Cusina
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Posts posted by Cusina
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Oh boy, I love coffee drinks. When you live this far north you have to keep warm and they are great for that.
I love a lot of the ones already mentioned, especially Irish Whiskey with real whip cream, but also just adore coffee with Sambuca. I'm not usually an anise/licorice fan, but wow, there is something about that combination that sends me.
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Dick has cheesehead roots too! Wow, I had no idea I was in such good company. Then again I think there is a little cheesehead in everybody.
Erm, I'm a little embarassed to ask such a simplistic question, but I have a few pictures I'd like to add to this blog and I can't figure out how. With the upgrade happening the help feature isn't very helpful. Would someone out there illuminate me? (so much for brilliance! hehehe, thanks for the benefit of the doubt though GG Mora.)
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Wow, what a spread!
I love reading tailgate menus from around the country. They are so varied. Something great about eating in a parking lot out of your car/truck/RV with 10,000 other fans. Makes even freezing your tail off at Lambeau in December fun!
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Hi Squeat and Helen! Cooking with little kids will sound nostalgic to me too in a few years because, on the whole, I just love it, but sometimes it's a real challenge. I can hardly get a thought in sideways without being interrupted for a cup of juice or to get down a puzzle from the "too high" shelf. The behind the scenes reality of this blog is that I write about 4 sentances, get interrupted, come back and write a few more, am interrupted again etc...
So just got back from the little tiny grocery/butcher and need to write this down before I forget.
This store is a throwback to about 1962. Tiny corner grocery about six blocks from us, too small for carts even. It's pretty run down, needs a coat of paint and a new floor, their produce is awful, but the people who run it are incredibly wholesome and nice and the MEAT is awesome. It was all I could do to get out of there without some of their smoked sausage. That is a treat we save for the holidays.
I loved the little sign taped to the meat case glass "How come my forgetter works so much better than my rememberer?".
So, in the butcher case, from left to right, fresh 3 lb fryers and chicken breasts (bone in), then, the slabs of mighty meat. Lots of steaks, T-bones, sirloins, ribeyes, not yet sliced so that you can determine your own thickness, plus several more that I couldn't identify. If you order these he asks you how thick heaves the slab out of the case onto the block, pulls down a huge sharp, well used knife and hacks off a few hunks of steak for you. Bacon wrapped london broil, several roasts, some of them stuffed with yummy things like sausage, peppers and onions. I'm not a meat fanatic, but this stuff looked mighty good. Liver and some other organ meats (not sure what these were). Some pork roasts, chops and ham steaks. Fresh sausages, brats, and breakfast links. And bacon, delicious looking meaty slabs of the stuff. (My brother was in charge of bringing the bacon to our Easter brunch this year, he came with 2 full pounds of this, it is amazing!) Then big containers of potato salads, american style and german (yum), and a ground ham sandwich spread. Then, next case over. A huge bucket, literally, a bucket, of pickled herring, and the selection of smoked sausage was gorgeous. Big sausages with garlic or without, some venison, and a nice looking selection of jerkeys. I'll bet some of those were venison too, though I didn't ask. And then the long slim jim looking things. Wish I knew the real name for those, they were at least two feet long. A big jar of full sized pickles was on the side. Finally, at the far right hand side of the case, are the cheeses. Most of them were Vern's brand cheese which is made right around here somewhere. All the usual suspects (3 ages of cheddar, colby, mozza, swiss, baby swiss, etc...) plus some good looking blue and parmesan.
I think the young guy in the packer hat who served me is the 4th or even 5th generation of the same family in this place. His grandfather was in and out doing some stocking. He looked to be at least 80 and like he knew what he was doing.
I'm off to get some stuff done and hopefully read the chapter on poultry in the Alice Waters book.
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Good Morning
Wow, I like eGullets new look! Weird to come back and have the place be completely made over. I'm looking forward to using all the new bells and whistles.
So, last night I had every good intention of starting an incredible looking loaf of bread from the artisan breads book. I have a weekly, or at least every other weekly, habit of visiting my library. I'll usually take at least one cookbook out with me. This week I have the gorgeous Artisan Baking Across America by Maggie Glezer. It is serious food porn. The photos are amazing. Also checked out The Chez Panisse Cafe Cookbook by Alice Waters. She is so likeable and passionate about her cafe; I've really enjoyed reading that as well.
The "beginner" recipe in Glezer's book that caught my eye was Acme's Herb Slabs. Now, if you followed Squeat's blog last week you heard the wonders of Acme bread. I am so jealous! Thought it would be great to make my own, however I just didn't have time to start the poolish last night. (I'll spare you the details, but I was busy laundering my son's bedding.) So, since I have a beautiful bunch of fresh rosemary, I think I've decided to visit my butcher today and get a fresh roasting chicken to make for dinner with stuffed shells and then, drumroll please, make some stock! We'll also hit the good local bakery on the south side of town for bread. (Disclaimer: parents of young children often speak of themselves in the plural. I swear, in my case it is not a royal WE. It's because I'm almost never alone, always have a small companion.)
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Dinner was not bad at all. The aforementioned quesadillas somehow morphed into fajhitas. I marinated the shrimp in tequilla, lime and salt (nod to the horizontal margarita drinkers in Chicago) and grilled them up with garlic and peppers. Served up with fresh guacamole, lettuce, salsa and cheese. Very tasty dinner. Skipped the wine tonight though and just had water. Yet another scone for dessert. Still tasty and tender, though almost gone. yeep.
Going to have some decaf green tea and call it a night.
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The ones that get me are the carts that look like little trucks. Of course, the concept is very fun and every toddler beggs to ride in one. And of course they are filthy. I feel like the mean mom but my kids definitely don't get to "drive" their way through the store.
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Cusina, thanks for sharing your grandmother's recipe with us - do you cook often from the box? do you add to it so that your children will treasure it in the future?
What a fabulous thing to pass on to one's children (now if only I had not forgotten to have any!!)
Misgabi,
On some days, I'd give you my kids and throw in the recipe box as a bonus
Kidding! Kidding!I haven't changed the box at all. I think I'll keep it as is just because it's pretty full already and I like having it be all hers. I also am collecting recipes from other sections of our family, both mine and my husband's. Things that are standouts like Nana-in-law's lefsa and Father-in-law's marinara. (Yeah, Norwegian, Italian quite the mix...) I'll put them all, including some of the recipes that they like best of mine, in two books, one for each of my kids. I agree with you that it will be a great thing to pass along.
Edited, (twice!) because I just can't spell...
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Ya know... it might have been more like 1/2 a bottle of beer or even a little more. I'm not sure how much I added in the last rendition. And I drank the evidence.
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Thanks for the stock tips guys!
Sounds like an entirely different BB doesn't it? We also have a side by side and so not a lot of freezer space. I think the ice cube trays sound like a good idea. Next Sunday afternoon we don't have a whole lot going, maybe I'll roast a chicken for lunch and make stock. Yehaw!
Varmint, this is in your honor...
I've been working on a beer batter for fresh fish fillets that I'll share. It's 1/3 c cornmeal to 2/3 c unbleached all purpose flour, mix with chili powder, paprika, coarse salt, ground black pepper and tarragon. Add about of 1/3 a bottle of beer (I've been using Leinenkugels Octoberfest to good results), mix to gloppyness. Squirt fish fillets with lemon, cover in batter, then pan fry in oil in a hot skillet. When they are browning on the edges, flip them over... eat immediately out of the pan with hot sauce and tartar. It's not perfect yet, needs more zip without overwhelming the delicate fish flavor. I also need more fisheman friends. There are rumors of a fish market opening here soon. I hope they are right! The selection at the grocery is not very good.
Son demanding his computer turn... gotta go. I'll see you all after bedtime.
~Cusina
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Tejon- a kindred soul! When I went to the grocery today the good looking perch was gone and only "previously frozen" things remained so I decided on pancakes and an omlette instead for thursday. Cous cous is also a very good idea. My kids love that. I definitely want to try the souffle too.
And Squeat, my Grandmother would have laughed at your kitchen and taken you out for Chinese! No death involved, except maybe to the orange duck.
Soba, next time go to Usingers for your brat. Good stuff. Downtown Milwaukee has had a nice rejuvination in the past 5 years. A lot of the historic districts have been renovated and there has been a return of the urban dweller. There are some very good places to go out there now. I actually live 2 hours north of "the big city", but we get there fairly often. My favorite spot in town is the bar on top of the Pfister hotel. Kinda pricey, but the view is great, the seating is comfy sofas and armchairs and instead of snack mix they have big goblets of whole cashews. Heaven! Even have nice jazz trios in there sometimes. And the bartenders are usually nice looking guys in their 20s... oh, um... not that I notice those things of course.
And badthings, thanks for the stock encouragement. I will do it, really! I've heard about storing it in ice cube trays... is that best? How do you measure it then? We usually store our marinara and such in plastic containers. Can I do that instead or is that a hassle?
I think I like this blogging thing. I'm turning into a food exhibitionist!
Lunch: Grocery store sushi, dragon rolls. I made nice to the guy behind the counter and he rolled them for me special. They have very good service. Also had another scone. Those are going to be gone in no time. My pre-schooler has been home sick today; poor guy has this cough that just won't end. He had vanilla yogurt with a little granola and berries on top and I've been pumping him full of water and juice. Seemed to go down pretty well and he is sound asleep now. Hopefully he'll feel better by this weekend for the birthday extravaganza.
Still on for the shrimp quesadillas tonight and guacamole. My guac recipe inspiration is out of the Barefoot Contessa cookbook. I know she isn't that popular around eGullet, but I REALLY like her guac. Actually, I like a lot of the stuff she makes. Most of it is simple and relies on freshness and seasonality for flavor. Or is just flat out decadent like her brownies, yum.
Back for more later this evening... enjoy your afternoon everyone.
~Cusina
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Here I am opening Grandma Young’s recipe box. She was marvelous. Could do no wrong in my mind (or I in hers, I think, which was the beauty of the relationship.) The box itself is 4” long x 10” wide and 4” deep. Just the right size for 2 rows of 3 x 5 cards. It is metal with faux gold leaf on the bottom and the lid is black. Inside the lid is a list entitled the American Home menu maker which gives things like cups per pound of various ingredients, including hydrogenated fat, which is 2 ¼ cups per pound in case you were wondering.
There also is, tucked in the back of one row, a little booklet entitled Mrs. Arlan’s Home Maker’s Library: Volume XI Food Measurements and Substitutes. Published by the Crystal Tissue Company. The back cover lists the other “books” in the series:
1. A Catalog of Easy Stitches
2. Shortcuts in Housekeeping
3. How to Make Slipcovers
4. Curtain Making Simplified
5. Successful Ideas in Child Training (need that one)
6. They Lived Happily Ever After! (her exclamation point, not mine)
7. Care of Pets
8. Care of House Plants
9. Beauty and Good Taste (wow, need that too)
10. How to Combat Insect Pests (as opposed to the human variety)
11. Food Measurements and Substitutes
12. Amusing the Family (hmm, I thought they were supposed to amuse me.)
13. Safety First and First Aid in the Home
14. How to Wrap Gift Packages
15. Foods that “Go Places”
This makes me think that Mrs. Arlan would have been the worst mother-in-law ever.
So, that’s it for the kitsch… on to the recipe part.
You think I’m organized? You should have met Grandma. This box is perfectly in order with no less than 50 dividers that range from Relishes, to Waffles/Pancakes to Fondues along with the usual suspects. Her kitchen was always spotless. Everything had a place. The morning of her memorial service I decided to make her trademark dish, a breakfast ring, which is my Dad’s absolute favorite. Everything in her small kitchen was intuitive and it was obvious while I was cleaning up that those things had occupied that exact space for decades. The ring pan fit neatly in its perfect spot in the cupboard along with everything else. While making the ring I had memories of making it with her in that kitchen. Both of us were apron clad. She was tiny, I was her size at about 10, so could borrow one of hers without problem. She claimed, as she wiped every little bit of stray goop off the outside of the pan with her tea towel, that she wasn’t really clean and organized, she was actually lazy. She just didn’t want to have to scrape the burned on goop off while doing the dishes or have to hunt down exactly where she had put the pan when she needed it next time. Wise words, too bad I can’t seem to find them when I need them!
The breakfast ring is decidedly the most used card in the box, it’s home is right in front of the right hand column for easy reach. I honestly do not believe that there will be copy write issues with this, so I’ll put it here, mostly out of nostalgia. I won't bother posting it in the recipes area because I think it would lose a lot out of context.
Grandma’s Biscuit Ring
5 Tablespoons melted Butter, divided
3 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
1/4 cup chopped nuts
12 Maraschino cherries
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 cups biscuit mix
1/2 cup cold water
1. Place 3 Tablespoons butter, brown sugar and chopped nuts evenly around the bottom of a greased ring mold. Space cherries in a clock like pattern.
2. In a small dish mix white sugar and cinnamon. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in another small dish.
3. In a medium bowl mix bisquick and water to make a soft dough. Divide into 12 parts. Drop each portion into the melted butter then roll the sugar mixture. Knead a bit. Place each portion on top of a cherry in the ring mold.
4. Bake at 400 about 25 minutes. Turn out immediately onto a serving plate. Best served warm.
O.k. Enough schmaltz for now... more from the box later.
~Cusina
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Oh my gosh, Cusina! Thank goodness foodbloggers will finally be getting some actual cooking!
I'm already jealous of your organizational skills, as anyone who watched me stumble blindly through my week will understand!
Your children are so fortunate to have a mom who is not only intelligent and thoughtful about what she prepares at home, but about what she indulges them in on nights out.
Cranberry Vanilla Scones?!?!?!? I'm off to the Dannon Yogurt website.
Despite my blundering the handoff, thanks for a really smash-up follow-through! Can't wait for more!
Squeat
aw shucks, Squeat. Thanks! What great compliments. Your blog was very good too and set a good example for me. Don't feel bad about not cooking much. Your creativity without a stove made for a very interesting read.
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I'd suggest Jeanette Pepin's Cheese delectable souffle, recipe found in her son's "The Apprentice." (Or I'll PM it if it sounds like a good idea.) No-fail, fast, easy and cheap. You could serve it with bread and butter, maybe a small salad, baked apples for dessert.
Maggie, please do PM this to me, it sounds great. Thanks for the offer.
And I'm loving the irony that I can't spell dilettante, doh! Sorry.
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Hi Slkinsey! Thanks for being such a good sport and adding some eye candy to my blog. You do look quite studly in those photos, I must say. Tongs make a man. You do us cheeseheads proud!
And you know, I struggle with organization too, so much if I don't plan ahead at least a little I end up feeding us takeout, which here is not a good prospect. Mostly broasted chicken and greasy italian. Tasty, but doesn't quite cut it healthwise.
Breakfast was a scone and some soon to be brewed tea.
More very soon...
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The much heralded pumpkin muffins with cream cheese frosting just were not in my cards. Somehow the last can of pumpkin is gone! I guess I used too much in my soup today. Horrors!
So, onward, I switched the baking to cranberry vanilla scones. They are a favorite at our place and they came out beautifully, if I say so myself. I went on a scone jag a few years back, searched all over for the best recipe. These were serious standouts, delicious and I even had a UK ex-pat tell me they're "the best I've had since leaving home" which probably doesn't say much for American scones. I'm a little abashed to say that the recipe came off the Dannon Yogurt website. I usually make them with dried door county cherries and almonds, but had to settle for dried cranberries as the cherries vanished while I wasn't looking. (or, um, maybe I ate them...) While the scones were cooling my daughter asked if she could have one of those "rock things". I guess all along she has been thinking they were stones rather than scones. hehehe.
Dinner itself was pretty good, though I'm always my worst critic. The ribeye was just fine, like a good ribeye should be, well done and crispy (just kidding, they were medium-rare!). The wine sauce, a very simple reduction of broth, cabernet and garlic, seemed too thin so I used flour to thicken it a bit at the end. Not sure what I did wrong. The end result was too floury and the garlic was too raw. I think I didn't saute it enough in fear of burning it. Still tasty though. Golden potatoes were yummy and the spinach salad was good as well. My husband is the chopper and tosser and I make the dressing. Our house is a vinagrette made with rice wine vinegar, balsamic, canola (I find olive oil too heavy), sugar, basil, oregano and garlic. Had this all with a 1999 reserve kendall jackson cabernet which went well. We almost always drink wine with meals and I know just enough about the subject to know that I don't know much. eGCI here I come. I'll just throw myself at Craig Camp's feet and see what happens.
I'm a weekly dinner menu planner type. Helps me to know what is coming up, so here are my thoughts. Don't hold me to any of this though.
Monday: Shrimp quesadillas and guacamole.
Tuesday: Chicken breasts and Pasta shells stuffed with spinach, feta and ricotta, bread (maybe even homemade... I've got this great book from the library about artisan breads that is tempting me to try something. Though her quote "you never learn anything from your successes" is a bit daunting.)
Wednesday: Here is where it gets iffy, my husband is out of town and I never know what to make for just the 3 of us kids. Any suggestions??
Thursday: ditto... hmm... maybe I'll make some fish fillets. They have had good looking fresh perch at the grocery and I've been working on a beer batter. Talk about real Wisconsin food, that is the epitome. Except I'll serve mine with a zucchini stir fry and homemade applesauce instead of fries and beer.
Friday: My parents will be in town and we are taking my son out for his 4th birthday dinner. His choice. We are likely to head to Red Robin, a "gourmet" burger chain that caters to kids. Oh well. Better than McDonalds at least or Chuck E Cheese.
Saturday: This is the big 4 year old birthday bonanza day. Lunch during the treasure hunt party will be pizza from a great place down the street called Stuc's. Best pizza this side of Chicago, in my mind. The cake is going to be something Thomas the Tank Engine, as per demand. (Good luck with your blues clues cake torakris!) Dinner will be early and similar to the peasant lunch we had today. The kids think it is a huge treat to eat on the big Japanese style coffee table in our living room so we will probably do that. Good bread, cheese, cold meats and fruit, maybe some soup. This is all in anticipation to the BIG deal. We, yes I know you all will be jealous, are headed as a family to see Sesame Street Live at 5:30. Egad. I think we will need a sitter later that night so that my husband and I can go get some real food and a well deserved drink. See the incredible second hand celebrity watching you lucky eGulleteers get in these blogs? Squeat takes us to see Rudi Guliani and I take you to experience Elmo. What a deal.
Well, that's it for today I think. Tomorrow I'll try to delve into Grandma's recipe box. Always a fun thing to do on a rainy November day.
*exit music - sentimental journey*
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Now for something completely different....
It is Sunday afternoon and I would be doing a disservice to my entire community, hell my entire state, if I didn't give a little lecture about the PACKERS!
Packer food is it's own cuisine (see, I can spell it correctly). There is the usual chips and dip, the soda and beer and nachos that I'm sure every other NFL fan partakes in on Sunday. But there is nothing in this world like an honest to goodness Lambeau field inspired Bratwurst. There is a whole great thread about bratwurst on this site. I get them from the butcher down the street, who I'll take you to visit later on in the week. My method is to boil them in cheap beer with sliced yellow onions (the yellow ones are a little mellower than the white, go well with the beer) until cooked through. Then toss them on a damn hot grill for about 2 minutes a side till nice and seared. Put in a bakery fresh brat roll, which is larger and chewier than a traditional hot dog roll, with some of those boiled onions, a little sweet or sour kraut and grainy mustard. Eat in big wolfish bites washed down with a nice cold beer, preferably in a parking lot while wearing camuoflage. (slkinsey, I dare you to post that packer backer picture you sent me... you know the one!)
Food of the gods I tell you der hey. Nuttin like it soouth a Milwaukee fer suure ja. (For those of you who have never heard an honest to god Cheesehead accent, it's a trip.)
O.k., now back to the regularly scheduled nice mom who is going to make pumpkin muffins blog.
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I certainly commend you for not mentioning any commercial product that comes out of a can or box! -Dick
Ah... alas...
My pumpkin was canned and so was my stock, I realize in hindsight I should have mentioned that. I keep promising to myself that I'm going to make my own stock, but it hasn't happened. Someday eGullet is sure to inspire me enough to really do it! As for pumpkin, it's just hard work. I guess that is one thing, along with tomatoes (in the winter) that I always buy canned.
We do have a few canned and boxed products on our pantry shelves. Not many, but some. Snacks for the kids, especially, seem sneak their way in there. I try very hard to buy natural food products when I do buy premade stuff and try, like fifi said, to feed them "real" food. Don't like the processed idea at all. Frankly, most of it just doesn't taste good. My mom was natural food oriented long before it was hip. She has a masters in Dairy science and was very keen on feeding her family healthfully. I lean in that direction, however my mother's cooking was not very flavorful. (I love her dearly, she has many other great qualities, just not in the taste department.) So, for my own family I try to create a balance between healthful and having good flavor.
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Thanks guys for the encouragement!
So, lunch, munch munch.
Just finished eating a peasant lunch, meaning we ate whatever we could find. I made pumpkin soup with the other 1/2 of the pumpkin puree that we will use for the muffins this afternoon. Chicken stock base, curry, brown sugar, milk, tarragon and allspice ground in my newest kitchen toy a 4" mortar and pestle. I'm lucky enough to have a Penzeys' spices here in town so I do have good spice availability. Penzeys is a Wisconsin institution. Their founding store The Spice House, in Milwaukee on Old World 3rd Street, is a fun field trip.
We also had a fruit and cheese plate with some ham. The fruits were beautiful huge, sweet black grapes and granny smith apples. The cheeses were a locally produced caraway white cheddar (steve's cheese, good stuff) and fresh curds. Gotta love the squeak! The ham was, um, oscar meyer... very gourmet stuff. Gave the kids PB with their apples. My daughters big epiphany of the meal was (imagine 6 year old girl with huge blue eyes here) "Mom, wow, grapes taste REALLY REALLY good with peanut butter!" Guess she never realized that all that jelly was made with grapes, huh?
The granny apples were supposed to be made into applesauce. I thought they would be way too tart for the kids to want to eat in hand. Suprise, they loved them and they got eaten before I could get the sauce made. Have to try to sneak in another bag for the applesauce later on in the week. Just when I think I've got my kids' taste buds figured out they suprise me!
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Wow.
Thanks squeat for tagging me and writing your own wonderful blog that will be VERY hard to follow.
My very own food blog. Here we are. I'm a little awed at the prospect of entertaining you all for a week, but here goes!
I'm here in the wilds of Wisconsin suburbia, that dilliante housewife that strikes fear in the hearts of all serious chefs and urban dwellers everywhere. Bwahahahaha.
I feed my husband (I know, I know, how June Cleaver) and two great kids, a girl who is 6 and a boy who will be 4 next week. You'll get to follow along through the treasure hunt birthday party we have planned for him on Saturday at lunchtime.
I love to cook (and eat!), have since I was a kid when I learned from my parents and especially from my paternal grandmother. There will be more gush about her later. Perhaps I'll walk you through her recipe box which I was lucky enough to inherit. She was decidedly a cook of the 50s and 60s and her recipes reflect that era very well.
Today at breakfast we all chowed down on toast and cereal, not an auspicious start. It will get better, promise. The plan is to make pumpkin muffins with my kids as a project this afternoon. They're quite tasty with a cream cheese frosting. Dinner is going to be ribeye steaks (yes, I'm definitely a carnivore) with a red wine sauce beside it, golden potatoes (mashed I think as that is my daughter's favorite) and a spinach salad. For the kids, I generally cook whatever we adults will eat, just in a less complicated way. So they will probably have the steak without sauce, potatoes and edamame instead of spinach salad.
Thanks again for the tag... keep reading please! I'll love to hear your responses.
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Wow, well, ummm ... o.k.
But I'm a newbie housefrau in Wisconsin who is feeding two kids and it's going on winter here, so not much in the really fresh produce dept. I'll try though.
I'm kind of excited. Squeat seemed to have alot of fun with it so, here goes.
Wish me luck!
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Robyn, what a great story. I need to start dining with bartenders.
I too started out reading the CT superdud thread, even posted a response or two, but lost interest when things got defensive. Maybe I should go back and give it another go.
There is a similar novice thread happening in the wine area on this site. I think it's interesting to compare the responses to that thread and this one. There the suggestions were basically: read lots of books, taste lots of wine and keep notes. They said it much more eloquently of course, but I think that same advice might hold true here as well.
I'll suggest another book. Alice Waters' Chez Panisse Cafe Cookbook. She gives a lot of insight as to the Charlie Trotter style of cooking. Her cafe in Berkley is much more casual than CT, but her commitment to fresh ingredients prepared in the best way possible is evident. She writes in a friendly, passionate voice so it is an easy book to spend time with.
I have a weekly library habit and almost every week I come out with a cookbook or two. Ms. Waters' book was this weeks selection along with an incredibly beautiful book on Artisan Baking by Maggie Glezer. (It's almost too beautiful, I find myself VERY hungry after I put it down.) It's been a great way for me to "devour" a lot of experiences without emptying my wallet.
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My love for grilled cheese has waned. I've made it so often for my kids that I'm burned out with it.
The version I remember fondly from my childhood was buttered whole wheat bread, velveeta and mayonaise toasted up on the flat side of the waffle maker. My dad was the master grilled cheese maker in our house.
Now I tend to make it on potato bread, buttered with 2% kraft singles for my kids. That is as they demand. Doesn't do much for me, I'm afraid. I need to branch out and try the zilla version, which sounded awesome. Reawaken my cheesy desires.
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I'm decidedly a non-expert here. I'm very much in PDC's shoes as a novice fine diner.
I recently picked up Culinary Artistry by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page as suggested by this thread. (Go ahead, buy it through the eGullet Amazon link over there and support a great site!)
It has been a very engaging read and I think it will help me to appreciate on a deeper level the amount of skill, creativity and experience needed to create really fine cuisine. Plus, it's making ME a better and more confident cook. Bonus!
Food Blog: Cusina
in Food Traditions & Culture
Posted
No one to run to my rescue with picture tips? Oh well, I'll blog on anyways.
My son and I ran to the bakery, another institution that I'll describe in more detail for you when I have more time. Delicious stuff. We bought a loaf of sliced whole wheat sandwich bread and a loaf of really beautiful Italian bread with roast garlic in it to replace my unmade Acme herb bread. My son picked out a sugar cookie in the shape of a turkey. On the way home he kept remarking on how good his "chicken" was. I tried to correct him and we ended up spending a lot of the ride making various poultry noises. Having children definitely takes you places you wouldn't otherwise go.
We also went to Target where we got a lot of boring stuff like cough syrup and some ice cube trays for stock. Found a nice EVOO mister, which I have been meaning to buy forever and a new spiffy looking ice cream scoop. Gotta love new toys!
The chicken is set for baking, resting in the fridge. Salt and peppered and then stuffed with lemon, rosemary branches and garlic. I'll put it in the oven around 4:30 and start the shells. I'm lucky enough to have a 1/2 Italian husband who makes and freezes a family marinara. Pulled some of that out of the freezer for the shells.
Lunch today was PB&J for my son, with baby carrots and chocolate milk. Mine was, hate to admit this one, Amy's canned chili with vegetables. Sometimes I just eat for sustenance and this was one of those meals. We are definitely "one big meal a day" types in this house. Breakfast and lunch take a backseat to a big dinner.
Am I boring you all to death out there with my slice of Americana? It seems awfully typical to me. I'm hoping that is just my own perspective and that you're getting something out of this! More later.
~Cusina