One of my favorites:
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
My sad looking chocolate dipped orange butter cookies
Today I made some Chocolate Dipped Orange Butter Cookies. I found the recipe over at Joanna's Kitchen sometime in December and I just now got around to making these.
I made up the dough yesterday after I made up some Country Butter and before I started working on yesterday's dinner of chicken fried steak and mashed potatoes.
My cookies do not look as nice as Joanna's cookies because I was feeling lazy. I mean horrifically lazy. I changed the recipe to suit my laziness and because I didn't have any coarse sugar on hand. Maybe I should just turn in my shrike card, get smashed, and start making up recipes like balls of cheese whiz rolled in various seasoning packets and be done with it. It's that bad folks!
By now you've followed that link up top to see Joanna's pretty cookies. Well, you see I didn't shape my dough into a nice roll to cut out rounds nor did I roll out the dough like Joanna did to make cutout cookies. I refrigerated my dough in a big lump and then dug out some balls with a spoon and baked them. I did do the chocolate dipping as instructed. I took a picture of the best looking ones so here are my sad looking cookies:
They do taste good! Maybe I'll put them over by the tumor bread I made yesterday so they keep each other company. LOL
I made up the dough yesterday after I made up some Country Butter and before I started working on yesterday's dinner of chicken fried steak and mashed potatoes.
My cookies do not look as nice as Joanna's cookies because I was feeling lazy. I mean horrifically lazy. I changed the recipe to suit my laziness and because I didn't have any coarse sugar on hand. Maybe I should just turn in my shrike card, get smashed, and start making up recipes like balls of cheese whiz rolled in various seasoning packets and be done with it. It's that bad folks!
By now you've followed that link up top to see Joanna's pretty cookies. Well, you see I didn't shape my dough into a nice roll to cut out rounds nor did I roll out the dough like Joanna did to make cutout cookies. I refrigerated my dough in a big lump and then dug out some balls with a spoon and baked them. I did do the chocolate dipping as instructed. I took a picture of the best looking ones so here are my sad looking cookies:
They do taste good! Maybe I'll put them over by the tumor bread I made yesterday so they keep each other company. LOL
Monday, January 26, 2009
Chicken fried steak with gravy and mashed potatoes
A few days ago, Mr. Hairball and I were discussing what to have for dinner tonight and what we have on the freezer to work with. I told him that we have some chicken tenders, some hamburger, a ginormous beef brisket, some smoked sausage, and some tenderized round steak aka cube steak. (Can you tell that Mr. Hairball is a huge carnivore?)
Mr. Hairball remarks that he feels that his blood has just been screaming through his arteries lately and asked what could we do to slow it down? I said that I could make some chicken fried steak with mashed potatoes and gravy like Mama Hairball makes. His eyes lit up as he said that sounded great. So the decision was made that we would have chicken fried steak for Monday night's dinner.
Foods can be called by different names in different places, so here's a link to exactly what I mean by chicken fried steak.
What I'm making is about 85% Hairball family recipe and 15% Hairball likes to try new things.
First, we need some potatoes.
This is approximately two pounds of potatoes. [Probably more like three!] Some of them are obviously red and some of them are supposed to be Yukon golds. You will soon see that the "Yukon golds" look pretty pale inside instead of that nice gold color. Very different from all the Yukon golds I've cooked with in the past. I did wonder if they were really white potatoes while cutting them up.
Here they are all scrubbed and cut up with about 6 cloves of peeled garlic in with them. (I don't normally peel potatoes when I make mashed potatoes.) Notice how white they look. Here's a picture of a Yukon gold for comparision.
I recently watched an episode of Secrets of a Restaurant Chef where Anne Burrell made some yummy looking mashed potatoes and decided to incorporate some of her ideas.
I also washed and tore up some lettuce so Mr. Hairball could have a salad. I'm kinda burned out on salads right now so I had broccoli instead.
The one on the left is skim milk and an egg and the one on the right is flour, salt, black pepper, and some garlic powder. You dip the tenderized round steak or cube steak into the flour then the egg and then back in the flour again.
Here's the steaks ready to be fried. It's in black and white because I opened the package ONto the sheet pan and there is some blood visible. I know some people like Mr. Hairball have a very low squick threshold regarding blood so I thought it best to be "artistic" and make it a black and white picture.
Here are the steaks in the pan frying away. Now this gonna be squicky for some of you! When you see blood coming to the surface of the meat, it's time to turn them over and let them cook on the other side.
Sorry about the size. Hope no one has nightmares about a giant piece of chicken fried steak chasing them! Don't flip out about the black spots. Small portions of the crust will fall off from one batch and remain in the pan and adhere to later batches. Since they've been around so long they will be quite dark. This piece is a good color to shoot for while frying your steaks.
I boiled the potatoes until they were tender, drained off the water, and added a stick of butter to the pan. Then, I warmed up about 6-8 ounces of fat-free half and half ( I didn't realize that I bought the fat free version) for about 45 seconds in the microwave and added it to the pot with the potatoes, garlic, and butter. Anne did her potatoes with a food mill but I don't have one so just mashed them up with a potato masher and stuck a lid on them while I was making the gravy and nuking some frozen broccoli.
I am not the world's best gravy maker so I'm always a little nervous when it's time to make the gravy. I poured out all but about 2-3 tablespoons of oil and added the seasoned flour left over from the meat. I didn't have that much seasoned flour leftover so I added a little more flour to the pan. Then I stirred and let it cook until the color got to this stage.
I added in some fat-free half and half and stirred until smooth and let it cook until it reached the thickness that I prefer. It will get thicker as it cools so keep that in mind.
Here's Mr. Hairball's plate minus his salad. He made up a vinaigrette (not vinegar-ette Sandy!) and mashed up some of the purple basil from our Aerogarden with some coarse sea salt and mixed that INto his vinaigrette. I didn't see everything he put in but I know it had red wine vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, salt, black pepper and the aforementioned purple basil.
Mr. Hairball
Here's my plate. I was starving and did eat every bit of this!
The fat-free half and half did add a little sweetness to the gravy and potatoes but, can I just tell you? It was very good. [If you have any chicken fried steak left, pop those babies on a sheet pan and place in a 350F oven and bake for 10-15 minutes or so. When you open your oven, you should hear sizzling. Cut into one and make sure it's good and hot. If you still have taters and gravy left, you can heat those up in the microwave or on the stove. The gravy will need some milk/cream/whatever stirred INto it to thin it back out. If you don't have any taters left then how about a nice hot chicken fried steak sandwich?]
Almost forgot, here's a picture of some 100% whole wheat bread I made today.
I'm bummed that it has those bumpy things on the top. I cut into the bread and sampled some, and the bread is quite good even with the bumps. Mr. Hairball kept pointing at the bread and saying [Arnold Schwarzenegger] it is not a tumor [/Arnold Schwarzenegger] until I kicked him out of the kitchen. *rolls eyes*
[edited to add: The bread is very tasty! Here is the recipe I used.}
Mr. Hairball remarks that he feels that his blood has just been screaming through his arteries lately and asked what could we do to slow it down? I said that I could make some chicken fried steak with mashed potatoes and gravy like Mama Hairball makes. His eyes lit up as he said that sounded great. So the decision was made that we would have chicken fried steak for Monday night's dinner.
Foods can be called by different names in different places, so here's a link to exactly what I mean by chicken fried steak.
What I'm making is about 85% Hairball family recipe and 15% Hairball likes to try new things.
First, we need some potatoes.
This is approximately two pounds of potatoes. [Probably more like three!] Some of them are obviously red and some of them are supposed to be Yukon golds. You will soon see that the "Yukon golds" look pretty pale inside instead of that nice gold color. Very different from all the Yukon golds I've cooked with in the past. I did wonder if they were really white potatoes while cutting them up.
Here they are all scrubbed and cut up with about 6 cloves of peeled garlic in with them. (I don't normally peel potatoes when I make mashed potatoes.) Notice how white they look. Here's a picture of a Yukon gold for comparision.
I recently watched an episode of Secrets of a Restaurant Chef where Anne Burrell made some yummy looking mashed potatoes and decided to incorporate some of her ideas.
I also washed and tore up some lettuce so Mr. Hairball could have a salad. I'm kinda burned out on salads right now so I had broccoli instead.
The one on the left is skim milk and an egg and the one on the right is flour, salt, black pepper, and some garlic powder. You dip the tenderized round steak or cube steak into the flour then the egg and then back in the flour again.
Here's the steaks ready to be fried. It's in black and white because I opened the package ONto the sheet pan and there is some blood visible. I know some people like Mr. Hairball have a very low squick threshold regarding blood so I thought it best to be "artistic" and make it a black and white picture.
Here are the steaks in the pan frying away. Now this gonna be squicky for some of you! When you see blood coming to the surface of the meat, it's time to turn them over and let them cook on the other side.
Sorry about the size. Hope no one has nightmares about a giant piece of chicken fried steak chasing them! Don't flip out about the black spots. Small portions of the crust will fall off from one batch and remain in the pan and adhere to later batches. Since they've been around so long they will be quite dark. This piece is a good color to shoot for while frying your steaks.
I boiled the potatoes until they were tender, drained off the water, and added a stick of butter to the pan. Then, I warmed up about 6-8 ounces of fat-free half and half ( I didn't realize that I bought the fat free version) for about 45 seconds in the microwave and added it to the pot with the potatoes, garlic, and butter. Anne did her potatoes with a food mill but I don't have one so just mashed them up with a potato masher and stuck a lid on them while I was making the gravy and nuking some frozen broccoli.
I am not the world's best gravy maker so I'm always a little nervous when it's time to make the gravy. I poured out all but about 2-3 tablespoons of oil and added the seasoned flour left over from the meat. I didn't have that much seasoned flour leftover so I added a little more flour to the pan. Then I stirred and let it cook until the color got to this stage.
I added in some fat-free half and half and stirred until smooth and let it cook until it reached the thickness that I prefer. It will get thicker as it cools so keep that in mind.
Here's Mr. Hairball's plate minus his salad. He made up a vinaigrette (not vinegar-ette Sandy!) and mashed up some of the purple basil from our Aerogarden with some coarse sea salt and mixed that INto his vinaigrette. I didn't see everything he put in but I know it had red wine vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, salt, black pepper and the aforementioned purple basil.
Mr. Hairball
Here's my plate. I was starving and did eat every bit of this!
The fat-free half and half did add a little sweetness to the gravy and potatoes but, can I just tell you? It was very good. [If you have any chicken fried steak left, pop those babies on a sheet pan and place in a 350F oven and bake for 10-15 minutes or so. When you open your oven, you should hear sizzling. Cut into one and make sure it's good and hot. If you still have taters and gravy left, you can heat those up in the microwave or on the stove. The gravy will need some milk/cream/whatever stirred INto it to thin it back out. If you don't have any taters left then how about a nice hot chicken fried steak sandwich?]
Almost forgot, here's a picture of some 100% whole wheat bread I made today.
I'm bummed that it has those bumpy things on the top. I cut into the bread and sampled some, and the bread is quite good even with the bumps. Mr. Hairball kept pointing at the bread and saying [Arnold Schwarzenegger] it is not a tumor [/Arnold Schwarzenegger] until I kicked him out of the kitchen. *rolls eyes*
[edited to add: The bread is very tasty! Here is the recipe I used.}
Happy Birthday Rosie Hawthorne!!!
Rosie Hawthorne of Kitchen's are Monkey Business is having a birthday today! Whoot!
Hoping your day is f'ntastic and that no one gives you a birthday cake from Grandma Lorraine, a plate of cat poo truffles, or a champagne cake with disco balls on top.
Hoping your day is f'ntastic and that no one gives you a birthday cake from Grandma Lorraine, a plate of cat poo truffles, or a champagne cake with disco balls on top.
Rachael Ray helps out with the corn
I must still be twelve on the inside as this had me cracking up!
Thanks to Food Network Humor for the video.
Thanks to Food Network Humor for the video.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
SHCWSL- Homecoming Tailgate
Here's a link to the The Food Network's website
"zesty Buffalo Chicken Pizza, Chipotle Java Rubbed Tenderloin, Chocolate Coconut Almond Cake and a Homecoming Punch."
How come 'zesty' isn't capitalized? Did 'zesty' misbehave or something? Why isn't her salad mentioned? Why do I care so much? *confused*
Now let's take a moment and breathe deeply because there's a beef tenderloin on Sandy's menu today and I don't know about you but, watching her abuse expensive cuts of meat just really gets to me.
Ready? Okay, into the fray we go...
First up, most people who tailgate do not bring along pom poms, sweatshirts, and flowers so that they can spend time decorating the parking lot.
Chipotle Java Rubbed Tenderloin
Please note that Sandy has already done a coffee crusted beef tenderloin before so this newest incarnation should ideally be an improvement over the old one. ( Yeah, I know but, we are talking ideals here *not* reality!)
Let's look at Saveur's recipe for a Coffee Crusted Beef Tenderloin and compare this recipe to the recipe that Sandy is making today. The Saveur recipe calls for variety of ingredients including three different varieties of chilies. Both the Saveur recipe and Sandy's most current one, call for ground cinnamon while only Sandy's most current recipe calls for *eyes bug out* instant coffee and a seasoning packet?? *laughs hysterically then realizes the recipe is for real and begins weeping for the poor defenseless tenderloin that met it's demise through Sandy's machinations* Okay, neither Sandy nor her recipe reminds us to remove the string before serving which is troublesome. So perhaps receiving a piece with string attached is like getting the baby in the King Cake? Floss for later? Should unattached guests in search of a significant other place it under their pillow in hopes that it will bring them dreams of said person?
Hell, if I know!
I will say that following that seasoning packet link did answer a burning question I've had about why Sandy says we can "see flavor" besides the oh so obvious shriketastic answer to any and all mysteries of the Sandyverse.
Great Grilled Romaine Sandy, I'm surprised at you! This title needs some more words that start with the letter 'G' so that I can use my Tony the Tiger voice. Your dressing has garlic in it so why not call it Great Grilled Romaine with Garlic and Gallon of Gin on the side?
Okay, I'm just having a little fun with alliteration there. Unless I blacked out while watching this and missed some horrible thing, this is not a bad recipe if you enjoy grilled Romaine and blue cheese dressing. You put some olive oil on your Romaine, grill, put on the dressing and eat. Be careful to not overcook the Romaine! I'm pleased to see her making her own blue cheese salad dressing so I must give her credit for that. Whoot! Go Sandy!
Buffalo Chicken Pizza
All righty then, for this recipe we need:
1 pound chicken tenders, cut into small strips, 1 cup buffalo wing sauce plus 2 tablespoons, 1 can refrigerated pizza dough, 1 cup blue cheese dressing.
For some unknown reason, Sandy brought out a bottle of salad dressing instead of just making up some extra dressing when she made the salad. Huh? Why would she go to the trouble of making homemade blue cheese dressing for one recipe on and not for another recipe on the same show?? *throws hands up in air and walks away muttering*
On that note, why are we instructed to slice up chicken tenders before we grill them? They are already on the small side so won't they fall through the grill if you are not extremely careful? Sorry, but I call foul on her fowl. *ducks to avoid being hit by various flying objects being hurled for having the nerve to attempt such a horrific pun*
Sandy chose a red onion and sliced it up herself. This was odd to me because I was certain that chopping or slicing onion fell under the "monkey business" heading in her world. *confused* She then confided that she selected a red onion for this recipe because it matched her school colors. *rolls eyes* She tells us Buffalo sauce is smart which is very disturbing because I'm almost certain that none of *my* condiments are sentient.
If I'm not mistaken, she reused the same pair of unwashed tongs for both raw and cooked foods throughout this episode, eww. She let the whack-a-dough cook on the grill for a bit and then she dumped on some of the store bought *sighs* blue cheese salad dressing, the rest of the toppings and returned it to the grill to finish baking. I really think the bottom was overdone when she finally retrieved it which is not good. Really folks, there are other recipes out there for Buffalo chicken pizza so don't waste your time and money on this one.
Chocolate Coconut Almond Layer Cake
Earlier in the week, I read what Sandy was making before the recipes were added, and I jotted down how I thought this recipe would be executed. My prediction was:
I was so very wrong and was obviously thinking of her modus operandi from years past! Making a cake from scratch or even a cake mix is sooo early 21st century. *rolls eyes* I never thought I would say this but, I miss her frosting the store bought angel food cakes as at least those are readily available in most grocery stores for those who want to make her AFC recipes. Should I be on the lookout for a new chain of stores called "No Monkey Business Here!" featuring a entire line of unfrosted layer cakes, seasoning packets, booze, and items for creating tablescapes? *bangs head on desk muttering and crying about the future of food in the USA*
We are instructed to come up with: two unfrosted store bought *eye roll* chocolate cake layers, 2 (16 oz) cans of chocolate frosting, 1 teaspoon almond extract, 1 cup coconut, and 1/4 cup toasted and chopped peanuts. *looks very confused* Why does this recipe call for peanuts when the title is Chocolate Coconut Almond Layer Cake?!? *sighs in exasperation* I've spent time with almonds, I know almonds, I love almonds. Peanuts, you are not almonds!!
Maybe it was just my TV but, those cakes looked really dark on top. I know chocolate cake is supposed to be dark but they looked burnt to me. She used the cap on her bottle of almond extract to "measure" 1 teaspoon while chirping about how the extract will make the TWO tubs of chocolate frosting taste homemade which is a big fat lie to anyone who still possesses taste buds. Plus TWO 16 ounce tubs of frosting for that amount of cake is just plain overkill. I really don't know why anybody would invest their time and money in assembling this cake.
Homecoming Punch-
Sandy proceeds to tell us that she learned some great cocktail recipes during her college years. You drank back in college Sandy? Wow, I never would have guessed that! *busts out laughing* I went to parties back in college where they served Jello shooters and "trashcan punch" made with Everclear. I still think either one of those choices is better than mixing thawed orange juice concentrate, thawed pink lemonade concentrate, cranberry juice cocktail, brandy, and champagne. Ugh!
Tablescape:
*laughs hysterically and stops to wipe tears from face*
Oh boy! I hope if I'm ever seriously ill that someone sends me a DVD of nothing but her tablescapes to cheer me up. This one would definitely be on the aforementioned DVD!
She actually set up a big dining room table out there in the parking lot and had a maroon cloth on the table with.... wait for it... some very thin artificial turf on top with grey and yellow tape marking off the yard lines! She had dishes and everything! There were team pennants decorating the table and encircling the glass fishbowl/punchbowl. It was comedy gold!!
This episode reminded me of the one where she had a picnic in the park and brought her dining room table and chairs with her and hung a chandelier up in a nearby tree. Bwah!
"zesty Buffalo Chicken Pizza, Chipotle Java Rubbed Tenderloin, Chocolate Coconut Almond Cake and a Homecoming Punch."
How come 'zesty' isn't capitalized? Did 'zesty' misbehave or something? Why isn't her salad mentioned? Why do I care so much? *confused*
Now let's take a moment and breathe deeply because there's a beef tenderloin on Sandy's menu today and I don't know about you but, watching her abuse expensive cuts of meat just really gets to me.
Ready? Okay, into the fray we go...
First up, most people who tailgate do not bring along pom poms, sweatshirts, and flowers so that they can spend time decorating the parking lot.
Chipotle Java Rubbed Tenderloin
Please note that Sandy has already done a coffee crusted beef tenderloin before so this newest incarnation should ideally be an improvement over the old one. ( Yeah, I know but, we are talking ideals here *not* reality!)
Let's look at Saveur's recipe for a Coffee Crusted Beef Tenderloin and compare this recipe to the recipe that Sandy is making today. The Saveur recipe calls for variety of ingredients including three different varieties of chilies. Both the Saveur recipe and Sandy's most current one, call for ground cinnamon while only Sandy's most current recipe calls for *eyes bug out* instant coffee and a seasoning packet?? *laughs hysterically then realizes the recipe is for real and begins weeping for the poor defenseless tenderloin that met it's demise through Sandy's machinations* Okay, neither Sandy nor her recipe reminds us to remove the string before serving which is troublesome. So perhaps receiving a piece with string attached is like getting the baby in the King Cake? Floss for later? Should unattached guests in search of a significant other place it under their pillow in hopes that it will bring them dreams of said person?
Hell, if I know!
I will say that following that seasoning packet link did answer a burning question I've had about why Sandy says we can "see flavor" besides the oh so obvious shriketastic answer to any and all mysteries of the Sandyverse.
Great Grilled Romaine Sandy, I'm surprised at you! This title needs some more words that start with the letter 'G' so that I can use my Tony the Tiger voice. Your dressing has garlic in it so why not call it Great Grilled Romaine with Garlic and Gallon of Gin on the side?
Okay, I'm just having a little fun with alliteration there. Unless I blacked out while watching this and missed some horrible thing, this is not a bad recipe if you enjoy grilled Romaine and blue cheese dressing. You put some olive oil on your Romaine, grill, put on the dressing and eat. Be careful to not overcook the Romaine! I'm pleased to see her making her own blue cheese salad dressing so I must give her credit for that. Whoot! Go Sandy!
Buffalo Chicken Pizza
All righty then, for this recipe we need:
1 pound chicken tenders, cut into small strips, 1 cup buffalo wing sauce plus 2 tablespoons, 1 can refrigerated pizza dough, 1 cup blue cheese dressing.
For some unknown reason, Sandy brought out a bottle of salad dressing instead of just making up some extra dressing when she made the salad. Huh? Why would she go to the trouble of making homemade blue cheese dressing for one recipe on and not for another recipe on the same show?? *throws hands up in air and walks away muttering*
On that note, why are we instructed to slice up chicken tenders before we grill them? They are already on the small side so won't they fall through the grill if you are not extremely careful? Sorry, but I call foul on her fowl. *ducks to avoid being hit by various flying objects being hurled for having the nerve to attempt such a horrific pun*
Sandy chose a red onion and sliced it up herself. This was odd to me because I was certain that chopping or slicing onion fell under the "monkey business" heading in her world. *confused* She then confided that she selected a red onion for this recipe because it matched her school colors. *rolls eyes* She tells us Buffalo sauce is smart which is very disturbing because I'm almost certain that none of *my* condiments are sentient.
If I'm not mistaken, she reused the same pair of unwashed tongs for both raw and cooked foods throughout this episode, eww. She let the whack-a-dough cook on the grill for a bit and then she dumped on some of the store bought *sighs* blue cheese salad dressing, the rest of the toppings and returned it to the grill to finish baking. I really think the bottom was overdone when she finally retrieved it which is not good. Really folks, there are other recipes out there for Buffalo chicken pizza so don't waste your time and money on this one.
Chocolate Coconut Almond Layer Cake
Earlier in the week, I read what Sandy was making before the recipes were added, and I jotted down how I thought this recipe would be executed. My prediction was:
She's going to use a white cake mix, and add almond extract, coconut extract, and cocoa powder. Then when the cake is cool, she'll probably take a tub or three of white frosting and add the same things to the frosting. The outside of the cake will be covered with bagged coconut and she'll dump some almonds on top while screeching about "attention to detail" and how putting almonds ONto the cake makes her the smartest thing on her obviously radioactive waste filled block.
I was so very wrong and was obviously thinking of her modus operandi from years past! Making a cake from scratch or even a cake mix is sooo early 21st century. *rolls eyes* I never thought I would say this but, I miss her frosting the store bought angel food cakes as at least those are readily available in most grocery stores for those who want to make her AFC recipes. Should I be on the lookout for a new chain of stores called "No Monkey Business Here!" featuring a entire line of unfrosted layer cakes, seasoning packets, booze, and items for creating tablescapes? *bangs head on desk muttering and crying about the future of food in the USA*
We are instructed to come up with: two unfrosted store bought *eye roll* chocolate cake layers, 2 (16 oz) cans of chocolate frosting, 1 teaspoon almond extract, 1 cup coconut, and 1/4 cup toasted and chopped peanuts. *looks very confused* Why does this recipe call for peanuts when the title is Chocolate Coconut Almond Layer Cake?!? *sighs in exasperation* I've spent time with almonds, I know almonds, I love almonds. Peanuts, you are not almonds!!
Maybe it was just my TV but, those cakes looked really dark on top. I know chocolate cake is supposed to be dark but they looked burnt to me. She used the cap on her bottle of almond extract to "measure" 1 teaspoon while chirping about how the extract will make the TWO tubs of chocolate frosting taste homemade which is a big fat lie to anyone who still possesses taste buds. Plus TWO 16 ounce tubs of frosting for that amount of cake is just plain overkill. I really don't know why anybody would invest their time and money in assembling this cake.
Homecoming Punch-
Sandy proceeds to tell us that she learned some great cocktail recipes during her college years. You drank back in college Sandy? Wow, I never would have guessed that! *busts out laughing* I went to parties back in college where they served Jello shooters and "trashcan punch" made with Everclear. I still think either one of those choices is better than mixing thawed orange juice concentrate, thawed pink lemonade concentrate, cranberry juice cocktail, brandy, and champagne. Ugh!
Tablescape:
*laughs hysterically and stops to wipe tears from face*
Oh boy! I hope if I'm ever seriously ill that someone sends me a DVD of nothing but her tablescapes to cheer me up. This one would definitely be on the aforementioned DVD!
She actually set up a big dining room table out there in the parking lot and had a maroon cloth on the table with.... wait for it... some very thin artificial turf on top with grey and yellow tape marking off the yard lines! She had dishes and everything! There were team pennants decorating the table and encircling the glass fishbowl/punchbowl. It was comedy gold!!
This episode reminded me of the one where she had a picnic in the park and brought her dining room table and chairs with her and hung a chandelier up in a nearby tree. Bwah!
Friday, January 23, 2009
Adventures in grocery shopping
Friday, I went out to do some grocery shopping. First, I went out to the Ultra-Super-Duper-Gigantico-MegaMart (USDGMM) as I had some things on my list that the other smaller stores in my area don't always carry. While there, I decided to go ahead and get some bay leaves for a recipe I planned to make. I was dismayed to find that the only container of bay leaves I could find was $5.64 (USA) for .18 ounces! I stood there muttering to myself when I remembered that USDGMM is one of those stores that plays dirty. By that I mean that there is another cheaper spice area on another aisle and this area is not mentioned on the overhead signs. I looked up and down the aisles until I finally found this area of spices on the international aisle. There I found a bag of bay leaves priced $1.12 (USA) for .25 ounces. I muttered an obscenity about USDGMM hiding the cheaper spices like that and then let out a small [Sandra Lee] Whoot![/Sandra Lee] as USDGMM hadn't fooled me.
Then, I went over to another smaller grocery store to pick up a few of this week's sale items. While there, I noticed that the store had some bakery items that were marked down and placed on a rolling cart near the dairy case. I saw that there were a few bags of rolls, a couple of loaves of bread, and two decorated cakes on the cart. I looked a bit closer at the decorated cakes and discovered that one of them was some unknown Muppet-like character and the other one was actually a pair of cupcake cakes. These cupcake cakes were the kind where after the cupcakes are arranged in the desired shape, the whole thing is frosted and decorated like a sheet cake.
The top one was made up of five cupcakes, heavily coated in purple frosting, and had "I love U" written on it in pink frosting. The one below it was also made up of five cupcakes but heavily coated with pink frosting and had "Sexy" written on it in purple frosting. The frosting was inexpertly applied, and the lettering was poorly done. In other words it was well... ugly. I stared at the cakes and wondered to myself if the person who ordered "Sexy" had seen it and refused to pay for it, or did "Sexy" and his or her beloved break up after the cakes were ordered?
I pondered for half a second if I should buy "Sexy" because for some bizarre reason, I felt sorry for the unfortunate pair who had been banished to the bargain cart. I soon nixed that idea as I really didn't think I would enjoy the cakes at all. Still, I felt a little sad and hoped that someone would buy "Sexy" before time was up for the pair. It was Friday so maybe some college students craving sugar bought the two cakes and devoured them. I know it's strange but, I really hope "Sexy" went home with somebody.
Then, I went over to another smaller grocery store to pick up a few of this week's sale items. While there, I noticed that the store had some bakery items that were marked down and placed on a rolling cart near the dairy case. I saw that there were a few bags of rolls, a couple of loaves of bread, and two decorated cakes on the cart. I looked a bit closer at the decorated cakes and discovered that one of them was some unknown Muppet-like character and the other one was actually a pair of cupcake cakes. These cupcake cakes were the kind where after the cupcakes are arranged in the desired shape, the whole thing is frosted and decorated like a sheet cake.
The top one was made up of five cupcakes, heavily coated in purple frosting, and had "I love U" written on it in pink frosting. The one below it was also made up of five cupcakes but heavily coated with pink frosting and had "Sexy" written on it in purple frosting. The frosting was inexpertly applied, and the lettering was poorly done. In other words it was well... ugly. I stared at the cakes and wondered to myself if the person who ordered "Sexy" had seen it and refused to pay for it, or did "Sexy" and his or her beloved break up after the cakes were ordered?
I pondered for half a second if I should buy "Sexy" because for some bizarre reason, I felt sorry for the unfortunate pair who had been banished to the bargain cart. I soon nixed that idea as I really didn't think I would enjoy the cakes at all. Still, I felt a little sad and hoped that someone would buy "Sexy" before time was up for the pair. It was Friday so maybe some college students craving sugar bought the two cakes and devoured them. I know it's strange but, I really hope "Sexy" went home with somebody.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
My pantry is slowly getting better...
I'm slowly getting my pantry arranged in our new apartment. I'm very lucky that we have a nice closet in the study/craft/kitty room that I can use for this purpose. I still want to get some more of the sturdier metal racks that can easily support canned goods, sugar, flour, etc... I always have trouble getting started on tasks like this as my perfectionism gets in the way of getting started. I have to do silly things like make deals with myself that "I'll just put XYZ here for now and move it later" so that I can get started. I guess if you aren't dealing with those kinds of issues it sounds weird but, trust me, it can really make it difficult to get things done! Here's what it looks like right now:
Here's how the Aerogarden is coming along. The plant that still has the plastic cap over it is supposed to be cilantro. ( Click to see the big picture.) I think it's dead though as it should have sprouted by now.
That's all for now!
Here's how the Aerogarden is coming along. The plant that still has the plastic cap over it is supposed to be cilantro. ( Click to see the big picture.) I think it's dead though as it should have sprouted by now.
That's all for now!
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Clocks
I haven't gone nutty, I'm just sticking these up here for now to see how I like them. These are from clocklink.com if anybody else is interested in them.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Braciole
Can you tell this has been in the kitchen with me?
Look at the first picture to see what is in the filling.
I should have started this earlier. Since I was in a time crunch, I just added some red wine, black pepper, salt, Italian seasoning, and garlic powder to a can of tomato puree and let it simmer about 10 minutes before putting it in the baking dish.
Should have seen me trying to tie this up. It was humorous!
The glass cup on the left has my pepper mill in it. We dropped it on the floor years ago and a piece of the bottom broke off. It still works but, it can't stand up by itself so we just keep it in that cup. Obviously that's my salt mill on the right with some sea salt in it. I was supposed to put salt and pepper on the inside of the roll but, I forgot so I put some on the outside.
Sizzle! Pop! Ow!
Here's a shot where you see the filling coming out of the gap.
I don't have any tongs so I just used a wooden spoon to hold it up.
Heh, I was doing laundry at the same time as I was making this. When I came back from checking the laundry, there was splotches of tomato sauce on the wall and stove.
Just needs some sauce on top. The color is weird here. It didn't look that black on top in real life.
Ready for the lid and into the oven.
*Sigh* I need some minions to clean up my messes.
Whoot! Looks pretty good.
Did this while clipping off the twine. Glad it didn't land on me!
Caesar salad for Mr. Hairball.
Pulled some veggie/pasta mix out of the freezer for me. I boiled some penne as well so I had two kinds of pasta for dinner. I only had enough Caesar dressing already made up for one salad. I gave it to Mr. Hairball since I knew there was no way he would eat any of the veggie/pasta mix I made.
Mr. Hairball's plate minus his salad. I forgot to take a picture of mine. Just imagine everything moved over and some veggie/pasta mix on the plate for mine.
Here you can see that I didn't pound it flat enough and as the meat cooked, it wasn't long enough to reach all the way around. Oh well, My arm was getting tired and I was afraid I was disturbing my neighbors. Next time I'll take my time and do the pounding in the afternoon so I don't disturb anyone.
It was very good even if it wasn't picture perfect.
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