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An Email Convo about me hosting next week's Dinner Swap

  • Sarah: We are free except Tuesday. Doing take-out?
  • Me: No, I can cook... Let's do the 20th, Baby Wilk's due date. :)
  • Sarah: YOU ARE SOMETHING ELSE!!! I won't be cooking the whole month before I'm due, at least! :)
  • Joan: Ha, month! I won't be cooking my whole pregnancy! Oh wait... I don't cook now and I'm not pregnant. I guess nothing will change then.
Comments
Dinner Swap. Apple Pie. I know, I know, I haven’t posted one in FOREVER! Part of it’s due to the fact that I’m not in front of a computer 8 hours a day at a time anymore, and the other part is because I don’t have InDesign on our computer, so I can’t make my recipe cards anymore, which has sucked some of the motivation out. But we have been having it every week as usual, as since The Baloney + Hubs moved back to the city, they’ve joined our weekly ritual, and Joan even made dinner once!  Coincidentally enough, Sarah wrote a post on apple pie the day I was making this, unbeknownst to either of us. Meanwhile I got my recipe from “Grandma Ople” on Allrecipes. A solid 5 stars with 3,300 reviews!!! Of course I had to try it. Let’s just say though, I wasn’t very zazzled. I mean, it was good, but I wasn’t blown away or anything. Either way, if you’re itching to make a homemade pie, give it a go and see what you think. (Grandma Ruth’s homemade crust recipe here). PS - If you haven’t conquered a homemade pie yet, be prepared to spend a looong time in the kitchen. Especially if you don’t have an apple corer. Between the coring, the peeling, the cutting, the mixing, the making, the baking, the cleaning… let’s just say I’m glad I wasn’t planning this last minute. Who knew.

Dinner Swap. Apple Pie.

I know, I know, I haven’t posted one in FOREVER! Part of it’s due to the fact that I’m not in front of a computer 8 hours a day at a time anymore, and the other part is because I don’t have InDesign on our computer, so I can’t make my recipe cards anymore, which has sucked some of the motivation out. But we have been having it every week as usual, as since The Baloney + Hubs moved back to the city, they’ve joined our weekly ritual, and Joan even made dinner once! 

Coincidentally enough, Sarah wrote a post on apple pie the day I was making this, unbeknownst to either of us. Meanwhile I got my recipe from “Grandma Ople” on Allrecipes. A solid 5 stars with 3,300 reviews!!! Of course I had to try it. Let’s just say though, I wasn’t very zazzled. I mean, it was good, but I wasn’t blown away or anything. Either way, if you’re itching to make a homemade pie, give it a go and see what you think. (Grandma Ruth’s homemade crust recipe here).

PS - If you haven’t conquered a homemade pie yet, be prepared to spend a looong time in the kitchen. Especially if you don’t have an apple corer. Between the coring, the peeling, the cutting, the mixing, the making, the baking, the cleaning… let’s just say I’m glad I wasn’t planning this last minute. Who knew.

Comments
Dinner Swap This is a double swap entry since I forgot to post last week. I feel like I’m running out of skillet ideas here and I’m starting to get antsy with this whole no-bake thing. An architect friend of mine offered to look up our building info for me to see if she could find out anything going on the back end that would be holding things up with the stove. But nada. Here’s what she said: It appears that the installation of the new gas line is complete and the final inspection was done on 7/12/10. The Architect signed-off the job - the install has to be done in order to do that. There is one missing document which is required before final sign-off but this should not cause the installation any delay. The job was approved by the Department of Buildings on 6/15/10 so there are no objections pending. So guess what this means. WE SHOULD HAVE A STOVE. All signs are a go, so why isn’t the gas on yet. This morning I could hear a ::tickticktickticktick:: as HB stood in the kitchen testing it. Nothing. There’s been a sign on our front door from the landlord that says “ConEd please ring Basement” for 2 weeks now. And unless he’s camping out in the dark damp empty basement all day every day the last 14 days (it’s unfinished and not used for anything), I don’t really understand what’s going on there. Anyhow. I was pretty happy with the pork chop dinner with my limited resources. I couldn’t believe I pulled off so many pieces with my single appliance and still managed to serve everything hot. download here. The shortcake was on the fly this week, but it’s one of my favorite desserts and was a hit, in spite of its simplicity. download here.

Dinner Swap

This is a double swap entry since I forgot to post last week. I feel like I’m running out of skillet ideas here and I’m starting to get antsy with this whole no-bake thing. An architect friend of mine offered to look up our building info for me to see if she could find out anything going on the back end that would be holding things up with the stove. But nada. Here’s what she said:

It appears that the installation of the new gas line is complete and the final inspection was done on 7/12/10. The Architect signed-off the job - the install has to be done in order to do that. There is one missing document which is required before final sign-off but this should not cause the installation any delay. The job was approved by the Department of Buildings on 6/15/10 so there are no objections pending.

So guess what this means. WE SHOULD HAVE A STOVE. All signs are a go, so why isn’t the gas on yet. This morning I could hear a ::tickticktickticktick:: as HB stood in the kitchen testing it. Nothing. There’s been a sign on our front door from the landlord that says “ConEd please ring Basement” for 2 weeks now. And unless he’s camping out in the dark damp empty basement all day every day the last 14 days (it’s unfinished and not used for anything), I don’t really understand what’s going on there.

Anyhow. I was pretty happy with the pork chop dinner with my limited resources. I couldn’t believe I pulled off so many pieces with my single appliance and still managed to serve everything hot.


download here.

The shortcake was on the fly this week, but it’s one of my favorite desserts and was a hit, in spite of its simplicity.


download here.

Comments
On the plus side, the good thing that came out of last night, besides Sarah’s dinner I wanted thirds of but decided to substitute with the freshly cut watermelon instead and then later regretted but was too embarrassed to ask to get it out of the fridge, was that she WON HER FIRST PUERTO RICO GAME BLINDSIDED US WITH A SLAUGHTER!! Now I don’t have to feel guilty for accidentally sabatoging her last near-win anymore. I mean, just look at how happy she is here with her Banana Drink after her win. 

On the plus side, the good thing that came out of last night, besides Sarah’s dinner I wanted thirds of but decided to substitute with the freshly cut watermelon instead and then later regretted but was too embarrassed to ask to get it out of the fridge, was that she WON HER FIRST PUERTO RICO GAME BLINDSIDED US WITH A SLAUGHTER!! Now I don’t have to feel guilty for accidentally sabatoging her last near-win anymore.

I mean, just look at how happy she is here with her Banana Drink after her win. 

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Dessert Disaster or Hormones?

Well, both actually. Last night was Dinner Swap and my turn for dessert. Since we still have no oven, I’m limited to no-bake things, or very simple once-baked things (like cookies or something that I can throw in the oven when I get to our friends’ house and not have to do anything after that).

So while I attempted to make this,

It actually turned out like this.

And while you can’t really tell at first glance, if you look again you’ll notice all the drips everywhere and the measuring cup in the bowl that I had to use to scoop it… ya that’s because it was liquid. My Banana Pudding was a Banana Drink.

So I cried.
Like lip out, eyes down, tears flowing, cry.

After HB consoled me through his teeny bursts of man giggles at me (surely he knew I was being a hormonal mess), and assured me “it’s just dessert” and “they won’t care” and “it’ll still be good”… I pulled myself together. We later discovered the problem. Who knew there was such a thing as vanilla pudding mix that wasn’t instant. 

Meanwhile, my hormones are still in control (oxymoron?). I haven’t really ‘lost it’ yet, like gotten fired up at HB for no reason or anything like that (correct me if I’m wrong dear), but mainly I’ve just been starting to cry a lot.

The tears have continued today, showing up on the subway when reading about my protagonist’s hero who shows up at her door on page 362, when getting a sweet text from HB saying how much he loves me and our baby, when recalling my childhood dog’s death from when I was 11, then of course increasing when thinking about my current dog’s future death someday. Yes I’m normally a crier (loved ones reading this, I know that), but seriously, I’m easily triggered right now.

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Dinner Swap Sarah made the most delectable, hitjusttherightspot dessert. I should really see if she’d want to tag team with this whole blogging the recipe card thing and put her recipes up too, since, actually, her blog is entirely food-focused. Then maybe we can exchange cards too! (Which reminds me Sarah, I’ll send you that recipe card template on Friday when I’m in the office; I keep forgetting to do that)

Dinner Swap

Sarah made the most delectable, hitjusttherightspot dessert. I should really see if she’d want to tag team with this whole blogging the recipe card thing and put her recipes up too, since, actually, her blog is entirely food-focused. Then maybe we can exchange cards too! (Which reminds me Sarah, I’ll send you that recipe card template on Friday when I’m in the office; I keep forgetting to do that)

Comments
Dinner Swap: Homemade Fried Tacos INGREDIENTS: 12 corn tortillas 1.5 lbs ground beef vegetable oil for frying toothpicks 1/4 head of lettuce, diced stick of cheddar cheese, grated 1 large tomato, diced guacamole of choice sour cream salsa of choice DIRECTIONS: Brown the ground beef in a skillet on medium heat, seasoning to taste. Then drain and set aside. Fill skillet with thick layer of oil on medium-high heat until just starting to smoke. Meanwhile, wrap 4 tortillas at a time in wax paper and heat the microwave on high for 1 minute so they are soft and malleable. Take tortillas out and fill with a spoonful or two of the cooked ground beef and pin sides together with toothpicks to keep them closed and prevent meat from falling out. Brown the tacos in the hot oil for 1-2 minutes on each side and place on a papertowel on a plate to drain some of the oil off. Serve with favorite toppings (my pref: lettuce, cheese, guac, sour cream, salsa).

Dinner Swap: Homemade Fried Tacos

INGREDIENTS:

  • 12 corn tortillas
  • 1.5 lbs ground beef
  • vegetable oil for frying
  • toothpicks
  • 1/4 head of lettuce, diced
  • stick of cheddar cheese, grated
  • 1 large tomato, diced
  • guacamole of choice
  • sour cream
  • salsa of choice

DIRECTIONS:

  1. Brown the ground beef in a skillet on medium heat, seasoning to taste. Then drain and set aside.
  2. Fill skillet with thick layer of oil on medium-high heat until just starting to smoke.
  3. Meanwhile, wrap 4 tortillas at a time in wax paper and heat the microwave on high for 1 minute so they are soft and malleable.
  4. Take tortillas out and fill with a spoonful or two of the cooked ground beef and pin sides together with toothpicks to keep them closed and prevent meat from falling out.
  5. Brown the tacos in the hot oil for 1-2 minutes on each side and place on a papertowel on a plate to drain some of the oil off.
  6. Serve with favorite toppings (my pref: lettuce, cheese, guac, sour cream, salsa).
Comments
Dinner Swap: Homemade Fried Tacos Every year on each of our birthdays growing up my mom would ask what we wanted for dinner. My birthday dinner request was always the same: Tacos! They are the most crunchy, flavorful, perfectly greasy, filled with yumminess thing EVER. They started out my grandma’s recipe, my mom adopted it, and then passed it on to me somewhere in college. My mom only made them a few times a year because she said they were a lot of work. Which they are if you’re making everything from scratch and for a big family + guests, but since I like to make my salsa ahead of time and freeze it, and since there are only four of us for Dinner Swap, it’s fairly a quick fix for me. Since I’m running out of things to make in my one little skillet because of our no-stove situation still (please dear landlord hook it up for us!!), I decided I’d make these last night. Plus, I only had like 25 minutes before our friends came over and knew I could pull it off fast. In my opinion, the only acceptable way to serve them (read: eat them) is with homemade salsa AND homemade guac, but if you don’t have access to those, well, I guess you have to start somewhere, right?

Dinner Swap: Homemade Fried Tacos

Every year on each of our birthdays growing up my mom would ask what we wanted for dinner. My birthday dinner request was always the same: Tacos!

They are the most crunchy, flavorful, perfectly greasy, filled with yumminess thing EVER. They started out my grandma’s recipe, my mom adopted it, and then passed it on to me somewhere in college.

My mom only made them a few times a year because she said they were a lot of work. Which they are if you’re making everything from scratch and for a big family + guests, but since I like to make my salsa ahead of time and freeze it, and since there are only four of us for Dinner Swap, it’s fairly a quick fix for me.

Since I’m running out of things to make in my one little skillet because of our no-stove situation still (please dear landlord hook it up for us!!), I decided I’d make these last night. Plus, I only had like 25 minutes before our friends came over and knew I could pull it off fast.

In my opinion, the only acceptable way to serve them (read: eat them) is with homemade salsa AND homemade guac, but if you don’t have access to those, well, I guess you have to start somewhere, right?

Comments
Dinner Swap. Sarah made the best banana bread blueberry compote thingy.  On other news, I caused her to lose her would-have-been-first-Puerto-Rico-win by tiebreakers points. I’m a horrible person.

Dinner Swap.

Sarah made the best banana bread blueberry compote thingy. 

On other news, I caused her to lose her would-have-been-first-Puerto-Rico-win by tiebreakers points. I’m a horrible person.

Comments

Dinner Swap: Southwestern Pulled Brisket & Slaw


Picture by Sarah.


HB declared that he thinks this has become his new favorite meal.

This past month in our new place has really forced me to step out of my regular cooking zone. I’ve had to be a bit more creative and try and come up with dishes I can make in either a slower cooker or electric skillet since our stove isn’t currently hooked up yet (not exactly sure why, but it’s a brand new place, so it’s not broken, just not hooked up yet). I found this recipe on smittenkitchen.com, adapted by the Food Network. It’s delicious! I think the real keys to making it a tasty meal are the tortillas (a change up from the standard roll, apparently) and the pickled onions! Trust me, they make the dish! On a side note: the slaw sauce has quite the punch with only the two little Serrano chilies in it, so if you’re sensitive, you may want to start with half of one. Seriously.

Recipe Cards:

 

Here,

here,

and here.

Comments

Dinner Swap: Carrot Cake Whoopie Pies

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/8 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 1/3 cup plus 2 tbls packed light brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 cup coarsely grated carrots (2 medium)
  • 1/2 cup raisins (2 1/2 ounces)
  • 8 ounces cream cheese
  • 1/4 cup honey

Directions:

  1. Whisk together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.
  2. Beat together butter, sugars, egg, and vanilla in a bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 min. Mix in carrots and raisins at low speed, then add flour mixture and beat until just combined.
  3. Chill dough in freezer for 15 minutes.
  4. Drop 1 tbl batter per cookie 2 inches apart on silplat mats and bake on baking sheets, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until cookies are lightly browned and springy to the touch, 12 to 16 minutes total.
  5. Cool cookies on sheets on racks 1 minute, then transfer cookies to racks to cool completely.
  6. While cookies are baking, blend cream cheese and honey in a food processor until smooth.
  7. Sandwich flat sides of cookies together with a generous tablespoon of cream cheese filling in between. These are good the first night, but if you store in an airtight container, they get amazingly moist and whoopie-pie-like on the second night.

Recipe Card here.
(note, this one is double-sided)

Comments
Dinner Swap: Carrot Cake Whoopie Pies We haven’t done one in about a month. Since before Italy. So now that we’re back, moved, and in the swing of things again getting by in the day-to-day, we’re going to kick off June with one this Saturday. The only thing is, this week is going to present a challenge. I don’t have a working stove. Yes it’s brand new, no it’s not broken. It hadn’t been hooked up yet and the gas guy, for whatever reason, hasn’t come out to do it. So our very nice and much-loved-so-far landlord has apologized profusely and gave us money off our rent to compensate, but it’s still a hassle. A HUGE one. You think eating out is fun and convenient until you have no other choice. Luckily Sarah loaned me her grandfather’s Christmas gift to her so we can get by: an electric skillet. So far I’ve made a casserole and chili cheese fries. Hmmm. I think I need to step it up a bit. It’s time to get creative. I’ll let you know what I make, but meanwhile, here’s the last thing I did a month ago. I’ll post the recipe right now. (They’re delish)

Dinner Swap: Carrot Cake Whoopie Pies

We haven’t done one in about a month. Since before Italy. So now that we’re back, moved, and in the swing of things again getting by in the day-to-day, we’re going to kick off June with one this Saturday. The only thing is, this week is going to present a challenge. I don’t have a working stove.

Yes it’s brand new, no it’s not broken. It hadn’t been hooked up yet and the gas guy, for whatever reason, hasn’t come out to do it. So our very nice and much-loved-so-far landlord has apologized profusely and gave us money off our rent to compensate, but it’s still a hassle. A HUGE one. You think eating out is fun and convenient until you have no other choice. Luckily Sarah loaned me her grandfather’s Christmas gift to her so we can get by: an electric skillet. So far I’ve made a casserole and chili cheese fries. Hmmm. I think I need to step it up a bit. It’s time to get creative.

I’ll let you know what I make, but meanwhile, here’s the last thing I did a month ago. I’ll post the recipe right now. (They’re delish)

Comments