Memories are funny December 10, 2011

How does life become so busy?

Maybe I should ask, “Why do I decide to take on so many things?”

What I’m really asking is “How am I going to make all this fit?”

Does that explain my absence from the blog?  =)

Today I was making one of my favorites growing up – Jamaican ox tail stew.

Jamaican Ox Tail Stew - Just like mom makes . . . sorta

Before you say, “Eeew!” don’t knock it til you try it!

When I was little I used to be the slowest eater in the family.  (I guess some things never change.)  The thing is, I was always really enjoying it!  (And the OCD side . . . which people used to call the anal retentive side . . . wanted my food to be a certain way before I ate it.)  Whenever we had ox tail I used to eat the meat off the bone and then hold the cylidrical bone like a steering wheel and make noises, pretending I was driving a race car.  Yes . . . I was a weird child.

It’s funny, but some memories just stick with you.  It’s a good thing, too, because it’s those memories that helped this dish come together today.

After the stew had simmered for a while I gave it a taste, and it was mostly one dimensional.  It had . . . a salty tone.  The way mom makes it was different.  It’s salty but has a little sweet note to it.  How does she do it???  The carrots in my stew added some sweetness, but not enough.  I tried just a sprinkle of brown sugar, but that was not it.  As I stepped back and racked my brain trying to remember how she does it, the image of my mom holding a ketchup bottle over the pot and giving it a good squeeze appeared in my head.

Oh yeah!!!  That’s how!

I know it sounds kinda weird, but it really is the flavor that was missing.  It doesn’t make the stew taste like ketchup.  Trust me.  That would be . . . yuck.  Let’s not go there.  What it does is add a touch of acidity from the tomatoes without turning the stew into a tomato based sauce.  It also gives it that hint of sweetness that helps to balance the saltiness.

So maybe my ingredients were not spot on (I know I didn’t have any Pick-a-Pepper sauce or anything on hand, so I substituted with what I had), but it really did come out good!

Thanks, mom.  I needed that!  Saved the meal and both hubby and baby were very happy.

(Oh, and mom . . . thanks for leaving us all that ox tail in the freezer too!  Heehee!)

A Foodie Anniversary October 22, 2011

US Tradition states that the 1st Wedding Anniversary should be a paper gift.  The 2nd Wedding Anniversary should be cotton.  And the 3rd?  Leather.

Really?

Not for a food enthusiast!  So how did my husband and I celebrate our 3rd Wedding Anniversary?  With a slew of delicious and decadent Southern foods, of course!  Our actual anniversary was on Tuesday, so on Tuesday night my husband surprised me with a babysitter so we could go to a little spot in historic Buford (GA) called Rico’s World Kitchen.  We had talked about going there before because they featured a few Filipino dishes (my husband is half Filipino), but I had no idea that we were going for our anniversary!

We started off with some lumpia -  a Filipino egg roll.  Not Southern you say?  Well, the Phillipines is an island nation in the south of Asia!  A tasty and crunchy start to the meal.  The item I really enjoyed was my entree.  I ordered the fried green tomato and portobello mushroom sandwich.  For someone who loves fried green tomatoes, it was simply heavenly!  Layers of lightly battered fried green tomatoes, thick slices of juicy portobello mushroom, a smoky slice of gouda,and a  zesty remoulade sauce served on a toasted french bread so big I had to save half for another meal!  All this and I forgot to mention that the side I ordered with it was none other than my favorite . . . eggplant!  It, too, was battered and fried like the tangy fried green tomatoes.  Some of you may be wondering: does she realize that everything she has eaten so far was fried?  Uh, yes.  I am well aware but I let that slide considering we were celebrating here!  Hee, hee!

My husband got a mojo sandwich.  Oh my goodness was that pork juicy and flavorful!  That was the best pulled pork/mojo!  Just saturated with amazing moist flavors.  Although we were full, we decided to order dessert anyway.  After hearing their tempting cake selections we decided to go for the banana pudding cake and take a chance on the avocado key lime cake.  All I could think, however, was that this thing could go either way!  I mean I was picturing a key lime cake with chunks of avocado baked in!  I was a little nervous about our very green selection, but you never know til you try it, right?  Naturally the banana pudding cake didn’t disappoint, but the avocado key lime cake was such a lovely surprise!  It didn’t really taste strongly of avocado, but it was so moist with a great consistency.  Not too dense, but pretty rich.  Good job, babe . . . wonderful anniversary dinner!

But for us, one night was not enough.  Friday we took our daughter to the doctor for her 15 month check up and I took a few personal leave hours to end the day with a late celebration with my husband.  We went to the Flying Biscuit for breakfast.  If you are in Atlanta and haven’t tried it, you MUST either go early to beat the lines or take the time to wait it out because their “creamy dreamy grits” are everything the name says!  I’m not a huge fan of grits.  I can take them or leave them, but these I will never pass over . . . EVER.  Best. Grits. Ever.  But I think what made it even better was that I ordered a dish called . . . called . . . called something Benedict because the dish was so good it wiped the full name from my memory!  Fried green tomatoes on top of the creamy dreamy grits, topped with a soft fried egg, light and fresh salsa, and another favorite – goat cheese!  Heaven, heaven, heaven!  I had to stop myself from eating more before I made myself sick.  I didn’t even touch my whole wheat biscuit (which I chose over the white biscuit) so I took my leftovers and biscuit home for dinner.  Dee-lish!

Oh, but it doesn’t stop there because when we went downtown to ikea we discovered that the gourmet food trucks were parked at Atlantic Station so hours after the amazing breakfast, we had a mid afternoon lunch at the food trucks!  It was here that we discovered decadence on wheels at the Ibiza Bites food truck.

I chose their daily special – Lobster Mac and Cheese while my husband got chicken and waffles.

Every bite of the lobster mac and cheese either saturated my taste buds with a creamy mix of the mac and cheese with luscious lobster or the sweet crunch of the corn sprinkled atop the dish. My husband said his chicken and waffles were good, but I stuck to my creamy goodness.  The other thing we ordered was a side of sweet potato fries . . . that could change your life!  I cant even begin to tell you how they transformed this tasty side dish into something truly beyond expectations.  They may have looked unassuming, but these sweet potato fries demanded the spotlight once tasted!  These sweet potato fries were cut not too thin and not too thick, but just enough to get a crisp crunch on the outside with a soft, almost creamy center sprinkled lightly with salt and joined together with a web of melted marshmallow.  Each bite was the perfect combination for sweet and salty with the juxtaposition of crispy and tender.  It’s so worth the effort to track down this food truck for the sweet potato fries alone!

The finale for our Foodie Anniversary are in a little green box in our kitchen.  Gigi’s Cupcakes decorated with icing as high as the cupcake itself.  One wedding cake, one tiramisu, one sweet potato, and one canolli.  That’s the way to end a fabulously decadent and indulgent Foodie Anniversary.

Now quick!  Someone get me a treadmill!

Pizza! Pizza! October 9, 2011

While my sister was visiting last week we decided to take advantage of the sales at Publix! We’re all about the 2 for deals and the buy 1 get 1! So what was on sale last week? The Publix pizza dough!

Seeing as I have yet to try a recipe with yeast on my own, the ready made pizza dough is a great choice. =) It’s actually really yummy. It’s got a nice texture . . . not too heavy or dense but also pretty flavorful.

We decided to skip the traditional tomato pizza and make a delicious white pizza! It was super easy and you would not believe how good it was! The first night we made it it was pretty late already so even though we were sure it tasted good, we weren’t sure just how good it was just because we were so hungry. So how do you determine if it was just hunger or if it was truly a good dish? Why you make it again the next night, of course!

First we peeled and thinly sliced some Italian eggplant, laying it on a greased (cooking spray) baking sheet. We sprinkled it with sea salt and some of my favorite garlic pepper grind! Then we baked it in the oven at 425 for about 10-12 minutes. Next I minced a lot of garlic (like 3 big cloves). I added about 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil in a bowl with the garlic and a little coarse sea salt.

After stretching out the pizza dough and spreading it on the pizza pan I spread the olive oil garlic mixture over the pizza dough. On top of this I spread little dollops of ricotta cheese, sprinkling a little sea salt and garlic pepper grind over it. Next came a sprinkling of Italian cheese blend topped with slices of red, ripe roma tomatoes and our roasted eggplant. Oh yes . . . and my baby girl’s contribution? All natural Mickey Mouse chicken nuggets sliced up like chicken parm! No . . . seriously! And you wouldn’t have know the difference! (I don’t care if that makes me sound ghetto or simple paletted. It was DEE-lish!)

18 minutes later the verdict was in. Although hunger makes the food taste better, there’s no denying that it was an amazing (and easy!) pizza.

Delicious white pizza made on Publix pizza dough!

The Pot Roast Verdict Is In . . . September 3, 2011

And it’s a tie!

 

Honestly, it was so hard to choose which roast came out better – the stove top pot or the crock pot!  Both were so delicious and tender. At least now I know that if  have a limited amount of time, I can make a great roast on the stove top in about 3 hours.  If I am busy but can let something simmer for 8-10 hours, the crock pot it is!

Here’s a picture of the final crock pot product:

 

What’s your favorite recipe for pot roast?  Do you prefer stove top or crock pot?

 

Pot Roast vs Pot Roast

I have a confession . . .

I’ve never made a pot roast before!

Actually, I generally stay away from big chunks of meat.  I’ve roasted a whole chicken before in college, but the shotty oven in my dorm suite probably wasn’t the best cooking device.  I don’t know that I’ve roasted a whole chicken since then.  I’ve marinated and seasoned a pork loin and had my husband grill it.  (Very yummy!)  But 2 things that kinda intimidate me that I’m going to conquer are the big chunks of meat and baking that requires yeast.  So this weekend I decided to make a pot roast!

In continuation of crock pot practice I decided to do “Marie’s Easy Slow Cooker Pot Roast” which I found on allrecipies.com.  It’s the kind that you use dry onion soup mix.  Of course I added my own ingredients too!  Well when my mom was visiting a couple of months ago, she bought some chuck roast and put it in the freezer.  This thing was pretty big and I’ve got one of those medium sized crock pots, so I decided to cut it in half.  I browned the meat in a pot on high.  As I was transferring the 2 halves into the crock pot I realized that it might not cook too well with one half stacked on top of another, so it became pot roast vs pot roast!  I took the 2nd piece and decided to cook it in the pot on the stove.  We’ll see how they turn out . . . which one will be better?

After about 3 hours simmering on low on the stove, here’s roast number 1!  It’s tender, tasty and delicious!!!  I was pleasantly surprised.

Crock Pot Pot Roast (Roast #2) Is still simmering away.  I may need to remove some liquid and reduce it.  Results to come so stay tuned!

Lettuce Wraps! September 1, 2011

This weekend my husband and I went to a little Asian restaurant. On the tail end of his very successful diet, he decided to have lettuce wraps. Apparently the ones at this restaurant were pretty good! The next day he sent me a text saying how he was craving them! Little did he know that I had planned on trying to make some for him since he raved so much about them the day before.

I stopped by the Asian supermarket/Farmer’s market and picked up some ground chicken, Boston Bibb lettuce (since they didn’t have the cheap iceberg kind), water chestnuts, ginger, and scallions. Then it was “what’s in the pantry” time!

I minced some garlic and used my micro plane to grate some fresh ginger into the hot wok. (I also prepped the other produce – chopping an entire bunch of scallions and chopping water chestnuts.) Then I added the ground chicken and started to brown it. I seasoned with a little salt and soy sauce. I wanted some brown bean paste but all I had was black bean paste, so I used that instead. After that I added just a touch (teaspoon or so) of of oyster sauce. Finally, I added the scallion and water chestnuts.

The final piece was washing a few leaves of the Boston Bibb lettuce!

He was a happy hubby. =) He said it wasn’t as sweet as the restaurant’s, but it was good. I didn’t add any sugar but I liked it more savory like that.

Sorry my measurements are so . . . in my dash and splash lingo! Maybe one day I’ll measure things out and get an exact recipe up on my recipe page!

Here's my version of Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps!

Swiss Chard Rolls August 27, 2011

My husband has been on this seriously strict and crazy diet these past few weeks.  Great results, but I don’t think I would do this diet even though I’d really love to lose the rest of this baby weight!   One of the things about this diet is that he cannot have any fats, oils, sugars, carbs, etc.  Proteins and the restricted vegetables and fruits are strictly measured out.  Among the proteins and veggies allowed are lean ground turkey and swiss chard.

I’ve previously made mention of my addiction to the Food Network.  One of the shows I had been watching was the Next Food Network Star.  During one of the challenges a contestant named Susie substituted swiss chard as the “rolling mechanism” for her enchiladas.  This gave me an idea!  What I ended up making for my husband was sort of like a cabbage roll.

First I seasoned the ground key with salt, pepper, garlic powder, Cajun seasoning, and a little Worcestershire sauce.  Then I quickly blanched the leaves of swiss chard to soften and partially cook them.  I made a “log” of the 4 oz. of seasoned turkey meat.  (Actually the 4 oz. made 3 little logs.)  I then rolled it in the blanched chard and placed it in a baking dish.  I sprinkled these rolls with a little sea salt and added a splash of chicken broth to the dish to help steam the rolls and keep them moist.  I covered the dish with foil and then popped them in the oven (ok, toaster oven) for about 30-40 minutes at 350.

In a small sauce pan I threw in plenty of minced fresh garlic, a couple of diced tomatoes and seasoned with salt and pepper.  Oh . . . and some red pepper flakes for a little kick.  I cooked this down til really soft and then hit it with my immersion (stick) blender.

When the chard rolls were done, I put a little sauce over the top and YUMMY!  Seriously, these were good.  I’d eat them . . . diet or not!

Swiss Chard Turkey Rolls