turkey

I saw a flock of turkeys driving home from work today. Kind of peculiar all things considered. Then, I turned into 'that girl' flipping u turns to try to get a photo. Turkeys are fast.

nacho burger

Trial by fire could be another name for this burger. It's packed with 3 different preparations of jalapenos and pepper jack cheese. Z home pickled the jalapeno's and I made a avocado relish with fresh diced jalapenos and a fresh tomato salsa with chipotles (which are also smoked jalapenos) in adobo sauce. Top the burger off with some crumbles of blue corn chips and you've got nachos. We've come a long way from industrial cheese with Rotel.

home cooking

It's a Saturday and I had to work today. It turned out to be pretty interesting though, a simulcasted conference called either LeadNow or RightNow depending how they feel about it. A 20/30 something conference that was basically about, doing the right thing. The right thing being knowing and then actually living out the gospel of Jesus and how that might affect someone considered a 'leader'.
But, the actual reason for this blog is that I came home to Z making me dinner. He had gone to the vegetable market today and picked up some veg for the week and was making oven roasted asparagus. They were tossed in a glug of olive oil and roasted with salt and pepper until they crisped and laid on top of a bowl of pasta alla amatriciana that was resplendent with garlic, red pepper flakes. bacon and bacon fat. A piece of fresh baked crusty bread was tucked in at the edge.
I never realized this as much as I have lately but I love eating at home. Don't get me wrong, I like eating out, particularly when it is thoughtfully chosen and carefully cooked food well presented. But I love eating at home with it's comfort and care. I know that everyone in the world does not have the privilege of coming home to a meal, hot or otherwise. Some do not have a family or home to come 'home' to at all. I am thankful that I do.

new friend

miami burger

Miami is famous for a lot of things. South Beach. Art Deco. TV shows. And it is a different kind of melting pot for banana republics like Jamaica, the Bahamas, Puerto Rico and Cuba. One thing all these nationalities share is a distinct pride of place and definitely of food. There are some renowned dives in central and south Florida serving up these plated acts of love.
For those joining the game late, we are just past midway through cooking through Bobby Flay's Burgers, Fries and Shakes. I am endeavouring to cook all the burgers in the book and making pretty good work of it.
Tonight we made the miami burger which is a riff on the cuban (cubano) sandwich. It is a pressed burger that is piled with roasted garlic dijon mayo, swiss cheese, sliced dill pickles and a slice of smoked ham with a turkey burger replacing the roast pork. Put the whole thing together, wrap it in foil and press under a heavy skillet while you melt the cheese into an oozing mass. Pretty good eating for a Wednesday night.

buy only big, big bargains

We are taking a course at church called Financial Peace University. For the uninitiated, that is a 13 week class (call it Budget 101) taught by Dave Ramsey. Overall it has been pretty interesting and eye opening and carried some good lessons about getting out and staying out of debt, investing money and other useful information. One class is labelled Buy only big, big bargains. This particular class wasn't the ne plus ultra of how to get a deal but it is an interesting way to look at things. Dave's mantra is, live like no one else so that you can live like no one else. It's also a basic Patience 101.
I also took at morning long class on couponing and saving at the grocery store. This was the real eye-opener. I have never been a big bargain shopper and might have cut a coupon here or there thinking, 'what a great deal...' but this class takes it to another level. An example of this is as follows: I need to buy some coffee. It's 5.49 a bag. So, I watch the paper and the web, (hotcouponworld.com). Oh, it's buy one, get one free, you say?. Oh, I have $1.00 coupon for each bag. You can actually use a coupon even on the free item. So, I buy two bags of coffee for $3.49. And I buy 4 so that they will last until the next wave of coffee comes up but I still save about 70% overall. Who knew?
I shrugged it off for a long time thinking, I don't want to be tied to a brand (or untied from one) and I don't have the space in my little apartment to store those three extra bags of coffee, 4 cans of tomato sauce or boxes of pasta. But now I can't deny it. It is fun to have the lady in line behind me at the grocery store ask in awe as the clerk announces my savings, 'How much did you save?'

bistro burger

Longest week ever and I decide to come home and make a blog worthy burger. Tired and with less than a will to cook I pull out the book. Tonight's burger is the bistro. A french tour de force that recalls steak au poivre with it's pepper crust and french sidewalk bistro fare with it's dijon vinaigrette dressing buttery greens. Topped with melting swiss and crisped bacon on a toasted buttery bakery style bun. A tall glass of pamplemousse rose perrier completes the francophilia. bon appetit.

bacon

kathy: 'Bacon is the new rock n roll.'
brian: 'oh, I thought bacon was the new acai'

Gourmet

I love getting mail that isn't craptastic. This includes, but is not limited to: photos of my nieces and nephews, coupons, catalogs, samples, invitations to weddings, gifts, and the uberglory, magazines. Subscriptions come and go for various reasons, involving everything from freebies and hobbies to changes in barometric pressure.

Z usually picks up the mail. I think he half enjoys seeing what we get and half enjoys the joy that I derive from a really good haul. Last night we came home a little later than usual after heading to his folks for supper and a viewing of their London photos. He had an armload of things to bring up from the car, so I walked the breezeway to pick up the mail.

It is always a good sign to see a plastic wrapped package but as I unlocked the box, I saw that there it was, the final issue of Gourmet. I had seen an announcement several weeks prior that they were throwing in the towel, that the Thanksgiving (November) 2009 issue would be their last. And now, here it was, with a turkey gracing the cover, peaking out of the pile of envelopes and circulars. It is a cross between recipes and food porn, the beautiful and the strange, evoking both memories, dreams and desire. But it is no more.

I haven't brought myself to tear into the plastic and devour the contents all the while knowing that this is the end. I have only just begun to sample and it is already time for dessert.

carolina burger

My tongue on fire and Carolina on my mind (thanks Alice). Tonight I made the Carolina Burger - smothered in house made barbeque sauce (I'll never buy it again - the book was worth it for this one recipe alone) and blanketed in green onion jalapeno coleslaw - this burger is a fiery mid-week treat with a toasted french style bun and waffle fries. Z even did the dishes.

louisiana burger

We made it! Halfway anyhow. Tonight we hit the halfway point in the burger book and in honor of the mighty burger we invited a few people over for supper. We made the Louisiana.
This is the first burger with a spice 'rub' - a dry rub with a half dozen savory spices sprinkled on the outside of the burger making a bit of a crust. The burger was topped with a chargrilled red onion slice and house made remoulade which is a mayo based sauce filled with cornichons, flat leaf parsley and green onions.
Brian finished things up by making us toasted marshmallow milkshakes. Sweet.

garlic butter burger

Wow! We have had a pretty busy week and it is only Wednesday. Yesterday I gave a tour to the two people who won 67 - 8 hour days of attractions in Orlando. Here is where they quoted me in their blog. Wow again. We were part 1 of day 41.
But, tonight I came home and made the garlic butter burger. It is utter simplicity and as probably strong as you might think. I made a thick paste of butter, raw garlic, flat leaf parsley and shallot and cooked the turkey burger in it.
The butter melting down over the burger infusing it with garlic. So great and so easy.
A pile of oven baked steak fries round it out.