In Which Maggie Debates Whether or Not to Believe a Comedian.

Of course, comedians love to joke around--that's they do it for a living, after all--so I wasn't sure what to make of this.
I was watching Amy Poehler (whom I adore) on Jay Leno. She said her son had an earache recently, and the pediatrician told her to make a poultice out of onions.
To make the poultice, saute onions in olive oil, stuff the warm mixture into a sock, and hold it against the affected ear.

I had to check this out, and in my web searching, I was able to verify the onion cure. I particularly liked this page, so I'm passing it on.
http://www.organicauthority.com/health/health/how-to-rapidly-relieve-an-earache-using-supplies-you-probably-already-have-in-your-home.html

Teriyaki Sauce, Some Assembly Required

I decided that we were having beef teriyaki skewers for dinner, and I wouldn't let the utter lack of teriyaki sauce in the fridge or cupboard come between us and succulent meat on a stick. Usually, I'd just buy some, but today I felt like making my own instead.

I searched the internet for a recipe to guide me and found this one.

Chris said he liked it better than regular store-bought teriyaki sauce, and I agreed. My version didn't have any MSG or high-fructose corn syrup, two ingredients often found in store-bought teriyaki sauce, but of which we are not fans.

THE MAGGIE'S TERIYAKI SAUCE

1 Cup soy sauce (I used a low-sodium variety with no MSG.)

1/4 Cup brown sugar

2 Tablespoons molasses

4 cloves garlic, crushed

1/4 cup olive oil

Bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Turn down to a simmer, still stirring frequently, for about 20 minutes.

BEEF TERIYAKI SKEWERS

--Cut steak into thin strips.

--Marinate the strips in the teriyaki sauce. I did mine for 6 hours. Depending on the cut of meat, you could do more or less. I was using top round steak, and if I use that cut next time, I will probably marinate it overnight to tenderize it better.

--Soak bamboo skewers in water for 20 minutes. Or use metal skewers.

--Preheat oven to 400F

--Line a baking sheet with foil.

--Run the skewers through the meat.

--Bake for about 15 minutes.

I "recycled" the teriyaki marinade to make fried rice. When re-using a marinade, one must boil it first to kill the germs from the meat.

First Post of 2011

Like dinner at my house lately, this blog post is thrown together from random ingredients.

First off, this is the Pumpkin-Sage Cream Sauce recipe I've made a few times for different groups, always to many compliments. It is very easy, but perhaps people hear "cream sauce from scratch" and it sounds like it should require lots of time, effort, and magic.
http://www.delish.com/recipefinder/pumpkin-sage-cream-sauce-3686


Junior's on Shrewsbury Street is one of our favorite places to go out to eat. It's near our home, and even closer to our credit union and its ATM, so we wind up there a lot. I have to thank my sister for introducing me to Junior's, back when she lived in that neighborhood.
http://www.juniorspizzagrille.com/
It's not just pizza, they have other offerings. Last night, I had the special: caramel apple glazed pork chops with garlic mashed potatoes and broccoli. Awesome.
For dessert, we split the fried dough sundae, which was two modest scoops of vanilla ice cream, about as much whipped cream as ice cream, and chunks of fried dough, with strawberry (or was it cherry) and chocolate glazes crisscrossing the top. Currently, a picture of the fried dough sundae is on their website.
The coolest thing about Junior's is that it used to be a service station garage before they converted it to a restaurant, and they kept the big garage doors. In the summer, they do have outdoor seating, but if you'd rather be a little more sheltered, you can sit inside the doors and feel like you're "outside enough", and it also makes the whole restaurant feel more open.

New Year's Eve day found us out and about doing errands, so we went to lunch at Moe's in Shrewsbury.
Moe's is a franchise chain, one might call it "quick casual", serving Tex-Mex cuisine: burritos, tacos, etc. I got a vegetarian burrito (the "Art Vandalay") and the vegetarian salad (the "Personal Trainer") to have for dinner later. (Hooray for the buy one get one coupon!) The only thing Chris (the picky eater) eats there is the chips with the queso, a generous little bowl of hot white cheese dip, but he enjoys it. Everything at Moe's is made to order, so you can get just what you want, and vegetarian dishes are easily made vegan by skipping cheese and sour cream.

I got a subscription to Cooking Light magazine for Christmas. Yay.

Happy New Year!