What's For Dinner Mom?

Every morning before school or right after school one of my teenagers ask, "What's for dinner Mom?"
Uhhhh, "Donno", I say... because I usually don't... I like thinking on the fly, using what's around combined with some fresh produce and deciding what looks good that day at the market.
This frittata I made the other night is one of those dishes where you can use what's around and throw it in, just remember less is more... I had a lot of broccoli and cauliflower lying around, so I bought about a 1/3 of a pound of pancetta and the rest was in the fridge...

Ingredients:

5 eggs
2 cups grated cheese
1/2 cup 1% milk
2 Tbls sour cream
1/3 lb pancetta
2 cups broccoli
4 cups cauliflower
about 8 rings red onion (decoration on top)


I cooked it in my favorite Le Creuset pan I use for almost everything! I went from stovetop to oven with the pan for this recipe.

Saute the pancetta or bacon or ham in the pan until well done and drain excess fat.  There was just a little fat from the pancetta so I sauteed the veggies, browning them in the pan with the pancetta after I microwaved (steaming) them a little first.  Then pour the mixture of shredded cheese, beaten eggs, milk and sour cream (2 tablespoonful) into the pan and spread evenly.  Place onion rings on top and bake in a 375 degree oven uncovered for about 25 to 30 minutes.

Optional: I served it topped with a few of these rosemary almonds from Trader Joe's and a side of cole slaw I bought at the deli.

Old Habits

I know I get stuck in old habits just as well as the next person... it's part of who we are, all those experiences that lead up to now, make us who we are, sometimes no matter how hard we want to change.  Get to the point already right?... nothing heavy, it's just that I sometimes get frustrated when I make a delicious and healthy dinner, something different with a beautiful sauce and hubby breaks out a jar of Saucy Susan (basically duck sauce) and says, "Oh this would be good with it!"... the kids know what's coming when the glare from me is enough to sizzle the entire dinner table into a minuscule pile of ashes... and he then says, "What's wrong with that?"...

For some it's putting ketchup on everything!  For my husband, who grew up eating a lot of chinese food (his mother was a terrible cook), especially as a bachelor, his favorite chinese dish is still Cantonese style Sweet and Sour Pork.  The funny thing (trying to laugh) is that he's a guy who prides himself in healthy eating!!!... he barely eats any red meat, lot's of fish, salads, nuts, and whole grains... old habits die hard, and I guess if that's the worst thing then...

Anyway, I try to keep a sense of humor about it, which is not easy when you are cursed with highly developed taste buds... no joke, I can really tell when a food is thinking about going bad, or stale, or has just a little refrigerator burn and he'll drink sour milk and not realize it!

At least Saucy Susan has some apricot in it.  

Oh, I DO love it when he reads me descriptive articles about the great restaurants of the world... and then we fantasize about flying to them.  Love you honey!

What are your old food habits?  I like rich fatty meats.... there I said it... I do avoid them most of the time, but they taste so good,  especially when I see them being prepared on the Food Network by some of the greatest chefs... or when Anthony Bourdain eats greasy street food it really gets me salivating.

Alla Puttanesca

A quick and tasty pasta dish my whole family loves is always very satisfying, like this Linguine alla Puttanesca made from a dried mix straight from Italia via Brooklyn...

Marinella Brand

I purchased it from my local market, Seven Brothers, in East Northport, NY.

The owner recommended it the other day and I'm happy he did.  I'll be going back for more...

Cooks up fast with directions in broken English on the back of the package

Served it with baby cucumbers and Blue Cheese dressing... fast and easy!

Hope you can find it near you!

Pasta Tonnato (Tuna): a Favorite!

I haven't posted a food blog in awhile so here's one of my favorite dishes and healthy too... a great away to start the New Year...
Pasta Tonnato or Tuna Pasta... a delicious and economical dinner which I made even more healthy for myself by adding string beans and keeping the pasta to a minimum.  One of my kids loves this dish with the string beans or broccoli on the side, the other just doesn't even like the smell of tuna from afar!
I always keep a few jars of this lovely stuff on hand, any good Italian tuna will do, as well as a jar of the nonpareil (little) capers...

Ingredients:

2 cans of Italian tuna

1 onion chopped 

extra virgin olive oil

nonpareil capers

flat leaf parsley

salt and pepper

butter (for the string beans)

optional: grated parmesan reggiano cheese

optional: for a side or with the pasta steam fresh string beans (about a 1/2 pound)

Cook your pasta, rigatoni, spaghetti, whatever you have around, al dente (firm) drain and toss with enough olive oil so it doesn't stick together and put aside.  While pasta is cooking, in a saute pan, put a few tablespoons of olive oil and saute a small onion on medium heat until it's soft and translucent not brown.  Add the cans of tuna with their oil to the pan along with about 11/2 tablespoons of drained capers and mix breaking apart the tuna.  Chop the parsley fine and add a tablespoonful to the pan reserving some to add just before serving. Add  the pasta to the tuna mixture in the pan and additional olive oil if needed and toss until evenly coated.  Add salt and pepper to taste. Add parley and serve.

I steamed the string beans in the microwave until just soft for about 6 minutes and added a little butter to coat. Serve as a side to the pasta or as I did on top... it delicious!

Optional: add grated parmesan cheese to taste.   

I'll often make this dish in a pinch and many times without the parsley when I have not planned anything for dinner.

Bon appetite!

Latkes!

I made latkes for my family last night.  If you've ever made them you know how much work they are and then I was carpooling the kids, so I got a break before frying them.  One of my kids said he wasn't hungry for dinner after all that too... wanted to kill him... sweetness and light that he is.... I controlled myself.
Anyway, I photographed them and was going to show them to you this morning, but then I visited one of my favorite bloggers, Emily from Cupcakes and Cashmere, I saw that she also made them last night and did a beautiful job on her photos with a link to a recipe that I also used from memory...

photo by Emily of Cupcakes and Cashmere

photo by Emily of Cupcakes and Cashmere

I squeezed the shredded potato dry and didn't use the cheesecloth method.  I've also made a version with shredded carrots in them which is also delicious and sweetens them.
When I called my mother last night to tell her I was making latkes she told me that she used to sometimes make them with Gruyere cheese and they were so wonderful... I have no memory of latkes with cheese, but I bet they were good, they sound good and she's such a good cook.

Next time Mom!!!

A Sunny Holiday Kitchen

It's not too early to start planning for Thanksgiving if you're the host... I mean as far as your kitchen tools, dishes, etc....  or if you're a guest invited to a Thanksgiving feast, what will you bring your host?
Don't wait until the last minute and putting thought into a gift really shows you care...  Here are some ideas of things I liked at one of my favorite sites, Anthropologie... I love yellow, so here are some great gifts with a sunny theme... 

Oh, and the price is right too!

This reminds me of my something my grandmother had in her collection...

Milkmaid Butter Dish, $28

You can use this to limit the kids TV time too...

Magnetic Timer, $12

This is great for everyday cooking... I have so many tops with oil splatter stains...

Jitterbug Apron, $32

If there are young kids around, these illustrations by Charley Harper are unique...

Flash Cards and Puzzle, $14.95

Italian Cooking is my favorite and this book gives you a glimpse into the folk culture also...

Cookbook, $45

I'll be keeping you posted on my Thanksgiving menu plans.

Share your ideas with us by leaving a comment.

Time Stands Still

Making our way to the roof

Big Bambu'

The stunning 'Khubilai Khan' in the China exhibit

The lobby of the Met

After a great time at the Met on Sunday seeing the outdoor installation of "Big Bambu' we headed downtown to Chinatown for dinner.  I had a list of possible restaurants I did some research on but nothing definitive... the foodie in me was not confident about anything on my list as I even tried to pin one place down (using my Droid) on the cab ride down to Chinatown.  We wanted Szechuan, but my sister-in-law was pushing for an old-fashioned Cantonese reminiscent of our childhood... we landed at Wo Hop on Mott Street, a solid choice with classic dishes like lobster cantonese, sweet and sour pork, egg foo young, etc... maybe not as good as I remembered.  While they waited on line, I walked over to Joe's Shanghai, a better choice for a gourmet treat, but they were ready to seat us so my family called me back to Wo Hop...

Easy Turkey Chili

Longer than 30 minutes is what I would call this recipe from the 'Food Network'... Don't get me wrong it turned out to be quite delicious with a few tweaks here and there, it's just that simmering it longer thickens it and intensifies the flavor.  I simmered for about 3/4 of an hour.  Turned off the heat because I had to take my son to a music lesson and then I came home and warmed it back up again... it was very tasty.

I changed a few things... for instance I didn't have chipotle chili en adobo with sauce, so I used a 1/3 of a poblano chile pepper and added a green bell pepper for a mild heat and some crunch.  The beer adds great flavor and the garnishes give it a freshness... it's my kids favorite part.  They feel like they're part of the cooking process.  That's why they like taco and burrito dinners because they put the amount of what they like together. 

For garnishes (or condiments), I used a mix of mexican cheeses pre-packaged by Sorrento, fresh cilantro (my favorite), scallion (green onion), and these dried Jalapeno Pepper Flakes from "Victoria Gourmet", which I purchased on one of my trips to TJ Maxx, where they have great bargains on gourmet food.  I know, most Moms go there for the clothes...

30-Minute Turkey Chili

Victoria Gourmet

What's your favorite Chili recipe?