It's All In The Name

     Sometimes kids are so wrapped up in names that even with food if it doesn't have the right name they won't want to eat it. We enjoy having breakfast burritos yet Darrah, my youngest, would never eat a "breakfast burrito." One day a few weeks ago my wife asked her if she would like a "scrambled egg taco" for lunches. Naturally that is a name Darrah would accept. She loved it. 

     So this morning I asked Darrah if she would like a breakfast burrito. She replied "No thanks, I already ate. I would like a scrambled egg taco though."  Of course she ate it up, but would not and still won't eat it if I call it a breakfast burrito. Gotta love it!

Something OId Becomes Something New

     Now I have done a few dishes that where inspired by desert. It is always fund to make something old new again. Steak & Potatoes are great! but doing it the same way does get boring. So to change it up I got some inspiration from camping. Around this time each year when the weather just barely starts to warm up we start planning our Annual Memorial Day camping trip. What comes to mind when you think of camping? That is right , S'mores come to mind when we think of camping. So I decided to incorporate that into dinner. Just for fun one day I decided to turn a normal steak dinner into S'mores. The beauty of this dish is you do not have to change a recipe or buy extra stuff for it. All that is needed is to present (or plate) it differently.I did this by cutting the steaks into thin squares to take the place of the graham crackers. To represent the marshmallow I used mashed potatoes. I used an ice cream scoop for the job just so it would look nice , drizzled brown gravy to represent the melted chocolate. Topping it off with another thin square of steak to complete the s'more. A very simple yet fun twist on steak & potatoes. 

   I did debate on doing country fried steak for a crunchier texture like a cracker. It would also be a light brown color which would look more like a graham cracker, but the house hold voted for grilled steak. Who could blame them? I do believe I should try it sometime though.

**WARNING! DO NOT EAT WITH YOUR HANDS** 

(unless you let it cool down first) 

     It is very messy. Yes I did take my first bite by picking it up and eating it just as I would a real s'more. It was just as messy, but not with the gooey goodness of the real thing,though it was still fun. ENJOY!

Crossing My Fingers

I am sure you have heard about the Culinary Scholarship being given away. Well I just submitted for it. If you are interested just go to www.foodnetwork.com/scholarship.

SPOILER ALERT!
Next post will be about S'mores! Just remember there will be a twist to it!

Pomegranate Pork

     This dinner was inspired by an episode of Good Eats. I saw him make grenadine and pomegranate molasses which he used in lamb. I thought this would be very interesting so I gave it a shot but mixed it up just a little bit. To start I made the molasses, which took a large amount of time. The good thing is you are just reducing down pomegranate juice with sugar and lemon juice so you do not need to stay with it the whole time.  I will not post a recipe for the molasses as I took it straight from the show, but if you would like it just CLICK HERE.
     I decided to go with a boneless pork chop for this dish. I crusted both sides with an Italian herb mix and grilled it on a indoor grill. For the last few minutes of cooking I basted both sides with the pomegranate molasses. Paired with a pine nut couscous and fresh steamed green beans we had a wonderfully earthy, fruity, sweet and nutty dinner with a nice crunchy texture from the steamed veggie.
     I love just getting fresh green beans and steaming them for no more than 2 minutes. A quick dunk in cold water to halt the cooking process keeps them nice and "snappy."  Now I have to admit I did not like the texture of the couscous, but the flavor was great. A jasmine rice would be a good substitute if you are not sure about couscous. The possibilities of the molasses are endless, it made a great pomegranate milk, and was very good as a topping for ice cream.  Go crazy and have fun, enjoy!  

Meatball Swril

     

     With it being fall break & some or our kid's friends over for a sleep over I made spaghetti & meatballs with a little twist. Well actually a swirl. From a discussion I had with my father in-law when he tried my meatball cupcakes we decided I could do this in all sort of different treat forms, such as "Ding Dong's" from the Little Debbie Snacks (a.k.a. "Ring Dings" if you are used to the Drake's Cakes brand), or "Swiss Rolls" also from the Little Debbie Snacks (a.k.a. "Yodels" from Drake's Cakes). 

     This was a perfect time to try it. I have kicked this idea around a bit not sure if it would work out because of the meat shrinkage during cooking. I was pleasantly surprised that this did not happen! In fact it could not have worked out better. 

     I used the same recipe as with the meatball cupcakes, then I patted it down with my hands onto a sheet of parchment paper. Next I used a rolling pin to spread it out a little bit more and smooth out the meat for even thickness. The meat was the chocolate cake part of the Swiss Roll. For the cream I used just Mozzarella cheese. I had to cut this thin so it would roll & layed it on top of the meat. I was worried there wouldn't be enough cheese but there was. Turning over the end of the parchment paper to get the roll started, once it was started I was able to just using my hands to roll it up. At the end I pressed down a bit to seal the meat roll together. I put it in a standard meatloaf or bread pan that was greased with cooking spray. I poked some holes in it with a bamboo skewer for even cooking through out. Set the oven to 375 and backed for 45 minutes. After that time I take it out and carefully drain the excess grease then top with spaghetti sauce (this is the chocolate coating) and put it back in the oven for another 10-15 minutes. 

    Paired it with some pasta and garlic bread, it was a BIG HIT! All though I must admit the cupcake form is easier to eat & portioned well. The kids got a great kick out it. To help me explain the concept to the kids I bought some Swiss Rolls to show them, & we had those for dessert. I think that was their favorite part. Up next will be some Pomegranate Pork. Enjoy!

Breakfast Pizza

     Last weekend was my youngest's 5th birthday. So with family & friends in town I decided to do a morning meal this time to change it up. Making pizza's for breakfast. Nothing really much needed in a way of recipe for this one.
     I must made a pancake for the pizza crust & topped it with eggs (open omelet style) in place of pizza sauce. I used bacon, sausage & green bell peppers for the toppings (all pre-cooked). To top it off I used colby jack cheese (it is what we had in the fridge). This was one delicious dish and have given me another great inventive way to eat your average breakfast food (we'll save that for another post).
     What I love about this dish is the almost unlimited choices of cheese & toppings you can do for this dish. Just as with pizza an omelet is a great canvas for almost any other kind of meat, veggie combination. Have fun with it. I just used what we had in the fridge at the time for this one, but man have we thought of some cool ideas for next time.
     Wanna know a secret? This also gave me another idea for a new way to eat breakfast. I think I will save it for another post though. Here is the hint, to get really really fluffy pancakes (if you use a pre-made mix) use 1/3 milk & 2/3 water for the wet portion of the directions. The more milk you add the thicker the pancakes will be. Speaking of pancakes, just one last thing. The guy Jim who inspired me to do fun pancakes is coming out with a book. He does some really cool things with pancakes, check him out at www.jimspancakes.com 

Not Your Average Grilled Cheese

     Who doesn't love a grilled cheese? Such an favorite of kids all over this great land. Even the adults like them. I decided to mix it up by giving it an Italian twist. Using garlic butter instead of regular butter & two different Italian cheeses then pairing it with meatballs n marinara sauce. This was one yummy dish. It can be described as garlic cheesy bread with meatballs, but oh is it just divino!
     For the butter I just added some garlic powder & Italian herb mix (dry) to a stick of room temp. butter & stirred to combine. For the cheese I used Mozzarella & Fontinella. Now this was a match made in heaven, let me tell you. I tried doing this style before, but used just Mozzarella cheese. This did not work, there needed to be a counterpoint to the Mozzarella. I thought of using Parmesan cheese, but it being a hard cheese I did not think it would be work out for the dish. So after some careful research I chose Fontinella. The next time you make any kind of cheesy bread or pizza, add this to the mix, it will not be disappoint.
     I cheated with the meatballs due to time this time and used pre-cooked from the store. I, however, did not skimp out on the sauce. I have never made it from scratch but I do like to "doctor" up the cheap stuff. I use the cheapest canned sauce & add spices/herbs to the mix to get it tasting right. All of it is to taste so it is tough to convert into measurements. There is one ingredient that no one seems to think about that I just love to use. Add some cumin the next time you make spaghetti sauce. It doesn't take much just about a teaspoon or so & adds a nice finishing touch to it.
     I originally intended this dish to be a lunch & was worried about it being filling enough for dinner, but man it was more than filling. I almost added noodles, but that would have been a mistake. In the picture I added sliced meatballs to half of the sandwich & the other half not. I personally prefer it without the meatballs in it, but hey had to try. Don't forget to dip the grilled cheese into the sauce, yummy. Enjoy!