Monthly Mingle No. 9 - Arabian Nights

So life was a bit chaotic during Meeta's MM No. 8 and I didn't get a chance to participate.. but not this month - nothing was going to keep me from joining in on the fun! Not even having absolutely, positively no farkin' idea what to make. None. Nada. The big goose egg. Zilch. This gal doesn't venture much past the Italian, Mexican, Asian, Southern regions of cuisine very often and hoooo baby! did it ever become blatantly apparent when Meeta announced the theme! So.. well.. my offerings aren't very creative - actually she suggested both in her write up. And although I've made many versions of the one recipe, the other was very new to us and even after being more than a little apprehensive as to how it'd taste, we both really enjoyed it! So Yay! to trying something new and crawling a lil ways from our comfort zone. We rock. We are so worldly now. heeee! And so without further ado.. I present to you - Baba Ghanoush!! And yeah, the ONLY reason I made it was not my love of eggplant.. it was only because I love saying it! Baba ghanoush!! Baba ghanoush!! It's hella cool! Okay since I've never had this before I can't vouche if the recipe I found was authentic, but it sounded really good and ended up tasting really good too.. you be the judge: 1 large eggplant 1/4 c. tahini, plus more as needed 3 cloves garlic, minced 1/4 c. fresh lemon juice, plus more as needed 1 pinch ground cumin Salt, to taste 1 TBS. extra-virgin olive oil 1 TBS. chopped, fresh, flat-leaf parsley 1/4 c. brine-cured black olives, such as kalamata Prepare a medium-hot fire in a charcoal grill.* Preheat an oven to 375°F. Prick the eggplant with a fork in several places and place on the grill rack 4 to 5 inches from the fire. Grill, turning frequently, until the skin blackens and blisters and the flesh just begins to feel soft, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer the eggplant to a baking sheet and bake until very soft, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from the oven, let cool slightly, and peel off and discard the skin. Place the eggplant flesh in a bowl. Using a fork, mash the eggplant to a paste. Add the 1/4 cup tahini, the garlic, the 1/4 cup lemon juice and the cumin and mix well. Season with salt, then taste and add more tahini and/or lemon juice, if needed. Transfer the mixture to a serving bowl and spread with the back of a spoon to form a shallow well. Drizzle the olive oil over the top and sprinkle with the parsley. Place the olives around the sides. Serve at room temperature. *My Notes: Okay so THAT's the way Mimi Bobeck prepares her Baba Ghanoush. Lisa, dead tired from her 8 in the dungeon prepares it this way: Preheat oven to 375º F. Peel the eggplant (although next time I'm going to skip this step as well) and cut into 1/2 inch disks. Place them, single layer, on a cookie sheet and salt them, then drizzle a lil olive oil over them. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until they are golden brown and soft. While the eggplant is roasting in the oven, get out your trusty food processor and toss in all the rest of the ingredients (I cut the tahini down to 1/8 c. at first because a few of the reviews said it overpowered the eggplant, but I used a 1/4 c. in the end), including the kalamatas but excluding the olive oil. Once your eggplant is roasted, toss the disks right in with the rest and process until it all looks good and mashy. Transfer to a pretty bowl and drizzle the olive oil over it. Serve with freshly baked pita chips. Ohhh and awwww over what you've been missing all these years. ;) Secondly, I made kebabs! Partly because Meeta said they legally met all the requirements for this month's Mingle, but mostly because my friend, Laurie, of Laurie's Kitchen made these recently and they looked amazingly good (much better than mine looked!). Although I used a different marinade - and only because I had so much of it left from my Easter ham and I wanted to get rid of it. Pork Tenderloin Kebab (or ham!) marinade/sauce/glaze 1 c. packed brown sugar 5 TBS. balsamic vinegar 1 TBS. dijon style mustard Mix well and pour over your intended meat for a quick 30 min. marinade (can use the marinade for glazing after you remove the meat) or just as a super yummy glaze. Thanks for a cool theme this month, Meeta!! I look forward to checking out the round-up - and ya'll should too! :D xoxo

Self-saucing Pudding??

huh? A pudding that self-sauces? What the hell does that mean? And there is definitely cake involved... so how can it be called Self-saucing Pudding? Another one of those mysteries I might never find the answer to.. basically because I'm too lazy to look it up on the net. To end the month of January, my dear man - known to the blogging world as "Hubbs" - made his girl a loverly dinner PLUS a dessert! Talk about being a happy camper when arriving coming home after travelling through the frigid and icy weather from my 8 in the dungeon. The house smelled wonderful, the kids were cleaned up and looking especially cute and furry and there was even a tall glass of iced white tea waiting for me at the dining room table. Holy cow! Actually this isn't a rare occassion.. when he doesn't work (due to the icy frigidness) he will clean and cook because he can't stand laying around all day. I don't get that, but God bless him anyway! hehe After eating his, really quite good, salisbury steak with roasted potatoes, we waddled to our designated sofas and hunkered down under our over-sized warm blankets for an evening of Tivo'd shows. I'd say, maybe, an hour or so later, he jumped up announcing he had a surprise and then dashed off to the kitchen. While I sat there and wondered if he'd been hittin' the crack pipe what the surprise was and thanked my good fortune for being with such a good man, I heard dishes clanging and the microwave buzzing. Soon he reappeared with two bowls that were slightly steamy and covered in powdered sugar. When he handed me my bowl, I stared in wonderment at the fluffy cake sitting upon a pool of lemony sauce and took in the lemon scent that was wafting up through that steam. I looked up at him and thanked him.. and then said, "It looks and smells KICK-ASS, but what the hell is it?" He said it was a lemon self-saucing pudding, as if I should know what it was. "What is self-saucing pudding? And how did you make this?" He said he didn't know exactly what it was but it looked good in the picture. "Ahhh", I said. He had gone through my huge pile of cookin' mags put out by Kraft. Free magazines that they send out monthly that I can't seem to throw away after looking through them. And now I'm kinda glad I didn't. *grin* Anyhoo, he found this recipe and said he knew I'd like it. He was right. Firstly, it was warm and gooey.. such a wonderful combination. Secondly it smelled of lemons and that really is one of the best scents in the dead of winter.. Thirdly, it was warm and gooey. Did I mention that already? The cake on top was very fluffy and not too sweet and the "pudding" on the bottom was not as thick as pudding, but not thin like a sauce either - kind of in the middle'ish. It was sweet and tart, a nice balance of both. And lemme tell ya.. it was super easy to shovel it in, because the next thing I knew, mine was gone and I knew not much time had passed while I was blissfully enjoying his creation. The picture above may or may not be my second slice. *blush* Being a supportive husband of a blogger, the dear man actually snapped some before and after pictures and he dog-eared the page so that I could share with you the recipe. After checking it out, I can say that for a tiny amount of effort and a huge amount of lurve - you will be rewarded with the perfect warm and coozy dessert for a freezing cold winter night! Lemon Self-saucing Pudding Adapted from Kraft Foods Magazine 1 yellow double layer cake mix (He used a butter cake mix) Ingredients to make the cake from directions on box - usually a few eggs & some water 2 pkgs. (4 serving size) instant Jello lemon pudding/pie filling 2 c. cold milk 1/3 c. sugar 1 1/4 c. water 2 TBS. confectioners' sugar Preheat oven to 350º F. Grease a 9" x 13" glass Pyrex dish. Prepare the cake as per the box's directions and pour into prepared baking dish. In a large bowl, combine pudding mixes, milk, sugar and water and whisk for 2 minutes or until thoroughly incorporated. Gently pour the pudding over the cake batter. Bake in preheated oven for 55 to 60 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Let set for about 30 min. and serve warm with a sprinkle of confection's sugar. *Hubbs' Note: He suggests putting the cake on a lipped cookie sheet while baking, because some of the pudding ran and is now a black and smoking puddle on the floor of our oven. =) Also, this is going to be our submission to the so sweet and talented Meeta's Monthly Mingle - Sweet Love. Because, really? Look at those pictures - they scream "lurve" in a lemony, warm and coozy way. :D

Monthly Mingle #5 - Give Thanks

For this month's Mingle, my sweet friend, Meeta has picked a theme about giving thanks. I like this idea as it's always good to think about what we have and to acknowledge our appreciation for it. Sure, we've all got our problems - who doesn't - but instead of stressing over them, it's rather nice to take a moment or two to think about your loved ones and how they care about you, your home and how there is no better feeling than coming home. Your health and how grateful you are to be alive to share your life with your loved ones, be it family and/or friends. The list can go on and on. I'm thankful for many, many things. I have a Mom who is also my best friend. I have a man who loves me for who I am and who I love deeply. I have three beautiful "furry" kids who I cherish more than I ever thought possible. I have a nice home that's cozy and welcoming. I have a handful of true friends that I know will always be there for me and who I hope they know I'll always be there for them. I have my health - although I'm not in the best shape that I could be - I am alive and grateful for it. My list goes on and on as well, but you get the idea, yes? =) For this month's Mingle I've decided to say thanks to Hubbs. This man may drive me insane on occasion (heee!) but I do love him with all my heart. He shows me affection constantly. He helps around the house, he takes care of his yard, he comforts me when I'm down, he cracks me up like no one else can, he likes to do the same stuff I like to do and he's shown me things I've never seen before. He's easy going which is nice because I'm the stressed out worrying alla time type - so I know I can count on him to "talk me down" when I get wacko. lol Above all, he makes me feel loved and special. And so, to show him some of my appreciation this week, I made him his absolute favorite food. Scallops. He doesn't care how they are prepared, all he cares about is that he's getting scallops. I've made them many times for him - and always a different way. This time I wanted to make a sauce that was tangy with a nice punch of heat. So I chose this ginger-lime sauce to drizzle over them. When I first tasted the sauce while it was reducing, I was quite alarmed - whoa baby was it salty! Woo!! I thought I screwed up and was already getting out ingredients to make the old stand-by garlic and butter sauce to replace it. But I continued cooking it and added a lil sugar to tone it down a bit. This sauce ended up being fantabulous with the seared scallops and white rice that I served with it. It really brought out the taste of the scallops, which surprised me. If you decide to make this sauce, my only words of caution are - use it sparingly as it does pack quite a punch. We found that just a drizzle over the scallops and then maybe a spoonful or two over the rice was just perfect. It's tangy and salty and sweet and spicy all at the same time. Seared Scallops with Ginger-Lime Sauce 1 lb. of sea or diver scallops 1 TBS. butter 4 TBS. soy sauce (this could be cut down to lessen the salt - or use the low-sodium soy sauce) 2 TBS. light brown sugar 2 TBS. fresh ginger - either grated or minced 2 tsp. ground chilis (I used ground ancho chili powder) 2 tsp. fresh, minced garlic 1 tsp. rice wine vinegar 1 tsp. lime juice (I upped this to 2 tsp.) 1 tsp. ground black pepper 1/2 tsp. onion powder 1 TBS. corn starch 2 TBS. water Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat until it's just starting to brown. Lay your scallops between two layers of paper towels and apply pressure to coax the extra liquid out of them. Season the tops with sea salt and pepper then transfer them, top side down, to the hot skillet. Season the other side and leave them alone for about 3 minutes or until the bottoms are nicely seared. Flip only once and sear until browned and cooked through - approximately another 3-4 minutes, if even. For this sauce recipe you could do two things. Put all ingredients, except the corn starch and water, into a jar or container with a tight lid and shake until combined then refrigerate for 24 hours before use. This preparation would be more for a marinade. Or you can add all ingredients to a small saucepan and cook over medium high heat until you get the desired thickness you'd like. That's the way I went. *Note: I also doubled all ingredients except for the cornstarch and water as that was plenty to thicken the double batch perfectly. And I added 2 scant TBS. of white granulated sugar to help cut the salt a bit.

Meeta's Monthly Mingle No. 4

I was getting a little worried about this month's Monthly Mingle.. as coming up with something that included zucchini and sage was posing a problem for me. I could think of a zillion zucchini recipes, but I don't use sage that often in my cooking. I did not want to disappoint the very lovely Meeta so I really needed to come up with something! After a lot of recipe research in cookbooks and online, nothing really sounded very inspiring. Bummer. BUT! When I decided to cook a big meal for Hubbs and I yesterday afternoon, I decided that instead of serving potatoes with the roast, I'd like some creamy risotto. As you know, risotto is very versatile and many different ingredients work well in it. I wondered how zucchini and sage with maybe a little hit of mild onion would taste in a basic risotto recipe? Ha! It was fabulous! And now, I've created a risotto recipe that I will use again and again - I lurve when that happens! So if you aren't familiar.. this month's Monthly Mingle is called "Take Two". Meeta gave us all the challenge of coming up with a dish that included zucchini and sage. Here is my submission, I hope you try it and I hope you check out all the rest of the creative dishes when she posts the roundup this coming weekend. There is still time to get in your creative sage and zucchini dish as well! The deadline is Oct. 12 - so get cookin' kids! :D Lisa's Sage, Zucchini and Green Onion Risotto 2 small to medium zucchini, cut into coins and then quartered 3-4 green onions, sliced thin 1 TBS. fresh, chopped sage 1 TBS. butter 1 1/4 c. Arborio rice 3 - 3 1/2 c. chicken stock 1 generous pinch of sea salt Ground black pepper, to taste In a large skillet, melt the butter and then saute the zucchini and onions (reserve about 1 TBS. of the sliced onions) until translucent. Add the rice and saute until it just begins to brown. Season with salt and pepper. Add 1/2 c. of the stock and stir rice until it soaks up most of the stock - then continue on in this fashion, 1/2 c. of stock at a time, until you've used all the stock - this should take between 20 and 30 minutes and the rice should be very creamy. Add the fresh sage with the last 1/2 c. of stock. Once the rice has absorbed the last of the stock, sprinkle the reserved onions on top and serve. *Note: When I make risotto, I normally add a good handful of Parmigiano or Pecorino. I did not do that this time as I wanted the other flavors to shine through, but I can't imagine it not being just as delicious with the addition of the cheese if you so desire. :D

Monthly Mingle #4

I'm so thrilled to have been invited by the delightful, Meeta of What's for Lunch Honey to participate in this month's Monthly Mingle. The theme for this month's event is Holiday Cuisine. Thanks to Meeta's Blogger Postcards from the World event, I've got to meet this fabulous lady and I have enjoyed exploring her blog, which was new to me. Not only that, I've been fortunate enough to chat a little with her through e-mail, and I've discovered such a nice gal and a new friend. =) What's holiday cuisine for me? Well Hubbs and I don't get to take many vacations as our work schedule is something of a nightmare. We both work at the same commercial roofing company, but his schedule is seasonal. Which means, he works hard during the spring, summer and fall months - the perfect time for vacations. He gets winter off, but I'm still working in the office. We could still take a vacation during the winter, but we both love to go fishing so much that taking time off in the winter just doesn't appeal to us. Therefore we're kind of stuck at home most years. But there was a time.. so very long ago.. that we did vacation.. a time before becoming homeowners when we had money to spare and no commitments to a lovely little house that we've fallen in love with. So yesterday Hubbs was invited by his brother to go out on the boat and do some much needed perch fishing. They had a great day on Lake Erie and caught many.. many.. many delectable yellow perch. When he got home and showed me his cooler full of fish, the first thing we both said to each other was, "Remember catching this many fish on Lake Nipissing in Canada?" Lake Nipissing, located in Callandar, Ontario is our most favorite spot to take a holiday. The lake is simply gorgeous, surrounded by wooded areas and lots of fishing lodges. We always stay at Sunset Cove on the North Bay, where the small cottages are rustic and cozy, the owners are especially accomodating and friendly and the fishing is out of this world! It truly is a special place for us and we agree that one of these summers we are going to say the hell with work and get our butts back up there! Our friend, Larry, stopped by again and while the boys cleaned fish I thought that I'd make a commemorative dinner in honor of our last vacation to Lake Nipissing. As I was preparing fresh cut french fries and a salad of orange bell peppers, garden tomatoes and onions dressed lightly in a balsamic vinaigrette I realized that this special dinner would be a perfect submission to Meeta's Monthly Mingle - perfect! It took the boys a couple hours to clean and fillet the fish, but they did a great job as not one bite was ruined by the annoyance of a small bone. The fish was delicate and so flavorful, the way only fish caught merely hours ago can taste. We ate out on our deck with Jimmy Buffet crooning to us in the background - yanno, a lil island atmosphere to really make us pine for the patio outside our cabin, just a few feet from the lake. *sigh* One day we'll come back to you, Nipissing.. one day! Wayne's Fresh Lake Erie Perch Fry 2 pounds of fresh perch, cleaned and filleted 1.5 c. all-purpose flour 2 tsp. garlic powder 1 tsp. Old Bay seasoning 1 tsp. kosher salt 1/2 tsp. black pepper Enough vegetable or canola oil to shallow fry the fish Place all ingredients except the fish in a paper sack. Shake ingredients to mix. Heat a large skillet filled with about a 1/4 inch of oil over medium-high heat until the end of a wooden spoon produces bubbles all around it when dipped into the oil. Working in small batches, place a 6-8 fillets of perch in the sack of flour and shake to coat well. Removing one fillet at a time, shaking off extra flour, carefully place into hot oil. Fry each batch until golden - say 3-4 minutes, flipping once. Repeat, in small batches, until all of the fish is fried. *Note: Thank you so much for bringing this great event to my attention, Meeta.. we had a fabulous evening reminscing about one of our favorite holiday destinations!