Jan 25 2012

Winter Wonderland

Vacation is over and it’s back to reality. We headed up to Lake Tahoe for a long weekend of snowboarding. The drive up wasn’t too bad – they had chain control, but we have AWD and snow tires, so we breezed on through both check points. We did witness a truck slide all over the road, but other than that… I just white knuckled it and told Dan he was driving too fast the entire time – 😉 he was going 35 mph – I’m sure he loved it.

We arrived at our destination and there was a light dusting on the ground – nothing major at our elevation. We ate pizza for dinner and just chilled until our friends arrived the next day.

I had fun walking around taking pictures with different lenses. The guys decided to go snowboarding on Friday and ran into horrible conditions. They got in 4 runs and called it a day. We ended up grabbing lunch and then making a big Italian dinner. The lighting was bad, so no photos were taken – I just took the opportunity to enjoy a meal. Our entertainment for the evening  included watching episodes of Southland and playing Monopoly. I thought buying up the railroads and utilities was a good idea… not so much.

We woke up to a winter wonderland… snow everywhere. We turned on the TV to get the latest weather reports. 6-12 inches and still falling. The problem was high wind advisories at the resorts and it was slated to get worse.

We dug out the cars and the plows came by to clear the main road a bit – we decided to head to the grocery store for more supplies. We stopped at the lake before hitting up the store.

It was FREEZING – the wind off the lake was insane. I was wearing thermals, my snowboarding pants and jacket, snowboarding socks, casual snow boots, a wool hat and gloves… and I was shivering.

My girlfriend Britt was taking a panoramic photo of the lake and her adorable pup played in the snow. It was his first time and he had a blast.

He was such a good boy all weekend – it sure made me miss my own – he stayed at “Camp Grandparents” and had a wonderful time too.

I LOVE the above photo…

I even got to pose with the little guy… he looks really comfortable huh?

Slight distraction with other playmates at the lake. There were several dogs running through the snow while their owner threw tennis balls for them to fetch.

We made our way back to the car and headed to the store for lunch and dinner supplies. I got a panini for lunch and then we ended up making shredded BBQ chicken in the crockpot with Hawaiian rolls. We also got a bunch of side salads from the deli and it was perfect. The roads were closed in some areas, the higher lifts at the resorts were definitely closed, so we stayed in for the afternoon/evening. Dan kept the fire going and we played hours and hours of poker. Good times!

The next morning was clear, but more snow was on the way. We had a wonderful time, minus the no snowboarding part. I had psyched myself up, Britt was going to give me 1 on 1 lessons since I’ve only been once before. All in all it was a super relaxing weekend with great friends. I’m already looking forward to the next time. There is just something so magical about Lake Tahoe – if you haven’t been… you should definitely plan a trip soon. Winter or Summer, there’s plenty to do and the lake views are just incredible.

I promise to get back to cooking and food soon.

Permanent link to this article: http://foodiddy.com/?p=7053

Jan 16 2012

Nacho Bar/Giant Cupcake Fiesta

This past weekend was spent perfecting the perfect nacho combination. Dan and I have very different views when it comes to the perfect plate of nachos. Let’s just say… he is not a fan of guacamole or sour cream… Gasp! I know…

When I asked him what he wanted to do to celebrate his birthday – his short answer was – let’s just have a few friends over for dinner.  You all know I can’t do “simple” – so I got to thinking of something that would be fun and that could be personalized by each dinner guest. Nachos… a nacho bar with tons of ingredients.

I looked on different party idea websites and blogs and started my master ingredient list. I knew I wanted to have bean, shredded chicken and shredded beef as options. I like to make salsa crockpot chicken, but decided on a different plan for the nacho chicken. I chatted with the butcher and he recommended boneless/skinless thighs. I ended up cooking those in chicken stock with a can of green chilis, cumin, salt and pepper. They sat in the crockpot on low for a good 8 hours. I also got a 3 lb. rump roast and cut that into small pieces and coated each piece with a chili powder, cumin, garlic and onion powder mixture. I then placed the pieces in a different crockpot with a cup of beef bullion and several dashes of liquid smoke. I put that crockpot at 250 degrees and cooked them for 9 hours. Both meats turned out perfect!

I also tried something different for the guacamole. I was buying avocados and this woman stopped me and asked if I was making guacamole. I said yes… so she grabbed the above packet out of her own cart and told me that I just HAD to try it. It was Chef Rick Bayless –  Frontera brand original guacamole mix with tangy tomatillo, green chile and garlic. You use 1 liquid pack for every 2 avocados. I ended up adding a little kosher salt, but really liked the flavor. It was a “hit” and one guest said she couldn’t stop eating it. Victory!

The master “Nacho Bar” ingredient list included:

  • Chips
  • Shredded Chicken
  • Shredded Beef
  • Black Beans
  • Refried Beans
  • Pinto Beans
  • Tostitos Salsa Con Queso – Medium
  • Shredded Jack and Cheddar Cheeses
  • Fresh Salsa
  • Pace Picante – Medium
  • Sliced Olives
  • Pickled Jalapeños
  • Green Onion
  • Red Onion
  • Cilantro
  • Sour Cream
  • Guacamole
  • Assorted Hot Sauces
  • Enchilada Sauce

Each dinner guest got a foil pie tin to create their masterpiece. I set the oven on broil for those that wanted to heat their chips and melt their shredded cheese.

The pie tins were GENIUS! I was trying to think of an easy way that they could go in the oven and still work as a serving vessel. A package of 3 tins was only $1.99.

Mike’s Margaritas…

Skinnygirl® Margaritas – Have you had them? It was my first time and the consensus was that we pretty much HATED them… one guest thought they tasted like “bug spray” – I’m an agave fan, I use it on a lot of things… but something was just off with the margarita. If you like Crystal Light, you might like Skinnygirl®, but I just wasn’t a fan. It was chilled – tried without ice and with crushed ice and we all just weren’t fans. The blender ended up coming out and Deede whipped up frozen margaritas and daiquiris from mixes that I had in the freezer.  Problem solved.

Rock Band was played… someone gave Dan those glasses as part of his gift, LOLZ.

The drinkers may or may not have played Pin the Tail on the Donkey.

And then there was CAKE. A giant “Hostess Cupcake” cake baked by Deede.  Dan is a huge fan of junk food. He enjoys the occasional fruit pie, cupcake and zinger. This was the PERFECT cake for him.

A quick switch of the candle order right before the birthday song was Deede’s idea. Dan loved turning “83” – hah!

The cake was awesome! Deede used Smitten Kitchen’s homemade devil dog, ding dong or hostess cake recipe. She used the recipe for the cake, cream filling and ganache. The recipe made enough for (3) 8″ cake pans.

She put the filling between the layers of cake, but didn’t make it thick and made sure that she didn’t frost it to the edges of the cake. She didn’t want it to be visible in the finished product – since she ended up tapering the edges of the cake by hand with a serrated knife. She used the ganache on the top and down the edges about 3/4″. She used Ghirardelli’s semisweet chocolate and cocoa powder in the recipes.

The Icing Loops
1 Stick Unsalted Butter
1.5-2 Tablespoons Milk
2 Cups Powdered Sugar
1/4 Teaspoon Vanilla

Deede used a #804 piping tip with the above recipe for the cupcake loop icing. She wished the frosting was white, but was happy that  it tasted like delicious butter. Deede did a really great job – a huge shout out and thank you to her for taking on the birthday cake project.

The entire get together was a huge success. Everyone had fun and we now have enough leftover nacho toppings to make salads, tacos, enchiladas and just about every other Mexican dish you can think of. Next time I’ll know to invite more people. 🙂

Permanent link to this article: http://foodiddy.com/?p=7011

Jan 11 2012

Artichoke Dip with a Lemon Twist

I’ve tasted many versions of artichoke dip. I’ve made some, had some at parties and even ordered it in restaurants as a shared appetizer. I’d never come across a recipe that also incorporated lemon into the dip… it intrigued me, so I decided to give it a try.

This recipe was from the same Creative Slow Cooker Magazine that the pizza dip came from. Little did I know that I’d need a second job to pay for the ingredients. O.k., maybe a slight exaggeration, but when you throw good Gruyère, organic cream cheese, high quality sour cream, Acme bread and jars of artichoke hearts into the cart, it sure adds up quickly.

I did end up changing some of the ingredient measurements (added way more lemon and cheese and used a different mustard – reflected in the recipe below) and I didn’t use the crock pot to heat it because I’m a rebel like that.

The Ingredients:
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1 Cup Fresh Mushrooms – Chopped
1/4 Cup Red Pepper – Chopped
3 Tablespoons Shallot – Finely chopped
1 Clove Garlic – Minced
1 8-ounce Carton of Sour Cream
1/2 Cup Cream Cheese
2 Teaspoons Lemon Peel – Finely shredded
2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice – Freshly squeezed
1 Tablespoon Sierra Nevada Spicy Brown Porter Mustard – Any brown or Dijon-style mustard would work
3 6-ounce Jars of Marinated Artichoke Hearts – Drained and coarsely chopped
1 Heaping Cup Gruyère – Shredded – Could also use Swiss
1 Baguette – you can toast it or not – I served it both ways

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
  2. In a medium to large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add shallot, garlic, mushrooms and red pepper. Cook mixture until pepper and shallot are tender, stirring frequently.
  3. In a medium bowl, combine sour cream, cream cheese, lemon peel, lemon juice and mustard. Stir in mushroom mixture, artichoke hearts and Gruyère cheese.
  4. Spoon mixture into a shallow casserole dish.
  5. Cover with foil and heat in oven for 25-30 minutes or until heated throughout. (If using a crock pot, cook on low-heat setting for 2-2.5 hours or until heated through.
  6. Stir before serving with baguette slices or pita chips.

Makes 32 (2 Tablespoon) Servings

I got all of my chopped items into the pan with olive oil.

As the veggies cooked, I filled my medium bowl with the sour cream, cream cheese (I used full fat, but am sure you could substitute with lighter versions) lemon peel, lemon juice and mustard. I stirred everything together and then added the cooked mushroom mixture, artichoke hearts and Gruyère cheese.

Wow… back away from the bowl/food Foo… way too close with the camera, sorry about that. I once again got everything mixed together and then I transferred the contents to my baking dish.

I popped my dish into the oven and let it bubble away…

I transferred it (just for photos) into a deeper glass bowl – it went right back into the shallow dish before the party…

This dip was awesome! I loved the hint of lemon flavor combined with the creamy Gruyère – I may or may not have added a bunch more Gruyère to the top of the dish before putting it back into the oven to reheat.

Oh. Yes. I. Did.

So great, now I’m craving appetizers for dinner…

Permanent link to this article: http://foodiddy.com/?p=6972