Someone Needs a Shower

Another weekend. Another wedding shower. Another trip to Florida.



I have been best friends with Megs since we were in Mrs. Hickenbothom's preschool class at age four. I grew up with this girl; we shared more memories than I could ever carry; she is my sister. So I guess this means I am getting a brother-in-law.



I flew to Florida for Megs' wedding shower. It was a couples shower which was really fun. There were games, amazing food, cute decorations and great company with a surf-n-turf theme. All the lovely bridesmaids really pulled together to create an amazing event.



Probably my favorite part of the game portion:



Amazing food:



The full spread including everything from venison meatballs to shrimp and scallop ravioli:



Meagan and Jonathan make a great couple, mostly because their combined name is "Jeagan" and their kids will be studs, but also because they complement each other better than anyone I know. They deserve each other. I have never seen my best friend happier, and I cannot wait to celebrate the big day.



As a huge HUGE bonus, my brother's family came down to my parents' house in Tampa for the weekend for some quality time with "Aunt Lindsey."

Charlotte (just days from being a year old)..."A" is for Apple:



Olivia looooooooves coming to her buela and grandpa's house in Tampa...cannot imagine why:


Side note: I love the painting on the wall in this picture (sorry it is blurry). My parents have had it for about 20 years, and it has never become old or ugly to me. It is the reason I like the "old world look," because lots of things like that will never go out of style. There is something to be said about old pictures that have been recreated and printed and have survived hundreds or even thousands of years (and make it into people's homes still today). This is obviously just a recreation of an original painting, but it is my favorite thing in my parents' house.

When you live across the country from so many people you love so deeply, you end up cramming a lot of quality time into the couple times a year you get to visit. There are only so many meals I share with my family each year so I always want them to be special. It is almost like I get to experiment all year long and use some of my favorite recipes for these rare get-togethers.



This is one of those recipes. I made it for the first time only about a month ago. It is yet another recipe from my gal pal, Paula Deen's cookbook. Succotash is a dish that is made a variety of ways. There are wildly different recipes from the one Paula gives (I am pretty sure she even has more than one recipe for it herself). I don't think you will feel the need to look any further after trying out this version.

The Only Succotash Recipe You Need:

(recipe by Paula Deen)

1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 chicken bouillon cube (I used beef) or 1 tsp granulated bouillon
one 10 oz package frozen lima beans or butter beans (I used lima)
6 slices of bacon, cut into tiny pieces
one 10 oz package frozen corn kernels (or 3 ears fresh corn (I think we all know I used frozen)
2 tbsp butter
pepper to taste

In a medium saucepan, add the first three seasonings and the bouillon cube to 2 cups of water.
Add the lima beans (or butter beans), and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat to low, and continue cooking until the beans are tender and some of the water has been absorbed.
Meanwhile, in a skillet, sauté the bacon until very crisp.
Drain off all but 1 tbsp of the bacon grease, and add the corn to the skillet with the bacon; cook over low heat for about 10 minutes.
Using a slotted spoon, ad the beans to the skillet with the corn and bacon.
Spoon over a little of the bean liquid to mix in.
Add the butter and pepper to taste.

It is almost even more delicious the next day as leftovers!

Take the Bad With the Good

We have all done it, ladies.



You sit down in a restaurant, and your internal monologue goes to work: "saladorburgersaladorfriedchickensaladorgrilledcheesesaladorpizza?"

"What can I get for you?", asks the server. It is time to make a decision.

YOU: "I will go with the salad today. Light dressing on the side. 86 the cheese."

SERVER: "Is there anything else I get you?"

YOU: "Well since you asked, let's add an order of fries...you know for everyone. Oh, I will also have a diet coke."

And so it goes. We make ourselves feel better about the bad by simply tacking it onto the good.

Ordering pizza? Add a salad.

Juicy burger? Leave off the Mayo.

Ordering fried chicken? Slap it on top of a salad.



Well, it is that mentality I worked off of here. It is not that this chicken is so so bad for you, but it was certainly made worse by the fact that I was adding a huge chunk of No Fail Bread slathered with my new original recipe for Bacon Rum Butter (recipe soon to come) on the side. This recipe is very easy. The inspiration came from a Paula Dean recipe for scallops which I will likely try one day as well, but since I have a 10 lb bag of frozen chicken in the freezer I decided to go with that. Bacon. Mustard. Chicken.

Bustard Chicken

(makes 2 chicken breasts)

4 strips smoked bacon
2 tbsp whole grain mustard
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
Peanut oil (you can also use vegetable or canola if that is all you have)

Ahead of time:
Cook the bacon (not too crisp) by microwave or on a skillet.
Drop the bacon and the mustard into a food processor (from the hole in the top while it is already running).
Keep the food processor on until the mustard and bacon is thoroughly mixed or even pureed.
Coat the chicken breasts with the bacon/mustard mixture and place them in a ziploc bag. Place the bag in the refrigerator and let sit for at least 5-6 hours.

To cook:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Heat oil in a heavy-bottomed skillet (should be about 1/4 inch thick).
Take the chicken out of the plastic bags, making sure to use every last bit of the bacon mixture to coat the breasts.
Once the oil is hot, Use tongs to place the coated chicken breasts into the hot oil. Cook for about 1 minute on each side.
Transfer the chicken breasts to a small baking pan, making sure to scrape up all the bits of bacon/mustard from the skillet and putting it on top of the chicken on the baking pan. Place the pan with the chicken in the oven.
Bake for about 20 minutes or until the chicken in cooked all the way through.



I served the hot, crispy chicken over a nice fresh salad which included tomatoes, light ranch dressing, sharp cheddar cheese and chunks of toasted no fail bread.

Brunch Club December: Interrogations

Andice hosted brunch this month in their lovely Los Feliz apartment.



For those of you who are not familiar with the area, Los Feliz is a charming trendy neighborhood in East Los Angeles with the tiniest little movie theater, an insane number of delicious local restaurants with plenty of outdoor seating, a couple unique book shops and small houses with bright green yards and fruit trees. It is bordered by Griffith Park, one of my favorite places in the city, and Silver Lake, an even trendier neighborhood full of dive bars, artists and Tomato Pie (home of "The Grandma" pizza). Also, around these parts it is pronounced, "Los FEE-less", not "Los Feh-LEES", the way you may be inclined to say it if you ever took Spanish I. The neighborhood has a great community-type feeling. People walk places.

Andy and Candice are Canadians. In case you don't know, that means they are very nice and good-spirited people who like to walk a lot. Their home was lovely (especially the bathroom with deep purple walls). But this month was the month of interrogations in three parts:

1. It was not easy to believe that Elliott made baklava. Considering it is quite the process to make it from scratch, I was intrigued. It was presented in a casserole dish and not a store bought box, but I thought a little investigating was in order. Apparently, he was taught by a friend. He explained to a room full of wide-eyed ladies exactly what goes into the exotic dessert, batting down every ounce of my suspicion. Impressed.

2. Sue, Natalie and Emily demanded answers from the brunch guests as to whether or not they would be attending or at least interested in the ski trip they are in the midst of planning. The deadline for final answers is Zach's birthday, December 20th.

3. Candice's friend, Gabe, was visiting from Winnipeg, a Canadian city just north of North Dakota. The weather there is below freezing which is really all I need to know as far as specific temperature is concerned. Gabe works as a reporter for a newspaper and covers hard-hitting stories. I almost did not need to be told that she was Canadian or a reporter. I gathered both by her pleasantly charming and inquisitive nature. She had a lot of questions for me about what I had forgotten could be interesting to those who do not work in the entertainment industry.

The line up for these brunches is getting really obnoxious. We've got people making insanely difficult and involved dishes. I am proud of my fellow brunchers this week. Here we go:

This month's **WINNER OF THE BITE ME BLOG BRUNCH DISH** December edition goes to:

SUBE'S Poppy Seed Cake:




My love for this dense, moist cake started when I saw Sue soaking the poppy seeds in vanilla and milk the day before Brunch. It almost had the consistency of a muffin top and was delicious with the whipped cream and fresh berries.

ELLIOTT'S Homemade Baklava:


It was incredible.

NATALIE'S Homemade Croissants:


I mean really, people...the competition is so stiff. This was impressive. Some were regular and some were filled with chocolate.

EMILY'S Stuffed Tomatoes:


The stuffing was a creamy corn mixture. No problems eating our veggies here!

BREANNA'S Breakfast Casserole:


This really hit the spot! So warm and hearty.

ANDICE'S French Toast:


I have not had French Toast in years, but now it is all I can think about. The only questions is: Eggnog French Toast or Gingerbread? Oh, yeh, okay. Both.

SUBE'S Rice Pudding:


I did not know I liked rice pudding, but I definitely do.

Lindzachary's Stuffed Jalapeños Wrapped in Bacon:



(recipe from one of the best food blogs around, The Pioneer Woman)

Bacon is just so good. However, I made a huge mistake one time in making these. I used turkey bacon. Turkey bacon may be good as a side dish for eggs, but it is not good for wrapping. It was not as crispy as I had hoped. Don't use turkey bacon; the fat from regular kind is there for a reason. Let us never forget that.

15 jalapeno peppers
8 ounces cream cheese
15 strips of bacon (don't use the thick kind)
Gloves!



Rinse the jalapeños and preheat the oven to 375 F.
Put on some latex or kitchen gloves. The jalapeno seeds will leave your hands feeling like they are on fire for hours after if you handle them directly.
Slice the jalapenos legnthwise, and hollow out the seeds.
Use a small spoon or potato peeler to scrape out the seeds and white membrane out of the inside. Soak the hollowed peppers in some water. Any extra seeds will float to the top. (the seeds are what pack the heat so if you can handle it, you may choose to leave a few in there).
Pat the jalapenos dry with a cloth towel on the inside and on the outside.
Fill the inside of each one with cream cheese.
Wrap one half slice of bacon around each stuffed pepper, and secure with a toothpick.
Bake at 375 F for 20 minutes (you may want to turn up the heat for the last 5 minutes to get the bacon to crisp up).

Little Plates

Tapas are delightful little plates of appetizers and are generally enjoyed by sharing several with everyone at the table, sometimes to make an entire meal. The word "tapa" means "cover", or "lid" in Spanish. The origin of of tapas is unclear to say the least, but here are a couple of the most popular theories:

*King Alfonso X of Castile liked to order his wine with a small plate or a piece of ham on top to keep flies and sand out. Eventually taverns began putting little bits of food on these small plates.

*King Alfonso X insisted that all Castilian taverns serve small plates of food with each glass of wine to ensure that patrons would not get drunk too easily.

*Tavern owners realized that serving small portions or salty meats with the sweet sherry wines made the patrons thirsty, boosting sales more than enough to make up for the cost of the meat.



While it may (or may not) be fun to speculate what the origin of tapas is, one thing is for sure as far as I am concerned: it is fun to eat them. There are traditional dishes that are made into tapas like torilla de pata, fried calamari, olives, cheeses, serrano ham, croquettes, and patas bravas, but any food can be enjoyed in the tapas-style of eating (there is always wine involved). I made a modest assortment of tapas for a Sunday night dinner this week so these are the recipes I am sharing below:

SHRIMP WRAPPED IN BACON WRAPPED IN ALL THE LOVE IN MY HEART

5 oz thinly sliced bacon (or jamon)
24 large uncooked, headless prawns, peeled
Freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 lemons, quartered

Cut the bacon (or jamon, if using it) into pieces which will wrap generously round the prawns. Place the wrapped prawns down flat on a board and skewer them through the fattest part and the tail, making sure the bacon is firmly fixed. Season generously and drizzle with the oil.

On a high heat, griddle, grill or barbecue place the prawn and bacon skewers
for 2-3 minutes on each side, or until the bacon crisps up. Alternatively , roast in a hot oven (425ºF) on an oiled baking tray for 8-10 minutes. Squeeze over the juice of the lemon wedges and serve immediately.



YOU BETTER BRIE READY FOR THIS

4 servings

1/2 package frozen puff pastry, thawed
1 (8 ounce) package brie cheese, round
1/8 C toasted walnuts, chopped (or whatever nut you want)
1/4 C fruit preserves

Preheat oven to 425.

Lightly grease cookie sheet.
Roll puff pastry out slightly.
Place cheese wheel on top (leave rind on).
Place preserves on top of cheese.
Place walnuts on top of preserves.
Bundle Puff Pastry up and around the cheese.
Bake for 20-25 minutes.
Let cool for five minutes.

Serve with your favorite crackers, pita chips, or whatever sounds good to you! You can also be creative with the preserves. You can switch it up if you don’t want it to be a sweet dish and use a tomato, pesto or olive mixture with pine nuts instead.



CAPRESE SALAD

For 4-5 servings

2 large tomatoes
6 oz buffalo mozzarella cheese (it should come in a package about the size/shape of a baseball)
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 4oz bag of mixed greens
chopped fresh basil to taste
salt and black pepper to taste

Slice tomatoes in thick-ish slices (about 1/2 inch)
Slice cheese about the same thickness as tomato slices
Place tomato slices flat on top of a light bed of mixed greens and place a slice of cheese on top of each tomato slice
Drizzle or brush the olive oil on top followed by the balsamic vinegar.
Sprinkle the fresh basil, salt and pepper to taste over top.



CATALAN BREAD

This is so easy you do not really need a recipe. It is just a staple in Spanish cuisine. You just need to cut a baguette longways down the middle, rub it down with a clove of fresh garlic, and toast it slightly. Cut a ripe, juicy tomato down the middle and squeeze it over/smear it onto the bread, rubbing it in well. Drizzle some olive oil (to taste) over the bread, followed by some sea salt (to taste). This bread goes well with Iberico ham, olives, or manchego cheese. It can also add an amazing twist to a traditional grilled manchego cheese sandwich.



Don't forget to set out some small bowls with sliced manchego cheese and whole Spanish green olives along with these little plates and a nice full-bodied red wine.