I know it’s Easter, so a lot of you are cooking and eating some yummy things today. Having successfully resisted the urge to bake hamantaschen (though not the bittersweet chocolate-dried cherry muffins from a back issue of Gourmet), I’m currently eating a lovely dinner of penne with sauted onions, portobello mushrooms, red, yellow, and orange bell peppers, goat cheese, and homemade pesto. How about you?
Meat.
Feh. I’m having my dining room and living room painted, so the house stinks, and I don’t like cooking in it. It’s been this way for seven days now.
We all went out for dinner on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, but I’ve cooked at home since. But now the dining room credenza, where the kitchen stereo lives, is covered in plastic wrap and I can’t listen to music while I cook.
(The piano is covered in plastic, too. So I have my saxophone put together and waiting for me in the bedroom.)
I had been planning an Easter supper, frying thick slices of Black Forest ham, simmering lima beans with onions, red pepper, and chicken stock, and doing a potato casserole au gratin. Ukulele Lady and Banjo are away visiting grandparents in Chicago, so it’s just me and Pianola here.
I was in the mood for brick oven four-cheese pizza, but she’s crabby in a teenage girl way, so I humored her and we went out for sushi instead.
Orange juice and water; I’m fasting.
I celebrated the resurrection of my Lord by grillin’ up a pork product!
Funny you should ask. I was sitting around doing nothing this afternoon when I took the odd notion to make Beef Stroganoff. The last time I tried to make it was way back in college, and it was a disaster, and I guess I’d picked up some kind of mental block about Stroganoff being difficult to make. This afternoon I just did what the cookbook said, and presto: Delicious Beef Stroganoff!
Reminds me of an old joke. Unfortunately, I’ve already given away the punch line, so I’ll put the question in a spoiler box:
Q: What do you call a bunch of bulls standing in a field and masturbating?
A: Beef Stroganoff.
My mother in law bought a HoneyBaked ham. I look forward to making a gigantic pot of pinto beans with the bone this week, followed the next day by homemade frijoles refritos (with LARD!!). Yeah, I’m partial to pigmeat and products 
Today I cooked corned beef and cabbage. I’m not sure about the cabbage, but I think it’s kind of Atkins-y.
MEAT ONIONS RICE
I made ham, Rosie’s Potatoes, and steamed asparagus. Rosie’s Potatoes are (is?) a recipe my mom stole from her friend Rosemary and made into her own. (One time Rosemary called me up to ask for the recipe!) They’re kind of au gratin or scalloped or something. What they are is yummy!
Rosie’s Potatoes
5-6 medium potatoes, peeled and sliced thinly
1 c milk
2 tbs butter
1 tbs corn starch
about 2 inches of Velveeta, cubed
2 green onions, sliced thinly
3 tbs sour cream
salt and pepper
Parboil the potato slices until just tender. Drain and place in a greased baking dish. Salt and pepper and toss a little. Whisk together the milk and corn starch in a medium saucepan. Add butter, and bring to a boil over medium heat. Stir a lot so it doesn’t scorch. When it starts to thicken, add the Velveeta and stir until melted. Remove from heat, and add the green onions and sour cream. Stir it all up, and pour over the potatoes. Bake at 350° for about 40 minutes, until all golden brown and bubbly. Enjoy!