Third Week of Resolution!

This week just flew by for some reason – probably ‘cause we were getting out of Dodge!

Tuesday, the 16th – I played with the dish I made in Windsor for the fundraiser dinner two years ago. Bresaola Layered With 3-Peppercorn Chevre and Huckleberry Puree.
At the dinner, Lorraine and I served it as a salad course, but I wanted to make it over into an hors, so tried two options –

Prepping: combined the Chevre and mascarpone cheeses.
Rather than making the original huckleberry puree, I thinned Huckleberry jam w/jalapenos with tawny port to a dropping consistency.

1 - Spread a layer of the cheese mixture on each round of Besaola, a drizzle of the jam/port and topped with a few of the micro greens that had been tossed with EV olive oil and fresh lemon juice.

This didn’t work – the bresaola was not strong enuf and came apart.

2 – Toasted 18-hour bread rounds; spread with cheese mixture, layered bresaola over and spread a little more cheese mixture on the meat; drizzled the jam/port over and sprinkled with the micro-greens. This turned out wonderful and the heat from the toast added a nice creaminess. Very happy with this version.

This was supposed to be an appetizer, but we at so much of it – this was dinner, so was it a new one or an old one????? I’m thinking old with a twist.

Wednesday, the 17th – another old one, Chicken Picatta. Now, I’ve made this many times over the years, but for some reason it all came together for Roy and he could not stop raving about it. Served with a rice pilaf and some fruit.

Chicken Picatta
Season 4 chix cutlets, pounded thin, with s&p; dust w/flour. Spray a pan with nonstick spray, add a mixture of olive oil and butter- a Tablespoon of each, and heat over medium heat.

Saute cutlets 2-3 min; flip and sauté 1-2 min more with the pan covered. Transfer cutlets to a warm plate; pour off fat from pan.

Deglaze pan with ¼ c. dry white wine (I always use Noilly Pratt vermouth for this step); add 1 med. clove of minced garlic and cook till garlic is slightly brown and liquid is nearly gone, 2-3 min.

Add ½ c. chix broth, 2 T. fresh lemon juice and 1 T. capers, swish together; lay the cutlets on top and cook 1 minute on eah side. Transfer cutlets to serving plates and finish sauce with 2 T. butter and 3-4 slices of lemon. When butter melts, pour sauce over cutlets and garnish with fresh parsley – that’s it! A simple dish is a wonderful dish!!

Thursday, the 18th – at the beach, Port Townsend, left sunshine in P.A. to go to stormy looking weather in P.T!! Dinner this nite was the old standby, Pasta with capers, sundried tomatoes, Kalamatas and a little Parm. As a side dish, we again stopped and picked up Seaweed Salad – boy, do I just love that salad, from the seafood deli on the wharf. Also had leftover Herb bread.

Friday, the 19th – fixed Roberto’s Sausage and Veggie Roast – love that dish – picked up some Andouille at the Food Co-op in P.T. so used it in this dish.

ROAST SAUSAGE WITH ONIONS, PEPPER & POTATOES

Recipe By: (Roberto), Kernersville, NC USA
"Amounts are irrelevant - this is ultra simple and delicious."

Bell Peppers - green, red, yellow - whatever you prefer to use - cored, seeded and cut into nice chunks.
Potatoes, scrubbed & cubed into large chunks.
Large onions, of any variety, peeled and chunked.
Salt & Pepper, Olive oil
Sausage - Italian is the primary choice but this is wonderful with Kielbasa, Bratwurst, Chorizo, Andouille, whatever you can get a lot of for a little.

Combine all cut vegetables in a large foil roasting pan and drizzle with a goodly amount of olive oil, season with salt & pepper.
I add some crushed red pepper, a little Rosemary, Thyme, Oregano and mix well.
Cover with foil and bake in a 350°F oven for about an hour.

While the veggies cook, parboil your sausage in a little water in a covered pan for 15 to 20 minutes.

When veggies are starting to get nice and soft, cut the sausage into nice size pieces and add to the roasting pan.
Cover and bake 3/4 to 1 hour, then uncover & roast under the broiler, stirring occasionally, till the sausage is browning nicely and the veggies start to show signs of browning.

Serve with grated cheese, bread and a salad, or a raw vegetable antipasto, or soup, or anything.


Saturday, the 20th – a movie date nite!! Saw DreamGirls – what a wonderful movie – laughed, cried, sang along… and the on the pizza place a number of people have been telling us we ‘must’ try – Waterfront Pizza. We had a ½ and ½ - Greek (seems like all I’ve eaten this week is Greek flavors!!) and Roy’s side was sausage, pepperoni, etc. The pizza was great – they make a sourdough pizza dough that is lighter than air! And so tasty.

Sunday, the 21st – we had l/os from Roberto’s Sausage and Veggie roast with a green salad and a honey/mustard dressing. I guess the dressing is the only new thing we tried this week!!

Monday, the 22nd – it’s only 6:30 a.m. so haven’t had dinner yet, but as I have to report for jury duty, tonite will be l/os fro the freezer. There is some ham & beans, beef/veggie soup, and a couple other things to choose from.

So the count this week – new 2, if you count the pizza and the dressing, all the rest old ones. One week to go, and it certainly was not as hard as I thot it would be – it’s sure fun to look for some of the old favorites.

And I'm very please that we have held to the 'diet' regime of eating a heck of a lot healthier so far this year. I've been cooking and eating like I was still working full time and wow, my clothes are not fitting anymore!! Treadmill every day and watching what we eat - it's working!