Make the dough at least 24 hours in advance, up to 7 days in advance:

2 1/4 cups (530 ml) warm water (110-115F)
1 tbsp sugar (12g) sugar
1 tbsp (9g) active dry yeast
2 tbsp (30 ml) olive oil
1 tbsp (18 g) kosher salt
5 cups (600g) bread flour, plus more for working the dough
additional oil for greasing the dough cornmeal, semolina flour, or coarse-ground whole wheat flour for dusting

Sauce, Pastene version:

1 28 oz (828 ml) can Pastene Kitchen ready crushed tomatoes
2-4 tbsp (30-60 ml) olive oil
1 tsp (4g) sugar
2 tsp dried oregano

Sauce, San Marzano version:

1 28-ounce can whole San Marzano tomatoes (we used Cento brand)
¼ cup olive oil
½ teaspoon sugar, or more to taste
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons tomato paste

Remove tomatoes from their canning liquid and discard the liquid (only for San Marzano version). Squish or blend the tomatoes until smooth. Add remaining ingredients and mix until smooth. Makes enough for four pizzas.

Cheese:

24-32 oz (680-910 g) whole-milk, low-moisture mozzarella (check the Co-op)
freshly grated (6-8 oz / 170-225 g per pizza) grated parmesan for dusting (maybe 10 g per pizza?)

Toppings of choice

Method:

Start the dough by combining the water, sugar and yeast in a large bowl and let sit for a few minutes. If the yeast goes foamy, it’s alive and you’re good to proceed (if it doesn’t, it’s dead and you need new yeast). Add the olive oil and salt and 5 cups (600g) of bread flour. Knead in stand mixer with dough hook. Add just enough additional flour to keep the dough workable (i.e. not too sticky) and kneed until you can stretch some of the dough into a thin sheet without it tearing. This took about 10 minutes on medium speed.

Divide the dough into four equal balls and put them in four containers (ideally glass) and lightly coat the balls and the interior of their containers with olive oil. Cover, and either rise at room temperature for two hours, or put them in the refrigerator and let them rise for 1-7 days.

When ready to bake, preheat oven on convection roast setting to 550F and let the pizza stone or steel heat for at least 1 hour.

Liberally dust a pizza peel with cornmeal (or something similar). Take the cold dough out of the fridge and dust it in flour. Stretch to the widest size and shape that will fit on your peel and stone/steel. Top with just enough sauce to lightly coat the surface. Dust the sauce layer with parmesan, then cover with the mozzarella. Transfer the pizza to the stone/steel and bake until the crust is well-browned and the cheese has browned a bit (but, ideally, has not started oozing out an orange grease layer), 6-7 minutes.

This is my family’s favorite sauce for stir-fry. I saw Kenji Lopez-Alt make his stir-fry sauce, and it was a lot like this one, which made me feel vindicated. I usually make this in a 2-cup liquid measuring cup. All measurements are approximate.

Into the bottom of the measuring cup, mix until dissolved:

• 2 Tbsp cornstarch
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup cold water

Add:

• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• a couple of glugs of oyster sauce (maybe 2-3 tsp)
• a generous squirt of Sriracha or other Asian chili sauce of your choice (optional; adjust to your audience’s spiciness preferences)
• 1 tsp sesame oil

Stir to combine. The oyster sauce usually makes gross little chunks on the bottom, but they dissolve if you let it sit for a while, so it’s cuter if you have time to leave it alone for half an hour or so. That’s optional.

Add:

• Dry white wine (unseasoned rice wine is good, but don’t use cooking wine, as it is too salty. If it’s all you have, cut back on the soy sauce. I usually just use whatever white wine I have around.) Fill the measuring cup up to the 1.5 cup mark.

Stir it all together. Use this as a final step in your stir fry, stirring immediately before adding it to reincorporate ingredients. It should thicken within one minute of cooking. It’s good with lots of different things. It makes a pretty big quantity, because my family is divided on the question of beef and snow peas vs. cashew chicken, so I make both, and this is enough for a batch of each.

This is our family’s favorite banana bread. I am blogging it for future reference.

Preheat oven to 350 F. Prepare a loaf pan, including a parchment sling.

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. table salt
• 1 cup mashed bananas, about 3 (I used 5 and it was great)
  
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Topping:

• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup pecans

Cream butter and sugar in stand mixer until light and fluffy, at least 5 minutes. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Add eggs to butter-sugar mixture one at a time, then add bananas, sour cream, and vanilla. Add flour mixture in two additions and mix gently until combined. Pour into prepared loaf pan.

Bake for about 30 minutes at 350 F. Combine topping ingredients, and at about the 30 minute mark, remove the bread from the oven and drizzle topping over semi-cooked batter. Return to oven and cook for another 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. It may have a little depression in the middle due to the topping, but do not overbake. Let cool for 10 minutes in the pan before removing with the sling. Cool completely before slicing.

I made this tonight. It was good. Lightly adapted from Cafe Delites.

Oven-fried Chicken

5-6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
S&P
1/2 cup AP flour
1 egg, beaten
2 Tbsp milk
1 3/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
Garlic powder, smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, chipotle powder, to taste

Preheat oven to 400 (convection setting if you have it).

Dry chicken; season lightly with S&P. Combine flour, a dash of salt and pepper, and dried seasonings. In a separate bowl, combine panko breadcrumbs, salt and pepper, and more dried seasonings.  Mix oil into breadcrumb mixture. In a third bowl, combine egg and milk.

Spray a baking rack with nonstick spray and put over a baking sheet.

Dredge chicken in flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs. Press breadcrumbs into chicken to adhere. Put on baking rack and cook for 30-40 minutes, or until chicken reaches 165F and the coating is crispy.

Serve with honey mustard (equal parts dijon mustard and honey) or other dipping sauce of your choice.

We got our oven temporarily back.  It’s very exciting.  We’ll have to say goodbye to it again once interior work starts on our house, but for the time being, we’ve been baking and stove-ing like nobody’s business.

Sunday:  Takeout from Panda Express (Miles’s choice)

Monday:  I…don’t remember, but I’m sure we ate something.

Tuesday:  Chili and cornbread (baked in the oven, woo!)

Wednesday:  Flank steak with chimichurri, frozen french fries, some sort of fruit I can’t remember

Thursday:  Panini (turkey, bacon, cheese, barbecue sauce)

Friday: Take-and-bake pizza from Aldi

Saturday:  Linguine and meatballs with homemade tomato sauce (from the freezer)

Another week, another set of bellies to fill (same bellies, actually).

Sunday:  We ordered pizza from the Wig & Pen East

Monday:  Leftovers

Tuesday:  Crock-pot carnitas with tortillas, rice, assorted toppings, chips & salsa

Wednesday:  Mini-quiches from the Aldi freezer case, salad

Thursday: Grilled cheese & tomato soup

Friday: Pancakes & bacon, some sort of fruit

Saturday: Burgers on the grill, potato salad, carrots

Hey, posterity.  We’re in the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020, and we are currently under house arrest shelter-in-place (I’m just being glib; sheltering in place is the smart thing to do right now, and we’re glad to do it to help our whole community/nation/world).

That means minimizing trips to the grocery store, which is tough for me, as I’m used to being able to dash out multiple times a week for ingredients if I get inspired to cook something for which I didn’t plan during my last big grocery run.  Even weirder, we don’t have a kitchen, because we’re in the middle of a home renovation project.  We probably won’t have a kitchen for months.  Here’s what we do have:

• Microwave
• Electric griddle
• Toaster
• Coffee maker
• Instant Pot
• Crock Pot
• Bar sink (no washing dishes in the bathtub, thank goodness)
• Grill (currently not hooked up, because we need a natural gas to propane conversion kit)
• Panini maker

Here’s what we’ve eaten so far and what I have planned for the rest of the week.

First night home (Sunday):  Take-out Mexican

Monday: Chicken Caesar salads (chicken cooked in Instant Pot using Sauté setting); Instant Pot pasta (came out too starchy; will rinse in the future); apple slices

Tuesday:  Brats and hot dogs (brats steamed in the Instant Pot, then browned along with the dogs on the griddle) with side salad and chips

Wednesday:  Chicken thighs (bone in, skinless) with spice rub in Instant Pot; sweet potatoes in the Instant Pot; leftover pasta; apple slices.

Thursday:  Grocery pick-up day!  Thai-style pork & noodles.  This is going to be interesting because the noodles cook really fast.  I think I will pre-cook the noodles in the Instant Pot, although I will investigate as to whether there’s a soak method that could let me skip cooking them in boiling water altogether.  I plan to use the electric griddle as a makeshift wok.  It has high sides so I don’t think anything will splash out.

Update:  it was gross.  There’s no way to do this without boiling the noodles.

Friday:  Grilled cheese (griddle) and canned tomato soup (microwave).  I plan to still be tired after Thursday night’s dinner.  Some sort of fruit, depending on how complete our grocery order is Switched to vegetable beef soup (Instant Pot) with grapes and cornbread from the HyVee bakery (which tasted like birthday cake).

Saturday: Pork tenderloin (Denny got the grill set up, so we grilled it, plus grilled hotdogs for the kids), cabbage salad.  OR Instant Pot chili if I need something lower-maintenance.

Sunday:  Order pizza.

If I have the energy and remember to do it, I’ll post more menus so I can inspire myself.

I need to blog this recipe, because I make it fairly often, and I always have to refer to the website.  I noticed it’s from 2012, and who knows how long anything will last on the internet?

Lasagne, adapted from The Amateur Gourmet

(Can be doubled; this is enough for the members of my family to will try things to eat it and have leftovers.)

1 pound Italian sausage

24 ounces homemade tomato sauce (1 of the smaller freezer containers)

9 lasagne noodles (about half of a 1-pound package)

half of a 15-ounce container of ricotta cheese

1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese, plus extra for sprinkling

1 egg

8 ounces (1 ball) fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced

A couple of tablespoons each fresh basil and parsley, minced

Salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2.  Cook the sausage in a large pan.  When it’s browned, add the tomato sauce and let it simmer while you do step 2.
3.  Cover the lasagne noodles in the hottest tapwater you can get.  Let them sit for 20 minutes.  Poke them down as well as you can, but don’t worry if one end sticks out a little bit.
4.  Combine ricotta, Parmesan, egg, salt, pepper, and herbs in a small bowl.
5. Spray a square (8- or 9-inch) baking dish with nonstick spray.
6. Ladle a scoop or two of sauce onto the bottom of the dish, just to cover.
7. Trim the top couple-three inches off the lasagne noodles (the less-soaked ends) to fit the pan.  Place three noodles across the bottom of the pan.
8. Spread about 1/3 of the ricotta mixture over the noodles.
9. Arrange about 1/3 of the mozzarella slices over the ricotta mixture.
10. Repeat—sauce, noodles, ricotta, mozzarella until you have three layers of each.  Pour any remaining sauce over the top and sprinkle with reserved Parmesan.

If you bake this right away, it will only take 30-40 minutes.  If you make it ahead and refrigerate, give it closer to an hour+.  You can cover it with foil for most of the cooking, removing the foil for the last 15-20 minutes to crisp things up a little.

Chimichurri sauce

This sauce from Argentina is great on beef, chicken, fish, or even grilled vegetables.  I got some on my corn-on-the-cob tonight and it was delicious.  It gives you pretty strong breath, though.

• 1/2 cup Italian flatleaf parsley
• 2 tablespoons fresh oregano
• 1/2 of a medium shallot
• 3 garlic cloves
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• a shake of crushed red pepper flakes
• salt to taste
• about 1/4 cup olive oil

Combine all except oil in a food processor and process until well-chopped but not a paste.  Drizzle in olive oil until it’s about the consistency of pesto sauce.  Enjoy.

This is a favorite around our house.  Inspiration taken from The Pioneer Woman and Michael Ruhlman.

Several hours before you want to start cooking, make the quick brine.  In a small saucepan, combine

• 15 ounces water
• 3 ounces salt (type doesn’t matter)
• a couple of big spoonfuls of brown sugar.

Bring it to a boil and make sure the salt and sugar are dissolved.  Remove from heat and stir in

• 15 ounces ice.

When all the ice is dissolved, pour solution into a gallon-sized ziplock bag and add your chicken parts.  I like to use a pack of thighs (4) and a pack of legs (5).  Let the chicken soak in the brine for 2-3 hours.

Preheat oven to 400F.  When your chicken is done brining, dry it thoroughly and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper.  Spread a little peanut oil or other oil that can tolerate heat all over a half sheet pan.  Place the chicken skin-side down on the pan.  Roast for 25 minutes.

Remove from the oven and brush the top with your favorite barbecue sauce.  Carefully, using a spatula, slide under the chicken and flip it.  Coat the skin side with sauce.  Return to oven for 7 minutes.

Remove from oven and coat the skin side with more sauce.  Using an instant-read thermometer, check the chicken’s temperature.  If it has reached 170F for dark meat or 165F for light meat, turn on the broiler and let the sauce bubble and char a little bit.  If it needs more time, return it to the oven to reach temperature before you do the broiling.

Let sit for 10-15 minutes before serving.

(The “Mexican” part here is in no way intended as a promise of authenticity.)

We had fajitas for dinner, and I neglected to pick up a flavored rice mix to go with it.  I usually get Near East brand, and Tobin loves it.  In order to not make him cry, I improvised a Mexican-inspired rice side.  He ate three plates of it.  I liked it too.

Mexican Rice

1 cup long-grain white rice
2 tsp olive oil
2 cups chicken or pork stock*
1 pinch saffron threads, crumbled
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
S&P to taste

Heat the olive oil in a medium-to-large plan with a lid on medium.  Saute the rice grains until they’re opaque, coating well in the oil.  If they get a touch browned on the edges, that’s okay.  Add the stock and spices.  Stir briefly and return to a boil.  Reduce heat to low, cover with a tight-fitting lid, and cook for 20-25 minutes, or until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender.  Adjust S&P before serving.

* I happened to have some pork stock in the freezer, so that’s what I used, and it was so good.  I guess it wasn’t technically stock; it was the de-fatted cooking liquid from the last time I cooked a pork shoulder.  I think I cooked it with onion, garlic, and orange juice, so those flavors informed the liquid a bit.

I made this cake for Denny’s mom’s (aka Nana’s) birthday.  It’s just your basic white cake, but I did it using the Cook’s Illustrated technique of baking it in a half-sheet pan and cutting in into quarters for a 4-layer rectangular cake.  In this case I’m not 100% sure it was easier than splitting two rounds, because the cake was pretty delicate.  It works well with carrot cake, because that seems a little denser and heartier than delicate white cake.  I did have a couple of fall-aparty issues, but once everything was glued together with filling and buttercream, it was good.

The raspberry mascarpone filling I just kind of improvised.  I think it was about 3/4 cup seedless raspberry jam, melted, that I whipped up with a tub of softened mascarpone cheese.  That turned out pretty goopy, so I chilled it until it was firmer, and then I made some lightly sweetened whipped cream and folded them together.  Tada!  It could have used some lemon juice, but I didn’t have any lemons, so here we are.

The Swiss meringue buttercream was a new adventure for me.  I used Smitten Kitchen’s recipe on the recommendation of a friend, and it was really good.  The only change I made was I used salted butter instead of unsalted.  I liked it, and the people who  ate it liked it, but I think next time I would use half salted and half unsalted.  I like a little salt kick with my sweet, but this was just a little too salty.

The texture was really good.  It was thick and dense and held piping very well, but it was also really easy to spread thinly.  I was a little nervous that the recipe wasn’t going to make enough, but I managed to make a really thin crumb coat.  An hour in the fridge chilled it to a very firm state, which made the remaining frosting go on like a dream.  I even had some left over.  If I had filled the cake with the frosting, I might not have had quite enough, but I like a different filling anyway.

Here’s the frosting recipe for my records and anyone else who might be interested.

Swiss Buttercream (aka Swiss meringue buttercream), via Smitten Kitchen

1 cup granulated sugar
4 large egg whites
26 tablespoons unsalted butter (or half salted, half unsalted), softened — that’s 3 sticks + 2 tbsp
1 tsp vanilla

Over a pot of simmering water, whisk the egg whites and sugar in a metal bowl, being sure not to touch the bottom of the bowl to the water.  When the egg mixture has reached 160F and you can’t feel any sugar granules between your fingers, put it in the standing mixer and mix it with the whisk attachment until it has doubled in volume and has reached room temperature, about 10 minutes.  I actually needed to let mine sit for a few minutes to cool, because it was well-whipped and I was afraid of overbeating it.

Add the vanilla and mix it up, then add the butter, a few tablespoons at a time, until it’s all incorporated.  Put it on your cake.  It will be fine at room temperature for at least 24 hours.  Refrigerating it will make it really hard, so only do that for the crumb coat, and be sure to allow time for the cake to get back to room temperature before serving.

Note:  this is not a pure white frosting, due to the butter and the vanilla.  Clear vanilla would make a big difference, or you could use almond extract or another clear extract in place of vanilla.  It’s pretty white, but more of a natural white than a bleach white.

Last night, Tobin really, really wanted to “make a treat with sugar and stirring.”  It was exactly bedtime, so it wasn’t going to happen, but I promised him we could today.  I honestly didn’t feel like it after last week’s baking adventures (did you know that when you make a cake for a school cake walk, your children require that you make a cake for them, too?).  But I believe in keeping promises unless the promised-to conveniently forgets to ask again.  He didn’t forget.

We whipped this together out of stuff we had at home.  Orange/almond/chocolate is my current flavor combination true love, and since I’m the tallest one at home right now, I chose the specifics.  Tobin approved because it contains both sugar and stirring.

Orange/almond/chocolate mini cheesecakes

1/2 package chocolate Bunny Grahams
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) salted butter, melted
1 package (8 oz) neufchatel cheese or cream cheese, softened
1 egg
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 tsp almond extract
juice of 1 clementine

Preheat oven to 350F.

Crunch up the choco- bunnies in a food processor until they’re rendered coarse crumbs.  Add the melted butter and pulse to combine.  Press into the bottoms of the depressions in a 24 mini muffin tin.  I used this mini-tart smasher I have, and it was very convenient, but you could use your fingers, too.

Clean out the food processor, and add the cheese, egg, and sugar.  Combine until smooth.  Add whipping cream, almond extract, and clementine juice and blend a bit more.

Fill muffin cups almost to the top.  Bake for 15 minutes or until just barely set.  Cool completely before eating.

I invented dinner tonight.  I bought some chicken parts at the grocery store yesterday, mostly because I wanted to make Tobin’s favorite roasted broccoli and I thought the chicken would go well with it.  I didn’t think much about what I would do with it until today.  Here’s what I did.  Denny said I should blog it because it was good, and it increases the likelihood of having it again.

If my father had blogged in my growing-up years, we might have had more repeats.  Dad made a lot of inventions, and sometimes it was a little sad, because they were often very good and we never had them again.  Not exactly, anyway.

I had a whole bunch of clementines to use up, so that’s where I got the orange juice for this recipe.  You could substitute beverage-type orange juice.

Orange-Garlic Chicken

Marinade:

Juice of 6 clementines (about 3/4 cup) + enough water to make about 2 cups
1 clementine, sliced
3 cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed
2 tablespoons kosher salt
1 handful of cilantro, coarsely chopped (could also use parsley if you’re a cilantro-hater, but I’m a cilantro lover and I really liked what it brought to the dish)

3-4 pounds chicken parts, bone in and skin on

Glaze:
Juice of 3 clementines (or a generous 1/3 cup)
2 cloves of garlic, finely minced
a pinch of salt
pepper
1 tablespoon butter

Combine marinade ingredients in a gallon-sized ziplock bag.  Squish them around to dissolve the salt.  This would probably be easier if you use warm/hot water, but I didn’t.  Add chicken and squish it around so marinade is touching all of it.  Put the sealed bag in a big bowl in the refrigerator and leave for 6-8 hours (even overnight would probably be fine).  Flip the bag occasionally to make sure all the chicken has had equal access to marinade.

Preheat oven to 400F.

When you’re ready to cook the chicken, remove it from the marinade and dry it thoroughly.  Put in a rimmed baking sheet (I used a 9×13 and it was a little crowded, so I might use a bigger pan next time).  Roast for about 30 minutes.  While the chicken is cooking, make the glaze:  melt the butter in a small saucepan and saute the garlic until it softens up.  Add the juice, salt, and pepper, and boil until reduced to about 1/4 cup.

At 30 minutes, baste the chicken with the glaze.  Return to the oven and continue to cook until the light meat is 165F and the dark meat is 170F (about 45 minutes total cook time, in my case).  I basted it one more time after it came to temperature and broiled it for a minute or two to crisp up the skin.

This would also be good on the grill.

We were supposed to have these New Year’s Eve, and they would have been good with champagne, but things changed and we ended up having them New Year’s Day.  They were good then, too.

I know the amount of butter sounds insane, but I actually only used probably 1/4 or 1/3 of the sauce.  Next time I’ll halve the recipe and still have enough left for optional dipping.

Photo by Denny

Adapted just lightly from Damn Delicious.

2 lbs chicken wings
2 tbsp butter, melted
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp garlic powder
S&P, to taste

Preheat oven to 400F.  Coat the wings in the butter and oil, then sprinkle with the dry seasonings.  Arrange on a large cookie sheet covered in foil and parchment paper.  Cook for 25-30 minutes, flipping halfway through.  While they’re cooking, make the sauce.

Sauce:

5 tbsp butter
1 tbsp AP flour
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup Sriracha (rooster sauce)
1 tbsp soy sauce
juice of 1 lime

Once the wings are cooked, remove from oven and turn on the broiler.  Brush the wings with the sauce and make sure they’re all skin-side up.  Broil for just a a couple-three minutes, watching carefully, until they get a little crisped and charred but not burned.

—

These are less spicy than I expected, but really tasty.  Denny mentioned that the sauce would be good on other stuff, too, like grilled chicken or roasted vegetables.

Well, I’ve been neglecting this category, haven’t I?

Anyway, I have a new favorite thing.  I call it the “Going out somewhere nice is too much work with the kids, and we didn’t set up a babysitter or anything, but I still don’t feel like cooking an elaborate dinner, but let’s have something nice, okay?” dinner.  It’s vegetarian, which makes it healthy.  Yes.

• 1 round of brie
• 1 package of reduced fat crescent rolls in the can (I told you this was healthy)
• Club crackers
• sliced apples
• grapes
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 bottle dry white wine (we had this one, Angeline Sauvignon Blanc)

Preheat the oven to 350F.  Open up the crescent rolls into a big rectangle and wrap up the brie (leaving the rind on is okay).  Trim away any excess crescent roll dough.  Place it on a cookie sheet (either grease it a bit or put it on parchment paper).  Brush the brie with beaten egg.  Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.  Let it sit for 10 minutes before serving.  Serve with crackers, apples, grapes, and wine.

It is so easy.  It is a way to have a snacky dinner or late lunch and feel kind of indulgent without doing hardly any work.

This is a Rick Bayless recipe I found in this month’s Food and Wine and lightly adapted.  We had it with saffron rice, corn on the cob, and pinot grigio.

Shrimp in Garlic Mojo

Note:  Next time I’ll halve the mojo recipe.  This made much more than we needed.  It’s in the freezer now.  If the garlic oil was good and hot and I’m storing the leftovers in the freezer, I won’t get botulism, right?  Also, next time I’ll use 2 chipotles, because it could have used more spice.

1.5 cups extra virgin olive oil
cloves from 2 heads garlic, peeled and smashed
1/4 cup lime juice
1 chipotle pepper in adobo, seeded and minced
s&p

2 lbs shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails still on (I used half shrimp and half chicken for the shellfishaphobic in my life)
cilantro and lime wedges for garnish

Preheat oven to 325F.  In a small, oven-safe saucepan, combine olive oil, garlic, and a pinch of salt.  Place in oven and cook for about 30 minutes, or until just beginning to brown.  Add lime juice and cook for another 15 minutes until well-softened and golden.

Remove from oven and add chipotle pepper and a bit more salt and pepper, to taste.  Mash it all up until the solids are pretty much a paste.  Allow to cool slightly.

In a big skillet (I used cast iron; you may want nonstick if you don’t have a well-seasoned cast iron), add 2 tablespoons of the garlic oil.  Cook your protein until it’s done, then spoon more of the garlic mojo before serving, including plenty of the pulp.

Garnish with cilantro and lime wedges if desired.  Serve with more of the mojo for dipping/drizzling.

My friend Mandy inspired the BLT salads we had for dinner last night.

It was a nice, (relatively) light main dish salad that will be even better when we have garden tomatoes.  It was made of salad greens, halved grape tomatoes (independently seasoned with s&p), thinly-sliced red onion, roughly-chopped hot bacon, boiled eggs, homemade croutons, and sunflower seeds.

I think I’m going to make more entree salads this summer.  These croutons have been a revelation.  They’re so easy and an order of magnitude better than boxed croutons.

I’ve been trying some new things this week.

Monday:  Fajita quesadillas, a rip-off of something I like at a local restaurant.  I sauteed up some shrimp (for me) and chicken (for DC) in some latin rub seasoning, as well as a red bell pepper and an enormous onion, also with some of the latin seasoning.  I stuck the aforementioned into big tortillas with Mexican blend cheese (I think it was Monterrey Jack, asadero, and queso quesadilla), folded, and toasted them up.  I served them with salsa and sour cream.  Denny probably wanted guacamole, but his dream came false.

Tuesday:  Chicken Caesar salads, the chicken seasoned with cajun seasoning.  The salad was pretty pedestrian except for the croutons.  I  cubed up some “Italian peasant batard” (so Hy-Vee calls it) with butter, garlic powder, and salt, and crisped them up in the oven.  I thought I made way too much, yet somehow they all disappeared.

Wednesday:  Ribeye steaks with an exciting new broccoli treatment.  I was thinking about my old-favorite oven-roasted broccoli, but it’s warm today and I didn’t want to heat the oven up to 425F.  I found this pan-roasted broccoli, and it was really good, maybe even better.  I did change it a little–I couldn’t deal with that much butter, so I used about half the recommended amount plus a little glug of olive oil

The rest of the week is TBD.  I imagine there will be a scrounge night and a going-out night in there somewhere.

I haven’t posted in this category forever, I guess because I’ve mostly been rotating through old favorites and I figured I’d be duplicating.  But lately I’ve been feeling sort of in the mood for trying new things.  Maybe it’s the change of seasons.  Here’s what we’ve been eating:

Monday:

Linguine in lemon/garlic/butter/white wine with fresh gulf shrimp for me and chicken for Denny.

Tuesday:

Flank steak fajitas.  I love the spice rub blend from Cook’s Illustrated (unfortunately the site is subscription-only.  I have a cookbook I found it in.  It’s basically your warm spices:  cumin, cinnamon, cayenne, salt, crushed red pepper, that kind of thing).  I make big batches of it and keep it around for all kinds of Latin-inspired cooking.

Wednesday:

Asian lettuce wraps, inspired by this recipe, but instead I used ground pork and also added half a pound of finely-chopped mushrooms.

Thursday:

I think I’m going to roast some chicken thighs with zucchini, red bell pepper, onions, garlic, herbs, and pine nuts.

Friday:

Leftovers, duh.