Sunday Dinner - Granny's Tetrazzini

As I've mentioned in the past, I love reliving family favorites for Sunday dinner. Dad and I have a wedding to attend today though, so we actually had Sunday Dinner last night. Temperatures the past couple of days have been ever so slightly cooler, hinting at the approach of autumn. This, of course, has me anxious to indulge in some richer flavors for dinner.

Nothing speaks better to that need for warming comfort food than my Granny's chicken tetrazzini. I remember when we were kids, this was my brother's favorite dish. He'd ask Granny to make it for him for his birthday dinner.

Like me, she doesn't follow recipes so much as methods. You just "doctor it up" until it tastes good. She uses evaporated milk in hers but I just use skim milk since that's what I have on hand. It would also taste great if you wanted to add in some mushrooms or peas but she made hers plain so that's how I do it.

1 whole chicken
1 package egg noodles
garlic or garlic powder
ground sage
ground thyme
ground nutmeg
salt & pepper
2 T flour
2 T olive oil
1 cup milk
1 cup grated parmesan

In a large stock pot, cover chicken with water. Season heavily with garlic, sage, thyme, nutmeg, salt & pepper. Boil gently until tender. Remove chicken from stock and set aside 2 cups of the stock. Add enough water to remaining stock in pot to boil the noodles. While stock returns to a boil, debone the chicken. Cook noodles according to package instructions and drain.

Return empty pot to burner then add olive oil and flour. Whisk over medium heat to make a roux. Gradually add in reserved stock and milk, whisking continuously. When slightly thickened, turn off heat, add parmesan and adjust seasoning to your taste. Mix together with noodles and deboned chicken.

Easy, peasy one-pot tetrazzini for serving up family style. Happy Sunday!

Boys on Bikes - Mom's Top 5

This cycling season is off and running. It's no great secret that I love watching dudes on bikes, but some stand out as most entertaining for one reason or another.

1. Fabian Cancellara rocks my socks probably more than any other. What a hottie and sweet beyond words. Spartacus is just the yummiest, no comparison.
2. Tom Boonen is precious but the way he powers over those cobbles in Paris-Roubais is super awesome. I was so disappointed he crashed out of Flanders this year because I was so looking forward to a Cancellara-Boonen top two podium. Get better sweetie-pie!
3. Philippe Gilbert clearly has the power to be a contender and a bit of an edge that makes him great to watch. Loves me some Phil!
4. Manuel Quinziato may not get as much camera time as some other guys but he's definitely a tall, dark & handsome drink of water. His rock star reputation is also fun enough to put him on my list. For some reason in my mind he's like a young Big George Hincapie, who isn't on my list only because he retired.
5. Not only is Jens Voigt a badass on the road, he's an amazing family man. I dig a dude my age who kicks ass that hard & still has so much fun doing it. 

Pedal on boys, I'll be watching!!

Gallbladders Are Overrated. Bring on the Onion Rings.

This has been a super sucktastic year to say the least. After totaling my car in the spring, I smashed my face in a cycling accident in the summer and wrapped it up with spending three days in the hospital getting my jacked up gallbladder removed in the fall. Just to really end the year on par, I had more oral reconstructive surgery done last week. Awesome.

Aside from enjoying a shit ton of quality pharmaceuticals, I have achieved precious little gratification lately. Now that my mouth is on the path to feeling better, after four months of fucked up teeth and a big-ass metal bar embedding itself into my gums, I'm ready to start enjoying some dinner.

If you've had your damned gallbladder out, you know how you're cautioned against eating fatty, fried or rich foods for fear of sudden explosive diarrhea and gut wrenching cramps. Since having mine out, I've done a little experimenting and I can tell you that "they" are full of shit and gallbladders are overrated.

Now, can I eat a mega order of greasy hash browns with fried eggs, bacon and gravy-laden biscuits for breakfast? No, not unless I want to spend the next two days in the shitter. But I can have some of each of those things and be just fine. And when I want a burger with onion rings, I can have some of that too and be just fine. The bottom line is folks, you can still enjoy tasty eats without having a gallbladder if you aren't a fucking glutton about it. I reckon everyone is different, some being more sensitive than others, but I certainly can enjoy rich, fatty or even fried foods in careful moderation on occasion without ill effects.

I'm still on holiday until next week and given this week's newfound dental freedom, I think some lunchtime nomming with the kidlets is in order. Stand back folks - we're hitting up Dairy-ette for some burgers and homemade root beer. Bring on the onion rings bitches!