Foodie Friday

Chef of the Month Food:

Giada De Laurentiis is the chef whose books I'm cooking from in October.  The books I'm using are Everday Italian, Weeknights with Giada, Giada's Family Dinners, Giada at Home, Giada's Kitchen, and Everyday Pasta.   I adore Bobby Flay and do miss all the yummy hamburgers but it's been nice to have some lighter food.  So far from the various cookbooks I've made:

Pasta Ponza: The good news is that it looked just as pretty as it did in the cookbook picture which is something that rarely happens to me.  The bad news is that we didn't really like it.  I got to use up a lot of the last cherry tomatoes from my garden and it was easy to put together but the flavor combination just didn't do it for me.  This wasn't a dish that had no flavor.  It actually was very flavorable it just isn't a flavor combination that any of us cared for.  I served it with these Pecorino Crackers which unfortunately we didn't like very much either.  The Romano cheese flavor was just too strong.  If they'd been buttery crispy crackers with a hint of the romano than I probably would've been sold but this tasted a bit like biting into the wedge of cheese and it just wasn't very appetizing.  I made this meal on October 1st to kick off Giada month and I think my family was very apprehensive about what the month would bring after eating (though mostly picking at) this meal.

After that was Farmer's Pasta which luckily was very good.  This is a super fancy macaroni and cheese with browned pancetta, mozzarella, Parmesan, fontina and provolone.  It was really good though pretty time consuming.  I figured it was just macaroni and cheese and waiting until the last minute to start it.  That was a mistake.  Sauces have to be made and thickened, cheese has to be melted and the breadcrumbs have to be mixed and cooked.  Then everything has to be combined and put into the oven.  It was super tasty but not an easy meal to put together.  I served these with Garlic and Sun-Dried Tomato Corn Muffins.  These were easy and fast.  I didn't like them but I don't like cornbread so I'm not really the target market for the muffin.  J and Ringo thought they were great though.

Last night I made Chicken Burgers with Garlic-Rosemary Mayonnaise.  I guess I'm missing Bobby Flay and his incredibly delicious burgers more than I thought.  This was the first chicken burger I've made without lots of breadcrumbs mixed in to give the meat a more workable texture so cooking these was a little challenging.  I make my hamburgers in a skillet and there was no setting a nicely formed patty down on a hot skillet, it was more like glopping a pile 'o meat onto the skillet.  J watched me do this with a look of total horror on his face.  Luckily these came out amazing and the mayonnaise really makes these burgers.  I find that rosemary can be a bit overpowering so I used a pretty light hand with it in the may and it came out incredible.

Pinterest Recipes:

I haven't been using a lot of Pinterest recipes this week and dessert-wise I kind of cheated and made brownies from a mix.  They were the delicious Ghiradelli kind with a chocolate glaze on top.  I could eat the pan by myself.  I did manage to get a little inspired since I found some Meyer lemons at the grocery store and I made these chewy lemon snowdrop cookies from Sophistimom.  They came out lovely.  Nicely lemony, buttery and soft.  I didn't think the powdered sugar would stick since you just dunked the already baked cookies into a bowl of it but it did great!

Week 13 Cupcakes - Creamsicle Cupcakes

A few months ago I was stocking up on sprinkles at HomeGoods and purchased a multipack of dessert flavored sprinkles.  One of those flavors was Creamsicle.  While we were waiting in line to check out J said "You should make some creamsicle flavored cupcakes".  An embarrassing number of months later this is my first attempt.  I added a pastry cream filling but I don't really feel it added anything so I'm leaving it out.

1. Source:  My Baking Addiction blog - I follow this blog but I'm not sure how much I use it

2. Ease of Recipe (1 being cake mix/canned icing - 5 tons of steps and very time consuming): 2.5.  This came together easily

3. Changes Made: I added a pastry cream filling but it added very little so I'm just pretending that didn't happen.

4. Problems:  None and it smelled amazing with all the orange zest

5.  Overall Impression:  The flavor of this cake is amazing and its probably the best cream cheese frosting I've ever made.  It's light and tangy without tasting like licking a block of cream cheese.  The cake texture is a bit dry so I might add a little more moisture next time because the flavor combination is incredible.

6. Quantity:  12

7. Make Again?:  Probably but I would look at how to make the cake lighter or more moist in the future.

Wednesday Wanderings

1. J and I took the Tornado to the zoo yesterday.  He had a fantastic time and we rode the train twice.  It was by far his favorite part.  They've changed it up with all the remodeling so you really can't see very many animals while riding it but he spent most of the time watching the couplings between the cars so it didn't really matter.  It was challenging to get a decent picture of him because 1. he never stops moving ever and 2. some things qualify as serious fun and he doesn't smile.  I have about a million pictures where he has the most solemn look on his face as he's riding the train or looking at various animals.  This picture was the closest I got to a smile.

2.  We're close to the finish line with the forehead bandaid.  The surgical strips are off the wound and it's healing up nicely.  It'll be nice to see him without the big swath of bandaid across his face.

3.  Speaking of finish lines I think my cold may finally be going away.  I'm part way through week 3 and now I feel fine I'm just sniffling and hacking like a walrus with asthma.  But finally even that is starting to get better!

4.  I got an issue of Cosmopolitan in the mail the other day.  It was addressed to me and didn't look like a sample or a mis-mailing.  I went to their website to look at the account to cancel it because obviously it was a mistake and I figured it'd be easier to cancel it without paying for it the quicker I got on it.  I was seriously surprised when my account is listed as paid up until September of 2015.  I'm very confused.  All the people I know who would sign me up for a magazine would sign me up for something food related and most likely they would tell me about it.  It's been awhile since I've read a Cosmo though so it should be entertaining!

5.  Emma managed to sleep through all her alarms yesterday.  The problem with this is she rides to school with a friend and is normally gone before J and I are up.  Yesterday we assumed she was gone and left for the zoo without checking on her.  When we were an hour away from home I got a text saying "Umm so I just woke up."  She had no idea how she did it - she slept through 3 alarms and 2 phone calls from the friend asking where she was.  I figure if she was sleeping that heavily she probably needed it.  Also, there was no way I was going to tell the Tornado that we weren't going to the zoo after all.  We kept going and she spent the day cleaning her room.  We also gave Ringo a free sick day.  They're both working pretty hard with their course loads, band and with Emma's job so I'm not too worried about it.

6.  I'm craving a thrift store trip but it looks like I'll have to put it off for at least a week.  The Tornado is on fall break this week and shopping with him isn't the most relaxing.

7.  I made this recipe for Naan bread and it was crazy good.  I had to change up the recipe a little because I forgot to read the recipe completely and didn't realize that it actually had 2 risings.  I ended up letting it rise once for about 45 minutes and the second time for maybe 15.  I didn't roll it out as thin and ended up pretty much frying the bread in olive oil.  I'm not sure there's much better than fried bread.  The light garlic flavor was unexpected and incredible and would still be there if you made the recipe the way it was actually supposed to be.  I'll probably make it again and follow the proper directions but I'm not sure if I don't like my shortcut method better!

Week 12 Cupcakes - M&M Cupcakes

This time of year is always disappointing for me.  All of those delicious pumpkin recipes floating around and try as I might I just don't like pumpkin.  Luckily these M&M Cupcakes made up for missing out on all the pumpkin cheesecakes, pumpkin lattes, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin muffins and pumpkin cakes.  The buttercream is so good it almost makes up for having this cold for 2 weeks straight.  This recipe caught my eye because Ringo's favorite candy is M&Ms but they ended up being a complete family favorite.

1. Source:  Cookies and Cups. This is one of my go-to blogs especially for sweets.
2. Ease of Recipe (1 being cake mix/canned icing - 5 tons of steps and very time consuming):  3.  It gets the extra point because it has the extra stage of crushing the M&Ms before adding them to the buttercream.

3. Changes Made:  None

4. Problems:  None.  This came together really well and the directions were exact

5.  Overall Impression:  Oh my these are good.  The frosting is divine and the milk chocolate cake is delicious.  These are crazy good.  I can't say enough good things about these cupcakes.

6. Quantity:  12 with plenty of frosting

7. Make Again?:  For the sake of my waist I probably should lose this recipe immediately but I doubt I can resist making these periodically.

September Favorites

September ended way too fast.  I got Bobby Flay month wrapped up and am pretty sure all those delicious hamburgers have caused some artery clogs but they were worth it.  I've had the cold that will not die mixed with allergies for the last two weeks which is leaving me not feeling particularly enthusiastic but its actually been a really great month.  For starts I read Gretchen Rubin's Happiness Project and started following her blog.  She kind of annoys me but the information has been really useful.  Its so easy to get bogged down with all the little stresses and forget how great things really are.  This book and the blog have really helped me bring all of that into focus.   The Tornado is still loving school and things are still going reasonably smoothly for the older 3.

September Favorites:

Television:
Netflix had the audacity to pull Monk off at the end of September.  Luckily I only have 1 season to go and one of the library carries the DVDs.  Not the one closest to me but one that's still pretty close.  However, I forgave them because they put season 8 of How I Met Your Mother up and I've done little else the past couple of days than binge watch How I Met Your Mother.  I just finished season 1 in less than 48 hours.  Awful compared to the speed Eleanor and Emma can go through a season but I'm still somewhat proud/horrified at myself.

Also, I finally discovered The Chew.  I adore Michael Symons, Clinton Kelly and Mario Batali.  I'm loving this show with all the foodie stuff and the complete lack of drama.  






Favorite Clothing Purchase:  I bought these French terry pajama pants the other day from Target and I adore them.  They're the most comfortable thing I've ever put on which has been a good thing since I have the cold that will not die.  They're thick enough to be cozy without being so heavy that I get hot.  I'll probably go back and buy them in a few more colors next week.   These pants with my favorite fuzzy socks and I'm in absolute heaven.

 Favorite Workout:  I've finally added exercise back into my daily routine and I'm loving the Blogilates workouts.  She's done a billion of them so you can really pick and choose what you want to do that day and how long you have.  Her Slimmer Inner Thighs workout is one of my favorites.  She's got a good mix of toning and cardio workouts too.






Favorite Beauty Box Product:  BCBGMAXAZRIA Bon Genre.  I love this perfume and am seriously thinking about buying a full bottle.  I loved both boxes this month and am really excited to see what they have to offer in October.  I'm loving that I decided to subscribe to Ipsy too.







Pin that I'm most excited about trying:   This Copycat Arby's Beef n' Cheddar  from Oh Sweet Basil.  Arby's is my favorite fast food place by far and this is my favorite item from there.  We don't eat there very often because J really doesn't like it.  We agree on enough other places that its not a big deal but I do look forward to my occasional Arbys.  The possibility of making them at home is too exciting for words.





So that's it for September.  This cold has kept me from trying many new pins like I wanted to but it's been a great month.  Hopefully the cold will go away in October and I can tackle some crafty projects and try out a few new things.

September Chef of the Month Wrap Up

On Monday we had our last Bobby Flay meal and to be honest I'm kind of relieved.  The food was all very good but it was a LOT of burgers.  I honestly feel like my cholesterol is up.  For the 2nd half of the month we had:
Garlic Butter Burgers
Argentinean Burgers
Chicken Cutlet with American Triple Cream Cheese, Southern Ham and Arugula Salad
Arthur Avenue Burger
Cheyenne Burger
Oven Fries and finally
Double Chocolate Shake

The bulk of these recipes cake from Bobby Flay's Burgers, Fries and Shakes and the cutlet recipe came from his Bar Americain Cookbook.

The chicken cutlet was good and very pretty.  It is his twist on the traditional chicken cordon bleu and was actually much easier to make than the usual roll.  The chicken was topped with a arugula salad that was dressed with a sharp vinaigrette.  The salad combined with the chicken topped with Camembert and Prosciutto was a really good flavor combination but I didn't care for the cheese on its own.  If I made this again I would switch the cheese to something a little less mild.

As for the burgers, they were all very good.  The Arthur Avenue was probably my least favorite because I didn't love the baked fontina frico that went on top instead of regular melted cheese.  However the herbed ketchup was so delicious that it made up for it. Next time I'd just top the burger with some pieces of fontina and let them melt in the traditional method.  The Garlic Butter Burger, Argentinean Burger and Cheyenne Burgers were amazing.  His oven fries are my new method for making fries at home.  They're easy and you can change the seasonings based on what you're serving them with.  The milkshake was very tasty but what milkshake isn't?

Bobby Flay's cookbooks, with the exception of his Burgers, Fries and Shakes book, were a little challenging for me to make menu plans from.  While most of his recipes are if not simple still very do-able they involved more expensive cuts of meat than I regularly purchase or took to much time.  Everything I made from his books turned out really well and was pretty on the plate as well.  If I wanted to add something new to a special occasion or just make a very nice meal I would definitely hunt down some of his recipes.  As for his Burgers, Fries and Shakes Cookbook I will most likely end up buying it.  All the burgers were completely different with great combinations of cheese and sauces.  Definitely a fun way to spice up a very ordinary meal.

Now to start cooking my way through Giada De Laurentiis's books!

Week 11 Cupcakes - Breaking Bad

J has been obsessed with AMC's Breaking Bad the last few weeks.  He managed to get through the 5 seasons on Netflix and then catch up to the finale last night.  His intense Breaking Bad schedule has been making him a bit paranoid as he's been watching 3 to 4 hours of it a night but it has been good to see him really enjoy something.  So while playing around on Pinterest the other day I came across these cupcakes:

The idea of blue meth decorated cupcakes just seemed to funny to pass up plus appropriate since the finale was last night.  Then I came across a bottle of blue sugar crystals at a craft store Friday and I just couldn't resist.  However, the recipe was for a lemon cake and I'm just not feeling lemon-y right now.  So local blogger/cookbook author Christie Jordan of Southern Plate to the rescue with her Chocolate Velvet cake recipe from her first cookbook.
So these turned into chocolate cupcakes with chocolate chips and a cream cheese frosting.  Topped with Walt's signature blue crystals of course.

1. Source: A mix of Raining Hot Coupons for the inspiration and Southern Plate for the cake recipe I ended up using.

2. Ease of Recipe (1 being cake mix/canned icing - 5 tons of steps and very time consuming):  2.  This is a cake mix based cake recipe and the frosting went together very easily.

3. Changes Made:  I changed the cake recipe into a cupcake recipe by scooping them into cupcake liners and changing the bake time to 18 minutes.  They came out perfectly.

4. Problems:  None

5.  Overall Impression:  This cake worked really great turned into cupcakes.  Nice and chocolatey and the frosting was perfect.  Tangy and sweet without being over the top on either.

6. Quantity:  16

7. Make Again?:  I will definitely make the cupcakes again but I probably won't do the crystals again.  They're fun to look at but a little difficult to eat.