Ok, I admit it, I have dropped the ball. I still have one more new recipe I need to post and what about my California vacation you ask? Well, I haven't even gone through my photos! Yes, I am that far behind. I just have no time to do anything personal anymore! I know this has got to change, but I haven't quite figured out how yet. So, I apologize for being behind. And before you know it, I'll be in Europe - and then I'll be even more behind on my blogging. Oh jeez. I think I'm breaking out in hives just thinking about it. Oh wait, that's just my sunburn from this past weekend of family photo shoots at the beach!
On a side note, I am finally ready to mail off my nasty-gram to the HOA. That's right - we received yet another non-compliance letter. [I'm rolling my eyes, but you can't see that]. We received the first one saying we needed to pressure wash our gutters. Are you kidding me? With all of the blatant and ugly violations going on and that is what they are bitching about?! Oh well, no skin off our back because we literally had JUST had the entire house - gutters included - pressure washed. Then a month or so later we receive another letter. Now this is the one that really frosts my cookies. They are saying that our trellis is in the easement and too close to the alley and therefore we must move it. UM, ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! So the attorney in my gets pissed off. We proceed to write a little nasty-gram informing Betty Crocker [I will keep her anonymous for protection purposes - for now . . .] that we submitted an application, as required by HOA rules, to build the fence and trellis. Said application included a sketch of the fence/trellis, as well as actual photos from the fence company illustrating what it would look like. Oh, and what else do we have? That's right - an APPROVAL letter saying "go ahead and build it." The icing on the cake is that we submitted this application in 2007 and received approval in Feb. 2008. So over one year later they are going to come and bitch about the fence? I think not. Especially with every other violation and unfulfilled promise that is out there. I threw in words like "dispute," "appalled," "relied upon," "to our detriment" and the like. Just to show I'm serious. So we'll see where it goes from here. I am actually pretty proud of my nasty-gram. I hope Betty F-ing Crocker is too!
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Monday, August 17, 2009
Let's NOT talk about food
I started to realize that all of my posts are about food. Maybe it's because food is always on my mind. I do love it. Food is like my secret lover - except not so secret. Jeremy knows all about it. And he's never had a problem with it. Until this weekend. We were sitting around on Saturday and it was dinner time and I was like "Let's eat." And he responds with "But are you truly hungry?" Huh? What is that supposed to mean? Who cares if I'm hungry?! It's DINNER time. So he asks me again "Are you hungry?" And my hesitation gives me away. He knows the truth. I'm not. And in all reality, I shouldn't be. We had eaten lunch really late. As in 4:00 p.m. late. So it made sense that at 7:00 p.m. I wasn't hungry. But that wasn't the point. It was time for dinner, hence we must eat. You see my train of thought (and also why I can't ever seem to lose any weight). So then I go into pout-mode. This was the first time I can recall Jeremy denying me my lover. What is the world coming to?!? So I played his little game and held out. I held out as long as I could. And finally around 9:00 p.m. I asked him again if we could eat. And he once again asked if I was hungry. And I think I responded something like this: "FOR THE LOVE OF GOD JUST FEED ME!" He finally caved. I think it was the crazed passion he saw in my eyes. He knew he better not get in the way once again of me and my lover. And because I must have looked really dangerous, he even took on the task of preparing me dinner. [gasp!] And it was delicious! Chicken quesadillas - mmmm. So good. And I was happy again.
Oh, but this post wasn't supposed to be about food. Whoops. Well, this post was initially going to be about Kai. She recently had a spa day and came back looking all cute. In all reality, she looks like a yellow lab with a huge fluffy tail. But I think she's adorable. It may be the cute little bandana they put around her neck. I don't know. But I am a sucker for clothes on dogs. Unfortunately, Jeremy does not allow me to partake in this passion (one lover is enough!). So I have to just hold out until the dogs go to be groomed before I can hope for clothes. Last time they returned with little bows in their ears. TOO CUTE! Anyway, I will post a few photos of Kai's recent haircut. It is SO short! But I know she's loving it in this Florida heat and humidity. And I love it because it means just a tad less furballs for me to clean up after!
Look at this adorable face!
A B&W of her back and bandana.
Look how sleek she looks.
One more of her back. It's so short!
Awwww!
Ok, I must close because . . . well, I'm sure you can tell why. It is 6:30 p.m. after all. And you know what that means . . . dinner time! Hehe.
Oh, but this post wasn't supposed to be about food. Whoops. Well, this post was initially going to be about Kai. She recently had a spa day and came back looking all cute. In all reality, she looks like a yellow lab with a huge fluffy tail. But I think she's adorable. It may be the cute little bandana they put around her neck. I don't know. But I am a sucker for clothes on dogs. Unfortunately, Jeremy does not allow me to partake in this passion (one lover is enough!). So I have to just hold out until the dogs go to be groomed before I can hope for clothes. Last time they returned with little bows in their ears. TOO CUTE! Anyway, I will post a few photos of Kai's recent haircut. It is SO short! But I know she's loving it in this Florida heat and humidity. And I love it because it means just a tad less furballs for me to clean up after!
Look at this adorable face!
A B&W of her back and bandana.
Look how sleek she looks.
One more of her back. It's so short!
Awwww!
Ok, I must close because . . . well, I'm sure you can tell why. It is 6:30 p.m. after all. And you know what that means . . . dinner time! Hehe.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya . . . Grits?
Does anyone remember that movie? Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood? It had Sandra Bullock, James Garner, Ashley Judd, and plenty of others, but those are the big names I remember. It was an OK movie. I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it either. But here's what I want to know: what is the meaning of "ya-ya"? I only ask because at this little restaurant in Pensacola that has become quite well known, their signature dish is called Grits a Ya Ya. Everyone knows where I'm talking about right? The Fish House! Heck, even their website has the word "grits" in it. Interesting! But I just don't understand the "ya-ya." It baffles me. Does it mean that the shrimp and grits have a wonderful friendship that they have dubbed "Ya-Ya"? Are the shrimp Siddalee and the grits her mother and they really just don't get along? FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS GOOD, TELL ME!
Well here is what I can tell you. Grits a Ya Ya is absolutely fabulous. Beyond fabulous. Decadent. Rich. Sinful even. I tried this delicious concoction over Father's Day weekend and had a craving for it for months afterward. It was like crack. I just had to have it! And then a good friend informed me that my crack (hehe) could be found online (oh, the horror! Ok, I swear I'm done with the crack joke). I printed the recipe off at once, but then still took awhile to get around to making it. But one day I just took the plunge and it was well worth it. Trust me folks - you want to be addicted to this.
Grits a Ya Ya
Serves 4
Ingredients:
Smoked Gouda Cheese Grits: (OMG! Doesn't that just sound heavenly?!)
1 quart chicken stock (I used broth. I've never figured out the difference between the two)
1 cup heavy cream
2 cups Dixie Lily grits (To all you true Southerners out there, please don't hate me. But I used quick grits. Yes, you read that right. Quick grits. AND IT STILL TURNED OUT DELICIOUS!)
1/4 pound butter
1/2 pound shredded smoked Gouda cheese
The Ya Ya:
8 strips applewood-smoked bacon, diced (I couldn't find applewood-smoked, so I just used thick smoked bacon. Make sure you dice very small - my pieces were a tad too big and I didn't like the chewy fat part)
1 Tablespoon minced garlic
1 Tablespoon minced shallots (I found out as I started to cook that my shallots had gone bad. I just used more garlic!)
3 Tablespoons butter
White wine
1 pound peeled and deveined jumbo shrimp
1 portobello mushroom cap, sliced (I diced because I don't like mushroom enough to eat large pieces of it)
1/4 cup diced scallions
2 cups chopped fresh spinach
2 cups heavy cream
3 cups smoked Gouda cheese grits
Salt, pepper, and hot sauce to taste
Fish House Directions:
First, make your grits. Run the chicken stock into a thick bottomed saucepan and turn on high til it boils. Mix in the grits and stir like crazy. Reduce to a simmer and allow to cook for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add cream if you need more liquid. Then tumble in the butter, drizzle in the rest of the cream, and stir till it's all in the family. Then shake in the shredded cheese and stir very well til it's all nice and smooth.
While your grits cook, bring a large saucepan to medium heat. Add bacon and cook for about 3 minutes, then add garlic and shallots. Saute and then add butter and a splash of white wine. When the butter is half melted, add the shrimp. When the downsides of the shrimp become white, flip them and add mushrooms, scallions, and spinach. Saute for 2 minutes. Remove the shrimp. Pour in heavy cream and let simmer while stirring. When reduced by one third, add salt, pepper, and hot sauce. Return shrimp to the sauce and combine. Spoon the sauce and shrimp onto heaping mounds of cheese grits.
Ashley's Directions:
Bring a large saucepan to medium heat. Add bacon and cook for about 3 minutes, then add garlic and well, garlic (didn't have shallots). Saute and then add butter and a splash of white wine. When the butter is half melted, add the shrimp. (Next time I will not do this because I bought pre-cooked shrimp. So really they just have to heat up. And since you have to remove the shrimp from the pan, it makes no sense to put them in yet at this stage. Lessons learned.)
Somewhere in that time I got my chicken stock boiling and added my 5 minute grits. Then I let them cook (for 5 minutes hehe) while I continued with the Ya Ya.
Add mushrooms, scallions, and spinach to pan with shrimp. Saute for 2 minutes. Remove shrimp if you actually decide to cook them. Pour in heavy cream and let simmer while stirring.
While this was simmering, I finished my grits. Tumble in the butter, drizzle in the cream, and stir till it's all in the family. Then shake in the shredded cheese and stir very well til it's all nice and smooth.
Back to the shrimp. When cream sauce is reduced by one third, add salt, pepper, and hot sauce. (I did not use hot sauce!) Return shrimp to the sauce and combine. Spoon the sauce and shrimp onto heaping mounds of cheese grits.
So I'm sure that was a bit confusing. But if you read the way you are supposed to make the dish and then read my way, you'll probably understand better what I did. Of course you can follow the traditional recipe. But, really, who has 40 minutes just to make grits?!? Definitely not me. I like my 5 minute option. And honestly, you couldn't tell the difference! This was still amazing! It is very rich though, so a little goes a long way. And you can always have smoked Gouda grits in the morning for breakfast. Mmmmm!
Well here is what I can tell you. Grits a Ya Ya is absolutely fabulous. Beyond fabulous. Decadent. Rich. Sinful even. I tried this delicious concoction over Father's Day weekend and had a craving for it for months afterward. It was like crack. I just had to have it! And then a good friend informed me that my crack (hehe) could be found online (oh, the horror! Ok, I swear I'm done with the crack joke). I printed the recipe off at once, but then still took awhile to get around to making it. But one day I just took the plunge and it was well worth it. Trust me folks - you want to be addicted to this.
Grits a Ya Ya
Serves 4
Ingredients:
Smoked Gouda Cheese Grits: (OMG! Doesn't that just sound heavenly?!)
1 quart chicken stock (I used broth. I've never figured out the difference between the two)
1 cup heavy cream
2 cups Dixie Lily grits (To all you true Southerners out there, please don't hate me. But I used quick grits. Yes, you read that right. Quick grits. AND IT STILL TURNED OUT DELICIOUS!)
1/4 pound butter
1/2 pound shredded smoked Gouda cheese
The Ya Ya:
8 strips applewood-smoked bacon, diced (I couldn't find applewood-smoked, so I just used thick smoked bacon. Make sure you dice very small - my pieces were a tad too big and I didn't like the chewy fat part)
1 Tablespoon minced garlic
1 Tablespoon minced shallots (I found out as I started to cook that my shallots had gone bad. I just used more garlic!)
3 Tablespoons butter
White wine
1 pound peeled and deveined jumbo shrimp
1 portobello mushroom cap, sliced (I diced because I don't like mushroom enough to eat large pieces of it)
1/4 cup diced scallions
2 cups chopped fresh spinach
2 cups heavy cream
3 cups smoked Gouda cheese grits
Salt, pepper, and hot sauce to taste
Fish House Directions:
First, make your grits. Run the chicken stock into a thick bottomed saucepan and turn on high til it boils. Mix in the grits and stir like crazy. Reduce to a simmer and allow to cook for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add cream if you need more liquid. Then tumble in the butter, drizzle in the rest of the cream, and stir till it's all in the family. Then shake in the shredded cheese and stir very well til it's all nice and smooth.
While your grits cook, bring a large saucepan to medium heat. Add bacon and cook for about 3 minutes, then add garlic and shallots. Saute and then add butter and a splash of white wine. When the butter is half melted, add the shrimp. When the downsides of the shrimp become white, flip them and add mushrooms, scallions, and spinach. Saute for 2 minutes. Remove the shrimp. Pour in heavy cream and let simmer while stirring. When reduced by one third, add salt, pepper, and hot sauce. Return shrimp to the sauce and combine. Spoon the sauce and shrimp onto heaping mounds of cheese grits.
Ashley's Directions:
Bring a large saucepan to medium heat. Add bacon and cook for about 3 minutes, then add garlic and well, garlic (didn't have shallots). Saute and then add butter and a splash of white wine. When the butter is half melted, add the shrimp. (Next time I will not do this because I bought pre-cooked shrimp. So really they just have to heat up. And since you have to remove the shrimp from the pan, it makes no sense to put them in yet at this stage. Lessons learned.)
Somewhere in that time I got my chicken stock boiling and added my 5 minute grits. Then I let them cook (for 5 minutes hehe) while I continued with the Ya Ya.
Add mushrooms, scallions, and spinach to pan with shrimp. Saute for 2 minutes. Remove shrimp if you actually decide to cook them. Pour in heavy cream and let simmer while stirring.
While this was simmering, I finished my grits. Tumble in the butter, drizzle in the cream, and stir till it's all in the family. Then shake in the shredded cheese and stir very well til it's all nice and smooth.
Back to the shrimp. When cream sauce is reduced by one third, add salt, pepper, and hot sauce. (I did not use hot sauce!) Return shrimp to the sauce and combine. Spoon the sauce and shrimp onto heaping mounds of cheese grits.
So I'm sure that was a bit confusing. But if you read the way you are supposed to make the dish and then read my way, you'll probably understand better what I did. Of course you can follow the traditional recipe. But, really, who has 40 minutes just to make grits?!? Definitely not me. I like my 5 minute option. And honestly, you couldn't tell the difference! This was still amazing! It is very rich though, so a little goes a long way. And you can always have smoked Gouda grits in the morning for breakfast. Mmmmm!
Friday, August 14, 2009
Is it Thanksgiving already?!
Every so often I get in the mood for Thanksgiving dinner. But to go through the hassle for only 2 people hardly seems worth it. One day when I was cruising through Publix they were making this recipe. I remember trying it and really liking it, so I took the recipe card and stashed it away for a rainy day. Well, last week was that rainy day. I decided I would finally try to make this on my own. I go to the store to get the ingredients - only to come home and find I already had a freaking boneless turkey breast in the freezer. Curses! Oh well, that's about how this whole process went for me. LOL
One-Pan Turkey, Vegetables, and Gravy
Ingredients:
3 medium parsnips (rinsed)
5 medium carrots (rinsed)
4 celery ribs (rinsed)
2 large onions (rinsed)
2 bay leaves (I used the ground bay leaves that comes in a regular seasoning collection)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt (divided)
4 ounces unslated butter (1 stick)
1/2 cup flour
2 (14 oz) cans reduced sodium chicken broth
1 boneless turkey breast (3 pounds; thawed)
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1/2 teaspoon pepper
aluminum foil
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400. Peel parsnips and carrots. Cut parsnips, carrots, and celery into 1-inch pices. Remove ends and peel onions; cut both into quarters. Place vegetables, bay leaves, and 1/2 teaspoon of the salt into medium-size roasting pan. The carrots were my favorite part of this when it was done, so next time I will probably use a lot more carrots! I think my roasting pan must be large; hence why this didn't turn out exactly as it was intended. But more of that story to follow.
(those little flecks are my bay leaves)
2. Place butter in microwave-safe bowl; cover and microwave on high 30 seconds or until melted. Whisk in flour and 1 can of the chicken broth until blended. Pour into pan over vegetables. Place wire roasting rack in pan over vegetables.
3. Remove turkey from packaging (reserve turkey gravy package for another use*** story below) and pat dry. Do not remove the netting from the turkey! Sprinkle turkey evenly with poultry seasoning, pepper, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Well, remember above where I said I went to the store and bought the turkey - when I already had one at home? Yah, well, what I didn't buy was poultry seasoning because stupid me thought I had it at home. Of course I don't! So I ended up using this all blend seasoning from Costco (Kirkland brand) instead. Place on roasting rack or directly on top of vegetables. Cover losely with foil and cook 1 hour.
4. Remove foil. Cook 45-55 more minutes or until internal temp reaches 165 (Note to self: I MUST buy a food thermometer!) Transfer turkey to carving board and remove netting. Let stand 5 minutes before slicing. Transfer vegetables to serving dish; remove and discard by leaves.
5. Whisk remaining chicken broth (up to 1 can if needed) into pan gravy until desired consistency. Transfer gravy to a serving dish. Slice turkey and serve.
So, all in all this turned out quite good. The turkey was moist and yummy! That's a plus! Unfortunately, the vegetables/gravy mix did not turn out so well. Like I said earlier, I think it's because my pan was too big and therefore the gravy wasn't deep enough. So instead of just becoming, well, gravy, it sort of congealled up and there wasn't much liquid on the bottom of the pan after the cooking timeframe. And let me just tell you how annoyed I was! I mean, after spending 2+ hours on dinner and then to not have it come out perfect???? Yes, I was pretty livid. But luckily the little boneless turkey came with a gravy packet! (refer to the *** above). So what I did was heat up the turkey packet, added a little chicken broth and some flour and wha-la! Gravy! For the most part the vegetables were still good. Some around the edge of the pan got too overdone due to the lack of gravy, but most were salvagable. And those vegetables -especially the carrots - were DELICIOUS! So overall this was a great dish. I just need to make some minor tweaks the next time I make it.
(I apologize for the quality of this photo. But after almost 3 hours of cooking, I was frustrated and hungry and all I wanted to do was dig in! But then I thought of you - my faithful, loyal readers - and knew I had to get at least one photo of the finished product. **I made boxed stuffing and then added green beans as well for finishing touches).
One-Pan Turkey, Vegetables, and Gravy
Ingredients:
3 medium parsnips (rinsed)
5 medium carrots (rinsed)
4 celery ribs (rinsed)
2 large onions (rinsed)
2 bay leaves (I used the ground bay leaves that comes in a regular seasoning collection)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt (divided)
4 ounces unslated butter (1 stick)
1/2 cup flour
2 (14 oz) cans reduced sodium chicken broth
1 boneless turkey breast (3 pounds; thawed)
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1/2 teaspoon pepper
aluminum foil
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400. Peel parsnips and carrots. Cut parsnips, carrots, and celery into 1-inch pices. Remove ends and peel onions; cut both into quarters. Place vegetables, bay leaves, and 1/2 teaspoon of the salt into medium-size roasting pan. The carrots were my favorite part of this when it was done, so next time I will probably use a lot more carrots! I think my roasting pan must be large; hence why this didn't turn out exactly as it was intended. But more of that story to follow.
(those little flecks are my bay leaves)
2. Place butter in microwave-safe bowl; cover and microwave on high 30 seconds or until melted. Whisk in flour and 1 can of the chicken broth until blended. Pour into pan over vegetables. Place wire roasting rack in pan over vegetables.
3. Remove turkey from packaging (reserve turkey gravy package for another use*** story below) and pat dry. Do not remove the netting from the turkey! Sprinkle turkey evenly with poultry seasoning, pepper, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Well, remember above where I said I went to the store and bought the turkey - when I already had one at home? Yah, well, what I didn't buy was poultry seasoning because stupid me thought I had it at home. Of course I don't! So I ended up using this all blend seasoning from Costco (Kirkland brand) instead. Place on roasting rack or directly on top of vegetables. Cover losely with foil and cook 1 hour.
4. Remove foil. Cook 45-55 more minutes or until internal temp reaches 165 (Note to self: I MUST buy a food thermometer!) Transfer turkey to carving board and remove netting. Let stand 5 minutes before slicing. Transfer vegetables to serving dish; remove and discard by leaves.
5. Whisk remaining chicken broth (up to 1 can if needed) into pan gravy until desired consistency. Transfer gravy to a serving dish. Slice turkey and serve.
So, all in all this turned out quite good. The turkey was moist and yummy! That's a plus! Unfortunately, the vegetables/gravy mix did not turn out so well. Like I said earlier, I think it's because my pan was too big and therefore the gravy wasn't deep enough. So instead of just becoming, well, gravy, it sort of congealled up and there wasn't much liquid on the bottom of the pan after the cooking timeframe. And let me just tell you how annoyed I was! I mean, after spending 2+ hours on dinner and then to not have it come out perfect???? Yes, I was pretty livid. But luckily the little boneless turkey came with a gravy packet! (refer to the *** above). So what I did was heat up the turkey packet, added a little chicken broth and some flour and wha-la! Gravy! For the most part the vegetables were still good. Some around the edge of the pan got too overdone due to the lack of gravy, but most were salvagable. And those vegetables -especially the carrots - were DELICIOUS! So overall this was a great dish. I just need to make some minor tweaks the next time I make it.
(I apologize for the quality of this photo. But after almost 3 hours of cooking, I was frustrated and hungry and all I wanted to do was dig in! But then I thought of you - my faithful, loyal readers - and knew I had to get at least one photo of the finished product. **I made boxed stuffing and then added green beans as well for finishing touches).
Fish Tacos
After arriving home from a wonderful - and very fast-paced! - week in California (a blog to come at a later date I promise), I wanted to make some fish tacos to remind me of the wonderfulness that is California. I just love it out there! Maybe it has something to do with the weather. Yes, I'm pretty sure that's it.
I had this recipe for fish tacos, but it called for sauteing the fish and since I'm not a big fish lover, I really wanted mine fried. So I basically combined two recipes to make this dinner. I made the fish according to one recipe that called for pan frying it and then I used the other recipe for the actual taco part.
Cheese-crusted fish
Ingredients:
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup egg substitute (or 2 large eggs, beaten)
2 cups crunchy cheese-flavored corn snacks (These were near impossible to find. Actually, they WERE impossible to find. I couldn't. What I was envisioning here were cheese-flavored Bugles. The only corn snack I could think of that came in cheese flavored. But Publix did not have any. So I used cheese-its for the recipe and it still turned out great!)
Large ziplock bag
1 cup panko bread crumbs
2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon pepper
4 firm, white fish fillets (tilapia, cod, etc); 20-24 oz thawed (I used tilapia)
2 tablespoons canola oil
Directions:
1. Place flour on plate (may be paper); place eggs in shallow bowl. Place cheese snacks in ziplock bag; seal tightly and crush with fingertips until fine. Add panko, parsley, coriander, and pepper; mix until well-blended. Place mixture in second shallow bowl.
2. Dip each fillet in flour coating both sides; shake off excess. Dip each fillet into egg. Finally, dip into crumb mixture and coat evenly.
3. Preheat large saute pan on medium 3-4 minutes. Place oil in pan. Add 1/2 of the fish fillets; cook 3-4 minutes each side or until golden and crisp. Place on paper towels to drain. Repeat with remaining fillets.
Fish Tacos
Ingredients:
4 ounces cabbage, finely shredded
1/2 small red onion (I omitted)
Tomato (optional; I used since I omitted the onion)
6-8 small flour tortillas (I used big burrito tortillas since it was what I had on hand)
Cheese-crusted fish (recipe above)
White sauce
White sauce recipe:
1 1/2 tablespoon minced cilantro
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 tablespoon sour cream
1 tablespoon lime juice
Directions:
1. Mix the ingredients for the white sauce together.
2. Spread liberal amount of white sauce on tortilla. Then add fish, cabbage, onion, tomato, and whatever garnishes you desire. Serve.
The tacos came out very yummy! Jeremy and I did both think that the white sauce was a tad too lime-juicy for us. So next time I may cut back on the amount of lime juice I use. But to each their own! Also, I think adding some feta cheese to the tacos would just be the right touch to make these amazing! I will definitely add feta next time around. Enjoy!
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