Archive | November, 2009

Thanksgiving on Mendenhall

30 Nov

Every Christmas my Mom has a classic emotional moment in which see says “girls, I think this is the best Christmas tree we have ever had” and my sister and I immediately start mocking her about the numerous years she has said it. This Thanksgiving we had a first – after a couple glasses of wine my Mom went into her typical family dinner fickle state and said “girls, I think this is the best Thanksgiving we’ve ever had.” And while we thought this was hilarious, there was some truth to it. This Thanksgiving may have been the best we have had in a long time. My Mom, Dad, sister Maggie and dogbrother Capt. Kirby all traveled to Mendenhall to spend three days doing lots of cooking, yard work, lounging and laughing. My Dad also lent a hand taking photos for this week’s blog posts.

For our Turkey Day Sans Turkey celebration, we had grilled racks of lamb, pommes anna, roasted brussel sprouts with mushrooms and fried shalots and finished it all off with an incredible chocolate pie with a cocoa nib praline. While you may be rolling your eyes at the lack of turkey and cranberry sauce in the spread – the odds are in your favor! This meal is a perfect holiday meal for friends and family this season. I’ll post the recipes this week.

Off Mendenhall – New Bern, NC

23 Nov

This weekend, my best friend from college had a dinner party and served my roast chicken or “Chicken Pants” recipe from July 23rd. From the sound of her email and the looks of her photos it turned out to be a hit. While I was coaching her through a couple steps on Saturday afternoon we remembered that this wasnt the first time Beth prepared this recipe. Many moons ago while we were in college we roasted a chicken together. The only reason we remembered this was because both of us were too squeamish to remove the chicken giblets and had to rely on my roommate (we rationalized this because she was a bio major). It’s been a long time since the days of fearing chicken parts – maybe we’ve both grown up and conquered the fear – or maybe we’re both just wiser and have learned to buy chickens without the guts.

 

Chipping in

17 Nov

A couple days ago I got a message from Triad Health Project’s Executive Director asking if board members could bring a bag of non perishable food to the meeting tonight. Sadly, I can’t make tonight’s board meeting because of a work committment so I decided I would try to make up for it in canned food. Without even a request, my coworkers pitched in generously to the effort. We were able to purchase six bags of canned meat. And while canned meat is far from anything I would typically write about on Mod Meals – I couldn’t have been happier buying it today.

With that said, if you are interested in chipping in around Thanksgiving, here are my two suggestions:

  • Triad Health Project distributes over 200 bags of food per month to their clients affected by HIV/AIDS in the region. Until today, they were completely out of protein. This service is year-round and they are in need now. You can drop off food at their Greensboro location at 801 Summit Avenue.
  • Since 1987, the Thanksgiving Fund has made Thanksgiving holiday meals available to Greensboro’s homeless, hungry, homebound and elderly poor. The meals are prepared by and served at Greensboro Urban Ministry, as well as delivered to the homes of those who are housebound. Last year, the Fund drive provided $12,000 to make 4,000 meals. If you are interested in giving cash for next week’s holiday, you can give online at www.cfgg.org

Cleaning Up and Breathing In

16 Nov

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I’m not quite sure what exact moment I said it out loud - maybe around the time of flying beef rib bones (I’ll skip the story) or the gagging moment of taking the trash out with the dead squirrel Winston brough home for supper or when I melted two Tupperware containers in the oven and filled the house with smoke – but I did say it outloud…alone… “I must stop cooking!” It was another Julie Powell moment of disarray. After over 100 posts on Mod Meals, I’m in need of a break (much deserved in my honest opinion).

This weekend I found the time to clean out the fridge, wipe down the kitchen and prepare for my family to arrive next Tuesday for Thanksgiving. I’ll be taking the next two weeks off of Mod Meals in preparation for a busy holiday schedule. We’ve lined up far more cooking and food than we will ever be able to consume – so prepare for some great posts after Thanksgiving. Until then, Happy Thanksgiving!

PS: If you are in desperate need of reading material, check out my sister’s new blog Maggie Globe Bikes. She mainly writes about bicycles but will post recipes on occasion.

Tommy’s Breakfast Burritos

13 Nov

PA260161Tommy made these Breakfast Burritos when I was in Chicago several months ago. They were the perfect meal for the morning after a wild night out. I got a kick out of Michael eating eggs too – since prior to Tommy he would have preferred eating bacon and potatoes only. I asked Tommy to walk me through his recipe while he was in North Carolina so I could feature it on Mod Meals!

Tommy’s Breakfast Burritos

Ingredients:

  • 4 or so small potatoes, chopped into half-inch pieces
  • canola oil
  • bacon or sausage
  • eggs (about 2 per person)
  • flour tortillas
  • cheddar cheese, shredded
  • white onion, chopped
  • salsa
  • salt and pepper

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Assembly: In a large skillet, heat about 1/2 cup oil (a light variety). Add potatoes and cook until soft in the middle and brown and crispy on the outside. We added Portuguese Chorizo and crisped it up (you could just make bacon and add it on top). Once the potatoes are crispy, drain the oil out of the pan. Meanwhile, scramble the eggs and season with salt and pepper (Tommy adds a little milk too). Cook until scrambled to your liking. Serve with warm tortillas, cheese, onion and salsa.

Grapefruit and Avocado Salad

12 Nov

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I think Grapefruit and Avocado Salads are a perfect complement to a Cuban fiesta. Now a days, you can find both grapefruit and avocados in the grocery store anytime. So, enjoy this salad year-round – although it is probably best in the winter. I tend to eat this salad in December and January when my mom’s grapefruit tree is exploding with fruit!

Lemon Vinaigrette

  • 1 lemon, juiced
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 large pinch sugar
  • 1 large pinch salt
  • 1 large pinch pepper

For the salad:

  • 1 bag mixed greens
  • 1 avocado
  • 1 grapefruit, cut into segments

Assembly: I eyeball all my salad dressings, so take this recipe for what it is worth. Basically, you need to combine the acid (in this case, the lemon juice) and salt, pepper and sugar. Taste for seasoning, and then slowly drizzle the oil into the lemon juice until it tastes balenced. Once the salad dressing is made, slice the avacados and put them into the vinaigrette (the lemon will keep the avocados from turning brown). Remove the avocados and add the mixed greens into the dressing, toss and then plate. Add grapefruit and avocados on top!

Cuban Pork Roast

11 Nov

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This recipe could not be more easy, unique and satisfying! I grew up eating this frequently and always looking forward to making Cuban sandwiches with the leftover pork (pork, ham, swiss cheese, pickles on cuban bread = best sandwich ever). This is perfect for a dinner party – people leave satisfied and emailing for the recipe afterward!

Cuban Pork Roast

  • 1 large pork loin
  • red wine vinegar
  • 4 to 5 bay leaves
  • 1 handful peppercorns
  • olive oil
  • salt and pepper

Assembly: Season the pork generously with salt and pepper. In a large pot, sear the pork on all sides in a about a half cup of olive oil. Once completely seared, add red wine vinegar (don’t breathe in or you’ll be in serious pain), bay leaves and peppercorns. Bring to a simmer, lower the heat and cook for about 3 to 4 hours or until it is falling apart.

Black Beans and Rice

10 Nov

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My recipe for Cuban Black Beans is adapted from Clarita’s Cocina. One pound of dried black beans turns into way too much for one dinner party so I advise purchasing tubs to freeze about half for your next party. I love doing this because this meal is often requested but requires some prep time. If they are frozen, you are set for an impromptu Cuban fiesta! I also think this is a great meal to serve with vegetarians – they can skip the pork roast (which is such a sin) and get enough protein from the beans.

Cuban Black Beans

Ingredients:

  • 1 pound dried black beans
  • 1 medium tomato
  • 2 spanish onions
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 green peppers
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/4 teaspoon cumin
  • 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
  • 1/2 teaspoon hot sauce
  • salt and pepper

Assembly: The night before, cover the beans with about 2  inches water in a bowl. The next day, dump the beans and water into a large pot (add more water so that it is about an inch above the beans). Add one tablespoon olive oil, whole tomato, pealed onion and pepper (cut in half and seeded), 1 crushed garlic clove and bay leaf. Bring to a bowl and simmer for about an hour or until tender. Meanwhile, saute the other onion, pepper and garlic (all minced) in olive oil and season with salt, cumin, crushed oregano, red wine vinegar and hot sauce. Once the beans are tender, remove the whole pieces of veggies and the bay leaf and add the sauted mixture. At this point taste for additional seasoning. I let the beans cook on low for several more hours until they are thick. I like to serve fresh chopped onions in red wine vinegar on the side.

Michael & Tommy’s Visit to North Carolina

9 Nov

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A couple weeks ago I was lucky enough to have my friends Michael and Tommy in town from Chicago. Michael and I have known each other since we were 8 years old on the Florida Aquatics swimteam (Michael went on to being the top in the state and I quit and joined the band – so very typical). Since then, we have been attached at the hip traveling to visit one another from London to Chicago, Florida and North Carolina. For Michael’s first stay on Mendenhall, I made him his favorite Cuban Pork Roast with all the traditional sides. Michael has been begging me to teach him how to cook this pork roast since my mom made it for him over Christmas about 6 years ago. So, it was about time. This week I’ll post the recipes from our dinner and Tommy’s famous breakfast burritos that we had in the morning.

Off Mendenhall – Poppers Party in Chicago

7 Nov

poppers3I’m happy to hear that both friends in Greensboro and Chicago made my jalapeno poppers (from this past Thursday’s post) last night! Michael and Tommy sent me pictures this morning from their Poppers Party. They also sent me a great tip that Tommy learned on Top Chef. They soaked their cut jalapenos in ice water after they seeded them to reduce the spicy kick. Who knows if it helps – but it is worth a try!

PS: If you charmed by their cute faces today – you’re in luck – next week is all about Tommy and Michael’s trip to North Carolina a couple weekends ago!

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