Prosaic Casserole with Sumptuous Dessert

Last night, I made a very humble, canned soup based casserole, with corn on the cob and a salad. However, dessert was brilliant and lush and I could not stop eating it. I forgot to do parmesan butter for the corn, but this time of year, you scarcely need anything for it at all. Next time we have corn, I will make it.

Cheeseburger and Fries Casserole

1 lb. burger, browned

1/2 can cream of mushroom soup (the low-fat kind is fine)

1/2 can cheddar cheese soup

1/4 bag crinkle fries, baked according to package directions

Your favorite burger toppings (I used ketchup & mustard)

Place the burger in an 8" square baking pan. Mix the soups together (I don't think it would hurt to use the whole can, if you can't bear the waste) and spread over meat. Top with fries. Bake 35-40 minutes in a preheated 350 degree oven. Serve with toppings. Serves 4.

The amazing dessert was Nigella Lawson's caramelized pineapple with hot chocolate sauce. I used the broiler rather than the grill and it turned out fine, although I suspect it would have been more magnificent still had I grilled it. I would eat the sauce with a spoon...or in a cocktail glass! Here's the link:

http://www.nigella.com/recipe/recipe_detail.aspx?rid=281

Planned September Dinners

-Crunchy chicken casserole, egg noodles, cauliflower with lemon
-Lemon chicken, mashed potatoes, salad with lemon-dill vinaigrette, ice cream with mocha syrup
-Noodles alfredo, salad, good bread
-Beer-braised beef & onions, baked potatoes, roasted green beans
-Chicken & dumplings, mashed potatoes, peaches
-Spinach & new potato frittata, bacon, fruit, salad
-Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, corn
-Beef & curry pies, rice, salad
-Scrambled eggs with chives & cream cheese, sausage, fruit, Easter bread
-Hot dogs, chips, fruit, salad, coffee cake
-Spinach-stuffed chicken, Greek potatoes, Greek salad
-Beef balls burgundy, egg noodles, broccoli

Kebabs and Fattoush

I'm so glad I planned a simple and fairly light dinner last night! J didn't get home from work until almost 11, so I was able to pop the kebabs under the broiler, with everything else already finished, and have dinner just coming out of the oven when she arrived, weary & hungry. When she was shopping for me earlier in the week, she couldn't find any lamb for the kebabs, so she brought home some filet mignon instead. They turned out delicious! By the way, if like me, you cannot find your wrought iron skewers and didn't soak the wood ones, you can always just lay the meat chunks on the broiler pan as they are, with the onions right alongside. I served these with only fattoush, but rice pilaf would be a good addition for folks eating earlier in the evening. The fattoush, incidentally, was delicious but perhaps doesn't qualify as fattoush since I was flying by the seat of my pants with ingredients! There would normally be some scallions and sumac would be used rather than za'atar.

Filet Kebabs

Enough filet mignon to feed two (8-16 oz., depending on how hungry you are)

1 lemon, juiced but with skins reserved

1/2 c. olive oil

2 cloves garlic, crushed

2 tbsp. za'atar

1 onion, quartered

Throw everything into a ziploc bag and squish around a bit. Let stand a couple-few hours, squishing around every so often. Thread meat & onions onto skewers (or plop on broiler pan). Preheat broiler (or grill) and cook until medium-rare. I served these with pita halves and we made sandwiches, but they're great alone, as well. Serves 2.

Fattoush-ish Salad

2 pitas, halved into 4 discs

1/2 cucumber, peeled, quartered and sliced

1 tomato, diced

1/2 bunch parsley, chopped

A healthy dose of dried mint (use fresh if you have it, though)

2 cloves garlic, minced

3-4 tbsp. olive oil

Juice of 1/2 lemon

Citrus sea salt (you can use any sea salt you like)

1/4 tsp. za'atar

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Put pitas, on baking sheet, in oven for about minutes, then set aside to cool. Mix the rest together. Break up pitas, putting the pieces of one in the bottom of each of two bowls. Top with salad. Break one more pita up over the top of the salad. Drizzle with olive oil or liquid from salad. Serve promptly. Serves 2.

Cocktail Hour on the Porch, Cuban Food Inside

Sunday night, we had a lingering cocktail hour on the porch, something I'd like to try to do at least a few nights a week, followed by dinner inside. I mixed up a batch of Latin Lovers (pineapple-orange juice concentrate, cranberry juice concentrate, lime juice, Malibu, ice---blended smooth) and J had Mike's Hard Pink Lemonade. I cut up an heirloom tomato and took it on the porch with a bowl of tiny fresh mozzarella balls, a few stems of basil, a baguette, a bottle of olive oil and a bottle of balsamic glaze. We nibbled and sipped, blew bubbles and drew pictures with sidewalk chalk. Finally, I left J to enjoy the summer evening and went inside to cook. I made bistec de palomilla, black beans & rice, fried plantains and green salads with avocado chunks drizzled with olive oil and cider vinegar.

Bistec de Palomilla

1 top round steak, cut in half

3 cloves garlic, chopped

Juice of 1-2 limes

Salt & pepper

Olive oil

1 onion, sliced

Chopped parsley

Allow your partner to pound steak to within an inch of its life...well, a quarter-inch, actually. Mix garlic, lime juice, salt & pepper. Marinate steak in mixture for at least an hour while you enjoy cocktails on the porch with the Buena Vista Social Club soundtrack or Celia Cruz on in the background. Pat steak dry. Heat oil in skillet over medium heat until very hot. Brown each steak 2-3 minutes per side, tossing the onion in for good measure. Serve steaks garnished with onion and parsley, with a lime slice or two to squeeze over the top.

The War of the Cheeses

Last week, we had a war of the cheeses-Mexico vs. Britain. J had dinner for the night and had promised mac & cheese. I was all geared up for traditional mac & cheese, one of my most favorite foods. However, J had made a pepper-heavy queso dip at the plant that day and wanted to try it out in the macaroni. So, I was very happy we'd picked up some cauliflower at the farmer's market that J wanted me to make with cheese sauce. I am all for queso, but only with tortilla chips and the pepper flavor was too strong entirely. We had smoked sausages on buns, the mac & cheese and my very traditional cauliflower cheese, which I adapted very slightly from Nigella Lawson's recipe. I think Britain won. Even J ate more of the cauliflower than the mac & cheese & she didn't save the mac & cheese leftovers when she cleaned out the fridge, saying, "No one really liked that." Here's what I did for the cauliflower, which I found delicious but rather soupy and think would be best made without the extra baking next time, just using the sauce over the cooked cauliflower.

Cauliflower Cheese

1 lg. head cauliflower (you could probably safely either double the cauliflower or halve the other ingredients)

2 bay leaves

1 stick butter

2 tsp. English mustard (I used a grainy beer mustard)

1/3 c. flour

2 c. milk

3 c. plus 1/2 c. shredded extra sharp cheddar

A great splash of worcestershire sauce

Another great splash, this one of beer

Cut cauliflower in florets. Put in a pan with bay leaves and cover with cold water. Salt and bring to a boil. Drain and refresh with cold water. Put in 13x9 baking dish. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Melt butter in a pan. Whisk in the mustard and flour. Cook on low for 5 minutes, stirring often. Remove from heat and whisk in milk. Return to heat and cook, stirring, until very thick and starting to bubble. Gradually add the 3 c. of cheese, stirring between each little handful to melt. Add worcestershire sauce and beer. Pour over cauliflower. Top with the 1/2 c. of cheese and bake 20 minutes. Serves 8-10.

Chicken For Two

I hadn't meant to get so chicken-y this week, but between the two of us, we've managed it nicely. It started with J's marvelous chicken parmesan Saturday night, accompanied by angel hair pasta & steamed broccoli. It ended, presumably, last night with the limeade chicken. I intend to do breakfast sausages tomorrow and steak Friday and I believe J is doing brats tonight.

Sunday night, I made a fried chicken salad with buttermilk dressing, which was refreshing considering that J made a roast for lunch on such a hot, humid day! She likes to have a big Sunday dinner while the boys are still with us, returning them home with full bellies and an appreciation of home-cooked food, and the roast was delicious, but it was rather heavy for August. I'd meant to make cheddar corn muffins to go with the salad, but my packet of locally-milled cornmeal has mysteriously vanished from the freezer! Most disheartening. So, we had Italian bread with it. The dressing was so delicious! I was rather displeased with the coating, as it tended to slip off, but the chicken was good nonetheless and I suspect I was just too hasty in turning it.

Monday night, we had a welcome break from chicken when J's plant made a sesame-rich teriyaki sauce and she got hungry for stir-fry. So, she did up a smidge of beef with a lot of delicious veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, scallions, yellow onions, carrots, water chestnuts) as a stir-fry, with teriyaki sauce to accompany. It was not by any means a traditional stir-fry, but it was quite tasty. My usual rice pan was in the dishwasher, so I used another and had less-than-felicitous results. I don't generally have trouble making rice, but then I always use the same pan. So, it was a tad undercooked and the leftovers will go to the dog, mixed in with some ground turkey, cooked up and stirred into leftover chicken pot pie filling as an alternative to canned dog food this week. She will be delighted! I have placed a Japanese rice cooker like my auntie's on my "to buy when I am getting a decent paycheck" list, which seems to grow longer by the day. Hers turns out simply lovely rice. I'd always thought a rice cooker seemed like an absurd thing to own until I tasted the rice she made in hers.

Last night, we were back to chicken, with a recipe I thought was quite sketchy. It came from a 2001 issue of Southern Living, although I had to modify it for two, rather than 8. It's certainly not something I'd ever make if I were feeding 8 people (wouldn't dare experiment quite like that with company) and I am actually rather puzzled as to why I even wrote the recipe down. It thoroughly violates my "no sweets with meat" principle with the main ingredient of limeade. Because of this violation, I was in fear of how dinner would turn out. I decided to make mashed potatoes to accompany it, rather than the rice I'd previously planned. The last thing we needed was another batch of raw-ish rice to go with revoltingly sweet chicken and I can be perfectly happy making a meal entirely of mashed potatoes, anyway. Luckily, though, the chicken was rather nice, even something I might possibly give to company. I served it with the potatoes and a mess of steamed green beans, which we discovered Harley loves while I was stemming them. I gave her a somewhat wrinkly one and she gently took it into her mouth and promptly ran to the living room with it to chomp it down, a practice she also uses with her most favorite of boneys. Now imagine, if you will, a great big Rottweiler-Doberman mix begging with sweetly tilted brown "eyebrows" for more beans! Ever so cute!

Fried Chicken Salad with Buttermilk Dressing

3 tbsp. mayonnaise

Juice of 1/2 a lemon

3/4 c. dry breadcrumbs

2 chicken breasts (skinless, boneless)

1/2 c. buttermilk

1/4 c. sour cream

1 tbsp. cider vinegar

1 tsp. worcestershire sauce

1 tsp. Dijon mustard

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. sugar

Spring mix salad (although I think iceberg would stand up better to the weight of the chicken & dressing---I will be trying it next time)

Coat a skillet with cooking spray and heat. Mix mayo & lemon juice. Coat chicken in mixture, then dredge in breadcrumbs. Saute on medium heat until browned on each side and cooked through. Meanwhile, mix up the dressing by combining the remaining ingredients (aside, of course, from the salad greens) and whisking well. Arrange the salad on two plates. When chicken is done, slice into strips and place atop the salad. Drizzle with dressing. Serves 2.

Limeade Chicken

2 chicken breasts (skinless, boneless)

Salt & pepper

2 oz. thawed frozen limeade concentrate

1 tbsp. brown sugar

1 generous tbsp. ketchup

Coat a skillet with cooking spray and heat. Salt and pepper the chicken. Cook on medium until browned on each side and cooked through. Mix the rest together and pour over the chicken. Cook another 5-10 minutes, turning frequently and making sure chicken is thoroughly coated. Serves 2.

"Junk Food" Supper

Okay, so if it's made from scratch (or nearly so), perhaps it doesn't really, truly qualify as junk food. But, it seems to me that any dinner eaten with Tostitos Scoops rather than silverware is pretty much in that category. Does it help that dessert was peaches? Last night, J and I were the only ones eating (had no idea that Boot is not eating red meat---aside from the enormous turkey, pastrami & corned beef sandwich he split with me today). I made a taco bake and served it with the aforementioned Scoops and corn. If you're into dinners that require no utensils but your fingers, make corn on the cob and this is your meal! It was delicious and I am, even full of J's fabulous chicken parmesan, angelhair pasta and steamed broccoli, contemplating a late-night snack of leftovers.

Taco Bake

1 lb. burger, browned & drained

1 packet taco seasoning

1 c. water

15 oz. can refried beans (I used Trader Joe's salsa style)

1 c. salsa (Newman's Own, medium for us)

8 oz. sour cream (oh, Cabot is lovely!)

1 lb. extra-sharp cheddar, shredded (I cannot speak too highly of Cabot & Tillamook. Last night, I used neither)

Tortilla chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 13x9 pan. Mix meat with seasoning, water and beans. Cook on low, stirring occasionally, 5-7 minutes, until thickened. Put in 13x9. Mix salsa with sour cream and spread evenly over the top. Top with an even layer of cheese (I think you could get away with 8 oz., J highly disagrees). Bake 20-25 minutes, until melted & bubbly. Serve with chips. Serves 6. Or more, if you want to use it for an appetizer.

Amaretto Peaches

4 large peaches

7 cloves

1 cinnamon stick

2 c. white wine

1 1/2 c. rose wine

1 1/2 c. sugar

5 tbsp. amaretto

Bring all but sugar and amaretto to a simmer. Simmer 20 minutes, then remove peaches. Add sugar to wine and cook to a syrupy consistency, keeping a close eye on it to make sure it doesn't bubble over. Cool. Add amaretto. Chill. Good on ice cream, with amaretti or shortbread, or all by their lonesome!