Lobster Fest 09

 

Dear Diary-
Catching up here. We got back from Maine a couple of weeks ago- ugh still wish we were there. If only the temps didn't dip so low in the winter and the town shut down- I'd so dig living there! I guess we will just have to settle for visiting in the warm summer months. Anyway- we went and we ate lobster. ohhhhhh the boys had a few more than the girls did but i did have my share that's for sure. We had lobster rolls, lobster dips, steamed lobster, lobster claws at the raw bar- Greg even bought a new new pet lobster named Spike- he later threw him in some boiling water and steamed his beloved pet and ate him- but I think they created some lasting memories before spike met his maker.
All I have to say- and my Dad will agree- lobster just tastes better in Maine. Even if you get fresh Maine lobster here in Florida- it is nowhere near as good!

Lettuce Wraps Still Reign Supreme

 

Dear Diary-
I spoke too soon. Brandon has decided that he still prefers the lettuce wraps as his favorite dinner dish. Gabe agrees that the lettuce wraps are 100 times better. So the wraps made another appearance. Gabe has just suggested that I serve the lettuce wraps with shredded chicken and some " sea cucumbers"- what the hell are sea cucumbers? Oh he meant sea scallops...again i was confused... now we nailed it down- he meant water chestnuts. :) heheheh
Ok so next time I will try them with shredded chicken and water chestnuts for my love...until then here is how i make the standard lettuce wraps that the boys so dearly love.
 

Chicken Tenderloins
Limeaid Concentrate ( little tubes of frozen juice )
Jalapeno Pepper
Sour Cream
Canned Chipotle Peppers in Sauce ( find it in the ethnic foods aisle by the taco stuff )
Bibb Lettuce- the hydroponic type is best that comes in the plastic containers
Grape Tomatoes
Avocado
Corn Kernels
Lime
Shredded Mexican Blend Cheese
Cilantro

Marinate the chicken tenderloins with 4 tbs of limeaid concentrate and chopped jalapeno pepper- at least 4 hours
Combine sour cream with 1 -2 tbs of chipotle pepper sauce and let sit- at least 2 hours
Grill or saute chicken tenderloins
Serve on big platter with all the sides
Use lettuce leaves to make a kind of taco out of everything

SOOOOOO GOOD!

St Thomas

Dear Diary-
73 days and counting until my awesome trip to St Thomas for my Colleen's birthday... i booked my flight today and i am overly excited! I can't wait to sit on the pretty beach, get a good tan, snorkel and eat and drink yummy Caribbean treats!

Not Just A Snack

Dear Diary-
Brace yourself Diary- you may ask what I'm smoking with this crazy suggestion but I promise I'm clear headed and it's a tasty hint. Ok you ready....here we go. So Gabe is out to Lee and Ricks for some perfect raw oysters with the boys so I put my planned stuffed peppers on hold for tomorrow night. Therefore after work I swung by the wine shop and picked up a bottle of chilled white wine and came home to make a super yummy tex mex salad. I had some left over veggies in the fridge and sauteed up some eggplant, yellow squash, red onions, grape tomatoes and seasoned up with some cumin, cayenne pepper and fresh lime juice. Topped with sliced avocado, cilantro- and here it is... POPCORN. Yes Diary you heard me right, popcorn. It's not just a snack- it makes one heck of a tasty crouton alternative! Don't get me wrong popcorn topped with Parmesan cheese and spices and a nice ice cold glass of milk is my favorite bedtime snack- but wow popcorn is fantastic on salads! Random...perhpas- unexpectedly good...for sure.
 

Brandon's New Top Pick

Dear Diary-
UGHHH FRIDAY DIARY! I am so pumped- and can't wait til the end of the day to enjoy a nice weekend. I need to do a hard core grocery shopping run this weekend because I have cleaned out our new stainless and it's looking pretty bare. I used up pretty much the last of my rations last night on a winner of a dinner. Our favorite dinner guest, Brandon, came over last night for dinner and of course he came over with his payment- bottle of red wine. He also helped moved a few things for me so he earned his dinner. Diary, seeing that Brandon is a frequent dinner guest he has his list of favorite dinners form his favorite cook ( that's me )I was really happy about his review of last night's dinner. It actually made it's way to the top of Brandon's favorite dinners made by Jen list.
It has officially knocked off the lettuce wraps. So here is the easy and tasty recipe... I served it with sauteed summer squash and zucchini and Gabe's left over Mac & Cheese minus the fake cheese pack- we had feta instead...

Mediterranean Cornish Hens
2 cornish hens
1/2 cup kalamata olives
hand full of capers
5 garlic cloves
1/2 lemon
1 white onion sliced
5 sprigs of thyme
Sea Salt
Cayenne Pepper
Olive Oil
Butter
Flour

Season Cornish hens with sea salt and cayenne pepper on both sides and inside cavity
Truss the legs together and place in shallow baking dish.
Toss the olives, capers, whole garlic cloves, onion and thyme with olive oil and juice of one lemon and pour over the hens.
Bake in the oven at 350 for one hour.
Baste often with butter- this makes the little hens so crispy!

Take hens out of dish to rest and place baking dish on the stove top over medium heat. Sprinkle 1 tbs of flour into the pan drippings and whisk until smooth and slightly thickened.
Top hens with pan sauce and serve with veggies and your favorite starch

Try it out... if Brandon say's it a winner I'm sure Diary's friends will like it too!

Airbrushed with pageant hair

Dear Diary-
AHHHH I had so much fun yesterday! I was an on air guest yesterday at HSN! :)Oh it was a long long day- I was up at 6am and left at 7pm. But the day was so much fun. I worked with the food stylist for my little demo table, i had this ear piece smashed into my ear- not that I could hear anything or maybe i just blocked it out. Oh and I had my hair and make up done. It was the first time I had airbrushed makeup put on my face- and it freaked me out! For some reason I refused to breathe! The make up lady was like Jen just relax it's ok. But I could not handle it! I ran out of breath each time she did this! Anyway, it looked great and then Stacey- I think that was the makeup lady's name...she did my hair. WOW I felt like I was in the running to be Miss Texas. I had full on pageant hair! I was scared... but I guess you need it that big to make an impact on TV...who knows! :)
Soooo I peeled and chopped away. And then I had an audition too to be an on air regular... I think I rocked it! I had them laughing and they loved my kalamata olive tapenade... recipe below. I talked about cooking techniques and what a tapenade was... the flavors and how I got into the cooking world and how I live my life and where I want to go. Before my last spot Diary I got to meet a big wig over there that said she was impressed with my first segment and that she was hearing a lot of good buzz around the HSN campus about me! She said that she wanted to talk further and work with me more. Ohhhhh man yesterday could have been a huge turning point for me and my life's path. I'm pumped and jazzed... fingers crossed I get back to be airbrushed and have my hair teased again soon!
Check out my HSN debut below!
http://www.hsn.com/infomercial/viatek-veggie-peel-and-chopper-combo_p-5540361_xp.aspx?web_id=5540361&ocm=sekw

Kalamata Tapenade
1 jar of kalamata olives pitted and drained of juice
1 small jar of capers drained of juice
2 garlic cloves
1 tbs thyme
2 anchovy fillets

Combine all ingredients in food processor and mix until well incorporated yet still a little chunky.
Serve on toast rounds

Sweet Sweet Lobster

 

Dear Diary-
More entry to come later...but I'm so sad to be back in Orlando. I wish I was still in Maine eating sweet sweet lobster. And at only 4.80 a pound it was a steal!