Hubby’s Surf & Turf Dinner And Tres Leches Cake
Hubby’s birthday is not until the 20th but we had his birthday dinner and cake today. He’s got work and school on that day so he won’t be home util about 9pm. The day after that is his day off but he still has school at 6pm. I don’t want to be cooking dinner for lunch. Besides, Caine would still be at school by that time. He suggested last night to just do it today so today it is. He told me a week ago to do a surf and turf dinner so I made steak and crab legs with broiled potatoes and sauteed asparagus.
Salmon & Penne Alfredo
This Salmon & Penne Alfredo was inspired by the seafood with pesto cream penne alfredo from Ragazzi’s Italian Restaurant. The seafood with pesto cream involves basil with walnut pesto blended into penne alfredo sauce with sauteed shrimp and fresh salmon. It’s $14.99 a plate which I’m telling you is sooooo worth it coz it’s soooo good and you get so much of it. I can only eaT half of the plate then save my leftovers for lunch the following day. Delicious creamy pesto with alfredo sauce, and large pieces of shrimp and chunks of salmon. If I could somehow name a kid from this dish, I would.
My own version of course is very much simplified. It doesn’t have the creamy pesto sauce coz I didn’t have the stuff to make it(basil, walnuts) and I also omitted the shrimp coz we just had shrimp last Sunday. It was delicious nonetheless. I just love creating my own version of restaurant dishes that I love even though I don’t create the exact same thing all the time. I just have fun working in my kitchen with a particular dish to copy in mind.
Next time I’ll make it the Ragazzi’s way, but for now, here’s my simplified version.
Rabbit Stew(Caldereta)
I had no idea how to cook rabbit so I turned it into a stew with Filipino flavors. This is more like Rabbit Caldereta with a sweet and tangy tomato based sauce. FYI, this recipe was originally posted in b5media when I used to write for their Lifestyle site. I’m posting the recipe here in Feistycook for my archives. I bought the frozen rabbit from a Farmer’s Market in Raleigh.
Dreaming Of My Dream Kitchen
I dream about my dream kitchen as much as I dream about my dream house and shoes. I gotta have my large kitchen someday. The funny thing is, for me to have my dream kitchen, I’ll probably do a kitchen remodeling to the kitchen of my dream house. Isn’t that how it always works when you’re buying an already built house? It’s a different story of course if you build your house from the ground up. I can be very impatient so I can easily see myself buying the house I want then gut the kitchen completely to get the kitchen I want instead of waiting for however long it takes to build a house from scratch.
When I’m pinning stuff in my Pinterest, I find myself drawn to the kitchen pictures. You can hear me oooh and ahhhhh at every picture while I click “pin.” My dream kitchen would have to have the upgraded appliances starting from the gas stove, fridge, oven, microwave, double sink, and dishwasher. A granite countertop, a long island with chairs, and enough cabinets and drawwers to drive me insane. A corner nook for a mini bar, of course. My dream kitchen is also going to have a big space for a dine-in table. The formal dining room would be in a separate room next to the kitchen. I have a dream look for that too but that’s another post on its own.
You can’t have a dream kitchen without a dream pantry, right? I’m probably going to go insane filling up my dream pantry with all the spices, condiments, baking staples, and whatever else I find to put in there. Don’t worry, I’m sure somehow I’ll find a way to cook with them, hah. I’m thinking a special spot for my chocolates too.
Ahhhh, a girl can dream, right?
Trop50 For The New Year
Have you seen that Trop50 commercial with Jane Krakowski? She looks great and I really like her dress. It sure makes me want to drink a whole bottle of Trop50 right about now which by the way has a line juice beverages, with goodness of fruit juice containing 50 percent less sugar and calories, and no artificial sweeteners.
I also want to try the raspberry lemonade, pomegranate blueberry, and pineapple mango variants. They just look really good.
Anyhooo, Tropicana is running a campaign right now called Trop50 True Resolutions. You can visit the facebook page http://facebook.com/trop50, share the motivation for your New Year’s Resolution to earn a $1 coupon for yourself and 50 cent coupon for 50 of your friends. Whether you share your resolution or not, you’d still have a chance to win the $1000 gift card. Good luck and I hope you all fulfill your New Year’s Resolutions.
Baked Chicken In Brooks House Of BBQ Chicken Sauce Marinade
My dear mother-in-law gave me 2 bottles of Brooks House Of BBQ sauces and marinades when we visited them for the Christmas holidays last month. I used the chicken sauce to marinate 3 chicken quarters the other night. I baked the chicken in the oven then served them with peas and butter-herb potatoes. You can grill the marinated chicken too as well but since it’s winter season and it’s kinda frigid outside, baking was a much better option. The chicken turned out tangy and slightly peppery coz the marinade contains oil, apple cider vinegar and seasonings of sage, thyme, and pepper.
| Baked Chicken In Brooks BBQ Chicken Sauce Marinade |
|
- 1 1/2 cup of Brooks BBQ Chicken Sauce
- 3 chicken leg quarters
- 1 large ziploc bag or marinating bowl
- Place the chicken pieces in a large ziploc bag or marinating bowl. Pour the sauce into the bag/bowl. Lock the bag or close the bowl tightly then shake or move the bowl a bit to coat the chicken pieces. Store it in the fridge to marinate for 2-3 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 365°.
- Transfer the chicken into a sheet pan. Bake the chicken for 40 to 45 minutes.
- Serve with peas and butter-herb potatoes.
Christmas Gifts From Your Kitchen
There really is nothing wrong with giving food items as Christmas Gifts. And it’s even more special if you make the goodies yourself. Christmas time is baking time so it’s always a good idea to double or triple your baked goodies so you have enough cookies, brownies, cinnamon rolls, or cake pops for the family, relatives, friends, neighbors, Teachers, mailman, or whomever else you want to give a gift to this Christmas. Here are a few goodies from my kitchen that you can also make. There’s still plenty of time to get the ingredients and make all the treats as pretty as can be.
Click on the highlighted text to get the recipe for each item.
- Christmas Sugar Cookies
- Snickerdoodles
- Apple-Cinnamon Rolls
- Peach Marmalade Cinnamon Rolls
- Twisted Cinnamon Bread
- Plain Or Chocolate Chips Cinnamon Rolls
- Chocolate Chip Cookies
- White Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Toffee & Chocolate Chip Cookies
- White Chocolate Chip Brownies
- Cake Pops
- Oatmeal & Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Buttery Gooey Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
Or you can always make fruitcake. 
Christmas Sugar Cookies For 2011
Making sugar cookies complete with decorations thanks to my mediocre talent is a tradition in my family. It started with my son when he was 5 years old. Now it’s with my 5 year old daughter while my 13 yr old son just helps out with the decorating part. This year I made the dough while the kids were with the husband during an appointment for the car, and a haircut for Caine. Actually, my husband told me he’d take the kids with them so I can have time for myself. So I made the cookie dough then stored it in the fridge coz it’s always better to do that before rolling it out to cut in different shapes. I could have started the latter process and then baked cookies after the dough spent an hour chilling in the fridge but I decided to wait for my daughter coz I know how much she loves making sugar cookies with me. Good thing I did that coz apparently she was a little bad during the car appointment.
She knew it too as soon as they got home coz she was very quiet. I told my husband that perhaps she just missed me. A few minutes after I said that, she stood up from the floor, went to a corner wall and was silently crying. So I knew she felt bad for acting out. I let her have a moment with the wall for a few minutes then asked if she wanted to make cookies. Instantly, her eyes lit up and smiled so sweetly.
And off we went to make cookies.
I’m not posting the recipe here. I’ll just direct you to an old post where you could get all the ingredients and instructions to make Christmas sugar cookies with/for your family too. This year I’ve also used edible markers to make some of the designs. I found out at the last minute that I ran out of red coloring so red is not represented much this year. The kids helped out with the decorating but they got tired after a while so I finished the whole thing by myself. And FYI, there are cookies inside the tins and Santa Clause cookie jar too. My back was really hurting after all the cookies were decorated and the kitchen was back to its organized and clean state.
The sugar cookie recipe is actully good for any other occasion like Valentine’s Day, Easter, or Halloween. Just match the cookie cutters and decorations for each holiday. The cookies are great to bring at holiday parties and gifts for family, friends, and neighbors. Use cute tin cans as containers.
Tip to avoid breaking the cookies if mailing them out to friends and family: Wrap 4-5 cookies in a saran wrap as tight as you could get. Do this for like a set of 5 or more depending how large the tin can is. Line the tin cans with either a bubble wrap or gift tissue papers then carefully place the wrapped cookies.
Entry for Food Friday. 
How-To Make Homemade Whipped Cream
It’s always easier and more convenient to just buy that whipped cream tube or a tub of cool whip to top the pies with. But believe it or not, it’s also very easy to make homemade whipped cream. All you need are chilled mixing bowl and whisk, heavy cream, a little bit of powdered sugar, and patience.
I’ve only used 1/2 cup of the 1 pint heavy cream for the pumpkin cheesecake that I made for Thanksgiving. My husband saw the box of heavy cream in the fridge so he asked why I didn’t make whipped cream out of it for the cheesecake. I actually thought about it but I didn’t think we really needed whipped cream since the pumpkin cheesecake already has dulce de leche topping. It was the day after Thanksgiving when I decided to whip the remaining heavy cream.
| How-To Make Homemade Whipped Cream |
- 1 pint heavy cream
- 1 tbsp powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla(optional)
- Chill the mixing bowl and whisk in the freezer for 10-15 minutes. Make sure to do this. After the chilling process, beat the heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla(optional) in low speed at first. Turn it to med-high speed once everything comes together.
- Continue to beat the mixture until it’s fluffy and you get a soft peak texture.
- Serve it in dollop form on top of a pie or a cheesecake, or transfer it in a piping bag with decorated tip for an added decor on the dessert. Store remaining whipped cream in the fridge. Beat it again with the mixer the following day.
Our Thanksgiving Feast
I am sooooo full. But then again, all of us say that every year after stuffing ourselves with yummy dishes from Thanksgiving. I decided to wear a dress this year though so that helped a lot in breathing, haha. So this year, I made:
- Cajun seasoned roast turkey
- cornbread casserole
- zucchini & yellow squash au gratin
- mashed potatoes with cream cheese
- sweet potato bread
- green beans casserole
- pumpkin cheesecake with dulce de leche topping
- red velvet cake truffles
Entry for Food Friday.
