Good Morning, Darlings!
This week has been a flurry of cooking at our house. We adhered to our planned menu for the week and it was so much fun. Last night was pork belly tacos and the night before was dim sum. Wednesday night was Chicken Pot Pie. And here are the pictures to prove it.
Making Martha's Pate Brisee for the Chicken Pot Pie Crust
Good Morning, Darlings!
I have challenged myself recently to only eat what we have in the house (no shopping til the weekend) so we can see what we really have and to stop waste. We saw how I revamped the fluff-deprived marshmallows into soft taffy as hostess gifts. Last night I thawed the leftover french onion soup we made last week, toasted up the last of the beautiful loaf Lisa bought me at Super H on our last visit together and topped it with mozzarella cheese. Not totally authentic, but it was what we had. And was it ever yummy. I also baked up some of our cookie dough from the weekend so we would have dessert. Tonight it will be chicken pot pie, with chicken mixture leftover from chicken and dumplings last week, topped with a lovely pate brisee from Martha, which will make dinner prep a snap. Thursday is dim sum night, with a ton of dim sum (frozen) that I picked up at Super H on the cheap. Rounding up the week will be pork belly tacos with pork belly found in the freezer (another Super H steal). Saturday is date night and I will tell you about that next week.
Good Morning, Darlings!
This past Saturday I had promised to teach our darling Chioke how to make biscuits and sausage gravy. I thought this was the perfect opportunity to throw a little get together.
Now usually, sausage gravy and biscuits sounds like a down home kind of meal. But I decided to amp up the glamour. There would be 7 of us at brunch and I wanted a very special table setting. First stop, the State Farmer’s market to see the flower lady. The roses there start at $9.99 for 2 dozen and they are really beautiful. She was having a “buy two and get one bunch free” deal that I could just not say no to. I ended up with 2 bunches of yellow roses and one bunch of a very, very, pale yellow roses. So total roses – 6 dozen. Cost – $27.50. The “wow” effect on my friends – priceless.
Good Morning, Darlings!
E and I have been trying to eat healthier in 2010, with pretty good results. Fresh fruit every morning and more veggies every day. To make it more fun, I came up with this meatless pasta (or pizza or whatever…) sauce substituting the eggplant for meat. It turned out pretty well and even made an encore appearance in the meal we made last night. Here’s what I did.
Patti’s Eggplant Sauce
1 large eggplant
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup flour, seasoned with salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 small can tomato paste
1 can of tomato puree
1 bottle of red wine
Red pepper flakes to taste
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 onion, minced
Water to thin sauce
Peel eggplant and cut into 1/2″ cubes (it doesn’t need to be precise)
Place colander over sink and put eggplant in, cover with salt for 30 mins to an hour (this will keep the eggplant from getting watery) – Do not skip this step, please
Rinse eggplant after appropriate time has passed
Place beaten eggs in large bowl
Place seasoned flour in another large bowl
In batches, first place eggplant in beaten egg and then in seasoned flour
Heat large skillet with vegetable oil over medium heat
When oil is heated (flick a drop of water over oil, if it “dances” it is ready)
Gently place egged and floured eggplant into oil and cook until brown, remembering to turn when first side is done
Drain fried eggplant on paper towels
Continue until all eggplant is fried
Now for the sauce:
Saute onions and garlic in 2 tablespoons oil
Add fried eggplant (reserve a few to top dish before serving – thanks, Lisa!)
Add wine, tomato paste and tomato puree
Bring to a boil and immediately drop heat to a simmer
Add red pepper flakes to taste
Allow to simmer for at least an hour (add water if sauce is looking too thick)
Enjoy as a topping for your favorite pasta (we used fusilli)
Pretty easy, huh? Here is a pictorial for your viewing pleasure.
Eggplant - Cubed, Salted and Draining
Beaten Eggs and Seasoned Flour
Frying The Eggplant
Yummy Fried Eggplant!
Bubbling Eggplant Sauce
I have all kinds of treats in store for you this week. Stay tuned and Happy Monday!
xoxo, Patti
Good Morning, Darlings!
Remember our good friend, Eddie Ross? Well, it seems that a fellow contestant for the Bloomingdale’s window design competition is trying to bulldozer them. And we just cannot have that, now, can we? Our sweet, genteel gentleman friend will not be surpassed by this media bully.
Could you all be so sweet as to pop over to Bloomingdale’s Big Window Challenge and vote? Do it online here and by texting 1 to 89800. Thank you, everyone! Eddie + Jaithan appreciate your help immensely! It’s a bit of doing to get registered, but once registered, you can vote twice per day.
Eddie + Jaithan's Fab Fab Fab Window!
And I promise, after you do that, I will have a fresh new post waiting for you this afternoon. Pinky swear.
xoxo, Patti
Good Morning, Darlings!
With Sugar Coma, the Macaron Class and Dave & Sue’s cookies, you would think I would be all sugared out. But apparently that is not the case. Yesterday I had a hankerin’ to make some hazelnut marshmallows. Taruan and I have been discussing this for weeks, so I thought I would go ahead and make them. And tell you about them, too, of course!
(sung to the tune, “Going To The Chapel”…)
Good Morning, Darlings!
If you know me well in real life, you will know that I am a Super H devotee. I adore the Super H Market. Google it and see if you have one near you. It is an Asian supermarket and their produce, meats and seafood departments will blow you away. And those prices! Crazy insane cheap. You could shop here for a week and not spend $50. Or you could spend more – it’s all up to you.
Good Morning, Darlings!
I like to consider myself fairly well traveled, but my knowledge of the French macaron is next to nil. In my mind, macarons are delightful coconut confections, preferably sold by Godiva. This past Sunday I received quite the education.