Tried Something New

I don't drink alcohol but I do like to cook with it. I've heard about how amazing beer-can chicken is so I decided to test it out. I have to say I was a little disappointed because I never ended up tasting any beer flavor in the chicken. I was thinking next time I'd melt butter and some of the beer and use it to baste the chicken with while it roasts. I was also thinking a beer brine might work too. I used the rest of the beer (I poured half the can out before shoving the can into the chicken) and used it to make beer-steamed potatoes. The recipe called for me to steam new potatoes over beer and in a pan to saute onions in butter, and crumble bacon over it, then add the potatoes and the rest of the beer used for steaming all together to create a bit of a sauce. It was pretty good though the bitterness of the beer really overwhelmed it. All in all, not a huge win, but a lot of potential for me to keep building on in the future.

PS, I did not use the beer in the can after the chicken was cooked. If you try it out sometime, I hope you don't either...

Cooking Light Tuesday

Tonight I made Sausage, Tomato, and Arugula Fettuccine and it was quite possibly the most amazing pasta dish I've ever made in my life. It was super simple, but the flavors were great! Cherry tomatoes break down really easily in a frying pan, good to know...And chicken Italian sausage is fantastic! I used that instead of the turkey Italian sausage it called for since I'm not a huge fan of ground turkey. The arugula didn't taste very peppery, and got a little bitter after a few bites so I picked around that but maybe later in the year I'll try it out again. I think the best part, was the pasta. I used a new brand of fresh pasta and I may never be able to go back to the dried kind again. It had the best texture I've ever had for pasta. I loved, loved, loved this dish and seeing as it's stove-top only I can make it again in the summer when the fresh ingredients will be at their peak and I can possibly buy locally, and as for the cherry tomatoes, I could even grow those myself!

Cooking Light Night

Last night I made this: Baked Pasta with Spinach, Lemon, and Cheese

I am really starting to love making my own homemade macaroni and cheese. I can control what goes in it, and it's really not much harder to make than the stuff in the box. This wasn't much different in terms of the time it took to make than any of the other recipes I've made.

It definitely needed more salt than it called for, and I didn't really pick up on the lemon flavor, so I would add more zest next time. The wine was a great addition and I'll have to remember that in the future. I also liked the addition of the spinach. It was not too overwhelming, flavor-wise, and a great way to add more veggies and vitamins to my diet.

I would definitely recommend this to anybody interested in experimenting with homemade mac and cheese. It's worth it for sure.

Cooking Light Night

Tonight's recipe was: Almost Classic Pork Fried Rice

This was probably the best recipe I've tried so far. I have always been reluctant to make homemade Chinese food because it's so labor intensive, but this was worth it. There was a lot of prep work involved but I did it all this afternoon so that tonight when I cooked it took a minimal amount of time. I also made some modifications in the ingredients, based on my tastes and what I had on hand. I didn't have a pork chop like it calls for, but I was thawing a pork roast for later in the week so I used some of that. I was worried at first that it wouldn't cook properly, but it turned out nice and tender, so that was good. I don't like celery so I replaced the celery with snow pea pods, one of my faves, and it was fantastic. I also didn't have the recommended amount of green onions, but I just used what I had on hand and thought it was fine. I did splurge and buy Mirin at the store, fortunately it was only $5 for the bottle, and I got carded at the store, which is always fun, so it was worth it.

I have usually made half-batches of these recipes and this time I made the whole recipe, so I will have leftovers tomorrow and maybe for lunch too. This was really delicious and I am glad I spent all the time to make it. It's pretty much the first time I've actually liked brown rice in something, so that's progress I'd say!

Cooking Light Night

Sunday's recipe was: Herb-Crusted Chicken and Parsley

I put off the recipe because I didn't want to spend money on the herbs in jars when I could get to Central Market soon and buy the bulk mix for under a dollar. I went last weekend, so I was finally able to make it.

I am not a fan of parsley, finding it too chlorophyll-tasting for me. My store only had the curly kind which I refuse to spend money on, so I threw some dried marjoram into the orzo. All the spices ended up tasting a little bland, unfortunately. Maybe they were old, I dunno. The only herb that really stood out from the fines herbs blend was the tarragon. It was ok, and it filled me up and lasted for two meals, which is all you can ask for sometimes. I might try this again some time with fresh herbs.

Food and Gender

I'm sitting here watching Rachel Ray on the Food Network and the theme of her episode is "guy food" for women to eat. I thought about this for a long time, thinking, "Wow, I didn't know food was segregated by the gender of the person eating it" and then I realized that it is. How many times have I heard it stated that "real" men don't eat quiche? There it is right there.

Why is food assigned a proper gender? If it's delicate, it must be for ladies. If it's messy and hearty, it must be for men. Man food, woman food. Food is food. And sexism is sexism. It's too bad it has to bleed over into a topic that could and should remain free of such "isms". Food brings people together. Food is life and love and sharing. Food should not be sexist too. All this does is continue to reinforce negative body image in women and establish between both genders that there are foods they "should" and "shouldn't" be eating based on what they are. So, a man should feel weak and emasculated if he likes quiche, and a woman should feel guilty and unfeminine if she likes a nice thick steak. This is just so wrong...

So when you go out and about in your life, look around for examples like this, and really think about it. If we're all for equality in our lives, maybe we need to fight for food equality too?

Cooking Light Night

Roasted Red Pepper and Herb Shrimp with Pasta

Last night I made this and it was tasty. I am slowly adjusting my palate to bell peppers, but it's coming along pretty well, I'd say. I don't eat a lot of shrimp in general, and I never have any in the house, so I bought a bag of shrimp to keep in the freezer for such dishes, rather than have to buy it each time I want to cook shrimp. It was a good buy, I think, with the exception that I didn't notice it still had the shells on. But they were easy enough to peel off when they were cooked. I was shocked when I was measuring out the pasta at how small 4 oz of uncooked fettuccine looks.(I made a half batch of the dish) But when it was all cooked, it really was enough for two healthy servings. And 4 oz shrimp was also quite satisfying for two servings as well.

I would definitely make this again. It's pretty easy, though there's a bit of prep work involved prior to making it. I might try this again and see how it works with fresh fettuccine instead. I think that would be wonderful too.