Salsa Chicken-in-a-bowl

I don't like food that's too carefully arranged; it makes me think that the chef is spending too much time arranging and not enough time cooking. If I wanted a picture I'd buy a painting. ~Andy Rooney 

 Ha! Andy Rooney would love this one! I pretty much repeated my "recipe" from last night but with chicken. I roasted boneless chicken breasts sprinkled with seasonings until done but not dry. I sliced them and put them in a roasting pan with green and red pepper and onion wedges. A light sprinkling of olive oil and popped them back in the oven. I turned the mix a few times while it roasted for about 20 minutes. When done, I scooped the mix into a large pasta bowl, folded up some handmade (not by me) white corn tortillas and dolloped with a large spoonful of salsa. Dinner. Done. Delicious. Andy Rooney style.

Pork Redone

“I have lived in this world just long enough to look carefully the second time into things that I am most certain of the first time.”~ Josh Billings

Last night I enjoyed dinner and a beer at a wonderful new local brewery where our younger companions enjoyed the oh-so-yummy Macaroni and Cheese pictured below. Ladyface Alehouse and Brasserie is a brand new brewery and Belgian-style brasserie in Agoura Hills, CA. I have linked the home page for this amazing spot below. If you live anywhere in the area, you must go! I LOVE this place! So tonight I had to accept more mundane fare...but not so bad! I cut thin slices of leftover pork medallions and added onion and peppers and olive oil and spices and roasted. A nice salad on the side. Simple. But I can't wait to get back to Ladyface for a martini!

Ladyface Alehouse & Brasserie 

Pork Medallions and Spring Veggies

Spring is nature's way of saying, "Let's party!"  ~Robin Williams

No party tonight. Just a regular Monday night after a long day...until I made these Pork Medallions. Said I would try them next and I did! Terrific flavor. They marinate over night so really easy to pull together on Sunday evening and finish off after work. Quick cook time. Light. Right. Link is below. This is another Trisha Yearwood recipe!

Trisha Yearwood's Pork Medallions 

 

 

Apple-Sausage Loaf

All happiness depends on a leisurely breakfast. ~John Gunther

 Cinnamon rolls, scrambled eggs and apple-sausage loaf. SO glad it is Sunday. This is an old family recipe that always turns an ordinary Sunday into a holiday. There is, however, a complication with this recipe as it calls for "cracker meal"...an item that I have learned (after looking all over for it) has been discontinued. So, I have tried various cracker crumb combinations...this time I used a mixture of cornflake crumbs, panko and crushed Town House crackers. I have tried other combos and they taste about the same. Be sure to thoroughly bake to a brown (and yummy crunchy) crust. I used to form into a ring but the loaf is easier. The recipe is included after the jump below. Please enjoy!

How do I live without Hot Corn Dip?

 

And tell me now, How do I live without you...~Trisha Yearwood Lyrics

I can't live without this corn dip and so I am sending out a big thank you to Trisha Yearwood. Not only is she a successful country music artist but she has also mastered the art of fabulous southern cooking! Her newly released second cookbook  Home Cooking with Trisha Yearwood: Stories and Recipes to Share with Family and Friends is terrific. Filled with oh-so-good comfort recipes, the book holds pages of recipes I want to try. I started with the Hot Corn Dip above. This is the kind of appetizer that causes a frenzy and is gone in a flash. I can post a link here because Trisha appeared on The View and the recipe is posted on that site. I used "Southwestern Corn" as that is what I could find easily. I used a little less chilis than the recipe called for. Pork Medallions are next. Can't wait!

Trisha Yearwood's Hot Corn Dip 

Food Frames

There are always two people in every picture:  the photographer and the viewer.~Ansel Adams

Admittedly, I am late to this party. I have only recently appreciated the joy that comes with photographing food. I am neither a photographer or a chef. So I have become curious why this activity has become such a joyful activity for me. It does validate all those years that I cooked for my family. Hours spent in the kitchen and my labors of love gone in an instant. Lots of photos of happy faces but few if any of the meals that brought those smiles. Compliments linger as memories with no documented history. So I read with interest the New York Times article "First Camera, Then Fork" (link below). I don't quibble with some of the psychology attributed to the practice. But I do think the article missed a few points. First, I began to photograph what I was cooking and eating so that I could become more conscious of the process from start to finish. And that happened. It happened because through the added step of photographing the food, I have reignited the visual aesthetic associated with my cooking and eating. That had almost faded away as cooking and eating became wholly functional. Now I am satisfied more by the colors, the patterns, the shapes. I acknowledge the food before I eat it. I start eating already satisfied on one sensory level. Second, I get a great sense of community from the ever widening global table that has unfolded for me. Pulling up a chair and sitting at YOUR table is a truly happy moment in my day. Thank you all!

First Camera, Then Fork 

Easter Brunch

Such a beautiful gift. Easter Brunch lovingly and masterfully put together by my daughter. Even an Easter Day earthquake could not shake this exquisite presentation. And so delicious. Simple. 

Elegant. Mimosas and Bellinis. The best. Yes, she is!

Agnolotti and Ravioli

No matter what you've done for yourself or for humanity, if you can't look back on having given love and attention to your own family, what have you really accomplished?~Lee Iacocca

Our family is celebrating both a birthday and Easter this weekend. What a wonderful chance to be together but tonight I needed an easy, elegant and spring-y dinner. I made a nutmeg-sherry cream sauce to pour over butternut squash ravioli and proscuitto and caramelized onion agnolotti. The pasta was handmade...(here's the shortcut) not by me but by my favorite Italian deli. While I was there, I picked up one of those great traditional sweet Easter breads with the whole colored egg baked in the middle. Finished off the day making double chocolate Easter Eggs. These are ridiculously rich and, therefore, ridiculously good. I have linked the recipe below. Very easy and made me feel I had done something special for the day!

Double Chocolate Walnut Easter Eggs 

RECIPE FOR SHERRY CREAM SAUCE...