We All Scream for Ice Cream (Especially Caedmon)

Gunther's Ice Cream in Sacramento, CA

A couple of weeks ago, we took a trip to Gunther's.  We love this old-fashioned ice cream parlor that is as much a proverbial Shangri-la of sugary confections as it is a fixture in iconic Sacramento.  As if we need an excuse to go, I had an Entertainment Book coupon that was about to expire, and who can let free ice cream go to waste?  Plus, I thought it would be fun to capture Caedmon's first taste of ice cream.  Well, his second. His first was a hilarious contortion of his face in response to the unfamiliar freezing temperatures in his mouth, but without a camera, the moment was lost.  This time, we were armed and ready.  Wayne voiced his concern, though.  "Are you sure you want him eating ice cream at this hour?  All for the sake of a picture?"  "Don't worry," I reasoned.  "He doesn't like it. I just want a picture for his scrapbook."  

Oh, how I was wrong...

No, thank you.  This is new and strange.  I do NOT want to try it! 

I'd really rather play on this window ledge and bombard the people in the next booth with my cuteness.

Nevermind that there's a placard that says, "Parents, please keep children off the window" that Mom didn't see until way later... Oops.

Okay, I'll give it another try...

Oooh... that's good!

I need another bite.

And another...

What do you mean, "That's enough"?!  

Crying and screaming ensued, but we brought it upon ourselves, right?  We took him outside, which always does the trick.  And though our evening dissolved into a slight meltdown, I would say it was a rather happy ending... Not only did we get our fill of ice cream for our stomachs, and I, fodder for my scrapbook, Wayne and I were able to witness the likes of a budding love story, because if this boy is anything like his parents, he will be blissfully entangled in this sweet, creamy romance for years to come.

Okay, I'll play on this bike rack... I'm easily distracted.  But Mom, when's my next ice cream cone??

Halibut and Chorizo Stew

I subscribe to Cooking Light and receive recipes in my email box from allrecipes.com, America's Test Kitchen, and the like... only to read them, make my usual comments of "Oh, that looks good!", and then toss them to the side as I reach for the 20 or so recipes in my binder that are now smudgey and splattered from constant use.  Moroccan chicken, chicken adobo, poppy seed chicken (hm, do I sense a trend here?)... Tried and true, they are, but now are also oh, so trite.

One of my new year's resolutions is to try a new recipe at least once very two weeks.  That doesn't sound like much, but given my track record, I wanted a schedule that was attainable and wouldn't overwhelm me, lest I give up and go running back to chicken tortilla soup.  Tonight, I made Halibut and Chorizo Stew from Cooking Light (oh, I am also trying to venture beyond chicken and ground turkey).

And... ta-da!

After I made this, I realized I should have taken step-by-step pictures and then described my process along the way, as seen on so many other blogs.  Maybe I will next time.  ..... eh, yeah, right.  I'm a mother of a 9-month-old, who frantically struggles to get dinner on the table before 8pm!  Who am I kidding?  No time for pretty pictures!

Anyway, back to the stew.  It covered all my requisites for a stellar weeknight dinner--quick (20 minute meal), nutritious, and tasty!  And there was minimal clean-up!  Success!  I am definitely adding this to my (hopefully growing) rotation of recipes!

Halibut and Chorizo Stew
courtesy of Cooking Light, December 2012

2 tsp olive oil
2 oz Spanish chorizo sausage, diced (I actually used turkey sausage, because that's what I had on hand)
1 cup chopped onion
3 garlic cloves, sliced (I minced it, because I personally don't like biting into whole garlic, but I understand I'm mostly in the minority here)
1/2 cup dry sherry (I used brandy, which I had in the cupboard)
1/2 fat-free, lower sodium chicken broth
1-1/2 Tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes, drained
1 (15 oz) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
4 (5 oz) skinless halibut fillets (I used half halibut and half tilapia, as my store didn't have enough halibut.)

1. Heat a large saute pan over medium heat.  Add 1 tsp oil to pan. Add chorizo; saute for 3 minutes or until lightly browned.  Add onion; saute 3 minutes or until just tender.  Add garlic; saute 1 minute.  Add sherry; cook 1-1/2 minutes, scraping pan to loosen browned bits.  Stir in broth and next 5 ingredients (through chickpeas); stir to combine.
2. Nestle halibut fillets in stew; spoon tomato mixture over fillets.  Cover and simmer 5 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork or desired degree of doneness.
3. Serve with crusty bread, like ciabatta or pugliese.

Boy Cookies

I have a term for cookies that guys make.  I call them "boy cookies", because, well, they taste like a boy made them.  Not that that's necessarily a horrible thing, but they really do taste... different.  You know what I'm talking about.  They're a little to a lot drier.  A little to a lot denser.  They're a little to a lot just not as good.

I've been bugging Wayne to try his hand at boy cookies for some time now, you know, just for kicks.  I wanted to see what makes boy cookies boy cookies, if it's the same recipe used by everyone else.  (Wayne says it's so I can watch and laugh at him, which is also partially true).  Up until this point, Wayne just hasn't had the desire to help me figure out the nuances of the boy cookie (or to be laughed at mockingly by me), but one fateful day, I made a bet with Wayne, which he lost, and guess what?  It's boy cookie time!

So we manned our respective stations--Wayne behind the mixer, and me, perched at the kitchen counter, kicking my legs in eager anticipation for the show ahead of me.  I giggled when Wayne clumsily cracked the eggs and proceeded to SHAKE out the egg whites, as one shakes out the last bits of cereal from its box.  I literally guffawed when Wayne separated the egg yolk and then didn't know where to put it, and so set it gingerly back in its shell, tried to balance it on the counter, then resorted to a plate (a little prep bowl, perhaps?).  And then I snickered when Wayne proceeded to sprinkle in each ingredient, instead of just dumping it in to the mixing bowl... With the Olympics on in the background, I cheered on the US Men's 4x100m swimming relay... I watched Grevers explode to the front with his backstroke and then Japan creep into the lead after the breaststroke leg... looked over, and Wayne was sprinkling.... Phelps caught up!  Adrian stretches the lead!, still sprinkling... US wins gold!, sprinkling... post-race interview, Phelps earns his 18th career gold medal!, sprinkling.  And sprinkling... and sprinkling. 

But at the end of the night, Wayne was the one who had the last laugh, because his cookies were AMAZING!  They were crispy on the outside and chewy throughout, and they were humongous!  "Man cookies", Wayne calls them.  And I have to admit that these boy--er, man cookies were better than many girl cookies I've had.  So I happily eat my words, along with a mouthful of cookie goodness. 

Good job, Sweetheart!  So proud of you!

 

Wayne studies the recipe before proceeding.

 

Wayne's meticulously shaken-out egg white and creatively, if oddly, placed egg yolk.

 

still sprinkling...

 

Man Cookies!

 

And man, they're delicious!

cookie favors...

... are done! all 145 of them!



Butterscotch Chocolate Chip
(labels by the ever-talented Emily!)

ice cream news!

It's an exciting month in Ben & Jerry's ice cream:

March 3--Ben & Jerry's is celebrating Hannah Teter's Olympic accomplishments by offering a scoop of Maple Blondie (maple ice cream with a maple caramel swirl and blonde brownie chunks) for $1 at their scoop shops! Just say, "Way to go, Hannah!" at the counter!

March 23--Free Cone Day!!! Noon to 8pm!

Find your local scoop shop here!

Alas, I am working both days, so please eat many scoops for me.

Company Pot Roast

With cross-rib roast on sale for only $1.87/lb, I seized two medium-sized packs and the opportunity to finally try my hand at pot roast. Ina Garten's recipes are always winners, so I decided to make her "Company Pot Roast", featured in her latest cookbook, Back to Basics. (By the way, LOVE her cookbooks!) Red-skinned mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese with ham, green beans, and pugliese bread rounded out this super hearty meal!



Results and reviews? Because I didn't have enough time to slowly simmer the pot in the oven as I was supposed to, my roast wasn't AS tender as I would have liked, but the flavor was excellent! The sauce is great over rice or egg noodles too. Plus, this marked another personal culinary milestone as my first time cooking with LEEKS!!! Those frighteningly large green onion-looking like veggies used to be the stuff of onion nightmares for me, but over the last few years, I've been growing more comfortable with not just cooking with onions but eating them as well! (As long as I can't really taste them...) This pot roast recipe is definitely going into my rotation to make again and again.

And because I love to share, here's the recipe!

Company Pot Roast
2008, Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics, All Rights Reserved.

• 1 (4 to 5-pound) prime boneless beef chuck roast, tied
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• All-purpose flour
• Good olive oil
• 2 cups chopped carrots (4 carrots)
• 2 cups chopped yellow onions (2 onions)
• 2 cups chopped celery (4 stalks)
• 2 cups chopped leeks, white and light green parts (2 to 4 leeks)
• 5 large garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
• 2 cups good red wine, such as Burgundy
• 2 tablespoons Cognac or brandy
• 1 (28-ounce) can whole plum tomatoes in puree
• 1 cup chicken stock, preferably homemade
• 1 chicken bouillon cube
• 3 branches fresh thyme
• 2 branches fresh rosemary
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, at room temperature

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Pat the beef dry with a paper towel. Season the roast all over with 1 tablespoon salt and 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper. Dredge the whole roast in flour, including the ends. In a large Dutch oven, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Add the roast and sear for 4 to 5 minutes, until nicely browned. Turn and sear the other side and then turn and sear the ends. This should take 4 to 5 minutes for each side. Remove the roast to a large plate.

Add 2 tablespoons olive oil to the Dutch oven. Add the carrots, onions, celery, leeks, garlic, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper and cook over medium heat for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender but not browned. Add the wine and Cognac and bring to a boil. Add the tomatoes, chicken stock, bouillon cube, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Tie the thyme and rosemary together with kitchen string and add to the pot. Put the roast back into the pot, bring to a boil, and cover. Place in the oven for 2 1/2 hours, until the meat is fork tender or about 160 degrees F internally. Turn the heat down to 250 degrees F after about an hour to keep the sauce at a simmer.

Remove the roast to a cutting board. Remove the herb bundle and discard. Skim off as much fat as possible from the sauce. Transfer half the sauce and vegetables to a blender or a food processor fitted with the steel blade and puree until smooth. Pour the puree back into the pot, place on the stovetop over low heat, and return the sauce to a simmer. Place 2 tablespoons flour and the butter in a small bowl and mash them together with a fork. Stir into the sauce and simmer for 2 minutes, stirring until thickened. Taste for seasonings. Remove the strings from the roast, and slice the meat. Serve warm with the sauce spooned over it.

Latest Aspirations

While watching the Food Network the other day, I discovered THE best job! It's not owning a bakery or hosting my own cooking show or working as a nutritionist... It's being the Chairman on Iron Chef! All he does is introduce the chefs in a funny accent, do a few back flips, and then does NOTHING for about an hour until the end when he gets to eat awesome food during the judging! He doesn't even have to say anything during that time, just eats! I can do that. And ON TOP OF THAT, he got to be on Dancing with the Stars!!!



So that's my plan... become a D-List actor, which will still allow me to lead a normal life, and then get on Dancing with the Stars! ... now how do I get onto that career track?

Stocking up for the winter... and spring, and summer...

This is what happens when I go grocery shopping on my own and Ben & Jerry's is on sale... (there's actually more in my freezer, but there wasn't room on those shelves).



I'm ready for Jenny's visit!

Ovomaltine Crunchy Cream!

I am sitting at Colleen's kitchen table and she has just fed me the BEST spread in the world!!! Ovomaltine Crunchy Cream! Though it sound like cellulite cream, I assure you it is not. It is a chocolate malt spread reminiscent of nutella without the hazelnut and with little crystals of crunchy things throughout instead. We ate it on toast and regular bread... and I wish we had more things to spread it on. (I'm looking around... um, goldfish?)

Alas, this Swiss-made product is not available in the States, and when I googled it, I found it only at www.austriangrocery.com. I think one jar would cost about $22 to ship over here. so... if anyone is swinging by Austria, please pick me up a jar or two... or ten.

pudding ice cream!

Coldstone has a new ice cream that melts into PUDDING??? I HAVE to try this!!! Thanks, Clark, for the tip!

...these are a few of my favorite things!

Today was a full day. First, I ate oatmeal. Not just any oatmeal; it was Kashi's honey almond oatmeal mixed with regular oatmeal, AND I ate it in one of my new bowls from Anthropologie.

I needed that oatmeal to fuel the rest of my day, because... by 7:30am, I was out the door with Lucy to get her spayed. After dropping her off, I got a much-needed oil change for my car. Then, killed some time at Target before my hair appointment.

Yes, I got another haircut AND I like it! No, I love it! Never again am I going to cheap Asian places. Not because they can't cut hair, I just think their sense of style is different. If I let them do what they want, they inevitably give me shaggy mousy tails, and I don't like mousy tails, at least not on my head. I'm anxious the whole time I'm there and I give them all sorts of directions that I think I want and I end up with something I only complain about. But Michelle—I totally trust her, and she explains everything she's doing! I was actually just going in for a bang trim, but I asked her what she would do if she were to cut my hair short (something I've been aching to do), and she described all the neato things she had in mind, and I said, "Okay, let's go for it!" She snipped, razor bladed, and calls it a "shattered bob", inspired by Lily Allen's new 'do... and the whole time I didn't flinch! (Sadly, Michelle is actually moving back to San Diego at the end of this month... WHY?!?)

Then, I "ran errands" at Nordstrom Rack and Nordstrom (aka "shopped"). Then picked up Lucy, who, poor thing, is still super groggy and uncomfortable.

And then tried my hand at risotto for the first time, which, I think, turned out really well!

I just realized this post is full of my favorite things—food, Lucy, and shopping. hm, I should include Wayne in here somewhere... uh... Wayne mowed the lawn and pulled lots of weeds while I was cooking. Thanks, sweetheart!

O Cupcake Tree, O Cupcake Tree...

I think I need a cupcake tree... which one should I get?

CrateandBarrel
pros: i like the metal retro look, and very sturdy looking, holds 24.
cons: the structured cups would allow for ONLY cupcakes. and i would have to wait until the weekend to purchase when I would like to use it on Friday (because our closest C&B is in Roseville, which is far).

or...

Martha Stewart
pros: the rounded cups would allow me to showcase fruit or eggs or other non-cupcake items. i can purchase today or tomorrow to use Friday afternoon.
cons: no handle on top for carrying purposes, not sure if I like the white as much, only holds 18.

egg update

So we tried the beautiful free-range chicken eggs. I hard-boiled two the other morning, and scrambled three this morning (I also decided to keep the shells intact to decorate later by blowing out the insides, which took A LOT of effort! The scrambled eggs took me at least half an hour to make, and 28 of those minutes was just from extracting the eggs from their shells... and now my cheeks hurt).

After our careful tasting, Wayne and I have decided that these free-range eggs do, indeed, taste different. Earthier and maybe a little fishier? The texture is also rubberier. The yolks are more vibrant and cook up bright yellow orange. Doesn't sound that good, huh? Yeah, I prefer "regular" non free-range chicken eggs. Too bad, I was hoping the natural ones would taste MAGICAL... but it's also probably because our palettes have been raised on regular eggs.

Still, I will have some rockin' Easter eggs this year!

eggsellent find!

Stef and I went to the Davis Farmer's Market yesterday, and I got these most beautiful free-range chicken eggs! I don't want to eat them.

oatmeal update

I have now tried all three flavors of Jamba Juice's steel-cut oatmeal. Out of Blueberry Blackberry, Fresh Banana, and Cinnamon Apple, my favorite would have to be berry. I imagine it would be even better with fresh bananas stirred in! Second would be apple, and then a far third would be banana.

So there you have it, my oatmeal results... largely anticipated, I'm sure. ;)

Giada's hike

I just watched "Giada at Home" on Food Network, and on this episode, Giada made lunch for a hike that she and her husband, Todd, were going on. She prepared these fancy baguette sandwiches with goat cheese and arugula and sundried tomatoes. And only Giada would pull out a bottle of wine from her camelbak at the top of a hike, kept chilled in a ziplock bag full of ice! They even brought plastic wine glasses! hahahaha! And, of course, Giada did all this with her usual full makeup. I actually laughed out loud at this ridulous sight!

Jamba Juice Oatmeal for $1!

Yup, Jamba Juice now serves oatmeal. But not just any kind of oatmeal--steal-cut oatmeal! This is for hardcore oatmeal fans, which I very well am, as it is super thick and chewy and grain-like (not grainY... but grain-like, the oats like little pieces of chewy couscous). I tried the blueberry and blackberry oatmeal today (also available: fresh banana and also apple, which will be tomorrow).

The promotion is only until the end of March, so don't miss it!

(wow, this promotional ad matches my blog perfectly!)

Nugget had a sale on Ben & Jerry's this week--just $2.50 for a pint! So today, after puppy class, I stopped by for Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk and Mint Chocolate Cookie! I was tempted to get Americone Dream, too, and I normally would have, except we still have four pints and two half gallons of half eaten ice cream in the freezer.

Also, check out Ben & Jerry's eCONEomic relief campaign on March 24! Find your local scoop shop here!

I love Ben & Jerry's!

Crab Feed!

The Kiwanis Club of Greater Sacramento hosted their annual crab feed fundraiser Saturday night. Tickets were $40 each, but because Wayne is the advisor for Key Club, the Kiwani's high school program, he was given two tickets as a gift! What a kind and unexpected treat! Wayne's Key Club kids were also there to set up and wait tables, so it was fun to be Mr. To's date. :) (sometimes it's like being a minor celebrity. "Mr. To! Mrs. To! Smile for my camera!" "Okay, now mine!")

We invited Steven and Lisa, who are crab feed veterans! Lisa came with a huge diaper bag filled with bottles of seasonings, homemade sauces, butter and butter-warming device, crab crackers, towels, plastic bags, a bottle of wine... and the four of us proceeded to stuff ourselves silly, going through two big trays piled high with crab!

At the door, we were suckered into buying $20 worth of raffle tickets, but it paid off, because we actually won a $50 giftcard to Banana Republic!!! (We are now two for two in raffle winnings. Our other "big" win was a dining certificate for Strings Italian Restaurant that we won at the State Fair this past summer).

But the highlight of the evening has to be Wayne's stellar performance in the paper airplane contest, where, to the cheers of me and his Key Club kids, he came in first in his division of men 18-40, and won his first trophy. The little plaque actually says "Kiwani's Crab Feed 2009 Airplane Contest Winner". What a feat! What a night! I am so proud. :)

Dinners at the Orange Door Inn

Dinners at the Orange Door Inn vary drastically according to the Innkeeper (aka me). Sometimes, we'll have a tried and true favorite, like Dalia's poppy seed chicken casserole or chicken chili with buttermilk cornbread. Other times, I'll try something new, like Hong Kong style baked tomato pork chop or cioppino night that we had a couple of weeks ago (thanks to Chris Tan, who offered to buy all the ingredients if I'd help him turn it into the fisherman's stew--the stew was to die for, by the way. We were very proud of ourselves.)


cioppino with crusty pugliese bread and parmesan twists

Tonight, though, the Innkeeper felt like pancakes. So we had... buttermilk, chocolate chip, banana, banana chocolate chip, and raspberry chocolate chip! And... to round out the meal, Wayne also had a cup 'o noodle.


Wayne is trying to fend off Lucy from our pancakes.

I suppose my capriciousness in menu planning will need to end when we have kids with actual nutritional needs... but for now, I enjoy the variety!