‘dillas

Posted on February 9, 2010 | Leave a comment

There was a point in time when we would fantasize about opening a quesadilla fast food chain ala Chipotle where the consumer would come in and order their preferred filler and it would be made on the spot (”dillas’ would be the name of it, of course).  Quesadillas are one of those simple, but always good things you can eat. Mostly because they are filled with copious amounts of cheese. On the morning of the Superbowl we had such a treat for brunch.

Shrimp and banana pepper quesadillas, in fact.

Even in it’s absence, it’s beautiful.. haha… well these were quiet tasty! I had mine with low-carb tortillas which were as to be expected, weird. Still, this meal was highly enjoyable!

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SNOW!!!!!!!!

Posted on February 9, 2010 | 3 comments

I feel compelled to show some pictures of the snow….

Why yes, that is snow up to the window. This is what we awoke to on Saturday morning. I believe at this point, we had about 20 some odd inches and it was still coming down fast and furious. Trip to NYC this weekend… not so much.

The view from the kitchen window.

The view from the bedroom window.

Welcome friend!

Notice how the backyard is just filled, almost to the brim (top of the fence)!

this is the way out!

Time for starving kitten himself to enjoy the snow….

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Pork Chops Marsala

Posted on February 9, 2010 | 1 comment

SnOMG, Snowmeggedon, Snowpacolypse, SuperStorm ’10, etc etc etc! Whatever you want to call it, it came, it conquered, and it’s little brother is on it’s way tonight to provide another 10-15 inches. Just what the region needs! I am a little behind on posts so here we go with the first since the onset of the mega snowstorm.

These pictures were from 4pm on Friday.

So for dinner we decided to make pork chops Marsala (a play on veal Marsala). This complimented the weather nicely, as the sauce came out thick and rich. Also, this recipe is relatively easy and doesn’t take too long to make.

First, we dredged the pork chops in flour, a step that can be omitted if trying to go low-carb. I like to use bone-in pork chops for the extra flavor the bone provides. Don’t be scurred of the bones!

Next, we sauteed the pork chops…

…and put them aside to make the sauce.

The sauce ingredients include mushrooms, onions, garlic, and Marsala wine to name a few. They actually sell Marsala wine at the grocery store, so no special trip to the wine store is needed (although if you are on your way there already they probably have it there as well!).  We also had some leftover thyme so we threw that in and it worked really well too.

We used “baby bellas” (pre-sliced) for this dish. Any mushrooms on hand will do.

We were happy with the way it turned out, although an afterthought was to add lemon juice to the sauce. This would have been a great way to break down the sauce a little and add some acidity to it.  Next time, we will definitely add lemon juice!

Even though having cabin fever would be physically impossible at this juncture because we just got home hours earlier, maybe the thought of being stuck in the house for the next several days was the catalyst for this bout.

Recipe for Pork Chops Marsala

Bogie lost this match, but many more will likely be fought… keep your head up buddy!

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Snow Crab Legs (how fitting!)

Posted on February 5, 2010 | 1 comment

It’s begun! The Mid Atlantic is supposed to get hammered this weekend by a serious snow storm. It is possible we will get up to 30 inches of snow, which should shut down the state for at least a week. Fittingly, the other night we ate one of our favorite things: snow crab legs. Giant had these on sale for $4.99 a pound, which is pretty awesome and a tad disrespectful to the crabs! Anyway, we steamed them with old bay and served them with butter in the mini-crock pot, AKA “the little dipper”. No sides or anything, the snow crab is the star of the show.

Gettin’ their steam on for about 6-8 minutes.

Unfortunately, we decided to take a picture after a few rounds and this guy has seen better days. Despite it’s amputee-status it still tasted good, and that’s what matters. It was a nice mid-week treat.

Now bring on the snow!

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Posted in Seafood

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Meatloaf! The All-American Dinner

Posted on February 3, 2010 | 1 comment

Whether it’s 1950 or 2010 you cannot go wrong with this dinner. A classic diner institution, I am pretty sure my meatloaf can match up with anything you see on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. Ok, maybe I’m getting a little carried away here, but as Greg said, my meatloaf is good because I make it with love. I really do LOVE making (and eating) this meatloaf and the combination of eating it with mashed potatoes and peas (thanks to my Grandma J) is the ultimate combo.  In our house though there is a division over ketchup. I simply cannot eat meatloaf without it and Greg rarely uses it all and prefers his meatloaf with the classic beef gravy, which coincidentally I do not like so much. So, what to do? Make two meatloaves- one with ketchup and one with gravy.

The ingredients for the all-American dinner include, meatloaf “mix” (ground beef, pork, and veal), peas, mashed potatoes (cheating, ya caught me-not from scratch), ketchup (reduced sugar), onion soup mix (hiding in the background), beef gravy, eggs, and bread crumbs.

Meatloaf #1 was my meatloaf- Ketchup Style.

From left to right, bread crumbs (I try to use as little as possible), onion soup mix, ketchup, and an egg atop a package of ground meat. I mix my meatloaf by hand to get all the ingredients incorporated together.

Meatloaf #2 was Greg’s meatloaf- Gravy Style

From left to right, onion soup mix, gravy (a little too much poured out than I wanted), egg, and breadcrumbs (I had to use more to balance out the excess gravy) atop a package of ground meat. Due to my pouring error I had to add more breadcrumbs to get the consistency right. This nearly doubled Greg’s meatloaf in size from mine.

Each loaf went into it’s own dish and got covered in preferred sauce- mine ketchup, Greg’s gravy.

These guys have to cook for a while, at least 45 minutes. In the meantime, I prepared the sides- mashed potatoes and peas. It’s tough to know when the meatloaf is done. I used a meat thermometer and also just went on looks. Below: this meatloaf is not quite done but it’s getting close.

Yum, yum, yum. Both varieties came out great.

Ketchup!

Gravy!

I have to say, the gravy plate looks great! I still prefer to have it my way though.

Recipe for Meatloaf

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Mussels Marinara

Posted on February 2, 2010 | Leave a comment

Ever since dining at Granville Moore’s in DC we have been hooked on mussels. They’re actually quite easy to make and you can make them in many different styles. Usually we try to emulate GM’s Moules formage bleu because it is delicious and we have gotten pretty good at making it, but tonight we decided to try our hand at mussels marinara. I had the idea in my head for this dish for the past few days and wanted to try to make a spicy tomato broth. Overall, I am pleased with how they turned out, but our mussels to broth ratio was not exactly what I had in mind. I wanted it to be more brothy and less chunky and the ratio of sauce to mussels was off but it was still a good dinner.

First, the mussels. We bought way too much as always- 2 2lb. bags of live mussels.

The mussels need a good rinse so they can release any sand they have inside.

…and now for the broth. We started off by sauteing some minced garlic in olive oil and adding white wine and seasonings, including red pepper which is optional if you don’t want any heat. We added a large can of crushed tomatoes and made sure to get the temperature really hot.

We have learned from experiece to get the broth very hot (up to a boil) so the mussels can cook quickly. Somehow that soothes the guilt we feel for killing them, but let’s not focus on that! The next step is to add the mussels and stir and stir and stir until they open up. You can also put the lid on to get it nice and hot in there.

(You can see the other bag in the background awaiting a similar fate)

Once they have opened up you can serve them.  Just remember that you are not supposed to eat the closed ones!

We served our mussels with some fresh Italian bread so we could soak up the remaining broth.

I seasoned the sliced bread with olive oil (via the misto), italian herbs, garlic powder, and salt and pepper and baked them in the toaster for about 10 minutes at 400 degrees.

Another alternative to the bread, or in addition to it, would be pasta or rice.  Or you can just eat them by themselves, which we have done many times before. We ate this meal as a main course, but it makes a great appetizer as well. Next time we make mussels we will probably return to the formage bleu so you will get to see that as well, hopefully soon!

Recipe for Mussels Marinara

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Breakfast BLTs

Posted on February 1, 2010 | Leave a comment

Ahh nothing like a weekend morning…. this morning I made, yes I made something! I made a breakfast BLT- which was an open-faced sandwich with spinach, tomato, bacon, avocado and a fried egg. I had fun with this one.

I don’t eat bread very often, not because I don’t like it but because I LOVE it. If I’m gonna eat it though, I want to eat this delicious onion roll (from Giant) every time!

I figured why not put some wilted spinach underneath the tomato… it’s healthy and for this purpose it has a better texture than lettuce.

One last thing- the egg!

Well this was one of those meals that tasted as good as it looked. I was very pleased with the BLTs!

Recipe for Breakfast BLT

After breakfast, I needed a pick me up and decided to make myself a latte.

I still have not quite mastered the milk steamer and it wasn’t as hot as I wanted it, but it looked pretty and tasted good and more importantly, soothed my caffeine addiction for the day.

Recipe for Non-fat latte

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8-Layer Taco Dip

Posted on February 1, 2010 | Leave a comment

On Saturday, it snowed more than the predicted 1-inch and we were semi-snowed in for the night. I think we ended up getting closer to six inches, which was a pleasant surprise.  Though this ruined our plans to head into DC for the night, we reconciled by making a sinfully delicious taco dip and purchasing a rather large bottle of Crown Royal. All was good…

The making of the dip- all 8 layers:

1.

da beans

2.

no, this is not icing

3.

3.a,b,c

4 & 5.

meat/peppers/onions

6.

7.

8.

those are jalepenos on the right side

You can’t really go wrong with any of these ingredients individually let alone when combined into a super-dip! We served it with some tostitos chips and happily munched away. This dish is straight up junk food at it’s finest. Mmm…

Recipe for 8-layer taco dip

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Oven Roasted Brisket

Posted on February 1, 2010 | Leave a comment

I guess Greg was inspired by our most recent trip to Urban BBQ when he decided what to make for dinner the other night… Brisket! Unfortunately though smoking this baby was out of the question considering it was under 20 degrees outside and we don’t technically own a smoker.  So, oven roasting it was.

Massive amounts of seasoning were added to the meat a suggested by Paula Dean. We don’t have a roasting pan so Greg used a basic Pyrex baking dish and it worked just fine.

I believe this picture was taken after an hour or so of baking. You can see that Greg added beef stock to the pan. It went back in the oven for another couple of hours.

This is what it looked like when it was finished. It shrunk down quite a  bit as you can see.

Greg and I went different directions with how we ended up eating it. He had his on an onion roll with some BBQ sauce.

a lil blurry...

Instead of a sandwich I opted for having the meat by itself with some of the natural gravy/pan juices.

yum!

Recipe for Oven Roasted Brisket

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Cheddar Tuna Noodle Soup

Posted on February 1, 2010 | Leave a comment

Though this dish started off to be a “snack” it had the heartiness of a meal and made a great lunch. It was a winter wonderland outside and this was the perfect antidote for the bone chilling cold.  Also, it is a very simple recipe with ingredients most people have in the pantry.

Greg started off by heating up the canned soup (cheating, I know!). He used Cambell’s Cheddar Cheese Soup and made it according to the directions on the can. He added a can of drained tuna and let it simmer away while the pasta cooked.

He then added the cooked pasta and served it up. He topped the soup with Old Bay seasoning for some additional flavor and color. It looked so good in the bowls, particularly in the contrasting color of the red bowl.

The soup had a nice velvety texture (velveta-esque, if you will) and the tuna played a minor role and really just gave the soup some texture. I recommend a non-linear pasta like rotini, penne, or shells, versus a spaghetti or linguine noodle. Easier to eat up with a spoon!

Though this recipe is really just a gathering of ingredients and we didn’t actually make anything, I would still give it a try. This is comfort food for sure and great for a cold day (or night!) and if you don’t tell anyone you started off with canned soup, they’d never know.

Recipe for Cheddar Tuna Noodle Soup

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