Been a While

 













     Marinatin' has been my motto for the past week.  Soaking in all my thoughts from a long weekend retreat and a busy October. 

     I had a fun, long weekend with all my favorite junior high students on our yearly retreat and I certainly was ready to get back into the kitchen!  The pork tenderloin hanging in my fridge was SO ready to be cooked.  I used a simple teriyaki marinade and let the thing bathe in it over night.  Grilled for about 9 minutes on each side (4 sides), it came out quite delicious.  I served it with grilled squash, zucchini, and some Kroger dinner rolls.  The plating of the meal wasn't as pretty as I like, but that's because I was tired.  So deal with it. 

While shopping in good will for the junior high retreat, I found a blooming onion maker.  I had ALWAYS wanted to make a blooming onion and now for $3.00, I had the chance.  It was an easy buy.  I battered it up with some flour, cumin, and tony's.  Then fried it for approx 8 minutes (4 minutes either side....).  It looks good on the plate (notice the purple and gold) and tastes like something out of a comic book.  Not that I would know what that tastes like, but its goood!  I'll be serving some up this weekend for the LSU vs. Tennessee Game!  oh yeah, with a fried turkey and some other good stuff!  Let me know if you're in Katy and want to join!  Geaux Tigers! 

and Happy Plates!!

P.S.  I'm using the extra homemade teriyaki to seep into some chicken legs.....These are going to be the bomb!  And another thought...IMO chicken legs are better than wings....but no one has ever opened a chicken leg place.....debate.

Grilled Teriyaki Legs will be posted at another date.  Thanks for reading!

Leftover Sliders and a Review

Mushroom and Swiss Churizo Sliders. 

     For the first time in a while, my brother came over and I was able to cook for him this past Sunday.  I posted a status on facebook asking people "whatchew want for lunch?"  My good friend, Dayna Furnish said she wanted a mushroom swiss burger.  (I now owe Dayna, Scott and Stephen a meal.)  However, I decided to try something a little different with my leftover churizo so we made some swiss mushroom churizo burgers to watch during the Texans vs Steelers game.  They were pretty good.  Clare thought they were delicious; I think they will be better the next time I make them.  We ate all but one patty, and the Texans won.  That patty, I decided ,was a very lucky patty.  Eat it, and they probably would have lost...who knows?! 
     I put it in the fridge to save for a future date.  With an evening meeting at the Archdiocese tonight, I found this afternoon the perfect time to create a churizo slider.  I warmed the patty and split it in half between two small rolls (seen above).  They look like a little alien from Batteries Not Included AND have a kick and flavor that is certainly OUT OF THIS WORLD.  Happy Plate (yes, that's the Hercules plate from McDonalds with Meg on it...)!!!

One of my other goals with this blog is to offer reviews for different eateries I visit throughout the year.  Today I had the privilege of visiting
Kublai Khan with my friends Kristin and Scott.  This unique restaurant allows you to pick all the ingredients for a "special" stir fry experience. 
     Today I mixed some beef with marinated tilapia, an egg, vegetables (squah, zucchini, bean sprouts, and some other stuff) and their coconut curry spice.  I'm unfamiliar with curry and some of the spices they have available, so I tried mixing and matching.  The food was good and decently priced (althought our waitress had an issue charging me for too many bowls).  Some interesting facts:  You can order from the menu if you're not feeling creative, most of the clientele was of the male variety, and they offer "cheat sheets" for different types of stir fry. 

   The most interesting thing about this place is:  if you do not like what you make, it is your own fault.  I can see people either being challenged by this and returning to "out-do" themselves, or never going again.  All this being said, the food is fresh, somewhat healthy, and if you go with the right people, you're sure to have a good time.  Let me know if you're ever in the mood to go (especially if it's 5:00pm somewhere). 

Happy plate (because I took some of it home.  Hey, it was a big serving)!
 

It's GAME DAY!

Chorizo Stuffed Omelet with a side of Grapefruit and Grapes.

      This is a three egg ode to the Fighting Tigers of LSU.  A breakfast (or brunch) not for the faint of heart.

     It was a simple plan really.  My parents woke me up extremely early to help a family friend move this morning.  Honestly, if I had been in Baton Rouge, I probably would have been awake by 6:00am so technically I got to sleep in.
     Our friend lives on the north side of the interstate which is kinda near Michoacana. Kinda near is a Katy term I've made up that means 15 minutes for those of you reading from out of state.  Michoacana is the coolest grocery store I've ever seen.  They sell everything Mexican.  I purchased some purple (red)onions, grapefruits, and CHORIZO!  They have the best "fresh" chorizo in Houston in my opinion.  To compare, I haven't bought fresh chorizo from anywhere else. 

     Flipping omelets takes practice and patience. After you conquer the technique, you can amaze people with food that not only looks good but also TASTES amazing.  I would proudly put this dish up against anything Bobby Flay shows on his show "Brunch with Bobby Flay". 

     Now it's time to sit back and watch my LSU Tigers play!  Holler at all my Mean Streak Tailgaters! Geaux Tigers!!

    
    

Extreme Happy Plates!!

Chew on This

Stuffed Pork Loin. Marinated Mozzarella Stuffed Peppadews.

Hipster View

     A few weeks ago, I bought a book as a going away gift for one of my students moving to Malaysia.  It is titled "How to Grill" by Steven Raichlen. He enjoyed grilling hamburgers with our youth group so I found  it was only appropriate to give him an ultimate guide to grilling.  It also worked out well because I'm constantly looking for new inspiration and this picture book was just what the doctor ordered.  I picked up my own copy online and the rest is history. This is my version of the stuffed pork loin.

     The tricky part to this dish is cutting the pork loin the right way.  I unfortunately cut too deep and actually punctured through the meat.  Anways, this loin of the pig is stuffed with diced onion, bell pepper, green olives, capers, salt, pepper, oregano, and olive oil.  oh, I added the tomatoes for some fun color.  All this jazz is spread on the inside of the loin, rolled up, then tied together with butcher string (which was free from my nice friend's at Kroger).  It is also laced with bacon to keep in some moisture and flavor.  Lacing any meal with bacon is dangerous, so use extreme caution.  This heap of love was grilled on my dad's gas weber for about 2 hours or until the center was 160 degrees.  It sliced up nicely and has the unique spiral effect for the plate.  Hopefully the next time I try this, my hands will be steady enough to cut the loin thinner and my brains will be smarter to know when to stop cutting!  Happy plates (except I had no side dish...which is another story in itself hehe)

mini hipster view

Now, onto those sexy red peppadews...One day while shopping at my local Kroger store, I came across peppadews on the olive bar.  I can't lie, they were checking me out.  I was planning on using them for my pulled pork pizza (which i did and it was delicious. i might recreate the pizza because IT WAS THAT GOOD).  A really nice lady working that day told me something that would forever change my list of appetizers.  "Add cheese to pepper" she said (in an asian accent.)  It took me a while to comprehend what she had said.  I would compare it to Mr. Miyagi teaching the karate kid "wax on, wax off". Anyways....Yes, she was asian and her idea ...was BRILLIANT!  They are super easy to make (stuff a mozzarella cheese ball into the pepper), look pretty cool, and even my mom likes them!  Happy plates tonight!

Spread the word and let me know something you want me to try.  Things coming soon: Boneless Stuffed Chicken, Homemade Teriyaki Chicken Legs, and Triple Stuffed Potatoes....I'm seeing a recurring theme with "stuffed stuff"

please note:  #1. if i ever use the term hipster and fusion FOR REAL when speaking about food, please slap me. I am so serious.

#2.  "hipster view" is a joke but also a camera angle i invented.  you cannot borrow it unless you give me credit.

 Thanks for reading! <3  I'll try to do better next time!