Cooking Mag Mommy

In all the days I've blogged about my cooking, I've never had a day like today. A friend invited us last night to come play tennis in their neighborhood at 7:00 tonight. The invitation did not mention a cookout. As I was finishing dinner around 6:15 tonight, the same friend called and asked where we were. The plan had changed and a group of our friends had begun grilling out at the tennis courts around 6:00 and they wanted us to join them. She'd forgotten to call me back and let me know of the change. Richard heard about the cookout and immediately asked if dinner could wait a night. I'd finished making it already but we hadn't sat down to eat so I agreed. Here are my pictures of the dinner not eaten. I did take a few bites to review the recipes but most of this meal will be eaten tomorrow from leftover dishes. I took the brownies to the tennis cookout as our last minute contribution. The main dish I made tonight, the Chicken Cutlets with Asparagus, Caper...

I've only been to the state of Idaho for about 6 hours. So I can't speak much to the beauty of the state but the pictures from the article " Backcountry Bolognese " in this month's Bon Appetit reminded me of the summer I was a camp activities director in Ekalaka , Montana. This tiny town in southeastern Montana epitomizes the vastness of the West. We drove for several hours on a dirt road just to get to the camp. The quiet that was broken only by the whistle of the wind was starkly beautiful. The pictures of this article reminded me of that summer and the special energy that fills this amazing part of the world. The menu began with a Smoked Trout Crostini with Grilled Fennel and Red Onions. I couldn't find smoked trout at the local grocery store so I asked a smoked tuna to stand in. It worked in my opinion. Richard is less of a fish fan but I did notice he reached for another helping after his "sample". The fennel and onion were muted in the roa...

Seriously, I did not just make an entire St. Patrick's Day meal and forget to take pictures. Blame it on the leprechaun. He stole my before shots. If nothing else, these pictures prove the meal was edible. There is a handy little menu guide at the back of each Bon Appetit magazine that gives suggestions for menus that do not appear as a set in the magazine. There was not an article about St. Patrick's Day but there was a nostalgic article about the food of Ireland written by Andrew McCarthy of '80's movie fame. Guess the guy can act and write. In my own three trips to Ireland, I cannot wax nostalgic about brown bread or the pounds of potatoes I ate, served in many forms. As I sit here, I remember the scenery and very little about the food (other than the copious amount of potato dishes and excellent beer). Maybe I'll have to plan my next trip to be a bit more gourmet. The main dish recommended for the St. Patrick's menu, the Braised Pork Shoulder with P...

In the doctor's office yesterday, I randomly picked up an old copy of some Martha Stewart magazine. Suffice it to say, it was from September so it had been sitting in that office for awhile. At the beginning of the magazine was a short column that ostensibly was Martha's actual calendar for the month. Out of curiosity I read the entries. Yoga with Michael, I could believe. Laundering and storing away the summer weight blankets sounded like a totally Martha thing to do. But wipe down trim and baseboards, I ain't buying! There is no way Martha Stewart actually wipes down the trim and baseboards in her numerous homes. Pays someone else to do it, maybe, but Martha hasn't done that in years, if ever. Believe me, I like looking through cooking, gardening, and home design magazines as much as the next girl but not one of the meals, gardens, or homes featured in these magazines are the product of one very creative and extremely neat person. It's just not realist...

When I began to blog about my cooking, I was a bit naive. I thought my blog would eventually serve the same purpose as my husband Richard's triathlon blog, to get to know an online community of people interested in the same things as I was. That hasn't really happened and I long ago gave up being frustrated about it. You see, cooking blogs aren't really for amateurs. An amateur is defined as a person who does something as a pastime or hobby, not for income. Every cooking blog I've come across is not amateur, that's for sure. Check out any blog list online at Bon Appetit or Food and Wine. The blogs connected to these sites are hard-core and designed to sell. The authors of these blogs have careers and/or educations as writers, chefs, photographers, and many even work in the web design arena. That's tough to compete with when you are a stay-at-home mom who got her degrees in education. Having a super cheap digital camera probably doesn't help eithe...

I love Mexican food. How can you go wrong with lots of cheese, avocados, and slow cooked meat? My mom credits me with introducing our family to Mexican food. There were no Mexican restaurants in our part of New Hampshire when I was a kid. One night, I used the kid's cookbook "Meals from Many Lands" and made tacos. The local grocery store had an Old El Paso kit. That may not have been all that authentic but we were introduced to some basic components of a cuisine I now eat often several times a week. Tonight, I made a Tex-Mex dinner that combines Mexican flavors with an American classic, cornbread. The Pork and Poblano Tamale Pie in this month's Bon Appetit was a slow roasted pork-filled flavorful version of this classic. This recipe took a lot of dishes and took almost 3 hours so I wouldn't say it was quick or easy, but it was very good. I was a bit worried about the jalapeno pepper but it mellowed out in baking. It was a bit too spicy for Eyrlei...

Most of the cooking I have done for this blog has been eaten by 3 people. That's Richard, Eyrleigh , and me. I would love to have people over more often but there are a few things that give me pause. First, I'm never 100% sure how each meal will taste. I'm usually very impressed with most things I make from Bon Appetit magazine but every once in a while, I get a dud. I'd hate to make a dud for guests. Next, I make a huge mess when I cook. I can't help it. I use too many dishes, don't clean as I go, and often spill something while trying to go quickly. It's very embarrassing to have guests see my really messy kitchen. Finally, I never think to invite people until the last minute. I just don't think that far ahead most of the time. When I do invite people ahead of time, I get nervous about the two other things I just mentioned. Well, tonight I had my friend, Jenn, over and her kids, Christian and Callie. Jenn's husband, Gregg, has been in New Zealand...

When I wrote my last post about what I made for dinner, I fully expected to finish the five recipes I had left from February and write a somewhat clever summary about the month's Bon Appetit recipes. Well, life doesn't always go as I've planned it. On Friday, February 26 th , I learned that my only brother, Ben, had taken his life. For the next 10 days, I ate food made by other people who know that, though nothing heals the hurt of death, the gift of food gives those who grieve one less thing to think about. I love my brother and I really miss him. It makes me so sad to think that he ended his life because he loved nothing enough to keep living. Depression is like that. You can't see the great love around you and you no longer feel great love. I have so much in my life I love, my husband, my daughter, my parents, my friends, reading books, waking up late, cooking, and even writing this blog. I could go on. Tonight, as I was making my first real meal since ret...