Cold Weather and Crazy Purchases

Dear Diary-

I do not even know where to begin.... my love came home Friday night from a work trip and I was so happy to see him. So Saturday I left him for a little bit- he was on his own for maybe an hour. I get a call from Gabe when I was out with my mom and he told me that he made a purchase that I wasn't going to be to happy about...i had a hundred thing running thru my mind NEVER could i have imagine what he was going to tell me. He said he bought a bear- i was like why would you buy a teddy bear? He let me know that it was not a teddy bear... it was a bear that used to be alive that was now skinned and adhered to felt. I could have died- Gabe was so proud. Ugh Diary who goes out and buys a bear after seeing something furry at a garage sale? So now Gabe has a bear on the wall next to his 8 foot long fish tank that he refers to as his "show piece". Seeing that his office now resembles some sort of tropical camping lodge and it was "cold" out. Being in Florida if it drops below 75 it's considered cold. Anyway I was inspired to make some chili. The boys came over and watched football outside in the back patio and made fun of Gabe and his bear....

Chili
2 teaspoons oil
2 onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb lean ground beef
3/4 lb beef sirloin, cubed
1 (14 1/2 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 can dark beer
1 cup strong coffee
2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
1 can beef broth
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 1/2 tablespoons chili sauce
1 tablespoon cumin
1 tablespoon cocoa
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon salt
2 (15 ounce) cans kidney beans
1 jalepeno pepper, chopped

Heat oil, cook onions, garlic and meat until brown.
Add tomatoes, beer, coffee, tomato paste and beef broth.
Add spices Stir in 2 cans of kidney beans and peppers.
Reduce heat and simmer for 1 1/2 hours.

Jerkie's Dinner

Dear Diary-

Now that I think about it, Dear Diary started in culinary school. A select few of us all had our little books that we jotted down recipes and food tips- but we would also trade and then write Dear Diary entries in each other's books. Chef Heather made fun of our Diaries but it brought Ben, Natalie, Ashley and I great joy.... ahh MEMORIES!

So this is my favorite Dear Diary friend's dinner from last night. Ben aka Jerkie made an amazing poached Halibut. It almost looked like a vegetable terrine of sorts. But no... when I asked Jerkie about it he told me it was fish. Looks DELICIOUS! So here is Jerkie's recipe....

Take a piece of fish, throw some salt and pepper on it, add tomato confit on the top, basil leaves on bottom, douse in olive oil, wrap in plastic wrap and put the whole packet in simmering water for a few mins

My Art minus Spell Check

Dear Diary-

ohhhh wow only 11 days til i fly away to paradise for Colleen's birthday party! I can't wait- it's all i can think about and therefore i made some art....but i forgot the use spell check and so it's not a real masterpiece....

Telina's Awesome Party Dip!

Dear Dairy-
ughhh it's the afternoon and i am hungry- didn't help that my good friend Telina posted pictures of her famous yummy dip on Facebook! :( Ugh what I would do to have some of that now! Anyway it's easy and a crowd pleaser! Below is miss Telina's awesome dip- I PROMISE you will need to make a couple of batches- it's gone before you know it!

TELINA'S BUFFALO CHICKEN DIP

Mix 1 bottle of Frank Hot Sauce, 1 block of cream cheese, 1 bottle of ranch dressing, 1 bag of Tyson precooked diced chicken breast. Warm in oven and top with shredded cheese

Evidence below- this was a picture of the dip 5 minutes after it hit the table......

John Deere Green

Dear Diary-
Gabe wanted to go down to the neighbor's house yesterday. It's maybe 2 blocks away- instead of walking or riding a bike or even using his car Gabe whipped out his trusty John Deere to ride on down. I wish I had had my camera when I drove by the house and saw that Gabe parked his pimp ride right in our friend's front yard....

Important Update from Nurse Linda

Dear Diary-
Oh Diary I forgot to tell you that Mom KILLED last weekend on stage at the Food Fest talking about the Swine Flu. Shannon and I nearly fell out of our seats laughing so hard! Anyway Mom ins making her rounds and here is her letter to all parents and what they should know about the flu...GO MOM!

Dear Parents:
Cold and flu season is upon us. The school clinic has seen an increase in visits; many require that the student be sent home. Help us to prevent spreading illness to others in the classrooms, by following the guidelines below.
Guidelines for Keeping Sick Children Home from School
Appearance: Unusually tired, pale, irritable, lack of appetite.
Fever. The child should remain at home with a fever greater than 100°. The child can return to school after he/she has been fever free for 24 hours (without fever reducing medicine such as Tylenol or Motrin).

A sick child cannot learn effectively and is unable to participate in classes in a meaningful way. Keeping a sick child home prevents the spread of illness in the school community and allows the child opportunity to rest and recover.Please keep the clinic updated on your contact numbers and any health concerns you may have regarding your child. We are here to assist in any way we can, and thank you for your support.
Sincerely,

Linda S. Gabel, RN, CCM
Tildenville School Nurse

Reality/ Not really Reality Contestants

Dear Diary-
I was pumped to be part of the Latin Food and Wine Fest this past weekend. I had a great time and met a bunch of new peeps and hopefully some bigger and better things will come of this. I was most looking forward to meeting Jeff McGinnis from Top Chef. He really rocked on his season and was even brought back to try to knock another competitor out. I like the whole idea of being brought back :) HINT HINT Food Network! Just sayin...Anyway Jeff made a delicious looking watermelon and hot cheese salad with celery hearts- my favorite part of celery! He was cool to chat with Gabe tried to get some good dirt on the Top Chef behind the scenes as I prepped for my chicken lettuce wraps demo. Gabe for sure went out of his comfort zone and well outside his dome when he asked Jeff and his lady friend to stay around for a drink before they drove back to Miami. Cool to see someone you really thought was talented in person.. looking forward to meeting more chefs!

Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Chicken Tenderloins
Hydroponic Bibb Lettuce
4 Blend Mexican Shredded Cheese
Avocado Slices
Grape Tomatoes sliced in half
Cilantro
Sour Cream
Chipoltle Peppers in Adobo Sauce
Jalapeno
2 cloves of garlic
LimeAid Concentrate

Marinate the Chicken Tenderloins with 2 tbs of LimeAid Concentrate, 1/4 cup of olive oil, crushed garlic cloves and salt and pepper for up to 2 hours

Mix sour cream with 1 tbs ( or more according to taste ) of the adobo sauce found in canned chipotle peppers. Cover and refrigerate for the flavors to marry

Saute chicken tenderloins a couple of minutes per side until cooked thru

Use lettuce leaves as cups and fill with the sour cream sauce, chicken and toppings to your liking

Have it Your Way

Dear Diary-
I think I'm going to maybe start focusing on dinners that are build your own- kinda like Burger King- have it your way. Seeing that Gabe has strong opinions on how he would like his dinners i think him building his own will work out for the better. So i made a salad nicoise- which when i told him what was for dinner he said he didn't like nicoise even though he doesn't know what that meant. I lied and told him we had had it before and that he liked it. Now I can't remember if I have made him a salad nicoise before but i went with it. So when dinner rolled around and he got to make his plate he was a happy boy and then said he liked nicoise. I think he liked making it his own.....
You may ask yourself- what is salad nicoise? It's basically a composed salad. I used boiled fingerling potatoes, tomatoes, blanched french beans, artichoke hearts, hard boiled egg, baby lettuces and sauteed shrimp. We built our salads and topped with with a balsamic dressing and grated parm cheese...
Balsamic Dressing Recipe
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper, ground
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Mix all ingredients together in a small Tupperware and shake until combined

Skin Burn

Dear Dairy-
As I was pursuing the aisles in Walgreens yesterday I found myself picking up random things and putting them in to my basket. I was kinda having a pitty party for myself and all depressed and really wanted to go shopping. But seeing that the big banquette project will most likely put us over budget i went on an impromptu shopping spree in Walgreens instead. So i bought new eyeshadow, fake lases and a new lip liner then some lotion, bath salts and then I came across the Smooth Away- as seen on TV. I was intrigued. Gabe shaves his arms but i don't want to be some arm shaver. So I was like hmmm I'll try this- I'm not saying I'm like Teen Wolf or anything- i have a little bit of blond arm hair. But not anymore! I buffed away dead skin and the hair off my arms! It didn't even hurt- well except for the spot where i was a little over zealous and buffed too hard and gave myself a skin burn. Now it's red- great... but SMOOTH!

Hot Mic

Dear Diary-
Well the festivities have begun. It's time for the Latin Food and Wine Fest! Today I was on the radio with Dave and Leslye on Magic 107.7.... well i was all flustered because I got lost going there in the dark at 6:30am. And the tint on my windows is WAY too dark and illegal to see so I couldn't even find the building because i couldn't see the numbers after i got onto the right street. But I finally made it into the studio and sat down to promote to the Latin Food and Wine Fest. What a fun way to start my morning. But... I'm dead tired. I was awake all night fearing I was going to be late. Which i was... first off because the alarm didn't go off but i was wide awake and saw that i had to get up and then because i was lost in a maze of black streets and look alike buildings. Regardless- it was a blast. As will tonight- i can't wait to meet all the other chefs! http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/features_food_blog/2009/10/latin-food-wine-festival-spices-up-central-florida-oct-12.html