Weekending — The Delicious Edition

Shhh… read this very quietly, will you?! I am stealing a minute or two for myself this evening to capture the things that went on here this weekend. We’ve been away for the last two weekends, so having this weekend to ourselves was quite a treat. Fall is officially here, it is cooler outside and so we spent time crafting, cooking and cuddling.

I no longer have any time to cook a just-in-time dinner in the evenings, so I am forced to have mega-cooking sessions on the weekends just to stay afloat. The pre-planned, pre-cooked gig isn’t bad, it is lovely, actually. I sit down, plan a menu, think about what is seasonal, nutritious and most of all — delicious.

…Here’s a snapshot of what we cooked this weekend…

Rustic Italian bread with fresh mozzarella, iberico-style jamon and our own, garden-grown basil…

… Saturday night, date-night dinner. Quick chicken fricassee with avgolemono (egg and lemon/yogurt) [Greek] sauce.

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My new year’s resolution (since it is Jewish New Year… ) is to try and cook more Russian dishes. I have started on that here. As Sophia would say: “Tada”… I present you with stuffed cabbage. Don’t be mistaken — this is not your grandmother’s stuffed, soggy, one-note stuffed cabbage. This stuffed cabbage starts with chicken sausage, a panade (mixture of bread and milk), rosemary and sage. The filling is wrapped pretty and stewed in tomatoes and garlic. It is simple, but elegant and definitely not one note.

All these savory dishes made me miss something sweet, tangy, aromatic and crunchy — home-made granola. I made ours with pecans, oats, orange zest, cinnamon and vanilla. Evan, who was is an avid camper (he’s an eagle scout), definitely approved. The best part? home-made, organic, without extra fat, sugar or preservatives. Yum!

I did mention seasonal, right? So… pears are in season now and there is no better way to celebrate pears than in a savory salad with Roquefort and pan-sauteed pears. Let me know if you know of a better way to ring in the fall.

Oh, well, and of course, we had to have banana bread!