For the first time in several months, I feel like I actually COOKED dinner last night! Why the fanfare you may ask? I cook at least once, sometimes twice a day, but I have stuck to a lot of comfort foods and very basic recipes for the last little bit. I am used to CREATING at least once per week and I just have not been up to that lately. Last night was different and made all the difference for me in really enjoying the meal.
Last night, we had herb and panko crusted tilapia, baked in the oven until crisp and golden brown, alongside which I served a quinoa "pilaf". The fish was good, but the "pilaf" (in quotations for lack of a better word) was where I really let my creativity shine. I started with a basic organic quinoa, which I rinsed (I am still not sure why you have to do that with this grain, but I did it anyway), and then simmered for about 25 minutes until all of the water I added was completely absorbed. While that pot was bubbling away, I put a pan with about 1 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil over low heat and added a large clove of garlic that I had minced. I let the garlic brown lightly and perfume the oil, then added one sliced shallot. I turned the heat up slightly and sort of oil braised both the shallots and the garlic together. When they were all soft and golden, I turned the heat off and set the pan aside. Earlier in the afternoon, I had picked our first red bell pepper (almost out of season, but my husband planted it late this year), which I roasted on our stove top until it was blackened and completely soft. I removed the skin and seeds, then chopped it finely and added it to the pan of oil, garlic and shallots. When the quinoa was ready, I added the roasted red bell pepper mixture, a splash of red wine vinegar, freshly ground black pepper and a mixture of sweet green and opal basil (also from our garden). I mixed the entire concoction together and ended up with a really delicious side dish (which also boosted our family's protein intake for the night. Don't know if you knew that about quinoa - it is an ancient grain with a high protein content and a delicious, nutty flavor.) I loved it, my husband loved it, my kids.....were not entirely crazy about it. Oh, well, sometimes you can't please everyone at the table and they did actually try it before declining to eat all of it. (This was mostly my little one; my older daughter was angling for more salad - shocker!- so she finished all that was on her plate.)
I also have big plans for this weekend: today or tomorrow, I am going to try my hand at making marshmallow fondant for a Halloween cake that I am planning for my kids. My older daughter offered to pay me to make a cake for her and, because I thought it was so cute and funny, I posted the conversation on Facebook. My mother saw it, of course, and informed me that, "[I] needed to make that baby a cake." So, that is my goal for tomorrow - a surprise Halloween cake, complete with fun, ghoulish decorations for my babies to enjoy. I am also hoping to try some more new recipes next week - I saw a cooking show yesterday with leek and mushroom turkey meatloaf that sounded really intriguing. (Sounds like it would go well with roasted garlic mashed potatoes, yes?) The weather is changing and with it, my outlook on cooking/creating in the kitchen, hopefully. I am ready for it! Bring on the experimentation!
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Squashed!
I was randomly flipping the channels the other day and came across a PBS cooking show on vegetarian cooking. We have periodically gone vegetarian in the past - mainly for my husband's cholesterol issues - but have never really been able to stick with it. (I am a protein person - if I don't have enough of it, I get a little cranky.) In any case, I typically do several vegetarian dishes during the week, in addition to our meat based meals. I am always on the look-out for new stuff to try, so when I stumbled across this cooking show, I decided to watch for a few minutes.
Bear in mind that I started watching this thing at about the midpoint of the show, so I had already missed some of this woman's other concoctions. I began watching her make a pureed watercress and potato soup. Now, let me just say that this sounds fairly foul to me, even on a good day. (One in which I am willing to let go of any previous food bias and try a new combination of flavors.) I am sure it is pretty mild - especially since the vegetables were simmered in plain water and the final soup was seasoned only with sea salt and ground black pepper - but, seriously, I am not sure who, particularly in my family, would enjoy warming up with this odd soup.
Despite my obvious reservations about this TV cook, she did say something that caught my attention. As she began pureeing the cooked potatoes and watercress, she said, "you know, kids will eat almost any kind of soup, as long as it has been pureed. If they go poking around, unable to find any chunks of vegetables, they are more likely to try and enjoy them." Huh. That totally makes sense, actually. Honestly, I don't often like chunks of vegetables in my soups (please see a previous post on Roasted Vegetable Soup and my hatred of any form of celery), so wouldn't the same apply to my kids? Worth a try anyway....
Fast forward to menu planning at the beginning of this week: I had decided to try a pureed butternut squash soup to see if my kids would actually eat it. The recipe came from a cookbook called, "Great Food, Fast" by the editors of "Everyday Food". They also have a cooking show, which my kids and I enjoy watching together and I often rely on them to find recipes that are both kid and adult friendly. In any case, this was a pretty simple soup, calling for butternut squash (I subbed acorn squash), onions, garlic, ginger, water, salt and pepper and a small amount of fresh squeezed orange juice at the end of cooking. Puree it all together, top with a little (optional) sour cream and/or spicy roasted pumpkin seeds and viola! Instant, healthy and delicious family meal, right?
Oddly enough, the answer to that last question was: YES! Both of my kids tried the soup and my older daughter loved it! She actually finished her entire bowl! To be fair, I think she actually loved the spiced pumpkin seeds better than anything else, but still: I got that kid to eat a full serving of a vegetable that, had I prepared it in its whole form, she would not have touched with a ten-foot pole! My younger daughter, who I often accuse of surviving on air alone, tasted the soup, declared she did not like the sour cream that she had insisted on swirling into it and refused to finish it. She did, however, finish her salad, so that was a partial win for me there as well. My husband and I both enjoyed the soup ourselves and, yes, we both finished our bowls. Even without the addition of a stock (chicken or otherwise), I found this soup to be warming, filling and even a little refreshing. Pureed squash soups are often heavy or cloying, but this one was neither. It was nice - and we will probably repeat the recipe again.
In conclusion: thank you random vegetarian PBS TV host who suggested pureeing vegetables into soup to get kids to eat it. That was a great idea, even if your potato and watercress soup turned (and still turns) my stomach at the mere thought of it.
Bear in mind that I started watching this thing at about the midpoint of the show, so I had already missed some of this woman's other concoctions. I began watching her make a pureed watercress and potato soup. Now, let me just say that this sounds fairly foul to me, even on a good day. (One in which I am willing to let go of any previous food bias and try a new combination of flavors.) I am sure it is pretty mild - especially since the vegetables were simmered in plain water and the final soup was seasoned only with sea salt and ground black pepper - but, seriously, I am not sure who, particularly in my family, would enjoy warming up with this odd soup.
Despite my obvious reservations about this TV cook, she did say something that caught my attention. As she began pureeing the cooked potatoes and watercress, she said, "you know, kids will eat almost any kind of soup, as long as it has been pureed. If they go poking around, unable to find any chunks of vegetables, they are more likely to try and enjoy them." Huh. That totally makes sense, actually. Honestly, I don't often like chunks of vegetables in my soups (please see a previous post on Roasted Vegetable Soup and my hatred of any form of celery), so wouldn't the same apply to my kids? Worth a try anyway....
Fast forward to menu planning at the beginning of this week: I had decided to try a pureed butternut squash soup to see if my kids would actually eat it. The recipe came from a cookbook called, "Great Food, Fast" by the editors of "Everyday Food". They also have a cooking show, which my kids and I enjoy watching together and I often rely on them to find recipes that are both kid and adult friendly. In any case, this was a pretty simple soup, calling for butternut squash (I subbed acorn squash), onions, garlic, ginger, water, salt and pepper and a small amount of fresh squeezed orange juice at the end of cooking. Puree it all together, top with a little (optional) sour cream and/or spicy roasted pumpkin seeds and viola! Instant, healthy and delicious family meal, right?
Oddly enough, the answer to that last question was: YES! Both of my kids tried the soup and my older daughter loved it! She actually finished her entire bowl! To be fair, I think she actually loved the spiced pumpkin seeds better than anything else, but still: I got that kid to eat a full serving of a vegetable that, had I prepared it in its whole form, she would not have touched with a ten-foot pole! My younger daughter, who I often accuse of surviving on air alone, tasted the soup, declared she did not like the sour cream that she had insisted on swirling into it and refused to finish it. She did, however, finish her salad, so that was a partial win for me there as well. My husband and I both enjoyed the soup ourselves and, yes, we both finished our bowls. Even without the addition of a stock (chicken or otherwise), I found this soup to be warming, filling and even a little refreshing. Pureed squash soups are often heavy or cloying, but this one was neither. It was nice - and we will probably repeat the recipe again.
In conclusion: thank you random vegetarian PBS TV host who suggested pureeing vegetables into soup to get kids to eat it. That was a great idea, even if your potato and watercress soup turned (and still turns) my stomach at the mere thought of it.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Et Tu, Trudy's?
Monday was a school holiday for our oldest daughter and my husband decided to take the day off to spend with the three of us. We planned to go out to eat and then to go to the Texas State History Museum to view a special exhibit on aviation that is currently featured there. It has been a while since we ate at Trudy's, a local Tex-Mex joint with several locations around town, so we decided to make that our lunchtime meal. We set off in the late morning, headed for the University of Texas campus (where the museum is and where one of the locations of Trudy's may be found), a little hungry, but nowhere near ravenous. That was fine - I figured that, by the time we got a table and placed our order, we would be ready to eat. We pulled into the parking lot and were bemused by the lack of cars. Up to the restaurant we walked, hand in hand with our daughters, only to find that the UT area Trudy's doesn't open until 2 pm. The girls suggested we just wait the two hours (they don't really understand time yet, obviously) and then have lunch. Nah - that wasn't going to work for me (or shortly, for anyone else, once they realized they were starving).
Determined to have our meal at Trudy's, we set off for the North Star location - just a few miles up the road on Burnet. Upon arrival, we were relieved to discover that this restaurant was, in fact, open for business. We were promptly seated, our drink orders were taken and our friendly waitress informed us that they currently had their "specialty foods buffet" set up and we were welcome to "load up". While she retrieved our drinks, my husband checked out the buffet and pronounced it, "meh" with a shrug of his shoulders. When our waitress returned, I said, "I guess we just need a couple of menus so we can decide." She responded with, "oh, we don't have menus". Argh! Are you kidding me?!? All I wanted was the salad that I always get at Trudy's - this, in fact, being the menu item for which we had driven all the way into Austin. Now, obviously, I have some personal issues here, but let's just say that I was more than a little disappointed that I couldn't have what I wanted, not to mention the fact that we had passed the point of no return as far as feeding our children. They wanted something to eat and they wanted it right then. So, with my own "meh" and shrug of my shoulders, I stomped over to the buffet line with my oldest daughter and filled her plate and mine with Trudy's "specialty foods".
By the way, "specialty foods", in general, means "fried" at Trudy's. I had a mini fried avocado, a mini fried chicken taquito, fried coconut shrimp, fried chile relleno and fried corn nuggets. To be fair, they also had a number of other "off-menu" items such as meatballs in guajillo chile sauce, pasta with a chipotle cream sauce and a chicken pot pie, not to mention a rather meager salad bar. I actually had a small amount of salad with my lunch (nothing compared to my original plan of the Ensalada Grande with Habanero Honey Mustard dressing) topped with a mediocre dressing. The food tasted ok (at the time - my husband later thought he had gotten a touch of food poisoning), but I was already really disappointed in one of my favorite restaurants. First, finding one location with crazy hours (can you say drinking joint?) and second, finding the other location which, crazily, doesn't offer a la carte service during the week anymore. WTH?
Ah, well, personal issues aside, I still love you Trudy's, even if Monday turned out to be a bad day for enjoying your food (from the menu). Hopefully, I will get my Ensalada Grande fix sometime soon, though I think I will have to just stick with the south location from here on out. Such a bummer - at least the museum turned out to be a good choice. The kids enjoyed themselves and we managed to have a really fun family day together (despite the disappointing lunch).
Determined to have our meal at Trudy's, we set off for the North Star location - just a few miles up the road on Burnet. Upon arrival, we were relieved to discover that this restaurant was, in fact, open for business. We were promptly seated, our drink orders were taken and our friendly waitress informed us that they currently had their "specialty foods buffet" set up and we were welcome to "load up". While she retrieved our drinks, my husband checked out the buffet and pronounced it, "meh" with a shrug of his shoulders. When our waitress returned, I said, "I guess we just need a couple of menus so we can decide." She responded with, "oh, we don't have menus". Argh! Are you kidding me?!? All I wanted was the salad that I always get at Trudy's - this, in fact, being the menu item for which we had driven all the way into Austin. Now, obviously, I have some personal issues here, but let's just say that I was more than a little disappointed that I couldn't have what I wanted, not to mention the fact that we had passed the point of no return as far as feeding our children. They wanted something to eat and they wanted it right then. So, with my own "meh" and shrug of my shoulders, I stomped over to the buffet line with my oldest daughter and filled her plate and mine with Trudy's "specialty foods".
By the way, "specialty foods", in general, means "fried" at Trudy's. I had a mini fried avocado, a mini fried chicken taquito, fried coconut shrimp, fried chile relleno and fried corn nuggets. To be fair, they also had a number of other "off-menu" items such as meatballs in guajillo chile sauce, pasta with a chipotle cream sauce and a chicken pot pie, not to mention a rather meager salad bar. I actually had a small amount of salad with my lunch (nothing compared to my original plan of the Ensalada Grande with Habanero Honey Mustard dressing) topped with a mediocre dressing. The food tasted ok (at the time - my husband later thought he had gotten a touch of food poisoning), but I was already really disappointed in one of my favorite restaurants. First, finding one location with crazy hours (can you say drinking joint?) and second, finding the other location which, crazily, doesn't offer a la carte service during the week anymore. WTH?
Ah, well, personal issues aside, I still love you Trudy's, even if Monday turned out to be a bad day for enjoying your food (from the menu). Hopefully, I will get my Ensalada Grande fix sometime soon, though I think I will have to just stick with the south location from here on out. Such a bummer - at least the museum turned out to be a good choice. The kids enjoyed themselves and we managed to have a really fun family day together (despite the disappointing lunch).
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Busy, busy, busy
Whew! I have been crazy busy these last few weeks and (shocker!) I am just now finding the time to sit down and write a little something. Last weekend I did a cake for the largest wedding I have ever done. Now, to be fair, the wedding was only for about 115 people, but still, that is bigger than I have ever done. (I usually do small weddings - about 50 people on average.) In addition to doing the cake, I also assisted with the catering (by Mari Desautels of Mari Cooks) at the event, so last Saturday was fairly busy for me. The wedding had an overall Mexican theme to it, so the food and the cake were along those same lines. For the cake, I made three cinnamon-spiked French vanilla tiers, covered them with a basic butter cream and decorated using handmade, royal icing flowers as well as more butter cream to mimic the embroidered patterns found on traditional Mexican dresses (I think the one I used was specific to the region of Oaxaca). I served a cream sauce on the side, which the guests could pour on themselves, and which recreated the flavor of a traditional tres leches cake. (We were missing at least one of the "leches", but the flavor and structure of the cake worked really well without it.) Ultimately, I was pleased with how the cake turned out.
I was also very impressed with the food the caterer set out on the buffet. (I didn't actually help prep any of the food, but I did assist with set-up, clean-up and taking home some of the leftovers. Yum!) She had cheese enchiladas, beef and chicken fajitas, pulled pork shoulder (phenomenal), rice, beans, red and green salsas, guacamole and all the other accoutrements that a delectable Mexican buffet would need. Seriously, all of the food smelled divine and it tasted just as good the next day. The guests seemed to really enjoy everything - cake included - and the bride and groom seemed very happy with how their reception turned out (pretty much the most important thing for wedding caterers).
In any case, I hope to write more about what I am cooking at home in the coming days. Doing so has proved slightly more challenging lately, both for personal and for professional reasons. Time is always a factor for sure, but I definitely want to continue to share what our family is consuming (as much as what they are not - anybody with kids out there knows EXACTLY what I am talking about). For now, enjoy the cake picture!
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