Jen B's Cooking Carveout Breach of the Recipeace

Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure

2010-10-08T13:50:00.001-05:00

Please support a great cause. This should be more than enough inspiration...

The Birmingham Race for the Cure is Saturday, October 9th at 9am in Linn Park. Please find a local Race for the Cure event in your community and get involved. Today people.

A tribute ...

2010-05-31T08:57:00.004-05:00

to all who serve and have served this country on this Memorial Day! Thank you for your service and please come home safely. Especially you, bunches.

Yes, I know. Its been forever since I have posted. There has been A LOT going on lately (including a trip to Hawai'i) and my schedule has dramatically changed over the last month or so. But, I am trying to be better about posting. So...

Here is to the men and women who serve our country on this Memorial Day,

... and to it not being 3 months before my next blog posting.

CEIMB: Marinated Flank Steak with Blue Cheese Sauce

2010-02-11T14:19:00.002-06:00

The recipe this week was chosen by Blair of Deliciously Golden. I loved this recipe and will definitely be making it again. Despite flank steak's tendency to be tough, I thought this recipe turned out very tender. The marinade was great and really flavored the meat. Instead of serving the steak on radicchio, I served with a salad. My only complaint is with the blue cheese sauce - I thought it lacked a lot of flavor and I ended up doctoring it up a bit. Next time, I think I will just make the blue cheese dressing that goes with the buffalo blue cheese chicken salad from a couple of months back.

Thanks for a great pick this week Blair!

My new obsession...

2010-02-10T13:00:00.002-06:00

Dark chocolate is good for you, right?

Help support Jonah

2010-02-10T09:29:00.003-06:00

While I have never met the Williams family, they have an absolutely precious son, Jonah. Jonah is about to celebrate his FIRST birthday and in honor of his birthday, he's auctioning off some pretty good stuff. You see, Jonah was born with a rare skin condition, Epidermolysis Bullosa, or EB, and all the proceeds of the auction are going to support DebRA (the Dystrophic Epidermolysis Bullosa Research Association of America). Wow! What a great way to celebrate this little man's very special day and help support a fabulous organization that's trying to find a cure for this horrific disease.

You can check out Jonah's auction site here.

Jonah is only one of many children who is struggling with EB. Sam and Tripp as well as many other families and children are fighting this battle. Will you help them with their fight?

Feeling BLUE

2010-02-06T10:00:00.001-06:00

I have desperately wanting to do some shopping lately. Unfortunately, virtual shopping is all that is in the budget for this month. I'm loving these lovely blue (slate) finds! Modcloth - Frilly Madison dress

BB Dakota Tatum Stripe Top

Lirola Designs, Etsy

Alloy Asymmetrical Hoodie

Denim skirt with bow, Patkas - Etsy

And, I just can't resist this LBD!

Tier-Eyed, Shabby Apple

Friday Flowers

2010-02-05T13:50:00.005-06:00

Because its so unbelievable rainy and gloomy here today, I figured some colorful flowers would brighten everyone's day.

...and this is a lovely Anemone. I wish I had a green thumb and could grow pretty flowers!

Even though I have no plans, I am so looking forward to the weekend! Anybody have anything exciting planned?

CEIMB: Curried Chicken Salad

2010-02-04T10:00:00.002-06:00

The recipe this week was super easy to make -- which you all know makes me very happy! I had this for both lunch and dinner on Tuesday and thought it was great. Lunch was on a bed of mixed greens per the recipe and dinner was a chicken salad sandwich.

I ended up using curry paste instead of curry powder. I have only made a couple of dishes with curry powder and I just did not like the way either turned out. I'm curious to see if anyone else had this dilemma and what they decided to use. I'm guessing the powder would have been a milder flavor than the curry paste???

I liked how the chicken salad turned out though so no regrets! ...and I loved that there was hardly any mayo in this chicken salad!

Thanks to Sarah for a great, easy pick this week! It is definitely a fun, interesting way to jazz up chicken salad!

Wish list Wednesday

2010-02-03T10:00:00.000-06:00

What I am wishing for this Wednesday:

* Some art for the new kitchen. I think this print would be fabulous. A tribute to my dear black cats AND my love of cupcakes!

* a Dreamcakes cupcake. stat.

* some yummy tailgating food at a Superbowl party on Sunday

* for the un-hung crown molding sitting in the office to magically cut and hang itself in the kitchen, dining room, master and bathroom!

Is it just me or will this week never end! I am so looking forward to a relaxing weekend! Happy Wednesday y'all!

CEIMB: Emerald Stir Fry with Beef

2010-01-28T16:49:00.002-06:00

I have pictures to post from this week's recipe but not with me -- so that will be a separate post. The recipe this week was chosen by Alyssa of Alyssa's Two Bites. I was really excited about this recipe because I love me some stir fry! I thought the combination of vegetables was going to be interesting and very different from the usual onions, carrots, green peppers, and broccoli that I normally put in stir fry. I followed the recipe as written with the only change being the addition of some red pepper flakes and garlic to the beef while cooking and adding some Siracha to the sauce.

However, I hate to say that I was very disappointed with the results of this recipe. I thought overall it was very bland and lacked a lot of the richness stir fry usually has. In fact, I made a container of leftovers to eat for lunch yesterday and they are still sitting in the fridge. I opted for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich over the leftovers. Not a good sign.

I think this recipe has a lot of potential it just needs some major tweaking!

CEIMB: Arugula, carmelized onion, chicken, roasted red pepper and feta pizza

2010-01-16T11:20:00.003-06:00

So, I had quite a few additions to the recipe this week. I wanted to make the pizza hearty enough to have for dinner and since I am back to "running" I needed something more than arugula and onions. So, I added grilled chicken, garlic, and roasted red peppers. Plus, I used gyro wheat pita bread for the crust instead of just a wheat tortilla. Oh, and I substituted feta cheese for the goat cheese. Result -- I thought the pizza was fabulous. Although it took a little while to get all of the toppings prepared, the pizza turned out very well. I served the pizza with an arugula and tomato salad dressed with a lemon vinaigrette. So yummy! I will definitely be making this pizza again. Thanks Maria for a great pick this week!

CEIMB: Crab Cakes w/ Tarter Sauce

2009-12-23T09:39:00.003-06:00

I was hesitant about making this recipe because I have mixed feelings about crab cakes. Sometimes I love them -- sometimes I hate them. But in the spirit of the holidays I decided to give them a go (since I didn't have the excuse of not being able to find crab meat!)

I thought these crab cakes turned out great! I made the tarter sauce substituting Wickles for the pickles and I left out the capers. If you have never tried Wickles you should order some. They are sweet/ spicy pickles and are delish! Plus, I added a bit of lemon juice and some fresh dill to the tarter sauce. I will definitely be making these crab cakes again. Thanks to Bella Baker for choosing the recipe this week.

On a side note - yesterday was almost the perfect mail day. What, you don't know what a perfect mail day is! Well its a day when you get nothing in the mail other than Christmas cards! See, I am slightly obsessed with Christmas cards. I wish I was creative enough to come up with a cute picture for the Christmas cards. Last year, some people got cards of the cats in their Christmas outfits. However, I was afraid that the cat Christmas card was possibly crossing into crazy cat lady territory. So, this year I went back to holiday themed cards. Anyways, I digress. Yesterday I got 6 Christmas cards and 1 piece of junk mail in the mail. See -- almost the perfect mail day.

Merry Christmas to everyone!

Kitchen Picture post (sorry it took so long!)

2009-12-18T13:11:00.005-06:00

OK, so I know I promised pictures of my new kitchen forever ago, but I have been impatiently waiting for my cabinet folks (who shall go unnamed) to finish some of the cabinetry. Yes, it took them over three weeks, but who's counting anyways.

So, here are some before pictures (I know, it was hideous!)

Wait for it........

Here is the after. There are still little things that need finished but the big stuff is done! Yay for a "new" kitchen! I also have lots of in process pictures, but those are for another post.

Enjoy!

CEIMB: Maple Mustard Chicken

2009-12-17T14:23:00.003-06:00

The recipe this week was chosen by Tessa of Handle The Heat. Instead of using chicken thighs I used whole bone in breasts to keep the chicken moist. Then for serving, I cut the chicken off the bone. I thought the chicken turned out well and flavorful.

However, I violated one of my cooking cardinal rules and bought the chicken at walmart -- something I normally refuse to do. It was late last night and cold and I really didn't have the energy to stop at the grocery store after fighting the ridiculous lines at walmart! And they. were. ridiculous!

Nonetheless, the chicken was pretty good and I will definitely make this recipe again. Thanks for a great pick! (Ignore the messy plate, it was 8:30 and I was ready for dinner!)

Happy Holidays to all. May your family have a safe and happy holiday and a prosperous new year! (Oh, and the cats weren't cooperating for their christmas picture by the tree!)

CEIMB: Stuffed Potato Skins with Avacado Cream

2009-12-11T10:31:00.003-06:00

I'm Back! And I have really missed cooking! I know I am a little late on this post but with trying to get the house cleaned up from the kitchen and get the house decorated for Christmas, I haven't had a lot of extra time. ...and I haven't even started wrapping presents! I've got so much to do over the next 2 weeks. I do love this time of year though.

I made these potato skins last night and thought they were really good! They were tasty and not heavy and greasy like normal potato skins. And I really loved the avocado cream. The avocado cream would be a great dip with tortilla chips and other toppings like tomato and cheese!

While these were a little time consuming since I baked the potatoes in the oven, I will definitely be making them again!

Thanks Anne for picking this recipe!

THANKSgiving

2009-11-25T13:33:00.002-06:00

This Thanksgiving I am thankful for finally having a working kitchen! My new appliances were delivered this morning -- just in time for turkey day!

When I started the process of renovating my kitchen (pics coming soon), I just didn't realize how hard it would be to live without a kitchen. Fortunately, the old fridge was in the laundry room and I had a cozy little "kitchen" set up in the dining room. Granted this set up consisted of corner of the dining room table (which I tried in vain to keep clear of sawdust) and a microwave/ coffee maker sitting on the floor (don't judge) behind the dining room table. Yep, that's been my kitchen for the last month. If I never eat a frozen dinner again its too soon!

During this whole process I realized how much I appreciate the little things -- like not having to put on shoes to get something out of the fridge, not having to wash dishes in the bathroom sink, brewed (as opposed to instant) coffee, being able to do laundry at home, and coming home to a working kitchen sink and water!

I think my next renovation is a ways down the road!

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

CEIMB: Pumpkin Pie Muffins

2009-11-02T11:29:00.003-06:00

This was a fabulous "fall" recipe which was very easy to make. Plus, the muffins turned out fabulous (even though I left the pumpkin seeds off the top). I thought the muffins were very "gingerbready." In the future I will definitely add more cloves and nutmeg to bring out the pumpkin pie flavor.

CEIMB - Catch up picture post

2009-09-24T10:29:00.004-05:00

So, still crazy at work but here is at least proof that I have been cooking! These were all great recipes that I will definitely be making again.

Chicken BBQ Sandwiches

Mexican Pizza with guacamole

Sweet and Spicy Grilled Cheese

Chicken BBQ and Mexican Pizzas

2009-09-17T10:49:00.001-05:00

Hello all. Just a quick update. Work has been so busy that I have not had time to post. I made the Chicken BBQ last week and the Mexican Pizzas this week. I even took pictures that are on my iPhone somewhere! I promise I will post more soon. Hope everyone out there in the food blogging world is well.

These recipes were great! Try them!

Chicken Sate with spicy peanut dipping sauce

2009-08-27T08:50:00.003-05:00

The recipe this week was chosen by Cathy of The Tortfeasor. Check out her blog and not only will you see that she may be the wittiest person you will ever meet, like me, you may just believe she is superwoman! You see, Cathy's office is 2 doors down from mine (read, she has a very demanding job and isn't just one of those ladies who lunch (if you know what I mean!)) Cathy also has three of the cutest children ever. Plus, she is a member of at least 12 different blogging groups -- even going so far to make HOMEMADE bread! The closest thing to homemade bread I have ever made is (1) "whop-um" cinnamon rolls (you know the can ones that you have to whop against the counter to open) and (2) pizza dough. Neither of which are remotely close to the tedious knead, rise, punch down, rest, watch, wait 5 hours, rest, wait, rest, bake, etc. process of homemade bread.

So, all of this combined could mean only one thing -- this week's recipe of Chicken Sate with spicy peanut dipping sauce had to be super easy to throw together!! How else would Cathy have time to make it (ignoring the fact that I believe she has figured out how to have about 40 hours in each day!).

I changed up the recipe a little bit - mostly just leaving the coconut milk out of the marinade and I added more soy sauce to the dipping sauce than called for because I thought the sauce was a bit too thick (and peanutty for my taste). Also, I used ground ginger in place of the fresh ginger in both the marinade and the sauce. I marinated the chicken for about 4 hours then grilled on an indoor grill pan. I served the chicken sate with brown rice and some spicy sauteed broccoli.

Overall, I thought this dish was fabulous. It was very flavorful and relatively easy to throw together (despite the daunting list of ingredients). Plus, the sauce was so good with the brown rice.

Thanks Cathy for a great pick! I will definitely be making this again!

CEIMB: Grilled Thai Beed Salad

2009-08-20T08:18:00.003-05:00

The recipe this week was chosen by none other than myself! Yay for my recipe pick week! I was really excited about this salad and diligently put the steak in the marinade Sunday afternoon so that I could put the salad together quickly on Monday night. Well little did I know how crazy my Monday would be. By the time I got home after an extremely long day 12+ hour day at the office and a 2 hour meeting after work, I had one thing in mind -- eat as quickly as possible so I could go to sleep! Afterall, it was quickly approaching 9pm!

Luckily this salad was quick to put together (although washing and drying lettuce isn't my idea of a good time). I really liked the mix of the lettuce, cilantro and basil in the salad dressing. I didn't love the steak -- because even though it marinated for a good 30 hours - it still really did not have any flavor. I think the salad needed something - maybe a fruit or a nut or maybe some toasted ramen noodles??? What do y'all think?

I will definitely be making this salad again. I absolutely loved the dressing. I think it would be very tasty on noodles too!

Thanks for cooking with me this week everyone!

CEIMB: Stuffed Turkey Burgers

2009-08-13T06:00:00.000-05:00

Well after a few week hiatus I am so happy to be back in a routine of cooking somewhat healthy meals instead of eating out constantly! Plus, I was so excited to make the stuffed turkey burgers this week because the recipe was chosen by my dear friend Peggy of Pantry Revisited. Peggy is about to set off on a trip to Italy and I am so jealous! I hope you have a blast Peggy and drink lots of wine for me! I can't wait to hear all about your trip when you get back!

As for the turkey burgers, I thought they were really good. Typically I find ground turkey to be very bland, so I added a dash of Worcestershire sauce, some garlic powder, a shallot and a dash of red pepper flakes, along with the called for salt and pepper to the ground turkey mixture. I stuffed the burgers with sliced red peppers and mozzarella cheese and grilled the burgers. I served the turkey burger on a baked french bread roll with some tomatoes and arugula. These burgers were so very moist and flavorful. I will definitely be making them again. Thanks for picking a great recipe this week Peggy!

CEIMB: Impossible!

2009-08-06T09:37:00.003-05:00

Despite my best efforts, it was Impossible to get around to making the carrot cake muffins this week! They sound fabulous so I will definitely try to make them this weekend. My excuse, albeit a poor one- I was out of town all last week (struggling through some bankruptcy continuing legal education at the beach!) and I'm still playing catch up. Plus, I haven't been to the grocery in 2 weeks!

But, for a fun story to make this post a little less dull --last Friday night I had the privilege of meeting Robert Irvine of the Food Network's show Dinner Impossible! ...And while it was not Ellie (which would have been far more fitting for this blog) it was fun to meet Robert.

Robert owns and runs the restaurant EAT! in Hilton Head Island, SC in the Village at Wexford). Its mostly a tapas-style restaurant and it was fabulous! Check it out if you are ever in the area!

Proof!

CEIMB: Oven Baked Onion Rings

2009-07-23T08:31:00.005-05:00

The recipe this week was chosen by Meet me in the Kitchen. These onion rings were FABULOUS! Think bloomin onion without the sick greasy feeling you have after eating it! Seriously, these were so good and I will definitely be making them again. The recipe can be found here. Give them a try. I think you will love them too!

CEIMB: Aromatic Noodles with Peanut Lime Sauce

2009-07-16T08:59:00.003-05:00

The recipe this week was chosen by Supplicious. Head on over to Ms. Bethorama's blog to check out what she and the other CEIMB'ers thought about this dish!

As for me, I am a sucker for Asian noodle dishes. I LOVE THEM! Seriously, love them! This one was no exception, however I think it would be better cold -- and it was definitely better the next day.

I followed the recipe for the sauce -- adding slightly more soy sauce than called for as well as a couple of shakes of sesame oil. Next time around, I may reduce the peanut butter because I thought it was a little too peanut buttery.

I played a little substitution game on the vegetables. I used broccoli, carrots, edamame and snow peas. I tossed in some green onions along with the peanuts at the end. I added some grilled chicken and served it with wheat linguine and thought it was great! I will definitely be making this again. Thanks for picking a great recipe this week!

CEIMB: Shrimp Rolls

2009-07-09T08:50:00.002-05:00

The recipe this week was chosen by MacDuff of Lonely Sidecar. I really wasn't very excited about this recipe because shrimp salad typically is not my favorite. But I decided to give the recipe a go nonetheless.

I used shrimp and had the seafood guy steam them with lots and lots of Old Bay seasoning. The shrimp were pretty darn good! I diced the shrimp up for the salad and added fresh dill, cilantro and garlic to the recipe. I also only used about 1 TBS of mayo.

I served the shrimp salad on a toasted french bread roll (the hot dog bun just isn't up my alley when I think of good bread!)

Overall, the salad was okay. I'm very glad I added the fresh herbs, otherwise it would have been really bland. But after this recipe, I think I am sticking with chicken salad being the only meat salad that I like.

CEIMB: Breakfast Cookies a/k/a The Substitution Game

2009-07-02T08:55:00.003-05:00

The recipe this week was chasen by Natalie of Whats for Supper. I have been so busy lately that I was planning to skip this recipe. But, after some last minute convincing, I decided to give it a go. Besides, its a holiday weekend and cookies are acceptable...right???

However, I really didn't have a number of the ingredients called for in the recipe and I really refused to buy them! I mean after all -- is pastry flour that different from regular flour? I think not! So I took a gamble and substituted a number of the ingredients. I substituted:

wheat flour for the pastry flour
light brown sugar instead of dark brown sugar

instant oats instead of regular oats (oh crap, as I am typing this I am realizing that I completely forgot the oats!) Oh well!

Vanilla Almond Special K for the bran cereal

craisins instead of the nuts (since i already had almonds from the cereal)

Overall, I thought the cookies turned out really well. Granted, I have no idea what they are supposed to taste like given all the substitutions and the forgetting of the oats! I am just glad I have some cookies -- because making these cookies was really a disaster.

How was making cookies a disaster you say. Well -- in digging for the nutmeg, I knocked a number of other spices out of the cabinet and the glass bottles they were in broke (mess # 1). I then managed to spill just about an entire bottle of vanilla down the front and corner of my lower kitchen cabinets (mess # 2). Then there was the whole baby food debacle. I bought the smallest jar of carrot baby food I could find. Yes, there were smaller jars, but they were all some horrific combination of fruits and veggies like: carrots and bananas; carrots and green beans; carrots and sweet potatoes. YUCK! Now I know why babies are always spitting their food out. Those combinations sound just plain gross.

Anyways - back to the small jar of baby food. The recipe said 1/4 cup (1 small jar) of baby food. Well the jar of baby food I bought was 4 oz. Is it just me or is that 1/2 a cup? So I debated for a long time whether to use the entire jar of baby food as the recipe said or just half of it which would have been 1/4 cup or 2 oz. Finally, I just said screw it and dumped the entire jar of baby food in the bowl. I don't understand anything "baby"!!!

But, I did finally manage to make the cookies. Here they are. They were yummy -- however I don't know how I feel about eating them for breakfast. They did make a nice after dinner dessert though!

Thanks Natalie for picking this recipe this week. I will definitely be making my substituted version of these cookies again.

CEIMB: Jambalaya

2009-06-18T08:43:00.002-05:00

This week the recipe was chosen by Anonymous New York. I'll be honest -- until now the only jambalaya I had ever made was out of a Zattaran's box. And, as you all probably guessed, its not very good. So, I went into to this recipe with slightly mixed feelings. Do I like jambalaya -??? Well maybe, but I definitely didn't really like the kind I have eaten my whole life.

However, I was pleasantly surprised by this recipe. I had read some of the comments which said the jambalaya was a little bland, so I decided to replace the ham with andoille sausage. Also, I added a bit more chicken stock than the recipe called for as I didn't want the jambalaya to get too dry.

The verdict - I loved this recipe (and the cats loved the shrimp!). I thought it was very flavorful and nice and spicy (thanks to the andoille sausage). I liked the jambalaya so much that I brought some to work for lunch and even offered some to Peggy (of Pantry Revisited) to taste because she seemed a little skeptical of the recipe. The tasting didn't go quite as I thought it would! Head on over to Peggy's blog to read what happened. Sorry, Pegs.

Thanks Anonymous New York for picking a great recipe this week! I will definitely be making it again.

CEIMB: Double Chocolate Pudding Pie

2009-06-11T09:03:00.003-05:00

The recipe this week was chosen by Tessa of Handle the Heat. Head on over to Tessa's blog to see how this pie turned out!

As for my pie, I was all set to make it last night. Then I remembered I had work "junk" after work. So, but the time I got home at 8:30 the pudding pie had become just pudding. So, as I am getting everything together I realized that I failed miserably at getting all of the things I needed at the grocery store. There was no gelatin and all the baking chocolate that's normally in the cabinet was GONE! I guess the cats decided they needed an afternoon snack one day and ate it! So, needless to say, despite my best efforts, neither the pudding or the pie got made last night. I am hopefully going to make this this weekend and will post about it then. I can't wait to see how all the other pies turned out.

CEIMB: Thai-style halibut with coconut curry broth

2009-05-21T06:33:00.002-05:00

The recipe this week was chosen by Liz of The Not So Skinny Kitchen. Sorry to all, but this is going to be a super quick post as this week is super-hectic. I pretty much followed the recipe completely - used frozen halibut and the curry powder. Also, only had about 2-3 TBS of cilantro because I had to cut it out of my herb garden (which has just finally started growing!) Yay for me - I grew something!

I was actually excited about this recipe because I really love Thai food and I thought it was going to be an ode to it. However, in my opinion the result was very disappointing. I thought the dish was really bland and fishy (I hate fishiness!) Maybe it was the curry powder instead of the curry paste. Maybe it was the lite coconut milk or the lack of the entire called-for amount of cilantro. The one thing I know is that the cats definitely liked this recipe more than I did!

I hope everyone else's dish turned out better than mine. Check out all of the CEIMB blogs to see what other thought.

CEIMB: Jerk Chicken with Cool Pineapple Salsa

2009-05-14T07:12:00.003-05:00

The recipe this week was chosen by Jen B of Notes from the Table. Let me first say this recipe was fabulous! It was a huge hit at my house. Plus, it was super easy! I was somewhat skeptical about the pineapple and cucumber mixture -- but it was really good!

I substituted a serrano pepper and some cayenne powder for the habanero pepper. I once experimented with a habanero, but it didn't play nice. So, habaneros don't get invited to play group at my house anymore! I think the substitution still provided a nice level of heat, but it wasn't too hot (like the chipotles in adobo sauce were!) Also, I left the mint out of the salsa.

The chicken had a great spicy flavor and the pineapple salsa made the dish absolutely perfect. I loved this recipe and will definitely be making it again.

Great pick this week Jen B. Hope your vacation was great!

CEIMB: Garden Risotto

2009-05-07T09:04:00.003-05:00

The recipe this week was chosen by Jessica of A Singleton in the Kitchen. The recipe sounded easy enough -- granted by now you think I would have learned that if the recipe says it will take 18 minutes to cook - it will take no less than 45 minutes! Why is it that every time I make risotto it takes so long to cook?

Well I stopped off at the Western on my way home from work to pick up some asparagus for this recipe. Also grabbed a little fish as I was struggling with what to eat with the risotto.

As for the risotto, I followed the recipe for the most part. I cheated and used pre-made stock (after all -- who has time to make their own stock???). Also, I added a shallot along with an onion at the beginning and then some red pepper flakes to the risotto along with some salt and pepper while it was cooking. Also, I substituted Romano cheese for the Parmesan.

Overall, I thought the Risotto turned out great. I really liked the combination of veggies. The risotto paired nicely with baked fish and some crusty bread. Thanks Jessica for picking a great recipe this week.

Ode to Friday

2009-05-01T09:23:00.002-05:00

There really is nothing better on a Friday morning that a good cup of coffee! Well, having the day off would be nice too -- but that is wishful thinking!

Happy Friday ya'll!

CEIMB: Turkey Meatballs with Quick and Spicy Tomato Sauce and Linguine

2009-04-30T08:24:00.002-05:00

The recipe this week was chosen by Oddball Oven Mitt. I thought this was a great recipe that was really simple to make.

I used ground turkey breast which was somewhat of a mistake because it made the meatballs a bit dry. Also, I used one 28oz can of crushed tomatoes - they weren't fire roasted because such combination did not exist at the Publix. I also used one small can of fire roasted diced tomatoes. Also, in place of the chipotle, I used cayenne pepper and red pepper flakes. I pretty much followed the remaining parts of the recipe!

Notwithstanding all of the chopping, this was a really easy recipe to make. It was very flavorful and very filling. I served it over linguine. I wish I liked wheat pasta, but I just don't. It always turns out gummy -- like overcooked pasta. Yuck!

Thanks for choosing a great recipe this week! I will definitely be making this sauce again. Next time though, I will probably skip the meatballs and just put the meat in the sauce.

CEIMB: Balsamic Chicken with Spinach and Couscous

2009-04-23T09:20:00.004-05:00

The recipe this week was chosen by Marthe of Culinary Delights. I was really excited about this recipe because (1) it sounded great; (2) it looked incredibly easy (which it was); and (3) I have not eaten or cooked couscous so I was excited to give it a go.

I followed the recipe for the most part. I added more garlic than the recipe called for. Also I used regular spinach because I'm frugal and didn't want to fork out the extra dollar for baby spinach. Besides is there really a difference between spinach and baby spincach (other than the size of the leaves?) Also, I used the entire can of tomatoes in the balsamic sauce, doubled the balsamic vinegar, and added a bit of red pepper, salt and pepper to the sauce as it was cooking. Ok, so maybe I didn't follow the recipe at all!

With respect to the couscous, I used the extra chicken broth to make the couscous and I thought it turned out great (granted, I assume I majorly cheated by using 5 minute couscous!) But once again, having never eaten real couscous, I really didn't figure I would be able to tell the difference!

The result -- I loved the couscous. Its definitely something I will make regularly as a side dish for dinner. The balsamic chicken was just so-so for me. I thought it really lacked flavor. In fact, the only flavor I got from the dish was in the spinach. So, the recipe as a whole was somewhat of a disappointment. I can't wait to see what everyone else thought and what people did to jazz the recipe up a bit.

Thanks Marthe for picking the recipe this week and introducing me to couscous!

CEIMB: No Post this week :(

2009-04-16T09:44:00.003-05:00

This week's recipe of Lamb Stew with Orange was chosen by Confessions of a Novice Baker. While, I am sure this dish is lovely, I just couldn't force myself to make it - mostly because I am just not a lamb eater! Check out all the CEIMB blogs to see what others thought of this recipe.

And for the record, I have not been completely lazy this week. Last night I cooked filets with blue cheese butter. The blue cheese butter made the steaks (which I just seared on the stove, and then finished them off in the oven/ broiler). No pictures of the steak because by the time it was ready I was starving... literally. For dessert, I made a pear tarte...crisp...giant danish?? I have no idea what to call this creation. And, it really was a creation as there was no recipe involved.

For the filling, I used cream cheese, lemon zest, lemon juice, vanilla, vanilla powder, orange marmalade and a dash of sugar. I topped a piece of puff pastry with the filling, covered with slices of fresh pears, and then topped with a sprinkle of sugar and some more orange marmalade. It was delicious!

Pre-baking (and also pre-marmalade and sugar topping)

A slice of the finished product!

CEIMB: Salmon with Sweet and Spicy (burned brown sugar) Rub

2009-04-10T10:18:00.004-05:00

I'm very late posting this week due to a hectic week of birthday celebrations (happy birthday to me!), travel and going to see Wicked (again)! But, I finally had time to cook last night!

This week's recipe of salmon with sweet and spicy rub was chosen by Pam of Lobsters and Fishsticks. This was the first time I have ever cooked salmon. Salmon is one of those fish that I always thought was too fishy and therefore, would never order it out, much less cook it! Well, after reading what everyone had to say about the recipe and how this fish was not fishy with the rub, I decided to give it a go! Besides, who doesn't love when dinner is ready in about 5 minutes flat! Granted, the quick cooking time was a result of letting my pan get WAY TOO HOT! Hence, the slightly (ok, very charred) sugar on top of the fish. I definitely lost some of the rub's flavor with the charring, but thought that the fish turned out great! It was a very satisfying meal and definitely felt healthy! I really liked the flavor of the rub and I will definitely make this again. Next time will try to refrain from burning the heck out of the poor piece of fish!

Thanks Pam for picking a great weeknight recipe! Oh, and side note -- if you have never seen Wicked, you should definitely try to catch the show while its on its second national tour! I saw it 3 years ago in Atlanta and it was even better the second time around!

CEIMB: Buffalo Chicken Salad with Blue Cheese Dressing

2009-04-02T05:00:00.000-05:00

This week's recipe was chosen by You Eat Now and it was so good! I guess I first have to admit that I LOVE hot wings! I love hot wings so much that once my friend Laura and I went to Hooters one Friday after work to get wings! Seriously, its an obsession. I used to make hot wings all the time. Not so much anymore though because they are SO UNHEALTHY, plus I really have to stay away from fried food.

So, this recipe was the perfect thing to satisfy the void in my life left by the loss of my dear friend Hot Wings.

I followed the recipe except for substituting red wine vinegar in place of champagne vinegar. I must admit, I was a little bit skeptical about the blue cheese dressing. Not only am I a lover of hot wings, but I also love blue cheese dressing. Every now and again I splurge and get blue cheese on a salad or can even be found eating strait blue cheese!

After mixing up the dressing, I thought it was very "yogurty". All that yummy blue cheese and all I could taste was the durn yogurt. Side note, have you all bought more plain yogurt since joining the CEIMB blog than you had previously bought in your whole life?? Maybe its just me. I love yogurt, but I always buy flavored yogurt. Plain yogurt = blah!

Anyways, back to the dressing. I was skeptical. Well once the chicken was marinated in hot sauce (yum), broiled and added to the delish salad with lots of celery, I definitely couldn't taste as much of the yogurt in the dressing. In fact, I thought the combination was just plain fabulous! I will definitely be making this recipe again!

CEIMB: Chicken with Mango Barbecue Sauce

2009-03-26T09:24:00.002-05:00

This week's chicken with mango barbecue sauce was chosen by Aggie of Aggie's Kitchen. I was super excited about this recipe because I love barbecue sauce and I was so excited to make my own! This sauce was very different than I imagined it would be at the outset but it was really good. The sauce was much thicker than I thought it would be. I substituted a green pepper for the red pepper and I used about a tablespoon of tomato paste and a splash of water in place of the tomato sauce. Otherwise, I pretty much stuck to the recipe. Maybe the changes resulted in a very thick sauce? I cant wait to see how everyone's sauce turned out!

I baked my chicken instead of grilling it. I was too tired to tackle cleaning the grill pan after cooking the chicken so I opted for the easy way. I baked the chicken in a covered dish for about 40 minutes and then finished it off under the broiler! It was excellent! The cats loved it!

Plus, I am using the extra barbecue sauce today to make barbecue pork. I left the pork and sauce cooking in the crock pot today. I can't wait to get home and see how it turned out!

Aggie, thanks for picking a fabulous recipe this week!

CEIMB: Greek Style Stuffed Peppers or Cooking Disaster...you be the judge

2009-03-19T09:21:00.003-05:00

The recipe this week was chosen by Ali of The Healthy Hostess. I was excited about a stuffed peppers recipe because the stuffed peppers I usually make tend to be very boring ...onions, ground turkey breast, squash, zucchini, salt pepper, red pepper flakes, and a little melted Swiss or mozzarella cheese. They are good, but not very exciting.

So, needless to say, I was excited about a new recipe that changed things up a bit. I even went out on a limb and bought bulger wheat. I still don't know what it is, but I am the proud owner of virtually an entire box of it!!

As for the recipe -- I used ground chicken because Publix was all out of ground turkey breast. I also substituted diced tomatoes for stewed tomatoes. I didn't even realize this was a substitution until my dear friend Peggy explained the difference to me the other day. Thanks Peggy! So come to find out I use and will continue using diced tomatoes in everything I make. Really, the diced v. stewed thing is something I just don't have time for! So, other than these 2 changes, I think I followed the recipe to a T. I made the peppers on Sunday night and got them all ready to go for baking on Monday night. Monday night I rushed home and added the tomatoes and feta and threw the tomatoes in the oven. 70 minutes passed, 90 minutes passed and at the 2 hour mark, I finally decided to call them done. They were brown on top and looked very delicious. Granted, cat food was starting to sound pretty good by that point too. So, I sliced into the pepper and started eating it. My first impression was that it was very bland -- nothing that some salt and pepper couldn't fix. I also thought that the meat mixture turned out a little dry and dense. So, even though it wasn't not my favorite stuffed pepper, it would fill a hollow space and I wasn't going to complain too much. That is until I realized that the meat mixture in the peppers was no where close to being cooked -- in fact it was still raw ground chicken! Great, I thought -- just what I need...salmonella. So, into the trash the peppers went.

I think I will stick to my boring old stuffed peppers recipe, because there was way too much disaster involved with this one for me to ever think about making it again. Plus, I usually cook everything before stuffing the peppers which eliminates the "still raw in the middle" possibility.

Thanks Ali for picking this recipe. I hope everyone else had more luck with their stuffed peppers than I did!

Luckily, for desert I had one last lava cake to eat! I will have to post a picture of this creation later! Oh, and no sickness to report after eating not just raw chicken, but raw ground chicken. Im counting my lucky stars!

CEIMB - Fish Tacos with Chipotle Cream

2009-03-12T05:00:00.000-05:00

This week's recipe of fish tacos with chipotle cream was chosen by Nick, Sarah and Geoff from Imafoodblog. I have always been somewhat skeptical of fish tacos. I am not sure why, but I am. I'm somewhat picky about fish...so maybe that leads to not so much wanting to order a fish taco. People always say they are good, but eh, if they are...I have always decided that I would just have to miss out. The cats are much more a fan of fish than I am. They were super excited about another seafood pick!

Well in the spirit of being a good food blogger, I decided to give the fish tacos a go. And I must say, maybe fish tacos aren't so bad. In fact, they are really good. Chipotle peppers in adobo sauce are SPICY!!!! I mean wow...who knew??? I slapped a tablespoon or so of sauce on the taco (in an attempt to cover up the fishiness) and I wanted to cry my mouth was so on fire!!! Note to self...a small amount of sauce will do.

I used tillapia and added some avocado and tomatoes to the mix of veggies decorations for the tacos. While they are somewhat different, I am glad I decided to make them. I can't wait to see what everyone else has to say about the tacos!

Now I just have to figure out what to do with 28 more corn tortillas!! Enchiladas??? Any other suggestions?

Thanks to Imafoodblog for picking fish tacos this week. Maybe I will actually go out on a limb and order them at a restaurant sometime soon!

CEIMB - Sesame Stir Fried Chinese Greens

2009-03-04T20:34:00.003-06:00

This week's recipe of Sesame Stir Fried Chinese Greens was chosen by Joanne of Apple Crumbles. I must first admit that I had no idea what bok choy looked like. I was dilligently reading the veggie signs in Publix trying to locate said bok choy. As soon as I found, I immediately knew that I was not going to like it. Why you ask -- because it wasn't firm, but it wasn't soft either. Its a texture thing.

I thought the bok choy itself was very bland. I just realized that I forgot to put the sesame seeds on top of the bok choy. Maybe they would have added some flavor, but they would not have changed the unfortunate texture of the bok choy. I now know what the one veggie I always pick out of chinese food is!

On a positive note, I really liked the mixture of soy sauce, rice wine vinegar and sesame oil. The combination would be great on stir fry veggies. Thanks Joanne for the recipe pick this week. While bok choy is not my favorite veggie, I definitely like the stir fry sauce and will try it on other vegetables.

CEIMB: Shrimp with Feta and Tomatoes

2009-02-26T09:17:00.003-06:00

The week's recipe of Shrimp with Feta and Tomatoes was chosen by Pamela of Cookies with Boys. This was one of the recipes I was eyeing a few weeks back when it was my turn to choose the sacred recipe of the week. While it sounded good, I just couldn't decide how I felt about shrimp and feta together. I love them each separately...but together???? I really was not sure. Well let me tell you that shrimp and feta are FABULOUS together! I absolutely loved this recipe and it was so so easy to whip together on a week night. I stopped off at Publix on the way home to grab some shrimp and feta and I was good to go.

As to the actual recipe, I only used one can of tomatoes instead of the two cans called for. In place of the other can of tomatoes I used about 1.5-2 Tablespoons of tomato paste, 3/4 to a cup of white wine and then just a splash of water to ensure that there was enough sauce. Also, I used dried dill and parsley instead of fresh herbs. I reduced the amount of herbs, but really though the dried herbs along with the tomato paste gave the dish a really deep flavor. I was torn over whether to serve the shrimp over pasta or crusty bread. I decided on making a little bit of both and they were both great!! I liked the linguine because it added substance to the dish. The buttery crusty bread was great for soaking up all the tomato sauce and feta!

Thanks Pamela for picking a fabulous recipe this week! This is definitely something I will make again and again!!

CEIMB -Sesame Teriyaki Chicken Thighs

2009-02-12T10:19:00.002-06:00

The recipe this week was chosen by Jessica of Johnstone's Vin Blanc. This recipe was very easy to make and very yummy!! I am usually not a fan of chicken thighs, but I found some skinless, boneless thighs and decided to give them a try. I also cooked a boneless chicken breast in case I didn't like the thighs. I love, loved the marinade. It was so easy to make and the chicken was so flavorful after sitting in the marinade for about an hour. I was a little worried about broiling the chicken since the broiler in my oven is about 2 inches from the flame!!! Yikes! No worries though, the chicken cooked very quickly and turned out great. I definitely liked the boneless chicken breast better than the chicken thighs. Thanks for picking a great recipe this week. I will definitely make this again and again!!

CEIMB - Warm Spinach and Artichoke Dip

2009-02-05T12:28:00.002-06:00

This week Cathy of The Tortefeasor chose Warm Spinach and Artichoke Dip! Great pick for Superbowl weekend. However, I am such a slacker this week and did not have time to make this recipe. I have been in Delaware all week tromping through the snow and didn't get around to cooking anything this week.

Cathy and I work together and hands down, Cathy is the funniest person I have ever met. Seriously, if you are not laughing by the time you finish reading any one of her blog posts, something is seriously wrong with you! Cathy, I am so sorry I am such a slacker this week. I will have to bring you cookies and a various assortment of cooking items to make this one up to you!

I hope everyone enjoyed the recipe!

CEIMB - Sage Rubbed Pork Chops with Warm Apple Slaw

2009-01-29T05:00:00.001-06:00

Well I am so excited because this week 's recipe was chosen by none other than moi! I feel like I just joined the CEIMB blog...so picking the recipe is a BIG DEAL! I picked the sage-rubbed pork chops with warm apple slaw because I have been eyeing the recipe just about every time I open up the cookbook. I had made a version of the pork chops before and thought they were fabulous, but I had never made the pork chops and the slaw together. And I must say...I was not disappointed. So, what did everyone think about the pork chops??? I can't wait to read and find out!

Overall, the pork chops were great. The slaw was good...but next time, I would probably go back to just making the pork chops....or maybe I could alter the slaw recipe a bit.

I did however, think that this recipe was really good and very easy to make. There are definitely a couple things I would change, but they are very minor things. Mostly, I wish I would have waited to add the apples until closer to the end so that they remained firm...and not completely disintegrated in the sauce. You think I would have thought about this when I was cooking on Sunday...but after making veggie soup and a ham and spinach quiche...apparently I was tired of cooking! Dare I say such thing on a cooking blog?!?! Please fellow bloggers, do not disown me. Or maybe I had been brainwashed by the cats...because they were much more interested in the pork than the slaw! I guess we will go with the former.
I hope everyone enjoyed this recipe! I sure did. Thanks for letting me be a part of the CEIMB blog! Its so much fun cooking with everyone each week!

CEIMB - Chicken Cacciatore

2009-01-22T05:00:00.001-06:00

This week's recipe of chicken cacciatore was chosen by Peggy of Pantry Revisited. Peggy and I work together so I was super excited about fixing a recipe that one of our own picked! Well after hearing that this recipe was a little bit bland as fixed per the recipe, I had to figure out a way to spice things up. So, instead of regular tomatoes, I used Rotel tomatoes. After all, Rotel tomatoes may be my favorite canned food item...ever.

The can of Rotel wasn't quite as large as the recipe called for, so I added a bit of tomato paste for some extra flavor. Also, I used baby bella mushrooms instead of white mushrooms. Otherwise, I essentially followed the recipe -- shocking, I know! Well, actually I slightly reduced the amount of red pepper flakes. I didn't want the chicken to be too spicy to eat!

While the rotel made the dish a little bit spicy, I thought it gave the cacciatore a great flavor. It definitely wasn't bland. Thanks Peggy for picking a GREAT, hearty recipe that was easy to make on a weeknight. I really like it, as did the cats, so I will definitely be making this recipe again.

CEIMB - Beef Tenderloin with Rosemary and Chocolate

2009-01-15T08:00:00.001-06:00

Let me start out by saying hands down this is the best CEIMB recipe that I have made so far! Seriously, I absolutely loved it. This week's recipe of Beef Tenderloin with Rosemary and Chocolate was chosen by Amanda of Beckett Bakes It.

I substituted filets for a whole beef tenderloin (mostly because that was all Publix had and I refuse to go to multiple grocery stores for a weeknight meal!) Also, I only put 1 tsp of the cocoa powder in the sauce instead of the called for 1 TBS. The sauce was already so good, so I didn't want to spoil it with the cocoa.

Overall, the recipe was very easy to make. I let my sauce cook for about an hour and a half and it had barely reduced, so it was probably a bit runnier than the recipe envisioned. Also, I followed the internal temperature guidelines in the recipe and it resulted in much closer to well done beef than medium rare. Good thing I had the sauce!

Thanks Amanda for choosing a GREAT recipe! I am so glad I made the recipe this week!

CEIMB Fried Rice

2009-01-08T20:20:00.003-06:00

You like fried rice? I like fried rice. This week's recipe was Tofo and Edamame Fried Rice chosen by Running with Food. I made a few substitutions with the recipe. I substituted chicken for the tofu. Also, I left out the corn and added carrots instead. I thought the fried rice tasted great--but I managed to cook my rice too long.

After all the traveling over the last week I still haven't really got my head back on strait. So, I completely missed the part of the recipe that said to cook the edamame according to package directions. Of course I realized this only after I added the edamame to the pan full of browning garlic, ginger, green onions, etc. So, to make sure the edamame actually got cooked, I dumped the rice on top of it and let it steam for a few minutes. This worked to get the edamame cooked, but resulted in somewhat mushy rice. Maybe the rice would have been mushy anyways...who knows. I'm not really a fan of rice so I rarely cook it. Maybe brown rice is always a bit mushy??? Thoughts?

Thanks for picking a great recipe that was really easy to make on a weeknight!

Oh, and I almost forgot. The answers to the questions from last week and new questions.

Answers:
Question No. 1 - Biscotti (I thought this one was a dead giveaway since we made biscotti last week!)
Question No. 2 - Cornstarch
Question No. 3 - 3 Tablespoons

New Questions.
Question No. 4 - What "pizza herb" has a peppery flavor and a hint of pine?

Question No. 5 - What course follows the salad course and is served before the dessert in European-style dining?

Question No. 6 - What category of nutrient has the most calories per gram - fat carbohydrate, protein or alcohol?

Fried Rice

2009-01-08T13:37:00.001-06:00

Seeing as how I have spent the last week on the road, I am a little bit behind on my cooking. I am going to make the fried rice tonight and will post about it later. I've heard its supper yummy so I am looking forward to trying it out!

CEIMB - Chocolate Cherry-Almond Biscotti

2009-01-01T05:00:00.002-06:00

The recipe this week was chosen by Enjoying my Favorite Things. I love love biscotti, but have never made it before so I was really excited about the recipe. Plus, having fallen into a super big black hole (aka work and Christmas whatnots) and having been MIA over the last few weeks, I was excited to jump back into the blogging world.

The recipe was really easy to make. My only issue was that I used extra virgin olive oil since it was all I had in the pantry. However, the strong olive oil taste really comes through in the finished biscotti. Otherwise, no major catastrophes on this recipe. In fact, I am sitting here enjoying some biscotti and coffee while I type.

Thanks to Enjoying My Favorite Foods for picking a great recipe!

Also, one of my super cool friends gave me a game for Christmas called "Foodie Fight"! Its essentially trivial pursuit for food lovers! Seeing as how there aren't too many people in my life that love all things related to cooking, baking and food - I figured I would get a little game going on the blog! So for fun each week I will post some questions, we can have a virtual food fight and perhaps we will learn a little too.

Question No. 1. (well start with a gimme)

What dipping cookies are traditionally served with Italian vin santo (holy wine)?

Question No. 2

What thickener will actually thin under conditions of too much heat, vigorous stirring, or a too-long cooking time?

Question No. 3

How much juice will a medium lemon yield - about 2 tablespoons, 3 tablespoons or 1/4 cup?

Happy New Year everyone!

CEIMB - Cornmeal-Crusted Roasted Vegetable Ratatouille Tart

2008-12-11T06:00:00.000-06:00

The Wiivers chose Cornmeal-Crusted Roasted Veggie Ratatouille this week. I was ever so close to not making this recipe-mostly because it sounded complicated and time consuming (after all it took up two whole pages in the cookbook), and because there seemed to be a number of ingredients which I didn't have. But...after hearing that this recipe was great, I added a few more items to the grocery list...like cornmeal, whole wheat baking flour (???), eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes...you know, pretty much everything in the recipe.

Well, the recipe wasn't as complicated as I first thought. It did however require a number of different steps -- and we all know how much I hate following recipes! I ended up substituting regular all-purpose flour for the whole wheat baking flour because (1) a 5lb bag of whole wheat flour was $5; (2) the recipe only called for 1/3 a cup of said whole wheat flour, and (3) what would I do with the other 4.99lbs of whole wheat flour. I'm pretty sure you couldn't tell a difference given the strong presence of cornmeal in the crust! I also substituted olive oil for canola oil.

The crust mixed together nicely. And I survived the flashback to the four pie crusts I made in my teeny-tiny food chopper at Thanksgiving.

The crust perhaps turned out a bit thin since my tart pan is 11". Also, the sides aren't removable so I was a little bit concerned about getting the tart out of the pan once it cooked.

Overall, I thought the ratatouille was great. It had a great flavor and the tart didn't fall apart too much while trying to get it out of the pan. Although I am not such a fan of eggplant, I did like it in the tart.

Oskar, who loves to be in the kitchen while I cook patiently watched the whole process unfold. There is a reason I call him Ratatouille!

In other exciting news Santa brought me a new dishwasher last week. Apparently Santa decided to come early (and also that I had not been good enough to get said convection range that I had put on my list to Santa). Thank you Santa!

Its so nice to have a dishwasher model that isn't as old as I am! Now if only the rest of my kitchen wasn't from 1975!!!

CEIMB - Jewel Roasted Vegetables

2008-12-04T04:00:00.000-06:00

Marie from A Year from Oak Cottage choose Jewel Roasted Vegetables this week. I must admit this is the first time I have ever even contemplated fixing brussel sprouts and beets. I had had brussel sprouts once before and I must say, they left a lot to be desired. My friend Melinda had fixed them for dinner so I kindly ate two, yes just two. Beets on the other hand are something I am at least familiar with. When I was growing up my dad would always eat pickled beats out of a jar. ...And once I had fresh beets on a salad at Highlands Bar and Grill. If you are ever in the Birmingham area - you should definitely try to get a reservation at Highlands -- or just go sit at the Bar and talk to the assorted variety of characters that frequent the place. Warning -dinner may cost you a small fortune, but its totally worth it.

But back to beets. I at least will eat beets. I'm not sure I would call us old pals, but I can tolerate them. Needless to say, on a typical trip to the produce section of the grocery store, I would steer more towards broccoli, salad, green beans, mushrooms, asparagus or maybe even squash - never to beets or brussel sprouts. Eww. So, much like adding squash to macaroni and cheese I was really going out on a limb fixing a baking dish full of brussels and beets. Thank goodness my good friend the carrot got to come to the party. And to really get wild I added a red onion to the mix of veggies. Excellent decision on my part!
Overall, this recipe was very easy to fix. Granted, the peeling of the beets would not have made anyone with the slightest culinary talents proud. While I am pretty certain I do not like brussel sprouts, the rest of the veggies were good. I will definitely make this again (provided I have a two+ hour of time open for the roasting!)

Four Five Cheese Macaroni

2008-11-26T14:00:00.006-06:00

This week's recipe of Four Cheese Macaroni was chosen by Mrs. Bethorama at Supplicious. I must admit, I was pretty darn excited about macaroni and cheese - especially a mac and cheese with so much cheese. Although the addition of the squash was somewhat bizarre, I figured that the extra liquid would help keep the mac and cheese all ooey and goey.

My verson of the CEIMB weekly selection is sponsored by Publix.
And thank goodness for Publix because that was the ONLY frozen pureed squash that I could find in the grocery store. While I was pacing up and down the frozen food isle in search for the lovely frozen pureed squash - for the briefest moment I contemplated making my own fresh pureed squash. Then I snapped back to reality and realized that a gal who works 60 hours a week doesn't have time to puree squash. So the hunt continued. And finally I located the treasured Publix cooked squash! I have no idea whether it was pureed winter squash, but it was pureed. Success. Granted, in the time it took me to locate said box of winter squash, I probably could have pureed my own - but really that's neither here nor there.

So, I started cooking but was briefly interrupted by the floor guy coming to measure my kitchen for new flooring. YAY! Stay tuned on that saga. Good thing boiling water and defrosting squash are much more patient than I am!
Now, on to the cheese. I must admit while I was excited by the four cheeses already in the recipe, I just couldn't resist adding more cheese. I had some gruyere cheese in the fridge, so I added about one ounce of it to the mix. After some elbow grease, I finally had all the cheese grated! However, I think something is wrong with my rationale on this one....

After the squash was defrosted, I added the milk, simmered as per the recipe, and then added the spices and the cheese. I didn't have any dry mustard on hand, so I used some of the Dijon I purchased for last week's oven-fried chicken. I probably added about 2-3 teaspoons of the Dijon. Oh, and I am so excited about my new jar of Cayenne Pepper. This jar is much much smaller than the old one. I wonder how long it will take me to finish off this puppy???

Well I finally got everything mixed together and added the sauce to the cooked macaroni that was patiently waiting in the baking dish.

Note-this is only HALF of the recipe!!! I decided against making a full recipe and freezing half of it for next week. However, I should have frozen half of the half that I made because this is still A LOT of mac and cheese. I added the topping and baked the mac and cheese for about 35 minutes in a 375ish degree oven. It still wasn't bubbling around the edges, but the rest of dinner was ready, so in the broiler it went. My oven is somewhat temperamental (ok, very temperamental), and its gas (which isn't properly calabrated), so using the broiler (or the oven for that matter) is always a bit tricky. Santa, if you are reading this...I would love a new convection oven for Christmas - Kenmore Elite, stainless steel, 30", gas, 5 burners. I put the mac and cheese under the broiler for less than a minute - probably more like 40 seconds - but the breadcrumbs came out of the oven looking more like burnt toast than breadcrumbs and cheese. Note to self, breadcrumbs and direct flames are not a good mix. (The result wasn't very pretty , hence no finished picture of the entire dish!)
Well after all this effort , I must say I was a little disappointed by the mac and cheese. I thought the squash overpowered the entire dish. And despite all the cheese I added, I could barely taste it. I also was not a very big fan of the texture. Perhaps I added to much ricotta cheese. I put about 3 heaping tablespoons of it in the cheese mixture. Maybe the addition of this much ricotta dried the mac and cheese out. Even the cats were not a fan of the mac and cheese. The decided to hide/ sleep as opposed to partaking in the fruits of my labor.

To accompany the mac and cheese I made a variation of the pork recipe on page 194 of the Food You Crave. The fresh sage and garlic on a thin cut pork chop was fabulous. I deglazed the pan with some chicken stock and made a sauce to go over the pork. Served with a salad, this was a well balanced dinner.

Thanks Supplicious for choosing mac and cheese. It definitely was not my favorite mac and cheese, but I am glad I stepped out and tried something different. Is it sad that my favorite mac and cheese is made by Kraft? Don't judge.

My first CEiMB Post!!!

2008-11-20T05:00:00.002-06:00

Thanks to Lonely Sidecar for picking Oven-Fried Chicken this week! I must say, I was very skeptical about "fried chicken" in the oven. Afterall, I am a true southern gal and the only fried chicken I know is soaked in buttermilk, floured and spiced and then DEEP FRIED! Healthy, no - tasty - you betcha! But, I must say I was pleasantly surprised by the finished product. Even the peanut gallery (the cats) were licking their chops after a bite of the moist and delicious chicken (hopefully the cayenne didn't give them too much heartburn!)

Well I am all about easy when it comes to cooking so I skipped getting out the food chopper to chop the crackers and cereal. Instead, I just loaded up a ziplock bag and went to town getting out some frustration. The chucky mix of crackers and cereal made for a nice cruchy coating on the chicken. I included the garlic, seasame seeds and cayenne in the breading. However, I emptied the jar of cayenne pepper, but there still wasn't as much as the recipe called for (as if I was measuring anyways!!!) On that note - I must say it took me about 10 years to get through an entire jar of cayenne pepper!!!

On to the wet ingredients - I only used one egg white since I was only making two pieces of chicken and I used coarse ground dijon mustard. I butterflied the chicken breast and then they went for a swim in the wet ingridients.

Well against my better judgment, I thought a salad plate would be appropriate for breading the chicken. Boy was I wrong! A broiler pan would have been much more appropriate given the mess I made trying to get the chicken coated. I'm sure the cats will be eating corn flakes/ crackers off the floor for days!

I baked the chicken on a cookie sheet and thought it came out great! I probably overcooked the chicken a bit - I got a little sidetracked watching the Biggest Loser on dvr!!! Is it just me or is anyone else shocked that Amy voted Colleen off instead of Vicki????? Big mistake on Amy's part!

But thats neither here nor there!

Thanks Lonely Sidecar for picking a great recipe. I guess fried chicken can come out of the oven! I will definitely be making this recipe again.

Some things just are not meant to be...

2008-11-18T20:40:00.003-06:00

...like making Oven Fried Chicken on a Tuesday night! After three failed attempts at locating The Food You Crave (for those who are curious or who are looking for this book, BAM at Brookwood, Jonathan Benton in MB Village and the Bookworm in Homewood are all sans cookbook). And I really haven't given up on making this chicken since I found the recipe online. Said chicken just won't be made tonight. As I say at the office, there's always tomorrow!

Jumping on the Bandwagon...

2008-11-17T18:24:00.003-06:00

Well after much proding and persuasion, I have finally decided to join a little cooking club. My friend Peggy of Pantry Revisited finally convinced me today to join Craving Ellie In My Belly (CEIMB). Two of my other co-workers, Cathy and Amanda have been trying to convince me for months that food blogging is better than sliced bread. So, we shall see.

So I un-officially named my blog today... Yes, I'll try to carveout some time for cooking each week. At least until I come up with a more exciting name for this blog. Any suggestions?

Now, for the real challenge of trying to actually follow a recipe --something that I rarely do. Why do I not follow recipes you ask? Well its not that I don't think that the recipe will be good, or that I get bored with such simple tasks as following a recipe (well maybe I do). For one, I am more of a dash of this, some of that type of person. I never measure anything unless I am actually baking, and even then its rare. Mostly though, I just get to cooking and my mind starts racing, and I start thinking of all the other things I could add to a recipe. Where is this kind of motivation when I am sitting at my desk trying to solve some bankruptcy crisis...drafting objections to confirmation...rejecting executory contracts...working towards world peace. Maybe I missed my true calling in life??? Bueller, Bueller.

So, here's to a fun food journey! Now, ya'll will just have to bear with me while I try to remember to photo my food before eating it!

2008-09-26T15:25:00.003-05:00

Well my friend Peggy of Pantry Revisted asked about the kittens and I realized I had not posted any recent pictures. Of course there is Oskar's one minute of fame video below, but that doesn't really count. Here are some pictures of my little creatures.

Oskar cat napping
Oskar sampling my Sam Adams
The whole gang "helping" me work.
Tom being curious.

Crazy Kitten

2008-09-18T09:01:00.004-05:00

I have a very silly kitten who likes to stand on his hind legs and beg. Perhaps he suffers from an indentity crisis and believes that he is a dog as opposed to a cat. You be the judge! Tom and Beasley do not even seemed phased by Oskar's little trick.

Enjoy. Sorry, the video is a bit dark.

Amelia Island

2008-07-24T09:03:00.002-05:00

I spent last week on Amelia Island, off the coast of Jacksonville, Florida. 3 days of bankruptcy CLE (boring). Four days of the beach and spa at the Ritz...Fabulous! Needless to say, I was sad to leave on Sunday.

Pictures from M &M's wedding

2008-07-24T08:58:00.002-05:00

Sorry, I am a little bit late posting these pictures. Melinda and Michael tied the knot on Saturday, June 28, 2008 at Camp McDowell in Nauvoo, Alabama. Such a fabulous weekend!!!

My new family....

2008-07-23T15:52:00.004-05:00

I'm currently the proud mama of 4, yes 4, solid black kittens. Given the not so dear feelings I hold for felines this has certainly been an interesting adventure. But, I must say, these are very cute kittens. Meet Tom, the Beast, # 2 (whose name may be Sylvester...or Felix, thoughts welcome) and Light Socket (also known as Wild Bill since he refuses to be caught and continues to run wild outside!)

Anyone want a kitten????

Party Like its 1998...

2008-06-18T17:41:00.003-05:00

So this past weekend was my 10 year high school reunion. For starters can I just say wow! Time goes by so quickly. Really, its ridiculous.

It seems like it was mere moments ago that Kristy, Angelia and I (was Sarah there too, or maybe Mandi?) were getting pulled over by the Lamar County Sherriff for being out "so late" on a school night. It was like midnight - 1am ish. Yeah buddy, not so late. However,now I would tend to have to agree with the Lamar County Sheriff - that was way late! :) Nevertheless, back to the story. The four (or five) of us were all crammed into Angelia's red Neon praying that the 50 didn't realize that we had a trunk full of toilet paper and were in the process of rolling houses. Ah, the joys of being seniors! Wow- was that really over 10 years ago. Yes, indeed it was my friends.

So, with the help of some liquid courage, Kristy, Sarah and I dutifully attended the reunion. Yes, it was awkard. Yes, I am glad I went.

Here are some thoughts that entirely summarize the evening (in my humble opinion):

1. I'm still not one of the cool kids. Fortunately, at this point in life, frankly my dear, I don't give a damn.

2. Instead of a high school reunion, the whole evening could have been Andrew Ellard's or Emily Kent's senior party the weekend after gradution. Except the men were balding and most everyone was a bit heftier than they were back in the glory years of high school. No, really, it was just like a 1998, complete with a DJ and keg beer (what!).

3. I should have had a sign taped to my back saying - I'm living in Birmingham. No, I'm not married. No, I don't have any kids. I'm an attorney -because seriously, the conversation didn't get much farther than this with almost all of the people I talked to.

4. A certain someone's ever-so-large underoos/ crack still hang out of the back of their pants far more than is socially acceptible, even in Hattiesburg.

5. Thank god I don't live in Hattiesburg. The "cool" kids all still live there.

6. The weekend would not have been the same if Kristy and Sarah hadn't been there!

Oh, and for the curious among us, we changed cars and managed to get our fill of rollin' in before the night was over!

Dull as a Doornail

2008-06-18T17:40:00.002-05:00

That's me. That's all.

My new desk chair...

2008-04-03T13:30:00.004-05:00

is none other than a ballance ball. And I must say this thing is FABULOUS! It forces you to sit up strait (yay for good posture) and it works out your core all day. Talk about a good use of the 10 hours a day I sit at a desk.

And the comments, oh the comments, the punns, the ridiculousness. Because yes, everyone wants to try out my ball.

These are just a few of the humdingers -

"Uh, I think I just deflated your ball with my oversized me."
"I always knew you were on the ball, but I didn't realize you were actually on a ball!"

"I think I need more ball than you"

"THATS A CHAIR??!!"

"Why are you sitting on tupperware?"

"I don't think that its appropriate office furniture"

"This thing (is it a chair?) is pretty awesome. It makes my butt feel good."

...see what I have to put up with every day at the office. And really, I love you people, but I don't want to know what makes your butt feel good! Needless to say, the entertainment value of what other people have said totally made the purchase worthwhile.