This next one, is the first meal, in my neeeew kitchen

Que the Beastie Boys!  And if you still don’t get the reference, well then, I just have no idea what to say.  Actually, I do, go listen to the Beastie Boys.  Now.

You might think cooking is like riding a bike.  I’m here to tell you that it’s not.  You have to continuously cook and experiment with cooking to be good at it.  When I was in my old house, I stopped cooking so much because it was just frustrating.  And when I would decide to cook, because I need to cook for my soul, it was even more frustrating, because I lost my groove.  Cooking, and when I say cooking, I mean real cooking, not open-up-some-cans cooking, requires research, planning, preparation and skill to be able to execute a delicious meal.  It takes practice, patience (which I have actually gained more of BY cooking), and trial and error.  You will spend a ton of money trying to make an excellent meal and it will taste bad.  It’s gonna happen.  And you’re going to have to deal with it if you want to be a better cook.  Because the only way to be a good cook is to mess up some $30 scallops.  You will quickly figure out that that $40 worth of sea bass needed a hot pan before you so impatiently threw it in the skillet.  You will have to read books, search recipes, ask old people!  And no…I’m not an expert.  I mess up all the time in the kitchen.  But I have become so much of a better cook, and I’ve said this before, that going out to eat seems silly.  Most times I’m disappointed with what I overpaid for.

 

And I tell you all of this because I finally have a GOOD kitchen again.  I take that back.  I have a BITCHIN kitchen.  And I intend to find my groove again.  And I am going to experiment like crazy.  And I’m going to harass the hell out of my professional photographer sister to teach me how to take excellent photos long distance over a telephone!  And I’m going to get better at both things, and in turn you will have delicious foods to try.  So it’s a win win for all of us.  Well, except maybe my sister! 

Ok, so maybe I went a little overboard with my chant of kitchen domination.  But I’m sooooo excited to have a kitchen now!  Can you tell??  I have a big ol’ kitchen, with more drawers than I can fill, enough cabinets for all my kitchen accessories, and a pantry for all my food. Stay tuned!!

RECIPE HERE (Yes, I ripped it off. I said I lost my groove!  It will be back.  Did you not hear anything I said??)

RaviolEase

I have a long, long list of things I want to make.  Some of these are hard and require tools I don't have.  Some of these things take days at a time, something I'm just not ready to commit to right now.  Some of them I want to do right.  Like ravioli.  But then again, there are times when I want ravioli and I don't have the time, patience, energy to clean up, etc.  So sometimes you just gotta fake it and make life easy on yourself, all the while pleasing your taste buds.  I will make ravioli from scratch soon.  Mark my words.  Just not for this post!

I am a Pinterest addict.  You know you are too.  How can you not be.  Recipes, fashion, photos of extraordinary people and places, DIY projects, craft ideas.  I can spend hours Pinteresting.  And I am often inspired to make some of the recipes I find.  Like this one!  You can find it HERE.  I didn't exactly follow it to a T.  I never do.  But it was pretty damn delicious and MUCH easier than ravioli from scratch.  So I thought I'd share with you!  Cheers!

Huggable Risotto

I don't know what it is about risotto, but when I eat it, I feel like it's giving me a big old hug with each bite I take.  It's warm, creamy, flavorful, cheesy and comforting.  I like a good hug.  Have you ever hugged someone and you get one of those stiff hugs back?  Those are the worst.  Risotto hugs are NOTHING like stiff hugs.  But the thing I like most about risotto, is that you can make it as simple or as complicated as you want and it's always good.  Risotto can be a homey meal or it can be a gourmet meal, just add some expensive pieces of seafood (think lobster)  and viola...you're suddenly a top chef.

On this particular day I was inspired by Spring.  I was craving a colorful, healthy risotto.  Not that it's really that healthy, hell, it's got a ton of cheese in it, but anything with this much green makes it seem healthy and that's what I was going for.

You can find the core recipe HERE.

I didn't add fennel, because I couldn't find any that looked good.  I did use the leeks and they gave it such a delicate onion flavor.  I love onions, so I also added in some shallot for an extra layer of onion/garlic flavor.  I think this is the first time I have ever used Mascarpone cheese before.  And here's what I think of it.  It tastes like glue.  Don't act like you've never eaten glue before.  We all have and it's time you just admit that you were indifferent to its flavor.  It didn't suck, but it wasn't great either.  That's how I feel about Mascarpone.  It's thick as all get up.  And it tastes more like glue than it does cheese.  Italians.  No wonder they cop such attitude.  They've been eating glue their whole lives!

Try this risotto.  It doesn't taste like glue.  It tastes like a hug. 

Salified

I mean, do I have to persuade you to eat salad for dinner after seeing this picture??  I would eat that picture for dinner.

When it's hot outside, the last thing I want to do is stuff myself full of food.  So in the summer (I know, it's technically not summer until June 21st, but once it's too hot to breathe when you go outside, I call it summer) I like to come up with salads and other light menu items.  This was the most recent salad I made, and it was AMAZING!!  And so easy.  And being a little reluctant about eating salad for dinner, this salad satisfied...or shall I say, salified. 

HERE'S WHAT YOU DO:
Take some chicken, or fish or steak and cook it to your liking.  I roasted chicken breasts at 400 for 20-25 minutes with just salt and pepper.  Set aside until cool and cut into bite sized pieces.  Take a skillet, put it on medium heat and brown some nuts in it.  I used walnuts.  You can use pine nuts, pecans, almonds.  Just make sure you don't burn them because they will brown fast.  Takes about 5 minutes.  But don't skip this step, because brown nuts are better nuts.  They're nuttier.  Wash some lettuce.  Any kind will do.  I used microgreens because I like the variety.  Wash some berries.  You can use blueberries, blackberries, strawberries.  I used raspberries because they looked so red and radiant.  Get some avocado and slice it up.  For the dressing...take an old jar (I find my Grey Poupon jar works best for salad dressing) and pour 1/4 cup of raspberry vinaigrette into it.  Then pour 1/2 cup of olive oil into it.  Add salt and pepper and a lid (don't forget the lid, genius - I can't tell you how many times I have) and shake it until it's vinaigretty. 

Now for the hard part.  Get a bowl and put everything above in the bowl.  Drizzle LIGHTLY with dressing and toss.  Don't overdress your salad.  I can't stress this enough.  You want to taste the ingredients over the dressing.  Top with your favorite cheese.  Parmesan, pecorino, goat, mozzarella.  I used blue.  I love blue.

Speaking of blue.  This salad blew me away.  The bitterness of the greens complemented the sweetness of the raspberries.  The nuttiness of the nuts complemented the sourness of the blue cheese.  The saltiness of the chicken complemented the creaminess of the avocado.  It's just a salad that impressed the hell out of me.  I would even say you could entertain with this one.  It's a real looker! 
  

Farmer's Market Inspiration

I love the Farmer's Market in Memphis.  The sights, the sounds, the pet adoptions, the food trucks, the flowers, the colors, the people, the music.  It's awesome.  It's a little pricey, but that's part of knowing where your food comes from.  And if you look hard enough, you will find the best deals.  On this particular day I found 5 oz. of goat cheese for $6, comparable to my grocery store goat cheese prices, yet locally made, so WAY more fresh!  So I scooped it up and I made the best sandwich ever with it.

 

Here's What You Need:
Thinly sliced chicken cutlets (4 for 2 sandwiches)
2 eggs
Flour
Breadcrumbs
Salt & Pepper
Pesto (any kind will work, I used Basil in this sandwich)
Goat Cheese
Ciabatta Bread

Here's What You Do:
Season your chicken with salt and pepper.  Break and beat your eggs in a bowl, and place flour and breadcrumbs in two separate bowls.  Take your chicken and lightly coat it in flour, then eggwash, then into the breadcrumbs.  In a hot, hot pan on medium high heat, cook your chicken until done, about 3 minutes each side, depending on the thickness of the chicken.  Just make sure it's done so you don't kill yourself.

While the chicken cooks, mix the goat cheese with the basil pesto and add salt and pepper to taste.  Toast your ciabatta bread in the oven at 350 for about 10 minutes.  Spread the pesto/goat cheese spread on both sides of the bread, top with chicken and go to town. 

And while your at it, check out your town's local farmer's market. 

Patience is Important

 Smashed potatoes

Patience is very important.  In all aspects of life.

I don't have any.  But I AM learning, that if you want to make and serve good food to people, you MUST learn patience in the kitchen.  Patience will make you a better cook.  It can save your life too. 

When I first learned how to cook, I would burn things, under-cook things, put too many ingredients in a dish, or not enough.  And I started to realize that all of this was due to my lack of patience.  I wanted to eat.  And I wanted to eat now.  It didn't matter that I spent $20 on a filet Mignon.  I wanted to cook that baby up, and dive into it.  I didn't want to let it get to room temperature before throwing it on a grill.  I DEFINITELY wasn't going to wait for the charcoal to be ready.  No way!  I was going to throw my steak on the grill, flames flying skyward...Hell, I'd stand there with a spray bottle and just spray the shit out of my steak until it was basically steamed on the grill...all gray and nasty looking.  And never in a million years was I going to let my steak rest before cutting into it.  Are you crazy?  I didn't buy steak to pamper it.  I bought it to tear into it like a caveman.  But these are the things you must do to create good food.  You have to treat your food with respect and be patient enough to give it time to cook in its most perfect cooking technique.

My best dishes are dishes that I forget about.  The ones that I remember after I'm all snuggled up on the couch.  The ones that make me jump up...curse...and run toward the kitchen, as if I just left a baby in the bathtub (thank God I have no kids).  I kid you not, those are my best dishes.  So maybe patience, and negligence is what the best food needs!  I kid...I've set kitchens on fire before.  It's terrifying.  Don't forget about the food you cook.  But do give it its necessary love to allow it to become the best tasting thing you've ever had.  Because that's foods' job.  I know, I know...there's that survival thing...but REALLY food just wants to make you happy.  It wants you to rave about how awesome it is.

Above is a picture of some smashed potatoes I made with no patience.  Had I allowed them to boil longer before baking them, they would have been perfect.  But they were still demolished.

Here's What You Do:  
Take as many new potatoes as you like and boil them in salted water until they are fork tender (I didn't have the patience for this part).  After draining the water, place your potatoes on a greased baking sheet and smash them down with your hand, the back of a pan, whatever works.  Drizzle them with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Bake at 425 for about 15 minutes, turning them as they brown, until they are as brown and crunchy as you like.  I obviously like mine to be super crunchy.  When they are finished, sprinkle fresh parsley over them and mix them around so that the heat brings out the aroma of the parsley.


      

Stupid Animal Stories: Part Tres!

This is exactly what Hammy looked like.  He even did cute things like this.  I loved that little guy!

(Image from Google images)

When we finally moved into an actual house in Pittsburgh, (no more apartment living for us, we were movin' on up), I was able to talk my mom into letting me have hamsters.  A friend of mine had a baby pool full of the little fur balls (yes, a baby pool, these things procreate like crazy) and her mom didn't want them anymore, so I was lucky enough to now be the proud mommy of two hamsters.  What I am pretty sure I ended up with, was a momma hamster and a baby hamster.  One of them was old and frail looking.  The other was the best looking hamster I ever laid eyes on!  I can't for the life of me remember what I named the mom, but I named the baby Hammy (I know, REAL imaginative).  Finally, an animal I could love and pet on.  No more fish for this family! 

A few days into my new fur babies, I noticed that the mom would constantly start fights with Hammy.  And Hammy would squeak and cry until I came to his rescue.  Maybe the mom knew that I thought Hammy was better looking.  We became quick friends, Hammy and I.  I would let him run around my bedroom and he would poop on everything and I would clean it up and hug him.  And my mom would constantly yell at me to put him back in the cage.  But he needed me.  I was saving his life!  His own mother wanted him dead.  Now that I think about it, maybe the mom started to resent Hammy for all the attention I was giving him.  I guess I wasn't as good of a hamster mom as I thought!     

Well, we all know that all good things must come to an end.  And tragically, I woke up to a dead Hammy.  He was belly-up in the cage, his mother sniffing around, looking guilty (for all I know Hammy was the mom...who the hell knows with hamsters).  I had to go to school that morning.  But I wanted to give Hammy a proper burial.  So I picked him up out of his cage, kissed his little dead body, told him I'd be back for him and left him sitting on top of my vanity.  This scared the hell out of my mom when she later went into my room that day to find a dead rodent just sitting out, rigor-mortised to the table.  Ahhh, kids!

That afternoon I came home from school, put old Hammy in a zip lock bag, said my goodbyes and buried him next to our back door.  His mom lived quite a while after.  Abnormally long in our opinion.  We started to wonder if she would EVER die!  Eventually she did, but I didn't give her the same treatment that I gave Hammy.  She was mean.  Me and Hammy were tight.  We bonded.  I spoke Hammy.  And Hammy spoke Jessica.  I obviously was not getting enough attention!

Months passed, and Pet Cemetery came out and I realized how much I missed Hammy.  So I, the deranged child that I was, decided it was time to dig him back up and tell him goodbye one last time.  I knew he wouldn't come back to life.  But I wanted to tell him once more that he was my first real pet love.  Here's how I remember it.  It was raining.  There was a blueish tint to the night sky.  I had waited until my mom went to bed.  There was something very eerie about the wind.  I was obviously doing something I should've been doing.  When I finally pulled the zip lock bag up out of the dirt, I realized it had been a terrible idea.  My sweet, cute, huggable, furry Hammy was no longer cute or huggable.  He was now mushy, squishy, and nothing like the dead hamster I left for my mom to find.  I said my goodbyes, much more quickly than I had planned, I just wanted to get this nasty ass thing back into the ground and go back to bed!  That was the last time I saw Hammy.

I later confessed to my mom that I had dug Hammy up.  She was disgusted.  And probably worried that she may have raised some sort of psychopath of a daughter.  But it taught me a valuable lesson.  Love the things in your life dearly.  And when they are gone, by all means, think of them, write to them, talk to them and sing to them, but for God's Sake do NOT DIG THEM BACK UP!!

**Note: Only 1 bat, 10 fish, 1 eel, 2 lobsters and 2 hamsters were harmed in the writing of this series.  Click to read Part I and Part Deux.