what’s for dinner | kimberly ah

Nov 23 2012

celebrations, holidays, Thanksgiving, Trader Joe's, what's for dinner

This was my Thanksgiving…

Another Thanksgiving is behind us…it’s all a little sad for both Naoto and me–we love hosting a party, even a small one of my parents and our friend, Santron. Even though the guest list was small, the food was plentiful! We had all of the classics: the turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing (we make this one every year–it’s Naoto’s signature dish!), green bean casserole (I caved for the classic, although we used the Trader Joe’s stuff and it was much lighter than the Campbells version!), fresh veggies (courtesy of Santron), Hawaiian rolls (courtesy of my mom) and Kathy’s grandma’s cranberry sauce…I made it on Wednesday and I am a cranberry sauce convert…the cognac makes it delectable!

For dessert, my mom made a Twinkie cake, in honor of the “late, great” snack.

The table was half planned, and half happy accident. On Wednesday night I cut a long sheet of kraft paper and made a table runner. I used my fancy gold paint to draw feathers and polka dots. My mom brought up some pheasant feathers (from my dad’s “feather collection”) that I used with my glittery votives to fill out the center of the table. I forgot to buy flowers so my mom mentioned my jade plant (purchased this summer at Trader Joes) as an option. It’s in a copper pot, so it was kind of perfect. (Well, probably not perfect for Sandra Lee, Queen of the Tablescape, but perfect for us.) I finished off the table with a tiny turkey, a gift from my parents earlier this fall.

For the place cards, I used acorns from this Paper Source garland kit (not available again until next fall). I was in a neutral & metallic mood apparently…

The meal ended with a table viewing of Psy and MC Hammer singing at this year’s American Music Awards…clearly it will be a meal I never forget.

Tagged celebrations, crafts, decorating, diy, food, holidays, memories, parents, Thanksgiving, Trader Joe's, twinkie cake

Nov 01 2012

3 Comments

homemaking, what's for dinner, Wine

The Maiden Voyage of the Yellow Dutch Oven

We finally broke the new yellow Dutch oven out of the box this week and made French onion soup for dinner Monday night. As hurricane Sandy pounded the East and the residual winds battered Chicagoland, it felt like the perfect night to slow cook some onions into caramelized, salty goodness. And, I’m proud to say, I did all of the prep work of the soup by myself. (But once you see how little effort goes into making French Onion Soup, this fact is not impressive at all.)

I’ve been wanting to make French Onion Soup for a long time now, and I suppose I could have made it in our old metal soup pot, but I bet it wouldn’t have tasted as good…there was something so perfect about making it in that sunny pot. And, although the soup takes time, the rest of the work couldn’t be any easier. You seriously just have to slice a few onions–thin slices are important, but imperfect slices are fine!–and roughly measure out the rest of the ingredients. That, and a few stirs of the pot, and you’re done!

Here are the onions in the beginning:

And after almost an hour of cooking & caramelizing:

Delicious, yes?

We used this recipe from the Smitten Kitchen. We halved the ingredients, which made about three small bowls of soup for us. It was the perfect amount (one bowl for me, two for Naoto) with a light, herby salad.

Now that we know this soup will be a part of our regular repertoire, we are adding oven proof soup bowls to our Christmas list. The only thing I would change about our first attempt is that Naoto bought this weird, domestic-made “Gruyere” cheese…to get heavenly results, a good cheese is crucial to this soup…especially if the soup is secondary to the cheese, as it is for me! And, we need a little bit more practice using our broiler before I feel confident that we won’t burn the apartment down…little details…

Tagged food, homemaking

Oct 03 2012

6 Comments

homemaking, what's for dinner

a new addition…to the kitchen

It’s here! It’s here!

Naoto & I have been talking about buying a Le Creuset pot for more than two years now…and last weekend, we finally ordered it. I don’t know why we waited so long. OK, I do know why we waited so long…these things are made to last forever (as in, if I ever have grandchildren who cook, they will be using this very pot!) and I just couldn’t decide what color I wanted! Most of my kitchen has cherry red accents, but the red LeCreuset is more orangey, so I just went with what I love–sunny yellow. It will look beautiful on a fall table full of hearty stew. And, I think it will look pretty on the stove in my blue kitchen. Plus, the color name is Dijon and really, is there a better mustard than Dijon?

As excited as I am about the arrival of our new kitchen workhorse, it couldn’t come at a worse time. Naoto works tonight, while I head back to the airport to welcome home our latest group of Honor Flight Chicago veterans. I work tomorrow night and Naoto works Friday night. I really want the new pot’s maiden voyage to be one that Naoto & I share together, so our first meal in our shiny pot of sunshine will have to wait.

But, we’ve already chosen our first recipe–Braciole! It will be my first attempt at classic Italian cooking…and I promise that I will participate more than usual in the preparation…usually I just grab a glass of wine and watch 😉

I will (hopefully) be back tomorrow with regularly scheduled postings…Mail Call and beautiful fall weather has taken over my life 🙂

Tagged food, home, homemaking

Sep 28 2012

2 Comments

adventures, what's for dinner

Kikuko Salad

When we traveled to Japan together last year, Naoto & his family introduced me to many new tastes, textures and flavor combinations. Some were pretty scary (I remember you, abalone!), some were pretty delicious (mmm…a hot dog surrounded by a flaky crust) but some were unforgettably tasty combinations that Naoto & I can recreate at home. This salad, which we named the Kikuko salad after my mother-in-law, is one of those crazy good combinations.

Kikuko salad

a head of iceberg lettuce

an 8oz package of kaiware (also known as radish sprouts and can be found in Asian grocery stores or substituted with pea sprouts found more commonly in regular grocery stores)

2 tomatoes

bran flakes (yes, the regular kind you find in the cereal aisle)

Kewpie mayonnaise (found in Asian grocery stores, I’m not sure there is a substitution for this…Japanese mayonnaise is slightly sweeter, richer and smoother than regular mayo)

Chop the iceberg lettuce into bite-sized pieces and put into serving bowl. Cut the sprouts in half and add in with the lettuce and mix well. Slice the tomatoes and place on top of the salad.

The bran flakes and Kewpie mayo are added at the table. Think of it like croutons and salad dressing.

If you’re anything like I was when this was placed before me at my mother-in-law’s table, you’re thinking:

What? Breakfast cereal on a salad? With mayonnaise?

But I’m serious when I say try it…because it’s delicious! The iceberg lettuce is crisp and fresh. The kaiware is slightly spicy, like a tiny mild radish. The tomatoes are bright and juicy. The bran flakes are sweet and crunchy. And the mayo is creamy and rich. Kikuko salad covers all of the taste bases.

If you try it, please let me know what you think! And…do you have any weird food combinations that you enjoy (but maybe others question)? Please share!

P.S. I’ll be back next week with a new Little Red Toolbox! It’s another Honor Flight week and I’m up to my ears in volunteer emails and veteran letters!

P.S. (part 2) Kewpie mayonnaise does contain MSG…so if you’re sensitive to that sort of thing, use sparingly. I personally have a numb tongue right now…

Tagged adventures, food, homemaking

Aug 21 2012

2 Comments

what's for dinner

simple summer suppers | wine & cheese

Naoto had two nights off last week–unheard of around here… We decided to break open a bottle of wine and enjoy some cheese & salami for dinner…it was a well-balanced meal because of the whole-wheat crackers and the grapes. We usually get our cheese from Trader Joe’s–which is obviously very convenient–because one of us is there almost seven days a week–but Naoto splurged at got the cheese and the salami from the Marion Street Cheese Market, right by his L stop in Oak Park. The Manchego was so delicious that I think Naoto let me eat the whole block myself…to be fair, I let him eat most of the salami…

Last week was another crazy one with work and mail call deadlines and we had plans all weekend (which is unusual for us)…and this week brings something every day…I don’t mind, but I’m looking forward to working on a few things–not things for Honor Flight or for work–things for me…ideas that have been bouncing around and projects that have gotten dusty from neglect. Luckily, Naoto has a few nights off again this week, so he can help me with the heavy lifting and furniture moving*, too.

*Yes, we will be moving the desk in the background of this photo…after having it sit in the middle of the doorway for two weeks!

Jul 30 2012

4 Comments

celebrations, crafty adventures, Olympics, what's for dinner

an olympic birthday

Our friend Santron turned 30 on Friday, so we threw him a little party on Sunday night–Olympics-style. Santron loves London, so it was kind of perfect.

After making a paper chain out of Olympic flag colors, I crafted up a gold medal out of cardstock, double stick tape, glitter, number stickers and some patriotic ribbon. It was the first time I used my Martha Stewart circle cutter (even thought it’s been sitting in my craft closet for months…) and I found it challenging to use. My circles were not perfect and the end never matched up with the beginning… Is there some sort of trick to it?

Chef Hasegawa made Shepherd’s Pie and it was delicious! To make this heavy dish a little bit lighter, we used ground turkey instead of ground beef and added in extra peas and carrots. So simple & so good!

We also enjoyed gin drinks (London Dry Gin!) and giant cupcakes (not homemade) and then watched swimming and gymnastics together on the tiny TV. A relaxed celebration–the best kind.

Tagged celebrations, crafts

Jul 14 2012

watermelon rum salad

When you have dinner with your married friends, do you say “I’m having dinner with the Nickersons” or do you say “I’m having dinner with Ned and Nancy”? Saying the couple’s last name seems quite old fashioned. On Leave it to Beaver, the Cleavers were often talking about playing Bridge with the Rutherfords and I think it’s charming. I think I’m going to try to bring it back–calling couples by their last names…unless, of course, they don’t share a last name. Our married female friends each took her husband’s last name…except for me. (I did, I just kept my own, too.) I don’t mind being called the Hasegawas…if you come over to dinner, you can say you’re dining with the Hasegawas and that’s okay by me. You just better hope Naoto is doing the cooking.

So, back to the salad. We had dinner with the Hustons last night and I brought this watermelon dessert. I used up the rest of Peggy’s mint (which lasted a lifetime in my fridge in a glass of water!) and a little bit of delicious Iowa rum!

Watermelon Salad with Rum & Mint

(recipe here, courtesy of your friend and mine–Martha Stewart)

1/2t freshly grated lime zest + juice from 1 lime

2T light rum (I used Cedar Ridge dark rum. It’s our favorite, and another Iowa find!)

1/4t sea salt

6pound piece of freshly cut watermelon, chilled

2T slivered fresh mint leaves

*I just noticed that Martha’s recipe called for 2T light brown sugar. I didn’t add this, but you can! We all agreed that is was sweet enough without the brown sugar, but maybe it adds another taste dimension?

Of course, Martha used a melon baller. I don’t own one of those. I kind of want one, but I’m not sure we eat melon enough to justify the gadget. I just chopped my watermelon (which was a medium-sized seedless) and added the other ingredients right on top and stirred everything around. Martha’s way is much more dignified… We also added the sea salt right before serving. It was the perfect summer dessert.

Jun 25 2012

3 Comments

cocktails, gardening, summer manifesto, what's for dinner Aside

I have been making progress on some of the Summer Manifesto items–even if it IS only the easy ones!

* dine outside (whenever possible)

I have been eating my lunch outside almost every day, and when Naoto is home, we always eat dinner outside (pictured above is the somen we enjoyed for dinner last Thursday…please notice that I am the one using the chopsticks!)

*eat watermelon

We sliced open a watermelon last night. It wasn’t the sweetest, reddest, most delicious melon I’ve ever had, so I would like to revisit the watermelon again…I ate mine with fleur de sel because salt makes everything better. I think Naoto was channeling his inner produce manager in the picture below.

* raise mint & basil for drinks and dinners

My basil is flourishing but my mint is growing so, so slowly that I wonder if I ever will enjoy a mojito this summer. I replanted it on Saturday, so I’m hoping it takes off before winter.

* try 3 “classic” cocktails

I’ve perfected the Tom Collins at home and I think it just might be a new summer favorite. And on Saturday night, I tried a Negroni at a local Italian restaurant. It was bitter, but a little bit sweet and delicious, but not one that I loved so much that I want to perfect it at home right now.

* document summer & FINISH my summer minibook

I’m making slow progress on this. I hope to show the beginnings of my book this week!

The other stuff on the list are set for July & August, but I’ve already had a couple of failures on two manifesto items (sad face).

* tend to my garden daily (no dying plants in September!)

Although I have tended to my balcony garden almost daily, I am sad to report we’ve had a few plant casualties already. My daisy plant never grew or bloomed and it keeled over this weekend, my cilantro missed a few waterings and couldn’t be revived and one of my geraniums got too much rain (a while ago, back when it actually rained) and never recovered. It’s stem was black, it’s leaves were yellow and brown and it had to be removed this weekend. My balloon flower might be the next to go. But everything else is looking green and bright and healthy…the 2011 geraniums I had inside all winter are even back to their dark green and blooming selves. I think next year, I might go 100% geranium. Chin up, green thumb.

* wear sunscreen & sunhats when I’m outside

I am super-good about wearing my sunhat, especially in the morning when I don’t want to comb my hair. But, I slacked on the sunscreen, both in Iowa and while dining al fresco, and I paid for it. I bought some sunscreen last week and have vowed to be more proactive. And, I have a pretty new wide-brimmed sunhat that I’m excited to wear.

So, that’s the state of my summer so far. Right now, I’m heading outside to enjoy the gorgeous weather and read a bit (wearing a hat & sunscreen, of course!)

summer manifesto, in progress

May 02 2012

3 Comments

cocktails, what's for dinner

cinco de mayo…early

When I decided to make these simple tacos for dinner tonight, it didn’t occur to me that we are creeping up on Cinco de Mayo…I mean, I still think it’s the beginning of April, for goodness sakes.

The recipe is from an old episode of Everyday Food-the PBS Martha Stewart show that is like a thirty minute taste of the magazine.

SIMPLE CHICKEN TACOS

Shredded chicken (I just baked up 2 chicken breasts the only way I know how–in foil packets to keep in the moisture, 400 degree oven for 30 minutes-ish, or until my meat thermometer says 165 degrees.)

Diced sweet onion

Cilantro

Sliced avocado

Tomatoes (not in the original recipe, but they add a bit of sweetness)

Limes, for squeezing on at the end

Corn tortillas, charred on the gas burner (mmm…the blackened goodness!)

Chop everything up while the chicken is baking (except the avocado…do that right before serving), char your tortilla, pile everything on, squeeze the lime, add a sprinkle of salt and you’ve got dinner. It was so easy that I had time to make a fresh margarita. See those glasses with the cactus stems? I’ve had those since I turned 21 and this might be the first time I’ve used them in a decade…when I got them out of the liquor cabinet, I noticed they still had paint chips from my old white built-ins on the bottoms of them…needless to say, they got a good wash before this use AND based on Naoto’s reaction, they will be used again soon for another margarita night.

EASY MARGARITAS

2 parts tequila

2 parts triple sec

1 part fresh lime juice

Shake (with ice) and pour over ice in a salt-rimmed margarita glass. While delicious, I think the recipe could use more lime…

I like dinners like these, with little room for failure. With my cooking skills, these go-to recipes come in handy.