Mmmmm, Dinner

My friend Sareen is part of The Splendid Table Locavore Nation. For one year, she and her family are trying to eat 80% of their foods within 500 miles of her home. Tough, but tougher (in my opinion) because she has a child under 1 and is pregnant.

On Friday, we went over for an appetizer dinner and to sample some homemade beer. Num.

I love challenges. So, I made very midwestern appetizers.

First up, deviled eggs:
The eggs were 100% local and so was the horseradish. Unfortunately, the mayo, mustard, and paprika were not...

Next up, pickles rolls:

The pickles were handmade by me last summer. The cream cheese is from Wisconsin. The pastrami was bought at Farm in the Market, and local also.

Labels: appetizer, cheese, eggs, pickles

I spent the last five days on a Royal Caribbean cruise. While the cruise was fun, the service was great and the ship's workings amazing, the food was medicore at best.

Basically there are two places you can eat on the ship: the main dinning room and a buffet service cafe.

So, let's start with the buffet. Think Old Country Buffet. I ate every breakfast I made it to there and three lunches. While the food there was bad, I did have a couple things there. The eggs and bacon were good and I had a decent lamb curry at lunch. Otherwise the food was pretty bad.

So, the main dinning room. This is where we had all the dinners and two lunches. Blah. Meat was overdone. One night duck was on the menu. I asked if it is medium rare. I got a strange look and was told it was well done. Yeah, of course it is. The waiter still talked me into getting it. It was overcooked and dry. Boo to that.

I did have a very nice escargot appetizer. It was made with a garlic herb butter sauce and were done perfectly. I also had a tasty onion soup with gruyere toast. The desserts were also passable, though not amazing like they should have been.

The best meal we had was off the boat, after the cruise. We had a lot of time to kill in Fort Lauderdale. We stopped by some tourist trap fish place. I got the best fish and chips of my life. Well, the chips weren't that great, but the fish was awesome. Of course, I lost a tooth filling during the meal, but I guess it was worth it to have the first good meal in six days.

Labels: bacon, curry, duck, eggs, fish, onion, seafood, soup, vacation

The famous bar food pickled eggs... Do they make good Christmas gifts? I think so.

Start with two dozen eggs and boil them.

After they are done, peel and rinse them.
CJ and I both suck at peeling eggs. Some were lost. Some are misshapen. Sadness.

Prepare the pickling liquid.
There are tons of recipes out there. Some with beets, some with balsamic vinegar, some needing to sit a day, some a month, it is sort of crazy. I made up my own recipe.
4 cups white vinegar
1 cup water
A few cloves garlic
Some slices of ginger
A small handful of pickling spices.
Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes.

Pack the eggs into the sterilized jars.

Process with your normal canning procedures.

Labels: canning, eggs, pickles

I sure am a slacker. It has been weeks since I posted. I feel bad. Part of it is I can't find the cord to my camera, which has a pic of a meal on it. I guess I'll start looking for it.

Here is my new favorite meal:

Cook Ramen noodles to package directions.
Drain most of the water, leaving about a tablespoon or two of water.
Put in a bowl and mix with the season pack.
Top with two runny eggs and mix.

Super tasty.

Labels: eggs, noodles, quick