menus October 10,2012

Perhaps everything that frightens us is, in its deepest essence, something helpless that wants our love.” 
That's Rainer Rilke, my favorite moody German, giving evidence to a hypothesis of mine: that a true insight holds true, no matter the scale of its application.
So, while you apply Rilke's emo wisdom to the elements of your own existence that loom large and terrifying- marriage, parenthood, endeavours that may fail or (even scarier!) succeed, I'm going to sprinkle it over dinner.
Because this week, not one, but nearly EVERY meal I've planned is trying to intimidate me!
Let's start here-

Wednesday: Grilled Salmon and Salad
maple glazed salmon
prosciutto and apple salad
Not long ago, my eldest son wondered aloud why grilling is considered a hot weather sport, when tending an outdoor fire amid billows of meat scented smoke is far more pleasant in fall and winter than in the summer. Since he knows more about playing with open flame than anyone I know, and was grilling dinner for a bunch of friends as we spoke, I thought it a good idea.  If you haven't put the grill into hibernation yet, consider grilling this salmon. Otherwise, the broiler will do fine.
Now, about the salad. Prosciutto intimidates me. Because, you know, all the cool kids like it, and secretly, I don't (although I've pretended to). Here's the deal though- prosciutto? It's just cured pork that speaks Italian and got itself invited to fancy parties. If you give it a little love (i.e. throw it in a hot frying pan) it turns into the thinnest, crispiest, baconiest thing ever. And the salty sweet crispness of bacon and apples? Well. that's not intimidating, that's just really, really nice.
Prociutto's on sale these days at Aldi, so I may give it a go, or I may just use crumbled bacon.

Thursday: Asian ribs and Haricots Verts
Asian ribs
Haricots Verts with Herb butter
boneless ribs are on sale, so I'll be using them in this excellent throw-it-in-the-slow-cooker-and-forget-it-till-it-smells-great recipe. And I'll be cooking enough to give me leftovers for tomorrow night's stirfry.
Boneless ribs. So weird. Meatless ribs? Sure. Ribless ribs? How, I thought, is that possible?
Turns out that boneless ribs, or country style ribs, are cut from the meat above the shoulder bone. They're not really ribs at all, but I suppose
'boneless ribs' fits better on a meat package label than "suprascapular slices"
Anyway, they're yummy, easy to work with, and not pricey.
and...Haricots Verts? Be not dismayed. They're only posh green beans. Look:


frozen green beans            green beans              haricots verts
$1.30 a lb.                          $1.29 a lb.                    $7.50 a lb

 

I'd be being a francobeanophobe or a reverse snob if I told you that there were no differences at all. The haricots verts are thinner, a deeper green, stringless and a little more tender. So, if you find yourself cooking for a tummy you really REALLY want to love or impress, splash out maybe. (There's alot of potential irony in that little suggestion, don't you think?  After all, someone whose disapproval can frighten you into spending 7.50 a pound on green beans is probably just a small thing that needs loving.)

Friday: Pumpkin Stirfry with pork
Pumpkin Stirfry
If I have leftover pork, I'll slice it thin and use it, otherwise, I'll use chicken. And, the pumpkin's already prepped and waiting:

small bits for salads and stirfry,
chunks for roasting.

I test-sauteed a panful of the little bits in some olive oil for about 15 minutes, thinking to save them for this winter squash risotto or this Salad with Pumkin, parmesan and walnuts but they looked like this:

and so I sort of gobbled up the plateful and
called it lunch.

I happen to have peanut oil and fish sauce in the pantry, if you don't, try subbing a little teriyaki or soy sauce or stirfry sauce.
 Donna Hay, the creator of this recipe, is Australia's Martha Stewart. I offer that bit of info to explain the gorgeous (intimidating) food styling, and the 600 grams of pumpkin called for in the recipe. (Metric! now THAT'S scary!) Never fear. 600 grams is a little more than a pound, but who really cares? I'm just going to cook what my favorite stirfry pan can hold, and I'll bet that's your usual means of measurement too.


Saturday: Chicken drumsticks and roast veggies
Bourbon Chicken drumsticks
I love the look of this marinade! I'll be using chicken breast though, in an effort to reduce fat- It'll be interesting to see how this marinade works on white meat.
If you want to use a substitute for the bourbon, try apple juice, or peach nectar, mixed with a little apple cider vinegar.
The oven will be on anyway, so I thought roasted veg would go nicely....let's see...what's in the kitchen...
The already prepped pumpkin (the slow cooking chunks, not the fast cooking slivers), some potatoes, onions, carrots,the last tomato...  Maybe this sad little punnet of neglected mushrooms too.
I'll toss them all in a (very big) bowl with salt, pepper, olive oil and a splash of balsamic vinegar. They'll need to cook for about an hour at about 350.

Sunday: Roast Veggie frittata
Roast Veggie frittata
Did you notice what happens with me and roasting veggies? I start with 15 pumpkin chunks and end up with two pans full of golden brown goodness. There are always, always leftovers. Today they'll make a nice Sunday brunch in this frittata-  single cream is the same as cream- use that, or half and half or maybe even evaporated milk.
 PS. This recipe just taught me that 250 ml is about the same as 1 cup. This makes me feel sorta internationally literate, so, let's put some popovers and a cappuccino with this frittata and watch a foreign movie. You know, something like Downton Abbey.

happy cooking and happy eating, ya'll. I'm hoping that this week, loving all the parts of your life, small and large, comes easy. And I even hope that you feel some of the parts of your life, small and large,  loving you back.