Eating Dinner With My Family

My husband digs himself some chorizo!  He is also a fan of tacos, so when I saw this on food and wine, I knew I had to pin it for him, and of course it was what he went straight for it when I asked him to pick out a dinner.  It originally called for squid, but that isn't always easy to come by and I am not the biggest fan.  Subsequently, I  am not particularly in a hurry to learn to cook with it, so we substituted small scallops.  The boys loved these, and I really liked them despite some texture issues I had with the shrimp.  Don't skip the avocado, they really add something to the final dish Seafood-Chorizo Tacos   2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 1/2 pound fresh chorizo, casings removed and meat crumbled Salt Pepper 1 small red onion, minced 1 garlic clove, minced Pinch of ground cumin 1/2 pound shrimp, shelled, deveined and chopped 1/2 pound bay scallops patted dry 2 tablespoons Mexican lager 2 tablespoons fresh lime jui...

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....

I have one pork chop leftover and some veggies I could use up, so I decided to make fried rice. I didn't measure but I took pictures so you and I would know the general amounts. I did do something a little different, I added a good dose of turmeric. Now not exactly traditional, and it turned it a funky shade of yellow, but I had just read an article on all the things turmeric was good for and I figured it wouldn't alter the flavor too much. The husband loved it!  He ate thirds;). And it was a simple fast dinner. In addition to the ingredients pictured here, the turmeric, I used some vegetable oil, 2 eggs, soy sauce and a splash of sriracha.  I started stir frying the onions, carrots and celery, added the green peppers after a few minutes, add the kale and cook until wilted, then the garlic and cook a about a minute.  Throw in the rice and the soy.  (you can add a splash of stock if the rice seems really dry) and cook until the  rice has softened.  Add...

My husband's and my mother were in town for my daughter's birthday party.   I still made them guinea pigs with an untested recipe.  Thankfully it turned out alright;).  I used the applesauce, as I knew the kids would eat it and apple butter might got to waste.  It was a bit unusual and you really needed to go light on the sauce, as it was very intense, but still a great dish.  My husband particularly liked it.  We had it with steamed bok choy, rice, the rest of the kimchi (just to clean up) and a salad with miso dressing.  It came together pretty quick too.  The most labor intensive part was the breading and frying.  (which made this dinner easy for me as I let the fry daddy do it;) Pork Tonkatsu 1/4 Cup ketchup 1/4 Cup apple butter or applesauce 1 Tbl Worcestershire sauce 1 Tbl low-sodium soy sauce 1 Tsp Dijon mustard 1 Tsp unseasoned rice vinegar 1/4 Cup all-purpose flour 2 egg whites beaten 1 Cup panko (Japanese bread cru...

This dish was frought with problems from the get go. The sausage!  Oh the dang sausage. Merguez wasn't going to be found in town but I had high hopes on the chorizo. Well they had the raw Mexican kind at publix and not the cooked Spanish kind that this recipe called for.  I settled for a hot Portuguese sausage.  (chorico?) that they had at the store.  I don't really like this sausage.  The instructions to cover the lentil with an inch of water was way, way too much!  I didn't even get a whole inch over the top, and almost none evaporated.  This made the tagine very runny and I cooked it longer to try and fix that by cooking is some with out the lid on.  The flavors were ok, and I would be willing to try it with the proper sausage, but it didn't wow me, but with merguez it might. (oh and less water;) Chorizo Tagine with Lentils and Fenugreek 2 tablespoons olive oil or ghee 2 onions chopped 2 garlic cloves chopped 1 pou...

My husband choose this throwback Thursday dish.  I followed the sauce recipe, but the meatballs I played around with a little bit.  Mostly, I just made my life easy by getting the meatloaf package of ground beef/pork rather than get a package of both meats and most likely have odd bits I didn't need for tonight's dinner.  As always, if you don't eat beef or pork, you can switch out the meat for other ones, but the beef & pork combo is traditional and I think the tastiest.  I totally am loving the greens in the meatballs.  I don't know where I first saw this idea (and it was most like spinach that was in the original recipe), but I have used collards and now bok choy with fantastic results.  (my next experiment will involve the leavings from my juicing, but that is for another time:)  I also love coating the meatballs in bread crumbs. This coating absorbs the juices (and fat) cooking out of the meatball and adds a lot of flavor and a nice crisp...

I am not the biggest fan of pork chops. I like pork tenderloin, bacon, ham, etc, but chops not so much. I do dig a good pan sauce however so I still was kind of excited. I do like good schnitzel, yes pork schnitzel, but this recipe did not produce that wonderful schnitzel I like. The sauce was pretty yummy and the boys didn't complain about the s so it must be my issues (again:).  My husband picked it off Pinterest and since it was from allrecipes.com I have no problem posting it here. (I am always a little concerned about allrecipes. I have had a few really good recipes, several fixable and a few bad recipes from them.)  I totally forgot about sides when I was at the store, so I cooked a half a box of whole wheat pasta I had cluttering up the pantry and tossed it with a bit of butter.   (and then dill sauce ;) And I steamed some broccoli too.  The boys rated it a 4 & a 4.5, I am torn because the sauce was a 4.5 for sure, the pork more like a 3 for...

Yum, yum and yum!!  It took a little longer than I expected and it made enough meatballs to have the 4 of us eat 2-3 huge meals each but, I'm not complaining; they were great meatballs in an amazing sauce.  I will happily eat leftovers:). We served them over mashed red skinned potatoes. (Like the picture on the from the original blogger.) It was a perfect vehicle for the gravy/sauce. I know it's not healthy gravy, but the vast majority if the sauce was stock and veggies so I'm calling it quasi healthy and you can't convince me otherwise because I'm going to eat an obscene amount of it! Lol. I can't get over that sauce. As I sit here stuffed, I want to go get more now that I'm thinking about it. Porcupine Meatballs With Cream Sauce   Meatballs: ground beef ground pork rice onions egg water salt ground black pepper Cream Sauce: butter large carrots onions garlic cloves minced tomato paste flour chicken broth heavy cream salt and peppe...

My family has been grumbling that so many meals we absolutely adored are not made again, or worse, forgotten about. I had thought about doing throwback Thursday for a while now, but being miserably sick prompted me to finally have the boys pick an oldie but goodie. (With the caveat that it was easy for my poor sick self). My husband picked this baked orecchiette with pork sugo. I remember really liking it and it made a ton which will be breakfast and/or lunch for us so I can hopefully relax and get better. The good: it was as tasty as I remembered!  The pork was on sale so the huge (and I mean huge!)  pan of pasta cost about $10. Add a salad and you have 2 dinners for just over $10!  The ok: they didn't have orecchiette at the store (and being sick I wasn't making pasta!), so I opted for small shells. I think they got a bit overlooked and were too small for the sauce. I think farfalle would be a better substitution  I halved the original recipe (I'm giving you the po...

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 -...

Well other than the cutting of the pork in to cubes, which my wonderful husband did for me, this recipe was super easy!  It was tasty and fast, but not a wow.  I had run out of mozzarella, but I had this Mexican Quesadilla melting cheese that tasted like mozzarella, and worked great.  It wasn't nearly as good as Soft Pork Tacos I made on 11/11/11, but it was way faster and not a bad dinner.  It doesn't look too pretty as the spice blend and the melted cheese made for a brown slop like splat on the tortilla, but it tastes way better than it looks ;).  Family-Style Pork Tacos 1 1/2 Tbl ancho chile powder 1 Tsp salt 1/2 Tsp dried oregano 1/4 Tsp ground cumin 1/8 Tsp freshly ground pepper Pinch of cinnamon Pinch of allspice 1 1/2 Lb pork tenderloin cut into 1/3-inch cubes 1 medium white onion chopped 2 Tbl cider vinegar 5 Tbl minced cilantro 3 Tbl extra-virgin olive oil 1 Cup shredded mozzarella cheese Sixteen warmed 6- or 8-inch flour or corn t...

We loved dinner, despite the fact that just now, I am realizing I omitted the peanuts by mistake.  It was fast, easy and a great dinner on this hot summer night.  The only thing I think you should take care to do, is to make sure to really break up the pork in to small pieces.  Not only does that insure cooking it all the way through, but the size works best in the fragile lettuce leaves.  I made the boys rice to go with it, but I didn't need it.  My son and I both rated it 4 stars, and my husband, who ate it reheated, loved it but wouldn't rate it as he tried it reheated.  It would make a great appetizer too.   It was a super simple take on the more laborious chicken lettuce wraps. Thai Ground Pork Salad 2 Lb ground pork 2 garlic cloves minced 2 small shallots minced 1 large jalapeño seeded and minced, plus sliced jalapeño Juice of 1 lime plus lime wedges, for serving 2 Tbl Asian fish sauce 1 Tsp light brown sugar 1 Tsp Sriracha (chil...

I had 4 hamburger buns from Sunday, so it would be wasteful of me to not make burgers again right??  So I had my boy browse my Pinterest burger board, and he picked this one. GOOD CHOICE!  I thought it sounded like it had possibilities, and its totally in my husband's wheelhouse, so I was pretty sure everyone would like it. The boy rated it the lowest at 3.5 stars. My husband hates to give up a, 5 but that was what he was thinking. (He ate two after all;). I was thinking 4-4.5 for the rating, so 4.5 it is. The sriracha honey mustard was really great!  I think it important to have good mustards.  I made my own coleslaw, but didn't measure anything: just some mayo, white wine vinegar, celery seed, salt, pepper and maybe some garlic. (I can't remember)  On the plus side, fast easy, and amazing; on the down side, not exactly diet or healthy.  Sausage Burgers with Sriracha-Honey-Mustard Sauce   1 1/2 pounds ground pork 1 1/2 pounds sweet and hot...

I couldn't find where I got this recipe from, so I can't provide a link, and I'm kind of glad because it was pretty bad!!  I knew it was going to have problems. (Tenderloin in a crockpot is not the best way to cook that piece of meat!). However, I was blinded by the word Sriracha!  I added a lot more brown sugar in the reduction stage, but it was still really spicy. I think it could be better with some fresh ginger, and the sauce tweaked. I also would use a cheaper cut if meat that would add some fat and flavor to the sauce.  I want to say one star, but I will round up and give it 2. Soy-Sriracha Pork Loin 1 Tbl chopped garlic 1/2 Tbl brown sugar 1/4 Cup soy sauce 1/3 Cup sriracha 1/2 Cup chicken or vegetable stock 1/2 Tsp honey 2 Tbl chopped green onions 1 Lb  1 lb of pork loin (I cut a two -pounder in half) rub pork loin with garlic and brown sugar. (I mixed these together first) add soy sauce, honey, green onion, and sriracha to a sauce pan.  ...

I am not a huge fan of crock pots.  Not because they don't do what they do well, but that they only do that one thing well and too many try to adapt recipes, that have no business in a crock pot, to a crock pot and come out with a big pot of meh.  I also don't care for barbecue and I loathe yellow mustard.  Needless to say, I did not like this recipe, however the boys, who don't share in my dislike of BBQ & mustard, loved it.  It is totally easy to make.  I made coleslaw, baked beans and garlic toast with it.  If you are feeling lazy, those items could be picked up at the deli section of the grocery store.  (oh and bakery for the bread)  It wasn't too terribly hard to make them yourself, so consider it.  Pulled Pork with Mustard BBQ Sauce 3-4 pound Pork Roast 1 Large Onion, thickly sliced 1/4 cup broth (I used chicken) 3 Cloves Garlic, peeled Big Daddy's Carolina Style BBQ Sauce Put a layer of onion on the bottom of the crock ...

I made this because I thought my husband would really dig it, but I gotta say I really liked it too!   If I were going to criticize anything, I would be that the bread I got was a bit too bulky.  I love a baguette but maybe if I had scooped it I would have liked it a bit better. (Or at least it wouldn't be so filling and we could have eaten more;)  Not really complaining.  It was wonderful but planning ahead for the next time I make it.   My husband pointed out that when we make something with ground pork, we seem to really like it. (However if you don't eat pork, some ground turkey could work. Make sure it isn't only turkey breast).  It was spicy, but not too spicy.  We splashed some hot sauce on them and they were just the right amount if heat. Spicy Pork Po'boys 1 1/2 Lb ground pork 1 1/2 Tsp paprika 1 1/4 Tsp dried thyme 3/4 Tsp cayenne pepper 3/4 Tsp garlic powder Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 1/2 Cup mayonnai...

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...

Xin Nian Kuai Le  ( 新年快乐) it is the year of the snake!  That is kind of a big deal in my house since my boy was born in the year of the snake.  (Yes I can't believe he will be 12?!?)  From looking at my blog, you might suppose I am of Asian decent.  I'm not.  I just happen to be a girl named Kim who likes cooking Asian (along with many other culture's) food. (I am telling you this so you don't get the impression that these are in any way 'authentic'.  I just read a lot of recipes and go from there)  I also love that more and more holidays are creeping in to our national culture.  I remember when the only time we saw anything about the Chinese zodiac was on place mats in Chinese restaurants.  Granted that was a hundred years ago and, get this, before the Internet. Now I do try to keep up, but I think Fat Tuesday is not going to get much culinary representation in the house.  I forgot to figure it in to my we...

My darling husband cooked and watched the kids while I went to the wine tasting at Ormond Wine Co.   It is usually once a month, but during November and December, it is weekly, so that means girls night out happens every Thursday right now:).  I only tried this leftover, and I thought it was good.  The sauce was awesome, but reheated tenderloin just isn't the same.  My son loved it even eating around the mushrooms. Since I didn't cook it or get to eat it at its best, I will shut up now and just give you the recipe. Pork Medallions In Mushroom Marsala Sauce 2 lb pork tenderloin (about 2 tenderloins) Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 3    Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil 3    Tbs. unsalted butter 2    medium shallots,finely diced 12 oz cremini mushrooms,thinly sliced 1    Tbs. all-purpose flour 1/2 c  dry Marsala 1 c  homemade or low-salt chicken broth 3    Tbs. heav...

A great recipe for leftover ham and who couldn't use a salad the day after Thanksgiving;).  We have had this salad at the Columbia restaurant in St. Augustine and we loved it.  Then, some years later, we were in a cabin in North Carolina with some family and they had recreated the salad for dinner one night. It had become one of our family recipes and we all love it.  It is super easy and the dressing is wonderful on any salad.  If you have kids that require some extra calories or carbs, we add a baguette and butter for them.  Not only is is a great use of leftover Thanksgiving ham, but we had a lovely oriental salad mix from the Front Porch Picking basket.  Normally the salad is made with romaine, and it is great that way, but also wonderful with the mixed greens.  The recipe is a little vague because it was never written down properly and I hate to now assign an arbitrary measurement now, but for the sake of, some, clarity, I will throw out a m...