Dinner In A Bowl

IT'S DINNER!  IN A BOWL!

Nothing will take you back to your childhood (or happy altered-state college days) like eating a meal out of a bowl.  You can't help but smile a little thinking about being the first one to open up a new box of Fruity Pebbles and pouring that nice cold milk over those rainbow colored crispy bits of happiness.  It is amazing however that kids these days have NO FREAKIN' IDEA who the Flintstones are - and yet they sell the crap outta that cereal.

Other GRRREAT!!!(pardon my Tony the Tiger) things come in bowls: ice-cream, chicken noodle soup,and chili just to name a few.  Let's turn it up to 11 here and have Dinner In A Bowl!

One of the ideas we like at home is the burrito in a bowl concept which I BORROWED from a restaurant chain that rhymes with Chip-Oh-Tlay.  But, check this out, you can change up the flavors and make it Mediterranean or Italian or Whateverian.

So typically you will have a starch like rice - well change it up amigo!  Change it up!  (But Doug, change is hard...)  Yeah, I know, change is hard - dollar bills are soft.  Which one do you like?  Uh huh, thought so.

Burrito = rice, beans, meat, cheese, onions, etc.

Dinner in a bowl turned up to 11 = tater tots, grilled steak, blue cheese and red wine, mushrooms sauce.

Or how about couscous, shrimp, cucumber, tomatoes, with dill and white wine-dijon dressing.

I am so doing this!!  And I am serving it to friends and they are going to love it and you will too!  (Shit Doug, calm down now...)  pant, pant, pant... okay Dude, sorry...  calming down.

Hey, if you like this stuff, and you like chicks digging you (and who wouldn't?)  subscribe to my blog!  If you're the first new subscriber, send me an email and I will send you a free copy of the book.  (I know, it's crazy how much I care about you!  I'm getting all emotional...)

I Am Squints

In the movie "The Sandlot" (referenced in my last blog, so I'm just going with it here) "Squints Palledorous launches himself to the bottom of the swimming pool after years of watching Wendy Peffercorn, the lifeguard rubbing and oiling herself (she knew damn well the boys couldn't help but stare).  Wendy jumps in after Squints and begins mouth to mouth resuscitation - all part of Squints' plan.  He plants a big kiss and walks taller that day.

Today I am walking taller.  After putting myself out there by agreeing to cook for twenty-four people a menu of filet mignon with three mushroom sauce, rosemary-garlic potatoes, bread with lemon-parsley compound butter... I am Squints.

With awesome help from: Tom, Toby, Brian, Tom and Scott we cooked for and served 24 mothers and sons and they left for the dance smiling, happy, and satisfied.  Chicks dig that.

My favorite part is stopping amidst the chaos to enjoy the laughing, smiling faces and the sounds of the dinner plates as the forks are reloaded for another bite of yumm.  We dads hit the obligatory high-fives and soaked in the revelry.  Then got busy plating dessert, pouring wine, refilling water glasses and serving.

For those who asked, here is a rough sketch of how to do the sauce:

Make the sauce the day before, because feeding that many is too difficult to handle every task.  Chop 3 large shallots and saute in butter about five minutes, add chopped shiitake, cremini, portabella mushrooms (about half-pound each) and cook medium-high for 10 more minutes.  Add half bottle of good red wine and reduce heat to medium.  Simmer that until volume of liquid is down to about one-third of total.  Now add 3 cups of low sodium beef broth and simmer that until reduced to half.  At that point I cooled and stored the sauce.

Next day I brought it up to heat slowly and added fresh rosemary and just before serving, adjusted the salt and pepper to taste.  Whisk in a little butter (that's called mounting) and you're ready to go.

The other one that people asked about was the compound butter.  This is a cool thing because you can serve it with bread or vegetables.  OR you can put a little on top of a nice piece of fish or even a steak.  As it melts it turns into its own yummy sauce!  I know!  How cool!

Soften one stick of butter and add the zest of one lemon.  Chop a handful of fresh parsley and stir well.  It will still be soft, so spoon that onto clear plastic wrap and form it into a long tube.  Twist the ends to close and place it into the fridge so it will firm up again.  When chilled, slice into little disks and serve.

Happy People Eating Good Food

rock on,

Squints