Busy Nights Real Food

2009-12-08T15:07:00.000-08:00

Wow. I can't believe I even remembered the password to this thing. It has been almost 3 years since I last posted and boy have things changed since then. Funkbobito and I are still happily married, we have added a very crazy, but very sweet dog named Bella to our family. We love her, though she definitely keeps us on our toes. She's a rescue mutt so we gotta love her.

We also added another little member to our family. Our little Matthew was born last February and he's awesome. I love being a mom and I'm pretty sure its the best job I'd every want. Wish I could say thats the only job I have, but alas I'm still at the daily grind working in retail.

Life is good, but I'm missing one big thing. Food. Between my work schedule and now a baby I feel like I have no time to even think about cooking so most nights I end up with the easiest and simple meals one can imagine. But I think I need this back in my life. I've lost one of my favorite hobbies. So while it may sporadic, and rather uninspired, and very low budget (a new house and daycare have cut into our budget a bit), I feel like I need it for me.

So I'm a little out of practice with the food pictures, but this was my only impressive meal of late. Ok so just the chicken was impressive.

Buttermilk Chicken Legs

4 Chicken Leg Quarters

2 small containers of buttermilk

1-2 Tbsp salt

1-2 Tbsp Steakmates

Comine all ingredients in ziploc and marinate in fridge for at least 4 hours.

Preheat oven to 425. Roast chicken on a rack for about 45 minutes until nicely browned, juices run clear (internal temp 160 I believe). Remove from oven, cover with foil and let rest for 10-15 minutes.

Delish.

A new summer favorite

2006-05-17T19:17:00.000-07:00

I have heard a lot about grilled pizza. And so I decided it was time to give it a whirl. I started by making dough. You may notice in the recipe that it says 3 Tablespoons of yeast, that was mistyped, I used 2 packets so if you use the jar, do an equivalent, about 3 teaspoons I think. I don't know why I was so afraid of making pizza dough from scratch. It really is so easy and tastes so good. Well, I made 2 pizzas, one for me and one for Funkbobito. I went with olive oil, fresh mozzarella, tomatoes and basil, your typical margherita. Funkbobito had pepperoni.
We rolled out the dough, preheated the grill to medium, oiled up the grates and threw on the crusts. After about 5 or 7 minutes (we have gas, so easier to control the heat here), we pulled off the crusts, flipped them over and put all our toppings on. We dropped the heat on the grill to medium-low and put the pizzas back on. This time we closed the lid and checked every couple of minutes until the bottom was nicely golden. It only took about 5 minutes tops. The results were great. Sorry there were not pictures of the pies whole, we just couldn't wait to cut into them and give em a try. If you have a grill, this is definely a must try meal.

Before and After

2006-05-04T19:06:00.000-07:00

Who doesn't love the before and after pictures on your favorite talk show. I know I always do. So here is the Punky version

Before

Simply steamed with a quartered lemon. Served with a bit of melted lemon butter. So good.

After
Well, we loved it and thats all there is to say.

Before
Awesome, amazing, super yummy Apricot-Mustard Grilled Pork Tenderloin from the Char-Broil website. It was so tender, and moist. This will be made again and again.

After
Well, even though my attempt at mashed potatoes were a bit runny, Funkbobito and I had no problem finsihing them off. I flavored the potatoes with butter, sour cream, milk, Asiago cheese and garlic powder, and salt and pepper of course.

Before
Almost 3 years ago I cut off all my hair and then decided to see how long it would take to grow out. Several times since then I thought I would cut it all off again, but really wanted long hair when I got married. So here is how long it got in 3 years (it was pretty short before)

After
I love that it is all gone. Without losing all my anonymity, I based the style off this picture.
So excited that it is gone and that I don't have to put it in a ponytail tomorrow.

Well, before I wrote this post I was worried about posting my first meal in a long time. But after its all done, it went alright. And you all really have to try that pork, its fantastic.

Back on the horse

2006-05-03T07:09:00.000-07:00

Well, after way too long without a focus on cooking, its a little weird to get back into it. My motivation to try something new is pretty low. But I think it is growing, and I am just about ready to get back on the horse. I have magazines and cookbooks galore to cook out of, and a day off tomorrow that I may have to whip something up.
While in Mexico there was really only one thing I really wanted to bring home, a bottle of pure vanilla extract. Well, I brought home 2, a clear and dark, and I can't wait to choose a recipe to try them in. I had a picture to post, but my internet isn't letting me open that tab, so you get to visualize it all on your own.
So I work the late shift tonight so I am eating a sandwich and my HUSBAND (still so weird to say) will get to fend for himself at home. Hopefully a night like this will really inspire some great dishes on Thursday.

Finding what you're looking for

2006-05-02T03:11:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure if anyone still swings back by here, but I thought I would pop back in. Just in case anyone was missing the puns, corny jokes, cooking disasters, and all around mediocracy that is my blog. So where, you may want to know, has Punky been all this time? Why has she abandoned her little piece of land in cyberspace? The answer is so simple its silly, you may even chuckle at how ridiculously simple it really is...I've been really freakin busy.

Last June, Funkbobito popped the question, and after 4.5 years of very patiently waiting (and constant hinting) of course I said yes. So began the journey that is wedding planning. Next time I do this, I will hire someone else to do it all (and no, I don't really plan on there being a next time). Well, after hours and hours of picking colors, flowers, dresses, fonts, table cloths, etc, etc, etc, I wasn't much up for cooking, and being that this is a cooking blog, I thought you all would rather not hear the details of frozen pizza, take-out, and my beloved Kraft mac and cheese.

In November, I followed my life long dream to work a crappy job and accepted a promotion at work, I'm a supervisor now. No really, I like my job, it just isn't at all what I thought I would be doing and definitely not in the field I was hoping to work in. Oh well, you gotta survive right? My schedule got much more irregular and once again, cooking suffered. It was no longer something I did for fun, I now did it because I was tired, wanted to be off my feet sooner than later, and really didn't care what I ate. Enter canned soup, salad bars, and lots of eggs.

Well, all this craziness had to wind down at some point, and it finally did. On April 22, Funkbobito and I finally got hitched. He was definitely what I'd been looking for. The wedding was great and I can't believe I pulled it all off. Our photographer has a blog that has a few sample pics on it. What a fun day, can't wait to see all our proofs. Then it was off to Mexico for our honeymoon. Now that was fun. Our resort was gourmet all inclusive so the food was spectacular. Yummy.

On a sad note. About a month before the wedding, my sweet Gidget passed away. She had been sick for about a week and was showing improvement. I was going to take her in to the vet so he could check her and her heart gave out right before we were leaving the house. She was my sweetie for 16.5 years and I miss her everyday. Its still weird, over a month later to come home and her not be here. But Funkbobito and I are hoping to get a puppy sometime this summer.

Well that's about all I've got, hopefully there is still someone out there.

Alfred Hitchcock Presents

2006-02-09T06:50:00.000-08:00

The cushion
(Hum the Hitchcock theme song to yourself)

It was a cloudy and cold day. The ever changing weather had driven Punky to her couch to blog. She had been cooking and needed to update her readers on what she had been eating in the last few days. Her vicious attack dog slept at her side. No one would know that a horrible butchering was taking place.

Punky was focused on sharing the horrors that were her Martha Stewart recipes when she had the feeling that something wasn't quite right. But maybe it was those boring recipes for tilapia and Spicy (not) black beans that were causing her distress. As you can see it even looked a little scary.

As Punky is not an overly paranoid person she kept blogging. She was preparing to rave about the movie night her and Funkbobito had. They had a real treat of a dinner with wine cheese, sausages and fruit. Nothing like munchies for dinner. But her unease arose again, but she just simply blamed it on the atrocity of a film that The Brothers Grimm really was.

She returned to her blogging hoping to actually get something posted. And after a vegetarian meal that was to die for, she thought this would be the day. Roasted veggies and home alone beans were a hit, even with Funkbobito (who believes a meal really should have meat). But something was still not quite right.

So Punky let her vicious attack dog outside to do her business. When she returned something was not quite right.

So Punky went outside to check out what was going on. It was then that she saw the carnage, the horror, the cushion...

Her blood curdling scream was only in her head, but the fountain of expletives that spewed from here lips was definetly audible. She wondered what would lead to such a violent act on a mere six month old cushion. What had it done to deserve this? She thought of all the logical explanations (Kraft sends warning to stop referring to their products, the Foodies mob is placing a hit on her for the large use of convenience foods, Columbian drug lords hid their stash in her Pier One cushion before it shipped out and they have been searching for it for the last 6 months, etc). There was always the improbable chance that it was a squirrel trying to build a nest. But she decided it was really a curse from the Blogger gods for not keeping her blog updated. The terror of further hostility towards her outdoor furniture has led her to post and she has taken this warning to heart.

Greek Garden Party

2006-02-01T19:37:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite shows is Project Runway on Bravo. Its a competition between fashion designer and they have different design challenges each week. I was addicted to the 1st season and now the 2nd. Tonight's theme was a garden party dress made all with flowers and plants. They had some really interesting dresses. If you haven't seen it, try to catch an episode. Its a keeper.

Tonight we took a little trip to Greece. Well, more like the Greek restaurant, only I was the chef. We started with a great homemade tzatziki. It was very easy and had a great little zing to it. I got the recipe from the Cooking Light Bulletin Board and will definetly make it again. Toasted up some pita and had a great little appetizer.

Anytime Funkbobito and I go to Greek restaurants for dinner we ALWAYS get gyros. While I would love to tell you that I made gyros (meat and all) tonight, lets get real and remember whose blog we are reading here. No we made Greek Steak Pitas (adapted from Cooking Light). The flavor of this was great and easy to put together. HOWEVER, I will not be using flank steak again. This is the second time I have tried it and the second time I found it tough and stringy. Ahh the curse of being raised by a farming family. Anyways this recipe will be one that can stick around, but I will use strip or something a bit more tender next time.

Tomorrow we are trying some recipes from Martha Stewart. I can't really stand her and have only made her cookies so we'll see how we end up liking these new recipes. Oh and on a totally girly note, I get to go buy my wedding shoes tomorrow, YEAH!! Can't wait to see them with my dress on Friday. Now this is the fun part of wedding planning.

Extreme Blog Makeover: Punky Edition

2006-01-27T08:49:00.000-08:00

Well, I am doing a bit of remodeling here, for no reason except that I was sick of looking at that green. So let me know what you think. And if you have any suggestions please place them in that file to the right of my desk. Just ignore that empty soda bottle in there. I joke. So let me know if you have problems with any areas.

Lucky Number 7

2006-01-26T17:29:00.000-08:00

I had to work until 7 tonight after a really long day and came home to Funkbobito stirring up some yummy Fettucini Alfredo. It was great and I ate it too fast to catch a picture.

Well Patti over at Adventures in Food and Wine tagged me for the 7's cooking meme so here we go.

7 Culinary Things to do Before I Die
1. Make a prime rib
2. Make fois gras
3. Eat at the 10 best restaurants in the US
4. Learn to make really good sushi
5. Become a really good bread baker
6. Take a cooking class from a professional gourmet chef
7. Learn about wine pairings (I am so clueless here that it may take me a lifetime to learn)

7 Things I Can't Do In the Kitchen
1. Basically anything with potatoes
2. Clean as I go. It ain't cookin' unless you use every dish.
3. Find the measuring spoon I need.
4. Remember to not touch the meat thermometer when it comes out of the oven
5. Debone (is that a word?) a chicken or fish
6. Finish a gallon of milk before its expiration date
7. Fit another condiment in my refridgerator

7 Thinkgs That Attract Me to Food Blogging
1. I get to release those creative juices
2. Its fun to use a fake name
3. I've made some fun online friends
4. It keeps me trying new recipes
5. I am getting better at using my camera
6. I feel loved when I get comments
7. I get to bore all of you with my ramblings rather than Funkbobito

7 Things I Say Most Often While Cooking
1. Sh!t
2. Where is the damn tablespoon? (immediately followed by...)
3. How many 1/8 tsps in 3 tablespoons?
4. Funkbobito can you run to the store real quick?
5. Don't touch that, its really hot (and less than a minute later...)
6. Sh!t Sh!t Sh!t. I burnt my hand again
7. Well...I don't know if this will taste very good, but I was trying something new (sheepish grin).

7 Cookbooks I Love
1. America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook
2. Best of Cooking Light
3. How to Cook Everything, Mark Bittman
4. 30 Minute Meals 2
5. Cookies by the Dozen
6. Cooking Light Superfast Suppers
7. Grilled Cheese: 50 Recipes to make you melt

7 Cooking Shows I Can Watch Over and Over
1. Good Eats
2. Ham on the Street (its a new one and has sucked me in)
3. Anything with Tyler Florence
4. Everyday Food
5. Semi-homemade with Sandra Lee (its like a trainwreck, I can't turn it off)
6. Iron Chef (original version only)
7. Any of the Food TV specials about cooking contests

I have seen a lot of people who have done this meme, so if you are reading here and haven't been tagged yet, you are tagged now. Have a great night.

And it shall be called...

2006-01-25T06:45:00.000-08:00

Punky's "I think I'm in the mood for Asian tonight" pork wraps. Ok, so maybe just peanutty pork wraps is faster. And I made it up all by myself. We went looking at wedding invitations last night and then stopped by the grocery store to figure out dinner. I try not to do this too often because I spend way more money. But this week has been crazy. Funkbobito moved in so we are living in sin and chaos till he gets unpacked. So anyways, after walking past the meat counter about 7 times we decided on pork tenderloin. Then the idea started to develop. Asian pork served in a pancake (or more accurately a tortilla).

Well I cut up the pork into bite sized pieces and marinated it in one of my favorite new condiments, Bangkok Padang Peanut Sauce. This stuff is great and better than any peanut sauce I've made. Anyways the pork, the peanut sauce, some soy sauce and a bit of 5 spice powder all had a party in a big ziplock for about 30 minutes. I cut up a red bell pepper and stirfried it with some snow peas. Dressed that with a little soy and peanut sauce. I then stir fried the pork and mixed them all together and served on fresh flour tortillas. It was a great flavor, but I may add a bit more heat to it next time. I should say that when I say stirfry, I don't really mean it. I used maybe 1 to 1.5 tsp of oil.

I roasted some sweet potatoes and asparagus for our sides. The potatoes were simple with some 5 spice powder. The asparagus was tied in with a little drizzle of soy. Very light and tasty sides.

So I apologize for it taking so long to get this place updated, but true culinary genius takes time (*wink wink*). No really, I have turned to familiar dishes lately. But hopefully I will have something to share with you by the end of the week.

Crabby kind of day

2006-01-17T18:41:00.000-08:00

One of the things about working retail is that you have a lot of different personalities. You have customers and other employees all with their different ways of approaching the world. Today I happened to run into a few too many of the crabby approaches. I was only at work for 5 hours, yet it felt like a week. Its never fun to spend your day trying to tip toe around those grumpy people. Anyways, after dealing with the grumps this morning I decided that we would stick with the crabby theme and try some crab cakes.

Funkbobito bought me The Food You Want to Eat for Christmas. It is by Ted Allen, the food guy on "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy". When I saw his recipe for Crispy Oven Fried Crab Cakes, I figured this may be a good night to try one of Funkbobito's favorite foods.

These were alright, nothing to get to worked up about. The ratio of crab to filler was great. Very crabby indeed. However, something in the flavor was not quite stellar. I am hoping that I can try it again changing up the seasonings a bit. We served it with some fresh green beans and a red pepper aioli (its a cooking light recipe). The aioli was on target and one I will use again.

So here's to a bit of a less crabby day tomorrow.

Lets make a trip to the IHOP

2006-01-11T07:55:00.000-08:00

That'd be the International House of Punky. That's right, yours truly finally made a successful pancake from scratch. I know there were doubters out there after the last disaster. But I was convinced if a 7th grade Home Ec class can do it, so can I. So we turn to Mark Bittman and his book How to Cook Everything. I am really liking this one as just a basic reference. Its been a great hit. So I had my pancakes Elvis style as you can see, my personal favorite. So hurray for pancakes and hurray for me actually making them without the boxed mix.

Tonight is the leftover, takeout night of the week. I have to work late and then back at 6am on Thursday. Then its supper club. We are doing an Asian theme and it should be fun. So hang in there for some pics, recipes, and a few new dishes before the weekend is over.

Playing blog catch up

2006-01-10T07:12:00.000-08:00

Well, my schedule this week so far has been very good for my cooking, not so good for sleeping in. Saturday we tried a new take on burgers. The Cajun Cool Cheeseburgers (CL) were a great twist on a regular grill treat for us. And since it was beautiful out we were excited to fire up the old Char-Broil. My changes included using all ground beef (are there actually stores that sell ground turkey outside of the prepacked containers?). I also cut the blue cheese and used some gorgonzola. With some spicy oven fries and mixed veggies we were stuffed. If you make these and follow the serving size suggestion, you may have a case of the giant bun. But its okay, its not the size of your burger, its the taste and how filling it is, right?

Sunday was our super lazy meal, baked potatoes and salad. I got a little wild this time and made some carmelized onions to top mine with. It was really good and I got to use some more of my feta and gorgonzola. Being that I have had a few too many pictures of food that look like something post digestion, I thought I would spare this one for you. I also tried the brussel sprouts again. This time with a bunch of balsamic vinegar and garlic. And the verdict is in. We can live wihtout brussel sprouts. They are alright, but maybe not for us. So onward in our cooking adventures.

Monday we made an easy weeknight favorite, but actually made a bit of an effort. Chicken quesadillas are easy enough right? So I baked the chicken and then shredded it. We seasoned it up with all the usual culprits (chili powder, cayenne, garlic powder, etc.) and cooked it all together in the skillet. One of our local grocery stores has a tortillaria and so we had some fresh made tortillas, nothing better. Topped with a cheese blend, the chicken and Funkbobito's homemade pico de gallo we were in heaven. It was totally good. We also made some homemade guacamole. It was really good as well. I must say thank you to Mark Bittman for offering up our condiment recipes in his How to Cook Everything. I got a bit overzealous with the burner heat so this one looks a little toasty, but it really was great. Who knew I could make this all and have it all taste good. Yummy.

Well, not sure whats on the menu tonight, but trying to plan for our January Supper Club on Thursday. It's an Asian theme so we will see what I cam come up with.

Excuse me ma'am...I believe I have found your beef

2006-01-06T06:31:00.000-08:00

Well I got to cook for the 1st time in the new year and it didn't turn out so bad. I really wanted a hearty, comfort food that would still be good for leftovers on Friday. So Wednesday I began looking for a good, and low fat beef stew. After no time I found a recipe for Oven Baked Stew on the Cooking Light Bulletin Board. It looked great. Really hearty, really flavorful, really stew. I made the grocery list and was getting all my stuff ready when I realized that I don't own a Dutch oven or have anything to use in the place of a Dutch oven. My lack of cooking gear often stops my planning in its tracks. So back to the drawing board. I then went to my most recent Cooking Light Magazine and fornd the Basic Beef Stew with Carrots and Mushrooms. I was very tasty and very easy. Though mental note. If you are making stew that requires over 2 hours to just cook, you may want to start a bit before 5:30. Especially when you are working at 5 am the next morning and need to get some sleep. I couldn't find white potatoes (as they described) so I used red. I was out of red wine so I used my favorite mass marketed light beer. The final result- really stinkin' good. It was super beefy and filling. I would have liked a bit more salt, but that it just a personal preference. This will go on my list to make again. So that was Wednesday and I am hoping to enjoy myself some leftovers today.

Thursday brought out one of our all time favorites, Spicy Ranch Chicken Wraps. These take no time to throw together and we have them at least once a month. I served these with Cilantro-Lime Rice. Just like a trip to good ol' Chipotle, only without the wonderful last bite of tortilla that has all the juice and extra sour cream. Ok, sorry got a little excited there. The rice was great. I used jasmine rice (if that isn't one of the most divine things in the world), a few tablespoons of fresh cilantro and some lime zest make this a very light and refreshing side dish. I will make this again for sure. Ok, be proud. I tried my first new food last night. They've been on sale a lot lately and I can remember thinking they are the most disgusting objects in the plant family when I was younger. I am speaking of the...Brussel Sprout. I tried them pretty au natural last night. I roasted them with just a bit of olive oil, some salt and pepper. Well, if that were the only way to eat these things, I don't know that we'd have them again. Its not that we hated them. They were just a bit more bitter than we cared for. Actually, we kind of liked the raw leaves better than the cooked version. So we have agreed that we will try them again, it may just be with some other flavoring, such as balsamic. But the new year is starting out alright. I am cooking pretty healthy and I am trying new things. So no cooking today, just lots of leftovers, but have some yummy plans for Saturday.

A holiday tradition, 3/4 pounds of butter and a little conspiracy (in elastic waistband pants)

2006-01-04T07:27:00.000-08:00

Well, Funkbobito has been talking about his family's Christmas Eve tradition for the entire 5 years we have been together. He always talked about it with such lust in his eyes I knew if we were going to work out for the long haul, I better learn how to make this holiday treat. To be honest I had never once heard of pierogies. Had no idea what to expect and was a bit curious. All I knew was that they were a bit time consuming according to Funkbobito, his mom, and his grandma. Well, as you regular readers know, I am more of a quick cook, so time consuming is not usually something I am interested in. But in the vein of the "good wife (to be)" I dove in and learned how to make these little gems.
We started by making some very cheesy mashed potatoes. Count it, 1st stick of butter. You let those get totally cool and start making your dough. I learned some good kneading techniques from my future mother in law. Then you start rolling out your dough. I am a bit of a rolling pin amateur. I always have problems with the dough sticking to stuff, and it is rarely the same thickness all around. And it takes me for ever to actually get stuff rolled out. Anyways, we rolled out the dough, and cut it into squares. Enclose a little teaspoon of potatoes and pinch your seals. We made these the night before and froze them on cookie sheets so that Christmas Eve would be a breeze. Fast forward to Saturday. We diced up a large onion and melted 2 sticks (count 'em) of butter in a skillet. Bring a big pot of water to a boil and throw in your pierogies (careful not to stir too much). Then toss with your yummy melted butter. Not exactly the most low fat meal I have ever eaten, but it was really good.

And for the conspiracy, I will figure out how to lighten this meal if it kills me. And they will never know (insert evil laugh here). Not quite sure where to start, but I will work on it little by little. It really is a very yummy dinner. I could use a bit more seasoning added in, but I understand that this is their family recipe so I won't mess with that (at least not at first).

Well, to end the holiday food frenzy we went out to dinner one last time last night. McCormick and Schmicks is always tasty around here. We went all out, appetizers, entrees, and 2 desserts. My camera died, so you only get to see one thing, but it was the best. The Chocolate Bag. Its dark chocolate in the shape of, well, a bag. Its filled with white chocolate mousse and fresh berries. So divine so rich, so gonna be wearing elastic waist band pants today. Oh God, its happened, I'm my mother.

Well, my menu for the week has been shot all to hell, so we'll see what we can come up with. May have to peruse the sale circular today and see where the deals are.

Busy Nights Real Food

2006-01-02T20:06:00.000-08:00

Well Happy New Year! I have been having a busy last few weeks. Between the holiday rush at work, my mom's visit, Funkbobito's parents being in town and my roommate having surgery, I haven't done much cooking. When I get my computer working right again I will share my one new recipe with you all. It was a good one.

So for the new year I am really going to try and focus on the "real" food part of my title. I want to cut out as much processed food as possible. I also want to try more new recipes, and get a bit better at posting here for you all. And last but not least, I am going to try more new ingredients and cooking techniques. I am aiming for 1 a week, but it may be more like 1 each month. We'll just have to see. Start the new year off right, you know?

2005-12-21T08:23:00.000-08:00

Sorry I have been so absent lately. Work has been insane and I have been trying to just keep my head above water until the holidays are past us. My cooking has been minimal, but I am hoping to do some in the next few days that I can bring to you. I wish you all a wonderful holiday season. Until then, I was shown this blog/e-zine the other day by a friend and then saw it again on a bulletin board a few days later. Let me just say, I think I would starve.

The Sneeze-Steve Don't Eat It

A little bit of southern love

2005-12-13T05:19:00.000-08:00

Gotta love some cajun shrimp and cheese grits after a long day. Yummy and easy to boot.

2005-12-08T07:15:00.000-08:00

Well, we were buried in snow last night. Here are a few pictures around my house from last night and this morning. Some reports in our news are saying we got about 5 inches, some are saying we got as much as 10. I think we ended up somewhere in the middle. I still like snow at this point, before is gets all dirty and slushy. So what better way to enjoy a snowy day (or rather night) than with the ultimate in wintry warming foods.

That's right, we had chili. I am definitely a beefy chili kind of gal, not so much a fan of the bean-y kind. I mean there are some beans in there, but we mainly eat a lot of ground beef. I don't make chili from a recipe really. I just start tossing stuff in. This time it was ground beef, black beans, a few cans of diced tomatoes, onion, jalapenos, chili powder, and cayenne. It had a bit of a slow burn effect, but wasn't too hot to enjoy. I like to load mine up with some chopped tomatoes, diced onion, shredded cheese and a little dollop of sour cream. And of course, you can't forget a small handful of Fritos to add that required crunch. Yummy. This was able to get that chill out of a snowy night.

And what is a bowl of chili without some fresh, slightly crisp corn bread. A few months back there was a small cornbread battle on the Cooling Light Bulletin Board. Some of us had been raised eating southern cornbread, which doesn't have sugar in it. It really is different. Well, long (and fairly uninteresting) story short. I was given a great recipe for "Southern" cornbread you make in a cast iron skillet. If you have never had corn bread cooked in cast iron, you have really missed true happiness. It leaves it with the best crisp crust that I can hardly resist. Yummo. And the subtle, unsweetened flavor is wonderful with things like chili.

Tonight we have supper club and I am pretty excited. I will happily update you all tomorrow.

A week to look forward to

2005-12-06T11:23:00.000-08:00

Well, not really. Its actually shaping up a long week. I am working tonight so I had to make some good food to eat for lunch. Black bean burritos hit the spot and were a super fast meal. Simply take a can of black beans (I like to drain and rinse mine), some salsa, chili powder, cayenne pepper and cumin. I nuked it all for about 5 minutes and then served on whole wheat tortillas. Pretty low guilt level which is good for me this time of year.

I have tomorrow off of work so I hope to make something really good. My busy nights lately have resulted in a lot of easy no brainers (like last night's Honey and Mustard breaded chicken). I have done alright with making real food most nights, though take out has been my down fall. Hopefully as I get used to this new schedule I will be able to better plan my menus.

Thursday is our supper club and I am looking forward to that. The theme is Favorite Festive Foods. Though my all-time favorite holiday dish is the cheesy hashbrown thing, I am going to go a little fancier and make a wild rice stuffing. It is super yummy and acutally pretty easy to throw together.

Saturday night is a Christmas party at my best friend's house so I may try to make something really simple to contribute.

So hopefully I will finally have something new to post soon.

Thanksgiving wrap up

2005-11-28T20:44:00.000-08:00

Well finally I will update you on all these pics. I am a horrible food blogger. I am just adjusting to this new schedule and haven't figured out when to fit it in. So Turkey day was a good one. My mom came in town which was fun (until about Saturday, and then I was ready to have my house back to myself ;D). Anyways, it was just Funkbobito, my mom and I so we had a really relaxing day. Funkbobito made the mashed potatoes and mom made the turkey. Here is a little run down of my dishes.

Roasted Sweet (and Spicy) Potatoes

Well, these were simple enough. I chunked up a couple of sweet potatoes, drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with a little brown sugar, cayenne, salt and pepper. Roasted at about 400 till they were fork tender. The sweet and spicy mix was perfect.

Fresh Corn

Ok, so I know this is sad, but this is the 1st time I have shaved the corn off the ear and made fresh corn before. I make corn on the cob all the time, but this was a first. After scraping 4 ears, I put in a small sauce pan with some milk, butter, salt and pepper. I cooked for about 5-10 minutes until tender and warmed through and then drained. The corn had a wonderful flavor and was so sweet. This is another dish I would make for a week night meal.

Spinach Salad with Clementines and Dried Cranberries with Walnut Gorgonzola Dressing

This salad was a little different. I found the recipe for the dressing on Epicurious.com. It was supposed to be served over roasted beets, but I already had the spinach to use up. I will be honest, this dressing was a bit more work than salad dressing should be. And it looked completely disgusting until it was tossed with the salad. However, the flavors melded together beautifully and it was really complimented by the sweeter items in the salad. If I was wanting to impress a dinner guest, I may make it again because it was really nice (I guess looks don't always tell the whole story).

Flaky Dinner Rolls and "Thanksgiving Pretzels"

What do you get when you forget the salt and butter, don't let the dough rest, and have disastrous Thanksgiving day Flaky dinner rolls? Thanksgiving pretzels. I was not paying nearly enough attention the 1st time I made this recipe and didn't realize till the end that I had total screwed it up. So I threw the lump of dough to the side and started over. We decide we should at least do something with it. So Funkbobito twisted them into little knots and we baked them up. We pulled them out and took a taste...bland and boring. I was ready to pitch this batch all together when Funkbobito came through again and recognized the taste of the dough as pretzel dough. So we sprayed on some butter (I am so ghetto, I know) and sprinkled on some salt and by God we had soft pretzels. Who would have thunk it. If anyone is interested in more detailed directions for these new holiday treats, just let me know ;D.

The rolls were really good, but a lot of work. If I made them again I would have to use more butter so it would have more flavor in the roll itself, but they weren't too bad as is.

Houston's Style Spin Dip

Well, the appetizers on the holidays are always my favorites so this was a definite hit with me. This is a copycat recipe from one of my favorite restaurants, Houston's. Every time I go I order their Chicago Style Spinach dip and I have tried every copycat recipe I can find for it. This one is getting closer to that true knock off recipe. It is super creamy and just tasty. I halved the recipe for us since we definitely didn't need all that dip.

A day (or so) in the kitchen

2005-11-20T18:41:00.000-08:00

Well this weekend has been a good one. I had a chance to relax, and just enjoy a weekend off. So I decided it was about time to do some cooking, since last week was so embarrassing. So I turned to my Martha Stewart Holiday Cookie magazine. I have done more baking this year than ever before and am actually enjoying it a bit (*gasp*). I still have some things to fine tune, such as the stickiness of chocolate cookies doughs. But here are what I made.

Chocolate Crackle Cookies

These were really good and despite the stickiness of the dough were pretty easy. And by God they actually look like the picture. They are pretty rich, but stay fairly small so not so rich you can't finish one.

Lemon Squares

These were wonderful and also extremely easy. Though it seems to contain a few steps, they really came together really quick. The fresh squeezed lemon juice gave it a great pucker factor. And the crust was just the perfect texture and sweetness. It all balances really well. I was really excited that it was not to crumbly or dry. Really a great flavor. And holy cow I actually made my first custard. Yay me.

Simple Meat Lasagna

Funkbobito took control of the kitchen and made Simple Meat Lasagna which is from The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook. It was just a bit too salty, but we think it was from a seasoning blend we added. It was a very basic recipe, but I often find them to be my favorites. So thank you Funkbobito for feeding my belly tonight while I was being lazy on the couch.

Not really sure I will have many new recipes in until Thursday. And this week is the 1st week of me being a manager so I hope that it all goes well.

Getting to know you, getting to know all about you.

2005-11-19T06:31:00.000-08:00

Well, I decided yesterday that I should let all of you readers know all about me. And I had a purpose to doing it, but by this morning the whole idea was gone, just that I wanted to let you know a little more about me. So I guess I will wing it and see if I can figure out what my purpose was.

-My real name is not Punky. I know you are shocked and thought you had finally found some love child with a weirdo name, but alas that is not me. Its not that you couldn't find my name any number of places, but for those of you who don't want to look, you can just keep calling me Punky.

-I have a master's degree in Counseling Psychology and my dream job is to work for an HIV/AIDS organization providing counseling. To get to that point I am going to work as a retail manager...No really, I am working in retail while I start doing some volunteer with these organizations and get an "in".

-I am getting married in April. Funkbobito and I have been together for almost 5 years so don't worry, I am not rushing into this. I am super excited to actually be married, but I feel that I was seriously misled about the fun of wedding planning, its not fun at all.

-I sometimes think that I am not cut out for this whole cooking thing. I know you were wondering what all this self-disclosure had to do with my little food blog here. Well, now you know. This week I reverted back to an earlier time. A time when I didn't cook, and when I tried I was reminded how far I still have to go.

Monday-Tuna Salad and Chicken noodle soup: I did actually make the soup, but it was a bit thicker than I was planning for. I am always amazed how much liquid gets sucked up.

Tuesday-Chicken soft tacos, black beans and rice. Ok this was a no brainer. I actually had steak tacos planned but after cooking the meat we decided that it didn't taste as fresh as we would have liked. So we pitched the steak and cooked up some chicken real quick. I added a little salsa to the black beans and nuked them while I cooked everything else.

Wednesday-Pizza Hut. Enough said.

Thursday- Ok this may be the most shameful meal of the week. Poor Funkbobito may change his mind about this whole marriage thing if I fed him this everyday (actually he was super excited when I said what we were having). In my defense I had worked at 6am for the last 4 days, hadn't been to the store and had seen the sunrise 5 days in a row. Don't get me wrong, sunrises are real nice, but I have no need to see one everyday, and if I am going to I don't want to do it while dressing a mannequin. Anyways we had PB&J sandwiches and Parmesan noodles. It really did taste pretty good, but not exactly a gourmet meal.

Friday- I'm finally cookin'. Now I have lived all my life in Kansas City. I am surrounded by good barbecue restaurants. And it is kind of questionable if someone around here doesn't own a grill or a smoker, or something else that makes a fire you can cook on. Everyone you ask will tell you their favorite BBQ sauce, restaurant, and brand of charcoal. In fact I joke that Funkbobito finally proposed because I bought him a gas grill. He hasn't corrected me yet. So on to dinner, being that I was cooking for BBQ lovin' Kansas Citians, when I decided to make ribs for dinner I knew I had to do a great job or I would be called out quickly. So I found this recipe for Fall off the Bone Baby Back Ribs. So here is where my lack of kitchen knowledge really did me in. So the recipe tells you to remove the membrane. So I call my best friend who is an amazing cook and ask her how I am supposed to do that. She gives me some tips and I get going. After about 20 minutes of picking at these ribs I realize I am getting nowhere fast. So I turn to the Cooking Light Bulletin Board and get tons of responses on how to remove this membrane. But I am still not making any progress. This is when I realize I need a visual so I turn to the internet. Well I find a picture of ribs with the membrane and they look nothing like mine. I start to get the sneaking suspicion that I am missing something here. So I call the grocery store where I bought them and sure enough, they had already removed the membrane for me. So I then realize that I spent 30 minutes picking the extra fat off the slabs of ribs. I couldn't really do anything but laugh about it, because really it was pretty funny. So for any of you who have never used ribs before, if they look like this picture, they have already had the membrane removed.

Well, I used bottled BBQ sauce instead of the one called for in the recipe because I am trying to thin down my BBQ sauce collection a bit (I tend to buy it all the time, even when I don't need it. I also do this with tuna and diced tomatoes. It is a sickness really). Any ways these turned out great. I would recommend these to anyone. They were super easy and really did fall off the bone. I finished them off under the broiler because it was too cold for me to stand outside with the grill. They were tender and had great flavor and were worth the 30 minutes I spent "removing the membrane". We served them with corn and baked beans. Nothing better on a chilly Kansas City night than ribs, bear and college hoops. Great evening.
Well next week will be a bit crazy since I am closing at work 2 nights and then its Thanksgiving (I would like to file a complaint with Father Time, as I believe I have lost a month or 2 this year). But have a wonderful holiday everyone and I will stop in and give some updates when I can.

What day is it?

2005-11-15T16:57:00.000-08:00

Well, I am very sorry that I have not posted lately. This has been such a crazy week. I worked from 10pm to 7am on Saturday night (into Sunday). Then I have worked 6am-3pm all week long. And at my job I stand all day long. The last 2 days I have been up and down the ladder, throwing around manequins. To say the least my evenings have been filled with rest and not cooking. Tonight we had chicken soft tacos, rice and black beans. I was so hungry I didn't get any pics. This past weekend I did make some more cookies from the Martha Stewart Holiday Cookie magazine. I made the Peanut Butter and was tempted to throw them away because I hated them so much. But Funkbobito liked them so he got ALL of them. I also made the Thin and Crisp Chocolate Chip Cookies. These were really good, though they took forever since I had to cook them 6 at a time to avoid them all running together. Luckily my roommate loves the square ones. So I guess my day of baking was not in haste. Well, not sure I will get any new dinner recipes in this week, but I am hoping to try some more cookies late this week.

A supper club review

2005-11-11T08:38:00.000-08:00

Well, we had our first meeting of the 2 Drinks Minimum Supper Club last night at my house and it was a success. We realized we had way too much food, but it was all wonderful. Our theme was all things dipable. As the host I was in charge of the main course. I decided we'd take a step back in time and have fondue. I grew up with my mom doing fondue and I always loved it. I guess the cook was there all along, huh? Well she always did the oil one, I love it. But tonight I wanted to get a little fancy tonight so I made Bacchus Fondue (its basically wine and chicken bouillon). It was good with the chicken, steak, shrimp and mushrooms. But the real creme de la creme was the Green Cheese with Fresh Herbs. Holy cow was it good. It is wine, Gouda, and some herbs. I served it with bread, summer sausage, broccoli, and cauliflower. It was great (the clean up of the fondue pot was not).

Also there...Crab cakes, hummus, veggie dips, feta artichoke dip, fruit salsa with cinnamon chips, crab dip, chili dip, Kahlua Dip and chocolate fondue. I am really sorry if I missed anything.

Funkbobito and I will be having fajitas for a while with all of our left over meat. But that's okay, I love fajitas, really.

Well, I do have some non-food related news. I graduated from grad school in May and have been job searching since then (and some before). Well, the job search has been going pretty slow and I have been living on a fairly tight budget for the last few months. Well, I was offered a management position at my current job. Its not in the field I eventually want to work in, but I will be able to afford to really look for the job I want rather than having to take the first thing offered. So my schedule will become a bit more full, but at least now I can say I have a full time job. And I actually may have to close less often than I do now. So wish me luck and I am sure I will have some good tales to tell as this new adventure begins.

A new cookbook and a great dinner

2005-11-08T19:54:00.000-08:00

For those who don't know, I work retail. So when I have a bad day I don't really enjoy going shopping in a store. I spend enough time there. So I tend to buy cookbooks online. I am getting better at utilizing my cookbooks now, so when I heard about this book from America's Test Kitchen I knew it was my kind of book. It has just about everything in there. Tons of the basics, like chicken broth and lasagna. It also has a few shockers like Grilled Cheese Sandwiches (yes, they tested the best way to make these). I had a great time flipping through it and found tonight's dinner in its pages.
We had Creamy Shells with Peas and prosciutto. It has a sauce of ricotta, butter and Parmesan. I am sure it would be even better if I had used the whole milk ricotta, but I thought I could spare a bit of fat and go with the part skim. It was super easy to throw together and was one that I would make again.

Creamy Shells with Peas and Prosciutto

I am hosting our very first dinner club on Thursday so that will be the next time that I am cooking. I am really looking forward to it. It will be a group of my friends as well as some Cooking Light Bulletin Board members in our area. I am really excited. Our theme...All things dipable. So check back in to see what all we came up with.

Catching up after the weekend

2005-11-07T07:07:00.000-08:00

Well, I got some good cooking in this weekend so I wanted to give you all a quick update. Well, lets start with I think I could have gained 30 pounds this weekend since everything was super full of fat.

First off, we made homemade pizza of Friday. The dough and sauce recipe were from a coworker and we really liked it. We got a little pepperoni happy and had to do a little grease sopping before we could eat it. Don't get me wrong, it tasted damn good, we just need to keep our pepperoni cravings in check when making pizza.

Homemade Pizza

Then last night, Sunday, I finally overcame my Joy of Cooking Curse. I made 2 recipes from it and they both turned out great. I did make some simple roasted carrots for Bob as well.

Beef Stroganoff and Sauteed Mushrooms

Well, I also shelled out the $7 for Martha Stewart's Holiday Cookie magazine. And God help me I am going to make stuff out of it for that kind of money. These turned out really good, but I think Funkbobito was going to freak out when the butter and sugar kept getting all jammed up in the mixer beaters. But all came together well and here's how they looked.

Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

An easy favorite

2005-11-03T14:37:00.000-08:00

Home Alone Beans

I was introduced to this simple recipe over on the Cooking Light Bulletin Board. It doesn't get much easier and it is so good. I had it on a tortilla today, but usually I just serve it with some brown rice. I figured after the failure of yesterday I needed a no fail recipe. I am working tonight so I wish you all a lovely evening.

The Flop of the Flap(jack)

2005-11-02T18:16:00.000-08:00

Well, its bound to happen. I mean I am a new cook, I am learning how to make some of those age old recipes. So I should not be ashamed or shocked when I have a complete failure. I mean I am clever enough to know that sometimes the close up pictures on the really good blogs are to disguise the fact that their dish didn't look all that great from a distance. And I know that every cook (even the most experienced) has had something that ended up in the trash.

However, the fact that I failed at pancakes is about as sad as it can get, really. I mean who can't make pancakes from scratch? (Well the obvious answer to that is now me, if you are ever asked). I think I have made them from scratch with my mom as a kid, but I haven't really done them on my own (at least not that I remember). So I figured tonight was the night. I had already axed my "fancy" fish dinner for breakfast food because I was being lazy. The least I could do was make the pancakes, right? So I pulled out what has now become my most frustrating cookbook...The Joy of Cooking. I swear, I can't get stuff to come out right from that book. I think the potato and JOC are now my dual archenemies.

Well anyways, the batter was a little thin, but I figured it would thicken up...it didn't. But I pressed on, maybe I just don't know how scratch pancakes are supposed to look. Well, they never puffed, the smoke alarm went off, and well, just look... (I will not be ashamed, I will not be ashamed)

Pretty sad isn't it? Well, thankfully I had some mix in the cabinet (I had to use it since I had already used the rest of my eggs for scrambling). So the search will begin from this day and by George, I will learn to make pancakes (if for no other reason but to laugh in the face of these little burnt "flop"jacks). Oh just you wait JOC, I will be back and I will succeed.

My Big Fat Greek Burger

2005-10-31T18:37:00.000-08:00

Happy Halloween!! I am almost out of candy so the porch light will soon be extinguished. The number of Trick or Treaters that go door to door seems to be decreasing in recent years. Is that just in my neighborhood. We passed the candy bowl around before we run out. Though I am not big on the decorations, my pumpkin was destroyed by the "wildlife", and I am not creative enough to come up with good costumes, I love to see the kids with all their fun costumes.

Well on to dinner. Have you ever had a recipe or dish that you successfully make time and time again? Well I used to make a mean hummus. I would whip it up on a weekly basis. Then one day something happened. I made my hummus just like always and it wasn't any good. I checked and hadn't forgotten any ingredients, nothing had gone bad, everything was just the same as always, except the taste. I have tried the recipe time and time again and still it doesn't seem to turn out quite right. So after many a wasted garbanzo I have resorted to the boxed variety. But it really is good...really, I swear. Dress it up with some extra olive oil and you've got what we lovingly call "hoo-moo". Maybe I can get a recipe I have success with again, we can only hope.

Well dinner tonight was so good. We had Greek-Style Burgers with Feta Aioli from Cooking Light. Oh...my...God were these tasty. I may have been able to live on the aioli alone. It was just the right amount of spicy. The burgers were enormous because we decided to only make 3 instead of the 5 they said in the recipe. To say the least we've got some leftovers. I want to just make a few little changes, but this will be a definite repeater.
I hope you all have a wonderful Halloween and don't forget to brush your teeth after all that "candy sampling" you may be doing.

Rock Chalk Jayhawk, Go KU

2005-10-30T16:29:00.000-08:00

Well, Saturday was Homecoming at the University of Kansas and we were in attendance. We were taking on our archrival, the Missouri Tigers. Well, if you know anything about anything here in KS you know that if you are a Jayhawk fan, the true sports season starts with tip off in Allen Fieldhouse. No, really our football games are fun, we just have not had a really strong tradition on the football field the last few years. So when our Jayhawks managed to pull out a victory over the leaders in our confrence (and the team we hate the most), it made for a great Saturday. I am pretty sure I would be sued for posting pics from the game (and I might have need to go in to get them) so we'll just show you how we spent our 8 hours in a college town. Sorry about the lack of variety here, but hey, its Homecoming.

Another year older and no closer to growing up

2005-10-30T16:04:00.000-08:00

Just a note with these pics, if you haven't had party favors at your own birthday for a while, you might want to start. It made for some really fun pictures.

Thanks to you fools in the pic who joined me for a great night, I will be sending your individual shots soon.

Weekend Dog Blogging

2005-10-30T15:53:00.000-08:00

Well, its a bit of a late entry, but Gidget really wanted to join in the WBD hosted by Sweetnicks. She has been awfully busy lately so had to rely on mom here for her beauty routine rather than her trip to the doggy salon. Too say the least, she was less than pleased with my skills.

Pictures on the way

2005-10-29T07:22:00.000-07:00

Well, its been a busy weekend so far and I will have some fun pictures to show you all when I get some time. So keep checking back to see my weekend of birthday fun.

Who needs a birthday cake when you've got Mexican Lasagna?

2005-10-27T09:35:00.000-07:00

Well, I actually had this as my last meal as a 26 year old. This little ditty from good ole Ray Ray is actually one of our favorites. It looks like a big pile of mess, but it tastes just great and can be doctored up any way you want. We used ground turkey instead of chicken (though we often use ground beef). I used hot taco sauce rather than the medium, because I wanted to go out of this year in life with a kick. I served it with my now standard Spanish Rice (we have this like every other week) and a green salad with my own Avocado Ranch. I just blend up some ranch dressing (choose your favorite) and some avocado and a little chili powder. It is the perfect taste with my Mexican flavored meals.

Mexican Lasagna by Rachel Ray

Well on this, the 1st day of my 27th year, I am not cooking at all. I plan to relax, shop and then go eat some yummy, yummy Cajun food. I can't wait. Well, we are going to have some fun tonight and hopefully I will be up for posting some pictures of our party tomorrow. And since I believe that my birthday should be treated as a holiday, feel free to take off work and do something nice for yourself.

Gidget is excited for WDB this weekend, so we will be back for that this weekend, between celebrating and homecoming. Have a great one.

A week in Funkbobito's kitchen

2005-10-24T20:11:00.000-07:00

Well, most weeks I make the menu, but this week it was all Funkbobito. He got to choose what we had and even made dinner tonight. But first we'll show you Sunday's dinner. We had grilled cheese, always one of my favorites (we tried the Velveeta slices and boy do they get all melty). We served this with Creamy Tomato-Balsamic Soup from the October issue of Cooking Light. This has been the soup to make over on the Cooking Light Bulletin Board, so we had to give it a try. The flavors melded together really nicely and it was so easy to make. This is a definite repeater in our house.
Tonight was "Barbecues", one of Funkbobito's favorites. As you can see it is basically a sloppy joe, but kicked up a bit. It was really tasty and it was even better since he cooked it. Served with some baked beans and a nice little salad, I was pleasantly full when all was said and done.
Well, only one other night of cooking this week, Wednesday. We are making a dish from one of our favorite, overexposed, quick cooking Food TV stars. Then the rest of the week will be celebration time (really a holiday of sorts). So tune in to find out what all we make, and what in the world we are celebrating.

Confessions of a food blogger

2005-10-23T06:40:00.000-07:00

Well any time I try to claim to be a foodie, this list of my little confessions always runs through my head and reminds me that I am a new cook, but far from a foodie.

I will never stop making Kraft Mac and Cheese in the blue box. Even though I am trying to find a good homemade recipe, I will never totally abandon my roots on this one.
I hate making food that keeps me in the kitchen for hours on end. I like to know I made something, but I don't need to stand in front of my stove for 5 hours to get that feeling.
After a night out with my friends nothing in this world sounds better to me than Taco Bell.
I still eat McDonald's.
I can't make a cheese sauce without the little bumps and separating.
As I have mentioned in previous posts, I am constantly defeated by the potato.
I always have cream of whatever soup on hand because I can't figure out what in the world you would make to replace it.
One of my favorite snacks is Cheez-Its.
Some times the full fat version of things taste weird to me (like sour cream).
I am addicted to buying shredded cheese. I always have at least 3 bags in my fridge.
I only have one decent knife.
My blender was so cheap that it smells like its burning when you use it.
I get mad at how expensive fresh veggies cost so will often buy frozen (and on the rare occasion, canned)
On nights I am tired and stressed I usually just want a frozen pizza for dinner (and not even the good ones, but the ones that are like 10 for $10. I only eat one, but you know the pizzas I'm talking about.)
I rarely use my cookbooks.
I love rice crispy treats.
I buy my spices at the grocery store (and I rarely buy fresh herbs because I can't use them before they go bad).
I ate so much salmon one night (close to a pound) just to avoid leftovers, that I have not been able to eat it again, almost 3 years later.
I am a pretty pathetic baker. I have been known to buy the cookies you just break apart and bake when I had to bring treats for something.
I hate chopping more than anything in this world, really I do.
I broke my box grater so now I have no way to grate anything.

Well, hopefully you faithful readers (and you new ones too) won't desert me now that I have come clean. And feel free to share your own confessions here as well. Its a time to open up and empty out those skeletons in the food closet. I know we all have some (I know there are some secret Wonder bread lovers are out there).

And the winner of the week...

2005-10-21T10:52:00.000-07:00

Fettuccine and Tofu with Finger-Licking Peanut Sauce (CL).

We loved this and will make it many more times. I actually subbed pork for the tofu, but will try the tofu eventually. This was paired up with some edamame in the pod (I could seriously live on this, it's my favorite). I will make this peanut sauce for other recipes as well. it was fantastic. No more cooking this weekend (or at least none planned), but hopefully some fun stuff to share anyhow.

Shrimp and Chicken and Pumpkin, Oh My!!

2005-10-20T14:16:00.000-07:00

Funny how your computer can be working just great one day, and then the next day its not. That is what happened here. My internet security decided earlier this week that Blogger was not a site I should be spending this much time at, apparently. But all is fixed now and we are ready to rock and roll.

I have made lots of new stuff this week. On Tuesday I tried Creole Baked Shrimp from Cooking Light's Super fast Suppers. It is way too easy to be light and one I will make again. I will probably cut back on the Worcestershire a bit because it gave too much of a beefy taste to the dish. I often forget when making quick meals how long the sides I have planned. Like the rice I planned with this. It takes 25 minutes, the shrimp takes like 10. So we decided that rice is an overrated side dish and that a baguette was much better. (I will think ahead next time and have the rice.) So this dinner turned out a success and I can't wait to play with it a bit and figure out how I want the sauce to taste.
Well Wednesday I decided to try something a little fancier and it was a bit of a let down. I will get to the chicken I made in a second, but I need to share with you all the plight of a potato in my household.

I fancy myself a budding little cook. However the spud had eluded me from day one. Everyone assures me that they are the easiest ingredient to work with. Well thanks for making me feel like a moron, but I can not cook with potatoes. Funkbobito is the king of mashed potatoes because mine come out grainy and dry. I have just recently learned to make a respectable baked potato. And half the time it still has some undercooked parts in the middle. I can roast potatoes, I will claim that one, but that's only because I can cook the living daylights out of them with little interaction (that is where our problem usually starts). Well, last night I decided I would try to make twice baked potatoes. Everyone assured me that these were about as easy as any side dish you could make. Oh and I can't forget the lovely tip I got to do the 1st cook of the potatoes in the microwave. Well, once again the potato and I did not see eye to eye (sorry bad pun). I microwaved as everyone told me to and guess what, it wasn't done in the middle (if you guessed that before finishing the sentence, give yourself a few brownie points). So I cook some more, and some more, and some more and they never really got soft in the middle. So I decide I could get it to work. Well, no, I go to scoop out the middles and the potatoes just break into big chunks, taking the skin with them. After a few choice words about the stickin' potato curse I possess, they meet their fate in the trash and I find a bag of mashed potatoes in the cabinet (they really aren't that bad. Its really sad that I know that).

So our potato fiasco was accompanied by Roasted Chicken with Balsamic Vinaigrette by Giada. Well, what to say about this chicken. It was chicken-y. If I ever have a craving for chicken skin this will be the recipe I go to because the skin was fabulous. But the flavor from the balsamic just didn't penetrate the chicken as I would have liked. Oh well. Maybe roasted chicken parts aren't my thing. I am always disappointed by the lack of rich flavor. It looked impressive, but I will not make it again (well once I finish my leftovers).
Well, Joe over at Culinary in the Dessert made these Harvest Pumpkin Bars last week and I have had them on my list. These were a keeper. Sorry about their sorry looking appearance. The icing came out a little thin and then my overheated work place (85 degrees at 6am) caused some sliding. Despite that they tasted great. Very moist and a very yummy, but subtle pumpkin-y flavor. I will whip these up again.
Well another new recipe tonight and hope that it turns out. I will keep you posted.

A little preview

2005-10-19T20:25:00.000-07:00

Well, I have been dealing with some computer issues the last few days, so here is just a preview of what I made Tuesday. More updates are on the way.

Monochromatic Monday

2005-10-18T16:04:00.000-07:00

Well, before I get to Monday's meal, I will tell you all about my pumpkin fiasco.

I was invited to a pumpkin carving party on Sunday. For starters, you should know that I am about as un-artistic as one person can be, so I knew this would be a very interesting jack-o-lantern. So after spending the weekend watching football all weekend I thought a football player would be quite appropriate. So I drew my design on my brand new pumpkin, cut off the top and got all the good out of the middle. I love toasted pumpkin seeds, but didn't have the foresight to save the ones I was flinging about the back yard. So I carve my little football helmet, leaving eyes, a nose, a mouth, even out little Chiefs arrowhead on the side. I was pleasantly surprised with my success. So on to the fiasco part, I bring it home and set it on the front porch. It was too dark to take a picture so I was going to wait till the next morning. So early Monday morning I walk out with my camera to find that the eyes of my pumpkin are gone and a few areas are bigger than I left them the night before. Apparently, my Halloween decoration has become a snack bar for the small neighborhood wildlife. So alas there will be no pictures of my wonderful pumpkin, but just know he is resting in peace, still being nibbled at day by day (damn ground squirrels).

So onward and upward. For dinner Monday I did a recipe I have made once before. Mustard-Maple Pork Tenderloin with caramelized Apples (CL). Well I did make a few changes. First, I used pork chops, instead of the tenderloin. I also nixed the caramelized apples and made some homemade applesauce. My best friend gave me a tip to roast the apples to speed up the whole thing and it turned out great. We sassed it up a bit with some brown sugar and cinnamon. Finished off the plate with some cheddar grits (is it bad that I want these ever day?) and we had a delicious, albeit very neutral colored, dinner.
I have lots of new recipes on my menu this week so I am getting excited to try some new stuff. Tune in to hopefully get some pictures and more adventures.

Warm wishes from the couch

2005-10-15T18:45:00.000-07:00

Well, I have spent the majority of the day sitting right here on my couch (god bless the person that invented the wireless card for laptops). Funkbobito and I have both had crazy schedules this week so we were both looking forward to a nice relaxing day. And that we have had. I think we have left the our couch about 3 times all day and I am loving this life.

Tonight we had simple grilled steaks, roasted red potatoes, and some peas (sounds a bit Donna Reed I know). Anyways, we are heading out to meet up with friends after our Jayhawks finish this pitiful game. Don't get me started on my alma mater's football team...

Anyways I have not done much cooking the last few days. Thursday we were both too tired to cook anything so we went out. Last night we went to a dinner party and I actually made something. I planned a picture but the funny thing about Italian feasts, a lot of wine leads to guests who are unwilling to wait for the little blogger to take some artistic picture. So I decided to snap a pic of our hostess enjoying my Chocolate Eclair Cake. It is a totally non-foodie kind of recipe but one of the best desserts ever. It was gone in no time.
Well tomorrow I have no big cooking plans, but I am planning the Pumpkin Bars Joe had on his site over at Culinary in the Desert. So hopefully I can make those and a few other new recipes this week. And I may have to try for another loaf of bread some time soon. Well, I guess I am just starting a new barley (and hops) based diet until then.

Happy Dishwasher Day

2005-10-12T18:44:00.000-07:00

Well today I got a new dishwasher. Well, I actually bought it on Saturday, but it came today. The old one was a pain since it didn't actually get anything clean. But of course in my life nothing can be too easy in my house. My house was built over 50 years ago, which isn't super old, but old enough to cause all kinds of problems.

So what to do with new dishwasher (besides doing the 3 days worth of dishes that I had put off)? Well you have to make a dinner that can make a lot of dirty dishes. And I was successful (and the food tasted good).

We started with sauteed chicken breasts, thinly sliced. A little garlic and olive oil on the bread, some sauteed red pepper and mushrooms. And of course, what is a sandwich with out some yummy cheese? We chose herb havarti (ohhh, so good). Wrapped it all up with foil and let it cook till it was nice and melty.

I served a spinach salad with apples, red onion, pecans, Parmesan and balsamic vinaigrette. The dinner was a smashing success (except that I have to go load the dishwasher now).

A trip down south

2005-10-11T18:25:00.000-07:00

Well its been a long week already. I worked till 10:30 last night and went back in at 6 this morning. Funkbobito worked was stuck at work till 3:30 last night and had to be back at 9 this morning (ah the life of retail and IT). So we were both ready for some down home comfort food. Even before I really learned how to cook, I learned how to make Biscuits and Gravy. My Mississippi born grandma taught my mom and she taught me. And if I do say so myself, I make a pretty respectable batch. I didn't feel like having to clean my grandma's old cast iron skillet so made it in the nonstick which is never quite as good. Oh well, it still hit the spot. Well since I am back in at 6 tomorrow I am heading to bed.

Finally back in the kitchen

2005-10-10T06:59:00.000-07:00

Well they say the best laid plans will always go to waste (or something of that sort) and so went all my plans for cooking this past week. I did get about 3 nights in, but then we ran into an unforseen event, leftovers. So Thursday's menu got axed so we could get through some of the leftovers. While they all tasted fine, I just hate leftovers so it was an overall letdown meal for me. The rest of the weekend was packed full with a baby shower, a wedding and a baptism (luckily all different people ;)) So finally last night I got to make Thursdays meal and it turned out pretty good.

We had Bean and Roasted Veggie Tosadas, Spanish rice and nacho cheese dip. It was all great and had lots of spice to it.
Well, since I was running around all weekend, I have little say. Hopefully I will get some good new stuff in this week and some more exciting tales to share (other than leftovers).

It feels like fall in my kitchen

2005-10-05T19:44:00.000-07:00

Well, I took another whack at making bread again today, and had slightly better luck than the 1st time. Do you see that crust? Do you see that nice chewy bread? It turned out great. However I am still trying for that nice dome on the top. It may be because I had to let them do their second rise in the fridge because I had a meeting and didn't want them to sit out for like 2 hours. Anyways, I am getting more comfortable with bread baking and hope to make it more regularly this fall and winter. Well what better to make on our first fall evening (its like 50 degrees outside right now) than some chicken noodle soup. This is the first time I have made it from scratch and it really turned out great (watch out Campbell's, I'm replacing you one pot of soup at a time). It was a chop and drop kind of soup, and tasted great. And of course we had to make some grilled turkey and cheese sandwiches with my fresh bread. Doesn't it look perfect (thanks funkbobito for being my grilled sandwich master)?
So I will be eating leftover meatloaf, scalloped potatoes, chicken noodle soup and bread for the next few days. But we are actually going meat free tomorrow night so tune in to see our feast.

A "hot" night and a guest poster

2005-10-04T19:30:00.000-07:00

Well, I made a true rookie mistake tonight (who would have thunk that the metal meat thermometer would be hot after sitting in an oven for almost an hour). As a result I am letting my favorite guinea pig, and future hubby do a guest post. So I now introduce funkbobito...

Well, Punky gets the purple heart tonight; I get the dish washing merit badge. Not too bad of a trade for some good eats. Tonight was a staple with a twist. We delved into the wonderful world of meatloaf. Did you know that you can add some zip to this family favorite, simply by absent-mindedly adding seasoned bread crumbs instead of regular bread crumbs (FYI). Very good all the same.

Accompanying the loaf of meat, we had a very good scalloped potato recipe from cooking light. Now, scalloped potatoes are just plain good, but when you add a double dose of Gruyere how can it not be wonderful?

You may have read on the internet somewhere this week that new words have been added to the Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary. Peanut Butter Milkshake with Chocolate Syrup and Cinnamon Graham Crackers happened to make this years cut. It means damn good dessert. Now, I have a bit of a sweet tooth, so dessert has never scared me. This glass of cold and creamy goodness had me ogling like Homer....I knew that it was the "light" version right off the bat (as I had to make the milkshakes due to Gimpy, er, Punky), but I wasn't scared. I put the first scoop of ice cream right where it belonged - on the kitchen floor. The 5 second rule gets into a gray area when you deal with food that melts at room temperature. Once the blender stopped smoking and started working, life was good.

Thanks for letting me lose my blog virginity tonight. I never claim(ed) to be a writer. I'm not very good at it in fact. I think I have ADD. Punky thinks, at most, that I am a little OCD. I don't think I'm clean enough. Wanna ride bikes?

WDB # 3

2005-10-02T04:05:00.000-07:00

Well, its time for Weekend Dog Blogging #3 with Sweetnicks. So this weeks entry shows a new and old take on the weekend.

Well this is actually not my dog to show off, but really how could I resist? This is Lilo and she's the new wiener dog puppy one of the guys in our wedding party bought. I know, I know, it doesn't really seem like a guys dog (I mean she is all of 4 pounds). He actually bought her for a friend's little girl and then they decided they couldn't accept it. So here is his act of friendship. She is a little spitfire. We are good buddies and love to play together, until of course her puppy playing leaves yet another welt on my arm (with a 17 year old dog you kind of forget about the puppy biting thing).

And as any proud momma, I must post a pic of my old gal (they say contrast is good in any collection of art, contrast with a theme). Anyways. This is her Christmas morning, dealing with mom practicing with the digital camera I had just opened. As you may be able to tell from the squinting, she could still kind of see last Christmas. I don't know, I think this picture is too funny.

Have great weekend.

A pumpkin and a meme

2005-09-29T18:55:00.000-07:00

Well my Food TV fave came through again. We tried Rachel Ray's Pasta with Pumpkin and Sausage tonight and it was a hit. We made a few changes to lighten it and they were all worked out great. I served it with Pumpernickel and lima beans (one of those hated veggies that I just love, love, love). I have no doubt this will be made again. It was really easy and had a great mellow flavor. I might leave out the cinnamon and nutmeg next time, or just actually measure so I don't over do it. I wanted to try it this first time though. So here it is and I have TONS left so looks like I will get to enjoy it again tomorrow.
Well I was tagged by Joe over at Culinary in the Desert to participate in the 23/5 meme. So here it goes. I am using a sort of selective counting method because my 23rd post was only number 23 because I posted about the hurricanes and that doesn't really count. So I jumped to number 24. The 5th sentence...

This is the 23/5 Meme.
1. Delve into your blog archive.
2. Find your 23rd post (or closest to).
3. Find the fifth sentence (or closest to).
4. Post the text of the sentence in your blog, along with these instructions. Ponder it for meaning, subtext, or hidden agendas.
Tag others to do the same.

To say the least, I was not left with a huge desire to stuff chicken breasts again.

Well, if you have read my blog long you may have realized that chicken and I are not the closest of friends. I hate how they are kind of slimyy looking when raw. I hate how they still sometimes have feathers when they are whole. I hate that weird tendon thing that is nearly impossible to cut through. I had made stuffed chicken breasts before this post and butchered that poor chicken breast. Sliced him right through. So I am working on my hatred for preparing chicken (because I actually really like to eat it). So there it is, for all to see, I lost my meme virginity. It was not as bad as I thought, and I hope it calls tomorrow.

So I pass it on now. So Jen at Speculative Musings and Sara at I Like to Cook, you all are up. Its time to share.

Will it rise to the occasion?

2005-09-28T19:09:00.000-07:00

Well I had the day off today and was sure I would spend the whole day in the kitchen since I had yet to do any real cooking all week.

I woke up early and made BBQ Chicken Pizza for a recipe shower at work today. Then the rest of the day was spent trying to figure out what I would make tonight.

Well tacos or burritos were originally on the menu, but since my cousin made us enchiladas last night those didn't sound good. The rainy, cold day we had today put me in the mood for soup or chili. But really is chili really chili if is doesn't cook for like 8 hours? So soup it must be.

I looked through about 48 different soup recipes before deciding to make one I have made several times. French Onion Soup has always been one of my favorites. I even like the soggy piece of bread (though that is just a recent change in tastes). So anyways a few years ago I found a recipe for it and have been fiddling with it ever since. Tonight's was not my all time best performance, but it was still great. And of course my favorite part is the melted cheese on the sides of the soup crocks. Yummy. So what would I serve with this soup? Well I felt it was time to conquer another kitchen fear. And that I did. So did it rise as my title asks? Well...Its kind of funny looking I realize. I used a recipe from Joy of Cooking. As you can see, it doesn't really look like a regular loaf of bread. And to be honest, I have no idea why.
Well despite the funny shape, it sliced nicely and had a nice chewy texture. I think I will try a different recipe next time and see if I can find one that I have better results from. But hey, two fears down and this one I actually want to make again.

Dream a little dream

2005-09-28T06:26:00.000-07:00

I am sort of known for my very active sleep.

When I was little it was pretty common for my parents to wake up and find my bed empty, I was a VERY good sleep walker. I spent the night at a friends house and tried to get out their front door.

When I got to college I couldn't keep quiet. My roommates would have conversations with me while I was asleep. I might be mumbling, but I gave them some sort of response to everything they said. They would say that even though I was quite talkative when awake, I might be even more so in my sleep.

Well since leaving college I have combined the two and added a few idiosyncrasies. I still talk, and on occasion I will walk, but I now incorporate the furniture and decorations in my room. I turn, a flip, I stand in the middle of the bed, I take the big round mirror off the wall. And I remember doing these things the next morning, and know that it was part of my dream, but can't really explain why I actually act out in my sleep.

So if you have read this far you may be wondering what in the world this has to do with food. Well not much except that I dreamt about food last night and woke up this morning hungry. So since I haven't been able to cook anything fun or new this week I think today may be a cook-a-thon. What do I want to make? God only knows. Where am I going to find the time? Not a clue. But I am hoping to get some stuff frozen, some stuff to satisfy my fiance's sweet tooth, and maybe one of my cooking fears. So hopefully I can get some good stuff made tonight so I can have something more exciting to write about than my weirdo sleep habits.

WDB #2

2005-09-23T21:31:00.000-07:00

This is Gidget. She is 17 years old, blind, deaf, missing half her teeth and about the sweetest little miniature poodle you could ever meet. She had a brother (who was her litter mate) until about a year ago, but she is hangin' in there. This bed was her Christmas present and when she gets excited she will "spaz out" and roll all around in it. Now despite all her ailments, who couldn't love this little fluffy attack dog. She is awfully vicious as I am sure you can tell :).

Thing I learned from making brownies

2005-09-22T09:08:00.000-07:00

Well, I did it. I made brownies from scratch. I feel I learned a few very important things in the process and I am going to share with you now.

#1: Any one who says that making brownies from scratch is just as easy as making them from the box has obviously never made brownies from a box. The mess alone is unbelievable.

#2: When judging the ease of a recipe, pay close attention to who is saying it is easy. If it is a site for new cooks, it is probably easy. When it is Epicurious, proceed with caution.

#3: Double boilers and the like take much longer to melt than a brownie craving can stand. When the craving hits, the less time you take to brownie the better.

#4: Brownie recipes from scratch do not plan ahead for licking the bowl or spoon. It is cruel really, who can resist a bowl full of melted chocolate (and this is coming from someone who is not a chocoholic)

#5: If you are wanting to make brownies at 10pm, scratch is not your best option. By the time they were mixed, baked and cooled, it was well past 11.

#6: I HATE PARCHMENT PAPER!!!!

#7: Only a raving maniac could manage to get 16-25 brownies from an 8x8 pan. What good is that small of a brownie?

#8: Scratch brownies are the (real) breakfast of champions.

#9: Scratch brownies don't come out looking quite as uniform as the box kind. Mine were rather bumpy and lopsided.

and finally
#10: Scratch brownies really do taste so much better. Who would have thunk it?

BEST COCOA BROWNIES

Cocoa brownies have the softest center and chewiest candylike top "crust" of all because all of the fat in the recipe (except for a small amount of cocoa butter in the cocoa) is butter, and all of the sugar is granulated sugar rather than the finely milled sugar used in chocolate. Use the best cocoa you know for these fabulous brownies.

10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups sugar
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (natural or Dutch-process)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cold large eggs
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup walnut or pecan pieces (optional)

Special equipment: An 8-inch square baking pan

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 325Â°F. Line the bottom and sides of the baking pan with parchment paper or foil, leaving an overhang on two opposite sides.

Combine the butter, sugar, cocoa, and salt in a medium heatproof bowl and set the bowl in a wide skillet of barely simmering water. Stir from time to time until the butter is melted and the mixture is smooth and hot enough that you want to remove your finger fairly quickly after dipping it in to test. Remove the bowl from the skillet and set aside briefly until the mixture is only warm, not hot.

Stir in the vanilla with a wooden spoon. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring vigorously after each one. When the batter looks thick, shiny, and well blended, add the flour and stir until you cannot see it any longer, then beat vigorously for 40 strokes with the wooden spoon or a rubber spatula. Stir in the nuts, if using. Spread evenly in the lined pan.

Bake until a toothpick plunged into the center emerges slightly moist with batter, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool completely on a rack.

Lift up the ends of the parchment or foil liner, and transfer the brownies to a cutting board. Cut into 16 or 25 squares.

Chocolate note: Any unsweetened natural or Dutch-process cocoa powder works well here. Natural cocoa produces brownies with more flavor complexity and lots of tart, fruity notes. I think it's more exciting. Dutch-process cocoa results in a darker brownie with a mellower, old-fashioned chocolate pudding flavor, pleasantly reminiscent of childhood.

Makes 16 large or 25 smaller brownies.
BitterSweet
November 2003
Artisan by Alice Medrich

A quick night just to get LOST

2005-09-21T19:02:00.000-07:00

Well, tonight we were trying to make dinner pretty quick so we could watch the premier of LOST. So it was chicken Caesar pitas, Feta Mashed Potatoes, hummus and pita chips. It all turned out pretty good. I was wanting the feta to melt a bit more, but the flavor was still great with wonderful little bits of feta mixed in. We went with store bought hummus, but I am working on my own version when I actually have tahini on hand.
So all this was so we could watch one of our must-see programs, LOST. Oh it was a good one. Its a show that is exciting every time I see it. I didn't really get into it until the end of last season, but I am already sucked in this season.

Well I am going now to make some brownies. This is the first time I have made brownies from scratch. I will be back later to let you know how they turn out.

2 dishes, not an animal in sight

2005-09-19T18:35:00.000-07:00

Well, as you may have noticed from my previous posts, it is a rare night when we don't eat some sort of meat. We are meat lovers and cutting all meat out of our diet is just not something that will happen anytime soon. That being said, I have been trying to work at least one night of meat-free meals into our menu. Tonight was the night. We had Beer Cheese Soup and Spaghetti squash.
As you may be able to tell from the picture, the soup is looking a little bit thin. And it sure was. I looked all over for recipes and decided that the fundraising cookbook from 1986 had as good a recipe as any of them. Well if you happen to know any members of the Kansas City chapter of Pilot Club in the mid-80's you might let them know that their beer cheese soup is too thin. We tried letting it cool, nothing. We tried letting it cook down at a rolling boil, nothing. The flavor was great, but I will have to play with the amount of liquid next time.

Oh well. I work 3 nights this week, so dinner will not be made too often, but I plan to throw together some other treats and maybe a few freezable servings of dinners for other late night shifts.

Every race needs a starting block

2005-09-15T18:56:00.000-07:00

Ok, while I realize that this is not actually true, it fits my dinner tonight so just go with it. I made two new recipes tonight and both are good starting places, but neither was exactly what I was looking for. The first was actually a recipe for my fiance. His favorite bar food is Buffalo Chicken Strips. He orders them everywhere we go, so I found a recipe for them (with a healthy twist of course). Check it out...So the final verdict was that it needed to be a bit spicier (though he did say they were pretty spicy, he just likes them to clear his head). We also want a bit more of a crust to the chicken. I may try an oven "fried" chicken recipe next time. We will also bake the sauce on a bit more next time. But this is a recipe that I will hang onto and work with.

The other recipe I tried will not be made again. I made Deli-style Macaroni Salad. I had seen good reviews of it so I was rather excited. However once I tasted it I knew it wasn't going to be the recipe I was looking for. There is white wine vinegar in it (2 Tablespoons to be exact), and that is all I could taste. So the search continues for a really good macaroni salad continues. No more cooking this week (well except for the grilled cheese and tomato soup I plan for Saturday).

When the moon hits your eye...

2005-09-14T19:59:00.000-07:00

Well tonight was all about the comfort of pizza. But we decided to mix it up a bit with BBQ Chicken Pizza. I have made it before and my secret to making this good is the smoked Gouda. If you have never tried this variety of cheese, give it a whirl, its wonderful.

I bought individual pizza crusts (to save time and because I have still not become brave enough to make my own dough) and so we each got our own little treat. This is such a great treat, and so easy I don't even miss not being at a pizza joint.

Tomorrow is bar food fun, so we'll see how that turns out. Till then...

2005-09-14T06:11:00.000-07:00

Ode to Rachel Ray

I turn on your show when I have a chance
I like that your recipes aren't too fanc-y.

I bought the big bottle of EVOO
How much fat is in that dressing, I don't want to know.

Your witty remarks and excited tone
Make me think I could make this at home.

As I cook more I use you much less
But don't worry RR, I still think you are the best.

Well, I will admit there are a few Rachel Ray recipes that I have kept in my bag of tricks and I made this one last night. Her French Dip Sandwich is great, and flat easy to make. I tried to half the recipe last night, and I don't think I will try that again. The meat was aplenty, but there was not enough au jus. If you like French dip, this one is a great one to try. The au jus is really the star (though the good roast beef doesn't hurt). Anyways, I made this last night for my fiance and I had a turkey and Brie sandwich with roasted red pepper and spinach. I got it all melty and good and probably could have eaten about 3 more of them (no, not really).

My best friend and I have started our own health initiative. We are buddying up to eat healthier and lose those few pesky pounds. So far this week I have done well, even made it to the gym, so stay tuned for my attempts to make healthy stuff that my fiance and roommate will eat. Making some easy old recipes this week, but lets see what I can do to the sides to add some excitement. Till then...

A culinary tribute to New Orleans

2005-09-10T20:13:00.000-07:00

Well after working all day I was not sure I was really in the mood to cook tonight. So imagine my excitement when my fiance came by after golfing and suggested we go out to dinner. I wanted sushi (which as I am sure you can imagine is less than spectacular here in my landlocked state). We started searching all the lists of area restaurants and decided on a restaurant in midtown. This place has been around for years and is always busy. So we headed to Jazz

Jazz has mismatched chairs, writing on all the walls and some damn fine cajun food. We started with Beans and Rice with Andouille. This had just the right amount of heat. The portions at Jazz are huge and this "appetizer" would have easily filled me up as a dinner. Oh and how could I forget, the best hushpuppies I have had since my grandma's came with it. They had a course texture and this subtle sweetness.

I ordered the Crawfish Etouffee with dirty rice. The spice in this was wonderful. Granted I had to take a few breathers to cool off my tongue, but it was oh so good. And the Wonder type bread they served was the perfect match. This dish was easily enough for 2 meals in my opinion. It was loaded with crawfish.

My fiance ordered the Shrimp Etouffee with jambalaya. His was also fiery hot and just perfect. And the jambalaya had the greatest depth of flavor.

We of course had to get some more of those divine hushpuppies and I tried a side of their coleslaw. The slaw was creamy and typical of southern slaw, but nothing to write home about.

This place will definitely go in our rotation of places we can turn to. And of course, the budding cook in me is now determined to learn how to make some of the cajun classics. Oh, but where to begin...

"This tastes like something I would get in a restaurant"

2005-09-09T19:02:00.000-07:00

That was the comment from my roommate about our dinner tonight. We had Strawberry Jalapeno BBQ Pork Chops (we usually make this with boneless pork ribs, but decided to get crazy with the chops). We served it with Cheddar Grits, roasted carrots and corn bread. My fiance took control of the grill and made the chops. It is a pretty spicy recipe so the strawberry really gives it a nice balance. This is one of our summer staples and is great if you have access to a smoker. Yummy. Now off to our local winebar for a few cocktails.

Comfort with a wtist

2005-09-08T07:22:00.000-07:00

When making the menu this week my fiance requested both mac and cheese and BLT's. I think he probably intended to have them 2 separate nights, but I said, why not make night of comfort food. Well, the BLT's almost seemed like a no-go because there was not a decent tomato to be found in these parts. I finally broke down and went to WIld Oats and spent extra, but it was well worth it.
Though I would have been perfectly happy with my blue box of mac and cheese, I decided to pull out the apron and make real mac and cheese. So I turned to the internet and found this smoked gouda mac and cheese from Cooking Light. It had a really creamy texture and was easy to put together. It could have used a little kick (or even just a bit more salt), but it was still quite yummy last night. And I am looking forward to the leftovers today.

So I got my comfort food in, but dressed it up just a bit. I am working late tonight so nothing new to cook till tomorrow. Check back to see if we go the way of the grill or the mexican.

We got fancy

2005-09-07T06:48:00.000-07:00

Well last night we had one of our fancier meals of late. Between meals of Chipotle, grilled cheese and hamburgers, we decided (well actually I decided) that we needed to get some nicer meals in our repertoire this week.

I have made stuffed chicken one time before and it was not a great experience. The filling that time was gross and I cut all the way through the chicken so had to pound it out and roll the stuffing into it. To say the least, I was not left with a huge desire to stuff chicken breasts again. That is until yesterday. The urge finally came and we whipped up Brie and caramelized Onion Stuffed Chicken Breasts (CL). The filling was fantastic (but really can anything with Brie not be fantastic). It did not take anywhere close to 30 minutes for the onions to brown, but I did use my v-slicer so maybe they were too thin. If I hadn't been trying to keep this a low fat recipe I would have caramelized the onions in butter rather than the oil, but it still was fantastic tasting. Of course I cut all the way through the chicken breast again, but I made it work. The wine and chicken broth sauce was great on the chicken, just adding a bit of sauce makes everything better.

We served it with Roasted Sweet Potato Wedges (CL) and some sauteed spinach. I swear one of these days I am going to figure out how much fresh spinach I need for that. The 1st time I made it and had only about 2 bites, total. This time I tried to make a lot more and still ended up with about 2 bites for each of us (if I hadn't shared it, I would have a decent sized serving).

Well today we are hoping for some fresh tomatoes so we can put them to good use. The ones at our store are the gross ones that have absolutely no flavor. My fiance's coworker might still have some on her plants. So it could be an interesting dinner.

And off the subject of food, thought I would share a few movie reviews from my most recent rentals.
Sahara- good action film that actually has some what of a plot. I really enjoyed this one.
Kinsey- WOW. I can see why this movie received such attention at the awards this year. Liam Neeson was amazing and the movie was great. If you are a bit more conservative, you may not like this movie as much, it can be quite explicit at times (being that it is all about his sex studies). I am so glad we rented this one.
And I bought Muppets Take Manhattan because it is one of my all time favorites.

A brand new week, some brand new recipes.

2005-09-06T08:26:00.001-07:00

Well, any of you who check back here regularly may have noticed that I have not been around as much. Well, frankly wedding planning has interrupted my kitchen time. But I am hoping to get back into it this week, though it has been so long that I think I need to go back to some of the basics. So this week look forward to turkey taco bake, peanuty noodles with pork, perhaps a stuffed chicken breast or steak and probably another new recipe for Mac and Cheese.

So far this week I have only made one thing, Chic Greek Salad (Rachel Ray). I made it for a great dinner party on Sunday night. We had Greek Stuffed steaks, feta mashed potatoes, asparagus (yummy as always Nancy) and a light Ice Cream Cake (so good Brooke). Oh yeah, and a whole lot of wine. So it was a great night and I may have to try to duplicate this menu sometime soon.

Chic Greek Salad

So hopefully this weeks menu will go smoothly and I can report back something wonderful.

How can we help?

2005-09-01T13:45:00.000-07:00

I know that many bloggers are offering ways to help the relief effort in New Orleans, Mississippi and other areas affected by Katrina. I would like to offer up one more.

The United Methodist Committee on Relief is a non-profit organization that sends food, supplies, and funds. All administrative fees are paid by other sources, so your donation all goes to the relief effort.

Whether or not you donate through this organization, please keep those affected in your thoughts.

Whoa, Deja Vu

2005-08-31T17:23:00.000-07:00

So I had the day off, so I got to do the gas price run. Found it the same price everywhere, but decided to get my whopping 3 cents off by showing my grocery receipt. So I head to the grocery store. On my list, only one thing...snow peas. So in I go. After about 20 minutes and running into a woman who shops at the store I work at, I go to check out. What do I buy? A DVD, a pound of ground turkey, a Luna bar, a box of cheese crackers (like cheeze-its but organic brand), a Diet Coke and my snow peas. $20 later I finally got out of that store. Someday I am going to go to a grocery store and really just buy what is on my list.

So tonight I made Chinese-style roasted pork from the Sept issue of Cooking Light. And wow, I am having a major case of deja vu. It tastes remarkably like the Pacific Rim Pork Sandwiches, also from Cooking Light. Actually the only difference between the 2 recipes is like 2 or 3 ingredients. Both are wonderful, and I have the same complaint about both of them...Where's the sauce? At times I think maybe I should have named this blog "All things Saucy". I love sauces of all sorts, but since I can't make a respectable sauce it probably would have been a misnomer. Anyways, if I ever have the foresight to make extra sauce that isn't all yucked up by the raw meat. Ahhh, maybe someday.

I also wanted to send my thoughts and prayers to those who have been affected by the Hurricane on the Gulf Coast. And though I know she will never see this blog (since she doesn't have a computer) I want to send my love to my Great Aunt Corrie in MS. I hope you are okay and that I can get ahold of you soon.

It's gettin' hot in here...

2005-08-30T17:56:00.000-07:00

...but I will be keeping my clothes on since this is a blog about food, and I think I'm supposed to charge you to view the other kind.

Well I have told you all that I am trying to overcome my kitchen fears so I thought I would show you the apron I bought on my trip to DC to keep me motivated. This is my first real apron and I love it. This is one of my favorite vintage type posters so what better place to display it than on me while I am cooking.

So as one of my many adventures I am working towards, I am going to roast peppers. These are the peppers. I got 10 of them for only 1.30. Pretty good. They are from Hatch, NM and I can't wait to fire up the grill and cook them up. I believe they are Anaheims. The samples they had were great (mixed with Mexican cheese, so really there was no way I wasn't going to end up liking them) and these will hopefully be worth the bit of work that they will take to make.

This week has been pretty busy so nothing exciting to report so far, but tomorrow should be good. I am making a chinese pork from the Sept issue of Cooking Light. Should be good, now if I could just figure out how to make an acceptable fried rice, I might be able to quench the never ending craving I have for it. Damn you PF Changs for adding addictive drugs to your fried rice.

2 new recipes

2005-08-25T11:16:00.000-07:00

Well today was definitely a better day (at least up to this point). I got up early this morning to get some cooking done since I work till 10:30pm both today and tomorrow. I started with Melt-In-Your-Mouth Sausages that were mentioned on Sweetnicks blog earlier in the week. They smell wonderful cooking away in my crock pot. I might saute them briefly next time so they don't get that creepy white look from simmering. I am going to boil up a little pasta to take with me too and dinner is served.

I also made Sports Bars with Dried Fruit and Peanut Butter from Epicurious. I used some dried bananas, raisins and "Tropical Trio" (pineapple and 2 other tropical fruits of some sort, don't remember). I searched for what seemed like 30 minutes (knowing me it was probably about 5) before deciding that I had apparently been robbed and all that was taken were single socks and my 9x9" pan. So I improvised with my loaf pan. Here arises one of my greatest weaknesses. Must read everything before making a recipe (especially any reviews that might be offered). Not until after the bars were in the oven did I find the reviews saying to make sure to press the cereal mixture firmly into the pan or they fall apart. So when all is said and done, they are the best sports chunks I have ever tasted. I will make these again and work on hunting down that dang sock/pan thief and pack in that cereal like I have never packed before.

Well that is all for the next few days so I guess I will wish you all a wonderful weekend. And if you happen to know the thief who took my pan, give them the heads up that my vicious attack dog here will not put up with it again. Doesn't she look vicious?

Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

2005-08-24T18:55:00.000-07:00

Have you ever had one of those days? You know the ones where you wake up with such high hopes and then everything just goes downhill? Well I had one of those days.

Long story short, I hate basements, I hate flooding, I hate the people who want to charge you an arm and a leg to fix stuff that isn’t broken and I now hate my grocery store.

We decided we would try the Spicy Fish Tacos with Chipotle Sauce. So I head to the store to pick up the ingredients. Well, of course they were our of pretty much all the white fish you could think of that would be mild enough. So I went with tilapia (they actually had 1 package of individually frozen cod filets that had been cut open, so I though I might pass on that). They didn’t have ancho chili powder, so I used regular.

We made the fish and sauce and got ready to eat. It looked pretty good, see…

Well all was great till about ½ way through the taco. We realized that something didn’t taste quite right. Here is our final evaluation…
*Less lime on the fish and sauce: It kind of killed the spicy for us (and we like things spicy)
*Different fish: The tilapia was not the right texture. I also think I did not get fresh enough fish b/c it tasted REALLY fishy at times. Hopefully we don’t die in our sleep.
*My fiancé would like me to play with the sauce ingredients next time I try this, though he wasn’t sure what we should do.

So this recipe will stay in the queue and I will try some little changes (#1 being where I buy my fish). Oh well, I am going to go eat some ice cream and pretend that this day was all a dream, that is until I wake up tomorrow and spend more time on the phone trying to get my basement to stop flooding. Well, planning to make the Sports Bars from Epicurious and Melt-in-your-mouth sausages tomorrow morning (obviously to eat later in the day). Hopefully a better day awaits.

The East Coast Tour Part 2

2005-08-23T20:15:00.000-07:00

So after 2.5 days and about 5000 miles walked, we left the monuments of DC and headed North. We were going to see my fiance's grandma, aunt, uncle and cousins. They live in a pretty small town about 30 minutes from Penn State, and tucked away in the mountains (I only took about a dozen pics of the mountains, they are really cool when you live here in Kansas where a mountain is a pretty foreign concept, we've got hills here). Anywho, we ate out some more at your typical small town restaurant which are good, but not necessarily memorable.

That is with one exeption. If you find yourself in Lewistown, PA and happen to see Laskaris Restaurant, give it a try. They have been around since 1921 so they must be doing something right. It is a flat out cheap meal. And surprisingly good. My fiance has been going there for years (as has his 85 year old grandma).

So this loaded up hot dog is their specialty. And get this it is only 99 cnets. It has some meaty mixture (as if the hot dog isn't enough meat), mustard, onions and relish. It wasn't so big that you felt overly full. I ordered fries with gravy and was greatly distressed when they came out with brown liquid covering them, until I remembered I wasn't in the south, but in "yankee" country and they think this is the gravy that belongs on fries (I am sorry those of you in PA, but you are sadly mistaken). Any who we had a great bowl of rice pudding for desert with cinnamon sugar sprinkled on top. Really was a great place and really good if you don't mind a place that has their menu on the wall, and more smoking tables than non.

So over all it was a great trip and I am still recovering today. And I have only one take home message for you all...

To all the ladies of DC wearing business attire with panty hose, slouchy socks and walking shoes, 1985 called and doesn't want its bad fashion trend back, but really thinks you should rethink that look, it is not good at all.

The East Coast Tour Part 1

2005-08-23T17:53:00.000-07:00

We just got back from our whirlwind tour of DC and rural Pennslyvania. Though we ate out every meal of our trip, I only had 2 restaurants that I felt were worthy of reviewing. But 1st, here is a pic of me bein' smart. This is for my presentation at the confrence.

Ok, so we ate at a few places at Union Station that were less than note-worthy. We also ate at the Dubliner on Capitor Hill. It was an Irish pub at our hotel and it was pretty good. Just basic Irish fare.
But this little place called Legal seafood was by far the best place we ate all trip. We started with an appetizer of steamed mussels that were good, but not great. Then we both got the Crab cake platter. It had scallops, shripm and a Maryland lump crab cake.

The crab cake was delish with just enough fillerto make it stay together and a great fresh crab taste. The shrimp had a good flavor, but was slightly overcooked, but the star of the show were the scallops. They were cooked to perfection! Though this place is a chain, I think it was fabulous.

These deserts were also great. The 1st were Ice Cream Bon Bons, soooooo good. The second was Boston Cream Pie (with extra cream as you can proably see).

Overall, a great dining experience. If I was in a town with a Legal, I would defintly eat there again. More to come on our trip to PA.

I'm leavin' on a jet plane

2005-08-17T23:08:00.000-07:00

But I will be back. I am going to a confrence in DC and then on up to Pennsylvania to visit my fiance's family. We are excited for the short vacation and can't wait to get some time away from the daily grind. I will be back Tuesday (with some good restaraunt reviews, I hope). Next week I should have some time to actually cook, so we may have to whip up some new recipes.

Frozen tomato pops...not as tasty as you'd think.

2005-08-16T20:28:00.000-07:00

Ok, just for the record I did not make some weirdo church cookbook recipe for tomato popsicles. Since I am leaving town early Thursday morning, this week is all easy foods that leave no leftovers. So last night I had to go to my all time favorite, the mac and cheese (powdered cheese and all).

The "processed" guilt kicked in this morning so I had to make something a little more real tonight. So BLT's were on the menu. We cook the bacon, clean the lettuce, cut up the avocado (so I guess it was a BLTA). My fiance starts to cut the tomato and comments how hard it is. I think nothing of it till he gives me a taste and it was awful. It literally tasted as though it had been frozen and was in the process of defrosting. Since I knew I hadn't frozen it, and nothing else in the fridge was frozen, pretty sure it was just a bad tomato.

So our BLT's became bacon and lettuce sandwiches. I added avocado and Major Grey's Mango Chutney to mine. So dinner was great, but those frozen tomato summer treats on my to-try list are getting the boot.

Noah, is that you?

2005-08-13T07:20:00.000-07:00

Well, here in the Midwest we have been getting a little bit of rain the last few days. Thought I would give you a peak at what I see out my front door anytime we get some heavy rain.

The back yard

The water kind of fans out here and covers the entire street in front of my house (including the bottom of my driveway)

This is after it has receeded quite a bit. At its highest point it is about 4+ feet wide. Just to clarify, there is no creek, river or other body of water there when its not raining.

So Noah, if you have a spare corner, can I hop on your cruiser?

Chicken Enchiladas (Punky style)

2005-08-12T19:36:00.000-07:00

So one reason I wanted to roast a chicken is so I could use the leftovers for chicken enchiladas. But of course a three pound chicken doesn't leave as many leftovers as one might think. So I had to cook a couple chicken breasts tonight so I could make my enchiladas. This is another recipe that I figured out to replace some processed food. The is my version of SmartOnes(tm) Chicken Enchilada Suiza. I have to tell you there are not a lot of recipes for suiza out there (which is a white cheese sauce basically). Once again I combined several recipes and came up with this. I will post the recipe that I came up when I made it the 1st time, made a few changes this time, but nothing too significant. I am well aware that it is not at all light, but my selection of tolerable lowfat cheeses is sorry.

Chicken Enchilada Suiza
Filling
1 whole Chicken -- Rotisserie (mine was about 2 lbs)
1/2 cup frozen corn -- thawed
1/2 cup frozen spinach -- thawed and squeezed dry
3/4 pound monterey jack cheese -- shredded
4 ounces green chiles -- diced (the can of them); divided

Suiza sauce
1 tablespoon butter
3 tablespoons flour

2 cups milk

1/4 cup chicken stock

1/2 pound pepper jack cheese -- shredded

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon white pepper

1 teaspoon garlic salt

14 corn tortillas -- 6" size

1.Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2.Remove chicken from bones. Remove skin and shred.
3.In a bowl, combine chicken, corn, spinach 1/2 of the can of green chilis (2 oz), and 1/2 pound of montery jack cheese
4.In a sauce pan, melt butter at medium heat. Add flour and let cook for 1-2 minutes (to cook out raw flour taste). Slowly stir in milk (the sauce will be somewhat thin. If it slows in thickening too much, stop adding the milk). Stir in chicken stock, spices, and remaining chilis. Reduce heat to low and stir in pepper jack cheese until completely melted.
5.Add 1/4 c to 1/2 c of the cheese sauce to the chicken mixture (until just moistened).
6.Heat tortillas according to package directions
7.Spread a little cheese sauce on botton of 9x13 baking dish.
8.Begin rolling enchiladas with chicken mixture and laying in pan seam side down. Pour cheese sauce over enchiladas and sprinkle with remaining montery jack cheese.
9.Cover pan with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake for an additional 5 minutes (this last 5 minutes is optional, it browns the tortillas and dries everything a little bit).

It tastes like chicken

2005-08-11T05:35:00.000-07:00

So I did it and I would have posted sooner, but I really didn't have the energy. This whole roasting thing wore me out. But the chicken turned out great and I am still alive. So here are a few pictures to show you my journey.

Here's our girl. I realize it is a bit of a candid photo, but I checked her ID and she is definetly legal. 1st lesson I learned? There are a lot of gross looking parts of a raw chicken (like the fat glob that used to be her tush)

Good God it's got feathers. I seriously almost turned back at this point. I called my best friend to get support and then tried to pretend they weren't there. You think for such an important occasion she could have plucked or something.

So she's tied and all seasoned up. I combined about 3 recipes that some kind souls offered up. She is stuffed with lemons, garlic, and fresh rosemary sprigs. Under her skin is a little bit of butter and some Herbs de Provence. As her skin cover-up we threw on some olive oil, salt and pepper. Does anyone get the sense by looking at this picture that she could have been the henmate of the month?

Well, here she is, all cooked up. By the time we got her cooked I had filled up on beer and leftover bakery bread, but by God I was going to eat some of this bird if it killed me. She was super juicy, I would have liked it a little drier. The taste was great and the dark meat (which I normally avoid) was to die for.

All in all, I may never make it again, but at least I know how to do it now. The rest of the meal was great. We had B.O.B.'s Mashed Potatoes; CL's Sour Cream, Cheddar and Green Onion Drop Bisuits; steamed broccoli. And for dessert Chunky PB Cookies and Mint Chocolate Wafer Cookies. Yummy.

We got porked

2005-08-09T19:49:00.000-07:00

We had Cooking Light's Five Spice Pork Lo Mein tonight and it was really tasty. Next time we will make more sauce and use thinner noodles. Since we had to make up for our butter with a little shrimp last night I felt like the 2 Tbsps of oil were a bit much so I decreased it to 2 tsps and it was great. I also don't know who actually has toasted peanut oil (though I found out one of my coworkers does). So it was really good. Will be a repeater.

Well tomorrow is D-Day (or rather C-Day). I have the chicken and some cocktails to get me through it (or rather some cheap mass marketed light beer, but what else do you expect from a lover of Kraft mac and cheese?). Anyways, check in tomorrow for the play by play of my chicken adventure.

7 minutes to full

2005-08-08T19:05:00.000-07:00

Well tonight was menu planning and grocery night. We went to the new grocery store down the street. It is huge, super clean, great deals (we saved almost $13). They put a tortillaria in that makes fresh tortillas everyday. I am excited to try the corn tortillas (36 of them for only $1.39).

Anyways, by the time we got home we were starving and decided to make the Garlic Shrimp with Chili. This was really easy and fast. Next time I will add more garlic, more red pepper flakes, and maybe some cayenne (a combo of this recipe and Dirty Shrimp in Butter-Beer Sauce). My fiance insists that we use more butter next time so he gets more sauce to sop up with his bread. I say, you can't go too wrong with more butter (my butt disagrees). Just served with a simple salad. Nothing too gourmet, but still tasty and was on the table in less than 10 minutes (always a bonus when someone else peels the fresh shrimp for you).

Tomorrow will be some pork lo mein (a light recipe to make up for the 1/2 stick of butter that we each had on our shrimp tonight, oops). And the countdown starts for the chicken. 2 days to roasting. Bought the bird tonight and am just trying to finalize the recipe (and figure out what the hell trussing is). Oh well, pics of the bird will be a plenty. Hey did you know that the twine for tying together chicken legs is sold by the lightbulbs? After going up and down every aisle at the new grocery store I learned this important fact (of course I had to call my mom in Chicago to find out if this was the kind I was supposed to use). 1st challenge down, can only imagine how many more I will have.

A new week, maybe some new adventures

2005-08-07T06:01:00.000-07:00

Well, since I ate leftovers for 2 days and worked a lot, I didn't have too much to say so why waste the internet space you know? Anyways, I went out to dinner at my favorite restaurant last night only to be slightly disappointed. This restaurant (La Bodega) serves tapas and some of the best sangria I have ever had. We hadn't been in a while because we have been pinching pennies ever since the engagement. Anyways, I think they have a new chef and some of our favorites tasted different, not bad, just different. I managed to force down my half of all our courses, and a dessert of wonderful flan and waddle out the door.

So I am trying to get my menu together for the week. I have to make one thing off my list of scary foods so I think this week will be Roasted Chicken. We will hope for the best on this one. I think I will also make Five Spice Pork Lo Mein from Cooking Light. Only other recipe I have thought of this week is Garlic Shrimp with Chili that Sweetnicks shared this past week. I may let the B.O.B, my fiance, pick the other 2 or 3 meals. Wish me luck with the chicken. I will be sure to document the enitre process for you all to enjoy. Have a great week.

I think I can, I think I can, I think I can

2005-08-03T14:43:00.000-07:00

Well this week so far has been pretty good for me. I have made 2 different dishes without having to follow 1 specific recipe. I am finally starting to become more comfortable with cooking and can guess how flavors will go together. Don't get me wrong, I have a really long way to go, but it is at least the 1st step right? So it got me thinking, where to go from here. There are a few things that I am terrified to make (even though they are very basic recipes). So that is where I will head next. I am going to conquer my fears.

Roasted Chicken- I know, I know, everyone tells me it is so incredibly easy, but for some reason this is just a mental block for me. What do I do if it is over cooked? What if It is undercooked? What if it is bland? What if I find out it wasn't all that hard afterwards and lose my #1 cooking fear? It took a long time to develop this one, I don't know that I have the time to replace it.

Bread- Or more specifically Yeast Breads. Those little packets of yeast just baffle and amaze me. And as I have learned in the garden, anything that is supposed to bloom dies quickly under my watch. And besides, those Mennonite women at the farmers market sell a damn fine loaf of bread, why punish them?

Layer cakes- I have made exactly 1 cake that has come out with the results I liked, and it came from a box and was in a regular 9x13 dish. Not exactly soemthing to brag about.

Prime Rib- This is more a monetarty fear than actual cooking. That is a lot of money to throw down if I end up ruining it.

So stand back cooking world and exprienced cooks, I am on a war path. I am whisking and taking names. So next week, one of these will be made and stay tuned for whatever trauma I may face (I am sure there will have to be at least 1).

Holy cow I made 2 recipes from scratch...

2005-08-02T20:28:00.000-07:00

and didn't use a single recipe. Wanted to make a tomato sauce for some pasta the other night with my fresh tomatoes and basil. By george, it tasted almost as good as the Ragu I usually use. It was simple and smelled great. It looked a bit like salsa, but I am working on it still (sorry no pic of this, ate it too fast)

Tomato sauce
(made about 2 servings)
1/4 onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 tsp olive oil
2 medium to large tomatoes
salt and pepper to taste
1-2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 C chicken stock
fresh basil leaves finely chopped (I just threw these in, didn't really pay attention to amounts)

Heat oil in skillet over med heat. Add onion and garlic and saute till tender. Stir in tomatoes, salt, pepper and oregano. Cook until tomatoes soften. Pour tomato mixture and basil in food processor and blend to desired consistency. Return to skillet and keep warm. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Then tonight was Spicy Ranch Chicken Wraps which is a Cooking Light recipe that we love. I ususally just buy the Lipton Rice Sides (see previous posts), but thought I would attempt my own stab at Spanish Rice. It turned out great. Thanks to all the tips I got from those of you at the Cooking Light Bulletin Boards. So it was great and I have tons and tons of it left. Pardon the fancy container, but here is a pic of it. And of course the recipe.

Spanish Rice
(this made about 6-8 good sized servings)
1/2 onion chopped finely
1/2 red bell pepper finely chopped
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 C white rice (not instant)
1 can whole peeled tomatoes, drained and crushed into measuring cup
3 C chicken stock
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp garlic salt

Heat oil in deep skillet over med heat. Add onion and red bell pepper. Saute until just softened. Add rice and toast till just turning golden (a couple of minutes). Be careful not to burn the rice. In liquid measuring cup, crush tomatoes and add chicken broth to total 4 cups. Stir into rice and add seasonings. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and let simmer for 20 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Fluff with fork.

Both of my recipes had a great flavor and were a smashing hit. Can't wait for the leftovers of this rice on Thursday with steak burritos.

Blah, blah, blah

2005-08-01T13:37:00.000-07:00

The bare fridge is just a symbol of the blah type day I am having. Nothing there to get excited about. I made Creme-filled chocolate cookies last night and would have taken a pic to post here, but alas, there weren't any left to take pictures of. They were pretty tasty in my opinion, but I am not a real strong baker so I will have to practice them a few more times.

Hopefully I will get some good recipes in this week, but we will have to go to the store before that is an option. I am working on the editing of my master's thesis today in order to shorten it for a professional confrence presentation. You know what goes good with these types of tedious tasks, Nacho Cheese Doritos, but since I am not eating those anymore I guess my carrot sticks will have to do. Well "blah" has infected this blog and I am off to find the perfect cure in my to-try recipe list.

A day in the life of a grilled sandwich

2005-07-30T10:22:00.000-07:00

Well, I just started this blog a few days ago, and my motivation is still pretty good, however sometimes I wonder what the whole purpose of it is. Is anybody out there? I think it is a bit like being a grilled sandwich.

These culinary staples are comfort food for most. They are there just to fill that void on a night when nobody wants to cook. They are the fall back. But how do the sandwiches feel about this. I mean, what is it like to be the easy way out for someone?

As any grilled cheese lover will know, there really is no bad grilled sandwich, but there is definitely a great grilled sandwich. A couple pieces of store bought bread, a slice of plastic wrapped cheese is always a good way to end a day. But fresh homemade bread, gourmet cheese and top quality deli meat can be a fabulous and enlightening experience. I had one of these types of sandwiches last night. It was absolutely perfect.

So back to tying it into this blog. Some blogs are great, one you can't go a day without reading (or at least thinking about)-this is last night's grilled ham and swiss. Some blogs are just okay, you could take them or leave them and be no worse for the wear. I really don't think a blog can be too bad, you are invited into someone else's little world. So in the grilled sandwich world of blogs I may just be a plain grilled cheese, with Kraft slices and Wonder bread, but here I am and here I shall remain as a fall back for those times you need it.

Atsa Pizza Pie

2005-07-29T06:42:00.000-07:00

Nothing too gourmet last night. Made strombolli with pepperoni and homemade sausage. Such an easy recipe (which I actually made some time ago and froze). Now if I could just convince someone to buy that KitchenAid so I could make the dough without kneading it myself (never been too good at that). So here is the recipe for my sausage. Forgive me for the title, it was not my creation. I think this sausage was even better than the 1st time I had it.

Atsa Spicy Pizza Sausage
It's as bold as the name implies. Use some now and freeze the rest for a quick pizza later.
1 pound ground turkey
1 pound ground pork
1/2 cup dry red wine
1/3 cup minced fresh parsley
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon fennel seeds
1 1/2 teaspoons crushed red pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 garlic cloves, crushed

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl.
Cook sausage in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until browned, stirring to crumble.

Drain.

Note: The sausage can be frozen in zip-top plastic bags for up to 3 months.
Yield: 5 cups (serving size: 1/2 cup)CALORIES 203(61% from fat); FAT 13.7g (sat 4.6g,mono 5.8g,poly 2.1g); PROTEIN 17.6g; CHOLESTEROL 68mg; CALCIUM 42mg; SODIUM 319mg; FIBER 0.3g; IRON 1.5mg; CARBOHYDRATE 1.2g

Cooking Light, JANUARY 2001

Ahoy matey

2005-07-28T10:54:00.000-07:00

Well, to follow up my Kraft copy I figured I should try to duplicate the rest of my all time favorite meal, fish sticks. Okay so I actually made fish and chips, but it was perfect. I used some batter mix from the store, because lets be honest, I am all about convenience. Just fried it up in some canola oil and made my own fries as well (and as a tribute to all the fast food fish restaurants I also made those little crispy thingys that are pretty much fried batter). So not my healthiest meal of the week, but one of the tastiest.

I am also trying to get better at reworking those leftovers that I absolutely despise. My fridge is littered with every size tupperware container they make. And each time I open the door I get a a sad look from the rejected chicken, the forgotten pasta, or the desolate hamburger patty. So I must save these leftovers from their untimely trip to the garbage can on Tuesday nights. Plus, I can't see anything in there and end up with 4 bags of grated cheese. So it was time. the two chicken breast halves and the head of broccoli were sitting right at the front. Understand that I had one summer in college where I lived on those Lipton rice sides and chicken nuggets, so yet another much desired processed food had to be made. I came up with this and my fiance was quite impressed.

Lipton side-kick
2 chicken breast halves-grilled (I used Italian dressing as marinade, but use what you like)
2 C instant brown rice
2 1/4 C chicken stock (I cheat and use the canned, who has time to make their own?)
1 head of broccoli
1/4 C shredded cheddar cheese
1/4C shredded Italian 4 cheese blend
Salt and pepper to taste

Cook rice.

Cut chicken into bite sized pieces and heat (I did mine in the microwave. Covered the dish with Saran wrap)

Cut broccoli into bite sized pieces and steam.

Combine rice, chicken, and broccoli. Stir in cheese until melted. Season with salt and pepper.

Now I just need to figure out how to make those chicken nuggets.

Ode to Kraft Mac and Cheese

2005-07-27T06:30:00.000-07:00

I love Kraft Mac and Cheese (the powder cheese variety). When I say love, I mean I could eat it more than once a week and not get sick of it, I get offended when others say unkind things about it, and I don't really like how anyone else makes it (they ruin it). I ate it so much as a child that my mom still avoids it like the plague.

I don't waste my time with the shells and cheese or frozen dinners. They all lack that certain taste and color and texture that only the cardboard box and packet of orange powder can give you.

I am not going to lie and say that this is a processed food that will eventually be extinct in my diet. It just isn't going to happen, but I have been trying to find that definitive homemade recipe to use in its place a bit more often. The catch is that it has to be quick like my 10 minute box of comfort. So I tried a recipe this week. I had actually had it once before when my fiance made it for me. I thought it was pretty good the first time, so why not give it another whirl. Well, they say that you should marry someone who can do the things you can not do, my fiance can make a mean cheese sauce. Mine turns out lumpy, grainy and just plain gross. So unless my fiance wants to make this recipe for me on a regular basis, I have to keep working at it. Still, nothing compares to my one true blue box love. Back to the cookbooks.

Stove-Top Macaroni and Cheese with Roasted Tomatoes
In Step 4, the macaroni mixture is cooked over medium-low heat so the cheese won't become stringy and the sauce, grainy.
3 cups halved cherry tomatoes
Cooking spray
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3 ounces sourdough bread, torn into pieces
1 teaspoon butter, melted
12 ounces large elbow macaroni
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded extrasharp cheddar cheese
1/4 cup egg substitute
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 (12-ounce) can evaporated low-fat milk

Preheat oven to 375°.

Place tomatoes in a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle with black pepper. Bake at 375° for 30 minutes or until browned, stirring occasionally.

While tomatoes cook, place bread in a food processor; pulse 2 times or until crumbly. Toss crumbs with melted butter. Sprinkle the crumbs on a baking sheet, and bake at 375° for 12 minutes or until golden, stirring frequently.

Cook macaroni in boiling water 7 minutes; drain. Return macaroni to pan; place over medium-low heat. Add cheese and remaining ingredients; cook 4 minutes or until cheese melts, stirring constantly. Stir in tomatoes. Sprinkle each serving with about 3 tablespoons breadcrumbs.

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 1 cup)
CALORIES 357(29% from fat); FAT 11.4g (sat 6.6g,mono 3.1g,poly 0.8g); PROTEIN 18.1g; CHOLESTEROL 33mg; CALCIUM 350mg; SODIUM 669mg; FIBER 2g; IRON 2.7mg; CARBOHYDRATE 45.2g

Cooking Light, JANUARY 2005