wow! that is a fast chicken!

I love school supplies.  I am the MOST unorganized person on the planet, but that doesn't stop me from appreciating a good notebook filled with dividers and a zippered pouch.  I love the smell, the feel and the shiny newness these supplies bring into my house.  They should make a new school supply candle.  Take that scentzy!  Maybe it's the knowledge that soon (two short weeks) my children will be gone from this house for just a bit during the day.  I'm not ashamed.  I have run out of indoor activities and my entertainment card is full.  Go ahead, watch Jerry Springer.  What they're talking about how to jack a car and light a bong?  Perfect.  Learn up kids.  Mama needs to put her feet up.  New school supply candle...just sayin'.

     This is Luke in first grade raising his hand.  He REALLY wanted to answer the question!!




So, this is a good one.  Luke and Katherine gave it the thumbs up.  Not sure about Lauren.  Lauren only eats yogurt and frosted flakes.  Today anyway!

This is from a publication titled The Best of Fine Cooking, "Fresh and Quick" (that's what she said:)

Grilled Rosemary chicken with sweet and sour orange dipping sauce


I used chicken breasts because apparently it's quite difficult to debone and skin a chicken thigh.  If you have access to these little babies, I'd grab them.  Thighs should stay a bit juicier on the grill.  You can always brine the ck breasts a touch (20  minutes in a bath of salt and sugar)

1 Tbs plus 1 tsp. minced fresh rosemary
2 tsp. dark brown sugar
1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
kosher salt and fresh grounded black pepper

2 1/2 lb. boneless chicken thighs (or 2 lbs breast)  trim fat
2 Tbs. vegetable oil plus more for the grill
1 cup orange marmalade
1/4 rice wine vinegar

in a small bowl, mix 1Tbs. rosemary with the brown sugar, and red pepper flakes plus salt and pepper.
Cut and thread your chicken of choice onto a skewer and drizzle with oil.

 (make sure to keep your chicken pieces at about 2-3 inches.  If they are too small thy will get stuck on your grill.  If you're using thighs, you can thread the entire thing onto a skewer.  I like to use 2 skewers per kebab.  This way, when you turn them you can be guaranteed a flip!)

Sprinkle the chicken with the rosemary mixture.

In a small saucepan, warm the marmalade and vinegar plus remaining rosemary just until warm, them set aside.

Light it up!   Prepare your grill with all burners on high for medium high for 10 minutes.  Clean with a wire brush and then lube it up with an oil-soaked paper towel.  Put chicken on well-oiled grate with lid up until one side had grill marks (5-d minutes for large thighs, 4-5 for medium, a bit less for breasts)  Turn and repeat.

Transfer to a platter, and  let rest for 4-5 minutes.  Then serve with dipping sauce.

I served a simple jasmine rice with a bit of soy sauce on the side.  Grilled baby bok-choy would also be nice with this.

delicious!!

The trouble with children

It's constant.  The eating.  The whining.  The begging.  The relentless pursuit of sugar and all things wrapped in shiny wrappers.  I will readily admit that I am borderline obsessed with feeding my children. I blame everything on their diet.  "They're hungry."  I say to the other mother whose children are not acting a fool.  I say, "we had a very early breakfast."  Leaving out the small details like the menu consisting of oreos, cheetos, and juice.  Details, details.  I was double teamed, what can I say?  I'm weak in the morning!  They know when to strike; before the coffee, the exercise, the shower.  It's no surprise that I am overwhelmed here.  "Get a hold of yourself woman!  You are the boss!  Get rid of all things sweet and non-nutritious!  Take control and fight back with omega threes and wheat!"  says my inner psyche.  Now, I don't disagree with that.  My husband's solution is just this...purge the house of all things evil and sugary!  The trouble is, by denying, I feel I am creating an ultimate desire for Little Debbie and Blue Bell Bullets.  Miss Debbie and Chef Boyardee would rule their innermost thoughts and desires.  To wrap their lips around a York Peppermint Pattie and feel the sensation...the sensation...sugar!

Last night we had an incident.  My son Luke says to me at 10:30 ish in the PM, "mom, I really need some water."  "Ok, honey, go grab some and head back up.  I love you.  See you in the morning."  "OK mom, love you too!"  Meanwhile...boom, boom, boom down the stairs.  Light creeps through.  "Why does he need the light?" I say to Rick.  "I'll go check."  says Rick.  Shuffling.  Quiet sobs.  More shuffling.  More boom, boom, boom.  Mumble, mumble.  Slam.  "What is the deal?" I ask.  "Luke was trying to smuggle a 7up".  "What for??"

So, what ensues for the next hour or so is a conversation about the big issue, the deceit.  He specifically agreed to water, but decided instead to push against the line of trust and sneak a 7up.  I am livid.  The big picture for me is the deceit, not the 7up, but nevertheless it plays a component.  My kids cannot handle it.  they cannot handle having sugar in the house.  I cannot buy sodas ever.  If I make cupcakes they will eat all 24 of them in about 3 days.  Anything frozen and sugary stands no chance.  Gone.  Luke is terrified that if he doesn't eat all of the bar-b-que chips right now, his sisters (ages 6 and 3) will eat them ALL and he will never get them again!  I don't know...


Growing up, the family joke is that we had NO food in our house.  EVER.  If you ever came to Anna's, most of my friends brought their own snack.  (and toilet paper, but that's a different story)  I'm not kidding.  We typically had pecans, radishes, and powdered milk.  I remember eating popcorn for dinner.  Not exactly a well-balanced situation.  As a result, I too looked on in awe at the filled pantries of my friends.  I secretly wanted the spaghetti-o's and ding dongs wrapped in shiny foil instead of the home-cooked meals from my generous friends parents.  So, I can relate, but I didn't hoard like Luke. Instead, when we did have groceries, I was so excited!  So grateful!  So amazed at the full jug of milk.  To this day, a full pantry gives me an amazing sense of security.  Again, I don't know...

 Perhaps there is some wisdom in my mom's model.  Maybe Rick's right, get rid of it all!  What the heck?For now, we will give away the 7ups, the mini cones, the potato chips, marshmallows, capri-sun's and caramels.  We will demand proper breakfast, lunch, and dinner attendance and participation.  If you're hungry, learn to eat what I give you.  If you don't eat, you're hungry.  That's right America, Anna's going military on your ass!  I'll let you know how it goes.

In the mean time, here are some delicious recipes that are simple and fast.  If you don't like them...TOUGH!!


Herb Crusted Salmon with Spinach salad


6 oz salmon filets (4)
3-4 white bread slices torn in pieces
1 cup parsley
2 T ev olive oil
dijon mustard
salt and pepper


5 oz. spinach
lemon juice (3-4 T)
EV Olive oil
a few slivers of red onion slices, to your liking


Preheat a 450 degree oven.  Line your baking sheet with foil.  Add the bread, parsley, glug of oil (1 T), salt and pepper to food processor and pulse about 4-5 times.  Not too small.  Slap your filets on the prepared baking sheet.  Add some salt and pepper.  Put a small dollop of dijon mustard on the filets and spread around.  Smush the bread topping onto the filets and press to adhere.  Bake for 11-13 minutes.  Should be opaque throughout.


meanwhile...back at the bat cave...


toss the spinach with the lemon juice and a glug of evoo.  Serve salmon on a bed of salmon salad. 


Lemony Smashed Potatoes


1lb or so of thin skinned potatoes cut in bite size pieces
lemon zest and juice (2-3 lemons)
evoo
butter
salt and pepper


All you have to do is throw those little potatoes in a pot with well salted water.  Boil until tender, 12-15 minutes.  Drain.  Add the zest and a squirt or two of lemon juice to the pot.  Add salt and pepper and a few glugs of evoo and a dab of butter.  Salt and pepper and stir or smash the potatoes to your liking.  

Don't rush the risotto

 A Legible List...

"Menu"

Chinese style spare ribs with napa cabbage slaw (from this month's everyday food issue)

Pasta al Pomodoro (from Bon appetit-the Italian issue this month)

Bacon/leek risotto with poached egg, and crusty bread

Baked potato bar, shaved asparagus with parmesan vinaigrette (inspired from Bon a.)

Healthy(er) breakfast

     This is TAKS week, or whatever it's called.  I can't remember if it's TAKS or TEKS.  Either way it's irritating.  Poor Luke is freaking out.  He is convinced he'll be spending summer vacation whiling away the hours in summer school.  Torture!!  Apparently, my job and his success depends on a good night sleep and a well-balanced breakfast.  Not for me, for him!  How does it go?  You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink?  Right, so on tap is a cheese frittata and fried ham for Tuesday.  Math fuel.  Cinnamon rolls, yogurt with granola and more ham (from Easter of course) for Wednesday.  Reading energy.   As for the rest of the days of the week?  Easter candy should be fine.  

Cheese Frittata

minced onion, however oniony you like

5-6 beaten eggs

shredded cheese, whatever you have in the drawer, about 1 cup(ish) 

cottage cheese or ricotta (about 1/2cup) or milk/cream about 1/3 cup

butter

Find your non-stick skillet.  I use my mid-size.  Turn your oven on 350.  Set your fire at med. high and add some oil or butter.  (I am fond of butter)  A really good splat.  Enough to coat your pan. When your skillet is hot, add your onion and some salt and pepper.  About 5 minuter here.  Turn your fire down a bit and add your eggs and cream/milk/ricotta/or cottage cheese.  (get it?  so you just need to add a bit of a creamy thing to your eggs, whisk them together, then add this to your onions)  NOW, wiggle your skillet around so the egg mixture is evenly distributed.  Watch your fire so it's not too hot.  Add in your shredded cheese and let the heat do its thing.  Just let it cook for about 5 minutes or so.  If it's not firm after that, put it in the oven for a bit and take it out when you like it's consistency.  YUM!

     A word here about my "recipes".  Here is my disclaimer:  I am not a chef.  (Big surprise, I know)  My resources are most often Christopher Kimble of America's Test Kitchen and Cook's Illustrated, all the lovely trained chefs who put together bon appetit' magazine, and good 'ole Martha from Everyday Food mini-magazine.  I also take great influence from the lay-chef's in my family.  Rachel taught me rice. Heather teaches me to try anything and drink while cooking.  Mom taught me gravy, beans, and chicken broth.  Gaga taught me black bean chalupas, tabouli and sprout sandwiches with spike, avocado and fresh tomato.  Nana taught me to cook with love and reckless abandon.  A clean kitchen is just silly.  It should look like a war-zone after you get your cook on.  My family keeps teaching me and inspiring me, so references will be often.  I will give the shout out when I remember!  

     Don't Rush Me, please

     I hate honkers.  Get over yourself.  Who in the hell do you think your are anyway?  Chill out.  Take a breath.  Now, I've been in a hurry before.  I've honked when someone is obviously not paying attention, or blatantly does something stupid like pull out in front of me.  If I honked, you damn well deserved it.  This isn't about me.   My underlying issue with honkers is that they make me feel rushed.  I do not like to feel rushed.  I work hard to be on time.  In fact, I'm a bit OCD about it.  I am a big fan of sequence.  Love it.  I really really love to do the same sequence of things at roughly the same time in the morning.  Lotion, concealer, powder, eye shadow, liner, mascara, then blush.  I cannot fathom why anyone would do it in any other order, ever.  I was crinkling my head at an odd fellow at the gym yesterday when he was clearly frustrated that I hadn't put the weights back in their proper spot.  I of course went right back and put them out of order again after he corrected them just to make a point, but it sure got me thinking.  As silly as I thought he was, my sequence rituals are just so.  With risotto however, sequence is vital.  Maybe that's why I get an enormous amount of satisfaction when it clumps just right on the plate.  To borrow a phrase from my cousin, "it was my Waterloo" for quite some time.  Little did I know, my love for sequence would carry me to victory.  Once you get the sequence, you can risotto till your heart's content!  Just don't rush it.

Bacon, leek risotto with poached egg (recipe taken from bon appetit April 2011-silly stuff omitted)

Eggs (1 per person, or 2 for Rick)

5 cups chicken broth

1 T olive oil

6 slices bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

2 cups leeks (white and pale green parts only-I wash them, cut them, then spin them and wash them on the salad spinner)

1 1/2 cups arborio rice

3/4 cup dry white wine 

3 T finely chopped flat leaf parsley

1 T butter

2 T fine grated parmesan 

additional parm and parsley for garnish

Bring broth to a simmer, med-low.  Keep warm.  Heat oil in heavy large sauce pan (I use my large, deep sided Le creuset skillet) medium heat.  add bacon, and cook until crisp.  Use a slotted spoon, transfer to drain.  Add leeks and cook until soft but not brown, stirring often, 4-5 minutes.  transfer a few tablespoons to a small bowl for garnish.  Add rice to your pan.  Stir 1-2 minutes.  (Incidentally, this is Rachel's trick for rice and it totally works!)  Add wine then pour yourself a glass if you have not already done so.  Stir until absorbed, about 2 minutes.  Now, add your broth a bit at a time, 1/2 cup or so and let it absorb each time.  DON'T rush it!  Stir it almost constantly about 23 minutes.  You want it to spread a bit on the plate.  After 23 minutes or so, add back the bacon, parsley, butter, and 2 T of cheese.  Season with salt and pepper.  

Poach your eggs and add these on top of the risotto.  Salt and pepper your egg (that's what she said!)  add your garnish and DIG IN to that DELICIOUSNESS!!!

Wish me luck with my healthy breakfasts,  and Luke too.  Hopefully summer school will not be in his future.

     

    

first attempts at scanning a document

So, now you should have an idea of my computer skills.  Won't it be fun to see how well I do with the technical part of blogging?  Don't judge.  

My plan is to provide my grocery list along with the recipes if requested.  Just leave me a note and I'll scan them in or write them.  (obviously some learning to be done here) 

My life seems to be centered around food for better or worse.  My family has a rich history in the kitchen and I'm looking forward to sharing some of those stories and some new ones.  Hopefully I'll remember how to turn a phrase and get better at this blogging thing.  I've always loved to start things...

Gaga

My grandmother is in the hospital.  We call her Gaga.  She is a remarkable woman.  She's pocket-sized, 80 pounds soaking wet.  You wouldn't know it by watching that woman work.  Good lord don't stand too close to some clippers or before you know it, you'll be clearing the fields.  That woman loves a good field to clear.  She can clear an acre faster than a goat. It would make sense to be cooking things that remind me of gaga.  The trouble is, I wouldn't exactly associate food with gaga.  Clearing fields yes, but hearty delicious meals?  Nope.  I do however remember sitting around her big fancy table on Sundays, passing the brown gravy and rolls knowing that eventually they would nestle right in between me and my cousin Sarah.  We would then proceed to gorge ourselves on rolls and gravy.  Hoarding the salty goodness and casting an evil eye to relatives looking for seconds.  It didn't take long for gaga to just provide a bowl for the two of us.  

You never know who will be at Sunday dinner either.  She will invite the devil himself to sit down and share our gravy.  Lots of wide eyed conversations are had I can tell you.  Gaga had a wonderful paranoid schizophrenic who happened to be a house guest for a while.  She would catalog all day in her notebooks.  One morning over breakfast, we were all sitting enjoying wheat toast, salted butter and marmalade when she yells out, "I've found you apricot jam!".  To this day, any member of our family is known to use this phrase when we stumble on a lost item.  One morning, Jesus himself impregnated Gaga's friend.  It was quite an event.  I promise I'm not making this up.  

Gaga may not be an amazing chef, but she sure knows how to be a host.  To this day, if I'm sitting down at her table, I have no idea what character will show up.  So, gaga, I'm looking forward to meeting your new assortment of recruits.  I can't wait to share your table again.  I promise to follow in your lead this Easter and accept any strays that make it to my doorstep.  I'll make sure and share the gravy.