My little corner of the world

…as if it’s not already glaringly obvious.  Today, I went to Red Lobster and tried the Macadamia Tilapia with White Chocolate Beurre Blanc.   Why?  Because the dish is the result of a Next Food Network Star challenge, and the winning entree is currently being served at a friendly neighborhood Red Lobster near you.  Thinking of you, my loyal readers, I took a picture:

I think my friend Renne was a bit horrified to see me whip out the camera phone in the middle of the restaurant, but seeing as I paid for dessert, she let it go.

While the broccoli and the fish itself were nicely cooked, the baked potato was a tad too firm and the beurre blanc a wee bit too sweet.  But the flavors melded well and I especially liked the tilapia-macadamia combination.  The beurre blanc may have been better without the white chocolate, but I understand why it has to be there.

So… don’t you want to go out and taste a bit of Food Network history?  Well head down to Red Lobster and give this a try.  I would suggest, however, that you go at lunchtime, because I don’t think it’s worth the $19 you’ll be plunking down for the dinner portion.

For those of you who have no idea what I’m talking about, stop right now and read this. There! Now you’re enlightened.

I think everyone in the South makes their own pimento cheese differently, but among all the varieties, there are always three ingredients that are always added: pimentos, Cheddar cheese, and Duke’s mayonnaise. Don’t even *think* about using Hellman’s, or even worse, Miracle Whip! No sirree, you can’t call it pimento cheese unless you use Duke’s.

The batch I whipped up this morning was something I came up with all on my own. OK, Michael gave a little suggestion (”Grandmother always put sugar in hers…”) that really made this turn out to be the best pimento cheese I’ve ever had. And just think - you can make it yourself in fifteen minutes.

Beth’s Pimento Cheese

• 1 lb block sharp Cheddar cheese
• 1 small jar diced pimentos, drained
• 2-3 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 2 tablespoons grated onion (if you don’t want to use fresh, used 1 tbsp dried minced onion rehydrated with 1 tbsp water)
• pinch or two of cayenne pepper
• 2 dashes hot sauce
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1/4 cup Duke’s mayonnaise
• 3-4 strips crumbled bacon

Grate the cheese and put in a large food processor. Add the pimentos, garlic, onion, cayenne pepper, hot sauce, salt and pepper and pulse until combined. Do not let it get to a puree! Add the mayonnaise and pulse until well mixed. If you prefer a looser consistency, add more mayonnaise, one tablespoon at a time. until desired consistency. Fold in the bacon and serve on white bread. Enjoy!!

Just in case you’re interested:

Saturday: Olive Garden… woohoo for me! :)

Sunday: Cubed steak, roasted new potatoes, and salad

Monday: Michael’s night to play Bobby Flay! Grilled lemon-honey chicken, grilled corn with smoked paprika butter, and grilled pineapple wedges.

Tuesday: Curried chicken wraps and a salad

Wednesday: Smoked chicken salad sandwiches, Barefoot carrot salad, and potato chips for the picky eater (*ahem*Michael*ahem*) who won’t eat the scrumptious carrot & raisin salad

Thursday: It’s Nathan night: Manwiches, baked beans, and oven fries.

Yup, chicka here spent yet another Saturday in complete foodie dorkiness. I spend the first few hours of every Saturday glued to the best network on TV, then settle down with the Ingles and Publix sales papers side-by-side with my coupon organizer, and plan out the entire week’s menu based on (a) what’s on sale, (b) what I have coupons for, and (c) what I really feel like cooking the next week. Then we go shopping at three different stores in two different towns. Yeah it takes time. And as soon as we get back and put the groceries up, I can’t wait to get started on that night’s meal. No I don’t have better things to do on a Saturday, thank you very much.

For those of you dying to know, here’s our weekly evening menu I came up with. Woohoo, it’s Giada week!

Saturday - Roast chicken, creamy corn-studded polenta, and romaine with Parmesan vinaigrette.

Sunday - Spicy sausage, chicken, and bean pot

Monday - Bacon-wraped pork roast with an orzo salad, and Nutella ravioli for dessert.

Tuesday - Tomato soup with pancetta, and grilled gruyere sandwiches

Wednesday - Chicken carbonara and haricot verts

Thursday - Tilapia with citrus bagna cauda and prosciutto-wrapped asparagus spears

Friday - Penne rigate with spinach sauce

And yes, my children DO eat what I fix, which is nothing less than a miracle - since five years ago they refused anything that wasn’t chicken nuggets, fish sticks, or corndogs. Excuse me while I give myself a little pat on the back. There. That felt good. Seriously, it is great to see my kids trying all kinds of new foods, and even liking them. Matthew is more adventurous, while Nathan tends to be a little more, ah, discriminating. Today’s food (reminiscent of a French cassoulet) was a definite hit for everyone. Nathan did not think yesterday’s polenta was ‘all that & a bag of chips’, but then again he’s weird. He does get props for trying it though.

I’m most excited about tomorrow night’s (ok, it’s midnight so technically it’s tonight’s) dessert. We usually don’t have anywhere to go on Monday’s, so I try to do something special. And I think anything with Nutella is pretty darn special. If you’ve never had it, well folks, you are really missing out on a treat. Go out and get some. Right now.

Since he said it wouldn’t make it into the church’s slideshow, I just had to put it on Google Video. :)

Jamaica, here I come!!

That’s right, folks, you are witnessing the charred remains of the ‘74 Beetle that went up in flames this past Thursday. 

…you make your husband vacuum the silk ficus tree with the brush attachment: 

and we wouldn’t let him go outside barefoot. So…. the closest pair of footwear we could find was my slippers.

Here’s a shot of him coming back into the house: