I Want To Create A Masterpiece Today!

Time to commence the preparation of this meal but first I will open the bottle and taste the wine, I will accompany the tasting with some Roquefort Cheese.

The wine tasting was exceptional, I will be going back to the grocery store and buying up the remaining bottles of this wine off the shelve.

That looks great Mario and great presentation, too. Right now I’m in ramen mode, you can add anything to it.. shrimp, bok choy, cabbage, egg.. it’s easy, it’s not fancy but it’s pretty good.

Thank you Ken!,yes in deed Ken, I'm a ramen noodle fan as well, it's a perfect canvas for adding colorful flavors!

Mario,

Now that's a MASTERPIECE!!


As I'm typing, BumbleBee brand Italian Style clam sauce, with cauliflower and red pepper is bubbling on one burner

And Stop & Shop egg noodles on another.

Not Quite a masterpiece.


Back to the stove

Roger, I’ve developed a real appreciation for cauliflower in recent years, I chop some up and use ranch dressing for a dip.. Ken’s Steakhouse Ranch is good. I think I might like it better than broccoli, it has a milder taste.

Voila!



It's getting cold

Looks good! I see what you’ve done with the cauliflower.. that’s gotta be tasty.

Roger, I say you have a winner there! Looks mighty appetizing to me and probably healthier than mine which was really tasty but very rich with the heavy cream, I can't eat like this ever day for health reasons not to mention how freaken expensive it gets. :-) In order to keep cost down, mine was a late lunch and early dinner all in one.. Lol!

The meal turned out really well and the wine, well let's just say the entire bottle disappeared really quick, now I'm just waiting for Alina to finish doing the dishes so she can make her authentic Cuban coffee to finish things off. Then we go to the bay and walk this one off. :-)

The meal knocked me out for a short nap,but no meal is complete until the final shot of Godiva white chocolate liqueur.

the end..........................

Mario, I too have been more creative in the kitchen lately rather than on canvas. Not as flamboyant as yours, but still quite appealing to the taste buds. I have recently been turned onto baked artichokes, they are so much better than steamed or boiled. It is better to steam the artichokes first but not completely. The other day I also baked brussel sprouts, also very delicious. They would have been good over fettuccine noodles with Alfredo sauce.

Ken, know what is also good is Ranch dressing with BBQ sauce. 2 parts Ranch 1 part BBQ sauce. I actually like a little less BBQ sauce. Great salad dressing. It is the way they make it at Kinders.

Mario,

My parents and I went out to a French restaurant in town this afternoon. Had a very good lunch. Dad short ribs, mom salmon, and my the crispy fish sandwich. We had some warm french bread with butter.

Good time, nice as they age.



Dave Bridburg Bridburg.com Postmodernism Art Gallery

How humble our take out from Applebee's seems in comparison. I had the orange chicken bowl. :O(

Bill Tomsa

https://bill-tomsa.pixels.com

Tara, I cook artichokes often and I love them as they are a super food antioxidant but I have never had them baked, I will have to try that maybe when I make them stuffed next time

I don't want to give the impression I eat and cook this way every day, I'd be broke if I did. Lol! I have always enjoyed fine dinning, to me that could mean a simple bowel of pasta with olive oil and parmesan cheese and a glass of red wine just the same.

David, that is awesome that your parents get around and your able to spend time with them and fine dinning in a French restaurant at that! :-)

Bill it's all about what is appetizing to one at the moment, I call a can of good sardines in olive and soda crackers a meal at times (some awesome omegas in them too). :-)

Today though, I had the creative cooking streak in me,just a way to treat ourselves after completing several customer projects Alina and I do in our home repair business since we gave ourselves a few down time days this week, the year started off well for us so it's nice to indulge every now and then when we can.

I also shred brussell sprouts and sauté them in butter, fresh garlic, a little olive oil, mushrooms and green onions. Don't sauté them too long or they get bitter. I bake chicken breasts in butter, Italian dressing, olive oil, and make a sauce out of Jimmy Dean country gravy as my stock. Put the chicken on the bed of brussell sprouts and the sauce over everything. Definitely not low calorie.

"Cooking-as-Art" is the ultimate consumerism!!!

Love it Jack !!! Makes my mouth water.

If you don't like your creation, you just it eat and never have to look at it again. :-)

Tara, I like the Brussell sprouts cooked like that, the chicken though I wouldn't be allowed to eat with the Jimmy Dean gravy unless it was low sodium, I would just bake, roast or grill the chicken and spice it up with some home made chimichurri sauce, made with extra virgin olive oil, parsley,sea salt,black pepper, garlic,apple cider vinegar and a dash of red pepper flake.

Today's master pieces include, Sicilian style roasted red peppers on the grill, Organic, grass fed N.Y strip stakes and andouille sausages cooked on the grill with a homemade chimichurri Argentine steak sauce, a salad of organic tender red lettuce made with vine ripe tomatoes and red onion dressed with apple cider vinegar and a drizzle of aged balsamic glaze and olive oil, some grilled pineapple wedges all accompanied by a bottle of Diseño Malbec 2017 old vine vintage from Mendoza, Argentina and a German soft ripened blue cheese as appetizer. For dessert some Lindt 85% dark chocolate and a small serving of Flan in it's caramel sauce, and finally to finish off the meal an authentic hand whipped Cuban Coffee made by Alina, followed by a shot of Godiva white chocolate liqueur ,then we go for a long walk by the bay.

I will try to give a visual of this using my new vimeo video account unless I just get caught up in the making of this meal. :-)

A most important part of every master piece meal is the selection of the ingredients.

I absolutely love pineapple... I caramelized carrots, red onions, garlic, and honey.... then added some pineapple slices. I have thought for a long time that red onions and carrots would taste nice together. Nummy !!!!

Tara,once I tried the pineapple slices sprinkled with cinnamon then grilled I was hooked, it adds the perfect amount of sweetness and acidic flavor to any meal.

I'm trying to compose a video of today's cooking in action and a candid view of Alina, buddy and me in this unedited video. I should have it ready shorty as I'm finding my way around vimeo since youtube closed my account without notice.

Okay, now I am hungry!

Lol!, wait till I show you the video Lisa. :-)

Darn you, Mario! You need to cut this out. I have to go find something in the fridge now. I managed to lose 25 pounds in a two year span and every time I see one of these threads of yours, I actually hesitate to come in here because it makes me go eat, but that seafood dish looks to die for!

I'm going to get a couple little red skin potatoes out of the fridge and put a dollop of non fat yogurt on them, and maybe sprinkle on some parsley flakes, but it won't be the same as your masterpiece :-(. Sigh.....

Sorry Mary, this is all diet and healthy food,as long as you just visually indulge . :-)

Ah, a masterpiece meal! Excellent idea, Mario! :D

Ah, thank you Chante!

So here goes, I'm posting this with my Vimeo paid account but I'm not to crazy about it, I asked for a refund as the plus account, their basic paid account is limited in features for $84 per year. I'm sure this video has some glitches too, had problem setting the audio. Learning curve.

I think your video came out pretty good, so did your food looks like. Hahahahaha.... I might have to try BBQ carrots.

Thanks Tara, the wine was not bad either. :-) Just got back from that long walk now, need to burn off those calories so we can do this again tomorrow.

It looked amazing, enjoyed watching! Thank you for sharing.

Nice, Mario. I didn't dare watch it last night. I was at the top of my calorie limit LOL.

Thank you Lisa, glad to hear you enjoyed, the tango music got overlapped on that video it was hard to listen to. :-)

I hear you Mary, late night about all I do is green tea! :-)


Time to close this thread now, until the next inspiration for a masterpiece meal awakens. :-)