Happy Winter Solstice

Yesterday was the last official day of fall but looks can be deceiving can't they. The weather actually wasn't that bad except for the north wind. The Boy received some snow pants from his Grandma so we bundled up and played in the snow. If the weather forecast holds true, next Saturday might be a good day for sledding at Pioneers Park.

If we have a long cold winter requiring a lot of couch time, I have the perfect thing for you. The Amazon fairy brought me Stephen King's new book. It's a Christmas gift for Miss Mindy but I'll read it when she's done. I read the first few pages and I'm hooked already (poor woodchuck). We love SK at the West A house and the bookcases are full of his work.

Saturday I asked which dish I should use my fresh batch of paneer on and a biryani was chosen. I like this dish a lot however I wish I'd fried the paneer cubes a little more than I did. They were tasty little morsels though. I browsed through some of my cookbooks and found a cauliflower dish with tomato and onion that sounded good. The Boy wouldn't eat it but I gave him credit for trying it at least. I simmered the florets in a puree of onion and ginger, two finely chopped tomatoes, one minced green chili, six minced garlic cloves. All the aromatics in the rice and the veggies made the house smell fantastic.

Yesterday was decent enough I shoveled the snow away from the grill and made burgers. It smelled like summer!

Have a good week everyone.

Okay, enough already...

I confess, I'm tired of this bitter cold weather already. Can we go back to low to mid-thirties? Please?

We ventured up to Mahoney State Park for lunch Saturday afternoon at the lodge. The views of the snow covered Platte Valley were fantastic. The food, ehhh, not so much. The Boy enjoyed a very tasty looking Angus burger which I wish I'd ordered, hindsight being what it is and all. Miss Mindy and I had the lunch buffet and she commented how the selections seemed to be driven towards the "senior set". But if you like comfort food (ie: bland) then you'd have been right at home. There was a large Boy Scout event going on and that may have influenced the menu as well. I was disappointed the huge fireplace wasn't lit but overall we had a nice lunch.

Sunday I made a batch of paneer cheese with a new hormone free milk. Palak paneer is on the menu for later this week. The milk tasted like milk but I'm glad for the opportunity to support a "local" business. Sunday dinner consisted of a roasted chicken with garlic-herb compound butter spread up under the skin, fricasseed brussel sprouts and roasted new potatoes with fresh rosemary. Now that was some tasty comfort food! I finished the evening off with a nice bit of Goslings Old Rum. Like a fine cognac, brandy or scotch, this stuff is truly a wonderful way to end the weekend.

Sun Dog

Got to work this snowy cold morning and saw off to the southeast a sun dog. You've all probably seen one but this was my first. The one to the right of the sun was a huge prismatic column shooting to the sky. A "Torch to the Heavens" as my wife described it.

I grabbed the crappy camera I have at work and tried to take a shot of it. Not the best image but you get the idea. I hope many Lincolnites got to see it, whether they were making the trek to work or sitting all warm and snug in their homes. Safe travels to you all and stay warm!



The sun is behind the house. The sun dog to the left wasn't very intense so I aimed for the right
side.

Oh The Weather Outside is........who cares!

You remember those dishes that the first time you have them you're like "Wow, this is really really good!"? Well we had that recently at the West A house. With the weather turning cold I've shifted gears to those hearty, spicy, filling meals our family enjoys. Not that I'm against shoveling that white stuff falling down right now and fire up the Weber. I've been craving steak and who knows, maybe during Tuesdays blizzard I'll have me some beef!

Anyway, now that winter has apparently set in early, here are two dishes to warm you up. I don't have the cool service bowls/dishes for any Asian food yet so bear with the Fiesta.



Our first winter dish was Massaman beef curry. Its hard to find a good definition of "Massaman" but I'd call it good. It's a Muslin inspired dish from what I've read. We've had Thai before so we expected the sweet fiery coconut and red chili burn. The tenderness of the meat, almost velvety, was fantastic. I've usually had chicken in my Thai so I was very happy with this dish. The leftovers the next day were even better. I used black cardamom this time and I'm wondering if green would change the dish very much? There are numerous recipes on the web and most are pretty similiar. I went with one that included bay leaf, cinnamon stick, tamarind. I omitted cashews this time which you'll see in this dish also.

The second dish is a Burmese chicken stew. I was really intrigued by this the first time I read it back in April. I stored the idea away till it seemed appropriate. Today seemed perfect.



This is the dish that made me say "Wow!". Going in with a whole head of garlic and two cups of julienned ginger made me worry this dish might be a bit too much for some in my family. I was wrong. The finished dish is so delicious it's hard to describe. Rich, highly seasoned, aromatic (understatement) and irresistable. I limited myself to one thigh but had a small second serving of jasmine rice with some of the gravy. I'm looking forward to lunch tomorrow and my co-workers hovering around wondering what tasty good smelling victuals I'm eating now.
I really encourage you to try this. It's not hard. And in less that an hour you'll be glad you did. I swears! Miss Mindy asked me to put this recipe towards the front of the list to be served again soon. I'm happy to oblige.

You all have a great week but be careful. Weather forecast looks awesome if you like snow.

Tiki Weekend!

We sent the Boy off to his grandparents so we could enjoy a day with our friends from Fordyce. The wives attended Doane College together and have remained good friends since graduation. We introduced them to Mt. Fuji Inn in Omaha many years ago and decided to have a little get together at our place this weekend.

I had the bar ready to go and we made Mai Tai's, Reef's, Captain's Grogs, Flaming Coconaut's, Royal Hawaiian's and a couple I can't remember! I squeezed a mess of limes, lemons, oranges and a white grapefruit in the afternoon so I'd be ready to play bartender. I love playing mix-master as much as I love cooking. The only thing missing was a true tiki bar where I could create my magic like Blair.

We've always enjoyed finger foods while imbibing in tropical drinks so Mindy and I went a bit crazy with food. I prepared two kinds of baby back ribs, a sweet and smokey version on the grill, another with hoisin sauce, ginger, and other asian flavorings in the oven. A large chunk of roast prepared with more asian spices and seasonings in the dutch oven. And a grilled Thai chicken satay with a spicy peanut sauce with red curry paste and a "salad" of thin sliced cucumber/red onion/jalapeno in a tasty vinagrette. We picked up some spring rolls, crab rangoon, egg rolls and dumplings from two of our favorites in the city.

I neglected to take pictures of the food for you so you'll have to trust me that it was all great. I encourage you to enjoy what you like. No matter how silly or ridiculous it may seem to others, if you like it, do it. Then do it again!

Mr. Schieffer did a terffic job scarfing down those ribs and helping me drink those Fog Cutter's with the float of bristol cream sherry on top. Very tasty indeed and I look forward to your next visit so we can sample some of the bottles from the top shelf!

Have a great short week everyone and Happy Thanksgiving!

Have I mentioned that I like food?

Mindy grew brussel sprouts this year and we harvested them back on the 15th. That same day I braised them with garlic and wine vinegar served with a quick rigatoni with sweet chicken Italian sausage. I cut the Boy's serving into more managable slices but left mine whole for that more authentic Italian feel. The sprouts were delicious and I hope we can produce more next year. Sprouts have become a favorite in this household and that's a good thing. Tasty!

I tried a Thai recipe from Leela for another quick mid-week meal the other day. I was sure that the Boy wouldn't even touch it. But to my surprise he scarfed it down and asked for more. Khao Na Gai, thai chicken in brown sauce was quick, simple and tasty. Served with some steamed Jasmine rice and julienned scallion, it was delicious. I will gladly make this dish again. The "Spindrift" in the second picture is an awesome drink courtesy of Tiarre.

We went to the Asian market on the west side of North 27th street Friday night and picked up some items for other dishes I'll be trying. They were out of Kaffir lime leaves and I was bummed about that but excited to have taken the Boy with us and he loved walking the packed aisles looking at all the interesting things.

We had guests over the weekend and hopefully we wowed them with food and drink and I will make that the next post.

One if by land, two if by sea!

No, we're not having a revolution on West A Street. I just couldn't come up with a better Title for Grilled Scallops with Pistachio Butter and Pork Loin with Orange-Pomegranate Sauce.

I usually sear some scallops in a pan with some olive oil, maybe a little shallot. Then wilt some fresh tender greens and mushrooms with some balsamic vinegar and a touch of salt and pepper. But I had these big sea scallops calling my name Saturday afternoon and with the weather being so good lately (Thanks a lot October!) why not grill them? I sometimes make a sauce for chicken scallopini that consists of finely chopped pistachios, butter and honey. So why not adapt one for the scallops. Just leave out the honey, add some fresh chopped parsley, salt and pepper and you're there. I dried the scallops and seasoned them with crushed red pepper flakes, coarse salt and a drizzle of olive oil. They didn't knock my socks off but they were pretty good.

Today was perfect again for grilling so let's cook some nice juicy tender pork. Made a paste of minced garlic, chili powder, salt, pepper and olive oil. Slathered it on a pork loin and let it sit for a half hour or so. I set up for indirect grilling and used the stainless steel divider to keep some of the heat down. The cowboy charcoal I've been using burns really really hot and the divider helps keep the temp down so the pork cooks slowly and retains a ton of moisture. I had a little over two pounds of meat and after one hour it registered 160 degrees. I brought it inside, covered it with foil and made the sauce.

Orange juice, pomegranate juice, balsamic vinegar and honey. Bring to a boil then simmer for about 15 minutes. The volume will reduce and the product will turn to a syrup consistency. Hit it with a dash of salt and serve warm. I sliced the pork into nice portions and drizzled the sauce over the top. I really liked this dish and will make it again.

Cocktails consisted of Mindy having a "Royal Hawaiian" of pineapple juice, lemon juice, orgeat syrup and gin. While I had a "Voodoo Priestess" of dark rum, spiced rum, brandy, orange, lime and lemon juice, a dash of orange bitters and Voodoo Priestess Spice syrup. The syrup is made from cinnamon, ground ginger, ground nutmeg, ground allspice and demerara sugar dissolved in boiling water and then cooled.

It was a good weekend. Hope yours was too! Have a good week.