Rachael and Ina make a perfect couple!

Can you imagine a more schizophrenic duo in the kitchen than Rachael Ray and Ina Garten? I mean, there's Rachael, giving things a "shimmy shake" and declaring every single dish as "YUM-O." And then there's Ina, the Queen of Cool, high energy never ruffling her calm demeanor. I can't imagine that smile disappearing from her face even if the dog ate the $200 prime rib she had purchased from a personal friend who runs a farm raising heirloom beef.

Can you picture those two in the kitchen together? How long do you think it would be before someone’s Santoku knife “accidentally” entered the eye socket of the other? Nonetheless, we had an excellent dinner tonight that combined recipes from both of these ladies.

Our main course was Rachael’s Pork Chops with Spiced-Apple Pan Sauce and Roasted Broccoli, paired with Ina’s Roasted Winter Vegetables. Rachael’s pork chops were browned, then lifted out of the pan long enough to sauté apples and onions with cinnamon and nutmeg before being finished with a splash of lemon juice and a handful of chopped parsley. While the pork chops simmered on the stovetop, the broccoli roasted in the oven with a wisp of garlic until the broccoli florets developed into crispy, browned, caramelized goodness.

However, before I even started on Rachael’s recipe, I had popped Ina’s Roasted Winter Vegetables into the oven. Within 20 minutes, even though the vegetables had nothing on them but salt, pepper, and EVOO, the house was redolent with the aroma of cinnamon and nutmeg. It smelled like Christmas, Thanksgiving, and gGrandma’s house, all rolled into one. I pulled the winter vegetables out while the broccoli roasted, then popped them back in the oven for a few minutes before plating dinner.

Not only was dinner delicious, I felt like we were doing our bodies a huge favor with the nutritional double whammy of the broccoli and the beta-carotene rich winter veggies.



We finally got the rain that we have been waiting for, so this was a great night to have something that calls up some vague ancestral memory of a farmhouse after harvest. Of course, we were going to have chili, but the store I stopped at didn’t have the fire-roasted tomatoes I wanted. Don’t you hate that? For the sake of one ingredient, the whole plan has to change. Of course, I could plan ahead, but where’s the fun in that? Actually, I do plan for a week at a time, but sometimes I just don’t want what was on the menu, or something isn’t thawed out (like the pot roast that’s been in the refrigerator for five days now).

Also, I’ve now posted the recipes for Ina’s Real Meatballs and Spaghetti, along with my own spaghetti sauce that a friend of mine very much wanted to see. Good luck with that, Mr. K. You know that no one makes it like Mom, right?

Y-A-W-N!

What a long day! Just walked in the door, and I have to walk back out in nine hours. There will be no cooking in this house tonight. G'night, John-Boy!

Prepare to be Amazed!

It is my hope that each of you who reads my blog finds a measure of inspiration at some point. After all, if I can find time to cook, anyone can, right? And I'm honest about the mistakes, proving that everyone strikes out sometimes.

If I can't inspire you with food, I hope that somewhere you take away something to remind you to spend time with those you love, no matter how full your schedule is.

With that said, though, I know that tonight's offering will simply blow you away with its creativity. Now, you might wonder how I could top last night's divine spaghetti and meatballs. It was, after all, pretty good. Well, tonight, we had....

Drum roll, please...

Ta-da! Meatball sandwiches! It's okay, go ahead. Oooooh! Aaaaah! Yes! Worship at my orange kitchen clogs! (I don't really have any; I was just channeling Mario B.)

In fairness to me, the housekeeper is coming tomorrow, so I have to clean my house tonight. I don't think she's ever seen the kitchen so....cooked in. I'm afraid she'll quit if I don't tame the wild beast a little bit. Plus, there are a ton of meatballs left over. I need to get friendly with my Foodsaver and freeze them for the future, but tonight they made a great dinner. They really are the best meatballs I've ever eaten.

I promise to get caught up on recipes before Saturday. By special request, I'll be including "my" meat sauce recipe, although it's not much of a recipe. There's a lot of what looks right, what tastes good...one of those that it's hard to write down. For now, though, I have a date with a dishcloth!

Mama Mia!

I have to confess. I've never made meatballs. Not once. I've made plenty of marinara sauce, Bolognese sauce, and ragu, but never meatballs. In fact, I'm guilty of scoffing at those who would go to the extra fuss. And, if I do say so myself, I've done a pretty good job of it. When your son-in-law loves your spaghetti, why would you mess with it, right? However, part of what this blog is about is trying new things, so I didn't just flip past Real Meatballs with Spaghetti in BCFS.

So, tonight when I got home, I started to make the magic happen. Three kinds of ground meat. Fresh bread crumbs. Dried bread crumbs. Freshly grated Parmesan, chopped parsley...mixed lightly...barely kissed with the fork to blend. And the secret ingredient, of course...water, which Ina Garten herself claims will keep the meatballs soft and moist. Then, the meatballs simmer in a mixture of EVOO and vegetable oil, turned with barely the caress of a spoon, until all sides are browned.

Once the meatballs were done, my attention turned to the sauce. This is not my kids' mama's red sauce, but I'm cooking Ina's way this month. Sort of. I knew right off that there wouldn't be enough sauce, so I doubled it. And pasta sauce without any basil? Um...no. So I added some. Other than that, I stayed true to the recipe, sauteing onions and garlic, deglazing the pan with red wine, then adding the other ingredients, slipping the meatballs back into the pan, and simmering while the wonderful fragrance filled the house. While the meatballs finished off, I dropped some whole wheat spaghetti into a pot of hot water, sliced and heated a baguette, and waited.

Were the results worth it? I'd say so. The meatballs were meltingly tender. Really. The sauce, although simple, was rich. This was comfort food at its best, and my son-in-law may have give this one a try.

Before I go, I have a reflection to share. This morning, on my drive to work, the KMLE 108 Morning Mayor, Dave Pratt, made an offhand comment. It was nothing, really, but it caused me to realize that I miss something very, very much. I miss being the mom of little kids. I love my grown-up girls, and I'm proud of them, but I miss the intensity with which a child (most specifically mine) experiences even simple things. I miss having a tiny sun around which my universe orbits. I miss the simple acts of grace that make up a child's life, and the laughter that echoes off the walls, and the tears that can be quelled with a hug and a kiss.

Life is more complicated now. Their problems are bigger. Mom's hugs and kisses don't solve anything, although these beautiful young women are kind enough to pretend they do. And they did, really, grow up too fast.

Homey. Comforting. Sane.

There has been a lot of buzz over at the CLBB the past few days over a Lemon Lentil Soup with Spinach first posted by Alysha from The Savory Notebook. After last night's cooking debacle, this sounded like just the right thing to have for dinner tonight. Brightened with lemon and tomatoes, and redolent of garlic, this soup is loaded with antioxidants. To top it off, dinner would have been ready in less than half an hour if I hadn't been playing around with a Sara Moulton recipe for roasted cauliflower, then at the last minutes decided to make some Parmesan garlic bread wiith the leftover Roasted Garlic Cloves I made last night. Then, I decided to pull out the Oven-Roasted Tomatoes I also made last night, which I don't think I even mentioned in the rest of yesterday's saga. Then I sat down on the couch, with my husband on one side and two dogs begging for scraps on the other, and simply ate dinner. Aaah....bliss.

I really should have known better...

Boy, was I ever ambitious tonight! Three new recipes, and not one in the bunch quick and easy. Well, the fish, perhaps....

Remember how I said way back in the beginning that I really, really don't like fish? I AM trying, though, because I know it's good for me. I decided to try a recipe from The Stinking Rose Restaurant Cookbook, Hawaiian Sunfish with Cherry Tomatoes, Roasted Garlic, & Olives, thinking anything based on garlic has to be good. And in fairness, it actually was. However, before I could begin the recipe, I had to roast the garlic. This cookbook's recipe calls for two cups of peeled cloves to be gently warmed in a cup of olive oil for 40 minutes, followed by 20 minutes in a low oven. It really did produce some wonderful roasted garlic--mellow and sweet. (Is anybody counting the minutes here--and this was before I could start cooking--and after I peeled two cups worth of garlic cloves.)

While the garlic roasted, I started the Wild Rice Pilaf from Barefoot Contessa: Family Style. It needed an hour to cook, but I figured not too bad, because of the long cooking time required for the garlc. A quick chop of half an onion, a shimmer of olive oil in a brasier, and we were off to the races. Fifteen minutes later, I added the water, salt, and wild rice, then covered to simmer for another 50 minutes. Meanwhile, I chopped scallions for the final preparation of this dish.

But was I done? Oh, no. I also madeMashed Yellow Turnips with Crispy Shallots from The Barefoot Contessa: Family Style. This recipe required six shallots to be peeled and cut into sliver-thin rings, then cooked in olive oil (no lower than 220 degrees, nor higher than 260 degrees) for 40 minutes. While those were cooking, there was the peeling, cubing, boiling, and pureeing of the turnips. And let us not forget slicing the multi-colored, heirloom cherry tomatoes and kalamata olives, or preparing the chiffonade of basil for the fish.

I want you to close your eyes (well, keep one open so you can keep on reading) and picture my kitchen at the end of this. I swear, every single pot, pan, knife, cutting board, and prep tool I owned was either dirty or ready to become dirty. Oil rings covered the granite countertops, and there wasn't an empty inch of counter space. Plus, I was tired and sore (remember the broken foot I told you about from ten days ago?) after the grocery shopping and this marathon cooking session. Finally, though, with everyone's help, we got the kitchen cleaned up, and I prepared to finish off the fish (just a quick saute) and the sauce (a minute in the pan after taking out the fish) so that I could serve dinner.

By the time we sat down, our hopes were high for a really good meal. I took my first bite of the fish, and promptly got stuck in the mouth with a bone. Hello! This was supposed to be a fillet. So, at that point, I was done. Dinner was over. I did taste and nibble at the rest, but I was exhausted and too disgusted to eat.

What did I learn? To trust my instincts. I'd rather waste some ingredients, or figure out how to use them later, than become so focused on a crazy cooking project that it detracts from spending time with the people I want to nourish and love. I did know better, and I ignored the voice inside that was screaming, "Stop! This is insane!"

When I am over my snit about the dinner misery, I'll post recipes, because honestly, every one of them was worth trying--just not all on the same night. Tomorrow, I look forward to a much simpler dinner that will allow me to focus on the ones I love.

Time to Meet the Rest of the Family

Today was going to be blog day in my world (along with menu planning, grocery shopping, and house cleaning day). Life, however, intervened. We had three very welcome visitors to our house, our daughter (Kim) and two granddaughter (Cayce and Brooklynn). Cayce is 8 years old and in second grade; Brooklynn is six weeks old. They are shown here with ther Aunt Kira (who was named "Nonni" by Cayce when she first leaned to talk). Somehow, their beautiful mother always manages to slip out of camera range.

We enjoyed visiting with them. When they left, the Husband (Kent) and I did the most dreaded of all chores; we went shopping at Costco on a Saturday afternoon. Don't get me wrong; I love Costco. I've been member since their very first warehouse opened in our city in 1978. I just hate going there on the weekend. Although we could have filled up on the $1.62 hot dog special, we chose instead to precede our shopping with a visit to Famous Ray's Pizza--the closest thing we've found to John's Pizza since our visit to the Big Apple last June. We love their pizza and their wings, and it's always better to visit Costco without an empty belly.

By the time we got home, I was feeling a bit under the weather. I sat down on the couch, and that was the last thing I knew for the next three hours. So now, after my long winter's nap, I'm up, working on the blog for awhile. I've changed the format a bit; feedback is welcome. I felt the white on black, which I loved from a design perspective, was just a bit too hard to read. So...I'm off to grab a slice of cold pizza and a Diet Pepsi, then back to the keyboard!