Friday, October 23, 2009

Thursday - Out to dinner at Verbena

Can you tell we like this place? Given mom's visit, we knew we wanted to go back and experience the new fall menu. As usual, we had an excellent experience. The food was fantastic, the environment lovely, and fun was had by all. They seemed short staffed though, so things were a bit oddly paced and there were several things the kitchen or wine cellar were out of. Even still, we had a lovely dinner and I'm sure we'll be back soon

Appetizers:
"Cobb" salad - Mom
Pan roasted stuffed quail - M
Grilled pear salad with blue cheese - J

Entrees:
Slow braised beef short rib - Mom
Crisp seared duck breast - M
Pasta with fresh tomato sauce, clams, and mussels - J

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Wednesday - Mom cooks AGAIN!

Mom took another cooking shift today while M did lecture preparation. Isn't she a saint? This was an amazing dinner too - and an especially beloved dinner for Mr. T :)

Scallops in lemon garlic sauce
Saffron rice
Grilled red peppers

Mmmmmm!
Tuesday

Tuscan chickpea soup (recipe in the comments from May 22, 2008)
Garlic infused Italian bread
Salad

Hot tea
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My mom loves a good soup and this is quite the unusual bean soup. First off, it's pureed and had very few other vegetables in it. That said, it manages to be incredibly flavorful. It's easy to make and the result is quite impressive. This is another recipe that depends on an immersion blender unless you want to do the multiple batches of pureeing in a blender. Yuck. At any rate, with an immersion blender it's a breeze. This was enjoyed by all!

Prep Notes
Difficulty: Easy
Chopping: Onion, garlic, Parmesan
Time: 30 minutes
Make ahead: This saves really well.

Reaction:
"This is much better than the individual ingredients suggest - an amazing soup."

The kid report:
Definitely a hit. Two bowls, three pieces of bread, and even a bit of salad (notoriously not a T favorite).

Monday, October 19, 2009

Monday - Mom cooks!

My mom knows that M has to work a lot on Mon and Wed to prepare for his lectures the following days, so she is taking on cooking Mon and Wed this week to save him the time of extra cooking. It's GREAT! This is the first Monday M has finished his lecture text before dinner - probably all due to Mom doing the cooking :) Also, dinner was lovely!

Pork chops with savory cornbread stuffing, gravy and cranberry sauce
Steamed broccoli
Pumpkin ice cream

It's a fall festival!

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Sunday

Grandma's savory tofu casserole (recipe in the comments from December 7th, 2007)
Baked potatoes
Salad with garlic vinaigrette

Hot tea
Oreos
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So as M and I made this casserole tonight, I was thinking how this is my version of the quintessential Sunday dinner. Homey, filling, savory, and served with potatoes. We don't eat a ton of potatoes because we have so many meals with the starch built in (stir fries over rice or pasta dishes), but I LOVE them. Anyway, this is also one of my mom's favorite recipes, so we had to have it this trip. We all went on a GORGEOUS hike this morning - fall in full fury, full sun, and temps in the mid 40s. It was glorious. And this was the dinner to follow it. PERFECT.

Prep Notes
Difficulty: Easy to prepare and long to cook, but totally worth it
Chopping: Onion, carrot, pepper, garlic
Time: 25 minutes to prep + 1 hour to bake
Make ahead: This stores very well.

Reaction:
"Still one of our best tofu dishes."

The kid report:
Following a recent Sunday tradition, Theo ate practically nothing at dinner. He said he liked the tofu and *didn't* like the potato (yeah, right). I think he just wasn't hungry.

Saturday, October 17, 2009

Saturday

M & J's famous purple pasta (recipe in the comments from March 21, 2009)
French green beans with bacon and red onion

Hot tea
Cake!
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My mom, a fellow beet lover, arrived today and I have been dying to share this recipe with her. As an invention of M's and mine I am proud of this one and VERY sure that she would love it as much as we do. Anyway, the meal was a HUGE hit. My mom LOVED it. I still can't believe how well it turns out and how easy it is.

Prep Notes
Difficulty: Super easy
Chopping: Nothing, but you do need a Cuisinart or blender.
Time: 25 minutes
Make ahead: Make the sauce whenever and toss with hot pasta and cheese just before serving.

Reaction:
"We're purple, pasta eaters!"

The kid report:
Two bowls. Very happy boy.
Friday

Rotisserie chicken (Thanks Wegmans!)
Farfalle with butter and Parmesan
Butternut squash, carrots, and green beans (Thanks Wegmans!)

Hot tea
Halloween Oreos (Thanks Grammie!)
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M and T went on a field trip together today and I was at work all day, so we needed a speedy meal! Chicken is always so easy. Whenever we have a meal of a meat starch and vegetable, it looks so traditional! This one was enjoyed by all :)

Prep Notes
Difficulty: Super easy
Chopping: None
Time: 15 minutes
Make ahead: Yes, since someone else did :)

Reaction:
"Convenient and good."

The kid report:
Very positive - especially on the pasta and carrots.

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Thursday

Spinach kugel (recipe in the comments from November 3, 2007)
Pickled beets and hearts of palm

Hot tea
Halloween Oreos (Thanks Grammie!)
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We haven't had kugel in WAY too long - especially since this is right up T's alley. This is a spinach casserole with eggs and cottage cheese as bulk. It bakes up fluffy and savory with nutmeg, garlic, and lemon juice for zing. Pickled beets and sliced hearts of palm is one of my favorite fall/winter side dishes. Nothing can be easier, it's colorful, and always in season. T also downs HUGE amounts of both. I think he's definitely related to me :)

Prep Notes
Difficulty: Easy
Chopping: Garlic
Time: 25 minutes to prep, 45 minutes to bake
Make ahead: Yes - this saves perfectly.

Reaction:
"Still amazing after all these years"

The kid report:
A definite winner.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Wednesday

Twice baked Tex-Mex potatoes (recipe in the comments)
Corn and pimento salad
Green salad with salsa verde dressing

Hot tea
Peanut butter cookies
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We LOVE our salmon stuff potatoes, so when saw this recipe I thought, "We have to try this!". It turned out a bit bland, but the additions we made were amazing. This is going to be a regular in the repertoire. The two sides were great with it too, though you could do one or the other and have plenty of food. The corn salad is very simple (1 1/4 cup corn kernels (defrosted, if necessary) + 1 2 oz jar chopped pimentos (drained) + 1 t oil, 2 t red wine vinegar, and cumin, salt, and cayenne to taste) and a great, colorful addition.

Prep Notes
Difficulty: Easy
Chopping: Potatoes, scallions
Time: 1 hour to bake, 30 minutes to finish
Make ahead: I bet these will re-heat well

Reaction:
"Another fantastic twice baked potato."

The kid report:
He ate an whole potato (yes, two halves!). Woah.
Tuesday - Out to dinner at Gin Gin

M and I were going to see Avenue Q (the musical with puppets) tonight, but didn't have our sitter until 7, so we decided to go out with t and were looking for somewhere near campus. We'd been wanting to try a Chinese place near UB, called Gin Gin for a while, so we gave it a whirl. The food is supposed to be more authentic than our current favorite Golden Duck. The results were mixed. I think M liked it a lot, but while I found some parts excellent, much of it was very greasy and overly sweet to my taste. Also vegetables were virtually non-existent - always a downside for me. So, maybe we'll have to give it another try before we get a final verdict.

Appetizers:
Steamed dumplings (dumplings = some of the best ever, sauce = VERY sweet)
Hot and sour soup (AMAZING)

Entrees:
T - Shrimp lo mein (good, but a bit greasy)
J - Mongolian beef (really sweet, sticky and greasy)
M - Special marinated duck over rice (M reports this was great, but it looked VERY heavy)
Monday

Slow cooker Italian sausage agrodolce (recipe in the comments)
Egg noodles
Salad with balsamic vinegar

Hot tea
Raisinettes
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Yet another Wegman's Menu magazine recipe that's totally amazing. This is very Italian, but unlike anything else we make - hard to imagine. The sweetness of the sauce, cut with the acidic vinegar and slightly bitter cabbage is AMAZING. Served over egg noodles with a bit of butter you could take over small nations with this recipe. And the house smells wonderful all day! Fantastic :)

Prep Notes
Difficulty: Easy
Chopping: Cabbage, onions
Time: 20 minutes to prep, 10 hours to cook
Make ahead: Yep.

Reaction:
"Really, this would work better than WMDs."

The kid report:
Totally enthralled - especially with the sausage and the raisins, but in general very positive responses.

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Sunday

Sesame maple tofu (recipe in the comments from November 23, 2007)
Rice
Cucumber salad

Hot tea
Raisinettes
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The weird set of ingredients in the title makes this a surprisingly amazing dish. There's nothing else we make or eat that is anything like this. It's both rich and light. The whole thing is super yummy. We like feeding it to people and watching their reactions :) It was a good Sunday dinner because it's beautiful and feels festive. The clean up is easy too, which is good ebcause we prepped a crock pot dinner for tomorrow as well. That already smells fantastic!

Prep Notes
Difficulty: Easy
Chopping: Tofu cubes, sliced onions, cucumbers
Time: 35 minutes
Make ahead: Best right out of the oven.


Reaction:
"Simple, elegant,and delicious!"

The kid report:
As usual with tofu dinners, T picked out all the tofu to eat first, ate a few bites of rice, and was coaxed into a couple cucumbers. Tofu really may be his favorite food.

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Saturday

Late harvest veggie pasta (recipe in the comments)
Grilled peppers

Hot tea
Apple mash with orange crumbles and vanilla ice cream
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This is another Wegman's Menu magazine recipe and another home run. We used very few actual Wegman's products for this one, other than their amazing fresh lasagne sheets. The cool thing is you cut those into thick noodles for the pasta here, making a truly homestyle noodle dish. That and the rich blend of veggies and the strong garlic and oregano flavors made this truly outstanding. This will definitely be featured again!

Prep Notes
Difficulty: Easy (bordering on moderate)
Chopping: Zucchini,squash, onion, garlic, oregano, peppers
Time: 45 minutes
Make ahead: I would do this last minute if possible

Reaction:
"Outstanding - noodle should always be huge!"

The kid report:
T was verbally enthusiastic about liking this, but petered out pretty quickly. Hard to tell.

Friday

Quick tomato soup (recipe in the comments from February 10, 2009)
Local "meckt" cheese
Sourdough bread
Yellow fleshed melon (like watermelon)

Hot tea
Oreos
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This is an amazing easy meal. We have made this a couple times right before travel as an easy meal with no leftovers. This makes it great for Friday nights as well! Theo was thrilled with the soup and cheese. None of us were thrilled with the yellow fleshed melon, so that probably won't be featured again. Otherwise it was a great meal. Happy weekend!

Prep Notes
Difficulty: Super easy
Chopping: Garlic, parsley, melon
Time: 25 minutes
Make ahead: I think this would save fine.

Reaction:
"Really I had never experienced tomato soup until this recipe."

The kid report:
T said this was "super!" I wonder if he meant "Soup-er!"

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Thursday

Farfalle with almond tarragon pesto (recipe in the comments from April 18, 2009)
Sliced hierloom tomatoes

Hot tea
Oreos
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The tarragon plant is going crazy. I think it's almost as big as our dog. We had to do something before frost, so we're having our pesto again. How else can you use up a cup and a half of tarragon in one blow? This is AMAZING and really quite unusual. It's hard not to get seconds or even thirds. T ate four helpings! We also think the heirloom/tomatoes-in-general season is about up, so we're squeezing in as many fresh tomatoes as we can right now. It's hard to say goodbye to tomatoes, peaches and corn, even as we are embracing winter squash and the like. Regardless, an awesome meal!

Prep Notes
Difficulty: Super easy
Chopping: Tomatoes
Time: 20 minutes
Make ahead: I made the pesto early an thinned it with pasta water just before we ate.

Reaction:
"I'm SO glad we can have an herb garden."

The kid report:
T ate four helpings - what more can we say?

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Wednesday

Slow cooker beef minestrone (recipe in the comments)
Spinach salad with balsamic vinaigrette
Garlic infused Tusan-style bread

Hot tea
Snickers with almonds (who knew?!)
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Each season Wegman's puts out a magazine called menu that has tons of recipes and (incidentally, I'm sure) features their products. While, this can lead to purchasing more Wegman's brand things, the recipes are interesting and generally exceptionally good for you. We have several minestrone recipes already, but they are all vegetarian. This one sounded very different (the obvious switch to adding beef and far more tomatoes) and was a slow cooker recipe, which is very helpful these days, so we gave it a go. The result was incredible. A rich, meaty soup, with enough veggies for us, and super flavorful without being very salty. This also makes a TON of food. We'll freeze half for an emergency meal later! I LOVE recipes like this. So, while this will be hard to replicate without a Wegman's near you, it's worth the effort just for such a great result.

Note: We prepped this (through adding the stock, tomatoes, and sauce) the night before and then plunked it into our crock pot this morning. We then cooked it for 10 hours to make up for the cold start. Perfectamente and SO easy!

Prep Notes
Difficulty: Super easy
Chopping: None
Time: 15 minutes to prep, 10 hours of yummy smelling,unattended cooking
Make ahead: Clearly

Reaction:
"Beef is GOOD."

The kid report:
T chowed down on this. I don't know if he was just exceptionally hungry (most of a bowl of soup, two pieces of bread, and two glasses of milk, PLUS a mini snickers bar) or if this was just a great dinner.

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Tuesday

Winter squash stuffed with lentil pilaf (recipe in the comments from January 6, 2009)
Broccoli with lemon

Hot tea
Sugar cookies
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Basically I have the same reaction to this as I had last time - this cannot be this good. It's based on a boxed rice mix, with nuts and cranberries thrown in! Yet, the combination of that pilaf and the squash is amazing. I'm not really sure what does it. Regardless, this is so easy that it's perfect for a busy day. I roasted the squash and prepped the pilaf before I went to pick up M and T. Then we just had to re-heat and add the cranberries and pecans. Especially with the super fresh broccoli we're still getting at the farmer's market, this was great. Also, there was something especially perfect about our squash tonight. Maybe because it's local?

Prep Notes
Difficulty: Super easy
Chopping: Cutting the squash in half, chopping cranberries
Time: 50 minutes (most of that is unattended squash roasting time)
Make ahead: You can roast the squash ahead and re-heat it in a warm oven

Reaction:
"As yummy as it is beautiful!"

The kid report:
T loved the pilaf and was intrigued by the squash. He ate a few bites, but was more interested in pulling out the strings than chowing down on that part.
Monday - Take out from Thai Orchid Cafe

I gave my first exam today and so we didn't want to plan anything too complex for dinner. It turns out the exam went perfectly and so we could have cooked, but take out was welcome anyway. This is a TRULY amazing restaurant. I can't wait to have Thai again and we JUST ATE!

Summer rolls
Green papaya salad
Green curry with chicken
Vietnamese curry with beef
Rice
Sunday

Skillet gnocchi with chard and white beans (recipe in the comments from January 9, 2009)
Salad with red wine and bacon vinaigrette

Hot tea
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This was a great Sunday dinner. I made the first 2/3 of the recipe while T was napping and then we just tossed it all together and reheated after church tonight. The result was wonderful. the first time we made this we used Gia Russa brand shelf stable gnocchi, but Wegman's was out of stock. We used Wegman's brand mini gnocchis this time to great effect. T really liked the bitty size and ate heartily!

Prep notes
Difficulty: Easy
Chopping: Onion, garlic, chard, Parmesan
Time: 35 minutes
Make ahead: I did!

Reaction:
"This was the perfect post apple picking dinner!"

The kid report:
T was enthralled with this. He picked out all the chard and all the gnocchis to eat first :)

Saturday, October 3, 2009

Catching up!

This week has been a combination of crazy and I just haven't had time to post. I went to see a speaker at UB on Wed while M was finishing up some work, so we all got home late. Thursday M and I went to see David Sedaris (yes, he's amazing). Friday was just oneof those days. So, here I am catching up :)

Wednesday Sept 30 - Penne arrabbiata and steamed broccoli with lemon and garlic (recipe in the comments from March 16, 2008)

Thursday Oct 1 - Oktoberfest dinner at Creekview in Willaimsville. Amazing as it was last year. We love this restaurant all year long, but this is particularly a good time of year to go. T thought it rocked.

Friday Oct 2 - Lamb rogan josh (updated recipe in the comments), rice, zesty spiced cauliflower. This was our first trial of a recipe we converted to the crock pot (back in December of '07) and it was pretty good. I think with the additions/changes we made this time around it can be considered perfect!

Saturday Oct 3 - Cauliflower gratin, grilled eggplants with balsamic, salad. I know cauliflower two nights in a row. It just didn't occur to me until I'd started cooking! It was very good, but not main dish-y enough. I think both M and I thought it needed more. In the end our mac and cheese with spinach is similar enough and MUCH more satisfying.