Despite my lack of posting I have been eating and cooking a bit so I decided to do a little a quick round up post of some of the things that I'd made over the past few weeks. I'm not going to do detailed recipes, if you would like the full recipe just email me or leave a comment and unfortunately I don't have any photos (my digital camera and I are not speaking at the moment), but I think that those of you who cook on a fairly regular basis should be able to duplicate these dishes without having concrete recipes.
Pork Burgers - This was a great recipe given to me by a co-worker and I think its South Beach compliant. Lean ground pork seasoned with salt, pepper, and pesto (fresh or store bought). Stuff the burger patties with some fresh mozzarella before cooking in the pan. Keep in mind that ground pork shrinks a lot more than ground beef or turkey so you may want to form your burger patties larger than usual.
Chicken Nachos - Leftover roasted chicken mean shredded and served over warm tortilla chips with cheddar cheese, onions, Spanish olives, salsa, and black beans. Zap in the microwave or oven until cheese is melted. Serve right away with sour cream and guacamole.
Creamed Corn w/ Jalapenos - Two cans of white/yellow corn or one package of frozen corn, cook on the stove top as per package instructions add butter, heavy cream, chopped jalapenos, salt & pepper. Stir until mixture takes on the desired consistency then serve. This will be even better in late summer when corn is in season.
Mango, Peach, & Strawberry cobbler - Take one mango peeled and sliced, two cans of peaches (drain out the heavy syrup), and about a half cup of sliced strawberries. Place in an 8 x8 baking dish. Sprinkle with Demera Sugar, Brown Sugar, Cinnamon, and a splash of vanilla. Take one can of Pillsbury home style biscuits and cover the fruit (you may have to stretch out the biscuits a bit to get them to cover the entire surface of the baking dish), Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes. So quick, so easy, and so good.
Panko crusted Pork Chops served with sweet potato fries
Gnocchi w/quick Bolognase sauce - Frozen Gnocchi prepared as per the package, for the sauce, saute ground turkey with onions, garlic, and bell pepper add in one 28 oz can of plum tomatoes, salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, and red wine vinegar simmer for 25 minutes serve over cooked gnocchi with fresh garlic bread.
Well that's all I've got for now, hopefully next week I'll have another re-cap for you and maybe with some real recipes.
Oh I almost forgot, I did leave out a few dishes but that's because they are the ones that I test out exclusively for Project Foodie, so be sure to pop over there from time to time to see what I'm up to.
Happy Cooking
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
My Week(s) in Food
Monday, May 5, 2008
Happy Cinco de Mayo!
Another great drinking holiday if there ever was one. (Don't mind me I'm going through some serious cocktail withdraw, more so than with the first pregnancy) Although I do not need an excuse or Holiday to make a great batch of guacamole, fish tacos, burritos, quesadillas or my absolute favorite mexican lasagna why not make some of those goodies today anyway. Don't forget the Corona Extra, Frozen Margaritas, or the even more satisfying Mojito. I have a great recipe for a non-alcoholic mojito that I recently discovered, it really is almost as good as the real thing.
Happy Cooking!
Friday, May 2, 2008
"One Mint Julep...
was the cause of it all"
There I go again with my random song lyrics, I just can't help it. My love of music is right up there with my love of Food and Books. So what's the deal with the Mint Julep song, well tomorrow is the Kentucky Derby and the Mint Julep is the official drink of the Derby. I'm not a huge horse racing fan but I just love the whole vibe of the Derby, one day I will be there with my big fancy straw hat and spring dress sipping as many Mint Juleps as my body will handle (I'm not a lush, really I'm not). My husband has an uncle who lives in Kentucky so he has assured me that one day we will get to the Derby. In the meantime be sure to check out the official website where you can learn all about this time honored event and get the original recipe for the famed "Mint Julep".
*The most famous recording of the song "Mint Julep" was by Ray Charles in 1961, it basically tells the story of a young man recalling how he married his wife. He got a little tipsy from his one Mint Julep made a pass at her and then was forced to marry.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Excuse the appearance
I've been on a sort of mini-hiatus blogging sporadically for the past few months since my pregnancy has gotten the better of me, but being that it is spring which is a time of renewal and fresh starts I find the need to freshen things up a bit with my blog template so bear with me as I find a new template and logo that works for me, one day it could be red the next day blue. Unfortunately my postings will still be rather inconsistent, I'm now 7 months along and unfortunately the fatigue has returned. But once the newest member of the royal family is born I hope to return to a more normal blogging schedule with a newer, fresher look.
Happy Cooking!
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
My Favorite New Website/Blog
For the past year I've seen and heard mention of this great site called Apartment Therapy; I never really bothered to check it out because quite simply I live in a house and I assumed it was more geared towards those lovely urban apartment dwellers (sniff...sniff...I used to be one of those). But recently I discovered their spin off site (sorry I can't think of a better term). The Kitchn and let me just say it rocks. They talk about everything having to do with our favorite room in the house/ apartment. Recipes, product info, foodie reading, kitchen tips galore it is a one stop foodie paradise. So if you have yet to discover The Kitchn make sure to check it out now. And don't just stop there for those of you who have children like moi they have ohdeedoh.com, For the techies unplgged.com and for those of you striving for a more Green existence check out re-nest.com
Garden Photos
Here are a couple of before photos of the family gardens; I'll be posting them periodically as I plant things and as the plants start to grow. Enjoy...does it inspire you to start a little patch of your own?
This is grandpop's garden nicely tilled and ready for the planting. He has been maintaining this garden for over 40 years. He usually plants various greens, collards, mustard, kale. Tomatoes, yellow squash, zucchini, corn, watermelon, green beans, black eye peas, yellow, white, and red onions, green peppers, and whatever else the family tells him to plant.
This is my vegetable patch , not yet prepared for planting (notice the stray shingle, I feel like Chicken Little "my sky is falling"...needless to say DH and I need to have the roof re-shingled but that's another story for another day and for a home improvement blog). Since it looks like Spring has finally come to New Jersey hopefully my mom and I will get it cleaned up in the next few weeks. I will be planting, tomatoes (different varieties than grandpop), carrots, beets, lettuce, various hot peppers, and my mom would like me to plant brussel sprouts and broccoli for my dad. Since she is helping me get it ready I suppose I should oblige (I hope I have enough room). I keep my herbs in window boxes on the front porch and some in the house on the kitchen windowsill.
Because I just can't wait to get the whole planting thing started, I picked up a couple of tomato seedlings over the weekend even though I won't be able to put them in the ground for a few weeks I had to have them. They are temporarily residing on my dining room windowsill. The shorter one is a variety known as Golden Jubilee (they're yellow...can you stand it!), and the taller one is your run of the mill cherry tomatoes.
I'm going to be one happy girl this summer, but also tired & sleep deprived, I did mention that I'm having another kid right...lol
Happy Cooking & Gardening !
Monday, April 7, 2008
Ask and you shall receive
Don't you just love the Internet sometimes...
A couple of weeks ago I sung the praises of a certain seed catalog (Johnny's Seeds) but also expressed my concerns because there were just so many varieties to chose from and I didn't know where to start. Well apparently the powers that be at the company got wind of my humble little blog and have offered their help. And here I thought there was no such thing as good customer service anymore.
Hi there! I am so glad you like the catalog and understand how all the choices can be overwhelming. Please feel free to call us toll-free (1-877-564-6697) and any of our customer service representatives can help guide you on what would be best to plant in your area, or how to get you started so that you can be successful. Don't go it alone, we're here to help you!
Sincerely,
Alisa Keimel
Johnny's Selected Seeds
"The Flayvors of Washington Contest"
Here's a great contest for all of you not suffering from pregnancy brain. I don't think I have an original recipe in me right now, but for the rest of you go for it and good luck. I would love an opportunity to interview the winner right here on Foodie Princess so get cracking on those recipes already.
COLUMBIA CREST WINERY AND FOOD NETWORK STAR BOBBY FLAY PRESENT
THE “FLAYVORS OF WASHINGTON” RECIPE CONTEST
Acclaimed Washington State Winery to Sponsor Contest on
FoodNetwork.com with World-Renowned Chef
Paterson, Wash. (January 24, 2008) – Columbia Crest Winery, in conjunction with Chef Bobby Flay, today announced the upcoming launch of the “Flayvors of Washington” recipe contest. The month-long contest, which launches April 15, 2008, will be hosted on the Food Network Web site. The contest is part of a partnership between the Washington-based winery and Flay that highlights the unexpected rewards of dining with Columbia Crest Grand Estates wines.
The “Flayvors of Washington” contest challenges food and wine lovers throughout the United States to create and submit an original recipe inspired by Columbia Crest wines and utilizing ingredients from Washington state. As one of the leading agricultural producers, the state offers an abundance of flavorful and fresh ingredients from which to draw culinary inspiration. The entries will be reviewed and the top-10 recipes will be narrowed to a selection of five finalists by Columbia Crest Winemaker Ray Einberger and Seattle Times restaurant critic and local NPR food commentator Nancy Leson. Flay and Food Network Executive Chef Robert Bleifer will then judge the top-five recipes and select a first-, second- and third-place winner.
“As a chef, I understand how pairing the right wine and food can enhance the overall dining experience,” said Flay. “I use regional ingredients in my cooking, so I’m eager to see what recipes and pairings people will create using the flavors of Washington.”
The winner of the contest will enjoy a trip to New York City, where he/she will have the opportunity to cook his/her winning dish with Flay and then enjoy a special dinner at one of his restaurants, featuring wine pairings from Columbia Crest.
“We encourage fans of Bobby Flay and Columbia Crest, as well as anyone who is passionate about food and wine, to explore all the delicious and inspiring flavors Washington state offers,” said Miles Johnson, senior product manager for Columbia Crest.
In May 2007, Columbia Crest and Flay announced their partnership to demonstrate how simple it is to have a great food and wine experience, everyday. In addition to the contest, the partnership includes a Columbia Crest Grand Estates print advertising campaign starring Flay, as well as holiday and spring menus created by Flay to be featured on the Columbia Crest Web site, and wine pairings that he will develop exclusively for the winery.
The contest will begin on April 15, 2008, and all entries must be received by midnight on May 31, 2008. To submit an entry or find out more about the “Flayvors of Washington” contest, please visit www.foodnetwork.com/columbiacre
About Columbia Crest
In 2008, Columbia Crest Winery celebrates 25 years of winemaking in Washington state. Columbia Crest has grown from a small winery in a relatively unknown wine region to one of the most significant wineries in the United States and a major force behind Washington state’s emergence as a world-class wine region. In 2007, the Grand Estates Merlot was selected from a field of 15,000 90+ rated wines as one of the “Top 100 Wines of the World” by Wine Spectator, marking the 14th “Top 100” placement for Columbia Crest in the past nine years. More information about the winery can be found at columbia-crest.com.
About Bobby Flay
Chef Bobby Flay’s critically acclaimed restaurants include New York’s Bar Americain; Bobby Flay Steak in the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City; and three outposts of his famed Mesa Grill in New York, Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, and The Cove Atlantis in the Bahamas. A graduate of the French Culinary Institute, Flay also shares his enthusiasm for food through his cookbooks, most recently The Mesa Grill Cookbook, and a variety of national programs on the Food Network including the Emmy-winning “Boy Meets Grill.” Flay regularly informs audiences about seasonal, fresh dishes and ingredients as a food correspondent for “The Early Show” on CBS.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Be sure to check out the cookbook review I did over at Project Foodie, and my review of an Eggplant manicotti recipe I tried a little while back.
Happy Eating!
Sowing the Seeds...
No this isn't turning into a gardening blog but being there is a severe lack of cooking going on in my household growing food has become the next best thing, that and anything to combat those rising food costs. So I got this awesome seed catalog last week called Johnny's Seeds, and as I started looking through it I became increasingly overwhelmed. Who knew there were so many varieties of like everything and trying to find out which ones will be successful in my area is like looking for a needle in a haystack but I am determined. Once I finally make up my mind which seeds to order I'll let you know how the whole vegetable gardening thing is going complete with photos, I hope. I'm sure all of you who already do the vegetable gardening thing are in the know about Johnny's Seeds but if not check it out. It is apparently the source to have for ordering vegetable seeds.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Happy Belated Easter, Passover, and a Bad Restaurant review
I've gone missing again and let two more Holidays pass without supplying you with any yummy recipes or entertaining ideas, I know I know I should have my crown taken away from me but I promise after the newest member of my royal family arrives I will be back to normal...I hope.
I'm still not cooking too much, only about twice a week and still keeping it pretty simple. But I was fortunate to dine out a few times over the past week at least I thought I was fortunate until I ate the food. Now one thing about me is despite the fact that I call myself the Foodie Princess I am no food snob. I came up with the name Foodie Princess because number 1 I am a big Foodie and number 2 I am a spoiled brat/Princess, but I eat my fair share of not so good for you foods, fast food included I'm almost ashamed to say. So being that I try and give everyone the benefit of the doubt when I go out to eat for me to complain about the food it must have been pretty bad and it ain't just the hormones talking. Not to mention the increased cost of food that is now ever so present on the menus. So let's see where shall I begin.
Bonefish Grill - This is one of your better chain restaurants a step above TGI Fridays and the like, they have about 6 different choices of fish/shellfish on the menu made to order with your choice of sauce fresh mango salsa, pan Asian, etc. They also have steak and chicken for those that don't like fish and even better there's no kid's menu which makes it a decidedly adult atmosphere which is perfect for date night. Anyway the one in our area has been around for about three years and I've been there all of three times including Easter Sunday. The first time I went my husband and I went for Valentine's Day, our daughter was not even a year old and it was one of our first nights out since she was born. Like many new restaurants the service was great, the portions were plentiful, the house drinks were original and tasty we decided we would definitely be back. The second time I went about a year later was after work one night with a group of co-workers again the food was good, no complaints. Easter was a different story. It was my mom and step dad's 20th wedding anniversary and my husband wanted to do something special for them. We loved it so much ourselves it was just a given that we would take my parents there. Well the service was awesome the waiter was friendly without being annoying, knowledgeable and cute. The appetizers were good, spicy bang bang shrimp, and Cajun chicken egg rolls but then came the main course. My Dad got Sea Scallops w/Gulf Shrimp with the mango salsa. There were about five scallops and about five shrimp and the way it was plated was so far from original it just made my heart ache. My mom, husband, and I got the same dish, Shrimp Scampi topped filet mignon. The petite filet was okay, it was a 4 oz. filet nothing remotely memorable in taste but it was edible. What really ticked me off was the "Scampi" apparently these folks don't know what real shrimp scampi is. Basically they served us four shrimp on a skewer with some sort of Alfredo sauce over it. Where is the garlic and butter that is usually found in a scampi. The only other redeeming factor of the whole dining experience is they did bring out this wonderful warm whole grain bread with a very nice wonderfully fruity olive oil to dip it in. Bottom line I will not be going back anytime soon if ever again. Granted I've had worse meals but when you don't get to dine out that often and you're really looking forward to re-visiting a place where you had two pleasant experiences previously its really a downer to be disappointed like that. Next up...
Charlies Bar in Somers Point - This is a local spot that I introduced my husband to when we were dating, famous for their wings. You used to be able to get a 60 piece bucket of wings for $20, well not only has the price skyrocketed $35 for wings with a side order of Fries and just for the record I usually eat a total of about six wings my husband will be eating them for the next 2-3 days. But they were so gross, I about cried. Simply put they were old . We called in the order around 6pm last night picked them up about 20 minutes later I went home loaded my plate with wings, fries, celery, ranch dressing and dug in. The wings tasted like they had been made the day before and they were lukewarm with minimal sauce. If it wasn't for the fact that Charlies is a good 25 minute drive away I would have taken them back and demanded a refund. Charlies was always a spot I could rely on when a wing craving came on, needless to say I will be finding a new wing joint. Last but certainly not least...
Applebees - Back before I got married and had Baby#1 my half sister Andrea and I would hit Applebees almost every weekend. Nachos, Boneless Buffalo wings, and their "Perfect Margarita". Now work with me here, I live in Southern New Jersey if I was still in New York she and I would probably hit up the Bread Bar at Tabla every Saturday night but in rural Southern New Jersey Applebee's is as good as it gets. Last Saturday after a full day of running errands and preparing for the Easter Holiday my mom, baby sister, and I hit up Applebees and we were not disappointed I repeat, were not disappointed. I had a combination of Spinach-artichoke dip, Boneless Buffalo wings, and panko shrimp. It was dare I say DELICIOUS. I don't care that it was probably 3,000 calories that it was loaded with butter and saturated fat the point is I got what I was expecting and even a little more.
Because I don't get to dine out often or even get take-out very often I do have a certain level of expectation and with the cost of food being so high these days is it too much to ask for people to just try and keep up certain standards granted I know everyone has an off day but really 2/3 is pretty bad.
Monday, March 17, 2008
You give me fever...
I have a major case of Spring Fever and I'm now channeling my inner Farmer. Its a combination of that pregnancy nesting thing that goes on, I now want to clean, paint, wall paper, and re-decorate every room in the house and the fact that I just love planting herbs and vegetables. I spent a good two hours today perusing online seed catalogs planning this years herb buckets and vegetable patch. I've also been looking for a co-op in my area too, with grocery prices steadily climbing I'm determined to do what I can to keep my food cost as low as possible and I also like the idea of putting forth a community effort to help promote better eating.
As for the gardening, I've decided on the standard Sweet Basil, Rosemary, Flat-leaf Parsley, Thyme, and Mint for the Herb Buckets.
I'd like to do a separate container planting with hot peppers and tomatillos.
For the vegetable patch on the side of my house, Salad greens (which I need to get cracking on very soon), beets, carrots, tomatoes, I guess that's it. This will be my first year planting Salad greens so if anyone has any good advice about which varieties to plant, etc. please let me know. I live in Zone area 6/7.
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Another reason to love Amazon.com
Just in from Decanter.com
| Amazon moves into wine with wine.com Howard G Goldberg in New York |
Pretzels for dinner...
Now I know this is a food blog so I make it a point to not bore you with my tales of suburban family life but since this episode does revolve around food I'm bending the rules.
I have a two year old daughter, she's actually two and a half. She'll be three in September and can I just say she is just a little difficult to say the least. She's been going through the "terrible twos" since she was about 18 months old and there seems to be no end in sight. I've never seen a kid with so much personality and talk about stubborn...but getting back to the food. I'm sure I've bragged before about the fact that she's not a picky eater, well that has changed she has now become one of these "I only want to eat 5 foods and none of them are in the basic food group" kids. Now I'm not quite ready to call in Jessica Seinfeld or The Sneaky Chef, she does like most green vegetables. She will eat collard greens, spinach, green beans, bok choy, and even ceasar salad. She likes apples and grapes, she has to be in the right mood to eat an orange. She doesn't like rice and the only meat she will eat is Beef Bologna, Beef hot dogs, and Le Chicken Nugget. Looking at the list of foods I admit maybe I don't have much to complain about it but last night took the cake. I picked her up from pre-school where she proceeded to have a full fledge exorcist type meltdown because I couldn't zip her coat up. The zipper was stuck and I wasn't about to stand there for ten minutes getting it un-stuck. She proceeded to kick and scream the whole 25 minute ride home, she had worked herself up into such a tizzy that when we got home she couldn't be consoled.
My husband took over dealing with the princess and I prepared a somewhat quick meal of Baked Chicken with a few roasted carrots, knowing that "Sybill" wouldn't eat any of it. The chicken was not in nugget form and she doesn't do carrots. I decided to be "nice" mommy and pulled out the infamous blue box made famous by Kraft. Feel free to click away now if I've just offended you. She refused to eat it, what the hell was I going to do with a fully cooked box of Kraft Mac n' Cheese. Well my husband being of the garbage disposal variety type guy gladly ate it. I guess she had enough of my shenanagins so she got up off the sofa and declared that she wanted pretzels and juice for dinner. My husband and I both looked at her as if she had lost her mind. She repeated herself "Pretzels and Juice, Daddy". She sat and ate her pretzels as if they were some rare delicacy, and downed her cup of juice like it was a cold Heineken then proceeded to strut off to her room where she informed my husband that she was ready to watch the "dogs" that would be the recently released 101 Dalmatians. So that is what the little pain in the, I mean little princess had for dinner last night.
The End
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
The Randomness of it all...
Guess what I picked up at the grocery store over the weekend...blood oranges. Now I know I should be doing something creative with them but right now I'm pretty content eating them just like a regular orange. Although my co-worker did inform me that I looked like I was eating someone's spleen. Hanibal Lector would be proud...lol
Since I haven't been cooking much lately I find myself doing quite a bit of reading (my other favorite pastime). Right now I'm reading the House of Mondavi and in it the author mentioned an 
early foodie film called "This Earth is Mine" starring the late great Rock Hudson, apparently its about a Winemaking family that has been in Napa Valley for three generations and the family conflict and scandal that arises when certain family members try to make some significant changes to the family business. Some of the family conflict in that movie mirrors that of the Mondavi family but the real question is where can I get my hands on a copy of that movie, anybody out there have any idea ideas?
