Kegger at my house!

'Cause my parents are going on vacation!

Har har, I'm so kidding. I mean, La and Buddy really are going to Myrtle Beach, but I'm not having a kegger. Nor really doing much of anything, actually. Except cooking, of course!

So it should come as no surprise that I buy cooking magazines with frequency; I recently bought Paula Deen's magazine. La was looking through it and found this AMAZING sounding recipe that's actually super simple. SO. Here's what we had for dinner tonight (as a special dinner since the parents are leaving in the morning. Er. In about four hours.

Anyway, baked potatoes. Broccoli. Caramelized onions (FOUR sweet onions, sliced thin and cooked in only 2 tablespoons of butter). Steaks, with Gorgonzola butter. Sweet Hilton Head wine. Juicy pluots (plum + apricot).

Oh, man.

Buddy, picky as he is, was actually a huge fan of the Gorgonzola butter. And the pluots, even though he allegedly hates apricots. He really liked the butter, though; even though it sounds like a bad idea - I mean, ruin a steak by putting butter on it? But no.

The sweetness of the onions combines with the creamy, saltiness of the cheese; they both offset the simply seasoned steak (just a little Montreal Steak Seasoning) and pull out all this great, simple, smoky flavor from it. So good. And? The Jordan helped a lot. Again! He is just a wonderful boy, you know?

Anyway, I'll be making some pretty cool stuff this week, and I'll post the recipes if ya'll want them. I'm going to a picnic tomorrow and making Curried Nuts and Chicken Spread. And, because I'll be wanting lots of leftovers this week, Knocks'n'Brats Stoup, a RR concoction that is good, hearty, and cheap.

Peace, love, and Vidalia onions,
Kim

PS: The Gorgonzola butter? Take half a cup of softened butter (one stick) and stir in three (3) tablespoons of crumbled Gorgonzola cheese. Once it's all mixed in, stick it in the fridge. Take a dollop and put it on something - a steak, a potato, some bread, your finger. WHATEVER, it'll taste good!

Oh man...

After class last night, I was starving, which isn't surprising when you consider that the class wasn't over until 9 at night and I had eaten lunch (from the O!) at around noon. Anyway, I decided to go to Kazanski's, on Murray Ave.

For the longest time, I've really been hungry for corned beef and cabbage - I always get the extra-lean corned beef; all that fat just weirds me out. Anywy, that's what I ordered, along with a side of lima bean soup (which I may or may not have eaten on my way home... while driving).

Oh.

My.

Goodness.

It was, in a word, AMAZING.

My mom was watching Big Brother 37, or whatever season they're on now, but we were going to watch Wipeout after. So I brought my food downstairs, where my mom proceeded to try it and delcare it some of the best she's ever had, too. Apparently she used to have a really good recipe for corned beef and cabbage, but my picky dad doesn't eat it, so she tossed it. Which means that I will be posting again later today when I find a recipe. Yummmmmmm!

Is it weird that we LOVE boiled cabbage?

Peace, love, and corned beef,
Kim

Remember those Mini Meatloaves?

Well, here is the promised recipe. DELICIOUS.

1 4 oz. jar mushroom pieces
1 1/2 pound ground beef
3/4 cup bread crumbs
1 egg
1 t. salt
1 T. grated onion
1/4 t. pepper
3/4 c. BBQ sauce
1/2 c. water

Preheat oven to 375. Reserve 2 T of the mushrooms. Mix remaining mushrooms and liquid, gr. beef, bread crumbs, egg, salt, pepper, and 1/4 c. of the BBQ sauce. Shape mixture into six 3 1/2 inch loaves and place in a 12 x 8 baking dish. Mix reserved mushrooms, water, and remaining BBQ sauce. Spoon over meatloaves. Bake40-45 min., basting occasionally.

*I make double the sauce so I can serve it like a gravy on the side.

*Serve with fries and peas... Yum!

Just in case...

You guys thought I was just dorky for crocheting, I also collect antique books. Because I haven't cooked anything super-cool or exciting lately, I thought I'd share a recipe from one of my old, old cookbooks. While I haven't had a chance to actually try making any recipes from this book, some of them actually sound good. This one, however, totally does not. From the chapter titled "The Sick Room," here is the recipe for Beef Tea.

Cut a pound of lean, fresh beef into small pieces; put the meat in a bottle and cork tightly; place in a kettle of water and allow to boil one hour or more; take out the bottle an strain the essence of the beef into a bowl; season slightly for a sick person.

So I'm not really sure what about this is good for a sick person. Unless it's like beef bullion? Or maybe the grossness of it was supposed to scare faking-it children out of bed.

If you are wondering how old this antique book is, here is the bibliographic information, although not formatted properly or anything (yep - I'm in library school, in case you missed it.):

The Practical Receipt Book by Experienced Housekeepers
Compiled and Revised by the Ladies of the Methodist Episcopal Church, of Titusville, PA
Third Edition, 1891

"Good cooking means economy and enjoyment;
Bad cooking means waste of money, time and temper."

Peace, love, and hella-old books,
Kim