In honor of the movie, The Peanut Butter Falcon, we had a peanut butter themed dinner. We had been wanting to see the movie since it came out, but never seemed to have the time. Thanks to a tip from Melissa, and the universe clearing our calendars, we finally watched it. What a great movie!…
Category: Chef Ben Cooks!
Leftover Valentine’s Day Candy, Dried Morita Chile, Pecorino Romano Cheese, and Espresso Powder: Mystery Basket Revealed and Conquered
I won’t lie. When I told Ben what we were cooking with, he said, “Rough!” However, we think we turned it into a win. We are limiting trips to the grocery store these days, so we just used other ingredients we had on hand to create our menu of spaghetti and meatballs with milkshakes. We…
Polls Open on a New Chopped Challenge Plus Runner Up Basket Success
Although sausage, cucumbers and honey roasted peanuts seemed like unlikely ingredients, we modified a recipe we know and love from my cooking idol, Ruth Reichl, to make Easy Vietnamese Caramelized Pork: We substituted sausage for pork tenderloin, seedless cucumbers for Armenian cucumbers, and honey roasted peanuts for peanuts. The herbs and cucumbers are a great…
Chicken Wins By Narrow Margin! Sausage Demands Recount.
I’m sorry, sausage. You’ve been chopped. Despite voting irregularities (entries being sent to my junk mail) we can assure you that the one vote margin reflects the strong will of the people to elevate chicken to the top position. With this basket, Ben and I decided to do a chicken pot pie with a jicama,…
Day 6 – The People Have Spoken! Winning Basket: Catfish, Frozen Peaches, Asparagus
I’m sorry, chicken, you’ve been chopped. Thank you to all who voted! While we may be still experimenting with setting up the voting mechanism on our blog, we can assure you that there was no Russian interference. Our menu was grilled catfish with a peach mint salsa, pearl couscous “risotto” with asparagus, and peach cobbler. …
Day 2 – Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
We had another good day of bike riding, basketball, reading (me) and favorite movies (Ben). In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, this Ben’s Day Wednesday dinner is dedicated to the humble potato. If you are looking for a simple recipe that is not only nutritious, but warms your soul, look no further. Potato Soup 5…
Day 1 in Semi-Solitary Confinement — You Can’t Keep a Good Man Down
I had two required quick, solo trips outside the house this morning while Sophia was still home. The rest of the day Ben and I had a great time. We have talked about the virus but he can’t really take it in. No problem. That’s my job. His job is to keep being Ben. Done. The…
Spring Soup
We, here at Ben’s Day Wednesday, would like to go on record concerning the coronavirus. We are against it. Case closed. Now, let’s see what’s cookin’! The beautiful spring weather inspired this week’s Ben’s Day Wednesday choice. It is packed with greens, fresh herbs, turkey meatballs and pasta. What’s not to love? We adapted it…
Pork Chops with Mango Salsa and Israeli Couscous Risotto with Asparagus (Plus, BIG news!)
When asked what he wanted to make this week, Ben didn’t hesitate. Pork chops. I agreed and he started piling on the conditions. With a bone. Thick meat. With mango salsa. I know the last demand is not one that springs to mind, but there is a recipe we’ve been making for years that he…
Cheesesteak Pizza
Whatever you think you should be having for supper— kale salad, consommé, some equally virtuous fare — drop it, and make yourself a cheesesteak pizza. You’re welcome. When I got home from school, Ben and I mixed up the pizza dough, so it could raise while we prepped the other ingredients. Pizza Dough 1 package…