”Next time you go on a trip, remember this little tip:
The minute you get back, they’ll ask you this and that,
You can describe peo-ple, places and things…
Simply unpack – your adjectives
You can do it – with adjectives
Tell them ’bout it – with adjectives
You can shout it with adjectives!”

There you have it.  “Unpack Your Adjectives” was one of my favorite songs from School House Rock.  If you recognized it, I’m sorry there’s no prize money involved.  But satisfaction in knowing that all of those hours in front of the TV on Saturday mornings in 1976 didn’t amount to nothing.  It’s not entirely useless knowledge; I still quote School House Rock to the punks on occasion!  Just a few months ago I dazzled them at the dinner table by reciting the entire Preamble to the Constitution, which I learned not from my 7^th grade government teacher, but from School House Rock.

Now before I bust out “Conjuction Junction” or “Lolly, Lolly, Lolly”, I’ll move on to what got me started on this theme in the first place:  Sea Scallops.  I recognize that I’m easily diverted.  I got caught up unpacking my adjectives.

First of all, this dish is very, very easy.  The list of ingredients is short, and most of them are on sale through tomorrow evening!  The sauce is simple; with lemon, tomatoes, and basil it’s fresh, bright, and tangy, and comes together in a skinny minute.  Pan-searing the scallops creates a delicious, golden crust on the outside, and keeps them smooth and silky on the inside.  Serve a crisp and chilly chardonnay alongside -  it’s quite a lovely dinner for minimal effort!

How was that for descriptive? Enjoy your Monday!

PAN SEARED SCALLOPS WITH ORZO, TOMATOES, AND BASIL

Serves: 4

Source:  foodandwine.com

• 1 c. orzo or other tiny pasta (DaVinci Orzo is on sale)
• 1 – 1” inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped
• 1 large stalk of fresh lemongrass, tender inner core of bottom third only, coarsely chopped (**see note**)
• Vegetable oil
• 4 stem tomatoes, cored and chopped (stem tomatoes are on sale)
• 3 T. chopped fresh basil (Living Basil is on sale)
• 1 T. fresh lemon juice
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 lb. large sea scallops (on sale)

In a saucepan of boiling, salted water, cook the orzo, stirring occasionally, until al dente, about 6 minutes. Drain and rinse lightly.

Meanwhile, in a mini processor, mince the ginger with the lemongrass.  Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a medium skillet.  Add the ginger and lemongrass and cook over moderately high heat until fragrant, about 2 minutes.  Add the tomatoes and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.  Add 2 tablespoons of the basil and the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.

In a large skillet, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil until shimmering.  Add the scallops, season with salt and pepper, and cook over high heat until browned on the bottom, about 2 ½ minutes (do not fiddle with them for a full 2 ½ minutes.  I’m serious!).  When they have a golden crust on the bottom, turn them and continue to cook for one more minute.

Mound the orzo in shallow bowls and top with the tomatoes and scallops.  Sprinkle with the remaining basil and serve.

**NOTE**: I couldn’t find fresh lemongrass at Sendik’s today.  Instead, I used the zest of one whole lemon and a small handful of cilantro leaves and stems, which I happened to have on hand.  I then left out the lemon juice that was supposed to be added at the end; I didn’t want it to get too lemony.  If you go this route, use a vegetable peeler to remove the zest (just the dark yellow part) from the lemon; be careful not to pick up the white part of the peel, it’s bitter and will wreck your dish.

Not to be Debbie Downer or anything, I’m just really bummed out right now. I woke up Monday morning with a sharp pain in my left foot – the pain went away for a little while, then later on in the day it came back, and has gotten progressively worse as the week has wore on.

So, after three miserable days of hobbling around in total discomfort, which I’ve tried my best to rid with a self-prescribed concoction of Advil and unoaked-chardonnay (White Truck, if you must know), I bit the bullet and went to the doctor this morning. Turns out, I have a stress fracture in my left foot. My first broken bone in 41 years, and it’s a total drag!

Here’s the deal. I need to be off of my feet today, and for what appears to be a few more days to come. No grocery shopping, no standing in the kitchen, no gym….basically, a lot of sitting around. But I hate to abandon you, my faithful ten readers, so in the short term I’m going to re-visit some dishes from my personal collection and photo archive. I hope that’s all right with you all…I hope you’ll bear with me and my gimpy self! One catch, the ingredients might not be in the current sale ad. But in keeping with my frugal theme, I promise you we won’t break the bank. Here we go.

Of all of the cooking magazines I subscribe to, Food & Wine is one of my favorites. Their recipes are consistently good; I’ve never had one bomb on me (this is saying a lot!). One of my favorite F & W recipes is this fantastic Shrimp Saganaki. Large shrimp are sautéed along with onions, fresh tomatoes and olives, then finished with fresh basil and a sprinkle of feta cheese….wow. I think I’m in love!

I like to serve the Saganaki in shallow bowls, on top of a bed of orzo. I usually toss a romaine salad and serve toasted pita alongside…..again, wow. I would even go so far as to call this a restaurant quality meal – certainly good enough for entertaining, and definitely one for the ‘keeper’ file. Wish I was able to make it for myself tonight!

SHRIMP SAGANAKI

Source: Food & Wine Magazine, March ‘09

Serves: 4

• 2 T. olive oil
• 1 large white onion, thinly sliced
• 1 box grape tomatoes, halved
• salt and cayenne pepper to taste
• 1 1/2 lbs. shelled and deveined large shrimp
• 1/2 c. pitted kalamata olives, coarsely chopped
• 1/4 c. sliced fresh basil (or dill)
• 3 oz. crumbled feta cheese, plus additional for garnish if desired

• Cooked orzo or rice, for serving
• Toasted pita bread, for serving

In a large skillet, heat the oil until shimmering. Add the onion and cook over high heat, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, season with salt and cayenne pepper to taste and cook until softened, crushing them with the back of a spoon, about 5 minutes. Add the shrimp and olives and cook, stirring occasionally, until the shrimp are cooked through, about 3 minutes. Stir in the basil and half of the feta and cook just until the feta is hot, about 1 minute. Transfer to shallow bowls, sprinkle with remaining feta, and serve with toasted pita. Enjoy!

I’d never made this recipe before the other day, so it’s a new one for me.  The whole DamFam really, really liked it though — except for you-know-who, but of course we’ve come to expect that from him.  Anything these kiddos can top with shredded cheese, sour cream, and chips seems to go over pretty well; hopefully your punks will dig it too!

I put it over hot basmati rice for something a little different – you could skip this if you want, but I liked it this way.  I recommend using a BIG ol’ pot, because this recipe makes a TON!  Even after we had it for dinner and I had a bowl for lunch, there was still enough to freeze for another meal.  Like most soups and stews, the flavors improved (and it got much thicker) as the chili sat in the fridge overnight.

Don’t be afraid of the chocolate; it doesn’t make the chili sweet – it just give it more of a Mexican mole flavor.  I added about half of the amount the recipe calls for.  Have fun with all of the toppings – I loved mine with a hefty dose of hot sauce (my favorite is Frontera brand, yum!).

Enjoy!

TURKEY & PINTO BEAN CHILI

Serves:  6-8

Source:  adapted from epicurious.com

• 1 T. vegetable oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 large red bell pepper, diced
• 1 large yellow bell pepper, diced
• 6 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
• 2 lbs. ground turkey (on sale)
• 3 T. chili powder
• 1 ½ t. cumin
• 1 ½ t. dried oregano
• 3 – 15 oz. cans pinto beans, drained
• 2 – 14 oz. cans diced tomatoes (try the sale fire-roasted Hunts tomatoes)
• 3 c. chicken broth (Imagine Organic broth is on sale)
• Chopped fresh cilantro to taste (I probably used 2 T.)
• 1 oz. semisweet chocolate, grated with a microplane or regular grater

• Hot cooked basmati rice
• Tortilla Chips and Shredded Cheese
• Sour Cream and Hot Sauce
• Sliced scallions and cilantro sprigs for garnish if desired

Place a very large stock pot over medium high heat.  Add the oil and swirl to coat the bottom of the pan.  Add the onions, peppers, and garlic and sauté over medium-high heat until vegetables begin to soften, about 8 minutes.  Add turkey and sauté until no longer pink, breaking up large pieces with the back of a wooden spoon, about 7 minutes (I drained off all of the grease at this point).  Mix in chili powder, cumin, and oregano and stir one minute.  Add beans, tomatoes with their juices, broth, and grated chocolate.  Bring chili to a boil (it will not look pretty at this point).  Reduce heat to medium and simmer uncovered until chili thickens, about an hour.  Add chopped fresh cilantro; season to taste with salt and pepper.

Place hot cooked rice in the bottom of individual serving bowls.  Top with chili and serve with assorted toppings.

Over the last few weeks I’ve been in a real slump.  Not much cheese drifting between my ears.  But alas…. today the brain turned to cheese once again. I started thinking about BLT’s and how can I use cheese with this American favorite.  Ahhahhh…. Layered BLT Dip.  It was an instant hit in our Germantown Sendiks and I hope you and your family will enjoy it too!

Recipe Original: Kat-N-Cheese

Serving: 8

Time to prepare: 15 minutes.

LAYERED BLT DIP

• 1 Container of Alouette Garlic Herb Spreadable Cheese
• 1 Box Grape Tomatoes, chopped
• ½ English Seedless Cuck, finely chopped
• ½ Orange Sweet Pepper, finely chopped
• 2 Green Onion, finely chopped
• 3oz Bottle Hormel Real Bacon Bits
• 1 Bottle Sendiks Vidalia Onion Creamy Ranch Salad Dressing
• 1 Cup Shredded Mild Wisconsin Cheddar Cheese

Using a large platter; spread the container of Alouette Garlic Herb evenly

On platter.  Then layer chopped vegetables onto of the Alouette, in order given.

Sprinkle the vegetables with Hormel Real Bacon Bits.  Drizzle with Salad Dressing, amount to you preference.  Top with shredded Cheddar Cheese.

Serve immediately with Fritos Scoops.

Before I tell you about the Blackened Snapper, I have to share this funny story.

When my brother Adam comes to visit us from Cincinnati, he always loves to stop at Grapes & Grain to pick out some nice wines for the weekend.  He called me from their parking lot yesterday afternoon, completely confounded, and asked, “Where did Grapes and Grain go!?”  I had to break it to him that sadly, they had gone out of business.  I thought he might burst into tears right there in the middle of Port Washington Road.  Pitiful.

He then high-tailed it over to the wine department at Sendiks (another one of his favorite Mequon haunts).  A short time later, he walked in to the house with ‘a genius idea’ for my blog – his favorite gin, Hendrich’s, is on sale for $25.00 a bottle, and limes are on sale 5/$1.00 – wouldn’t it make perfect sense to devote a blog entry to a batch of refreshing and delicious gin and tonics?!

Lest you think my brother is a raging alcoholic (and I certainly would not want to give you that impression), I’ll say that he simply thought this was information that my 10 readers might appreciate having.  He’s a giver. And I’m a tightwad, so if he wants to buy the gin, all the better.

Now, on to the fish.  You won’t believe how quickly this dish comes together!  I’m using the sale snapper fillets, but I’m sure you could easily swap in tilapia, or even salmon if that’s your deal.  The snapper that’s on sale comes with the skin on.  Don’t worry about this.  Just proceed with the recipe; when you sit down to eat, the fillet will pretty much just slip away from the skin.  However, I was assured by Jim in the fish department that the skin is entirely edible should you choose to eat it.

Shelled edamame take the place of lima beans for a fun little riff on the traditional succotash.  I might steam some rice to have alongside….then again, I might not.

If I have too many gin and tonics, we won’t be eating at all.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

BLACKENED SNAPPER WITH EDAMAME SUCCATASH

Serves: 4

• 4 – 6 oz. snapper fillets (SALE!)
• 3 T. melted butter, divided
• 1-2 T. your favorite Cajun blackening spices (I like Paul Prudhomme’s)
• 1 c. frozen SHELLED edamame, thawed
• 1 c. fresh corn off the cob (SALE! I used two ears)
• 1 c. grape tomatoes, halved (SALE!)
• ½ c. red onion, small dice (about ½ of a small onion)
• 1 T. fresh basil, chopped
• 1 T. rice wine vinegar
• 3 T. good quality olive oil
• Salt and black pepper to taste

Make the succotash by combining all of the ingredients (the edamame through the salt and pepper) in a large mixing bowl.  Adjust seasonings, set aside.

Pat the fish fillets dry with paper towels.  Brush with melted butter and sprinkle both sides liberally with the Cajun spices, making sure to completely coat each fillet.  Fire up your exhaust fan.  Heat a large skillet until it is very hot.  Pour the remaining butter into the skillet.  Carefully place two fillets in the skillet and cook about 3 minutes on each side.  Carefully wipe out the pan and repeat with the remaining butter and fish.  Serve on top of the edamame succotash.

When I made this dish for the first time back in June, I have to admit that I had low expectations.  I wasn’t quite sure how blending up a bunch of grape tomatoes with toasted almonds could ever turn in to one of my favorite pasta dishes of all time, but it did.  Wow, did it ever.  In fact, immediately after the dishes were washed and the kitchen was put back in order, I sat down at my computer and fired off the recipe (along with a glowing review) to a handful of the foodies in my life.  Several days later I heard back from them with comments that ranged from “delicious and amazing” to “heavenly and life changing!”.  Yes, one friend even said it changed her life.  I trust these girls – if they tried a recipe and hated it, they would absolutely tell me to go jump in the lake.

The point is, you simply cannot go wrong with this recipe.

I’ve served it as a main dish with sliced grilled chicken on top, or as a vegetarian meal with a simple green salad.  I’ve doubled it with no trouble and frozen some for a rainy day.  Now, please go to the Store immediately and gather the minimal ingredients required for this dish!  You will not be sorry!

Have a great Wednesday, everyone!

PASTA WITH TOMATO & ALMOND PESTO (PESTO ALLA TRAPANESE)

Serves 4-6

Source:  Cooks Illustrated Magazine, June/July 2009

• ¼ c. slivered almonds
• 12 oz. grape tomatoes (about 2 ½ cups), on sale this week
• ½ c. packed fresh basil leaves
• 1 medium garlic clove, minced finely or pressed
• 1 small pepperoncini (hot peppers in vinegar), stemmed, seeded, and minced (find these by the olives, capers, and roasted peppers at the Store)
• Salt
• Pinch red pepper flakes
• 1/3 c. good quality olive oil – repeat, good quality olive oil, thank you.
• 1 lb. pasta
• 1 oz. Parmesan cheese, grated, plus extra for serving – again, use a good quality Parm’ and kindly do not resort to the green-canned variety, let’s maintain some standards here if you please.

Toast the almonds in a small skillet over medium heat, stirring frequently, until pale golden and fragrant, 2-4 minutes.  Cool almonds to room temperature.

Process cooled almonds, tomatoes, basil, garlic, pepperoncini, 1 t. salt, and red pepper flakes in a food processor until smooth, about 1 minute.  Scrape down sides of bowl with rubber spatula.  With machine running, slowly drizzle in the olive oil, about 30 seconds.  Adjust seasonings.

In the meantime, bring a large pot of water to boil.  Add the pasta and 1 T. salt and cook according to directions on package.  Reserve ½ c. cooking water; drain pasta and transfer back to cooking pot.

Add pesto and ½ c. Parmesan to cooked pasta, adjusting consistency with the reserved pasta water so that the pesto coats the pasta.  Serve in shallow bowls, passing additional Parmesan at the table.

I woke up a while ago and the house just didn’t feel right.  Uncomfortable, steamy, hot and sticky… I like to think I’m too young for hot flashes, but obviously, something was not right.

Well apparently, the air conditioner hadn’t been working all night long.  I went down to the basement thinking (hoping?!) that I probably just needed to change out the furnace filter (we’re not very good at keeping up with that sort of thing around here, if you want the truth) and all would be well.  But no such luck.

The filter is fine.  Much worse I fear, is that the furnace is covered in a thin layer of ice and frost, which can’t possibly be good.  I find its frozen state slightly ironic, since the rest of the house feels like the rainforest, and my hair (a very reliable humidity indicator) is curling wildly even as we speak.  Nice visual, right?  Yeah, it ain’t good.

I hate problems with the house.  They always give me a bad feeling in the pit of my checkbook.

While I’m sitting around waiting for the repairman to show his face and give me the bad news, I’ve turned my attention to dinner. You’re probably wondering how and/or WHY I would possibly be thinking about dinner at a time like this?  When I’m so hot and crabby?!  Well, that’s how I roll.  Planning dinner is a great diversion from the problem at hand.  Also, I’m a little obsessed.  It’s an illness.

Any hoo, I’m an absolute fool for a good Cobb Salad, which is what I decided to make tonight.  Light and fresh, they’re the perfect warm weather dinner.  I adore them so much in fact, that I ate a Cobb Salad from the North Shore Bistro every single week for the full nine months that I was pregnant with my third kiddo.  Do the math, that’s like, 40 salads.  Don’t believe me?  Ask my husband.  He was my Cobb Salad courier every time I had a craving.  A Cobb Salad mule, that’s what he was.  I’m sure he’d be thrilled with the title.  Let’s just see if he really reads my blog like he says he does.

This version is dressed up a bit with the addition of fresh herbs, toasted pine nuts,  and a lovely, light vinaigrette.  I used the sale marinated chicken breasts from the meat counter (Italian, they were terrific), sale romaine lettuce, stem tomatoes, and Patrick Cudahy bacon.  Economical AND delicious, does it get any better?

Impress your diners by chilling off your plates in the freezer before you plate the salads; it adds a nice touch and will make you look like a pro!

At least something around here will be nice and cold.  Humph.

COBB SALAD WITH HERBS AND SHERRY VINAIGRETTE

Serves:  6

Adapted from Fine Cooking Magazine, August/September 2008 p. 55

• 3 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts (again, I used the marinated ones from the meat counter)
• 1 large head of romaine lettuce, torn into bite-sized pieces
• ¾ c. fresh herbs (I used Italian parsley, basil, mint, and chives), chopped (not minced)
• 2 large avocados, pitted and diced
• 2 larged stem tomatoes, seeded and diced
• ¾ c. crumbled blue cheese of your choice
• 1/3 c. pine nuts, toasted (you could easily swap in pecans or walnuts for much less $$ than the pine nuts)
• 8 slices bacon, cooked crisp, cooled, and crumbled
• Sherry Vinaigrette, recipe follows
• Additional fresh chives, chopped for garnish

Place 6 large salad plates in the freezer to chill.

Preheat your grill to medium high.  Grill the chicken breasts until well marked and cooked through, about 5 minutes per side.  Cool; cut in to small dice.

Combine romaine and herbs in a large mixing bowl.  Toss with just enough dressing to coat lightly, 4 – 5 tablespoons.  Season with salt and pepper and toss again.

In a medium mixing bowl, toss the avocado, tomatoes, blue cheese, pinenuts, and chicken together with 3 – 4 tablespoons of the dressing.  Remove the plates from the freezer.  Divide the greens among the plates, arranging the lettuce in a circle with a small hole in the center. Mound the chicken mixture in the center of the lettuce on each plate, dividing evenly.  Sprinkle with the crumbled bacon and chopped chives and serve.

SHERRY VINAIGRETTE

• ¾ c. extra virgin olive oil
• ¼ c. good quality sherry vinegar
• 2 t. finely grated lemon zest (from about one lemon)
• 1 t. sugar
• 1 clove garlic minced finely or pressed
• ½ t. Dijon mustard
• ½ t. salt
• ¼ t. ground black pepper

Put all of the ingredients in a glass measuring cup or jar with a tight fitting lid and whisk or vigorously shake to combine.  You can refrigerate this for up to five days, but allow it to come to room temperature and stir well (or shake again) before serving.

There’s a hilarious scene where the two of them are discussing the wedding menu (or, ‘monyu’); flamboyant Franck tries to convince stressed-out George (or, ‘Mr. Bonks’) that he must serve either veal (‘vol’), seafood (‘sah foot’), or the lowly, cheaper chicken (‘the chipper chocken’).  George, who is trying to pinch pennies, of course opts for the ‘chipper chocken’.  He then rips his old ‘tux-ah-doh’ straight down the back,  heads off to the grocery store in a huff, and proceeds to rip the stockboy a new one over the outrageous cost of hotdog buns.  A crazy shopping cart chase through the aisles ensues, where product displays tumble left and right, and  George lands himself in jail, where poor Nina (Diane Keaton) has to come to bail him out.

Remember that scene?  You don’t?  Well then you must go rent the movie.  It’s delightful from start to finish!

You’re probably asking yourself where this conversation could possibly be headed.  And so, before I digress much further (like, by busting out the complete soundtrack for you), I want to tell you about this ‘chipper chocken’ recipe that I made tonight.  It’s my favorite dish to make out of plain old, boring ‘chocken’ breasts.

The refreshing Greek flavors of oregano and fresh mint really liven up these pretty skewers.  The whole meal came together quite quickly – you’ll just need a little time to marinade the chicken.  While the chicken marinates, pull together the delicious Greek salad, prepare a box of couscous or rice pilaf, and toast some pita bread.  Dinner is served!

GRILLED CHICKEN, RED ONION, & MINT KEBABS WITH GREEK SALAD

Serves:  4

Source:  epicurious.com, originally published in Bon Appetit Magazine, July 2001

• 1 ½ lbs. skinless boneless chicken breast halves (on sale!), cut in to 1-inch pieces
• 2 T. olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 t. dried mint
• 1 t. dried oregano
• 1 t. salt
• 1 t. ground black pepper
• 1 bunch fresh mint (one clear plastic box from the produce department)
• 1 large red onion, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 8 metal skewers (or wood, just soak them for an hour beforehand so they don’t burn up on your grill)
• Greek Salad, below

Mix chicken, oil, garlic, mint, oregano, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl.  Let marinate 30 minutes (mine went two hours with no trouble).

Prepare grill to medium-high heat.  Pull off the large mint leaves from their stems.  Alternate chicken, onion, and mint leaves on skewers, sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Grill until chicken is just cooked through, turning occasionally, about 9 minutes total.  Serve with Greek Salad.

GREEK SALAD

Yields:  about 4 ½ cups

• ¾ lb. stemmed tomatoes (on sale), seeded, diced (about 2 cups)
• 2 c. diced seeded peeled cucumber (about 1 large, on sale)
• 1 c. diced red bell pepper (from 1 large)
• ¼ c. pitted kalamata olives, halved
• ¼ c. diced red onion
• 3 T. chopped fresh Italian parsley
• 3 T. olive oil
• 1 ½ T. red wine vinegar
• ½ t. dried oregano
• ¼ c. crumbled feta (half of a 4 oz. box)

Toss the first 9 ingredients in a medium bowl to blend.  Gently mix in cheese.  Season with salt and pepper. Serve with the Chicken Kebabs!