How Time Flies

Look! It's Monday already! And I have no Sunday dinner to report. I've had family in town on Friday and Saturday, and now without a job, my days all run together. I completely forgot about cooking yesterday. But! To make up for that, I've written up a review for all the chocoholics out there.

If you don’t have a World Market ‘round, get your credit cards ready. I discovered Ritter Sport chocolates about six months ago on an imported candy binge and never looked back. World Market is my most convenient place to stock up, regardless of the fact that the closest one is nearly three hours away. If I wasn’t going to get Ritter on the last trip, the assorted mini box would have convinced me anyway. To my delight I found six varieties stashed in the box, giving me four new ones to try. It is now official, Ritter Sport makes some of my favorite chocolate candies.

There were 2 cornflake chocolates, 1 nugat, 1 marzipan, 1 hazelnut, 1 butter biscuit, 1 solid milk chocolate, and 2 yogurt covered. I must admit upfront that I haven’t touched either of he yogurt. In fact, they will probably shoved off to my boyfriend. I bought a full size of this particular flavor months ago and didn’t care for it one bit. It tasted like sour milk dipped in chocolate- which I suppose it is. But no thank you.

However, don’t let my bad opinion of one flavor deter you. Everything else is delicious. The cornflake candies were ridiculously crunchy after eating the wimpy American alternatives. There are similar butter biscuit cookies out there that might be a match, but this one stands up to the rest of the brand well. I was particularly impressed with the hazelnut and the nugat. Their blend of hazelnut and creamy chocolate tasted almost like a Ferrer Roche, one of my favorites, and the nugat tasted exactly the same. Not sure where I was supposed to find in that nugat, but I didn’t care much given that it tasted so good. The solid milk chocolate is a fine example of the quality. Of course, none of this can beat the marzipan. This was my first love. Dense, nutty marizan is draped with milk chocolate that gives with a satisfying crack in every bite. It nearly tastes like dark chocolate, but I can’t be sure.

If you can’t pass up chocolate, I won’t need to convince you any farther. A good German brand at a reasonable price rarely needs convincing. Go forth.

Sunday: June 04

This is the second week in a row that I've been on time. Or as on time as I'll ever be because I'm usually busy too Sunday night to write up a post. This week was low key and high vege. My roomate brought me three absolutely beautiful green peppers and more watermelon than I can handle. She also brought be cucumbers not too long ago that was supposed to be thrown in with the watermelon recipe, but they are currently furry and taking a nap in the dumpster.

Three peppers, three for dinner. It's too good to pass up. So I didn't. I made some improve venison stuffed peppers. I finally got to use that damn ground venison! This is a really easy, rough recipe. Like bruschetta, I'm not sure you need someone to tell you what to do here, but here's a rough guide.

Ingredients:

1-2 pounds ground beef or venison (depending on how meaty you want it)

roughly 2 cups rice

1/2 cup tomato pasta sauce plus 2T for the topping

Assorted chopped vegetables or seasonings to taste (I would suggest some Parmesan)

Toppings of your choice

Preheat oven to 350. Brown meat and drain off liquid. Mix in the rest of the ingredients and heat. Core out peppers and stand on bottom in a baking dish. Stuff peppers nearly to the brim. Top with 2T of sauce on each pepper. Top with spices, cheese, or bread crumbs if desired. Bake for 1 hour.

Next came the watermelon. I ran into the same problem last year when my friend brought me about three watermelons. I made watermelon cake, drinks, and ate it raw until I could puke. This year, I have a boyfriend to pawn some of it off on. I also have a handy gazpacho recipe that turned out much better than I expected it to. I adapted it from an about.com recipe that will be added to the bottom of this post. I didn't add the jalapeno, but I think I will if I make it again. The flavors came through very nice and clear, but the spice would have helped to offset the sweetness a bit more. I also didn't use a full onion- like I ever do- so it was a little on the sweet side. But this is fresh, unexpected, and comes together in a snap.

Ingredients:

roughly 3 cups seeded watermelon, chunked

1 onion, chopped

1 red or yellow bell pepper, chopped

1T lemon juice

dash of olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Prep all ingredients, then throw in a blender a little at a time. A blender will probably give you better results than a food processor unless you like chunks of raw onion in your meals. Chill for at least an hour before serving.

For more ideas or for the original recipe, go here: http://vegetarian.about.com/od/soupsstewsandchili/r/watermelongaz.htm

It's Still Monday!

And I have just enough time to post before it's Tuesday.

Well, it’s the day after now and I promised myself I’d be prompt on this. My Sunday’s are slowly getting kicked back into gear. I eased myself in with an intuitive side dish of pasta and sautéed eggplant, zucchini, and yellow squash. The main course was a recipe from one of my roommate’s cookbooks: Chicken Dinners by Carrie Holcomb. I chose to do the a garlicky chicken dish that I think was better than anything I’ve made in weeks. Not to say it was great- it seems like my own cooking never is- but this is definitely a keeper. I already had a bottle of red wine open and didn’t want to pop a white just for a recipe, so I stuck with the chicken stock. Well, chicken bouillon really, but it worked out just fine. I would also cut down the quantity of the garlic tremendously next time. Each clove tasted fine, but it wasn’t thrilling and they were too mushy and too plentiful to ever get through. The recipe suggests slipping the garlic cloves out of their peel to eat or even peeling before cooking. I’ll shut up now.


French Farmhouse Garlic Chicken

Serves: 4

Ingredients:
4 small boneless, skinless chicken breasts halves
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
40 small cloves unpeeled garlic
1 T cooking oil
½ cup dry white wine or chicken broth
½ cup chicken broth
1 T lemon juice
1 tsp dried basil, crushed
½ tsp dried oregano, crushed
2 T dry white wine or chicken broth
4 tsp all-purpose flour


1. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Cook chicken and garlic in hot oil over med-high heat for 4 to 6 minutes or until just browned. Add ½ cup wine, ½ cup broth, lemon juice, and spices. Boil then reduce to simmer for 6 to 8 minutes, until chicken is cooked through.

2. Set aside chicken and garlic; keep warm.

3. Stir together the 2 T wine or broth with flour (sift if you know what’s good for you- I didn’t). Stir into pan juices and bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 1 minute. Spoon over chicken.

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.