Week 2, Recipe 1: Chicken Burgers with Barbecue Onion Sauce

Recipe courtesy of Rachael Ray (from her mag)

• 2 pounds ground chicken
• 2/3 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or pecorino romano cheese (a couple generous handfuls)
• 4 cloves garlic, finely grated
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
• 1 1/2 tablespoons fennel seeds, toasted
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• Grated peel and juice of 1 orange
• Salt and black pepper
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO), plus more drizzling
• 1/4 pound pancetta, chopped
• 2 red onions, chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
• 3 tablespoons honey or brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 4 crusty rolls, split
• 1 cup arugula leaves, shredded
• 1/2 head endive, chopped
• 1/2 head radicchio, chopped

1. Preheat a grill or grill pan to medium-high. In a large bowl, combine the chicken, cheese, garlic, rosemary, fennel seeds, crushed red pepper, allspice, orange peel and 1/4 teaspoon salt; season with black pepper. Form the mixture into 4 patties, pressing your thumb into the center of each to keep it from bulging as it cooks. Set the patties aside.
   
2. In a medium skillet set on the grill, heat 2 tablespoons EVOO, 2 turns of the pan. Add the pancetta and cook until crisp, 3 to 4 minutes, then add the onions and season with salt and lots of black pepper. Add the bay leaf and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions begin to brown, about 10 minutes. Discard the bay leaf. Stir in the vinegar, honey, Worcestershire sauce and orange juice and cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened, 6 to 7 minutes (if the sauce begins to dry out, stir in a little water).
   
3. Drizzle the patties liberally with EVOO. Grill until firm to the touch but still juicy, about 5 minutes on each side. Transfer to a plate to rest for 5 minutes. Toast the rolls on the grill and drizzle with EVOO. Set aside.
   
4. In a medium bowl, toss together the lettuces; pile onto the roll bottoms. Top each with a patty, onion sauce and a roll top.
   
   Results: Not a fan.  I didn't enjoy the barbecue onion sauce at all.  That's partly because I don't really like balsamic vinegar.  It smells like feet to me.  It smelled good before the balsamic.  Even when I cooked it down I didn't really enjoy it.  I also didn't like the fennel seed that much.  I like it in sausage ordinarily but this time I wasn't really floored.   I don't see any reason to even try to tweak this recipe for me since there are so many more out there waiting for me.  I used spinach instead of those different lettuces.  I also halved the recipe.  I look happy in the pic because it was before I tasted it.  Lol.  At least it LOOKED good!
   

Week 1, Recipes 4 & 5: Spaghetti w/Zucchini & Garlic, Spinach & Mushroom Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Spaghetti w/zucchini from Rachael Ray

• 2 small to medium zucchini
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, 4 turns of the pan
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pound spaghetti, cooked al dente
• 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano or Romano

Pile up 2 or 3 layers of paper towels on a work surface. Working on the paper towels, shred zucchinis using a box grater holding the zucchini at an angle.

Heat a large skillet over moderate heat. Add extra-virgin olive oil to the pan Add chopped garlic to the oil. When garlic speaks by sizzling in oil, add shredded zucchini. Season zucchini with salt and pepper. Saute shredded zucchini 7 to 10 minutes. Add hot, drained pasta to the pan. Toss spaghetti with zucchini and garlic oil. Add a couple of handfuls of grated cheese to the pan. Adjust seasoning and serve.

Results: YUMMY!!  You definitely need the paper towels because zucchini has a LOT of moisture.  Next time I'll use even more zucchini (3 or 4 instead of 2).  This is quick and easy & delicious!  I added sriracha to the leftovers and it rocked my world!  MMMM!

Spinach & Mushroom Stuffed Chicken Breasts (Rachael Ray recipe)

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, 6 ounces
• Large plastic food storage bags or waxed paper
• 1 package, 10 ounces, frozen chopped spinach
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 12 small mushroom caps, crimini or button
• 2 cloves garlic, cracked
• 1 small shallot, quartered
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup part skim ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano or Romano, a couple of handfuls
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh grated or ground nutmeg
• Toothpicks
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Sauce:

nocoupons

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1 cup chicken broth

Place breasts in the center of a plastic food storage bag or 2 large sheets of waxed paper. Pound out the chicken from the center of the bag outward using a heavy-bottomed skillet or mallet. Be firm but controlled with your strokes.

Defrost spinach in the microwave. Transfer spinach to a kitchen towel. Twist towel around spinach and wring it out until very dry. Transfer to a medium-mixing bowl.

Place a nonstick skillet over moderate heat. When skillet is hot, add butter, mushrooms, garlic and shallot. Season with salt and pepper and saute 5 minutes. Transfer mushrooms, garlic and shallot to the food processor. Pulse to grind the mushrooms and transfer to the mixing bowl, adding the processed mushrooms to the spinach. Add ricotta and grated cheese to the bowl and the nutmeg. Stir to combine the stuffing. Return your skillet to the stove over medium high heat.

Place a mound of stuffing on each breast and wrap and roll breast over the stuffing. Secure breasts with toothpicks. Add 3 tablespoons oil to the pan, 3 turns of the pan. Add breasts to the pan and brown on all sides, cooking chicken 10 to 12 minutes. The meat will cook quickly because it is thin. Remove breasts; add butter to the pan and flour. Cook butter and flour for a minute, whisk in wine and reduce another minute. Whisk in broth and return breasts to the pan. Reduce heat and simmer until ready to serve. Remove toothpicks. Serve breasts whole or, remove from pan, slice on an angle and fan out on dinner plates. Top stuffed chicken breasts or sliced stuffed breasts with generous spoonfuls of the sauce.

Results: SO IMPRESSIVE!  And delicious!  I wasn't able to get the chicken breasts as thin as she usually does so I had to kind of fold the chicken breasts around the filling and pin it together.  I also browned it on the stove, then put it in the oven on 350 for about 10 minutes to make sure the chicken was cooked through.  I used fresh mushrooms and spinach.  First I sauteed the mushrooms with garlic & shallots, then added the spinach in a little at a time.  I also just chopped everything with my knife rather than using a food processor.  Rashan & I loved this one!  For the leftover stuffing (since I made 3 instead of 4), I made scrambles later in the week.  MMMM!

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

(From allrecipes.com's Darlene)

• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 3/4 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup raisins

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. In large bowl, cream together butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs and vanilla until fluffy. Stir together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Gradually beat into butter mixture. Stir in oats and raisins. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
3. Bake 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown. Cool slightly, remove from sheet to wire rack. Cool completely. 

Results: These are Rashan's favorite kind of cookie and he loved them!  I softened my butter by leaving it out overnight.  I added extra seasonings per recommendations from reviewers of this recipe-- about 3/4 tsp. each of ground allspice, ground nutmeg and ground cloves.  I just eyeballed it.  Apparently w/o extra spices some people find the cookies bland.  I can see that b/c I was still looking for some additional flavor so I might use more nutmeg next time since it's my fave of those spices.  Still, a good recipe!  Oh yeah, I also made 18 large-ish cookies instead of the 4 doz. (microscopic cookies????) this recipe allegedly yields.  I put the pans in the oven at the same time but I'd probably put them in individually so I didn't have to babysit so much.  Another tip was to add an additional minute at a time if they're not brown enough after 8 minutes so as not to overcook.  Enjoy!

Week 1, Recipes 1 & 2, 2010: Ham and Fontina Frittata & Potatoes and Green Chiles

Since I brought multiple cookbooks with me and got a new one for Christmas from Rashan, I decided to use them to make breakfast.

Ham & Fontina Frittata (Rachael Ray recipe)

• 1 pound ham steak, from packaged meats case of market
• 1 tablespoon (1 turn around the pan) olive oil
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 12 extra large eggs
• 1/2 cup milk or half-and-half
• salt and pepper
• 2 cups (8 to 10 ounces) Danish Fontina cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Trim any connective tissue and all fat off ham steak. Mince the meat into very small bits and set aside.

Heat a 12-inch nonstick skillet with oven safe handle over moderate heat. Add oil and 1 tablespoon butter to the skillet and coat sides and bottom of pan evenly with melted butter and oil mixture. Add ham bits to the pan and saute 3 minutes to brown them a bit and render some of the moisture in the meat.

Whisk together eggs and milk or half-and-half. Break off tiny pieces of remaining 1 tablespoon butter and drop them into beaten eggs. Season eggs with a little salt and pepper and whisk again to combine. Pour eggs into skillet over ham. Stir eggs gently to evenly distribute bits of ham throughout the eggs.

As eggs set, lift up bottom skin that has formed and allow uncooked eggs to settle. Keep doing this as eggs brown until the eggs begin to set. Transfer the pan to the oven, and allow the frittata to cook 10 minutes, or until golden on top. Add a generous layer of shredded fontina to the frittata and leave in oven another 3 to 5 minutes, or until cheese is melted and begins to bubble and brown. Serve frittata wedges directly from the skillet with a pie server.

Results: I used Christmas ham and Colby cheese I had leftover to make this.   I also used 1/2 of the eggs and eyeballed the milk since there were just two of us eating.  DELISH!  Loved it!  And it was even good lukewarm!  Glad to have leftovers to eat another day! 

Potatoes and Green Chiles (Papas con Rajas, Rick Bayless recipe)

Ingredients

2 small (about 6 ounces total) boiling potatoes like the red-skinned ones, halved
1 1/2 tablespoons lard or vegetable oil
1/2 small onion, thinly sliced
3 medium, fresh chiles poblanos, roasted and peeled
Salt, about 1/2 teaspoon
3/4 cup (about 3 ounces) crumbled Mexican queso fresco or other fresh cheese like mild domestic goat or farmer's cheese.

---

1.   The potatoes.   Simmer the potatoes in salted water to cover until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain, cool under running water, peel and cut into 1/4-inch dice.

2.    Fry the mixture.   Heat the lard or oil in a heavy medium-size skillet over medium. Add the onion and potato, and fry, stirring regularly to ensure that nothing sticks to the pan, until the mixture is nicely browned, 10 to 15 minutes.
While the potatoes are browning, seed the chiles and slice them into 1/8-inch strips. Stir them into the potato mixture, season with salt, remove from the fire and stir in the cheese. Scrape into a small dish and cool before using.


Results: I made this without the cheese because we had it in the frittata.  I also used a mix of butter and olive oil to fry the potatoes.  I make potatoes similar to this-- the boil then fry method is AWESOME.  I got it from my friend Morgan's mom.  Best breakfast potatoes I'd ever had.  Since I used raw jalapeno, I just stirred it in with the potatoes and onions in the skillet.  I also used 5 or 6 potatoes because I knew we'd like this one... and we did!  Yum!!

Dirty Restaurants

I have an obsession that I'm more than okay with.  It's an obsession with the health inspection scores of restaurants that serve me food.  Everywhere I go I scour the windows and entryways to make sure they have the score posted.  This comes after years of a segment on the NBC affiliate in Charlotte (where I grew up) called "Eat, Drink and Be Wary."  Apparently health inspectors won't eat anywhere that scores below a 96 (out of 101).  I sometimes allow 94 but below that and I can't.  WHY WOULD I DO THAT TO MYSELF??  These places have stuff you can't see because it's in the kitchen-- like dirty ice, cleaning solutions stored above food, RAT FECES.  YUCK.  This week's low scorer had FLIES in the ice.  FLIES.  Yuck.  Tell me this report doesn't make you want to check every window door or website.  I hate the states like VIRGINIA and FLORIDA that don't require posting.  You can find it on the health inspector's website in your state or county.  Check your favorites.  I DO.

Chai Eggnog

This recipe by Erika Lenkert was on the Everyday with Rachael Ray website.  Chai + eggnog???  I'M DOWN! 

• 2 cups eggnog
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup powdered chai tea
• 1/3 cup brandy
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 2 gingersnaps, crushed

Directions:

1. Using an electric mixer, beat the eggnog, vanilla, chai powder and brandy.
   
2. On a small plate, stir together the brown sugar and 1½ teaspoons water. Place the crushed gingersnaps on another small plate. Coat the rims of four rocks glasses with the brown-sugar syrup, then the gingersnap crumbs. Fill the glasses with the chai eggnog.
   
   Results:  Since it was the middle of the day, I modified this for a non-alcoholic version.  (Boring, I know.)  I warmed up the eggnog and vanilla then steeped a chai teabag.  I also omitted the second step.  DELICIOUS!!  And I will definitely be using this as an after dinner dessert Christmas day!
   

Restaurant Review: 101 Cantina

A new Mexican restaurant has opened in town and you know what that means? I had to try it out. Yes indeed! The prices were a bit outrageous for a Mexican restaurant, especially one right across from campus. But with 35 margaritas on the menu, there was no question I was going. 35??? Are you serious? A must.

First, let's talk about the website and atmosphere. There are NO HOURS on the site! Why have a site if I have to call ahead to make sure you're open??? It has separate menu links for margaritas, tequilas, island drinks and pitchers which all went to the same thing. The only differences in the lunch and dinner menus is not price, it's that the lunch menu has a few sandwiches and wraps. In their place at dinner were 3 entrees. That's not going to work. Lunch is supposed to be a more cost-effective option. The inside is far too small. We were forced to sit outside because the restaurant was full. I wouldn't be surprised if it only seated 30. If memory serves me correctly there were no more than 8 tables against a wall and a bar. If we'd sat at the bar, perhaps we would've gotten our drinks more promptly. The outside bar took an obscenely long time

I saw several ceviches on the menu but I'm not a fan of shrimp or scallops so that eliminated a few. I decided to try the tuna ceviche which was Asian-style. The chunks of tuna were way too large and didn't have enough acid which made it taste flat. When the server asked me about it and I said there wasn't enough acid, she said, "I think the traditional ceviche has more of the acid taste, but because this is more of a non-traditional take on it, that's why." Yeah, no. It's ceviche and should therefore still TASTE like ceviche no matter what other ingredients you put in it. I've had multiple ceviche preparations including about a dozen at a restaurant dedicated to AND CALLED Seviche in Pittsburgh. And ALL of them had plenty of acid. That recipe needs to be fixed. Especially at that $10 price tag. The portion was huge, plenty to share among several people, but probably a tad ambitious for 2.

We had the 101 margarita which was the best one. The key lime margarita tasted almost powdery. Very strange and not appealing. The peach margarita didn't taste very peachy. The sangria margarita was definitely the worst and it didn't taste like sangria. Harsh reviews. But perhaps there should've been more taste tests of the ahead of time. I am absolutely still willing to make myself available if they would like someone to help them taste the margaritas as they tweak them.

Rashan had the chicken poblano pasta and liked it though it was a bit dry. I thought it could have used some heat. It didn't have to be mouth on fire hot, but something to perk up the flavor. It got better when he squeezed some lime juice on it. I had the cactus and corn and chicken fuego chimichanga. O.M.G. After a series of poor restaurant choices, the chimichanga was AWEEEEESOME!! I mean so good I couldn't keep Rashan's fork off of my plate! Delicious!! Loved it. Could eat it on a regular basis. And it was huge. Very much a fan. It's nice when the entree is fantastic. Now if they could only get more of the menu together.

Fall 2009

Classic Black

but not in your basic form.

Get the LBD but make it black sequins!

black liquid leggings (if done right; AWESOME),

short, ruffly skirt.

DO BLACK, DO IT TEXTURED!

Accessories

Oversized buckles are in.

on your boots

on your faux fur hobo

on your trench coat

Berry

rock your plums, cranberries, eggplant, magentas, and even your dusty roses.

Giant maroon handbag

statement necklace in rubies and garnets

leather gloves in royal purple

fuschia tights

Leopard

I don't know why it won't go away.

I did see Monica rock a leopard scarf and I thought it was fly.

I will say this, leopard print shoes are always hot

Maybe you can mix it up and do black and white leopard

Plaid

A plaid, tweed trench. I want it

Plaid pumps

Plaid tote bag

plaid trumpet skirt (with a solid, wrap top)

Boots

rider boots

flat boots

boho/slouch boots

We're not doing the sky high heel this year.

And I think that's it!

Restaurant Review: The Top

All the hipsters are doing it: going to Gainesville's most "cool cat" esque restaurant, The Top. The prices are a bit up there for a college population, but at least you feel like the menu is more creative than The Swamp restaurant in town. The Swamp is right across from campus and the love of the (white) fraternities and sororities. It has a very normal menu with some crazy prices. It's pretty good, but I always like The Top way more. It's not just that The Swamp feels preppier, that's not a problem to me. Preps need a place to go, too, but the food at The Top seems to be a little more creative. That might be because a lot of the food has a vegetarian or vegan option.

Last night I got the southwestern spinach fettucini with tofu. I'm not a vegetarian and love meat but since my fellow Disher is a veg-head 93% of the time, I'm more open to the idea. Good move! It was delicious! Though I need more texture than meat substitutes too often fail to provide. The Top also has AMAZING burgers. Rashan and I will likely be heading here again some time this weekend to get one of those. Good times, good times. Oh! But two fails for me at the Top are the corn nuggets and fried green tomatoes. The nuggets are pretty popular but I'm not a fan of corn kernels in my food. These are basically like mini hushpuppies studded with corn. I did not appreciate the extra hard tomatoes with the cornmeal crust, either. My tomato pickiness should have been a clue to me but I wanted to try them. I think I'll pass on either of those henceforth.

Pink Shrimp & Black Bean Enchiladas

Ingredients

soft taco flour tortillas

1/2 pound fresh or thawed shrimp; a couple whole, most halved

two cans of black beans

1 can of enchilada sauce

1 cup of fresh salsa

3/4 cup of corn

cilantro

1 lime

colby jack cheese

oil

garlic

cumin

sea salt and pepper

guacamole

sour cream

Mince several (I used 5) cloves of garlic and place in bowl. Add peeled, rinsed, and cut shrimp to bowl. Season with salt, pepper, and liberal amounts of cumin. Roll a lime, cut and squeeze out about 1 tablespoon of juice onto the shrimp mixture. Tear cilantro from springs and rough chop to equal 1 tablespoon. Add to bowl. Stir to coat and incorporate. let sit.

In a medium sized pot, pour enough oil to coat bottom of pot plus some. Add several minced garlic cloves then turn burner on to medium-low heat. Let garlic infuse the oil for several minutes. Add two cans of black beans plus 1/4 a can of water. Add sea salt, fresh cracked pepper, and cumin. Stir. Add 2 tablespoons of roughly chopped cilantro and all the juice from 1/2 lime used in shrimp bowl. Stir well. Turn heat up to high and let boil. Begin using spoon to mash the black beans. Mash and stir till water has evaporated and you're left with chunky applesauce consistency. Turn heat off and let water continue to evaporate.

In frying pan, cook shrimp mixture on med-high till they are ALMOST done. Remove from heat, add corn, and salsa to pan and stir.

In baking dish, pour enough enchilada sauce to cover bottom. Place one flour tortilla in dish. Scoop and spread black bean mash on tortilla. Using a slotted spoon, scoop and spread shrimp/corn/salsa mixture on top of black beans. Shred (or add shredded) cheese to the dish. Add next tortilla and repeat black bean, shrimp mixture, cheese steps. Repeat till desired layers are reached. Pour half of remaining enchilada sauce, all over and around the tortillas. Flip top tortilla and pour the rest on dry side. Top with copious amounts of shredded cheese.

Place baking dish in oven at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Serve in wedges with dollops of lime infused guac and lime infused sour cream. Garnish with lime wedge and cilantro sprig.