Sunday Dinner: Post Thanksgiving

Sunday Dinner: Post Thanksgiving: "The leftovers are gone (thanks to my brother Art) and I'm recovering from my post-turkey-eating-hangover. My turkey feast this year was e..."

Post Thanksgiving

The leftovers are gone (thanks to my brother Art) and I'm recovering from my post-turkey-eating-hangover. My turkey feast this year was excellent. I started cooking turkey dinners four years ago and my cooking progressively gets better. This years menu included: a free range turkey sans any chemical injections, French bread stuffing*, cornbread stuffing*, brussel sprouts, sauteed green beans, roasted yams and sweet potatoes, creamy mash potatoes with chives, cranberry sauce, and homemade biscuits. It was an awesome day spent with great people.

*I made the French bread and cornbread which made my stuffing super fancy!

(Please bare with me while I try to figure out layouts)

I'm Back!

I've been busy for the past seven months... hell who am I fooling I've been under-employed trying to find full-time work in an economy that is not too kind. I decided to write down my inner most thoughts because drinking away my problems is not going to help me in the long term. Thanksgiving is coming up and I decided to cook for my family. I will document my masterpieces and disasters with visuals for effect. Please stay tuned and grab some popcorn!

Its been awhile

I've been in a creative lull for the past month and half! Oh, I'm also broke which complicates my Sunday cooking. When I am running low on cash there is one dish I make that last me a week: chicken vegetable casserole. It's an inexpensive way to eat and it is made from scratch. It sure beats eating Top Ramen or McDonald's!

Butter Drenched Bruschetta

Here is a butter infused recipe on an old dish:

BUTTER DRENCHED BRUSCHETTA

-1 stick of butter (YES! ONE STICK AND NO MARGARINE OR ELSE YOU WILL FIND YOURSELF IN HELL)

-4-5 FRESH heirloom tomatoes (DON'T EVEN THINK OF USING CANNED TOMATOES!)

-Fresh basil or Italian parsley (tear the leaves; DO NOT chop!)

-1-2 cloves of garlic (or more if you want to keep the vampires away!)

-1 loaf of bread (DO NOT USE WONDER BREAD OR WEBERS YOU WILL DEFINATELY BURN IN HELL)

Dice the tomatoes, mix with salt and pepper, olive oil, garlic, and basil. Stir together and set aside. Slice bread at a bias, melt your one stick of butter in a sauce pan, coat slices of bread on both sides with butter and grill until brown on both sides. Remove from pan and top with tomato mixture. Finally, enjoy every morsel as if it were your last...

Really Pre-Sunday Dinner

Tonight, I made a fantastically light, but tasty dinner. It was one of those intuitive creations: use what is in your refrigerator and use the most simple ingredients.

For the past few days I have been trying to perfect my Hollandaise sauce. One night I decided to make Hollandaise sauce. People decide to clean out their garage I decide to make a random sauce. Three nights ago I decided it was time to conquer this perenial sauce and it came out TOO tangy and buttery (?). Tonight, I made the sauce less tangy and it was bland like celery. Anyway, to make up for my mini-disaster. I made my favorite-bruschetta-and used fresh basil and top self olive oil (fresh does make a difference). For the main course I grilled Italian sausage in butter, olive oil and finished cooking in the oven-to give it a nice crisp golden brown color. I topped off the sausage with sauteed caramelized onions and mushrooms (all three go together like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich!). For a simple side dish I decided to steam some asparagus and shock it to retain its vibrant green color. The asparagus would have been the focus of this particular blog if I made a more TANGY Hollandaise sauce, but I have a life time to perfect this sauce. Please, check back frequently on my Hollandaise sauce progress.

Superbowl Sunday

Yesterday, I was put into a self-induce snack coma. It was Superbowl Sunday-also known as Snackopia. I went to my brother Efrem's house to watch the game and eat. He had fine assortment of snacks: chips, myriad of dips, steak crostini, hamburgers, and hot dogs (more on that later). I brought my own snacks. I made bruschetta and guacamole both delicious. As I type this entry I'm eating my left over guacamole.

Back to that hot dog. He recreated this recipe he saw on television. I have to state it was one of the best hotdogs I've had since a Dodger dog. He used Nathan's hot dogs. He boiled and then grilled the hot dog in butter. The toppings included: a strip of bacon, coleslaw (it added a tangy flavor), pickle, and finished off with mustard. It was perfection! He should set up a hot dog cart outside a nightclub or at a fair he would sell hundreds!

Anyway, the Saints won. I ate. I slept...