TOP CHEF: Episode 2

This season of Top Chef takes place in Las Vegas and promises to have higher stakes games and many twists. Thus far the contestants are not falling short of the quality expected from the judges and viewers. but, making this season even more enjoyable is the fantasy draft that my friends and I have put together. here is how we are working the points:

QUICK FIRE: 25

TEAM MEMBER OF A WINNING TEAM: 10

WINNING THE WEEK: 45

NOT KICKED OFF: 5

TOP THREE: 75

WINNER OF SHOW: 125

The person with the most points in the end wins. This season, because of who I picked, I will be rooting for only four contestants: Robin Leventhal, Jesse Sandin, BryanVoltaggio, and AshFulk. Bryan was my top pick so I am VERY excited that I was able to get him on my team. I am most worried Jesse, I really think that she has a lot of potential but cannot quite get it together. Robin is a wild card I just hope she will get some "not kicked off" points from her. I really don't know what to expect from Ash but he is funny so I hope he stays for many episodes.

As for this week, I am tied for first place thanks to Bryan pulling out the win. How creative he was with the macaroon! a Macaroon worth 45 points to me. Eve was completely the right choice to leave. If you know you cannot cook shrimp the first time don't keep it up - isn't that Top Chef 101?

In the futures, I do think the Preeti should get the hell off and I am crossing my fingers that Jesse will pull herself together and not try to cook scallops again.

Next Sewing Project

This weekend I finally finished my first sewing project (a cute tote bag complete with lining and pockets). Now I must contemplate my next sewing venture. I am leaning toward a simple dress of some sort. I can envision my attempt ending miserably with different length sleeves, uneven hems, and lookin' like a big hot mess. But, positive thoughts do sometimes pay off.

Here are my options:

MaCall Dress

Vogue Dress

OR

Simplicity Dress

I am tempted to buy them all but I know I have to pace my self. Rome, after all, was not built in one day. The Vogue Dress seems more tempting both because it was in the "easy" section and because saying "Vogue" seems much more fashion forward and an overall elevated cool level.

I will keep you posted.

Ice Cream!

Missed it by a day but Sunday seems to have been national ice cream day - or something of the like. While I don't usually eat store bought ice cream I will say than the frozen dessert does not have to be bad for you. In fact I dare to say that Creamed Ice can be a Wholly Food.

Home made ice cream can skip the preserves and processed sugar and flavoring. Using non processed sweeteners or fruits as sweeteners ice cream can be both good for your health and good for the lickin'. It is mango season here in South Florida. Finely chopped mangoes in an sugar free ice cream base would be perfect for a lazy weekend afternoon.....maybe I should invest in an ice cream maker one of these days.

Happy Ice Cream day. I hope you enjoyed it Wholly Foods style.

Cook Book 1

The first cookbook we choose was Mark Bittman's "How to Cook Everything Vegetarian". Because of the celebration of our nations birth we went with good old American 'no-mayo coleslaw'. It was much better than I thought it would be and made me realize that maybe following a recipe isn't so bad after all. However, we didn't actually follow the recipe ingredient for ingredient because we didn't have everything. This is what we ended up with:

Recipe:

One bag of slaw mix (Buy at your local grocer)
2 table spoon Dijon mustard
2 table spoons red wine vinegar
crushed black pepper to taste
1 table spoon celery salt
1 table spoon minced garlic

Direction:

Mix it all together and chill for a few hours (we did it over night).

Alternatives:

I think you could add bits of broccoli or celery to give the dish another dimension of flavor an texture. I also played around with the idea of adding caraway seeds but maybe next time. We did leave out green onions which would be an interesting addition I might try one day.

Uses:

Pairing this slaw with some sort of protein was perfect. HER VERSION: I ate it with some grilled tuna steak. HIS VERSION: He had it pile on top of his turkey sausage.

(New way to blog!)Hello all and happy happy July. this month we are going to jump on the food-blog train and take the cookbook challenge. This means that for the month of July we are going to cook one item out of each of our cookbooks. All together i think we have about 8 or 9 so this should be a busy busy month for the blog!

pr

Test

Whole Wheat Biscotti: PB & Choc

I have made variations of Whole Wheat Biscotti many many times. However, these might be the best version...I cannot figure out what I did but shoot they were good. Except for the baking times, these little wafers of goodness are super simple.

Recipe:
1/4 cup Peanuts
1/4 cup Peanut Butter
4 large Pitted Dates
2 cups Whole Wheat Flour
1/2 cup Cocoa Power
1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
3 large Eggs
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Direction:
Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine all the dry ingredients (Flour, Soda, Salt, Cocoa). Now it is time to get the food processor (FP - which is also the anagram for French Press so do not be confused). Throw in the peanuts, peanut butter, dates, and vanilla and pulse until the peanuts are small chunks but not yet butter.

Add the dry ingredients 1/3 at a time and pulse between additions. At this point you should sample the dough to make sure it is sweet enough. Add the eggs one at a time. After the last egg has been incorporated, the dough will look dry but stick with it...turn the dough out on a very lightly floured surface and knead a few times until the dough forms a ball (it took about four for me).

To prepare for the first baking time, roll the dough out to a perfect rectangle just less than an inch (they will rise in the oven). Bake for 25 minutes. Cool on rack for 15-20 minutes. Cut with a sharp knife into slices 1/2 thick, lay flat on the same baking sheet and bake for another 15 minutes flipping once half way through the time. Take out and eat once they are cool enough for you to put into your mouth....about 10-15 minutes.

Alternatives:
Seriously, this is one of those recipes where the possiblilities are endless. As long as the dough is moist enough to stick to gether and not so wet that it doesn't hold shape the sky is the limit.
- In the past I have used almonds, raisins, dried mangos, almond extract, and dried cranberries.
- I have contemplated making Lemon Poppy Seed, Espresso, Strawberries and Cream, and Citrus.
- Also you can dip the biscotti in chocolate or other dipping substances.

Uses:
I eat these as a dessert or a between meal snack. Dave however, enjoys dipping them into coffee. ENJOY :)