Hungry Times Two

Last night for dinner I made a veggie and cheese " panini " of sorts that turned out to be one of the best things I have eaten in a while. Bonus: I used the ginormous George Foreman Grill the size of a spare tire we received as a wedding gift nearly a year ago. In a year I've learned how amazing the George Foreman is. You can " Foremanize " nearly everything. I've made oven fries, grilled cheese sandwiches, quesadillas , steaks, salmon, chicken, even bananas (!) on the GFG and it works like a charm every time. It's foolproof to use and wow, that panini was a beauty to behold. I basted slices of eggplant and zucchini with a mixture of olive oil, garlic, tyme and salt and pepper, slapped them on the GFG for a couple of minutes, and then placed the veggies and a little feta cheese and mozzarella between bread slices, and back into the GFG they went. Ooey gooey and oh so flavorful, you didn't even notice there was nary a chunk of meat in sight. Sco...

It's Friday, hip hip hurray ! A few things to keep in mind this weekend... 1) Food in a social setting is just so fun. Scott and I are going to a Lebanese dinner party tonight given by one of my new book club members, Amy. I am very excited to see what's on the menu. 2) Just because it's in front of you, you don't have to eat it. There's so much leftover Easter candy and treats out right now. I don't even like Butterfingers, yet I wolfed down one gigantic egg-shaped candy in the work break room for no apparent reason yesterday. And then there are the jelly beans. High fructose corn syrup mini-bombs I know aren't of this world and should be completely avoided, but I gobbled a few anyway. Last weekend in a moment of weakness I bought a bag of dark chocolate Cadbury Robin Eggs at Target and that bag lasted a mere three days. The remorse I felt after I tossed the empty bag in the trash could have filled the Astro -Dome. (Does that thing still exist?) Anyway, s...

This stinks. Why on earth does it make sense to keep wine out of the grocery stores here in the fine state of Tennessee? We have beer, but no wine. And for those who say that it will ruin the Mom and Pop liquor shops that currently hold wine hostage, I say, "Bullocks." If I really want a fancy- schmancy vintage of some sort of high regard, most likely I won't shop for it in aisle nine of Kroger. If I pick up pasta, it sure would be nice to pick up a red bottle of wine to enjoy it with. Instead, I have to drive out of my way, wasting gas and time, to accomplish such. Just put on your big-boy panties and pass the damn bill, Tennessee.

Funny reoccurring theme in my world of restaurant outings lately... One disastrous meal with two friends at a Texas Roadhouse in Hendersonville , TN (a.k.a. middle of nowhere, bad strip mall area choices). Basically, my friends shared a rib platter and a filet Mignon entree, only to discover upon first bite that the steak was enveloped in what tasted and smelled of lighter fluid. Server takes steak back to kitchen. Manager comes out to deny existence of lighter fluid in the kitchen. Check comes. Steak still on the bill. Server gets manager. Manager asks us where the steak went. My friends point out that it's not their job to ensure the offending meat gets to the manager. Manager denies multiple times that the cooks use lighter fluid. Friends ask again for steak to be removed from the bill. Finally the manager gets it, the bill is taken care of, and we move on to our chick flick at the movies. (It was "P.S. I Love You." P.S. - Two out of three of us didn't love ...

Here's a well-written article from The Root, a black-oriented 'zine, on shattering the Soul Food stereotypes typically associated with black cuisine. I don't know about you, but I could go for some sauteed okra and grilled grit cake right about now! Admittedly I pigeonhole a great deal of black-owned restaurants here in Nashville as unhealthy and overcooked. Sweatt's , Monell's and even Prince's Hot Chicken are places you go once and then stay away, because salt, sugar and grease, though tasty, can be downright deadly. Perhaps because I can count on one hand the times I have spent at the dinner table of a black family, I assume through such respectable and accurate depictions of black culture in Soul Food and The Nutty Professor ("Hercules, Hercules!") that so much of black food is mac 'n cheese, chitlins and collard greens. The Root article proves otherwise, that so much of black food is intended to be unpretentious, fresh, local and real...