Cook it If ya Got it

Wow, what a week for food. I was so busy wallowing in depression and whatnot that I didn't get to write about food. And boy, was there a lot of food. Such as...

#1: Sunday I made my FIRST EVER pot of Beef Stew using the Joy of Cooking recipe, with grass fed organic beef, and wow - I think that might have been the ultimate comfort food. Sorry, didn't get a pic but suffice it to say, it was loved by all who tried it, a couple times over - and that includes Berge, Vince, Lucio, yours truly and Ms. Spider the dog.

#2: Can ya believe it? It's beef again! I went to a work luncheon at Cafe Rouge, and just couldn't resist enjoying one of their steaks. I'd meant to only eat half and share the other half, but it was just so perfect that gluttony got the better of me. I couldn't eat like this all the time, but it sure was a nice indulgence.

#3: The work luncheon was part of a long week full of gluttony. Our company had guests in town to attend a training session, and we like to feed our guests well. That means gourmet lunch every day, snacks in the morning, more snacks in the afternoon, and at least one wine, cheese and chocolate party. Yeah, my day job is SO hard, huh? I get to help plan these lunches and snacks, and I went a little crazy at the grocery store (Mom & Dad if you're reading this, you'll be happy, or possibly dismayed to know that I have not outgrown that habit!). And that leads me to....

#4: All the guests were getting plump and there was still food left at the end of the week! What's a food obsessed girl to do but take it all home and get just a little more mileage out of it? We had pears on the verge of over-ripeness and a whole bunch of pita bread. Naturally that leads to...

#5: Friday evening was spent in one of my favorite ways - in the kitchen, with KALX on the radio, pita chips in the oven, and pears and apples poaching in port and red wine on the stove. Oh, and there was a raging fire in the living room. This is the life for me.

#5A: I was too impatient to look for a recipe for poaching fruit, so I just did it like this: I poured a mixture of port and red wine into a pot and brought it to a mild simmer, along with a cinnamon stick, 4 cloves and a few drops of vanilla extract. All told, it was about 1 1/2 cups of wine/port, and I used 2 pears and 3 apples. After peeling and slicing the pears and apples, I added them to the pan and stirred gently, letting the fruit poach for about 10 minutes while the wine thickened up just a tad. Then I took it off the heat and am going to refrigerate it for a few days till it's time to meet w/ my Gay Husband and bake it into a pie or cobbler. Or maybe I'll just heat it and serve it over vanilla ice cream...yum!!!





#5B: Pita chips, pita chips, pita chips! The thing I love about pita chips, is that you can season them any way you want. Last night I was feeling curry-ish, so I first sliced the pita bread into triangles, and then tossed them with a little olive oil, garam masala, cayenne and sea salt. Baked 'em in the oven at 350 degrees for about 5-7 minutes on each side, and now they're done. And boy did the house smell good!



#6: I can't end without mentioning my hero Rick Bayless - one night this week I was actually craving frozen pizza; don't ask me why! But I bought one if his Frontera brand four cheese pizzas w/ roasted tomatoes & cilantro, and I must say that it was so damn good! Spicy and roasty and much, much better than your average frozen pizza.

Yeah, so it was a good food week! Special thanks to all the folks at my day job who help me to eat so well :)