This is Marie, writing about a recipe inspired by a purchase from our local farmer’s market. One of the booths had a large display that called out to me – it was a row of baskets containing multicolored very small fingerling potatoes. I was thinking of cooking them as a side for meatballs (next time maybe…) but the merchant mentioned that they had used them for red, white and blue potato salad – and this being the weekend before July 4th, it made perfect sense. I don’t usually make potato salad, out of deference to Grant’s decision to cut it (tragically, and much missed) from his diet, but declared that this was a special case and he conceded. Continue reading “Red, White, and Blue Potato Salad”
Category: our kitchen
Ethiopian Lentil Stew with Penzeys Berbere Seasoning
As this blog kind of transitioned away from cooking stories – a mistake, and one we wish to correct – we haven’t talked quite as much about our favorite spice store, Penzeys. We have visited their locations in Memphis, Birmingham, and Atlanta (Sandy Springs), and completely love their products, their focus, and their amazing employees. Continue reading “Ethiopian Lentil Stew with Penzeys Berbere Seasoning”
Copycat In-N-Out Burgers
Here’s a quick little cooking post for you guys. Neither Marie nor I have ever had the opportunity to try an In-N-Out Burger, since we’ve never been that far west, but we do read the local blog Adventurous Tastes, of course, and last month, she posted about her recent experiences playing with a copycat recipe of the restaurant’s signature double-patty burger. She found this recipe at another blog called Buns in My Oven. Continue reading “Copycat In-N-Out Burgers”
Mediterranean Skillet Dinner
This is Marie, with an article about something that I cooked.
You know those days when you walk in the door, look at the kitchen, and say “I have no ideas?” Well, foodies get them too. Possibly more than most, because I can’t just open a can and put the contents on a plate unless I’m willing to get some really impressive puppy dog looks, and possibly a growl or two. Well, except for the baby, as he likes beans of all descriptions and isn’t fussy about sprucing them up. So when Grant presented me with a shredded cheese packet that had a recipe on the back and said, while pointing vigorously, “This! Make this, it looks good!” there was no competing recipe to delay the implementation much. Continue reading “Mediterranean Skillet Dinner”
Oliebollen
This is Marie, contributing an article about a traditional Dutch treat that we got at the last visit to my parents’ place. Mom wanted to make oliebollen, which are a kind of proto-donut, because it’s a traditional New Year’s treat in the Netherlands, and I was more than happy to partake. The rest of the family was slightly bewildered at the sudden need to make fried goods in the middle of the day. You really do need to have a particular reason to make these if you are making them at home, and the near vicinity of New Year’s was not convincing since they are not Dutch. Continue reading “Oliebollen”
Pasta Alberto
This is Marie with a short chapter about cooking experiments in general and a recipe of my father’s in particular. My father likes to experiment with food and is much more allergic to the concept of following recipes than I am. I just change ingredients and proportions; he throws instructions out entirely and uses recipes solely as a source of inspiration. When he sent me this recipe, it was with the instruction that I play with it and report back. I am including the recipe itself, as it’s completely typical of my dad…note that there is only one unit of measurement in the whole thing:
INGREDIENTS
Red/yellow/ green bell peppers
Roma or other flavorful tomatoes
Red/yellow onions
Olive oil
Oregano
Basil
Marjoram
Garlic
Salt to taste (watch your blood pressure)
Black pepper
One stick of butter
Shrimp or diced chicken breast
OPTIONAL
Banana peppers
Cayenne pepper
Paprika
Chili powder
Other spices and flavors can be added, but I do not recommend peanut butter or soy sauce.
One difficulty with following this sort of recipe is that if something works particularly well, it can be hard to figure out which variation actually caused the positive result. On the other hand, one will never get bored because the final result always changes, and there’s no problem if all the peppers in the grocery store look like they got hit with the Uglifier Ray; just pick a different veggie. Do try to use fresh garlic rather than the dried stuff if possible.
I decided that my vegetables would be some of the wonderfully fresh farmer’s market zucchini, tomatoes, and red peppers acquired just the other day. The meat was of course going to be some of the frozen shrimp I bought on my last visit home (locally caught and purchased from the wife of the shrimper–the very best kind!) There is absolutely no way for me to recall how much I used of anything. However, the specific spices used were pepper, the Penzeys Italian blend (sorry, Dad, I didn’t have time to go to the store for fresh herbs…though I am sure they would have been AMAZING!) Adobo spice, and a small amount of lemon pepper seasoning to brighten up the shrimp a bit.
I sauteed the veggies just to soften them up a bit and then started working on the sauce. I was rather dubious about using an entire stick of butter, but it melted into the olive oil beautifully and combined with the spices. Once the chopping was done everything came together very quickly; once you decide on your proportions this is a very good weekday cook-something-in-a-hurry-because-traffic-stunk sort of meal.
Bourbon salmon fillets with Penzeys Northwoods Fire seasoning
Normally, when we feature a little writeup about one of the nifty meals that Marie cooks, she’ll think about penning a few words about it. This time, however, the idea and the craving was all mine, and even though she executed it quite perfectly, I’m the one who should tell you about it.
When we were in Memphis back in June, I did a little “advance shopping” while Marie was still asleep – she sleeps a lot more than me – and I was flipping through the Penzeys Spices catalog. She wrote then about how wild and satisfying a trip to one of Penzeys retail stores is, and the catalog’s not far behind it in the getting-you-real-hungry stakes. Penzeys employs a team of very clever and imaginative copywriters to tell stories and give diners and chefs ideas for how to cook with their spices and seasonings, and I found my mouth watering with the prospect of trying out their Northwoods or Northwoods Fire concoction.
From their website:
A great place to fish, an even better place to eat. This Northern Wisconsin-style blend is a traditional mix that is a perfect seasoning for family-style fried or baked chicken and fish, green salads with oil and vinegar, egg and potato salad, and Door County-style fish boils. Use heavily, 1 tsp. per pound, for meats and vegetables. Hand-mixed from: coarse flake salt, paprika, black pepper, thyme, rosemary, garlic and chipotle.
Ooooh. If that doesn’t make you want to drop some trout in a cast iron skillet with some olive oil and a thin pat of butter, there’s just no hope for you.
And yet Marie broke my heart when, after she and her sister concluded their epic shopping trip to the Penzeys retail store in Memphis, there wasn’t a jar of Northwoods or Northwoods Fire (which is pretty similar, but with extra paprika and chipotle) in her gargantuan bag. In all her frenzy and excitement about everything, my request was completely forgotten! She felt bad about it afterwards – mainly on account of me teasing her – and agreed that the next time that she placed a catalog order, or we went to a store, we’d get some for me. She realized that there was a store in Birmingham, and so a stop there was part of our recent day trip out there. Northwoods Fire was acquired, along with quite a few dollars’ worth of other lovely spices in preparation for Christmas baking, and now it was down to me to get some fish.
I don’t mind telling you that I was a little stymied in getting what I wanted here. Rather than trout, Marie and my daughter each agreed that they’d rather have salmon. I just went to the seafood counter at Publix and went with their bourbon-marinated salmon as that was the least expensive option. Honestly, it turned out even better than I hoped, so no complaints here.
So we had a little rice and some veggies and Marie gave the fillets a good coating of Northwoods Fire. We don’t actually have a cast iron skillet, but we do have a quite spectacular grill that could be used four times as often with no complaint from me. Marie, by the way, is turning into quite the grillmaster. Her steaks are consistently amazing, but I think that this salmon might be her best concoction yet.
Having said that, I’m still keen to try this on some trout sometime soon. Maybe with a little squeeze of lemon? Mmmm. My mouth is tingling already.
Marie, Let's Eat! 