Russian Sandwiches, August 13, 2015

Mmm, mmm! Nothing like sweet corn and tomatoes from the Farmer's Market---unless they're from a little roadside stand like the one where my grandparents got their on the way back from table tennis nearly every day in August each year. They had Russian sandwiches (I do not know the provenance of the name---I'm fairly certain they're not any sort of authentic Russian food!) and sweet corn just about every day in August.

I stopped by our local farmer's market on Wednesday afternoon and picked up mine, along with some handmade bagels. To make a Russian sandwich, you toast your favorite kind of bread (I used country white last night), top it with ripe tomato slices, crisp bacon, and extra-sharp cheddar (I prefer either Tillamook or Cabot). Then, you broil it until the cheese is nice and melty and starting to brown. We had a salad with ours. Then, I had another for today's lunch. I love August! I do have to say that the Ohio tomatoes seem to have a better climate for producing a great tomato. But these were better than grocery store tomatoes for sure!

Oh, and to stave off any hunger pangs while the bacon cooked, I made an appetizer of slices of fresh mozzarella and tomatoes, along with basil leaves, on baguette slices I'd brushed with olive oil and crisped in the oven, then rubbed with a smashed garlic clove. Before serving, I drizzled them with a smidge more olive oil and sprinkled Maldon salt on them. Scrumptious!

Ram's Horn, August 12, 2015

Since Pie was sick on Sunday & we didn't do Sunday dinner, we had him and Bubbles meet us at Ram's Horn in Rochester. Ram's Horn is a diner that serves breakfast all day, burgers and sandwiches, and comfort food. The theme seems to be "Umbrellas, Cars, & Jesus," making for an interesting visual. I love the colorful umbrellas hanging from the ceiling! The service, every time we've been, has been good and friendly. There are even some choices that are healthy. I did not make one of those last night.

Jeannene is big on appetizers, especially when we go out for meals with the kids, so she ordered boneless wings (which were fairly good) and mozzarella cheese sticks (which were completely pedestrian, as they so often are). For her main course, she had liver and onions with mashed potatoes and corn (which she promptly mixed together). She and Pie really loved the liver. Bubbles and I just took their word that it's good. It was Pie's first time to have it. I suspect it won't be the last. Bubbles opted for the salmon, as expected, and got mashed potatoes and mixed vegetables with it. We were all surprised to find that the mixed veggies were, rather than the corn/peas/carrot cubes we expected, random veggies like broccoli florets, red onion slivers, shredded carrots, and mushroom slices, all fresh! Bubbles was not enthused, but Pie kept stealing her veggies. He had a tuna melt and fries, which he reported were excellent. I also got a sandwich, a grilled cheese, which was good, but not as good as the one at Restaurant. The chili I had was pretty good, but the beans were a bit odd. I think they were "chili beans" rather than kidney beans. I haven't been able to find chili I really love up here in Michigan yet. Often, when I order a bowl of chili, I get a bowl of coney topping. Good thing I know how to make it!

Chicken Roll-Ups, August 11, 2015

My friend, Kira, gave me this recipe for chicken roll-ups years ago, but I never got around to trying it until Tuesday night. I will definitely be making it again, as my wife said, as she moaned in ecstasy over them, "Put five stars by this one so you'll make it again." She also said she thinks it's the best chicken she has ever had in her life and rates 10 out of 10. I thought it was pretty dang good, myself. I served with with mashed potatoes, cornbread, and lima beans. I meant to serve some peaches with it, too, but I forgot. Ah, well.

Kira's Chicken Roll-Ups

2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, pounded thin

4 oz. cream cheese, room temperature

Garlic powder or garlic salt

Parsley, snipped

Chives, snipped

4 slices bacon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread the cream cheese evenly on the chicken breasts. Sprinkle with garlic powder, parsley, and chives.  Roll up and wrap each with 2 strips of bacon. Secure, if needed, with toothpicks. Bake 30-40 minutes, until done. Broil for the last 5 minutes so the bacon gets browned. Serves 2. 

Cheesy Cornbread
1 c. self-rising cornmeal
3/4 c. self-rising flour
1/2 c. oil
8 oz. creamed corn
2 eggs
1 c. sour cream (reduced fat works fine)
1 c. shredded cheddar (reduced-fat works fine)
Salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix everything. Pour into a well-greased cast iron skillet. Bake 1/2 hour. Serves 8-10.

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Sauce

My wife is a huge fan of peanut butter in probably every one of its forms. I'm not so hot on it, but sometimes I do like it, when I am in the right mood. I must have been in the right mood the other night because I made a chocolate-peanut butter sauce for Jeannene's ice cream and ended up thinking it was completely terrific! We had it on Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Fudge Brownie ice cream. Talk about gilding the lily! This would also, I am certain, be pretty amazing just eaten from a spoon. Yum yum! Complete decadence!

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Sauce

4 squares semi-sweet chocolate

14 oz. sweetened, condensed milk

2 tbsp. peanut butter (I think the creamy kind is best here)

2 tbsp. milk

2 tsp. vanilla

Melt all the ingredients but the vanilla together on low heat, stirring the whole time. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Serve warm. 

Korean-ish Beef, August 10, 2015

Last night's dinner was totally scrumptious, an Asian-inflected comfort food. Both of us had a hard time controlling our portions with this ground beef and rice dish that echoes Korean flavors. The broccoli, which I tossed with a bit of sesame oil and soy sauce and roasted about 10 minutes at 450 degrees, was stellar, too! I added some jasmine rice to round out the meal.

Korean-ish Beef

1 tbsp. sesame oil

1 lb. burger (I used 93% lean)

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 c. dark brown sugar

1/4 c. soy sauce (I used low sodium)

1/4 tsp. ginger

Salt & pepper

1/2 -1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

1 bunch scallions, sliced

Heat oil in skillet. Brown beef with garlic. Drain & add the other ingredients, except the scallions. Garnish with scallions. Serves 4. 

Mediterranean Mahi Mahi, August 9, 2015

I have never, until the last couple of weeks, made fish cut in chunks. Just in the last couple of weeks, I have done catfish wraps with the fish cut in chunks and now this beautiful mahi mahi dish. I am kind of digging it. Sunday night, our plates were just gorgeous with colors! Along with this fish dish, I made a lovely (and yummy) primavera pasta salad and green beans in coriander sauce.

Mediterranean Mahi Mahi

1 lb. mahi mahi, cubed (or similar---grouper, red snapper, halibut, and tilapia would probably all work nicely)

3 or 4 plum tomatoes, quartered

1 Vidalia onion, chopped

1/2 c. kalamata olives, halved (unless you have someone, like Jeannene, who hates them)

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 bell pepper (I used a green one)

1/4 c. dry white wine

A drizzle of olive oil

1/4 c. feta, crumbled or cubed

1 lemon, cut in wedges

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Toss everything except feta & lemon together. Bake about 15 minutes, until fish is cooked through, in a 13x9 baking dish. Toss with feta and serve with lemon wedges. Serves 4. 

Green Beans in Coriander Sauce

1 lb. green beans

1 1/2 tsp. coriander

1/2 tsp. cumin

2 tbsp. butter

Chives, snipped over the top for garnish

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Cook green beans in it for about 7 minutes. Reserve about a cup of the cooking water before draining the beans. Bring cooking water to a boil with coriander & cumin. Simmer on low about 15 minutes. Stir in butter. Return green beans to pot and toss to coat them. Garnish with chives. Serves 4.

Primavera Pasta Salad

1 lb. rotini or similarly shaped pasta (I used trottole because it's what I had on hand)

A head of broccoli, cut into florets

3 slender carrots, sliced

1 bell pepper, diced (I used an orange one)

2 stalks celery, chopped

6 oz. crumbled feta cheese

8 oz. Italian dressing (I used Newman's Own light)

(or whatever veggies you like)

Cook, drain, and cool pasta. Toss with everything else. Serves 8-10. 

Italian Sausage with Peppers, August 7, 2015

My wife loves Italian sausage with peppers and the poor thing never gets it unless she makes it herownself. I am not a big fan of Italian sausage, so she got me some hoagie-shaped Italian-seasoned burger patties, in hopes that I would like those, and also grilled some chicken spinach & feta sausages. At her request, I made some rice pilaf to go with labneh for the side dish, a treat we both really love. The burgers were a little overly seasoned for me and neither of us liked the chicken sausage much, but Pie came over the next day after his dermatologist appointment and wolfed down half the leftovers, taking the rest home with him, so nothing was wasted. Even though it wasn't a meal I was into, it makes me really happy that Jeannene feels free to make dinners that please her. The whole point of both of us cooking (besides it being fun) is for both of us to get to eat what we love. My grandmom used to get together with my great-grandfather, Denis, for lunch when she was a young married woman and they would always eat the foods Grandma Sadie hated. Isn't that funny? I wish I could have joined them for some of those lunches. He sounds like he was such a lovely person!