Dinner Failure

Hey!  It happens to the the best of us.  Right?  Right! 

I am about to make peach cobbler for the first time.  Gotta do something to make up for the disaster of a dinner I made on this beautiful Indian Summer evening.  Plus I heart peach cobbler and have been dying for some.  Psyched that it's nice enough to grill out and that I got some great color yesterday but I more than ready for Autumn.  Love the fall and the cool crisp air.  Ahhhh. 

We had been looking forward to some grilled ribs since last week and I promised my dad-in-law some well deserved left overs.  To accompany them I sliced and diced a fresh garden salad with loads of feta because everything is betta with feta.  And I threw a couple of potatoes on the grill which were baked to perfection.  The main entree was looking really awesome.  Even the wee pieces I ripped off for the hubs and I to sample were scrumptious.  I was super excited.  All I knew was that two racks of ribs were about to be destroyed. 

After slobbering on some Sticky Fingers BBQ sauce and heating the ribs a bit longer, I was so hungry my mouth was watering.  The hubs chopped them up and we dug in.  DRY is an understatement.  The rub and sauce were delish but the meat tasted like cardboard.  FAIL.  After some discussion and choking down two more ribs, I deducted the problema.  The grill temperature was was too high and/or I cooked them about 1/2 hour too long.  So if you have been paying attention and read my dry rib rub recipe, decrease the cook time to an hour and fifteen minutes/half hour at 300 degrees.  MY B!

We were disappointed but at least the ribs were edible.  Combined with the sides, we both ate our fill.  I will stick to concocting the rubs and sauces and leave the rib grilling to the hubs.  Obv, it's not my thing.  We can't be fabulous all day, every day.  At least I have peach cobbler to look forward.  That is if the hubs ever brings home the sliced peaches.  Will let ya know! 

One of America's Fave Sangies!

In the midst of baking my first batch of banana bread from scratch, I was blessed with an unexpected guest.  After realizing that all purpose flour is definitely not the same as self rising flour via the interweb, I attempted to fix the mess I created and bake on.  Mi amiga arrived shortly after the second round of baking started. 

She commented on how awesome the sweet breads smelled baking in the oven and I explained my shortfalls with the whole baking thing.  We chatted for a while and caught up for a bit.  After some time the banana bread appeared to be ready.  My friend took off after our pleasant visit and I allowed the loaves to cool. 

The hubs was at work and I found myself starving all of a sudden.  I snacked on some left over meatballs that my mother had sent over which did not fill the void.  After a toasted Thomas' with peanut butter, I was still hungry.  Light bulb!

Wheat bread, LOL American cheese, butter, and thinly sliced tomato = the bomb diggity, aka grilled cheese with tomato.  Can you say freaking delish?  I can!!!  YUM!  So good and such a forgotten sandwich.  It is so tasty, ooey, gooey and delicious.  Yes.  It killed me to buy a tomato after all the beauties we grew this year in our garden but for the love of one of America's favorites, I did falter.  The only thing that was missing besides the chips which I had, was some piping hot tomato soup.  There is always a next time. 

Oh!  And if you missed my comment earlier on my Rozziefoodie Facebook page.  The banana bread turned out edible.  Way too much banana was added.  Nuff said. 

Food Highlights of the Weekend

So much food to blog about and so little time.  I have enjoyed various tasty treats over the past couple of weeks.  Here are some of my most recent.  Love food. 

Friday I made a delish beef stew in the crock and some yummy kielbasa (recipe previously posted) to snack on for an appetizer.  As a nice surprise one of my fabulous guests brought homemade guacamole and salsa, using lots of vegetables from her garden.  Both dishes were fresh and tasty and we got to keep the leftovers.  Word.  We also learned from the chef that if you leave one of the pits of the avocado in the dip, it will decrease the chances of the concoction turning brown.  And guess what?   It worked.  Useful!

The stew slow cooked for 8 hours making the meat literally melt in your mouth.  It was fantastic.  My recipe calls for potatoes, carrots, onions, fresh mushrooms, flour, salsa, stew beef, beef bouillon, Worcestershire sauce, Bisto, onion soup mix, salt, pepper, oregano, garlic powder, hot sauce, some basil, and water.  Slice, dice, and cut the veggies into good sized pieces and mix everything except the meat in the crock.  Place the stew beef on top, cover, and cook on low for eight hours.  Stir often.  As you know I tend not to measure ingredients.  So just use your judgement and add and subtract depending on the number of people you are cooking for.  Keep in mind one pound of stew beef mixed with the veggies is about 4 servings. 

The next day we ordered a late lunch to be delivered by Checkmate.  I wrote my review of this joint some weeks ago and as you know I likey.  The fried pastrami with American cheese and extra mushrooms  that I ordered and devoured was the bomb.  I would not feel right not mentioning how perfectly cooked and toasted my sub was.  Credit is due.  It was salty, crunch, cheesy.  Awesome!!  The rest of order was also very good. 

On Sunday, we ventured out to for some pizza, fries, salad, soup and beers at The Pleasant Cafe which I have mentioned in a previous blog.  We enjoyed our dinner at the bar. The service was a bit iffy, as the bartenders don't take food orders.  Bugs me every time.  Bizarre but whatevs.  After a bit of a wait we placed our orders and eagerly waited for our supper.  Per usual, the pizza and fries were soooo good.  The salads were fresh and the chicken and rice soup was super.  The place does creep me out at times but their food is always good and mostly reliable.  If you grew up in or around Roslindale, you KNOW The Pleasant and you either love it or hate it.  We love it. 

We ended our extended weekend with a late breakfast on Monday at the Spring Street Cafe.  As always, everything we ordered was fantaBulous!  From the coffee to the crispy bacon to my fluffy pancakes, I was more than satisfied.  The only negative of our visit was that they had just run out of the blood sausage that is included in the hubs' Irish Breakfast.  They made up for it with extra bangers.  We will forgive them this time.  Ha!

Last Friday of the Month-Recipe Friday

Buffalo Chicken Dip

8 ounce cream cheese softened
1 can (10 ounces) of chicken
1/2 cup of blue cheese dressing or ranch dressing
1/2 cup of buffalo wing sauce (I like Cholula original hot sauce)
2 cups (8 ounces) of shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Spread cream cheese into a shallow baking dish. Layer with chicken, buffalo wing sauce, and dressing.  Sprinkle with cheese.  Bake uncovered, at 350° for 25 minutes or until cheese is melted. Serve with tortilla chips and celery sticks.  YUMMO! 

This recipe was borrowed from the BFF and I mixed it up a bit.  If you haven't already tried this spectacular dip, you are totally missing out.  It is such a crowd please, you may want to make a double batch.  For realz.  Enjoy! 

The Deli

Yesterday, I decided to go on a huge cleaning and organizing spree for no good reason.  Once I started I could not stop.  My focus of the evening was the kitchen/pantry and the zillion gadgets, appliances, and other crap that we have managed to stock up on over the years.  It felt great to clean and put things in their proper place.  Ahhhh!.

My last task of the evening was to take stock of our fridge and freezer.  After viewing the Rochie's flyer, I printed up my list of well needed items to purchase.  I ventured out for the supermarket mid-morning thinking that the place wouldn't be a total nightmare on a Monday.  Well, I was wrong.  There weren't many people shopping.  Just the ones who think they are the only people on this earth.  Clueless is putting it lightly.  Ugh.

For the first time and against my better judgement, I decided to order the pre-sliced meats and cheese at the deli.  The whole time I was standing at the counter I was thinking to myself...why are you doing this?  You know you only like thinly sliced, fresh deli items.  My order consisted of some thin and trim ham (on sale of course), American cheese, and salami.  All pre-sliced.  Yes it was quick but I was nervous.  I grabbed some fresh Scali bread to make sandwiches with and cruised the store for the rest of my food.  After the obstacle course of people and grocery carts, my cart was FULL. 

My hubs and dad-in-law were busy working on our front porch when I arrived home.  After emptying the bundles and putting things in order, we sat down for lunch.  I will admit it this time.  I was wrong. The pre-sliced ham, salami, and cheese was fresh and tasty.  The slices of ham and salami were thinly sliced but the cheese was way too thick.  Two out of three ain't bad.  So there you go.  Pre-sliced!  You be the judge. 

Food: In and Around Golden Pond

Long time, no blog!  While living the large life, I have totally neglected all of you fabulous people.  Thank you again so much for reading MY version of life.  I really appreciate all of your feedback and support.  It's really cool. 

The past couple of weeks have been CRAZY busy but tons o' fun.  Since my last entry I have enjoyed a freaking delish dinner at Delfino's with great friends, a fantastic concert at Fenway with some cool peeps, a refreshing holiday in New Hampshire with the hubs, and a very nice bbq with old friends from high school.  And last but certainly not least.  My bff had a bouncing baby girl.  My god baby has arrived!!!!  And she sure is precious.  I am in love!

Last week, the hubs, my pup, and I stayed in the cutest little cottage at Cottage Place on Squam Lake in Holderness, NH.  The movie, 'On Golden Pond' was filmed on the very same lake.  The wee house number four that we chose was quaint and at the same time a bit rustic.  The furniture, lamps, bedding, and pictures didn't come anywhere close to matching.  There was dog fur all over the couches.  I had to wash down and disinfect the tables and counters and baby ants attacked and took refuge in my dozen of Hostess donuts.  I was only two deep into the box so I was really bummed.  But no worries, our view of Squam Lake and the mountains and the overall awesomeness of New Hampshire in general made up for my issues with our accommodations.  We will definitely be going back and I totally recommend the place. 

Now!  Onto what matters most.  The food.  Of course we brought up cold cuts, breakfast items, and TONS of junk food.  Well.  That is what vacation is all about.  Relaxing, eating and drinking.  Am I right or am I right?   We were lucky to have a great week as far as the weather was concerned which was great.  We hung out at the lake almost every day.  It was the bomb. 

One of the first nights, we decided on take-out from Village Pizza.  They made me the best toasted eggplant Parmesan sub I have eaten in a long time.  The sauce was tasty, just enough cheese, the eggplant was fresh and lightly fried.  I loved it so much I made sure to get another one before we left.  YUM!  Their other food was pretty good, too.  I can vouch for the steak and cheese subs and the salads. 

Another day for a late lunch, after a ride back from Laconia, we popped into this dive joint called The Mug Restaurant.  It has a bar on one side and a restaurant area with a pool room off of it on the other.  We enjoyed some yummy wing dings for an appetizer paired with some Bud Lights.  And for lunch we devoured a couple of juicy cheeseburgers and fries.  They were huge and cooked to my liking and piled with fresh lettuce, tomato slices and raw onions and served on a good sized bun.  For dessert, because we always have to have dessert, we shared a spectacular piece of fried dough with loads of powdered sugar and cinnamon.  Finger licking deliciousness.  So good, we returned another evening for some more fried dough, Bud Lights, and some monkey bread.  Can you say scrumptious?  OMG!  I had never sampled monkey bread before and served with vanilla ice cream-yummo.  To say the least, I was more than pleased.

Our trip was fabulous and my foodie adventures were a great success.  Per usual.  We did try some other places but I won't overload you all with the savory stories just yet.  Until we meet again.  Peace!

Putting a Thomas' English Muffin to Good Use

Everybody loves a Thomas' English Muffin.  The nooks and crannies hold all the awesomeness for us to enjoy.  Put some butter and raspberry jam or some peanut butter or maybe even some cream cheese on a toasted one and you are good to go.  MMM.

When the hubs is at work, I don't cook.  I am not going to prepare a huge, fabulous dinner for just lil' old me.  So I basically scavenge the house for something appealing and very simple to whip up.  After surveying my fridge and inhaling a Hershey's chocolate bar from the freezer, I came up with the best idea evah.  English muffin pizza!!

For those of you who have no idea what I am talking about, you are totally missing out on one of mine and many other's favorite childhood memory related to food.  You simply take an English muffin and cut it in half.  Spoon on a light layer of your favorite tomato sauce, sprinkle some garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper on the top.  Throw on some shredded cheese (usually mozzarella) or you could go old school and quarter up some American cheese slices and slap them on.  Bake in toaster oven at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes or until the cheese gets bubbly. 

You can add and subtract the spices and sauces.  I would have added some chopped onions and/or peppers if I wasn't too lazy to cut them up.  Pepperoni is a great topping and so is thinly sliced sausages.  The mini delights can be enjoyed by people with all different tastes because you can make it to your liking.  And everyone can make their very own.  Great activity for kids, too.  So easy and delish and strangely filling.  YUM!