  That something was 2 six ounce bags of spinach.  The result was really good.  I loved it, my husband really liked it, the boy hates cooked spinach so he was not in love with it.  I cooked the spinach like it is in the Italian Sausage Burgers with Garlicky Spinach .  It is really good by itself.  I let my husband saute the shrimp.  I wanted to put them on skewers and grill them, but he offered to saute them up so I let him.  I know they were sauteed in butter with some garlic, salt and red pepper flakes. Lentils, Couscous and Wilted Spinach 2 cups Israeli Couscous, cooked 1 c...