Why Dinergirl?

This past weekend we had my Mother over for dinner. She is 85 years old, lives alone so her cooking is not extensive these days.  But there was a time when I was growing up that she cooked for a lot of people.

My parents owned a couple of small town diners from 1958 to about 1976.  The last few years where off and on, generally when they had take the diner back from whomever they sold it to.  They mainly did breakfast and lunch, but I heard that when they started out they served dinner too.  Up until about 1973 we lived above the diner, but when we moved to a new location about 40 miles away from the small town I grew up in and we lived a couple miles away the second diner.  

The town was small so you knew everyone who came in and as the youngest of five you could say I was a bit spoiled.  I was the only child born during the time they had the diners, and the last.  According to my Mom, everyone knew when I was born because my father had to stop off at the local garage to tell them they we headed to the hospital. And since we lived upstairs over the diner, I am sure that even as an infant I made an appearance downstairs on a daily basis.  

The Jukebox was one of my favorite things at the restaurant!

So mom came over for dinner and hubby and I mixed up some delicious "treats" for her.  Our main course was grilled turkey tenderloins marinated in a lemon garlic marinade.  We picked up local sweet corn as a special treat for her and made a couple of great side dishes and a delectable dessert -Fresh  Lemon Mousse  (previously posted at Easter time). She made sure she took leftovers of the dessert home with her! 

Blue Cheese Coleslaw - Entirely my Hubby's dish (from Ina Garten)!  

Ingredients

1/2 small head green cabbage

1/2 small head red cabbage

4 large carrots, scrubbed or peeled

(or 1 bag of Regular Coleslaw mix and two small bags of red cabbage mix, has carrots already in the mix) 

2 cups (16 ounces) good mayonnaise

1/4 cup Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons whole grain mustard

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon celery salt

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) crumbled Roquefort blue cheese

1 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves

If you don't use the premixed coleslaw bags, please follow the following for cutting your own. 

Cut the cabbages in half and then in quarters and cut out the cores. Set up the food processor with the slicing blade (according to manufacturer's instructions) and place the pieces of cabbage, one at a time, lying horizontally in the feed tube. (If they don't fit, cut them to fit lying down.) Place the feed tube pusher on top and turn on the processor. Don't push on the feed tube pusher or the slices will turn out too thick! Continue with the remaining red and green cabbage quarters. Transfer into a large bowl, discarding any very large pieces.Change the slicing blade for the large shredding blade and cut the carrots so they also lie down in the feed tube. Since the carrots are hard, replace the feed tube pusher and press firmly with the food processor on. Transfer to bowl with the cabbages

Before you pour the dressing on the salad, save a handful of the grated vegetables to decorate for serving. . In a medium bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, both mustards, vinegar, celery salt, kosher salt, and pepper. Pour enough mayonnaise dressing over the grated vegetables and toss to moisten well. Add crumbled blue cheese and parsley and toss together. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for several hours to allow the flavors to meld. Serve cold or at room temperature.

Easy Zucchini Bake

Ingredients

2 medium tomatoes, peeled and cut into wedges

2 small zucchini, sliced

2 small yellow squash, sliced

1/2 tsp thyme

1 tsp basil

1 tsp granulated garlic powder

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese

1/3 cup dry bread crumbs

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350. Combine the tomatoes, zucchini, squash, seasonings, and cheddar cheese. Place in a 1.5 quart baking dish. Top with the Parmesan or Romano cheese and bread crumbs. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. If you want, you can then sprinkle the mozzarella cheese over the top and let stand 5 minutes, so the cheese melts before serving.