porky porky

Pork chops (pounded thin) breaded with panko and seasoned with smoked paprika. Topped with jager sauce, served on spaetzle with broccoli.

Sehr gut!

key lime!

Graham cracker cupcakes filled with homemade key lime curd, with a ring of key lime buttercream piped around the top.

Teeny tiny little pies.

coconut

These could be lovely photographs, but NO, our camera has died. Stupid phone camera. Oh well, at least I still have picture taking technology.

These are coconut cupcakes with coconut cream cheese icing.

They are filled with... (drumroll)....

Saffron pastry cream!

Yes, you read that right. It's delightful. Saffron is earthy, yet sweet, and it's perfect in pastry cream. Not to mention that gorgeous golden color.

What's that? You can't see the golden color? That's because the camera on my phone sucks. lol

They're delicious, though a little messy due to all that coconut on top.

The best foods are messy, if you ask me.

attack of the fifty foot worm

This was taken with my phone, so I'm sorry it's grainy. But, these kind of photos are going to have to do until we buy a new camera. Lame sauce.

Seriously though, look at this tomato worm! It's apparently the larva of the five spotted hawk moth. Read more about it here. Really, you should. It's much more interesting than you might think.

no good very bad day

Our camera has kicked the bucket. Ricky took it out kayaking and somehow (he even had it in a sealed baggie) it got some salt water on it and it caused corrosion.This is a heartache that only a blogger could feel.I made cardamom french toast this morning, with a syrup I made with orange juice, coriander, saffron, and sugar.There was a 4-5 inch tomato worm in the garden.I had to use my phone camera. =(Also, I'm off work today and woke up feeling like crap. I hate being sick. I think maybe it's all the rain and the weather changing... it's stirring up all sorts of crap that is making my head want to explode.Ugh. Double ugh.

fall is in the air! well, not really, but it's getting closer to being here.

Sadly, I don't think that it will feel like fall here in Florida for quite some time, and probably only for a a few weeks.

Oh well, we do what we can with what we have.

There's plenty to look forward to! It's Pumpkin Spice time at Starbucks, and being a partner I get all the free lattes I want! I look forward to the PSL every year, it's my favorite Starbucks flavor. It just screams "Autumn!" until you step out of the coffee shop and into the 95% humidity.

Starbucks has released it's anniversary blend. It's always great, year after year. One of my favorites. Your local Starbucks will be making this, along with Cafe Estima (our fair trade certified coffee) all month long in September.

And just so you don't think this is some shameless plug for my employer, I'll share my other fall time favorite. Pumpkin Harvest & Fall scented Febreze. It smells amazing, and lasts forever! I've already doused my home with this and lit some apple cinnamon candles. I'm unstoppable.

Too bad it's still Florida outside, hahaha!

What I wouldn't give to need a wool peacoat right about now.

bueno

Tilapia tacos with rice, black beans, cabbage, and a three chile pico de gallo.

My pico is just white onion, tomato, tomatillo, poblano, habanero, and jalapeno, with garlic, red wine vinegar, cilantro, and a little lime juice.

I lightly dredged the tilapia (perfect for tacos) in flour before pan frying just to give it a little more texture, and that turned out to be a really good move.

Super fast and amazingly delicious. The only thing I think I should have added is some thinly sliced radishes.

Ooooh, watermelon radishes.

Oh hindsight, you are 20/20.

more food ♥

Last night's dinner: Pot roast with vegetables on egg noodles.
I make my pot roast in a dutch oven, as I don't own a slow cooker. I also add red wine to my broth, as well as a little tomato paste. It makes all the difference.

This is what I made tonight! I'm pretty proud of it. I had no idea what I was going to make, and when I got home I saw that Ricky had pulled out some pork chops.
I made zucchini al forno (zucchini, cream, garlic, mozzarella, and breadcrumbs), farfalle, seared pork chops, and a mustard fennel cream sauce.
-Mustard Cream Sauce-
Heavy cream
Butter
Whole grain dijon mustard
Fresh dill
1/2 a fennel bulb, sliced thin
Capers
salt and pepper (I used white pepper)
In a large pan, melt the butter. Add fennel, and cook until soft but not brown. Add the cream and mustard, stir to combine. Simmer over medium heat until everything is nice and melted together. Add the capers, dill, salt, and pepper.
That's it.
I was really surprised, I loved this sauce, and so did Ricky.
Dinner success!

cuppacakes

Dark chocolate, ancho chile, and cinnamon cupcakes with chocolate ganache icing and sprinkles.
Yay♥

giant bat heli-dragonfly.

I let the dogs in the other night and this monstrosity flew into my house, hitting me in the face on it's way in. I chased it around, screaming like an idiot for about 25 minutes before I finally trapped it and went to toss it outside.
It flew right back in.
Right back in!
The battle continued for another 20 minutes. I have 12 foot ceilings, so I had to throw things (dog toys) at it. It took forever, but I finally knocked it down and trapped it again, and this time very carefully set it outside.

It was unharmed (because it was the devil) and flew away into the night.
To terrorize some other woman in her home.
Mechagodzilla. It sounded like a helicopter.

lobstahs make great shifty shifts.

I got promoted at work, so now I'm a shift supervisor and not a barista. It's weird getting used to doing less work but having more responsibility. I was really nervous as first, it was kind of a new social situation... same people, but different. I dunno, I kind of freak out with stuff like this.
But seriously, look how cute I am in my apron, how could I possibly be nervous? =)
I'm excited and happy about the whole thing. Everyone at work has been great too, which makes it even more awesome.

Here is another reason I love my job! Skinny vanilla latte with nutmeg and reduced fat very berry coffee cake.
Awww I ♥ Starbucks.

'yaking out in Destin

As much as I hate Florida (and trust me, I hate Florida) I am glad to be near the water. Ricky and I both love kayaking, and the water here is so clear and beautiful. On the rare occasion that we both have the day off, we try to get out on the water for as long as the obscene Florida heat will allow.

gumbo

I have never made, never even attempted, gumbo.
I was feeling bold, and decided that the shrimp and andouille sausage in my fridge really needed to be made into gumbo.
It. Was. Awesome.
But let me tell you... one pot meal it is not. Yes, technically there is only one pot. Unless you count the rice. But you have to make a roux, sweat your vegetables, render your sausage... This is hard work folks!
I think the steps were well worth it, as I now have a kick ass gumbo recipe in my repertoire.
Y'all.

suppa suppa suppa time

Tilapia with herbed orzo, fried okra, and bacon-tomato compote.

Mashed potatoes, grilled asparagus, and strip steaks with red wine, shallot, and balsamic reduction.

Indian chicken stew with chickpeas, tomatoes, onions, and spinach with basmati and flatbread.

Halibut amandine, roasted fingerling potatoes, steamed broccoli.

Veal marsala, fries, and green beans.

Buffalo chicken sandwiches.

Quail wrapped in bacon with rice pilaf and pan roasted Brussels sprouts.

Tonight!

I will finally catch up on blogging.I've been busy with work, I got promoted, so my hours are screwy.Things to look forward to:Glorious food posts!Pottery Barn.Kayaking.Williams Sonoma spices.Cupcakes.More cupcakes.And of course updates on life in the house of Powell.

Could he have been any more awesome?

dinner nouveau

I...

have never prepared duck. Never thought about it really.

Until last night, as I lay in bed, thinking to myself.

"I've never made duck. Or rabbit. Or quail! Where do you buy pigeon?"

I'm on a new protein kick, I believe. So today, I stopped by the grocery store and bought some duck. Sadly, I live in Pensacola and there aren't really any butcher shops, so I had to settle with frozen duck breasts from Publix. Thank heavens for Publix. I took them home, thawed them in cold water, and removed the skin.

Good as new! Er, fresh. Nearly.

The completed dish!

Duck breasts with...well, you read the chalkboard.

I seared the duck in a skillet over high heat on both sides and finished it in the oven. The sauce is Pinot Noir (Firesteed is a favorite brand of mine, it's an Oregon winery), Port, butter, shallots, reduced chicken stock, dried cherries, balsamic vinegar, fresh thyme, and shiitake mushrooms. The warm asparagus salad is just blanched asparagus dressed with a vinaigrette I made with tarragon vinegar, olive oil, shallots, chives, a tiny bit of whole grain mustard, salt, and pepper.

To drink? Pinot Noir, of course! Which worked beautifully, as the wine has such fruity, cherry nuances that were echoed perfectly in the cherry sauce for the duck.

Cherries? Pinot Noir? Thyme? Asparagus?

How Northwestern of me!

Tomorrow: Quail.

Get excited.

pantry dinner

So... I haven't been to the grocery store. I know I know...

So tonight for dinner, it was sort of a "what's in the pantry?" kind of meal.

Here's what I came up with.

Grilled chicken thighs that I had marinated in olive oil, lemon juice, and garlic, roasted potato wedges with rosemary, and a can of green beans.

Don't hate on canned green beans, you can really dress up a can of vegetables if you're so inclined.

I cooked mine up with almonds, capers, and a little butter. They were darn good.

I'm thinking of making this, "what's in the pantry?" thing a weekly event. Once a week, I'll just make a meal with whatever is in the house, without planning anything or stopping for any special ingredients.

I bet I'll find some interesting things in that pantry...