Danka!

I'm married to a man named Hans. No, he isn't German, but he does love German food, and has taught me to love it, as well.

It was decided that, on Saturday night, we would have jaeger schnitzel with spaetzle. So Hans went to the grocery, got all the ingredients, then he and Jeff set to work. I had already started a peach cobbler with the peaches that Jeff had bought earlier in the day at the farmer's market to have for dessert.

It was all so delicious. Wow. Amazing!

I don't have recipes, but I do have pictures of the jaeger schnitzel!

Potstickers!

On Friday afternoon, a friend on Ravelry posted about having potstickers for lunch and set aflame a craving in me. I had to have potstickers, and there was no way I wasn't going to get them!

So I trolled the net, looking at recipes. I finally found one that was incredible! - the instructions were clear and easy to follow, and including a recipe for the wrapper dough so that I didn't have to buy that pre-made.

So I called Hans, who was going to the grocery anyway, and asked him to get the ingredients I needed. He did, along with a few other things (we had decided to have an impromptu little dinner party). So I set to work when he got home making the potstickers.

I got a bit of help from Jeff when it came time to assemble - he filled the dough and closed it as I rolled it out. Then I lightly fried them so they were browned on one side, then transferred them to my stockpot/steamer unfried side down and steamed them. They were wonderful!!

I also made my own sauce - homemade chili oil (just put about 1/4 cup crushed red pepper into a glass jar, topped it up with twice as much veggie oil, closed, shook vigorously, then let sit), soy sauce, a splash of fish sauce and a splash of sesame oil.

So very, very good.

Oh - and instead of cutting the cabbage, Hans went ahead and just got a bag of coleslaw (it was on sale, heads of cabbage weren't), and it worked beautifully! We didn't skimp on the ginger, though - that was fresh!

The Way To A Man's Heart Is Through His Stomach

I decided yesterday morning that, since Hans has worked so hard all week - 65 hours in 6 days - that I would reward him with a nice, romantic, home cooked meal. I planned and schemed, went to the grocery and got everything to make real, honest to goodness gourmet eggplant parmesan.

The fates intervened, and it was not to be last night. So last night we went to the pub with friends, and then today, after not waking up till 1pm, I got started. Sauce, made from scratch, eggplant, dredged, coated and fried to a perfect, golden brown.

By eight this evening, I was plating a lovely meal of eggplant parmesan, sautéed green beans and baby bella mushrooms with butter and lemon zest and Cuban bread. Add candles and soft music, and it was a near perfect romantic dinner!

Fishes and loaves....

So maybe just fishes, although I'm sure some loaves were used in the creation of the stuffing....

I'm not big on words tonight, so I'll just tell you what it was and show you the pictures.

Salmon, baked in foil with lemon, butter and a wee spot of kosher salt. Fresh green beans sauteed with lemon zest, butter, kosher salt and baby bella slices. Stove top stuffing (yeah, I know - I went a little off with that last one, but I love the stuff and no one else in the family is as fond of it!). It was divine. It will be divine when I have it again, tonight!

I guess that's the benefit of Hans working these wicked late hours - I get to have what I want, how I want it for dinner. Which is great for a day or two, but I'm ready to eat what he wants with him again.

Atonement of the Lazy

For three nights in a row I have had spectacular dinners, and yet the last two I was just too tired, too beat, too worn out to bother posting them. Tonight I will make up for that. Now, I don't really have any recipes for night before last or tonight, as one was prepared by a friend, and the other (tonight) was actually a frozen meal from a bag. It was, however, extremely noteworthy!

Okay, so Monday was Memorial Day. Our friend Jeff and his son, Ben, came over to grill and relax for a bit. Jeff was in charge of dinner, and he brought all the fixings for his Santa Fe Chicken Sandwiches. They were delicious - teriyaki marinated chicken grilled, then topped with fresh pineapple and swiss cheese on King's Hawaiian buns with some sort of mustardy sauce that was just lovely! Oh, and we topped them with avacodo, too, for a little something extra that we all loved!







It was a pretty awesome dinner, and we are very thankful to Jeff for sharing it with us!

Last night was lasagna that Hans' mom made for us and froze so it would make the trip from South Florida to Central Florida. It was delicious! So good, in fact, that I didn't even think to take pictures! We just ate! Hans also sautéed zucchini to go with it, and it was wonderful, as always. The recipe for the lasagna is one that has been in Hans' family since he was a kid. It was given to his family by their neighbor and friend, Vicki Fales. I think I have the recipe around here somewhere. Aha, yes, it's right here in the family cookbook! The recipe is really for the meat sauce because, as Hans has said about six times in the last four minutes, the meat sauce is what makes the lasagna - otherwise it's just noodles and cheese!

Meat Sauce for Lasagna

Vicki Fales

1lb ground chuck

2 cloves garlic, pressed

1 large onion, chopped

Brown above and drain off the grease.

Add:

2 16oz cans tomato sauce

1 can tomato soup

1 Tbs. oregano

1/2 Tbs. chili powder

1 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce

2 cloves garlic, pressed

Cook until messy and thick (several hours). Stir frequently, as it tends to stick. Be sure burner is kept on low.

To assemble lasagna:

Small package lasagna noodles

15oz. part skim ricotta cheese

16oz (2 cups) shredded mozzarella cheese

Layer meat sauce, then noodles, then cheese, as many layers as fit into pan (9x13). Finish with cheese. Bake in preheated 350° until hot through and bubbly, about an hour.

Tonight was a quickie dinner night - kids had leftover chicken, and we had some of the PF Chang's General Chang's Chicken that has cropped up in grocery store freezers recently with some frozen egg rolls. I have to admit, while I think that PF Chang's took a risk going into the frozen food arena with as awesome as their restaurant is, I think they have succeeded! We were really impressed! The sauce was very tasty, with a nice bite to it. The chicken didn't have any weird bits in it like some frozen meals do - it was all true white meat, and very tender and tasty. The broccoli was crisp and tasty, too. All in all, a great meal!

Baking Is Love You Can Eat

I have decided that, today, right now, I am going to bake some Portuguese Sweet Bread. Provided I have all the necessary ingredients, that is. I may also bake some of my herbed Irish Soda Bread. I also need to find a recipe for these wonderful potato scones that my friend brought in for my team lead on Monday....

So, since I have been a bad, bad blogger, I am going to give you all the recipe for my Portuguese Sweet Bread. If I make the soda bread, I will post it as well. While it all bakes, I will either be cleaning my house, or posting about dinner from the last two nights! Cleaning should take priority, but we'll see! Enjoy!

1C milk
1 egg
2T margerine
1/3C + 2T sugar
3/4tsp salt
3C bread flour
2 1/2tsp (one envelope) active dry yeast
Add ingredients in order suggested by machine mfg (usually wet ingredients on bottom, then salt & sugar, flour creating a barrier between liquid and yeast)
Select sweet bread setting, then wait (about 3hrs all total).

Tired and cranky....

So the last two nights have yielded wonderful dinners prepared for me by even more wonderful men, but I have been so wiped out from working that I can't even bring myself to blog them. So, tomorrow, I promise to blog about Jeff's Santa Fe Chicken Sandwiches and the lasagna Hans (or rather, Hans' mother) made for tonight's dinner.