Food

So I thought I'd focus on some food and tell you about some of the things I've been cooking and eating.  First off, last night I baked some classic chocolate chip cookies and I must say don't underestimate the power of simple chocolate chip cookies and milk.  After I took them out of the oven, I sat down with a glass of milk and few warm chewy cookies and enjoyed the hell out of them. I wish I took a picture of them so I could share with you but unfortunately they are all gone now.  =)  There was something very comforting about the experience.  So if you ever have a moment to yourself and just want to enjoy it, try baking some cookies and then devouring them while their still warm and with a glass of milk.  It just may bring you back to your childhood.

Moving on... earlier this week I decided to clean my fridge of excess random foods.  So what better way than to mix random ingredients with some pasta.  So I started with some rotini pasta that I boiled to al dente.  Then in a saute pan, I rendered some bacon 'til they were almost done.  Using the bacon fat in the pan I cooked some chopped up bratwurst, jalapeno, shallots, and garlic.  I seasoned with salt and pepper, liberally as I like my foods to be well seasoned.  Once the bratwurst was heated well through, I poured in some white wine and buttermilk.  I like it all simmer as the alcohol burned off and then turned the heat off.  I folded in the pasta to help absorb the remaining liquid and also absorb all the flavor.  I seasoned with salt and pepper again and added in some basil that I tore apart.  It probably would've been faster to chiffon the basil with a knife but I like the uneven sizes that's created when you just use your hands.  That was it.  Simple, easy, and quick pasta dish.  Nice that I think about it, I probably could have added in some sun dried tomatoes as well but all in all it was still a good pasta dish.

I made baked mac n cheese two nights ago.  (I really should start taking pictures of the things I cook before consuming them so that I can share with you all.)  I didn't use the typical macaroni pasta, instead I used cavatappi pasta because they're larger and hold up better.  I started by melting butter in a saute pan and added flour and mustard powder until there were no more clumps.  To this, I tempered in an egg and once that was incorporated I added onions, milk, a bay leaf, and a liberal amount of paprika.  I also seasoned with salt and pepper and some chipotle chili powder.  After about ten minutes I added some cheese and then folded in the pasta.  I transferred everything to a baking dish and then in another pan I melted some more butter and toasted some panko bread crumbs.  I topped the pasta with the bread crumbs and then stuck the whole thing in the oven at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes.  This is the second time I've made this dish and this one came out cheesier than the last but I felt like it still needed some more salt and pepper.  So if you try making this make sure you season enough to your liking.  Overall, it was still good though.  I brought it in to work for a little "pot luck" with my employees and they seemed to like it.  I also baked an Apple Yogurt cake with cinnamon sugar swirls for the "pot luck".  This came out well too.  There's still some left in the fridge that I'll probably take home today and I'll be snacking on throughout the weekend. =)

Last week, I made some chicken "burgers".  Basically all I did was cook some chicken steaks that I seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and cajun seasoning.  Then I put them on some sourdough bread that I toasted with butter and garlic powder.  I added some strips of bacon, slice of tomato, swiss cheese, red onions, and a few basil leaves.  They turned out pretty good tasting.  Just make sure you don't overcook the chicken so that it's still juicy.  I also did this with leftover burger patties I had.  I made the patties out of ground beef and ground turkey that I mixed together with some chopped jalapenos, onions, garlic, and shallots.  I also seasoned with salt and pepper, of course.  With the burgers, I also topped them with some mushrooms and onions that cooked down in a saute pan with some olive oil.  This version came out well too.

Oh, by the way (I noticed I use this phrase a lot) the Ducks WON last night!!  Thrilling comeback at the end with Teemu Selanne notching the tying  score with 6 seconds left in the game.  Then a game winning score by Cam Fowler less than 2 minutes into overtime.  That's 3 games in a row for the Ducks that have gone into overtime and won by the Ducks.  They are 8-2-0 in the last 10 games and are in 8th place in the Western Conference, which means playoff spot!  But there's still 9 games left so we shall see what happens.  If you don't follow hockey, I'm sure none of this made sense to you but just know that Selanne is AWESOME and he's 40 years old.  INCREDIBLE!  The Ducks play again tonight in Nashville at 5pm so tune in on FSPT and make sure to wear your Ducks jersey - I will.  

_andyjoe