• Cookblogging

    Ditalini’s Birthday Dinner

    Our friend Mary Anne cooked dinner for us in honor of Ditalini’s birthday.  I swear, I’m going to have to feature some of her recipes on Crouton’s Kitchen, particularly her Brussels sprouts, which she prepared with bacon (bacon makes everything…

  • Cookblogging

    Memorial Day Barbecue at Dino’s

    Photos from the Memorial Day barbecue we enjoyed at Cousin Dino’s house in Las Vegas the other day: Dino’s a wet rib guy who prepares his own secret sauce (hint: it incorporates a can of Coke). He smokes exclusively with…

  • Cookblogging,  Grilling,  Meats,  Vegetables

    TGIF Menu

    Which stands for “To the grill . . . it’s Friday!” around maison deMenthe.  Friday’s menu: grilled veggies, grilled zucchini & squash, grilled boneless ribeye steaks. I’ve described grilling veggies before, here.  Last night I used small potatoes, chopped carrots,…

  • Casseroles,  Italian,  Pasta & Rice

    Ditalini’s Lasagne Rolls

    This is Ditalini’s adaptation of a Giada De Laurentiis Food Channel recipe.  The original recipe called for mixing chopped prosciutto in with the ricotta/spinach mixture, but since Ditalini uses Italian meat sauce rather than meatless marinara sauce, she skips the…

  • Soups

    Crouton’s Easy Navy Bean Soup

    We took a spiral-cut ham to an Easter party and had a good amount left over.  Monday I used some of it making scalloped potatoes; yesterday I used some more making navy bean soup.  The soup turned out so well…

  • Cookblogging,  Meats,  Poultry,  Smoking

    Our Smokin’ Dinner

    I didn’t live blog dinner (that would have been pretty rude, wouldn’t it have?), so I’m posting a final smokin’ update this morning, long after the big family meal.  Because we all deserve to see how it turned out, right?…

  • Cookblogging,  Meats,  Poultry,  Seafood

    Smokin’

    This blog hasn’t exactly been smokin’ lately, and I apologize for that.  Tomorrow, though, I will be literally smoking: two racks of ribs, two chickens, two salmon filets.  I prepped the ribs and coated them with dry rub two days…