Tuesday, May 17, 2011

I was up early this morning in an effort to be more organized and efficient. Tuesdays are my personal chef day for MP. By this time, all the menus are chosen, I've printed out a grocery list, a copy of the recipes, reheating instructions for the recipes I am making that day as well as menu choices for the next week. On a good day, that is. I did most of the printing on Sunday evening before bed. Last night, I made sure my bags were packed with everything I needed. Ah Choo was into everything. He has been most unsettled since Jordan and I switched offices. He has to look at everything! This morning, he was sticking his head in each bag-"What's in here, where ya going?". Very distracting! So despite my best intentions to be organized and bring everything I need, AND checking my grocery list several times, I still managed to forget red bell peppers, couscous and mandarin oranges. I ended up going back to the store to get them. So I am blaming Ah Choo for distracting me, lol.

I was there all day. I made five meals this week: Pecan Crusted Salmon with Red Pepper Sauce (see why I needed those red peppers?!), Pasta with Sausage and Swiss Chard, Shrimp Scampi with Linguine, Red Wine Braised Chicken (he told me to forget about the couscous, but it would have gone with this entree), and Beef Bourgoignon. I found some spring red onions at Whole Foods, they are just what they say, young spring onions with a milder taste than most onions. I put those with the beef. I also made an Arugula and Mandarin Orange Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette and a Mixed Green Salad with blackberries, endive and goat cheese dressed with a Viniagrette dressing. For dessert offerings this week, there is rice pudding made with arborio rice (the same rice used for risotto-makes the rice pudding SO much creamier) and Strawberry Fool. What is a Strawberry Fool, you ask? It's an English dessert that can be made with a variety of fruits and whipped cream. I just happened to have lots of strawberries. You puree your fruit wi a little bit of sugar. Now if I was really good, I would have run it through a sieve to get rid of the seeds, but I didn't... Now set that aside. Whip up some whipping cream with a little sugar until stiff peaks form. Now pour in the pureed strawberries and swirl it throughout the whipped cream. Put it in a pretty glass and you are done. A surprisingly light dessert what with the whipped cream and all. To make it a little less caloric, I added Greek Gods Honey Strawberry yogurt (love that stuff!). Very yum!

When I got back home, I found I had forgotten my house key and so couldn't get in the house!! I called Jordan and he came home to let me in. Haven't done THAT in a long time. That darn cat, Ah Choo, made me forget my keys, lol (just kidding). It was dinner and early to bed for me. Great cooking day today!