Posts from — August 2011

Although this risotto isn’t the prettiest dish ever posted here; don’t let that turn you off, it is delicious. And no, there is no duck in it… but that’s a thought…

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Many years ago I was a “white meat” snob. I claimed to not like dark poultry meat. I knew dark meat was generally juicier, less dry, and more flavorful, but I went with the thought that “ladies” eat white meat.  I am not certain where I came up with that, maybe something to do with dieting and the fact that white meat does have less fat and calories.

But honestly, there isn’t a huge difference. One-half cup of chicken breast has 129 calories, 5.2g fat, and 52mg cholesterol. One-half cup dark meat has 135 calories, 6.3g fat, and 61mg cholesterol. So, once in awhile it really is OK to eat a chicken thigh or leg quarter, especially when it’s in your freezer and you are diligently working on cleaning out that freezer. When am I NOT trying to clean out the darn freezer? It’s a never-ending battle.

This pasta chicken dish made me happy that I had that chicken meat stash.  Feel free to sub white meat for the dark, but trust me, it’s darn tasty with the juicier, moister, and more flavorful thigh meat!

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Les Petites Gourmettes Blog 2-Year Celebration
Cookbook Happy Hour
Tuesday, August 16
4:30 – 7:00 PM

RSVP: leave a comment here or email me at lpgourmett@aol.com to let me know you are coming – and I will email you back with directions.

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Last Monday morning, once Marissa had left for work and I returned to her apartment after taking Dave to the airport, I sat down to eat lunch. It consisted of a boxed salad I’d picked up at Trader Joe’s the day before. My plan was to eat half of it and save the remaining half for lunch on Tuesday – that didn’t happen.

I scarfed down the entire tasty thing.  Monday night, when Marissa came home from work, we jumped in her car and headed back to Trader Joe’s to do her “big” grocery run.  She would finally have stocked shelves, refrigerator, freezer, and wine rack and could stop eating like a “third-grader with a drinking problem.”

Instead, she is now a young woman with healthy choices and plenty of nice wine to accompany her adult meals. (Did you know that in California “Two Buck Chuck” is actually two bucks, well actually $1.99?  Not that the $2.99 we pay in AZ is a bad deal, but I always wondered why it was called “Two Buck” when it really cost three bucks… now I know.)

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I honestly don’t know how some people do it. How they are able to eat out more than once or twice a week. Sure, we all love to eat from somewhere like SOFIA RESTAURANT every now and again, but I cannot make eating out such a regular occurrence. When I come home from vacation, the first thing I crave is a home-cooked meal and the absolute last thing I want for a week or two is to go out to eat. I know of people who dine in restaurants, carry out, or have delivery more than 7 or 8 times a week. 

That said, the three restaurants we dined at in San Francisco were amazing! But I did say “San Francisco”, so what else would you expect… but amazing? I am no restaurant critic. I don’t critique the decor, the location, or even the wait staff. I just know if I am “comfortable” in a space, I’m with people I want to be with, and if I have delicious food – well, then I‘m happy and I’ve had a good dining experience. 

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As I mentioned yesterday, the final couple hours of the road trip were the most challenging. The endless lines of traffic getting onto the Bay Bridge was brutal, especially when you don’t have the “lane changing” abilities you’re used to, while you are in a U-Haul and pulling a trailer. I’m just thankful that I was the passenger and not the driver. Dave has abounding patience and I have… none!

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Our journey to deliver Marissa’s belongings to San Francisco began around noon on Friday, July 29th, and ended when we finally arrived at her new home on Saturday, July 30th around 4:30 PM.

Most of our 14 hours of drive-time were spent on either I-10 between Phoenix and Los Angeles or on the I-5 between LA and San Francisco. The remaining couple hours were spent on the slow crawl to get onto and then across the Bay Bridge; at least it felt like 2 hours!

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I love tomatoes. I love asparagus. I love sugar snap peas. I love capers. I love Sherry vinegar. I love this recipe ~ hope you love it too!

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Today we’ll use two more of the 10 “cheap super-foods” I introduced you to on Sunday; sweet potato and mango.  I’ll leave it up to you on how to use the remaining “every day” five; low-fat milk, eggs, oatmeal, black tea, and dried cranberries.  Although, tossing a few “craisins” on top of this salad, wouldn’t be such a bad idea.  And… you could pump it up a bit more by serving this color-packed salad on a bed of very thinly sliced fresh kale. That would give you four of the ten “supers” in your supper.

PLUS, Happy Birthday to my dear friend and mentor, Barbara Pool Fenzl! Can’t wait to celebrate a week from today. Until then, have a lovely birthday week. I love you and adore you! xoxo

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Today I am using 3 of the 10 inexpensive “superfoods” I told you about yesterday; pinto beans, kale, and salmon. Although I have to confess that I cheated a little bit and used fresh salmon (more expensive) rather than canned (inexpensive)… but only because I had it on hand and it would have gone bad otherwise, which just would have been stupid and wasteful.

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