Feast

My kids have informed me that they'd like every meal to be a multi-course feast.

I can't make any promises, but here is one, kids.

Last night, my assistant and I prepared Pioneer Woman's Sleepin' In Omelette. We baked it this morning and it was a huge hit with everyone in the family. It also was a perfect dish for a preschooler to help with.

Time for Tapas

Time for Tapas! Picture a clock that says that.

My husband received this tuna, made famous by Anthony Bourdain and Zingerman's, from his father as a Father's Day gift. We'll have almonds and olives. What else should we have?

We've been having tons of potatoes and eggs lately, so it's easy to imagine a Spanish Tortilla (omelet) as part of this spread.

Baked Chicken Thighs by Bill Devin

Fine Cooking...I love this magazine and its staff and writers more than I can say. I first prepared this chicken for my husband for his first birthday after our first daughter was born. The birthday, the chicken, the meal, and the daughter were all successes. I've made this a billion times since and I've adapted it a billion different ways. You can take or leave the lemon or any of the herbs or the garlic; you'll still get wonderful, crispy chicken. If you read the actual magazine (Fine Cooking 46, August 1, 2001), I also enjoyed Bill Devin's notes about Spain and about Romesco Sauce.

Chicken Thighs Baked with Lemon, Sage, Rosemary & Thyme by Bill Devin

Corn Muffins

Why tamper with perfection? I've added sweet corn kernels, cheddar, jalapenos, onions, and who knows what else to my corn muffins and cornbread, but I always return to this recipe, which makes this recipe as close to perfect as a recipe can get. We start the summer by enjoying these alongside the fresh gulf fish that my husband brings home from Key West. This is from the side of the Quaker Yellow Corn Meal package, and I cannot believe that Quaker doesn't have this great recipe on their website.

Corn Muffins

    1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
    3/4 cup Quaker Enriched Corn Meal
    1/4 cup sugar
    2 teaspoons baking powder
    1 cup skim mil
   1/4 cup vegetable oil
    1 egg

Preheat over to 400 degrees (if you're in my house, it's 405). Mix together all ingredients. Line muffin tin with muffin cups. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Why can't Garden be Home and Garden?

I wanted to mention a couple of new things that I love.

My husband and I are coffee fiends. Not snobs. Fiends. We aren't particularly picky. Until now, I've enjoyed my coffee hot, dark-roasted, and strong. He prefers hot, medium roast, medium strength, with half and half. We haven't been iced coffee or frappuccino-type drink fans until now.

I find myself reaching for the Vietnamese Iced Coffee - that Pioneer Woman Ree Drummond loves - about five times a day. Fiend indeed. My husband loves this recipe too. It goes down easily! It was first mentioned here, at Imbibe.

On a similar note, my kids have become waffle fiends this summer, and I've been wanting to use up some leftover buttermilk. So I've been preparing Grandma's Buttermilk Waffles. I add a teaspoon of vanilla extract to the batter. These waffles don't have the added sugar that most waffles do, hence the vanilla. I think that if you top waffles with syrup, they don't need to be full of sugar. And a sugar-free waffle leaves open the possibility of someday making a savory waffle like the triple b (bacon, brie, and basil) waffle that places like The Ridgeback Cafe and others in the Pacific Northwest serve. Yum.