The return of my cooking mo-jo

The sewing has been a bit slow going these past few weeks but I have spent the early days of August in the kitchen.  My cooking mo-jo was on hiatus June and July since we usually just grill food in the summer and my husband claimed the grill as his (and it was a wedding gift no less – rude!)  so it feels good to be back at it.  It all started with a trip to the meat market in the town where we have a cabin.  We decided to try their boneless pork ribs (just a pork loin butterflied and scored to look like ribs) and I wanted to try a homemade BBQ sauce to go with it.  I saw an old episode of Barefoot Contessa in which she makes BBQ sauce.  A quick google search landed me here and Smitten Kitchen’s recommendation was all I needed. Plus, the lengthy ingredient list did not call for ketchup or sugar – two things I hate to see in a BBQ sauce and was heavy on the vinegar – a must!  The sauce did not fail to impress and we are hooked.  We’ve used that sauce at least three times this week and are making it again tomorrow.  Unfortunately I do not have any photos of any of the wonderfully sauced foods we enjoyed this week – maybe next week!

I did make a red velvet cake for my husband’s birthday as well.  I finally found the perfect red velvet cake recipe, here. It has the perfect blend of sweet and sour and the baking soda/vinegar combination makes it feel like science.  We were shopping at Whole Foods a few days earlier and saw their darling birthday cakes with polka dot fondant.  My husband commented on how cute they were so I decorated his cake with dyed marzipan:

Cute, eh?  Yeah, not so much if you’re a guy.  Apparently this wasn’t a manly enough birthday cake so next year he’ll get one shaped like a hammer or something.

I was still in the mood to cook so the next morning I made a tortilla espanola for brunch before we had to take my brother to the airport.  I lived in Spain for several months in college (I would never say I ‘studied’ in Spain since I hardly ever went to class!) and this dish was a staple in the house I lived in.  I had been craving it for quite a while, but since I usually do not eat potatoes (South Beach Diet) and my husband isn’t crazy about eggs (weirdo) I never made it.  My mom and brother seemed like the perfect audience!  It was delish and definitely cured my craving.

All I did was dice up two red potatoes and 1/4 of an onion.  I browned both in a 10″ skillet, with a bit of olive oil,  on medium/high heat until the potatoes were cooked through, about 10-15 minutes.  It’s not a very exacting process.  While they were browning I whisked 8 eggs in a bowl with a splash of water.  When the potatoes were done I spooned them into a smaller bowl and scraped off any browned bits from the pan.  I added a touch more oil and put the eggs into the skillet.  After about 1 minute or so (again, not very exact) I added the eggs and onions back to the skillet.  I didn’t want the potato pieces to stick.  I covered the eggs with a piece of foil to help them set up.  Once it looked like the bottoms and sides of the omelet were browned (I just pulled the sides away with a butter knife) I put the whole pan under the broiler to set up the top.  All finished!  I turned it up-side-down on a dinner plate and sliced it into wedges.  I think it’s best served room temperature, like they do in Spain, but feel free to enjoy yours at whichever temperature you choose.  I also had my slice with some pickled sweet peppers we made a few nights before – perfect combo!

There is more cooking in store for this weekend!  Hopefully next week I’ll get back to sewing…