A dear friend of mine has been requesting this recipe from me since I had made it for her I think about a year ago. Well me being not one to rush into things, my dear Kathy here you are!!!
It's for Pan-Seared Scallops-I like the frozen one's from Trader Joe's the "Japanese Scallops". two things to take note of, the packages are 1lbs and the recipe is for 1 1/2 lbs and yes you do need to remove the tendons from the side of the scallop!
1 1/2 pounds sea scallops (about 30 per pound).
small tendons removed from the side
salt and pepper
1 1/2 Tblsp. unsalted butter
1. Sprinkle the scallops on both side with salt and pepper to taste. Heat a large saute pan over medium-high heat until hot, about 1 minutes. Add half the butter and swirl to coat the pan bottom. Continue to heat the pan until the butter begins to turn golden brown.
2. Add half the callops, one at a time, flat side down. Cook, adjusting the heat as necessary to prevent the fat from burning, until the scallops are well browned, 1 1/2 minutes to 2 minutes. Useing tound, turn the callops, one at a time. Cook to medium-rare (the dise have firmed up and all but the middle thrid of the scallop is opaque), 30 seconds to 1 1/2 minutes longer, depending on size. Transfer the scallops to a warm platter; cover with foil.. Repeat the cooking process using the remaining butter and scallops. Serve immediately.
Then when you want to really WOW someone try this...
Pan-Seared Scallops with Lemon, Shallots, and Capers
1 recipe Pan-Seared Scallops
1 medium shallot, minced
1 cup dry white wine (I have always used vermouth)
1 tsp. grated zest and 1 Tbsp juice from a small lemon
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
2 Tbsp minced fresh parsley leaves (flat leaf ONLY)
1 Tbsp minced capers
salt and pepper
After searing the scallops adn transferring them to a warm platter (I just put them in a warm oven), pour off all but 1 Tbsp of the butter in the skillet and saute the shallot in the fat until softened, 1 to 2 minutes. Addthe wine and lemon zest and simmer until treduced to about 1/3 cup, 6 to 7 minutes. Off the heat, stir in the butter, parsley, lemon juice, capers, and salt and pepper to taste. Spoon the sauce over the scallops and serve at once. I usually serve it w/bow tie pasta.
These are from Cook's Illustrated or aka America's Test Kitchen
I like to make this during the week only because I can do all my chopping/prep work during nap time and be able to make it really quick along w/some simple veggies and I call it DONE....I hope you enjoy it.
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Evil is Thy Name
But you probably know it as High Fructose Corn Syrup! The basis for this rant you might ask?
Well have you seen those stupid commercials that really I found to be super insulting and the add in the magazines were no better. They tried their hardest to make it look like HFCS is "just the same as sugar". Well the only 1 thing that you mentioned was that they have the same calories as sugar and "in moderation it's ok for you to consume". I love how they left out the fact that when you consume HFCS you become addicted to it and you crave more of the product. And now HFCS has been linked to Fatty Livers Disease. What the hell? These commercials all by them self made me thrilled that we have TiVo!!!
So now that I have this off my chest, as a mom I took it apon myself to do my best to remove as much HFCS from the foods/drinks I give my family. Soda's-I try really hard not to have it in the house, but I have found Coke from Mexico uses sugar and it's sold at our local store and Jones Soda is made w/sugar, and same goes for Hansen's Soda. Juice-100% juice in the house or I will dump it out. Yes I loves me a COLD Vitamin Water but at least that is made w/sugar and really not that much. Now my mission was to look for "hidden" HFCS and I found it in the form of ketchup! There is TONS of it in ketchup so I found that Trader Joe's Organic Ketchup not only uses sugar it had a really nice zip to it, also the Heinz Organic Ketchup is safe. I also found that items sold under Safeway's "O" organic brand uses sugar instead of HFCS (I am not a huge fan of the organic items but that is another post). For some reason many makers of salad dressing seems to think we need tons of the HFCS in our dressings...you can make your own or just go w/the "O" brand again. Yogurts have a ton of sugar, read your labels and and find the brands that sweeten w/honey or sugar, the Greek yogurts are getting easier to find.
I urge everyone to read your labels in the foods you eat, educate yourself and demand the best for your family. When in doubt, make it yourself then and only then will you truly know what you are eating. I know it's not always possible, heck I love a cold cold fountain Coke every now in then but just watch yourself and be healthy.
Well have you seen those stupid commercials that really I found to be super insulting and the add in the magazines were no better. They tried their hardest to make it look like HFCS is "just the same as sugar". Well the only 1 thing that you mentioned was that they have the same calories as sugar and "in moderation it's ok for you to consume". I love how they left out the fact that when you consume HFCS you become addicted to it and you crave more of the product. And now HFCS has been linked to Fatty Livers Disease. What the hell? These commercials all by them self made me thrilled that we have TiVo!!!
So now that I have this off my chest, as a mom I took it apon myself to do my best to remove as much HFCS from the foods/drinks I give my family. Soda's-I try really hard not to have it in the house, but I have found Coke from Mexico uses sugar and it's sold at our local store and Jones Soda is made w/sugar, and same goes for Hansen's Soda. Juice-100% juice in the house or I will dump it out. Yes I loves me a COLD Vitamin Water but at least that is made w/sugar and really not that much. Now my mission was to look for "hidden" HFCS and I found it in the form of ketchup! There is TONS of it in ketchup so I found that Trader Joe's Organic Ketchup not only uses sugar it had a really nice zip to it, also the Heinz Organic Ketchup is safe. I also found that items sold under Safeway's "O" organic brand uses sugar instead of HFCS (I am not a huge fan of the organic items but that is another post). For some reason many makers of salad dressing seems to think we need tons of the HFCS in our dressings...you can make your own or just go w/the "O" brand again. Yogurts have a ton of sugar, read your labels and and find the brands that sweeten w/honey or sugar, the Greek yogurts are getting easier to find.
I urge everyone to read your labels in the foods you eat, educate yourself and demand the best for your family. When in doubt, make it yourself then and only then will you truly know what you are eating. I know it's not always possible, heck I love a cold cold fountain Coke every now in then but just watch yourself and be healthy.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Still Alive and Kickin
So I haven't dropped off the face of the earth...I really haven't. Just in fact I saw Julie and Julia and was quiet inspired to cook and write about it. This story really touched my heart to try and really step up what I cook for the family. But let's be real here cooking w/two screaming kids doesn't always make the best environment for trying new things but I have a few stand by's I would like to share
One of my go to meals for the mid-week i.e. I am so flipping tired I am lucky to have my eyes open enough to turn on the stove dinners. I like to keep frozen chicken breast in the house, the one's from Costco that are already packaged in sets of two and nicely sealed up so you don't have to. I just pat them dry. I take a large handful of almonds and grind them up into dust add them to about 3/4 c of panko bread crumbs, mix it up and put it on a plate (I like to use pie plates), then I make up my wet in another pie plate. I put in one egg, 1 Tblsp of mustard (any kind on hand), salt n pepper. If I have an orange I add juice from half of it and the zest from the entire orange.
Turn on the oven to about 300 and then dip your chicken in the wet stuff and then to the dry. Get a nice coating of the bread crumbs and put in on a wire rack. Put a little EVOO in a non-stick skillet and brown on both sides. Then put them in the oven to finish up the cooking and then you can get the rest of dinner done!
If you go to serve the chicken and it feels a little soft or it's not quite done for your liking, just zap it in the micro for a minute...my kids love this.
Kitchen Bytes:
To get kids to eat veggies you may want to try what my Mom called "Secret Sauce"...yeah it's just some mayo and a bit of mustard mixed together for dipping. It works great on Broccoli!
One of my go to meals for the mid-week i.e. I am so flipping tired I am lucky to have my eyes open enough to turn on the stove dinners. I like to keep frozen chicken breast in the house, the one's from Costco that are already packaged in sets of two and nicely sealed up so you don't have to. I just pat them dry. I take a large handful of almonds and grind them up into dust add them to about 3/4 c of panko bread crumbs, mix it up and put it on a plate (I like to use pie plates), then I make up my wet in another pie plate. I put in one egg, 1 Tblsp of mustard (any kind on hand), salt n pepper. If I have an orange I add juice from half of it and the zest from the entire orange.
Turn on the oven to about 300 and then dip your chicken in the wet stuff and then to the dry. Get a nice coating of the bread crumbs and put in on a wire rack. Put a little EVOO in a non-stick skillet and brown on both sides. Then put them in the oven to finish up the cooking and then you can get the rest of dinner done!
If you go to serve the chicken and it feels a little soft or it's not quite done for your liking, just zap it in the micro for a minute...my kids love this.
Kitchen Bytes:
To get kids to eat veggies you may want to try what my Mom called "Secret Sauce"...yeah it's just some mayo and a bit of mustard mixed together for dipping. It works great on Broccoli!
Sunday, June 7, 2009
I Did What???
I think I have gone totally insane, not only have I signed up for a 10K race, I also put in for a job at Murphy-Goode Wineries.
Let's start w/the race thingy shall we. Ok first rule about me: we don't run. Well, that rule can only be modified via the proven fact that Satan himself is chasing me. Not one of his minions but actual Satan. Other than that main rule things can be modified. So when I signed up many people kinda laughed and totally understood when I put in the fact that I will be walking it, not running.
I will say that this is a really cool race called the "Wharf to Wharf". You run, I walk, from Santa Cruz Boardwalk to Capitola Wharf. This "race" is right on the coastline so I hope it won't get too hot, if it does, we slow down.
Now the job thingy. This is ssssoooo cool I could scream, but I won't. It's a really cool media/PR/Blogger job at a winery. I would so kill for this job...You had to submit a video as a part of your apilication process. Mine is a little raw but that's me. I am not perfect but obessed w/good food and good drink. I hate that a part of this is a populartity contest-those things have never been my forte. But I do need as many votes for myself as possible or if you just want a laugh here I am... http://www.areallygoodejob.com/video-view.aspx?vid=g6SZteK-tFk
Thank you for your support...I know I have a snow balls chance in hell but at least, so far, Satan isn't chasing me...yet.
Live Laugh Love,
Kristin
Let's start w/the race thingy shall we. Ok first rule about me: we don't run. Well, that rule can only be modified via the proven fact that Satan himself is chasing me. Not one of his minions but actual Satan. Other than that main rule things can be modified. So when I signed up many people kinda laughed and totally understood when I put in the fact that I will be walking it, not running.
I will say that this is a really cool race called the "Wharf to Wharf". You run, I walk, from Santa Cruz Boardwalk to Capitola Wharf. This "race" is right on the coastline so I hope it won't get too hot, if it does, we slow down.
Now the job thingy. This is ssssoooo cool I could scream, but I won't. It's a really cool media/PR/Blogger job at a winery. I would so kill for this job...You had to submit a video as a part of your apilication process. Mine is a little raw but that's me. I am not perfect but obessed w/good food and good drink. I hate that a part of this is a populartity contest-those things have never been my forte. But I do need as many votes for myself as possible or if you just want a laugh here I am... http://www.areallygoodejob.com/video-view.aspx?vid=g6SZteK-tFk
Thank you for your support...I know I have a snow balls chance in hell but at least, so far, Satan isn't chasing me...yet.
Live Laugh Love,
Kristin
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Sharing a part of me...
This may be kinda a silly post but I wanted to share a speech that I gave for my graduation. The silly part is how it came about. You see I was taking the bus to school and I had this amazing sense of emotion about graduating, I think all of us would. So I decided to whip out my PDA and keyboard and put the words down. I was totally bawling as I wrote these words:
Kristin Ghbeish
Speech Submission-Dec 19 2003
Faculty, graduates, family members and friends. We welcome you all here
tonight for our celebration.
As we go forth into our future after achieving a great accomplishment we
should never fail to look back and remember how we got here today. For some of
us it was expected, some of us had to fight, and some of us totally
shocked our families that we wanted to take on this great task of getting
our degree.
Class of Dec 2003, go forth and celebrate our great accomplishment
because no one can take it a way from us. In time this piece of paper
can fade or become a victim of a natural disaster, but nothing can take away
your accomplishment of getting a degree.
This degree was earned, not given to us. We have all had the sleepless
nights to prove it and our family members can remember the phone calls from us
students in hysterics asking "Why are we doing this to ourselves?" We
did it for our own self worth and a passion for a better us.
Class of 2003, WE DID IT. Today we celebrate; tomorrow we work for a
better place for the future. Graduates--dreams and goals in life may change, but never forget to live life with passion. Because w/out passion we will forget why we had our dreams and goals in the first place.
Congratulations graduates.
Then in my mind I remembered that we could submit a speech or basically volunteer to be the "Student Speaker" at our department ceremony. So after auguring with myself for a few minutes I dared myself to submit it. I did, and thank goodness for weeks I heard nothing, I was grateful! So when I went into the office I was greeted with a, "Hey Student Speaker!!!!", I swear my heart went to my toes, I thought I had escaped this challenge, uh NO! My Mom was with me at the time and I hadn't told her about the submission, heck it took me two weeks to get up the nerve to tell my own husband! You see I don't do well speaking in front of people, in grade school I had to sing the Star Spangled Banner by myself in front of the class. Yeah well I did it w/my eyes closed. My wedding? Oh that was bad, I could only get out about three words at a time before choking up, not from emotions of love, it was pure hard fear of speaking while "people were looking at me"!
But I digress, here I was being told I was going to speak to a huge crowd of people. I couldn't back out because they had just given my name to the printers. All the time of this news was sinking in my mother was laughing up a storm, it's always important to have support during a crisis-thanks Mom! Crap I was stuck giving the speech! I made my mother and my husband promise not to tell anyone. I didn't want anyone to feel obligated to attend, I wanted the people there that would truly support me and they did.
The good news was that I got two rounds of applause during my short speech and it was over quickly, but I did it. I faced my fears and pulled it off. Go me!
Live, Laugh, Love,
Kristin
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
The Paula Deen Drinking Game
I know that some people hate her some love her, I am in the "love her" camp.
When spending time w/my Korean twin sister we were chatting about our favorite Food Network people. We both loved Paula, and she started talking about the "Paula Deen Drinking Game" that came to her and some friends. So I can't even really admit to creating this game only putting down some guidelines to it.
It's based on the "quarters game" that's played at parties that we shouldn't have been drinking at. So every time Paula says these specific ingredients you take a shot...just for the record we did try to keep the list short or you would be needing a liver transplant by the first commercial break...yes we know that it's only a 30 minute show but these ingredients are used many times over.
You drink for these foods only:
Butter (well dur here people)
Bacon
Mayonnaise
Sour Cream
Avocado
That's it, have fun people and please don't drink and cook. If you do take pictures for a good laugh in the ER later.
Food Byte:
If your re-heating up pizza use a non-stick skillet w/just a few drops of oil and low heat. It's best if you can use a lid on the skillet too. If you pizza is thick you may need to pop it in the microwave for about 35 seconds and then in the skillet. You will have a nice crispy crust and a hot melted pizza. No soggy crust for me thank you!!!
Live Laugh Love,
Kristin
When spending time w/my Korean twin sister we were chatting about our favorite Food Network people. We both loved Paula, and she started talking about the "Paula Deen Drinking Game" that came to her and some friends. So I can't even really admit to creating this game only putting down some guidelines to it.
It's based on the "quarters game" that's played at parties that we shouldn't have been drinking at. So every time Paula says these specific ingredients you take a shot...just for the record we did try to keep the list short or you would be needing a liver transplant by the first commercial break...yes we know that it's only a 30 minute show but these ingredients are used many times over.
You drink for these foods only:
Butter (well dur here people)
Bacon
Mayonnaise
Sour Cream
Avocado
That's it, have fun people and please don't drink and cook. If you do take pictures for a good laugh in the ER later.
Food Byte:
If your re-heating up pizza use a non-stick skillet w/just a few drops of oil and low heat. It's best if you can use a lid on the skillet too. If you pizza is thick you may need to pop it in the microwave for about 35 seconds and then in the skillet. You will have a nice crispy crust and a hot melted pizza. No soggy crust for me thank you!!!
Live Laugh Love,
Kristin
Friday, May 8, 2009
How and Why I Fell In Love w/My Husband
This story may sound so sappy and nuts but what the heck, I am nuts anyway.
You know that when you see someone across the room and you get total tunnel vision, well that's what exactly happened to me when I saw Tarik for the first time. Then I politely said to my friend, "I want that for Christmas". Later that day he was walking around sharing some chocolate covered blueberries, I had never tasted anything so wonderful in my life. Coming from a back ground of not eating at all (I was anorexic mostly in my teens) and now I was working for a flavor company I was teaching myself what flavor was and how much I loved it. Here I was learning to like flavor but I hated food, and here was this amazing man that took me on a flavor journey that was amazing.
While we were dating we plan out dinner all day long, going from store to store like a treasure hunt. Because he was so passionate about many things of course not only did I gained a good 20lbs but I fell in love. My Sister-In-Law calls it "happy fat", well hell I gained so much I could throw my own ticker tape parade!
All these new flavors I was introduced to really helped me at my job too. I would work w/our flavor chemist when she would try to duplicate things and even helped me get the job of QC for the company.
There were a few draw backs to my new refined palate, my friends hated going wine tasting with me. I could find all these different flavors that they couldn't! I loved chatting w/the people at the wineries but they were mad that they couldn't find the flavors in the food and wines.
So I can easily say that falling in love really effected so many aspects of my life, it put me on this footpath to what I am now and who I am now. Welcome to my crazy life.
Live Laugh Love,
Kristin
You know that when you see someone across the room and you get total tunnel vision, well that's what exactly happened to me when I saw Tarik for the first time. Then I politely said to my friend, "I want that for Christmas". Later that day he was walking around sharing some chocolate covered blueberries, I had never tasted anything so wonderful in my life. Coming from a back ground of not eating at all (I was anorexic mostly in my teens) and now I was working for a flavor company I was teaching myself what flavor was and how much I loved it. Here I was learning to like flavor but I hated food, and here was this amazing man that took me on a flavor journey that was amazing.
While we were dating we plan out dinner all day long, going from store to store like a treasure hunt. Because he was so passionate about many things of course not only did I gained a good 20lbs but I fell in love. My Sister-In-Law calls it "happy fat", well hell I gained so much I could throw my own ticker tape parade!
All these new flavors I was introduced to really helped me at my job too. I would work w/our flavor chemist when she would try to duplicate things and even helped me get the job of QC for the company.
There were a few draw backs to my new refined palate, my friends hated going wine tasting with me. I could find all these different flavors that they couldn't! I loved chatting w/the people at the wineries but they were mad that they couldn't find the flavors in the food and wines.
So I can easily say that falling in love really effected so many aspects of my life, it put me on this footpath to what I am now and who I am now. Welcome to my crazy life.
Live Laugh Love,
Kristin
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