Simple Summer Dinner

Cocktail hour included gin and tonics for me and some white wine for Dale. Dinner was steak on the grill, steamed broccolli, salad, and a pretzel bun (all from Kowalski's, of course!). Dessert was pretty simple as well: Skinny Cow Cookies 'N Cream ice cream. Yum.

Caprese Salad

I've eaten the Spaghetti with Tomato and Anchovy dish every day since I made it the other night. I decided that if I had it again tonight I'd have to whip up something different just for the sake of variety. I made a simple Caprese Salad. I used the four basic ingredients - tomato, mozzarella, basil and olive oil - but I've seen some recipes call for salt and pepper to taste and capers. It was delicious.

Last Night's Cocktail Hour

Prior to making last night's dinner I made gin and tonics and drank them from my new tiki cup on the porch. The music for cocktail hour was Red Hot + Rio 2 which I had just downloaded from iTunes. The album pays tribute to the Brazilian Bossa Nova and Tropicalia movements of the 1960's by offering updated versions of the songs from that era by contemporary artists. It's quite and amazing collection of songs and was produced by the Red Hot Organization which raises money for HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention.

Dining Alone Part 3

With Dale up on the Island I haven't been eating like I usually do. I haven't been eating poorly just differently - lots of sushi, rotissere chicken and beef from Kowalski's, cheese and crackers, herring and crackers, salads, and lots more fruit than usual. Anyway, the stuff I've been eating hasn't required much preparation so yesterday I decided to try something that called for a little more effort. The recipe I picked was Spaghetti with Fresh Tomato and Anchovy Sauce from Jacques Pepin's More Fast Food My Way. The dish was really quite simple to prepare and very delicious for how easy it was to make. Ingredients including chopped tomatoes, petite peas, baby bella mushrooms, garlic, anchovies and red pepper flakes are mixed together and then combines with the spaghetti. The the anchovies and the oil they are in really give the dish a kick. Cilantro and parmesan are used to top it off just before it is served. I think this is the first time I've ever grated my own parmesan cheese. It really added a nice sharp flavor.

Rhubarb

The rhubarb crunch I made the other day has prompted some curiosity within me about rhubarb itself. I did a little research and found this on Wikipedia:

"Rhubarb is usually considered to be a vegetable; however, in the United States, a New York court decided in 1947 that since it was used in the United States as a fruit it was to be counted as a fruit for the purposes of regulations and duties. A side effect was a reduction in taxes paid."

July 4th - Carol's Rhubarb Crunch

I was bound and determined this year to use some of the rhubard that grows in the backyard. It's been quite a few years since I've made anything with it. In fact, the only thing I've ever used it for is a recipe that was given to me a number of years ago by my co-worker, Carol. Carol and I used to teach 2nd grade together way back in the early 1990s. She and her husband John would usually invite me over to dinner before school would start up in the fall. The practically had a farm in their back yard and Carol liked to show me how everything was coming along. They grew rhubard, tomatoes, corn, cucumber and so much more. Carol made a delicious rhubard crunch and one year when I asked her for the recipe she gladly obliged. She had gotten the recipe out of one of those church cookbooks and she photocopied the page it was on for me. So even though I think of the recipe as Carol's it actually needs to be credited to Ruby and Ramona since they were the gals who submitted the recipe to the church cookbook.

Rhubarb Crunch

Mix until crumbly: 2 cups flour, 1 1/2 cup oatmeal, 1 cup brown sugar, 1 cup melted butter or shortening, 2 teaspoons cinnamon.

Press 3/4 of the crumbly mixture into a 9x13x2-inch pan. Cover with 6 cups of rhubarb.

Combine: 1 1/2 cups white sugar, 1 1/2 cup water, 3 tablespoons cornstarch, 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla.

Cook until thick and clear. Pour over rhubarb. Top with remaining crumbs. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

We served it in bowls and topped it with whipped cream and the results were spectacular. Dale loved it and so did I!

Blueberries

Blueberries are one of my favorite fruits. The following is from Alice Water's book Chez Panisse Fruit:

"Wild blueberries were tamed by Elizabeth White, a cranberry grower's daughter from the pinelands of southern New Jersey, who selected local wild plants with desirable qualities and, with the help of a plant breeder, developed the first cultivated varieties in the early 1900s. Since then cultivated blueberries have become enormously popular. North America is the largest producer by far."

"Blueberries were an important source of food for Native Americans. They were eaten fresh, to be sure, but much of the summer harvest was laid out and dried in the sun, then stored for winter use. The dried berries were pounded to a powder and added to stews and porridge."

Cultivated varieties only since the early 1900s? Pounding dried blueberries to a powder for stew? Who knew? Funny what a little research'll get ya... I'm now going to keep my eye out for blueberry powder.

I like putting blueberries on my cereal, especially in the summer when they are in season. I also add some sweetened almonds.

Stacey Kent at the Dakota

Noel and I went to see Stacey Kent at the Dakota Jazz Club tonight. She sang Falling In Love Is Wonderful, Waters of March, What a Wonderful World and many others and of course sounded fabulous (as always). Noel and I both had our usual burger along with fries and bearnaise sauce. As I've said before I think the Dakota has one of the best burgers in town. Noel had a root beer float for dessert and I had chocolate gelato. It was a wonderful evening.

John Pizzarelli at the Dakota

Tonight Dale and I took Noel to see John Pizzarelli at the Dakota for her birthday. She loved the performance and so did we. Mr. Pizzarelli has a great report with the audience and sounded great as well. The three of us all had the hamburger with fries for dinner. The Dakota's burgers are, I think, the best in town. Their fries are incredible too especially with bernaise sauce. Absolutely delicious. I find the Dakota to be the most fun place in town to hear live music and their food is incredible.

Easter Parade

Dale and I arrived home stuffed from dinner at Mom's at about 6 p.m. and decided to watch Easter Parade with Judy Garland and Fred Astaire. I love the scene where Jules Munshin, as Headwaiter Francois, prepares an imaginary Salad Francois for Judy Garland and Peter Lawford. My mouth always waters a bit when I see this even though no actual food is show. The power of suggestion is pretty strong... especially when it comes to food!

Easter Sunday 2011 - April 24

Dale and I went to the Easter Sunday service at Gethsemane Episcopal Church in downtown Minneapolis. Mom had us over to her condo for Easter dinner this afternoon. She made a lovely ham, twice baked potatoes, green bean casserole, candied yams with marshmallows, bread and salad. Oh yeah, and cherry pie for dessert. It was all very delicious!

Dorothy? Who's Dorothy?

A back to back showing of The Wizard of Oz was on TBS during this past Sunday's dinner. We watched it while eating but took a break to get the scones ready. At one point I poked my head out of the kitchen to catch up on what was going on and "Surrender Dorothy" was on the t.v. screen. I gotta say that even while watching this as a little kid I was impressed that this girl, despite her fear, just didn't give up. Years ago when this was on CBS-TV, it was often on at this time of year and I'd remember watching it at Grandma's house when we were up North for Easter weekend. Grandma's Easter dinners (actually, all of her dinners) was HUGE. She'd usually make a ham. I have fond memories of coloring eggs at her house with my brothers and our cousins.

Last Night's Dessert - Scones with Fresh Strawberries

While shopping for yesterday's dinner at Kowalski's, Dale and I decided we really wanted scones with strawberries for dessert. Kowalski's used to carry some wonderful Bramblewood Cottage scones but we haven't been able to find them there for a long, long time. We couldn't even find any of their in- house scones that were plain. I decided to just pick up some Bisquick and make our own scones. Mom used to make pancakes from Bisquick when we were kids. We used the recipe on the box which made six good sized scones. They were really quite delicious with fresh strawberries and whipped cream.

Sunday Dinner - Beef Roast

One of the things I remember most about Sunday dinner as a kid is roast beef. I remember visiting my Grandpa Les in Two Harbors, Minnesota and he absolutely loved Grandma Jean's beef roast. Dale and I tried our own version today. We stopped by Kowalski's and got a 3 pound beef rump roast. According to directions found online, the rump roast should bake for an hour a pound. That made for 1 hour. The directions on the roast said the same thing and that the temperature should be about 130 degrees at least. We browned the roast in a cast iron skillet and put it in our Le Creuset roasting pot in the oven at 350 degrees. After an hour our meat thermometer read only 65 degrees. We upped the oven temperature to 375 and let it go a bit longer. It took another half hour to reach a temp of 145. To the Le Creuset pot the roast was in we added carrots and onions. We boiled some red potatoes for good measure. It all ended up to be very delicious!

Dinner On Sunday Blog - Five Year Anniversary

When I began this blog five years ago I had no idea what it would become or if it would even last. Well, it's lasted this long so I guess I had something to say about food and sharing meals with others. I'd like to dedicate this 5th year anniversary post to my mom, Annie, with whom I've shared lots of meals over my last 44 years. She taught me three things about dining with others that have stayed with me: 1) Sit up at the table 2) Chew with your mouth closed, and 3) the importance of having polite and meaningful conversations with others. Thanks Mom, I love you!

How appropriate then that I had dinner with her tonight. Dale went over at about 3:00 today to help Mom with her taxes. I joined them at about 5:30. Mom made a delicious white bean chili. We had salads and bread along with it and also some wine. For dessert she made vanilla cupcakes with chocolate frosting. She had them in the Tupperware container that she's had since I was a little kid.

Here's the recipe for the chili which comes from the Minnesota Cancer Registrars Association cookbook and was submitted by Amanda Hlad:

White Chicken Chili

2 cans great northern white beans, drained

6 c. chicken broth

2 small onions,chopped

1 T. oil

6 cloves garlic, chopped

2 tsp. oregano

2-3 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. cayenne pepper

4 c. cooked chicken, cubed

1 c. sour cream

Combine beans and chicken broth and simmer. In frying pan saute oil, onions, garlic, and spices. Add to stock. Add chicken to stock and cook 30 minutes. Add sour cream and heat through, do not boil. Garnish with shredded cheese and sour cream.

Dinner at Bilbo Baggins, Alexandria, VA

For dinner on Saturday night, Pete and Steph took us to a restaurant called Bilbo Baggins in Alexandria Virginia. I started with a Hendricks martini which was mixed with way more vermouth than is to my liking. Mom had a beer as did Pete. For dinner I had house made tortellini stuffed with crab meat, salmon and fresh dill. It was served with an apple ginger Chardonnay cream sauce and was quite delicious. It's always wonderful to eat seafood when on the east coast. I did a little research and discovered that tortellini means "little twists". Mom had the grilled lamb chops and Pete ordered a steak.

According to Stephanie, the restaurant got permission to use the Bilbo Baggins as the name of the restaurant from J.R.R. Tolkien's estate in the early 1970's. Both restaurant and bar were rustic and charming. Bilbo Baggins is located at 208 Queen Street, Old Towne, Alexandria, Virginia.

Saint Joseph's Day - 2011

My patron saint is Saint Joseph and today is his feast day. Being just two days after March 17th Joseph has always fallen in the shadow of St. Patrick's Day. I've always felt Joseph deserves at least as much attention as Patrick as he was, after all, the foster father of our Lord and Savior. I mean, driving snakes out of Ireland is pretty cool but parenting can be, I've heard, just as miraculous.

Anyway, I've done some online research on how St. Joseph's Day is celebrated and one site pointed out that it is a big feast in many countries, especially Italy where St. Joseph's Tables are traditional. Elaborate meals and other foods are placed and displayed on the St. Joseph's Table. Another tradition is to bury an upside-down statue of St. Joseph in the ground in a hole in the yard of your house on St. Joseph's Day to make your house sell. Believe it or not I had actually heard of this before. If I ever wanted to sell the house I'm in now, I don't know that I could actually stick my statue of St. Joseph in a hole in the ground. I just couldn't. On top of that, it just seems too superstitious.

Anyway, traditional St. Joseph's day meals tend to be meatless since the holiday tends to fall during Lent. My request to Dale was that we have shrimp scampi for this momentous occasion. We used a recipe from the Eating for Life cookbook by Body for Life guru Bill Philllips. This tends to be healthy fare so we doctored it up to make it taste a whole LOT better. Here's the recipe:

"Shrimp Scampi [from p. 167 of the Eating for Life cookbook by Bill Phillips]

Ingredients:

2 portions whole-wheat penne pasta (about 4 oz. uncooked) [We at LEAST doubled that]

1 Tbsp olive oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 portions raw shrimp, peeled and deveined (about 1/2 lb.)

3 Tbsp Butter Buds, divided [Butter Buds? As if! We used real butter]

3 Tbsp white wine

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

1 lemon halved

3 Tbsp reduced-fat Parmesan cheese [Reduced fat? No way.]

2 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

Directions:

1. Prepare penne pasta according to its package directions.

2. While the pasta is cooking, heat olive oil and garlic in a wok or large skillet over medium heat.

3. Add shrimp to the skillet and cook, stirring frequently, until it's almost pink (three-quarters done), about 2 minutes.

4. Add 1 Tbsp of Butter Buds and white wine to shrimp; saute about 2 more minutes.

5. Place cooked pasta in a large mixing bowl and combine it with remainder of the Butter Buds and black pepper; mix gently.

6. Add cooked shrimp to pasta and gently mix it all together.

7. Divide into two portions and spoon onto plates. Top with a squeeze of lemon, Parmesan cheese and fresh parsley."

Dinner at Warren and Gary's House

Warren and Gary are a couple neighbors that I met last summer while walking Sophie. It's funny we hadn't crossed paths before as we've all been in the neighborhood since 1997. They moved into their house probably a month before we moved into ours. Well, better late than never, huh? They actually looked at the house Dale and I live in now but passed on it. I sometimes joke that we got their sloppy seconds.

They had also invited their friend John over whom we hadn't had the pleasure of meeting before. He was quite a wonderful fellow. We started out with cocktails. Gary made me a Tanquerey martini. He used quite a bit more vermouth than I ever would but I won't hold that against him as it was still quite good. Dale drank red wine, Gary had a vodkatini and Warren had a rum and Coke.

Dale and I brought over a salad with a basic balsamic vinagrette. Warren made lasagna with a side of cauliflower. For dessert Warren made a bread pudding and for the bread he used panettone (pictured above). Here's what James and Kay Salter have to say about panettone in Life Is Meals:

"Panettone, the light, delicious cake emblematic of Christmas throughout Italy, originated in and is a specialty of Milan. The Admirable authority on Italian food, Waverly Root, considered it the world's best accompaniment for breakfast coffee. Made in a high domed shape that is sometimes thought to honor the domes of Lombard churches, it contains butter, milk sugar, eggs, raisins, and bits of candied fruit."

"The name 'panettone' is probably derived from pane, meaning 'bread,' and tone, the suffix for 'big,' although there are competing versions. Panettone should be warmed just slightly before serving to diffuse the buttery flavor, and it is also excellent toasted."

It worked very well in bread pudding.

(Top illustration by Fabrice Moireau)

Baked Rigatoni - The Finished Product

Yum

Silver Hour with Baked Rigatoni - Wednesday March 2, 2011

Dale was out of town last week so we didn't get our 'Silver Hour'. He's back home and we're both looking forward to the one tonight. Dinner will be baked rigatoni which is very much a comfort food for us.

Here's how we make the rigatoni:

20 oz. ground turkey or Italian Sausage

2 cups shredded mozzarella

1 and 1/2 jar spaghetti sauce

parmasan cheese to taste

Put in baking dish and bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees.