Baked Farro, Bacon, and Butternut Squash

Costume (Butter) Nut
Do you remember your Halloween costumes from when you were a kid? I do. I remember being Raggedy Anne, and of course there was a mouse costume in there somewhere. One year I was a flamenco dancer, and I went as Wilma Flintstone another year. My favorite costume of all time had to be Cleopatra—partly because the make-up was totally fun, but the real reason was the mondo-cool dress.

My mom had this super-groovy one shoulder gold lamé disco dress that was just awesome. And because I was tall enough, I was able to wear it to be Queen of The Nile. Costume aside, the Gold Lamé Dress will forever live in familial infamy. I don’t remember actually seeing Mom wear it, but I have to assume she did at some point. It was just too fantastic to not wear it. Long live the 70s!

Why am I talking about Halloween costumes midway through September? Because it has been the topic of discussion around the dinner table for the last week. The planning has begun. For the boys the issue is do we care or not, and are we just too cool for Halloween? It’s Middle School. Gone are the Halloween parades, class parties and costume contests. In their place, the real world, where they have tests and homework assignments.

My daughter is in full planning mode which, frankly, scares me. Here’s why. Last week I came home to find her locked in her room (a.k.a. The Lab) furiously working on something with duct tape and scissors. Two hours later she emerges and proceeds to tape (yes, tape) a cardboard dragon costume to our Bassett Hound, Rocket. While we all found it funny, except for Rocket, it is this type of impulsive ingenuity that can make finding a Halloween costume for her difficult. It also means that her choices can be, well, different.

I am all for being your own person and not following the crowd. In fact I encourage all my kids to find their own beat. But someone please tell me why she thinks that being a squash for Halloween would be so totally awesome!? And where I can find a Butternut Squash costume? ‘Cause I doubt I’ll find it at Target alongside all of the frozen options…

Having me make the costume is not a possibility. She’s going to have to go a different route, because this is the only butternut squash I will be making…

Baked Farro, Bacon, and Butternut Squash Read more…

Chicken Tamale Pie

Here today…Gone Tamale (or to Tahoe)
It’s the second week in August, so you can find me parked in a beach chair reading my Kindle up at Tahoe. This is my post-baseball, pre-start of school week of relaxation…well sort of. It’s really semi-controlled chaos, but we have a good time!

Yes, just being at Tahoe makes life better. It’s hard not be relaxed while enjoying the views and the water. There is just one problem—we still have to feed people—11 of them plus two dogs.

Over the years my sister and I have pretty much gotten things down to a science, but there is always room for improvement. In recent years we have started using the crock pot, so dinner is ready when we get home from the day’s activities. Of course, a well-timed cocktail and some appetizers can buy time for the stuff that takes a little bit longer.

A few weeks ago I came across this Tamale Pie recipe, and knew I had to try it. The recipe was super-easy and tasty, and could be easily doubled (or tripled) for a large crowd. So this will be on our table this week. As a bonus, the leftovers (if there are any) make a great breakfast with scrambled eggs.

Chicken Tamale Pie
Adapted from The Food Network
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Easy Self-Rising Biscuits

Breakfast, It’s What’s for Dinner
Breakfast is one of my favorite things—Sunday breakfast especially. It may or may not include eggs but, in my mind, it will always include a serious carb—something really bad for you, loaded with butter, and smothered in sticky-sweet goodness. Or, if you’re really lucky, savory pepper-y goodness.

Weekend breakfasts have lately been disappointing. We just haven’t been doing the Big Sunday Family Breakfast, which could be blamed on a lot of things; there are just too many activities going on. The main reason though? My kids have become cereal fiends.

I have one son who, given the opportunity, will eat cereal morning, noon and night. The other two are not quite as devoted, but they can do their own damage. And don’t get me started on the 46 year-old…

We easily go through five boxes a week, and the boys aren’t even in high school yet. (I buy milk two gallons at a time, every other day, and it’s only going to get worse).

In order to make up for my breakfast deficiency (and to use the increasing number of eggs that we have been getting from the chickens), I have been forced to make breakfast for dinner during the week.

Breakfast for dinner is a woefully underrated dining option. (I mean hundreds of Denny’s can’t be wrong!) There ain’t no better comfort food than some fluffy scrambled eggs and Easy Self-Rising Biscuits with strawberry jam or honey. Let’s just be frank, sausage gravy is almost always a good idea. (Holy cow! My mouth is watering…) Add a little thick cut bacon, (I do mine in the oven.) or a ham steak, (I fry it up in a skillet.) and I am in heaven.

The best part is making enough biscuits to have a mini ham or bacon biscuit sandwich the next morning. (It is entirely possible that I was a lumberjack in another life.) And if you happen to have some leftover Southern style collard greens (‘cause doesn’t everybody?) throw those on your biscuit with the ham or bacon for an out of body experience!

Easy Self-Rising Biscuits
Adapted from King Arthur’s Flours
Yield: about 1 dozen 2-inch biscuits

These Easy Self-Rising Biscuits are pleasantly crunchy on the outside, moist and tender on the inside. Read more…

Spicy Mushroom Tamales

Hot Tamale
We are a pretty non-traditional family when it comes to many things, but most especially when it comes to Valentine’s Day celebrations. We’ve done the giant chocolate chip cookie heart, and of course the heart-shaped pepperoni pizza. Most years, we have the mother of all Make Your Own Ice Cream Sundae Bars so that we can over indulge in creamy iced goodness. This year, my family has gone rogue, again, and it’s weird.

I have been asked to make a Valentine’s Day Thanksgiving. Yup, you read that correctly. The forecast is for the upper 70s this weekend, and I will be roasting a turkey. In all fairness, I did promise back in early December that I would do a Thanksgiving in the new year, because we all agreed that we just didn’t get enough in November. Silly me, I figured we would still be having winter weather in February. It was also before we made our plans for Spring Break. Now I have margaritas, beaches and tacos on the brain.

So, as head chef, I am going to pull rank. We can do the turkey on Sunday and they can just like it. For Valentine’s Day I want a margarita or five, and something hot and spicy (besides the husband…nudge, nudge, wink, wink) and chocolate. Let’s not forget the chocolate.

Tamales are traditionally made and eaten at celebrations, and I think these would be perfect for this weekend. Time consuming, yes, but oh so worth it. Serve them with some tasty beans and a salad and we have our own Fiesta del Amour!

¡Arriba! (I know, just go with it.)

Spicy Mushroom Tamales
Adapted from Rick Bayless’s Mexican Kitchen by Rick Bayless
Makes 6 medium-size tamales
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