The event spawned by my challenge in The Food Snob Chronicles is well on its way. I’ve received pantry lists from the first two victims entrants, who I’m sure are looking forward to seeing what comes out of their stores.

Both my wife and I were so impressed by the detailed lists we received that we’ve changed the rules a bit. Instead of coming up with one meal from our entrant’s pantries, we’re going to make either two or three! Yep, you heard me right, these lists are so detailed that we thought it wouldn’t be right to stop at one, and I have to give both of these ladies a HUGE thank you for giving me such an in-depth look into their food stores.

For this round, I’ll be working with the following ingredients.

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Thirteen Lessons I’ve Learned in the Kitchen Sharp objects deserve your respect. Failing to give them that respect will generally result in adding to your first aid bill. A watched pot never boils. It waits until you turn around, then boils over, causing a great deal of cleanup and possibly adding further to your first aid bill. Oil and water don’t mix. Attempting to add Italian dressing to any form of soup is going to render something completely different than what you were hoping for. The best looking meals don’t always taste the best. Beans an’ hocks ain’t pretty. Collards ain’t pretty, But oh, they’re good! Saving money by buying cheap kitchen equipment isn’t worth throwing out badly prepared food. Anyone remember that $5.00 nonstick skillet? You know, the one that burned everything that was ever cooked in it. How ’bout the spatula that fell apart when you tried to flip something, or the “oven proof” whatever bought at the bargain store that burst into flames in a good hot oven… ‘Nuff Said. Oil and roux mix quite well, thank you. Still want that Italian dressing? Add it to a stew and it’ll blend right in. (Hey, I’ve tried all kinds of things!) Overcooked shrimp cannot be saved. Just give up, go gnaw on a pencil eraser, you’ll get more pleasure from it. It’s easier on your jaw muscles and it will taste better. Copious amounts of alcohol and cooking do not mix. Your mileage may vary on this point, but in my house it means burnt dinners and underdone baked goods. (Yep, there’s a personal story here!) Never assume you know another person’s stove or oven. The fastest way to look like a complete incompetent is to try to make something“just like you do at home” in someone else’s kitchen. Their stove is not your stove, keep an eye on it at all times, and watch your wine intake! (see #8) Always add wine and liquor to a pan off the heat. Ummm. Yeah, it makes this really big “WHOOOOOSH!” sound just before you go to the emergency room if you forget. A sauté cannot be rushed. Turning up the heat does not speed up the process, it burns things. Likewise, your food will tell you when it’s time to be turned, if it doesn’t move when you shake the skillet, it’s not ready, leave it alone. If it’s burning, turn the heat back a bit, you’ve got it too high! It’s OK to add more oil or butter. O.K., I know the recipe called for exactly two tablespoons, but if you don’t see any more in the bottom of the skillet, add more! Your food was thirsty and drank it all up, now it’s getting ready to show you the meaning of “stuck like glue”. If you’re not having fun, you’re doing it wrong. Cooking should never be high stress. Go ahead and shout “BAM!” when you season something. Turn up the music and dance while you’re cooking. Talk, laugh, enjoy, sing! To quote Pasquale Carpino “If I sing when I cook, the food is going to be happy.” Eat, drink and be merry! Links to other Thursday Thirteens! Leave your comments and you’ll automagically add you to the “Thank you” list. Thanks to Nancy for pointing out the plugin to me!

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here! The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

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I wanted to take a minute and let everyone know what’s going on around the site at the moment. There’s a ton happening, and it all deserves a mention, If only briefly… I’ll manage to get it all up in individual entries eventually.

I’ve received a list of pantry items for the first two “Your pantry or Mine” events. In issue 1 I’ll be tackling the contents of Jess’s pantry, and in Issue 2 I’ll be making something fabuloso from the contents of dew’s. This is shaping up to be a long standing event, and I’ll get the first list of ingredients up either later today or tomorrow!

Remember, the first installment will hit your monitors by next Monday, so stay tuned!

Volume 1 of TFSC was a pretty resounding hit, and I plan on following it up with another entry within the next few days. I’m just finishing off a bit of research… (Oh who am I kidding, I got busy and the entry is sitting in my drafts, half done, but I’ll get there!) Be expecting a visit from the food snob police, or something of that nature.

That’s enough for right this moment. I’ve still got a few things I need to get out by end of day today and several more that I want to get done, so we’ll see if I can fit it all in around Mr. seat of his Diaper’s schedule.

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[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtUWjsJiWxY[/youtube]

It’s a Texas tradition, one that I have never partaken of myself, though at 18 I wouldn’t have hesitated.

It just goes to show that everything is bigger in Texas!

I found this clip at Roadhouses, Diners, Joints and Dives. Have a look over there for some other great Texas finds.

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Sometimes plans change at the drop of a hat in my kitchen. I’d planed on making a few omelets on Sunday morning for a nice sit down brunch with my wife, and then it happened. I reached into the fridge to pull out the basic “eggs/milk/butter” and some mushrooms I wanted to use up, and there was a half wedge of Parmesan Reggiano, just staring at me, all dried-up and neglected looking.

I couldn’t have that cheese looking all pathetic like that. I could tell that the Romano had been making fun of it, what with its wrapper intact and still looking like the prettiest girl at the harvest moon ball. (We’ll be fixing that in a day or so!) And then I remembered that Shawnda of Confections of a Foodie Bride had just posted on frittata and my path was set.

I don’t know why I don’t make frittata more often. They’re simple, versatile and oh-so delectable. Any combination of ingredients that you’d use for a regular omelet can be tossed in, and you never have to worry about getting the bugger to flip properly. The other added benefit is that it’s very difficult to under cook a frittata, so the whole “runny eggs” issue simply isn’t a problem either.

For this particular dish, I decided on spinach and mushrooms, sautéed with onions and garlic. Add in some fresh Parmesan and you’ve got a simple meal in about 30 minutes that tastes heavenly and looks like you’ve slaved over it for hours, which makes it perfect to serve guests as well. This is one of those meals that you really should have in your “go to” file.

Note: The list of ingredients below looks pretty daunting, but this is probably one of the simplest recipes you’ll ever find. Feel free to substitute whatever you’ve got on hand, it’ll still be great!

Ingredients:

7 eggs
1 10 oz package spinach (either fresh, or if you’re looking for instant gratification, a defrosted frozen spinach works just as well here.)
Approx 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1 small (8oz) packaged sliced button mushrooms
1 medium onion, chopped
4 large cloves garlic, minced (or 4 tsp minced garlic, if you prefer)
1 good handful chopped parsley (Flat leaf would work best, but I haven’t been able to find it lately)
1 tbsp Italian Seasoning
1 tsp sage (fresh is best, chiffenade about 5 leaves.. Again, I didn’t have any, so dry works)
Salt and pepper to taste
7 tbsp milk
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Method:

Preheat oven to 350°F

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Sweat onions and garlic in 2 tbsp olive oil until just translucent and softened. Add Mushrooms, breaking up any very large pieces. Allow to cook until well browned. Add salt, pepper and spinach. (If using fresh spinach, cook until completely wilted. If using frozen, cook until heated through.) Remove from pan and place in strainer to remove as much liquid as possible.

Wipe pan clean with paper towel, add remaining olive oil and return to heat.

In large bowl, beat eggs and milk together. Add 1/2 of the cheese and all remaining ingredients, mix well. Pour mixture into skillet and allow to sit over flame until eggs begin to bubble. Place skillet in oven and cook until eggs are set (approx 20 minutes).

Sprinkle remaining cheese over the top of the frittata and return to oven until cheese is melted and slightly browned.

Let rest for 5 10 minutes and serve.

What I would have done differently had I thought of it at the time:

Nuffin… This was wonderful, and I’ll be pumping out other variations on the theme over time. Enjoy!

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This is for my readers in the United States.

I hope each and every one of you has had a wonderful three day weekend. I pray that you, your families and those you care about are well, and I wish them continued happiness.

Some will remember that I am a U.S. Navy veteran, and that my wife is Active Duty Air force. I don’t advertise this, it’s a path that we followed, and neither one of us expect accolades for what we’ve done in service to our country, or what we might do.

I would like to ask you to take a moment to remember those who have fallen to defend this nation. The list of names is far too long, but each and every one of the people on the list, whether they gave their lives in peace or in war, did so knowingly. It’s in the oath that we took on the day we joined the service, and it becomes a part of what and who we are for our entire lives.

I write this because I noticed something today. The Food Network is all about “Grillin’ and Chillin’”, My local Ford dealership is all about selling a car, and Turner Classics Movies is all about war movies that feel good at the end. But only my local radio station has asked for remembrance, and that’s what this day is all about.

Please take a moment. It’s all we’ve ever asked. Nobody thinks of themselves as a hero. The heroes usually don’t get to come home with the rest of us.

I’ll get off my soap box now. And I really do hope you all had a great weekend.

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OK, My wife, the lovely and talented Mrs. seat of her Pants is my #1 most favorite lady, but Lis at la Mia Cucina comes in very high on my list, and when she offered to interview me if I’d like, I couldn’t help but say yes!

I actually find it to be an honor, and when the interview questions came in it was just more proof-positive for me that Lis was, and is deserving of the Thinking Blogger Award that I tagged her with a while back.

The questions are insightful, and show that not only has Lis been reading the chaff that I put forth here on a mostly regular basis, but that she’s actually been paying attention to it. (I’m really gonna have to watch what I say from now on, nothing gets past this lady!)

Without further ado, the interview:

Lis: I’m tickled to be able to interview you! Here goes -

Q1: You’ve spoke many times about certain baked goods that you’d like to make, but you always chicken out *grin* and say that maybe you can talk your wife into baking them for you.. so, my dear, when are you going to bite the bullet and bake us up something fab to drool over on your blog? Also.. are you ever going to talk your lovely wife into baking something for us as well? hehee

A1: Its funny that you picked this weekend to ask this particular question. My wife and I have already worked on baking, the result was a new recipe and it didn’t turn out the way we would have liked, but we were in there, and I was helping. (And by helping I mean doing my part as kitchen helper, getting her a bit of this and some of that.)

I’ve been trying to put myself out on a baking limb more often, but my last real attempt was the Chocolate Port Wine Cake I made my wife for Valentine’s day this year. It turned out pretty well, but not fantastically.

As for getting my wife more involved, after the beginning of the whole “food snob” thing, she’s started taking an active part in this blog as well. It will probably be behind the scenes for the most part, (she prefers it that way… trust me she could post whenever she likes!) But parts of my regular lineup are going to include things that her and I discussed over the past two weeks.

Q2: As your son grows up, are you going to instill in him the importance of being able to cook for himself? If so, how will you accomplish this?

A2: I’m most definitely going to instill him with the skills. It’s something I’ve tried to do with all of my kids, (At least before the relationships with their mother’s forced different living arrangements.)

To start, I’ll just let him hang in the kitchen, then as he starts wanting to help, I’ll ease him into it. Simple things like stirring batters or cracking eggs are a great start for kids in the kitchen. (Mind you, if you let the kids crack eggs, expect to do a thorough cleaning after they’ve left the kitchen!) And there’s nothing like the look on a kid’s face when something hits the table and they get to say “I helped with this!”

When he’s old enough, it’s off to the grill, which I think is a great way to teach older kids to cook, because they not only learn something, but they get to”play with fire” while they do it… It makes it a special occasion, even if it’s just grilling a dog or two.

At 16 I’ll tell him if he can out cook me, I’ll help pay for that first car… that oughta’ get him motivated!

Q3: If you could take your wife and son anywhere in the world for a month’s long vacation – where would it be and why? (multiple destinations are fine.. you’ve got a month after all. heee!)

A3: This one really isn’t very difficult, but only because we’ve already talked about it. I’d take the first week and spend in in Sonoma California, at the El Pueblo Hotel and really take the time to wander around my old home town and the rest of the Wine Country.

We’d hit wine tastings, Train Town, Maybe have dinner at the French Laundry in Napa and visit the fabulous cheese and chocolate shops in both Sonoma, Napa and Healdsburg. On the way to the next leg of the trip, We’d stop at Johnny Garlic’s, (Guy Fieri’s place) in Santa Rosa.

Week two would be spent in Redding, CA visiting my kids, my sister and my father, with trips out to some of the really great stuff they have there.

The last two weeks I’d like to spend on a cruise to Alaska, so my wife can show me around Anchorage, one of her favorite places in the world.

Q4: Everyone is getting this question, just because I wanna know! If you were told that you could only have 5 foods and 1 beverage for the rest of your life – what would they be?

A4: Ack! only 5… Let’s see… Salami, Steak, Broccoli, Jack Cheese, Sonoma Extra Sourdough French Bread… And Coffee!

Q5: We know your love of cooking, writing and computers.. what other hobbies do you enjoy?

A5: Music. I have nearly 20GB on my computer from every genre you can imagine, from classical guitar bu Andrés Segovia and David Russell, to Metallica, Slayer and Disturbed. My current favorites are Disturbed, Josh Turner, Toby Keith, Slipknot, Fallout Boy and Trace Atkins.

I’m also a bit of a fanatical guitar player. I currently own four, but am looking to add an electric bass to my collection by the end of the year. Right now my collection consists of a Telluride Telecaster (painted with the Texas flag), a Stagg less Paul copy, An Ibanez Stratocaster-ish thing with double cutaways and Gibson pickups, and a 3/4 sized acoustic that we bought because my wife was interested in learning as well.

And there you have it! That’s my Interview, and it was a lot of fun!

DIRECTIONS FOR THE INTERVIEW MEME

1. Leave a comment saying, “Interview me.”
2. I will respond by emailing you five questions. Beware, I’m not shy of asking personal questions! Please make sure I have your email address.
3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

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Mmmmm, Barbecued Pulled Pork Sammiches. Just typing the words gets me all teary-eyed and makes my heart palpitate a little. And to think, it all came about because of a terrible kitchen mishap!

Sometimes even the most horrific kitchen disasters can be recovered from. At least I like to tell myself that they can, and in this case at least, it worked.

The other night I decided to try using our tabletop oven to cook up a pork blade roast. The idea was that the little oven would use less power, since the roast nearly filled it to capacity and I wouldn’t have to heat a large volume of air. It’s also a convection unit, and should have cooked the roast in less time than our regular ol’ apartment oven.

Yeah, whatever! After three hours (a full hour longer than it would have taken in our regular oven), the roast still wasn’t done. In fact, it wasn’t even close. Apparently the oven manufacturer and I differ on the meaning of 350°.

I set the timer for another hour and laid on the couch to watch some TV…

And fell fast asleep.

My wife tried to wake me up, but to be quite honest, I’d had a few beers while I waited for the bloody roast to finish, and the combination of a pretty stressful day with Mr. Seat of his Diaper and a few Shiner Bock’s on an empty stomach, I was history.

I was apparently just awake enough to tell her to leave the roast right where it was. Being the wonderful person she is, she listened to me and didn’t disturb the still undercooked roast…

And I found it right there in the oven when I got up at 5:00 AM.

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It seems I may have stirred up a bit of commotion with the food snob series. (and yes, there will be more entries there!). The commotion has also stirred up a very positive event.

If you read The Food Snob Chronicles Volume 1, you’ll know that I issued a challenge to the particular Airman who brought about the series in the first place. While said person has not responded to that invitation, I have had someone else step up. I’m very pleased to say that I accept, and that I’ll be making this a regular feature here at CbsoP!

Jess from The Computer Diva Diaries has offered up the contents of her pantry and fridge for me to play with.

In her own words:

“I’m not the one to whom your directive was issued; but if you do decide to make a regular feature out of the “tell me the contents of your pantry and I’ll tell you what to do to make it fabulous” idea, I’d like to reserve a spot in line now, if I may :) I am a serial purchaser of things I really don’t need but, for whatever reason, think I need to have in my pantry, and then they stay there. Forever, or until I can unload them on someone else, or until they expire, whichever comes first.”

Once I receive her list, I’ll pick a few things willy-nilly, go for broke in the kitchen between the first and the fifth of June and see if I can provide a bit of relief for those “about to expire” ingredients.

So Jess, your place in line is reserved, and I’m looking forward to seeing what you’ve got for me to work with.

If you’ve got an overflowing pantry and would like to see what someone with no plan to speak of can do with the ingredients, just leave a comment or shoot me a message through the contact form to let me know!

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Thirteen signs that you might be a food snob Very loosely based on Jeff Foxworthy’s “You might be a Redneck” skits. If you’ve ever bought a box of dried pasta for three dollars more than the cost of the same kind of pasta on the bottom shelf, you might be a food snob. If you’ve ever turned up your nose at anything made from a prepackaged mix (or worse, made a snide comment), you might be a food snob. If you’ve ever stopped someone at the market and launched into a lengthy explanation as to why “this brand” is better than “that brand”, you might be a food snob. If you’ve ever questioned someone else’s choices at a restaurant, or complained that they added salt to a perfectly fine meal, you might be a food snob. If you’ve ever agonized over plating when you’re the only one who will ever see the meal you’re serving, you might be a food snob. (Food photographers may, of course, ignore this one.) If you’ve ever groaned because you thought that a meal should have been garnished with something other than what the cook used, you might be a food snob. And if you’ve ever found yourself groaning because there was no garnish on the plate, you might be a food snob. If you’ve ever gone into someone else’s kitchen to “help” them with a meal, and you ended up acting more like a cooking instructor than a guest, you might be a food snob. (With obvious exceptions, i.e. If they actually asked you to teach them something.) If you’re more than happy to order Ramen at the local Japanese restaurant, but would never dream of making any “Out of a pouch” at home, you might be a food snob. (OK, it’s better when it’s fresh, but can you tell me there’s not a package in your house somewhere?) If you insist on calling something by it’s French name rather than just calling it what it is, (i.e. “haricots verts” instead of “baby green bean” Thanks to dew for letting me know that it’s just “green bean!”), you might be a food snob. (note: If your native tongue is French, this does not apply to you!) If you find yourself having heated discussions with the chef in your favorite restaurant about whether those really were day boat scallops, you might be a food snob. (You also might find yourself blacklisted at half the restaurants in town) If you’ve ever served a dinner guest the same meal that they served you the last time they had you over for dinner just to show them the proper way to make it, you might be a food snob. If you’ve ever asked your spouse (or significant other) if “They’re going to put that on the table looking like that“, you might be a food snob. (You also will most likely be sleeping on the sofa that night!) There are other things that might qualify you as a food snob, but I’ll save those for a later entry, once I’ve come up with 13 more. Until then, Enjoy! Links to other Thursday Thirteens! Leave your comments and you’ll automagically add you to the “Thank you” list. Thanks to Nancy for pointing out the plugin to me!

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here! The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

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