Rainy (rainy!) day eats

We're getting ready for Hurricane (tropical storm?) Ida to pass over. We're getting lots of rain. Don't worry, our hatches are battened.

Dulce De Leche is a glorious thing. Sweet, sticky, caramely... perfect. This afternoon I made dulce de leche filled pumpkin cupcakes topped with dulce de leche buttercream. Damn right.
Recipe is here at Ever So Sweet.

I used sweetened condensed milk for mine, and it only took about an hour in the oven. In a water bath. At 475º. Covered in foil. Yeah, lots of little steps, but well worth it. I love caramelized or browned anything. I'm a huge fan of the Maillard reaction, and will eat just about anything that involves it. For those of you scratching your heads, the Maillard reaction is the name given to the reaction between amino acids and sugars that results in browning. Look up Maillard, he was a pretty clever feller'.

My pumpkin cupcake batter. Super fast and easy. Amazingly delicious.

Oooh yeah. Moist cake, mounds of sweet buttercream, sinfully tasty and sticky dulce de leche filling...bliss.

Yes I know it's blurry, but it was this or the one with the flash. You're welcome.

Dinner tonight was, once again, Ricky's favorite fajitas with pepita salsa. I made a quick paella/risotto hybrid (?) rice to go with them. The rice had onions, arborio rice, saffron, and garlic. I let it cook for a while after the liquid was absorbed (I used chicken stock) to get a nice crust on the bottom, quite reminiscent of a good paella. I really liked it, and plan on eating some for lunch tomorrow.

P.S. Maggie apparently likes tortillas. I swear she's a goat.

Steak Frites!

Strip steaks with oven fries and a nice red wine & shallot sauce, served with a simple green salad. I like my steaks cooked medium rare, and so does Ricky. If you want a well done steak just eat a hamburger, don't ruin a steak by cooking it all to hell. My trick is to treat it like tuna: Pop the steaks in the freezer for about 30 minutes and then cook them. That way the meat stays pink in the middle but still gets warmed through. Oh, and only turn once, and don't pierce them, and be sure to allow them to rest before serving.

well i'm excited.

Hurricane Ida

Better find my rain boots.
Scratch that.
Better buy some rain boots.

feeshy feeshy

Ricky wanted pasta, I wanted fish. We're not coin tossers, and we're both really good at Rock-Paper-Scissors-Lizard-Spock, so I went ahead and made both. We ended up eating salmon cooked with yellow onions and organic lemons served over whole grain farfalle with olive oil, scallions, fresh parsley, and salt. I really like the onion/lemon combination, and the fish cooked perfectly once I nestled it on top of the onions, covered it with the lemon slices, and put a lid on it. I honestly believe that overcooking salmon should be punishable by law.
If you're from the Northwest, like me, then you know that salmon begs to be paired with Pinot Noir. I went to pick up a bottle today, and was delighted to find a bottle from the Oregon coast! Firesteed 2007 Pinot Noir. It was a big hit. Nice and fruity with great body, it went very well with the fish. Highly recommended by yours truly.

a new pork chop and some starbuckian nostalgia

I really wanted pork chops tonight, but I also wanted something new. And fennel.
I came up with pork chops with a tomato, fennel, and caper sauce, served with haricot vert and garlic bread.

Fennel, shallots, and parsley cooking away.

Done! Nice thick chops, that delicious sauce (San Marzano crushed tomatoes, fennel, shallots, parsely, capers, and lemon zest), an Alexia garlic baguette, and haricot vert sauteed with pine nuts, white pepper, and black salt.

For a sweet treat I made Blueberry Oat Bars. Back in 2003-2004 Starbucks offered something very similar to this, and I was in love with them. I created my own, and they're fantastic. Well, most blueberry things tend to be fantastic, don't they? Organic blueberries, whole wheat flour, brown sugar, rolled oats. Not a white starch to be seen! Delicious and, in the way of desserts, pretty healthy.
Get the recipe for these fabulous bars here at Ever So Sweet.

Lost Puppies and LBDs

This morning was hellacious. I woke up, got ready, cleaned up lots of jackass dog excrement, then went to leave, only to find that I did not have my keys. I had left them in Ricky's car, and Ricky had left to work at 5 am. I couldn't call him, because our phone has been dead for two days (thank you, Mediacom) and so I was stranded, with no way to get to work and no way to call. I emailed Ricky and my boss, and didn't hear back from either. I ended up seeing Ricky's best friend Dave online on Facebook, and he called Ricky at work to tell him what was going on. Ricky emailed me and said he was on his way.
I then heard a thudding noise at my front door. I opened it to discover this:

This little guy was sitting on my porch, and jumping up at my storm door. No tags, no collar, nothing.

I put one of Malo's leads on him and took him for a walk around the block (after giving him some treats and water) knocking on doors. Nobody had any idea who he was. =(

When we got back to the house, Ricky was there. I unleashed him and he took off. I'm sad about it, I hope he gets home safe. I think I'll go look for him later.

On a happy note, I wore my favorite black sheath dress today, with a gray 1/2 sleeve tee underneath and I really liked the combination. And my pen necklace makes everything cute. So secretarial, haha. I must have looked funny walking a Lhasa Apso (Pekingese?) around the neighborhood at 8 am wearing this outfit and 4 inch black heels. Ah well, gives the neighbors something to wonder about.

Do Thai people like pumpkin butter?

Look how pretty it is with my cute little pumpkins!

I'm one of those people who will buy something without actually needing it. Especially seasonal things. That's the story behind me ending up with 6 cans of organic pumpkin.
I finally decided that I need to make stuff with it. My first "stuff" was pumpkin butter. I found a few recipes online, but ultimately twisted it around and created my own. I used 1 small (15 ounce) can of organic pumpkin, 1/3 cup apple juice, and then added (didn't measure, my apologies) raw sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice. To make it my own, I added cardamom and black pepper. Yes, pepper. I know it sounds weird, but it gave the pumpkin butter a nice chai flavor, and the bite of the pepper in the background really plays well against all the sweetness. It was tasty! I'm thinking about making some up and giving it out as gifts at my Thanksgiving dinner.

Here it is, simmering away.

Dinner tonight was a Thai curry. Chicken, red curry paste, coconut milk, zucchini, green beans, lime zest, and lots of fresh basil chiffonade. To me, basil really makes a good Thai dish. Served over hot jasmine rice and that's it. This is even better the next day, after all the flavors hang out together overnight.

Curly Sue: You Win, Hair.

Yesterday I woke up too late to straighten my hair. I wore it curly (and down) for quite literally the first time in years. It sounds silly, I'm sure, but it felt so liberating to be out in public looking the way that I actually look! People at work were confused. "Did you get a perm?" No. I just didn't spend an hour on my hair this morning.
Oh, and did you notice my adorable pen necklace? It was a gift from Ricky for my birthday and I'm in love with it! So Joanie!

For dinner that night Ricky said he wanted something along the lines of stir fry. I wanted pasta. So.
I made a chicken and broccoli stir fry with sesame oil and baby corn over thin multigrain angel hair. I couldn't find lo mein noodles in the grocery store. The sauce was really good, and relatively simple. Sesame oil, soy sauce, scallions, hoisin, red pepper flakes. And of course cornstarch.
Today when I got home (at noon, I love my job) I wanted a real lunch. Sadly, I've fallen into the "I'm just too busy to eat a real meal" trap that I know isn't good for me at all. Today I made a serving of wheat penne (with my 1/3 cup measure) with a quick sauce I made with diced tomatoes, white beans, black olives, capers, shallots, garlic, and red pepper flakes. Topped off with just a little sea salt. Delicious, healthy, and satisfying! I should make a ton of this sauce and keep it at the ready in the fridge. It would be great over polenta, grilled chicken, or just on some crusty bread.
Bonus: Tonight Ricky and I are just having nice big salads for dinner. No dishes! Well, just a couple.

Holiday gifts

I need to find a blue toaster. My mom has been talking about getting one for a long time, and I want to get her one for Christmas. Any ideas on where to look?

Help!

Speaking of gifts, yesterday at the mall I found this
If you're not a fan of Californication then you won't understand, but I thought it was awesome and bought a copy for Ricky. How neat!
That's right. Neat.

lots of things...♥

Yesterday was Ricky's birthday! I made a buttermilk cake with dark chocolate frosting, 100% from scratch. Seriously? Eight eggs for a cake? Ah well, it was worth it, and I couldn't go back on my ban of boxed mixes in my kitchen.

Tempering chocolate may just be my arch nemesis. It's the truth, chocolate is the Khan to my Kirk. No problems this time though.

I wish he liked more exciting cakes, but nope! Yellow cake. Chocolate frosting. The end.
We went out for Mexican (of course.) I had spicy shrimp with green chili peppers, onions, cilantro, tomatoes, and jalapenos. He had the Carne Asada.
Then we took Malo and Maggie on their first trip to the dog park! To be honest, I was really nervous. Malo isn't neutered (Ze Germans hate neutering) and he can be a tad aggressive towards other dogs. Or cats. Or children. Or the elderly.
They both did so well! Malo growled a little at first at the other dogs, but they were all his size, as the big and small dogs are separated by fence, so I guess he didn't feel threatened enough to go for anyone's jugular. They had such a great time running and playing with other dogs. Maggie thought it was more of a "people park" and just wanted to be petted by strangers. She's so cute, people go absolutely nuts over her, it's hilarious.
Come on, wouldn't you?
Happy black noses on the drive home!
i drank mine too fast to take a picture so i found this one at whatscookingamerica.com
On the note of happiness, I found a Bubble Tea shop in the mall today! It's only been there for about a month, which explains why I haven't seen it. I love Bubble Tea ♥ ♥!
They make (get this) Lavender Bubble Tea. Yes, of course I had it.

I also went to the Gap and found some jeans that I love. The Boyfriend fit is my favorite because I hate tight "check out my camel toe" jeans, and they're nice and loose but still flattering. The only problem was that up until recently the only ones they made had a lot of holes and distressing going on. The knee holes would tear after just a few kneels! These are the same jeans, minus all that Abercrombie-esque BS. Yay!
Oh and PS my awesome monogrammed sheets came today from Pottery Barn (squeee!) and I was lazy and made Rib-Eye steaks, steamed asparagus, and boxed (eegads!) macaroni and cheese for dinner. Whatever, don't judge me, sometimes Ricky and I just really want some Kraft Mac. You know you do too.

Football and Ricky's Birthday!

Yesterday Georgia played Florida... and lost. It was sad.

On the bright side, Ricky ran in to one of his old friends from Germany at Publix and invited him over to watch the game, and it was really nice to see him! I made tasty football food, which I always like to do, since I make awesome chicken wings and football food is super easy.My (apparently very good) buffalo chicken wings, as Brian is from New York and really liked them!

Something different- Tandoori chicken strips with naan bread. I liked these the best.
I also made cheddar bacon potato skins, but didn't take a picture.
At the end of the night, after the game was over and the trick-or-treaters were gone, I made a Persimmon tart with vanilla almond pastry cream.