Sunday Supper Club

A few months ago we were invited to dinner at some friends house. I am sure they were looking forward to little more than some good company over pizza and a glass of wine. But being the hospitality minded person I am I offered to cook for the four of us. I figured I would take the oppritunity to get creative and work out some culinary cramps. After all, cooking is my Yoga.

Our first dinner was simple enough. Asaigo and Swiss Chard stuffed pork chops with roasted red potatoes and a veg I don't recall. Apparently it was satisfying enough that they recommended we do this on a regular basis. Not wanting to keep it exclusive we decided to invite others. Posse peeps got top billing but we decided to keep the numbers small since I experienced cooking for the whole group at the lake house last year and that was quite the production.

Since then we have had a handful of other dinners featuring smoked Mahi Mahi and blue cheese grits with beef tenderloin tournedos and port wine reduction over sauteed greens, Pumpkin and chicken risotto, Braised beef short ribs with roasted winter veggies etc. The host couple always provides a wonderful and functional venue and the other guests bring the wine for the evening. I love this tradition because it involves good friends getting together over food and wine and I never seem to cook better than when I am with them. I am my own harshest critic but have yet to let myself down at supper club.

That being said we have another edition tomorrow night. As long as the weather holds we will be dining al fresco so I decided to lighten up the menu a bit. Tomorrow we are having:

Achiote and Chile Pasilla marinated chicken done roulade style with Seranno ham, Manchego cheese and fresh sage. Spanish Saltimboca almost.

Fire roasted corn and poblano salsa

Horseradish and Bouchant spiked mashed potatoes.

I have never done the chicken before so I will let you know how it turns out. Pics and reviews will follow.

Kids meatballs

Thanks for all the interest. I did this because we had some hamburger patties that were about to expire. Recipes are hard for me since I rarely measure anything or do the same thing twice but here goes.

1 lb. Ground beef
1/2 onion minced
1 tbl sp of minced garlic
1 shallot minced
olive oil
1/2 cup of plain yogurt
1/2 cup of cheese
1 cup of black beans or Quinoa
3 cups of bread crumbs
1/2 tsp of cinnamon
salt and pepper to taste

I make bread crumbs in my food processor by tearing up 2 or 3 pieces of bread and pulsing it 8-10 times till they are of even consistency. Sautee the onion, garlic, and shallot in oil to soften it (about 3 mins). Add all ingredients into a large bowl and mix thoroughly. Shape in to 2 inch balls and sautee in batches on the stove to brown the outsides. Put them on a baking sheet with a little cooking spray or oil and bake in a 350 degree oven for 20-25 mins.

I add the yogurt for the moisture and calcium. I left out egg since they were just at the one year old threshold for egg consumption safety. Good for anyone out there that has >1 yrs olds. Black beans have more antioxidants than blueberries and a good amount fiber. Skip these if your kids get gassy. Quinoa is a complete protein and has tons of other goodness in it. I use grated Manchego or Parmesean if I have it in the fridge. If not a regular Mexican blend is fine. Make you own bread crumbs if you can. They are so much healthier and less expensive than store bought. The cinnamon add just a little zing and has good anti-inflammatory properties.

Hope this helps. Let me know if you have any comments of I was just way of base with my measurements.

Cheffing for the week.

I have been taking time out on Sundays and Mondays to cook for the week so that the wife and kiddos have dinner in the evenings. I usually wander around Market Street of Central Mkt for an hour or so grabbing random things sometimes with a purpose and other times without. For this week's menu We have the following:

~Roasted Potatoes
~Wild Mushroom Quinoa
~Baby safe grilled chicken (easy on the seasoning for no good reason)
~Black Beans
~Black Eyed Peas
~Roasted Broccoli
~Roasted Butternut Squash
~Lil Kid Meat Balls (Groung beef with onions, bread crumbs, yogurt, garlic, salt, and spices)
~Beef Short Ribs with Gravy (One last batch before winter is over)
~Rotisserie Chicken with a Tomatillo cream sauce
~Roasted Parsnips
~Diced Cantaloupe
~Lentil Soup

Most everything I make is baby safe and baby approved. Of course I wish I would have been eating Short Ribs and Roasted root veggies when I was younger. We are so lucky that they are not picky eaters. We have yet to find a food that they do not like. This whole process usually means the stove and oven are going for at least 18 hours but on the flip side I hardly touch them for the rest of the week. The other cool thing is that or gracious baby sitters usually have some goods to enjoy while they are here. I was not aware of how anticipated my cooking and a decent glass of wine were until I was reminded by someone after taking a couple of weeks off.

I think I am going to shift my blogging focus to food since it is what I have been enjoying most. Stay tuned for some recipes and pics!

Ball pit fun

Boy's Day Out

Big B asked if we could have a boy's day a couple of weekends ago. I am always willing to accommodate the kiddos whenever I can since we don't have a lot of free time together. We called Papa Dave (grandpa) and asked him to join us for lunch and a procurement mission. We received some intel that the McDonald's off Spring Creek was passing out Lego Batman toys with Jr M.R.E.s , so off we went. Apparently we got hooked up with the same outfit that told President Beavis about the WMDs in Iraq because all they had there were Hot Wheel cars. No worries soldiers, we had another Target in mind. Here are some pictures of our mission.



Getting some chow at the mess hall.



Scoring some goods but not what we were looking for.



Wondering how long it takes tho mess hall pukes to puree canned turkey and crackers.



Getting some sage advice from a decorated veteran.



My squad.



There were unfriendlies everywhere and they held the high ground.



This soldier runs with scissors. Cruising in his APC sans protective body armor.



Targets located.



Misuse of equipment. That is not a Mandible Manipulation Unit son!



Mission accomplished. Headed back to base.

My promise to you...not a NaBlaPoMo thing.

I, nodnarB!, do solemnly swear to post more frequently. I commit to finishing at least half of the 33 partially composed posts that sit on my dash board. I will not use Twitter or Facebook status updates to take the place of actual creative output. I will do unto others as I like...strike that. And I will be a better citizen.

Baby 's with a palate

My wife thinks that I am ruining the babies for normal food. But try and keep our two little 9 month old infant hoovers away from what ever we are putting in our mouth is like keeping a junkie out of a methadone clinic after getting cash for his plasma. So they have taste for real slow cooked oats with brown sugar or molasses as I like to use on occasion, or some yummy saffron risotto with a small little bite of braised short ribs with a little pan jus. They may not yet be discerning but they are surely hungry.

I flash back to a restaurant I worked in back in Austin ironically named Ella's. There was a family that would come in with their 9 and 13 year old daughters. They usually ordered the escargot or carpaccio appetizer, a filet medium rare and some sort of fish, and a bottle of Cain Five Cab blend. I remember them well because the daughters ate it all. Blood red meat, foie gras, snails, spinach, mahi, lobster, and they even sipped the wine. I used to comment that it would be quite a surprise to the first guy that took them out on a date and pulled up to Chili's only to be laughed at or quickly redirected to a Michelin rated eatery. Or the dad would at the least make reservations for the couple and slip him a couple of "hundies" if he liked the kid.

So now I could quite possibly be setting the stage for a similar situation. The big kiddos are simple in theirs dietary needs. Wendy's is their favorite treat. Their lunches have barely changed in 5 years. Will the next two be the same. We will find out. But if I am left arguing with 6 year olds over Haute French or Norther Italian for dinner or the merits of a sippy cup vs. balloon stemware to let a Cote-du-Rhone breath better, I have only have myself to blame.

Need proof that food is a priority. This is the what he spent 10 minutes in front of waiting for it to open.