Prosciutto Pizza

Just a little late, ever-so-salty, ever-so-delicious dinner.

prosciutto

sliced onion

vodka sauce

mozzarella cheese

Played my first tennis of the season tonight!

Prosciutto & Cheddar

When I first moved in, there seemed to be interesting deli meats in the refrigerator at all times, and I could sample of them at will for my lunches. But lately, there's been a lack of that! And normally I would be content concocting a delicious sandwich of mushrooms, kimchi, mustard, spinach, broccoli, cabbage.......whatever I could find; it would be delicious as long as it was on good bread.

But lately, since I've been training for a half-marathon, I need a bit more stuff in my sandwich. The other day I bought this prosciutto, pre-sliced and hard-as-hell to work with. It adds a deliciously salty kick, and tastes strangely (since it's pork) of seafood, which of course I enjoy fully.

This one had:

deli roll ($0.79)

prosciutto

Vermont cheddar cheese

sliced mushrooms

scallions

multitudes of spinach

We can grill again!!

Ma'am is gone for this week, and so we determined to use the ground beef she left in the refrigerator. There was Bean and Nick and Paige and Mike and me. We made eight burgers; but with hugely disproportionate buns, I used a quarter for mine.

Those wimps prefer well-done burgers, though -- so what turned out the best to me was a hump of quartered mushrooms and cherry tomatoes, drizzled in olive oil, oregano and basil.

Easter in Maine!

I was very impressed by Pap's simple dinner of lamb and lightly boiled vegetables. So simple, yet so delectable!

And (though I am inclined towards chocolatey dessserts...) a scrumptious completely-from-scratch lemon meringue pie from Sheree, to top it off. It was simply wonderful.

Thai Stir-Fry (?)

Bean and I usually spend dinner time pootling about the kitchen, each making a very different dish that satisfies both of our predilections and desires.

But today I wanted to try this.

It's something Bean has made before; a mix of vegetables and (chicken if you want!) and noodles, and spice.

I came home late from work, but we whisked to the store regardless. And when we got home, we realized we had three more people to feed!

So out, the huge fry pan comes. We began with:

olive oil

chopped scallions

chopped red onion

chopped garlic cloves (2)

And then, we added chopped carrots and broccoli. It was nice to be working (for once) towards the same goal.

Eventually we added:

(too few) chopped mushrooms

2 chopped chili peppers

garlic oil

salt

Boil some rice noodles for a few minutes, and make an olive-oil filled pool in the midst of the vegetables. Add the cooked noodles, and simmer until your guests arrive.

For us, they were just in time! And hungry, too.

and shelling raw peanuts, to crush in the mortar-and-pestle (something I've learned from childhood) added a beautiful topping.

Cheddar & Apple Panini

I had resigned myself to a small dinner of oft-repeated dishes, but then Bean wished to go to the grocery store. When he bought some year-aged cheddar cheese, and Mike (who is staying with us for a while) bought some fresh dinner rolls, an idea popped! Right into my New England head. A granny smith and cheddar sandwich!

But how to make it a panini?

A small frying pan, with a small bit of olive oil (heated until I feared the fire alarms would announce themselves) did the trick! Then I plopped the sandwich in, squashed it down with a pan cover; flipped it over and repeated, and rescued it from certain danger. It was nicely scorched, but the cheese was not melted.

Into the toaster it went, adorned with beautiful burn marks. And it was delicious.

Finally, an Oven!

In a fluke April storm, our oven stopped working. It has now been numerous weeks.

Whereas before, we made pizza-stone pizzas at least two times a week, we had to do without...

And today, we realized we could use the darned thing! And so here it is:

mushroom

spinach

onion

Feta cheese

mozzarella

chopped cherry tomatoes

And, of course, deliciousness!

Gift from Nana

I was, at first, afraid that telling Nana about my small-plate collection would result in many unwanted and unappreciated gifts.

But this one, I love!

Grape Leaf Wontons

Desiring another use for my abundant supply of grape leaves, I tried saute-ing them. With some:

mushrooms

broccoli

scallion

thai spice mix

olive oil!

And so, we have an adorable mess. A bite topped with cherry tomato and a bit too much spice!

My Italian Flag

Grape leaves are a new thing to me. But they're a thing that will persuade me to consume my dinner, and for that I thank them.

Stuffed Grape Leaves!

First came the cooking of the Basmati rice, which produced a much greater yield than I expected with a measley half cup of the darn things; they swelled and wriggled to a giant bowlful of aromatic grains.

Then, the chopping of wonderfully complementary vegetables -- mushrooms and tomatoes, of course; my altogether favorites.

All of this boiled with the rice, until it reached a delicious tenderness:

olive oil

leftover fresh coriander

chopped onion

chopped scallion (redundant?)

basil leaves

garlic

salt

And then came the unfurling of the jarred grape leaves.

And the rolling.....

Here they are, all hot side-by-side in their lil' dish:

I'd forgotten that grape leaves have a taste all their own; I was simply using them as a containing mechanism. But their taste reminds me of childhood days when a loud, German man would cook us leaves stuffed with lamb and rice, and tell us tales of the world.