Love Inspired Surf and Turf

Week 7 is a "love inspired" dish. I really had to think about this one before I finally decided what to do. I know that sounds weird, but for me, almost every dish is love inspired. I really didn't want to do some cheesy Valentine's dinner. Hubby and I really don't do Valentine's day. I don't need a special day to know how much he loves me, so we just don't really participate.

One of my biggest cooking influences was my great-grandmother. "Mom" is the best person I have ever known, and if she fed you, you knew she loved you. Mom was not a great chef, but she could always make you something filling and semi-healthy. Her specialty was roast beef with mashed potatoes and some kind of green veggie. Meat, potatoes and a veggie. And heaven forbid she forget the rolls! We sat down to dinner one night, and she realized she had forgotten the rolls. "Oh my Lawd, the rolls!"  Now, someone says that at every family gathering. Mom is missed, but we will never forget the love she gave us and all the food she made us.

I decided that my "love inspired dish" would be something I would make Saturday evening. Our friend Bill was coming over, and it had been far too long since we had seen him. Plus, we love him. :) Unfortunately, our plumbing decided to have major issues Saturday, so we had to reschedule Bill for Sunday. I won't go into the plumbing mess since we're talking about food here. I really wanted to make something wonderful for Bill, so I decided on surf n turf.

This isn't a recipe, just a run down of what I served. I bought a pre-marinated petite fillet of beef that we grilled. We made some bacon wrapped shrimp with horseradish. This was skewered and grilled. I made mashed potatoes, kale sauteed with bacon, and sauteed some button mushrooms and yellow onion in a little butter. Meat, potatoes and a green veggie. It was a wonderful meal, and it was great to catch up with Bill.

New Fridge!!!

I never thought I would become domesticated enough to get excited over a major appliance, but I totally am! We finally decided it was time to replace the harvest gold, side-by-side, circa 1972 fridge. I really had my heart set on a bottom freezer with french doors on top. Our new-ish dish washer and stove/oven are black, so I decided to get a black fridge to match, plus stainless is way expensive just for a different look. I found a really nice Maytag on sale at Homedepot.com for just under a grand, then I called around and found out that Sears has a price match guarantee. They match the price, plus give you ten percent off the difference. Pretty good deal!

Now, my existing fridge, in addition to being ancient and ugly, was kind of small, and I really wanted something much bigger. This new one wasn't going to fit, so I called my wonderful contractor, Kenny Smith, of KPS Contracting (410-313-9996, tell him you heard about him from me!) to come remove some cabinets. Kenny came over and in no time at all he removed the cabinet over the fridge (Who really uses that anyway?) and a little one on the side that was only good for broom storage.

Now I was finally ready to go buy my new dream fridge! I get to the store, show the salesman the Home Depot sale price, get set on what I'm going to pay, and as I'm about to hand over my bank card, I think "Wait! I forgot to measure my front door!" I live in an old house with narrow doors and no sliding glass door in the back. I quickly called my dad and asked him to measure the door. 33 inches. Shit! This new fridge is like 38 inches on the smallest side! The salesman says the top doors can be taken off, but nothing can be done about the freezer door. I'm SOL! As I leave the store the tears begin and my hubby suggests we go to the bar. I have a great hubby!

The next day I'm still heartbroken about this fridge. I start looking on line at the ones that will fit through the door and I realize that they also would've fit in the space with out me paying Kenny to come F up my walls by pulling out cabinets! (Not his fault! Totally mine! I knew that the wall was going to be a mess, and I really should have checked the measurements first. I'm going to have him fix up the wall as soon as I save up the money.)

Still not satisfied, I go to Home Depot on my way home from work. I made the saleswomen pull the fridge out from the wall and measure it without the doors. It'll fit! Plus, she says they can take the freezer door off too! Bingo baby! I go home and hubby orders my new fridge. The guys who delivered it were great and I'm happy. Here are some pics...

I love the deli drawer!

And a bottom freezer! No more bricks of frozen food falling out and breaking my feet when the land!

Yeah, I suck at blogging...

... so here is the part where I apologize and say that I'll be better from now on, then I put up some new posts. Let's just skip this step and move on to the new posts.

EggFest!!!

EggFest is an annual party I go to every May in Waldorf, MD. There are fests all around the country, but this is the one I go to every year. This is a great party where eggheads from all over the country get together, cook, eat, drink and hang out. It's a day where we can walk around and sample food that others are cooking, compare cooking techniques, exchange recipes and have an all around good time.

This year they decided on a pirate theme with prizes for the best costume, cooking galley and more. My mom, Sally and my friend Jackie, tied for best costume.

Here's my mom in all her pirate glory...

And here's Jackie and my mom's BFF Bonnie...

My step dad, Wess, made his ribs and even did a demo...

They were so yummy that I forgot to take a pic of the finished product!

Here's a pic of Sally and I enjoying the party together...

My lovely sister/Lovely assistant, Stacey, with her youngest daughter, Gena...

My oldest niece, Ana...

Gena, giving me the stink eye...

When the fest was over some people went home, but others had hotel rooms across the street. There are three hotels right next to each other, and every year we take over the parking lot for our after party. Most people took a quick break to shower and change, then the after party began!

Here's me and my mom again...

Wess was finally able to sit down and relax...

And everyone continued to eat, drink and be merry!

Next year I'll try to do a better job taking pics of the food, but for now, hopefully this will give you some idea of how we roll!

My Big Green Eggs

When you saw the pics of my garden you may have wondered what those weird things on my porch were. They are called the Big Green Egg.

The one on the left is my large and the one on the right is my small. These grills are the most versatile grill ever! They can be used as a simple grill, an oven or a smoker. We have smoked our Thanksgiving turkey on them, made burgers, steaks, pork chops and even baked cookies on them! Yes, that's right, I sometimes bake on my grill. They are based on the old kamodo style smokers from Japan. It is a ceramic grill and there are openings at the top and bottom so you can regulate the heat. They use lump charcoal, so the flavor you get is just amazing! This is nothing like dad's Weber grill that uses Kingsford briquettes, or a propane grill. It becomes a lifestyle. I'm so happy that the weather is finally getting nice so I can grill everything!!!

On May 1st there is a huge party in Waldorf, Maryland called Eggfest. This is such a fun party! People come from all over the country for these festivals. They have live music, drinks and there is food all day. The trick is to only eat one bite of anything. Any more than that and you get full too fast. Some people just come for the party, others come to cook, and some people come to buy their egg. You get a discount if you buy it that day, because it gets used that day for all the cooking. There are amateurs and professionals, but a fun time is had by all. I can't wait to get together with all my fellow eggheads and eat some great food!

My Herb Garden and Tiny Veggie Patch!

One of the things that's been occupying much of my time lately has been my yard. After a whole winter of the dogs using the yard for a potty, plus the snowpocolypse, my yard has been a mess! We had to remove five large bushes, plant grass seed and do a general clean up. We also decided to buy a few small planter boxes, some herbs, dirt, plants, pots and potting soil.

We planted rosemary and basil...

...parsley and cilantro...

...sage and chives.

We were able to find plants for everything except the sage, then, just as we were about to give up on the sage, we saw a tiny little sprout come up a few days ago. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they will all thrive. So far we have used a little of everything (except the sage). It is so easy and so nice to walk out front and grab just the herbs that you need. I got tired of spending so much money on fresh herbs, only to throw away most of them when they don't get used.

We also planted a few things in pots. We are hoping for a bumper crop of serrano, jalapeno and red bell peppers.

Then, as a total experiment, we decided to try to grow some veggies too! Here we have Roma and Beefsteak tomatoes, garlic, shallots, red, yellow and white onions, cucumbers, green bell peppers and zucchini.

I don't think most of these items are growing, but the garlic, shallots and onions are sprouting, and I'm still hopeful about the tomatoes. If it doesn't work out, I'll just try again.

We also planted a couple of my favorite flowers. We were able to find a lovely star gazer lily plant...

and I couldn't find Shasta daisies yet, but I did get the seeds and they are starting to sprout too!

It's been so nice to go outside everyday and find new things starting to grow. I love spring!!!

My Apologies!!!

I'm so sorry that it's been so long without a new post! I had been feeling very un-inspired for a while, but now that spring is here, I'm getting back into the swing of things. I have a few posts that will be going up very soon, so please stay tuned. I really appreciate all the encouraging comments here and on facebook and twitter. Thank you!

My Cooking and Eating Habits

I've been meaning to write a post for a while to explain a little bit about my cooking style, so here goes!

One of my personal goals for this year is to try to stop eating "fake" food. I only use real butter, real sugar, etcetera. I'm also trying to get away from using pre-packaged, processed foods, like dehydrated potatoes, instant stuffing and anything with a "flavor packet". This is not an easy task! Just think about what is in your pantry right now, and how much easier it is to use these items than it is to make your own from scratch. Also, two of my guys actually prefer some of this "food" to the fresh foods I make. I think it may be impossible to stop using some of these items, but I'm going to make an effort to try.

I read a great article about what the experts won't eat and I'm trying to stay away from some of these items as well. This is also easier said than done. Organic anything seems to cost more than the regular counter part, so that is a challenge. Another problem I'm having is that all the organic potatoes I've seen just don't seem as fresh and they come in much smaller containers. I can't wait for spring to come so I can start going to farmer's markets to buy produce. Hopefully I will be able to speak with someone who works on the farm and ask some questions about how their food is grown. You would think it would be easy to stay away from canned tomatoes, but how do you know what is in a jar of sauce? I've read labels and it confuses me. The only ones I really feel safe eating are the ones that say "fresh tomatoes". I only wish I could afford grass fed beef, so that is a dream for another day. I don't eat farm raised seafood at all if I can avoid it. I'd rather have something else than eat farm raised salmon. Read the labels at your grocery store. Most salmon says "farm raised, color added". Why do they add color?!!! Maybe it's because so many people believe salmon should be a bright pink when in reality, a soft, light pink is fine. I wouldn't know how to avoid milk with antibiotics and such, but I really don't use much anyway. I only use milk in my cooking (as little as possible) and on cereal. I think drinking it is gross, but that's just me. I know lots of people who love the stuff.

I try to purchase most of my food from the outer aisles in the grocery store. Produce, meats, breads, real cheeses. *Hint* if the package says 'processed cheese food", it probably isn't real cheese. I don't eat white bread or much of anything made with bleached flour. I try to avoid high fructose corn syrup, but that's hard too. Read the labels on your food. You'll be shocked when you see how many items have that stuff in it, and as my husband says, "It's the white man's poison". I avoid soda, but when I do give in and drink one, I drink regular. I don't consume "diet" anything. I am by no means a health nut. I put bacon in my cookies! How could I be a health nut? I'm just trying to make smarter choices.

There are also a few items that must be in my kitchen at all times. Olive oil is essential. I always have a bottle of olive oil, plus I keep a spray bottle full next to the stove. I always have a block of Parmesian-Reggiano cheese in my fridge. I prefer the taste of freshly grated cheese to  the stuff in the green can that we all grew up with. I have two cheese graters so that if one is dirty I have a back up. Chicken broth or stock is essential. I like to buy it in the cartons, and in case I don't use the whole container full, I also keep a couple of clean, empty ice cube trays in a cabinet. Simply pour the un-used broth into an ice cube tray and freeze. The next time you need broth, it's right there in your freezer. Garlic. I use garlic in almost everything, so I always have lots of fresh garlic on hand. Chocolate! Who doesn't love chocolate? We keep a couple of large chocolate bars in the fridge, and after dinner we have a square. It's a nice way to finish a meal and it helps keep me from snacking on large amounts of bad food late at night.

There are also a few essential tools that I can't get enough of. I love cutting boards! I have 2 wooden, 2 large plastic, 1 small plastic, 2 of the really flexible sheet style and 1 marble. Can you believe that I still want more? I would love to have more knives too. I have a few really nice knives, but more would be better. I have a few small bowls and ramikens that I would be lost without. I have very limited space in my kitchen, so I like to prep everything and have it in small bowls before I start the actual cooking process. This way I can clean as I go and maximze space. I also refuse to cook in a dirty kitchen. I have to clean before I can get started. As, I said, space is limited, and I can't stand working in a cluttered kitchen. It just makes the experience too chaotic for me.

Cooking and eating is not just about fueling your body. It is a joyful experience that should be savored.

Dizzy Pig spices and rubs

Dizzy Pig spices and rubs are a great addition to any cooks cupboard. They have so many different kinds that you'll find yourself reaching for one of their seasonings just about every night of the week. They have a Jamaican Jerk rub, a Montreal style rub, a rub made with coffee, pineapple flavor, and so many more. I have every style and use them frequently. Sometimes I use them to season my meats and other times I just sprinkle a little on veggies. They even sell a sampler so that you can try all the flavors and then pick out your favorites. Plus, the guys who own the company are awesome! They are so nice that it is always a pleasure to see them at BBQ events or do business with them.

Check out their website by clicking here...

Dizzy Pig BBQ

Roasted Garlic

Roasted garlic is so tasty and easy, plus you can do so many things with it. My awesome mother-in-law gave me a garlic roaster for my birthday, but you don't need this handy contraption to start roasting your own garlic right now.

Simply take a whole bulb of garlic and cut the top third off. Remove some of the papery outer skin, but leave the bulb intact.  Wrap very loosely in aluminum foil and drizzle with a little olive oil before you close the top of the foil. Roast in an oven for about an hour at 350. When you remove it from  the oven it will be hot, so be careful. Let it cool for a while, then you can easily squeeze the garlic out of the bulb.

This method makes the garlic flavor very mild, so you can do a lot with it. You could spread it directly onto fresh, warm bread, add it to soups or stews, add it to potatoes right before you mash them, put it in a food processor with some butter to make fresh garlic butter, the possibilities are as endless as your imagination. Feel free to let me know some ways you use it!

Snowmageddon 2010!!!

I survived it! What a crazy week we've had here! I live about ten minutes south of Baltimore, Maryland in a little town called Catonsville. Today is Thursday and since last Friday we've had about 45 inches of snow fall in the form of two major storms. To put this into perspective, Maryland averages about 18 inches of snow per year. Before the first storm hit we had already had about 36 inches of snow. The actual totals recorded at BWI for the season have brought us to a record breaking 79.9 inches this season. It's been totally nuts!

I was stuck in my house from Friday afternoon until Tuesday morning. I live on a one way street where everyone parallel parks on each side and we didn't get a plow until Monday night around 10ish. I was asleep at that point, but the neighbors tell me that they had to bring in a front end loader to remove it all. There was just no where left to put the snow. When I finally did get out on Tuesday it was just to make a trip to the grocery and liquor stores so that I could prepare for the next storm to hit. Luckily the plow has already been here again, so I am going to be able to go to work tomorrow.

Here are a few pics from this afternoon...

This is the view from my front porch...

 

 Here is my car. As you can see, the snow piled up next to the side walk is just a little taller than the SUV!

 

This is my poor house...

 

And here is a shot of the giant wave of ice that's hanging over my house and my neighbor's house...

 

 That actually just came crashing down as I was uploading the pic. My dad was standing on the front porch, but luckily he got out of the way as it was coming down. 

I know none of this has anything to do with food, but it's my blog and I'll do what I want! Ha!

Grocery Shopping

I am so OCD when it comes to my shopping list! I actually make a first draft, then I revise it and make the final list that I take to the store with me.

First, I take a look at what basics I need. Things like coffee, sugar, bread, juice, creamer, etc. Then, I look at what I have. Once I have a mental inventory of what items I have, I check the sale paper and my coupons. Once I've done all of this, I come up with recipes for 5-7 meals. Sometimes it comes from me, sometimes from a recipe book or magazine. As I decide on each meal, I add what I need to the list. When I am done with that, I have two lists. One is meals and the  other is my grocery list. Then I re-write the grocery list in groups based on the layout of the store. This way I rarely forget something that I really need, and I zip through the store quickly.
Plus I save lots of money by using the coupons and sale items.

Yeah, totally OCD, but it works for me!

Neglect

Oh, fat kids! I've been neglecting you for a bit now. I haven't forgotten you, I've just had a lot going on. I know you don't want my excuses, just more attention. I promise we'll hang out this weekend. I'll make time for you and all the posts I need to get to.

Make your own quesadillas!

Sometimes I just want to make something super simple for dinner, so last night I decided it was "make your own quesadilla night". I put out the tortillas, cheeses, chicken and some veggies and had everyone do the filling for their own quesadilla. I put them on cookie sheets and left them in the oven for about 10 minutes at 350 degrees. When they were done I cut them and plated them, but then I had everyone add their own condiments as well. I set out hot sauce, sour cream and salsa and walked away from any responsibility! Everyone liked their dinner and I loved that it was very little effort on my part.

Happy Holidays!

I enjoyed the holiday, but I'm glad it's over! I have cooked a ton, but haven't had time to post. I took lots of pictures and finally put them on some of my older posts. I'm also working on a few new posts, and I'll get them up very soon! This is a photo of my dining/kitchen area at the beginning of prep for two days of cooking.