 I do believe pizza is the perfect food. Just think of the variety of ingredients you can use on a pizza and your combinations seem endless.
While I admit to ordering my fair share of pizzas, I love it when we make one at home. There are so many crust options in the store if you do not have the time to make the dough from scratch. The best part is you can put it together quickly, with or without help, and have a delicious meal in less than forty-five minutes . So, what is your favorite combination? Tonight, it was pepperoni, red peppers, and cheese. As Rachel Ray would say, “delish!”
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 It is amazing to think about my cooking journey. When Big Guy and I were married, I was good at making hamburger and potatoes. Well, not too good since I managed to slice my finger open one night making dinner.
It was then Big Guy vowed to get me a knife skills class first and foremost while slowly encouraging me to try to make other foods. It took a while since my boy grew up only eating meat and potatoes, but we can both agree our skills have come a long way from that young couple who were newly married. Despite our progress, I never say no to a simple meal of eggs, ham, and toast. Big Guy is an expert breakfast cook who never fails to amaze me with his fluffy eggs and bread toasted to perfection. It is the comfort meal that I love whether I am under the weather or just plumb tired from a busy day. I am one lucky gal!  I realize many people may only prefer a simple salad. Big Guy’s parents were more focused on the main meal so his mom would make a salad that was only lettuce, a little dressing, and a slice of tomato to make sure she served some vegetables on the table for her growing family.
Big Guy was not impressed and usually shied away from salads until he met me. I finally convinced him to start trying salads I would order at restaurants. He slowly became interested in the food combinations that could enhance the lettuce into an ultimate meal. It has been many years now that we have been “playing” with our salad combinations, but I always enjoy our kitchen sink salad. It is usually chock full of vegetables, meats, cheese, dressing and fun salad toppings. How do you like your salad?  Every season has a special food for me. I do not mean the homemade stuff, but that elusive “unicorn” that tells you it is time to deck the halls. At Christmas, it is Little Debbie Christmas Cakes. It has become a game between me and my former neighbor to see who can find it first and send a text picture of proof of victory.
As we roll into the end of Lent looking forward to Easter, there is aisle after aisle of candy of all shapes and sizes. Big Guy is used to me scanning for my favorite which is marshmallow candy called Bunnies, Chicks, and Eggs. If you do not know what this is, think circus peanuts in seasonally appropriate shapes. My dad used to love peeps which I absolutely abhor. I guess you can say I like my marshmallow firm and not gooey. My dad has been gone for a while now, but Big Guy now has fun by picking up Peeps at the store and telling me it is the same thing with a twinkle in his eye. I usually retort to” be careful or I will use them as a topping for my sweet potatoes” just like my mom did one year. I guess she was sick them too!  When did my freezer look like a squirrel was storing nuts for the winter? We returned from the grocery store and when I opened my freezer, I was surprised at how full it was with foods I had prepared over the winter. I started to take things to the basement freezer only to discover the same situation.
I had a friend who once told me to beware of storing too many things as it tends to multiply like bunnies. I guess the critters of the world were on to my freezer! Seriously, it told me that my pandemic habit, and less cold days, was creating this over abundance of food. I acted and planned a full-on assault of focusing my daily menus on my freezer. First up, I pulled out the frozen Shepherd’s Pie. After warming it up, I grabbed three leftover biscuits and created a pot pie by using the biscuits as a topping. It turned out delicious and created one hole in my freezer. Onward and upward!  It's March Madness! It's Puzzle Friday! We haven't really shown a lot of puzzles lately, put we think our friend @ferngape and her kiddos will like this one!
Here's hoping your bracket isn't blown already like ours! It isn't stopping us from watching!  Do ever feel like your world is ruled by good karma? The day Big Guy made red beans and rice, we were both singing “I Will Play for Gumbo,” by Jimmy Buffett. We both agreed we needed to “laissez les bon temps rouler” by adding gumbo to our menu in the upcoming weeks.
As luck would have it, I attended a board meeting and gumbo was on the menu. While I did not make it myself, it was delicious with plenty of sausage and chicken in a spicy broth served with rice. The only thing missing was a “piece of French bread with which to wipe my bowl,” but it was still “good for the body, good for the soul.” I agree with Jimmy Buffett, I would play for gumbo too!  Big Guy and I agree on a lot of things especially when it comes to food memories. We loved our trip to New Orleans many years ago and we still wax poetic about the red beans and rice. I am one lucky gal that Big Guy is always on the lookout for new recipes. He told me Louis Armstrong’s Red Beans and Rice jumped out of the page of the New York Times which meant it was time to blast some great jazz and get the ingredients. Big Guy took over the Carondelet Kitchen soaking the red beans overnight. The next day, I wish I could give you smell-o-rama, the perfume of the trinity and sausage became a slice of heaven. As Louis Armstrong sang, what a wonderful world to have this amazing dish in our arsenal!
 Big Guy and I decided to really celebrate 314 day by roaming around Saint Louis. We have not been living in a cave, but it certainly felt like we lost touch with many of our old haunts during the pandemic. We decided to head to the Saint Louis Art Museum to renew our membership. It was certainly a homecoming for us since we spent the final weekend before “lockdown,” enjoying brunch at Panorama and the exhibit at the time with a dear friend. It was odd to be there on that final weekend of freedom enjoying beautiful art while wearing our masks and wondering about COVID and how it would affect our lives. This time around we enjoyed the Age of Armor exhibit and its transformative story. It was fascinating to see the use of armor though the ages ending with armor from the movies of Star Wars and Black Panther. It also gave me an appreciation for those individuals who wore the armor. I do call my Big Guy my knight in shining armor, but he certainly was not going to fit into any of those suits on display!
 We celebrated Big Guy’s trip around the sun with an outstanding dinner at Peppe’s Apt 2 in Kirkwood, Missouri. Peppe even treated us to a private room to enhance our celebration!
I did my best to eat everything served to me, but I found myself stopping midway through my surf and turf meal of shrimp and filet. I started immediately thinking about how to use the filet as a star leftover for a meal the next day. I love Ina Garten’s one pot risotto recipe so I was inspired to do a riff of my own on her recipe. Instead of asparagus, shallots, and chicken stock, I made the recipe with onions, red peppers, snap peas, beef broth, and my leftover filet. The filet shined again in this risotto mix assisted by a spinach salad and a bottle of French Bordeaux. What a great way to extend Big Guy’s birthday and continuing celebrating with another great meal! |
AuthorJust a super cool old couple who love to cook and eat and drink in their Carondelet Kitchen in South Saint Louis, Missouri! Archives
January 2025
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