Category: Food and Drink

Cheese, Please, and Throw in a Casserole, While You’re at It…

Tried a couple of new things tonight.

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The Colman’s seasoning packet seems devoid of artificial colors and crap… I like that in foods that we can get from the UK. Less crap.

I gave it the Mom Test- meaning, Would My Mom Eat This? I think she would. She’s tougher than The Boy, no lie. I’ll make her try some for lunch tomorrow (you know you will try this, mom, because you are so intrigued by a packaged product that I’d try… that’s probably going to be the first thing you do when you get here tomorrow).

Chicken, vegetables, seasoning and water in the pot...
Chicken, vegetables, seasoning and water in the pot…

The chicken cooked 90 minutes at 350 with a quartered onion, three carrots (’cause, that’s all I had), 1 1/2 cups water whisked with the seasoning packet, poured over the quartered chicken and veggies in the lidded casserole. Everyone pretty much liked it, served with a baked potato and salad. No complaints, but no socks knocked off.

Aged Mahón Cheese
Aged Mahón Cheese

The great find today is this Mahón cheese from Trader Joes. It is only here for this month, but undoubtedly in any of the better-stocked cheese departments here in So. Cal. This is really delicious stuff, folks. It has a bit of the grainy texture of an aged cheddar and while creamier than a mild cheddar, tastes like a cross between an aged gouda and a milder cheddar. Make my Swedish friend happy- say “how-dah,” not “goo-duh.” She gives me a hard time when I say “goo-duh.” So, of coarse, I look right at her and say “goo-duh” whenever this subject comes up. That’s how I roll.

Mahón is a delicious Spanish cheese. The Swede would agree with me on that, her husband is Spanish and she wouldn’t dis a Spanish product. She’s nice like that. She also would  have liked the Pinot Gris that I enjoyed with my cheese and crackers while the casserole cooked and I watched Captain America. I bet she’d like Captain America- there we go, Annika, let’s look at your vacation photos, then watch Marvel Comics movies with the kids really soon!! I have the cheese and will buy more wine for us!

There’s a First Time for Everything…

I’ve never really met a wine that I didn’t like. I mean, REALLY didn’t like. Now, I don’t care for the infamous Two Buck Chuck, but I might cook with it if I had some on hand, which I don’t. Ever.  And I think Merlots are just watered down Cabernets, which are my favorite (I’m sure there are some good Merlots, I just like to annoy Merlot enthusiasts with that blanket statement).

Tonight, I was going to try a new wine with my bread and cheese for dinner, and I had a fabulously disappointing bottle of Médoc. A Château Langlade 2012 Médoc, to be exact.

Surprise! This was terrible! I strongly suspect that something actually was wrong with its cork… blech.

This bottle was so disappointing that it will be going back to the store where it was purchased. I don’t think I’ve ever returned a bottle of wine.

But, as I mentioned, there’s a first time for everything. Maybe I’ll pick up a Merlot while I’m at the same shop…

Just kidding. It will be a Cab, for sure!

New Menu Monday- Meatloaf Swapped for Swedish Meatballs, HOLY YUM!!

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Screenshot of DamnDelicious.net Click to link to her Swedish Meatball recipe!

The blog Damn Delicious is aptly named. Go there now. Pin, bookmark, share on Facebook, save this recipe however you can, but keep this recipe. Even more importantly, MAKE IT SOON!  http://damndelicious.net/2014/02/21/swedish-meatballs/

Swedish Meatballs swimming in perfect gravy, served with broccoli.
Swedish Meatballs swimming in perfect gravy, served with broccoli.

DamDelicious.net is run by Chung-Ah, who does not profess to be a trained cook. Well, this gal has taught herself well and paid great attention to anyone who and anything that ever taught her to appreciate food and its preparation.

I can’t believe that this came out looking as good IRL as her recipe looks online! And HOLY COW this was good. If a meal has noodles, sauce and meat, it is instantly one of my favorites. Four out of five of us loved it- The Boy (The Dissenter) thought it had too many onions, The Boyfriend loved it despite the onions. The Husband raved, The Girl was still praising these meatballs over two hours later.

I followed the recipe exactly with one change and one mistake- I added a couple of teaspoons of Worcestershire sauce, and accidentally added two whole eggs instead of just two egg yolks. I bet my meatballs would have been less tough with just yolks… but that is really nit-picking. This was Damn Delicious!

If you want to fuss with making meatballs (does 20 minutes of scooping and rolling count as a fuss?), make this recipe. Big tip- use a cookie scoop and they will halfway make themselves. Mine is a two tablespoon scoop that I use for cookies, and I found it a perfect helper. The other kitchen tip is use a cast iron skillet- this one is my 12″ pan and I swear by it.

Look at all that lucious GRAVY!!!!!
Look at all that lucious GRAVY!!!!!

Chuao’s Firecracker Chocolate Bar

A quick taste test that we took on today-

Chuao’s Firecracker Bar is made with “sea salt, a dash of chipotle and popping candy (think Pop Rocks) in dark chocolate.”91895efc4933dc5b34aa012e7c3eb70e

The Husband, his cousin, The girl, and I all came up with a decision for this chocolate bar from Chuao Chocolatier.

We didn’t care for it.

The best opinion was that it made an interesting novelty. That was my thought. The Husband did not like how spicy it was… and he’s Mexican. Cousin Celeste didn’t pan it, but passed on a seconds and The Girl decidedly refused to even try a first bite. I didn’t even notice a popping to the candies inside, they seemed more like extra-crispy rice bits. But, to be completely honest, some of the popping effect may have been lost due to the fact that the chocolate had sat in my car and partially melted and reset at least once. All of the reviews on the company’s website are stellar and rave about every aspect of this bar… we respectfully disagreed.

Maybe we should try it again, trying especially hard to skip the extra step of accidentally letting it melt? I’m willing to give it another try.

Throwback Cocktail- The Gimlet

You can roll your eyes at me, it’s OK. Go ahead. I am that person who goes to a Steak House and orders the soup and salad special. I’ll go to the beach and read a book. Tonight we went to a brewery and I ordered a Gimlet. 



Since I wanted to skip the beer and try a different drink tonight, one of our friends suggested trying the Gimlet. Someone mentioned that it was like a line version of a lemon drop.

That was all the encouragement I needed.  

According to Liquor.com the Gimlet was created by sailors to help prevent scurvy. Sometimes vodka is used, but a traditional Gimlet is made with gin. Served either on the rocks or straight up, 2.5 ounces of vodka, .5 ounce simple syrup and .5 ounce of fresh lime juice are shaken with ice and served in an old fashioned glass. I’m pretty sure mine tonight had soda water in it, too, and I liked it. I’m guessing it was equal parts soda and gin, and I really enjoyed the lime. 

Why have I taken so long to try new things like this?