Sugar, Spice, and Everything Nice

Hi friends and faithful blog readers!  I know that I have been MIA for the past few weeks, but a lot has happened in that time and I can explain.

2 weeks ago, my sister Renee, Paul, and I ran the Big Sur Half Marathon.  I made the mistake of getting dressed in the dark (so as not to wake my sister Anne who was not running) and accidentally putting on an old pair of pants.  These pants decided to rip along the seams of both of my inner thighs.  I ended up with chafe so bad that my inner thighs were raw and bloody, black and blue with bruises, and swollen to three times their normal size.  I had to bandage them for the next week and a half and I ended up missing two days of work because I was incapacitated.  But I ran the whole damn thing (ok, technically, I ran the first 8 miles, then walked a mile, then tried to ran again and started to cry because of the pain, then walked the last 4.1 miles, but damn it, I finished the race).

Goofing around pre-race.

One of the photos the camera crews snapped of me, around mile 7.  As you can see, the views along the race course aren't too shabby.

After recovering enough to limp around a bit, I returned to work, only to get the flu.  And I am not talking about any old namby pamby flu.  I was so ill and threw up so much that I lost 8 pounds in 24 hours (I kid you not).  So I was then incapacitated for another week.  The week of Thanksgiving, I might add.  So while everyone else I knew was enjoying delicious holiday treats, I was eating this for every meal (not the most delicious celebratory feast for a foodie):

As you can probably sense, I was just ever so slightly bitter about missing the holiday festivities at the cabin my in-laws rented up in Idyllwild for a holiday weekend respite.  But I decided not to let the flu defeat me completely.  Determined to have some fun once I returned to solid foods after 5 days on a liquid diet, I baked myself my favorite Thanksgiving dish - a pumpkin pie.  Since I was sick, I didn't do anything fancy or improvise at all - I simply followed the Libby's pie recipe right off of the can and I used a frozen pie crust because standing for more than 5 minutes felt like running the aforementioned half marathon with how weak I was.  But even though the pie wasn't fancy or gourmet, you had better believe that it tasted like manna from heaven after all of that damned chicken noodle soup.  And after all, when it comes to the holidays, sometimes tried and true is really the best way to go.

Hope you all had a fantastic holiday!

Libby's Famous Pumpkin Pie

3/4 cup granulated sugar 
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
1/2 teaspoon salt 
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger 
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves 
2 large eggs 
1 can (15 oz.) Libby's pumpkin
1 can (12 fl. oz.) evaporated milk
1 frozen 9-inch deep-dish pie shell

 Frozen pie crust - works for me!

Mix sugar, spice, and salt together.  Beat eggs in separate bowl and then mix in spices and pumpkin:

 Your mixture should look something like this:

Add evaporated milk and the mix will look something like this:

Pour into frozen pie crust and bake at 425 F for 15 minutes, then decrease to 350 F for 40 to 50 minutes (or until knife inserted in center comes out clean).  It should look golden and delicious, like so:

Top with whipped cream and enjoy!

Mediterranean Made Easy

You know what the second best thing to going out to eat is?  Having someone else cook dinner for you!  Lucky me, my sister Anne made dinner for me on Friday night (for the first time ever, I might add), so for once I got to kick back, relax, and enjoy some wine after a hectic work week (is there any other kind?) instead of having to cook when I got home.

Anne made a super yummy, quick and easy shrimp, feta, and rice dish (maybe she'll decide to become a cook after all).  Less time spent cooking by me meant more time available for photographing the delicious food and fun.

Shrimp and Feta Kabobs with Rice

2 lbs shrimp, peeled and deveined
juice from one lemon
1/4 cup olive oil
1 Tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
2 tsp dried oregano
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
steamed white rice

Place shrimp in a ziploc bag with olive oil, lemon juice, rosemary, oregano, garlic, salt, and red pepper flakes:

I did not have oregano, so I substituted this dried herb mixture that I found in my spice rack:

 Marinate shrimp mixture in the refrigerator for 30 minutes, turning once to coat.  After 30 minutes is up, remove shrimp and thread onto skewers, like so:

If you have a bbq, these would be delicious grilled over an open flame.  My apartment complex does not allow bbqs, so we baked them at 350 F for about 20 minutes, flipping them once, until they truned pink and started to slightly brown, and they came out looking like this:

Scoop steamed rice onto plates and crumble feta over rice like so:

We used a lemon, garlic, and oregano feta to complement the other flavors in the dish:

Top with shrimp skewers and serve:

Crazy dog who tries to steal your dinner optional:

Pasta "in the Whoreish Fashion"

If that title didn't get your attention, then I don't know what will.

The inspiration for this recipe came from when I was running 5 miles on the treadmill the other day.  Why was I doing such a crazy thing?  It has something to do with the half marathon I am supposed to run NEXT weekend, even thought I have not done a long run in over a month due to all of the traveling I have been doing.  I am afraid readers, very, very afraid.

But I digress.  As I was torturing myself on the treadmill, I happened to come across Nigella's Kitchen on Food Network.  Nigella was making Pasta alla Puttanesca, which she said translates roughly  to "pasta in the whoreish fashion", or as she likes to call it, "Slut's Spaghetti".  According to Nigella, there is some debate as to where this name comes from.  Some speculate that the pasta is whoreish because you can throw it together with mostly canned/jarred ingredients instead of running to the store to buy fresh products, leaving you plenty of time to entertain your gentleman callers.  Others posit that the bold, in your face flavors of the pasta are responsible for the name.  

Whatever the case, pretty much everyone can agree that the pasta is delicious.  I couldn't resist giving it a try and I hope you will too!

Pasta alla Puttanesca

3 Tbsp olive oil

8 anchovies packed in olive oil, drained and finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

14 oz can tomato sauce

2 Tbsp non-pareille capers, drained and rinsed

2 1/4 oz can of black olives, finely chopped

1 lb spaghetti

finely chopped Italian parsley (as a garnish)

First you will need anchovies packed in olive oil:

 Drain the can and remove 8 anchovies:

Finely chop them and place them in 3 Tbsp of olive oil over medium heat (the anchovies will have small bones in them - don't worry about removing these as they will break down during cooking):

After about 3 minutes of cooking, the anchovies (and bones) will start to disintegrate like so:

Once they have fully disintegrated, add the crushed red pepper flakes:

And garlic to the pan and cook for about 1 or 2 more minutes:

Next, you will need a can of tomato sauce:

Add the tomato sauce to the pan and stir:

Then grab some capers:

Scoop the capers into a small bowl and rinse them several times with water before adding them to the sauce:

Grab a small can of black olives:

Dice them and add to the sauce.  Stir and allow the sauce to simmer for 10 to 15 minutes:

In the mean time, cook your spaghetti:

Once the spaghetti has finished, drain it and add to the sauce, tossing to coat evenly:

Plate the pasta, garnish with parsley, and enjoy!

 

Stress Soothing Comfort Food

The past month has been a whirlwind, filled with highs and lows.  It all started with my 30th birthday.  In honor of the big day, my sister and I flew to Hawaii.  We had such a great time (I'll write more about that in a later post).  After the Hawaii trip, I came home and almost immediately headed off to Scottsdale for a wedding.  These were the highs. 

While I was at the wedding, I found out that my grandfather, who I had not seen since before I moved to Utah for grad school, passed away.  Although the wedding was lovely, the news that he had passed put a damper on the whole experience.  Two days later, I had to make the 9 hour drive up to Sonora for the funeral.   This was the first time I had seen most of my family in about 8 years.  It was so nice to see my grandmother, my 6 aunts and uncles, and my 19 cousins, but it was of course exhausting at the same time, driving 18 out of 48 hours to get up there and back here in time.

After all of this traveling and this emotionally draining experience, I have been craving the comfort of home and a hearty homemade meal.  Although I was far too tired to tackle making gnocchi from scratch this time, I promise I will attempt it one day and document it here.  Until then, I hope you will enjoy my store bought gnocchi with brown butter sage sauce.  

Potato Gnocchi with Brown Butter Sage Sauce

1 lb store bought potato gnocchi
1 stick unsalted butter
1 3.5 oz. package sage leaves
juice from 1/2 lemon (about 1/4 cup)

The gnocchi I used.

Cook gnocchi according to package directions.  Melt butter over medium heat:

Once the butter has melted, cook until it begins to brown.  Add the sage and lemon juice and cook for approximately 5 minutes:

Pour over gnocchi and serve:

Let Them Eat Cake

Last Saturday was my 30th birthday.  If you know me, then you know that I absolutely love birthdays.  I make a huge deal out of other people's birthdays, and I love a celebration.

This year, in honor of the big 3-0, I spent 3 days making myself a birthday cake.  I had made this cake once before (I got the recipe from a Thanksgiving issue of Bon Appetit), so I knew it was no small undertaking.  I mean, it involves not only making the batter and frosting from scratch, but also making your own caramel from scratch.  (A process which I have documented below and prior to this recipe would never have considered attempting.)  But if you are ever going to spend your precious spare time making yourself (or someone you love) a cake this involved, I would say that a milestone birthday is probably the proper occasion.  Here are some highlights from the process:

I started out by buttering and flouring my cakepans to make sure the batter wouldn't stick:

The finished pumpkin spice cakes came out looking golden and delicious:

After letting the cakes cool overnight, I started on the frosting.  The first step is to make the caramel.  You start with 1/2 cup of powdered sugar in a pan over medium heat:

The sugar starts to melt:

And take on a golden brown color:

Once it has all melted, you continue to cook it until it turns amber:

At which point, you add 1/2 cup cream, 1 tsp vanilla extract, and 1/4 tsp salt and the mixture begins to bubble like crazy:

 You'll want to stir the mixture until any grainy bits dissolve:

And then strain it:

Once the strained caramel has cooled to room temperature, you can add it to the cream cheese frosting:

Then after frosting the cake and letting it set overnight it will look something like this:

I ate this slice for breakfast (because one nice thing about being 30 is not having to wait until after you finish all of your dinner before you get to eat your cake):

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

After a few weeks where temperatures hit 107 here in San Diego, this past week something amazing happened. It rained for three days straight. Highs were in the 60s. Pumpkin beer showed up at the grocery store. And I realized that before I had even had the time to stop and notice, it had once again become not only my favorite season of the year (fall), but also my favorite month (October).

Now I realize that I might be the tiniest bit biased in making the previous statement (seeing as my birthday is in a week and all), but even for those of you out there who are not lucky enough to be Libras, what's not to love about fall? And of all of the many things that I love about this glorious season, I think my favorite part has to be the return of hearty comfort foods.

When I think of comfort food, one of the first things that I think of is soup. All week I have been having a serious craving for egg drop soup. If you come to this blog often, then you'll know that I tend towards Italian style dishes. It is extremely rare that I branch out into more exotic cuisines. But with the initiation of student loan repayments looming in less than a month (eek!) and a trip to Hawaii coming up in a few days for my birthday, I decided that grabbing take-out was not an option and so I decided to make some egg drop soup for myself.

I found a highly rated recipe on epicurious and was all set to copy it step by step, only to get home from work and realize that I lacked some of the most vital ingredients (no ginger? REALLY?) Since I am on a strict budget, going to the store for the lacking supplies was not an option, so I had to improvise. They say necessity is the mother of all invention, right?

Readers, in addition to the missing ingredients, I messed up this recipe in almost every way possible (I added too much of one ingredient, too little of another, etc.). I know that anyone who actually knows anything about Chinese cuisine will probably look at this recipe and shake their head at how wrong it is, but you know what? It actually turned out pretty darn tasty for a first attempt.

Although it's not traditional, the recipe I found suggested adding egg noodles to add some texture (this is just about the only part of the recipe that I got right). This package contained 4 "nests" of noodles - I used one nest in my soup:

Mish-Mashed Improvised Egg Drop Soup

5 cups low salt vegetable broth
1 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp cooking sherry
1 tsp dried allspice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 "nest" of dried egg noodles (or about 1/4 box)
2 eggs, beaten
1 bunch of green onions, chopped
1 tsp sesame oil

Combine broth, soy sauce, sherry, allspice, and garlic and bring to a boil over medium heat in a large pot. Add noodles and cook for the time listed on the package. Slowly pour beaten eggs into soup while stirring in a circular motion. Cook undisturbed until egg strands start to form (approx. 1 to 2 minutes). Remove from heat and stir in green onions and sesame oil. Serve immediately.