Yes, I am still alive. I've been busy with the outdoor stuff and when I come in, I am not in the mood to cook anything but simple standbys. Sunday, my friend , Sandy and I are going to Kingsdale Giant Eagle in Columbus to see Alex Guarnaschelli from the Food Channel. So I had to get her book and make something from it (plus it was cheaper on line than it would be there). It is titled
, Old School Comfort Food. The way I learned to Cook. This book is very refreshing. The introduction gives you insight to where she comes from and how it influenced her cooking.
The book stars out with snacks. Some are simple such as a English muffin with tomato slices and cheddar ( not inspirational but kind of a sign that says, Hey, it is okay to make something simple as long as you enjoy it). She also had some others that I am more than willing to try such as pickled grapes with prosciutto and baked clams with bacon.
The salad section has some really interesting recipes. I would estimate that out of the ten recipes I would make eight of them. Marinated asparagus spears, baked potato salad are among them.
The meat section varies from beef meatballs and sauce with rigatoni to bacon wrapped pork chops with apple and Brussels sprouts.
Poultry was not quite as interesting as the meat. I think I will try the brined and roasted whole chicken and Cornish hens on the grill.
When you live in the heartland of the country fresh seafood is not something you can always get at the local grocery. But I think mussels with white mushrooms and hazelnuts and scallop gratin with scallions is on my to do list.
The veggie section is always my favorite The roasted Brussels sprouts and the mashed potato "Chantilly" read and look mouth watering.
And then there is dessert. I never met a dessert that I did not like and I am sure that these are all test worthy. MMMMMMMMMMMMmmmmmmmmmmmm!
No, that is not the end. Alex gives us a section titled, Sunday Brunch Dishes from my mom's pantry to yours. This really is a great section. When you have those unexpected guest or know someone is coming over but you are not sure when, then this is a really go to section.
Her last section is a titled, made it from scratch for the fridge door. Now when you run out of an item and the store doesn't carry it , you can make it. Easy pickles, barbecue sauce, homemade ricotta and more.Throughout this book, Alex gives us glimpses of what makes her the chef that she is.
I had to look around to see what I had to make one of Alex's recipe. Ta da! Beef Meatballs and sauce with rigatoni. Only I used whole grain spaghetti. Sorry Alex but
I just did no want to make the
trip into town for rigatoni. The consensus was that the favor was phenomenal but it needed to be a thicker sauce. They are just use to that thick Mids sauce. It was voted as a make again. Really worth the effort!
You can get this recipe at foodtv.com and type in the name of the recipe. There are many of the recipes from this book in Alex's top 100 recipe. Enjoy!!
