No, I’m not a Food Network shill, I just happen to like Dinner at Tiffani’s because she seems real and actually has a family and friends! And she’s not on a clock cooking for judges and sabotaging competitors.
Actually any mom/cook working for their family or creating a dinner party is on the clock and has judges. Once when we kids were young we rated Mom’s dishes. BIG mistake. She was devastated by Dad’s comments, probably ours as well.
All I want to do is make the best dish I can and not get stuck in a rut of meatloaf night, pizza night (of course I make my pizza from scratch with Italian OO flour).
The sun came up before six this morning and I had to get up, put down the shades and take out the dog. Instead of looking at the debacle in Baltimore I turned to Dinner at Tiffani’s. She made peas, and also a roast reminiscent of one of my mother’s.
We always had frozen peas, unadorned. Tiffani’s peas with parmesan looked delicious. As a kid we had a “pea count.” Everyone guessed the number of peas on the pea-hater’s plate and then the pea-hater counted every one while eating all of them. The winner didn’t have to do dishes. Everyone got dessert and the pea-hater ate the peas.
My sister had surgery once and was advised to reduce the swelling by placing a bag of frozen peas on her face. She cannot eat frozen peas to this day.
For the roast, I don’t always do tri-tip, I must admit I do look for what’s on sale at a very pricey market. I use a packet of beefy onion soup mix and a can of crushed tomatoes, cover and cook for several hours, until the beef falls apart with a fork. Oh, how my husband loves that roast again in a sandwich the next day! It’s such a cheat but if he loves my pot roast, and ten-minute lasagne (on the site) so much the better.
The carrots were interesting with honey, soy and sesame. I’ve multi-colored heirloom carrots in the frig and my husband likes them raw. I scrub them and roast them whole in a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper, and thyme for about 45 minutes, turning every 15 minutes, until tender. They’re delicious. Yellow, orange, red, purple, they’re excitement on a platter. Every taste is there.
I always like to thank people for inspiration to try new things. My problem is that my husband is deathly allergic to anything that swims, and that may even include amphibians. More culinarily challenging things were done in the past like a side of salmon with scallop mousse and “scales” of half-zucchini rounds. Of course with fried parsley garnish. That was in French cooking school days.
Now I’d like to try a leg of lamb, after many years, and I would bone and butterfly and marinate and grill it a la Jacques Pepin. I’d love to try that for my husband’s family but as cattle ranchers they eschew lamb. Sorry Chef Pepin, I now have my own marinade and cooking system. I think you tried to make it foolproof for mothers. We only have a dog and I don’t cook for her, only for us.
Also I’d like to envision a new/old cassoulet for my father. I’ve seven recipes to sift through, all from the masters, and know when I made it for him years ago he said it was the best food he’d ever eaten. Chef Pepin, do you have another recipe?
Much to do, so little time….. Thanks for yours today. Cheers! Dee
Cooking with Dee 