We had already put the cheese in a rubbermaid container and have an open box of A&H in the fridge yet the fridge still smells like feet. Oh well. Maybe we need to double-up on the baking soda and give the fridge a good cleaning. Thanks!

Last night: broccoflower soup with Worchestershire breadcrumbs. Would've been better if my stick blender hadn't broken mid-way through, but it was still pretty good.

Columbuses (Columbi?) -- Appleton's White Rum, lime juice, apricot brandy. We used Barack Palinka, the only apricot brandy we had on hand. Verdict = unbalanced and meh. The drink was greatly improved by adding a splash of simple syrup, so methinks the BP was too dry for the drink.
Beef fajitas
Rice

spaghetti with zucchini and basil

galileo lunch grill pork shoulder sandwich with rabe

max's peppermint ice cream

from deborah madison, as usual, the zucchini is cooked with thinly sliced garlic in half a cup of olive oil over medium heat for 20 minutes until it is way soft and starting to brown in many places. a half cup, or more, of creamy milk is added for the final 10 minutes, and the squash you end up with is custardy. add the pasta and toss with a handfull of shredded basil (i used purple, maybe t.s. should practice on this to start overcoming his aversion to licorice), and half a cup (at least) of grated parmesan and romano.

the sandwich was good, but would not have been worth the $20 that don rockwell was willing to shell out for it. (the bread to pork ratio was a touch too high although the contents tended to be disgorged nevertheless.)

warning: this is an excessively filling meal, so for dinner tonight i am planning to reminisce about last friday's cowgirl creamery pasta: penne tossed with fiore sardo (we went for the older of the two available, redolent of ancient smoke and meat), mozzarella di bufalo, salami, fresh tomatoes, garlic and basil.

Thanks for linking to this recipe. I made it last night and it went straight into the rotation. Easy and FAST! (Not to mention quite tasty.) I started on the chops as soon as I put the TATER TOTS in the oven and the whole thing came together at the same time.

Tonight will be mixed green salad, garlic toast, and beef stew with fresh tomatoes, corn, squash, green beans, and carrots. It feels odd to be making beef stew on Labor Day weekend, but this weather seems suited to it.

I went a little tomato crazy this weekend.

Saturday-Tomato soup with quartered yellow cherry tomatoes that was inspired by Chef Power's version

Sunday-I spent a good part of the day making a roasted tomato sauce for the freezer and dinner was a BLT shmorgasboard: three kinds of bread, two different versions of mayo, three kinds (at least) of "yuppie" bacon, six types of heirloom tomatoes and three kinds of lettuce. The combinations were endless....

Tonight-orzo with sauteed golden teardrop cherry tomatoes, piave cheese and lots of basil and roasted corn with butter and truffled salt. Dessert is seedless orange watermelon topped with vanilla salt.

Sauteed pork chops* with hoisin sauce
perorgies (influenced by recent trip to Philly)
steamed broccoli
Le Petit Ecolier topped with dark chocolate

*Nothing like gnawing on a pork chop bone.

I'm with Homer on this one:

Herb: While you're here, I want you to make yourselves right at home. Anytime you're hungry, anytime day or night, Cook will make you anything you want.
Homer: Even pork chops?
Herb: Absolutely. We have a tennis court, a swimming pool, a screening room--
Homer: You mean, if I want pork chops, even in the middle of the night, your guy will fry 'em up?
Herb: Sure. That's what he's paid for. Now, if you need towels, laundry--
Homer: Wait!
Herb: Maids--
Homer: Wait, wait, wait, wait! Let me see if I've got this straight. It's Christmas day, 4:00 a.m., there's a rumble in my stomach--
Marge: Homer, please!
Herb: (Laughs and grabs Homer around the shoulder.) Your old man sure loves pork chops!
Bart: (Laughs) He sure does, Uncle Herb.

Dry aged t bone from WFM Silver spring accompanied by a garnet sweet potato and a three mushroom ragout (bluefoot, oyster and crimeni). Laurel Glen 1984 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon. Life is good.

Dinner 1:
Pan roasted duck breast with savory blueberry sauce
Polenta
Yellow squash and zucchini bake (squash mixed with freshly grated pecorino romano, egg, olive oil, fresh herbs, bread crumbs, and some ricotta baked)
Blueberry cobbler
2001 Norman's Old Vine Grenache

Dinner 2:
Sirlon Tip Roast (purchased at the Arlington Farmer's market from Smith Meadows Farm) roasted atop some fennel and served with pan gravy
Carmelized onions and roasted tomatoes
More squash bake
Red Sqare (a washed rind from Tasmania)
End of the Blueberry cobbler
2004 Baudry Chinon

Last night was shredded pork sandwiches (can I call it pulled pork if it's not done on a smoker? ) on sesame kaiser rolls, corn on the cob, and baked beans. The pork sandwiches were fabulous and worth the time investment.

I cooked the pork in a dutch oven for most of the day (about 9 hours), starting on top of the stove and then for about 7 hours in the oven at lower heat. I started out with pork shoulder that I dredged in flour with sweet and half sharp paprika, yellow and brown mustard seeds, white and black pepper, kosher salt, and adobo seasoning. After a quick browning in some oil, I threw in some sliced onion, crystallized ginger, and half a bottle of pale ale (I added most of the bottle eventually). It cooked and cooked and cooked until I could pull it apart with a fork. I finished it with a little white wine vinegar and some barbeque sauce. I was going to make homemade but ran out of steam and used some Whole Foods 365 sauce that I keep on hand.

The bufala mozzarella from Cowgirl Creamery is a revelation. Saturday, we dined lightly on mozz salads to feature it: his with three kinds of tomatoes from Star Hollow Farm, and mine with nectarines, Bayley Hazen blue, and cubed membrillo.

Last night: the Zinfandel pot roast with glazed carrots from All About Braising, plus roasted purple Peruvian fingerlings. Dessert: itty-bitty Seckel pears poached in the rest of the wine.

Toasted pita bread salad (chickpeas, cucumber, tomatoes, red onions, feta + a 4-3 ratio EVOO and BV vinagrette + lightly salted, toasted, torn pita bread chips)

The weather yesterday inspired me to make our first fall soup: Lentil with keilbasa and lots of veggies. Sourdough bread from Whole Foods.

I have now determined that the bread at Silver Spring WF sucks as badly as the Rockville location.

Breadline baguettes at Snider's.

Really? I have heard that parking there is pretty awful. Perhaps Ian and I will give it a shot today.

And happy birthday Peanut! What is she having for her birthday dinner?

During the middle of the day their lot shouldn't be bad. Weekends it can really suck. The secret is to always park in the metered lot across the street.

Tonight is one of her favorites -- quesadillas.

A very belated edit to add -- The parking at the WF in SS on most days makes parking at Snider's look like a walk in the park.

Thanks to my recent kitchen gadget acquisition, I am about to nosh on:

whole grain waffles with blueberries and raspberries
savory chicken sausage (modeled after the Adger House "Kentucky style" recipe)
roasted red potatoes

and for dessert, a peach milkshake!

Dinner tonight was courtesy of the new DC Trader Joe's: stuffed flounder (@$2.99 ), frozen carrots with ginger, almonds, soy, etc., tomato/basil focaccio, and tomato and basil salad with mozzarella from TJ's. Under 30 minutes from start to finish. Oh, and that Honey Moon Viognier ($5.99), which was quite nice will all of this.

Three-bean salad--the traditional version with wax beans, green beans and kidney beans, which my husband adores, a taste memory from his traditional upbringing, undoubtedly. Only I don't think his mother used Vidalia onion, roasted garlic, lemon zest and Riesling vinegar (okay, I added cider vinegar, too.)

Roasted beets with orange vinaigrette

Tomatoes and cucumbers with fresh basil

Cheese grits with fresh corn

Charcoal-grilled wild salmon

2005 Ch. Guiot Rose

Wood-grilled, dry-aged boneless ribeye.
Fresh string beans with roasted shallots.
Steak fries cooked in an iron skillet.
Caramelized peaches.
Shafer 2003 Cab

Pork chop with pan reduction sauce

Succotash of wood-grilled corn and red poblano chile with favas.

Peach brioche bread pudding with raspberry-blackberry coulis

2002 Row Eleven Santa Maria Pinot Noir

Braised Lamb Shoulder with tomatoes, carrots, garlic, onions, and potatoes
Spaetzle
Baguette slices with assorted cheeses

Charcoal grill-roasted Eco-Friendly Italian sausages
(Veggie-teen had grilled, fresh-herb marinated tofu instead of sausage)
with grill-roasted red peppers, eggplant, onions, garlic, fresh basil
bufalo mozzarella, reggiano and pecorino
piled on grilled striata baguette from Marvelous Market

2003 Di Majo Norante Sangiovese

The last of the peach brioche bread pudding with raspberry-blackberry coulis

Damn, those sausage sandwiches ROCKED!

Sunday:
Garlic-rosemary pork loin
Herb roasted potatoes
Zoramargolis' roasted fennel slaw (from the Fennel thread, which went over very well. Thanks!)

Feeling autumn coming: butternut squash, Swiss chard, raisins, almonds tossed with orecchiette and brown butter and Parmesan.

Hey, you're welcome! Glad you liked it. I think it is delicious, but I can't make it very often-- my family doesn't like cooked fennel But I make it sometimes for guests and then my husband and daughter can't bitch about it. Like many of my culinary improvisations, it was inspired by something I ate somewhere and then did my own version of. Few of them get written down: in the event a dish receive unanimous kudos, it goes into the semi-regular repertoire. If the response is tepid, but I love it, I make it occasionally. Or it gets forgotten about. Thanks to DR, some of my culinary concepts have gotten appreciation beyond my family and dinner guests, and have even been written down for "posterity."

Savory fresh corn fritters

Tomatoes with basil

Bufalo mozzarella--the Garafalo brand sold at Costco. This is FABULOUS stuff: silky texture, fresh, sweet milky flavor. Four balls for $9.99. Sorry, Paul S.-- Blue Ridge Dairy's mozz. is totally outclassed by this product.

Broiled, spiced Italian plums with vanilla ice cream

Isn't the Garofalo brand actual Mozzarella di bufala? The stuff that Blud Ridge sells is good, but nothing special. I do however enjoy their ricotta and yogurt.

Yes, Mozzarella di bufala it is. Goodness knows how much longer Costco will be carrying it, but I say if you have a Costco card--go get some. I saw a single ball selling for $5.49 at Trader Joe's today, and that's got to be cheaper than anywhere else--except Costco. Granted the ball at TJ's looked a bit larger than the individual balls in the Garofalo tub, but still-- $9.99 gets you a lot more deliciousness for your money.

If I recall correctly, Paul Stephan started out with the goal of making mozzarella di bufalo--and imported a herd of Italian water buffalos to his farm in Loudon County. He found the animals too difficult to manage, and then tried a buffalo-cow hybrid animal. Finally, he gave up the cattle altogether, and now focuses just on cheesemaking, buying his milk from others.

-Blistered serranos & skirt steak in tequila lime sauce*
-Non-fat greek yogurt & lime in place of sour cream**
-Spicy zuccini & squash stir-fry

*This almost turned into disaster. I'd inherited a bottle of Montezuma from someone and, thinking it's just going into food, I might as well use it as a cheap alternative. Right before putting it into the ol' cast iron, I took a swig. It tasted so much worse than rubbing alcohol that I went and got some rubbing alcohol from the bathroom to wash the taste out of my mouth. I prompty switched to the more expensive stuff.

**Not sure this would work. It worked wonderfully - I think I actually liked it BETTER than the less healthy alternative.

Shrimp and sausage fra diavolo on cheese grits. Little bit of dandelion greens on the side.

Tonight's menu:

Smothered pork chops with buttermilk gravy
white rice
fried okra
corn bread
sliced tomatoes

Green chile cheeseburgers
Tater tots
Corona
Amaretto syrup-soaked genoise with raspberry buttercream

Roast turkey (My first roast turkey! Next week: Take a stab at the Palena-style chicken )
Roasted garlic mashed potatoes
Asparagus with shallots, almonds, and dried cranberries

Show of hands: Who has noticed that everything I've made since being home, with the exception of the mashed potatoes, has been cooked in the oven? This is how much I don't like cooking on electrics. Still traumatized from Christmas dinner.

Did the Alton Brown turkey method, 30 minutes at 500 to brown the skin then lower to cook the meat, but it didn't brown that much. My guess is he's using a convenction oven, which would give better browning, but doesn't mention that...

Wood-grilled, dry-aged Porterhouse.
Grilled asparagus.
Baked potato with homemade butter from Harford County, MD
Fresh peaches and homemade vanilla ice cream.
2003 Cakebread Cab.

Chipotle/cascabel chile glazed roast chicken
Rosemary garlic mashed potatoes
Sauteed green beans with chopped pine nuts
Chery Garcia frozen yogurt
Mark West California pinot noir

All accompanied by a lovely Giants win that helped digestion immeasurably

grilled boneless leg of lamb with rosemary and garlic
mashed potatoes with creme fraiche
haricots vert
Cotes-du-Rhone

Did a big-batch cookup of pork shoulder steaks. It became:

shredded pork BBQ on cheese grits with corn on the cob

pork-and-tofu Thai soup with carrots, water chestnuts, zucchini, mint and basil

Turkey meatloaf topped with oven-dried tomatoes in oil and herbs de provence
White potatoes with butter
Buttered green beans and fresh corn kernels

The tomatoes, potatoes, and beans were farm-dug and picked late last week (I've enjoyed this year's CSA/U-Pick experience, though it was horribly impractical).

Another one of those husband's-out-of-town-and-I'm-out of groceries-and-too-tired-to-shop-so-I'll-just-eat-whatever-I-find-in-the-fridge dinners:
One egg, scrambled
two slices of bacon, fried
two small golden beets, roasted
three small red beets, roasted
sour cream
The last of Saturday's Cotes du Rhone

Saturday's left over Jambalya (even better the second time), some sliced white peaches, a bit of Maytag bleu cheese and Carr's water crackers (oh, and a cup of Brazil Santos coffee which I'll probably regret later)

Pork chops with port-ginger reduction. Roasted green beans with a lime-ginger dressing. Orzo.

Blanquette de veau - (recipe from Balthazar cookbook, veal from Dupont farmer's market - yummy)
Buttered noodles
Sauteed chard
Roasted beets

Chicken Marsala
Garlic Broccoli Rabe
Couscous

AlliK: Nice! That's one I've wanted to do for a while. Have a recipe in "The Les Halles Cookbook"...maybe when it gets cooler (and I get a Dutch oven). Have a whole series of braises lined up!

If I was a better writer and could create a worthy tome to the salad I had tonight I would. A few months (or weeks from now ) I will dream of cherry tomatoes with mozerrella, lots of fresh basil, balsamic vinegar and fabulous olive oil, fresh cracked pepper and truffled salt. In fact, I will probably dream of it tonight. Combine a few, simple, basic ingredients and you have summer, or what's left of it, in a bowl. A girl couldn't ask for much more.

Except for, perhaps, a steak salad made of left overs from Ray's, goat cheese and the last blackberries of the summer.

Pappa al Pomodoro.
Salad of shaved fennel, oranges and red onion.
Lemon sorbet
2003 Pesquera Tinto

Nooshi's Singapore noodles with pork--which survive delivery extremely well but could use a little more spice--paired with two (2) Vicodin to take the edge off my most recent idiotic injury.

pepper jack, cheddar, and roasted poblano quesadillas

-Crab-stuffed salmon roulade
-Cucumber & dill stir fry*

*This was supposed to be ZUCCINI and dill stir fry, but I was so pepped up on DayQuil at the grocery store I bought cucumbers by accident. I'm lucky they weren't selling miniature, elongated watermelons.