Main Dish

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Pork Piccata

I love veal piccata, but veal is ridiculously expensive, if you can even find it at the market. Author Jeff Smith introduced this pork version in his Frugal Gourmet cookbook. I think it’s one of the best recipes in the whole book. As usual, I’ve tweaked it a bit. This is how I make it.

This is a great dinner choice for hot weather. You don’t have to turn on the oven, and the time spent over the stove is minimal. Plus, the lemon flavor seems refreshing on summer evenings.

I make pork piccata for company quite a bit, as pork roasts are relatively inexpensive. This Italian recipe goes well with asparagus or broccoli, and a white bean salad. If you make the salad ahead of time, and have the veggies ready to microwave or steam, you won’t need to spend too much time at the stove instead of with your guests. (If you try to make the pork ahead of time, the sauce seems to disappear into the meat.)
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French Chicken Sauté

Valentine’s Day is coming, and who knows more about being romantic than the French? This month’s recipe is my own take on French cooking. Try serving it with asparagus in browned butter, almond rice pilaf, and a salad of butter lettuce with French vinaigrette dressing. Dip strawberries in melted chocolate for dessert. Don’t forget the candles.

This recipe serves four. You can either cook just two pieces of chicken instead of four, or save the other half to reheat in a few days.
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Company Meals

The phone rings about three o’clock on a busy afternoon. Pete wants to bring someone home for dinner. Is it all right with me? With a hurried look at my to-do list, and a quick prayer for help, I agree. He hangs up happy, and I start wracking my brain. I’m suddenly feeding someone I’ve never met before. What should I serve?

This is actually a pretty common scenario at our house. Pete collaborates with ministries all over the world, and he frequently invites out-of-town visitors for a home-cooked meal. As hostess, I want to make these guests feel welcome, while filling them with good food. With years of practice, I’ve learned some helpful tips, which I now pass on to you.

For the most part, you can serve your company the same food you’d normally eat. It is their part to be gracious and thankful for whatever you offer. Don’t feel pressured into putting on a special feast, or spending a lot on expensive ingredients. Not everyone is a gourmet chef.

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Kreny’s Hoisin Chicken

Time for a recipe break. With a long-delayed Spring finally arriving in our part of the world, it’s time to fire up the grill. While our son-in-law is a BBQ chef extraordinaire, I too have a few recipes that are family (and guest) favorites.

Corinne Chan Straume“Kreny’s Hoisin Chicken” is one such family tradition. “Kreny” (my college roommate and good friend, Corinne) taught it to me [insert codger voice] way back in ’75. Pete and I enjoyed it at the BBQ following our wedding rehearsal, almost 30 years ago. Then our daughter Karin, and her fiancé, Ian, requested I grill some Kreny’s Hoisin Chicken for their wedding rehearsal three years ago, not knowing we had done the same thing. Last year our other daughter, Teri, and her fiancé, Jeremy, asked me to make it for their wedding rehearsal dinner. Yes, it’s that good.

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Chicken Paprika

After 10 days in warm, sunny Arizona, we arrived back in Colorado just in time for a blizzard. The thermometer is at 28 and falling. While the snow accumulates outside, I’m craving something warm and comforting to fill up my insides. Tonight I’m making this Chicken Paprika, with wide noodles, steamed broccoli and lots of hot tea.

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