Goo Goo for Gougeres!

When it comes to baking... i suck.. exact measurement's, sifting, blah blah blah take away from the fun..i like cooking like a mad scientist...everything is an experiment....throw in a little of this, a little of that... mix mix mix, taste.....until it's golden. With baking, if you screw up.. you dont know until the first bite... then it ruins the whole day. ..at least it ruins mine. my arch nemesis is bread baking. As much as i love the idea of baking bread, i am much too impatient to deal with the whole yeast rising thing, too lazy for the dough pounding, and hate the clean up of all the damn sprinkling of flour. Oh... and i guess i have to mention the kids wanting to ruin... i mean help mommy in the kitchen. well that's a whole mess all together. OK, i'm getting off track.... moving on..

Gougeres are a french pastry...they are made from choux paste...same shit that eclairs

and cream puffs are made out of.... but in this case, these are a savory puff with gruyere cheese grated into the batter. These were so freakin simple to make...and they make you feel like you spent years studying at some foo foo cooking school. Here's how the song goes....

Preheat the oven to 400...in a medium sauce pan combine 1/2 c water and 1/2 c milk and 1 stick of butter (cubed up), and a pinch of salt

bring to a boil, and mix in 1 c of flour....mix mix mix, and the dough will start to pull itself in a ball.

transfer your dough ball into a bowl...let it cool for a min, then mix in 4 large eggs, one at a time into it. The key to success is to make sure each egg is incorporated into the dough ball of goodness before adding the next one. then finally mix in 1 c of gruyere, a couple of cracks of pepper and voila... dough be done.

(excellet egg in action picture taking by Amelia)

transfer that to a pastry bag... or in my case.. a zip lock freezer bag, snip the end, pipe it out into little doo doo piles... i made mine pretty small...like 1 1/2 inch rounds. Sprinkle with more cheese, bake for 20 mins, until golden and perfect.

meanwhile...i had myself some sushi...pretty sweet layout eh?

these mutha suckas were awesome.

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Amelia enjoys one and exclaims, "ma mère peut danser le robot!"

they can be piped with other good stuff since they come equipped with little hallow entrails....maybe finely chopped mushrooms, or what the hell... more cheese??

my bread baking dream is permanently on hold. these will hold me over for some time. Personally, i like to eat these piping hot...they have a perfect crust on the outside, and the trapped steam trapped in the belly of the pastry is so airy and cheesy good! but they are still pretty amazing at room temp.

oh! they also freeze really really well...when you're ready to reheat...just pop them in the oven @ 350 for a couple of mins...and by golly you've got yourself instant party food... in case company stops by...but who the hell does that asshole move??

I need one...you need one too.

So, if you really know me, you know that i really like strange things...and if you know my kids, you know that they ARE strange things. Even stranger is the tv shows they watch. One of our fav's is Yo Gabba Gabba..a seriously new school approach on teaching good life lessons. Forget the tiddly wink pastel candy coated music and cartoons that we grew up with ( fuck the smurfs, i never ever liked them anyways....). This show is funny as hell, with awesome music/animation by some great artists. i can't even begin to explain the magnitude of the entertainment. i probably like the show more than the girls. Anyways, here's a link to the yo gabba gabba store, and a tshirt inspired by one of the "skits".
http://www.yogabbagabbastore.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=2260

Here is also a link to one of the music video's. Amelia and I sing this song all the time b/c she's a really sore loser when it comes to games...especially when it's time to put away the Wii...
http://www.blessedwithbeverages.com/index.php?/commerical-work/yo-gabba-gabba/

I hope you enjoy as much as I do.

Roll it tight, and make it a phatty...

I know...it's a teaser photo while i prepare my eulogy for the meal you see before you that was ravished (well the best that you can ravish while using chopsticks). It was gluttony at it's finest...but in a "light and healthy" way. Weeeeeeeee!!!

Fideo con pollo.

On my "Top 5 favorite foods" Mexican is somewhere in there. The usual made in my home is whatever the kids will eat...you basic americanized fiesta...tacos,quesadillas, enchiladas, but i guess i never really tackled the more authentic dishes. This one was inspired by a co-worker friend of mine Sophia (..of course ...she's mexican), who often visits her mom for some good QT and comfort food. She told me it was a comfort food for her when she was younger...her madre would make it for her when she was sick. I started by searing some chicken thighs and legs in a big ol pot, the threw some garlic, cumin, a bay leaf, salt and pepper, and some chicken broth (just enough to cover the chicken) and let it cook away...bout 25 mins. I transferred the cooked chicken and it's broth/juices to a large bowl. i then toasted the fideo noodles w some butter until golden brown ( and pleeze Hammer, don't hurt 'em, they burn easily..so keep and eye on them), the broth from the cooked chicken was then added to the noodles (if you have it.. I always think it's better to use broth instead of water for these types of dishes). As the noodles cooked, i threw in some corn ( just cuz i had some), but i am guessing this is the part where you put in your pre sauted peppers, and onions, none of which my guest that was comming over for really enjoys (damnit!!). and some crushed super tasty pomodoro tomatoes (this shit deserves its own blog). So as that cooks, i take the meat of the bone ( again...my dinner guest not liking the whole chicken on the bone idea...). Really, she is a good guest, and super duper friend. Simmer simmer simmer, stir stir stir, add more liquid if you noodles need it...and it's ok too if you added too much noodles, b/c if i understand correctly, its suppoed to be more stewy than a arroz-a-roni type thing. throw in the chicken, stir stir stir, hit the dinner bell, your done. when i looked at my pot it was perfect. noodles, chicken, corn, spices, tomatoes...comfort food...mexican style. i served this up with some avocado sprinkled with chili powder, some sour cream, and warm corn tortillas for mopping up. Totally good, My guest and I had two bowls, and I sent her home with lunch for the next two days. This is the kind of stuff that I love love love making.

Zucchini madness....

Tis the season for zucchini to grow so fast that you can't comsume it fast as they are growing. The girls enjoy going out in my moms garden and picking veges, tomatoes, and chili peppers. Amelia has a good eye at what is ripe and ready to be picked....Lauren on the other hand has a knack for picking things that aren't even growing...or are already dead. My mother has been growing these Korean zuks in her garden. They are a rounder variety, with a sweeter taste. I always take some home with me whenever i am there with the girls to visit. Suprisingly, my picky eating girls can't get enough of this stuff. Usually i will slice them into discs and then throw them in a little egg wash and panko bread crumbs, and fry em up...but it kinda defeats the purpose of eating veggies...right?? or no....? The zuk that is pictured was from a neglected zucchini that was hidden in the depths of the garden... it was a massive beast by the time that amelia had found it. When we decided to make something of it after making some phallic jokes to myself...i treated it like a squash, i scraped out most of the seeds, chopped them into strips ( only b/c the girls had asked for fries with dinner.... but they didn't specify what type of fries...they were not ammused when i delightfully told them they were zucchini fries...but they gobbled them up anyways...) threw in lots of cracked pepper, a sqeeze of lemon and some zest, minced garlic and salt, and sauteed these guys in some olive oil and a little tab of butter. they are even good cold right out of the fridge!

Beans Beans good for the heart....

You reallly can't go wrong here..Chickpeas, cukes, red bell peppers, onion, a good fruity olive oil, and an equally good balsamic vinegar.... a dash of garlic powder, red pepper flakes, cilantro, basil, salt and pepper, and there you have it...low fat, super healthy full of good things, refreshing and filling as well not to mention totally economical. People at work kept Ooooing and Ahhhhing when they glanced over at what i brougth for lunch. The cons.... the family had to put up with my bottom burps... but i couldn't stop eating it. The longer this sat in the fridge, the better it got. I kept going back to the fridge for just a few more scoops that i would place in one of the girls little bowls. I finally realized that i almost ate the whole thing when i figured i should take a photo..so this was taken on day three. I promise you will be the most envied at the lunchtable....and gassiest....HA!