Long time... No Post

Well here it is for those of you who have been missing me... A little post that will wet your whistle, or just make you hungry. I haven't been blogging, BUT I have been cooking!!! 


Here is a list of some of the YUM-O things that I have been making/eating:


-grandma's udon sauce... wow did it bring me back to the days in California. It tasted just like grandma's
-Auntie Barbara's chow mien... I tested it out for the Rodriguez Family and it was a hit. A repeat. 
-some good pasta dishes this summer
-a pressure cooker arroz con pollo... needless to say that was amazing. I am in love with my pressure cooker
-a pressure cooker chili form Alton Brown... I made it in 90 degree weather, but it was totally worth it! 
-basic italian meatballs in a killer homemade tomato sauce... that sauce is GOOD... yum. 
-fried pickles
-sushi using grandma's sushi vinegar
-and most recently Sunny Anderson's Mega Meatballs... this is the meatball recipe that I WILL be sticking with. It is so good, I have already passed the recipe along to Carrie and it was a hit. 


I will have to get back into the blogging swing of things, but for now this is all I could MUSTARD up... haha.... mustard!!! 
 

Welcome Back to IA

so this weekend i had a fun cooking experience... yes it was an EXPERIENCE indeed (kind of an OCD experience). let me start by saying that i wanted to welcome my good friends home from florida with a meal that i knew they would LOVE. 


a little back story: the reason why i knew they would love this particular meal of carnitas is because a month or so ago i made it for us all to share.  it sounds like it would be a simple 1,2,3 and done, but NO it is a bit harder then just adding the pork, broth, and salsa in a pot and simmering for three hours... oh wait, that is all you have to do!!!! so actually it IS simple. however, it is a dish that fumigates the entire apartment in which i live. and if you know me well, you know that i do NOT like to smell like anything that isn't my body wash. i do not like to come out of restaurants smelling like whatever it is that they are cooking up. i would not be able to work at subway. so the smell that the meat leaves thoroughly disgusts me, yet its funny because the taste of it is quite YUM-O (a little ironic). i really do think i would love every aspect of it if i didn't have the smell lingering days after. OCD side note: the last time i made carnitas, and realized that the smell was more then i could handle i spent the next 24 hours washing ALL my clothes and febreezing the entire apartment in 15 min intervals. 

back to the point. so this time if i was going to make carnitas i had to have a game plan. oh and i did!!! the plan was to not wait until after the meat was made to start the febreezing but to febreeze whilst cooking. also i shut the door to my room leaving the fan on and the window open. in the living room i kept the fan on and the window open as well, along with several candles lit. (make your guesses as to how this turned out) things were going great 1.5 hours in, but i was still smelling meat, so i baked a PIE. that helped but it wasn't enough so later i made cookies. (by the way all i had for dinner that night was pie!!!! sorry mom.) 

for all of you that made a guess (Casie Fuller, I know you did!!) the measures that i took to create a smell free carnitas experience worked. it was a lot of work but it was worth the final product. so back to why i made the carnitas. after that first time i vowed not to make it again (because of the smell) but Carrie, and even Nik, asked when i was going to make it again. so what better way of saying "i missed you and welcome home" then with a meal waiting in the fridge. i learned this house warming tip from the Barefoot Contessa who would leave her friends meals with instructions after coming home from a long trip. LOVE HER! 


i know that they were surprised having a meal waiting for them, but i know that they were even more surprised having it be carnitas. they are a great family and have become such great friends. i wanted to find a way to bless them in a little way because they are such a huge blessing in my life. I am glad they made it home safe and sound. I GET TO SEE THEM ALL TOMORROW. yay!!! 

By Popular Demand

SO... i have had tens, of hundreds, of thousands of requests for the recipe from my last post (Bread, Butter, and Beyond), actually it was just one request. BUT, for me that is enough!!!! i said, and i still stand by it, "homemade bread... enough said." But to some, or ONE, enough said is not actually enough. Here it is... I got that No Knead Bread recipe from Chuck. I only say his first name because I am going to pretend we are BFFs. (his name is Chuck Hughes from cooking channels "Chuck's Day Off"-LOVE HIM) 

• 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
• 3 cups warm, but not hot water
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon vinegar
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 to 3 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 tablespoon coarse or kosher salt
• Steak spice blend, for sprinkling
• Demerara or raw sugar, for sprinkling

Mix together the yeast, sugar and water in a large bread making bowl and allow to bubble up and foam. Wait a few minutes until the yeast starts to work, and then add the vinegar and oil. Add the all-purpose flour cup by cup, stirring well after each addition. Then add the whole wheat flour, mixing in the salt at one point, cup by cup, and stirring well after each addition. The dough will still be a little bit wet and spongy.

Cover with a damp tea or kitchen towel, and let rise in a warm place for 30 to 40 minutes, or until it has doubled in size.

Preheat an oven to 375 degrees F.

Using a big spatula, spoon the dough out into 2 well-greased loaf pans. Using your fingers if needed, press the sides down, helping to create the perfect loaf shape. (Do not knead). With a knife, make 2 or 3 diagonal shallow incisions across the top of the loaves. Top with your favorite herbs or spices. For the savory loaf, sprinkle with steak spice. For the other, sprinkle with demerara or raw sugar.

Bake the loaves for about 50 minutes, or until they are golden brown and crusty on top, and sound hollow when tapped on the underside. Let sit, if you can wait, for at least 5 to 10 minutes before slicing and serving with butter.

So there you have it. This is the recipe that lit up my tastebuds and filled my tummy. This post is for my dear friend, Laura 'T'Senske, I hope you make it and you and Trent enjoy!!! 

Bread, Butter, and Beyond.

Bread... homemade bread... 

Do I really need to say more. Nope. 

Spring Break.

Spring Break is coming to an end. As I look back on the time I mostly remember the food that was eaten. I went home last weekend and shared several GREAT meals with my parents. This week I was able to cook some "meat" (I say it this way because I have spent the days after making this dish trying to get the meat smell out of the apt) for a family that has made me many home cooked meals... and for a college kid that is a HUGE blessing.  The food was yummy in each situation but it was really the time spent with the people while eating that was my favorite part.  

And last night may have been one of the most memorable moments of my break. Nicole made me dinner. She made a mango beef dish served over rice. It was so yummy. She is a very fun person to be around and a very considerate and loving roommate. I am so thankful!  

I said to her as we were eating that I was grateful that she made food of my people. For a girl that doesn't really like the smell of soy sauce she suffered through making the marinade just for me. That is love. 

Dinner was YUM-O for sure. Since she cooked the meal I thought I would make the dessert.... something that is not my specialty. But I know how much she likes lemon so I took another recipe from my fav-Giada. I made lemon ricotta cookies with a lemon glaze. It was the first time I used ricotta in my backing and I really do think that is what gave the cookies their light airy consistency. They were really good and I received the highest complement from Nicole... she said she liked the cookie dough so much that it was a close second to her mom's sugar cookie dough... and for those that know Nicole they know that the girl likes dough more then cookies. Oh, and she loves the cookies too! 

At least the Paella tasted good...

I wanted to swing for the fences and make a paella dish. In my mind, I thought...Well, I better swing for the fences and make a mixed (seafood, meat, and vege) paella. I had high hopes. 

I prepped for this dish for a good while. I looked all around for a recipe that looked good, found it. Studied it for a good while as well, and by study I mean read it over and over till I pretty much had it memorized... I could just about imagine myself cooking it. Let me tell you that every time it turned out AMAZING!  So I was ready to make a dish and have it turn out just how I imagined. There were so many steps involved but I was SO excited to work on my knife skills and to just spend time in the kitchen, it is so therapeutic. The vege was later sauted with the pork and set aside...

 Next, came the chicken which was browned on all sides...hmmm.... Yum. But the real kicker was the herbs and spices that were added: cumin, paprika, rosemary, thyme, and salt and pepper. This chicken was good on its own! Yeah, I snacked on some...so did Cas and Jo who came for dinner. It was about 8:15 when I finished the chicken phase... this is SOOOOOO late for me.... I usually eat around 5 so not having dinner on the table was starting to stress me out. Even worse I had guests who I invited for DINNER, but where was the dinner? 

So far I have the pork and vege mixture set aside and now the chicken is done. The seafood was also ready... no pictures needed. Did you notice that the grill pan made another appearance, I really should name the thing! Grill pan got a new friend... this stainless steel pan with a lid, the picture on the box showed a rice dish being cooked it it... So since I couldn't get a real paella pan in time I got this instead. Good thing is that it is so much more practical!!!  Oh the meals to come! 

 In the pan goes it all!!! And this is where the Saffron entered the party... that is one expensive spice, but well worth it. 

 NOW HERE IS WHERE THE PROBLEM STARTS!!! This recipe instructed that you put the paella into a 200 degree oven and bake for 25 min or until all the liquid is gone. This didn't happen! After 25 minutes NOTHING happened. I like to follow directions to the tee when it comes to cooking and with it not working I started to spaz out!! Good thing Cassandra studied in Spain and had a mother who taught her how to make this tasty dish. So after a while of inactivity in the oven she convinced me to move it to the stove top and cover it.  After that things started to happen!!! BOOM, paella.

 Here it is... Full of clams, mussels, shrimp, chicken, pork, and peppers. It really had good flavor, but you could tell that keeping it in the oven really did affect the moister of the chicken and the rice didn't form a curst on the bottom like in a tradish paella... that could also be because it was a non-stick pan... HA. 

It was nice to go through this cooking EXPERIENCE with some friends by my side. They were a total support as I started to get super frustrated. Like I said earlier, I imagined how it would turn out and that is what I expected. This "experience" taught me some things. First, expect challenges and learn to cope with them. Things don't always turn out the way that we plan. Second, just because its broken doesn't mean it don't taste good, it tasted quite YUM-O. I plan to try this again, but instead of using the oven(epic fail) I will leave it on the stove! 

This recipe said it could serve 6-9 people. You know what that means... LEFT OVERS! Good thing it wasn't a total fail. 

BBQ Chicken

This is a bbq sauce recipe from Giada. I absolutely love her! So in my mind I think that whatever she makes HAS to be good so why not try to make it!... So tonight I did. 

 This is the recipe for Giada's Balsamic BBQ sauce

 The ingredients before they are going to be transformed into something YUM-O!

 OH... And with BBQ chicken you have to have a great side dish... yes, SWEET POTATO FRIES! These were seasoned with a bit of olive oil, salt, pepper, parsley, and minced garlic. 

 One of my favorite terms is Simmer and Reduce (S&R)!!! The sauce had to simmer and reduce about 1/3 its original amount. Nothing special, I just like saying S&R!

 This is one of the best investments that I have made.... A GRILL PAN! Ask my roommate, Nicole, what my favorite kitchen tool is at this moment and she could tell you without a doubt that it is THIS grill pan! So much can be done on it, and it sure makes living in the mid-west easier when you want something with a real good grill taste without having the actual grill. I brushed the chicken with layers of bbq sauce as I turned it... There was a nice crisp outside with a good depth of flavor from the sauce. 

LET'S EAT!!! So we are still eating off our V-day plates because it makes clean-up so much easier!!! That was just a bit of a side note. 
I paired the dinner with one of my top wines right now, Snap Dragon Cabernet Sauvignon, it says it goes great with grilled meats... and I did use my GRILL PAN so it made sense to me! 


MY Thoughts: 
I really didn't enjoy cooking chicken legs, chicken with the bone-in is so much harder to cook verses a boneless chicken breast. It was the first time I made this kind of chicken so I won't totally give up. The Balsamic BBQ sauce was really nice. It had a strong balsamic taste and the sweetness from the brown sugar and ketchup really evened it out. Combined with the chicken made for a YUM-O meal. I must say the best part is sharing it with someone else, tonight I got to spend time with Nicole before she heads to Big Tens for the weekend.