Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

Hi!

I made these for dinner when Kristen was our guest blogger.  Mark and I tend to really go for it with these blog meals since it's not an every day thing (we get together for dinner a few times a month) which I love...but for this meal I was looking for something delicious but a little lighter, these really fit the bill.  They are super healthy and super delicious.   These are fine as a main course if you have a filling side (we had baked sweet potatoes) but if you are serving these on their own I would make 2 caps per person.

Also I had some leftovers of the filling fixin's and I cooked them up and topped with a poached egg for breakfast.  yum!  The recipe is from Epicurious.

Yield: Serves 2 2 portobello mushrooms 1 teaspoon olive oil 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar Salt and black pepper 1 leek, thinly sliced and rinsed clean (white and light green parts only) 2 cups spinach leaves 1/2 cup canned white kidney or cannellini beans, drained and rinsed 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese Preheat the oven to 450°F. Set the mushrooms gill side up on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with the oil and vinegar and season with salt and pepper. Bake for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray; place over medium heat. Add the leek; cook for 5 minutes, stirring. Add the spinach a handful at a time, stirring constantly, until it cooks down. Stir in the beans and salt and pepper to taste; cook for 1 minute to combine the flavors. Fill the mushroom cavities with the spinach mixture. Sprinkle with the cheese. Bake for 10 minutes, until the mushrooms are warmed through and the cheese is melted. Serve.

Fish Tacos

Hey!

These fish tacos were really good.  They weren't exactly like the kind that seem the most common in here Los Angeles (fish in chunks, lots of cabbage) but I liked trying them a different way.  The marinated onions were especially good, and the seasoning in the fish was spot on.  I got the recipe from Epicurious.  I've made them both with Mahi Mahi and with Tilapia...Both versions were good but I liked the Tilapia better.  I also used creme fraiche instead of crema.

I served these with a black bean, corn and rice salad that was also super good.

Yield: Serves 4

1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
About 1 1/2 cups red wine vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons ancho chile powder
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 cup lightly packed fresh cilantro leaves, chopped, plus more for garnish
1 jalapeño, stemmed and chopped
1 pound flaky white fish (such as mahi mahi or cod), cut into 4 pieces
Salt
8 fresh corn tortillas
Mexican crema, homemade or store-bought
Fresh Tomato Salsa
2 limes, cut into quarters

Marinate the Onion

Put the onion in a small bowl and pour in enough red wine vinegar to cover well. Set aside for at least 30 minutes or up to several weeks.

Marinate the Fish

Pour the olive oil into a small bowl and add the ancho chile powder, oregano, cumin, chopped cilantro, and jalapeño. Mix well. Place the fish on a dish and pour the marinade over it, making sure to coat the fish well on both sides. Allow to marinate for 20 minutes.

Cook the Fish

Heat a nonstick sauté pan over medium-high heat. Remove the fish from the marinade and place in the hot pan (there is no need to add more oil). Season the fish with salt. Cook the fish for 4 minutes undisturbed, then turn over, and cook for another 2 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and flake the fish into the pan with a fork, making sure to mix in all the marinade that has stuck to the bottom of the pan. Check for seasoning and add more salt if necessary. Set aside.

Heat the Tortillas

Place four of the tortillas on a plate and sandwich them between two slightly dampened sheets of paper towel. Microwave on high for 45 seconds. Place the warm tortillas in a towel-lined basket or plate and cover. Repeat with the remaining tortillas.

Assemble and Serve

To assemble the tacos, place a heaping spoonful of the marinated flaked fish onto the center of a tortilla. Top with the marinated onions. Serve accompanied by Mexican crema and salsa.

Garnish with lime wedges and cilantro sprigs.

Read More http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/printerfriendly/Fish-Tacos-352976#ixzz2OswIPtZr

Nixon vs Kennedy

Hi Laurel here...This episode we see the office having a party for the election returns, among other things...

After all the higher ups leave (Don, Cooper) we see all of the other office people hanging out for the election returns.  When they runout of booze early on they convince Joan to break into the supply closet of which the only surplus is creme de menthe.  They put it into a 5 gallon water cooler and go to town...with disasterous results.  Many employees stay over, but the ones who didn't come int he next morning to find a disheveled office and green barf in the trash cans.

Also we learn so much about Don's past this episode..it turns out he swapped identities with a fellow soldier who died in a freak accident while they were both at a hospital base camp by themselves.  When the real Don Draper dies, Dick Whitman (who we know as Don) seizes the opportunity to switch dog tags and become a new person...Dick Whitman is dead, Don Draper lives anew.   I get it why Dick wanted to take on a new identity, but I feel like he sort of handles things terribly.  The new Don Draper is assigned with taking dead Dick Whitman home.  When his family comes to meet the casket, former Dick Whitman (who we now know as Don) refuses to get off the train and avoids his former family completely, leaving them to believe he is dead.  When Dick's brother finds him 10 years later (in an earlier episode) Dick/Don just shuts him down and refuses to acknowledge his former brother.  How is he going to handle this with the real Don Draper's surviving family?  Time will tell.

Pete knows all about this due to his snooping into Don's mail..he intercepts a package from Dick/Don's brother with pictures and other evidence about his past.  But when he tries to rat Dick/Don out to Cooper, Cooper's attitude is...who fucking cares?  I don't know if it is because Don has been so successful at the agency or because he is a war veteran himself, either way, the secret identity doesn't bother him.  It bothers him more that snively Pete was a tattletale.

Mark here...I agree with Laurel's assessment of the episode.  One thing we haven't ever mentioned is how good the show is about providing a historical context.  Granted, these guys are all Nixon guys but it's nice to see the way the election plays out.  It's clearly a tight election, and we see the night play out as such.  In the beginning the staff is celebrating (on creme de menthe...ooof!), but slowly the hangover takes over, at the same time as Kennedy is declared the winner.

One thing I missed, which Laurel pointed out to me, was that Don's secret brother commits suicide at the beginning of the episode, before sending him the package that Pete attempts to black mail him with. We don't know yet if Don knows about the suicide.  It's a tragic storyline though, as we learn Don's past.  He clearly wants to be rid of the past he grew up with.  In the previous episode we learned (via his conversation with Rebecca Menkin) that he's the son of a prostitute and a man who passed away...leaving him in the custody of the man's wife.  Understandably (during the times), the wife is none to thrilled to be stuck with young Don.  The brother was the one link left to this life...but clearly the brother didn't grow up able to blend into Don's new life, so Don banished him.  This crushed the brother, as he had held on to his last memories of Don.

Another interesting storyline is when Don's history is going to be revealed (via Pete), before going to Cooper, Don goes to Rebecca and wants to run away.  She has wanted this, but is no fool.  She realizes he wants to run away, with or without her.  This isn't what she wanted, so she turns him away...

Indian Summer

Mark here... We're on to the next episode of "Mad Men", called "Indian Summer".  It's called this because there's a heat wave.  We get to see Roger returning to the office after his heart attack the previous episode, a bit prematurely it ends up.  He has an episode in front of a client.  This works out in the positive for Don, who ends up being promoted to partner, to assure clients that its business as usual. Pete is obviously unhappy with this turn of events, and by the end of the episode takes action.  In the beginning we see Don's secret brother sending him a package.  At the end of the episode Pete goes into Don's office and intercepts its delivery, we'll see where that leads...

Separately, Peggy is moving ahead in her career when the boys in the office choose to give her another product to write copy for.  It's a device which is supposed to help women lose weight, however, when Peggy uses it, its clear it has more sexual benefits.  Peggy comes up with some cheeky copy and is rewarded for it.  But clearly, the reason they gave Peggy the job has to do with her weight gain...suddenly Peggy is looking a bit rounder....  Given the times, it's easy to understand why she might think she's just put on some weight.  She goes on a date with a working class guy and it's clear she has her sights set on fast-paced Manhattan and wants a man from that world.

As a subplot, which touches on the weightless/masturbator device, Betty is left at home clearly unfulfilled.  She has a tempting visit from an air conditioning salesman, but sends him away...though she is clearly tempted with an affair.  Later we see her grinding up against a washing machine during spin cycle! Driving home the message that Betty is young, sexual and not getting what she needs! Of course Don is too tired when he gets home! He's still fooling around with Rebecca Menkin, who herself is imagining a future with Don.  Don is getting exactly what he needs, he has no intention of settling down with Rebecca, he has his family picture life and doesn't need another...

Laurel here..I agree with Mark on all points.  Peggy is a genius!  We see her discover that the "rejuvenator" device is not really about weight loss, but about ladies having some, um, personal time.  She comes up with the name, and copy that makes it sound like you can make women feel invigorated whenever they want, without saying what that really means.  Now women have a lot of means for sexual fulfillment on their own but at the time women weren't educated about that kind of stuff and Peggy handles this obstacle perfectly.

I think it's also important to note that when Betty is grinding against the washing machine she is fantasizing about the air conditioning guy, not Don.  He needs to stop spreading his sexuality around elsewhere so much and start spreading some of it around at home.

Long Weekend

Laurel here...Mark and I just sat down for a dinner of Spaghetti Carbonara (Cooks Illustrated), Garlic bread, and an Artichoke and Roasted red pepper salad (Ina), and another episode of Mad Men.  This one was sort of a sad episode, but interesting...

It's labor day weekend and everyone at Sterling Copper is looking forward to 3 days off.  Roger wants to celebrate by hitting on young twins that are in casting for a commercial for "double sided aluminum" while his wife and daughter are away in the hamptons or something, and insists that Don joins him.  They pick up a pair of the double sided aluminum twins and set out for a night of fun.  Unfortunately for Roger, he has a heart attack during the middle of getting busy with one of the girl and is forced to face his own mortality.  Luckily his wife and daughter rush to his side, which I think gives him a need found appreciation for the value of family.  Don's reaction to witnessing this is to run to Rebecca Menkin's apartment and start a new affair.

Also in this episode Joan's roommate confesses her love for Joan (romantic love) which Joan sweeps under the rug and insists the 2 of them go out to pick up some bachelors (not so dazzling bachelors at that) to avoid any awkwardness of being home with her roommate alone that night.  Is there anyone who is not in love with Joan?  I kind of am too.  Maybe Mark's not.

Also Pete is a total dick to Peggy this episode, surprise surprise.  Peggy tells him she doesn't know what he wants, or how to be around him since they had sex on his couch last episode.  In her words she is just trying to get along with him and she doesn't know whether any given moment he is going to be kind or be cruel.  and I don't blame her.  He is such a dick, and while Peggy is a smart girl she is also naive in many ways.  I feel bad for her that she got mixed up with an asshole like Pete.  Thankfully she was out of earshot at the time but he actually refers to her as "Howdy Dowdy" to Don.

Mark here...I agree with Laurel's analysis.  This episode was a bit of a downer for me, although interesting in terms of character development.  That said, it's still a bit slow.  Roger's heart attack is a bit startling, though it shouldn't be...as he said, "he ate the butter, he ate the cream".  It does show that he has a little more depth then we have been lead to believe so far.  The irony there, is that, seeing Roger in this state, one might think Don might re-assess his choices? But no, instead of going home to Betty he goes to Rebecca Menkin in a drunken state in the middle of the night.  A bad decision for everyone, given that this is one of his major clients.  SIde Note: we find out earlier in the episode he just lost major client Dr. Scholl's! Which Pete was quite happy to tell Don.

The side plot with Joan was unexpected.  I do like Joan, but I'm always unsure of her motives or how she's going to act.  In this case when her roommate comes on to her, she goes into total denial mode...but I guess, given the times and peoples knowledge of homosexuality, maybe that classifies as a good reaction?  Joan just passes it off as her roommate having had a rough day (she lost her job) and moves on.  She does make sure they both bring home bachelors that night.  As laurel said, neither of them were winners either.

I also totally agree with Laurel about Pete, though I have to say his presence stirs the pot and creates some drama...even if he is a dick.  I'm glad in a previous episode, we found out why the firm keeps him around.  At least we know why he doesn't get fired....

Shoot

Hi...Laurel here.  This episode Don was being courted by another agency.  The boss of the other place cornered him at the intermission of an opera and offered him a job at a bigger more prominent agency.  An offer which he backed up by casting Betty in a coca cola print ad.  Of course Betty buys into this thinking that he is offering her the job based on her good looks but we come to find out that it was all just part of the ploy to poach Don.  Poor Betty.  Again.

Roger hears of the courting and responds by offering Don more money to stay at Sterling Cooper, and Don accepts.  Of course Betty's coca cola contract is terminated at this point.  wah wah.

Also in this episode the buzz around the office is that Peggy is putting on a lot of weight.  We are left wondering if she is putting on weight because she is getting complacent at the office or is there some larger factor to consider?  Either way Joan loans her and extra outfit that she has hanging around the office for just these type of situations.  Of course Joan has a contingency plan for every situation secretarial...

Mark here...to touch on what Laurel said, I think we get a good idea of how Joan is way more worldly than Peggy.  At one point Peggy thinks Joan is being bitchy to her, when actually Joan is trying to help her.  Clearly, Joan has been around the office more and has good advice to give.

Separately, Betty has thrown all her eggs into this one basket of a deal modeling, when she lacks the business savvy to realize the offer is really more about her husband.  It's too bad too because the art staff clearly likes working with her and accepts her as a professional, but when she's dropped she loses her nerve and is willing to go back to being a housewife.  Don for his part is actually quite accepting of her choices, although he's unwilling to tell her to keep pursuing modeling.  At the end of the episode we start to see Betty really unraveling.  She's taking to shooting pigeons with a rifle in the yard.  The pigeons are ones the neighbor has been feeding, and she's in her nightgown (at 1:00pm) and smoking a cigarette!  I'm very interested to see what happens next!

The Hobo Code

Mark here...we're on to the next episode of "Mad Men," called "The Hobo Code."  This one was very interesting.  It opens with Don getting a $2500 bonus from his boss.  He promptly goes to his mistress with the idea of whisking her away for a weekend in Paris.  She however already has people over for a beatnik pot party.  Don indulges in this and we get to see flashbacks of his youth.  The story shows a young Don on the farm when a traveling hobo comes looking for food and shelter.  Presumably this is a flashback to Depression-era times.  His father (stepfather?) is cold and uncaring to the man while his stepmother offers the man shelter and a coin.  The man takes a liking to young Don and teaches his his hobo code of marking houses based on what a traveler can find there.  When Don's stepfather refuses to give the man the coin he was promised, he marks the house "dishonest man lives here" with a symbol.  This is clearly a formative moment for young Don.  Back to the beatnik party where the other men are dismissive of Don and his advertising career.  Don is unfazed by the goings on yet annoyed with them.

Separately, Peggy comes in early to work and runs into Pete Campbell, and both end up having sex in his office before anyone arrives.  She interprets this as much more than him.  She also is congratulated by the staff for her copywriting efforts and they all decide to go out for drinks after work.  Pete shows up, but once he sees her dancing and having a good time, disappoints her by telling her "I don't like you like this."  Peggy is clearly upset and its not hard to see why.  She's clearly invested more in this relationship, thinking her self the "other woman" who understands Pete.  Meanwhile, Pete is an asshole who has bought into his life only to be disappointed.  Peggy is just a bit of instant gratification to him.

One more interesting subplot is with Salvatore, the art dept. head.  He makes plans to show up at the bar with everyone else.  A new, young girl working the phones has shown interest in him, but along the way he meets another man at the bar. He clearly loses track of time as both are enjoying each other's company, but once things veer towards the romantic he freaks out.  Its interesting because he was clearly ok with the scenario until it became a reality.  Once it did, he had to go back to the facade life he had constructed.

Hi Laurel here, I once again agree with Mark on all counts.  Not much to add except I really love this particular episode.  We get to see some inside scoop on the agency (with the Peggy stuff and the Salvatore stuff) AND we get some info about Don's secret past.  I just would also like to mention it becomes clear in this episode that while Don has a secret past, he seems to acknowledge his secret self in some way...he seems to acknowledge that his current life is a smokescreen while he still lives out his true self (even though we don't really know who that is yet) by having a beatnik girlfriend, a slovenly boss, a drunken dysfunctional workplace,  and he's fine with it.  Salvatore on the other hand is so into living his lie that he cant even acknowledge that when another man hits on him it might be something that he's into...

I also thought the "hobo code" was especially poignant in this episode.  The fact that the eloquent hobo from Don's youth left the mark of a dishonest man on his family farm's front fence is obviously a very important moment in Don's formative years.  The hobo also treated him as if he was part of the hobo brotherhood, which to this day he has obviously taken to heart.

Red In The Face

Mark here...Laurel and I have just watched the next episode of "Mad Men", this one is called "Red in the Face." For this meal, I made us a meatloaf, which seemed appropriately retro, along with baked potatoes with a yogurt and sour cream chive dressing and steamed green beans, so a pretty 60s-ish meal?

Anyway this episode is heavy on the sexism, specifically the depravity of some of the guys.  For starters, Roger Sterling, Don's boss and friend (I guess), finagles a dinner invite from Don after drinks (after work).  Betty was only expecting Don so is forced to settle for an iceberg lettuce salad herself.  Roger picks a moment when Don is out of the room to hit on Betty.  Don walks in and suspects something, but instead of confronting Roger, waits until he leaves and blames Betty.  The next day at the office, Roger makes a tortured roundabout apology without being specific, but we can tell Don's pissed.  And at the end of the episode, he gets his revenge by taking Roger to a big lunch, multiple rounds of drinks and oysters.  After lunch, Don has paid the bellboy to put an "out of order" sign in front of the elevator, forcing them to walk up however many flights of stairs.  Roger, being a chronic drinker and smoker, as well as older than Don, can barely manage this.  When he reaches the top, he throws up in front of the client they were scheduled to meet.  Then we see a sly smile form Don and it becomes clear the whole thing was his subtle revenge.  From the look on Roger's face, he realizes it too.

There is also a bit of a subplot with Pete Campbell, who's also a piece of work.  His wife has asked him to return a wedding gift, and he's clearly resentful of having to do so.  He ends up buying himself something with the money.  Along the way, he harasses the returns girl.  He also makes a point of telling a deranged story to Peggy, who remains infatuated with him, despite the fact that he seems psychotic!

Laurel here...something to add about dinner...Marks meatloaf is AMAZING!  Also it has hard cooked eggs in the middle which I feel like makes it especially retro.  When I eventually post the photos you will see...also it was wrapped in bacon!?!  Double amazing.

I agree with Mark on all counts about the episode.  The other noteworthy thing in this episode was a situation in the market between Betty Draper and her neighbor.  Helen Bishop, she is the single mom that Betty helped out by going over to babysit last minute when her babysitter cancelled? Supposedly she was going to volunteer for the Kennedy campaign but Mark and I both thought that she was possibly going out on a date.  Anyway, this weird thing happened where her son, Glen, who is 9 but seems like he is going to hit puberty any day now, walked in on Betty in the bathroom, when he knew she was in there, and lingered.  She got really upset with him but then felt bad because this kid was obviously obsessed with her.  He asked for a lock of her hair, and Betty gave it to him.  Mark and I both thought this was inappropriate but not that big of a deal.  She was trying to do something nice after she reamed him for the bathroom thing.  Also we are coming to learn that Betty seeks male approval to validate herself.  She says to her other neighbor friend, "as long as I keep getting that attention from men I am earning my keep."

Anyway like I said Mark and I both thought it was inappropriate, and the mom did too.  When they run into each other in the grocery store the mom confronts Betty about it (and kind of makes too big of a deal out of it) and Betty ends up slapping her in front of everyone!  Now of course the whole neighborhood is going to hear about it.  Poor Betty.

Also I just wanted to elaborate on what Mark said about Peggy.  I feel like she is trying so hard to be a modern woman who casts aside traditional gender roles that she continues to have a somewhat inappropriate relationship with Pete.  She is definitely infatuated with him but I feel like she indulges it a little too much because she is trying so hard to be a modern woman who bucks convention.  She thinks that carrying on with a married man somehow empowers her, makes her different than the other gals...she's not just a secretary, she does what she wants...

What I took away from this episode is how women really had it hard at the time.  When some smarmy guy flirts with you, you're supposed to just smile and laugh and politely put him off.  Like for example your husband's boss.  Also women are expected to "earn their keep" by being beautiful and living up to men's expectations for them to be trophy wives, baby machines, sex objects, and meal makers.  Tough times for the ladies.