So, I'm sure all of your foodies out there have been absolutely inundated with recipe suggestions for how to make your Super Bowl Sunday food the envy of all your friends. Are you creating a "Snackadium"? http://blog.foodnetwork.com/fn-dish/2014/01/the-kitchens-snackadium-and-snack-recipes/ Do you think you make the best chicken wings in town? Unless you are making these: http://www.portlandmonthlymag.com/eat-and-drink/recipes/articles/make-pok-poks-famous-wings-at-home-october-2013, trust me, you are not making the best wings. Perhaps you have more of a sweet tooth. http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Peanut-Butter-and-Chocolate-Cheesecake-Brownies-351049 Whatever your freak flag looks like, everyone who likes football (and even those who just fake it one day a year) gets to fly theirs proudly on Super Bowl Sunday.
I'll be honest. This isn't a post about something I'll be preparing for my crazy party on Sunday (my husband isn't into football, so chances are I'll be watching the game alone unless I can crash a friend's party). It's about my adoration of all the love of food this day brings about. Other than the obvious holidays like Thanksgiving (my holiest of holy days), Easter (no offense to Our Lord and Savior), and Christmas (again, sorry), I can think of no other day that warms my cockles like Super Bowl Sunday.
Let's face it, it brings out the best and worst in all of us. Total strangers high-fiving on the street. Riots if your team loses. Riots if your team wins. Team themed drinking games http://www.seattlemet.com/eat-and-drink/nosh-pit/articles/the-nosh-pit-super-bowl-drinking-game-january-2014?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Seattle+Met+Daily+Fri+Jan+31+2014&utm_content=Seattle+Met+Daily+Fri+Jan+31+2014+CID_578687e6e7374a6880ccb49f2cc86320&utm_source=Email%20Marketing%20Software&utm_term=The%20Nosh%20Pit%20Super%20Bowl%20Drinking%20Game (in case this incredibly long link doesn't work, you can find this at SeattleMet.com) and any drinking game that encourages shots when Macklemore comes onscreen is an activity I can get behind. Though I think they missed an opportunity to add that whenever the commentator who kept saying "this is a physical game", as in "In this quarter, the 49ers are playing a physical game," take a shot. WTF? It's football. When was the last time you saw a game that wasn't physical? I must have missed the Faerie Football League, wherein the players simply flit around and look pretty. I think we can all agree that while Brandon Mebane's sack dance makes everyone think they can dance, most of the time plays end in piles of crumpled men in tight pants.
It suddenly occurs to me that you may not know that I live in Seattle, home of the fierce Seahawks. Home of the 12th Man (Shut up about the Texas A & M settlement - it was over 8 years ago)! We, here in Seattle, have the best fans. Period. It doesn't matter if it's football, baseball, hockey or soccer. We love our teams. Yet another reason I'm proud to be a Seattilite.
P.S. For those of you wondering if I just learned how to insert a link, the answer is maybe. You'll have to come back to see future posts to find out.
Saturday, February 1, 2014
Friday, January 24, 2014
Southern Living's Fix It & Freeze It, Heat It & Eat It
While I may have wanted to start this blog off with a bang, but the first cookbook I will be reviewing, "Southern Living Magazine's Fix It & Freeze It, Heat It & Eat It" by the Editors of Southern Living Magazine has little to brag about.
As I am in the beginning stages of research for starting my own food truck, I pulled this book off my shelf to give myself a head start during weeknight dinner time. The book offers a few what it calls "Double Duty" recipes that I thought would work out well for what I need - fast, easy, on the plate without a lot of extra steps or preparation. Double Duty in this sense refers to preparing one protein and using it twice.
Recipes Tested: Sloppy Joes/Sloppy Joe Shepherd's Pie (Pgs. 34-35), Margarita Grilled Pork Tenderloin/Loaded Cuban Sandwiches (Pgs. 46-47), and the Lemon-Thyme Roasted Chicken/Easy Chicken Pot Pie (Pgs. 62-63).
Sloppy Joes/Sloppy Joe Shepherd's Pie: The recipe was certainly very simple: didn't call for lots of ingredients (not enough in my opinion, more about that later), didn't take long to prepare, and only dirtied one skillet. I was a little leery from the get go because the recipe doesn't call for onion (which I'm a firm believer that most recipes should), any kind of bell pepper, or garlic (again, most recipes should). Just for the fun of it, I went on the Internet and checked out other Sloppy Joe recipes to see if I just had it in my head that these ingredients were norms. Nope, almost every single recipe I came across included onion and bell pepper (there seems to be a green vs. red debate on this one).
Secondly, it doesn't call for you to season the ground beef as you are sautéing it. I was physically incapable of not seasoning ground beef while sautéing it. Incapable.
The next decision came when the recipe called for pickled jalapenos as well as some of the pickling liquid. I opted to not use these ingredients and it may have been a mistake as, in my humble opinion, the mix was cloyingly sweet. This is rather ironic as my husband, who thinks absolutely any amount of butternut squash in a dish makes it 'too sweet', thought it was fine.
The second recipe for using the Sloppy Joe mixture is a take on Shepherd's Pie. This recipe, to risk being blunt, is a joke (or at least they shouldn't call it Shepherd's Pie). Top baking dish filled with some of the Sloppy Joe mix you previously made, layer pre-made mashed potatoes and shredded cheddar cheese, put in the oven, top with sliced green onion. Um, no vegetables, you ask? No. NO VEGETABLES! I literally could not find a single recipe for Shepherd's Pie that didn't include at the very least peas. Most included corn and/or a packet of frozen mixed vegetables. Even Paula Deen, who I sometimes wonder may be allergic to vegetables, has them in her recipe. Call it Sloppy Joe Casserole or Mashed Potato Delight. Shepherd's Pie? I don't think so. At least the 2 cups of cheese the recipe called for toned down the sweetness. Of course, it also might have been the two 16 oz. bags of frozen mixed vegetables I added.
Lemon-Thyme Roasted Chicken/Pot Pie: Recipe calls for two 3 lb. roasting chickens. Now, maybe it's just the juiced up birds we have in Washington, but I couldn't find any birds under 5 lbs. I decided to get one slightly over 6 lbs., so I'd only have to roast one bird. Good thing I did. After picking off all the meat from the bird, I used all of it in the Pot Pie recipe with only a chunk big enough to make one serving of celery chicken salad for my lunch the next day; definitely not enough for another family sized meal.
Margarita Grilled Pork Tenderloin/Loaded Cuban Sandwiches: The pork for this was prepared yesterday, but won't get eaten until tonight. I somehow 'read' that it only needed to marinate for 1 hour, when in reality it's supposed to marinate for 8 hours. Let this be my first friendly reminder that it is always important to at least READ THE RECIPE all the way through once. Despite my years of cooking, the last two on a professional level, I cannot seem to shake my habit of not completely reading a recipe before deciding that the America's Test Kitchen Slow Cooker Baked Potato Soup from Slow Cooker Revolution would be perfect for our office "Seahawks Playoff Celebration" maybe isn't the best choice when it is supposed to cook for 6 hours, it has a bit of prep work to do before you can even get it in the crock, and as I generally don't get up 8 hours before noon (the time service would take place), this might not be the best recipe. The soup, however, was delicious and drew rave reviews.
I found the recipes in this book to be very simplistic, which I suppose is good if you really are just looking for something quick, easy and affordable. Flavor-wise though, if prepared as-is, my palate would have been left wanting. But as you will quickly learn, and as the title of this blog insinuates, recipes are just suggestions. If I read the recipe and something doesn't sit right, I'm going to change it up. If you think Shepherd's Pie does not require vegetables, your recipe has now become a suggestion. This book would be a good book if you are a new cook or are just looking for inspiration on edible (not delicious) dishes you can prepare and stick in the freezer.
Recipes Tested: Sloppy Joes/Sloppy Joe Shepherd's Pie (Pgs. 34-35), Margarita Grilled Pork Tenderloin/Loaded Cuban Sandwiches (Pgs. 46-47), and the Lemon-Thyme Roasted Chicken/Easy Chicken Pot Pie (Pgs. 62-63).
Sloppy Joes/Sloppy Joe Shepherd's Pie: The recipe was certainly very simple: didn't call for lots of ingredients (not enough in my opinion, more about that later), didn't take long to prepare, and only dirtied one skillet. I was a little leery from the get go because the recipe doesn't call for onion (which I'm a firm believer that most recipes should), any kind of bell pepper, or garlic (again, most recipes should). Just for the fun of it, I went on the Internet and checked out other Sloppy Joe recipes to see if I just had it in my head that these ingredients were norms. Nope, almost every single recipe I came across included onion and bell pepper (there seems to be a green vs. red debate on this one).
Secondly, it doesn't call for you to season the ground beef as you are sautéing it. I was physically incapable of not seasoning ground beef while sautéing it. Incapable.
The next decision came when the recipe called for pickled jalapenos as well as some of the pickling liquid. I opted to not use these ingredients and it may have been a mistake as, in my humble opinion, the mix was cloyingly sweet. This is rather ironic as my husband, who thinks absolutely any amount of butternut squash in a dish makes it 'too sweet', thought it was fine.
The second recipe for using the Sloppy Joe mixture is a take on Shepherd's Pie. This recipe, to risk being blunt, is a joke (or at least they shouldn't call it Shepherd's Pie). Top baking dish filled with some of the Sloppy Joe mix you previously made, layer pre-made mashed potatoes and shredded cheddar cheese, put in the oven, top with sliced green onion. Um, no vegetables, you ask? No. NO VEGETABLES! I literally could not find a single recipe for Shepherd's Pie that didn't include at the very least peas. Most included corn and/or a packet of frozen mixed vegetables. Even Paula Deen, who I sometimes wonder may be allergic to vegetables, has them in her recipe. Call it Sloppy Joe Casserole or Mashed Potato Delight. Shepherd's Pie? I don't think so. At least the 2 cups of cheese the recipe called for toned down the sweetness. Of course, it also might have been the two 16 oz. bags of frozen mixed vegetables I added.
Lemon-Thyme Roasted Chicken/Pot Pie: Recipe calls for two 3 lb. roasting chickens. Now, maybe it's just the juiced up birds we have in Washington, but I couldn't find any birds under 5 lbs. I decided to get one slightly over 6 lbs., so I'd only have to roast one bird. Good thing I did. After picking off all the meat from the bird, I used all of it in the Pot Pie recipe with only a chunk big enough to make one serving of celery chicken salad for my lunch the next day; definitely not enough for another family sized meal.
Margarita Grilled Pork Tenderloin/Loaded Cuban Sandwiches: The pork for this was prepared yesterday, but won't get eaten until tonight. I somehow 'read' that it only needed to marinate for 1 hour, when in reality it's supposed to marinate for 8 hours. Let this be my first friendly reminder that it is always important to at least READ THE RECIPE all the way through once. Despite my years of cooking, the last two on a professional level, I cannot seem to shake my habit of not completely reading a recipe before deciding that the America's Test Kitchen Slow Cooker Baked Potato Soup from Slow Cooker Revolution would be perfect for our office "Seahawks Playoff Celebration" maybe isn't the best choice when it is supposed to cook for 6 hours, it has a bit of prep work to do before you can even get it in the crock, and as I generally don't get up 8 hours before noon (the time service would take place), this might not be the best recipe. The soup, however, was delicious and drew rave reviews.
I found the recipes in this book to be very simplistic, which I suppose is good if you really are just looking for something quick, easy and affordable. Flavor-wise though, if prepared as-is, my palate would have been left wanting. But as you will quickly learn, and as the title of this blog insinuates, recipes are just suggestions. If I read the recipe and something doesn't sit right, I'm going to change it up. If you think Shepherd's Pie does not require vegetables, your recipe has now become a suggestion. This book would be a good book if you are a new cook or are just looking for inspiration on edible (not delicious) dishes you can prepare and stick in the freezer.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)