Comfort Food

Besides the pizza and sushi kick we have been on lately the one dish that is always a huge hit in our house is macaroni and cheese.  I think this was one of the first dishes that I learned to cook as a child (using the Betty Crocker recipe.)  What is it about mac and cheese that all children love?

We have found a healthier version in the Eating Well recipe for Baked Mac and Cheese and we make this at least twice a month.  Recently I started added some sauteed onions to the milk sauce and it adds a little bit more complexity to the flavor.  We generally use sauteed fresh spinach rather than frozen.  On this occasion - we used whole wheat shells and they work well.

 

Morels

Many of the Cooks to Spare were in the state of Washington -- Walla Walla and Yakima -- in June. The weather was cool and rainy which meant the local strawberries were late, but the asparagus was excellent. Blonde Girls father found morels at Klicker's Berry Farm. Big morels!!! Well the cooks went to work and created a wonderful dinner. They took the morels and made a morel risotto with asparagus. What a treat!!

These are five members of the Cooks to Spare team. The sixth cook took the picture.

Then my husband and I went to Yakima to visit family and friends. My brother and his wife invited my husband to go morel hunting in the Cascades where they had a successful hunt -- 1 1/2 pounds of morels. My sister-in-law sauteed them with shallots and added a little cream at the end --that with salmon and asparagus made for a perfect meal.

Back in Baltimore, there were no morels, but there were peaches and apricots at the Farmers' Market.

Silly Snake Dogs

No, I'm not just gunning for the most ridiculous post title. This is the name of an actual recipe out of the Pillsbury Kids Cookbook. Blonde Girl's Son received it as a gift last Christmas (or maybe the one before?) and we have already made the Monster Burger recipe, so Silly Snake Dogs was the logical next step. There are fairly reasonable recipes (most involving some Pillsbury product), but of course Monster Burgers and Silly Snake Dogs are WAY more fun!

There isn't much of a recipe, besides wrapping your dogs in a tube of your favorite prepackage breadstick dough and crafting snake tongues from red bell peppers. Also, some melted cheese product is required for attaching the currants used for eyes. What we are going to do with the remaining block of Velveeta, I have no idea. I'm imagining some green chile queso dip?
Blonde Girl's Son definitely enjoyed them. We substituted grass fed all beef dogs for the specified "cheese filled hot dogs" and the end product was pretty tasty.

Also, in the interest of equal coverage, Monster Burger pic as well.

Maize from Heaven

Corn on the cob has returned in full-force to the farmers markets, supermarkets and roadside stands around Baltimore. Yesterday, I saw a man selling it out of the back of his van for $2 a dozen. It's everywhere.

With inspiration from a dish at Woodberry Kitchen, which in my opinion is the best restaurant in the city, Other Blonde Girl and I have been gobbling up this summertime staple grilled with mayonnaise and feta cheese. It is so good you'll crave it every day.

No recipe to follow here. Just drop husked ears of corn directly onto your grill. Cook, turning every couple of minutes until the ears are slightly charred. Remove and slather immediately with your favor mayo and feta cheese crumbles.

Be warned, this corn is addictive! You will want to make meals of nothing but this corn. Plan on at least two ears each.

Strange Dreams

Last night I dreamed that Eric Ripert served me dinner.  I was eating alone (don't know why or where...)  I don't remember most of the food, however he served an amazing clam chowder.  The clams were still in their shells and it was the most delicious soup I remember ever eating. 

What does all this mean?  Well apparently (according to various web sources on the Internet) to see a chef in a dream represents transformation and changes.  Consider what is "cooking" in your life.  Eating alone signifies sadness or loneliness and the clams?  Well to eat them, foretells you will enjoy anothers prosperity.

Good and Quick

Tonight we had a simple and tasty combination. Sub Duck cooked lamb patties (vermont raised lamb with garlic,rosemary and lemon zest) on the grill. He also grilled Zuccini and corn on the cob which we mingled in a bowl to serve. Couscous provided the starch. Not at all complex but very tasty.We then had a salad entirely of greens from our garden including arugala, two kinds of lettuce, spinich, sorell, mint and sage. It is so great to be eating from the garden again. Good memorial day weekend to all !

Inspiration from the Market

We have now enjoyed 3 Sundays shopping at the Farmers' Market. There have been strawberries, green onions, lettuce, and asparagus. I think I could eat asparagus every day if I had an unlimited supply. Today the market inspired our menu planning. We came home with sorrel which became sorrel soup -- via the recipe from Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child - for our starter. Shrimp with Mango and Basil from Eating Well magazine followed the soup. The recipe called for a large amount of basil and scallions which we had bought at the market. Needless to say the mango and shrimp were not local. For dessert we ate stewed rhubarb topped with cut-up strawberries. Tomorrow night I will fix spinach salad - baby spinach -- another market inspiration.

As a side note, last week I made the Chinese noodle dish that several of Cooks to Spare have prepared. I used ground pork instead of turkey. It is easy to make and so delicious! We highly recommend it.