Andy's Diner

As the Weekend Comes to a Close...

I have to say it was a remarkable one. No big events. One of the more "normal" weekends in a while... but FULL of what we love: family, food & fun.

Thanks to the folks at Biketown USA, I won - yes WON - a bike! I went to pick it up on Friday and took it for a nice spin on Sunday afternoon. So refreshing! I smelled freshly cut grass, hamburgers on the grill, heard the birds sign and got some exercise - and felt like a kid again all at the same time.

There was lots of comfort food this weekend, like the skirt steak with chimmichuri above, plenty of ribs tonight with...

summery pasta salad with corn, red peppers and fresh basil in a lime vinaigrette. And then there was dessert...

A pineapple cake with mandarin orange sections (that was later frosted with pineapple frosting!). As the weekend draws to a close, once again one of our animals best describes how we all feel.

Happy. Tired. Ready to rest... and get up and do it all over again!

Back in the Saddle...

Ahhhhh, dinner on a school night: such wonderful predictability. Listening to kids talk about their classes, their mean teachers, the school supplies they need "now". It's all good.

A fresh salad with white asparagus... hmmmm from where? Those look like...

Why yes! Asparagus from Spain - the famous Esparragos Blancos de Navarra, humorously known as "Cojonudos" (this is FUNNY if you're from Miami). These were a gift from my Cuban cousin from Iowa. And they were GOOD!

Skinless chicken thighs, how we recession-minded parents love them. 9 bucks for the huge tray and plenty leftover for chicken salad sandwiches. Served alongside...
Some rice that belongs in a paella or at LEAST in an arroz con pollo - sofrito, ham, peas, olives and lots of love. Just what the kiddoes need and then off to bed, issuing that cry that we parents LOVE: "Tonight's a school night". Which means we get some peace ;).

Last Night of "Summer"...

Back to school in the morning, so we had a celebratory dinner. It's been a great Summer - everyone survived and had some great memories in spite of the challenging economic situation.

 Lamb meatloaf with Feta inside along with some roasted potatoes and sweet onions and a Cabernet reduction sauce. There will be some NICE sandwiches for lunch!

Busy Busy Busy Week!

Just the normal events of life, but it sure made the week fly by! Let's work our way backwards... the week ENDED with some sundried tomato pesto.

Now, that's ALWAYS a good thing! It was the birthday girl's request on a homemade pizza. Since the kids don't think of that as their favorite pizza (yet), I made one with the fresh Italian sausage from Doris' Italian Market.

Yes, it was as good as it looks! All of this comfort food had a reason? Was the start to the week rather rocky? Well, let's see if you can guess...

My son had his initiation into how torrential rain can help you lose control of a car... but thank God, he is fine, no one was hurt and a whole host of "it could have been so much worse" items. Know what really took the edge off?

Getting home and being able to eat a nice meal that my wife made while I was out. It was nice to take a night off and have something THIS delicious! OK, let's start a new week... ready? GO!

No Take Out Here...

Teriyaki chicken... Really yummy stuff, served over fluffy white rice. An alternative to delivery ;).

Done for Today...

Oricchiette with chicken sausage (basil and sun-dried tomato) and marinara sauce to end the week - with a nice glass of Sterling Cabernet. Cycling down for the weekend - plenty of projects around the house and time with the kids.

Sweet Goodness...

I know. I know. Pork two nights in a row...
But it was ethnically different pork! Does that count for anything? And it was equally delicious! Does that help? BBQ pork ribs tonight, with one big slab given away to a friend. I promise I'll make something different tomorrow... probably. ;)

Nine Bucks Worth of Beauty...

$8.95 for the whole shoulder... quite a bargain when you consider how much it fed and will continue to feed. I'm sure the readers of my food blog are getting bored with lechon, but not us! Until I win the lottery, you'll be seeing plenty of this on my table.

Oh, and plenty of these too ;) Tostones for all, rice and beans, chocolate devils food cake with ice cream. Just what we all needed on a Wednesday night.

Fridaaaaaaaaaaaay!

Time for some comfort food to end the week...

and what says "comfort" like Macaroni and Cheese? Especially if it's made Italian-style with Fontina, Gruyere, Romano and Parmigiano...

and a little bit of ham, b/c we KNOW that a little pork goes well with all of that pasta and cheese!

Oh, and I almost forgot... There were wings! Lots and lots of baked wings!

Let's Face It...

In this economy, we make lots of decisions based on price... especially when it comes to feeding a family. They had rump roast on sale this week. I decided to make an Italian pot roast, with a little inspiration from Mary Ann Esposito, whose recipes NEVER let me down!

I didn't have the time to marinate it overnight in the Barolo, and I used a food processor on the carrots, celery, onions and garlic on the front end versus after they've cooked... Oh, and I created a little salsa verde for it as well. And served it over egg noodles, because we had them... and what matters most: It was TASTY!