Chicken Liposuction

Cheese and butter are the keywords of the day. This afternoon started with the warm goat cheese salad. It was excellent, except for the enormous chunks of cheese. I love goat cheese, but this recipe had 11 ounces divided between four people, so about 3 oz each. This log was divided into eight pieces which are thick. You coat them with bread crumbs (fresh!) and fry in a skillet. They are great, but next time, I think I'll use less cheese and slice them a lot thinner. The fried, crunchy part is awesome, bu is so filling! The salad also has lots of walnuts and is coated in walnut oil - which is great, but fatty, so an excellent salad, but can almost be a meatless meal.

This afternoon contained a funny debate. I'm trying to stuff a chicken with herb, lemon butter. It says to loosen the skin by the breast with your hand. Neither Scott nor I could tell which side was the breast. The breast on this particular chicken was pretty flat in comparison to its back. So I totally stuffed the wrong side. Then once I turned it over and saw the temperature pop out thingy I realized my mistake. The skin was hard to get up without piercing it. I used a chop stick to stick under the skin and make some space. I felt like those liposuction doctors on TV who are jabbing some poor person's stomach or legs with a big skewer.

In the meantime, I whipped up the potatoes with parsnips - that was an easy recipe. I made it even easier because I didn't take the time to peel the potatoes. Right now I'm waiting to start the green beans. I'm hoping for a nice dinner with wine and a chicken that is not raw or dry. :)

Sticky buns!

Whew! Baking leads to a whole new level of stress. When cooking, you can say "that looks about like two tablespoons of olive oil", but when baking, you have to know if the water is 120 or 115 degrees or you'll kill your yeast. I started baking maple-pecan sticky buns this morning around 10:30. I made a couple batches of yeast just to make sure things went well. The recipe was easy to follow, but it did take a while. I use a trick of keeping the rising dough in a semi-warm oven to make sure it rises in this freezing cold house. I did manage to exploded butter in the microwave about 1:30 and finished the buns just before 3pm. They came out looking beautiful and were definitely sticky - I brushed my teeth twice after eating to make sure I got it all off. They were much flatter and wider than other sticky buns I've seen, but would impress any weekend guest you might have over.

Cooking today reminds me why it is a good thing I am not a parent. I've fought the "stay off the counters" war too long with my two cats. They are bad boys and live to do what we don't want them to do. Today they ran me down and I couldn't fight any longer (much like the brats who scream in the store long enough to harass their poor mothers into buying whatever it is they want). I've posted a photo of Riker in the cabinet. I was busy mixing things, and checking temperatures, when I turned around to discover him where I store my glass bowls. Next is one of the two of them jumping down after dad made a noise to get them out of the kitchen.

Scott declared the buns better than cinnebon which made me think that the next time I made them, I will probably whip up some simple icing to pour on top for those who like it. The lemon zest added a nice touch. I don't normally like citrus in my desserts, but it was subtle enough to add a nice hint of flavor to the sweet buns.

On to roast chicken, I think I might prep the ingredients for tomorrow tonight, just so there will be less chopping to do tomorrow. Right now, it is time for a nap. :)

Trader Joe's and Other Errands

With the new job and my mid-semester projects coming due, it has been an exhausting week. Scott and I were practically out of food, so I planned my recipes and headed to the newest grocery store in our area. Trader Joe's is a mere 8.5 miles away and promises organic and healthy food at a low price. I don't care too much whether organic food or not, but I was hoping for cheap cheeses and low priced wine. I was schocked to see how small the store was, but I did find practically all that I needed. I guess it is mostly for single people or couples who like to eat healthy, but don't necessarily like to cook. They store sold tempting food like multigrain pancake mix next to maple, blueberry syrup and chocolate almond torts.

This weekend I am going to make Lemon -Herb Roasted Chicken, green beans with roasted onions, mashed potatoes with parsnips & parsley root, warm goat cheese salad, and maple-pecan sticy buns. Trader Joe's had it all except for walnut oil, parsley root, and a roasting chicken large enough (TR's were very skinny). So off to another store which had the chicken but no parsley root (what is that anyway) and no walnut oil. I saw two labels of two different brands where the oil should have been but no suck luck.

Overall, I enjoyed the store (I did end up buying wine for $2.49) and can't wait for some sticky buns tomorrow morning.

Salad and School Work

Well today was a grind of papers, case studies, and presentations. Brighter moments were when I made the Asparagus with Balsamic-Shallot Butter Sauce and an Arugula, Fennel, and Orange salad. Both were quick and easy, though I'm so out of the habit of eating salads, I find that I am not used to eating them anymore. The flavors were good and the salad was healthy, but I'm out of practice eating leafy greens. :)I could only have a little.

Let's revisit the pie of last evening - I'm much more in practice of eating sugar. Our friends did join us at home for dessert and the coffee whipped cream was excellent. I actually liked it much better than plain whipped cream. I brought the remaining pie to our church group this morning and luckily, they cleaned up the rest.

Tomorrow I go to work then to class so I'll likely be gone from 7:30am-10:30pm. Boo for that, so no cooking in the near future. I have tests on Wednesday, so I can't use Tuesday as a cooking evening. Hopefully, will be able to plan lots for this weekend.

Mocha Pecan Pie in the Sky

This morning started early with errands for ingredients and one to the post office. I made it to the post office by 9:10 am only to find the line out the door and two people working. After that was over I tried my local Grand Mercado. Grand Mercado has great produce for dirt cheap prices. It also has lots of exotic ingredients, but anything "American" - butter, dairy, cereal - is too expensive to be practical. Since, I mostly needed produce for a salad and vegetable side I'm making Sunday (tomorrow) and just a few pie like ingredients - I thought I'd give it a try. I ended up having to go to another grocery store because Grand Mercado does not in fact carry trans fat free Crisco or espresso powder (what was I thinking?). Another stop will be necessary tonight as I need to hit up a liquor store for coffee liquer.

The pie recipe is easy, but since luck was already against me today, I accidentally plopped in too much shortening into the food processor while making the pie dough. I was lucky enough to realize this before I mixed the ingredients, but had to pick out the little cubes of shortening and guess at removing half. Whatever I did worked because it was the easiest crust I've ever rolled out - which I did twice due to it sticking to the counter -parchment paper next time!

Pecan pies are easy since the filling is just mixed. While pre-baking the crust and waiting for it to cool, I've been running upstairs to do homework. A presentation, case, and proofreading a group paper. Scott, my hubby, and I are going to dinner with friends tonight at a steak place. I'm hoping they'll want to come back here to try some pie.... we'll see. We do need to stop at the liquor store on the way and neither grocery store sold coffee liquor - hopefully, the first one we see will have it. :)

The pie has just come out of the oven and looks fab. I don't know if it helped, but I made a crust protector out of foil (square sheet with a hole in the middle). The crust is deep brown, but not burned - I can hear the insides still sizzling.

Imitation is the sincerest form of Flattery

I am a copy cat, but I don't care. I have loved to cook since snowed in one winter in high school. The foreign exchange student living with us and I cooked breads and desserts until there weren't any ingredients in the house. I didn't cook much until I got married - too expensive and I'm not a fan of leftovers - but now I can say it is my true hobby.

I read the Julie/Julia Project last summer as well as Julie's blog. She has a clever way of writing and more determination than I think I have. I've owned Mastering for quite a while, but am not drawn to the food. I recently bought the Bon Appétit cookbook and found that all the foods sound so appealing.

My goal is to become a true hostess vs. true chef or whatever. Having friends/family to your home and having them feel comfortable as well as giving them a wonderful experience is a different goal than just knowing how to cook. I cook but am a bit slow with all the prep and struggle to juggle menus so over three or four courses everything comes out at the right time and temp. But this isn't to say I'm a poor cook. I've done well so far, but am ready to shoot for the moon. By cooking through the Bon Appétit cookbook, I hope to expand my cooking knowledge so my hobby and my parties never get dull and are always exciting.

The Details: Bon Appétit has over 1200 recipes (Wow, I'm already overwhelmed):
Breakfast and Brunch: 55
Appetizers/First Courses: 62
Soups, Stews, & Chilies: 67
Salads:52
Sandwiches & Burgers:36
Pastas & Pizzas: 60
Rice, Grains, and Beans: 33
Meatless Mains:25
Meats: 95
Chicken, Turkey, & other Poultry: 71
Fish and Shellfish: 63
Potatoes: 30
Vegetables: 76
Breads, Jams, and Condiments: 49
Cakes: 68
Pies and Tarts: 56
Custards and Puddings: 37
Fruit Desserts: 31
Frozen Desserts: 47
Cookies, Brownies, Candy: 66
Drinks (Woo-Hoo!!): 48

OK, just to make it clear. I'm not trying to do this in a year, but hopefully within a reasonable amount of time.
Someone is coming to look at our town home today (for sale by owner). We just put our place on the market, but we don't expect to sell so soon in this slow market. We'll see.