Day 331: Too Full For Dinner!

We had a late lunch in wine country this afternoon and neither of us could work up much of an appetite for dinner, so I cracked open a can of Progresso chicken and wild rice soup.

Since dinner was such a snooze-fest, I'll let you know about our lunch at Diavola in Geyserville. We had checked this place out shortly after it opened last summer and since we were in the area around lunchtime today, we grabbed the opportunity to enjoy their tasty pizza again. We shared two different ones - the Margherita and the Inferno. As the latter's name suggests, it was good and spicy due to the hot Italian peppers included in the topping.

Pizza is a real treat for me. I probably eat five times a year at the most. So when I splurge, it needs to be worth it and the pizza at Diavola surely is. If you're passing through the tiny town of Geyserville in Sonoma County it's well worth the stop.

Day 330: Still Gumming It

Still on the road to recovery after my wisdom tooth extraction yesterday, I opted for a wholesome and soft dinner of grilled salmon at Capannina. It was served over a bed of artichokes, olives, and thinly sliced zucchini. The menu description said it was "pesto crusted" but I didn't get much pesto flavor. The dish was excellent in any case.

Lucky for us, it's still zucchini blossom season, so we ordered the special appetizer - said blossoms stuffed with cheese and lightly fried. Yum yum delicious.

Day 329: Mush Mouth

I had my last two wisdom teeth extracted this morning.  Fun!  After a day of smoothies and broth I was hungry and ready for some real food, but needed to be careful to find something soft.  We headed to Luisa's for their divine eggplant parmesan.  I've had this dish many times before and I love it, especially when the waiter generously grates parm over the top!

I had been planning to begin the meal with soup, but I noticed a new meatball appetizer on the menu.  Soft minced meat?  Sounded perfect to me!  They were delicious and easy for me to consume once chopped up into small bites.

I expect that I'll need to continue to find more tooth/gum friendly foods tomorrow.  Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.  Leave a comment if you have one.

Day 328: Perfect Night For Takeout

Takeout was invented for nights like tonight.  I didn't get home until after 8pm and my thumb is still healing from Monday's kitchen accident so cooking was just simply not going to happen.  We hadn't supported our favorite neighborhood Chinese restaurant in a long time, so Country Sky takout it was!

Primarily, I focused on my favorite CS dish, Spicy Prawns with Mango.  In addition to the obvious ingredients, this dish includes mushrooms, broccoli, and zucchini.  Over brown rice it makes for a very yummy, quite spicy dinner.

I also allowed myself a treat in the form of the Singapore Style Noodles that my husband ordered.  These super thin noodles are tossed with curry seasoning, pork, chicken, shrimp, fried egg, and veggies.  It is really amazing.

Of course, there is always a dessert when you have Chinese food - the fortune cookie.  Despite the fact that most of the time these days you don't get a fortune (you get a proverb or a friendly suggestion to do something), these are still tasty treats that I always look forward to.  Hopefully my real fortune  is "your thumb will heal quickly"!

Day 327: Tastes Like Play Doh!

You know how you don't fully appreciate something until it's gone? Well, that's kind of how this week has been for me since lopping off a good chunk of my thumb on Monday. I just never realized how critical that digit is, especially when it comes to doing things in the kitchen and around the house! Certainly, it affected our dinner tonight.

I decided to make something easy and that didn't require any chopping. I sauteed up some shrimp in olive oil and then removed them from the pan and set them aside while I cooked the veggies. Normally, I would have chopped the garlic, but instead I pushed it through a press. I added some white wine, a bag of snowpeas from Trader Joe's, and S&P and sauteed everything for about 8 minutes on medium-high heat. Then I returned the shrimp to the pan and mixed everything together .

Because it was late and I was looking for the easiest possible solution, I made Casbah couscous rather than brown rice or quinoa. Unfortunately, it tasted like Play Doh and really ruined my already uninspired dish. Even all the Sriracha in the world couldn't help this dinner. I won't be buying that product again!!

This thumb is going to need some time to heal so I'm going to have to figure out how to feed my husband tasty meals despite my handicap. Any ideas for a thumb-free dinner are much appreciated!

Day 326: How to Get Out of Cooking Without Even Trying

Here's a tip.  If you get tired of having to cook and clean up, just cause some serious bodily harm to yourself and your wonderful hubby is bound to step in.  At least that's how it works in my house!

Last night I cut my thumb rather badly while preparing dinner.  24 hours later it's still sore and generally in rough shape so there was no way I could cook tonight.  So, we picked up a couple of NY strip steaks and some two types of orzo salad.  My husband grilled up the steaks with a simple seasoning of S&P and dinner was ready lickety split.

I love to cook and so expect this whole thing to get old kind of fast.  But I think another few days of having dinner cooked for me instead of by me is going to be quite okay.

Day 325: Human Blood Optional

Trader Joe's had some beautiful eggplant yesterday and so the plan was to make moussaka for dinner tonight.  Rather than slice it by hand, I thought I'd use a mandolin that I purchased years ago but never used.  So, instead of slicing BY hand, I sliced MY hand - took the tip right off  my right thumb.  

For me, this meant a lot of blood, pain and discomfort and a potentially deformed thumb for the rest of my life.  For my husband, it meant that he needed to finish making dinner (after attending to my wound like a pro).

He did a marvelous job.  The dish was delicious, despite the disaster beforehand.  The recipe we used was from page 514 of the amazing Gourmet cookbook.  I'd love to provide the recipe for you, but typing is a challenge right now.  Buy the book.  You'll love it.

Day 324: Italian Feast

During our weekly visit to Trader Joe's today, I found some beautiful basil and decided that dinner tonight would involve homemade pesto.  Pesto is so easy to make.  The following recipe makes enough to stuff four chicken breasts, but if you want to make it as a pasta sauce, you should probably double it.

Pesto:

1 packed cup of basil leaves

1/4 cup olive oil

2 cloves garlic

1.5 T pine nuts

1/2 + 1T freshly grated parmesan cheese

1 T butter

S&P to taste

Place basil, oil, garlic, and nuts in a food processor and mix until smoothly, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl from time to time.  Add cheese and butter and mix again until all ingredients are blended.  Add S&P to taste.

Pre-heat your oven at 375 degrees.  Slice the chicken lengthwise through the middle, being careful not to cut all the way through.  You want to be able to fold the chicken back like a book.  Once folded back, coat the inside of each chicken breast with about 1T pesto.  If you'd like, lay some roasted peppers over the pesto and fold the chicken back up again.  Place the breasts in a greased baking dish and smooth about a teaspoon of pesto over the top of each breast.

Bake the chicken for 25 minutes and then sprinkle some shredded mozzarella cheese over the top of each breast.  Bake for another 5-8 minutes or until the cheese is melted.  Add another sprinkling of cheese and place the dish under the broiler until the top is browned.

Our side dish was sauteed baby broccoli (known as broccolini at Trader Joe's).  I first cooked 3 cloves of chopped garlic in olive oil over medium-low heat for a couple of minutes.  Once they were softened, I added the broccoli, a few splashes of white wine, and cranked the heat up to medium-high.  I added more wine every couple of minutes when the pan got dry to ensure that the garlic didn't burn.

The best part of tonight's dinner?  It's Sunday but there's not work tomorrow!  Enjoy your Memorial Day, everyone!

Day 323: Liquid & Solid Experimentation

I want to love oysters.  People who like oysters are cool and living here in Northern California, loving oysters seems like the right thing to do.  I've had little experience eating them, though, and I have a mental barrier that says "oysters are snot-like".  So, I've decided to try them when the time and place is right and when I'm feeling adventurous.  Tonight was one of those nights.

After an exceedingly lazy day during which we hardly left the house, we ventured out of our neighborhood for dinner to try a new restaurant, Bacar.  I ordered the field green salad and one of each of the two oysters they were offering tonight:  Beausoleil (from New Brunswick, Canada) and Point Reyes (from California).  Surprisingly, I preferred the oysters over the salad, which I found quite bitter.  I squeezed some lemon juice over the oysters and spooned a bit of cocktail sauce on top and even chewed the flesh rather than just swallowing them whole.  Both were good but the Point Reyes, with a fresh flavor that I really enjoyed, was the better of the two.

For my entree, I chose a lamb dish with middle eastern component:  preserved lemon, harissa, and olives.  It was only after ordering that I found out that the dish feature lamb "three ways":  the loin, a lamb sausage, and braised lamb belly.  I was a little worried about that last one, but all of them were really good.

After our entrees we shared a cheese plate and my husband ordered a flight of Scotch.  Brown liquor (scotch, bourbon, whiskey) goes in the same category as oysters - things I currently do not enjoy but which I desperately want to want to learn to love.  My husband quite likes his brown liquor, though, so I always take the opportunity to sip his.  Two out of three were okay, but I still have a ways to go before I love them.

Still, it was a successful night overall.  It was fun to get out of the neighborhood and try a new restaurant and lots of new things, both liquid and solid!

Day 322: Chilling with Jen

A dear college friend is in town just for one night, so we wanted to take her somewhere that we know is good and that's not too noisy so we could catch up.  We decided on Bistro Aix.

After the delicious beet and goat cheese salad (one of my fave appetizers)  I had a bowl of spaghettini with tomato, basil, and grana padana cheese.  Then the three of us shared two desserts:  tarte tatin and chocolate cake.

As always, everything was delicious and it was great fun to hang out with my friend, whom I hadn't seen in almost two years!

Day 321: Leftovers Supreme

With lots of tasty things in the house, there was no need to buy anything for dinner tonight.  Instead, I made a warm quinoa salad with the following items that we had on hand:

- vinaigrette made from juice of 1.5 lemons, 2 T olive oil, and S&P

- leftover rotisserie chicken

- corn scraped off a leftover cob

- half a bag of frozen spinach, defrosted (this is easy to do by running it under lukewarm water)

- some chopped up roasted tomatoes

- a handful of sliced almonds

Lots of tasty things could have gone into this dish:  frozen peas, crumbled goat cheese, chopped avocado.  Whatever!!  It felt good to use up some stuff we had on hand and to create such a tasty and healthful dinner.  Leftovers rule!

Day 320: Sometimes Edible is Good Enough

I stayed later than usual at the office so a quick and easy dinner solution was in order for tonight.  Luckily, my hubby was making a stop at Costco on the way home, so he picked up one of their delicious (savory!  juicy!) and cheap ($4.99!!) rotisserie chickens.

Our sides were 3 day old slaw that I made on Sunday and some supposedly spicy frozen Thai string beans from Trader Joe's.  The slaw wasn't super flavorful but it was edible.  The beans were technically edible, but neither my husband nor I actually ate them.  It's rare that we are disappointed with a Trader Joe's product.  In fact, the only other one I can think of that we didn't like was their sea salt, which was too finely ground and therefore difficult to shake out of the canister.

If you are the kind of person who eats to live, this was a great meal for you.  It took next to no time at all to pull together, was relatively well rounded, and was edible.  If you live to eat, like I do, this meal barely cut it.  It wasn't particularly satisfying, but at least I won't die of starvation tonight.  :-)

Day 319: A Slaw Free Dinner

I couldn't bare to serve my husband slaw again, for the third day in a row.  So instead, I repurposed last night's leftover guacamole, using it as a bed for some spicy pork tenderloin.

I sliced the pork lengthwise, being careful not to cut it all the way through.  I then folded it back and coated the inside with a finely chopped canned chipotle pepper and sprinkled it with S&P.  I closed the pork back up, tied it up on the end and in the middle with cooking twine, and sprinkled more S&P on the outside.

After browning it on all sides in a pan pre-heated with a thin coating of olive oil, I placed it in a roasting pan and finished it off in the oven at 375 degrees.  It took about 15 minutes, but that timing could obviously differ, depending on the size of the meat.  Ours was just under a pound.

The pork was definitely spicy, but the cool guacamole was a nice compliment.

Alongside, I served sauteed asparagus and sugar snap peas.  I cooked them in the same pan as I had browned the pork, after pouring out the excess fat and liquid.  As usual, I used white wine to deglaze the pan and then cooked the veggies over medium-low heat for about 10-12 minutes.  After plating them, I sprinkled some toasted sliced almonds over the top for crunch and flavor.

So...there's still slaw left in the fridge and I'm kind of out of ideas for how to use it up.  I may have to toss it tomorrow.  Leave a comment if you have any ideas!

Day 318: Triple Threat - Tasty, Pretty, and Easy!

With a giant vat of leftover slaw in my fridge, I wanted to do something more creative than just serve it as a side dish (every day for the next week!). Fish tacos are often served with some shredded cabbage over the top and I've been meaning to try to make them myself for ages, so that's what we had for dinner tonight.

I used a mild white fish, similar to red snapper. I cannot remember what type of fish it was, I'll update this once I do! After patting it dry, I sprinkled ground cumin, dried oregano, and S&P on each side and rubbed it into the flesh. Then, after heating up a thin coating of canola oil in a non-stick pan, I pan fried the fish for about 2.5 minutes per side, transferred it to a plate, and flaked it apart with a fork.

Of course, I also made some guacamole. I like my guac a little bit chunky, so I scoop out the flesh onto a cutting board and mash it with the back of a fork. I then transfer it to a bowl and mix it with the juice of a lime, 2 heaping tsps of light sour cream, a few good shakes of Frank's Red Hot, and S&P.

Our final taco accompaniment was pickled red onions. These are so easy to make, can last in the fridge for several weeks, and add a nice little tanginess to fish tacos. All you do is thinly slice a red onion and submerge it in red vinegar. Leave it for at least 1/2 hour before you consume.

I assembled my tacos as follows: a good smear of guacamole over the top of a warm corn tortilla, about 1/2 dozen slices of pickled onion, a couple of spoonfuls of fish, and the slaw on top. This was such a tasty meal and so quick and easy to prepare. Even if you don't have leftover slaw, you can still just slice up some cabbage and maybe use a few additional slices of pickled onion. Yum!!

Day 317: Summer!

Our dinner tonight reflects the summery weather we've had here this weekend.

First of all, we had our first corn on the cob of the season! I saw it at the farm stand and just couldn't resist it.

We also had some yummy roasted asparagus. I cut the stalks into 2 inch pieces and tossed them with some olive oil, S&P, and 2 shallots which I had peeled and cut into sixths. All of this was spread out on a baking sheet and cooked for 15 minutes at 375 degrees.

For a colorful pop (and lots of good vitamins and minerals) I made a slaw: half a head each of red and green cabbage (sliced thin), 3 large carrots (shredded), and a large red bell pepper (julienned). The vinaigrette I made was 1/3 cup red wine vinegar, 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice, 1/3 cup canola oil, and some cracked black pepper. This was whisked well together and poured over the top of the veggies. I then tossed it all together with my hands. It's ideal to make this several hours before you are going to serve it, to allow the veggies to soften up a little bit and absorb the flavors from the vinaigrette. Just before serving, sprinkle some thinly sliced green onions over the top.

The final element of our dinner, and unfortunately - the most disappointing - was our grilled herb crusted turkey breasts. We had made this very dish for Thanksgiving and it was wonderful but tonight - not so much. It was SO dry!! We think we made the dish the same way we did the first time and the only thing we can think of is that we had a gravy to go with it last time. Maybe the turkey was dry then too and we just didn't notice because of the gravy.

Fortunately for us, our kind guests (my in-laws and a friend) ate every bite and didn't flinch. Not sure if that was out of politeness or because we'd filled them up with so much good wine that they didn't care. In any case, we thank them for their great company!

Day 316: A Real Seasonal Treat

Tonight's dinner with my visiting in-laws was full of tasty treats, but the greatest of all was the stuffed squash blossoms that I had as my appetizer.  Filled with fresh mozzarella, lightly fried, and plated with drizzles of tomato sauce and pesto. 

As I almost always do when we go to Capannina, I ordered fish.  Tonight it was sea bass served with cherry tomatoes, asparagus, and grilled polenta.  Yummy.

And because we had special guests, we decided to splurge and have dessert. Of course I insisted on an order of Capannina's to die for profiteroles.  These light creme puffs are served with two dipping sauces - chocolate and caramel - and they are heaven on earth.  My hubby's choice was molten chocolate cake with hazelnut ice cream.

This was a treatful night indeed.  Squash blossom season is a short one - I'll have to try to get back to Capannina again before it's over!

Day 315: Something New To Me!

As an open minded, experimental eater, it's not often that I run into menu items that I have not tried or at least heard of - but tonight was one of those occasions.  

One of our favorite neighborhood restaurants, Bistro Aix, introduces seasonal dishes to their menu on a daily basis.  Today, they featured a salad with agretti with shaved parmesan and lemon juice.  The waitress described agretti as a sea grass with a similar texture to seaweed but with a flavor similar to asparagus.  Well, I love seaweed and asparagus and so I thought I'd give it a try.

I didn't get asparagus flavor.  In fact, I didn't get much flavor at all, other than maybe a grassy taste.  But when paired with a bit of the cheese and lemon juice it was pretty tasty.  I wouldn't suggest that you hunt down some agretti and try it immediately, but if you see it on a menu it's worth a try.

I followed the salad up with my beloved bouillabaise - a mix of calamari, clams, and halibut in a light tomato/fennel broth with croutons and chunks of potato.  This is my very favorite dish at Bistro Aix and I order it nearly every time we go there.

So, a mix of the something well known and something brand new tonight.  Not a bad way to approach dinner!

Day 314: Where is the Undo Button?

I purchased the most beautiful brussels sprouts at the farmers' market today.  Too bad I kind of ruined them!

Everyone knows that brussels sprouts and bacon are a match made in heaven.  I chopped up four strips of applewood smoked bacon and fried it up in a hot pan.  Once they were crisped up, I removed them and set them aside in some paper towel to remove the excess grease.  

After deglazing the pan with some white wine, I tossed in a finely chopped shallot and a few sprigs of fresh thyme and sauteed them for a few minutes.  After throwing in my sprouts, which I had trimmed and sliced in half lengthwise, I made my big mistake.  I shook in some red pepper flakes which wound up providing too much heat, overwhelming the whole dish.  If there was an "undo" button, I would surely have clicked on it!

Just prior to serving, I pulled out the thyme sprigs, added the bacon bits back in, and squeezed the juice of half a lemon over the whole mixture.  Had it not been for the red pepper flakes, this would have been a great side dish.

Our main course was chicken breasts, hammered thin and marinated in the juice of a lemon, olive oil, 3 smashed garlic cloves, fresh thyme, and S&P.  After about 1/2 hour, my hubby took care of grilling them up.

Not a bad meal, but it would have been great had it not been for my hot pepper mistake.  I feel horrible for screwing up such beautiful and fresh brussels sprouts but at least I learned my lesson.  Next time, perfect sprouts!!

Day 313: Cleaning Out the Veggie Drawer

This one will be short and sweet.  I got home at around 8:15 and wanted a quick dinner, so I used up all of the remaining items from my veggie drawer:  half a bag on lettuce, a carrot, 2 celery ribs, and a red bell pepper.  I sprinkled in some sliced almonds, a can of tuna (packed in water, of course!), and some salad dressing and voila!  Dinner is served!

Day 312: When The Hubby's Away...

Anyone who has been reading this blog for awhile knows that I am a frequent fish eater.  I love it - it's tasty, it's healthy, and it's usually easy and quick to prepare. 

Unfortunately, my husband is not fond of salmon and so I've had little opportunity to cook it at home, instead taking every opportunity to order it in restaurants.  The hubby is away this week, though, so the wife will play - with salmon.

It was so easy and so delicious!  I heated up some olive oil in a nonstick pan over medium-high heat until it was good and hot.  I seasoned the salmon well with S&P and then cooked it for 3.5 minutes on each side, beginning with the skin side down.  Once it was plated, I sprinkled some freshly chopped dill and fresh squeezed lemon juice over the top.

My sides were salads that I bought at the grocery store.  One was a red quinoa salad with lima beans and carrots and the other was marinated white beans with celery and tomatoes.

In total, this meal took less than 10 minutes, from prep to eating.  Perfect for a mid-week dinner.  I'll have to remember this one the next time hubby goes away!

Day 311: Asparagus & Peas Part 2

A couple of days too late, I was craving red meat tonight.  So, I picked up a strip steak, seasoned it well with S&P and grilled it for 3.5 minutes on each side (for medium temperature meat).

I plated it on top of some leftover asparagus and pea puree from last night and sauteed some broccolini with garlic (2 cloves, minced) and white wine (approx. 3T) for the perfect side dish.

The whole meal took about 15 minutes to make and it was delish!  

Day 310: Asparagus & Peas Part 1

It's asparagus season and I just can't get enough of it this year!  I grill it, I roast it, I throw it into pasta.  There are a million great ways to eat asparagus.  Tonight I made it into soup!

Ingredients:

2 pounds fresh asparagus, ends removed and stems cut into 2-inch pieces

1 shallot bulb, cut into large pieces

6 spring of fresh thyme

Small box or bag of frozen peas, defrosted

2 14-ounce cans of chicken broth (or vegetable broth to make a vegetarian version)

High quality olive oil

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Toss asparagus, shallot, and thyme with 1T olive oil and a generous dose of S&P.  Lay veggies out in a single layer on a non-stick baking sheet (coated with non-stick spray) and roast for 15 minutes.  

Allow the veggies to cool for a couple of minutes and then place the asparagus and shallot pieces in a food processor (do not include the thyme).  Add defrosted peas and puree everything together.  Stop occasionally and scrape down the side of the bowl with a spatula.  

Once you have a consistent puree, transfer vegetable mixture to a medium sized pot.  Add broth and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.  

Run soup through a very fine strainer, pressing gently to separate the liquid from the solid.  Return the liquid to a pot and simmer for a few minutes.  Ladle soup into bowls and drizzle some high quality olive oil over the top.

I paired a bowl of soup with a spicy tuna roll (store bought) and a glass (or two) of sauvignon blanc.  What a great, fresh and refreshing meal!

I refrigerated the soup solids and plan to use them later this week, either as a ravioli stuffing or mixed with some pasta.  It could also be used as a brushetta topping or if mixed with some sour cream, as a dip for fresh veggies.  These fresh flavors are just too good to throw away, so I'll find something tasty to do with them!

Day 309: Habit Forming

Don't get me wrong.  I am a meat eater.  I love a steak as much as the next person.  But lately, I've been trading in my beloved prime rib for swordfish when I go to Izzy's Steaks & Chops.  It's becoming a habit!

Unfortunately, I forgot to request that they hold the sauce last night, so I tried my best to brush it off.  Other than that, the fish was tender, juicy, and very tasty.  And since I went with the healthier, lower fat, lower calorie fish option, I decided that instead of a double order of steamed broccoli, I would treat myself to some of Izzy's to die for creamed spinach.

I'm sure that eventually, I'll return to the succulent and amazing prime rib.  But meanwhile, I'm grateful that Izzy's isn't a one trick pony.  Their fish rocks as much as their beef!

Day 308: Fishy Friday

My husband was away most of this week and so I had relatively boring meals at home by myself.  Today we celebrated his return and the return of Friday by going to one of our favorite neighborhood restaurants for dinner - Cafe Maritime.

As you might expect, Cafe Maritime's menu is packed is fish dishes:  swordfish, tuna, linguine with clams, fish & chips, and so on.  Tonight, after my green salad, I opted for grilled mahi mahi, which I believe is a new addition to the menu.  It was meant to be served with string beans and baby potatoes, but I requested that they substitute horseradish mashed potatoes instead of the baby ones.  As always (I think I almost always make a side swap at CM!) they were happy to oblige.

Lucky for me, after my entree I still had enough room left to share an order of Mark's Mom's Coconut Cream Pie with my hubby.  This is without a doubt, one of my favorite desserts in the world.  Happy Friday, everyone!

Day 307: Kebad

When I left the gym at 8pm tonight, I wanted something fast, easy, and healthy for dinner.  So, I decided to try Marina & Kebab, a new restaurant that opened in the neighborhood.  I ordered two skewers - one chicken and one lamb - and took them home and paired them with some raw veggies and Trader Joe's white bean hummus.  

The meal met my three requirements:  fast, easy, and healthy.  But unfortunately, it did not meet the most important requirement of all - taste!  I didn't think the meat was seasoned very well and the lamb was a bit tough.  These kebabs were keBAD!  Somehow, the place gets great ratings and reviews on Yelp, so maybe I didn't order the right things.  Maybe I'll try it again, but probably not.

My veggies were good, though.  And that Trader's Joe's hummus is amazing.  The beans are blended with pesto, pine nuts, and olive oil and it's rich, savory, and so delicious.

Day 306: Three Phases of Dinner

I'm not sure if tonight's "dinner" was really a meal or just several hours of grazing.

It all started in the Burbank airport, where some colleagues and I awaited a flight home from a business day trip.  In the bar, I satisfied a Baked Lays craving I'd been having all afternoon, pairing the chips with a beer and several Twizzlers.  Dinner Phase 1.

Once I got home, I felt the need to establish some balance in my food universe and so I made a salad.  It included baby lettuce, red bell pepper, celery, a carrot, and some tuna fish.  The tomatoes you see in the photo were removed after I ate a couple and realized that they were just kind of gross.  Dinner Phase 2.

Later on, believe it or not, I felt I needed a little something more.  So, I heated up a bowl of leftover chicken barley soup.  Dinner Phase 3.

A strange "meal" indeed.  I'll just blame it on the business travel and Baked Lays!

Day 305: Super Soup

Dinner tonight was homemade chicken barley soup and some raw veggies dipped in Trader Joe's white bean hummus.

This is an easy soup but it does take awhile to make, so try it next time you're stuck at home due to weather, sick kids, or a seemingly endless wait for the cable guy.

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken, cut up into 8 parts

5 quarts (20 cups!!) of water

4 carrots, peeled and cut in half (or thirds if they are large)

4 stalks of celery, cut in half (or thirds if they are large)

3 onions, peeled and quartered

4 large cloves of garlic, peeled

6 sprigs each of dill and parsley

1 cup barley

S&P

Bring water to a boil and add chicken, continuing to boil the soup for 10 minutes.  Add carrots through garlic plus 1 heaping T of salt and reduce heat to low.  Partially cover the pot and simmer for 1.5 hours.  

Remove chicken from pot and set aside.  Remove vegetables and discard.  Continue to simmer the broth for another hour to reduce it and further concentrate the flavor.  

Taste the broth and decide whether it needs more salt (it probably will) and add to meet your desired saltiness.  Add the barley, dill, and parsley and cook the soup uncovered for another 45 minutes or until the barley is tender.  Discard the herbs.

Like most soups, this doesn't need to be made the day of consumption.  In fact, you can make it over the weekend and enjoy it throughout the week, making it well worth the time and effort!

Day 304: Rivers of Cheese

Is there such a thing as too much cheese.  I think not!  

Tonight I made enchiladas using leftover chicken from a soup I made over the weekend.  I shredded the meat and mixed it with 1/2 of a finely minced and sauteed onion and a can of black beans (rinsed).

I heated a can of enchilada sauce over low flame and added a couple of dashes of cayenne pepper to up the spiciness.  Once it was warm, I dipped a corn tortilla in the sauce and then placed some of the chicken mixture across the middle of it.  I sprinkled some shredded cheddar cheese on top of the filling and rolled the tortilla as tightly as I could without tearing it.  I then laid the enchilada, flap side down, into a baking dish that I had coated with some of the enchilada sauce.

After repeating this exercise with five more tortillas, my dish was packed full.  I sprinkled some more cheese over the top, then poured the remaining enchilada sauce over everything, and then sprinkled what was left of the cheese on top of that.

The dish was baked for 20 minutes at 350 degrees and when I pulled it out of the oven, beautiful rivers of cheese flowed between each enchilada, the tortillas were softened, and the filling was warm.  Perfecto!

One of my favorite things about this dish is that it can be made with any filling and cheese you like.  You can also adjust the spice level by buying milder or hotter sauces or by adding cayenne pepper.  It's a great way to use leftovers you have on hand and it's easy to make and comes together quickly.  And...there are the rivers of cheese to consider!!

Day 303: Fueled for the Week

If fish is brain food, then I'm fueled up for the week!  Last night I had grilled salmon at Capannina and tonight I made roasted halibut with tomatoes and roasted asparagus.

Asparagus is in season right now and it's more delicious to me than ever this year.  I've been gobbling it up at every opportunity.  Tonight, I mixed it with 2 cloves of minced garlic, about 1 tsp olive oil, and S&P and roasted it in a glass baking dish at 450 degrees for about 10 minutes, mixing it once midpoint.

The fish was just as easy.  I chopped up some "Greek style roasted tomatoes" that I had purchased at our local grocery store.  After seasoning the fish with S&P, I placed them in a baking dish and covered the top of them with the chopped tomatoes.  Then I drizzled olive oil over the top and roasted the fish for 15 minutes at 450 degrees.

This was such a healthful and tasty meal.  A great start to the week!

Day 302: I Will Steal This Plating Idea!

When I ordered the grilled salmon with roasted eggplant raviolini tonight at Capannina, I expected to get some little mini raviolis.  Instead, I got one large ravioli, which served as the cushion for my fish.  Genius!

If you've been following this blog awhile, you know that plating is not my strong point.  So, anytime I encounter interesting ideas like this, I file them away in my mental cookbook.

It goes without saying that this meal, like all that I have had at Capannina, was not only visually impressive but delicious as well.  That's what keeps up coming back!

I should note that I started the meal with the soup special:  puree of asparagus and artichoke with polenta croutons.  I tried this soup for the first time a few weeks ago and it was to die for and another visual stunner.  Click here to see it for yourself.

Day 301: Little Bit of This, Little Bit of That

One reason I love Isa is that no matter what you're craving, they can deliver it.  The plates there are smaller and are meant to be shared so you can have a little bit of this, a little bit of that.

There are a couple of items that we order 100% of the time:  baked goat cheese with tomatoes, basil, and pine nuts and sea scallops with asparagus (or brussels sprouts, depending on the season) and mashed potatoes.  From there, we choose another couple of things to suit our mood.

Tonight I had a mild craving for carbs, so we had a bowl of spaghetti with truffles and cheese.  We rarely order the pasta at Isa so this was a nice change and a great treat.  We also had spicy tuna tartar with avocado and roasted duck with braised cabbage.  Like I said...a little bit of this, a little bit of that.  And all of it delicious!