Experiments and Comfort Food

So in the past couple days I've made some strange things and some foods that remind me of home. Recently I've been interested in making a risotto, but alas I dont know how to make risotto. Researching it gave me an idea, so I grated some potato, boiled it and then cooked it a little more with some cheese and milk. I also needed to use up some of the tri tip i have left but I wanted to make some shrimp as well. I created sort of a surf and turf kinda thing. It was hearty but light enough that you felt full but not too full.

Surf and Turf with A Psuedo Risotto

And of course a salad and some wine.

It was a strange meal, but good as always.

I was at my friends house watching public access or some cable channel and they were making a simple and delicious pasta dish and it reminded me of how my best friends mom always made this dish we called "worms". Now growing up my mom didn't cook very much for our family, but we have always had a tight knit neighborhood, and our next door neighbor used to feed me all kinds of delicious foods. A staple in their household was and still is, worms. Now it sounds strange but I found out that it's actually a really simple pasta dish to make. All that's in it is rotelle (which I could not find at the store so I substituted it with Penne), pitted kalamata olives, crushed tomatoes and feta. Some of the best comfort food that I know of.

Penne with Kalamata Olives and Feta

Its just as good cold as it is hot, and you make a whole lot of it thats for sure.

I was interested in making some cookie brownies because they always seem so good when other people make them. I found a recipe but I decided to just wing it instead. Wrong choice. I baked them until i thought they were baked all the way through... turns out they werent baked thoroughly at all. So my friend gave me a good suggestion to just flip it out of the pan. It seemed like a good idea at the time until only half of it came out. I decided to bake both pans that held the cookie brownies. Only one turned out successful.

Cookie Brownie Disaster

This afternoon I wanted to make something simple. So I cooked some onions and chicken in olive oil and Dijon Mustard. It was for sure delicious, it make the onions really sweet in fact. I then paired it with some left over pasta. Very tasty.

Dijon Chicken and Onions

A quick and easy meal. I was going to make caramel apples tonight but I dont have enough time, gotta do more homework then i want to.

Tri Tip, Cucumbers and Muffins, Oh My!

I decided two things about what I was going to cook the other night, I was going to cook something with cucumbers and I was going to bake some muffins. Two very different things. Throughout the day i started craving a green papaya salad, so I thought maybe I would be adventurous and try and make one. That failed to say the least. But with some Asian infusion on my brain i decided i wanted to make some peanut sauce to go with something. Now all i had in the fridge was some Tri tip so I decided to try and make something light but delicious. I marinaded the tri tip in white wine, rice vinegar and a tiny bit of soy sauce. I also really wanted to do something with cucumbers. So I cut some up and put them in a bag with rice vinagar and white wine. I didnt know what i was making at all yet but i figured all these things could maybe go together. I was thinking maybe i would make some sort of a tri tip satay? But alas the steak just didnt taste like satay. So i decided to make some peanut sauce noodles and with the steak. I layered the cucumbers on the plate and decided they could just be eaten seperately. It turned out to be a really good and light meal. My roommate even said she liked the steak more then the filet mignon I made the other day!

Peanut Sauce Noodles With Tri Tip and Cucumbers

Simple and delicious. I made a huge mess though experimenting. So I took a cooking break and did a little homework, but i really wanted to make these muffins i had seen earlier on a website. They were Oatmeal chocolate chip muffins. Now as i started making the recipe I realized i wanted to give the muffins a little more pizzaz... which meant the recipe had no granulated sugar and no butter. So I threw some in there and i also decided to put peanut butter in them. They turned out so good! I made about 20 and their almost all gone!

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Muffins

Yum yum.
I wonder what I'll make this weekend..

Poached Eggs and Enchilda Lasagna

This morning I think I poached an egg. Now this might not be exciting to most people but I was ecstatic. I can never really make an egg the way I want it, I need the yolk to be runny and the whites to be cooked, but I always cook the yolk and its gross to me. So today I decided to cook my egg in boiling water, but I destroyed to first egg I tried I didn't put enough water and it stuck to the bottom. The second was a success and with some whole wheat toast I had a good breakfast.

Over the weekend I wanted to try one of the recipes I had found online, it's called "Enchilada Lasagna". It looked like a delicious cheesy mess that me and my friends would enjoy. I set out to make this meal for my household and the many people who frequent it and took my time at the store to get all of the ingredients... then I came home and realized I had forgotten sour cream. I had to go back to the store again and get some. Finally I had everything I needed. Now you may be wondering how you make lasagna out of enchiladas. Well its fairly simple, you take of the mix you would put in an enchilada with a lot more sour cream and layer it in a pan with tortillas instead of noodles and add a whole lot of cheese. It came out great and everyone in the house ate it. We also used some chips to scoop up the remaining cheese and insides. Yum.

Chicken Enchilada Lasagna


Cheesy and Delicious

There is still some left in the fridge, I should probably just turn it into a dip or some sort. We shall see. I've got a lot of homework tonight but if I have enough time I'm going to make an experimental dish with cucumbers.
Wish me luck!

Oh Fillet Mignon, your good for many creations.

Have you ever had one of those weeks that was so stressful that all you wanted was a great meal before you did hella homework, or maybe just work in general?
Thats where I was on Wednesday, I had a huge exam and I hadnt eaten in hours and all i wanted was a delicious meal! I have not eaten red meat since i got food poisoning because i really have not felt up to it, but recently I'd been craving a good steak. Not one of those tough hearty steaks where i'll want to fall asleep after, but something that will melt in your mouth and leave you wishing you had more to eat.
Fillet Mignon? I think so.

I bought some cheap red wine that was on sale at safeway, it was about $2.90 and I figured it'd be cheap and good to cook with. Then i tried it... it was a really good wine. Now my family knows how to appreciate wine, they would what you would call "wine people" so over the years i've had a lot of experience with differnt kinds of good wine and for some reason this cheap cabernet sauvignon blanc was really good. I made my other roommates drink some and they agreed. So I marinated the fillet mignon in the wine for about 20 mins and starting chopping up some onions. I put some more wine in a large pan and threw the onions in and let it simmer. Then I put the steak in and let it cook. Now while it was cooking I started in on making one of my strange sauce creations. I like blue cheese on my fillet mignon so i winged a blue cheese, butter and wine sauce. It was killer. Lets just say my roommate took the bowl of it and put tin foil over it so she could eat more later. I also made some buttery delicious mashed potatoes to go along with the dish. Finally I took the steak off the pan and set up all the plates and was ready to eat. I cut into my steak.... disappointment. Way too rare for me, in fact way to rare for anyone I'd think. So... i just threw it back on the stove and cooked it till it was really ready. And then, success! The steak literally melted in my mouth. I even walked into my roommates room and made her try it to see if i was hallucinating, the first thing she said was "How'd you make that?!".

I'd say one of the best dishes. And the sauce was a great color!

Fillet Mignon with a Blue Cheese Sauce and Mashed Potatoes

It was hard to stop eating it

So on friday I was starving after a night of going out and I wanted some lunch but all i had were some small pieces of the fillet mignon left. So I improvised and and decided to make a fillet mignon sandwich and use the leftover sauce as a spread. I cooked the meat the same way I did the fillet mignon before. This time i carmelized some onions and threw them on top. Best sandwich so far.

Filet Mignon Sandwich with Carmelized Onions and a Blue Cheese Spread


Hands down one of the best sandwiches I've made.

Time to get ready to make another recipe tonight.
As for now the shower is calling, im still muddy from my soccer game this morning.
Seeya foodies.

Rice Vinegar has never been so exciting.

So recently I've been meaning to get some rice vinegar into my household but whenever I go to the store I either forget to get it, or I don't know which one to get. I had my girlfriend help me and finally I got some and I'm quite delighted. I never thought I'd use the word "delighted" to describe how i felt about rice vinegar, but I'll accept it for now. Anyways, recently I was at Chow, which is a restaurant in San Francisco (go there if you've never been, you wont be disappointed) and one of my favorite things there is their wontons. Now the wontons seem fairly normal but its the sauce that they're in that I love. What's in this mysterious sauce? Rice vinegar!
So I made my own version of the sauce. I used soy sauce, rice vinegar and garlic chili's and it tasted a lot like Chow's but spicier, just how i like it. So i faked the wontons, and i wish i had time to go to Japan town and get some, but alas i dont right now. So I took some Trader Joes gyoza, boiled them like wontons and served them in the sauce. The quickest meal I've made in the past couple weeks and one of the best.

Pseudo Wonton's in a Spicy Rice Vinegar Sauce.

I wanted to eat more of them even when I was stuffed, but I stopped myself unlike the last time I was at Chow when I made sure I finished them off. Now that I know I can have them anytime I want I wont have to gorge myself. *phew*.
I'm glad I made another successful sauce though fairly simple. Even though it wasn't my original idea like most of my dishes it felt just as good to make.

So some time went by, I'd say about 2 hours and I was hungry again, but not for a meal just a snack. I wanted something sweet but we had nothing in the house. So... I used what we had trying to build my confidence as a spur of the moment chef. I decided to make some sort of cookies, but we had no eggs and no oil and very little butter.
So here's what I threw together:
flour
baking soda
butter
chocolate chips
brown sugar
granulated sugar
vanilla
milk
brownie mix
apple sauce


A strange combination of things. But the so called "batter" that came out of it was delicious.
After eating a portion of it I decided to bake it and see what it turned into. I put it in a cup cake tin and shoved it in the oven. I made a strange glaze for them and once they were done cut it in half and offered it to my roommate. She told me I had to try it first. It's insides were gooey and outside had a really strange texture but when you touched it, it seemed like it would be cake like...

Somewhat successful, somewhat strange. Try it yourself see what you make. It was kinda like waiting for a surprise. A strange textured gooey cake like surprise with a whole bunch of chocolate chips.

Enough for now.
Good luck on your next food quest, we'll see where mine takes me tonight.

I've never actually opened a food and wine magazine.

So last night around 2 am, as i was watching CSI and cruising for recipes (which has become a hobby of mine recently that i hadnt reazlized until just now) I remembered how I always see food and wine magazine in the stores and wondering if they might have some interesting recipes. I think I've opened one up before and skimmed it out of pure curiosity, but never have I really invested time into reading any of the articles. So... I went on their website last night and in a state of pure fatigue and interest ordered a subscription. So hopefully we'll have some inspirations from them soon... if not. I'll have to cancel it.

Anyways, in the most boring class in the world that I attended today, Classical Dramatic Literature, I was thinking about what I should make for dinner. I decided I was going to make something simple to conserve time for homework. I decided to make some sort of tasty pasta.
Now Im always trying to figure out how to make sauces, but since most of them have turned out fairly strange, I decided to keep it simple. Kalamata olives, minced garlic, butter, white wine, spinach and olive oil. This was my first time cooking with wine and it came out really successful! I also cooked the prawns in butter, garlic and olive oil. Delicious. To accompany the meal we had mixed greens with goat cheese and candied walnuts with oil olive and balsamic vinegar.

Prawns in Angel Hair Pasta with a Kalamata Olive Sauce

...and added some Parmesan cheese

I think I made it in about 15 mins max. I was worried because whenever I make a sauce it's either too salty or too plain and with the olives, it was just perfect.
I really am going to need to learn how to make some desserts as well though. I mean basic baking is easy but, I want like a strawberry pastry fold or something ya know? Maybe food and wine magazine will have a recipe like that. Doubtful...
Well now that i've got myself wanting to look in my joy of cooking cook book, I have to now avoid that urge and read a play.
Also, I've decided maybe this weekend to try and make a banana caramel cream pie. We'll see if time permits.

Over and out soldier.
Better get out of here before Gator Pig eats you.

(Gator Pig)

Fried Chicken, Bake Sales and Curry.

This week i did a lot of cooking. Most of my things are experimental with some helpful sources such as, google and the Joy of cooking cook book I found when i was drunkenly wandering down the street and came upon a box of free things. Currently i have a potato in the oven and im waiting for that evil thing to cook. It always takes so long.

So we live in SF, on a highly trafficked street populated by pedestrians and bikers, in a fairly nice neighborhood next to a park. Reminiscing about grade school I remembered how fun it was to have bake sales with your friends...and then the idea was born. Why not have a bake sale in front of our house and see what happens?

The bake sale contained:
Brownies
Cookie Bars
Weird ass circle cookies
Rice crispy treats
Chocolate rice crispy treats
Chocolate Cup cakes
Funfetti cup cakes.
































We started about 45 mins later then expected but overall sat on our stoop till pleasantly tipsy and having a hard time doing the math for peoples change. We sold almost all of our baked goods and made about $65 dollars in profit. I'd say an amazing turn out.

Cant wait for next time.

But i did a lot more cooking this week then JUST a bake sale.

This first thing i made this week was...

Gorgonzola chicken with caramelized onions, green beans with onions and garlic, and rice.

Highly delicious and a classic in our household. I've recruited most of my roommates to be in love with this tasty dish.

So in our household we have a staple in our lives.... Fried chicken. Now we usually hit popeyes on Tuesdays for their 99 cents for two pieces deal. Now i know we sound like fatties, but i swear its all in moderation. Recently i've really wanted to start making fried chicken at home, but for the life of me i dont have that much free time on my hands. I barely have enough time to write this blog, I should be studying for a test, writing a paper proposal and reading a play for a presentation...but alas, i love food more.

So... i made my first attempt at friend chicken, and we only have green beans for a vegatable so i made the green beans my girlfriend has so greatly taught me how to make.


So... to say the least it was DELICIOUS. And i will start making more fried chicken at home. But.... it still isnt as good as popeyes. But i will beat you popeyes.... someday.

Also i've been told that i need to try some more spices, so yesterday i went to the store and stood in the spice aisle for about 20 mins reading about all the spices. I bought some curry powder and it turned out to be really tasty. So i was going to make some curried halibut but... the halibut smelled really strange. So i opted out of that, especially since i recently had food poisoning from some tacos in the Mission. So i got out my default that i always know is delicious and chose to make curried salmon instead. Though the recipe for the curry required some things i didnt have i made some evaporated milk and threw some onions and garlic in there.

Curried Salmon And Rice

It was fairly dense and i didnt eat the whole thing, but luckily my roommate fell in love with the dish and finnished it off easily for me.

So that damn potato is finally done. Its been in the over for almost 45 mins to and hour... *sigh* i wished they baked quicker. Anyways i've been making this strange creamy potato thing. Basically i take heavy cream, butter and salt and cover the potato in it and bake it till it's soft. Lets just say, if i ate this everyday i'd probably loose about 10 years of my life.

Well... thats it for now.
Time to start my hw...

...I wish cooking was my homework.