Madison House Chef

Food Confession: I Ate at a Big Box Restaurant Last Night and I Still Feel Sick

Food Confession Time. 

After many months of being “good,” eating fresh fruits and veg, lean meats, cooking at home, whole grains, very little eating out, down 35+ pounds, I began to have a taste for a big greasy burger. Last night was particularly busy for us with each family member going a different direction and my son not even eating at home.  Ken agreed that after our daughter’s piano lesson he would pick up some burgers. It was going to be a big, decadent treat, and then we’d get back on track today.  I called the local big box chain to place the order. Yum.  I couldn’t wait. 

I should have waited.  No, I should have stopped at the impulse to order.

Omelettes in the Evening

As evening came upon us we felt the first pangs of hunger, but really weren’t in the mood for the encore performances of what was in the fridge.  Our one protein – three meals experiences were already finished and there was barely enough fish left over from our meal midday to feed one person let alone 4.  What to have?

Omelettes.

 

 

Kale Chips

 
Kale chips … Really? 
Yes, really! And they are DELICIOUS.  Good enough to “write home to mother about.”  Though, actually I called on the telephone (instead of writing) and talked to both my mom and dad about it.

 

 

 

 

Monday Marathon

Yesterday/Monday: Began the day by walking to the butcher shop for 5lbs of ground beef, 5 lbs of ground pork, 10 lbs of Milanesa res (beef sliced incredibly thin) and 2 plump chickens.  After walking home and changing clothes I went to HEB (drove, bummer) for 5lbs of bacon, 5 lbs of Italian sausage, 9 cans of tomato sauce and crushed tomatoes, 4 lbs onions, 1 large jar of pickles, and few other items needed.

The result by days end --

two roasted chickens, meat pulled from the bone -- (one protein 3 meals)

15 C of homemade chicken stock made from the bones of the roasted chickens (frozen 3 C portions)

45 roladens with bacon, pickle and onions (frozen 2 per bag with extra onions)

3 LARGE pots of ragu (still finishing their day 2 cooking today with a little more added tomato sauce; will freeze later for a bzillion meals.)

…and a batch of chocolate chip cookie in bar form.

It’s been quite a Monday marathon – and the larder is again well stocked.

What a fabulous day off.

Greetings Loyal Madison House Chef Followers (yes, both of you)

After a nearly 6 month long creative dry spell for both cooking and writing it’s fair to say, I’m back.  What happened, I suppose, was Lent, then Holy Week and Easter, then Confirmation, the end of the school year, Ken to Spain, the kids and I following to Europe for a month and a whole host of daily work and play -- blogging fell to the wayside.  You know how it is, sometimes something has to give; Madison House Chef was what gave. I still cooked and created some new meals, I even shot a few food filled digital frames, but they didn’t make it to posting. But now, after a much needed, long vacation, that both energized me and re-opened the door to creativity I’m back cooking, photographing, and blogging… for both of you.  (LOL) This blog was never intended to make me famous, but a place to keep my own favorite files (which I accessed this very morning when making blueberry muffins…more on that in a later post) and to share them with family, friends, or someone stopping by via the search engines or food sites looking for a particular recipe that I might just have posted.

Blogging My Refrigerator – New Year’s Eve Edition

We aren’t big New Year’s Eve partiers, but instead like to have a quiet evening at home with just our family and a few of our favorite appetizers and tapas.  We let our kids stay up until midnight and have a champagne toast to welcome the New Year.  This year, we may add to the repertoire and eat 12 grapes as the hour strikes.  This is a custom in Spain (where we will be traveling to this summer while my husband teaches at the University in Salamanca) and a fun way of our ongoing preparation for our trip.

Nevertheless, over the last hour or so we’ve put together a few family favorites including: mushroom and leeks in phyllo, stuffed mushrooms, mini crab cakes, tamales (a friend dropped these off earlier today), puff pastry pizza stars (the newcomer to the party), and the tried and true brie in phyllo.  These tasty tapas’ are taking up the majority of the space in the refrigerator and are ready for “the party.”

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2010!

Diablo Doritos, Pork Cheetos, and Habanero Doritos

 

 

Crunchy, salty, and … bland.  These Doritos (and other similar flavors) are all around down here and can be purchased at most any gas station or grocery.  They’re not nearly as good as many other flavors.  Even the “heat” factor was low.  One star only; it’s highly unlikely we’ll buy these again, but will stay with the pork flavor gourmet Chee-tos from Japan.  Other than being a little salty, they are very good.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“This should do it!”

This morning began with a plea to turn the heat in the house on, since it had gotten down to 68 degrees overnight.  I’m laughing at myself as I write this because 68 was well above the warmest temperature I would have turned the heat ‘up’ to when we lived in the Midwest.  However, living now 17 miles from the Mexican border in deep south Texas, 68 inside the house is COLD.  It was 46 degrees outside, and damp (it’s rained for 2 days…another big deal here in the valley), which is downright miserable.

Yesterday, day 2 of the steady rain, Ken and I stopped at our local coffee house (Ambrosia, on N 10th – a place owned by a guy name Nick – very, very good coffee) and needing something warm and comforting I had him make me a mocha.  It hit the spot.  Not only did I feel appreciably warmer inside, the “cozy” factor helped, too.  This morning, though the sun was shining again (Hooray!) it was still damp and definitely cold (yes, I know we’ve covered that, but really… it was!). Today is one of the early-out-the-door days (Ken teaches his first class at 7:45 on TU and TH this semester) and thus no time even to make coffee – due in part because I didn’t want to get out of bed… did I mention it was COLD! 

After dropping off the kids at their respective schools I scooted to the local Starbucks box store coffee house (sorry, Nick) to get a mocha (Ambrosia’s is better, yes).  I ordered a big one with an extra shot of espresso.  As I pulled up to the drive through window to pay, the cheerful barista chirped, “How are you today?”  I squinted at her, though she couldn’t see my eyes because I wasn’t about to take off my sunglasses.  My response, “Not awake yet.”  She looked at the side of my cup as she handed it to me… “This should do it!!”  

Thanks, chirpy barista girl … I’m waking up now… and I’m even starting to warm up.  (Did I mention it was really cold this morning…? LOL)

I couldn’t live without coffee.

Broccoli and Almonds

A vegetable with our pork chops for supper...?  
Broccoli in the refrigerator.  Great.
However...I'm kind of tired of steamed broccoli.  Food confession --- I am tired of any vegetable that's steamed, with or without butter.
What to do?
Ah ha!  Foodblogs.com -- search for a recipe for a new idea or two of how to make that broccoli in the refrigerator.

Enter girlichef blogger in her entry "I'm choppin' broccoli." 

A Rice Cooker

Some time ago my mother brought a rice cooker into our home. Really, Mom, a rice cooker? Afsani taught us how to make rice on the stove top with a diaper to slowly absorb the moisture.  

I stand corrected and everyone may now commence with "I told you so."

 

 

 

 

Bad Eating at a time of Transition

My food habits have been LOUSY as of late with all that's going on around here (cf. 78541).

For supper... I had fish sticks and a margarita in a large plastic cup.  Forgive me.

The Risotto Addiction Continues

wonderful risotto

a regular on the menu

laden with warm chicken stock
and butter
and cheese
and white wine
and mushrooms
and seafood
and calories
and fat
and comfort
and warmth
and KAG's current favorite food
and ...
this may have to stop before I/we step on the scale again.

Risotto Addiction

I'm addicted to cooking RISOTTO. 

I've eaten some delicious risotto over the past years, as a main dish, as a pasta course, and as a side dish, but never really had taken the time to learn how to make it at home.  It's not as if it's in the category of lamb (which to date I've refused to perfect at home for fear of looking at the menu and thinking, "I make that, and that, and that... I'm not paying $26.95 for 'that' because I made that last week...), but I've simply been under the (false) assumption that since risotto needs to be attended for 25 minutes, it's simply not feasible for someone with 2 kids, a telephone, and various other distractions to stand and stir a single dish to prepare it perfectly.

Finally, after a true craving for risotto I decided to give it a try and began with Mario Batali's (Mushroom Risotto) Risotto al Porcini: Porcini Risotto.  Amazing!  Delicious!  Much easier than I ever imagined.

Next, Mario's Risotto Milanese: Risotto in the Style of Milan.  I added small pieces of shrimp to the stock pot and added them a little at a time and then toward the end of the cooking time I added some cooked shrimp and renamed the dish "seafood risotto."

Today I made Batali's Risotto al Vino Rosso: Red Wine Risotto.  It was fine, but not as rich as the other two.  I used a cheap table wine -- perhaps a good pinot would make a difference?

Next time, I'm going to try this fine Cooking recipe which contends that risotto doesn't need to be monitored so closely as I imagine. 

As for a cooking pan, I've been using my 14 inch Calphalon pan which for the most part works well, but at times it seems that there is too much surface area to attend to and to cover with stock.  I may try a smaller pan (10") in the future or even a 2.5 q pan to see if it makes a difference.

Ah, the joy of perfecting a recipe.

Blogging my Refrigerator

I opened the refrigerator door and stared.  "Now that's quite an odd variety of food..."  Here's what's in my fridge:

4 pieces of supreme pizza – with banana peppers substituted for green peppers
goat cheese
walnuts
spinach, organic, used mostly for salads
craisins
fresh made guacamole
red mole
avocados
half an onion in plastic wrap
an empty screw top thermos we use for transporting yogurt
butter
22 packets of taco bell hot sauce
2 bottles of Famous Dave's BBQ sauce
Amstel light beer
orange juice
1/3 bottle of Pinot Grigio,  1.5 litre bottle
2 pieces of fresh salmon
chicken and chorizo prepped for tortilla casserole
limes
roma tomatoes
Absolute, 3/4 bottle, 1.5 l
vermouth, 1/2 bottle
mozerella cheese
pepperoni
½ can pizza sauce
leftover lentils (sauted with the other half of the onion -- mmmmmmmm)
dill pickles
olives
standard condiments including three different kinds of mustard
fish sauce, plum sauce, and bean paste
brussel sprouts
broccoli
a glass canning jar 1/3 full of popcorn kernals
a cup of milk (skim) left from my 3 year old's supper
1/2 bottle of malt vinegar
a stack of fresh made corn tortillas from the local supermercado
fat free catalina and fat free 1000 island dressing
eggs
1/2 jar spaghetti sauce
yeast (large bag, sealed in tuperware)
celery (limp, needs to go out)

What's in your refrigerator???

Richest CABBAGE ROLLS I've Ever Eaten

I confess that this is a bit of 'chef-ly' pride, but I just made the richest, tastiest cabbage rolls I've ever eaten.  Interestingly, I feared that the cabbage rolls may be bland since I ran out of dried thyme and forgot to put it on the shopping list.  The herb garden is also void of thyme as I pulled all of it up because it was getting overgrown and very woody (I trimmed it back regularly, too). While I don't generally put much more than 1 to 1 1/2 tsp. of thyme in the whole dish I felt concerned that a depth of flavor would be missing.  Boy was I mistaken!

Let me back up a little ways.

I started with a lovely, tight leaf cabbage with gorgeous deep green color that faded to a crisp yellow-white well into the vegetable.  Delicious.  Sweet.  Fresh Cabbage.  Interestingly, the leaves came off the head so easily in the slightly salted, boiling water that by the time all of the leaves were peeled all that was left was a tiny core the size of a large brussel sprout.  Every single leaf came off perfectly down to the last tiny ones.  The smallest cabbage roll looked more like a dolmades.  Fabulous the cabbage.

Then, the beef.  A few weeks ago beef tenderloins were on sale for stupid-cheap.  We picked up one and had the local butcher slice it for us.  The end pieces weren't particularly 'steak worthy' so the butcher ground them.  Wow -- that' burger!

I confess they weren't the most beautiful things when they came out of the oven -- I don't know that I've ever found a way to artfully present cabbage rolls, but oh my! they were scrumptuous. 

Wow!

First Fruit

My mother called.  That's not unusual as it's Sunday; the day we regularly talk via the phone (after my nap).  Today she called from Louisiana (where it's 68 and they've had plenty of sunshine - it's 33, cloudy, damp, with little white pellets falling from the sky this morning) while she and my dad are on their way to get strawberries.  New crop, fresh, sweet, sun ripened --

I confess --  I'm jealous.

First fruit.  Sunshine.
I'm counting days to our trip south!

I only drink DIET Coke

When I read this "research" I was reminded of the many reasons I only drink Diet Coke, not Regular Coke: 

1. In many U.S. states the highway patrol carries two gallons of Coke in the trunk to remove blood from the highway after a car accident;

2. You can put a T-bone steak in a bowl of coke and it will be gone in two days;

3. To clean a toilet: Pour a can of Coca-Cola into the toilet bowl and ... Let the "real thing" sit for one hour, then flush clean. The citric acid in Coke removes stains from vitreous china;

4. To remove rust spots from chrome car bumpers: Rub the bumper with a crumpled-up piece of Reynolds Wrap aluminum foil dipped in Coca-Cola;

5. To clean corrosion from car battery terminals: Pour a can of Coca-Cola over the terminals to bubble away the corrosion;

6. To loosen a rusted bolt: Applying a cloth soaked in Coca-Cola to the rusted bolt for several minutes;

7. To bake a moist ham: Empty a can of Coca-Cola into the baking pan, wrap the ham in aluminum foil, and bake. Thirty minutes before the ham is finished, remove the foil, allowing the drippings to mix with the Coke for a sumptuous brown gravy;

8. To remove grease from clothes: Empty a can of coke into a load of greasy clothes, add detergent, and run through a regular cycle. The Coca-Cola will help loosen grease stains. It will also clean road haze from your windshield.

9. The active ingredient in Coke is phosphoric acid. Its Ph is 2.8. It will dissolve a nail in about 4 days;

10. To carry Coca-Cola syrup (the concentrate), the commercial truck must use the Hazardous Material place cards reserved for highly corrosive materials; and

11. The distributors of coke have been using it to clean the engines of their trucks for about 20 years!

Hotdog Confession

I confess... it's difficult to eat a garbage hotdog covered in chili sauce, mustard, and cheddar cheese (no onion tonight...I can't take the heartburn) on a paper plate while sitting on the couch with your feet up.  Side note confession: It was a real beef hotdog, not soy!