Eat First

One of the best meals I NEVER made!

When I came home on shopping day with two small pork tenderloins, each weighing about a pound, my "other" wondered A) WHAT did I plan to do with so much meat and b) HOW did I plan to cook it? Good questions, both. I thought: Well, it's getting warmer out, and these would make a quick meal on the grill. They'll also give us leftovers, which we can enjoy "as is'' or in something different, like fajitas or tacos. At our house, Robert is the go-to person for cooking meats, seafood and other things that require grilling, high oven temperatures and hot pans. He's also the go-to person for more impromptu fare, like throwing together pasta primavera using fresh vegetables we have on hand. I'm more the go-to person for cakes, cookies, biscotti, muffins and other goodies that are put in the oven and baked at your basic 350 degrees. So here is what Robert did with the tenderloins: • Remove from package and blot dry with paper towels. • Rub with oil and season liberally with Oncenter Chef Jerry Bolton's gourmet seasoning blend. Chef Jerry and his staff cook so many meals for so many diners that consistency in seasoning is key. His house blend is a nice combination of salt, pepper, garlic, onion, paprika and other spices, and works well on meat, poultry, fish, seafood and vegetables. • Let the seasoned meat "marinate'' in the refrigerator for about 6 hours. • Sear the tenderloins on a hot grill then transfer them to a casserole dish, cover them with sliced potatoes and onions that have been flash-cooked in a cast iron pan on the stove and remove to a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes. My contribution: A salad of spring greens, red grapes and toasted walnuts, tossed with strawberry-blueberry-balsamic vinaigrette dressing.
The pork, potato and onion melange was delicious, and I'm adding this dinner it to the list of best meals I never made. Thank you, Robert!

Eatin' good in the neighborhood: a week of dinners

A favorite main-dish salad. See Friday, below.

Our cooking styles are different, but Robert and I both like to cook and eat.

We like to try new things and experiment with new ingredients and techniques. We watch and learn things from each other. I don't think I knew what the word "brown'' really meant until watching Robert in action, cooking a piece of meat on all sides until it was the shade of a brown paper bag. We like to have family and friends over for dinner, do quantity cooking on weekends and enjoy leftovers during the week -- dinner made easy. And while we have favorite foods that we could eat all the time, we like to change things up and keep things interesting. We eat really well and feel blessed we are able to do so. On a night when we're having what we consider to be an especially delicious dinner, we have an expression: "Eatin' good in the neighborhood.'' Sure, there are nights when we eat grilled cheese sandwiches or make "leftover melange'' out of odds-and-ends in the fridge. But last week offered many good examples of "eatin' good.''

The week of good eatin' started on Saturday, when Frank and Marcos came over for Chicken Curry with Cashews, served with basmati rice and seared green beans with garlic. The photo shows Robert's hand-lettered menu slate, a Christmas gift I found for him at Metro Home Style. Sunday: Family dinner for my nephew Joe's birthday, at Rico's, in East Syracuse (thank you, Annie!). See Tuesday.
Monday: Leftover Mushroom Ragu on pasta, with a sprinkling of grated Parmesan cheese. The recipe is from the January issue of Vegetarian Times magazine (thank you, Diane!).
Tuesday: Leftover Chicken Curry with Cashews and more basmati. The recipe, found on Epicurious.com, is one of those that's even better the second time around.
Wednesday: Leftover lasagna from Rico's and a short pour of red wine. If you think this is big, you should have seen the original slab of it. Very generous portions at Rico's!
Thursday: There's still two pieces of Chicken Curry with Cashews. And plenty of its punchy sauce. I'm not tired of it yet. Are you?
Friday: For me: Romaine salad with orange segments, dried cranberries and toasted almonds, tumbled with homemade ginger-sesame-soy dressing. The salad is topped with chicken that has been marinated in Wegmans "Tangy'' marinade, and baked-broiled until brown.
For Robert: Fried clams and onion rings from the Fish Cove at Shop City, Teall Avenue and Grant Boulevard, reheated in the oven. A man's gotta have fried fish once in a while.
Saturday: Black Bean Burritos, made by Robert. He starts with a can of black beans, to which he adds cayenne, garlic powder, green chiles, cumin and cilantro.
The beans are spooned into flour tortillas, topped with diced tomatoes, chiles and shredded cheese and rolled up.

They're baked for about 30 minutes, then topped with salsa, sour cream (optional) and more cilantro.
Salad as side dish: The Friday salad, minus chicken.

Notes: Most of our main courses are served with something green on the side, which this time of year could be something like steamed broccoli, kale, spinach or chard, or a green salad. Look for a post soon on winter salads.
On weekends, we indulge in dessert. A favorite lately is a sundae made with vanilla frozen yogurt, homemade fudge sauce and a sprinkling of toasted almonds. It starts by pouring a tablespoon of Frangelico (hazelnut liqueur) in the bottom of the dessert dishes. Like I said: Eatin' good in the neighborhood.