BENTO BOX BINGE

 

Freezer meals have become the essential culinary tool for time constrained households.  this is nothing new...Swanson introduced TV dinners in 1953.  Today's grocery stores are likely to offer at least two aisles of freezer meals in for every palate and occasion. Unfortunately most are expensive or boring or both.  The solution is to prepare your own.  A few hours on a weekend can produce heat and eat meals that will please your tastebuds and your schedule.

SEXY AT 67

BLACK FOREST PUDDING CAKE 

I'm not sure who convinced women that chocolate is sexy, but I, on behalf of all men, thank him.  Now if you want to convince the male partner that food is sexy, just set it on fire.  And if you want to gain the gratitude of all seniors, make it  only take a few minutes. However this approach is tailor made for the younger set.  If microwaves had been around when I was in college, I would have included it on all first dates. 

Hercule Poirot, Survivalist

The Fleur 75 

Equal parts gin, champagne, & crème de violette 

Tonight I spent a good amount of time indulging some of my favorite Francophile fantasies. I set the stage with one of the most glorious cocktails ever invented, the Fleur 75, a champagne/gin concoction the exact color of Elisabeth Taylor’s eyes, followed by a peasant dish immortalized by Hercule Poirot (yes, I know he was Belgian, but his palate was distinctly French), Lapin a la Moutard, a luxurious, leisurely fricassee of rabbit and mustard. 

Rolling Right Along

When I get bored I tend to get creative with my food.  When I was younger, and more energetic, I would debone a whole chicken.  Today I am more efficient and confine myself to a roulade, a piece of meat pounded to a malleable thickness spread with something tasty, and then rolled up into a tidy, tasty package.

Chili for Chilly Weather

We’re expecting sub-freezing temperatures tonight and that calls for the essential cold weather meal, classic red chili. Now chili may have its roots in Mexico, but it was only fully realized in Texas, birth place of my father. My mother made typical WASP chili...ground beef, canned kidney beans, chopped tomatoes, and chopped onion, seasoned with salt and pepper. 

Wienerschnitzel is Country Fried Steak

I am always amused when someone uses a foreign language to disguise a peasant dish, usually so unsuspecting customers can be charged a haute cuisine price.   Growing up I was told that only unfortunate children in Dickens’ novels had to eat mush for dinner.  Now everyone raves about polenta as an elegant side dish.  Corn meal mush by any other name is just as tasty and filling.  

One dish from my children’s German heritage is schnitzel, praised as one of the “Few of My Favorite Things” from the film, A Sound of Music.  As elegant and satisfying as the film, schnitzel, is really just a tarted up version of country fried steak. 

Thanksgiving Post Mortem

Six of the Thanksgiving dishes at the Wheeler household this year,  Clockwise:  Deviled Eggs, Dad's Cornbread Dressing, Browning Bag Turkey, Sweet Potato Anna with Prunes & Port, Pearl Onion Gratinee, and Cranberry Chutney

Most of the food press spends all of November giving you ideas for the Thanksgiving holiday dinner.  The problem with that is most of the dishes are so complicated and/or expensive most cooks won’t test drive them before the holiday and the dinner guests become lab rats for your culinary experiments.

This year we had no absolute disasters, only a couple of minor disappointments, and we had a few major triumphs.