What You Should Have Eaten #39

Chicken in a Fresh Tomato and Eggplant Sauce with Spaghetti

I had a problem right off the bat with the wine. It was an older bottle, a 2002 vintage of Xanadu Margaret River Sauvignon Blanc to be exact, and the cork did not want to leave its home. It was comfortable, I guess. No amount of corkscrewing was getting this badboy out. I ended up sticking a small steak knife in there, slowly slicing my through the cork along the inside edge of the neck, and I was actually able twist the cork out with an extremely small amount actually falling into the bottle. I was very pleased with myself.

This was the first time I had ever cooked with eggplant, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. There were clumps of seeds randomly scattered through the inside. It wasn’t a problem, though. I think the only problem was the amount I used. I could have used a bit more.

I went against my usual leaning and included a small bit of onion. I was cooking for an old friend, so I decided I wasn’t going to stray from the recipe all that much.

One way I did stray was to prepare extra spaghetti and chicken. I knew my kids wouldn’t eat the night’s final product, but they eat chicken and they eat spaghetti, so I just made extra a didn’t combine them. They got plain chicken and some spaghetti with Parmesan cheese. The kids are a bit weird in that they’d rather not have sauce.

I made two pounds of spaghetti, but I didn’t adjust the amount of boiled water, so I ended up with some sticky pasta. I don’t know how the kids choked it down without any sauce, but when it was mixed with the chicken, wine, broth, etc., it all ended up coming together.

My dinner guest had a dessert treat for the kids: sundaes. Snickers ice cream, strawberry ice cream, caramel and brownie ice cream, bananas, Hershey’s chocolate sauce, cherries, butterscotch sauce and sprinkles. The kids were in heaven, and they were so wired until bedtime.

This was a simple but tasty dinner. I think this’ll be something I fix again in the future.

Probably for the rest of the month I’m going to whore myself out with an impassioned plea: click on the ads. PLEASE click on the ads. I don’t care if you exit it out of it immediately or actually look around. This isn’t some professional blog where I believe in the products I’m shilling. These are automatic ads placed by Google. But my experiment this weekend proved to me that I actually AM making a spot of cash whenever the ads are clicked. So I’m going to put this little disclaimer on the bottom of all my posts for the next month or so, and I hope you’ll take an extra 10 seconds after reading my blog to click on an ad. Thanks so much!

What You Should Have Eaten #17

Ham and Cheese Stuffed Pork Chops

These cooking posts are going to be a little less stream of consciousness because I’ve moved my laptop out of the kitchen and into the bedroom. That means these aren’t usually written until I’m about to post them.

 

 

No cocktail tonight for two reasons. One, I’m cooking with wine, so usually that means I’m drinking it, too. Two, I’ve been feeling like crap for the better part of a week, and I don’t usually like to drink then. That’s not saying that I haven’t been, though. Upon the advice of my boss, I’ve found a tasty recipe for a Hot Toddy, and I’ve been having one of those before bed. Now, I’m not saying that they’ve been making me feel better, but I’m also not saying that they’re not helping at all.

 

 

 

 

I pour a shot of Jack into a coffee mug and punch it up with a little lemon juice. Since I don’t have a tea pot or kettle, I have to setting for nuking some water in the microwave. Before pouring the hot water into the mug, I drop some whole cloves and a cinnamon stick in there. Then I stir and add some honey. Like I said, I don’t know if it’s helping me any, but it tastes fantastic.

 

 

The dessert for this meal is some homemade chocolate chip cookies. After the success with the pumpkin pie, I’ve decided that I do indeed like baking, and my oldest son loves to help. We whipped up some cookies while the rest of the house napped. They’re great, and we’re pretty proud of ourselves.

The biggest problem I had with the cookies was cook time. I ended up making them bigger than recommended. It took longer than 10 minutes to cook them through, and I only got 42 instead of 60 cookies out of the batch.

On to the dinner.

I forgot to buy a bottle of wine while doing the grocery shopping on Saturday. Two things I dislike about living in Tennessee involve alcohol: 1) The only alcohol you can buy in a grocery or convenience store is beer (conversely, you can’t buy beer in a liquor store) and 2) liquor stores aren’t open on Sunday. So I had my sister pick up a bottle on Saturday night, and she got a Gato Negro Sauvignon Blanc. Since I wasn’t drinking anything harder than orange juice, I only had a swig of it, but it was passable enough, especially for the price.

 

I used two of my favorite foods in this recipe: smoked Gruyere and maple-glazed honey-coat ham, both by Boar’s Head. The Gruyere is seriously the best cheese I’ve ever eaten, and the ham is what I’d buy every week if I could afford to buy fresh, deli-sliced lunchmeat all the time.

Slicing the pork chops was one of the nastiest things I’ve ever done. I actually had to hold the raw chops in my hand while slicing down the side. I’ve made this meal before, but I must have bought boneless, butterflied chops then. I would have remembered doing this.

Next time I make this meal (because it WILL happen again), I’m going to use smaller pieces of Gruyere, and I might go back to the pre-cut chops. I had a difficult time getting these things fully cooked through. Turns out that what I was seeing as uncooked meat was actually pink from the ham, I don’t know, transferring to the pork chop. I may have actually over-cooked the stuffed part of the chops while undercooking the tiny part that I didn’t slice open.

 

 

 

What You Should Have Eaten #6

Big, Thick, Hearty Thighs…and That’s a Compliment!

Here's a link to the recipe. I think starting with next week's post I've started remembering to actually take a picture of the recipe to include. Sorry about that.

Big, Thick, Hearty Thighs…and That’s a Compliment!

Once again, I’m cooking with wine, so that’s what I’m drinking, too. I’m sticking with sauvignon blanc, but I really didn’t like last week’s Smoking Loon. This week, Bluegrass Beverages had some Yellow Tail on sale, so that’s what I’m going with. Right off the bat, it LOOKS a lot better than the Smoking Loon. The color is more in line to what I think of as a sauvignon blanc. Smells better, too. Oh! And look at that! Tastes better!

I don’t know what red bliss potatoes are, so I’m using some regular red-skinned potatoes that I had left over from a couple of recipes ago. I’m assuming that they’ll work just fine.

One of the purposes for including cooking on this blog is to impart little bits of wisdom and recommendations learned from more than a decade of cooking for myself and others. In that vein (or vain, really, if I’m assuming anyone is reading this), don’t skimp on graters. Now I’ve got a sturdy one with a good handle, but I can’t count the number of times I’ve grated my knuckles on a cheap grater.

It’s been quite a while since the last time I cooked chicken thighs. I remember liking them a lot more than breasts, though. Juicier, more tender, and overall tastier. I’m looking forward to how this will turn out.

Well, it looks like it turned out pretty darn well. The thighs were tender and juicy like I remembered, and I enjoyed that, even though I ate them separately, the chicken and potatoes had a similar flavor since they were cooked together.

The kids loved the bread. Well, at least they eat well six days of the week.

What You Should Have Eaten #5

Couple-of-Minute Steaks and Potato Ragout

Again, I've forgotten to take a picture of the recipe, so here's a link.

Since the recipe calls for some dry white wine, I did what I always do: I went to the liquor store and got a bottle of some cheapo stuff. I went with a purpose, though. I’m not much of a wine drinker, but I do enjoy it. I think the best I’ve had is a Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc. Of course, that runs a shade more than $20 per bottle, so I get that only for special occasions. This isn’t one, so I tried to find a cheap alternative. I’ve been getting Barefoot Sauvignon Blanc, but Plantation Fine Wine & Spirits was running a sale on Smoking Loon, so that’s what I got. It is now my favorite brand based on the name alone.

I hate to see an open bottle of wine just sitting there, so my cocktail won’t be a cocktail. Tonight I’ll be drinking the Smoking Loon Sauvignon Blanc. At about ¼ of the price of the Kim Crawford, I’m not expecting it to blow me away. I guess I’ll be comparing it to the Barefoot.

Well, I don’t like the aroma of the Smoking Loon as much as the Barefoot. That was weird to type. It’s less fruity, which is what I like about the Sauvignon Blancs I’ve had. Hmm, after tasting it, it actually reminds me of a sherry. It’s smoother, and again, less fruity. I think I’ll have to stick with Barefoot and admire this wine for only its name.

I’m out of rosemary, so a quick Google search, and now I’m substituting some Savory for the dried rosemary. It was either that or tarragon, and I’ve got more of the savory to waste use.

After earlier stating that I’m exclusive to broth over stock, I’m actually using chicken stock this week in an attempt to see if I can notice a difference. I’m doubting I will. [Yup, didn't notice a thing.]

I don’t like using basic ground black pepper, but I ran out of peppercorns a while back and forgot to refill my pepper mill. Some new peppercorns are already on the grocery list for next week.

Here’s the LamsonSharp knife I mentioned earlier. I’m using it to cube the potatoes. I’ll be using my favorite knife later on to slice the onions, then I’ll use the Lamson again to chop them.

I’ve only got one large skillet, and this recipe calls for two. I’m going to fix the steaks in the large one and hope that my medium one is sufficient for the potatoes.

I love cooking. I love it I love it I love it. I love it the same way I love writing or, when I used to do it, drawing. You’re taking this random conglomeration of ingredients and creating something new. You’re CREATING something. It’s magical. But you know what I hate more than anything having to do with cooking? Dealing with onions. I hate slicing them, dicing them, or chopping them. They sting the eyes, they smell nasty, and they really don’t taste all that well. I only include them in recipes because I feel like I’m cheating or failing a recipe if I don’t. I guess it’s a little part of my OCD. I also hate the way my hands smell after taking a knife to an onion. I still have yet to find something that’ll take the smell off. I’m scrubbing for about two days to get that stench off.

According to the checkmark next to this recipe, I’ve made it before. But I honestly don’t ever remember cooking a minute or cube steak (which I’m using) before. They’re thin and neatly scored, so I’m interested in seeing how big these cuts of meat end up being after they’re cooked. I’m expecting them to be somewhat small.

FYI, Parker (my oldest) came in and told me that the steaks smell like Chex Mix. I don’t agree, but you know what they say about “Out of the mouths of babes.”

I’m letting the kids eat their steak with ketchup. I’m a firm believer that good steak doesn’t need any sauce, but that’s only for adults. Kids get a pass for a LOT of things.

In both texture and taste, this steak reminds me a lot of liver, at least the liver that Dad made when I was little. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, ‘cause I don’t mind liver. But when I’m having steak, I want it to taste like steak.

I think I might have cooked the potatoes too long, because they’re about the consistency of mashed potatoes. I was expecting something more along the lines of hash browns. Either way, they’re still pretty tasty.

Okay, personally, I didn’t think this meal was a bust. My kids, on the other hand, did. I think the youngest would have cleaned his plate had the older two not decided to complain. He copies them like a parrot with low self-esteem. [And I turned out to be correct. My sister came over about an hour after dinner and I warmed up a plate for her. The little turd ended up eating half of her steak.]

I think I’d have to classify this meal as a big pile of meh. Definitely edible, but the best thing was the potato ragout. The steak was generic and passable. And it was a bust for the kids, so there’s no real hurry to make it again.

Of course, it was GREAT as a leftover. The potatoes were great with a smidge of ketchup, and the steak was wonderful warmed up as a sandwich with a slice of muenster and a dab of mayo.