My Choice

The pungently aromatic bitter cherry goodness that is Campari. I am not sure when I first had one but I know it was a hot Texas summer day. I'll take it with soda and a lime on the rocks or in a Negroni. My affinity for bitter, sour, and salty puts this right up my alley. Now I need to figure out how to use it in cooking.

I have been asked for recipes before and while I will happily divulge to you every ingredient and technique used on thing I cannot do is tell you how much. Not that this is proprietary information or my way of keeping things to myself. I always have and always will cook by feel. With the exception making sure my 2:1 ratio of water and rice is right on, I never use measuring instruments. This is the reason I don't bake as well. Way to tedious.

Below is a snapshot of one of my menus with the "recipes." It is more a list of ingredients to keep my on track and keep me from accidentally omitting something in the event I have a couple of glasses of wine during preparation.

Supper Club Recap

Last night went pretty darn well if I do say so myself. The food came out great which was a relief after a disastrous trial run the night before. Chuck brought some great wines including on of my favorite new producers. If you can find their wines do partake.

The Ladies


The Gents


The Food




Kissing the cook is always appreciated, but spanking him. Now that's what I'm talking about!



The Menu



Achiote and Chilie Pasilla marinated chicken roulade with panchetta, sage, and Manchego cheese over horseradish and Bouchant mashers and an avacado cream sauce. Topped with a roasted corn and Jicama salsa.

Kitchen note:

Buy you Achiote already ground. Annatto seeds don't like to give it up. I'm just saying.

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!