BONUS: Curly's Birthday Stromboli Fest

For his thirteenth birthday, Curly wanted to make stromboli with Joe. Before I went on my gluten free diet, Joe and the boys used to make stromboli for me on Mother's day; he showed them the same method that his Italian mother used.

First, they cut up the ingredients and separated them into piles, one pile for each stromboli they were making.

Curly had only one useful arm, so Joe took care of the cutting and Curly did the separating.

Joe impressed us with his dough-throwing skills. We used store-bought frozen bread dough; we put it out to thaw and rise in the morning and by the afternoon it was ready.

Now to add the fillings...

(Joe likes to leave the sauce out of the stromboli and serve it on the side.)

Seal it up...

Brush with olive oil before popping it into the oven.

(Here's my gluten free pizza I made. Looks good, but the stromboli looked better.)

Bake at 350 degrees F until golden brown. I asked Joe how long they cooked them and he said, "I don't know, I wasn't timing it. Until it's done."

A perfect birthday meal for Curly.

His cast is off now, and pretty soon we'll plan a bowling party for him and his friends. Have a wonderful weekend!

At First Sight: Grilled Porterhouse Steak with Au Gratin Potatoes

Do you remember the scene in At First Sight when Jeremy and Lexie are in a nice restaurant mulling over the menu trying to decide what to order? Lexie, because she's pregnant, wants to eat something healthy and orders stuffed chicken breast? And she guilts Jeremy into getting the grilled tuna, even though what he REALLY wants is a great big porterhouse steak.

"What are you planning on ordering?"

"I was thinking about the porterhouse," he said, scanning the menu. "I haven't had a good steak since I left New York. And the au gratin potatoes."

"Isn't a porterhouse two steaks? The strip and the filet?"

"That's why it sounds good," he said, closing the menu, his mouth already watering. As he looked across at her, he noticed her nose was wrinkling. "What?" he asked.

"How many calories do you think that has?"

"I have no idea. And I don't care either."

She forced a smile, returning to the menu again. "You're right," she said. "We don't go out like this all the time, so what's the big deal? Even if it is...what? A pound, pound and a half of red meat?"

He felt his brow furrowing. "I didn't say I was going to eat the whole thing."

"It doesn't matter even if you do. It's not my place to say anything. Get what you want."

"I will," he said, feeling defiant. In the silence, he watched her study the menu, thinking about the porterhouse. It was a lot of red meat, now that he thought about it, packed with cholesterol and fat. Didn't the experts say you should eat no more than three ounces at a time? And this steak...what was that? Sixteen ounces? Twenty-four? It was enough to feed an entire family.

(At First Sight, p. 77-78)

In the end he orders tuna. Today we're having steak and potatoes--something I'm sure my husband wishes we'd have more often--and I hope this is a meal Jeremy would love. (Except for one thing--we had the steak and potatoes on two separate nights. I'll explain why in a minute.)

First the easy part, the steak.

Did you know that there is very little difference between a porterhouse and a T-bone steak? They're almost the same, except on a porterhouse, the filet part is a little bit bigger than on a T-bone. Wikipedia says this: "Porterhouse steaks are cut from the rear end of the short loin and include more tenderloin, while T-bone steaks are cut from farther forward and contain less." When I shared this with Joe, he said, "OK, so technically, a porterhouse is better than a T-bone." Sure, whatever. They're awfully big steaks.

I consulted one of my rarely-used cookbooks, Steaks, Chops, Roasts, and Ribs. It suggests several ways to cook and serve porterhouse steaks; I was thinking I would rub the bone with garlic before grilling them and then slicing the grilled meat and drizzling it with olive oil and lemon juice. (Doesn't that sound delicious? ) I decided to keep it simple and put only salt and pepper on the meat before throwing it on the grill.

They didn't need anything else.

Guess you're wondering why I have potato chips on my plate instead of au gratin potatoes. (And no, I did NOT eat that entire steak. That was only for the photo.)

Well, first let me tell you about these amazing potatoes I made. I've never made au gratin potatoes before, but The Pioneer Woman sure has!

PERFECT POTATOES AU GRATIN

by Ree Drummond

· 2 tablespoons butter, softened

· 8 large russet potatoes, scrubbed clean

· 3 cups heavy cream

· 1 cup whole milk

· 1/4 cup all-purpose flour*

· 2 teaspoons salt

· Freshly ground black pepper

· 2 cups freshly grated sharp Cheddar

· 2 green onions, sliced thin (white and light green parts only)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Butter a large baking dish with the butter.

Slice the potatoes into sticks, and then cut the sticks to create a dice.

Combine the cream and milk in a bowl. Add the flour, salt and some pepper. Whisk it together well so that the flour is incorporated into the milk/cream mixture. Add the diced potatoes to the prepared baking dish and pour the creamy mixture all over the top.

Cover the dish with foil and bake for 20 to 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake 15 to 20 minutes more. Just before serving, sprinkle on the grated cheese and return it to the oven until the cheese is melted and bubbly, 3 to 5 minutes. Sprinkle on the green onions and serve it hot. Creamy, dreamy and divine.

(Source: Food Network)

*I substituted 2 tablespoons cornstarch to keep it gluten free.

Actually, I found two different versions of this same recipe This one from The Pioneer Woman's own website is the one I ended up using--why? Because of the fabulous pictures. Here Ree explains how to slice the potatoes into stacks (not sticks, as the above recipe says,) and she also suggests adding the potatoes and the milk mixture to the baking dish alternately in layers instead of putting all the potatoes in and pouring the milk over the top. And she doesn't sprinkle it with green onion after it's done. I didn't do that either, but only because I forgot.

Stacks...

Dice...

YUM!

Well, the potatoes ended up taking twice as long to cook as I expected them to. Don't ask me why; maybe it was my crazy oven thermostat acting up again. It was getting late and we decided to go ahead and cook the steaks and save the potatoes for the next night. It worked out great, because we had enough steak to make fajitas, and the potatoes were the perfect side dish!

(My tortilla-less fajita...I could have used corn tortillas but I don't like the store-bought ones, and I did not feel like making them. Which I've done before, and it's surprisingly easy; just time-consuming because you have to cook them one at a time.)

In about a month and a half, another movie is coming out that's based on a Nicholas Sparks novel--The Lucky One! I've started re-reading that book and I can't wait to delve into its culinary delights. Meanwhile I'll probably have a "7 Quick Takes" post here soon (perhaps including a recipe or two and a few photos of my hopelessly unorganized kitchen--oh, joy!) and I might even delve into a Lemony Snicket book. Or possibly one by J.K. Rowling. Or maybe I'll try something else from the Millennium series. Decisions, decisions...

At First Sight: Turkey Mac (SPOILER ALERT)

I warned you, and now it's time: If you don't want to know how At First Sight ends--did you know this was one of about four books by Nicholas Sparks that brought the author to tears?--scroll down to the dotted line.

As you may already know, At First Sight is the sequel to True Believer, the story of Jeremy and Lexie. At the end of True Believer, Lexie tells Jeremy that she's pregnant--which is a surprise to both of them, because doctors told Lexie she would never conceive children after a miscarriage she had years ago. In At First Sight, Jeremy and Lexie get married and prepare for the birth of their child--a girl, whom they've decided to name Claire. When the time comes for Lexie to give birth, they rush to the hospital were Lexie goes through a relatively uneventful labor--until at the moment of birth, something goes terribly wrong. Turns out that unbeknownst to doctors, Lexie had developed an embolism during pregnancy, and when Claire emerges into the world, the embolism travels to Lexie's heart and she dies instantly. Now Jeremy is faced with raising his daughter alone--and life without his wife, who he's only known for barely a year.

Jeremy had come to Lexie's hometown of Boone Creek to investigate some mysterious lights that appear from time to time in certain conditions in an old graveyard. Lexie's grandmother used to bring her to the cemetery when she was a little girl, and Lexie took comfort in the thought that the lights were her parents, who had died in a car accident, telling her that they were all right, and they were looking after her. As an adult, Lexie doesn't really believe that anymore, but she still treasures those memories; and thinks of her parents whenever the lights appear.

After Lexie's untimely death, Jeremy decides to stay in Boone Creek to raise his daughter. When Claire is about five years old, she begins to have nightmares. One night Jeremy decides to bring Claire to the cemetery after a particularly disturbing dream, and the two of them watch the lights together and think of Lexie. What does all this have to do with cooking, you ask? The night Jeremy first brings Claire to see the lights, they eat their favorite meal together--turkey and macaroni and cheese.

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Okay. So if you're just joining us, we're making macaroni and cheese with turkey.

I thought about maybe making this a Thanksgiving post last fall, because in my family, macaroni and cheese is a staple dish to serve with the traditional turkey. I knew this would be difficult, though, because we're often traveling on Thanksgiving Day, and someone else has already cooked (or has started cooking) the turkey by the time we arrive. Such was the case this past Thanksgiving. Then I thought maybe I'd have turkey for Christmas instead of our traditional ham, and cook mac & cheese that day too; but I decided to go with beef tenderloin roast. That left me with figuring out a good way to combine the two without having to cook an entire turkey. I could roast a turkey breast, and share my own mac & cheese recipe--which isn't really a recipe at all; just my way of throwing stuff together. I was chewing on that thought when the latest issue of Fine Cooking arrived in the mail--and I had my answer.

In the February/March issue, there's an article about the gazillion different ways you can make macaroni and cheese. You can use just about whatever kind of pasta you want, whatever kinds of cheese you want, and throw in just about any ingredients, or "add-ins," that you want. Normally when I make mac & cheese, I use several different kinds of cheese. Fine Cooking recommends three; to choose one or two as a "base cheese," (which I normally do anyway--I use about half cheddar and a combination of cheeses for the other half), and one "accent" cheese to supplement. (You can go online and make your own mac & cheese recipe with ingredients that they suggest--check it out!)

I grated up some cheddar, Monterey Jack, and Swiss.

Then I made some bread crumbs from gluten-free bread. (I save the heels and store them in the freezer for times such as these. No one can tell the crumbs are gluten free.)

I used them to prepare the topping:

1 small clove garlic, mashed into a paste or pressed (optional)

1 1/2 oz (3 Tbs.) unsalted butter, melted (Unsalted butter? What's that? I ALWAYS use the salted kind.)

2 cups coarse, fresh breadcrumbs, lightly toasted (I didn't toast mine.)

Kosher salt

2 Tbs. finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or percornino (optional)

If using the garlic, stir it into the butter. Put the breadcrumbs in a medium bowl and drizzle the butter over the crumbs. Add a pinch of salt and the Parmigiano-Reggiano or pecorino (if using). With your hands, toss to combine. Set aside.

I always look for excuses to cook with bacon, so I diced up some and browned it,

and I diced up some nice turkey tenderloin cutlets I had found and cooked the pieces in the bacon grease. (This was where I deviated from the recipe--turkey is not one of the ingredients that Fine Cooking suggests. I also used more add-ins than I was supposed to. What I love about cooking is that I can do it my own way if I want; I often see recipes as guidelines and sources for ideas. There are no boundaries.)

After I started the pasta (just regular elbow macaroni, and gluten free rice ziti for myself) I made the sauce:

2 oz (4 Tbs.) unsalted butter (Like I said--don't know what that is.)

1 1/2 oz (1/4 cup) all-purpose flour (Instead of flour I used about 2 Tbs. cornstarch)

3 1/2 cups whole milk (I used reduced-fat milk since it's what I had on hand)

Kosher salt

Melt the butter in a heavy-duty 3- to 4-quart saucepan. Whisk in the flour and continue to whisk over low heat for 3 minutes--the butter and flour should gently bubble and froth without coloring.

Slowly add the milk, while whisking constantly. Be sure to whisk around the edges of the pan to get all the lumps. Whisk until the sauce is smooth and has the consistency of heavy cream, about 6 minutes. Taise the heat to medium and bring the sauce to a simmer, whisking constantly. Lower the heat to maintain a gentle simmer and cook, whisking occasionally for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and gently whisk in your choices of base cheese(s), accent cheese (if using), and herbs and spices, if using. (I threw in some pepper, and a little bit of Cayenne.)

I mixed up the pasta with my bacon, turkey, some chopped fresh parsley and thyme (which technically I was supposed to add to the sauce, but whatever), put some aside for Moe, who is allergic to milk, and mixed in the sauce. (I did the same with my gluten free pasta. Next time I think I'll just make gluten free mac & cheese for everyone; it will be much easier and they won't know the difference.)

The Result:

My Gluten Free Version:

Din-Din!

Adapted from Fine Cooking, No. 115, pp. 36-43

Oh, and I almost forgot to tell you: It was delicious!

I hope nobody is giving up steak for Lent, because THAT'S what's coming next!

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo: Lamb Chops in Red Wine Sauce and Creamy Baby Potatoes

We're taking a little side trip, leaving Nick and the Outer Banks for a little bit to visit Sweden. (I hear it's cold there this time of year.) Last summer I read Stieg Larsson's Millennium trilogy (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played With Fire; The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest), and was very intrigued both by the story and by some of the interesting fare that was cooked in those books. If you haven't read this series, I highly recommend it; just a warning, though--it's quite intense with plenty of sex and violence, but lots of suspense and excitement too. I even watched the Swedish-language films and loved them. I almost didn't notice they were subtitled. (If you saw Sherlock Holmes 2, you might remember a petite and pretty, yet tough kick-ass gypsy girl who joined Watson and Holmes on their latest adventure. The actress who played her, Noomi Rapace, was the tattooed girl Lisbeth in the Swedish films. She ROCKS. I haven't seen the recently released English version of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo starring Daniel Craig; when I finally watch it on DVD I hope I'm not disappointed because that Lisbeth isn't Noomi.)

I don't think I'm going to bore you with too many plot details, except for a brief Who's Who: Lisbeth Salander is a troubled young woman, covered in tattoos and piercings; a loner who doesn't relate to people very well. She has a brilliant mind, a photographic memory, and she's a skilled hacker who can gain access to anyone's computer or cell phone with a few clicks and a phone call to a reclusive hacker friend. And she isn't afraid of anything. (The two main characters on the TV show Person of Interest kind of remind me of her in a way; the introverted tech whiz who builds a machine that watches everyone all the time, and with his seemingly invincible Jack Bauer-type partner, solving crimes by hacking into people's computers and cell phones, spying on unsuspecting citizens, and beating up bad guys with martial-arts punches and kicks. My favorite thing Lisbeth does? Subduing a very large villain who, as it happens, doesn't feel pain, by pinning his feet to a floor with a nail gun. Brilliant.) Anyhow, Lisbeth is fighting a troubled past, and has spent much of her life in a mental institution--not because she's mentally ill, but because a band of slimeballs are conspiring to ruin her life; and now she's living on a kind of probation and must have a guardian assigned by the state to manage her money and such. Even though she can get by just fine on her own, in spite of her quirks.

The other main character, Mikael Blomkvist, is an investigative reporter for a major Swedish magazine, Millennium. He's recently published an expose' of a prominent businessman in which he revealed some shocking scandal and corruption within the company, and now he's been accused of slander by said businessman. He will eventually serve jail time, but meanwhile he's been hired by another prominent businessman, Henrik Vanger, to find out who murdered his beloved niece Harriet, who went missing in the 1960's. Mr. Vanger and several members of his family live on the fictional island of Hedeby, and Blomkvist moves into a little rustic cabin near the Vanger mansion. He hires Lisbeth to assist him with his investigation, and she moves into the cabin with him.

(I do want to pause here and vent a little bit about Blomkvist. He's one of the good guys, a likeable and even honorable character; kind, trustworthy, on the side of justice, and the fair treatment of all. The thing that just makes me want to shake him silly is his casual attitude about sex. He isn't married, and his lover is his longtime friend and co-worker, Erika Berger, who IS married. Erika's husband knows about her affair with Blomkvist, and get this: he doesn't care. Erika often calls him up and says, "Oh, hi, darling, I'm staying with Mikael tonight. I'll see you tomorrow." and he'll say, "That's great, sweetheart! Have fun, and tell him I said hello." Sheesh. Mikael sleeps with several other women throughout the trilogy as well, including Lisbeth. He deserves a few dope-slaps for that kind of behavior.)

Okay, so now for the food part: One night in the cabin on Hedeby, Mikael makes a dinner for himself and Lisbeth of lamb cutlets, with potatoes and cream sauce. Then fast-forward to the third book in the series, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, and we find Mikael cooking lamb once again; this time for his new girlfriend, Monika--and it's lamb chops in red wine sauce.

So what did I decide to cook? Lamb chops in pomegranate-red wine sauce, and baby potatoes with cream sauce. And I nearly had another Cooking Nick's Books anxiety attack.

It was the day after New Year's, and I stood in the butcher shop eyeing the lamb chops, trying to talk myself into buying them. Or maybe I was trying to talk myself out of buying them. They were nearly as expensive per pound as the beef tenderloin I had just cooked a week before. I thought, I must be completely insane. Here it is, the day after New Year's, I've just spent the last week entertaining people. I should be spending the last evening before everyone was heading back to school just relaxing and ordering out, and I'm seriously thinking of cooking lamb chops tonight?? The last time I tried cooking lamb chops, before we had kids and before I learned to cook, they were awful. I didn't know what I was doing and I overcooked them and they tasted like crap. I finally reasoned that if I only cooked just enough for everyone to have a small portion, then at least I wouldn't have wasted all that much money and time.

I chose five good-sized chops, and found a recipe from my favorite magazine, Fine Cooking:

LAMB CHOPS WITH POMEGRANATE RED WINE SAUCE

12 lamb rib chops*
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup minced shallot (about 1 large)
1/2 cup pomegranate juice (such as Pom brand)
1/4 cup full-bodied dry red wine
1/4 cup homemade or low-salt chicken broth
1-1/2 Tbs. balsamic vinegar
1 Tbs. fresh thyme leaves, finely chopped
1/2 Tbs. honey
2 Tbs. cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes

*My butcher didn't have rib chops; they had a thicker bone-in chop instead, and I only bought five.

Liberally season the lamb chops with salt and pepper on both sides. Heat the olive oil in a 12-inch sauté pan over medium-high heat until very hot. Sear the chops in two batches, until well browned on both sides, about 2 minutes per side for medium rare, 3 minutes per side for medium. Keep the chops warm on a platter covered with foil. Pour off and discard all but about 1 or 2 Tbs. fat from the pan.

Add the shallot to the pan and cook, stirring constantly, until browned, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the pomegranate juice, wine, chicken broth, vinegar, thyme, and honey and cook, stirring, until the liquid is reduced by half, 3 to 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium low and swirl in the butter until it melts. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper.**

Transfer the chops to dinner plates and serve with the sauce.

(Source: Fine Cooking)

**Since my chops were thicker than rib chops, I browned them on all sides, and after making the sauce I returned them to the pan and cooked them in the liquid on low heat for about five additional minutes, maybe less.

"I don't know about these..." I kept saying. I remembered my long-ago lamb disaster and just knew these would be equally awful. When I served the chops, and Joe and the boys prepared to take their first bite, I literally had knots in my stomach. But guess what? They were delicious. I could have ordered them at a four-star restaurant, they were that good. (HAPPY DANCE!!!)

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For the potatoes, I decided to look online and found a recipe on a site called The Orgasmic Chef. Of course, with a name like that I HAD to try it. (I'll have what she's having.)

BABY POTATOES WITH CREAMY GARLIC SAUCE

Ingredients

10 baby (chat) potatoes
2 tbs butter
2 cloves garlic minced (you can use less if you don’t like garlic)
3/4 cup cream
2 tbs fresh parsley chopped (or 1 tbs dried parsley)
salt and pepper

Instructions

1. Wash and cut potatoes in bite sized pieces
2. Boil over low heat until just done
3. In a saucepan melt butter and add the garlic and over low heat cook the garlic for 2 or 3 minutes
4. Add cream and reduce til thick enough to coat the potatoes. About 10 minutes.
5. Drain potatoes and add to cream sauce
6. Add parsley, salt and pepper

(Source: The Orgasmic Chef)

Now, I will admit, I cheated just a little bit: I still had quite a bit of gorgonzola sauce left over from Christmas dinner, so I warmed that up in the microwave, added a bit of parsley, and stirred it into the potatoes. They were delicious.

There is more wonderful-sounding food in the Millennium trilogy, and I hope to have more adventures from that series soon. Meanwhile, I think I will revisit Nicholas Sparks' At First Sight with a T-bone steak and maybe some macaroni and cheese; and I will be revealing the ending, so brace yourself!

I also wanted to tell you that I was interviewed recently for an article about blogs in our diocesan Catholic newsletter, and the writer asked me questions about Musings of a Catholic Mom, my other blog. Click here to check out the article! My only regret is not mentioning Cooking Nick's Books in the interview. Ah, well...

Have a wonderful weekend!

A Party For Nick

Okay, it wasn't really a birthday party, but since December 31 was Nicholas Sparks' birthday, I thought I'd share some of the yummy food we prepared for our New Year's Eve celebrations. We were blessed to have my parents here to celebrate the New Year with us, and since my brother and sister-in-law had spent Christmas in Maine with her parents, they came over and we had a kind of Second Christmas. (Except for the unusually spring-like weather; Moe built a "mud" man--no snow, you see--and fed the ducks and geese.)

We had an early afternoon Christmas dinner of sorts (scaled down and more casual--click here to see what we prepared on Christmas Day): A spiral ham from Costco, and:

My mother's wonderful corn pudding:

2 15-ounce cans yellow corn

1 1/2 cans evaporated milk (18 oz)

1/2 tsp salt

2 T sugar

3-4 eggs, beaten

Beat eggs and milk together. Add sugar, corn, and salt; stir. Pour into a deep baking dish that has been lightly coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350 degrees for one hour or more until set. The top will turn brown; corn pudding is done when a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

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Green Beans with Roquefort Cheese and Walnuts (a recipe my mother-in-law gave me some years ago):

1 lb fresh green beans, trimmed

4 thick bacon slices, cut into 1/4-inch pieces

4 oz. Roquefort Cheese, crumbled (you can use blue cheese or gorgonzola if you wish)

1 cup walnuts, toasted

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 freshly ground pepper

Place green beans in boiling water to cover in a large saucepan, and simmer 3 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain, rinse with cold water and drain. Set aside. (Grandma B says you can put them in the microwave for 1 to 2 minutes and then throw in ice water)

Cook bacon pieces in a large skillet over medium heat 5 to 7 minutes or until crisp; remove bacon with a slotted spoon, and drain on paper towels, reserving drippings in a skillet.

Saute' green beans in hot drippings in skillet 2 minutes or until heated. Sprinkle with cheese and cook, stirring constantly, 30 seconds or just until cheese begins to melt. Sprinkle evenly with walnuts, salt, pepper, and bacon; serve immediately.

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Fruited Rice Pilaf, a dish I made for this blog. Click here for the recipe!

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In the evening, our friends Barbara and Andy and their family came to celebrate with us (Click here and here to see what we brought to THEIR house last year!). Even though we were practically engorged with all we had already eaten, we enjoyed quite a spread of appetizers, snacks, and salads for the REAL New Year's Eve party. The main attraction? I had made a double pot of chili the day before when the boys had some of their friends over, and since I had a quite a bit left we reheated it, and it was enjoyed by all.

CUISINART CHILI

(Side note: Joe and the boys agree that I make the best chili ever. I'm flattered and a little embarrassed by this, because the recipe originally came from the owner's manual for my food processor that Joe's brother had given us as a wedding present. I've long since lost the manual and recipe book, but I managed to find the chili recipe online some years ago.)

2 lg. garlic cloves

2 lg. onions

2 tbsp. oil

2 lbs. lean chuck

1 (28 oz.) can whole tomatoes

1 (6 oz.) can tomato paste

3 c. beef broth

1 (15 oz.) can kidney beans

3 tbsp. chili powder

2 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. oregano

1 tbsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

Crushed red peppers to taste

In Cuisinart work bowl using metal blade, mince garlic, then chop onion with short on-off bursts. Saute for 10 minutes in large pot or Dutch oven. Chop meat in batches using same technique. (I always use ground beef instead. Already chopped.) Add meat to onions and brown. Pour juice from tomatoes in pan. Chop tomatoes in work bowl (don't puree them!) and add to pot. Add remaining ingredients and simmer uncovered 1 hour. Serve with chopped onions and grated cheese.

(Source: Cooks.com)

Between the chili and the appetizers and Barbara's seafood pasta salad, needless to say we were stuffed.

Happy New Year, everyone! (It's still the New Year, right?)

Oh, and happy belated birthday, Nick!