Outside the dugout: What's cooking?

Chicken piccata with a side of spaghetti with black olives.

 

I make them several different ways but not that often. My favorite kind uses fontina cheese.

 

Chili dogs before going to the basketball game. I make chili to my wife's specification: Wick Fowler's seasonings using only half of the red pepper and the addition of a can of Bush's chili beans. Like my mom she wants chili with beans but I could understand it from my mom who was a product of the Great Depression where you had to stretch your food dollars.

At least she doesn't want me to replicate the Skyline chili she grew up with in Cincinnati. Yuck.

As for the dogs we use my second most favorite hot dogs: Hebrew National. We do have some Vienna Beef dogs in the freezer but I reserve them for when I make authentic Chicago dogs. I have the proper neon green relish and the proper sport peppers. I brought home many jars of each in my luggage last time I was in Chicago. I even make poppy seed hotdog buns by putting a butter wash on the buns and sprinkling poppy seeds on them.

 

GACK! I am from Chicago. If you are older than 10 I think it is a felony.

Proper toppings are sport peppers, neon green pickle relish, yellow mustard, pickle spear, chopped white onion, diced or wedges of tomato and celery salt on a poppy seed bun. Best with a Vienna Beef dog.

 

Making stuffed shells for dinner. Stuffed with Parmigiano-Reggiano, ricotta and motz with peas and flat leaf parsley. Made my own marinara sauce with San Marzano tomatoes.

 

Heresy!

 

Catsup on a hot dog is like catsup on a well done steak. It is a crime against nature.

OK, if you are eating crappy dogs like Oscar Meyer or Nathan's I don't care what you put on them. But if you are eating a high quality all-beef dog then it should be respected.

 

Thick pork chops on the KJ tonight.

 

My son drove down to Sunrise to watch the Panthers play hockey today so we get to cook what we like without cooking him something as well.

We have baby bok choy from our local Asian market so a stir fry with rice noodles for dinner.

 

Last night my wife was out late and my son went to a friend's house to watch a movie. They ae all film buffs so I lent them my Blu-Ray of William Friedkin's grossly underappreciated film Sorcerer. It is a remake of Clouzot's Wages of Fear. The bridge crossing scene is epic. So it was just my MIL and me, We went to Wah-Ha-Ha for Thai food.

Tonight will be lamb meatballs with tomato, fennel and orzo.