We're Back!!!

I am very embarrassed for my long blog absence. I mean, I promised to write even when traveling. Well, I don't have the greatest excuse, but it is true that where we were staying we didn't have an internet connection. That made it tough. Plus, I was really busy chasing a story with Damien and meeting my new nephew (who is super cute, by the way - see photo.) And finally, we didn't really have any culinary excitement on the trip. Damien and I scarfed down way too many Dunkin Donuts (I like jelly, he likes chocolate-glazed) and there were pizza and TGI Friday's potato skins involved. And to top it all off, I got an email from my building asking that we pay $314.58 for the smokin' steaks incident! A bit excessive, no? All this to say, it was not the best food week.

There were a couple of bright spots though. When we visited Worcester, Damien's mom made us a wonderful chicken dish that I'll have to ask her about. And one night my mom made our family favorite Hot Dogs Delicious. It was just the kind of comfort food we needed. My brother and his wife hadn't slept because of their newborn, Damien and I had been betrayed by a source, it was raining like crazy thanks to Hurricane Dani and we had spent a good part of the day watching Ted Kennedy's funeral. This recipe was something simple and delicious (hence the name) that we used to eat as kids. Plus, as we've covered before, I love hot dogs. Throw in a couple of cold beers, and we were all feeling a lot better.

Hot Dogs Delicious
1 large onion
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup ketchup
1 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce (or to taste)
4 hot dogs
4 hot dog buns

Cut the onion into small slices. In a large saute pan, heat up the olive oil over medium high heat. And the onions and saute until soft and caramelized. Add ketchup, smothering the onions and stirring to keep it from burning. Sprinkle the Worcestershire sauce and Tabasco sauce over the onions and ketchup. Cook until nice and bubbly. Add the hot dogs and cook until dogs are heated through (about 8 minutes).

Toast hot dog buns under the broiler. Serve the hot dogs with some of the onions in the toasted buns.

We always seem to pair this with baked beans. It's a very red meal, but it's really tasty too. One other note - if you are sparking up the grill, you might want to grill the dogs before adding to the sauce.

I'm going to the supermarket tomorrow, so we should be back with something a little bit more exciting. And I will do my best to never let the ball drop this badly again.

Traveling to New England

Today I have resorted to some frozen leftovers because it was a busy day of organizing for a trip to Boston tomorrow. So tonight it's Picadillo redux.

Traveling has taken on a whole new life with Baz involved. We used to have it down. Packing took just a few minutes. One small rolling suitcase a piece, check-in online and we were out the door on the plane with little fuss. But, now we have become that annoying family arriving at the check-in counter in utter chaos with to many bags and equipment.

Luckily, Baz has been a tremendous traveler... so far. (I know just writing those words means that tomorrow is likely to be a complete nightmare.) But he really has been so good on the three trips we've taken including one to Hawaii and one to San Francisco. I think he enjoys the adventure. He charms the TSA agents and flirts with the flight attendents. There are lots of new faces to look at and he thinks the overhead lighting is the coolest thing he's ever scene.

And I do think we are adjusting. I realize now that we don't need nearly as much as we thought we did on that first trip, especially when we have access to a washing machine like we will in Boston. Then you buy diapers and food on the other side because what's the sense in packing something that you can easily buy and will use up before you return home.

Plus, now we know, at the airport, bring the car seat and the smallest stroller we have to the gate with us. If we're lucky, there's an extra seat on the plane so that we can use the car seat on the plane without buying a ticket. Damien gets on first with a bag, the car seat and the stroller. I follow at the very end of the boarding process to minimize the time we're stuck to our seats in a crowded row. For 5 of the 8 segments we've flown we've been able to use our car seat. And our stroller has always been returned to us in good condition.

Tomorrow I will report back on how our trip goes and what we did for dinner. I am a little nervous about that, especially for Baz. We are flying at his least agreeable time of day when he usually is power eating and getting ready for bed time. I've got some of those ridiculously expensive, ready-made 8 oz bottles of formula on hand in case we need to act fast.

For tonight, it's Picadillo and some fried plantains.

Salmon and Asparagus Linguini Alfredo (aka Heart Attack in a Bowl)

Having gotten over my cooking fiasco from Friday, I jumped back into the saddle tonight with a new meal. Publix was having a sale on Coho Salmon that looked really good, so since I had to go there to buy some milk, I bought a pound and had to figure out what to do with it.

I was also craving pasta, so I decided to make the linguini I bought at the Argentine pasta shop down the block. And I thought if I could make some sort of alfredo sauce to go with the salmon and some asparagus, well, that just sounded pretty good to me.

So here is my recipe (it looks more complicated than it is; total cooking time is about 30 minutes):

Salmon and Asparagus Linguini Alfredo
2/3 pound fresh linguini
1 pound salmon fillets (although a little less would be fine too)
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic
salt and pepper
1 small onion, diced
10-15 spears of asparagus, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 pint heavy cream
1/2 stick of butter
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup chopped parsley

Boil a large pot of water for pasta. But do not cook pasta until the very end.

Rinse off the salmon fillets and pat dry. Coat with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Press two garlic cloves on the salmon and rub in evenly. Sprinkle with a light coat of salt and pepper.

Heat the other 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a saute pan. Add the onions and asparagus and saute until the onions are translucent and the aspargus is just tender. Put the cooked vegetables in a bowl on the side.

Using the same pan, cook the salmon fillets. Start with the skin side down. When you flip the salmon, peel off the skin and continue to cook until cooked through. This take about 8 minutes depending on the thickness of the salmon. When finished, remove from pan and set aside.

In a clean saute pan, heat up the heavy cream over low to medium heat. When it just starts to bubble, add the butter and whisk together until butter is fully melted. Add the cheese and continue to whisk until cheese is blended in completely. Add in salmon - breaking it up with your fingers as you put it in the pan - and vegetables and coat with cream sauce. Stir in fresh parsley. Sprinkle with black pepper to taste.

Add the pasta to the boiling water. If using fresh pasta, cook for 3 or 4 minutes. Drain and serve in individual bowls.

Serve the salmon and cream sauce over the pasta.

Not to toot my own horn here, but it was pretty freakin' tasty. Okay, so you might have to go straight to the hospital and have your arteries cleaned out after this meal. But, before you go, don't forget to have a glass of wine. We opted for a Sancerre that we've been saving for a special occasion even though tonight wasn't a particular special occasion.

The wine was actually part of my fabulous anniversary gift from Damien (which was at the end of May.) He bought me several bottles of wine that commemorate special moments in our marriage. So, there was a pinot noir from the Anderson Valley from a weekend we spent near there when I first moved out to San Francisco. There was a Provence rose because I started drinking rose after a great night we spent out at Pearl Oyster Bar where we saw Jodi Foster drinking it and decided to try it ourselves. There was a trebbiano like the cheap, but good wine we used to get at our favorite Italian restaurant in Brooklyn, Noodle Pudding. And the sancerre, which... well, we just like Sancerre and order it on special occasions.

I guess the special occasion tonight was that Damien proclaimed the alfredo sauce the best he ever had. I'll drink to that!

Costco Hot Dogs Are Really Good

After my adventure in the kitchen on Friday (with my Smokin' Steaks) I decided maybe I should take a break from cooking for a couple of days. So Saturday, Damien, Baz and I ate out for both lunch and dinner.

For lunch, I was craving the crepes I get at one of my favorite little places in the unlikely Espanola Way section of South Beach. It's a French place called A La Folie Cafe and I just love it. Espanola Way is a pretty touristy part of town, but if you go past the pedestrian-only zone, A La Folie Cafe is a little gem slightly off the beaten path. They have their semi-rude French wait staff (although our waitress this weekend was very sweet) and serve French rose by the glass (although I couldn't really justify getting one at noon on Saturday) so it feels pretty authentic. We sit out on the sidewalk especially with Baz and greatly appreciate the fans they have set up to try and help us fight off the oppressive Miami summer heat.

Every time I go, I really just want the nutella and banana crepe, but I feel sort of guilty just eating that alone. So Damien and I split a "totale" crepe first which includes ham, swiss cheese, egg and mushroom and then we split the nutella/banana crepe afterward. Tres magnifique!

Then for dinner we ordered some sushi from Sushi Republic in Surfside. It's fine. We haven't really been able to find a great sushi place here in Miami. I have to try that Japanese Market I mentioned before. But, I didn't think of it in time last night.

Then today we had one of my favorites - Costco hot dogs! I swear they are the best. Well, that's if you like hot dogs. I happen to love them! Costco's are delicious - 1/4 pound, all beef, big and juicy. And they are a total bargain. Damien and I had two dogs, two drinks, and a chocolate frozen yogurt for less than $5 total. Of course, you can't walk out of the rest of Costco without spending at least $50. So keep your eye on the ball. Also, Costco is a zoo on the weekends, but it was worth the wait for the dogs. And I have to say, Costco is the only place in Miami with a really superb work staff. Well, maybe Publix, too. At Costco, the staff is efficient and gracious even when dealing with the worst of the worst Miami customers.

Their pizza looks pretty good, too. But, besides loving hot dogs, Damien and I are ordering pizza tonight so I didn't want to double up.

Other than that it was a great weekend. No movies. We spent most of our time trying to organize our mess of an apartment. We did squeeze in a couple of trips to the beach though. Today was a bit stormy but that just alleviated the heat a bit and made from some beautiful, dramatic skies.

Tomorrow I'll jump right back on that horse. Not sure what I'll make just yet, but I am sure it will not need to be cooked on cast iron.

Smokin' Steaks

When Damien and I were in Baghdad, our security advisor would secure us all some t-bone steaks at the PX and on Saturdays we'd have steak night. We'd set the table outside (despite the crazy temperatures) and the cooks would light up the grill and we'd all sit around enjoying our red meat along with some bad red wine and assorted side dishes like potato salad and tabouli. Dinners at the bureau were always pretty entertaining, but steak nights were fun and something I fondly remember.

It's a tradition that Damien and I brought back with us (along with the need for the Gaggia espresso maker we purchased after becoming addicted to it in Baggers.) Especially since we've had Balthazar, we've been recreating steak night mostly on Friday evenings after a long week of work. Some nights we make t-bones, other nights, filet mignon. Whatever cut we make, we pair it with a much nicer bottle of wine than we had at the bureau. This time I bought us some nice looking New York strip steaks and a bottle of Chilean cabarnet sauvignon.

Well, things turned out a little bit more like Baghdad than I had hoped. See, I decided to try and cook our New York strip steaks on our cast iron pan. Not recommended in an apartment with a bad ventilation system and sensitive smoke alarms.

I usually use our double-sided teflon coated grill, but I noticed when I made those banana pancakes last week that it was in pretty bad shape. So after I seasoned my steaks and made my wasabi mashed potatoes, I heated her up over high heat. I put a little bit of olive oil on there just to ensure the steaks wouldn't stick.

I had seasoned the steaks by coating them with a thin coat of olive oil. Then I pressed two garlic cloves on them and rub it into the meat. Then I sprinkled a good coat of salt, pepper and a lighter coat of cumin on each side and rub them all in.

The key to a good steak is a really hot grill or pan. To test the heat, I sprinkled a little bit of water on the pan and watched it immediately sizzle away. I turned on our sucky stove ventilation system. I thought I was ready to go.

But, as soon as I put the steaks on the cast iron, the pan started to smoke...and I mean a lot. I quickly opened the sliding glass door and then opened our front door into our apartment building hallway to get some cross-ventilation. Damien had just put Baz to sleep so I really didn't want our smoke alarm to go off. Phew. I thought I was in the clear.

Then I flipped the steaks over after 5 minutes. (I am very disciplined about how I cook my steaks. 5 minutes each side, one flip.) And there was some more smoke. I went out to the hallway and opened the sliding glass door out there. I really thought that would take care of it. I mean there was some smoke, but it wasn't that bad.

But just a minute or two later, the fire alarm for the whole building went off. There were sirens and a computerized voice exclaiming, "There is a fire in the building. Please evacuate the building. There is a fire in the building. Please evacuate the building." Oh no!! It totally reminded me of the warnings we used to hear across the Tigris in the Green Zone when a mortar attack was imminent!!!

Damien rushed down to the lobby to alert the doorman that it was a false alarm. I ran out onto the balcony to tell my panicked neighbors that it was just me cooking steak. I was probably more panicked than most of them. In fact, one guy even said, "That just means you did a good job!"

But, I was horrified. Some of the neighbors on my floor were rushing around trying to determine what was going on. I kept apologizing. And the alarm continued to go off for at least another 20 minutes.

Despite the loud sound, we did sit down and eat our beautiful steaks. And I have to say, the cast iron really made them turn out perfectly. A little charred on the outside and pink on the inside.

Too bad I can't do that again.

Kita's Tortilla Soup Recipe

I have some reader input! Kita Murdock, who was part of my inspiration for starting a blog because of her awesome chronicles of moving her young family out west (threegirlsmovewest.blogspot.com), has shared one of her favorite recipes and I think I'll give it a shot tonight. Sounds delish!

Tortilla Soup
Saute in 2 T. olive oil:
1 1/2 cups onion, diced
2 tablespoons fresh garlic
1 cup poblano chiles charred (I put them right over my burner for a minute or two) seeded, and chopped
1 cup frozen corn kernels
1 teaspoon each of oregano, coriander and cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne

ADD:
4 cups chicken broth
1 15 ounce can diced tomatoes in juice
1 15 ounce can black beans drained
2 soft corn tortillas diced
1 cup to 1 1/2 cups diced cooked chicken ( I cook it chopped in olive oil on the stove)
or you can add some peeled shrimp at the end instead
MMMMMMM........

I am excited to try this recipe especially since it is not something I would likely have found or sought out on my own. It sounds terrific! We might add a bit more cayenne or something else to make it a little more spicy. And I think we'll give the shrimp a try since I have a bag of Publix frozen shrimp in my freezer.

Thank you, Kita. She just moved the whole family to Boulder, CO in a whirlwind trip. They were settled in Los Angeles one day, back east for a family gathering the next and moved into their new home and starting school in Boulder all in less than one month. Amazing!

So a special good luck to her girls who are starting at their new school this week. As someone who was the new kid a whopping 6 or 7 times, I feel for them. But I also know that I wouldn't be who I am today without the experiences. I think that our moving so often made me adventurous, flexible and well rounded having been exposed to some many new people and places. And I think the humbling experience of being new in town made me more compassionate, too.

Fresh Pesto

Last night I didn't make dinner because we went to a concert. I know! Totally crazy not just because we have a baby and all late night activities have taken a big hit, but also because we live in Miami and there are not that many concerts rolling into our adopted hometown. But, Damien heard that the Counting Crows were coming to the newly renovated Amphitheater in downtown and thought enough ahead to get us lawn seats.

Well, it turned out to be a great night! We are not like these huge Counting Crow fans or anything, but who didn't listen to them in college? Everyone did. They were total crowd pleasers. And they still are. The audience was filled with everyone from young pot smoking college kids to people just like us who brought their kids with them to see their old college favorites. Plus, we were supposed to get drenched by the remnants of Tropical Storm Ana, but it was a beautiful, only slightly stiffling hot night. Baz fell asleep despite the loud music and we had a couple of beers under the stars. It was great.

Tonight it was back to usual though. And I was having a craving for pesto. So, I made it from scratch. I still have to work on my recipe. I feel like it was good, but really how can a combination of fresh basil, Parmesan cheese, and olive oil not be good. I just think it could be better. I'll keep you posted as I refine my recipe.

For now though, this is how I made it and like I said, it was still pretty good.

Fresh Pesto
2 oz. fresh basil (about 2 packed cups of just leaves - remove stems)
1/2 cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese
3 cloves of garlic
1 tablespoon pine nuts
1/3 cup olive oil

In a food processor, finely chop the basil. Add the Parmesan cheese, garlic and pine nuts and mix until well blended. Drizzle in the olive oil to create pesto paste.

We have an Argentianian style pasta shop nearby that makes wonderful fresh pastas, including tasty ravioli and gnocchi. So, I paired my pesto with a goat cheese ravioli. I don't know. Maybe that was a mistake. It was fine, but I don't know. I think pesto is a strong flavor that might have gone better with plain pasta or gnocchi.

Now I have to go and watch America's Got Talent... (I know, I can't believe I watch that show either.)