Grana Padano + Prosciutto Brodo
Ahhh! People. I have two days off. Yes. Working six days a week is not sustainable as I showed myself last Monday when I almost fell asleep standing up as I was making potato gnocchi. As I stood there, rolling little potato ball after potato ball on to the gnocchi board, I started to lose the concept of what gnocchi should look like. I have forgotten what it is like to actually enjoy a day off and not have to jam pack it with laundry, dishes, nail clipping (for the dog) and recipe experiments. Now I can check out new restaurants I have been meaning to try, and also have another night to cook out of a new cookbook and spend quality time with Erik. And, I can actually take a nap in the middle of the day and not feel like I am wasting valuable hours to get stuff done. Read the rest of this entry »
Thai Green Curry with Shrimp and Mussels
Not much to say today. I have a lot to do, and not enough time to do it. I am hosting an Indian-themed dinner club where I am making Raita, Laccha, Murgh Makhni (Butter Chicken), Pork Vindaloo, Ghee, Basmati Rice and Naan. Actually, I am buying the Naan. Lets not get ahead of ourselves here. I have never made bread before (don’t judge me) and I am CERTAINLY not going to start with NAAN! That would be a nightmare. It would probably give me an eye twitch, or an upper back spasm which is my new constant companion while cooking for a long time. Read the rest of this entry »
Smoky Ham and Corn Chowder
Sunday Night Dinner. A weekly tradition. A bunch of hungry boys over six-feet tall. And me.
This is a recipe from a cookbook that I got from my mother in law, Colleen, for Christmas. I love it because it is titled “Big Night In”, which is of course right up my alley. Every single recipe in the book could be cooked for Sunday Night Dinner. And will be.
What you see to the left of the soup is a popover. Yes. I know, it looks nothing like a popover. I used popover batter and ended up putting it in muffin tins. Delicious, but definitely not “popping” over the muffin tin. Rob, however, made me make a second batch. Read the rest of this entry »
Cornbread-Stuffed Cornish Game Hens
Thanksgiving will be here before we know it! I am having 10+ people this year to celebrate. Basically, it is just an excuse to cook all day and have the people I love all together.
I have not planned my menu yet. I have been perusing through old Bon Appetit, and Food and Wine magazines from November months. Reading other people’s blogs, I see that most people are starting to get prepared. I have even been getting a tally of what my guests are making when they come to my house for Thanksgiving, so that I can check those items off the list. Why is everyone else so prepared?!
This year I think I am going to bite the bullet, and spend the extra money on a Heritage Turkey. I just want to see what all the fuss is about. I am also going to dry-brine it, because wet brining to me is a hassle and I don’t have any extra space in my fridge for a garbage-can sized bucket of turkey juice.
These cornish game hens are just a little taste of Thanksgiving before the big day. But I need to stop stalling and prepare my menu!
Are you prepared yet for your Thanksgiving meal?
Butternut Squash Soup with Fried Sage
Erik and I just got back from Santa Fe on tour with a couple of members of my ballet company. We had a wonderful time, and ate TONS of delicious mexican food. However, I am going to need to go on a mexican cleanse for about a month.
Erik and I also got the opportunity to eat at Cafe Pasqual’s (more on this later). It is a James Beard Award winning restaurant that ironically my Mother had told me about six years ago when she vacationed in Santa Fe. She even bought me a cookbook, but at that time, I was definitely not into cooking. My response was probably, “Thanks Mom”, with one of the plastered grins. But, who knew that she gave me a gift that I would find useful many years later? Now I have the famous Cafe Pasqual’s cookbook, and I plan to make many recipes from it now that I have been exposed to the restaurant.
But, enough of Santa Fe. Yesterday was my first day back at work. Fall is in the air in Seattle, and I was just craving butternut squash soup. I made this recipe up as I went along, and it turned out spectacular. I can definitely see it for a first course of an elegant fall dinner.
True Cod with Latin-Stewed Eggplant
Tonight, Erik and I had our good friends Dane and Rob over for dinner. We tend to almost always have a Sunday night “family” dinner. These boys are like my brothers, and of course, I have become “one of the guys”.
This meal was a hit! Light, and delicious, and perfect while watching the Olympics. It would be counter-intuitive to be eating something heavy, and unhealthy while watching conditioned athletes compete.
I got this recipe idea from Daisy Martinez out of the September 2008 Everyday with Rachael Ray magazine. I love the Latin combination of sun-dried tomatoes, eggplant, coconut milk, and cumin. This dish was inspired by a recipe that Daisy had in the Dominican Republic.
I tried true cod for this recipe, but there were also black cod and ling cod to chose from at Whole Foods. I am sure you could use whichever one that you preferred.
Blue Cheese Onion Butternut Frittata
I love having breakfast for dinner! This meal is more of a method than a recipe. You can use any cheese, any vegetable, any meat, but cook it the same way, and it will turn out wonderfully. Frittatas are meant to clean out your refrigerator. The only ingredients I had to buy for this dinner were the squash and the bread. Everything else, I had! I want to thank Donna Hay again for her creative inspiration for this dish in her cookbook “the instant cook”. This meal is fun to eat, and delicious! Enjoy.
Spicy Spaghetti and Turkey Meatballs
I love comfort food, however, it is not necessarily the best for you all the time. This is why I like this recipe. It uses whole wheat pasta and ground turkey instead of ground beef. The sauce is definitely a little spicy, so if you want to avoid the heat, you can leave out the chipotle in adobo.
