Thumbits!!!

Sorry for the fuzzy pictures - I took them with a phone because I forgot my camera...

Never heard of a Thumbit? You're not alone.

Thumbits are basically sliced steak which you put on a slice of bread (only one, so this is an open-faced sammie), and dip the whole thing into a delicious sauce. As the story goes, thumbits are a Miller family invention and tradition. When my Aunt Mondi met my Uncle Mac, his family invited her family over for an evening by the lake. Well, my aunt's family is Persian - you know, rice and lemon type people - so it was kind of hilarious (as they tell me), watching them roll up their sleeves and dive into these messy little sandwiches. I kind of love the image of my mom and her skinny-mini sisters eating these things :)

My Uncle Mac first told me the story of thumbits last summer and, after a year of waiting, I was super duper happy to find that we'd get to sample them.

The evening started off with ice cold margaritas. I am including the recipe because my Uncle makes the best margaritas I've ever had:

First, salt the rims of your glasses

Then, in a blender mix 1 can of frozen lemonade, 1/2 the lemonade can full of Tequila, and 1/2 the can full of triple sec

Add 2/3 blender full of ice and blend until the ice is chopped up nicely

Pour into glasses

Okay, now onto the Thumbits:

What you need are 2-3 nice steaks. He used once that were about 1 1/4 inches thick.

(I should probably insert here a little tribute to my Uncle's excellent BBQ skills. I've never had a steak or burger grilled like he does it. It's an art I am going to try and learn his secrets this summer.)

Okay, so after you've seasoned your meat on both sides with salt, pepper, seasoned salt, and Worcestershire sauce, grill it to a nice medium or medium rare.

To make the thumbit sauce (this makes the meal, so don't skip it!), heat about 1 1/2 cups Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce, salt, pepper, and 1 stick of butter over the stove. I know, I know, 1 stick! Honestly, I am going to cut this down to a half stick next time. You need the flavor and viscosity the butter adds, but there was that unseemly layer of colored fat over the sauce when we poured it out, so for my own sake, I'll use less butter.

Take a baguette, split it horizontally, and butter both sides with softened butter.

Right before serving, warm the bread in the oven so the butter melts and the bread is heated through.

Slice the meat into 1/3 inch slices. Remember to let the meat rest a bit before slicing, so the juices don't run all over the place.

Pour the thumbit sauce into ramekins - 1 per 2 people.

We serve this with onion slices marinated in olive oil, salt, and lemon juice. Let them marinate for about 2 hours and its cuts the usual bite that lingers on your tongue.

Get to dunkin'!!!! YUM YUM YUM

Pasta for Mom

My mom and I have a running joke: she's an amazing cook, but the one thing she just has problems with is properly cooking pasta. So whenever I come home, she asks me to make her a pasta dish. Last time I made shrimp scampi and she was in heaven. She asked me to recreate the dish a couple nights ago using chicken instead. What I made was, in fact, nothing like the original because we had different ingredients on hand, but I'll definitely try to match the shrimp dish again later this summer.

As much as I love my kitchen in Richmond, it's not as snazzy as the one back home, so here are some pictures as much for your viewing pleasure as for mine...

This kitchen is a dream to cook in - my mom designed the whole thing, even the stove was custom made for her because she wanted extra burners.

Here is the chicken pasta recipe which is divine - very creamy and flavorful. I highly recommend you try it :)

1 pound chicken tenders, chopped into small pieces

1/2 onion, chopped small

2 Tbs pesto

salt, fresh cracked pepper, garlic powder, red pepper flakes

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup sour cream

3 Tbs Greek yogurt

3 cups spinach

Heat oil in a pan and fry the onion until it is golden. Add the chicken and cook about halfway - then season with black pepper, salt, and garlic powder. In a bowl, combine the pesto, sour cream, and yogurt, then add this to the chicken. Sprinkle in the Parm and the red pepper flakes. Add more pesto if you think it needs some. Add the spinach and stir so the sauce coats it, then put a lid over the pan to wilt the spinach down some.

Boil 1 1/2 pounds of thin spaghetti and add it to the sauce (reserve some pasta water when draining). Let them cook together for a while and add a couple ladles of pasta water to loosen the sauce so it coats everything nicely.