Bacon Deviled Eggs
I had the eggs, I had the Tamworth bacon, so when I saw this on page to on what to make for the super bowl, it all came together. They ended up being pretty good, though I don't think they rendered off enough pork fat to add the bacony flavor to the yolk mixture. They went over pretty well and I was pretty happy with how they turned out.
Flat Omelet with Scallions and Pickles
I planed on making these Friday, but I didn't actually get home until a bit after 8:PM. So it was a bit silly to make Shannon wait for me to get done with work, so I let her work, and by the time I got home, I was so hungry that I didn't want to wait to make this, so I just made my self a regular old sandwich.
Prosciutto, Apple, and Brie Monte Cristos (p11 Fine Cooking February / March 2012)
Stopped by The Cheese Shop of Des Moines on my way home one day, and with their fine recommendations came home with some thicker sliced (just slightly) La Quercia Tamworth Prosciutto and some Brie Belletoile 70%. Both were very good and the creaminess of the Brie makes it a very good candidate to buy again for any number of reasons. I also picked up half a loaf of La Mie ciabatta (the guy in front of me at the Cheese shop ordered a half to take home, so I got the other half). So all combined together it made for quite the delicious sandwich, though I didn't actually follow the egg part of the recipe, since again, I was home late and didn't want to take the time. Good combination of flavors none the less, maybe I'll make this again sometime.
Teriyaki Chicken with Starfruit (p18 Fine Cooking February / March 2012)
So my goal for the week was to use items on the stove top, but clearly I didn't read this recipe closely, cause it required the oven, lucky for me, Metro Appliance had come to replace the igniter in my oven. The repairman (who, while he looked young, but clearly knew what he was doing) and I had a discussion on how it works and remains safe. So basically the element heats up to a certain temperature, and once it gets to that temperate the gas gets released, and starts. Seems like a fairly effective, yet cheap, safety method. Anyways, I don't think I reduce the sauce enough, even with that it still turned out pretty well. This was Shannon's first experience with starfruit. I myself, haven't had it in a while.
Thai-style Pineapple Fried Rice with Cashews (p52 Fine Cooking February / March 2012) Pineapple, Papaya, Starfruit and Blood Orange Salad (depending on availability, halved) (p53 Fine Cooking February / March 2012) Spicy Mexican Hot Chocolate (p82 Fine Cooking February / March 2012)
There was quite a bit of prep work involved in getting this meal ready to go and quite a bit of stuff left after the prep. So the salad come together well and tasted good, though the leftover life wasn't long, as I think the mint started to turn pretty quick. I was able, after prepping everything, of cooking it all at about the same time (rice done the night before, salad done before cooking, hot chocolate done after). Because of the timing I had everything ready to go, and waited for Chris and Holly (and soon to be here baby) to actually show up, before I started cooking. It was a special night and I didn't want to mess up (I have in times in the past), so I made sure everything was ready, before I went through.
So I cooked the fried rice and pork at the same time in separate pans on the stove. It kept me pretty busy for the next 10 minutes or so, but it all worked out well. And everyone seemed pleased. The pork was based on the Shanghai dish from last week. and again turned out pretty well. I was pretty happy with all the components.
After dinner I started to whip together the hot chocolate, and after skimming the recipe, I saw "bring to a boil" and I verbally stated, the hell I am. I don't think chocolate ever wants to be that warm. Anyways, using more gentle heat levels, all the parts got done and Shannon helped by making the whipped cream.
We watched the movie, we had a good meal, and made offers to help out where we could. It was kind of crazy that we started doing this ~7 years ago. Before dinners, before coupledom, before marriage, and now before baby. Crazy...it doesn't seem that long. We know we are going to take a hiatus while Chris and Holly make their final preparations to have their baby, and at least the first while after their baby boy arrives.
Yeasty Waffles
After getting out of the West Side Story at the Civic Center, we discussed what we wanted to do, and decided that we'd go to Zombie Burger instead. Shockingly, at ~5:PM (still) there was a wait of an hour, so we got the quick service and headed home instead. I was able to finally get the walking ched. Good stuffs (though probably not good for you). Waffles...they are moved to the next week.