Egg Casserole: Not Just For Breakfast

I needed to use ten eggs, so I figured what better way to do that than to make a casserole? My family's usual recipe calls for bacon, but I didn't have any defrosted, so I made do with what I had.
I cubed five peeled potatoes and five green onions as well as one quarter of a sweet onion. I added this to my ten beaten eggs mixed with a quarter cup of milk, and then seasoned it with salt, pepper, and dill.
It turned out a bit undersalted, but considering that was the worst of it, I'm happy.

Grilled Sesame Crusted Soy Ginger Pork

This turned out better than expected. I was going to make grilled pork chops marinated in a coffee-molasses sauce, but I forgot to brew the coffee for it since I had to take our kitten to the vet. In short, I threw this together.
All I did was take my bone-in pork chops, poured some soy sauce over the top, sprinkled some powdered ginger, and then added some sesame seeds to make a crust. I would have added a touch of wasabi paste before putting on the sesame seeds, but Will thought it might be too much.
I served it with a salad. I was going to add mashed potatoes, but realized the pork would be cold if I did that.
It turned out to be just right; the sesame seeds provided a nice crunch and were nice and toasted, and the ginger was not overpowering. Will and I rarely finish a full piece of meat, but both of us cleaned our plates. The sauce I made tastes comparable to one of the dipping sauces from Beni Hana. This sauce is surprisingly versatile. It would taste good on chicken and shrimp as well as tofu.

An Overview of the Last Few Nights: Successes, Disasters, and Near Disasters

I made Indian style grilled potatoes. Lesson number one: if you have dyslexia and a migraine, do not attempt to read a recipe. I accidentally put ingredients that were supposed to be in with the potatoes into the raita. If it hadn't have been for some quick thinking on my part, it would have proven disastrous. Will thought it was good, but really spicy.
The next day, I made dosas. Dosas are Indian pancakes made from fermented pureed lentils and rice in water with spices. I added cilantro like the recipe called for and Will and I were not fond of it. Next time, I will remember this.
Yesterday, I made Mediterranean chicken and pasta. This has artichokes, Kalamata olives, and sun-dried tomatoes in a wine and chicken stock reduction in addition to the obvious chicken and whole wheat penne. Everyone I served this to loved it.
It's been a little crazy because of kitten proofing our house and picking up our new kitten. The chaos will get less so soon, so expect more timely posts.

Bean and Rice Burritos

Last night I made bean and rice burritos which I served with tomatoes and cheese. Instead of making plain rice, I added green chilies and taco sauce. It was a bit spicy, but good. Next time, though, I'm not going to add quite so many chilies.
It was my first time making the beans on my own, and I was fairly successful. I think that, with another time or two, I should be able to do it as perfectly as Will does. I found out that I'm a bit light handed as far as spices and cheese go, so I will have to work to compensate that.

Eggplant and Rigatoni with Pesto: Not a Bad Recipe

This was a great recipe, just not an extremely good choice for summer unless you like to have the oven on for half an hour while making it. The recipe involves roasting onion and eggplant, which isn't so bad and is quite tasty, but heats up the house because to do it, you have to roast them at 425 degrees fahrenheit.
I made my own pesto for the first time. I forgot how simple it really is. All you need to do is combine fresh basil leaves, olive oil, Parmesan cheese, garlic, and nuts. To cut back on the price, I use pistachios instead of pine nuts; it doesn't help that Will despises pine nuts. To add a twist on the traditional pesto, I omitted the garlic and added a bit of sun-dried tomato to the mix.
All in all, it was a decent recipe. The eggplant skin was super tough, so that made it challenging to cut. The recipe called to slice the eggplant, but it was really hard to eat that way. Next time I am going to dice it instead.
Because it was almost all carb, I served it with a salad made with Romaine lettuce, fresh spinach, and diced tomato and Woodstock dressing.

Grilled Portobello Mushrooms: Delicious

Last night I made portobello mushrooms with tomatoes and cheese. The best part? It was cooked on the grill, not inside the house.
I was surprised at the simplicity. All you do is make a Balsamic vinaigrette by mixing four parts olive oil to two parts Balsamic vinegar, add one clove pressed garlic, and salt and pepper to taste. You then put that into the mushrooms, which are gill side up, and swirl it around to coat the gills evenly.
Then you make the cheese stuffing. The recipe I used called for whole milk ricotta cheese, but I accidentally picked up part-skim. Thankfully it worked fine, so it's easier to slim it down. You mix the ricotta, some fresh basil, and Parmesan cheese together; add salt and pepper to taste.
Grill the mushrooms gill side down for three to five minutes then take the mushrooms off the grill gill side up. Then you put a slice of tomato, followed by the cheese stuffing, and then you put some slices of Fontina cheese and a little more Parmesan on top. Return them to the grill and cook another five minutes.
I served this with a salad. I had some salad left over from the night before, so I added some fresh tomatoes, Kalamata olives, and pistachios to the salad.
Will loved the mushrooms, and was pleased with the salad.

Orzo with Eggplant and Spinach: Keeps Will Coming Back For More

This is one of the best things I make, bar none. It's also one of my original recipes. The first time I made it, I was a little scared because it was my first time cooking with eggplant that wasn't in moussaka or eggplant parmigiana. I was quite shocked that it came together as well as it did.
It's really pretty simple. While you cook the orzo until it's al dente, heat some extra virgin olive oil in a pan on medium. Add 1 eggplant that's been cut into bite size pieces, and add seasoned salt to taste. Eggplant does absorb a lot of oil, so don't be afraid of adding a lot of it, since this will be your sauce. Once it's browned and not quite tender, add fresh spinach and cook until wilted. Put the orzo in a bowl, add the eggplant mixture and toss to coat.
I served this with a salad of Romaine lettuce, sundried tomatoes, and fresh spinach. I didn't make my own dressing, but used Annie's brand Woodstock dressing. It really complemented the heady flavors of the pasta.
Will liked everything really well, even the salad dressing. His only complaint? He added too much dressing.

In other news, I have a couple announcements. First, the reason it has been a couple days since I mentioned anything I cooked was because I had to go to a friend's graduation in New Mexico. I left my house in the care of a friend, and am never doing that again. He killed off my rose bush, didn't clean his soiled dishes, and spent an average of fourteen hours on my Wii. Needless to say, I'm very angry.

On a happier note, the friend that graduated last weekend suggested I do a sort of food forensics blog where you mention a traditional food that you don't know the country of origin and I do the research to help you figure out the origin and thus a little bit of family history. If anyone is interested in my doing that, please comment and I will engineer a sister blog to this one and get posts going.

Splurge Day: Bohemian Style Roast Pork, Potato Dumplings, Gravy, and Sauerkraut

Will is part Czech; specifically, his family is from Bohemia. His mother taught me this fabulous recipe. All you do is get a pork loin, preferably bone in, and coat it with pressed garlic, caraway seeds, and seasoned salt. I then stuck it in a 350 degree oven, and let it brown for forty minutes to create a crust. Once you get the crust, pour some water into the roasting pan and cook for another two hours and twenty minutes.
The potato dumplings are the hardest part of the entire thing because everything is based on getting the potatoes good and dry after boiling them. You have to peel and boil them until they are cooked through, then drain them, then grate them. Finally you add a cup of flour, two eggs, one eighth of a teaspoon of sage and a teaspoon of salt. Blend this all together well, form into a log, and cut into pieces that you then form into balls. Then you stick them in boiling salted water for ten minutes or until they float to the surface.
The sauerkraut is a combination of his family recipes and what I like to use. I put in a pinch of sugar, caraway seeds, and gin. I simmer that until heated through.
The gravy is the easiest to make, but the easiest to screw up as well. All you do is take the water that by now is flavored with drippings from the roast in the bottom of the roasting pan and add flour. Once it's nice and thick, add water and, if necessary, salt and caraway seeds. Once it's thick and bubbly, it's ready.
Will and I found the roast to be super juicy; I thought it didn't need gravy. I had some dumplings that his mom, who uses potato flakes instead of whole potatoes, that I reheated to use. Will mentioned that his mom's were prettier, but needed more gravy. He found mine to have a bit too much sage, but he liked the flavor better. The gravy was too thick, but Will did like the flavor of it, so that was good. The sauerkraut was fantastic.
This sort of thing is my favorite meal; perfect except for one thing that needs a touch of work.

Penne with Chicken and Feta: One of My Standbys

I love this recipe because it's quick, simple and tasty. In addition, it's also pretty cheap to make. I use chicken tenders because they stay juicier when you saute them. I intended to use chives, but my chives had gone bad. Oh, well.
This particular recipe also contains green onions, which lend a pleasant flavor, and of course feta cheese. To help make it a little better for us, I used whole wheat penne. All it needs is a bit of freshly ground black pepper and you're good to go.
I apologize for the lack of entries. I was on vacation and developed shingles in my right hand. For the latter reason, I have lost the ability to grip with that hand; as it is typing is a chore. Evidently that is commonplace, and in a few days I should be back to normal.