What's for dinner?

chicken marbella - one of my favorites

When my kids were younger, the first thing they would ask me, as they jumped off the school bus and ran up the walk, was... "what's for dinner?" School lunches and brown-bagging it was not up to their standards, and a long, hard day at school meant hungry tummies. In an attempt to have a little fun with them, my typical response would be, "Pork chops and applesauce, isn't that swell?", a line right from the Brady Bunch Show and spoken in a Humphrey Bogart accent, which only served to annoy them. "Seriously Mum, what's for dinner?" It's nice to know that they have enjoyed my cooking, because if they didn't, it would be a drag.

roasted onion, fig and squash salad 

braised short ribs with parsnips - favorite

roasted chicken with potatoes and olives

I've been thinking a lot about cooking lately, as I have been without a kitchen since the beginning of December. The holidays were "interesting" in regards to meals, and working from a mock kitchen leaves much to be desired. The worst part was the lack of homemade Christmas cookies this year, and although my best friend was kind enough to offer up her kitchen in the name of peppermint chocolate chip meringues, the break from cooking was beginning to grow on me. A mini-getaway to the Mt. Washington Hotel proved to be the perfect respite from all the kitchen construction.

bolognese lasagna

My family and I visited some friends over the holidays and were treated to a home cooked meal of bolognese lasagna, straight out of Bon Appetit. I can't even begin to tell you how much we appreciated it, and savored every morsel. Their daughter Emma was the head chef for the night, and even went to the trouble of making the lasagna noodles from scratch. I will definitely make this dish, and I can almost visualize it happening right now. I may wimp-out and choose to buy my pasta noodles, but maybe not??

weeknight porchetta 

When I think about what I might be cooking, if I could, my mouth waters. My visits to Pinterest will have to do, for now. The best news is that the countertops and appliances are due to be installed next week, and the cabinet hardware is going on today, which means that I should be back in business really soon. Whoopie...pies, oh I should make those too!

choco-hoto-pots - family favorite

lemon thyme bars 

mixed berry pavlova

I wanted to share some of my favorite recipes, and some others that I would like to try. Visit my Pinterest board  Yummy to see more.

Good Ole Home Cookin'

Cardamom Chicken Curry

I "like" to cook. Well, I think it would be safe to say that I used to really love it, but after 23 years of being the head chef around these parts, I find myself slightly lacking in the enthusiasm department. And when the weekend finally arrives, I'm more than happy to take a break, and to have a glass of wine. What day is it?

Seared Soy-Sesame Arctic Char

With all that said, I take great pride in preparing nice meals for my family, and enjoy the rewards of all my efforts. Being raised by women-who-cook-from-scratch, the bar was set pretty high for me and my sisters. My Gigi (my Mom's mom) was a fabulous cook, and in the process of raising five children during the 40's, 50's, and 60's, she did her share of preparing meals. Homemade desserts every night, imagine that? And I mustn't forget to mention my Grammy Spillane. Although she may have been a bit more old fashioned in her approach to cooking, and probably never used a clove of garlic in her life, she still had a few tricks up her sleeve. Black Bottom Pie, comes to mind.

Shepherd's Pie

Lighter Sesame Chicken

But like everyone else, I too run out of new and interesting ideas from time to time, and the thought of wasting time on new recipes that turn out to be so-so is not terribly appealing. So, when I'm feeling uninspired, like I'm sure my grandmothers felt, I use Pinterest, Twitter, Bon Appetit, Epicurious, The Food Network, Ina Garten, Saveur, and Martha, for immediate inspiration. And, sisters are a great resource too!