Stuffed Red Peppers inspired by Paula Deen

I was looking for something a little more fun for dinner, and I stumbled on to one of Paula Deen's not so buttery recipes.  I had previously made stuffed jalapeño peppers, and I wanted to do something a bit milder.  I basically took Paula's recipe and tweaked it a bit to make it my own by removing a few ingredients and adding some more.  The beauty of stuffing food is that you can pretty much stuff anything with anything.  Technically, you could just put cheese in some peppers, pop them in the oven and call it a day, or you could roast a bunch of other things and invent something much more.  Well, I took Mrs. Deen's recipe and added my own flair, technically inventing something new.  Here goes!

INGREDIENTS

Ingredients

• 4 large red bell peppers
• 3/4 pound ground chuck
• 1/2 pound ground pork
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 teaspoons beef bouillon granules
• 2 teaspoons House seasoning,(salt, pepper and garlic powder)
• 1 cup cooked rice
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 cup diced tomatoes
• 1/2 cup chopped green onion tops
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 cup hot water
• lots of cheese (you choose)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

1. Start by cutting the peppers in half lengthwise, leaving the stems intact, and halving them also. Remove the seeds and ribs inside the peppers.
2. Using a hot skillet, brown the ground beef, pork, onion, garlic, 2 teaspoons of bouillon granules, and house seasoning together. Saute until onions become translucent. 
3. Drain the fat off.
4.  Add the rice, cheese, sour cream, tomatoes, green onion tops, and soy sauce. 
5. Mix well and stuff the mixture into the peppers. 
6. In a small bowl, mix the hot water and the remaining bouillon granules. 
7. Pour this mixture into a shallow casserole large enough to hold all of the peppers.
8.  Place the stuffed peppers in the dish, cover with foil and bake for 25 to 35 minutes.
9.  Remove the foil and spoon the juice from bottom of the casserole over the top of the peppers. Bake for an additional 10 to 15 minutes.

OMG YUMM!!!! seriously, yum!

Filipino Style Mocha Cake

My mom was reminiscing about the motherland a few days before her birthday.  In the Philippines, there is a bakery franchise called Goldilocks, which every good Filipino should know about.  Their cakes are delicious, and really like no other.  Seriously, I had a hard time making the cake not only taste like a famous Goldilocks Mocha cake, but it had to be light and fluffy just like it.  I eventually came up with the idea of sifting EVERYTHING!! Oh, and lots of egg whisking. (I just had to make sure the eggs didn't come from Iowa or Illinois)  After the second attempt, I perfected my Mocha version of the famous Goldilocks Cake.  Here goes:

INGREDIENTS:
 for the cake:
2 cups sifted flour
1 tsp. fine iodized salt
1-1/2 cups white sugar
3 tsp. baking powder
2 tbsp. instant coffee 
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup hot water
8 egg yolks
8 egg whites
1 tsp. cream of tartar
1/2 cup cocoa powder (unsweetened)


DIRECTIONS
for the cake

 Preheat oven to 350 deg F. Grease and flour 8 -inch round baking pans and 3 inch in height. For mocha roll, use 12 x 16 x 1.0 inches tray lined with parchment paper (lightly grease the bottom of pan before putting the liner).

1.  In a medium mixing bowl, combine flour, salt, 1 cup of the sugar, baking powder and coffee. Make a well in the center, amd pour in oil and hot water.
2. Beat the mixture at medium-low speed for 3 minutes.  Add the egg yolks one at a time. The set it aside
3. In another medium bowl, beat egg whites and cream of tartar medium high speed until frothy. Add the remaining 1/2 cup sugar in small portions, beating until mixture is stiff and glossy, like meringues.
4. Gently fold one fourth of beaten egg whites into batter, scrapping the bottom of bowl, until lightly blended. Gently fold about 1 cup of batter into beaten egg white mixture. Repeat until all the batter has been blended into egg white mixture. Pour evenly into prepared pans.
5. Bake for 25 - 35  minutes, then remove from oven and cool on wire rack. Fill and frost with coffee cream frosting and refrigerate. 

Now for the icing!!! yuuuum!!!

 This is the easy part!

Coffee Cream Frosting
INGREDIENTS
1 cup butter, cut into big chunks
1 tbsp. instant coffee
1 cup whipping cream, chilled
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted


DIRECTIONS

1. In a small mixing bowl of the electric mixer, beat butter at low-medium speed until it's nice and fluffy
2. Add instant coffee and beat for 1 minute. 
3. Add cream, little by little, beating well after each addition, until mixture is light and fluffy. 
4. add the powdered sugar in small portions, beating well after each additions, until mixture is smooth.
5. that's it! slather that delicious cake with your buttery mocha icing!

Remember to keep the cake in the fridge!

Jalapeño Poppers

I spent a few days at the Keys with my family, and on the way home, we stopped by a farmer's market just as we got to Florida's mainland.  While I was there, I saw some enormous jalapeño peppers, and figured that jalapeño poppers could be a really tasty snack for tonight.  Well, these peppers were not only much larger, but they were MUCH spicier!!! Here's how I combated the spiciness and made them into a deliciously cheesy snack.

INGREDIENTS
jalapeños
cream cheese
cheddar cheese
any other kind of cheese
one egg
a handful of flour

DIRECTIONS
Pre heat the oven to 350 F and grease a baking sheet

1. cut the peppers in half and remove the seeds
2. boil the peppers in hot water for 5-10 minutes, then quickly blanch them (immediately immerse them in iced water after taking them out of the boiling water)
3. in a separate bowl, mix the egg and flour
4. fill the jalapeño halves with the cheese
5. cover them in the flour mixture
6. bake them for 20 minutes
7. let them cool and enjoy!!

Roasted Duck

As part of my brother's birthday meal, I roasted a whole duck.  It was the first time I'd ever roasted anything, let alone duck.  Well, according to my family, it came out succulent and delicious!  Even the young kids devoured it! (Always a good sign).  My only issue with the duck was having to reach into the cavity and pull out the giblets.  It was GROSS!  First off, I really wasn't sure what I was looking for, and when I found them, they felt rubbery and slippery.  It took a while for me to get through this step, but it was well worth it.  Along with removing the insides, I also had to trim the flap and surrounding fat from the cavity.  This wasn't as disgusting.  After I did that, I seasoned the bird, stuffed it, and stuck it in the oven.  It came out beautiful!!

Now there is one important part of this recipe that cannot be altered:  The bird needs to be thoroughly defrosted, taken out of it's plastic lining, removed of it's giblets AND SET IN THE FRIDGE FOR A FULL 24 HOURS BEFORE CONTINUING TO SEASON.

INGREDIENTS
5lb Peking duck
3-3" strips of orange peel
1 small onion or 1/2 a big one
salt and pepper

Glaze
1 1/2 tbsp honey
1 1/2 tbsp molasses
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 crushed cloves of garlic
3-3" strips of orange peel
half of that orange's juice
8 whole black peppercorns lightly crushed
1/4 tsp of coriander seeds lightly crushed
DIRECTIONS:

1. Remove the giblets from the bird, cut off the flap and remove any surrounding fat from the cavity. Rinse the bird well.
2. stick it in the fridge for 24 hours.  This process will help dry the bird.
3. The next day, season the bird with salt an pepper on the outside and inside the cavity. You may have to get your hands a little dirty.  PREHEAT THE OVEN TO 300F
4. Chop the onion into large pieces and stuff the bird with it, along with 3 strips of the orange peel.
5. Pierce the duck's skin all over the place (including the back)
6. Set the duck on a rack in the roasting pan.  Pour a cup of water into the pan.
7. Roast the bird for 3 hours, but remove it every hour to re-prick the skin.
8. Make the glaze:  Combine all glaze ingredients in a small sauce pan and stir it over medium high until it's nice and warm.  Remove it, set it to the side and let it sit there until the duck's done.
9. Remove the duck from the oven and pour out all the excess fat from the pan.  Raise the temp to 450F and stick the duck back in until it's crisp and brown. (about 30 mins more).
10. Take it out and let it rest for about 10 mins before carving.  Drizzle the glaze over it, and serve!!

YUM!

Happy Birthday Portal Cake

A few weeks ago, I asked my brother what kind of cake he would want me to make for his birthday.  I really wasn't expecting anything fancy from him because I know he's not that big on desserts, but when he gave me his reply, I had to laugh. "Portal Cake," he facebook instant messaged me.  Well, I went ahead and did a little research, and to my surprise, Portal Cake was a lot easier to make than I thought.

Portal Cake comes from a very nerdy video game called Portal, where you play as a part of an experiment. Throughout the experiment, the computer is supposed to entice you with "delicious cake".  Well, at the end of the game, you find out that the cake is actually not real, and you never get satisfied.  Well, I quenched my brother's thirst for cake, and I must say, it was delicious!

When I first saw the video game cake, I wasn't shown what flavor the cake was, so I just asked him what kind he wanted.  He wanted chocolate cherry.  Okay, easy!

INGREDIENTS

Cake:

Devil's food cake mix

16 ounce package of frozen cherries

everything needed for cake mix

I used regular vanilla icing between the two round cakes.

Icing:

8 ounces of bittersweet chocolate chips

5 tbsp butter

1/3 cup sugar

Garnish:

White icing and Maraschino cherries.

Chopped up bars of chocolate. (as many or as little as you want)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Blend cherries with about 1/4 cup of water.  Use that instead of just water for cake mix directions. (Make two 8 or 9" round cakes)
2. Make cake according to cake.

for icing

1. bring sugar and butter to a slow boil, and add the chocolate chips. Stir.
2. Pour this over the cakes that have been stacked on top of each other with white icing as a bonding agent in between.

After Icing:

1. chop your bars of chocolate (I used 2 big ones) and scatter them all over the cake.
2. Make 8 nice mounds of white icing around the cake and top them with the cherries.
3. Don't forget the candle!

Enjoy!

The Easiest Meatballs EVER!

So I was looking into my inventory of what little I had and this is what I saw:  ground beef, eggs, one Italian sausage, Italian bread crumbs and a bunch of spices.  I also noticed some spaghetti, so naturally, I thought good ole spaghetti and meatballs would do the trick.  Instead of frying them, I decided to bake them because they're so greasy, anyway.  I also found ingredients to make my own sauce!

Here's the Recipe

Meatballs
INGREDIENTS
tbsp olive oil
1 Italian Sausage
1 lb of ground beef
1 egg
1/3 cup bread crumbs
1 tsp (or more) cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste
1tbsp Italian seasoning

1.  Heat the oven to 350degrees, grease a baking sheet with the olive oil and stick it in the oven while the oven's preheating
2. In a bowl, combine all the ingredients and mix! It's best to use your hands, really.
3. make little balls and place them on the heated baking dish.
4. flatten the top of the balls because you will need to turn them over.
5. bake them in the oven for 15 minutes
6. after fifteen minutes, take them out, turn them over, then stick them in the oven for another 5 minutes.
7. Presto! You have made deliciously spicy meatballs!

Pasta Sauce (red)

INGREDIENTS

1 14-16 ounce can tomato paste

1 can of milk (measure with the tomato paste can)

1/3 cup Parmesan cheese

1 tbsp Italian Seasoning

salt and pepper to taste

2 large cloves of garlic, minced

1/4 cup of chopped chives

1. Heat a skillet on med high and add the tomato paste and milk
2. stir until everything's incorporated
3. add everything else
4. keep stirring until you have a nice simmer.
5. Done!!

Steak and homemade mashed potatoes! YUM!

Albert mentioned that he didn't really like eating mashed potatoes because no one could quite make it like his mother.  Well, today I think I just beat Mom at her son's favorite recipes! (Also one of the easiest)  In addition to that, I fried some steak with gravy and steamed some veggies. A yummy, hearty meal.

Mashed Potatoes


INGREDIENTS

4-5 yellow potatoes
dash of salt
pepper
1 lb of sharp cheddar
1/2 stick of butter
a hand full of chopped chives
3 big spoonfuls of sour cream
2 large cloves or garlic
1/2 cup of milk (whole) :)

1. Cut up the potatoes into quarters
2. boil the potatoes and garlic in salted water for 15 minutes
3. drain
4. mash!
5. add everything else!!
6. continue to mash
7. ENJOY!!!!

Steak and Gravy

INGREDIENTS

2 pieces of whatever steak you like

1/4 cup of heavy whipping cream (milk will do)

salt

pepper

any kind of steak seasoning, you like.  I marinated them in beer, then seasoned them with salt, pepper and normal steak seasoning I found at the store

1. marinate the steak
2. cook them in the pan for about 5 mins on each side on med high for well done, med for med rare
3. take them out, and add the whipping cream to the pan and scrape the bottom with a spatula
4. pour your gravy over your steak
5. enjoy!!

Trade Strawberry Cheesecake for laundry

I think I made an amazing deal with my neighbor.  I don't have a washer and drier, so I always have to go to the on site laundry.  When I found out that my neighbor and good friend has them, the wheels in my head began to turn.  He's always been a sweet guy and we are constantly doing favors for each other.  We babysit each other's dogs, Albert and him are constantly trading video games, so I wasn't too weird about the laundry trade.

For the first load, I asked him what his favorite dessert was, and he replied Strawberry Cheesecake. YUM!  Cheesecake is one of the easiest things to make, and anything can be added to it for personal flair.

Here's the recipe:

INGREDIENTS:
3 (8 ounce) packages of cream cheese
1 (10 ounce) package of frozen sweetened strawberries
1 1/4 cup of graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup of butter
1 tbsp corn starch
1 (14 ounce) can of sweetened condensed milk
3 eggs
1/4 cup of lemon juice

DIRECTIONS

1. Combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar and butter. Press onto the bottom of a pie pan. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
2.  In a blender or food processor, blend the strawberries and cornstarch;let it really get smooth.
3.  Pour the strawberry mixture into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Boil and stir for 2 minutes on low. Make sure to really watch it, you don't want it to burn.  
4. In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until light and fluffy. Really beat it into submission.
5. Gradually beat in the condensed milk. Add lemon juice; mix well. 
6. Add the eggs one at a time, and make sure everything is combined.
7. Pour half of the cream cheese mixture over crust. 
8. Drop half of the reserved strawberry mixture by 1/2 teaspoonfuls onto cream cheese layer. 
9. Carefully spoon remaining cream cheese mixture over sauce. Drop remaining strawberry sauce by 1/2 teaspoonfuls on top. 
10. With a knife, cut through top layer only to swirl strawberry sauce, unless you like having glops of strawberry :)
11. Bake at 300 degrees F for 45-50 minutes or until center is almost set. 
12. Let it cool down for about 10 minutes... 
13. Stick it in the fridge and don't touch it!!! Let it sit in there for the night. 

Enjoy!!!!

Mission temporarily Impossible

So let me just say, alcohol and 100 degree heat do not mix.  With that in mind, I unfortunately admit that we did not finish drinking around the world at Epcot.  We didn't even make it to Germany! I know, we are a disgrace to college kids all over.  Not only did we almost die of heat stroke and dehydration, but most of us got tapped out by Japan.  Disney really up charges those drinks!

Our plan was to first do all the crazy rides early in the morning, then tackle the drinking, but by the time we even got to the park it was around 1 in the afternoon, so we were already slacking.  We decided to start in Canada and go Counter-clockwise, making Mexico our final destination and dinner spot.  Well, needless to say, we were quite toasty by midway.

CANADA

Oh, Canada.  It was so much fun finally beginning our journey around the world of 11 countries.  We started with good ole Canadian beer.  I had Moosehead, which is a normal light beer.  Like our neighbors to the North, we did enjoy some good beer.

ENGLAND

Oy, those English dudes were not only HOT, but they made one hell of an English Rose.  It was probably the tastiest drink, mostly because I couldn't even taste the liquor.  That definitely got some high marks in my book.  I even got a souvenir cup with my order, even though it cost me a good $10, it was worth it!  I thought of it as paying for the whole English experience.  The bartenders were BEAUTIFUL, the crowd was awesome, and the drinks were delicious.  While there, we bumped into other people attempting our same mission.


VIVE LE FRANCE!

Just across the bridge is France.  A quaint little section of Disney, but with some amazing characters.  We knew we were at home when we witnessed an acrobatic act using fake wine bottles.  We instantly knew we were at home.  Once in the store, we had a bit of difficulty choosing a wine.  As I was trying to figure out which glass I should get, Albert goes up to one of the "cast members" and asks for Pinot Grigio, when the guy replies "No, that's Italy, THIS is France!"  Beet red, Albert leaned over to me and said, "I'll just take some Chardonnay".  Well, while he got his not Pinot Grigio, I decided to have a try of the wine of the month.  Well, the bottle seemed nice, though I had no idea what I was in for.  It was all in french, and no one told me it was a dessert wine! I was not prepared for something soooo sweet!!  I was even informed that they gave me more than I paid for.

ARABIAN NIGHTS IN MOROCCO

After some very strong and sweet wine, we stumbled our way to Morocco.  There, we decided to take a little break and actually shop for a little bit.  We enjoyed some belly dancing and music, before we went for the alcohol.  They never actually had any Moroccan liquor or alcohol because it's a Muslim country, but they did have some from neighboring countries, such as Sangria and Mimosas.  I had a Mimosa, since I just could not pass up a little champagne. Next to the English Rose, this Mimosa really hit the spot, and after that, I was ready to stumble on to the next country!

JAPAN

After four drinks in such a short amount of time, we decided to eat lunch in Japan.  This meant we were going to indulge in Sake!  Because it was about 100 degrees outside, anyone who got hot or warm sake was just retarded.  Well, we also found out that any sake is probably one of the worst drinks in the whole park.  It was disgusting!  I guess it was really cheap sake because any other time I've had sake, I can't recall it ever being as bad as Disney sake.


ITALY
Unfortunately, this was our last stop.  We were exhausted, drunk and dehydrated.  We tried looking for wine, but there was some construction going on and the restaurant had about an hour wait.  We were also not going to sit and wait for alcohol.  Who does that? We were on a mission that seemed impossible at this point!  Our wallets were also running dry, so we decided to get some awful Italian beer.  Now, please heed my warning: DO NOT BUY ITALIAN BEER... EVER!!!! It is disgusting, and it tastes like tar.  It's not even a dark lager.  Do yourself a favor, and just don't do it... Wait in line for the wine, which is what Italians are good at making.


After our failed attempt, we decided to do the stupid thing and ride the rough rides.  WHAT WERE WE THINKING?! Well, we weren't.  We were groggy, some of us had trouble walking, and there was no way we could even make it to the rides.  Well, we did! And, hey, we had a blast.  TAKE THAT, MICKEY!  We rode test track first.  I'm glad there was an hour wait in line, which gave our heads enough time to clear and actually enjoy the ride.  After that, we hit Mission Space, which put our heads back into the drunken state, then went for a scenic flight over California on Soarin'.

After that, our day at Epcot was officially over.  We may not have successfully had a drink around the world, but we now know what we have to do in order to tackle the feat, first, we need to do this in the fall or winter, we need to start as soon as the park opens, and we need lots more MULLAH!!!

Mission: Epcot, Drinking Around the World

As part of Albert's bday, we have decided to go to Disney.  We haven't been there in a long time, and now that we're both over 21, why not drink around the world at Epcot!  I didn't quite know how we would tackle this, and now that we're about to leave, I've decided to do a bit of research.

As of now, everyone says that this College kid's dream is a lot harder than it seems.  Some people have it down to a science.  According to an article on ehow.com, entitled, How to Drink Around the World (And Survive!), I was advised to start in Canada and work my way around the world showcase counter-clockwise.  This works out for me because that leaves Mexico last, and I won't have to tackle my body's hate for tequila until the very end.  While researching, I also found a website dedicated to drinking around the world, called drinkaroundtheworld.net.

I went ahead and posted a list of all the drink served at the 11 countries.

I found out that the park opens at 9AM, but the world showcase only opens at 11AM, which only gives us about 10 hours to complete our drinking venture.  The way I figure, we could take advantage of the 2 hour gap, eat a BIG breakfast (I'm thinking Mickey waffles) and get all the educational rides out of the way.

Once the world showcase actually opens, it's only a matter of time before my liver and the rest of my body can handle more drinking.  Oh, and after the drinking venture comes to an end, we could end the day watching the fireworks, which should seem even more spectacular from our intoxicated point of view.

Chicken stuffed with Spinach and Ricotta

Hello again!

Well, I managed to snag some chicken breast for $5 at Publix, and found a recipe that I was sure to enjoy.  I love the idea of stuffing poultry because it tends to scream for help from other ingredients.  I love chicken, mostly because you can add so many flavors to it.  It's like a canvas for food.  Today, I decided to stuff it.  I made a very Italian chicken breast stuffed with spinach and ricotta.  I thought of it as a lasagna without the pasta. I decided to serve rolls with it on the side, though Albert thought a salad would be nice instead.  I am not a fan of salads, so I chose not to pay attention to him.  What else is new? haha

In the end, my dish came out delicious! I hope you enjoy it!

INGREDIENTS
3-4 chicken breasts
1 container of ricotta cheese (15 oz)
1 bag of mozzarella (8 oz)
1 box of frozen spinach- thawed and drained: squeeze out all the juice from the spinach
1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese-grated
2 eggs
salt and pepper to taste
1 jar of red pasta sauce, I used vodka sauce (it was on sale!)

DIRECTIONS!
1. pre heat the oven to 350degrees.
2.  Cut a pocket into each breast and season them inside and out with salt and pepper
3.  Put the chicken aside.
4.  In a bowl, mix the spinach, ricotta, eggs, 3/4 of the mozzarella and Parmesan together to create the filling
5.  Fill each chicken breast with the filling and put them in a lightly greased baking dish.
6.  Glop the rest of the filling right over the chicken.
7.  Pour the red sauce over the chicken and top it with the remaining mozzarella cheese
8.  Bake for about 50-60 minutes, and let it cool for about 10 minutes.

ENJOY!!

Oven Fried Chicken!

I am so sorry it's took me for ever to write something new!  Last Tuesday, I left to Miami. I had a great time.  My friend came down to visit me,so I showed her my neck of the woods.

Anyway!  I have created something NEW!

OVEN FRIED CHICKEN!!! YUM!  A classic favorite of the deep south, but baked!

It's really tasty, and really easy on the budget, since, let's not forget I am a poor college student.  This chicken recipe I got online from allrecipes.com. It was also Albert approved!! I decided to serve the chicken with my very one "Easy Baked Mac n Cheese"

Anyway, here goes!

OVEN FRIED CHICKEN

Ingredients:
3 chicken thighs
1 cup mayo
1 cup bread crumbs
tbsp cayenne pepper
tbsp Italian seasoning
salt and pepper to taste

**Preheat the oven to 350degrees
1.  slather the chicken in mayo.  Use your hands, it's easier.  Trust me.
2.  Mix the dry ingredients and cover the mayo slathered chicken with them.
3.  Stick them in a baking dish and let them bake for about 45 minutes.

TRUST ME! It's delicious!

Baked Easy Mac n Cheese

Ingredients
1 box of mac n cheese.
salt and pepper to taste
the rest of the bread crumbs from the chicken
2 chopped tomatoes
one can of corn
anything else you wanna put in them

1.  Make the mac n cheese according to the directions on the box.
2.  In another baking dish, add the macaroni (with cheese already) and mix in with the corn and the tomatoes
3.  Top it with the remaining bread crumbs
4.  Make at 350 for about 20 minutes, so while the chicken's cooling, you can bake the mac n cheese.

Delicious!

Juicy Steak with Mushroom and Onion Gravy

According to Albert, I am the Queen of Steak!! Flattering.  I've been really tired of constantly making chicken, so I was thrilled when Albert got two inch thick bottom round steaks.  Yes, they're tougher than I'd like, but hey, I couldn't say "no" to $3 steaks.  Unfortunately, there are no pictures because I forgot. BUT I promise, they were awesome!

I marinated the steak with salt, pepper, garlic powder and white pepper.  I don't like to add too much to steak because it's not like chicken.  It already has enough flavor.  After marinating the steaks, I cooked them in a very hot pan for 5-6 minutes on each side, for a medium sear.

When the steaks were done plated them and, I reduced the heat to low. I then added a chopped red onion to the pan.  After the onions became translucent, I added a can of mushrooms, drained.  I let them cook for about 2 minutes, then added about 1/3 cup of heavy cream.  Once I added the cream, I scraped the bottom of the pan with a spatula for another two minutes.

I topped the steaks with gravy and enjoyed!! They came out delicious!

Tales of Javier the Crayfish

Yesterday, I went to my very first crayfish boil!  Great timing before the oil slick hit the beaches.

I had to premedicate because I'm allergic to shellfish, and there was no way I was going to miss out on this.  Come on, tons of crayfish, other food and beer! How could a college student in the South say "no"?!
I armed myself with benedryll and sunscreen and made it to the boil.  It was fantastic!!!  I finally learned how to properly eat a crawdad like a Louisiana Native!

1.  Hold the crawdad with both hands at the base of its tail and head.
2.  Twist the sucker gently to seperate it.
3.  Suck out the yummines in the head (mostly spices, and no, you will not get any brains in your mouth)
5.  Gently peel the tail armor and slide out the meat.
6.  EAT!!!!!

The guys boiling the crayfish boiled potatoes, mushrooms, corn and garlic, along with some spices they wouldn't let me get a hold of.  Needless to say, it was delicious and I only flared u once!!  The day progressed as we listened to a mix of old rock and roll, booty, crunk beats and the like.  It's great to have the beatles playing, then switch it up to Jeezy!

Every year, the guys also choose to save one crayfish.  This year, his name was Javier, and I had the honor of keeping him alive!  That is, until he died last night at approx. 12:30AM.  He was dubbed, the most interesting Crayfish in the world.  Unlike his brethren, he spent the day by the pool with some very attractive college girls and hanging out with some wild and crazy college guys.  He made the other crawdads very jealous, I'm sure.

Unfortunately, toward the end, it started pouring! It was torrential!  That didn't slow down the party at all.  People in the pool didn't get out and people eating crawdads never stopped! It's like the rain was never there.

Lasagna Night

I made my famous lasagna and for dessert, I made probably the easiest cake ever: pineapple upside down cake.

Eileen's Awesome sausage/spinach lasagna:

Ingredients:

lasagna

Spinach

Red Sauce:

1 lb ground beef

3 links of Italian sausage

1 small (not tiny) can of tomato paste

2-3 good tbsp of Italian seasoning (oregano, rosemary, thyme, basil and marjoram)

pinch of salt and pepper

White Sauce

14 oz ricotta 

14 oz cottage cheese

1/4 lb grated Parmesan

tsp salt

1. cook the pasta.Cut open the sausage links and mix that with the ground beef, and marinate it with the seasoning and salt and pepper.

3. In a rather large pan, add about a tbsp of oil.  I used extra virgin olive oil, but any type will do.  When it's nice and hot, add the seasoned meat.

4.  Brown the meat.

5.  Add the tomato paste to the meat and let it cook in, stirring it every few minutes or so.

Make the white sauce

1. Mix all the ingredients for the white sauce and put it aside.

Put it all together!!

Layer the lasagna however you like.  I put the meat on the first layer, then the white sauce, topped with the spinach.  I usually leave a little extra of both sauces to put right on top before smothering it in shredded cheese.  I used "three Italian cheese"

For the pineapple upside down cake!!! 

Ingredients:

1 can of sliced pineapples

pineapple cake mix (this made things much easier after I discovered it)

maraschino cherries

whatever else the cake mix calls for

brown sugar

1.  butter the bottom of a 13x9 pan.

2.  Evenly coat the bottom of the pan with the brown sugar.

3.  Add the pineapple slices to the bottom of the pan with the cherries

4.  make the cake mix, as it says.  Substitute a portion of the water with the remaining juice from the can.  

5.  Bake the cake for as long as it says.

Refrigerate and Enjoy!!!!

Tonight's Menu: Caprice Salad, My famous Lasagna, and some kind of dessert.

Albert really wants to have a dinner party, so I figured that my lasagna would be a slam dunk.  (Go Celtics!)  I plan on dressing that up with spinach and sausage.  In addition to that, I will be serving caprice salad, since that's fun, easy and tasty, and I hope to be making some sort of dessert, I'm just not sure what.

Here's what I can think of in 5 seconds:

Strawberry Shortcake
Lemon Bars
some sort of pie

and that's about it.

I've been scouring allrecipes.com and foodnetwork.com to maybe find something new.  Any suggestions would be FANTASTIC!  


Thanks,
FAB

Tres Leches

This one's for all the milk lovers out there!  Seriously, I did not have any time to take pictures of this awesome cake.  Fortunately, I will be making the cake for Albert's birthday, so I'll have another chance to take pics. Here is a pic I found online:

Tres Leches is a hispanic dish.  It's called tres leches because it is soaked with three types of milk: whole milk (we already know it's fatty), evaporated milk and condensed milk.  In my cake, I took the liberty of adding a fourth milk.  Caramel.  So I guess, this is no longer tres leches but quatro leches.

This cake is for those with a sweet tooth.  It's creamy, moist, and by no means light.  This will definitely give anyone the "itis" (thanks, Dave Chapelle)

INGREDIENTS
one can of condensed milk
one can of evaporated milk
1 1/2 cup of whole milk
1 cup sugar
1 jar of caramel: the kind you can stick in a microwave for about a minute to heat it up
yellow or white cake mix
1 1/2 cup of heavy whipping cream
1 tbsp of vanilla extract

1.  Set the oven to whatever the box mix says, and follow the instructions on the box.
2.  Take the cake out of the oven and let it cool.  Once it's cooled, poke holes in it with a fork.  Poke the holes all the way to the bottom, you really want the cake to absorb the milk.
3.  In a separate bowl, mix the three milks
4.  Pour the mixture onto the cake.  ALL OF IT!! Don't worry, the cake will absorb it all!!!
5.  let the cake stand for about an hour.
6.  heat the caramel in the microwave (follow the directions on the jar) and pour it all on top of the cake.  (this is still not the icing
7.  In a separate mixing bowl, whip the whipping cream, sugar and vanilla extract into submission-- or until you get soft peaks. (This is your icing)
8.  Ice the cake and enjoy!!

Mind you, this is one of those cakes that get better the next day.  This cake mist also be refrigerated!!!

On My Death Bed

I just want to apologize to the very few people, maybe person who reads my blog.  I know I haven't updated in a while.  Well, I've been sick... coughing, snotting, the whole 9 yards.  Tomorrow, I'll be heading down to Miami (my hometown) for my cousin's First communion! I'm excited!  Don't worry, I'll be documenting all the food that I eat-well, what's worth talking about-haha.

Garlic Roasted Chicken with Twice Baked Potatoes

We've been getting more and more serious about this magazine, so I decided to buy the March Food Network magazine just to get some ideas.  I stumbled upon this easy to do recipe that I pretty much had all the ingredients for.  I decided to make Garlic Roasted Chicken.  It seemed simple enough, so I gave it a try.  Half an hour later and a few minor burns on my right hand, and I can safely say, I am not impressed.  My twice baked potatoes came out tastier than the chicken, and I followed the recipe to a T.  Albert though it was delicious, but I just didn't think it was tasty enough.  We had lots of leftovers, so I think I might just make the rest into a chicken salad for tonight. I think my favorite part was the sourdough bread that accompanied it.  I'd show you a picture of my hand, but this is a food site, I would like you to keep reading my blog.

I'm sure you can find the chicken recipe on foodnetwork.com or in their latest issue of the magazine.

I can, however give you the recipe to my oh so yummy twice baked potatoes!

Ingredients:
4 IMMENSE potatoes, scrubbed and dried
a LOT of cheese
half a cup of scallions
12oz of Sourcream
bacon bits

1. Preheat the oven to 400degrees. Seriously
2. Put the potatoes in the middle rack for 30mins.
3.  CAREFULLY take them out and poke a few holes in them with a fork.
4. Stick them back in to the oven for another 30 minutes.
5. Take them out CAREFULLY. They are HOT POTATOES!!
6. Cut them lengthwise in half and scoop out the insides.  Try not to tear the skin.
7.  In a bowl, mix the potatoes, and the rest of the ingredients. (Add a little salt and pepper to taste)
8.  Put the potato salad back in the skins and put them on a baking sheet.  Cover them with cheese.
9 Stick them back into the oven at about 350degrees for about 8-10 mins.
10.  Let them sit for about 10 minutes and enjoy!!!

I left my ♥ in San Francisco

I have fallen in love with SF.  Albert and I walked EVERYWHERE!! It was so amazing, especially the food!! I had the best shrimp and crab sandwich I've ever had, and the best Chinese food I could imagine.

We arrived at SFO Sunday morning at around 10:30 AM Local.  We planned to do a lot of walking around, but realized that waking up at 5AM to catch a plane at 7AM really wore us out.


Discovering the Wharf

We arrived at Fisherman's Wharf and ate at Aliotos.  We were served by a man who looked just like the guy on the Gordon's Seafood boxes.  Albert had a shrimp and crab sandwich on sourdough made by Boudin's accross the street.  I had a New England style clam chowder in a Boudin's sourdough breadbowl.  It was heaven.  After that, we bought our tickets for Alcatraz, which we planned to do on Thursday, and went to the hotel.  We were exhausted.

After that, we decided to hit a small chocolate store across from Boudin's.  I can't remember what it's called, but I had some of the best fudge ever.  I don't consider myself a fudge person, either, but it tasted more like icing, and was so smooth, I had to buy more. 




Jollibee

Jollibee!! I am half Filipina.  When I was growing up, my parents would take my family to the Philippines every two years.  Jollibee is like the McDonalds of the Philippines.  It may not look very appetizing, but man does it have a unique taste.  The spaghetti tastes like someone poured ketchup and grated cheese on top, but I loved it.  I had the Chicken Joy, which is two pieces of fried chicken- that's sure to clog anyone's arteries- and mashed potatoes with gravy.  It wasn't the best, but it did remind me of the motherland.  I was really nostalgic after eating there and had to call my mom.  She was so jealous!  She kept asking me to buy her a burger, but I wasn't about to lug Jollibee around San Francisco in my purse.  I found the Jollibee right across the street from Yerba Buena Gardens, in the artsy part of town.  Albert really wanted to keep going back for more "little big bites" which are small sandwiches with tuna, Filipino corned beef, a hot dog or spam.  I never got the spam.

Chinatown

We hit Chinatown hard.  We spent a grand total of $20 including the tip for these three mounds of food.  We ordered the combination fried rice, Albert ordered the Hunan Beef, and I got Walnut Honey Chicken.  Everything was made to perfection.  Right on the cusp of Chinatown before hitting Little Italy, we found this little nook in the wall.  The place was not bigger than 400 square feet.  As soon as we got there, which was right at 11:30AM, people started pouring in for their lunch break. 

The food itself was phenomenal.  Even the walnuts in my plate were lightly toasted, and the chicken was tender.  The Hunan beef was spicy, but not so spicy that I couldn't taste it.  The only thing that seemed to be the norm was the rice, which I expected.  I have been to so many Chinese places, that I've learned that no one makes a uniquely tasting fried rice.


 My first and last Irish Coffee

In my guidebook, I read about this little place called Buena Vista Cafe which serves the "original" Irish Coffee.  Well, I have never had an Irish Coffee, and decided to try one at the place.  Well... It was awful.  I forgot just how much I hated whiskey.  It wasn't sweet at all, so I decided to put sugar in it... which didn't help, either.  I'm sure that Irish Coffee requires an acquired taste.  I don't have that acquired taste. 






More sandwiches.

We absolutely loved the shrimp and crab sandwiches so we had to go back for more.  We tried the place next to Aliotos.  I can't remember the name, but that's probably because I actually enjoyed Aliotos more.

Girardelli

I FOUND THE CHOCOLATE MECCA.  Girardelli Square was screaming my name since day one.  When I finally got to visit, I got myself a "normal" sundae and Albert got a mocha milkshake.  It was awesome. There were mounds of ice cream and fudge on top of fudge, smothered in caramel, topped with whipped cream and a cherry.  Absolute bliss.I thought eating mounds of chocolate and ice cream was the perfect prerequisite to walking the Golden Gate Bridge, which we accomplished later on that day. 


Molinari's

Molinari's is this very small Italian market located in the heart of Little Italy on Columbus Street.  It's really easy to miss, so we really had to watch out for it.  "The Capicolla was so thin, you could floss with it," Albert would keep saying.  When I walked into the store, I was overwhelmed with the deli meat, cheese, and the loud shouting of Italian men who take orders and artistically put every sandwich together.  I think what made the sandwiches besides the amazing freshly baked bread was the sun dried tomatoes which they used in almost every creation.  We loved that place so much that we needed to buy more sandwiches for our trek to Alcatraz. 
For our next sandwiches, we were lucky enough to take the last two loaves of foccacia.  Unfortunately, upon arriving at the pier to leave to the "rock", we were told we wouldn't be allowed to eat there, except for a few designated areas, so we ended up stuffing the food into Albert's back pack.  He was the most deliciously smelling person on the island.

French Food!!

One morning, we decided to get some French breakfast, so we were recommended to a really quaint bakery in North Beach, called La Bollange.  We got there a little late so there wasn't much left and people were very busy in the back trying to restock the counters.  The smell of baking bread and pastries was so powerful that I could smell the bakery as we walked closer.  For starters, I got a bread pudding baked with croissants and Albert got what he called "the most delicious danish ever."  His danish was pretty good, but I was impressed with our breakfast entrees. 

I decided to order what I expected to be some normal french toast, but I got something more of a souffle.   I didn't see the "toast".  Instead, I saw and ate the most delicate, moist and piping hot piece of French toast I have ever had.  It really was nothing I've ever had before.  Albert decided on an omelet sandwich with salmon bits in it.  Both came with a fruit salad.  The only problem I had with the restaurant was the one of the servers, who didn't seem to care about the customers.  It really wasn't a big deal, but I really didn't like having to ask several times for certain things.






La Rocca's

Being that Albert and I go to FSU, the Noles were playing in the ACC tournament while we were in SF, so we decided to try and find a sports bar for a few drinks.  Albert ordered whatever was on tap (mostly PBR) and I ordered a cosmo, an appletini and had a few random other beers.  La Rocca's has boasted of being a San Francisco favorite since 1922.  The people who flocked to the bar were normal 9-5 folks who needed to blow off some steam after a long day at work.  Syl, the bartender, was much more than accommodating to us, as he got to know us and even comped us a drink or two.  While there, we also met a few other lively characters who really helped us get to know the real San Francisco, telling us about local favorites that no one could ever experience while on a tour bus.

 Vietnamese

While in Chinatown, we kept seeing little Vietnamese places here and there.  We decided to try one out.  In this place, not only was the food in huge portions, but it was cheap too!  It was another place where we spent only $20 on the both of us including the tip.  We both got combination platters, and they were amazing.  The shrimp and the chicken were cooked to perfection.  They were tender and really tasty.  This was the first time I ever had Vietnamese food, and I loved it.  It was served with tea, so we didn't have to order drinks, just water.  I think my favorite part of my dish was definitely the fried shrimp.  It was so crispy, but not very greasy.

One Last Time...

Before leaving, we decided to go to Jollibee one last time, since I knew it would be a while before we had Filipino fast food again. 









I really had a blast on my trip to San Francisco.  I loved the sites, the people, the adventures and definitely the food!  I can't wait for my next trip.  I'm broke now, but I don't mind blowing all my money on this awesome trip. 

Thanks for reading!
FAB