Roasted Corn Salad with Maple Dressing

We seem to have very little time (or very little summer, for that matter) for sitting around enjoying the evenings. And I was actually considering going out again tonight after I picked up LoverBoy from the airport. But I decided to throw together a salad with whatever I had in the refrigerator. Now, if you know me, you'll know that my culinary creative juices flow nearly constantly. I can't walk down the grocery store aisle without an endless plethora of ideas careening through my head. Without further adieu, tonight's creation:

Begin with thick slices of crispy cold iceberg lettuce -- don't shred or chop it...leave it sliced thick. Top with whatever vegetables you have on hand. Tonight, I used halved grape tomatoes, paper-thin sliced Walla Walla onions, shaved celery, green apple chunks, carrots, small amount of Gorgonzola cheese, a few peanuts, and red pepper strips. While I was putting all of that together, I grilled one ear of summertime corn....until just blackened a bit. I shaved off the corn from the ear and divided it between two salads.

Dressing: Mix together the following and drizzle over the salads: Olive oil, balsamic vinegar, plenty of maple syrup, garlic, fresh cracked black pepper, bit of salt to taste, hint of orange juice.

I grilled some garlic bread at the last minute on the BBQ and served with it. You just can't go wrong. It was so good!

A Repeat of Last Week + Roasted Vegetable and Sweet Potato Au Gratin

By the time you read this, I'll already be well into yet another week of this trip....the same as last week. It's been a while since I've had multi-day trips. I've been doing mostly "turns" where I'm out and back in the same day and spend my nights at home. As much as I love doing turns and spending the nights in my very own comfy bed with my hubby and pooch, part of the income on multi-day trips is nontaxable income -- which makes multi-day trips more lucrative than turns. So, I'm happy ... to have a little extra income ... plus spend a little quiet time in a hotel room with the TV remote in my hands. My nights will be spent in two of the greatest cities on earth -- Tuesday night in San Francisco and Wednesday night in Vancouver, BC.

Last night I concocted an amazing dish for dinner. I hope you'll consider making it for your own household. I guess I'd call it Roasted Vegetable and Sweet Potato Au Gratin. Chop a mixture of whatever vegetables you like -- I used asparagus, purple onion, and red pepper. Chop them into small pieces and toss into a skillet with olive oil, a few tablespoons of water, red pepper flakes, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Cook just until softened. Set aside. In the meantime, peel and slice thinly one yam or sweet potato. Grease a baking dish. Start with a layer of sliced sweet potatoes. Smear a thin layer of fat-free sour cream, a little sharp cheddar cheese (or cheese of your choice), and a few of the cooked vegetables. Add another layer of sweet potatoes plus sour cream and veggies. Keep doing this (like a lasagna). Finish with sweet potatoes and layer of sharp cheddar. Cover and bake at 400 for 45 minutes. Remove the cover/top and broil just until bubbly and browned. It's amazing. Kind of like a sweet potato lasagna! You'll love it.....with a simple green salad on the same plate.

What Your Kitchen Ingredients Say About You

What are the top cooking ingredients that you have in your kitchen? The staples. The have-tos. Hubby informed me the other night that these are mine:

1. Orange juice (it goes in everything!)

2. Balsamic vinegar

3. Brown sugar

4. Red chili flakes

5. Fresh cracked black pepper

6. Garlic

And that's a perfect introduction to a recent meal that, I must say, was absolutely delicious. Again, I'm really into the art of cooking, not so much the science. So don't get caught up in the minute measurements or exactly how much of anything is required. Make it your own. Revise and revamp to create your own culinary delight!

Pan Fried Chicken with White Wine, Apples, Onions, and Tomatoes

Soak boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I use tenderloins) in white wine, garlic, pepper, salt for an hour or two. Bread in seasoned flour and pan fry in medium hot skillet with olive oil until browned nicely on both sides. Add chopped apple, onion, and canned or fresh diced tomatoes along with more white wine, garlic, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and then lower to simmer until it's all cooked...maybe 30-45 minutes. I served this alongside Trader Joe's Multigrain Pilaf which, if you haven't tried it, is amazingly good in flavor and full of protein and fiber. It's microwavable in 2 minutes. I served it alongside:

Crispy Baked Asparagus Spears

Add flour, seasoned bread crumbs, dash of cayenne pepper, season salt, garlic powder to a bowl. Spray asparagus spears with olive oil, roll in flour mixture and place on greased foil-lined baking sheet. Bake at 425 or so for around 20 minutes, until tender. If more crisping/browning is needed, you may need to broil just for a minute to make them nice and brown.

It was one fantastic meal, if you don't mind my saying so. And I'm all about good food outside of mainstream, chain restaurants. If we get the chance to hit up our local mom and pop restaurant, we do it. We are less and less about national chains. Overpriced and mediocre, at best. Why waste your money?

Sharp Knives Do, Indeed, Cut Well

New March 2008 Audio Greeting Now Available .... Upper Left-Hand Corner!

In spite of a great weekend with Dave from Blogography, I ended up nearly slicing off my thumb last night. I'm on the way to the doctor this morning to get it bandaged properly. You'll remember that I got a brand new, very sharp, knife set for Christmas. Let it suffice to say that it does, indeed, work well. There was one hell of a lot of blood leaving my body last night as I was preparing a yummy, delicious dinner (which hubby had to finish up for me while I suspended my hand up in the air above my heart level). I had grilled whole red and orange peppers on the grills -- charring them just slightly and leaving them with that smoky taste. I was stuffing them with: potato (microwaved first), onion (sauteed in the skillet first), cheddar cheese, breadcrumbs, drop of V-8 juice, brown lentils (boil for 30-40 minutes first), dried apricot, chopped almonds, paprika, and cumin. Baked 40 minutes after the stuffing. The salad was going to be: avocado, orange, cherry tomatoes, red onion (that's when the trouble all began with the knife taking off the end of my thumb and the nail too).
Check out a few of my photo sets that have new pictures in them:
Mason
Sauvie Island (including amazing shots of Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Hood)
Seattle-Vancouver Trip
Late winter is well under way here. Daffodils and crocus are blooming, forsythia starting, and pink and white flowering cherry trees. I do have to say, Portland is the place to be in the springtime. We'll be adding azalea and rhododendron to the mix in April and May. It's quite a show.

Lick Your Lips

We've been eating like royalty. I mean, lick your salty lips kind of stuff. I get so turned on by good food -- I'm into the art of it, the taste, the way it's presented -- even farmer's markets and the way things are displayed. My head starts to spin, my mind goes crazy....I have recipes floating in my brain instantly, how to fix this or that food....the possibilities are endless. You'll see all of my food pics here....and a few scattered above. Enjoy.....and don't forget to raise a glass of wine to good food and good friends as you look through here......and wipe your mouth with your napkin too. Here are the highlights:

** Strawberry and Almond Cream Cake

** Roasted Onion, Red Pepper, and Anaheim Chili Enchiladas

** Garden Burgers with Walla Walla Onions, Avocado, BBQ Sauce

** Charred Onion, Cucumber, White Bean Salad (from Cooking Light)

Anybody for Dinner? You're always welcome at our table.

You Won't Believe Everything I've Got to Say Today

A fantastic afternoon here in Portland. Late winter days turn me on....I love the daffodils and tulips pushing their way out of the cold, dark ground...The flowering cherry trees bursting into their pink shades against the black trunks of their trees....And the sky....it keeps on changing, black, blue, white clouds, rain, sunshine.

Hubby and I went to Target this morning and I attacked him as any proper self-serving perverted husband would do. We entered the elevator and pressed "1" to go to the first floor (yes, we have multi-level Target stores). The door closed and I pressed him up against the elevator wall, lifted up his shirt, and ran my hands up underneath to cop a feel. Well, he jumped a little, giggled like a school girl, and then the bells and whistles started going off. Apparently, he had pressed his perfectly-shaped bubble butt up against the emergency call button on the elevator control panel. The door opens back up and my hands come back out from underneath his shirt. The ringing finally stopped when he moved away from the wall. Oops. We tee-hee'd about that one for the rest of the day.

Here are a couple of birthday cards that I received from nothing but the best of friends. I simply had to share them.....knowing that you, my dear whacked out wonderful readers, would want to see them:




The first one is nothing short of perfect....especially with the hat on the ground and the fact that we love to tent camp. In case you can't see the verbiage in the second one, it says "Susan's talent for charming wieners always made her popular." And isn't that the truth? These are classics.

A friend of mine has just informed me that I've been carrying around a straight man's product in my suitcase for quite some time now. I had absolutely no idea. It may be time to rethink being seen with such contraband. You'll see it here:















I've been fooling around a little lately. With Windows Movie Maker, that is. You'll see the byproduct of my feeble efforts here:

You'll see that I've added a "My Videos" Link on the left-hand sidebar below the pictures link. Check it out from time to time for new videos that I'll definitely be making.

Did I mention the awesome Coconut Chicken that I made the other night? Topped with a yummy sauce of coconut milk, pineapple juice, red peppers, onions, and pineapple. Asparagus with garlic and zest of lime and lemon alongside. Fantastic! You all are going to have to come to Portland for dinner....that's all there is to it. Get busy making your plans.

Saturday-Monday will find me in San Diego, Los Cabos, Seattle, Orange County, Oakland, and San Jose. It's going to be a busy one....but I'm always thankful for a job that provides such good working conditions, benefits, and pay. And that, my dear friends, will end today's posting. Happy Weekend to you all.

(That's actually not all that we did today....but if you want to be let in on a naughty secret and know the dirt, you'll have to email me. It's just too much to publish on "the internets" as the village idiot (GW Bush) has been quoted as saying.)

VD and The Busy Week

It's been a busy week kids. Had a little cold on top of Valentine's Day (not to be confused with VD which carries a much higher level of attention). But I managed to squeak out a nice dinner for the two of us:

* * * Thin Cut Pork Chops Marinated in Orange Juice,

Garlic, Soy Sauce Resting Gently on a Bed of Braised

Sweet White Onion
* * * Tomato-Basil Risotto With Fresh Asparagus and Red Pepper
* * * Fresh Avocado Diced with Sweet Red Peppers,
With Olive Oil and Fresh-Cracked Black Pepper
* * * Delicious Rich Dark Chocolate-Coated Crispy Pretzels

Finished a three-day trip with took me on nine flights in and out of San Diego, Los Cabos Mexico, Orange County, Seattle, San Jose, and Oakland. I'm tired! Having dinner out tonight at the Alameda Brewhouse with some good friends that we haven't seen in a while. And tomorrow, I'm off on another three-day trip which will take me to Vancouver, BC, on both Saturday and Sunday nights. I return on my birthday afternoon, Monday; and we have dinner plans with another good friend that evening. Whew. But, it continues......on Tuesday I'm going to Los Angeles to hook up with another good buddy that we just met on the cruise. We're going to have some good food and get to know each other a little better. AND, speaking of cruises.....are you ready?...........We've booked yet another cruise! This whole deal started back when we were on board the Westerdam and our friends mentioned to us that they were going on a 15-night Hawaii cruise.....long story short, we're going with them.

Wishing you all a cool holiday weekend....full of rest and relaxation....some good food, friends, and family. Make it count!

Lasagne ala Lewis!

I make different types and styles of lasagna each time I create one. No two are the same. No recipes are ever followed. Today's feature included:

*28 ounce can diced tomatoes with liquid
*One 15 ounce can black olives, each one halved, no liquid
*One 15 ounce can whole white beans, drain most liquid
*Half of a sweet onion and a fairly large red pepper, sauteed in skillet first
*Half cup of dry white wine, your choice (and drink the rest).
*Three cups of your choice of cheeses (today, I used a mixture of asagio and shaved Parmesan)
*Few tablespoons of flour
*Plenty of fresh-ground black pepper
*Teaspoon of salt
*Dash of nutmeg
*Dash of cayenne pepper
*Few tablespoons of oil (today I used garlic oil, olive oil would do just fine)
Mix all of the above together in a large dish.

Most of the time I do not cook my noodles first....today I did but only until al dente. Always spray your baking dish with cooking spray first to help with cleanup (it's one of my many fetishes, but cooking spray and me are the best of friends in the kitchen, not the bedroom). I use a soup ladle and begin and end with the mixture on the bottom and top of the dish. I'd cook it at 350 for 45 minutes-1 hour. Tonight it will be served with a spinach salad including green olives, lots of coarse fresh black pepper and shaved Parmesan. There will be hot crusty bread alongside. Oh, did I mention the Querceto Chianti Classico Reserva 2000 straight from Italy? Yup, it'll be there before, during, and after. Invite your friends over and enjoy.

Christmas Cookie Disaster

Sunset Magazine December issue made the Frosted Ginger Cookies look so yummy....and the Cornmeal-Fennel cookies too. After three trips to the grocery store over the last few days, I thought we were all set to make them on this, the day we set aside to "get in the spirit" by making a few cookies. (Let's just say that we did, indeed, get into the spirit.....which spirit, I'm not sure....but, oh yea, we're in the spirit alright.) Should we double the recipe? We went back and forth on that a few times.....I was running back and forth to him with the ingredients, he was measuring and mixing. So, the first batch goes in the hot oven. You can see the results in the first and second picture that he's holding up for god and country to see. It's crap. (Damn that Paula Deen...she always makes it look so easy.) We left out a cup of flour. (I love the art of cooking.....I never did get very good grades in science.) They are flatter than pancakes and all ran together. Second round, we'll be OK, we decided. We'll just space them further apart so they don't run together. Should we re-grease the pan--no, it's got enough on it. You should have seen me down on my knees on the kitchen floor, spatula in hand, trying to get the second batch dislodged from the cookie sheet. Straight into the waiting trash can. Cornmeal-fennel cookies are in the refrigerator now waiting to be baked after the dough chills. We move onto the last recipe from the Food Network. We thought we may actually have one of these recipes work out. But, alas, not so much. I put the Baker's semisweet chocolate in a dish and into the microwave to melt. I think when we saw the black smoke coming out of the middle of the chocolate we knew there was trouble. "Just scoop out the burned part," he says to me. Um hum. Sure, I'll just do that. It all went straight into the disposer and down the drain. So, we have this nifty little bottle of semisweet dark chocolate syrup used for ice cream. It's been in the refrigerator for a while....and has now been drizzled across the top of the Orange Nut Bars (picture three). They may actually be edible. This is why I don't bake. Way too much science involved. I mean, I'm a good cook and can whip up an amazing meal for dinner. But screw the baking thing. I'll leave it to Homer and Adam. Let's go to their places for dessert.

Stuffed Pork Chops, Baked Potatoes, Carmelized Brussel Sprouts

Just took a peek at fellow blogger Homer's site and saw his entry on one of my favorite foods ... potatoes. Reminded me to give you the run-down on tonight's creation in the kitchen:
1. Thick-cut pork chops (nearly a vegetarian, but I eat pork chops....explain that one)....stuff with mixture of fat-free cream cheese, roasted red peppers, carmelized onions, can of chopped green chilis, one tablespoon salsa. Coat in breadcrumbs, place in greased baking dish. 350 for 45 minutes and then down to 225 or so for another hour....longer the better....nice and tender.
2. Baked potatoes.....large pieces....in a very yummy mixture of spicy chili oil, essence of Emeril seasoning, season salt, and lemon pepper. 400 degrees for an hour......
3. Fresh brussel sprouts cut in half, thin strips of sweet onion, and leftover roasted red peppers from the pork chops above. All go in the skillet with a little balsamic vinegar, sugar, hot chili oil, salt and pepper, and a little juice (I used apple....any kind will do). I like to use juice instead of water anytime I need to steam something. In spite of the amazing fact that my brother-in-law T screwed up his face and made terrible facial contortions over the brussel sprouts, they were delicious.....in fact, he moved ONE of the TWO that he had to my plate!