Archive for the ‘Dinner’ Category

Hot Tamale

Posted by Candace on Thursday, May 6th, 2010

I’ll always remember my first tamale, and the dicey looking man I bought it from. I was living in Houston when this questionable looking man shows up at the back door of the fine dining restaurant I worked at with a cooler of hot tamales. The entire kitchen staff (including the snooty executive chef) happily bought tamales from the tamale man. Now, call me weird, but I have a serious problem buying food from random people who pull up in a truck. You will never see me on the side of the road purchasing food.  I just don’t do that.  However, I love food and I was intrigued.  So I figured if the snooty Belgian Executive Chef bought one, it must be good, right?  So I was brave and bought one.  Luckily, I didn’t end up in the emergency room with food poisoning, instead I developed my love for the tamale.

I used a spicy pulled beef filling, but tamales are also delicious with chicken or even veggie filling.  Just make sure you have plenty of time, as the preparation is quite time consuming.
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May 6th, 2010 by Candace / Filed under Beef, Dinner / 3 Critiques

Happy Thanksgiving???

Posted by Candace on Tuesday, April 27th, 2010

So I did something weird.  I roasted a turkey.  On a random day.  In April.  Weird, right?  I could tell that the husband and pups were quite confused by the strong smell o’ roasted turkey in the house.  Well… the organic turkey breasts were on sale after Easter and I happen to have this thing for sales.  I did try a different recipe from my usual Thanksgiving brine.  I did a salt rub and LOVED it!  I remember last season (or was it the season before?) where magazines boldly declared that brines were out and rubs were in.  I’ve never been one to go with trends, so I still brined my Thanksgiving turkey, like I do every year.  I didn’t want to risk trying something new when I have company coming.  But since this was random turkey roasting, all bets were off! { Read the rest }

April 27th, 2010 by Candace / Filed under Dinner / 4 Critiques

Stuffed Breasts

Posted by Candace on Sunday, August 30th, 2009

I’ve had Tyler Florence’s book, Tyler’s Ultimate for over a year. When I first bought the book at the Wine and Food Festival in South Beach last year, I was so excited to try some of the recipes.  And then life got in the way, and I forgot.  I was really in the mood for some cooking this past weekend and pulled out the book again.  This is a fabulous book for simple but fabulously good recipes.

I made some minor changes to his recipes…  I used turkey tenderloins because my grocery store had them all perfectly trimmed.  I’m a sucker for convenience!  I also used dried cranberries in place of  dried apricots… To me, turkey and cranberries go together like cookies and milk or peanut butter and jelly!  As I was eating this delicious dinner, I realized it was missing one thing… Just a little cranberry relish.  I will DEFINITELY make this recipe again, but will add a bit of cranberry relish to the finished dish.

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August 30th, 2009 by Candace / Filed under Dinner / 9 Critiques

Asian Chicken Salad

Posted by Candace on Monday, July 20th, 2009

Geez, I feel like its been a month since I’ve blogged… oh wait, it HAS been a month.  Well, I’ve been busy… lots of good things going on.  I finally made the decision to leave my job as a commercial lines insurance agent to work with my husband full time as the Studio Manager.  In case you’re new to my blog, and/or missed all of my past shameless plugs… he’s a fabulous photographer. I’m excited and just a tad scared of this new adventure I’m embarking on.  However, one of the things I’m really looking forward to is having more time for my blog.  I feel like I’ve treated my poor blog like a red headed stepchild lately and I’m sorry!

On to the food… The past month or two, Stephan and I decided to concentrate on eating healthy.  Well we always eat pretty healthy, but we’ve avoided the sweets… that’s also part of the reason I’ve been so quiet on the blog… Who wants to see grilled fish with steamed veggies… again?  Yeah, I didn’t think so!  LOL!   This salad is definitely blogworthy!  Its stupid easy and quick to prepare and lastly… very yummy!
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July 20th, 2009 by Candace / Filed under Asian, Chicken, Dinner / 12 Critiques

Bacon and Eggs

Posted by Candace on Monday, April 6th, 2009

I love Pasta Alla Carbonara. It is one of my favorite things to eat when I’m in a good Italian Restaurant. When we were in Rome last year, I had Carbonara almost every day.  I had try all of the different restaurant’s versions! Research purposes, you know??  I’ve noticed many people who make Carbonara add cream and make it almost like an Alfredo. Not me… Eggs and cheese are the only thickening agent I use, along with pasta water. I’ve found that adding a couple egg yolks in addition to the whole eggs makes for a creamier sauce.

Another thing I’ve found (by trial and error) are to toss the egg mixture and hot pasta in a metal bowl instead of the pasta pot. You’re less likely to end up with scrambled egg carbonara, which is not good. I think the pasta is hot enough to cook the eggs, but if you freak out about slightly cooked eggs, do your mixing in the pasta pot.  However, be prepared for bits of completely cooked egg.   Lastly, I add peas, which makes me feel better, like I added a bit of green healthiness to a rich dish. If you don’t like peas, by all means, leave them out.  Also, I cheaped out at the grocery store and bought low sodium bacon instead of the pancetta.  Either one will work, but the pancetta has a better flavor.

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April 6th, 2009 by Candace / Filed under Dinner, Italian / 17 Critiques
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