Pages, Pucks and Pantry

Small Plates July 31, 2007

Anyone who knows me knows I'm a sucker for Starbucks. I like Petes coffee, but there isn't a Petes on every corner. I even like generic coffee...I put so much milk and sugar in my coffee, it almost doesn't matter what kind of coffee I start with...but when it comes to Frappuccinos? Starbucks wins hands down.

BERRY SEASON AT STARBUCKS  Starbucks has released two new flavors..Blueberries and Raspberries. Blueberries and Creme Frappuccino's. Shaken Blueberry White Iced Tea. Raspberry Mochas...I need to go get one NOW! I loved last years summer Banana Fraps so I'm looking forward to trying this new Blueberry one.

CHOCOLATE AND COFFEE Remember the liquid chocolate drink at Starbucks called Chantico? Man I loved that stuff. I would get a small coffee and a small Chantico and life was perfect. But then they no longer made Chanticos and life wasn't so perfect. It seems folks didn't like the Chanticos because they tasted like a melted chocolate bar (and the problem with that was?????)  But now, Starbucks has teamed with Hersheys Chocolate to make chocolate flavored coffee products so maybe there is hope? Being offered in drug and department stores this fall will be a premium chocolate; chocolate bars, truffles and chocolate covered coffee beans should be available sometime next year. For more info go here.

9 CENTS MORE Starting today, your Starbucks will be costing you 9 cents more. As Barbie2be originally told us back in her post here Starbucks is going to raise the price of their coffee today due to "higher dairy and fuel costs". They raised the prices 5 cents just last October 5. Lets see that's 6300 corporate owned stores, 9 cents each coffee...yeah, that's a lot of dairy and fuel money! (the 3500 licensed stores don't have to raise their prices, but you know they will). Didn't Starbucks just go from using whole milk to 2% recently as a default? Shouldn't that have helped lower the cost of drinks? Sigh. Will the raise stop me from buying that Frapp? No. I'm weak.

Twinkie-Misu

Twinkie-licious! Ok, even Anthony Bourdain on the Travel Channels No Reservations has had deep fried Twinkies (and he liked them-no seriously, he finished the whole thing).  I'll admit, as a kid, I used to eat Twinkies all the time, along with Ding Dongs and Ho-Hos. But since I, ahem, grew up? Not so much.

That might change.

This is really good. Very rich. Decadent. And yeah, it has Twinkies in it. It came from The Twinkies Cookbook. I admit, my mom and I were pretty comical in the store looking for Twinkies. Couldn't find them on the shelves. We were a bit embarrassed (ok, I was) to ask a clerk where to find the Twinkies. We finally found them tucked away on the side of an end cap where if you blinked you would have missed them. Since this called for ten Twinkies, I was hoping to find the ten-pack box.  Alas, all they had were the two packs. And that "they last forever"? Just so you know there WAS an expiration date on the package.

Now granted, the reason these tasted so good might be because there is some alcohol in the mixtures. And the thought did cross my mind that if I just used regular lady fingers in the recipe, it would probably still taste great. But...I just made dessert with Twinkies, how can that not be cool? As an FYI, one of The Men Behind the Wheel, had a small taste this morning...his eyes lit up and he smiled really big...I think he liked it!

Oh, and just because it only takes 45 seconds to explode a Twinkie in the microwave is no reason to waste a perfectly good Twinkie.

TWINKIE-MISU

1 (3.4-ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix
1 3/4 cups milk
1/4 cup Amaretto
1 cup strong coffee, warmed
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 cup Kahlua
2 cups frozen nondairy whipped topping, thawed
10 Twinkies
Unsweetened cocoa, for dusting

In a bowl, combine the pudding mix, milk, and Amaretto and whisk. Set aside until quite thick.
In a separate, small bowl, combine the coffee, sugar, and Kahlua and mix until the sugar dissolves. Refrigerate until cool. Line a baking sheet with waxed paper and set the Twinkies on the paper. Slowly drizzle the coffee mixture over each Twinkie, allowing the liquid to soak in.
Fold the whipped topping into the pudding mixture. Spoon one-third of the pudding mixture into an 8 by 8 inch baking dish.
Arrange the Twinkies evenly over the pudding. Spoon the remaining pudding over the Twinkies.
Refrigerate for 1 hour, or until set. Dust with cocoa before serving. Serves 6-8.

Note: I used French Vanilla pudding and I left off the dusting with cocoa powder.

Note: It might seem like a lot of coffee mixture to drizzle over the Twinkies, but it really did soak up the whole batch. And you'll probably want to use a spatula to remove from the pan.

Recipe Guess

So I made a dish last night that included both of these ingredients. Any guesses as to what I made?

Small Plates July 30, 2007

CHEESECAKE One of my favorite desserts is just plain ole cheesecake. Doesn't have to be chocolate, doesn't have to have strawberry goo on top, it can be New York Style, no-bake, if it's got the word cheesecake in it I'll try it. So today is a good day as it's National Cheesecake Day. If you can't make one of your own, I'm sure you can find one at your local Cheesecake Factory (that's one of theirs in the photo). Cheesecake Factory also has a decent "splenda" or sugar-free cheesecake if you are so inclined.

CHRISTOPHER WALKEN So what comes to mind when you think of actor Christopher Walken? The Deer Hunter? The Dead Zone? That crazy dance he does in the wonderful Fatboy Slim video? How about TV cook? Didn't think that? Well check out this video here and see Mr. Walken as he shows you how to cook a chicken. I just want to see the cat eat the chicken in the next video!

SLAP COUNTDOWN  Nothing to do with food, but if you watch How I Met Your Mother, you'll understand. Countdown is here.

Baked Pesto Chicken

This isn't the best looking dish I've made but it's something that Mr. L and I have on a regular basis. Mainly because it's quick and easy to make and I know the recipe by heart.

It's a Phase One South Beach recipe from The South Beach Diet Quick & Easy Cookbook. Not exactly low calorie, but did I mention it was quick and easy? This also reheats well.

BAKED PESTO CHICKEN

4 (6-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup pesto (from jar)
2 ounces shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese (1/2 cup)
Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Spread 1/4 cup of the pesto in a 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Lay chicken breasts over pesto in an even layer and spread with remaining pesto.
Cover baking dish with foil and bake chicken until cooked through, 20-25 minutes. Uncover and top with cheese. Bake until cheese is melted, 5 minutes more. Serve hot. Makes 4 servings.

Note:  I think this recipe calls for small chicken breasts like the frozen ones you buy in bulk. I usually get chicken breasts from the butcher which are much bigger and they take longer to cook. I usually buy a big jar of pesto from Costco and keep it in the fridge for this dish.

Note: I no longer even bother to measure the pesto or cheese. I probably put way more than South Beach recommends but I like a bit more cheese.

Note: Depending on the pesto you use, you might have lots of oily stuff left in the baking dish. I pour some over the chicken and some over veggies. Again, if you are doing South Beach, you should probably limit this.

Did I mention this was quick and easy? :) Seriously, I can whip this up in no time if I know we are going to be home late and still need to eat.

Small Plates July 27, 2007

BACON SALT To me, there are four major food groups...Salt, Butter, Mayo and Bacon. So when I saw that a company was making Bacon Salt, I almost wept with joy. How can you not love a product that has these tag lines "Everything should taste like bacon" and "There's always room for bacon!", and my favorite "All the Bacon flavor without the triple bypass". The Bacon Salt comes in three flavors "Original", "Hickory" and "Peppered". Did I mention zero calories? Okay, there is that little sodium problem, but it is salt that tastes like bacon! Come on, where has this stuff been? Imagine it on scrambled eggs, mashed potatoes..popcorn! (that last one is their suggestion, not mine). They say they are also going to come out with an all natural version soon. You can buy directly from the site here, at City Fish in Seattle, or coming soon to Amazon.com. Bacon Salt. I think I'm in love. They have recipes up on their web site and you can also check out all the fun on their blog here. Bacon Salt. Le Sigh.

BACON FLAVORED CHOCOLATE Okay, so I love bacon and I love chocolate, but chocolate that tastes like bacon?? Um, I did not weep for joy when I saw this. In fact, I kinda scrunched up my nose and went "yuck". The sales pitch says "Deep milk chocolate coats your mouth and leads to the crunch of smoked bacon pieces". Hmmm... It is from Vosges which makes wonderful off the wall chocolates, but I'm not sure I'm going to run out to get this. It has a shelf life of three months and is gluten free. You can find out about it and order here. I know I love me some bacon but.....

WALK THOSE PANTS Yes, today is National Take Your Pants for a Walk Day...don't ask me folks, I just report them. It's also National Scotch day, but I don't drink Scotch. Feel free to have your favorite Scotch drink anyway.

Food Fashion Friday - July 27, 2007

Wanna look spicy the next time you go out on a date. Try this little "Five Spice" necklace from jewelry artist Sarah Hood. Sterling silver, hand blown glass bottles, whole spices...this will only set you back $780...you'd think for that price she'd put in some garlic to ward off vampires!

Hockey-Sharks New Jumbotron

See that? That's where the new Jumbo-tron will be going up at the Tank. And I think those are the  new speakers already up. Wahoo...bout figgin time. Maybe this year I'll actually be able to see and hear what's on the Jumbo-tron. They have already put the new boards up between the bowls (it's now completely electronic) which you can kinda see if you look close in the photo.

We went tonight to see about upgrading our seats. Nothing but obstructed views or places we don't want to sit. I think we are the last batch on the last day to upgrade so I don't expect we'll get better seats anytime soon unless we get really lucky. I'm still trying not to think about the one year we gave up tickets and I lost my seniority...one year in 15...my seniority would have been about 6PM on Monday if I still had it.

New merchandise was already available with the new logo. Pucks, key chains, t-shirts...glitter t-shirts for the women-giggle.  I only bought a sticker with the new logo. I'll wait until I get the discount card before I buy anything new.

No Bake Penuche Cookies

Last week there was a National Penuche Day. Having no clue what Penuche was I Googled it. I came up with the Wikipedia definition which states that Penuche is the original fudge flavor. Supposedly a regional food found in the New England area and some places in the south, it also goes by the name "Brown Sugar Fudge Candy". A little blurb on Wikipedia mentioned drop cookies that have similar flavor to the Penuche fudge. I then Googled "No Bake Penuche Drop Cookies" and this is the first recipe that came up. It seemed simple so I gave it a try.

Do not think that these will turn out like cookies. They don't "harden" even if you put them in the fridge (at least mine didn't). They are kinda gooey and messy but who cares...they were easy to make and tasted pretty good. May have to make these every Penuche Day!

Recipe came from About.com: Southern U.S. Cuisine

NO BAKE PENUCHE COOKIES

2 cups light brown sugar
1 stick butter
1/2 cup milk
3/4 cup chopped nuts
3 cups quick cooking oats
1 teaspoon vanilla

Put nuts, oats and vanilla in a big bowl and mix with hands. Combine brown sugar, butter, and milk in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Boil 1 minute. Pour sugar mixture over oat mixture and combine. Drop by teaspoonfuls on wax paper. Cool. For chocolate cookies use 2 cups white sugar and 1/2 cup cocoa.

Notes: I made the directions a bit easier as they were pretty simple. No serving amounts were given so I just made as many as I could. It says cool so I tried putting some in the fridge. I like them best at room temperature since they don't really set up. Actually...warm just after they were formed? Tasty.

Notes: I used walnuts and regular brown sugar.

New San Jose Sharks Logo

So??? What do you think of the new Sharks logo? It's a meaner and sleeker version of the original logo. I had heard references of it having a Batman/Dark Knight vibe and I can totally see that.

I like it. It's not such a big change. Some new logos are completely different from the original. This, I think, will grow on me. Of course I just bought Mr. L a new jersey this past Christmas and I now own a bunch of "antique" logo Sharks memorabilia, but I think I'm okay with the change. Big words from someone who hates change!

To find out more information about the new look and to check out what new merchandise is available check out the Sharks website.