What My Mom and I Made for Dinner: June 1, 2009

Grilled chicken tenders and sweet peppers, steamed artichokes, Caprese salad.

Our neighborhood pool is finally open, hooray! So I took Josh and Alex swimming this afternoon while my mom took Eli to the grocery store to pick out some things for dinner. (This is what he picked, more or less. He also picked some fried rice noodles from the supermarket's Chinese kitchen.)

I love to go to the pool in the afternoon, especially now that the boys will let me use their Sub-Skates, and no I'm not kidding. But the problem is I always stay too long and then get home too late and have to rush to fix something for dinner, and everyone's starving from swimming, and the baby is tired and thirsty, and everyone needs to change into dry clothes but can't find their underpants, which is, of course, my responsibility. And then the situation rapidly deteriorates into whining and yelling and crying.

Sometimes the kids get upset too. Ba-dum-bum.

But if my mom is here, that doesn't have to happen! When we got back, dinner was already underway. Chicken tenders were a stroke of genius by my mom (or by Eli, who knows), because they take only ten minutes to cook on the grill. We put them in a flat grilling basket so they wouldn't fall through.

While they were grilling, I went out to look at our little vegetable garden. The tomatoes are happy enough, but the zucchini has gone completely bonkers. We'll be eating a lot of ratatouille next month.

What We Made for Dinner: March 6, 2009

Roast chicken and root vegetables, mixed green salad.

Parental units over for dinner, husband home after a long week away at work. My mom put up the chickens before I got home from work. It was so great to sit and have a glass of wine and a chat, backdoor open to let the warm weather in, aroma of roasting chicken filling the air.

The mixed green salad is one of my favorites and I make it a lot. Whatever lettuces I have in the house, tomatoes, canned artichoke hearts, canned hearts of palm, blanched asparagus spears. The vinaigrette has olive oil, white wine vinegar, dijon mustard, and goat cheese. The only problem is that it really does not keep; by the next day the lettuce is seriously disgusting.

This month's Gourmet (donated by my mom) says you can make three meals from two roast chickens. We're about to find out.

What My Mom Made for Dinner: February 25, 2009

Fettucine alfredo with chicken, mushrooms, and broccoli.

It's one of of those lovely evenings when I get home from work and dinner is already on its way to cooked.

This fettucine alfredo recipe has an interesting history in our family because we got it from Marshal A. He was dating my sister for a little while when they were both in high school, and he used to make it for us sometimes. I think it was at least partly responsible for my parents' tremendous warmth and affection for him, which they never again showed to any of Amy's boyfriends, until the one who married her and gave them grandchildren. We don't keep in touch with Marshal anymore, although I hear he's doing well, but we sure make his fettucine alfredo a lot. I hope he would appreciate the lasting impression he had on the family's culinary life.

Anyway, this alfredo recipe is unusual, and very delicious, in that it includes green onions and garlic. It has a depth of flavor missing from the standard butter-cream-cheese arrangement. At my suggestion, tonight my mom mixed in roast chicken and sauteed broccoli and mushrooms. We all agree that the broccoli may have been a mistake; it tasted good, but it invaded the balance of the alfredo sauce. It would have been better as a side dish.

EDITED TO ADD:

I've had many requests for the recipe. Here it is.

Boil water and add 8 oz fettucine. Meanwhile, melt 6 tbsp butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add 2-3 diced green onions and 2 minced cloves of garlic. Cook the vegetables, stirring, until softened but not browned. Add 1/2 pint cream and 1/8 t. ground nutmeg and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low and add the cooked noodles and 1/2 c. grated parmesan cheese. Toss until the noodles are coated and the cheese is melted. Add another 1/2 c. grated parmesan and salt & pepper to taste and toss.

What We Made for Dinner: February 17, 2009

Teriyaki flank steak, stir-fried bok choy and mixed vegetables, roast sweet potato sticks with sesame and soy.

Well, that was fun, wasn't it? The Great Pneumonia Caper of 2009 seems to be over, or at least waning, thank God. So! Right back to the business of doing everything else besides cuddling a moaning, hot baby and freaking out.

Tonight we had my parents over for dinner, and we all collaborated on this Japanese-ish meal. My mom came up with the menu and shopped. My dad grilled the steaks, which came out perfect--maybe the trick to perfect flank steak is grilling it when it is 42 degrees outside. I did the veggies based on the kind of thing you get at a Japanese steakhouse. They were so good even Alex ate them!! Alex ate bok choy and bean sprouts! Alert the--okay, no one but me cares. But I was excited.

And little Eli, well on the mend this evening, demonstrated a new phrase he's learned to use at the table. Said with tremendous sweetness: I don't like it, Mommy.