Wednesday, January 27, 2010

FNCCC Assignment #21 - Ingrid Hoffmann




I have not seen Ingrid Hoffmann's show but after reading only the first page of her recipes on FN I've seen several that I want to try. It's going to be tough deciding on just one.
"Passionate about food and entertaining, Ingrid Hoffmann spends each day sharing her enthusiasm and talent with an international audience. Ingrid launched Simply Delicioso (http://www.simplydelicioso.com/) on Food Network last July and also hosts her own Spanish-language cooking and lifestyle show, Delicioso, on Galavision/Univision. Her infatuation with food was so strong that Ingrid returned to her passion, and opened Rocca, the first restaurant to feature tabletop cooking on heated lava rocks." (HOW COOL!)

We will post Ingrid's recipes on Wednesday, March 3, 2010. Can't wait to see what you are cooking!

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

FNCCC Assignment # 20 - Ina Garten



Next week's chef is Ina Garten who has fabulous food and over 600 recipes to choose from!
"In 1978, Ina Garten found herself working in the White House on nuclear energy policy and thinking, "There's got to be more to life than this!" She saw an ad for a small food store for sale in a place she'd never been: the Hamptons at the end of Long Island. She and her husband drove up to investigate and made the owner an offer on the spot. Two months later she found herself the owner of Barefoot Contessa, a 400-sq. ft. specialty food store." I loved watching her biography because her story has changed so much. She has numerous cookbooks and currently hosts Barefoot Contessa on Food Network.
We will post Ina's recipes on Wednesday, January 27, 2010. Can't wait to see what you are cooking!

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

FNCCC Week 19 - Guy Feiri




This week's featured chef is Guy Fieri, host of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, Guy's Big Bite, and Ultimate Recipe Showdown. He has some great recipes. I chose the Pan-Fried Catfish Sandwich with Chipotle-Lime Slaw. The fish was very tasty and moist but I'm not sure if it was good enough that I would do it exactly the same next time. It had a great crunch without any oil. I didn't make mine into a sandwich. The slaw was fantastic. Spicy! I couldn't wait to eat it for lunch the next day. I dig chipotle. I had to make the kids grilled cheese.




Pan-Fried Catfish Sandwich with Chipotle-Lime Slaw
Recipe courtesy Guy Fieri

Ingredients
For the fish:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
3 teaspoons freshly cracked black pepper, divided
1/2 cup dark beer
3/4 cup whole-grain or stone-ground mustard
2 cups panko bread crumbs
1 tablespoon granulated garlic
1 tablespoon paprika
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 pound catfish fillets (cut into 4 pieces) - I used tilapia instead

For the slaw:
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
2 limes, zested and juiced
1 tablespoon chipotle in adobo
1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar
2 tablespoons white vinegar
Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
1/2 head green cabbage, thinly shredded
1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
3 scallions, thinly sliced
1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature - didn't use
4 Cuban rolls, split lengthwise - didn't make into sandwiches
1 cup canola oil - I baked mine so didn't use this

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Combine the flour, the chili powder and 1 teaspoon of the pepper in a shallow dish. Combine the beer and mustard in a separate shallow dish (there was way too much of this). Mix the panko, granulated garlic, paprika, salt and remaining pepper into a third shallow dish.

Dredge the fish in the flour mixture and then the beer and mustard and lastly in the panko mixture. Arrange the fish on a sheet pan, lined with a cooling rack (I did not use a cooling rack and it turned out perfectly crispy), and refrigerate until ready to cook.


For the slaw: In a large bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, sour cream, lime zest and juice, chipotle, sugar, vinegar and salt and pepper, to taste. Fold in the cabbage, onion, bell peppers, scallions, and cilantro and adjust the seasoning, if necessary. Refrigerate.
Spread the butter on inside of rolls and arrange, crust side down, on a rack in the oven to toast while fish cooks.


Heat 1 cup oil in a cast iron or heavy bottom skillet over medium-high heat. Carefully add the fish, cooking on both sides until the coating turns golden brown, about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove to a cooling rack to drain. Keep warm in the oven, if necessary. (Didn't do this step, as I baked it)

Cook's Note for an alternate method: Prepare fish as above, but arrange on a sheet pan lined with a baking rack (no baking rack, just put it right on the pan and flipped half way through). Put the fish into the hot oven and bake until cooked through, 15 to 18 minutes. Briefly broil both sides of fillets to get a good crisp coating. (I didn't broil it either and mine was super crispy)


To make each sandwich, arrange a piece of fish on the bottom half of the rolls and top with the slaw. Cover with another piece of bread and serve.


So what did you make this week? Can't wait to see what you choose!

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Award :)




Jenn over at Bento For Kidlet and Angela at Confessions of a Non-Domestic Housewife
both gave me this award....and what a cute award it is! Come on, cupcakes make anyone's day better!

Jenn makes the most amazing bento lunches you have ever seen. It makes me feel a little guilty when I throw together a lunch for dear daughter (because I hate packing lunches). Angela has a series she does called "Princess Traning", which teachers her daughter to become a proper princess (awesome idea) and has taken over Kid Friendly Friday for me (thank you!!). Go check them out.

Here's what I'm supposed to do:
1. Copy the award image into a post.
2. List 10 things that make you happy.
3. Tag 10 bloggers who brighten your day.
4. Put in a link to their blogs.
5. Notify the award receivers. (hold tight folks, this may take awhile :)
6. Recipients should link back to the sender's blog. (I say this can be optional. If I have given you an award you are in no way obligated to link back to me, just enjoy your award!)




10 Things That Make Me Happy


1. Carbohydrates

2. Bright Colors

3. My parents visiting from Minnesota.

4. Growing my own tomatoes (uggghhh - the FL cold spell killed them this week)

5. Being alone in the car so I can sing at the top of my lungs to whatever I want to listen to

6. Coffee in the morning

7. Family gatherings

8. Snuggling with a child that is not fully awake and demanding breakfast

9. Pizza (I could eat this daily but even more so when it's not me making it)

10. When my husband calls during the day just to say hi!








10 Bloggers That Brighten My Day:






3. The Misadventures of Mub


4.


5. Lucy's Kitchen


6. Mother Is Not Concerned


7. Susie's Homemade



8. The First Year Wife


9.


10. Adventures in Mommydom


Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Thousand Word Thursday - I Want to Clean

To clarify, I never want to clean.....but Little Bit really wants to clean. Good luck with getting that to stick! While I am on the phone she sees the opportunity to grab the spray bottle and rag (and taunts me a bit).....
and runs out the door.

I find her at her Little People table pretending to clean. She must have watched me (and is obviously a very quick learner because she doesn't see me do this often).

Getting her cleaning groove on.

And a bad hair day.

Cheaper Than Therapy holds A Thousand Word Thursday each week. Go visit to check out other pictures!

Kids in the Kitchen - Chex Mix


I've been meaning to make Chex Mix since the holiday season started and I got boxes of each cereal for less than a dollar. Nice! To make matters worse, The Pioneer Woman (whom I cannot get enough of these days) posted a recipe that is close to the original but uses fresh garlic. My parents are coming in to town tomorrow so I figured this would be a good snack to have around. Unfortunately, it is too good and we made it on Monday....which means it's almost gone. I do have enough cereal for another batch. Mimi did have lots of fun measuring everything out - and Little Bit had lots of fun sneaking cereal from the bowl :) See the link above for the recipe. Enjoy!


Go over to A Little Fun With Me and Lu to check out more Kids in the Kitchen posts!

FNCCC Assignment # 19 - Guy Fieri



This week's chef is an exciting one! "Guy Fieri competed on and won season two of The Next Food Network Star. Today he hosts three popular shows on Food Network, including Guy's Big Bite, where he teaches viewers how to make creative dishes with bold flavors, Ultimate Recipe Showdown, where he showcases home cooks' best recipes and Diners, Drive-ins and Dives, where he travels across America to find the most unique food America has to offer."

Diners, Drive-ins and Dives is one of my favorite FN shows to veg out to. What a job, to find and eat great food! I love Guy's personality - he is fun to watch. We will post Guy's recipes on Wednesday, January 20, 2010. Can't wait to see what you are cooking!