Turkey meatloaf or .... ?

Well it's a steaming pile of something. So, not everything that tastes good looks pretty. I found that out when I made turkey meatloaf.

1 lb. ground turkey
1 onion, chopped
1 c bread crumbs
1 egg, beaten
1/2 c toasted pine nuts
12 sundried tomatos, chopped
1/3 c milk
2 tsp. chopped rosemary
1/2 tsp. oregano

get your hands dirty, mush it all together in a bowl. Form into a loaf (or 2), bake at 375' for about 50 min.

Calzones

I made some calzones with some odds and ends I had in my fridge. Step one, is to turn on the oven to 400 degrees. The pizza stones need time to heat up.

Then I mixed up the stuff for the inside: ricotta, mozzarella, brococcini (mini fresh mozzarella balls), an egg, chopped up roasted red peppers, pepperoni and fresh parsley.

For the crust, I'm a fan of the pre-made pizza dough from Trader Joe's and/or Vace. I think I used the Trader Joe's dough for these. I let the dough sit on the counter and rest for about an hour, then cut it in half and rolled it out. Filled it up with the goop, folded it closed, cut some slits in the top, then brushed it with some olive oil. Then into the oven until golden. I'm not sure what caused it to bubble out so much stuff. Maybe the egg expanding when it cooked?

Surf and turf

Bacon wrapped shrimp reminds me of something I made this summer. I had some proscuitto in my fridge and decided to pick up some sea scallops down the street at Cameron's. This was going to be delicious: proscuitto wrapped scallops. But why stop there? I had a lot of fresh basil left over from making pizza, so I whipped up some pesto. (2 cups basil, 1 clove garlic, half a handful of parmesean-romano, some pine nuts, olive oil) That's how I ended up with scallops rubbed with pesto, wrapped in proscuitto. Baked in the oven for 15-20 minutes at 350 I think.

What's not to love about seafood wrapped in pork? That's some good surf and turf.

I'm Adam, and I like food.

About eight months ago I moved from a small house in a nice neighborhood in South Carolina to Downtown Silver Spring... things changed, mostly for the better, except now I'm on the eleventh floor. That means no grill. I don't mean that thing marketed by George Foreman, which is more of a panini machine, or even those gleaming monolithic stainless-steel things that shoot flaming noxious gas at your food; I'm talkin' about a hardwood-charcoal-fired Weber grill. Here's what I mean:


Away from direct heat, we have bacon-wrapped shrimp with some lemon zest and fresh ground pepper. Four or five minutes of cooking meant the bacon was at that supple not-quite-crispy stage and the shrimp was perfect. Note the extra skewer aganist which each batch rested to keep the heavier end from facing the heat all the time.

"White castle fries only come in one size"
-The Beastie Boys

Baked Mac and Cheese

This was the first picture I took of something I cooked. October 5, 2004 when I was living at 8006. You can't tell how good something tastes from a picture, but the secret ingredient to making it look good was a liberal dose of paprika.

210 degrees

It's time to start writing about food. I like to cook and eat. I like to experiment. For me, this blog is going to be a lab notebook of sorts. I'll write about what I've made, how I made it, what worked and what didn't.

After bearing witness to his away messages, I've enlisted Adam to contribute as well.

"I haven't made mashed potatoes very often... but when I do, they are damn good. A little butter, some coarsely ground pepper, no salt to speak of, and the most important ingredient: a tablespoon per potato of sour cream. YUM. "
-Adam

210 degrees is the temperature at which a baked potato is done. That's the kind of info I want to keep track of, and that's my inspiration for starting this blog. More on the baked potato later.

Something to whet your appetite...