I contemplated moving my blog when I was in Spain.
Blogger and I have been having a rough go at it, and we ask that you respect our privacy during this hard time. We will be filing for divorce after I was caught being unfaithful with another blog site.
And so, after many rounds of entertainment, I have moved my food related posts to wordpress and will be writing my recipes there, starting in about fifteen minutes when I tell you all the details about my breakfast.
http://freshfrenchfry.wordpress.com
See you on the other blog!
Friday, August 31, 2012
Thursday, August 30, 2012
French Fry Fanatic
French fries are my favorite. Fact.
My favorite fries are: Smashburger Smash Fries. Lark Burger Truffle Parmesan Fries. Tap House fries dipped in their oriental BBQ sauce. Cooper Smith fries dipped in chipotle BBQ sauce. And (don't judge) McDonalds and/or Wendy's fries at 1:00 am. And... the fries that I make all the time. Which I will now tell you how to make.
Use Yukon Gold potatoes if you want to make your own. Slice them approximately as thin as your pinky. If you have fat fingers, aim for a piece of licorice type thickness.
If you are like me, you'll cut up about five potatoes. But two will cover a cookie sheet, and you do not want them to overlap, otherwise they really don't get crispy. Put them all into a bowl, once you slice them up. And toss them in two table spoons of olive oil, a teaspoon of garlic salt, and a few grinds of pepper. Once they are coated, lie them out flat on a baking sheet. Place them in the middle rack (pre-heat your oven to 400 degree F) and you'll leave them for about fifteen minutes.
Once they start to turn golden brown, usually around the 15 minute mark, go ahead and flip them. It is not crucial for them to each get flipped, so don't get OCD about making them all perfect. They will taste good no matter what. I sprinkle on a bit of salt and then stick them back in. At this point, I usually leave them about five more minutes.
But let me tell you something. Each time I have made fries, they cook a few minutes longer or shorter than the last time. Maybe it is temperamental potatoes, or maybe it is the fact that I check on them every two minutes and so I let all the heat out. So if you burn your fries and have a mental break down and call your ex crying begging him to bring your fries, don't sue me.
Once, we sprinkled on cilantro with a bit more olive oil and garlic salt at the 15 minute mark. That was exceptionally delicious. And if you have had the parm truffle fries from Lark Burger, I promise I am trying to figure out the best way to make those. And same with Smash Burger. (Molly Moore will tell you that Five Guys is better. She is wrong.)
Overall: the trick to fries is Yukon Gold potatoes. Who'd have thought. Oh. Don't peel them. But do wash them. Please.
My favorite fries are: Smashburger Smash Fries. Lark Burger Truffle Parmesan Fries. Tap House fries dipped in their oriental BBQ sauce. Cooper Smith fries dipped in chipotle BBQ sauce. And (don't judge) McDonalds and/or Wendy's fries at 1:00 am. And... the fries that I make all the time. Which I will now tell you how to make.
Use Yukon Gold potatoes if you want to make your own. Slice them approximately as thin as your pinky. If you have fat fingers, aim for a piece of licorice type thickness.
If you are like me, you'll cut up about five potatoes. But two will cover a cookie sheet, and you do not want them to overlap, otherwise they really don't get crispy. Put them all into a bowl, once you slice them up. And toss them in two table spoons of olive oil, a teaspoon of garlic salt, and a few grinds of pepper. Once they are coated, lie them out flat on a baking sheet. Place them in the middle rack (pre-heat your oven to 400 degree F) and you'll leave them for about fifteen minutes.
Once they start to turn golden brown, usually around the 15 minute mark, go ahead and flip them. It is not crucial for them to each get flipped, so don't get OCD about making them all perfect. They will taste good no matter what. I sprinkle on a bit of salt and then stick them back in. At this point, I usually leave them about five more minutes.
But let me tell you something. Each time I have made fries, they cook a few minutes longer or shorter than the last time. Maybe it is temperamental potatoes, or maybe it is the fact that I check on them every two minutes and so I let all the heat out. So if you burn your fries and have a mental break down and call your ex crying begging him to bring your fries, don't sue me.
Once, we sprinkled on cilantro with a bit more olive oil and garlic salt at the 15 minute mark. That was exceptionally delicious. And if you have had the parm truffle fries from Lark Burger, I promise I am trying to figure out the best way to make those. And same with Smash Burger. (Molly Moore will tell you that Five Guys is better. She is wrong.)
Overall: the trick to fries is Yukon Gold potatoes. Who'd have thought. Oh. Don't peel them. But do wash them. Please.
Guess what... a smorgasbord is real.
Apps means two things for me: apps on my phone, which provide me endless entertainment during my classes. And appetizers. Which provide me endless entertainment during my classes while I use apps to search for new ones.
Most recently, I have been a fan of avacado with lemon juice and salt. Easy peasey: cut in half. Then try to get out the pit. I am going to do some research on the best method for removing the pit. Because I hold the avocado and then smack a knife into it. And for the second time in the last two months, I not only smacked the pit, but also smacked my thumb. And blood doesn't taste as good as lemon juice.
Once you cut off your thumb and are ready to continue, I make a tick tack toe board on the avocado. I suppose you could make it smaller, but I nearly always win at tick tack toe so carving that into the avocado is nice little confidence booster. Then you can just use a spoon and scoop it out. I use about a tablespoon of lemon juice (or if you have a lemon, half a lemon) and then sprinkle on some salt. If you are like me and are just eating it for fun, dig in. Or if it is an appetizer, set it out with toothpicks.
Lemon juice, as it does with apples, keeps the avocado from turning brown. If you are taking an avocado for lunch or if you are saving half, you can use lemon juice to keep it from looking like something mysterious you may find in a diaper.
At my aunt and uncle's house last month, I had another delicious appetizer.
They used mozzarella balls, cherry tomatoes and basil on long toothpicks, and drizzled it with balsamic vinegar and olive oil. I add a little salt to take off some of the bitterness from the balsamic.
Our family go-to for apps is cheese. Shocking, I know.
If you want a smorgasbord (which I thought was definitely made up by my father, but it turns out it is real... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sm%C3%B6rg%C3%A5sbord) ours usually includes:
slices of cheese, slices of apple, and slices of elk. Most people won't have elk meat, unless they also have a 14 year old sister who is a great shot. So you can stick to sausage or just skip meat.
Here are my cheeses of choice:
Dubliner Aged Cheddar. This is available for approximately $5 at King Soopers, Safeway, and Costco.
Whiskey Cheddar. I just discovered this at The Welch Rabbit in Old Town, Fort Collins. It is much softer than a regular cheddar, and is delicious.
Aged Gouda. All I can think of is that movie with Channing Tatum and Amanda Bynes, "She's The Man," and her favorite cheese is Gouda. But really, it's a good one to go for on your smorgasbord.
I always like the standard sharp cheddar too. Or cheese-its. For the kids. Or me.
I like pairing most cheese with green apples. And french baguette.
You can also use olive oil, balsamic, and a bit of salt in a dish to dip the baguette in. Get all European on everyone, they'll die.
Most recently, I have been a fan of avacado with lemon juice and salt. Easy peasey: cut in half. Then try to get out the pit. I am going to do some research on the best method for removing the pit. Because I hold the avocado and then smack a knife into it. And for the second time in the last two months, I not only smacked the pit, but also smacked my thumb. And blood doesn't taste as good as lemon juice.
Once you cut off your thumb and are ready to continue, I make a tick tack toe board on the avocado. I suppose you could make it smaller, but I nearly always win at tick tack toe so carving that into the avocado is nice little confidence booster. Then you can just use a spoon and scoop it out. I use about a tablespoon of lemon juice (or if you have a lemon, half a lemon) and then sprinkle on some salt. If you are like me and are just eating it for fun, dig in. Or if it is an appetizer, set it out with toothpicks.
Lemon juice, as it does with apples, keeps the avocado from turning brown. If you are taking an avocado for lunch or if you are saving half, you can use lemon juice to keep it from looking like something mysterious you may find in a diaper.
At my aunt and uncle's house last month, I had another delicious appetizer.
They used mozzarella balls, cherry tomatoes and basil on long toothpicks, and drizzled it with balsamic vinegar and olive oil. I add a little salt to take off some of the bitterness from the balsamic.
Our family go-to for apps is cheese. Shocking, I know.
If you want a smorgasbord (which I thought was definitely made up by my father, but it turns out it is real... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sm%C3%B6rg%C3%A5sbord) ours usually includes:
slices of cheese, slices of apple, and slices of elk. Most people won't have elk meat, unless they also have a 14 year old sister who is a great shot. So you can stick to sausage or just skip meat.
Here are my cheeses of choice:
Dubliner Aged Cheddar. This is available for approximately $5 at King Soopers, Safeway, and Costco.
Whiskey Cheddar. I just discovered this at The Welch Rabbit in Old Town, Fort Collins. It is much softer than a regular cheddar, and is delicious.
Aged Gouda. All I can think of is that movie with Channing Tatum and Amanda Bynes, "She's The Man," and her favorite cheese is Gouda. But really, it's a good one to go for on your smorgasbord.
I always like the standard sharp cheddar too. Or cheese-its. For the kids. Or me.
I like pairing most cheese with green apples. And french baguette.
You can also use olive oil, balsamic, and a bit of salt in a dish to dip the baguette in. Get all European on everyone, they'll die.
lulu lemon loves being healthy
In my blog about Spain, I had a minor freak out about losing my lulu lemon jacket while in Salamanca. Honestly... I am still having a minor freak out. Yes. I do have a new one. But still. I was heart broken.
Tonight, I was on their blog trying to get motivated to work out tomorrow morning, and came across their food page. Um. I love you even more now, lulu.
Here is a link to some delicious looking summer salads. In case you want to squeeze a few in before the leaves fall.
http://www.lululemon.com/community/blog/refreshing-seasonal-salads/
Tonight, I was on their blog trying to get motivated to work out tomorrow morning, and came across their food page. Um. I love you even more now, lulu.
Here is a link to some delicious looking summer salads. In case you want to squeeze a few in before the leaves fall.
http://www.lululemon.com/community/blog/refreshing-seasonal-salads/
I know I'm fat, but can I have a bigger box?
Veggie and cheesey and chickeney goodness
Okay so your dilemma is that you only have zucchini, carrots, cheese and paprika but you want chicken tortilla soup for dinner. Wait. That isn't your issue? Okay well it was my issue so I remembered this recipe I used once last year to make veggie chowder. And I improvised and made chicken veggie cheesey soup.
It might sound weird (and look a little weird?), but I promise it is delicious.
Here's how it works:
You can use chicken if you want to, or don't. Whatever floats your boat.
You will need:
5 cups of chicken broth or stock (if you boil the chicken, you can use that broth, or you can buy chicken broth at the store, in case you get grossed out by the fact that you boiled chicken in that water and therefore refuse to use it.)
1 cup of chopped carrots
1 cup of chopped zucchini. You can also use yellow straightneck squash if you want to mix it up.
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped broccoli. I like to make these pretty small (like, the size of a penny) so that the cheese doesn't all stick to them.
1 cup water, mixed AHEAD OF TIME, with three table spoons of flour. It won't mix up if you add it right to the soup before you mix the flour and water.
1 cup of milk
10 shakes of smoked paprika... not sure how much that is in teaspoons, but I'd guess a few. Isn't that helpful :) Use ten shakes and if you can't do that, go with two teaspoons.
2 teaspoons of garlic salt
2 cups of shredded medium or sharp cheddar
1-2 cups of boiled, shredded chicken
And as much salt as you'd like to make it delicious. I use Lawery's seasoning salt.
Okay so here's how it goes. Bring the broth to a boil and add the veggies. You'll want to boil them about 5 minutes, until they are blanched. Then you can add the milk, mixture of flour and water, and stir that. The flour will thicken the soup a bit, to give it more of a chowder texture. Now add the paprika and garlic salt. Mix that up really well and keep the soup boiling. I add the chicken next. I like to let it get warm in the soup before I add the cheese. When the soup returns to a boil, begin sprinkling the cheese and mixing it in. You don't want to just dump it all in, or it will clump on the veggies. So sprinkle and stir until the cheese is all mixed and melted in. YUM. I love cheese.
Now you can add as much salt as you'd like. I also usually add more paprika, because I am addicted to it, but I will let you make that call. I also go heavy on salt, because I also like that quite a lot.
Last time, I put some chopped green onion on top which was yummy. Anyhow. This combines my favorite food: cheese, with my favorite meat other than steak and bacon: chicken. And then veggies so it is healthy, right? Right.
There you go. First recipe. Done.
It might sound weird (and look a little weird?), but I promise it is delicious.
Here's how it works:
You can use chicken if you want to, or don't. Whatever floats your boat.
You will need:
5 cups of chicken broth or stock (if you boil the chicken, you can use that broth, or you can buy chicken broth at the store, in case you get grossed out by the fact that you boiled chicken in that water and therefore refuse to use it.)
1 cup of chopped carrots
1 cup of chopped zucchini. You can also use yellow straightneck squash if you want to mix it up.
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped broccoli. I like to make these pretty small (like, the size of a penny) so that the cheese doesn't all stick to them.
1 cup water, mixed AHEAD OF TIME, with three table spoons of flour. It won't mix up if you add it right to the soup before you mix the flour and water.
1 cup of milk
10 shakes of smoked paprika... not sure how much that is in teaspoons, but I'd guess a few. Isn't that helpful :) Use ten shakes and if you can't do that, go with two teaspoons.
2 teaspoons of garlic salt
2 cups of shredded medium or sharp cheddar
1-2 cups of boiled, shredded chicken
And as much salt as you'd like to make it delicious. I use Lawery's seasoning salt.
Okay so here's how it goes. Bring the broth to a boil and add the veggies. You'll want to boil them about 5 minutes, until they are blanched. Then you can add the milk, mixture of flour and water, and stir that. The flour will thicken the soup a bit, to give it more of a chowder texture. Now add the paprika and garlic salt. Mix that up really well and keep the soup boiling. I add the chicken next. I like to let it get warm in the soup before I add the cheese. When the soup returns to a boil, begin sprinkling the cheese and mixing it in. You don't want to just dump it all in, or it will clump on the veggies. So sprinkle and stir until the cheese is all mixed and melted in. YUM. I love cheese.
Now you can add as much salt as you'd like. I also usually add more paprika, because I am addicted to it, but I will let you make that call. I also go heavy on salt, because I also like that quite a lot.
Last time, I put some chopped green onion on top which was yummy. Anyhow. This combines my favorite food: cheese, with my favorite meat other than steak and bacon: chicken. And then veggies so it is healthy, right? Right.
There you go. First recipe. Done.
Lover, lover
This may be rather twisted, when when I watch Shark Week, I get really hungry. Not that I want to go around eating people's thighs or chowing down on chum, but I totally understand their desperation for food. Today, in Entrepreneurship, I could not stop fantasizing about eating the Fuzzy's Taco's ad in the newspaper. I was about two animal crackers and a loudly grumbling stomach from leaving class, biking like Lance, and eating tacos instead of going to my next class.
And so, it seems natural, that I would start to blog about food. I have been thinking about it for a while; since returning from studying abroad, I have missed blogging. And I have missed the food. Two falls ago, I left America for six months to eat my way through Spain. While I was busy eating my way to 40 pounds of Spanish food fatter than I was when I arrived in Spain, I was also tricking (okay, my negotiation professor would prefer I use the term emotionally manipulating) a boy back home into working out constantly and getting ready for my return. Which was ironic, since as he got more in shape, I drank and ate away as much food as I possibly could. I spent that six months watching my host mom turn canned beans into delicious meals and cook paella like a pro. Not to mention cook with an entire jar of salt in three months, teaching me that while food can be delicious, it will also result in a pudgey face and not so subtle comments from your family about your recent weight change.
I taught myself to cook when I got back because I was fat. Okay, and because I cannot handle being away from my spoiled childhood of gourmet dinners cooked by my "stay at home mom." That's what she called herself, but let's be real. Her life goal was not to raise three semi-normal daughters... it was to cook me delicious dinners every night. And cater to my random desires and pickiness. And despite the nice butt that comes with getting fat, I am determined to eat healthy.
And now, here I am, back for a year and back to my regular size, and cooking up a storm with the same boy who I forced to get beefy and buff for me. What's a girl to do, change her ways? Not when they result in delicious dinners and a delicious person to share them with.
But enough about my thick thighs and how I came to love cooking (with less salt). I am planning on being a copy cat and following the Julie and Julia movie food blog idea. Not to mention the 15 thousand other food blogs out there. The difference is that I will not be blogging about every single meal because I will be much too busy eating to have time to tell you all the things I eat. But I am going to record where I go, what I eat, and what recipes I use (again, as time allows.) And I will be providing random, sarcastic and hopefully amusing anecdotes along the way. But don't get your hopes up too high... there's a good chance that all I will do is give you recipes and add 40 pounds to your sexy, sexy bod like Spain did to me. So take these words of advice and prepare for some delicious recipes:
DO NOT DRINK SO MUCH SANGRIA! but really, do. 40 pounds is totally worth it. Not to mention the fact that I have a fantastic sangria recipe that you too shall have.... soon.
And so, it seems natural, that I would start to blog about food. I have been thinking about it for a while; since returning from studying abroad, I have missed blogging. And I have missed the food. Two falls ago, I left America for six months to eat my way through Spain. While I was busy eating my way to 40 pounds of Spanish food fatter than I was when I arrived in Spain, I was also tricking (okay, my negotiation professor would prefer I use the term emotionally manipulating) a boy back home into working out constantly and getting ready for my return. Which was ironic, since as he got more in shape, I drank and ate away as much food as I possibly could. I spent that six months watching my host mom turn canned beans into delicious meals and cook paella like a pro. Not to mention cook with an entire jar of salt in three months, teaching me that while food can be delicious, it will also result in a pudgey face and not so subtle comments from your family about your recent weight change.
I taught myself to cook when I got back because I was fat. Okay, and because I cannot handle being away from my spoiled childhood of gourmet dinners cooked by my "stay at home mom." That's what she called herself, but let's be real. Her life goal was not to raise three semi-normal daughters... it was to cook me delicious dinners every night. And cater to my random desires and pickiness. And despite the nice butt that comes with getting fat, I am determined to eat healthy.
And now, here I am, back for a year and back to my regular size, and cooking up a storm with the same boy who I forced to get beefy and buff for me. What's a girl to do, change her ways? Not when they result in delicious dinners and a delicious person to share them with.
But enough about my thick thighs and how I came to love cooking (with less salt). I am planning on being a copy cat and following the Julie and Julia movie food blog idea. Not to mention the 15 thousand other food blogs out there. The difference is that I will not be blogging about every single meal because I will be much too busy eating to have time to tell you all the things I eat. But I am going to record where I go, what I eat, and what recipes I use (again, as time allows.) And I will be providing random, sarcastic and hopefully amusing anecdotes along the way. But don't get your hopes up too high... there's a good chance that all I will do is give you recipes and add 40 pounds to your sexy, sexy bod like Spain did to me. So take these words of advice and prepare for some delicious recipes:
DO NOT DRINK SO MUCH SANGRIA! but really, do. 40 pounds is totally worth it. Not to mention the fact that I have a fantastic sangria recipe that you too shall have.... soon.
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