Can’t Get Through The Kitchen Door

Food is cool now thanks to the food porn at the Food Network and it’s celebrity chefs. Some of them are even pretty hot like Alton Brown and Bobby Flay. I’ve always had a thing for it even before friends were calling themselves ‘foodies’. When friends or coworkers have food related dilemmas or are in need of a dinner muse it is D to the rescue. That is pretty cool.

The trouble is I’ve become a little ‘more to love’ than I’d like. I’ve decided to quietly start watching my ass (hopefully) disappear. I thought I’d also start a blog for a bit of motivation and stimulation along the way. I hate diets and refuse to follow the blasphemy that is ‘Atkins’ or ‘South Beach’. I fully believe there is a way to eat delicious interesting meals and still not look like Dorothy (Bea Arthur) ate Rose, Blanch and Sofia in a late night gorging session. Bear with me. I love writing and I can be good at it. But it’s been since baby who knows how long.

I am a procrastinator.

My plan is a daily blog. I hope to expel temptation by posting recipes of things I won’t be eating as frequently. It’s what priests should do instead of having Jesus juice parties with the altar boys. Online food porn.

I will take pictures whenever possible of the dinners I’m making or thinking about. Dinner is my favorite meal to have after lunch. I worked at a Bed and Breakfast for three years. It made me slightly resentful of egg dishes so there won’t be many breakfast recipes. I also live in a dinky apartment so baking is mostly left to birthdays and pizza crust.

I hope I like it and I don’t blow it off for bad movie clips on YouTube. Enjoy the first recipe! It might be too much. If you aren’t up for the whole production it’s perfectly okay to buy store bought red sauce and crust. For bread you can use giant wheat tortillas or french bread from your grocer’s bakery. SO much easier. But not quite as good.

First Apartment Pizza (I made this recipe up while living in…yeah)

Ingredients:

Pizza Crust:

2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon pure olive oil
3/4 cup warm water
2-3 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon instant yeast
2 teaspoons olive oil
Olive oil, for the pizza crust
Flour, for dusting the pizza stone

Sauce:

6-8 fresh tomatoes
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 medium onion diced
2-3 garlic cloves minced
Kosher Salt to taste
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

Saute the onion in olive oil until nearly opaque then add the garlic.Blanch the tomatoes and deseed them. Dice and immediately add to garlic and onions. Cook at 30 minutes (very) minimum. Add basil, cook some more. Sauce should be thick.

Toppings:

Omnivore:

Mozzarella cheese, shredded (fresh is not best here)
Hot Italian sausage
Mushrooms (I’m finally out of the closet on this. I prefer canned mushrooms on pizza)
Green peppers
Caramelized onion

Herbivore:

Mozzarella Cheese
Goat cheese or fresh mozzarella
Garlic spinach
Roma tomato
Roasted red bell pepper
Black olive

The longest part is complete. You now get to decorate your bread base of choice. Noticed I didn’t give measurements on the toppings? I hold the firm belief that topping food is very personal. I have my way.It involves ensuring you get different combinations with every bite on a slice.

NOTE: This blog was written by my daughter Danielle who passed away January 23, 2012. Diane F

Ghetto Alfredo

Roasted Garlic Ghetto Alfredo

Ghetto Alfredo

I have had an exhausting couple of weeks. First my 14-year-old dachshund, Stewart, hurt his back and had to have emergency spine surgery. His vet was out of town so I had to go out of network (from his “wellness plan”) so he wouldn’t be paralyzed. Three days later there is a Yeti turd clogging up the plumbing somewhere that can’t be found anywhere. I’ve really been ready to lose my mind. I haven’t prepared a real meal in a week! I haven’t been much on appetite either.

How long will this last?

Then just a few minutes after my friend Kool Kris left I was smacked by the munchies…hard. I recently cleaned my walk-in pantry. I tossed, organized and cleaned for hours. It also helped me take mental inventory. I thought, pasta, butter, pecorino, roasted garlic and 1/2 & 1/2! This is a literal scoop, dump and stir recipe! I didn’t measure. I simply found my ingredients and stirred! You can mix it up if you don’t have this exactly. I just used enough cream to make it creamy. Trust me soggy pasta is no good.

Ingredients (more or less)

Pasta of your choosing-(I used wide egg noodles about a cup)
Pecorino or Parmesean (about 1/3 cup give or take)
1 tbs unsalted butter
2-3 tbs 1/2 & 1/2, milk or cream
Fresh ground pepper

Boil pasta according to type.
Drain
Place butter in pasta pot
put pasta on top of butter
toss in cheese and stir while on low heat
add cream slowly just until it smooths out
Crack pepper over and serve!

Shrimp and True Grit(s)

As good as Jeff Bridges

I am a huge fan of The Cohen Brothers and Jeff Bridges, a.k.a. “The Dude”. I recently saw the incredible True Grit. Here is what is on the table for Oscar night.

Adapted from Bobby Flay’s Recipe

Ingredients

Serves 2

2 cups water
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup stone-ground quick cooking grits
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
Cajun Seasoning to taste
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/3 cup Grated Romano cheese
1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
6 slices center cut bacon, chopped
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 cup thinly sliced scallions
1 Tsp garlic paste

Directions

Cheesy goodness bubbling away

Bring water to a boil. Add salt. Add grits and cook until water is absorbed, about 4-5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in butter, pepper and cheese.

Shrimp and cajun seasonings

Rinse shrimp and pat dry. Liberally season with Cajun Seasoning let stand while you fry the bacon.

MMmm greezy goodness

In a large skillet cook bacon until brown and crisp; drain well.

Shrimp cooking in bacon grease baby!

In bacon grease, add shrimp.

Parsley, lemon and Green onion

Cook until shrimp turn pink. Add lemon juice, 1/4 of the chopped bacon, parsley, scallions and garlic. Saute for 3 minutes.

So good you might die

Spoon grits into a serving bowl. Add shrimp mixture and mix well. Garnish with more bacon and parsley. Serve immediately with a green vegetable for crying out loud!

Omurice

Omurice is something new I discovered through a friend that lived in Japan. It is simple, inexpensive and delicious.
In order to be a better blogger I’ve decided to stop with the chit-chat before posting and make it all about the FOOD!

Yum Yum Rice!

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked white rice
2 tbs butter
1 tbs sesame oil
2 eggs per adult
1 tsp cream or 1/2 and 1/2
1/4 cup cooked peas
1/4 cup minced oinion
1 garlic clove
1/2 cup chicken breast
ketchup in a squeeze bottle
Sriracha sauce
Soy sauce
1 boullion cube-chicken crushed

Melt butter and oil in a skillet, add garlic, onion and saute until onion is clear, add chicken cook until no longer pink. Add rice and a big squeese of ketchup and the boullion and stir. stir fry remaining ingredients EXCEPT EGGS AND CREAM. Set aside and prepare omlette.

Mound the rice on the finished omlette in the pan. Slide and flip the omlette over in one motion onto serving plate. Garnish with Sriracha sauce and enjoy!

Serves two if you make two omlettes!