Nope, That's Not Strawberry Jam

 

A few months ago, I noticed that most grocery items that used to come in glass jars now come in plastic containers of some sort. I have a feeling that in the near-future, my salsa will come in some kind of flimsy compostable plastic baggie.  I don't use many jars now but I know that someday, I'm going to need one and regret not saving enough during the glass jar heyday.

At least this is what I tell myself when I look at the collection of jars in my cupboard. 

They do come in handy though. For dinner tonight, I made southwest salads and decided to mix up some dressing.  I threw everything in a jar and then shook it. And seriously, a few shakes of a jar is way more effective than a whisk can ever be.

One thing I need to start doing is removing the original labels and marking the contents on the lids.  Finding salad dressing in a jelly jar isn't that bad, but there's an old salsa jar holding chipotle peppers in adobo sauce in our fridge and opening that by mistake might be a bit traumatic.  xo

It's All In the Seasoning

I've always wanted a cast iron skillet. A few months ago, I used the balance on a Macy's gift card to buy a 10-inch skillet and was thrilled when it arrived (and lucky enough to have gotten free delivery--this thing is heavy!). But how do I use it? And how to do you develop the seasoning, which is the pride and joy of cast iron?

I've only used my skillet once so far but I somehow managed to commit all three deadly sins for cast iron care as detailed in this Huffington Post article.  It's going to take me a while to get used to not washing this pan with soap. I may have used a metal spatula when flipping the sauteing potatoes, and I definitely let it air-dry.  I guess I don't have an innate instinct when it comes to cookery.

This weekend, I'm going to take the article's advice and start the seasoning process on my skillet, which apparently only consists of rubbing some olive oil into the pan and then baking it in the oven for an hour.  Sounds easy enough, right?

I must say, these caramelized onions sure tasted good though.  I think it was the perfect thing to break in the new pan and welcome it to our humble little kitchen. xo

Weekend Recap: Nada Edition

I did not take one photo this entire weekend. There were very few visually-stimulating moments in the last few days, but we did manage to make it through without completely melting. Other than attending a bridal shower for a dear college friend, the highlight was realizing that I acquired five new cookbooks in the past month.

A few were birthday presents.  The Giada book was given to my mother-in-law as a gift and she didn't think she'd use it and passed it along to me. And I won the Baked: Explorations cookbook from Culture Cheese magazine (woot!).  Just looking at the stack makes me immeasurably happy. xo

Grilling Indoors

I found registering for gifts before our wedding to be a really difficult task. We wound up registering at only one place because everything we needed could be found at Macy's and seriously, we live in a tiny, one-bedroom apartment. Where are we expected to put all of these presents?

There was one thing on our registry that I was coveting big-time and in the end, it was one of only five things that were left unpurchased.  I figured I would just go and buy it after the wedding but a few days after returning from our honeymoon, a box showed up from a good friend (actually, the UPS notice showed up on our door since we weren't home but that's neither here nor there). And of course, she bought us the gift I'd wanted all along.

Tonight, I used the brand-new grill pan to make these amazing chicken jalapeno cheddar burgers. The pan actually left grill marks on the burgers. I'm in love, and I'm totally in the process of making a list of other things I can cook in the grill pan (french toast?).

 

By the way, these burgers were unbelievable. They were super cheesey and then, I added more cheese on top. Cheddar rules. xo

Staying Put

In case you can't tell from all those snowy pictures in your Facebook feed, the Northeast is basically at a standstill right now due to a blizzard that dropped three feet overnight.  Our town, like tons of other communities, I'm sure, was totally unprepared.  We're at two full days and counting of being unable to leave home; there hasn't been one plow sighting.  I'm staying positive but I have a feeling we're going to be stuck inside and off the roads for a while.

When there's a storm warning, I never rush to the grocery store. How long could we possibly be stuck in the apartment?  We almost always have enough food in our cabinets for at least a few days.  Tonight, I broke into the freezer and pulled out three boneless chicken breasts.  It seemed like a shame not to take advantage of the afternoon and make a meal that I would normally never have time to make after a workday.

I did something that I almost never do: pan-fry chicken.  My grandmother is an absolute pro at making the thinnest, most delicious chicken cutlets.  She is somehow able to slice the chicken breasts almost paper-thin.  I've been practicing with little luck but tonight, I felt like I was getting the hang of it.  And since I never fry, I'm never sure of when the chicken is fully cooked and I kind of figured out how to gauge that too.  Moderate success, finally.

Now, our apartment smells like chicken, which is good and bad, but either way, it smells like home here while the snow drifts grow in the whirling wind outside.



Awesome photo of Judy Garland frying chicken via Buzzfeed

Egg-Tastic

Note to self: the next time I decide to be cute and make a festive Sunday breakfast complete with Christmas tree-shaped eggs, remember to grease the cookie cutter.

How do those cooking blogs make it look so easy? At least the eggs tasted good; I guess it's the thought that counts. xo

That Trendy Spaghetti Squash

Have you ever had spaghetti squash? I'm not a squash/zucchini person but this fall seems to be the season of the spaghetti squash so I decided to get with the trend. Once I cut it in half, scooped out the seeds and sprinkled with salt and pepper, the only thing left to do is let the squash roast for an hour.  When it's done, I scraped with a fork and wound up with a bowl full of a healthy bizarro version of angel hair pasta. I actually really liked it , although the consistency is odd. Bonus: this is the easiest side dish to make and I believe even the most inexperienced chef can pull it off successfully.

I was also able to use my new apple slicer, which I bought six months ago at a Pampered Chef dem (I didn't know what else to buy; $100 for a terracotta-like sheet pan that I'll never use didn't seem like a logical purchase).  It took me almost a half hour to cut up the apples for my apple crisp but the results were delicious and tasted just like autumn.

Currently, I'm sporting a huge bandage on the top of my right hand due to a mishap involving a hot oven and an even hotter Pyrex casserole dish filled with apple goodness. I'm calling it a battle scar and just patiently waiting until it's healed so I can stop applying neosporin.

How was your weekend? xo

Make It Melt

I know melts are just fancy grilled cheese sandwiches, but I really love them, like I could have them for lunch and dinner every day for months and not get sick of them.  Almost anything taste good when it's pressed between two pieces of deliciously buttered bread and warmed to the perfect temperature.  The melts we had for dinner the other night had honey ham, honey mustard and two(!) kinds of cheese on a rye-pumpernickel swirl bread.

It's almost like the sandwich is trying to hypnotize you into believing it's going to be the most delicious thing you've ever tasted.  No worries, I didn't need convincing. xo

Makeshift Pizza Night

 
I know that I'm not the only one who has come home from work, opened the refrigerator and stared in wondering, "What am I going to make for dinner?"  This happens to me about two nights per week, and last night, instead of making the usual "big salads" with lots of croutons (by the way, big salads always makes me think of Seinfeld!), I assessed the contents of the fridge and created my own concoction.

We always have an abundance of flour tortillas and I still had some fresh purple peppers from this weekend's farmer's market.  With a jar of sauce (I know, I know, homemade is always better but ehh...) and some cheese, a tasty dinner was made very quickly.

The best part about this meal is that you can improvise.  For instance, I thought I had mozzarella but I really only had half a bag of shredded sharp cheddar.  My tortilla pizza was still delicious despite the change-up.  And don't forget to add your favorite toppings.  I only put on onions and peppers but some bacon or mushrooms would have been great too.

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Cover a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and then drizzle olive oil over the foil. 

2. Place two flour tortillas on the cookie sheet.  Cover tops of tortillas with tomato sauce, leaving about half an inch unsauced around the rim. 

3. Generously sprinkle with black pepper, garlic powder, and grated cheese.  If you would like additional toppings, add them now.  Then, cover with shredded cheese. 

4. Bake for 10-12 minutes.  Edges will be brown and crispy, and the cheese will be completely melted. 

Tip: It's a good idea to serve this pizza with a side salad so that the pizzas can cool off while you eat your bowl of leafy greens. This tortilla-tomato sauce concoction heats up like molten lava.

Enjoy! xo

A Starring Sidedish

How could it be that days after Anthony took me to Mesa Grill in New York for a belated birthday dinner, I'm still thinking about the yummy side dish that we had with our meal? The small bowl of roasted corn with chipotle aioli and cheese was doused in lime and became the star for me.  Bobby Flay, I hate your competition throw-down shows, but I loved your food.

Turning Thirty: Tostadas Kind of Taste Like Healthy Nachos

I'm turning thirty years old on July 6th so for the next five weeks, I'm embracing life and trying to do at least one new and/or enjoyable and/or spectacular thing per day. Click here for more Turning Thirty posts.


I've made a creative dinner every night this week; it's really unbelievable that I haven't resorted to my normal meals like giant salads with grilled chicken or steak stir-fry yet.  Tonight's menu: Chicken Fajita Tostadas.

It never occurred to me to bake peppers and onions instead of sauteing them (thank you, Martha Stewart!).  On a cookie sheet, I mixed up peppers, onions, salsa and sweet corn (and later, shredded chicken) and watched as everything quickly toasted and roasted.  Then, I put shredded cheddar on top of corn tortillas and put them in the oven until the cheese was melted and the tortillas brown around the edges. 

The tostadas were delicious, and they seriously tasted like a healthy, and not greasy, version of nachos.  I wonder if it's possible to make mini versions of these, like bite-size open-face tacos.  These are definitely going into the regular dinner rotation.

Turning Thirty: A Dinner Everyone Will Like




I'm turning thirty years old on July 6th so for the next five weeks, I'm embracing life and trying to do at least one new and/or enjoyable and/or spectacular thing per day. Click here for more Turning Thirty posts.

Yes, this is a huge bowl of pasta. 

Tonight, I made a new pasta dish, adapted from this Martha Stewart recipe.  I don't eat sausage but thought I'd give chicken sausage a chance so that I can make a meal that I knew Anthony would love.  Add in a colorful orange pepper, a ton of halved grape tomatoes, some mini ziti and a handful of Parmesan cheese, and we had a delicious, healthy, albeit hefty, dinner.  Between yesterday's buffalo chicken meatballs and tonight's dinner, the odds are against me to make another innovative meal tomorrow night. 

P.S. I just love how fresh these vegetables look.  Welcome, summer!

Turning Thirty: Buffalo Chicken, Meatball Shop-style

I'm turning thirty years old on July 6th so for the next five weeks, I'm embracing life and trying to do at least one new and/or enjoyable and/or spectacular thing per day. Click here for more Turning Thirty posts.


I'm never home for daytime television, but last week, I randomly caught ten minutes of the Rachael Ray Show and since then, I've been obsessing over the recipe that the dudes from New York's Meatball Shop were making with her.  I've been dying to go there, and apparently, these buffalo chicken meatballs are one of their best-sellers.  After dreaming about them for three days and then finally making a batch, I can see why.  Anthony and I gobbled them up so fast, and I can't wait until lunchtime tomorrow when I get to eat the leftovers in a sandwich.

And they were easy to make, too.  My least favorite part was heating up the Frank's Red Hot with some butter in a pan before you add it to the other ingredients.  When hot, the mixture has an intense odor and will definitely make your eyes tear.  It actually reminded me of when I clean our coffeemaker with hot vinegar and the stench invades my nose and the apartment for days. 

Sidenote: Anthony seems to think that the reason the meatballs tasted so great was because I used hot sauce that expired in September 2010.  This was not deliberate but it wound up being the secret weapon because it really fortified the flavor. We may be on to something.

Also, it's worth mentioning that I made an out-of-this-world lemon poundcake for my grandparents' 62nd(!) wedding anniversary.  In fact, it was so good that tonight, I made another one to bring to work.  I'm happy to not only use up the rest of the buttermilk (I hate wasting ingredients) but also, to find a lemon pound cake that so closely resembles the slices that are sold at Starbucks (you know which ones I mean, right?  They have thick white icing on top and are delicious).  This recipe from Fine Cooking really exceeded my expectations, considering I came across it by googling "lemon" AND "buttermilk."

I hope you all had a lovely weekend.  One of the highlights for me was when I was at a Starbucks this weekend with a couple of friends and did my absolute best to ignore the middle-aged man meowing like a cat from a table in the corner.  Yes, he was meowing like a cat.  I love people.  Happy Monday! xo

Sunday Funday

I always look forward to three day weekends.  They are like built-in bonus vacations and I try to take advantage of the extra time.  This weekend was packed with commitments and the only time Anthony and I had to do some chores around the apartment was Sunday morning.  Here's how the morning went:

I decided to make homemade pancakes using buttermilk I had in our refrigerator.  I found the perfect recipe in this awesome Better Homes and Gardens cookbook for Newlyweds that my wonderful aunt gave to me around Christmastime.

I then realized that we ran out of coffee because I'm awesome and forgot to buy some so Anthony ran out to Dunkin' Donuts for us.  So sweet.

The pancakes were good, a little heavy but still delicious.  I burned the last few and our smoke detector went off but whatevs.

Anthony took one for the team and put together the kitchen cart that I bought from IKEA a few months ago.  He did a great job, despite the horrible Swedish cartoon directions.

And now, we're both back to work tomorrow.  It's not officially summer yet, but it's been hot and humid, more like July than May.  There's so much scheduled for the next few months already, but Anthony and I are both looking forward to a few more Sunday mornings like this one. xo

Cookbooks Galore

There are so many great-looking cookbooks that have been recently published and even though I know most of them would wind up on a shelf barely opened but once a year, I still want them all.  Some of my favorites:

 Pie It Forward by Gesine Bullock-Prado: I have Bullock-Prado's Sugar Baby book and I love it.  This one looks just as good.

Joy the Baker Cookbook by Joy Wilson: This is such a great food blog that I just know that this will be a fantastic cookbook.
 

Cupcakes, Cookies and Pie, Oh My! by Karen Tack: This book is from the Hello, Cupcake! people and I have fallen in love with the sheep cupcakes covered in marshmallows.

 

Marshmallow Madness! by Shauna Sever: I've wanted to make marshmallows for a while but the stickiness factor has always deterred me.  This cookbook features so many varieties of the fluffy treat and I kind of want to make them all.

Hello, Jell-o! by Victoria Belanger: Although Jello grosses me out a bit, how kick-ass would it be to make miniature versions of fruit out of this jiggly substance?

 

Vintage Cakes by Julie Richardson: This cookbook doesn't even come out until August 2012, but it's filled with recipes that were popular in the 1950's aka 'vintage.' I'm a sucker for nostalgia and classic desserts.

Do any of these cookbooks look good to you? Am I the only collector of cookbooks?

(Super) Weekend

This weekend had a theme: food.  We had dinner out with friends on Friday and dinner out with family on Saturday night, along with visits to two supermarkets for Super Bowl snack ingredients.  We wound up watching the game at home yesterday and I made some really unhealthy food to replace a normal, balanced meal for dinner. 

Maybe it's all of those advertising and marketing classes that Anthony has taken over the last few years, but those Ro-Tel and Velveeta commercials definitely worked on him, the ideal consumer. 

This dip was super delicious, even though it does feel like a sin to eat that melted orange Velveeta.

I've never made guacamole before and to be honest, avocados really grossed me out until recently.  I tried this recipe which has fresh corn and chipotles and we really loved it, especially with those lime Tostito chips.

And even though I don't eat hot dogs, I made these wee ones for Anthony and he couldn't have been happier. 

Other highlights include getting a bunch of work done at a near-empty Starbucks yesterday (the espresso-chugging men talking about how they couldn't sleep because they were so excited for the Super Bowl was a fave moment) and making mini french toast for breakfast (the bag with the french baguette ripped and the loaf fell onto the floor on the way into our apartment, but we used the five-second rule, brushed it off and tried to forget it was momentarily on the ground).

Bonus: This morning, I ripped my pants when I got to work and spent the entire day trying to hide it so that my co-workers didn't see my chub.  Happy Monday!

My Favorite Holiday Treat, Artificial Coloring and All

It's no secret that I lovelovelove cheese.  A visit to a place like Murray's Cheese is really the perfect fieldtrip for me, but my love isn't relegated to fancy cheeses.  For as long as I can remember, my grandmother buys a cheeseball and puts it out with crackers before dinner on Christmas Eve.  You know the kind of cheeseball I mean; it's a solid sphere of brightly-colored, almond-covered spreadable cheese that has to be unhealthy when consumed in large quantities.  It's a once-a-year treat and I look forward to it for months before the holiday.

This awesome post on Chow has me majorly craving the taste of a cheeseball (they are dubbing their creation the 'turducken of cheese').  The tutorial on how to make a gourmet version has really piqued my interest.  There are several types of cheese layered on top of one another and the finished product is rolled in almonds, pecans and bacon.  Nom nom nom for real. 

Even if the Chow creation promises to melt in my mouth, I still can't wait for the traditional port wine cheeseball, courtesy of my awesome grandma.  Only 25 more days to go...



Photo via Chow (via Culture)

Adding Some Spice

 Bon Appetit's Texas Beef Brisket Chili

I'm not sure about the average person, but in my kitchen, I have very few spices.  I use a ton of black pepper, and sometimes, I use garlic powder.  I stay away from salt for the most part, and only use some fresh parsley when my grandparents have too much from their garden and make me take some home.

When I see recipes like this one for unbelievable-looking brisket chili, my mouth waters but there are so many ingredients included that I'd have to go out and buy before I could even start to cook.  Would I ever use these spices and condiments ever again?  It's hard to say but I'm pretty sure I won't be adding coriander and cumin to every meal.  I mean, these thyme gougeres look delicious, but how often do people use thyme and what does it taste like?  What if I made an entire batch and hated the herby taste?

I can't be the only one who hasn't been exposed to a huge variety of spices.  I try to cook simply and by doing that, I appreciate the actual taste of the vegetables/pasta/meat that I'm eating.  Lately, I've been thinking that perhaps extra spices only enhance the flavor of food though, and I've been missing out all these years.  I love flavorful and spicy foods when I'm at a restaurant or a friend's house--why have I never experimented in my own kitchen?

What's your favorite thing to add when cooking a meal? And do you think I should expand my spice collection?

Bon Appetit's Thyme Gougeres

Real Cooking

I love soup. It sounds like a random statement, but I realized the other day that I eat soup at least three or four times a week but have never tried to make it myself.  I'm a decent baker but not a good cook so soup has always just seemed too complicated.  How do you make the broth?  And more importantly, my 'spice rack' consists of salt, pepper and cinnamon--what do you do to soup so that it doesn't taste like hot water?

Armed with this awesome recipe from Food 52, I set out to make a large pot of chicken corn chowder that would last for a couple of hearty lunches, and maybe one or two dinners. Instead of a heavy cream mixture, I used light half-and-half.  I didn't have chicken broth so I used beef broth.  Red peppers and fresh herbs?  Nope.  I only had a green bell pepper to dice and throw in along with the onion.  But amazingly enough, the soup was delicious even with all of my substitutions.

Chicken corn chowder with shredded cheddar and bits of bacon on top, per recipe

I couldn't get over how truly healthy the chicken corn chowder tasted.  It was oddly satisfying to add all of these ingredients together and have a complete meal after a few hours of simmering.

It's not even winter yet, but I'm already excited to try other soup recipes for cold-weather meals.  Maybe chicken tortilla next?

Garlic Trick

I'm a pro with cleaning, peeling and cutting onions, but not so much with garlic.  It takes me forever to just get the thin skin off of the entire head of garlic, nevermind the actual cloves, which is why I can't wait to try this really awesome technique which promises peeled garlic in 10 seconds or less.

How to Peel a Head of Garlic in Less Than 10 Seconds from SAVEUR.com on Vimeo.


Watch the video, then try it yourself and see if it works.  I'll do the same and report back here.



Via thekitchen, via Saveur