Shrimp Cocktail

I just asked my husband, James, if he had taken a picture of the shrimp cocktail when I made it the other night. He told me that he didn't, but why did I want it. I explained that I was going to put the recipe on the blog and he said, "There's a recipe for shrimp cocktail???".....

I actually didn't realize that there was a "recipe" for shrimp cocktail either, until I wanted to make it the other night and I thought maybe I could find some spices and special things to put in the boiling water. And, boy, was I right! It makes all the difference in the world!

This recipe is from an amazing restaurant in Ann Arbor, Michigan called The Chop House (part of Main Street Ventures). It's so good. They make their own cocktail sauce, but I recommend buying the already made McCormick version of the HOT cocktail sauce.

Cheesy Factor (1 no cheese, 10 all cheese): 1
Time Factor (1 shortest, 10 longest): 2
Dummy Factor (1 easiest, 10 hardest): 1

Shrimp Cocktail
(Serves 4)
1.5 lbs shrimp, jumbo preferred (shell on, but cleaned and deveined if possible) 
1 cup cocktail sauce
2 lemons (1 whole, 1 cut into wedges)
1 Tbs salt
1/2 cup onions, coarsely chopped
1 rib celery, coarsely chopped
1 Tbs peppercorn
2 bay leaves
Water

In a large pot, add water (enough to boil shrimp in), salt, onion, celery, peppercorn, and bay leaves. Cut one lemon in half and squeeze juice into pot. Bring to boil. While water is heating up, peel shrimp (if not done so already), leaving tail on. Drop shrimp into rapidly boiling water and stir. Cook shrimp for about 4 minutes. Drain and add shrimp into ice water immediately to stop the cooking process. If necessary, replace water with new ice water until shrimp are chilled. Serve on ice (optional) with cocktail sauce and lemon wedges.

Cocktail Sauce
3/4 cup tomato ketchup
3/4 cup chili sauce
1/4 cup prepared horseradish
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
Juice from one small lemon
Dash of Tabasco sauce
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients in bowl. Refrigerate in tightly covered container.

Chocolate Chow Mein Cookies

These were a regular Christmas time treat in our house growing up. I never ate them, mind you, because I was afraid of them as a child. No reason why. Just was. But now, yum. They are "easy" so to speak: my mom shared the recipe with me, but I have added a few tricks to help out.

Cheesy Factor (1 no cheese, 10 all cheese): nada
Time Factor (1 shortest, 10 longest): pretty dang short
Dummy Factor (1 easiest, 10 hardest): took my twice, but now easy as pie :)

Chocolate Chow Mein Cookies
12 oz bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips
12 oz bag of butterscotch chips
12 oz bag/can of chow mein noodles
12 oz bag/can of roasted, salted peanuts (no skin)
Milk (optional)

In a large pot, add half of the chocolate chips and half of the butter scotch chips. Put pot over low heat and melt together, stirring from time to time to mix. When completely melted, add half of chow mein noodles, half of peanuts, and dash of milk to help stir. While mixing everything together, try and cover everything in the chocolate mixture as much as possible. While hot, take two spoons and form clumps of mixture onto wax paper to let cool. Repeat with second half of chips, chow mein, and peanuts. Allow to cool on wax paper, and cover to store.

A couple of notes here:
1) The chocolate needs to still be melted and hot while you are forming the cookies onto the wax paper, which is why I feel this better to do in batches. I actually did it in 4 batches, instead of 2.

2) Be careful not to burn chocolate.

3) Can be made without the peanuts.

Stuffed Baby Yukons

I have been loving cooking, and food, so much recently. This dish was part of our family Christmas tasting dinner menu that my dad and I put together. It was so fun! These are little mini versions of a twice baked potato basically. But they look really pretty and cute too, and are great for entertaining. They can even be a finger food!

Cheesy Factor (1 no cheese, 10 all cheese): 2
Time Factor (1 shortest, 10 longest): 4
Dummy Factor (1 easiest, 10 hardest): 4

Stuffed Baby Yukon Potatoes
(serves 6 sides- 2 potatoes per person)
12 baby Yukon Gold potatoes (about 2 inches across)
2 Tbs olive oil
2 tsp chopped fresh thyme (dried will work too)
Kosher salt and black pepper
1.5 oz bacon (1-2 thick slices), cooked until crispy and crumbled
3 Tbs thinly sliced fresh chives
1/4-1/3 cup creme fraiche or sour cream
1/4-1/3 cup grated Parmesean cheese

Heat oven to 425 deg. Toss potatoes with olive oil, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, and 1/2 of the thyme. Bake potatoes on baking sheet in oven about 20-25 minutes (until tender). Remove from oven and let potatoes cool.

When potatoes have cooled, slice off the top of each potato, and use a small spoon or melon baller to scoop out/hollow the inside of the potato, transferring the insides to a mixing bowl. In the bowl, mash the potato with the bacon, 1/2 of the chives, creme fraiche/sour cream, remaining thyme, 1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. Using a small spoon and your fingers, fill the hollowed potatoes with this mixture, forming a small mound. Sprinkle with cheese.

Return potatoes to 450 deg oven and bake until the filling heats through, 8-10 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining chives and serve warm.

Oh, and yes, in case you were wondering, that is a bottle of Stags Leap, my all-time favorite Cab, and a Christmas gift from my amazing father-in-law!

Search Feature!

New and improved to the cheeseformeplease blog: a search feature. It's still a work in progress. But now, at the top of the blog is a search box, where you can type in keywords, such as "chicken", or "breakfast" and, hopefully (knock on wood), the corresponding blog post recipes should come up. I'm still working on it, but it should be up and running this week :) . YIPPEEEEE!

Chicken Saltimbocca

Oh my. I just logged onto my "blog" to see that I haven't posted anything since September. Embarrassing! It's amazing how fast life will pass you by if you let it. And we have let it. Now, this doesn't mean that I haven't been cooking. But, it does mean I haven't been cooking much new. Mostly repeat recipes and meals for this family over the last couple of months.

But ladies and gentlemen, after a brief hiatus, I am back! And ready to cook!

My family was just here from Michigan and for our "Christmas dinner", my dad and I cooked a series of small plates. This first post is a modified version of a Giada De Laurentiis recipe for Chicken Saltimbocca. It's basically thin chicken cutlets rolled up with yummy stuff and then cooked in chicken broth.

Cheesy Factor (1 no cheese, 10 all cheese): 2
Time Factor (1 shortest, 10 longest): 4
Dummy Factor (1 easiest, 10 hardest): 4

Chicken Saltimbocca
(6 servings)
6 3-oz chicken cutlets, pounded evenly to flatten
6 super-thin sliced pieces of proscuitto
half bag or so of fresh baby spinach
1/4 cup grated parmesean cheese
About 2 cups of chicken broth (low sodium if possible)
Juice from 1/2 lemon
salt/pepper
olive oil

After pounding out the chicken cutlets to flatten, place them on a workspace, season with salt and pepper, and top with a piece of the proscuitto. In a small saute pan, add 1 Tbl olive oil to pan over medium heat, and saute spinach. Then remove from heat, take spinach and arrange in even lay across each chicken piece, on top of the proscuitto. Sprinkle the Parmesean cheese over the spinach. Then, starting with the small end of the chicken, roll the chicken and toppings, and secure with a toothpick.

Heat 2 Tbl of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes each side. Add the chicken broth and the lemon juice, and then using a wooden spoon, scrape the bottom of the pan to get all the browned bits up. Bring the liquid to the boil, then reduce heat to medium. Cover and simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 8-10 minutes, turning chicken 2-3 times throughout. Transfer the chicken to a platter, and continue to simmer liquid over high heat for 2-3 more minutes. Serve without toothpicks, and drizzled with chicken broth liquid.


Oh this is so yummy. And very salty, I might add, so try and use the low-sodium broth if you can, but if not, don't worry about it.

* NOTE: I'm going to put this in another post, but save the liquid from the pan when done with this dish. Just put it in some tupperware and put in fridge.

Sweet Garlic Buns

This is definitely a random discovering, having much to do with leftovers. I'm always at a loss on what to do with the leftover Sweet Hawaiian Rolls/Buns in the package of 8, when we only use 4 or whatever. That's when I decided to try and make garlic bread with it. And, boy, am I happy I did.

Cheesy Factor (1 no cheese, 10 all cheese): cheese
Dummy Factor (1 easiest, 10 hardest): 2
Time Factor (1 shortest, 10 longest): 2

Sweet Garlic Buns
Sweet Hawaiian Rolls/Buns, sliced in half
Butter
Garlic Salt
Shredded cheese (mozzarella, provolone, or Monterrey jack)

In small dish or bowl, melt 1 Tbl butter for every 2 rolls/buns you are making in microwave. Put oven to broil, set bun halves face side up on baking sheet, and place under broiler. Lightly toast, about 2 minutes, or until you see them start to brown (be careful not to let burn). Take out from under broiler. With a spoon, gently drizzle melted butter over each half of bun, as evenly as possible (if have baste brush, could use this also). Then, sprinkle garlic salt over each half, and then top with thin layer of shredded cheese. Put back under broiler for 1-2 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Serve open faced or as "sandwich".

I can't believe I am going to say this, but be careful to not put too much cheese. I, of course, put way too much cheese, and it wasn't as good. Just a thin layer will suffice. But this was a nice easy snack to make or a good side with dinner, and it puts a sweet spin on your average garlic bread.

I Have So Much To Blog About....

I'm clearly in a slap happy mood and having fun with my play on words today: so much to blog about? not brag about. It never hurts to smother your chicken? Or anyone else for that matter. I can't help myself.

Coming up this week:
- Sweet Garlic Buns
- Spice Up Your Life, And Your Chicken
- Rice and Veggie Pilaf

I'm trying to get these posted ASAP, I promise.

It Never Hurts to Smother Your Chicken

This sounds like a self help book or something.... "Don't be afraid to smother your man" or something along those lines. This is a book I would never read for the record, but it IS ok to smother your chicken.

I get very tired of cooking chicken. I just feel like I run out of ways to do it. So I started treating chicken breasts as if they were different types of sandwiches. And I like different "toppings" on my sandwiches, so why not put these on my chicken?!

Cheesy Factory (1 no cheese, 10 all cheese): really? a "sandwich" without cheese?? Get serious.
Dummy Factor (1 easiest, 10 hardest): 3
Time Factor (1 shortest, 10 longest): 3

Smothered Chicken
2-4 chicken breasts, boneless, skinless (1 per person)
Monterrey Jack cheese, shredded
Avocado
Bacon
Mango Chutney Aioli (recipe in other blog post)

Season chicken breast with salt and pepper, and cook as desired (grilled, baked, in pan, etc.). Preheat broiler. Spread thin layer of mango chutney aioli on top of chicken, then add thin slice of avocado. Top the avocado with 2 bacon slices, and sprinkle with desired amount of shredded cheese. Place smothered chicken on broiler pan, and broil about 30 seconds (enough to melt cheese). Serve hot, with side of aioli for dipping if desired.

I think the key to this recipe, is to add a thin layer of favorite condiment to the chicken before adding any veggies or bacon, cheese, etc. It keeps the chicken moist when going into the broiler, and adds a little extra flavor. You don't have to make mayo chicken, just a thin layer will do: mayo, mustard, honey, Italian dressing, etc. They will all be good.

Just picture what you like on your sandwiches, or on your salads, and use those toppings on your chicken to create a whole new taste. 

Taco Chicken? Greek Chicken? Red Wine Vinegar Chicken?

I wanted to find a new "Chicken Taco" recipe yesterday, without much luck. I just get sick of the same ol' taco and fajita way I make chicken, and wanted to try something new. I found a chicken soft taco recipe on www.allrecipes.com that sounded like an interesting mix of ingredients, but it was highly rated, so I figured I would give it a whirl.

Let me first say, this is extremely easy, and very tasty, but I can't decided whether it was best for tacos. It almost tasted like Greek food tacos or something. Either way, I served it with Cheesy Corn as a side and it was great.

Cheesy Factor (1 no cheese, 10 all cheese): 1
Dummy Factor (1 easiest, 10 hardest): 2
Time Factor (1 shortest, 10 longest): 2.5

Chicken for Greek or Tacos
1.5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into small cubes
1/8 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 lime, juiced
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 green onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp dried oregano
Tortillas
 Olive oil

Heat 1-2 Tbl olive oil in large saute pan over medium heat. Saute chicken for about 20 minutes. Add vinegar, lime, sugar, salt, pepper, green onions, garlic, and oregano, and mix well. Cook for another 10 minutes, stirring constantly. Serve in tortillas with favorite taco condiments OR over salad.

I improvised on the salad thing. I was just thinking that this chicken would probably be so good over salad! Throw in some chopped tomatoes, olives, feta cheese and red onion? You have yourself a nice little Greek Salad.

Like I said, random mix of ingredients. Especially the lime? Weird. Anyway, it all came together quite nicely and tasted very good. 

Ft. Wayne, Indiana Mashed Potato Bar

My cousin Kelly got married this weekend to an awesome awesome girl, Fabiana, and the wedding was nothing less than amazing. We are all so very excited for them, and so happy to have Fabi in our family. It got me thinking about wedding planning. I've decide to "broadcast" the best piece of wedding planning advice that I have: Make your wedding your own.

James and I had the exact wedding that we wanted, and it was very "us". We had lots of little fun, unique ideas that represented our personalities, and were able to incorporate them into our wedding, even if they posed challenges or costly. We had a very Do-It-Yourself wedding that was less than "traditional" so to speak.

Baldwin Family Photo at Shields wedding

One of the amazing things about Kelly and Fabi's wedding was they took a very traditional wedding (ceremony in church, reception at Country Club), and added fun unique twists to make it true to them:

A) The ceremony was in two languages. Fabi is from Brazil and her family doesn't speak English. They had one of the readings said in Portuguese and had it printed in English in the program. They also had the priest do a short second homily in Portuguese (he did so awesome!). And finally, as a surprise to everyone, even the wedding planner, they said their vows in both languages. It was so touching and thoughtful.

B) Their entrance to the reception was one of the best I have seen (aside from ours, of course): Kelly and Fabi and their wedding party marched down the 18th fairway of the golf course behind an Irish bagpiper and drummer while everyone was watching on the balcony over-looking the hole. It was AWESOME. We have a hard-core Irish family and it was such a cool way to incorporate some of our culture and heritage.

C) The Guestbook: they had a "Faux-tographer" open-photo booth where guests went in groups for pictures by a mannequin holding a camera in front of a back-drop. Then the pictures printed out on a custom sleeve of 4 in two copies within like 2 minutes: one was for you to keep, and one was to put into their "guest book" with a note you wrote to them.

These were two of the shots we did

This is the mannequin that took the pictures. Camera was on timer where you pushed button to start and then it took 4 pictures.

For anyone looking to do this, it was so cool. They used www.iduweddings.com. P.S. if you have had a few adult beverages, you might think the mannequin was a real person at first. Not me, of course, but someone. But not me.

D) Glow sticks! So random, but so much fun. My cousin Timmy, the groom's brother, ordered 600, yes, 600, glow-sticks. Once the party got going and people were dancing, the glow sticks flowed and it was so cool. People were making them into head-bands, wrist bands, putting them in their belt buckles, you name it. Then, when they made their exit, everyone held up the glow sticks for them to walk under and it looked so cool.

E) Mashed Potato Bar! (See below)

I could go on and on about the little things they did. Kelly had belt buckles made as his groomsman gift that was personalized to each guy (Timmy's said "Bestman", his dad's said "Wingman", etc.) and they all wore them with their tuxes. So many little details!

There is a food-ending to this story: Mashed Potato Bar. This is a great idea for a party or group gathering at your house too. You can serve them in martini or wine glasses to make for a fun presentation.

Cheesy Factor (1 no cheese, 10 all cheese): what is a mashed potato bar without cheese?! Get serious!
Dummy Factor (1 easiest, 10 hardest): 1
Time Factor (1 shortest, 10 longest): could be time consuming if you make all toppings yourself

Mashed Potato Bar
Mashed potatoes
Shredded Cheese
Bacon bits
Chives
Mushroom gravy
Baby shrimp
Sour Cream
Chopped tomatoes

Serve mashed potatoes into bowl, martini glass, or wine glass. Put all chosen toppings into separate containers and allow eaters to make their own, buffet-style.

For the mashed potatoes, you can even buy the bagged/instant ones. Otherwise, peel potatoes, boil until super soft, then blend with milk until creamy and desired consistency. For the bacon bits, obviously cooking your own bacon and crumbling it will taste better, but they make some decent bagged bacon bits that you can find in the salad dressing aisle of the grocery store now. Mushroom gravy can be home-made or store bought as well.

This is just a fun dinner-party meal. Fun for kids too, although I maybe wouldn't serve kids theirs in the martini or wine glasses unless you have floors and furniture made of cushions. I think this is also a cool food idea because you can make it as home-made and complicated as you want, or can go super easy and all store bought for something different.

Dear Parking Lot C Angry-at-Life Shuttle Driver Lady,

Dear LAX Parking Lot C Angry-at-Life Shuttle Driver Lady,

         Thank you so much for helping the foreigner-who-lost-his-car-in-what-he-thought-was-maybe,-perhaps,-could-be-parking-lot C,-but-he's-not-really-sure-it-might-even-be-a-different-lot,-but-you-wouldn't-know-that-because-he-can't-speak-English-guy. That was so very nice of you to take 10 minutes of not only your time, but everyone else's time. We were all so happy to be a part of it.

Also, thank you for taking a 10 minute smoke break in the middle of the shuttle ride. I'm sure no one was in a hurry to make a flight, and you were correct when you yelled that it isn't your fault that no one allowed enough time at the airport, so there was clearly no reason not to!

Finally, thank you for being so courteous and understanding to everyone when cramming 20 people in space for 5 because you decided to pick up someone in a large wheelchair who wanted to go to the bus station, since it was on the way to the airport, even though you told them it wasn't the right bus. We were all hoping that we could hug a bunch of strangers, and since we were already rubbing up against each other with so much space, we were so glad you volunteered the free space to a passerby.

All of this was what made it possible for us to miss our flight Thursday night, and we surely couldn't have done it without you. I was so excited to hang out at the airport for an additional two hours. It was so much fun! It was also because of you that I was able to take two flights instead of one! I love when that happens! Layovers are my favorite.

If there is anything I can do to show you my appreciation for you and your envious work ethic, please let me know.

Abby

Cilantro: The Red-Headed Step Child of My Herb Garden

I have a nice little potted herb garden with basil, thyme, rosemary, parsley, and......cilantro. Fresh cilantro is by far my favorite herb. However, I can not, for the life of me, seem to get it to grow! This is the second time I have tried. All my other herbs? Perfect. Cilantro? Dying, flowering, wilting, you name it.

Any tips on how to grow cilantro would be greatly appreciated because clearly, I have no idea what I am doing.

Zesty Chicken for Newly Engaged and Newly-Weds!

I'm still glowing from the weekend. Or maybe I'm sweating. I can't tell. Either way, I'm happy! Not only are my cousin Kelly and Fabi getting married this weekend:

(I couldn't find a picture of Kelly and Fabi quickly, so I put this funny one up. I'm random today.)

AND one of my best friends, Stephanie, and Matt are engaged:

Seriously, two of the most amazing people I know. And not hard on the eyes either.

But, I got another call from one of my great guy friends, Aaron, and he and his girlfriend just got engaged also!

I stole this picture from facebook. I'm not creepy at all, I swear.

So, for all the newly engaged, and soon to be newly-weds, here is another recipe.

I'm almost mad at myself for putting this recipe up. I almost didn't because, well, to be honest, it's too easy. There is absolutely nothing creative or fun or interesting about cooking this. But, it tastes dang good!

The first time I made this, it was on accident, and because I forgot to make a marinade for chicken skewers I was making for 30 Filipino relatives. Needless to say, I needed to come up with some way to jazz this chicken up before our family BBQ the next day. I went through the pantry and found an unopened bottle of Zesty Italian Dressing. BINGO. Amazing amazing chicken was created!

Cheesy Factor (1 no cheese, 10 all cheese): for the lactose-intolerant
Dummy Factor (1 easiest, 10 hardest): this should be like a negative number it's so easy
Time Factor (1 shortest, 10 longest): Needs to marinate over night, but then a 1

Zesty Chicken
Chicken breasts (boneless, skinless), cut into 1-1.5 in cubes
Zesty Italian salad dressing
garlic salt
pepper

Season chicken breast cubes with garlic salt and pepper. Put chicken into ziploc bag with salad dressing, making sure there is plenty to soak in. Marinate in refrigerator over-night (or minimum 8 hours). Heat grill to medium-high heat. Take chicken out of bag and skewer, discard remaining dressing in bag. Cook chicken skewers for 5-10 minutes, or until cooked through.

I just realized, as I am writing this, that I suppose you don't have to make skewers. You could just put the whole chicken breast in the bag to marinate. I skewer everything so don't listen to me. I think it's because I am lazy and I like my food in bite-size pieces so that when it's done cooking, I can just shovel it in my mouth without having to worry about cutting it first. Weirdo. 

Sliders: Another Smash Hit From the Gardners!

Mark and Francoise Gardner have now contributed 3 recipes to this blog, and this most recent one, sliders, is a smash hit! I have made them 3 times in the last month for various bbq's. They are super easy, and everyone always loves them!

Cheesy Factor (1 no cheese, 10 all cheese): cheese option, but as always, cheese makes everything better
Dummy Factor (1 easiest, 10 hardest): 2
Time Factor (1 shortest, 10 longest): 2

Sliders
3 lbs ground chuck (80/20 mix)
1/2 bottle of Teryaki sauce/marinade
2 eggs
10-12 saltine crackers
1/2 cup sweet onion, finely diced
2 packages of Hawaiian Sweet Rolls (24 ct.)
Thousand Island Dressing
Sandwich Slice Pickles (optional)
American Cheese slices (option)

In large mixing bowl, combine beef, Teryaki sauce, eggs, and onion. Smash up crackers in crumbs, and add to mix. Gently mix all ingredients together with you hands. If mixture seems too mushy or runny, add more cracker crumbs. If it seems too dry, add a little bit more teryaki until you get the consistency to make patties. Form meat mixture into small patties. Heat grill and cook patties over medium-high heat until desired doneness. Cut cheese slices into 4 small slices, and add to patties to melt (if using cheese). Serve patties on sweet rolls with thousand island dressing and pickles (optional).

These are soooo good. You may not need all or any of the crackers, depending on how thick the Teryaki sauce you use it, but it's a good idea to have them on hand in case you the consistency is a little runny. I used a Lawry's 30-minute Teryaki marinade and sauce, and it was great. I think the Gardners use the Soy-Yaki sauce from Trader Joe's, and it is awesome too. Another great twist is the Island flavor Very-Tery sauce. Any will work great!

Abby Melad: The Next Chapter

I often get annoyed when people talk about how happy they are or how great their life is. But honestly, right now, I am one of those people. Life is awesome right now. All the pieces fit right now, and this self-realization started this weekend, as James and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary.

It was such an awesome weekend! Friday night we went to the fair where we both ate ourselves sick. Literally. James's cake topper was the fried oreos, and mine a churro. But I discovered something new this year, as I usually do at the fair: bacon wrapped jalapeno poppers, made with real jalapenos! They were amazing.

Saturday, our actual anniversary, we woke up and I made a big breakfast for us of eggs, bacon, potatoes, rice, etc. Then we took Guinness down to Salt Creek for some time at the beach and the park. This park is amazing, and I had never been there before. Guinness made a new friend, Lea, a Shih-Tzu and Pekingese mix, all black, and they were immediately playing together. So cute! For my anniversary gift, James got us tickets to see Kid Rock and Cheryl Crow Saturday night at the amphitheater in Irvine! It was so so very fun! I had a few too many cervezas, but it was so fun at the time I couldn't help myself! For part of my gift to James, I have officially changed my name to Abby Baldwin Melad, and I finally got to use my new ID that night! It's the little things, ya know?!

Sunday, we woke up, had a big breakfast again, then went golfing at Willowick in Santa Ana. Came home, got dressed up in my newly cut-off wedding dress (above), and we went out to a fancy dinner at Flemings Steakhouse! It was unreal. Shrimp cocktail, Filet, potatoes, the works! And raspberry sorbet, with fresh whipped cream, to end it.

It was a perfect perfect weekend. Which just made me realize, life is great. Work is going awesome right now. I have amazing friends. I'm obsessed with my husband and my dog. My family is well. No complaints! For what feels like the first time ever.

And to top it all off.....my cousin Kelly is getting married this weekend to an amazing woman, Fabiana, and my great friends Stephanie and Matt are engaged!!!! I have yet to hear details, but received the text as I was typing this. I can't wait!

XOXO

Taco Cart "Carne Asada" Style Tacos

I'll be 100% honest, I don't really know what "Carne Asada" is or means, except that it's really good. I wanted to try and make tacos like they have at the taco trucks/carts do here in SoCal, and it's definitely a work in progress, but I made these the other night, and they are DELICIOUS. I think they are the best tacos I have, personally, cooked. And I got verbal confirmation from our friends Jessica and Luke that they were pretty dang good too.

Here is a pic from the taco cart that James got for my 30th b-day party. Awesome!

A little side schpeal on why some of the recipes are honestly that much better when you marinate for long periods of time: a lot of people turn their noses up at flank steak, saying that it can be tough. This is true, if you don't know what you are doing.
- 1) You should always cut flank steak, or any other typically tougher piece of meat, into thin strips, and most importantly, cutting/slicing against the grain. For example: when you look at a piece of flank steak, you see lines running lengthwise in the meat. You should be slicing then, width-wise, perpendicular to the natural lines you see (this is what "against the grain" means).
- 2) There are certain ingredients that act as natural enzymes with tough meat, that when given time, break down the meat muscles holding it all tight together, loosening the meat up. If you have a  tougher piece of meat, such as flank steak or sirloin, etc., marinating it for long periods of time in certain ingredients actually tenderize the meat. Use vinegars, creams, milks, acids (fruit juices: lime, lemon, orange, pineapple, etc.), soy, 7-up, Sprite, beer, wine....that's all I can think of for now. But you get the idea. Use any one of these, or combination of them in your marinade (even if for short time), can help tenderize your meat.

I don't know if any of you care to know this random food education, but I am a nerd and think it's interesting. Like science. Food science. Nerdy science.


Cheesy Factor (1 no cheese, 10 all cheese): cheese is optional in this one
Dummy Factor (1 easiest, 10 hardest): 2
Time Factor (1 shortest, 10 longest): long marinate time, after that, a 2 at the most

"Taco Cart" Style Tacos
Flank Steak (1.5-2 lbs for 4 people)
1/3 cup white distilled vinegar
1/2 cup soy sauce
5 large cloves garlic, minced
2 limes, juiced
1/2 cup olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 and 1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp paprika
1/2 sweet onion, chopped
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1 lime, juiced
1 package white corn tortillas
1-2 cups fresh grated manchego cheese (optional)
Hot Sauce (optional)
Sour Cream (optional)
Salsa (optional)
1-2 Tbl Vegetable oil

In mixing bowl, combine vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, lime juice, olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder, chili powder, oregano, cumin, and paprika. Whisk and then pour over flank steak in a shallow glass baking dish. Turn once to coat, cover with plastic wrap, put in refrigerator, and marinate for 8 hour or overnight. In small bowl, combine onion, cilantro, and lime juice as relish for tacos. Remove meat from marinade, discard remaining marinade, and thin slice or chop the flank steak. In large skillet over medium-high heat, heat 1-2 Tbl of Vegetable oil. Add meat to skillet, and cook over medium-high heat until meat has cooked through (5 minutes or so). Heat separate small fry pan over medium-high heat. Add 1 tsp of liquid from large meat skillet pan to it, and add tortilla, turning once to get some of liquid on both sides, and cook tortillas, briefly one by one to heat through (it should be about 15-30 second per tortilla to warm). Drain meat from mixture, serve meat in tortillas, topped with cheese, salsa, sour cream, onion relish, and hot sauce.

Optional Rice Addition:
1 cup long grain white rice, cook as directed
2 limes, juiced
1 tsp salt
2 Tbl chopped fresh cilantro

Cook white rice as directed. Just prior to serving rice, mix lime juice, salt, and fresh cilantro into rice and stir well. Serve rice in tacos with meat and toppings.


So, the rice I made was not quite what I was expecting. I was trying to make the rice that they have at Chipotle or Qdoba, but I make the rookie-ball mistake of 1) using our Asian white sticky rice and 2) adding the cilantro in, then shutting the rice cooker and letting it sit for an hour, which basically burned the cilantro. Oops. So use your normal white rice, and don't add the cilantro until just before serving. 

WHY?!

WHY WHY WHY can't lemons be like limes and have all the juicy flavor, but with NO SEEDS! So annoying.

Meatballs for Lil' Bow Wow

I am so embarrassed to admit, but I LOVE lil' Bow Wow movies. All of them. I am watching "Like Mike" right now, and I can't stop. Roll Bounce? Loved it. Tokyo Drift? Awesome. I can't help myself! I knew James and I were meant to be when we decided to rent Lottery Ticket one night on a date. It wasn't until James that I was willing to admit to my love of Bow Wow movies.

(Off kilter, but I think this love affair started with Drum Line, which doesn't have Bow Wow in it, but was a similar type of movie that I have probably seen 20 times, at least.)

Anyway, this has nothing to do with meatballs. But if I were to try and tie this all in together, I'd say the last time I watched a movie like this, I ended up watching random tv (food network and Bravo) and Barefoot Contessa was on. I don't typically watch her show, but when it's on, I love the food that she makes. I finally decided it was time for me to try to make some.

My friend Jill and I were talking about meatballs recently, and she told me that she never tries to make meatballs because she's afraid to try and fry them. I told her that all the times I made meatballs, they were always baked and put into a slow cookers. Then, boom! The next meatball recipe I find, it has me frying meatballs. I'm not sure I'm too good at it, as my perfectly shaped spheres started to look like little geometric shapes while frying. There has to be a trick I don't know for keeping them circular. Any ideas???


Cheesy Factor (1 no cheese, 10 all cheese): 2
Dummy Factor (1 easiest, 10 hardest): a little more challenging, but not impossible
Time Factor (1 shortest, 10 longest): 4

Meatballs
1/2 lb ground pork
1/2 lb ground beef
1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs (2 slices bread, crusts removed)
1/8 cup seasoned dry bread crumbs
1 Tbl fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp Kosher salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup plus 1/8 cup warm water
Vegetable oil
Olive oil
Tomato Sauce
Spaghetti noodles, cooked 

 Place the ground meats, both bread crumbs, parsley, Parmesan, salt, pepper, nutmeg, 1/2 the beaten egg, and the water into a mixing bowl. Combine lightly with fork. Using hands, form lightly into 2-in diameter meatballs (you will have about 7-8 meatballs). Pour equal amounts of olive oil and vegetable oil into a large frying pan until depth is about 1/4 inch high. Heat the oil. Very carefully, place the meatballs (in batches if necessary) in the oil, and brown them well on all sides over medium-low heat, turning carefully with a spatula or fork. (This should take about 10 minutes per batch.) Don't crowd the meatballs. Transfer meatballs to plate covered in paper towels. Discard the oil but don't clean the pan. Add the tomato sauce to pan, and bring to simmer. Add meatballs back into sauce, cover, and simmer for 25-30 minutes, until the meatballs are cooked through. Add spaghetti noodles to sauce, toss, and serve hot with meatballs.

* Note: if you are using a non-stick pan, you won't need to do anything to your pan after you discard the oil and before adding tomato sauce. If you are using a stainless steal pan, you should add a little red wind to the pan and scrape up all the bits on the bottom of pan (de-glaze) before adding the tomato sauce.

These are some of the best meatballs I have ever had. The original recipe from Barefoot Contessa calls for 1/4 lb ground pork, and 1/4 lb ground veal. I opted out of the veal simply because the grocery store I was at didn't sell ground veal in quantities less than 1 lb, and since it's pretty expensive, I didn't want to waste the rest.

As for the tomato sauce, you can use whatever you like. The recipe for sauce I put in the "Impress Me Spaghetti" blog post would be good, or the sauce in the "Best Lasagna Ever" post. Or you can just buy jarred sauce (although it won't be nearly as good).

Anyway, these are super super good. The frying part is a little tricky if you actually care that the meatballs be perfect circles. At least for me anyway. 

Homemade Garlic Bread

I use the term "home made" loosely, as I did not actually make the bread, but I did make the spread that goes on it. I bought a partially cooked loaf of ciabatta, and finished off in the oven.

Cheesy Factor (1 no cheese, 10 all cheese): you could add cheese, it would obviously make it even better
Dummy Factor (1 easiest, 10 hardest): 1
Time Factor (1 shortest, 10 longest): 1

Garlic Bread
7-8 large garlic cloves, loosely chopped
1/2 cup fresh herbs, chopped (combination of parsley, oregano, and basil recommended)
3/4 tsp kosher salt
Fresh ground black pepper
1/2 cup good quality olive oil
1 loaf ciabatta bread
3 Tbl unsalted butter

Preheat oven to 350 deg (if using already cooked bread, 385 deg if partially cooked). Place garlic in food processor and process until minced. Add herbs and salt and pulse 3-4 times. Put olive oil in sauce pan over medium-low heat and then add garlic mixture. Cook, while stirring for 2-3 minutes or so, then remove pan from heat. Slice ciabatta bread in half horizontally. Spread butter on one half of the bread, spoon all olive oil mixture on the other half and spread around in even layer. Close the two pieces of bread back together, wrap in tinfoil. Cook for 5 minutes in tinfoil, then remove from tinfoil and cook additional 5 minutes, if using pre-cooked bread (otherwise, cook additional 8-10 minutes if using partially cooked bread, until crispy on outside).

This is really really good. And don't be afraid of using all the olive oil mixture. It looks like a lot, but it is dang good. 

Sirloin or Pork Skewers- The Filipino Way

Pork skewers, or "BBQ" as the Filipinos call them, are one of my all-time favorite family recipes. So much so, that we had our family bring them from California to Michigan for our wedding (shown above with Kyle). They were such a hit! I naively assumed that when we got married I would be given the "keys to the city", aka given the family recipe for the BBQ, but no luck so far.

I made the below marinade last week using top sirloin for kabobs, and when eating, I noticed it tasted strangely familiar, and amazing, and when naming off ingredients used to my husband, he responded with, "That's the BBQ marinade!". So, it may be a little off here and there with proportions, etc., but it is pretty dang close. They use pork butt for the meat, and it is soooo good, but if you don't eat pork, or can't find pork butt at your local Asian market, then top sirloin tastes pretty dang good too!

Cheesy Factor (1 no cheese, 10 all cheese): 1
Dummy Factor (1 easiest, 10 hardest): 2
Time Factor (1 shortest, 10 longest): 7, but only because need to marinate minimum 8 hours or over night

Sirloin or Pork "BBQ" Skewers
1/4 cup soy sauce
3 Tbl brown sugar
3 Tbl distilled white vinegar
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp seasoned salt
1/2 tsp garlic pepper seasoning
4 fluid ounces of Sprite or 7-up
1 lb top sirloin, cut into 1.5 inch pieces, OR 1 lb pork butt, cut into 1 inch strips

In medium bowl, mix all ingredients except meat. Pour half of the mixture into a plastic bag with meat, seal, and marinate minimum 8 hours, or over-night, in refrigerator. Save the other half of marinade for basting. Preheat grill to high heat. Put meat onto skewers, discard marinade in bag. Lightly oil grill grate and cook skewers about 10 minutes, turning and basting heavily last 5 minutes of grilling. Serve hot.

You can also thread vegetables onto skewers if desired. 

Lite Deli Breakfast To-Go

I'm happy to report that MOST of the time, my food experiments work out pretty good. I had another success this morning, and it made me realize the only time that I experiment with food is when I have limited ingredients in the fridge and need food now.

The idea behind this post is that you can make an AWESOME breakfast sandwich with your lunch deli stuff. The recipe I am going to put on here is the one I made this morning, which was a complete experiment of flavor combinations, and it was delicious. It got me thinking, I bet you can make some really amazing breakfast sandwiches with different types of deli sandwich products.

The second best part of this idea, is how fast you can make these. These are the perfect breakfast to take on the run or when in a hurry because that longest thing on here is toast.

So this isn't so much of a recipe, as an inspiration.

Cheesy Factor (1 no cheese, 10 all cheese): well, mine, of course, is lots of cheese
Dummy Factor (1 easiest, 10 hardest): 2
Time Factor (1 shortest, 10 longest): 1 so so short!

Lite Deli Breakfast To-Go
1 slice of bread
1 slice of Monterrey Jack Cheese
2 slices of deli peppered turkey
1 egg white
Cream Cheese

Put slice of bread in toaster. While toasting, spray non-stick spray into small bowl, and put egg white into it. Put egg white into microwave for 35 seconds. When done, take cooked egg white out, place on a plate, and put slice of cheese on top of it to melt. Take When bread is done toasting, slice it in half, and put cream cheese on (optional). Put the egg white and cheese on one half of toast, then top with turkey slices, and other half of bread. Eat hot.

This isn't the largest breakfast in the world, so double it up if you want a big breakfast. Otherwise, it's a great morning starter to grab with a paper towel on the way out the door!

Customer Service and Mushroom Orzo

These two things have nothing in common, for the record.

I have been very impressed on two occasions recently with customer service. Maybe my expectations were low, as they usually are for customer service, but recently I have been noticing more and more great levels of customer service.

1) Some of you may know my mom became very sick recently, just before her and my dad and brother were planning their annual trip out here to visit. They had to cancel their trip the day before they were supposed to leave, and had to call Delta to make arrangements. Because it was for medical reasons, Delta waived not only my mom's change fee, but also my dad and my brother's (even thought my brother was coming in from a different city). They were so helpful and compassionate, it really took me by surprise. I wasn't expecting it and it made me feel good.

2) I have a slight obsession with Pottery Barn these days. Their marketing and advertising team are a bunch of genius's if you ask me. Case in point: they must have sent me one catalog a week with all their "Outdoor Living" crap, that I finally caved and decided to make something into our little side patio:

(I also got a big umbrella that goes over the space but you can't see it in picture.) They had a sale on the outdoor pillows, with free shipping, so I, of course, ordered like 15 pillows, because I couldn't decide which combination of pillows I wanted without seeing them in person. Anyway, when it came time to return the pillows I didn't want, PB credited me with a merchandise card instead of crediting my credit card. Needless to say, I wasn't very pleased. I sent their customer service an email and asked that they credit my card instead, and I was seriously fuming and expected them to tell me that I was SOL (sh-t out of luck). They promptly responded that they were sorry for the inconvenience, and that they were credit my card within 4 days. WOW. Once again, impressed.

It doesn't take much, in my opinion, to provide good customer service, and although this has absolutely nothing to do with food, I've been feeling the need to tell someone about this.

So, back to food. I struggle with finding new and easy side dishes all the time, but this is a good one:

Cheesy Factor (1 no cheese, 10 all cheese): 1
Dummy Factor (1 easiest, 10 hardest): 2
Time Factor (1 shortest, 10 longest): 3

Mushroom Orzo
1 Tbl butter
6 mushrooms, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup onion, chopped
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup water
1/2 tsp favorite fresh herb, chopped
1/2 cup orzo pasta
salt and pepper

In sauce pan, bring chicken broth and water to boil, add orzo, reduce to simmer, and cook as directed, or until soft/slightly al dente. While orzo is cooking, in a saute pan, melt butter over medium heat. Add mushrooms, garlic, onion, season with salt, pepper, and herbs, and saute until soft. Once orzo is done cooking, drain and then add to saute pan, and toss to mix. Season with a little more salt and pepper, and toss again. Serve hot.

This doesn't sound all that exciting, but it's pretty flavorful. The orzo soaks up a lot of the chicken flavor, and the sauteed veggies and garlic with herbs mix in really nice. Overall, it's a pretty adaptable side dish that will go with whatever main entre you are serving.

OMG Cheesy Corn?!?!?!

The recipe I made is for 2 people, but it is so delicious, that I really wish I would've made extra. So, I am putting the recipe on here that will yield 4 normal size servings, or 2 Abby-Cheesy portions. It's seriously one of the most finger-licking good things I have eaten in a long time.

I think this was meant to be a Mexican side dish, but I can't imagine trying to eat it with anything else that's spicy. This is an immediate winner. A great pot-luck dish to please the masses. I mean, can you think of anything better than cheesy corn?!

Cheesy Factor (1 no cheese, 10 all cheese): 8 FINALLY!
Dummy Factor (1 easiest, 10 hardest): the culinary challenged can't screw this up
Time Factor (1 shortest, 10 longest): 3

Cheesy Corn
1 15oz can of whole kernel corn, drained
1/2 of an 8oz package of cream cheese
2 Tbl butter
8-10 jarred jalapeno slices, finely chopped
1.2 tsp garlic salt

Put all ingredients into sauce pan and mix, and cook over medium-low heat, stirring continually after cheese melts. Cook for about 10 minutes, or until heated through and blended well. Serve hot.

Oh, heavenly cheesy corn. How did I survive all these years without you? Spicy? Cheesy? And I feel less guilty knowing I am eating a vegetable?! It doesn't get much better.

I'd go so far as to say this is one of my favorite recipes of all time. It's that good.

Easy, Fast Chicken Kabob Marinade

This marinade is super random, but it is full of flavor, and the best part is: you only need to marinate for 30 minutes. There are so many amazing marinades, but so many of them require you to marinate for like 4 hours or something ridiculous. I'm not that organized most of the time, so I like ones that are quick and painless. This is also a great marinade in that most of the ingredients, aside from a fresh herb, you probably already have in your fridge and pantry!

Cheesy Factor (1 no cheese, 10 all cheese): 0
Dummy Factor (1 easiest, 10 hardest): 1
Time Factor (1 shortest, 10 longest): 3

30 Minute Ranch Chicken Marinade
1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 ranch dressing
2 Tbl Worcestershire Sauce
2 and 1/2 tsp minced fresh rosemary
1 and 1/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp lemon juice
3/4 tsp white (distilled) vinegar
1/4 tsp pepper
2 tsp white sugar
2-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 in pieces (1 breast per person)

Put all ingredients (except chicken) into bowl and whisk together. Let stand 5 minutes. In plastic bag, combine chicken and marinade. Seal bag and put in refrigerator for 30 minutes. Preheat grill to medium-high heat. Put chicken onto skewers and discard marinade. Lightly oil grill grate, and then grill chicken skewers for 8-12 minutes or until cooked through center and juices run clear.

That's it! So simple! So yummy. And I don't even like ranch dressing, but it doesn't really taste like ranch at all. This marinade makes enough for 4 chicken breasts, but I make the full amount even if only make 2 breasts. And this is the one time I will say don't try and substitute dried herb for fresh herb. It really makes a difference.

Mommy's Recovery Beef Stroganoff!

I like to think of myself as spontaneous, and always able to travel at the last minute. But normally, I associate that scenario with fun things, and vacations, not emergency travel. Last week, my mom had to have a last minute surgery in Ft. Wayne, IN, and I decided the morning of the surgery that I needed to be there. So, at 2pm I bought a plane ticket, and at 8pm I left the house for the airport. It was not necessary the best packing job I have done, but it worked!

My mom's recovery has been going very well, but one of the side effects of being on morphine (yes, morphine) is loss of appetite. So, yesterday we got to take my mom home to Michigan, and my dad asks her what she wants for dinner. She said nothing has been sounding too great, but "maybe steak shishkabobs?" My dad says ok. Then he mentions rice as a side, and she says, "I want noodles". Beef and noodles? If I didn't know any better, I'd say my mom was hanging out with James too much. But I do know better, so I know she isn't talking Asian food, she is just being random.

I learned all my cooking skills from my dad, so I was not surprised when he immediately thought of beef stroganoff for my mom. I guess he makes it from time to time in the slow cooker, and I was curious as to how he was going to get the meat tender in 2 hours time. He didn't disappoint! It was soooooo amazing. I had 3 helpings, and I drank the sauce from my plate. I'm not exaggerating, and it wasn't lady like, but it was delicious and thus, completely necessary.

We all agreed, this was "company worthy", meaning, it's something we would serve if having guests over for dinner. I told my dad, "this was blog worthy".

Cheesy Factor (1 no cheese, 10 all cheese): I'm not sure how something so delicious has no cheese
Time Factor (1 shortest, 10 longest): 6 it's pretty dang long cook time, but not much prep time
Easy Factor (1 easiest, 10 hardest): I didn't cook it, but dad says 4


Beef Stroganoff
2 Tbl olive oil
1.5 Lbs top sirloin steak, cut into 1/2 in pieces and seasoned with fresh ground black pepper
4 strips thick cut bacon, cut into 1/4 in pieces
1/2 onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1.5 Tbl seasoned salt
1/4 cup Worcestershire Sauce
4 cups beef broth
1/3 cup red wine
1 package (8 oz) dry egg noodles
2/3 pkg fresh mushrooms, sliced
1.5 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp butter
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/3 cup cold water
1 (8 oz) container sour cream

In large dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add cubed meat, brown, then remove from pan. In the same dutch oven, add bacon, onion, celery, and saute until onions and celery are translucent and bacon fully cooked. Then add browned meat back to pan. Stir in seasoned salt, Worcestershire sauce, beef broth, red wine, thyme. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer (low to medium-low heat), simmer for 1 to 1.5 hours, until meat is fork tender. When meat is fork tender, take separate large pot, fill with water, season with salt, and bring to boil. Add egg noodles and cook 8-10 minutes, or until al dente. In a skillet, melt butter over medium heat, add mushrooms and saute 3-4 minutes, then add them to the meat mixture. Bring the meat mixture to a boil. In small bowl, whisk/mix together corn starch and water, then stir this into the meat mixture, stirring constantly while adding. Add sour cream slowly, constantly blending sour cream into liquid until creamy. Remove from heat, let stand 1-2 minutes, serve over egg noodles.


Yum yum yum. I just ate breakfast, and typing this is getting me thinking I may need a snack of left over stroganoff.

Summer Sliders

One of the many many things I love about summer is grilling! It makes me want to grill anything and everything. When I was moving to Indianapolis into my first big-girl apartment (many moons ago), my parents bought me a grill as a housewarming present. It was an Aussie grill, with a side burner and it was awesome! It traveled the states with me, moving from place to place, until April of this year, when, sentimentally, my parents replaced my old grill, with a new upgraded grill for my 30th birthday! It's huge, and what a difference a new grill makes! I love everything that comes with grilling too: eating outside, hanging with friends, fire-pits, etc.

Although this is kind of a repeat recipe, it's another way to look at an oldie but goodie.

Cheesy Factor (1 no cheese, 10 all cheese): cheese optional
Time Factor (1 shortest, 10 longest): 2
Dummy Factor (1 easiest, 10 hardest): 3


Summer Sliders
1 lb ground beef
1 package powdered ranch dressing mix
1 egg, beaten
5-6 saltine crackers, crushed
1/2 small onion, chopped
6 slices of bread, toasted
3 slices of cheese (optional)
Condiments

Heat grill to medium heat. In large mixing bowl, combine ground beef, ranch mix, 1/2 of beaten egg, crushed saltines, and onion, and mix well. Form mixture into 12 small patties. Grill over medium heat until desired doneness (add cheese towards end to melt if desired). Toast all bread slices, then cut each piece of toast into 4 pieces. Serve each slider in between 2 pieces of toast, serve with preferred condiments. Makes 12 sliders.


Like I said, kind of a repeat of a burger recipe, but a new thing to do with it. I actually have another slider recipe I want to try, and since it's summer, don't be surprised to see a lot of grill recipes coming up.

Grilled Lobster Tails

For those of you that shop at Albertson's, they run a special once in a while on the small lobster tails for like $4.50 each or something. More often, they have them on sale for like $8.00/tail, but either way, it's a smokin' deal if all you want is a little taste of heaven.

I had never grilled lobster before, and it was easiest, and yummier, than I expected.

Cheesy Factor (1 no cheese, 10 all cheese): 1
Time Factor (1 shortest, 10 longest): 2
Dummy Factor (1 easiest, 10 hardest): 2

Grilled Lobster Tails
1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp paprika
1/8 tsp ground pepper (black or white) 
4 small lobster tails

Mix lemon juice, olive oil, garlic salt, paprika, and pepper in a bowl. Using sharp knife, split lobster tail down the middle, leaving connected the two very ends. Heat grill to medium-high heat. Using basting brush, brush marinade onto flesh-side of lobster. Grill flesh-side down for 5-6 minutes, turn, grill additional 4-5 minutes. Baste again with mixture, then turn once more and grill for 3-4 minutes. Serve immediately. Discard remaining marinade.

The Best Lasagna Uncle Javier Has Ever Had!

Guinness has a special relationship with a couple of our friends. Erin Keller, the dog whisperer, always makes Guinness so excited when she sees her that she pees. Every time. Never fails. But probably her most special relationship is with her Uncle Javier. He often takes her to work with him for the day, and now knows him by name! I think Javier likes her more than us. For my 30th b-day, he brought her a gift, instead of me. It was a teddy bear, and her new favorite toy. Her new game is to try and get the arms of the bear out of the t-shirt. Weirdo.

We recently went on a vacation where we couldn't take our dog, Guinness. She isn't the easiest dog when it comes to sleeping, as she likes to sleep in our bed, instead of her own "big girl bed", so we debated about what to do with her while we were gone. She spends a lot of time with her BFF, Mini Panda, across the street, so we asked our friends the Norton's if they wouldn't mind watching her. They love and treat her like they do Mini, so we knew she would be well taken care of. The other options were a kennel, or her Uncle Javier, but until she sleeps through the night in her own bed, we didn't think Javier would stay sane for 5 days. We did list Javier as her "emergency contact", and when asked what relationship was, I said Godfather. Man, are we cheesy (pun intended). Here's a pic of the besties, Guinness and Mini.

This doesn't have much to do with lasagna. But when I thought about when I made the lasagna, I remembered that Javier had been telling me he made a mean lasagna, and we had invited him and Danielle for dinner when I made it, and I was very nervous. However, after eating it, he said it might be the best lasagna he's ever had! Best. Compliment. Ever. When we left for our vacation a couple of days later, we had tons of lasagna left, and I didn't want such hard work to go to waste, so I sent piles of leftovers with the Norton's when they came to pick up Guinness. James thought it was very strange to give our friends leftovers when they don't ask for them, but I hadn't really thought twice about it. Needless to say, they said they loved the lasagna! Yippee! I'm not a weirdo!

Back to the food: this is a labor of love, I will warn you. But it's worth the 4 hours it takes to make.

Cheesy Factor (1 no cheese, 10 all cheese): you won't poop for a week
Dummy Factor (1 easiest, 10 hardest): 6-7
Time Factor (1 shortest, 10 longest): 7-8 ugh

Palio's Lasagna
1.5 lb mild Italian sausage, ground (optional)
1/4 cup water
2 Tbs unsalted butter
1 leek, white only, finely chopped
1 small fennel bulb (Anise), finely chopped
1.5 cup mushrooms, sliced
1 lb zucchini, sliced lengthwise into 1/4in thick slices
2 cups fresh spinach leaves, coarsely chopped
1 tsp fresh oregano
1 Tbs fresh basil
1 Tbs flour
1 cup heavy cream
Salt/Pepper
2 eggs
15 lasagna noodles (no-boil type)
2 15oz. containers part-skim ricotta cheese
1 cup Parmesan cheese
4 cups mozzarella cheese, grated or shredded
1.5 cups fontina cheese, grated
4 cups tomato sauce (recipe below)

Preheat oven to 350 deg. In large pan, add Italian sausage with 1/4 cup of water and cook over medium high heat, stirring to break up meat, until cooked through. Drain and set aside. Melt the butter in the pan, and add chopped leek and fennel and saute over medium heat for 8-10 minutes or until tender. Add mushrooms and continue to saute until soft. Stir in flour, then add heavy cream, basil, oregano, salt and pepper. Bring to boil and cook for 2-3 minutes. Stir in the chopped spinach and cook for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and mix in the sausage, and set aside. Arrange sliced zucchini on non-stick baking sheet (or line sheet with parchment paper), season with salt and pepper, and bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside. In large bowl, beat eggs and mix in ricotta cheese, season with salt and pepper. In separate large bowl, combine remaining cheeses. 

Spray 13x9 glass baking dish with non-stick spray. Spread 1/2 cup tomato sauce over bottom of dish. Place 5 noodles over sauce, overlapping them a bit. Spread half of ricotta mixture evenly over noodles, then spread sausage mixture as well. Take half of baked zucchini and spread out over top of sausage mixture. Sprinkle 1/3 of cheeses evenly over zucchini. Repeat layering with 5 noodles, remaining ricotta, sausage mixture, zucchini, and 1/2 the amount of remaining cheeses. Arrange remaining 5 noodles to cover it all. Sprinkle remaining cheeses evenly over lasagna. Cover baking dish with aluminum foil, and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and continue baking until hot and golden on top, about 20-25 minutes. Take out of oven and let stand for 15 minutes before serving.

Tomato Sauce
3 24oz cans chopped tomatoes, preferably Hunts
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
6 medium size garlic cloves
1/3 cup canned tomato sauce
2 cups fresh basil leaves, coarsely chopped
1.5 Tbs kosher or sea salt
2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1 Tbs honey

In food processor or blender, puree olive oil and garlic. Pour the mixture into a sauce pan and heat over medium heat (don't burn garlic). Stir in chopped tomatoes, tomato sauce, salt and pepper. Bring to boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to low, simmer for 30 minutes. Stir in honey and fresh basil at end. Serve and freeze unused if desired.


Phew! I'm tired just writing this, let alone cooking it. No notes here. Don't substitute on this one. It's perfection. And don't even think about using jarred sauce to save time. The sauce makes this dish. And you've already committed, so don't skimp out now. You can thank me later.   

Abby Gets an 'F' in Blogging.....and an Asian Invasion in the Kitchen

My friend Jessica told me the other that I get an 'F' in blogging. I couldn't argue. I didn't quite realize when I got into this blogging thing that people expect posts often. However, it's a little different with a cooking blog. I don't know anyone who cooks who makes 365 different recipes a year. There are going to be lots of repeats, and I am not going to blog about something I have already told you about.

I'm not making excuses for the last month though, I just haven't been cooking as much to be honest. So, just give me a 'D' or a 'C-' instead of an 'F', pretty please.

No big news in the Melad family worth noting while I talk about food, but I will keep you updated, and promise to cook more.

Here is another episode in the "Asian food for white people" book (it's a joke, don't take offense, I'm not a racist). I'm getting better and better at these thanks to my in-laws who teach me everything I know about Asian/Pacific Island cooking.

Cheesy Factor (1 no cheese, 10 all cheese): If by cheese you mean soy sauce, then 5. Otherwise, 0.
Dummy Factor (1 easiest, 10 hardest): 4
Time Factor (1 shortest, 10 longest): 4

Spicy Chinese BBQ Chicken
1 Tbl toasted sesame seeds
2 Tbl cracked white, pink, or green peppercorns
1 tsp poppy seeds
1 tsp hot pepper flakes
1 Tbl garlic salt
2-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
3/4 cup KC Masterpiece Original BBQ Sauce
2 Tbl soy sauce
1 Tbl peanut or canola oil
1 Tbl rice vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp ground ginger

In a small sauce pan, combine, the BBQ sauce, soy sauce, oil, rice vinegar, garlic, and ground ginger, mix well, and bring to a simmer over medium-low heat. Let simmer for about 5 minutes. Pre- heat grill or saute pan over medium heat. In small mixing bowl, combine sesame seeds, pepper, poppy seeds, pepper flakes, garlic salt, and mix well. Rub mixture on all side of chicken breasts. Remove BBQ sauce from heat, and transfer sauce to serving bowl and allow to cool to room temperature. Spray non-stick spray on grill, or lightly oil grill grate with olive oil. Grill chicken breasts over medium heat until cooked through and juices clear, turning 2-3 times, basting with BBQ sauce each time you turn. Save remaining BBQ sauce for serving sauce.

Fried Rice
2 cups cooked white rice (preferably 1 day old)
1/4 cup finely chopped vegetables (carrots, onion, green pepper, peas, etc.), sauteed in butter
1 egg, fried
4 Tbl butter
3-4 Tbl soy sauce
salt/pepper
Toasted sesame seeds (optional)

Heat large fry pan over medium heat. Once pan is hot, add rice and allow to fry for a few minutes. Add butter, soy sauce, and sauteed vegetables. Mix well in pan (after mixing, rice should be light tan/brown color). Continue frying rice. Chop up fried egg and add to rice. Season rice with salt and pepper (and sesame seeds if using), continuing to stir and fry for about 2 minutes. Serve hot. Serves 4-6 people.


I made the above two dishes with the pea pods and mushrooms recipe posted a while back for an all over yummy meal. Here are my notes:
- A lot of recipes call for sesame seeds, and then add an extra step to have you toast them in fry pan. Just make it easy on yourself and buy the already toasted sesame seeds in the spice section at the store. They taste the same.
- Pepper: not sure what to tell you here. Hopefully, you magically have a spice mill to grind the peppercorns. If not, you can use a coffee grinder. Otherwise, you are SOL like I am and have to put them into your pepper grinder and grind by hand. Makes for strong (sore) forearms.
- BBQ sauce: I'm sure you can use whatever BBQ sauce you have in your fridge, but I like the KC Masterpiece Original
- You can save your leftover Chinese BBQ sauce covered in the fridge for several weeks
- If you remember/have time to make the white rice the day before, that is best. But if you want to make white rice day of, just give it time to cool in fridge for a little before frying it up.
- If you can handle managing multiple pans and one time, you can fry the egg in a small fry pan while doing everything else, and also saute veggies in another small pan at same time as well. Otherwise, just do it quickly before you start cooking so it's ready to go.
- Eye-ball the soy sauce when you're adding it to the fried rice. Add 3 Tbl, mix it all up and see if it's enough or not enough. Rice should be slightly covered with soy after mixing up.
- Don't give me crap about not adding sprouts of whatever else to the fried rice. I hate sprouts. You can add whatever you want to yours, I like mine without.

Easy Chinese food. You can even get some fortune cookies in International aisle at grocery store if you want to get fancy.

Refresh Wet Rub

I don't exactly love sushi, but once in a great while, I get a craving for the Refresh Roll at Sushi on Fire in Huntington Beach. I think it's an off-menu, special item or something, but basically, it has this sauce on top of a roll that is lip-licking delicious. They could put this sauce on anything, and I would like it. It's kind of a ponzu with cilantro and jalapenos. I think, anyway. I have yet to try and re-create it, but I made a wet rub for salmon and beef last night that was "refreshing", and we starting calling it Refresh. It's kind of a Caribbean inspired wet rub, used to marinate beef, chicken, fish, pork, etc. before grilling, and then can be used as sauce when serving as well. It's very clean and crisp and well, refreshing :)

Cheesy Factor (1 no cheese, 10 all cheese): 1
Dummy Factor (1 easiest, 10 hardest): 2
Time Factor (1 shortest, 10 longest): 4- but only because of marinating times

Refresh Wet Rub
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 small red onion, chopped
1 celery rib, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 red bell pepper (or orange or yellow), chopped
1 bunch of fresh chives (white and green parts, chopped
1/2 bunch (or 2 handfuls) of fresh cilantro, chopped
2 Tbl dried parsley (or 1/2 cup fresh parsley)
2 tsp dried oregano
1.5 tsp kosher or sea salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp ground all spice
1 hot drop or 1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
1/6 cup vegetable oil 
1/6 cup fresh lime juice (or half lime juice, half OJ)
1 Tbl soy sauce or ponzu sauce

Combine all vegetables and herbs in food processor and puree until a coarse paste forms. Add oil, juice, and soy (or ponzu), and puree until smooth. Transfer immediately to bowl with cover. Will keep (covered in refrigerator) for several days, but freshest when used immediately.

Make deep, small slashes in whatever you are rubbing this on (salmon, steaks, chicken, pork, etc.). Using spatula, spread mixture on protein, to create even coat. Marinate in covered dish or plastic bag in refrigerator (small pieces such as fish fillets or chicken breasts 2 hours, thicker cuts like pork chops or steaks 3 hours, etc.). Keep extra mixture in separate bowl to use as condiment when serving.

Preheat grill, take meat out of bag/dish, discard excess mixture, and grill as you normally would. Serve with additional separate mixture if desired.