Yohboh's Lunch

This is what I packed for Yohboh's lunch:


Steak, acorn squash, kale, mushrooms and mac and cheese.

I did the mushrooms differently. I added some Wondra Flour to my original recipe to get a mushroom gravy. Good, but a bit thick so there will be some more fiddling.

Late Night Baking

So this article made me chuckle. When I was in college, I liked to bake late at night while studying. I think better with brownies in the oven. Is that weird?

We like fish sticks

Let the jokes begin.

Cottage Pie

Cottage Pie with BACON--where has this been all my life?

Autumnal Meal

That is a beet and goat cheese salad, kale, sweet potatoes, mushrooms and a pork chop glazed with a mustard clementine marmalade.

Meat and four.

Gumbo

So here in Atlanta (and no, I do not know NeNe--I wish I did though, she be funny, yo), it has been raining for eight million days (take out the million to be accurate). In fact, there has been flooding and schools have been closed for RAIN.


So I decided to make gumbo:



This is my recipe. The original recipe came from an old Better Homes and Gardens but through the years, I have modified it.

Minjenah's gumbo

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup flour

1 onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper chopped
2 ribs celery chopped
4 cloves of garlic, minced

3 boneless skinless chicken thighs
1 pound smoked sausage chopped
20 shrimp

Chopped scallions.

Hot cooked rice


Melt the butter and add the flour at medium heat. Stir the flour/butter mixture (also known as a roux). Keep stirring the mixture until it darkens. DON'T STOP STIRRING! When the roux is the color of chocolate syrup --this can take up to 20 minutes (I have actually stopped when it is dark caramel because I am impatient), add the veggies. Let cook for five minutes.

Add the chicken and let brown. Add the sausage. Let the sausage brown. Add water to cover. Fish out the chicken and cut into little chunks. Put the chicken back. Let simmer for a while.

Ten minutes before you are ready to serve, put the shrimp in (I hate overcooked shrimp).

Serve with rice, scallions and hot sauce.

Seattle Inspired

It has been raining every day since Monday. Yohboh felt he was Seattle inspired and made some salmon.

Lobster Roll

So when you have leftover lobster, there are lobster rolls.



I watched food network to see how other people made lobster rolls but then I made it up.

Minjenah's Lobster Rolls
Meat from one lobster (tail, claws, little legs and torso)
1 rib celery finely chopped
2 scallions, finely chopped
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
Salt
Pepper

Three hot dog buns.

Mix the first six ingredients together. Cover in fridge overnight. Put in hot dog buns. Eat immediately.

In fact, I almost forgot to take a picture it was so good.

Anniversary Dinner

So this year, for our wedding anniversary, we went to Alfredo's. I forgot to bring a camera but here are a few photos of what we ate from two years ago. Yes, we ordered the same thing then as we did this evening. It is tasty.



I get the padrino. It is yummy veal.


Yohboh always gets the veal chop. He had been thinking about this all day.

Anniversary Dinner Part One

So our wedding anniversary is tomorrow. But we did the celebrating a little early with this:

That is ALIVE and soon to DIE for my dinner.

Oh yeah, that is how we roll up in the household of beef and chocolate.

Oh and the toddler ate lobster and asparagus.

Stay tuned for the next set of delicious vittles (this is an unattractive word) that will be coming!

Dry Aged Steak

This is a pound and half steak that has been dry aged for four days.


This was our dinner:

Dry aged steak, roasted cauliflower, twice baked potato, and mushrooms.

I am only going to roast veggies. Why would you boil them in water? Roasted veggies are divine.

Uncrustables

So there is this thing called an uncrustable. It is a premade peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Currently, they are on sale for 2 dollars at my local grocery store. This is four sandwiches that are frozen. They are normally 2.79 but like I said on sale for 2 dollars.

This is how much it would cost me to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich (bear in mind I do coupon aggressively).
One jar Skippy peanut butter - 19 cents
One loaf of whole wheat bread - $1.29
One jar strawberry preserves - 79 cents

So for the cost of .19+1.29+.79= 2.27 I could make 10 sandwiches. That is 22.7 cents a sandwich. I do realize that most of you cannot find peanut butter for 19 cents a jar. But I regularly see store brands for a dollar.

I also think that it is ridiculous to pay for a premade peanut butter and jelly sandwich. How hard is that really?

Apple Crumble

It is beginning to feel like fall in the Deep South. What does that mean to Minjenah? Baking cinnamon and nutmeg things like apple crumble.

Behold:


And with its perfect partner, vanilla ice cream:


I like to make crumbles because I don't really need to measure.

Apple Crumble

The apple part:
2 big apples, peeled and brunoise
Juice of one lemon
Two spoonfuls of vanilla sugar
One spoonful flour
Big pinch of salt
Two big pinches of cinnamon
10 gratings of nutmeg
One capful of rum

The Crumble part
1/2 stick of butter, softened
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup flour
Big pinch of salt
1/2 cup oatmeal
(I did not measure this part but I did my best guestimate. I actually did it by handfuls--I have small hands, by the way)

Make the apple part in a bowl. Mix the ingredients in the order I put them. Then put the Apple Part in a small pan. ( I used the smallest of my Anchor Hocking set). Mix the crumble part in the same bowl that you made the apple part (I like to minimize the clean up). Put the crumble on top of the apple part. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes.

Autumnal goodness.

Blondies

So I made blondies tonight. I think the key to good cookies is really the salt. Salt adds that extra dimension to your food.



Blondies

One stick of butter, melted
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 Pinches salt ( I use Kosher salt)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350.
Grease an 8×8 pan
Mix melted butter with brown sugar until smooth. Beat in egg and then vanilla.
Add salt, stir in flour. Then the chips.
Pour into prepared pan.
Bake at 350°F 30 minutes.
Wait until cool and cut into 16 happy little squares.

Eat with a big glass of milk, watching The Real Housewives of Atlanta.