Category: Main Dish

Follow the Leader

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It’s hard to believe, but this is our last post from Down Under. This tour seems to have gone by rather quickly, or maybe it’s just me. I really enjoyed our adventures with Aussie cuisine and have a feeling a few of these recipes will stick around (especially the Pavlova) for years to come. However, before we get to the final recipe, I thought we’d play a little game of follow the leader.

You see it’s my turn to pick our next cooking around the world destination, but I’m feeling a bit indecisive. So I thought I’d leave it up to you to decide where we go next. You lead, we’ll follow. The poll will be open until next Sunday evening. So tell us, where should we go? Click your choice in the poll below.

Now on to our last Australian dish and we’re heading back to the barbie. This time we’re going with seafood and a recipe inspired by the Sydney Fish Market, a Grilled White Fish with Lemon Rocket Pesto. The original recipe called for the use of lemon myrtle, an ingredient I had never heard of before. So after consulting good ol’ Wikipedia, I learned that it’s a flowering plant and a well-known “bushwood” flavor. I then had to learn what “bushwood” meant…it traditionally relates to any food native to Australia. Continue reading →

Perfect Balance

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First I have to start by complimenting my dear husband. He got up last Friday in the wee hours of the morning, when it’s still quite dark, to start the 14 pound brisket in the smoker. I admit that I was skeptical. We had done some reading about smoking a packer brisket and it sure sounded complicated. There are so many things to consider…things I had never even heard of before. So to say I was nervous would be an understatement. We had a backyard full of people to feed after all.

Well, I ended up worried over nothing (Isn’t that usually the case for us natural born worriers?). Mike’s brisket was cooked to perfection – pink on the inside, crispy on the outside and oh, so juicy! There was only a morsel left (You know the last piece no one takes because no one wants to be the person to take the last piece.). And I would be remiss if I didn’t give a shout-out to all of our wonderful friends that brought the tasty side dishes to share. Each one was delicious! Sadly, I was too busy to take a photo, so you’ll just have to use your imaginations. You can flashback to our “Chopped Challenge” from New Year’s to see the rub Mike used though. Great stuff!

Now back to our Australian adventures…As we adjust to being back in our school routines, it’s all about finding that perfect life balance – or at least some semblance of balance. You know, trying to find the right balance of time for work, family, exercise, marriage, volunteer work, the kids’ activities and heck, even blogging! Some days it all comes together and others, well, you just have to muddle through. Those are the kind of days when a little comfort food is in order. Like an Aussie Meat Pie. We started with a pie crust. Continue reading →

Smoking Good Times

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At the start of the summer, on one of our little weekend getaways, the four of us sat down and made a list of things we wanted to do this season. Summer always seems to go so fast, and we’re likely to let it get away from us if we’re not careful. But we’ve found that by creating a wish list we’re more likely to actually get around to doing some of the fun things we thought up and less likely to forget.

Like visiting random historic sites.

Last weekend we realized that summer was once again passing right before our eyes and decided it was time to attack making Cornish hens (which was at the top of our “foods to make” list). We invited some friends for dinner and set to work. A co-worker had recently mentioned a recipe for smoked Cornish hens and I knew that’s what I wanted to do. We found our inspiration in a recipe from the Neelys over at the Food Network. Continue reading →

Hands-on Fun

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As promised…our last Romanian recipe. Then we have a few special celebrations before we’re off to our new international pick. This next selection will be courtesy of Miss A which is always exciting. We just never know where she’ll take us! Mike and I usually talk about our options, so those picks aren’t really a surprise. We can bet on Mr. N going for Asia, but Miss A…she’s taken us to Brazil, Uzbekistan, Portugal and Greenland. It’s literally all over the map. Continue reading →

A Few of Our Favorite Things

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As you know, Mike and I recently celebrated our 12th anniversary. We enjoyed  a wonderful dinner out (which reminds me we need to try to create that appetizer recipe) and whipped up a special dinner at home. When we have date nights at home there are two types of cuisine that dominate the scene – sushi and Italian. The sushi is usually ordered from our favorite local restaurant, but sometimes made at home, and the Italian dishes although varied are always homemade.

Now usually when we prepare a date night meal it’s typically something that the kids aren’t too thrilled about eating, so we serve the kids one of their favorites (pizza, chicken nuggets, waffles, etc.) earlier in the evening. This time, however, we figured given their love of seafood we’d introduce them to Seafood Risotto. Continue reading →

From Sesame Street to Sesame Chicken

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I mentioned in the last post that this was Mr. N’s special week. So for the next few posts we’ll be setting Romania aside to bring you Mr. N’s birthday meal of choice. Gone are the days of kicking back and watching Sesame Street with my favorite little boy. He’s eight now and rolls his eyes at the sight of anything Sesame Street related. Now he’s into LEGO’s, reading mystery books and running around with his friends (without his mom). While I miss the days of carrying him around everywhere with me (Man, did he love to be carried!), it’s such a joy watching him grow and develop such an active imagination, gentle nature and terrific sense of humor.

Mr. N’s 1st Birthday

So what did Mr. N request for his birthday? Sesame Chicken. Well, actually he told me he wanted some kind of Chinese chicken. When I asked what kind, he requested I pull something up on the internet. So I Googled “Chinese chicken” images and passed him the computer. He browsed through a page or two of pictures and then said, “This one. I want this one.” And so today, Mr. N — who’s writing this along side of me and rather embarrassed at the moment with his mom’s mushiness — bring you a lighter version of the popular Sesame Chicken which we adapted from a Martha Stewart recipe. Incidentally it’s also a really easy recipe which gave me more time to work on the dessert that we’ll share soon. Alright…take it away Mr. N.  Continue reading →