When the Moon Hits Your Eye...

             

Pizza night is always a good time to get creative with the toppings. It can also be the night when you clean out your fridge of all the little chunks of cheese, spare fresh veggies, and leftover meats. I will admit to loading some of our pizzas up with leftover chicken, scraps of onion left from a slice/dice fest, the lone sprig of broccoli, a red or green pepper that is close to 'gone by', that last tablespoon of pesto that's been shoved around the top shelf, and cheese that needs desperately to be used before a mold colony establishes itself. No one ever complains because a loaded pizza is a beauty to behold!

Tonight, though, I have spent some time looking at my latest cookbook on Italian cuisine, so I made a classic Italian crust. I let it rise for the recommended two hours, slammed it down and pushed it into shape on a 16-inch pizza pan and went simple... olive oil in which three cloves of chopped garlic swam contentedly, two small tomatoes, chopped into wedges, chopped spinach tossed with a couple tablespoons of pecan and Parmesan pesto, an onion cut into thin wedges, cubes of mozzarella, and a mega hit of black pepper. 

Cold beers and pizza on a Saturday night ... and it's full moon time outside. That's amore! Hope your dinner is just as lyrical!

PS. Notice the pizza survey to your left on the sidebar... looking for votes, please!  Also comments on your fave topping combinations...

Fisherman's Stew For A Friday Night

Good grief, it's cold today! That thaw we had last week has been such a tease! We are back in the deep freeze with a howling wind and a bitter windchill. It's just the time of winter when a hot fisherman's stew would be welcome. Too boot, I don't feel like cooking, but know that Silent Bob needs something warm to stick to his ribs after hauling wood and puttering around outside in this cold.

Seriously, folks. This is a hot and filling stew with just the basics of ingredients and minimal preparation. The toughest part of this dish is waiting while the potatoes cook and the smell teases you ... it's an old Yankee stew that went in the dutch oven and sat on the stove or in the coals at the fireside.

Easy, easy, easy!

Spareribs with Salted Black Beans

Again with the Asian! Actually, today's post is a continuation of last night's dinner ... and the colors and taste of that dish were something to behold. I had to share with the world! Of course, hindsight gives me a chance to improve a bit on the recipe ... and you will see in photos that I used babyback ribs with the bone-in. The recipe has been changed, though, to spareribs that have been boned. This makes cooking them in the wok easier and more complete as well as making the dish easier to eat.

Everything In Its Place ... Cooking Chinese

Tonight I am making a couple Chinese dishes. That means everything must be prepped first, as there is no lingering over the cutting board once the wok is fired up and ready to go. While chopping, I think about how I came to explore Chinese cuisine. Silent Bob and I took a trip to the west coast around the time of our 10th anniversary. We flew into San Francisco and spent a few days exploring the city and soaking up the tourist attractions. Finding our way into the Chinatown neighborhood, we ate in a few small  family-run  places. One afternoon, though, we happened into an upscale place called The China Moon Cafe.

Abuela's Hominy and Roasted Peppers

Ahh... the lowly stew. You take a bit of this, a bit of that, you throw it in a pot and add some herbs and spices. You cover it up and wait for a while. Wait a while longer... and when you take that cover off, an aroma rises up and out and into the air. It's like a magical balm envelopes you and anyone in the immediate vicinity! Think of the farmer's wife stirring that pot and giving her face a quick aromatic steam sauna, think of a hunter leaning over the fire's stewpot warming his hands, think of some poor work-a-day Joe returning to his apartment and tipping the top of the crockpot to inhale the essense of his mother's kitchen, think of an old abuela putting her love and tradition into her family's dinner ... I could go on, but I think you get it.

Housekeeping 101

This blogging thing has a real learning curve attached for me! As you visit from time to time, you may notice that things look a bit different. That's because I am slowly learning to organize the layout more efficiently (I hope!). The latest thing - I got courageous and started playing with labels. For a while there I didn't understand what labelling a post could do for me as the blog administrator and for you as the blog reader. From now on, each post will have a label - starters, meats, pasta, veggie side, veggie main, desserts, snacks, beverages, rants, etc. If you would like the printable copy of the recipe, you can find it immediately by clicking the link labeled 'recipe name - printer friendly' that is just before the recipe within the post itself. That link will take you to a new window within my ScribD account. There you find viewing and printing options. Just click away... and when you are done you can hit the back arrow to return to The Spice Garden. Simple, huh?

The other cool thing about labels... you can drop into The Secret Garden and look at Labels on the sidebar. Click one of the labels and the posts that have recipes within them for that category will come up. Then you just choose the post that has the recipe you wanted and go for it.. re-read for discussion of the recipe, access the' printer friendly' link, or make a comment if you've done some cooking and have something to say on the issue! I'm thinking this is a better way of organizing and managing the recipes as the numbers start to mount up... I hope you find it helpful!

And speaking of comments... another housekeeping thing... many of you are telling me your reactions on my Facebook page... I'm hoping that you will overcome your shyness and begin posting your comments in the posting area at the end of each post ... it's easy and you can be 'anonymous' if you choose. Your email address is not posted along with your comment, so no fears there. Part of blogging is sharing each others comments, as that spurs thought, dialogue, and learning ... think about it.

So here's your practice below... if you are new to working your way around cyberspace! Have fun!

Practice Link - printer friendly

OH! Before I forget ... thanks for supporting me in this grand armchair adventure!

Susan

The Butcher Rant...

Okay, so I've been looking for a good butcher. If there was someone in our area who made it their trademark to find locally grown beef, pork, rabbit, lamb, poultry, and game I would be SUCH a happy woman! The more I get into the concept of  'locally grown and harvested', the more I hope that folks will once again support the 'local butcher' who provides a place for farmers who want to supply meat to local tables.

Cranberry Almond Cheesecake

It's almost Valentine's Day and I've been casting around for a yummy dessert that is a bit different, but has the obligatory red/pink theme going on in honor of Cupid. I think I might have hit on something. This is a nice twist on the cheesecake that I have always used - a cream cheese-based cake that is lemon-y and smooth. This cake, though, has almonds folded into the cheesecake batter to add a bit of a crunch, which I think is very cool. Since I'm making it for a friend who needs gluten-free foods, I'll be using GF gingersnap cookies for the lower crust. The beauty of this dessert is that I'll be able to make it way ahead of time, leaving time to concentrate on the dinner's main course. I still haven't decided on that... stay tuned. It's shaping up to be a nice little Valentine's Day dinner party, though!

Here's hoping that you have a fun day too! I'm casting around for a 'romantic' flick to add to the evening's entertainment... kind of  a 'dinner and a movie' theme. Any ideas?