My parents visited this weekend and aside from loads of gifts for their grandkids they also brought one for me: A Le Creuset oval stoneware cooking dish that is a monster. A sign of getting older (and more hip) is that I get truly exited about a new piece of cookware.
My first meal in the new dish was my patented (not really) Mustard Fish. There were a few inquiries about this when I previously mentioned it, so here goes:
For the marinade, you are making something similar to a balsamic vinaigrette. First, chop one shallot and place in a bowl. Then add balsamic vinegar, depending on the amount of fish you will need anything from 1-4 tablespoons. I hate measuring, so experiment. Then add Dijon mustard and your favorite stone ground mustard, something seedy. Add parsley, salt, and pepper. Finally, add olive oil (stir while adding) to taste. When the mixture suits your palate, pour over fish (tilapia is my recommendation) and let it sit in the fridge for a couple hours. Bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes at 375 degrees.
Sorry about the lack of precise measurements. If I wanted to measure things I would bake, which if you are a consistent reader of this blog you would know that I do not like to do. Experiment.
You can also get creative. Use Chipotle Mustard instead of Dijon and the stone ground, and add Frank’s RedHot for a spicier dish. This one is my personal preference.
This marinade also works great on chicken. Nice way to liven up a boring boneless chicken breast.
In other news there is a good chance I will be in Philly in a couple weeks, in which case my lifelong dream of consuming authentic Philly Cheesesteaks will be realized. As we have a very solid stop for great Philly-style hoagies here in Ypsilanti, I will have a nice basis for comparison. A post about them will no doubt follow, along with a general post about Philly’s finest cuisine.
As regular readers of EP know, I function as a stay at home parent. Notice I didn’t say “work.” Where I come from, Earth, work is traditionally something you get paid for. Otherwise it is an internship or volunteering. Since an internship implies a lack of permanence, I suppose I am a volunteer. And I’m fine with that; I did voluntarily leave my job to take care of my kids. I also really don’t like it when some condescending asshole tells me I’m doing “the most important job in the world.” Since I take care of two children, technically wouldn’t someone who works at a day care center and takes care of three or more children have a more important “job” than me? How about an airline pilot responsible for hundreds of lives per flight? How about the mechanics who work on the plane? All I’m doing is making sure my progeny are well taken care of, which is damned important to me but surely of little significance to anyone else. My only request of other stay at home parents is that their little snowflakes grow up well adjusted enough not shoot up my children’s school…
Now that my mini-rant is over, on to the point of this post. Sometimes I am pressed for time to make dinner. Shocking, huh? Two small children harassing me and making demands of all sorts, from help me tie my shoe to make my stuffed polar bear sing “Polar Bear Picnic” again, continually conspires to keep me from plating an intricately prepared meal on a nightly basis.
So what’s a Dad to do? I still want to make something delicious and quasi-healthy. The answer is pretty obvious. Focus on the heart of the meal (chicken, fish, etc.) and make use of side dishes in a box. (If any food snobs have an issue with that they can say it directly to me. You will not find me making pasta salad every damn day during my daughter’s nap. Sometimes Daddy needs to chill for a while and not be catering to whims of another human being. If I want to watch a rerun of The Wire during her nap, I will, and anyone who has something negative to say about that is itchin’ for a fight). Fortunately there are a few decent choices out there, that while not recommended to serve on a nightly basis are still delicious (any reader who disagrees is free to dispute that and recommend something else) and simple to make. That way my mustard fish has a decent side dish and I can keep my sanity alive, if only for one more day.
Number 1: Uncle Ben’s Long Grain and Wild Rice
Uncle Ben says, "With great rice comes great responsibility."
I have never heard a negative word about using Uncle Ben’s Wild Rice as a side dish. Ever. Once I made shrimp scampi with Uncle Ben’s as my side and all the compliments were for the rice. I would have felt insulted if I gave a shit what the people thought, or didn’t partly agree with them. Mix the seasoning with the rice, boil, cover, and 25 minutes later: consume. Also, it goes great with mustard fish.
Number 2: Stove Top Stuffing
Cornbread stuffing FTW.
Boring? Bland? Perhaps, and I would never serve Stove Top on Thanksgiving but for a quick side dish you can be damn sure it works just fine, and is quick and easy. If you are feeling adventurous cook up a batch of McCormick’s Turkey Gravy (more on that in a future post), pour on said stuffing and people will think you actually worked to create the dish.
Number 3: Macaroni and Cheese
Yes, I’m a real genius for uncovering this gem. Every college student and person on a budget knows about Mac and Cheese, right? Of course, but let me sadly state that Mac and Cheese in a box is uniformly awful. How do I make it palatable? A few key additions. First, when mixing the cheese powder, add dried thyme and Dijon mustard — about a teaspoon of each. If your kids or fellow diners can handle it (and if they can’t feel free to haze them) liberally add Frank’s RedHot to it as well. Now you have Mac and Cheese from a box that is edible.
A word of caution: Be sure to stay away from instant mashed potatoes. Awful beyond belief or description.
I’ll do veggies in another post. Actually, I won’t, I’ll just add that in now. The secret to add veggies in a quick manner is to serve them raw (my kids prefer carrots or peppers) and offer them something to dip them in. Hummus or Ranch dip or whatever strikes your fancy. If your little ones still won’t eat the veggies, just tell them if they don’t eat them they will never be allowed to have dessert again until they either turn 18 or get a job. Works like a charm.
Now if you will excuse me I have to go fold laundry and clean up a giant mess of legos along with misplaced puzzle pieces and blocks. You know, the most important job in the world…
I had to go to the mall, a place I try to avoid at all costs, the other day to have my iPod looked out by the too cool tech-geeks at the Apple Store, when I saw something that made me cringe in what was almost actual, physical pain. No, it wasn’t unfettered consumerism at its overpriced worst. It wasn’t bad mall food, as our local mall here in Ann Arbor actually boasts a couple of decent eateries: Sushi Café (yes, sushi at the mall and it is delicious) and Chipotle. It was a cupcake kiosk.
When did the cupcakes invade and why have we let them take over? A kiosk at the mall, a store devoted entirely to cupcakes just off Main Street in Ann Arbor, and my DirecTV has 250 channels, 90% of which are devoted to cupcakes all of the sudden. It seems I can’t go to a party or function without some too cute dessert with pink frosting staring at me.
This is what we are up against, my friends. Let's kill it before it has a chance to breed.
I don’t have anything against dessert, but I am more of a main course kind of person. The cookie will always hold a special place in my heart, but I’d take fried chicken or cheesy potatoes over dessert any day. So I ask again, what is the deal with cupcakes? They can certainly be delicious, but so are bacon smores and I don’t see kiosks at the mall for them. Besides, cupcakes suffer from many of the same issues as muffins do. The top is inevitably more delicious, but enveloping a full cupcake bite leads to frosting on the nose. Not a good look for a man. The solution is to lop the top off. I just don’t trust a dessert that needs to be mutilated to achieve full deliciousness.
The working theory I have about their popularity is that they are portable cakes, and if there is one thing we Americans love, it is portable, fattening, sugar-laden food. But they are also cute, which annoys the hell out of me. At my son’s school, every Mom had to be Sandra Lee and make some pink princess designed cupcake or Spiderman themed cupcake for their little snowflake’s birthday. (If they have to be Sandra Lee the least they could have done was bring cocktails for the adults, but I digress.) Call me a rebel, but I made chocolate chip cookies for my son’s kindergarten class on his birthday. And yes, I do bake when I have to, if I have to be a stay-at-home Dad you can damn well be sure I’m going to make some cookies. Delicious ones, too. Might as well fully embrace where life has taken me…
I was going to include a review of Cupcake Wars, but our friends at Would I Buy It Again did a solid, in depth review and I would rather direct you to their page than force myself to watch it. Besides, it surely would have been a hateful rant and I like to limit those, otherwise you will be desensitized to them. Can’t have that happen. As for cupcake shows, no thank you. I can’t stand Ace of Cakes either; Duff is actually pretty cool but baking shows in general are not on my list of things to watch. Ever. I even turn Alton Brown off when he is baking.
Just like Jeff Goldblum in Independence Day, let me warn all of the impeding invasion of the cupcakes. Maybe it is too late. Their saturation is close to critical mass. In the mean time, I’ll be in the corner with a bucket of fried chicken.
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