Food In Many Forms

If you recall, Valentine's Day 2010 consisted of crostini appetizers, stuffed peppers and rack of lamb . See February 17th . But until now, there has been no photographic evidence. This makes me want to make those stuffed peppers again... they were sooo delicious!

One of my good friends is a chocolate fiend and we thought this would satisfy her craving because of the 4 ounces of chocolate that goes into it (about 1 Hershey's chocolate bar ). However, the resulting taste was more like a coffee cake than a birthday cake. I don't recommend shaving the chocolate by hand with a cheese grater - it was very messy!! But Wiki Answers says the best methods are with a potato peeler or a melon baller: Vegetable or Potato Peeler - Hold the chocolate with a paper towel and pass the vegetable peeler over the narrowest side of the chocolate block. The chocolate will curl up like wood shavings. Melon Ball Scoop - Position the bar of chocolate on a parchment paper covered pan and hold it down with a paper towel. Scrape the melon ball scoop across the surface of the chocolate. You will get curved shavings. OLD WORLD CHOCOLATE SPICE CAKE WITH CITRON A tempting tube cake with a rather heavy crumb. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Hav...

While acting as a chef's assistant yesterday, I learned a delicious recipe for scallops. My only concern is the fat and saturated fat content, but using half or two thirds the amount of oil in the sauce might help. I keep meaning to experiment with proportions in pesto sauces... Maybe this is my chance. Ingredients 12 large sea scallops (about 1 1/4 lbs) 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh basil 1/2 cup plus 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil 1 garlic clove, finely minced 1 Tbsp unsalted butter Basil leaves, garnish Directions 1. Remove and discard the small side muscle from each scallop. Rinse scallop with cold water and pat dry with paper towels, set aside. 2. For sauce, in a blender, combine basil, 1/2 cup oil, garlic and salt and pepper to taste. Blend until smooth. Set aside. 3. In a large nonstick skillet, heat butter and remaining 1 Tbsp oil over high heat. Season scallops with salt and pepper to taste, and add to skillet. Cook 2 minutes per side or until golden crust...

Sometimes food scarcity has to occur before you are willing to try new things. Looking at my empty refrigerator today, I realized I would have to look in the pantry for my lunch. I found lots of rice, pasta, beans and lentils. The colorful red lentils and split peas caught my eye, but the red lentils seemed more exotic and appetizing. I wasn't disappointed. The cumin, garlic, ginger and black pepper provided a ton of flavor and I still have to wait for my rice to finish cooking, so I can try them together! Goya's Red Lentils and Rice 1 lb Goya dry Red Lentils 2 Tbsp vegetable oil 1 medium onion, chopped 2 cloves garlic, minced 2 tsp ground ginger 1/2 tsp ground cumin 4 cups water 1 Chicken/Vegetable Bouillion Cube 2 Tbsp fresh chopped cilantri Salt and Pepper, to taste 1. Sort and wash lentils; set aside 2. Heat oil in a large saucepan. Add onion and garlic. Cook until tender. 3. Stir in ginger, and cumin. Cook and stir 1 minute. 4. Add remaining ingrendients and lentils. Brin...

After taking Spanish language classes for eight years, I have tried my hand at quite a few basic latin american recipes. In high school, the French students got to go to Quebec, and the Spanish students got to spend a day eating guacamole, empanadas and flan . So of course, when I saw a Latin Americna cookbook in Barnes & Noble for only $6.98, I was excited to try it. Last night, my boyfriend was craving something sweet and I obliged with a recipe for Peanut Butter Cinnamon Cookies ( Galletas de Mani con Canela ). I picked them for their simplicity - ingredients included flour, peanut butter, butter, sugar, cinnamon, egg and salt. Unfortunately, the flavor was simple too. They tasted like peanut butter and flour. I'm going to give "The Latin American Kitchen" another chance, but I won't be trying any of the other sweets anytime soon. Don't they just look bland and boring?

After spending an amazing week in Chicago, my only regret was that I didn't cook as much as I wanted to. Between Giordano's Pizza and Taste of Chicago, there were plenty of opportunities to indulge. I did make one meal for my hostess, but mostly because I didn't want her to eat popcorn for dinner again!! With two jobs, she hardly ever finds the time to do more than microwave dinner. In order to speed up the process, I cut up all the vegetables in the morning before going to the beach. Around five, I came back and found all the pots and pans I would need, checked my ingredients and made a last minute run to Panera for a french baguette. Here's how it went down: Shopping List: -Box of Pasta -1/2 cup snow peas -1 carrot, shredded -1/2 onion, diced -1 bell pepper, diced -Newman's Own lite Italian Dressing -Olive oil -1 clove garlic -1 french baguette -Aluminum foil -Shredded parmesan cheese Morning Prep: Shred carrots (I used an apple peeler), chop onions and peppers, p...