A mother-daughter conversation on food and cooking (mostly)
"Sunday night supper" connotes comfortable food that doesn't require too much work--or possibly a lighter meal because it follows a gargantuan lunch of roast beast.
Last night our supper menu was
Curry-Crusted Scallops, Quinoa Tabulli, and little carrots and snow peas from the garden, followed by black raspberry/chocolate chunk ice cream.
I loved quinoa as a substitute for bulgur in my regular tabulli recipe. This was the first time I tried it. Dad grew the parsley, so this was a big success.
Here's a product endorsement especially relevant to our times: this ice cream, which is a Kroger store brand, cost $1.30 and was just as delicious as any $5 famous stuff.
We had an exceptional Mothers Day today. First we drove with Grandma to Saguaro National Park. The cacti were all in bloom to celebrate. Some of the arms of the saguaro had a burst of blossoms at the end, and looked as if they were holding out a bouquet.
After our drive we returned home to champagne and a deli feast for lunch. I don't buy prepared foods very often, but there is a gourmet grocery store near us with a stellar deli counter, and I was busy all day yesterday adjudicating at a piano festival.
Our menu: pickled herring in sour cream; black peppercorn pate; cold
teriyaki salmon; broccoli salad; rice and artichoke salad; thinly sliced baguette and Ry
Krisp. This was followed by homemade
Baked Alaska. We all had a nap after.
Happy Mothers Day to all.
Here's a meal I served Katherine after we picked her up at the airport last night: chicken in red wine sauce, bruschetta, and asparagus, with blueberries and ice cream for dessert.
The ice cream was low fat latte flavor by Starbucks--I love coffee ice cream, and Starbuck's is consistently excellent.
My latest cookbook is Verdura: Vegetables Italian Style by Viana La Place. In it I was thrilled to find a whole chapter on bruschetta toppings. The one pictured above had artichokes, capers, and olives.
We had a party for fourteen people on Sunday. It was for Dad’s birthday as well as a kind of yardwarming. We had margaritas, sangria, and Mexican beer; typical appetizers like guacamole and homemade salsa and lots of chips; a main course of shredded pork served with tortillas and fajita-style garnishes, Anasazi beans, and some green corn tamales which we bought in South Tucson; and two Baked Alaska Pies. Here’s how to make Baked Alaska:
1 graham cracker crust (I use a few pretzels in place of some of the graham crackers), baked until lightly browned1 quart ice cream, softened slightly. Coconut, caramel ripple, or mocha nut are the kinds of flavors that we like bestA 3-egg-white meringueScoop the ice cream into the crust and smooth the top. Return to freezer until hard, at least two hours.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Make the meringue and spread on the ice cream, sealing to the edge of the crust. Bake until the meringue is lightly browned. You have to watch it like a hawk. If it’s not browning very fast, turn on the broiler briefly. The idea is to brown it without melting the ice cream too much.
Return to freezer until hard, about two hours.
