Hubby Cooks – Page 8 – Growing Up Savvy

Published May 13, 2013 by Nadya

A Sunday Morning

This Sunday morning happened to have also been Mother’s day; Left to our own devices – we let spontaneity rule and ended up having a glorious day. Sophia “wrote” me a Mother’s day card and so did my husband — her’s was a little more … abstract. While ~~reading~~ admiring her card, I couldn’t help but think about just how fortunate I am to have her in my life.

I have done quite a bit of thinking in the past few days on mothering, parenting, co-parenting, grand-parenting. On Mother’s Day in particular, I couldn’t help but think about the enormous responsibility it is to mother (not just be a mother). And then it happened — a small wish with an enormous meaning. My dad is not a man of many words. Though he is a colonel and appears stoic on the outside, he’s really a big teddy bear. He said to me yesterday that I was loved before, but am loved so much more, if that is even possible, because I gave him and my mom the ultimate gift (Sophia). Those words, so poignant, so touching helped me realize that Sophia is who she is, where she is and how she is BECAUSE of me and NOT DESPITE me. So take note, people. 🙂

Here are some snapshots from the day …

Charcoal-grilled skirt steak marinated in a lime-scallion marinade served with baby tomato, cucumber and lettuce salad

Strawberry-rhubarb crumble with orange essence

Dinner served on a tablecloth purchased in Provence in 2007, flowers are azaleas from my own yard in a small vase my mom gave me…

Cookery Flavors Hubby Cooks Life Moments Present

Published April 24, 2013 by Nadya

Spring is Coming

… and I know that because the grilling season has started. I present you with hubby’s famous (okay, it is just famous at our house) burger.

Cookery Hubby Cooks

Published April 14, 2013 by Nadya

Nap Date

… I am sure you haven’t heard of the term Nap Date before. Fear not… it is not a new concept. In fact, I now realize that nap dates are the reason parents stay sane … and have more children. Maybe, maybe not. It is the reason hubby and I stay sane. We put Sophia down for a nap and have a date — sometimes. Other times, we catch up on house/yard work. We try to leave the weekend to be as free and relaxing as possible so that we can maximise our time with Sophia and minimize our time out running errands. This weekend, we managed to squeeze a healthy lunch and a less than healthy drink to follow (yin and yang). First up is our kale and other hearty green salad with hothouse cucumber, carrot and red pepper with an avocado dressing.

Then there were the blood orange margaritas.And that, ladies and gentlemen, made for a lovely Saturday. The weather was great, the food and drink oh so delicious and seeing my husband and child spend quality time together — well, that is just about as good as life gets.

Hubby Cooks Life Present

Published February 15, 2013 by Nadya

We’ve Got Mussels

That’s right, ~~BIG MUSCLES~~ MUSSELS. As mentioned before, we are not keen on the commercalised fiasco that has become Valentine’s Day. That said, we’ve still got to eat, right? So… in an effort to keep cooking time to a minimum, and yummy quotient to an absolute maximum, I bought some fresh New England mussels early this morning at our local market. They’re relative healthy as are high in protein, cook in 5-7 minutes or so and don’t require much attention. All in all, a romantic, easy dinner a deux in 15 minutes.

Cookery Flavors Hubby Cooks

Published February 10, 2013 by Nadya

Weekending

The Northeast region is digging out of a huge snow storm and even though we didn’t get any snow, we still decided to take it slow this weekend. My sister and her family came out this weekend and we had a lovely time together. After all, how can you not have the best time with guests who arrive with a poundcake and brownies in tow?!

Some things are best described in pictures… here is how the weekend went.

That’s right… that’s homemade bread made from scratch which we started with a biga yesterday morning. It is an almost no knead recipe we’ve used for years. I am happy to share the recipe with anyone who wants to try it. The best thing about it (besides it being no knead), is that the crust is magnificent, just like you’d find in Italy.

Cookery FriendsFamily Hubby Cooks Moments

Published February 4, 2013 by Nadya

We’re a Team

You didn’t really believe me when I said I decided to indulge myself in making the most of salad ingredients, did you? Well, I am sticking to my guns on this one, Ok? Besides, hubby and I are a great team in the kitchen and out of it too! I assemble the mise en place and he finishes everything off with expert precision.

The latest installation of flavorful and healthful salads had romaine, kale, carrots, cucumbers and lightly roasted broccoli. Hubby whipped a basic vinaigrette and we were off to the races for lunch. It was light, crunchy, had a variety of textures and overall very satisfying.

Cookery Culinary Adventures Flavors Hubby Cooks

Published February 4, 2013 by Nadya

Delicious, That’s Pho Sure

It was ungodly cold here today, at least in my opinion. Furthermore, the cold and flu have been very aggressive. For me the cold + cold & flu = we stay in a LOT. In fact, even if it was warmer and the flu wasn’t wide-spread, we would still probably stay in for meals. It is expensive to go out and twice as difficult to go out with a toddler in tow. This has never stopped hubby and me from ensuring we widen our horizons with ethnic fare. The only dishes we abstain from cooking at home are sushi — everything else is fair game in our household. To date, we’ve made pho, carnitas, tacos, spring rolls, dumplings, mole and lots more.

This weekend, I craved Pho. It is a common, peasant food often enjoyed by families at home, but making it takes time. It took about 4 hours of inactive time and about 1 hour of active prep. Not only was it absolutely delicious, it filled our home with the most aromatic scent of star anise and cinnamon.

Charred onion and ginger, cinnamon, star anice, bay leaf and cloves – Broth Spices

The meat that cooks in your bowl once the soup is assembled

Onion, jalapeño, mint, basil and mung beans — Garnishes — onion, jalapeño, mint, basil, cilantro and mung beans

… and now … drumroll…

…

Cookery Culinary Adventures Flavors Hubby Cooks

Published December 2, 2012 by Nadya

The B-I-G 3-0

Hubby turned 30 yesterday. The B-I-G 3-0 as I like to refer to it. In reality, it isn’t so big and we celebrated low-key with my in-laws which is just like we wanted. We did start the weekend early, with an indulgent (in calories) dinner at home with the baby and continued the celebrations into his actual day.

… anyway. Back to Friday’s indulgent dinner. Nothing is more indulgent than … well, butter and heavy cream and carbs. So, Cacio e Pepe which literally means Cheese and Pepper it was — with luscious fettuccine. To reign in the calories and health factor, we went with olive oil and we added a little bit of meyer lemon zest into the sauce and juice when finishing. We also added arugula for the health factor. The kitchen lit up with that delicate, zingy lemon fresh smell as the essential oils in the zest infused the butter. Mmmm… good.

… and …

Cookery Flavors Hubby Cooks

Published November 24, 2012 by Nadya

Thanksgiving Re-hash

The perfection of even the simplest menu can be elusive. We celebrated Thanksgiving with our families which included both our sides of the family. I was responsible for the stuffing (plain and turkey sausage and apple) and stuffed mushrooms while my mom took on sweet and mashed potatoes and provided the raw bird. The rest of the delicious dishes came from my mother-in-law and sister. My mother-in-law brought amazing the cranberry sauce, a carrot cake and turkey-shaped cookies. My sister brought a sumptuous green bean casserole, a honey cake and a chocolate pie-cake (amazing thing-a-ma-bob). But the simplest dish of them all can quickly turn into dry, mealy, flavor-less disaster which we successfully avoided this year.

The day before Thanksgiving, we brined the turkey in sugar, salt, sage, rosemary, garlic and thyme. The day of, I made an herb butter which i slathered under the turkey’s skin and we baked it, first at 500*F and then at 350*F. Here are the before and after:

I know that slathering in herb butter sounds… well… luxurious but you should do it right, or go home. Sophia tried the feast and definitely approved!

Cookery Flavors Hubby Cooks Tiny Tastebuds

Published November 17, 2012 by Nadya

Romance for Three

These past two weeks, in fact, these past two months have been very hectic. That also explains a “writer’s block” that this blog has suffered from. Hubby’s has had a ridiculous work schedule and I’ve been busy taking care of the baby while he’s bringing home the bacon so to speak. I work also, but manage a much more respectable schedule — at least for now.

I couldn’t wait until yesterday (Friday, at last). We acquired groceries, the house was clean and were both very ready for the weekend. Whole Foods was running a rediculously great sale on New York Strip Steak and so we picked up a single steak, haricot verts and russian fingerling potatoes. We didn’t want to go out, since dinner out with a 13-month old is hardly enjoyable, and we didn’t have a babysitter, so we had dinner at home: Romance for Three.

Hubby whipped out his Shichirin grill and made a perfect steak. I drizzled olive oil, garlic and salt over the haricot verts and boiled the potatoes to be dressed later. While the potatoes are not an homage to my homeland, we did prepare them in a typical russian style: dressed in sour cream, garlic and dill.

And now, the ultimate key to a flawless romantic dinner for … three: feed thy child before you eat and ensure plenty of nibbles (i.e., cheerios, kix, cookies… etc) to play with.