Monday....The Most Hated Day in The Galaxy

Did everyone have a good weekend? I did. Here are a few of my highlights:

Campisi's Egyptian Room Friday night.

India Palace and Central Market on Saturday.

DEE-LICIOUS Cabbage Rolls (courtesy of moi) on Sunday.

Straightened hair AND new feathers for my hair!! Woo hoo!!!!

So, yeah...Campisis...one of my favorites. I love going there. It's just so cool and mafioso-ish (so not a word) and I love the history. Besides, strippers still hang out there! Gary had chicken parmigiana and I had the combo plate. We took most of it home and he had it for lunch Saturday. I also love it because it isn't overpriced and you can have a few glasses of good wine and not spend an assload of money. Saturday, I got up (late) and went to see the other man in my life, Jeff Morgan of One Fine Day Salon in Waxahachie. He's been doing my hair for the past seven years. I'm addicted to the Brazilian Blowouts (formaldehyde and carcinogens as well) and needed my hair straightened and cut. I also got a few new feathers. Uuumm...I had NO IDEA that my first two feathers were from an ACTUAL chicken! WTF?!?!?!? The two that I had put in Saturday were synthetic. Thank God...that kind of creeped me out, as Paige would say. My hair feels so much better. Seriously, if you have thick and or wavy/curly hair and live in Texas, you need to have your hair straightened. It's a life saver. After that, I met my sister at India Palace in Dallas and had lunch. It was sooooo good! I loved the Chicken Masala and the Singapore noodles. I also had homemade cheese in Masala sauce and it was friggin delicious. After that, we went to Central Market so that I could pick up a few items for dinner. I also made a killing on wine. If you buy 6 bottles, you get 10% off. On top of that, I got 20% off of my three Texas wines and I got two bottles of Pinot Noir (Marc Cellars out of Sonoma County, CA) for $15 and a bottle of The Prisoner. I made out like a BANDIT!!!! Gary and I ended up drinking both bottles of the Marc Cellars Pinot and watched The Lincoln Lawyer. Not a bad movie; I had already read the book, but hey, it's Matthew McConaughey, so who cares if you know what's going to happen?!?!?!?

Okay, so on Sunday mornings, we either watch That Metal Show (don't pooh pooh it, it's pretty damn good and funny!) or something on the Cooking Channel. Gary loves that French chick, but yesterday, we watched Chuck's Day Off and he made cabbage rolls stuffed with lamb. Don't gross out....they looked delicious. Sooo..I was asked to make them and I did and they turned out amazingly well!!! I changed up the recipe a little - his sauce calls for Veal stock and we both said "hell no" to that and I used Napa Cabbage instead of Savoy. If you don't like Lamb, you can use the traditional beef, or even ground chicken, pork or turkey. He and I have both eaten lamb in the past and while I don't do lamb chops any more, I wasn't grossed out by ground lamb. It's surprisingly light and doesn't have the same taste as a leg of lamb or lamb chops. Here ya go:

Chuck Hughes' Lamb Stuffed Cabbage Rolls as Prepared by The Cadillac Cowgirl :)

For the Cabbage Rolls:

1 lb ground lamb
1 large onion, diced and reserve 1/2 for sauce
1/2 cup plain breadcrumbs
1 egg
1 Tbsp chopped cilantro (I know it sounds weird, but please don't omit it. It makes such a wonderful difference. I promise!!)
1 tsp grated ginger
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp each salt and pepper
1 head Napa or Savoy cabbage (don't throw away pieces you don't use as you'll chop them up for the sauce)

For the Sauce:

1 24 can or bottle of San Marzano Tomato Puree
1/2 of the diced onion reserved from rolls
2 garlic cloves, minced
3-4 Tbsp olive oil (couple of turns around the pan)
2 large vine ripe tomatoes, chopped
Chopped cabbage not used for rolls
Salt and pepper to taste
Grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. While it comes to a boil, combine all of the ingredients for the cabbage rolls (except for the cabbage, silly!!) and set aside. Once the water starts boiling, add the whole head of cabbage and allow it to boil for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, drain it into a colander and then submerge the head of cabbage in ice water to stop the cooking process. You want the leaves to be tender, but you don't want them to wilt and fall apart. While the cabbage leaves are chillin out, start your sauce. In a large covered skillet, heat your olive oil over high heat. When hot, turn temperature down to medium and add your onion, garlic and ginger. Allow to cook for a few minutes and then add the chopped tomatoes and San Marzano tomato puree. Stir to combine, cover and cook over medium low heat while you separate the cabbage leaves. To get the leaves ready for the lamb mixture, gently remove the core by cutting it out and let the leaves naturally fall away from the core. You should get 12-16 good size leaves from the cabbage. (Chuck used Savoy cabbage, I used Napa. My leaves were noticeably skinner than his, but worked just as well. Depending on the size of the cabbage, you may have more or less to work with.) Lay the leaves on paper towels and allow them to drain. Chop up any leftover cabbage (you should have plenty) and add to the tomato sauce. The water from the cabbage leaves should thin your sauce out a little if it starts to get too thick. If not, add water or beef broth. Check for seasonings and add salt and pepper to taste. Using between 1 and 2 tablespoons of lamb mixture (depending upon the size of the cabbage leaves), place it in the leafiest part of the cabbage, roll it up and tuck in the sides if desired, and place in a 13x9 casserole dish. Repeat until the cabbage or lamb mixture is gone...whichever comes first! Pour the tomato sauce over the rolls and bake uncovered for 50 minutes. Top with grated Parmesan cheese and serve over rice - Jasmine if you've got it!!!

Chuck did not use a tomato based sauce for the rolls - he used veal stock in place of the San Marzano puree that I used. If veal is your thing, then go for it. Gary and I both were like, "eh" and kind of unanimously vetoed it in favor of the traditional tomato sauce. I am weird about cilantro, but I kept it in the recipe and so glad I did - it added such a bright and fresh flavor without being overbearing. We have leftovers from last night and contrary to our typical eschewing of leftovers, we will eat them again tonight. I got back on Jenny Craig this morning, and I'll be running this evening. I kind of indulged this weekend...but it was in moderation. I shouted out for a hot fudge sundae many times over the course of the weekend and not once did one magically appear. Bullshit if you ask me.

OH, OH, OH, OH!!!! Did any of you see True Blood last night? Did you SEE Alcide? Did you SEE Eric??? Naked!!! Nakedness and almost full frontal. That shit ain't right!!!!

That oh, oh, oh was supposed to be about Hank, but then I remembered those naked asses last night and lost my train of thought. Hank's on tour, Hank's on tour. Praise the Lord, Hank's coming to town. We won't have to break up after all. Two nights in Ft Worth, one night in Dallas. I can stalk him in two different counties. Hell Yeah!!!

We took Eddie and Waylon to Petsmart yesterday and they acted like complete jackasses. They barked at and tried to attack the other dogs that were in there. They acted like they owned the damn place. Anyways, we bought them some new toys and took them home. Gary fed them and when he went to let Eddie out of his crate, he tried to attack Gary! WTF??? Then, they were playing with their new snake and they got into a domestic with each other. I don't know what was going on with those two, but sounds like they need to get their nuts cut. Last night during True Blood, Waylon was playing with the snake while Eddie was humping him. It takes all kinds......

I'm outta here. I've got a ton of shit to do and not a lot of time to do it. Keep it real, folks!

Kelly