Hairy Hands, Meatballs and a Prideful Cake

This past weeks was filled with work and pleasure. I was lucky enough to spend a few days assisting my work wife on some crazy new products yet to hit the shelves. During this time I learned that I have the hands of a Millennial Mom when photographed with a soft focus to hide the hairy man hands that I really have. I will scour the internets for proof of this when the product comes out. We actually had to look up "Millennial Mom" on the Google to find out what the heck that actually meant. Turns out my hands are a full generation younger than my Gen X self and have a hairy maternal glow about them.    

The pleasure part of my week was multiple celebrations involving my birth. After a quiet evening alone on my actual birthday it was nice to gather with friends to bring it in party style. As I was not planning on spending my second birthday baking my own cake I called on a culinary school friend to bring it on and make my birthday cake. 

Sophie from culinary school showed up with this rainbow explosion of tastiness. At my last birthday she blew my mind with an armadillo shaped cake a la Steel Magnolias. I decided this year to keep it more low key. So a 6 layered rainbow cake it was.  

The week wrapped up with a mild Sunday at home with Boyfriend. Having taken the birthday party not by storm our Sunday was not wasted. And it was the first time in what felt like weeks that we were both home with really no plans. I used this opportunity to make a real meal instead of the cottage cheese or kraft that we've grown accustom to as of late. Above you will see the skillet of my labors. Our local grocery store inspired me with their recent publication of meatball meals. I decided to try the Spicy Thai Turkey Meatballs. In the end Boyfriend said he liked it which was a good sign and I enjoyed it (could have been a smidge spicier).

Spicy Thai Turkey Meatballs

RECIPE FROM LUNDS & BYERLYS 

INGREDIENTS

4 shiitake mushrooms

1 1/2 pounds ground turkey

2 teaspoons minced ginger

2 teaspoons Thai green curry paste, or more to taste

2 tablespoons Asian fish sauce (substitute soy sauce with a dash of Worcestershire sauce or anchovy paste if desired)

1 teaspoon sugar

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/3 cup green onions, white and green parts finely chopped

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

salt to taste

2 tablespoons peanut oil

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Pour boiling water over mushrooms to cover and soak at least 30 minutes (up to 3 hours) to soften. Remove and discard stems and finely chop mushrooms.

2. In a medium bowl, combine mushrooms, turkey, ginger, curry paste, fish sauce, sugar, egg, green onions, and cilantro. Fry up a sample and taste. Add more curry paste and salt to taste. Mix until well blended and form into 1-inch meatballs.

3. Heat peanut oil in large, nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add meatballs and cook until all sides are nicely browned, about 10 minutes total.

Serve as is or as an hors d'oeuvre.

Curry Option: I bought into the curry option like a Florida timeshare.

4. Once the meatballs are done, remove from pan and set aside. Add 1/2 cup finely chopped onions and 1 teaspoon minced garlic to fat in pan.

5. Over medium heat, stir mixture until soft, about 5 minutes. Add a 13.5 oz can unsweetened coconut milk and scrape up any brown bits from bottom of pan.

6. Whisk in 2 or more tablespoons of Thai green curry paste and 1/4 cup fresh squeezed lime juice. Taste and add curry paste and lime juice to taste. Bring to boil, then reduce to a simmer, and add back meatballs. Simmer 5 minutes.

Serve on a bed of rice.

Now I know you are asking how could I possibly write this whole post without some remarks about balls, mouths, etc. Well I like to be classy and feel that Margaret Jo and Terry can do a much better job than I:

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Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon, Dolly Parton, and Pomegranate Cupcakes

Pomegranate Cupcake with Buttercream

This is my first post of 2012.

According to some (my friend Colleen for one) this could be a short year. I promise to get more out here on the blog just in case that damned Mayan calendar is right.

Last nights festivities were mild. I chose to stay in with Lawyer, try some new chili (I'll put the recipe below), eat some pomegranate cupcakes, and watch Masterpiece Theater (Downton Abbey - it's everything you want in British period dramas. Namely mild gay drama, the Titanic sinking and Maggie Smith. Oh and that woman who was in that Kevin Bacon movie about having baby. See. Everything you could ever want.) I am sure you are asking why was my night not filled with wild and crazy food/booze filled fun?!?! Well Boyfriend is traveling to San Francisco to visit our friend Paty. Sister and Future Husband were busy in their neighborhood and there was a Winter Storm Warning. For those of you in the Minneapolis reading area you know this was a big deal because as of two days ago winter had not yet hit our cold weather state. So I invited Lawyer over after her hard day of volunteering and we caught up over some well deserved chili and cupcakes.

I have now spent the majority of the New Year grazing over day old cupcakes, watching way too many movies on Netflix (9 to 5 has never been so entertaining - Thank you Dolly Parton) and cleaning my kitchen. Below is the recipe for Chicken Chile given to me by Just Joni who got it from Aunt Sharon who got it from Family Friend Donna who I am sure got it from that woman on Downton Abbey that starred in that baby making film with Kevin Bacon.

New Year's Chicken Chili

RECIPE FROM A FRIEND OF A FRIEND OF A FRIEND

Makes 11 (1 Cup) Servings.

ingredients

14.5 oz can diced tomatoes

16 oz jar of salsa

14.5 oz can of chicken broth

1 cup Barley

4 cups Water

1 Tablespoon chili powder

1 Teaspoon cumin

1 can black beans; drained and rinsed

15.25 oz can of corn

1.5 lbs cooked and shredded chicken breast

instructions

1. In a 6 qt saucepan combine first 7 ingredients. Bring to boil over high heat, cover and reduce to low heat. Simmer for 40 mins, stirring occasionally.

2. Add beans, corn and chicken; increase heat to high until chili comes to a boil. Cover and reduce again to low heat. Simmer for an additional 5 mins or until barley is tender.

3. If upon standing the chili becomes too thick, add more chicken broth or water until chili is desired consistency. If desired (and when is it not desired), top with shredded cheddar cheese and sour cream (and not that fat free kind!).

Pomegranate Cupcakes

RECIPE MADE UP ON THE FLY

ingredients (cake)

1 box yellow cake mix (and all items listed on box needed to make cake)

1 jar pomegranate jelly

ingredients (frosting)

1 stick butter

1/4 cup shortening

2 cups powdered sugar

3 tablespoons reduced pomegranate juice

3 tablespoons heavy cream (more if frosting feels stiff)

instructions

1. Bake cupcakes as directed on box.

2. Using a paring knife or melon baller, scoop out a small hole in middle of cupcake. And fill with pomegranate jelly.

3. Carefully frost cupcakes with Pomegranate frosting

I must sign off now and get back to Dolly, Jane and Lily. And maybe another rogue cupcake for dinner. Have a wonderful New Year and just think about Friday's Happy Hour when you get to work tomorrow! And I promise to update in the next few days as I plan to have lunch with Baby Mama. We hope to venture out of our food box and try someplace new.

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Pass The Mookies Please

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So I read on the Internets that zucchini is not a vegetable, but is in fact an immature fruit, being the swollen ovary of the the female zucchini flower.

Pictured above was our swollen ovary dinner from a few nights ago. A few weeks ago (which Boyfriend will tell you is code for me not knowing exactly when something happens) Boyfriend's parents sent him home with what I think was a metric ton of zucchini. I immediately imagined towers of chocolate zucchini bread. My chocolate dreams were soon melted because around that same time the gates of Hell opened up and the temperature outside lingered around 100 degrees Fahrenheit long enough for me to go nowhere near my oven. The weather has now cooled and so I found myself back in the kitchen searching for new ways to cook up some swollen ovaries. I found the dish above on Ms. Stewart's web site. I brought the dish down a couple tax brackets by eliminating the olives and using just plain old store brand spaghetti instead of linguine.

Now I must confess today's sin. I personally took down nearly a whole loaf of zucchini spice bread (another recipe of Ms. Stewart's). Like unhinged my jaw, massaged my throat like a pill swallowing dog and ate it over the sink because I couldn't wait to get the plate and sit down like a well trained human.

Last night Boyfriend asked if I could whip up a little something special for him to share at work the next day. And as I aim to please my man I threw together a couple loaves of the zucchini spice bread. I had made it a week before for a housewarming party but must have missed the crack like deliciousness while I was shoving multiple hot dogs in my mouth (side note: we live on the third floor of an apartment building and I have no desire to hoof it down to the grill - so anytime I get a chance to be near one I take full advantage of grilled hot dogs).

Back to this week's crack in a loaf pan. After I pulled myself away from the counter I rolled myself over to the ice box to see what if any swollen ovaries I had left. I NEED MORE ZUCCHINI SPICE BREAD! Thankfully there was a good foot (yes an actual foot) worth of zucchini still waiting to become illegal in most states.

Failed recipes for the week: Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Zucchini Cookies. Though mildly tasty they had the texture of a cake/muffin. Boyfriend and his co-workers labeled it a "mookie". Part muffin, part cookie.

photo by

Grant Bowers

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Chocolate Rosemary Ginger Cake

As promised to a yet determined fan base...a picture of the Chocolate Rosemary Ginger Cake with Dark Chocolate Ganache I "status updated" on Facebook yesterday.

My good friend put in a request for a chocolate cake with the directions of, "do whatever you want". I took that as a chance to use whatever I had in the kitchen. Which thanks to some narcotic-like ground ginger and fresh rosemary from my personal back 40 on the window ledge I cooked up some liquid wonder, Rosemary Ginger Simple Syrup (I imagine many new cocktail options or naked late night hits right out of the bottle while looking fabulous in the glow of the Frigidaire light).

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