Porky Roast with Scalloped Potatoes

Tonight, a pork roast, cooked in a dish with olive oil, garlic and onions, in the oven with scalloped potatoes from a box (sale on Betty Crocker’s at Lucky this week (4 for $2!)) at 325°F for about an hour, accompanied by garlic steamed fresh green beans / haricôts verts, and grilled portabella mushrooms (marinated first with olive oil, salt and black pepper).

Steak Burgers with Mushroom Gravy

A collaboration tonight: I made a garden salad with my vinaigrette, mixed lettuce greens, heirloom cherry tomatoes (all different colors and shapes), cucumber, green onions, and, because they are in season and totally buttery, delicious and CHEAP, a whole avocado for each of us!

By J’s request, I also made the oven crisped potatoes with rosemary, garlic, black pepper, salt and olive oil, I made last week, and reheated the butternut squash from last night. J sautéed mushrooms, onions and garlic in olive oil, fried up the steak burgers in the skillet, then made a gravy in which to further sauté the burgers and then serve over the top of them.

For dessert, another in-season treat: a fruit salad of just perfect fresh pineapple, slightly disappointing strawberries and a delectable little honey tangerine.

Easter Sunday Brisket + Butternut Squash Tutorial

My father and my step-mother visited recently, and while she was here, I was able to wrangle her mother’s brisket recipe out of her, much to my great pleasure, having enjoyed when she made it on several occasions. So, since J considers Easter a valid reason to make a nice big dinner, I thought it would be a good excuse to try the recipe. G&T joined us as well and so did L. For appetizer/nibbly bits, G&T brought cantaloupe wrapped with prosciutto and blue corn tortilla chips and hummus, as well as some red wine and dessert.

The recipe calls for 4 lbs of beef brisket, sliced onions, black pepper, Heinz chili sauce and bay leaves, and it takes over 4 hours to cook altogether, so I started it early in the afternoon. It takes lots of steps, but it’s worth the effort- it practically melts in your mouth! As well, I made a big tossed garden salad (G helped!), with tomatoes, cucumbers, green onions and mixed baby greens, with my homemade vinaigrette dressing, and some brown jasmine rice, cooked in mushroom stock and then tossed with the mushrooms that made the stock, after they were sautéed in olive oil with some garlic and fresh thyme from the garden.

At the same time that I started the brisket, I also baked a butternut squash, which lately has become one of my favorite squashes, much less foods, to my great surprise. Of course, the way I make it, it’s pretty much irresistible:

Mini tutorial: Butternut Squash

1. Peel and de-seed it and cut it up into small pieces
2. Layer it in a Pyrex dish with a bunch of sliced pats of butter (almost a stick) and cover liberally with five-spice powder, salt and black pepper.
3. Bake covered at 350°F for 45 mins or until it falls apart when poked with a fork
   
4. Let it cool some, and blend it in a Cuisinart / food processor with a little milk or butter until it reaches the desired consistency
5. Keep warm for an hour or two before serving… the longer you can let it stand before serving, the more the flavor develops. Reheat before serving if you can’t keep it warm the whole time.

YUM! For dessert, a big creamy peach Boston cream pie/cake concoction. Not the traditional Easter Ham by any means, but who’s complaining? Not like there were any leftovers!

Chicken Breasts and Mushroom Ravioli with Al Fredo Sauce

I boiled the ravioli, grilled the chicken breasts on the George Foreman grill with some lemon pepper and salt. Then I sautéed some asparagus and crimini mushrooms in olive oil with garlic and onion, heated up the al fredo sauce, and mixed them together. I served the sauce mixed with the asparagus and mushrooms over the chicken breasts and ravioli. Yum!

Grilled Chicken and Veggies with Porcini Risotto

We have been having nice spring weather, and with the change to Daylight Savings Time, and G&T’s company, what better excuse to fire up the backyard bbq? So, prepared on the grill (over mesquite hardwood charcoal, natch): asparagus and portabella mushrooms in olive oil, which I prepped, and chicken breasts and chicken and apple sausage, all of which T grilled. I then tossed the asparagus with some balsamic vinegar.

In the kitchen, I made risotto with porcini mushrooms, onions, butter, olive oil, red wine (‘06 Rodney Strong Sonoma pinot noir) and fresh thyme from the garden that G picked, with Parmesan on top. We had the rest of the pinot as well as an ‘05 Big House Red, from Santa Cruz with dinner.

For dessert, we had some mango mochi and Ben & Jerry’s Cinnamon Buns ice cream. Oh, and as an appetizer, G&T brought a baked brie and crackers, which we served with a fresh sliced peach.

Lamb Burgers

My friend, F, who I have known since we were in high school together, came over for the evening, and together we made lamb burgers with mint, onion and garlic in them, served on whole grain buns with tzatziki sauce we made ourselves (with sour cream instead of yogurt) since TJ’s was out… they had havarti on theirs burgers, I abstained. J made mashed red potatoes (skins on, of course. and lots of butter and garlic), I baked an acorn squash with five spice powder, and grilled portabella mushrooms in olive oil to go with. We had blue tortilla chips with salsa for nibbly bits to start, a nice red wine(‘04 Domaine des Tours Rhône) with dinner, and an apple streusel for dessert.

Penne with Tomato and Meat Sauce

The sauce started with some I made in January and froze that was made from patty pan squash and tomatoes from the garden (possibly those in the header!) as well as some home-made spicy meatballs. To freshen it, I fried some ground beef and crimini mushrooms in onions and garlic and olive oil, and added a little fresh asparagus left over from last week, as well a small can of tomato sauce and a healthy handful of fresh cherry tomatoes, topped it off with some fresh basil, and oregano, marjoram and thyme from the garden, and let it all simmer together for awhile to really develop some flavor. The penne’s a healthy flax/multi-grain sort, also from TJ’s. We’ve decided that the whole grain pasta tastes better, despite being healthier. Served with shaved Parmesan over the top, of course, in a big bowl.