Day: April 27, 2011

Sunday Night Dinner: April 17, 2011: Stephanie- pepita’s, mashers, cumin corn & couch

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Tonight we had pepita crusted marinated tofu, spicy jack mashers, cumin roasted corn, celery, snap peas, white wine (of course), water, diet coke!

Check out the pepita’s frying up in the pan…

They’re raw pumpkin seeds and oh my goodness are they good all fried up. Holy-freaking-tofu.

We had a little event on Saturday, so needless to say we were both a little tired this Sunday. After practicing my ukulele and having an ice cream happy hour, we decided to eat dinner late and watch the new Upstairs Downstairs on PBS.

Fascism was discussed, but mostly we watched and nibbled…ah, public television and tofu are pretty darn good together. I think a lot of people already know that.

Recipe for Pepita Crusted Tofu:

You can choose to marinate your tofu if you like. I thaw mine then let it marinate in a 2 cups of vegetable stock, 1 table spoon of nutritional yeast, 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, 1 teaspoon of garlic powder, 1 teaspoon of onion power and salt and pepper. Make sure to slice the tofu into slabs (inch thick) before marinating.

Ingredients

  • 1 block of tofu – preferably frozen and thawed
  • 1/2 teaspoons freshly cracked black pepper
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic salt
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 eggs, lightly beaten
  • 1 cup pepitas
  • 1/4 cup canola oil

Directions

Slice the tofu into inch thick slabs. In a shallow dish, combine the flour and the remaining salt and pepper. In a second shallow dish add the eggs. Add the pepitas to a third shallow dish. Roll a tofu fillet in the flour, shaking off the excess. Dip just 1 side of the fillet in the beaten eggs, then into the pepitas, pressing gently for even coverage.

Set on a plate, seed side up, and repeat with remaining tofu. Cover loosely and refrigerate for 15 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.

Heat a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and add the oil. When the oil is hot add the tofu, pepita side down, and cook until golden, about 1-2 minutes. Flip over, then fry up the other side until golden!

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Sunday Night Dinner: April 17, 2011 – Art and a grilling extravaganza

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Sunday Dinner

April 17, 2011

Another grilling extravaganza with dry rub pork ribs from a renowned restaurant in Dexter MO, called the Hickory Log.  The sauce is typical for the South with more vinegar and less sweetness.  Since Becky is not a real pork rib fan, I added grilled chicken legs that have been marinated in a sweet Italian dressing.




The macaroni salad is one of my old recipes that includes chopped veggies of your choice, mayo and graded parm with garlic salt, paprika and white pepper.

We were surprised that the sweet corn was so good for this early in the season, but you take Gods little gifts as you find them.

The fruit salad came from Price Chopper, just up the road.  It was left over from the Blessing Ceremony for our new Springfield House that was conducted on Saturday by our good friend and Episcopal Priest, Carol Sanford.  As always, Grady, her husband was along for logistical support.  The sweetness of the fruit was a nice contrast to the vinegar in the barbeque sauce and the Tennessee Best Old Fashion Pickled Green Tomatoes, which was a birthday gift from Lynley.  These days, Lynley seems to be taken with anything from Tennessee which brings Becky and I new persepctives.


Sunday Night Dinner: April 17, 2011- Lynley, a new born southerner

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a southern cultural experience aka lynley’s sunday night dinner

i was looking for happiness in a bowl and the last time i experienced that was eating shrimp and grits, so i decided that was what i was going to make for my sunday night dinner. little did i know i was about to embark on a cultural experience.  first came the purchasing of the shrimp.  i headed to the shrimp dock, a local fishery and seafood shop.  when i declared i needed a pound of shrimp i was asked, kind, size, etc. my blank stare and my thoughts of “there is more than just cocktail shrimp?” was quickly followed by “whatca makin?”  when i said shrimp and grits they automatically pulled my shrimp that range in the 14-15 size.  alas they were not peeled and deveined!!  i’ve never peeled and deveined shrimp before.  peeling not so bad, deveining was like pulling out thread. i’m sure i totally butchered them but i felt i did well.  then i discovered a whole world of grits.  i’m used to the midwest grocery store they have 5 minute grits and slow cooking grits.  in the south the grits section is larger than the oatmeal section.  did you know that you can buy little individual packets of quick grits, like instant oatmeal?  and they come in flavors, including ham and cheese, brown sugar and sausage gravy!  after all these new experiences the end result was contentment in a bowl.

i have conquered the art of frying bacon in a  cast-iron skillet

best part about having cornbread with a meal is getting

to eat the leftovers for breakfast, corn bread milk and honey, nom.

3 Sunday Night Dinners (April 10, 2011): naan, souffle, pork chop

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Lynley’s Sunday Night Dinner (April 10, 2011): Curried tofu with naan and mango chutney

to kick off the spring weather i decided curry was in order and what is best with curry….naan

i’ve never made naan but i thought i could handle it to help provide good mojo for this new cooking experience i listened to the darjeeling limited sound track the actual making of the dough was quiet easy

the tricky part came when heating the bread in the oven and then immediately grilling it my little 4 burner stove was put to the test oven going, naan grilling, tofu frying, rice steaming and curry sauce simmering but it was worth it

the mango chutney (bought at work) provided a sweet spicy taste with the creamy richness of the curry and you know there always has to be wine!

 to finish the meal a red velvet cupcake yum

Stephanie’s Sunday Night Dinner (April 10, 2011): Linda McCartney’s Romantic Dinner for Two

Cauliflower Souffle, Potato Rosti, Caesar Salad, White Wine (of course), Diet Coke, Water, and Homemade Bread

This was my first time making a souffle, so although I trust Linda, I studied up on my Julia before I whipped up my egg whites by hand! The souffle did not rise as high as I hoped, but I did cut the recipe in half (per Linda’s “romantic dinner” directions).

Dinner’s ready!

I decided to sprinkle fresh parmesan cheese on top of the souffle. The cheese gave it a nice crisp top which went well with the soft creamy inside. The cauliflower was really good! It had green onion mixed in and a pinch of nutmeg.

This was my first time making potato rosti. They were kind of like hash browns, but I had to work up a lot of trust  not to lift the lid on the pan. I kept imagining my potatoes burning away, but no, they turned out much like the souffle- a good combo of soft and crispy. I love how the made little nests…yeah, that one looks a little burned, but really they were daaaark brown.

We sat with the deck door open and enjoyed the nice spring air. We talked about John’s cold, the weather,  if I would watch Masterpiece Theater (yes), and how the McCartney’s must have enjoyed this romantic meal if they put it in their cookbook. Our nightly pre-meal toast was to Linda.

And yes, it was a romantic egg-y/potato-y Sunday Dinner.

Art’s Sundy Night Dinner (April 10, 2011):


The Springfield Farris’s love outside grilling.  Pork, the other white meat, is one of Becky’s favorite, especially with a sweet barbeque sauce that includes the juice and zest from an orange.  The sweetness for the sauce is provided by maple syrup.  I have always found that  Maul’s regular sauce provides an excellent red base for most basting sauces.

This dinner had a special dish, broccoli casserole.  A recipe provided by my Great Aunt Ilda who was married to my special Great Uncle Walker.  There has long been a family suspicion that Great Uncle Walker was done in by Great Aunt Ilda, but nothing was every proven.

Eating, Cooking and Being a Family – long distance

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Our family loves to cook and eat, but it’s hard to gather round the table when you all live in different states.

Art (the dad), Steph (the big sis) and Lynley (the little sis)  are all cooking on-line and sharing recipes as the hearty eaters (inspired by Julia Child’s first cooking school and because we love a heaping  plate of tasty goodness). Other family members might join in – heck ya! Nothing’s better than a crowded kitchen!

We will be sharing our Sunday night dinners, sometimes cooking the same recipes, and experiencing each other’s food through pictures, video and recipes galore!

Pull-up a chair and join us! We know Julia would…