Bonjour, Pierre

Pierre, the Chorkie!

Last night, Alex and I went over to B and Sarah’s place for dinner. B and Sarah recently got married (Oct. 1^st) and just got back from their 2 week European honeymoon. We haven't seen them in a while and wanted to catch up. Plus, they recently got a new puppy, Pierre. Isn’t he cute??

 

Filet Mignon w/Brie sauce

For dinner, we decided to grill out before the snowy weather arrives. Everyone had their own duties; B grilled the Filet Mignon, Sarah made an amazing Brie sauce, Alex sautéed some veggies and I made the mashed potatoes.  I wish I could have bottled up the amazing aromas that filled the apartment, just to share it with you all. Just imagine, butter, onions, garlic, cheese.......ah, NomNomNom!! We did skip out on a homemade dessert and settled for some Edwards Dessert A’ La Modes Singles. We chose the Hot Apple Crisp and Hot Fudge Brownie. They were both quite tasty and very simple to make. After filling our bellies, we moved the party to the living room for some Mortal Kombat action. Let's just say, Sarah isn't as nice as she projects....FATALITY!! :)

Happy Chopped-a-versary!

Hello all! To celebrate our 2-month-a-versary Josh and I went to Ruth's Diner in Emigration Canyon for dinner and a bottle of wine. As you can see from the picture, they specialize in comfort food and home cooking. I ordered the meatloaf and Josh got the pot roast. The food was amazing. The pre-dinner rolls were warm and buttery, the potatoes were perfectly lumpy, and the meatloaf was moist, flavorful, and piping hot. I picked out our wine (if you can't tell from the picture it's called "The Chook" and it's a Shiraz-Viognier blend). Apparently Viognier is a white wine grape so not only was the wine a blend of two different grapes, it was a blend of red and white wine grapes. It was an awesome wine and it paired well with our stick-to-the-ribs dinner. It was definitely the spiciest wine I've ever had. I bought it because the label suggested that it was a unique Shiraz and not generic and I wasn't disappointed. I love food and I love going out to eat. It was fun having someone else prepare the food to give me and Josh a night off cooking. And speaking of cooking, Ryan and Kristin's dinner on Thursday night was awesome. Blog entry to follow...

My favorite wine

Red or white? It's the age-old question that has plagued the pleasantly-buzzed portion of mankind for centuries. Of course we all know the correct answer to this question is, unequivocally, red. Yes, I'm proud to admit it: I'm a red wine drinker. Although I don't know all the ins and outs of what makes good wine good, I know it when I drink it. And after all the good and bad wines I've drunk, I have decided that Penfolds Koonunga Hill Shiraz-Cabernet is my favorite wine. Those Australians know a thing or two about alcohol and this one impressed me. It never leads to the classic "wine face" when the drinker scrunches up his face in disgust and pretends to enjoy what he's drinking. It's smooth going down, it tastes great, and it's affordable. Whether you're looking for a good wine to take to a dinner party or a good bottle to share over a candlelight dinner (or just need an evening alone with a bottle) check it out! I'll be bringing this to tomorrow's Chopped at Kristin's place :)

And, We all got Leid...

Last night, Alex and I took our ingredients and came up with a tropical themed meal. Not only did our guests get leid, they were also served a DE-LISH meal.

• Cooking Couple: Alex & Josh
• Ingredients: Soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, Coconut, and Red Vines
• Special Guest Judges: Anne P and Katie L

Drinks

For our drink, we planned to make Strawberry Daiquiris and Pina Coladas, BUT, thanks to Alex's quick thinking, we improvised and combined the two to make Miami Vices. Excellent decision, for sure!

Miami Vice Recipe
Ingredients:

• Ice
• Rum (Bacardi Silver)
• Strawberry Daiquri Mix (Master of Mixes brand)
• Pina Colada Mix (Master of Mixes brand)

Mix both mixes separately in blender, then just combined both into your favorite glass. We topped ours off with a splash of more rum. :)


The group waiting patiently as Alex prepares the Miami Vices


Miami Vice with crazy straws 

Entree

For our entree, we made my Hawaiian grilled chicken with steamed white rice topped with Nori, and macaroni salad. I make this grilled chicken every now and then and when I do, people love it. Therefore, I choose not to share the recipe....yet. Maybe with some begging and pleading, I might upload it later. But, I like having this as a secret as for now. However, I will share some of the ingredients with you guys, so you can kinda get an idea. Also, for those of you who don't know what Nori is, it's basically dried seaweed, like that found on the outside of sushi. Oh, and we also used my special sauce from the chicken on top of the rice.


Josh's Hawaiian Grilled Chicken w/Steamed Rice topped with Nori, and Macaroni salad

Josh's Hawaiian Grilled Chicken
Ingredients:

• Boneless Chicken Thighs
• Ginger
• Soy Sauce
• Worcestershire Sauce
• Sugar
• A few other things..... :)

White Rice

Basically, any white rice will work, we used Calrose medium grain. Just follow the instructions on the back of the bag. If you have a steam/rice cooker, then even better. :) As for the Nori, you can find that any Asian food market. Just crumbled the strips up in a ziplock bag and sprinkle on top rice.

Macaroni Salad

Ingredients:

• Elbow Macaroni
• Carrots (1 large, grated)
• Celery (2 Stalks, diced)
• Green Onion (3 stalks, diced)
• Best Foods Mayo (We used Canola Oil flavor)
• Garlic Salt
• Pepper

Boil Elbow Mac (Amount depending on how much you want to make). Drain and let cool (not too long so the noodles don't stick together). Add carrots, celery, and green onion. Add mayo (Amount based on liking). Top off with some garlic salt and pepper. Let sit in fridge for an hour or so.

Dessert

For dessert, Alex made Funfetti Red Vine Cupcakes topped with a Coconut Cream Cheese frosting. He also used some of the remaining Red Vines to make the initials of our guests/blog and then placed them atop a few of the cupcakes.


Funfetti Red Vine Cupcakes w/Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting




Funfetti Red Vine Cupcakes Recipe
We just used a box of Pillsbury Funfetti cake mix, added a few diced up Red Vines, and followed the instructions on the back of the box. Ta-da! :) As for the coconut cream cheese frosting, that recipe will be uploaded once I get it from Alex.

Afterthoughts 

Not only did we get "lucky" and enjoy a great meal, but we also celebrated my dog's 2nd birthday. I personally want to thank all of my friends for bringing him gifts/treats, it wasn't necessary but it was a pleasant surprise and Keoki did not mind at all! :)


Keoki got lucky too :)


Checking out all his gifts/treats

As you can see, it was another fun night. Next week, Ryan and Kristin have some interesting ingredients to work with. We can't wait to see what they have planned!

"Pimm's" Me

Last week was Ryan and Kristin's turn to cook. Let's just say they did NOT disappoint. Since they cooked, I don't have all the recipes to share. But once, I do get them from Ryan/Kristin, I will upload them. :)

• Cooking Couple: Ryan & Kristin
• Ingredients: Mango, Fritos, Beer, and Canned Corn
• Special Guest Judges: Sara S, Daley Y, and Christi Z

Drinks

Kristin made a Pimm's cocktail. Pimm is a gin-based liquor, when mixed with juice and fruit, it makes a mighty fine cocktail.


Pimms


Pimm's Recipe:

• Pimm's No. 1 (1/2 bottle, Ha!) 
• Cran-Raspberry juice (4 cups)
• orange slices
• strawberries
• cucumber slices (easy on cucumber, strong taste)
• Mango Slices

Mix Pimm's and juice proportional to taste in a large bowl/pitcher. Add sliced fruit and let sit for at least an hour in the refrigerator.


There was also a nice selection of wine to choose from.
 

• "Menage a Trois"  http://menageatroiswines.com/#menage
• "Gnarly Head"  http://www.gnarlyhead.com/
• "Ecco Domani"  http://www.eccodomani.com/

Entree

For their entree, Kristin and Ryan made a Panko-crusted Tilapia covered with a mango-mint cream sauce atop a bed of creamed corn. There were also Frito crusted onion rings and a spicy garlic aioli. Let's just say...WINNING.


Panko Crusted Tilapia w/Mango mint sauce atop creamed corn with Frito crusted Onion rings and a spicy garlic aioli.

Dessert

For dessert, there were white beer cookies topped with little spoonfuls of ice cream goodness. The flavors of ice creams used were: coconut-chocolate chip, a la port, and denali moose track. Nom, Nom, Nom.

Follow the link below for the cookie recipe:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ultimate-recipe-showdown/white-beer-cookies-recipe/index.html


White Beer Cookies with coconut-chocolate chip (white), a la port (purple), and denali moose track (brown) ice cream. 

It was another AMAZING meal shared with great friends! There's nothing like knowing that at least once a week, we will be eating well. :) Now, as for this week, Alex and I have these four ingredients to work with: Soy Sauce, Worcestershire Sauce, Coconut, and Red Vines. Game on...HA!

Pecorino Scone Recipe

Hello All,
Below is the Pecroino Scone recipe Alex used for our dinner last week. Only a few changes were made. He omitted the walnuts (Ryan is allergic) and added an extra 1/4 cup of cheese.

Ingredients (makes about 10 scones): 

• 3 3/4 cups of self-rising flour
• pinch of salt
• 3/4 stick butter, diced
• 1/4 cup of superfine sugar
• 1/2 cup of Pecorino cheese (Alex added an extra 1/4 cup)
• 1 cup walnut pieces (Optional)
• about 1 1/4 cups of milk

Instructions:
Preheat Oven to 400 F

Sift the flour and salt into a large bowl (Who really sifts?? Ha!). Add the butter and rub in with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Stir in the sugar, Pecorino cheese, and walnuts (Optional). Add enough of the milk to bring the mixture together into a soft but not sticky dough.

Gently roll the dough out on a lightly floured work surface to a thickness of 1-1 1/4 inches. Use a 2 1/2 inch round cookie cutter to cut into rounds (Make the scones smaller or larger if you prefer). Alex didn't have a rolling pin so he opted for a nice glass, he's quite resourceful. :)




Put the rounds on a baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until golden brown and firm. Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack. We highly suggest enjoying these scones with "Brummel and Brown" yogurt spread.



Thanks to our friend Kristen Sorensen for sending us the recipe, it's one that will definitely be used again.

LAMB-O-Licious!!

Even though this is our first "Official" post, it's definitely not our first dinner. But, it's a perfect place to start. Last night, was the second night of the "Chopped-Like" dinner competition. It was another great night of laughter, good food and fun times!

• Cooking Couple: Josh & Alex
• Ingredients: Tequila, Lamb, Fennel and Peanut Butter
• Special Guest Judge: Daley (Kristin's Lil Sister)

First and Foremost, We started the evening with shots of 1800 tequila and frozen Mango Margaritas with sugared rims.


Mango Margarita 

Appetizer

For our first dish, we decided to make a fruit salad with a Tequila drizzle sauce. The ingredients for the sauce made me hesitant at first. Tequila?? Sour Cream?? But as soon as I tasted the finish product, I knew we had a winner. It was sooooo good that the first thing out of Kristin's mouth was "Ooohhh!!' and then Ryan finished his portion by licking his plate clean. (Below is a picture and recipe)


Fruit Salad w/Tequila Cream Drizzle

Ingredients:

• Fruit (Any kind, we used: Peach, Mango, Strawberries and Blueberries)
• Sour Cream (1 cup or 8 oz)
• Sweetened Lime Juice 
• Tequila (Sliver, we used: Milagro Sliver)
• Sugar
• Ground Cinnamon (Optional)

First Slice/Dice/Cut all fruit. Add about 3 tablespoons of Sweetened Lime Juice to the fruit, mix together, cover and place in fridge. In a small bowl, add 1 cup of sour cream, 3 tablespoons of Sweetened Lime Juice, 3 tablespoons of Tequila and 1/4 cup of sugar. Whip them together and taste. Add more sugar, if tequila presence is too much for your liking. Once, you're satisfied with the sweetness, cover bowl and place into freezer for 20-30 mins, to allow the cream to thicken up. When serving, place fruit in bowl/plate, drizzle sauce over fruit and top with a few dashes of cinnamon.

Entree

For our entree, We made Lemon Garlic Lamb Chops with Potato & Fennel Au Gratin and Pecorino Scones. This was one of our most labor intensive meals so far. It took nearly 4 hours, but it was so worth it. The potatoes, had that nice crispy crust, the lamb was succulent and the scones added that extra...umpf! :) (Below is a picture and recipes of the potatoes and lamb. I'm lacking the scone recipe but it will be uploaded on a future post)


Garlic Lemon Lamb Chop w/Potato & Fennel Au Gratin and Pecorino Scone

Garlic Lemon Lamb Chop
Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 tablespoon of Olive Oil
• 1 Lemon, zested
• 1 Lemon, juiced 
• 2 tablespoons of finely chopped Oregano leaves
• 2 tablespoons of minced garlic (5 cloves chopped)
• Salt (1 teaspoon)
• Ground Black Pepper (1/2 teaspoon)
• 6 (6oz) Lamb Loin Chops

In a small bowl, mix the first seven ingredients together. Place chops into a ziplock bag and pour marinade over them. Seal bag and move the chops around, coating them with the marinade. Place bag in fridge for 1 hour. Grill or Broil chops for 4-5 mins on each side for Medium. (We broiled ours, beware of smoke. Ha!)

Potato & Fennel Au Gratin
Ingredients:

• 6 tablespoons of Butter
• 5 tablespoons of flour
• 3 1/2 cups of milk
• 1 tablespoon of Garlic Powder
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 1/2 tablespoon of Ground Nutmeg
• 2 1/2 cups of Shredded Cheddar cheese
• 8 Yukon Gold Potatoes (Sliced thinly)
• 1 large Fennel bulb, trimmed and diced
• 7 leaves of fresh Basil, chopped. 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour making sure there's no lumps. Gradually whisk in milk. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened, about 5 mins. Season with Garlic Powder, Salt, Pepper and Nutmeg. Remove from heat and stir in Cheddar cheese until smooth. Add potatoes, basil and fennel into a greased (Buttered) baking dish, mix together and top off with the cheese sauce. Make sure potatoes are covered evenly. Cover pan with foil. Bake covered for 1 hour, remove foil and bake additional 30 mins (or until crispy on top).

Dessert

And finally for dessert, Alex made his mom's peanut butter squares. Since, I don't have the recipe for these, I will briefly describe their taste. Imagine, a fluffy peanut butter cookie, topped with a smooth peanut better spread and ALL topped with chocolate frosting. Yeah...yum. So, if Alex happens to share the recipe it will mostly like be posted with the scone recipe. Until then, you will have to just have to enjoy the following pictures. (PS, Daley's birthday is on Friday the 16th, so we thought it would be nice to add a candle in a square just for her.)


Ann's Peanut Butter Squares


Kristin admiring her square


Kristin DEVOURING it. HA! 

Overall, Alex and I received high praises for our work and not to mention all the funny faces and laughs throughout the night. Can't wait to see what Ryan and Kristin have in store for us next week!