Super Easy Meal

All right, so check this out. Tasty. Easy. Quick. WOOHOO!

This is Thai Style Chicken and Pasta.

Start some water boiling. While this is going cut up a cup or two of cooked meat (I used leftovers from Lemon Rosemary night). Throw this into a colander in the sink. Add some halved snap peas. About this time you water is likely boiling. Throw in your pasta (I used fresh fettuccini, so my cook time was only a couple minutes).

While this is cooking, in another pan add 1/4 c. of chicken broth with 2 spoonfuls of peanut butter. I had creamy, but I think crunchy would have added a nice touch. I also added a touch of fish sauce, because I had it, and it tastes "authentic". Whisk around the peanut butter until it melts. Throw in a minced clove of garlic, a tsp of lime juice, a tsp of soy sauce and a dash of crushed red pepper.

When your pasta is done, pour it and all its hot water into the colander. This should be sufficent to heat the meat and peas. Put all this back into the hot pasta pot, throw in a cup of crushed pineapple, and then toss in the sauce.

Voila!

Now, before this, I made clean out the pantry apple crisp.

I had a bag of apples, which I effortlessly sliced in my trusty cuisinart. I threw those bad boys in a 9x13 pan, and sprinkled a bit of sugar, flour and cinnamon on. I then dribbled about 1/3 c. of water on top. We had some (about 4) single serving packets of oatmeal, which I combined with 1 c. flour, 1/2 c. brown sugar, and 1/2 c. melted butter. I think crumbled this all over the top of the apples and threw it all in the oven for 45 minutes at 350.

Serve with vanilla ice cream. If timed correctly, the apple crisp is going into the oven as you start the pasta, and comes out just in time to eat.

Pumpkin Pie Cake

This is a wonderful alternative to pumpkin pie, especially if you have pie-crust-o-phobia like I do. The crunchy topping on this is really delicious.

Pumpkin Pie Cake

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

1 large can pumpkin
1 13-oz. can evaporated milk (or use half-and-half)
3 eggs
1 Tb. pumpkin pie spice, or a mixture of 2 tsp. cinnamon and 1/2 tsp. each nutmeg, cloves, and ginger
1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tb. flour
1+1/2 cups sugar
Blend ingredients, beat well, and pour into 9 x 13 inch pan.

Topping:
1 package yellow cake mix
1+1/2 cups chopped walnuts or pecans
1 cup (2 sticks) melted butter
Sprinkle dry cake mix over pumpkin mixture and gently pat down with an implement; sprinkle nuts on top. Drizzle melted butter over nuts. Bake in 350 degree oven for 50-60 minutes or until done. Allow to cool for 2 hours. Serve with whipped cream.

Lemon Rosemary Chicken

I had a couple friends coming over after work tonight, and I was faced with a choice. I could stop by the store to pick up some grub, thereby leaving my house a disaster area. Or, I could clean the house, and pray to god I had some food. I opted for the latter...my house was pretty messy. Luckily, I happened to have the ingredients for a personal favorite.

Careful now, this recipe calls for some pretty precise measurements...

Put 'some' olive oil in a pan.
Put 'some' chicken in the same pan.
Add the juice of 'a lemon or two', 'some' garlic, 'some' rosemary (fresher is better), and 'some' salt and pepper.
Cover with foil. Bake at 350 for an hour or so.

Pairs well with rice. If you don't know how to make rice, you're on your own.

Birds in the Nest

This is a childhood favorite, and a quick breakfast that is satisfyingly self-contained.

Take a piece of sliced bread, butter both sides. Cut out a small-medium sized circle from the center of the bread using a cookie-cutter (I use the rim of a small glass). Toast the bread and it's cut-out on one side in a pan (or on a skillet thingy). Turn the bread to toast the other side, and crack an egg into the hole in the slice of bread. Cook to your desired doneness of egg. Eat and enjoy!

P.S. Shameless plug - B. and I are moving next week into our new apartment down by the beach. We're leaving behind a lot of kitchenware that, due to communal use with roomies incapable of not scratching up the non-stick and melting the spatulas, we'd rather replace with new things. So, at Mo's suggestion, I've made a housewarming registry on Bed Bath and Beyond's website. Hey...any excuse for new gadgets!

Useless Kitchen Gadgets

As I was reading and responding to Ms. Rollans' post on garlic, I got to thinking about useless kitchen gadgets.
So lets share out useless kitchen items!
So far, the only one I can think of that I own is a pot large enough to boil a couple human heads in.

Microwavable wonders

Ok...so i recommend never eating microwavable Chicharron. For those of you who don't what it is, it's pig rind. ew. A common treat here is dehydrated chicharron. Rather disgusting, I must say. Now, take that, microwave it, and you've got hell's afternoon snack. Sooo icky. However, I really like the pan relleno. It's really smooth bread with ham, cheese, and jalapenos in the middle. I could eat an entire loaf.

Ok...Here is a recipe for empenadas...they dont really use recipes here...so this was the best I could do:

3 cups of flour
Water
1 Pinch of salt
Some Chicken or beef...actually anything you want.

Ok, add the salt and water to the flour and smoosh (techinal words I know) with your hands until the dough is smooth but firm. Then for the filling. You can add pretty much anything you want. You can add fruits (I like strawberries with sweetened condensed milk), meats, rice. Ok. Then, take a ball of dough about the size of a baseball (maybe a little smaller) and pat it out into a circle. It's easier if you do this on a plastic bag or something plastic that you can bend. Then put a large spoonful of your desired filling in the middle of your flat doughy circle. Then flip over one side to make a half moon shape and seal the edges of the empenada. Use a frying pan and fry that bad boy until its a nice golden/dark brown color.

Note: make sure the filling is completely cooked (if you're using meats or rice) before you put it the empenadas. Also, they're good with potatoes.

So, thats one Costa Rican recipe for ya.

Heart-stopping fettucine alfredo

B.'s birthday was a couple months ago, and upon finding out that this was his favorite dish, I emailed my mother for the recipe that was long a treat of my childhood. It tastes nothing like the kind of alfredo you might buy jarred, and everything like cheese and cream and decadence.

Of course, there is absolutely NOTHING healthy about this recipe. But that's hardly the point.

Fettucine all'Alfredo (fettucine tossed in butter and cream)

for 5 or 6 people

1 cup heavy cream
3 tablespoons butter
salt
fettucine (the recipe recommends fresh, but I am not yet that industrious)
2/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
fresh ground pepper (4-6 turns of the grinder)
a tiny grating of nutmeg (according to my mother's notes, absolutely KEY to this recipe)

1. Choose an enameled cast-iron pan, or other flameproof cook-and-serve ware, that can later accommodate all of the cooked fettucine comfortably. Put in 2/3 of the cup of cream and all of the butter and simmer over medium heat for less than a minute, until the butter and cream have thickened. Turn off the heat.

2. Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil. Add 2 tablespoons of salt, then drop in the fettucine and cover the pot until the water returns to a boil. If the fettucine are fresh, they will be done a few seconds after the water returns to a boil. If dry, they will take a little longer. (Cook the fettucine a little bit firmer than usual because they will be cooked some more in the pan.) Drain immediately and thoroughly when done, and transfer to the pan contained the butter and cream.

3. Turn on the heat under the pan to low, and toss the fettucine coating them with sauce. Add the rest of the cream, all the grated cheese, 1/2 teaspoon salt, the pepper and nutmeg. Toss briefly until the cream has thickened and the fettucine are well-coated. Taste and correct for salt. Serve immediately from the pan with a bowl of additional grated cheese on the side.

Amazingly, the first time I tried this recipe, it came out just as I remembered it. :)

Lots of Dishes

For those of you who know me, you know that it has been a rough couple of months. For those of you who don't - it's been a rough couple of months. Now that I am back on my feet (literally) and back in my own house, I realized I should get back to cooking. Sorry - no pictures. I can draw some in paint though. I decided that I should make chicken, mashed potatoes, zucchini and a strawberry cobbler.

Part I - Chicken
Defrost chicken breast and find a marinade. I personally like using what I already have - fancy Italian dressing that needed to be used up. Dump chicken in marinade and let the flavors cohabitate - or marry as our lasagna friend said.

I sauteed onions until they turned invisible like Wonder Woman's airplane. Then I tossed in the chicken and marinade and cooked on a medium heat, covered. After a while I got impatient and cut the breasts into smaller pieces, which worked for me.

Part II - Potatoes
I like mashed potatoes. If I wasn't taking blood thinners, I'd of added garlic. In any case I peeled myself two russets and quartered them. Boiled some water and waited until I could fork them easily. Forking is something I don't do very often these days. It is important to remember while cooking though.

Drain potatoes and add copious amounts of butter and a little milk. Salt and pepper to taste and use the Kitchen Aid mixer you got at your wedding, or hand mixer if you'd rather. Note: Blender mashed potatoes are not a good idea, although just using a fork will do in a pinch.

Part III - Zucchini
Given that I can't eat large amounts of Vitamin K - this veggie has become one of my favorites. I simply cut mine into circles and put about an inch of water in the pot, and waiting until they got nice and done. I don't like them super soft, but I do like them with some cheese on them. Drain and sprinkle cheese of choice (I like Parmesan)


Part IV - Strawberry Cobbler
I stole this recipe from some website, which of course I can't find again, but it went something like this
1 c flour
1 c sugar
1 c milk
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 and 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 lb butter
1 quart strawberries

Preheat oven 400 degrees. Hull strawberries and set aside. Melt butter in the bottom of a 8x11 dish in the oven for about 4 minutes.(or if you're like me you use something similar - but I used a bowl because I didn't have the right size pan). Remove dish from oven and add ingredients. Stir until just mixed, place back in oven and bake for about 25 minutes. Cool and serve. Makes about 4 servings.

Alright - first off - it took way longer than 25 minutes with my bowl usage. But that is A- Okay. Secondly - Four servings if you are a giant. It makes a lot more if you cut it smaller. (obviously).

Over n Out.

Julie and Julia, and Julia

Well, I picked up a copy of Julie and Julia, and I have to say, it is HILARIOUS. I especially enjoy when Julie refers to Julia as JC-as is appropriate, I suppose, for her own Culinary Goddess.
I am also adding a little more Julia in my diet via NetFlix. I'll report back with my ever so informed review once I have recieved the first disc.

The Drunked Italian Food Post

Hello friends. Please set your ovens to 350*.

Dinner. It is a time of sharing. Of laughing. Of eating. Of drinking. And with out fail, all of these things have happened in abundance when I made-- drum roll please-- Mama Chiquita's Famous Lasagna!!

First order of business: Steam spinach!

SAVE THE WATER!!

In a mixing device of sorts, combine a chunk of feta cheese, a 15 oz container of ricotta, some italian parsley, an egg, salt, pepper, ground nutmeg, and the steamed spinach:

(psst...by this point, especially if you are cooking with friends, you should be a glass or two in to that bottle of wine)

Now, in a bowl (or other container capable of holding liquidy stuff) combine a small quantity of EVOO (i'd like to give a shout out to Rachel Ray), a jar/can/watever of spaghetti sauce, and 1 (one) cup of the spinach water. What I usually do is pour the spinach water into the container that previously held the spaghetti sauce to help remove stubborn sauce from said container (totally forgetting that recently this same water was 212* F, which is then usually followed by a precarious game of "hot potato" and excessive swearing) and then pour it all into the bowl with the sauce and EVOO (woot woot, RR!).

The time has come to assemble the dish (and pour another glass of vino). Throw down some EVOO into a 9 x 13 pan. Add 1/3 of your red sauce, a layer of UNCOOKED lasagna noodles and 1/2 of the greenish cheesey goop. Rinse, and repeat (1/3 red, noodle, 1/2 green). Slap on one last layer of lasagna, dump on the rest of the red sauce, and sprinkle your favorite cheese liberally on the top (I suggest pepper jack).

(You're almost there!!)

Cover that bad boy with some foil, throw 'em in the oven and bake-a-rooni for 45 minutes. Perhaps build a salad (rip that bag open!). Or maybe make garlic bread (thank god for the bakery section). After 45 minutes, pull off the foil, and cook an addition 10-15 minutes so the cheese can brown.

This is VERY IMPORTANT! LET THE LASAGNA COOL!
You could melt army men with this thing, its so freaking hot when it gets out of the oven. For the love of god, and all those you are feeding, LET IT REST!!

(this is a good time to consume yet more wine with your culinary co-horts.)

A wise woman once said "Sometimes it's best to make this dish the day before so the flavors can really marry, rather than simply co-habitate". All I gotta say to that is "WORD!"

Enjoy, my friends. This dish has served me well. I hope it does the same for you!

And that you have someone to do the dishes for you...

One Hundred Meals of Solitude

You're home alone and need something to eat. What do you make? This is one of my favorites.

Raw Beef

1 cast iron skillet
1 bottle of olive oil
1 package of lean hamburger meat
Salt & pepper

Heat skillet on burner on high heat. Add some olive oil. Put the hamburger meat in the skillet and sear quickly on both sides so that it is still raw in the middle. Sprinkle with salt and pepper; devour, right from the skillet.

If you have a fresh tomato or an avocado, slice it and eat it right off the cutting board as a side dish.

Pulpusas in Cooking Class

Hello...ok. So a few weeks ago in my AgroIndustria (cooking) class we decided to make pulpusas. These are baby tortillas with cheese then another tortilla. So the cooking was going along great when a classmate dropped the enormous bowl of grated cheese into the sink spilling half of it and soaking the other half with water. But that didnt stop us from continuing to make 36 of these bad boys (2 for each of the 18 kids). Then I, being a genius, dropped the plate of pulpusas....sure there were only six but that was good fun anyways. We gave those ones to the kids we dont like...

By the way...I am quite aware of the incident to which the title of the blog refers...ha. ha.

kelsey....fleeta

The Book of Blog

This item appeared in today's Press Democrat:

"Julie Powell was bored with a dead-end job and living in a tiny apartment in Queens, when she took up a deranged challenge: cooking all 524 recipes of Julia Child's 1961 classic, "Mastering the Art of French Cooking," in one year. Powell turned the project into a hilarious blog, and eventually, into a book, 'Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen.'"

Readers were then invited to join the author for lunch at the Santa Rosa Junior College Culinary Cafe, which will prepare a special meal using recipes from Julia Child's classic. I called right away to reserve a spot, but of course it was already full.

Perhaps we should all read the book. It might be some kind of food blogger's bible.

Beyond the basics

Not knowing how I wanted to cook the snapper last night, I picked my flavors at the last minute and realized in the process that my usual standby ingredients are fairly specific to my tastebuds. Yellow curry powder (I prefer paste for making curry, but for a dash of flavor to the pan while cooking chicken or some couscous, the powder is the way to go), fresh ginger (grated, sliced, always good) and garlic chives from the garden (freshly chopped on top of anything).

From what I've seen, anyone who cooks always keeps a few secret ingredients on hand. What special flavors can't you live without?

The Food Network spurs another unnecessary shopping trip.

Tomorrow's attempt: saute green and yellow pepper with red onion, sliced portabello mushroom, and a little garlic in extra virgin olive oil. Eat with butter and herb mashed potatoes. Unfortunately, I was in a rush and did my shopping on the way to the YMCA, spur of the moment menu choice (inspiration ala the bane of every girl I know, the perky and annoying Rachel Ray) - I didn't take the time to plan out my potatoes, so they're packaged. But I might have enough stuff on hand to try a homemade garlic and herb butter, and I think there are some baby reds to test that out on.

I thought about buying some cooking wine because I love when a chef sautes something, then dumbs in wine to soak up the brown carmalized stuff on the bottom of the pan.

Finally, I like to go here and pretend I can make some of this. Let's just say I need about five more attempts before I get the spicy black bean burger the way I like it.
vegweb.com

Peanut Butter and Banana sandwich a la Winnie the Pooh

Yesterday I was craving a mean peanut butter sandwich. I don't normally eat peanut butter sandwiches, but exceptions have to be made. So I took some good wheat bread, I spread some peanut butter on it. I like chunky. Then I sliced some bananas on it. Then the Piece de la Resistance was the honey. Warning!! My honey was put in the fridge. MISTAKE! I put it in the microwave for a mere 15 seconds and then checked the consistency. Much to my dismay I poured a good amount of honey down the counter and onto the kitchen rug. In any case - careful with the honey and microwave. Drizzle honey on banana and pb and press bread together. Cut to your desired shape. Voila.

Fit for a queen.

Chili Monster

Chili Monster
Originally uploaded by Allmightymo.

Ok...so I leave the house at 7:30 and get home at 6. So I decided I should look into this "crock pot" thing that is so damn popular out here in the south. I like the idea that dinner is waiting for me.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Pot-O-Chili:
1 lb ground meat (beef, turkey, etc)
1 chopped onion
1 big ass can o' crushed tomato (29 oz)
1 wee can o' "zesty" tomato with green chilis (14.5 oz)
1 can each o' black, kidney and garbonzo beans (15 oz)
3 tbs chili powder
Minced garlic (use as much as you want. I like garlic).
Some salt, pepper and cumin.

Brown the meat and translucify the onion. Throw everything in the crock pot and let on low for 8-10 hours or high for 3-4. (the assembly can be completed the night before for lazy asses like myself that don't want to do it in the morning-just throw it all together and toss it in the fridge).
Serve with desired toppings.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

OK. I woulda added more spicy stuff. It's missing something and I don't know what. But its tasty and warm, and most importantly, READY when I got home.
Well. Kinda. I took a bite and immediately burned off the roof of my mouth. So let it cool.

Would likely be tastier with garlic bread.

Grilled-cheese dressed up

Spur-of-the-moment blog startup...welcome!

Just got the call, B. is on his way home for lunch, with a quick turnaround to class. Luckily, I'm prepared. Grilled-cheese, but spiffed up thanks to some random cooking show on TV.

Instead of regular sliced bread, use sourdough rolls, or sections of a baguette - slice them open, but leave a 'hinge' of crust, and toast inside-out, with the cheese on the crust side, the bread toasting on the pan. Butter or a similar substitute gets that perfect golden brown...

Maybe include sliced tomato or some fresh leaves of basil, and it's a perfect quick fix!

P.S. Just remembered...I cook mine on a flat skillet thing usually, and to help keep the thick bread closed (that 'hinge' makes it tough sometimes) I put a plate face down on the closed sandwich to add some pressure...it helps the cheese melt faster than the bread toasts too.

Testing 2

still testing

Testing...