Tag: cooking and eating

What J Brought Over for Dinner Tuesday

Going back to school has been an adjustment.   The weather changed and is cool and damp.  Donned a sweatshirt and even put the hood up (thanks Laura for leaving your Marquette hoodie in the drawer)  Tonight my friend  brought over a pot of Marcella Hazan’s Spaghetti Meat Sauce.   Carrots and onions, some wine, cream, fresh tomatoes (I will have to ask for the specific recipe if anyone would like it)  Steve brought some salad and a crusty loaf of Italian. J brought the cheese to grate over the pasta.  The pasta was the thickest I had ever seen and just delicious.  It went well with the thick meaty sauce.  We had a nice meal together and good conversation, some laughs and though I was tired from teaching, the dinner  was satisfying and appreciated.  A real spirit lifter! Thanks J!

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Fourth of July Dessert

Last Tuesday I went to see my friend V. This is what she served me! Blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries on top of vanilla bean ice cream presented on a blue and white china plate. A perfect Fourth of July dessert. The summer berries combined with the rich creamy ice cream were delicious. I wanted to lick the plate. I knew it wold be a good post as soon as I saw her serve it. Good thing I brought my camera.

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Minestrone Ingredients Still Life

One time Laura sent me tips on how to photograph food. I should have read it more carefully. It is not easy to make it look tasty and inviting. I am at a point in my life where I lay out all the ingredients for a recipe before I start making it. You want to know you aren’t missing something crucial. The phone rings, you’re listening to the radio, you lose count. At least with it all spread out and ready you can doublecheck you added everything. Today was soup making day. I made a double batch but did each one in a single soup pot as I never think doubling in one pot works the best. The key to this Best Recipe is the addition of the Parmigiano Cheese Rind to boil up with the vegetables. It really makes the broth delicious. This recipe is total veg and I don’t add the pasta in the soup pot as it soaks up all the liquid. You can make ditalini and put it in the soup bowl and ladle the hot soup on top. I followed the recipe to the letter, slicing the leeks just so. And there is no such thing as inexpensive Parmesan. I cut the rind in half. The cannellini beans go in the last 5 minutes and I used canned. The recipe is from The Best Recipe cookbook(1999 edition) by the Editors of the Cooks Illustrated Magazine (page 28) or click here for their recipe for Hearty Minestrone. There are charts of other vegetables to use but broccoli is considered too strong for the soup and overpowering. And the reason it is called the Best Recipe is because they test all the recipes for a single dish and make it 100 different ways- with vegetable broth, chicken broth and the water with the wonderful soup rind- and they describe the pros and cons of each method and or addition. It’s good reading, about how and why they conclude they have found the BEST recipe! And I see there is a NEW Best Recipe out now. Yum!

Went to the Giant Eagle early this morning
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BLT Essential Ingredients from Local Bryant Street Market

I enjoy shopping in a smaller market. A place that isn’t an airplane hangar or cluttered with patio furniture and piles of stuff at the ends of the aisles. Just down the hill is a reopened market on Bryant Street, cleaned up and offering La Prima coffee to grind, a delicatessen case filled with all sorts of meats, cheeses and salads. Sandwiches to go. Enrico’s Biscotti. In the freezer they have Donatelli’s Italian Ravioli-mushroom, artichoke, roasted red pepper and traditional cheese. They sell Allegro Hearth Bread, fresh produce and Turner dairy items, Bob’s Red Mill grain products, spices and Chuckles . They’ve extended their hours and will deliver to your home. After my appointment I stopped in to get lunch ingredients as a friend was coming over to eat. BLT on T shouts summer to me!

Shopping list- Vine ripened tomatoes, sliced with serrated knife

Head of garden lettuce, washed and patted dry

Boar’s Head bacon slices, cooked in cast iron skillet and drained on paper towels

Hellmann’s mayo, in a glass jar

Allegro Hearth Bread, toasted in the fancy toaster V gave me for my 50th bday

Potato chips

Tahitian Vanilla Gelato, for dessert

Front porch, to sit out and eat

A summer day

A friend to share the meal.

Bryant Street Market
5901 Bryant Street
Pittsburgh PA 15206
Phone: (412) 661 8720
Hours: Mon-Fri 8 AM to 8 PM
Sat 9 AM to 7 PM
Sun 9AM to 5PM
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Sunseri Trattoria and Bakery in the Strip District

Just last week a guy came in Sunseri’s and ordered five sandwiches to go, double wrapped.  He was flying them to California. One for him to eat and the rest for his family.  Wednesday  I was driving by after my appointment and was headed out to see M and her Mom in the hospital and picked up a couple of sandwiches. Ashley the cashier asked me how my visit was with the grandchildren last Friday!  Good memory.  I was buying Italian animal crackers last time and a Tuna Balsamic with chopped onion.  Jimmy gives me a hard time with that order.  Not his favorite thing to make.  The Employee of the Month photo is framed on the wall- It’s Jimmy with cigar. Sunseri’s started in August 1985 and is a favorite destination for lunch.  Check out the size of their pepperoni sticks and the cheeses and olives for sale.  The single loaf is onion/olive oil bread.  Fresh baked loaves of Italian bread

Ashley Sunseri Cashier

lasagne

Pepperoni Sticks

1901 Penn Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15222-4450
(412) 255-1100

by Categories: Cooking and Eating, Pittsburgh PhotosTags: , , , , , , 11 Comments

Quesada from Spain

My next door neighbor’s parents are visiting from Spain. They brought a Quesada wrapped in a cool paper that listed all the ingredients.. It is a dessert that has a bit of lemon peel in it. Dense and delicious. I was invited to have a piece. Butter, eggs, sugar, flour, lemon zest, a pinch of cinnamon. Tastes reminiscent of a simple custard of childhood but different texture. It is made like this so it could be carried in a knapsack and last a long time, not spoil. Here is a photo of it.Quesada from Spain

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Chocolate Layer Cake on a Cakestand or Vanilla with Vanilla 1-2-3-4 Cake?

Continuing with the comfort food theme,  Arleen McC made this delicious cake when I visited in the fall.  It was so lovely and rich.  Here is a double chocolate cake recipe by Ina Garten.  So think about cakes ( I know MMM, you prefer pie and Rob B what about you, certified pie taster?) but what is your  basic cake preference?

Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Frosting?

Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Frosting?chocolate-layer-cake-on-cakestand

Vanilla Cake with Chocolate Frosting?

Vanilla Cake with Vanilla Frosting?

Granted we know there are Martha Washington and Hummingbird cakes, Pound cakes and cheesecakes and Orange or Lemon, Almond and Spice, Marble and Boston Creme Pie……Today I am thinking basic combinations.

And Mark your birthday is coming up and  I know that Angel Food Cake is your first choice. No icing.  You didn’t even like the frosting when you were one!

Cupcakes are all the rage in a lot of places these days but my sister says the amount of frosting is disproportionate to the amount of cake which is the part she likes to eat. We have all seen kids at birthday parties eat all the frosting and leave the cake part untouched or vice versa. There are lines around the block like waiting for tickets to a rockstar concert at Magnolia’s in Greenwich Village on Bleecker Street.

Just last week Laura baked a classic1-2-3-4 cake with vanilla icing for her Mom-in-Law 2B and it was well received. Here is a link to an article explaining why cooking.com is no longer able to be found on the web.  

I was informed that my link to the 1-2-3-4 cake recipe was broken ,  I think it is fixed now but too bad about cooking.com.

Ruth E Hendricks to bcc: anneaiello, bcc: Madalon, bcc: Aida, bcc: Allison, bcc: Tess, bcc: Roberta, bcc: Joanne, bcc: Yvette, bcc: Bernadette, bcc: bonnie.imhoff, bcc: Erin, bcc: Suzanne, bcc: Carole, bcc: Mary, bcc: pking13, bcc: connie300, bcc: karin, bcc: Laura, bcc: Donna, bcc: davidandcarolee, bcc: Lara, bcc: ericawells, bcc: Erika, bcc: Linda, bcc: Kristin, bcc: Sarah
show details May 21 (3 days ago)

Finish the meal–
wait a bit.
Not many folks
keep a layer cake on hand.
It is usually a special occasion.
I like to serve dessert
on my grandmother’s glass plates.
The addition of fresh berries
and or ice cream can’t hurt!

Vanilla cake with vanilla icing. Classic Birthday 1-2-3-4 cake.

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Platter of Asparagus

Favorite Spring vegetable. Next I’ll be thinking about rhubarb.

20110501-123527.jpg

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Four Fruits for Brunch

Shot this with my Canon 50D and 24-70mm EL series lens. Didn't think the iPhone could do it justice.

Mary and I were entertained for a delicious brunch where this fruit was served (with a side of pancakes and bacon) but doesn’t this look healthy?Seeds or seedless,

skins or peel?
Raspberries are my favorite.
Poached pears, a baked apple.
Fruit cup, fruit cake, dried fruit,
fruit bowl. fruit salad.
Fruit of the vine. Fruit tree.
Fruit roll-up, fruit tart.
Fruit Loops? Fruit flies.
Fruit.  Just plain fruit.

p.s.  If you want to vote on Keep or Pitch and see Cinderella,  click here.

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My Sister’s NYC Kitchen- 20 for Dinner? No problem!

Think boat or galley! She lights the stove, strikes a wooden match.A writing book exercise-describe your first kitchen.Eat-in kitchen, heart of the home.People used to decorate with a theme.Trivets, salt & peppers to match,tea towels and canisters. A pantry.Formica counters, linoleum floors, upgradewith a roll of no-wax Congoleum.Ceramic tile squares. A single or a double sink.Now it’s granite and stainlessa glass doored fridge. Fancy lightsspotlight what’s cooking.Some people order take-out. Grab a bite, on the fly.
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