Back to life....

Trying to get back to the regular, old, hum-drum Hausfrau life today. And happy about that.

Had the Peapod dude scheduled to come for two reasons. 1 - pick up the boxes left last week when I wasn't here for the delivery, and 2 - wanted some duck breasts to use in a duck soup I want to make this week.

Peapod dude was not supposed to come until the afternoon, so I headed out in the late morning to the produce market to pick up veggies and other various things for the week. I only spent about two minutes lovingly staring at the lake trout in the fish case, cursing the husband for not liking fish or green beans so I can't make the trout with haricot verts from the Bouchon cookbook. Yeah... fish, almonds, green beans, brown butter.... all things he hates. Sigh.

It's going to be a big week in the kitchen.... have a party on Saturday (WHY my mother decided to have everyone in my dad's side of the family over on the day before Superbowl Sunday is beyond me....) and of course the Superbowl on Sunday.

To my mom's, I'm bringing an artichoke dip, and I'm also going to try the lemon tart from the French Laundry cookbook. Actually, since the dough recipe makes enough for three tarts, I'm going to do a lemon one, and attempt a key lime one. The hubby is also supposed to make cupcakes. I have a funny feeling that is not going to happen, but we'll see.

Sunday's cooking isn't too bad... the usual spread.... some jalapeno poppers as an appetizer, and ribs, slaw and cornbread. Too bad I still need to buy jalapenos, ribs, and cabbage for the slaw.

Tonight is a recipe for what I usually call "SpagBacParm" for short. It's an easy one, and since I've been a stranger to my kitchen for awhile, it's one I know I can do. And I also know even when it's flubbed/overcooked, it's still pretty darned good. Since the hubsy is not a fan of peas, I usually use some asparagus in the recipe. I do believe I have mentioned it here before, since it is a big "go to" recipe for me. Especially when I've got leftover bacon from last week.

Doing some roasted cherry tomatoes as a side, since the acidity in the tomatoes goes particularly well with SpagBacParm.

Other than that, duck soup and a pot roast, don't know what else is in store for the week. Maybe the scallops from the Bouchon cookbook... I buy some endive at the produce mart, and I could start with salting those tonight and doing the sauce tomorrow, then scallops on Thursday. I also have chicken breasts... might just simply roast those and serve with a baked potato one night.

Thankfully I have some spice rub leftover from the last time I made ribs, so I don't have to worry about that. I can just slap it on them on Saturday morning and worry about cooking them, ala the Alton Brown oven recipe, on Sunday.

And, on Sunday, the poppers are easy enough, and I usually even just halve the poppers to makes them much easier to stuff. I'll probably do the artichoke dip and the bread sticks (and maybe some pita chips) on Thursday night along with the pine nut crust for the tarts. I'm just going to do the artichoke dip in my slow cooker (they're not entirely evil, I swear!!), but I can at least get it mixed and ready.

But enough talk... time for me to get in to the kitchen and make a tasty dinner. After that, a nice long shower, and then some girly time curled up in front of the TV (possibly with a nice glass or three of wine) watching the complete Jane Austin on Masterpiece Theater.