Yummy Repeat

Tonight I made my fabulous turkey burgers again and once more they were delicious. I grilled up the rolls that Mr. Lawyer picked up from Reading Market and whipped up some Old Bay Mayo. This time I made regular sized burgers instead of sliders and actually had panko in my cupboard. I said it before and I will say it again: these are the only burgers I don't need to put ketchup on.

The Old Bay Mayo was delicious. Mr. Lawyer was skeptical about Old Bay and turkey but I thought it would be a good combination because turkey is a lighter meat. It did work very well and Mr. Lawyer did enjoy it. Of course, it would have been amazing on a fish sandwich or some kind of seafood dish.

Old Bay Mayo

(Food Network Magazine)

Ingredients:
3/4 cup mayo
1 lemon (for zest and juice)
1 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning (I added a little bit more)
1 minced scallion (I didn't have one and it was fine)
Directions:
1. Mix it all together!

Bits of drink (and you?)

The other day my dad informed me that "you are what you drink" and for some reason I found that to be incredibly amusing and insightful. It may or may not have had something to do with the gin and tonic I was working on. I normally take pictures of our drinks but never have a real reason to post them until now. If you are what you drink then I'm dark (beer), sweet (wine) and off beat (gin). Mr. Lawyer would be light (beer), dry (wine), and fancy (scotch). Some odd truths there I think. Complete polar opposites when it comes to our beverage preferences and that's why it works so well (except when he steals my gin).

Mr. Lawyer's beer....My beer.

And just to prove it's not a fluke...

In fact, I like it when I can't find my beer.

I like my wines from New York.

Sweet, Sweet, Super Sweet, Alcoholic Grape Juice.

And if you've never tried my off beat gins, I'm okay with that. But you should give it a go.

French Breakfast Puffs

I jumped up early this morning to make a surprise breakfast treat for Mr. Lawyer today. Ashley's mother-in-law always made these for us whenever I stayed with them and they're pretty fabulous. I made half a batch which fills one mini muffin tray almost perfectly. Behold the french breakfast puff! And no, it's not just a mini cupcake as the lawyer so obviously pointed out. They're way better than that.

French Breakfast Puffs

(from the kitchen of Mrs. Dermitt)

Ingredients:
2/3 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
3 cups flours
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Melted butter and cinnamon sugar
Directions:
1. Mix shortening, eggs, and sugar.
2. Stir in dry ingredients and add milk.
3. Pour into greased muffin tin (2/3 full)
4. Bake until golden brown, about 20-25 minutes at 350.
5. Immediately roll in melted butter and then in cinnamon sugar.

Happy 3 Years!

Since Mr. Lawyer is taking me out to a fancy dinner Friday night I decided to make him a special dinner Thursday night. It was pretty decent although a little crispy around the edges. I made marinated tuna steak and served it with my standard yummy baked salt/pepper/garlic asparagus and some rice pilaf. We finished it off with some cappuccino ice cream. I had never had tuna steak before and therefore had never cooked it. I thought the marinade was a bit light, I would have like a more soy or citrusy flavor. However the lightness of the marinade did showcase the fish which was delicious. Best compliment ever: "God you can really do asparagus."

Marinated Tuna Steak

(from allrecipes.com)

Ingredients:
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 (4 ounce) tuna steaks
Directions:
1. In a large non-reactive dish, mix together the orange juice, soy sauce, olive oil, lemon juice, parsley, garlic, oregano, and pepper. Place the tuna steaks in the marinade and turn to coat. Cover, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
2. Preheat grill for high heat.
3. Lightly oil grill grate. Cook the tuna steaks for 5 to 6 minutes, then turn and baste with the marinade. Cook for an additional 5 minutes, or to desired doneness. 

Happy Dinner!

More ice cream!

This is time it's ice cream of the coffee variety. I made a double batch which is about half a pint, it was the perfect amount for a light dessert for two.

Cappuccino Ice Cream

(from the book)

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon instant coffee

1/4 teaspoon unsweetened baking cocoa

2 tablespoons sugar

1/3 cup half and half

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients.

2. Throw it in the ice cream maker.

I scream! You scream!

We all scream for ice cream!
So dinner was a disaster. But it still tasted good soooo only a half disaster?
1. I forgot to trim the bottom of the asparagus which results in stringy chewy bits.
2. For the life of us we cannot master my grill pan for anything other than burgers or sausages. Steaks and pork chops always start to burn before they are cooked in the middle. High heat or low heat it doesn't seem to matter. I can cook better on a real grill. Or in a frying pan.
3. Mr. Lawyer's grand master plan for hollandaise sauce didn't come out too well. While it tasted good it separated and looked wretched. So bad in fact that he wouldn't let me post a picture (and I always listen to lawyers!).

I made ice cream to make us feel better. It was the first time using our new 4,200 arcade ticket ice maker and it was well worth all of those tickets. It came out pretty well for an under 10 minute ice cream. There was a nice chocolate bite to it.

Chocolate Soft Serve Ice Cream

(it came with the machine)

Ingredients:
4 teaspoons unsweetened baking cocoa
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup half-and-half
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions:
1. Combine cocoa and sugar and stir to mix.
2. Add a small amount of half-and-half and mix.
3. Add remaining half-and-half and vanilla. Stir until well mixed.
4. Put into your ice cream machine and hit the on button!

Our little blue ice cream machine hard at work.

Bye Bye Woody...

Baseball is unhealthy.

Well we've finished up all our ham leftovers and I'm running off to Florida for a week so there hasn't been a lot going on in our Guinea Pig Kitchen. However we have had some exciting food adventures at the Phillies games! At my first real baseball game the boys made me eat a Schmitter sandwich which was amazing and disgusting all at once. It was some combination of cheese steak like steak, ham/salami/pork roll or something, cheese, tomato and special sauce. It was scary. And sloppy.

See the fear.

The boys were not as intimidated. Gross.

And last night was dollar dog night! So there was no need to make dinner. I think the final count was Brad 4, Kevin 3, and Jenni 2. Clearly I am the weak link (and my tums would agree with me).

Dollar Dog!

Next up on the list: Chickie's and Pete's Crab Fries! And um, a four dollar bag of cracker jacks. Because it's baseball.

Holy Ham!

Last night we had dill havarti and ham grilled cheeses with our pea soup. It was very dilly. I'm not sure I would get dill havarti again but now I can mark it off my list!

Ham I am.

We've had scrambled eggs with cheese and ham. We've had ham sandwiches. We've had ham and veggies straight up. And now for the last journey of our Easter ham, we have split pea soup. This soup is wonderful, thick and creamy. Everything just melts in your mouth. I claim no responsibility for this dish other than my sweet, sweet knife cuts on the veggies. This is Mr. Lawyer's dish and I was merely his sous chef. He has made this dish three times and it's a crock pot recipe which is always marvelous. The first time (and this time) he used the leftover Easter ham bone which is the way to go. The second time he used a pork chop which was a complete let down. Disclaimer: There is no way on earth to make split pea soup look appetizing, even if you throw in a beautiful Portuguese roll.

Winter Split Pea Soup

(by Mr. Lawyer, from Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Recipes for Two)

Ingredients:
1 2/3 cups green split peas
5 cups chicken broth
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
1 medium sized carrot, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
1 bay leaf (always omitted by Mr. Lawyer because he thinks it's silly)
1 leftover bone from a small ham (or smoked pork chop)
1/2 cup frozen petit green peas, thawed
Salt to taste
Directions:
1. Place split peas in the slow cooker; add the broth, onion, carrot, celery, and bay leaf. Stir to combine. Nestle bone or chop in the center of the crock. Cover and cook on LOW for 7.5 to 9.5 hours, until the split peas are completely tender.
2. Remove and discard the bay leaf. Remove the bone/chop and shred the meat off it. Stir the soup well for a chunky soup or puree in a blender for a smooth soup. Add the petit peas and cook for another 30 minutes. Season to taste with salt.