Look at my Hooters!

If you didn’t know the topic of this post based on the above graphic, you’ve already died and gone to Hell. Hooter’s has long been infamous with girlfriends and wives, worried about the fidelity and welfare of their men. Then it created an airline and worried the country about the safety of its passengers. Heedless of these things, the restaurant chain keeps pushing its boundaries, sometime irrationally, but usually successfully. I’m not sure what the critics might think, but I for one am excited about the new food product lines. Hooter’s has been pushing its wing sauce for quite some time, but now there is more to expect- namely frozen dinners, chips, energy drinks, and who knows what else.

I tried one of the frozen chicken strip meals a few months back and have since been hooked on the Hooter’s crack sauce. I’d completely forgotten about that and was shocked to see and energy drink, then a week later, potato chips. Of course, it’s me and I snatched them up. The energy drink is… an energy drink. Better than some. The only really surprising thing about it is that it’s the only Hooter’s brand food product that actually has a Hooter’s girl used for advertising. Perhaps because it advertises “Delightfully unrefined energy.”

The potato chips were the real goldmine. They were supposed to taste like hot wings with ranch. The amazing thing about that is they did. The chips tasted better than their damn wings. Hooter’s is famous for their wings, but I’ve found them to be dry with too little sauce. These crunchy little goldmines taste like the wing sauce with a hint of dressing- more than I can say for the real things.

Maybe I’m the only one excited about this. Maybe I’m the only one who thinks it’s amazing that the girls can make the most hideously unflattering and outdated uniforms attractive. But I doubt it. So if you’re not as cool as I am and taking your man out to Hooter’s for a treat, you can still try a little taste of the forbidden without the added fear of dangerously orange butts.

I got lost

Well, kids, it's been a while. Sorry for the extreme lack of updates. What with the end of school, being gone for graduations and weddings, and looking for a new job, I haven't cooked all that much. Luckily, I have cooked some, including this past Sunday. I'll be adding the backed up Sunday reviews soon as well as product reviews for products like the Blue Bunny Gelato and the food line for a certain almost-racy restaurant we all know and love. It will come. As of Friday, I have no job, so I'm running out of excuses not to post. Really!

Oh, Happy Day!

The day has come, my children. The day that I have finally found a way to upload all the (marginally) pretty pictures my digital camera has afforded me. This is a new beginning. It is the dawn of fully documented recipes. It will become a showcase for my ill-lit and blurry pictures. Let us all rejoice that this day has come!





To kick it off right, let me force upon you my pictures of Sushi Night! The first picture is our feast nicely dressed up with lanterns and orchids atop a covered cardboard box. Ah yes, the luxury. The second is my roomate- it was a formal dress occasion- examining her jewelry box on the dinner table. Er, don't mind the edges of the frames.

Apple Muffins

Several weeks ago now, I decided to buy a 6 pack of yogurt from the Stonyfield Farm organic line. Yobaby yogurt features very happy babies on the front of each individual cup of apple and blueberry flavored... something. I should have known better, really. The only thing geared for babies that tastes good are pureed fruits. The swirls of cinnamon evil overpowered the syrupy fruit yogurt and resulted in something altogether too sweet and gloppy to be enjoyed by anyone over the age of four. Don't get me wrong, my sweet tooth has led me down the path of sin my whole life. I've even resorted to melting candy bars on cookies, but this isn't to be believed. Of course, organic yogurt isn't exactly a cheap, throw-away product here. I'd been meaning to use it in muffins for quite some time now, but am just getting to it. It's not THAT expired. Really. Besides, I just got home today from Ren Fest and am atoning in my own half-assed way.

Regardless, I need to use up things in my refrigerator and pantry. I threw two cups of the apple yogurt with an eggwhite into a Jiffy white cake mix, stirred in some dried apples, and bake for about 25 minutes at 350 F. Fortunately, the result was much more palatable than the yogurt itself. Unfortunately, it was still too sweet. The heavy syrup of the yogurt and a sweet cake mix is too much for more than one muffin. Still, there's a little sweetness around the house now. The next challenge will be to rid myself of the blueberry cups.

Best Intentions

Well, another Sunday over and another post not submitted. For anyone interested, I did not take from my recipe stockpile for the last two weeks. Two Sundays ago, I was on the onion kick. While I did make french onion soup, I had roasted potatoes to go with it. Also, I was so unhappy with the soup that I didn't make my cut recipe for individual apple pies and instead bought a boston cream pie. The boyfriend liked the soup, but I thought it just tasted burnt. Last Sunday I had sushi night! I was very excited about this because I had my boyfriend and best friend over to enjoy it. I found an asian grocery down here and finally bought nori. Honestly, I have more sushi rice than is strictly healthy. But three kinds of sushi, noodles, and steamed vegetables later, everyone was happy and full.

My original intention for Sundays was mostly to get off my ass at least once a week and get into the kitchen. I love cooking and experimenting, but lately it just seems like a hassle. I look forward to Sundays more than any day of the week now. It's one day that is set aside just for food, where anything else is just a bonus. So while my paper stockpile is dwindling more slowly than I'd like, I achieved my main goal. In the end, that's all that matters.

SUBmerging My Fears

Lately, fast-food coupons have been my friends, mostly due to vast amounts of junk mail stuck in my box. A flier for Firehouse Subs was one of many that came, and I dutifully clipped away. I was on a mission to try every major sub place in South Georgia. Of course, going to four places isn’t the Olymics. Firehouse was the last on my list. I’ve been once before and it was mighty tasty. So with coupon in hand, I headed out for lunch.

Of the four sub chains out here, the current ranking is as follows:

Larry’s Giant Subs
Firehouse Subs
Subway
Quizno’s

The top three are good, though Larry’s always outperforms the others. I still enjoy my old stand-by at Subway too. It’s just that every time I’ve eaten at Quizno’s, the subs have had no taste. I’ve been disappointed every time.

This isn’t really the point of the post though.

Like nearly every other child on earth, I was a picky eater. But like many childhood fears, not all of my apprehensions regarding food have disappeared. I’m working through many of them in adulthood. I now eat tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini, and olives with gusto. Yet, onions have long been my enemy. Don’t get me wrong, I use a liberal hand with the onion powder and have even graduated to using onions in cooking. I just have to put them through a blender is all. Hey, onion soup works just as well! But a very handsome picture of an onion tart about five months ago got me considering what these potent vegetables could really do if given the chance. My decision was made after I watched Alton Brown make a French onion soup. Not only is this on the menu for Sunday, it was on my mind yesterday. This is where Firehouse Subs comes in.

The Firehouse Steak and Cheese is “sautéed sirloin steak with provolone, topped with sautéed onions and bell peppers, mayo and mustard.” Yes, onions. And bell peppers! Something I also have had problems getting over eating. Needless to say, the sandwich was delicious and I killed two birds with one stone- onions and bell peppers. It will still take some experimenting and getting used to, but I’m on my way to recovery.

Everyday is like Sunday

I sat here, prepared and ready to write up a review on two Amy’s brand frozen meals. I can’t. It’s a lie! I’ve meant to write up a dinner I prepared two weekends ago, but the evil pink monster (because it has to be pink) named procrastination keeps talking me out of it. She’s so convincing too. And she’s right about all the movies I could watch and how much I’d really like to move my furniture again, but no more. This time I’m really going to tell the world of my new plans.

I’m finally (sort of) settled into my new apartment. This is good. I’m motivated because of it. This is also good. Part of this motivation has led me to make a habit of something that should have been part of my life years ago. Weekend home cooking. As scary as it sounds, I am relatively sure that I can cook at least once a week. Not just one recipe whipped up on a whim or wave of inspiration. A full meal. So Sunday has chosen to bear this burden.

Nearly two weeks ago, I delved into the MOUND of clipped recipes I’ve saved over the years. This is the mission: free at least two of these recipes from the Hell pile and make a final judgment on their papery souls. The kickoff dinner was a simple salad, Bruschetta, sautéed asparagus, Four Cheese Chicken, and simple strawberry/raspberry shortcakes.

In a nutshell: good effort all around. Both my boyfriend (who has graciously volunteered to be my guinea pig) and I enjoyed it. Also, meat cleavers are your friend and you really don’t need a recipe for bruschetta.


Obviously, I had no meat cleaver. But I am in possession of a well-used hammer. Have hammer, will cook. Now this is one of those recipes where I flub everything, but it turns out just fine. Really, any dish with chicken and cheese is like that. The recipe called for chicken cutlets, but none were being sold at the grocery store. Chicken breasts it was. And hammer. Can’t forget that one. Neither, I’m sure, can my new neighbor. It also called for shredded mozzarella- you know, the kind in the bag? Well fresh chopped mozzarella did just fine, thank you. Mostly because I couldn’t be assed to go back. This also meant PIZZA was coming next. The grated parm got replaced with romano because I can’t read. These were a bitch to roll, so most ended up… folded really. And the leaky cheese nearly killed my “non-stick” skillet for the pan searing portion. I would recommend the addition of sharp cheddar next time, since it was almost bland at times. But all in all, cheesey goodness.

Judgment: Keeper

From a healthy meals in minutes pre-printed card that apparently came with a recipe box or something.


Four-Cheese Chicken

Serves 4

½ cup part-skim ricotta cheese (I used regular)
¼ cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
2 T grated parmesan cheese
1 cup chopped, cooked spinach (I skipped the cooking part)
4 chicken cutlets (4 ounces each), pounded ¼ inch thick
1 tsp butter

For Sauce:
¼ cup skim milk (I used whole)
½ cup reduced- sodium chicken broth (guess what I used)
1 T cornstarch
1 tsp butter
¾ cup shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese

1 Preheat oven to 400 F. Combine ricotta, mozzarella, and Parmesan and mix well. Drain spinach and spread ¼ cup over each cutlet. Spread cheese mixture over spinach and roll jelly style starting with short end.

2 In a medium nonstick skillet, melt butter over med-high heat. Add cutlets; cook, turning frequently, until browned- roughly 2 minutes. Place in a baking dish.

3 For sauce, stir milk, broth, and cornstarch together in a bowl. Melt butter in skillet over medium. Add milk mixture until it boil, stirring constantly. Remove from burner and stir in cheddar.

4 Bake until browned and bubbling- about 15 minutes.



The Bruschetta, while tasty, was not a keeper. For one, do I really need someone to tell me what to put on toast? The cook time didn’t seem right to be either, and everything ended up mushy. I like to see tomato chunks on my bread rather than tomato spread. I’ll refrain from adding the recipe since there are other, better versions to be had.

Along with a glass of sweet wine- which I must review later- the night went off splendidly. Now if only my motivation will allow me to write the review for last weekend and for my results tomorrow. Here’s hoping.

Mojito Martini's?

I finally found my Van Gogh Espresso Vodka. I also as in the company of a very helpful store employee who traded out that bottle for the plain vodka in a sampler set with all of the Van Gogh line’s new flavors. It included: plain, espresso, double espresso, mango, pineapple, mojito mint, melon, and coconut. Yes, I was ecstatic.

Tonight, I decided that lounging on my patio with a bit of that mint would do me just fine. It tasted like a good peppermint shnapps. It was crisp and not cloyingly sweet. More like a Rumple Minze and less of a De Kuyper. One of the descriptions I found online indicated that it was supposed to have a hint of citrus. There was also small halved lemons on the bottle, but I could not for the life of me taste it. Regardless, it would make a fine addition to a mojito in very small quantities. The strength would need to be offset with the bite of lemon and sweetness of syrup. I have a bartender friend at Ruby Tuesday who told me they use Bacardi Limon and seltzer along with the other ingredients. They really gives it that fresh kick that I think a drink like that should have. If I had some those and a simple syrup, I might make myself a little too happy. Funny enough, the Van Gogh website was lacking in mojito recipes for their signaturely named vodka- only martinis. This, I think, will have to be remedied.