Arlene's Shrimp and Pasta

Yet another post of dinner -- courtesy of Arlene. Below is a picture of her Shrimp and Pasta dish.

Steak and Frites with Blue Cheese and Challot Butter

Looks like this is starting to turn into a food blog - I need to mix it up a bit. Anyway here's my version of Steak and Frites. New York Strip with Frites and a Blue Cheese and Challot Butter...very easy.

Noah Eating Solids

Here's a picture of Noah eating organic Happy Bellies cereal. Arlene and I will definitely use organic products when it comes to feeding Noah. We've also discussed making our own food for Noah with peas, carrots and other veggies vs using any processed stuff...next up steak au poirve!



Great transition from the previous entry right?

Being a Conscious Consumer - Eating Ethically

Last Sunday I was at Harris Teeter looking for a whole chicken to make for dinner. Recently, I've been only buying organic free range chicken vs factory farm chicken which I grew up on. While at HT, I was surprised to see the organic free range chicken on sale - on sale being around $9.50 for a 3 lbs chicken vs $11.50. When I checked the price on the factory farm chicken it only cost $6 for a 3 lbs chicken. Now money is tight with the recession and I literally stood there comparing the chickens and thinking about the price for a good 8 minutes. I came close to buying the factory farm chicken, but then I thought about the video I saw below a year ago that made me go vegetarian for a whole month.

WARNING!!! Watch on an empty stomach!


I try to eat organic foods as much as I can, but with prices rising it's hard to stay within budget or even justify a 25%-50% difference in price. I guess I'm going to have to eat less meat this year. When eating meat think about the how the animal died and how it's meat is prepared for your consumption.

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

Here's Sunday dinner - Roast Lemon Garlic and Herb Chicken with Roasted Thyme Potatoes and Brussels Sprouts. Not bad for $15 and I still have left overs for tomorrow.

Apple Charlotte with Cinnamon Sabayon

Okay gang, Arlene and I attempted to make this dessert together for Valentine's Day and I gotta say it came out really well. We first saw this dessert on the Food Network's Tyler Florence's Ultimate and had to try it out. It's a very easy recipe to follow once you have everything prepped. The hardest part is making the sabayon sauce and getting the Charlotte's out of the ramikins (hence the jacked up picture above). Also, we substituted rum for the apple liqueur which came out a little strong but still good.

(Recipe from www.foodnetwork.com)
Ingredients

For the filling:
1/2 stick unsalted butter
4 medium Granny Smith apples
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
1 lemon, juiced
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
For the batter:
2 large eggs
1/4 cup whole milk
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, for greasing ramekins
2 tablespoons sugar, for ramekins, plus extra for top
20 slices brioche bread, crust removed
Cinnamon sabayon, recipe follows

Directions
Begin by making the filling. Set a large saute pan or roasting pan over medium heat and add butter. Peel and cut cheeks off apples then cut into 1/2-inch chunks. Once butter has melted and just starting to foam, add apples, scraped vanilla bean and pod, lemon juice, and brown sugar and cinnamon. Toss to coat well and cook for 20 to 25 minutes until apples are just tender and liquid has evaporated. The sauce will caramelize slightly and should be a nice, rich dark color.


In a shallow dish, make the batter by combining eggs, milk, sugar, and cinnamon. Stir with a whisk until fully combined.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and generously butter and sugar 4 (1-cup) ramekins.

Invert a ramekin, or use a round cutter, on half of the bread slices to use as a guide to cut out circles. These will be the bases and top of the charlottes - you should have 8 in total. Cut the other slices of bread in half lengthwise.

Working with the circles. lightly coat in the batter and place in the bottom of each ramekin. Lightly dip the other rectangles of bread in batter as well, then use them to line the walls of each ramekin - standing them upright around the perimeter leaving an overhang that you will later use to fold over and seal the charlotte. It should take about 6 strips per ramekin. Fill each mold with apples and some of the caramel from the pan. Fold over the edges to seal it up completely and sprinkle the tops with a little sugar.

Bake in the center of the oven for 20 to 25 minutes. If the tops brown too quickly, cover loosely with foil. When done, the bread will have puffed up slightly, the edges will be brown and the sugar on top will have caramelized. Allow to cool slightly, then run a knife around the edges and invert onto individual plates. Serve with cinnamon sabayon.


Cinnamon Sabayon:
6 egg yolks
1/2 cup lightly packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup calvados or apple liqueur
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
Splash water
To make sabayon, combine ingredients in a large mixing bowl and set over a pot of boiling water on low heat, i.e. a double boiler. Whisk (you can use an electric whisk to make it easier) until the mixture becomes light and fluffy and the volume almost doubles.

Arlene's Chocolate Raspberry Tart

Well Arlene's been on this chocolate baking craze of late. Last week she made homemade chocolate truffles and this past week she made a chocolate raspberry tart. Well done boo!

No Reservations - Philippines

Okay, set your DVRs on Monday night at 10PM on the Travel Channel. I'll be interested on Anthony Bourdain's take on Filipino cuisine. I'm biased on Filipino food, but as a Filipino American I'm perplexed on why Filipino cuisine hasn't taken off like Thai, Vietnamese and Chinese food.

Tuna w/Olives and Tomato Pasta

So, tuna was on sale at the local grocery store for $5.99 a pound. I picked up some olives and San Marzano canned tomatoes and threw it in with onion, garlic, basil, oregano, salt, pepper and parsley...and came up with this.

Beef Short Rib Stroganoff

So I'm a huge fan of Tyler Florence's recipes and when I saw this one for Beef Stroganoff I had to try it. My sister and I used to make beef stroganoff growing up from those Lipton packs and this recipe brought back memories. The only catch is this recipe called for beef short ribs, which is one of my favorites. This recipe is pretty easy, but it takes about 3 hours since it call for roasting/braising for the short ribs...definitely worth the wait.


(by Tyler Florence)
Ingredients
4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped, plus 2 cloves, minced
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Extra-virgin olive oil
1 sprig fresh rosemary, leaves removed
1 large sprig fresh thyme, leaves removed
3 pounds beef short ribs, cut into 2 ribs apiece
1 1/2 pounds cremini mushrooms
1 1/2 pounds white button mushrooms
1/2 cup chopped shallots
1/4 cup cognac
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/2 cup sour cream
1 pound egg noodles
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons freshly chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 tablespoons freshly chopped green onions
Directions
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.

Place the chopped garlic, salt and pepper into a bowl. Add enough extra-virgin olive oil to create a paste. Add the rosemary and thyme leaves to the bowl and stir to combine.

Set short ribs out on a roasting tray and cover with herb paste. Roast in the oven for 2 hours and 30 minutes until they are falling apart.

Heat a large saute pan over high heat and add a 3-count of olive oil. Add mushrooms and cook for 3 minutes until brown. Add shallots and minced garlic and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper. Cook for a further 2 minutes until garlic and onion become fragrant. Remove pan from heat and carefully add cognac to deglaze the pan. Return to heat and add cream. Reduce heat and simmer until reduced by half. Turn off heat and stir in Dijon mustard and sour cream. Season with salt and plenty of freshly ground black pepper

Cook egg noodles in salted boiling water according to directions on package. Drain and toss with butter while still hot.

To serve: Pile the noodles high on a plate, top with stroganoff sauce and finish with rib slices. Garnish with fresh parsley and green onions.

Bodum Travel French Press

Best $10 purchase I've made in a long time. This is going to save me
$2 dollars a day from buying grande coffees every morning at Starbucks.

SLR Fun in DC

Here's some photos of the family spending a day in DC on a warm day in February. We spent most of the day on Capitol Hill and at one of my favorites, the United States Botanical Gardens.

Noah and Arl in front of the Capitol

Seagull spreading wings

Seagull at the Reflecting Pool

Lion watching over DC

Couple of flower shots at the US Botanical Gardens

more flowers...

more flowers...

and more flowers.

Arlene shows Noah her old lunch spot

Cool shot of cactus

The Little Things in Life

I love Noah's laugh in this video -- puts a smile on my face every time. Be sure to watch it in high quality.

Ray's Hell Burger w/Bone Marrow

Picture of the "Dogcatcher Burger" from Ray's Hell Burger in Arlington. The bone marrow was a bit much but still a great burger!

Picture of the Day

Took this picture over the weekend with the D90. Attempting a depth of field shot, Arl is in the background and Dee in the very back while focusing on Noah.