Cooking at Home

After moving to Boston six months ago, I have finally gotten into the groove of making it a priority to cook at home.  Roger and I have a beautiful 20 month old son and want him to know how to cook and most importantly that eating around the table is a must in our family.

I have been finding several interesting recipes from Pinterest.  It is a great resource.  Today, while I am at work, I am making Hawaiian tacos.  I can't wait to try them.

Since we are back in a big city, we are also enjoying exploring restaurants.  We've eaten ethnic food from almost everywhere in the world.  The Beruit Cafe is next.

I've found some fellow foodies at my job at Northeastern University.  It is fun to trade recipes and recommendations. 

Ah, leaving behind small town cooking was well worth the move!

Small Town Cooking

We've moved to a much smaller town. Valley City, North Dakota is home to less than 7ooo residents. The University is quite small compared to Old Dominion University. We like it. It is homey and nice.

We are not enjoying the lack of great restaurants. We've found a few in the state. Fargo is home to Juano's and Santa Lucia. Bismarck give us The Walrus. And the best is in Minot, 10 North Main. All offer delicious food when we are on the go. But, as for home, we have been cooking much more often. We purchased a small grill, have hit up the local farmer's market and Roger has even caught some fish for eating. So, this blog is my way to keep track of the delicious food I, or Roger, makes.

My goal is to keep this up to date. Fingers crossed it will work out.

Enjoy reading about my Small Town Cooking.

Sloppy Joe Pizza with Cornbread Crust

Preheat oven to 450.

2 cups stone-ground cornmeal
4 teaspoons Baking Powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 Eggs
2 Cups Buttermilk (I use regular milk often)

Beat egg and milk. Add dry ingredients. Beat well.

Put 2 tablespoons of melted butter in the bottom of a 9x13 cake pan. Add batter. Bake for 15 minutes (or until cornbread is done).

While the cornbread is baking.
In skillet, heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil. Add 1/2 onion (I use red) chopped fine. Brown for a few minutes. Add 1 pound of ground meat (I use turkey). Cook until browned. Add 1/2 cup barbecue sauce and a few squirts of ketchup. Add a little water and cook until it looks like sloppy joes. Remove from heat and add 1 cup frozen or canned corn.

When cornbread is done baking, remove from oven. Cover with sloppy joe mixture. Cover with shredded cheddar cheese and chopped green onions (if you have them). Return to the oven for 5-10 minutes, until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Let rest for a couple minutes before serving. If I have cilantro, I add that after it comes out of the oven.

*Note--I think you can use 2 boxes of Jiffy cornbread mixes as directed. I can't do that because Roger is gluten intolerant. We love this dish and make it often.

Creamy Parmesan Polenta

Makes about 4 cups; serves 4

3 cups water (sometimes I use 2 cups of broth and 1 cup of water)
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 cup polenta (not quick-cooking) or yellow cornmeal (not stone-ground)
1 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (grated parmesan works well--and I only use about 1/2 cup)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Bring water and salt to a boil in 2-quart heavy nonstick saucepan. Add polenta in a thin stream, whisking constatnly. Cook over moderate heat, whisking, for 2 minutes. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer, stirring for 1 minute after every 10 minutes of cooking, until very thick, about 45 minutes total.

Remove polenta from heat and stir in cheese, butter, and salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.


*Note--I served this topped with roasted vegetables (peppers, garlic, cauliflower, zucchini, squash, tomatoes, eggplant, onions-whatever you like) and additional Parmesan cheese. It was delicious!

A Return to Cooking--and Blogging

This past year has been stressful, making it difficult to cook much and quite difficult to find the time to blog about what I have cooked. That should change now. I am managing my 5 public speaking classes quite well and am finding the adventure and joy in the kitchen again.

Yesterday, I made my famous white pizza, with roasted garlic, peppers, red onions, tomatoes and chicken, and of course, fresh basil and fresh mozzarella. I have found a pretty good gluten free pizza crust mix so Roger can enjoy the fruits of my labor. He enjoyed it so much, he ate the pizza before I could take a picture!

I'm hosting a small cocktail party in a couple days and am planning a menu that will be casual but delicious. I can't wait to make the cupcakes! This time, Roger can't share in everything I make, but I hope my guests enjoy.

Hopefully, I'll be on here more with recipes and pictures. I love to cook!

February...Really?

I can't believe I haven't posted anything here since February. I need to get back into the swing of this. I've been cooking and it's been good. I'll start sharing some recipes later this week. I'm excited to start saving and sharing all the good food stories I have.

Chef Roger

Since I have been so busy with my thesis work and other homework, Roger has really stepped up and done most of the cooking lately. Last week he made the most delicious garlic shrimp. I loved it. I can't wait to have that again. This week has not been so gourmet, kind of. We had blue cheese and bacon burgers with oven roasted sweet potato fries a couple nights ago. Last night we had rice pasta macaroni and cheese and kielbasa with onions...yummy. I am lucky to have a husband who is not only willing to do the cooking, but is quite talented at cooking. Just one more of the million reasons I have to love him. I think we are hitting Dog N Burger tonight in Ghent. We need a break from the house, so a walk around town and a cheap, greasy dinner will hit the spot.