Bite Me

Putting Off: Easy Tandoori Chicken

2012-02-29T08:55:00.009-08:00

Have you ever had something lingering on your to-do list, for weeks? months? years?

I feel this way about a lot things that just sit in my "inbox" of life. To name a few:
Get a new license with my new name from the DMV (so I can subsequently get everything else with my new name on it)
Renew subscriptions
Learn how to use bleach to whiten my whites in the wash, really...no idea
Toss that plant out front away because it has been dead for a while...literally walk right by it everyday
Clean my car
Hang out with friends who have been and will continue to be neglected by a busy a work schedule for the next few months

Zach left early this morning because he had to get an oil change. He said he had been putting it off and just needed to get it done. That is something that took me by surprise. Why can't I just get something done? Well, I am doing just that by blogging this morning since blogging is forever on my to do list because I can never seem to do enough of it.

It just so happens this meal I prepared last Sunday night has been on my mind for far too long. This one goes back to early December when I went to North Carolina for a wonderful girls' weekend with Amanda and Becky. We galavanted around Chapel Hill, where Dr. Becky is doing her residency. We had such a good time taking in the adorable "small town" (and that is me comparing it in size to LA) and the cool woods behind Becky's oh-so North Carolina apartment. We even saw what was left of Occupy Chapel Hill:

We just had the best time sitting in Becky's living room with Mate-the-perfect-dog-and-inspiration-for-me-ever-wanting-a-dog-in-the-first-place talking for hours. I am pretty sure that is what the three of us did for the better part of the first day we arrived. It was like we picked up right where we left off. Do you have friends like that? It is something really special when you can feel the same way with friends as you would with your family.

We did another thing girls love to do when they get together: shop. We ended up at World Market at one point where I picked up some tandori chicken rub/marinade. I thought it would inspire me to get back to the kitchen right when I got back to LA.

Well, here we are 3 months later. I would like to dedicate this meal to that fabulous girls' weekend...and my stomach....and Zach's stomach.

Tandoori Chicken with Curry Couscous and sauteed veggies.

For Chicken:
2 lb chicken thigh filets (you can get breasts or bone in thighs...really anything you want)
2 cups plain greek yogurt (do not use the low fat or fat free kind)
juice from one lemon - fresh!
tandori chicken powder rub/marinade (this was from World Market, but they have a selection of other brands in the ethnic food section in the grocery store)
1 finely chopped onion

For Couscous:
1 box instant couscous (ready in 5 minutes)
1/2 tsp curry powder
1/4 C almond slivers

For Sauteed Veggies:
1 tbs olive oil
mixed veggies, any kind you like...I used green beans, mushrooms and red onion
sea salt (I had some curry lime sea salt which worked well
slivered almonds

Place chicken in a resealable plastic bag and squeeze lemon all over it. Throw the lemon rinds in the bag too.
Mix the yogurt, onions and the tandoori spice powder together in a bowl and add to the bag with the chicken. Make sure the chicken s coated and let marinate in the fridge for about 2-4 hours
Remove chicken from fridge about 15 minutes before you are ready to bake it.
Set oven to 475 deg F.
Place marinated chicken and all the contents of the bag in a baking dish and place it in the oven for 25-35 minutes (depending on the cut of the chicken you use --- jus check it after 25 minutes.

Make the couscous as directed on the box. Once it has absorbed the water and is ready, add the curry powder and almonds and mix in thoroughly.

Sautee the veggies in a pan with the oil until just tender, adding the salt and almonds during the last 4-5 minutes so the almonds become toasted.

Pile it all up starting with the couscous on the bottom, then the veggies and then the chicken. Use the sauce from the chicken to pour over the plate as well.

We Like to Party

2012-02-15T09:20:00.001-08:00

We like to party-we-we-we like to party.

Taking inspiration from the late 90's group, Vengaboys, we like to celebrate holidays, even holidays that are transparently just an excuse to celebrate.

February is full of holidays that are sometimes overlooked: Valentines Day and Presidents' Day. I cannot yet speak for Presidents' Day (a day off from work might be enough of a celebration), but this was our first Valentines Day as a married couple so there is no way we can ignore that!

Zach has made dinner for me precisely one time during the almost six years we have been together. He made me spaghetti and meat sauce one night when we were still in the ooey gooey stage of our relationship. It was delicious! His cooking skills have since been confined to manning the grill during steak or burger nights. I love to cook so I am not complaining, but when he said he was going to cook dinner, I jumped at the chance to see what he would come up with.

Beef Wellington. Fancy right? Well, it was delicious. He topped it all off with a great little homemade sauce, steamed broccoli and a sweet potato. We spent our first Valentines Day as a married couple eating like royalty on a blanket of the floor of our living room.

Of course, I can never stay out of the kitchen so my gift to Zach was to make him our signature cocktail that we served for guests at our wedding last year.

This was a combination between two recipes we came across while experimenting on mixing cocktails for our big day. We set up sort of a science lab of little bottles and garnishes and went to town on tasting different mixtures. We loved two different drinks so Zach went to make some sort of combination of them which turned out to be excellent!

Martha Stewart's Thyme Lemonade + Whisky Magazine's Bourbon Punch = The Lindzachary Wedding Cocktail

The Lindzachary:

1 1/2 C white sugar
1 bunch of fresh thyme
1 C water
1 C Whisky Bourbon
2 C pink lemonade
1/4 C grenadine
additional thyme springs for garnish

Put sugar, thyme and water into a saucepan, and bring to a boil. Stir until sugar is dissolved (about 2 minutes). Let cool.
In a pitcher with ice, mix bourbon, pink lemonade and grenadine. Then add the thyme simple syrup to taste (you may end up using all of it).

This recipe is going o be different for everyone. This makes a big batch that can be saved in a pitcher for later. You should mix it depending on your taste and how strong you would like the drink to be. A general rule on a small scale is to start with would be:

1 part bouron
2 parts pink lemonade
3/4 part thyme syrup
just a dash grenadine

Garnish with a sprig of thyme. Cheers!

Meat, Meet Cheese

2012-02-06T08:49:00.001-08:00

Meat and cheese plate: the carb-counter's dream meal.

We tend to throw together meat and cheese plates on lazy Sunday nights when we would rather picnic on our coffee table than spend an hour or two cooking in the kitchen. These "lazy Sunday dinners" tend to turn into a feast for a king by the time I get finished plating everything I thought we would need for a successful nosh.

Our honeymoon was to Iceland, and I am going to be honest here: I had not heard good things about the food. With a national dish such as putrefied shark and things like puffin, raw whale meat and horse on the menus, I was kind of looking forward to the possibility of actually losing weight while traveling.

I decided I would be adventurous and try some things I might be uncomfortable with. The very first restaurant we went to was a recommendation from someone I stopped in the street. "Do you know of any great little restaurants or cafes to eat lunch around here?", I asked in English without hesitation to a young-ish pair of stylish-looking women (EVERYONE spoke English there). They directed us to a little place that was tucked slightly off the main drag.

We did not know what to make of the menu. First of all, diet coke was "pepsi max"; a quick trial and error session was all it took to figure out that one. We did not really understand what a lot of the things on the menu were, and the servers were not interested in walking us through it. Also, everything was insanely expensive! This was just a regular restaurant, cute but nothing special. The entrees could cost between $35-$50. We settled on splitting what we determined to be a "sampler-style appetizer plate" that was $35.

It turned out to be the most delicious version of a meat and cheese plate I had ever set tongue on. From then on, I knew my waistline and wallet were in trouble on this trip. At least when we asked the random woman in the street what is customary for tipping, she said in a heavy accent, "oh, we are Icelanders...we. don't. tip." I don't know if she was trying to say that we should tip since we were not Icelanders or if she was just so proud of the fact that they do not subject themselves to the custom of tipping, but who could even afford to tip on top of such pricey restaurant bills?

We went on to indulge in other great adventures while in Iceland some of which included other foods like whale sashimi (no wonder we did not see any whales when we went whale watching) and that putrefied shark I was telling you about.

Other adventures were of the outdoor variety like visiting Iceland's many scenic wonders:

Waterfalls:

Glaciers:

Geysers:

Icelandic Horses:

Countryside:

And then there was the city-life. The biggest city was Reykjavik, where more than half of the 300,000 people in the country live. While Reykjavik was by far the biggest city we visited, it was still smaller than 200,000. I believe that is about the amount of people that fit into Ben Hill Griffin Stadium AKA "The Swamp" two times.

Reykjavik:

Sushi on a conveyor belt:

Church:

Some of you may see a meat and cheese plate as a cop out for a recipe, but I really wanted to share the idea since it is just the idea if you want to have dinner at home, but you are in no mood to cook. It has a "home-cooked" vibe without any mess or effort. There is something about plating up everything to create a nice spread that is relaxing and fun. Here are some tips to create a great spread based on my past trial and errors:

*choose 3 meats - one hearty style (i.e. something you might eat on a sandwich like a great roast beef or sliced ham), one sausage type (like a thick summer sausage or salami or chorizo - you could opt for two sausages if the first type of meat sounds boring to you), and one artisan style (like prosciutto or something you might just like to taste).

*Try to get your meats and cheeses from a grocery store with a great deli counter. That way, you can just buy what you need and still have plenty of variety. Or you could just spring for whole packages of everything so you will just have to make the spread again a couple of days later.

*choose three cheeses - one hearty (maybe a tasty cheddar or muenster. In honor of Iceland, we bought havarti cheese which was a staple at any breakfast meal we enjoyed while we were there), one special cheese that has been soaked or smoked or aged, read: hard (like a smoked gouda, manchego cheese is my favorite or one of those delicious cheeses that has been soaked in merlot) and something soft and strong like a goat cheese or blue cheese.

*Throw a baguette or whatever bread you like in the oven on a low setting until the crust is toasted and the inside is warm. Don't slice it. Just let people pull pieces off of it as they go; this way it will stay warm on the inside throughout the meal.

*Nuts are a great addition to the spread. I recommend cashews, spiced almonds, candied walnuts...

*Dried fruit or jam adds a great slightly slightly sweet touch and can be rolled up on a piece of bread with one of the soft cheeses

*some veggies with a dip - something light in case the meal gets to feeling too heavy

*I love grapes with cheese.

*Red wine is a must.

*Lastly, set up somewhere picnic-style, even if you are inside. Light some candles and enjoy!

A Wedding and a Recipe.

2012-01-29T11:41:00.000-08:00

I have had an abnormal amount of people lately tell me they really enjoy my blog (humble brag) which has inspired me to pick back up the laptop and finger-peck away another post. I make no promises here as I have clearly not exhibited consistent blogging behavior in the past six months; I am in no place to make any pledges.

The good news about being so absent lately is that I have an abundance of new material to yap away about. I guess the most obvious material would be the fact that Zach and I decided to get hitched back in September.

The wedding was in Orlando, Florida September 18th. It was a great day. Everything was perfect, and no I am not referring to the devine coming together of months of planning and crafting cute little do-dads. I am referring to the spending of quality time with all the people we care about most in the world and those that care about us (minus the few that were unable to make it and dearly missed).

Here are some highlights from the day in case you are interested and have not been assaulted with Lindzachary wedding photos too much already via the magic of facebook.

We did a private yoga class the morning before the wedding:

Rehearsal dinner, a backyard BBQ (Sonny's BBQ, that is) at Zach's parent's home:

The ceremony:

The portraits:

The reception décor...tables had names instead of numbers like "Jeff Goldblum: Zach kind of looks like him, Lindsey Kind of likes it.":

The party:

A couple if insider trading secrets from the day include:

The call to go through with the outdoor ceremony was made when it was still raining outside at 3:30pm for a 5:30pm ceremony. We had grandmothers on both sides of the family praying for sunshine, and boy did we get it. The weather was beautiful, and the rain from the whole first part of the day actually made the area nice and cool for the ceremony.

For pre-wedding gifts, Zach gave me a beautiful necklace with a thin gold chain and a garnet stone. I will wear it to any wedding I ever go to. I gave him a leather-bound book with blank pages and “Weissmueller” pressed into the leather on the cover. We wrote our vows in there and will write a little something to each other in there each year on September 18th.

We put ourselves through about 5 weeks of pre-marital counseling sessions in the months leading up to the wedding. I know this sounds like TMI, but I genuinely enjoyed our time doing it, and would recommend it to anyone. I know it is not for everyone. It was just really nice to talk to a neutral third party about our relationship. It is kind of a rare experience because if you think about it, anyone you or your partner might go to for wisdom or advice will have some sort of angle, bias or be sensitive to certain things they already know about you. It was really interesting to talk with someone who was a blank slate with us.

Planning a wedding out of state is not so bad. I know it sounds like it would really complicate things, and it certainly did. But there is something to be said about keeping your distance from the location of the wedding for the entire time you are engaged. It definitely keeps things in check since it is kind of impossible to get carried away when there are some things you just cannot physically accomplish from the opposite side of the country. The downside was that I definitely missed out on some fun wedding-planning related outings you tend to take with bridesmaids and family, but we managed to squeeze most of them in during the days I was in town to work on wedding things. The other stipulation (and it is a big one) is that I had a dream team of Orlandonites led by the mother of the groom herself that made the personal style of the wedding possible. I also had the worlds best wedding coordinator (if-you-are-having-a-wedding-in-florida-call-me-and-i-will-put-you-in-touch-because-you-cannot-do-it-without-her-I-don’t-think).

While the details of the bachelorette party shall remain under wraps, I will say there was a 3am (approximately) Domino’s pizza delivered to the house where we were staying. While I loved the whole bachelorrette party, my favorite part was sitting around the kitchen table with about 8 girls sharing one pizza giggling about the events of the evening. A slice never tasted so good.

We did not hire a videographer (pictures were more important to us), but our friend, Case, did record just our vows during the ceremony.

We wrote our own vows. They took up the majority of the ceremony. It was my favorite part of the day.

I am pretty proud of the fact that the "single lady" who "caught" my bouquet in the bouquet direct pitch, I mean toss, will in fact be the next to marry. We look forward to returning to Orlando for Rachel and Chris' wedding later this year. You're welcome.

Succotash has catapulted to the top of my list of favorite side dishes. So when Food Network Mag had a recipe using it, I decided to make the whole meal, including the delicious-looking pepper-jack stuffed chicken breasts. The whole meal is just, well, pretty. This meal looks more intense than it really is. It doesn't take long to prepare, and the payoff is really nice. Plus, succotash keeps in the fridge for a good week to serve as a side dish for other meals so make a bunch.

This recipe is from over a year ago in the magazine, and my husband was not even my husband when I made this meal. It must have been over the summer. Yikes it has been a long time since I have written. I have since made this and my previous succotash recipe using frozen edamame instead of lima beans. I have to say is superior to the limas. Edamame is a rich and buttery bean packed with all sorts of good-for-you stuff. Just make sure the frozen edamame are not in the pods, but peeled. They should be lose in the bag. They look and feel exactly like lima beans, but they have a deeper green color (similar to the color of green beans) and more flavor.

Chicken:
4 ounces pepper-jack cheese, shredded
2 cups baby arugula, roughly chopped
2 large skinless, boneless chicken breasts (12 ounces each)
1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for brushing
Kosher salt
1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons Cajun spice blend
Vegetable oil, for the grill

Succotash:
1 cup frozen lima beans, thawed (I like to substitute frozen peeled edamame)
1 medium yellow summer squash, diced
2 cups corn kernels
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
4 strips of bacon (I added this part, but believe me it makes it even better!)
Juice of 1 lime (I did not use this since I was using bacon, but you should use this is you don't add the bacon)

Instructions:
Combine the cheese and arugula in a bowl. Cut a deep 2-inch-wide pocket in the thickest part of each chicken breast with a paring knife. Stuff with the arugula mixture. Brush with olive oil and season with salt and the Cajun spice blend.

Preheat a grill to high and brush the grates with vegetable oil. Grill the chicken until blackened and a thermometer inserted into the thickest part registers 155 degrees F, 8 to 10 minutes per side. Transfer to a cutting board.

Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a skillet over high heat or if you are using bacon, just cook it until crisp (the fat from the bacon will serve as the "oil" in this case) --- then take out the bacon and crumble it up, leaving the grease in the pan. Add the lima beans, squash and corn, season with salt and cook until the squash is just tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes and crumbled bacon and cook 2 more minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the lime juice (if you did not use the bacon).

Slice the chicken and serve with the succotash.

Summer Sides - Shallot/Lemon Brown Rice with Toasted Pine Nuts and Roasted Zaatar Carrots

2011-06-18T08:31:00.000-07:00

I have always been all about the sides.

When you have a habit of wanting to taste the food on everyone's plate at the table, side dishes are important to you. They offer variety in a meal. Sure, the hunk of beef, chicken breast or fish maybe are delicious, but the side dishes really bring out the best in the main dish. I always like to have at least two sides, and one of them has to be special.

For this casual Sunday evening dinner, I was making some super easy tilapia with some herbs de provence and lemon rub. I decided to focus on some more adventurous sides. They both were very flavorful and turned out very well. I loved the zaatar carrots because the natural sweetness in the carrots contrasted the tangy kick of the zaatar spices; this made for such an interesting combination. I imagine you could substitute any vegetable for carrots like asparagus, zucchini, potatoes, etc. I also made brown rice with lemon, shallots and toasted pine nuts....yummmm. Yes, it was good.

Zaatar Carrots

(Serves 4, recipe from "Food Network Magazine")

Preheat 2 baking sheets in a 450 degree oven. Quarter 4 pounds carrots lengthwise and toss with 1/4 cup olive oil and 3/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Spread on the hot baking sheets and roast until browned, 18 to 20 minutes. Toss with 4 teaspoons za'atar (a spice blend available at Middle Eastern markets), 3 tablespoons chopped parsley and the juice of 1 lemon.

Brown Rice with Lemon, Shallots and Toasted Pine Nuts

(Serves 4, recipe from "For the Love of Cooking")

2 tbsp pine nuts
1/2 tsp olive oil
1 shallot diced finely
1 tsp lemon zest divided in two
Brown rice prepared per instructions (use vegetable or chicken stock to cook the rice - it's much more flavorful). Also, add 1/2 tsp of lemon zest to rice while cooking.
1 tsp butter
Salt and pepper to taste

While the brown rice is cooking, add pine nuts to a DRY skillet over medium heat. Toast the nuts stirring often, until they are golden brown 2-3 minutes. After the nuts are finished cooking, remove from pan and set aside. In the same pan add the olive oil over medium heat. Add the shallot and cook until soft and tender. They cook fast so stir them often. Once rice is finished cooking, add pine nuts, shallots, the remainder of lemon zest, butter and salt and pepper to taste.

Planning a Wedding and Oh yeah, cooking too - Greek Ziti Ragu

2011-05-28T09:09:00.000-07:00

When Zach and I got engaged, I thought I would end up blogging away about the wedding planning process.

I thought food blog readers were a similar target audience so it would be nice to sort things out via this blog, with a recipe to accompany every step of the way. I am now two months in to my 6 month engagement, and I do not think I have really mentioned the crazy world of wedding planning. If this is not something that interests you, forgive me for starting now.

You do not need a lot of time to plan a wedding. In fact, I prefer the condensed process which will all start and end before there is too much time to dwell on all the things I am including and not including in the process. What you do need is a lot of advance notice.

Every vendor, specifically the ceremony and reception venues need to be booked so far ahead time. I found myself running out of options for a reception venue before I even started looking. And the date we picked, the Florida Gator Football bye weekend of October 22nd? Forget it.

We started throwing out alternate dates, pending the availability of the reception spaces we were drawn to. By the time we found the location we ended up booking, there were two dates available within months of our original date: September 18th (a Sunday) and September 11th (a Sunday). For obvious reasons, we went with September 18th.

Our wedding celebration will be at the Winter Park Farmers’ market in Orlando, Florida, a location originally brought up by Zach’s mom (who originated several other successful ideas like the greyhound breed of dog we ended up adopting, my beloved cast iron skillet, my sewing hobby and the easy-peasy crock pot). The place is perfect for us. It is nice enough for an event such as a wedding, but not stuffy or cookie-cutter the way so many reception locations can be. The farmers’ market has loads of character and old-school charm with its red brick structure and hanging bulb lights. It used to be a train station, but has been converted to serve as a venue for weddings and other events as well as a farmers’ market every Saturday. Zach and I are big fans of farmers’ markets in general so it just seems really appropriate that we celebrate or marriage at one.

The ceremony will be at Loch Haven Park which is just behind the Menello Museum of Art, about 10 minutes away from the market. The criteria for a ceremony location for was “a big tree”. I just wanted to get married under a big tree. This is of course, weather permitting which means a lot more in Florida during hurricane season than it would somewhere like California in the fall.

We made a "save the date" movie trailer instead of the traditional save the date postcards. I am posting it below for your viewing pleasure...

I am well beyond the venue booking at this point in the process, but more on that later. For now, I will leave you with THIS:

Greek Ziti Ragu

(a recipe by Rachel Ray - makes 5-6 servings)

2 tablespoons EVOO (extra-virgin olive oil)
1 1/2 pounds ground lamb (I used beef)
Fine sea salt and black pepper
2 sprigs fresh oregano or marjoram, leaves finely chopped (about 1 tablespoon)
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped 1 onion, finely chopped
1 large fresh bay leaf
1 cinnamon stick
1 small red chile pepper, such as fresno or cherry, finely chopped
About 3 tablespoons tomato paste
A small handful pitted kalamata olives, finely chopped, or 2 tablespoons black olive tapenade
1 cup dry white wine 1 1/2 cups whole milk
A few grates fresh nutmeg
1 pound ziti pasta
1/2 pound brick greek feta cheese, drained and finely crumbled
A handful each flat-leaf parsley and fresh mint, finely chopped

Heat a large dutch oven over high heat. Add the EVOO, 2 turns of the pan, and the lamb; brown the lamb, caramelizing the meat to deep brown. Add lots of black pepper, sea salt, the oregano (or marjoram for a milder taste), garlic, onion, bay leaf, cinnamon stick and chile pepper and cook for 7 to 8 minutes to soften.

Add the tomato paste and olives (or tapenade) and stir for 30 seconds. Add the wine and deglaze the pan; add the milk and reduce the heat to a simmer. Add nutmeg to taste and simmer the ragù while you cook the pasta.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt it, add the pasta and cook until al dente. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the pasta cooking water. Return the pasta to the hot pot with half of the finely crumbled feta. Discard the bay leaf and cinnamon stick. Add the ragù to the ziti and stir, adding in the pasta cooking water as necessary to move the heavy ragù around the pasta. Serve in shallow bowls topped with the remaining feta and the finely chopped parsley and mint.

Don't You Forget About Me - Brunch Club May

2011-05-15T10:27:00.000-07:00

I thought of a new excuse for not posting in a while.

Brunch club nearly disappeared after the last one that was sometime last year! Sue heroically revived it, and the newlyweds, Robily, graciously hosted at their new cool apartment in Pasadena. It was delightful to meet back up again. It had certainly been a while. With the return of brunch club, I am inspired to make a return to blogging after, well let's call it a sabbatical.

The club-goers (the brunch club goers that is) depend on us to bring the hearty egg-type dishes to the event so I made this little breakfast calzone I have been meaning to try from my recipe binder.

I made two, one with sausage/jack cheese/egg/peppers/onions

...and the other with feta/sun-dried tomato/egg/spinach/mushroom/onion.

The former was from the recipe, the latter was a creation of mine not only to accommodate the vegetarians in the group, but also to experiment with the concept to see if it would work with other ingredients. The feta/spinach one was actually better in my opinion.

It is almost unnecessary to bore you with a recipe for this because you can do whatever you want with these things. I used Pillsbury pizza dough which comes in one of those scary pop-open cans (doyouknowwhatimean?...one of those cans where you slowly peel away the wrapping on the outside until the can bursts open like BLAM!)
You can stuff the thing up with anything you want. I will definitely use more eggs next time. You can almost just make scrambled eggs with anything you like to add and then roll it up in that dough, and bake for about 15 minutes.

Instead of a traditional recipe, I will simply give you some tips for this:

*Cook or saute whatever meat or vegetables you will be using until the meat is brown or the vegetables are slightly tender.
*Mix together about 4-5 eggs, and scramble them with whatever filling (meat/veggies/cheese) you are using
*Roll out your pizza dough into more of a long rectangle so once the filling is added and folded it, you will have a log-shaped calzone that you can cut across.
*Add the egg filling down the center of the dough rectangle.
*You can fold the edges it and pinch them together at the top.
*Brush the dough with an egg white wash OR just use some cooking spray to lightly coat the dough (I used olive oil spray)
*Use the timing/temperature on whatever pizza dough package you use. Just make surethe dough is cooked all the way through. I believe I did about 20 minutes at 350 F.
Allow to cool for at least 10 minutes before cutting into the calzone.

Basil Roasted Chicken Salad With Avocado

2011-04-16T07:16:00.000-07:00

It is hard to believe avocado was once on my "do not consume" list.

It was one of those foods that just clicked for me in my adult life. Perhaps I just grew tired of saying "no avocado please" when ordering at restaurants since they manage to work it into every sandwich, salad and beyond here in California. It is now rare that a day goes by where I do not eat this creamy, buttery fruit.

So when my friend, Elysse, over at The Daily Binge told me about the "Avocado Takedown", I decided that was a great way to get my avocado on last Sunday.

Let me explain this to you: 20 local chefs, 20 dishes featuring avocado, 20 samples to taste/judge (top chef style), $10, stuffed.

This event was just the perfect example of what I love about LA. There is always so much to do. Even when you think you might not have anything exciting to do on a Sunday afternoon, an irresistible event somehow makes its way through your email inbox or on your facebook newsfeed. I cannot think of anything in the world that would have been more worth my time last Sunday afternoon. I ate like a king for just $10, well...a king who really likes avocados.

The dishes were creative. I realized avocado was far more versatile than they usually get credit for. I remember a couple years ago, my friend Candace made vegan chocolate cupcakes with a "secret ingredient", and no one could guess what it was. When she told us it was avocado, it finally made sense that this fruit really does have the consistency of butter. The flavor is mild and nutty which is always something that works well with desserts. In fact, my favorite dish from the competition was a dessert.

Avocado cream cheese cake with mint whipped topping.

Other interesting dishes were:

The avocado bacon muffin:

An avocado and nut mixture wrapped in steak with a side slaw:

Avocado pesto pasta with an avocado "meatball" on top:

Avocado ice cream with pomegranate whipped topping:

Dark chocolate avocado caliente cupcake:

Then they gave us these cute bags on the way out:

Sunday night has become "Sunday Night Salad" Night at the Lindzachary household. Even after being stuffed with avocado-based foods all day, I could not resist throwing it into the salad I made. This recipe is a copycat for one of my favorite new salads to order for lunch while on the job. It is from Doughboy's Cafe and Bakery which has recently taken over as lunch king at work. Every day my coworkers Sara (at Lovely Clear Sweet, Ally and I mildly struggle to decide where to order our lunch from. If we are honest, the struggle is always to figure out a place that will satisfy us at least half as much as Doughboys since we cannot eat there every single day (record: 4 days in a row). I even found myself there with Zach and Stanley one Friday night; I cannot get enough of this place. They have amazing salads (favorites include "the works", the chef salad" and "basil roasted chicken salad"), freshly baked bread that is soft and well, doughy (I could make a mattress out of this plush ciabatta bread that comes with the salads), and they have a huge rest of the menu that includes "the after-school special: a huge grilled cheese sandwich and a PINT of chunky/creamy tomato soup, sloppy joe's, etc. They also have an extensive brunch menu that includes things like rice krispy pancakes and malted cornmeal pancakes; that will have to be a different story.

I copied the basil roasted chicken salad for dinner. While the salad was good, and I got pretty close, I would still recommend trying out the real thing...it really cannot be beat.

Copycat Doughboy's Basil Roasted Chicken Salad:
2 boneless/skinless chicken breasts (or about 6 boneless/skinless chicken tender cutlets)
2 navel oranges
1 bunch of basil (a generous handful)
mixed greens
tomato
gorgonzola cheese
roasted walnuts
1 avocado
1/4 c Citrus olive oil (I happened to have some, but you can just use canola oil with a drop of orange extract)
1/4 c White balsamic vinegar

Cut one orange into 4 sections. Squeeze the juice out and place juice with the peel in a plastic bag. Chop up half of the basil, and ad to the bag.
Add the chicken breasts or tenders to the bag and marinate for at least an hour (or overnight).
Heat a pan over med-high heat.
Add a tablespoon of oil to the pan.
Cook the chicken in the pan, about 3-5 minutes on each side until cooked all the way through.

In a large bowl, add mixed greens, the other orange (peeled and sliced), the gorgonzola cheese, the avocado (peeled and sliced), the tomato (chopped), the rest of the basil (chopped) and the roasted walnuts.

Mix the oil and vinegar thoroughly and toss into the salad. Once the chicken is cooled, chop it up and toss it in.

The Getting There

2011-04-03T08:41:00.001-07:00

I know it seems like I got engaged and just forgot about you all.

This is not the case. It is the #1 drawback to having a regular blog: entry guilt. When I fail to post a new entry at least once a week, a sense of anxiety creeps in. I have been feeling guilty and shameful for seemingly abandoning my blog for the first time in a year and a half. However, this sense of anxiety, guilt and shame was trumped by the only thing that has the power to trump my desire to cook and write about it: pilot season. Remember? I told you all about it a few years ago in this post.

This was the busiest one yet, and my life has been JELLO for the past month and a half. I have not cooked a single thing that entire time, but even if I had, there would have been no time to write about it. I am pathetically making my way back into almost a normal lifestyle (although things are still quite busy), and that includes this.

It was the birthday of my dear friend, Sara, and I wanted to make her something special for this debut back into the world of recipes.

I realized that we are entering the stage of life where we may still look forward to birthday parties (a chance to spend time with friends and eat yummy sweets), but we no longer look forward to birthdays. It may sound ridiculous coming from someone my age, but we fear becoming older. It is not the wrinkles or the gray hairs that being to pop up every now and then (although that stuff sucks on it's own); it is the quarter-life crisis, this in-between stage where you may not be where you pictured yourself ending up as an adult whether it be career, family, spiritual-life or finances. As kids, when we dreamed of what we would be when we grew up, we completely neglected to consider this step of actually giving ourselves the opportunity to get there. It is a time in life that few people really anticipate: the getting there.

Sometimes I find myself getting impatient, wanting to rush through this stage of life towards a more settled and secure future. However, I have come to appreciate this time to soak in all of my twenties have to offer, to gain new experiences, make new friends and continue to develop old friendships. These experiences give me perspective for the future and these friendships get me through the experiences. See how that works?

I made these cookie cupcakes for Sara's birthday because she is my friend and has helped me through many an experience since I have known her. She loves to bake and is super at it. You can visit her blog, Lovely Clear and Sweet for her great recipes. I, on the other hand, tend to perform poorly in this arena. I wanted to ease back into making more new recipes with something simple, yet original. I think these were just the thing for a simple sweet treat.

Peanut Butter Cookie Cupcakes with Chocolate Chip Frosting

1 bag of mini chocolate chips
1/2 c crushed peanuts
your favorite peanut butter cookie recipe (you can really do this with any cookie recipe)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
Drop cookie dough balls into greased cupcake pan
Bake for about 13-15 minutes (until the tops begin to brown.
When the cookies are still hot and in the pan, sprinkle chocolate chips generously over the top of each.
You can let them melt and spread the chocolate around like frosting or you can leave the chocolate chips in tact for a textured look.
Sprinkle some crushed peanuts over the top, and pop the cookies out of the cupcake pan once they have cooled off a bit.

If You Like It...

2011-02-21T00:23:00.001-08:00

....then you better put a ring on it.

Sorry ladies, Zach is officially off the market. Just shy of our 5 year anniversary, we were engaged to be married after a middle-of-the-wilderness-hike proposal. He took me to the middle of the Malibu mountains to "ask some big questions", as he put it. After the big Q, we continued hiking for another six hours through beautiful waterfalls and cascading streams before reaching civilization again. He really made me work for that ring that day! We then had an amazing dinner at Pizzeria Mozza, a restaurant I have wanted to try for years. It was just the sweetest day, full of doing the extravagant version of the things we normally do every Saturday: hiking and eating out. I am very excited to share this news, and I will keep you posted on the details!

Red rock with gray stripe (how did this happen?):

My fiance with his machete:

A couple video representations of about the half-way point. Unfortunately we do not have pictures of the last quarter of the hike which is the absolute most beautiful part with tall trickling waterfalls and long flat cascading rocks. It was dark by the time we got there!:

As you can tell, Stanley was very happy to hear the news. He keeps sniffing my ring.

The Mezza

2011-02-18T08:38:00.000-08:00

In Spain, it is tapas; in China, it is dim sum; in France, it is hors d'oeuvres; in Lebanon, it is mezza.

I love to eat this way. We like to call this type of tasting and snacking "appetizers" or as Zach's dad likes to say "appe-TEASERS". However, with the popularity of the eating-several-small-meals-instead-of-three-big-ones diet that is finding it's way into the American food culture, eating appetizers or sharing small plates for dinner has become something I now see regularly when dining out (and I do dine out quite regularly these days!). Now, I am not quite sure that this whole "several small meals" thing is something I completely buy into. I like to think people are capable of eating three meals without going overboard, maybe with a couple healthy snacks between. And when I go out for tapas, dim sum or mezza, it does not necessarily mean I will be eating less; it just means I will have the opportunity to taste more delicious plates. I will admit, this process slows me down and allows me to enjoy and appreciate each dish on another level which might ultimately lead to less of a calorie intake. It just seems like this dining method was made for people like me, you know, the people who like to"try" everything on everyone else' plate at the table after rushing through their own meals.

I made a mezza last weekend after we tasted a new Lebanese plate at one of our favorite Lebanese food spots in LA, Pi on Sunset. The dish was Kofta in Pita which is exactly what it sounds like: Kofta (or Kafta) in pita bread. It is like a Lebanese quesadilla (with no cheese). It was delightfully delicious so I decided to try it at home. I did cheat by buying the meat already spiced from an Armenian bakery, but I am sure this would work perfectly with any Kofta recipe.

The other dish I made was something for which I hold very fond memories. When I had a chance to visit Lebanon years ago, I would go to the bakery some mornings to bake my own manakeesh. This is essentially a thinly rolled bread topped with one of a few different toppings: zaatar (a sesame/thyme spice mixture), cheese or minced lamb meat. I used to call it :Lebanese pizza" when I was little. I suppose I like to compare every dish to something that is familiar. I did not make my own dough for this version, but you certainly can if you wanted to try it. There are several recipes available online. I am fortunate enough to have several greek and Armenian bakeries close by so I was able to buy some bread on which to spread the various toppings. It is the kind of thin bread that is almost like a thick pita.

Both of these recipes are super simple, and they are a great start for a Lebanese mezza if you ever feel adventurous enough to try one.

KOFTA IN PITA
2 large pita bread rounds (between 12 and 16 inches)
1/2 pound kofta meat (recipe here)
butter (room temperature)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Gently open the pita so that the whole inside is facing upwards...if you are using the real thing, the bread should be thin so be careful
Spread a very thin layer of butter on the inside of each half. (The butter will be on the same side of the bread as the meat).
Place half of the meat (1/4 lb) onto each of the open pitas; try to plop it around different places so it is easier to spread out.
Close the pita by folding the two halves back together.
Gently press the bread together, smashing the meat so it spreads evenly. I used a roller on the outside of the bread to flatten it even more evenly.
The pita should basically look like it did at first, but with a meat layer in the middle
Cut each pita into 6 triangles with a pizza cutter of a large sharp knife.
Place triangles onto a baking sheet lines with foil.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 5-10 minutes (until meat is cooked just all the way through.
Serve with hummus, labneh or just eat plain.

MANAKEESH

4 thick bread pitas (The kind that does not separate in the middle and is more like pizza dough. You can find these in midle eastern grocery stores, or you can use homemade or store-bought pizza dough)
1-2 tbsp zaatar (spice found in most grocery stores but definitely in middle eastern grocery shops)
4 oz Halloumi cheese (specialty cheese shops or middle eastern groceries)
good quality olive oil (I used garlic olive oil)
2 pinches of hot paprika

For manakeesh with zaatar:
Drizzle olive oil onto the bread (baked or unbaked)
mix the zaatar with olive oil. (keep adding the oil slowly and mix it until the spices turn into more of a wet paste...the consistency of mud)
Spread the zaatar thinly over the bread (use more or less to taste)
Bake at 400 degrees F for 5-10 minutes (or until bread is done and slightly toasted).

For manakeesh with cheese:
Drizzle olive oil onto the bread (baked or unbaked)
Crumble cheese and sprinkle it generously on the two pitas.
Drizzle a tad more oil over the cheese and sprinkle a pinch of hot paprika over the top
Bake at 400 degrees F for 5-10 minutes (or until bread is done and slightly toasted).

Classy Classic Key Lime Pie

2011-02-10T19:12:00.000-08:00

I think I like Key Lime Pie now.

I don't usually go for the fruity desserts. I prefer chocolate/vanilla/bready/cakey/creamy desserts. I made key lime pie for the first time just because I know it is one of Zach's favorites. It was definitely delicious, and well worth making. It was just not the classic version of the beloved dessert. I made key lime pie for the second time not only because it is one of Zach's favorites, but also because his mom sent me home after the holidays with a bottle of some really great key lime juice and a classic recipe.

That was half the battle, and we all know I am all about convenience. This pie was the easiest thing. It took such little effort that I had to keep re-reading the recipe to make sure I was not missing something. Granted, the recipe called for a meringue topping that would have made it more challenging. I opted to do a thick whipped topping with a tad of vanilla extract mixed in.

You are going to look twice at this recipe before asking the question, "where is the baking time?" While the recipe includes 4 egg yolks, there is no baking. Apparently,the acidity in the lime juice acts as a "cooking agent". I did have trouble with the pie setting. I just stuck it in the freezer overnight, and it was cool and delicious the next day. I looked online and a lot of people suggest just going ahead and baking it for 10 minutes at 350 degrees F to make sure it sets while other online key-lime pie purists suggest that if you bake it, it is not true key lime pie. Either way, the taste was perfect. You just need to work with the texture whether that means beating the eggs and condensed milk a little more before adding the lime juice, baking it briefly before cooling or just sticking it in the freezer for a cool refreshing treat.

Manny's Authentic Key Lime Pie (from Manny's and Isa's Kitchen in Islamorada, FL)

(recipe adapted, original recipe includes a meringue topping)

1 14 oz can Eagle Brand condensed milk
4 large egg yolks (separated from the whites)
4 oz key lime juice
1 pie crust, baked and cooled (I used an already made graham cracker crust)
1 tub whipped topping
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 key limes (for garnish)

Beat egg yolks and then add condensed milk. Mix thoroughly.
Add key lime juice and mix again.
Pour mixture onto baked and cooled pie crust.
Refrigerate pie for at least an hour (or if you would like to bake it first, bake at 350 degrees F for 10 minutes, and then refrigerate until completely cooled).
Once the pie is set, Mix vanilla extract into the whipped topping.
Spread whipped topping generously over pie.
Garnish with sliced key limes (optional).
Put back into refrigerator until ready to serve.

Note: If your pie has trouble setting, place it in the freezer for a couple hours to give it a better texture.

Orange Crunch Cake: Walking on Water

2011-02-01T21:46:00.000-08:00

Zach and I were chatting creek-side on our weekend hike through Paradise Falls.

Stanley was trotting among the large rocks that were embedded in the shallow water leading up to the waterfall's large pool. He was drinking and splashing around and exploring the new world as he walked "on" the water.

All was well with the world when I heard a loud "PLUNK!". I turned back towards where Stanley had been playing, and he was gone, completely out of sight. I was in shock for a moment before his skinny little face popped out of the water, and his long lean legs started paddling. Stan had "explored" himself right into the deep water of the pool at the base of the waterfall...just walked right in!

We were all in for surprises that day. Stan must have been surprised that the ground that has always been below his paws completely vanished for a moment. Zach and I were surprised we didn't have to jump into the freezing cold water after him. He swam the few feet back to the solid ground and pulled himself back up to safety. He made "learning" to swim look like a piece of cake.

I made this cake for a family gathering during New Years. It was a simple recipe I pulled off of allrecipes.com. It is a great treat for a brand new year. It is a nice little twist on a regular ole layer cake. There is a nice orange flavor, and the deliciously surprising crunch layer adds some interesting texture. I used some homemade cream cheese frosting which turned out pretty well. However, I might try this again with a different kind of vanilla frosting with more body to it. I am just not a fan of cream cheese frosting no matter how hard I try to be.

Orange Crunch Cake

(recipe slightly adapted from allrecipes.com)

CRUNCHY, CRUMBY FILLING:
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup butter, softened

CAKE:
1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup orange juice
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
2 tablespoons grated orange zest (I used orange extract instead - read label for the measurement equivalents)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour two 9 inch pans. Combine the graham cracker crumbs, brown sugar, walnuts and butter. Divide mixture evenly between the prepared pans. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, mix together the cake mix, water, orange juice and oil until blended. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then stir in the orange zest. Pour the mixture evenly over the crunch layer in the pans.
Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool for 10 minutes, then invert onto a wire rack and cool completely before frosting. Frost (crunch side up) between layers, on top and sides. Arrange orange sections on top, then refrigerate.

Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting

(recipe from allrecipes.com)

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
1 cup white sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

In a small bowl beat whipping cream until stiff peaks form; set aside.
In a large bowl combine cream cheese, sugar, salt and vanilla. Beat until smooth, then fold in whipped cream.

Cilantro Lime Dressing with a Kick

2011-01-17T18:45:00.001-08:00

It is really not easy to eat healthy.

I have developed some pretty healthy eating habits over the past 15 years. It is quite common for me to eat about 7-8 salads per week, often more. However, I am sure my health conscious readers are well aware that while a salad can be your best friend, it can also be a deceitful little enemy. I used to think a good rule of thumb was if you really like the salad, it is probably bad for you.

That doesn't have to be true if you focus on bringing rich flavors to a hearty salad. I have to be creative by giving myself enough variety in salads so I don't get sick of eating them. Of course, I have my go-to options for some healthy take-out or dining-out. Here are some of my favorites in the LA area:

Chicken Chow Salad - Lulu's Cafe
Greek Salad (with chicken) - Trimana
The Cowboy Salad (I sub low cal honey mustard dressing for the blue cheese dressing w/honey drizzle) - Mixt Greens
California Chicken Salad (86 croutons and pasta with low cal ranch dressing) - California Chicken Cafe
Debbie's Chopped Salad (eat it with a big spoon!) - Factor's Famous Deli
Raw Salad with chicken (this is no longer on the menu, but they will make it if you ask)- Tender Greens

By focusing on hearty flavorful ingredients, a salad can be healthy and still satisfying. This simple dressing will add so much flavor to any salad, you will not need to add all the things that would make it bad for you to feel satisfied. You also do not need too much of the dressing itself. I added a couple tablespoons to a big bowl of my southwestern chicken salad . I couldn't get enough.

The recipe from Women's Health Magazine, calls for safflower oil (something basically no one has in the pantry) so I used olive oil instead.

Cilantro Lime Dressing with a Kick

(recipe adapted from Women's Health Magazine)

1/2 tsp hot sauce
3 tsp lime juice
2 tbsp cilantro
1/4 c oil (olive oil or safflower oil)

Blend the first 3 ingredients in a blender and then add the oil to blend.

The 2nd Best Cuban Sandwich

2011-01-08T13:43:00.000-08:00

A trip to Florida makes me hungry for Cuban.

In California, I am all about the delicious Mexican food. El Cholo (at the original location on Western Ave in Los Angeles, of course) is not only one of my favorite Mexican restaurants, it is one of my absolute favorite restaurants. Everything is just delicious, and the atmosphere is casually classy and laid back.

In Florida, the specialty is Cuban food and in California it is Mexican food; as you can imagine, it is heavily due to the proximity of each state to their respective countries. Now, I should be fair to say Los Angeles has some great Cuban restaurants like Versailles and El Colmao and parts of Florida have some wonderful Mexican restaurants like La Fiesta in Gainesville, FL or even the gourmet Mexican Restaurant chain, Cantina Laredo that you can find in several states (but not California). This is 2011; great food and people that make great food can be thousands of miles from the homeland.

However, the Cuban sandwich takes me back to my college days in Florida when Zach and I first started dating in Gainesville. We became regulars at this hip little Cuban bakery called Flaco's . It was where I fell in love with the Cuban sandwich. I rarely order a Cuban sandwich anywhere anymore; there are usually much more exciting option on the menu of a good Cuban restaurant like ropa vieja, beans and rice and fried plantains (sweet or unsweet are both fine by me!). But I sometimes find myself craving one of the two type of Cubans Zach and I used to share at Flaco's: the standard Cuban or the Medianoche (which was made with their special slightly sweetened bread). They used the most delicious Cuban-style shredded pork and the freshest, soft-on-the-inside-crunchy-on-the-outside pressed Cuban breads.

Cuban sandwiches are so simple to make at home. Yuu will never make them as well as Flaco; I can promise you that. But you can make some pretty-darn satisfying sandwiches with just a tiny bit more effort than it would take you to make a standard ole' ham and cheese sannie.

The Cuban Sandwich

(makes 4 6-inch sandwiches)

*1/2 lb Pork (shredded Cuban pork is the best, but you can use sliced roasted pork from the deli counter at the grocery store. If that is not an option, I would suggest roast beef as a last resort)
*1/2 lb Ham
*1/2 lb Swiss cheese
*Pickles (sliced lengthwise)
*Mustard (regular mustard works the best, but I have used specialty mustards to change things up)
*Fresh Cuban bread (1 long one should work) - (You can use a baguette if you cannot find Cuban bread, especially if you are going to press the sandwich anyway)

I don't think I really need to explain what you do next besides just saying, "assemble the sandwich".

You can eat your delicious sandwich at this point if you wish, but I suggest pressing it if you own some sort panini or sandwich press. You may want to lightly spread some oil, butter or butter-type spread on the outside of the bread before placing the sandwich into the press. If you are pressing, I would also suggest putting the ham on the bottom, then the shredded pork, then the cheese, then the pickles on top (the mustard can be slathered onto the bread directly). This way, the cheese melts right into the shredded pork. Yum.

Note: I did not have a press to use this time so I just stuck the sandwiches in the oven on a low setting to give them a little crunch.

Do Da Dip, Guacamole Feta Salsa Dip

2011-01-06T12:22:00.000-08:00

I put my hand upon your hip. When I dip, you dip, we dip.

Do you remember dancing to that song at middle school dances? If so, welcome to my generation.

There are a handful of songs that "take me back". It is so strange the music that is nostalgic to one generation can mean nothing to the next. Artists like Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga and the Jonas Brothers are the Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears and Hanson to the next generation. I suppose if you want to know how old someone is, it could be pretty revealing to start up a conversation about the music they grew up with.

I am more of a movie person myself (not that the two need to be exclusive). I am so behind with even popular music as an adult, but there are songs you just couldn't escape when I was growing up, mostly due tot the fact that you actually had to buy expensive CD's if you wanted to listen to specific music (back in my day). Otherwise, you were stuck with the radio. Here are a couple songs that would make me nostalgic from when I was growing up (even though some might say I still am):

"All MY Life" - KC & JoJo
"I Swear" - All for One
"Killing Me Softly" - The Fugees
"Ironic" - Alanis Morissett
"Time of Your Life" - Green Day
"BIG Papa" - Notorious B.I.G.
"I'll be Missing You" - Puff Daddy (as he was called "back in the day") and Faith Evans (this song was recorded in response to Notorious B.I.G.'s murder in the 90's.
"Dreamlover" and "Hero" (and any other song by Mariah Carey)
"I want it That Way" - Backstreet Boys
"Baby One More Time" - Britney Spears
"Bye Bye Bye" - N'Sync
"MMMMMBop" - Hanson

There are really too many to bother continuing listing them. I suppose this song list might reveal something besides my age. It might reveal the fact that I was not really an edgy kid growing up or I might have listed more alternative rock type music. And of course there are songs that "take me back" that are not from my generation at all like selections from some of my favorite musicals or songs from the soft rock station my mom used to listen to in the car, "Warm 94.9".

I wonder what ever happened to that "Da Dip" song. It was just so simple, and it really used to get people out on the dance floor. This dip has a bunch of ingredients, but it is pretty simple too. Though I doubt it would get anyone on the dance floor; it might be more of a lazy afternoon watching football kind of dip. In fact, this was the very dip enjoyed by Zach's and my family when we got together over New Years to watch the Gators win the Outback Bowl.

Da Dip: Avocado Feta Salsa Dip

(recipe adapted from Allrecipes.com - makes about 4 cups of dip)

3 plum tomatoes, chopped
3-4 ripe avocado - peeled, pitted and chopped
1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
2 clove garlic, minced
1 handful fresh chopped cilantro
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice (original recipe used red or white wine vinegar, but I didn't have any, and the lemon juice was great - lime would work too)
4 ounces crumbled feta cheese

In a bowl, gently stir together tomatoes, avocados, onion, and garlic. Mix in cilantro. Gently stir in olive oil and lemon juice. Then stir in feta. Cover, and chill for at least 1 hour (preferably 2-6).

This dip can also be used creatively as a topping for some grilled chicken or a spread in a nice fresh turkey sandwich. It is very different from a salsa and also pretty different from a guacamole. You can use less avocados and more tomatoes if you wish as well. Enjoy!

Pork and Pancakes for Christmas

2010-12-28T21:01:00.000-08:00

I know most food blogs post lots of recipes over the holidays for the benefit of their readers.

With baby Rachel: check out those aunt-ing skillz

Well this blog is for me, and I was busy. This is not to say you should not read my entires. In fact, I welcome it, and it truly encourages me. However, if I thought about this blog as a responsibility, it would never have lasted as long as it has. When I get busy, the blog takes a backseat. When I am bored, it keeps my occupied. The most important part of all is it keeps me cooking, and maybe...just maybe it gets you to cook too. Like this:

I usually stay pretty busy when I come to Florida for the holidays. I try to spend some quality time with my friends and family that I rarely get to see during the year. This Christmas, I got to see my whole Puerto-Rican Style family for Christmas Eve and then my brother's family for Christmas Day. I even got to spend some time with my boyfriend's family the day after. Nothing made me happier than to see so many people I love in the short time I have here. A highlight included my aunt Janet's new fluffy black dog, Diva. See if you can spot her sandwiched between our dark curly hair in the pictures below:

My Aunt Janet makes flavorful, tender Puerto-Rican style pork every year for Christmas Eve dinner, but this year was absolutely, by far THE. BEST. PORK. I. HAVE. EVER. HAD. I couldn't stop eating it. I wish I could pass along her wisdom with a simple recipe and a little story, but this is something that comes with years of practice, trial, error and patience.

We had another pork the next night for Christmas night which we shared with my sister-in-law's wonderful family. Then it was time for dessertland.

Geeze.

Now, I have never bothered to includes ads on my blog because I don't know that I have all that many readers. However, I am going to go ahead and personally endorse my first product.

Without this product's knowledge or approval I am going to crown it the official pancake accessory of Bite Me Food Blog. It was gift for my sister-in-law who makes pancakes about 100% more than I ever do. The pancake pen jumped out at me when I was skimming through a magazine one day months ago. It worked far better than I ever imagined it would, and it was a blast to use to amuse my 4-year-old niece:

Check out the cutie presenting the plates with her sister's name on them. Poor Charlotte's name is too long so she just got a "C".

She was super impressed up until the point where I could not be precise enough to give Minnie Mouse a bow between her ears; she had to settle for a blue berry bow after being plated.

I am not going to supply you with a fantastic pancake recipe here because to be honest, I cared very little about the taste of the pancakes and more about the fun we would have making them. I used the "just add water kind" and attempted to cover it up with an array of toppings and mix-ins. I call it "pancake bar": chocolate chips, blueberries, bananas, pecans and any combo you can think of. I ended up with a choco-banana-nut pancake, and I must say the letter "A" (or whatever letter I had) never tasted so good.

I don't really have a recipe for you, just a couple tips. Consider them a late Christmas present: #1 buy the pancake pen if you or someone you know have kids who could get a kick out of it and #2 make the lost of your left overs.

Number 2 might hit home specifically to my brother and sister-in-law who like us, must have at least 4 to 5 pounds of pork left over from Christmas dinner. Of course, you don't want to get stuck eating the same thing every night just to avoid the guilt of throwing something perfectly good away later. It is important to get creative with leftovers, especially when you have a ton of the same thing (this might be a familiar Thanksgiving situation including turkey instead of pork). This year, I decided to use some of the pork leftovers to make BBQ pulled pork sandwiches.

It was simple to shred the meaty pieces into smaller ones and reheat with plenty of brown sugar BBQ sauce, slap it on a bun, and call it a good ole' American meal. Another use of the pork was just as part of a salad that included dried cranberries, feta cheese, apple slices and walnuts. Considering we originally enjoyed the pork as an authentic Puerto-Rican style dish, the variations so far have been different enough to keep the meal "fresh" in my mind. What's next? Pork enchiladas? sweet and sour pork? Pork Pancakes?

Christmas Card UpDATES: Prosciutto-Wrapped Stuffed Dates

2010-12-24T23:47:00.000-08:00

I love "family update" Christmas cards. I really really do.

I want to be clear that while it may sound like it, this is not a sarcastic "love". I truly look forward to updates each year through photos and funny stories on anyone from families I am close to families I haven't seen in years and would not recognize them if they passed by on the sidewalk if it were not for their annual Christmas card updates. I suppose we will all always be curious about the people we know or even used to know and what they have been up to and what has become important to them over the years. I have consolidated my need to update anyone in my life by having a blog. I do also send out life updates to friends and family via email from time to time. However, this year, I have decided to put together my own version of a "family-update" Christmas card right here where it belongs.

Greetings friends and family! What's up with you? Feel free to send your responses via a family-update Christmas card to my home address (anytime of year). In case you were wondering about me at all over the past year, let me unsolicitedly update you.

Family: That's going pretty well. I now have three nieces as Rachel Marie was born October 19th. Zach and I adopted an addition into our little LA family, Stanley Weissmilian, back in the early spring. While it took him quite a while to adjust to his couch-potato lifestyle, he seems to have accepted that he will have to happily live out his days in his "retirement home".

Zach and I have been doing a pretty good job waddling through the responsibilities of adulthood, job, bills, Christmas card updates. This may actually be the first holiday season I can announce that we are both very happy with our jobs at the same time. While each of us have like past positions, we are finally both pretty satisfied this year. These jobs afford us the glamourous lifestyle of watching a lot of TV or Netflix instant (through our sweet Roku hookup) while eating gummy bears on the couch Stanley so generously shares with us. We also enjoy:
*going to the gym (increasingly less this year)
*complaining about the Ralph's grocery store down the street and how they never have anything I need, but it is just so close that I wouldn't consider going somewhere else
*getting to know our neighborhood chinese takeout workers
*traveling to far off places (see blog post about local travel)
*fighting about politics...not usually with each other but with people in/on the news (again with the TV)

Television shows we have liked this year include (in no particular order):
Mad Men (AMC)
Glee (Fox)
The Office (NBC)
Dexter (Showtime)
Boardwalk Empire (HBO)
Entourage (HBO)
Big Love (HBO)
Penn and Teller's Bull$h*t! (Showtime)
Breaking Bad (AMC)
Parenthood (NBC)
In Treatment (HBO)
Jersey Shore (MTV)
Damages (FX)

Movies we have liked his year (in no particular order):
The Kids are Alright
City Island
Black Swan
Exit Through the Gift Shop
Catfish
Cyrus
Star Trek
Inception
The Fighter
Hot Tub Time Machine
Please Give
Tillman Story
A Single Man
The Switch
Never Let Me Go
The Social Network

New Years resolutions:
None, they don't work.

I just changed my mind about not having a New Years resolution; I hear by commit to convincing my dear friends Case and Becky to move to Southern California. Starting now:

Dilemmas I foresee coming up in the next year:
*Should we keep or cancel the Costco membership when we only go about 3 times a year?
*Should we celebrate out 5 year anniversary jointly with Stanley's adoption anniversary? This will set a precedent for years to come.
*Will I finally spring for a proper umbrella before the next time it rains in LA, or will I stick with the mini-umbrella we struggled with during the great week of constant rain in early December of this year?
*Will I stop cooking things I have already made on this blog over and over again so I can have finally some new material to share?
*How long will it take my hair to grow out of this between stage it is in where it is not short enough and not long enough?

Lastly, I worry I may spend quite a deal of time in the coming year wishing I were a part of this random family I photographed on the beach in La Jolla because then I could submit some great pics to Awkward Family Photos. Yes they are wearing neon matching Disneyland t-shirts.

There you have it. Maybe while you are at it, you should have these too.

These little gems are great for a Christmas appetizer. I wish you all a Merry Merry Christmas and a Happy Happy New Year...Thanks for reading my blog!

Prosciutto-Wrapped Stuffed Dates

(recipe from Cooking Light Magazine)

3/4 cup (6 ounces) goat cheese
1 tablespoon minced shallots
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
24 whole pitted dates
6 thin slices prosciutto

Preheat oven to 350°.
Combine first 4 ingredients in a small bowl, stirring with a fork. Slice dates lengthwise, cutting to, but not through, other side. Open dates; place 1 rounded teaspoon cheese mixture into each date. Cut 1 prosciutto slice in half lengthwise and then crosswise to make 4 equal pieces. Repeat procedure with remaining prosciutto to form 24 pieces. Wrap each date with 1 prosciutto piece; place dates on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350° for 8 minutes or until filling is thoroughly heated. Serve immediately.

THE Cookie

2010-12-08T17:12:00.000-08:00

It's the season for milk n' cookies.

I'll have to admit I thought my milk n' cookies and pizza party days were behind me. But I am glad to report that adults have pizza parties too. And grown ups besides Santa Cause can enjoy milk and cookies.

My boss had the wonderfully retro idea of having an office pizza party to celebrate the holidays. I decided this was the perfect opportunity to get back on the wagon and try my hand at baking again. You see, I have been failing miserably lately, and I thought that if I ended up botching yet another cookie recipe, at least there would be pizza around to comfort any disappointed individuals.

I refuse to be one of those "I-am terrible-at-baking" people. A wise friend of mine once expressed his disdain for this sort of complacent, self-aware-of-my-faults attitude. Of course, his disdain lies more in character flaws like "I-am-selfish-so-sue-me" or "I-am-always-late-so-just-learn-to-expect-it-people" and less in things like "I-have-no-patience-for-baking" or "I-use-too-many-hyphens-when-I-write-blogs".

However, as an exploratory recipe-blogger I feel a sense of responsibility to try things with which I may be uncomfortable, particularly because I may demand you do the same at times. This "we're all in it together" mentality is the message of this blog.

I have wanted to try the NY Times recipe for a while now (which was all the craze a few years ago). However, that recipe requires you to refrigerate the dough at least 24 hours. I hardly have the patience for baking; waiting at least 24 hours to bake the dough is out of the question. I found a recipe that claimed to be the "last chocolate chip cookie recipe you will ever need" and did not require the 24 hour chilling period. The recipe comes from Ashley Rodriguez of the popular food blog, Not Without Salt . I decided to give it a try and follow the recipe exactly as is. The only thing I changed was to use already chunked chocolate (high quality) instead of chopping my own. Ashley explains in her post that chocolate chips have a waxy texture that makes them cute and pretty, but does not do so well in the taste department. The chunks really were better than chips, and I bet a great quality chocolate bar broken up would be even BETTER! The tiny pinch of sea salt on each cookie was such a great touch too. I truly have found the last chocolate chip cookie recipe I will ever need.

I know that if I can make great cookies, anyone can. It seems this is a fool-proof recipe if I ever saw one. Just follow the directions exactly. The cookies turned out perfectly. They were thick with just the right texture: soft/chewy on the inside with a nice soft crusty outside. I do not like the flat greasy/chewy kind of chocolate chip cookie because the cookie does not absorb the milk the way these could. Sometimes it pays off to take risks and attack your flaws full force.

The party was a success as well! A great group showed up, and it was really nice to just relax and spend time with the people I work with or at least along side of every day. I am including a couple pictures of the office here. It is such a great space, and my boss has it decorated so nicely. My camera doesn't work very well without tons of natural light so these pictures don't even do it justice; most pictures of the attendees were just too blurry to post.

Main room:

My desk:

PTP (Personal Trainer Patrick) judging all the cookie and pizza eaters as he offers a tangerine instead:

The guardians of the pizza:

THE Chocolate Chip Cookie

(recipe from Not Without Salt, a food blog)

2 sticks butter
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup Turbinado sugar (sugar in the raw)
1 3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
3 1/2 cup All Purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp Baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1 lb. chocolate (use the best quality chocolate you can afford. With a serrated knife cut chocolate chunks roughly 1/2 inch)

Cream the butter and the sugars until light. Scrape down the side of the bowl. Continue mixing while adding the eggs one at time. Make sure each egg is incorporated before adding the next. Add the vanilla. Scrape down the bowl with a spatula. Combine the flour, soda and salt in another bowl. With a whisk, stir to combine. With the machine on low, slowly add the flour. Mix until just combined, taking care not to over mix. With a spatula fold in the chocolate.
If you so choose, and I do recommend that you do, sprinkle a very fine dusting of good quality sea salt. Fleur de Sel or Murray River Pink Salt are my recommendations.
Bake at 360* for 12 minutes. They should be lightly golden on the outside but still look gooey on the inside.

PS - I made my trusty Cakie recipe as well. This time, I tried Red Velvet cake mix and added white chocolate chips. You just need to follow the original recipe and use white chocolate chips instead of regular chocolate chips or M&M's. It was fantastic (aside from the stains it left on my hands). I failed to get a great picture, but you get the idea here.

Thanksgiving 2010 - Vegetable Tian Time + a Tribute to Southern California

2010-11-30T08:42:00.000-08:00

Quite possibly what I love most about Southern California is the fact that you can drive an hour or so in any direction and be in a completely different world.

To the NORTH, you have Santa Barbara, an upscale costal town with mountains, great restaurants, a beautiful pier, bike trails, shops, wine and a sophisticated beach bum attitude as well as the Malibu Mountains where you will find anything from a beautiful dam on a hike to a line of buddhist monks at the Getty Center Gardens.

To the EAST, you have the dessert areas like Palm Springs (a chill desert town with a retro-chic charm and a huge casino), Joshua Tree (a small hippy-ish native town with a huge unspeakably beautiful national park for hiking, camping and awwwwing), other desert towns (where you can do things like apple-picking or gambling at random casinos) and Big Bear Lake in the mountains (great for hiking, kayaking and other water sports in the summer, snow skiing in the winter and lama petting!).

To the SOUTH, you have charming coastal towns like La Jolla (where the seals literally sun bathe on the shore). New Port, Huntington, Seal Beach and Laguna are all worth while destinations for weekend trips that might include surfing, relaxing, shopping and whale watching. You might even prefer the small-town life in a place like Jullian, famous for their apple and berry pies. Travel slightly farther south, and you will reach beautiful San Diego...slightly farther to reach Mexico!

To the WEST (southwest), you have Catalina Island which is a gorgeous small island off the coast of Long Beach. Catalina is extra romantic and relaxing, but you can always occupy yourself with the beach, SCUBA, fishing, walks through the gardens and the casino...unfortunately, I cannot find my pictures from Catalina. I will just have to go again soon I suppose!

The amazing thing about these each-completely-different pictures is not that they are all in California (the state is huge!), but that they are all within day-trip distance of Los Angeles (2 hours or less). I wanted to expand to all of California (or weekend-trip distance), we would have a completely different situation on our hands! I would include places like Mammoth Mountain for skiing, San Francisco or even Las Vegas (which is slightly out of state, but still just under 4 hours driving. This place is crazy!

Part 3 of our Thanksgiving adventure takes place in a town just southeast of Los Angeles called Temecula. Temecula is one of the wine countries of Southern California, reaffirming the southern California mentality that you can, in fact, have it all. I couldn't believe this area even existed. I loved traveling to Northern California and visiting Sonoma and Napa wine country the few times I went. It seemed like such a unique experience and great way to spend a relaxing day just frolicking from winery to winery casually sipping on wines that took the winemakers years to perfect. Then you say something like, "I like this one...has a bite to it...now THIS one...it has less of a bite at first but then it kicks in after a few seconds." I, of course, don't really know what I am talking about, but it is fun to compare the wines once you have started to try them. It is also fun to take a little piece of the experience home with you when you buy a bottle...or two...or three...or....

I must be fair and say Temecula is no Napa. It is less beautiful and the wineries do not have the reputation of the northern California wineries. However, it is the perfect substitute when you consider the time it takes to travel to Northern wine country and the lack of knowledge I possess about the difference between a taste of a good wine and of a great one (if that barrier even occurs here...like I said...I cannot tell). I decided to take my parents to Temecula for some lunch on the terrace of a winery that overlooks the Temecula valley and some tastings of our own. It was a really nice time, and we got back to town just in time for a Lebanese feast at one of my favorite restaurants, Pi which was followed by a trip to the Planetarium show at the Griffith Park Observatory. Phew! It makes me tired just recapping it.

The final recipe I will share with you from my Thanksgiving feast was the first recipe I decided on making. As you can see, it was at the top of my list on the chalkboard:

Vegetable Tian is something I have never heard of before. I am still not entirely sure of what it means, but it seemed like the perfect side dish (not only for Thanksgiving, but for anytime of year). The recipe I used was from a really great cooking blog I came across called For the Love of Cooking. This was one of several recipes I will be trying from this site. I am especially drawn to the roasted chicken recipes she has posted...there are some unique and delicious sounding ideas I am excited about. The result for this dish was so pretty and tasty as well. It is just a great way to get in your starch and veggie sides in one fancy-looking dish. The one thing I regret is prepping this one ahead. I baked it half way (without the cheese) the day before, and then I continued the day of. The cooking times were all off because I was putting a cold dish into the oven on Thanksgiving day instead of a pipping hot one (because you are normally just taking it out to put the cheese on and then returning it to the oven). The result was still tasty, but my potatoes did not end up cooking properly so we were forced to get by on only the mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes on the table this year.

Vegetable Tian

(recipe exactly from For the Love of Cooking - serves 6)

2 tbsp olive oil (divided)
1 large sweet yellow onion cut in half and sliced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1-2 russet potatoes, unpeeled
1 zucchini
1 yellow squash
3 large Roma tomatoes
Sea salt, freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
Dried thyme, to taste
1/2 cup of grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Coat a baking dish with olive oil cooking spray. Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add the onions and saute until translucent, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another 60 seconds. Spread the onion mixture on the bottom of the greased baking dish.
Slice the potatoes, zucchini, squash and tomatoes in 1/4 inch thick slices. Layer them alternately in the dish on top of the onions, fitting them tightly into a spiral, making only one layer. Season with sea salt, black pepper and dried thyme, to taste. Drizzle the last tablespoon of olive oil over the top.
Cover the dish with tin foil and bake for 35 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. Uncover and sprinkle the Parmesan cheese on top and bake for another 25-30 minutes or until browned.

*I forgot to et a close up of the dish with my camera, but my dad snapped this shot with his phone. I guess I got a little tired of taking pictures by the time it came out of the oven. The good (read: great) news is that the blog link for the original recipe has a beautiful picture that I could never duplicate anyway. So look to that for inspiration, and enjoy!

Thanksgiving 2010 - Sweet Potato Casserole Time

2010-11-27T22:41:00.001-08:00

I had a helper in the kitchen when I was cooking my Thanksgiving feast.

Stanley loves to follow me around the kitchen while I cook. I thought he was looking for handouts, but I never gave in as to keep from encouraging it. However, I realized the other day that he follows me around the house in the kitchen or out. If I am working on the computer in the bedroom, he stands there next to me. He was not looking for handouts in the kitchen (I was making vegetables at the time, not exactly tasty to him), he just wanted to be with me. Nothing made my Elmyra side happier than this revelation. I knew he could never resist a cushy spot on the ground as long as it was in the same room so I put his bed in the doorway of the kitchen so we could hang out together, but he would not be in the way of my every step. I know he was happy to be there with me, but it made me really happy too to have the company. Such a sweet boy.

I did make something sweet for the Thanksgiving table this year, and I am not talking about the dessert. Sweet potato casserole has been one of my specialties growing up. From the time I was in college (and felt the need to contribute something of my own to the family feast), I would make a sweet potato casserole, garlic cheese biscuits and some sort of dessert. In the past, I have used canned sweet potato chunks for the base of this "recipe". I say "recipe" because I have never really followed any sort of instructions to make this. This year, I decided to keep with my make-from-scratch theme and bake the potatoes. Sweet potatoes are so creamy and delicious, I could have eaten them right out of the oven just the way they are. The natural sugar gives the skin a caramelized taste. I added a couple new things to my "recipe" this year that I think worked really well including bits of the skin (bonus fiber and some nice texture) and ground almonds for a nice smooth nutty flavor.

Stanley Is Sweet Potato Casserole

(Serves 6)

4 sweet potatoes
1 tbsp brown sugar
1/4 C half and half
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1/4 ground almonds (plus a little to sprinkle for the topping)
1/2 C pecan pieces
1 C mini marshmallows

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Individually wrap each potato in foil, and bake for about an hour (until completely fork tender).
Turn oven down to 350 degrees F.
Scoop out flesh of baked sweet potatoes, and mash with a potato masher (you can use a fork if you like them to be chunkier)
Chop up the skin of one of the potatoes into small pieces and sprinkle into the mashed potatoes.
Add half and half, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and ground almonds and mix together until combined.
Fold in pecan pieces.
Transfer mixture to a square 8" casserole dish; spread evenly into the dish.
Sprinkle some ground almond on top of the mixture, and evenly sprinkle marshmallows on top (you can also sprinkle a pinch of cinnamon on top of the marshmallows).
Put the casserole back in the oven for about 20 minutes (or until the marshmallows start to toast.

Thanksgiving 2010 - Green Bean Casserole Time

2010-11-25T07:50:00.000-08:00

I realize this is a little late, but I have some great Thanksgiving recipes for you.

The good news is most of these dishes, you can make anytime of year. Of course you are welcome to make a huge turkey and gravy anytime of year, but those dishes are better left to have something to look forward to each November.

My parents visited for Thanksgiving this year which I could not be more excited about. When preparing a Thanksgiving feast, little to no consideration goes into how many people will be at my table. My turkey is 13 lbs, they only sell Yukon Gold potatoes by the 1 1/2 lb, and 1/2 of my aunts stuffing recipe still contains 2 lbs of beef. The good news is, I am hosting this dinner at my place this year which makes for quick and easy storage of leftovers to eat for weeks! There was a cutthroat process to limit f=down the dishes that ended up making it onto the table. I recently painted a wall in my kitchen with chalkboard paint, and I decided to map out the meal there.

I wrote out all my ideas and then went all "politician" on it, making "line-by-line" cuts to the budget...the only difference is, I actually did make cuts, significant cuts like slashing the rum cake, succotash and mac and cheese.

Truth be told, I wanted to be sure to make some dishes I haven't made before so that I could share them on my blog. That is something I really appreciate about keeping this blog; it keeps me on my toes, trying new things instead of getting to complacent with my cooking comfort zone.

Green bean casserole is something I wanted to make from scratch this year. My dad has always been responsible for this dish when my whole family gets together, and it solely consists of cans: canned green beans, canned cream of mushroom soup, canned fried onions...oh a bag of chopped pecans as well. Now, don't get me wrong. I have learned to love this "dump and go" green bean casserole over the years, but I wanted to try to make it from scratch to see how it holds up. I used a popular recipe from Alton Brown, and I dare to say it was worth the extra effort. I may tweak it a bit next year by adding more green beans and also adding pecans (the way my dad does), but I highly suggest this recipe for the essential Thanksgiving dish.

I am particularly confident in recommending this recipe because it happened to be Zach's favorite dish at the table this year, even though he does not like green beans. There are several more recipes where this came from so stay tuned!

Alton Brown's Best Ever Green Bean Casserole

(recipe from Food Network's Alton Brown - serves 6)

For the topping:
2 medium onions, thinly sliced
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons panko bread crumbs
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Nonstick cooking spray
For beans and sauce:
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1 pound fresh green beans, rinsed, trimmed and halved
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
12 ounces mushrooms, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup half-and-half
Directions
Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F.

Combine the onions, flour, panko and salt in a large mixing bowl and toss to combine. Coat a sheet pan with nonstick cooking spray and evenly spread the onions on the pan. Place the pan on the middle rack of the oven and bake until golden brown, approximately 30 minutes. Toss the onions 2 to 3 times during cooking. Once done, remove from the oven and set aside until ready to use. Turn the oven down to 400 degrees F.

While the onions are cooking, prepare the beans. Bring a gallon of water and 2 tablespoons of salt to a boil in an 8-quart saucepan. Add the beans and blanch for 5 minutes. Drain in a colander and immediately plunge the beans into a large bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Drain and set aside.

Melt the butter in a 12-inch cast iron skillet set over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms, 1 teaspoon salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms begin to give up some of their liquid, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and nutmeg and continue to cook for another 1 to 2 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the mixture and stir to combine. Cook for 1 minute. Add the broth and simmer for 1 minute. Decrease the heat to medium-low and add the half-and-half. Cook until the mixture thickens, stirring occasionally, approximately 6 to 8 minutes.

Remove from the heat and stir in 1/4 of the onions and all of the green beans. Top with the remaining onions. Place into the oven and bake until bubbly, approximately 15 minutes. Remove and serve immediately.

Sometimes Sides Take Center Stage

2010-11-15T09:08:00.000-08:00

Say that 10 times fast.

I made a roasted chicken for dinner. I am still impressed with myself every time I pull out a whole, beautifully cooked bird from the oven. I am not sure why because it is really one of the easiest things to do, but it just looks so pretty. However, last night I made a roasted chicken with a spicy rub that looked much better going into the oven than it did coming out. It is not the recipe's fault. It is just that I was supposed to slow cook the thing, and seeing as how I wasn't able to start until about 6pm, I kind of rushed things a bit. The spicy rub charred, and turned black. It actually didn't look so bad once I rubbed the charred part off a bit.

While the chicken was still delicious, and the spicy rub flavor was the bomb, it fell behind the star of the evening's meal, the Mediterranean couscous.

I have never made couscous before. But sometimes you need an escape from the same old rice and potatoes. I liked this recipe because it was basically the starch and the vegetable in one. It could definitely even be the main dish in a vegetarian meal. It was so flavorful and pretty healthy (due to the vegetables, not the couscous since it is basically teeny weeny bits of pasta). I cannot wait to experiment with this weird little food some more, but I don't know that I will be able to beat this recipe.

Tracie's Couscous Salad

(recipe adapted from Paula Deen)

1 box flavored couscous (garlic or Parmesan), cooked (I used toasted pine nut flavored couscous)
1 can chickpeas
1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
1/2 Vidalia onion, chopped (I used a shallot)
1 English cucumber, peeled, seeded, and finely chopped
1 tomato, chopped
1/4 cup fresh parsley leaves, chopped
1/2 cup kalamata olives, chopped
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
2 to 3 limes, juiced (I used lemon)

*Be sure to chop everything nice and small so that nothing is too chunky. This is the kind of thing you eat with a spoon

In a large bowl, toss all the ingredients with the olive oil and lime juice, to taste.

A Decade in the Making: Spinach and Feta Stuffed Chicken

2010-11-09T08:00:00.000-08:00

November 6th, in a wedding ceremony on the beach in St Augustine, Florida, my dear friends, Mike(y) and Amanda were married in front of 54 of their friends and family.

November 10th, they will celebrate their ten-year anniversary during their honeymoon in Jamaica. These two started dating our Sophomore year in high school (this suddenly makes me feel pretty old). They are newlyweds with the experience and history of a couple that has been married for years.

These two have been a staple couple in my life practically since the era of real dating began. Amanda’s sister, Sarah, gave a great maid of honor speech at the reception which included a list of trends and events that were going on during the year the couple started dating: “Survivor” was in its first season, The infamous Florida election recounts were underway, Amikeda even precedes Brangelina (and Brangelina have 6 kids). Sarah also mentioned that she always admired the fact that Amanda always knew, from the start, that she wanted to spend her life with Mike. I think we all (those that are close to them) always knew they would end up together as well. I remember talking to our other friends on several occasions about how excited I was for them to get married because their wedding would be really special not only to them, but to those of us who watched them grow together. It takes two really special people to A) recognize the kind of partner they want to be with for the rest of their lives at such a young age and B) be the kind of partner someone wants to be with for the rest of their lives at such a young age.

(I wish I had a really embarrassing picture of the two of them from high school to insert here)

I am so proud to call these two people my friends. They are two of the most fun and interesting people I know and such a blast to hang out with. They do not need my well-wishes or congratulations because Amanda and Mike’s wedding was just a great celebration of what they already have and will continue to have together as long as they both shall live.

I don't have many pictures from the wedding day, but here is a look at the little rehearsal set up on the porch of the beach house where the families were staying for the weekend:

The rehearsal was followed by a dinner at Saltwater Cowboys on the marshy, uniquely Florida land:

Here is my one and only good shot of the bride all dressed up:

Something Amanda and Mike have always loved to do together is cook. Although Amanda’s favorite food seems to be simply toast, she has bragged about their picadillo recipe for a long time. I told her to guest blog about it so hopefully she will be sharing that with us soon. I know they also like to create unique spice blends, which might be interesting to hear about as well. I almost love cooking with someone I love more than I love eating with someone I love. It can be a romantic activity to cook with your significant other or it can be a fun activity to share with your family during the holidays. Since the wedding was in St. Augustine, I had the pleasure of visiting with my brother’s family in Jacksonville for a few days before and after the festivities. I found myself in the kitchen cooking for my family on Sunday afternoon for one of three to four meals a year my immediate family gets to have together. I had a special helper in the kitchen for most of the cooking time.

Olivia was by my side, brushing olive oil on the bread, handing me toothpicks for the chicken and of course taste testing anything that was safe to eat. I was cooking for about two hours total, and I want to say she stayed with me for well over an hour of it. I kept explaining to her that sometimes if you want something to be really really yummy, it takes a long time to make (referring to the fact that we were making the croutons for the salad ourselves instead of buying them already made). She learned what garlic was and how fresh spinach “shrinks” when you sauté it. I learned how fun it can be to cook with curious little kids (it gave me an idea of someday teaching a “mommy-and-me” or even just a kids cooking class…could be chaotic-I-mean-fun right?). I also learned how much nicer/easier/better it is to cook with unlimited counter space and a garbage disposal.

It was such a treat to cook with someone I love so much. Olivia and I made panzanella (which basically gets better every time I make it), roasted potatoes and chicken stuffed with spinach, feta cheese and pine nuts. I realize I forgot something very important in making this recipe for my family because while they were all very complimentary of the dish, it could have used some fresh LEMON JUICE in the stuffing mixture. Lemon juice, by the way, is the miracle ingredient that provides bursting flavor to so many meals without adding a single calorie. You can use this recipe as a base for any stuffed chicken you would like t try. Sub goat cheese for the feta with the spinach, try something totally different with goat cheese and sun dried tomatoes or use Katie’s mom’s suggestion of creating a cream cheese and onion mixture to act as the stuffing. The stuffing can be made up of anything that sounds good to you. Just make sure it has a lot of strong flavors or else you run the risk of the dish coming up flat. Lastly, a nice flavorful sauce could be a great addition to the stuffed chicken (the gorgonzola sauce that goes with Ina Garten’s Beef Tenderloin recipe perhaps?).

This recipe is completely kid-friendly, see? (There is a bite or two way down at the bottom of her plate, people)

Although I am sure Charlotte prefers her popsicles:

Sometimes if you want something to taste really really yummy, it takes a long time to make. This is not one of those times.

Spinach and Feta Stuffed Chicken: not a decade in the making, but still good

(Makes 6-8 servings)

6 Chicken breasts, boneless and skinless
1 package fresh spinach
4 oz feta cheese (or more...you will never regret using more)
1/4 c pine nuts
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cloves chopped garlic
juice of 1 lemon
salt and pepper
Olive oil for the pan
toothpicks

Coat a large pan with just a little bit of olive oil and place over med-high heat.
Add onion and garlic to the pan and cook until tender (about 8 min)
Add the fresh spinach to the pan and cook until wilted (about 5 min)
Add salt and pepper to taste, and remove from heat (try to drain, squeeze out or pat dry any excess moisture you can).
Toast pine nuts in a toaster oven until they turn slightly light brown (you can use a regular oven or just throw them in with the spinach in the pan for the last couple minutes while it wilts).
Add pine nuts, lemon juice and feta cheese to the spinach mixture, and combine well.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Lay out the chicken breasts on a cutting board, and cover with plastic wrap.
Pound chicken breasts out until they are less than 1/2 inch thick (no thinner than 1/4 inch), and remove plastic wrap.
Place a small handful of the spinach mixture in the middle of each chicken breast, and roll them up, securing with toothpicks (to keep them from unrolling.
Sprinkle salt and pepper to taste on the outsides of the chicken rolls.
In a large pan coated with a little bit of oil, brown the chicken rolls on all sides.
Place chicken in a small casserole dish.
Bake for 25-30 minutes (mine took 28) at 350 degrees F (until the juices run clear and there is no pink left in the flesh of the chicken.

I got a chance to chill with my brand new niece after dinner when the world was quiet (i.e. the other two girls were in bed).

Copycat: Salami, Turkey, Goat Cheese Sandwich

2010-11-03T20:11:00.000-07:00

Have you ever had someone copy everything you say?

Under certain circumstances, it can be quite annoying. However, when it is from the lips of adorable children, still learning the way language works and the true meaning of phrases like "excuse me", it is unbelievably precious. I spent an amazing day playing with my nieces, Olivia (4 yrs), Charlotte (1.5 years) and Rachel (2 weeks old).

Rachel Marie at 2 weeks

Like any good big sisters, Charlotte and Olivia would hover over Rachel, stroking her and talking sweetly to her the way they have observed their parents doing so. Charlotte kept calling her "Bachel" and getting nose to nose with her while Olivia kept cradling her saying "You're okay, you're okay", to Rachel whenever she would start to cry. It was explained to me by my sister-in-law that Olivia was mimicking my brother's response to Rachel's crying in saying "You're okay, you're okay." I am pretty sure I heard Charlotte telling "Bachel" she was okay as well a couple times throughout the weekend as well.

Another great Charlotte shot just for kicks:

It really hit me how spongy those young minds are when Olivia and I sat down to play "hair salon". I did her hair first. I gave her little french braid pigtails. The whole time I was doing her hair, I kept saying, "You're gonna love it. It will be so awesome", in an attempt to get her to sit still in anticipation of the big reveal of how truly awesome the final product would be. When it was Olivia's turn to do my hair, she kept saying, "You're going to love it. It will be so awesome" in the same tone as her wacky Aunt Lindsey.

And love it, I did!

I too, am guilty of playing copycat when it comes to food. Zach and I have a favorite sandwich shop in LA called the Larchmont Village Wine Spirits and Cheese Shop. The sandwich is just perfect and cannot possibly be improved upon so I just decided to copy it. I did end up tweaking the ingredients because Zach and I bought some bomb goat cheese and olive bread in Temecula last weekend. I think the most important thing about the sandwich is the quality of the ingredients. Everything is so tasty. Just do it, okay?

Copycat Larchmont Village Wine Spirits and Cheese Shop Sandwiches

(makes 2-3 sandwiches)

1 loaf of a crusty french bread (or any artisan bread - I used olive bread)
1/4 lb hard salami (I used part salami part turkey to lower the calorie count)
4 slices of manchego cheese (we used out Temecula Cheese Shop goat cheese)
1 tomato
a few handfuls of spring mixed greens
balsamic vinegar
extra virgin olive oil

You know what to do. Put it all together. The oil and balsamic vinegar go on the inside of the bread.

We enjoyed these sandwiches with some hearty vegetable soup.

Tricks and Treats

2010-10-30T08:00:00.000-07:00

Trick or treat?

This attractive-looking beverage is a margarita (with a serious twist) in disguise. It could be mistaken for a "girly drink", but it is more treat than trick for adults over the age of 21 (18 in some states) of any gender. Zach mentioned this drink is "better than any margarita he's ever tasted". It reminds me of a $16 custom-made drink I loved one time with dinner at a super-hot LA restaurant, The Bazaar (with wonderful company, of course!). The drink I had at the Bazaar was a kind of cucumber (for cool), jalepeno (for bite), lime (for kick) margarita. It was just the most interesting and delightful flavor. I had that same experience with this drink. I would call it the milder version of that drink: you've got the cilantro for bite, pomegranate (for cool), lemon (for kick).

I spotted this idea in my latest issue of Sunset Magazine. It was one of three delicious-looking ideas, and I plan on trying them all. They all involve making your own simple syrup with sugar, water and some kind of herb to infuse it (like cilantro or a vanilla bean). I imagine you can become very creative with this simple syrup base, infusing all sorts of refreshing herbs like mint, basil, rosemary.

For those of you who are not fans of Halloween, here is something that is no trick...just treat:

I just had to share because this is outrageous! Those are both red seedless grapes in the picture above. One is a regular-sized grape. The other is the biggest grape I have ever seen. I need you to know, this is not a fluke grape in a bunch. If that were the case, I would probably be afraid to eat it. It was part of a whole crate or two at whole foods of huge, ping-pong-ball-sized red seedless grapes. Now, I have been a huge fan of grapes for a long time, but I have never seen anything like these grapes. They look more like small plums if you ask me. It initially made me uncomfortable to think about the extent to which these grape must have been mutated (basically beyond recognition. However, when I bit into one, I remembered that genetic mutation in fruits is my friend because they tasted sooooo good. There was so much grape flesh just bursting out of the firm skin. I was waiting to hit a seed or a core or something, but it was all flesh. I was as surprised as I would have been biting into a nectarine and never coming across a core.

I apologize I cannot provide a recipe for you for these huge mutant grapes, but I know you will happy with my disguised margarita instead! Happy Halloween!

Pomegranate Cilantro Margarita

(recipe from Sunset Magazine)

tequila
fresh lemon juice
pomegranate juice
white sugar
water
cilantro

Make the simple syrup by mixing equal parts water and sugar, and bring it to a boil. Turn heat off, and add a large handful of cilantro sprigs.
Allow cilantro to steep to taste.
Set syrup aside to cool.

In a shaker mix:
3 parts tequila
1 part pomegranate juice
2 parts lemon juice
2 parts cilantro simple syrup

Pour in a glass with ice and garnish with a sprig of cilantro.

Enjoy!

Got Eggs? (and Feta and Spinach): Brunch Club October Continued

2010-10-26T12:30:00.000-07:00

I cannot stop thinking about these little gems.

This is definitely a self-appointed title, but just call me "Savory Sammy" when it comes to brunch. I feel like I can be counted on to provide at least one savory dish when we gather for our monthly brunches. I had been planning to make Chocolate Chip Puffins for a while, but I needed a savory dish as well. I almost always end up bringing some sort of egg, meat or egg/meat dish. I am simply running out of ideas for ways to make eggs! I resorted to searching Tastespotting for egg dishes. If you are not familiar with this website, it is essentially pictures of food...pages and pages of food pictures. You can click on something that looks delicious and be directed to the website of the photographer (which usually is a food blog that includes a recipe).

I came across a delightful photo of a tasty-looking egg dish on a blog I had never visited, A Big Mouthful: Adventures in Food. I mean, I pretty much started drooling when I saw the picture of these "Spinach Feta Pop-In-You-Mouths". I thought if I could make something that looked half as good, I would be more than happy. I was impressed to find (after actually reading the blog post) that the blogger, Adrienne, basically made these spontaneously one day with some ingredients she had on hand. I was even more impressed when I got a chance to taste my recreation of them.

The recipe is flawless. I followed it exactly as written (which I almost NEVER do), and they came out perfectly...exactly as I had hoped they would. It was very easy too!

Please visit Adrienne's blog for the recipe and other amazing ones as well: A Big Mouthful: Spinach Feta Pop-In-Your-Mouths . You will not be disappointed!

Change Up: Brunch Club October

2010-10-24T17:50:00.000-07:00

Some things never change; more things do.

October brunch was at Sube's last year. We feasted on a silly amount of food, and then we carved pumpkins. There were mounds of orange goop in large bowls on the table as each of us carved our own pumpkins with an unnecessary level of concentration. This year was to be a repeat. Sube was hosting again, and brunch was to be followed by the carving of pumpkins.

While I would call the brunch another wonderful brunch success, there was an epic pumpkin carving fail. I believe Andace brought one small pumpkin. Stanley tried to eat the stem, but gave up probably once he realized it tasted like a tree. Once brunch was cleared from the table, the pumpkin tools were brought out, but no one moved. We continued our amusing conversation about what horror movie character Sue should be for Halloween at the school where she teaches and the fact that she and Natalie's dad bears a strong resemblance (at least in his facebook picture) to US House Minority Leader, John Boehner. To illustrate, two of the three pictures below are the real John Boehner; one is Sue and Natalie's dad:

Anyway, we all were so distracted by good food and conversation that the single small innocent pumpkin was spared.

Besides the absence of pumpkin carving, there are quite a few things that have changed just since the last October Brunch (2009), hosted by Sube:

*Candace and Andy tied the knot in a backyard ceremony at Andy's parents' Canadian home.
*Zach and I adopted our Greyhound, Stanley and moved into a new, much bigger apartment and are each in different jobs.
*Elliott moved to LA and got a cool new job.
*Emily and Rob got engaged!
*Natalie moved into a great Loz Feliz Apartment on her own and seems to have made more friends than people I have even met in LA.
*Brian got a great job, and Sue gave us the "two year warning" that babies would be on the way!
*Even though Three-Hole-Punch (Sube's little dog) gained weight since last year, she looks smaller to me now that I am used to Stanley.

If you ask me, these are all great changes. This stage of life is so fascinating to me. Change is not only rapid, it is significant. People are going from boyfriend/girlfriend to husband/wife, jobs that will direct the course of our careers are won/lost/quit; it is like life on steroids because the decisions we make at this stage of life seem to carry more weight than ever before, laying the groundwork for our adult lives.

Zach and I adopted Stanley the Greyhound, it was strange to think that the decision would have a huge effect on my life for about the next ten years. I think it is important to take big decisions seriously, but it is just as important to be be able to break them down into manageable terms. We cannot always know exactly where the decisions we make will take us or what the consequences might turn out to be. It helps me to think of big choices in terms of "day by day". Each day, I will choose to take on the consequences (good or bad) of the decisions that have led me to that point (big or small). I guess a huge decision is simply made up of a bunch of small ones.

With all the decision-making and changes taking place, the constants become increasingly important. I am really grateful for the consistency of something like monthly brunch club but more so for the relationships that led to it in the first place.

Maybe you are not in this very scarily exciting time of your life, and you could use some change! If that is the case (and even if not because who really cares if their food changes as long as it is delicious), you may consider trying the following recipe from the hugely popular baking blog, Bakerella. Here, she comes up with the most creative little treasures, pancakes in the form of mini-muffins...Puffins. Brilliant! They are dip-able/dunk-able (however you prefer to put it) little pancakes: dip in syrup and eat with your hands. You can make them in any variety of pancake; I went with blueberry puffins and chocolate chip puffins.

Chocolate Chip Puffins

(Recipe from Bakerella, makes 24)

1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
2/3 cup buttermilk
1 egg
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
2 tablespoons melted butter
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips (I did half blueberry/half chocolate chip so I used 1/4 C chocolate chips and 1/4 C fresh blueberries)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar in a medium bowl. Sift together with a wire whisk.
In another bowl, stir buttermilk, egg, maple syrup and melted butter until just combined.
Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir with a spoon until combined.
Stir in chocolate chips. Reserve a few chips to sprinkle on the tops.
Bake for 8-9 minutes.

Makes 24 mini pancake muffins.

Let cool slightly and remove from the pan. You may need to use a toothpick around the edges to separate the pancake muffins from the pan.

Serve immediately with warmed butter if you like or even just with maple syrup.

COMING SOON: I made another dish for brunch that was potentially my favorite dish I have ever contributed to the feast. For a sneak peak, check out the yellow thing with bits of green in it on the bottom of my plate (I apologize for the horrible picture)...

You Can't Eat Babies

2010-10-20T17:22:00.000-07:00

Sweet. Scrumptious. Honey. I could just eat you up.

Why do people use words traditionally used to describe food to describe or talk to babies? I don't really think it works the other way around. I wouldn't particularly respond to a dish on a menu that was described as being, "adorable", "cute" or "looking just like his mommy".

Don't get me wrong. I do understand the urge to want to take a bite right out of a cute baby's chubby leg or (on the same strange level) pinch a baby's cheek. I mean look at these faces.

My brother and sister-in-law just had their third baby girl this week. Her name is Rachel Marie, and we are all really excited that she is here. I cannot wait to meet her when I am in Florida for Amanda and Mikey's wedding in a few weeks! She is just scrumptious.

I think it is just something deep down within us that touches us when we look into the face of an innocent baby. There is a nurturing primal instinct we feel that maybe we associate with other primal behaviors like eating. When I look at this face, inexplicable feelings of joy overwhelm me, and I barely know what to do with them. I call it the "Elmyra Effect". If you will recall, Elmyra was the little red-headed character on the children's program, "Tiny Toon Adventures". She would hug and pet cute animals until they could not longer stand it. I am definitely this way when it comes to Stanley. I will hug him and pet him and love him until he gets annoyed with me. I just can't help myself.

I suppose if I tried, I could see my breakfast as, well, "cute":

This is a simple breakfast sandwich that anyone can snap together in under 5 minutes. Best of all, this lush-looking, tasty, toasty, satisfying sandwich is is only 210 calories. It is basically the godmother of healthy breakfasts, bursting with fiber and protein. I like to enjoy this sandwich with a huge mug of piping hot green tea (with a packet of sweet n' low). This is honestly a case where "to good to be true" does not apply. It is easy, healthy, tasty and satisfying....and just adorable:

Ultimate Healthy Breakfast Sandwich:

(Recipe makes 1 sandwich)

1 whole grain english muffin - 110 calories
1/4 c egg beaters (you can also use one real medium egg, beaten*) - 30 calories (egg beaters) / 65 calories (medium egg)
1 wedge laughing cow creamy swiss cheese - 35 calories
1 slice of fresh tomato - 5 calories
1 slice of ham (you can substitute turkey, pastrami or turkey bacon) - 30 calories

Total: 210 calories
*if you use a real medium egg, the calorie total will be about 245.

Toast the english muffin.
Place the 1/4 c egg beater in a small microwave-safe bowl, and place the slice of ham on top of the egg liquid.
Microwave the egg and ham for about 1 minute and 20 seconds (time may vary depending on your microwave).
While egg is in microwave, spread the laughing cow cheese on the toasted english muffin, and add the tomato slice.
When the egg is finished cooking, you should be able to slide it right out of the bowl and onto the sandwich (the ham will be baked into the egg).
Done!

Italian-Style Feast for All

2010-10-18T16:00:00.000-07:00

It happened about 5 years ago.

I was a student at the University of Florida. One of my best friends in the whole world, Amanda, had an uncle and aunt who lived in Gainesville. They would occasionally invite me and a couple other friends over to their lovely home for amazing home-cooked dinners and some wonderful company. Amanda's Uncle Rich and Aunt Lindy are basically just very cool. They are welcoming, warm and friendly people, and those dinners were always something we looked forward to. I am pretty sure Lindy was the one to introduce me to the idea of the garlic cheddar biscuits that everyone seems to love so much.

There was one dinner I will never forget. Lindy's friend, Karen, was visiting from Michigan. She was going to make her famous Italian-style spread for some hungry college students, craving a home-cooked meal. I don't know that I was prepared for what happened that night. I don't think I have ever feasted the way we did on the plethora of pure indigence that was before us on that table. There were full casserole-sized dishes of several different meats in a rich and savory tomato sauce. There were mounds of pasta to be fork-twirled or just shoveled, depending on your eating pasta-rategy. There were meatballs, sausages and other meats...as you can tell I simply cannot recall specifics.

I don't think I realized the extent of pleasure I associated with that meal until I saw a picture in my "Food Network Magazine" in the November 2009 Issue:

Photo from Food Network Magazine, November 2009 Issue

It was one of the first recipes I ripped out of a magazine which ultimately inspired me to make my HUGE recipe binder that I carry around everywhere now (seriously, you can ask my friend, Allison, who spotted me at the dog park, HUGE recipe binder in hand). The picture just reminded me of that glorious spread and how I wanted so badly to recreate it.

I have been holding off making this for a while because #1 I was intimidated by all the work that goes into it and #2 I needed more than 2 mouths to feed to make something so large and labor-intensive. I have to admit that I was ultimately inspired to go through with this Italian feast after watching the episode of "Jersey Shore" where Vinny's mom flies to Miami just to cook for everyone in the house. The meal she made them was just epic, and it really put me in the mood for some hard kitchen work. Feel free to just ignore the previous two sentences if you are either offended, disgusted or both that I watch "The Jersey Shore".I took the opportunity to try it out this weekend as some lovely lovely people were accompanying Zach and me for Sunday night dinner.

Good deal. Love it. You will to if you have an entire day for cooking on your hands.

I do feel I have a responsibility to state that while I was over the moon for the meaty mound of goodness this recipe turned out to be, nothing I ever make will compare with what was on the table that night at Rich and Lindy's house.

Mighty Meaty Italian-Style Feast

(Recipe from Food Network Magazine, November 2009 Issue - recipe serves 6 generously)

3 slices white bread, toasted and cut into 1/4-inch pieces
1/2 cup milk
3/4 pound ground beef
3/4 pound ground pork
1 large egg, lightly beaten
3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese, plus more for garnish (optional)
10 cloves garlic; 2 minced, 8 smashed
1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 1/2 pounds bone-in beef shin (I could not find this anywhere so I used a stewing beef that turned out just fine)
2 pounds Italian sausage (half sweet, half hot), halved (casing removed)
1 medium onion, quartered
3 28-ounce cans plum tomatoes
1 12-ounce can tomato paste
6 bay leaves
1 pound orecchiette pasta (I bought fresh shell-like pasta from Bay Cities Italian Deli) I honestly think it is more important to have fresh pasta than it is to have the orecchiette pasta so do what-cha-gotta do).

*You will need a large pot...a 10 quart pot at least.

Soak the bread in the milk until the liquid is absorbed, about 8 minutes. Meanwhile, combine the ground beef and pork in a bowl with the egg, cheese, minced garlic, parsley, 1 teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste. Add the soaked bread and mix with your hands until combined. Form into 16 meatballs.

Heat the olive oil in a heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Add the meatballs and cook, turning, until browned on all sides, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate. Add the beef shin and sausage to the pot and cook until browned, turning, about 10 minutes. Transfer the meats to a large bowl.

Add the onion and smashed garlic to the pot and fry until soft, about

4 minutes. Crush the tomatoes into the pot with your hands and pour in the juices. Stir in the tomato paste, season with salt and pepper and cook 5 minutes.

Add 5 cups water (I would use about 2-3 next time instead of 5) and the bay leaves, then return the meatballs, beef shin and sausage to the pot, stirring carefully. Bring to a low boil, stir, then reduce the heat to low. Cover and simmer 2 hours, or until the shin meat is very tender. Uncover and simmer until the sauce thickens and the shin meat is falling off the bone, about 1 hour 30 minutes. Transfer all the meats with a slotted spoon to a bowl and cover with foil. Simmer the sauce to thicken, about 20 minutes. Discard the bay leaves.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil; add the pasta and cook as the label directs. Drain and toss with enough sauce to coat lightly, then top with more sauce and the meat. Garnish with parmesan, if desired.

Falling for Corn

2010-10-10T17:59:00.001-07:00

While I do not welcome the cool weather of the fall, I do welcome the seasonal food.

We took Stanley to the dog beach in Huntington Beach this weekend. This was our second visit since Zach's parents visited back in August. Stanley loves making us chase him all over the beach as he gallops from one end of the beach to the other. This is basically our constant view of him:

We revisited the Park Bench Cafe which was really great again! We even ordered Stanley a little bowl of chicken off the "dog menu".

After lunch, we took a walk through the park trail, spotting this creepy crawler:

We are basically enjoying the perfect Southern California weather while we still can! That being said, I love fall vegetables almost as much as I love summer fruits. Pumpkin, squash, broccoli, onions and sweet corn are all such comfort foods to me. Zach and I bought some unbelievably large and flavorful heirloom tomatoes from the Ojai farmer's market along with some sage goat cheese and a sourdough/multigrain baguette. I decided to make that panzanella to use up these delicious ingredients, but I needed something to go with it. I love the combo of corn and tomatoes so I started looking for a recipe for corn cakes or corn fritters.

On our way out of Ojai, there was a bookstore that had a bin of "free books". I scooped up 3 free weight watcher cookbooks (they were the only cookbooks in the bin!). On the way I flipped through and found a corn cake recipe. Score! I know some of you will turn your noses to something I made from the Weight Watcher Cookbook, but these little guys were good. I ended up having to add a lot of extra oil to the pan because my nonstick pan was not really behaving. However, if you use a great non-stick pan, you should be able to get by just fine without adding extra oil.

Rustic Corn Fritters to Welcome the Fall Season

(recipe from "The Weight Watcher's Cookbook 2003" - makes 8 corn cakes/4 servings)

Cooking spray (Use some cooking oil if you need it)
2 C fresh corn kernels (recipe calls for thawed frozen kernels so that is just fine)
1 C chopped zucchini
1/2 C chopped red or green bell pepper (I did not have one so I added extra zucchini and onions to make up for it)
2 cloves minced garlic
1/2 C finely chopped green onion
1/4 C all purpose flour
3/4 C yellow cornmeal
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1/8 tsp ground red pepper (I used hot paprika since I did not have red pepper)
1/3 C low fat mayo
1/4 C fresh cilantro
1/4 C fat free milk
2 tbsp lime juice
3 large egg whites

The recipe comes with a dreamy cumin sauce, but I went a completely different direction because I did not have cumin! I basically subbed 1/2 tsp of the hot paprika for the cumin and chili powder and left out the red pepper in the recipe below:

Creamy Cumin Sauce:
1 tbsp fresh lime juice
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/8 tsp ground red pepper
1 (8oz) carton reduced fat sour cream (I used regular)

Serve 2 corn cakes with 1/4 C sauce over them. You can garnish with lime wedges or green onions. This went just perfectly with the panzanella. It was also a nice satisfying vegetarian meal.

NOTE: In case you are curious, one serving of the corn cakes (2 cakes) with the sauce is 4 weight watchers points, 372 calories, 9 grams of fat.

A Little Push Goes a Long Way

2010-10-04T13:44:00.000-07:00

You know how one little ingredient can inspire a whole meal?

That is what happened this weekend with my apartment. Zach brought me beautiful white roses on Friday before we went to get yummy Greek food and see The Social Network. The movie was followed by curling up on the couch with "puppy" to watch the latest episode of "The Jersey Shore" (so good!). It was just my ideal version of a quiet Friday night...except for one thing...

I love love love having fresh flowers in the house. However, I almost NEVER buy them because I refuse to have beautiful flowers in the middle of a messy apartment. I guess this is me admitting that I don't always keep the tidiest place. I try. I really do. But with work and cooking and the dog shedding it is really overwhelming to keep up. It feels like once I do one thing, there is another tedious task that pops up in it's place...like the apartment is never clean all at once. So Friday night as I sat on the living room couch, I kept looking over to the flowers on the table and feeling like the crisp, clean, white flowers just seemed out of place.

These things usually work out for the best eh? The flowers inspired me to spiff up the entire apartment around them. And by "spiff up" I mean clean for about 6 hours total (between Saturday and Sunday). It is such a drag when you plan to clean so I kind of preferred the pressure the flowers suddenly put on me.

I thought now is a better time than ever to show you some pics of the place. I have been waiting for a good time to take good pictures now that I am pretty satisfied (with a couple exceptions) with how it is all set up. I took some pictures right after the move with the intention of doing "before" and "after" shots. So at the risk of including way too many "before" and "after" shots on this blog, here we are:

LIVING ROOM AND DINING ROOM BEFORE:

LIVING ROOM AND DINING ROOM AFTER:

BATHROOM BEFORE:

BATHROOM AFTER:

Bedroom before and after pics were part of a previous post.

Not only was an entire apartment cleaning inspired by some simple flowers, but this recipe was inspired by my need to use a single ingredient: apples, of course. I hope you have not forgotten that I went apple picking a little over a week ago, and I have spent the better part of my mealtime eating apples or some variation of apple dishes.

I decided on some sort of apple and chicken recipe. After a quick search on the internet, I came across a delicious-looking recipe for "Apple and Brie Stuffed Chicken Breast". This may have everything to do with the fact that her new husband's name is Zach, but the blogger's style reminded me of my own. You can check out her blog, "Newlywed in New Orleans" or specifically the post for this recipe here.

Apple and Brie Stuffed Chicken

(ever so very slightly adapted recipe from Newlywed in New Orleans - makes 4 servings)

EVOO for pan
1/2 C chopped sweet onion
1 tart apple, cored, chopped in about 1/2 inch cubes (I used Macintosh because that is what I had!...the recipe calls for Ganny Smith)
1/2 tsp rosemary (original recipe calls for thyme...I didn't have any, but the rosemary worked well! I imagine sage might be nice too.)
3/4 C apple cider
4 oz Brie, without rind, cut in small chunks
4 chicken breasts, boneless, skinless
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Heat oil in nonstick skillet over medium heat.
Add onion, and cook until tender (about 5 minutes)
Add apple, thyme, salt, pepper and cider and cook until apples are tender (another 5 minutes
Turn to low heat and add the brie, mixing until blended (I added the brie separate from the apple mixture because I made the apple mixture ahead in the morning. I actually cut the brie into strips to add to the middle of each chicken breast with the apple mixture.)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Cut a large pocket into each chicken breast, and put a quarter of the stuffing into each breast. (I like to weave a long turkey pin through the open side of the chicken to keep it tightly sealed)
Sprinkle salt and pepper on both sides of the chicken
Place large skillet over med-high heat, and brown the meat on either side (about 1 minute on each side.
Bake at 400 degrees F for about 30 minutes (more or less depending on the size) or until the juices run clear.

I served this up with mashed potatoes made from the leftovers of my Syracuse Salt Potatoes. Very satisfying!

NOTE: The leftover chicken breasts would be an amazing protein addition to a nice, nutty Waldorf salad. I don't know...something like this perhaps:

New Season. New Look. New Recipe.

2010-09-29T12:39:00.001-07:00

I got a haircut.

This is not usually a notable event, but I really went for it this time. I had been thinking about it casually for a really long time. The other day...on the hottest day in LA history...I looked up a few salons (I wanted to go a step above my usual supercuts visit for this one), and went during my lunch break.

When I arrived at the salon, the hairdresser, Mino, seemed hesitant at first to lop off my extra-long and thick curls. I think he sensed that I was not entirely sure of my decision either. I finally gave him the go-ahead to chop away and within 10 seconds, my hair was on a low ponytail. Within another 5 seconds, my ponytail was in his hands...no longer attached to my head. I felt lighter and healthier all of the sudden, and there was no turning back. I had made the right decision.

I liked having long curly hair, but I thought a change would be nice, and it is. I don't know if I look particularly better with short hair, but I feel better at least for now.

BEFORE:

With my mom at a Florida Gator game a year ago; even though I like the change of the new cut, this picture makes me nostalgic for my old hair.

AFTER:

On my computer camera...Just woke up on a Saturday morning...I straightened my hair the day before. I think I will mostly be wearing it curly though...the straightening just makes the change that much more dramatic I suppose. It feels light and fresh for now, but I may get cold in the winter without my winter mane!

Have I inspired you to try something new? If so, you should try this simple recipe for potatoes. It is the easiest thing! This was in a little article from my June issue of Food Network Magazine that featured the city of Syracuse, NY. According to the article, the tasty dish originated with some Irish salt mine workers in Syracuse during the 19th century. They would drop some small potatoes into the piping hot brine at work for a cheap lunch. The result was a soft, creamy inside and a delicious skin, full of flavor from the salt. The wonderful texture can be attributed to the high heat the salted water is able to reach. Apparently, this dish (with a side of melted butter for dipping) is still a staple in Syracuse restaurants to this day.

This could not be simpler; it is as easy as boiling potatoes, but the salt changes everything. I made these salt potatoes to go with our beef tenderloin the other night, and then I mashed up the leftovers, adding sour cream and butter, to make mashed potatoes as a side to another dinner.

Syracuse Salt Potatoes

(recipe from Food Network Magazine - serves 8)

1 1/4 pounds salt (kosher or regular table salt is fine)
8 C water
2 pounds small fingerling OR yukon gold potatoes (any variety of small potatoes should work)
about a 1/2 C butter (for melting and dipping).

Pour the salt, water and potatoes into a large pot, and bring to a boil.
Cook until the potatoes are tender all the way through (about 20-30 minutes)
Drain the water, and allow potatoes to dry and cool.
Serve with melted butter for dipping!

How 'Bout Them Apples

2010-09-28T12:22:00.000-07:00

Can I take it back?

In my last post, I discussed the cooling of the weather as summer turns into fall. I would like to take this opportunity to take back everything I said as I sit here during the absolute hottest day in recorded LA history: 113 degrees F. Unbelievable.

Ironically, we went apple picking last weekend.

I am pretty sure apple trees are associated with cool, even cold weather. I am not sure what to make of the fact that we were basically picking apples in the sweltering heat of the desert sun, but the fruit was plentiful and delicious in Oak Glen, CA. The day-trip was a recommendation from my co-worker, Andy who has been there with his family a few times. Sube accompanied Zach and me on the 90 minute drive into the depths of small-town California. Brian just bought a new amazing camera, and recorded the picturesque adventure for his "Movie of the Week (14)":

There were five different types of apples we picked: Fuji, Jonothan, Spartan, Macintosh, and I don't remember the name of the other! I ended up with 8 pounds of apples. We have been eating them as is, but you know you are about to see some apple recipes coming soon....starting now.

Zach doesn't particularly care for apple pie, and I don't need to be stuffing my face in a pie all by myself so that option is out. I decided to make some apple bread to try. As I have said before, I am not particularly good at baking, and this was no exception. I accidentally added a tablespoon of baking powder instead of a teaspoon and I left of the baking soda completely. I also left the bread in the oven an extra 7 or 8 minutes (who can be certain?) That sort of thing usually wouldn't matter so much when you are cooking, but for this, it made the bread come out slightly dry. I have chosen to still blog this recipe, however, because despite my mistakes (which were actually disaster-size mistakes), the bread was delicious. Like I said, slightly dry, but delicious! I ate a slice right out of the oven and drizzled some of that Jullian, CA mountain blossom honey over it while it was still warm.

It had a really great taste. It would be a great substitution for banana walnut bread for someone who doesn't like bananas. It was slightly sweet and crunchy (with the walnuts).... a great use for my first few apples!

You will like this bread if you make it like I did. You will love this bread if you make it like this:

Apple Walnut Loaf
(recipe from Allrecipes.com - makes one loaf)

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup butter (original recipe used butter, but commenters on allrecipes suggested oil to make the bread more moist OR you can stick with the 1/2 cup of butter and add a 1/2 cup or so of apple sauce or milk for moisture)
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cup apples - peeled, cored and shredded (I don't really think you need to peel the apples; some commenters on the original recipe suggested leaving the skin on for added fiber since it did not change the consistency for them at all)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease one 9x5 inch loaf pan.
Mix together flour, baking powder, soda, salt and nuts.
In a large bowl, beat butter or oil (plus any apple sauce or milk you are adding), sugar and 1 egg until smooth. Beat in second egg, and stir in vanilla. Stir in shredded apples. Pour flour mixture into batter; stir just until moistened. Spread into prepared pan.
Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Let stand 10 minutes, then remove from pan. Place on a rack to cool. (I would suggest no more than 50 minutes!)

It's Getting Chili Out There

2010-09-25T08:17:00.001-07:00

Cold weather means warm food tastes better.

Now, I realize that having to put on a light jacket for the evening dog walk does not qualify as "cold weather" to most of you, but here is Southern California the temperature is about to dip, making me verrrrryyyy uncomfortable.

I am sorry to say goodbye to summer. You might even call me "in denial" as I sit here today in all white from head to toe...white dress...white shoes...breaking all the "after labor day rules." This past summer was really nice. We somehow were spared the June Gloom (or overcast gray skies) which usually lasts about 5 weeks during the early part of the summer. We were also spared the long intense heat waves in late July/early August (not that we didn't get hit with some heat, but it is usually unbearable for a couple weeks) - global warming taking a break this year?.

Nothing welcomes the fall like a piping hot bowl of meaty chili. I am still in love with the chili I made for one of my very first posts, but I thought this one from my Food Network Magazine looked interesting. It is a Texas Chili which I take to mean "no beans." I certainly like beans in my chili, but this all-meat version sounded like a delicious alternative as well (especially considering I still had about 2 pounds of a beef tenderloin left over from the night before). Just a fair warning: this is spicy! It is slightly sweet as well, and the presence of the two conflicting tastes was a welcome surprise. You can scale back the heat a little bit if you prefer by adding less chopped green chilies or leaving out the green hot sauce...that sort of thing.

Now, this is chili two ways (as promised): Texas Chili and then Chili Corn Casserole. My magazine suggested making a delicious casserole with the leftover chili to mix everything up a bit. I have to say, it was a complete success. It made me feel like I got the most out of the chunk of meat I bought (even though you do NOT have to use the usually expensive beef tenderloin when making the chili...the slow cooker will make cheap beef taste like a million bucks!).

Texas Chili

(recipe from Food Network Magazine)

2 1/2 pounds beef chuck, cut into 2-inch cubes
2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
Kosher salt
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
5 cloves garlic, smashed
2 4.5-ounce cans chopped green chiles, drained
1 tablespoon ground cumin
3/4 cup chili powder
1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes with chiles
1 to 2 tablespoons green hot sauce
Sliced scallions, fresh cilantro and/or sour cream, for topping
Tortilla chips, for serving (optional)
Corn tortillas (optional)

Toss the beef with 1 tablespoon each brown sugar and salt in a large bowl. Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the beef in batches until browned on all sides, 4 to 5 minutes (do not crowd the pan). Transfer to a 5-to-6-quart slow cooker.

Reduce the heat to medium, add the onion to the skillet and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic, chiles, cumin and chili powder and cook 3 minutes. Add 1 1/2 cups water and the tomatoes and simmer, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom, about 3 minutes. Transfer to the slow cooker, cover and cook on low, 7 hours.

Add the remaining 1 tablespoon brown sugar and the hot sauce to the chili. Serve with scallions, cilantro and/or sour cream for topping, and chips, if desired. Another idea is to serve it in a corn tortilla bowl: simply place a corn tortilla in the serving bowl before spooning in the chili. (Reserve 3 to 4 cups for Chili-Corn Casserole.).

*NOTE FROM ME: This is completely optional, but I really prefer refrigerating and reheating before eating it. I am not sure why, but I always think it tastes better when it has been completely cooled and then reheated the day after!

Chili Corn Casserole

(recipe from Food Network Magazine - serves 4)

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 ears corn, kernels cut off
Kosher salt
6 scallions, chopped
3 to 4 cups leftover chili
1 1/2 cups shredded pepper jack or monterey jack cheese (about 6 ounces)
1 18-ounce tube precooked polenta, cut into 12 rounds
(Use leftover Slow-Cooker Texas Chili.)

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Melt the butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the corn and 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook until tender, 5 to 6 minutes. Add the scallions and cook until soft, about 1 minute.

Spread the chili in an 8-inch-square baking dish. Top with half of the cheese followed by half of the corn mixture. Lay the polenta rounds on top, then sprinkle with the remaining corn and cheese.

Bake until the casserole is heated through and the top is golden, about 20 minutes. Let stand 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

Beef Tenderloin for Sale

2010-09-20T17:47:00.000-07:00

This is never going to photograph as awesome as it tasted.

Considering I couldn't find my camera while the food was hot, these pictures are the best I could do from Zach's cell phone.

I always look at sales like some sort of game. I know retailers end up making money off of sales. It is because they convince people to buy things they normally would not have even considered purchasing at full price. Well, I refuse to be taken! I approach sales the way I would a dirty little rodent: wait until it is in a corner and then examine its moves as I close in slowly then POUNCE!

I try not to buy things on sale just because they are on sale. I hate feeling like I was "fooled" by the sale. I like to feel like I won the game...the store did not take me...I took IT! I buy things on sale for the following reasons:

I will 100% need to buy this item in the very near future whether it will be on sale or not (for example: I would buy coke zero before I actually run out if there is a great deal like 2 cases for the price of 1. I would never just buy it if it is slightly discounted because who is to say the deal will not be sweeter by the time I actually need to buy it?)

If I have been waiting for an item to go on sale, I will name my price in my head (for example: "That shirt is worth $19 to me so I will buy it if it dips below that price")

I will buy something on sale if it is better quality but the same price (on sale) as something I normally buy (for example: This happens quite often with wine; I have my go-to bottles, but regularly there are nicer bottles on sale for the same price so I can use those opportunities to try some new ones)

This beef tenderloin falls under the "I have been tracking you (borderline-stalking) this item for weeks, and I have not yet seen it at such a low price and I really really want it" category. Beef tenderloin is expensive. It is sold in large slabs (mine was about 3 pounds). I was going to wait for some sort of dinner party to make this baby, but I had a change of heart when I saw it for the right price at the grocery store.

My boss suggested Ina Garten's recipe a while back, and I have been meaning to make it since then. This delicious recipe comes with a creamy Gorgonzola sauce that I ended up using as a spread or a dip for everything that found its way onto my plate.

Tenderloin of Beef with Gorgonzola Sauce

(recipe by Ina Garten "The Barefoot Contessa" - serves 6)

whole Tenderloin of beef (2-3 pounds -- trimmed & tied
2 tbsp Butter
1 tbsp Kosher salt
1 tbsp fresh ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 500F.
Place the beef on a baking sheet and pat the outside dry with a paper towel.
Spread the butter on with your hands. Sprinkle evenly with the salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for exactly 22 minutes for rare and 25 minutes for medium-rare starting with room temperature beef.
Remove the beef from the oven, cover it tightly with aluminum foil, and allow to rest at room temperature for 20 minutes.
Remove the strings and slice the filet thickly.

Gorgonzola Sauce
4 C heavy cream
3-4 oz crumbled Gorgonzola
3 tbsp freshly grated Parmesan
3/4 tsp kosher salt
3/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
3 tbsp minced fresh parsley

Bring the heavy cream to a full boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, then continue to boil rapidly for 45 to 50 minutes, until thickened like a white sauce, stirring occasionally.
Off the heat, add the Gorgonzola, Parmesan, salt, pepper, and parsley.
Whisk rapidly until the cheeses melt and serve warm. If you must reheat, warm the sauce over low heat until melted, then whisk vigorously until the sauce comes together.

This was quite a feast for just two, but I had a plan for this hunk of meat that will be a future post...Texas Chili 2 Ways (you will not want to miss that!).

Fast Fish and Rice Pilaf (couple's cooking class pt 2)

2010-09-18T08:13:00.000-07:00

Crisptity-Crunchy-Yum on the outside.

Flaky, tender, meaty on the inside.

It is Saturday morning, and what can I say? I need my weekend time more than ever right now. Work has been picking up lately which is great, but the weekend has got to be spent away from the computer! As a result, I am going to get straight to it...

This is the kind of thing that got me into seafood in the first place. This is a great light late-summer meal that will still leave you feeling satisfied. Paired with crisp asparagus and a rich rice pilaf, this rustic-style red snapper is an easy four-star meal for a weeknight dinner. Did I say easy?

This rich rice pilaf is another dish we picked up on at the couples' cooking class Zach took me to a couple months ago. It is nice because once you set up all the ingredients, you don't have to worry about it. You just transfer the pot to the oven to finish cooking, and it turns out beautifully and flavorful.

Rustic-Style Red Snapper

(makes 4 filets)

4 red snapper filets
1 egg
1 lemon
panko bread crumbs (about 1/2 cup)
1/8 c oil
salt and fresh ground pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
Season fish filets with salt and pepper
Whisk the egg and add a little salt and pepper
Brush the egg over the top side of each filet.
Spread out the bread crumbs in a shallow dish.
Press the side of the fish filet that has been brushed with egg into the bread crumbs.
Place a large skillet over high heat, and add oil (swirl around to coat the pan)
Once the oil is piping hot, place the fish (bred-side down) into the skillet and do not move. - Make sure each filet has its own space; do not crowd.
After about 1 minute, move the skillet into the pre-heated oven and bake for about 10 minutes (10 minutes per inch of thickness of the filets).
Serve the fish bred-side up, and garnish fish with lemon slices.

Chef Eric's Rice Pilaf

(recipe from Chef Eric's Culinary Classroom - makes 4 to 6 servings)

2 tbsp minced shallot
2 cloves minced garlic
1 tbsp butter or oil
1 C long grain white rice
1 3/4 hot stock (I used chicken stock)
1 bay leaf
1 thyme sprig
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
In a heavy pot, heat butter and sweat the shallots and garlic (about 5 min on med-low heat)
Add the rice to the pot and stir until rice is coated with butter/garlic/shallot
Add the hot stock, and bring to a boil.
Cover the pot and transfer to the oven for 16-18 minutes or until rice in tender and liquid is absorbed.

Take it Easy

2010-09-05T08:40:00.000-07:00

Life is tough.

Cooking doesn't have to be. Sure, creating my own dishes seems overwhelming as I sit here and watch an episode of "Top Chef." But the reality is, no one, not even these contestants or judges, eat the kind of food they make on the show when they get home from a long day at work each night. I think the bread and butter of cooking are quick weeknight meals...the kind of meal you can put together in a half hour from start to finish and still sit down and enjoy afterwards.

This recipe was born out of my inexperience and need for convenience during my first year in LA. My apartment did not have an oven or a stove so I really had to put some thought into how I was going to make my own meals. I had a single plug-in burner so I couldn't ever have 2 pots that needed to be on the stove at the same time. My oven was smaller than the size of a microwave so I constantly needed to figure out half of recipes I would follow so they could fit into my mini-casserole dish.

This recipe can be altered so many different ways. I used to leave the potato out when I was watching my carb-intake. You could substitute the potato for a sweet potato. You could add a jalepeno for some added heat. You could use italian sausage and throw in some oregano, tomato paste or sauce and fresh tomatoes to give it an italian twist. Leave out the potatoes and put it over rice. Chop everything up ahead of time to cut your cooking time in half! Zach and I found this great little spice store in Santa Monica so I experimented with seasoning this dish with some smoked chili powder and smoked seas salt. Sausage is so flavorful so as long as you give the vegetables a chance to marry with the rich flavors of the sausage, you really cannot go wrong. Enjoy!

Skillet Sausage and Veggie Hash

(serves 4)

1 Package fully cooked chicken sausage such (4 links in a package, 12 -14 oz total), sliced across into 1/4 inch pieces
1 large head of broccoli (cut into florets)
1 red bell pepper, cubed
3/4 lb potatoes, cubed
1 white onion, cubed
4-5 cremini mushrooms, sliced
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
sea salt (to taste)
Olive oil for sautéing
fresh ground black pepper (to taste)

In a large pot, submerge potatoes in cold water and add a pinch of salt.
Place the pot over high heat and bring to a boil.
Boil potatoes uncovered until just tender throughout (about 10 minutes).
Remove from heat, drain and set aside.

While potatoes are boiling, add 1 tbsp olive oil to a large skillet over med-high heat.
Add the sliced sausage to the skillet, and saute until slightly browned.
Remove sausage from skillet, and set aside.
Add another tbsp olive oil to the skillet with the juices from the sausage, saute the boiled potatoes until they start to brown slightly.
Add the onions to the potatoes and continue to saute until onions are almost tender (about 4 minutes)
Add the rest of the vegetables to the skillet and continue cooking over medium-high heat until just tender (about 8 minutes).
Add the sausage back into the skillet, and mix well with the vegetables.
Turn heat down to medium-low, add the smoked paprika and continue mixing sausage around with the vegetables, giving the flavors a chance to meld.
Sprinkle with fresh ground pepper and sea salt to taste, and serve in a big ole' bowl!

Brunch Club August: A Guest Blog by LeAnna

2010-09-02T21:20:00.001-07:00

The brunch club was back and better than ever this month. I mean, look at us:

BreAnna did a fantastic job this month. They not only managed to host the biggest brunch club in brunch club history, they did it picnic style in their front yard area. With the city in the background, sitting under the shade of the tailgate tent with the canines and a plate of food was the perfect way to spend a lazy glutinous sunday afternoon.

Stanley meets Parker:

BreAnna always makes a ridiculous amount of food for their hungry guests. This is not me complaining by any means because every single thing is delicious. This month, LeAnna made a vegetable orzo dish that was of upmost satisfaction to this blogger. It was honestly the first time I had ever had the pasta-that-really-resembles-rice dish, and i was delightful mixed with some chunky veggies served cold brunch-style.

Some other notable dishes this week included LeAnna'a neighbor's chocolate chip cookies (her mother's recipe):

Sube's guiltily delicious berry berry good coffee cake was too good for words:

I made some siily-bad-for-you corn muffins stuffed with bbq pulled pork:

LeAnna was kind enough to write a guest blog for me after I offered my highest compliments to her veggie orzo. You will rarely see her without a smile on her face. She is always hospitable, even when she is not in her own home. She is the first to offer a helping hand to me in the kitchen when her and Brian come to my apartment for get-togethers. She is friendly, cheerful and a pleasure to be around. See for yourself will ya?

Hi! This is LeAnna. The Amazing Lindsey asked me to write a guest blog after hosting brunch, and I decided to go with it, despite having no idea how to write one. This should be fun for all of us!

So, a little back-story about me in regards to cooking: I'm half Sicilian and the other half is one of 26 grandchildren, from a mother who was 7 of 9, from a grandmother who was 13 of 13. I am genetically programmed to cook for LARGE groups of people. I can cook for one, two, or twenty--there is no middle ground. I do quite like cooking, but also being quite lazy, I don't very often. Thus, when I have a reason to cook (and REALLY cook, at that), I go ALL OUT. And now onto brunch…

For my (and Brian's) brunch I made/had:

Bacon

Hashbrowns

Pancakes

Stuffed Mushrooms

“Water Should Never Not Taste Like This” Water

Vegetable Orzo

Brian's Breakfast Casserole

Caprese Salad

Bagels

COFFEE (aka life blood)

And…

Mimosas (because what's brunch without booze?!)

I'm not going to lie, even with all the above and knowing that people would be bringing other dishes, I was still worried that it wouldn't be enough food. It's a hereditary thing. I was INCREDIBLY wrong about that, by the way--seriously, does anyone want to come over for leftovers? Please?

Well, incase you're not a fan of going over to a stranger's house and eating her brunch leftovers, yet would still like to recreate some of this experience, I'll share 2 recipes with you. (I'll try to give you the smallest serving sizes possible--key word being try.)

“Water Should Never Not Taste Like This” Water

This is a recipe I was inspired to create after enjoying some uber fancy water at a tres chic spa. I find it especially refreshing on hot days.

Ingredients:

2 gallons of water

2 lemons

2 oranges

1 cucumber

Prep:

Wash produce like crazy!!! You will be leaving the skin and rinds on and putting them in the water. Nobody wants to drink pesticides, so wash those better than you would your newborn.

Slice off ends of lemons, oranges, and cucumber. Discard. Slice remaining fruit and cucumber into ¼- ½ circles.

Put in a pitcher with water. Chill. Or don't. Delicious either way.

Also, to recreate a spa experience on a penny buster budget, grab the biggest glass you can find, pour in this water, throw on a towel, and sit in your parked car with the windows rolled up on a hot summer day.

“Vegetable Orzo”

This is a variation of a recipe I grew up with. It's fairly healthy because the orzo is marinated with the juices of the vegetables rather than a heavy sauce. It's vegan (I think).

Ingredients:

Orzo pasta

1 green zucchini

1 yellow squash

2 tomatoes

Shitake mushrooms (I normally put in 6, but it really depends on how much you like Shitake)

Small bunch of asparagus

Olive oil

Prep:

Thoroughly wash produce.

Slice zucchini, squash, and mushrooms. Dice tomatoes. Chop asparagus.

Boil water and cook orzo according to package instructions. Drain.

Add about a capful of olive oil into a skillet over medium heat and add mushrooms and asparagus. Cover. Occasionally stir.

When mushrooms first start to wilt (about 3-4 minutes) add zucchini and squash. Cover. Occasionally stir.

When zucchini and squash are wilted (about 10-15 minutes) add tomatoes. Stir. Cover.

Quickly allow the tomatoes to heat (about 2 minutes), then stir and remove from heat. Dump vegetables, along with their juices into your drained orzo and serve (or put in the fridge for later--can be eaten hot or cold).
And that's how you make that!

I hope you guys like these recipes. Yay Lindsey's blog readers!!!

Thanks for having me!

Happy Eating,

LeAnna

If you are wondering about my brunch recipe. Don't. I cannot even express how easy it is. It is simply Jiffy corn muffin mix and BBQ pulled pork. You can buy the pulled pork or make it yourself. I bought it. You just put some corn mix (prepare as directed on box) i the bottom of greased muffin tins, then put about 1 tbsp of pulled pork on top of it, and then top it with more muffin mix. The muffin mix will engulf the pork. For something a little more palatable for vegetarians or, well, health concious folks, you can use anything to stuff the corn muffins...ground beef, blue cheese crumbles, black beans, baked beans... just stick anything you want in there!

A Classy Twist on the Classic - Grilled Cheese and Gazpacho

2010-08-23T11:58:00.000-07:00

Things I learned this weekend:

*To surf …well almost…we will try again next weekend
*Standing under a freezing waterfall makes me feel very alive...and scream like a girl
*I like the vibe and the food at The Six
*The Switch was a much better movie than I expected
*Stanley really likes to Skype
*Not to fan yourself when you are pretending to be surprised
*My nieces are cuter every time I see them
*The only thing better than grilled cheese with warm tomato soup is grilled cheese with gazpacho (cold tomato soup).

Zach, Becky and I had a little family dinner last night and enjoyed some cold gazpacho, Spanish wine, mixed greens with balsamic apples and shallots, crusty grilled cheese with goat cheese and manchego cheese, york peppermint patties and good conversation! The gazpacho recipe is from the French Laundry Cookbook. The French Laundry is one of the nicest restaurants in California, located in the Napa Valley. They serve a nine-course menu full of quality small plates that are usually quite intriguing sounding. I have never been, but I hope to go someday. So for now, I just have to settle with recreating their recipes at home.

Gazpacho is a Spanish cold tomato soup that can be served chunky or smooth. I plan on trying it both ways, but this one was smooth. The French Laundry recipe includes a balsamic vinegar reduction on top, but I left it out of mine (I will still include it in the recipe though). My grilled cheese was simple yet very flavorful. Enjoy!

Gazpacho
(recipe from 'The French Laundry Cookbook' - serves 6)

1 cup chopped red onions
1 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 cup chopped English cucumber
1 cup chopped and peeled tomatoes
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped garlic
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
3 cups tomato juice
Sprig of thyme
Balsamic Glaze (see below)

Mix all the ingredients except the balsamic glaze together in a bowl or other container, cover, and let sit in the refrigerator overnight.
The next day, remove the thyme and blend all the ingredients in a blender until the gazpacho is smooth. You will have about 2 quarts. For a smoother texture, strain the soup to yield about 1 quart. Refrigerate the gazpacho until ready to serve.

To complete: Ladle the cold soup into bowls and squeeze dots of balsamic glaze over the top.

NOTE: Thomas Keller of French Laundry recommends using either Welch's or Fresh Samantha's tomato juice...the quality of the tomato juice is very important to the recipe.

Balsamic Glaze

2 cups balsamic vinegar

Heat the vinegar in a heavy saucepan over medium heat until steam rises from the liquid. Place the saucepan on a heat diffuser and let the liquid reduce very slowly (it shouldn't simmer) for 2 to 3 hours, until it has reduced and thickened to a syrupy glaze. There should be approximately 1/2 cup of glaze. Keep the glaze in a squeeze bottle at room temperature for garnishing: if the glaze is too thick, warm the bottle in hot water to loosen the glaze.

Fabulous Grilled Cheese:

French Bread (I used wheat) - you can sub any artisan bread
Manchego cheese
spreadable goat cheese
EVOO
Kosher salt

I am not including amounts for the ingredients because it will depend on the amount of sandwiches you need to make. If you cannot figure it out, you should stick to the ole white-bread-American-cheese-slices-with-butter kind of grilled cheese (nothing wrong with that).

Split the French bread loaf down the middle, and spread the goat cheese on the inside of both slices of bread.
lay out the manchego cheese slices, and close the sandwich together.
Brush the outside of the sandwich (top and bottom) with the olive oil, and sprinkle with Kosher salt.
Place sandwiches on a sandwich press if you have one. If not, place in a pan over medium heat until the cheese in the middle is gooey. If the bread is toasted, but the cheese is not melting, you can finish the sandwich off by broiling it in the oven to get the cheese melted.

Chicken Thighs - A Family Recipe Guest Blog by Wendy

2010-08-22T08:09:00.000-07:00

Wendy and I had the great pleasure of enjoying a girls' weekend together while she was here. Zach was away at a conference so we pulled out all the stops.

MASSAGES: I was hoping we could treat ourselves to a blissful hour of relaxation and peace. This experience was not as delightful as I would have hoped. My massage was more like a good beating from a middle school bully. I was literally jabbed and slapped around for 60 minutes. It may or may not have been a bad thing for me (maybe it was good for the muscles), but I was really hoping to kick back and relax. That was not this. I think Wendy's experience was a little better than mine so I am glad about that!

DINNER: We dined al fresco at The Waffle, which has been climbing towards the top of list when it comes to oh-so-good-for-the-soul restaurants in Hollywood. They have perfected the waffle fry; step aside Chic-Fil-A.

MOVIE: We strolled across the street to the beautiful, yet still overpriced ($16), Arclight Movie Theater to catch a flick: Sex and the City 2. We were both seeing the movie for the 2nd time. I know the movie has seen its share of bad reviews, but I liked it. It made me laugh and it was fun to look at; basically, it was the movie equivalent of thumbing through a magazine. That is really all I can ask for when I go see a movie like that, and I was satisfied.

SHOPPING: We made it out to the fabric store Sunday. I am making another apron, and that is all I'll say about that for now!

LUNCH: "California Chicken Cafe is now open on Sundays at their Venice location," is all you hear when you are on hold to order take out from there (something I too often find myself doing). I think I have gushed about this place before, but in case you missed it...yummmmmmm. We dipped on over to them to enjoy a healthy bite.

MORE SHOPPING: Groceries, that is. I realize none of this shopping is the "girls' weekend" kind of shopping you may be thinking, but we managed to have a good time.

COOKING: We decided to prepare a dish that I have had the pleasure of enjoying when I have visited Zach and Wendy's home in Orlando. It is a recipe that has been in their family for years, and I can see why. It is completely satisfying and delicious. Wendy said, "it is like comfort food." That could not be more true about these chicken thighs. She showed me exactly how to make them. They came out perfectly. I will let her share the recipe with you herself.

But first...a couple things you should know about Wendy:

She is a really amazing musician. She is a girl-and-a-guitar kind of gal. We have been lucky enough to hear some of her original music.

She is really good at calming people down. She welcomes the challenge of dealing with angry guests at her job (yes, the kind of people most employees run away from). This is a skill of hers I truly admire because it is something I cannot even begin to imagine being good at.

She has an adorable hamster named Athena. Athena apparently has quite the personality as far is a hamster is concerned. She is a brave lil' lady, rolling right up to Wendy's parents' Boston Terries (within the protection of her plastic ball, of course).

She has a really sweet quality about her that can put you at ease. She is a really great listener and the kind of friend you want to have on your side.

She eats pop tarts for dessert sometimes.

And now for what you've been waiting for...Here's Wendy:

One of my fondest childhood memories is a dish that my grandmother use to make for
all of us when we would go and visit her in South Florida. It was simply known as chicken thighs which was enough information for me to automatically love them. It was a standard dish for her to make them and I think back at how filling they would be on those “cold” Florida nights. What it consisted of was cream of mushroom soup, cheddar cheese, a pinch of Parmesan cheese, can of mushrooms, and of course chicken thighs. It was best served with rice and green beans.

This tradition of making this dish has carried on into my mom’s hat of things to make. She makes it every once in awhile knowing that it is one of my favorite things to eat. This dish has now been passed down to me and I make it every once in awhile at my college apartment thrilling my roommates for chances to have some leftovers of this great meal. I always have plenty to share with them so they can have a taste of my home style cooking.

I had the opportunity to introduce this dish to Lindsey while I was having a lovely stay in California for the summer. We were in the grocery store one afternoon in the midst of a girls weekend when we were trying to decide what to make for dinner that night. I then suggested that we make my grandmother’s chicken thighs given that I knew how to make them. So we put on our thinking caps as I tried to remember what exactly went into them. After gathering all that was needed we headed to the check out loot in tow ready to start the makings of this dish.

To make this it is rather simple you just have to find a bowl to mix the cream of mushroom soup with the Parmesan cheese a little cheddar and of course more mushrooms!
Then you spread this mixture on top of the chicken thighs and top it with a lot of cheddar cheese. You cook it for about an hour and a half at 350 degrees F then it should be ready to eat.

This is a nice comfort food that has been in my family for many years. I hope to one day pass this down to my kids and hopefully it will go on for there. It was fun being able to share this with a close friend!

6-8 chicken thighs (bone-in - skin removed)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
generous pinch of Parmesan cheese
2 C shredded cheddar cheese
1 can or jar of mushrooms

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large bowl, mix the cream of mushroom soup, Parmesan cheese, 1/2 C of the cheddar cheese and the jar/can of mushrooms.
Place the chicken thighs in a large casserole dish.
Pour the mixture over the chicken thighs.
Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top of the mixture evenly.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 90 minutes.

UPDATE: Don't forget to remove the skin from the chicken thighs first!

Serve over rice with some green veggies and be happy!

Catch Me on the TV Box Tomorrow

2010-08-20T11:50:00.000-07:00

The time has come!

This Saturday is the day to catch me in my room makeover episode of "Character Fantasy." The show airs during the commercial breaks of a movie, Bring It On Again at 10:00AM PDT on the USA Network. See you tomorrow!

Oh, also the time has come for the peach tree to stop producing so much fruit. That means peaches for everyone I see for the next few days! Can't let them go to waste :]

Come and gett'em!

Bragging Rights - Bourbon Peach Cobbler

2010-08-17T09:15:00.000-07:00

"The world’s largest peach cobbler is made every year at the Georgia Peach Festival, measuring 11 by 5 feet.

This is not that cobbler.

In an attempt to bring you more peach tree recipes. I decided to try out something I snipped from (yet again) my food network magazine before my peach tree was even in full bloom. The fact that the recipe calls for 8 peaches caught my eye because I am trying to not let these darlings go to waste! Amazingly enough, I had all the ingredients for this recipe already in my apartment except for the heavy cream so I was good to go.

I was reading up about peaches and cobblers and came across the website for the Georgia Peach Festival where they make the biggest peach cobbler in the world each year.

The colossal cobbler -- 11 by 5 feet and about eight inches deep -- is made from an extraordinary 90 pounds of butter, 150 pounds of sugar, 150 pounds of flour, 32 gallons of milk and, of course, 75 gallons of peaches.

They also apparently use trash cans as bowls and boat paddles as mixers. Why do people do this? It reminds me of this battle I heard about on the radio between Lebanon and Israel...no not an actual battle...but a culinary battle: the world's largest bowl of hummus. The countries have been going back and forth (3 times just in the past year) making the world's largest bowl of hummus, each time topping the other country's record. Lebanon won the most recent title with a bowl that weighed 23,042 pounds in May 2010. The competition goes deeper than just making a huge bowl of the yummy stuff. The countries have long feuded over where the traditional chickpea-based dip originated. Since that argument cannot be proven one way or another, this is a way to give the country's something tangible earn bragging rights to.

I may have set the record for the smallest peach cobbler as I did not want to make too much. I don't have too many mouths to feed, and my personal mouth does not need to be chowing down on peach cobbler all week. I just had to try this recipe, and I am really glad I did. This actually got two "that was really good" comments from Zach...one during consumption and one later, much later (I think the later after a meal a good comment about the food is made, the better)! That is about I all I need to claim bragging right in this blog. The topping is delicious and not too sweet. The bourbon adds a nice rich flavor to the peaches. The peaches from my tree have a slightly tart flavor which actually worked pretty well for this. I cannot say enough. Just try it.

Bourbon Peach Tree Cobbler
(recipe by Tyler Florence in Food Network Magazine
)

8 peaches, peeled and sliced
1/4 C bourbon
3/4 C sugar, divided, (plus extra for sprinkling)
2 tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 1/2 C all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 1/2 sticks (12 tbsp) cold unsalted butter, (extra 2 tbsp for skillet)
3/4 C Heavy cream (plus extra for brushing)

Heat the oven to 375 degrees F.

In a large bowl add the peaches, bourbon, 1/4 cup sugar, cornstarch, and cinnamon and mix well to coat the peaches evenly; set aside.

Prepare the dumplings: Into food processor (or by hand) add the flour, 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) butter into small pieces. Add it to the flour mixture and pulse until the mixture looks like wet sand. Mix just until the dough comes together. Don't overwork; the dough should be slightly sticky but manageable.

In a 10-inch cast iron skillet over medium-low heat, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Add the peaches and cook gently until heated through, about 5 minutes. Drop the dough by tablespoonfuls over the warm peaches. There can be gaps, the dough will puff up and spread out as it bakes. Brush the top with some heavy cream and sprinkle with some sugar; put it into the oven on a baking sheet to catch any drips. Cook for 40 to 45 minutes until the top is browned and the fruit is bubbling.

Getting Crafty

2010-08-12T11:37:00.000-07:00

I like to be crafty...

...not in a sly or cunning way, but in an "I-like-to-make-crafts kind" of way. When I was in high school, I used to be obsessed with taking pictures at every gathering or event. I was convinced that it was my job to collect and organize the memories for everyone. I would do things like take pictures of other people in my class that I didn't even know just to preserve special moments, even if they weren't mine. I made a huge (and I mean busting-at-the-binding) scrap book for each year of high school. These scrap books are the most intense scrap book any high school student has ever made or ever will make in the history of scrap-booking. I challenge anyone to prove my wrong.

These babies are packed full of not only pictures, but ticket stubs, notes, sections of notes, programs, newspaper clippings, restaurant menus, yarn (long story), laminated badges, leaves, flowers and just about anything that would remotely fit between the pages of my books. I spent so many hours of my life over the course of each year collecting and putting together these books. I would sprawl out on the living room floor with my scissors, tape, boxes of pictures/papers and decorating materials and go to work. I would usually have some TBS weekend movie or a Survivor marathon on as I worked. I wouldn't move for hours from that spot; my legs would ache from sitting on the floor for so long. I was just so dedicated. I wish I had them to show you because I would say in a second those albums are worth every second I spent working on them. I not only have such great memories from my high school days, but I can also so easily access those memories by flipping through the pages of those books.

I just love diving into a new craft. I don't do things half-way either. I don't see a huge project as daunting by any means; it is a time to make use of my hands while I watch TV (I consider watching TV studying for me since I am working in the entertainment industry). I have mentioned before that I have started making aprons, a task that has been made much easier since acquiring a classic sewing machine from Zach's mom a few months ago. I even made curtains for my bedroom makeover (which will air on the USA Network's Character Fantasy August 21st - I will keep you posted!). I even had someone buy one of my fancy (or at least I try to be fancy) aprons!

Basically, I always have to have a crafty project going on in my life. I just completed (but am always adding to) my latest venture: a recipe/idea book.

The timeline for how this book came about goes like this:
1. I started to go to the gym regularly
2. I quickly became bored on the cardio machines, and started reading magazines...lots of magazines.
3. I started cooking (and this cooking blog) to save money and help stay healthy.
4. I started becoming really interested in finding new recipes.
5. I stated plowing through food blogs, all recipes and asking friends/family for good ones.
6. I started buying magazines for their recipes and decorating and travel tips instead of for their celebrity gossip and fashion advice.
7. I had stacks and stacks of papers and full magazines which had recipes I had marked as "something I want to try in the future."
8. I started this binder:

It is broken up into sections which include: appetizers, breads/breakfast, beverages, sweets, sides, chicken, beef, seafood and pasta. The papers/magazine tear-outs are all in plastic page protectors; this is great because I can take the page out and have it right on the counter while cooking without having to worry about the pages getting wet or messy.

I also included some sections for non-recipe related things like restaurants, travel, cooking tips and decorating ideas. I subscribe to 3 different magazines: Food Network, Good Housekeeping and Sunset Magazine (a gift from my dad!). Between those and the extra random ones I buy every now and then, my binder is growing faster than I can cook! For that reason, I throw out any recipes or ideas that I have tried and not liked to make room for the new ones. I can also throw out the full magazines (with my recipes ripped out, of course) without feeling like I should save them for just one article.

I turn to this binder when I need some inspiration. Just the other night I made a new recipe I put in that binder a while back from my Food Network Magazine for Skillet Rosemary Chicken. It was a great, low-maintenance dish that was satisfying. I made the recipe for four and then used the leftover chicken to make my Chicken Pita Salad. Success!

Too Easy Rosemary Skillet Chicken
(recipe from Food Network Magazine (slightly adapted) - makes 4 servings)

1 pound small red-skinned potatoes, halved, or quartered if large
Kosher salt
2 sprigs fresh rosemary, plus 1 tablespoon leaves
1 clove garlic, smashed
Pinch of red pepper flakes
Juice of 2 lemons (squeezed halves reserved)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 skin-on, bone-in chicken breasts (6 to 8 ounces each)
10 ounces cremini mushrooms, halved
Fresh Ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 450. Cover the potatoes with cold water in a saucepan and salt the water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook until tender, about 8 minutes; drain. Sprinkle with kosher salt and some olive oil and set aside.

Pile the rosemary leaves, garlic, 2 teaspoons salt and the red pepper flakes on a cutting board, then mince and mash into a paste using a large knife. Transfer the paste to a bowl. Stir in the juice of 1 lemon and the olive oil. Add the chicken and turn to coat.

Heat a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken, skin-side down, cover and cook until the skin browns, about 5 minutes. Turn the chicken; add the mushrooms and potatoes to the skillet and drizzle with the juice of the remaining lemon. Sprinkle kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste over everything.

Add the rosemary sprigs and the squeezed lemon halves to the skillet; transfer to the oven and roast, uncovered, until the chicken is cooked through and the skin is crisp, 20 to 25 minutes.

What's a girl to do with leftover BBQ?

2010-08-11T16:26:00.001-07:00

I have been eating out a lot lately.

Zach always insists on keeping the left overs, no matter how unlikely it is we will revisit them at a later meal. I know it is unfortunate, but they usually sit in the refrigerator for about two weeks until they get tossed. But really, what use do you have for 1 slice of pizza, 5 chunks of orange chicken, an ounce of steak, a quarter sandwich, a half baked potato and some soggy salad? You can't eat any one of those things as a complete meal, and any combination of that list makes my stomach churn uncomfortably.

Well, last week we visited the undeniably delicious Dr. Hogly Wogly Tyler Texas BBQ with Zach's family. They boast the most generous portions of solid saucy sliced pork plates I have ever seen topped with three crinkle-cut sweet pickles. The meat is just perfect, and the sauce is tastily tangy. Everyone had leftovers that the waitress packed up by throwing the saucy chunks into clear plastic bags with a knot at the top. More on that later.

The rest of Zach's family's visit was so fun. We always look forward to having them come visit. They planned a whole weekend trip to Seal Beach, which is the most adorable little beach town just south of Long Beach. We stayed just a couple blocks from the ocean.

We rode bikes along the coast down to Long Beach, we visited a huge and beautiful antique shop owned by a blogger that Zach's mom has been corresponding with for a while, we took Stanley to a really great dog beach where he ran longer and faster than ever before and oh yes, we ate and ate!

There were so many really cute local restaurants including Rivers End Cafe (which was right on the beach - best fish tacos I have ever had), Park Bench Cafe (this was an adorable little cafe in the middle of a beautiful park with lots of trails around a small pond) and Walt's Wharf (the last supper of the trip - it was really special, and my halibut dish with black rice was something right out of "Top Chef"). Stanley really liked Park Bench Cafe.

The whole town was just bursting with charm. It boasts the second longest wooden pier in California with a Ruby's diner at the end of it. It was so nice just to stand on the pier and watch the fisherman beside us and the surfers below us. Seal Beach is definitely a place we will be returning to in the future.

Now for all those left overs! What's a girl to do? Zach, Wendy and I were preparing for a night in front of the tube to catch up on the first two "Mad Men" episodes of this new season when I said, "tacos or quesadillas?" They said tacos so I made this:

I would not have normally thought to use BBQ pork in a taco with cheese and pico de gallo, but I had had BBQ chicken quesadillas with similar flavor combinations that were the bomb. I guess you could call it a fusion dish because Mexican style BBQ usually has more of a sharp, spicy or even vinegary flavor (barbacoa) where as the BBQ in these tacos was good ole fashion Texas BBQ with a sweet/tangy flavor. I liked mixing the sweet/tangy BBQ with the traditional Mexican flavors of a slightly spicy pico de gallo, jack cheese, corn tortillas, and lime! I am just now kicking myself for skipping the avocado...that might have been pretty good too! In case you are wondering, I picked up those sweet little restaurant style baskets at Jo-Ann Fabrics...who knew?

Leftovers Tacos (with BBQ Pork) - makes 8 tacos

Leftover BBQ (slice pork, pulled pork, brisket, etc) - you can also make your favorite pulled pork recipe, or you can make mine.
8 corn tortillas (6" diameter)
Pico de Gallo, about 2 cups (you can buy it from the store or make your own by dicing 3 ripe tomatoes, 1/2 white onion, 1/4 C fresh cilantro and 2 seeded jalapeno peppers and mixing it all together)
1 C shredded jack cheese
sour cream and avocado (or Guacamole) for dolloping
lime wedges

Place the meat with all the sauce into a large skillet over med-heat
As the meat starts to warm, start to break it all up with a wooden spoon (for tough pieces, you may need to chop it up beforehand).
Once the meat is heated all the way through and broken up, turn off the heat and place the corn tortillas over the pan to catch the steam (you will be layering them on top of each other, but spread them as much as you can.
Build each taco by placing the meat down first, then the cheese and then the pico de gallo.
Top it off with the sour cream or avocado.
Squeeze a lime wedge over it all.

Fast-Peach Softball

2010-08-06T11:01:00.000-07:00

Before there was the kitchen, there was the softball field.

I have not been in the position to prove the following statement in quite a while, but I used to be pretty darn athletic. I believe I have my parents to thank for that as they got their workouts back in the day by lugging my brother, myself and our equipment from practice to practice for all kinds of sports. Here is the list of organized sports I at least got to try growing up:

tee-ball
tap dance
ballet
soccer
gymnastics
tennis
baseball
swimming
basketball
volleyball
softball

I even took piano lessons and little acting class too. I know this sounds like a lot, and you may be thinking my parents were nuts, but I didn't play all of these sports all the time. Some were for just for one season (I believe tennis was the shortest for about 4 weeks...I am not good at tennis).

As I got older, I started to focus on the sports at which I really excelled: softball and basketball. I really liked soccer too, but it was during the same season as basketball so it had to go. I played softball on travel-ball teams which are teams you have to try out for that travel around the state for weekend tournaments. Our team was good, but not the best by any means. We all got along really well and had so much fun because we had all played together for a long time. I was the catcher because I could stop the ball from getting past me on wild pitches, and I had a really good arm (to throw people out that were stealing bases). I usually batted 2nd or 5th in the lineup because those were the positions for someone who could usually get on base but was not a power hitter (basically I could do the bare minimum to not get out).

One thing our team was really good at was cheering. I wouldn't expect you to know how important cheering was for a softball team unless you have played the sport on some competitive level. You basically cheer non-stop when you are in the dugout and your team is batting. Cheering would give your team a sense of unity and pride. Complicated, funny or clever cheers were encouraged. It was especially fun when your team had a cheer that no other team knew about because eventually they all started to be the same. Here is an example of a cheer we used to do from the dugout when whoever was up to bat did not swing at a pitch and it was called a strike:

"Nacho nacho pitch... You didn't swing cause it's nacho pitch!"
(this was sung to the tune of "Nacho Man")

Here is another one I remember that could be spouted out at any random time from the dugout. One player would yell out the main lines and then the rest of the team would answer the lines in italics:

"My name is Sammy and I know what I got" (What do you got?)
"I got a team that's hotter than hot" (How hot is hot?)
"Batman and Superman" (We're number 1)
"Can hit the ball like (insert name of the next player who will repeat the cheer) can!"

That cheer would go on and on until every single girl had had her turn to say the main part.

There were cheers for almost every little thing that could possible happen in a game: high pitch, dirt ball, stealing bases, switching out the pitcher, etc.

Only now do I realize how little sense the cheers actually made, but that doesn't mean it was not a blast in the moment!

One of my favorite cheers was short, simple and makes very little sense:

Peaches and Cream, peaches and cream, What's the matter with the other team?
Nothing at all, nothing at all, they just can't play...SOFTBALL!

It is the month of the peach tree, after all. The tree in our backyard area is in full bloom, and I have been stuffing myself with at least a peach a day for the last few weeks. The other night, I made my first peach-centered meal of the season: peaches n' pork. I came across a great website that features free cooking videos online called Food Wishes. The site has a great video on how to make "Roasted Pork with Balsamic Glazed Peaches - a Perfect Pairing". I love the blogger, John's, style. He doesn't measure his ingredients, he provides more convenient options that do not necessarily compromise the taste of the final dish and he is really easy to follow. I made this meal to celebrate the summer Wendy spent in Los Angeles since it is one of her last nights before going back to Florida.

Here is a picture of one of the plates just before Stanley came and swiped a slice of pork right off the plate!

In honor of him, I have made up my own cheer for this meal:

Peaches and pork, peaches and pork, you better get ready and get out your fork.
Don't wait too late, don't wait to late, or Stanley will come swipe it right from your plate!

Oh, you can see, he is very pleased with himself...

Balsamic Peaches and Pork Tenderloin
(serves 4 - recipe from Food Wishes: follow the video here (it will be easier than understanding my directions I am sure)

1 1/2 whole pork tenderloin (you will probably be buying two "logs")
4 fresh rosemary sprigs
Fresh ground black pepper and salt to taste
4 fresh peaches (cut into quarters)
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 clove fresh garlic
Olive oil
Mixed greens
2 tbsp blue cheese crumbles (optional for mixed greens)
Thinly slices red onion (optional for mixed greens)
Thin apple slices (optional for mixed greens)
A slices French baguette

Separate the rosemary sprigs from the stem, and beat them moderately with the dull end of a knife (John calls this "Bruising" the rosemary...it is to bring out the aroma and flavor).
Season the pork with the black pepper and rosemary leaves, and place them in a ziploc bag for a couple hours (if you do not have time for that, just do it for a short time).

In the meantime, melt 1 tbsp of butter in a large pan over high heat.
Put the peaches in the pan, flesh side down, and turn the heat down to medium.
After about 2-3 minutes when the peaches start to brown, flip them to the other flesh side, and do the same.
Now flip them on the skin side for another minute, and then turn off the heat.
Add the balsamic vinegar, and mix around (it should thicken and reduce a little after a minute or two.
Transfer the peaches to a bowl, and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Prepare the pork by removing the rosemary leaves from it, and discard. Then salt the meat.
In a large, oven safe, pan, brown the meat on the stovetop on all sides by placing on the hot pan for 2 minutes, flipping and doing the same on the other side...do not move the meat around during the browning...it will form a nice brown crust this way)
Place the pan with the pork into the oven for 20 minutes.

When the pork is finished cooking, let it rest for 5 minutes.
Sprinkle some mashed up garlic bits into the hot pan (where the pork was). Then pour a little bit of water and balsamic vinegar into the pan and mix around (bringing up the bits stuck tot he pan), bringing the stovetop to medium heat.
After a couple minutes, turn the heat off, and add a tbsp of cold butter to the juice. Mix constantly until butter is melted.

Place the Baguette slices in the hot oven to toast while you toss the greens in just a little bit of equal parts olive oil and balsamic vinegar and the blue cheese crumbles (and apple and onion if using).

Slice the pork at a slight angle, and plate it up with the peaches over the greens and the pan juice poured over the meat.

Summer Salad for the Vacationeer (with homemade croutons)

2010-08-02T12:12:00.000-07:00

Everyone is on vacation except for me.

When you live in (no-place-in-the-world-better-than-this-weather) Southern California, you get a lot of visitors. Now, summer used to mean time off and vacations and overnight beach trips...maybe a study abroad thrown in there. As a young adult, I find myself in this odd stage of life where I am too old for the kind of "school's out for the summer" vacation you experience growing up, but I am too young (i.e. too early in my career) to afford the luxury of leisurely travel or even time off from work. It is a huge bummer, but Zach and I make the best of it by taking mini-trips for weekends or even just day trips here and there since there are so many great places to visit nearby.

All of this time spent locally doesn't mean I have to miss out on being a part of others' vacation travels. Every summer since I have lived in Los Angeles, I have been fortunate enough to host some of my favorite people in the world when they get some time off to travel. I absolutely love when friends and family come to visit. It is something I always look forward to, and it usually happens in the summer.

Let's see, last weekend it was Becky, Joanie and Amanda. After the shopping of the wedding dress festivities were concluded, Becky, Joanie and I floated off into the fantasy world that is Laguna Cliff's Marriott Resort and Spa in Dana Point.

I have never been more in the lap of luxury than the moment the nice pool people came by to ask if I needed my sunglasses wiped and a slice of pineapple. Our views from the balcony of our room were not too shabby either.

This past weekend, it was Zach's family who graced us with their presence. They were just happy to be out of the Florida heat/humidity they have been experiencing. We were all over the city, enjoying the beautiful sunshine and breeze. We visited the dog park, some fantastic restaurants, the Melrose trading post (a personal favorite) and the beach!

His mom took this really sweet picture of us walking ahead (for more on their trip, visit Zach's mom's blog, The Boston Lady.)

We will also be spending next weekend with them at the beach about an hour south of LA...Seal Beach. We have never been so that will be another exciting weekend trip we will get to experience.

Last night, we decided to take a more mellow approach to the LA dining experience. Zach's parents brought over some delicious pizzas from the Village Pizzeria on Larchmont. We popped open some wine (along with some Ed Hardy Sangria), and I made a fantastic tomato and bread salad. I am not trying to toot my own horn... I just need you to understand that it really was great.

I haven't been doing so well with cooking consistently recently, but making this fresh and flavorful salad inspired me to kick it back up! I adapted it from a recipe I saw in Woman's Day Magazine . I took the magazine's recipe for an heirloom tomato salad with garlic bread and turned it into the hotest summer dish around, Panzanella. Panzanella is an Italian bread and tomato salad (think: bruschetta in a bowl). I wanted to keep it lighter on the bread and full of fresh tomatoes and bold flavor. I will say the bread really does pull everything together and serves to absorb all the flavorful juices. Zach commented that it had all the great things about salad without the useless "filler" (i.e. lettuce). Now, I am a fan of lettuce, but this salad doesn't need it!

Summer Vacation Perfect Panzanella (with homemade croutons)
(adapted from a recipe in Woman's Day Magazine - serves 6)

WARNING: These instructions are long, but they are very simple. The whole thing should take no more than 20 minutes!

For Homemade Croutons:
1 thin French Baguette (should be thin, about 3 inches in diameter, and have a course/crunchy crust - do not use soft bread)
4 large garlic cloves
1/4 C extra virgin olive oil (you may need to add more)
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper

For Salad:
1 medium red onion, very thinly sliced, separated into rings
4 oz feta cheese, crumbled
3 lb mixed heirloom tomatoes, cut into chunks (I did not have heirlooms at my grocery store - I used a couple different varieties of really ripe tomatoes)
1/3 c of kalamata olives (they come in a jar, not a can like regular black olives)
1 yellow bell pepper, chopped into chunks
1⁄4 cup white balsamic vinegar (I could not find white balsamic so I used regular red balsamic; The taste is similar, but the white is more aesthetically pleasing)
1⁄4 cup plus 1⁄2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
1⁄4 tsp each salt and freshly ground pepper
1⁄2 cup torn fresh basil leaves
homemade croutons (from one thin French Baguette)

Start by making the Croutons:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Cut the baguette down the middle long-ways.
Smash up the garlic, and rub it all over the bread on the inside and out, leaving bits and pieces on the bread (reserve any extra bits).
Cut the bread into cubes (The best way I have found to do this is to fold up the two long slices back on top of each other, then cut longways into three sections, basically making 6 long strips. Then cut across in 1 inch sections all the way down the strips to make cubes.)
In a large bowl, toss the bread cubes with olive oil (and all remaining garlic bits). Continue adding the oil and tossing little by little until all the croutons are lightly coated.
Toss in some kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
Spread cubes out on some aluminum foil (I didn't even use a baking sheet).
Place the foil with the cubes into the oven, and bake for about 10 minutes.
You will have to watch them closely. They should start to turn golden and have a crunch on the outside but still remain ever so slightly soft on the inside (that is how I like them at least...you can leave them in for longer if you like them crunch throughout).

For the salad:
Place the onions, croutons, tomatoes, basil and yellow bell pepper in a large salad bowl.
Add the vinegar and oil, and toss.
Add the feta cheese, olives, salt and pepper on top and toss again.
Put the bowl in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes before serving to allow the flavors to meld.

Say Yes to the Dress..Not the Mess - couple's cooking class part 1

2010-08-01T22:43:00.000-07:00

The wedding adventures continue...

My dear friends from Florida, Amanda, Becky and Joanie were in Los Angeles last weekend. We had a grand ole' time galavanting about the city (and outside of it). We did something very important together, something I have never done before (even though I have already been in several weddings): tried on dresses. Let me clarify; Amanda tried on dresses.

No, that was not "the one." If you know Amanda, you can imagine that she was ultra low maintenance during this process. She basically found her wedding dress in about 4 hours. It was the last one she tried on for the day, and we all saw that it was going to be a winner before she even took it off the hanger. I cannot reveal too much, but it is just gorgeous on her. In case you are picturing a moment straight out of "Say Yes to the Dress" where the girl and her mother are crying and she is saying over and over again "I feel like a princess. I feel like a princess," I will tell you right now it was not like that....thank God. It was exciting, no doubt, and we had so much fun watching her try on all those dresses. At the end of the day, it is the incredibly strong 10-year relationship she has had with her fiance that is the most exciting part of it all. Well, there is also the idea of her having a hyphenated last name of "Johnson-Thompson" that makes me really happy as well.

I would like to raise a toast to the bride and groom to be...

May your marriage be as delightful and breezy as finding a beautiful wedding dress.

Speaking of romantic partnerships...my romantic partner (aka Zach) treated me to the best birthday present I have ever received a few weeks ago. Now, my birthday was back in May, but we were just recently able to go to the COUPLES COOKING CLASS he booked for me as a wonderful gift. I am going to be posting some of the wonderful recipes from Chef Eric (the great instructor) that night on my blog so I will talk more about the class itself later. I have been a terrible food blogger recently because I have had a cooking dry spell. Tweaking my salad order at California Chicken Cafe has been the extent of my use of any culinary skills I may still be holding on to. I will be hitting the ground running again in the next couple weeks. However, until then, I will continue sharing the recipes that we made in the classroom (under strict guidance!).

Grilled Polenta (Couples Cooking Class Part 1)

(recipe by Chef Eric at the Culinary Classroom)

4 cups chicken stock
2 oz (1/2 stick) butter
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 C polenta (cornmeal)
3/4 C parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 325 deg F
Combine chicken stock, butter and salt in a pot and bring just to a boil.
Add the polenta in a steady stream, stirring constantly to avoiding lumps.
Bring the mixture to a boil.
Cover the pot and place in the oven for 20-25 minutes.
While baking, line a baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly grease he paper.
When finished baking, remove the pot from the oven, and mix in the parmesan cheese.
Spread the polenta onto the baking sheet and smooth with spatula. Let cool, then refrigerate until firm (about 20 minutes)
Cut polenta into desired shapes.
Lightly dust the shapes with flour (shaking off the excess)
Saute in a small amount of butter or oil until golden and warmed throughout.

Note: Chef Eric suggested skipping the grilling steps if you are counting calories (due to the extra oil and flour). If you want to skip this step, you can serve the polenta right from the pot before cooling, making a bed of it beneath whatever you are serving it in top of (e.g. chicken breast, steak, etc).

Brunch Club July: Movie a Week

2010-07-18T20:45:00.000-07:00

This summer has been one of the best for movie-going.

I have seen a really great movie just about every week this summer. I am on a roll, and I do not want it to end!

WEEK 1: Sex ad the City

WEEK 2: City Island

WEEK 3: Cyrus

WEEK 4: The Kids Are All Right

WEEK 5: Inception

Of course, I saw some mediocre documentaries like 8: The Mormon Proposition and Babies, but the overall movie experience has been fantastic this summer.

Sube's salty sweet banana tart with a buttery oatmeal crust.

Lindzachary's simple popovers...didn't know what a popover was until they came out of the oven.

On top of a great movie-a-week in the theater, I have been catching a great short movie-a-week this summer on youtube. Brian (of Sube) has been making one short movie every week and will continue for the rest of the summer. This week's movie was based on brunch club July which was hosted by me and Zach.

So there you have it folks, a sneak peak into the goings on of our monthly gatherings. It is also worth noting that we have officially made it a year! The first brunch was hosted by us August of last year. I feel good about the potential of this ritual to continue for years to come.

Brunch has bee a really great culinary experience for me because it keeps me sharp when it comes to breakfast foods and appetizers. I decided to make something a little different this month, drunken tomatoes.

Drunk Before Noon Tomatoes:

(recipe adapted from Woman's Health Magazine)

2 pints of tomatoes (you can use different varieties like yellow, orange, plum, cherry, grape or anything)
1/2 C vodka
1 tsp kosher salt
handful of finely chopped fresh basil (original recipe calls for fresh dill, but I couldn't find any)

Using a fork, poke plenty of holes into each individual tomato.
Place tomatoes into a large ziploc bag.
Pour the vodka over the tomatoes, and shake it around a bit.
Let tomatoes soak in the refrigerator overnight (flip at least once).
Right before serving, take out tomatoes and drain off extra vodka.
In a large bowl, add salt and basil (or dill) to tomatoes and mix just enough to coat evenly.
Serve cold...you can set them out in a bowl with some toothpicks nearby.

A Makeover and a Cakeover

2010-07-15T18:11:00.000-07:00

I am going to be on the TV box.

Living in LA, the percentage chance you will find yourself on television at some point is very high. Now, your being on television might be something like you are walking in the background of paparazzi's video of the cast of Twilight high-fiving fans and darting mysteriously sexy looks in the direction of screaming fans....

OR

Your television experience might come about in the form of getting your bedroom made over by a reality show called Character Fantasy.

Yes, bloganeers. My bedroom was made over for a reality show. It is one of those shows that comes on during commercial breaks of movies (a la "Dinner and a Movie" on TBS). The crew came o shoot at my apartment this week and completed the entire makeover in one day. There was an amazing designer, Ariel Fox, who pulled it all together. I know you are dying to see the transformation so here it is.

The pictures come to you via Ariel's facebook page (as I did not take a single before or after picture!)

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Keep in mind that the picture was taken from the same angle in the room. The way the furniture was moved around really makes all the difference (along with the painted walls, curtains, bed spread, and lamps)! The room feels like a completely different space now, and I could not be happier with it. This was all don in just a matter of hours which is the most amazing part. When I go to work on a room it can take months to finish since I never have gone in with such a clear, specific vision. It sure helps to have someone who knows what she is doing. Ariel made the transformation seem easy (even though all the people working on the room itself were working really hard all day). It is this seemingly effortless makeover that is the inspiration for this post.

It seems like I have no time to cook anymore. I think ever since the move to the new place back in March, it has been rough for me to get into a groove with cooking and trying new recipes. I almost always take the easy route now a days by ordering food or buying premade things and then just cooking the sides or something small as to not deprive you readers of regular posts.

I cheat by making things that are unbelievably easy, but look pretty elaborate. There are just times when all I want for dessert on a hot and sunny summer day are some fresh juicy summer berries with some light whipped cream and a light-as-air kind of cake. Something so simple can be made to look fabulous with a little cake makeover....a cakeover, if you will.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Bring this cake to a summer picnic for a great lighter option.

Do not skimp on the berries and cream. I like to think of this as berries and cream with a little bit of cake instead of the other way around. The berries should be the starts of the dish so they MUST be ripened to perfection. I used strawberries and blackberries since those looked like the best fruits in the store on the day I bought them, but you can use whatever fruit is in season: strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, peaches, mango or even banana.

Verry Berry Cakeover

1 pre-made angel food cake (can be found in the bakery section of any grocery store – mine was sour cream angel food cake)
1 pints fresh, ripened sweet strawberries
1 small container of blackberries
1 16 oz container of cool whip (I would stay away from the lighter versions since they will be too thin to hold the cake together)

Slice up one pint of the strawberries (leave the other pint whole)
Using a long bread knife, cut across the cake to make three equal layers (set the top 2 layers aside)
Spread a generous amount of whipped topping onto the surface of the bottom layer
Place the strawberries into the whipped topping, as many as you can fit
Cover the strawberries with a little more whipped topping.
Place the middle later on top of the bottom layer, and repeat te same process on to of that.
Place the top layer on top of the middle layer.
Spread out a generous amount of whipped topping on the top of the cake, and decorate with the sliced strawberries and blackberries.
Decorate the rest of the plate with whole strawberries and black berries; fill the hole in the middle of the cake with whole strawberries and black berries as well. This will also help to stabilize the layers.
Cover the cake, and place in the refrigerator or even the freezer for an hour or so.
Serve cold.

Corn Happy

2010-07-08T12:09:00.001-07:00

I don't mean to be corny, but I cannot resist.

Corn is one of those things I forget about for stretched of time. I eventually remember it in all its glory around the time I find myself shopping for a cookout. Just before any summer holiday, the grocery stores out it out on display (husks on) with a huge bin next to it (for removing the husks). There must be something scientific about this, but I cannot walk by the corn display without being drawn in. I am compelled to step up, rip off some husks, toss those plump yellow babies into my basket and haul them off to be buttered, salted and grilled to sweet perfection.

Corn has such naturally delicious flavors that pair well with so many things. It is a great summery addition to any BBQ and takes very little time to prepare. Basically it follows the simple equation:

Very Little Work = Hugely Satisfying and Undeserving Payoffs

It is the vegetable version of a ponzi scheme, only you are always cashing out before the Feds catch up to your guy. I almost feel guilty about how good this corn will taste if you just give it a shot. But, don't take my word for it! Here are some quotes from some fellow BBQers:

"Don't put words in my mouth....but please put more of this corn in my mouth!"
-Ryan

"It's cobtastic!"
-Alyssa

"...like a giant celebration in my mouth. Each kernel is like a firework exploding with such spectacular colors."
-Mike

"This is A-MAIZE-ING" -Brian of Sube (or at least this is what I am sure he would have said if he could have made it to the BBQ)

We enjoyed this recipe under the shade of the ripening peach tree in the back yard. I look for ward to sharing some amazing peach recipes in the next month or so. We may have to designate the month of August, "The Month of Millions of Peaches":

Grilled Corn for a Summer Cookout:

Whole ears of corn (however many you need to make) - husks removed
1 stick salted butter
Kosher alt
Black pepper
Aluminum foil

Raw Corn:

Start up your grill (med-high for a gas grill) so it heats up as you prep the corn.

Tear out squares of aluminum foil, one for each ear of corn. (just big enough to wrap around the corn wit the ends sealed)

Tear off the wrapper on one side of the butter stick, and rub the butter generously onto one side of the aluminum foil. The butter should cover an area on the foil that will ensure the whole ear of corn will be touching butter when wrapped.
*I like to rub a little extra butter on the corn itself :]

Sprinkle the buttered foil with a pinch of Kosher salt and a little black pepper to taste (for an extra kick, you can also add a pinch of chili powder here).

Wrap the corn in the foil, and seal off the ends by twisting them gently.

Using long grill tongs, place the wrapped corn on the grill, and cook for about 10-15 minutes (turning once in the middle).

Depending on the heat of the grill, the time may vary, but you will be able to tell the corn is done if you peek into one of the wrappers and it is plump, bright yellow and irresistibly delicious looking.

Colorado Pasta Salad - a Guest Blog by Jeano

2010-07-06T17:17:00.000-07:00

I know I have already introduced my lucky readers to my Uncle John (aka Jeano).

But I think you could all stand to get to know him a little better. And what better way to explain my good humored, lovable uncle then by letting you in on his email to me about wanting to be a guest blogger:

From: John
To: Lindsey
Date: Tue, Jul 6, 2010 at 4:48 PM

Subject: I want to be a guest contributor

Signed-by ymail.com
Details 4:48 PM (18 hours ago)

I want to be a guest contributor to your Bite Me food blog. Since I am still starting up you do not have to compensate me financially for my contribution. So here's my new creation, let me know if it made the cut.
Jano

Uncle John loves Colorado. He spent some time there last year, and he was always emailing the family pictures of amazing views. Everything looked like it belonged in a car commercial. Basically, snow makes everything more beautiful.

I told my uncle that my only regret in posting this recipe is that I wish he had sent it to me sooner so that it could have been a part of my 4th of July BBQ (post to come).

Colorado Garden Pasta Salad

This is a healthy pasta salad that can be enjoyed anytime, it is quick to make, simple and tastes better as a leftover. So go ahead and make lots of it and feel free to modify it to your taste.

Ingredients:
1 box 14oz of whole wheat pasta, I like Rotini since I can pick it up in fork easily. Hey when I am hungry I want to eat and not play with the food
1 red bell pepper
1 can of sweet corn or equivalent frozen sweet corn
1 can sweet peas and carrots or equivalent frozen sweet peas and carrots
1 can of black beans.
1 whole rotisserie chicken
1 large bundle of broccoli
handful of shredded cheese
salt and pep to taste

Cut red pepper into small cubes.
Rinse black beans and add to red peppers

Debone the rotisserie chicken and add to pepper and black beans

Boil broccoli until done and add along with corn, peas and carrots to the salad mix.
Mix well and add salad dressing of choice along with some salt and pepper to taste.
I prefer balsamic vinegar and olive oil but you can use what ever you like.

Chill and serve.

Less Is More

2010-06-30T17:39:00.000-07:00

Sometimes it is just better to keep it short.

Here is a list of things I think are better when people take the "less is more approach":

FEATURE-LENGTH MOVIES: I prefer them to be no longer than 100 minutes.

PHONE MESSAGES: In fact, who needs them at all when you call someone who already has your number programmed in your phone?

LIFTING WEIGHTS: Lower number of reps means you can lift more weight.

BRIDESMAID DRESSES: Sure they should be to the knee for the actual wedding, but lopping off some of that material with your amazing new sewing machine (thanksbostonlady!) can transform that thing into an awesome cocktail dress!

Before (photo by the amazingly talented wedding photographer, Jenny, who has posted lots of Meagan and Jon's wedding pictures here):

After:

I cannot wait for a good reason to wear this little number.

I used to think things are always better when you cook them longer in the slow cooker. This may have been wishful thinking since I usually turn it on in the morning and do not make it home to turn it off for at least 10 hours. I have always cooked things longer than the recipes calls for, and everything has always been delicious. I was under the impression this was actually helping rather than hurting. I do want to keep this post short to maintain the theme, but I should say, make this dish for a nice comforting, non-intimidating-attempt-at-using-polenta-for-the-first-time recipe.

It is easy, satisfying and healthy. However, do not cook it in the slow cooker for longer than the recipe recommends. In this case, less is more when it comes to time in the pot as the chicken can get a little on the dry side.

Keep It Short Chicken Ragout with Polenta and Veggies

3 cups frozen mixed vegetables (preferably Italian style)
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1 (14-ounce) jar pasta sauce
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp crushed garlic
1/4 C dry sherry (or another dry white wine)
1 (24-ounce) tube pre-made polenta, sliced 1/2-inch thick
4 slices provolone or mozzarella cheese (optional)

Combine frozen vegetable medley in the bottom of a slow cooker.
Season both sides of the chicken breasts with salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning. Place chicken on top of vegetables.
In a large bowl, stir together pasta sauce, tomato paste, garlic and sherry.
Pour 2/3 of the sauce over chicken and vegetables.
Top the chicken with polenta slices and cover with remaining sauce.
Cover and cook on the LOW setting for 4 to 5 hours.

Totally optional and not part of original (healthier) recipe:
Scoop out the chicken breasts when they are finished cooking, and place them in a small oven-safe dish.
Top each chicken breast with a slice of provolone or mozzarella cheese, and broil in the oven for about 2-3 min (until cheese starts to turn golden.
Then serve chicken on a plate, scooping out the vegetables and polenta onto the plate as well directly from the pot.

Serve hot with Parmesan cheese if you decide not to take the last step with the cheese slice.

Oh Lighten Up

2010-06-22T22:47:00.001-07:00

Have you or anyone you love been visually assaulted by a Bravo! Network’s “Real Housewives” mini marathon?

In an attempt to sink their teeth into their ~~victims~~ viewers, Bravo strategically laces the end of each show seamlessly into the beginning of the next. Upon blinking, it would be difficult for the average ~~woman~~ person tell when one episode is ending and the other is beginning. Did I mention I love the show?

Sitting in front of the TV with a bowl of delicious pasta and some NY housewives (with their awesomely petty drama)to keep me entertained was 100% more relaxing than the attempt I made at getting a massage that left me sore (an unable to turn my head to the left for a day) last weekend. There is something about the mindlessness of it all. Somewhere around episode 3 of a marathon, you start to share emotions with these ladies. It is just enough drama to make you forget your troubles but not enough drama to actually stress you out. The New York Housewives are, by far, my favorite. However, I should say New Jersey is sliding in to a close 2nd.

Programs such as this are the "comfort foods" of television so why not cook up some comfort food to go with it? A pasta dish will do the trick, but let's keep it light...there is nothing worse than watching these women with better bodies than most 20 year-olds while burying my face in a 1,000 calorie bowl of heavy creamy pasta.

Real Housewives Shrimp Linguine

(serves 3-4)

1 pkg fresh linguine pasta (12-16 oz)- fresh pasta is really a lot better
1 lb cooked shrimp, med size - peeled and deveined
5 cloves garlic, chopped finely
2 big handfuls fresh spinach leaves
2 tbsp finely chopped shallots
2 lemons
plenty of olive oil
plenty of grated Parmesan cheese (about 1/2 C)
salt and pepper

Boil the fresh pasta as directed (about 2-3 minutes). Drain, drizzle with olive oil and set aside. The Olive oil will help keep it from sticking together.
Remove tails from shrimp.
Toss shrimp in a bowl with salt pepper. Squeeze the juice out of one lemon over the shrimp, and toss again.
In a large skillet or pan, sauté the shallots in olive oil for about 3 minutes over med-high heat.
While the garlic/shallots are sauté, squeeze the juice from 1/2 of a lemon over the leaves, and toss around until evenly coated. Then add the spinach leaves to the skillet/pan.
Cook spinach in the pan with the olive oil, garlic/shallots for another 2 minutes.
Add the shrimp (with any excess lemon juice from the bowl) into the skillet/pan; toss to incorporate (add olive oil as needed).
Now add the pasta (be sure to separate it as much as you can as you put it in the skillet/pan. Continue to add olive oil as needed.
Mix everything in the skillet/pan. Squeeze the juice from the remaining 1/2 lemon over the pasta, and add the Parmesan cheese.
Continue mixing until all ingredients are incorporated and the shrimp is heated all the way through (you do not want to keep it in there too long of the shrimp will get tough).