sybarites

Et voila!   The results of a week’s worth of cheap meals.

Bacon and Squash-filled Crepes with Salsa Verde – a recipe pinched from Simpatica Dining Hall in Portland, Oregon.   Admittedly, the bacon was rather pricier than the other ingredients (flour, squash, parsley, eggs) but when one considers that the bacon we purchased was used in a two other meals during the week, the price evens out a bit;   at most, there was a third of a pound of bacon in this filling.  Mmmmm..   baaaacon.

What is really amusing is that as we were eating this for supper in front of the TV, a commercial came on for Applebee’s advertising their new “why spend $20 on a meal at home [cut to image of bucket of chicken] when you can come in to Applebee’s for a meal for two for the same price?”   And I’m thinking:  a)  dinner at home does NOT cost $20,   b)  dinner at home has the added bonus of leftovers for lunch the next day, and c)  Applebee’s?  ugh.  mozzarella-wrapped parmesan chicken breast with potatoes and breadsticks is not something  I would relish eating, let alone paying $20 for.     How much did our crepes cost?  …. roughly $4 per person?  Scrumptious (from the bacon) and filling (from the butternut squash) and SOO much better than either bucket-ized  or encheesened-chicken.

There was a sale on brussels sprouts at the grocery which afforded me yet another opportunity to try my hand at replicating the glorious, beloved roasted brussels sprouts from Eos Wine Salon down the street.  I cannot resist ordering these beauties each time we go and though I have tried, I have never successfully been able to make them at home.  I guess the sixth time is a charm because finally, I have mastered the roasted sprout!   Tossed with olive oil, a splash of sesame oil, minced garlic, salt and pepper, roasted and then drizzled with more sesame oil, soy sauce, sugar and black and white sesame seeds.  A little crunchy, a little bitter, caramelized, savoury and cheap!    Aha!  Cheap makes it taste even better-  the seventh taste, after umami.

Lastly, we have the home-made perogy with sauteéd cabbage.  We rarely see perogies in San Francisco so Marc determined to make his own.  It would seem that perogy-making is an art, has an element of dexterity associated wtih it.   That the dough is maddenly springy and that the stuffing may not touch the edges of the dough, lest the filling burst forth during boiling, make these frustratingly difficult to make.   Make them we did, however, frying them in hot sauce after boiling to give them a crispy, piquant edge.   Superb.