No Recipe, No Fuss

I am lucky to live in a city that is chock full of wonderful local restaurants and very enthusiastic foodies that (and maybe I'm a bit biased) don't ever seem to get pulled to far into the trendy, hipster food tendencies (although I'm sure we've got plenty of that as well, and that's not a bad thing!).  I love that the restaurants that we do tend to patronize seem to be steeped in a mindset of very good and very consistent no-fuss food, while still being somewhat creative from time to time.  For me, that is a recipe (get it?) for long-term success.

So I was really excited to see this link.  Here, Memphis restaurateurs giving us a sneak peek of what they make at home on a Sunday night with their families: quick, simple dinners that require no recipe or fuss but rather keep the ingredients and prep to a minimum and allow the quality of the ingredients to really shine through.

I love articles like this and I strive to be the kind of home cook that can whip up dinner based on what's in our pantry, but I have to admit that it doesn't happen as often as it should.  As you can see from my sidebar list of blog links, I tend to collect and hoard thousands of recipes, and sometimes torment myself by tackling too many recipe-heavy dishes on a Saturday night, leaving me exhausted.  Don't be like me!

Another good source for no-recipe or quick prep ideas is Mark Bittman.  I always enjoy his NY Times Magazine articles, as well as links like Summer Express: 101 Simple Meals Ready in 10 Minutes or Less.

P.S. the photos is of the cupcakes that my sister made for my baby shower that she and my mom threw me this past weekend.  I included it because a) they were so cute and b) these cupcakes sort of embraced what I'm talking about when I say no-fuss, no recipe.  She pretty much just made these up as she went.  For the filling of the lemon cupcakes, she mixed whipped heavy cream with some crushed-up leftover lemon cookies and a drop or two of vanilla and lemon extract.  For the  filling for the caramel cupcakes, she melted down snickers bars and a few chocolate chips, then mixed in more whipped cream plus a dash of salt.  Or something like that.  I was too tired to help her (only 9 more weeks to go!) but did manage to serve as her taste-tester.