Orange-Basil Shrimp

After making a particularly delicious batch of sangria, I found myself with half an orange left over. And thus, all the inspiration necessary for one of my favorite simple recipes.

Ingredients:

- 1/2 navel orange

- 1 cube frozen basil / or 1 tsp. minced basil

- 2 handfuls / 25 tiny shrimp (precooked)

- 1 tsp sugar

1. Squeeze the juice out of the navel orange into a small skillet or saucepan on medium-low heat. I let a few chunks of orange float in there as well, so I could squish them down with a ladle later to release more of the liquid.

2. Mix in the basil with the orange nectar.

3. After the basil and orange have mixed thoroughly and the mixture is bubbling slightly, add the shrimp.

4. Zest the orange peel over the mix of orange nectar, basil, and shrimp. Let the mix simmer for a few minutes.

5. Don't let the liquid boil off. When the basil and orange mixture have coated the shrimp, carefully remove only the shrimp into a bowl. Add the sugar to the simmering liquid, and wait just a few seconds for the caramelization to complete.

6. Spoon the caramelized orange-basil glaze over the shrimp.

Chipotle Mayo

Was Kelis actually singing about this mayo when she wrote "Milkshake"? Perhaps embarrassed by the food she was dedicated to, or perhaps paid off by the powerful mayo lobbyists, she then re-dedicated the song to a more predictable subject. Read on for what I may have found in her archives...

Best Mayo Ever
- mayo (about 1/2 cup)
- chipotle spice (1.5 dashes)
- Adobo spice with pepper (about 1/2 a dash)
- paprika (1.5 dashes)

Mix together all ingredients. Whip. Enjoy. By the spoonful or on a burger, I don't judge.

...

"Mayo" - Kelis (with a little help)

[Repeat x2]
My mayonnaise brings all the burgers to the grill,
And they're like
It's better than yours,
Damn right it's better than yours,
I can teach you,
But I have to charge

I know you want it,
The thing that makes me,
What the guys go crazy for.
They lose their minds,
The way I wind,
I think its time

[Chorus x2]
La la-la la la,
Mix it up.
Lala-lalala,
The burgers are waiting

My mayonnaise brings all the burgers to the grill,
And they're like
It's better than yours,
Damn right it's better than yours,
I can teach you,
But I have to charge

I can see you're on it,
You want me to teach thee
Techniques that feed these boys,
It can't be bought,
Just know, thieves get caught,
Watch now if you're smart,

[Chorus x2]
La la-la la la,
Mix it up,
La la-la la la,
The burgers are waiting,

My mayonnaise brings all the burgers to the grill,
And they're like
It's better than yours,
Damn right it's better than yours,
I can teach you,
But I have to charge

Oh, once you get involved,
Everyone will look this way-so,
You must maintain your apetite,
Same time maintain your svelte,
Just get the perfect blend,
Plus what you have within,
Then next his eyes are squint,
Then he's picked up that chipotle scent,

[Chorus x2]
Lala-lalala,
Mix it up,
Lala-lalala,
The burgers are waiting,

My mayonnaise brings all the burgers to the grill,
And they're like
It's better than yours,
Damn right it's better than yours,
I can teach you,
But I have to charge

Stuffed Portobellos are Delicioso!

I look forward to the produce aisle at the grocery store with the same fervor 7-year-olds have for a candy store. At Christmas time. But in a universe where that candy store sells super fresh healthy things that you can eat in unlimited quantities and are the perfect base for a culinary masterpiece. What I'm trying to say is... the candy store is basically a big disappointment in comparison to the produce aisle at a certain, non-Trader Joe's grocery chain that starts with a Harris and ends with half the name of a common playground feature.

Thanks to this grocery chain, I found giant portobellos that just looked like they could do with some delicious fillings. This was my response to their cry.

(makes 4 mushroom caps)

- 4 large portobello mushrooms

- 6 baby bella mushrooms

- 2 handfuls spinach

- 1/2 - 1 whole green bell pepper

- 1/4 tsp minced garlic

- 1 onion, diced

- 2 tbs cream cheese

- a healthy sprinkling of mozzarella cheese

- Pam or olive oil

1. I started by removing the portobello stems, chopping them and putting them aside in a mixing bowl. I then removed all the black veins inside the portobello (scientifically, they're called the gills of the mushroom).

2. De-seed and chop the green pepper. Mix into the chopped portobello stem.

3. Dice the onion and add to the mix.

4. Slice baby bella mushrooms to 1/8 inch width. And obviously, throw them in the mix.

5. Warm a skillet on medium heat skillet. Then, either spray with some Pam or throw about 1 tablespoon of olive oil on it. Put the minced garlic onto the heated skillet.

6. When the garlic has started releasing its aroma, throw the mixed veggies onto the skillet.

7. When the onions have begun to brown and mushrooms have become soft, chiffonade the spinach leaves (or just shred it into thin strips if it's a weekday) and throw onto the skillet as well.

8. When the spinach has wilted and onions are medium brown, put all the veggies back into the mixing bowl and add the cream cheese. Mix around so the cheese melts into the veggies.

9. Carefully spoon the veggie mix into the awaiting portobellos.

10. Top with mozzarella cheese and put in the oven for about 10 mins, or until the mozzarella has started to brown.

Special RAPTURE Edition BBQ!

There is nothing better than sunshine when the world is predicted to end. Alas, Harold Camping was wrong but it still gave me an excuse to BBQ delicious things at an End of the World food feast.

In the spirit of the event, I made burgers filled with ingredients one should eat on their last day on Earth.

Makes about 4 burgers

- 1 lb. ground beef (80/20 or 75/25 for moister burgers)

- 2-4 tbs. gorgonzola cheese

- 1 tbs. sun-dried tomatoes

- Adobo seasoning to taste

- chipotle powder to taste

- salt and pepper to taste

- 1 egg

- 1/2 cup breadcrumbs

1. Chop up the sun-dried tomatoes into 1/4 inch or smaller pieces.

2. Mix up beef with 1 egg. Knead so the egg gets absorbed into the meat.

3. Add the sun-dried tomatoes, breadcrumbs, and all seasonings. Knead again to mix well.

4. Finally, add the cheese (which should be super crumbly) and mix carefully so the cheese doesn't melt all over your hands. Form into burger patties. (Hint: use your knuckles to depress the middle of the burger to accommodate how the burger middle inflates during grilling.)

5. Grill it up, then serve on a bun spread with homemade chipotle mayo.

Island of Paradise Salad

Mangoes are the most perfect fruit on the planet. Being math nerds and food-obsessed, my boyfriend and I once created a scatterplot depicting the fruit kingdom, rated on the x-axis for their deliciousness, and on the y-axis for the ease of eating the fruit in question.

Though we may have disagreed on exactly where mangoes lie in the supremacy of fruit, my experiences eating them in the homeland put them squarely at the top of any such list.

As such, I decided to reuse the concept of the mango-pineapple mixture atop a new platform.

- mango chunks (1 cup)

- pineapple chunks (1 cup)

- strawberries (1 cup or 5 hearty red-fellas)

- spinach (2 handfuls)

- gorgonzola cheese (1-2 tablespoons)

- cinnamon-chipotle pineapple glaze

1. Dice the mango and pineapple into similar sized cubes.

2. Slice the strawberries lengthwise, about a quarter of an inch thick.

3. Mix all the fruit and spinach together.

4. Sprinkle gorgonzola on top, generously.

5. Spoon the cinnamon-chipotle pineapple glaze on top -- and get a napkin. It's going to be a delicious mess all over your face.

Sweet and Spicy Fruity-Tooty Whiting Fillets

I cannot believe that it has taken me until May to recall the power of photography to bring food writing to life. Thankfully, my camera phone has found its new calling.

This week, I decided to play with some stuff in my fridge and see what would happen. Whiting fillets were the base of my creation, with a mixture of pineapple and mango pieces that were cooked in a healthy dose of spices.

Ingredients:

- Whiting Fillets (6 fillets)

- pineapple chunks in pineapple juice (1 can)

- mango chunks (8-12 oz.)

- cinnamon

- chipotle spice powder

- balsamic vinegar

1. First, I seasoned the fish with just salt and pepper. Grilled it up on the stove.

2. I diced up the pineapple and mango chunks into even, bite-sized cubes and put them aside.

3. Stirred up about a tablespoon of chipotle powder and 1.5 tablespoon of cinnamon in the pineapple juice, heating on medium heat on the stove. After this started boiling a little, I stirred in about 1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar. I put the fruit chunks into the saucepan. I let this sauce caramelize on the stove.

4. After the fillets were cooked and the sauce properly caramelized and syrupy, I laid out the fillets, then spooned the sauce over it with the fruit chunks on top.

This is perfect whenever you're facing a mango craving -- aka: always.

Sexy Salami Sandwich

When I was in eighth grade, I conducted an science experiment testing the ability of taste buds to differentiate between various flavors. Even at a young age, I was fascinated with the function and capacity of taste buds. I made a sandwich today that reminded me of these tiny taste receptors, in how they felt honored to eat the sandwich thrown together by the leftovers contained in my fridge.

Sexy Salami Sandwich

- Best Mayo Ever

- spinach/sliced strawberries/sliced mushrooms/garlic and herb goat cheese crumbles salad**

- 2 slices of bread

- Salami circles (about 4-5)

- grated swiss cheese

**The spinach/strawberries/mushrooms and goat cheese were combined and left over from dinner last night.

1. Spread Chipotle mayo on both slices of bread.

2. Place 4-5 circles of salami on one slice.

3. Sprinkle grated swiss cheese on top of the salami circles.

4. Toast both slices of bread (open-face) in a toaster oven.

5. Layer the greens (salad) on top of the salami and cheese and place the other slice of bread on top.

After finishing this salad, I didn't want to eat anything else to compromise the flavors I was tasting in my mouth.

Dear taste buds,

You're welcome.

Pineapple Banana Bread with Toasted Coconut

I am not a huge bread baker, despite my love of all things bread. I guess it's the exact measurements required or the fact that I can't taste things as I go that intimidates me.

This week, I challenged myself to recreate one of my favorite breads of all time -- banana bread. The cafeteria at my middle school was giving away a tub of bananas on the last day before spring break, so the materials were present and the time was ripe (as were the bananas -- overripe, in fact).

I found this basic recipe doing a search for the basic components of the banana bread.

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3 eggs
• 1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained
• 2 cups mashed ripe bananas

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, salt, baking soda and cinnamon. In another bowl, beat the eggs, oil and vanilla; add pineapple and bananas. Stir into the dry ingredients just until moistened. Pour into two greased 8-in. x 4-in. x 2-in. loaf pans.
2. Bake at 350 degrees F for 60-65 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.

I added a few changes to put my own spin on it. One, I baked three mini-loaves in mason jars. I soaked old pasta sauce jars in boiling water, then scrubbed off the labels and dried off the jars. I poured in batter to fill the jars about half-way, then set them in the oven (without lids). In about 30 minutes, I checked on the jars and when the bread was fully baked, I pulled the jars out of the oven to seal the lids. Using oven mitts, I twisted the jar lids back on. The heat of the baked bread sealed the jar lids with a pop a few minutes later. The key was to make sure the jars were carefully cleaned before and after baking, leaving no extra batter along the sides of the jars.

Secondly, I used unsweetened shredded coconut to add another flavor the the bread. Five minutes before taking the jars out, I topped each jar with a handful of shredded coconut. When the coconut had browned, I removed the jars from the oven.

The only problem with these is resisting the temptation to eat the jar all at once. Prepare yourself.

Dinner Party Extraordinaire: Dessert

Dessert is a holy affair for me. No meal is complete without it. For the double-birthday, I pulled out an old favorite -- the chocolate trifle cups. I've cursed missing these since I forgot to bring any of them home. Note to self: set half aside for me, half for the guests.

Chocolate Trifle Cups

- brownie mix (and all it requires)

- instant pudding (one package)

- water (1/2 cup)

- whipped creme (30 oz. total)

- sugar (3 tbs)

- heavy cream (1/2 pint to 1 pint)

- bar of chocolate

- for individual cups, buy clear plastic cups

- additional garnishes, like strawberries, etc. are up to you

1. Bake brownies according to directions on the box. This is critical. Eat one for yourself, and cut the rest up into perfect squares.

2. Mix up the instant pudding with water. Mix in about 8 oz. of whipped cream into the pudding. Whisk 3 tbsps of sugar with 1/2 pint of heavy cream. Slowly pour in this mixture into the instant pudding and whisk all of it together, very well. Now learn to call this chocolate mousse.

3. Begin assembly. Layer the bottom of the cups with brownies. Then layer on top the chocolate mousse. Layer on top the whipped cream. Repeat once more.

4. Take a vegetable peeler to a full bar of chocolate and peel carefully on top of the top layer of whipped cream.

5. Step back and marvel at your creation.

** I had a particularly difficult time making things look pretty when trying to spoon the mousse and whipped cream onto the cups. I used Ziploc bags to save me. I poured the mousse into one, sealed the top shut, and cut one of the corner off to use as a pastry bag. Repeat for the whipped cream (thawed) and life was pretty simple. I did end up getting a lot of chocolate all over myself, but this is not something I perceive as a problem.

Dinner Party Extraordinaire: Entrees

Coming up on the main part of the dinner, I will mention everything I cooked, but special, doting, loving attention will be given to one of my most favorite things I've ever cooked: shredded chicken tacos. If I could buy enough chicken and chipotle seasoning, I would start a food truck, passing these out to all the miserable strangers I meet and helping spread sunshine across the world. What a wonderful life it would be.

Pizzas

(shout-out to my lovely students who inspired me to be more creative than I thought possible)

- TJ's pizza dough

- pizza or marinara sauce

- salami circles

- fresh basil

- mozzarella rounds

- Roma tomatoes

- Proscuitto

- Cornichons (mini-pickles)

- boiled eggs

Though the party saw only the advent of the basic pizzas (basil, mozzarella, tomato vs. salami, proscuitto, shredded mozzarella), my students and I had a bake off where they made some very interesting pizzas. My favorite was probably the Mickey Mouse pizza, which was shaped into everyone's favorite mouse head by use of numerous kitchen tools in non-traditional ways. It was then given true personality with sliced hard-boiled eggs for eyes and tiny sliced cornichons pieces for a mouth that resembled the coal mouths of snowmen. This was atop the marinara sauce, shredded mozzarella, salami circles and proscuitto. My student claimed it was delicious and ate every bite.

Sliders

- ground beef (1 lb.)

- Garlic and Herb goat cheese (1/3 to 1/2 cup)

- sun-dried tomatoes, chopped (1/4 to 1/3 cup)

- bread crumbs (1/2 cup)

- minced garlic (1 teaspoon / 1 clove)

1. Form mini burgers by mixing all the ingredients together creating patties that are just about 1/2 inch larger in diameter than the burger buns. They will shrink down cooking.

2. Cook in a skillet by browning each side, or grill it up like a grown-up.

3. Serve up on slider buns with only the delicious mayo described below.

Best Mayo of Your Life

- mayo (about 1/2 cup)

- chipotle spice (1.5 dashes)

- Adobo spice with pepper (about 1/2 a dash)

- paprika (1.5 dashes)

Mix together all ingredients. Whip. Enjoy. By the spoonful or on a burger, I don't judge.

Shredded Chicken Tacos

- boneless, skinless chicken breasts (1 lb.)

- chipotle seasoning (3 tsp.)

- ground cumin (1 tsp.)

- oregano (2 tsp.)

- minced garlic (2 tsp.)

- tomato sauce (16 oz.)

- white vinegar (2 tsp.)

- sugar (0.5 tsp.)

- Adobo seasoning with Pepper

1. Mix tomato sauce, chipotle, cumin, oregano, garlic, white vinegar, sugar, and a few dashes of Adobo. Cover.

2. Season both sides of chicken with Adobo, one dash on each side should suffice. Cook chicken on low-med in a skillet with olive oil.

3. When both sides have lightly browned, pour the tomato sauce mixture back into the pan. Wait until the mixture boils, then lower heat to a simmer and cover. The tomato sauce should begin to caramelize in about 15 minutes.

4. If you're afraid that the chicken will dry out, take it out of the skillet and shred it up with two forks (pulling it apart) then keep it on the side until the sauce caramelizes, then combine. If you chose to leave the chicken in the skillet, the last step is to shred the chicken.

5. Serve in tortillas, with mexican rice, black beans, and the garnishes your heart desires. Or wrap up in some tortillas, top off with more of the tomato mixture for a delicious faux enchilada.

Dinner Party Extraordinaire: Appetizers

Finger foods are very dangerous. Aside from attracting lots of hand interaction, there is also the inevitable risk that people will eat all the delicious finger foods without any record of how much they ate then be too full to eat anything else. I think the risk is worth the reward.

Spinach Artichoke Dip

- one frozen bag of spinach, thawed

- one frozen bag of artichokes / or one big can / there should be a little more artichoke than spinach

- 8 oz Classico Alfredo sauce (about half the jar)

- 1/2 cup mayo

- 1 cup shredded cheese (various ones have worked, swiss and mozzarella are good)

1. Chop up the (thawed) artichokes. Mix with the spinach, mayo, alfredo sauce and cheese in a oven-proof container.

2. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes.

3. Serve up when the top is browned ... sourdough bread goes great with it.

Lil Smokies with Brown Sugar

- one package lil smokies (there's about 40 in each bag)

- one package bacon

- brown sugar

- skewers

1. Cut the strips of bacon into thirds.

2. Wrap each lil smokie with a sliced strip of bacon.

3. Place smokies on skewers.

4. With a cooking brush or by hand, coat each bacon-wrapped smokie in brown sugar.

5. Bake at 350 for 25 - 35 minutes on a foil lined cookie sheet. Make sure to turn over once during cooking so both sides of the bacon are perfect. You can broil towards the end if the other side of the bacon needs it.

**Because I did most of the prep work for this dinner the night before, I left these marinating in the brown sugar overnight. I then took the leftover brown sugar liquid at the bottom of the container and drizzled it on top of the smokies before they baked. I drizzled the final plate again with the leftover brown sugar from the oven. These were gone in about 2 minutes.

Cranberry Brie Bites

- Puff pastry cups

- cranberry sauce

- a healthy amount of brie (can you ever have too much?)

1. Bake the puff pastry cups according to directions on the box. (Mine were prebaked but about 4 mins in the oven got them extra crisp).

2. Spoon in bite-sizes of brie into each cup.

3. Top off with cranberry sauce.

4. Bake at 350 for about 5 minutes, or until the brie has melted.

Polenta Bites with Mozzarella and Proscuitto

- Polenta Rolls (TJ's)

- Marinara Sauce

- Shredded Mozzarella

- a few strips of Proscuitto

1. Cut the rolls of polenta into 1/2 inch circles. Each roll renders about 10 - 14 circles. Prepare by either baking or frying. I went with baking since I had time and it's healthier. Bake on a greased cookie sheet until the polenta is firm and crisp on one side (about 20 mins).

2. Flip over and cook the polenta on the other side until almost crisp.

3. Take it out and spoon on marinara sauce.

4. Sprinkle shredded mozzarella on each polenta circle.

5. Shred the strips of proscuitto and put one shredded piece on each polenta circle.

6. Put back in the oven to finish cooking -- cheese should be melted before these are served.

Dinner Party Extraordinaire: Special Edition Intro

I love dinner parties. To quote from Parks and Rec, "they combine two of [my] favorite things: dinner and parties." Unlike other young adults in their early twenties, my dinner parties are not a recently discovered interest and have proven not to be a passing fad.

From the shoddily thrown together dinner my suitemates and I pulled together in the basement of our too-old dorm my freshman year to the sophomore year Valentine's Day party that resulted in handmade truffles to the senior year decision to buy a serious dining table and serious chairs for my seriously evolved dinner parties, I have been obsessed with this concept for a while. So naturally, when I realized it was Joe's last birthday in DC (at least for right now), I wanted some sort of birthday party for him to celebrate all the people that mean lots and lots to him. And when I realized his co-teacher's birthday was the day after, the conditions were ripe for a true birthday dinner party^2.

On the menu:
- Spinach and Artichoke Dip
- Lil Smokies in Brown Sugar
- Cranberry Brie Bites
- Polenta Bites with Mozzarella and Proscuitto

- Taco Bar featuring Carnitas and Shredded Chicken
- Sliders
- Pizzas

- Chocolate Trifle Cups

I'll go over the recipes for all these fun pieces in three posts -- appetizers, entrees, and dessert.

Week 8: Cousy Cous-Cous

Ingredients:
1 box Trader Joe's Israeli Cous-Cous
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 red onion, chopped
turkey gravy
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup chopped pistachios
salt and pepper

1. Melt butter and saute onions until they are tender.
2. Add the couscous and saute until golden.
3. Add enough water to cover the couscous and pour chicken broth. I poured in turkey gravy instead (you gotta use what you got!).
4. Add the dried cranberries and bring to a boil.
5. Simmer and stir occasionally until the grains are tender (about 12 mins).
6. Season with salt and pepper and garnish with pistachios.

Thank you dear Jayna for contributing to this post with the wonderful present of "The I Love Trader Joe's Cookbook", as this recipe was adapted from that book. I also added my own twist to it with the gravy and by making it a salad, sitting atop the spinach leaves pictured.

Week 7: Grilled Pear Salad

I am often mocked for my aversion to greens. My other resolution (eating a salad for dinner at least once weekly) has resulted in me buying a TON of spinach and arugula, my pretentious version of greens. I wish I wasn't so picky on this issue; I just can't find any flavor in lettuce. Plus, spinach has so many amazing qualities (my package said something about being a USDA certified SUPERFOOD! -- it's like food, but way more awesome) that I can't really feel bad about basing my salads on beds of spinach.

Meanwhile, I was experimenting with pears because they were in the fruit aisle and I adore fruit-based salads. I had eaten a pear salad at Busboy's recently and though the concept was good, I was disappointed in the ratio of certain parts of it and the fact that the pear pieces were artfully arranged but not practically pieced at all. So that was my inspiration.

Ingredients:
- 1 pear
- 1 kiwi
- a handful of baby bella mushrooms
- 1/2 onion
- gorgonzola cheese (or other salty cheese / bleu cheese would be a good substitute)
- balsamic vinegar
- olive oil
- lemon or lime juice
- baby spinach (a few bitter arugula pieces with this would be delicious too)
- dried cranberries (optional)

1. Start by prepping all ingredients -- cut up the pear in lengthwise 1/8 inch slices, the mushrooms lengthwise as well, and slice up the half an onion super, super thinly.
2. Start by throwing the onions in the heat first with some olive oil in medium heat. When the onions start releasing liquid and changing color, add in mushrooms on the side of the same skillet. Let them both caramelize in the pan.
3. Meanwhile, brush a little lime or lemon juice on both sides of each pear slice. Once properly coated, put into a skillet with olive oil in medium heat. Heat until grill marks appear -- press down with a spatula if necessary. Later, I realized that the one piece that looked closest to burnt was actually the most delicious. Tar isn't delicious, but nice dark skillet marks on the pear (and grill marks in the summer) are perfect.
4. Peel and slice the kiwi width-wise.
5. Construct the salad with spinach on the bottom, then the onions and mushrooms, and the pear and kiwis on top. Throw on some gorgonzola and dried cranberries. Toss on some olive oil and balsamic and prepare your stomach for heaven.

The salty cheese with the sweet kiwi and sweet pear with some almost burnt parts and mushrooms are an amazing combination. If you're one for texture, the cranberries help but some type of nut - almonds or walnuts especially - would be great too.

Week 6: Spruce It Up Pasta

Something people should know about me: I'm averse to boxed pasta + bottled sauce. I feel the need to say this as if it's a formal pronouncement of a deficiency because people have been shocked by this fact for a long time. I've learned to keep it under wraps on the most part, but I feel this information necessary to divulge for this culinary adventure. Intrigued by the super-easy hollandaise sauce from the week before (remade of course -- hollandaise doesn't keep for more than a few hours), I tried out a super easy basic recipe that was delicious.

Ingredients:
- Spinach and Chive Pasta (Trader Joe's)
- Baby Tomatoes
- Hollandaise Sauce
- Parmesan Cheese (optional)

1. Boil water, then add the pasta and cook for 5 minutes. Should be al dente.
2. Cut baby tomatoes lengthwise, then roast in a skillet.
3. Mix pasta and tomatoes, then top off with hollandaise sauce and sprinkle on hollandaise.

The flavors on this dish are amazing. It's surprising how such a simple mix of a few key ingredients combines for a delicious meal that does not taste anything like a bland pile of grains with heavy bottled tomatoes thrown on top :)

Weeks 5: Eggs Benedict-licious

Though I haven't posted in a few weeks, I've been good about keeping up on trying new recipes regularly. This was a recipe born of time one weekend morning and the desire to learn how to make some delicious poached eggs. Plus my desire for some hollandaise deliciousness lead to my next two experiments being with this surprisingly versatile sauce born from an egg yolk and some crazy fool's imagination.

Eggs Benedictlicous
Materials: Eggs, Hollandaise Sauce, Bread or an English Muffin, Proscuitto Slices

1. Prepare the hollandaise sauce according to any hollandaise recipe (one provided below). This is not how I made mine, but I also wasn't super-excited about the one I had since it got to be too acidic (lemon juice, you devil) for my taste. I'll try a different variation next time.

2. Get water super-hot, right below boiling in a small pot. Boiling is bad because too much action will cause the eggs to break. Breaking the egg in a small cup, pour the egg slowly into the heated water. Use a spoon to try and keep the egg together. In a few minutes, it will congeal in a freakish show of true culinary magic and you will use a slotted spoon to remove it from the water.

3. Put a toasted piece of bread, english muffin, or my favorite -- a habenero lime tortilla (from Trader Joe's) onto a plate. Place a strip of proscuitto on top. If truly inspired, I think the tortilla would benefit from a slice or two of avocado or fresh roasted baby tomatoes. Then lay on the super awesome egg, spoon some hollandaise on top, and ta-da! Eggs Benedictlicious!





Hollandaise Sauce (borrowed from Cooks.com)

1/4 c. melted butter
1 tbsp. flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
Dash cayenne pepper
1 c. milk
1 egg yolk
1 tbsp. lemon juice
Melt butter in small saucepan; add flour, seasonings, and blend. Add milk gradually and stir. Cook until thickened. Pour sauce on slightly beaten egg yolk; mix and cook about 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from flame; add lemon juice gradually and beat vigorously. Serve on cooked vegetables. Yield: about 1 1/3 cups sauce.

Week 4: Casseroles and Crepes - A Snow Day Double-Feature

Thanks to the Snow Day this week and the fact that my lesson plans from last week will suffice for next week, thus leaving me ONE day's worth of work to do this weekend, I had plenty of time to experiment in the kitchen. The treacherous conditions outside meant that I had to be resourceful and work with what was left at the back of the fridge, since there was no way I was going outside for materials.

Cheesy Chicken Casserole with Spicy Ranch-Honey Sauce

This was a product of pure desperation with a fridge so bare, a cost-benefit analysis may have resulted in just unplugging it. Alas, I scavenged and found the following:

- Deli meat chicken slices

- Frozen peas

- Milk

- Spicy Ranch dressing and

- Honey Mustard

- Shredded mozzarella

- A Cheddar Cheese stick

Around the pantry, I also found some honey, spices, and a can of cream of mushroom soup. With these basics, and the back of the can of cream of mushroom soup providing recipe inspirations as a start, I began constructing a basic casserole.

1. Start by preheating the oven to 400 degrees and defrosting the peas under running water in a colander.

2. Taste test create a delicious sauce. I combined Spicy Ranch, Honey Mustard, and then when that wasn't enough of a sweet/spicy kick, I just launched into honey. I added a little of this and a little of that until what I was tasting was the right proportion of sweet and spicy. I also mixed in some dried thyme, and some powdered cayenne pepper to the mix, tasting again to achieve the right flavors. This will take some basic trial-and-error. If I hadn't been cooking to save myself from starvation, I would've recorded my trials for a replicable result. Lo siento.

3. Mix together a can of cream of mushroom soup, about 1/2 cup of milk, torn up chicken deli meat pieces, a healthy handful (or 2) of peas, and about 1/2 a cup of the dressing/honey mixture. I added about 1/2 a cup of mozzarella cheese and 1/4 cup of cheddar cheese / shredded and some pepper and mixed the whole thing together and popped it in the oven for about 25 - 30 minutes.

4. While I was cleaning up, I found some bread crumbs. So in the last five minutes, I popped out the casserole, topped it with bread crumbs and more cheese, and popped it back in to finish up browning. And that's the story of how I saved myself from starving during the snow day.

...

Two days later, after using my second snow day (pansy move on the part of my school since the roads were clear by that point) to stop at the grocery store for some basics, I decided to make a decidedly more advanced breakfast of crepes. Because I had accidentally skipped dinner the night before, I was doubly hungry and decided to go with a duo of savory and sweet crepes.

I constructed the base out of the crepe recipe I found here. I discovered that the most important part of the cooking process was to keep the pan at med-high heat -- I choose level 6 out of 8 on my burner. I then went about the task of assembling the fillings.

For the savory crepe, I used:

- 6-8 Roma tomatoes, halved

- very thinly sliced onion (1/4 of an onion)

- 4-5 very thinly sliced Baby Bella mushrooms

- about two spoonfuls of sun-dried tomatoes

- two fistfuls of spinach

sauce:

- 1 teaspoon of flour

- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

- 3 tablespoons butter

- 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded

- 1/4 cup swiss cheese, shredded

- 6 healthy dashes/shakes of the dried thyme seasoning container

- salt and pepper to taste

1. Start by caramelizing the onions. When they start to brown, throw in the tomatoes and mushrooms to start roasting and the sun-dried tomatoes. Mix well to mix flavors. Watch and stir for about 6 minutes on low-medium heat. Add in the spinach and continue mixing for about another minute. Then put it on simmer.

2. Meanwhile, construct the cheese sauce by starting by melting butter, then adding heavy whipping cream and flour and mixing well. I added in the cheese and waited for the cheese to melt, then added the spices. While this sauce worked out well, I think I'm going to try to make a slightly (or much) healthier version to alleviate some of my guilt. This seemed a little like overkill.

3. Mix the cheesy sauces with the vegetables and fill the crepe with it.

For the sweet crepe:

- 1 tablespoon Nutella

- 1/3 banana, sliced

- handful of blueberries

- powdered / confectioner's sugar

Once the crepe is constructed, lay it flat and artfully swirl some hazelnutty-chocolatey goodness down the center, layering blueberries and bananas on top. I folded up the crepe into third, putting a little more Nutella on the folded side after the first fold, then sprinkled some powdered sugar on top. While delicious, I think I want to try honey on these next time instead of Nutella. Or maybe on top of it. Disgusting or enticing? Who can tell really?

Week 3: Adventures in Soyland

To truly understand the meaning of this recipe/adventure, it's necessary to take a step (or 6) back in time.

New Year's Eve, 2005:

Scene: My mom's living room in California.

Time frame: Early Evening

Home from college for the holidays, I lay sprawled out on my stomach on my mom's plush ruby rug (carpets were a luxury item barred in my dorm) catching up on the tv shows I'd missed my first semester in college while simultaneous IMing 15 people on my laptop when a link from a friend popped up -- an infomercial for PETA. I don't know if it was the particularly influential friend who sent it (if only I could remember who it was...) or the lush carpeting suspending my judgement, but I proceeded to watch the 10 minute video documenting the harsh treatment of chickens, eggs, cows, and more with the curiosity of prepubescent teenager watching the "Miracle of Birth" sex ed video documenting the birthing process in the most graphic and unappealing way possible -- that is to say, I couldn't keep my horrified eyes off of it.

That day, I decided my new year's resolution was to take a stand against caged meat. And so I came to eat nothing but fish for the next year, since a) I figured fish were always free until they're caught and all and b) I couldn't afford to be buying / exclusively ordering cage-free products and it was just too confusing. Although that resolution only lasted a year (one in which I ate too much cereal and Indian food), I do still try to eat more vegetables and try non-meat substitutes when possible. Which leads me to:

Sausage and Peppers, Rice and Beans: Basic Delicious Flavors

This meal was like an episode of "Semi-Homemade" -- I bought a couple great basics at the store pretty much pre-prepared, then made something to go along with them.

1. Slice up some onions, red peppers, yellow peppers, and green peppers. Grill it up with some olive oil and get a color going on all of it. I threw in mushrooms, 'cause they're delicious. I added in some soy sausage product (Product Placement available here, always at Trader Joe's) and then seasoned the mixture with some basic Indian spices in my cabinet (curry powder was prominent). However, a basic mix of red pepper spice would have been great too.

To accompany Mexican Rice (I bought a delicious 4-min rice packet) and some Cuban Style Black Beans (Trader Joe's).

Week 2: Strawberry Fields Forever

Besides keeping my New Year's resolution to cook something new weekly and record it for future cooking conundrums, my other food-lution was to replace at least one dinner a week with salad, so I can start getting more nutrients in my diet.

With that said, let me now introduce the completely unhealthy salad that was among the top 10 things ever eaten on a bed of greens. It uses one of my only acceptable forms of greens: spinach, which came in a bag claiming its status as a certified SuperFood. And well -- if that's not reason enough for you to try this salad, I don't know what is.

Caramelized Onions, Strawberries and Spinach with a Honey Balsamic Reduction

1. Caramelize some onions. I learned how to do this last year and it changed my life. Look here for inspiration. I used one onion. Once the onions got lightly brown, I threw in some sliced mushrooms (about the same size slice as the onions, for consistency when cooking).

2. While the onions are caramelizing (which seems to take a while), get started on the dressing. I used honey and balsamic vinegar, in a pot on low/medium. Throw in the honey first to start it melting, then put in a little bit of vinegar at a time, tasting as you go to figure out what ratio of works for you. One you have your magic mix, let it simmer but do not let it stay on the heat for too long, or your deliciousity will evaporate and leave you with something tart and unrecognizable. The consistency should be of a glaze to signal it's done.

3. Use your fanschy smanchy Ikea salad spinner to wash/dry your spinach.

4. Cut up some strawberry into slices that show off the curvaceousness of the strawberry's figure (lengthwise / don't dice them). I did something at this point that Joe thought was delicious while I later regretted because it was too sweet for my taste. I dusted powdered sugar on my strawberries, which turned into a strawberry-sugar syrup. Again, some like it and others don't.

5. Assemble: Throw down the spinach leaves. Artfully set some caramelized onions and mushrooms across the bed of green beauty, top with some strawberries. Throw on some gorgonzola cheese, and then throw on the honey-balsamic reduction.

As for the food-lution re: nutrient filled dinners, this is about equivalent to stuffing your crap in your closet when your mom tells you to clean your room. Sure, it's not exactly what she wanted you to do, but it hits the basic requirements and is a hell of a lot more fun.

Week 1: Deep-Dish Darling

For my first cooking adventure of the year, I challenged myself in a few different ways: 1) I made a bread based food, making the dough from scratch for the first time. 2) I was trying to replicate something I've never tried before. 3) I was cooking for someone else, and on a schedule.

With the stress in order, I attacked the recipe:

1 cup of warm water
1 package yeast
1/2 cup cornmeal or corn flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 T corn oil
2 ½ to 3 cups of cheap generic flour
Yellow food coloring – the real secret to why its yellow.

Take the water and put it in your mixer. add yeast and a touch of sugar. Let the yeast foam up to be sure that it is active. Then add the rest of the ingredients including 2 1/2 cups flour. I usually end up adding between 1/4 and 1/2 teaspoons of yellow food coloring. Using a dough hook, kneed the dough until it is well combined. If the dough is sticky add a little more flour. The dough should be moist but not sticky. Let the mixer kneed the dough for 10 minutes. Put it in the oven to rise. If you desire a late in the day pizza taste (beer like), then let it rise all day.

Assembling the pizza -
Preheat oven to 350. After the dough has risen take your deep dish pizza pan (or a round cake pan with straight sides) and coat the inside of it with a very healthy coating of melted butter. Roll the dough out to about 1/4 inch thick and up it in the pan. Then pinch the dough up along the sides of the pan. Now put your cheese, and I mean a lot, into the crust. Then add your pepperoni, and finally your sauce. Bake in the oven until the crust is starting to brown and cheese is starting to bubble up through the sauce. The little edges of the pepperoni should also be starting to crisp.

I made it w/o the pepperoni, as the memory I was trying to emulate was of a Deep Dish Cheese Pizza that Joe complains can never be found in DC. Personally, I'd prefer my thin crust with lots of delicious sun dried tomatoes, gorgonzola and mozzarella, and prosciutto. But that's probably because I'm a Commie.