Halloween Haunts

Dawn and I were pretty excited about Halloween this year. Generally we would spend Halloween at a friend’s house eating candy and reveling in the crazy outfits our friends thought up. This year however, most of our friends have little babies of their own to corral so Dawn and I decided to stay at home and pass out candy to our neighborhood children. We pulled together some costumes (Dawn was a Pirate and I was a US Marshall), purchased some candy (way way too much candy), and carved a pair of pumpkins.

Neither of us really had any good ideas of what to carve. We both searched Google for inspiration, but in the end we decided to stick with what we knew best, cats. Here’s a couple pictures of us and our pumpkins. (Dawn's editorial note: We carved freehand - no stenils - but would like to credit the Cat silhouette & Cat face images as our muses.)

I hope all the rest of you had as much fun with Halloween as we did.

This blog posted while listening to.... well actually nothing. I was watching Patriot Games.

Fatal Attractions

I know it isn't the Christmas season yet (although that is debatable based on all the department stores’ decorations in stock) but I just recently made my favorite Christmas cookie for a bonfire get together that Aric and I went to last week. We were asked to bring some cookies and, since the weather has cooled down here, it made me think of these cookies, taken from a much loved Canadian cookbook The Complete Best of Bridge Cookbooks Volume One (The Best of Bridge).

During the holiday season, my mom would make these rich, chocolaty treats. Every year, I anxiously awaited their arrival and was never disappointed. I’m guessing they didn’t make an appearance during the summer months because the confectioner’s sugar on the dark chocolate was too reminiscent of a light dusting of snow on the ground. But for a bonfire party on a cool fall night, they seemed like a perfect fit.

I know the name immediately conjures up thoughts of the iconic movie, which makes them intriguing from the get go, but the name does seem fitting once take a bite and are hooked. I invite you to try and eat only one!

Fatal Attractions


4 squares unsweetened chocolate

1/2 cup shortening

2 cup sugar

2 tsp vanilla

4 eggs

2 cup flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1 cup chocolate chips

1/2 cup icing sugar



Melt chocolate squares and shortening, but do not boil. 
Stir in sugar & allow to cool. Spoon mixture into a bowl, 
add vanilla and beat well. Add eggs, one at a time, beating 
well after each addition. Combine flour and baking powder, 
add to creamed mixture. Beat well. Fold in chocolate chips. 
Roll dough into 1" balls and roll in icing sugar. Bake on 
greased cookie sheets, in preheated 350F oven for 10-12 
minutes. Make sure not to overcook - they can dry out and are better if they are on the gooier side.

Makes about 24 cookies.

A Love Story in Pictures

I will be upfront... this post has nothing to do with food. But Recently Aric and I got photos taken by Ashley Mauro, an amazing local photographer, and we wanted to share them with you.

We had spent almost a year dating long distance and were lacking in pictures taken together. Obviously the main reason for this was the distance but it also had something to do with the fact that we forgot to take pictures whenever we were together. So needless to say, I was determined to get some decent ones of us once I moved to Ohio. I contacted Ashley right away as I loved how she documented the pregnancy of my friend Christina and newborn pictures of her beautiful daughter.

She did not disappoint. We had a great time during the session with her and were beyond thrilled with the recent "sneak peek" of the finished products she posted on her blog www.ashleymaurophotography.blogspot.com.

We can't wait to see the rest of them!

PF Chang Lettuce Wraps

While I am not the biggest PF Chang’s fan, Dawn and I do like the lettuce wraps. We often find ourselves sitting with friends and family at an oversized table enjoying a family style dinner. The highlight for us is always the lettuce wraps, so I wanted to give them a whirl. I found 2 recipes online that sounded good. Neither one seemed to be quite right, so I split the difference and mixed and matched as I felt was best, or as my lack of ingredients dictated. As both Dawn and I agreed that the wraps turned out excellent, I’ll try to recreate what I put together.

Before we get into the wraps themselves, we have to make the “special sauce” to pour over the wraps when we’re done. Here are the ingredients you’ll need:

- 1/8 Cup Sugar
- ¼ Cup Water
- 1 Tbsp Soy Sauce
- 1 Tbsp White Wine Vinegar
- 1 Tbsp Ketchup
- 2 tsp Lime Juice
- 2 tsp Oil
- 2 tsp Dijon Mustard
- Less than 1 tsp Red Chili Powder
- 2 Tbsp Asian Sweet Chili Sauce

These measurements made enough for Dawn and I; if you intend to have more people you will need to increase the recipe. There is nothing special to this sauce, mix it all together, then stick in the refrigerator while you make the rest. I was pretty nervous about it because it smelled a little interesting, but the taste was actually quite good.

We made both a meat and vegetarian version of the wraps, just like PF Chang’s offers. Here are the ingredients you’ll need:

- 2Tbsp Oil
- 2 Boneless Chicken Breasts (or some vegetarian Chicken, we did 1 part meat, 1 part vege)
- 1 can Water Chestnuts
- 2-3 Shitake Mushrooms
- ¼ Onion
- 1 Garlic Clove
- 1 Cup Chopped Roasted Cashews
- Butter Lettuce (we got Boston)
- 1 Tbsp Soy Sauce
- 1 Tbsp Brown Sugar
- ½ tsp White Wine Vinegar

Directions:

Mince the chicken and set aside. Mince the Water Chestnuts, Mushrooms, cashews, Onion and Garlic. Place the chestnuts, mushrooms, onion, cashews, and garlic in a frying pan. Add the oil, soy sauce, brown sugar and vinegar and sauté for a minute or 2. Add the chicken and continue to sauté until the chicken is fully cooked. When everything has been fully cooked, scoop into a lettuce leaf, top with the “special sauce” and serve.

Here is the meat version.

Here is the vegetarian version:

This blog posted while listening to Boston.

Testing the Photo Studio

So what's the first thing you have to do when you have a new toy? Exactly, test it out. I wanted to make a dinner that would give us vivid color and be fun to shoot in the new photo studio. Dawn has her go to recipe sources, and so do I. I’ve been a Bon Appetite subscriber for several years now. Every time I receive my new issue I cut out all the recipes that I want to try and stick them into my own recipe collection. Unfortunately I didn’t have my collection with me when I decided to plan the menu, so I browsed http://www.bonappetit.com/ while I ate lunch. I found 3 recipes worthy of the new studio.

I wanted to start the evening with an appetizer so I made cherry tomatoes stuffed with marinated feta. When I cook, I like lots of flavor. I was a little nervous that the recipe I was given would prove to be to lackluster for my pallet, but to my joy, I was happily impressed with the result. Let me walk you through the recipe. You will need the following ingredients:

- 1 Package of Feta Cheese (I’d recommend a block rather than crumbled)
- 2 Tbsp Olive Oil
- ½ Tbsp Minced Shallot or Green Onion
- 1 tsp of Chopped Fresh Oregano
- Pitted Kalamata Olives
- Cherry Tomatoes (get the largest ones you can find)

First you’ll want to marinate the feta. You will want to cut the feta into little cubes. The size will depend on how big your tomatoes are. The end result is to stuff a cube of feta and a slice of olive into the tomatoes so cut your cheese accordingly. Take the cheese, oil, shallot (onion) and oregano and mix in a small bowl. Let that sit for a few minutes while you prepare the tomatoes. Add a little salt and pepper for seasoning.

Cut the tomatoes in half, scoop out the tomato pulp with whatever works. I used a small knife. Stuff the hollowed tomatoes with a cube of the marinated feta and a slice of olive. After stuffing all the tomatoes, drizzle with a little more olive oil and if desired sprinkle with salt and pepper.

This recipe can be prepared well ahead of the meal.

This blog posted while listening to Aerosmith.

No More Terrible Pictures

Dawn and I fully admit that our blog photos have not been the best thus far. There are several factors that have contributed to this. 1.) We don’t have a particularly good camera for the type of pictures we need to take. So far we’ve been using my point and shoot or our iphones. 2.) Neither of us are particularly skilled in photography. And 3.) Generally our meals have been planned with curing our hunger as the main purpose, not strategizing the best presentation methods.

I was not happy with our pictures and was very jealous of the new camera Tim and Sherilyn bought in anticipation of their baby girl Kara, but I really wanted to find a solution to our poor quality pictures without breaking the bank to buy a new SLR camera. I did some searching online and found this article. The article outlines a do it yourself project to create a photo studio out of an old moving box for a total investment of around $15.00. Dawn and I decided to try it out. Here is what the finished product looks like.

Our pictures used to look like this…

Now they look like this…

I hope you all enjoy the improvement.


This blog drafted while listening to AC/DC

Creamy Asparagus Soup

It may have hit 80 degrees yesterday afternoon, but it is mid-October, and seeing all the colorful leaves falling to the ground along with the budding Halloween decorations has put me in the fall food mood. Combine my new mood and Dawn feeling a little under the weather and you have a perfect soup storm, so I chose to make one of my favorite soups last night. I don’t have a lot of soup making experience, unless you count Top Ramen or Campbell’s as soup making experience. In fact I can’t recall ever making any other soup than this particular recipe. If you’ve read any of my other posts you are probably well aware that I like asparagus, so it should come as no surprise that my favorite soup is an asparagus soup. This is a very simple soup, so for any guys who may be reading our blog, tuck this one away as a way to impress your lady.

Here are the ingredients you’ll need:

- 2 lbs of asparagus (just grab 2 bunches or whatever packaging they conveniently sell at the store)
- 1 large yellow onion (chopped)
- 3 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 5 cups broth (the original recipe asks for chicken, I used vegetable)
- Leaves of 2 sprigs thyme
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
- A squeeze of fresh lemon juice
- Salt and Pepper

Directions:
Start by preparing the asparagus. I always remove the bases. Call it habit or neurotic impulse, whatever. The bases are often weird colors, dry and just rather icky. The best way to remove the unwanted portion is to grab the very base with one hand, and grab the stalk about half-way up with the other hand and bend the stalk. It will naturally break at the point where the junky part ends and leave you with just the fresh and ripe part. After removing the bases cut the asparagus into ½ in sections. Reserve a few of the tops for a garnish.

Cook the onion in the butter. You’ll need a pretty good sized pot, probably 4-6 quarts. Let the butter begin to melt over medium-low to medium heat. Once the butter has begun to melt toss in the chopped onion. (I don’t know about the rest of you, but the onion I chopped last night really got to me. I started tearing up, which is not an unusual occurrence for me when I am chopping an onion, but at my house I have an exhaust fan I can turn on to help. Dawn’s apartment doesn’t have that so I walked out of the kitchen to grab some fresh air, but Dawn was burning incense in the living room which just compounded the problem and made my eyes just water even more!) Stir the onion and butter until the onion is soft, then add the asparagus and a little salt and pepper. Let that cook for about 5 minutes then add the broth and thyme. Get that cooking at a slight boil for about 15-20 minutes until everything is very tender. I should note that the broth you choose as your base will impact the final look of your soup. The chicken broth leads you to a more typical asparagus green color, whereas the vegetable broth I used turned the soup a more orange color.

While the soup is simmering you can flash steam the tops for about 3-4 minutes until tender.

Once the soup has cooked, puree it until smooth. The first time I made this soup I owned a very old blender. It was so old that the top didn’t seal well anymore. I poured a few cups in and turned the blender on…. Only to have boiling hot water shoot all over me and my kitchen. That was the day my friend Tim Ko introduced me to this little bad boy - the Cuisinart Smart Stick Hand Blender With Whisk & Chopper Attachments (HB-154PC). What a great investment! It makes pureeing this soup a cinch! If you want a smooth soup you can pour the soup through a sieve to pull out any chunks. I prefer the texture so I left mine alone. Stir in the cream and lemon, and salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!

This blog posted while listening to Harry Connick Jr.