New Year, New Problems

So far this year, I haven’t done anything super grand in the realm of food.  I’ve been cooking yes, but really have just done mostly small things or things I’ve made before.  I haven’t cooked anything new or exciting.  That isn’t to say however that everything has gone exactly to plan.

To start, Joan and I just had a quiet New Years (quite on purpose), staying in just enjoying the evening together.  We made one of our fallback recipes, a mushroom risotto, having it simply with a crusty baguette and sparkling apple cider.  We both thought the risotto was good but agreed that something was off and not as good as usual.  I suspect it was either the cheese or the mushrooms were not the same as we normally use, but we’ll see what happens the next time we make it.

 I’m also trying to make a point (or resolution I guess) to cook something new at least once a week.  It’s really easy to get rutted in a continual cycle of meal favorites.  Last week’s new meal was Slow Cooker Thai Peanut Chicken.  It was easy enough, like most slow cooker recipes are – just dump, mix, and heat – but, like the off risotto, Joan and I thought it was just not quite as good as it could be.  It’s rare that we don’t tinker with new found recipes so maybe it was to be expected.  Again, the chicken and the sauce were really good over rice but we’re thinking it may be better over noodles.  The spicing needs to be tweaked too.  If we can perfect it, then I’ll share the recipe.

 Joan's sensible normal sized portion.

My giant portion.  Really, there is a chicken breast under there somewhere.

Even the easiest of things seem too need tweaking lately.  One night last week we did breakfast for dinner and I set forth making omelets.  Usually I’m very good at this, but each of our omelets just ended up being scrambled eggs with vegetables mixed in.  Whereas I’ve never had a problem before, the egg kept sticking to our nonstick pan.  I’m still perplexed about the issue.  Is the pan wearing out?  Is my technique off and do I need to consult Julia?  Whatever it is, at least the eggs tasted just as good, omelet form or not.

My fighting with sticky nonstick pan continued though later in the week when I wanted to a nice breakfast fry up for myself for dinner (Joan was off at a dinner for work).  The plan was to do fried potatoes in the pan, wipe it clean, and then fry some eggs.  Well the potatoes stuck to the pan – I mean really stuck to the pan – and while I managed to rescue most of the potatoes, there was no way I could use the pan for frying eggs too.  As we only have the one nonstick pan, I then had to get out a normal stainless steel pan and really test my skills to fry an egg in that.  There indeed was some sticking, but the eggs came out fine considering.  Lastly, I made some toast, poured myself a beer, and finally sat down to my hard-fought dinner.

This week is fairing much better so far fortunately.  Quesadillas were made without any fuss and last night’s fish dinner consisting of baked tilapia, couscous, and green beans was whipped up easily.  The rest of the planned dinners this week shouldn’t give any problems either.  Even our new recipe will be easily as it’s just a different take on shepherd’s pie, a dish Joan and I very familiar with. 

 

Looking further forward, I’ve been scouring the cookbooks more interesting food is on the way.  A few of these are things that I’ve wanted to try for awhile.  But I’ll leave it there (leaving things hanging), I don’t want to post until it happens.

A Bit of Everything Casserole Type of Post

Yep, this post is going to have a bit of this and that, just like the best casseroles.  It won’t however have the usual can of Cream of Mushroom soup.  Instead (since it’s been so long since I last posted) it does contain a bit of ketchup.  Get it??  Ketchup, catch up…  Yeah, that was horrible…

First, like I’ve done on my other two blogs, I should mention that it’s been a busy summer.  Not only did my wife finish up her PhD in Analytical Chemistry from the University of Wisconsin, but we also moved from Madison to the Twin Cities (of Minnesota) as she found a job here.  Also in between her getting her doctorate and moving, we went on a trip to Ireland for two and half weeks.  Looking back it was a strange moment in life – the hectic time of packing/moving from one place to another, but also having this relaxing “not-a-care-in-the-world” trip right in the middle of it.

Food wise, Joan and I had a lot of great food and drink experiences as we circumvented the green isle.  However, as I have too many good pictures to share, I’ll have to leave that for another post.  (I promise it will happen though because I already have a start on it.)  For now, here’s an Irish food teaser.  It’s a pic of a new recipe that has quickly become a favorite, Dingle Pies –

Although we never actually had them when we visited the town of Dingle, we thought this was a great meal to make while showing our Ireland pictures to both sets of parents.  Similar to a Cornish pasty, a Dingle Pie is a meal in itself, but of course is not a bad idea to have with a side salad of greens.  We found the recipe in an Irish cookbook and set upon making it a bit simpler, using refrigerated pie dough instead of making it from scratch.  Not needing to hold myself to more promises, I’ll be sure to share this recipe on the blog as well.

Besides new recipes, I’ve also been trying a new cooking technique – grilling!  Our new place has a ground level cement porch so we finally had the perfect spot for a grill.  We just bought a simple charcoal grill, a classic black Weber, but it’s already done wonders.  Whether it’s been burgers, hot dogs, chicken, or veggies, the grill has been a blast to use.  It’s also been great enjoying all the food from it, with the smoky charred taste that only charcoal can give.

Lastly I missed commenting at all back on August 15^th, the day that would have been Julia Child’s 100^th birthday.  Of course I’ve always been enamored with Julia Child.  I always think back at my college semester spent in Washington, DC when I interned at the Smithsonian.  At the Museum of American History they have reconstructed her kitchen from her home in Cambridge, Massachusetts.  Moved piece by piece from New England, it’s set out exactly how she had it.  There’s also a video monitor playing various moments from her TV shows.  I would just sit there, letting my eyes explore the kitchen and watching those classic moments of early culinary television.  Other visitors would move through, but I would remain for long periods, even through multiple cycles of the video monitor track.  I don’t exactly know what it is about Julia that I like so much, but to attempt to sum it up – she loves food, loves making food, but also makes cooking/baking approachable.  

With all that said, here’s a remix PBS made about Julia Child.  While I’m never sure if I should laugh or cry at what the creator of this video has done with Julia’s TV clips, I thought it was at least worth sharing.