Well, okay, maybe Southern BBQ isn't the healthiest of family meals, but it could have been worse, and it was certainly delicious. The distinct lack of vegetables other than (homemade) coleslaw and BBQ beans was somehow mitigated by smoking (pun intended) hot service and the FREE 1980s video games. D was completely fascinated by the video game machine, and my husband and I took turns rediscovering PacMan, Frogger, and Donkey Kong. And the food was good enough that D did manage to sit down and eat without any fuss at all. He mostly ate cornbread and smoked mozzarella poutine, but every once in a while, that's not the end of the world.
What fascinated me about Schryers is that it is amazingly fast. The families that arrived immediately before us and after us ordered, ate, and were gone within a span of 20 minutes. And they ate pulled pork or beef brisket sandwiches—a huge step above your typical fast food meal. We took a little longer with our meal, what with the distractions of two small children, forks falling on the floor, making sure Baby G didn't gnaw any dangerous portions off the pork rib bones we gave him to chew on.
Had we been smart and ordered a sandwich instead of a rack of ribs, our meal would have come in at about $20, which is also competitively priced with fast food joints. Kids eat free after 5PM, so had we ordered off the kids' menu for D, we would have saved some money. As it was, we ordered a bunch of stuff to share and with the plan to take home leftovers, so D ate from our orders.
Foodie family fun!
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Monday, March 28, 2011
Foodie Adventures in Regina
Just got back from a weekend away in Regina, and rediscovered old favourites as well as checking out some new foodie fun.
My primary stop in Regina is always The Italian Star Deli. Carlos and his family are always an absolute delight, as are the amazing ingredients they offer. I dropped a pretty penny on a bag of dried porcini mushrooms, and then proceeded to pick up an amazing-sounding blue cheese and herb mustard, several funky shapes of whole grain pasta, some of their famous sandwiches for lunch later, my favourite Spanish olive oil, some Illy Espresso beans, housemade Italian sausage, and my key reason for coming, salt packed anchovies. These little delights last forever in the fridge (sealed tightly in a ziplock bag, because they stink) and supply me with constant anchovy flavour for my Caesar salad dressing, pasta sauces, tapenades, and anything else that calls for them. They are much milder and fresher tasting than anchovy paste, and you can use one at a time, with only a quick rinse and peeling away their fillets from the bones, which makes them more convenient and less wasteful than having to open a can of anchovies and only using a couple fillets.
We also stopped at a coffee shop called Sweet, which offered some delicious pastries (D was beside himself with the prospect of choosing one of their lovely tarts or cakes, which were all at eye-level. He sat remarkably still while sipping a mango smoothie and eating a portion of a lemon mini-bundt cake).
The friends we were staying with also introduced us to Siam Thai Restaurant, from which we ordered takeout. Everything was absolutely delicious and authentic. Many many more items to sample on subsequent trips to Regina! I made a quick stop at Smokin Okies BBQ to meet other friends, and managed to steal a couple bites of their delicious, smoky ribs. I was already booked for supper, so I just enjoyed having a beer out of the house and away from the kids, while hubbie and the boys had an afternoon nap. I made a mental note to revisit Smokin Okies again. I've always enjoyed their food, but have yet to sample the catfish and hushpuppies. MUST TRY THEM.
It's a good life, being a foodie and surrounded by friends who are also food lovers. *SIGH*
Sadly, the Italian sausage from the Italian Star deli was absolutely delicious, but the medium heat was still too spicy for D. I made a roasted pepper and tomato pappardelle (wide, long noodles) for supper, and roasted the sausage separately so that we could add it to our own dishes. D had some salami with his instead of the spicy sausage. With the addition of the tiny remainder of sun-dried tomato tapenade leftover from last weekend, we had a delicious pasta meal. I love being able to pull such delicious ingredients out of my fridge and pantry to make dinner on a whim.
My primary stop in Regina is always The Italian Star Deli. Carlos and his family are always an absolute delight, as are the amazing ingredients they offer. I dropped a pretty penny on a bag of dried porcini mushrooms, and then proceeded to pick up an amazing-sounding blue cheese and herb mustard, several funky shapes of whole grain pasta, some of their famous sandwiches for lunch later, my favourite Spanish olive oil, some Illy Espresso beans, housemade Italian sausage, and my key reason for coming, salt packed anchovies. These little delights last forever in the fridge (sealed tightly in a ziplock bag, because they stink) and supply me with constant anchovy flavour for my Caesar salad dressing, pasta sauces, tapenades, and anything else that calls for them. They are much milder and fresher tasting than anchovy paste, and you can use one at a time, with only a quick rinse and peeling away their fillets from the bones, which makes them more convenient and less wasteful than having to open a can of anchovies and only using a couple fillets.
We also stopped at a coffee shop called Sweet, which offered some delicious pastries (D was beside himself with the prospect of choosing one of their lovely tarts or cakes, which were all at eye-level. He sat remarkably still while sipping a mango smoothie and eating a portion of a lemon mini-bundt cake).
The friends we were staying with also introduced us to Siam Thai Restaurant, from which we ordered takeout. Everything was absolutely delicious and authentic. Many many more items to sample on subsequent trips to Regina! I made a quick stop at Smokin Okies BBQ to meet other friends, and managed to steal a couple bites of their delicious, smoky ribs. I was already booked for supper, so I just enjoyed having a beer out of the house and away from the kids, while hubbie and the boys had an afternoon nap. I made a mental note to revisit Smokin Okies again. I've always enjoyed their food, but have yet to sample the catfish and hushpuppies. MUST TRY THEM.
It's a good life, being a foodie and surrounded by friends who are also food lovers. *SIGH*
Sadly, the Italian sausage from the Italian Star deli was absolutely delicious, but the medium heat was still too spicy for D. I made a roasted pepper and tomato pappardelle (wide, long noodles) for supper, and roasted the sausage separately so that we could add it to our own dishes. D had some salami with his instead of the spicy sausage. With the addition of the tiny remainder of sun-dried tomato tapenade leftover from last weekend, we had a delicious pasta meal. I love being able to pull such delicious ingredients out of my fridge and pantry to make dinner on a whim.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Dessert on a Whim
Yesterday we were reading "The Poky Little Puppy", and that got D thinking about rice pudding. The thing is, his idea of what rice pudding is does not jive with most people's. The rice pudding made most often in this household is Thai black rice pudding with coconut milk, using the recipe from Hot Sour Salty Sweet, a gorgeous cookbook with beautiful photos and authentic recipes from southeast Asia.
Being rather rigid in my food theming, I couldn't bring myself to serve a Thai dessert with an Italian main course, so instead I threw together a simple rice pudding in the slow cooker (I used only 1/2 cup of raw sugar—Sucanat, which can be found in health food stores—and basmati rice, since that's the only long-grain white rice I had in the house. I suppose if I were really consistent in my food theming, I would have opted for Arborio rice, but I'm not consistent, just rigid). Of course, it didn't meet with D's expectations, and he turned up his nose at it, but it was gratifying to know that I could make a comforting dessert with only a few minutes of prep time, and a couple hours to kill before supper.
Being rather rigid in my food theming, I couldn't bring myself to serve a Thai dessert with an Italian main course, so instead I threw together a simple rice pudding in the slow cooker (I used only 1/2 cup of raw sugar—Sucanat, which can be found in health food stores—and basmati rice, since that's the only long-grain white rice I had in the house. I suppose if I were really consistent in my food theming, I would have opted for Arborio rice, but I'm not consistent, just rigid). Of course, it didn't meet with D's expectations, and he turned up his nose at it, but it was gratifying to know that I could make a comforting dessert with only a few minutes of prep time, and a couple hours to kill before supper.
Busy Mom Tip #7: Be Flexible
This may be a no-brainer, but I had to share anyway. My meal plan produced more food than I expected—that was one big beef roast—so I've decided to take a day off and skip making a meal tonight, so I can focus on using up leftovers. There's roast beef, mashed potatoes and gravy, there's more coleslaw mix (I cheated and bought a bag of shredded cabbage, which surprised me with its freshness), and we also have some beef salami and leftover crostini toppings (green olives and fennel or sun-dried tomato tapenade), which would make a great addition to a sandwich. Some of the tapenade has already started a new life as salad dressing—just mix it into some oil and vinegar for an instant, flavourful salad topper.
We also have leftover orzo primavera from yesterday. It was surprisingly not a kid favourite, but I loved it. I suspect D's lack of interest had to do with his eating cycle. He piles it in one day (a.k.a., the day we had roast beef he ate an entire slice of roast beef, several forkfuls of potatoes and gravy, tasted his coleslaw, and proceeded to clean us out of steamed carrots and green beans. I eventually just placed the cooking pot in front of him and he ate every single veggie. Then he ate a scoop of chocolate ice cream). Reflecting on his meal, I figured he had probably just consumed his entire recommended caloric intake at one sitting. So I shouldn't be surprised that the next day he wasn't too interested in eating.
Can't decide whether to have the bean burritos or the pork stir-fry tomorrow...leaning towards the bean burritos, since the fresh veggies for the stir-fry will probably last til Sunday, and stir-fry leftovers aren't all that great.
We also have leftover orzo primavera from yesterday. It was surprisingly not a kid favourite, but I loved it. I suspect D's lack of interest had to do with his eating cycle. He piles it in one day (a.k.a., the day we had roast beef he ate an entire slice of roast beef, several forkfuls of potatoes and gravy, tasted his coleslaw, and proceeded to clean us out of steamed carrots and green beans. I eventually just placed the cooking pot in front of him and he ate every single veggie. Then he ate a scoop of chocolate ice cream). Reflecting on his meal, I figured he had probably just consumed his entire recommended caloric intake at one sitting. So I shouldn't be surprised that the next day he wasn't too interested in eating.
Can't decide whether to have the bean burritos or the pork stir-fry tomorrow...leaning towards the bean burritos, since the fresh veggies for the stir-fry will probably last til Sunday, and stir-fry leftovers aren't all that great.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Meal Plan #10...still simple...
Still taking it easy and making sure we have no leftovers carrying us into the weekend, when we'll be away again.
Sunday
Oven-fried chicken
Sweet potato and yam oven fries
Steamed asparagus
Monday
Beef roast (aiming for sandwich meat for lunches)
Mashed potatoes
Carrots and green beans
Creamy coleslaw
Tuesday
Orzo primavera (from The Occasional Vegetarian). The recipe is very similar to the one posted here.
Green salad
Wednesday
Pork stirfry with bok choy and broccoli—the stir-fry sauce will be the thickened rib-braising liquid from a previous post, Busy Mom Tip #6.
Rice (with enough leftovers to go into our bean burritos the next day)
Thursday
Bean burritos, based on the recipe titled "Guilt-free refritos" in The Rustic Table. Basically just pinto beans mashed with bottled salsa, onions and garlic. It'll be good with some rice, cheese, chopped tomatoes, cucumber, avocado, and extra salsa. Plus any leftover beans can be frozen.
Sunday
Oven-fried chicken
Sweet potato and yam oven fries
Steamed asparagus
Monday
Beef roast (aiming for sandwich meat for lunches)
Mashed potatoes
Carrots and green beans
Creamy coleslaw
Tuesday
Orzo primavera (from The Occasional Vegetarian). The recipe is very similar to the one posted here.
Green salad
Wednesday
Pork stirfry with bok choy and broccoli—the stir-fry sauce will be the thickened rib-braising liquid from a previous post, Busy Mom Tip #6.
Rice (with enough leftovers to go into our bean burritos the next day)
Thursday
Bean burritos, based on the recipe titled "Guilt-free refritos" in The Rustic Table. Basically just pinto beans mashed with bottled salsa, onions and garlic. It'll be good with some rice, cheese, chopped tomatoes, cucumber, avocado, and extra salsa. Plus any leftover beans can be frozen.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
"Mmmm. This is a great supper."
Now those are words you don't hear every day from a two year old. Apparently, all it takes to sell him on a meal is oven-fried chicken (Pineview Farms thighs and drumsticks). He hadn't touched anything else on his plate, but since he had a drumstick, he was convinced the meal was great. With a bit of coaxing, he went on to note his surprise that the pale oven-fry was a sweet potato (we had a combination of sweet potato and yam fries), and once he confirmed that it was sweet potato, he proceeded to clear his plate of them: "I think this is great. This is great food!" When he announced he was finished, without having touched his asparagus, we suggested he have at least one bite of his vegetables, so that he could get the vitamins he needed. "I like vitamins!" he said, and took one bite, and then shoved half of the rather large asparagus spear in his mouth. If only he were always so agreeable.
He doesn't eat like this every day, but I do enjoy it when he does. Chicken, yam fries and asparagus. The winning combination.
It worked well for Baby G, too, who has apparently caught on to the joys of food. He demolished a slice of baked yam, half an asparagus spear, and a good tablespoon of mom-chewed chicken thigh, his first show of interest in meat since we started feeding him solids.
Coconut macaroons for dessert—we have a lot of macaroons around now, since I'm trying to use up all of the egg whites left over from the crème brulée. I have eight more egg whites to go. Any suggestions? Keep in mind I'm a bit burnt out for cooking this week...
He doesn't eat like this every day, but I do enjoy it when he does. Chicken, yam fries and asparagus. The winning combination.
It worked well for Baby G, too, who has apparently caught on to the joys of food. He demolished a slice of baked yam, half an asparagus spear, and a good tablespoon of mom-chewed chicken thigh, his first show of interest in meat since we started feeding him solids.
Coconut macaroons for dessert—we have a lot of macaroons around now, since I'm trying to use up all of the egg whites left over from the crème brulée. I have eight more egg whites to go. Any suggestions? Keep in mind I'm a bit burnt out for cooking this week...
Girls' Night In
Now that my women's dinner party is over, I can post the menu without spoiling it for my guests. This was my first fancy dinner in a long while, definitely since the birth of Baby G 7 months ago, but I suspect I had scaled back on fanciness for several months before that. In order to pull it off, I started my preparations on Monday, purchasing groceries and then doing a few tasks each day until the big day on Saturday. The food was a success, and the company (five impressive women in whose presence I feel honoured) was fantastic. The menu is mostly available on Epicurious.com.
Appetizer: Trio of crostini on Christie's bakery baguettes: fava bean puree with shaved Parmesan; sun-dried tomato tapenade; goat cheese with green olives
Salad: Arugula salad with manchego, apples and caramelized walnuts
Main: Truffled red wine risotto with Parmesan broth (the whole core of this meal—I have been sitting on a jar of truffle butter, and since my husband has proclaimed his hatred of truffles, I have been determined to serve it to someone who appreciates it. Hence, I kicked my husband and boys out of the house for three hours to host these women, who try to go out for dinner together every couple of months or so, at my house. I also collect Parmesan cheese rinds for the purpose of making this recipe and this recipe only. I cleared out my cheese drawer by making the broth.)
Dessert: Chamomile crème brulée (The best dessert I have ever tasted, once served to me at the now defunct Pesto's restaurant in Saskatoon. I'm pleased to report it can be easily made at home, as long as you have enough cream and egg yolks).
We also enjoyed some lovely New Zealand Pinot Noir--Devil's postpile, I think it's called. I had some French Pinot Noir as well, but most of it got poured into the risotto.
Considering the fact that we were working around the schedules of my own young family and the bedtimes of two young babies also in attendance, we had a most enjoyable evening. It just started early—5:30 PM on the dot, and everyone was on their way out the door (and my family was on their way back in) by 8:30. Well worth it, though.
Appetizer: Trio of crostini on Christie's bakery baguettes: fava bean puree with shaved Parmesan; sun-dried tomato tapenade; goat cheese with green olives
Salad: Arugula salad with manchego, apples and caramelized walnuts
Main: Truffled red wine risotto with Parmesan broth (the whole core of this meal—I have been sitting on a jar of truffle butter, and since my husband has proclaimed his hatred of truffles, I have been determined to serve it to someone who appreciates it. Hence, I kicked my husband and boys out of the house for three hours to host these women, who try to go out for dinner together every couple of months or so, at my house. I also collect Parmesan cheese rinds for the purpose of making this recipe and this recipe only. I cleared out my cheese drawer by making the broth.)
Dessert: Chamomile crème brulée (The best dessert I have ever tasted, once served to me at the now defunct Pesto's restaurant in Saskatoon. I'm pleased to report it can be easily made at home, as long as you have enough cream and egg yolks).
We also enjoyed some lovely New Zealand Pinot Noir--Devil's postpile, I think it's called. I had some French Pinot Noir as well, but most of it got poured into the risotto.
Considering the fact that we were working around the schedules of my own young family and the bedtimes of two young babies also in attendance, we had a most enjoyable evening. It just started early—5:30 PM on the dot, and everyone was on their way out the door (and my family was on their way back in) by 8:30. Well worth it, though.
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