Weiner-Palooza

In honor of this week's news headlines, we give you ...

Hass Avocado Dog
Ingredients:
hot dog (we use Applegate Farms dogs)
hot dot bun
1/4 cup diced onions
5 cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 ripe hass avocado, halved, pitted, peeled and chopped
1/2 lime, juiced
salt, to taste
mayonnaise, to taste
ketchup, to taste
mustard, to taste
hot sauce, to taste
1 tbsp oil

Prep:
In small skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat; add half of the diced onions to pan. Cook onions, stirring frequently until wilted. Reduce heat to low and caramelize onions, stirring occasionally (about 15 minutes); set aside.

Grill hot dogs over medium-hot coals until lightly browned.

Toast bun. Spread mayonnaise, ketchup, and mustard on bun; add hot sauce.
Place hot dog bun and top with grilled onions, tomato, raw onion and avocado. Sprinkle with a little lime juice and salt.


Flyin' Hawaiian Dog
Ingredients:
1 hot dog
1 hot dog bun
2 tbsp diced pineapple
1 strip bacon
1 tbsp mozzarella
2 tbsp dijon mustard

Prep:
Grill hot dog. Toast bun. Spread mustard on bun, add hot dog topped with bacon, pineapple and mozzarella.


The Greek Dog
Ingredients:
1 hot dog
1 hot dog bun
a shmeer of hummus (We used Garlic Lovers')
2 tbsp sliced black olives
2 tbsp feta cheese
2-3 sliced sun dried tomatoes (We used the kind packed in olive oil)

Prep:
Grill hotdog. Toast bun. Shmeer hummus on bun, add hotdog, then olives, feta and tomatoes.


Reviews:

Tanya -- My favorite was the Flyin' Hawaiian, followed by the Hass Avocado Dog, then the Greek by a distant third.

Jason -- I liked everything we made. I didn't try Greek... I'm not a big black olive fan.

Olivia -- Loved the Avocado Dog. Hated the Greek thing. I spit it out on my plate. Yuck! I don't like pineapple, so I didn't try Dad's.


Hannah and Miranda are purists. They had Naked Dogs. Just the way Anthony likes 'em.

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Copper River Sockeye Salmon with Corn & Tomato Salad

See this face:

That's how I feel that we still don't have a working grill. And it's summer.

Sad...

Sad...

SAD!

Our gas grilled exploded in a blaze of shooting flames last summer. And although we technically gave Jason a new grill for his birthday/Father's Day, we haven't actually bought the grill yet.

So, it's summer and we're grill-less. And we're walking through Whole Foods to pick up a few items and those damned product sample-giver-people reeled us in with their Copper River Sockeye Salmon with Corn & Tomato Salad.

We already have a favorite salmon recipe (and a second favorite salmon recipe), but since this one didn't require a grill and the salmon was on sale, we figured we'd give it a try.

Ingredients (serves 4):

• 1.5 - 2 pounds Cooper River sockeye salmon
• 4 ears white/yellow corn, shucked **
• 1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
• 1 bunch basil, leaves only
• 4 green onions, finely chopped
• 1-2 lemons, juiced
• 1-2 pieces preserved lemon rind, chopped
• 2-3 T olive oil
• salt & pepper, to taste
• canola oil, as needed

Directions:

1. Cut the salmon into 4 portions, season with salt and pepper and set aside.

2. Shave the kernels from the corn cobs using a sharp knife.

We tried this method first:



But he's right. We had corn kernels flying everywhere! Ruby (the puppy) loved that part.

Next we tried putting the corn in a bowl to trap the kernels as we cut. But you could only cut one half, then you had to flip it over and cut the other half. There's gotta be a better way!

We searched for video tutorials and found this little gizmo:



3. Combine the corn, tomatoes, lemon juice, preserved lemon (if using), olive oil, green onion, and basil and season well with salt and pepper.

4. Heat a heavy skillet over medium-high heat, and film the bottom of the skillet with oil. Place the salmon pieces skin-side down and cook until the skin is brown and crisp before turning. Cook the flesh side until your desired temperature is reached.

5. Serve the salmon atop mounds of the corn salad.

Reviews:

Chef Jason -- It was really good. The lemon offered a little zing, which was nice. We only used one lemon. I think two would have been too much. The salmon didn't cook as crisp as I'd like, but that may have been our pan.

Tanya -- Very good. Only two of us eat tomatoes, so we cut the tomatoes down to 1/3 pint.

Miranda -- It was good. Very tasty.

Olivia -- It was good, but I still like my salmon better.

Hannah -- Can I have some Cheerios?!?


** An aside... while searching for corn-related videos we stumbled on something shocking! Google "rachael ray corn" and you'll see what I mean.

And if you're too lazy to Google it, here's a little tease:



So much for being a family-friendly food blog!


Photo Credits: Clown, Kid, Cell Phone.

Tangy Barbecue Sandwiches

I admit it. I hate my family <<< just a little bit >>> right now.

I mean, I love my family. But so many of them are teachers and get these nice, long, extended vacations over the summer. And it just makes me a wee bit jealous. Okay, more than a wee bit.

Summers in our house are just a new kind of crazy, especially since the kids got old enough to decide they have their own interests. What's up with that?!?

No more sending all three girls to the same summer camp. Nooooo, for the next few weeks we're juggling theatre camp and gymnastics. Starting at the same time, ending at different times. In two different parts of town. While both Jason and I are working. Yeah... summer is fun!

It's times like these that we lean on Fix-It and Forget-It Lightly, and that's where we found the recipe for Tangy Barbecue Sandwiches. (* and **)

Ingredients:

• 3 cups chopped celery
• 1 cup chopped onions
• 1 cup low-sodium ketchup
• 1 cup low-sodium barbecue sauce
• 1 cup water
• 2 Tbsp. vinegar
• 2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 2 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 1 tsp. chili powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 4-lb. lean boneless chuck roast

Directions:
1. Combine all ingredients except roast in slow cooker. When well mixed, add roast.
2. Cover. Cook on low 7-9 hours.
3. Remove roast. Cool & shred meat. Return to sauce & heat well.
4. Serve on buns.

How easy is that?!? But is it good? Afterall, we do live in a state that takes its barbecue very seriously!

Reviews:
Chef Tanya -- Pretty darned good! It might not be Dreamland or Full Moon, but it's pretty darned good (and did I mention, "easy"?!?!). The one nitpick I have is that the sauce is pretty watery. Next time we make it we're gonna skip the water.

Jason -- What she said!

Olivia -- It was really, really good. I like the sauce a lot. I want seconds. There are seconds, right?

Hannah -- It was, um, interesting. I liked the bun and the french fries. The sauce, not so much.

Olivia -- Hannah! The sauce is the best part! You're crazy!

Hannah -- Whatever!?! I like the french fries. And the bun.

* Just found out there's a Fix-It & Forget-It website. Huzzah!

** Did I mention this is a "healthy" BBQ? Just 300 calories, 7 grams fat, and 60 mg cholesterol per serving.

Eating Our Way Through Vacation - Pt. 1

It's a good thing our trip to Charleston included miles of walking because we ate like Queens & Kings! It's great to visit a place that really appreciates good, locally-produced food.

We hate eating at chain restaurants (who needs to sample the TGIFridays in every town?!?). So we go out of our way to find quirky local options wherever we are. But you gamble any time you try a hole-in-the-wall place.

On a trip to the Blue Ridge Mountains last summer we ate at a place in Copperhill, Tennessee (or was it McCaysville, GA?) that was just awful! The meal took forever (and was wrong when it finally arrived), the soda was flat and the air conditioning was broken. (July ... in the South ... with no air conditioning? Are you kidding me?!?)

On our drive to Charleston we stopped at Eva's Bake Shop and Caribbean Cuisine, which is tucked into a small strip mall in Douglasville, Georgia. It looked promising. The bakery cases were filled with cupcakes, the lunch menu was fairly diverse, and (thankfully) the air conditioning was cold.

We split a Cuban Sandwich. We always split. Portions these days are crazy huge!

The sammy was roasted chicken served french bread panini style with sliced ham, garlic mayo, swiss cheese, and pickles. We ordered a side of Broccoli Cheese Soup. Eva uses a really spicy pepper mix in it to lend a real zing!

We skipped dessert, figuring we should watch our calories heading into a week of Charleston Chomping. But, as we ate, one person after another streamed in to buy cupcakes, and I began to have orderers remorse.

Man, do I wish we'd bought a cupcake! In retrospect, skipping dessert at Eva's is kinda like ordering the crab roll minus the crab in Portland, Maine. (boo on us!)

We're BAAAAACK....

You've probably noticed we've been pretty quiet lately. There's a good explanation and we wanted to warn you. But after a lecture from Olivia about internet safety and how we shouldn't tell people we're going out of town, we had to stifle our excitement and not share the big news.

For the first time in 17 years....

Jason and I went on a real vacation...

without the kids...

to celebrate our 20th anniversary.

(Woo Hoo!!)

We packed the munchkins off to Camp Grammy & Dampa (don't ask!) and hit the road. Can you guess where we went? Here are some clues:

Lots of Churches

Beautiful Houses

And Gardens

(That last one? A 1500 year old tree!)

A couple more hints:

It's called the Holy City because of the many church steeples dotting the skyline and because it was one of the few cities in the original 13 colonies to provide religious tolerance.

It was once the richest cities in the United States (actually, pre-U.S), due in part to its booming rice and indigo industries.

The city was besieged during the Civil War and then flattened by a massive earthquake that left more than half of the city's residents homeless.

It's now home to a world-renowned Art, Dance and Music festival. We were lucky to catch an incredible production of The Cripple of Inishmaan at the nation's oldest theatre (first performance in 1736).

Oh... and I should mention... it's also home to some incredible eating! (more on that coming soon)

CHARLESTON. WE. LOVE. You!


(one more picture to share... just because)

Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie

After Monday's fiasco I needed a little redemption (and so did my cookbook).

So I gathered up the makings for Shepherd's Pie.

(Okay, it's not technically in the recipe, unless you want a drunk shepherd. But a girl needs a refreshment to fuel her chopping and sauteing and boiling and such, and that's one nice beer! Check out the frou frou review it got.)

The Real Ingredients (Don't let the length of this list scare you. Most of these things are pantry items and it's really not a complicated recipe ... unlike the crepes.)

Potatoes:

• 6 medium russet potatoes, peeled and quartered
• 1/2 cup buttermilk, or as needed (if you want a lower-calorie/fat version, just use potato cooking water and a bit of olive oil in place of buttermilk)
• 2 tablespoons freshly grated parmesan cheese
• salt and pepper to taste

Gravy:

• 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes
• 2/3 cup water
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 large green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 small red bell pepper, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1/2 cup dry TVP granules
• 3/4 cup water

Hash:

• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 medium carrots, chopped (or, like me, a handful of baby carrots - minus the two Hannah ate)
• 2 to 4 tablespoons water
• 2 cups cooked lentils (the recipe didn't specify and I had red lentils on hand)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon vegetarian Worcestershire sauce

Garnishes (optional)... we 'opted':

• 2 tablespoons grated cheddar cheese
• paprika

Directions:

Potatoes: Boil the potatoes until done, about 15 minutes. Drain and return potatoes to the pot. Mash and stir in the buttermilk and parmesan. Season with salt and pepper.

Gravy: Place the tomatoes in a small pot and cover with 2/3 cup water. Bring to a simmer and cook, covered, until softened, about 5 minutes. Remove the tomatoes and chop, reserving cooking liquid. In a medium saucepan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Cook the onion, bell peppers and garlic, stirring until lightly browned, adding the basil, oregano and cumin during cooking. Add the tomatoes, reserved cooking liquid, soy sauce, TVP, and 3/4 cup water. Cover and simmer 15 minutes.

Hash: In a large saucepan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Cook the onion, stirring, 1 minute. Add the carrots and water, and cook, stirring, until the onion is translucent and the carrots are tender (about 8 minutes). Stir in the lentils, garlic, oregano, and Worcestershire sauce. Cook 1 or 2 minutes. Remove from heat.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly butter a 2-quart dish. Spread the hash in the dish, then spoon the gravy over the hash. Spread the mashed potatoes on top. Sprinkle with grated cheese and paprika. Bake until bubbly and fragrant, about 30 minutes.


Reviews:

Chef Tanya -- The ingredient list is long, but this is really simple to make. Just a bunch of chopping and sauteing. Start to finish we're talking about an hour (only 1/2 hour of 'active' time.... maybe less if you don't have kids asking you to sign school papers and husbands distracting you with YouTube videos). I've only had Shepherd's Pie one other time (shout out to my sister Krista!) and that was a meat version. This veggie version isn't as tasteful. I'd suggest upping the spice quantity.

Jason -- It was okay, but a little bland.


Okay, so it was only a partial redemption. But, hey, at least this meal is colorful (not like "brown junk covered with poop-looking stuff", as a co-worker described the crepes) and has potential.

Wild Rice Crepes

It seemed like such a good idea when I planned this week's meal. I was flipping through Vegetarian Times Complete Cookbook looking for good recipes for my newly revived flexitarianism (translation: no chicken, pork, beef, etc. Just fish, seafood and lots and lots of veggies) and found Wild Rice Crepes.

What's not to like?

Wild Rice = Yum.

Crepes = Yum.

Wild Rice Crepes = Total Win, right?

So I gathered up the ingredients (after trips to WalMart and Publix and WholeFoods).

No-Cholesterol Dinner Crepes
(makes 12 to 16)

• 2 tablespoons egg substitute
• 1.5 cups water
• 1 cup soymilk
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour or unbleached white flour
• 1/2 cup chickpea flour (aka garbanzo bean flour)

Combine the egg substitute with 1/2 cup water in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Add remaining ingredients and blend 1 minute at high speed. Note: make sure your food processor/blender is big enough or you'll end up with this...

To cook crepes, use either a well-seasoned omelet or crepe pan or a non-stick 8-inch skillet. Brush the pan lightly with oil and place over low heat for a few minutes. Remove from heat, pour in 3 or 4 tablespoons of batter, and tilt the pan so the batter coats the bottom of the pan lightly. Return pan to medium-low heat and cook for a few minutes until the crepe is lightly browned or begins to bubble. Gently remove from pan and place on plate. Repeat process with remaining batter, stacking crepes as you go.


Wild Rice Crepes
(serves 4)

• 3/4 cup uncooked wild rice
• 2 3/4 cups vegetable stock
• 1/4 onion, chopped finely
• 2 stalks celery, sliced thinly
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 3/4 onion, chopped coarsely
• 1 1/4 cups sliced white button mushrooms
• 1/2 cup oyster mushrooms, separated into small clumps (or an additional 1/2 cup white button mushrooms)
• 5 or 6 shiitake mushrooms (or dried shiitakes reconstituted in warm water), cut into quarters or eighths
• 1 large tomato, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon dried sage
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• salt & pepper to taste

Place the rice, stock and finely chopped onion in a saucepan; bring to a boil over high heat. Lower the heat, cover and cook until the rice is tender and all liquid is absorbed (about an hour).

Meanwhile, cook the celery in the oil, stirring, until tender. Add the coarsely chopped onions and mushrooms, cooking until soft. Stir in cooked rice, tomato, sage, soy sauce, S&P, and cook 10 to 15 minutes more.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Fill the crepes with the rice mixture. Roll up and place in a single layer in a baking dish. Heat for 10 minutes.

Sounds simple, right? Juggling LOTS of ingredients... lots of pots ... lots of stuff.

Wait -- don't forget the "favorite sauce" to drizzle on the crepes.

Almond Sauce
(makes 2 1/2 cups)

• 1/2 cup whole almonds with skins
• 3 tablespoons margarine or corn oil
• 4 tablespoons unbleached white flour
• 2 1/2 cups soymilk, heated
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place the almonds on a baking sheet and roast them to a golden brown, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a food processor or nut grinder and grind finely. Set aside.

Heat the margarine or oil in a saucepan. Add the flour and cook 2 or 3 minutes over low heat, stirring so that the flour doesn't burn. Slowly add the hot milk, whisking until thickened (I had to add more flour to thicken it up). Add the ground almonds and cook for 4 to 5 minutes. Stir in the soy sauce.

Lots of time. Lots of work. Lots of ingredients. For this...

Totally not worth it. Total. Epic. Fail.

Times Two ...

Pretty much everyone agreed... it wasn't very good. You win some. You lose some.

"Observation is a passive science, experimentation an active science." ~ Claude Bernard