Happy Friday, all! This is the last Friday Funny before the election so Mark sent in a political joke that seems appropriate somehow.
Enjoy your weekend, see you Monday, and please log on to Desert Island Foods®.com and pick up some Survival Spice®!
It's hard not to get in a rut with weekday cooking, so lately I've been trying really hard to bring some variety into the same old staples I keep on hand.
With chicken breasts that needed cooked, a bag of lemons that was a bit past its prime, and a head of garlic that desperately needed to fulfill its destiny, I decided it was time to do something with them.
After cutting the chicken breasts into cubes and seasoning them a bit, I made a sauce with roughly a 2:1 ratio of squeezed lemon juice and Tibvrtini Olio Extra Virgene di Oliva, then added chopped garlic, dry oregano and parsley and a splash of Tibvrtini Aceto di Vino Blanco to give it a little more zip.
I tossed the chicken with more of the Tibvrtini oil and broiled the chicken until it was just about done, then added the sauce, mixed it well with the chicken, then broiled it all for a few more minutes.
I served it with parsley buttered potatoes and some broiled asparagus. Variety is a good thing.
(Photo and bread by: Steve B, BreadCetera.com)
Steve B is possessed. Which is a good thing.
I was doing some research last night and stumbled across Steve's blog, and I recommend it highly. With any eye for achieving professional results from home equipment, Steve puts a lot of effort and passion into his baking, and I must confess that I really miss having a professional baking kitchen at my disposal these days.
I guess I'll have to study up on the workarounds he suggests.
Check it out. Bookmark it. You can smell the bread coming off your computer monitor. Almost.
I knew there was a reason I made guacamole on Sunday...:
2. Guacamole If you're craving something creamy, look no further. Avocados are loaded with B vitamins, which stress quickly depletes and which your body needs to maintain nerves and brain cells. Plus their creaminess comes from healthy fat. Scoop up the stuff with whole-grain baked chips-crunching keeps you from gritting your teeth.
Lots of other good stuff we've been making a point of eating, too.
They're good for ya!:
The unpleasant aroma of the gas, called hydrogen sulfide (H2S), can be a little too familiar, as it is expelled by bacteria living in the human colon and eventually makes its way, well, out.The new research found that cells lining mice's blood vessels naturally make the gas and this action can help keep the rodents' blood pressure low by relaxing the blood vessels to prevent hypertension (high blood pressure). This gas is "no doubt" produced in cells lining human blood vessels too, the researchers said.
Obviously the healthiest scene in movie history, then...
Happy Friday, everyone! Claudia has sent in a funny yet accurate set of Funnies to get us into the weekend.
Whatever the status of your portfolio, Survival Spice® is always a great deal!!!! Buy some soon... pleez?
Thank ya kindly. Lots of other great stuff at Desert Island Foods®.com, too!
(Babbo's Sicilian Pizza- sadly, a bit mangled after reheating the next day)
Julie and I went to visit a friend in the hospital in Surprise, AZ on Sunday. A ways out of town from us because we live in Central Phoenix, we decided to have dinner after we left the hospital. My good friend that we were visiting (funny how you spend more time visiting friend in hospitals as you grow older) recommended Babbo as a great place to check out.
It had a great vibe, though after a hospital visit we weren't exactly in the party mood. Great atmosphere, great service, and a few really good pizzas made a nice Sunday date.
My Sicialian pizza was topped with Italian Sausage, Spicy Capicola Ham, Salami, Fresh Basil and Oregano, Mozzarella Cheese, Provolone Cheese, Marinara, and it was a great combination. Julie had the 4 cheese pizza, and enjoyed it.
They have 2 other locations in the Phoenix area, for the locals here. Check it out!
I threw together a pizza using some of Sprouts dough- (it comes in a 10" ball that's perfect for a 12" pizza- last night, and in the morning when I was prepping it I rough chopped up a bunch of garlic and let it mascerate all day in some of our Tibvrtini Olio Extra Virgene di Oliva. When I got home I started with the oil and garlic on the shell, then added the usual stuff and baked it off.
We were both knocked out by the flavor, so into the regular bag of tricks it goes. You have to be a bit more careful when adding the sauce, etc., but the dough picked up the garlic, big time.
It was out of the oven just in time for House, which is one of our favorites. The jury is still out on Fringe...
How can they kill a classic?
The joint venture between SABMiller's U.S. unit and Molson Coors Brewing Co. told distributors in a letter Monday that production of the malt liquor beverage was discontinued as of Oct. 10. Chief Marketing Officer Andy England says the decision was due to weakness in the "malternative" segment and declining consumer interest.
Classic what, I have no freaking idea. Did anyone ever even try one?
I guess bananas in Japan aren't expensive enough to keep a new diet craze from making them scarce:
The Morning Banana Diet regime is simple: A banana (or as many as you want) and room temperature water for breakfast; eat anything you like for lunch and dinner (by 8 p.m.). A three o'clock snack is okay, but no desserts after meals, and you have to go to bed before midnight. Sumiko Watanabe, a pharmacist in Osaka designed this stress-free diet to help increase the metabolism of her husband Hitoshi Watanabe, who had been rather overweight. In due course, Mr. Watanabe lost 37 pounds and introduced the diet on mixi, one of Japan's largest social networking services.
I'd gladly trade them 100 pounds of bananas for 100 pounds of sashimi grade fish... think I can cash in before the craze fades?
Happy Friday, all! I'm running out the door, but start laughing!
Thanks to Jerry for the yuk.
I've mentioned the phrase "amuse bouche" before, but I guess it's been long enough for me to bring it up again. It's a simple "amusement for the mouth", and in this case it was the few last slices of hot Italian bread we had on hand, along with a small ramekin filled with Tibvrtini Olio Extra Virgene di Oliva with some parm reggiano tossed in.
It was sort of a joke when I presented it to Julie, but it really did serve to wake our palettes up before dinner last night. The Tibvrtini oils we carry are absolutely magical all by themselves, but the parm gave it a really nice flavor. I just wish we would have had more bread left!
Note: Apparently there's no accent in amuse. Thanks, Gail!
Dang- this Panang Beef Curry from Thai Rama is blazing!!
A new study has shown that apples may play an important role in fighting cancer (h/t Instapundit):
They have shown that a fragment released from pectin, found in all fruits and vegetables, binds to and is believed to inhibit galectin 3 (Gal3), a protein that plays a role in all stages of cancer progression. ... Pectin is better known for its jam-setting qualities and as being a component of dietary fibre. The present study supports a more exciting and subtle role.
Gee... what was that old saying again?
We love artichokes around here. There's a somewhat steep learning curve to prepping, cooking, and even eating them, but it's worth the work. We're having 2 of these beautiful artichokes I picked up at the market once they're steamed, a roasted turkey breast with Survival Spice®, and baked potatoes.
Confidence is high.
Holy cow, is it Friday already? Kidding.
It's been a long week here, hopefully your work week wasn't quite as hectic as mine was. We've got salmon with Survival Spice® under the broiler, baked potatoes just about done, and broccoli in the steamer. Life is good.
Have a great weekend, everyone! KC sent in a Funny to get us into the weekend.
(TPC's Roasted Shallot Risotto)
Here's a quick poll question, just for grins:
If you could have your idea of the ultimate dinner, would it involve going to an amazing restaurant, or having an unlimited budget to shop, then prepare it yourself?
Discuss.
Doesn't he ever learn? The habanero burger we had when they were in town sure sent me to the sidelines for a bit.
Hey! Chocobake Fudgy Chocolate Brownies!!!!!!
We had pastrami on sale at our local Sprout's Market recently, so I had to pick some up. We also had some seedless rye on hand, sauerkraut, and some 1000 Island dressing so around 9AM I started craving a Reuben sandwich. Really craving a Reuben. Bad. I only had Muenster cheese, so that was going to have to do.
I actually had the willpower to hold off until 11:30, though I have no idea how. While my cast iron skillet and grill press were heating up, I laid a few slices of cheese on a slice of rye, and spread a bit of dressing on top of the cheese. I like to do it this way for a few reasons- the dressing doesn't make the bread soggy, and it mixes in nicely with the sauerkraut, which went on next. I use a fork to strain the sauerkraut well, you don't want a watery mess trashing your nice crispy Reuben, right?
Lastly, the pastrami. I suppose I could've added a bit more meat, but I've had a lot of over-the-top Reubens all across the country- Carnegie Deli, Stage Deli, Katz's, Art's, Jerry's Famous Deli, Canter's, Junior's, and a zillion in between, so I've gotten a bit put off by the 6" tall tasty monstrosities I've encountered, so I figured to best err on the side of caution. Besides, I could always make a second one...
A bit of butter in the skillet and on top of the sandwich, and into the skilled it went. I like to start grilled sandwiches with the cheese towards the heat, to get it melting, then finish the sandwich after flipping it with the cheese melting through all the other good stuff. Not too hot to start, you're trying to heat everything through, once you're confident that everything's good and hot you can raise the heat a bit to get the bread nice and crisp. A grill press, like the one below, really helps things along, retaining the heat, and helping to hold the sandwich together.
So, how was it? Awesome, though I'd like a rye bread with a little more character next time, but the Muenster was a nice change.
Happy Friday, dear readers! We've stumbled across the finish line for sure, but it's Friday at long last. Star has sent in a good 'un purportedly from the Dear Abby archives, and you can just smell the genius factor coming from the page.
Have a great weekend! Buy some Survival Spice®, please? And all the other stuff at Desert Island Foods®.com? Thanks ya kindly.
As promised, Chilebrown has posted his account of our get together last week here. We had a great time, plus Chile gives a full recounting of their adventure, and shares a picture of the two of us. BTW, the story of the Kraft vintage 1978 pasta box is right here.
I never post personal stuff I was almost to our meeting place before I realized that they would have absolutely no idea of what I looked like. Fortunately I recognized them right away, and a really memorable and all too short evening followed.
I hope we get to do it again soon!
Why are women so smart?
I was making breakfast on a recent Sunday morning, and ran out of blueberries about 2/3 of the way through. Now, I'm a pretty creative guy and all, but I was grumbling out loud about the sorry state of our blueberry inventory when Julie handed me the humungo bag of walnuts I had recently bought and said "Here, wouldn't these be good in pancakes"?
Why yes, they would.
I'm such a dolt sometimes.
