Cook-venture: Jalepeno Poppers

My pharmacist gave me her extra jalepenos from her garden, so I made a classic with them. Poppers! I've made them a couple of times before, and adjusted the filling a little bit each time. This time, I added feta cheese and used chives instead of green onions. Adaptation at its finest. 

Half the jalepenos and scoop out the seeds and white membrane.
*Tip: Wear gloves or create a Saran wrap barrier.  The spice WILL stay in your fingers if you don't*

Cream cheese, feta cheese, extra sharp cheddar cheese, Frank's buffalo wing sauce,
and chives (you can use green onions if you have them)

Spoon the filling into each jalepeno, and top with chopped bacon bits. 

Bake at 375 degrees for 30-40 minutes. 

I'm sorry the final picture isn't very pretty, but some of the bacon slipped off too because the jalepenos were so small (only about an inch and a half long!).

There are lots of variations you can do with these poppers, but I would definitely always have at least the cream cheese, cheddar cheese, and buffalo wing sauce.

What have you tried?

Summer Travels: The Final Vacation - Orlando and Melbourne, FL

The last vacation of the summer was a compilation of trips and experiences that are so substantial, they must be in separate posts! Within 10 days, I was in Orlando, Gainesville, and Melbourne, FL; Atlantic Ocean; and Nassau, Bahamas. 

Prior to the trip I spent 2 weeks alone in my apartment, cooking, working, and trying to stay busy. It was the first test to Errol and my long distance relationship, which actually went a lot more smoothly with the use of a webcam (no, that's not supposed to be dirty).  The webcam helped a lot with keeping the relationship exactly the same, feeling like we were still together. In fact, I find talking on the phone now to be pretty annoying. Although, hopefully that will change once Errol gets an iPhone! 

The day of my flight finally came, and luckily one of my friends dropped me off at 8AM. It was a nonstop flight and I arrived in Orlando at noon, giving Errol and I plenty of time to reunite! Straight from the airport, we went to lunch at a Thai restaurant. One of the great things about our relationship is that we love culture. Thai food is one of our favorites! 

After lunch, I met his roommate, and we hung out for a while. This was also opening weekend of Dark Knight Rises, and we bought tickets to see it in IMAX with my best friend from high school and her boyfriend. Phew, that movie was mind-blowing, right? It is just so unfortunate that it will always be remembered for the horrific shooting in Colorado.

After the movie, we all went to Taverna Opa for dinner. I would recommend EVERYONE to go there at least once in their lives. It's not just delicious food, but an experience! It is meant to have the party feel of Greece, so there are napkins thrown everywhere, waiters screaming "Opa!", belly dancers, and people dancing on the tables (yes, it is allowed, and frankly highly encouraged!) 

Another night, I met a few more of Errol's classmates and we went for a walk around Lake Eola. It's a beautiful place downtown, and the fountain in the middle resembles the Bellagio fountain in Las Vegas. There is music playing with lights and fountains that correspond to the tune. 

Overall, the first few days in Orlando were great! The last task before going home was to pick up the food for my parents' 25th wedding anniversary! Shown below is the food order, and all of the delicious Filipino trays of food that would feed over 80 people! 

The party was great, and filled with lots of people I hadn't seen in a long time. It was a wonderful celebration of my parents' silver wedding anniversary. I hope someday to make it that long too!

Cook-venture: Pan-Seared Shrimp with Garlic-Lemon Butter

Errol and I made this dish back in June, and it has to be our favorite dish so far in The New Best Recipe. I recommend anyone and everyone to make this!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds extra-large shrimp (21-25 per pound), peeled and deveined

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/8 teaspoon sugar

3 tablespoons softened butter

1 medium garlic clove, minced

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley 

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Beat the softened butter with a fork until light and fluffy. 

Stir in the garlic, lemon juice, parsley, and salt until combined. 

Toss the shrimp in the salt, pepper, and sugar. 

Add half the shrimp onto a heated 12-inch skillet over high heat with oil. 

Cook until spotty brown and the edges turn pink (about 1 minute). 

With tongs, flip each shrimp and let stand for
30 seconds with the skillet off the heat. 

Repeat with remaining shrimp. 

(The timing sounds very specific, but Errol used a timer when cooking and it seemed to work... this cookbook is very particular, and it always works out!) 

Add butter to the skillet when you add the first batch of shrimp back to the skillet. 

Cover the skillet and let the shrimp and sauce stand until cooked (1-2 minutes). 

Serve immediately... trust me, you won't want to wait. 

Errol and I served the shrimp over a bed of linguine. The shrimp had such a robust flavor of lemon and garlic (a delicious combination) that I would have been happy without the added carbohydrates in the pasta. This meal was definitely special, and one I hope to repeat again when we are together.

The garlic-lemon butter sauce was actually one of the "Variations" in the book. Other variations include "with Ginger-Hoisin Glaze" and "with Chipotle Lime Glaze". I can't wait to try those!

Cook-venture: Egg in the Hole

I haven't bought any meat except for deli ham for sandwiches and sausage for Zataran's Jumbalaya. I have just a handful of meals that I'm aiming to last me until I go back to Florida next Friday(!). So far so good, and it's a great feeling to be saving my limited amounts of money.

So what's the best, cheap protein? EGGS!

I have grown up with over-easy eggs with toast (or garlic rice, if it wasn't a school day). Ever since I saw it on Pioneer Woman, I had always wanted to try "egg in the hole" as a nice variation.

First, cut a hole in the middle. You can use a biscuit cutter,
glass, or a Pampered Chef  Measure-All Cup!

Add some butter or oil. 

Put the toast on. Remember to eat the center
or save it to dip in the egg yolk! 

I was winging the timing, decided to flip when the
bottom looked cooked. This was after about 45 seconds. 

Looks like the timing worked! Let the other side cook until I
was able to move the entire thing around the pan. 

Yum.

I think I may eat egg and toast this way from now on! Having the egg in the center helped to have a good amount equally in each bite of toast. I may try adding some cheese next time.

Cook-venture: Banana Bread

Today, one of my roommates came with her dad to bring a carload. She brought some rugs and a TV stand, and the place looks so much homey now! I can't wait for it to be a full house.

For their visit, I made some banana bread!

The ingredients:

Dry: 1 cups all-purpose flour, 1 1/4 cups walnuts (I used chopped almonds instead), 3/4 cup sugar, 3/4 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon salt

Wet: 3 very ripe bananas, 1/4 cup plain yogurt (I didn't have this on hand), 2 large eggs, 6 tablespoons butter - melted and cooled, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

The ingredients

Looks like baby food...

Used Pampered Chef Food Chopper and 1-cup prep bowl. Also pictured, the Pampered Chef Cutting Board 

Chops things in seconds! Last time I used a knife, and it was hard to keep the almonds from flying around the cutting board. 

Whisk together the dry ingredients, fold in the wet ingredients, and voila! The batter will be very thick and lumpy, but that's how it should be! Bake for 55 minutes at 350 degrees, or until a toothpick comes out clean from the center of the loaf. 

The loaf was immediately cut and eaten. Managed to snag a [very fuzzy, sorry] picture before it was completely gone!

This recipe is extremely easy, and very delicious! I recommend to anyone trying to use up those old bananas before the fruit flies start growing from it. Leave a comment if you try it out; let me know how it went! 

Cook-venture: Hearty Meat Lasagna

Here is the first recipe since embarking on the food blogging project with my mom: heart meat lasagna! This was the last dish that Errol and I made before moving down, and I am still eating it for meals trying to finish it! But I'm definitely still not sick of it yet :) 

There were a lot of ingredients in this one, and on any normal occasion I wouldn't make it because of that. Lots of ingredients for 1-2 people isn't that efficient. I've had many wasted bunches of parsley and cilantro because of this. One of the new ingredients I found at Harris Teeter that I didn't know existed was meat loaf mix (1/3 lb each ground pork, beef chuck, ground veal). I was stuck buying $3 basil that looked really old, but it's all they had. I can't wait to start my herb garden once I get back from home in August. 

But I digress... 

One of the ingredients was a whole onion, chopped. I thought it was too much, but it's definitely not! So face the tears and keep on choppin'. Also, the recipe calls for making this in a Dutch oven. But that's on the next shopping list, post-loan receipt. So is a cast iron skillet. And an iPad!!!

This was when we added some culinary improvisation: green pepper. We felt bad that it was purely meat, cheese, and pasta. This is only half of a pepper, but it could have probably had more. 

Meat added, nice and brown. 

An entire can of tomato puree and another can of diced tomatoes!

Combination of ricotta cheese, parmesan, basil, and an egg. Looks deliciously creamy. 

Time to assemble! With no-boil pasta! 

I thought it was strange that the recipe called for starting by spreading a 1/4 cup of sauce over the bottom of the pan. But then realized it was to prevent the bottom layer of pasta from sticking/burning. 

Layer after layer...

Had just enough sauce to top the last layer! But not enough mozzarella... I didn't measure shredded mozzarella, but I should probably get more next time. It calls for 1 and 1/2 cups sauce to be spread over each layer. I used a 1/4 measuring cup for exact measurement and easier spreading. I normally don't follow recipes so precisely, but this cookbook is very well calculated!

Voila! Just out of the oven. Smelled amazing. 

This recipe requires mis en place, the French term that refers to having everything in place. Things happen minutes after another, so there is no time to chop things once the sauteeing has begun. Be sure to chop your onions, mince your garlic, (chop the bell pepper), open your cans, etc.

My first lasagna was a success! And is still satisfying my stomach for at least 4 more meals.

Disclaimer: These pictures were taken with an iPhone camera. Left the D-SLR at the old apartment in the middle of moving. 

The New Best Recipe

My mom and I have decided to "Julie and Julia" through The New Best Recipe cookbook. The book has over 1000 recipes, but we will crawl our way through as many recipes as we can. I've had some successful attempts, and this cookbook promises to be extremely delicious!

Check out my mom's Chicken Piccata! Looks absolutely delicious!