I went to the store for two things...

We've all been there.  You stop at the grocery store for one or two things and walk out with several bags which never seem to justify the total on the receipt.  Today was one of those days.  Even though I only needed two things I grabbed one of the small carts "just in case".  I don't know if your store has them but they hold just a smidge more than a basket but you can push it (obviously) instead of having to lug a basket around.  Friends, the grocery store is to me what Toys R Us is to a small child.  I become a cracked out food junkie and this time was no exception.  The wheels started turning.

It was around noon and I realized I hadn't gotten anything out of the freezer at home for dinner tonight and it's a sunny day so my brain whispered, almost ghost like, "Grill."  But I'm feeling lazy today and couldn't think of what I wanted to spend my time checking on periodically.  Then it hit me.  Pulled pork.  That takes almost no supervision.  But being a Yankee and lacking the fancy schmancy smokers you see on Food Network, I do mine a tad differently.  I start the pork in the crock pot until it's falling apart then I throw it on the grill for 1-2 hours with some wood chips to give it that awesome smoked flavor.  I haven't had any complaints yet.

So in addition to my two original items, I walked out with a pork roast (pork butt is my favorite for pulled pork), some beans because what's pulled pork without smokey baked beans on the side, BBQ sauce, and oh yeah, I needed charcoal plus various other unrelated items that apparently we can't live without.  By the time I got to the check out, my little cart was puffing like the Little Engine that Could.  Or it was in my mind at least.  Hey, I hear ghost-like voices telling me what to make for dinner so it's reasonable that my cart can make noises too.  The checker asked if I wanted a bigger cart because they don't allow the small ones outside.  This is where I mentally pull the mother card because after lugging around a super-sized toddler for a few years, I can carry more than my scrawny arms would lead you to believe. 

So out to the car I went with my two reusable bags (which hold the same at 3 plastic bags) draped over one arm and my 18 pound bag of charcoal resting on the opposite hip with my arm loving holding it close.  Just like holding a baby.  No, I didn't forget the wood chips.  I keep those on hand at home for these occasions.  My favorite for pork is apple wood.  Hopefully by around 6:00 tonight we will sit down to a yummily smoked pork roast...it's my blog and I can make up words if I want to...baked beans, and possibly some tater salad.  Can't go wrong with tater salad.  And I like to say tater salad.

Where I Have Been

I know I know. Why am I not cooking and writing about it? You poor neglected blog readers. It turns out I have dozens of magazines around the house that I need to recycle. Remember kids…recycle! I am a rabid recycler so if you need tips, let me know. Sorry, a little side note.

So I have all of these magazines and I know that there maybe a handful of recipes in each that I want to keep. I started going through them a few weeks ago but life is funny. It takes you in different directions and you get distracted. So these few dozen magazines have turned into piles of ‘gone through, tore out recipes, recycle’, ‘keep because there is too much to throw out’, and ‘still need to look through.’

I have learned much about myself through this process (besides knowing I’m a packrat). I’ve learned I have my comfort cooking, my light cooking, and the need to explore cooking. So my newest goal is to start cooking outside of not only my comfort level, but outside of the family’s taste level. More to come on that but…a funny thing happened with veggies…


I love having food brought to me. My office participates in Fruit My Cube. These wonderful souls bring fruit to any of us health lovers who want fruit but are too busy (o.k. lazy) to go to the store and buy it. Now that spring has sprung they have incorporated the Market Crate bringing fresh veggies to my office and inspiring me to make my dinner plate at least 50% veg. It also makes me think about interesting ways to bring veggies to the table. Keep in mind I live with a carnivore and a carbivore. Veggies are good to them but they like corn, peas, green beans, and broccoli. We need more options.


In my latest Market Crate, I received a head of cauliflower. I will eat cauliflower raw even without ranch…who doesn’t love ranch. But I wanted to challenge my family. Turns out those corn, peas, green beans, broccoli loving people love roasted cauliflower. And I have been asked to make it again. Gladly!


I could probably live happily as a sometimes vegetarian with a burger indulgence here and there but that doesn’t fit into my real life. So I cook meat, I devour carbs, and I work on bringing more veggies into my home. Right now I have more veggies than actually fit in the veg drawer of my fridge so they are nipped and, lovingly, tucked. I must find a way to serve them. I will. Happily. And let’s hope the new found cauliflower lovers in the house find that same appreciation for other veggies. Veg out!

Smell-o-Blog

Wouldn't that be nice?  It would be today anyway.  I would love to share with you the smells coming from my kitchen.  It's a long story but I am home from work unexpectedly so I thought why not start dinner at 11:00 a.m.  Seems natural right?  Actually, I had a dinner planned for the slow cooker and simply gave it a little boost. 

Right now I have bell peppers stuffed with turkey Italian sausage, minced garlic, diced onions, and diced zucchini cooking away in a tomato sauce.  It's my little riff on sausage and peppers.  If only I could pronounce it as I recall from watching 'The Godfather' - "sahsahge and pehppahs".  But alas, I am but a poor Midwesterner lacking any type of accent whatsoever.  Also, since I'm home, I threw ingredients in the bread machine for an Italian peasant loaf.  I love few smells more than that of baking bread.

An added bonus to my meal, is I'm utilizing tools that won't heat up the kitchen.  You see, it is an atypical 90 degrees in May and out of pure stubbornness, we are not yet using our air-conditioner.  It actually isn't even prepped for the season yet.  So instead of heating a pan on the stove top and using the oven, my kitchen will stay at a moderate temperature.  And I don't have to worry about sweating or looking as red as a tomato as I serve my family.  Oops, I'm a lady so I mean glistening.  We don't sweat, of course.

Considering, I have made neither of these items in this exact way before, I just hope dinner tastes as good as it smells.  For now, I'll just enjoy a good snnniiifffffffffffff

Knife!

Google 'The Annoying Orange' then watch almost any given video and you'll fully understand my title.  You can thank William for the reference.

But speaking of knives, for a long long time, I longed (see what I did there) for a fancy schmancy chef's knife.  I watched chefs on tv chop herbs with the vigor of a teenager expecting her first kiss.  Then, suddenly, the stars aligned and I had an unexpected gift card AND a coupon.  Bed, Bath, and Beyond baby!  Know what?  It took me another year to buy a knife. I was so scared the reality wouldn't live up to my expectations that I couldn't bring myself to do it.  But then the day arrived.  I decided it was time.  I went to BB&B with my gift card and coupon in hand...literally...I think I was too excited to put them in my purse.  I stared and I pondered.  I may have even second guessed myself but then I heard the words that changed everything - "Can I help you find something?"

I think I stood there like the aforementioned teenager expecting her first kiss and managed to spit out, "Uh, if I buy one of these [pointing to the knives], can I return it if I don't like it?" The salesperson gave me much grief "assuring" me they did NOT have a return policy (which is not true) so I relaxed and chose my knife.  He then carefully placed it in my hands...a Zwilling J.A. Henckels Professional "S" 8" Chef's Knife.  No no no, not an Official Red Ryder Carbine-Action Two-Hundred-Shot Range Model Air Rifle.  A Zwilling J.A. Henckels Professional "S" 8" Chef's Knife! Come on now, stay with me.  Oh the excitement, the terror, the waiting.  It had come to an end.

I made sure I chose a dinner that night that involved a lot of slicing and chopping.  For the life of me, I can't remember anything beyond slicing a tomato and chopping fresh basil.  I called it a knifegasm.  To this day, I praise my knife.  I think it is the one tool I could not live without now.  Sometimes, we still make blade to eye contact and we both know.  Sure, Knife has hurt me.  I have many times left Knife in the sink without thinking and barely touched that fabulous sharp blade and cut the dickens out of several fingers.  But they are scars of pride and joy.  But Knife's joy has outweighed the hurt.  We have settled into a long and loving relationship.







 

Kids are Strange Part 1 of Many if I Know My Son

At the dinner table that isn't always a bad thing.  Tonight I grilled strip steaks with sides of asparagus and grilled potatoes tossed with a red pepper and caper sauce.  I thought William would balk at the red pepper sauce so I pulled out his serving of potatoes before I tossed them with the sauce.  Little did I know, he was interested in the sauce and found it quite tasty.  But our struggle tonight was asparagus.  Let me point out that William has always been a veggie lover.  At his first birthday party, I offered sandwiches and various sides to our guests but for William, I steamed broccoli because he loves it.  He is a green veggie lover and, for that, I consider myself a million times blessed.  Asparagus has never been a problem but suddenly he thinks it's evil so we were having a mother/son face-off that went something like,


Me: "Eat your asparagus.  You like it."
William: "No I don't."
Me: "You have to eat your asparagus if you want a snack tonight."
William: "Then I just won't eat anything else tonight."
Me: "You need your veggies.  EAT IT!"


Enter the aha moment. 
Me: "William do you like the sauce on the potatoes."
William:  "Yes."
Me: "What if I put some on your asparagus."
William: "Yeah, put a lot on it!"


And before I knew it his asparagus was gone.  So, for the record, a basic veggie is icky to my son but a red pepper and caper sauce is o.k.  I can't explain it but I'll go with it. 


Here is my personal problem - as I mentioned I am working on a cookbook.  I made the aforementioned sauce without measuring.  I need my new mantra to be, "measure measure measure."  But for this evening, we'll call this a victory.  I can measure tomorrow.

Are you feeling lucky?

If you need a reason to feel lucky, watch this. Over the weekend, Food Network aired a special called “Hunger Hits Home.” I think all Americans are aware of food stamps and aid for needy families but how often to we take the time to truly wonder and try to relate to what these families face every day. And this special barely mentions food stamps. It’s about families who are facing hard times for one reason or another. People who are going to work every day just like you and me but their kids aren’t sure if there will be enough food for dinner. People who have lost jobs and find themselves suddenly in dire straights. Many of us could be a paycheck or two away from being these families and no one has absolute job security these days.

I simply cannot imagine having to feed my son Ramen Noodles every night because there is nothing else in the cupboard. How would I ever tell my broccoli loving, corn eating, salad gobbling little boy that there simply isn’t money to buy vegetables? Fortunately, I don’t have to. I can shop freely and often and, frankly, we are rather spoiled in our household with the foods we eat. I can imagine that I work with people who think it’s crazy that I offer my son steak. It’s because I am one of the lucky ones who has the means to give my family whatever foods we want.

I can buy ingredients and play around and if we don’t like it, well, better luck next time but let’s order a pizza. I’m like every one of you who takes the time to read this. I know there are hungry kids in our country but it hasn’t affected me so did I really care before? William has taken food to school to offer for food drives in the past. We talked about why this is important but I’m not sure either of us really got it. He’s 7 so I can cut him some slack. In his world, parents simply take care of their kids and that’s that. But I’m older and should know better. This special really did hit home.

Is this a call to action? No. I know I have many wonderful and generous friends and if they heard that their child had a classmate without enough to eat, would probably invite the entire family over for dinner and send them out the door with a bag of food. We all do what we can. But as I get back to blogging and think about things I cook or what to write about, I couldn’t let this go without bringing it to a wider audience. I could have shared that we had meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and corn for dinner tonight. Instead of trying to peak your interesting is what I had to eat, I am using this forum to peak your interest in what you had to eat.

Count your blessings as you eat well tonight, tomorrow, and in the days that follow.

Succeeding at Disaster

Next weekend William has Easter break so we will be home for five days. I haven’t yet asked him if he wants to dye Easter eggs. It’s a mother’s job to allow her child to grow up and stop needing her but every time we let go of one of these childhood traditions, I feel a small tug of sadness that childhood is so fleeting. However, there may be one way to convince William to dye eggs. I simply must promise to turn them into deviled eggs after Easter. He is crazy for them.

Unfortunately, for William and the rest of our family, my last experience with deviled eggs was less than successful. The word disaster really is fitting. We were planning for a large group of family for Christmas day dinner and I boiled two dozen eggs in anticipation so I would have plenty. On Christmas morning I settled in to start taking the shells off of the eggs but when I cracked into the first egg I noticed it was a little soft and the yolk wasn’t quite set but it’s not uncommon to have one bad egg in the bunch. By the sixth egg, I was starting to suspect our deviled egg supply would be lower than I planned but I forged on. After all, I have never in my life under-boiled an egg. I reached the end and was left with a trash can full of shells, shredded whites, and a bowl filled with yolks that were perfectly over easy. Except I didn't want over easy. Besides, boiling eggs should not come close to producing over easy.

I sat there holding back tears of frustration wondering why, after the first few, I didn’t just try to boil them a little longer. But I summoned my determination and brainstormed for a plan b. Perhaps the microwave would help solidify the yolks a bit and who cares what the whites look like. I tried a small amount and it worked o.k. Not perfect but I thought if I could save these eggs; by golly, I’d move ahead. So I put the entire batch of yolks in the microwave. I think on that splendid Christmas day, I discovered a suitable alternate. For Silly Putty.

Those that know me, understand how important the holidays and Christmas dinner are to me. I spend months planning food and fun for the entire holiday season. So you know what I did next? I took a deep breath, pulled the trash can closer, ignoring the words that any guilt-inducing parent would say to their child, “You know there are starving people in…” and I dumped the entire mess.

Then I moved on and became a honey badger. If you are not familiar with the honey badger, I will give you a couple of warnings. One, don’t watch this with your children and, two; don’t watch if you do not have a foul sense of humor. To anyone that came into the kitchen that day, I announced there would be no deviled eggs and honey badger don’t care. And you know what else, it was probably the most relaxed Christmas dinner I have ever prepared and I think everyone else was relaxed too.

So will I try making deviled eggs again this Easter season to make my son happy? Well, it is a time of new starts and rebirth. And, darn it, if it gets him to color eggs that’s a bonus.

Hello followers! It has been way way too long but a good friend has encouraged me to blog again but with new rules. I was too strict before and thought my blogging should be about my magical creations. Let’s be real. I’m a working mom who helps her kid with homework each night and has to keep on top of a house so magic in the kitchen is rare; from here on, you will see some of my best, a lot of my worst (I call them learning opportunities), my favorite kitchen gadgets, a lot of convenience, and whatever my mind tells me to write about. With that said and I am back and dum dum dum dum….

THE THRILL OF THE GRILL! I love my grill. Seriously! It was a Christmas gift and for the first 2 years of its summer life, I would always, without fail, express my love and joy every time I used it. I am a charcoal girl. Granted, a gas grill would be a nice addition for side items along with a full outdoor kitchen but seriously...the main event will always be cooked on charcoal as long as I have a set of tongs in my hand and a beating heart in my body. What makes my grill special? Yes, it is charcoal but…wait for it…wait…it has gas ignition. No more messing with lighter fluid or a chimney starter. Oh no, my friends. I dump in a few coals, hit a switch, and I HAVE MADE FIRE! You simply turn off the gas switch once the coals ignite and you’re good to go. And it doesn’t use big, heavy propane tanks, just small camp stove ones.

Thanks to our unusually warm March, I have grilled several times so far this season. Tonight I made a perfectly medium sirloin steak, grilled potatoes, and a salad on the side. My discerning son ate every bite on his plate so I consider it a homerun.

I think even Bobby Flay, my grilling hero, would approve of my grill.

A new lifestyle awaits

Yes, I'm trying to get back to my blog. Sorry for the lapse in blogginess. Somehow I sort of sunk into a cooking funk and haven't been very inspired over the past few months. But, alas, life sometimes gives us a kick in the pants and tells us to make some changes. Through many channels I have discovered I have high blood pressure and possibly high cholesterol. The latter was tested after eating so next week I have a fasting test which will tell me for sure. But the high blood pressure is real and must be dealt with. I am 38 years old and on two bp medications with the promise to my doctor that I would watch my sodium intake, decrease alcohol consumption, and exercise more. Clearly my doctor has never been the mother (he's a man btw) to a school aged child, worked full-time, and tried to keep up with a 2,000 square foot, two story house. Regardless, I am not ready to let my health decline so it is time to change.

We subsist on convenience foods some days and, when we don't, I have a heavy hand with the kosher salt. I have had this health knowledge about myself for about a month now and I won't lie. I'm not doing well. I've had some work stresses plus getting William back in the swing of school which leaves me exhausted and loathing the evening meal. My cupboard is fully stocked with canned pasta sauce, rice mixes, and canned beans. My freezer holds a supply of red meats and breaded, sauced delicacies. But it's time to get serious. My family is not pleased. They love flavor as much as I do and, admittedly, I have spent the majority of my years not caring about calories, fat, and sodium. I was lucky that way. But now they mock me.

Tonight I had my first minor victory. The fortunate thing about my family's eating habits are that we like steamed veggies with nothing on them. And Matt has opened my world to potatoes with no seasoning and natural potato goodness. Granted, butter, salt, and sour cream make me moan in pleasure. So what did we eat? Chicken breasts in a white wine, mushroom, and shallot sauce; fingerling potatoes tossed with a drizzle of olive oil and Mrs. Dash onion and herb seasoning, and steam broccoli naked (nude veggies...scandalous I tell you!) In the end, I did add 1/2 tsp. of salt to the chicken (that was for all 3 servings) and 1/2 tbl. of unsalted butter. It was divine and healthy. The potatoes were so so. The odd thing I find about fingerlings is they don't seem to have developed their flavor like their larger cousins have. And the broccoli was what we were used to so that was fine. It wasn't our best meal and the boys could tell I deprived them of flavor but I like to think their desire to keep me around will get us through this trial and error period. Since the chicken was a success, I will share.

3 four oz. chicken breasted pounded to 1/4 inch thick
Mrs. Dash chicken seasoning blend
enough white wine to cover the bottom of a 10 inch pan by 1/4 inch (I used Chardonnay)
4 oz. sliced mushrooms
1 medium shallot minced
1/2 tbl. unsalted butter
1/2 tsp. salt, optional
olive oil

Coat both sides of the chicken with Mrs. Dash. Add 1 tbl. olive oil to a skillet (for best results do not use non-stick) and heat over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot place the chicken breasts in the skillet and saute on each side for 90 seconds. Remove the chicken from the pan. Take the pan off the heat and deglaze with the wine and when it starts to boil, add the mushrooms, shallot, and butter. Reduce by half then add the chicken to cook the rest of the way through. Add the salt, if desired. Cook for about 5 minutes more until the chicken is no longer pink.

More to come with things I love but need to experiment with:
lentils
quinoa
fish (we love our muscle meats)
vegetarian (don't tell Matt!)
other grains that my South Beach Diet days convinced me were evil
and various fruits and veggies my family has sworn off in the past

But don't worry, there is still room in my life for comfort foods and next up will be soup recipes since my good friend, Theresa asked for some a while back and probably thinks I have neglected her.

So much culinary potential

I cannot tell a lie. Life has been crazy and some of our dinners have been out of the box. Literally. Not that this never happens but lately it is the norm and that is no bueno. But I have had a couple of culinary adventures lately so I will recap the highlights.

St. Patty's Day...
I once made traditional Irish stew and quickly learned I do not like the taste of lamb. Too gamey for my tastes. So from that point forward I either made a beef stew with Irish soda bread or looked for other traditional Irish favorites. Then I put my spin on things because that's how I roll...as someone without an ounce of Irish blood in her. ;) This year I used cuts of stew beef slow cooked in onion soup mix and cream of mushroom soup served over mashed potatoes. On the side we had cabbage steamed with bacon because bacon makes everything better. When I say "we" I mean I devoured it, Matt tolerated it, and William had peas (at least they were green right?). For dessert I made a boxed brownie mix with a little Bailey's mixed in. At least something was Irish!

Tonight...
Picture hurricane force winds competing with the last 70+ degree day for a while. I HAD to grill. Every time I went to the grill I could almost feel the wind pushing me back saying, "Fool, take this food inside." But I was determined. And the most awesome part of the meal was that William chose half of it. We stopped at the grocery store tonight and as sides he chose salad and corn on the cob. Really, how do you argue when a child chooses veggies? You don't! So we had steaks, corn on the cob (out of season but not bad), a really pretty salad, and Matt had some grilled baby potatoes. William and I weren't in a potato place tonight. I am hoping and praying spring comes for good soon because it gives me so much more energy and inspiration for cooking.

I have a couple of learning opportunties that I am determined to conquer in the near future. I bought some baby eggplant tonight and want to see how that differs from, um, grown up, eggplant and I want to master tuna. Something about cooking a tuna steak freaks me out. I am not a rare fish afficianato unless it's in sushi but I really want to try grilling tuna. So if you have any tips or recipes let me know.

I am a published recipe author

Sure it's for my son's weekly newsletter at school but still...

A while back the principal sent a plea to parents because Market Day sales were not going well. I proposed an idea where I would periodically submit a recipe to the school newsletter sharing how I use Market Day recipes. Well, periodically turned into a weekly gig so I have been scrambling to come up with recipes each week. I'm having fun but I have to submit my piece by Tuesday evening. Sometimes 10:00 p.m. Tuesday comes and I have an "oh shoot!" moment. But I haven't missed a "deadline" yet. I'm anxious to see if my recipes boost March sales at all.

I debuted with beef stew. Simple yet something almost everyone loves. I followed the next week with garlic crusted pork tenderloin and baby baked potatoes with a roasted red pepper sauce. Last week was Mediterranean inspired chicken piard. This week I think I will go a little more kid friendly and try ravioli "lasagna".

I'll keep you posted on the sales.

Themed Meals

When I became a mother I never dreamed I would be cooking monkeys, claws, and even dinosaur eggs. Oh wait, does that sound odd? Welcome to the world of themed meals. When we have a special event, William has come to expect a themed dinner. Sure, one may expect to make themed Halloween or Christmas treats. In fact, there are entire cookbooks dedicated to such things. But for the every day? It gets a little more challenging.

One of my past efforts include monkey pizzas after a day of playing hookie at the zoo.

Another evening involved a dinosaur meal to wrap up dinosaur week at his day care. We dined on dino claws, spines, legs, and tortillas with lava dip as well as dinosaur eggs.

So the latest effort? We discovered we have a free preview of a movie channel over the next year and one of the movies showing is Planet 51. William didn't think he would be interested so I did what any good mother would do - I bribed him. I told him we could have a fun night with an outer space meal if he would watch the movie. And guess what? He loved the movie and the food too.

But to get to that point, I put on my thinking cap and tried to think about what I had around the house that I needed to use. I somehow fell into a surplus of tortillas so my mind went to UFOs. I cut rounds out of the tortillas, spread a dollop of refried beans in between, and topped with a second tortilla, cheese, black olives, and cherry tomato halves to try an make them look like UFOs. Then I remembered that in my set of cookie cutters I had a mini star in my Christmas set and a mini moon in my Halloween set so I cut stars and moons from potato slices. These were simply roasted with a smidge of salt and Mrs. Dash onion and herb. Love that stuff! And what would any outer space meal be without a few meteorites (or meateorites if you will)? I combined some ground chicken, celery salt, and buffalo sauce to make meatballs then drizzled it with more buffalo sauce for molten meteorites.

So here are the final products:

So what's the lesson here? Some of us dream of having our own show on Food Network or even earning the title of chef. But most of us are every day cooks and when you have kids you learn to be creative. Sometimes you have to so they will eat but the most important reason is because your kids become grown ups in the blink of an eye. Matt tells me I love people through food. This is one way I love my son. We share experiences and the enjoyment of those experiences is reflected in our food. So enjoy your kids and have fun with your food.

I love when I knock it out of the park

At the beginning of my day I had no clue what I was making for dinner. I had purchased some cleaned, sliced mushrooms earlier this week and knew I needed to use them for something. You see, I didn't have a plan for them when I bought them but they were on sale and you don't pass by mushrooms on sale right? So I started thinking of what kinds of meat I had in the freezer. I hadn't even gotten anything out to thaw before leaving for work this morning. My quickest options were chicken breasts and a pork tenderloin. I don't know how many of you have schools/churches that participate in Market Day but our school does and, so far, I have ordered monthly. My favorite item is the pork tenderloin. Compared to what I find in the grocery store, it is cheaper yet more tender and flavorful.

So I thought - mushrooms and pork loin...I can make that work. But what to serve with it? We've had a lot of rice lately so I didn't want that. And I didn't have the right ingredients to make a pasta that would make sense to that left me with potatoes. Potatoes are my nemesis. Unless they are drowning in fat, I can't figure out how to make them taste good. Baked? Boring! What to do? What to do? Oh, and did I mention the boy child is not a fan of most potato dishes? Alas, I remembered I had fresh chives in the refrigerator so I opted for mashed potatoes with chives. Sounded flavorful enough considering we weren't having gravy. But what about my lonely pork loin? What happened to that guy?

He got a good kosher salt and pepper massage then a hot sear in a little oil to get a good crust on the outside. It only took about 2 minutes per side until we had a nice golden brown crust. I then placed said loin in a baking dish and spied a bottle of white wine in my rack. I had forgotten about my pale friend. I am not a big white wine drinker but I usually keep a bottle around for cooking and drinking with lighter meals. So my friend Clos du Bois chardonnay and a splash of chicken broth gave my loin a nice little sauna to steam in. I then tossed in a good amount of the mushrooms and popped it in the oven. Now, let me tell you, the best investment I ever made was a meat thermometer that I can insert in the meat and leave there while it cooks. 160 degrees F is medium for pork. Yes, it is safe to eat pork when it is cooked to medium. Overcooking pork is bad bad bad. Now repeat that 15 times. So I set my thermometer for 155 and let it come up to temp out of the oven. Meat will continue to cook out of the oven and the internal temp will raise 5-10 degrees. Handy thing to know as I reiterate overcooked pork (or any other meat) is bad bad bad.

While the meat rested, I mashed my potatoes with a smidge of margarine, milk and chives. Then I began reducing the sauce for the pork. Since I added wine and broth to the baking pan I had a good deal left over. I put that with the mushrooms in a skillet and let it go on pretty high heat. While it was reducing I heard William call from the other room, "Sure smells good in there!" When all was said and done, each of us had a generous pile of potatoes, some corn, and perfectly cooked slices of pork tenderloin on our plate with a reduced white wine and mushroom sauce (finished with a bit of butter). William is the exception. He won't touch a mushroom. I wouldn't either at his age so I don't argue. I just wanted him to eat a decent amount of food. If it's not pasta or pizza I usually hear a lot of protest and plan to sit at the dinner table for an hour cajoling him to eat.

Well, folks, I had filled his plate to let the food cool and by the time I had plated Matt's and my dinners I looked over and he had devoured his mashed potatoes and most of his corn was gone. As I was sitting down he shoved 5...yes 5 bites of meat into his mouth and was chewing for all it was worth. I had barely touched my food and he was asking for seconds. I commented that perhaps I need to make this dinner again sometime and both of the "men" in the family gave me a full mouthed "Mmm hmm!" YES!

Matt cleaned up every last scrap of meat and potatoes, William has his fill of seconds, and I took great pride in making my family happy by throwing together a meal that I had no plans for earlier in the day.

Dreaming

Ultimate dream #1- to publish a successful cookbook. Dream #2 - to cook along side Bobby Flay on Grill It! with Bobby Flay. My ultimate Food Network crush is Tyler Florance but I feel like I get Bobby's culinary perspective more. He does what I dream of...cook with spice. I love spice. Oh, how I love it. But my body betrays me and I am allergic to hot peppers. Alas! I do rebel from time to time and throw caution to the wind. I cook with peppers. I eat them followed by Benedryl.

But, holy cow, what would I give to have an Iron Chef give me the time of day???? I am so torn. Beef seems like the ultimate grilled food yet I think pork tenderloin could be my coup de grace. But it really is all just a dream. I can't plate, I would probably giggle if Matt tried to record me, and I'm not sure I have the confidence. I can't imagine anyone thinking I'm worthy of being on national television with a Food Network icon so I will sit back, watch, dream, and make my family culinarily happy. As my friends know me to say - le sigh. Let's hope spring comes soon and my best friend uncovers herself soon so I can make my family happy and get the small bit Mmmmm I dream of.

I couldn't decide what to make

So this morning I did a reconnaissance and found a beef roast, a pork loin, and chicken breasts in the freezer. I was stumped. Mainly because I'm low on sides and I want to keep things like roast for weekday crockpot meals. Mind you, I just read a book that makes me appreciate food all the more so I'm determined to make the best of what I've got. But, really, is there a shortage in today's world? No. I also found some andouille and my mind was made up. For dinner tonight we are saying to heck with calories and I'm making chicken breasts stuffed with diced ham (also found in the fridge) smothered in andouille gravy with garlic mashed potatoes and broccoli. If my family is displeased they can go to be hungry. Savages. ;)

Wishing you a tasty New Year!

We are homebodies on New Year's. It's not worth the hassle of crowds when we can eat and drink merrily at home. Plus December means William's birthday, Christmas, and our anniversary so we are usually pooped by December 31st.

Normally I am very seafood heavy on New Year's Eve but I am taking a different approach this year. I found this recipe weeks ago and have been dying to try it. However, I am not a fan of orange on my food so instead of the paprika sauce I am going to season the meat with smoked paprika and am creating a balsamic reduction in place of the sauce. I've been told goat cheese and balsamic is a perfect marriage. In addition, I am making my annual blue cheese and walnut stuffed mushrooms. Before you say "I don't like blue cheese (or walnuts)" you need to know my husband is not a fan of either but he devours these. They are simple and delicious. And because I'm feeling generous here is the recipe:

1 lb. medium-sized fresh whole mushrooms (about 40)
1 (8-oz.) container soft cream cheese with chives and onions
2 tablespoons chopped walnuts
2 tablespoons crumbled blue cheese
1/4 teaspoon dried basil leaves
Chopped fresh parsley

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Brush mushrooms or wipe clean with damp cloth. Remove stems from mushrooms; discard stems or reserve for another use.
2. Place mushroom caps, stem side up, in ungreased 15x10x1-inch baking pan. In medium bowl, combine all remaining ingredients except parsley; mix well. Spoon about 1 teaspoon mixture into each mushroom cap.
3. Bake at 350°F. for 15 to 20 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Sprinkle with parsley.

This recipe is easily halved or even quartered.

So those are the stars of the show but I also found some really pretty shrimp while shopping so I am serving shrimp cocktail (in martini glasses for a fun flair) along with a smoked salmon, cream cheese, and chive puree on endive leaves. These will keep us munching into the long evening. To wet my pallet I chose a prosecco which is tasty so far. ;)

We are planning dine after William goes to bed so we can have a nice relaxing meal. As for William, he has already had his "party" plate of Baby Bel cheese, baby dill pickles, bagel crisps, and a cookie. He also wanted to try sushi so I bought him a California roll but when push comes to shove he seems to be losing interest. Lunch for me tomorrow perhaps? Health is clearly not our focus tonight.

Tomorrow I am embracing a southern tradition and serving black eyed peas. I plan to make a soup of the black eyed peas and ham. I will probably also pull out the bread machine and make some homemade bread on the side as well.

Have a safe, fun, and tasty new year!

Happy Anniversary!

Well, folks, it's mine and Matt's anniversary. 8 years and still kickin'. While William was in day care, Matt and I used to take the day off and have a lunch date each year. We chose that option after our second anniversary when William was 22 days old (I honestly don't remember our first anniversary). I was desperate to get out of the house but William couldn't be left with anyone yet as I was still nursing and often. So we chose Applebee's car side to go and I had the honor of picking it up. It got me out of the house for a whole 15 minutes or so. LOL Then we settled in so we could eat and William decided it was time for his vittles too. So our first anniversary post-child was spent with me trying to eat over the head of a nursing baby.

After that, we decided a lunch date was the most practical. Well, this year William is in kindergarten and there is no day care anymore. He's home with me all day and Matt worked today. But something had to be done so I decided to make a special dinner. My choice...rib eye steaks, twice baked potatoes, and corn. We enjoyed this along with a bottle of Clos du Bois that my dad bought me for Christmas.

Let me tell you a little about my twice baked potatoes. I think I found the original recipe for these in Gourmet magazine. Of course, I had to tweak it and, while I'm happy to share how I make this, once again keep in mind I don't measure. So this is close to the original but I use more or less of some of the ingredients (mostly more). To Matt these are the only twice baked potatoes and steak is not the same without them. Without further ado...

Rena's Special Twice Baked Potatoes
2 medium to large potatoes (I prefer red but russet would work too)
4 oz. white mushrooms (crimini are also yummy), brushed clean, stems removed and rough chopped
2 green onions, chopped
3 T. butter, divided
2-3 oz. cream cheese
sour cream
shredded cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste (I prefer kosher salt)
French fried onions, optional

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Bake the potatoes using whatever method you prefer. Personally, I "bake" them in the microwave to save time. While the potatoes are baking, melt 1 T. butter in a small skillet. Add the mushrooms and saute until browned. Salt and pepper as desired. Add the green onions and saute 1 minute or so until you start to smell the onions. Take off the heat.

Place the remaining 2 T. butter in a medium bowl. Cut the potatoes in half length-wise and scoop the pulp into the bowl. Leave about 1/4 inch of a "shell" in each potato peel. Mash the potatoes and butter together until the butter is incorporated. Add the cream cheese and at least a serving spoon sized dollop of sour cream (enough to make the mixture moist and fairly smooth). Stir in the as much cheese as you like and salt and pepper to taste. Then add the mushroom mixture and stir.

Divide the mixture evenly among the potato skins. Bake for 30 minutes. If desired, sprinkle French fried onions over the top for the last 5 minutes of baking.

You will never buy pre-made twice baked potatoes again.

Let the Christmas baking begin

I actually feel a little behind this year but I think that is because I am scaling back so I'm not starting as soon as I normally do. There year there will be no Christmas candy. I'm not that good at making it and we rarely eat all of it. My speciality is cookies and I've narrowed that down to a handful of our favorites. Matt will get his favorite chocolate star cookies and, of course, William will help bake some sugar cookies for Santa. Don't worry, there will be plenty for everyone though and they will have lots of icy and sprinkles. My guys love their sweet icing. To a few of those I plan to add some cocoa to make chocolate reindeer. And a sleeper hit from Christmas past will be eggnog cookies which, ironically, contain no eggnog. When I first made them Matt was skeptical but he ended up loving them.

Also on tap is a gingerbread cake with a cream cheese topping, pecan "surprise" pie, and perhaps a pumpkin pie just because we all love pumpkin pie.

Later I'll get into Christmas dinner. And our weight loss plan for 2011.

The Christmas Cookbooks are Collecting Dust

O.K., so not really because I read them all year long but for the first time in I can't remember how long I am not making a Christmas Day or Eve dinner for a large crowd. My husband's family gets together on Christmas Eve and it's one big meal and celebration. Grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins. You name it they will be there. Last year we hosted for the first time and I was in heaven. I loved opening my home, my heart, and my table to the family that I am now fortunate enough to call my own.

Before that I always had the immediate family over on Christmas Day for dinner. Last year I decided it was getting to be too much. I was focusing too much on the meal and stressing myself out. They were in no way contributing to the stress. It's all me for as much as I love to cook, I put too much pressure on myself and it was time for a break. And I was starting to lose sight of the season's greatest gift...time with my son. So I'm on hiatus for a while with Christmas dinner. But, as I said, we hosted Christmas Eve last year so I still got to scratch that entertaining itch. And William is already asking when we will have another "Christmas party" so he's ready as well.

I just booked my dad's flight tonight so he will join us over Christmas and I will cook a Christmas dinner. It just won't be to the scale that I'm used to. Matt will probably rejoice when he sees my December grocery bill. That doesn't mean the meal won't be special though. Since my dressing disaster on Thanksgiving I vow there will be dressing on Christmas day. And probably turkey. That's just the thing in my family and I do love turkey. We'll see what else I conjure up.

In the meantime I am going to work on a shopping list and cook enough to get me by until then. It is called the Christmas season after all so my cooking isn't limited to one day. Though it's not knock your socks off exciting, I'm thinking chili is on the menu for Saturday as we may get our first snowfall. Even if the snow doesn't come it will be cold and chili is never a bad thing. Then I hope to get my family interested in a family Christmas movie night and prepare some snacks that will calm any snack attacks. I also have some eggnog in the fridge that needs a purpose. Eggnog French toast or waffles one morning perhaps? Hmmmm And if we do end up with this early in the season snowfall William and I must bake cookies. I'm feeling a monster cookie with holiday M&M's perhaps.

I am typing this by the light of Christmas lights and already feeling that sense of sadness and dread that comes at the end of the season. But, by golly, I've barely started to live it up so it's time to put a smile on my face and fatten up the family.

My Thanksgiving Disaster

I pride myself on cooking under pressure. The simple fact is I love to entertain and my main focus is for my family and guests to enjoy my food while feeling relaxed and de-stressed. There have been moments when my dear, "I'll try anything once" husband has suggested I consider catering since I love to put together delicious delights...who has the time. BUT...this Thanksgiving went as wrong as wrong could be. I bought a 21 pound turkey which, according to every source I consulted, should cook in about 4 1/2 hours. Since I got up at 6:30 and had the turkey in by 7:00 I was expecting it to be out of the oven around 11:30 to 12:00 just in time to put the sides in the oven. So here was the disaster...

I noticed my turkey thermometer was rising more rapidly than I had hoped. By 10:00 it was signally the minimum done temp. I gave it another boost on the temp. At 10:30 another signal. Crud! I pulled the turkey out and by all signs it was done! How did that happen??? So I had to figure out how to keep a turkey hot and bacteria free for another 2 1/2 hours as we were eating at 1:00. I put the roasting pan on the back burner of my oven which stays hot and kept checking on it...salmonella be damned!

So next, I mixed my dressing and what a beautiful dressing it looked to be. I placed the baking dish on the counter next to the oven for the right time to put it in. And did I mention dressing is my favorite Thanksgiving dish? Yes, sir. I love dressing! Minutes before it was time to put the dressing in the oven I decided to go ahead and carve the turkey. I carefully lifted the heavy beast and started to move it to a sizable counter top when I felt a slight tug and heard *CRASH SPLAT* I had forgotten the thermometer was still in the bird and the cable was behind the pan of dressing. There was my precious, perfect uncooked dressing on the floor in a sloppy heap of bread and shattered glass. I won't mention my favorite, hard to find sized baking dish that is now is Pyrex heaven. At this point I wanted to crumple in a heap and cry. It was too late to even call anyone to bring Stove Top IF they could find an open store.

And, oh yes, there is more. The gravy. By golly if I was going to have a dry, bacteria laden turkey I was going to have excellent gravy to ladle on top. So I took tip from Food Network and put my roasting pan full of delightful drippings across two burners and added some flour and, perhaps, a hail Mary. I stirred and seasoned and took delight in the thickness that ensued. I tasted and holy mother of all that is good and pure...YUCK! Really? Fortunately I had some boxed turkey broth on hand and whipped up a reasonable substitute.

Have I said finally yet? Because if I haven't this is it because I can't take much more. My mother-in-law is diabetic. I wanted to wow her for dessert and whip up a fabulous sugar-free pecan pie. She loves pecan pie. Oh how I mixed and baked and delighted at the sight of it. I even artistically arranged pecans in a delightful pattern on top. She ate it without complaint. Then I tasted it. I still don't know how she finished it. Let's just say the remainder of the pie went into the trash after everyone left and I owe her a pie she can indulge in.

Despite all of this my family gave me a multitude of compliments. One of our nieces even ate pumpkin pie to the surprise of her dad. But, to me, I failed. I hate when anything in the kitchen goes wrong. If I have an off night and Matt and William are not pleased with dinner I either make a mental note never to serve that again or figure out how to fix it. So to blow a holiday dinner was a major defeat.

My blog is about my love of food and the fun I have but, let me tell you my followers, I'm still licking my wounds after this shame of a meal.