Dinner in the Summer Time/Blocked

As my photos get better my writing is not.Rather my desire to write. In fact I am finding that less and less do I even want to be on the computer. 5 minutes in and I am bored with it all. A week ago I was forever on the computer reading writing and playing games. I need a job is what it is because being on the computer all the time with nothing to do is well boring for anybody.
I haven't grown tired of cooking or being in the kitchen. I still cook up a storm with Bill in the back ground  saying don't cook so much or not so rich. That is until I put a plate in front of him. Then he just smiles and says thank you.
  Last night for the first time in longer then I can remember I did not take a picture of my dinner. I didn't forget, it wasn't ugly or a disaster. If it had been a disaster I would have photographed it I am sure. I just didn't feel like picking up my camera and taking a picture. Dinner was delicious and one of my favorites summer or winter. Fresh green beans and potatoes cooked all day in a pot of water and bacon pieces. I used a crock pot and ham broth and cooked them for 6 hrs. Normally a ham or smoked butt go in the pot as well but last night I fried up pork chops in bacon fat. I got 1 rip tomato from my garden (the first and only so far) so I sliced that up along with an avocado crumbled the bacon on it and gave it a very light drizzle of french dressing and that was the salad. The house smelled so good with all that cooking it was just wonderful.Even better my dinner was still hot when I sat down and ate it.
   I did take pictures of dishes I made this week and I did more faceless recipes this week. I am not sure how many faces I have put to recipes this month but it is the most I have ever done in a month that is for sure.

 Sour Cream Marinated Chicken
This was a good dish. The meat was tender and moist and the flavor of the marinade is slight but good. I did need to put it in the broiler for a minute or two to get the breading to be as crispy as I like it. Other then that this a pretty cool recipe.
Herb Grilled Artichoke

This was good good good. I have had better artichoke dishes before but this one is not bad at all. I wouldn't worry my self about having all the ingredients on hand for boiling the artichoke in because the flavor doesn't really come through when it is finished. It was however an easy way to prepare a grilled artichoke with very good results. Next time I am going to make a melted butter with herbs and wine for dipping the artichoke after it is cooked.

This is not a recipe. This was dinner one night when I didn't feel like looking up recipes. I shredded the rib meat off the bones and then went on face book and posted in all my cooking groups that I had the meat and not a clue as what to do. I only knew I was looking in the direction of Tex-Mex. Hands down  the quesadilla was the most suggested. I went with a suggestion to cook the meat with tomatoes, bell pepper and onion and then spice it up with some cayenne,cumin, and other similar spices, I added cinnamon and some of my freshly made tomatilla sauce into the mix. I cooked that all together and then using tortilla shells and lots of cheese I turned it into a pie. I made a spicy corn casserole and baked beans. A delicious dinner no doubt about it. The meat was so good. I don't think I can ever get that flavor combination again. That was pretty much luck of the draw and I may get close but never the same.

In the kitchen where I love to be. As you see I got a pineapple just begging to be invited to dinner.

Dinner in the Summer Time/ Enjoying the last days of summer

Sunday was a beautiful day,sunny with a cool breeze and fluffy white clouds. I wanted to do some faceless recipes but I wanted to spend most of my day and evening outdoors enjoying the awesome weather. I did my search early and only picked a couple of side dishes, Bill had ribs in the oven early so he could cook them low and slow so I only needed to worry about the sides to round it out. I found what I was looking for and went about my day playing outside, taking pictures, walking the dogs, and a little shopping trip. When I got home my phone rings and it is the hubby telling me we are going to have dinner our friends that live behind us. A last minute BBQ and pool party. I said I needed an hour or so and I would be there with the side dishes. It was a big bonus that the recipes I picked were just ideal for a pool side BBQ. I put the cold salad together first so it could chill while I did the potato recipe. Both recipes were a snap to put together so while they cooked and chilled I spent the hour reading recipes and food blogs. I found my faceless for Monday's dinner during that time. It was banging as well. Any way the Sunday recipes were extremely good and the hit of the BBQ. I was more then pleased.

  Alfredo & Cheese Stuffed Potatoes
This was yummy. Easy to make and traveled well. The next time I make this recipe I think I will mash the potato pulp before adding it to the cheese mixture. Not completely smooth just a little.The Parmesan was a little strong for my taste so I will omit it or lessen the amount. Yummy is really an understatement.

  #1 Pea Salad
This was spectacular. When I said what it was the reaction was priceless. Earlier in the day I had told Bill I was making a pea salad and he turned up his nose and said don't. No one at dinner including me had heard of a pea salad before. Well we have now and I am willing to bet I won't be the only one making it. I made a special trip to get the smoked almonds and it was so worth it. I need to fix a few things but even with my mistakes this was spectacular. I guessed at the amount of peas because I had the large bag of frozen not 16 oz packages. I used 4 cups of peas for 2 16 oz packages, I think 1 more cup of peas would have been better. The onion I think I added too much and I know I didn't chop it finely enough. I will be making this one over and over again. 
 On Monday I went over the recipe I had found on Sunday made sure I had every thing on hand and then I drooled all day in anticipation of what I was making for dinner. The left over potatoes only just made it to dinner time and the little serving left of the pea salad didn't make it past breakfast.

 Pork Chops with Grapes and Almonds
The ingredients list doesn't sound like it would be good at all together yet somehow I just knew it would.The crispness of the grape and the crunch of the almond are a perfect with the Alfredo sauce and mushrooms making a mouth watering topping for the pork chops. This recipe would be excellent for a small dinner party, it plates up nicely and taste even better. The recipe calls for 3 pans, 1 sauce and 2 frying pans to do the cooking in other then that it is not at all labor intensive, just takes a little planning to get dinner ready all at the same time.  
  It is 1 in the afternoon and I still have no idea what I am doing for dinner tonight. So I am off in search of the perfect dinner.

Dinner in the Summer Time/ At last the kitchen is clean

Yep look for yourself at long last you can see my kitchen counters and the bottom of the kitchen sink. To keep it clean for more then 5 minutes I cleaned the kitchen after Bill went to bed. I am not saying he is the reason my kitchen is a mess,but it always seems to happen that just as I finish cleaning that room he comes in and dishes magically appear in the sink. 
  I didn't do any face less recipes yesterday I  chose instead to make a ready in 20 minutes dinner that required little to no effort. It took longer to get the picture of dinner then it took to make. Bill was on round 2 when I came back inside with my plate.I got a good picture so it was worth the wait. Tacos from a box that is what I made. you know the kind, brown your beef add onion and the seasoning packet simmer for 10 minutes and you have dinner. A dinner that every one loves. Just right for a lazy Saturday night.

Not bad huh. I love a good taco and these were really good. I didn't do the piggy rating because well they are out of a box and not a recipe. I don't think I have ever had a bad taco from a box. All the taco kits seem to be the same if you like one you like them all.

It was so nice waking up to a nice clean kitchen this morning, but now it is afternoon and time for me to find some faceless recipes to put a face on and mess up my kitchen once again.
 PS
 Don't get me wrong I clean my kitchen all the time it just doesn't seem to stay that way. I do the dishes and wipe down the counters after dinner and the next morning when I get up there are dishes in the sink and coffee splashes on the counter. I clean that up and before I can blink it is like a bomb hit the kitchen. A bomb named Joey Joan with a computer full of faceless recipes to make.

Dinner in the Summer Time/ A lesson in Photography

Lately the hardest part of cooking has been the photography of the food.  I love to cook and create with food and I am good at it, but when it comes to plating it and getting a good  picture I am less then good. I am sure this is not news to you if you have been following my blogs you see my photographs. What you don't see is the 20 or more shots I had to take to get that less then impressive shot I post in my blogs. I read a lot of blogs and am always impressed with the photos and how professional the blogs look. When I look at my blog I see something less impressive. So I have decided to take action and do something about it. I started the program called project 365, my first picture was today the subject windows. it took me 21 pictures to get one I really liked. I also am getting tips and help from some of the best photographers in Allrecipe. With any luck soon we will see much better quality photos from me and I won't need to take 20 shots to do it. I already have a better idea of what my camera can do and what all the settings are about.
 Dinner Thursday was a great deal of fun to make and even more pleasurable to eat. I love fried chicken and Mexican food so this first recipe was just begging me to put a face on it. I picked the Tomatillos from my garden earlier in the day and wasn't sure what to do with them. Leave it to Allrecipe to answer my question.

Suegra's Tomatillo Chicken
   As you see there are 3 little pigs on this picture. The photo may not be great but this chicken certainly was. The Tomatillo sauce was so good and very easy to make. In fact Friday morning I picked more tomatillos and made more of this sauce to freeze so that I have it on hand all winter long. I didn't have the California pepper so I did a little research and used a pepper I had on hand in the same heat range. This sauce has a real good kick to it. Just the way I like it.
 My second recipe made me think of the holidays and that it was a nice twist on an old recipe. I changed a few things out of necessity but I stayed true to the recipe and its intent. 

  Gramma B's broccoli Casserole
  I read the recipe reviews before I made it and one comment kept popping up that the frozen onion rings ended up soggy unless you baked them on another tray. I decided to use Frenches Fried Onion Rings. I didn't have enough broccoli so I added zucchini,and I made my own cream of mushroom in place of a can of soup. That is all I altered in this recipe. I thought it was very good, I liked the zucchini in it and the onion rings were very crispy. I think I like this casserole just a little bit better then the traditional Green Bean Casserole.
  All total I took 42 pictures to get the 3 pictures I used, and I needed to crop and clean them up to make them as good as they are. I love a good challenge and I do believe I have found myself one. One picture at a time I am going to get good enough at taking pictures that you will be able to taste the food when you see the picture.  

Dinner in the Summer Time/ Falling Behind

Oh my goodness it is Friday already and I am still working on Wednesday.

  My kitchen looks like a bomb hit it so hard it will never get clean. I pushed my self all day to get in there and get it done but every time I go in there I get another idea and make an even bigger mess. 
    It always takes me a week or so to readjust and get back on schedule when I get back from fest. I am not alone in that respect most of my friends are totally out of sync this week.
 That being said lets talk about my day in the kitchen on Wednesday. I wanted to get caught up on faceless recipes on the Allrecipe web site, so I vowed I would spend my day cooking. I started with a chocolate cake recipe that had no face and mixed reviews. The ingredients list is what attracted me and the reviews convinced me I wanted to try this. I was looking for a cup cake recipe and the reviews on this cake said that there was not enough batter to fill a 9 by 13 cake pan and the cake came out flat. I thought that would be perfect for cupcakes instead of cake. The ingredient that sold me was the sour milk. I had 2 quarts of sour milk that I was hating the idea of throwing away.( Note to self never try making pudding with sour milk) I remember Mom always saying that sour milk was very good for baking so I decided to take the recipe for a ride. The cup cakes were very easy to make and much harder to photograph. I think I spent as much time taking pictures as I did making the cup cakes. For that reason I will be posting too many pictures of the cup cakes.

 A few of my favorite shots. If you look close you will see a pink pig stamp on the photos. My new way of rating recipes. 3 pigs is the best, 2 okay I will do this again, 1 not worth repeating but not horrible, 0 pigs is horrible. Every one uses the 5 star system and I wanted something different and fun. 
Hazels chocolate Cake
 The cup cakes were light and airy while they were warm but as they cooled they became dry. A tall tall glass of milk is required when eating them. I frosted them with what else but another faceless recipe,for a cream cheese frosting with chocolate.

A very easy recipe to put together with good flavor. Just not as creamy as I like a frosting to be. By day 2 the texture was a little rubbery for lack of a better word.
Healthier Cream Cheese Frosting

Once the cup cakes were done I went to the garden for my green tomatoes and a few peppers that were ready to be picked. I read all the recipes I wanted to use for dinner and worked out my plan of attack. Making an entire dinner from recipes I never used before was fun but it did need planning to get everything done and ready together. 
 When it was time to start dinner I put my blinders on so as not to be distracted and went to work. First I made the marinade for the pork chops, then I lined the counter with enough bowls to serve a small country. Well really only 6 bowls but in my small kitchen it looks like a lot more. I made the 2 different bread crumb mixtures that I needed for the pork and tomatoes. I chopped all the vegetables and herbs I needed for the rice and preheated the oven. All my prep work done and the chops marinated it was time to cook. I started the rice,using my bowl system I breaded the chops and put them in the oven. Once my rice came to a boil I added the vegetables and topped with the veggie steamer filled with Brussels sprouts and lime zest covered that and left it all to simmer. Then I got to making what I had been looking forward to most of all. Fried Green Tomatoes. I used the left over marinade to make a gravy for the chop and dinner was done. 

Octoberfest Pork Chops
I enjoyed the marinade and the gravy it made but this recipe has flaws and I won't use it as written again.

Flavorful Rice
 I liked this recipe a lot. I cut down the amount of rice because the recipe as written is way to much for us. This was very easy and as the title says it has a lot of flavor. It will go with just about any dinner you plan. It is rice with an attitude.

Fried Green Tomatoes
My favorite recipe of the dinner. I only gave this dish 2 pigs but I waffled on 3. The taste is yummy. the breading is crispy and just slightly sweet. If I had made this recipe as written I would have never known how good the breading was. It would have all fallen off during the cooking. The recipe does not call for an egg or milk dip. I used the 3 bowl method flour,egg, and then the breading. I wanted more when dinner was done,but you know it. There were no left over fried tomatoes.
  There you have it that was my day on Wednesday, baking, cooking, and making a mess. A whole lot of recipes got faces and we ate well.
         

Dinner in the Summer Time/Back in the kitchen

      Well I am back in the kitchen and loving it.

I am a day behind on everything else except dinner. Bill made dinner for us on Monday night. A very good dinner of pulled pork made from BBQ ribs served with bread and tomatoes with blue cheese. On Wednesday I spent my entire day in the kitchen cooking up a storm, working on putting faces on recipes, and on Tuesday I made a dish I haven't had in years and as soon as I saw a picture of it I knew I had been craving it for like forever. 
  The recipe I used was not the traditional Hungarian Goulash but it was close enough to satisfy me. In fact it was extremely tasty. Very easy to make with only a little clean up in the end. 
 There is tomato,bell pepper and onion in this dish along with the pasta shells and ground beef so I served this one ala cart.It was more then filling and had all the food groups covered so really nothing else was needed.
 Lynn Socko is a friend and fellow foodie,it is her recipe that I used. Here is the link to the recipe.
Lynn's Sweet & Savory Goulash
  The hardest part of making this dinner was not standing over the pan with a spoon eating it all up right there at the stove. It was that good. The blend of spices and brown sugar worked perfectly making it just as Lynn named it sweet and savory. 

Lynn's sweet and savory goulash will be made again and again in this house, and is going in my book of favorite recipes that is for sure.
 I have a few of Lynn's recipes in that book, She is an awesome cook and a great recipe creator. You should check out a few of her recipes on Just a Pinch.com you won't be disappointed.

I am home and happy to be here. No more tents and cots with ill made food. Toilets that  flush, hot water showers, and TV. you never know how much you miss this stuff until you go a week in a muddy field with out them. 

Dinner in the Summer Time/ Vacation

On my way home. The tent is down and the car is all packed up. I am tired dirty and so so happy. I love fest and look forward to it more then Christmas. Like every year before as I drive off the field I start the count down for next year. 364 more days to go.
 Yes I pre wrote and scheduled a time for each blog to be posted this past week. I could not stand the idea of my blog being silent even for a day let alone a week.

Dinner in the Summer Time/Vacation

No work today, My entire family will be on the field today. I am looking forward to this day most of all. Trombone Shorty the best horn blower ever will be playing and I will get to enjoy my family as well. Billy is shiftless as well making hanging out and enjoying even better.

Summer in the Dinner Time/ Vacation

Another day making up food to keep the volunteers happy and full. Done by noon and have a full schedule of concerts I want to see and artist I want to meet. Madeline needs playing with and to see the groove. I absolutely won't be bored.

Dinner in the Summer Time/Vacation

The fest is open and in full swing. There are shifts on top of shifts of volunteers in the field doing their jobs and making the fest all that it can be. I am behind the food counter mixing up all the finger food and drinks I can think of or look up, to help make our volunteers happy and full.

Dinner in the Summer Time/Vacation

A 4 am start time today. It is time to make sure our Annex will stand up to the health inspection. This is where my expertise show up. 8 years of health inspections in the store I worked at gives me a head start.  

Dinner in the Summer Time/ vacation

Today I have nothing to do but sit back and relax. I have books on the kindle waiting for me to read them. According to the weather reports I am going to be sitting in the sun and  enjoying a perfect summer day. No cooking today.

Dinner in the Summer Time/Vacation

At this point my camp site is all fixed up and rain proof. I am about to spend my first shift in the Annex. So exciting to be working with food instead of schedules.

Dinner in the Summer Time/ vacation

As you read this I am driving out of town. My car is so packed full that I almost can't see out the review window. I am so excited as I am every year.

Dinner in the Summer Time/ Vacation

I have no pictures to share or recipes to write about. Dinner last night was Hamburgers and hot dogs at a Birthday party. I call it the 40+ 4 two times birthday party Because the party was for twins turning 4 and their dad turning 40.
 Bill made ribs for dinner tonight and I will add tariyaki potatoes and corn on the cob and tomatoes to it and call it a day.
 Tomorrow morning I leave for the Philadelphia Folk Festival. I will be there for a week enjoying, friends,music, and living in the great outdoors. I don't take my lap top with me so there will be no Dinner in the Summer Time for a week. When I get back I will have a whole lot to show and tell. I am a volunteer and this year I will be working in the Annex making sure all the other volunteers have good enjoyable and satisfying food while they do their jobs.
fest info
A little information for those of you that are curious about what Fest is.
fest in video
 A good video of fest. if your wondering it is because I volunteer at the fest that I am there for a week and not just 3 days. 
  See you all in a week!

Dinner in the Summer Time/ Fried Food Friday

A faceless recipe no more and the answer to the age old question "whats for dinner?" I normally don't cook or eat deep fried food but a faceless recipe caught my interest and I had to try it. The recipe yielded so much batter that it had me looking for things to dip and fry. I even tried a Brussels sprout. That was just so so. The batter however was very good and stuck to everything I fried with it.
Jim's Beer Battered Portobello Mushrooms
 After deep frying every mushroom in the house I was still having too much fun to stop to frying. I pulled out the broccoli and went to town with that until I ran out of batter. Batter spotted and satisfied I looked around my very messed up kitchen and realized I still needed to make dinner. That was easy enough I took the chicken breast I had taken out earlier in the day to defrost and I sliced it into tenders breaded it and you guessed it I fried it. I put the chicken on a plate with all my other fried goodies and called it dinner

  Fried food Friday. Certainly not healthy but so much fun and perfect for a Friday night.

Dinner in the Summer Time/ Nothing new still yum yum good

Dinner last night was nothing new. Good very good but not new. I didn't want left over Mexican and I didn't want to fuss. I didn't want to think or look up recipes, or even follow recipes. I just wanted to cook and eat.

Good ole pasta and sausage with a fresh tomato sauce.yummy and filling. I didn't have to think or put forth much effort and still dinner was delicious.I love to cook and fuss in the kitchen, but when I am tired and less then in love with my kitchen I LOVE LOVE a simple dinner like this.

Dinner in the Summer Time/ Mexican Casserole

I was still working on faceless recipes yesterday. I have been craving Mexican food for a week. So while I was skimming the faceless list a couple good sounding Mexican recipes  needing faces popped up. Thrilled with my find I picked the one that sounded the best and that was dinner last night. It was a lot of work and time consuming to put together.The effort was worth it and  dinner was good. Even though the next time I make this I will be tweaking the recipe more then a little, and I am still craving Mexican food, I gave the recipe a high rating. It is basically  a very good recipe full of flavor and yummy goodness. The changes I want to make are due to personal taste and not due to any fault with the recipe.
                    Mexican Enchilada Casserole

As you can see the lettuce is cooked in the casserole,I don't like hot lettuce so I will serve the lettuce and most likely the tomatoes on the side. I think black or re fried beans would be a good addition to this dish. A little cayenne in the seasoning and hard taco shells in place of the tortilla shells on the inside layers.The soft shells just got to soggy. As leftovers the inner layers were to soggy to eat.  Plus a little extra cheese just for good measure. I think the changes I want to make would make this a 5.5 yummy recipe.  There is one thing that will not ever be changed by me,that is the way the enchilada sauce is made. That sauce is in my opinion what gave this recipe its 5 star taste.
   

Dinner in the Summer Time/ Faceless frenzy

Dessert came first. At least that is what I made first giving it plenty of time to chill and me plenty of time to dream about it.
 I was faceless recipe hunting once again yesterday and came up with 2 good ones. Actually 3 good ones but I only made 2. My main dish and one side dish are faceless recipes no more. I like this activity we eat so well and I have so much fun cooking all this stuff.

                               Mashed Cauliflower
This recipe is a dish that Bill and I love. I make mashed cauliflower quite often and while we love how it taste I never seem to be able to get it creamy enough. For this recipe I followed the directions very carefully and read something I had not noticed or was not in other recipes. The reviews on this recipe were mixed and the biggest complaint was the texture. So I am not the only one that overlooked a very important hint. "Hand held blender" I have always used a mixer,this time I used my immersion blender and walaa creamy cauliflower. I have tried cooking the veggie to mush, adding cheese and all kinds of other things. Turns out all I needed was better tool.

                                                  

                                                      Raisin Whiskey Steak      

This was a quick and easy recipe just as the writer promised. What they didn't say was that for all the ease and quickness of this dish it is company worthy. There is no way this unusual recipe wouldn't impress even your most VIP guest. Unless they happen to be vegetarian. The 3 flavors of the marinade are awesome together making a savory sweet flavor that compliments the steak like a kiss on the cheek. I am not a raisin eater I still however like the flavor food soaks up from cooking with raisins. The raisins added an interesting dimension to the plate making it easy to plate an appetizing and impressive meal.

         And this was a happy ending to a tasty meal.

Dinner in the Summer Time/Hoosier pork chop supper

This is a cook book I collected some where along the way at one yard sale or another. I was going to use this cook book in a cook book swap I participated in a year ago or so. I am so glad I didn't. I have made a few good dinners thanks to this book. Last nights dinner was no exception.

This recipe is my favorite kind of recipe. Everything all in one large skillet simmered together low and slow. The pork chops hiding under that colorful mess of vegetables came out so tender and full of flavor. The aroma that flowed through the air when I took off the lid was just heavenly making your mouth water and your tummy growl.

Such an easy recipe,a few basic ingredients, one large skillet and you end up with a master piece for dinner.

The flavor was as heavenly  as the aroma had promised. The pork chop melted in your mouth. The  potatoes, carrots, peas, and tomatoes were a delicious combination of taste and texture.The juices from the meat and tomatoes cooked into a rich and hearty broth that added the finishing touch to this dish. 
  Colorful and full of flavor this dish makes a wonderful comfort food on a cold winters night, or a nice and easy dinner on a hot summer night. 
  
   

Dinner in the Summer Time/ Dinner out!

Yesterday a friend of ours showed up and took us to dinner. What a pleasant surprise. Bob is that kind of friend thoughtful and generous and packed full of surprises. The photo above is my dinner. Filet Marsala. I ate every bite of that steak it was that good. My Marsala is not as sweet as this one was and has more body to it then this one did. Even still I liked it. I like my Marsala better. Thank you Allrecipe.
 Before we went to dinner Bob was looking through my Seattle trip photos and a few of my food photos where there. My cordon bleu photo was in the mix and Bob bless his heart thought it was a dish I had in a restaurant in Seattle.  So when he saw cordon bleu on the menu he had to have it. I was thrilled when he ordered it because he was giving me a chance to compare a dish I made to a chefs dish. I will say up front I did not get to taste the chicken from the restaurant my comparison is totally based on looks.

The restaurants version of cordon bleu. Sorry about the blurr.

  My version of cordon bleu. As I said I did not get to do a taste test. Both Bill and I thought my recipe looked better. One thing I know for sure my gravy was so much better then the restaurants. The gravy used in the restaurant was a powder base instant with no texture and the salty taste of processed food.
  I enjoyed eating out and not having to cook or clean up. My dinner was tasty and absolutely enjoyable. Even still I can't help the s@#t eating grin on my face as I realize I may have out cooked a professional chef. 

Dinner in the Summer Time/ Chicken Tenders and Gravy

Yesterday I spent the entire afternoon in the kitchen making some goodies for the pool party we were attending last night. I started with this recipe for Texas Chicken A delicious easy to make chicken tender and gravy recipe.I made this dish the night before and forgot to take a photo of it. The menu for the pool party was coconut shrimp. I don't eat seafood so I figured some chicken tenders would  be a good addition to the menu and a chance for me to get my photo. I have the photo the recipe is no longer faceless and the chicken tenders were a big hit. I cheated a little and made the chicken according to the recipe except I had plenty of gravy left from the night before so I shorten the cooking time and used the gravy I had left. I kept the gravy on the side so that people had a choice of gravy or dipping sauce. Remember the salad dressing recipe I put a face to the other day. Well I thought it was to spicy but Bill loved it and thought it was perfect. I decided to make it again with some changes to the recipe yogurt in place of mayonnaise and less ginger. It was much better and not as thick. The dressing was a smashing success. It was good with the chicken and even better with the coconut shrimp. (so I am told)
 I heard that one of the guest was bringing little hot dogs and dip. I was so happy to hear this because it gave me a chance to make the hot dog onion recipe that Lillian Russo shared with us. Hot dog onions. Like Lillian I love the cooked onions that you get from the hot dogs carts in the city. I was impressed with the recipe when I first saw it and even more impressed after I made and tried it. It was like I was standing in center city enjoying a hot dog fresh off the cart.

 The hot dogs were miniature pigs in a blanket and real good on their own, the onions just made them great.
  I wanted to bring a dessert as well and after some deep thought I remembered a dish that is incredibly easy to make and taste like you slaved over it for days. chocolate cobbler 

This has to be one of the best dessert ever. It won a blue ribbon and I notice on Just a Pinch.com that more then one copycat recipe has been posted. A true compliment to any cook. I have to thank Erin Latch for sharing this recipe it always makes me the hit of the party.

Dinner in the Summer Time/ Pierogi with Chicken and Gravy

This morning as I looked through my food pics from last night I could kick myself. As you know I am working on faceless recipes this month. Well I found a chicken recipe that sounded very good and was just what I was looking for to go with the Pierogi's I wanted to make. I had leg quarters instead of breast but I still felt the recipe would work. Boy did it ever work, to bad I was so focused on my Pierogis that I forgot to photograph the chicken dish. I did take a shot of the gravy but it is not an attractive picture. Lucky me I get a chance to make the dish again tonight with chicken breast. I am going to take this dish to a pool party tonight.Before I go I will be sure and get my photo's and you will hear all about it tomorrow. For now I will share with you the fun I had making my Pierogis and the mess that goes with it.
 Making Pierogis is easy but very labor intensive. A labor of love and very satisfying as well. I was thinking of my camera when I didn't take step by step shots, my hands where a mess with the dough and there was flour everywhere. I started making the Pierogis in the late afternoon while I was still alone and could concentrate on what I was doing. I didn't finish until early evening just in time to serve dinner. Making the dough it self is easy just a few ingredients 4 to be exact mixed together. Rolling out the dough was a little tricky and took me a minute or 2 to get the hang of. It has a lot of elasticity and would snap back as it was rolled out. The more you fussed with the dough the tackier it would get. Once I finally got the dough rolled out and the correct texture I used a drinking glass to cut my circles. It is a good thing I cut the recipe in half, as it was I cut 32 circles and still had dough left over. I would still be filling and sealing my pierogis now if I had made the full recipe. Filling and sealing the dough is easy enough just time consuming. Once all the pierogis where filled I left them sit on a cookie sheet and worked on the rest of dinner. I like how the pierogis stiffened up a little as they sat. It made them a lot easier to handle as I put them in the boiling water.

                                    Pierogi
  4 cups flour                                   1/2 teaspoon salt
 2 eggs                                              warm water
 1/2 cup sour cream
  Mix together flour, eggs, sour cream, and salt add water slowly until dough feels velvety. Roll out the dough to about 1/2 an inch.  To thin and the dough won't hold the filling, to thick and the pierogis will be chewy. Cut the dough into circles about 3 1/2 inch around.
   The dough is ready for filling.
  When filling the dough using an egg wash along the edges will help seal the pierogis  nice and tight keeping all the yummy goodness in the dough and not in your boiling water.
   This recipe is from a book titled "Heavenly Delights" A collection of recipes from the students,staff, and parents of  St Casimir School. I did not write this recipe word for word as I normally do. I wrote it how I actually made it. The ingredients are the same I just changed the amount, and how the directions were written. I made them clearer also the egg wash was added by me.
 To fill my dough and finish my pierogis I made my favorite mashed potatoes with garlic and onion. I made the potatoes a little stiffer and drier then normal to make filling the dough easier.
 To cook the pierogis I placed them in boiling water until they floated to the top.
 Normally I would then lightly fry them golden brown and serve with sour cream and fried onion. Not last night how ever I did not fry them and served them with gravy and sauerkraut on the side.