Polynesian Salad with Pita Bread ...p31

Need a light dinner?  Make this one a couple hours (or longer) ahead to allow flavors to meld and don't skimp - buy the Major Grey's Mango Chutney - it really makes it.

Pita bread is usually found in the bakery section of the grocery store, but if you can't find it, eat on top of lettuce, or use a flour tortilla as a wrap.

Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures before we chowed down, but here's a quick snap of our lunch tomorrow ;-)  You can see from the pictures I like to add a little chopped cilantro also.

Hardy Appetit!

Mumsy's US Senate Bean Soup ...p24

Yes, if the Senate has its way, this is all we will be eating now that Health Care Bill has passed.  Beans are after all nutritious, filling and can be stretched to satisfy any budget.

All jesting aside, this is one of my favorite soups.  I remember the first time I cooked it, I couldn't believe all the celery that went into it - but it does and the flavor is barely noticeable.  Served with some good warm bread, this a very satisfying meal.

I think it appropriate to print the lyrics to an old children's song that Pappy would sing everytime Mumsy made beans.  Hey!  Maybe it can become our new national anthem?

Beans, beans the musical fruit,
The more you eat, the more you toot,
The more you toot, the happier you feel,
So let's eat beans at every meal!

Here served with pumpernickel bread and, as dessert, a lemon meringue pie.  Now that's a luxury tax!

Hardy Appetit!

Poblano Corn Pudding ...p68

I made this to accompany Ashton's Cornbread Dinner.  Both are delicious (in my opinion), but too much breadstuff when combined.  In fact, we all decided that the Poblano Corn Pudding would be an excellent layer (minus the panko bread crumbs) in Ashton's Cornbread Dinner.  I love peanut butter dipped in chocolate eureka moments!  So let us know if you're brave enough to try it.

Adding poblanos to corn pudding sounded like a great idea and it was.  I think the recipe intends for you to roast and steam the peppers in order to peel the waxy skin off prior to dicing up.  Am I right, Lis?  I don't have a gas stove, regrettably, but if you do, you can lay the peppers into a high flame until black and blistered also (gives more char to the flavor), then steam and peel.  I usually just pop the roasted peppers into a ziplock bag to steam them.

Did you know that when dried, a poblano pepper is an ancho chile?   And that, when gone to seed, cilantro is the spice coriander? 

If you're into poblanos, click on this link for more good recipes.

Mango and jicama placed on a romaine leaf added a nice bit of refreshment to the meal.  I'm beginning to like the idea of Bob's Yum-Yukka meter - while Nana gave both of these a smile, only one side of her mouth was up.  Oh well.

Hardy Appetit!
 

ANYONE ABLE TO MAKE ME A FLASH NANA METER?

Ashton's Cornbread Dinner ...p45

Admittedly, I have been suckered by "boxed" dinners occasionally and, in reading this recipe, it reminded me of one of my favorites from many plenty years ago.  My mother-in-law used to make it - boxed Taco Casserole; she would fancify it (is that a word?) by using her self-made chunky Mexican-style clay rectangular dish that was a favorite of all of ours.  Our taste buds were just awakening to flavors across the border, but this was a first adapted into American convenience foods....Topped with avocado chunks, salsa and sour cream, we were transported to the Long Bar in days of old....

But back to cornbread dinner.  No chips included in this recipe, but cornbread does a nice job of serving as the foundation.  Perhaps this is more Tex-Mex, esp. since it calls for picante sauce instead of salsa.  What defines Tex-Mex?  Let me know!  I do know that I cooked it a bit too long and it was dryer than I would have liked.  But overall, the family loved this quick and easy meal. 

The casserole in the foreground is Ashton's Cornbread Dinner, the middle is Poblano Corn Pudding - check out my next blog for Nana's reaction to that one!

Hardy Appetit!

When Irish Eyes are Smilin'.....Corned Beef and Cabbage

Top o the "Evenin" to Ya!

Well this recipe might not be in the family cookbook, but the critic insists it go in as it may well be her favorite gene e-recipe, after all, her mother was born on St. Patty's Day as well as her daughter Lisa, and her daddo Patrick was straight off the boat from Ireland - and interestingly enough, her daughter is now 1/2 of the critic's mother's would-be age.  How's that for a math word problem???  About as sophisticated as I get mathematically. 

So, get yourself a Guinness, read up about old St. Patty at http://www.history.com/topics/who-was-saint-patrick, cook up some real Irish food and, of course, toast your guests with a Guinness for all - and

 Hardy Appetit!

Meatball Minestrone Soup ...p29

A quick, head out the door in the morning without a nourishing breakfast to stimulate our appetites and jumpstart our metabolisms, another quick lunch because we just don't have time to cook anymore, a heavy dinner after we arrive home at night just in time to head for bed, have left us with more pounds then we want, more pills than we should take, and more heartburn than we can handle.  OK, so this time we're serious.  Our house is going to try to eat that healthy breakfast, make time for lunch and go easy on the evening delectables.

Soup?  It's not just for lunch anymore.

Katie's Meatball Minestrone recipe caught my eye because of the "dinner" quality of meatballs.  (Gotta ease my way to more broth!)  Served with a baguette and red wine, this one is fabulous.  Everyone one of us, including my visiting 4-yr old grandson, loved, loved it.  My husband's reaction was "fabulous!", "I could eat this every night," and about an hour after dinner, ate another bowl....  Hard to keep the appetite in check on this one.   

Only Nana had a different opinion.  She didn't like the idea of meatballs in a soup, whose broth  and other ingredients were better left consumed without that addition.  Incidentally, the broth is a chicken base - not beef, making it lighter and milder tasting.  So, I guess if you're not into meatballs, leave them out!

Hardy Appetit!

Perfect Pork Roast ...p49

Happy Birthday,

 Nurtch!

Tonight I celebrated my little sister's birthday by making a most perfect pork roast.......and this was indeed.  So happy birthday - I pray God's richest blessings upon you, Leanne!  Thank you for sharing this yummy recipe. 


I was quite amazed I managed to cook up this nice Sunday meal as we spent the entire weekend planning, planting and building garden beds....Hopefully you'll watch the garden develop its many earthly delights!  A few "beginning" photos ....

 

  

 

If you've made this recipe before, you might notice the celery gracing this dish where mushrooms and turnips ought.  Sorry, didn't have time to run to the store....and didn't think you'd mind if I left them out just this once.  I really would have preferred them.  

Tonight also is Oscar night - a perfectly mindless and enjoyable cap to a busy weekend!  

I lost the Superbowl bet so I may as well risk all tonight.  Best picture?  Avatar! 

Hardy Appetit!

Canadian Country Pie ...p63

Nana had surgery Friday morning and we were sitting round the dining room table Saturday morning eating more recipes from this cookbook!  She's a trooper!  Visitors came from near and far to see how she was doing and I wanted to have some simple breakfast fare - I decided to modify this recipe into a finger food style.  Rather than cooking it in a pie plate, I used muffin tins.  Everyone enjoyed them and they were relatively easy to make.  I thought they might make a cute Easter breakfast if made using little tart tins, with the hash browns forming a "basket".  Let me know if anyone tries that!

It was a little hectic so I didn't take a lot of pictures, but did manage to get this one before Leslie popped it into her mouth!   

Hardy Appetit!

Garlic Chicken Mozzarella ...p58

Isn't it funny how sometimes the simplest combination of ingredients produces the tastiest results.  Just shows to go ya that quality has nothing to do with quantity.  That's how it is with this recipe.  Simple, but tasty.  And I just love the "prep time: 3 min."  Serve it over hot pasta - I used bow-tie pasta.

Hardy Appetit!

About the Critic. Leave Your Comments.

We've moved around a lot and, as a result, when we re-visit an old house, we've been known to knock on the door and share stories the new owner might not want to hear....or would love to hear.  I remember bravely going up to a beautiful house we used to live in, only to be greeted by a cranky old General that proclaimed we needed to stop visiting this house because my father was one of the most difficult men he'd ever met!  However, when my husband (who cautiously waited in the car not sharing my curiosity) saw my distressed look, he rushed to my side, and used his military knowledge to soften the old geezer.  He still wouldn't let me in, but he did let me walk the five acres and reminisce about my very first horse - named after my mama "Teeka." 

Another time, we visited a home we had only lived in for a short period of time.  It was a wonderful experience - transplanted midwesterners, seven impressionable youngs kids, to the California coast - greeted by the Newport Greeter, a swimming pool and a neighborhood of kids to romp with! It was in that pool, Mom taught us all how to perfect the swan dive, float and swim like Esther Williams.  The owner there was completely the opposite - loved sharing the entire home with me and related, "I knew I had to buy this house from your parents because there was so much joy - I mean, your mother had 7 kids running around making noise while she stirred her spaghetti sauce AND showed us the house!  ....I can still smell that sauce and hear the bubbling."

Some of you must be wondering if Nana the Critic knows who the recipe contributor is before eating it?  The answer is "absolutely not!"  Yes, she has tried to coerce me before offering her opinion, but I adamantly refuse. 

Having said that, the recipes in this book were contributed because they were somebody's favorites.  So be sure to test them all yourself, leaving your own comments!

Crawfish Fettucini ...p77

For those of you disturbed by the thought of eating a crustacean that goes by the name of "mudbug," crawls along the bottom of rivers, and builds rising mounds all across the wet south, you might find crawfish more appetizing when you learn that they rarely inhabit polluted waters.  So while you may disdain putting them into your mouth, don't disdain their indicator of the health of your muddy ditch.  And that sucking sound Ross Perot used to refer to?  Well, we know it's not related to NAFTA at all - just crawfish.  Y'all just better put up with those of us who love to chow down at a crawfish boil.

In this recipe, however, you won't have to shuck a thing, especially when you buy the pre-shucked, frozen crawfish that is pretty darned near readily available all over now (due to NAFTA of course).  I didn't happen to have fettucini noodles, so I substituted spaghetti noodles.

Ok, how many of you test spaghetti's "doneness" (al dente) the way I do?  When you throw it on the wall and it sticks, it's done?

           With one pound of crawfish and one stick of butter, what's not to enjoy?

Hardy Appetit!