Future Homesick Texan

Homesick Texan is rapidly becoming one of my favorite food blogs. It's fitting, since I will no longer be calling Texas my home soon, and I'm sure I will be craving those Texas flavors just the same as this inspired blogger.

Recently I gave her recipe for Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas a try. Remember the theme for this month and next month's posts? Cooking in other people's kitchens? I've made this twice now, once at my parents' and once at a friend's. Both times have presented some interesting challenges.



Neither time that I went shopping for this was I able to find serrano peppers. The first time I just made it without them at all, and it was pretty good but very sweet, which I think the peppers might have balanced out. But the second time I upped the amount of cayenne pepper to balance out the sweetness a little more and I liked that. Also I didn't use a cast-iron pan. I don't know what difference it makes but ignorance is bliss, I suppose.

It went pretty well at my parents' house. I'm learning that THOROUGHLY reading a recipe before starting it is very important...not just to make sure I have the proper tools, but to also be aware of the process of the recipe. The reason I realized this is because I was trying to juggle so many different things with this recipe...make the sauce, shred the chicken etc. and have them all done at the same time so that everything was warm...only to realize that it all had to go in the oven at the end anyway, so it really didn't matter. I think it took me about 3 hours from start to finish.

The second time was at a friend's house. Let me start this narrative by stating that he is a bachelor. Not just a "single guy" bachelor but a "half of my kitchen is empty because I don't use it" bachelor.

Lessons learned?

1. Making sauce without a whisk...not fun.
2. No rectangular casserole pan? Use a pie pan and the square pan. It gets the job done.
3. Chicken breasts that have been frozen since summer 2009 will not, in fact, kill you. And it tastes just fine, once you cut off the freezer burn.

The worst part is, I made them twice and didn't get any pictures. I'm obviously out of practice. But go check out Homesick Texan's blog, you won't be disappointed.

No more excuses! Just an update.

Life has been a bit tumultuous lately. I graduated and got a job in Portland, Oregon which I will be starting in February. And because I graduated, I moved out of my apartment. Sadly, all of my kitchen has been boxed up and placed in my mother's storage unit until I get my own place in Portland.

But!

Since school has been over I have been cooking quite a bit. We will just call any installments between now and March "Cooking in Other People's Kitchens."


On a related note, I got to meet my favorite WWC, Rachel Ray!



Okay not really, the picture is from the wax museum in New York City. But I did squeal when I saw the reproduction of her kitchen and I had my picture taken with her likeness.

I also went to Washington, DC recently and visited the History and Science Museum of the Smithsonian where they had a reproduction of Julia Child's kitchen. No wax figured of her culinary greatness, sadly.




I have some great posts on the way, from my personal recipe for guacamole to a lesson on the brining process. Again, I apologize for being a bad blogger but now that school is over I should be able to spend less time in textbooks and more time in cookbooks!

Excuses are like...

I'm alive, I swear! I'm about to hit midterms for my last semester of college EVER. Unless I truly decide to get a PhD. but, we won't go there for now.

I've been cooking a little but to be honest I mostly live off of Lean Cuisines. Such is the life of a single, busy girl. But I did make these simple but amazing cookies the other day; those were a big hit. And when I do cook, I've been playing with the whole concept of "flavor-to-taste" which I think I am getting better at.

College will be over soon and I'll be able to play with food again! Until then, at the very least, expect results from the annual UTA Accounting Chili Cook Off at the end of this month...I have a chili recipe that will hopefully get us in the running this year!

Grill Fail

In an attempt to get back in the swing of things, I tried to make my favorite recipe so far: Grilled Chicken Sausage with zucchini. I'm still a little perplexed as to what I did wrong, but the sausage was BURNT. I turned my back for a second and it was just...bad! I mixed it up anyway, hoping that all the juice from the tomatoes would bring back a little moisture, but it was just bad. My roommate, bless her heart, came home and picked out the sausage, grilled some veggie sausage she had made and we were going to add that back to the saute...but that burned TOO!

Still puzzled as to how that happened. But I'm back in the saddle again, so that's something.

Long time no post!

So I promised myself when I started this that there would be no apology posts but here I go, making excuses. The last 2 weeks have been insane! I spent a week in New York (my very first time!) and started a new job. I have barely even been grocery shopping, let alone cooking! I'll have something again soon, including some NY-inspired dishes and cooking tips for the busy working girl.

For now, I'm going to heat up some leftover taco meat and relax after my first day of training at the new job. Ciao!

Chocolate Dipped Bananas

My boyfriend works as a valet at the DFW airport. They changed the dress code this summer to NO SHORTS and my poor honey has to stand outside in this 100+ degree weather in a heavy black polo and black pants! So I made him a sweet frozen treat to help him cool off after a long day at work.




Chocolate Covered Bananas
8 popsicle sticks
4 bananas, halved crosswise
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp sugar
12 oz semi-sweet chocolate
finely chopped pecans, if desired

Insert the popsicle sticks into the thick end of the banana. Place on wax paper and freeze for at least 2 hours.

In a small saucepan, heat the cream and stir in the sugar until dissolved. Remove from heat and set aside. In a double broiler, heat chocolate until melted. Add the heavy cream mixture and stir until smooth.

Remove the bananas from the freezer and roll in the chocolate, covering them completely and place back on the wax paper. Sprinkle with nuts, if desired. Place back into the freezer until ready to eat.

We had a lot of chocolate left over, so I dipped some strawberries in them, too, and just placed those in the fridge until the chocolate set.

Shiner Smokehaus Pork Chops

I have this great cookbook called How to Win a Cowboy's Heart that I permanently borrowed from my mom. It has a great recipe for smothered pork chops, and is the only way I have ever made pork chops. They are really delicious, smothered in apples and onions after they have basically been fried. But we have been on a bit of a health kick lately, so I wanted to try a variation on the recipe, grilling them instead of frying them. And with a 6 pack of Shiner Smokehaus sitting in my fridge, what better starting ingredient for a marinade?

I want to emphasize the fact that this is a serious first for me. My own marinade? No recipe? Dangerous ground here. But I started with Shiner, how bad could it be?

If you have never tried Shiner beers, I recommend that you do so. Immediately. They haven't made a single beer that I don't like, and their special summer blend, Smokehaus, is no exception. I don't know how they did it, but it has this great mesquite-smoked flavor that is perfect for summer and grilling. If you live in one of those unfortunate places of the world that does not sell delicious Texas beer, first of all...I'm sorry. Secondly, I think Sam Adams Summer Ale would be a good substitute, or maybe a hefeweizen.

I did a little bit of reading on marinades before I made my own. Of course by research I mean I read what Alton has to say about it. His very first line under the marinades section? "Marinades have long been hailed as "tenderizers." They're not.

Huh. Really, Alton? I thought that was the whole point.

He goes on to say that marinades seem to tenderize because they add flavors to our meats, and those sweet/salty/acidic/spicy flavors activate our taste buds and create more saliva in our mouths, making food easier to chew and creating the illusion of a more tender meat.

So, with new found confidence from the knowledge that marinades are all about flavor and not necessarily the right combination to "tenderize," I gave it a whirl. And let me tell you, these pork chops were GOOD.

Shiner Smokehaus Pork Chops
Marinade:
1 bottle Shiner Smokehaus beer
2 tbsp honey
juice of 1 lemon
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger

Apple Topping:
2 granny smith apples, quartered and sliced
half an onion, sliced
cinnamon
olive oil

Whisk all of the marinade ingredients together. (Be sure and use a large container for this...beer foams a LOT when you whisk it.) Put the pork chops and the marinade in a container with a lid, and refrigerate for 2-6 hours.

Fire up the grill! If you are fortunate enough to have a charcoal grill, then go that route. I don't even know how to tell you to use it so I'm not going to try. I have a gas grill (baby steps). Grill the pork chops until cooked through.

Meanwhile, heat up some olive oil in a frying pan at medium high heat. Add the apples, onions, and cinnamon, cooking until soft. Remove from heat.

Top the cooked pork chops with the apples and onions, crack open a Shiner Smokehaus and enjoy!