Rainy Day Lunch ... Farfalle and Sausage

What is it about rainy days and my need to curl up with a warm dish of pasta? Whatever the reason, I planned for this kind of strong urge last night when I made dinner. Silent Bob warned me yesterday that rain was in the forecast for the next few days, so I made a big bowl of warm farfalle and sausage to accompany some venison chops that we had to eat up. The story is not with the chops, though.

The story is with a simple bowl of pasta tossed with just a hint of olive oil, kosher salt and pepper, fresh Italian parsley, plenty of sliced scallions, chopped tomatoes, and browned Italian sweet sausage and garlic. That's it ... so simple, but perfect with a grilled meat ... or by itself with a cold glass of wine. Sometimes, putting some food in your belly is not all about a million ingredients and steps. Sometimes, the most comforting and delicious things come from a very simple toss together.

Tropical Blondies ...

Mix some macadamia nuts and some spiced Captain Morgan into your next batch of blondies and take them to a picnic. Perfect dessert for knoshing in between a softball inning, a game of croquet, or a game of Frisbee on the lawn. Crispy on the tops and gooey in the middles ... yummy!

Served with some vanilla/coffee swirl ice cream and a strong cup of expresso ... you can take them way over the top to an 'adult' dessert. Just sayin'.

Steak and Stuffies!

Nothing like a Friday night steak, hot and juicy from the grill...

Linear Patterns

Give me some stuffed mushrooms, a honker green salad, and a bottle of red wine. I. Am. A. Happy. Girl !

If you're liking the look of that photo above, there is one thing you must know about grilling a good steak ... my brother Jim's marinade. These steaks sat for three hours in his marinade and then were grilled for 5 -6 minutes per side (inch thick rib eyes) on a pre-heated grill that got downed to 'low' the minute the steaks hit the hot metal. They came off done to a perfect medium rare pink - OMG, how good can it be - doneness. Surrounded by hot-from-the-oven stuffies,they made for a nice fast photo before SB and I fell on them like lions. The poor dogs didn't have a chance of a scrap. Okay, maybe one scrap.

So... here are the marinade and stuffies' recipes. I leave them in your capable hands. Go get that grill out and fire that baby up!

Filling Up the Bread Box With Oatmeal Bread

Oh, bread! I have had such a wonderful time this past winter finding my way around numerous bread recipes, figuring out the best temperatures for yeast solutions, working with some different flour combinations, getting a feel for a properly kneaded dough, and playing with different ways to manipulate the crusts of various breads. Yesterday, I made Silent Bob a three loaf batch of sunflower oatmeal bread.

Which leads me to a note on baking vessels. One of the best things that I have discovered about baking round and oval loaves is the beauty of using a baking bowl or casserole for the loaf. The vessel  'contains' the loaf as it completes its second rise, which makes for a perfectly formed loaf. Baking vessels also allow the risen loaf to maintain height and not flatten out like free-form loaves risen and baked on greased cookie sheets. I have used small and large pottery and ceramic bowls and casseroles for loaves with great results.

Pork Scallops Smothered in Onion Mustard Sauce

I have been on strike as far as cooking goes for the past several days ... sorry, SB! Sorry, all! Consequently, my kitchen fridge is nearly depleted, there is no bread to be had, and we're down to a few vegetables and condiments. Of course, I left all the beautiful herbs and fresh produce that I picked up at Union Square at Kate's apartment in Brooklyn. We came home to Old Mother Hubbard's cupboard!

Two Words ...

...FRESH STUFF...

Mother's Day ...

This was my weekend ... a strawberry rhubarb compote that tasted wonderful, but sat atop a poor show of an egg custard. No crying over curdled milk (and eggs), though. We salvaged the compote to drizzle on toast on Sunday morning. Yum - a sweet accompaniment to our scrambled eggs with herbs and cheese, Kate's Mother's Day breakfast treat. Visiting my girl in Brooklyn was such a fun junket! We packed quite a bit into the three day visit!

Before our 'farewell brunch', though, there was Saturday!

Pushing the Season on Strawberries ...

Silent Bob is disgusted with me, but I just could not help it! We had his aunt and cousin dropping in for a lunch date at the grey cottage and I was looking for a nice salad to go with a quiche that I'd made ... I saw strawberries in the market from way far away ... they were so red and shiny and I wanted them so badly! I closed my eyes and popped them into the basket! Home again, home again - jiggity jig and soon there was a pretty spinach and strawberry salad sitting on the table waiting for the quiche to come out of the oven.