January 31 -- White Chicken Chili

After a few weeks of nothing special, then a repeat of cottage pie, we're back in the swing of things.

I've seen this recipe for white chicken chili, no tomatoes, a lot and I finally took the plunge. It was tasty but I put in too many jalapenos, 3 full peppers, instead of one jalapeno and two poblanos. It will be a lot of drinking with my lunch this week.

Here's the recipe.

As for Super Bowl Sunday, it's chicken fingers with mustard ranch and Sweet Baby Ray's spiked with Frank's Red Hot dipping sauces.

December 13 -- Chicken Lazone

The last big cook for 2014. I need lunch this week but next week I won't plus I'll be leaving to visit Mom. I am planning on cooking for Grandma on Christmas Eve then I always take Mom something special that can't be had in Tennessee.

I had to do a Saturday dinner because Sunday had family obligations. I tried Chicken Lazone. This recipe would have worked if I had read the recipe right. One of those small cartons of cream is two cups! I added another two cups of half and half. Needless to say my sauce never thickened. I could've added flour but I let it be.

I served this over fetuccine. I expected it to be more spicy. I may try this again, remembering that the cream is one carton or half and half with a little flour is enough to make the sauce.

December 7 -- Chicken Cacciatore

It is time for some Italian comfort food so chicken cacciatore was on the menu. This is a simple recipe from the Food Network and Giada de Laurentiis. I guess she is a famous chef, either way, her cacciatore recipe was a winner.

I followed the recipe faithfully except for the wine. I don't keep cooking wine on hand but I read that you could substitute chicken broth. I went for the low sodium broth and it came out fine. I also used tenders instead of thighs and left out the capers. I am not exactly sure what a caper is.

This one is on the 'make again' list.

November 30 -- Turkey Dinner

Not much to say here. I cooked a turkey breast, corn, green beans, stuffing, garlic parmesan instant mashed potatoes, and cranberry sauce. It was good and there was a ton of food.

November 23 -- Taqueria Style Tacos

I have been seeing a lot of taqueria style tacos, with shredded chicken, cilantro, onion, sour cream, and a little bit of cheese. It is all wrapped in a corn tortilla. So easy, but so perfect.

I took the chicken and sauteed it in a bit of oil with a variety of pepper, New Orleans spice, black pepper, a little cayenne, enough to give it a kick but not to overpower. Then I shredded it with a fork. In a food processor, I put the onion and cilantro together and pulsed it a couple times to get a rough cut. I spread in the sour cream and the white queso crumbling cheese.

For the tortillas, I used flour tortillas since I do not like the texture or flavor of corn tortillas. I did as the recipe said and put the tortillas right on the burner until they were slightly browned.

It was a perfect lunch if you like the flavors and it saved the calories with tons of shredded cheese.

The recipe is here.

November 16 -- Shrimp or Chicken Scampi

This is one of my favorite dishes from one of my favorite books written by one of my favorite writers.

In 1995, Mr. Kuralt traveled to his 12 favorite places, living in each for a month. January was New Orleans and he included a recipe for Chef Goffredo's Scampi la Riviera.

I know I can't do it justice. I overcooked my shrimp, but here it is. The way the flavors come together is like magic, who knew that butter, lemon juice, and vinegar could come together to make such a flavor. I added a chicken breast since I didn't have enough shrimp, they come in 3/4 pound bags.

Scampi la Riviera
2 lbs. large shrimp
1/2 cup butter
6 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 cup red vinegar
2 Tablespoons olive oil
8 mint leaves
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
3 Tablespoons lemon juice
1 Tablespoon paprika
pinch of oregano
salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Shell the shrimp, leaving only the tail shell. De-vein and rinse the shrimp and place them in a large cast-iron skillet atop a thin layer of olive oil. Season them with salt and sprinkle them with paprika. Bake in the over for 7 minutes.

Remove the skillet from the oven and add lemon juice, chopped mint, garlic, vinegar, and parsley. Sprinkle on a little more olive oil.

Place the skillet on a medium flame.

Add a bit of water and the butter and oregano. Cover the skillet and cook for 2 minutes, or until the flavor is concentrated and the sauce is smooth and thick enough to coat a spoon.

Top with parsley and serve.

November 9 -- Stuffed Chicken

This was a homemade recipe that really wasn't much, just some comfort food since it's now dark when I do my weekend cooking.

I split some chicken breasts, partially thawed and butterflied them. I cooked them at 400 for 10 minutes while the stuffing was on the stove top. I put stuffing inside and folded over the chicken and put it back in for 5 minutes under the broiler.

While it was broiling, I made a can of green beans and a bit of sour cream and butter sauce, reduced in a sauce pan and lightly whisked. I poured that over the green beans for some flavor and then the rest over the chicken.

It wasn't anything spectacular but it made lunch for the week.

November 2 -- Taco Salads

I like tacos and I like eating the bowl so this is a double win for me. Taco salads are simple and it is much better to make your own taco bowls rather than the store bought bowls.

To make a taco bowl you flip either a ceramic bowl or a coffee mug. Spray with non-stick cooking spray then drape the bowl over the bowl to make the indentation. After 10 minutes at 400, carefully remove the shell from the bowl. I usually use a spatula to carefully flip my bowls. You can allow them to cool on the baking sheet.

For the filling, brown your meat and add taco seasoning. Drain off the fat and set aside then open the balance of your toppings. Place the meat on the bottom, then I like black beans, lettuce, diced tomatoes, and cheddar. Make sure all the vegetables are well drained so they don't leak through the bottom of your bowl. Put in a taco bowl, now with the flat bottom down, and put it back in the oven for another 5 minutes.

Add the cold toppings, sour cream, salsa, or guacamole, and enjoy.

October 26 -- Shrimp and Spinach Risotto

Ever since Phyllis shared with me how easy risotto was to make, I've been not afraid to make it. This recipe had it all, hidden vegetables that you don't taste, shrimp, and a fine flavor with only 405 calories and 4 grams of saturated fat.

The recipe is here. The only change I would've made is choosing the larger shrimp. The medium shrimp were small and took a long time to untail. Other than that, I was loyal to the recipe and it came out fine. It was good but may not be so good I'll do it a second time good.

October 19 -- Southwest Chicken

I wanted something quick and easy and this met that requirement. Three cans and some chicken all in one pot. Here's the recipe. One day I threw a dollop of sour cream into the container and that was tasty too. I upped the heat but it didn't get too spicy. This was a winner of a dish that can be made up in a big batch and be parceled out.

October 12 -- Turkey Dinner

I have wanted turkey for a long time but nobody around her carries turkey out of season. Why? I have no idea.

This was standard with no recipe. I purchased turkey cutlets for way too much ($6.49 a pound) and marinated them for an afternoon with a variety of peppers, New Orleans seasoning and black pepper, and a healthy amount of olive oil. It was cooked on a Foreman grill then carved thin. I added mashed potatoes, stuffing, and cranberry sauce. It was all very good, especially the turkey.

The turkey got a high compliment from someone at my lunch table. "Boy, that smells good," I'd imagine she's cooked many years as a long time married lady. My food is even starting to smell good to other people!

October 5-- Fast Chicken Parm

This recipe was even more tasty after the flavors had a chance to rest as leftovers. I stole it from Reader's Digest but the link I found is from the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

The lack of sauce and breading makes this fast and the fear of dripping sauce on myself at work was gone. I loved the idea of making bread crumbs then mixing them with the cheese. I used a bit of asiago that was left over from the salmon two weeks ago. The only mistake I made was skimping on the basil and using stuff from the spice rack that is long dead.

This was a winner that will have to come around again.

September 28 -- Arroz con Pollo, again

Because it was so good the first time, I made another pot of arroz con pollo, yellow rice and chicken. The recipe was from back in April. Here is the write up. I added some broccoli to the rice because I like to hide my vegetables. The recipe did bring up a question from one of my students, his mom makes a similar dish, locrio (accent on the end) con pollo. Locrio has a bit of tomato sauce. That may be coming up soon.

I had so much rice and chicken, I gave away three lunches, all three said it was good. I guess I might be getting good at this thing.

September 21 -- Salmon with Pesto

I was looking for suggestions at work and Maureen in the library had this suggestion.

I took some vacuum packed salmon from Aldi and put it under in the oven for 15 minutes at 425 degrees. It sprinkled it liberally with asiago cheese and let it bake. It came out perfect.

While that was going, I took a cup of olive oil, a bunch of basil, two garlic cloves, a handful of Italian parsley, and a liberal pile of parmesan into the food processor and blended until smooth for a pesto topping. That recipe is here.

I sat the fish on a bed of white rice mixed with more parmesan and some black pepper.

September 14 -- Pastitsio

Well, it finally happened. I hit upon a recipe I won't make again.

Pastitsio can be described crudely as "Greek lasagna", it has marinated beef, elbow macaroni, topped with a creamy bechamel sauce. It was ok, but I don't spend almost two hours on a dish for it to be just ok. The bechamel sort of sat on top of the meat and macaroni mixture. Also it took forever to make, at least 90 minutes. It was all in all underwhelming. I do enjoy it when Greek friends who have some idea what they're doing make it but pastitsio -- never again.

The recipe I used is here.

September 7 -- Italian Stew

What is becoming of me? Beside becoming a bit of a foodie, I'm also an NPR listener. It is the first preset in the car and the clock radio alarm because there is a 6 AM news update for school days. The weekend also has The Splendid Table. I don't listen on purpose, but if it's on when I'm in the car, I keep it on.

This week in the Prairie Home Companion weekly email, there was a recipe for Italian Stew from Mrs. Sundberg's Window. It came in Friday, setting me up perfectly for Sunday.

The recipe was easy. I cut back on the onion since I couldn't get scallions at either of my stores and I had to settle for a sweet yellow onion. I put parmesan on the Sunday dinner portion. I could really use a roll for sopping up some of the beef-tomato broth left behind in the bowl when you are done picking out the steak, vegetables, and noodles. It is a hearty dish for the incoming fall weather.

I will make this again, especially if I remember to have some Italian bread on hand.

Road Trip Eating

I left town on August 2 and came back August 18 with a day in the middle to get clean clothes. Here are some places to eat if you find yourself driving around the Northwest and a treat in a place you'd never expect:

We flew from Philadelphia to Boise to start off a sightseeing, place collecting, and brewery visiting vacation. I'm becoming more of a foodie and there were some places I had to try then others that were just found along road.

Boise: 10 Barrels Brewpub was the most exceptional turkey sandwich I never had. The fries, because they are super fresh, had a different taste. They also serve fries with fry sauce (1 part ketchup, 2 parts mayo) that is popular in Idaho and Utah.

Pendleton, Oregon, was at Wildhorse Casino Resort. Since it was on a reservation, they had a Native American style in the hotel, casino, and restaurants. We went to the sports bar and I got the $7 Indian taco, a taco on traditional fry bread. It was tasty and really cheap for dinner.

On to Portland, I noticed that Bunk Sandwiches had been visited by several Food Network shows, particularly the location on Morrison. The pork belly cubano is the famous sandwich. It was good but a little fatty. I can only imagine this sandwich, with beautiful thick pork, on a Philadelphia-made hoagie roll.

One of those stumble across places was on the coast in Garibaldi, Oregon. We stopped at the Park Side Coffee House, with five inside tables, one bathroom, and wait staff who knew everyone within 20 miles. I had clam chowder and it was the best I've had outside Boston.

In Seattle, I had Ivar's clam strips at Safeco Field. Safeco has the widest variety of ballpark food I've ever seen. The next night, I threw caution to the wind and gave up the ghost on sushi. We settled on Wasabi Bistro in Belltown because if you're having sushi it has to be fresh and upscale. I trusted the other diners and my waiter, Blake, to make the right selections. They were right, everything was wonderful and I'd even go eat sushi again.

That ended that trip but then it was off to Mom's in Bristol, Tennessee where I found a hidden gem at Abingdon Olive Oil Company with a new tasting room in Bristol, Virginia. They have more than 50 infused oils and balsamics free for the tasting or dipping. I settled on a 375 mL bottle of Tuscan herb. If you are in the area, it is a good way to spend an hour, sniffing and tasting oils and vinegars that are unique.

That's it. It's back to school time then back to Mom's at Christmas time. Back to cooking on Sunday.

July 20 -- Provencal Tuna Melt

I like the tuna melt, until the grease hits rock bottom but this recipe is butter free and only involves the broiler for preheating plus five minutes. I modified the recipe and would modify more if I did it again.

I didn't have all the spices and things so I spiced up a can of tuna with celery seeds, red pepper flakes, and a few twists of the black pepper grinder. I cut the mayonnaise to one heaping teaspoon from two tablespoons. My choice for soft cheese was Havarti along with sourdough bread. It brought together a nice, non-greasy tuna melt along with a caesar salad from a bag.

With sourdough, the bread did not fall apart when I moved it which is a bonus. I sliced it with my pizza cutter into three triangles. All is well with the world.

Next week is the last recipe for a few weeks. I'll be eating road food. Maybe I'll post reviews of the dining options of the Northwest and Appalachian South instead. I already have a few favorites down Virginia into northeastern Tennessee.

July 13 -- Fish Tacos

This was a let's use everything up in the fridge because it was bought two weeks ago kind of meal. I had leftover scallions and tomatoes from the pico for pork and pico on June 29 and they were teetering the edge of no longer being edible. So into the food processor it went. I also had some lettuce shreds and an open bag of Mexican cheese. Plus there was a box with five fish fillets left. Waste not, want not.

I put one fillet, a generous spoonful of pico, some lettuce, and a handful of cheese in a tortilla. Folded it up and put it back in the oven for 5 minutes after the oven was heated to make the fish fillets.

Two fish tacos was enough for me. I also ate one fillet alone and now there are two for dinner during the week.

July 6 -- Crispy Carnitas

I really thought I messed this one up. When the pork roast came out of the oven, it was 7 somewhat charred bricks of meat but underneath that burnt coating was succulent slow roasted pork. Who knew?

A little back story, the best barbecue I've ever had was at Arthur Bryant's in Kansas City, the original one on Vine. It is well worth the wait and it will be a stop when I'm wealthy and I eat my way across the country. I ordered the burnt ends and this carnitas recipe came out like burnt ends using a pork roast instead of ribs.

On to the recipe, I cut my roast into 7 chunks, maybe 2 by 2 inches square and I added the rub as suggested with a little cinnamon sugar since I didn't have a cinnamon stick. I also left out the bay leaf because I don't have any on hand. I put in my water and did as I was told. I only touched the pot once. Maybe I should have added more water with a half hour to go but I didn't. I just let it cook.

I figured I'd be wrapping the carnitas in a tortilla with cheese and some tomatoes but instead I dipped it in Sweet Baby Ray's barbecue sauce and paired it with a caesar salad.