The Snacking Chef Cooking Log

Food Words: Food Rules by Michael Pollan

2010-02-02T12:46:00.001-08:00

It's on sale on Amazon for $5.00

I just ordered my copy. I'll let you know how it is.

Review:

NY Times

Order:

Amazon

Curiously,

Leah

With a Bun in the Oven

2010-01-14T13:33:00.001-08:00

I’m sorry for not posting in quite awhile. I find myself currently in the twelfth week of a (pleasant) surprise pregnancy. Apparently, the rhythm method? Not super reliable. Who knew?! (note: all Catholics probably)

Needless to say, food and I have NOT been friends for this first trimester… In fact we’re still not 100%.

I’m told this will improve soon as the second trimester revs up. I can only hope.

During this hiatus from food related topics (and for the next six months) I will be posting at another blog, From Drinking Dirty Martinis to Changing Dirty Diapers, regarding all things fetus-related. Since this is my first ‘rodeo’ I will be asking a lot of questions I hope a few of you can answer, I will be ranting, I will be hormonal and I will be irrational and there will be loads of TMI.

Sounds fun doesn’t it?

I look forward, longingly, to a time when I will, once again, be able to avidly pore over the pages of Food and Wine without every recipe making me want to ralph. This last month’s edition was a real doozy.

I sincerely miss you, Food. I hope we can rekindle our passion for one another again soon...

Leah

The Snacking Chef Steps Out of the Kitchen (1)

2009-11-19T13:19:00.001-08:00

Wherein I blog about things having very little to do with cooking

Why do I enjoy talking to inanimate objects as if they would respond?

I blame two people. My old roommate Kate who used to peruse her selection of kitchen utensils while cooking, choose the right one for the task at hand and say 'I choose YOOOUUU' (she would also do this when selecting a drinking glass). And my husband Shaun who, when he doesn't know what something is, (a tool, a vegetable, some mysterious feminine item I bought at the drugstore), he'll ask it 'What are you?!'. This never fails to make me laugh. Kate and Shaun tweaked my perspective, it stayed tweaked and I don't mind.

Native Americans believe that everything on earth, every steadfast rock, every quivering leaf, every creeping moss, has a spirit, well, so too my toothbrush (TartarBuster), my cellphone (Jerk), my car (Ruby), my hand mixer (Sir Mix A Lot), and so on...

Before you call the authorities and let them know there's a potential schizophrenic roaming freely around the blogosphere, give it a try. It injects even the most mundane task with a little 'Alice in Wonderland'.

The cell phone signal drops during a call 'Hey, Jerk, pull it together, this is a team effort and you're not pulling your weight.' You can just imagine his little voice 'sorry Leah, I totally dropped the ball there.'

'TartarBuster, kudos dude, I just got back from the dentist and still not a cavity. That's 30 years and counting... Well done!' Tartarbuster sounds like Barry White 'niiiice girl, you got a beautiful smile.'

Of course not everything has a name. Only the things I use fairly often. But I'll talk to anything. A street signal changes from green to yellow way too fast "WHOAH Nelly, what do you think YOU'RE doin'. I'm unexpectely down to the last sip of my beer, I peer down into the can 'hey?! where'd ya go?' A pile of dirty clothes I'm trying to ignore, sits dejectedly in the laundry basket "OH just go do yourself! I'm not in the mood". A nicely roasted chicken comes out of the oven, 'hey good lookin, are you down to be dinner?'

I could do this aaaall daaay looong....

In my constant struggle with being a little too intense, a little to anxious, a little too controlling, this kind of nonsense goes a long way in bringing levity to irritating situations and putting the silly joys of life in high relief. It's like splashing in puddles or finger-painting, it's like being a kid again.

Absurdly,

Leah

Foodbuzz Food Blogger Festival Day One…Finally (in two parts)

2009-11-18T11:09:00.001-08:00

This has been a long time coming. I have been battling with a ferocious sinus and ear infection since last week and haven’t wanted to do much of anything but make Hot and Sour soup and watch re-runs of Absolutely Fabulous.

However, in addition to delays due to BRAIN congestion, I’ll be honest, it has not been an easy task to determine how to tackle covering this amazing Food Blogger Festival in a way that leaves nothing important out but doesn’t run 10,000 words long. Hopefully, I’ll manage.

Two Notes:

1)Of all the fabulous swag I came home with, the Snacking Cheflets thought the I :heart: Foodbuzz tattoos (and Recchiuti Chocolates) were the best. Although, they were duly impressed by the scads of cooking utensils and foodstuffs I brought home, ‘WOW, so much free STUFF!’

2)The deeply talented Rose of the Bite Me Kitchen was kind enough to be the photographer for the weekend, mainly because I take terrible pictures, as evidenced by the Snacking Chef Cooking Log photos, so if these photo montages seem familiar, that’s why. One of my goals is to become a more consistent, if not better, photographer. I’m CONSTANTLY forgetting to photograph the food I make and even when I do remember, the images do not tantalize. In my defense photography has never been an interest, food and the eating of it has.

But I digress.

Attending the Foodbuzz Food Blogger Festival was kind of a ‘fly by the seat of our pants’ decision. Within a couple of days we had decided we were going, booked flights and hotels and requested Friday off of work with very little idea of what to expect, but very excited nonetheless. I am so glad we did. It was nearly three days of tastebud bliss, with nothing left unplanned by the fabulous Foodbuzz Food Blog Festival planners. Serious Kudos to you folks. Thank you for all your hard work and a wonderful weekend.

Friday was a gorgeous Autumn day in Southern California. My husband droppped me at Rose’s house with what would, in 48 hours, be my depressingly inadequate suitcase. We made it to the airport with plenty of time, got through security (after they test my contact lens solution for ‘bomb vapors’, lookout!)

I won’t bore you with further travel details but by the time we got to our hotel we were extremely hungry… now there are two things you do not want to be in the way of when Rose and I are out to get them, lunch…and a dirty martini, and we were on a mission for lunch, sushi specifically, the dirty martinis could wait. (Pro Tip: dirty martinis on an empty stomach make for regrettable shenanigans)

Now, most sushi restaurants close for a break between lunch and dinner, however Rose’s Urban Spoon app on her iPhone found one that was open at 3pm and sent us in the direction of Hana Zen, where the sushi chef is friendly, the beers are big and cold and the sweet scallops are like buttah It is a testament to our intense hunger that Ms. Rose didn’t take pictures of our meal. There was no time between bites. We ate an embarrassing amount of food, finished a large Asahi each and struggled up the street , rubbing our distended bellies, to the pub,Time for a Pint, for digestifs of Smithwicks Irish Red and a Bass. And lo, we were full and it was good. But, gasp! it was already time to make our way to the Meet and Greet Cocktail Hour on the ‘viewing deck’ of the Hotel Vitale.

More beer, more food, a beautiful view and it is there that the Fantastic Foursome of Rose, Leah, Megan of Stetted and Melissa of Cheese Wine and Chocolate, was formed. These two girls added so much to our weekend. You should get to know them too. Check out their blogs

Rose took some beautiful pictures from the top of the hotel that night. And it was at this point that we knew we were in for something really exciting….

At the rate I’m going this is going to be a six-part series…

Stay Tuned For: That Night’s Street Food Street Fare, in which Rose and I attack the fresh oyster table and the Shucker bravely shucks on…

Nostalgically,

Leah

Well Hello Marjoram, Pleasure to Meet You

2009-11-12T14:57:00.001-08:00

Another quick blurb (THAT is a weird word) as I'm currently bustling around in the kitchen and am taking a 'clog-break' while some chicken thighs roast.

I wanted to post this fantastic recipe for a simple salsa we made in class last night. It was the first time I had ever used the herb marjoram. What an interesting flavor, deep and piney, adds darker flavor to this salsa that we all really enjoyed.

Fresh Tomato-Herb Salsa
Serves 4

Ingredients:
4 lrg fresh Plum tomatoes
6-8 sprigs fresh basil
4-6 sprigs fresh marjoram
1 shallot diced
2 T balsamic vinegar
2 t GOOD olive oil (muy importante, si?)
salt (substantially more than a dash) and pepper to taste

What to do with them:

Cut tomatoes in half and scoop out seeds. Chop tomato shells into a 1/4 inch dice and put in a small bowl. Chop shallot and herbs and add to tomatoes. Add vinegar and oil and salt and pepper to taste.

We ate this served over grilled halibut and it was delicious. With a substantial fish like halibut the rather intense flavor of the marjoram stood up well. Have any of you used this herb before?

Briefly,

Leah

P.S. Although I would ask you not to consider this an endorsement of Bisquick, this commercial totally made me lol, esp. during the hospital scene. It's just ridiculous. And ya'll know how much I like ridiculousM

Food Words from Foodbuzz

2009-11-09T17:38:00.000-08:00

Just a quick post tonight. The more lengthy account of my foodbuzz adventures is in creation mode.

One of the best swag items I received at the Foodbuzz festival is a book entitled Notes on Cooking by Lauren Braun Costello and Russell Reich. It's a short read, only 130 pages and you'll finish it in one sitting.

It's instructional, inspiring and insightful as hell. I wish I could just upload the scads of information directly into my brain like Neo in the Matrix ('I know kung food.'.... no?)

NotesonCooking.com

This is a book every aspiring chef should read.

Gratefully,

Leah

Autumn and Apologies

2009-11-03T13:55:00.000-08:00

It's already November...the third to be exact. Time flies, but I find as I get older that it doesn't restrict its 'flying' to when I'm having fun. It just flies...all the time...

Hence the sporadic 'clogging'. I've been cooking,alot, made some wonderful stuff. Rich, creamy Beef Stroganoff, crab stuffed puffed pastry appetizers, finally nailed my Bleu Cheese Mousse I had attempted in the salad days of the Snacking Chef Clog. I created a fantastic thyme/onion/lemon sauce from inspiration for a delicious piece of steelhead trout which is the fish I'm having the most fun with right now.... and just generally having a blast in the kitchen, but haven't really had the time for the photographing or the re-hashing. Between work and kids and extracurriculars, recording and posting about culinary adventures tends to take a back seat to being present for the actual experience of them. My apologies for being so lax.

BUT, as Autumn struggles to make it's presence felt in Southern California (temps in the low 80's do not a Fall Season make) the Snacking Chef Kitchen gears up for The Holidays and all the glorious food. I was thinking this year of doing a whole roast duck for Christmas a la "The Christmas Story" ...

and whacking off its head with a mighty cleaver after the grand presentation. I think that would be memorable.

Don't you?

Autumnally,

Leah

Food Words Addendum: I received, as a wedding gift, the cookbook Charlie Palmer's Practical Guide to the New American Kitchen. Good good stuff, delicious recipes and incredibly handy. As a bonus, the book is bound with this handy-dandy Durabook technology, the pages are waterproof and highly durable. ALL cookbooks should be made of this stuff. Although a friend did comment that she kind of likes the splatters on all her cookbooks, kind of like war wounds...she has a point.

Charlie Palmer's Practical Guide to the New American Kitchen on Amazon.com

Coming Soon....

2009-10-22T11:36:00.000-07:00

November is full of Culinary Adventures!

On November 4th my crash course in Gourmet Cooking begins at Le Gourmet Kitchen. The shop is a satellite of Laguna Culinary Arts and offers classes in all different areas of cooking. I am über excited.

And THEN, the following weekend Rose from the Bite Me Kitchen and I will be attending the 1st Annual FoodBuzz Blogger Festival as Featured Publishers.

San Francisco, consider yourself warned.

Things are getting exciting here in the land of the Snacking Chef.

Enthusiastically,
Leah

Hey, Old Food Pyramid, listen

2009-10-20T15:44:00.000-07:00

I'm not laughing at you. I'm laughing near you.

But you have to admit. You are ridiculous.

Readers, I would like to take a moment to retroactively guffaw at the old food pyramid

The Old Food Pyramid

I don't eat six to 11 servings of food a day, much less that many servings of grain products alone! Incidentally, that sounds like an interesting form of torture, forcing a person to eat to the specifications of the old Food Pyramid which suggests from 13 to 26 servings of food!

"As punishment for your transgressions you will now be forced to eat 2 quarts of rice, an entire head of broccoli, 4 apples, a 1/2 lb block of sharp cheddar cheese, one half of a chicken, 3 chocolate chips and a sparing amount of oil. You must finish by nightfall"

The New Food Pyramid

The new Food Pyramid definitely seems more reasonable and helpfully reminds us to be active every day with gusto like Mr. Man on the upper left corner there and drink your water, not anyone else's. Also, the pyramid is now broken down into ratios rather than serving sizes, which just makes more sense. I do not need to eat the same way Michael Phelps does.

I'm curious to discover exactly how much my diet differs from this Recommended Daily Allowance of Foodness. I will observe my eating habits this week and post the results next.

I'm pretty confident that the 'salami' portion of my food pyramid will be significantly larger than that of the USDA. Wait a minute.... the USDA Food Pyramid doesn't even HAVE a separate 'salami' portion! This is total b.s. My food pyramid is going to be waaaaay better than theirs.

Tell me what your food day looks like, on average. I'm curious. Am I way off base with the old food pyramid? Should we start a petition to add a 'smoked and cured meats' RDA portion to the current pyramid?

Inquisitively,

Leah

Post Script to all you so cal lo cals~ Los Angeles Magazine's Food Event is in Malibu this Sunday.
ch ch ch check it out:

LA Mag Food Event '09: From the Vine

She’s baaaack!

2009-10-12T10:31:00.000-07:00

With even MORE mediocre food photography.
So I was married on August 16th and everything went wonderfully.

We were able to camp in a beautiful spot with friends for four days before the wedding, had a brief lovely ceremony, another brief, lovely reception catered by Rose Cameron from the Bite Me Kitchen and decorated beautifully by some incredibly generous family members. We then hit the local townie bar for a ‘dance dance party pants’ dance party (as my friend Emily would say).

We took over the juke box, shoved tables out of the way and shook our money makers til closing time. It may not be an ideal wedding for some, but for Shaun and I, we got the best of everything, without the head–ache and heart–ache of über planning. I’ll be honest, if you want to punish me for committing a crime, an option would be to make me plan a Wedding Extravaganza.

For more McNatt Wedding Fun check out this blog post at Dirt Du Jour.com.

Now, onto food.

First, I have missed cooking desperately. When I first decided to take my hiatus from clogging about food and ‘challenge-cooking’ it was somewhat of a relief. I only had a couple of months to plan a ‘destination wedding’, small though it was and knew that one more thing to do each day might just send me over that fine, fine edge of insanity toward which wedding planning inevitably, insidiously shoves you.

But, within about a week, I was dreaming about food, concocting bizarre recipes in a REM sleep state, recalling them vividly when I woke. (Do food bloggers dream of short ribs? Yes, they do.) I found myself poring avidly over cookbooks for the vicarious pleasure, feverishly marking ‘to-do’ recipes with neon-pink post-its. But of course the inspiration for my ‘first recipe back to blogging’ came from the weather.

Fall is coming to Southern California, or at least our version of it. We do have a little 'color-change' in our foliage but mainly the the changes are subtle but intoxicating. The air becomes more crisp, clear days become partly cloudy giving us gorgeous sunsets and thankfully the weather cools enough to urge me to think about using the oven again. I want to roast everything when it drops below 70 degrees, ev.ery.thing.

In a particularly roast-y mood I was at the supermarket and stumbled across some Cornish Game Hens and they were too cute not to put them in an oven and crank up the heat. In keeping with the ‘Mini Meal’ theme, I found some teeny artichokes and dwarfy sweet potatoes to go with the half-size hens. I adapted the recipe for the birds from this one at All Recipes.com and the Hasselback Potatoes are a Swedish style potato, not usually a sweet potato, but what the heck. Live on the edge.

Ingredients
Cornish game hens
salt and pepper to taste
1 lemon, quartered
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped fine
3 tablespoons olive oil
24 cloves garlic
1/3 cup white wine
1/3 cup low sodium beef broth (or chicken. Beef is what I had)

What you do to them
Preheat oven to 450 degrees

Rub hens with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil.
Lightly season hens with salt and pepper and chopped thyme.
Place 1 lemon wedge inside body cavity of hen. Arrange in a large, heavy roasting pan, and throw garlic cloves around hens.

Roast in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a mixing bowl, whisk together wine, chicken broth, and remaining 2 tablespoons of oil; pour over hens. Continue roasting about 25 minutes longer, or until hens are golden brown and juices run clear.

Baste with pan juices every 10 minutes.

Transfer hens to a platter, pouring any cavity juices into the roasting pan. Tent hens with aluminum foil to keep warm. Transfer pan juices and garlic cloves to a medium saucepan and boil until liquids reduce to a sauce consistency, about 6 minutes. Cut hens in half lengthwise and arrange on plates. Spoon sauce and garlic around hens, garnish with whatever you want and serve.

Snacking Chef Notes: These little guys do NOT have a spacious body cavity. I would cut lemon into thirds to make an easier time of it. Squirting oneself in the face with raw-chicken infused lemon juice =not an awesome time. If there’s room for two slices, you're golden, but one will definitely do. Interesting side note, they do not contain miniscule gizzards the way a whole fryer would at purchase. Also, although these diminutive birds seem like a one-per-person situation, Shaun was the only one able to finish his and he did that on principle, not out of hunger. Just an FYI.

I suspect some people might take issue with position of my game hen (breast down) but laying any bird breast side down when roasting is a good way to keep the white meat from being to dry. It works. So that's what I did

Hasselback Potatoes or Fan Baked Potatoes(sweet potato version) I

Ingredients
6 Medium Size Potatoes (any kind you like but try to pick potatoes with a nice oblong shape)
2 - 3 Cloves Garlic, thinly sliced
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
¼ cup (1/2 stick) Unsalted Butter
Sea Salt
Black Pepper

What you do to them:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Starting at one end of the potato, cut almost all the way through, at about 1/8” intervals. Arrange the potatoes in a baking pan with raised edges (use aluminum foil under potatoes to avoid carmelized buttery goodness on your baking pan, trust me) and insert the garlic in between the slits.

Put a pat of butter on each potato , top with olive oil and fling some salt and black pepper around to taste. Bake for about 40 minutes or until the potatoes turn crispy and the flesh is soft.

Snacking Chef Notes: Try to find potatoes of a standard oblong shape. It will make slicing easier. I found a tip online to put the potato in a large spoon and the raised edges of the spoon will help you to not slice through to the bottom of the potato. It definitely works but for some reason I went more slowly using this technique. Without the spoon the slicing was relatively easy. Either way will work.

Artichokes are easy.

Chop off stems and tips. Be careful of those spikes. Remove the tough leaves from the bottom around the stem. Boil, covered, until you can smell their green, earthy delicious scent sneaking out from under the pot lid (depends on size-smaller ones 25 min, larger standard size 40-45 min). Turn them upside down on a plate to drain. When they’ve cooled a little cut them in half, drizzle (I hate that word but what are you gonna do) open face with olive all and grill open face down for 5-10 minutes. You can grill both sides of you like. And it’s nobody’s business if you do.

Snacking Chef Notes: Unlike other veggies the small ‘chokes are not as flavorful as the larger ones. They’re cute, but that’s about it. Like Jessica Simpson.

As the Thanksgiving holiday is around the corner, I'll add...it occurred to me the other day as Shaun and I were unloading pounds and pounds of groceries into our fridge, how fortunate I am. Not only to be able to explore the art of cooking, but to have a fridge stocked with food and the luxury of making whatever I want, whenever I want for my friends and family who are also all 'warm safe and fed' as my mama would say. Life is good...

and I'm enormously happy to be back in the kitchen.

I hope you'll join me for more exciting installments of The Snacking Chef: A Cooking Log of Questionable Taste

Gratefully,

Leah

The Snacking Chef is MIA

2009-06-04T10:25:00.001-07:00

She sends her sincerest regrets regarding the lapse in blogging the past few weeks however she now has an August wedding to plan and that will take up a lot of what used to be free time.

The Snacking Chef is still accruing subject matter and recipes and other fun food-related fodder for you and will be back with a virtual EXPLOSION of posts after the summer.

To satiate your blog appetites however, she sends you this little tidbit with her warmest regards.

Happy Snacking Friends!

Endless Simmer's Top 10 List of Top 10 Food Lists

How long will my box of crickettes keep?

2009-05-07T13:40:00.001-07:00

THIS is an awesome link

http://www.stilltasty.com/

You can double check the freshness of your

Bull Frogs

and your

crickettes

Food blogs are the best.

Happy Amphibilicious Snacking!

L

Another reason to drink

2009-05-05T09:17:00.001-07:00

So, a few years ago, purely coincidentally, St. Patrick's Day found me at a Cantina eating tacos and drinking margaritas and Cinco de Mayo found me at an Irish Pub drinking Guinness and eating corned beef. This ruffled so many feathers I had no choice but to continue the tradition.

So this Cinco de Mayo, have a

Black and Tan

and some corned beef. And thumb your nose at the naysayers.

However, if you need something a little more traditional,
try some adobo pork tacos from the Bite Me kitchen and a margarita

Feliz Cinco de Mayo, lads and lasses.

Teaser: We had the kimchi tasting on Saturday. Six or seven different kinds, with korean short ribs and rice. :glorious: I will post as soon as I get the pics. (ahem Kelly)

April Cooking Club - Chix Fix

2009-04-29T12:23:00.000-07:00

Our Host for the April Cooking Club, Kelly, was craving chicken so we obliged and gave her three different chicken dishes

The first was provided by Anna, a deliciously fresh Grilled Chicken Salad with Radishes, Cucumbers and Tarragon Pesto. This was an amazing, brightly flavored salad. The tarragon pesto was brilliant and I loved the light sprinkling of roasted pine nuts.

Grilled Chicken Salad from Bon Appetit

INGREDIENTS
1/4 cup (packed) fresh tarragon leaves plus 2 teaspoons chopped
1/4 cup (packed) fresh Italian parsley leaves
4 tablespoons pine nuts, divided
5 teaspoons fresh lemon juice, divided
2 teaspoons chopped shallot
6 tablespoons (or more) olive oil, divided, plus additional for brushing
4 boneless chicken breast halves with skin
4 1/2-inch-thick slices country-style French or sourdough bread
1 5-ounce package mixed baby greens
1 cup thinly sliced radishes (from 1 large bunch)
1 cup thinly sliced Japanese cucumbers (about 1 1/2)
PREPARATION
Place 1/4 cup tarragon leaves, parsley, 2 tablespoons pine nuts, 1 teaspoon lemon juice, and shallot in mini processor; chop coarsely. With machine running, gradually add 3 tablespoons olive oil. Season pesto to taste with salt and pepper. Add more olive oil by teaspoonfuls to thin, if necessary.
Whisk 2 teaspoons chopped tarragon, remaining 4 teaspoons lemon juice, and 3 tablespoons oil in small bowl. Season dressing with and pepper.
Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Brush chicken breasts on both sides with oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill until grill marks form, skin is crisp, and chicken is cooked through, 7 to 8 minutes per side. Transfer to work surface; let rest 5 minutes. Using clean brush, brush both sides of bread with oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill until dark-brown grill marks appear on both sides, 2 to 3 minutes per side.
Place greens, radishes, and cucumbers in large bowl. Toss with dressing. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Divide salad among 4 plates.
Cut grilled chicken breasts crosswise into 1/3-inch-thick slices. Arrange 1 sliced chicken breast atop salad on each plate. Spoon tarragon pesto over chicken. Sprinkle remaining 2 tablespoons pine nuts over salads. Serve with grilled bread slices.

Shaun's contribution was a fantastically flavored butterflied chicken. He removed the back bone, spread the chicken open, pulled the skin away from the meat and wedged sage, garlic cloves and GRAPEFRUIT in the space between. The grapefruit was a brilliant stroke. This meat was bursting with a complex yet not at all overpowering combination of flavors that came at your palate in waves. He dressed the outside of the bird with olive oil, salt and pepper.
I, unfortunately do not have a photo of Shaun's chicken, just take my word for it. I was there...

The final Chix Fix recipe was Beer Butt Chicken which I've been dying to make since Christmas when I got a special 'beer butt chicken rack' which holds a beer can in the middle and helps with propping up the bird. This recipe took less time to prepare than the time it's going to take to tell you how I did it.

First, you can use any beer you'd like. I used Coors light...oh yes. I would love to try a darker beer next time.

Pour out about a third of the beer and put about a tablespoon of Old Bay Seasoning in with the beer left in the can.

Making sure the bird has been dried as much as possible with a paper towel, massage the entire bird body with about 1/4 cup (or 1/2 stick) of room temperature butter, then sprinkle with seasoning salt (or creole seasoning, lemon pepper, a little cayenne, whatever you like) allll over. Don't be shy with the seasoning. As the bird sweats and the butter melts, a lot of it will come off.

You know what happens next right? Plop that birdy right over the beer can, shoving it as far in there as possible, especially if you don't have a stand as balancing the stuffed chicken can be challenging.

You have two options here to protect your bbq from beer/chicken juice overflow. The beer will inevitably begin to bubble as the chicken and can heat. I put my chicken over a piece of aluminum foil curled up at the edges. There was very little mess because I had poured out enough beer. You can also put him on a roasting pan but bear in mind this might slow down the cooking time because the pan will cover a lot of property on the bbq rack. I would highly recommend a jerry-rigged aluminum foil bowl.

Cook on a closed grill for about 1 hour (provided the Beer Butt Chicken is on the rack by itself and you can resist continually opening the grill up to check on it, expect about an hour and 20 minutes if you can't)and....

TA DA!!!

(I almost forgot to add the picture that looks like the light of heaven is shining down upon my Beer Butt Chicken. Here it is, in all it's glorious chicken-y goodness)

Is that not the prettiest bird you have ever seen? The meat was incredibly tender and juicy and the skin was perfectly golden brown and crisp.

For the coup de grace of all chickens, next time I will combine Shaun's and my recipes and after massaging and seasoning the bird, I'll put some garlic, sage and grapefruit under the skin. Boom!!! Best Chicken Ever.

Kelly, our host, made her super secret, super delicious spaghetti recipe just to break up the chickenness of our cooking club. I can't tell you what was in it or I'd have to kill you. But it was ridiculously good.

Lots of wine and beer was consumed and an awesome time was had by all.

Thanks Kelly and Sean!

~In honor of the coming May Day and the beginning of Spring, I'll leave you with a pic of flowers from our yard. The lavender colored ones are our sage that is flowering...
loveleh.

'til next time, Happy Poultry-y snacking.

p to the s:
You can make the beer can chicken in the oven, just as you would a roast chicken, in which case DEFINITELY protect your oven with the aluminum foil or roasting pan.

"Chix Fix" copyrighted by Anna

Another Friday, Another Salad

2009-04-24T08:55:00.000-07:00

So I've been having a blast with these purple potatoes I get at the farmer's market.

I have some Irish in my bloodlines and so potatoes are something I could eat every day, and actually one of the few starchy things I actually crave. The purple ones add some fun color and make me rethink my potato dishes.

Here, I boiled up a few, let them cool and tossed them into a salad with tomatoes, feta, crisp romaine and a dill vinaigrette dressing.

Sidenote: I tried making hashbrowns with them. They were tasty but looked like burned potatoes instead of purple ones. I would try baking the 'browns next time instead of frying them. I've heard you can get them quite crispy in the oven without nearly as much oil and the oil is what moistened and darkened the potatoes to a deeply dark purple (nearly black) color.

Has anyone tried baking hash browns?

Happy Friday and Happy Carb-Loaded snacking!

This song has been stuck in my head since last night. Vid is weird but it's all Youtube gots.

Leah

Hot Hot Heat

2009-04-21T10:26:00.000-07:00

It is hot here. Really, really hot. It was 91 degrees in the shade over the weekend. These temperatures are not ideal for standing at a hot stove or cranking on the oven. Last night we had steak off the grill and a simple salad. But even standing over a barbecue can sound pretty hellish in the heat that has descended upon us here in Southern California. Also, when the temperatures rise, my appetite falls. I still love good food but much less of it and preferably something light. And so I would have settled for just a salad. One of my favorite Dinner (or Lunch) Salads is the Salade Nicoise. It is a specialty of the region of Nice in France and contains Nicoise Olives also grown there.

This recipe is delicious and versatile. Any of the ingredients can be replaced with something you like more but it does give you the inspiration from which to create an entire meal out of a deliciously cool salad.

Here's how I like mine. I'm not going to denote ingredient amounts as that is entirely based on preference and how many people you are serving.

Mixed Baby Greens
Cherry Tomatoes - halved
Green Beans - cooked and cooled*
Small to Medium Red Potatoes - boiled and sliced
Hard Boiled Eggs - sliced
Nicoise Olives - these can be substituted with the easier to find Kalamata
Ahi Tuna - Sear this if you have the time, if not just use traditional Albacore
Red Onions - sliced thinly

Possible additions/replacements - anchovies, capers, artichoke hearts, raw peppers, shallot, cucumber.

*I like to replace the green beans with young asparagus but that may mean about 5-6 minutes of stove time, just sautee with a little salt and olive oil.

The dressing for this salad is a simple Dijon Vinaigrette. I like Ina Garten's recipe.

3 tablespoons champagne vinegar (or sherry vinegar)
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1/2 cup olive oil

optional: extra large egg yolk at room temperature. I'm not uber excited about raw egg yolk, especially on a hot summer day, but it is in the orig. recipe although not required.

My other Hot Hot Heat recommendation? Cold Beer and an OtterPop. Which Otter are you?

Bunnies and Chocolate Eggs remind me of The Ascension...wait, what?

2009-04-10T10:12:00.000-07:00

A little information about Easter Eggs, as I was curious about how a giant bunny and chocolate candies and hard boiled eggs became associated with the celebration the resurrection.

Easter Eggs
In Medieval Europe, eggs were forbidden during Lent. Eggs laid during that time were often boiled or otherwise preserved. Eggs were thus a mainstay of Easter meals, and a prized Easter gift for children and servants.
In addition, eggs have been viewed as symbols of new life and fertility through the ages. It is believed that for this reason many ancient cultures, including the Ancient Egyptians, Persians, and Romans, used eggs during their spring festivals.
Many traditions and practices have formed around Easter eggs. The coloring of eggs is a established art, and eggs are often dyed, painted, and otherwise decorated. Eggs were also used in various holiday games: parents would hide eggs for children to find, and children would roll eggs down hills. These practices live on in Easter egg hunts and egg rolls. The most famous egg roll takes place on the White House lawn every year.

info please - on Easter and Easter eggs, that Bunny and other tradition

The Easter Bunny
Hares and rabbits have long been symbols of fertility. The inclusion of the hare into Easter customs appears to have originated in Germany, where tales were told of an "Easter hare" who laid eggs for children to find. German immigrants to America -- particularly Pennsylvania -- brought the tradition with them and spread it to a wider public. They also baked cakes for Easter in the shape of hares, and may have pioneered the practice of making chocolate bunnies and eggs.

have some fun with your Easter eggs this year, Use Silk Ties to Dye Them

Make Your Own Cadbury Creme Egg!

And here, for your enjoyment, the now-traditional Easter Photo that I look forward to posting every year!
Peep Show

Buttery Toast and Melted Cheese Makes....

2009-04-08T08:46:00.000-07:00

It's National Grilled Cheese Month. Grilled Cheese Sandwiches and Led Zeppelin are two of my favorite things. I am going to start a petition for May to be National Led Zeppelin month and then I can die happy.

National Grilled Cheese Month on Epicurious

National Grilled Cheese Month on 28 Meals Later

Do you have any clever additions to the traditional grilled cheese sandwich? And what is YOUR favorite Led Zeppelin song?

Here's one of my favorites. Awesome drum work.

Happy Cheesy Snacking!

xo
L

Fun with Fungi II- Get Stuffed!

2009-04-07T11:23:00.000-07:00

In this installment of Fun with Fungi we'll discuss the best treatment a mushroom can get...the stuffed treatment.

Whether it's a portobello, its smaller sibling the Crimini, or your average white button mushrooms found in grocery store, they can all benefit from being stuffed with something.

As I've said before, I am a huge fan of the mushroom. Just last night I sauteed a few Oyster mushrooms to snack on while I made dinner. Just a little salt and olive oil, brown 'em and they are ready for me to eat.

This Fun with Fungi story begins last week when I prepared this Herb and Cheese Stuffed Chicken Thigh recipe from Mario Batali which came out really really nicely (and which I forgot to photograph - SURPRISE!). The dish was relatively easy, (although tying the chicken thighs was a somewhat messy job) and the family loved it. I ended up with a about a cup of leftover 'stuffing' mix and put it in the fridge in case something brilliant occurred to me.

The next day at Trader Joe's I saw some 'Stuffing Portobellos' and the light bulb went on above my head, literally...the light in the produce case flickered off and on while I was grabbing the mushrooms. I grabbed some pancetta and smoked oysters and went home to stuff some mushroom.

I ended up with this

Stuffy Smokey Portobellos

For 8 small to medium portobellos

Preheat Oven to 400 degrees

3/4 cups fresh bread crumbs
3/4 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese (4 1/2 ounces)
1/2 cup mayo
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup grated Provolone cheese (1 1/2 ounces)
1/4 cup coarsely chopped basil
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley (if you must)
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon finely chopped rosemary
1/2 c pancetta (diced)
1/2 c smoked oysters (chopped)
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Paprika

De-Stem the mushrooms and chop up the stems adding them to the bread crumb mixture. Mix all ingredients except paprika and spoon into space left by the removed stem. Smoosh some down in there so it really flavors the mushroom. Sprinkle tops with paprika. Place on baking sheet (preferably one with raised edges as there will be juice).

Bake for approx 15 minutes.

Snacking Chef Notes: In retrospect, I should have used some shallot or onion to punch up this stuffing a tad possibly cutting the richness of the oysters and pancetta and melted cheeses. A little garlic and cayenne wouldn't have hurt either ;)

Happy Fungal Snacking Friends!

Leah

Warmer Weather and Dinner with Mama

2009-04-03T08:09:00.000-07:00

My mom is a wonderful cook. She, unlike me, is a natural. She's comfortable in the kitchen, creative, flexible and completely at ease. I can only remember one meal she's ever made that didn't turn out perfectly. She laid awake most of that night analyzing why the dishes failed and called me in the morning to apprise me of her conclusions. THAT is very much like me.

Anyway, a few days ago I went to her house to make HER dinner after a long week. We whipped up some guacamole and cracked open a can of smoked oysters and noshed on those while I made a very simple but very scrumptious meal of Italian Sausage and grilled asparagus and bell peppers.

Let us briefly discuss the bell pepper. The green bell pepper is by far the most overused veggie in ALL THE WORLD... and it is my least favorite, I prefer the Reds, Yellows and Oranges, however they come in a veritable rainbow of other colors,these being much more rare. The Red Bell pepper is merely a more mature green pepper but the flavor has had a chance to mature and mellow, the yellows and oranges are also sweeter than the bitter little green. (He's bitter because he never makes it into my dishes.)

So my mom's kitchen has all SORTS of fun little toys and one of them is the cast-iron grill pan. I gave the peppers and asparagus a little grill treatment but for the sake of saving time I cooked the sausages in a separate pan. Rachel Ray (she annoys me but what annoys me more are the awesome tips she gives whilst being so unbearable)has a great method for cooking sausage. Fill the pan with about 1/4 inch of water and a couple of teaspoons of olive oil, bring the water to a boil then reduce the heat to medium-high, let the water boil off (less than 10 minutes) then brown the sausages in the remaining oil for just a few minutes more (depending on how much 'brown' you like). This method is awesome because it ensures the sausages are cooked through and THEN browned. If you're like me you've burned more than a couple of sausages trying to get the middle cooked.

So, again, while those sausages were cooking I was 'grilling' the veggies, then when the water had boiled away and sausages were browning I transferred the peppers over to the sausage pan and they picked up some of the sausage-y brown bits and goodness from the pan for a couple of minutes.

We ate outside and had a lovely bottle of Bogle Zinfandel. Dinner with my mom is always great, but summer dinners on the patio with my mom remind me of my childhood, my tasty, tasty childhood.

Happy Snacking! And Happy FRIDAY!!!

Neglect...and some Steelhead Trout

2009-04-02T09:22:00.000-07:00

Where does the time go? Things have been quite busy here in the Land of the Snacking Chef.

I've been cooking quite a bit and have so many things to share but have not found the time to do it.

I'm still struggling with my apparent complete inability to capture any images of my food post cooking and pre-eating. We're usually about halfway through wolfing it down before I remember I was supposed to take a picture of it.

What a lousy food blogger.

So here's a picture of last night's delicious meal.

We had our friend Becky over for dinner. She brought these delicious dill zucchini spears that were amazing, sauteed, tossed with fresh dill and sprinkled with Romano cheese. This was a flavorful, fresh and simple 'Hey there Summer! Glad to see ya!' Dish. With that I served a baked Steelhead Trout which looks a lot like Salmon but is more orange instead of pink. Shaun also felt it was less fatty than salmon and I would agree. It was the second time I'd had it in a week as I'd tasted it for the first time last weekend at our nephew's birthday party. Shaun's sister made this amazing cracker spread from the meat of a Steelhead Trout her husband had caught. This fish is versatile.

Anyway, to top that sucker, I made a simple sauce using:

3/4 cup Sour cream
1 tbsp coarse brown mustard
2 tbsp dijon mustard
1/2 cup diced pancetta
2 tbsp capers
1 tsp garlic powder
3/4 cup chopped white onion
2 tsp lemon juice
3/4 cup mayonaise

This was more than enough sauce for a pound and a half of the steelhead trout and it...was...tasty. I mean really tasty. I mean glorious. I think this sauce would work well on almost any fish (accept something delicate like sole) and it can be varied in so many ways. I'd love to add something a little spicy to it next time, Cayenne maybe. Also, I would have liked to use creme fraiche instead of mayonnaise, but avoidance of the supermarket was on the top of my list last night.

I baked the saucy fish for about 18 minutes at 425 degrees. It probably could have come out at 15 or 16 minutes. But 18 was fine too if you're concerned. I find with most fresh fish, I prefer it a little underdone to overdone.

As another side, we added the quick, easy, fragrant and zippy Thai Lime Rice from Trader Joe's that was a perfect partner to the fish and zucchini.

A VERY fast meal to prepare that tasted incredible and was shared with friends. It doesn't get much better.

So, enjoy the photo of my dish after I had enjoyed it. I enjoyed taking it.

I actually do have photos to post tomorrow of some lovely stuffed mushrooms I made earlier in the week.

Happy Snacking!

More Food Words!

2009-03-26T18:08:00.000-07:00

Okay, how awesome is this?

I grew up reading and re-reading the Little House on the Prairie Series (and of course watching the show). Our 9-year-old checked this out of the library for me today. First of all, how cute is that? Secondly, HELL YES! LITTLE HOUSE COOKBOOK!!

I'm probably getting nerd aaalll over you at this point but I don't even care. I've been reading this cookbook and realizing how very much the food in the stories became characters in and of themselves. I won't get nostalgia all over you as well but, briefly, the story in the beginning of Little House in the Big Woods of pouring fresh maple syrup on even fresher snow to make little candies was pretty much the most delectable thing I'd ever heard of at 8 years old.

I suspect that the way Laura Wilder wrote about food she was probably a foodie, at least one of her a time, an era when just having enough to eat took a lot of work and forethought, planning and creativity.

Anyway, Happy Frontier Snacking Friends!

xo
L

Food Porn and Food Words

2009-03-23T19:45:00.000-07:00

I can only hope the title doesn't send web traffic my way of an unsavory nature.

If you're like me you find you can literally spend hours looking at pictures of food, getting nearly as much enjoyment out of merely looking at the pictures as you would eating the food.

Tony Bourdain did a special titled 'Food Porn' on his show 'No Reservations'

No Reservations - Food Porn (intro)

Go to the YouTube Link above the vid to find parts 2-5

Now go check out Food Gawker.com for scads of amazing food photography.

And, to class it up a bit since I've brought us so low, read An Alphabet for Gourmets by M.F.K. Fisher at Gourmet.com

Start with 'A' and read in installments as you can. She's a beautiful writer whether you're into food or not.

XO and Happy Snacking

First Day of Spring

2009-03-20T07:31:00.000-07:00

Today is the first day of Spring. In celebration I'm headed back to Quinn's tonight for Oysters and a Martini.

Great news on the Locavore front. The White House will once again have a Kitchen Garden. It will be the first Victory Garden since the days of Eleanor Roosevelt. The organic garden will provide the veggies served for white house meals.

Alice Waters of the famed San Francisco restaurant Chez Panisse has been a strong advocate of the new Victory Garden and the Eat The View: White House Organic Garden Campaign, a brainchild of the Kitchen Gardeners International, has organized an amazing viral campaign, organizing a petition for the White House Edible Landscape Project.

I have had a lot of success in my own kitchen garden with Jalapeño Peppers, Cilantro, Thyme, Tomahtoes and Sage, but some little creature really loves my Chives and keeps nibbling them to stubs.

So plant something today, something you can eat once it grows. You'll be amazed at the vibrant colors and intense flavors that come from veggies and herbs grown in your own backyard.

Happy Garden Snacking. Have an excellent weekend.

ps. If you need help with that green(ish) thumb, get gardening tips at www.dirtdujour.com

My day just got 24% better...

2009-03-18T15:53:00.000-07:00

These are the best thing in a heat-sealed bag, ever... in the history of things in heat-sealed bags.

I first tried them in Hawaii where the Japanese population made them a very popular product, always in stock and fresh. Subsequently, I found them in a grocery store near my house in Southern California when I returned. All the store had left was one lousy bag that had probably been there for months since the store initially stocked a couple of bags to see if they would sell. All the wasabi powder had fallen off the individual potato chips to collect uselessly at the bottom of the bag during those long lonely months. They were less than memorable. However that was the tastiest bottom of any bag I've ever unabashedly wiped clean with my fingers....what

Today, my friends, I have discovered that I can purchase them online.

:doingmyabsurdhappydancewhichresemblesajigandaonepersonfoursquarehoedown:

This is very very good news. I've been pining.

Tim's Chips

Happy Snacking on YOUR favorite heat-sealed item.

SideNote: The Snacking Chef is cooking with The Mother of the Snacking Chef this evening. yay.