Suppah Six

It was Frizz's Birthday Night - happy 29 sista'!   She chose our menu and it was a great one.  The always popular Panko Crusted Haddock and Cilantro Chile Aioli.  Yum Yum! (you can check March 15th for the recipes). We picked the side dishes -spaetzle with garlic cream sauce and spicy green beans.  We used boxed version rather than homemade and it was tasty and much less messy! Dory provided an gooey chocolate dessert... birthday celebration complete!

Good fall fare... it was not a simple meal, but it was tasty! The side dish of Buttered Spaetzle was actually selected first, then the main of Chicken Schnitzel was a logical pairing.  This had to be a night Dory could be here early to get things underway.  She even had to make the batter during the afternoon so it could rest. The noodle production process was alot of work... luckily, Squirts had the day off, so we had earlier than usual access to his expertise and  strength to stir and drop batter over a steaming pot.  The original recipe called for a disposable tin pan, but I can't imagine that could have withstood the density of this batter.  The final result was sauteed in some butter and was just great. The schnitzel had our traditional favorite, panko crust, with a tangy sauce.  Green beans rounded out the meal. We also enjoyed some of Dory's apple pie - perfect as usual.  She used key lime juice rather than lemon juice, fun tasty twist...

This was better than average comfort food!  I had made this myself  in the spring for a saturday night dinner with friends, but we needed Dory's advanced skills to really enjoy  Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese . It came out cheesy and bubbly, with some kick from the hot sauce.  The immersion blender stepped in again to ensure a creamy sauce.  YUM!

Back to school time!  What an incredibly nice summer.... it was tough to stay indoors and cook.  Our Labor Day weekend started out great with Easy Chicken Tacos. This was a wonderful recipe that has inspired me to try more poaching chicken breasts rather than roasting in the oven.  I like to cook up a few pieces just to have on hand for creating dinners.  Lots of recipes call for purchasing a rotisserie chicken and shredding the meat for quick meals.  I really like to cook it myself - tastes better, cheaper and probably a bit healthier as I think those store chickens are full of salt.  Dory enhanced the recipe a bit - used the entire can of adobo chilies and the sauce was just great.  Good heat, but not too firey.  There were a few leftovers that made yummy lunches during the week. We started out with guacamole & chips and also had some beans for a side.  A lovely start to the new season of PD!

We are having are usual PD break... summer travels and visitors shake up the routines.  To that end, I think we need new nicknames. Frizz = Sleepy (she never stays awake for the drive home) CPap = Doc ( he is a line leader) OR Grumpy (sometimes, he is) Dory = Sneezy (not good for the chef.... but she can have issues) Squirt = Bashful (quiet and sweet) Bubbles = Dopey  (distracted by a butterfly) Squints = Happy (Frizz says that is what i should be, which is really sweet!)

This week's meal tasted great, but was team effort.  When I offered the options to Bubbles, he responded "Bacon Bacon Bacon!", so Loaded Carbonara was the menu selection. The flavor was great, but it wasn't simple!  Squirt ended up helping Dory out, as the final blend of cheese and hot egg was a bit involved.  It is important to incorporate it slowly, so you don't end up with scrambled eggs, yet you need enough heat to melt the cheese.  Surprisely, this version of carbonara did not call for cream (white wine instead) and the cheese needed some extra persuation to get creamy.  A few short trips in the microwave to gentley melt it and lots of whisking eggs combined to a delicious finale. Our side items were different - with Caesar salad rather than  mixed greens, and some sauteed squash from our friend Roger's vegetable garden .  YUM!

A great summer meal- Crispy Chicken Salad Wraps.   They were a great blend of creamy and crunchy.  We altered the recipe a bit - brushed them with melted butter instead of spraying with cooking spray and added some fresh basil, since my cilantro crop is not doing so great. We also had great side dishes - Syracuse Salt Potatoes tasted great and were fun to cook.  We made sure to use the really small red potatoes, as bigger ones would probably not get tender enough.  My chive plant was a fine producer for the butter drizzle.  Additionally, Kraft Kitchens has a great recipe for pasta salad - Family Reunion Macaroni Salad .  Good holiday weekend eats!