the review: citrus brined pork loin with peach mustard and smashed fingerlings with jalapeños
the review: citrus brined pork loin with peach mustard and smashed fingerlings with jalapeños

Before we dive into the week’s reviews, let’s go back for the abbreviated weekend review. Friday night, we were expecting a crowd and had only four. We ate out. Saturday night, we had a lovely bucatini all' amatriciana, which was simple and tasty despite not being able to locate any guanciale. We substituted pancetta (which was sliced thin rather than cubed) and everyone was quite satisfied. This menu change means that we did not try the moroccan chicken brochettes that were originally scheduled for Saturday night. Those will be appearing on the menu again in the near future. If you made them, please send me a little review. I’m all ears.

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reviewsadrienne robideauxpork, potatoes, grill, summerComment
the review: shrimp and grits, take 2
the review: shrimp and grits, take 2

I think shrimp and grits might be making a comeback as a trendy food. It seemed to be on every menu in Houston last month, I’ve seen quite a few versions on Instagram recently, and two of the magazines that I reviewed over the weekend had recipes for shrimp and grits. It is totally fine with me if shrimp and grits is the new doughnut/macaroon/cupcake. I happen to love grits. And what’s not to love about adding cheese to anything?

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reviewsadrienne robideauxshrimp, southern, grillComment
the review: skillet fish on the grill
the review: skillet fish on the grill

I had THE BEST dinner last night. Sorry for the yelling but it was so good. And unfortunately for the rest of my family, I was the only one really eating. That’s not entirely true. The littlest people each ate a piece of fish (along with leftover pizza). It was like pulling teeth to get them to try the fish, but once we got over the initial hump, they both actually liked it.

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reviewsadrienne robideauxfish, grill, summer Comments
the review: rotini with asparagus, basil, and balsamic glaze
the review: rotini with asparagus, basil, and balsamic glaze

Remember a couple of weeks ago when I made that seemingly difficult but really quite simple balsamic reduction and then totally forgot to serve it with my meal? Right. I put it in a jar and put it in the pantry. Probably a major cooking foul, but considering that the recipe came under the header of “pantry”, I went with it. Anyway, that, and the two bunches of asparagus from our produce basket, was the only reason that I chose to make campanelle with asparagus, basil, and balsamic glaze (The Cook's Illustrated Cookbook, page 179) on Monday night. The balsamic reduction made the dish.

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reviewsadrienne robideauxpasta, summer, grillComment
freezer tomato sauce
freezer tomato sauce

My Aunt Debra can GROW some tomatoes. I’m sorry for shouting but I have never seen so many tomatoes in all my life. Ok, maybe I have seen that many tomatoes at the farmer’s market (and of course in a 1970s-ish cult movie which shall remain nameless), but not in someone’s yard. I am clearly friends with the wrong people. 

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reviews, lagniappeadrienne robideauxgarden, italianComment
the review: honey roasted veggies with gnocchi
the review: honey roasted veggies with gnocchi

I have adored Elsie and Emma’s blog A Beautiful Mess for a long time. It is bright and cheery and their DIY projects are fantastic. I have never cooked something from the blog, although why that is I have no idea (take a look at this). On Tuesday night, I ventured into the kitchen to cook Emma’s honey roasted veggies with gnocchi. All four of the teens at the table loved it. It even had a vote of confidence from one of two preschoolers.

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reviewsadrienne robideauxgnocchi, vegetarian, kidsComment
the traveling alphabet
the traveling alphabet

A couple of weeks ago, I was picking up craft supplies to help the little kids make a Father’s Day book, when I remembered that dry-erase markers work on plastic page protectors. It seemed like a mini $1.99 album might be just the thing a little person could use for practicing his or her letters. It was a total ah-ha moment. You know, the kind of moment where you are so proud of yourself for thinking of something magical and life altering and everyone else just nods their heads politely like, “Of course you can make an alphabet book from a photo album. I did that last week. We’ve moved on to carving marble.”

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kids, lagniappeadrienne robideauxkids, craft, summer craftingComment
the review: gnocchi, gorgonzola, arugula, lemon & balsamic
the review: gnocchi, gorgonzola, arugula, lemon & balsamic

Warning: The photos of this meal do not represent in any way how tasty this meal actually was. Sometimes, you just have to trust the chef who is still very much behind on her food styling and photography skills.

This week’s menu called for some serious grilling. It is summer and it is time to cook outside. Oh, but did I mention that it is snowing as I write this? In the middle of June? What the heck am I doing living here?

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reviewsadrienne robideauxgnocchi, grill, italian, cooking with kidsComment
the review: barbeque chicken and ribs
the review: barbeque chicken and ribs

I have already mentioned that my husband has this thing about making ribs on Father’s Day. And, honestly, as the father of seven kids, if he wants to make ribs once a year, let him. I don’t particularly care for ribs and that does not matter in the slightest because not only is it “his day” (please, people, you and I both know that father’s day is more work for dads than the average Sunday) but also because he cooks them. Perfect. I’ll have bread for dinner.

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adrienne robideauxgrill, chicken, ribs, saladComment
the review: lamb skewers and farro salad
the review: lamb skewers and farro salad

It turns out, I was right. My husband did want ribs for Father’s Day. And he rocked them. But more on that later. I really wanted to try the lamb skewers that I had scheduled for Sunday, so we had a little switcheroo on the menu. Lamb skewers on Saturday night, ribs and barbeque chicken on Sunday afternoon. We were fortunate to have all of our kids at home on Saturday night (not so for Sunday), which meant another change in the menu since the farrotto recipe (via Collards and Carbonara) was not vegetarian friendly. A little flexibility goes a long way.

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reviewsadrienne robideauxlamb, grill, farro, saladComment
the review: pasta with peas
the review: pasta with peas

No offense, Better Homes and Gardens, but what a completely lame name for a dish. Really? Pasta and Peas? I mean, I get it. That’s exactly what it is: pasta and peas. But the dish itself is way cooler than the name. I think of pasta and peas as a last ditch effort to get your kids to accidentally eat a vegetable by having a pea stuck to the inside of a noodle. Add parmesan and call it dinner. This dish is more than a last ditch effort. And it will also get your kids to eat peas. Lots of them. Let’s call it Dr. Seuss’s noodles on the loose since it is a fantastic bright green. Or, if you want to get fancy, how about ditalini with prosciutto and green pea pesto? I didn’t get the job naming crayons, but I’m working on it.

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reviewsadrienne robideauxpasta, kidsComment
the review: kitchen sink potatoes
the review: kitchen sink potatoes

I take baked potatoes and their toppings very seriously. Yes, I live in Idaho. And no, we don’t eat potatoes often. I’m actually pretty sure they ship all of the best potatoes out of state. (Please, don’t come after me, potato guild – I’m just kidding. Sort of.) But back to the toppings. None of this boring butter and sour cream and chives baloney. I dump it all in. Whatever we have. The more the merrier.

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reviewsadrienne robideauxvegetablesComment
the review: chicken lo-mein
the review: chicken lo-mein

Chicken Lo-Mein is the perfect vehicle for refrigerator clean out. I bought absolutely nothing for this recipe. That said, I didn’t follow the recipe to the letter. Interestingly, I didn’t click over to the original recipe (the recipe that I followed was a modified version) until after I made the lo-mein for dinner. Mine was a lot more like the original recipe than the one that I followed. These things happen.

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kidsadrienne robideauxstir-fry, chickenComment
the review: grilled tequila chicken fajitas and key lime bars
the review: grilled tequila chicken fajitas and key lime bars

People, I can’t take a picture of a taco to save my life. I know, I probably should have taken a nice photo of the whole spread – tortillas, chicken, grilled limes, sliced jalapeños, grilled onions and peppers… I didn’t. We had friends over and it just didn’t seem like the right thing to do to make everyone wait to eat. The original photos from Confections of a Foodie Bride are lovely. So there. Take my word for it, these chicken fajitas are good.

What’s better than how they tasted is that I didn’t cook them. My husband did all the work. Marinated the chicken all day, prepped and grilled the veggies, even set the table. I can’t in good conscience review something that I didn’t make. But you should. This was tasty chicken.

I did, however, lift a finger for something related to Saturday night’s dinner. I made dessert. Not just any dessert. Key lime squares with coconut crust. Hello little bites of heaven!

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lagniappe, reviewsadrienne robideauxmexican, grill, cookies, dessertComment