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It seems the Jersey shore fared better than those north of the Driscoll Bridge this today. The snow didn't arrive until around 8 am and by late afternoon the sun  was out with the wind howling. 

As my husband had a snow day from work, we started off the morning with blueberry pancakes. I have been using recipe from a vintage Betty Crocker cookbook, circa 1969. The recipe uses buttermilk which I find makes for a lighter and fluffier pancake. 


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Once again, my husband and I came to Blend on Main in Manasquan for dinner Saturday evening. This time we brought our children to celebrate both mine and my son's January birthdays. At 6 p.m. we found the dining full with diners enjoying the evening. The fireplace was going giving the room a nice ambiance. We started out with two appetizers, the first was an Asian calamari with a Thai chili plum sauce, wasabi crema and fui kaki. The presentation was unique, they had the calamari pouring out of take out container topped with chop sticks. The second appetizer we tried was the crab cake made with all lump crab on top of chipotle aioli and served with a roasted corn relish...yum!
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Last week my son brought me some golden tile fish from a local fish market called local 130. Local 130 supports and tries to sustain the local fish community in the USA. In doing a bit of research on golden tile fish, I learned from the website FishChoice, that golden tile fish is low in fat and has a delicate has a sweet taste similar to lobster or crab. My son purchased two nice size fillets for my husband and myself. While the fish was filleted, you need to be careful of small pin bones that may remain in the flesh of the fish.
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Earlier this week I had some time to prepare supper. Digging through one of my many files of recipes, I came across a recipe for chicken tetrazzini. It's another one of my recipes where I can't recall where I found it. I tried "Googling" it to see if I can find the recipe to link to, but alas, I'm not that fortunate tonight.

I did a bit of research and find that this recipe was invented in the early 1900's by Ernest Arbogast the chef at a hotel in San Francisco called the Palace Hotel, where opera singer Luisa Tetrazzini was a resident. There is a bit of discussion as to where the dish actually had its  beginnings. In any event, it's a wonderful casserole dish requires a bit of prep, but can be prepared ahead of time.
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My husband had a craving for waffles the other day. When he found out that I had to work yesterday until 5, he suggested that we have waffles for supper. Great! I could get a head start on the batter by prepping the dry ingredients and just add the wet when I got home. I had in my freezer All Natural & Full Cooked Breakfast with Sage Chicken Sausage from Wegmans, $4.50 for an 8 oz. package, to complete the meal. 
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Who doesn't like meatloaf? At this time of the year it's a comfort food. We've all had our mother's meatloaf, chopped meat seasoned with the usual spices. If mom was daring, perhaps she made it it with Lipton Soup Onion Soup mix. What about a meatloaf that eats like a one dish meal? Sounds interesting doesn't it.
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Sunday afternoon I took myself over to Whole Foods and purchased a bone-in pork butt for my pulled pork. I first seasoned the pork with salt and pepper, then browned all sides in a cast iron frying pan before placing it in the slower cooker. Once I had that done, I merely poured in the  Williams-Sonoma Apple Cider Pulled Pork Starter and let it cook for six hours. The recipe on the jar said to cook for four hours on high. However, I have another recipe which calls for cooking the meat for 7-8 hours. After the four hours on high, I reduced the crock pot temperature to low and let it go another two hours.
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Yesterday was my birthday. To celebrate, this past weekend my husband and I went into Manhattan to see the Metropolitan Opera House’s production of Romèo et Juliette. What a beautiful opera. We all read Romeo and Juliet in high school, and this presentation just brings it to a whole other level. Vittorio Grigolo brought such a richness and emotional feeling to his role of Romèo. Diana Damrau as Juliette played with both drama and tenderness. Her voice was magnificent as was Vittorio Grigolo. At the end of the opera bouquets of flowers were tossed on stage to the two stars, it was magnificent. 
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What a miserable day today is. The howling wind, the rainy blowing sideways and yet it's off to work I must go tonight. I like to get my dinner done ahead of time and my kitchen cleaned up. Ruffling through a file folder of recipes I came across chicken and broccoli stir fry. It's a recipe from Dorothy Davis in Bon Appetit Magazine, December 1995. The recipe is quick and one pan. It can easily be reheated for the husband.


​meet donna

A former teacher, shop-a-holic, empty-nester redefining quick, family approved dinners.

​If you have questions or comments, click on the envelope icon above to contact me directly. 

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