Tormented Kitchen

Did you know that children's TV channels often advertise things that are not geared toward children as well as things that are annoyingly interesting to children? I don't mean just toys, Skechers, and movie advertisements. I mean stupid thing like aluminum wallets and bacon-cooking devices for the microwave. First, ages ago, Eric was enthralled with the Baby Bullet.  Are you familiar with the Magic Bullet blender/food processor? Well, this device is the same thing aimed at mothers who would want to make baby food from scratch.  Eric insisted that I needed one to make healthy food for his baby sister. (I did not buy this already owning two food processors, a blender, a manual baby food mill and no desire to spend more $$$.) Shortly, actually perhaps a year later, he saw a puppy house-training pee pad. Since we had just brought Topaz home and he was having serious issues with going everywhere we didn't want him to go, all the time, Eric insisted that we needed...

Sometimes I find myself very disappointed with cakes when I buy them from bakeries and grocery stores. They just taste like they are loaded with artificial flavors, preservatives, and who knows what kind of fat is in there. I know butter is not the best thing for heart health, but at least it's natural. And it tastes so good! Sometimes I do use a combination of shortening and butter, but that is when I decorate the exterior with piping and it needs to set up firm and hold well. Using only butter here, makes this work well as filling too. No, I don't use egg in my buttercream. I know some recipes call for egg, but honestly I don't want to worry about salmonella contamination every time. You should get about 3-4 cups of frosting from this recipe. Ingredients 1 cup butter, softened to room temperature 4 cups confectioners sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (clear if you want it really pure white) 2-4 Tablespoons milk Method 1. With an electric mixer, beat the b...

I picked up this recipe from my hubby's grandmother. The first time I had polenta, I couldn't believe how good the sauce was.  I have made a few small changes to her recipe, but it's pretty much like hers.  I used fresh tomatoes instead of canned. I chose Roma tomatoes, since they are plump and sweet, and a few vine-ripened regular tomatoes. They cooked down nicely. Make sure to use regular onions. As much as I like sweet onions, they don't taste right in tomato sauce like this. I was too starved for dinner to make my polenta formed and toasted, so I scooped it into bowls, added some of the sliced meat, then poured about a ladle-full of sauce on top. It was fantastic! This sauce it worth the effort. One more thing, I have heard from dear hubby that this is also great made with wild birds instead of chicken. Since hunting season is coming up, I will have to wait and see if he brings home any chukar or sage hen for me to cook up. Ingredients 2 boneles...

You all know what polenta is, right? What, no? It's OK. I understand. I didn't know about polenta for a long time. But now I do and I'm sharing it with you. Polenta is a coarsely ground corn meal prepared as either a mush, or allowed to set up and then grilled or baked and shaped. I've had polenta "fries" which were thick strips of toasted polenta. I like those. Since I was introduced to polenta by my Italian in-laws, I made the typical mistake many non-Italians do of comparing polenta to grits. I was informed that it was NOT like grits.  (Excuse me, but it sure looks like grits, comes from the same plant, and has a suspiciously similar cooking method.) So I just nodded and accepted that weren't going to concede. They all poked fun at me about never making a good Italian. When I made this last week, my husband jokingly said that he'd made me a true Italian. Anyhow, back to the technique. Different famous chefs do different things to make polen...

This recipe came from  my mom.  It's been around for a long time, I'm not sure just how long. It's one of my dad's favorite ways to eat cucumber. It also happens to be one of those seasonal, summer side dishes that really hits the spot with potato salad and burgers on the grill. Ingredients ½ cup sour cream ¼ cup mayonnaise 2 Tablespoons lemon juice 2 Tablespoons + 1 teaspoon sugar 1 teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon black pepper 1 large English cucumber 1 small red onion 1 sprig fresh dill (optional) Method 1. Combine sour cream, mayo, lemon juice, sugar, salt, and pepper. 2. Wash and peel cucumbers. Cut into slices 1/4" thick. Peel and slice onion thinly, about 1/8" thick. I used a mandoline slicer for this. 3. Toss cucumber slices, onion, and dill (if using) in cream sauce. 4. Cover with plastic and chill at least 2 hours, or overnight to let the flavors develop.

I've been going to the Nugget Rib Cookoff for years. The first time was way back in the early 90's, when I was a teenager. I missed a few years, but the past 8-9 years or so, my husband has made sure that we go. Dear readers, you know we love meat. We would starve as vegans. This cookoff was no different than past ones.  We went a couple different times, ate both from the Rib Village and stood in lines. We feel that gives us a fair representation. Sometimes, ribs hot off the grill are just so different from the Rib Village pans of ribs. You still get the flavor, but the fresh hot smokiness can get lost from getting wrapped and piled in a pan. A few of the entry booths have local restaurants so we already knew what to expect from them. Kinder's, Famous Dave's, BJ's Nevada BBQ. We know you guys very well, very well indeed. We went Friday night to the Rib Village. We were at the table right next to John Ascuaga himself. You know you're doing ...

Chicken lettuce wraps aren't the most unusual things, they are actually quite common these days.  My main problem for eating them at restaurants is the mushrooms. Being allergic, this is one of those dishes that I have recreated at home, mushroom-free. It's my own original combination. It's what I like together. If it tastes like some famous restaurant, it's purely by accident. Ingredients 1 lb chicken, sliced in small chunks, either white or dark meat is good 1 Tablespoon neutral-flavor oil (I used vegetable oil) 2 carrots, peeled and diced 1 small white onion, diced 3 Tablespoons sake or rice wine 2 Tablespoons hoisin sauce 3 Tablespoons tamari or soy sauce 3 green onions, chopped, green part only black pepper 1 head lettuce, washed with individual whole leaves separated small knob of fresh ginger, peeled sesame seeds cellophane noodles (optional) Method 1. In a medium hot frying pan, heat oil. Add chicken, season to taste with pepper, and cook un...