Dinner, Friday the 13th

I have been wanting to do a themed dinner.  Tried it this week.  Based it on vampire movies.
It was a goal. I completed. 
Wasn't as fabulous as I was hoping. But that's okay. Posted about it on my movie blog.

till later

Popcorn?

I was thinking about a few ideas for the movie challenge blog and recipes from movies.  And started to think about finger foods and eventually, popcorn.

I know that popcorn can be added to soups/stews and snacks you would maybe serve at kids parties.   Then I thought it would be interesting to see what other recipes people might have for using popcorn?

If you've got a popcorn related dish, leave a comment and link.

Recipes that the movie inspired

I just finished posting over on my movie challenge blog, about what the movie Elvira Mistress of the Dark had inspired in me to cook.

I had planned on adding the recipes here to this blog, but after spending over a half hour posting it once, I'm just going to take the lazy way out and link to the post.

The post link

Till next time

july 9th 2011

My Money In the Bank Mac Casserole

Didn't work.

I was sitting here watching wrestling, thinking about what to make for supper, if I should make my hashbrown casserole or one of my mac/cheese dishes?
And had the genuis idea to make a variation of the two.  The hasbrown casserole but with pasta instead of the diced hashbrowns.
Which, seemed like the most smashing idea while I was sitting here watching Smackdown, and the announcers were talking about the payperview next week -Money in the Bank- and it still seemed like a great idea when I was mixing it all up, smelled awesome as it cooked.
Then I took it out of the oven, and it looked good still.  But, it ended up being too mushy. Like falling off the ladder into the crowd.

Just a bad idea.

And now, I have half a dish of it still and will have to figure out something for it tomrrow, because it's just too much to toss out. 
So tomorrow, the rematch.  How will I fix the dish?

A Philly Moment

I know many of you have joined the race to be part of the Real Women of Philadelphia contest.  Good luck to each and all who have entered.
I'm kicking around over there on the community, but I can not enter. (If you wish to friend me on there, poke me in the tummy, or just share some links you can locate me under the name Domestic Damned)

So I thought I would share my favourite Philly cream cheese cheat.  Yes, I call it a cheat.   Why, because it's a too simple recipe for cucumber sandwiches.  

 I used Italian bread, and the Philadelphia Herb and Garlic cream cheese, sliced cucumbers. 
Honestly, it's the easiest thing to create.  Simple, fast, and a perfect for when you get company last minute. 

I'm sure some of you are more skilled at making things look pretty compared to me.  But if you like cucumber tea sandwiches, you have to try it.

Sidenote,   I just got my hands on a copy of As Always, Julia The Letters of Julia Child and Avis DeVoto Food Friendship and the Making of a Masterpiece  by Joan Reardon

You know the book that was inspired by all the letters in the movie Julie/Julia.

Though, I have no idea when I will have the chance to read it.  I might try sneaking in bits and pieces between the books I do for review.

Splat!

I just posted this on my main blog {www.domesticanddamned.com} but since it's a kitchen thing...

As you can see, cream of mushroom soup went everywhere.   This is what I get for multitasking.
I was cooking, watching wrestling and this was on the weekend when I was distracted in general.

Oh and this is not my kitchen either.  It's mom's.  What you see is only part of the mess.   It was gross.  Took awhile to mop it all up too.

Note to self, when using heavy machinery such as a can opener, make sure that there are no tag team matches on tv.

New product

Tofu pasta.  I can't believe it either.  So I had to buy it.   I have not tried it yet, the package is still sitting in my mother's fridge where I stupidly forgot it. So it's on the menu for tomorrow. 
Seriously, I was in the grocery hanging around the produce area which has become like a bar to me.  I'll explain later.  And spotted this next to the veggie burgers.  I was strangely drawn to it.  Weirded out slightly but drawn to it none the less.

And get this,  this package was only $1.89 Canadian.  Beauty.  We'll find out tomorrow if it was worth all that. 

Mushroom Burgers

I've mentioned on here while ago about getting a few cookbooks for review.
One of the books happens to be 100 Recipes Every Woman Should Know  by the editors at Glamour Magazine. 
I tried a variation of their mushroom burger. 

Meatless Monday Portobello Burger  as found on page 187

1 garlic clove
2 ounces roasted red peppers from jar drained
1/2 c mayo
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 c freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
1/2 c extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for brushing
Four  4 inch diameter portobello caps
Four 1/4 inch thick slices red onion
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
8 thick slices good Italian bread
4 loosely packed cups baby arugula

In blender puree garlic, red pepper, mayo, mustard, lemon juice, cayenne, and cheese until smooth. Add 1/4 c olive oil until blended and thick   set aside.

Preheat broiler. line a large rimmed baking sheet with foil.  Arrange mushrooms on baking sheet side by side with onion. Brush top with rest of olive oil and use salt and pepper.
Broil for 10 minutes until tender and lightly charred in spots.

Lightly brush the bread slices on one side only with the rest of the olive oil, then broil, without turning, about 1 minute until lightly golden on the oiled sides.

Arrange the bread on work surface, top with the mushrooms, onion, arugula, spread the roasted red pepper sauce on the top slices of bread.

serves 4

My version:
Well, for me that's just too spicy.  I simply used the oil, mayo and mustard. 
I also had a flat style bun instead of the bread.

I also have to say, that our local store here packages the mushroom caps in twos.  At at $4.79 a package, this is not something I would be making too often.

Personally, I find that doing mushroom burgers are better on an outdoor grill during BBQ season.
I much prefer to do eggplant as a burger paddy replacement when doing veggie burger items on a stove.


 You can catch what else I had to say about the cookbook here on my book blog

Homemade slaw

1 large carrot 
1/4 red cabbage
3 tablespoons mayo
3 tablespoons sauerkraut

Julienne the carrot and shred the cabbage, mix all together


This can be made for under $13

Gibby's pasta and cheese

2 c shell shaped pasta
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon table pepper
1 c bread crumbs (I used Tostitos Whole Grain Scoops just crushed)
1 c milk
2 c shredded cheese (I used old cheddar and mozzarella)

*Cook pasta shells as you normally would, then drain and place in pan.
*Sprinkle garlic and pepper, toss, add milk and bake for 10 minutes at 350degrees (depending on your oven)
*Add cheese, toss and bake for 10 minutes at same temp
*Add crumbs on top and continue to bake for another 10 minutes

If you are using regular bread crumbs, you may need to add salt to the mix, but I found the Tostitos were plenty salt(y) enough for my taste.

That doesn't look right

Photo by Kimberly Hulst/hcvp '2010

This is why I do not bake.  I made a lemon cake the other day with a lemon butter frosting. And well... I never said my food was pretty. 
I'm also not a baker at all.  Try as I might, I just could not get the frosting even, it kept falling off and leaving empty spots on the cake.

Lemon cake:
 1 c sugar
1/2 c margarine or butter
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 c milk
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 c flour
1 tablespoon vanilla
3 lemons juiced and zested

Mix all
bake in a greased pan for 1 hour at 350 degrees


Frosting:
1/2 c butter
1 c icing sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
4 tablespoon lemon juice

Mix well with electric mixer for about five minutes

New Year, New Food Challenges

Last year, I had promised a few recipes that I just never got around to. (nor did I ever end up finishing reading that book Cleaving by Julie Powell, but I will...)

I've become addicted to Top Chef  in the past month, and there was one particular challenge that they had to do.  The Vending Machine challenge.
The chefs had to make a fabulous meal with only what they could find in a vending machine and gas station corner store.  (actually it was two challenges)
I posted on my main blog  the other week about it.  I'm very much thinking about trying to do this challenge. 

I'm not giving a date on this, just sometime in the up coming year. 

With the ice rink that this city had become and will stay covered in until March, I won't be getting out much at all.  Which will be leaving grocery shopping in general pretty slim.  It's a good thing I still have that 1kg of Silly Circles cereal Eh?.... I also have a storage bin of ramen noodles.  The trick is figuring out how to make those things interesting.   Just not together.  No, that would be bad.

Okay my Spudguns, has anyone else become addicted enough to the Top Chef shows, to actually try any of their challenges at home?

Ramen Recipes

I had been doing another blog.  It was successful for what it was, but it put too much pressure on me.
The original theme was a food blog -soap opera.  I ended up dropping it but... here are a few of the ramen recipes I had posted on there.


Ramen #7 (originally posted on Friday April 30th 2010 on The Year I Lived Off Of Ramen Noodles)

2 cups water
1 vegetable bouillon cube
1 cup frozen vegetables (broccoli, onion, green beans, red peppers, mushroom)
1 serving of noodles
1 teaspoon of minced garlic
parsley
a half can of baby corn

Boil water, add frozen vegetables, add noodles, stir.
Add garlic, parsley and bouillon cube.  Stir.
Drain baby corn then add just as you are turning off the heat.  Stir and let sit for about 5 minutes.  Should serve 3.

I got the noodles in bulk at the Dollar Store.  What at first looked like two servings of noodles, turned out to actually be 8.  Which made it even better for the money.  One package was only $1,  and because it looked to be only two servings per package, I picked up three packages. So for $3 I got my money's worth.

Homemade Ramen  (Originally posted on March 15th 2010 on The Year I Lived Off Of Ramen Noodles) 

Photo by ME copyright hcvp'2010

You read the last post that my oven is dead.
There is one small working burner at this time.

Just enough for me to make a pot of something.

I went out to the grocery yesterday and bought a bag of noodles. Last night I made a small pot of homemade ramen.

3 cup water
1 medium onion sliced
1 cup frozen mixed veggies (carrots, celery, onion, red peppers)
1/2 cup frozen carrot coins
1/2 frozen Asian mixed veggies (broccoli, green beans, onion, mushroom)
pinch of dried oregano
pinch of salt
3 whole black peppercorns
pinch of red pepper flakes
pinch of marjoram
1 vegetable broth cube
2 handfuls of steamed broadcut noodles

Boil all ingredients EXCEPT the noodles for 20 minutes. Add extra water if needed, stirring every few minutes. Then add dry noodles. Stir turn off heat and serve.
This severs three.

Food Inc -dvd

This is a documentary that sort of opens up a few facts that have been hidden from the general public.  And that is how much of the food we eat is

1. Controlled by the same four companies
2. The way the animals are raised and slaughtered
3. The main ingredient in 90% of what we buy food and otherwise

Did you know that the same item that is used to make diapers is what is found in pop, syrup, and also fed to the livestock?   I had no idea till I saw the film.  And it's simply corn.  Corn.  I knew that corn was used as the main thing to feed animals, but was clueless that it's byproducts were used so widely.

The tagline for this documentary is "You'll never look at dinner the same way again"   And it's very true.  I've been a vegetarian now coming up 10 years, and seeing this film has made me even scared to eat anything. 

The main subplot of this is that we need to get more involved with what it is we are eating.  The school system needs to really start to rethink what they allow in grade schools for meals. And of course, we all need to support the organic food suppliers but buying at local farmers markets and growing our own gardens when/where we can.

This is not for the faint of heart, as they actually show footage of chickens and pigs being slaughtered.

Soul Kitchen - DVD review

Plot: Zinos owns a small diner that serves nothing but deep fried frozen foods.  A real estate agent wants the land for development, his staff haven't been paid in a while, and the tax man is after him. Meanwhile, his brother who is a con-man with a gambling debt comes to work for him, just as Zino's girlfriend dumps him.  Can he survive the next two months or will he loose everything and everyone he's worked the last few years to call his own?


This is a brilliant German film. (I had a subtitled version.)  It's a comedy and a drama all rolled into one and somehow manages to hit the right notes at the right time while still keeping it's balance.

There isn't alot of food in this foodie movie, but it does center around the diner itself.  Udo Kier has a small two minute cameo in this film, (who is usually known as a horror film icon) that adds a touch of solidness to what at times is just a light hearted display of fun. 

There is a scene where the chef makes a love potion and serves it to a packed house while a rock band is playing, giving everything to the Dionysian vibe.  And having the lead actor look like a sloppy Jim Morrison really adds a punch to the movie's title of the borrowed song Soul Kitchen. You're constantly reminded that food and music go hand in hand as both feed the senses and the ... well soul.

Again, I have to say there is a sense of balance in this film which plays up the opposites between Zinos and his brother Illias. Zinos for all his failures at the beginning is the responsible one (ironically the comedy element) where as his brother is the screw-up (ironically the dramatic element) who thinks he's got everything under control when he really does not.
We see an evolution with a few of the main characters, Zinos obviously being the one with the largest arch. The montage of his cooking skills comes right back to a basic thought, follow your heart, dedicate yourself to your passions, and of course anyone can cook. 

I would have liked to have seen a few more food scenes, but all in all, this is one to rent on a lazy Sunday afternoon. 

Ratatouille- Movie

 I put a link out on my Twitter (coffinscookies)  the other week to my last post about foodie movies, and ironically Chef Michael Smith (Chef at Large, Chef at Home)  put up a Twitter saying Ratatouille was one of the best foodie movies he'd ever seen. I became obsessed for the last week trying to get my hands on a copy.  I admit, I had originally  stayed away from it because it was a "kid's movie", but beyond glad that I took his advice and found a copy at the rental place. 

The message is simple, anyone can cook.  Which is true, just look at me.  With it being a Disney film, I was thinking for sure I would cry, but I found myself laughing the whole time and craving vegetarian stew. 

Food in movies, seems to flow with the theme of self discovery, and this is no different. The subplot deals with a guy who just learns who he really is and what is expected of him, giving him for the first time not just a passion for something but an identity.  (which was the main theme in Julie/Julia, Ramen Girl) 
 This is one that I am going to have to add to my movie collection.

Tuesday Morning Thinking of Food

 This was originally posted on my main blog on Nov 16th 2010   So don't worry, I haven't lost my mind completely yet and mixed up my days of the week. Yet.  but I did realize I had forgotten to add it here to my list I've been trying to create of foodie movies/food in the movies posts.


Taking a short break this morning from the book reviews cause I'm getting a headache, and have Julie/Julia in the dvd player.  It's got me thinking, about a few foodie movies that are on my can't wait list.

One is Soul Kitchen  which I believe gets a Canadian dvd release next month.  It's a subtitled film about a guy who's cafe is going downhill till he hires a prize winning chef.   I saw a trailer for it months ago and have been waiting as impatiently as I can for it to be released here.

Today's Special  was just released in the cinema this week.  Of course, it's not scheduled for my city cause Thunder Bay sucks.  But it's on my can't wait list.  When I first saw the poster for this one few months ago, I wasn't too sure about it, as it's about an East Indian chef, and after having been greatly disappointed by another East Indian foodie film Cooking with Stella; well the trailer for Today's Special changed my mind.  It's suppose to be about a sous chef who has to return to his family diner and take over the business.

The last foodie movie on my can't wait list is a documentary called Kings of Pastry  which also was just released in Canada about a month ago, which once again did not come here and I have to wait for the dvd.  My city sucks I know.  But it's a documentary on the pastry masters competition.

They all look yummy and I can't wait....

Thursday Morning and ....

 Yeah I have no idea what I was thinking.  I went grocery shopping yesterday with mom, Ninja and Uncle and that should say everything right there.  Ended up in the cereal row, which by the by is a rare thing for me. Specially since they stopped selling Count Chocula here.  Anyways, I wanted something sweet and it would have made too much sense to go to the bakery or to the cookie row.  I start looking for  Fruity-O's (generic Fruit Loops)  and I can not find them anywhere. I am about to give up when, no word of a lie, this old guy smacks his cart into the bagged cereal.  This fell to the floor. 

I started laughing.  Dude, you know I did.  Poor old guy standing there looking at me cause I'm laughing like a lunatic.  So I bought it.  Look at the size of this thing, it's sitting on my computer chair.  The cereal takes up a chair!  Good god man that will take me all winter to get through. 
Suppose I could always invite a certain wrestler over .... sorry I had to it was a ready made joke man.

Homemade nacho chips

Originally posted on my main blog Domestic and Damned on Oct 6th 2010

I very happily found a few episodes of Iron Chef American on youtube the other day.  One of the things that they did (it was Cat Cora who made it on Battle Cheddar)  was a homemade cracker using wonton wraps, chocolate and cumin.   She served it with a cheddar for a simple cheese and crackers.

It seemed perfectly easy.  You know what, it sort of was.   Only I had bought eggroll wraps instead of wonton ones thinking there wasn't a massive difference, and lacking a pastry/bbq brush, I simply used a knife to drip the melted chocolate on. and well anyone who's ever used cumin knows it smells like BO.  So stinky bitter crackers that tasted less bitter with large slices of old cheddar.
So here's me thinking,  let's replace the cumin with cinnamon for a sweet instead of savory flavour. Only I still did not have a pastry/bbq brush and had to remelt the chocolate as it hardened slightly.  It still came out bitter.  Mom actually tried the cinnamon ones.
I had sliced all the eggroll wraps already, so I just stuck the next handful in the oven without anything on them.  They turned out much better.

Mom agreed they needed something.  The rest of the package I took to mom's, found her pastry/bbq brush and added oil and salt and pepper.
Lovely!  Just lovely!

 Ingredients : 1 package eggroll wraps, 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil, pinch each salt and pepper 


Cut wraps in half,
Line ungreased cookie sheet with the wraps,
Brush oil over each,
Sprinkle salt and pepper over tray,
Bake at 350degrees for roughly 7minutes depending on your oven.

I plan on buying a package of wonton wraps today and trying them to see if there is a difference in taste or cooking time.

I made eggs

Photos by me copyright 'hcvp 2010

I was hanging around Facebook few weeks ago, and Suzie the Foodie had talked about poached eggs.

I'd never tried making it before. It sounded heavy duty. But, as this is a year I have set to face some fears, I got the guts to try.

It left my pan in an odd mess, as the process is not pretty. At lest not in my kitchen it wasn't. Yes, I made them in the frypan filled with water.
This by the by was about three weeks ago, I just haven't had the time to work on this blog as of late.

(yes I was reading Jane Slayre in the kitchen)