Happy (Belated) Memorial Day!

I hope you all had a nice holiday weekend!

This Memorial Day weekend marked the last weekend before I started my new job as a postdoc at UCSD, so I was determined to have as much fun as possible. My sister Renee flew down from Davis for the weekend and she, my sister Anne, and I went to the beach, laid out by the pool, relaxed, and did a lot of bar hopping. But in between all of these hedonistic pursuits, we took some time out to make a delicious Sunday morning brunch (accompanied by mimosas, naturally). She made her version of "upscale" french toast (by coating it with an almond crust) and I made my berry-infused maple syrup to top it off with. It was the perfect way to spend a lazy Sunday morning!

The three of us enjoying our mimosas.

CHALLAH!

Whisk 1 cup heavy cream, 3 eggs, 1 tsp vanilla extract, and 1 Tbsp cinnamon in a large bowl.

Dip the bread in the batter and turn to coat evenly.

Cover a plate with sliced almonds.

Roll the crust of the bread in the almonds.

Place in a hot pan and cook until just golden brown on each side.

Place one package of blackberries and one package of raspberries in a small sauce pan.

Heat berries over medium-low heat and allow to break down.

Pour berry mixture through a strainer.

Push on berry mixture to extract as much juice as possible. Return strained berry juice to saucepan and combine with 1/2 cup maple syrup and 1/2 cup light brown sugar. Bring mixture to a boil, stirring constantly until slightly thickened. Remove from heat and allow to cool for 10 - 15 minutes.

This is what your finished product should resemble.

Drizzle over french toast and enjoy!

Baked Potatoes 101

In my mind, baked potatoes are one of the most perfect foods out there. Not only do they make a delicious side dish, but they can stand alone as a hearty, filling meal that requires minimal prep work and zero active cooking time - what's better than that? Baked potatoes are probably one of the first things I learned to make on my own, helping my mom out in the kitchen. I would grab a potato, wrap it in aluminum foil, use a fork to stab several holes in the foil/potato, and then arrange them on a plate for my mom to put in the oven. The result, when cut open, was a hot, steamy, fluffy, starchy delight that I would cover with butter and bacon bits (I was a bit of a picky eater growing up). So imagine my surprise when I was told, after years and years of making what I thought were perfect, delicious baked potatoes, that I was doing it all wrong.

Apparently what I had enjoyed growing up was technically a "steamed potato" because all of the heat released in baking the potato gets trapped in the foil creating steam, which leaves you with a soft potato skin and interior. A proper baked potato, as I was kindly informed by a friend who is a chef from Idaho, has a crispy golden skin so flavorful that it rivals the deliciousness of the fluffy interior (as well as providing a textural counterpoint). This was news to me since we never once ate the potato skin growing up (hence the lack of washing, scrubbing, etc.). But seeing as nearly all of the vitamins and nutrients in potatoes are in the skin, it made sense to me to give this whole eating the skin thing a try. Turns out, it does not take much more work, and it does taste twice as delicious! No offence to those who prefer the "steamed" method, but I think the baked method is here to stay in my house. If you'd like to try it at home, get your hands on some russet potatoes, pre-heat your oven to 400 F, and follow these easy steps:

1. Rinse potato under cold, running water.

While rinsing under cold water, scrub potato with stiff bristled brush (sorry I could not show both at once, but I only have so many hands!)

2. If you see any bruises, pock marks, or discolorations (like the ones pictured above), remove them by picking them out with a spoon. If you see sprouts, discard the potato - the sprouts can be toxic.

3. Take a fork and poke 6 - 10 sets of holes around the potato to allow steam to escape. (Otherwise, you risk having the potato explode in your oven).

4. Lightly oil the potato. I like to put some olive oil in a bowl, dip the potato in the oil, then spread the oil over the potato with my hands to evenly coat.

5. Roll oiled potatoes in salt.

6. Place potatoes directly on top oven rack. Place a baking sheet two racks down to catch any drips.

7. The baking time will vary based on the size of the potato. For these potatoes, which were medium-sized, it took an hour. You will know when they are done when the skin is brown and crispy and the potato gives slightly in the center when pressed with tongs. (If you are more of a stickler, you can insert a thermometer - the inside temperature should be 210 F). Once they are done baking, puncture the potato with a fork several times down the center to form a line.

8. Press on either end of the potato gently (but be careful, the steam released will be hot, hence the tongs). The potato should open up nicely (as pictured above).

9. Top the potato with your favorite items (I highly recommend my friend Hailey's phenomenal chili topped with cheddar) and enjoy!

I Can Explain . . .

I can't believe that it has been over two months since my last blog post. I know that makes me a sad excuse for a blogger, but as the title indicates, I can explain!

The past two months have been some of the most hectic of my life. On March 18th, I defended my thesis:

The flyer for my seminar.

I celebrated by buying myself a bottle of Dom Perignon.

Two days later, I went to Australia for two weeks to celebrate. A few highlights:

The Great Barrier Reef as seen from my helicopter flight - one of the coolest things that I have ever done, bar none.

Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House, as seen from Circular Quay.

After I got back, I had to frantically finish up all of my work in lab, pack up my house and move everything down to San Diego, only to turn around and fly back to Utah to attend my graduation ceremony and get hooded:

Me and my thesis advisor.

This red, white, and blue hood made me feel like a super hero.

And a week later, Paul and I celebrated our one year wedding anniversary. I can't believe it has been a year already. Where does the time go?

Our cake topper came with a little flag that said Happy Anniversary.

Believe it or not, one year old frozen/thawed wedding cake tastes surprisingly delicious.

But now, it is official. My committee has signed off and after five long years, I am back in San Diego (for at least a few years, that is)! And in honor of being back, I decided to treat Paul and my sister to a feast of Baja style shrimp tacos (what better to eat in San Diego than Mexican food?). These tacos are super light with just the right balance of sweetness and tartness, and the best part is, you can spice them up anyway that you would like. I used salsa and tortillas from Trader Joe's (oh how nice it is to be near a Trader Joe's again, I cannot even describe!), but you could really use anything that you like.

A pound of shrimp for under $5? Have I mentioned that I love Trader Joe's?

Our family friends have an apiary, so I got to use their delicious honey in my marinade.

Handmade tortillas - thanks "Trader Jose"!

Baja Style Shrimp Tacos

2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp honey
handful of chopped cilantro
1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup water
1/2 tsp Cajun Creole seasoning (can be found in the spice aisle)
1/4 tsp paprika
1 pound shelled, deveined shrimp, tails removed

flour tortillas

Whisk together first eight ingredients and season with salt and pepper. Toss shrimp in marinade to coat evenly and refrigerate in marinade mixture for at LEAST one hour (but I highly recommend marinating the shrimp for a longer period of time to let the flavors set in, up to overnight). Spray a heavy skillet with non-stick spray and heat on high. If using raw shrimp, cook shrimp until just opaque and remove. If using pre-cooked shrimp, heat until just starting to brown and remove. Pour marinade into skillet and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until marinade thickens and sauce forms. Place several shrimp in each tortilla and spoon sauce over shrimp. Top with whatever taco toppings you prefer (I am a purist, so I usually just use cheese, salsa, and fresh squeezed lime), and enjoy!

Luck O' the Irish

St. Patty's Day is almost upon us, and since this year it falls the night before my 10 a.m. thesis defense (I'm not bitter or anything), I decided to celebrate a bit early this year. In an effort to stick to my resolution to make a Bon Appetit recipe each month (month 2 of following through - woo hoo!), I decided to make Irish Soda Bread. They had this great article in the magazine about traveling all over the country of Ireland in search of the perfect soda bread recipe - if you haven't read the article yet, here is a link to the winning recipe.

However, there are a few caveats to me deciding to make this bread: 1.) I am not Irish, 2.) I have never been to Ireland, and 3.) I have never tried Irish Soda Bread before. Therefore, I had no idea what the bread should taste or look like, but I didn't let that stop me. I followed the recipe to a tee and got pretty worried after I added the buttermilk and saw this much flour remaining in the mixing bowl that refused to incorporate into the dough:


But I figured that since I had come this far, I may as well bake it. Here is what the dough looked like before baking:

And here is what it looked like after baking for 40 minutes:


As you can see, to my pleasant surprise, it turned out golden brown and still tasted yummy (I am attributing this to the luck o' the Irish). It is a dense, slightly nutty flavored brown bread, that has a biscuit like texture to it. (Of course, I have no idea if it tastes like it's supposed to due to the caveats I mentioned earlier.)

However, if I were to make it again (or if you decide to try it out for yourself), I would recommend either cutting the amount of flour in the recipe by about 2 cups, or upping the amount of buttermilk by a cup so that all of the dry ingredients in the dough come together.

Happy (early) St. Patty's Day everyone! Drink a Guinness (or two or three) for me.

Cheddar and Garlic and Chive - Oh My!

As I slog through to the finish line (only 3 more days until my thesis is due!), I am still on the quest for quick and easy meals. But since it was the weekend, I decided to take some extra time and try my hand at making biscuits from scratch. Don't get me wrong, I have always been a purveyor of Bisquick and it's simple, just add milk biscuit making philosophy. However, as easy as it is to make biscuits from a mix, sometimes they are just so plain. And I was craving something more. Enter the garlic, cheddar, and chive biscuit.

For as long as I can remember, I have vowed to myself that I will try to make at least one recipe from Bon Appetit per month. I have been a subscriber for at least 5 years now, maybe longer. I think in the entire time I have subscribed I have made a total of 2 recipes from the magazine. So my New Year's resolution for 2010 was to finally follow through with trying a new recipe each month. Today is March 1st. Three months into the year and I have still not done one thing towards my resolution!

Well no more faithful readers! Yesterday I tuned over a new leaf. (Better late than never right?) I picked up the February issue and came across the most delicious looking photo of bacon, cheddar, and chive biscuits. It looked so good I couldn't NOT make it. (I almost wanted to eat the page, the picture looked so good.) Of course, I don't eat bacon (most of the time, that is), so I decided to modify the recipe a bit. (Not sure if it really counts as making something from the magazine if you change the recipe, but hey, this is probably as close as I am going to come to keeping my resolution.) I came up with the following melt in your mouth delicious biscuits. I promise, you won't even miss the bacon.


Cheddar, Chive, and Garlic Biscuits

2 cups all purpose flour
2 2/3 tsp baking soda
2 2/3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 stick unsalted butter, cut into cubes
1 cup grated sharp cheddar
1/6 cup chopped chives
1 cup buttermilk

(Lowfat buttermilk? Sounds like an oxymoron.)

Preheat oven to 425 F.

Mix flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and garlic powder in processor. Add butter cubes. Stir until coarse meal forms, about 30 seconds. Add cheddar cheese and chives.


Toss to blend. Gradually add buttermilk, stirring to moisten evenly (batter will feel sticky). Drop biscuits by the heaping Tbsp onto cookie sheet 2 inches apart from one another. Bake until golden brown and toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, about 11 minutes. This recipe makes about a dozen large biscuits.

You could serve these biscuits any number of ways - alone, as the bread for a sandwich - but I highly recommend serving them with this super easy tomato vegetable soup I made (since I mentioned that my thesis is due in three days, you knew the one pot meal that you can throw together with whatever happens to be in your pantry was coming after all right?)


Tomato and Veggie Soup

3 Tbsp olive oil
Chopped veggies (You could really use any veggies you have on hand - I used carrot, celery, onion, and potato.)
2 cloves garlic, minced
28 oz can crushed tomato
28 oz low sodium vegetable (or chicken) broth
15 oz can of cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 cup pasta
salt and pepper to taste

The pasta I used:



Heat olive oil over medium heat. Saute veggies and garlic for about 5 minutes. Add tomato, broth, cannellini beans, red pepper flakes, and pasta. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for the cooking time listed on the pasta box (about 10 - 12 minutes on average).

Mamas, Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Grad Students

You know that old country song "Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow up to be Cowboys"? Well, I am here to whole heartedly disagree. If I were a cowboy, I would be outside all day. I would be communing with nature. I would be getting exercise.

Instead, I am a graduate student. I am chained to a desk, writing my dissertation. If it weren't for my dogs, I probably would not have been outside or showered in the past week. Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to be grad students. It is a terrible life decision.

I set a deadline for writing a chapter - it was last Friday. I finished a DRAFT of it today. It took me two weeks to write a draft. Which means I am nowhere near done. Not to mention that I have two other chapters that I have not even started on and this entire thesis is due to my committee in less than two weeks, plus my boss wants to read it before hand and make edits. At this rate, I am not going to finish this thing until I retire in 2045 (and yes, I am counting down the days until I retire even though I haven't even finished school and gotten a job yet). Why is this taking so long? I usually love writing. Right now, I despise it. Needless to say, I am a woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

(Side note: I know what you are probably thinking to yourself right now - how does she have the time to write this blog right now? The answer is that I don't. I just really wanted to see what it would feel like to type something other than the word cytochrome P450 for the first time in two weeks.)

So last night I forced myself to turn off the computer, walk away, and watch the Olympics. Oh how I would rather be skiing. How awesome are Lindsey Vonn and Julia Mancuso? Ladies, you are my heroes. Why in the hell didn't I become an Olympic skier?

Another problem associated with this lack of free time - I have developed the worst eating habits on the planet. If you can buy it in a drive thru, if you can microwave it, if it has 9 bazillion calories, you can bet that I am eating it. If it wasn't for the aforementioned dogs forcing me to exercise twice a day, I would easily weigh 200 pounds by now. So yesterday I forced myself to spend 20 minutes (and only 20 minutes) at the grocery store in a quest to actually cook something that was not wrapped in plastic and flash frozen. Of course, due to my time constraints, it had to satisfy the following requirements:

1. Fewer than 5 ingredients.

2. Less than 10 minutes total of prep time and cooking time.

Luckily, I came across this beautiful, giant container of basil:



and I decided to make pesto. For those nights when you would like to step away from the ice cream and eat delicious real people food, but only have 10 minutes to spare between breakdowns.


Pesto

2 cloves of garlic
4 oz basil
1/4 cup pine nuts
salt
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
pasta (penne or rigatoni work best)

Add garlic to food processor and run until finely chopped. Rinse basil and pat dry. Tear off stems and add to food processor. The food processor bowl should be nearly full, like so:


(Don't get scared by how much basil is in there - once you spin it down, it becomes a very small amount.) Add pine nuts and salt. Spin until well blended. With motor running, add olive oil by pouring in a slow steady stream. Once all ingredients have been incorporated, stop motor. You should end up with something that looks like this:


Serve over pasta (as pictured above) and garnish with grated parmesan. If you don't use all of it, refrigerate or freeze for later use (one easy thing to do is scoop the pesto into an ice cube tray and freeze it. That way, you can thaw one cube at a time per serving of pasta).

I leave you with my sous chef, who is always hoping for a crumb of some sort.

Food, Friends, and Festivities

Since working for a university has the benefit of getting federal holidays off of work, Paul was able to fly out for the long President's Day weekend. We marked the first night of his visit by heading up to his good friend Charlie's cabin up at Alta. It was a great night of food, wine, and catching up with good friends. One of my favorite parts was sitting in front of the warm fire and being surrounded by snow, but the late night snow jumping was up there as well.


I was charged with bringing an appetizer, so I finally took the opportunity to make the delicious baked brie that my good friend Hailey posted on her blog over the holidays which I have been dying to try. It was seriously the easiest appetizer I have ever put together (it took less than a minute to assemble) and was a crowd pleaser, so I definitely recommend it for your next get together. And the next morning I even skied Alta for the first time after years and years of hype about how difficult it would be - I can't help but think the brie fueled me through it.


Baked Brie

1 sheet puff pastry dough (you can find it in your grocer's freezer section)
raspberry jam (although any jam would probably work)
1 disc brie
1 egg (used as an egg wash for the crust)

Thaw the pastry dough for 40 minutes at room temp. Spread jam on the thawed dough, place the disc of brie in the middle of the pastry sheet, and wrap the sheet around the cheese. Brush the outside of the pastry sheet with egg. Bake at 400 F for 20 to 30 minutes (or until cheese is melted and pastry crust turns a nice golden brown).