Lazy Days

I don't think necessity is the mother of invention - invention, in my opinion, arises directly from idleness, possibly also from laziness.
- Agatha Christie

I am going through a phase. I'm not sure if it's the change in the weather that's causing my inability to focus on anything - knowing that just outside the door, the sun is casting warmth and radiance on everything it touches, while a cool breeze competes for attention. Maybe it's the distractions of the football season & fall sweeps resulting in my reluctance to hole myself up in the kitchen. It's possible that our weekend spoiled me. Whatever the reason may be, I have been lazy the past few days when it comes to cooking.

This laziness is defined by my brief glances at the contents of our fridge, pantry, and freezer - and ignoring the feelings of inspiration in exchange for a quick and easy meal so we can curl up on the couch and watch tv, or sit on the porch and listen to the medley of barking dogs that is so common in our neighborhood.

Store bought smoked turkey wings, alongside sweet steamed baby peas and a quick bake of pineapple, cheddar cheese, shredded crackers, and butter - dinner on the table in 15 minutes. Laziness never tasted so good.

Neely Perfect

When love and skill work together, expect a masterpiece.
- John Ruskin

These days, Pat & Gina Neely are best known for their double presence on the Food Network ("Down Home with the Neely's" & "Road Tasted with the Neely's") - but to those of us who hail from Memphis and/or Nashville, we know them for much much more.

Neely's Bar-b-que began in 1988 in Downtown Memphis, launched by four brothers with a penchant for hard work and a passion for barbeque. Within four years, they expanded their business and opened a second location in East Memphis. They entered the Music City food scene in 2001, and the rest is history.

We have pretty much found ourselves ordering the same dishes every time we go, and this most recent trip was no exception.

The large chopped pork plate holds enough barbeque for a hearty lunch or dinner, as well as leftovers to be enjoyed later. The pork is tender, with a robust smoky flavor and the slightest hint of tangy vinegar. It comes smothered in their famous sauce, which is a classic combination of sweet and hot, accompanied by thick texas toast and choice of two sides. We decided to carb-load on the sides, and opted for potato salad and macaroni & cheese. Their potato salad is divine, with perfectly cooked potatoes and a creamy mustard-based sauce. The macaroni & cheese is exactly how it should be in the South - creamy, cheesy, and rich.

We also had the chopped pork plate with cole slaw and barbeque spaghetti. I am very particular about cole slaw, and Neely's hits the mark - cabbage that is crunchy and not soggy, dressing abundant without being sloppy. I've spoken before about my love of barbeque spaghetti - and this is the driving force behind it. Perfectly cooked pasta, tossed with tender barbeque and drenched in that heavenly sauce.

I've saved the best for last. I am a woman obsessed with nachos. I have been since I was a child, and that was the snack I requested every single day when I got home from school. These nachos aren't anything fancy, simply pulled pork, barbeque sauce, and cheese sauce heaped atop salty tortilla chips and finished off with a sprinkling of their signature barbeque seasoning- but they are comforting, full of flavor, messy, and delicious.

Beyond the dishes above, the menu is full of other amazing items, such as smoked sausages, turkey, ribs, wings, and true Southern desserts (think Pecan Pie & Peach Cobbler). The next time you find yourself craving true barbeque, look no further than Neely's. (Aside from the 3 locations, they have a presence at FedEx Forum in Memphis and Gaylord Entertainment Center in Nashville - and they offer the option to order sauces and seasonings online.)

365 Days Later

An anniversary is a time to celebrate the joys of today, the memories of yesterday, and the hopes of tomorrow.
- Author Unknown

Today is our one-year anniversary. Much like birthdays, which are far more enjoyable spread over the period of several days, our weekend was an ongoing celebration.

We started out Friday evening with cocktails at Rumba, the location of our first date. We then walked next door to Stoney River for dinner. We shared a bowl of velvety lobster bisque, and then moved on to our main courses - a filet with au gratin potatoes for him, and twin tenderloin tails alongside a tempura fried lobster tail for me.

Saturday morning, I made his favorite breakfast of biscuits & gravy, which is also what he had for breakfast on the morning of our wedding. This was a precursor to our dinner, which was a recreation of the meal we had on our wedding night - chicken breasts in a delicate mushroom cream sauce, tender steaks, green beans simmered slowly in bacon, and creamy potatoes au gratin - followed by a tiny white cake with white icing.

Over the past year, we've shared many meals and many moments together. We've had exotic vacations and exotic dishes, tender steaks followed by tender kisses, intriguing appetizers with the intriguing people we've met along the way. We've enjoyed pastas chock-full of fresh ingredients and evenings chock-full of laughter, sweet desserts and sweet words, intense flavors and intense love.

I look forward to each coming day, full of anticipation about what's to come - in the kitchen and beyond. As I learn substantially more about ingredients and techniques, I hope to also gain a greater knowledge about what it takes to make this marriage stronger day by day. He is the person I will share all of my meals with, and he is the greatest inspiration I've ever known.

Spongeworthy

I don't waste my sponges on just anybody...
- Elaine Benes, Seinfeld

This is not about cooking per se, but rather about what happens following cooking...

I adore these sponges. Seriously. I know it sounds bizarre, to fawn over a sponge, but there is something about them that makes me so happy. I love that they come in a cute little package. I love that they store easily because they are so small prior to use. I love watching them grow like little yellow sea monkeys.

I originally bought these for my husband, who likes to do dishes. He actually enjoys doing dishes. I don't understand it, but I sure as hell won't question it. However, I use them for everything - they are all natural, super absorbent, hold together well (and don't fall apart like some), and the best part - they are dishwasher safe, so you can clean them!

It doesn't take much to please us around here.

Pantry Raid

In the end, your creativity - perhaps even your outrageousness - will determine the final result.
- Bobby Flay

If you drive through our neighborhood on any given weekend, you will be inundated with neon signs posted to telephone poles advertising yard sales, garage sales, estate sales, antique sales. No matter the verbiage, they all mean one thing - someone needed to get rid of the junk in their home.

I take the same approach in our kitchen. Every so often, I do a scan and make a note of the items in our freezer and pantry, and then I brainstorm ways to use up those ingredients. It usually results in some interesting meals, some better than others.

Club crackers wrapped in bacon, sprinkled with parmesan cheese and baked in the oven for 2 hours at 250 degrees. The result is a crisp salty buttery snack, perfect with a cold beer. Next time I make these, however, I'll use less bacon and possibly a different type of cracker - maybe a Wheat Thin. I think a lighter cracker (not to mention bite-sized) would be a better fit.



For this dish, I combined rice with frozen mixed veggies, fried egg, and tilapia, tossed with teriyaki, soy sauce, and sesame oil - and served it with crab rangoons I made with leftover won ton wrappers, crab meat, cream cheese, and chopped green onions. This was simple, delicious, and used up a good portion of ingredients I had on hand.


I always keep tuile cookies in the house - they are the perfect accompaniment to ice cream or sorbet. I combined brown sugar, butter, cinnamon, vanilla, and chopped pecans, brought it to a boil, then drizzled the mixture over the cookies and baked them for 10 minutes at 350 degrees. After they cooled, I broke them up into large pieces. These are gooey, with a crunchy bite from the cookies.

On the days where I'm attempting to clean out the freezer, fridge and pantry in anticipation of a trip to the grocery store, I think about those yard sales - and how someone's trash is another person's treasure. It's all in how you look at it - and what you do with it.

A Recipe for Disaster

Happy and successful cooking doesn't rely only on know-how; it comes from the heart, makes great demands on the palate and needs enthusiasm and a deep love of food to bring it to life.
- Georges Blanc

I’m ridiculously bad at following recipes. I love to read cookbooks, study recipes, but as opposed to using them exactly as they appear, I prefer instead to gain an understanding of complementary ingredients, proportions, and methodology. This failure to adhere to the formula results in my being equally bad at translating recipes. I’ve had friends and family ask me to tell them the recipe for a dish they’ve loved…and I give them this blank look and usually mutter something along the lines of “Oh, it’s pretty easy…all you do is…” as my way of attempting to avoid the inevitable questions of “Well, how MUCH salt?” or “But how long do you cook it?”

I cook by taste. I prepare meals based on an innate sense of temperature, cooking lengths, scent, sight, and personal preference. While over the years I’ve established my own routines and basics, I by no means can state that I’ve never had…mistakes. There have been experiments that resulted in turned heads, closed eyes and the inevitable stories to follow years later...when someone thinks that enough time has passed to laugh about the time I tried to make a certain dish and failed miserably. Don’t even get me started…

All of this is to say that when I run through a recipe here, I am sometimes horrible at explaining. When I describe the steps I take, I somehow do so on the assumption that you’ve taken residence in my brain, my kitchen, and my skillet. It’s not for a lack of trying…it’s not my laziness taking over my keyboard. It’s my inability to accurately describe and lay things out as seen in every cookbook I’ve ever read. Oh, and my incredible lack of patience may have just a tad bit to do with it as well…

Loaded Pork Chops

6 bacon slices
2 apples, peeled and sliced thin
½ cup diced onion
1 pkg herb cheese such as Boursin or Alouette
6 boneless pork chops
Salt & Pepper
Olive oil
Butter

- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

- Heat olive oil and butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Sprinkle both sides of each pork chop liberally with salt and pepper. Once butter and olive oil have melted, add pork chops and cook 2-3 minutes on each side, or until golden brown. Remove from heat and keep warm.

- Heat butter in medium skillet over medium high heat until melted, add apples and onions and sauté until tender, approximately 4-5 minutes.

- Spread herb cheese mixture evenly over each pork chop. Top with apple and onion mixture and then wrap each pork chop in bacon slice, securing with a toothpick.

- Place pork chops in baking dish and cook in oven until bacon is crisp, approximately 12-14 minutes.

Germantown Cafe

Show me another pleasure like dinner which comes every day and lasts an hour.
- Charles Maurice de Talleyrand

For Nashville Restaurant Week, we elected to head to Germantown Cafe since they were offering most of their full menu, as opposed to several places that had more limited options. The $20.08 prix fixe menu included choice of soup or salad, entree, and dessert. I adore Germantown Cafe and have been dozens of times - my husband had never been, so I was curious to see if he'd love it as much as I do.

We had a reservation, and although we arrived early due to an overzealous (read: insane) cab driver, we were seated immediately. We opted to start with the squash fritters while we enjoyed a drink and perused the menu (at least, I pretended to peruse - I knew what I was ordering before I ever arrived). The fritters were served with buttermilk cream, and were approximately the size and appearance of hush puppies. The crispy breading was not greasy at all, but crunchy and gave way easily to a tender center of sweet creamy squash. The sauce was tangy and rich, but light enough to keep the dish from being too overbearing and filling.

We both had the garden salad with blue cheese vinaigrette, and while the greens were crisp and fresh, there was too much blue cheese for both of our tastes. However, knowing there would still be an entree and dessert to come, I didn't mind letting half of my salad go uneaten.

For our entrees, we both went with fish dishes. My husband ordered herb-crusted tilapia served on top of sweet potato risotto, drizzled with a light caper-citrus-brown butter and paired with asparagus. I had my standby, coconut curry salmon with creamy risotto, sauteed spinach and asparagus. In both instances, the fish was cooked perfectly, pan seared crisp and tender inside. The sauces complemented each cut of fish by allowing the flavors to complement the fish instead of masking it or overpowering it. The spinach and asparagus were also delicious, and the portion sizes were just right. Germantown's risotto is always perfect, and this was no exception. No matter how many times I try, I just can't get mine quite like theirs - creamy, tender but not mushy, and perfectly seasoned every time.


Once our dinner plates had been cleared and the option of dessert came around, I was practically twitching with excitement. The key lime pie at Germantown is the best I've ever tasted, and once I knew it was available, I jumped on it immediately - leaving my husband staring at me with eyebrows raised and a hint of a humored smile. He ordered the apple dessert with vanilla ice cream, which was decadent and comforting, albeit a bit too heavy following the meal we'd just had. The key lime pie, on the other hand, is light and fresh, creamy and sweet with the perfect touch of tangy lime.

The only time I haven't been to Germantown Cafe is for brunch - soon to change, because my husband loved it as much as I do. We'll definitely be back.

Football Fantastic

The reason women don't play football is because eleven of them would never wear the same outfit in public.
-Phyllis Diller


Football in our house is sacred. It’s fortunate for the two of us that we’ve both grown up accustomed to an entire day in front of the tv, flipping back and forth between games during the commercials. I dated a guy once who didn’t like football. Seriously. He “didn’t get why it was such a big deal”. I won’t say that’s THE reason we broke up…but it didn’t help his case.

Now I get to share my home and my life with a man that loves it as much as I do. Not only that, I’m partial to college ball…more specifically, I'm a born and raised Georgia fan. He’s partial to pro ball…and a die hard Colts fan. Soooo, this means that we are never fighting over what game to watch. I get Saturdays, he gets Sundays. We have a Colts dog collar and a Bulldogs dog collar...and when it’s your day? You get to choose which dog wears it. We have a sponge brick that has been in my family as long as I can remember, reserved for the utmost anger. Most importantly, we have respect for each other. Your team? Your world. You get waited on hand and foot so as not to miss a moment…you can say or do anything imaginable and get a free pass. There will never be a fight on a game day.


This chicken recipe is simple to make, and turns out juicy and full of flavor. Serving it with white barbeque sauce adds a tangy bite and a hint of spice.

Bacon Wrapped Chicken

6 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
Salt & Pepper
6 Bacon Slices
1 tsp. Garlic Powder
2 tbsp. Brown Sugar
1/4 tsp. Sage
1/4 tsp. Smoked Paprika

-Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
-Sprinkle chicken liberally with salt & pepper
-Combine garlic powder, brown sugar, sage, and paprika and rub chicken generously with the mixture.
-Wrap each breast with bacon and secure with toothpicks.
-Bake at 400 degrees for 35 minutes, or until bacon is crisp and chicken juices run clear.

White Barbecue Sauce

1 cup mayo
1/3 cup water
2 tbsp. white wine vinegar
1 tsp. spicy mustard
2 tbsp. bbq seasoning
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. white pepper
1 tsp. Creole seasoning
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. paprika
¼ tsp. garlic powder
½ tsp. sugar
¼ tsp. hot sauce

Football and food have a relationship that has long since been consummated. Much like the comfort that comes when you wake up knowing you’re next to the person you love, there is a sense of knowing that with one comes the other. The best thing about football food is that there is no staple. There is no common meal as you might find at Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s, or even a summer cookout. For each and every group of people at a gathering, with different and unique perspectives, relationships, backgrounds, and stories, there is a menu that combines taste, preference, and ingredients to provide a balanced mix…of spicy and cool, sweet and sour, hot and cold.

That's the Way the Cookie Crumbles

I eat merely to put food out of my mind.
- N.F. Simpson

I used to wake up every morning with the instantaneous thought that I would soon be in a place where stress was high and rewards were low, where tensions and annoyances climbed steadily during the day and peaked early, not to subside until the final exit. At the end of each day, I sat in the car on the way home one of two ways: either quietly reflecting on the lack of fulfillment I felt, or loudly ranting about that lack. I don’t know how I didn’t get kicked out of the car on a weekly basis. However, despite my intense emotions and my inability to contain them, he never got annoyed with me. He always listened and offered the right words, words that weren’t rehearsed or practiced, that were never clichés, never condescending, and were always dead on.

Finding a way to transfer my love of food into a career is not coming easy. I’m experiencing once again the sensations I felt during and directly following college. I’m witnessing myself going through the phases of discovery, of unease and uncertainty, and of constant internal debate. There are multiple things that are intimately affected by whatever choices I make, both physical and metaphorical. The need to feel on course and successful is only furthered by the person who depends on me…by the person who will be affected most, yet who is most supportive of any choice made.

I'm at a place where I am welcoming change, and willing to endure the fear that accompanies it. I have to be rational and realistic. I also knew something had to give, and even though it meant stepping out on a ledge...I can do it with the knowledge that I have someone that will talk me back in if I get too far out there. That knowledge keeps me going, and brings enough solace to allow me to enjoy this phase. What better way to enjoy it than with warm chewy cookies?

These cookies are incredibly easy to make, and versatile enough to be adapted based on individual preferences. The recipe below incorporates dried cherries and chocolate chips, but I've also made them with a combination of dried cranberries & white chocolate chips, as well as dried apple pieces with butterscotch chips.


Chocolate Cherry Oatmeal Cookies

2/3 cup softened butter
2/3 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 ½ cups oats
1 ½ cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
6 oz. sweetened dried cherries
2/3 cup chocolate chips

- Preheat oven to 375 degrees
- Combine all ingredients in medium bowl, mix to combine well
- Drop onto lightly greased cookie sheets (teaspoonful) and bake 10-12 minutes or until golden brown

Today's Date

Whenever I want a really nice meal, I start dating again.
- Susan Healy

Dates. Early-in-the-process-of-meeting-someone-and-getting-to-know-them dates. And oh my hell, first dates. In as much as dating is supposed to be fun, and exciting, and basically what most people pinpoint as the gateway bridge to the rest of their lives…it always brought me to a level of panic and dread similar only to that associated with the dentist. There is something about attempting to put your best foot forward, trying to avoid revealing too many of your eccentricities too soon, that feels unnatural and uncomfortable.

Despite the above mentioned loathing, I will say that I did always handle a date more easily if I cooked. Whether it was a way to control the environment, the pace, and most certainly the menu, I’m not sure, but it worked. Because on dates? You judge. Which means you are most likely being judged in return. I was always far more comfortable putting my food on the table than any of the skeletons in my sizable closet.



This is a great dish to make for a date night. The combination of salty smoked salmon and creamy tangy goat cheese is basic in concept yet complex in flavor. It's decadent and rich, and simple enough to put together ahead of time, so you can get ready without worrying about your date showing up to find you sweaty-faced and frantically trying to finish dinner.

Smoked Salmon & Goat Cheese Gratin (adapted from Better Homes & Gardens)

5-6 peeled potatoes, thinly sliced
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1 tbsp. minced garlic
2 tbsp. butter
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
3 cups milk
8 oz. smoked salmon
1 cup goat cheese

- Preheat oven to 350, then boil potatoes in salted water for about 5 minutes, drain.
- Saute onion and garlic in butter until tender. Add flour, salt & pepper and milk; stir until thick and bubbly, then remove from heat.
- In a greased dish, layer half the potatoes. Sprinkle the smoked salmon on top of potatoes and then cover with half of the sauce and half of the goat cheese. Repeat with remaining potatoes and sauce. (Save remaining cheese.)
- Bake covered for 35 minutes, then uncover and add remaining cheese. Bake an additional 35 minutes and let stand 10 minutes before serving.

I do not miss those days. I couldn’t be more elated that I’ve found the person that is right for me, that fits me and gets me and puts me in my place when I need it. If I needed one more reason to add to my never-ending list of why I love him, it would be that he pulled me out of the pool.