Recipe Reviews

Dinner last night was wonderful, unfortunately, I can't post the recipe because we were taste testing the recipe. Once it's posted (or printed) I will post a link for it here though. It was the Pork Loin recipe, and it will defiantly be going into our rotation, hubby ate 3 servings. I forgot to ask him what his numerical rating of it was though. You rub the loin with some spices and roast it. And it has a Romesco sauce made from roasted red peppers and almonds (like normal Romesco sauce) but without the olive oil so it's not as bad for you Weight Watchers-wise.

Dinner tonight is the chicken breast recipe that I wasn't sure exactly what I was going to do with it. I figured out WHAT. :) I went to Tom Leonard's yesterday. I don't know if anyone that reads this is near Stew Leonard's, but this is his son (I think it is). Tom got married and they moved down here to be with her parents. I love this place and it's been a while since I've been there, mainly because it's kinda like a Target for me, except with food. It's not like it's got all gourmet stuff, it's just that it's got such nice vegetables and their brand stuff! I have to keep telling myself there's only two of us, and only one of us eats leftovers for lunch (Hubby only eats leftovers on the weekends). They also make fresh mozzarella (from cows milk, but it's still yummy!) that is my downfall! Hubby actually asked when he came home and found out where I've been if there was any mozzarella left. I have been known to eat a whole mozzarella ball by myself. :( I actually saved the mozzarella and that's what gave me the idea for tonight's dinner: Chicken Parmigiana. I flattened chicken breasted, dipped in a mix of breadcrumbs mixed with a bit of Parmesan cheese. Pan sauteed for a bit and put into a pan with a can of blended Italian-style diced tomatoes and topped with a slice of that fresh mozzarella cheese. I'm just waiting for hubby to get home now so I can pop it in the oven and warm it up for about 25 minutes to to melt the cheese and make everything even nummier!

I'm still going through my grandmother's cookbooks. Its slow going, only because I'm also reading some books from the library (Yarn Harlot's books and a book on the Yellow Fever [aka Dengue Fever] in Philadelphia in 1793.) I also picked up Michael Chiarello's "At Home with Michale Chiarello" while I was at the Library too. I opened it up and had to giggle a bit when he said, "In the past, I could never understand why the home cook was nervous about throwing a dinner party. It was always easy for me. Whenever I entertained, I would write a menu and hand it off to a sous-chef, who would pull together the ingredients and prep them. The the restaurant staff would help me load up my car, and I'd take along a cook or two for the evening who wanted to cook with me. Throw the party, sit down with my guests, and enjoy the last glass of red wine - it was as simple as that. Meanwhile, my apprentices cleaned the kitchen and loaded the car with all the dirty plates, glasses, pots, pans, and linens. It worked out beautifully for me. I was always in bed by eleven." ... I think this is the big problem with a lot of professional chef cookbooks. They really don't do a lot of home cooking - or what they do actually do isn't the same home cooking that most people do. Heck, I don't even think that what I do is what most people do. I know that a lot of people my age don't cook most of their meals anymore, most people my age go out to eat most nights. Anyway, I have gotten home and breezed through the cookbook quickly, and while it's not too bad, I still think a lot of it is still a bit more than most people are going to want to do, but that being said, I do know people that will want entertain as he does. I will be the first to admit I am more of a laid-back type of entertaining person. I don't really do a lot of decorating and such when I entertain. I probably should actually pay more attention to plating, or heck, even do more plating instead of serving from the cooking pots. ;) Anyway, all that to say, there's a few recipes in there that interest me, and I'll have to make note of them (Onions roasted on a bed of salt).