Meatloaf

I used ketchup, spicy brown mustard, lean ground beef, lean ground pork, bread crumbs, eggs, 1/4 of a red onion and minced garlic. It is a US favourite and is slowly becoming a favourite for me too. This was not a comfort food for me growing up but I can see how it was for others. Yummy stuff.

Throw everything in a bowl and get to mixing.

I think I needed to use some more bread crumbs in mine as it was very juicy.



To make the glaze for the top of the meatloaf, I used mustard, a little maple syrup, ketchup and brown sugar. The glaze was SCRUMPTIOUS!! Bake until done and serve up with garlic mashed potatoes! So yummy!

Julia Child's kitchen

During my time in DC on Saturday, we popped into the American History museum at the Smithsonian. It is a wonderfully touchable museum and I can't wait to see more of it. But for this blog, I thought you may appreciate these pictures the most. It is Julia Child's kitchen. The above picture is of two of her quotes that seemed to connect to my life the most.

The wall of photos, quotes and details of Julia's life. The top quote says: "Above all, have a good time!" I loved that because that is how it should be in life... you should have the positive attitude to have a good time!

The kitchen was encased in glass, so you couldn't get a great shot, but if you saw the movie Julie/Julia Project, then you know EXACTLY how it looks.

Bon Appetit! Blurry, I know... hehehe.

Halibut

I know, I know... I really need to get back to taking pictures of this stuff!! :) I will, I promise but I had forgotten to take my camera out for this one but wanted to share it with you all.
On Fridays, my roommate and I like to try to have fish. It was a tradition in her home and I think it's nice, so I want to honour that with her.
I went to Fresh Market (a WONDERFUL) grocery store here in Williamsburg (and all over the USA) to see what they had and they have a great, old-fashioned butcher's counter. I saw lovely, thick pieces of halibut and began to build the dinner menu in my mind as I wandered around the store. I bought whole wheat gnocchi, a lovely pesto, some rosemary/sea salt bread and a little over 1/2 a pound of the fresh, thick halibut. Now, the other stuff, I am sure you can figure out what I did... no real surprises there... but the halibut. Usually, I like to put my fish in a foil pocket with some butter, lemon, dill, salt and pepper, close it up and toss it in the oven for a while. But this time, I decided to throw it on the George Foreman grill. I'd never done that before and was a little worried about it being overcooked, or undercooked, or just plain gross. But the halibut had the skin on (gross to eat, but great for grilling)so that was lucky. I heated up the grill, nice and hot and then put the fish down, skin side first. I wish you could have heard the sizzle... I love that sound. Then I lightly sprayed the top of the fish with Extra Virgin Olive Oil and lightly salted, peppered and dilled it. Closed the lid and voila! After about 10 minutes, I checked on it, the grill marks were lovely. The oil on the top helped the fish to carmelize and it had this little crispy top. I don't eat the skin, but it peeled right off in one piece of crunchy, cripy-ness. And the fish was moist, done to perfection and just wonderful. So give it a try!!! Happy eating!

Simple Teriyaki

Once (many moons ago) I worked in a deli and learned how to make a really quick and simple teriyaki sauce for wings, marinading meats or stir fries. Again, I can't remember the exact measurements... I just kind of toss things together. Here is what you need: oil, sugar, fresh garlic, soy sauce. Less oil than soy and a little sugar and garlic... mix, mix, mix and then throw the meat in to marinade for a while. When I cook the meat, I use ALL the sauce with it. Yummy in my tummy!!

Creamy Seafood Pasta

You will need some small bay scallops and shrimp (I use the frozen ones because they are already cleaned, peeled and all of that), whipping cream, red onion, minced garlic, fresh Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, your favourite pasta, a very big skillet for the sauce, some flour for thickening(like just a little tiny bit) and whatever other spices you feel like might complement your tastes. I used a little dill and garnished with cilantro.
Dice up that onion and saute it with the garlic. I use extra virgin olive oil because it is the best!!

Add in the scallops and shrimp and then throw in your salt and pepper and dill or whatever spice you like for this.

Add the whipping cream and a little flour, bring it to a boil and keep stirring. Cool it down and throw in your cooked pasta.

Once it is thickened up and cooled a little, put it in a bowl and then garnish however you like.

Happy eating!!!

Perogies

One of the BEST comfort foods ever to me is perogies. The mashed potato and cheddar insides are happiness themselves. However, I really don't do it the traditional way. I don't like to boil and then fry them. It just has the wrong texture to me and seems greasy. I do love the bacon but I do that the way I do the perogies... baked in the oven. This way the shell is chewy and crispy and the bacon isn't super greasy.


I like to make a different little sauce for them too. I use plain fat free yogurt with a touch of thyme, dill and garlic salt. SO yummy and more health conscious than sour cream (although that makes my tummy happy too!!). Happy eating!

Potato Salad

Potato salad is one of my favourite things to eat. My mom makes the absolute, without a doubt, best potato salad ever and no one should try to claim that title from here. I make a good one, but somehow it just doesn't measure up. I know that the missing ingredient is though - A Mother's Love. It is the most amazing ingredient and it makes everything from my childhood so much better. So as I begin to explore some of my favourite childhood recipes, I know that they won't taste exactly like my mother's, but they will be yummy and take me back to a place of happiness again. So enjoy the version of potato salad that I made yesterday for dinner with a grilled turkey burger (my potato salad has some different things in it this time than I normally put in and some stuff was missing. I was missing the green onions and paprika garnish. I added cayenne pepper for a little burst of spice and I used Miracle Whip when normally I prefer regular mayo).
The ingredients... Miracle Whip, French's Mustard, Dill, Celery Salt, Cayenne Pepper, Sage. I use the sage very lightly because it fives a little different taste.


As you can see it is pretty easy... sometimes I fully peel the potatoes and other times I don't. This time I used baby creamer potatoes so I left the peels on, good texture and nice taste. Hard boiled eggs.... chop it all up, throw in the spices and mustard to taste and them slap on the mayo to the desired wetness.... YUM!!

Thai

Okay, I must really be missing Asia these days and since I can't readily get my hands on anything Korean, I went with Thai food one more time. It wasn't as authentic or yummy as the real deal, but it filled the empty Asian spot in my tummy for the moment. I made a shrimp Pad Thai... yummy. My roommate even gave it a try and liked it. I have no advice or pictures, just thought I should share something as this blog has been somewhat neglected over the past couple of weeks. Look out though, I am getting a hankering to make something yummy and fun! ;)