Monday, May 19, 2014

painting the kitchen blue....

When asked what I would like for my dining pleasure, I promptly responded veal chops, no wait lobster, maybe scallops....I definitely have a major problem with food.  That being said, the veal chops turned into grilled pork chops, got to love a deep freezer and a good friend to share buying  from a wonderful meat purveyor, and the lobster and scallops were to still be enjoyed.  I got to rub shoulders and elbows in the kitchen with my favorite guy and watch him work his magic.  Although my participation in the preparations were not equal to his, we equally enjoyed the fruits of his labor.  When asked if I was happy, I replied that life is grand and I am very happy,  and I meant it truly.




When we were researching for our new appliances, it was an exhausting search, we were truly impressed with the BlueStar, and it is truly a fantastic stove.  I am also so glad that Andrew decided on getting the grill.  He very rarely uses the outdoor grill, and if he does grill outside, it is usually on charcoal Weber.

While the pork chops were grilling, we made the lobster tails ready for the oven by brushing them with salt, pepper, and herb infused oil.




The tails were supposed to be turned inside out, but we decided to keep them in the shells so as to not overcook them.

While I was at the grocery I spied Dry Scallops, they were on sale for $17.00/#,  and my cart pulled alongside them, and they jumped in.....They were huge and packaged $11.00 and so I splurged(I had extra tip money),  I rinsed and halved them, rolled them in seasoned flour, sauteed them in a smidge of basting oil in the cast iron pan, and finished them up with some garlic butter....yeah, that good...




We had a few crispy fries to complete the meal.  It was a feast.  I am so very glad that we decided to stay home.....
I really like his elbows....

Just when I think that Andrew can't out-do his last grilling feat, he amazes me, truly, he grilled up for Mother's Day Monday(sort of like Boxing Day or Easter Monday) the fantastic veal chops(got to love that freezer).....When Andrew cooks, he too, cooks with his heart and soul, and you can taste it.  He enjoys the fruits of his labors, and gets the same pleasure as his Mom did watching others enjoy what he conjures up.  Andrew trimmed slightly, and scored the fat on the chops, then rubbed them with his secret stuff, and then grilled them to utter perfection.












I really have to stop looking at those little beauties.  Kitchen porn I tell you.

Last year Andrew was outside doing or fixing something, the guy that delivers frozen meat and fish drove by peddling his company's wares, he had some great stuff the kids like.  His company has has a nice mix of meat and seafood, he gave me the brochure and business card.  I googled the company, they had a good reputation for their quality and pricing.  He was in the area last week and had some great deals, if you bought three lobster tails, you got the fourth free,  and yeah, I bought three....

I think that this was the best Monday I had since the last Monday had a holiday on it.  Andrew prepared the lobster the same way as on Mother's Day, salt, pepper, and herb oil, then into the oven for 15 minutes....viola'











Deliciousness abounds....and I did not forget the rest of the potatoes...I know, I know no veggies.....sorry


Life is grand.....

I have been experimenting with different kinds of risotto desserts, but I keep forgetting to take all the pictures, I start out taking for each step, then I forget to take a picture of the completed dessert.  Got to work on that.

Remember the lack of veggies, well they were not on the menu for two days, but the truth is we have been enjoying a wonderful crop of Broccoli Rabe, artichokes, peas, corn, broccoli, artichokes, spinach.

I was asked by a dear friend if I would make a dinner to go for the Pastor's Family.  Broccoli Rabe with Hot/Sweet Sausage was going to be on the menu.  I went to the Green grocer for broccoli rabe, and was pleasantly surprised by how really nice everything was.  The fruits and veggies were priced great and the selection was fantastic.  I picked two bunches of broccoli rabe, spinach, shallots, pears, and cherries.  I love, love, love cherries.  They also had Andrew's sea monkey juice, we call the aloe drink he enjoys that because it has floaties in it.  They were on sale, and he just finished his last bottle on Thursday.

I trimmed and washed the broccoli rabe, cut and diced the shallots, onion, and garlic.




 I uncased the sausage and cut them into small pieces.  I have, on occasion, used the potato masher on the loose sausage meat to make the pieces even smaller.  I started by sauteing the sausage in a 6 quart everyday pan, I like to use this pan because of it's large size, and shape.  It can hold a good amount of food, and the shape is very conducive.  Hey, wait, maybe that is why they call it the everyday pan...duh, yeah, I'm a blonde.

When the sausage was almost cooked, I took it out of the pan, and drained the pan, I put the juice/fat into a separator, and waited for it to separate.   

I then put back the wonderful sausage juice and added olive oil to the pan.  Next I added the onion/shallot mix, and sauteed, then came the garlic, I then added the pealed trimmed stems as they take a little longer to soften, I had never used them before usually relegating them to the compost, but after I pealed the outer layer, they were no longer woody and stringy, but flavorful and tender, so I began to use more of them.  I added salt, pepper, red pepper flakes and oregano.

When the onions, shallots, garlic and stems were almost tender, I added the broccoli rabe.


I covered and let them steam for a few minutes.  I then added the sausage back to the pan.

 I had set a pot of water to boil for the macaroni.  When the water was boiling I added salt, then the macaroni.  As the sausage mixture melded together, cooking very happily, I added the al dente macaroni to it, added a little starch water, grated cheese, a quick shake of red pepper flakes, and we were gold.
 

I let it cool, packaged it up, added a tupperware of cheese. 


My own little slice of nirvana to share.  I am after all my Mother's daughter.