A FRIDGE FULL OF FOOD...

8-Year-Old Samuel's Taco Dogs at the R Family Cafe

        

After reading on Facebook the other day that the grandmother of our neighbors was going over to their house for lunch made by her grandkids, I was excited when they posted a photo of their lunch made by 8 year old Samuel and thrilled when he agreed to come over and allow me to interview him for his recipe for "Taco Dogs".

Apparently, entrepreneurally-minded Samuel has been busy this summer running a business he calls "The R Family Cafe".  He charges $2.00/5 year membership for regular lunches and an extra $1 per "romantic meal".  Gene and I will have to take him up on that one!  Wonder what he charges to cook for a dinner party of 4-6?  We might have to contract him for one of our Dexter dinners, although with the violence and Debra's cursing, we'll probably have to send the Chef home to bed prior to  showtime!

When I asked what his little sister was doing while he was slaving away over a hot microwave, Samuel informed me that she "played on the computer" but after lunch provided an impromptu ballet recital for the entertainment.

When asked what he served with his taco dogs, Samuel stated that his mom steamed broccoli from their backyard garden "you know, on top of the stove where the fire is" and then put cheese on it to form a tasty sauce.  He also said that since they had to pick off a few bugs who were trying to munch for free on their garden broccoli, that meant it was extra good. I agree. That's how you know your garden is successful, when you have to fight the critters and bugs for your produce!

All I have to say in closing is "Watch Out!" to all my local chef friends: Dave Ponder, Steve Young, and Brad Lyons, Samuel is on his way up and he's going to be a force to be reckoned with!

Mini Trial Run: Four Meals in the Freezer Recipes in Two Hours

 

  Like everyone else on the planet I have a job, and like a lot of other people on the planet, I work nights.  It makes for odd schedules in so many ways, and meals, according to me and everyone I know who works 12 hour overnights, can be a nightmare...or at least challenging.  I've spent hours on Pinterest searching for and planning a big cooking day where I stock lots of healthy meals in the freezer so that I don't dread cooking as much on my work and sleep days or make Gene do it.  I know, it's a pretty pedestrian fantasy but trying to avoid the non-nutrition of fast food and the expense of restaurant food by cooking clean home-made meals consistently (the key is consistently) can be a challenge. It ain't for wusses, that's for sure!

I did a mini trial run this afternoon on the whole pack the freezer in one afternoon concept and I have to say it was much easier than I thought it would be and very emotionally rewarding. it's great to know that I already have dinner for my work day tomorrow prepped and in the firdge and a half dozen easy options in the freezer for my sleep day on Tuesday.  This will be particularly good for when I work stretches of 12 hours on/12 hours off.  12 hours sounds like a lot of time until you try to do all those normal little things like sleep, bathe, spend time with the family, answer emails, watch a little of the boob tube, let alone trying to cook from scratch--and we don't even have kids!  My admiration is off the charts for the moms and dads who work 12 hour overnights and manage to keep the family and their sanity together and dressed in clean clothes and with full bellies.

I chose four coordinating recipes this afternoon (recipes/links/photos follow) mainly to make it easy on myself and because both ground beef and round steak were on sale at my market this week.

Home-Made Mayonnaise in the Blender in 5 Minutes; Garlic & Parsley Aioli 1 More Minute

I've often talked about what rotten brats my brothers and sister and I were as kids, not because we were inherently mean, but because we were so spoiled by our Mom's creativity and know-how in the kitchen.  As an adult, I appreciate the summers we spent gardening and all the home-made great food we ate but as kids we were the frowny faces who whined to our cake-decorator Mom "Please, anything for my birthday but cake with decorator frosting!" See? Brats!

We also had home-made pancakes (not from Bisquick or a mix), home-made caramel sauce for our ice cream, and home-made mayonnaise on our sandwiches. Did we appreciate it?  No! We whined for Bisquick pancakes, white store bread, caramel sauce that comes in a Smuckers jar, and Miracle Whip!

I laugh now, and hope she's laughing in Heaven with the unappreciated Moms!

I've been making a lot of buttermilk herb (ranch) dressing lately and since that's all from scratch, it seemed a shame to keep using commercially made mayo (I'm a Hellman's girl) when I know how to and how easy it easy to make home-made mayo before proceeding to the buttermilk dressing stage.  Mayo, like all dressings, is a relatively simple concept with a variety of ingredients that can be used for slightly different tastes. I'll give the basic recipe and add some of the ingredients that can be exchanged for the basics to 'fancy up" the basic eggy, creamy, rich concoction that is mayonnaise. I may not have appreciated it as a kid but I do now, Mom!

American Classics: Julia Child's Deluxe Chicken or Turkey Salad

 

Nobody's perfect. We all have the opportunity to learn and grow our skills in everything in life.  Gene has admitted a couple of times over the years that my chicken salad is, well, a little boring.  He likes the way I make potato salad, devilled eggs, and tuna salad, but says my chicken salad is "just okay".  Not that he's a jerk. He's my most enthusiastic supporter and eater, and over 25 years my cooking has put 20 lbs on his once too-skinny frame, so I take no offense.  He loves my cooking but I took this as an opportunity to improve my skills.

I added a rotisserie chicken to his grocery list this weekend while I was working, just for this purpose, and decided to go back to the basics and re-learn how to make a good, basic, no frills, chicken salad.  Who better than Julia Child to teach me? 

After reading over a dozen recipes that were either similar to my way or added more frills (pineapple, grapes, nuts, pasta, etc) than I wanted for a classic dish, I hit upon Julia Child's "Deluxe Chicken or Turkey Salad from her book The Way to Cook.  The ingredients are basic but the preparation is not.  Julia uses a two-step method with a ten minute recess that does, indeed, produce a classic, no frills, but delicious and flavorful chicken salad perfect for the classic all-American "Iron Kids" sandwich.  With Julia's method, she tosses the chopped meat with olive oil, herbs, and seasonings, and lets those ingredients get comfy with each other before coming back and binding it together with the mayo.  The two step method makes a world of difference in how the final dish's flavor resonates. The chicken and herb flavors take the lead and happen to be bound together with mayo rather than mayo flavor dominating.  Adding the fruit, nuts, etc, would also work well with this recipe but for those like my hubs who like it on the "classic" side, this is the recipe and method we'll be using, and he agrees. (Personally, I love the walnuts in it--I love the crunch!)

In four days, August 15th will be the 100th anniversary of Julia Child's birth. We are all better cooks for her enthusiasm and her career. Thank You, Julia!

BLTO's (Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato, and Vidalia Onion) for Long Hot Summer Days

 

Mmmm....BLT's or BLTO's, my favorite summer sandwich, the ONE sandwich where I actually crave good old Sara Lee Iron Kids soft white bread. For me, not even toasted. I love the crisp bacon paired with the soft squishy white bread, the fresh lettuce and juice tomatoes with the bite of onion and the tang of real mayo.  That's an all-American sandwich that defines summer!

I have a trick to cooking the bacon, one I learned in the hotel business in professional kitchens. It won't save you time overall but it will save having to stand over a pan for a half hour dodging oil splatters that seem to know how to target hands and forearms. The trick is baking sheets, parchment paper, and the oven to get perfectly straight pieces (no curly cue bacon for good BLT sammiches) of crisp bacon.

Night Shift Birthday Party: Jessica's Cucumber Sandwiches

 

One of the great side effects of work birthday parties is getting to taste new recipes like these pretty open-faced cucumber sandwiches our friend Jessica brought in.  Easy to make, they were delicious, so good Carrianne and I ate almost a container of them by ourselves (luckily, there were three containers so others could indulge too).

By the way, I'm going to start adding Cook's notes to recipes with "use this...or that..." and I've set up a new category to reflect recipes that take substitutions well.   So many times recipes can be equally good using several different ingredients and it can all depend on what you have in the pantry or what you need to use up from the garden.  Not all cooks are adept at making those substitutions the way I was taught growing up in my mother's kitchen.  Quite frankly, we were very poor and running to the grocery store for a $5.00 ingredient was rarely an option so my mother became extremely proficient at still trying new recipes while also still using her pantry items on hand.  For example, most recipes that call for asparagus taste just as great substituting broccoli when asparagus is out of season, zucchini for eggplant, or in this recipe Cavender's Greek Seasoning is a great substitute for fresh dill when you don't happen to have fresh from the garden on hand.

Summer Family Birthday Party: Bratwursts in the Crockpot

Not only did we have a fun summer family bday party, honoring (boy) Jordan, Sydney, and Kaylee (who wasn't able to come--we miss you, girlie!) we made up a new recipe.  Usually bratwursts and grills go together but for a variety of reasons it just wasn't an option this time so we fired up the crockpot instead.  I've made hot dogs in the crockpot (beef broth instead of water) for work things so I knew it would work but I didn't realize just how well. One of the yummy side effects of the crockpot was how tender the brats ended up coming out.  Deliciously tender.  Amazingly tender.  Plus, in the last few cooking hours, I added a sliced onion, red pepper, and banana pepper to the mix and they became one of our favorite toppings.

I worked right before the party so the Price Cutter bakery at Republic Road and National had to step up to the plate with cakes. These were adorable (and very reasonably priced) "Fancy Baby Doubles", an eight inch layer topped with a six inch layer. Plenty of cake to serve everyone plus small enough to be able to get individually designed boy and girl cakes, one in chocolate and one in vanilla. We all loved them. I've really been impressed with Price Cutter's bakery the last few years. They've got a great staff of talented and versatile decorators.  The kids happily shared their cakes and still had leftovers to take home.

Creamy Cucumber Dip

 

So simple and yet so rewarding, this is a summer constant in my work lunchbox and snack around the house. Only three ingredients that pack an all-out taste power punch:  creamy for the tongue, crunch for the teeth, and salty herby for the psyche pleasure zone.

It's also one of my favorite orders at Parlor 88, a local pub with two locations in Springfield, where they also serve nummies like curried chicken salad lettuce wraps, jalapeno popper dip, and pulled pork nachos.

Parlor 88 serves the cucumber dip with lavosh (cracker bread) but at home we eat this primarily on good fibrous tough stuff crackers or I love it as a sandwich on wheat or rye bread. Middle-of-the-night Afternoon Tea, anyone?

An added pleasure is anytime the cukes come from your own garden. Sigh.  The best part of summer is the garden!