Happy V-Day 2011!

I'm not a big fan of Valentine's Day because it is such a Hallmark holiday, so Mr. Tall and I don't really celebrate it. But it sure is a good excuse for me to bake! 

I made these heart-shaped Glazed Butter Cookies--they were super easy and fun to make!

Butter Cookie Dough (Cook's Illustrated, Holiday Baking 2007)
2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 cup superfine sugar (or granulated sugar put in the food processor for about 20 seconds)
1/4 teaspoon table salt
16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 16 pieces, room temperature
2 tablespoons cream cheese, room temperature

In bowl of standing mixer, combine flour, sugar, and salt on low speed, and add butter 1 piece at a time with the mixer still running on low until mixture looks crumbly. Add vanilla and cream cream, and mix until dough just begins to form large clumps. Knead dough in the bowl to form a mass, then turn out onto counter top, divide in half, form into two 4-inch disks, wrap, and refrigerate for 20-30 minutes (or up to 3 days).

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Roll out 1 dough disk to 1/8-inch thickness between 2 large pieces of parchment paper and cut into desired shapes using cookie cutter. (Cook's Illustrated suggests that you refrigerate the dough after it's rolled out and before it's cut out, but I didn't and it still baked up fine.) Bake until light golden brown, about 10-12 minutes, and cool on wire rack.

Glaze
1 tablespoon cream cheese, room temperature
3 tablespoons milk
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

Whisk cream cheese and milk until combined and no lumps remain. Wish in confectioners' sugar until smooth. Drizzle or spread glaze on cooled cookies.

I sprinkled rainbow baking sugar on the cut out dough before baking the cookies that I didn't plan on glazing--a colorful and festive option if you don't like the glaze. Although I like this glaze recipe because it's creamier and less sugary than most recipes, so it's worth trying the cookies with the glaze.

Happy Valentine's Day--however you spend it!

Enjoy,

LMC

Happy 4th of July!

Hope everyone is enjoying the holiday despite the June gloom in San Diego. I don't really have time to celebrate or enjoy the fireworks by the harbor this year since I'm still studying for the Bar, but I did have time to make this super quick, super simple, and super delicious No-Bake Chocolate-Raspberry Cream Pie.

Raspberries are so abundant this time of the year and this recipe does not require you to turn on the oven, so it is the perfect summer pie. I made it for Mr. Tall's mom when she visited us last summer because she loves raspberries, and she really enjoyed it. One thing though: Mr. Tall and I could not find chocolate wafer cookies anywhere. We substituted it Oreo cookies (minus the cream) last time, and this time we used some chocolate wafer "snacks," and they both worked fine.

Enjoy,

LMC 

In (and Out) of the Kitchen with Mr. Tall and Little Miss Contrary, Part 2

Mr. Tall and I have a usual rotation of convenient takeouts from pizza and Mexican to Greek and Indian. We got a good tip from Sam the Cooking Guy (Mr. Tall can attest that I turned embarrassingly red and was incredibly star-struck when we ran into him at a Ralph's) for the best place in San Diego for carnitas--Porkyland's. I'm not sure how many locations there are in the county but there happens to be one conveniently located in downtown La Jolla on Torrey Pines and Girard. Mr. Tall and I usually order the Family Meal (which is supposed to serve 3-4 but we usually polish most of it off, with some leftovers I take to work for lunch). The meal comes with a generous portion of carnitas (diced onions and cilantro as well) and sides of rice, beans and salsa of your choice (we like the salsa verde), and their homemade tortilla (your choice of corn or flour). Definitely a good deal and our favorite spot for a quick takeout.

My new favorite place for a quick dinner (or lunch) is Panera. Mr. Tall's parents had mentioned that they love the one in the Bay Area for their variety of paninis, soups and salads so we tried out the San Diego location in Mira Mesa. I don't remember what Mr. Tall got, but I ordered the combination of French Onion Soup, which was so tasty, panini and potato chips. What is so fantastic about Panera is that all their breads are baked in-house so they are absolutely fresh and delicious. I would try going there on the weekdays or weeknights because the complex tends to get very crowded on the weekend.

Although soup season is over since the cold weather seems to be disappearing, you can still enjoy chili--it's not soup, right? Mr. Tall and I enjoyed this light version of White Bean and Chicken Chili recipe that we found in one of his cookbooks. It was super quick and super delicious. We served it with some toasted bread and topped with grated cheese and a dollop of sour cream--and Tapatio, for me, of course! I am quite fond of chili and this definitely hit the spot.

Not too long ago, while waiting for my tires to get rotated at UTC, I made a stop at one of my favorite places, Crate & Barrel. Mr. Tall knows well that nearly every time we go to the mall, we have to make a stop at C&B. Usually, I just like to browse the store, but this time I got lucky! My absolute favorite Food Network personality (right next to Tyler Florence) Giada DeLaurentis' Family Dinners cookbook was on sale so I decisively made the purchase. What I love about Giada's recipes is that they are so simple yet incredible tasty. Most of her recipes requires only a handful of ingredients and this cookbook was no different.

The first thing that Mr. Tall and I decided to make was Flank Steak with Red Wine Sauce. We got the steak from Bristol Farms (of course) and I had just enough leftover Pinot Noir to turn it into the velvety wine sauce. Mr. Tall and I paired up the dish with a rendition of a recipe from the cookbook--Broccoli with Meyer Lemon Olive Oil. Since Meyer Lemon Olive Oil was not so easy to find, we finely grated lemon zest from 1 lemon, heat it up with some olive oil in a skillet, stir in lightly blanched broccoli florets and just a squeeze of lemon juice--and you've got a simple and refreshing side dish.

Mr. Tall is not a big fan of seafood (what a shame!) but we would occasionally throw in some salmon for dinner here and there. Also, from Giada's book, we broiled up some salmon with garlic, mustard and herbs, and sauteed green beans with tomato and basil. The salmon recipe called for dijon mustard, but Mr. Tall loves honey mustard so we compromised and got honey dijon mustard. Every relationship is about compromise, right? Again, the recipes were so simple yet very flavorful.

Giada's book also had a recipe for a Quick Marinara Sauce that Mr. Tall and I made and stocked in the freezer. To change up the usual spaghetti night, we made Linguine with Chicken Ragu. Instead of the typical ground beef, the recipe utilized some chopped chicken, which made the sauce a little lighter and healthier. We have also used Italian sausages or even ground turkey to change up the usual Bolognese. As you can tell, I adore Giana DeLaurentis and love, love, love her recipes. They are fantastic and anyone can make them, really!

One last addition on this leg of the culinary journey with Mr. Tall and Little Miss Contrary, we made a stop over at Lucky Buck's in Hillcrest. I had read about it in the Union Tribune and I couldn't resist the sound of their burgers. This relatively new burger joint also serves burritos, but Mr. Tall and I both opted for their burgers. I think Mr. Tall ordered the standard burger with cheese and bacon while I went for the Hawaiian with grilled pineapple. All the burger combinations come with criss-cross cut fries, which frankly I'm not a big fan of. They're neither potato chips nor fries--eh. Lucky Buck's version did not impress me either. The buns were freshly baked and soft; the patty was fresh but tasted like some thing that I could have put together at home. Decent burgers but nothing that I would go out of my way to try again. My love for burgers is devoted to In N Out and Island's. Island's have the best fries, by far, and I love The Hawaiian, of course. In N Out is just plain good. I need to make some burgers at home soon--I feel a craving coming on.

Well, I hope you enjoyed some of the food that Mr. Tall and I have shared. More culinary adventures to come!

Enjoy,
Little Miss Contrary

In the Kitchen with Mr. Tall & Little Miss Contrary, Part 1

I am taking full responsibility for personally abandoning to update this for more than a month! As promised in my previous post, I wanted to share some of the culinary adventures Mr. Tall and I have experienced. I consider myself very fortunate to have found someone who understands (more so, tolerates) my love for all things gastronomy. Mr. Tall knows the drill that we can not dig into our meals until I have photographed the food. He has maintained an open heart and stomach to try things that he might not have tried before, for which I am grateful. He has also introduced me to some of my favorite places and things such as Mama Testa, crock pot cooking, and chilaquiles, which is a Mexican breakfast dish consisting of tortilla chips cooked in red sauce and topped with fried eggs, and copious amount of cheese and sour cream (pictured right). Breakfast of (Mexican) champions!

I do take some credit for introducing him to Thai food and the likes. Our very first date was actually his first "real" Thai cuisine experience. We dined at Spice & Rice, which is conveniently located close to UCSD in Downtown La Jolla. Although it wasn't love at first bite, we reminisced with Thai food 6 months later at my favorite Thai spot, Celadon, in Hillcrest (shh, even though, I have ties with Taste of Thai). I guess, food sort of brought us together since Mr. Tall and I officially connected over a discussion about a favorite artist of ours, The Roots, at an on-campus convenience store/coffee shop where he worked.

Since we both have been working full time for the past year, Mr. Tall and I try to cook at least once or twice a week, and when we're lazy we go out to eat or get take-out about twice per week. One of the things that we have made before and are yearning to cook up again is Beer-Can Chicken and Mashed Potatoes. I purchased a potato ricer a while ago, which according to Jeffrey Steingarten of "The Man Who Ate Everything," is the best method to creating mashed potatoes.

One of our favorite things to do is to pick up a cut of meat, pork or lamb from Bristol Farms and put it on the grill. Mr. Tall is definitely the master of the barbecue grill. One of this best works must be when we grilled up some Porterhouse steaks, served with salad and mashed potatoes, of course. That small segment of Filet Mignon put this cut over the top. On to something a little more rustic: Mr. Tall had a recipe for Pozole. I had tried it at the Old Town Cafe and loved it so naturally I was stoked for this soup.

The pozole recipe turned out a tomato-based broth, stewed with chicken, chunks of tomatoes, and, of course, hominy. Everything was simply thrown into a pot and simmered. It is served with a squeeze (or several for me) and topped with shredded cabbage, cilantro and tortila chips--and hot sauce if you like spicy. Instead of serving it with a Mexican beer, I picked up Phuket Beer from Thailand, which was light and went very well with the spices of the soup. It is definitely one of my absolute favorite soups of all time. I forgot to mention another thing that we have also picked up from Bristol Farms is the lamb kabobs. They are already pre-marinated and ready to be thrown on the grill. The only Bristol Farms location in San Diego is on Genesee near UTC. So, if you're ever in that area or live nearby, I highly recommend checking out their meat department. They also have a very friendly and helpful "sommelier" (I'm not sure what they would be called outside of the restaurant) that will give you handy tips about wine pairing and even cooking tips.

One of Mr. Tall and I's new favorite thing to make is Giada DeLaurentis' pizza that was featured in Gourmet magazine. The pizza dough is really simple and takes only an hour to rise. We also love the topping that Giada featured: three cheese with pancetta and crimini mushrooms. The combination of Fontina, Parmesan and Mozzarella is perfection; pancetta and criminis are fantastic together as well. The first time we made it, we got a bit zealous with the cheese but the second time around we learned and put the right amount of cheese and toppings. The dough is fantastic and, I would say, fool proof. Giada DeLaurentis is not only one of my favorite Food Network chefs but her recipes are also simple and wonderful.

This post is getting a bit lengthy so I shall continue on the next one. Plenty more to come about all the cooking and eating for Mr. Tall and I to share!

Enjoy,
Little Miss Contrary