Archive for July, 2010
Sunny Anderson Visits Philadelphia
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Obsessed With: Crate & Barrel’s French Kitchen Table and Island
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Tips & Tricks – Cast Iron Skillets
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For the longest, I have never had an actual cast iron skillet. Sure, I have my Le Creuset but those lovelies are enameled (and let this gal toss them in the dishwasher). After watching one too many episodes of Cooking For Real and Viva Daisy, I noticed that a cast iron skillet appeared to be a favorite go-to piece. Sure, it’s not too expensive and from what my father told me, my Bampa used his cast iron skillet often.
So, with that, I decided to visit the local Tar-Jay and found a great Lodge Cast Iron skilletfor about $18. It’s supposedly pre-seasoned but is definitely not dishwasher friendly.
So, do any of you seasoned cast iron experts have any tips and tricks for those of us that are new to the Cast Iron Skillet club?
Anthony Bourdain Might Be Onto Something
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and he might have an idea that I believe current school districts might want to pay attention to.- Proper knife skills
- How to roast a chicken
- How to make a vinaigrette
- How to shop for and select produce
- How to make soups and stocks (therefore adding frugal skills to the table)
- How to filet and cook a fish
- How to cook vegetables properly
Guilty of Idiocy: MoreRebates.com
Posted by: | CommentsAs you all know, when things are good – I tell you and when things, quite frankly, stink – I’ll tell you. Such is the case with MoreRebates.com.
When our relationship started, it was good. We went through our honeymoon phase with me testing their program and actually loving the fact that they give rebates for sites that might not be on the typical cash back path. Well, as you know I maintain more than one blog and I use one specific hosting program for them that I ADORE called Hostgator. When I saw that I could get cash back from MoreRebates for Hostgator, I was thrilled. There was no fine print of a “one time only” deal and I used them for two separate blogs that I moved from Blogger. Both times I had cash back credited accordingly.
Well, after logging in one day to check the cash back percentages for a store since they aren’t listed on EVRewards.com, I noticed that one of my purchases was missing – namely the first Hostgator purchase. Curious as to why the higher priced hosting package was not listed (which they get a bigger commission on), I immediately emailed them to find out what the heck was going on and heard NOTHING. I figured it was a computer glitch and made a note to calendar it to check it in a couple weeks and, again, same situation. The rebate was STILL missing and now I was really heated. I immediately emailed them AGAIN and still heard nothing.
I waited a week and checked it again, and while I received a check for one of the rebates, the other rebate was nowhere to be found. I not only emailed them but their parent company ValueClick (which has some serious litigation problems) and, like before, heard nothing.
So here’s the issue – you have a cash back company that basically, from my observation and experience, appears to pick and chooses what “cash back” they will pay and, not only that, they still charge Hostgator for the referral, but my fave hosting company gets screwed in the process. How fair is that??? It’s not.
So, if any of you have an issue with them and I referred you, I’m so sorry. Fact is, I had no idea that they were shady and I’m removing any banners from them from my site and they will no longer be on my “Cash Back Tutorial.” Please check your rebates from them with an eagle eye and, if any are missing, definitely let them know. I can’t promise that they will respond because from my experience, they seem to either ignore or not answer the hard questions but definitely call them out on any mistakes.
MoreRebates – quite simply, we’re done!
Cool It Down With Blueberry Ricotta Ice Cream
Posted by: | CommentsThis humidity that is facing Philadelphia is starting to make me think Florida wasn’t as toasty. So, to cool things off, I decided to break in my new ice cream maker. Giada de Laurentiis did a chocolate chip ice cream made with ricotta and I thought this might be fun to try, except with Jersey blueberries fresh from Maple Acres Farm.
One tip with the ice cream maker – make sure to let the bowl freeze overnight or else you might have not so frosty ice cream. I added a lemon simple syrup and that complemented the blueberries along with the vanilla and the ricotta cheese added a nice richness and everything was able to be made simply without heating up the house. It was a nice way to beat the heat and I’m going to definitely be trying a few different variations – hmmmm… wonder how a caramel nutella swirl will work out with this recipe.
BLUEBERRY RICOTTA ICE CREAM
Recipe adapted from Giada de Laurentiis
Ingredients:
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 15 oz. container of ricotta cheese (whole milk)
- 1/2 cup of water
- 1 cup of sugar
- 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
- Zest and juice of one lemon
- 1 pint of blueberries
Directions:
- First prepare the simple syrup – combine the sugar, water, lemon zest and juice of half the lemon in a pan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce to a simmer for 5 minutes until the sugar is dissolved. Let cool.
- Combine the ricotta cheese and milk and stir until smooth. Add the cooled simple syrup and vanilla and stir until combined.
- Pour into the ice cream maker and freeze per the manufacturer’s directions.
- 10 minutes before completion, add the blueberries.
- Put the finished ice cream in the freezer to firm up a bit and enjoy.
Gather the Ingredients
Churn Churn Churn
Add the Blueberries
Enjoy!
Barefoot Contessa Gives Tips On Organizing Your Kitchen
Posted by: | CommentsThe Barefoot Contessa, Ina Garten, sat down with House Beautiful’s former editor in chief, Stephen Drucker, and talks about how to organize one’s kitchen. If he looks familiar to you, it’s because he has been on a few episodes of the Barefoot Contessa. I think I have some kitchen reorganization to start planning, stat!
Enjoy!
Obsessed With: NapaStyle’s POURfect Bowls
Posted by: | CommentsEver start baking and when you go to pour the contents of a bowl into a mixer or pot and things go EVERYWHERE? My counters could tell of countless spills and "oops."
NapaStyle has showcased these POURfect bowls and the idea is genius. Couple that with the sassy red color and I think my kitchen is in need of a set or two.
Beat the Heat: Slow Cooker Pork With Pomegranate and Chipotle
Posted by: | CommentsThe great folks over at POM Wonderful sent over some pomegranate juice for this cook to play with. With this massive heat wave that engulfed Philly, it was no surprise that the sky said "Enough" and it was torrential downpours that signaled a day of kitchen experimentation. While the temperature outside has cooled off a tad, I still did not want to use the oven if I could avoid it.
Last week, I made a ton of chicken stock after reading The Cozy Girl’s post about a great way to repurpose a rotisserie chicken and it added a nice touch instead of water. I added the pomegranate juice in 1/4 cup increments until I found the right note that just sang and balanced all the flavors going on. The flavor is phenomenal thanks to the tang from the pomegranate coupled with the smoky heat from the chipotle pepper. The pork shredded with little effort and was moist and cooked well. Combine that with the onions which had a jam-like consistency and served it with some crispy smoked paprika potatoes, it all just worked well together.
One good lesson learned – slow cookers aren’t just for fall and winter.
SLOW COOKER PORK WITH POMEGRANTE AND CHIPOTLE
Ingredients:
- 2 lb. boneless pork loin
- 1 cup pomegranate juice
- 1/4 c. brown sugar
- 2 Vidalia onions, sliced into half moons
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 1 tbsp. of mojo de ajo (or 2 garlic cloves and olive oil)
- 1/2 tsp. of cumin
- 1/2 tsp. of smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp. of adobo sauce and one small chipotle minced
- 1 bay leaf
- Salt & Pepper
Directions:
- Season the pork loin with salt and pepper.
- Sear off the pork loin in some olive oil (I used some from the mojo de ajo). While I know it’s a bit hot, the flavor it imparts is well worth it. Set aside.
- Add the onions and sauté until brown…
- Add 1 tbsp. of either mojo de ajo or the garlic.
- Add the onions and garlic to the slow cooker.
- Add the pomegranate juice and brown sugar.
- Add the cumin, smoked paprika, chipotle pepper and adobo. Stir to combine.
- Nestle the pork loin on the onions and add the chicken stock to halfway up the pork loin. Nestle the bay leaf in the stock.
- Add a pinch of salt and pepper and cover.
- Set the slow cooker to low for 6 hours.
- When it’s done, pull out the pork loin and let rest for 15 minutes and then shred.
- Serve with some of the onions and the sauce drizzled over the pork portions and enjoy!
Gather the Ingredients
Searing = Flavor
Onions are well on their way
Time to add the POM
SOOOO good! And the kitchen and the cook survived the heat wave.
*Disclaimer: POM Wonderful provided the pomegranate juice for this recipe.
Local Produce On The Grill
Posted by: | CommentsThe grill has often been a place of mystery for me. However, last year, I started to work through my apprehension and bought an electric grill. Why electric you ask – well, per my apartment’s housing rules in Altamonte, due to a nasty 4 alarm fire that we had there was a ban on any charcoal or gas grills. Luckily for me, my new apartment in Philly has the same rules. I went with the large Foreman grill based on the rave reviews from Sarah of Pink Shoe Diaries and Pink Shoe Cookbook and have been pleased with the purchase. So, I figured that rather than heat up the house with the oven or stove during this horrid Philly heat wave, I figured there was no better time than the present to improve my grill skills.
I saw some amazing local produce at Maple Acres Farms in Plymouth Meeting and thought I’d experiment with grilling the vegetables. Grilling these veggies (with my beloved mojo de ajo, of course – you can also use great olive oil) added a nice smoky flavor that had me wondering why I haven’t tried this before. So, when you are out scouring the local farmer’s market, think about how much fun you can have grilling your veggies. Your family and friends will love it!
Grilled Veggie Salad
Ingredients:
- 1 small container of cherry tomatoes
- 2 ears of corn with husks, silks removed
- 4-5 spring onions
- 1 jalapeño
- 3 tbsp. Mojo de Ajo (or Extra Virgin Olive Oil), plus more for grilling
- 1 lime
- Salt
- Pepper
Directions:
- Preheat the grill to a medium high heat.
- Wash and clean the produce, paying careful attention to the corn to ensure that the silks are removed from the ears.
- Toss the tomatoes with 1 tbsp. of the oil.
- Brush the grill with some of the oil.
- Place the vegetables the grill, turning when they start to char.
- Once cooked, remove from grill and allow to cool for a few minutes.
- Remove the husks from the corn and slice off the kernels.
- Chop the green onions, removing the root end and tops.
- Add the cherry tomatoes (you can halve the larger ones if you wish)
- Remove the seeds and ribs from the jalapeño. Chop finely.
- Add the juice and zest of the lime.
- Add the remaining oil and toss.
Enjoy!
Look at these tomatoes. Aren’t they beautiful?
The corn and the spring onions were just so fresh
Look at those grill marks – let me channel my inner Anne Burrell and say that grill marks mean flavor 
The final product – fresh, flavorful and fast!
