What's in the cabinet?

So the other day we went to his house to see what we could scavenge and make into an alright meal. In the end it turned out pretty dang good to be honest.

So here's what we did!

Things  you'll need:
Vegetable oil
Chicken thighs (you can use others pieces, this is just what Shaun had)
Coconut milk (just one can)
Curry powder
Red chili powder

Put about an inch of  vegetable oil in a frying pan and began to heat it up
Then mix up equal parts of the curry powder and red chili powder together in a separate bowl
Rub the spice mix on the skin of the thighs as well as under the skin
Fry the chicken in the oil when its ready (I put a couple of droplets of water and see if it sizzles to tell when it's ready), about 10 minutes on each side
While the chicken is frying mix up coconut milk, red chili powder, and curry powder (equal parts of both, I really just guesstimate...I never use measuring cups unless it's for a specific recipe)
Warm the mixture on the stove in either a frying pan or sauce pan.
When the chicken is done, pull it out and put it in the pan with the sauce in it
Serve! And rice goes really well with this

And there ya go!

Now originally I was going to Maui for Thanksgiving, but that has changed. So I am now making food for just my fiancé and I....hopefully it all turns our all right. And I will for sure be blogging about the recipe's I find and use :D

Yours till the cookie crumbles!

Back in Hawaii

I am once again back in the wonderful state of Hawaii :)

So much has happened since I last blogged...and I do have a recipe this time!

Just to fill you in though...I'm engaged to the most amazing man ever! He flew to Missouri from Hawaii to meet my family and ask my dad's permission to marry me, and then two days after we returned he proposed to me :) And I am getting married here in Hawaii :)

So anyways.

Here is my brownie recipe I discovered from Williams and Sonoma. I just have to say they are the most amazing things ever.

Just to let you know, there are a couple different shortcuts I take.
-Use a ziploc container/glass bowl (one that will hold all the ingredients) to melt the chocolate and butter in, just put it into the microwave for 30 seconds to begin with, and then stir it every 15-10 seconds until it is all melted. Then just use that as your mixing bowl for all the other ingredients as well. Only one other thing to clean then!
-I don't use cake flour, just regular all purpose, and I don't sift it. I'm a college kid I can't afford either, especially in Hawaii.

And here is the recipe:

• 8 Tbs. (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
• 3 oz. unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
• 1 cup sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 2 eggs, at room temperature
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup cake flour, sifted
• 3/4 cup bittersweet chocolate chips, semisweet
    chocolate chips, peanut butter chips or
    white chocolate chips (optional)

Directions:

Preheat an oven to 350°F. Lightly grease an 8-inch square baking dish, preferably glass.

In a saucepan over low heat, combine the butter and unsweetened chocolate. Heat, stirring often, until melted, about 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the sugar and salt. Add the eggs and vanilla and stir until well blended. Sprinkle the flour over the mixture and stir until just blended. Stir in the chips.

Pour the batter into the prepared dish and spread evenly. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the brownies comes out almost completely clean, about 30 minutes (longer if using a metal pan). Do not overbake. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool completely. Cut into 2 1/2-inch squares.

You can always just eat these out of the pan like I do as well as my friends. Oh and I suggest making double the recipe. And one other little trick. I decided to add a little extra flavor to these. 

I took several Hershey's Dark Chocolate infused with Raspberry Flavor squares and melted them in the microwave with a couple tablespoons of butter and then added a bit of sugar in as well. Then I drizzled it over the top of the brownies. It sincerely makes these brownies a bite of heaven. Or you can use whatever other flavor. I prefer the Hershey's to the Ghiridelli's (I can't spell) with Raspberry filling because it actually is all incorporated into the chocolate flavor and not just a filling inside. Be sure to check them out! 

Next time, let's see what Shaun has in his cabinets and what I can make out of it!

Yours till the cookie crumbles!

Fall Harvest

I am back at home now. Now it's just a waiting game until I go back to Hawaii for school. What shall I do with my spare time?

Cook!

And not just with any ingredients, items fresh from our garden :)

Over the next couple weeks while I am home I plan on finding different things I can make from our garden.

First on the list? Pumpkin!

I am currently in the process of figuring out what it is I plan on making with some of our pumpkins from the garden.

Recipes should be up soon with pictures :)

Yours till the cookie crumbles

The Most Indescribable Food!

Last night I had the most amazing opportunity! I was able to eat at the restaurant I work at. Which is Victoria & Albert's at the Grand Floridian Resort at Disney World. It is a 5 Diamond restaurant and it wasn't cheap. Though it was worth every single penny that was spent. 

And due to the fact that it was an extremely nice restaurant, I got to get all dressed up, along with my roommate Kimmy who came with me!

Kimmy and I waiting in the lobby at the Grand Floridian!

Upon waiting for reservation we were downstairs in the lobby listening to Christian play the piano. Christian also plays the harp at Victoria & Albert's when he isn't playing the piano. After seeing me there he then dedicated and played "The Hawaiian Wedding Song"  which  made me really happy and smile a lot! 

We finally arrived! Here are our lovely plates that were there when we arrived. Our servers were Allen and Mike and they were AMAZING! They made the evening extra special for us! :)

Did I mention they gave us the best table ever with Elizabeth playing right in front of us?!

Each of our menu's were personalized! Here is Kimmy's!

Here is the Amuse-Bouche, kind of like a present from the chef with a sampling of different things. All of these had some salmon in it and it was delicious!

Here is my cold appetizer! It was a Gulf Shrimp with Breakfast Radish, Kohlrabi, and Tamarind. And then Kimmy's cold appetizer, which was a Minnesota Elk Carpaccio with Olive, Artichokes, and Chorizo Vinaigrette

We both ordered the same fish course. A Citrus Poached Halibut with Warm Verjus Vinaigrette. And yes, that is a baby cucumber on top :)

Here we have Kimmy's and I's hot appetizer.Hers is a  Duck Breast, Duck Sausage and Confit with Strawberry and Rhubarb. The Duck Breast was absolutely amazing! For my appetizer I had a Brentwood Corn Soup with Petite Crab Cake. Yummy yummy! :)

Finally we get to the entree.... Kimmy got the Niman Ranch Lamp with Spring Asparagus and Minted Jus and I got the Filet Mignon with Marble Potatoes and Sauce Soubise.. Oh and that's not it. Chef Scott also gave each of us an extra entree...which would be the Kurobuta Pork Tenderloin and Belly with Baby Beets and a Sherry-Bacon Vinaigrette. 

 

 We felt at this point that it was necessary to take a walk....can you see the hidden Mickey?

Before the next course we also got to go into the kitchen! And we took a picture with Chef Scott :)

Now we both chose the cheese course... on it was a Colston Bassett Stilton, Coach Farm Goat, Gouda Reypenaer V.S.O.P. and Comte.

 

We each chose one of the souffle's. Mine is the first one, a Grand Marnier Souffle and then Kimmy got the Hawaiian Kona Chocolate Souffle

 

Oh and Chef Scott this one out as an extra for both of us...it's a Vanilla Bean Creme Brulee :)

We kind of got started on these a little soon....First we had a Pineapple and Lemongrass thingamabob (I'm not gonna get too technical on that), followed by a chocolate filled with flavoring of Meyer's Rum and caramel, and the last thing on the plate is a little cookie with a lemon curd on top. Which are my favorites :)

And we can't forget the long stem roses we each got!

We both ended up being very very happy campers :)

Now it's time for me to go at the moment, and I'll tell you more about the restaurant at  a later date!

Yours till the cookie crumbles!

:D

So it's only 7:30 and it's starting out a bad day. Oh well. I just got to change my attitude about it. Oh well. At least I got up in time to actually try making it to work on time. Now I just have to wait for the bus to take me to work...

On the upside of things I just have to think of my boy and a huge smile comes to my face. First of all he is coming to Missouri in September! He already has his plane ticket! :D Then he is told me the other day he is looking at getting a ring soon! AHHHHH! Excitement much?! I mean the whole point in him coming to Missouri is for him to meet my family and to ask my dad for permission to marry me. HOLY CRAP. I'M GOING TO GET MARRIED. It seems so much more real when I say it like that and type it out. But I still have to wait for him to actually propose and everything...that didn't keep me from trying on wedding dresses though :P

Okay Work time!
I shall blog later!

Yours till the cookie crumbles

Story of My Life

You get busy and forget about everything except sleep and work. Or that's how it's been lately. First the blogging stopped, then the time I spend on Facebook, and now worst of all, the cooking.

I have been living off of nothing but pasta and the cafeteria food at work. I know, that's life you gotta deal with it. Oh well. So sorry about not posting blogs, I'm going to try and be better at it. Well, I mean, how can I update you on all my cooking exploits when there are none to talk about since all I eat is just pasta, macaroni and cheese, hot pockets, and tv dinners. Those are some thrilling meals right there. But hey, it's what's cheap.

Oh and the other half of my time that I'm not working or sleeping, is spent talking to the love of my life. And since no one really reads this blog anyway this is where I get all lovey dovey about the amazing boyfriend I have and how I can not wait to see him again. He is the guy I am going to marry, I have no doubts about that at all. These couple months have already been hard, and the next couple will too, but the thing is, a couple months is nothing compared to eternity. I can not wait for that day though, when it officially becomes eternity. Which hopefully is next April. I just gotta wait for him to ask until then :D

Yours until the cookie crumbles

Cheap Eats

I love the cheap mainland prices. Have I said that before?
I was in shock upon finding a 38 cent box of mac and cheese.

No more cup noodles for me this summer!

At first I didn't have much money, so I got said 38 cent box of mac and cheese, hot pockets, bread, eggs, you know, the basics. Which of course in my book also includes stuff to make cookies, the chocolate ones in particular :)

Oh. I made some green chili stew this week too, go check out the post on that to see how I made it :) It's awesome to make a huge pot of it and then when you get home at two in the morning from work each night, to just warm it up and eat.

Then again, I haven't been too hungry coming home from work. They like to feed me there, that's what they say my job is. Since I've been there I've been able to have mushroom risotto, duck with an orange sauce, mashed potatoes, countless truffles and chocolates, and the best of all, soufflé. This would be the reason right now that I can't bring myself to eat anything else right now. They gave me an entire chocolate one, and plus some of the vanilla one.

5 diamonds indeed.

Did I mention they let me take home any extra bread every night? From olive loafs, to whole grain, to herb brioche.

Speaking of the herb brioche. I made a grilled cream cheese sandwich the other day with it. It was fantastic. That's all I got to say.

And another thing I like to make. As my family calls it, humpty dumpty eggs.

Here's what you need:
Slices of bread
One egg per slice of bread
Butter
Round cookie cutter (or whatever other shape you want)
Frying Pan
Flipper thing...you know what I'm talking about :P

1. Use the cookie cutter to cut out the middle of the slice of bread
2. Heat up the frying pan and melt a little butter on it (just to keep the eggs from sticking)
3. Place the bread with the center missing in the pan, and then crack the egg into the middle of the hole.
4. Sprinkle some salt and pepper on the egg if you like.
5. When most of the egg white has turned solid, so however it is that you like your eggs over easy, flip it over
6. It will only take about 30 seconds to finish cooking, then take it out of the pan
7. Butter and fry the piece of bread that was taken out of the center. You can use this to dip into the center of your over easy egg :)

And that's it!
It's really easy and it's a great midnight snack too :)

Yours 'till the cookie crumbles!