Jose's Blue Sombrero - Racine

We love Mexican food. There, I said it. We eat it a lot. Jose's is the best we've fond in our area. I know some of you may disagree, but I would hold firm on this. I once worked at Cactus Cantina in Washington, D.C. and to this day it is my favorite Mexican food EVER, but Jose's is as close as I've come around here...

SP fell in love with Jose's after I took him there, and we've been returning ever since.

We went to Jose's on Friday night. We got there relatively early, so we were seated right away. This place is always PACKED, Racine or Brookfield. Be prepared to wait, or call ahead and put your name on the list. It's worth the wait 98% of the time. We've gone and had bad service in Racine, but there are only two bad waitresses and I don't know their names. I just know when I see them coming that it's going to be a long night, and I hope the food is especially good to make up for it.

On Friday, Brenda waited on us. She was fan-tastic! I mean she was on top of it, not just with us, but with all of her tables. We were in and out in 40 minutes and the food was superb. Brenda immediately brought our sodas, then brought our margaritas when the bar was done making them. Most of their servers bring all drinks at once, so you sit there and eat chips and salsa dying for your diet soda. Not Brenda. She brought prompt refills and asked if we wanted more margaritas before they were gone. She took our order when she brought our first round, and our food came up quick. It obviously came to our table the minute it hit the lamps in the kitchen, so it was fresh. The refried beans didn't get a chance to crack. They were still steaming. And our tacos were not soggy, we could still pick them up and eat them without a mess.

I had a tamale with my taco. Jose's has the best tamales I've ever had. My cousin is married to a Mexican man and learned to make homemade tamales from her mother-in-law, and these are better than hers. Get the green sauce, it's better. They tell you it's spicy, but it's not.

SP had two tacos and a beef enchilada. I never had a beef enchilada, so I tried his this time. It was tasty. The red sauce, it turns out, is good too. So either way...go for it.

The margaritas were spot on as well, so the entire restaurant gets an A+ for Friday night! We made a point to tell the manager how good everything was when we left, as a few gentlemen (not) came through the door and let it slam in my face. What's with you guys? Hold the door for a lady, and just for anyone. My dad taught me that when I was four and let a door close behind me on an older woman. It's rude.

Ok, off my soapbox now.

Go to Jose's. It's very good, and they have some happy hour deal where they serve a taco bar for free along with discounted drinks. It's not just tacos and tamales, either, they have more authentic dishes and more up to date items such as black bean and shrimp enchiladas, and even a burger if you have someone with you who hates tortillas.

Big Bowl - Schaumburg

SP and I went to one of our favorites, Big Bowl, on Sunday. We wanted to shop some, and it's at the mall. Big Bowl is a chain, and it's Asian food. They have a stir-fry bar, rice and noodle dishes and spring rolls and mai tais, if you're into that sort of thing. Most of their items are somewhat spicy.

I had the Thai Basil Hot Pepper Shrimp without the chilis served with jasmine rice. This dish is fresh, light and delicious. With the chilis it's HOT. I like hot food, but this is very spicy, and sometimes I just don't feel like having the roof of my mouth and lips sting for hours after we're finished eating. The waitress was very nice and suggested no chilis, because she couldn't convince me to order another shrimp dish...I don't like them as much, I've tried them. Though the Shrimp Pad Thai is good, and the others are tasty, but not as good as this dish. SP loves it too, after eating off my plate the first few times he took me there, but he ordered his old standby favorite, Kung Pao Chicken.

The Kung Pao was served with jasmine rice as well. It's very good. I never order it despite it being so good. I guess I'm a sucker for shrimp and I can steal some of SP's Kung Pao anyway.

On this visit, the waitress was not very good. I think she was new. She didn't refill our drinks or check whether our food was right for quite a while, even though our drinks were bone dry and we had a ton of food left. Then when she did come by, she asked whether we wanted refills, when we were clearly eating spicy meals and had nothing to drink. It sounds like I'm complaining more than I should, but that's elementary to a server's job. I was a server for ten years.

Most of our visits we have very good service, so this time I think it was just a fluke. It's a very nice atmosphere if a little loud, and they have cozy booths and clean restrooms. They even suggest that you use extra paper towels to exit the bathroom and they provide a garbage can outside the door to dispose of them, so you can avoid germs. Hey, don't you hate places that have hand dryers and a pull on the exit side of the door? Just sayin.

I love going to Big Bowl when we can sit outside in the sunshine.

Budget-Friendly Tuna Noodle Casserole

This is a childhood favorite of mine, and I know some people HATE it. I love it. I don't want to eat it weekly, but I crave it once in a while, and on a tight budget, it must cost pennies and can feed a family, if they'll eat it. My dad and sister call it "scabs." You decide.

Tonight when I got home I wanted to make something because I had soup out of a can last night, and I can only do that here and there. I had basically decided I'd try to make tuna noodle casserole while I was in the car talking to my sister.

Sure enough, I had the ingredients on hand...it's not tough to do. Some wide egg noodles, the old fashioned kind you might keep on hand to throw into soups, peas, cream of mushroom soup, and tuna. There you go.

I boiled some salted water and cooked the noodles al dente. In a medium bowl, I combined the soup, the large pouch of tuna, and about a third of a bag of frozen peas. I added salt and pepper and a little grated onion to taste, then incorporated my noodles, making sure to coat them well with the mixture. I topped it with seasoned bread crumbs. Then I turned the mixture into my greased casserole (with fat free crisco spray) and put it in the oven at 375 for about 40 minutes until bubbly brown.

It was really good and hit the spot as far as my craving was concerned. I probably spent less than a few dollars on dinner, and I have a few servings left for lunch.

Some people add cheese to this recipe. Some don't do the bread crumbs. Some do it stove top and just heat, rather than bake. You can do it however you want. My sister likes it if it's made stovetop with velveeta and no breadcrumbs. To each his own.

Quicker Than Usual Spinach Lasagna

SP and I spent some time at his place on the weekend after Christmas. We visited some of our usual haunts that I'll tell you about on other posts, but I wanted to cook one night and suggested lasagna roll-ups. I ended up making lasagna instead.

We went to the grocery store together, which was kind of cute. He kept saying, "That's an awful lot of cheese." He said it until I put the thing in the oven.

There is a lot of prep work to lasagna, because I make my sauce from scratch. You don't have to. You can buy a good jar and use that...but I'd recommend at least two jars, then. For the sauce, I finely chop two ribs of celery, one small or one half of a large onion, and then sautee them in a little bit of olive oil. After they become near transparent, stirring to prevent burning and sticking, I add about 3 or 4 chopped cloves of garlic. You can add garlic to taste after you play around with the recipe.

Then I add a negligible amount of ground pork or meat, or a piece of meat of some sort just to cook it down and make it nice and brown to get some tasty bits that will deglace into the sauce when I add tomato stuffs. Next, I open a 29 oz. can of tomato puree. It's big one. I pour that into the pot along with two 6 oz. cans of tomato paste. Then I add 4 c. of water and stir well, incorporating all ingredients.

I bring the sauce to a slight boil, not a rolling boil, and then I reduce the heat to simmer. As it simmers, I add my spices. I eyeball stuff, so a small palmful (probably about a T.) of oregano, 1 1/2 T. of basil, and 2 T. of parsley flakes or you can chop fresh, but use more fresh herbs then. Also, add salt and pepper to taste and simmer at least an hour, but my usual recipe is at least two hours with meatballs in it. (I'll give you that recipe another day...this is lasagna.) Oh, and if you want to get rid of that metallic can taste that can be in pasta sauce, add a teaspoon or so of sugar to the pot and let that simmer in. It works.

While the sauce simmers, we grated a half wedge of parmesan and a half wedge of romano cheese. I also opened a bag of frozen fresh spinach and some grated skim mozzerella, and I mixed a large tub of ricotta (the big one) with two eggs and some parsley flakes to make it pretty.

When the sauce was ready (or good enough) I began assembling the lasagna, and I preheated the oven to 400 degrees. To assemble, grease a casserole or lasagna pan. Coat the bottom of the pan with some sauce, then a layer of lasagna noodles (the oven ready ones, unless you want to mess with boiling and then also washing another two dishes), then ricotta, spinach, romano and parmesan, repeat, repeat, until you run out of ingredients. You can use as many noodles as you have room for in the pan for layers. I used one box of noodles and all the ingredients. I left a nice cheesy top and then I tented the top with foil and popped it in the oven for 45 minutes. I then removed the foil and let it get all brown, bubbly and happy for another 15 minutes.

When it's done, you will want to take it out of the oven and let it rest a bit to set up. If you are starving and can't wait, it will not cut into nice squares and stay set on a plate. Instead, it will blob out all over the plate, but it'll still taste heavenly. After 20 minutes or so, it does set up nicely and stay that way to plate it.

I reserved some sauce to add over the top. I don't always have enough, but I like it when I do.

SP made a point to tell me that, "It's not too much cheese at all! It's the perfect amount of cheese. This is really good lasagna!" The biggest compliment, though, was when he suggested we take half the pan to his sister and brother-in-law to eat while they're holed up expecting their first child any day. They ate it and gave me rave reviews as well.

Merry Little Christmas Ham

SP drove in snow and on icy roads for two hours to see me on Saturday after Christmas shopping all day. I picked up a spiral ham for us. Truth be told, I have never made a ham in my life, but I was going to give it a try. I called my mom and asked what to do to make it like hers, which is always very good.

Unpackage your spiral ham and place it face down, directly into a roasting pan. Pour a can or small bottle of your soda pop of choice on top. I used Coke, because I had that on hand. I wanted to use Dr. Pepper but, next time. You can use 7 Up, whatever you want. Put into the oven on 250 degrees covered very tightly with foil, or a lid (if you can get one to fit) and cook for 15 minutes per pound. The last half hour, remove the foil and kick the oven up to 350 ish and baste the ham with the soda to brown the outside nicely. That's it. I swear. The ham was moist, delicious, and SP said, "It's not super salty and it has the perfect flavor." Then I told him it was my first ham. We were both impressed. This is a meal you can make for a crowd easily...no sweat. I had a 6 pounder, and I still have a ton left.

I made mashed potatoes and fresh green bean casserole to go with the ham. SP loves my mashed potatoes, which I have learned he thought were pretty ordinary until he had mine. The only difference, I think, is that I drain my fork tender potatoes, immediately add butter to coat, put the lid back on to melt it slightly, then mash with just butter to completely coat the mashed potatoes in it, and then I add a little bit of cream...heavy cream, sour cream, half and half, whatever you have on hand, but not milk. Milk makes mashed potatoes pasty, like wallpaper paste, imho. Cream makes them creamy even when you want to reheat leftovers.

For the casserole (it's on the can of French's onions), combine a can of cream of mushroom soup with 3/4 can of milk, whisk together. Then add hericot verts (fresh skinny green beans of the French variety) and toss to coat. Grind some salt and pepper and mix once more, then top with a few french fried onions and bake at 350 for 40 minutes or so. For the last ten minutes, add more onions and let them brown with the lid off. It's done when it's really bubbly.

Oh, and I popped some Grand's butter biscuits in because what's ham without biscuits?

Tip: The next morning I made potato pancakes with some mashed potatoes, an egg, breadcrumbs and some dill, salt and pepper. Just a little butter flavor Crisco and a bit of butter in the pan made them nice and brown. And, of course, we had a nice slice of ham with our over hard eggs...SP and I both like our eggs over hard. Who knew? That was a discovery we made on one of our first overnights when we went to the Coffee Pot diner in Kenosha. Jinx, you owe me a Coke! We're still that disgusting to watch in public, which is nice for us but not so nice for you.

Enjoy your romantic ham dinner, or have a party and make it an easy night.

Christmas Cookies

I was home on Friday and the weekend was a miserable, snowy and cold mess. Windchills were down to -25 ish and we broke a snow shovel trying to dig out. SP takes such good care of me...I thought I'd bake a few batches of cookies this year and give him a little care package, even though I really feel like time is whizzing by me.

I started with Anise & Date Biscotti. This recipe is pretty simple. I preheated the oven to 350 degrees and greased and floured a cookie sheet.

In large bowl, I beat 3 eggs with 1/2 c. canola oil and 1 t. anise extract until combined. Then I added 1 c. granulated sugar and mixed five minutes, using a stand mixer, until well combined and pale in color. To that mixture, I folded in 1/2 c. finely chopped dates with a spatula.

In a separate bowl I sifted 2 1/4 c. all purpose flour with 2 t. baking powder. I added the dry mix little by little to the stand mixer, stopping the mixer each time to prevent having to redecorate the house. It still gets flour all over the place, but if you stop and then start slow, it cuts down on flour dust.

At this point the dough is very sticky. I carefully used my hands to divide the dough into two logs and baked them for 25 to 30 minutes. When they were golden brown, I removed them from the oven, turned the oven down to 300 degrees, and cooled them for about 10 minutes on the sheet. I then removed one log at a time, cut them into 1/2" slices with a serrated knife and put them back on cookie sheets and back into the oven for another 15 minutes until nicely browned and crisp. After they cooled, I put them in a decorative Christmas tin lined in wax paper for storage. I got this recipe out of a cookie book I have and have made them over and over for years. Very good with coffee.

Tip: You can substitute any "extract" you want for any flavor you want. You can dip the ends in chocolate, too.

I also made The Best Damn Peanut Butter Cookies Ever, but I substituted chocolate chips for peanut butter chips or chunks, because I forgot to buy them. If you can, get the PB chunks, because these cookies are serious and will blow your mind. I made up the recipe when I lived in New Orleans and accidentally made really good chocolate chip cookies and thought, hmmm...I wonder if...

These are easy, and they're drop cookies, so even better because they don't have to be pretty.

Preaheat your oven to 350. Cream 1 c. peanut butter (creamy Jif works best...but whatever) with 1 c. brown sugar, 1/2 c. granulated sugar, 3 eggs and 1 t. vanilla extract. Meanwhile, in a clean bowl, sift 2 c. flour with 1 t. baking soda and 1 t. salt. Gradually add the dry mixture to the peanut butter mixture and mix well. With a wooden spoon, add in 2 c. (yes two cups) of peanut butter chunks...or, in my case, chocolate chips. The chocolate chips worked out nicely this time.

Drop the cookies in small ice cream scoop sized balls on an ungreased sheet, and then for best appearance, criss cross with a fork...so they look like traditional peanut butter cookies, only better.

Bake 10 minutes or until nicely browned. OMG. These are serious cookies! Very good right out of the oven, and still a very nice, soft texture and delicious taste for a week or two if stored in an airtight container in a cool place. I would imagine these would freeze well too, but I've never had them stick around long enough to have to try it.

It's a definite food O.

Finally, I made what seem to be everybody's favorite. They're somewhat of a pain because they're a crumbly mess to work with to get into shape and baked, but they're so good, they melt in your mouth. My dad and SP LOVE them. I haven't met a man who doesn't like them, actually...I'll have to test that out in a contest or something.

Rum Almond Crescents are indulgent because they're made from butter, rum extract, flour, powdered sugar, and ground almonds. I wasn't sure SP would like them, but he said, "They're so buttery. These are GOOOOOOD!"

Preheat your oven to 350. Cream 1 c. of softened, unsalted butter with 2/3 c. confectioners (powdered) sugar, 1 t. vanilla extract, and 1/2 t. rum extract. Mix well. Put 1 c. of almond slivers into a food processor and make them into a fine chopped blend. Add them to the mix and incorporate completely. Then incorporate 2 1/2 c. all purpose flour and a pinch of salt, making sure to fully blend all ingredients. It should be like a brown sugary texture when you're done.

The recipe says you can divide the dough into two logs and slice them and then form them into crescents, but that's a little misleading, I mean a blatant lie. Instead, basically take a small amount, maybe what would fit into a tablespoon, and form it into a tight piece of dough, then form it into a crescent once it is placed on a baking sheet. You have to do this one at a time, and this is where it gets tedious and a little frustrating, because some of them break up and you have to reform them, and it just seems they're going to be a crumby mess when you pull them out of the oven, but do not dispair. You will be greatly rewarded when they come out of the oven and you share with your friends or loved ones.

Bake about 18 minutes. Dust with powdered sugar immediately, while piping hot, and then cool on a wire rack or foil. When cool, store in an airtight container in a cool place.

Very decadent!

I remembered why I don't bake much. I like one dish meals, not too much detail and measurement (I'm a throw in some of this, add a pinch of that kinda cook), and baking really messes up the kitchen. I stopped while I was ahead at three recipes.

Enjoy and Merry Christmas!

Falafel

Tonight I had a craving for Middle Eastern or Greek food. I know, some people probably get upset when I lump the two together, but Falafel is a food that many cultures eat. It's ground chickpeas made into a wet meal that is then formed into balls and fried in oil. The balls are then arranged in a warm pita with some romaine or other leafy green lettuce, and a yogurt sauce, perhaps with a little tomato or feta.

I used Fantastic World Foods falafel mix. I always do. I haven't ever made my own falafel from scratch, but I should. I think I'll look up a recipe and see that it's easy, and then wonder why I use a boxed mix. But the boxed mix is perfectly seasoned and holds together with just the right texture. You mix 1 c. of chickpea meal together with 1/2 c. water and let it stand for ten minutes to absorb. Then you form balls and fry them in 350 to 375 degree heated oil. I used canola.

I made tzatziki sauce from scratch, though. I bought strained Greek yogurt in a single serving size container and scooped that into a bowl. I peeled and seeded half a cucumber, and grated it finely, then added it to the yogurt. To that, I added about 4 cloves of crushed garlic, some garlic seasoning, salt, pepper, dill, juice of half a lemon and a drizzle of olive oil. It is to die for, but your breath will be to die from! Gargle after, fo sho!

I diced the other half of the seeded and peeled cucumber and added the juice from the other half of the lemon, a drizzle of olive oil, a splash of red wine vinegar, salt, pepper and a dash of dill.

My ensemble came together nicely with some feta and an Italian lettuce blend. Kalamata olives would have been devine, but I ate them all and didn't buy more tonight. I also would have loved a little pan sauteed tomato in my pita, but I was out of tomato as well.

The falafel was perfectly done and the tzatziki was delicious on top. I have leftovers for lunch tomorrow, while I watch 13 inches of snow fall and try to work from home. Opa!

BLS - Bacon, Lettuce and Shrimp

I didn't have tomatoes tonight and it's snowing, again, so I didn't want to stop to buy them on the way home. I was googling Charlie's Bar in Aruba to find something from a friend's honeymoon that she shared with me, and I came across a picture on a menu of a shrimp BLT. I love BLTs and I love shrimp, so I wanted one.

I cooked up four slices of bacon, but I really only needed three, so I ate the fourth as an appetizer. Bonus! I thawed four jumbo shrimp and peeled them. They're already deveined. Do that if yours aren't. I seasoned them in some California-style garlic powder, a little hot sauce...ok a lot of hot sauce, and some salt and pepper, and then sauteed them in a little olive oil until done, just done. Overcooked shrimp are like eating erasers, so be delicate with them. They have built in thermometers. When they are pink, they're done. Really, they are.

Meanwhile, I toasted my whole wheat white slices, got out my canola mayo (Hellmann's is the only product I will use for this and my regular stuff was nearing expiration, so I used the canola one, which has only 45 calories per serving, another bonus!) and spread that liberally on my toast. I don't like mayo, but I love it on BLTs, or BLSs as it were. Usually I season my mayo by chopping up some garlic and tomato and mixing it together, but I don't have tomatoes, and I already had garlic on the shrimp. Enough with the garlic already!

I had Italian lettuce blend in the frig, so after I neatly arranged my bacon and shrimp on top of my yummy mayo, I added a stack of Italian blend salad mix to top it off with a healthy touch and some texture.

I served it with some Fritos. I like them. They're somewhat mysterious, but I eat them every once in a while. They can't be good for me, I know, but neither is bacon or mayo...and shrimp have cholesterol. Darn!

Cafe LuLu - Milwaukee

I had lunch with two other attorneys today in Bayside, a trendy, up and coming area in Milwaukee, or so it goes. We went to Cafe LuLu. It's a little dive that has a very quaint lunch counter and a few tables, and excellent food and service.

I ordered the Casablanca Burger, which was a mixture of beef and lamb served with tomato, lettuce and a yogurt sauce to top it off. It also came with a side of their homemade chips and a bleu cheese dressing dip. The burger was tasty and reminded me of a Lula Kabob sandwich I used to order at a fantastic place called Lebanon's Cafe in New Orleans. I'm sold on it and will go back.

My lunch mates had beef stroganoff soup, which appeared tasty and must have been because it was gone, and a Calypso Tuna Salad which looked really good, however, my friend said that the tuna should be served rare, because it was a little overdone and not so good. The waiter initially said it is sushi grade tuna, so I assume they can simply serve it slightly seared, and they should.

The waiter was very friendly, in a "we're busy, hon, what do you want" kind of way. He may have had an ownership interest, by the way he dealt with the patrons. Warm and familiar.

I'd go back for seconds.

Adobo Grill - Wicker Park, Chicago, IL

SP treated me to a show at Steppenwolf on Saturday. We had a great time. He got us tickets in one of the private side balconies, so we had room to spread out, put our coats down, and not share arm rests with anyone other than each other.

Afterward, I had already made a reservation at Adobo Grill in Wicker Park. I hadn't been there before, and neither had SP. I read good reviews and someone I know had been there, so we tried it.

The atmosphere is definitely very inviting, cozy and modern. The restrooms were very clean, a bonus in the city. The wait staff was plentiful and almost hovering...well, they did hover. In fact, I was a little annoyed that they tried to take my margarita before I was done, and also eyed our guacamole several times before we finished. When you charge what you do for a tiny margarita that takes three sips to finish, let me sip it three times before you try to steal my glass. The margarita was tasty, even if it was tiny. SP had two.

The guacamole was wonderful. Just the right heat and cilantro in a creamy yet slightly chunky texture. The chips were strong enough to use as spoons in the dip, and the wait staff offered more chips easily.

Next we ordered the flautas. They were an artsy interpretation of the classic, probably American, deep fried and rolled beef or chicken. These were deep fried tortillas, but they were pre-fried into the shape of a cannoli. Then they were stuffed with a potato and shrimp mixture that was tasty. They were topped with red cabbage, which I thought was out of place, but perhaps I'm not well versed in authentic Mexican food quite yet. To me, it was Eastern Europe meets Mexico, sort of. They were still good.

For dinner, I ordered the chicken enchiladas served in a mole sauce with refried black beans. They were very good tasting, had they been free of the tendons and such that were left in the chicken meat that was inside my enchiladas. That is a pet peeve of most who order any sort of chicken item out...if it's a chicken burrito, enchilada, salad, whatever, take the time to take the nastiness off before you season and cook and roll it into my dinner, please. Had they taken the time to do this, I would have given them good marks for the mole and mixture of flavors on my plate. The beans were nothing special.

SP ordered a flank steak served with some sort of lasagna-esque concoction. He was a little confused about the side dish, as was I. It appeared to include cheese, maybe potatoes, and definitely tortilla layers. He said it was good, but had to be fattening and he wasn't sure what it was, so he only ate a bit. The steak was cooked medium rare, despite his medium well request (I try to get him to move to the rare side, but he likes his food cooked). He asked me if it was done enough to eat and I assured him he'd live. I thought it was very tasty, as he shared a few bites with me. I think he would have preferred a good ol ground beef enchilada or hard shell taco. He wasn't so much expecting authentic food, but he admitted it was fairly good.

We entertained ourselves in between attacks by the wait staff trying to steal our half-eaten food by trying to determine whether the very loud and animated woman at the next table was the daughter of the two elder folks or the girlfriend of their son, also at the table. We decided she was the son's girlfriend, meeting the parents. They were all very subdued and she was very animated, so we thought it didn't go that well, what with all the flailing of the arms and shouting as they ate with their unused arms on their laps. Oh well. They appeared to be college-aged. They'll be other girls they'll like better.

The bonus was that I had a $25 gift card from www.restaurants.com that I paid only $3 for. That helped defray the bill a bit. We'll try another spot next time. I can't say it was good enough to go back again and again, but it was adventurous for us, which is good.

Weeknight Frittata

I used a vacation day today, but I had quite a bit of Christmas shopping and preparation to take care of. I also took the dogs in for their Christmas grooming. They look so pretty today, and smell good too.

Anyway, by the time I got home I didn't feel much like cooking and I was starving. I was supposed to meet some girls out for drinks, but I was still in jeans and a baseball cap, and the place they were headed to doesn't allow the casual look. I'd have had to do too much work in too little time to make it.

Frittata does take 45 minutes or so to bake at 350 degrees, but it's worth a little wait, and the prep work only takes a few minutes. I prehated my oven, and then cooked some turkey breakfast sausage (the bulk kind) into smallish crumbles in a pan on the stove. As they cooked and cooled a little, I broke 8 eggs into a large bowl, added about 1/2 c. of half and half (that's what I had in the house besides skim), and then whisked the eggs well. I then added to the mixture about 1/2 c. parmesan cheese...the shaker kind, and about 1 c. of shredded mozzarella. I then added the slightly cooled turkey sausage crumbles and mixed them in gently.

I coated a Pyrex casserole with butter flavor Crisco spray and then poured the egg mixture into the casserole and topped it with about 1/2 c. of shredded mild cheddar cheese and a sprinkle of fennel seed for a kiss of Italian flavor.

I baked the casserole until it was golden brown on the bottom and slightly golden brown on top. A tooth pick came out clean, if you have to test it for doneness.

I also made a side of skillet potatoes and some Grands biscuits for two. I ate 1 and a half. The frittata was light and tasty.

I have another frittata recipe that is much heavier with way more cheese, and ricotta, making it so dense that SP doesn't really like it that much. I think he'll like this one much better. I'm going to portion it out in containers and take some to him when I visit this weekend. It makes enough for six very large servings, or eight smaller servings, and it freezes if you must. Oh, and it's a cheap way to feed four to six people breakfast or brunch, if you add a little bit of fruit or potatoes or biscuits or whatever you like to it. I like breakfast for dinner sometimes.

$1 Burgers at Bar Louie

Tonight I went with Natalie, a friend who also happens to be my legal assistant, for our ritual of dollar burgers at Bar Louie in Milwaukee. (Natalie was my legal assistant first, but she's so sweet and down to earth that you can't help but make friends with her.) SP also loves Bar Louie, but he's in Chicago...and we go to those locations sometimes too.

On Tuesday nights, Bar Louie offers a burger menu at $1 for the burger, and then various toppings can be added for 50 cents each. You can also add fries or tots. I ordered mine with olive mix and provolone, but they brought it with giardinara and provolone...oops. They're lucky I like giardinara. Natalie had hers with all kinds of stuff, I think cheddar and bacon and some other things. It looked good. Mine was tasty, if a little spicy. We shared a basket of tots, which were perfectly done. Natalie added salt, which I love too. I prefer fries, but she always wants tots, and I gave in this time. Their fries have a hint of lime or something in them, which makes them taste sort of unique...it may be a lime salt seasoning or something. I'll have to research that. The burgers on Tuesdays are decent for the price, but not of the gourmet type. If you're looking for the bargain night out, this is the way to go, though.

The atmosphere at our Bar Louie is really laid back. The booths are old supper club style and the real bonus is that they also offer a discount happy hour of $2 beers and $4 martinis on Tuesdays. I had a Dirty CEO...a dirty martini, with olive juice and olives, and Natalie had a fruity thing. If you prefer to sit at the bar, they have two of them indoors and one out (during more suitable weather). The crowd is pretty young, but I guess that has something to do with the prices on Tuesdays.

We chatted over office and work issues and had some fun, but we had to hit the road after a quick dinner because it is blizzarding in Wisconsin, and the roads are not at all plowed or salted. I sledded home in my 4WD; thank goodness for that.

Leftover Clean Up

Tonight I warmed up left over chicken, snow peas and orzo in the microwave. The good thing about cooking is that I usually have something left over in the frig. It's nice for those nights when I'm by myself. It helps me to get more done during the week, because I was done doing dishes by 6:20.

Been to Olive Garden Lately?

I'm not sure if you ever go to Olive Garden, but we went there last night for my mother's birthday. It's where she suggested we go so, since its her birthday, that's where we went. I used to really enjoy Olive Garden, but the place just seems to continue to decline every time I go there, or, my palate has really changed. I'm sure it's a little bit of both. By the way, those are the folks at the Culinary Institute of Tuscany, I guess...I really don't think they make Italian food like Grandma used to make, though.

We had nine guests, if you count my niece Stella, so eight of us ate. I can't vouch for everyone, but I can say that most of us ate all of our food or close to it. I ate about half of my ravioli di portabella and took the rest home. They're usually not bad, and they were ok tasting, but the pasta was a little overdone. The minestrone was watered down slightly as well.

Three of the people at the table had a newer dish called Shrimp Carbonara. Two of them liked it, but my mom didn't like it. Two of the people who ate it, including the birthday girl, got very sick for the entire night after eating it. I was happy to have SP join us. He ordered the manicotti and ate it all, with some salad, but he got sick as well. My stomach was a little touchy through the night as well, but not as bad as the other three. So, half of us who ate there got sick.

On top of that, two of the meals had to be remade because the waiter ordered chicken carbonara instead of shrimp carbonara. One of those dishes was my mother's, so the birthday girl got her food after we were all half done eating. They did take her meal off the bill. She had what is molten chocolate cake, but it's called something else there, and it was good, she said.

Aside from that, I have to say that they don't seem to spend a great deal of money on the place considering the gold mine that they obviously have. I mean, $11.25 for a plate of linguini or fettucini and $15.25 if you add a few shrimp to it, or $11.25 for a few overdone stuffed pasta is a lot of profit, I'm sure. The flooring is tired, the tables are worn out from overuse or too much weight sitting in them or both. The lighting is like sitting under interrogation lamps, only there is a whole string of them everywhere you look. Someone keeps leaning on the dimmer switch, so the mood keeps changing, and you can barely hear your family as the rounds of Buona Festa (Buena Festa is the way they sing it...guys, it's Italian, not Spanish-ish) keep being sung over and over...it can't be that many people's birthdays. The location we went to is in Racine, and it always has a wait. We were told the wait would be thirty minutes at 4:30 p.m. on a Sunday. I mean, doesn't anyone know of any other places to eat?

I suppose I'll have to start pointing out the good restaurants so that folks don't wait in line for overpriced, overdone pasta in as good as canned sauce that keeps them up on the toilet all night long. I'll keep you posted as I visit some of our favorites that don't make us ill.

Next year is Mom's 50th (oops, did I say that out loud?) so I'll have to have a party and serve better food.

Leftover Mashed Potato Pancakes

If you have leftover mashed potatoes and you know you won't be reheating them for dinner, you can make a nice weekend breakfast treat pretty easily.

In a medium bowl, toss in your leftover mashed, maybe about 2 c. or so, add an egg and some grated onion with a little bit of chives if you have them. Toss in a couple of T. of flower and mix well. Let the mixture sit for fifteen minutes or so to let the gluten do its job and get rid of that floury taste.

Then heat a skillet to medium-high and toss in a little canola (very little) and some butter for good flavor. Take a spoon and drop nicely sized balls of potato mixture into the pan, leaving enough room for them to cook and be flipped like pancakes. When one side is brown, flip to the other side and gently flatten with your spatula. If you've preheated your oven to around 200 degrees, you can stack them up nicely and keep them hot while you make eggs and bacon or whatever else you want to serve with them.

It's a nice way to use up leftovers and it's good comfort food! As you can see, they were a hit.

Twenty Clove Garlic Lemon Chicken

Last night SP came over for the weekend. We still don't feel great, leftover cold symptoms, so I made dinner at home.

This recipe is one of my favorites. I thawed a whole, cut up chicken. In a large sauce pan I heated 2 1/2 c. of chicken stock to a boil and added 20 cloves of garlic, minced and the zest of one lemon, chopped fine. I reduced the heat and simmered, covered, for 40 minutes.

Meanwhile, I pan seared the chicken in a bit of canola and butter. I used two pans so as not to crowd the chicken, and I had the heat on medium-high. I made sure each side of the chicken pieces had that caramelly brown goodness before removing them to a caserole sprayed with Crisco spray. (You don't want the chicken to be done, just browned nicely on all sides on the outside.)

I then took the lemon I previously zested, peeled it entirely of all the rind and pith and then sliced it thinly, gently removing any seeds. I layered the lemon pieces onto the seared chicken pieces in the casserole.

In my two searing pans, I kept the bits nice and warm and then added a dusting of flour and whisked the bottom of the pans to get the bits nice and mixed in with the roux...but I only let them brown slighly. Then I added about 1/3 c. of white wine (divided between the two pans) to deglace the pans (this releases all the brown, tasty stuff off the bottom) and I let that come to a boil for a second, then I added in equal parts the chicken stock with the garlic in it and let that come to a boil for a second.

I poured the gravy mixture out of both pans into the casserole, fully coating all the chicken pieces. The oven had been preheated to 375 degrees, and I popped the casserole, uncovered, into the oven for 45 minutes until the chicken had a nice, brown look and the meat was falling off the bone.

While that was baking, I peeled an armful of potatoes and cut them up into salted water and brought them to a boil for mashed. When they were fork tender, I drained them, then added about 1/3 stick of butter and let that melt a bit and then used a hand masher to mash the potatoes entirely. This way they take up the butter flavor before you add milk or dairy. I then added about 2 T. of sour cream and a dash of skim milk. I prefer some type of cream in mashed potatoes so you avoid the wallpaper paste type potato. The cream keeps them creamy even after a day in the frig as leftovers, and SP said they were yummier than most mashed he's had.

I tossed a bag of frozen sugar snap peas into the microwave for 5-6 minutes and then served them on the side. It was a nice meal and it was cheap...and we didn't have to brave the sub freezing temperatures with our runny noses and coughs. We found You've Got Mail on Oxygen and snuggled up under flannel sheets with full tummies, though SP did have some chocolate cookies for dessert.

Try this one, you'll like it!

Ravioli Scampi-ish

Tonight I was going to do something with shrimp, because I had a bad day, and shrimp is my favorite food. However, I realized when I got home that I didn't feel like cooking, or prepping, so I went with the easier option (not that shrimp are not easy): pre-made frozen Ravioli.

I bought some handmade cheese ravioli from Tenuta's. I keep those on hand most of the time. They have a very good selection, including lobster, artichoke, meat, spinach, squash and a few others. If you want to add whatever sauce you want, this is the way to go. If you want ravioli with red sauce, I have another place you can go. I'll cover that another day.

So, I boiled some salted water in a large sauce pan. Meanwhile, I very thinly sliced a small section of a large sweet onion I already had on hand. I heated about 1/3 stick of butter in a saucepan with a little canola oil to prevent the butter from browning. If you want to make a butter sauce, this is a good tip. The oil heats up nicer...and you only need a touch of it to help the butter handle the heat. I tossed in my slivered onions and let them slowly simmer in the butter. When they were starting to look transparent, I added a splash of Ruffino Orvieto. See yesterday's post for some talk of this wine, my fav-o! The wine ads some depth to the dish, so it's more than just butter sauce. It's kind of a scampi...which brings me to the next step. In the end, I added some crushed garlic, a bit of sweet basil, and I opened the lid on my old stand-by red pepper flake jar and crushed a pinch of flakes in the sauce. Then I let it simmer on very low heat until it reduced nearly by half.

By then, my ravioli had been dropped gently into the boiling water and stirred gently several times to prevent sticking and breaking. I drained the ravs, let them drip a bit to get the water off, and added them to my butter sauce pan and turned the heat to medium. With a wooden spoon, I gently tossed them about in the scampi sauce making sure to coat them evenly with butter and onions. When I turned off the flame, I pinched a bit of fresh grated parmesan on top and served them straight up.

I wasn't in the mood to goof around tonight. It was good...a cross between ravioli scampi and cheese and onion pierogi. Either way, they were comforting after one of those days when you want to quit your job on the spot. The very large glass of wine I had to round the meal off also helped take the edge off. I typically don't drink much alone, but I'm known to have a glass of wine with dinner and tonight I needed it! I was done with dishes at 6:46.

Va Bene! or Spacznego! Whichever suits your fancy.

Quickie Salmon with Orzo in a Lemon Butter Caper Sauce

This recipe is simple and delicious. It tastes expensive too, but it's not pricey. I used flash frozen salmon, because I only buy fresh salmon once in a while. (My freezer is full of meat, fish, veggies, ice cream and the rare french fry bag for late night salt cravings. It's ok to freeze your meats.) SP isn't a fan of salmon, so I make the same recipe with talapia for him. You can also substitute mahi mahi or something else you like. I bet it would be good with shrimp.

I took my piece of salmon out of the freezer before work and put it in the frig to thaw. When I got home, I zested a lemon, finely chopped the zest and put it in a very small sauce pan. Then I juiced my lemon in my nifty antique reemer, and poured the juice in the pan. To the pan, I added a shallot finely chopped, no I didn't, actually I substituted a small piece of a sweet onion I had on hand because I'm fresh out of shallots. It works, but I prefer the shallot for guests because it has a much more delicate flavor. Finally, I added a few splashes of Orvieto, a crisp and perfumy Italian white wine I fell in love with at Quartino in Chicago, and continue to buy one and get one free in Tenuta's back wine cellar in Kenosha. I simmered the liquid on medium heat until it reduced by half, then let it cool off the burner.

I had a quart sized pan of salted water on to boil, and to that I eyeballed about 3/4 c. of orzo and stirred it frequently to prevent sticking. Meanwhile, my salmon had been lightly marinated in a drizzle of olive oil and pepper and my grill pan was heating on medium with a drizzle of olive oil to prevent sticking.

My salmon went on, about four minutes each side for nice grill marks. If it won't flip easily, it's not ready on that side. Don't rip it off the grill. As the liquid cooled, I added under half a stick of butter, unsalted and let it ooze into the liquid, stirring a few times. My orzo drained, but I did not rinse, because it soaks in the dressing better that way. I returned it to the pan for a few seconds to evaporate any remaining water and then added a few pinches of parsley and a T. of capers or so. I finished it off with most of the lemon butter sauce, tossing thoroughly, and then tightly covering to keep it hot.

I served my seared salmon on a gluttonous mound of lemon butter orzo, and drizzled the remaining butter sauce on the salmon. To round it out, I added a slice of pita bread and some humus. The vino was so well paired, I figured I'd have a glass to finish the meal off right, even if I am on prescription cough syrup. I will sleep well tonight, with a full belly and happy taste buds.

I got home at 6:10 and was done doing the dishes at 6:55, but then I was only trying to impress myself. The dogs did beg for a taste of salmon or at least some butter, but I only gave them each an ice cube for patiently waiting.

It's no so glamourous to eat in the kitchen, at the island while watching Chris Matthews, but a girl's gotta eat a nice meal sometimes even when her only company amounts to two canines wishing they had more that Pedigree to eat.

Inspiration for the Blog

I love to cook, and I read lots of cookbooks, gourmet magazines and watch Food Network a lot. When I was a kid, I used to wake up way too early for my parents, and they trained me to turn on PBS at 4:00 a.m. until they got up. I not only watched Sesame Street and Richard Simmons in those early mornings, I managed to get hooked on PBS and watched hours of Yan Can Cook, Justin Wilson, Julia Childs, Graham Kerr, and whoever else was on that channel back in the early 80s. I had a well-rounded television education of physical fitness, ABCs and 123s, and cooking.

My mom cooked and her mom cooked. My dad's mom could burn water, but her mother was fantastic in the kitchen. I learned, stepping up on a stool and rolling up my sleeves in their kitchens. My grandma had me flipping perfect eggs over easy by the time I was six or seven. I knew how to make stuffed peppers at eight. My mom let me help with cookies and mixing meatloaf or peeling potatoes. When my mom was gone on a trip, I pulled out Justin Wilson's cook book and made Jambalaya for my dad as a teenager. My sister always loved my tuna noodle salad, even though they all know how to make it too. My great-grandma taught me to put pickle juice in it, and somehow they think mine is better. Wink wink.

There was a Sex in the City episode where Carrie's boyfriend moved in with her and she lamented no longer being able to do things like eat something quickly and without manners over the sink when she got in the door. When the title came to me, it was because that's what we single folks do. We quickly grab a bite of this or make a pot of that, and we don't worry too much about coordinating the napkin rings or taking time to savor every bite. Eating can be like a chore when you live alone, but cooking for others is a delight. I try to make some meals a self-care ritual, with a good recipe, quality ingredients, a glass of wine and perhaps even a seat while I eat one bite at a time without multi-tasking...even when I eat alone on a weeknight.

I will share some of my cooking experiences, some of my masterpieces and flops, and some of my loved ones' experiences too, reviews of places I go and products I use, and the fun I have in the process of putting meals together and eating, alone or with company.

Thanks for stopping by.