Stanford's Knife and Fork Crab Sandwich

If you are on the west coast, I recommend Stanford's Restaurant.  Their menu is casual but delicious.  Sea food and meat with well done side dishes and many other treats.  I love their Knife and Fork Crab and Artichoke Sandwich.  It is open face - A creamy mixture of crab, artichoke and Parmesan cheese in an herb mayonnaise.  Additional cheese and a tomato slice is on top.  The whole thing is broiled, melty and bubbly good.  

I've decided to attempt to reproduce it at home.  Since Husband claims not to like artichokes, it's all mine and I'm not attempting a huge batch. 

Open face Crab and Artichoke Sandwich

1 6 oz can of crab meat, well drained.
6.5 oz jar marinated artichoke hearts, rinsed well
3/4 cup mayonnaise
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1T. fresh chives, well chopped
Sourdough Sandwich Bread
about 1/2 grated mozzarella cheese

I put the artichoke hearts in a colander and rinsed the marinade off with water.  Then dry the artichokes with a paper towel.  Make sure the crab meat is well drained so that the sandwich isn't soggy.  Cover and refrigerate this mixture to help firm it up.  

When you are ready to eat, preheat the oven to 350.  This is 2 - 4 servings, depending on how hungry you are.  I put a quarter of it in a separate oven safe dish and put it in the oven for about 10 minutes.  Nice and sizzley and good smelling.  

On one piece of sourdough sandwich bread, I spread my mixture and topped with tomato slices and mozzarella cheese. 

Back in the oven to broil until the cheese and tomatoes were very hot.

Okay, so it doesn't look quite as tidy and beautiful as Stanford's, and I may not make it at home again.  It tastes like Stanford's sandwich and the texture is about right.  Oh, and I know it has a million calories, but...

Remember to be good tomorrow.   

Stuffed potato and Redecorating the bedroom

We've been eating turkey all week.  It was an extra I bought around the holidays.  You know, the kind with the price you can't turn down if you buy $50 of groceries.  It is a smoked turkey and it has been delicious.  But today, we had errands in Portland and came back over the River just after lunch time, stopping at BJs in Janzen Beach.  Husband likes it.  I prefer Stanfords, but we went there last time.

Actually, I've got this plan to try to re-produce at home my favorite things at my favorite restaurants.  Now that we can go out occasionally, it will be fun to revisit what we like and attempt to re-produce it at home.  Stanford's Crab and Artichoke Sandwich is the first one I'm doing.  I just love that stuff.  

We ate late and we ate hardy, so neither of us is hungry, but skipping dinner is not something I do.  I wake up absolutely starving and spend the next day eating everything in sight. 

So tonight, Baked potato with light sour cream and chopped chives because the chives plant in my herb plot out back looked so good.  A little chopped smoked turkey.  A little left over broccoli casserole (That cutey-pie Alton Brown's recipe.)  It's not for someone watching fat grams and I'm working on remodeling it, but good stuff just isn't fat free. 

And I made a quick trip to GoodWill and found this frame for $2.99.  I reframed a photo that has hung in our bedroom for years now.  It was taken the day of our wedding.  This picture of it does not do it justice.  

I'm redecorating the bedroom.  It all started with a headboard that Step Son made us for Christmas.  He is a talented finish carpenter and it is truly beautiful.  I had it professionally spray painted by a contractor we do business with.  Step Son also made a cabinet to hold Husband's new flat screen TV and accessories.  All this activity got me making other changes.  I'll show pictures soon, along with costs, but I'm getting a lot of bang for my buck.  

I'm also planning on showing what we do for a living on this blog.  Husband and I own a commercial HVAC company.  It isn't much about food, but it is very central and important to how we live.  And what it takes to get heating, ventilating, and air conditioning into the buildings you shop at and do business at is actually fairly interesting.  Also a little creepy, but I'll try to leave that out.  Or maybe you'd like to see.  Thanks for your interest and please remember to come back.

  

Cali, Kids and Date Night at Home

Sorry, I'm still crying.  Don't mind the tissue.  Step-Son and Daughter in Law, along with their family Step Granddaughter and Brilliant Baby, and Cali the cat, moved in with us on New Years Eve.  Long story, but we had a good reason.  

They moved out two days ago.  The silence is making me crazy and tripping me out, but we are glad that they have their own place again and they are even more glad.

   

What I'll miss most is not the adults.  Ah, sorry, You know I'm crazy about you but....  What I'll miss most is having such close access to the children.  First thing in the morning.  End of the day.  It was heaven.  Love you, Babies.  Meemaw will be there to visit you, any second now. 

Cali the cat is still here.  The big kids thought it best that she stay with us a couple extra days while they get situated.  I'm not a cat person, but Cali and I have come to an understanding...  As long as she stays out of my closet and doesn't scratch my furniture. 

So I thought I'd do a little tribute to my favorite little people while I prepare for Date Night alone with my good husband, alone, in our house, alone, on Friday Night.  Oh, Goodness! 

And remember to come back.  We'll be onto another drama soon.  That's just how we roll at the Osborne's.  Got to go.  It's Date Night at the Osborne's.  

Traditional Food is Cheap #3: Tuna Noodle Casserole

What is traditional American food?  Swiss Steak, Stronganoff, Chicken Enchilada - our traditional American food came from other places.  But isn't Tuna Noodle Casserole uniquely American.  I'd be interested in what you throught about that.  Everyone has their own way to do it.  I personally don't do the cream of goop soup.  Just me.  This is a better way.  But the old original recipe with be much more frugal.  Your choice.

Updated Tuna Noodle Casserole - Serves 6
2 cups pasta of your choice, cooked and drained ($.28 per serving)
1 T. olive oil, pennies
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped, ($.19 per serving) 
2 stalks celery finely chopped ($.06 per serving)
5 or 6 mushrooms, cleaned and quartered ($.22 per serving
1/2 t. salt (less than a penny)
1/2 c. dry white wine ($1.00 per serving)
6 T. AP flour ($.02 per serving)
3 cups milk, fat content of your choice ($.10 per serving)
a couple twices of the pepper grinder (less than a penny)
12 oz can tuna, drained ($.85 per serving)
1 1/2 cup frozen tuscan or California blend vegetables, thawed and drained ($.20 per serving)
1T. Butter ($.05 per serving)
1 cup grated parmesan cheese ($.60 per serving) 
1/2 bread crumbs, Italian flavor (make your own or use Panko if you want)  ($.12 per serving)
$3.31 per serving - More than I thought, but this isn't my mama's tuna casserole.

Cook noodles drain and set aside tossed with a dribble of olive oil to keep the from sticking to themselves.  Saute vegetables in the olive oil until soft and limp.  Add the salt and wine and simmer down until the wine is nearly gone.  Add the flour and stir to combine, then add the milk and stir to make a smooth sauce.  Don't stress out over a couple small lumps.  Add the tuna, pasta, and the vegetables and simmer until everything is hot.  In a separate pan, melt the butter and add the parmesan cheese and bread crumbs.  Toss to combine, then spread them over the tuna mixture and cover with a lid.  Simmer a few additional minutes and serve.   

Ginger Green Bean Chicken and Rice

I just love ginger.  I love all of these ingredients. I'm getting a sauce that I really like.

1/3 cup soy sauce.

1/3 cup of white wine.  There was some left over from last night, really.  

1 T. Rice Vinegar.  I prefer rice vinegar in most salads and sauces. 

1/2 c. water and

2 T. Ketchup

1/4 c. brown sugar

2 cloves garlic or more or less to taste.

This ugly thing is ginger.  I love it.  I rub it behind my ears.  It makes me happy and I could use a little happy.

Peel the skin of the one end of it with a small paring knife, then grate it until you have one 1 T.  Put the rest in a baggy and put in the freezer for next time.  Use it again.

Mince the garlic.  This is my favorite way, but do what ever makes you feel good.  It's important to take your time and feel good. 

Squeeze and it comes out minced.  It's the simple things that do it for me.

I'm not ashamed to stand here and enjoy this for a minute.  I might have mentioned that garlic and ginger make me happy.  At least a time or two.  It all goes into the sauce. 

Mushrooms.  I quarter them, because I like the texture in the dish.  I really don't slice mushrooms much any more.

2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast, but into bite size pieces.  I've mentioned that I don't buy this much.  Whole chickens are frugal.  The bone in pieces have more flavor in certain types of cooking, but for this recipe this is the thing.  

A good mess of green beans.

Papa is watching Lord of the Rings which will make him happy.   He hasn't given her too much ice cream, yet. I'm getting in my zone.  Should be a good night. 

In my cast iron skillet, 1 T. oil, heated to medium high.  Dry the chicken pieces with a paper towel and drop a third of the chicken into the skillet at a time, browning the pieces.  The brown crispy bits taste good, so take the time.  

Transfer the browned meat to a pie plate and add more until it's all cooked. Into warming drawer, you go, chicken.  

Any other T. oil heated in the cast iron and add the vegetables.  Cook on medium high, turning vegetables with a spoon. 

The vegetables start to brown.  The mushrooms start to sweat and soften.  The beans brown and soften just a little bit.  Be bold.  Keep at it until the beans start to get a little tender.  You'll still get a snap. Into the a pie plate and into the warming drawer for the vegetables.  And wait until the movie watchers are ready.

Now to finish.  But first a little story.  I didn't eat much Chinese or Asian style food until I was an adult.  I grew up in a small town. Not even a McDonalds, let alone much ethic choices.  But there was one place, the Bamboo Terrace.  We went there for Dad's birthday.  He ordered the same thing each time, a Tempura Fried Shrimp.  I remember it being a pretty chessy place, but the great thing about it was the koi pond.  I'd never seen anything like it, big gold fish swimming around.  We kids got to order pork chow mein and a Shirely Temple.  I got to have as much soy sauce as I liked.  Heaven.  I've always been a salt freek.  I love salty things.  But I've gotten off track.  

Put both the chicken and vegetables back in the skillet.  Pour the sauce over it and bring up the heat.  You'll need to thicken it. 

Corn starch and water whisked together.  Once the sauce starts to boil, pour a little in and stir.  You won't know how much the corn starch will thicken unless it's boiling.  Add some more until it's as thick as you want.

A pot of rice.  And remember to start another movie.  

Coming next, the 3rd in the Traditional Food is Cheap.   

Hats, Cleaning out, self discovery

We are still cleaning out Mom's and Dad's house.  It was built in 1962 and I grew up there.  Mom resides in an assisted living facility.  Dad passed away in 1995

I've made important discoveries.  The first is that my parents were nuts!  Well, at least pack rats.

And the second is that they liked hats.  There were tons of them.

Not that there is anything wrong with hats.

We just didn't know. Never saw them.  Don't know where they came from.  There is probably a story behind all of the hats.  And we don't know what it is.  

A third thing we learned about our mother is that she probably needed some additional care before we moved her.

Without revealing too many personal details, let's just say that the three items in this picture are a 1998 local phone book.  A 1997 calendar, apparently unused and a pack of standard staples, 5 packages of 5000 staples each wrapped together.  In case you are a little rusty on your arithmetic, that's an unopened package containing 25,000 staples.  All three of these items were sitting on her desk.  Back to the first thing I learned, above. 

  

Just another sample of our day. 

Staging in the garage.

A closet filled with my Dad's things as if he had just left them.  Remember he's been gone since 1995.

Step Son never knew my Dad.  Dad liked his shop.  It was always very tidy and clean.  He took good care of what he had.  Taking his shop apart was the hardest.

Just a second, tissue time again.  This collection hung like this in the garage.  Dad liked this.  My fellas are going to take it down and re-hang it in the reception area of our business.  That will make me happy.

Then they brought me this package.  They found it in the attic. It had been mailed from Cleo Springs, Oklahoma by Mrs. Boyd Noble to Mrs. John Bennett.  Obviously, Mrs. Noble's first name wasn't Boyd.  She was my father's sister, my Aunt Vera.  Mrs. John Bennett was my mother, Cathy. 

Anyway, this package was unopened and bound with twine when it was placed in my hands.  Why had it never been opened and what treasure was inside?  Want to see?

Clothes.  Shirts and skirts, home made on a sewing machine.  Another story here which I do not know.

A big trip to the dump.  Another big trip to Goodwill.  All I could take.  Went home and had a drink.  That's all I have to say about that for now.

No.  Two more things.  First, thanks to Daughter in Law for having a good dinner ready when we returned.  And second, Love you Mama and Daddy.    

Traditional Food is Cheap: Hominy Casserole

This is Installment #2 in my Traditional Food is Cheap series

Hominy is a traditional food in pioneer times and the South.  It is made from corn.  This is one of those things it's better not to question how it happens. Dried and ground hominy is called Grits.  Grits and hominy kept many a poor family in the South from hunger during the depression.  

My mother didn't make Hominy, but she did buy it at the store and used it in casseroles and stews.  I wonder why she used hominy.  Did she think it was frugal food?  Did it remind her of childhood?  Did she like it?  I like it and my husband likes it.

So imagine my surprise the other day when the lovely Daughter in Law asked me about hominy.  She had chosen to make a Chicken Tortilla soup recipe which was delicious and contained hominy.   In fact, hominy is found in some Hispanic dishes.  If you can't find it in the vegetable aisle at the grocery store, they will surely have it in the Hispanic section.

Hominy Casserole Makes (6 servings)

1 lb ground beef ($3.99 per lb; $.67 per serving)
15.5 oz can yellow or white hominy, drained ($.69 per can; $.12 per serving)
2 8 oz cans Tomato sauce ($.50 cents each; $.17 per serving)
1 3.8 oz can sliced black olive, drained ($1.85; $.31 per serving)
1 t. salt (less than $.01 per serving)
1/2 t. garlic powder ($1.70/oz; 6 t. = 1 oz; $.02 per serving)
1 t. dry minced onion ($1.43/oz; $.04 per serving)
2 t. Italian seasoning ($3.51/oz; $.20 per serving)
1/8 t. cayenne pepper ($1.03/oz; About $.01 per serving)
1 c. shredded medium cheddar cheese (About $.28 per serving)

About $1.83 per serving for this dish.

Brown the meat and drain off any liquid.  Add all ingredients except the cheese.  Cook on medium heat covered for approximately 15 minutes.  Top with cheese.  Cover and simmer on low an additional 5 minutes.  Do not stir after applying the cheese. 

Corn meal muffins and a vegetable.  Yummy stuff.