Fish.

You'll be hard pressed to find a fish dish that I like.

I liked this one.

Yep. Cell phone shots on the blog.

(Because I didn't feel like looking for my camera.)

I'll also ask you not to judge my paper plate. Less dishes for me!

Steamed Broccoli. Salmon with dijon-cream sauce. Mushroom "ruse-otto".

I think I've posted about my mushroom risotto on here before. Either way, simmer a little EVOO in a skillet. Add in some (risotto snobs, look away now) Minute rice and stir it around to coat. Add in a little chicken broth and/or white wine (I used both), let the first batch of liquid get absorbed before adding the second and so on and so forth. Do this until the rice is cooked, adding in some chopped mushrooms (or not) before hand. Shred in some cheese. I usually use Parmesan, tonight I used Romano. Also pour in some heavy cream or half and half (take a wild guess as to which of those I used). Stir it around until creamy. Add in salt, pepper, and fresh parsley.

I won't get into how to steam broccoli. Mainly because I steamed mine in a glass cereal bowl in the microwave. Carry on.

Salmon. I only know one way to cook fish. With the exception of one adventure into beer battered halibut long ago, I've only ever made salmon. So, take the skin off your salmon fillet unless you're into that kind of thing. Season each side with salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Melt a little butter in a pan and let it heat up before throwing the salmon on. I cooked mine for 5-7 minutes...I think...before putting it in the oven. How hot was the oven? Couldn't tell you. It was on broil. I left the salmon in there for 7 minutes because at 5 minutes it didn't look quite done enough. I really couldn't tell you what salmon is supposed to look like when it's done, but it was flaky and delicious, and that's all I care about.

After the salmon was done I melted some butter (real butter...any butter I talk about is real, salted butter unless stated otherwise) in a bowl, whisked in a little dijon mustard, cream, and black pepper, and poured it over the fish.

Very good.

Which is high praise coming from someone who really doesn't like fish.

A Food Post On My Food Blog.

What a novel concept!

Jumping right in...

Spinach and Artichoke Dip.

Last week I got rocked with a craving for two of my favorite things: spinach and artichoke dip and homemade salsa. I decided to make the spinach and artichoke dip first.

When it comes to artichokes, I like bigger chunks. The spinach I just forgot to chop. Keepin' it real...

 Chop part of a white onion and some garlic, and cook them in EVOO until the onions are transluscent. Add the spinach until it's wilted. Drain it, squeeze it, do whatever it is that YOU like to do to get the moisture out. Add a little milk to a pan and heat it up. Melt in a block of fat-free cream cheese. It doesn't have to be fat-free, of course, but using fat-free made me feel a little less guilty about the seventeen different kinds of cheese I bought and plan to use these next two weeks. Grate up some parmesan and toss that in as well. Add in whatever you feel like to spice it up. I used a few shakes of Franks Red Hot, a few shakes of Worcestershire, sea salt and fresh ground pepper. Mix it all together, and throw in the artichokes. Finally, add the spinach/garlic/onion mixture back in and stir it around to combine.

It was...decent. Chopping the spinach would have helped me some, and I would also add in more salt than I did and something else to give it a bit more of a kick. Luckily though, I do not discriminate when it comes to spinach and artichoke dip.

Three-Cheese Four-Cheese Pasta.

Confused yet? Not to worry. The crazy title is due to my limited options at the deli counter. This is the recipe I used as my inspiration.

Believe it or not, I chose to make this because I've gotten a little tired of Fettuccine Alfredo. (Insert gasp here.) I followed PW's instructions almost to a "T", except for the fact that I don't measure things, I used three cheeses - not four (hence the title), I didn't need to add in any of the pasta water, and I didn't rub the plate with garlic before serving because I forgot. (To quote Ron White: "Do you ever forget? It happens to me.") The cheeses I used were Parmesan, Romano, and Gouda. I think I used equal amounts of each. It was delicious. Any better for me than Alfredo? Meh. It was good enough that I honestly don't care. I do want to mention that while my serving was amazing, before I tossed the rest out I snuck a bite from the bottom (cheese sauce drenched) portion of the bowl, and it was the closest thing I have had to a religious experience in a long time. So, so good.

What I Ate at Home.

Omaha, Nebraska is not the culinary capital of the world.

However, it is in the United States, so to me it was nothing less than a cornucopia of deliciousness.

I got to enjoy both of my parents' cooking, as well as some Orsi's pizza, but mainly I went out to my favorites to eat. A lot.

Taco John's. My favorite. I would live there if they would let me. Does it have any nutritionally redeeming qualities? Probably not. But that didn't stop me from splitting a 'six pack and a pound' with whoever I could get to partake. Three soft tacos, potato oles, and a side of nacho cheese to round it all out. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

Ahh. Panera. Who doesn't love Panera Bread? I have always loved this place, and I got hooked again when I was home. I think it was three times that I ended up here. Each time I ordered the same thing: half a Greek salad and a cup of chicken noodle. Phenomenal.

Arby's really doesn't need an explanation. Some may wonder why it is on here at all. Because I live in Japan, that's why. Beef & Cheddar with curly fries and a side of cheese, please.

Greek Islands, Omaha:

No trip home is complete without a stop at Greek Islands. For starters, they serve Orsi bread, and that's enough to love right there. I order the same thing every time, the souvlaki dinner with greek potatoes. I have never and will never finish an entire serving, but it is definitely worth the try.

Biaggi's:

My trip home marked my second outing to this West-O restaurant. The first was years and years ago when I believed that Italian food consisted of spaghetti and meatballs and nothing else. A little older, a little wiser, and probably a little hungrier, I went for the shrimp and crab cannelloni. There was shrimp. There was crab. There were multiple cheeses. There was lobster cream sauce. And it was wrapped in spinach pasta. Fantastic.

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There were more foods, more restaurants, hell there were actually more cities, but these are the ones that stuck with me. That and the fact that they serve LaMesa nachos at Lancers games now. If you happen to run into whoever came up with that idea, give them a kiss on the mouth from me.

Oh My.

This blog went straight to hell now didn't it?

Needless to say, I haven't done a whole lot of cooking in the 4+ months that Chris has been gone. Sad, but true. I was rocking through the first months of the deployment with work and friends. Then I spent a month at home. I came back the second week of January, and I am just now really getting back into the kitchen.

No, I really mean it this time! I cleaned it and everything today. And I baked! Cookies AND banana bread. See! It has only taken 22 years, but the baking skills are coming right along.

Now about the whole "cooking blog going to hell" thing...

Let's see what we can do about that.

There is a Kitchen in My House?

Funny, I've been using it for storage!

My, it has been a few, hasn't it? I have probably cooked one meal since birthday week. The following week was dominated by finals, and last week was dominated by illness. Basically, I have been eating (in order) lasagna, leftover lasagna, nothing, hand-delivered Ramen (I have amazing friends), soup, nothing, whatever sounded good, and chili dogs.

Not much in there that would make a good blog post.

However, I am making stew tonight (party hard, I know), and I found a few pictures on my phone from a restaurant Chris and I went to a few months ago.

So for the second or third time in two months, I will get back into the swing of things and start posting a little more often around here.

All Grown Up.

I'll let you in on a little secret...

With the exception of the rare spinach-based salad, I have never made a salad with anything but iceberg lettuce.

Not that iceberg lettuce is bad by any means, I've just learned that it doesn't really fit well with some types of salad.

So, this week, I expanded my salad horizons and made, what I consider, a grown up salad.

I have no idea what besides spinach was in this mix I bought, but it said organic, and it looked fancy so I went for it.

The rest of the ingredients were based off of The Pioneer Woman's Steak Salad, which is based off of the steak salad from Dave and Buster's.

Mine included: Mixed greens, tomatoes, pecans, 5-cheese italian blend, blue cheese dressing, steak, fresh ground pepper, and PW's Onion Strings.

It was fantastic, and actually it was my first steak salad ever. 

Oh how I have grown since iceberg lettuce and Kraft singles.

(Again, not that that is not tasty in its own right.)

Want me to prove how (else) I've grown?

Ahh, birthdays. You get to eat cake, and someone else does the baking. Nothing wrong there!

The 100th.

This post is the 100th of KO Kitchen, and I'm sad to say it won't be anything special.

But maybe, just maybe, it will be the post that gets me back on track in the kitchen!

The following is simply my meal plan for the upcoming week. 

Sunday:

Baked Macaroni and Cheese

On another note, I cannot wait to make PW's "Fancy Macaroni" again. However, it won't be this week.

Monday:

This Steak Salad.

I'll be swapping the dressing for a different kind, I'm not sure what yet.

Tuesday:

BLT's

Wednesday:

Cheese Roll House for my Birthday. Hooray!

Thursday:

My Alfredo Pizza

I know, I know. Macaroni and Cheese, Cheese Roll, and this?! It's my birthday week. That's my only excuse.

Friday:

Lasagna

Saturday:

Caprese Chicken