Packing Is the Worst

I have to go to Las Vegas for work this week. So most of my Sunday was spent doing laundry and other things around the house that needed to be done. Then Sunday night came around and all that was left was to pack... yah, it didn't happen. (Well, eventually it happened).

So instead of packing I made these:

Broiled sweet potatoes!

Easy-Peasy Directions: (borrowed from here)

Set the oven to broil. In meantime, cut up the sweet potato, drizzle some olive oil over it and sprinkle with the seasoning of your choice. (I opted for season salt). Set in the oven for 15 minutes, flip and let broil for another 15 minutes.

The ingredients (+ sweet potato)

So easy. I inhaled them with ketchup. I know, my palette is incredibly refined. 

But seriously, I am going to be making these ALL THE TIME. They're reallllly good.

That was it?

All week long, we here in San Diego had been hearing about how we were going to be getting a horrible, storm-of-the-century, storm on Friday. Seriously, there were news specials about it. (And I thought Arizona was bad about rain). So Friday finally came around, and I was in full-comfort/hibernation mode for the weekend. Food-wise this meant pizza or CHOWDAH!

I've been wanting to try this recipe (via this blog) for a few weeks and tonight was the perfect excuse to give it a whirl. It was cheap, easy, filling and tasty. Perfect.

Unfortunately, I went to Henry's to get the supplies I didn't have and I was bummed to find out they didn't have creamed corn. Thank goodness for the iphone, in a second I was looking up creamed corn alternatives and I was good to go. (I really didn't want to go to another store for one stupid can of corn!)

After consulting a few different recipes, this is what I ended up doing:

Creamed Corn

Ingredients:

• 1 can corn
• 3 tbsp butter
• 3 tbsp butter
• 1 1/2 cup milk (I used skim)
• salt and pepper

Directions:

1. In a pan over medium-high heat, melt the butter. Sprinkle the flour in and mix so that the two are completely incorporated.
2. Start adding the milk slowly and stir so that the flour/butter mixture is fully mixed in. 
3. Add the corn. Cook until the mixture starts simmering. 
4. Add salt/pepper.  

 It was extremely easy, and only added about 10 minutes to my chowder cook time.

 

Creamed corn minus the can!

As for the chowder? Oh my gosh. Make this now. I ended up doubling the amount of crab they called for, used dried thyme, and added extra garlic (duh) and onions. Other than that, followed the recipe and was very happy with the results. Word to the wise-don't over do the parsley. A little goes a long way! Yes, learned that the hard way...

Red pepper flakes make everything taste better :)

Tino totally approved.

 

I'm smiling because it smells delicious!

Oh yah, and the rain? Meh. Totally overblown.

It Should Be Thursday

At least it feels like it should be Thursday. That would mean tomorrow is Friday and the weekend almost here. Alas, it's Wednesday.

So last night was fun. This morning? Not fun. This girl is tired. And feeling a little blah. And didn't bring lunch today, because that was 5 extra minutes of sleeping (read: playing with Tino)!

I'm bored and sick of climbing on things. Play with me.

So what to do?

Lentil soup and garlic bread! 

Soup is my go-to comfort meal when feeling less than 100%.

Comfort

Rounded out with an always satisfying DC.

Awesome in a can.

What's your favorite comfort food?

SearsuckA!

So Searsucker was uh-mazing. My full little tummy is still thanking me and I can't wait to go back. From start to finish, it was a great night. The service was wonderful and extremely helpful. And even when there were a few stumbles, they swooped right in and made amends. Fantastic.

Do you know what else is fantastic? Duck. Fat. Fries. I wish I could eat those every day.

The other starters were pretty darn good too - spicy calamari, "carb-less" crab cakes, these incredible cheese biscuits (that had an airy-croissant texture to them) they put on the table, and of course, short ribs. yum yum yum.

It was difficult choosing an entree. There were so many enticing options! Ultimately, I went with the duck that had a pomegranate/pistachio sauce.

D is for duck AND delicious

We also ordered some roasted curry cauliflower and grilled asparagus on the side to share. 

It was all amazing. Seriously. I want to go back. 

We had a great time. Lot's of laughs and scheming/planning. (We better be going on a trip to Alaska). And because it was Taco Tuesday, National Margarita Day, Sammy's birthday, and really...an S2L outing, we made a stop at La Puerta for margaritas and you guessed it, chips and guac (as if we weren't already full).

Some snapshots of the night:

Steph, Des, Sammy.

Group Shot!

Love it.

It's your birthday, here's some tequila!

George and Ron

Oh Fabio

Burgers were my downfall

So sad to see you go. So yesterday I FINALLY caught up on all the episodes for Top Chef All-Stars. I know Fabio is not the most recent to go, that would be fellow Italian-heartthrob Angelo, but to me, it's fresh.

I'm glad I finally watched all the to-date episodes. Top Chef is one of my all-time favorite shows. This season however, took me a while to get into. It was almost...boring. I think it's because the playing field is so elevated. There haven't been many epic fails, and everyone is friendly for the most part (ahem, Marcel). It's like Summer Camp. Watching most of them yesterday (while cleaning and entertaining Tino) got me back into it. Especially as the contestants are dwindling and the finale approaches. Also, having Anthony Bourdain as a permanent judge was an excellent move. I LOVE me some Tony.

Speaking of Top Chef, I'm super excited to be visiting one of my favorite Top Chef contestant's restaurant tonight. Brian Malarkey! Searsucker! It was my bosses birthday yesterday (happy birthday Sammy!) and since we were all out of the office yesterday for President's Day we are celebrating with dinner tonight. Another perk of working for a start-up - we're like a big family. Probably because we work in such close quarters, are relatively small, work long hours sometimes, and all appreciate the art of a good happy hour ;) So accordingly, birthdays do not come and go without notice.

Will obviously have a post tomorrow about the experience.


P.S. Am I the only one still on the Top Chef train? Is it not cool anymore? (not that I care, just curious)

P.P.S. If you aren't yet burned out on thing Top Chef, make sure to follow Fabio on Twitter. (@fabioviviani) He's hilarious!

Experimenting With Goat Cheese

Yup, that's how this girl spends her Monday night - experimenting with Goat Cheese. And it was wonderful. The cheese that didn't make it directly into my mouth made it onto my new favorite "pizza." I'm using the word pizza loosely, but I'll throw around the word "awesome" pretty generously. Ingredients: Puff pastry, caramelized onions and shallots, goat cheese, cilantro and egg. Basically, these were all things I already had in my kitchen. Basically, it was amazing.

Caramelized heaven.

Goat Cheese, Onion and Egg Tart

Ingredients:

• 1 sheet puff pastry
• goat cheese
• cilantro, chopped (about 1/4 cup)
• eggs (4)
• half an onion, sliced
• 1 shallot, sliced
• olive oil
• balsamic vinegar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In the meantime, over medium high heat add about 1 tbsp of olive oil and saute the onion and shallot. Add salt and pepper. Stir frequently.
2. After about 15 minutes, when the onions and shallot are soft and beginning to caramelize, add a splash of balsamic vinegar. Let the vinegar reduce and set aside.
3. Meanwhile, take the (thawed) puff pastry and place on a baking tray (that has been sprayed with canola oil). Liberally sprinkle with chunks of goat cheese, onions/shallots and cilantro.
4. Crack 4 eggs one at a time and place in each corner of the pastry. 
5. Add salt and pepper to taste. 
6. Place in the oven and allow to cook for 20-25 minutes, or until pastry is golden brown. 

Ready for a date with the oven. 

I only added one egg, since I was only planning on eating 1/4 of this sucker. And to be honest, I was a little apprehensive about how it would turn out. I worried for naught. It was delicious!

Umm....yah...Make this tonight!

Perfection. 

Tino made sure to stand by to make sure all went well.

Thanks Tino!

A Week Later...

Flowers are going strong.

:)

(Ignore that one little straggler in the middle)