i had stumbled across a recipe in saveur for puffy tacos, and a martha stewart recipe for beef brisket, and we had an avocado waiting to be used, and so this meal was born. we didn't really follow the puffy taco recipe - we utilized the idea for the puffy shells. bryan made their fresh corn tortilla dough, and fried puffy taco shells. we seasoned and roasted the beef brisket, and we filled in taco fillings from there - lettuce, tomato, green onions, jack cheese, pickled red onions, pickled jalapenos, sour cream. oh. my. god. best tacos EVER - hands down. unfortunately for him, i never want to go back to anything store bought - this is it, my friends.
friday, june 5th: pork cutlets with spaghetti collins and glazed carrots.
much fun, we visited there a few more times, and bought our own fondue set. we hadn't used it in a few years, so we dragged it out and had mom and dad over for fondue. we did a fairly standard cheese fondue, with cheddar and gruyere. for the meat, we did an au vin style. we had bread, broccoli, mushrooms, chicken, pork, and steak, along with 4 dipping sauces (teryaki, horseradish, mustard, and bbq). a good time was had by all.
monday, june 8th: herbed hamburgers with arugula, sweet potato fries, and salad with champagne vinaigrette, sunflower seeds, and sprouts.
tuesday, june 9th: panko crusted fish sticks with herb dipping sauce and veggie pasta salad.
wednesday, june 10th: summer squash sloppy joes on sprouted wheat buns, and cheddar herb potato chips.
thursday, june 11th: pork chops with cilantro rice, plantains, and mango.
friday, june 12th: big fat rib eyes with corn, salad, and three philosophers beer.
sunday, june 14th: banana muffins with brown sugar crumble, and bacon.
tostadas. i make refried beans by cooking pintos with spices (garlic, pepper, cumin), and smashing them onto the tortillas. i drizzle a generous amount of hot sauce on top of the beans. you can add taco toppings (lettuce, tomatoes, lettuce, cheese), but our favorite is just raw onion, and perhaps a little sour cream to help offset the hot sauce. we went a little luxe here with some cheese. 
for dinner, we had savory onion shortcake biscuits with smoked pork and red onion jam, and sweet potato hash. the idea for this meal started with the biscuits - i liked the idea of the savory biscuit, and thought they would pair nicely with smoked pork (very few things don't). i decided it needed something to tie it together - and hence the onion jam.
monday, june 15th: mini meatloaf with sour cream and parmesan mashed potatoes, and broccoli.
sunday, june 21st: grilled steaks with charro beans and spinach salad with hot bacon dressing.
eric ripert, oh, eric ripert - how i love thee. bryan saw him on a tv show, demonstrating how to make this dish of his (which is on his menu), and requested it be on our menu. we did forget to pick up the caviar, so we forewent that, but i did make homemade lemon confit (one of my new favorite things, by the way), so i think that counts for something. paired with a simple and classic caesar salad, this was a deceptively lush meal.
friday, june 26th: pizza hand pies and sweet peas.
saturday, june 26th: pesto lasagna with garlic bread and salad.
monday, june 29th: greens calzone.
tuesday, june 30th: roast vegetable napoleons.
the idea for this was backtracked from the lemon confit. i wanted to find another use for it, since i do love lemons so, and wondering if i could work it into a pizza. sausage and feta immediately came to mind, and i decided on caramelized onions to offset the tartness of the lemons, and the fresh mozz to add some mellowness to all the strong flavors. i rubbed the flatbread with olive oil and diced garlic, and tossed fresh oregano from the garden on as well. everyone loved it.
sunday, july 5th: 
cue the horror movie music. bryan has always loved liver and onions, but since it wasn't something my palate found agreeable, he only made it when i wasn't home for dinner (which is not often). so he decided hannah, oliver, and i finally had to be subjected to it. it wasn't nearly as bad as i had expected - far less liver-y than i had imagined (presumably the 24 hour soak in milk helped). it did, however, taste a lot like iron. i'm not sure we'll be making it again soon, but it's definitely not off the list forever.
friday, july 10th: hamburgers with watermelon pickles and campfire baked beans.
a few years back, when i asked hannah what she wanted for her birthday dinner, she requested macaroni pie. she had never had macaroni pie before, and didn't know what should go in the macaroni pie, and knew it was slightly different than macaroni and cheese, and that's about all i had to go on. taking a slight inspiration from the movie big night, i made a kid friendly timpano 
it the same twice, but i've never heard any complaints. this one was made with kale from our garden. you have never seen two kids scarfing up kale as willingly and happily as oliver and hannah that night. for dessert, we had ice cream topped with a homemade bing cherry sauce i made.
we made this for cat and the kids while they were in town, and i think it made cat want to move in. this is a total favorite of ours. the season 5 winner of top chef made it, and as soon as i saw it on tv, i knew i wanted it in my belly (as usually is the case for meals where i can employ bryan's homemade hot sauce). if you want the recipe, you'll have to email me, because it's no longer on the website. and believe me, you want this recipe.
dirk joined us for dinner before he and bryan headed out to a sonic youth show. everything was just really, really good. the potatoes were so flavorful, and a little spicy - but so good hannah and oliver didn't mind the spice at all. the fish was joined by onions and peppers, and the kohlrabi was simply blanched, a nice and simple counterpoint to the other flavors in the meal. oliver couldn't get enough of the kohlrabi. i am looking forward to making these potatoes again.
i have never liked dates, but i loved this. this meal was definitely in the top 5 of all time. and, as so many braised dishes are, this was even better a few days later for leftovers - the flavors really sang, and bryan and i were both raving about it again. this will definitely become a cool weather staple in our house. as soon as the weather cools down wherever you are, go, buy these ingredients. make this.
wednesday, july 22nd: farfalle with garlic scape pesto.
article described it as "crowned with melted Cheddar, slathered with horseradish sauce, and piled high with crispy fried onions." cue the saliva. after a little bit of digging to find out a little bit more about the restaurant that makes the burger (boston's radius), i found the actual recipe. definitely one of the best burgers i've ever had. ever. i am getting hungry just thinking about it. you want this for dinner. tonight. go. i'm serious.
tuesday, july 28th: summer squash and greens casserole with provolone.
friday, july 31st: roast chicken and mango salad with yogurt.
sunday, august 2nd: long johns with maple glaze and bacon. right. on. top.
dessert i made snickers fudge, essentially homemade snickers bars. i did make my own marshmallow creme, but i also cheated and bought caramels. i also used semi sweet chocolate instead of milk chocolate, since mixing the chocolate with butterscotch chips and peanut butter makes it that much sweeter (and i think milk chocolate is too sweet to begin with), and next time i'd probably use bittersweet, but even still - big fat hit, this one. 
monday, august 3rd: pimiento cheeseburgers and roast beets.
friday, february 20th: chili dogs. not sure what placed the idea in my head, but i wanted chili dogs. which is kind of funny to me, seeing as how i've had them all of probably once before in my life. bryan made a slightly spicy chili using the Red Gold diced tomatoes with green chiles. they added a little bit of kick, but overall weren't very hot. still, spicy enough that oliver didn't get any.
sunday, february 22nd: mom and dad joined us for dinner. i made country style pork ribs in an egg lemon sauce with mashed potatoes and celeriac. the meat recipe was from Lobel's Meat and Wine. it was very, very good, and combined two of my favorite things - pork and lemon. for dessert, i made a flourless chocolate torte, 
which i served with fresh blackberries. i used a new torte recipe, which didn't set quite right, so it was a little more pudding like. no one had any complaints, though - just second helpings.
wednesday, february 25th: with bryan too sick to eat, i was able to make a meatless dish for ollie and i, so i decided to throw together a quick pasta primavera style dish. i sauteed a can of Red Gold tomatoes with onions and garlic, added some white wine, oregano, and vegetables (peas, carrots, and beans), heavy cream, and parmesan, and tossed all that with pasta. it turned out even better than i expected, and it was a huge hit with oliver as well.
saturday, february 28th: winter greens lasagne, to which i added some sweet italian sausage made at the outpost, and served just with some garlic bread. this is one of my favorite pasta dishes, and everyone else liked it as well (though oliver wouldn't eat the greens this time, whereas last time he gobbled them up just fine). 
for dessert, i made some butterscotch chip cookies, which i then used to make ice cream sandwiches, along with some brown sugar ice cream. oliver was not allowed to partake in dessert, being the mean mommy that i am. they were good, though i am assured the cookies were the best part. bryan and his dad, who was staying with us, continued to nibble on the leftover cookies.
sunday, march 1st: shannon had emailed a pancake recipe which she swore was absolutely delicious. it involved buttermilk, wheat germ (which she substituted flax seed for), and no sugar (just honey). mom had some extra flax seed she gave me, and i endeavored to try the recipe for sunday breakfast. the recipe also calls for whole wheat pastry flour, which i didn't think i had (but it turns out i did) so i used regular unbleached all-purpose flour. shannon didn't lie - these were very good. oliver ate 2; actually taking the last half of his second to the museum with 
bryan and bill, refusing to let it go, and snacking on it all while they were there. i had lunch waiting for them when they arrived home: tofu coconut curry. bryan had wanted to use up the small amount of brown rice we had left, so i made that and made up the rest. using the wok, i sauteed green onions and garlic, then the red pepper, snow peas, and tofu; added coconut milk, red curry, and lime. topped the brown rice with the curry, and a sprinkling of cilantro leaves. oliver, who normally is a huge fan of 
peas, wasn't too keen on the snow peas, but he loved the tofu in the coconut curry! for bill's last night in town, we decided on a lamb dinner: mustard crusted pork chops, mustard greens with walnuts and lemon, giant lima beans with onions, lemon zest, and parsley, and pita bread. bryan and bill, the resident lamb 
lovers, were very, very happy. for dessert, i made cottage pudding, which is a cake with warm lemon sauce. this is definitely one of my favorite desserts, and a strong childhood memory. my mom made it, and her mom before, and her mom before that... needless to say, this recipe has been in my family for some time.
monday, march 2nd: anasazi enchiladas. i already knew i liked this recipe a lot, and bryan and ollie became big fans, too. i used feta instead of ricotta, and topped with a local raw milk jack cheese instead of monterry jack and cheddar. oliver loves beans and tortillas, and i'm sure the sweet sauce didn't hurt anything. bryan liked it so much he forgave me the abuse of serving him a meatless meal.
tuesday, march 3rd: chicken gratin with onion sauce and gruyere, wild rice, and roast squash. the chicken recipe was also from the Lobel's cookbook, and i loved it. the sauce was onions, dijon, and creme fraiche, and the addition of a lovely local, aged gruyere didn't hurt anything either. oliver loved the wild rice, as he loves all things rice, but wasn't a big fan of the chicken (silly boy). i am contemplating ice cream for dessert.
learning about indians with grandpa bill
posing with dad
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