This was the question that was asked by my mother every day when we spoke. We both enjoyed talking about food. She passed away in 2006. I miss someone asking that question. So this is where I will tell whomever what I am making for dinner.
I was reading the Proud Italian blog and her post was entitled Grill Up Some Eggplant This Weekend. So I said OK. We grilled the eggplant in our grilling pan we got from William Sonoma. I added chopped green and black olives, capers, lemon peel, parsley, salt, pepper, olive oil and lemon juice. Very good!
We had hamburgers topped with Pickled Pepper. I found the recipe in the Simple Italian Snacks.
The burgers were good but the topping really added a great flavor.
Today I used a cookbook I picked up last summer, Simple Italian Snacks. I made Chickpea & Olive Bruschetta for happy hour. We had some Pita Chips with Salsa too. The deck is officially open!
For dinner we had Grilled Meatballs, recipe from, Simple Italian Snacks, and Farro, Radicchio and Roasted Beet Salad, from Bon Appetit, June 2010. I did not have Farro so I substituted Bulgur. And I have a new favorite vegetable are beets, roasted beets.
For dessert I made something my mom used to make quite often, Yogurt Pie. It is simple to make and nice and light. I mixed light Cool Whip with Greek yogurt, strawberry flavored. I added fresh strawberries and blueberries.
I went to the Farmer's Market today. I picked up a couple of interesting things. Bok Choy and Devil Carrots. I have never cooked either before tonight. With those 2 ingredients along with yellow squash, zucchini, red onion, scallions and parsley I put together a really good pasta dish.
So tonight I stopped a Whole Foods to get some meat for the upcoming week, more on that in a day or two. While I was there I picked up some Kansas City Ribs for Chris and some BBQ Tofu for myself. I also picked up a Sweet Potato & Cranberry Quinoa Cake. Some Fingerling Potatoes with Leeks and Glazed Carrots were the sides. What a meal!
Tonight Lenore, Ralph, Chris and I went to a cooking demonstration at Quattros in Guilford. They prepared Crab Cakes, Veal Matesse and Tiramisu. Wonderful food and now we know how to make all three dishes!
This week instead of a pile of eggs I actually made a frittatta. I used red peppers, onion, zucchini, carrots and a little bacon. Tonight was keep it simple Monday.
Tonight Chris prepared dinner. I was on the rice. The Grilled Buffalo Chicken Sausage with Peppers and Onions came out perfect. While he was grilling I was pouring over the new Bon Appetit. The Mix and Match section is very inspiring. More to come on that later...
Tonight we marinated Pork Sirloin Cutlets in a Kentucky Marinade. I found the recipe for the marinade in 365 Great Barbecue and Grilling Recipes. I got my copy in 1990. It's a good book to have in your library.
This recipe comes from La Cucina. I made it back in February, but at that time I had to use Cod instead of Sole. I think I prefer the Sole. Gosh it is really easy and really tasty. Tonight we had Israeli Couscous as a side dish.
My dad had a bumper crop of Broccoli Rabe this year. My freezer is stocked! Tonight I made Chris Sausage and Peppers and made myself Broccoli Rabe with Peppers. We had leftover polenta, some Italian bread and a couple glasses of red wine. Perfect for a rainy Tuesday night.
There is something special about that first hamburger on the grill. Tonight's burgers were bacon and bleu cheese from Whole Foods. Well enough about the meat portion of the meal, now on to the good stuff. Quinoa and Goat Cheese Salad. It is actually Greek Quinoa Salad with a couple of variations. First of all I made this salad last year and just like last year I forgot to add the damn olives! I am not a fan of cilantro so I omitted that. I added grated carrots, sliced cucumbers and scallions. And I used Goat cheese in place of the Feta cheese. Well it was amazing. Both of us went for seconds. I think I prefer this over a pasta salad. Wonderful flavors. And I have enough for lunch tomorrow!
I found this recipe on Food52 a couple months ago and tonight I finally made it. Wow I wish I made this sooner. What a fantastic dish. I love polenta. I love caramelized onions and I love goat cheese. Chris also enjoyed it. I made a big salad as the main course.
Chris manned the grill tonight. The deck is not officially open, it is still pre-season. I had cut out this recipe out from Bon Appetit last year. Grilled Bone-in Rib Eye Steaks and Blue Cheese Crusted Tomatoes. Everything was perfectly cooked.
We did our first test run of grilled calamari. Not bad. Quite good actually. Dressed them with salt, pepper and olive oil before grilling and then finished them with olive oil and lemon juice.
Archie did not have any calamari! He prefers tuna.
So it's Friday night. I am sitting in traffic and that means I am not cooking dinner. Tonight we had pizza from Petrillo's Pizza in Madison. When we first moved to Madison we tried a couple of different places but Petrillo's was our final choice for favorite pizza.
Chris made dinner tonight. Sauteed chicken with olive oil, butter, salt & pepper. He made a nice balsamic vinegar sauce to go with it. Zucchini spears and rice. Really good meal. Thanks Chris!
Okay so the stove top plan is not going that well. I get home too late to prepare a meal from scratch. When I went shopping this weekend I was thinking I would be doing a lot of baking and preparing meals in an oven. I did not want to waste anything so I thought frittatta! Perhaps not the smartest idea. I sauteed the veggies - onions, red peppers, zucchini, fresh parsley. I added sweet capicola, fontina cheese and the eggs. The whole frittatta idea quickly fell apart, literally! So I guess it was scrambled eggs with veggies and cheese. Pretty, no. Tasty, yes!
Stove top meal number one. The recipe from La Cucina comes from the Campania region. It is said to be a typical dish of Salerno. I was able to use fresh fava beans which tasted wonderful. I also added some chicken sausage, just so it would not be meatless Monday.
Happy Mother's Day
