5:01 Dinner Club

My helpers!

One of our greatest culinary traditions as a family is pancakes (or waffles) and bacon.  At least once a week, we race to the kitchen in the morning and we all take part in cracking eggs, stirring and getting all of the food ready.  And let me tell you, I have over the years perfected my pancake batter recipe and I can make some kick A** Pancakes/Waffles (even better waffles now thanks to Pops & Goose)!

  So last night as we were winding down for bed, we saw that a Bobby Flay’s  “Throw Down” episode was coming on where the featured dish in the competition  was blueberry pancakes so, of course,  we had to watch.  And this morning when we got up, there was no question about what we were going to have for breakfast:  Pancakes (blueberry for me)!  Watch out Bobby Flay!

 We raced downstairs like we always do and began to assemble the ingredients.  I turned on some music, turned on the oven (for the bacon) and started mixing.  Then the most amazing thing happened.  I looked around at everyone taking part in the process.  Owen hovering over the flour insisting that he be allowed to crack eggs (I don’t think so!), Chloe helping to set the bar (we never sit at the table) and Glenn leaning on the bar drinking coffee.  And it hit me that I sooooo hope that my kids remember this.  Everyday every parent has an opportunity to create good memories for their kids-something that they will describe to others as they get older as a favorite part of their childhood.  Now, just in case my kids don’t remember, I have documented the experience-for me and the kids!  So I ask, what do you want your kids to remember?  And what are you doing to make sure that they do?

I need this in my head!

For the first time in almost a year, I have had my first bout  of “bloggers block”.  Usually, I am jotting ideas and recipes on tiny pieces of an envelope off of the corner of a piece of junk mail just to make sure I get the outline of my next set of posts documented before the thought leaves me-  And my mind is such that if the thought leaves, it may never return.   And usually, I am sneaking around as I try o squeeze a few moments out of a day to try out a new recipe and take photos…  But for the past week and a half, I have just not been feeling it-  I think it must have something to do with being busy with work again.  And this is a good thing-work that is.  So bear with me as I work on getting my creative juices flowing again. 

I have got 3 recipes in my head and I will post as soon as I test and photograph:

• Super Fast:   Angel Hair Pasta With Pan Roasted Asparagus, Tomato and Onion Sauce & Goat Cheese (20 minutes)
• Super Cheap:  BBQ Chicken Over Spicy Black Beans & Yellow Rice With Fresh Cilantro
• Super Fast & Cheap:  A Pizza Bar!

In the meantime, here’s an ultra quick appetizer suggestion that my husband & I just love:

•  Buy a cute jar (If you can’t find a cute jar just put the preserves in a cute little serving dish with a little spoon) of fig preserves, open the jar and stick a little spoon in the jar.
• Buy a block of bleu cheese, unwrap and put on a serving dish with a cheese knife.
• Serve these sweet & savory partners with crackers and on each cracker, get a little fig preserve and a little cheese.

 It’s a sophisticated solution to the need for a quickie appetizer and it is so delicious!

Me In My Favorite Place!

Speed 1: It’s been a horrible day and I am running behind on everything speed!:  5 minutes prep time-30 minutes bake- You want to eat at home and you want hot food but you are not into cooking.  So buy a bag of frozen stuffed shells (or ravioli if you can’t find shells), dump them in a greased 2 qt casserole dish, top them with a jar of marinara and a little shredded mozzarella and bake at 375 degrees for 30-40 minutes and serve!  Easy-

Speed 2:  It’s been a decent day-you just don’t have tons of time to cook speed:  20 minutes prep time-25 minutes bake- Follow my recipe below but use a jar of sauce instead of making home made.

Speed 3:  I am so into the food tonight, I cannot wait to melt into to the kitchen with a glass of red wine and some music to put together a home-made Italian masterpiece speed (My FAVORITE Speed!):  35 minutes prep time-25 minutes bake-  See below!!!!

 This recipe starts with my spicy home roasted marinara.  It’s so easy to make-just chop, roast and puree.  And the return in fresh, home-made flavor is definitely worth the effort.   The filling takes about 6 minutes to mix up and once you get this meal in the oven (40ish minutes prep time with homemade marinara-20 minutes if you use marinara from a jar) you have time to clean up or just chill with a glass of wine while you let the scent of a wonderful dinner infuse your home!  I (especially) like this for the 5:01 Dinner Club because it’s everything you need for dinner in one dish (protein, carbs & a veggie)- And if you are someone trying to steer clear of carbs-take this stuffing and fill hollowed out zucchini, mushrooms, eggplant, yellow squash, or bell peppers and it will be delish!  Oh and it is absolutely better the day after it’s made so love the leftovers!

Stuffed Shells At Any Speed Are So Good!

Serves 4-6

The Sauce!

• 10 Roma tomatoes, quartered
• 1 Sweet onion, chopped into 1” chunks
• 6 Large cloves of garlic, peeled
• 1 C Fresh basil or oregano, packed
• 2 Tsp Sugar
• Salt to taste
• Red chili pepper flakes to taste
• 3 Tbs Olive oil

1.  Preheat oven to 425 degrees
2. In a large bowl, mix all ingredients
3. Arrange tomato mixture in an even layer on a jelly roll pan
4. Roast vegetables for 30 minutes, remove from oven
5. After letting vegetables cool for a couple of minutes, place them in a food processor
6. Puree mixture until smooth, taste, and add salt/pepper if needed

 The Rest:

•  1 -32oz Container ricotta cheese
• 2 Eggs
• 2 10oz Package frozen chopped spinach, thawed & drained
• 3 Tbs Fresh (1 Tbs dried) Italian herbs like oregano, basil, etc, chopped
• ½ C Parmesan cheese, grated
• Salt & pepper to taste (not much salt because you have already added parmesan)
• 1 Box Large Pasta Shells, cooked according to package directions & drained
• ½ C Mozzarella cheese, shredded
• Garnish with fresh chopped basil if you want!

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. In a large mixing bowl, mix 1^st 6 ingredients, mix well
3. Place cheese & spinach mixture in a large plastic baggie and snip a corner (about an inch) so that you can squeeze the filling into the shells
4. Hold each shell in one hand and squeeze filling into each shell-then place each shell into a greased baking dish (9″ x 11”) that has just a little sauce spread across the bottom
5. Fill the baking dish with the shells, cover with the sauce and sprinkle with the mozzarella cheese
6. Bake for 26 minutes-Until heated though

Cottage Pie

 In my quest to come up with different things to do with ground beef (save $!), I learned something new! Sheppard’s pie is not actually made with beef. It is made with lamb . “Cottage Pie” is made with beef so we are kickin’ it old English style with a very easy, very comforting Cottage Pie recipe-which makes sense right? You can just see yourself in some cozy cottage by a fire with this dinner-and of course- a big glass of red wine!  We’ve been living in super freezing temps in Atlanta over the past couple of days so we’ve earned this luxury!  And a topping that is just the definition of comfort food-mashed potatoes done right! So enjoy this one and get cozy tonight!
Serves 4 in about 30 minutes for about $2.50/person 

• 1 ½ Lbs. Potatoes (about 3 large potatoes), cubed into ½” cubes & boiled in salted waiter until tender & drained
• 2 Tbs. Margarine
• ¼ C Sour cream
  ¼ C Milk
• Salt & pepper
• 2 Tbs. Canola oil (Olive oil will work as well)
• 1 Medium Onion, Chopped
• 1 C Carrots, chopped into ½’ chunks
• 1 ½ Lb. Lean ground beef
• 2 Tbs. fresh or 2 Tsp. dried herbs like thyme, rosemary, parsley, oregano…
• 3 Tbs. Flour        
• 2 C Beef broth
• ½ Can tomato paste
• 1 Can Peas, drained
• ¼ C Green onions chopped (optional)
• ¼ C Cheddar cheese, shredded

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees
2. Add margarine and next 2 ingredients to potatoes and salt & pepper to taste
3. Using an electric mixer, hand masher, potato ricer or fork mash potatoes until fluffy & smooth
4. Heat oil over medium high heat in a large sauté pan
5. Add onion, carrot & herbs to mixture and sauté 5 minutes
6. Add ground beef to onion mixture and cook until done, reduce heat
7. Add flour to mixture and stir well
8. Now add beef broth and tomato paste to mixture, turn heat back up and continue to stir until thickened
9. Add peas and season with salt & pepper to taste
10. Spread beef mixture into a greased 2 quart casserole dish
11. Spread potatoes on top, and sprinkle with cheddar cheese and green onions
12. Bake for 15 minutes

A hearty one dish meal that will make any night special!

Hold the chips-this is a turkey sandwich that satisfies!

• Bread (2 slices per sandwich)
• Chipotle Mayo (store bought or mix 1 minced chipotle with 3 tbs mayo)
• Sliced Smoked Turkey
• 1 ½ Slices crispy bacon (per sandwich)
• Slice of cheese-your choice-I like american, cheddar, jack, manchego
• Fresh guacamole (or store bought) –recipe in earlier post

1.  Spread chipotle mayo on 1 slice of bread
2. Add as much turkey as you want
3. Top with 1 ½ slices bacon
4. Top with 1 slice of cheese
5. Place both loaded up ½ of sandwich and plain piece of bread in toaster/oven and toast until cheese in melted and bread is toasted
6. Remove sandwich, put as much guac as you want on the the toast ½ of the sandwich, put the 2 halves together and make a whole-EAT!

Seared Tuna With Asian Slaw

 I don’t know where you are but where I am-Atlanta, GA- it’s unseasonably cold right now.  And this weather has me dreaming of a nice light meal beachside.  So close your eyes and imagine you are at a Spa in Miami because with  3 core ingredients this meal takes very little effort, very little time and it is very light!  BTW- I used frozen tuna from Publix to make this as real world as possible and it was good!  After all, not everyone can go to a fancy gourmet market and get sashimi grade tuna. . .

 Serves 4 in about 10 minutes!

• 4 4-6 oz Tuna Steaks, if frozen-thaw overnight in fridge
• 2 Tbs Olive oil
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• 2 Heads Napa cabbage, shredded thin
• ¼ Sesame-ginger marinade or salad dressing
• Chopped green onions to garnish-optional

1.  Heat a cast iron skillet, non stick skillet, or grill pan over HIGH heat
2. Rub tuna steaks with olive oil and season with salt & pepper
3. Sear tuna over very high heat for just a couple of minutes on each side (for rare-medium rare)
4. Remove tuna steaks from heat and slice steaks
5. Serve over Napa cabbage, drizzle with sesame-ginger dressing and garnish with green onions

Me In My Favorite Place!

I have been thinking about this blog post for over a week and I am not sure I can say what it is that I want to say without being wordy but I am going to try.  I have realized over the past couple of years that adult life can be a little challenging-kids, work (or lack of), money (or lack of), marriage, family… can all introduce stress.  Managing adult life is work and it can be exhausting and draining and all of this work, I believe, can sometimes leave one feeling dulled & lifeless-like you just go through the motions looking forward only to the moment at which your head hits the pillow. 

Sooo-I have begun, in my life, to look for and relish opportunities to “season my life”-that is to make sure that we are weaving fun activities (from hiking and low key trips to the neighborhood pool to traveling to France to see the start of the “Tour”) into our routine.  And this past year was my spiciest yet!  My getting laid off allowed us to travel like never before (every member of my family got to meet a personal hero-see pics below)-allowed me to become a (mini) entrepreneur, and allowed me to start a blog (one of my favorite things in the world!)-  And though I really, really look forward to being a fulltime employee again soon, I end this year a content individual who has had great year packed  with amazing memories.  It is my wish for you that, when life becomes overwhelming and routine, you force yourself to break up the everyday activities with something fun (with your spouse, partner, family and by yourself).  Because if you season your life with loving relationships, a sense of humor, and an adventurous spirit-you will never go hungry!   Happy New Year and best wishes for a spicy 2010!

Me & Iron Chef Michael Symon

Glenn & Cycling Legend Levi Leipheimer

Cindarella

Thomas The Train!

1. Continue to pour content into my blog (at least 2 posts per week)
2. Master pastry, custards, and sauces!
3. Meet at least 2 new well known, well respected chefs/cooks- And learn something from them!
4. Design, Produce and SELL a new series of “Plate & Palette” recipe note cards
5. Take at least 4 cooking classes
6. Host the 1^st 5:01 Dinner Club dinner party (recipes/demos, dinner & cocktails)
7. Interview at least 1 well known Atlanta based chef (for insight on cooking & getting dinner on the table quickly)
8. Come up with new ways to make healthy food exciting! (I have to have one traditional-ish resolution.)
9. Take at least 1 Culinary Destination Vacation (Cooking class in Aspen, Miami, France, Italy, Napa. . .)-Okay that’s more of a dream than a resolution- 
10. Finish compiling recipes for a real 5:01 cookbook-ebook or print