We Girls Love Our Meat!

Last Thursday, I fell in love.

Picture the scene: the sun shining as I step a field of flowers, wind gently blowing through my hair. [Cue slow-mo running and sappy music.] Hello, you gorgeous hunk of meat.

By "gorgeous hunk of meat," I REALLY do mean, gorgeous hunk of MEAT. See?

Ain't it beautiful?

Yes. I did call it beautiful. I happen to think that a big hunk of prime meat can be a beautiful thing. Think about it: a thick slab of an 8 oz juicy steak, the salty primal turkey leg, a savory lamb chop with some cool mint jelly, or, in my case, a fine rack of pork ribs, drenched in a sweet, smoky barbecue sauce, juicy, tender meat literally falling off its bone. mmm...My stomach's true love.

Ok, so maybe I wasn't in a field of flowers, sun at my back, gentle breeze through my hair. Maybe I was in Davis Square, soaked from the torrential downpour, wind blowing so fiercely, my umbrella kept flipping the wrong way. Maybe I was on my way home from the bank when I decided to stop into McKinnon's--a GREAT butcher shop: fresh meats, low prices--to see what I could make for dinner. Maybe.

But then, I saw it sitting there in the refrigerator section, on its Styrofoam tray and encased in its plastic sheath, and I knew. I could see its potential; I could feel our connection. This slab of meat was mine, and by all that is Holy, I was going to savor it!

After lugging it home halfway across town, I began to ponder: what was I going to do with it? what would I sacrifice it for? But, in my heart, in my stomach, I already knew. It would become...my famous barbecue ribs.

I rubbed it down with brown sugar and a pork rub and then slathered it all over with a bit of Jack Daniels Original No. 7 Barbecue Sauce and some beer (I had some Corona handy). Threw it in the oven at 400 F for an hour with aluminum foil on. While that was cooking, I made a side of mashed potatoes and roasted some asparagus and onions. When the hour was up, I poured out the extra liquid at the bottom of the pan and made some really delicious gravy out of it for the potatoes. Slathered another layer of BBQ sauce on them and threw them back into the oven, without the foil, for another half hour to give it a nice smoky/crispy texture while encasing the tender juicy meat on the inside.

 That hunk of rib was about 1/8 of the entire slab. 

I was disgustingly full afterwards.

Dinner turned out AMA-ZING! Not only was everything delicious, but everyone knows that any food that requires Wet-Naps and a stack of napkins to eat is AWESOME. Plus we had enough left-overs for the rest of the weekend. Score!

Now, what's a nice home-cooked dinner without dessert??? I had recently watched Waitress, a movie that came out in 2007 about this small-town waitress with a big-time talent for making delicious pies. So naturally, after watching this movie, I really *really* wanted some pie. Dr. Miso, at the time, was on a chocolate pudding kick so not only did I want some pie, I wanted a chocolate pudding pie. So I *finally* made it.

I started with a homemade honey graham cracker crust and placed some sliced fresh strawberries on top. Dr. Miso had some blackberry preserves that were on the verge of expiring so I heated a few tablespoons of that, added some black raspberry liquor, and some Hershey's Dark Chocolate Cocoa Powder. The sauce was fruity but rich with the chocolaty flavor. I poured that on top of the strawberries and then whipped up some Jell-O Instant Chocolate Pudding. Waited for it to firm up and topped it with some strawberries for decoration. SO GOOD!

I ate soo much food that night but knowing I made it all myself made it all that better. Home-cooked meals: now that's AWESOME!

-Originally Posted: 3/16/2010-

Taco Night!

I love grocery shopping.

I love pushing the cart up and down the aisles, around the fresh produce piled high on wooden kiosks, and past the counters, inhaling the sweet bakery aromas, the briny fishiness of the seafood counter, and the whiffs of smoky meats at the deli. I love seeing the beautiful colors, hearing the sound of the sprinkler spraying the fresh veggies, and feeling all the different textures of the fruits. I love just standing there, letting my surroundings soak in and saturate my senses.

Most of all, I love getting inspired by all the possibilities, all the different combinations, all the different ways I can make my stomach very, very happy.

Last week, I was at the store with Dr. Miso, and while wandering up and down the aisles, we got inspired. In the authentic cuisines aisle, you know, the aisle with all the Asian sauces and the Goya boxes, we saw...TACO KITS! lol. I hadn't had a taco since over the summer when I worked at a dude ranch in Montana. Taco Mondays were a ranch tradition: ground beef, chicken fajitas, and beans; hard and soft shells; grilled cheese quesadillas; freshly cut lettuce, tomato, and onions; shredded cheese, salsa, guacamole, and sour cream. All the fixings. YUM-MY!

So naturally, Dr. Miso and I turned to each other and simultaneously said, "Taco Night!"

Saturday night came and we were ready. Since this was our first attempt at Taco Night, we decided on just buying the Less Sodium Old El Paso Taco Seasoning Packet for our ground turkey (which, incidentally, was also on sale. Score!) and added our own chili powder to increase the heat. Next time, I think I'll try to figure out my own seasoning combination--with a LOT more fire. Sadly, our meat was milder than we had expected. Still delicious, but we had wanted to experience the burn. Unfortunately, the only thing that got burned was my finger when we were making the flan for dessert.

Dr. Miso never had flan before so when we found a box of instant flan, we decided to give it a try. The instructions on the box seemed easy (think JELL-O Instant Pudding easy. Actually come to think of it, the box kinda looked like it too). We first melted the required amount of sugar for the topping and then went on to make the custard part. I had remembered that the sugar topping was liquid-y so when the sugar looked like it hardened, I got worried. So naturally, I check it. By sticking my finger in it. In HOT melted sugar. Yeah. Genius, that I am.

The second my finger touched the sugar, it conformed to the surface of my skin and hardened into a shell. Normally, when you burn a part of your body, your reflexes will jerk it away from the heat source to reduce damage. Unfortunately, when my reflexes reacted, some of the heat source came away with my finger, like a second skin. Surprisingly, when I peeled the sugar coating away, it was already cool to the touch, not that I could feel it with my finger which had already started to blister.

 10 Points if you spot the blister!

Lucky for me, it wasn't too painful. And I got out of washing the dishes. ^_^ hehe. Also, it's callousing very nicely which is actually helping my efforts to learn guitar, as the strings don't bother my finger as much as the others. Maybe I should burn my other fingers too...

[Update 3/14/10: Just finished cooking lunch today when I burned the side of another finger. Aiya! Klutz in the kitchen. Look out.

Dear Lord,
Please don't take my sarcasm seriously anymore. It's not cool.
Thank you.
Amen.] 

Taco Night was surprisingly quick to prepare. The meat took about 10 minutes; we threw the hard shells into the oven for 6 minutes and soft shells into the microwave for two. We quickly shredded the lettuce and diced the tomatoes and onions, opened the bag of cheese, popped the tops of the salsa and sour cream (no guacamole, unfortunately =( oh well...next time...), set the table, and we were ready to dig in!

Yes. All this food for two girls. And we finished it all. 

Well, most of it.

I like my tacos with the crunch of the hard shell, but I hate the mess it makes when the shell cracks, and everything falls out. My solution? Wrap the soft shell around the hard. You still get the crunch and salty taste of the hard shell, but the soft shell contains the mess.

I also made some margaritas for Dr. Miso and I.

And with this statement, I commence the math lesson:

Tequila + margarita mix + an extra splash of triple sec + ice = easy cocktail.

Margaritas + Tacos = Yummy combination

Add in a bit of salsa music (thanks to Pandora) for an extra touch, and we have a festive, delicious dinner.

Dr. Miso and I agree that this will be a night we'll definitely try to repeat. Not only was it easy and fun, it was pretty healthy, even despite the amount we ate.

-Originally Posted: 3/13/2010-

A Day of Chocolate...

Roses are red,
Violets are blue.
Chocolate is sweet,
And...mmm....chocolate...

As a girl who appreciates the delicious ambrosia that is chocolate--the velvety textures, the bitter and sweet flavors intermingling and exploding in your mouth, the orgasmic rush of hormones to your brain--I naturally couldn't resist the temptation of Groupon's Taste of Chocolate Truffle-Making Workshop. At $45 per person, buying the Groupon meant some serious scrimping on my part, but it was well worth the money.

As Fizzy and I arrive to the workshop, I can smell the heady aroma of the chocolate wafting out into the hallway. We are greeted by two helpers who hand us each a cup of hot chocolate. REAL hot chocolate--not that Swiss Miss crap. It is rich and frothy and probably one of the best drinks I've had in a long time. Note to self: Chocolate + Milk + Vanilla = Heavenly Goodness.

The first part of the workshop is a lecture by our chocolatier, Dorian. He first talks about the history of chocolate and then proceeds to demonstrate the various ways to correctly make truffles. Interspersed with the demonstration, he appeases my inner nerd--I DID major in chemistry--by often referring to the "science of chocolate." Go crystallization curves!

Then comes the fun part--making our own truffles. We are given 3 bars of ganache--the inside yumminess of the truffle--one bar of each flavor: caramel (yum!), raspberry (double yum!) and whiskey (hehehe...). As we roll them into balls, I can't help but start singing to myself: "Rollin'. Rollin' on the river...." (the version of Proud Mary sung by the cast of Glee--yes, I watch Glee, it's my guilty pleasure). I'm pretty sure I've attracted the attention of some of my compadres but, oh well...

Rollin'. Rollin'. Rollin' on the river...

Next, we dip our chocolates, add toppings, and let the shell harden. In total, each person makes approximately 30 truffles, or what is known as my dinner--the $45 had to come from somewhere...

A few weeks later, Fizzy and I decide to take our new skills and make truffles for Valentine's Day gifts. It took what seemed forever but we managed to finish them. And they didn't look half bad, if I do say so myself:

How do they look?

For more information about the chocolate workshop, visit: www.tasteofchocolate.com 

-Originally posted 2/25/2010-

Mango Love

Recently I was at a friend's birthday party and I was at a loss for what to bring. All I knew was that my friend LOVES food and his favorite food is mango. So I promptly Google'd what types of cakes I can make with mango and this was what I found!

Mangomisu - made by Fizzy

Source: http://www.6bittersweets.com/2010/07/catching-up-on-few-birthdays.html

This fantastic creation is exactly what the name sounds like, a tiramisu cake with a mango twist instead of coffee/chocolate. I pretty much followed exactly what the author wrote except I made my own ladyfingers instead of buying them at the store (our past experience with store bought ladyfingers were below par). The general concensus was very, very positive and there was not a single crumb left by the end of 10 minutes.

Favorite comment: "it's an oral orgasm!"

Wedding Bells

Recently, to celebrate the last moments of a dear friend's single life, we threw a surprise bridal shower at our place. We toasted with peach bellinis, dined on a breakfast casserole, and finished off with butterfly cupcakes all made by the lovely PuBear.

Peach bellini. The "ice cubes" are canned peaches cut into hearts and flowers before being frozen. Yum!

The beautiful cupcakes that she spent TWO whole days on. Absolutely spectacular I must say.

A beautiful picture with the bride-to-be and butterfly cupcake

Everyone celebrating the occasion =)

Practicing for the big day!

- Fizzy

Hungry Hungry Dinner Guest

Sometime ago in March, PuBear and I had to overcome a significant challenge and venture into territory we rarely ever go into. Normally we're quite healthy and light eaters, which is reflected in our cooking. However, one day, we had to cook a dinner for a guest that, quite literally, eats a mountain of food per meal. And so we experimented with some recipes that we had never tried before and have since still not tried again.

First course: traditional Bruschetta made by PuBear

Okay, I lied. I made this again for my parents and they loved it because it's just that good. PuBear created this masterpiece and it was absolutely delicious. The blend of ingredients in the mouth makes for a wonderful light appetizer. The key here is to use fresh basil and freshly toasted French bread!

Main course: Lasagna made by Fizzy (me)

This came out wayyy better than I could have imagined. The key was the homemade pasta sauce used in the layering instead of using store bought sauce. The mix of sausage and ground beef also added to the deliciousness. For those interested, I followed this recipe to the T, aptly named "World's Best Lasagna" http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Worlds-Best-Lasagna/Detail.aspx

Dessert: Tiramisu made by PuBear

This beautiful creation was a great first attempt. Challenged by the lack of lady fingers in our local supermarket, it turned out better than we could have hoped. The mix of mascarpone, rum, and espresso was perfect. Although not fine bakery quality (yet), we still ate every last bite.

Our guest's verdict? "Ahhhhhh.. zzzz" as he sighs contently and falls promptly into a food coma. Success!

- Fizzy