Quote of the Week 12/26/11

After yesterday's revelry and indulgence, I find today's quote rather appropriate in terms of my diet, which I absolutely did not adhere to yesterday.... I mean, hey, it's Christmas! You can't be on a diet on Christmas!! Alas, today is a new day, and I'm back on track, although I find myself living vicariously through the following quote by Jim Davis.

"Vegetables are a must on a diet.  I suggest carrot cake, zucchini bread, and pumpkin pie."
--Jim Davis

I hate Mondays.

Spaghetti Squash Primavera

So because I’ve convinced myself that I’m going to lose weight over the holiday season, rather than gain any (don’t you roll your eyes at me), I’ve been trying to find some healthy-ish versions of side dishes to serve at the Christmas dinner table so that I don’t gorge myself on stuffing and mashed potatoes. One that I found, that’s a bit more Mediterranean than what is typically found at American Christmas dinners, is spaghetti squash primavera. Typically “primavera” is italian, but add some feta cheese and ipso facto, it’s now Mediterranean.

It's all Greek to me!

1 spaghetti squash, halved lengthwise and seeded

2 tablespoon minced garlic.

2 tablespoons Italian seasoning

2 bay leaves

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion, chopped

1 tsp garlic, minced

2 cups chopped tomatoes

1 red pepper, chopped

3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a baking sheet or line the bottom of a baking sheet with non-stick aluminum foil (I prefer the latter method).

On one half of the baking sheet, place 1 tablespoon of garlic, 1 tablespoon of Italian seasonings, and 1 bay leaf. Repeat on the other half of the baking sheet.

Kind of like you're the street performer with the ball and the cups. 

Place one half of the spaghetti squash with the hollow side over one of the garlic mixtures, and repeat with the other half.

Add an even amount of water to the baking sheet, just enough to come up to the sides of the squash. The amount of water differs, depending on the size of your baking sheet. I used about 2 cups.

Bake 35 minutes in the preheated oven. It’s very important that you don’t overcook the squash. You can test if it’s done by flipping it over and scraping the flesh with a fork. It should naturally separate into spaghetti-like strands. Taste it to make sure that it is the same consistency as al dente spaghetti. It might need 5-10 more minutes in the oven if it is still too tough.

If you think squash is "mushy," you're doing it wrong.

Once it is finished cooking, remove from heat and allow it to cool.

While the squash is cooling, heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Saute onion and red pepper in oil until tender. Add garlic, and saute for 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, and cook until tomatoes are warm.

Use a large spoon or fork to scoop the stringy pulp from the squash, and add it to the sauté pan with the vegetables. Toss with the sauteed vegetables, feta cheese, and salt and pepper. Serve warm.

You know you want some.

Optionally: I added ¼ cup Parmesan cheese in addition to the feta, as well as 2 teaspoons of Italian seasonings right before I served it. I really like Parmesan cheese, this is a personal preference. You could also use a can of stewed tomatoes instead of fresh chopped tomatoes to make it more like spaghetti instead of like a primavera.

If I hadn't already told you this was squash, you'd never have known the difference.

Basically, I think you can take spaghetti squash and add anything you normally would to spaghetti noodles. I think it tastes pretty much the same, only it’s healthier for you since you’re using all vegetables instead of pasta. My next venture will be to try and make a reduced calorie alfredo sauce or cheese sauce to make a “healthified” macaroni and cheese/spaghetti alfredo dish. Stay tuned!

GET IN MY MOUTH.

Mexican Chocolate Cookies

So, for Santa this year, I decided to branch out from my usual Place-and-Bake-Sugar-Cookies-With-Holiday-Shapes for Santa and make something different. I figured Santa would probably appreciate a little variation.

Not this year, Pillsbury

After some searching online, I found a nifty looking recipe for a spicy chocolate cookie, which I used as a starting place to creating my own recipe. Since my mother has a self-diagnosed gluten allergy, I tried to keep the cookies gluten-free, but also still delicious. I think I succeeded, but I guess we'll have to wait and see how much Santa enjoyed them before I make a final judgement.

Santa's feeling a little spicy this year, ifyouknowwhatImean.

• 1 heaping 2/3 cup chocolate, coarsely chopped (I recommend dark chocolate, but if you only have milk chocolate on hand, that will work, too, just cut the sugar down by 1/4).
• 1/2 cup almond flour
• 1/4 cup coconut flour
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• non-stick aluminum foil

Preparation

• Preheat oven to 350°.
• Place chocolate in a microwave safe bowl; microwave at HIGH 1 minute or until almost melted, stirring until smooth. Cool to room temperature.
• Combine almond and coconut flour, cinnamon, baking powder, salt, black pepper and red pepper in a small bowl and whisk together.
• Combine sugar and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 3 minutes).
• Add egg to the sugar mixture and beat well.
• Add cooled chocolate and vanilla; beat just until blended.
• Add flour mixture; beat just until blended.
• Drop dough by level tablespoons 2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with non-stick foil (if you don't like non-stick foil, you can just spray the bottom of the pan with a non-stick spray).
• Bake at 350° for 10 minutes or until almost set. Remove from oven. Cool on pans 2 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooking.
• Sprinkle the cookies with cinnamon sugar. I dusted them with a bit of red pepper, just to accentuate the spiciness.

Sugar, spice, and everything CHOCOLATE

Hoping everyone has a safe and satisfactory Christmas tomorrow! And to my non-Christmas-celebrating-friends, enjoy your regular, non-special Sunday!

Quote of the Week 12/19/11

Today's quote comes from "The Thin Man" himself, Mr. William Powell. I really like this quote. It's funny without being gimmicky. It speaks to reality, since I'm pretty sure this is how everyone feels every time they come to my house for a meal.

"Dessert is probably the most important stage of the meal, since it will be the last thing your guests remember before they pass out all over the table."
--William Powell

Badassery.

The Boll Weevil Cafe and Sweetery

This weekend, I travelled to Augusta, Georgia, to visit my dear friend Lauren "the salad eater" and her army of cats. We had a splendid time testing out the area's bars and restaurants, as well as exasperating their local police force (try and tell me my ID looks fake, see if I don't put up a fight. When a girl's gotta dance, A GIRL'S GOTTA DANCE!).

I pity the fool who prevents Lauren from gettin' her groove on.

After a fantastic night of Wobbling and singing onstage with cover bands, and a productive morning of worship (Lauren) and sleeping in (Sydney), the hunger pangs kicked in and we made our way to downtown Augusta for some lunch. Lauren recommended a restaurant near her office called The Boll Weevil (which makes more sense after you learn that the restaurant used to be a cotton warehouse). I was a little skeptical of the name (the word weevil doesn't exactly do it for me), but it was a cute little cafe and I was way too hungry to argue about semantics.

 Weevil. It's what's for dinner.

We sat in a little room with about 6 or so other tables, filled with families dressed in their Sunday best, while I stood out from the crowd in my shorts and tacky sweater (#noshame). Our waiter was funny and super attentive without being overbearing, which was refreshing. For lunch, I ordered the Curious George, which is turkey topped with spinach dip and provolone cheese on homemade honey wheat bread. It was pretty delicious. The turkey was thick cut, definitely fresh, and the toppings were not too heavy. It was perfect. I got the half version of the sandwich and their tomato apple soup, fire-roasted Fuji apples and carrots in a tomato soup. It was an interesting combination of sweet and savory and spicy. I liked it, which is impressive, because I usually don't care for tomato soups.

It's Mmmmm, good.... Also, I hate Campbell's.

Lauren decided to branch out and get the greasy double fried lard burger with extra carbs on the side. hahahahaha, oh wait, who am I kidding? Of course, she got soup and a salad. No branching out for Lala, no way. Specifically she got the greek salad and vegetable soup. That's right, she got veggies with her veggies. Oh, and how about a side of veggies? Yes. She'll have them. She'll have ALL THE VEGGIES IN THE WORLD!!  MUAHHAHAHAHA!!!

She needs to start going to meetings. She has a serious addiction.

Cute waiter also guilted Lauren into getting a piece of cake, apparently because they do cake specials on Sundays, so it was only like 5 dollars for a monstrous piece of cake. She had a hard time deciding which one she wanted to get because she was "SOOO FUULLLLL! I FEEL SO FAT!! I'M GONNA THROW UP IF I EAT ANYMORE" (from a salad... A SALAD). She narrowed it down 3 choices--strawberry, red velvet, and coffee toffee--and told the waiter to surprise her and put a piece in a to-go box. "It's like Christmas! I don't want to know what my presents are before I open them!" I'm not one to ruin Christmas, but...

It was the Coffee Toffee. Spoiler alert.

Summary: Get a sandwich and some soup. Unless you're addicted to salads like La. Also, cake is a meal in itself.

Turning the weevil into a cartoon does not make it any less gross.

The Boll Weevil Cafe and Sweetery
10 9th St, Augusta, GA 30901
(706) 722-7772 ‎

The World's Best Lasagna

So for my official “Night Before My Last Day Dinner Party” I decided to make lasagna for the coworkers I invited over to share in the feast. I had all of these people to impress so I knew I had to do something more than just thaw out a Stouffer’s lasagna (although Stouffer’s is delicious). So I found this recipe online HERE and tweaked it a bit to fit with what I had and how much time I had to do it in. Here is my tweaked recipe:

1 pound sweet Italian sausage (I used Johnsonville)
1 pound lean ground beef
1/2 cup minced onion
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes
2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
2 (6.5 ounce) cans canned tomato sauce
2 tomatoes, sliced
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil leaves
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
6 tablespoons dried parsley
No-boil lasagna noodles (I used about 24)
32 ounces ricotta cheese
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 pound mozzarella cheese, shredded
12 slices provolone cheese
2 cups grated Parmesan cheese

Directions
In a large saute pan (one with high sides, you’re going to be adding a bunch of liquid to it), cook sausage, ground beef, onion, and garlic over medium heat until well browned. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and water. Season with sugar, basil, fennel seeds, Italian seasoning, 1 tablespoon salt, pepper, and 4 tablespoons parsley. Simmer, covered, for about 2 hours, stirring occasionally.

Meat sauce done right.

In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese with eggs, remaining parsley, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
To assemble, spread 1 ladle full of meat sauce in the bottom of a 9×13 inch baking dish. Arrange noodles lengthwise over meat sauce. Spread with ricotta cheese mixture, and layer with sliced tomatoes. Top with sauce, and sprinkle with mozzarella and parmesan. I eyeballed this, so just use what feels right. I topped it with a bit more meat sauce and then stacked the noodles on top. Repeat layers.

Noodle meat. (that's what she said)

 Top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Add 6 slices of provolone and cover with foil. I used non-stick foil with the non-stick side down toward the cheese to keep the cheese from sticking. You could do the same basic thing by spraying aluminum foil with some Pam or other non-stick spray.

I'll have a side of cheese with my cheese, please. Also, noodle meat.

Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil, and bake an additional 25 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes before serving. I noticed that the cheese was browning a bit too much around the 19 minute mark, so I took it out a bit early.

Right after I took the foil off.

19 minutes later. aka perfection.

Needless to say, the lasagna was pretty ballin’. Everyone ate pretty much all of it. I made two casseroles full and only one little slice was left over. I laid out hors d’oeurves to accompany the lasagna, including buttery crescent rolls, meat balls and tomato sauce, and mini caprese salad bites (grape tomatoes, fresh mozzarella cheese, and fresh basil on a toothpick).

I seriously could eat ten thousand of these things. So. Good.

Les brought salad and we all drank wine to go with it. We laughed and talked for like 3 hours. Probably the most fun I’ve had in a really long time. Plus the lasagna was delicious. Then I made chocolate chip biscotti for dessert. It was pretty decadent.

Biscotti is italian for "Cookies from Heaven"

I’m pretty freaking awesome.

Quote of the Week 12/12/11

Waking up this morning was quite difficult thanks to the amazing time I had at the Aquarium Christmas Party last night (perhaps I had too much fun). It was also hard waking up, knowing that the end of my time at the aquarium is nigh. It’s sad really, because I feel like I just started to connect with the people I work with. We’d only just begun! Tomorrow night is my dinner party with the people I like from work (aka not Tiffany). I’ll be up late tonight slaving away over my lasagna. This whole situation is bittersweet. Therefore, today’s food quote is bittersweet as well. It comes from the French gastronome Anthelme Brillat-Savarin’s great aunt Pierette.

“I feel the end approaching. Quick, bring me my dessert, coffee and liqueur.”  

–Anthelme Brillat-Savarin’s great aunt Pierette

Couldn't find a picture of Great Aunt Pierette, so just picture Brillat-Savarin with a wig on.... Oh wait. He already has a wig on. Perfect.

Quote of the Week 12/5/11

Today’s quote really is only loosely related to food (and we’re talking Kim Kardashian “loose” here). I’m just really freaking excited that I FINALLY got to see The Muppets (which was amazing, beeteedubs). In honor of my joy and relief at finally seeing this cinematic masterpiece, I give you a quote from the Sovereign herself, Miss Piggy.

“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and it may be necessary from time to time to give a stupid or misinformed beholder a black eye.” 

–Miss Piggy

Also "Never eat more than you can lift"

Five Loaves

I have no idea how many times I’ve been to Five Loaves (or 5 Breads as Tina calls it). It’s Lauren’s favorite restaurant and one of my favorite casual lunch spots in Charleston, as well. It’s simple, good food. Nothing pretentious or over the top—soups, sandwiches, and salads. For dinner they offer heartier options such as pastas and meat dishes. Everything I’ve ever had there is delicious (except for the chicken salad on croissant... not my favorite). Their soups are homemade, creative, and just plain yummy. Lauren’s favorite is the broccoli, potato, cheddar which she couples with the half version of the tomato and mozzarella salad (although she always replaces the mozzarella with goat cheese, which is sacrilegious, in my opinion... She says "mozzarella doesn't taste like anything" MOZZARELLA HAS FLAVOR, LAUREN. IT'S MOZZARELLA FLAVORED. IT'S DELICIOUS. HAVE YOU NEVER HAD PIZZA BEFORE?!). I tend to stick to either the marinated chicken sandwich on baguette (which comes with the house-made mozzarella cheese, WHICH IS DELICIOUS, LAUREN) with a cup of the chicken chili.

Also, pickles are Satan's Cucumbers. The sandwich is superb, though. Satan-free Sandwich.

If they have a really good selection of soup that day and I have a hard time narrowing it down to just one, I opt for the 3 soup pours which allows me to sample three different soups. I strongly recommend this option if you are indecisive like me.

3 small soup pours. Ignore that silly sandwich photobombing this picture.

If you’re going for dinner, I recommend the tri-colored tortellini in the cracked black pepper parmesan cream sauce. It's amazing. I've also had the gnocchi, which is really good. I usually get it without the golden raisins, because I don’t really like wrinkly fruit, but if you’re into that thing, go for it (just keep in mind that you and I will probably never be friends). I usually eat half of it and take the other half home to eat for lunch the next day. The portion sizes are pretty big, so you definitely won’t leave feeling hungry.

Wrinkly fruit is for wrinkly people.

I’ve also gotten the chicken parmesan, which also comes with the house-made mozzarella cheese (PEOPLE LOVE MOZZARELLA CHEESE, LAUREN. IT’S NOT JUST ME. YOU’RE THE ONE WHO’S CRAZY), but I don’t really love their tomato sauce that comes on the pasta. I find it kind of bland. The fried goat cheese appetizer is really good if you like goat cheese (which I do). I’ve also had some of their other appetizers. Becca usually gets the turkey sandwich with the cranberry mayo on whole wheat. Tina usually gets the same thing I get (which drives me crazy. I hate getting the same thing as other people at restaurants. I don’t know why. I just do).

Lauren: This is what delicious looks like. Take note. There will be a quiz later.

Anywho. I love Five Loaves. It’s a great place to eat if you’re not looking to eat something super heavy. I love it, and Becca—unless you’ve already picked a place before I get to R&A, I will always choose Five Loaves for our lunch dates. Just FYI. I'm so excited to go eat there tonight with Lauren for her birthday dinner before we go out celebrating. Only maybe she'll get something a little heavier so that we don't have a repeat of Halloweekend (HINTHINT NUDGENUDGE, LAUREN. EAT SOME FREAKING BREAD).

Also, they're closed on Sundays. Go figure.

Five Loaves Cafe
43 Cannon Street,
Charleston, SC 29403-6068
(843) 937-4303