Opened the Door, Plucked a few Leaves.....

         After all of my hot dogs and sno cones this weekend I was craving something home made(semi-home made) fresh, and delicious. When I grabbed a clementine from the fridge this morning its only companions were assorted condiment bottles and of course, Bud Lights, so I knew a quick stop at the store would be necessary. I hit up one of my favorite spots, Whole Foods. I love this place, I could shop just the first two aisles and spend a million dollars. I knew time would be limited so I grabbed some of their premade eggplant cutlets and TONS of fresh veggies.

make sure you pinch the flowers off the top of your basil or it will stop growing

 I also grabbed some of these guys on the way inside my house. I sliced them and threw them in the oven with the eggplant for about 20 minutes.  While the baking was going on I warmed up some sauce I had in the freezer, and cooked up some whole wheat pasta. Something was missing, hmmmmmmmm???? Ah, yes, some fresh basil! Good thing It is summer and I am growing everything I can in my two square feet outside.  Opened the door, plucked a few leaves, and completed my dinner!  It was delish, even the kid liked it. Best of all, it was only NINE Weight Watchers points! .

    



Well, 10 because I feel the need to eat a salad with every meal.

    



Semi-home made Saucy Eggplant

*4 pre-made eggplant cutlets

*1/2 lb whole wheat penne

* 2 cups tomato sauce(I make mine but San Marzano is a great bottled choice)

*8 cherry tomatoes, sliced

*Parmesan cheese

*4 basil leaves, chiffonade

(chiffonade is a fancy term for stacking the leaves, rolling them, and slicing them into ribbons)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Heat sauce in a small saucepan.  Spray sheet pan with olive oil. Scatter tomatoes on pan around eggplant cutlets. Cook for ten minutes, flip eggplant and cook another ten on other side. While eggplant and tomatoes are cooking, boil pasta according to direction on box. When tomatoes are cooked sprinkle with fresh cracked pepper and sea salt. Once eggplant is complete top with a spoonful of sauce and 3-4 cherry tomatoes. Sprinkle with cheese and basil. Serve with pasta. AND OF COURSE SALAD.

There are Creepy Things Down There!

I did absolutely no cooking this weekend. I attended a carnival, fireworks, two picnics, floated in a pool, and sat at the beach. Really, I had the weekend that people dream about.  My weekend of dreams started out with the annual town "extravaganza". This part of the weekend was not part of my dreams, but a certain 8 year old. I gave up a good three hours of pool time to attend this gathering of the delinquent townies. I did manage to eat my first of three sno cones this weekend. ( who doesn't love a sno cone) Someone else's dreams came true in the form of fried dough. Clearly, he has had enough of the "wait, I need to take a picture of that before you eat it" moments.  Finally, after 3 hours of carnival rides, slushies and fried dough, we got to hit up the pool.  This part of my weekend needs no words, please see below.

After the pool, the night went like this, wine for me, beer for him, brownie, hot dog, wine for me, beer for him. Throw in some good friends I haven't seen in ages, the cutest 4 1/2 lb. dog in the whole world, some great friends I saw three times last week, and one mediocre fireworks display.  

Sunday started early, well, early considering all the beer and wine the night before. Packed up a few coolers, water for me, of course beer for him, and we were off. Oh, I forgot the husbands special beach shirt. I have been trying for years now to take this shirt out of his wardrobe with no success. Maybe if I post his John Candy, Summer Rental photo on the Internet it will help.

 I love the beach, jet ski's, tubing, good friends, floating on a noodle in the water, and my tan! Yes, I did just say floating on a noodle in the water. I refuse to let me feet touch the bottom, there are creepy things down there. Well today, the creepy thing was on the beach. There was a, hmmm... how shall I put it, severely intoxicated man, that sounds good, severely intoxicated man on the beach. He tried to pay my friend to drive his jet ski. Then stumbled around the beach a bit until he decided to nap.  We decided to have a little fun with him.( See Verna behind him). This was a bit childish, but gosh darn it was it funny!!!

He was finally asked to leave by the police after a solid thirty minute nap.

Here is a good beach sandwich. Nice and light, easy to make, and keeps well in the cooler.

TBM Sandwiches

*Pesto sauce(you can get this bottled, make it fresh, or at the olive bar at Whole Foods)

*Plum tomatoes, sliced

*Roasted peppers( I roast my own, but the bottled kind works), sliced

*Ciabatta rolls

*Fresh mozzarella, sliced

Slice rolls in half. Spread about 1-2 tablespoons of pesto on one side of each  roll. Next, stack with tomatoes and mozzarella slices.  Top with about 3-4 slices of the roasted peppers.

I usually bring all the ingredients and prepare them at the beach but these will keep in a Ziploc bag in a cooler. Just be sure to have plenty of ice packs inside.

Variations

you can sub the pesto for fresh basil leaves.

you can drizzle some olive oil and/or balsamic vinegar on the sandwiches

you can use any tomato or bread you want

sprinkle a little fresh Parmesan cheese on them

sub pesto for roasted garlic

sub ciabatta for Italian bread.

The possibilities are endless.

Don't call it a comeback

I have absolutely no good reason for not posting in a year besides the fact that life just got in the way. After not posting for so long it just seemed silly to come back. THEN, I enrolled in college and was told I had to write in a journal nightly! I figure this is just as good as a journal and at least I get to talk about something of interest to me. Maybe professor Duffany will give me extra credit for my baked goods, if not, at least I'll be practicing some type of descriptive writing.

Tomorrow is Kate's birthday. Kate likes cupcakes, the Red Sox, Starbucks, and puppies, how could we NOT be friends?? Well, one of Kate's clients went ahead and bought her cupcakes from a store!! The nerve of some people! So my tradition of birthday cupcakes went out the window, and came back in as cookies. Ironically, Kate and I just made smores on our electric stoves on the same night, at two totally different locations(  a little WT I know so I have provided you this digital image to prove we are not). So birthday smores cookies it is!

I attempted these a different way then my traditional recipe. I saw a cookie show try them with Fluff in the middle and just a small chunk of Hershey's on top. They then sprinkled graham cracker crumbs on top of that. This way ended up tasting better, the fluff was gooey and the crumbs added that extra texture that I was looking for. But MY GOODNESS GRACIOUS they were messy! I think I might have pulled a muscle in my thumb squeezing the scooper over and over and over again, trying to release that stupid fluff! So back to traditional.

What am I supposed to do with all these leftover marshmallows???? HMMMM, Rice Krispie treats? Great idea, but not enough Rice Krispies. OH, but wait, I have Fruity Pebbles!! Even better idea, but not enough of those either. Here is where my college education is paying off, I combined them for one amazing marshmallow treat! Genius, I know!

I had a giant bag of Reese's Pieces on hand too. Why, because I have giant bags of candy all over the house. I am single handedly keeping Weight Watchers in business. So, instead of finding my husband on the couch around midnight with that bag of Reese's and an Xbox controller, I made another cookie.

If you guessed I made Reese's Pieces cookies, you are amazing. They were actually better then the smores. Usually the things I do on a whim are better, I just have that kind of luck.

Well folks, whether you missed me or not you can thank Professor Duffany for my comeback, and LL Cool J for my catchy title. 



This has nothing to do with this post but it was in with my pics of Kate and seriously how funny does Brian look here?





 S"MORES COOKIES

From Make and Bake via Handle the Heat

* 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

*1 cup graham cracker crumbs

*1 teaspoon baking soda

*1 teaspoon salt

*pinch of cinnamon

*1 cup butter(2 sticks) at room temperature

*3/4 cup sugar

*3/4 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

*2 eggs

* 2 cups mini milk chocolate chips

*1 1/2 cups mini marshmellows

* 2 Hershey bars, chopped

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a medium bowl combine the flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking soda, salt and dash of cinnamon. With an electric mixer, beat together the butter, sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract until creamy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Slowly beat in the flour mixture until smooth. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Drop by rounded tablespoons onto an ungreased cookie sheet.Bake for 8 minutes, and remove from oven. Push 3-4 marshmallows and a few pieces of Hershey bars into each cookie.( I drop a gazillion, hey, its better that way) Return the cookies to the oven and bake an additional 3-4 minutes( I did 2) or until fully cooked. Cool cookies on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container at room temp for 3-4 days.

The worst blogger ever

So, I am officially the worst blogger ever. Well, maybe not ever, but pretty bad! I have however, been updating the official get in my belly page on facebook. Lots of stuff going on all the time leaves me no time for posting. So I have decided to not delete the blog but just direct you to the facebook page so that you can keep up with my food finds and stuff until all the holiday hoopla is over. I promise I will be back, until then, eat up kids..

VIVA MEXICO

Well, after starting a blog about cook club, I finally get to write about it! Saturday night we headed over to Nick and Colleen's house for Mexican night. I love doing cook club with Colleen because she is as excited about it as I am. Plus she is the cooking ying to my baking yang! Colin and Melanie as usual brought the apps and this time they were bacon wrapped stuffed jalapenos and Tex-Mex pinwheels.. The pinwheels were amazing. Crescent rolls wrapped around jalapeno cheddar, peppers, onions, and more jalapenos. Top those bad boys off with some Mrs. Renfros jalapeno salsa and it's like dropping bites of love into your mouth! Mrs. Renfros seems to be a staple of cook club, if it's at cook club, it's usually topped with it.. If you haven't had it, you don't know what you are missing....
This week Erin and Chester were lucky enough to get an invite, and they brought the most important part of the meal, MARGARITAS.. These aren't Jose Cuervo premixed junk, we're talking Patron, freshly squeezed lime and orange juice, and pomegranate juice. Unfortunately, these guys were a little late and missed all the apps:( Now that they know what cook club is all about, I bet they show up early next time.. But, good ole Colleen was prepared and we had our first batch of margaritas before they arrived.

nick creating a fajita

prepared fajitas

some of Colleen's art



Michael's dinner, perfectly displayed by him



Colleen was in charge of main course tonight and she outdid herself with a showing or fajita toppings that would impress the president of Mexico. She had shredded cheddar, fresh diced jalapenos, cilantro, pickled jalapenos, sour cream, guacamole, fresh avocado, diced red onion,sauteed peppers and onions, corn and black bean salsa, salsa(two kinds), tomato's, limes, lettuce, corn and flour tortillas, and beef, chicken, and pork. The hubby was skeptical that she could pull off a fajita as good as Puerto Vallarta, he ate his words, and fajitas that night! I had added in some Mexican rice as a side( sounds pathetic after that list, huh?) Everything was perfect, it was like being in a Mexican restaurant minus the mariachi band. Nick even made Michael one of his favorite meals, chicken nuggets, tater tots, honey mustard, and Hawaiian Punch. Kudos to Colleen for a fantastic dinner, and she even did the cleaning.  

Next up was the main event for the evening...... FARKLE.. For those of you that haven't played Farkle, its a dice/betting game that is loads of fun. We add in our own special bonus round and farkle sounds and dances to up the fun factor. Amazingly, the winner usually is Michael(he's 7)  



Erin, after the "I've never had creme brulee announcement"



While all the Farkle fun was going on, I prepped my masterpiece for the night, creme brulee. Creme brulee is usually something you have in a restaurant so it's fun to pull these out as a surprise dessert. Turns out, Nick, Colleen, and Chester haven't had creme brulee before! I find this amazing, so did Erin and the hubby. How do you get to the ripe age of 30 without having a creme brulee?? Well, they quickly saw what the buzz was all about. Everyone ended up having two! That's the beauty of cook club, you want it, you got it, no waitress necessary, and you don't have the guilt of feeling like a fat ass when you order your second creme brulee. I found out later on that night that Nello hid four more in our fridge(because they "did not fit in the case to bring over") I can't tell you how many creme brulee I had this weekend, I can just say, I support the dairy farmers of America! Creme brulee's are really easy to make. If you don't have a torch to brulee the top you can always stick them under the broiler. The recipe is as follows,



Nick and Colleen, their "firs time"



6 egg yolks

6 tablespoons white sugar, divided

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups heavy cream

2 tablespoons brown sugar( i prefer white)



Preheat oven to 375

Beat egg yolks, 4 tablespoons sugar and vanilla in a mixing bowl until thick and creamy.

Heat cream in a saucepan until just under boiling, stirring constantly.

Remove cream from heat and temper with egg yolks( temper is a cooking term for adding a little in this case cream to the eggs and mixing to avoid scrambling the eggs)

Add the egg/cream mixture to the rest of the heated cream and mix.

There will be some foam on top, strain the foam and discard it.



Pour mixture into shallow, heat proof cups(  I used disposable aluminum cups I found at Ocean State Job Lot for a buck)

Set cups in a deep baking dish, place in oven, and fill baking dish with hot water(this is creating a water bath for equal cooking of the custard)

Cook for 15-20 mins. or until the custard jiggles in the middle.(it shouldn't be liquid, more of a jello jiggle)

Cool in water bath for fifteen minutes, then cool in the fridge for several hours, preferably overnight

When ready to serve top with sugar, and brulee.

I guarantee this will be a show stopper at your next event! 

Colleen and I are setting our sights on Cook Club Christmas edition, and we already have Tailgating Super Bowl plans as well.. Just a reminder folks, you're nothing if you're not prepared! But, before then stay tuned for our next adventure........





Gold Rush......

he's going to kill me for this!

THE GOLDBURGER

Here's another nod to one of my local favorites. Goldburgers restaurant is located right on Main Street in Newington and serves up some of the most delish food this side of the river. The menu is full of crazy burger and hot dog concoctions and a few other specialties. There is always a few specials on the board and if you are one of the lucky ones you get a chance to taste the newest development from chef/owner Matt Crowley. And then.......................there are his french fries. These are in a class all of their own! Hand cut, crispy fries like you dream about. I love mine dipped in some goldburgers sauce, a house secret recipe that tantalizes your taste buds.. The hubby loves this place, his fav menu item is the goldburger, two all beef patties topped with cheese, lettuce, onions, pickles, potato chips, and of course the famous goldburger sauce. It's the burger to top all burgers! At first bite you get the soft bun and then, WHAM, the crunch of potato chip just before you hit all the flavors of the goldburger sauce. Its truly a flavor symphony for your mouth. There are a million options for you burger lovers out there.

the bullet proof tiger

the wild card

My favorite item here is a special, the pulled pork sandwich. Every bite of this gem(except the bun) is house made. Were talking smoked pulled pork, pickles, slaw, and sauce. The sauce is just enough sweet, just enough zing, and just enough flavor to leave you salivating for more with every bite. When the pulled pork is not available I head straight to the special board for the feature hot dog of the day. Some of my fav's have been The crouching hot dog hidden jalapeno, the wildcard, this guy is an all beef dog loaded with spicy mustard, kraut, and store made tri-pepper dill pickle relish,  and the bullet proof tiger, another all beef dog topped with relish, maple horseradish mustard, bacon, and pepper jack cheese. My all time favorite dog here is the Franklin Dog, an homage to Franklin Ave. and Italians everywhere. This puppy(no pun intended) is a grilled beef and pork dog with grilled onions and peppers and grated parm cheese.. Minga dat hot dog...



With the chill of fall in the air, Goldburgers has added some soups to the menu. House made specialties like french onion, curried carrot, and hamburger cabbage. I got the chance to try the curried carrot and its fantastic. A sweet smooth carrot flavor, with a ripple of curry to shock your tongue. There are also new additions like gooballs. These little balls of joy are Rollos, or Heath bars, Oreos, or oatmeal cookies, crushed and rolled into a ball with chocolate or caramel, then deep fried..I ask you, my fellow Americans, Is this not AMAZING???







You can check out Goldburgers at 1096 Main Street in Newington, or you can read some of their reviews on Yelp or Urban Spoon. Or you can just trust that fatty cakes knows food and head in for a dog, an order of fries, and some goo balls.. AND, if you're lucky you can have this guy serve you.

Making Strides

Just wanted to do a quick post to let you all know that we raised $1000.00 for the American Cancer Society! A great time was had by all. I wanted to give a big thanks to Amanda, Brett, and her mom Jody for all their hard work during the bake sale and raffle.And a special thank you to Dee's One Good Cookie and The Spicy Green Bean for their donations to the bake sale, and all the other local stores who donated. What an amazing feeling it is to be involved with charity! Below are some pictures from the event. We definitely will be getting involved with more charity events throughout the year, if anyone is interested in joining up with us, drop a comment below. Remember October is national breast cancer awareness month, get involved, it feels amazing..