Showing posts with label recipes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label recipes. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Family Night - Enchiladas Verdes

Last weekend, my dad, little brother and I went to see The Lion King 3D (cue waterworks). My father noted how surreal it was to see the iconic animated film in theaters again after taking me 17 years ago. We departed the theater exhilarated, nostalgic, and, despite all the popcorn, hungry. I opted to try to find a meal that would satisfy the men-folk. My dad requested a green sauce rather than the traditional red, and thus, a new recipe was born.
 
 

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Quinn's Focaccia Sandwich


This weekend brought all sorts of changes: Quinn's move up to Santa Barbara, an additional food section for Culinary Therapy, and a flashy new camera! That's right, no more grainy iPhone photos. After weeks of research and deliberation I bought myself a Sony Nex-5 and am thrilled to play with my new toy. I welcome tips and suggestions from any and all photographers with open arms.

Also, please welcome to the blog: Weekend Getaways! As I plan to take brief jaunts up the coast to see Quinn in Santa Barbara and explore the restaurants in surrounding areas, I thought I might as well be productive during my trips. With such gems as Goleta's La Super Rica and Solvang's famed Chinese food, I have my work cut out for me. 

Saturday morning Quinn and I perused the Farmers' Market in downtown Santa Barbara. The county is known for its fresh produce and daily markets, inspiring me to spend more time at my own neighborhood venue. Quinn picked out a heirloom tomatoes, pluots (apricot and plum's love child), and a stunning herb focaccia. He lovingly designed an addictive end-of-summer sandwich we nibbled on all weekend.

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Enchilada Fiesta!


Last weekend I set out to craft my very own spicy chicken enchiladas, complete with an adobo chili sauce and baked to tender perfection. The pressure was on; Quinn's mother slaves away for hours on her own mole enchiladas that seemed impossible to compete with. After hours of meticulous chopping, stirring, and stuffing, the enchiladas were a resounding success! Dripping with fiery rojo sauce and oozing with cheese, these babies are going on the record as one of my best dishes to date.

With the puffed up pride of my first attempt still fresh in my mind, I suggested to a few friends that we throw a little fiesta with food prepared by yours truly. Five people became ten, and ten became twenty. Suddenly I was tossing fried tortillas and juggling handfuls of cilantro or onion in a cramped, overheated kitchen. My booze-fueled guests snacked on chips and dip as I struggled to maintain my cool. Lo and behold, I somehow pulled it together and made three delicious batches even better than the first!

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Killer Discovery: SkinnyTaste.com & Chicken Rollatini

With Quinn leaving for Santa Barbara in a few short weeks, I have been scouring cookbooks and food blogs for light and healthy meals. While I still have friends and family available to taste my culinary conquests, I will be cooking solo more often. In my research I came across a food  blog that may soon become a recipe mecca: SkinnyTaste.com

After saving many of SkinnyTaste's recipes for a later date, I set my sights upon "Chicken Rollatini with Spinach all Parmigiana". SkinnyTaste notes not only the calories per serving, but also Weight Watchers points (if you're into that), but also grams of fat, protein, carbohydrates, and fiber. This is definitely something I would like to attempt with my recipes -- slashing unnecessary calories without forfeiting quality and taste.

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Macho Sloppy Joes

If you're looking to wow a hungry man with a messy, delicious meal, look no further than these Sloppy Joes. Packed with beef, slathered in BBQ sauce, and sandwiched between two fluffy onion brioche buns, this recipe is not to be missed.

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Sunday Morning Chocolate Chip Muffins

As a little girl I longed to be a "grown up" for several reasons.

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Blondies



I have to thank my friend Erica for inspiring me to make these delicious, light blondies. For those of you who don't know, blondies are a variation on the infamous brownie. Erica made some dreamy funfetti blondies for our friend Jamie's graduation BBQ last weekend, so dreamy that I helped myself to several bites. Sunday night I found myself recovering from a nonstop weekend of beer, burgers, Blonde Redhead at the Echoplex and a mini college reunion. The only cure? A glass (or two) of wine and some quality baking. Craving more of Erica's adorable treats, I set to work on a batch for myself.

Everything is better with peanut butter, and blondies are no exception. Some of my baking tins were still at Jamie's house, so I made my baked goodies in a pie tin. Not the most conducive to evenly cut squares, but delicious nonetheless.

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 10, 2011

Iron Chef Potluck #1, Volume 4: Jamie's Peanut Butter & Chocolate Cupcakes and Quinn's Key Lime & Mint Cream Pies


There is something inherently cruel about serving desserts at the climax of a potluck. Stuffed to the brim with tuna tar tar, burgundy beef stew, rigatoni carbonara, creamy gnocchi and sweet potato fries, we were left with the painfully wonderful task of finding room in our stomachs for such scintillating desserts as Jamie and Quinn's.

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.

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Sausage and Broccoli Rotini with a Garlic Cream Sauce

Ok, ok. So I finally went grocery shopping under the guise that I would start whipping up some delicious and healthy cuisine for this blog. You might notice the sinful amount of cream in this dish and wonder, how is this healthy? Short answer: it's not. I'm sure I'll get around to it, as bikini season is nearly year-round in LA-LA land, but for now you'll have to be satisfied with a pasta smothered in garlic-cream sauce. Hey -- at least there's broccoli!

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