Lunch

We were all sitting outside today when Tyler announced she was going in to make lunch.  The first course was a pickled beet salad:

The beet salad was delicious!

After finished the beet salad Tyler headed back into the kitchen, first to do the dishes from the first course and then to prepare the entree course.

The entree course was a combination of fruits and half hamburger bun with 5 original, homemade dipping sauces.  All five sauces were very, very interesting.  Here are the descriptions starting with the sauce in the dish at the top of the plate and making the way clockwise around the plate:

1.  This sauce had a base of lemonade and lots of unknown spices.

2.  This base of this white, creamy sauce was Greek yogurt and sour cream and also had a combination of spices.

3.  The third sauce was aged balsamic and, you guessed it, unknown spices.

4.  The fourth sauce was made with Greek yogurt but this time, with an Asian spin, with the addition of sesame oil and soy sauce.

5.  And finally, the fifth sauce was made from melted cheddar cheese, cayenne pepper and some other tasty flavors.  

What a fun, impromptu lunch!

Egg Muffins

Ty woke up hungry today, eager to whip up something creative and delicious for breakfast. She decided eggs cooked in a muffin tin would be both fancy and delicious. 

She started the dish by wilting some fresh spinach, then "sweat" an onion (seasoning both with salt and pepper to add an extra layer of flavor), and added them to some whisked eggs. After adding salt and pepper and a generous dose of Chilula, she ladeled the mixture into the prepared muffin tin and added a quarter slice of aged cheddar to each cup. She finished each one with a little fresh black pepper and swirl of Chilula. After 12 minutes at 350° and another minute under the broiler the muffins puffed up into tender, flavorful sweet little soufflés. 

While we dined al fresco on our creative little eggy delights, Ty pointed out this was a perfect, healthy dish, "packed with protein from the eggs and cheese and vitamins from the veggies". Right you are, Chef Tyler!

Thanksgiving Practice Apprtizer

Ty made a snack today for the Bears game which we think will be a perfect Thanksgiving appetizer:) Ingredients are red pear, green and red apples, raisins, large white raisins and peanut butter. Festive AND healthy! Sure to be "gobbled" up by a hungry crowd!

Birthday Breakfast Cupcakes

This morning Tyler created breakfast cupcakes for Phil's 40th birthday that were delicious.  She first caramelized onion and broccoli. Then she put a "crust" of the caramelized onion in the muffin cups, filled the cups with scrambled egg, placed a cooked broccoli floret in the center of each one ("so when you cut into the cupcake it was a broccoli filling"), and topped them with sliced cheddar cheese. They puffed up like little soufflés! Cute. We served them with festive birthday candles (which unfortunately melted into the hot cupcakes {hopefully candle wax isn't extremely toxic}). Very creative birthday breakfast!!

Thanksgiving Prep

Just found this from Thanksgiving...

Fruit Parfaits

Last nigh Tyler made a "chopped salad" of honey crisp apples and clementines. She layered it in with Greek yogurt and honey in "fancy" glasses. It was good, but she said she'd leave out the clementines next time. I thought that would be a good idea too.

Linguini with Carrots and Andouille

This week Tyler created a pasta dish with garden-fresh carrots (here's the picture of her harvesting them), andouille sausage, peas, tomatoes, chicken stock, and topped with Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.  She was hard pressed to choose ingredients, as the fridge and pantry were a little bare. It certainly was an original, creative creation.