This Weekend's Culinary Adventures

In case you didn't know already, I love all things food related: cooking, eating, fancy kitchen appliances, etc. I enjoy reading cookbooks (even if I don't make a single thing in them).  I love trying new recipes and searching for the perfect menu for my next culinary adventure.  This weekend, we made/ate a few things worth writing about:

• Homemade bread.  We used the same recipe as usual, but the taste wasn't quite as good as last time.  I think we may have used all purpose flour instead of bread flour for the biga.  It was still delicious. We mix the bread in the bread maker, but cook it in the oven.  So, it makes it a little easier, but you still get the nice natural shape.  Speaking of nice natural shapes, Dr. Adkins is really missing out.  He may be trim, but is definitely lacking in overall quality of life by omitting the carbs.
• Guinness Float.  A recent issue of Rachel Ray magazine included a recipe for a Guinness Float, which I decided to give a try since we weren't hungry for dinner on Saturday night.  Basically, its vanilla ice cream in Guinness.  Her recipe actually called for whipped cream too, but I omitted that.  I would have been smarter to have omitted the whole idea.  It was terrible.  Good thing I picked up some root beer too.  If sharing my experience prevents anyone from trying this on their own, the world will be a better place.
• Chicken Meat Loaf.  In May 2003, Real Simple ran a recipe for Chicken Meat Loaf.  I made it for the first time then, and have probably had it 1-2 additional times.  I remember it being delicious, but very involved, which is why we don't eat it more often.  Since we planned on sticking around Cartersville today, I decided it was a good time to try it again.  First there was the steaming of the chicken.  I did this by putting it in a strainer in a pot with a lid.  I could only steam one breast half at a time.  So, 40 min later the chicken was done and I had lots of dishes to clean.  After cutting up the chicken, I got the rest of the stuff together, which required not only more time and dishes, but also the use of a food processor, shelling pistachios, grating apple, peeling carrots, and cutting/measuring a bunch of other stuff.  I have the loaves in the refrigerator now, so I am hoping they will be as good as I remember when I cook them tonight.

Jay and I are still struggling with finding the right balance of how much to get at the grocery store on the weekends to last us through the week, while not getting so much we end up throwing stuff away.  Our latest solution, which we think really might work, is keeping a few frozen meals on hand and shopping for no more than three meals for our weekly grocery trip.  Factoring in leftovers and a couple weekend meals out, I think this will work out well.  This week, we have planned for chicken meat loaf with green beans and salad; steak with broccoli and roasted potatoes; and a mix of mashed white beans, sauteed grape tomatoes, steamed zucchini and roasted cauliflower.