UPDATE: My Son's Top Nine Foods

My son will be 3 years old in early September. He's still a good eater.

1. Cheese, cheese and more cheese - definitely his favorite food. The sharper the cheddar, the better. He likes to eat it as is or in grilled cheese or in Stove Top Mac and Cheese.
2. Sweet potatoes
3. Bread
4. Dry oatmeal with brown sugar
5. Baked beans
6. Graham crackers
7. Steamed and raw carrots
8. Pureed parsnips
9. Potstickers

Some things have changed and others have stayed exactly the same.

Stove Top Mac and Cheese

I've made this entree so many times and have never used a recipe but I thought I'd write it down for posterity :)  My mom taught me how to make a roux for gravy when I was younger.  And, in the end, a roux can be used for many different types of sauces including cheese sauce.  If you want baked mac and cheese, all you need to do with this recipe is put it into an oven safe pan and sprinkle with your favorite toppings - bread crumbs, more cheese, etc.  You could also add other flavorings to the stove top version like bacon, red peppers, onion, garlic, the list goes on.

Unfortunately, I do not know exact measurements for this recipe as I just make it by adding the ingredients, watching how it goes together and then tasting it.

Ingredients:
Cooked pasta
Milk
Butter
All purpose flour
Grated cheese
Worcestershire sauce

Directions:
Melt 2-3 tablespoons of butter in a saucepan over medium heat.  Whisk in 2-3 tablespoons of flour.  Allow the flour to cook a few minutes in the butter.  Continue to whisk to ensure that the flour does not burn.  Add 1 cup of warmed milk to start.  Continue to whisk to keep the sauce from becoming lumpy.  If the sauce starts to thicken too much, add more milk.  The cheese will make the sauce thicker so make it a little thinner than you might think it should be.  Add the cheese and Worcestershire sauce to taste.  Once the sauce is to you liking, add to the cooked pasta.  Voila - you have stove top mac and cheese.

New Years' Eve Dinner

I previously posted we were planning to make a fancy dinner. We ended up ringing in 2011 with a dinner of appetizers. Yummy!!

Final Menu:
Salmon Rilletes (adapted from two epicurious recipes)
Three French Cheeses with a sliced baguette
Leek and Sweet Potato Soup (from the cookbook Picnics by David Herbert)
Grilled Chicken Wings (marinade created by MTH)

New Years' Eve Menu

MTH and I are thinking of making our own fancy dinner.  I cheated and looked at epicurious menus instead of trying to figure out a menu on my own.  I want to make items like we would order at a nice restaurant.

Proposed Menu:
Salmon Rilletes on Toast
Three French Cheeses with Apple, Fennel and Walnut Salad (will substitute pecans for the walnuts)
Main Meat Dish - here's where you come in - please give ideas!!  MTH vetoed the veal rib chops with caramelized fennel and figs
Potatoes Simmered in Saffron
Veggie Side Dish - if you have any ideas for a tasty veggie side dish, I would love to hear them!

Drinks:
Sparkling Wine
Cakebread Sauvignon Blanc (present from a dear friend!)
Other wines I find at the store

We'll let you know how the meal goes!

My Son's Top 9 Favorite Foods

My son will officially be 15 months old on 12/7. It's hard to believe that he was only 3 months old almost a year ago. So far, he has proven to be a good eater.

1. Cheese, cheese and more cheese - definitely his favorite food. The sharper the cheddar, the better. He also loves goat cheese and sheeps milk cheese. He likes to eat it as is or in grilled cheese.
2. Sweet potato fries
3. Bread
4. Waffles - he has these every morning for breakfast almost without fail. We've tried to introduce other things but he doesn't care to branch out. I make these over the weekend and then freeze them for his eating pleasure throughout the week.
5. Baked beans
6. Lebanese green beans (loubieh bi zeit)
7. Roasted carrots
8. Roasted chicken and mustard sandwich - yep, he loves mustard.
9. Fried bananas

Things he currently doesn't like
chicken nuggets
French fries
birthday cake (he liked feeding it to his Mom)

Folded Red Pepper Tortilla Pizza (About 15 minutes)

I was trying to find something to make for lunch today with ingredients we had on hand. These pizzas came out great.

Ingredients:
Flour tortilla
Red pepper pesto*
Mozzarella cheese
Pepperoni
Red pepper flakes
Dried oregano

Preparation:
Turn broiler on high. Place tortilla in pan. Spread a couple of teaspoons of red pepper pesto onto the tortilla as if on pizza dough. Add your toppings (mozzarella, pepperoni, red pepper flakes and dried oregano, in my case). Cook under the broiler until bubbly and starting to brown. Fold the tortilla over halfway (will look like a soft taco). Cook until browned. Turn over and repeat. Enjoy!

As usual, you can try out all different types of toppings. It's a great way to use up leftovers in an entirely new way.

* We used Bella Cucina Red Pepper pesto
Click here. It was part of my birthday gift from MTH's parents.

Green Chile Tortilla Roll-Ups (About an hour)

This recipe is another easy one. You could make up different flavors. You could also add ham instead of turkey. I'll definitely make these again for future get togethers.

Adapted from cooksrecipes.com

1 (4-ounce) can Diced Green Chiles
4 ounces neufchatel, softened
1 cup mixed shredded Mexican cheeses
1/4 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
sliced turkey
4 (6-inch) fajita-size flour tortillas

Combine green chiles, neufchatel, shredded cheeses and hot pepper sauce in medium bowl. Spread 1/2 cup cheese mixture over each tortilla. On some, add some slices of turkey. Roll up. Wrap in plastic wrap; refrigerate for 30 minutes. Cut each tortilla roll into ½-inch slices.

Surf and Turf, MTH Style

MTH decided he wanted to eat in last night so he stopped at Whole Foods on his way home. At first, he wanted some grilled fish. Then, he remembered that we'd had sushi on Friday so he changed his mind. Then, he chose a ribeye and some shrimp. He also picked up some cheese, bread, potatoes, broccolini and green peppers. I had some dry rub that we'd made a while back for some other recipe. It had some cinnamon, chile pepper and other flavors I don't remember. We decided it would probably be good on steak. We also added some fresh cracked pepper and roasted red pepper flakes. While he was making the steak, I steamed the broccolini and then sauteed it in olive oil with garlic. The potatoes were from the freezer. They were flavored with rosemary, sea salt and olive oil. We only needed to pop them in the oven for a little while. MTH roasted the green pepper to go with the steak. So, finally our meal was grilled steak with grilled shrimp and blackened pepper, rosemary, sea salt and olive oil potatoes and garlic infused broccolini.

Thanksgiving Dinner

This year, MTH and I were on vacation for a week until Thanksgiving Day. Therefore, when we returned on Thursday, we didn't have any fresh food in our house. It was interesting trying to find a place that would be open. We ended up at Murphy's, A Grand Irish Pub. There was a roaring fire and not much cigarette smoke. I ordered the Irish stew and MTH ordered the surf and turf (not very Irish :). The Irish stew was very good. I was impressed with the taste. Unfortunately, their bread is from the freezer so the meal was not the best that it could have been.

On Friday, we did our Thanksgiving Dinner. We had TV, QY and QY's husband over. The menu was as follows:

Wensleydale Cheese with Cranberries and St. Felicien for starters
Grilled Marinated Turkey Tenderloin
White Sweet Potatoes
Sherried Green Beans and Mushrooms
French Bread
Homemade Pumpkin Pie

So, it wasn't totally traditional but it was still very good. Here are the details:

Grilled Marinated Turkey Tenderloin
Ingredients:
turkey tenderloin
olive oil
white wine vinegar
spicy mustard
salt and pepper
Directions:
Mix the olive oil, white wine vinegar and spicy mustard to taste. Put the turkey tenderloin and marinade into a Ziploc bag in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour but no more than 6 hours. Turn the grill on high to heat it up. Take the turkey out of the marinade and salt and pepper each piece. Cook on high for 9 1/2 minutes on each side. Test the largest piece to make sure it's done.
Note:
My Mom made this with my sister the day before and gave me the idea for how to do it. I have a feeling that ours turned out differently since we have somewhat different ingredients.

White Sweet Potatoes
Bake the sweet potatoes on 400 degrees Fahrenheit until they are soft. We actually tried to make a sweet potato souffle but it didn't turn out. I'll have another post later that tells you about what I tried to do with the sweet potatoes instead.

Sherried Green Beans and Mushrooms
Ingredients:
fresh green beans, cleaned and snapped
1 clove of garlic, chopped
1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil
assorted mushrooms, cleaned and chopped but left in large pieces
3 tablespoons cream sherry
Directions:
Heat the olive oil in a large pan. Add the garlic and mushrooms. At the same time, microwave the green beans in order to start the steaming process. Once the mushrooms soak up the olive oil, add the sherry. Let the mushrooms simmer for a few minutes. Then add the green beans and let them steam on top until they are done to your liking. Serve with some slivered almonds on top.

French Bread
Although I've been known to make many different types of breads, the directions for this one is to go to the bread section of the grocery store and buy a French baguette.

Pumpkin Pie
Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup shortening
5 to 6 tablespoons cold water
1 can of pumpkin pie mix (follow the directions on the can)
Directions:
Mix the flour and salt together. Cut in the shortening until it resembles peas. Add 2 tablespoons of water in the center of the bowl and gently mix to start to create a ball of dough. Add 2 more tablespoons of water and make a larger ball of dough. Add 1-2 more tablespoons in order to form the rest of the dough. Place the dough on a piece of waxed paper. Wrap the dough in the paper and then in plastic wrap. Put into the refrigerator for at least one hour to let it rest. Now, just follow the directions on the can to finish up a wonderful pumpkin pie.

Let me know what you did for Thanksgiving. Any old traditions that you'd like to share? Any new ones that you started this year that you expect to continue?

Hot Pepper Grilled Cheese (Less than 10 minutes)

MTH was hungry after his 5 mile run so I needed to make something quick (plus, I've got lots to do - Christmas cards, finish decorating, go to the grocery store for the week, etc). So, I decided to make grilled cheese sandwiches. You're probably asking yourself why am I putting this one on my recipe blog. Well, it may be a simple recipe but it turned out to taste really good.
Here's what you need:
French bread, halved lengthwise
butter
red pepper flakes
extra sharp cheddar cheese, sliced
non-stick frying pan
cake pan or plate that fits inside the frying pan
heavy pan

Here's what you do:
Melt a little butter into the non-stick pan on high. Sprinkle in red pepper flakes to your taste. Let them toast for about 30 seconds or so. Then, toast the French bread cut-side down. Put the cake pan or plate on top of the bread and then weight it down with the heavy pan. Toast for about 30 seconds. Take out the toasted bread and turn down the heat to low. Place the sliced cheese onto the bottom piece of the toasted bread. Top with the other slice. Place back into the non-stick pan. Put the plate or cake pan on top and weight down with the heavy pan. Toast for 30 seconds to a minute. Turn it over and toast again for another 30 seconds to a minute. You now have a spicy grilled cheese sandwich. Everyone will ask for seconds so be prepared!