Okay, I'm terrible at keeping up with all things that involve writing. But I have a couple of great recipes I've made lately that I'd really like to share with you if you'll have me:
Daniel and I had an amazing honeymoon on Maui, in part, thanks to my mentor and Auntie Jana. She sent us to her mother and father's restaurants on the island which were not only the best food on Maui but also some of the best food I've had anywhere. Suffice it to say I had to order the cookbook. The book is called: Family-Style Meals at the Hali'imaile General Store (this is also the link to Jana's mom, Bev Gannon's website). Thus far I've made two recipes from it: Coconut Chicken Skewers & Cauliflower Soup. Suffice it to say both got major thumbs up from my hubby and his folks. An important note is that Bev's recipes are known more for their tastiness then healthiness. Instead of frying the chicken I browned it in a pan with a little oil and then baked them for 13 minutes (I'm sure they're even yummier deep fried but we didn't need the cholesterol or the calories). I didn't put any of the cream in the soup nor did I separate out the carrots or onions -- my family can use as much veggies as they can get!
Another recipe that I thought was delightfully successful was from ye olde faithful Epicurious.com and was Cedar Planked Salmon with Maple Glaze. Wow, was that tasty and fairly healthy! Its a great dish if you want to present something that looks fancy but is really very easy to make.
Tonight its Mexican food night at our casa and I'm making chicken fajitas/ensaladas. It should be pretty tasty, I'll try to report back tomorrow.
Getting back to the kitchen, as with work, can sometimes take some motivation. Its not that I don't want to cook, but the endless amounts of left overs coupled with out of town guests means a lot more eating out and a lot less cooking in. That said, Monday I finally got back to it.
I told my husband that I will only cook red meat if he doesn't eat it for lunch. He would gladly eat steak for breakfast lunch and dinner (I think he ate In and Out Burger 8 times in one week in college). But its my job as wife and duty as cook to look out for our health thus the red meat once a day policy. Well, he had Salmon for lunch on Monday so I made him one of his favorites:
Irish Beef Hand Pies: http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/irish-beef-hand-pies
The recipe calls for cabbage but I substitute it for yellow onion. My husband has a thing for the umami flavor and you can really get that out of onions. He tends to like to eat the pies with BBQ sauce.
I am also resolved to cooking more hearty meals for myself. I found a great recipe in Ready Made magazine for:
Curried Yellow Split Pea & Carrot Soup: http://www.readymade.com/projects/edible_adventure_yellow_split_pea_carrot_soup
I made it without the spicy cream to make it 100% vegan. Hubby had a little as a side dish and I at it as my main course. While it says, "soup" it had the consistency of refried beans. It reminded me a great deal of Ethiopian food.
As another healthy side I also made:
Green Beans with Lemon and Pine Nuts: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Green-Beans-with-Lemon-and-Pine-Nuts-232986
Super easy to make.
All in I'd say a successful meal. I'd like to figure out a way that my husband would like the hand pies without BBQ sauce.
There, now that we're clear that I will make a concerted effort to write more, I can move on to more important things!
I did a great deal of cooking over the holidays...food, food and more food. But alas this irresponsible blogger did not take pictures nor notes. Shame on me. I do remember a couple of the successful recipes I used!:
Appetizers:
Devils on Horseback (bacon wrapped dates): http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/devils-on-horseback-edf
Pigs in a Blanket: http://www.marthastewart.com/portal/site/mslo/menuitem.fc77a0dbc44dd1611e3bf410b5900aa0/vgnextoid=2cbabe916ecc7110VgnVCM1000003d370a0aRCRD&vgnextfmt=default&backto=true&backtourl=%2Fphotogallery%2Fbar-snacks
Deviled Eggs: http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/creamy-deviled-eggsbackto=true&backtourl=/photogallery/bar-snacks#slide_10
Sides:
Honey Roasted Root Vegetables: http://www.cookinglight.com/entertaining/supper-clubs/supper-club-menu-detroit-00400000056050/page7.html
I'd like to add an additional feature to The Way to One's Heart...I am also going to write about/review restaurants. There are so many new exciting places my husband and I go to and I'd like to remember which are redo's and which, well, are redon'ts.
New Years eve my husband and I tried a restaurant a mere 10 blocks away which neither of us had ever been to:
Locanda Portofino
http://www.locandaportofino.com/primi_di_pasta.html
110 Montana Avenue
Santa Monica, CA 90403
(310) 394-2070
We give it a B-/B. We've been to many Italian restaurants. It was far better than some and not nearly as good as others. The ambiance was lovely and the wait staff was very attentive, though its hard not to be in such a small restaurant. For an appetizer we split the Calimari. There was nothing very special about it. It was simply dipped and batter and deep fried, served with a lemon wedge. My husband quickly asked the waiter if there was a sauce they'd perhaps forgotten to bring us. No, apparently Calimari is served only with a lemon wedge in Italy. They get points, however, for bringing out marinara sauce in which to dip the squid after we'd asked for it. I think a lemon wedge would suffice if the Calimari itself were more flavorful. Daniel got the pasta special of the evening, the Lasagna and I got the Linguine tutto mare. Both dishes were once again, fine. Nothing special, unimpressive. We both get the same dishes at an Italian restaurant called Saporis (www.sapori-mdr.com/) and they are far superior. Sapori's is a lovely date place right on the water if anyone out there is looking to do some wooing or simply looking for really good Italian food, excellent service and sometimes some freebies from the chef! No dessert was had at Portofino and was left after a fast, unimpressive 45 minute meal. That said, its always fun to discover new places and there's nothing wrong with getting to spend a few minutes looking into my sweetheart's eyes over wine and candlelight.
I hope you and yours had a healthy and happy holiday season and New Year....now let's get excited for all the wonderful things 2011 holds!
