October 2009 Archives

You don't understand how long I have wanted to make this dish. It wasn't on my "to make" list in my phone, but it has been in the back of my head for awhile. Being at home the past few months, people aren't really into curry around here. When Steph said she would be willing to eat curry this past Wednesday, I was MORE than happy to oblige. The good news is there is a great asian market down the street. I can't use it as much as I want to, but when I can, I love wandering around there. P.S. The internet is ablaze with Halloween recipes today I'm sure. I did a bunch of stuff last year, but I didn't do anything early enough to post yet. You can see what I am making with some costume pics next week.

Since it's fall and all, people love to shove squash and pumpkin in places they don't belong. The good news is, 1 out of every 5 of these types of recipes work great. The second I saw a recipe for pumpkin chili, I knew I had to try it. I changed about 5 substantial things about this recipe, so I didn't feel the need to link it. The recipe had canned tomatoes in it that in my opinion would completely cover up the squash flavor!!! They used canned pumpkin(HATE) which i swapped for a butternut squash. Also, the recipe had no cinnamon which i feel is common in chilies and also pairs well with squash. Seemed like a no brainier to me! My only regret is that I didn't use dried chiles in this recipe. I love the flavor that dried chiles impart to a chili base, but I didn't find any at the first store I stopped in, and I didn't have time to stop again.

I like brussels sprouts A LOT. So how come you never see them on the site? Because I like them very simply prepared. Browned in a frying pan but still crunchy in the middle, top with salt or parmesan, done. I cant really post that. Especially because someone already did it perfectly. Here is a quick recipe I came up with the other day that combines brussels sprouts with fresh pasta and everything else it plays nice with. Bacon, Balsamic, a little cream. The fresh pasta is a nice contrast with the crunchy sprouts, and I think a necessity for this recipe.

I know there has not been a batch of wallpapers in awhile, and I am sorry about that. I really like making the wallpapers for you guys! The problem is, since I am moving around so much and cooking in many different kitchens, I am not getting the perfect pictures that it takes to make wallpapers with. Today I have chosen my 25 favorite past wallpapers and formatted them for smartphones. Everyone with blackberrys, Iphones, Palm Pre, and Google phones can grab some sweet free food backgrounds! I have tried out a few of these on my Pre already, and LOVE how they look! Note to blackberry users - there are a few different Curve models, so if you have a newer one, check this site with the model number and be sure to figure out your correct screen resolution.

Instructions for installing:
1. Download correct resolution for your phone
2. Email the file to yourself
3. From your phone, open the email and save the attachment to your pictures
4. Go into your pictures and open the file. From the menu, set as wallpaper or background

Be sure to let me know in the comments if you like these and are using any of them. Also let me know if you have questions or need help getting them on your phone

Curve Tour Pearl                                     Curve Tour Pearl
Bold Storm Iphone/ Pre/ Google             Bold Storm Iphone/ Pre/ Google


Curve Tour Pearl                                             Curve Tour Pearl
Bold Storm Iphone/ Pre/ Google                          Bold Storm Iphone/ Pre/ Google


Curve Tour Pearl                                      Curve Tour Pearl
Bold Storm Iphone/ Pre/ Google                          Bold Storm Iphone/ Pre/ Google


Curve Tour Pearl                                      Curve Tour Pearl
Bold Storm Iphone/ Pre/ Google                  Bold Storm Iphone/ Pre/ Google


Curve Tour Pearl                                           Curve Tour Pearl
Bold Storm Iphone/ Pre/ Google                              Bold Storm Iphone/ Pre/ Google


Curve Tour Pearl                                         Curve Tour Pearl
Bold Storm Iphone/ Pre/ Google                              Bold Storm Iphone/ Pre/ Google


Curve Tour Pearl                                       Curve Tour Pearl
Bold Storm Iphone/ Pre/ Google                      Bold Storm Iphone/ Pre/ Google


Curve Tour Pearl                                                 Curve Tour Pearl
Bold Storm Iphone/ Pre/ Google                               Bold Storm Iphone/ Pre/ Google


Curve Tour Pearl                                             Curve Tour Pearl
Bold Storm Iphone/ Pre/ Google                            Bold Storm Iphone/ Pre/ Google


Curve Tour Pearl                                             Curve Tour Pearl
Bold Storm Iphone/ Pre/ Google                                 Bold Storm Iphone/ Pre/ Google


Curve Tour Pearl                                                  Curve Tour Pearl
Bold Storm Iphone/ Pre/ Google                                    Bold Storm Iphone/ Pre/ Google


Curve Tour Pearl                                              Curve Tour Pearl
Bold Storm Iphone/ Pre/ Google                             Bold Storm Iphone/ Pre/ Google


Curve Tour Pearl
Bold Storm Iphone/ Pre/ Google

Two weeks ago I had a craving for corned beef. Two weeks ago. The problem with craving something like corned beef is that it takes two weeks to make, so when you have a craving, you better be a patient person. Two weeks later, here I am with some two week old beef that needs to be cooked before it goes bad. I didn't know what to do with it! Another problem with corned beef is that people like the leftovers better than the actual meal. I was planning on making this for my family on Thursday night, but FORTUNATELY it took much longer to cook than I planned the recipe stated. No one had dinner to eat that night, but I had tons of leftovers to eat for breakfast! I decided to make these the way my favorite breakfast place used to make them. "Josephs Two" in Waltham, MA was a regular occurrence in my college days, and what do you know? I am going to be in Waltham tomorrow...

This recipe has been in my head for about a month. When I come up with ideas of what to cook, I usually write them down in my phone to make sure that later when I am not as inspired, I can just look in my phone to figure out what to make. With this soup, I didn't even need my phone. The idea has been swirling around in my brain non stop. Should I add this? Take out this? Would it pair with this? When I finally made the soup, it was everything I had hoped for. This is my favorite recipe from at least the last month on the site, and i urge everyone to try it.

I was at a wedding this past weekend, and a friend and I couldn't stop talking about empanadas! No joke - we had a deep 20 minute conversation about them. I wanted them so bad that it only took me 3 days after the wedding to make them. It's no secret on this site that I like things that can be made with many different fillings/toppings. You know, like pizza, dumplings, and ravioli. I think empanadas will become a new favorite of mine, so expect to see them more on the site.

Sorry I have been a slacking blogger so far this week. I was at a wedding all weekend in upstate NY, and was unable to cook anything! Thankfully, there is a Foodie Fight for you guys to check out today, and I will be back tomorrow with some great stuff. In fact, I am cooking as I write this! - note - Foodie Fights is delayed until at least noon.

Just when I thought I wouldn't have a post for today, I was walking in the kitchen and my mom said she was just about to make a cheesecake. Sounds good to me! I have a lack of sweet food on the site anyways. She was making the cake for a get together with some friends on Saturday night.

We all know my obsession with perfect pizza and throwing pizza parties. But since I moved away from my pizza oven, I have not had the opportunity to make much pizza. Steph was having a party this past Friday and she had a hankering for grilled pizzas. The only problem is grilled pizza is kinda messy and involved and you can only make one at a time. I brainstormed on how I could make grilled pizzas for 20 people, but not be slaving in the kitchen all night and leave her place fairly clean. There was also the issue of her not having a grill or even a grillpan.

A few weeks back, I mentioned Iced Tea Vodka on the site. Mainly because it was a Friday and I didn't have a post ready. Little did I know, people are very interested in iced tea vodka! Someone suggested making your own iced tea vodka, and that made me think about all sorts of vodka flavoring. I have made limoncello before, so other flavors couldn't be hard. I started with a cold brew coffee vodka. Coffee flavored liquors are very popular these days with people shelling out big bucks for Café Patrón out at the bars. It is much cheaper to make your own!

I love lamb, but I usually only go to it when I am cooking something from the Middle East or India. I was at Costco the other day and saw a two-pack of beautiful lamb leg roasts for only 20 dollars. I grabbed it real quick, my mind spinning with ideas on what to make. I knew I wanted to roast one whole because thats another thing - when I make lamb at home I usually cook it to death and the meat is falling apart. I get plenty of medium rare lamb out at restaurants so why couldn't I make it at home? The result was very tasty, now what should I do with the second one?

What did we do with the Guinness bread from yesterday? Used it as croutons on Guinness onion soup. You guys know I love soup, and I have been waiting for the season to change so I can finally start making it again! You can expect a soup almost once a week from now until April.

Normally, I would post today's food with tomorrow's food, but since I have been posting less lately, I have decided to try and split things up more. This will give you guys more posts that are shorter. Is this a good plan? Tell me what you want from TFIMB. I probably won't listen to you, but then think of the same idea in a few weeks and think that I totally came up with it myself. But on to the topic at hand. I have had beer bread many times(hi Jeanann!), but have never made it. I didn't realize the ingredients were beer plus flour! What's the deal with all these beer bread mixes? I might start packaging self rising flour as beer bread mix and cash in!

Battle 13 this week over at Foodie Fights. The ingredients are black bean and coconut! weird huh? Check out the entries and make a vote. I will be back tomorrow with some new recipes.

This year was not the best year for growing tomatoes in New England. My Mom has a few plants and while they did produce many great fruits, it was nothing close to what it should have been. Because of rain at the beginning of the season, but nice weather towards the end, there are many green tomatoes on the plants at the moment that will never ripen. I have always been curious about fried green tomatoes, so I snatched a few off the vine and tried it out. Steph and I were almost shocked by how good they turned out to be. It was a very unique texture and flavor. Fried, yet light at the same time. So juicy that they didn't even need a sauce, but a little vinegar made them even better.

The engagement party for my sister and Matt that I have been talking about for the past week ended up being a great success. I had never cooked for so many people, so it was an interesting test for me. In the end, we went through 5 pounds of pasta with marinara, 3 pounds of mac and cheese, 15 pounds of pulled pork for sandwiches, 2 pounds of baked beans (that had 2 pounds of bacon in them), kielbasa, burgers, chicken, hot dogs, salads, desserts and tons of apps! We had absolutely no leftovers! Well, after dinner there were some leftovers, but they all got eaten as we continued to party throughout the night.