Shopping Like A Top Chef

Of course cooking programs are always a fan favorite in our house.  Jim and I are big fans of Top Chef- and have been since season one, we're no bandwagon-ers here.  Now, everybody knows that Top Chef contestants exclusively shop at Whole Foods, so Jim and I were stoked to see one coming into a shopping center a few miles away.  Finally, we were going to get the opportunity to buy high quality food at top notch prices so that we I can make mediocre meals.  (Notice I said "I" and that's because Jim is a really good cook, I other the other hand could be classified as "not terrible.")

Okay, so I've gotta admit, the prices are outrageous, but the experience of how a grocery store should be is all sorts of amazing.  It's not all thin, ink-stamped cardboard boxes, it's biodegradable containers and intensely fresh and vibrant produce and gloriously delicious looking fish and cookies that will make you literally slap-yo-self for thinking that the Pillsbury Dough Boy is actually a chef just because he's wearing the hat.

Well, now that I've got your attention with those fascinating descriptions, how about a little look-see at how our trip went.  Hopefully, seeing these pictures inspires you to blow all of your holiday money on a trip to a Whole Foods near you.

Boom, Boom, Crash

So, Cullen got a mini drum set from Santa.  Needless to say, our lives for the past 24 hours have been pretty much nothing but: boom, boom, crash.  Eventually, it will get old, but for now, it's music to my ears.

Not to be left out, we got Arden a guitar; of course it's for 8 year olds, so it's totally unwieldy and we already broke a string and had to MacGyver it back on, so that means that it not only sounds terrible (tuning was never my strength), but now it looks terrible too.  If these boys don't turn out to be some sort of drumming, guitar playing chefs, then I have spent oodles of money all for nothing- just kidding, I guess it's for the experience...

Just Because He Can

What's a kid to do when he's 26lbs and has some time on his hands?  Bounce over to a wok and then Crawl into it and chill.  (Ha! Bet you didn't see that one coming...)  Honestly, this boy has a seriously creative spirit.  He may be a handful, but I guess this kind of proves that he's a tiny handful.

Three

This past weekend, we celebrated Cullen's birthday with our family and friends.  The party was a great success, and by that I mean that there were lots of screaming kids, tired parents and one very happy Birthday Boy.

At times, it seems like my son was born with a spatula in one hand and a pot in the other, so I decided to have a cooking themed birthday party.  I made personalized aprons for everyone, the kids made their best rendition of personal pizzas and the cooking portion of the party hit a crescendo when the kids decorated their own cupcakes.  The ratio of icing to cake was definitely an issue with most of the kids, most of whom wisely decided not to eat their creations, but a $5 bet was on the table for any party guest that would; there were no takers.

Happy Birthday, Cullen.  We love you.

Cookin'

Over the weekend, we celebrated Uncle Joseph's birthday at a Hibachi restaurant and it was especially awesome for Cullen since he loves, "cookin'!"  Here's how it went:

We waited patiently for the chef, but that didn't stop Cullen from greeting everyone that walked into the room as though they were the chef.

The boy will no longer look at the camera without be promised gum.

Pretty sure he's wondering if this chef knows what he's doing and no, he didn't because he was the waiter that Cullen kept calling the chef.

Preparing for the magic to start...

So, besides the practical cooking portion of dinner, there's also a little "showmanship" if you will.  I've been to other Hibachi restaurants and it seems to be pretty similar, in that the chef likes to get the crowd's attention with some sort of "fire" flare up on the griddle.  Well, let me tell you that when the chef did that, Cullen ran into my arms (notice the empty chair next to me) and talked about the fire, "it's not gonna hurt me..." for the rest of dinner.  Eventually though, he realized that watching a chef cook live outweighed his fear and he was able to make it back into his seat.

It's cool though, my face was hidden so you can't see me laughing, but I was.

Assuring him that everything was going to be fine and that the "fire" was all gone.

In the end, we had a fantastic dinner and Cullen thoroughly enjoyed the experience.  We will definitely be back.

Holy Smokes, I Just Made Butter

So to recap, I totally made butter (on purpose); how Victorian is that?  Answer: so Victorian.

Let me explain how this works and what you need:
1 small glass jar (I used a 2nd stage baby food jar)
Heavy whipping cream
Pour heavy cream to fill 1/4 of the small jar.  Shake for 2.30 or until you no longer hear liquid sloshing around.  Whalah.

Please note that this was after the butter was made, the cream was not filled up to the lid.

This butter even looks like the butter at the store!

I have also heard that you can put a marble in to help the process; however, I didn't find it necessary.  But if I was doing this with kids I would do it just for the sound effect.
Kids or not, I highly recommend this because the butter tastes amazeballs and you will feel like a total pioneer.

Tip: the amount of cream you put into the jar is important, do not fill more than 1/3 of the jar with cream or it will not work.

Good but a Little Mushy

As someone who tries to watch their carbs (what up diabetes?!) I have been searching for a spaghetti alternative.  Well, I did some Googling and found out that zucchini was the next best thing.

So I tried it. I removed the skin (Question: is zucchini skin always "waxy"?  Googled it: results show that this is done to extend the shelf life and it should be removed. Props to me!) and sauteed it in butter. I added sea salt and freshly ground pepper and tahdah: delicious, mushy spaghetti!

I'm going to continue on with my zucchini experiment and see what else I can create!  (Insert scary, creepy laugh.)

Delicious

Chicken Me-Me

Recently, I made this amazeballs dinner.  It was one of those meals that's great on a cold night.  The requirements for any meal I make are: it's gotta be easy, it's gotta be cheap and it's gotta be good.  Chicken Me-Me met all of those requirements.  By the way, I'm calling it chicken Me-Me, because I it is really good and I cooked it, so I'm giving myself 100% credit for this!

Pan sear thin sliced chicken breast in olive oil



Tip: Put a papertowel under the cutting board to keep it from sliding.



There is no real recipe, just chop an onion and mushrooms and sautee them in olive oil.  Once browned, add the juice of half a lemon.  Next add reduced sodium chicken broth and generic italian dressing in almost equal parts. Finally add about 1/3 of an 8 ounce package of cream cheese.  (If it becomes too thick, just all more broth and italian dressing.)

It comes out looking like this. 

Enjoy!

Brunch

Check out this amazeballs brunch that Jim and I hosted in honor of Megan's birthday.  That's right, I'm a hostess.  Eat it!

1 egg bite with wheat toast and freshly cracked pepper and sea salt.

German pancake.

Homemade vanilla glaze.



Perfectly glazed cinnamon roll.



The birthday girl.

Corn, onion, tomato and avocado salad with a cilantro and lime vinaigrette.

Nutella and greek yogurt fruit dip.

Smoked cheddar cheese from our local growers market.

Not to toot toot myself, but seriously this was a very chic, sophisticated brunch; two things of which I am not.  My version of a Sunday brunch is a bologna and ketchup sandwich with a side of cheese balls around 11ish.  So props to me (and Jim) for pulling this off.