Update - Peanut Butter and Jelly

Okay, so I didn't have pesto for dinner tonight. I had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with half of a baked sweet potato and some broccoli. It's the kind of dinner Damien absolutely hates. It makes him sick just hearing about it. But, I liked it. It's just what I wanted.

For some reason I've been craving peanut butter and jelly lately. This was my third sandwich this week. But I was afraid it wouldn't be enough, because I was also starving. (I fit in a short run before the babysitter finished her shift.) So I threw in the sweet potato and broccoli because they also offered some nutrition. Plus now I have the other half of the sweet potato for Bazzy. He loves sweet potatoes.

On another note, John Hughes died today. I'm so sad. His movies had a huge impact on my adolescence and he is even the reason I ended up working the film business. See John Hughes went to my high school in Chicago and he liked to shoot his high school movies there. During recess one day while I was at Maple Junior High School (which was right across the street), we all got to watch as Mr. Hughes directed a scene for Ferris Bueller's Day Off involving that beautiful red Ferarri. At one point, a production assistant came over and told us that when we went to the theater to watch the movie, we should remember that the scene had to be re-shot because of us - a bunch of excited 12 year olds who couldn't be quiet. We did remember. When what seemed like the whole town of Northbrook went to a screening of the movie, we all clapped and cheered throughout as our town, school and even our friends showed up on screen during the now classic film. I thought, wow, one day I want to be a part of this. Not to mention that Sixteen Candles was and still is one of my favorite movies ever!

He was only 59 which is not really helping this heightened sense of mortality I've been feeling since Baz was born.

RIP John Hughes.

Pasta with Ready-Made Pesto

Since Damien is still away, I'm gonna keep it simple tonight and just make some pasta and toss it in a ready-made pesto sauce that we always keep in the refrigerator for just such nights.

I like to use the Contadina Buitoni brand pesto that you find in the refrigerator section of the supermarket rather than the ones you can find in jars in the pasta section. It just tastes better.

But, I also should say that making your own pesto is really easy and delicious. You just need to have a bunch of fresh basil. Unfortunately, our beautiful basil did not survive our trip to New York. A few scorching Miami days and it was fried. And I'm feeling too damn lazy to run out and buy some at the supermarket.

So there.

Publix Fried Chicken and Wasabi Mashed Potatoes

I know, I know, I didn't write a post yesterday which goes against everything I wanted this to be.

I'll just quickly fill you in on what we did for dinner. See I was waiting for my miso glaze to really soak in to my Chilean sea bass fillets. So, on Monday night I did something a little bad, but so good. I went and picked up an 8 piece fried chicken box from our local Publix.

This is a really delicious quick dinner fix. Damien and I do it every so often, usually on days that I hit the supermarket anyway. They have both rotisserie and fried chicken, but since the fried was on sale I went with that one. The rotisserie is wonderful though and I imagine a wee bit healthier.

Then I pick up a side of cole slaw, macaroni and cheese and I'll steam a vegetable. This time I made broccoli. And that's it. Dinner in a few minutes.

Then last night I was ready to make my favorite meal. The miso glaze was soking in to the fish for two days. It was time!

I also was able to make the wasabi mashed potatoes because of my Japanese market find.

Wasabi Mashed Potatoes
8-10 small red creamer potatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 clove of garlic
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoons sour cream
salt and pepper
1 teaspoon wasabi paster or 1 tablespoon wasabi powder

Boil the little red creamer potatoes (I peel them half way so there is not too much skin when I mash them) for about 15 minutes. After pouring them into the colander, use the same pot to saute some garlic in a little bit of olive oil. When the garlic is just browning, return the potatoes to the pot and add some milk, butter and a tablespoon or two of sour cream. Mash the potatoes with a potato masher until smooth. Sprinkle some salt and a little bit of pepper on the potatoes. Then squeezed about a teaspoon of wasabi into the potatoes and mix.


They were delicious and the perfect compliment to the Miso Glazed Chilean Sea Bass along with some steamed aspargus. I think next time I'll try a little bit more wasabi, but it definitely had the flavor I was looking for. And Damien loved it!