Magifico!

One night I was feeling ambitious and decided to make an awesome new dish! This is my Mussel Magnifico. I got some giant mussels from the grocery store, I steamed some for a treat before this dish settled in my head. I knew that I had tried to make something like this with my little sister a few months back. I grabbed some random ingredients from the cabinet and tossed the cold mussels in the pot. The sauce is a good blend of chinese rice wine, diced tomatoes, tomato paste and some red pepper. The dish was extraordinary! My kitchen partner, Brendan (lol) loved the dish. Even though Brendan was not a fan of the mussel, he loved this dish. And even recommended it once! lol This dish is best with pasta, but I found that it is also great with bread. You can removed the meat from the shells if you want to. But I like the look of it on better... What is your favorite "throw-together" type dish?

So Spice!

This dish was the first that I made in college! I was up late one night with the Sexy Awesome Dragons. (The name of my friend group in college. thnx Ian) But I finally gave into Ian and used the cookbook he got me. I liked the recipe for the Shrimp Scampi. I started making the dish and I tasted it halfway through and it was bland as hell. I hate bland food! So I kicked it up a notch and added my own favorite seasonings. This was the day that I learned that no matter what I put in my food, it will always be a little spice in the background after you taste it. What's your signature flavor?

The Gnocchi Challenge

My neighbor Pujah gave me some left over gnocchi she had made from the box. I had never had this form of gnocchi before so my hopes were high and optimistic. The second I bit into the gnocchi I regretted it. It was so mushy and the sauce was bland. I wanted to slap her for giving me this shit. But I did't, I just offered to make her real gnocchi. I love Italian food, culture, and language. I went to my trusty cooking assistant, Google, and searched what gnocchi was exactly. After finding that it is mostly potato kinda made into a pasta, I was on the roll. It took FOREVER to make the dough, but the sauce was great. So I presented this handmade gnocchi in garlic parm, sauce to her, and she swooned. I love getting it right... Have you ever had a food and hated it? What was it?

Flu Food

Yes everyone, it's that time of the year again. The time when you get the sniffles and the head colds. The Winter. I made this little guy one night my roommate Brendan and I were feeling cozy on my awesome couches. Had had a shit-ton of orzo left over from the night before so I made soup. I had a whole small chick in the freezer for some reason (rarely cook whole birds... I'm intimidated by them ]: ) I rosted and then boiled the hell out of that chicken! The broth was nice and rich. I just threw in all the vegies I had leftover into the pot. And to add more flavor to the over all dish, I boiled the orzo in the broth. This soup was so warm and peppery, my grandmother would be proud, but also angry because my soup was just as good as hers! Chicken Soup is one of my fav sick-time foods. Just goes so well with tea and giant blankets. What is a food you like to eat when feeling ill?

Chicken Parm w Garlic Bread

10/2012

This dish was inspired by a crazy dinner I had with two of my closest friends. Shanise, Renee, and I would always go to T. G. I. Friday's whenever we had a free weekend (any money). I am an extremely picky eater, but I was tired of always getting a burger or chicken fingers. So I decided to be "adventurous" and order something new. I ended up getting the driest chicken I have ever eaten on op of over-cooked linguine. I was not pleased, to say the least. So I took a challenge and said "I could make better food than this shit!" So that's what I did. Later that week I went shopping for some good ingredients and threw down. The chicken was so tender, I didn't need a knife to cut it. And the homemade sauces were absolutely divine! (love that word lol) This dish has become one of my "go-to" moves when trying to impress a date or company. What food have you had out at a place that you feel like you could do better?