With each fine meal we cooked, I kept thinking to myself that one of the finest joys of growing older is getting to eat what I want when I want. I can recall countless childhood nights where I was stranded at the dinner table contemplating how to discard the pile of mushy, cold broccoli that sat limply on my plate without having to actually eat it – a sudden urge to use the restroom and flush it down the toilet or the horrible idea of mixing it in with my milk and then chugging it down while trying not to gag. It would be fair to say, I was a bit of a picky eater growing up. My palette had not yet matured, and I enjoyed things like pizza and french fries and as gross as it is to remember now, raw hamburger (I used to sneak mouthfuls of it when my Mom wasn’t looking). But, fortunately, time passes and we develop into adults with more refined taste buds. Today, I love broccoli, the non-mushy kind that is steamed and crispy and oh, so delicious, and I usually look forward to meal time.
Many mornings this week were examples of just this feeling. Instead of figuring out how to get away from the table, I found ways to linger. I have coffee and pumpkin bars with maple-cream cheese frosting to thank for my eagerness, but as I lifted my fork up, I was reminded of how my mother taught me how to enjoy such a succulent breakfast. One of my favorite breakfasts as a child occurred the day after my birthday. I would always request that my mother make me my Grandmother’s angel food cake with chocolate frosting. This wasn’t your typical chocolate frosting recipe, no powdered sugar required. Instead, you take a bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips, an egg, and a little bit of milk, and mix it all over low heat being careful not to cook the egg. Then you frost it over the angel food cake, throw it in the fridge, and wait for it to cool and harden. The way the light, airy angel food cake mixes with the rich, decadent frosting is nothing shy of glorious pandemonium in your mouth. Somehow, the next morning, it is even better. Normally, my mother fed us oatmeal or some other healthy equivalent, but when there was leftover birthday cake, waking up got a little sweeter. People gasp when I tell them this story. How could a mother do such a thing? Her logic was sound: some people eat doughnuts, but my kids eat cake.
I am glad for this lesson and many others she taught me about how to cook and enjoy food. There was a stage in my life where I hated to cook, but as the following menu for our week shows, I think it is much better to embrace the inner cook within. And just so you know, Anders made many of the delicious meals below.
Super Bowl Feast
- Pulled-chicken sandwiches with homemade barbecue sauce* and homemade buns smothered in a spicy green onion coleslaw
- Adult pigs in a blanket with chorizo and gouda
- Gingered Gin and Tonics
- Guacamole
- Brownies
- Pumpkin bars with maple-cream cheese frosting
- Ginger Fried Rice – a deconstructed fried rice topped with a fried egg and then sprinkled with crispy pieces of ginger and garlic. Simple, but delicious.
- Best Chocolate Pudding – let me just say that the 100 peso chocolate made a difference folks.
- Fetuccine Alfredo
- Toasted bread smothered in garlic
- Three-bean Chili
- Cream biscuits smothered in Chorizo gravy
- Fried eggs
- Pork Meatball Banh Mi sandwhiches (from bon appétit magazine)
- Bottle of Malbec
- Apple Crisp topped with nut ice cream
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