What's For Dinner? Some SPICE!

Not the best picture, but I made some spicy food because of the addition of Sriracha in everything! I made my fave teriyaki chicken which has made many appearances on the blog, as well as zucchini, bok choy, and Trader Joe's Israeli couscous and lentil mix. MMMMMmmmm good. This meal was super simple to make and I had all the ingredients on hand.
The first thing I did was marinate some chicken thighs for about half an hour. Prep on the zucchs and bok choy was easy (rinse and cut in half). I baked the zucchini with some olive oil, salt and pepper and soy sauce for about 10 minutes then added the bok choy for the last 5, it needs very little cooking time. The Israeli couscous was simple, boil a small amount of water, add couscous, cover. Now I happen to be terrible at making things like this, aka, rice. I think it's because I don't read directions and I fuss with it too much. But even when i think I'm doing it perfectly the bottom layer of the rice is usually burned. What's that about? Maybe I should just buy a rice cooker. One day, when I have a bigger/nicer kitchen I will. And a blender... and a microwave. (I know, WHO doesn't have a microwave?? Well, me, but because it broke.) And to be honest the ONLY thing I miss it for is heating up leftovers. Most stuff I can do on the stove or in the oven, but heating up pasta or chicken is really the best to do in a microwave. I'll replace it again. It's in the "death" pile along with two DVRs. Maybe this should teach me that even though a dvr is a bargain at $49.99, it adds up when you practically have to buy two a year. Oh well. Where was I?
Sriracha! There was actually an article in the NY Times all about sriracha recently. I really like it, a lot more than Tabasco. There's something about the taste of Tabasco that turns me off. But Sriracha is Delisha. Ok, I'm a nerd. I think my favorite use is mixing it with honey, soy sauce, garlic, and ginger and marinating chicken or veggies with it. A little salty, a little sweet, and as spicy as you want it!

Picnic in the Park

Ahhhhh, Saturday was so so lovely. It was warm, perfectly warm, and my friends and I headed to the park for some fun in the sun. Yes, I live one block from that park. Many might recognize it from the intro to Full House, and it is also the famous Painted Ladies in Alamo Square. So we hoofed it up the hill, cooler in hand, and had the most amazing picnic/sunbathing session/lie about.
Before the park I went to Cheese Plus on Polk St and bought some amazing cheese and salami. Of course I spent too much money there, but everything was amazing, especially the Tasmanian blue cheese. Mmmmmm.
John's favorite orzo salad also made an appearance, as well as the crunchiest grapes of the season.
I decided after that day that it is the Summer of the Picnic, not to be confused with the Year of the Dog, or the Hair of the Dog for that matter. I live one block from an amazing park, I have a cooler with wheels and a picnic blanket that's actually named picnic time. What else could I need?! And look how happy I am! And how relaxed everyone looks!

I Seem To Only Make One Thing

I've been slacking lately but I think I'm almost motivated to blog again. I think my main issue is pictures. It annoys me to load them both onto the computer and then onto the blog. I know that's lame so I'll just get over it.
On to some food stuff. More Turkey Burgers. I believe that John may be bordering on obsession when it comes to these. He just loves them, which is great because they're tasty and easy to make and not very expensive. I actually made them for Mother's Day as well and they didn't come out quite as well because we did them on the BBQ instead of an inside grill pan. I had never used the barbeque before to make them and I think that it was a bit too hot, so they cooked too much on the outside before I could get the inside fully cooked. That's the main issue with poultry burgers, the fact that they need to be completely cooked through, which means grilling them at a lower temp is necessary.
At my house I loaded the burgers up with cheddar cheese and then used some leftover feta to complete them. I couldn't really taste the feta, but it gave me some ideas for the future. More on that in a minute.

At my mom's house I topped the burgers with pepper jack which gave them a nice bite. I also made Ina Garten's brownie pudding, which I should have photographed, and it was easy, rich, and delicious. At my house I roasted some new potatoes and zucchini to go along. A tasty meal, I must say!

Now, when I added the feta to the turkey burgers I started thinking about how to make a Greek Turkey burger. (I know I sound like Rachael Ray, who I don't really like but yet I watch her show. I'm not sure what's wrong with me. Sometimes she makes stuff that looks ok and sometimes she creates such revolting meals that those are actually entertaining in their own right. The hot dog salad or whatever she made with a dressing of relish and yellow mustard? Gross) Anyway, I lived in Greece for a summer once a million years ago, and that summer I subsisted off Greek salad and chicken souvlaki, chicken skewers essentially, for those who don't know. So, I could make a chicken burger and stick the tomatoes, cucumber, oregano and feta inside it and maybe top it off with some tzaziki. Mmmm, that would be tasty. perhaps I must experiment next week. I'll keep you posted!

SPQR

I sadly did not photograph my dinner last night, but it was a-mazing. Two syllables A-MAZING. (That is a joke because some girl once said that to my friend Emily and her response was "even if you emphasize the first syllable, the word still has three syllables"). SPQR is a relatively new restaurant on Fillmore St. and when it was first opened I was actually quite sad because it took over the space of one of my old favorite restaurants, Chez Nous. But last night we went there to celebrate Alyssa's birthday and everything was to do for. And it was Fried Chicken Tuesday!!!! I'll take pictures and elaborate more soon!

Chicken Marsala

I don't think I actually grew up eating chicken marsala. Strange to some people, I suppose, but I cannot think of a single time I had it until one night 2 years ago at my friend Rob's house. He made dinner and it was delicious and I thought, well why hasn't this been in my repertoire? And since then I have been reading recipes and experimenting with good old chicken marsala.
This time was not without slight mistakes, I should have made more sauce for the amount of pasta I cooked, but it was still delicious. And John loved it, even though I think he loves everything I make (except brussel sprouts).

This time i made some steamed broccoli on the side, a real departure for me since all I ever seem to do is roast my veggies, and the meal was complete. It was delicious. I actually think that I might add some sundried tomatoes into the sauce next time, and perhaps some capers. The reason I say this is because there's a restaurant in Hayes Valley, in San Francisco, called Il Borgo and every time I go I get the Fettucine del Borgo, yes not very imaginative. It is homemade fettucine (something I'll probably never venture upon) and chicken, sundried tomatoes, capers and a lovely sauce that I am sure contains more butter than I would like to think. But it is just so yummy. Ok, I have completely changed the subject. Actually that makes me want to go to Il Borgo for dinner tonight. I'll let you know tomorrow if I get there!

American Wife

Oh, by the way, I am reading the best book. Amazing actually. I am so completely absorbed by it I wish i could just stay home and read it all day. Ok, full disclosure, I wish I could stay home and read every day, but this is particularly enjoyable. It is "American Wife" by Curtis Sittenfeld. It is one of those long, old fashioned, readable novels, the type I just love. I have about 100 pages left, it's long, almost 600 pages, and I can't decide whether I want to sit and read it all in one sitting or draw it out longer. i know I'll be at a loss as to what to read when I am finished. Actually that reminds me of "Marjorie Morningstar" by Herman Wouk. I actually felt like I was in mourning when I finished. How did I move on??

I'm Baaacckk

I have been the worst blogger ever. I won't make excuses, but I am back and hopefully won't go away for that long again!
What have I been eating and cooking? Well, lots of tasty treats, but I only have a few to share. The other night I made a lovely dinner for John and myself. Sometimes meals are absolutely delicious, and sometimes you learn from them. This was more of a learning meal.

I took chicken tenders and wrapped them in in prosciutto and a sage leaf. Now I almost never buy boneless, skinless chicken. It is more expensive, but more importantly, I think that when you cook chicken with the skin and bones it comes out soooo much moister and more flavorful. I think I could have cooked these for a few less minutes and then perhaps they wouldn't have been quite as dry. Oh well, I'll try next time. I think this might be better with chicken thighs, since the meat is darker and less likely to dry out. On the side I made roasted brussel sprouts and some wild rice from Trader Joe's. For some reason I sort of suck at rice. Huh?? you say? How can one suck at rice? Well perhaps it has something to do with my inability to follow instructions. I am sure that the rice wouldn't have burned if I had actually read what to do with it instead of sticking it into a pot of boiling water and then jumping in the shower. Oh well, better luck next time.

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Miso Soup Face Off

Many mornings, and afternoons, at work I like to have miso soup. It warms me up and fills me up with very little effort and calories. Recently I bought the Kikkoman brand as well as Trader Joe's to have a little contest between the two.
Each of them come in a little packet that I pour into my coffee cup and then add hot water to. I don't measure the water, simply add enough so the salt isn't too overpowering. I then let it sit for a minute so the tofu, seaweed and scallions can reconstitute a bit. I happen to love and adore miso soup and have read many times that it is a breakfast staple in Japan, and they seem to be healthy, so I have added it to my morning routine. Well I never really eat breakfast and just much on what's around if I'm hungry (carrots, an apple, string cheese, jelly beans, depends on what I have in my office. You know that they say- jelly beans, the breakfast of champions!) The first miso I tried was the Kikkoman. It was full of authentic miso flavor, as well as soft disks of tofu and the seaweed that I adore. This was just lovely. And for under $3.00 for 3 packets, not so bad a deal.

Next up was the Trader Joe's, pictured above. I was excited about this because my roommate hoards this stuff because it is apparently hard to find. Sort of like the TJ's couscous. WTF happened to that stuff? I used to get it and now it has disappeared. I asked once when I was shopping and they said it had something to do with the distributor. Whatever, I want my couscous back. Ok, back to Miso. TJ's came with little squares of tofu that never really softened up. They had the consistency of astronaut ice cream or something. NOT a good thing. And the flavor of the soup was just meh. It was grainy and too salty even though I added a crap load of water.
This is a no brainer, but the winner is...