Not Such a Novel Idea

I don't know if jealousy is quite the correct term but I'm definitely envious.

Yet another Patent Examiner's cooking blog

I don't know if I should hate her and her perfect photography or meet her and borrow her camera. :)

Pasta with Roasted Butternut Squash and Shallots

It's official - spring is here. But why does it feel like typical winter weather is just picking up? Well, since it's still freezing out, I think it's totally justified to eat a filling, starchy recipe like Pasta with Roasted Butternut Squash and Shallots. I think the recipe is considered "light" because the suggested amount of pasta is only 4 ounces. Although I decided to throw the entire bag of pappardelle into the pot, I think 4 ounces per 3 cups of butternut squash is totally reasonable. I love the flavor combination of the roasted squash, brown sugar, shallots and sage but the chunks of butternut squash were quite a mouthful. I think making a pureed version of this combination would make a great filling for fresh ravioli...we'll see. :)

Chile-Rubbed Pan-Seared Scallop Salad

The lesson of the week is don't blindly follow a recipe. I usually do pay attention to the ingredients and usually appropriately choose whether to use fresh vs. dried/canned/frozen, etc. However, one thing I usually blindly follow is the number of servings - I rarely scale anything down. I figure if I'm going to make the effort to whip up a home-cooked meal, I should treat myself to some leftovers for lunch or maybe even a second serving of dinner the next day. The recipe for Chile-Rubbed Pan-Seared Scallop Salad claims to serve four people. Have you ever tried to sit down and eat 1/4 of a head of cabbage? Geez - It's ridiculous. I really didn't realize that I had purchased a crazy amount of cabbage because I just bought one head. But I realized my mistake after cutting the head up into nice little pieces and realized I had 2 large mixing bowls filled to the top with cabbage. I know it's healthy for you and all that but was quite a task to eat my salad which only had about 1/8 of the cabbage. Sad to say, but the remainder of the salad ended up turning all mushy after a few days of neglect in the fridge. I wound up pan-searing the scallops with a few tablespoons of oil rather than grilling because we haven't gotten a gas tank for new oh-so-cute little Weber Q . The scallops turned out perfectly and complemented the lime and ginger dressing. I think I might make the recipe over again but maybe just resort to putting it over a bag of baby leaf lettuce. If you aren't a scallop fan, I would still highly recommend to at least try out the dressing.

Chipotle Cheese Fondue

I finally have found a perfect fondue recipe that is extremely creamy and packed with flavor. One contributing factor to the consistency of the fondue is evenly mixing the cubed cheese bits with cornstarch in a bowl before throwing it into the pot rather than making the traditional rue in the pot. I'd suggest trying that approach out with any fondue recipe and maybe that will help with minimizing lumps. We dipped the usual assorted goodies into the fondue such as broccoli, crusty bread and tart green apples. I must admit our fondue making experiences have been made simple by this wonderful and surprisingly inexpensive stainless steel fondue pot. If you are a fan of fondue, it's a worthy addition to your kitchen cabinet. I know the previous fondue experience with friends was majorly disappointing so I promise we'll try out this recipe next time. Two thumbs up :)

Yes, that is my lovely hand featured in the picture. Any hopes for hand modeling? :)

Seared Shrimp and Tortellini Salad

I'm feeling sluggish. Maybe it's because I have been minimizing the amount of meat in my diet, maybe it's due to the fact I consider exercising once a week "regularly" working out or maybe because I haven't been eating the healthiest things. I've been pretty busy with various things over the past few weeks and, when that happens, the first thing that usually suffers is my desire to cook. As you can tell from my lack of posting, that's what's been going on with me. I do love to cook - don't get me wrong, but sometimes it's so easy to fall into the habit of picking up something quick. Picking up something quick usually doesn't involve a well-rounded meal featuring all the food groups. So, to fight this sluggish feeling, I decided I needed a fresh spinach salad. Ever watch Popeye cartoons? All on his own, Popeye could do quite a lot. He could walk and talk and sing and smoke his pipe. But when it came time to deal with his nemesis, Brutus, Popeye just wasn't up to the task...not until he ate his spinach. Yes, I do take health lessons from cartoons. But I have to think there's some truth in it!

My mom described a spinach salad a few months ago that she had at a friend's house. The basic concept was a spinach base topped with chicken and/or seafood, nuts, cheese, fruits (i.e. strawberries, tangerines) and chilled tortellini. I decided to top the salad with sautéed shrimp seasoned with salt and pepper, walnuts, feta cheese, strawberries, orange slices and basil mozzarella tortellini. I don't know if the toppings kind of negated the amazing power of the spinach but I did feel a tiny bit healthier and pleasantly full. I highly recommend the salad - it has a nice balance of sweet and salty and the tortellini helps the salad become a full satisfying meal.

Tomatillo-Sauced Enchiladas: Round Two

A close friend of mine has smartly decided to move back to the area so I decided to make dinner for us the night of her arrival. I do love cooking for friends but it's hard to find a meal that will appease everyone. For example, A.C. has been having headaches so he's trying to follow a migraine-elimination diet meaning no tomatoes, avocados, onions and as well as about 100 other foods, friend E.F. doesn't like onions and hamburger meat and friend B.H. doesn't like spicy stuff. I figured I should make a dinner with an "assemble it yourself" type concept so each person can customize their own meal. I really enjoyed the enchiladas I made back in January from the Rick Bayless book so I decided to try them out again since I thought it lended itself to customization. So I bought onions, green peppers, spinach, mushrooms and Monterrey jack cheese as the filler and finally found the perfect crumbly cheese for the topping. I also bought a canned red sauce as a back-up in case people weren't feeling too adventurous.

I was pleasantly surprised that everyone went for the green sauce and also licked their plates clean. B.H. actually commented this weekend that the enchiladas I made on Monday were better than the ones she had when we went to Guajillo for a friend's birthday. Yipppee! Unfortunately, I don't think I can quit my day job just yet. :)

We topped off the meal with strawberry shortcakes - simple but yummy. Can't wait until strawberries and other fruits are actually in season.





Welcome back, E.F.!

Bow Tie Pasta with Blackened Scallops

My sister-in-law highly recommended this recipe when we visited them in NYC a few weeks ago. The recipe is from a recipe book called "In the Kitchen with Rosie : Oprah's Favorite Recipes". As described by the recipe, "An extravaganza for the eye and palate, this dish teams spicy blackened scallops with whimsical bow tie pasta in a novel cilantro-walnut pesto. It's topped by a roasted red pepper sauce that's as vibrant as it is pungent.". After a description like that, how in the world could you go wrong? Maybe was having an off cooking day that day but the results were extremely disappointing. First of all, the recipe calls for blackening seasoning for the scallops. I could only find blackening seasoning for use outdoors due to the tendency to smoke. So instead I used Emeril's Essence. Contrary to what Emeril claims on his tv show, Emeril's essence is not meant to go on EVERY dish. I think the flavors of the dish did not mesh. I liked the red pepper sauce and I'm a huge fan of cilantro pesto but they aren't exactly the best together. But if I had a personal chef and nutritionist like Oprah, I'd gladly eat anything put in front of me. This dish claimed to have only 4 grams of fat and less than 400 calories per serving...so the dish does get high marks in regards to the healthiness/flavor ratio.

Homemade Pasta in NYC

A few weeks ago, AC and I went to NYC to see Wicked at the Gershwin Theater for my Christmas present. AC's sister, brother-in-law and baby daughter live in NYC so we were able to stay with them rather than have to rent a closet for the weekend. Thanks guys!

AC's sister and brother-in-law love to cook as well but it's been difficult considering they have a little one to take care of now. So we thought it would be nice to make dinner with them on Friday night. As requested by my brother-in-law, we made the Chunky Vegetable soup and we decided to get fancy and make fresh pasta. When I think of making fresh pasta, I think of our manual pasta roller which has yet to be taken out of the box. Although it seems like a good thing to try out one day, it seems like it would be a whole day activity. My sister-in-law and her husband own a pasta roller attachment for their stand-up mixer which literally works pasta miracles. After seeing how easy it is to make pasta with the attachment, I'm all ready to start pumping out fresh pasta all the time (ok, slight exaggeration...but it's definitely doable). I must admit I really didn't participate in the actual pasta-making process but I did play with their little girl and assisted in micro-managing the process.

Here's one picture of my sister-in-law in pasta-making action:



She made a creamy butter parmesan sauce to accompany the fresh pasta. I'm glad we had that the night after Wicked or else I probably would have not fit into my black party dress after such a rich and delicious meal.

I'm sold - fresh pasta is going to become a regular thing in my kitchen (after I buy that time saving attachment). :)