Parmesean Peppercorn and Pix

As promised: a picture (Tomato Pasta soup) and a recipe (for Parmesean Peppercorn Dressing).


Parmesean Peppercorn Dressing

1 cup mayo (lowfat) OR 3/4 cup mayo
1/4 cup sour cream
2 tsp white vinegar (or more to taste)
1/4 tsp dried basil (or Italian seasoning)
1/8 tsp garlic powder OR 1/2 to 1 tsp minced garlic
1/4 cup grated parmesean 1/2 tsp (or more to taste)
ground peppercorn (cracked or ground)
1 to 2 Tablespoon milk (lowfat; or more to taste)
Kosher salt to taste

Directions
1. Mix all ingredients (but milk) together.
2. Whisk in milk last (add additional milk depending on desired consistency).

Menu a la Week: 12/8/08 - 12/12/08

Okay, this won't be a straight copy of last week. We have some turkey needing attention and that tomato pasta soup just doesn't seem to end. It's yummy, but this is getting ridiculous.

Menu 11/23/08 to 11/28/08
Monday December 8, 2008
Tomato pasta soup (AKA kitchen sink soup) and tossed salad

Tuesday December 9, 2008
Turkey Tetrazzini

Wednesday December 10, 2008

Tomato pasta soup and tossed salad

Thursday December 11, 2008
Turkey Tetrazzini

Friday December 12, 2008
Butternut squash ravioli and a tossed salad

Leftover Do Over

You know what? I'll be honest. This week, I'm just copying last week's menu of the week and posting it for this week. Sure, I'll correct the dates, but that's about it. Why such sloth? I worked and/or went out nearly every night last week (don't judge me!). Just pretend last week never happened. That's what I'm doing.

TK: a picture of one of last night's dinners (soup, for sure) and the recipe for Parmesean Peppercorn Dressing. I promise!

Menu a la Week: 11/30/08 -12/5/08

Three days later and we're still recovering from Thanksgiving dinner. My mom, as always, cooked an amazing meal: turkey and gravy, stuffing, green beans with garlic and lemo, and dessert (jumbo chocolate chip cookies and vanilla ice cream). "Bob" and I made the mashed potatoes and tangy cranberry dipping sauce. Both turned out great. The best part was Friday: turkey sandwiches on rye with plenty of mayo (Hellmann's...which reminds me: they still haven't answered my last query!) and another of mom's gigantic homemade chocolate chip cookies. I could use another sandwich and cookie right now, but there's nothing of the sort Chez moi et "Bob."

This week continues our efforts to clear the decks by getting through our food in the freezer. We're eager to make some new soups as well as a whole bunch of winter favorites: tomato sauce, meatballs, lasagna and/or raviolis, braciole, meatloaf, roast chicken, pot pies (yay!), and a lovely pork loin, along with the occasional foccaccia pizza and panini. I also want to try my hand at cassoulet and beef bourguignon. Though we aim to get through most of our soups and such, our ample supplies of frozen pesto and butternut squash ravioli will likely last us most of the winter.

Tonight we'll be making yet another dent in our neverending supply of Kitchen Sink Soup. Fortunately, it's a particularly tasty soup, so eating it ad nauseum isn't actually nauseating. We'll also be topping our salad with my first attempt at parmesean peppercorn dressing (which, like everything this past week, features a lot of mayo).

Menu 11/23/08 to 11/28/08
Sunday November 30, 2008
Tomato pasta soup (AKA kitchen sink soup) and tossed salad with parmesean peppercorn dressing

Monday December 1, 2008
Pasta with pesto and a tossed salad

Tuesday December 2, 2008
Tomato pasta soup (AKA kitchen sink soup)

Wednesday December 3, 2008
Chicken stir fry

Thursday December 4, 2008
Butternut squash ravioli and a tossed salad

Friday December 5, 2008
Chicken stir fry

It's My 100th Post, and I Celebrated (in Advance) by Going THERE Again

I just couldn't resist.

Armed with a coupon and accompanied by a couple of colleagues, I visited Fishs Eddy today. For the upcoming chicken pot pie experiments, I bought another four French onion soup bowls (which are very similar to four other bowls/bakers I bought months ago; these new ones are just a bit bigger).

I also bought a very interesting fruit platter. With about a dozen circular indentations, the platter is pretty cool looking. I also purchased a large white serving bowl. They have tons of these at the store and they're selling them for a pittance ($5.99 each).

With the coupon I got 20% off and three free Christmas ornaments. Unfortunately, my ornaments are less than satisfactory; instead of getting one each of a mini mug, teacup and saucer, and double-handled bowl, I got two bowls and one mug. Adding insult to injury: the mug has a rather large chip in it. I'm going back tomorrow to see if I can get a better set.

I lugged the bowls home, but the platter, large bowl, and ornaments are still at work. As soon as they make it on the long slog home via NJ Transit, I'll take and post pictures.

Dinner Update:
Tonight we had the herbed crepes with a simple tomato "relish" made from the last of the Roma tomatoes from my plants (I have no idea how these last few tomatoes ripened off the vine, but they did). The relish was made from two small Romas (diced very small), olive oil, dried basil leaves, Kosher salt, and freshly ground black pepper. I mixed this all together and spooned it over the warm crepes. We also had a nice tossed salad with balsamic vinaigrette.

A Sunday Like Many Others

After doing a bunch of chores, we defrosted a batch of "Kitchen Sink" soup, toasted up some rye bread, and settled in for a nice, quiet Sunday dinner. The strips of ziti held up quite well in the soup, they weren't at all soggy. But the soup suffered from a problem I've noticed with so many of our soups that have spent some time frozen: not enough salt.

After the usual extra dashes of Kosher, it still wasn't seasoned enough, so we added a few pinches of celery salt. Perfection. The celery salt perked up the soup's overall flavor and even added a certain "smokiness" to it too. Honestly, I'd been strangely reluctant to add anything "different" to the soup, but I came to my senses and realized that just because a spice wasn't in the original list of ingredients, didn't preclude its addition to the leftovers.

I considered baking some chocolate cupcakes with vanilla bean buttercream frosting, but after relaxing over dinner, I thought better of it. Maybe this coming weekend I'll placate my sweet tooth.

Menu a la Week: 11/23/08 - 11/28/08

A short week (Thanksgiving) deserves a down and dirty menu. We've still got plenty of goodies in the freezer, including herbed crepes, pesto, butternut squash ravioli, and plenty of soup. Despite all those welcome choices, I still can't wait for turkey!

Menu 11/23/08 to 11/28/08
Sunday November 23, 2008
Tomato pasta soup (AKA kitchen sink soup)

Monday November 24, 2008
Herbed crepes with ricotta (topped with a fresh plum tomato relish) and a tossed salad

Tuesday November 25, 2008
Tomato pasta soup (AKA kitchen sink soup)

Wednesday November 26, 2008
Butternut squash ravioli and a tossed salad

Thursday November 27, 2008
Thanksgiving

Friday November 28, 2008
Leftover turkey sandwiches (if we're lucky!)