valentines day hot chocolate

we were pretty much snowed in for valentine's day- i had planned on making me, susan, and vic cream cheese wontons, potatoes au gratin with gruyere cheese and white chocolate bread pudding. unfortunately we couldn't make it to the grocery store- so we ordered some chinese food. BUT i did make a special treat- the most rich, delicious hot chocolate. it has cayenne pepper in it, which truly brings out the flavor of the chocolate.

this makes enough for about 6 people- so cut it down accordingly, or make tons of it. its awesome.

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
5 cups light cream, or whole milk or nonfat milk( I used vic's vitamin D milk)
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
1 to 2 cinnamon sticks
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate
2 tbsp sugar or honey

In a pan, combine cream or milk, vanilla bean and cinnamon stick. Heat over medium flame until bubbles appear around the edge. Reduce heat to low; add cayenne pepper, chocolate and sugar or honey; whisk occasionally until chocolate is melted and sugar dissolves.
Turn off heat; remove vanilla bean and cinnamon stick.
So rich, its good enough to be a dessert. xox happy valentine's day!

cheesy chicken/first 2007 update

wow. i haven't posted in forever! and i have so much to tell you about! first of all, my holidays were full of cooking-themed gifts that were SO RAD!! a food processor (so powerful it scares me every time i've used it thus far), a big electric fondue pot with a thermostat, lots of beautiful red kitchenaid stuff, baking pans, mixing bowls. . . i am one lucky girl.
i learned alot from my boyfriend's mom about cooking, baking, and setting up your kitchen. i pretty much have copied some of the small things about her kitchen- she keeps all the essential cooking
tools right on the counter- spatula, whisk, etc., and all her tablespoons, teaspoons, measuring cups in a little jar. you would think that would have been obvious. . . but my cluttered brain needs some help when it comes to basic organization. she also keeps alot of spices in jars- she sent me home with fresh nutmeg, vanilla, and some little jars for my stuff. so nice.

















when i came home from NC after xmas, i went to the giant eagle market district store in shadyside, which is my favorite store ever- it has the cheapie regular stuff that giant eagle has, and a huge selection of organic stuff without the $$ price tag that comes with going to whole foods (or the pretentiousness). in the mexican section, they had a fuckin wall of spices and herbs and i bought LOTS OF THEM. they were only $1.69 each!! buying spices in the regular section is waaay expensive. i did splurge and buy a $9 bottle of cardadmom. im not sure why haha.













over my xmas, one idea that really stuck with me was simply utilizing what i have in my house, rather than going out and buying a lot of stuff for a meal. its fun to get new ingredients and food stuffz. . but fuck, its too expensive. so i came up with a pretty easy meal, derived from other recipes i've used, and i was pretty frickin proud of myself. whoot!

sheila's mishmashed cheesy chicken

in the spirit of the recipe, i'm not going to list exact amounts of ingredients. put in what you got. eyeball it. do the damn thing.

*make a marinade of olive oil, lime juice and add all the spices you want- i used cayenne pepper, chili powder, garlic salt, pepper, paprika, oregano. of course, try to use things you think will go together, so it doesn't taste like total shit. i dont think you can mess this one up too much.

*i had some chicken breasts that were just a hair away from going bad, so i had to use them that nite. i put those in the marinade, poured the whole thing into a ziploc bag, and stored it for 2 hours in my fridge.

*now make the sauce for the chicken- heat up butter in a skillet, then add a bayleaf, onions and garlic, and some kind of chicken broth- i hate chicken noodle soup and its been sitting in my pantry forever, so i drained out the noodles and chicken and just used the broth. then i added some flour, 1/4 lb of Monterrey Jack that was chillin in my fridge, and some heavy cream I had leftover from another recipe. i would bring this to a boil and then simmer it for a while, until the consistency is thick.

















this recipe rocked because i was able to get rid of a bunch of stuff taking up unwanted residence in my fridge.
i cooked the chicken breasts on the stove till golden brown on both sides
















- then i put them in a baking dish, poured the sauce over the chicken, and even put some Mont Jack chunks on top. I would probably leave those chunks out if I did it again, to tone the cheese factor down just a LITTLE. i baked them for about 35 minutes in a 300 degree oven. i served it with rice. YUM!













it was exciting to just come up with something. . . i've found that now i can look in my fridge and sort of quickly come up with some possibilities for meals, narrowing in on particular ingredients i do have- then i consult my cookbooks and go.
like for example, tonite i'm making a light vodka cream pasta BECAUSE- i looked in my fridge, saw a tomato, saw 1/2 a little container of heavy cream, saw garlic and an onion. looked in my pantry, saw pasta and olive oil, and chicken broth. looked on my counter, saw a big bottle of vodka. presto!

















over the break i had the honor of making dinner for a bunch of my boy friends- bryce and his friend adam, my most missed duquesne alum ever, leio, and chris and vic. i made a stuffed french loaf and chicken satay with peanut sauce. UNFORTUNATELY i was camera-less at the time ;(
*cries*
but both turned out great- and were really easy to make.

ill post those recipes soon!
i also added pics of the sexy cilantro pesto shrimp as well as nacho cheese bites to the posts below xox

friday nite xmas

*updated 1/18* added pictures/recipe of nacho cheese bites and hot pic of spinach and artichoke dip

nacho cheese bites!!

*1/2 pkg. (17.3 oz.) Pepperidge Farm® Frozen Puff Pastry Sheets (1 sheet)
*1 egg
*1 tbsp. water
*1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
*1/4 cup Pace® Chunky Salsa
*Chili powder

Directions:
THAW pastry sheet at room temperature 30 min. Preheat oven to 400°F. Mix egg and water. Mix cheese and salsa.
UNFOLD pastry on lightly floured surface. Roll into 15x12" rectangle. Cut into 20 (3") squares. Place about 1 tbsp. cheese mixture in center of each square. Brush edges of squares with egg mixture. Fold squares to form triangles. Seal edges with fork. Place 2" apart on baking sheet. Brush with egg mixture and sprinkle with chili powder.
BAKE 15 min. or until golden. Serve warm or at room temperature. Makes 20 appetizers.















spinach and artichoke dip

so, friday i am having a mini get together with some friends coming in from out of town- yay!! we are having an early xmas. i'm just making some finger foods so i can chill and not worry about preparing something elaborate- cause you know i worry. so here's what i'm making:

nacho cheese bites
spinach and artichoke dip
cream cheese wontons
fried mozzarella

details/pictures coming.

hey pasta!

today i have two pasta dishes for you. the first one is simple and not too time consuming, the second one is simple but slower. they both are incredible- just depends on how much time you have. this is great date food BTW. invite your lady friend or boy over for dinner, serve this with some wine. . . WHO KNOWS WHAT COULD HAPPEN!?! they will think you're like, a master chef. i think being a master chef is pretty hot.
our first dish is spaghetti carbonara. this is a classic, easy dish that tastes snazzy.

* 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
* 2 large garlic cloves, lightly crushed
* 6 ounces pancetta, sliced 1/3 inch thick and cut into 1-inch matchsticks (i just used bacon, which is an adequate substitute. my ghetto ass grocer did not have pancetta, which i think would be even tastier)
* 3/4 cup heavy cream
* 3 large egg yolks
* 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
* Salt
* 3/4 pound spaghetti
* Freshly ground pepper
* pinch of nutmeg

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. In a large, deep skillet, heat the oil. Add the garlic and cook over moderate heat until golden, about 3 minutes. Discard the garlic. Add the pancetta to the skillet and cook over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until golden and crisp and the fat has been rendered, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the pancetta to a bowl.
2. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the fat from the skillet. Add the cream and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the skillet, then pour into a medium bowl. Whisk in the egg yolks and 1/3 cup of the Parmesan cheese.
3. Add salt to the pot of boiling water. Add the spaghetti to the boiling water and cook until al dente; drain. Return the pasta to the pot and add the cream mixture, and pancetta. Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg and toss until the sauce coats the spaghetti. Transfer to bowls and serve immediately with the remaining Parmesan.

No photo for you unfortunately. just my fancy mug in cooking action.

but trust me. . .it's the shit.

The next dish I made (last nite) was Grant Achatz's mac and cheese. Grant Achatz is a fancy schmancy chef who is totally better than all of us combined. he was recently profiled in food and wine magazine, with a bunch of his recipes that are all VERY traditional stuff like mac n cheese, meatloaf, chili, pierogies- but with a more modern twist.

* 1 tbsp butter
* 6 slices of bacon (cut into 1/2 inch dice)- see, you can use half of the bacon for the first recipe, and half for the second
* 1 medium onion, minced
* 2 bay leaves
* 1 tbsp paprika
* 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
* 1/3 cup all purpose flour
* 6 cups whole milk
* 1 lb elbow macaroni
* 1 lb extra sharp cheese, shredded
* salt

1. preheat the oven to 350 degrees. butter a 9 x 13 baking dish. in large saucepan, melt the butter, add the bacon and cook it over a medium heat until crisp (about 7 min). with a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a plate.
2. add the onion and bay leaves to the saucepan and cook over medium heat, until the onion is softened (like 4-5 min). add paprika and cayenne pepper and cook until you can really smell the fragrance coming from the saucepan- i love those bay leaves. i love paprika! stir in the flour. use a whisk at this point- add in the milk, and keep whisking so it stays smooth. bring this mixture to a boil and keep it cooking on high until it has a thicker consistency. reduce to low and simmer for 30 minutes, whisking often. pull out the bay leaves and toss them.



3. while all this biznaz is going on, boil your macaroni until it is pliable but still undercooked- not even al dente. drain the macaroni, put it back in the pot.
4. stir 4 cups of cheddar into the hot sauce, add the bacon, and season with salt. at this point, you can turn off the heat. add the sauce to the macaroni and mix well. then spread the cheesy heavenly concoction into the baking dish, and put the remaining cheese on top. bake this for about 1/2 hour- and i recommend letting it sit a while, like maybe a 1/2 hour.

me, susan, and vic tore into it like 5 minutes after pulling it out of the oven, but as the evening progressed and we went back for more, the flavors were even more rich and delicious.


**a handy tip is that you can assemble this entire masterpiece the night before, or a couple of hours before. you can throw some foil over it and stick it in the fridge- just bring it to room temperature before you put it in the oven. how fuckin convenient is that!! whoo!! i assembled mine about 5 hours before we ate it. its nice to get stuff done when you have the time and not have to rush to throw together a fantastic meal. you can just chill, and work on making cookies that taste disgusting and look shitty-

unfortunately, i discovered i am not much of a baker. FUCK YOU, COOKIES!!

cilantro pesto shrimp/ weekend update!

this weekend was a big success, cooking-wise!

friday i made the stuffed flank steak (see entry below).
it was DELICIOUS. because it is grilled for a full 2 hours in indirect heat, the meat is so tender and flavorful. i would recommend only using 1 anchovy filet, because its basically pure salt. i also didn't include pine nuts (since i was feeling cheap and didn't want to pay $10 for them)which could only improve it. butterflying the steak was difficult, so vic did it fantastically. and awesomely. we grilled up some cheese hot dogs and veggie burgers, and i made my crock pot cheese dip (that gets better everytime! i think the key is to melt the velveeta chunks on "high" until they reach a nice consistency, THEN turn it down to "low" and let it go for a couple hours.)

saturday, i made tortilla soup and cilantro pesto shrimp with pasta. the shrimp was fucking BOMB. i didn't want to devein the shrimp (eww) so i bought shrimp that was already deveined (about a pound of deveined, uncooked, e-z peel shrimp. you peel off the outer layer (except the ends) of the shrimp, wash them, and add a marinade of olive oil and . . . (i'll update this later lol). then you make the cilantro pesto- i thought this was so cool. i never knew what the hell was in pesto. . .just that i love it!! pesto basically consists of any leafy herb like cilantro, parsley, basil, mint, etc. + olive oil, garlic and parmesan cheese. for my pesto, i put a medium bunch of cilantro, around 1/2 (little less) cup of olive oil, and 4 cloves of garlic in the food processor. blend it till it makes a paste, then pour it in a bowl and add 1/4 cup of parmesan. mix it up, add some salt and pepper to taste, and you're done! now its time to grill the shrimp- throw the shrimp on the grill on a medium-high heat (and this could be done on a george foreman grill, of course) for about 3 minutes on each side. put the shrimp on a plate and brush them with the cilantro pesto. you could add the leftover pesto to the pasta of your choice, or serve the shrimp with a salad. this is such an easy dish to make, and very classy. i like. xo

a weekend of boys=my foray into grilling

vic's friends from nyc are coming to visit tonite. the menu i have loosely planned is

fri:
stuffed flank steak
cheese dip
hot dogs
veggie burgers

saturday:
tortilla soup
some kind of pasta
peanut butter bars

sunday:
anythang

im really looking forward to making the flank steak. i found the recipe in vic's william sonoma grilling book. basically, you take a flank steak, butterfly it, open it up and place it on foil, leaving about 1.5 inches border around it. it should look like an open book. spread a filling of mashed up anchovy filets, parmesan cheese, pine nuts, chopped salami, and parsley. salt and pepper the outside of the steak, and roll it like a jelly roll. wrap the foil around it and twist the ends (so it almost looks like wrapped candy) and place it on the grill in direct heat. this basically means, get your grill all fired up with both burners, and then turn off one. place the roll over the the turned off burner, and grill it for about 2 hours, turning about 4-5 times. when you pierce it and the meat is tender, it's done. let i t sit in the foil for about 15 minutes. then cut it into 1-2 inch pieces. it looks fucking delicious, ill let you know how it turns out.
i think next week i'm making makhani murgh and pasta with scallops and spinach in a tomato cream sauce.

thanksgiving is over and gone and over

hi gentle reader
thanksgiving dinner turned out great! ok let me go through each thing one by one, so i can gush and bask in my own self-pride (for once). so let's see . . .

-rolls. aint no thing. duh.

-corn. vic's domain. . . also easy as pie.
-mashed potatoes. i swear to god, every time i make instant mashed potatoes they have the nastiest consistency. fine, i guess. i need to just make them from scratch.
-green bean casserole- yem!! this is a recipe i should have cut in half. i really like green bean casserole, but my enthusiasm for green beans pretty much disappears after thanksgiving. its all lonely in my fridge now. i didn't use french's french fried onions, but an organic brand that looked a LOT more like actual dried onions than the french's kind. i think it really added to the flavor.

-stuffing. delicious! i made sooo much so i would have lots of leftovers. i used heavy cream instead of milk in the recipe- tons of chicken stock. i baked some inside the turkey cavity, and the rest in a separate casserole dish. i think next year i will use my mom's method of putting the stuffing all around the turkey, and covering all with cheesecloth- that way the stuffing isn't all greasy, but is SO moist and flavorful.

-turkey. i think it turned out well!! we bought an organic turkey (no antibiotics, free range, etc.) which are supposed to be the most flavorful, but are fuckin expensive. luckily, we only bought a 12 pounder. the maple syrup basting was excellent. . . i love turkey skin and it was yem. i think i overcooked it just a little- it was starting to get a little dry.


-gravy. i was super proud of the gravy, because i made it from the pan drippings! you just add some all purpose flour, a can of chicken stock, and a squeeze of lemon juice- turn the heat on high and let it go for about 10-15 minutes, stirring and breaking up the lumps from the flour. you can strain it afterwards to get rid of any lumps or pieces, but i like those.

-pumpkin cheesecake. i really liked it! it was my first try and cheesecake and i was stunned by how incredibly easy it is to make it.

-rich chocolate pecan pie. this turned out so/so. it tasted great, but was a little runny, because i don't think i baked it for a full hour. all the multi-tasking got a little intense after a while, but it was a great meal and a lot of fun. our friends stopped by for some food and cranium. thanks ya'll!! <3