Kevin's Watch

Ahhh.., hell yeahhhhhhhhhhhhh! Vader be chillin in his crib wid a forty and his homeboys who came ta party,bling bling all ovah da house and Pimpin his mashed potatoes!!!

( I am sorry for the above madness, done only in good fun, because I get crazy at times when I hear pimp used. With apologies to Vader, and utter respect for his cooking abilities.)

hearthrall antonicus wrote:Ahhh.., hell yeahhhhhhhhhhhhh! Vader be chillin in his crib wid a forty and his homeboys who came ta party,bling bling all ovah da house and Pimpin his mashed potatoes!!!

( I am sorry for the above madness, done only in good fun, because I get crazy at times when I hear pimp used. With apologies to Vader, and utter respect for his cooking abilities.)

Let's say I enhanced the flavor old sport.

I think chicken and atrichoke pizza sounds good for dinner tonight, especially if I get a thin crust deLite piza from Papa Murphy's. 15 minutes in the oven and dinner is served!

Teriyaki spinach. Homemade salmon and tuna sushi and sashimi with grilled shiitake mushrooms.

OK.
How is teriyaki spinach prepared?
That sounds intriguing.

Hyperception has to work his second job tonight, so we did a brat fry early along with the best oven roasted corn-on-the-cob we've yet had this season. They were also the first in the hull bi-colored corn I've seen this season. Coincidence? I think not.

yummy...

Menolly wrote:Hyperception has to work his second job tonight, so we did a brat fry early along with the best oven roasted corn-on-the-cob we've yet had this season. They were also the first in the hull bi-colored corn I've seen this season. Coincidence? I think not.

yummy...

We had a simple meal also....Mojos covered in Dennisons chili and Swiss cheese melted on top. Menolly, you absolutely killed me with the Roasted corn. I damn sure wish I had gone to your house...YUM YUM!!!!!

I found bicolored corn at Target last week. You're right, it was pretty darn tasty.

Tonight's dinner was a last minute feast!

We were going to go with doctored Bertolli jarred sauce, grilled Italian sausage, and spaghetti. But then we saw this week's ad for my favorite store to buy meat, Ward's. They had USDA Choice whole boneless NY Strips for $4.99/lb. I haven't seen that price in years!

So, we did a little shuffling of the budget, and had a strip cut to order. We won't need to eat steak out for a good long while, and unless we went to a place that served prime, we wouldn't find any better locally anyway.

So, tonight's meal is:

Boneless NY Strip
rubbed with extra virgin olive oil
seasoned with hot Hungarian paprika, granulated garlic, and Montreal Steak Seasoning
then pan seared black and blue with a sprinkle of balsamic splashed on the steak as soon as it is turned

baked potatoes with butter, granulated garlic, fresh cracked pepper and dried dill weed

and green peas, dressed with butter and dried dill weed.

Hyperception also brought home a fresh baked Dutch apple pie...

*happy sigh*

We had take away tonight from the local deli (it's a magnificent place!)

Pastitisio, and Vege Lasagne - delicious!

Menolly wrote:OK.
How is teriyaki spinach prepared?
That sounds intriguing.

Sorry, this slipped my attention.

First I the teriyaki sauce.

3 parts Sake
3 parts Mirin
3 parts Japanese light soy sauce
1 part caster sugar

Wash and spinach leaves and chop some ginger and (optional) garlic.

Heat oil in a pan and gently fry the ginger and if used garlic. Add the spinach. Wait a few seconds until the texture of the spinach starts to break down. Pour in your teriyaki sauce and bring to the boil and let it thicken a bit. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.

Of course you can use frozen spinach if no fresh is available. It should just not be already flavored spinach. The sauce also makes a good marinade for grilled chicken cubes and skewers.

Ah, OK!

I do the same with shredded napa cabbage, broccoli florets or baby endive.

I don't know why I never considered spinach.

Just made one of my favorite pasta dishes - penne all'arrabbiata - pasta the "angry style."

Biscuits & Gravy with homemade hashbrowns..

It was breakfast for dinner at our place....

BTW, Master Vader, what kind of sauce goes on the "angry" pasta you made? I am unfamiliar...Thanks--------H

All the arrabbiata dishes I have tried have all been similar to fra diavolo. I look forward to hearing what Vader knows as the differences.

The guys have left to go to father-of-love's house mid-state. Beorn will be staying until the end of the month, and Hyperception will return on Friday. Until then, I'm on my own, without a vehicle.

Tonight I took the breast of a store bought rotisserie chicken (mojo style) and made a simple chicken and provolone sandwich. Hit the spot and hardly any dishes to clean up after...

Veggie Italian sausage wrapped in a whole-wheat pita, broccoli slaw with a vinegar-based dressing, and a bowl of chilled tomato-peach-ginger soup that I made last weekend. And a quarter of honeydew melon for dessert.

Menolly wrote:All the arrabbiata dishes I have tried have all been similar to fra diavolo. I look forward to hearing what Vader knows as the differences.

I must admit I never heard about a sauce called fra diavolo before. Wikipedia tells me that

According to chef Mario Batali, the spicy sauce is an Italian-American creation and is rarely seen served in Italy.

So maybe it actually is the same, just different names. Scanning a few recipes, however, it appears that fra diavolo is based on pepper flakes or dried chilis. For my arrabbiata I use fresh red chilis (the small ones).

Here's my recipe.

In pan fry chopped onion, garlic, chilis and bacon (pancetta) in olive oil for a few minutes (medium heat). Canned tomatoes go in, a bit of water and then cook it with the lid on until the sauce gets creamy (that can take 20 minutes or more, better check in between.) Season with a bit of sugar, salt (careful, the bacon already is salty) and a bit of pepper. Add some slightly undercooked penne and let simmer in the sauce for a minute or two to get al dente. Mix with chopped flat parsley and serve with grated pecorino cheese.

Menolly wrote:Tonight I took the breast of a store bought rotisserie chicken (mojo style) and made a simple chicken and provolone sandwich. Hit the spot and hardly any dishes to clean up after...

Sounds awsome. You simply can't go wrong with chicken.

4 homemade sushi rolls

• Raw tuna, avocado and cucumber rolls
• Veggie rolls with carrot, cucumber, avocado and spring onions
• Inside out rolls w/ raw salmon, cucumber, avocado, spring onion and carrots
• Inside out rolls w/ smoked almon and morzarella

The rest of the raw tuna and salmon ended up as sashimi.

I wanna go be Vader's dinner guest for a week...

Tonight, since I'm still on my own, will be C.O.R.N.
*Clean Out (the) Refrigerator Night for those who weren't around when I last explained*