Showing posts with label cooking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cooking. Show all posts

Monday, July 11, 2011

The "Louis Doesn't Like Red Sauce" Pasta (with Meatballs)


If anyone can understand a kid's qualms about food, it would be me. Terrified of mushrooms and partial to creating a hot dog/Kraft macaroni and cheese mutant, I was a very picky eater. My little brother Louis, out-of-this-world trumpet player and sarcasm whiz, is obviously following in my footsteps. To save him from an all-day Jazz and Blues festival our dad goes to every year, we spent a Sunday lounging in his Playa del Rey apartment utilizing his flat screen, blu-ray player (him) and spacious kitchen (me).

Since Louis and I are twelve years apart (11, 23), I often find myself lamenting his lack of movie education. After suffering through The Diary of a Wimpy Kid II at his request and his required  trumpet practice, I informed the snarky pre-teen that we were going to watch a classic from my childhood: The Fifth Element. As Louis marveled in the special effects ("How can this movie be fifteen years old?!") and sat entranced by the comic stylings of a young and trim Bruce Willis, I set to work on his dinner.


Monday, June 20, 2011

Top Chef Potluck: Chipotle Shrimp Tacos w/ Mango Avocado Salsa

A few weeks ago, my friends and I got together for another Top Chef Potluck. Instead of choosing our best recipe, we opted to take the competition a step further and compete with a main ingredient. We chose avocados, and set out to determine who made the most delicious and original meal. From Sam's "Bacamole" to Heruy's Ribeye Fiesta to Ted's Cholcolate Avacado Mousse (newly dubbed "Quetzalcoatl's Pre-Columbian Dessert Deluxxe Flavor Exxplosion"), our work was cut out for us. My submission?


Ever since a disastrous attempt at making grilled sole for Quinn when I first started teaching myself how to cook, I've been a little intimidated by seafood. (We found out the fish had gone bad, so the putrid smell was not, in fact, my fault.) I considered many options centered around avocado -- a Santa Fe Chicken Pizza,  hand-rolled sushi, grilled Cuban chicken with a pomegranite guacamole -- but I knew I had to make one of my favorite dishes, chipotle shrimp tacos! I have to credit Quinn (as usual) for the mango-avocado salsa. He and his mom make it for many of their Sunday dinners, and after one taste I was hooked! Despite my seafood qualms, I tackled shrimp with the determination to make perfectly tender morsels for the competition.


Thursday, June 9, 2011

Healthy Eats: Breakfast For Dinner

Though most days I come home eager to try out some new culinary feat, occasionally a 50 hour work week, June gloom and a good ol' case of the doldrums can weaken my motivation. Last night I came home fully expecting to whip up something as equally uninspiring as my day. I considered my ultimate comfort food, caprese, but noticed my fridge has been rather neglected as of late. As I settled in to make scrambled eggs with some veggies, I had an epiphany. Why not make a frittata? My kitchen, however, is still vastly under-equipped since the big move, so I scoured the shelves for a suitable baking dish. Nestled in the back was my cupcake tin, sullenly neglected for months. I dashed into the living room to inform Quinn of my newest endeavor: mini frittatas!

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Stuff That Sausage! Or, Mushroom Appreciation Day

When I was a little girl, there were several vegetables I would not under any circumstances allow in my food. My parents tried to sneak them in to sauces, chopping up onions, chives or mushrooms into tiny bits in an attempt to dissuade me from my oh-so-healthy diet of macaroni and cheese. No matter how small the diced veggies were, I could taste them a mile away. "This has onion in it!" I would cry angrily, and proceed to pout for the rest of the meal. (What a charmer.) Mostly I've come to realize that my disgust for onions and mushrooms came from the texture ("too crunchy, too rubbery, get it away from me," etc).

This might be why my parents are still shocked to the core whenever I eat onions or mushrooms (often). I will add grilled onions to almost any dish and ever since my adventures grilling with Quinn and Daniel I've been doing the same with mushrooms. I add sliced white mushrooms to my healthier version of Fettuccini Alfredo, recreate my goat cheese & shiitake omelet from John O'Groats, and sautee large portobello caps in the balsamic-dijon marinade Daniel came up with.  The other night I  took my mushroom obsession a step further. As I sipped on some girlie moscato white wine and danced around in my kitchen with Scream 2 on in the background, I made sinfully bites of sheer happiness: stuffed mushrooms.

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Healthy Eats: Fettucini Alfredo with Spinach & Mushroom


At dinner the other night, my precocious little brother Louis asked me, "Why does it take adults so long to order?" I thought about that for a moment. When I was his age, the three main meals I accepted without a fuss were mac&cheese, spaghetti with meatballs and chicken tenders. I was not adventurous with my palette, nor did I find any reason to listen to my parents when they told me that I would like something new. I told him that as you get older, your tastes expand and so more items on the menu seem appealing. For example, I am currently addicted to mushrooms of any sort, so I took several minutes debating over my usual pick of pasta (carbonara, bolognese, amatriciana) or grilled veggies. (I ended up with the latter... summer is approaching!)

There is still the little kid in me that craves those rich, fattening meals I adored as a skinny-minnie string bean. (No, really. My family nickname was "Noodle".) Unfortunately, I can't scarf down high-calorie pasta the way I used to. Last night Quinn requested Fettuccini Alfredo for dinner, and I set out to make a lighter version -- while still retaining that abundantly creamy flavor.

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Healthy Eats: Arugula & Goat Cheese Pasta Salad


I've said it once, I'll say it again: there is something  so wonderful about cooking with friends. Opening a bottle (or 2, or 3) of wine, brainstorming dishes together, deliberating over spices, rubs and marinades... it can't be beat. This past weekend Quinn and I got together with two of his good friends from high school to grill high quality tri tip and chicken breasts purchased at the Los Angeles Original Farmer's Market.


Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Iron Chef Potluck #1, Volume 4: Jodi's Gnocchi with Spinach & Peas & Ted's Baked Sweet Potato Fries



Jodi and Ted are not only the cutest couple possibly ever, but they both came to the potluck bringing their A-game. Fortunately for our kitchen space, they brought their dishes already prepared, but unfortunately for ME, I don't know exactly how they made them. However, I do know this: they were absolutely divine.

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Carbonara Nirvana (Iron Chef Potluck #1, Volume 3)


There are times when I chide myself for my constant out-pour of affection and appreciation for all things Italian. Sometimes I wonder if the ingredients and cuisine there are in fact better than what we have here in the US, as I often claim. This weekend was not one of those times.

Sure, it can be annoying to hear my undying love for Italian Parmesan or my quest to fine-tune my favorite Roman dishes. But such obsession lends to perfection, and on Saturday I think I finally reached carbonara nirvana.

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Iron Chef Potluck #1, Volume 2: Burgundy Beef Stew & Salmon Diane with Creamy Polenta


Next up on our potluck menu was Sam's Burgundy Beef Stew. It took some of the most prep work, with Sam chopping up onions, potatoes, carrots, and zesting oranges. He browned pounds of hearty stew meat and let an entire bottle of burgundy wine cook for an hour before adding the vegetables. The orange zest and a pinch of sugar were added "to balance out the acid in the wine", and the entire stew simmered for several hours before consumption. Topped with a horseradish sour cream, the result was a rich and tangy stew that I slurped down with glee!

Monday, April 25, 2011

Iron Chef Potluck #1, Volume 1: The Prep & Alex's Tuna Tar


I challenged my tastes, wallet, and stomach stamina when some friends and I hosted a Iron Chef-esque potluck on Saturday night. With 10 guests and individual dishes crammed into one kitchen, we had our work cut out for us. After hours of toiling away in the kitchen, we deemed the first Iron Chef Potluck a glorious success!

The Menu:
Alex: Tuna Tar Tar served with Quail Eggs
Sam: Burgundy Beef Stew with Horseradish Sour Cream
Heruy: Grilled Alaskan Salmon with Creamy Parmesan Polenta in a Diane Sauce
Rachel (me!): Rigatoni Carbonara
Jodi: Gnocchi with Spinach, Peas in a Creamy Red Pepper Sauce
Ted: Baked Sweet Potato Fries
Adam: Pasta Shells with Meat Sauce
Jamie: Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting
Quinn: Key Lime Pie & Chocolate Mint Pie
Carla: Chocolate Brownies

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Pizza Al Tavolo - Attempt #1


You have already heard me gush over Italian pizza, but to be fair, that’s a very simplified title. Pizza has so many incarnations and recipes, split off into different cities that, for all intents and purposes, are still like separate nations. Though Italy was unified in 1860, each area has its own flair on language, art, culture, and especially in their cuisine. The pizza at Da Baffetto is very similar to Neapolitan pizza, a thin, crispy crust overflowing with fresh toppings, and is one of my favorites. Another such pizza is the pizza al tavolo, the pizza you can find anywhere in Rome. Flat and square, it’s usually snipped into thin strips with scissors an wrapped in paper for you to carry with you as you explore the city. 
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