peas at a party

Here’s Week 8 . . . think lifestyles of the rich and famous . . . that is if you count Mom, which of course I do!

• Seared Ahi Tuna with Sesame Crust served on a bed of Ginger Mushrooms & Baby Bok Choy with a side of Wasabi Mashed Potatoes is adapted from a menu shared by Chef Josh Thomsen of the Boa Steakhouse in Santa Monica on a Today Show series on “stolen” recipes.  According to Thomsen, when you cook this at home, the cost is about $5.89 per serving.  At the hip, trendy restaurant, it’s $33.00.  Per.  Serving.  Indulge at home and file this one away for when you want to treat your friends.  We substituted the sesame crust for the soy finishing sauce to reduce the sodium and add the healthy seeds.
• Two Food Network recipes, Peppered Pork and Peas & Prosciutto take center stage.  The Poppy Seed Dressing is a taste ringer for Helen Corbitt’s original and famous recipe.  Corbitt was known to have a sharp tongue for folks who “improved” on her recipes.  But since in the later years of her career, she developed spa recipes for the Neiman-Marcus Greenhouse Spa, perhaps she wouldn’t be too upset at the comparison.  If you don’t know about this fascinating and groundbreaking chef, you can read about her here.
• I have had an on-going quest for a better turkey burger.  And one made with breast meat only—no cheating with the mixed turkey meat that has as much fat as lean beef.  I had all but given up when I found a recipe that encouraged me.  So the quest continued until we found this recipe.  Kickin’ Turkey Burgers with Coleslaw are terrific pan-grilled, but when it’s time to fire up the outdoor grill in your part of the world, try these over an open flame, too.  And if burgers made with turkey and topped with coleslaw isn’t enough of a surprise, add a little more with Sweet Potato Chips.  From the comments we received about this recipe, I can safely say that they were a favorite with Fizzy Meals subscribers.
• A few years ago, a daily recipe exchange that I participate in was having a conversation about “goulash.”  Not real goulash as in Hungarian, cook all day, and don’t forget the paprika, but the mac and beef and tomato skillet supper of my childhood.  One reader remembered such a dish that her mother made and asked if anyone recognized it and knew of a recipe.  This brought a flood of responses all fondly recalling a similar dish with variations on bake or no bake, macaroni or broken spaghetti, stewed tomatoes or diced tomatoes or tomato soup.  Mom’s version was bake, broken spaghetti, and diced tomatoes.  Her recipe was even printed in our local paper since she added a fancy ingredient:  green pepper (which I meticulously picked out).  And as far as I can remember, goulash was always served with saltine crackers since the phrase “a good French bread” was not in the small town lexicon of the 1950’s.  You couldn’t pick up a fancy bread at the supermarket—there was no supermarket.  Here’s to remembering simple family dinners and Remembering Goulash.

I’d love to hear how the recipes and menus work for you.