Oh I'm fancy!

I went wild and crazy and oh so fancy with this one.
Rolled pesto and cheese chicken breast with orzo pasta. Mmmm mmm good!

And yes, before you ask, those are toothpicks in the breast. I'd suggest taking them out before you try to eat, but hey - I'm a fan of natural selection.(NOTE: In no way do I encourage you to try to eat this with the toothpick in. Please remove before eating. I am not responsible for any stupidity/choking/death on your part. Ooo my first disclaimer!)The chicken was baked with pesto and mozzarella in the middle, drizzled with olive oil and a touch of balsamic. Nice and moist all the way through. I sautéed the orzo with onions and garlic and diced red peppers, simmered with chicken stock. Nice theme running through the meal, wouldn't ya say?I felt fancy making and eating this - t'was rather fun! Now off to fricassee something. Dunno what it means, but it's the fanciest term I could think up on the spot...     

For some other light reading

Dr. Ken Albala is a wonderful man and a true genius when it comes to food. He taught the course "The Global History of Food" while I was an undergrad and I just loved it. I wrote my final paper on cannibalism. 'Cause why not?

His own blog is wonderful and insightful and chock-full of delicious-looking foods. I aspire to one day cook many of the things he describes. Though my slight obsession with making sure things are done right takes occasional issue with his "some of this and a little of that" approach (but that's probably more to do with experience).

Anyhoo to tide y'all over until I get back in the kitchen, enjoy kenalbala.blogspot.com

Cheers!

So very very busy....

Sorry for the lack of foodstuffs lately. I do have this real-world job that, for some crazy reason, insists I come in at regular times and do work and stuff.
They do sign my paycheck, which does allow me to buy nommy things for creating meals, so I guess I'd better appease them. Currently I'm out on the road a lot, and it looks like that's how it's going to be til about mid-November.

I have a few things in the queue that I'll post, but it'll be crickets around here for a while
(Side note: for some reason I've always wanted to try crickets... chocolate-covered of course. Heard they taste ok...)

Whilst on the road, if I come across any tasty dishes in restaurants, I'll be sure to tempt you all with lovely iPhone photos.

Then of course come back and try to replicate them, to make you drool even more!

Cheers and happy cooking!

By our powers combined, I am Captain Leftovers!

Occasionally you open the fridge and pantry and instead of a bounty of oh-so-fresh produce and gourmet meats and cheeses and high-end pastas and and and (the Barefoot Contessa really messes with your expectations, okay?), you find yourself traversing the murky waters of....

The Leftovers.

(Dun dun DUUUUUUN!!!)

Actually it ain't all that bad. It's great when you do have food left over from a really good meal. That means that you made extra and you get to enjoy your own cooking all over again!

Take this for example:

Ratatouille from a few nights ago, meet BBQ pork from a few more nights ago!I liked this combo actually. All the flavors were strong on their own, so it made quite the savory dish!Try this with other things in your fridge too! Though I'd stay away from that sauerkraut-orange chicken-beet salad-sandwich I see you planning in your head....Got Leftovers?

Death by Cake

I made a cake. It is delicious. And dangerous.

(I use a 13x9 pan 'cause I'm classy)

Doesn't that just look tasty?

It's quite simple to make: start with any 'ole cake. Bake it. Then score the top a bit with a knife. Next, mix sweetened condensed milk and caramel topping (like for ice cream) together on low heat. Pour over cake. Finally crumble on Heath bars, spread cool whip, and sprinkle chopped pecans. 

Like I said...it's dangerous. It's sweet and thanks to the milk/caramel mixture, is ALWAYS moist. And dense. And just awesome. 

Next time I make this (once I exercise for like a month straight to work off a single piece), I want to experiment...maybe devil's food? Hot fudge sauce? Red velvet? 

Suggestions?

Ratatouille! (the dish, not the wonderful animated feature)

Ah the return of the crockpot and all its magical powers.

I decided to go vegetarian for a night. It was a good decision.

So there's a lot going on up there. Summer squash - zucchini and yellow squash - are the "stars" if you will. That and the tomatoes that you can't see buried under everything else. Eggplant (remind me never to cook with eggplant again unless I have DAYS AND DAYS OF TIME TO PREP IT DEAR FOOD GODS WHY DID YOU MAKE THIS VEGETABLE AND WHY IS IT SO DIFFICULT?!?!), sautéed onions in the ring form, mushrooms, bell peppers, and a metric ton of garlic round out the substance of this dish. Then salt and pepper, mixed herbs (from France no less!), olive oil, and white wine are allowed to cook all day and turn into deliciousness:

I made rice cause I forgot to buy couscous when shopping. I wanted to be authentically Mediterranean...oh well. I think the food gods will forgive me if they taste this.

T'was delicious. And it was hearty enough that I didn't really miss meat all that much. I don't really know if I would change anything for next time.

Oh, there will be a next time. Count on it.

Mac 'N Cheese

Macaroni and cheese will always be nostalgia food.

When I was younger, I had a martial arts class every Monday night at 7 pm. Of course, it was in the next town over, so about a 20 min drive. No problem for dad to make a full(ish) meal before sending me off to break boards with my bare hands (I really did that!)

However once I hit high school and started getting rides home from mom who didn't get off work til 5 and then we had a 45-50 min drive home, meals in general became a bit harder to do.

So we started having "Manton Fast Food." I'd get home, preheat the oven, and put a pot of water on to boil. I'd go change clothes and such, get into my uniform, then come back out, put 4 or 5 corndogs on a sheet and pop that in the oven.
The water was reserved for the oh-so-delicious-and-simultaneously-bad-for-you-Blue-Box-cheesiness, Kraft Mac 'N Cheese. No additions. No fluff. Just milk, margarine, and pure powdered yum.

Now, whenever I have any variety of Mac 'N Cheese, I'm brought back to those pressed-for-time Monday nights, and I have an odd craving for a slightly overcooked corndog.

On to MY creation....

Doesn't it look tasty? My Mac....ok I need to stop calling it "macaroni" since I use shells.... my Pasta 'N Cheese... 'N Meat... 'N Tomatoes... 'N Stuff...

I use Italian sausage and Italian canned tomatoes (including juice) for major flavor, then add tons of cheese - cheddar, swiss, mozzarella, and just a bit of monterey jack. 

Stay away from this dish if you're counting calories or on any sort of diet. 

If you're feeling like cheating on said diet, come on over and I'll fill a bowl for you.

If your recipe doesn't start with sautéeing onions and garlic, don't bother. 

It ain't worth your time. 

...or it's a cake.