Recipe Review from 4/21/2019

Spring is gradually coming to the Northland, and with it the typical temperature swings.  We'll get one day of 60*, then 40* the next day.  Rain, sun, and snow flurries.  Ya just never know when running out the door in the morning.

And with spring brings the Season of Mud and the joy of cleaning off 8 puppy paws.   Fun times.

The Meal Plan:
Sat/Sun - Minicon
Mon (yoga/bkgrp/Legion) - out
Tues - Sheet pan salmon with potatoes
Wed - Chicken Marsala
Thurs (yoga)  leftovers
Fri - leftovers

I reviewed the Sheet Pan Salmon from Cooks Country here.   Yeah, this was good and easy enough to make again. Tho I had forgotten it does take about an hour from pulling ingredients out of the fridge to putting plates on the table.  Advantage: I can clean up dishes while final cooking happens.  Still recommended!


Chicken and Mushroom Marsala (Eating Well, Jan/Feb 2019)
I'm starting to sense a theme with the Eating Well recipes...bland.  Now I don't consider myself a "hot head" with the need to put Tabasco on everything, but I do expect my dishes to have some flavor.  The last several EW recipes I've made, all of them were bland, bland, bland.   Given the ingredient list below, with shiitake, onion, thyme and Marsala, this should have had some good flavor profiles, but I found myself reaching for the salt shaker partway through eating.

Other than that observation, I made this as written.  Mostly...I did butterfly the chicken breasts because I'm finding they cook so much better and more evenly when I do so. 

I served this with green beans - but this would be good over mashed potatoes or polenta.  Recommended with some small reservations.

photo from eatingwell.com

4 chicken breast cutlets (4 ounces each, about ½ inch thick), trimmed
½ teaspoon ground pepper, divided
¼ teaspoon kosher salt plus ⅛ teaspoon, divided
¼ cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
8 ounces cremini mushrooms, sliced
8 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and sliced
½ cup chopped yellow onion
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, plus more for garnish
½ cup Marsala
½ cup unsalted chicken broth
½ tablespoon butter



Season chicken with ¼ teaspoon each pepper and salt. Place flour in a shallow dish and dredge the cutlets in it, pressing gently to fully coat.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add half the cutlets and cook until lightly browned, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate. Repeat with 1 tablespoon oil and the remaining cutlets. Cover to keep warm.

Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil and creminis to the pan; cook, stirring occasionally until tender, 4 to 6 minutes. Transfer to a bowl. Add shiitakes to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally until tender, 4 to 6 minutes. Transfer to the bowl and season with the remaining ⅛ teaspoon salt.



Add onion, thyme and the remaining ¼ teaspoon pepper to the pan; cook, stirring often, until the onion is translucent, 2 to 3 minutes. Return the mushrooms to the pan. Stir in Marsala and broth, scraping up any browned bits. Simmer over medium heat until slightly reduced, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in butter. Serve the chicken topped with the sauce.

For We Are Many by Dennis E. Taylor (Bobiverse #2)

For We Are Many by Dennis E. Taylor

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Jacket blurb:  Bob Johansson didn't believe in an afterlife, so waking up after being killed in a car accident was a shock. To add to the surprise, he is now a sentient computer and the controlling intelligence for a Von Neumann probe.

Bob and his copies have been spreading out from Earth for 40 years now, looking for habitable planets. But that's the only part of the plan that's still in one piece. A system-wide war has killed off 99.9% of the human race; nuclear winter is slowly making the Earth uninhabitable; a radical group wants to finish the job on the remnants of humanity; the Brazilian space probes are still out there, still trying to blow up the competition; And the Bobs have discovered a spacefaring species that sees all other life as food.

Bob left Earth anticipating a life of exploration and blissful solitude. Instead he's become a sky god to a primitive native species, the only hope for getting humanity to a new home, and possibly the only thing that can prevent every living thing in the local sphere from ending up as dinner.

Read as an audio book.

The Bob's have multiplied and while some have gone forth to explore brave new worlds, many of early generations continue to carry out their self selected missions: Bob One is still reeling from being banished from the Deltan community and his friend Archimedes, he's also realizing what it means to be immortal as he watches over Archimedes and Archimedes growing family. Ricker, still suffering from the loss of Homer abd continues to pull humanity off of a destroyed earth. Ricker has reconnected with Bob's sisters family. Howard is struggling with the ramifications being in love. All the Bob's fear and loathe the coming of the Others and have vowed to do what the can to stop them.

This moved briskly along. There was more exploration of being a replicant AI and having emotions than in book one: love, loss, fear, anger, depression. There continues to be a subtle thread of sentience - of having the originators memories, but being one's own "soul".

The Bob's aren't perfect, they don't have all the answers, and for the most part, their hearts are in the right place. They feel guilt and remorse over actions taken that didn't turn out the way they anticipated. I did note some parallel and similar plot threads cropping up, but not similar enough to detract from the overall story arc.

I will note, this installment does end on a cliffhanger. Which frustrated me to no end as I was flying down the highway with a two hour drive in front of me, and couldn't download the next book in the series. Ah well, a break between books isn't a bad thing.

Recommended if you read book one.



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Recipe Review from 4/14/2019 and Minicon

An uneventful week, the latter half of which I was in the Cities for my yearly trip to Minicon, a science fiction convention in it's 54th year.  I have not been to all 54 years (not old enough), but I have been to 25.  I struggled to find panels of interest this year, and ended up at the Dave DeVries Digital Art Demonstration, Tai Chi, Qigong, Social implications of DNA testing, and the Finding Commonality panels.  The rest of the time I just hung out, hit a few yoga classes, and went out to eat.  All in all, a very relaxing weekend.

Restaurants of Note:
Salut Bar Americain,  Edina (50th and France)  French-American    A favorite of mine when I'm in the area.
Rojo Mexican Grill   St. Louis Park    Mexican-American   New to me restaurant - very good Spicy Shrimp tacos and best version of "fried rice" I've had yet.  I'd definitely go back.
Yard House  St. Louis Park    American sports pub.  100+ beers and ciders on tap if you like variety.  Shrimp taco's were very tasty.
Taste of India   St. Louis Park (Wayzata Blvd)   Indian.  Outstanding.  I end up here whenever I stay at this Doubletree.   

But I digress from the meal plan
Sun (L) Leftover soup   (S) Paella
Mon (yoga) leftover paella
Tues - more leftover paella
Wed - and leftover paella
Thurs - Sun  Minicon!

Caribbean Paella (Kevin Belton's New Orleans Kitchen)
And this is where I'm going point you in the direction of his cookbook, because this recipe didn't quite turn out for me.  Oh, it tasted good, but I ended up with Caribbean risotto and not paella.  I suspect it was because I became impatient and instead of adding the water 1 tablespoon at a time, I did it by the 1/2 cup.

So. Yeah.  Risotto.  Good risotto though, with andouille sausage, chicken and shrimp all topped off with a hit of Tabasco sauce for heat.    But not paella. 

We Are Legion (We are Bob) by Dennis E. Taylor (Bobiverse #1)

We Are Legion We Are Bob by Dennis E. Taylor

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Jacket Blurb: Bob Johansson has just sold his software company and is looking forward to a life of leisure. There are places to go, books to read, and movies to watch. So it's a little unfair when he gets himself killed crossing the street.

Bob wakes up a century later to find that corpsicles have been declared to be without rights, and he is now the property of the state. He has been uploaded into computer hardware and is slated to be the controlling AI in an interstellar probe looking for habitable planets. The stakes are high: no less than the first claim to entire worlds. If he declines the honor, he'll be switched off, and they'll try again with someone else. If he accepts, he becomes a prime target. There are at least three other countries trying to get their own probes launched first, and they play dirty.

The safest place for Bob is in space, heading away from Earth at top speed. Or so he thinks. Because the universe is full of nasties, and trespassers make them mad - very mad.

Read as an audio book.

I picked this book up on Audible because nothing else was grabbing my fancy. I was in "a mood" and needed something...different, quirky, and a bit humorous. This was perfect.

Book blurb(s) summarize the book fairly accurately given the someone complex nature of the plot. Bob dies early, tragically, and just after signing papers that would have his head frozen and preserved. When he is revived nearly 100 years later, the society he knew is gone, AI's (and thus Bob) have no rights, and it's a race to the stars.

The first part of the book really kept my attention as Bob navigates being "brought back to life" so to speak as a computer. It was interesting how the author explored things such as sentience, sensory deprivation, cloning, and being self-aware. I really enjoyed that aspect.

The second half of the book, as the Bob's multiply and go forth into corners of space to tackle their respective challenges, I felt the plots became bogged down a bit and I found myself drifting off into other thoughts and had to "rewind" more than once.

I also felt the narrator did a very good performance, and while I didn't care for all of his voices, I appreciated the effort to make certain Bob's sound different to the extent possible, and our Deltan's even more different than the Bobs.

I will also add, while this doesn't quite end on a cliffhanger, not all plot lines are resolved. So...I may be reading more. Recommended.



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Recipe Review from 4/8/2018

Last week was kinda a busy and weird. Husband was out of town for the first part of the week for a work function.I was busy with work and my classes. Then Snow-mageddon hit on Thursday and Friday which shut down half the City, but not where I work. And it all ended in my first ever Meditation workshop which I still have mixed thoughts about.

But with all of that, a handful of new recipes were made.I can post two of the three, the Roast Duck with Bourbon Gravy and Boudin Stuffing was just too long to retype.

The Meal Plan from last week:
Sat (L) Leftovers(S)Pizza
Sun (L) Chicken Parmesan (S) Roast Duck
Mon (yoga/Husband out) leftover parmesan
Tues (Husband out) leftover parmesan
Wed - leftover duck
Thurs (Snowstorm!) leftover boudin stuffing with a brat
Fri- Country Fish Chowder


Roast Duck with Bourbon Gravy and Boudin Stuffing(Kevin Belton, New Orleans Kitchen)

Apologies, but this recipe was just a bit to much to type out and it's not available on the website.  And alas, I seem to have deleted my picture!  Phooey.

This was easier than I anticipated, but found the order of assembly and cooking needed to be flipped. The recipe starts with cooking the duck, then making the gravy (all which went very smoothly!) and then making the stuffing...which needed 45 minutes to bake! So now I have my duck and gravy sitting on the stove while I wait for the stuffing when I could have had the stuffing baking, and have been assembling the duck and gravy.

Oh well. It still turned out awesome. I would make this again (swapping the assembly order) and I would make this for company. Go check out the cook book, it's pretty awesome and a lot of fun recipes.


Country Fish Chowder (Taste of Home Soups)
Oh my! This was GOOD! And so easy to assemble. I did a handful of modifications - I skipped the bacon (didn't have any on hand); I used frozen corn and then added one cup of broth for the additional liquid; and I used cod, then cut into 1" pieces.The recipe has you cooking the cod separately, which is NOT necessary.

Serve with warm crusty bread, saltine crackers and cheese, or a side salad. I also put some Tabasco sauce on the table for a little hit of heat. I plan on making this again and again. Recommended!

Made about 9 servings (three suppers for two, and three lunches for one)

Photo from Taste of Home

1 cup chopped onion
4 bacon strips, chopped (I skipped)3 cans (12 ounces each) evaporated milk
1 can (15-1/4 ounces) whole kernel corn, undrained
(I used 1 1/2 cups frozen corn and 1 cup stock)
1 can (6-1/2 ounces) chopped clams, undrained
3 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
3 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon pepper
1 pound fish fillets (haddock, cod or flounder), cut into 1" pieces
Crumbled cooked bacon, optional
Minced chives, optional

In a large saucepan, cook onion and bacon over medium heat until onion is tender; drain. Add milk, corn, clams, potatoes, butter, salt and pepper. Cover and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes. Stir in fish and [cook for 10 more minutes or until fish is flaky]. Ladle into bowls. If desired, top with bacon and chives.

Skillet Chicken Parmesan (Eating Well, Jan/Feb 2019)
This was easy to make and I actually made it as written with the exception of butterflying the chicken for faster and more even cooking.

This was also one of the blandest dishes I've made in a while.  Even the Husband commented on how bland it was - as in...no flavor bland.  In hindsight, you would be better off buying a jar of your favorite marinara or spaghetti sauce and using two cups of that instead of flavorless tomato sauce.  Because seriously, a couple cloves of garlic just weren't enough to boost the seasonings.

Recommended with reservations.

This does make four servings. 

photo from Eating Well

¾ cup panko breadcrumbs, preferably whole-wheat
4 chicken breast cutlets (4 ounces each, about ½ inch thick)
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon ground pepper
1 tablespoon sliced garlic
2 cups no-salt-added tomato sauce
2 teaspoons sugar
(My notes: use a jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce)
1 cup torn fresh basil, divided
¾ cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Position rack in middle of oven; preheat broiler to high.

Place panko in a shallow dish and dredge cutlets in it, pressing gently to fully coat.

Heat 1½ tablespoons oil in a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat; add half the cutlets and cook until crispy, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate. Repeat with 1½ tablespoons oil and the remaining cutlets. Season with salt and pepper.

Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil and garlic to the pan; cook, stirring often, until softened and fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in tomato sauce and sugar and bring to a boil over medium-high. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.

Nestle the cutlets into the sauce in the pan. Top with ½ cup basil, mozzarella and Parmesan. Transfer the pan to the oven.

Investments by Walter Jon Williams (Dread Empire's Fall #3.5)

Investments by Walter Jon Williams

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Jacket Blurb:  This short novel takes place in the universe of Walter Jon Williams’ Dread Empire’s Fall series.

Three years after the Naxid war, Lord Gareth Martinez has accepted a meaningless post as Inspector General of Chee, a newly-settled world. Intending nothing more than a pleasant vacation with his family, Martinez first discovers corruption among the contractors engaged to develop Chee, but then finds something far more dangerous--- a literal cosmic menace that threatens to wipe out all life on the planet

A very satisfactory short story that resumes several years after the end of the Praxis War. This is NOT meant to be read as a stand alone, you will need to have read the Dread Empire's Fall series. If you haven't done so, I recommend the books. Very enjoyable series.

Investments gives the reader a glimpse of what has become of Gareth Martinez since the end of the war. We are introduced to his wife, his family and given a closer look at his societal standing outside of the military. I enjoyed the plot and light suspense that came with it. It's been several years and then some since I've read the first three books, and I had NO trouble picking up and remembering who is whom. Just enough reminders to jiggle the brain cells but not bog down the story arc.

Recommended if you've read the Dread Empires Fall.





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Recipe Review from 4/1/2019

The meal plan kinda morphed and changed over the duration of the week as I wasn't on the ball with purchasing and cooking (ie, can't plan for duck on Sunday when the duck is frozen on Saturday.    So some shuffling happened and oddly, it all works out.

No recipe for the "fresh" Cod (seriously? I live in the middle of the country near the Canadian border, it's not "fresh".)  I have developed a fondness for poached Cod, probably a leftover from growing up when Mom would boil these fish (haddock or cod I suspect) rectangles for Lent and we'd get to dip them in butter.   My version is a bit more grown-up, where I add lemon, onion and peppercorns to the water, bring to a boil, add the fish, then reduce to a simmer for about 10 minutes.  So good! 

The Meal Plan
Sat (L) leftover pozole  (S) Poutine!
Sun (L) leftover pozole  (S)  Cod
Mon (yoga)  Cod
Tues - Shrimp Stir fry
Wed - Pasty
Thurs (yoga) leftover shrimp
Fri (yoga) leftover sweet potato chili

Lunches - turkey sandwiches with apple and gouda or cheddar; luna bars, nuts, fruit

Shrimp Stir-fry with Bacon, Green Pepper and Pineapple (Eating Well, April 2019)
This is very easy, and made easier if you have everything mise en place. 

Now, I don't have Shaozing rice wine on hand, nor was I inclinded to go buy a bottle for 2 tablespoons.  Seriously?!?  I used dry sherry and you can easily sub broth if so inclined.

You can easily skip the bacon. 

And you can easily substitute a can of pineapple chunks and not have to fuss around with a fresh pineapple for 1 1/2 cups.  A can comes pre-measured!  My recommendation would be to start the pineapple draining first, so it's ready at the end.

My last note - I used garlic chili sauce because I don't have access to sweet.  It made the dish a tich spicier than we care for so if you make a similar substitution, cut back to 1 tbsp. 

Otherwise - this was pretty good.  And good for a weeknight meal.  Recommended.

2 tablespoons sweet chili sauce
(My note: If using garlic chili sauce, drop to 1 tbsp or less)
2 tablespoons Shaoxing rice wine  or dry sherry
2 tablespoons reduced-sodium tamari  (I used soy sauce)
2 tablespoons water
2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 ounces thick-cut bacon, cut into ½-inch pieces    
1 large green bell pepper, chopped
12 ounces peeled and deveined raw shrimp (21-25 count)
1 bunch scallions, cut into 1-inch pieces  I forgot to add them
1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper
1½ cups chopped fresh pineapple (1-inch pieces)  (I used 1-15oz can pineapple in juice, drained well)
 
Combine chili sauce, rice wine (or sherry), tamari, water and cornstarch in a small bowl. Set next to the stove.
 
Cook bacon in a large flat-bottom wok or large skillet over medium-high heat, stirring, until crisp, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a plate.
 
Add bell pepper to the drippings in the pan and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add shrimp, scallions, ginger and crushed red pepper; cook, stirring, until the shrimp are cooked through, about 2 minutes. Stir the reserved sauce and add to the pan along with pineapple and the bacon. Cook, stirring, until the sauce thickens slightly, about 1 minute more.

Monster Hunter International: Seige by Larry Correia (MHI #6)

Monster Hunter Siege by Larry Correia

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Jacket Blurb: When Monster Hunter International's top hunter, Owen Zastava Pitt, was given a tip about some hunters who had gone missing in action, he didn’t realize their rescue mission would snowball into the single biggest operation in MHI's history. Their men are being held prisoner in a horrific nightmare dimension, and the only way to reach them is through the radioactive ruins of a monster-infested war zone.

As if that wasn't bad enough, it’s also the home base of the powerful creature behind the devastating attacks on the Last Dragon and Copper Lake. It turns out ancient gods of chaos really hate trespassers. But this god picked a fight with the wrong crew, and now MHI wants payback. Calling on their allies, a massive expedition is formed, and with the odds stacked against them, a legion of hunters goes to war.

It’s D-Day at the City of Monsters.

I admit, at first glance this shouldn't be a book I would pick up - because seriously, gun wielding monster hunting accountants? But both my Dad and I greatly enjoy this series and I see the next installment is due out this year. Yay!

Premise of the book is this is the final showdown between the monster hunters and Asag, ultimate bad assed god from the nightmare dimension and it's all going down on Severgy Island (sp?) in Russia. It's up to Owen to cross into the alternate reality, rescue the stranded Hunters, and destroy Asag. No pressure there.

I'll note - if you haven't read this series yet, you do need to start with Monster Hunter International (MHI #1). Books cannot be read as astand alone.

About half the book is prep for the attack on Asag: Owen and Earl marshaling forces, training the forces, moving equipment and people, logistics, spreadsheets! and reminising. A quarter of the book is actually landing on the Island and getting Owen to the gate,where the Monster Hunters go in with guns blazing from the moment the supply boat approaches shore to the time the leave the island.

And there's the rest I'm not going to tell you about.

The whole book moves smartly along. I was interested, I was engaged, I felt bad about the giant, I was irritated with family events even though I knew how *that* was going to play out. Owen's time spent in the nightmare realm was verrryy interesting indeed.

I will note, and for those of you following the series you'll understand, this is a transition book. Correia has set up book #7 for us quite nicely.

Recommended if you've read the first five in the series.



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Recipe Review from 3/25/2018

Happy April!  I hope (gentle) April Showers bring May Flowers!

Only one new recipe to report on this week.  Poutine doesn't really require a recipe - french fries (preferably homemade and baked) with cheese curds and gravy (also preferably homemade).  One of my very guilty pleasures and ultimate comfort food. 

The Meal Plan:
Sat (L)  Brats     (S) Poutine!
Sun (L) leftover brats   (S) Pozole Soup
Mon (yoga/Legion)  leftovers from previous week
Tues - leftover Pozole soup
Wed - Poutine!
Thurs - leftover soup
Fri - leftover soup

Lunches - Turkey/gouda/apple sandwiches for me;  veggies for Husband

Slow Cooker Pork Pozole Soup  (Taste of Home Soups) gluten free
Yes. The recipe IS this simple!  And one of the tastier soups I've made from this magazine. 

However, I also did a flavor boost by browning the pork ribs first, then sauteing the onions and carrots, and adding a bit of water to de-glaze the pan.  Then everything went into the slow cooker.

I skipped the lime and cilantro and served over a batch of grits/polenta.   Recommended!

Serves 6-8 (8 if served with polenta)

Photo from Taste of Home

1 can (15-1/2 ounces) hominy, rinsed and drained
1 can (14-1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can (14-1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes with mild green chiles, undrained
1 can (10 ounces) green enchilada sauce
2 medium carrots, finely chopped
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 pound boneless country-style pork ribs
Lime wedges and minced fresh cilantro
Corn tortillas, optional I made a batch of corn-grits (polenta) and served the soup over it.  YUM!


In a 3- or 4-qt. slow cooker, combine the first nine ingredients; add pork. Cook, covered, on low 3-4 hours or until pork is tender.

Remove pork from slow cooker. Cut pork into bite-sized pieces; return to slow cooker. Serve with lime wedges and cilantro and, if desired, corn tortillas.