a culinary tour

We've been giving physical tours of our house for a couple months now, and now that we're finally able to cook there, I thought I'd give a little taste (hee hee) of what we've been cooking up in our fab new kitchen. While we did accomplish a lot of work this past weekend, we also made eating a priority. (but when is it not, really?)

We started with a nice lunch to welcome Mom and Dave on Friday afternoon, which we soon followed with a trip to the amazing Italian deli, Mastellone's, nearby to stock up on some goods for dinner later.

After dinner, we had some canneloni with ice cream, and the two chocoholics had to add some hot fudge. I know these two are only in-laws, but there seem to be a lot of similarities...

On Saturday we were so caught up in our work that we ate out for lunch and dinner. Here we are enjoying some Charcoal Grill, a local bbq favorite.

Getting to dinner was an adventure...we were determined to introduce Dave to MD crabs, and when Kyle asked me if I knew how to get to Mr. Bill's, the restaurant where I wanted to eat, I uttered my famous "I'll know it when I see it". Well, that turned into an adventure in which we saw several other places in Essex with interesting names (Mom's favorite being Mr. B's 7 Day Package) and finally ended up at Mr. Bill's only to find a 1.5 hour wait. So, we headed over to Bluefin's Bar and Grill instead and had a rollicking good time.

More ice cream and hot fudge when we got home...Mom and I teamed up on Sunday to make a special Father's Day breakfast. We used recipes from the b&b where Kyle stayed on our honeymoon. One was so fabulous, I have to share.

Cobblestone Hobo Breakfast

Potatoes: 5 large, new red potatoes; 1 large onion, chopped; 1 T butter;
1 T oil; paprika for browning agent; salt and pepper to taste; 3 T chopped parsley

Cream Sauce: 1/4 cup butter; 1/2 cup flour; 1 cup half and half; 1 T lemon juice; 1/4 cup crumbled bacon; salt and pepper to taste

8 eggs, poached; 1 cup grated cheddar cheese; 1 T white vinegar

Potatoes: Boil in salted water until just tender, 20 to 30 minutes. Drain, cool, and cut into cubes. Chop onion and saute until tender, then set aside. In a separate pan, melt 1 T butter with oil and add potatoes, paprika and salt and pepper to taste. Fry, stirring as little as possible, until brown and crisp. Stir in parsley and onions.

Poached eggs: Fill a saute pan half full with water and 1 T white vinegar. Bring to a boil and crack 8 eggs gently into water. Poach about 4 minutes and remove carefully with a slotted spoon. Drain on paper towels.Cream Sauce: Melt butter in a small saucepan. Add flour and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly for 2 to 3 minutes. Add half & half and cook until thickened, adding more if necessary. Add lemon juice, bacon bits, salt and pepper to taste.

Place a layer of the potatoes in a quiche pan. Reheat in oven, then add a layer of grated cheese and return it to oven to melt. Gently place poached eggs on top of the hot mixture. Top with dollops of cream sauce and a small piece of parsley. Serve hot.
YUM! Here was breakfast dessert:
And ready to eat...with the special guy looking ravenous after a ride through the ghettos of East Baltimore!