Chowing down

I wanted to wish everyone a Happy Easter! The family is off to New Orleans for a week. It will be the first time I am back in the city since before Katrina. I am a little apprehensive about seeing it. Of course I went online and made sure I had a list of eateries. In no particular order they are:

Cuvee-never been so this should be great!

Restaurant August- Never been but I like what I see whenever John Besh is on the Food Network. Am very excited about this one

Palace Cafe- Going for setimental value. Had my bridesmaid luncheon here, first place my kids raved over because they were treated like gold. And if you go before 7pm you get three courses for the price of your entree. Sweet deal!

Harbour- Best eggplant pirogue, fresh oysters and $1.00 Abita Amber on draft. Can you get any better?

Have a happy Easter and may you eat as well as I am going to.

Lemon Butter Tilapia

My neighborhood Publix has started cooking and handing out recipe cards. This was easy to make and I added 6 oz of mascarpone to the pasta after draining. Gotta fatten it up a bit.


Ingredients
4 teaspoons flour, divided
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
large zip-top bag
5–6 sprigs fresh Italian parsley
juice of 1 lemon
1 1/2 pounds tilapia fillets
3 tablespoons butter, divided
1/4 cup white wine

Steps

1. Place 3 teaspoons flour and seasoned salt in zip-top bag; shake to mix and set aside. Chop (rinsed) parsley coarsely, leaves only, and measure (2 tablespoons). Slice (rinsed) lemon in half. Set both aside.
2. Preheat large sautй pan on medium-high 2–3 minutes. Check fish for bones by pressing on fillet with finger tips and remove. Add fish to zip-top bag; seal tightly and shake to coat. Wash hands.
3. Place 1 tablespoon butter in pan and swirl to coat. Add fish (wash hands) and cook 3 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon butter to center of pan. Turn fillets, using spatula, distributing butter under each fillet. Cook 3 more minutes until fish is golden and flakes easily. Place fish on serving plates.
4. Place remaining 1 tablespoon butter and 1 teaspoon flour, wine and juice from lemon in sautй pan. Heat 1–2 minutes until thickened, stirring occasionally. Stir parsley into butter sauce and serve over fish.

CALORIES (per 1/4 recipe) 249kcal; FAT 10g; CHOL 108mg; SODIUM 509mg; CARB 3g; FIBER <1g;>

Angel Hair Fresca

Ingredients
8 ounces angel hair pasta (1/2 box)
2 cups fresh broccoli florets
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup sun-dried tomato pesto

Steps

1. Fill large saucepan 1/2 full of water. Cover and bring to a boil on high heat for pasta.
2. Stir pasta into boiling water and boil 1 minute. Stir in broccoli and boil 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Drain. Add butter to saucepan, using residual heat to melt butter. Stir in tomato pesto and pasta mixture; toss to mix and serve.

CALORIES (per 1/4 recipe) 303kcal; FAT 6g; CHOL 8mg; SODIUM 384mg; CARB 48g; FIBER 2g; PROTEIN 9g; VIT A 15%; VIT C 56%; CALC 2%; IRON 15%

Wastin Away

Note: I did not put that hose in the manatee's mouth. I was just passing by. So don't fine me if you are FL law enforcement.

This picture was how my Keys vacation ended. I guess manatees love fresh water so they come scurrying over(as fast as a manatee can scurry. Note the propeller wound on head) if there is a hose in the water. So this guy was about 8 ft and had some of his flipper missing. He bellied up for about an hour before leaving the bar.

That was the last day of a four day excursion. The whole family went with my cousins and their wives.

I am close with my male cousins. I am the oldest girl so they had to hang with me. The rest of the girls that came along after were much younger and way more boring.

Anyway, we rented a house in Marathon and drove around the Keys like maniacs. It was cold. Need I say more.

To demonstrate how sick I am, the only place I wanted to go was a restaurant called Alice's that served a tropical fruit shortcake with passion fruit cream. That was really the whole vacation for me. That and the joy of arguing with my cousins.

Snark, while driving, hit a seagull at night. It landed in front of the car and looked at the headlights. The incident permanantly scarred my cousin's wife Jean. She is a fanatical animal lover. She said she would always be haunted by look on the stupid bird's face. I am going to be haunted by the fact the seagull could have dented my new car and the fact if Snark had swerved we'd be in the drink. I don't think I won any points with Jean after that comment.

She also says I have the malocchio. I guess it means I have some curse on my head. This revelation came about because I can't see wild-life to save my life. I go on an airboat tour in the Everglades and guess what? I see only one baby gator. I go to see Key deer and I am the only person that did not see one. I go to see snakes and can't spot them. I didn't even see the seagull that was in front of me. So being the superstitious Italian chick Jean is, she decides I am cursed. Isn't there some kind of spitting thing that gets rid of that?

Anyway, my cursed head is glad to be home. As much as I like vacation I love home.

Superbowl Wings

2-1/2 to 3 lb. chicken wings (about 12 whole wings)
1/2 cup hoisin sauce
3 Tbs. toasted sesame oil
2 Tbs. rice wine vinegar
2 Tbs. soy sauce
1 Tbs. grated fresh ginger
1-1/2 tsp. Tabasco or other hot sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced and smashed into a paste using the side of a chef’s knife
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1 Tbs. sesame seeds, preferably toasted

how to make

Heat a gas grill to medium high or prepare a medium-hot charcoal fire. With a chef’s knife, cut off the wing tips; discard or save for stock. Separate the remaining wing pieces by cutting through the joint. Transfer to a large bowl.

In a small bowl, combine the hoisin sauce, sesame oil, vinegar, soy sauce, ginger, Tabasco, garlic, and cloves. Whisk to combine and spoon out 2 Tbs. to set aside. Pour the remaining sauce over the chicken wings and toss to coat.

Grill the wings, basting for the first 15 minutes with any sauce left in the bowl and turning with tongs every 5 minutes or so to prevent burning. (If the wings start to burn, turn the heat down to medium or move them to a cooler part of the grill.) Continue to grill until all the wings are very dark, slightly crisp, and cooked through, 20 to 25 minutes total. Transfer the wings to a clean bowl, drizzle on the reserved sauce, sprinkle on the sesame seeds, toss to coat, and serve immediately with plenty of napkins.

from Fine Cooking #59, pp. 82C

Strollercize

To all you stroller mamas with your oversized treads and one track mind(gotta get to the ride), to all the older generation that comes to Disney and complains about the kids there, to all the new parents that are under the delusion that their six month old kid actually appreciates being at a noisy theme park this vitriolic letter is directed at you.

Don't come and nip and yap at my heels in your attempt to be two minutes ahead of me in a ride. I met you on Saturday when you were pushing your babies into the back of my legs, causing me to trip into my kids who actually know where they are. Do you really think your kids care about Thunder Mtn? All they care about is the bottle in your hand and the fact they are enjoying the breeze as you push your way over unsuspecting polite people. Lets be real. Babies don't care about Disney. You do. And by the way this goes out to the women who push their 10 yr old in the stroller also. Make them get up and walk. Rule of thumb: If they eat more than you and have a drivers license they don't need the strolller.

I love the older people and the childless that bitch about all the children. HELLO! This isn't Club Med(actually they are allowing kids also.) Look around you. There are snot nosed kids everywhere. Go somewhere else if you are going to complain about it. And don't tell my kid to look happy after you push her out of the way while she's waiting to enter the main gate.

Ahhh! I haven't vented in so long this feels good. It sucks to be polite all the time.

Adult Milk

Snark was going through his suit pockets the other day and found a Commanders Palace card with the manager's name on it. On the flip side was a recipe for Brandy Milk Punch. For my 21st birthday Snark took me to Commanders Palace. They have a conservatory there which is beautiful on a summer night. You have to walk through the kitchen to get there. It was a very memorable meal because the food was fantastic, the place is legendary, the service was impeccable and Snark remembered that I had always wanted to eat there. The waiters made sure we were well taken care of and recommended this delicious drink. We have eaten many times since and I always order this drink.

Brandy Milk Punch

In a shaker combine

shot cream de cocoa
1/2 shot brandy
1/2 and 1/2 about 1/4 cup
dash vanilla extract

shake it up and pour into highball glass filled with ice.

Vampires Bane

Garlic and Citrus Chicken


1 (5 to 6-pound) whole roasting chicken, neck and giblets discarded
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 orange, quartered
1 lemon, quartered
1 head garlic, halved crosswise, plus 3 garlic cloves, chopped
2 (14-ounce) cans reduced-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano leaves
Kitchen string or butcher twinePosition the rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F.

Pat the chicken dry and sprinkle the cavity with salt and pepper. Stuff the cavity with the orange, lemon, and garlic halves. Tie the chicken legs together with kitchen string to help hold its shape. Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper.

Place a rack in a large roasting pan. Place the chicken, breast side up, on the rack in the pan. Roast the chicken for 1 hour, basting occasionally and adding some chicken broth to the pan, if necessary, to prevent the pan drippings from burning. Whisk the orange juice, lemon juice, oil, oregano, and chopped garlic in a medium bowl to blend. Brush some of the juice mixture over the chicken, after it has baked 1 hour. Continue roasting the chicken until an instant-read meat thermometer inserted into the innermost part of the thigh registers 170 degrees F, basting occasionally with the juice mixture and adding broth to the pan, about 45 minutes longer. Transfer the chicken to a platter. Tent with foil while making the sauce (do not clean the pan).

Place the same roasting pan over medium-low heat. Whisk in any remaining broth and simmer until the sauce is reduced to 1 cup, stirring often, about 3 minutes. Strain into a 2-cup glass measuring cup and discard the solids. Spoon the fat from the top of the sauce. Serve the chicken with the pan sauce.

recipe courtesy of Foodtv.com

Happy New Year

I have made it through another year. I learned a few things along the way.

I could travel 27 hours on a plane with my kids without going insane

My mother is once again a married woman. A little sad. I was used to having her all to myself.

Never tell Snark about the various stages of girl puberty. It's the closest I've ever seen him come to vomiting.

Never volunteer for the PTA. There is always someone more psycho than you in it.

People who say they don't have an opinion are in denial

Insurance companies don't care that you were a day early on your cleaning. You must pay it all because you disobeyed the rules!!

My girls are hysterically funny. They get that from me.

There are still bitchy professors that are out to get you thirteen years later.

Twilight sleep is not an option for me. I actually have to usher my daughters through puberty.

There are people who have no shame. Case in point. I have had two people, who I barely speak with, ask me to babysit their children and house sit. The only time they call is when they need something. Shame on them for asking. Double shame on me for consenting.

No matter what my worries are, the fact that I have Snark and friends like Amy, Traci and Lisa make anything that I am upset about a little less worrisome.

Hopefully this new year brings a lot more revelations.