Ok this year I am just not feeling the creative juices flowing enough to make cute cupcakes shaped like spider webs or cake pops shaped like Frankenstein even though I find them all extremely cute. (Jen please bring some over) But this year I did decided to open something festive that I have been holding onto for years.



I opened this 2002 bottle of Poizon from Healdsburg. This wine is a Zinfandel and has seriously some of the best marketing I have ever seen as it comes in a casket and it has a red oozing cork topper maybe made of wax or some such substance. It has a signature on the casket from the "wine maker" however he was off that day so we asked the guy who was pouring wine at the bar to forge his signature and so yes I have a casket with a forged wine makers signature.



I bought this bottle of wine on a seriously fun and crazy bachelorette party in 2005 I believe. This was our last stop of the day and with 8 crazy girls in a limo in the Napa Area what is not to love. This winery was beautiful as it overlooks a lake and it was the perfect spot to chill after craziness from the day...including classy vomiting in the parking lot of Stags Leap, last minute runs to the pharmacy for antibiotics, wine mixing at Ravenswood, boy drama and of course what is a girls trip without a revelation of pregnancy (don't worry not mine). This trip was amazing because it took 8 girls that were strangers at the beginning of day one and made us best friends by day 3...some of them to this day I still stay in touch with and I think this was the only weekend I hung out with them. Truly good times!!!

I am not one to hold onto wine as my motto has always been if it enters my house I will drink it. Or if it gets near my house I will drink it. So I was a little scared when I opened this especially with the amount of sediment around the cork. However, this is a really nice Zin. It is a light and easy to drink wine that is fruit forward. It is a perfect way to celebrate Halloween....so let the trick and treating begin.



And since I never cover breakfast recipes...oh yes maybe because I never follow breakfast recipes I decided to include one today. I love chilaquieles!! And this recipe is reminiscent of them except easier to make and with less fat/calories. It is a Tortilla Scramble with Fresh Salsa. Sautee the green onions and cilantro in some butter. Currently I am only using real butter because everything I have read is just saying that margarine is so processed it is not good for you. Add some enchilada sauce (I used canned) and 5 cups tortilla chips. Cook them in the enchilada sauce until they are soggy but a good soggy not a icky soggy. Make scrambled eggs in a separate pan. While everything cooks I also made homemade salsa which consisted of avocado, tomato, cilantro, green onion, lime, jalapeno and salt. And put it all together and what do you get....yummy breakfast goodness!!!

Ok and I didn't dress up this year either but I thought you would all get a kick out of me with the Chipmunks and yes we are the same height. Happy Halloween!

So as many of you know I am truly the least romantic person on the face of the Earth. Recently I was actually described as a "love pessimist," and although I laughed out loud initially I then thought to myself..."hmm yes I am." Now is that a compliment or an insult? Either way it fits right.



 Tonight I am making Vanilla Sparkling Wine Pound Cake...doesn't just the title sound romantic and titillating. Yes, one would think so however when a recipe like this is being made by me it is far from romantic. It is more like controlled chaos!



So this is the sparking wine I used---ahh beautiful bottle, feminine and effervescent. But hell it has a plastic cork and I seriously think I strained my rotator cuff trying to get that friggin cork out of the bottle. There was no finesse from me when opening this cork...it was pure brute strength. I tried shaking it up, rolling it on the ground, using a towel and finally just winning by yanking the hell out of that m-f'er. Less sexy!



And ah yes we have all heard that vanilla is an aphrodisiac for men, right? Well ok this pound cake smells damn good while its in the oven but the very fact that I had to run to the store because  I ran out of sugar....pure mood kill. And since I am home alone I can't tell you if this cake is an aphrodisiac or not, all I can tell you is that walking into a Krispy Creme Donut Shop definitely does it for me more. And since I only eat donuts once a year on Thanksgiving while I watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade...now I am just frustrated thank you very much.

Ok in general this recipe is super easy as pretty much everything is thrown in the mixing bowl, but since I am on the topic of love let me share a few of my pet peeves. And let me just say if you fit one of these descriptions it is not my intent to offend you this is just me. I am that girl who when recently asked if I believed in love at first sight I thought about it for 2 1/2 seconds and said "um no...cool idea but not." So here are my top 4 love pet peeves.

1. Saying "I love you" every time you hang up the phone. This is just my opinion but I think this phrase is the single most worn out and meaningless phrase in America...will not speak for the entire world as I am not that well traveled. But really, do you truly feel love every time you hang up the phone? I am guessing probably not and in my opinion saying it to sign off at the end of a phone call just cheapens it.

2. Couple Titles-do I really care if you are my boyfriend, fiance, friend, husband, lover or one night stand? I hate titles and especially as I get older I find them more contrite. We all have a name how about we just use it. I feel like those people who are close to me will know how you fit into my life and those people who aren't do not need to know how you fit in my life. XOXO

3. PDA-ok if you want to hold hands or you are overtaken by emotion on a white sand beach in Bora Bora go for it...but is the public make-out sessions really necessary. Or those people who just make out because they think it demonstrates they are more in love than the rest of the world, really? It kind of makes me want to throw up in my mouth as it seems like these people are shouting to the world "look at me I am a whore." Just saying.

4. Couples who like alike-the soccer coach in high school had a wife who looked exactly like him-same style of dress, same haircut and same mannerisms and to this day it haunts me and kind of creeps me out. Insist is illegal. The end. Its like having a look alike dog-no its weird not cool.

So because I scream romance this labor of love is coming to work with me tomorrow. To my girls at work (M, you aren't working tomorrow) hope you recognize how much love I put into this pound cake for you. Cheers!

 So as my blog progresses people have started to share their own food stories and experiences with me. I have quickly learned just how much people care and obsess about the food they eat and love. This particular story struck me as one that truly needed to be shared just due to the diligence, passion and determination this individual has demonstrated in trying to bring back a product that she has loved for years. To protect the identity of the innocent we will call the individual in this story Danita (last name withheld to protect her identity). She sent me an email that she sent to Lowry's this week as they discontinued their beef strogonoff seasoning. They kindly responded with their condolences for her loss, however they did not offer to bring the product back or provide her with any alternatives.  I was just so impressed by the depth of her emotion that I decided to share a segment of her email to me:


I am sure you can all read the anguish and sadness in the words that this so called Danita wrote. The depth of her despair is evident to us all and I so appreciate her sharing her raw emotions and vulnerability with us all. This made me think of those products that I love and take for granted and how very sad I would be to see their demise. Here are a few of my favorites:

1. Trader Joe's Salsa Especial
2. Paul Newmans Balsamic Vinaigrette Salad Dressing
3. Novy Ranch grass fed beef
4. San Marzano Tomatoes
5. V8 Juice (not the low sodium kind I am talking the full of salt variety)

And I have no doubt that these companies totally read my blog and will heed my request for continuous manufacturing.

So I have kind of been on a mediocre food kick hence the lack of blogs. I have been cooking but I just haven't been super impressed with what I am making. So tonight I decided to make Chocolate Mousse and I seriously had visions of this super rich, thick and decadent mousse. Ok yeah no. Its yummy but its kind of more light and airy than I envisioned. I love chocolate mousse that is so thick you almost have to cut it like a fork and so rich that you have 2 bites and you are ready to enter a chocolate coma. Ok so if you like that kind of chocolate mousse this is not the recipe for you. However, if you are looking for a light, not too sweet and airy chocolate mousse you are in luck...this would especially be good at the end of a summer bbq with a glass of pinot or maybe a bottle.

And yes isn't the picture funny...doesn't look appetizing at all does it? I thought oh that would be cute I can put it in wine glasses...hmm bad idea its hard to get the mousse through the little hole in wine glasses and it looks like a pile of poop once its in the wine glasses...just saying.

But if you are interested in trying this recipe I do have to say its super easy!!!

Chocolate Mousse

1 tsp unflavored gelatin ***I have a ton if you want a packet because you have to buy a box and the box has like 8 packets in it ***
1 T cold water **yeah I have a ton of that too but I am sure you have your own unless you are making this recipe in Namibia ***
2 T boiling water
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder *** I have a ton of this as I always think I am out and I keep buying it ***
1 cup cold whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla extract *** has anyone else noticed that vanilla smells like heaven on earth but if you put it in your mouth straight its nasty ***

In small cup, sprinkle gelatin over cold water; let stand 2 minutes to soften gelatin. Add boiling water; stir until gelatin is completely dissolved and mixture is clear. Cool slightly. In small mixer bowl, stir together sugar and cocoa. Add whipping cream and vanilla. Beat on medium speed of electric mixer, scraping bottom of bowl occasionally, until mixture is stiff. ***Don't forget to use the whisk attachment as it goes much faster *** Add gelatin mixture; beat until well blended. Spoon into serving dishes. Refrigerate about 30 min before serving. Garnish as desired; refrigerate leftover deserts.
*** This recipe says it makes 4 servings but what you see in those 2 wine glasses is all I got out of this recipe. You be the judge. ***

So I am reading the book The Man Who Ate Everything by Jeffrey Steingarten and the first chapter talks about how he became the Vogue food editor and how he had to overcome his dislike for certain foods. He recognized that since he was evaluating food he needed to put his own tastes aside and be more open minded about food. I thought that was a really good point as often times when I am searching for a recipe I tend to scroll past those recipes that have an ingredient that I am not fond of. However, what if this given recipe changes the ingredient enough to make me overcome my distaste. So my goal is to start trying those recipes that I think I won't like.

Here are some examples of things I hypothetically don't care for that I am going to force myself to try again:

1. Meat and fruit (ya know like the common pork and apples recipes) just don't care for that combination
2. Fennel
3. Dates/figs, can I put them in the same family?
4. Bananas



Those are the top 4 dislikes that come to mind without any serious thought so I thought I would start with those. I have found that as I got older my "dislike" list has definitely gotten smaller and smaller as my palette has become more refined. I remember as a kid disliking way more food than I cared for as I hated onions, eggs, soup and most fish.

So today I figured I needed to tackle the top dislike first-bananas!!! I am making a chocolate cream banana pie...figure if I can't make myself like bananas hidden in all of that happiness it may just have to be a permanent staple on the dislike list. And let me just say this is a damn good pie...I am seriously impressed....and it makes bananas actually taste good. Now I just have to figure out who to eat banana daily with cream, custard and chocolate to help with the cramps associated with running.

Black Bottom Banana Cream Pie


2 boxes (5.3 oz each) all butter shortbread cookies, broken
1/4 tsp salt
5 T unsalted butter, 3T melted and 2T cold
3 oz bittersweet chocolate in 3 hunks
2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
4 large egg yolks
1 T amber rum
1 cup heavy cream chilled
1 tsp vanilla
2 bananas
1T powdered sugar

1. Using a food processor, mix the shortbread with a pink salt; process in long pulses until finely ground and beginning to stick to the sides. Add the melted butter and pulse just until incorporated. Transfer the crumbs to a 9" pie plate and press evenly into the bottom and up the sides. Freeze the pie shell.
2. Place 2 oz chocolate in a small bowl and set aside. In a heavy saucepan whisk together the milk, sugar, cornstarch, and remaining salt. Whisk in the egg yolks over med high heat until the custard boils and is very thick about 5 min. Remove from the heat, measure out 1/2 cup of the hot custard and add to the bowl of chocolate; let sit for a minute (the chocolate will melt by itself). Meanwhile, whisk the remaining 2T cold butter into the custard in the saucepan. Stir in the rum and transfer the rum custard to a heatproof bowl. Refrigerate until well chilled, stirring occasionally, about 2 hours.
3. Meanwhile, stir the chocolate custard, then stir in 1T cream and the vanilla. Remove the pie shell from the freezer and spread the chocolate custard across the bottom. Refrigerate to firm up.
4. Working over the pie shell cut the bananas into 1/4" thick slices, letting them fall to cover the bottom. Spoon the rum custard over the bananas, smoothing the top. Refrigerate for 2 hours to set.

5. Whip the remaining cream with the powdered sugar until it forms soft peaks. Spread on top of the rum custard and refrigerate for at least 20 min or until serving time.

6. Just before serving, using a vegetable peeler, shave curls off the remaining 1oz chocolate onto the top of the pie.

So last night I decided to have some friends over for dinner and I figured what could be better than Surf N  Turf. Did you know that Surf N Turf has been around since 1962? It was served at the Sky City Restaurant in Seattle for the Worlds Fair and it just means that its meat and fish, usually lobster or shrimp. Thought you all might need a random fact to kick off your weekend.

 And I think the meal was a hit as I got a text this morning that said,"...thanks for the yummy sinner." Yes, my text did say "sinner" however I was hoping it was a typo because although I had a few glasses of wine last night I am pretty sure I didn't do anything too crazy to overshadow the meal. But....I could be wrong.

Anyway back to the food I found a recipe for Steak and Shrimp with Parsley Potatoes on the Martha Stewart web page. It sounded easy enough and it wasn't so time consuming that I would spend the entire evening in the kitchen while everyone else gets their buzz on. The only drawback to this recipe is that it was made to only serve 2 so I did have to double the recipe and if you don't like math this is not the recipe for you. And oh wait I thought of one other drawback if you are trying to be healthy and not eat too much butter this is also not the recipe for you.

So you start by cooking the steak until the desired doneness and then you add some butter to the pan and once it gets frothy you spoon the butter over the steak. Yum! Then you tent the steak and for those of you who don't know what tenting is its a great technique to keep steak warm and also to cook it a little extra and keep in the flavor. However, if you are planning on tenting it take it out of the pain a little bit before it gets to the desired doneness otherwise it will be over cooked when you serve it. And remember to always make sure your steak is at room temperature prior to cooking so that it cooks more evenly...yes I know there is some controversy over this theory but it has really worked for me so I am sticking to it.

Then you saute the shrimp in butter until done, adding parsley, salt and pepper. Its almost like a shrimp scampi...minus the garlic...actually now that I think about it I should have added some garlic that would have been good too.

The potatoes were really good too. They are just quartered red potatoes that were boiled until tender. Again they are then just sauteed in butter and more parsley was added to them. I served the meal with some steamed asparagus, homemade balsamic/onion bread and a bottle of Opolo Rhapsody red wine.

Hope you have another fun weekend filled with good food, wine and friends. Cheers!

So I have carried with me this uncanny fear of mangoes for an extended period of time. I love the taste of them and I love the color and texture of them, but the thought of buying a whole one has been strangely frightening and intimidating to me for quite some time. I have found easy work arounds to combat this fear as most people with a phobia do and thanks to modern day packaging I just buy them already peeled and cut for me. Sure I pay way too much money for them in this format and I have often found that they go bad way too quickly as god only knows how long they have sat in those plastic containers or you have some pieces in the containers that are  ripe, others that are not ripe and some that are just down right mushy. Yet it has served its purpose for years.

However, this week I conquered my fear. I went to the grocery store with the hopes of finding yet another plastic container of mango and they were out. I had plans to make Jamaican Pork with Mango Salsa and really without the mango the meal was going to be pretty bland. So as I wander lost and overwhelmed through the produce section I see a stack of whole mangoes...complete with skins. For some reason I knew that a ripe mango would be fragrant and slightly soft to the touch...but kind of like Goldilocks and the 3 Bears not too hard, not too soft but just right....so I start squeezing and smelling the fruit...and I found one that I thought would meet my needs.

I get the mango home and after a brief discussion with my best friend who says "just take a potato peeler to it," I decide to conquer my fear. And after the first swipe of the peeler I am on my way...realizing that my fear was completely irrational and that I could have saved myself a lot of time, effort and money over the years if I would have just tried this years ago.

If you are looking for an easy weeknight recipe Jamaican Pork with Mango Salsa is definitely one I recommend. I served the pork and salsa over a bed of white rice with some steamed asparagus...my old standby.

Here is the recipe:
1 cup cubed peeled mango...super easy to do...try it
1 jalapeno chile, seeded and finely chopped
2 T chopped fresh cilantro
1 T lime juice
2 tsp honey
1 pork tenderloin (1 lb) cut into 1/2 " thick slices
1 1/2 tsp Jamaican jerk seasoning

1. In a small bowl mix mango, jalapeno, cilantro, lime and honey. Cover and refrigerate until serving time.
2. The recipe calls for a closed contract grill however I am not a huge George Forman grill fan as I have found them to be messy, not providing for the most evenly cooked meat and just not my cooking tool of choice. So I used an indoor grill pan and I sprayed some cooking spray on the pan and used that to cook the pork.  Sprinkle both sides of the pork with the jerk seasoning.
3. Cook the pork for 5-6 minutes or until the pork is no longer pink...I found that it actually took longer than 6 minutes...but I am also overly cautious with pork. Serve the pork with the mango salsa on top.

*** This pork was really tender and had a lot of flavor between the salsa and the jerk seasoning. I also think this recipe could easily be made on the bbq ***

And just in case you need a few other easy recipes for week night cooking. I highly recommend Pampered Chefs Southwest Taco Pie recipe and Rachael Rays Salmon Burgers with Dill Mustard...sorry no pictures of these recipes.

Southwest Taco Pie

Crust
1/4 cup plus 1 T cornmeal, divided
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup milk
1 T vegetable oil

Filling
1 lb lean ground beef
1 cup chunky salsa
1 cup shredded co-jack cheese
1 cup shredded lettuce
1/2 cup chopped tomato
1/4 cup sliced pitted ripe olives
Sour cream (optional)

Preheat oven to 450 degree. Spray pie plate with vegetable oil. Sprinkle 1 T cornmeal evenly onto the bottom of the pie plate and sides. For crust, combine remaining 1/4 cup cornmeal, flour, baking powder and salt into bowl. Add milk and oil and stir with fork until mixture forms a ball. Transfer to a lightly floured surface. Roll crust into 10" circle and place in prepared pie pan. shape edge to form a rim. For filling, cook and stir ground beef over med heat for 8-10 min or until beef is no longer pink. Drain and stir in the salsa. Spoon beef mixture into pie crust and sprinkle with cheese. Bake 12-15 min or until crust is golden brown and cheese is melted. Top with lettuce, tomato and olives. Yum!!!

So having dinner with me comes with a few quirks and oddities which most of my friends and family already know. However, as this blog continues I am also gaining a blog family and I figure its about time to make some confessions and let them know a little more about having dinner with Danah.

1. I love to eat off other peoples plates. If they have something different than I am eating I want to try it. Most of the time I eat dinner with those I am close to and they are comfortable with sharing and aware of the fact that I don't want a bite of their food on my plate I want to eat it off of theirs. However, once in awhile I am having a meal with a co-worker, an acquaintance or someone who just doesn't know me all that well and I have to remind myself through the entire meal that I can't put my fork or hands on their plate.

2. I love to talk about food. I want to know if the people I am eating with are enjoying their food, if they would do something different or they think its crap. This is especially important to me if I cooked it...I love feedback...good, not good, never make it again, I would rather die a slow death than have you cook this meal again, needs more salt, etc.

3. I won't let people eat until I take pictures of the food. I figure this is good practice and what if I want to blog about it later and I have no pictures. So I have to admit I have had some meals in which they got cold since I was taking so many photos

4. If you come to my house for dinner you are guaranteed to be a guinea pig. I very rarely make the same thing twice, probably the only exception being prime rib from Green Acres for Christmas, so I will be trying something new and I will NOT be offended if you don't like it or we end up ordering pizza because its yuck.

5. Whenever I make a recipe I ask whomever is eating it if the recipe is good enough to keep. If they answer "yes" it goes in my "recipe file." However, because I love to experiment I have a recipe file which is NEVER touched. I never make it again even if I get a special request. Ok once in awhile when I get a request I do try to make it again...but this becomes a challenge as I then have to find the recipe again which is a challenge considering my 300 cookbook collection and my "recipe file."

6. I am horrible about eating leftovers. I love to cook, but most of the time I don't like the same food two days in a row so I have to find someone to eat my leftovers. I am trying to work on this one but its a work in progress.

Wow after writing this I just realized that I sound very food controlling, don't I?

Last night I made a simple but flavorful meal Seared Steak with Brussels Sprouts and Almonds

I bought the steak at the Farmers Market on Friday and its grass fed beef. If you are in Ventura County its from a place called Novy Ranches and they truly have the most tender and flavorful beef I have ever had. I actually enjoy it so much more that I will not buy my steak from anywhere else. And starting tomorrow not only can you get their steak at the Moorpark Farmers Market you can also get it at a storefront they are opening up at 801 E Los Angeles Ave in Simi Valley. Novy Ranches is owned and ran by a veterinarian, Dr. Lowell Novy, and he is committed to environmental and humane treatment. I highly recommend it and his steak is amazing!


This recipe is also very easy. The steak is just flavored with salt and pepper and cooked in a pan. The brussels sprouts (I just learned that its brussels and not brussel sprouts) are thinly sliced and cooked in butter...seriously how can you go wrong with that right. They are cooked until tender and then you add toasted almonds, lemon juice and salt and pepper and they were perfect. I also loved the way the house smelled after toasting the almonds...yum!

I served the meal with an Opolo Petit Verdot and I was impressed as it complimented the almonds in the brussels sprouts and the steak.

So I decided I was going to make Traditional Peanut Butter Cookies today. They sounded easy, kind of like fall (yes its 89 degrees here today) and I liked that the recipe called for CHUNKY peanut butter...which makes them so much more healthy since there is whole peanuts in them, right? So I am going along mixing the ingredients and with 8  ingredients this recipe was perfect for my baking skills...with the exception of the minor glitch involving brown sugar...I didn't have any which led to a brief foray to the grocery store. And of course I didn't walk out of the grocery store with only brown sugar I also bought the ingredients to make Cheese Straws which of course I have never made before and will become my project tomorrow I am sure.

I complete the first batch of cookies and I am feeling pretty cocky at this point. They smell good, they look good and since I am drinking at the time of this baking experience I did not taste them as they came out of the oven...but I did eat the dough prior at that was yum! Well anyway I look at the amount of dough I have which is a TON!!! For once this is a cookie recipe that although it says it makes 36 cookies it actually makes way more than that-Love it!!! And as you all know I make pretty good sized cookies. So do to my boredom I decided to try doing a batch with chocolate chips mixed in...I dedicated this batch to a co-worker who loves peanut butter and chocolate together. Again this batch comes out of the oven also pretty dang perfect. So I decide to add some butterscotch chips to the rest of the cookie dough that already has the chocolate chips added and hence heaven was born. This cookie is  perfection with the peanut butter, chocolate and butterscotch flavors I am a pretty dang happy camper right now. Which leads to my new cookie motto,"when in doubt try adding something random...worse case scenario you give them to your neighbors."

Here is the recipe:

1 cup chunky peanut butter
1 cup vegetable shortening ***this totally makes them low fat ***
1 cup sugar
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
1/4 tsp salt

1. Preheat oven to 375
2. Combine peanut butter, shortening, sugar, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla extract in a med bowl. Beat with an electric mixer on medium until smooth and creamy. *** I did this part by hand to get some exercise which I figured would help counteract the vegetable shortening listed above ***
3. Combine flour and salt in a small bowl and mix well. Add flour mixture gradually to peanut butter mixture, mixing continually. *** I added the chocolate and/or butterscotch chips at this point. It probably would also be good with peanut butter chips ***
4. Drop by 1 1/2 tsp onto baking sheet. *** I did not measure mine *** Flatten in a criss cross pattern (not to be confused with the 90's hip hop group) with a fork dipped in granulated sugar.
5. Bake cookies until golden, 8-10 min. Cool on baking sheets for 2 min. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.