Tonight I have managed the seemingly impossible! After many months of longingly wishing to make home-made Pesto (and not getting off my ass to get the ingredients for it) I have gone forth and done so!
This is not as easy as it sounds - or, at least, it wasn't for me. The biggest set back? Acquiring fresh basil here in Ohio. In California, fresh herbs are in every supermarket. So I never thought about the potential difficulties in acquiring fresh herbs with which to cook with. I'd just go to the supermarket and pick some up, right?
Wrong! Apparently here in Ohio it is a monumental task to track down and purchase some fresh basil. Luckily, after calling a couple stores (and one abortive attempt to visit the grocery store we frequent) I found a store that carried some. I went there (in the pouring rain... wtf with the weather here?!?) and located their little plastic blister packs of fresh herbs. Wary because I couldn't view the contents easily, I got all the packs they had - 4 - in the hopes that between them there would be enough basil that wasn't bad which I could use to make the sauce.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Experiment in the Kitchen - Beef Stew / Biscuits / Salad / Strawberry and Raspberry Shortcake
Tonight, for the first time since we moved in, we had people over! Yay! So, of course, me being the crazy person I was, I was determined that the dinner be as awesome as I could manage.
I started with stew - which is a staple of mine. I make my stew with the following:
I started with stew - which is a staple of mine. I make my stew with the following:
- 1 Can Beef Broth
- 1 Can Golden Mushroom (Campbell's)
- 1 sm pkg Baby Carrots
- Approx. 4 Stalks of Celery (sliced small)
- 3 lg (or 6 sm) Red Potatoes (sliced into bite-sized chunks)
- Approx. 2# Beef Stew Meat
- 1 pkg (or equiv) Instant Mashed Potatoes
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Experiment in Life - Moving to Ohio
This week's experiment? Driving cross-country with two young children! Sounds kinda crazy, huh? We are actually currently on day 3 (everyone is still asleep - I, for some reason, woke up at 6:30am). Day one saw us driving from the North Bay area of California down to San Luis Obispo, CA. We got a hotel there, saw some friends, did some rather necessary shopping for things (books on cd, drinks for the car, etc) and then headed out at around 1:00 pm. This set us back a bit - we were actually suppose to drive down to SLO, visit, and then head on to Bakersfield with the intention of making Flagstaff, AZ on day 2. But, que sera sera, we are taking this trip as it comes. Day 2 saw us make it to Kingman, AZ - which is where I blog to you from now. We got a hotel at about 9 at night and thank goodness we did! I don't think the kids could have survived in the car another minute at that point!
For the most part, the kids have been well behaved. We got an in-the-car dvd player with a split screen so they can watch movies. Our eldest just had her birthday (as previously blogged about) and we bought her a Leapster handheld game thing and her Grandmother got her an mp3 player. They also have lap trays and coloring things and soe stuffed animals to keep them company. We have a cd player and got them some books on cd as well. So, you know, we have a large pool of items back there to keep them from going stir crazy.
For the most part, the kids have been well behaved. We got an in-the-car dvd player with a split screen so they can watch movies. Our eldest just had her birthday (as previously blogged about) and we bought her a Leapster handheld game thing and her Grandmother got her an mp3 player. They also have lap trays and coloring things and soe stuffed animals to keep them company. We have a cd player and got them some books on cd as well. So, you know, we have a large pool of items back there to keep them from going stir crazy.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Experiment in the Kitchen - Pesto Parmesan Stuffed Chicken Breasts
Experiment for today is Pesto-Parmesan Stuffed Chicken Breasts. I blended some Pesto from Costco, a bit of Kraft Parmesan Cheese and some garlic salt in a bowl. I then took the chicken breasts (with skin and bones - I wanted skin but no bones, but have yet to find it) and defrosted them.
I was a bit miffed to find that what I thought were 4 chicken breast halves were actually 6 - a bit much for our family, even with my Mother staying with us - but decided to just go with it. I laid each chicken breast down on a cookie sheet and carefully pulled up on the skins until they separated from the meat below. I then stuffed the pesto-parmesan mixture into the pocket created. Turns out I had just exactly the right amount to do 6 breasts - yay! I also smeared some of the mixture on the bits of chicken where there was no skin.
After that was accomplished, I cut a sliver of butter for each breast, laying them gently on top of the skin. I stuck my awesome in-the-oven-but-outside-reading digital meat thermometer into the meatiest part of the biggest breast, popped them in the oven at 375F and that was that. They should be out of the oven in a little while (I'm guessing about 45 minutes or so). At that time I'll update to say how things turned out.
Update: Sorry for the delay in the update (see crazy life mentioned in previous blog for excuse)! The chicken turned out wonderfully moist and delicious. The skin was crispy, the pesto-parmesan became slightly crunchy and the flavor it added to the chicken was sublime. I will definitely be trying this again! This experiment was a Success!
I was a bit miffed to find that what I thought were 4 chicken breast halves were actually 6 - a bit much for our family, even with my Mother staying with us - but decided to just go with it. I laid each chicken breast down on a cookie sheet and carefully pulled up on the skins until they separated from the meat below. I then stuffed the pesto-parmesan mixture into the pocket created. Turns out I had just exactly the right amount to do 6 breasts - yay! I also smeared some of the mixture on the bits of chicken where there was no skin.
After that was accomplished, I cut a sliver of butter for each breast, laying them gently on top of the skin. I stuck my awesome in-the-oven-but-outside-reading digital meat thermometer into the meatiest part of the biggest breast, popped them in the oven at 375F and that was that. They should be out of the oven in a little while (I'm guessing about 45 minutes or so). At that time I'll update to say how things turned out.
Update: Sorry for the delay in the update (see crazy life mentioned in previous blog for excuse)! The chicken turned out wonderfully moist and delicious. The skin was crispy, the pesto-parmesan became slightly crunchy and the flavor it added to the chicken was sublime. I will definitely be trying this again! This experiment was a Success!
Experiment in Sewing - Capes!
Last night, I finally bit the bullet. Yes, I finally got started on getting all the party things ready for my eldest's (and her cousin's) 6th birthday party. The theme? Superheroes. The goal? To have an awesome party (and possibly top last year's Princess theme). The Mom? Freaking crazy, apparently.
My tasks started simply enough. I was originally just suppose to make 15 capes, handle cake arrangements for our cake (I demanded that each child get their own cake - and their own candles! - due to hang-ups from my own childhood's shared birthdays) and invite 15 kids. Of course, I couldn't have it be that simple!
Let's start by saying that the birthday party happens to be two days before we are leaving for Ohio. Oh, and that my daughter has a dance recital the day before, the day of and the day after the party. So, amidst packing and organizing and arranging our lives so that they can be shipped most of the way across the country, I also have to make sure that my daughter makes her dress rehearsal and all 3 show days. And I need to make things for the party, get invites out and get all of us to the park on time. Did I say freaking crazy? Let's up that to "where are the nice men in their clean white coats?"
My tasks started simply enough. I was originally just suppose to make 15 capes, handle cake arrangements for our cake (I demanded that each child get their own cake - and their own candles! - due to hang-ups from my own childhood's shared birthdays) and invite 15 kids. Of course, I couldn't have it be that simple!
Let's start by saying that the birthday party happens to be two days before we are leaving for Ohio. Oh, and that my daughter has a dance recital the day before, the day of and the day after the party. So, amidst packing and organizing and arranging our lives so that they can be shipped most of the way across the country, I also have to make sure that my daughter makes her dress rehearsal and all 3 show days. And I need to make things for the party, get invites out and get all of us to the park on time. Did I say freaking crazy? Let's up that to "where are the nice men in their clean white coats?"
Friday, June 19, 2009
Experiments in the Kitchen and Life - Blogging / Raspberry Almond Truffles
So, today amidst the chaos of packing the house to move across the country, I have decided to start a blog. Yay, right? The idea came to me while I was in the beginning process of making truffles (the latest in what will probably eventually be a long line of "hey, I could do that!" experiments for me).
Now, normally I would just twitter about any random daily revelations. Yet as I was sitting at my dining room table, methodically filling in the molds with what will become the outer shells of my truffles while at the same time trying to figure out how to reduce my revelations to a 140-character tidbit, I realized the futility of the exercise.
Now, don't get me wrong, I love twitter and think that it has an excellent place (especially when the thoughts are truly random) but for something like this that 140-character limit was just too... limiting! So the idea for a blog was born. A place to record various experiments (either in the kitchen our outside of them as I go about other activities in my life) and whether or not they were successes. A place to note down observations - why I think something did or did not work - and perhaps (once I get some readers) get some feedback from others out there who have had similar experiments/experiences in their own life.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Experiment in the Kitchen - Chicken Adobo
Posts from the past!
On this day I attempted to make chicken adobo (a recipe from my husband's childhood - we have had it a couple times previously and once when his mother was visiting and made it for us). Normally, this is a dish cooked for 1 1/2 to 2 hrs in the oven at 350F. It is one whole chicken, cut up; a cup and a half of soy sauce; a half cup of water; and 3/4 cup of vinegar served over rice.
Now, I thought that this would be a recipe that would lend itself well to being in the crockpot - a recipe that needs to cook for a decent length of time, has a goodly amount of liquid and where the meat would taste good the more tender you managed to get it. Unfortunately, due to some quirk of physics, this was not to be the case. The chicken came out strangely dry and stringy after it's time spent in the food sauna and the flavor did not penetrate well. All in all, this experiment was a Failure.
On this day I attempted to make chicken adobo (a recipe from my husband's childhood - we have had it a couple times previously and once when his mother was visiting and made it for us). Normally, this is a dish cooked for 1 1/2 to 2 hrs in the oven at 350F. It is one whole chicken, cut up; a cup and a half of soy sauce; a half cup of water; and 3/4 cup of vinegar served over rice.
Now, I thought that this would be a recipe that would lend itself well to being in the crockpot - a recipe that needs to cook for a decent length of time, has a goodly amount of liquid and where the meat would taste good the more tender you managed to get it. Unfortunately, due to some quirk of physics, this was not to be the case. The chicken came out strangely dry and stringy after it's time spent in the food sauna and the flavor did not penetrate well. All in all, this experiment was a Failure.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)