Rosemary Pork Chops with Sweet Potato Mash, Garlicky Spinach, and Mushroom Sauce — Dinner with French Wine, Please

November 16, 2015November 17, 2015 / More Time at the Table / 2 Comments

On a night when the world reeled from the Paris attacks — and from the unending hate and carnage we seem to constantly face (Do we humans desire to end our world?) — I had planned some sort of a pork chop dinner. That said, you’ll imagine I had a couple of great big, thick babies unthawed (1 1/2 -2-inches thick) and a few vegetables basking on the counter waiting to see what I’d do with them. I kept one eye on the tv and another on the sauté pans. I began without a perfectly clear idea, but it quickly came into focus: tender, rosemary for remembrance-scented pork snuggled up to garlicky spinach and cozy mashed sweet potatoes, to which I added a regular Idaho potato. A lusty French-style white wine-mushroom sauce tied the whole thing together. Why not? Love was the key, the answer here. Wasn’t it?

Quote of the Day: Love

THE LOVE FOR equals is a human thing—of friend for friend, brother for brother. It is to love what is loving and lovely. The world smiles.

The love for the less fortunate is a beautiful thing—the love for those who suffer, for those who are poor, the sick, the failures, the unlovely. This is compassion, and it touches the heart of the world.

The love for the more fortunate is a rare thing—to love those who succeed where we fail, to rejoice without envy with those who rejoice, the love of the poor for the rich, of the black man for the white man. The world is always bewildered by its saints.

And then there is the love for the enemy—love for the one who does not love you but mocks, threatens, and inflicts pain. The tortured’s love for the torturer. This is God’s love. It conquers the world.

-Originally published in The Magnificent Defeat by Frederick Buechner

And I can’t help but think of the hundred of thousands of Syrians already killed in this horrific time. No one has changed their Facebook page to mourn them. Last count was 250,000, I thought–but as I researched it that number might be just a little too high. Here’s what I found.

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Salmon on Eggplant Sauté with Olives and Peppadews

November 9, 2015July 28, 2017 / More Time at the Table / 2 Comments

My cooking brain is sometimes most creative when first given a few desperate (or not so desperate) things with which to work. For example, it’s cool to see there are almost-spotted sweet potatoes on the counter, bell peppers in the fridge shrinking, and come up with dinner. I like a conservative approach to cooking and often think of the old, “Waste not, want not” adage. I’m not perfect at using every tidbit, but I work on it. I hate throwing things away.

Last week I had some olives and peppadews leftover from a birthday antipasti tray and had just bought a bag of frozen, wild salmon fillets — two pounds for $22.00. A real bargain. You know how I love salmon.

Eggplant, red bell peppers (and a few other things) languished–leftover from making a veggie lasagna. I needed dinner in a half hour. I stuck the individually-sealed salmon fillets in a pot of water to thaw and made the nearly-instant couscous. Next, a quick sauté of the eggplant with peppers and onions while grilling the asparagus. 4 minutes in the grill pan for the salmon and I think it was done just about exactly in the time I had allotted. Try this, making the components in the order that suits you:

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Butternut Squash-Wild Rice Soup

November 2, 2015December 13, 2022 / More Time at the Table / 5 Comments

***_{above: soup without half and half}***

If you’re a soup cookbook writer, you probably love soup. I love soup. I’m seldom happier than when I’m heating up a kettle while chopping a big pile of vegetables. Perhaps I’m happier at the table with a hot bowl and a cold class of wine or driving home knowing there’s a big pot of soup in the fridge making me feel rich. I don’t know.

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Bacon and Green Onion Tuna Steaks on Cannellini Bean Hash

October 26, 2015October 28, 2015 / More Time at the Table / Leave a comment

For years, my good friend Sue Hall has made a favorite dish of white beans topped with grilled tuna… It might have been enhanced by some earthy fragrant rosemary or a few onions, depending on the day. Healthy, luscious, I remember this plate of goodness as one of the perfect al fresco summer meals.

When I bought some cryovac-packed tuna steaks at my local grocery (frozen fish=good idea in Colorado/great value), I thought of Sue and wondered how many times I’d seen her make this tuna meal albeit with fresh tuna. While I’m not at the beach where Sue loves to cook, I’m happy to be home cooking in my own kitchen…

after two weeks of restaurant and cruise food. Even Italian, Greek, Turkish, or Croatian restaurant and cruise food!

(Below– from our trip: Yummy Izmir, Turkey breakfast with honey and orange marmalade where I put a big piece of what I thought was cheese on my bread and found out it was a half-inch thick, 4″x2″ piece of butter-see bottom of photo!)

Here’s my spin on this happy fish meal. I filled it out with a root vegetable hash mixed with time-saving canned cannellini beans, placed it on a frame of asparagus for greenery, and topped the tuna with barely steamed scallions along with the bonus: a huge thick piece of crispy bacon. Thanks, Sue! (From top left, clockwise: Sue, Lani, Kim, and I at our last beach trip.) Continue reading →

Chicken Basil Riff and the Venice to Istanbul Trip

October 21, 2015October 28, 2015 / More Time at the Table / 2 Comments

Just coming home from a two-week vacation is work enough (back in the saddle again), but coming home to find a #deadbodysmell fridge-freezer before you’ve even unloaded the doggies is just plain nasty. I had already needed to buy a washer and dryer on the way home as my dryer had died right before our flight to Venice and the washer was on its last legs. I was looking forward to a fast delivery to take care of the two weeks of suitcase clothing. Don’t want vacation tails? (sic) Scroll down past the photos for recipe.

I accused Dave of creating the wafting, unhappy-nose and brain smell-GOD, GOD, IT WAS TRAGIC; he denied it vehemently. I looked at the dogs, who looked back at me; they had nada. (Above: at super Double D Ranch for camp.) As I opened the car door, I realized it was the garage that smelled and just knew an animal -ARGH- had entered and died. We looked around and found no raccoon, bear, cat, etc. (We really do have bears in garages here.) Dave went to the 2001 double-door fridge/freezer we removed from the kitchen during the remodel–obviously none too soon–and not being able to stop himself from opening it, discovered a sickening mess that had been going on for a while. Quite a while.

In the house was a note from the woman who cleans our house and stays over occasionally when we travel. “House is great; can’t figure out the smell in garage.”

Just when I was feeling oh-so-sigh-Venicy. We did surely, surely have a glorious time with six friends taking the long route on a ship that, beginning in Venice with a side-trip to Florence, had to nearly blow through Brindisi, Italy; Katakolon, Greece (Olympia); Izmir and Istanbul, Turkey; and Dubrovnik, Croatia to make it back to Venice in a week. Just for info: we went on MSC Cruises (ship=Magnifica), an Italian line, and they showed us a gorgeous time. Beautiful ship (a little big at 3,000 passengers for this Holland America girl), good food, polite staff, lack of constant corny announcements, and a dependable please-read-your-daily-program-we-aren’t-your-babysitters approach to cruising. Continue reading →

Butternut and Other Winter Squash Roundup

October 5, 2015October 5, 2015 / More Time at the Table / 2 Comments

The blog and I are on vacation for most of October–Dave and puppies, too. I’ve collected my favorite butternut (and other) squash recipes for you to peruse while we’re getting out of Dodge. Just click on the title under each picture for a link to the blog post and recipe. Start your fall cooking NOW!

Butternut Squash Frittata with Parmesan Cheese above photo–no link, but here’s the…

Recipe:

Sauté 2 chopped small tomatoes, 1/2 cup cooked chopped butternut squash, and 1 cup spinach over medium flame in an 8-inch skillet with 2 teaspoons olive oil until tender. Add three egg whites evenly on top of the vegetables, and season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook until egg whites are set to your liking. Flip pan over onto plate, top frittata with Parmesan and eat while hot. Serves 1. Cook the yolks for the dogs!

Two tips about butternut or other winter squash:

You can often buy it peeled and cut in containers in the produce section.
Using a whole winter squash? It’s much easier to peel if you microwave it for 5 minutes before peeling it. (Do poke several holes in it and place in a microwave-safe dish before microwaving.) Click here for a basic article on peeling and cutting winter squash.

Enjoy!

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Colorado Lamb-Barley Stew with Butternut Squash and Tarragon Mushrooms

October 2, 2015April 1, 2016 / More Time at the Table / 5 Comments

And while the New Zealanders, Australians, Brits, Scots, and Irish would strenuously object, Colorado has close to the best lamb in the world. It’s rare to find any in the store in Colorado itself–horrible pun, but there it is; I use it often. We once had some Colorado lamb in a swank restaurant in London paired with high-priced French wine. (The quintessential pairing for lamb is Bordeaux.) But I’m an American and I adore lamb with Oregon Pinot Noir. The lack of Colorado lamb in Colorado groceries is a common complaint of mine. I apologize to those of you who’ve heard it before.

Want to buy American lamb? Check HERE.

If you’re like me and you can’t find any Colorado lamb without ordering it online (and that’s something you can do in the states), choose any lamb shoulder or boned leg of lamb for the meat in this stew. You can find a good-looking, decently-priced boneless leg of lamb at Costco; cut it up, use some and freeze the rest for another day. Alternately, California or other American lamb is often found in the regular grocery chains. Any will work and you don’t need too terribly much. Lamb is rich and that’s a complimentary way of saying it’s fatty and fattening. Let’s call it a treat. And who wants stew made with lean meat? What would THAT taste like? We’re talking stew here. Continue reading →

Squash-Parsnip Soup with Tarragon Sour Cream or Parmesan and Toasted Almonds

September 28, 2015March 9, 2026 / More Time at the Table / 2 Comments

My friend Mary Pat’s September birthday is always a reason for celebration. I often cook her a birthday dinner and find it a happy excuse to make a fallish meal after a long, long summer. (Is it fall YET? The garden’s dying, but it’s still in the 80’s. We sat out last night on the deck at 8 o’clock with a drink watching the blood moon.)

below: my front walk milkweed grown for the monarch butterflies

Here’s the menu that included her favorite dessert (after Cherries Jubilee, Baked Alaska, and Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie):

I like six people for dinner, eight at the most, so that I can truly pay attention to and hear each person. Otherwise, it’s a party–cacophony– and I approach it very differently. I also like to cook a lot of recipes that only serve eight.

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Apple-Cranberry Hoisin Chicken Thighs and Rice with Sautéed Spinach, Asparagus, and Tomatoes

September 23, 2015September 25, 2015 / More Time at the Table / Leave a comment

As summer very, very slowly wanes away, there are days when it’s cool enough to turn on the oven. My oven hasn’t been on in months with the exception of absolutely necessary baking (read birthday cakes), which is done before the sun rises lest the house take on one extra degree of warmth. Last Friday, as Dave flew in from Bogota, Columbia, I wanted to have a dinner ready for which he didn’t have to grill one single item. Enter SIMPLY MING ONE POT MEALS. (Aside: I am not in the business of selling any cookbooks except my own, but Truth in Recipes requires I note this simple dish’s provenance.)

I’ve owned this book not since in came out in 2010, but maybe since a year or two after that when a good friend mentioned she was cooking something from it. The book sounded entertaining (it is) and helpful (also true). Who doesn’t want a new spin on one-dish or one-pot meals? I made a few dishes from it and back it went on the shelf. If I’m not terribly intentional about looking at and using all of my cookbooks, they may sit a while before I drag them out to the kitchen again. The quality of the book may have nothing to do with it; I cook out of my head a lot. (Why did I leave this sit all this time?)

SIMPLY MING: ONE-POT MEALS

Something drew me to the Ming book last week, and with a few very small changes, I rustled up this one-pot meal very quickly; I think you could, too.

This plate full of goodness is based on a simple happy formula many Americans swear by: chicken and rice in the oven. Ming’s version has a bit of an Asian twist. What better, less expensive, easier dinner might you have other than sandwiches? The bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs are sautéed, removed from the pan, where garlic, green onions and next rice are tossed in and cooked briefly. My pot includes a crisp, off-sweet chopped apple. Hoisin sauce is the secret weapon ingredient! Wine and broth are added; the chicken goes back in. The whole shezaam is covered and carefully stowed in the oven for just 20-30 minutes or so.

You can see and read about the recipe here. I’m not fond of printing recipes that are available in books (as Ming says–cookbook authors need to send their kids to college), but this one has been made available in several places on the internet; have at it.

Changes/additions I made were these:

I added crushed red pepper to the seasoning of the chicken as it browned.
With no fresh cranberries available in September here in Colorado, I substituted a peeled and diced Granny Smith apple along with a handful of dried cranberries. I didn’t want to use all dried cranberries as I thought it might sweeten the dish too much. I also knew the fresh cranberries would give off liquid and felt the apple would mimic that.
I seasoned both the onions and garlic as well as the rice itself with a little salt and pepper.

The pot: I used a 5.5 quart covered, oven-safe sauté pan for this dish. If you don’t have such a large skillet, brown the chicken in batches in a smaller skillet. Remove the chicken, add the vegetables and rice, and then add them to a greased very large casserole dish. Cover tightly with foil and bake as the recipe directs.

A couple of other things: A meal good enough for company, this dish contains a lot of rice. You’ll likely have rice leftover that you can take to work for lunch even if four people have already had their way with it. There are 8 thighs, so the dish will serve 4 or 6 depending on hunger.

While dishes like these are touted as a whole meal–and they are– I’m always in need of some greenery on the table and on the plate. While the chicken and rice baked, I sautéed chopped asparagus, spinach, and tomatoes in grape seed oil with minced ginger, garlic, salt, and crushed red pepper.

In the meantime, Rosie enjoyed the late afternoon…

Sing a new song; try Ming!

Alyce

Table for One with a One-Pan Dinner

September 17, 2015September 18, 2015 / More Time at the Table / Leave a comment

Some of us cook for one every day and every night; some of us only on the rare occasion. If you’re a parent who’s had to cook for a big family most of your life, cooking for only you might seem like one of the highlights of the year, a cause for celebration. You can cook what you like, for as long as you like. You can set the table exactly as you want or choose a tray and do the previously unthinkable: read or movie your way through dinner. On the other hand, you might be totally mystified and ready to pour a bowl of cereal or order pizza. Take heart.

While the weather holds, I’m still outdoors when evening comes. The candle is lit, the music turned on, and I make sure I’m in a place where I can be grateful and enjoy the beauty of plenty to eat. I mostly like to cook for myself and I cook fish a lot. It’s maybe the fastest and easiest thing to cook for one person. Needless to say, I love fish. I encourage singles to decide you’re worth cooking for. (No more, “Oh, it’s just me.”)

I am, however, a tad cautious outside at dinner lately….

(photo courtesy C.P. Perry–right down the street from my house) Continue reading →