I've been down for the count since Thursday night. Almost recovered and then we did a family dinner at my favorite restaurant, Flat Iron, and I think I took two steps backwards from recovering from my cold. .
Hubbub made cream puffs for dessert. ..so good. Very aiding on my throat too!
I write this functioning at about 60%.
My body and mind aren't all together on the same page right now.
Yesterday I woke up with a tickle in my throat. ..and by the time my porketta was ready that evening I knew the night would not end well.
...I like to butterfly the pork, center cut piece is what I buy. And stuff it with fresh basil leaves from outside, loads of garlic, and herbs.
325 for 40 min per pound. I surround the pork with sweet potato, carrots, onions, tomato. .all coarsely cut and fairly thick (pending cook time)
...there's something about a simple white wine vinegar dressing salad to accompany the pork that just can't be matched (so far).
...God damn it's good.
So anyway. .I'm feeling terrible and my mother is still in town and so she offered to make me the famous home remedy tea. I love this stuff, swear by it, and always try to drink it when I'm ill (but when someone else makes it for you, and you can just take it in without the hassle on top of feeling awful it really makes a difference. ..
The cure :
Slices of ginger,garlic, lemon, honey, and hot water.
Recently I've started throwing in a chamomile bag as well.
. ...I feel like I'm leaving something out. .but I can't think straight.
Fortunately leftovers are for dinner tonight.
I've come to odds with oil twice in the last few days... and I need a break from her.
First, I'm trying to make a nice meal for my mother, husband, and his friend...I decided to do my baked chicken with a colorful arrangement on the plate. .and I accidently make my marinade with olive oil instead of butter. .how stupid. Chicken doesn't really brown right or get crispy when I bake it with oil (at least not this method of 500 degrees for 20min) ...just totally fell short of what I was going for.
Butter for the win. ..always.
when in doubt - butter.
Next. .
Tried my hand at kefta, a middle eastern ground beef dish that I never get right compared to my in laws who have it in their blood. I used veg. Oil, like they do, to basically drown/cook the patties in..and oil splattered all over the kitchen,..the stove, the counters, my shirt, etc. I'm dodging the little boiling balls with the pan lid up between me and the source, spatula up like a sword. And again. ..the dish just didn't do it, my fault. Lacking some of the spice.
Saving grace for that dish was the leftovers. .. a tabuli kefta sandwich with cheese.
Meanwhile. ..I am in the process of bringing back to life a veg garden that has been dormant for years. ...trying to find the time to clear it and get it ready before winter so next spring I can actually use it. Wish me luck.
Sometimes home is where your mom is, even when you're a mom.
As ahah a moment as it was, we're a funny bunch and so today seeing my mother feed me (indirectly, of course, ) lunch, while I fed my own babe. ..
Such a crazy thing.
Food helps the soul connect with the moments in life that you will reflect on later.
Not really.
My baby's middle name is Roux and tonight my mother and I made a lovely white Roux (sauce) to go on top of a spinach ricotta ravioli.
(As I mentioned in my previous post my mother is in town and I plan to cook up a storm! ) but no, I did not make the ravioli tonight, they were bought from my favorite local farm stand.
I served the ravioli on top of a thin bed of carrots and zucchini that I had used a peeler to try to get a spaghetti look. And some diced tomato on top of it all as a garnish.
It was lovely.
And Roux enjoyed the roux....
White Roux:
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp four
1 1/4 milk
Melt butter and add flour...stirring a minute or so until you cook it. Be careful not to brown.
Add hot milk slowly, stirring profusely as to work out lumps..bring to boil, then simmer (keep stirring for the length of this entire cook)
...now, my Cordon Bleu book does not appear to suggest seasoning (but I did jump ahead to be able to use the recipe floor tonight's meal) but it was needed so I added some salt, pepper,and parmessian.
My mother just came to visit; got in late last night..so tonight was our first dinner together since my. ...found appreciation and desire for food and cooking has really gone full throttle.
I was nervous to cook. Almost set myself up to have nothing cohesive in the house. ... after all, I was cooking for the woman who cooked for me my whole childhood and early adulthood. My early memories are of her food. ..
..it's a lot to live up to. And the fact that when I was young I apparently told her "I'll never learn to cook, I'll hire someone to cook for me! " - god knows where I got that sense of worth as I've never even witnessed such a thing.
We went out thrift store shopping earlier in the day and I actually found an amazing set of dishes. .grand total 10 dollars (marked down from 20 sure to stupidity I wouldn't dare argue)...I got three different sized plates sets and a couple cups.
And my god, do these plates make a difference.
I'll call this Chicken Stewla Sur la Riz.
All I wanted was to smell that initial transition when you add white wine to a hot pan of miscellaneous ingredient. ...
So we just had your basic risotto last night. Onions. Parm.
Garnished with a parsley sprig.
And a salad with a balsamic -mustard dressing.
Risotto is so filling. .it is easily a main course in my home.
Saturday night. The eve of another, yet definitely superior meal by my beloved.
Vichyssoise.. in a bread bowl
Perfect veg. .. and breaded chicken.
Absolutely fantastic.
But....way too much food. We both agreed.
If the potato & leek soup had been served in a little cup. .as an appetizer. .then onto a refined serving of the chicken and veg. ..mucho better.
I put some vichy in a jar for baby and she loved it. Two birds one stone!
...I would go on to use the leftover chicken into Sunday night's meal which was yummy. I sautéed thinly cut carrots, zucchini, cherry tomatoes, and the leftover chicken. ..and served it on top of a radish scallion salad with a lemon dressing. It was light and summery. .and it will happen again!
This Saturday morning is special. ..
My 10 month old daughter finally slept through the night, which means, for the first time in well over a year I slept well. So today, I woke with gusto! ....and dog pee in the hallway. (They got let outside a little late because I slept in till 7!)
I cleaned up the kitchen from last night's "it's not delivery, it's. .." that kind of Friday night.
Put the water on to boil and chopped up a local apple and pear, to simmer in water, and then puree for baby.
Put my new book on the table to read. ..
My husband is encouraging me to follow this passion to cook and learn the fundamentals. I can't go take classes for monetary and situational reasons but I think I can get around it. So he had been surprising me, books have been getting delivered. .the latest and best one, my new bible. ..Le Cordon Bleu Complete Cooking Techniques !!!
Sat down with my coffee, plate of cheese (Doux De Montagne) and bread... baby and hubbub come down the stairs and we all sit down with our respective items. .
Mug of oj... jar of puree. .and me & mine.
So lovely. ..
Enjoy your weekend and every moment.
I decided to wing it last night while trying to use up the last of my fresh veggies before they got a little long in the tooth. .
The cilantro had gone bad which is really the only thing I would have added to this dish, otherwise it was fantastic. .very tasty and easy to recreate.
First boil an ear off corn and let cool so you can shill it and add to the mix later. ..
Take 4 pieces of organic boneless skinless chicken thighs. Season. ..I do a generous amount of red pepper and spices, knowing it will spread on to the rest of the mix.
Heat a big pan with oil...a high to medium high heat and add chicken, to brown more so than cook through. ..I did around 2-3 minutes on each side. ..then add fresh chopped carrots, yellow onion, and I added a can (because I was out of tomatoes) of diced tomatoes with green pepper, the corn from earlier, and garlic if you like!
...leave covered to simmer for about 15min. Taste and apply more seasoning. .
Juicy ass chicken thighs to follow.
I served it over rice with a side of simple greens with lemon dressing.
Even baby M enjoyed some of the corn and chicken.
My husband wanted to cook dinner last night, and I was feeling a bit apathetic about a meal so I happily released my reigns of the kitchen.
My first meal with him ever was back in our first year of college..maybe 2007. .he invited me over and cooked. Back then he really enjoyed making desserts. .things like chocolate mousse.
He made a fatouche salad with whatever the main course was (I forget now), this is the first time I was introduced to red wine vinegar. (It was love at first taste) Him and his family would come to really open my palette for middle eastern food.
He was very organized and tidy then. ..
Now, when he cooks I basically need to walk behind him with a sponge and cleaner... I could make a full plate of food with the droppings. Haha.. (sorry hun, you know I adore you)
So tonight he saw a picture of a meal and wanted to create it (mind you he did not want to read the recipe that went alongside the image)
....it ended up being delicious!
Turkey sausage cooked and then shredded/diced, shallot,garlic, carrots, rice, and tomato paste ..all scrambled together and then inside a roasted green pepper. (I did not witness the spice he undoubtedly added though. ..if I were to guess I would say red pepper, variety of herbs, maybe paprika? ..salt, pepper).
We had conflicting thoughts on garnish. .he thought ginger would compliment it and I disagreed thinking cilantro (being that it was the only other thing in the fridge that looked the part for a garnish).
Notice both garnishes in the photo. Haha
Ginger did not work. ..but the cilantro was nice.
Overall definitely a dish to evolve and repeat!
Maybe turn the garnish into a garlic cilantro sauce or something fun.
A slightly belated birthday dinner for the hubbos.
Never made ribs before. .. looked through a couple recipes after having decided to purchase the pork baby backs.
Marinated them in a dry rub and a bbq sauce for about. .9 hours. Oven at 250 for 2.5 hours. .then remove, flip upside-down and add more sauce and return to oven for another 30min...then let sit for 10-15min.
...could barely keep the meat on the bone!
...I'm not really a ribs kind of gal but I could do this again and it really didn't require much effort.
On a side note. ..we are getting pretty low on propane for our oven/stove. .so I should be more mindful of using it until we can get it refilled. ... (pending funds)
Made a fatouche on the side.
Baby M loved the pork. Unfortunately there was little left for treats for the pups...
Back to my favorite restaurant tonight. ..
I still wasn't ready for another filet mignon. When you get a real divine piece of red meat you can go awhile before the craving sets in. ..or so that is how it's come to work for me.
When I was 7 or 8 months pregnant I had come to the restaurant and was sad that I could not have a rare steak so I looked through the short menu for something. ..and maybe it was my twisted food cravings and taste buds but I went straight for the Russian Boar Schnitzel. Something about the sound of the thin breaded meat topped with a poached egg and capers..mmmm. (unfortunately it does not seem to photograph well. ..see photo)
It was amazing. I raved about it until now. My mind had even wandered to it at times of hunger.
So tonight I ordered it again and was a little disappointed and way too full (I guess I was only eating for one now). It was a nice enough meal. .but that real pizzazz that floored my cravings once did not tonight.
But...
My husband ordered dessert. .the chocolate souffle. My god. Chocolate Silk Air. It's the only way I could describe the two bites I stole. It was heavenly. ...
And with that, I say cheers and goodnight.
The last couple of nights have been a hodge podge of meals. ...
This and that. .. and using up what's in the fridge before it turns.
Had a little too much meat the last few days and tomorrow night we are going out for dinner at my favorite place, Flat Iron. (I've mentioned this place. .best local foods in the entire Hudson Valley, NY) ...
So tonight I just did a simple fajita mix. .. green and red peppers and onion. ..stir fry.. a little Spanish rice on top if desired. Topped with fresh cilantro. ..so fresh you can smell it across the room. (I like to share the smells of fresh goods with my little one. ..starting her senses and palette off with a bang! )
