Christmas dinner was just right

It was just the three of us for Christmas dinner this year. I poured through cookbooks, scoured my favorite foodie websites and mulled it over for days. What in the world would we have for dinner? I grew up with this particular holiday being a "thing."

My parents always hosted a Christmas open house, all 22 years I lived at home and even before I was born. It was quite a production. We started welcoming guests about 1 p.m. and sent the last ones home about 2 a.m. the next morning. Both of my parents have large families, and one year I counted -- 72 people came to our party.

The gathering itself was casual, with food served buffet style mostly in the dining room. On the table, Mom used a tablecloth my Dad's grandmother made. It is white with a red embroidery pattern. Mom put a piece of hard plastic down over it that was the same size as the table, which helped keep it white all those years. I'm really glad she did, since now it's mine. The slow cookers with meatballs and sausage and hot roast beef for sandwiches were in the kitchen. We had chairs and small tables set up everywhere and somehow, we had enough room. Usually my Mom's family came in the afternoon, and my Dad's family came at night. Friends and neighbors dropped in here and there.

We cooked for days to get ready. My Mom didn't really like to cook, but she had these party preparations down to a science. She had a folder of recipes we used every year. Some things were added and some we dropped if they weren't popular. There was always ambrosia, jello mold with fruit, coleslaw and potato salad (more on the McGarry potato salad in a future post), macaroni salad, pineapple casserole and petit fours from a local bakery.

We also opened our presents and had our family Christmas at night, usually after midnight mass. Then it was up and at 'em early on Christmas day, chopping vegetables and spooning out dishes we'd made the day before. It was a lot of work, but I enjoyed it.

I knew I wouldn't have to cook for days for just the three of us, but I still wanted to do something special (without spending all day in the kitchen). Hello London Broil.
I marinated the meat for about three hours, in nothing more than equal parts olive oil and balsamic vinegar, a really big clove of smashed garlic and some black pepper. I caramelized some shallots and made a butter with those, salt and pepper and fresh thyme. I sauteed some pancetta and shallots to go with green beans, and I made some potatoes. I boiled small Yukon gold potatoes, smashed them a little and drizzled with a little olive oil. Some salt and pepper and shredded cheddar and they were ready for the broiler after the steak was finished. And that was it. Simple in terms of effort, yet fancy enough to call it a holiday meal. It was just what I wanted for my family. I hope all of you enjoyed your family celebrations as much as I enjoyed ours.

Christmas Cheer and Making Messes

I really felt the need to bake Christmas cookies this year. I knew we didn't need to eat five batches of cookies, but I really wanted to bake. Jeffrey came up with the perfect solution.

The Let's PLAY! children's workshop holiday showcase was this Saturday at Brunswick Little Theatre, and he thought it would be nice to have cookies and cider for the kids and their parents and friends who came to see the show.

I was going to write this blog post about the cookies I made, but I took a picture of the aftermath in the kitchen, and knew this post had to be about something else. So here's the short version on the cookie deal. We (yes, it was a group effort) made pumpkin cookies with a brown sugar glaze, peanut butter blossom cookies with peanut butter-filled chocolate chips on top instead of Hershey Kisses (not what we intended but it totally worked out) and shortbread chocolate chip cookies with cinnamon sugar. 

Our little reception got rave reviews. The kids loved the cookies, and so did the adults. One little girl asked me if I made a certain cookie and when I said yes, she told me I should do that more often. :-) What a nice feeling it was to see everyone enjoying themselves during and after the show. 

So this is what the kitchen looked like after we were done baking. Now, I did my own share of the mess-making, but Jeffrey surpassed my efforts when he was left unsupervised to work on the shortbread cookies. 

There is just so much "us" in this picture. There's a Mickey plate in the background. It's a plate, but we keep it propped up against the backsplash so we can see it because, well, it's Mickey. There's a bottle of Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce on the counter. Not cookie related, of course, but we have a long-running joke about Lea & Perrins since I once scoffed at Jeffrey for even thinking of buying something other than "the name" in Worcestershire sauce. There is a pint glass we used to dip in the cinnamon sugar. The bowl of sugar is a baby bowl that the boy has long outgrown but I now use for a variety of things in the kitchen. The flour container, seen behind the pint glass, says "Instant Milky White." See, it was used during BLT's production of "Into the Woods" this summer. They used flour to make the fake Milky White cow and the boy holding it, well, somewhat Milky. There was obviously a mini chocolate chip spill, and there's a new stain on that page of the cookie cookbook. 

That's the Stites life in a nutshell. There's always a story, and though sometimes it's messy, it's always full of love and joy.  

Breakfast fit for a Princess

We recently went to Disney World for a quick weekend trip. It's only a nine or ten-hour drive, so why not? One of the highlights of the trip, for me at least, was the Princess breakfast at Akershus, the restaurant in Norway at Epcot. One of our Disney secrets is that we make breakfast reservations at a park before the park opens -- then we can be in the park when it is empty!

Breakfast was actually really good. It was a buffet for breads, muffins, fruits, cold salads and four kinds of cold fish. I did not try any of the fish, but Jeffrey said they were good. I did have the lingonberry cream cheese, which was delicious. Eggs, potato casserole and breakfast meats were served family style at the table. It's an expensive breakfast, but you do get to see a lot of Princesses.

Once everyone is seated and drinks are being served, it's showtime.
The day we were there, we had visits from Cinderella, Ariel, Snow White and Sleeping Beauty. We also had our picture taken with Belle before we entered the dining room; an 8x10 is brought to your table during breakfast. I loved Cinderella's dress. Snow White looked perfect and she even had the Princess voice down pat. Sleeping Beauty and Belle were breathtakingly beautiful. But Jeffrey was right -- Ariel was the best. She looked the part, as they all did. But the woman playing her nailed Ariel's personality. She was friendly, bubbly and she giggled.

Naturally, I wore my tiara, which all the Princesses complimented. It was truly a royal feast, and I didn't even care that we might have been the only family there without a little girl.

Cranberry Sauce -- Nothing this good should come from a can

One of our staple items for holiday dinners now is Cranberry Sauce, and I don't mean the solid block that makes a squelching noise when you pour it out of a can. I mean good, tasty, whole berry cranberry sauce. Made with actual cranberries.

It's really easy to make, and I can almost guarantee that once you make it from scratch, you will never buy the stuff in a can again. Now, don't get me wrong...we have all used the can, and in a pinch, it's ok to substitute. But give this recipe a shot. It's one of those recipes that will make everyone think you put in a lot more effort than you really did.

Here's how simple it is. The recipe is even on the bag if you get Ocean Spray Cranberries. That's the only brand my stores in the middle of nowhere carriy anyway, so I just roll with what I've got.

Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 12-ounce package Ocean Spray® Fresh Cranberries

Directions:
Combine sugar and water in a medium saucepan. Bring to boil; add cranberries, return to boil. Reduce heat and boil gently for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cover and cool completely at room temperature. Refrigerate until serving time. Makes 2 1/4 cups.

And that's it. Pretty much if you can boil water, you can make this recipe. We have leftovers of course, and I think I'll try this recipe for oatmeal cranberry bars.

Time to end the blog hiatus and 'thyme' to make some soup

I have been neglecting my blog. I sort of have a halfway real excuse, but not really. I hurt one of my knees in March, and the other in  August. I've been doing lots of physical therapy and then I had surgery and now I'm doing physical therapy again. I am making huge progress but I still have a ways to go.

I've just been so tired.

And I've been struggling with the idea of not actually being invincible.

And did I mention I've been tired? This healing business is tough work. My energy is sapped some days. Not exactly ideal conditions for the creative juices to be flowing, but I think I am over feeling sorry for myself. It's time to reset and regroup. Sometimes things happen that knock you off your course for a bit, and it can be tough to get it back on track. I guess what I am trying to say in a really long roundabout way is that I may have been off my game but I am ready to get off the bench.

So today we are making chicken and rice soup. I feel a cold coming on and it is frigid outside and rainy. Soup is just the thing today. My trusty sous chef John jumped right in to help, and he chopped the celery and carrots. I chopped the onion and chicken. I cooked the chicken a little in a skillet first, because I really wanted it to have good flavor. I used a little olive oil and salt and pepper. Just before I took it off the heat, I added dried rosemary, mostly because we were out of thyme. But rosemary goes great with poultry too. We sweated the veggies in some butter and seasoned with salt and pepper. We added low-sodium chicken stock (you won't miss the salt, trust me) and it is happily bubbling away on low heat. We're going to let it cook for a little while before we check for seasoning. We're not going to eat until I get home from cantata practice and Jeff is home from the theatre, so we're going to cook the rice but add it to the soup later. We also got some Pillsbury crescent rolls just because they're good.

We don't have a recipe for this one, but here's what we used: one bag of baby carrots (cut into halves or thirds) one bunch of celery diced to match the carrots in size, half a large onion (diced), three chicken breasts and three boxes of stock. I won't know until later if this turns out ok, but I can say that it smells amazing in out kitchen right now.

I'm glad I am writing again and I hope you are too.

Missing My Kitchen

It has been a really busy summer. Somehow it just got away from us and before we knew it, it was back to school time and the summer was over. I have also been nursing one and then the other knee with injuries, and will actually have surgery soon. I haven't been able to stand for long period of times and walking around a lot is also difficult. Long story short, I haven't been cooking, really cooking, much. Oh we've had dinner at home a lot. But nothing that sticks out. No new recipes. No complicated dishes and no hanging out in the kitchen to cook elaborate meals.

I didn't realize how much I would miss it.

I really do enjoy trying new things in the kitchen or even making some of our tried and true favorites. I am cooking tonight, though dinner will be late. Jeffrey had a long day after a long week and is asleep on the couch. John is watching YouTube videos and I am blogging while the meat is cooking. We're having lemon garlic chicken thighs (with thyme, olive oil and salt and pepper). Next I'll get started on the mashed potatoes and cook some carrots. Nothing super fancy, just a good old-fashioned home cooked dinner. I am still hurting, and I'll get John to help me if I need it, but I just wanted to cook since we are all actually home tonight.

Can't wait until it's time to eat!

Date Night Part 2 - Cooking with My Sweet Baboo

Boy have we been busy. The three of us have been working as backstage help for Brunswick Little Theatre's production of "Into the Woods" and I haven't had much time to write. But I do want to share our other recent date night story.

You may have already read about our fabulous dinner out at Mr. P's Bistro while John was visiting his grandparents in PA. Another night we had a date night of sorts at home. We love to cook together, and risotto is the perfect couples dish to cook.

Risotto takes time to cook. Not a long time, but enough that we can have a glass of wine and take turns stirring (that's Jeffrey's thumb in the picture). This night, I tried a new chicken dish with garlic and lemons. Check out the recipe here. As usual, I used it as sort of a guide and made some tweaks. I didn't use a whole bulb of garlic because that seemed a bit much. And I used dried thyme because that's what I had. I also used just chicken thighs. So I got the chicken going and then Jeff and I cooked risotto. We made Parmesan risotto that night. We have made risotto enough times that I don't look at a recipe anymore. And I don't really measure anything besides the stock and the rice. When we first started cooking risotto, we used this Rachael Ray recipe. Now when we make it, we usually start by cooking some diced Pancetta. (Look for a future blog post on why Pancetta makes everything better). We take the cooked Pancetta out and cook the shallots in the pan (we add a little butter to the Pancetta grease). I also put in a little salt and pepper at this stage. Then we pour in the rice and get it nice and toasty. Then we add wine. Risotto is traditionally made with white wine, but sometimes we like to be rebels and use red instead. We also do the "add wine and reduce it down" step twice. If once is good, then twice is better, right? Then we add the stock (chicken with white wine and beef with red wine) little by little until it is all gone and the risotto is creamy. And then it's time to eat.

We do like a good risotto. But that's just part of the reason to cook it. We also like having some wine and good conversation. Our attention is focused only on the task at hand and each other. We don't mind that it takes a while to get dinner on the table. The journey to the dinner table (or TV trays in the living room so we can watch a good Disney movie while eating) is easily half the fun.

Date night dinner....Part 1

This past week the boy was on vacation, visiting with his grandparents, aunt and uncle and cousins. We took the opportunity to have a dinner date.

We went to Mr. P.'s Bistro in Southport. Local friends, if you have never been...what are you waiting for? It is still my favorite place to eat a fancy dinner out with my honey.

It was a Monday night,

so it was not that busy. We decided to go on a whim. That turned out to be a really good decision, because I am not sure we could have had a night out that week otherwise between long work hours for Jeff, rehearsals for Into the Woods and just a busy schedule in general.

I was really in the mood for a steak, so I chose the Filet Mignon. It is served with a caramelized onion and bourbon butter. (You're salivating now, aren't you? Go ahead, admit it). It came served with roasted potatoes and a vegetable. I picked the fried green tomatoes. Don't judge. It counts as a vegetable. Sort of. Jeff wanted seafood so he ordered the fresh red snapper stuffed with crab meat. He also got the potatoes and the fried green tomatoes.

Our dinners were cooked perfectly. I could have cut the steak, which I ordered medium-rare, with a fork

because it was so tender. The potatoes had just a hint of salt and pepper and the fried green tomatoes were crispy and not the least bit greasy. To go along with the date night theme, we ordered fancy cocktails. Mine was a flavored cosmo-type drink and Jeff had the Southport Streetcar -- Maker's Mark, Cointreau and lemon juice in a martini glass rimmed with sugar. It was so good in fact, that he had two. Which made him a little giggly and I had to drive home. After we sat on a bench at the waterfront for a while. It was not hot, the breeze felt wonderful and the company was even better. All in all, a great success.

Yes, this was an expensive dinner. It's not something we can do every day, or every month for that matter. But we have to treat ourselves sometimes. We like good food, so a nice dinner out is a good date for us. We all get busy, and it is important to set time aside to remind ourselves and each other that we matter - that we are important to each other and together.

We did manage to squeeze in one more date night that week when we cooked together at home. Look for more on that one coming soon in Date night dinner....Part 2.

The Cutest Cookbook Ever

We recently bought a new shelf for the room off our kitchen (I never know what to call that room - it has a closet, so it's not really a pantry). We just didn't have enough storage room, and the bigger shelf holds more than the baker's rack we had there. We also got some S hooks to hang our stainless steel pots from the side. All in all, it worked out well and we think we're pretty cool.

I rearranged a lot of stuff, including the cookbooks and loose recipes I always mean to organize completely but never quite finish doing.

While sorting through some of these, I came across something called "First Grade Cafe," a cookbook of sorts John did in school. Oh my gosh, how cute. It was made up of coloring book pages with spaces for the young chefs to fill out the recipe name, list the ingredients used and draw a picture of what the finished product looked like. Mostly what they "cooked" were things like trail mix and cookies. There was also a page at the end for a recipe the students were asked to supply (with help from parents, of course). John's was Peanut Butter Scotties. They're like Rice Krispie Treats except with peanut butter and butterscotch chips instead of marshmallows.

What a precious find.

John has come a long way since then. He can make a roux, and he knows how to chop or dice veggies at different sizes depending on how we're going to cook them. He has made homemade macaroni and cheese, Ohana wings,  and corn pudding on his own (with just some supervision) and is an excellent sous chef in training. To his future wife, Jeffrey and I say "you're welcome."

We have probably outgrown this cookbook, except for the Peanut Butter Scotties - they sound really good. But it will still have a place of honor on the shelf with the others.

Peanut Butter Scotties
6 cups Rice Krispies
1 12-ounce package butterscotch chips
1 cup peanut butter

Melt butterscotch chips and peanut butter together in a double boiler. Mic well. Stir in Rice Krispies and mix gently until the cereal is coated. Press into a buttered 9x13 pan and refrigerate.

Sometimes it's ok to admit you had a crappy day, or why sometimes drive-thrus are the only hope of the family eating dinner

It was such a Monday. Epic, really. You know how sometimes Jupiter aligns with Mars and peace guides the planets? Well the opposite happened this Monday. Jupiter apparently cut Mars off and there was only bickering among the planets.

That might be a little dramatic, but I'm Italian, so...

I had great plans for dinner. I really did. I'd had a stressful day and planned on cooking to make it better. But first, I had to leave from work a little early, pick up John and his baritone, pick up another teenager and her flag for marching band guard, and deliver them to the high school. We also took along two mosquitoes for part of the ride. We lost them somewhere along the way. I think I did manage to smash one, but the other one must have escaped somehow. It must have known what was coming. I delivered my charges and their equipment without issues. Then I headed back down toward Southport so I could go to WalMart. I don't usually like to grocery shop at WalMart, but I needed a plain white t-shirt for the boy, so I figured I might as well go to just one store. I'm not being snobby about not wanting to buy groceries there. I am just short and the signs saying what is in each aisle are really high in the air at WalMart (and no, I am not linking to WalMart from this blog - if you can't find that on your own, you probably shouldn't even be on the internet).

Unfortunately, there was a jack-knifed trailer across the road miles away from WalMart. Miles away from anything actually. The only way to "get around" it would have been about a 45-minute drive. Of course, I waited in traffic for more than an hour. Still not sure I shouldn't have bailed. But no, I stayed the course. Finally we could go. Well, sort of. We had to get around the disabled pickup that was also dead in our lane. I really felt for that guy. One time our van died on the way back to Penn State the first day the PA Turnpike was open to traffic after a major snowstorm. Been there done that. No one wants to be that guy. Traffic was still slow, but I finally did make it to the store.

I did pretty well at the store, even considering the tourists are here and the shelves needed attention. Then I was off to get gas across the street. The short version of my time there is I very politely explained to the little girl in the Mustang that she was not actually going to cut me off and take my turn at the pump. I then ignored the guy who thought I should pull out into traffic and get crushed instead of waiting for a clear spot (maybe he was friends of Mustang girl?).

At this point, it was 7:10. I was going to have no interest in cooking dinner, or in waiting for food to be prepared. Enter KFC 8-piece box. We don't really get fast food very often, but tonight it was just the thing. Naturally, when I pulled up to the order box, it beeped a really loud high-pitched noise at me. When it stopped, I was able to give my order. When I got to the window, the employee asked me how I was doing. I replied with the expected "fine." Then I told her that actually, I had a pretty crappy day. She said she had too. I told her I was sorry to hear that and pointed out that at least I hadn't taken out my bad day on her, and she agreed that I had not. We ended with her passing me the food and each of us wishing the other a "great night" and resolving to make it so.

I always try to find the positive, even if some days it's harder to do that. Tonight it was dinner for the family that Jeffrey or I didn't have to cook, I made it home safely, and I made someone smile. Not too bad, I guess.

We now have a Ninja in the house

When Mother's Day rolls around, a lot of women expect flowers, perfume, jewelry, something feminine and pretty. Me? I ask for appliances and gadgets. I remember the first year Jeff and I lived in North Carolina. Jeff got me a fishing pole for my birthday. It was a great gift, because he and I enjoyed going to the beach together and fishing, but I didn't have my own pole. I remember talking to my Dad, and he asked me what Jeff had given me (making sure his baby girl was being taken care of I guess). When I told him, he was quiet for a minute before asking me if I had wanted one. He must have thought Jeff was in big trouble. But Jeffrey has a great track record in the gift department. He knows me very well.

Sometimes I am super specific though. This was one of those years. I pointed out a few times that I really wanted a Ninja master prep system. It slices and dices and...you get the idea. Jeff ordered one off Amazon and hauled it out to the mountains with us since we went away for Mother's Day Weekend. Yay! Just what I wanted!

Things have been crazy busy around here since then. I was to the point that if we all had a clean outfit to wear the next day and we all ate dinner I felt like I was ahead of the game. So we haven't had the time to properly christen our new kitchen toy. We finally did tonight, by making hummus.

I became a big fan of hummus a couple of years ago. Sometimes I make a quick trip to the grocery store on my lunch break, and hummus and pita chips with a banana or yogurt on the side makes for a great lunch.

To make it tonight, first we roasted a head of garlic (super easy - cut the top off, put it in an oven-proof dish on top of some olive oil, drizzle olive oil on the exposed cloves, sprinkle with salt and pepper, cover the dish with aluminum foil and cook for 45 minutes 375 degrees). This makes the house smell delicious!

Here's the recipe we used for hummus. We did have to add more olive oil. It was creamy and garlicky and so yummy. I say we...actually I gave the boy directions and he made it. That's been happening a lot lately, which is fine by me. It took us a while to find
tahini paste in the grocery store. Was it with the Asian food? The peanut butter? Nope. With the vinegar. It's a sesame paste that is actually pretty tasty. Now I have to figure out how else I can use it.

As for the Ninja, next I'll be looking at a new smoothie recipe. I really want to try one that combines vegetables and fruits and supposedly tastes like the fruit so you forget you're drinking spinach. If you have any good recipes, please feel free to share!

Pasta Primavera Contest Entry

I haven't had a whole lot of free time lately. It happens sometimes. But I did manage to carve out just enough to make pasta primavera for the Pioneer Woman contest.

There are a lot of fresh vegetables in this recipe, which means a lot of chopping. But once all the prep work is done, it is really a quick meal to make. Click here for a link to the recipe. I will definitely be making this one again. When I started making it, my biggest help in the kitchen, Jeffrey Stites, wasn't home and the boy had no interest in helping out this time, probably because there are mushrooms and zucchini in the recipe.

But I made pretty quick work of it and in no time, I had this... I think my minced garlic got buried under there somewhere.                                                    
Of course, you need to get the pasta going and then start cooking the veggies. I grated cheese while veggies were cooking and when everything was done, I just threw it all together. I had a really good idea of how I wanted it to look but here's this little problem of my lack of hand-eye coordination. (That's why I like photography-all my hands have to do is hold the camera and push the buttons). So it didn't look quite like I wanted it to. I was happy with the end result though, and I took lots of pictures and posted one to the website as my contest entry. This one isn't the one I entered, but I don't think it's too bad :-) The best part of the experience is that since my mother and father-in-law were down for the week, the primavera was enjoyed for dinner (twice). Which is, after all, the real reason I cook anyway.

                                                                                                                     

My first Chuckwagon Sandwich

The Stites family has the best vacations. Sometimes we plan things ahead of time, but usually we head off with a vague notion of what we want to do and the only certain thing is our hotel reservation. We headed off to Boone for Mother's Day weekend and it was one of those trips that combined a little planning and a lot of stumbling upon cool stuff.

We planned to go to Grandfather Mountain, and we wanted to go gem mining (we ended up at Gem Mountain). We also wanted to do a quick tour of Appalachian State University. But we didn't have specific plans for where or when. We headed out on a Friday morning and it didn't take long before we were singing and laughing in the car. Well, two of us were singing and we were all laughing. John does not sing. At all. 

We made a quick pit stop near Aberdeen at a really gross convenience store/gas station that had surprisingly good-looking fried catfish at 10:30 a.m. I passed on that and stuck with just a pack of gum. We ate dinner that night at Black Cat Burrito, a truly stupendous eatery in Boone, which reminds us lots of one of favorite Wilmington places -- Flaming Amy's Burrito Barn. We took a quick drive through campus (it was raining, so no walking tour) and checked in at the hotel. It's a cute place right off the highway called Smoketree Lodge. The decor is stuck in the 80s and no one working there is over about 23, but it's clean and the staff is friendly and sweet. We love it. 

Saturday morning the incredibly smart Jeffrey (of Pooh Sticks fame) pointed out that we were actually very close to Tennessee. Since the boy had never been to Tennessee, we decided to take a quick trip across the border. And why not look for a geocache while we were there, right? We were actually the first to find a new cache in Roan Mountain State Park. This park is beautiful. There are dense woods with a thick tree canopy, a stream that runs miles through the park (lined with cuteness that morning since there was a kids' trout fishing tourney going on), cabins for rent, a steep ride up to the old Miller Farmstead with a gorgeous mountain view and much more. 

After our park visit, we headed back into NC and looked for a place to grab some lunch. Now, keep in mind we were pretty much out in the middle of nowhere. This is Appalachia country -- not doing so well economically and fairly off the beaten path. We were almost ready to give up and stop at a Hardee's when we decided to take the Business route of the highway in Spruce Pine. As soon as we made the turnoff and rounded a curve we saw a place called "50s Diner." It was a pretty nondescript restaurant, just brick with big glass windows. It could have been a Burger King in its former life. The menu has all the diner favorites -- burgers, chili cheese fries and milkshakes. 

And chuckwagon sandwiches. I had never heard of them, but Jeffrey said that the eastern Tennessee/western North Carolina area is known for these sandwiches.
If you don't know about them, basically it is a breaded burger patty deep fried and put on a bun. Of course we all had to order one. Jeffrey and I got ours with lettuce and tomato. The patty was much moister and more tender than I expected, and the tomato clearly came from a local farmer because it was the reddest, juiciest tomato I have had in a while. It was delicious. It was one of those sandwiches that makes your arteries cringe, but it was delicious. 

The moral of the story is this: don't be afraid to try new things at new places. When you travel, leave the chain restaurants behind and look for the local mom and pop places. Sure you might not know what you're getting into, but you never know what gems you can find.  

Pioneer Woman Blog Photo Contest

I am going to enter this contest. I thought about doing this today, but I am not feeling my best, so I think I will do it another day. I bought a plate to use in my picture, and I have already planned out what I want the picture to look like.

The contest is simple. Make Ree Drummond's, aka The Pioneer Woman, Pasta Primavera recipe, take a picture and upload it. On the contest site, she also offers really good photography tips that contestants are encouraged to use.

When I started my food blog, I thought it would be all about the writing for me. I loved writing columns when I worked as a newspaper reporter and what is a blog but an electronic column? And I really enjoy cooking and trying new restaurants, so I thought a food blog would be perfect. I knew I would be taking pictures, but I didn't realize how much I would enjoy that part of it. I love styling the food and trying different angles to get just the right shot. John is even into it, and I've already used one of his pictures on the blog (the veggies picture in the Stir-fry post).

I think that so far, I'm doing a pretty good job illustrating my blog. I am not fishing for a compliment, and I have no idea whether my pictures are technically good or even if anyone likes them. But this is a rare thing for me -- what I am doing with my blog makes me happy and that's enough. There is no pressure to please an editor or an audience. I mean, I really hope people like reading my blog. And I hope I get a huge following. But if I don't, I'm ok with that. I can't paint or sew or do anything very artistic in that sense. But I can write and take pictures. It's an incredible feeling when you know what you are writing connects with readers. I loved hearing reactions to columns I wrote for the newspaper. But this is more me, and as my own editor, I think I am doing a good job doing what I set out to do.

So if you like cooking and taking pictures, check out this contest. You could win a really good camera. And please feel free to share your feedback on my blog posts and...keep reading! Thanks :-)

Stir-fry: a working parent's best friend

Sometimes we just don't have a lot of time to cook. We had one of those days recently. Jeff was working a bit later than usual and John had to be at the school by 6:30 to help out in the concession stand.

I knew we were having stir-fry, so I wasn't worried. Stir-fry is so versatile -- you can use chicken, beef, pork or seafood. You could even make an all-veggie version (but why would you?).

I used "a working parent's best friend" in the title instead of "a working Mom's best friend" because in this house, Jeffrey is always the stir-fry cook. Except for the other night. I had bought beef already cut into strips, an absolute time saver, thank you very much grocery store butcher. I got the rice going and turned my attention to the veggies.

It was very simple. I had a red bell pepper, an orange bell pepper and half an onion. I cut the peppers into strips and the onion into chunks. Just some salt and pepper for the beef, a little canola oil in a pre-heated electric wok and I was ready to cook. John wanted to help, so he took some of the pictures and then he added the soy sauce when everything was almost finished. All told, it took 26 minutes from start to finish.

I am trying to eat better, to use more fresh and fewer processed ingredients. I am trying to replace not-so-good-for-you foods with healthier choices. Instead of chips with sandwiches, we might have fruit or baked crackers and hummus, for example. This week I've been having yogurt with homemade granola (yep - I'll be writing about that soon too) for breakfast. So this meal is a no brainer.

It's fast, it's tasty and it is so easy to fill it with vegetables. I would have put broccoli or snow peas or something green in it too, but I didn't have time to stop at the store. I love pineapples in stir-fry too, but sadly, we didn't have any of those either. It's been a pretty busy week, so a full trip to the grocery store has just not happened. Instead, it's been one of those weeks when I stop and get a few things here and there.

So working parents and everyone who is busy -- if stir-fry is not already one of you go-to meals, I highly recommend making it. John loved it, and we made up a plate for Jeffrey to have when he got home. A few minutes to relax, and then we were out the door.

Best. Seafood. Ever

When my in-laws were down last weekend, they made an incredible seafood dinner.

We had boiled shrimp and steamed crab legs (which were on sale at Lowes Foods). They had rented an oceanfront condo for the weekend and the weather was lousy, so we spent a bit of time indoors. And if you're stuck inside, you might as well have an ocean view.

The condo had your basic menagerie of cast off cookery. But my father-in-law was not to be deterred. He found something small enough to fit inside the biggest pot there and presto -- instant steamer. They had thought ahead and cooked the shrimp before we went bowling, so it was ready when we got back. All we had to do was steam the crab legs, get the salad ready, slice the bread, get out the condiments, set the table (complete with bowls for shrimp peelings and crab shells) and eat. John and I tossed the bag salad and poured the dressing. It was tough, but we managed.

We sat down to quite a spread and immediately dug in. It was way better than something we would have been served in a restaurant. Nothing against the local establishments, but this food was so good. We had drawn butter for the crab, of course, but it really didn't even need it. The crab meat was delectable -- sweet and salty, flaky and light. This is one meal we will repeat...at least when the crab legs are on sale.

Pavlova (just a fancy name for meringues)

I didn't want a really heavy meal for Easter dinner. Fancy, yes, but not heavy. We planned on a beef roast and green bean casserole, but just simple parsley red potatoes and plain crusty bread to round out the meal. And for dessert, I made individual Pavlovas with a strawberry compote and whipped cream. 

I first learned of pavlova from the Barefoot Contessa. I absolutely love her show. She thinks along the same lines as I do in the kitchen. We don't mind spending some time on our meals to let the people we are cooking for know they're worth the effort. But we don't want to spend all day chained to the stove. That's where the pavlova comes in. 

It has everything I want in a dessert. It's sweet, but not a sugar bomb. It's a mixture of textures -- a crispy shell filled with gooey deliciousness. And strawberries and whipped cream top them off perfectly.

They look like something you'd get from a bakery, but they are not hard to make. I have to admit though, I have carpal tunnel in both my hands, and I have never been so pleased with my decision to get a Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer as I was when I made these. 

If you can use a mixer, stand or hand, you can make pavlovas. I think any berry combination would be good, and you don't have to make a
compote; fresh berries would work great on these too. As I usually do, I used a few recipes as guides, and I've managed to get it down in written form.

Pavlova:

• 8 large egg whites
• 2 cups superfine/castor sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons white vinegar
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch

Strawberry Compote:

• 2 pints fresh strawberries
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• 6 tablespoons water
• Juice of 2 lemon

For the Pavlova:

1. Preheat oven to 250 F.
2. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and draw six evenly spaced, 4½-inch circles on each piece of paper (I used the top of a pint glass as a mold). Turn the parchment paper over.
3. Beat the egg whites until they hold soft peaks (using an electric whisk will make easy work of this).
4. While mixing, add the sugar, a little bit at a time, and beat vigorously until the meringue holds very stiff and shiny peaks and the sugar is completely dissolved.
5. Beat in the vanilla extract.
6. Drizzle the vinegar and cornstarch over the top of the meringue and gently fold in with a rubber spatula or spoon.
7. Use the spatula or a spoon to spread the meringue inside the circles on the parchment paper. (You can make the edges of the meringue slightly higher so there is a small indentation or well to hold the whipped cream and fruit - I didn't because I wanted the cream and fruit to run down the sides a little).
8. Bake for an hour to 75 minutes, or until the outside is dry and very light pink in color.
9. Turn off the oven and open the door slightly. Cool the meringue to completely in the oven. As it cools, it may start to crack slightly - this is normal.
10. Serve when cooled, or if making ahead, store in an airtight container in a cool place. 

For the Strawberry Compote:

1. Put the strawberries, sugar, water, and lemon juice in a medium pot over medium-high heat.
2. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to reduce to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until strawberries are soft (approximately five minutes).
3. Remove from heat and set aside. Cool completely and either serve with pavlovas or store in refrigerator until ready to serve. (Because I made this a day ahead of time, I put it in the microwave two minutes just to get the chill off before serving.)

The Best Recipe I Ever Got

This recipe is the best one anyone ever gave me. It's a recipe for cocktail meatballs. The meatballs are delicious, but I think it's the extra commentary that makes this recipe fabulous. My friend Chris gave it to me. He made these when we had a potluck meal a couple of times, and when I asked him how to make them, this is what I got. I laughed so hard I cried. 

1. Go to Wal-Mart.

2. In the frozen section you will find bags of pre-made meatballs. They are in 2lb/32oz bags. Put a bag in your cart. 

3. Go to the aisle that has barbeque sauce. Find a really large bottle of KC Masterpiece and put it in your cart.

4. In the same aisle you will find spicy brown mustard (1 cup), Honey (1 Cup) and Worcestershire Sauce (small bottle-enough for a few splashes). Put that stuff in your cart too.

5. Go to the checkout, pay for these items and leave Wal-Mart.

6. Go to ABC Store. (Lisa's note: In North Carolina, alcohol is sold at ABC Stores). Purchase a bottle of Jack Daniels. You can purchase anything else you want while you’re there but you only need the Jack Daniels for the Meatballs. May I suggest a nice bottle of Crown Royal?

7. Leave the ABC Store now … before you spend all of your money. Go home.

8. In the kitchen, you will find a pot in the lower cabinet to the left of the stove … wait a minute, that’s my kitchen. Ok well find your own pot in your own kitchen and put it on your own stove.

9. In the pot, add:

2 Cups of KC Masterpiece (set aside the remainder, you may add more later)

1 Cup of Honey (set aside the remainder, you may add more later)

1 Cup of Spicy Brown Mustard (put away the remainder)

1 Cup of Jack Daniels (drink the remainder)

A couple of splashes of Worcestershire Sauce (don’t drink the remainder)

Heat this mixture up for about 10 minutes. It will look funny at first, yellowish from the mustard but that’s ok, it scared me too at first. Keep on stirring and it will clear up. After about 10 minutes of heating add the frozen meatballs, bring to a boil. Once it boils, turn it down and simmer for about 45 minutes. It’s a good idea to taste test the sauce (not the meatballs) while it’s cooking, I sometimes add some more KC Masterpiece or Worcestershire Sauce or honey depending on thickness and taste. I don’t usually add more Jack Daniels because by the time I get to this point in the cooking process, there isn’t any left. If you have some left and want to add it, go right ahead; there are no rules here. Enjoy!!

Dinner on the porch

Sometimes dinner is all about the cooking. It's in the making, taking the time to make something new or something extra special. When I have the time, I like to cook, really cook, because it calms me.

Sometimes dinner is just about having a meal because we need refueling on our way to a meeting, band concert or choir practice. Those meals are usually unimaginative, usually one of our go-to recipes that we can count on to be quick and satisfying. Rotisserie chicken from the store with a Caesar salad. Breakfast for dinner. Tacos.

Sometimes dinner is about relaxing with my family and letting the day go.

Tonight was one of those nights. It was simple fare tonight. Roast beef sandwiches on good rolls heated in the oven. We also had roasted garlic humus with pita chips. All store bought and the only cooking was heating the sammies (we use Provolone cheese and Jeff adds horseradish to his-blech!).

The table on our screened-in porch was slightly damp since I had to soak it down to clean the pollen off it. As we ate, we watched the sun go down and listened to a few birds chattering nearby. Most importantly, we talked and laughed and laughed some more.

I can't even remember now what we talked about. It wasn't important stuff, but the meal was relaxing and comfortable. The only excitement we had was reminding the dog that table manners are expected outside too. Well, to be honest, we usually have to remind her about table manners inside, but she needs extra reminders outside.

Now that it is finally Spring in North Carolina, I am looking forward to many more dinners on the porch.

Pink....not just for princesses anymore

I mentioned in an earlier post that having a Whole Foods store in Wilmington means new ingredients never before available in this part of North Carolina are now mine for the trying. I am probably not the typical customer for this store though, because I want to shop there for the variety of ingredients offered, not because something is organic or fits into a vegan diet. 

One part of the store that fascinates me is the wall o' grains. When I was in college, the cafeterias had large plastic dispensers of cereal so we could help ourselves a bowl at a time. The wall o' grains uses the same mechanism. Grab a bag and fill it up with whatever rice or nut you want to try. They also have bins and scoops, but those aren't as fun. So the last time I was there, I decided to get some pink rice. I had no idea what it was, but c'mon. It was pink. I could figure out what to do with it later.

When I got home I asked Google about it and from the store's website, I learned that that this rice was nearly extinct. One farmer in Madagascar brought it back from just one seed, or so the story goes. The site also said the rice was pink because of the way it is milled, leaving some of the bran layer on the grains. And it said the rice was "elusively aromatic of cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg." Ever the skeptic, I wasn't sure what to think of that fairly pompous description. But when I cooked it the other night, that's exactly what it smelled like.

This rice is amazing and I am so glad I tried it. Cooking it is simple. Just boil a cup and a half of liquid for every cup of rice, bring it down to a simmer, cover, and cook 20 minutes or so until it is done. I added salt and a little butter, just as I would for white rice. I used water, but chicken stock would work too. It's a bit stickier than plain white rice, which I liked. I made too much, but used the leftovers for lunch the next day. I roasted a few baby heirloom tomatoes and red bell pepper strips with olive oil, salt and pepper in the morning and added it to the rice.

My next plan for it is rice cakes. I use this recipe from Barefoot Contessa for risotto cakes, and I think this rice, maybe with some dried cranberries, would be seriously yummy as a rice cake. I'll let you know how they come out. 

A Few of My Favorite Things

I am all for using a generic brand when it's as good as the name brand (this is especially true for over-the-counter medicines - the generics often have the same exact ingredients for half the price). For some products it doesn't really matter which brand I get. But for others, I am pretty particular.

Two of those I discovered in the past year or so. I had been buying another brand of these things forever, or at least since I've been an adult doing my own grocery shopping. I guess it's easy to fall into the shopping patterns of your family and use the same brands they used. To this I say -- branch out people! Forge your own path through the grocery store. Ok, it may not be exactly revolutionary behavior, but you might find some new favorites.

Let's talk pancake mix. I do not make my own pancake mix. Sure, I could, but why would I when there is Hungry Jack Buttermilk mix? I used to buy the other popular brand, but one day I was in a store and they were out of it. I bought Hungry Jack that time and have stuck with it ever since. You really can taste a difference and the Hungry Jack mix makes a lighter, fluffier pancake. Sometimes for dinner I make pancakes with cooked crumbled sausage and shredded cheese mixed into the batter. You don't need a recipe for this, Just add what you think looks like a good amount of each and be sure to use whatever cheese you like. We serve these with a fruit syrup. We use pancake mix to make cheeseburger pie and for a quick pot pie too.

My other good find was Comet rice. It takes longer than five minutes, but it is so worth it. You can spare 15-20 minutes to make this rice. It's a bit stickier than the minute rices, which I like. We also like to add extras to our rice to boost the flavor, such as lime zest and a bit of cilantro. When you are cooking rice longer than five minutes, it really gives the extra flavors a chance to take hold.

Besides getting me to write, one reason I do this blog is to keep myself from staying in a cooking rut. Hopefully I'll be able to add some new found favorite things along the way.

Palmiers -- kind of like bread but better

I love a good bread to serve with a big salad, or soup, or pretty much anything. I made these Palmiers to go with a pasta dinner one night. I am pretty sure we shouldn't have eaten all of them in one sitting, but we did. I used a couple different recipes as a guide and ended up making my own version. The recipe uses frozen puff pastry. I take help wherever I can get it and if it's good enough for real chefs, it's good enough for me. One thing that is worth doing yourself though is grating the Parmesan cheese. Buy a block -- it lasts a good while in the fridge. The difference in taste between what you grate yourself and the stuff that comes in the green plastic jar is amazing. If you're going to try this recipe, make sure you leave time for the dough to chill after you've worked with it.

Ingredients:
6 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 (17.3-ounce) box frozen puff pastry, thawed (recommended: Pepperidge Farms)
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon water
1/4 cup shredded Italian cheese blend (or a little more...)
Dried oregano or other Italian seasonings 

Directions:
Sprinkle work surface with some of the grated Parmesan cheese. Unfold a thawed sheet of puff pastry on top of the cheese. Brush the pastry with egg wash made from 1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water.

Combine 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese and shredded Italian cheese blend. Sprinkle over the surface. Sprinkle your desired amount of dried oregano or other Italian seasonings (a teaspoon or so should be enough). Press into the pastry.

Roll one of the long sides into the middle; repeat with the other side so that they meet in the middle. Cover and refrigerate 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Cut 1/8-inch thick slices, starting at shortest edge. Dip flat faces of palmiers in remaining Parmesan and lay on baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes, or until golden brown.

Corned Beef, soda bread and Car Bomb Cupcakes?

I had a hard time narrowing down the title for this one. The close second, I guess I could call it a subtitle, is "Boys are so cute when they bake."

We don't eat corned beef and we don't really make traditional Irish fare for St. Patrick's Day but this year, Jeffrey had the idea to make these Car Bomb Cupcakes. The recipe uses Guinness, Bailey's and Jameson Irish whiskey. Let me say right up front here that they were delicious. Really really scrumptious.

There is Guinness in the dark chocolate cupcake. Bailey's goes in the chocolate ganache filling and Bailey's and Jameson are in the butter cream frosting. Jeffrey is a really good cook and does not need my help in the kitchen, though we really enjoy cooking together. This recipe was all him. I only wandered out into the kitchen when there were crashes or yelling. Like this time with the flour. I'll admit that I make my own share of messes in the kitchen, but I think people are used to that from me.

I just kept shaking my head because he was so determined. He carried on and finished making his batter. When he had it mixed and ready to bake, he put the cupcake papers in the muffin pans. The recipe said to pour the batter into the cups, but he used a spoon, which was probably a much better idea. But it was still a mess. Some of the cups had just a little batter while others were full to the top. There was batter all over the top of the muffin pans and one poor would-be cupcake was demolished before it even had a chance. I helped even them out a little and rescued the poor imploded one and then he baked them. We had to go out for a while so we left them to cool. When we got back, he made the ganache filling and the frosting. I did show him how to pipe on just one cupcake and then he did the rest. They looked great and tasted even better. Baking is just obviously not part of his comfort zone. I've been baking since I was 11, so I am just as comfortable baking as cooking (though I can't make a Lemon Meringue Pie....see this story in a future post). I'm glad Jeffrey made these and I hope he gets more comfortable with the more delicate culinary arts -- he does a great, if messy, job.