Pbenjay's Blog

You know the thing about Costco is the darn size of everything!  You go to buy a can of Comet but if you want one, you need to buy a 3-pack.  Need some chicken broth? You have to buy 6 cartons, and the Salsa comes in giant jars, like the pickles and the olive oil.  Big is better, things are cheaper by the dozen, large economy size means economy BUT where oh where to put/store/stash this stuff,  I mean my bargains!

And the samples!!!! Perfect way to get suckered in.  We now have Madras lentils, Pot Stickers, Spinach Ravioli, Stacey’s Pita Chips and a GIANT Chicken Pot Pie!! Every trip home from Costco entails emptying the freezer and re-arranging the huge bags of Broccoli Flowerets, Tortellini, Chicken Breasts, Salmon Burgers, Blueberries and after all that shuffling and stuffing and pushing and squeezing, there is NO ROOM for the Chicken Pot Pie.  Not even sure what possessed me to buy it in the first place since it could clearly feed 8 people and our table only seats 5.   By the way, I can never get ALL the frozen food in our freezer at the shore and half of it is going back to New York with us – BUT how to keep it frozen till we are on our way home?

Luckily for me, we are friends with Dick and Jane (yes those are their real names), who own an Inn in Ocean Grove and she lets me store my Manhattan-bound food stuffs in a freezer in the Tea Room.  So last weekend I loaded up her freezer with bags of frozen food to take to New York and when I went to retrieve it I realized that NOT ONLY could I NOT fit the pot pie in my freezer bag and if I got it home, it wouldn’t fit in my apartment freezer either.  Good  thing Jane let me leave it there!!

Obviously the pie was way too big for Peter and I so when in doubt or in trouble, think What Would Martha Do? So, I invited friends for dinner.  I had already asked Heide to dine with us on Friday night and so I asked Dick and Jane to join us too.  Heide graciously asked what could she bring and I said without a moment’s hesitation, “your plum tart”. Jane said she would bring wine and the dinner menu was taking shape.

Chicken Pot Pie seemed Southern to me and even though I know it isn’t particulary Southern anymore than it is exclusively Irish or New England fare, tonight it was going to be Southern.  I decided to make Collard Greens – never have made them before BUT Wegman’s to the rescue.  I had a brochure from the store that I had saved from last year all about braising greens.  Seemed simple enough and it was.  The Collard Greens would satisfy Peter’s insistence of a green vegetable at dinner and I thought a salad would be refreshing but then I remembered that Dick really can’t eat a lot of greens so I set out to buy a head of cauliflower to bake.  Inspiration was running high so I decided to bake some drop biscuits too – love those Bisquick biscuits.

BAKED WHOLE CAULIFLOWER

1 head of Cauliflower                                                                        Preheat oven to 375 degrees

1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs

2 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup margarine melted

1/8 tsp garlic powder

1/8 tsp salt

pinch of dried oregano

pinch of red pepper flakes

Place whole head in steamer in 1″ water. Bring to boil over med heat and cook till tender about 20 minutes.

Mix bread crumbs, margarine, cheese.  Season with garlic powder, salt, pepper and oregano.  Put cauliflower in baking dish and coat with bread crumb mixture.

Bake 10-15 minutes till golden brown.

Recipe from Martha Stewart’s Every Day Food.

COLLARD GREENS

Add 6 cups of water, 2-3 Tbsp lemon juice, 6 cloves of garlic (or 2 Tbsp minced), 1 Tbsp salt, 1/2 cup pure olive oil to braising pan on HIGH.

Add greens and bring to a boil and cover.

Cook until tender – Greens will change color as they cook (depending on the greens) 5-30 minutes.

Transfer to serving dish, season to taste and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese if desired.

Recipe from Wegman’s