Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts from March, 2011

Onigaming Spinach and Bacon Salad

I worked at the Onigaming supper club in Houghton for nine years, from the age of 16 until grad school.  My grandparents were the managers there for 17 years; I was certainly very excited to be making such good tips at 16.  It is no longer open, unfortunately.  The 'Club' was a great place to work.  It was only open for dinner and only in the summer.  So I never had a chance to get sick of it.  It was situated right on the Portage canal on the way to Chassell.  Boats would come and dock and people would come for in drinks or dinner right from their boat.  It was originally a private yacht club when it opened in the 1930's.  The seating was mainly on the large screened in porch overlooking the canal.  A very pleasant place to be and a fun place to work.  I have a lot of fond memories about the Onigaming. Lake Superior Trout, served on a wooden plank, was the specialty of the house.  I'll blog about that at a later time.  Another specialty, was of course, the spinach sa

Bay Scallops in Tomato Wine Sauce

I've been opting for healthier meal choices for the past few weeks and Foodie Mama is down 4 lbs! Today I made some bay scallops with a white wine and tomato sauce over whole wheat fettuccine.   It was light and crisp, with the dry wine and lemon juice.  It went very nice with a chilled  glass of Pepperwood Pinot Grigio.  This was so quick and easy.  I cooked the pasta at the same time as the scallops and sauce so everything was done at the same time. Scallops with Tomato and White Wine Sauce: 1 lb bag frozen bay scallops, thawed, and patted dry 2 T olive oil 2 cloves garlic, minced 1/2 t pepper 1/2 t salt 1/2 t oregano, dried 1/2 t basil, dried 1/2 t thyme, dried 1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, drained 1/2 C dry white wine 1T lemon juice 1 lb fettuccine, cooked according to package Heat olive oil in a large pan over medium high heat.  Add garlic and heat through, careful not to burn.  Add scallops and sear about 1 minute per side. Add salt, pepper, oregano, basi

Tribute to the Meatball or: Meatballs are Just as Good on Day 2

Spaghetti and Meatballs are simply one of my favorite foods.  I had blogged previously about my Foodie Mama's Colossal Meatballs and Marinara last month. Meatballs are like pizza and lasagna; there is a myriad of ways to make them and every Italian foodist has their favorite.  But, there is nothing wrong with trying many different varieties.  That's what makes it so fun.  I was experimenting with some different ingredients, such as using ground pork mixed with ground round as well as switching around the spices.  The result was one of the softest, melt in your mouth meatballs I have tasted.  Soooo good.  I also wanted to change up the sauce too.  This version is made with a whole stick of butter.  How can't that be good?  (what would my friend the  Anabolic Gourmet say?  Probably that some fat is good in moderation and the tomatoes bring their 'superfood' qualities....) The texture is super silky and even though it has only a couple of ingredients, it is one of

Dolly's Miracle Whip Cake

Last weekend, Ron kept reminiscing about his Mom's cooking.  He called his sister asking for Dolly's Easter sausage, cheesecake and her Miracle Whip cake recipes.  I recall wondering what was the obsession with that all of a sudden.  Come to find out, last Saturday, March 12th, was the 22nd anniversary of her death.  Dolly must have been trying to communicate with him ........and the best way to a son's heart is with a mother's cooking. Tonight, Ron made his favorite cake ever, the chocolate Miracle Whip cake.  I had heard about it many times but we had never made it. It always sounded odd to me, Miracle Whip in a cake recipe?  I pictured something sour.  It is really quite good, actually, one of the moistest I ever tried.  The Miracle Whip adds the moisture and binding power from the oil and the eggs and the vinegar must do something.  I think this recipe came right from Kraft and on the side of a MW bottle from the 60's. (I only had a bite as I am on a Foodie

'Fine Dining' in the Keweenaw

It was Monday, I didn't feel like cooking, so we decided to go out to dinner.  As usual, the decision on where to go in our small community took a while.  We decided to go the the Pilgrim River Steakhouse in Houghton.  The Pilgrim River was opened about ten years ago by the sister of the current owners of the Ambassador, so these people know how to run a restaurant.  The decor is very cute; an outdoorsy, north country, woodsey look.  The lounge has tables for a more casual atmosphere for lunch or dinner (there were two guys having a beer and playing cribbage when we were there) and there is also another dining room for a more finer feel Ron and I had a glass of wine at the bar then took our seat at a Birdseye maple table in the lounge.  We ordered breaded cauliflower as an appetizer.  It was very tasty and definitely home-made.  Gotta have the old ranch dressing to dip into.  I think they were $5.95.  Super yummy, worth the cals for sure. Spinach Salad and Steak Parmesan San

Sunday Drive and Salad Pizza

I totally missed the time change yesterday morning.  I must be out of touch.  So instead of it being 10:00 when we were leaving the house to go out for breakfast, it was actually 11:00.  We decided to take a ride to Calumet and go for lunch instead.  Salad Pizza We went to Jim's Pizza, an institution in Calumet, which has been in the community for at least 40 years.  It has a very casual diner-like setting.  Burgers, pizza, sandwiches, salads and other short orders are featured on the menu.  Ron loves their pizza; they ordered a half cheese and sausage and half cheese, sausage and ham.  I ordered a 'salad pizza', a unique dish that is basically just that, a salad placed on pizza crust.  I really enjoyed it.  Home Made Onion Rings For a starter, we ordered Jim's home made onion rings.  I have loved these things since I was a kid.  The are great and come piled high on a plate.  Enough for all to share.  This is the only dish that I eat with ketchup.  Jim's i

Perfect Hard Boiled Egg

There are many schools of thought on how to boil an egg.  This way works perfectly every time.  The shell peels easily and the yolk is fully cooked and not overdone. Put eggs in a large pot of water.  Bring to boil Boil for 5 mins Remove from heat, cover and let sit in water for 10 minutes Drain water, dry eggs, and cool in refrigerator. Peel, and use as needed.

40 Days of Fishy Fridays

I haven't blogged since last weekend; the week was hectic at work and I didn't cook much, or cooked old stand-bys that I have already blogged about! So, Lent started the week so on Ash Wednesday, Ron and I went to Joey's Seafood and Grill in Houghton.  It is a very pleasant place.  The decor is quaintly nautical and the food is decent for a chain, and reasonably priced.  I love the fish tacos, $2.50 each!  They are breaded pollack and a good size piece for each.  It seems with 2 tacos, there is the same amount of fish as in the fish and chips, for less money.  The sauce seemed different that I had it previously; I thought I remembered a bit of spice - this tasted more like just ranch dressing.  The tortilla also came with cabbage and tomatoes.  All in all a great deal and I'll probably visit many times during the next 40 days! Missed blogging about Fat Tuesday, but as I said, a hectic week. Food Forever, Foodie Mama Joey's Fish Tacos

Baby Margot and Pea Soup

My sister Ruth and her husband Chad just brought their new baby, Margot June, home from the hospital.  I told her I would stop by today to see the baby and bring them over some pea soup.  Ruth is a vegetarian so I skipped the ham.  This version was great with the added spices to flavor it up. Slow Cooker Vegetarian Pea Soup 2 cups green split peas, rinsed 8 cups water 3 vegetarian bullion cubes 2 potatoes, chopped 2 carrots, sliced 1 onion, diced 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 tsp dry mustard 1 tsp cumin 1 tsp sage 1 tsp thyme 3 bay leaves salt and pepper to taste Combine all ingredients in a crock pot or slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for at least 4 hours, or until peas are soft.  Remove bay leaves before serving. Vegetarian Pea Soup Baby Margot

Almond Crusted Walleye

Our daughter Annie and her boyfriend Aaron are leaving for a Spring Break trip to Puerto Rico tomorrow so we had them over for dinner tonight.  I decided to make almond crusted walleye fillets and rice pilaf.  I had walleye prepared like this several times at the Library Restaurant and loved it so I tried to recreate it. They serve it with a delicious beurre blanc sauce.  Rice pilaf is a side dish staple my Mom has made since I was a kid.  Will loves it; I make it often.  It pairs very well with any main dish, especially fish. Cheers, Foodie Mama Almond and Parmesan Crusted Walleye Fillets 1/2 C Panko Bread Crumbs  1/4 cup sliced almonds, finely chopped (can sub pecans or also skip the nuts) 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese 1 t dried basil 1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt  2 Small Eggs,

White Pizza with Tomato and Pesto

I love making homemade pizza.  Here is a nice version that substitutes pesto for the traditional tomato based pizza sauce. The most challenging thing for any pizza is the crust.  Experiment with your oven temp and duration until you get it just right! Preparing the Pizza Crust White Pizza with Tomato and Pesto 1 Purchased Pizza crust, such as Boboli 1 T Olive Oil 1/4 C Pesto  (see recipe below) 1/2 C Shredded Mozzarella Cheese 1/2 C Ricotta Cheese 1 Roma Tomato, Sliced 1/2 t Oregano Preheat oven to 450 degrees Brush the pizza crust with olive oil Spread the pesto evenly on the crust Sprinkle Mozzarella over pesto Dollop ricotta, by spoonfuls, evenly over the mozzarella Place pizza directly on middle oven rack and cook for 7 minutes.   Remove pizza from oven and arrange tomatoes on top Sprinkle oregano on top Return pizza to oven and cook for an additional 3-5 minutes or until desired crispness is achieved   Pesto 2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed 1/2 c

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

In 2007, I had the good fortune to live in Melbourne, Australia for 6 months for a work assignment.  Ron, Rachel, Will and I packed up and moved half-way around the globe to beautiful Australia.  Annie stayed back home because she was starting her first semester at Michigan Tech.  She watched the house, watched the dogs and managed the bills etc. It's been so long since we returned that I have forgotten a lot about the details.  I am so glad I started this blog right after we returned from Chile to make sure everything was still fresh in my mind.  I don't know how much old travel history I will blog about.  We've been to a ton of great places:  French Riviera (another work assignment), New York and all over the Northeast, Albuquerque, NM, California (LA, SF and Napa), Florida (many times), Chicago, Toronto, Cozumel (that goes waaay back).  I think I'll just focus on the trips to come! We lived in a high rise apartment building in downtown Melbourne, called the QV (Q