Category Archives: dinner

Alien invasion? Nope, just dinner

20 Tuesday Feb 2018

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I recently listened to Alton Brown’s podcast interview with Gaby Dalkin.  I found her conversational skills lacking, but was drawn to her website, which is an incredible stockpile of recipes, and meal plans.  Since completing Whole30, I’ve been trying to do more meal prep for the week.  While W30 didn’t work for me, I learned a lot.  One important lesson is getting out of the house in the morning is so much easier when it’s all ready ahead of time.  The ultimate fresh, homemade, grab and go.

Tonight I made my spin on her Asian Chicken Slaw.  I really followed her recipe pretty closely, until I realized I had used the green onions and cilantro on my veggie burrito bowls the night before.  This was a bright, fresh salad that I’m going to make again for my upcoming supper club.

When I was slicing the purple cabbage I decided I’ve binge watched too much Doctor Who, because the inside looked like some alien bug.  I had a similar moment after too many CSI marathons, but that’s a story for another day.

Here is today’s #365project #photoaday #notanalien

Orange & Kale Salad with Spicy Tahini Dressing

03 Saturday Feb 2018

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I recreated a recipe that was in my last Blue Apron box with a few modifications.  Having made it before, I knew this would give me a good opportunity to get a shot for my #365project #photoaday.#firebreathinggarlic

Here’s the recipe with my modifications:

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3 ounces radishes (I went a little overboard)
1 bunch of kale (I used bagged, baby kale)
1 avocado
1 clove of garlic (I used 2)
(I added) 1 inch grated fresh ginger
2 tablespoons tahini
1 orange
1 1/2 teaspoon chile paste (such as siracha)

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

Peel and finely chop the garlic; using the flat side of your knife, smash until it resembles a paste (or use a zester). Remove and discard the stems of the kale; thinly slice the leaves. In a large bowl, whisk together the tahini, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 1 tablespoon of water, grated fresh ginger, half the vinegar, as much of the garlic paste as you’d like, and as much of the chile paste as you’d like, depending on how spicy you’d like the dish to be. Season with salt and pepper.

Add kale to the bowl and toss to coat. Using your hands, vigorously massage the kale for 1 to 2 minutes, or until slightly softened. Set aside to marinate, stirring occasionally, for at least 10 minutes. *I found the baby kale wilted more than the mature kale and did not need the kneading.

While the kale marinates, pat the chicken dry with paper towels; season with salt and pepper on both sides. (BA loves their salt & pepper.  I used Penzey’s Bangkok Blend.  In a medium pan, heat a drizzle of olive oil on medium-high until hot. Add the seasoned chicken and cook 5 to 7 minutes per side, or until browned and cooked through. Transfer to a cutting board.

While the chicken cooks, cut off and discard the ends of the radishes; halve lengthwise, then thinly slice crosswise. Peel the orange; halve lengthwise, then thinly slice crosswise, discarding any seeds. Pit, peel, and thinly slice the avocado.

Thinly slice the cooked chicken crosswise. Add the sliced radishes and orange and roasted potatoes to the bowl of marinated kale; stir to combine. Serve the salad topped with the sliced chicken and seasoned avocado. Enjoy!

What a delicious week!

25 Thursday Jan 2018

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Thanks to a couple of wonderful girlfriends I was gifted a few weeks of #BlueApron.  This is NOT a paid endorsement.  Certainly, if they want to, I wouldn’t say no.  This week I made chicken & orange kale salad, steak & roasted broccoli, and tonight was the orange glazed meatballs (sans rice and I forgot the orange).  It was all was good and I’d make any of these again.  I upped the veggies on the all the dishes with stuff I had in the fridge.  Never too many veggies!

Aside from all the good eating, this week has been a roller coaster, so much so that this evening called for a dirty martini.  Ginger thought she needed to get in on this action, but her mama cut her off.  It’s all mine!

#653project #photoaday #martiniheaven

Steak & Roasted veggies
Chicken & Kale salad
Orange-less meatballs w bok choy, carrots & broccoli
My BA box of goodies!

one of those days

10 Wednesday Jan 2018

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It was 50 degrees when I got up this morning with a high of 60.  Tomorrow evening we are supposed to get back down to the 20’s with another winter storm coming in.  My downstairs neighbor keeps their apartment so warm, I had to turn on my air conditioning today!  And my office is… I’ve told y’all what a hot mess that place is.  I have to dress for summer when I’m in there and the woman next to me has on a space heater!

All I wanted tonight when I got home was a bowl of something comforting.  Whole wheat pasta, sauteed chicken with homemade pasta sauce, zucchini, and mixed greens with a dusting of parmesan.  Now I can really veg this evening!

#365project #photoaday #alldone

what’s for dinner?

07 Tuesday Nov 2017

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I don’t think I eat anything all that special, strange, or different, but with startling regularity, someone really makes me wonder.  My parents were foodies before there was such a thing; going to cooking schools and coming home to experiment on me.  I was the last child and they were trying to find something they had in common.  I don’t really recall them making anything strange or all that special, but  their adventurousness made me a willing accomplice.

While I “grew up” in Mississippi, I really became me in Oregon.  Hippy country, full of tree huggers who eat twigs and bugs and cook out in the wilderness just for fun.  I’m saying all of this tongue in cheek, but I had a date recently and when I said something about backpacking and cooking on a camp stove, this was beyond his comprehension.  Camp cooking taught me to be creative in a bowl.  We always ate great while out on the trail.  No MRE’s for us.  It just requires a little forethought and planning.

There was no planning or forethought for this night’s meal.  It was let’s get creative with what I have in the fridge.  Truthfully, that’s how I cook most often.  I’ve mentioned here how much I enjoy one bowl dinners.  Last night I had a friend over and I felt like I dropped a Siberian delicacy in front of her.  She asked lots of questions and wanted to know how it was all done.  I was flattered and mystified.  What did I make that was so amazing, you ask…

Pearl couscous with curry roasted cauliflower.  I was so hungry I didn’t get a picture.  I added lots of curry powder to the cauliflower before roasting in the oven and a can of diced tomatoes to the finished couscous.  It was warm and wonderful, perfect for a cool, foggy night.

Going back through previous posts I’ve found a few bowls to whet your appetite and tempt you into making something new for dinner tonight.  Here’s an easy curry bowl  (pictured above) and here’s another twist on my pearl couscous bowl.  This post is for tofu, but I make roasted cauliflower the exact same way.

FEAST on fresh, homemade pasta

25 Tuesday Sep 2012

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I finally hit a wall and went into work on Saturday to say I was taking (most of) Sunday off.  Just knowing I was going to have a day free to do whatever was a big relief.  Saturdays at the distillery, the girls and I have gotten in the habit of closing up shop and sitting down to enjoy a cocktail or two before we venture out to our respective evenings.  This week, we all donned an assortment of plaid and went to the New Deal Yelp After Party for Feast week.

An assortment of New Deal cocktails of all varieties, bites of fabulous food, ice cream with booze in it… I was in heaven.  Wait, I’m not sure they allow plaid in heaven.  I have never seen so much plaid!  I really do not own anything plaid and was going to go sans plaid, but one of the girls came to my rescue and I wore a bright plaid polyester number.  I was quite fetching.  and NO, there are no photos!

Sunday, a little hungover and excited for my leisure day, I woke way too early and made a pot of water.  I couldn’t quite put my finger on what was off until I looked over and saw the coffee beans still sitting in the grinder.  Good thing I had time for a do-over.  While the “real” pot brewed, I gave Coe a bath.  I’m not sure where this burst of productivity came from.

I had been gifted tomatoes fresh from the garden, so in honor of my free time, I made fresh pasta.  I’ve been wanting to make it for some time.  I had really forgotten how easy it was to make.  Years ago, I took a ravioli class and I went back to the recipe that had served me so well.  But, I had to tweak it a little bit.

This past week was FEAST (see above after-party).  A week of food events “celebrating Oregon’s bounty”.  Tickets for most events were outrageous, but I could not pass up Mark Bittman.  I’ve mentioned before how much I like him.  He makes you think about your food… where it’s from, what’s in it, and how to make it better.  And that’s just what he talked about.  For anyone who follows him regularly, he didn’t talk about anything new or startling, but just reinforced all the things he writes so passionately about.

I’ve had a recipe of his bookmarked for about a year.  Now with this free time on Sunday, I sort of put it in action.  Bittman’s recipe is for an egg pasta rolled into handkerchiefs with fresh pesto.  I used my tried and true dough recipe but did his technique.

Into the cuisinart:
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 semolina
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
Pulse cuisinart a few times, then add
2 tablespoons olive oil
drizzle 2 tablespoons water, if needed to bring it all together.

 This whole process should take about a minute. Dust with just a little flour if it feels a little sticky as you pull your dough ball out of the food processor. Knead a couple of times into a disc and wrap in plastic wrap to rest on the counter for 30 minutes (or in the fridge for a day).

While the dough rested, I chopped up a few tomatoes, chiffonade some fresh basil and sprinkled with a pinch of kosher salt. Water at a gentle boil, I began to roll my dough. I have a pasta machine, but you can just as easily do this with a rolling pin. Starting on the largest setting, I worked my way to the thinnest setting. I ended up with long, wide ribbons of pasta that were done to perfection in about a minute. I tossed the pasta handkerchiefs with my tomatoes and dusted with fresh parmesan.  You can shape this recipe into whatever type of pasta you prefer.

Summer’s beautiful bounty!  Enjoy!

dinner for one

06 Wednesday Jun 2012

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When the gentleman caller (here forward GC) and I were out the other day, I mentioned how cooking for one gets a little boring.  I buy a bunch of veggies and something to go along with said veggies and I make variations on a theme for a week.  then I realized I hadn’t posted my dinners in awhile.

With fall-like weather descending on Portland again (yes-in JUNE!), I’ve been oven roasting my veggies and putting them on Asian noodles with a little peanut sauce and one night I got crazy and put them on Israeli couscous.

When I get home, I put my beloved cast iron skillet in the oven at 400*f to preheat.

I then commence to chopping veggies- this week has been cauliflower, eggplant, zucchini, and bell pepper.  Chop the veggies in what seem to be big bites, they will cook down.  Toss all the veggies in a bowl.  I drizzle with a little olive oil and some dried herbs.  On noodle night, I added some protein in the form of extra firm tofu, again, cut into bite size pieces and toss in with the veggies.  I’ll drizzle with a little sesame oil and sprinkle some curry powder, cumin and a little red pepper flakes.

Give all the veggies, oil, and herbs a good toss and when your oven is preheated, toss in the skillet.  You’ll hear a nice sizzle.  Every 10 minutes or so, pull out the skillet and give a little toss and shake and put back in the oven.  Total cooking time will be about 30 minutes.

Enter google.  I love google.  google knows everything.  All I have to do is ask and google tells me the secrets of the universe.  My friend Megan spent an evening in the ER recently having Israeli couscous pulled out of her twins’ nostrils.  I shouldn’t laugh, but holy crap!  That’s good shit!  Good enough to make me want to make Israeli couscous.  If it’s good enough to put up your nose, then I want that in my belly!  But I had no idea how to cook the stuff and google told me.  Well, really, google led me to epicurious, who told me.

The recipe I found, that seemed to fit my need, called for a few things I didn’t have on hand, so I made my usual modifications and dinner was served!  I chopped about 1/4- 1/2 cup onion and tossed in a pot with some butter for a few minutes.  Then I added 1 cup couscous (I made 1/3 the recipe on epicurious) and let this toast for a few minutes, stirring occasionally.  When it had a touch of color, I added 10z chicken broth.  I left out the extra salt the recipe called for since broth tends to be a bit salty and I knew I was going to toss in parmesan at the end.

I really made enough for lunch the next day, but this was so yummy, I ate it all the night I made it!  Next time I will add some grilled chicken.  I don’t think I would have been as inclined to eat it all if it had some protein.  But damn, this dish was yummy and so simple!  This will definitely go in the make again column.  tasty and easy-  that’s a win in my book!

I’ll take Nookie for $100

19 Monday Mar 2012

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Last year for my birthday, I gave myself a cooking class as my gift. We all have those things we fear or are too intimidated to tackle. I had heard so many horror stories about making gnocchi that I certainly wasn’t going to try it without a little hand holding.

Caprial & John offer cooking classes and supper clubs in a small commercial kitchen. One Saturday afternoon about 10 of us gathered around to watch then do. Afterwards we sat down for a lunch of our spoils.

I made gnocchi a few times immediately following my class. Teri, who is of real Italian decent proclaimed I’d done good. It’s been on my list to make again for awhile, but just hadn’t found the time. This weekend I made the time!

This is really a pretty easy preparation so all those horror stories are just to scare you off.

2-3 russet potatoes
1t kosher salt
1 1/2(ish) cup 00 flour*

Bake your potatoes until done and when cool enough to handle, scoop out and mash really well or put through a ricer (the one gadget I don’t have).  Add salt and fold in 1 cup of flour.  When it all comes together, turn out onto a floured counter and knead in remaining flour until it is the smooth.  Do not over work.  Divide into 6 equal parts.  Roll each part into a snake and cut into bites and toss into a baking sheet sprinkled with semolina.

Bring a pot of water to a boil and throw in a couple of your gnocchi and let boil 2-3 minutes.

I tossed these with my homemade sauce and a little parmesan.  oh yummm. This is enough for a dinner for 4 with a side salad.

Now that I know I can make the regular recipe, I’ve got some ideas on how I want to mix things up. with butternut squash or sweet potatoes…

*00 flour is an Italian soft wheat flour available online or hidden in your local specialty store.

I kept eating and eating…

17 Saturday Mar 2012

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The community dinners are a thing of wonder and delight.  It’s constantly amazing how when you say potluck, people make awesome stuff they would rarely make any other day.  And when that potluck is on St Patrick’s Day, well you know it’s going to be stuff they really only make once a year.

I made corned beef.  A first for me.  Well, not really.  I tried to make corned beef years ago and it was such a dismal failure that I gave it up.  Really, it’s been maybe 20 years!  Oh, I hate that I can say “remember when 20 years ago…”

Which reminds me, I have gotten 2 emails in the last 2 weeks from college friends with something they’ve scanned to remind me of my past.  Holy crap I was young!

I was 18 or 19 in this picture.  That was more than 20 years ago!

I digress, forgive me.  I’ve lost some control of my faculties.  St Paddy’s Day.  Oh right.  The great corned beef debacle of 1991…

Fast forward to this week.  I’m having 20 people over for dinner and I’ve committed to making corned beef.  I have to do a dry run before I sully my reputation as the great home cook that I like to think I am.  So, I peruse the internet and as usual take a little idea from here and an idea from there.  And sure enough, this is easy stuff.  I don’t know how I bungled it so badly before, but I’m liking what I did this time.

And to be perfectly honest, I’m not so sure I should share this recipe.  It’s a bit of an advanced maneuver.  Really, have you got a bridge 😉

It’s this easy.  Really.
Crockpot.
red potatoes, chopped. drop in the bottom of the crockpot
corned beef, trim if you want. place on top of potatoes
pour in 1 beer, medium ale worked best
add pickling spices (I added 2 packets or 2-3T)
pour in enough water to just cover corned beef
Turn crockpot to high for 1 hour, then reduce heat to low for 8-9 hours.
ta-dah! You’re hailed as a culinary genius (if only in your own head)

There was more cabbage that you would normally eat in a lifetime.  There’s going to be a serious gas leak in this town tonight.  But it was all awesome, ranging from slaw with apples and seaweed to traditional cabbage to brussel sprouts with prosciutto.  Then there was dessert.  3 different pies.  All quite different and all yummy.  I’m falling into a food coma and I need to go to bed.  But I just had to brag and share what a great evening we had.