My friend of more than 17 years, Lorie, was in town this weekend from California. I decided on a light and refreshing salad and an Asian theme.  We had store-bought sushi for appetizers and green tea martinis.  The sushi was a hit… not so much the drinks.  Luckily, Lorie brought a bottle of champagne, so we switched to the bubbly after each drinking about half our mar“tea”nies.  Oh well, it was worth a try.  For dessert – a tart lemon sorbet and thin ginger cookies -are both store-bought.  It made for an easy and relaxing meal, leaving plenty of time to catch up and reminisce.
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It’s a great Sunday at the Hopkins’ house – the Cardinals win! And it’s finally cooling off outside so I was able to garden this morning, I don’t think it even hit 100 degrees today!  Plus my Dad is over for dinner and after a few hands of cards, it’s time to give my husband and dad what they really want – meat and potatoes! Hope you enjoyed your weekend as too. 🙂

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I hope you had a relaxing Labor Day Weekend! Part of mine was spent in the desert sun and the other in the cool pines of Flagstaff. I returned Connor to school and on the drive back this morning, I was trying to decide about dinner.

Cruising up and down the winding mountains between there and here, I was thinking about my kids and about my pregnancies, of all things! Expecting was wonderful, but pregnancy itself, for me, was not! Let’s just say (without getting too graphic) that I knew I was pregnant, both times because I was suddenly so ill. There was no “morning sickness” for me… more like “every-single-waking-moment sickness, for the full 9 months!”

Amazing that I gave it a second try and had Connor! But of course, I thank God every day that I did! So anyhow, what does that have to do with Beef Stroganoff?

Well, it was one of the few things I absolutely craved, and wasn’t sickened by the smell of, and was somehow able to keep down, at least for a while. Understandably, I made it at least twice a week. Somehow my darling Marissa claims that she can’t stand it. But I would dare her to not love this version.

Back then I used stew meat and white mushrooms. I believe my gourmet daughter would appreciate the beef tenderloin and the wild mushrooms used here.

For the wild mushrooms, I use 1 1/2 ounce shiitake (the most affordable) and only a 1/2 ounce mix of other varieties. Instead of sour cream, I love to use really great Greek yogurt. It’s hard to find anything better than the Fage brand, even their non-fat (0%) is amazingly delicious, and best of all, you can find it at Trader Joe’s! So enjoy, pregnant or not!

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This recipe was last night’s dinner, served with sides of roasted garlic mashed potatoes and blanched asparagus and green beans (leftover crudites from the NCL Saturday class) that were heated and dressed with the same Garlic Parmesan Crema used to season the roast.  Most Sundays my dad comes over and we play cards (Spades, Hearts, Gin Rummy, and/or Pinochle before dinner, and the meals are usually standard meat/potatoes.  But honestly, you can’t beat an inexpensive beef roast on the weekend. Today is my dear friend’s, Larry Fitzgerald, birthday – he is a mere 26 years old today.  We’ve been in the kitchen together since he was 22 and he is an excellent cook and an amazing person.  Happy Birthday, Fitz!

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I promised myself that I would post before 10 PM today, and it’s a promise I am keeping! I need sleep! I have been obsessed, which is what happens when I get into something new. If I love a book, I don’t put it down until it’s finished.

For example- a few summers ago, when the 5^th Harry Potter book was released on a Friday morning, I bought two copies (well, we always buy 2 copies, one for each of my kids’ libraries). One copy went with Dave and the kids on a plane that afternoon back to Illinois to see his family. The other was with me, in bed, which I read straight through, no eating, no sleeping, no anything (except toilet breaks!) until the book was finished. Mind you this is an 800+ page book.

Then on Saturday morning, when I’d finished it, I got dressed and shopped for that next week’s classes, came home, and went to bed until the next morning. But that’s how it is and that’s how it’s been with these posts too. I’m going to have to get on a more daylight schedule! Most of today’s daylight has been spent putting up links to sites I wanted to share with you. Most are cooking sites or blogs, and some of the others are friends’ sites. Then there are sites that are just filled with lovely and artistic photos, many Paris inspired!

photo from The Paris Apartment

Like this gorgeous photo (I have died and gone to heaven!) from The Paris Apartment! So check them out and enjoy! The following recipe was partially inspired by a sandwich I had this summer in California. It was with grilled chicken and had a tasty and unique corn-onion mayonnaise. I haven’t been able to get that mayo out of my mind since, and every now and then when friends ask things like “is mayo gluten-free” or “how do I make my own” I end up thinking back to it. I picked up skirt steak with the intention of making fajitas but then found in the newly arrived Sept issue of Bon Appetit a sandwich recipe using…Grilled Corn Mayonnaise! Funny how things like this show up in different places around the same time… so now here is my version…

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