Month: January 2015

Broken Dishwasher and Delayed Genius Moment

This may be the only new thing I get around to today, but I had a stroke of genius about dealing with the family’s glassware issues. Wooden clothes pins clipped to the glasses sitting on the counter. I can just hear Wile E. Coyote’s voice in my head whispering “Genius, sheer genius!” Then I think that it is pretty sad how it took me TWO WEEKS to come up with this idea, and Wile E. quiets down. The dishwasher has been out of commission for more than two weeks. I don’t recommend a Samsung. Now, I’m thankful for the family; I’m grateful for the dirty dishes indicating our ability to feed the family; I’m blessed to have both my parents and both in-laws as part of our life… I just wish we could keep track of whose glass belongs to whom! Last weekend saw my parents here, next weekend we have them and the mom-in-law, the following weekend will be the in-laws. Let’s just say we are thirsty people around here (checks the tequila supply and wonders if we need more Cabernets, too)

I think I’m gonna break out the red solo cups…

But, I digress. It is Teacher Appreciation Day tomorrow and I have a couple dozen Cinnabon Knock-Offs to bake- here’s last year’s photo of my table:

Teacher Appreciation Day- The Aftermath...
Teacher Appreciation Day-
The Aftermath…

Want the recipe? I bought the book “Top Secret Recipes” by Todd Wilbur, it is in there, and all over the intertoobz:

http://www.topsecretrecipes.com/Cinnabon-Cinnamon-Rolls-Copycat-Recipe.html

I think you have to purchase this recipe; it will set you back a whopping 79 cents…

Wile E. says “Now go do something smart!”

Wileecoyote2

New Menu Monday- A Twofer! Bratwurst AND Enchiladas are discussed…

My mom-in-law and her golf buddy made sauerkraut recently and we scored two jars of it. Normally, she shares prepped nopales (cactus), Mexican oregano or tamales that someone in the family has made… sauerkraut is quite a different treat. My dad was excited to get a jar, too, and is looking into the steps to make his own- I predict he will abandon the project when he sees how many steps it takes to ensure well made sauerkraut. Ha.

We made enchiladas one time, and Phyllis let me snap this photo and share her recipe on Pinterest. I honestly don’t care for enchiladas any way or anywhere else now, these are unequalled:

Phyllis showing me how to make the best enchiladas. Click photo or link for recipe...
Phyllis teaching Enchiladas 101. Click photo or link for recipe…

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/18155204717714396/

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Left- our usual Bratwurst and corn on the cob dinner Right- Brats with kraut and potato salad

Grilled Bratwurst Dinner in our home usually will have corn on the cob, a seasonal fruit and some other vegetable… yum! It is simple, but great eats, I tell you. However, I was so glad that I (finally) tried braising the brats in the sauerkraut and beer after grilling them for about ten minutes. The potato salad was fab, too, with its big chunks of Kosher dills and the right amount of a spicy brown mustard put out by Sierra Nevada brewery. You can check out the mustard here:

http://www.amazon.com/Sierra-Nevada-Porter-Spicy-Mustard/dp/B000R1RQCW

Every time I make potato salad it turns out differently- does that happen to anyone else?

Once again, I am sure that my son will be accusing me of trying to kill him by making him try sauerkraut. The fact that his gramma made it will give me some pull, at least. I’m surprised he was able to survive last night’s Cajun Night as it is.

It’s Cajun Food Night!

Isn’t that a beautiful painting for this post? Titled “Decatur Evening, it is by Artist Dianne Parks- http://dianneparksgallery.com/

My daughter doesn’t cook, but somehow she lucked out- her boyfriend does! Even better, we got included in this round of Cajun Night at his family’s home. Woo hoo! My exposure to Cajun is extremely limited, and what I’ve had I have not liked. I’m glad to say that I have now enjoyed a couple of dishes that I would LOVE to have again.
So what wine goes with jambalaya and crawfish étouffée? The adults need something to drink, after all. We skipped the suggested beers that populated the online searches and brought a Viognier to share. Should have bought the Zinfandel, too… Tonight’s bonus- the Hanger 24 stout we had before dinner.

I am so very glad that we were able to have dinner together despite how late we kept all the kids up on a school night. We may be bad parents, but at least I found out that I like crawfish! It’s all good. You know what will be fun? Reading this post tomorrow morning after all the wine and stout have worn off. Yep, it’s all good!

Cajun food and a really great Viognier... gotta post the name of the wine.
Cajun food and a really great Viognier… gotta post the name of the wine.

January Theater with The Mom- Pirates of Penzance

Last year my mom and I decided that since we enjoy theater so much, we should try and see a play at least once a month… grand total that we made it to? Zip. We didn’t make a single one outside of my teen’s high school productions. This year we are determined to hit 12 shows, dammit!

Tonight the family saw a youth theater production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s Pirates of Penzance, yea! We brought grandparents, teens and a spare boyfriend- I tell you, I’m going to commit to getting out to do these new activities once a month and invite as many people to come along so they hold me to it!

This show was FABULOUS! We hope to see more productions by the J*Company Youth Theater at the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center this season. “Annie” is up next this March, followed by “West Side Story” in May, and both will undoubtedly be fine shows.

Downtown Sushi…

We had a few hours to kill while waiting to pick up the son from an event downtown and tried a new-to-us sushi spot-

Sushi Deli 2 http://www.sushideliusa.net/

Those were some great prices on noodles, appetizers and sushi, and the winner was the Yakisoba. Lots of vegetables cooked just right, great flavor to the sauce and good chicken, too. I’d pass on the Udon soup there, the tempura was good with it, as was the broth, but I think the noodles were prepared ahead of time and just reheated in the broth… that might explain the low price. Good overall, but for the noodles. Sushi Deli seems to be known for its specialty rolls, and they did look great as the servers brought them to other tables.

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Sushi Stop 2 Potstickers; Assorted Nigiri; Chicken Yakisoba and Tempura Udon

I wouldn’t go again, but neither would I discourage someone from going there. You sure can’t beat the price, and the atmosphere was pumped.