Thursday, October 28, 2010

Appetizer!


The company Halloween Potluck, complete with a costume contest, is happening tomorrow. I signed up for appetizers and am extremely pleased with how these turned out. They are, obviously enough, tiny pizzas! With olives! And real tomato slices!

What's not to love?!

There is nothing spooky about them, but having to survive the barrage of chili-dogs should be scary enough....







A Study in Burnt Asparagus


A plan to make stuffed baked potatoes had taken root, and led to this mysterious gathering of vegetables, spices, and cheese. It had baked potato, lobster bouillon, an adorable whole tomato, and mozzarella. The asparagus were left to fend for themselves in the blustering winds of the oven desert.

This dinner was something to love; too-much-time spent meandering about the kitchen with small-talk, kisses, and a new discovery: the glory of a whole roasted tomato. I like the pictures.

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Still Snuffly.

Another soup concoction to cure the bitter-taste of a slight cold.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Chowder(ish)


Another day of the sniffles. Bean wanted a dinner unsuited to my fancy. While perusing the grocery aisles we saw lobster bouillon. Hello? Suddenly I was excited about dinner again! I bought also one lil' potato, mushrooms, and tomatoes.


Start with three vegetables who seem to be brethren; but like brothers, they are very different upon close inspection. Potato, tomato, radish!

I had every intention of using the tomato in the concoction, but despite its being my absolute favorite vegetable, it retired sullenly to the recesses of the counter.


It is fair to say I didn't know quite what I had in mind. I stuck two cups of water and some lobster bouillon into a pot, and let it boil. I added the potatoes, to let them soften, and then moseyed about packing a lunch for tomorrow. Bean and I are starting a night-time pottery class!!

One period of unestimated time (and one White Russian) later, I added some chopped broccoli and a few mushrooms, and the radish...and subsequently forgot about these for a while.

When dinner was again remembered, I noted that the broth was very clear, as water tends to be. Consulting dear Mam's Fanny Farmer's cookbook, I combined a series of methods to thicken the concoction. First, I drained most of the broth out of the soup, and then replaced it back on the low-burning burner. To it, I added:

1/3 c. whole milk
~2 tbsp cornstarch
~1/4 c. flour

and after stirring for a while, and letting it slowly reheat, a wonderful thing occurred; the soup was now a chowder! Fully creamy, beautifully thick, and piping hot.

So I plopped it in a bowl and whisked it upstairs to begin consummation.

And sweet dreams, says Mushroom Man...

Monday, October 11, 2010

Anchovy Pizza


A pizza that was not mushroom for once! Bean was wary of having an anchovy even touch his part of the pizza, so he cut off a hunk of the dough and we did our own thang. Mine had a lil' can of anchovies, some broccoli, and a chopped radish, with mozzarella cheese and a bit o' sauce.

Man, this thing tasted like a salt lick! But still good. But still not as good as mushroom! But then again, what could hope to win that prize...

Saturday, October 9, 2010

A Bean Soup

In the doldrums of a cold, how wonderful it is to have a boy concoct a hearty soup for dinner, filled with spices and nutrients for the soul that does not feel ready to consume.

Scones of Good Intent


My dearest Nana and Pup's 60th freakin' wedding anniversary is coming up, and it so happened I had arranged to meet her for a rare lunch at work. In preparation, I made these scones with some scrumptious fresh raspberries.



But I regret to inform you, when I bit into one at breakfast the next morning.....

Simply nauseating. I am still unsure what went wrong. Just look at that lil' blob!