Colourful comfort. . .

Winnipeg has so much culture. It's a huge reason I love it so much. When it comes to my recent cooking, I've gravitated a lot towards the European influences on food I've experienced in the city. Since I was a kid and going to lil church functions, there would always be an abundance of cabbage rolls and pierogies. It wasn't until I was down south where these dishes aren't really found that I started trying to cook it for myself. Since Chris and his fam are from PA, they also grew up with these dishes and it's somethin we were totally missin down in NC.
Last night, my two ladies and I whipped up my homemade pierogies with potato, cheese, kraut, bacon and onions. So delicious. Don't have a recipe for the filling, just kinda threw stuff together and it worked! Jessie made her mom's purple cabbage. Wow. A really simple, healthy, inexpensive dish that's got really great, balanced flavor..not to mention i LOVE the purple colour!! The only ingredients were purple cabbage, onion, cloves, bay leaves, sugar, vinegar.
Unfortunately, our comforting meal came at a painful price! I was using a wine glass to cut the dough and it broke. I probably pressed down too hard and sliced my right hand and my left ring finger. My finger bled for like half an hour or so. Gross. Lol.
My girls came to my rescue and I am A-OK! I'm so clumsy and accident prone. Less than a week ago I burned my finger twice on sugar I was melting for Leche Flan. Geez.
As much as I love cabbage rolls, the thought of spending all that time rolling individual pieces doesn't appeal much to me. I found a recipe for a cabbage roll casserole. So much easier with all the flavor.



The Living Winnipeg site that I got the recipe from doesn't seem to be up anymore so all I can say is for the recipe I used ground beef, onions, tomato soup, bacon, rice, cabbage. The secret ingredient: topping it with a really good pasta sauce for added flavor instead of just using soup. I've got Jessie to thank for that tip!



Ingredients for the perfect Flan

• 1 cup sugar
• 6 large eggs
• 1 (14 ounce) can condensed milk
• 1 (12 ounce) can evaporated milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 ounce cream cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Select 2 oven safe containers, one that can easily fit inside the other.
3. The large one will be used for a water bath and the smaller one will actually house the flan.
4. Fill the larger container a little less than half way with water and place in the cold oven to heat up while you prepare the caramel and the custard.
5. In a large pan, using a wooden spoon caramelize the sugar until it turns a light golden brown. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO TOUCH IT! I promise you it's like molten lava.
   
6. While still hot, transfer the melted sugar to the smaller container, swirling it around until the entire bottom is covered then set aside.
7. In a blender add the remaining ingredients and blend until smooth.
8. Open up the oven where you have placed the water bath and then place the small pan with the caramel inside the large water bath pan.
9. Pour the custard into the pan being careful not to splash it.
10. Bake for 30- 45 minutes until the top is golden brown and the center passes a toothpick test.
11. Remove from oven and allow to cool on rack.
12. You may invert this onto a large serving dish with lip or just server out of container you cooked it inches.

Polish Pierogi Dough

• 4 c All-purpose flour
• 2 Eggs
• 1/2 c Sour cream
• 1 ts Salt
• 2/3 c Warm water

Just mix and knead everything together, cover and let rest for at least 1o minutes. Roll it out into about 1/8 inch thickness, cut out circles, fill with dough, wet edges, fold over, boil dumplings til they float to the surface. Very easy but can be time consuming!

Restaurant Review: 529 Wellington, Winnipeg, MB

529 Wellington may be considered Winnipeg's most expensive restaurant. I haven't done much fancy dining in the city so I'd have to agree.
One of my best friend's birthdays brought us here last night. It's located on the city's ritzy Wellington Crescent. The restaurant is in a mansion built in 1912, absolutely exquisite with beautiful dark wood that the waiter told us was "worth more than the house itself".
The ambiance is romantic. There were 10 of us in the party so we were placed in a private room. We were seated by the hostess and visited by a sommelier who also served as the guy to tell us how much the cars were worth in the parking lot. There was a half a million dollar Bentley in our presence that evening. The wine menu by the way is extensive and bottles ranging from like $20 to $2000, maybe more. We got the $2000 bottle..haha, I wish.
Our waiter for the evening was named Mike. He started off by giving us the restaurant's beef lesson. The restaurant's different cuts of beef were saran wrapped on a plate and he told us about which cut would be best if you desire taste, texture, etc. We were also told the 529 is the only restaurant to serve a particular kind of Prime Canadian beef (from Alberta). Very rad and my first experience with anything like that.
Mike's service was amazing the whole night. He and the rest of the staff were extremely attentive and accommodating.
I ordered the Rib steak grilled medium rare with the Chef's Pontalba Potatoes. Everything is a la carte here but the sides are definitely big enough to share so we all got to taste everything.
A run down of everything I tasted:
Caesar Salad - Flavorful, used lots of garlic. Croutons were so good. Delicious yet lacked a little something..fresh shaved parmesan and lemon wedges, perhaps?

Garlic Mashed potatoes - also a ton of garlic used. Creamiest mashed taters I've ever had. What was cool about this side was it wasn't on the menu but my friend requested it and they gladly made it for her.

Chef's Pontalba Potatoes - Potatoes, mushrooms, onions in a peppercorn sauce. Wow. The flavors were bold and went together so well with the steak.

Onion Rings - Huge rings served with these cute lil tongs piled on a metal tube. Great presentation. A thick but not overly greasy batter with sweet onion on the inside that was cooked to a perfect tenderness.
Asparagus with Hollandaise - I've never had this vegetable cooked so perfectly before. They were the epitome of what "tender crisp" is. The sauce was rich and creamy..just like it should be.
Atlantic Smoke Salmon - this appetizer came with capers, lemon, toast points, shaved onion, and cream cheese. Very delicate fish with a great smoked flavor.

THE STEAK - My rib eye ($39) was AMAZING. It was a HUGE piece of meat at 22 oz that I ended up having to take some home. It's difficult to describe just how perfect it was. You get what you pay for, that's for sure. Tender, juicy, just enough grilled flavor yet the meat really came through. What was amazing about this steak was even the next day being reheated - it was still just as good as the night before. My friends had the tenderloin and new york strip and all agreed they had just eaten the best steak of their lives. A couple of them cannot have their steak less than well done. When I've seen well done before...the outside is charred so that it cooks through. Not here. Just perfect.
I had the pleasure of trying some bone marrow sauce over some of my steak and WOW....wow. The richest, most flavorful sauce to compliment a piece of meat...ever. Really incredible.

To finish I had Maple Creme Brulee with Ginger Snap...It was adorned with fresh fruit, extremely smooth and creamy, flecks of vanilla bean seeds throughout the deep yellowy creme. YUMMY!!!!!!!!!!!
Out waiter hooked us all up with a dessert wine at the end of the night and also gave the birthday girl a piece of the richest chocolate cheesecake ever. Even shared, we couldn't finish it. So decadent.


I could write on and on about this restaurant. It was the best dining experience ever, hands down. The night was absolutely perfect. I was among great company, we all had impeccable service in a great atmosphere. We were there until closing time and Mike even took us on a tour of the mansion and gave us some great history on the place.
I'll definitely be back..hopefully before I go back to the states. They've got a lunch menu during the week that I hear is a must try.

a meal fit for a queen

...and by queen i mean queens..and by queens i mean my lovely girlfriends!

last weekend 8 of us ladies went to one of my best friend's cabin for her birthday. we decided we ought to have a really nice meal before getting completely intoxicated later on in the night!

I was asked to make my pasta...which is somewhat of a secret recipe. I came up with it all by myself, no recipes to follow! It's a HUGE hit, especially with the vegetarians! It's light but paaaaaacked with flavor. It's not the cheapest dish to make, especially not this weekend because I doubled the recipe. Well worth it, though. I also had two of my girls help me make each and every lil pasta..i dont know what to call em...tortellini? ravioli? I'll have to look up the difference. We ended up with 3 cookie sheet trays full of goodness. I'm salivating just thinking about it. It's main ingredients are spinach and cheese and that's all I'll say. Accompanying the pasta we had garlic bread and greek salad (birthday girl's fav). For dessert I whipped up a chocolate sheet cake. It makes a GIGANTIC cake. I had never made it before and it was so easy that I was able to get it done in maaaaaaaybe an hour - start to finish! I used the Pioneer Woman Cooks recipe. Turned out perfect. I had to transport it from the city so I actually ended up cutting the sheet into layers and layering in the ooey gooey chocolate/walnut icing..and as always, i cut down the sugar the recipe calls for.


One of the girls brought some mini cupcakes from The Cupcakery in Winnipeg. They were cute but I wasn't blown away by them. I think the cake could have been a bit more moist? If I had to BUY cupcakes, I'd have to say Whole Foods actually makes em pretty good. Avoid the Cupcake Shoppe in Raleigh at all costs. Yuck. I'd always rather make my own anyway.

great dessert for a crowd: mini cheesecakes!

Mini cheesecakes are perfect for gatherings like football sunday or pot lucks! I used to bring them to work when I was a preceptor student...maybe that's what got me my A. :P
It's pretty easy, especially because the center is just oreos or reese's. I would like to try it some time using my peanut butter filling that I use to make a large cheesecake. I'm sure you could experiment with other different centers as well.
I was given this recipe via a message board and it can also be found here: Food Network: Paula Deen's Peanut Butter Cheese Cake Minis.
I always tweek recipes a bit. In this case I cut down on the sugar a little bit and have used Oreos in place of peanut butter cups at times. In the pics above, I topped the cupcake with either one side of a mini oreo or a couple of the reese's candies to differentiate the two flavors.
I like that they're mini cause they are quite rich. Also at a party, you never have to worry about cutting slices!

Restaurant Review: East Ocean, Winnipeg, MB

Although I've lived in a place like Vancouver, booming with asian culture, particularly Chinese...I have to admit my favorite Chinese restaurant remains right here in my home town of Winnipeg.
I first visited East Ocean on a late night with a friend and was instantly hooked. It was the place to go to after clubbing downtown. Open until 4 I think. Pretty sweet! The restaurant only seats up to 39 people but it doesn't even look like it'd seat that many inside. It's small, the decor is plain, bathrooms aren't very nice...but the food is FANTASTIC!
There's only ever been one or two people working the front. Maybe a man and his wife or sister? They're both really nice but the older man is my fav. I don't know his name but he's remembered me. Even after being away for a couple years he was like, "Hi! Long time no see!!". That right there solidified EO as my fav spot.
Every dish I've ever had has been great. I can honestly say I've never had anything bad there. My favorites are pictured above: deluxe fried rice, hot and sour soup and breaded beef.
The fried rice has this distinct flavor that I'm sure can only come from their woks that've been seasoned and used for years upon years. The hot and sour soup has the perfect amount of heat and sour flavor, filled with mushrooms, tofu, bbq pork, chicken and super duper thinly sliced bamboo. The breaded beef is hands down my fav. It's hard to ever go into the restaurant and not order it. It's extremely tender, not greasy, crunchy, cooked to perfection and when it first comes out - I always get this smell of..a carnival. Weird, right?
Other favorites include their honey spicy chicken, chow mein and shredded duck soup.
I never visit Winnipeg without frequenting this place a few times during my trip. So worth it.
Oh one warning is to be a little more cautious at night. East Ocean isn't located in the best area and last time I went there I was followed by a man under the influence of something to my car. It was a pretty startling experience but honestly wouldn't keep me from going back.

memories of vancity: chicken karaage!!!

I got my first taste of chicken karaage at my favorite izakaya restaurant in vancouver: guu with garlic.
Karaage is a simply prepared fried chicken, Japanese style. At the restaurant it was served with a garlic mayo. Yummo.
My sister requested I make my Japanese Chicken today so I thought I'd change up the recipe a little bit. Usually the chicken is done by frying or baking wings or chicken breast and finishing it in sauce. I found the recipe for Karaage and figured it'd be delicious to prepare the chicken this way and serve it with the sauce drizzled on top instead of cooking the chicken in it to preserve the crunch.
It turned out wonderful. Karaage has a great, crunchy texture without the heaviness that often comes with a traditional fried chicken done with flour, eggs, etc.
It's also marinated first which offers extra juiciness to the finished product and a flavor that'd make the chicken taste good even without a sauce. The sauce itself is soy based and brings the familiar flavors that you would get when you order terriyaki chicken in a Japanese restaurant.
One of the best things about this dish is....it's extremely cheap to make! Boneless, skinless chicken thighs are much cheaper than breasts and most of the other ingredients are inexpensive or even better, already found in your kitchen!

Karaage Ingredients
*4 skinless, boneless chicken thighs, trimmed of excess fat and cut into bite-size pieces
*3 tablespoons soy sauce
*1-inch length ginger root, peeled and finely grated
*1 tablespoon whisky, dry sherry, or sake (optional)
*1/2 cup corn starch
*Vegetable oil for deep frying
*1 lemon, cut into wedges

Procedure
1. Place the chicken pieces in a medium bowl with soy sauce, ginger, and (optional) whiskey. Mix to coat chicken. Marinate, refrigerated, for 30 minutes.

2. Place corn starch in wide, shallow dish. Take each piece of chicken from the marinade and roll in the corn starch until completely coated. Tap chicken to remove excess corn starch, and set aside in a clean bowl.

3. Fill a deep cast-iron skillet, Dutch oven, or deep-fat fryer with enough vegetable oil to come at least 1 1/2 inches up the sides. Over medium-high heat, bring the oil to 350°F (hot but not smoking).

4. Working in batches of 10-12 pieces, gently slip chicken pieces into the oil. Fry until the chicken is a rich golden brown and cooked through, about 4 minutes. Remove chicken from oil with a slotted spoon, and place on paper towels to drain. Repeat with remaining chicken.

5. Serve hot, with lemon wedges for squeezing.

(Recipe from seriouseats.com)

*Sauce

• 3 Tbs Soy Sauce
• 3 Tbs Water
• 1/2 Cup White Vinegar
• 1 Cup White Sugar (I always use less, depends on your taste)
• 1/2 Tsp Salt

Procedure

1. Mix all ingredients in a heavy saucepan
2. Bring up to a simmer on medium/low heat
3. Allow mixture to reduce so the consistency is slighly thicker, like a glaze.
4. Drizzle onto chicken and rice

(recipe courtesy of my friend's momma!)

*The sauce could easily go with another protein. Stir fried beef, salmon or even tofu.

opi + giada

Giada DeLaurentis is one of my favorite Food Network chefs. I love her recipes but I hate her for being able to stay so skinny with all the wonderful food she cooks. Aside from her food, every time I see her on TV I notice two things: She has awesome taste in knives. She uses Global knives! The best!!
Her nails are always nicely manicured with the same colour. I very much love the shade of polish she uses. It reminds me of the classy look of a french manicure without the white tip. I did a search online and quickly noticed I wasn't the only one wondering what colour she used. I read one of her fans met her at a book signing and Giada gave away her secret. She uses OPI's Bubble Bath! I went on a hunt to find them and after going to like 3 stores that were sold out, I bought a bottle at a salon at the mall. Love, love, love it!

guacamole...cause i LOVE avocado, remember?!

*click to enlarge*

Thanks to my cousin Jason for putting my pics together and making my banner! I wasn't liking how they ended up posting before! Check him out here or here!

Guacamole

• 3 ripe avocados, halved, seeded
• 3 cloves of garlic, peeled (I use a 1:1 ratio of garlic to avocado)
• Salt to taste
• 1 or more Jalapenos depending on how much heat you want
• Bunch of fresh cilantro
• Juice of one lime

1. Use a mortar and pestle or food processor or a good ole knife and stuff to mash up the garlic. Use salt as an abrasive.
2. Finely chop or mash up the jalapenos with the garlic.
3. You can add in the chopped cilantro now but I think I like it better when added at the end.
4. Use a knife to make slices in the avocado while still in the skin vertically and horizontally to chop it up easily then scoop it out with a spoon. Mash this up with the rest of the mashed up mixture to whatever consistency you like.
5. Squeeze in the fresh lime juice.
6. Mix'er up.
7. Serve with chips, on tacos, on linguine, zuchinni, martini, bikini. :P

This is just one of the many ways I've prepared guac. I actually have an older post from when I made shrimp tacos I think that's a bit different. Everything to taste I guess!

P.S. Here's the steak/piri piri sausage taco I used my guacamole in. Also added homemade salsa, cilantro, cheese, sour cream on gluten free corn tortilla. MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM.

SHAKEOLOGY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I don't have much more to say than what's said on the video in the link below but...
after trying this shake first hand, it tastes better than any chocolate drink I've ever had. That is crazy to me because it is EXTREMELY healthy with tremendous benefits and only 140 cals per serving!!!

If you have any interest in increasing your health and love chocolate or would like to opt for a greenberry flavor...I urge you to take a look at the video.

I was so hesitant to try this stuff at first because of the price. However, when you average it out, you pay like $3 to $4 a drink. It's a meal replacement so really...you'd pay more for a coffee at Starbuck's or a fast food meal.

Anyway, follow the link, scroll down to the Shakeology photo and click on that. The video should begin to play.

finding balance...and blogs!

okay so im really starting to find a balance between my health...and food. i love food, who doesn't? i was encouraged by a wonderful lady i look to as my "health mentor" and coach to rid my home of things like refined sugars. while this sounds like the right thing to do..i just feel doing this would obviously cause me to rebel and probably rebel hard. and i mean, i just love to cook and bake and do all that stuff so it's ALL ABOUT BALANCE. it's a work in progress but so far i've been doing quite well!

i've also invested in this really awesome meal replacement that claims to be the healthiest meal of the day. im waiting on my order so i dont want to blog about it until i've actually tried it. i've done a ton of research online and it seems legit and contains plenty of health benefits that i'm looking forward to sharing.

also, i came across a list of a ton of food blogs!!! this is so awesome and inspiring. i already have a few recipes in mind that i want to try. hoorah!

food addiction: avocado

please excuse the blurry photo.

Pictured above is one of my favorite snacks and it just so happens to include avocados. It's a garlic rubbed multigrain crostini topped with sliced avocado, arugula, tomato, sometimes bacon, balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil.

I toast sliced up baguette in the oven, drizzle with olive oil and rub raw garlic all over both sides. I top it with whatever ingredients I decide to use and dress it with more olive oil and balsamic. Salt and pepper to taste. Perfection!

Anyhoo, I LOVE AVOCADO. I could eat this buttery tasting goodness every single day. It's a "good fat" so that justifies me wanting to eat it 24/7. I grew up with my mom preparing it as a dessert snack of some sorts. Just a bowl of chopped avocado, sugar and milk. Later in life I'd find these similar flavor components in one of my favorite drinks: avocado bubble tea (boba). Unfortunately I haven't come across a place in Raleigh that makes it quite as good as spots in Canada but that's a whole 'nother story.

When I want a savory preparation with this delectible fruit I make crostini, toss it in salad, use it in sandwiches and another fav: GUACAMOLE! I made some today to top some fajitas matter of fact. I hate that I can't get my laptop online cause I can't post a pictures. Today I prepared my guac with a mortar and pestle. Super cool and I'm pretty sure one of the most authentic ways to make it. No recipe here. I do everything to taste. But I will tell you I put avocados (obviously), garlic, jalapeno, lime and cilantro in it. So simple! So yummy!!

Restaurant Review: The Pit. Raleigh, NC

I haven't been able to connect my laptop to the internet and that means I haven't been able to update pics to the internet and that means the things I've been cooking up here can't be blogged about yet. Instead I've taken some pics from my fb page and decided to catch up on some restaurant reviews.
I first learned about The Pit from a good friend of ours. It wasn't until Chris and I saw pit master Ed Mitchell win against Bobby Flay on a Throwdown episode that we actually decided to check it out.
We stood in a long lunch line up inside the more upscale bbq restaurant just a couple days after the show aired and it was so worth it.
The Carolina ribs were fall off the bone tender. They were exactly as described on the show - the flavor of the meat shines through with the hints of smoke and touch of sauce to make it the perfect mouthwatering bite. I never thought "quickly" cooked ribs could ever taste so good. Maybe the fact that Ed has his own farm supplying the pigs makes The Pit's meat taste all the more better. Best ribs I've ever had. Hands down. We've frequented the restaurant a few times so we've been able to try a couple other dishes and a lot of the sides. I do like the Carolina ribs vs their Baby Backs (and they're cheaper which is always a plus). I've enjoyed all of their sides - from mac & cheese, the awesome baked beans, sweet potato fries, etc.
As far as the negatives:
The hushpuppies aren't as good as ones I've tried at Allen & Sons in Chapel Hill and the biscuits were a bit dry. Also unfortunate was during my last visit, my sweet potato fries DEFINITELY tasted as if they were from the night before and stuck back in the fryer. They looked and tasted like shoe leather. Such a let down. Another negative I did find goes back to the first time we visited. With the long line up extending out the door, I didn't understand why the hostess wouldn't inform the crowd that you should put your name down with her on the waiting list. I'd say 80% of the people standing there waiting had no idea that you could do that. There was also a time we visited where I used the vinegar based sauce in the bottle to dress some of my rib meat. It's a delicious sauce except for when the vinegar erodes the top of the bottle that's painted silver or something and a green tinted, absolutely foul, poisonous tasting liquid dripped out with the vinegar. We informed the waiter in hopes he would toss the bottle but instead just put it aside, I really hope it didn't just get placed back on the table later.

All in all, The Pit has left us satisfied more than disappointed. It's not a perfect restaurant but the Carolina ribs are.

another change. . .

Since I've been bored back in Canada impatiently awaiting my return to NC, I've decided I want to attempt to keep this blog even more simple.

I changed the name to "wine and steez" from "kimtendo". I just didn't feel like havin my name as part of the url. I laughed when I thought of it. It's a nice 'n cornbally play on the phrase "wine and cheese" - two of my favs. ha. I kept the apple tree part cause that was Chris' genius behind that. (:

I don't wanna put too much personal biz up here and want to keep it more food related (with recipes, pics, restaurant reviews) and maybe throw in some other cool stuff when I feel like it.

I'd like to figure out how to personalize the look of my blog more..like have a cool background...but im not as internet savvy as I thought. Oh well. It'll come!

But allow me to reintroduce myself. . . .

It seems like lately, food has become a trend. More people have all of a sudden taken up new hobbies from cooking, baking and being foodies. That's great. What's wrong with taking up new interests? Nothing. But food for me has been a true passion since I was a kid. When people were watching cartoons and playing outside, I was watching The Frugal Gourmet, Julia Child, Yan Can Cook and The Galloping Gourmet. I was in the kitchen watching my mom and my grandmothers cook and bake filipino food. As I got older and got my hands on my own ingredients, my own kitchen, tools, money to go out to new restaurants, etc..I really started to appreciate this art, this culture even more.
Food is so universal. Nothing goes better with good conversation and great company than a good glass of wine paired with an amazing meal. What soothes the soul and brings a smile to your face after you've had a bad day? A comforting dessert. Duh!
Little beats the great satisfaction I feel when I've prepared a dish to share with people I love!

When it comes to my "steez", my style..well, I've been blessed to have people in my life who have really shown me so much of what the world has to offer. I've learned to appreciate life and love...love. From travelling, to food, to fashion, kicks, music, relationships and everything else in between, it's my AMAZING family and friends that have helped shape who I am and what I'm about. Their influences encouraged me to really explore life and all things around me. I'm a fucking lucky girl so when I go on and on about my family, sister, friends, cousins, boyfriend, boyfriend's family, etc, etc, etc...it's cause they all make me absolutely proud. FOR REAL. I know without a doubt in my mind I have THE dopest people in my life. It's true. Please believe!

If I can't get to NY to try Magnolia cupcakes . . .

I'll make a Magnolia inspired version of their cupcakes myself!
I came across this recipe a while ago and was hesitant to try it cause I've never attempted to make cupcakes from scratch before.

I have to admit, the process can be a bit involved and messy (to avoid splatter, I put the mixing bowl in the clean side of the sink while beating with the hand mixer) but the end product was SO WORTH IT! These cupcakes were THE TITS! Seriously. Soooo moist, fluffy and delicious. I don't like things toooo sweet and found the icing seemed a bit sweet for me (Chris disagreed) BUT..the combo of the cake and icing made for a perfect balance.

I found these cupcake liners that required no tins. Just place em on a cookie sheet and fill. I was pleasantly surprised that they worked! A couple turned out not so round shaped but rather heart shaped and I wasn't mad at that.

Anyhoo...the batch made over 2 dozen, probably cause the liners were smaller. I also had a fair amount of icing left over. I had 6 taste testers I think and they were an absolute hit!

Here's a link to the recipe I followed. This site seems pretty awesome so I'm gonna try my hand at more of their recipes!

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Fluffy Vanilla Butter Cream!!!!!!!

A lovely Easter...and then some.

Spent my first Easter in NC and LOVED it!
We spent the afternoon at Chris' mom's place. She cooked a spiral ham, potato salad, beets, some sorta cheese ball thing that wasn't really cheese (but still good), beans, deviled eggs, kielbasa, BANANA PUDDING (mmm). Needless to say, we had some leftovers to take home.

I was doing some "freebie" searching earlier and came across 24 hours free access to the cook's illustrated site. I was thinking about what we could do to use up the ham and somehow thought, "pizza". Weird.

Anyhow, I found a recipe on that site, hit the store and for $10 got all the stuff I'd need. Mind you, $10 bought enough flour to make a whooooooole bunch of pizzas so I estimate a homemade pizza costs no more than a couple bucks vs ordering.

I also got to use my food processor..bonus!

The recipe I'm gonna post is just the dough. It makes an AWESOME dough if you like thin crust. I was really impressed with it. Our toppings tonight was just ham/pineapple and I'm already thinking about what to do next time!

Pizza Dough

1 1/4	teaspoons instant yeast
1	cup water (8 ounces), room temperature
1 3/4	cups unbleached all-purpose flour (8 3/4 ounces), plus extra for dusting work surface and peel
1	cup cake flour (4 ounces)
1 1/2	teaspoons table salt
2	teaspoons sugar

• Whisk together the yeast & water in a measuring cup
• In a food processor, pulse the flours, salt & sugar a few times to mix through
• Slowly add the yeast/water mixture through the feed tube while the processor is running
• Let it mix for 2 minutes. If after 1 minute, it's sticking to everything, add a tbs or 2 of flour. If it looks dry/crumbly, add a tsp or so of water.
• Mix until the dough forms a satiny ball and comes away from the sides of the processor.
• Divide dough into 2 and place on a floured surface or baking sheet 3 inches apart
  
• Cover loosely with plastic wrap that's been oiled
• Let stand until dough doubles in size, about 1 hour
• Roll it, stretch it, do whatever to make a pizza...
• At this point, I didn't follow the recipe much anymore cause I don't have a pizza stone or any of that. I oiled a cookie sheet and stretched the pizza out as thin as I could
• Add toppings (ie. pizza sauce, ham, pineapple, mozzarella)
• Bake in preheated 500 degree oven with rack on lower level for 10 mins.

No pics cause we ate it and it was DEEEEEEEEEEELICIOUS!

toys and treats

For Easter at Chris' mom's I made a couple treats...english toffee & "millionaire's shortbread". Got the recipe from Food Network..I guess it was featured on that new show that only uses 5 ingredients per dish. I dig that. Makes my life easier and helps with the wallet, too.

Anyhoots..I'm too lazy to do anything right now so just follow the link for the recipe. It tastes kinda like Twix! Mmmmmmmmm. i LOOOOOOOOVE using dulce de leche when I make desserts. It's the best flavor everrrr.

OH YEAH...Macy's had some major sales and they had a 7 cup Cuisinart food processor for $79.99 (regular $140 or somethin). I had to have it and it's AWESOME.
I've used it to make red pepper hummus (recipe will follow soon), chop nuts, grate a block of cheese in seconds, bangin scalloped potatoes (lost the recipe i used) and the shortbread. HEELLLLLL YEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAH.

git in mah belleeehhhh

ok so working out has been paying off. instead of being WAY off my 2 lb/week weight loss, im 1 lb off. booooo but not as bad as i thought considering the weekend. hopefully i dont run into any problems in the next few days. actually wait..i already have. i dont feel like goin to the gym today. there goes my shopping treat. this could change in the next few hours but im not countin on it.

***EDIT***
I dragged my ass to the gym..in the rain! That means shopping is still a possibility this weekend!
I procrastinated my ass off but I MADE IT. i did all elliptical today for an hour. Even as I worked out part of me was like "just get off after 15 minutes...okay get off at 30 minutes.." BUT I DIDN'T! I stayed on that bad boy for an hour, burned at least 800 calories and did 3.8 miles.
HOLLERRRRRRR. I'm real proud of myself cause I really was bein a lazy bugger.
Tomorrow, I gotta force myself to get up with Chris and hit the gym one mo time.

ON TO BETTER NEWS..........
ive surprisingly been keeping to my calorie goals. this is gettin hard cause last night i made ENGLISH TOFFEE!!!!!!!!!! tasted just like skor bars....but better! and so easy to make.
Today I saw some cream cheese in the fridge. Figured I should use it so I randomly went on a search for recipes using cream cheese. I came across a cheese puff recipe. (think cream puff but savory).

Realizing I had all of the ingredients to make the puff I got to it. SUPER EASY to make. The cream cheese part came in making the "filling". I didn't follow what the recipe said, instead I looked in the fridge, found a few slices of bacon, saw the garlic.....thought, "bacon & roasted garlic cream cheese". Fantastic.

Neither the toffee or puffs are calorie friendly so MODERATION is key.

And since I'm feelin like a complete lazy ass, here's the recipes.

ENGLISH TOFFEE

• 1 cup butter
• 1 cup sugar
• pinch of salt
• 2 tsp water
• 1 tsp vanilla
• Couple handfuls of chocolate chips
• Crushed nuts. I woulda used almonds but only had peanuts on hand. Still worked.
  

1. Combine butter/sugar/water in a medium sauce pan over low-med heat, stirring constantly with a heat resistant spatula.
2. You've got to keep stirring for like...10-20 minutes. Crazy, I know. The recipes I referenced said you need to have a candy thermometer but I don't.
3. When the colour started turning into what I know toffee to look like, I dropped a bit of the hot mixture into ice water. It solidified instantly. This is the "hard crack" stage & it's done.
   
4. Mix in the vanilla.
   
5. Spread the mixture into a pan lined with parchment paper & let it cool for 10 minutes.
6. I then slid the parchment paper/toffee out of the pan onto the table top and sprinkled it with the chocolate, waited a few minutes, spread the chocolate out then sprinked on the nuts.
7. Let it cool completely. After 30 minutes, the chocolate was still soft so I stuck the candy in the fridge for another half hour or so.
8. Break the pieces up and enjoy.

CHEESE PUFFS WITH ROASTED GARLIC BACON CREAM CHEESE FILLING

For the puffs:

• 1/4 cup butter
• 2/3 cup water
• 2/3 cup flour
• Pinch of salt
• Pinch of Cayenne pepper
• 1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 2 eggs, beaten
  

1. Bring the butter and water to a boil in a sauce pan.
2. In a bowl mix flour, salt, cayenne & cheese
3. Mix the dry ingredients into the melted butter/water mixture off the heat
4. Beat it up until it's well mixed and kinda forms a ball, let it cool slightly
5. Gradually beat in the beaten eggs and mix it hard til it's smooth and glossy.
6. I don't have a pastry bag so I scooped the mixture into a ziplock bag & let it cool more.
7. Preheat oven to 425F
   
8. Line a big baking sheet with parchment
9. Snip a small corner off of the ziplock bag
10. Squeeze out the pastry mixture making 16-20 "puffs"
11. I wet my finger 'n smoothed out the tops of the puffs/formed them better cause I saw this on a cooking show once.
12. Stick em in the oven for 15 minutes then lower heat to 375F and cook for another 10-15 or until golden brown.
13. Remove from oven and let cool.
14. Use a serated knife to cut each puff in half horizontally.

For the filling

• 4 oz softened cream cheese
• A few strips of cooked then crumbled bacon
• 3-4 cloves roasted garlic, mashed up
  
• Salt/pepper to taste with a pinch of paprika, cayenne, onion powder
• quick squeeze of lemon

1. Mix up all of the above ingredients
2. Spoon a small amount of mixture onto half of a cheese puff then top it with the other half
3. Do it to all the puffs and try and resist the temptation to eat each one as you finish it.
   

This blog is making me laugh. I feel like I contradict myself cause one minute I'm posting about health/weightloss then the next it's restaurants and recipes. Oh well!

Restaurant review: Chubby's Tacos, Raleigh location

Last week, Chris and I were in Durham and after eating a really good burrito at Cosmic Cafe, we drove by another restaurant, Chubby's Tacos on Ninth Street.

I saw a lineup in the place and knew it'd be on my list of places to try out. I did a bit of research online and was impressed by the reviews. What was even more exciting were posts that a Chubby's would be opening in Raleigh (and not too far from where we live)!!!

We checked it out. It's in the Lake Boone shopping center, kinda hidden away in the cut. When you step in, the decor is simple, not over the top but it's got a nice, small 'n comfy atmosphere & set up so you can see the hard work goin on in the kitchen. We stepped up to the counter 'n placed our order. The young man was really helpful in guiding us around their menu & offering suggestions.

We ended up getting:

• 2 Ground Beef tacos in crisp corn shells- $2 each
  grill cooked with onions & tomatoes - filled with lettuce & cheese
• Tacos Al Pastor - $2
  marinated pork & pineapple with cilantro & onions
• Grilled Tilapia taco - $3
  citrus marinated with chipotle cream sauce and pico de gallo
• Made our tacos into a meal - $2 each
  each got a serving of rice, chips & beans (we chose black beans over refried)
• Sopapillas with cinnamon & honey for dessert - $2.50
• Cantaloupe Aguas Fresca - $2.00

EVERYTHING was absolutely delicious and packed with flavor. The ingredients were fresh and perfectly seasoned. For 2 people, we ate for less than $20 (before tip) and left very satisfied. That's like the same price you'd pay at the not-as-great mexican restaurants in the area. I really love that it's an open kitchen. As I ate tacos, I saw one of the guys making a fresh batch! The Agua Fresca was SOOO GOOD. It reminded me of a cantaloupe drink my mom makes except mom puts shreds of the actual fruit in the drink. I read about their watermelon but they didn't have any. Hopefully next time. Dessert was a bite of light and pillowy heaven! Yummy! Whenever I go back, I plan on getting something different each time. They serve up more tacos burritos, gorditas, tortas, taquitos, tamales, chile rellenos, quesadillas, nachos, taco salads, desserts and other sides...ALL FOR LESS THAN $10!!!!!!!

Tacos Al Pastor, Black beans, Rice, Grilled Tilapia Taco
Fresh made Sopapillas

Chubby's also has an AWESOME salsa bar. We got samples of everything and I loved them all. My favorites were the guacatillo & salsa verde. They had a chubby's salsa, habanero, and I cant remember the names of the rest..d'oh.

Overall, I have to say this is my favorite eatery in Raleigh yet. From the atmosphere, great, timely service, value and delicious food..it's definitely a spot I think we'll frequent.

fitness..but first, the kimburger

I've started to get re-motivated & get into summer shape. It was easy to stay reasonably healthy in Vancouver cause I had no car and living in Yaletown, I could walk everywhere! It was a hilly 20 minute walk each way. Not the case here + southern food is not the healthiest.

I'm currently attempting to work out 3-5 times a week. I'm training myself to do 5K right now (I think that's equivalent to 3 miles). So far, so good. I'm on week 2 of 9. I also squeeze in turbo jam when I can.

Eating healthy is a whole 'nother challenge. As my "last meal" before counting calories I made AMAZING burgers last night with roasted taters. I've never made burgers before so I was quite impressed. Here's kind of the recipe..I don't really measure so....

THE KIMBURGER

• 2 lbs ground chuck
• 1 finely chopped onion
• 3 finely chopped jalapenos
• 4 finely chopped garlic cloves
• couple tbs butter
  
• 8 slices cooked bacon
• 16 small cheese cubes (I had 8 monterey jack, 8 cheddar)
• couple handfulls finely shredded sharp cheddar
• whatever seasonings you like for burgers. I think I used salt, pepper, worsch..ire sauce?, grill seasoning, A1

1. In pan, melt the butter and saute the onion/jalapenos/garlic with a bit of salt til everything's soft then cool mixture.
2. Mix the chuck, above mixture & whatever seasonings you put in your burgers.
3. Divide the mixture into 8 equal portions
4. I flattened each patty, then put a flattened piece of jack/cheddar cubes in the middle with a crumbled up bacon slice.
5. Take the sides of the patty and bring it up towards the middle so u cover the cheese/bacon and re-flatten.
6. Grill these suckers. I prefer a charcoal grill..adds so much more flavor. Few minutes on each side should do.
   
7. put a patty between a burger bun and EAT!
   

These burgers were bangin. I was scared the jalapenos would make them too spicy but they were perfect...great amount of heat. Biting into the middle with a burst of cheese/bacon made these soooooooooooooo yummyyyyyyyyyy.
I looked up the calories for this on my ipod app..comes out to 474 calories per burger or something with mustard/pickles. Not as bad as I thought.

Crispy garlic parmesan roasted taters

• 4 med size white or red potatoes, cubed
• garlic powder..no idea how much..sprinkled into:
  
• some sort of fat..since I cooked bacon, damn right I used the bacon fat. Not sure how much, maybe 1/4 - 1/2 cup?
• handful of grated parmesan cheese

1. Put the cubed taters into cold water in a pot
2. bring to a boil and boil for 5 minutes.
3. Drain the taters onto paper towels and cool completely.
4. Toss the cooled cubes with the fat/garlic powder mixture and sprinkle with salt/pepper to taste and the parmesan cheese.
   
5. bake in a 9x13 pan at 400 degrees F for 20 minutes, stir/flip then bake for another 25 minutes at 425 degrees.
   

miss norma jean

So as I was flippin through a XXL, I came across some broad's interview and she quoted Marilyn Monroe:

"Well-behaved women rarely make history."

I don't know much about Marilyn Monroe but I know she kept it real and I can definitely respect that. The lil bit I do know based on some things she's said, I can really relate to.

More quotes I like. . . .

“A career is wonderful, but you can’t curl up with it on a cold night.”

“I am not interested in money. I just want to be wonderful."

"No one ever told me I was pretty when I was a little girl. All little girls should be told they are pretty, even if they aren't."

a better appreciation for snow . . .

A view of downtown Winnipeg on a normal, FREEZING winter day. Lasts MONTHS!
Snow in Raleigh (I think this was in January). Lasted no more than a couple days.

I grew up in Winnipeg, MB. I'm convinced their winters are THE WORST in the whole, wide universe! The ice 'n snow don't bother me nearly as much as the COLD!
Now that I'm in the south, I absolutely LOVE when it snows. You just don't expect it so it's exciting! Everyone chills, folks don't go to work and when it rarely snows..you don't take for granted when the flakes fall. The temperatures don't cause hypothermia in seconds either!
It's snowing as I speak and has been for a few hours now. I hope it sticks so we can make snowmen and maybe go sledding!

My favorite snow memory? Well, while I was fixin up a snack, Chris ran outside and wrote "I LOVE KIM" across the parking lot!! Super cute!!!!!! I tried to take a pic but it didn't work ):

Here's my attempt anyway.

A nice day called for a lil taste of summer. . .

Shrimp tacos with mango salsa, guacamole 'n slaw
(please excuse the camera phone quality pic)

The pic - from the top: Assembled shrimp taco in a hard shell. Slaw, Guac, Mango Salsa, Shrimp on a soft, corn tortilla.

So, this is my first blogged recipe. I was going to post up my homemade pizza rolls (inspired by a recipe I saw on Food Network). There's a couple of them left over so I may have to take a pic and blog that recipe next.

Shrimp tacos is an easy, light, crisp, colourful dish with a nice kick..perfect for a nice sunny day! Chris called them "tacos from heaven". Ha ha ha.
There are a few steps but I made it a bit easier on myself by buying the slaw pre-made and making the mango salsa a day in advance..which is actually much better so the flavors really have time to mix and develop.

The problem I think I have trying to post a recipe is I don't measure stuff out for the most part..I'll give it a go anyway.

Mango Salsa

• 1 ripe mango, peeled and chopped
• 1/2 small, red onion diced
• 1 jalapeno, diced
  
• Juice of 1-2 limes (depends on the size)
• Bunch of chopped, fresh cilantro (maybe 1/2 cup?)
• Salt to taste (I use sea salt - pink Himalayan, fine crystals)
  

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl. I then transferred it to a sealable container and left it in the fridge overnight.

NOTE: this goes great with fish, not just shrimp. When Chris and I went out for dinner a couple weeks ago, he had mango salsa atop some delicious salmon. Yum!

Guacamole

• 2 ripe avocados, seed removed, peeled and chopped
  
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 serrano chili
  
• Juice of a lime
• Some chopped cilantro
• Salt to taste

Mix up all the ingredients in a bowl. Depending on how chunky you want your guac you can just chop the avocado or do as I did...use a potato masher to mix it all together.

NOTE: The amounts for the ingredients is REALLY rough and approximate cause I never measure things when I make guacamole. Just do everything to taste pretty much.

Shrimp

• 2 lbs shrimp, peeled, tails removed. Bags of shrimp were "buy one, get one free". The size was 41/50ish I think. You can leave them whole but to cook em super fast and easier to stuff taco shells, I halved em length wise.
• Cup of chopped cilantro
• 3-4 minced garlic cloves
• 1-2 limes, juiced
• 1 jalapeno, chopped
  
• Salt to taste

I mixed up the last 4 ingredients to make a quick marinade then threw the shrimp in REALLY QUICK. Since there's lime juice, I didn't want the shrimp to sit in the mixture too long or they'd end up cooking. They probably only sat 10 mins or so.
I heated up a pan on med-high wish some olive oil and flash fried the shrimp. I did it in 4 batches to keep the heat in the pan. They cooked in maybe a minute before I transferred them to a bowl.

Assemble the tacos!

• Warm up either hard or soft shells. I did both using corn tortillas.
• Spoon some guac, shrimp, mango salsa and (store bought) slaw onto the shells.
• EAT!

It seems like a lot to do but I swear, it isn't! There are also a lot of ingredients used over in the different components so not only is the dish simple, it's also pretty cheap to make (:

The tacos are crunchy 'n fresh and the heat was perfect. Reminded me of a warm summer day but they really can be enjoyed whenever you want! mmmm MMMMMMMMM!

Choppin' like a champ

I was first exposed to the immaculate knives made by Global when I lived in Vancouver. My cousin and her boyfriend had a small set. At the time I had always been under the impression the look of a good knife has a wooden handle with the metal of the blade running through it. I don't remember what that's called but anyway...I was wrong.
After doing some research online, Global seemed to pop up everywhere as the leading brand for knives from the amateur cook like myself to chefs everywhere.
I went on a search to see where I could grab one and I ended up on ebay.
I bid on one and won. Then came on the anxiety.


It wasn't until AFTER I won the item and was waiting for it to be shipped that I realized FAKE globals are sold all over ebay and you've got to be extremely careful. I paid like $20 less than what the chef's knife goes for in stores so I was worried.
When it was delivered, I ripped open the package, examined the knife and *phew*...A REAL KNIFE!
I started chopping whatever I could. It chops meat like butter, vegetables with ease and made peeling and segmenting citrus a breeze.
Anyone who knows me knows I absolutely LOVE to cook and my knife makes the experience of being in the kitchen even more wonderful.

Vino blanc

I love wine and lately I've been drinkin lots of it.
I appreciate both white and red but white has been where it's at.
Pinot Grigio and Sauvignon Blanc stay stocked in the house. They're dry, citrus-y AND DELICIOUS!
What I like about em is they go down pretty smooth, get me feelin nice annnd go GREAT in dishes...such as the italian sausage/chicken/mushroom penne I made a couple nights ago.
We don't spend much on a 1.5 litre bottle either...less than 10 bucks for a decent pinot.

By summer, I will master how to make red and white SANGRIAS (my staple drink when living in Vancity).

Also worth a mention is Riesling..nice 'n sweet.

NC has some great wineries...I especially love Duplin.

I Reminisce Over 'Couv

I recently lived in Vancouver, BC for a year and over the last lil while, I've been missing it like crazy!!!!

I grew up in Winnipeg, MB...a smaller, laid back, kinda slower paced kinda city. During my childhood and adolescent years, my parents would send my sister and I to Vancouver to visit our cousins and other fam during summer holidays. I have ALWAYS loved BC and always will. I'm thankful and proud to have called Vancouver home.

It's the pace of the city, the mountains, the beaches, the food, the culture, the shopping, everything!!!!

Vancouver wasn't only my home, it was my FIRST home away from home, from living in my parent's house. It was a milestone moving out to the coast. I had recently graduated with my degree and was ready to start my nursing career. I was fortunate enough to get a cute lil condo right in the heart of Vancouver. YALETOWN! Steps away from downtown, the beach, Granville Island....LOVED living there.

Vancouver is considered by many to be the best place to live on earth. Other than the high price of living there, IT REALLY IS THE BEST FUCKING PLACE TO LIVE.
I left (maybe just for the meantime) cause as they say. . .happiness is only real when shared. I have some great friends in Vancouver but I missed my immediate fam and Chris! I made the decision to come to Raleigh to take a new route in my career and of course be with mi amor and closer to his fam.

So, here's a visual of just SOME of the things I miss and love about Vancouver.

Starting with the view from my condo ( BC Place, parts of the water/science world) and my bathroom sink *tear*:



The mountains, especially Grouse cause I climbed that sunnovabitch a few times!



FOOOOOOOOOD!! The food in Vancouver is AMAZING. I've got some pics but go to vancouverslop.com instead!

Ok, pause. I'm a few glasses of vino in and trying to post pics is a lot more daunting of a task than I thought. Maybe I'll come back to this but for now. . .if you haven't been Vancouver, PLEASE GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Things I'm feelin at the moment. . .

this post is to list off the things I'm really digging right now with the plan/reminder to do a separate post on each. In no particular order:

1. OPI nail polish (see previous post)

2. White wine

3. The Farmer's Market

4. Snow in Raleigh

5. Global chef's knife

OPI nail polish

Okay....
So I've never really been into doing my nails til maybe the last couple of years. While living in Vancouver, I really got into doing my nails but I had the pink/white acrylic set goin on (and LOVED them. Thank you Nam from Element Spa for Nails. I'll never forget you!!!).

Since I'm trying to be a lil more money concious, I'm painting my own nails these days with once in a while trips to the salon to pamper myself and have someone else do em for me.

Either way, I AM ONLY FUCKING WITH OPI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

When I used to do my own nails, I SUCKED! I'd get polish EVERYWHERE, it never goes on evenly, etc, etc.

With OPI, I've found I don't run into those problems. Their formula is awesome! Goes on smooth, doesn't chip as easily and not to mention, THEY'VE GOT AWESOME COLOURS!!!!

I really like their collab with Sephora.
I LOVE their "Mr. Right Now"




Today I bought one of my all time fav shades: Lincoln Park After Dark


as well as You Don't Know Jaques. I was going to buy Metro Chic at Sephora but this was a tad cheaper at Trade Secrets and I like the darker shade.


(Images courtesy of sephora.com, celebritybeautybuzz.com, kaboodle.com)