Tuesday, January 1, 2008

Kickin' Ass in the Kitchen

I intended to post today about my 2008 resolutions, but frankly I am too tired to do them justice. After ten days of holiday-ing, today I crashed. Plus, I tend to agree with one of my favorite literary heroines, Bridget Jones, who believes one can't really be expected to start New Year's resolutions on January 1st.

One of my New Year's Resolutions is, of course, to eat in a healthier and more reasonable fashion in 2008. But in the spirit of Bridget Jones, I began the year by cooking up two delectable (but not necessarily healthy) dishes.

We spent New Year's Eve sharing dinner with friends at home. My contribution was a Seafood Lasagna from Cooking Light. I was nervous about making this dish for the first time for company, especially because I am neither practiced nor comfortable preparing seafood. I was pleased with the results, and others seem to enjoy it as well (or lied convincingly). NTB, but this recipe also involved making my own cheese sauce. The sauce began with flour, milk, and just a little bit of butter. I am only bragging because this is a new skill for me. I can't express how delighted I was when the milk mixture actually began to thicken as promised. Glorious.

Today I made a soup that I first sampled at a Christmas Eve gathering. My husband's extended family gathers for Christmas Eve at lunchtime. There are a great variety of soups, sandwiches, dips/snacks, and baked goods. All of my husband's aunts make soup for this event. This particular soup is called Nacho Potato Soup and came from the kitchen of his Aunt Kathy. It is not super-healthy, but it is easy to prepare and quite tasty. It involves a box of Au Gratin potatoes and when I looked at the box of potato chip-like things, I was apprehensive because it didn't look like there were very many potatoes. But then, they got all hydrated and puffed up and the soup was just grand. I think one could use less Velveeta than called for and still have a tasty, cheesy soup.

Okay, that's all I got. Early to bed for me so I can really start 2008 with a bang tomorrow.

Happy New Year!

5 comments:

E... said...

I am intrigued by the idea of seafood lasagna -- shrimp, scallops, crab? A mix of the above? I don't think it will ever come out of my kitchen, with the assorted dairy/shellfish allergies around here, but I'm impressed with your efforts. I too, am always astounded by the thickening of a white sauce -- true magic in the kitchen. I'm looking forward to hearing your resolutions, as well as your progess with them, as I have a few of my own I may need some help with.

Anonymous said...

As one who ate said seafood lasagna, I can assure any readers that there was no lying - it was very tasty indeed! Way to go, MEP!

Steph said...

Congratulations and Happy New Year! I think both of those recipes should go in a family cookbook. (We don't have one.)
;-) We'll let that idea simmer, tho, per the Hub's advice.

All the best to you in 2008!

Anonymous said...

The potato soup does sound tasty and I would love the recipe. I'm proud of your versatility with seafood in the kitchen but I'm not tempted between the white sauce and the seafood, I'm not feeling it.

Anonymous said...

I am so proud of you. The Seafood Lasagna sounds delicious. You can do anything you put your mind to!! I love my new cookbook. Thanks Again
BDavin

 
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