Friday, 8/30/19

I tried to combine two different ideas for a pasta, one from Blue Apron and one from a Food Network recipe, and it was pretty good (but too spicy for Carter). Small shells, diced zucchini, cherry tomatoes, Calabrian chilis and ricotta. Came together very quickly (and went down pretty quickly). I also had some broccoli rabe on the side, as I figured Carter wouldn't like that. But then he didn't like it anyway, poor kid. I guess every night can't be lobster rolls. Jason made us a couple of fougasse-style breads as an accompaniment.

Thursday, 8/29/19

For my birthday I ate everything I could get my hands on: an enormous Frappucino for breakfast, a cider donut, chiles rellenos for lunch from La Veracruzana:

The wonderful feeling when you get your dining partner to order the other thing you wanted

Then a penuche sundae from Herrell's. I was getting pretty full at this point, but that didn't stop me from having a late day snack of Flaming Hot Cheetos and a glass of rose (a classic combination). The main event, dinner, was easy to prepare since it was basically ingredient-driven (unusual in our house): lobster rolls (in proper split top buns), lots of tomato-mozzarella salad and fresh corn. Carter had a lot of fun helping me break down the lobsters, but sadly, our two little guys only produced enough for two generous lobster rolls. Jason had to have leftovers instead (but I saved him a bite).

Ugly picture of beautiful tomatoes

For dessert I had planned a S'Mores cake, but it seemed so large and time consuming that I changed my mind and made something called a "Funfetti Sugar Cookie Cake" from Sally's Baking Addiction. This was much easier: a cross between a cookie and a cake (duh), with fancy bits of American buttercream.

Sprinkles!

By then I felt pretty damn stuffed, so I let Jason wash all the dishes while I just lay on the couch.

Wednesday, 8/28/19

A treat for Carter (after a long and tiring first full day of school): just regular old beef burritos and some guacamole. quick and good.

Tuesday, 8/27/19

I (unenthusiastically) made a batch of tofu stir-fry, with spinach, leftover broccoli, cabbage and noodles. it was fine. I think the Aldi tofu doesn't taste very good, but noodles with soy, ginger, garlic and vegetables are always tasty enough.

Monday, 8/26/19

Dinner in Whately--a Blue Apron with grilled chicken tacos, radishes and corn off the cob; plus a lot of leftovers from Sunday, PLUS Jason made another loaf of everything bread. Oh, and my dad had more corn. For once, we had too much food.

Sunday, 8/25/19

We had a BIG lunch with Maggie, Peter, BJ and Bernadette (a pan-birthday celebration). Maggie brought two kinds of chicken to be grilled, potato salad, deviled eggs, parmesan biscuits, AND a pasta salad. Wow! We brought corn and two nice so fun desserts: Jason made chocolate chip cookies and I made another Instant Pot cheesecake. I wasn't happy with our choices but oh well.

So for dinner we just had bread, butter and tomatoes.

Saturday, 8/24/19

Dinner with Jennie and David: Jason's big excitement was the new everything bagel seasoning we picked up at Aldi (another Trader Joe's copycat!) for his bread. I made a batch of coconut lime bars (from my recipe folder, via Cook's Illustrated). Always a winner.

Friday, 8/23/19

Jason and I made cabbage and pork potstickers, using a (slightly adapted) recipe from my dumpling cookbook. We experimented with pan frying and using the Instant Pot as a steamer. I thought the steamed ones were a bit rubbery, but certainly easier and neater than the pan frying! We served them with some rice and called it a meal.

Thursday, 8/22/19

Jason and I collaborated on Instant Pot fettucine alfredo, with a big side of broccoli. It is very delicious, but it really needs the broccoli so it isn't too rich. We also made a batch of oatmeal cookie ice cream sandwiches. I was leery (the cookies were awfully thick and chewy), but they are good! Next time I would make them with better ice cream, not the cheap Aldi stuff.

Wednesday, 8/21/19

We were feeling pretty cocky about our Instant Pot skills, so I went off-book to make a coconut-lentil soup. Once I looked up how long to cook the lentils (9 minutes!) the rest was pretty standard. I threw in a bunch of spinach at the end, Jason made a batch of pita, and I made some guacamole out of some disappointing avocados. I don't know why sometimes they go straight from too  hard to brown and yucky, but it is always so sad.
Here is another bad picture of  what was actually a somewhat pretty and colorful soup (and incidentally vegan):

Tuesday, 8/20/19

Happy Birthday to the best daughter! She shared her Blue Heron comped meal with me, which was awfully sweet. We each had our own tuna crudo  (after admitting that we DID NOT WANT TO SHARE):

Yellow Fin Tuna, Watermelon, Feta Cheese, Shaved Radish, White Soy, Lime, EVOO, Jalapeño, Kalamata Olives, Micro Greens 

I would dearly love to reproduce this. I wonder where you get white soy sauce??

Plus we shared a ribeye steak with rainbow carrots and whipped potatoes, fried cauliflower with Calabrian chile paste (it's everywhere lately!), french fries, and a tres leches cake with raspberries and nectarines. We had leftover fries and cauliflower, but my boys inhaled them when I got home.

The cocktail had gin, lemon and sparkling rose. Pretty (and lovely to drink)

Monday, 8/19/19

We celebrated Corrina's birthday a day early with an angel food cake, plus we gave her an (unexciting) rice cooker. Dinner was a Blue Apron: sauteed shrimp with poblanos, cherry peppers and corn, over little corn cakes, plus we made grilled cheeses to supplement. Maybe not the most festive birthday ever, but nice!

Sunday, 8/18/19

Another Instant Pot success: pulled pork. I didn't follow an actual IP recipe, just got an idea for how long to cook it. I just seared the pork shoulder, sauteed onions, added bourbon, salt, pepper and a little liquid smoke and set it for an hour. Not exactly "instant", but certainly faster than the slow cooker. and it was really good! Served it on brioche rolls, with fresh corn off the cob and macaroni and cheese. The mac&cheese was a variation of my favorite Serious Eats recipe, usually made with salsa verde and chicken. I did make a salsa verde (sans tomatillos, which I forgot. Still came out fine! I just grilled poblanos, onions and jalapenos and threw them in the blender with cilantro and lime), but skipped the chicken. I also forgot to buy canned green chilis, but a can of diced tomatoes and green chilis was a nice substitute. Carter was VERY dubious, but he actually liked it and had seconds! Cooking win. I do love traditional oven baked macaroni and cheese, but sometimes this stovetop variety is good, too.

Saturday, 8/17/19

Dinner with Jennie and David. Jason bread and the plum cake from the NYT. This cake is sort of miraculous, as it looks so unpromising going into the oven (and I generally don't love cooked fruit desserts). The plums soften and melt into the cake, which obliging rises nicely all around the fruit. Good with whipped cream.

Friday, 8/16/19

Summer dinner! Corn fritters (from Paula Dean; I used 4 ears of corn instead of canned, and added a teaspoon of baking soda because, self-rising cornmeal? Not north of the Mason-Dixon, lady), zucchini gratin (from an Ina Garten recipe---the only change is that I grate the zucchini and just use whatever cheese is on hand), plus tomato-mozzarella salad. I thought everything was great, but Carter said the fritters were too cornmeal-y (he didn't like the sandy texture) and Jason asked "Is it supposed to be this texture?" about the gratin (oh, and Carter simply pronounced it "disgusting". He only had kind words for the salad).  Here is an ugly picture:

Thursday, 8/15/19

Dinner with Jen and John--we had one Blue Apron, a Korean-inspired shakshouka with rice, plus we brought bread, Jen made a cucumber-tomato-corn salad, and Jason and I collaborated on some rice pudding. We used the Instant Pot again, and I (mostly) used a Melissa Clark recipe. It worked fine.

Wednesday, 8/14/19

We are trying to clean out the freezer a bit, so we had some eggplant parm with tomato sauce (left over the the giant Instant Pot taste test), a box of mozzarella sticks, and a salad. Plus Jason is working on fougasse.  I don't know if he achieved it, but it was very nice bread with a healthy dose of parmesan on top for extra tastiness.
This meal was NOT greater than the sum of its parts, but it was fine.

Tuesday, 8/13/19

Burgers and tots, after a long hiatus. Exactly what you would expect. I also made a salad with tomatoes, cucumbers and some fresh mozzarella. Honestly, that could have been my whole meal (but no one can deny that tots are tasty).

Monday, 8/12/19

Dinner in Whately---there were two Blue Aprons, so I was really hopping. One was a pork chop with peach salsa, broccoli and mashed potatoes (with pimiento and cheddar). The other was ditalini with zucchini and mascarpone, served with a scoop of ricotta mixed with calabrian chili paste (that was my favorite by far). I also brought some deviled eggs, and Jason made a (very good) loaf of bread. AND I made a batch of blondies, so we had a feast. At Corrina's request, I made my old Fanny Farmer recipe for the blondies, and I had forgotten how good (and easy ) they are. The only thing I changed in the recipe was browning the butter a bit.

Sunday, 8/11/19

Long drive back from New Jersey---Jason and Carter had turkey sandwiches for dinner, I just snacked on some nachos.

Saturday, 8/10/19

Stephen and Sarah's wedding, and Jason was actually there! Appetizers were the best part (especially the little samosas), but there was also very good chicken, rolls, and green beans. I actually forgot to try the cake, but hear it was good.

Friday, 8/9/19

Dinner with Jennie and David: onion bread from Jason, chocolate pudding (from SK, of course)  and whipped cream from me. Not exciting, but always gets finished.

Thursday, 8/8/19

Last night of SULA! Leftover pasta, then I stayed home and made Jason a batch of biscotti.

Wednesday, 8/7/19

Jason and collaborated on dinner: pasta in the instant pot with both hot Italian sausage and hamburger Easy, but I still prefer my meat sauce from the slow cooker. I like the way the sausage gets so soft and melds with the sauce. But, this was quick and doesn't heat up the kitchen...

Tuesday, 8/6/19

I actually made a whole dinner! Tofu sauteed in the sauce from Craving's chicken lettuce cups, served over rice along with some steamed broccoli. I have taken a lot of liberties with that recipe, but the sauce is always good. A nice wholesome meal that even included vegetables.

Monday, 8/5/19

Brought dinner to my dad, who was laid up with a small pressure sore. Just a Frontier Pizza. It was awesome. Then we raided his freezer for ice cream for dessert.

Sunday, 8/4/19

Dinner with Jennie and David, who are finally back from Spain. Jason made bread, of course (just plain---he had bread troubles this weekend but this one was nice). I made a crostada from the NYT. Melissa Clark's recipe used a homemade blackberry jam, but I just used some raspberry that I had on hand (Jason was greedy and wouldn't let me use the jam he made). It is very easy---a pate sucre crust, a layer of jam, and a crumb topping made from some of the reserved dough. I found it a bit sweet, but you could use any number of jams in there to good effect.

Saturday, 8/3/19

Spent most of the day in Westford. We had a very late lunch, so no real dinner---just snacking. We tried an authentic Chinese place in Westford called "Gene's Chinese Flatbread cafe". Specialized in pork buns and pulled noodles. I don't think it was a super successful choice---very meaty and spicy. Jason and I liked it, but our local biang-biang noodle place, Lili, is much better.

Friday, 8/2/19

We were in Westford to visit Jeff & Sue. Finally got to go to the beach! Dinner was late (no surprise there), but tasty----pasta with pesto (and/or tomato sauce), tomato-mozzarella salad, bread from Jason (he actually brought a bread that was too flat, and then tried making another one. The second one was OK but kind of like sandwich bread. Weather & timing were not Jason's friends). I made an apple cake (from Sally's Baking Addiction. Good, but maybe a little too sweet. I liked the glaze, but should have poured it on rather than serving on the side. Anyway, it was also good on ice cream.

Salisbury Beach

Thursday, 8/1/19

I think we just had leftovers? I'm pretty sure.

Wednesday, 7/31/19

Jason continues to experiment with the Instant Pot; his latest creation was pasta with tomato sauce, tofu, and some mozzarella. I actually thought it was pretty tasty (I was dubious about the tofu, but he crumbled it up and sauteed it with garlic, and it was good) but could have used more sauce. On these hot evenings it is nice to just throw everything in there and out comes dinner.

Tuesday, 7/30/19

A simple dinner of leftover bread with cheese and jam, plus some grilled eggplant, zucchini and onions (well, Carter pronounced the grilled vegetables "gross looking" and have broccoli instead).