Tag: cooking

“A” Pot luck

October 19th, 2009 · · Alphabet Potlucks, savory, videos One comment - Tags: , , , ,

So not too long ago, we had our first alphabet pot luck with the letter “P.” We finally had time to have our second alphabet pot luck and last night’s letter is the letter “A”! Rules are simple, bring anything that begins with the letter “A.” I’m just going to walk you through all the awesome eats with the photos.


I made artichoke and angel hair with garlic sauce. I like it better at Katambra’s then when I was first making it and I think what really completes it is Parmesan which I didn’t have when cooking.


Nisreen brought “Ants on a Log.” She brought black ants and red ants. That’s Katambra’s reaction to them after sharing that she does not like celery nor does she like peanut butter. (I don’t understand how anyone can not like peanut butter!)


Brittany, our little overachiever brought artichoke dip with Asiago Rosemary Crackers….


And Atomic Bombs….


And carmel apples! Seriously, if this were a game, she’d win.


Deesh and Brittany brought liquor and mixers to make apple martinis. They’re apparently really strong. I did not partake but I managed to capture a couple of reactions on video….



If you didn’t catch that, Nino checked his belly for chest hair.


Nino brought his famous Asian chicken wings. My brother said the best chicken wings he’s had are Nino’s. I can see the appeal! Word on the street is he marinates it in oyster sauce.


Katambra, who hosted, made Appledews. Named after 2 of the ingredients, apples and Mountain Dew. It was AWESOME. I’m not an apple pie or apple tart kind of girl (I usually don’t like fruits in my dessert), but this was AWESOME. I have to get the recipe from Katambra. The Mountain Dew was somehow reduced to the syrup. You can’t taste the Dew. You can taste the Awesome.


Jesse brought apple oatmeal cookies made with almond milk instead of regular milk and honey instead of sugar. It tasted and is very healthy. Good. It’s perfect for a hike or camping trip.


We scarfed down the food and played Apples to Apples, Bing’s “A” contribution while watching football.


And I close with an Awkward Family photo.

Giada’s Chicken Tetrazzini

September 11th, 2009 · · How to, savory 2 comments - Tags: ,

Yesterday I tried a new recipe for Chicken Tetrazzini for Brandi and Jessica. I think this is the second time (first time being her Chicken Piccata) I’ve used her recipes. I do enjoy watching her show when I’m able to catch it. It helps that I think she’s the prettiest gal on the Food Network.

The recipe turned out pretty good. I can taste a hint of thyme in each bite and I like what the bread crumbs do to the texture of the pasta. It reminds me of the White Clam Sauce Linguine with the fried bread crumbs I had at Asti Trattoria. I’m going to start putting more bread crumbs in some of my creamy pasta dishes. I followed the recipe but left out the peas. Jessica doesn’t eat peas. We all had seconds and thirds and still have a lot leftover.

Recipe and photos follow. I’m keeping this recipe bookmarked!


Sauteing the mushrooms.


Tossing the linguine into the sauce and chicken and mushrooms.


Right out of the oven!


I like it even better leftover.

Giada’s Chicken Tetrazzini

Ingredients
9 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 1/4 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 pound white mushrooms, sliced
1 large onion, finely chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
4 cups whole milk, room temperature
1 cup heavy whipping cream, room temperature
1 cup chicken broth
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
12 ounces linguine
3/4 cup frozen peas
1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
1 cup grated Parmesan
1/4 cup dried Italian-style breadcrumbs

Directions
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Spread 1 tablespoon of butter over a 13 by 9 by 2-inch baking dish. Melt 1 tablespoon each of butter and oil in a deep large nonstick frying pan over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the chicken with 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Add the chicken to the hot pan and cook until pale golden and just cooked through, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer the chicken to a plate to cool slightly. Coarsely shred the chicken into bite-size pieces and into a large bowl.

Meanwhile, add 1 tablespoon each of butter and oil to the same pan. Add the mushrooms and saute over medium-high heat until the liquid from the mushrooms evaporates and the mushrooms become pale golden, about 12 minutes. Add the onion, garlic, and thyme, and saute until the onion is translucent, about 8 minutes. Add the wine and simmer until it evaporates, about 2 minutes. Transfer the mushroom mixture to the bowl with the chicken.

Melt 3 more tablespoons butter in the same pan over medium-low heat. Add the flour and whisk for 2 minutes. Whisk in the milk, cream, broth, nutmeg, remaining 1 3/4 teaspoons salt, and remaining 3/4 teaspoon pepper. Increase the heat to high. Cover and bring to a boil. Simmer, uncovered, until the sauce thickens slightly, whisking often, about 10 minutes.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the linguine and cook until it is tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 9 minutes. Drain. Add the linguine, sauce, peas, and parsley to the chicken mixture. Toss until the sauce coats the pasta and the mixture is well blended.

Transfer the pasta mixture to the prepared baking dish. Stir the cheese and breadcrumbs in a small bowl to blend. Sprinkle the cheese mixture over the pasta. Dot with the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter. Bake, uncovered, until golden brown on top and the sauce bubbles, about 25 minutes.

P Potluck Party

September 7th, 2009 · · Alphabet Potlucks, new thing(s) of the week, savory, still-frames 5 comments - Tags:

Our P Potluck Party was pretty fun. I made pigs in a blanket; Brandi made these wonderful pineapple chocolate chip cookies and pot roast with cranberry sauce. Our friends brought twice baked potatoes, pizza, pita bread and hummus, Parrot Bay rum, jalapeno poppers, Pepsi, PBJ sandwiches, peach pie and pecan pie. We had so much fun with our P’s that we decided to have a pot luck for every letter. We drew our next letter and it’s going to be “A” which is kind of anticlimactic if you ask me. We watched some football, played telephone pictionary, and took some pictures. I included the recipe for the pineapple chocolate chip cookies at the end of this entry. You should definitely try them. I’ve had maybe eight of these cookies since yesterday.


I love Brit’s reaction to pot roast.


All smiles!


Peach and Pecan Pie


My brother’s twice baked potatoes that started this whole P mess.


Brandi’s Pot Roast with Cranberry Sauce


Oven baked Jalapeno Poppers


My brobro.


Katambra giggling as she drew her dirty picture in telephone pictionary

Pineapple Chocolate Chip Cookies

Recipe taken from The Taste of Home Baking Book


These were a hit. You can barely taste the pineapple. I think the pineapple keeps the cookies soft even long after they cool. We’re definitely keeping this recipe.

Ingredients:
1 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 cans (8 ounces each) crushed pineapple, drained
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1. In a mixing bowl, cream shortening and sugars until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in pineapple and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda, and baking powder and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture, Stir in chocolate chips.

2. Drop by rounded tablespoons 2 in, apart onto greased baking sheets. Press down lightly. Bake at 376 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool.

Related Blog Entries:

- September 6, 2009 – This Day is Brought to You by the Letter P
- September 13, 2008 – Telephone Pictionary

Chicken Piccata and Banana Nutella Crepes

July 12th, 2009 · · Birthdays, new thing(s) of the week, Personal Finance, savory 5 comments - Tags: , ,

I usually send Jen T. something for her birthday but this year I was forgetful so now that she’s in town I decided to make her a belated birthday dinner. I was driving into Austin today from Houston so I wanted to pick something that’s easy. I found a Giada recipe for Chicken Piccata. I’ve never tried making Chicken Piccata before so it’s also expanding my horizons. It’s pretty easy. The only change I made to the recipe was not put in capers. I bought pickled capers inadvertently. Oops. For sides, I just sauteed squash and zucchini. I liked it. Jennifer and Brandi didn’t complain and Jen wanted the recipe. I consider that successful. It’s always kind of unnerving to make something for the first time for people.

Chicken Piccata

Ingredients
2 skinless and boneless chicken breasts, butterflied and then cut in half
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
All-purpose flour, for dredging
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup brined capers, rinsed
1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped
Directions
Season chicken with salt and pepper. Dredge chicken in flour and shake off excess.

In a large skillet over medium high heat, melt 2 tablespoons of butter with 3 tablespoons olive oil. When butter and oil start to sizzle, add 2 pieces of chicken and cook for 3 minutes. When chicken is browned, flip and cook other side for 3 minutes. Remove and transfer to plate. Melt 2 more tablespoons butter and add another 2 tablespoons olive oil. When butter and oil start to sizzle, add the other 2 pieces of chicken and brown both sides in same manner. Remove pan from heat and add chicken to the plate.

Into the pan add the lemon juice, stock and capers. Return to stove and bring to boil, scraping up brown bits from the pan for extra flavor. Check for seasoning. Return all the chicken to the pan and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove chicken to platter. Add remaining 2 tablespoons butter to sauce and whisk vigorously. Pour sauce over chicken and garnish with parsley.

Banana Nutella Crepes

Then for desserts I made Banana Nutella crepes. I’ve made these a few times back when I was living with Alan. The batter makes approximately 18 crepes. Every time I make these crepes I call a bunch of people to come over to help eat. Nisreen and Nino and Jessica joined us for desserts. It’s an incredibly easy recipe. The only change I made was I sprinkled cocoa powder on top of the whip cream. It was delicious. Nutella is where it’s at.

Ingredients
Crepe Batter:
1 cup all-purpose flour
Pinch salt
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 1/2 to 2 cups milk
1 tablespoon melted butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Topping:
1 jar hazelnut chocolate spread
5 bananas, sliced
1 can whipping cream
Directions
Sift the flour with the salt into a bowl. Make a well in the center and add the egg and egg yolk. Pour in the milk, slowly, stirring constantly and, when half is added, stir in the melted butter and vanilla. Beat well until smooth. Add the remaining milk, cover and let stand at room temperature for at least 20 minutes before using. The batter should be the consistency of light cream. Heat a well greased 6-inch skillet,. Add 1/4 cup batter. Tip skillet from side to side until batter covers bottom. Cook until the bottom is golden brown, turn and remove to a plate. Repeat with remaining batter. Spread a thin layer of chocolate hazelnut spread onto crepe and place banana slices down the center. Roll or fold crepe. Just before serving top with whipped cream.

All in all I spent 26 dollars and fed 3 people (4 if you include the leftover box I made for Alan) dinner and 5 people dessert.

I used to cook pretty often over a year ago when living with Alan because we had a lot of counter space. I loved it. But then I took a year off of cooking (I think I cooked maybe 15 times the whole time I was at my previous apartment) because I had a single sink and hardly any counter space. Now, Brandi and I have a full kitchen again, I plan on cooking more. Can’t wait.

2008 in Review

December 27th, 2008 · · Austin, Big Brothers & Big Sisters of America, Birthdays, holidays, Houston, love, memory, new thing(s) of the week, on the nightstand, Personal Finance, pursuit of happiness, resolutions 2008, savory, scary thing(s) of the week, still-frames, the grind, the not so single life, the single life, wanderlust 4 comments - Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

January
- Kim came up for New Years. We celebrated downtown with Alan’s couple of friends and Jon and the boys.
- Kim and I wrote on two balloons on New Year’s Day. One balloon of our regrets and things we’re letting go. The other balloon our desires for 2009. Then we ever so poetically, released them on my balcony.
-I went to San Diego for the fourth time. I made it to the zoo and stayed at the same hotel as Jon and Kate plus Eight when they went to San Diego on their way to Hawaii.
- Made Jambalaya for the first time.
-Ate a lot of food with Jon while he was visiting Texas.



At Paradise Pointe Resort in San Diego.

February
- Spent my favorite holiday with Jamie.
- Did my own taxes for the first time
- Found a new hair stylist of of Sixth Street after asking her for a kiss for Bing for his birthday.
- Sent out Valentine cards and packages.



Celebrated Bing’s birthday on Sixth Street. The night I met my hair dresser.

March
- Watched a lot of movies and cooked a lot of dinners with Alan.
- Cindy came up to visit. Introduced her finally to Flip Happy Crepes.
- I got about 3 hours of sleep a night.
- I go to San Diego for work yet again and stay at a hotel that had sex toys in their mini bar available to purchase.
- I search for a Madam Mam’s replacement. (Never found it)
- I celebrated Brandi’s birthday with Jessica. This is the 2nd time in 2008 we managed to spend some time together. We went downtown for her birthday and ate at Hula Hut.



With my girls, celebrating Brandi’s birthday. I wish this year we saw each other more. There was a time a year or two ago we saw each other once a week at least.

April
- I go to Second Chance Prom with Neville. Sweet since I didn’t have a date to my highs school prom. Well.. Liz was my date :)
- I meet my little and take her to celebrate Earth Day at Republic Square.
- I take a fabulous vacation to NYC (originally suppose to include Boston too and visit Mary Ellen but her paper got accepted into a conference). I got to see the Jennifers and Jon. Jon was my lovely host. (entry, entry, entry, entry)
- Had my first Brazilian Wax. Yikes.
- The father of two of the kids I’ve babysat since both of them were born, died.



Jon and I in NY.

May
- My brother graduates college! My parents came up to see him walk.
- Alan and I didn’t renew our lease and I started to mourn the apartment. I was in love with our location and view.
- Continue to babysit for the boys who lost their father. Started with the night of the memorial service and then the funeral.
- Selina asked me to be her bridesmaid.
- My brother turned 23. Making me feel old.



Our view.

June
- Go to funnest book signing I’ve been to with Si Nae and her boyfriend. We went to see Chuck Palahniuk promote Snuff. He threw out blow up dolls.
- I worked a lot.
- I saw a lot of movies with Alan.



Si Nae, her boy, and Chuck Palahniuk!

July
- Alan and I moved out and stopped being roommates :( But it was a good move for us :).
- Went to Florida for the first time to get Mary Ellen married. Flew in a few days early and I joined her clan in cooking, building, bitching, bonding, all in the name of love and the most beautiful wedding I’ve been to yet. It was pretty much a DIY wedding and you can see the labor of love in everything. The baby food jars around the garden sheltering tea light candles, the fireworks/crackers, the dance floor her uncles and aunts built, the cascading fruit basket one of her uncle fashioned at 3 in the morning the night before the wedding, etc. SO many details that were not only beautiful on its own, but also in the labor and thought and love that it represented.
- I take a Thursday off of work and Brandi and Jessica and I hang out for the third time this year. They treated me to a trip to Schiltterbahn for my birthday. Last year it was Sea World.
- Turned 25. Jen T who normally only comes once or twice a year happened to be in town for my birthday :). Si Nae dropped by flowers. I had a pretty birthday cake in the shape of a snow globe. I celebrated with friends. Felt special. Alan took me out to a romantic dinner and bought me a cell phone. It was a good birthday. Though I hate that I’m now 25.



Birthday celebration.

August
- Lily teaches us to make sushi.
- Alan introduces me to Mikados. I mention this because now we go here fairly often for sushi. I’ve yet to take him to Musashinos.
- Cindy comes and stays with me for almost 2 months for her pharmacy school rotation.
- I take my little to her first play. Jack and the Beanstalk.
- Nisreen and Nino get engaged and Nisreen asks me to be one of her bridesmaids.



Sushi making night

September
- I take my certification test and am now certified in clinical research.
- I go to the Domain with Nisreen to study for that test. We go just looking around for her wedding dress and we actually FIND it at St. Thomas.
- I fly to Orlando for work, wishing Alan had gone.
- I take my little to her first UT football game.
- Cindy and I try to learn about football.



So it wouldn’t just be for me why I wanted Alan in Orlando with me. Lookit the golf course!

October
- To my surprise, I’m taken by UT football. Really taken after watching OU game. I thought I had burnt out on football forever, but it’s really quite addicting.
- Alan takes me to see UT/Missouri game.
- Alan had a birthday.
- I dress up as a Hula girl for Halloween.



Kissing Meatwad.

November
- Ran my first 5k with Nisreen, Katambra, and Melissa.
- Jessica has a birthday, so the three of us (Brandi, Jessica, and I) reunite for the fourth time this year. FOUR times. That’s so sad. We go to Pete’s Dueling Pianos with plans to go to ren fest again but Brandi got struck with hives.
- I practically live at work.
- My brother breaks in his apartment by hosting a Thanksgiving meal. He makes his first turkey. Delicious!
- I take my little to the Paramount theatre for the first time. We see The Hungry Caterpillar. Then I have a mini high school reunion.
- I take Thanksgiving week off from work and spend a week in Houston.
- I see fireworks with Kim and kind of Chris.



Nisreen pours everyone a double shot of bourbon at my brother’s Thanksgiving dinner.

December
- I finish paying off my car :) One of my New Year’s Resolutions. I bought in July 2007. Not bad, if I do say so myself.
- I spend Christmas in Houston.
- On the 26th of December, Kim and I for the 2nd time release balloons for New Years. We’re stunned that this time around, we do not have any regrets to write on that regret balloon. Instead, we write what we want to stay away from. Good times with Ms. Kim.
- I get to see my best friend, Mary Ellen. Second time this year. First time being for her wedding in July.
- I go back on Saturday (today) to get some work done and to spend NYE in Austin. With friends and beau.



Our balloons. Purple = wishes. Pink = what we’ll stay away from. Since we didn’t have regrets this year.

It’s been a good year. I read 10 books, ate a lot of Pho, and laughed a lot.

Making our own sushi

August 29th, 2008 · · new thing(s) of the week, savory, still-frames No comments - Tags: , ,

Tonight, Lily took Jamie, Maryanne, Courtney and I under her wing and showed us the way, the way of making delicious sushi. I’ll let the pictures do most of the talking.



Our host :)


Cut up avocado, cucumber, and shredded imitation crab


Some of the fish fillets. I think this tray was Esoclar and Tuna. (Also had Salmon, White Tail, Red Snapper.

You can get Unagi in a package. You can also get rice vinegar in powder form (used to season the rice).


Yummy. We used measuring cups as dipping dishes for the soy sauce. How resourceful are we?

sometimes my horoscope is right on the money

November 30th, 2007 · · Austin, the grind 5 comments - Tags:

How are your finances doing? Take another look at your bank account today, because there could be an accounting error or forgotten past due payment waiting for you to notice. Little details have been falling through the cracks lately, and while you certainly think you know why that’s been the case, the reasons don’t matter anymore. To get back on the ball, pay more attention to your health. Book yourself at least 9 hours of sleep soon, and skip the caffeine for a while.

Kim assigned me homework. Get 18-20 hours of sleep this weekend. Yesterday I was flying through my day, and I mean flying, on three hours of sleep. I think the adrenaline of all the meetings, visits, and paperwork I had to get done yesterday got my adrenaline up. Also, I do need to be more mindful of money and look at my credit card bill. My case of TMJ turned out to be a hefty case.

Last night I fed the girls gumbo. Emeril’s recipe. It took 3 hours to make the night before and I must say I felt accomplished. Was a little intimidated by everyone stressing to me how important it is not to burn the roux so for 45 minutes I stirred and stared at the flour and oil. But it turned out delicious. I’m starting to get used to this soft/liquid diet. It’s not so bad anymore.

I’m ecstatic it’s Friday and we have a work happy hour at Shady Grove today after work. Free food :) I’m ready for down time. These past few weeks I’ve been feeling a little misanthropic. I just like my girls to have gumption and my guys to have balls. More and more I’m starting to see that it’s not uncommon for guys to just be pansies. It’s even more upsetting to see that a lot of them are my acquaintances. Hopefully, it’s just my age group?

I vant to suck your blood!

September 30th, 2007 · · Austin, new thing(s) of the week, savory, still-frames, the single life 2 comments - Tags: , , ,

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Wednesday night after my babysitting gig (which is after my 9 hours of real work) I felt the urge to make pumpkin cookies. I found this recipe on allrecipes.com where it only calls for two ingredients.. pumpkin puree and spice cake mix. I read the reviews and one girl said it would make good cookies, so I attempted! I bought pumpkin.. I couldn’t find pumpkin PUREE… so I made due with just plain old pumpkin in a can. I wonder if things would have turned out different if I used puree instead. The last and (first time) I made anything with pumpkin was last year for Joy Luck Club. I made a pumpkin pie that wasn’t fully baked. Brandi told me it tasted like baby poop.

Anyway, I added chocolate chips, mixed, and baked. Stayed up till way past my bed time. Came out and they LOOKED like cookies.. but didn’t TASTE like cookies. Spongy. Too moist. Something. I ate 6 cookies that night trying to put a finger on what exactly was peculiar about my cookies. They tasted okay and the chocolate chips were a good addition but I couldn’t figure it out. I brought some to work the next day after giving up hours of sleep to bake, clean, and taste the “cookies.” The girls at work loved them and requested I bring the rest back up and they figured it out pretty quickly. It’s PUMPKIN BREAD! Only, shaped like cookies.

That’s one new thing of the week.

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Cindy came into town today… We went to Sweetish Hill finally. This has been on our to try list for I daresay over a year? We were not very impressed. Perhaps it was too hyped. Or it just kind of sucked? She had the chocolate eclair and I had the chocolate croissant.

Our second new thing of the day and my favorite was Drakula, a Romanian restaurant I’ve been meaning to try with someone since May. I’ve never had Romanian food.. food was delicious. I looked up reviews on cityseach and everyone raved about the food but complained about the ambiance. I LOVED THE AMBIANCE. Something authentic about it’s white walls and randomly displayed nationalistic representations. Thoughts: Stewy.. I had the stuffed pepper; Cindy had the goulash. Pictures!

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