Failure at the Grocery and Five Fingers

Hey Ma,

So, I went to the grocery store the other day to fill out our meals for the week (we were starting to get low on the provisions you and Dad left us with...oh man, that was awesome) and I came home feeling quite pleased with our stash. I always feel pleased after grocery shopping (I'm sure there's something to be said about this), but this time I felt a little extra pleased because I had gone shopping without a list, an exercise I read about a few weeks ago that supposedly helps keep your brain sharp (because, you know, being a full-time student isn't doing that....but anyway). I always bring a list. Always. Admittedly this is mostly because I love a good list and not because I've ever feared I won't remember key groceries...or, at least, it was.

John is cooking dinner tonight (awesome). The meal scheduled for tonight (based on produce not turning before we use it) is sausages with beans and salad (sausage is one of our go-to busy day dinners...I really liked the pasta with pesto and sausage you made when you were visiting). Ten minutes ago, John came into the living room where G and I were watching an episode of 30 Rock (John has M in the kitchen with him, making this is a seriously luxurious moment) and asked if we had buns.

Nope, I forgot them.

Fast forward a few minutes. John's back, this time wondering if I bought mustard (sausages require mustard in our house).

Nope, I forgot it.

And so, though dinner will be fine, there goes my pride in grocery shopping without a list. You don't use a list, I don't think. It's one of the magical mom skills you posses (yes, though I'm a mom myself, I don't think I'll ever stop marveling at your super mom status...if anything I respect it now more than ever).

Alright. Here comes Super Dad (John) with our dinners so I'm off.

xxoo
Rachel


What's this picture got to do with food? NOTHING! My dad has become *obsessed* with these five finger shoes that supposedly make him use his feet the way we're supposed to. Anyway, during his visit he and John had some serious conversations about shoes and so this drawing is just a little present for my dad from John.

Sausage with Smashed Potatoes and Cornichons

Rachel here: My brother G is staying with us for a while which means I am finally feeding the number of people I cook for (I seem doomed to cook for four, which leaves John feeling compelled to eat for three...when he and G combine their appetites, I am cooking for four). In addition to the noticeable decrease in leftovers, it's just really nice having my brother here and watching him and M play together and whatnot. Plus, he's pretty helpful.


Anyway, I'd been wanting to make this dish for a while and finally got around to doing it the other night when G arrived. It is super yummy and, frankly, I could eat these potatoes on their own. We rarely eat mashed potatoes because they feel like too much work, but smashed potatoes? Oh yeah--these will be cropping up on dinner plates in our house with regularity.


I got the recipe from Real Simple. Click here so you can have this super delicious and awesomely easy dinner tonight.

Chicken = Easy, Tasty Dinner

Janet still flying solo: I haven't cooked or eaten red meat in 30 years. (Okay okay so the occasional piece of bacon has crossed my lips, but we're all weak sometimes aren't we?) Anyway, BK (Before Kids) I only really ate fish and veggies. PK (Post Kids) I was blessed with one child who was seriously culinarily challenged — he was five before he would even allow a piece of watermelon to cross his lips; ALL food decisions were visual rather than by tasting — so I relied on chicken way more than I do when just cooking for my husband and the one child still left at home, who is a fairly adventurous eater.

We were having Peter's sister for dinner the other night and I needed something fast and tasty to whip up. This chicken paella did the trick. I revised it from Ellie Krieger's So Easy (which really should be called So Tasty because everything I have made from this book has been delicious). I put my amendments in parentheses so carnivores and white-meat-only eaters alike can enjoy this tasty dinner. Hope you like it!

Chicken Paella with Sausage and Onions

ingredients
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons olive oil
3 ounces chorizo sausage, casing removed, sliced into 1/4-inch rounds (I used jalopeno-spiaced chicken sausage and that was just fine)
1 pound skinless boneless chicken thighs cut into 1-inch pieces (I used chicken breasts and it was fine)
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 10-ounce package frozen peas
1 cup uncooked white rice
1 large ripe tomato, chopped
1/4 cup sliced green Spanish pimento-stuffed olives
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground tumeric
small pinch of saffron threads

ingredients
Heat oven to 375 degrees.
Heat one tablespoon of oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. (Use a skillet with a cover and one that can go into the oven.) Add the sausage and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 3 minutes. Add the chicken and cook, stirring occasionally until browned, about 5 minutes. (I did them both together.) Transfer both to a plate.

Heat the remaining 2 teaspoons of oil in the skillet. Add the onions and cook, stirring until softened and translucent, 3-5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, about 1 additional minute. Return the chicken and sausage to the skillet and add the chicken broth, peas, rice, tomato, olives, salt, pepper, tumeric ans saffron. Bring to a boil, cover and transfer to the oven.

Cook until the rice is tender and the liquid absorbed, 25-20 minutes.

What's for Breakfast?

Rachel here: Ok, so I'm back. Get excited. For my first post this week I made waffles. To be honest, though, I really made waffles three times. I only photographed them the last time, though, when I made them for John's birthday breakfast (along with eggs scrambled with cheddar cheese and slices of apple). The first two times I made them were for myself last week. Those times I used leftover pancake batter (things with which one can eat maple syrup have become umm...important to me as of late...like, really important) figuring they would yield slightly lesser waffles, but delicious ones (and ones with maple syrup on them) all the same.

I was wrong.

The waffles I made last week using pancake batter were totally better than the ones I made for John's birthday breakfast (sorry, sweetheart). While the waffles I made for John (and which are photographed above...clearly they were still edible) were adequate, they grew tough quickly as they cooled (not the case with my pancake batter waffles). And so, though I have a few leftover and I will absolutely dutifully eat them, below I am going to post the waffle batter recipe from The Best Recipe by Cook's Illustrated in addition to the pancake batter recipe I adapted which, to my taste, worked out much better.

Also, I should confess that part of my waffle making frenzy was the result of a desire to make some and freeze them for down the road. And yet, three batters later, there are still no frozen waffles in my house. Oops!

Oh! One more thing. If savory's more your schtick, check out my ma's egg casserole down below. She didn't have a photo, but it sounds absolutely fantastic (as in, I want it for dinner). Enjoy!

Waffles
makes 4-8 depending on size of waffle iron

Ingredients
2 c. all-purpose flour
2 T. cornmeal (optional...I opted...it was only sort of noticeable)
1 tspn. salt
1/2 tspn. baking soda
2 eggs, separated
1 3/4 c. buttermilk
4 T. butter, melted

Method
First, get your waffle iron going. In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. In a small bowl, combine the egg yolks and buttermilk. Beat the egg whites until they form stiff 2-inch peaks. Add the yolk/buttermilk mixture to the dries in a steady stream while mixing gently with a rubber spatula. Do not over mix. Towards the end, add the egg whites, folding them in until just incorporated. Batter should be lumpy and thick. Scoop batter into waffle iron and cook to desired crispness. Serve immediately and enjoy!

Pancakes Batter That Works for Waffles

Ingredients
1 c. all-purpose flour
2 tspn. sugar
1/2 tspn. salt
1/2 tspn. baking powder
1/4 tspn. baking soda
3/4 c. buttermilk
1/4 c. milk
1 large egg
2 T. unsalted butter, melted

Method
Turn waffle iron on. Whisk dry ingredients in a medium bowl. In a 2-cup measuring cup, combine buttermilk, milk, egg and butter, mixing well (don't add butter when it's super hot or it will cook your egg). Pour into dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Pour into waffle iron (or onto a skillet to make pancakes--just oil the surface first!) and cook to your desired crispness and color. Enjoy!


Janet here: This casserole will feed an army, so it is perfect for brunches or, as in the debut of this particular casserole, for a baby shower or some other kind of brunchy event. I have made it with sausage, bacon, grilled veggies and lox — all to rave reviews. Oh, yes, and it's simple.

Susan's Egg Casserole
serves 12-14

Ingredients
12 eggs
9 slices of white bread, crust cut off, and cut into 1/2" pieces
3 cups milk
6 scallions, diced
1/4 cup chopped, drained pimentos
2 lbs. sausage, cut up (or bacon or smoked salmon; your choice of meat goodies. I've done all of them at various points.)
2 cups grated cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Method
The trickiest part is just remembering you have to do this the night before cooking. Toss it all into a bowl. Mix. Put into a 9" X 13" casserole pan. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

The next day pop it into a 300-degree oven for 60 minutes and get ready to listen to the oohs and ahhs.