Technicolor Tuesday - American Gothic redux

AMERICAN GOTHIC - Grant Wood - 1930:

AMERICAN GOTHIC - Moxie Mama - 2009:

New Art

This sums it all up rather nicely, I think:




Thank you, Edgewood Target.



Now I smile even wider everytime I come downstairs to the kitchen.

I'm in it for the money

Whatcha' Cookin' Wednesday - "Jamie's AMAZING Ceasar Dressing"

A few culinary/kitchen musts:

- Always keep a bottle of chilled champagne in your fridge.
- Master at least one dish and declare it your signature meal.
- Decant all wines that cost under $7./bottle.
- Kosher salt. ('nuf said.)

and finally....

- Know how to make a really good homemade salad dressing.

Enter... Jamie's AMAZING Ceasar Dressing. He just calls it his "Ceasar Dressing" but I think that's like calling a AFC-certified Westminster Champion a mutt. So I added the "amazing. " Because it is. He brought this, along with Dekalb Farmer's Market croutons (the best) and some lovely, crunchy romaine, to my 40th birthday dinner last year. Somehow it never made it to the table - it got pushed to the back of the fridge and we found it the next day. After tasting it we were SO glad that we didn't have to share.

I usually double this recipe since it's pretty much the only dressing we use. It also makes a great chicken marinade. It's NOT low-cal. NOT AT ALL. But totally worth it.

Jamie's AMAZING Ceasar Dressing

Ingredients:

1 C. Extra Virgin olive oil

Juice of 1-3 lemons (sometimes I use limes)

4-12 peeled garlic cloves (depends on how much your Sig. O. will let you get away with)

1 Tblsp. Dijon mustard

1 Tblsp. Worcestshire sauce

3 Tblsp. anchovie paste or 3-6 anchovy filets (I use an entire tin, sans the oil, when I double the recipe)

1 tsp. cayenne pepper

2 Tblsp. mayo

½ C. Romano, grated

½ C. Parmesan, grated

Salt and pepper to taste

Put all ingredients EXCEPT olive oil in blender or Cuisinart. Blend WELL. Add the olive olive VERY slowly so it emulsifies into a smooth, creamy dressing.

Technicolor Tuesday - Mr. MarkerHands

My little man thought his digits needed some embellishment.

Meet Mr. MarkerHands:

And, yes, every single tip of every single digit was the color of each cap worn. Washable markers, my @ss.

Whatcha Cookin' "Friday?" - Strata

I hereby dub today "Forgetful Friday." This week has been fabulously busy. Lots of good stuff going on but alas, I just plumb forgot to post a recipe on Wednesday.

(Will my five readers leave me forever?!?! Hope not...)

Tell me what's better than bread, cheese and eggs. Not much.

I give you Strata. A yummy bread, egg, cheese casserole that you can make on a moment's notice or even the night before for a fabulous breakfast in the a.m. You can tweak this recipe to add or delete meat, add or delete veggies and on and on and on... The possibilites are endless.

Strata
(Serves 6-8)

1 loaf French bread, cubed (either by hand or with a knife)
2 packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1.5 lbs. cheese, grated (we use cheddar or mozzarella or a mixture, you can use any cheese that melts well.)
14 large eggs
2.5 cups milk
salt and pepper to taste
2 teaspoons dry mustard (optional, but adds a nice little bite)

Grease a 9-x-13-inch baking dish. Make a single layer of bread cubes in the bottom of the baking dish. Cover the bread evenly with the spinach. Then add half of the cheese. Top with another layer of bread cubes.

In a medium-size mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk and seasonings. Pour over the layers evenly, making sure that all of the top layer of bread is moistened. At this point, you have two options: refrigerate it overnight or bake for 1 hour (350 degree preheated oven).

Take a peek at it after about 50 minutes. It shouldn't be ready to pull until its puffed up a bit and just starting to get golden brown (you don't want it too brown).

Test by inserting a knife in the center - it should come out clean. While it is cooling, top with the remaining cheese and allow it to melt by itself. (You might need to return it for just a minute to the oven to finish melting.)

"Technicolor Tuesday" Debuts - Danger Dad

I thought it might be sort of fun to start a weekly photo feature but somehow I feel I need some sort of snazzy title in order to kick it off.

I am lame. I'm certain my grand total of 5 readers (Hello readers in India!) do not give a collective crap if this new blog feature has a snazzy title.

Anyhoodle, I thought I might call it "Kodak Moment Monday." Or maybe "Film for Friday", although I haven't used actual film in at least 6 years, maybe more. "Photo Friday" might be a little too obvious and simple but it could get the job done. Then there's "Technicolor Tuesday." Not great but works the best.

So, without further adieu... Some pics...



Why we call Danger Dad Danger Dad:

His idea of taking the kids out to play? Take them to the nearest construction site and let them play on the equipment. These pics were sent from his phone. Apparently hard hats are optional.