Fancy Un-Tuna Mac

It’s been a while, dear readers, and I’m glad to be back in the kitchen!  You may remember, I’m the girl in a bubble with all my food allergies which makes enjoying classics a challenge.  Thanks to Trader Joes Rice and Cheese™, my life has changed for the better!  I can’t have tuna either (stop giggling, it’s true) so I put this little ditty together and it’s the best thing since sliced bread (nope, that neither!).

You’ll need:

1 box of Trader Joes Rice and Cheese™

1 10 oz. can of chunk chicken (drained)

¼ cup sour cream

(optional) ground pepper

Make your Rice & Cheese as you would normally but substitute the ¼ cup of milk for sour cream.  When done, break up the chicken, mix thoroughly, and add pepper to taste.  Viola!

I accidentally bought a can of Buffalo-style chicken and was so happy with the results.  It was delicious!  Another happy accident happened when I was preparing this dish and realized I had no milk.  Sour cream gave this depth and texture that was beyond. 

Thank you, Trader Joes for this product!

Yellow Cake Fans Rejoice

If you love yellow cake, check out this link. I'm always on the market for new recipes and, apparently, this one is the shiz-nit. I don't argue, I just share the love.

Perfect Yellow Cake

Funny Article About Food

I had to share this link about foods with cult followings. Is it funny because it's true or true because it's funny? Enjoy!

http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/food/9-limited-edition-foods-with-cult-followings-2415859/

My Secret Potluck Recipes

My company had its annual Halloween Potluck and I’m pleased to report that 2 of my dishes were, dare I say it, a hit. I guess I was surprised because these recipes are so simple but isn’t that what makes good comfort food?

As I always do, I have to give credit and tell you these recipes were shared with me. It's all about sharing the joy and good food.
Let’s start with the best queso dip I’ve ever had. Ever. This one is what I call Mrs. S’s Outstanding Queso. What you’ll need:

1 lb yellow American sliced cheese (from the Deli)
1 or 1 ½ cans of Carnation® Evaporated milk
1 tablespoon salsa casera
1 bouillon-sized piece of Spam®
1 bag nacho style tortilla chips

Optional:
1 small can nacho style jalapeno (on the side)


Directions:
Add cheese, salsa casera and Spam® in a blender. About half-way through the cheese,  add ½ a can of evaporated milk.   Blend and continue adding milk until the dip reaches the consistency you like.

I used a Crock Pot® to keep the dip warm until it was time to eat. If you do that, be sure you have the heat on “warm” and stir at least once an hour to keep it from baking on the sides of your Crock Pot® dish.

That was the appetizer portion of our blog post. You know I’m a huge desert lover and this one is what I like to call White Trash Ambrosia. What you’ll need is:

1 large box of instant vanilla pudding
3 cups of milk
2 containers of Kraft© Cool Whip® (you can use generic brands, they work just as well)
~ 64 vanilla wafers

Optional:
1/2 of a banana

Directions:
Combine vanilla pudding and milk as directed on the pudding box. Gradually add your Cool Whip® (I put in half a container at a time and blend it thoroughly before adding more). If you have a KitchenAid® mixer, this is a great time to use it. I recommend whipping this mixture for as long as you can. At my house, it’s not unheard of for me to blend for up to a half hour. The more you whip, the fluffier it gets so have fun with it!

Grab an 8 X 8 pan and line the bottom with 16 vanilla wafers (4 X 4 is my favorite). Spoon your Cool-Whip-Pudding mix on top and spread evenly with a spatula. Repeat this for another 3 - 4 layers, depending on how tall your pan is. Cover and put in the ‘fridge at least overnight.

(If you’re feeling a banana mood, alternate your bananas and vanilla wafer layers for a little twist.)

At this writing, I haven’t tried a chocolate alternative but I’m sure that’s got to be good too!

So have at ‘em, ladies & gents. Use these at your next potluck and spread the joy. xo

Bomb-Ass Banana Bread

I'm not going to lie: I was pretty impressed when I took a bunch of over-ripe-to-the-point-of-being-garbage bananas and turned them into a delicious bread. (Thanks to the good folks at Radford for being my witnesses!) Best of all, this recipe is wheat-free!

I modified a recipe I found in the Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook so shouts to them.

Here's what you'll need:

3/4 cup of quinoa flour
3/4 cup of Pamela's Baking mix
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 egg
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 cup mashed bananas
1/4 cup olive oil
(optional) 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1. Preheat your oven to 350. Grease a 8X4X2 loaf pan (use technique #2 in the post below: butter or Pam with confectioners sugar) & set it aside. In a big bowl, combine your dry ingredients excluding the walnuts. Make a well in the center of the dry mixture and set aside.

2. In medium bowl, combine the egg, bananas, sugar, and oil. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ones all at once and stir ONLY until moistened. The batter is going to be lumpy and that's okay. Fold in the walnuts if you'd like 'em.

3. Put the batter in the pan and bake for 50 - 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on the rack.

Two helpful hints to add:

1. Use super over-ripe bananas. You'll know they're ready when they're deep brown or black. They nearly fell apart when I mashed them but I took it one step further and whipped them up in the KitchenAid® stand-up mixer. If you're not rockin' the KitchenAid®, use a hand mixer.

2. At 50 minutes, the top of my bread was looking over done so I covered it with foil and kept it on for the rest of the cooking time and overnight. That trapped even more moisture in and seemed to make the bread that much more scrumptious.


Get some bananas and get a-bakin'! Enjoy!

My Best Baking Secrets

Since it's been such a long time since my last post, I felt I had to bring you something super awesome to make up for lost time.

Fall and winter have always been big baking seasons for me and I'm already into it this year. After doing a lot of my own research and testing (ie, bringing goodies to work for opinions), I have a few tips that have improved my baked goods dramatically. Instead of you having to scramble to Google for these kernels of wisdom, I've done all the work on this one. Take what you like and leave the rest, as they say!

1. Substituting olive oil wherever a recipe calls for butter, veggie oil, etc. It's been working like a charm and it's much healthier for you. My old secret was apple sauce which, while it made recipes lower in fat, seemed to make everything a little too light and fluffy. Olive oil is dense and tends to give my cake and breads a lot more weight which increases the enjoyment factor. I've been using extra virgin grade but not necessarily expensive brands.

2. Using confectioners sugar to keep baked goods from "sticking." This one is a God send! I spray my pan with Pam® (the olive oil version; keeping up with my new trend), spread it evenly with a paper towel, and use the sugar as I would if I were using flour. When it's time to cut the cake -- viola! -- no more fighting. It comes out of the pan effortlessly.

3. The best way to make crumbs. Sounds simple but I never gave it a thought until I had to make a cheesecake crust. Put your cookies or graham crackers in a Ziploc® baggie, squeeze the air out really well, seal the bag, and use a rolling pin to crush it all up. Of course, you have to be completely sure the bag is sealed or else you have a giant mess on your hands.

I hope these tips add joy and some homemade goodness to your holidays!

Top 5 NYC Food Memories

I grew up in central New Jersey with New York City in my backyard. Now that I live in LA, I always jump at the chance to visit. I love the people (yes, I think New Yorkers are very warm and friendly contrary to any stereotype) and the vibe of that great city as well as what it has to offer in terms of culture and, of course, FOOD!

I just spent last week in NYC, knowing the food there was going to be one of the highlights of my trip. The Big Apple never disappoints and I had some amazing food while I was there. Here are my top 5 from this trip:

Uncle Jack’s Steakhouse (Midtown)

44 West 56th St., New York, NY 10019
www.unclejacks.com

This place has a great, old school vibe with food that’s off the chart. I could definitely see the Rat Pack sitting around and enjoying some prime rib at this joint! The menu is on a chalkboard, the waiters wear tuxes, and the sides are all served a la carte. These are a few of my favorite things! The crab cake appetizer was excellent but I had a NY Strip that knocked me on my ass. I definitely recommend you save room for dessert because the sweets are as good as the steaks.

Uncle Jack’s is fantastic but not cheap. A 16-ounce NY steak costs $35 (and worth every freakin’ penny!).


John's Pizzera of Bleecker St.

278 Bleecker Street, (between 6th and 7th Aves), New York, NY 10014
www.johnsbrickovenpizza.com/

Also has some strong atmosphere going on with its funky art and church-pew styled booths and tables. Its a no-frills type of joint where they serve the pizza on trays and Cokes in plastic cups. Honey, with food this good, I'd eat it off of a dirty paper plate. My native NY friend said John’s is consistently vote as one of the Top 3 pizza places in the city. Hey, in case you didn’t know, there’s a pizza place on every corner in the city so that’s sayin’ something. I recommend pepperoni.

Dafni

325 West 42nd Street (between 8th Ave & 9th Ave), New York, NY 10036
www.dafnitaverna.com

According to Greek mythology, Apollo fell in love with a beautiful nymph named Dafni. It didn’t work out so she opened a restaurant in Midtown. I had a delectable moussaka with a side of green beans in Greek-style marinara sauce. The Gods and Goddesses were smiling on us the day my traveling buddy found that joint. A world traveler, she lived in Greece and swears its one of the most authentic Greek food she's had. It was easily some of the best moussaka I’ve ever had (and I’ve had a lot!)

Halal Food
corner of Broadway and Cedar St. (Wall Street)

There’s a little truck on Wall Street with the most killer gyros ever. On a whim, I decide to try some street food and wasn’t disappointed. Five dollars bought me a mountain of rice, gyros, and salad covered in this deliciously tangy tzatziki sauce. Not sure if it was the way the meat was cooked or the seasonings but it had my taste buds doing the Macarena. I know those street guys vary from place to place (and tend to be territorial) so be sure to check them out if you're on Wall Street.

Mr. Softee

found on street corners all over the City

If you’re a kid who grew up in the Northeast, chances are you have some great memories of a soft serve ice cream cone somewhere in your memory bank labeled under “summertime.” I’m no exception. I grew up on soft serve ice cream and rainbow sprinkles. Since there wasn’t a Carvel readily available, Mr. Softee was the obvious choice for soft serve. The creamy sweet consistency brought me back to the Jersey shore, circa 1979. Three dollar make you holla: why don’t they have this in LA?

Extra credit: Long Island bagels

Long Island has the best tap water in the country so it only makes sense that they have the best bagels in the world. They’re the perfect consistency and go great with any ole schmear you decide to top them with. My wise mother-in-law did say there are a lot of different places selling bagels and that the best bet is to stay with a joint that specializes in them.

As always, "The City That Never Sleeps" was kind to me and the places I've named were absolute stand-outs. Definitely be sure to visit the folks above and have one for me!