Saturday night – 09/22/2007

This week we celebrated miss_jenith‘s birthday. When I asked what she wanted for dinner all she mentioned was pineapple upside down cake. So I went with a semi-regular menu which I knew she enjoyed

Baked Ham
Potato & cheddar perogies (with sauteed onions & sour cream)
Kidney & Lima bean succotash

Pineapple upside down cake (Cook’s Illustrated)

Saturday night – 09/15/2007

Since Ted and I were going to be away most of the day I wanted a main course that wouldn’t take a lot of time. Enter the crock pot (see notes below for more info).

Pumpernickel Roast
Buttered egg noodles with parsley
Sauteed zucchini
Roasted cauliflower

Homemade rustic boule (yeah!)

Pumpkin pudding

Sauted onions and corn

I love fresh corn in whatever form it is served. Last night at my parent’s house it was grilled. This past weekend I made a saute of onions and fresh corn kernels. It was delicious.

Ingredients
1 large onion, diced
1-2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
10 ears fresh corn
1 stick unsalted butter, cut into 8 or so pieces
1 tsp ground chipotle
salt & pepper to taste

How to

• Husk the corn and strip the kernels from the cob. I do this in a large container that I set on a non-skid pad. I hold the pointed end of the corn and set the other end inside the container. With a chefs knife I trim the kernels from the cob using even strokes. It typically takes me longer to husk the corn than it does to remove the kernels.
• Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat and cook the onions until they are translucent. A little browning is OK.
• Add the corn kernels to the pan and toss/stir to a) coat with oil and b) incorporate the onions. Cook for 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Add the butter to the pan and stir throughout the corn until it melts. Yes it is a lot of butter.
• Sprinkle chipotle over the corn and stir. Taste for flavor and adjust with salt & pepper if needed.

Serves 10-12 as a side.

Saturday night – 09/08/2007

My husband asked for turkey this week. That got me thinking about Thanksgiving and the traditional dishes. I wanted to go a little different and here’s what we ended up with.

Menu
Asian-spiced fried turkey legs & breast with Cranberry Dipping Sauce
Stuffing (or is it dressing when it isn’t cooked in the bird)
Gingered Yams
Sauteed onions and corn

Vanilla ice cream (thanks badgary for fetching it)

Saturday night – 09/01/2007

I asked one of the Saturday Night regulars what we should have for dinner and she suggested manicotti. So there you go.

Menu
Baked Manicotti (recipe from Cook’s Illustrated)
Grilled chicken breast
Sauteed cousa squash with red peppers
cherry tomatoes (at least that’s what the farm stand claimed – they were the size of golf balls)
Brown sugar cookies for dessert