Monday, August 31, 2009


OK. Now I really don't mean to be braggadocious, but what you see pictured above, is my best dish yet. I have no idea what to call it, and it was nothing difficult to make, but I'm sitting here eating it right now, and I'm having trouble typing because I just want to keep eating more of it.

I decided to explore the kitchen above me today which is actually a lot bigger than the one I've been using. I had no real plan going into this meal. I basically took veggies from the fridge that needed to be used before they went bad, some chicken, and tomato paste (I knew for sure I wanted some sort of tomato sauce) then Rachael Rayed my way up the stairs (I'll know I'm truly successful if the term "Rachael Ray" becomes a verb in Webster's dictionary).

This dish is basically chicken in a tomato sauce with roasted vegetables. It doesn't sound all that interesting, but I'm so proud of it at this moment! I started by preheating the oven to 450 degrees. I then sliced a zucchini into very thin slices. I was hoping it would become some sort of zucchini chip. Then, I halved an onion and thinly sliced one half and added it to the zucchini. I had a few remaining green beans, so those were also tossed in the mix. I added a bit of EVOO, salt and pepper, then into the oven it went.

Next, I chopped some garlic (side note: Ever since my mother taught me how to make meals that were more than Kraft Mac and Cheese, I was taught to smash the garlic to make it easier to peel. Word to the wise, if you get a little overzealous in your smashing, the garlic WILL be crushed. And the smell WILL stay in your hands.) and the rest of the onion and put those in my pan with some EVOO. I let the two cook till the onions started to turn golden brown. As they cooked, I cut my chicken into strips (might I add that I let it defrost properly this time) and seasoned it with salt and pepper.

At this point in time, a new friend came into the kitchen and asked if he could use a burner. I told him "of course!" since I only needed one and it's always nice to have someone around as you cook. He was making scrambled eggs (I know this because I actually initiated some conversation), and I think I may have intimidated him a bit when I told him I wasn't quite sure WHAT I was making and it was obvious that I had quite a few things cooking.

Once the onions caramelized more, I added the chicken. I then took the veggies out of the oven and flipped them to roast the other side. I sat back awhile and cleaned up my used cutting boards and knife and let the chicken cook all the way through. I then moved onto my tomato sauce. I cracked open a six ounce can of tomato paste (with some trouble I might add. My can opener hates me. I think it's because I neglected it till yesterday) and tried to add it to the pan. Of course, since it is a paste, it took some maneuvering. Luckily, I gave up on trying to shake it out of the can (I was and still am wearing a white shirt) and used my handy dandy spoonula. If you don't know that gadget, perhaps you're more familiar with its scientific term: rubber scrapper.

Since tomato paste alone probably would've overpowered the dish, I added two and a half cans full of water to the pan to mellow it out. I also added some oregano and crushed red pepper. Note to all spice manufacturers: the holes in the top of your crushed red pepper shakers are NOT large enough for crushed red pepper to actually come out. Granted, you're probably trying to prevent cooks from adding too much of the stuff, but I don't believe you can have too much of it. So perhaps your spice shakers should come in varying sizes. You can call the one that allows the crushed red pepper to come out the "Brianne size." You're welcome.

I digress. As the paste became more of a sauce, I took my roasted veggies out of the oven. The zucchini hadn't really become crunchy as I had hoped, but the green beans browned rather nicely as did the onions. I put those onto my dish and then added my chicken creation next to it.

Now after reading this entire process you may be wondering, what the heck is so special about this dish? Well, not only was the chicken perfectly moist and juicy, but the dish had so many levels of flavor! The tomato sauce wasn't over powering at all and the crushed red pepper added a really nice spicy kick to it. Since I caramelized the onions before adding anything else to the pan, they became even darker and added a smoky taste to the sauce. A bit of Parmesan cheese in the sauce also added a little salty taste and another flavor level. Honestly, I ate this food like a barbarian. Luckily, I ate it alone in my room. I was tempted to lick the plate, but then I remembered I am well-mannered 20 year old young lady and such behavior is well...barbaric.

Anyhow, I'm on cloud nine at the moment and am going to think of anyway I could possibly improve this dish (I'm sure there are things I can do). I may have a new signature dinner to impress future guests :)

Sunday, August 30, 2009

And For Her Next Death Defying Act...


...Brianne will try tuna for the first time EVER in her life. EVER. I did it, and I survived. The things I do for food and Giada. Today marked the first day of my venture into Everyday Italian. Before I go into that, I should probably mention my detailed plan of attack for this book. I am not going front to back, recipe by recipe, instead, I'm starting with the first recipe in the first chapter, then going to the first recipe in the second chapter, and so on. This way I won't be "stuck" in one certain food group for a long period of time and will have a nice mix of foods.

The first chapter is titled "Everyday Antipasti" and the first section of it is "From the Pantry." It includes recipes with ingredients that are pretty common in any pantry. The first recipe is "White Bean and Tuna Salad." I won't lie, when I first saw this, I was not at all excited. Ever since I was a little kid, I've never been one to hide my disdain for certain smells whether it be cigarettes, anise...or tuna. The smell of that being mixed with mayonnaise makes my stomach turn and believe me, I let the world know about it. So when I saw that tuna was the first ingredient in my first recipe, I was not happy. However, this project is not only about cooking new foods and having new experiences, it's about trying new foods.

The recipe is very basic. You start with two cans of dark meat tuna packed in olive oil. Being the college student that I am with limited resources, I used tuna packed in water, then added some olive oil to it. Just cracking open that can of tuna brought back so many memories of someone in the house making tuna sandwiches that I really didn't think I was going to make it. It was a true test of my perseverance.

You season the tuna with salt and pepper and break it into bite size pieces. I was OK at this point and dealing well with the whole tuna situation. I was even starting to think that this wouldn't be so bad. Next, you add two cans of cannellini beans. I absolutely love beans, so I figured worst case scenario, I eat around the tuna and go for the beans. You also add a medium red onion, thinly sliced. After mixing all of this, you add six tablespoons of red wine vinegar.

Aside from the whole tuna smell, the only difficulty I had with this recipe was getting the can of beans open. It was quite stubborn. After completing the recipe, I just sort of stood there staring at this creation wondering what it could possibly taste like, and why on Earth it's considered Italian. Then, I took the plunge, and took a bite.

The tuna wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. I definitely would not opt for it over other choices of fish, but my disdain for it has decreased slightly. The beans with the red onion is a nice combination and the red wine vinegar gives it a nice kick. I'm really just not digging the tuna. As I've been sitting here typing this up, I've been taking little bites here and there, but this really isn't my favorite thing. In fact, now the tuna is starting to make me gag a bit. I really don't think I can finish it. Actually, I'm NOT going to finish it. Hey, at least I tried it. And at least now my roommates have something to eat if they're into this sort of thing.

Anyhow, the next chapter is "Everyday Sauces" and the first is Marinara sauce!! I will be making that on Friday and probably putting it over some nice angel hair pasta. I am definitely looking forward to that one :) In the mean time, I'm going to dispose of this plate of tuna creation, and put the rest in a container for someone else.

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Call Me Butter...


...cause I'm on a roll. Actually more like Crisco, because that's what I used to make these cookies shown above. Though they were more than delicious (yes, there IS such a thing), Crisco definitely changes the taste of cookies. But please, notice how perfectly golden brown they are, and how perfectly moist they are in the middle (ah, if only you could smell them through the computer screen).

Ever have the need to do something that you know you're good at just to rebuild your self-esteem even for five minutes? That's what baking is for me. I wasn't always good at it (there have been many rock hard brownies and paper thin cookies in my past), but I think I've got it down by now. Whenever I want to do something that I know I can do well and that will come out as expected, I bake something. And I was not disappointed tonight :)

My friend Matt came over while I made these and was the official taste tester. I even taste tested and ate some dough. I really can't resist any dough for baked goods. These are for my team dinner tomorrow night, so no new foods for tomorrow or Saturday for that matter (I'll be away at a tournament all day). However, Sunday begins my quest into the lovely Giada De Laurentiis' Everyday Italian! The first dish includes tuna, will I survive? Stay tuned and find out!

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Trial & Error


Today was a day of learning. Not only in cooking, but in life. It was my first day of classes and it started off pretty well. I had plenty of time to get ready in the morning, I put together a great outfit, and made it to all my classes with more than enough time. I met up with Katie for lunch again and we dined al fresco seeing as it was a beautiful day.

I had to go to the field house during my lunch break to get into my practice clothes, then went to my 2 p.m. class then straight to the turf for practice. Being that it was the first practice after preseason, our team was beat. We really didn't have much spark left in us. However, since we didn't lock the shed Saturday night and forgot to bring a bunch of equipment to the high school clinic yesterday, we had to run a timed mile on the spot. Lesson learned: Make sure the little things are taken care of.

For me, practice was terrible. I couldn't seem to do anything right, and if I did do something right, I didn't know because I wasn't told so. There were moments when I focused solely on field hockey and it seemed as though I improved, but those were few and far between. Lesson learned: Concentrate on one thing at a time.

Oh yeah, and did I mention that it rained during practice like it has all throughout preseason? I can't tell you how sick I am of being outside in the rain. However, lesson learned: There's no sense in complaining about things that we can't control.

When I got back to my dorm, not only was I hungry, but I was relieved because it was time to cook and that is what I look forward to all day! As I mentioned in my previous post, I wanted to make something with chicken and eggplant. Not to toot my own horn, but I definitely need to give myself an A for creativity tonight. What is pictured above may not be the prettiest of dishes, but it was sure delicious.

Let me first start by saying I went in and out of my room at least five times to grab something I forgot before heading down to the kitchen. Hot start, right?

I started by peeling a huge clove of garlic and cutting a tomato in half. I seasoned both with salt and pepper and a teaspoon of EVOO, and let them roast in the oven at 450 degrees. I then cut the end off the eggplant and peeled it while a big pot of water was set to boil. My intention was to create a faux pasta out of the eggplant, so I used my vegetable peeler (which is pink) to create some eggplant "ribbons." This was much easier in theory. Eggplant should come with a warning that reads: "If you intend to peel this, it WILL take you an eternity." As I got down to the middle of the eggplant, I halved it and then just cut thin strips to save some time.

Once the water came to a boil, I added some salt and tossed in the eggplant ribbons to cook. Next, I chopped some garlic and heated it in a pan with another teaspoon of olive oil. I then cut my chicken into smaller pieces and seasoned it with salt and pepper. Once the pan was hot enough, I added in the chicken.

At this time, the tomato and garlic clove in the oven were perfectly roasted. I pulled them out of the oven, let them cool, then put them into a glass bowl. Now this next part is not my original idea, therefore, I will now give my mother MORE credit. I smashed the tomato halves and garlic together to create a light sauce for my dish. Note to self for next time: add some basil too!

I then put the boiled eggplant into a strainer (which is also pink) once it was nice and soft. As that sat, I continued to cook the chicken. Chicken is another thing that should come with a warning that should read: "If you do not properly defrost this, it WILL be tough and you WILL have a difficult time checking to see if it is completely cooked." I had thought about putting the chicken in the fridge this morning while I was getting things together, but never followed through since I was trying to do ten things at once. Lesson learned: Concentrate on one thing at a time.

Once everything was ready, I put the eggplant on the plate, added the chicken, then topped it with the sauce. I gathered all my supplies and pulled a major Rachael Ray back upstairs to my room (I'm pretty sure I could give her a run for her money. She only carries all her ingredients from the fridge or pantry to the counter. I carry all of mine up and down two flights of stairs). As I walked back, I looked down at my dish and noticed a lot of water collecting along the sides. I knew I hadn't added too much oil to anything, then realized I didn't fully drain the eggplant. Lesson learned: Make sure the little things are taken care of.

The dish turned out very well overall after I drained the watery-ness out of it. The sauce turned out great and the eggplant was perfectly al dente. We'll work on the chicken for next time.

After a long and stressful day, my food therapy and writing therapy were exactly what I needed. I now must get ahead on my reading for classes so I will have time in the future for MORE cooking and writing :)


Update: I forgot to mention that I did add a bit of parmesan cheese to the sauce. Just in case anyone wanted to try it for themselves!

Cue the Trumpet Fanfare...


It has arrived!! Thanks to my wonderful mother, my copy of Everyday Italian came in the mail yesterday! Not only do I love receiving any type of mail, I love receiving food-related things in the mail. I've decided the project will begin next week so I have enough time to gather the necessary ingredients. I've already browsed through it and realized I will have to overcome my dislike for both tuna and sausage. Thankfully there's only one recipe for lamb so I will only have to splurge once, and push my morals to the side once.

As for tonight, I'm feeling some sort of chicken and eggplant dish. We'll see what I come up with. Updates to come later!

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

A Quick Pit Stop

I took yesterday off from cooking and hit the dining halls to see what was new and different there. My school switched up its dining plan for this year so now everything is on the unlimited plan. I got a salad which was fine (though I had to instruct the woman who was making it on how to make it. Leslie and I were about to hop behind the counter and put it together ourselves), then I got a sub for dinner which was nothing special. However, I did order it with banana peppers and I now have a new love for them.

Which brings me to my next mini challenge: how to make a healthier version of the Stuffed Banana Pepper. I had one for the first time at the Taste of Buffalo this summer, and it was fantastic. But, like everything else in the world that's delicious, it was filled with fattening cheeses and probably covered in oil. So, I'm making it my mission to make a healthier recipe for this awesome dish. I will post it once I figure it out.

I have a busy day ahead of me today with two scrimmages and a high school clinic so I will be taking the day off from cooking once again. Wednesday is the first day of classes and I intend to be back in the kitchen that night!

Sunday, August 23, 2009

A Fish Called...Tilapia


It must be that time before classes start seeing as I have time to blog not once, but twice today! I spent most of the day finishing my unpacking and finding homes for little things here and there, then went to lunch with my friend Katie at good old Mama Nina's. It had been far too long since I had been reunited with my Old Faithful; the Greek Salad.

Despite the chaos of Move-In day, I headed down to the kitchen once again tonight. I was much more prepared (I even brought a towel) this time around, but found it more difficult to maneuver down to the kitchen with MORE supplies amidst the mini fridges, totes, and exhausted parents.

Tonight's meal was a Pan-Seared Tilapia with Roasted Artichoke Hearts and Green Beans. I started off by pre-heating the oven to 450 degrees to roast the veggies. As I waited, I chopped some garlic (I swear I will NEVER get that smell out of my hands if I keep this up) and set it aside. Then I halved the three remaining artichoke hearts and chopped the green beans. I drizzled a bit of EVOO (extra-virgin olive oil for the rookies) on the pan and tossed the veggies in it. My next thought was seasoning. I started with salt, then moved onto my super cool pepper mill. However, the pepper mill was extremely stubborn. Not only did it not cooperate, it didn't have any instructions on the side as to how to make it work. I repeatedly twisted the top and heard it grinding pepper, but didn't see any results. Finally, I yanked the top off of it, and peppercorns flew everywhere, including on top of my veggies that were drizzled with EVOO.

I picked the stray peppercorns up, and did my best with the ones that were not stuck on the veggies. I gave up after awhile, prayed that they wouldn't burst into flame in the super hot oven, and put the tray in to cook.

Once my tilapia was defrosted, I seasoned it with salt, pepper (much more successfully this time), and a mix of Italian seasonings. I once again heated the chopped garlic with some olive oil then added the fish once it was hot enough. While the fish cooked on one side, I checked on the veggies which were creating a little bit of smoke. I kept my cool and prayed that I wouldn't set the fire alarm off on Move-In day, flipped them on the tray, then set them back in the oven. I then flipped the fish, seasoned the other side, and deglazed with some balsamic vinegar.

Overall, there were no major catastrophes and the meal was MUCH tastier than last night's. Most people that walked by the kitchen told me that it smelled good and some even parted the way as I walked back up the stairs with food in hand. My roommate was also jealous.

And the cute RA complimented my Bills shirt. I have nothing to complain about :)

Test Run #1

Last night was my first night in my new dorm complete with kitchen space. I don't have my copy of Everyday Italian yet, so I improvised and made Pasta with Chicken and Artichoke Hearts. It didn't turn out too badly for my first meal in a new kitchen, but it could've been better.

For starters, the actual stoves are in a different part of our building (they trust us with everything else, but god forbid they give us an oven and electric stove. Madness could ensue). So I stood in my own kitchen feeling a bit overwhelmed at first at everything I would need to schlep to the actual kitchen in order to make this simple meal. After a few minutes of worry, I gathered everything up and headed down to the kitchen.

I started with some chopped garlic and a bit of olive oil in the pan. As I mentioned before, the stoves here are electric, so the two just sat in the pan for a while doing nothing as the pan heated up. I cut up the chicken meanwhile then threw it into the pan once it was hot enough. Of course, I brought my smallest pan and the chicken was cramped up, and then when I washed my knife and cutting board, I realized I didn't bring an towel to dry them or my hands off. My pants ended up doubling as a dish towel.

As all this was going on, I was heating up the water for the pasta. It took FOREVER. I had to turn the burner up almost as high as it would go because, of course, I didn't bring a lid for the pot to speed up the process. Once I forced that into a boil, I added the angel hair pasta into the water that I had forgotten to salt.

Meanwhile, I chopped up two artichoke hearts and added them to the chicken along with some basil. I then realized how bland this was all going to taste if I just added it to the pasta. I decided I should deglaze the pan (thank you Food Network and Mom) with something to pick up all the flavors from the bottom of the pan. Brilliant idea, till I realized I had nothing to do this with. I settled on a bit of water which created a faux chicken stock once it was added to the pan.

Once everything was cooked, I combined it, threw all my semi-rinsed cookware into my strainer to carry upstairs, and headed back to my room. I put a bit of parmesan cheese on top of the pasta, then gave it a try. I wasn't quite as flavorful as I had hoped, but it was my first try in a new place, so I was pleased overall. I would have included a picture, but I pretty much devoured it since I hadn't eaten for about 5 hours prior to that.

I plan on making attempt #2 tonight, so check back to see if it's a success!

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Welcome!

I'll put it out there from the start: this blog was most definitely inspired by the movie Julie & Julia and Julie Powell's Julie/Julia Project blog. After seeing the movie, it seemed like a great idea (especially for a food lover and cook like myself). It combines two things I love to do: eat and write. Many people think you're not a "writer" unless you're published, well what better way to be published than to make your writing readily available on the Internet?

For those that are unfamiliar with the Julie/Julia Project, allow me to explain. Julie Powell began it back in 2002 as a challenge. She cooked all 536 recipes from Julia Child's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" within a year and blogged about her experience. The movie Julie & Julia is a parallel between Julia Child's time in Paris, and Julie Powell's cooking project. I highly recommend it!

My plan is to tackle a cookbook in a little over a year. I haven't given myself an exact deadline since I do have other more important obligations such as school, field hockey, and other extracurriculars. Therefore, I'm hoping to complete at least two recipes per week.

What is my cookbook of choice? Easy. My mission is to go through each recipe in Giada DiLaurentiis' "Everyday Italian" in a little over a year. It contains 125 recipes which should take about 63 weeks if I keep up with doing two per week. I watched Giada's "Chefography" on the Food Network last night (I should probably mention that I'm obsessed with the Food Network) and loved the story of how she worked her way to where she is now. She is the Julia to my Julie!

I will begin this project once I am in my permanent dorm and have access to the kitchen there. I will blog about my experience with each recipe and everything that went into making the food. Who knows where the mission will take me, but hopefully I will be successful, and have the opportunity to bring new food into my life as well as my roommates' :)