Category: Cook

Deconstructed eggplant Parmesan while retaining most of the ingredients. I enjoy this dish, but would prefer the breading not to be soggy. Breading: Mixture of panko and grated Parmesan Reggiano. Red sauce addition: Crumbles of Montamore Cheddar from Wisconsin, providing more of a taste punch than mozzarella. At the table, knives and forks assembled eggplant… Continue reading Deconstructed, Reconstructed Eggplant Parmesan

Sometimes I feel we live in an alternate reality where “plate” is a culinary verb. Yesterday I made peanut-butter-flavored semifreddo. Tonight it was time to remove it from the freezer, plate it, then let it warm up a bit in the fridge. I had fun with The Smear, one method for plating a sauce. The… Continue reading The Smear

At the end of our walk, stopped in to Trader’s for enough fresh food to get us through the day. After 3 weeks of too much eating out, we’re craving veg-forward meals. Tonight: stir-fried veggies over brown rice.

I’m anticipating some meals with interesting ingredient combinations: we’re running the freezer down before a trip next week. Cue the song, “Lime Jell-O Marshmallow Cottage Cheese Surprise.”

Used up some items in the fridge and freezer, cooked up multiple meals: Braised radish and turnip greens with baby turnips, apple, …and ham shank; Kidney beans, mirepoix, …and ham shank, with (to-be-revived) polenta. There’s still more ham shank in the freezer.

Thanked a cutting board for its long service then tossed it. I should’ve done this a long time ago when the cracks appeared, but we have a history together going back 50+ years. Two replacement boards, one plastic, one teak, maintained a respectful distance.

Initially, I felt my pot pie was being disrespected when Dwight suggested I could toss in some carrots “going limp” in the fridge. The carrots turned out to be OK, so in they went. I have to admit, bakes are convenient for using up ingredients that may not look their best, solo, on the plate.

When Dwight was in his working years, I liked to welcome him home to weeknight meals that had an illusion of complexity. Tonight we had one of those quick weeknight meals. Rice from the rice cooker with veggies and tilapia cooked in a broth of coconut milk (from a can) with Thai curry paste (from… Continue reading Fast Food

It’s Sausage Saturday, its a warm day, it’s time for our first barbecue of 2022. I picked up the bacon brats at the local farmers market. We also barbecued (in foil) cabbage with soy sauce, butter, and garlic, and carrots with olives and olive oil.