Grilled Crosshatch-Cut Hot Dogs on Grilled Croissants
These sound really yummy and all (hot dogs on a croissant? Yum!), but is it just me? Don't these look a little, umm.... graphic? Maybe even phallic? If these still look appetizing to you, you may click the photo for the recipe... I think I'll pass, though...
I am very thankful that the foam/espuma fad is dying out. I've always been a bit disgusted by this phenomenon.
Why, you ask? Because I live with three cats and, to me, foam looks like cat puke.
On two completely unrelated notes:
This will be my last post for a while, but some of you have mentioned that you're not fond of the new blog format and would like to see the add-ons (author photo, etc.) return. Please rest assured that this (ugly) new format is temporary. I upgraded to the new version of Moveable Type (the blogging software that I use) and it farged up all of my plug-ins. I don't have time to fix it now, but will tackle it as soon as we return from Alaska.
Which brings to me to:
We are headed to the Yukon tomorrow for what we will hope will be an adventure-filled trip of dog sled riding, helicopters, hiking, camping, bear-watching and family fun. I'll take lots of photos and will provide some info upon our return, but we will be VERY out of touch for a while. Have a great time while I'm gone. Now's as good a time as any to browse through the archives...
I mean it, Granny...you have been warned!
I have been congenitally cursed with a bloodhound-like nose. I can detect and identify even the faintest of aromas. This is unfortunate when I am faced with an odor that I would like to avoid, but will be GREAT when my kids are old enough to try to sneak back into the house under the influence of illicit substances. Between my nose and the watchful eye (and suspicious nature) of Hubby, the ex-cop, our kids won't be able to get away with anything (at least that's what we are deluding ourselves into believing).
Well, this week, I noticed that one of our cats was smelling a little...funky. Well, REALLY funky. Like ASS. Like he had clogged anal glands. Ewww... Hubby usually handles any grossness that happens to pop up at our house: vomit, dead animals, litter box (back when we had one), etc. I was pretty sure that I knew what the problem was, so I found this article and showed it to Hubby, just in case he wanted to save some $$$ and tackle this problem ourselves. He did not. So, aforementioned funky kitty was shuttled off to the vet, who very expediently took care of the problem. The vet was very impressed with my proper diagnosis. Worth every penny of the $75, but kitty still smelled a little when he got home and Dr. B. said that it might take a couple of days for the odor to dissipate. With my nasal passages functioning as they do, funky ass smelling cat in the house was just NOT an option, so Ace got himself a bath. Poor cat, after his humiliating treatment at the vet's office, and then getting doused with water against his will when he got home, he spent the rest of the day slinking around like a street urchin: "What ELSE are you going to do to me?"
Boy and Girl were sweet, though, and consoled him thusly after his bath:
These spicy, smoky, salty eggs are beautiful and are very impressive-looking, too. They are a common Chinese street food and look like they are made of carved marble. They are surprisingly easy to make, but are beautiful to accompany an Asian-themed meal, or even to dress up regular picnic or lunchbox fare. They are really simple to make, but do take some advanced planning, because they need to sit overnight (that means YOU, Eileen).
Spicy Chai Marbled Tea Eggs
8 eggs
1 whole star anise
6 whole coriander seeds
2 whole cardamom pods (or 1/2 tsp whole seeds, removed from the pod)
6 whole cloves
3 whole allspice pods
2 whole black peppercorns
2 Tbsp soy sauce
3 tsp loose smoky tea leaves (lapsang souchong is best, but Earl Grey would do)
Place the eggs in a medium-to-large sized lidded saucepan and cover with cold water (do not put the lid on). The eggs should have at least an inch of water over them. Bring the water/eggs to a boil over high heat. As soon as the water gets to a full boil, remove pan from the heat and place the lid over the pan. Set aside for 16 minutes.
After 16 minutes, drain the water from the pan and rinse the eggs with cold water until they have cooled slightly. Gently hit the eggs all over with the back of a spoon to crack them evenly all over. Add the eggs back to the saucepan. Crush the whole spices gently with the side of a knife blade, or a mortar and pestle or meat pounding mallet. Add all of the spices, tea and soy sauce to the pan and then add more cold water to cover the eggs. Bring the water/tea/spices/eggs to a gentle simmer over low heat. Simmer gently, covered, for 2 hours.
After two hours, remove the pan from the heat and allow it to cool slightly. After the pan is cool to the touch, place the whole thing into the refrigerator to cool. Let the eggs sit overnight in the liquid, or at least 8 hours.
After 8 hours, drain the liquid and rinse the eggs. Carefully peel them. They should be uniformly marbled and smell of soy and spices. Serve them with Lapsang Souchong salt or Balsamic Mayonnaise (1/2 cup mayo, 1 tsp. balsamic mayonnaise and 2 Tbsp. of the soy-spice liquid that the eggs were cooked in).
To serve, place the whole eggs on a plate, so that they can be appreciated in their marbly beauty, but then cut each egg into 4 wedges to serve.
This recipe comes together VERY quickly, since it uses jarred pasta sauce. Perfect for when you want something nice in a hurry. ..and it's EASY PEASY, too.
Quick and Easy Spaghetti and Meatballs
Serves 8.
for the meatballs:
2 pounds ground beef
2 eggs
1/2 cup plain, dry bread crumbs
1/2 cup finely chopped white onion
1 large garlic clove, finely chopped or run through a garlic press
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
a sprinkle of finely chopped fresh Italian parsley (2 - 3 Tbsp?)
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
2 large (25.5 ounce) jars of your favorite pasta sauce
(I like Muir Glen or Rao's or Lucini)
3/4 lb to 1 lb of your favorite pasta
additional Parmesan cheese, to go over top of the finished dish
Set a large stockpot of lightly salted water on to boil.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Set a cooling rack onto a baking sheet. Line the baking sheet with foil, for easier cleanup, if desired. Spray the rack lightly with cooking oil spray and set it aside.
Combine all meatball ingredients until well blended (clean hands work best for this). Gently pat and shape (don't tightly pack; that will make the meatballs tough) the meat mixture into balls about the size of a ping pong ball. Set them gently on the rack.
Bake them until they are just browned around the outside. It's OK if they are still a little underdone in the middle because they will finish cooking in the sauce. I don't remember how long they took to cook, but start checking them at 5 minutes and keep a close eye on them. I frequently cook by smell: when something starts to smell like what it's supposed to be, it's usually starting to get done (in other words, when you smell meatballs...).
You can, of course, fry-cook the meatballs in a skillet, on the stove, if you'd rather, I just didn't feel like dealing with all of the grease splatters that night.
While the meatballs are cooking, heat the jarred sauce to a gentle simmer in a large saucepan (make sure the pan is large enough for the meatballs to fit in later).
When the water is boiling, add the pasta and cook according to the package directions. Drain THOROUGHLY when ready and set aside. Do not rinse.
When the meatballs are ready, add them to the sauce in the pan and continue to simmer until sauce is thoroughly heated through and meatballs and done (at least 10 more minutes?).
Spoon some of the sauce over the pasta and toss gently to coat. Serve the pasta with more sauce and a few meatballs on top. Top with cheese and dig in!
This is how Boy eats his spaghettI:
Boy isn't a big fan of tomato sauce, so if he encountered any chunky bits of tomato in the sauce, he picked them out and set them on the sides of his pasta bowl. (We also had sauteed spinach with our spaghetti that night, so that's what the green bits are.)
So, the question is...
Does the dancer rotate clockwise or counter-clockwise for you? Or both?
It's supposed to be one of those "right brain/left brain" things...who knows what any of that means, but it's entertaining, anyway...
Leave me a comment and tell me what you see.
Two things:
You've got to see this video of this 13-year old amateur marksman (markswoman? shootist? pistolera? I have no idea what the term is...). No matter your feelings on guns (especially guns and kids, which I will admit skeeves me out a little), you've got to admire her skills. Her dad is a friend and former co-worker of my Hubby's. She would like to be on the Army's shooting team someday.
Also...
Hubby won tonight at his monthly poker game! We might just have to teach Boy how to play poker on our vacation, when we have some down time. He would be SCARY good at it. Girl, on the other hand, can't bluff to save her life and will put on sunglasses and a hoodie (Unabomber-style) when we play "I Doubt It". Boy ALWAYS wins.
Jerk-Grilled Chicken
Jamaican Jerk Seasoning (scroll down for the seasoning recipe)
boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded slightly to flatten (to help them cook uniformly)
(I used about 1/4 cup of the seasoning for 5 large chicken breasts.)
Spray your grill/grill pan with Pam (or brush with oil). Rub the seasoning all over the chicken breasts and then let them sit at room temperature for a few minutes (15?) while you heat up the grill. Grill over pretty low heat until the inside of the chicken is done, but still juicy, and the outside is nicely browned. Hubby cooked ours last night and he did a PERFECT job. Slice the chicken into about 8 pieces per breast. Depending upon the size of the breasts (and the hunger of your guests), you can get 1 1/2 to 2 servings per breast.
Pineapple Salsa
I can't link to it, or give you the exact recipe, because it's from Fine Cooking's "subscribers only" website, but it's basically diced pineapple, bell pepper (I used an orange one), radishes and minced cilantro, seasoned with a little salt and pepper and a dash of lime juice.
Gallo Pinto Coconut Rice
I used long-grain brown rice, with mostly coconut milk (and a little chicken stock) for the cooking liquid. When it was almost done, I stirred in some canned (drained and rinsed) black beans. Season with salt and pepper. When we were in Costa Rica a couple of years ago, we were served Gallo Pinto (rice and black beans) at every meal and we loved it. Every place does it a little bit differently, sometimes with tomato and/or onion, sometimes with cilantro, sometimes shaped into little timbales, but always delicious. I think that "gallo pinto" actually means "spotted rooster." Funny. Btw, "pico de gallo", another of our favorite foods, actually means "rooster's beak."
Crunchy Roasted Corn,
adapted from a recipe from Great Country Farms
6 ears fresh, raw, corn on the cob
3/4 cup mayonnaise
about 1 tsp. BBQ seasoning
2 Tbsp freshly-squeezed lemon juice
2 to 3 cups dry, plain (unseasoned) bread crumbs
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a large baking sheet lightly with Pam (or brush with oil).
Whisk together the mayonnaise, lemon juice and seasoning. One at a time, brush each ear of corn liberally with the mayonnaise mixture and then roll in the breadcrumbs to coat and lay each one on the baking sheet.
Bake, uncovered, for 35 to 40 minutes until lightly browned and crisp. Last night, I baked ours for 35 minutes, but it really would have been better if they had gone a few minutes more, so I would recommend cooking yours until they are darker than mine is in the photo.
Nota Bene: You can use your choice of seasoning/flavoring, instead of the BBQ seasoning. Some good options:
a little cumin (one of our favorites on corn on the cob)
Baby Bam
Finely chopped chives and a little salt
Finely chopped fresh jalapeno and cilantro
seasoned salt (or No-salt seasoning)
Italian seasoning or, just omit the seasoning altogether and use Italian-seasoned bread crumbs
I was at Barton Creek Mall briefly yesterday and happened to see the line of (mostly) guys, waiting outside the Apple store for the new iPhones:
I made this recipe from epicurious for dinner last night. Sorry for the terrible photo - the soup was the same exact color as the inside of my bowls and my photography skills aren't near what I would like them to be. Someday, I'm going to break down and take a class...but not today, so I'll just apologize, instead...
Adaptations:
I browned the pieces of chicken a tiny bit (in the bacon fat that was drained off out of the pan) before placing it in the soup.
I added a tiny bit of my BBQ seasoning, because Girl loves it with corn.
I cut back the amount of onion a tiny bit, and added a minced garlic clove (when the onions were almost done).
I used 1/2 cup half-and-half and 1/2 cup milk, because I ran out of half-and-half, and also just to cut the richness/fat content a little bit.
I have posted another Potato-Corn Chowder recipe before, but this one is a little different (added chicken and bacon, subtracted celery, substituted thyme for dill). They're both good, just subtly different.
Here's the scoop on fideos, for folks who may not have used them (or heard of them) before. Fideos are Spanish and they're a kind of "home-y" comfort food and NOT a gourmet/upscale kind of food. They are a type of pasta, so they can usually be found in the pasta aisle (usually down low, but if they're not there, try the "Hispanic Foods" aisle). The kind that I buy is in a small, yellow box and it's called "Q & Q" (Quality and Quantity) and it costs about a quarter for 5 ounces. I have better luck finding them in larger, discount-type stores, rather than in gourmet markets (think HEB, not Central Market). For my buddies on the East Coast, think Giant, rather than Wegman's. I will admit that are a little difficult to find (and sorry, Trish, I have NO idea where to buy them in Korea.)
The good news, however, is that there is a REALLY easy substitute. Fideos are really just extra-thin spaghetti/angel-hair. The only difference is that fideos are pre-cut into short, equal little lengths (about 3 inches?), so a great substitute (and one that a lot of recipes tell you to do, anyway) is just to buy angel hair or really thin spaghetti-type noodles and break them into pieces. You'll have to buy the angel hair that is packed into boxes or long bags like spaghetti, rather than the angel hair that is curled into little "nests" (or would that be "hairballs"?)
I must admit that I've never done the "broken noodles" thing, myself, but I imagine that the dish would cook up exactly the same. As you know, I am a bit...umm....let's go with "particular"...and I like the precision of the noodles being all the same size, so I do think it's worth the trouble to find the actual "fideos", but don't stress about it. Some recipes will tell you to toast the pasta before you cook it, some don't, but I usually do, even if it doesn't say to, because it just gives it better flavor.
So, Staci - don't turn that cookbook page, baby - it's just pasta!
I used this recipe from epicurious for dinner tonight. I was trying to prepare the recipe exactly according to the directions, but ended up having to adapt it because I didn't realize that there was a difference between Spanish chorizo and Mexican chorizo. Apparently, Spanish chorizo is already cooked and is more solid when its done, so that it can be chopped or sliced. Mexican chorizo is much more "loose", so I ended up grilling it, then just squeezing it out of the casing and directly into the onion/pepper/mushroom mixture. The chorizo was already pretty heavily seasoned, so I left out the cayenne and paprika, but added about 1/2 tsp of dried oregano, because I like it. The fact that they were not obvious "chunks" or slices of the sausage probably turned out to be a good thing. The chorizo was just kind of incorporated into the sauce, so it was pretty subtle. I used a package of chorizo that had three "links" in it.
Also, the fideos that I used (27 cents per box - you can't beat that!) came in a 5 ounce box (so I had three 5-ounce boxes, or 15 ounces) and I just couldn't bear to throw away the extra 3 ounces for no good reason, so I just mixed it all in and added about 6 ounces of extra chicken stock. I was getting tired tonight and the kids were getting pretty hungry by the time this was ready, so I forgot the parsley at the end, but it would have been a nice addition. Cilantro would have been good, too.
I also toasted the fideos before I added them to the sauce. 375 degrees for about 10 minutes, but watch them closely...
The bottom of the fideos got all nicely toasted and crunchy. It's funny how some of the strands of fideos ended up really small and crispy, while the ones in the middle absorbed all the liquid and were nice and fat and juicy. It was like spaghetti with nice little crispy bits. The kids liked this really well and even tried some of the mushrooms.
Just about my favorite snack/appetizer in the whole world...
I'm the only one in the family that will eat them and I am perfectly OK with that, because it means that I don't have to share.
OK, I know that lately this blog has been about anything other than food, but here are some cool things that I've come across lately that I wanted to share with you:
36 matches carved from a single block of wood, available from Lifeisgoods.com for $19.50
Handmade wooden salad tongs, available from KentuckyArts.com for $14
Yoga Toes Toe Stretchers, available from Overstock.com for $44.99.
I have toes that tend to curl under and do all sorts of weird-looking contortions, even though I wear good shoes that fit and don't "scrunch" my feet. I have just ordered some of these, so I don't know how they'll feel yet, but Self magazine calls them "surprisingly refreshing."
PS - I promise that I really am going to cook dinner tonight and will have something yummy to show you, probably Chorizo and Mushroom Fideua (found that recipe by searching epicurious for "chorizo", because I have some in my freezer and "kid-friendly")
If anyone else (besides Staci) had a question about the scar on my knee in my "show off my hiking boots" photo - here's my answer (it's hidden in the comments section, so you guys might not see it, otherwise):
Those really are my nasty ol' scarred-up legs. Not a super story on the scar, but semi-noteworthy...
When I was about 7 - 8 months pregnant with Girl, I had a little fender-bender in Hubby's truck that bent up the right front fender (somebody T-boned me, trying to pull onto Lamar at 2222 in front of me). There just happened to have been a really big hailstorm not too long before that and all of the body shops were swamped and couldn't take his truck to be fixed for a couple of weeks.
During that time, I walked into the bent-up bumper and gashed open my knee. It was pretty gross - blood spurting and all. It didn't hurt at all, but Hubby was mortified and felt awful (he went straight home afterward and hammered down the bent bumper so that the sharp part wasn't sticking out anymore). We had just been out to lunch with my mom (we were treating, because she was updating our wills for us, because of the baby) and it happened as we were dropping her back off at her office downtown. There just happened to be a Dr. that worked in her office building and he fashioned a bandage out of a (clean) dishtowel from their office kitchen (thanks, Dr. Guckian!), but even he looked like he was going to pass out (he'd been teaching at the time and hadn't actually practiced medicine in a while, plus I was alarmingly pregnant and there was a LOT of blood).
Did you remember that I used to work for a plastic surgeon? We called him and he met us at the hospital (thanks, Dr. B!) and stitched me up (no anesthesia, because of the baby). I couldn't bend my knee while it was healing, plus I was on crutches (NO FUN when you're pregnant) and couldn't drive for a few weeks afterwards. I was really lucky that it didn't hit any tendons or anything that could have messed with the functionality of my knee, so my knee works fine, it just looks ugly. Sometimes people ask if I've had knee surgery...I wanna say, "yeah, knee surgery with a can opener". If I had knee surgery and my surgeon left me with a scar like that, I think I would sue...
Anyway, that's the story....
PS - It's not the plastic surgeon's fault that my scar looks bad - the gash was just that long and deep (1/2 inch to 3/4 inch?), I wasn't giving him a great situation to work with, but most knee surgery scars look much better than that, so... I actually think he did a very good job - it's very smooth and flat and has never caused me a bit of pain.
I actually kinda like my scar; it think it makes me look "tough"; it's my badge of honor. It also makes me think about Girl and how we went through it "together" and how cute and overprotective Hubby was of both of us. Sweet.
I finally picked my car up yesterday from the second of two repair shops that were working on it in the same day and I can finally say that it is at least starting to resemble my old car again. I was mortified the first time that I picked it up last week and it wasn't braking properly and was pulling to one side. The body shop was saying that they had fixed everything that they could on it, but I was terrified that would be the permanent future state of the car. It was awful. All kinds of engine indicator lights had turned on: "Check Engine" and "VSC tracking" (whatever the heck that is). After a visit to the dealership for an alignment and some other repairs (some related to the accident, some not, plus some routine maintenance), I am starting to get happy with it again. I have always babied this car; it's been taken to the dealership for routine maintenance and oil changes precisely according to the recommended schedule. I keep it pristinely clean inside. I am inordinately proud of this car and LOVE it. It's the first car that I ever paid cash for and didn't have to get a loan on. When I get a door ding or paint chip, I rush it to the body shop to have it fixed. The guy at the body shop (who presumably makes money off of my hyper-vigilance) actually told me once, "It's never going to stay perfect, you know...it's OK for it to have a couple of marks." Silly man doesn't know what he's talking about. ;-) Of course, I had completely forgotten about the windshield crack that happened just before the wreck that I hadn't had a chance to get fixed yet, so that will have to be taken care of now. It happened on a gravelly road (piece of gravel flew up and hit it) in the middle of nowhere (on my way to TDS ranch for a party), so I will have to bear the responsibility for that cost myself, but I've now spent over $3000 on my car in the past week (I haven't been reimbursed anything by the insurance company yet) and still have a windshield to go. The food on this blog may get really boring for a while....rice and beans, anyone?
I realized that I never did photos of the "damage". The extent of the damage isn't easily in photos, but here are some, anyway. This photo is of the underside of the car, and shows where the frame was slightly bent (this is only one side of the frame, but it was bent similar on the other side, as well):
This photo shows the bumper damage. The reason that there are some vertical marks is that the guy that hit me had a "brush guard" on the front bumper of his truck.
We did indulge in one extravagance yesterday that was unrelated to car repair: we bought "Rock Band" for the kids. A very fun game and I can tell already it's going to turn into a huge "time suck" for our family - but that's what summer's for, right?
Queenie, the female cat out of our three, has always been a picky eater. She will eat the special "prescription" food from the vet, but we've never been able to find a cat "treat" that she likes (except for a little shred of "real" chicken, every once in a while, when I'm cooking or after we're done eating). The boys like everything that we've ever given them, treat-wise, but this one (Greenies) has been their favorite up until now.
The last time that I was at the vet (buying overpriced food), the assistant gave us some samples of this kind.
Queenie LOVED them. Loved them so much that she will follow us around after we give her one, waiting for another. She is normally pretty aloof and indifferent, so this is a marked difference. She also tracked down (by scent) the open bag (the small sample pack didn't have a closure, so I had just Scotch-taped it) on my desk and was trying to bite it open. The samples were of the "free range chicken" flavor, so I can't vouch for the other flavors, but all three cats LOVE the chicken. It doesn't actually contain free range chicken, mind you, but is free range chicken flavored. I find that hilarious. I know who they're pandering to, and I realize that I probably am their target audience, but I still think it's funny.
Anyway, if you have a picky eater cat, give these a try. They are on sale on Petco's website right now for two bucks (not sure if they are also on sale in the store).
The desk is finished and it looks GLORIOUS. Definitely some satisfaction in doing it yourself (although it would have been nice to save the grand-and-a-half that we payed the jacka$$ painter to do it). The paint smell is SO strong right now that you can get high from walking into our backyard, but it does look great. We'll give it a couple of days to "off-gas" and then we'll put the furniture back out there. I'll post one last photo once everything is set up again, and then I promise I'll shut up about the darned deck.
The second D.I.Y. agenda item for this weekend was to stain our front door. It is a beautiful wooden door with beveled, leaded glass inserts and sidelites on either side. It's gorgeous, but it takes the full brunt of the afternoon sun and we hadn't done a thing to it in the 4 years that we've lived here. The polyurethane coating was GONE and the wood was faded and starting to crack. Our house isn't palatial, but it's comfy and the front door was certainly not making a good first impression.
Hubby attacked it with plastic "steel wool" today and then Boy, Girl and I stained it (taking turns). Tomorrow night, Hubby will put a fresh coat of polyurethane on it. It already looks 150% better than it did, even without the polyurethane.
Not quite sure why I've gotten this home maintenance bug lately, but we do go through periodic spurts like this. Next up: painting Girl's bathroom a beautiful, rich, dark chocolate brown. She just got brand new "teenager appropriate" bedding that has some really pretty colors in it: burgundy, pumpkin, brown, gold, acid/lime green and turquoise. It sounds weird, but it's really pretty. The coordinating shower curtain has the same colors (though it's a different fabric), so the brown will look very nice. The old salon that I used to go to had chocolate brown paint on the walls in the shampoo room and I always thought that it was really pretty and rich-looking, so that project will be next.
Bonus photo of my very comfy new hiking boots. We all bought new boots today and have been wearing them around ever since we left REI. They will be all nicely broken in by the time our Alaska trip rolls around.
(sorry if I blinded you with my Caspar the Friendly Ghost legs!)
Check out the 7th paragraph of this story (Oh, heck...read the whole thing, but the 7th paragraph has me scratching my head. I am clearly missing something.):
McCain interview, New York Times
OK, yes...it's preferable to have two parents and yes, they both play an important role, but isn't more about having two parents to share the burden/nurturing load, rather than having two parents that are different genders? He really thinks it's better for those kids to stay in group homes or foster care, where they have NO parents, than to place them with a loving gay couple that wants to have them? REALLY?
Hubby makes a good point that this is a moot point, because adoption regulations really don't fall under the purview of the Presidency, so McCain's really just pandering to the right wingers when he makes this statement. Gay adoption isn't going to be something that he will really be changing regulations on. It really falls under state regulations or is up, maybe, to the individual agency that is making the placement, but still....isn't gay adoption just a ridiculous thing to be AGAINST?
Just in case you are struck with perverse curiosity about whether or not Angelina Jolie has had her twins yet....
the news will be posted on the website of her French maternity hospital, which can be found here:
Hopital Lenval
I'll translate for you, just in case your French is rustier than mine (which is saying a lot!):
Press release concerning Mrs. Angelina Jolie...normal course of monitoring her pregnancy...blah blah blah...admitted into the Lenval Foundation...blah blah blah...Her doctor Michel Sussman alone will have the ability to give any medical information, in the due course of time...blah blah blah....previous Caesarean with first pregnancy...blah blah blah...normal procedure...simple monitoring...to assure the well being of her babies in the weeks to come....blah blah blah...hospital has all facilities to accommodate family visits...blah blah blah
Press rep: blah blah blah
Communiqué de presse concernant Mme Angelina JOLIE
Dans le cadre de la surveillance normale de sa grossesse, comme prévu de longue date, Madame Angelina JOLIE a été admise dans les locaux de la Fondation LENVAL, Maternité SANTA MARIA. Son gynécologue obstétricien, le Docteur Michel SUSSMANN, seul habilité à le faire, donnera toute information médicale, en temps voulu. Il s agit donc d une grossesse gémellaire et son hospitalisation à ce stade de la grossesse, est une procédure normale chez une patiente ayant déjà bénéficié d une césarienne lors de la première grossesse. Elle nécessite une simple surveillance pour s assurer du bien-être de ses bébés dans les semaines à venir. La clinique SANTA MARIA au sein de la fondation LENVAL présente toutes les commodités permettant les visites de sa famille. Madame Angelina JOLIE m a chargé de vous préciser qu elle se porte parfaitement bien. Contact presse : Mme BAUER Nadine le 02.07.08
No new updates are on the hospital website, but there are RAMPANT rumors around the Internets that she has already had the babies, a boy (Knox Leon) and a girl (Vivienne Marcheline). This may be complete speculation, but the fact that Angelina's recently deceased mother was named Marcheline lends some credence. Apparently, the locals in the rural French area where her hospital is located have made a game out of trying to get their fabricated "Angelina rumors" published, with bragging rights going to those that are successful in getting the most outlandish ones out there....
Absolutely no pretense at healthy or gourmet food here, just good old fashioned junk food. Nothing green at all on the plate. Girl is at a birthday sleepover tonight, so it's just me and the boys. I thought (correctly) that this would be a crowd-pleaser.
Oven-Baked French Fries
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Cut your potatoes into thick planks (fry-shaped, maybe 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch wide). Sprinkle the fries lightly with sugar (about 1 Tbsp. per 6 small-to-medium-sized potatoes) and your choice of seasoning. BBQ seasoning would be good, or Baby Bam, but I used this No-Salt Substitute Seasoning, because I like to have a little control over the amount of salt on my fries; I like to be able to taste them after they're cooked and add the salt, at that point, so that I can be more sure of the correct amount.
Toss the fries with a generous coating of canola oil. Pour them out onto a very large baking sheet and bake until golden, about 30 minutes, but you'll need to keep an eye on them. They will stick to the baking sheet, so you won't be able to turn them during cooking, but, if you have put enough oil on them, they will toast on the bottom side, too, and will "release" from the pan when they are done.
When they're done, remove the pan from the oven and let them cool for about 1 minute, then use a large spatula to remove them to a large plate lined with paper towels to absorb any excess grease. Salt liberally with salt or Fleur de Sel.
While the fries are baking....
Patty Melt Sandwiches
serves 4
for the patties:
1 lb hamburger meat
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup finely chopped white onion
1 medium-sized garlic clove, minced or pressed
1 to 2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh Italian parsley, to taste
1/4 tsp ground mustard
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
butter or margarine
4 slices of your choice of cheese - Swiss would have been great, but we only had 'Murrican on hand, so we used that.
8 slices bread of your choice - it should be fairly hearty, dense bread and shouldn't be sliced too thinly - We used a round sourdough loaf.
Blend together all patty ingredients (kinda gross, but really best to do it with your hands). Heat up your grill or a grill pan. I usually spray our grill lightly with Pam and then fire it up on high heat until I'm ready to put the meat on, then I'll turn it down to low while the meat actually cooks. Cook the patties until done, turning as little as little as possible. When the patties are done, pull them off the heat and assemble the sandwiches.
Top each patty with a slice of cheese and place it in between two slices of bread. Lightly butter the outside of each sandwich. Put the assembled sandwiches back on the grill (or grill pan or griddle or whatever you're using), over low heat, and cook until the bread is toasted and the cheese has melted, turning only once, if possible.
The fries should be about done by this point, so pull them out, pour the Zinfandel (or maybe one of these?) and ketchup and dig in.
Italian Herb Seasoning
1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried marjoram
1 1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 1/2 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried rosemary leaves
1 tsp dried sage
Combine all herbs and store in a small, airtight container. Sprinkle in tomato sauces or rice, on pizza dough, on garlic bread, into salad dressings or dips, etc.
This is a summer staple at our house. Like gazpacho, we wait all year for beautiful, ripe, juicy local tomatoes so that we can make this recipe. My best friend, E, gave me the recipe for the original version of this dish, but I have adapted it quite a bit, so I'll just give you my version here. This absolutely must be made with fresh, ripe (but not over-ripe or TOO juicy) tomatoes. This dish is worth a visit to a farm or farmer's market to get them.
Fresh Tomato Pie
(We have a tendency to call this 'Mater Pie, since my farmer mother-in-law calls potatoes "taters" and tomatoes "maters", but that looks really funny to me now that Boy and Girl are learning Latin.)
1/2 package refrigerated pie crust
(one of the two crusts that come in the package)
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup fresh basil chiffonade
about 5 fresh, ripe but firm, medium-sized tomatoes, sliced into 1/2 inch rounds
(discard stem and bottom ends or chop up and reserve for another use)
about 2 Tbsp olive oil (or an olive oil spray)
kosher salt (about 1/4 to 1/2 tsp?) and freshly ground pepper (about 1/4 tsp?)
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Fit piecrust into a 9 inch glass pie plate. Fold edges over top edge of pie plate (make a decorative edge, if desired - there are some ideas on the pie crust package). Prick dough all over (sides and bottom) with a fork. Bake at 400 for 5 minutes.
Remove crust from oven and spray it lightly with the olive oil (or brush on a light coating). Sprinkle about 1 cup of the cheese onto the crust. Arrange a layer of tomato slices on top of the cheese, cutting some rounds into pieces, if necessary, to fill in any "gaps" and form one solid layer. Sprinkle lightly with half of the salt and half of the pepper. Spray (or brush) with another tiny bit of olive oil. Top with 1 Tbsp. of the basil and then another 1/2 cup of cheese. Repeat one more layer of tomatoes, salt, pepper, olive oil, 1 Tbsp of basil and then the remaining cheese. Top with 1 more Tbsp of basil and set the remaining 1 Tbsp aside for later. Place pie on a cookie sheet on a lower rack in the oven. Bake at 400 degrees, uncovered, for 35 to 40 minutes. Remove pie from the oven when the tomatoes are bubbling up and the crust and cheese topping are nicely browned. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving, using paper towels to VERY gently blot up any excess juice that bubbles to the surface while the pie is standing. Before serving, sprinkle with remaining 1 Tbsp of basil.
After removing the first slice, I will usually tilt the pie (put a dishtowel under one end of the dish) so that the excess juices (there will be lots of them) will drip into the empty space, and then I'll put a folded paper towel there to collect them. The crust will easily get soggy if it's allowed to sit in the excess tomato juices. The leftovers of this pie will MAYBE keep for one day in the refrigerator, but it is VASTLY better if it's eaten while it's still warm. It's great as a brunch or lunch dish and can even stand up as a light summer entree, if you pair it with a light salad or green vegetable.
My other mother-in-law (it's a long story...) adds a layer of caramelized onions when she makes this pie. It is definitely a recipe that could be adapted in lots of different ways (corn/cilantro/black bean, fresh oregano/feta, etc.).
Beware - it is NOT necessary to grease the pie pan before placing the dough in it. If you forget this and grease it, anyway, the dough will slide down and this will happen:
All is not lost, however. You can gently lift the gooey dough out of the pie pan and onto a foil-lined baking sheet, sprinkle it lightly with salt, pepper, grated Parmesan, garlic powder and Italian Herb Seasoning and bake it at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes and then slice it into strips for a garlic-cheesy toast stick that is a great with a bowl of soup.
Thank goodness those pie crusts come two in a package!
This is amazingly beautiful. I am crying like a baby in front of my keyboard:
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/07/11/holocaust.reunion/index.html
OK, I know that I am just a big ol' geek, but I am quite literally counting down the days until this movie comes out. I saw the show on Broadway MANY years ago and loved it and have since seen the traveling version. I just LOVE LOVE LOVE it. The movie will have a star-studded and talented cast:
Stellan Skarsgard
(Robin Williams' rival/nemesis from "Good Will Hunting")
Amanda Seyfried
(from HBO's "Big Love")
Colin Firth
("Pride & Prejudice" and "Bridget Jones")
Pierce Brosnan
("Bond, James Bond")
Dominic Cooper
("Dakin" from "The History Boys" - I saw this show on Broadway, as well, and it was BRILLIANT (co-starred the actors that play Madame Maxime and Uncle Vernon from the Harry Potter movies). I believe that he played Dakin in the movie version (haven't seen it), as well, but he was phenomenal on Broadway - absolutely stole the show.
There aren't enough words to give proper accolades to either Christine Baranski (if you haven't seen "Cruel Intentions": RUN, do not walk, do not pass "Go", do not collect $200 - just GO...hilarious movie and GREAT soundtrack...) or Meryl Streep; just suffice to say that I'm hooked...if they're in it, I'll go see it. The only time that philosophy has ever failed me was with "Evening" a couple of years ago.
This movie looks like it will be visually stunning, with lots of scenic views of Greek islands. In addition to loving the storyline and the music, Greece is my dream "someday" destination. We are saving our pennies and hoping to be able to afford a vacation there next summer. On a slightly-related topic, if you ever get a chance to see the IMAX movie "Greece: Secrets of the Past", it is absolutely worth your time. We saw it in Chicago (at the Field Museum, or the Shedd Aquarium, I can't remember - maybe the Museum of Science and Industry?) a while back (we were there to see the Tut exhibit) and it was GORGEOUS. Beautiful music in it, as well and it was narrated by Nia Vardalos, writer/star of "My Big Fat Greek Wedding". I loved the caryatides that "came to life" at the end.
Anyway...I will be at the theatre on the first day (July 18th) that "Mamma Mia" opens, I guarantee it. Hubby liked the show, too, and is even a little excited, himself (or, at least he's willing to go with me). If you haven't seen the trailer, you can go check it out here:
Mamma Mia movie site
I forgot to say how we liked the taco ring...I guess I have "Summer brain". Anyway, we all liked it quite a bit. It certainly isn't gourmet, but it was easy and it was a hit. Boy and Girl were actually arguing last night over which of them would get to eat the leftovers for lunch. As it turned out, Boy and I were at a pool party with some of his buddies from school and we ate yummy grilled hot dogs in one of the most hospitable backyards I've ever seen (it was Boy Wonderland: ping pong table, a lovely pool with bar seating both inside and outside the water, grill, tables, batting cage, putting green and gorgeous screened-in porch), so Hubby and Girl got to fight over the leftovers. I didn't ask, but I'm pretty sure that Girl won. ;-)
Not sure what I'll do for dinner tonight - time to hit the cookbooks. I have some boneless, skinless chicken breasts thawing... Chicken a la King is always a big hit, but I don't have any celery or carrots in the house right now and I don't want to make another grocery run. I'm sure I'll come up with something...
Girl saw this recipe recently in one of my really old cookbooks and asked me to make it. I, of course, adapted it quite a bit:
- I used 1 pound of ground beef, instead of 1/2
- I used Monterey Jack, instead of cheddar (because that's what I had on hand - I used a little more than 1 cup, since I had more meat)
- I used my own taco seasoning mix, instead of the pre-packaged stuff
- I added a little bit of sauteed garlic and onion to the meat/cheese mixture, too.
- I didn't do the whole tomato/olive/lettuce/bell pepper cup thing in the middle of the ring, but just served a salad and rice and beans on the side
Taco Ring, ready to go in the oven
Taco Ring, just out of the oven
For the rice and beans, I sauteed a little bit of garlic (3 to 4 cloves) and onion (1/2 an onion?) in some oil until it was soft. I added a bit of this to the meat/cheese mixture for the taco ring, mixed some into a can of fat-free refried beans and stirred some into the rice as it was cooking. To the beans, I also added a tiny bit of cheese, a heavy sprinkle of cumin, a tiny bit of chili powder and a good sprinkle of oregano. For the rice, I used long-grain brown rice, with chicken stock (with 1 to 2 Tbsp of tomato paste mixed in) as the cooking liquid. When it was about halfway cooked, I added some frozen peas and chopped fresh carrots (add a little extra cooking liquid at that point, too). I also added a bit of cumin and some turmeric (for color).
For the salad, you can just use whatever greens and veggies you'd like (we used romaine with purple onions, radishes and grape tomatoes), but the salad dressing recipe follows below.
NB: Cilantro gets very "gamey" and pungently-flavored in the summer. Although cilantro is delicious with lots of summer produce (corn, tomatoes, etc.), it is actually a winter herb and starts to go to seed (coriander is the seed of the same plant) in the summer. When you buy it in the summer, you may notice that it looks a little different and has small clusters of thin, feathery leaves at the ends, rather than the large, parsley-like leaves that you're used to (see bottom right quadrant of the photo below). The flavor changes at this point, as well. When using summer cilantro, you may need to use less, since the flavor is so strong. If you're making this dressing in the winter, you can use a heavier hand when adding the cilantro.
Cilantro Ranch Salad Dressing
1/2 cup sour cream (low-fat version OK)
1 cup mayonnaise (low-fat version OK)
1 tsp dried dill weed (or a little less, if you're using freshly chopped dill)
1 tsp onion powder
about 1/4 cup buttermilk (low-fat version OK)
finely chopped fresh cilantro to taste
(depending upon the flavor, use anywhere from 1 Tbsp. to about 1/4 cup)
1 garlic clove
about 1 tsp. kosher salt
freshly ground pepper, to taste (1/8 tsp?)
2 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh chives (optional, but delicious)
Run the garlic through a garlic press or chop it finely on a cutting board. Sprinkle the salt over the garlic clove and press the garlic/salt mixture with the flat side of a knife to crush the garlic (the salt will act as an abrasive and will help crush it up). Scoop/scrape up the garlic/salt mixture and place it in a medium-sized mixing bowl.
Whisk in the mayonnaise and sour cream until the mixture is smooth. Whisk in the buttermilk, a little bit at a time, until you reach the desired dressing consistency (you may not use the entire 1/4 cup, or you may need a little more).
Optional: Use an immersion blender to remove any lumps at this point (do NOT use it once you've added the herbs).
Stir in the dill, onion powder, black pepper and cilantro and chives.
Makes about 2 cups.
Adaptation: to make regular ranch dressing, substitute finely chopped fresh Italian parsley, to taste, in place of the cilantro.
Well, we did some deck spray painting on Sunday, but because we've never used one of those rental power sprayers before, we didn't realize how quickly they go through paint. We (OK, Hubby) got the job about 2/3 of the way finished and then we ran out of paint. The paint store is closed on Sunday and the sprayer is $80 a day, so we returned it and will rent it again (probably not until this weekend) and finish up soon.
My excellent masking paper/taping job:
Hubby, spraying with a little trepidation:
Hubby fuel (iced latte):
On a (sort of) related note...
We left behind some very dear friends (E & A, and their 3 kids, D, Z and A) when we moved back to Texas from Virginia. Over the years that we were in Virginia, we shared many, many cups of coffee with these hospitable folks. We even stayed with them on our last few days in town, after the movers had left with all of our possessions (but we were still tying up loose ends of the home sale). As a going-away present, we bought them the "fancy" espresso maker that they had been lusting after for years. While staying with them for those last few days in July of 2004, we decided that the machine was amazing and that we HAD to have one of our own. We ordered one immediately and had it delivered to our new house in Austin. It was waiting for us on the doorstep when we arrived and we had it set up and operational before we even had a working telephone. Hubby and I are both die-hard coffee addicts and since Hubby works from home, our daily coffee consumption (the machine has a "cup counter") can be a bit staggering. We recently noticed that our machine has made over 9,000 cups (we also use offer made-to-order coffees when we have parties, so not ALL of these cups are ours). Hubby is going to try to take a video when it rolls over to 10,000.
A million years ago (at least it seems like it), in another life, Hubby was an Austin Police officer. He recently uploaded a couple of his old police-related videos to YouTube (thanks to my Little Bro for helping us get all of our old videotapes converted to digital!). Here they are, if you'd like to take a look...
I feel a little silly for even posting an entry on quesadillas, since they're so simple, but some of you have asked what we eat on the nights when I don't post something "gourmet", so here ya go...
We frequently will have quesadillas as a quick weeknight dinner or even for lunch, when we have time. Quesadillas are one of my favorite ways to use leftovers (frittatas are another). You just take two tortillas and load 'em up with your favorite fillings and then slap 'em on the grill. I do usually layer a bit of cheese on both sides, just to ensure that everything sticks together and stays in place when the cheese melts. These quesadillas were made with some leftover BBQ chicken (chopped up), some fresh chopped spinach and a mixture of cheddar and monterrey jack cheeses. I recommend cooking your quesadillas in butter (or margarine, if you must - at least it doesn't burn/brown as quickly as butter does), rather than oil. There's just nothing like the flavor that butter gives them. Pam is great for some things, but not for these.
Our shelving unit in our family room was actually completed quite a long time ago, but I forgot to post update photos after it was installed and painted. We are VERY pleased with it and would HIGHLY recommend the carpenter that created it for us. His name is Gary Ramsey and his company is called Ramsey Woodworks, in case any of you are ever in need of similar services.
Here are the shelves, right after they were installed:
Here they are, all loaded up with our junk:
