New Fave: Polar Seltzer

May 30, 2012 Leave a Comment

By Lia

This weekend, I headed down to the Jersey shore for some family time, beach time and good, old-fashioned “get out of Dodge” time. It was glorious for all of those reasons but I also made a cool discovery I had to share.

My one cousin is seven months pregnant and not able to take part in some of the, shall we say, “activities” that took place throughout the weekend. Instead, she was downing Polar Seltzer and finally, I took her up on the offer to try one.  She kept talking it up as the perfect drink – better than water when she wanted a beverage, but without any of the bad side effects of soda. I haven’t tried seltzer in a long time on its own — my grandparents always used to force it on us and I just didn’t like it. But turns out, seltzer has come a long way!

You can enjoy it all by itself, or make a cocktail (alcoholic or non) with it – your choice!  It really is yummy either way. Here is one of my favorite recipes, compliments of the folks from Polar. The alcoholic version uses the brand’s “Pina Colada” flavor, and the non-alcoholic requires “Mint Mojito.”

With alcohol:

In a tall glass combine:

  • 3 fresh watermelon chunks
  • 6 mint leaves
  • 2 limes slices
  • ½ teaspoon of brown sugar (optional)

Muddle thoroughly

Add ice

Add 1 ½ oz of Grey Goose vodka

Shake well.

Top with Polar Seltzer Pina Colada

Without alcohol:

Place chunks of seedless watermelon in a blender. Blend slowly. Strain with a sieve and recover watermelon juice.

In a tall glass filled with ice, combine:

  • 50% fresh watermelon juice
  • 50% Polar Seltzer Mint Mojito
  • Garnish with fresh limes and mint

 

I think both are the perfect drinks for the summer and all the holidays coming up. And you can serve them side-by-side so that everyone in the family can enjoy one way or another.

 

 

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Cleaning Out My Cabinets = Kitchen Sink Cookies

May 22, 2012 2 Comments

By Erin

In my kitchen cabinet the other day there was: half a bag of chocolate chips, half a bag of butterscotch chips, half a bag of walnuts, and some Ghirardelli chocolate squares.  The half-open bags were making me crazy. So I decided to make Kitchen Sink cookies, which I made up a few months ago. I called them Kitchen Sink cookies because you literally throw in everything but the kitchen sink!

This time around I used these ingredients - these are all half-filled bags!

These are left over from our Xmas party – for some reason, the husband thinks Ghirardelli squares = Xmas.  Who knows, but I like them, so I’ll go with it!

Of course, what’s a cookie without potato chips?!

I used this basic recipe for chocolate chip cookies that I worked out a few months back. The dark brown sugar makes all the difference. This time, I also used REAL vanilla extract from Madagascar.  (It was all the organic market by me had.) Normally, I go cheap-o on the imitation.  Never, ever again on the cheap stuff.  There is a difference!  I will splurge on vanilla from now on.

I mixed the chocolates in! Some of the chocolate squares where caramel and super-gooey in the middle. I wish I had had more of these to add in.

Then, the potato chips and walnuts:

 

Getting ready to bake!

All done! I never had a cooling rack before I got married and registered for all those crazy things you think you can’t live without. But my goodness cooling racks do make baking easier! If you don’t have one, they’re super cheap and absolutely worth it.  It makes the cooling process much, much faster and neater – because your cookies will be flat – and easier than using 1 million plates.

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Super Easy Dinner: Yellow Curry Chicken Over Rice

May 16, 2012 2 Comments

This recipe is so easy it almost feels like cheating, but it’s so delicious that I had to share. Also, the boyfriend made it up and I thought he deserved some credit!

We are obsessed with Trader Joe’s. First of all, it’s the cheapest grocery store in New York City. By A LOT.  Second, they have really great pre-packaged foods, marinades, sauces, and the like that are just left-of-center enough to be exotic, but yummy enough to be mainstream.

One such sauce we discovered is their Thai Yellow Curry Sauce.  All you’ll need for this recipe is this sauce, five small chicken breasts (we use the Trader Joe’s frozen breasts) and white or brown rice.

 

To make, simply:

  • Cook your rice according to the instructions. For this recipe, we’ve used everything from minute rice to a longer-cooking basmati rice. Both taste equally great, just depends on how fancy you want to get.
  • Defrost the chicken in the microwave.  Once completely thawed, cut each breast up with a knife and place in a medium-sized skillet. Toss the chicken with the curry sauce until all is heated through.
  • Serve the chicken over the rice – and you’re ready to go!

The chicken being tossed with the sauce.

The total cost of the whole meal is less than $10, and what I really love is that you can increase the amounts of each ingredient to make however much you want for leftovers. The sauce itself is so delicious, I highly recommend this route. More is more in this case!

 

 

 

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How to Make Homemade Boston Cream Pie

May 15, 2012 2 Comments

Yes, my husband is wonderful.  But sometimes, he’s an a** and he knows it.  Like, for example, when I asked him what kind of cake he’d like for his birthday.  His response? Boston Cream Pie, from scratch.

Why did he say this? And WHY did he specify that he wanted it from scratch? Becuase he knew I would do it. And, of course I did.

I should probably also mention that I’ve never actually had a Boston Cream pie before.  Or seen one, even. I mean, I’m sure I’ve SEEN one. But I didn’t know what it was.

So I did what anyone would do: I went to Pinterest. I checked out a bunch of recipes and decided to go with this one from The Hungry Mouse’s blog.  It looked fairly easy to follow, and it was!  A few things:

1. I did this on a Wednesday night. It wasn’t QUITE enough time.  I’d suggest making this on a weekend.

2. The Hungry Mouse used toasted almonds on the side of her pie.  The sweet hubby isn’t really one for almonds, so I skipped this step.

3. I put the chocolate on a bit too early. So… some of it ran over the sides.  When I realized this, I decided to sprinkle some all over the sides, so that it looked intentional. I think it looks pretty good!

4. I don’t have a double boiler, so I used my copper risotto pot on top of a larger sauce pan (totally makeshift) for the custard and the chocolate.  The copper pot is SUCH a luxury, and it cooks delicate items like this perfectly.  But i’m sure a regular double boiler or another makeshift two-pot duo like The Hungry Mouse uses in her pictures would be perfect.

4. The finished pie was really, really, good. Particuarly the custard.  That was my favorite part!  I thought the cake part was just a TAD too dry, but I really don’t think I overcooked it.  I would have preferred it to be a bit fluffier, but that’s just how I like my cake.  Fluffy like box mix!

If you’re looking for a good receipe, I would recomend this one, and its very easy to follow, which is key. Get the whole recipe here. 

 

Linked up to:

Sew Chatty

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The Perfect Summer Cocktail: La Paloma

May 14, 2012 4 Comments

This weekend was absolutely gorgeous in New York City – mid-70s with the sun shining and a cool breeze blowing through the fully-open windows. To celebrate on Saturday night, my boyfriend made us an early evening cocktail Saturday night, called La Paloma, which he recently learned of from a friend. I had to share because it’s so delicious, fresh and easy — like a very light margarita. I can’t wait to drink them all summer long!

 

The main ingredient, grapefruit soda from Mexico, can be a bit hard to find if you don’t have a store that sells Mexican products in your neighborhood. I loved the Jarritos brand if you do have access. If you just can’t find it, no worries, this Esquire recipe says a good substitute is lemon-lime soda with a splash of grapefruit juice.  I think any type of light, fizzy, fruity soda would also be delicious.

Here’s what you need:

  • 2 ounces tequila, reposado is the best
  • 1/2 ounce lime juice (we used lime from a bottle. You can go fresh if you’re feeling fancy.)
  • pinch of salt
  • grapefruit soda
The trick with this recipe is in the salt.  You don’t just rim your glass with it, you put it directly in the drink! I’m a bit of a salt fanatic – so I put in three pinches or so. Don’t feel the need to do this yourself, it’s still yummy with less salt!
To make the drink, simply combine the tequila, lime juice, and salt in a tall glass. Add ice, top off with grapefruit soda, and stir. So easy! So delicious!
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Martha Stewart’s Mac & Cheese

May 1, 2012 3 Comments

The one thing I can never, ever get right is homemade Mac and Cheese.  Ever.  It curdles, its grainy, its too baked.  But I never give up, because I just love it. I recently found this recipe from Martha Stewart for stove top Mac and Cheese and I decided to give it a try! I have to say… this is probably the CLOSEST I’ve ever come to making really good homemade mac and cheese.  My only complaint is that it was more creamy than cheesey.  I think that next time I would cut the milk, either by a quarter or maybe by half.  But other than that, the recipe was good.  Creamy and tasty, so if that’s what you’re looking for, give it a try!  The recipe says that you should use 3/4 of a pound of pasta, but it makes ALOT of sauce.  Definitely use a whole pound of pasta. I ended up cooking more and adding it in when I realized that it was SOOOOOO creamy. You can find the recipe from Martha Stewart here, and step by step photos after the jump!

[Read more...]

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Internet Discovery: How to Throw A Shrimp Boil

April 23, 2012 2 Comments

I had a post all ready to go for today, but then I saw this on The Hairpin – How to Throw a Shrimp Boil – and I had to change the schedule. 

The post is a step-by-step on how to throw a shrimp boil.  With our love of seafood well documented, it’s a no-brainer that this had to be shared immediately. The ingredients alone are amazing:

  • Ten pounds of shrimp
  • Five heads of garlic
  • One cup ground cayenne pepper
  • A case of cheap beer

The list goes on. It is literally so yummy sounding, I think I started to tear up because if I don’t have this in my life this summer, I have failed.  Summer, please come now!

 

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Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice

April 16, 2012 Leave a Comment

I made a cake, and I thought it was so pretty.  It was plain yellow cake, box mix, of course, with Dunkin Hines Chocolate Frosting. Almost no work on my part.  But still. I love box mix cake.  To me, its better than the fanciest cake you can buy.  It’s just delicious.

And, I thought it was so pretty sitting on this pink depression era cake plate my sweet cousin gave me for my wedding. Some people put antiques on display. I like to use them. For everything. Including box mix cakes that you make on a Saturday for no reason at all.  Well, maybe to fatten my husband up.  I guess that’s the real reason.

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Here, Piggy, Piggy

April 16, 2012 2 Comments

It was Saturday, so I made a pork butt.  What else do you do on Saturdays, anyways?  Ok, so it wasn’t actually a pork butt. It was a pork shoulder, and I made pulled pork.  And it was delicious. 

Making pulled pork is actually not that hard at all.  Trimming the shoulder takes a bit of time, and if you decide to make your own rub and BBQ, that takes a bit of time, too, but its certainly not difficult at all.   The good thing about homemade rubs and BBQ sauce, is that there are so many ingredients, they’re quite forgiving.  So you can totally miss something, or get something wrong, and chances are, it’ll be ok.  So for all of you who are afraid to make these things from scratch, don’t be!

My sweet husband LOVES sweet, Kansas City style BBQ sauce, and lots of it.  On pulled pork, I prefer the more vinegar-y sauces, the ones with a hint of mustard, but I found a recipe that he would like and went with it.  And, it. was. good. Like really good.  A perfect pulled pork sandwich.  As you can see, I enjoyed mine with a layer of cold, crunchy cold slaw.  I love how it cuts the sweetness and adds a cool crunch.  It’s what I believe, makes a pulled pork sandwich the perfect summer BBQ food.

I mostly followed this recipe from the Huffington Post’s small kitchen college.  It’s for everything DIY: the rub, the basting sauce and the BBQ sauce.  But its not hard, and uses spices you probably already have in your cupboard.  I saw mostly, because you were supposed to but the rub on the pork and then let it sit overnight.  I didn’t realize this, so mine didn’t soak overnight.  Next time, I’d take this extra step, just to see the difference.  Step by step photos after the jump to help you out!  [Read more...]

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How to: Lamb Chops and Twice-Baked Potatoes

April 10, 2012 Leave a Comment

Though I don’t celebrate Easter in a truly religious way, I do always mark the holiday with a nice dinner usually consisting of a meat and a starch.

So this past Sunday, as the sun set after a long day spent outside, I was ready for something succulent and delicious to eat.

Please ignore crappy iPhone photo! Was without my memory card for my good camera!

I stumbled upon these two incredibly easy recipes and while I’m tempted to reinterpret them for you here, I literally followed them to the letter and they came out so delicious I can’t possibly tinker with them.  Here you can find the recipe for Lamb Chops with a balsamic reduction from AllRecipes.com, as well as Twice Baked Potatoes from FoodNetwork.com.  Paired together, they are nothing short of heavenly (no pun intended!)

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