Got My Mojo Workin'

I had thawed out a flank steak for our Monday dinner, planning to do it up Asian-style, when J came down with one of the worst migraines she'd had in a long time. I realized that soy sauce would probably not be her friend, not would a red wine marinade for which I found a recipe. So, I checked the bottle of Goya mojo criollo I keep on hand for MSG. Finding none, I marinated the flank steak in that for several hours. I then drained it, blotted it dry and pan-fried it. Along with the Cuban-style flank steak, I made some Italian-cut green beans and some yuca from the freezer. I boiled the yuca in salted water to cover for about half an hour, then drained it & removed the tough fibrous "vein." Finally, I sauteed it in a little olive oil. Once it had browned nicely, I stirred in a generous splash of mojo and stirred it around for about 5 more minutes. The yuca was easily our favorite part of dinner.

Weekend Treats

On Friday night, we had a simple cheese and fruit dinner. I laid out some Pinot Grigio salami with Comte, smoked Gouda and Belletoile (one of my favorite triple cremes) cheeses on one board, a loaf of Tuscan bread on another and a couple of Pink Lady apples on a third. To this, I added a Tarte d'Alsace from Trader Joe's and some deviled eggs with capers and ham. Voila! Dinner!

Saturday morning, I decided to start our O is for Olfactory date with vanilla coffee, freshly-squeezed tangerine juice ( I love my vintage juicer!) and gorilla bread, Paula Deen's decadent take on monkey bread, all redolent with the cinnamon-y, nutty aroma I knew would carry up to the bedroom. The recipe can be found here http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/gorilla-bread-recipe/index.html. It was a hit, with J telling me it was the best thing she ever ate in her life and saying, "This is a food group all on its own and it is above all other food groups." Thanks, Paula! It was really amazing and we ate far too much of it over the course of the weekend!

In the midst of prowling around town on our date, we stopped for a snack at 87 West 2, a newish wine bar we hadn't yet tried but had passed several times and were intrigued by. It had a lovely interior and, best of all for the sunny, gorgeous day, the windows were opened wide to the world. We settled into a cozy seating nook by one of the open windows and were promptly greeted. The ice water had a slice of cucumber rather than lemon, a touch I especially appreciate. I've only had the pleasure at one other restaurant and think it's particularly refreshing. We opted to share the chorizo and chevre hanky pankys, little tea sandwiches that were quite tasty. I'd been rooting for the fondue, but I thought these were a decent second choice and I will never refuse J when she is actually voluntarily suggesting a chorizo dish. She loved them, so I may make a chorizo gal out of her yet! With my snack, I enjoyed a lovely green glass of Chateau Ste. Michelle Riesling, which J described fairly accurately as smelling "like grapes and grape vines, all mixed together." It was refreshing and spring-y, making me want to go morel-hunting in my mom's woods. J, of course, had a beer. After our snack, we popped into Rocky Mountain Chocolate for a couple of chocolate-dipped strawberries. I was poised on the brink of ordering a caramel instead, but I'm glad I chose the strawberry because the ratio of chocolate to berry was perfect and the chocolate stayed put on the berry rather than sliding off and doing its own thing, leaving a naked berry.

The other notable meal over the weekend was the wine-braised roast with onions I served Sunday night with baked potatoes and baby vegetables. The recipe was Nigella's and can be found here http://www.nigella.com/recipe/recipe_detail.aspx?rid=11953. We'd scored the roast at the farmer's market Saturday and it was fantastic! It also made for a very good Monday lunch, on leftover Tuscan bread with mayonnaise.

"Poor Cooking"

We've been doing what J terms "poor cooking" this month, since my piddling 2 hours a day tutoring is not much of a contribution to the household finances, which are tight. She originally decreed that she would do all the cooking this month, but relented when I agreed to abide by the rule of cooking only from what's already in the house. I don't consider it poor cooking at all because we are, truth to tell, still eating quite well indeed.



Last night, I baked pork chops we had in the freezer with a little salt and pepper, steamed a head of broccoli and cooked up a package of rosti J found at Aldi's. I won't shop there because I find the atmosphere overwhelmingly depressing, but I have no objection to food from there. She can go there and buy all the food she wants, as long as I don't have to enter the store. However, she thought it was the food itself I objected to and has been feeling all sneaky and pleased with herself at sneaking Aldi's food into my mouth, which just cracks me up! Anyway, the rosti was actually made in Switzerland and was quite tasty. Dessert was praline pecans I brought back from The Savannah Candy Kitchen for J's Easter basket. Mmm-mmm. I like them better than pralines themselves.

Mid-day Pancake Play

When I take Sabbath time, I like to make myself something special for breakfast or lunch. Yesterday, I decided to try my hand at Norwegian pancakes, which I'd never even eaten, much less made. The recipe looked kind off crazy to me, way too much liquid to dry ingredients. Then, my friend Jess explained that Norwegian pancakes make crepes look thick and advised me to make sure to do them on a griddle because they're really difficult to flip. I'm glad for her input because she was exactly right! I think if I were more of a pancake person, I would really have loved these. The first one was a dismal failure & went right in the trash, but after that, I got the hang of them and they turned out nicely.

Pannekaker

2 eggs

1/3 c. brown sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tbsp. boiling water

1/2 c. sour cream or buttermilk (I used sweet milk soured with vinegar)

1 c. flour

1 tsp. baking soda

2 tbsp. melted butter

2 c. milk

Beat eggs. Add sugar, salt, cinnamon & vanilla. Dissolve soda in water. Add to eggs. Gradually add flour & baking soda. Gradually add melted butter and milk, mixing well to ensure smoothness. Bake on heavy griddle or electric skillet, lightly greased, preheated to 400 degrees. Use about 1/4 c. batter per pancake and tip pan so that bottom is completely covered with batter. Brown on both sides, making sure not to attempt flipping too soon. Sprinkle with sugar and roll up, keeping warm until all are cooked. Serve with butter or the topping of your choice. I suspect lingonberries would be my favorite.

Purim Yummies

Monday, J called me from work and asked what I was planning to do to celebrate Purim. I was astonished because she doesn't usually take note of my affection for holiday celebration. Then, she astonished me further by suggesting I make some hamantaschen! This turn of events so surprised me that I nearly fell out of my chair. How did my wife know about these traditional Purim cookies? She is no expert on Jewish holidays or recipes. Turns out she'd notcied Purim on her calendar & taken it upon herself to educate herself about the holiday, since I love all holidays. Since she'd done that, I simply had to try my hand at making them. I mixed up the dough Monday night & baked the cookies Tuesday. Being a hamantaschen novice, I overfilled some so much that they burst their seams and spread into rounds. The dough got crumbly and hard to work with. The bottom pan of cookies got a little dark underneath. Nonetheless, the end result was yummy and the process was fun. The recipe came from Epicurious:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Traditional-Hamantaschen-13706

J had picked up some baking fillings for me that I never expected to use (date and prune) but they turned out to be perfect for this recipe. I also did some with strawberry preserves and some with my friend Dieter's homemade cherry jam. They were all quite nice. Next year, I'll be trying poppyseed filling, I think. My friend Janelle was quite enthusiastic about that and she has good taste.

Gentlemen, Start Your Asparagus

Okay, so it's not officially spring yet. The asparagus is starting to look like spring asparagus already, though, and I am starting to cook with it again. Last night, I made a dinner that J rated a 10 out of 10. We had my adaptation of Paula Deen's chicken and asparagus bake (with lots of extra cheddar to suit J's cheese tooth), lush egg noodles and baby spinach with citrus poppyseed vinaigrette.

Chicken and Asparagus Bake

3/4 lb. asparagus, trimmed and halved

1 tbsp. oil

2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

Salt & pepper, to taste

1 can 98% FF cream of chicken soup concentrate

1/2 c. light mayo

Juice of half a lemon

2 c. shredded cheddar (yes, it's decadent-I think you could easily do with a cup, half a cup or even no cheese and it would still be great, but I had J egging me on to "add more, add more!")

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. If asparagus is thick or seems tough, cook in boiling water 2 minutes and drain. Put in 8x8 baking dish that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Brown the chicken well on each side, making sure to salt and pepper it to your liking. Place on top of the asparagus in the pan. Mix soup, mayo and lemon juice. Pour over chicken. Sprinkle top with half the cheese. Bake 40 minutes. Turn off oven. Add rest of cheese and return to oven for about 5 minutes to melt the cheese. Serves 2.

(The original can be found in Paula's The Lady and Sons, Too cookbook, if you want to try it as she intended it. Lots of other great recipes there, too)

Let Them Eat Panini

When I got home from teaching confirmation class last night, I was happy I'd planned a fairly simple dinner. It turned out to be delicious, as well. I made chicken, bacon and blue cheese panini using leftover chicken breast from a dinner earlier in the week. I served it with chips and salad, then we had pineapple angel food cake for dessert. The cake is my adaptation of a WW recipe, while the panini recipe was originally, I think, Rachael Ray's.

Chicken, Bacon & Blue Cheese Panini

Tear up some cooked chicken breast and put it on a bun. Top with cooked bacon. Mix some blue cheese with a little ranch dressing and smear on the top bun. Put the sandwiches together and cook in a preheated panini press or (as I did) pressed between two preheated cast iron skillets, pressing down as you cook, for four or five minutes per side. Cut in half before serving.

Pineapple Angel Food Cake

Since the recipe didn't work so hot as I had it, here is what I think would work better, with the caveat that I haven't yet tried it. The original recipe didn't get the cake cooked all the way through.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Prepare an angel food cake mix according to the directions on the package, omitting 6 tablespoons of the water and subbing pineapple juice, instead, from an 8 oz. can of pineapple. If the pineapple is crushed, simply press out the excess juice and fold it into the cake mix. If it's diced, cut it into small chunks before adding. Also fold in a few tablespoons of shredded coconut (I would probably omit it next time, though, as I am not a huge fan of coconut). Place in a loaf pan and bake according to package directions. Cool on one side on a rack for an hour. Remove from pan. Mix 3/4 c. raspberry jam with a couple teaspoons of Grand Marnier or Chambord. Microwave 40 seconds, stir smooth and serve with cake.