Tuesday, August 23, 2016

Back to School Brunch: Denver egg scramble, roasted potato hash, and grilled ham




My kids have been back in school almost 2 weeks now and every day it’s the same:  how was your day…FINE.   How was practice…FINE.  How was the pep rally…FINE.  And then into their rooms until dinner and right to sleep after because the late night hours of summer vacation have caught up with them and 5:30 am is sooooooooo early.

For the first week while they’re adjusting I say nothing.  They say “fine” and I go “k”.  Then comes week two and my crafty plan:  back to school brunch.  Guaranteed to make them talk without me having to say a word.  It goes like this…

On Sunday morning when they get up at noon I have this all ready:  Denver egg scramble with melted cheese and salsa, roasted potato hash, and grilled ham (if I want extra information I will also ply them with toasted buttered English Muffins).  We sit down to eat and I say to my daughter “how’s school?” and she sings like a canary…who likes who, who’s in which classes, which teachers are dating each other, why she hates math, blah blah blah and on and on.  Excellent.  And we talk and laugh until we’re full (which for our stomachs  is a long time…lol).  It’s the best kind of morning, sitting with your kids and catching up, and I will cherish these times with them forever. 

When they come home at Christmas from college and I say “how’s school” and they say FINE…how do you like being a Rhodes Scholar…FINE…how was your first case…FINE…how do you like sitting on the Supreme Court…FINE…how are your discounts with AARP…FINE…how’s your arthritis…FINE MOM, GOD… 

Forever  :)

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(what you will need)

3 eggs per person
shredded cheese (I use Colby Jack)
a few teaspoons water
1 ham steak per person (plus one extra for the eggs)
1 green pepper, diced
1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced
2 large russet potatoes, washed & diced (no need to peel)
salt/pepper
seasoned salt (I use Lawry's)
your favorite salsa
1 half small onion, diced very small  (use all or as much as you'd like.  I only use a few tablespoons)
olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
non-stick skillet
optional:  English Muffins

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Combine diced potatoes and onions on large cookie sheet and drizzle with olive oil.  Toss with your hands to coat.  Sprinkle all with salt and pepper.  Bake for 1 hour.  Depending on your oven you may need some extra time (they're done when a knife can be inserted into both kinds of potato easily).  They should be golden brown on the side that touched the pan.


potatoes right out of the oven

Prep your other foods:
dice the extra hamsteak and green pepper small enough to mix in your eggs
(because this ham is already cooked and going in your eggs, you do not need to grill it)

When the potatoes are almost done, grill your ham steaks.  They are likely already cooked so they just need to be heated through, with nice grill marks.  Cover and set aside.

Approx. 8 minutes before your potatoes are done, start your eggs.
Melt butter in non-stick pan over medium heat (the key to fluffy eggs is LOWER HEAT, no medium high or high). Break eggs into bowl and scramble with a few teaspoons water.  Pour into pan and begin to move around slowly.  Add as much ham and green pepper as you want, sprinkle with seasoned salt, and continue to scramble slowly and on lower heat. When done,  add as much cheese as you'd like over the top, remove from heat, and place cover on the pan so it will melt.


eggs with melted cheese.  fluffy!

Bring brunch to the table and let 'em eat.
Top eggs with salsa after plating, and salt/pepper to taste.



see the melted cheese hanging off the sides? mmmmm...






Saturday, August 20, 2016

Fresh Garden Salsa and more




So, let's catch up.

Exciting things have been happening here at Dishing Memories.


I've been asked to be a recurring guest blogger on a website called "Better Health Greater Wealth".  It features, as the name suggests, ways to live a "smarter healthier lifestyle and all the wellness cooking that goes with it."  Cool, right? 


My first post appears on the website today and I thought you'd like to see it.   It's a garden salsa, made with the freshest ingredients the summer has to offer.  A picture of it appears above and here's the link...check it out, then make it for yourself and your friends:


http://www.betterhealthgreaterwealth.tv/better-health-greater-wealth-blog/fresh-garden-salsa

Okay...what else?  Oh ya...there's also a NATIONAL TV SHOW (swear!) and I have been invited to tape some cooking segments for it.  Fun!  I will keep you posted on this so we can watch together.  You bring the popcorn.

We're gonna have so much fun together, you and me.  Writing crazy stuff here...submitting healthy stuff there...getting ourselves on tv...  

Stick with me, kid!  It's just keeps gettin' better!  :)






Monday, August 1, 2016

Simple Antipasto Platter



About the dating scene, my friend Charlie throws up his hands, exasperated, and says “I don’t know what women want.” 

Ummmm, what??  How can you not know? It’s spelled out for you every day on the radio—have you not been listening?  We want the country song.  Every country song you’ve ever heard…ever…we want it:

Tan legs hanging over the tailgate…dancing in the headlights…lighting watermelon candles upstairs…a bottle of wine and 2 dixie cups…driving down some old back roads while we lean the seat back and steal your ballcap and you watch our hair fly out the window.  We want you to tell us we feel like Carolina and that you’re drunk on us and high on summertime.  That when we walk in a room you can hardly breathe because we’ve got a devastating smile that can knock a grown man to his knees, and that you hope we’re getting lonely tonight.  And especially, that you’re grateful God blessed the broken road that led you straight to us.  And ps:  we ALL think that brand new Chevy with the lift kit WOULD look a helluvalot better with us up in it!  Just sayin'...

You gotta take the time to get to know her, and this antipasto platter is perfect for “that date”.  That date where you’re gonna hunker down, drink some wine, and talk all night…did she have braces in middle school?  Does she love the first day of Spring?  Find it out, boy—this is your chance.

There’s no cooking involved and you buy everything, soooo eeaaaaasssyyyyy.  Just pick out your favorite things, put them on a plate, open the wine, and get started with your 20 questions.

Oh, and Charlie…it never hurts to make her laugh :)

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WHAT TO BUY:

I've used all of these on the platter, and the ones with the asterisk made it onto the one above:

Genoa salami*
ham (I used smoked ham)*
marinated artichoke hearts
pickled asparagus*
assorted cheeses (I used Gorgonzola, aged Dutch Gouda, and Vermont cheddar)*
assorted olives (I used Castlevetrano and Italian oil-cured)*
grissini
crackers (I used sesame crackers)*
grapes, apples
melon & prosciutto
walnuts*
marcona almonds
preserves (I used blackberry)*


Note:  If you place parchment paper on top of your serving plate (mine is a butcher block cutting board), it makes clean up easy because you just ball up what's left and throw it away. 



Monday, July 11, 2016

Summertime Gin & Tonic



This is a summertime citrus sensation in a glass to help combat the sultry, steamy, searing days of the season (isn’t alliteration fun??...lol) 

It’s 100 degrees in the shade right now and a refreshing cocktail is perfect after a long day.  It’s rooted in the past just by virtue of being a gin and tonic, and goes really old school when you substitute bitter lemon for the tonic.  But right before you and your date start talking like Thurston Howell III and Lovey, it goes all new with a squeeze of fresh lemon and some basil.  Mmmmm hmmmm, that’s right.  Basil.

If you want to cool down without the alcohol, just leave out the gin. It's still delicious.

Have fun with this:  it’s a classic with a twist.  And really, did you expect anything less?? :) 

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(WHAT YOU WILL NEED)

Gin (I used Tanqueray)
Bitter Lemon (I used Schweppes)
1 lemon
fresh basil leaves
ice cubes
tall glass


Fill glass with ice.  I use the 1:3 ratio--pour gin 1/3 of the way up the glass, add bitter lemon to the top.  Run the lemon wedge around the rim of the glass, squeeze into drink, and place in glass.  Garnish with basil leaf.



fresh basil from my kitchen


Wednesday, July 6, 2016

Naples Daily News 7/5/16

The fabulous article the Naples Daily News wrote about me in the paper yesterday…and my favorite poem from the 6th grade.  They go hand in hand, and both appear below for you.

As always:  excited, surprised, and grateful

xoxo, Christine

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Naples Daily News




IT COULDN’T BE DONE
By E.A. Guest

Somebody said that it couldn’t be done
      But he with a chuckle replied
That “maybe it couldn’t,” but he would be one
      Who wouldn’t say so till he’d tried.
So he buckled right in with the trace of a grin
      On his face. If he worried he hid it.
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
      That couldn’t be done, and he did it!

Somebody scoffed: “Oh, you’ll never do that;
      At least no one ever has done it;”
But he took off his coat and he took off his hat
      And the first thing we knew he’d begun it.
With a lift of his chin and a bit of a grin,
      Without any doubting or quiddit,
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
      That couldn’t be done, and he did it.

There are thousands to tell you it cannot be done,
      There are thousands to prophesy failure,
There are thousands to point out to you one by one,
      The dangers that wait to assail you.
But just buckle in with a bit of a grin,
      Just take off your coat and go to it;
Just start in to sing as you tackle the thing
     That “cannot be done,” and you’ll do it.

Monday, June 27, 2016

Chili Cheese Fries 2.0: sweet potato fries, black bean chili, and cheddar jack cheese




They’re chili cheese fries…but not.

Crispy, spicy sweet potato fries topped with hot black bean chili, cheddar jack cheese, green onions, chopped cilantro, and cool sour cream.

CHILI CHEESE FRIES 2.0 is what these are, and you’ll be so glad you tried them :)

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(WHAT YOU WILL NEED)

1 15.5 ounce can black beans, drained (but not rinsed)
1 19 ounce bag sweet potato fries
2 cloves garlic, chopped
green onions, chopped
sour cream
1 bunch cilantro
red wine vinegar
1 lime
shredded cheddar & monterey jack cheeses
hot sauce (I use Crystal)
cajun seasoning (I use Tony Chacheri's)
garlic powder/salt/pepper

Start the black beans:
After you drain your beans, pour into pan.  There should still be a little bit of liquid clinging to them.  Add chopped garlic, 2 shakes (of the bottle) red wine vinegar, a few shakes hot sauce, juice of half a lime, a little garlic powder, and salt/pepper to taste.  Set on back burner and simmer on low with the cover on--keep checking though, you don't want them to get too mushy.

In the meantime, cook fries according to package directions.  After approx 6-8 minutes in the oven, sprinkle liberally with cajun seasoning.  Cook until crispy.

While all is cooking, chop as many green onions and as much cilantro as you want.  Shred cheese.

Just before fries are done, squeeze juice of the other half of lime in beans, stir, and turn off heat.

Now get 2 cold Corona's out of the refrigerator for you and your friend, plate fries and eat:
Place fries on a plate, top with black bean chili, sprinkle cheese over, top with green onions and cilantro, add more cheese, and a spoonful of sour cream.  Salt and pepper over all to taste and dig in!





Saturday, April 16, 2016

Spicy Chicken and Sausage Stew




When my father died unexpectedly in 2012, my neighbor Ruth called and said " I'm bringing over dinner!"  The day is a blur to me now: a whirlwind of phone calls, texts, condolences, and tears, and this meal was much appreciated. It was also delicious.

My kids loved it and wanted it again, but I never did ask her how to make it.  Luckily, of the few things I do remember from that day, this meal is one of them, and this is my version.  We have it at least once a month.

The goodness of this recipe is that it makes as much as you want.  If you like sausage better than chicken, just use more sausage.  Easy.  It's also a one-pot meal, AND you take it to the table in the same pan you cooked it in.  Even easier.  And it's good with wine.  Bingo.

Plan on at least one chicken breast, two sausage links, and one potato per person..but if you wanna eat more...and you will...go ahead, no one's looking.  Swear :)

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(serves 4)

WHAT YOU WILL NEED:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
8 hot Italian sausage links
1  32-ounce can diced tomatoes (do not drain)
4 russet potatoes, peeled and cut in 4's
1 bag frozen whole green beans (though I only use half the bag)
splash of red wine
1 cup chicken broth
salt/pepper
Italian Seasoning
garlic powder
1 loaf crusty bread
olive oil
Dutch oven (such as Le Creuset).  It needs to be stovetop and oven safe.

Prepare meat:
Cut chicken breasts in half across and season one side with salt/pepper/garlic powder.
Cut sausages in half across


Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Drizzle a little olive oil in pan and brown chicken in batches.  Turning and seasoning the other side.  Remove to platter and set aside.

Brown sausages very lightly in batches, adding a little water to the bottom of your pan if needed so it doesn't dry up.  While simmering, add tomatoes with juices, a splash of red wine for good luck, and the potatoes.  Season the top of all this with more salt/pepper/garlic powder.  Add the green beans (do they have to be frozen, you ask?  YES, because as they cook they add a little water to the sauce). Add chicken back to pan with juices from the platter.  Pour chicken broth over all, and place in oven.

ready for oven

Cook uncovered for one hour at 400 degrees.

out of the oven...mmmmmm....

Serve with crusty bread to soak up all the spicy, tomatoey goodness of the broth

Serve in large pasta bowls