Tuesday, January 31, 2012

New Year's with Andrew & Bob


After Christmas, the countdown til I start my NEW JOB began - 1 week!  This week, of course, flew by.  Andrew and I had a relatively quiet New Year's celebration - just us and Bob.  Bob Schneider, that is.  He is one of my favorite musicians of all time!  We rang in the new year dining on filets that Andrew cooked on his new grill, and then off to downtown Austin for the concert (wore my Christmas present from Andrew :)).



Quiet Company opened for Bob Schneider - they were so good that I bought their album the next day (my favorite song so far - Are You a Mirror? ).  Come to find out, I went to high school with the drummer!  Bob was his usual entertaining self and we danced the New Year in to "Tarantula"!

Best of January Recipes!

If I write about nothing else it for the month of January, it MUST be these 2 easy and delicious recipes!  We will definitely have them again, especially if we have company or a dinner party!

Skillet Chicken Vesuvio (from America's Test Kitchen Light & Healthy 2011)
4 (6 ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed
Salt & Pepper
4 teaspoons canola oil
10 small red potatoes (about 1 1/4 pounds), halved
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken brother
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 cup frozen peas (4 ounces), thawed
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 teaspoons lemon juice

Pat the chicken breasts dry with paper towels and season with 1/8 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Heat 2 teaspoons of the oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Carefully lay the chicken breasts in the skillet and cook until golden brown on the first side, about 5 minutes. Flip the breasts and continue to cook until lightly browned on the second side, about 3 minutes longer. Transfer the chicken breasts to a plate.

Heat the remaining 2 teaspoons of oil in the pan over medium heat until shimmering. Arrange the potatoes evenly in the pan, cut side down, and cook until golden brown, about 7 minutes. Stir in the garlic, rosemary, oregano, and ¼ teaspoon salt and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Add the broth and wine to the pot, scrape up any browned bits, and bring to a simmer.

Nestle the chicken breasts into the potatoes. Cover and cook over medium-low heat until the chicken registers 160 to 165 degrees on an instant-read thermometer and the potatoes are tender, about 12 minutes. Transfer the chicken and potatoes to a platter and tent loosely with foil.

Increase the heat to medium-high and cook until the sauce is reduced to 1 cup, about 5 minutes. Stir in the peas and cook until heated through, about 1 minute. Off the heat, whisk in the butter and lemon juice and season with salt and pepper to taste. Spoon the sauce over the chicken and potatoes, and serve.

Serves 4 (or 2 Andrew's and a Becky)
 
 
 
Dry-Spiced Grilled Fish (Indian Cooking Without Fat by Mridula Baljekar)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon of chopped garlic
1 teaspoon of grated ginger
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 salmon steaks
1 1/2 teaspoons ground & roasted coriander
1 tablespoon very finely chopped cilantro leaves

Mix the lemon juice, garlic, ginger, chili powder & salt.
Lay the salmon steaks on a large plant ofr dish and gently rub the seasoning mixture into them.  cover and set aside to marinate for 30 minutes.
Preheat the grill to high and line a grill pan with foil.  Brush the foil lightly withlil and arrange the prepared fish on the foil
Cook the fish about 5 inches away from the heat source for 3-4 minutes
Meanwhile, mix the oil, ground coriander, and fresh cilantro together.   Turn the fish over taking care not to break the steaks.  Divide the coriander mixture equally among the steaks, spreading it gently to cover them completely.
Grill the salmon for an additional 2-3 minutes, then serve immediately.

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Christmas in Mission

Dad & Smokey, Andrew, Eric, Mom, Becky outside the Airstream (right) and "coach house" (behind)
 
Wow!  The holidays came and went!  We had a wonderful Christmas with my family in The Valley.  There's lots to do down there: biking & birding at the nature park, ATV riding along the Rio Grande, swimming+hot-tubbing, playing pool, working out in the gym and I took 2 line dancing classes! 


Andrew in the main part of the coach house awaiting present opening like a lil kid :)

 other half of the coach house

bathroom of the coach house

Opening his Tennessee Tervis Tumbler!

To his surprise, he actually got what he asked for - motor cycle tires (via text message)!

We fixed a lovely Christmas dinner which we dined on in the tiny camper (planned to eat outside but the unseasonably cold 50 degree temperature nixed that plan).  For the past few years the highlight of Christmas (& Thanksgiving) has been my Sweet Potato Casserole.  Andrew asks me to make this for his work holiday potlucks also.  Check it out:  Cooking Light Sweet Potato Casserole.

Om Nom.  BIG Christmas dinner feast in the tiny camper.  Mom & Dad sat at the kid's table :)

Friday, December 2, 2011

Home Improvements

We were busy getting the house spic-n-span by our self imposed Thanksgiving deadline so it would look lovely for our guests!  Here are several before & after shots (I also realize I need to work on my photography skills...)


New paint (same but different color)!  Old color was way faded and crackily all over :(  See after to the left and before on the right.

Leave it to an engineer to arrange with perfection...

Our favorite wedding photos and "W" I found at a garage sale!

We bought this "Crate & Barrel" beauty on Craigslist for $150

Apparently the previous owners have never used coasters #waterringsallover

After ~10 layers of sanding, 1 coat of stain & 3 layers of varnish - no more water rings!

Now all my cookbooks fit!

I used the leftover river rocks from my wedding to make this...

Turns out we need a bigger one for our company :P

For just Andrew and I it will do :)

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Homemade Pasta



I finally used our Kitchen Aid pasta attachment - and I made a mess!  There are several things that I learned from this process that I will modify when I do this next time.  First of all, I think the eggs would have been better incorporated had they been at room temperature (I used straight-from-the-fridge-cold eggs).  The process of kneading and flattening the noodles went great, and then I put the flat noodles through the spaghetti cutter aannnnnnd MUSH came out!  Secondly, I should have used "double-zero" flour like Court5203 suggested.  Ultimately, I made fettuccine noodles buuuut they clumped together in the pot.  Thirdly, I should have used more flour to make the noodle "nests" before I froze them.  All-in-all, the dish turned out great.  The dessert turned out even better though...*drum roll* Cappuccino Fudge Cheesecake! No - pictures will not do this cake justice.  Best-cheesecake-ever.  I have witnesses to back me up. 

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Weekly Menu

Recent Wooster certified top-rated recipe Ginger Glazed Mahi Mahi - yum & easy!

My close college friends Rob & Lisa who recently moved to Austin invited us over for a fall dinner party last weekend.  I contributed a Pear+Craisin+Candied-Walnut Spinach Salad and Bloomin' Onion Bread (OMG this is so good I literally could eat the whole loaf).  I also chefed-up the best risotto I've yet to find, from Cooks Illustrated (March 2007) - Butternut Squash Risotto.  The time that it takes to make this risotto is WELL worth it!  Andrew shared his favorite fall>winter beer, Affligem Noël Christmas Ale.  Rob served us a slow roasted Beer Chicken & Homemade Apple Pie.  Wow, what a great night of food, friends, & delicious drinks!

My goal for this week is to host Rob & Lisa for homemade pasta so I can finally put to use my Kitchen Aid Mixer Pasta Attachment. 

I hope mine turns out this pretty

Otherwise, this week I'm serving up hamburgers & sweet potato fries, blue cheese stuffed chicken with Buffalo sauce (Cooking Light, March 2010), and masala salmon with basmati pea rice.  

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Halloween - Homemade Kermit Costume

We had a great+fun Halloween!  First of all, I made Pumpkin Nutella Bread, which Andrew loved (my palate just doesn't know what to do with pumpkin AND chocolate). 

I was happy to carry on my family tradition of making AWESOME homemade Halloween costumes.  We grew up wearing homemade Halloween costumes.  My mom would take us to the fabric store and my brother and I would sift through the large pattern books to pick out our Halloween costumes.  We were always the "talk of the neighborhood" on trick-or-treat night.  This year was no exception for Andrew and me on 6th Street - Downtown Austin.  Kermit & Miss Piggy were the talk of the town.  

It all started with a spandex body suit



I used Andrew's bike helmet for the base of Kermit's head




I traced cardboard to fit on the bike helmet for Kermit's mouth, then wrapped an old green t-shirt around the bike helmet.  I glued the t-shirt to the cardboard, and then tied the leftover t-shirt in the back with a rubber band.

 

Next, I glued felt around the cardboard for Kermit's mouth.  From this point on, there was a lot of trying on, marking with Sharpe, cutting while trying on to get the mouth just-right. 


Then, we glued on a pink felt tongue and cut out eye holes.  The eye holes ended up being right where the fold of the felt was in Kermit's mouth! 



To finish it off, I just hand cinched and stitched around the gathered leftover t-shirt in the back and folded it under for a clean look. 




Kermit wouldn't be Kermit without his classic collar (collar from the green t-shirt used earlier & felt) and buggy eyes (stryofoam balls cut in half) - the finishing touches!

 

As for Miss Piggy - well, she was not homemade.  We ordered the wig, nose, & white gloves online.  I found the dress at Goodwill for $8 and wore my classy pearls.  I never pass up a reason to wear false eye lashes, also! 

Our first time dressing as a couple, popularizing the much anticipated release of The Muppets, and reliving my favorite childhood characters made for the best Halloween yet!!!