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I had one kid who was exhausted, one who was sick, one who just needed to chill and then there was me... with a combination of all three. It was a great day for some Bollito Misto - ultra healthy food for the soul. Giada has the best recipe for this HERE, and I mostly stuck to it...
Except the sauce I made to go with it was a green olive and caper mayo with fresh parsley, shallot and a little sherry vinegar. Not the traditional green sauce at all, but pretty good.
By the time last night rolled around, the effects of too much work to squeeze into a 4 day week had begun to chip away. I was out of the meals I had prepared earlier in the week and really didn't have a follow-up dinner to Lamb Shanks Braised in Port on a Weeknight... (What WAS I thinking?)
So I whipped up some marinara sauce and made some homemade pizza with Italian sausage, mozzarella, fresh basil and black olives...
A quick side salad of Boston Lettuce (of course) and shaved carrots...
And sponge(Bob)cake with fresh blueberries and cherries. Oh, and mine (pictured) was liberally doused with Venezuelan dark rum. I learned from my Dad that ALL desserts taste better like that! ;)
What's better than making braised lamb shanks in Port wine for dinner? Making them in advance and allowing them to rest and intensify in flavaaaaaah!
I made these on Monday night (I think, it's all a blur at this point) with plenty of garlic, rosemary, carrots, and mushrooms. After the braising liquid cooled, I was able to remove almost all of the fat and then concentrate the sauce even further.
Serving them over Trader Joe's Lemon Papparedelle made it a weeknight meal that felt like a REALLY special occasion.
of cooking so much this weekend. I didn't have to do anything other than grill some pork chops and make a little mojo for them last night. The Main Event - the side of garbanzos with bacon and fresh corn - was already done and waiting for me.
If you only have eaten chickpeas out of a can, you've missed what they really taste like. I don't know that there is any legume that shows such a distinct contrast from the canned version when prepared fresh from the dried bean. (Ok, maybe cannellini beans do also) There is no metallic taste to get in the way of the actual sweetness of the garbanzo. It is SO worth the extra effort.
Cooked up a STORM last night! In the same way I make turkey meatballs, I made a big ground turkey meatloaf. The only alteration was the addition of grated provolone into the meatball mix. That added some extra zip to an always potentially bland ground turkey. Lots of fresh basil and parsley helped too.
Now if this came out of the oven and you just happened to have some toasted ciabatta bread and some extra marinara sauce...
Wouldn't you make yourself a nice sandwich, too? ;)
To all those who have served, do serve and will serve so that the rest of us live freely, protected and with so few worries... THANK YOU.
To my dear buddy from college, who served with honor and at great risk in the US Marines, Thank you Mike. To another friend and roommate from college who continues to serve in a very important role in the US Army, Thank you John. To my father's friend who walks with him every day around their neighborhood, Thank you Command Master Sergeant Fred.
And to those countless warriors and their families who have that unique mixture of pain and pride in their hearts tomorrow, THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts. I hope that your sacrifice and your legacy will be kept alive through the celebration of families and friends forever.
for the weekend. It was 90 degrees here today and in between thundershowers, it was enough to make you think that Summer is here. I think I'll take the gurlz to the beach tomorrow, so I had to cook up a nice Summertime meal for Friday night dinner:
Soy/Sesame/Garlic marinated Chicken wings and drumsticks with fresh corn on the cob...
And a cucumber salad with shallots in a lemon and rice wine vinegar dressing. I can smell the suntan lotion already!
After all my complaining about Texas and the narrow food options... What do I make the third night back?
Baked Pork chunks in a spicy dry rub...
And Potato Salad with chopped up pickles in it... Those BBQ claws, they get a hold of you down deeeeeeep! ;)
After about the fifth meal in West Texas, when the presence of high-glucose corn syrup was permeating every beverage, every sauce, every dessert and even the vegetables, I asked my son what he thought I would cook for the first meal back in Miami. He said "either something REALLY Italian or REALLY healthy!" Why not do both?
Chicken & Herb Tortellini in a homemade Alfredo sauce (made with Lactaid milk no less!) served with some roasted vegetables (asparagus, cherry tomatoes and portabello mushrooms) that had been tossed in olive oil, fresh rosemary and sea salt before broiling. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh... back!
Had my last psuedo-cafecito on Sunday morning and said goodbye to West Texas. It was a phenomenal trip, probably the best father/son one we've ever had. We talked, we laughed and I showed my son what the country looked like 30 years ago, complete with Drive-In movie theatres...
Now, it's back to work (and making up for the day off on Friday), back to school (for him) and back to making some food which DOESN'T have corn syrup as the primary ingredient!
But more than anything else, I'm so proud of the young man he has become. He had a really successful tournament and opened up his eyes to a whole new world of possibilities! Stay tuned...
