The filet mignon that was served to us at the Larry Fitzgerald dinner on Monday night at Morton’s were huge! All three of us brought home large portions. The beef was already cooked perfectly (of course), so I didn’t want to have reheat too much and end up overcooking them. So… panini sandwiches were the perfect vehicle for the perfect steak!

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It’s been a strange week. Dave was out of town on business Friday – Friday. I was in California that first weekend for a wedding (gorgeous wedding). Then Marissa went down to Tucson for her boyfriend’s birthday (Happy birthday, Alberto!).  And on Thursday, I took Connor up to Flagstaff to begin his sophomore year at NAU (Have a great first day today, Con! Missing you!).

The four of us were never home at the same time, and now we won’t be again until … Thanksgiving, probably (insert sad face here). After all that disruption, what we need is breakfast for dinner. There aren’t too many things that feel more cozy than having traditional morning food in the evening.

These sandwiches are delicious with or without the addition of a poached egg. I did four with and four without. Use any cheese you like, but I’m using pepper Jack to go with the jalapeno sausage I purchased at The Pork Shop… so darn good!

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This is meal #1, using the idea of “Cook Once – Eat All Week”. Yesterday we roasted 2 chickens, shredded the meat, and will use that for several meals. Each meal will be simple to slam together and slap on the table during busy weeknights. Use as many or as few connivence items as you please. For example; roast, peel, core, and seed your own fresh red bell pepper – or use the jarred version. Shred a block of cheese, or buy pre-shredded. Grind cumin seed or use already ground. You get the drift – make it easy on yourself! This takes only a few minutes to assemble and just 20 minutes to bake. Serve with the garnishes or not.

Tomorrow’s shredded chicken dinner will be – Honey Mustard Potato and Chicken Salad.

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Marissa and I were sharing a little quality mother-daughter shopping time at Scottsdale Fashion Square last week. Lord, how that girl used to roll her eyes and complain when I’d drag her into Williams-Sonoma, in years past. Not any more, now she wants to go in! Oh the joys of adult children! It made me want to buy her even more things than I already had.

As always, I made a beeline to the sale section and found this great grill tray. The fab sale price ($19 instead of $50!) and the item description are why I was so excited about it. “This grill tray keeps an even temperature and holds its heat well after you’ve removed it from the grill, making it as useful for serving dishes as it is for cooking them. Conducts even heat for thorough cooking, then keeps food warm at the table. Also useful for serving chilled dishes – just refrigerate or freeze the tray before use. For use on a grill or stovetop, or in the oven. Heatproof to 1,000°F.”

I decided to finally brave the heat outside, crank up the grill, and test it out. So, what grade do I give it? A++

Don’t fret if you don’t have the grill tray, just bake for about 15 minutes in a 350 degree oven, on a large rimmed baking sheet.

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I’ll be making this dish on Channel 12 Valley Dish on Wednesday, September 8th. I have just a few things to say about it; Delicious, Quick, Easy, and only 5 Ingredients (no counting the spices, oil, and butter!) Make it, and thank me later!

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Tacos at home – one of the most economical, quick, easy, and kid-friendly meals you can make. If you add rice and/or beans to the meat; not only can you stretch the dollar, but also increase the nutritional value.  But that’s not what this recipe is about!

Those are poor man tacos (“not that there’s anything wrong with that”, as my friends on Seinfeld say). These are rich man tacos. Not only due to the cost of filet mignon, but also the avocado and bell pepper, if they happen to be out of season. Splurge and serve with a nice bottle of Cabernet and… paper napkins; things are bound to get messy. And that’s a good thing indeed!

On a side note:  Marissa had a root canal yesterday morning. Ug! On the way home she purchased yogurt, bananas, and cottage cheese. In the meantime, Connor requested steak for dinner. Perfect, I thought, she’ll have her smoothies and we’ll have steak.  She rallied once she heard what we were having and enjoyed these fabulous taco with us… although I did cut up the meat and peppers for her, like I used to do when she was a toddler. Honestly, who wants to have “poor man” soft food when you can have “rich man” tacos!?!

(don’t know what this picture means? Go back to yesterday’s post)

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I just realized that this is the third rellenos (or stuffed poblano pepper) recipe on the site, and the 2nd in the past two weeks… but honestly, rellenos rule!  Here is what Wikipedia has to say on the subject:

Here is what I have to say: “Fill a poblano with anything you like, skip the batter and frying! There is no way you can go wrong.”

Announcement: Today begins a countdown. To what, you ask? You shall find out soon enough…

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Yesterday was my dear friend and mentor, Barbara Fenzl’s, birthday. Our tradition is to take each other out for a birthday lunch. I’m taking Barb to Modern Steak today for her celebratory lunch. So while we’re enjoying that, here is a couscous salad for you to enjoy. The picture above of my sister, Sloane, Mark Tarbell, me, and Barb was taken at a party a couple of years ago at Tarbell’s restaurant. The party was a fundraising event to celebrate after Mark won “Iron Chef America” on Food Network.

Happy Birthday, Barb. I love you and love all our time cooking together! xoxo

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It’s been overcast and threatening rain all week… and finally…RAIN!  Nothing more to say than… CHEESE!

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Today and tomorrow feature more recipes from the weekend with Marissa’s friends visiting from Tucson. When they arrived late on Friday afternoon, they promptly hit the pool to cool off and play volleyball and basketball.  There were also some wicked ping pong matches happening under the patio.  I took a dozen pictures of the guys doing the “jump shots” at one end of the pool… showing off for the ladies and for each other.  In every single photo, you can see the guys (John, Will, and Chris above – not pictured: Albert, Kevin, and Shoaib) totally enthralled with their moves – while the girls, (Paige, Astrid, and Marissa) at the other end of the pool, are completely oblivious of them… cracks me up!

There are two ingredients here that you may or may not be familiar with. If you’re not sure what either Nduja or piquillo peppers are, just click on their name and a link will take you to a previous post all about them. With all the young men to feed, I of course, doubled the recipe.

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