Chicken Marsala Mema Style

Let’s start with what the heck is Mema Style?  Mema is me – it’s what my grandchildren call me.  If you hail from Texas or are a fan of “The Big Bang Theory” and its spin-off “Young Sheldon” then you know what I’m talking about. Mema is Texan for Grandma. In our house, there is a bit more to the whole Mema thing, especially since no one in my family actually hails from Texas.

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Patty Melts with Grilled Onions on Sourdough

03-22-2010-14Once upon a time on a beautiful spring day, the Kiddo, Hubby and I were helping Dad with a few chores around the farm – tilling the garden, pruning the trees – burning the dead wood  – all the usual farm chores. Physical work, and helping out around the farm is good for the soul.

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Portuguese Marinated Surf and Turf on Rosemary Skewers

This year, I want to plant some Rosemary bushes in the back yard. I love the smell of Rosemary. It will be a few years until I can “harvest” clipping for skewers. In the meantime an early morning stroll through the farmer’s markets is always a joy.

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Pretty Sweet and Sour Pork

Growing up, one of the dishes I can remember my Dad making was Sweet and Sour Spare Ribs. It was to die for delicious – and the sauce was a deep, beautiful red. The pork was falling off the bone. It was the best Sweet and Sour Ribs ever!

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Smokey Grilled Beer-Can Chicken with Cola Barbecue Sauce

I will never forget the first time I ever had Beer Can Chicken. I thought it was the wildest thing I had ever seen. We were at a backyard barbecue with good friends. I looked out onto the back patio, where the man of the house was checking on his smokey chicken. Oh my word – the chicken was standing up on the grill!. What in the world? I had to ask, what was supporting the chicken like that. Our friend smiled and said it was a can of beer. Seems he had been barbecuing chicken with a can of beer shoved into the cavity for years.

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Rockin’ Grilled Porterhouse – Need I Say More?

Can we talk steaks for a moment? The two biggest “rivals” for grilled steak has to be Porterhouse vs T-Bone. Both steaks come from the short loin, consisting of two cuts of meat on one cut of steak separated by the T-shaped bone.

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Dover Sole Piccata

Have I mentioned that I simply adore Piccata dishes?  There’s something extraordinary about the way the buttery, lemony wine and capers sauce dances on my tongue that is out of this world!

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Back Yard Vacation Island Get Away

In the mood for a little get away? Silly question . . . who doesn’t need a little get away? Wouldn’t it be great to bring all your friends and family to a tropical island get away? With a little imagination and some simple planning, you can transport yourself to a vacation paradise without breaking the bank. If you happen to have a backyard pool, all the better. If not, get a little wading pool, toss it in the yard and put your outdoor chairs around the pool. If it’s a one-time use, you could even put a few bags of sand into the bottom of the pool for that “beach” feel.

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French Dip Sandwiches with Au Jus

Did you know that the French Dip Sandwich isn’t French? No surprise there. About the only thing French is the use of Au Jus. Strictly speaking, Au Jus is a French culinary term meaning “with juice”. It refers to meat dishes prepared or served together with a light gravy, or broth, made from the juices given off by the meat as it is cooked. Today we think of Au Jus as simply a beef juice served on the side of a sandwich, not necessarily coming from a particular hunk of beef as it cooks. Look in your local markets, and you can find premade Au Jus in jugs, cans, dried mixes – just about any form. Just heat if in a liquid form, or mix with liquid for the dry form before heating.

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A Summer Birthday Bistro Style

Next week is my birthday. Traditionally, we’ve gone to the same wonderful Italian Restaurant for dinner. The food is delicious. While not a “fancy” place, we’ve always enjoyed the atmosphere, the service and the people. Unfortunately, our little place closed a few years back. So much for traditions.

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The Ultimate Chocolate Lover’s Chocolate Malt

Years ago, one of our favorite “drinks” to have with fresh off the grill burgers were yummy chocolate malts. Our kids loved them – especially the ones ordered at those little Mom and Pop nostalgic diners so popular along the highway. One of the things I noticed whenever we sat at counter-service malt shops is that most restaurants shakes are made using whole milk and vanilla ice cream. Chocolate syrup was added to transform a vanilla shake into a chocolate one. From a purely economical standpoint, this made good business sense. Whole milk and vanilla ice cream blended together provided the bases for just about any flavor “shake”. It was a blank canvas.

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In-N-Out Style Double-Double Burger

in-n-out
America’s first Drive Thru opened at In-n-Out in 1948

For those of you living outside California, parts of Utah, Oregon, Nevada or Texas, you might not be familiar with In-N-Out Burgers. These are simple burgers, grilled up with fresh ingredients and topped with a whole slice of raw onion, their “signature”.

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Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme Roasted Chicken

Are you going to Scarborough Fair:
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme.
Remember me to one who lives there.
She once was a true love of mine.

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Garlic-Rubbed New York Steaks with Savory Tarragon Butter

Okay, so the unofficial official start to the summer grilling season is Memorial Day, who says we can’t start grilling sooner? After all, Memorial Day is the unofficial start. Anytime the weather is right, it’s grilling season!

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Snow Crab Leg Clusters in Garlic Butter

Snow Crab. While not as meaty as our favorite, the King Crab, Snow Crab is sweeter and less expensive. I adore the added garlic-butter flavor that seeps into the meat during the warming process. Unless you live in a coastal town, or get your crab from a large fish tank, all crabs are cooked when they’re caught then quickly flash frozen for transport. You’re basically just heating them up, whether that be with steam, on a grill or in a large pan with lots of butter. Once killed, crab has a very short shelf life and can be dangerous to consume. It’s how you choose to warm the crab that makes a difference in flavor.

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