Great Link

Thanksgiving's coming. Are you hosting the black sheep liberals? Or are you wondering what your conservative cousins eat?
Check here for Hunch's survey of food preferences by political leaning!

MPM--The Calm Before the Storm

Happy November! I have to say that to remind myself that the holidays are around the corner as the weather is playing April Fool's--seventy degrees and finally finally hallelujah NOT RAINING so I spent less time planning and more time playing. Here we go:

First, I made basil dip and artichoke dip and a veggie tray for the party. I also sent over all my Trader Joe's appetizers from the freezer and woohoo, only three boxes came back. And now I know which ones I love and will buy again (for a specific occasion only, thankyouverymuch, I have learned my lesson well). It was a lovely evening and enjoyed by all!

Second, the braised ribs? Best thing I made all year. Do not miss out on this.

Third: This week. Oh, yeah, back to reality.

Monday: leftover party food--little quiche appetizers, chicken roll ups, crudite and dips

Tuesday: Dinner a'Fare freezer meal (pork something), rice, last of the CSA beets

Wednesday: Wednesday Spaghetti!

Thursday: Dinner A'Fare freezer meal (notice a theme? beef something), mashed potatoes (D A'F again), salad

Friday: What? No football game? Back to our favorite pizza joint. My little guy will be so pleased. Frankly, so will I, as our boys lost all interest in making their own pizzas last week when they learned I would not be spinning the dough around and throwing it in the air, and the homebaked version just was nowhere near as yummy as at least three local places could do. Cheaper, yes. But meh. I'd rather have an Amy's mushroom and olive after all that, and no flour on my counters with that.

Have a great week, and don't forget to check out OrgJunkie for more menus!

Raising Foodies: And Finally, Some Success

Oh my goodness. Oh my goodness. Oh--you would not believe how good my house smells right now.

I did so much wrong on this recipe and it's still one of the best things I've made in a while.

Today was finally the day for the braised short ribs. After I bought them at Trader Joe's I realized the recipe was really for bone-in, not boneless. The sell-by date came and went before I got my act together. The "fine chopping" was more than I could bear so I all but pureed the mirepoix before it went in. I didn't leave enough time for the ribs to brown properly and I'm scared of that much spattering in any container on my stove. And I was despairing as the time for preparation ticked on through a lovely, surprise 70-degree November day when clearly this is a sub-40 meal.

And it is glorious. I mean, it's not even done and this is SO GOOD I can't help raving about it. I was excited to use some of my herbes de Provence, which are taking space on my shelf and are not a favorite. I was hoping for two nights of meals from this. I am in an eternal search for layered flavors from my own kitchen. And wow, does this ever deliver. This is a serve-over-mashed-potatoes-AND-with-crusty-bread situation.

All that time I spent pulling it together, thinking to myself, accept it: you are not like those moms in the blogs who can just whip this stuff up: I don't know whether it doesn't take them as long or not. But I do know this is worth hunting down the short ribs for. It is a delight. Even with all the mistakes. It lasted us three days; the boys ate the meat and one ate the carrots (FTW!) and my husband, who is unfailingly polite and kind to my efforts, truly, truly raved. We have a new family favorite, all.

DO make the braised short ribs recipe. The mashed potatoes were fine, and I liked the creme fraiche version better this time in this combination. I won't lie: this is not a quick dish, and there is oil-spatter a-go-go to clean up. And it is all 100% worth it.

MPM--Like Septa...Or Not

Happy week, all!

For those of you who don't follow national transportation news, last week shortly after I wrote my post title, Septa (our local transit company) went on strike. Almost a million commuters were out of luck.

And so it went with our meal plan. Oh, I kid, I kid. Kinda.

One experiment: vegan African Peanut-Pineapple Stew with Kale. It gets tremendous points for ease, vegan-ness, for having the ingredients in the house (why I had 20 oz of crushed pineapple, I have no idea), and adventurousness. And in general, I have enjoyed African food. This was not a winner, though; try as I might, I am not a kale convert. Too much work for a taste I'm not crazy about, though I do keep trying. They did not say to serve with or over rice or millet, but I would do that next time. And there might be a next time, when our vegan friends roll in to town. But this is not the kind of thing that will convert anyone to give up meat.

A more successful vegan effort was the 101 Cookbooks Cashew Curry recipe. Not being a fan of tofu, I left that out and added more cashews (yum) and also was a little light on cauliflower as I had thought I'd make this a while ago and, well, I didn't. But it was super-easy, delicious, and again, I love cleaning up afterwards without feeling like I'm dealing with toxic waste. My kids? Of course, would not touch it. But my husband thought it was great and tasted like a side dish that could have come from takeout. Nice! (And, as a double bonus, it used a can of coconut milk and a bag of cashews that have been hanging around.)

Another experiment was a two-part dinner on a rough night at home. One son had a swim lesson, which was a huge session for a six year old. I ran them home and baked an easy chicken for them, with a "recipe" from a friend--also a mom. Mix mustard and mayo; dredge chicken breasts; coat in bread crumbs (I used Italian but any would be good); bake at 375 for 30-40 minutes. The boys gobbled that down with carrot sticks on the side. I then rotated them upstairs for bed and came down to start dinner #2: the cashew chicken recommended by The Bitten Word, originally from Everyday Food. It was the closest I've come to capturing the flavor of (good) takeout and while it felt like a lot of oil, I could tell in the end it was less than I'm used to in cashew chicken. And in a nod to my changing taste buds, I think I would try for less chicken, more ginger, and more cashews next time. I think I would also add celery (sacrilege!) or something else to up the crunch factor a bit. But I did really like the flavor. However, this was not a family friendly meal. Too much chopping, too much raw chicken, too much minding at the stove. (Does anyone's chicken really cook all the way through in just five minutes? Am I too paranoid?)

This week, I caved. I went to one of those pre-made meal places and splurged away. Can't wait to have this many nights of easy dinners! I have not been following my menus--too tired, too harried (the kids gave up naps so my prep time is gone)...I replaced two of last week's nights when one son asked for turkey. So rather than knock myself out on Yet Another Thing My Kids Don't Like, I roasted up a breast and they ate complaint-free for two days. Heaven.

This week:

Monday: finally, really, the braised short ribs and mashed potatoes. I'll probably do the creme fraiche ones again, because I have the creme fraiche leftover in the fridge, but next time, I'll stick with sour cream--just as yummy and way cheaper. The search for amazing mashed potatoes continues...I may have to break down and get a ricer but I'm really trying to move stuff out of my kitchen, not in.

Tuesday: Leftovers. Some hot dogs to finish up, bits here and there of turkey breast, cashew curry, African pineapple peanut stew. Will augment with freezer food (chicken nuggets, etc.).

Wednesday: Leftover ribs and mashed potatoes, or defrost something from Dinner A'Fare. I'm most interested in their pork chops, so that'll probably be it.

Thursday: If I have leftovers Wednesday, it'll be the pork chops and the cheddar broccoli side dish. If not, I will defrost the pizza dough in the freezer and we'll do a homemade pizza.

Friday: well, at least two of our nephews' teams made the playoffs! And even better, they are playing each other tonight, so we are all over that game in the Cousin Bowl B 2009. One cousin in each band, and one on a football team=a family affair at the ball field. Yay!

Saturday should be fun: a girls-only 50th birthday party for my sister-in-law! (Or, as she likes to say, the 12th anniversary of her 38th.) It's all cocktails and finger food. Another of my ultra-clever sisters-in-law is bringing Cocktails of the Ages (1959 (Manhattan) 1969 (whiskey sour) 1979 (vodka martini) 1989 (pina colada) 1999 (cosmopolitan)) I have some ideas (Pioneer Woman's bacon bundles, anyone?) to say nothing of the huge stacks of Trader Joe's irresistible frozen appetizers in my freezer, that seem like they'd be great for any occasion but end up at none. But ideas for easily transported, yummy appetizers would be appreciated!

Have a great week, everyone. For great dinner ideas, go see I'm an Organizing Junkie!

MPM--Like Septa...We're Getting There

Happy November! Here we are at the start of a new month. It's the end of the CSA boxes (just as well as they are chock full of things my family won't touch) and the start of cold weather foods. Our week of crazy is over...but that just means another begins! So here we are, plans ahoy...

Monday: leftover pork roast, creme fraiche mashed potatoes, zucchini with almonds

Tuesday: those braised ribs (finally found zinfandel, which was harder than I thought it would be), potatoes, string bean salad

Wednesday: cauliflower curry, rice, something else from the CSA

Thursday: if I'm up to it, the Smitten Kitchen chicken meatballs, Dr. Praeger's spinach patties, salad, some other freezer-emptying veggie

Friday: last football game of the season

Here's hoping all's well in your November neck of the woods.

MPM--Happy Halloween!

That title may be the scariest thing I type all week--Halloween? And my older guy is still changing his costume decision every ten minutes? I am not a handy-make-up-a-last-minute-costume kind of girl. He really wants to be Anyone Who Is Allowed to Carry a Light Saber. Or Any Superhero With A Weapon. Of course, I can rely on my school district to be the bad guy here and remind him that Weapons Of Any Kind, Even Light Sabers, Are Not Allowed. I wouldn't let him either, but he's so jazzed about the Halloween parade that I figure I might as well use it to back me up. Fortunately my younger son is easy: he decided weeks ago what he wanted to be: a ghost. Then we saw the adorable "ride the dinosaur" costume at T*arget and he changed his mind. Now he is going to be a ghost riding a dinosaur. O-kay then. One down...one to go.

I discovered a fun blog this week: The Bitten Word. I'm late to the party, it seems, but I admire them for doing what I should be doing--going through all their collected food magazines and actually making the things in them! I love that they are honest about how long things took, shortcuts they used, and how good it was (or wasn't). I'm using a couple of their recipes this week to see if we look at cooking the same way.

Finally, I really fell off the Raising Foodies wagon the last two weeks. I'm trying to climb back on this week. We had some great recipes last week but due to one thing and another (including the absolute final death of my car, which is making me so sad and so mad about needing to spend all that money again when the other one was paid off!) I fell back on our usual tacos instead of the stuffed eggplant. I did make the autumn crockpot casserole and it was pretty good. I tried using brown rice as the base (hey, now it's out of our freezer!) and went with maple-apple sausages, thinking about the apples in the recipe, and I think it was a little too sweet. And I don't know who I thought I was kidding with the brown rice--no one else in my family enjoys it, so how were they supposed to like it as the base of a meal?! So I'll give it another shake with white rice, and, at my husband's suggestion, something like kielbasa for the sausage. And--even though it was fully cooked, I would still pan-fry the sausage next time. Just warming it seemed skeevy, even though mentally I knew it would be ok to eat.

On the good side, we were blessed by a visit from The Best Babysitter Ever, who is so much more to us than that! We mostly hung out, and she helped with my two culinary successes of the week: applesauce in the crock pot, and the Smitten Kitchen napa cabbage salad. That was my best save of the week; in a week with failed apple cake and a batch of steel-cut oats that would have taken us a month to finish, I was deflated to discover that by the time I remembered to buy buttermilk, my cabbage was wilted. So I soaked it overnight in a bowl of cold water and--wow--it actually worked and the cabbage was revived.

Monday: JV football game if the weather holds out. Making braised short ribs with green beans and hazelnuts on the side.

Tuesday: I'm working, so easy dinner for boys: spaghetti and Trader Joe's turkey meatballs, salad

Wednesday: chicken nuggets for boys, cashew chicken for grownups; rice for both

Thursday: leftovers, or freezer meals if there aren't enough. (Unlikely, but possible.) Possible, but improbable: Paula Deen's chicken pot pie, care of Kelly's blog. I am working down a massive box of Bisqu*ick and besides waffles, which is what I purchased it for, this is something else I can do with it.

Friday: we are out at a wedding (yes, Mischief Night, and it should be something to behold--how many wedding registries do you know that included a skull shaped cookie jar?)...I'll leave money for the sitter to order pizza for the kids

Saturday: Happy Halloween--we are having the grandparents come distribute candy while we take the boys around, so I'm making my favorite crockpot pork roast, almond-turmeric potatoes from the Splendid Table's How to Cook Supper if I have time, mashed potatoes if I don't; roasted beets; creamed onions (from the freezer--they are my father in law's favorite).

And on to November! Have a good week, and for more inspired meal plans, go visit I'm An Organizing Junkie!

MPM--SomeTinga Went Wrong

Happy Sunday, all!

Ah, the best laid plans and menus weren't quite working for me this week. We finally tried the tinga! It smelled amazing, and we could not wait to try it. And when we opened the lid, and spooned out our first bit...the tomatoes (Wh*le F**ds 365 Diced) tasted so metallic, it overwhelmed the rest of it completely. I was so disappointed! The smell of it cooking was amazing. Fortunately i had the backup regular tacos for my son's birthday, so I just stretched those out for all of us instead. But what a bummer! We will try again, though. And I'm not sure it has to be pork shoulder, either, which will make life easier.

This week, I'm trying again with some things I didn't get to the last times and one new recipe. I lucked in to a ton of eggplants from the CSA, so I'm looking for ways to use them--yum. I think baba ghanoush is on the menu too...

Monday: Mediterranean-Style Beef-Stuffed Eggplant from Two Fat Als' new cookbook with the leftovers from birthday party #2 for the boy--spaghetti and meatballs, at his request...and of which he ... ate ... nothing. And I earned mother-of-the-year points by not yelling at him once. His birthday, his choice. I'm sure he found enough crackers or pretzels so he didn't go to bed hungry. But I digress.

Tuesday: Trying again to make the autumn casserole since the crockpot is out anyway. It's already endeared itself to me by not having any ingredients that went bad when my last week when this was planned fell apart unexpectedly.

Wednesday: Leftovers, plus some veggie dishes I'm making for myself for lunches: Smitten Kitchen's napa cabbage salad to use the yummy radishes from the CSA (and have you seen the supercute baby of hers?), and 101 Cookbooks' summer green bean salad (minus the "salad" part).

Thursday: either more leftovers (possible, given my inability to estimate quantities well), or a curry dish. Could be Frugal Foodies' Curried Tilapia and Sweet Potato Stew, since I have lots of delightful little sweet potatoes hanging around...or the curried chick peas...or a cashew curry from 101 Cookbooks...we'll see. I don't want to overplan.

Friday: Football game (I know...predictable!).

And all this around the baseball playoffs...here's hoping our Phils pull it out! Go see I'm an Organizing Junkiefor more inspirational menus!