Break out the grill

On Sunday, we decided to grill some chicken. I have a recipe for a soy sauce based marinade that my kids call "Dad's Secret Recipe". The truth is I made up the marinade using several ingredients in the fridge.

The basic recipe is soy sauce (I use Kikkoman), cooking sherry, garlic, and fresh ginger. I add a couple of other ingredients that are my secret. But, it's worth trying the base and creatively adding your own secret ingredients.

I marinade the chicken for an hour or two before it goes on the grill.

Happy Easter

The sun was bright this morning - a perfect day for Easter.

We went to church in the morning and got ready for an Easter dinner at home. My wife's mother always made ham for Easter. And, we have followed that tradition.


I like scalloped potatoes with ham. It takes time to make them but nothing tastes better to me.

My wife was worried that they were too "cheesy". But, from my point of view, it is impossible to make scalloped potatoes "too cheesy".

Happy Valentine's Day

Last night, we went to a dinner party at a friend's house. They have a long standing family tradition of celebrating Valentine's Day with a lovely dinner.

But, 2 of their 3 children are grown up and out of the house. So, they invited several couples over to share their tradition.


I really liked this creative vegetable heart dish. At first glance, it reminded me of sushi.

The main dish, Beef Bourguignonne, was amazing. The meat was tender and flavorful; the broth was perfect.


I barely had room for my wife's dessert.

Snow storms and baking

More snow this weekend. I stoked up the fire in the wood burning stove; my wife decided to bake.

Not wanting to go to the store, she looked around the kitchen to see what was lying around. We had bananas that were getting over-ripe and cranberries left over from Christmas.


The bananas became chocolate chip banana bread. The cranberries became muffins. Needless to say, I've been snacking on baked goods all afternoon.

Tempura - New England Style

In an attempt to celebrate New Years, we decided to make a Japanese dinner at home. I know that Tempura isn't really a traditional New Years dish, but it is something that our whole family enjoys.

The dish is made by frying seafood and vegetables in a very light batter.

Batter (Koromo)

• 1 egg
• 1 cup very cold water
• 1 cup flour
• 2 Tablespoons white wine

It works better if the batter stays chilled. So we always place the batter bowl in another bowl filled with ice.

Dipping Sauce

• 1 tablespoon dashi no moto in 1 cup of water, boiled for two to three minutes
• 2 tablespoons mirin. Or you can use 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 tablespoons white wine
• 1/4 cup soy sauce

I like to add grated daikon radish to the dipping sauce.

We use our wok for frying and serve with Japanese rice.

Moqueca in New York

We are visiting some good friends of ours who live outside of New York City. We met them when we were young married couples in New York and before we had our children.

These friends lived in Brazil for several years and learned how to make Moqueca - a dish they made for us tonight. It is a type of seafood stew with a great combination of flavors - lime, cilantro, coconut milk, and peppers.

It is served with rice and is one of the best meals we've had.

Bûche de Noël

One of our Christmas Eve traditions is to make a Bûche de Noël. And every year, we are amazed at how many eggs we use. The recipe calls for two dozen eggs and four kinds of chocolate.


Some of the eggs are for the merengue mushrooms which are made by piping the tops and the stems and drying them in an oven. Melted semi-sweet chocolate is used to attach the pieces. And it makes them look quite realistic.


There are more eggs in the sponge cake and egg whites in the butter cream icing. My wife reminds me every year that this dessert is actually several recipes.

But, it sure is a great dessert at the end of our Christmas Eve meal.

Fruitcake Cookies

My wife's grandmother has a secret Christmas Cookie recipe. She got it from someone in her town in West Virginia many, many years ago. She was sworn to secrecy.

After decades, she told her daughter (my wife's mother), and finally my wife. They are a Christmas treat that I look forward to every year. My wife makes them now and sends a tin to her grandmother.

I've watched her make them, but I'll never tell what's in the recipe.

English Butter Toffee

Let the Christmas treats begin...

After the Thanksgiving feast last week, I have been thinking it would be good to eat in moderation for a little while.

But, last night, my daughter announced that it was time to make some kind of Christmas treat. She convinced my wife that we needed English Butter Toffee.

So much for my thought about eating in moderation. I can't resist Toffee.

Pumpkin Pie

My wife makes the best pies.

I like almost any kind of pie, but they have to be seasonal. I like berry, cherry, and banana pies in summer. At Christmas, I like a pecan pie. But, this time of year, I really crave pumpkin pie.

I like to eat it for dessert; I like to eat it for breakfast. I would eat it here or there. I would eat it anywhere.

On Sunday, when my wife offered to make pumpkin pie, I couldn't say no. She made two pies, and they were great.

Got Tomatoes?

I picked up our weekly bounty from the vegetable co-op and looked at the tomatoes. With more cherry tomatoes than we could eat in a salad, I decided it was time to make salsa.

Homemade salsa is actually quite easy to make. And if you have lots of tomatoes from a garden, now is the time to try to make your perfect salsa.

Perfect Salsa

Put the following ingredients in a blender in this order:

1/4 diced sweet onion
Cherry Tomatoes cut in half (enough to fill 3/4 of the blender)
1 Jalapeno pepper diced with seeds removed
1/4 cup fresh cilantro
Juice from 1 lime
Dash of salt

Pulse the blender a few times until the ingredients are combined but not pulverized.

Get your favorite type of tortilla chips and enjoy!

Happy Father's Day

Since I posted on Mother's Day, I thought I ought to put something up for Father's Day.

I'm lucky. My wife made one of my absolute favorite desserts, Creme Caramel. I love it and (even better for me) she doesn't. This simple fact means that I get more than I can eat, and I know she makes it for me.

A few years ago, she got a book called The Best Recipe by the people who write Cooks Illustrated. She uses the recipe from that book, and it is amazing. I think hers is as beautiful as the one on the cover of the book.

Spicy Shrimp Linguine

With the chives growing vigorously in the yard, I needed another use for them. So, I decided to make an easy pasta dish.

Boil 1 lb linguine in salted water.

Sauce/Marinade:

Juice from 1 lime
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
2 teaspoons Worcestershire Sauce
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried basil

Combine and set aside.

Peel 1 lb medium shrimp (raw) and add to marinade.

Dice a yellow and a red pepper. Cut several cherry tomatoes in half. Cut a handful of chives into 1/2 inch lengths.

Combine shrimp, vegetables and marinade and cook over medium heat in a large frying pan until shrimp is pink.

Toss with the pasta.

This dish is even better chilled the next day.

Herb Marinade

When summer comes, I head outdoors to grill. I like to grow several kinds of herbs to use in cooking. For my marinade, I wander around the yard and pick whatever looks good.

Grilled Chicken Kebab Marinade

• 1/2 cup Olive Oil
• 4 Cloves Garlic (I use a garlic press)
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1/3 cup Garden Herbs (I used chives, mint, oregano, and lemon balm)

Combine all the above and marinade chicken for several hours.

Grill over medium heat.

Mother's Day

The past few years, I've been making crepes on Saturdays. So, it made sense to make them for my wife for Mother's Day.

I have tried making them with various pans, but nothing worked exactly the way I liked. Getting a nice round shape with the proper thickness was difficult.

Finally, my wife got me a Le Creuset crepe pan. The combination of that pan and the little wooden tool to spread the batter evenly made all the difference.

My preference is for a cheese crepe - gruyere with salt and pepper. But my wife is more of a Nutella fan. So, I made Nutella with strawberries for her. Happy Mother's Day!

Crepes
4 eggs
3 Cups Milk
2 Tablespoons Cooking Oil

Beat wet ingredients and add

1/2 Teaspoon Salt
2 Cups Flour