Category Archives: Recipe Ideas

My husband set up this blog for me over Memorial Day weekend in 2008, while visiting his parents and having one heck of a BBQ at the homestead. We’re planning to do it all again this year.

We haven’t seen most of Jim’s family since we moved away over a year ago so it’ll be nice to go back for a few days and visit. We usually see Jim’s dad’s side of the family, but his mom’s side is coming up on Memorial Day so we look forward to that as well.

Last time we were together, Jim’s uncle towed up his custom smoking rig behind the pickup and made 13-hour briskets and probably five hour ribs. Don’t know what’s planned for this year but after talking to my mother-in-law for quite a while on the phone last night she seems to have a lot of cooking planned, for her as well as me!

I’m hoping Jim can spend some time with his dad, brother and grandmother. His mom and our nephew are coming out here the following week to visit. Maybe we’ll be able to take off the snow tires by then.

My tasks include spiced nuts to have on hand for guests, and probably several salads. I’m thinking fresh corn salad that I’ve been working on lately, perhaps an Italian white bean salad with red onions and sausage. We only have four full days and two are already booked solid so I don’t want to over-reach.

One good thing about having all the cookbooks I own (many) in storage is that I don’t rely on the old favorites and if I’ve an idea I look up http://www.epicurious.com or http://www.foodnetwork.com or check out chowhound and other sites. But I do think I’ll make up the spice mix for the spiced nuts and take it with me in a zip bag because I definitely have all the stuff I need right here and Jim’s mother doesn’t. But she’s growing a plethora of fresh herbs this year.

We have a dog-sitter, need a fish-sitter (one betta) and I’ll water the plants, pack and go. We travel so seldom now that it’s a chore. When we first married Jim could call and say “let’s go to XYZ” and I’d pack a bag and fifteen minutes later we were on the road. Now with 9/11 and TSA and dog et al, it’s more complicated. Oh well, it’ll be good to see family again and perhaps more guests will visit this summer to get some fresh, cool air. Cheers, Dee

A potential reader wants this information in the wilderness and where to find them is Whole Foods Market, otherwise look for Hunt’s in your local store. I only buy whole canned tomatoes, so I can do with them what I will.

I definitely agree that seasonal tomatoes of any variety are great, but in the middle of winter canned tomatoes rule and you may as well get the best. They are versatile for bruschetta toppings and sauces. Good luck in your cooking, please let us know what you made with your tomatoes! Cheers, Dee

Sorry vegans and vegetarians out there, there’s nothing like a great grilled NY sirloin. The Alexa line of frozen sweet potato fries (spicy with chipotles) is great and my husband loves a retro lettuce wedge with Thousand Island dressing on it, so there was not much work to dinner.

Other than that, we saw a very silly and crude movie today that happened to be playing just down the street. Haven’t been to a movie in a few months. Hot Tub Time Machine. I’d see John Cusack in anything because he’s a thinking person’s actor, but wasn’t in this. Anyway, it was a mini-vacation for 90 minutes with only two others in the theatre so it was OK then we had this great steak dinner…. Cheers! Dee

With our wildly fluctuating oven now being monitored by an oven thermometer, I’m making lazy chicken once again, at about 425 degrees (oven is set for 375).

Mom made this years ago and I believe it’s an old Romanian recipe that places chicken, onions, garlic, carrots, potatoes, chicken broth and white wine in a pot and cooks for an hour with a bit of olive oil and butter. Smells yummy right now. I have to check for done-ness in about ten minutes.

My brother, a naturally talented cook, asked what’s “lazy” about it. It has more than two ingredients, but everything is tossed together and cooks in the oven without any additional preparations or timing considerations. To be good, it should be browned (perhaps singed a bit) on top.

I can’t tell you how good it smells in here. Beats yesterday, when husband Jim took his car apart and put half of it in the living room in order to solder wire (yes, on my kitchen counter) to be able to listen to his music on an iPhone or iPod. There was a smoky smell in here from the solder, and chicken and veggies smell much better!

Hope you’re cooking up some good food tonight. Share a recipe with us! Cheers, Dee

Today I looked at the butchers’ counter and decided I wanted to try to re-create a recipe I cut out of a magazine while in college, a recipe for pasta with chicken and Italian sausage in a tomato sauce attributed to The Chairman of the Board (yes, Frank Sinatra).

I remember that the original recipe had at least a cup of olive oil in it, way too much. There’s a new butcher, who messed up my order last week and tried to charge me $25/lb. for chicken breasts. He caught his mistake and this time was able to correct it without assistance from a more senior butcher.

He must have found my ingredients strange, 1/2 lb chicken and 1/2 lb sausage, so I told him I’d let him know how it went. He asked what I was making:

Dee: Frank Sinatra’s chicken and sausage, from the 40’s. I don’t have the recipe.
Butcher: You can probably find it online.
Dee: I know the basics and will just work it out.
Butcher: Good luck with it.
Dee: I’ll just “Do It My Way.”
Butcher: “Oh, Elvis!”

Whereupon I had to ask an older butcher where he first heard “My Way,” and even he said Elvis. Please.

What has this world come to, readers, especially the musical ones? Come Fly With Me is my favorite mono album (from my folks) of all time. I bought the CD in the UK but ended up giving it as a parting gift to our favorite Italian restaurateur and former carabinieri in Glasgow at our going-away party.

I know Frank never wrote his own music, but with Tommy Dorsey teaching him vocal phrasing and Nelson Riddle doing his arrangements, he could have rapped his way through a song and people would’ve thought it was music.

So, it’s nearly seven p.m., snowing like crazy and Jim hasn’t even called from work yet so I may hold off on the chicken and sausage recipe until tomorrow morning, because I’d like the flavors to meld a bit. Cheers, Dee

a lot like… Spring? Over one foot of snow today. Bet the ski resorts wish they had this in early February. The birds are back and plants want to send out shoots and buds and now we have a foot of snow just today, and more is expected overnight and tomorrow.

I’ll try to get a photo for you tomorrow. Dog Zoe loves the snow and played with a young pup tonight and had a blast chasing snowballs.

We had terrific St. Louis-style ribs that I roasted in a low oven yesterday with a dry rub of salt, pepper, paprika and sugar. We ended up going out for pizza, which was a good thing. Today they didn’t want to send out the heavy artillery to plow roads and driveways so tried to get away with shoveling, but the snow kept coming so they finally gave in. I didn’t take the car out all day, just the dog, and getting boots on again after nearly seventy-degree weather is a task I didn’t expect this week.

I served the ribs after heating them in a 350 degree oven with a store-bought high-end maple and chipotle glaze. Also french fries and fresh snap peas that I de-strung. Uncooked snap peas.

So, perhaps the grill will come out another day soon as soon as the decks have defrosted. Hope your day went well. Cheers, Dee