You Can Get it Wrong and Still You Think That It's Alright

Sheet Pan Dinner
Potatoes, carrots, chicken, onions with oyster mushrooms, broccoli rabe and white bean saute.

Actually, this was a half wok, half sheet pan dinner.  Oyster mushrooms are so delicate, I wanted to taste them with sauteed rabe, garlic and white beans.  I wanted to challenge myself to get this all on the pan but in the end, it was the right choice to wok it out instead.  

Too Much Living Is No Way to Die, Loose String

Every year I make my boyfriend who is now my husband a special dinner for his brithday.  I think the best gifts are ones that are made.  I do feel that way but in reality I do it because the stuff he really wants cost a shit load of money and I wouldn't be qualified to buy, like a new mixer or special mics.  Basically I know there is not much I could give him that he cares about... so, I make food.  He doesn't like or feel comfortable making a celebration out of the day of his birth. But I think it's important to respect and reflect on the day, like any other big holiday.  So now having gone through like 26 of these, I'm still trying to wear my little party hat while being respectful of his wishes.  I think about this meal and choose specific elements just for him.  And if asked, I like to think I could lay down reasons for each one.

Okay, I'll tell you!  We don't eat beef on the regular, so I wanted to make a nice rib-eye steak, pan seared with no sauce or extras, just a well cooked, well seasoned steak.  I am not comfortable handling thick man meat on my tiny Barbie stove, but I researched for days and found a good recipe that could work giving my heat limitations.  www.certifiedangusbeef.com/recipes/recipedetail.aspx?id=628
I chose beef because it signifies something real.  To me it has always represented being alive and being strong.  Definitely a wish I have for him.

He had a major health issue a couple of years ago and I realized I could lose him.  More than that, I guess I realized that I will lose him one day.  That's some bullshit right there. A real eye opener but not just him but realizing people in my life are not guaranteed to be there.  A recurring lesson since. They are gifts in themselves.

He's been enjoying potatoes again so I made this Herbed Potatoes Anna with Gruyere cheese, super simple but deeeeelicious!  neighborfoodblog.com/2015/03/herbed-potatoes-anna-recipe.html#_a5y_p=3556315.  Potatoes are honest food and have the connection with the dirt and one's roots.

I started off with these baked stuffed jalapeno halves with fresh pico de gallo.  These are tasty little bites that I've been making versions of forEVer, like how long we've been together.  I used a small diced hard chorizo crisped up, garlic, sharp cheddar cheese and a little onion. If anything, this dish represents me.

I made a spicy Broccoli Rabe with Parmesan and pine nuts for the green. Broccoli Rabe is very bitter but invigorating and you always feel like someone shot you up with vitamins when you eat it. www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/spicy-broccoli-rabe-with-parmesan-and-pine-nuts-51243810

For dessert I made carrot cake cream cheese bars which is a mash up of the traditional cake he loves and my desire for swirly things made into snack size.

www.marshasbakingaddiction.com/carrot-cake-bars-with-cream-cheese-swirl/
I celebrate his birthday almost selfishly because I recognize that he's really a gift that was given to me.

One of These Nights

You know all those Grill Mate Seasonings that you see in the grocery stores and if you're like me you say, 'uh, no thanks I'll make my own'? Telling yourself they probably taste artificial and are filled with bad things. Well....um, maybe if you're feeling a little less inspired one night, I'd encourage you to pick up McCormick's Mesquite seasoning.

Tonight after work I was faced with pork chops and no particular big ideas. I'm in a tiny Brooklyn apartment with no chance in sight to ever grill. I miss those tastes.

Add a little orange juice and a squeeze of lemon after a good snowfall of this stuff, a hot oiled pan and I had myself some perfectly seasoned blackened pork chops that could have come straight off the grill! Giant flavors and very real. I loved it!

As the kids would say at work, 'Good on you McCormick!' for keeping up with the upgraded tastes of your customers. America's tastebuds are growing up and you have been there with us!'

It's the Same Ol Story, Same Old Song and Dance My Friend

Nothing to see here folks. Just your weeknight mini pizzas and broccoli rabe. Keep it moving!

You Don't Know What It's Like...

So once I know I have the makings for pizza just getting bored in my fridge its sort of hard for me to focus. Pepperoni is like my crackpipe. But everyone knows crack killed Applejack. He jumped in but he couldn't jump back, he was just too blind to see that, death lives in the rock house. And I know better than to eat pizza two nights in a row. Or do I?

Okay, so to make it a bit more figure friendly, I used turkey pepperoni and made tiny pizzas on sliced wheat English muffins. Then I served a generous portion of broccoli rabe to get more greens involved. These were better than last nights version because I managed to get the barbie oven hot enough without burning the bottoms.

It's hard for me because my love of food is growing everyday. My mind races at work with ingredients and pairings. I'm making lists and ideas. I wake up and I have a particular meat in my head and a challenge to come up with the perfect vegetable side. But certain foods you shouldn't eat all the time or you're gonna gain lots of weight and feel thicker which makes you more sluggish. Like I was on a role making great cookies but who can resist dozens of cookies in their house? Gluttony is one of the seven deadly sins and we're also the fattest country. I want to eat healthier and not take more than my share but when that cheese starts melting and gettin' that brown on top and I know those little peperoni's are crunching on the edges, Good Lord I get weak!!!

Fools Rush In

I rode home from work today in the pouring rain and got completely soaked. Duh, not winning. I immediately thought, pizza-pizza! for dinner. But I got a push-back from P, so I had to come up with plan B. Sundays can be brutal in busy retail and we just started a major sale, so I wanted some rewards when I got home. But I succumbed to reason and agreed we really don't need to be eating pizza. So I whined a bit and then took a shower to come up with ideas. I had chicken legs thawing. Then I remembered Ina Garten had made a 40 Garlic Chicken dish one time that looked fabulous. But I can't be bothered with recipes tonight. I need hot food going down quickly! So I thought to do a Reader's Digest version by memory. In other words without all the hullabaloo and just down to the chase. Git Er Done!

Basically I seasoned the chicken, seared it in a Dutch oven both sides, pulled it out of the pan. Then added onions and tons of cloves of garlic, let that cook for about 5 minutes, then added white wine. After that reduced a bit I added chicken stock. The chicken went back into the pot and I brought that to a boil, covered and put in the oven to braise for about an hour. Done.

Isn't it great but don't you absolutely hate it when your mate starts talking sense when you're all weak and just want to eat bad things? I know I would've regretted it but I could have been shoving several nice hot slices of extra cheese pizza in my face right now. Instead I'm thinking of steaming carrots. I pray for days when P is weak and wants fast food or pizza. I have no will power. I will be right there suggesting larger sizes, supporting him in his time of need.

So, now I'm on to the quick sides, which will be carrots and broccoli rabe. I steamed the carrots until tender and then browned up a pat of butter and just a teaspoon of brown sugar - tossed them around on high heat and added a pinch of salt. Super good! I also steamed the broccoli rabe and finished that with a big squeeze of lemon, extra virgin olive oil and a little Parmesan cheese. A tortilla to sop up the braising sauce and the visions of stringy cheese have all but vanished.

We Can Wok it Out

I got a $5 wok from IKEA and its become my weeknight buddy for super fast dinners. I figured it would last a couple meals and the handle would fall off or something but actually its very sturdy and I'd recommend it to anyone. I had done a lot of wok cooking while living in San Francisco. There we had abundant cheap, fresh shrimp and calamari, lots of fresh vegetables throughout the year. We lived amongst vegetarians, vegans and mostly wafer thin shoe-gazers as well as many small framed, Chinese and Japanese people. Oh and 7 foot tall drag queens with legs to their necks. It seemed everyone was twenty something and thin. Everything seemed effortless. It was easier to eat light also because California has amazing fresh produce that you didn't have to pay out your ass for. We were younger then of course and we could drink all night and only look bloated and haggard one afternoon and by next day we'd deflate and be fresh again. Except P's head, sometimes that took two days or so.

Now in New York, years later, its been a concentrated effort to try to eat better and stay fit. Things take days to recover, sometimes weeks. You have to work at it. But hey you can't be young forever and who wants to be? It's exhausting.

I sort of forgot about wok cooking until now. I didn't have room for a wok. And I still don't but you know what, I made room for it because its so dern useful. And its exciting! You have the high heat going, you're throwing things in and stirring fast and minutes later its all ready and steaming hot.



Wednesdays are usually the nights when I need to use up the perishables so tonight I made a quick stir fry with mushrooms, onions, beef kielbasa, garlic, cannellini beans and broccoli rabe. I added just a tablespoon of chili paste and some soy sauce.

Youth is overrated but being healthy and fit enough for your own body makes good sense. I'm not looking to turn back the clock. No, my motto is always forward, never back. I'm just looking to enjoy our future. And stay far away from doctors.

Can you be in love with a broccoli?

I love Broccoli Rabe and I don't care who knows it! There is something you get from this dark green that automatically makes you feel stronger and clearer. Someone tell me what that is. Also, if you're a female and you are about to get 'the curse' and you eat a bunch of this, you are ready for anything mother nature wants to burden you with.

The best I've had it? With loads of garlic and sweet italian sausage over penne pasta with just olive oil as a dressing.....Delicious!!!