Quick Weeknight Comfort Dinner

It happens to us all.  It's a Wednesday night, we all need to eat, and mom is tired and not feeling terribly creative.  For this reason, I keep a stash of go-to items so I can still whip up something filling, tasty and that constitutes a decent meal on the fly.

After spending some of my last week in the hospital (what an experience!) I am still dealing with a dull headache, fatigue and frustration as we try to get my meds straightened out.  So, this was one of those "call it in" nights.

Thanks to my beloved Aldi, I had cheese ravioli, jarred Alfredo sauce, regular pasta sauce, and pesto on hand. The ravioli takes a whopping 8 minutes. I warmed up the red sauce for the kid and for Neil and myself, I used the Alfredo with some pesto and extra parmesan mixed in.  I had sliced fresh mozzarella, my basil plant and made a reduction of balsamic vinegar.  Lastly, thanks to my buddies at Publix, there were garlic knots in the freezer. 

Result? It really hit the spot!  And, there's still some leftover ravioli that I can turn into a pasta salad tomorrow. I highly recommend this plan for your busy weeknights when cooking isn't really in the cards for you. I know it's not "real" cooking, but it was just the thing for a Wednesday night!  

Rockin' Ribs

I've told you all before that I was intimidated by ribs for many years.  I finally broke down and tried them when an issue of Bon Appetit's cover beckoned me.  That recipe was ridiculously easy and delicious and not nearly as time consuming as people tell you. I've made it numerous times now, but I'm still a rib-cookin'-newbie.  I am constantly perusing other recipes for different flavors and techniques to try.  Recently, I found baby backs on sale and grabbed a rack.  What to do, what to do?

I went to my new favorite website (and cookbook publisher), www.AllRecipes.com for some guidance.  Neil was working late that day, which means he probably skipped lunch, and would arrive here starving.  This recipe caught my eye because of the flavors, the time involved and the good ratings.  Decision made.

Look at these babies!

I know, right?

Collards, field peas and BBQ...they eat this way up North, right?

My Southern Belle...in her motorcycle jersey.

I served the ribs with collard greens and field peas.  I really think I surprised Neil with this kind of down home meal on a weeknight.  The little gourmand also loved it.  Happiness all around!  If you're like me, wrestling with the intimidation of cooking ribs, and cooking them well, try this recipe.  It worked just as it promised and the result was tender and delicious.  

Crazy Spaghetti Tip

This will be short and sweet.  

First, a little history.  When I was in elementary school, my mom and a bunch of other moms were in charge of a huge spaghetti supper at the school.  Our good friend Dupre owned a restaurant in Irmo at the time and he let them use the place during the day, while the restaurant was closed, to mix up all their sauce.  My memory (be warned...this is a kid's memory) was of buckets and buckets, like sheetrock mud buckets, just lined up everywhere.  They were making the sauce en masse, of course.  One lady's task was to add x-number of cups of Worchestershire sauce to each bucket.  She went into the kitchen, grabbed several bottles of that yummy black nectar and set out to get the job done.  

At about bucket # 20, someone looked at what she was doing.  She had grabbed a yummy black nectar, but a different one than intended.  Yes friends, she was adding soy sauce to the spaghetti sauce.  As you can imagine, all the  moms went bonkers, there were some meltdowns and I'm pretty sure some emphatic "dammits" and "shits."  But, finally the chaos subsided and someone, I'm going to assume it was the level headed Dottie Webber (my mom),  who said something like "Hey, it's done.  Keep adding soy to the rest of the sauce so it's consistent."

The secret weapon

Well, you know what?  That spaghetti supper at Dutch Fork Elementary back in the early 70's was a resounding success.  In fact, up until that time, I wasn't such a spaghetti fan.  But I became one that night.  I think it was the soy sauce.  No, I know it was.  Soy sauce is one of the most precious liquids on Earth, if you ask me.  

So, here's the message I wanted to impart to you all this evening.  When you have those quicky weeknight suppers of spaghetti sauce from a jar <<oh don't act like you don't use it from time to time!>>  add some soy sauce and little garlic powder.  It elevates jarred sauce tremendously.  In fact, my little diner dove into hers this evening and said, 

"Mommy, did you make this yourself?"  <<Okay, I told her yes.>>  Her response? "I love it!  Thank you so much!"  

Do I feel guilty about using a jarred sauce now and then?  Not with a compliment like that from the most important person on the planet!

Skillet Pizza

I'm slowly working my way through this new cookbook I got for Christmas.  I really love it. It's full of "real life" dishes from around the country, they've all been tested and perfected and so far, they all turn out as expected.

As you know, I am a major proponent of pizza.  However, I have determined that it's pretty much impossible to get a really crisp, thin crust in a home oven.  Clearly, restaurant pizza has better crust because of the insanely high temps that can be achieved in a commercial oven.

This new book has a recipe called 'Skillet Pizza.'  The photos looked terrific, so I had to give it a try.  The result was a very thin, super crispy crust and the toppings I chose were so good I got a little emotional.  

Now, I share with you:





Crust:

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1/3 cup beer (I used Newcastle)
• 7 Tbs olive oil

Toppings:

• 4 med Roma tomatoes, seeded, cored and chopped
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup Mozzarella
• 1/2 cup Parmesan
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
• 1/4 cup chopped roasted red peppers
• 1/4 chopped Kalamata olives
• 2 large jarred Pepperoncini peppers, stemmed and sliced

Toss the tomatoes and salt and then let them drain on paper towels for about 15 minutes.  Meanwhile, combine the cheeses and basil in a medium bowl.  


Combine the flour, baking powder, salt & sugar in the food processor.  With it running, slowly add beer and 1 Tbs olive oil.  Process until the dough starts to pull away from the sides and is forming a shaggy ball.  Using floured hands, form the dough into a tight ball and cover loosely with plastic wrap.  Let it rest about 10 minutes.


Divide the dough in half and roll out to a thin 9" circle on a floured surface.  Heat 3 Tbs olive oil over medium heat until just smoking.  Transfer one round into the pan.  With a fork, poke any bubbles that form and cook until the bottom is golden brown.  Turn over with tongs.  Top with 1/2 the tomatoes, any other toppings you like (see mine above) and 1/2 of the cheese.  Continue to cook until crust is crispy and browned.  I covered mine with a lid to help the cheese melt.  Transfer to a cutting board, wipe out the skillet and repeat with the other crust. Viola!