Reliving the old childhood

The other day I was food shopping. There I was minding my own business when BAM! There it was, eggplant. Suddenly I was transported to Mrs. Rappaport's kindergarten class "E is for Eggplant." So without a recipe or knowing what the hell to do with an eggplant I picked it up and decided I would relive my youth.

How it should look:




Fried Eggplant with Shrimp

How mine looks:



Ingredients

* Flour (1 cup)
*Eggplant (I used about 1/4 of it)
* Black pepper
* Cajun seasoning
*Salt


Directions

Pare eggplant and cut in thin slices. Mix the black pepper, cajun seasoning and salt in with the flour. Dredge egg plant slices in flour, place in a small amount of hot oil to brown each side. Season with salt and pepper. Drain on paper towels.


Saute' Shrimp

Ingredients

*Shrimp (as much or as little as you want)
*Garlic powder
*cajun seasoning
*Adobo all purpose seasoning
*Onions

Directions
Cut up the onions and place it with olive oil in a non-stick frying pan. Use wooden (or anything besides metal) to mix it in the oil. Saute the shrimp in some vegetable oil, seasoning it with the garlic powder, cajun seasoning and adobo and letting it cook in.



Conclusion:

I've discovered that my childhood recollections of eggplant and what I did are not the same. I wish I could Mrs. Rappaport and ask her exactly how she prepared it for us all those years ago, because she did not fry them. I cut my eggplants like french fries and fried them pretty brown and while my sister loved them and ate what I could not, I am not a fan of the way it was prepared. Whether I'm not a fan of eggplant is yet to be decided. I still have 3/4 of the eggplant left, so I'm going to have to find a way to prepare it.

Also, after the failure that was my cajun shrimp, I was pretty proud of how my shrimp came out. It's the way I've been making shrimp for all this time and it still works. If you have some shrimps and only a few minutes, Saute it with garlic powder and other ingredients you may like.

My sister enjoying a eggplant fry

My first failure.

How it's Supposed to look:

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I got the idea to make Cajun shrimp. I had this bag of shrimp that was just sitting in my freezer and I bought this new cajun seasoning. I've made a lot of "cajun "chicken in my day, so I knew I had the ultimate combo.


Cajun Shrimp recipe via http://shrimprecipe.org/

How mine looks:

Ingredients

• 2-3 pounds large shrimp

• 2-tablespoon olive oil

• 2 ½ tablespoon of paprika

• 2 tablespoon salt

• 2 tablespoon garlic powder

• 1 tablespoon black pepper

• 1 tablespoon onion powder

• 1 tablespoon cayenne powder

• 1 tablespoon dried oregano

• 1 tablespoon dried thyme

• lemon wedges

• freshly chopped parsley

This is a healthy dish suitable to all seafood lovers. The recipe is easy to cook and requires less effort. The preparation time for this recipe is 15 minutes and cooking time takes 20 minutes.

The ingredients needed for this recipe are listed above

In a container add the paprika, salt, garlic powder and mix it well. Again, add pepper, onion powder, cayenne powder, dried oregano, dried thyme and mix it well. Use this as an essence for this recipe. Store the essence in a separate container.

Clean and wash the shrimp and place them in a platter. Now sprinkle the essence over the shrimp. Now heat the saucepan on the stove. When the saucepan is heated, add olive oil in it. Now transfer the shrimp to the saucepan. Sauté the shrimp for 1-2 minutes until it turns pink. When the shrimp turns pink, transfer it to a bowl. Sprinkle the freshly chopped parsley over the shrimp. Serve the dish with lemon wedges.

Conclusion:

Ok, So for my shrimp, I decided to mix all the ingredients together in a bowl put the shrimp in the bowl and shake it up. Instead of just using the cajun seasoning i also used, papika, peper, garlic powder, etc, all btw are in the cajun seasoning. SO, as you may have guessed my shrimp was salty! Like my little sister who puts salt on everything spat it out and threw it in the garbage salty. I had to mix it really good in my rice and have a large glass of juice in order to eat it. And yes, I ate it! Shrimp's too expensive to throw away.

Food to Come!

Well, I have been extremely remiss with this blog. It's not because I gave up on cooking or anything like that, but the fact that I have been sick. I've been sick so much, that I've barely worked and when you barely work, you don't have money to buy the other groceries I would need to make the fancy meals I want to make.

But the cooking school will live on! I have an eggplant in the fridge right now that I am getting ready to make and a lot of recipes I've had on the back burner.

Below is a list of things I plan on making before the year is complete.

1. Something with live Lobster:



This will be the cooking school graduation. Some form of lobster meal. The be all and end all of cooking, in my opinion is taking a live lobster and making a great meal of it. Now, I know that PETA people and major animal lovers, will not be pleased and trust me I am not a fan of killing a lobster, but whether I kill it or someone else kills it, this is what I have my heart set on making.

2. Creme Brule:



This is also for the end of the cooking school. It shall be my crowning glory. A desert that takes patience (having it sit over night patience). It's one of the things I remember loving from my trip to paris and I am determine to make it.



3. Cheesecake. To be specific marble cheescake:




Even though I am on a diet, I will take time out to make what is perhaps my faveorite meal.



4. Tandori chicken:




Cuz , why not try Indian?



5. The Red Lobster biscuits:



Why have my friends and I taken impromtu trips to Red Lobster 42nd street? One word: Biscuits.

6. Seasame Chicken:



Why should I always spent money to have someone else make something I crave once a week or so.



7. Sushi


Look to number 6 and, because my friends will love me.


There's more. So much more, but that's all I can think of right now.


Basically, this is going to be a great yr for me and food.

July. 4

How it's supposed to Look and How what I made Looks:






Just to show how long ago I should have posted this, these meals are from July 4th. My friends, Oscar and Jasmine, my aunt and I had a bbq. It was super hot, so we spent most of the time in the AC running out to check the fire or put stuff on the grill.

I had several things I wanted to do. 1. Try this Italian chicken thing my friend's mom made at their BBQ last week. 2. FINALLY, make the tomato rice taste good. 3. Just get together with my buddies and eat. Which is always a fave passtime of mine. Below is what came of these goals.

The chicken I simply call Italian Chicken:
Via Barbra Sabater

The breasts marinating:





Ingredients:
1. 4 Chicken Breasts (or how ever much you need)
2.A bottle of Italian salad dressing


Directions:

Cut the chicken breasts in slices, taking your chicken breasts from 4 thick slices to 8 lean slices of chicken. If it is still too thick, beat it until it is a nice, tender and lean. Soak it in Italian salad dressing and marinate it over night or for at least four hours. Then put it on the grill, for 20 minutes or until cooked.


Me looking awful, cutting an onion:





Tomato Rice:
via Allrecipes.com

Required Ingredients

* 1 can of whole tomatoes (drained)
* ½ a small white onion (roughly chopped)
* 2 garlic cloves (halved)
* 1-¾ cups of chicken broth or water
* 1-½ tablespoons of olive oil
* 4 whole tomatoes (unpeeled)
* 1-½ cups of rice (medium-grain)
* 2 carrots (scraped and chopped into ¼ inch pieces)
* 2 serrano chilies or 2 jalapenos (slit lengthwise nearly end to end)
* ¼ cup of chopped fresh parsley
* ½ cup of a 10-oz. Box of frozen peas
* Salt


Instructions

* Combine the canned tomatoes with onion and garlic and blend in a blender. Blend the tomatoes smooth to equal 1 cup.
* Heat the broth/water until it is steaming and then lightly oil the tomatoes.
* Grill the tomatoes enough to char their skins. When the tomatoes have cooled, remove the peels and chop them.
* Take a 3-quart saucepan and heat olive oil in it over a medium flame. To this add raw rice and stir regularly during a cooking period of 5 minutes.
* Add the tomato mixture and carrots, and stir for a few minutes. Let it cook until it looks somewhat dry.
* After this, add the warm broth or water, chilies and parsley and stir the mixture thoroughly.
* Cover the pan with a lid and place on a range burner or a cooking grate of charcoal or gas grill (indirect, medium flame).
* Cover this for 15 minutes or until the liquid is almost absorbed. Then add peas and grilled tomatoes, and stir with a fork. Cover the pan and cook for an additional 5 minutes.
* When done, gently fluff the rice with a fork. Remove the chilies and use it to decorate the top of the rice and serve.


Pasta Salad Via Oscar Nunez
Ingredients:
12 oz of Pasta (a box)
A Can of tuna Fish
Diced Green peper
Diced Red pepper
Onions
Mayonnaise (depending on taste)
Black Pepper
Salt

Directions
*Cook the pasta in boiling water with a pinch of salt.
*While pasta cools, dice the peppers and onion and mix it all together
* Mix the tuna with the peppers/onion mix and pour in with pasta
*Add Mayonnaise to the pasta and mix
*Keep cool until ready to eat.

BBQ Chicken:


Ingredients

1. BBQ sauce
2. Chicken wings
3. Paprika
4. Garlic powder
5. Adobo all purpose seasoning

Directions:
*Season the chicken with paprika, garlic powder and adobo
*let stand overnight in the fridge (or for at least 4 hrs)
*Make sure the grill is hot
* Put the chicken legs on the grill and start cooking
* After 10 mins (or when half-way cooked), apply BBQ sauce with a cooking brush.
*Let stand for for 5 mins
*Apply more BBQ sauce
*Let stand until completely cooked.




Conclusion:
It was GREAT! I FINALLY, FINALLY! Got the tomato rice right. I had to pour some water in, once the tomato sauce was sucked up, because it still was a bit hard, but once the water was in there, it was pretty amazing. I enjoyed dinner so much and was so pleased. Oscar made the pasta salad, he made it very light and there were complaints that there should have been more mayo, but there was no evidence of that, as the food disappeared. The Italian chicken was a big hit, but I didn't like it! LOL, i'm not a fan of white meat and after biting into it I realized, "wait, you know, I think it was dark meat she made." So I should have grilled bonless thighs, instead of chicken breast, UGH! Whatever, next time. Everyone else loved it and while I enjoyed the taste, I fine all white meat a bit dry, everyone else stared at me like I was insane and asked "you call this dry?" as they chomped down on my chicken. All in all a meal, well made.



My Sister happy after her meal

Taco Bell Pasta

How it's supposed to look:




Well, a few weeks ago I got it into my head that I want a taco from taco bell. Which I am not afraid or ashamed to admit may just be my faveorite fast food resturant. Sure, there's old Mickey-D's, The King and KFC, but fast food tacos BRILLIANT. LOL. Sadly there is not a readily accessible Bell from my house, so I went down to the local supermarket to make myself some home made tacos. Now you can listen to the recipe below, or you can just go to your supermarket and pick up a pack of ground beef, or turkey, some sour cream and the already put together package Taco Bell is selling.


Taco Bell recipe via http://www.everwonder.com
(this is not what I did, I took out the package from taco bell, but for you guys who want a challenge)


How Mine Looks:

Tacos

If you don't think that packet of "Taco Bell" spices you buy in the grocery stores makes meat that tastes like the stuff they use at the giant Mexican food chain, you'd be correct. If you want to clone it right you're going to have to whip up the taco meat from scratch using this original TSR recipe. Once you've prepped your meat, these steps will help you build your tacos the Taco Bell way, without any pesky talking Chihuahuas running through the kitchen. Check out the streaming video, and Todd will show you how it's done while you follow along with the recipe. Now all you need is some hot sauce to top 'em off, right? Be here next week to clone Taco Bell's tastiest (and hottest) hot sauce.

1 pound lean ground beef 1/4 cup all-purpose flour 1 tablespoon chili powder 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon dried minced onion 1/2 teaspoon paprika 1/4 teaspoon onion powder dash garlic powder 1/2 cup water 12 taco shells 2 cups shredded lettuce 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1. In a medium bowl, combine the ground beef with the flour, chili powder, salt, minced onion, paprika, onion powder, and garlic powder. Use your hands to thoroughly mix the ingredients into the ground beef.
2. Add the seasoned beef mixture to the water in a skillet over medium heat. Mix well with a wooden spoon or spatula, and break up the meat as it cooks. Heat for 5 to 6 minutes, or until browned. The finished product should be very smooth, somewhat pasty, with no large chunks of beef remaining.
3. Heat up the taco shells in a 375 degree oven for about 5 minutes.
4. Build each taco by spooning 2 to 3 tablespoons of the meat into a warm shell. Spread some of the shredded lettuce over the meat and then sprinkle some cheese over the top. Repeat with the remaining ingredients and serve immediately.
Makes 12 tacos.

Seasoning Mix

This one is exciting, amigos! It's TSR's first original clone recipe with an instant streaming
video demonstration. Now you can be whisked to the secret underground test kitchen as Todd
Wilbur explains the clone recipes for you right here on the recipe page so that you can easily
follow along. Pretty cool, huh? Just be sure you have at least a 56K modem connection and
get the Windows Media Player from the menu page. This is a simple recipe to clone the
contents of the seasoning packet which bears the Taco Bell logo found in practically all the
grocery stores these days. You probably expect the seasoning mix will make meat that tastes
exactly like the stuff you get at the big chain. Well, uh, nope. It's more like the popular
Lawry's seasoning mix, which still makes good spiced ground meat, and works great for a
tasty bunch of tacos. But if it's the mushy, grey meat that high school kids across the country
are now packing into tacos and burritos as they work diligently at America's largest taco joint
to pay off the used Pacer, you'll want to be back next week.

2 tablespoons flour
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoons dried minced onion
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon paprika
3/4 teaspoon crushed beef bullion cube
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
dash onion powder

1. Combine all of the ingredients in a small bowl.
2. Prepare taco meat using 1 pound of ground beef and following the same spunky directions
as on the original package:

"1. BROWN ground beef; drain. Add seasoning mix and 3/4 cup of water. Bring to a boil;
reduce heat. Simmer uncovered, 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. HEAT taco shells or tortillas as directed on package.
3. SERVE bowls of seasoned ground beef, lettuce, tomato and cheese. Pass the taco shells
or tortillas and let everyone PILE ON THE FUN!"

Makes 12 tacos.

Conclusion:
MMMMMM GOOD! Honestly you'd have to be inept not to be able to make this. It's so easy, quick and tasty. Probably not at all good for you, but still...

Shrimp Lemon Pepper Linguine

How it's supposed to look:


So a few weeks ago, I decided it was time to get back to my first love, which is Pasta. Pasta, which is how I gained a bunch of the weight I'm currently on the diet to lose. But I love it. It was probably the simplist thing I've cooked. No special seasoning, nothing special I really had to buy. In fact kind of anti-climatic. I was like 'I'M GONNA COOK TODAY!' so I did. And when I was done, I was like "oh, that's it?" Here is a recipe for what I made.


Shrimp Lemon Pepper Linguine

How Mine Looks

Ingredients

• 1 (8 ounce) package linguine pasta
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
• salt to taste
• 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pound fresh shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1/4 cup butter
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add linguine, and cook for 9 to 13 minutes or until al dente; drain.
2. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat, and saute garlic about 1 minute. Mix in chicken broth, wine, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt, and pepper. Reduce heat, and simmer until liquid is reduced by about 1/2.
3. Mix shrimp, butter, parsley, and basil into the saucepan. Cook 2 to 3 minutes, until shrimp is opaque. Stir in the cooked linguine, and continue cooking 2 minutes, until well coated.

Conclusion:
I have NO idea what lemon zest is, so I used Lemon Pepper seasoning. Worked well, my family liked it. A little too much lemon for me, I like my sauces. Also, I added some squid to it. Not that I'm a fan of squid or anything, I just saw it in the supermarket and said, hmmm, my family didn't like that as much.