Not By Bread Alone

Newest Member of the Family

2010-07-03T07:37:00.003-05:00

Winry: 3 year old, 65 pound Siberian Husky.

She was rescued from a kill shelter by a Husky Rescue Agency,

where had her torn ACL repaired and was treated for heart worms.

After her recovery she was turned over to a foster home and then us,

her new loving family.

As most of you may know I am an animal lover, and always have been. Yet somehow I had never once owned a dog, or anything larger than a Guinea pig for that matter. And after years of waiting, and begging, we are now the proud owners of Winry, a 3 year old Siberian Husky! She joins our family which already consisted of 2 cats (Moo and Arthur) and a small parrot (Aurora). Needless so say I am beyond excited, however with a dog come changes to our lifestyle. No more hitting the snooze then waking up just in time for work. No, it's 6am wake up calls (dare not hit snooze now or be licked to death) for walks and nightly rabbit hunts in the neighborhood. And although this is tough (especially for poor Dustin who is not a morning person, AT ALL) this has allowed me to squeeze more cooking into our lives! So be on the lookout for more blogs about our food and family adventures.

In Christ,

Dustin and Kathryn

Anniversary Dinner

2010-06-30T19:01:00.003-05:00

Greeting fellow food lovers. I apologize for the delay in posting, a great deal has been happening in our home. A wedding anniversary, graduating from culinary school, getting a dog and all the usual craziness that happens on a day to day basis. In celebration of our 1 year wedding anniversary we decided to recreate a meal from a local Bistro we frequent. We set out our best dishes, lit candles, dressed up and enjoyed a special dinner (without having to tip the waiter).

Seared Seabass with Grilled Asparagus ★★★★★

The seabass is a secret yet simple recipe I picked up while working at said Bistro. The best kind of fish to get is fresh Chilean Seabass, it's mouthwatering when cooked until just barely done. The fish smell that lingers in the house is definitely worth it though. Grilled asparagus is a more appealing vegetable to Dustin and is one of my favorites, lightly grilled with salt and pepper. It's hard to go wrong with simple.

Citrus Risotto ★★★★

Risotto is a labor of love but again, well worth it. After stirring in the chicken stock ladle by ladle the finished product got a spritze of lemon zest, some cream and fresh grated parmesan cheese. Dustin finished off all the extra rice I had made, if that is any indication of how it tasted.

Chocolate Molten Lava Cake with Warm Chocolate Sauce ★★★★★

I'm note sure where my recipe for chocolate cake came from but it is very good, moist and still firm enough to hold up to a scoop of ice cream. To make it a lava cake I just dropped in some chocolate chunks after I had put them in the muffin tins. It's a good thing I put the extra right into the freezer, we could have eaten a dozen of them.

★★★★★ - Great ★★★★ - Good

★★★ - Satisfactory ★★ - Fair ★ - Poor

Sadly that's all for now I'm off to make a mess in the kitchen and attempt traditional Thai Red Curry. I'll be sure to let you know how it goes, what with all the exotic flavors (our poor neighbors must love the smell of boiling fish sauce). Until next time

Good Luck, God Bless and Good Eats

Dustin and Kathryn

French Lunch

2010-04-12T18:35:00.004-05:00

It's spring time in Texas, and for those of you who do not live here this is an incredibly short season for us. So one bright, sunny 70 degree day I invited my mother over for some shopping and lunch. Dustin was off at work and I had the day to myself, so mother and I embarked to various markets and shops picking up my weekly grocery list plus a few house hold goodies (we now have an extensive patio garden!). Upon our return we decided to celebrate the days conquests with a nice bottle of Directors Cut Pino Noir and a light french style lunch! I know what some of you are thinking, surely the wine impeded our food judgment, not so. Altho my mother is a wine light weight our lunch was five star.

Spinach Salad ★★★★★

Our salad was composed of fresh spinach, ripe auju pears, ripe strawberries, lightly candied walnuts, local goat cheese and a balsamic reduction. It was fantastic, sweet and tangy with the crunchy nuts. All of this paired beautifully with the Pino Noire which had hints of blackberry and cherry. No recipe is needed for this salad, just follow your stomach whilst you peruse the produce isles.

Cheese Platter ★★★★

This consisted of baguette, sliced pears and a delicious hunk of aged gouda. Again, no recipe needed simply go with what you enjoy. This also paired quite well with the wine we chose. All in all this lunch should be enjoyed in good company in the sun (as we did).

★★★★★ - Great ★★★★ - Good

★★★ - Satisfactory ★★ - Fair ★ - Poor

Well that's all for tonight I hope you enjoy your spring, where ever you are. Summer weather has already begun to peak through the thermometer here, which also means wedding season for me. I will be doing several wedding cakes for close friends this summer so be on the look out for pictures of them.

Good Luck, God Bless and Good Eats

Dustin and Kathryn

Monday: Germany

2010-03-30T16:02:00.005-05:00

Grüße Dear Friends, we have returned once again to bring you dinner. This time from our German repertoire. Although pork is not our favorite meat to use and speatzle has often been a kitchen failure, we ventured into Germany again. This time we attempted a new main dish (usually we make schnitzle) Baked Dilled Salmon.

Dilled Salmon ★★★★

Dill, taragon and seafood often go hand in hand, but rarely in our home. This time we combine fresh dill and taragon with lemon and salmon to create a popular german dish (which requires keys not even found on my computer).

Spetzle ★★★★★

Best described as tiny dumpling, and a pain to make by hand. But these little pasta like morsels are simple and delightful when tossed with fresh herbs and butter. Ah, butter. It seems no matter how much we planned to make we always end up fighting for the last portion.

Braised Red Cabbage ★★★

A traditional side dish to most German meals, this under appreciated vegetable was delicious. Although Dustin didn't care for it, Tessa and I actually enjoyed it. I would gladly make this again if it didn't stink up the house so terribly, I'm sure our neighbors appreciate the collection of smells.

★★★★★ - Great ★★★★ - Good

★★★ - Satisfactory ★★ - Fair ★ - Poor

Once again, we bring rave reviews from our Monday night feast. Although the Tarragon Fish was a gamble, and perhaps something I wouldn't ask for every night it was good and worth the little effort it took. Tessa is becoming more bold in what she will try as well as make, I must admit I'm quite proud. Well until next time

Good Luck, God Bless and Good Eats

Dustin and Kathryn

2010-03-20T11:45:00.002-05:00

My time at school is finally drawing to an end, as such Dustin and I will be able to cook again! We shall be able to post our backlog of blogs, especially those concerning Monday nights with Tessa. Hopefully during this lull our followers have not forgotten us and will rejoin us in one weeks time when our blog shall commence. Until then

Good luck, Good Eats and God Bless,

Dustin and Kathryn

Monday: Chinese New Years

2010-02-22T20:34:00.004-06:00

Xīn Nián Kuài Lè, Welcome year of the tiger! In honor of the recent chinese new year celebrations, we decided to enjoy a night of dumplings, lanterns and gifts. Although this blog is a month overdue the dinner we prepared was well worth the wait. Tessa and I prepared nearly 50 dumplings total and among them 4 different flavors. Including vegetarian, spicy shrimp, chicken hoisen, chicken ginger. All in all the night was a smashing success, we decorated the dining room and spent quite a bit of time picking choice ingredients at our local Asia Market as well as practiced our very limited Mandarin vocabulary.

Chicken Ginger Dumplings ★★★★★

This is our stand by favorite recipe for dumplings, mild garlic undertones with a prevalent ginger flavor. Depending on ones personal preferences this dumpling can be mad with any kind of lean ground meat, chicken and pork being the better of the choices. Served steamed and with a side of your favorite dipping sauces and this makes an excellent side dish (or in tonights case, main dish)

Spicy Shrimp Dumplings ★★★★

We didin't follow any specific recipe for these dumplings, we read several articles online about traditional dumplings and what dishes are served during the Chinese New Year celebrations and came up with this recipe on the fly. It was much to spicy for my stomach's liking but Dustin ate almost all of them (if that is any indication of their success).

Chicken Hoisen Dumplings ★★★

The flavoring for this bath of dumplings came from a hoisen BBQ recipe I had from a very American cook book. However the end result was very good, although Tessa and Dustin did not care for these as much as some of the others we had no left overs of this dish either.

Vegetarian Dumpling ★★★

We loosely followed an online recipe I had printed off in honor for our dinner and were pleasantly surprised by how delicate and delicious they turned out. We did not have any tofu on hand so we improvised, with great success. Dustin opposed these dumplings but Tessa and I enjoyed them. By far my favorites!

★★★★★ - Great ★★★★ - Good

★★★ - Satisfactory ★★ - Marginal ★ - Poor

Sadly many of the pictures of the dumplings did not turn out but trust our happy stomachs, it was delicious. Due to the backlog of blogs I need to catch up on/publish I will attach recipes later. I also need to consult with Tessa on what exactly we used in some of our dishes, so much of our Monday nights has become a exercise in improvisation. Until then

Good Luck, Good Eats and God Bless,

Dustin and Kathryn

Monday: Cajun

2010-02-08T20:58:00.004-06:00

Back again, this time with news of our latest success. In light of the Saints miraculous SuperBowl win and in preparation for Fat Tuesday's quick approach we decided to celebrate Louisiana and Cajun cuisine tonight. Compared to previous weeks this was a rather complicated menu with several time sensitive components (especially the rice, which I am always over or under cooking). But after an hour of mincing, chopping, sautéing and baking Tessa and I turned out a 5 star dinner.

Seasoned Baked White Fish (Orange Roughy) ★★★★★

After striking out with Cod in recent weeks today we tried a 'sister' fish with similar subtle flavors and firm flesh. I must admit to using store bought blackening seasoning but it was a cheat worth taking, the fish turned out perfectly seasoned and incredibly tender.

Spiced Dirty Rice ★★★★

The rice was simple and complimented the fish and sauce well, it was not overpowering or bland. Instead of chicken gizzards we used soft chorizo sausage which was wonderful.

Shrimp Cream Sauce ★★★★★

This was by far the biggest hit of the night. The sauce was ridiculously simple but so tangy and tasty, everyone was scooping up every morsel. The recipe was sort of an on the fly sort of thing inspired by a crawfish recipe I read last week in a magazine. Tessa did very well improvising and seasoning, I hope the notes we jotted down are accurate.

Bread Pudding ★★★★

Although this was not Dustin's favorite desert he enjoyed it, Tessa and I on the other hand nearly burnt ourselves trying to eat it straight from the oven. It was creamy and soft without the bread being overly soggy. The recipe was a scaled down industrial version I have used at previous jobs and school. Tried and true, both at work and now at home.

Buttered Brussel Sprouts ★★★

One of my favorite winter vegetables, this did not go over with Tessa at all. She who refused to eat them missed out on my first perfectly cooked Brussels Sprouts! They were tender yet still had some bite, salted and buttered they were very good. Perhaps too much butter this time... is there such a thing?

★★★★★ -Great ★★★★ -Good

★★★ -Satisfactory ★★ -Marginal ★-Poor

Well, I will come back and type the recipes up later. Right now Tessa and I are in the midst of a dumpling extravaganza for Chinese New Year. Look forward to pictures and recipes from valentines day as well as tonights endeavors. Xīn Nián Kuài Lè

Good Luck, Good Eats and God Bless,

Dustin and Kathryn

Recipes to be added.. eventually

Monday: Pad Kee Mao

2010-02-06T15:23:00.004-06:00

Once again, the Drunken Noodles of Thailand graced our home with their delicious presence. After dining at our favorite Thai restaurant several hundred times, Dustin and I decided to begin experimenting in the kitchen to recreate this dish. Thankfully, after many horribly failed attempts and many lessons learned (especially about the value of Fish and Oyster sauce.. don't judge just yet, they are very necessary in Asian and Thai cuisine) we finally stumbled across the correct sauce recipe! I will not be including this recipe publicly.. yes it is that special. If you care to make this at home I will quietly send the secret formula. However this week Tessa and I made a triple batch... I do not recommend making such a large amount unless you have a 16 inch wok.

Pad Kee Mao ★★★★★

All of the votes are in, it was AMAZING. Spicy yet sweet and subtle. The next time we make this though we will definitely make smaller batches, this way the rice noodles absorb all of the sauce and the vegetables/noodles do not overcook. All in all this recipe is straight forward, the secret truly is in the sauce, the thai basil and a hot Wok. Once everything is prepared, the ingredients get thrown into the wok and quickly sautéed until fragrant and hot. In thailand this dish is popular among bar hoppers after a fun filled night of drinking. The notorious spice of this dish could wake up a person six months dead, at least if you enjoy it the traditional way, it can be made more mild for the faint of heart.

★★★★★ -Great ★★★★ -Good

★★★ -Satisfactory ★★ -Marginal ★-Poor

In other news the number of followers is now 8! We hope you all are enjoying things, let us know if you have suggestions, etc. And for next weeks Monday night feast we will be trying out a 3 course Cajun menu I had to write for my school's restaurant. It will hopefully be a success, the recipes are untried and likely flawed but Tessa and I will try and pull it off, and just in time for Fat Tuesday! Until then

Good Luck, Good Eats and God Bless,

Dustin and Kathryn

The Incredible Egg

2010-01-30T16:26:00.004-06:00

Ah the egg, how we love them! Mix eggs with dairy and you can make a delicious desert, mix eggs with cheese or vegetables and you can make a delectable quiche, boil them, scramble them, poach them, devil them. The list goes on and on, but today we chose to bake them. It's been a rather stressful and hectic few weeks for Dustin and I so we have hardly had the chance to sit and enjoy a full and meal together. So today we celebrated Saturday morning with Ina Garten's recipe for Herb Baked Eggs.

Herb Baked Eggs ★★★★

Being that it is winter here in Texas and our herb garden in dormant we had to use dried herbs, I was concerned about the flavors changing but it served only to make the dish more delicious. We prefer our eggs just barely cooked and quite soft, which absolutely made this dish. We had our eggs with some toast to soak up the sauces, mmm-mm. Adding a side of fruit and this was a complete breakfast!

★★★★★ -Great ★★★★ -Good

★★★ -Satisfactory ★★ -Marginal ★-Poor

I think someone should write a song about the joys of eggs. Truly, it was a delicious breakfast. I hope everyone gives this a try.

Good Luck, Good Eats and God Bless,

Dustin and Kathryn

Herb Baked Eggs

1/4 teaspoon Fresh Minced Garlic

1/4 teaspoon Minced Thyme Leaves

1/4 teaspoon Minced Rosemarry

1 Tablespoon Chopped Parsley

6 Extra Large Eggs

1 Tablespoon Parmesan Cheese

2 Tablespoons Heavy Cream

1 Tablespoon Unsalted Butter

Salt and Pepper to taste, toast to serve with.

Prepare shallow rarebits/gratin dishes, preheat boiler. Combine garlic and herbs and set aside. Place 1/2 Tablespoon of the butter and 1 Tablespoon of the cream in two gratin dishes and broil them until hot and bubbly.
Carefully remove them and crack eggs (placing them gently into the hot liquid, don't splash yourself). Once the eggs are in place sprinkle them with the herb and cheese mixture, season with salt and pepper and broil for 5/8 minutes or until desired doneness.
Allow eggs to rest for at least a minute before serving, serve with fresh toast and fruit.

Monday: Shrimp Fried Rice

2010-01-30T15:29:00.005-06:00

Well it may be a week late but the results are in from our Monday night dinner with my sister.

In recent months we have tried to have a different variety of ethnic food each time we ate, German, African, Spanish, French, etc. But after a few months we have started to encounter "reruns", in which time we decided last week to revisit China. Although our recipe source was rather American (an old issue of my Cuisine for Two magazine), the results were three very clean plates and not a speck of leftovers. This was partly due to the voracious appetites of Dustin and Tessa but overall I think I'll keep the recipes for later use and tweak them.

Spicy Shrimp Skewers ★★

The Marinade smelled and tasted very good, however. The recipe called for the shrimp to be grilled and so I put them on my old George Foreman Grill... well this just so happened to cause all of the shrimps succulent juices to drain away and made the final product dry.

Vegetable Stir Fry ★★★

The recipe seems to be a bit different each time I make it, an unfortunate result of my poor note taking on my written recipes. We used short grain (sushi style) rice and exchanged the edamame for peas but otherwise we followed the recipe fairly closely. The one complaint everyone had was that the ratio of sauce to rice was overpowering.

★★★★★ -Great ★★★★ -Good

★★★ -Satisfactory ★★ -Marginal ★-Poor

Overall the dinner wasn't bad, it just wasn't great. We might re-attempt the recipes made tonight with the necessary changes. As requested I will include the recipes for this weeks and suggestions for improvements. I hope you've enjoyed this installment of our blog, there should be several more additions this weekend. The cooler weather is putting me in a cooking mood!

Until then

Good Luck, Good Eats and God Bless

Dustin and Kathryn

Fried Rice with Vegetables

For the sauce

3 Tablespoons Dark Soy Sauce

1 Tablespoon Rice Wine Vinegar

3/4 Cup Chicken Stock

2 teaspoons Cornstarch

1/4 Cup Oyster Sauce

1/2 teaspoon Sesame Oil

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

2 Cups of Chopped Vegetables (fresh)

2 Cups Steamed Rice

2 Eggs, scrambled

1 Tablespoon Vegetable Oil

3 Cloves of Garlic

1 Small Onion, Thinly Sliced

Prepare the sauce by mixing all ingredients together, be sure that the mixture is cold. Then add the corn starch in and mix until dissolved. Meanwhile heat a large skillet (preferably a wok) and add the vegetable oil.
Prepare the vegetables, garlic and onion and saute them over hight heat until just tender. Add in the sauce and cook until just begins to thicken. Stir in rice and scrambled egg and cook until heated thoroughly.
Once hot adjust seasoning and garnish with chopped green onions.

Spicy Shrimp Skewers

1/2 Cup Fresh Chopped Cilantro

2 Green Onions, chopped

2 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil

2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce

2 Tablespoons Fresh Ginger, Chopped

2 Tablespoons Fresh Garlic, Chopped

2 Tablespoons Garlic Chili Sauce ("rooster sauce")

2 Tablespoons Fresh Lime Juice

2 Tablespoons Sesame Oil

8/16 Large Shrimp

Puree all ingredients (except shrimp) in a food processor until well blended. Transfer to a bowl and marinate peeled and deveined shrimp for 10 minutes.
Once marinated, skewer and grill until just done. *note: I would suggest sauteing shrimp to maintain fullest flavor. Unless you have access to an outdoor grill... not a fat reducing George Foreman*

Fear Not

2010-01-22T23:28:00.002-06:00

Well, due to unforeseeable events this week our kitchen productions have been brought to a screeching halt temporarily. However I expect to get cooking this weekend! On Mondays my lovely sister comes over and we experiment with new recipes, in the spirit of adventure I shall be including those noteworthy nights as well. Also, it has been brought to my attention that although my critiques are informative, I have neglected to attach any recipes. Oops. I shall remedy that post haste! And our number of followers has reached an all time high of 3! Yeah! We hope to entertain and inform you loyal followers, thank you for your support. Well it's quite late so we shall post again sometime this weekend.

Good Luck, Good Eats and God bless,

Dustin and Kathryn

Breakfast of the Gods

2010-01-09T12:50:00.004-06:00

Post number 2 and so far so good. Today the urge to retry a french toast breakfast overtook me. So with the help of family recipes, Ina Garten and Giada De Laurentiis and here is what was produced... and devoured.

Challah Bread - ★★★★★

This is my family's recipe which my mother taught me to make as a child, I have tried many other variations but none yield such a soft, golden yet slightly sweet bread. We use this bread for sandwiches, toast, bread pudding, etc. It's a great everyday bread despite it's historical background.

Challah French Toast - ★★★★

It was perfect (by our standards), light and moist with a subtle flavor. The recipe is very good with slightly stale bread but for a softer finished product day old bread works well. We did omit the orange zest but maybe next time we'll try it.

Cinnamon Syrup - ★★★★

This recipe was simple yet delicious. Although real maple syrup is far superior, this works in a pinch and adds just enough cinnamon flavor to breakfast without being overpowering.

★★★★★ -Great ★★★★ -Good

★★★ -Satisfactory ★★ -Marginal ★-Poor

After all was said and done it took me about 30 minutes to make breakfast (the Challah bread was left over from another days baking). As far as variations go we omitted orange zest from the French Toast and added an extra table spoon of honey and an extra half teaspoon of vanilla. I found that it works best to soak the bread slices in a cookie pan (that way each slice gets just enough batter without overcrowding), after exactly 5 minutes I turned them over soaked them for 5 minutes more and then cooked with butter. There was very little batter left over once the bread was done soaking and the toast puffed up beautifully when finished. All in all I highly recommend this series of recipes, when served with fresh fruit this would make a great, well rounded meal. Thats all for now, until next time.

Good Luck, Good Eats and God Bless,

Dustin and Kathryn

Welcome

2010-01-06T19:54:00.010-06:00

Well here is our first blog entry. What we are hoping to do is share recipes, pictures and critiques with friends and fellow food lovers. I will try to use a star rating system as well as written critiques to best convey our opinions.

That being said allow me to present tonights dinner, it is from the Martha Stewart Magazine (don't turn your nose up just yet, the woman is scary no doubt but her magazine provides good inspiration for those with half a creative spark).

Stuffed Piquillo Peppers with Goat Cheese ★★★

They were delightful (although Dustin will eat anything with goat cheese in it)

Baked Tortilla Española ★★

It was a bit dry and bland (we suggest making a sauce to serve alongside)

Sautéed Asparagus with Dijon Vinaigrette ★★★

Asparagus was simple but the dressing was very tasty (speaking strictly for myself since Dustin refused to touch it)

Dark-Chocolate Creams ★★

It was good but unremarkable, I would not make that specific recipe again.

★★★★★ - Great ★★★★ -Good

★★★ -Satisfactory ★★ -Marginal ★ -Poor

The menu was simple and easy to prepare and I was able to have dinner ready in 1 hour. However, please note that I do work much faster than the average home cook. I did make a few substitutions to the recipes such as dry herbs for fresh (on account of our herb garden being dormant), and cutting back the size of some of the dishes. All in all it turned out well and was a budget friendly dinner.

Good Luck, Good Eats and God Bless

Dustin and Kathryn