Graham Crackers: I love them

and I am pretty sure they love me.

They have sustained me at many times, and in many different forms.

These include:

• with chedder cheese: cold or microwaved-for any and all meals and snacks
• crushed and mixed with applesauce-after school snack
• with whole milk vanilla yogurt (watch for future post on whole milk and its products)- while watching little Harrison enjoy his own yogurt treat
• dipped in milk- 24/7
• dipped in chocolate milk- after watching Renee do this, while feeling a little sad it isn't regular milk
• with cream cheese- never tried it, but apparently it tastes like cheese cake
• dunked in the sauce from homemade mac and cheese- post-lunch dessert
• plain- on the way to school in the car
• In any shape or form- amidst constant criticism

Be careful because not all Graham Crackers are created equal. Nabisco Honey Maid are the absolute best. Let's face it: you get what you pay for.

I love Graham Crackers so much. They have been my friend for many years, and have replaced many meals. They are the perfect snack because they are sweet and delicious, but are not that bad for you. I think my body is so used to this treat that it calms my stomach when I feel sick, comforts me when I feel down, and brings me so so so much joy! I love you little buddy.

Something for the non-SLCer's

Firstly, Renee you are a blog-idea-stealer! Just kidding, thanks for getting this started. I know we talked about it and I had the best name ever, but I never did it, so you win.
Secondly, and most importantly, I have the recipe that all non-Utah residents have been waiting for. I wish I could take the credit, but I found it on Favorite Family Recipes and it is awesome. Cafe Rio Pork Salad. No joke. I've made it a couple of times and it always turns out great. This picture is from the site because it was so good last time I ate it before taking any pictures.

Steak and Bake (or Fry)

While I feel like I will mostly be taking ideas from this blog, from time to time I hope to add my two cents worth to the great recipe conversation (I hope people are getting my philosophy joke about the great conversation). Anywho, this is just a simple recipe that most of you know, but I want to start off slow.
So New York steaks were 50% off today (which still means $5.99 lb, but a $5 New York is a great deal). I just grilled it on the George Foreman, which purists will abhor I am sure, but how you grill it is not near as important as how long and what quality of meat you buy, so it turned out great.
Note: the best part of the New York is the strip of fat up the side, if you cook it right, it will get a little caramelized and then I try to eat a little bit of the fat with each bite of steak, awesome. Also, a time honored steak trick is to put a pat of butter under the steak so it melts, that really adds some flavor.
I also sauteed some onions and mushrooms. I used normal cheap yellow onions and they were really good, I just cooked them slow so they did not burn, and the mushrooms I bought bulk so I got 4 for like 60 cents. I really fell in love with cooking with fresh mushrooms here in S.F. great flavor. Now I used quite a bit of butter to saute these, and I added the onions about a minute before the mushrooms because they take a little longer to cook and I like my mushrooms and onions really soft so they are sweet with the steak and not spicy. I also added a little beef bullion to the onions and mushrooms which Lance suggested.
Top this tasty meal off with some home fried steak fries and enjoy. Those of you without fryers could bake the fries, but then you would have to call them bakes and hate yourself. Oh well. Pics below. Great blog Nene.

i love pepper jack

Let me give renee' a shout out for how awesome this blog all ready is, and how great it's going to become. Matt did do some urging for me to get my idea rolling, but nothing ever came of it, i'm very busy people, and a bit on the lackadaisical side, so thanks renee'.

I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate this blog than to post one of my favorite recipes: it's super fast, super delicious, and i happened to create it myself. Now, i know i'm one of the worst cooks in this fam, so i'm open to suggestions on improving my recipes, just give it to me straight people.

I made this tonight, starting at 11:11, and was eating by 11:30, plus i wasted quite a bit of time once it was finished...so here it is:
creamy pepperjack spaghetti with peas

1/3 lbs. spaghetti
1 cup WHOLE (or whatever you have you gross blue water drinkers) milk, half n'half, or cream
peas
salt, pepper, a little rosemary, a lot of parsley, a small shake of red pepper flakes
2 slices pepperjack cheese
1-2 cloves minced garlic

I cook for myself so 1/3 lbs of pasta is what i make which is a pretty big serving, for that amount i've found just less than about a cup of sauce is perfect. I don't measure any of these ingredients so just throw it all in a pan, take out what you don't want and add what you do want in terms of spices. This recipe turns out a perfectly spicy creamy sauce. I like using half and half for the sauce, but you can use milk too, if you do use milk, start it off with 1 tablespoon butter melted and cook 1 tablespoon flour into it for a roux, then add the milk and as soon as it starts boiling it will thicken right up. Using half n' half or cream, just throw it all together and simmer it until the consistency makes you happy. Just keep tasting and smelling and basically do whatever you want, it'll turn out great. One last thing: I add the peas at the very end, warm them up in the simmering sauce, turn the heat off and add the cheese. Boiling it with the cheese in there has messed things up for me before, so don't mess with it. Save some of that pasta water to loosen the sauce if it gets too thick.

I love this sauce because it is so fast and so good, plus you can make it in about a thousand variations: use any cheese you want, i've used cheddar, parmesan, and pepperjack, whatever i have. Plus, i always have the ingredients because they are so basic. Sometimes i don't have pepperjack, but I always have parmesan and that is what the beloved alfredo is made with anyway. You better all make this soon...

Shout Out To Mom

Thank you, thank you, Renee for starting this blog!! I know after Lance brought up the idea I tried to a couple of times, but I just couldn't get the name right. You picked the PERFECT name!!

So, just to get the ball rolling on additional contributors, I'd like to make a special request that Mom sign up and contribute to this blog.

First of all, she did introduce every single one of us to food (who can forget blood and guts, tuna on toast and linguine!!)

Second, the parents have given me a VERY weird taste preference (and I'd actually like to see if any other siblings are afflicted with this particular quirk). I love to eat food cold. Cold Chinese food in particular, but I like many many things cold that your average individual would find repulsive in a chilled state (or so Byron tells me). In my extensive analysis of the matter, I've decided that it is the result of years of eating Mom and Dad's leftovers after their dates. Please tell me I'm not alone. (As Tobias would say, "There are dozens of us!!" Thank you, Arrested Development)

But actually, I want mom to post a specific recipe. Her Sweet and Sour Chicken. I love how Renee's initial post defined cooking: "preparing good wholesome tasty varied meals for the ones you love." The Sweet and Sour Chicken is very simple, but Byron LOVES it. I'm not sure how wholesome it is (since he picks out all of the peppers and onions and leaves them on my plate) but it is an easy and delicious recipe and pretty much all you have to have on hand out of the ordinary is a can of pineapple. As an added bonus, I can assure you that if you have kids, they will love it (Since Byron tends towards favorite foods such as chicken fingers and grilled cheese sandwiches, he can be a pretty accurate indicator of what a young child might enjoy).

So thanks to Renee for starting the blog, thanks to mom for having such awesome kids and for the sweet and sour chicken recipe and thanks you all of you, who are going to give me delicious recipes and delightful anecdotes!!!

how have you been hiding this?

I moved in with Jamie a few weeks back.  Either I don't use the freezer as much as I thought, or I'm really nonobservant. But either way, just a few days ago I opened the freezer door to see a frozen, white container.  'Jamie!' I screamed, 'you have an ice cream maker?!'  

Now I don't want to brag or anything, but ice cream is sort of my thing.  I've cooked a lot of custards in my time.  And so Jamie and I made a Bowman original, honey ice cream.  It only takes two cups cream, four egg yolks and half a honeybear, but it is super rich.  It would be even better with high quality, local honey instead of the WF clover I had going on.  An added plus, it's soft right out of the freezer.  Stop by if you want to taste it.  It certainly taught Jamie not to keep culinary secrets from me.  

Lance says that the introduction is the best part of any cookbook - their love for food and motivation to cook is hard to duplicate.  Instead of attempting my own introduction, I did what any self-respecting, slightly lazy Harrison would do; I copied real intros and pasted them below.  To avoid any hassle with copyright law, and any school expulsions for plagiarism, I've included the reference. enjoy

Food is a central part of our lives.  It provides the body with fuel and raw materials for maintenance growth and repair.  It draws together family and friends anchors celebrations and rites of passage, and sometimes soothes the soul.  It has the power to heal, and also to harm.   the Joy of Cooking

Baking is my favorite culinary activity because at heart, it is based on mythology.  Mysterious events occur in the oven that are beyond our ability to either observe or understand.  And this leads to the whole sale creation of baking folklore that attempts to explain what cannot directly be understood.    ATK (america's test kitchen) Family Baking Book

"Haughty cuisine" - fancy food - is best left to restaurants.  Home cooking is best when it is simple, straightforward, unpretentious and easy.  

Our exposure to ultra sophisticated cooking- whether at restaurants, in cookbooks, or on television, sometimes makes us forget how wonderful simple food can be.  Everyday cooking is not about striving for brilliance but about preparing good wholesome tasty varied meals for the ones you love.  This is a fundamentally satisfying pleasure.  Your results need not be perfect to give you this gift to which all humans are entitled.  How to Cook Everything

So, have at it, and don't forget restaurants and recipes, cooking failures and favorites, anything to do with food. 

anyone who wishes to be an author, shot me an email, reneelharrison@gmail.com