Assorted Pics of Past Dishes

oozie breads

pretty beet jewel salad

sandwich board - how bout a ham sammich?

Cute Fruit

i just chopped a small papaya and mango randomly, then decided to skewer them on wimpy toothpicks, but they looked cute

next time, evenly cut pieces of fruit, add some green mint for more color, and maybe another fruit, skewered on strong picks

they have potential as a nice fruit canape, post heavier, savory ones, or even as a nice add-in to put in a drink

Spaghetti and Meatballs, and turkey sausages

Meatballs and Spicy Turkey Sausage simmering in sauce

finished and plated spaghetti with grated reggiano and some chopped parsley garnish

meatballs:

1/2 onion choppd

1 clove garlic, pressed/chopped small

olive oil

sautee these three with s+p until soft (add chicken broth to speed up) and then let cool

1 lb ground beef

2 eggs

1/4 cup breadcrumbs, soaked in enough milk to make a loose mixture, but not stiff

chopped parsley

cooled onion+garlic mixture

more s+p

mix by hand, set aside

now, before beginning to roll all of the meatballs, start making the sauce and cook the sausages:

in sautee pan, brown the turkey sausages and then cut into slices (about 6 cuts each link)

in separate big pot, dutch oven, something big with a lid, start the sauce

- sautee onions and garlic until soft

- add 2 cans of san marzano crushed tomatoes

- add s+p

- 1/2 cup chianti

- some chicken broth, eh 1/2 cup?

- couple tsps sugar

- cover and let simmer

while sauce is simmering:

roll meat mixture into small sized meatballs

(the smaller the meatballs, the more each person gets to eat!)

sautee meatballs in olive oil until browned but still undercooked in the middle, add to sauce as each is ready, also add the browned, sliced turkey sausage

once all the meatballs and sausages are in the sauce, deglaze meat pan with 1/2 cup chianti and add to sauce (this is key step)

cover sauce and let simmer for as long as you can stand it (try for at least one hour, ideally much longer tho, maybe even all day)

cook up pasta of choice, mix with sauce, and serve with grated reggiano

drink with chianti, which has been opened and been 'breathing' for a while

Dino Kale, Tuscan Kale, Cavalo Nero...

it's pretty good, whatever you call it, better than the tougher regular curly-edged kale, and you can eat it raw and like it, versus the latter

i used the nytimes recipe - very garlicky and lemony (oh yeah and stinky too bc of garlic and cheese) - it tasted like "healthier" caesar salad bc the kale is more nutritious than romaine lettuce, or at least that's what i tell myself

i tried to pose the link but couldn't get it to work, so just search nytimes.com for "tuscan kale"

Going, going, gone

Butternut Squash Gnocchi, pan-fried

Kevin calls them "nooggie" because that's what he called them when he was a kid. I never liked gnocchi, always thought they were like little dough bombs that get stuck in your gut, at least not the boiled & sauced ones.

But I do like them if they are pan-fried, soft in the middle and crispy on the outside. I had them once, a long time ago, when my friend was working at the Bridge Cafe - the chef at the time had these on the menu.

So, last night I was thinking about a side dish to bring to Christmas Dinner at my in-laws house...racked my brain, don't want to do the usual, and thought of these pan-fried gnocchi. I wanted to do a twist on the plain potato, and started an interweb search for Butternut Squash Gnocchi.

Used one russet, some leftover cubed squash from the fridge and got to work - this recipe made about 5 servings.

1 medium-large russet potato
1.5 cups small cubes of butternut squash
1 large egg
1-1.5 cups unbleached flour
salt and pepper
chopped sage leaves
olive oil
parmigiano reggiano, grated

boil potato and squash until soft. (baking/roasting in the oven should work too)

rice (or food mill) both and let dry a bit (squash gets wetter than potato)

put both in a mixing bowl and add one egg, blend together.

add salt and pepper. stir again. (might try adding nutmeg next time)

add flour 1/4 cup at a time, mixing until dough gets drier, but still sticky.

work dough in batches, flouring surface and dough to avoid super-sticky-ness. (it should feel dry on the outside, but remain sticky on the inside)

shape into long rods, cut into 1/2 inch pieces, flour and put aside.

boil gnocchi in salted water until they float to the top, pull out of water with a spider or slotted spoon, then put into sautee pan with a little bit of olive oil and chopped sage until browned and crispy on the outside.

serve immediately with grated parm on top.

i stored some boiled gnocchi last night, with a little olive oil on them so they wouldn't stick together and then just sauteed them for lunch - easy and delicious. I think this is what I'll do for Christmas - make them the day before and just heat them up before dinner.

I also refrigerated some of the dough, with lots of flour to avoid sticking, in saran wrap and it still seems soft and pillowy in the fridge today.

Deux Souffle

I never made souffle before, so I tried one for thanksgiving using garnet yams. and then my friend sean and I made a cheese souffle a couple weeks later. both tasted great. I can't wait to try making other versions - sean says carrot souffle is good but I want to try the classic broccoli and spinach, on yeah and chocolate too.

Outside Dinner Party KP 35

Party planner in effect. and i loved every minute of it. tablecloths, chairs, bread baskets, braised short ribs, firepits, candles, cake and vino. It was a nice fall day, a little chill in the air, but we all stayed warm with some heat from the firepits.

Beach and Biking in Mauritius

This is the day we biked around Le Morne. It was a little adventure, going through beaches, fields, walking up and zooming down giant hills.

Kevin loves potatoes

He is part Irish after all. Look how happy the little potatoes make him. awww, my little mr potato head...

Vary for sale

This is one of my favorite shots from our Indian Ocean trip. It is one of the hundreds of roadside stands in Antananarivo, the capital of Madagascar. Rice is called vary and we saw a lot of small rice paddies all around.

This is not a frog blog

so I finally created a blog, and now I can write about whatever I want, and upload some of my zillion pictures. I'll be starting off with food and travel, but we'll see where it ends up. Ready, set, go. To start, this is a picture of a couple Tomato Frogs we saw in Madagascar. They look pretty cool but dont know how they taste, probably not like a nice caprese.