My heart will go on…

Long time no see everyone!

Been busy with lots of things lately, too much going on to find time to blog, but I have a real good set of pictures I want to share with everyone.  One of the things I’ve been busy with is getting ready for a big Garde Manger buffet with my good buddies.  We did it Titanic themed, so the food is English, French, and American influenced.  It consisted of various salads, h’orderves, terrines, galantines, and sausages.  Time for some drooling action!

The Showpieces and Show Platters

First up is the center showpiece we used to set the tone of the banquet.  Buddy Steven decided that a butter sculpture of the titanic would be too cliche and difficult so he went with the Big Ben tower (what the ship saw as it left the harbor for New York).  I wish I coulda helped with the sculpture, but I was too occupied with the other show pieces.  Good job, guys! Made out of butter, wha?!

Big Ben Butter Sculpture

There’s a lot of pictures held for hostage on my desktop so I’m going to just quickly get this over with and just have title and picture, if you want detail on any, holla at yo boy.

Assorted Terrines

From left to right, Quail Galantine, Chicken Terrine, Chicken and Ham Terrine #2, Pate en croute, Chicken Galantine

Green Mango Curry Shrimp Cups

Assorted Terrines

From left to right, Chicken Galantine, Chicken Galantine, Duck Galantine

BLT (bacon, lettuce, tomato)

Cheese Quiche

Crab and Avocado Salad

Smoked Duck, Tarragon Cream Cheese, and Tomato Confit on Parmesan Crackers

Watermelon and Red Onion Salad

Salad Nicoise

Scotch Eggs

Trout Showplatter

2 Trout Galantines and a Trout and Salmon Mousse Terrine

Marinated Roasted Pepper Salad

Duck Confit Strudel with Brandy Cranberry Relish

Corn Relish Pikelet with Prosciutto and Creme Fraiche

Smoked Salmon, Creme Fraiche and Caviar on Potato Pancakes

Olive and Squash Crispy Tarts

Endive, Apples and Blue Cheese Salad

Smoked Salmon

Pork Tenderloin, Brie and Onion Confit on Rye Toast

Spinach, Bacon, and Blue Cheese Salad

New England Clam Chowder on a Shell

Prosciutto

Waldorf Salad in Fruit Peacock

Country-style Potato Salad

Fried Oysters on the Half-shell

Caesar Salad

Assorted Terrines

From left to right, Chicken and Ham Galantine, Chicken Galantine, Chicken Terrine

Macaroni Salad with Smoked Duck and Chanterelles

Phew! That was a handful… There’s more, but somehow I forgot to take a picture of the sausages.  The sausages were, English Bangers, Duck Liver Sausage, Weisswurst Sausage, and Bratwurst.  It was a very good turnout, and the displays were just absolutely amazing.  Good job everyone! It was an event to be proud of for a long time.

Apr. 6 Fried chicken and… baby carrots?

Hello my dear readers, <hi!>

Today had to be one of the more satisfying meals we’ve made in a long time. <yessire   ahem someone  kept staring at the pictures long after the meal was over > It wasn’t planned, it wasn’t a true-and-tried recipe (it’s not like I ever use recipes ),  and it didn’t come together until we started cooking; but boy did it come together so…. deliciously. <mm..> I didn’t know what to make for dinner, so I just had Dee pick out some fresh produce at the grocery store and I’ll make dinner out of it.  The items Dee brought home was: Collard Greens, French Baby Carrots, and Baby Red Potatoes.  <notice how i picked all the cute vegetables > I love it when she makes it so it feels like I’m on Chopped with ingredients I’ve never worked with. < >We have tons of meat in stock in our freezer, <i wonder why..> and I decided to go with chicken (this is the first time I need subtext to describe the meal ):

Fried Chicken and Collard Greens with Honey Mustard Carrot Coulis

Panko-crusted fried chicken served with collard greens sauteed with bacon, <you know its good when there’s bacon in the ingredient> garlic, shallots, baby carrot greens, and baby red potatoes.  Served with baby carrot greens tempura and a honey mustard, baby carrot coulis sauce. (*phew* that was a long one!) <breathe, honey> 

Yum!  <doesn’t that look good?> There was just the right amount of crunch, the right amount of juiciness, and the right amount of sweet and sour and tang and spiciness and… ok I’ll stop, <no..continue please > but only because I’m starting to drool.  <stay away from my shoulder > Let’s take a look at how much this yummy meal cost:

Chicken Thighs – 4 count, approx 2 lb

Price: I buy whole chickens at $0.99/lb and any trimmings/waste are saved for chicken stock so: $1.98 <its true! he doesn’t waste anything>

Prep: Dust liberally with seasoning (cayenne pepper, black pepper, salt) and dredge in flour, dip in egg wash, and coat with panko crumbs.

Cook: Deep Fry until golden brown then finish up cooking in oven.

Collard Greens – 1 bunch

Price: $1.49 per bunch: $1.49

Prep: Cut out ribs and then chiffonade.

Cook: Saute with bacon, garlic, and shallots.

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Baby Red Potatoes – 0.49 lb

Price: $1.99/lb: $0.98

Prep: Cut in half and blanch in salted water.

Cook: Season and toss in with greens.

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Baby French Carrots – 1 bunch

Price: $1.99/bunch: $1.99

Prep: Fine dice the carrot root and clean the greens.

Cook: Make coulis out of carrots, honey, and mustard.  Dip greens in batter and deep fry.

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The carrot greens tempura was Dee’s idea and it was FANTASTIC!  <i didn’t wanna waste the oil… i had to make good use of it somehow > I highly encourage everyone to try it because it was great and crunchy, flaky, with a hint of carrot sweetness.  Dip it in the baby carrot honey mustard coulis? DELICIOUS!  This was my first time eating baby french carrots and I absolutely loved it.  Thanks, Dee! <your welcome, babe >

Fried Chicken and Collard Greens

• Chicken: $1.98
• Collard Greens: $1.49
• Potatoes: $0.98
• Carrots: $1.99
• Misc: $6.00 (doubled the normal misc. because of bacon and shallots)
• Total cost: $12.44 or $4.15 per person

Talk about cheap and delicious! <hey! we’re on a budget. gotta make use of what we can> I couldn’t have done this without Dee.  She gets my creative juices running .  <oh? > The honey-mustard carrot sauce was just absolutely perfect and went so well with the chicken.  Thank you, Dee, for picking out amazing ingredients from the market. <no no..thank you! heh the meal wouldn’t have been perfect without the perfect chef >

Catching up some more! Stop falling behind!

Sorry!!

I fell behind again and need to catchup on some meals. <that’s ok, honey. no rush > It’s so hard keeping this up daily . <tell me about it..sigh> This one’s gonna be a quickie… gotta pick up Dee from work in 5 minutes! <he wasn’t late >

Teriyaki Braised Shortribs

That one was nothing fancy…< > just taking what we had in the pantry and make a yummy meal of it.  <had to finish the leftover before it goes bad> Dee cooked this one while I was away for the day.  <i had no idea what i was doing…> She’s become quite the expert on braising stuff in the oven . <aww thank you>

The next one was a planned dish (meaning its not from stuff in the pantry) so of course it’s gonna be super yummy . <and of course, it was!>

Panko Crusted Salmon with Dill Beurre Blanc and Roasted Fingerlings

I loved how this dish turned out, minus the artichoke heart not having a clean cut trim off the top (Dee was doing the trimming of the artichokes ).  <hey!..those artichokes were hard to cut > I would have prefered to use rice flakes over panko crumbs, but we<you mean , I > had a hard time finding rice flakes at the stores. <damn asians, they need to learn english!>   I also wish I had bigger plates… I don’t like plating entrees on the medium size dinner plates we have. *sigh*. It just looks so much better on a big plate.
Someone get us plates! <please >

Mar. 30 Winner, winner, chicken dinner…

Woot!

I am so completely satisfied right now.  <dinner sure was yummy> MM mm mm… a nice, juicy chicken always hits the spot. <it sure does…my tummy is super happy > My plan originally for our dinner tonight was to cook up the chicken breasts we have [we usually buy a whole chicken maybe once every 2 weeks for $5 <what  a deal! >  and carve out 2 breasts, 2 legs(thighs/drumstick), and 2 wings(freeze until enough for buffalo wings)] <can’t wait for the buffalo wings> and just eat it with some simple veggies, starch, and a simple, delicious sauce.  However, during the cooking process, the sauce seemed so delicious that we ended up throwing all the veggies we bought into the sauce, tossed in some pasta, and used it as a pasta sauce. <my baby so smart> It turned out into an absolutely amazing pasta dish to go with the chicken. Here it goes:

Roasted Chicken Breast with Spinach, Mushroom, and Artichoke Fettuccine

You’ll have to forgive me for this post because I accidently deleted all the pictures of the ingredients <you what?! > and also forgot to keep the receipt from the grocery so there’s gonna be no “receipt” section this time around.  Sowwy!!  As an estimate, it cost about $5 for a whole chicken and we used only the breasts.  The veggies cost no more than $5 as well.  So I would estimate about $3-4 a person for this meal.  No more than a cup of coffee from Starbuck’s, that’s for sure. <i don’t know about you guys, but…screw you Starbucks! i’ll take the chicken, please> Bye!

P.S. I made carrot cake the other day too, so we had that for dessert.< Yum.. >

Playing Catchup

Ok! <k! >

Back in action! <finally…. > Sorry about the delay, but I’ve been super lazy <yes you have… > to blog ever since I got knocked out of rhythm by my internet going down a few days.  <stupid comcast > This post will just be a quick catchup to all the pictures we’ve built up over the past week or so and then we’ll try to get back into daily(hopefully) posts.  Ready… Set… GO! (Remember.. if something looks good and you want details on it, just leave a comment!)

1. Roasted Chicken and Wine-Braised Celery with Suprême Sauce

<mmm…this was deliciously wicked! >

2. Fruit Tart (we do baking now too ) <hehe..nice presentation, hunnie! it tasted as good as it looked! I couldn’t stop myself after two helpings…so kha asked me to take it downstairs to put it in the fridge.( just between us two, i had some more >

3. Mushroom, Spinach and Bacon Quiche <oo..this was my first Quiche…and you made it very memorable>

4. Mussels in Hazelnut Smoked Blue Cheese Broth with Homemade Onion Dipping Bread<i can’t even begin to tell you guys how good this was

….let’s just say….(i had to take this scrumptious broth away from a certain someone..(ahem) >

<the onion bread perfectly suited the broth>

5. Homemade Banana Nut Bread <Kha’s baby sister, Michelle, made this yummy bread :shocking: i know!. well..not really,  must i remind you who her brother is… >

6. New York Steak Bibimbap <i remember this meal..perfectly clear Who knew my baby can make such delicious Bibimbap!>

7. Fettuccine alla Carbonara <i don’t know about you guys, but this FaC…was delicious. It got cold really fast…but when it was served hot….OMG…..yum!>

8. Apple Braised Spareribs and Potatoes au Gratin <I was picking at my food pps: sorry hunny. It was yummy…(but you know how i feel about meat on bones) yeah..but it was “i” who suggested we have spareribs for dinner but my baby was soo sweet. He tootally took charged…and ripped my spareribs apart. He’s soo sigh >

9. Croissant-wich <We had just gotten back from Smart and Final..and didn’t realize how late it has gotten. Oh no! what about dinner…right? Suddenly, baby had an ! He suggested we use the croissant that he made earlier that day and make a croissant-sandwich with the leftover we had from yesterday. Voila! Quick and easy dinner, just like that!

10. Mussels and Broccoli Rabe with Triple Creamed Brie and Blue Cheese Broth<omg. just looking at this picture makes me hungry This was absolutely mind-blowing! This was our first Broccoli Rabe from Farmer’s Market was yummy… (Kha absolutely adores this…”broccoli”  and says he’s not going back to regular broccoli! What does that say?…go try some! >

10b. Mussels and Broccoli Rabe with Triple Creamed Brie and Blue Cheese Broth 15 Minutes Later <hehe..we killed it….2 lb’s worth of mussels>

See you later! <bye!>

Dumb Comcast

Sorry about not posting our dinner’s these past few days… stupid comcast was doing construction around our area and shut down internet access for a few days.  I’ll do a catch-up soon enough.

Peace out,

Kha

Mar. 15 Chicken Pot Pie….?

Hey hey hey!

Soooo…. I was watching “Throwdown with Bobby Flay” on foodnetwork yesterday < without me… > , and they were doing an episode on Chicken Pot Pie. <thank you Bobby Flay! > I never really had a pot pie before, <me either!> but oh my goodness did it look good. <taste good too > It looked rather simple too, nothing too hard to figure out. <teach me, hunny > For those of you who know how to make a technically correct pot pie, feel free to correct me.  It looked as though it was just a combination of vegetables and chicken, in a simple chicken and cream veloute sauce and then baked with a puff pastry(or pie crust) to top it off. <yum…doesn’t that sound amazing? >  Does that sound about right?  It sure tasted like what I imagined a chicken pot pie to taste like… and it was delicious!  <delicious!> I can definitely see why they call this a classic american comfort dish.

Kha’s Chicken Pot Pie

Mmm… The crust was just absolutely scrumptious! <mm.. soft and crispy!>  Dipping it in the filling was just amazingly fun and delicious.  Anyways, gonna run through this pretty quick, I’m getting tired. < aww >

Chicken – 2 legs

This is the picture of the whole chicken I bought for $5.00 and then butchered into wings, legs, and breasts.  For the pot pie, I only used the legs and the giblets(the gizzard and the liver).

Price: $5.00 for the whole chicken, <wow! what a deal > I’d say the legs are 1/3 of the price and breasts 2/3: $1.67

Prep: Chop up into bite size pieces and then poach in water with lemon, wine, parsley, rosemary, thyme, peppercorns, and bayleaf.

Cook: Cook with vegetables in veloute cream sauce for filling.

Assorted Vegetables – 2 Carrots, 2 celery stalks, 8 oz. button mushrooms, 1 onion

Price: I’ll just total it up in my head: $4.00

Prep: Dice into bite size pieces.

Cook: Sweat in pan on stovetop in butter then add flour to make a roux, then add chicken stock and cream to make a veloute, then add chicken and use as pot pie filling.

So now we have the filling, all we need is the pastry dough.  Making a puff pastry dough is quite labor intensive, so I just used store bought dough.

Puff Pastry Dough

Price: $7.00

Prep: Defrost.

Cook: Cover pot pie with dough and then brush eggwash on the dough so it can get nice and brown once cooked.

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And that’s it! Place in oven until the dough is done and you have yourself a <delicious>  chicken pot pie.  It seemed easy enough to make.  I never made a pot pie or seen a pot pie recipe before so I don’t know what’s traditional ingredients in a pot pie but I found that using mushrooms is a huge plus; <mmm > rosemary and thyme worked really well, and adding white wine to the veloute really adds a lot of depth to the flavor.  Done!  I’m going to do the receipt and move on today because I’m behind on my blogs, and I need to wrap this up and move on to tonight’s blog (Mar. 16th).

Kha’s Chicken Pot Pie

• Chicken: $1.67
• Veggies: $4.00
• Dough: $7.00
• Misc.: $3.00
• Total cost: $15.67 or $5.22 per person.

Conclusion: It was delicious and deliciously easy.

Mar. 14 Scallops and steak, woowee!

Greetings folks,

Boy do I love  weekend meals. <more than me?> There’s something about the weekend that just screams fancy dinner time. <lucky for the girlfriend > I had a few scallops in the fridge so I decided to buy some beef to go with it and use whatever veggies I had already to make the sides. <can’t let it go to waste> Luckily for me, I was quite happy to find a bag of red potatoes that Dee bought earlier because I’ve been craving some scallopped potatoes (or potatoes au gratin).  I wasn’t sure if Dee likes sea scallops or not, < > because they can be quite ocean-tasting but I’m about to find out . <i loved it! it was perfectly seasoned >

NY Strip Steak and Sea Scallops with Potatoes au Gratin

The dish was pretty simple to put together because it doesn’t take rocket science to cook a steak or sear some scallops.  It just takes timing. <And lots of practice for you beginners…> As for the sides, the spinach and potatoes could be cooked first, then reheated right before plating.  The only real complicated part was the sauce which takes some practice to make and keep warm without breaking the emulsion. < > Other than that, the ingredients were pretty straight forward and simple:

New York Strip Steak – 0.94 lb

Price: $6.49/lb: $6.10

Prep: Season both sides.

Cook: Cook on stovetop until medium-rare.  The key to keeping it juicy is to flip it only once, and to let it rest 5-10 minutes before cutting into it so meat can “calm down” and let the juices redistribute.

We went to Smart & Final hoping to find a whole tenderloin to cut filet mignon’s out of, but all they had were pre-cut strip steaks(which comes from the short loin of the cow), so I went with that instead. < >

Sea Scallops – 4 oz.

Price: About $20/lb: $5.00

Prep: Pat dry with paper towel.

Cook: Season and then sear both sides on hot hot pan.

Quick Tip: A perfectly seared scallop means the outside is nicely browned, and the middle is medium-rare. <mm..just the way i like it! >

Baby Red Potatoes – 2lb bag

(forgot to take picture… picture from safeway.com)

Price: $3.99/bag: $3.99

Prep: Cut into thin slices.

Cook: Place into baking dish, season, and then top with cream+cheese mixture and bake until golden brown on top.

Quick note: It’s nice to use a smooth melting cheese like Gruyer. <too bad we didn’t have any>

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I opted to use a combination of blue cheese and Parmigiano Reggiano for the cheese mixture. <it turned out pretty good > Also used a little bit of chives just cause I can.  The potatoes au gratin(or scallopped potatoes, as they say in the U.S.) turned out just amazing with the kick from the blue cheese and the sweetness from the Parmigiano Reggiano.  I would have to say this was an integral part of bringing this dish together.

Frozen Spinach – 1 package

Price: $1.39

Prep: Thaw.

Cook: Cook with garlic, bacon, blue cheese and a bit of cream.

Quick Fact: Although it may seem like it’s better to get fresh spinach, frozen spinach is actually more nutritious.  <what? now way >Fresh spinach is picked off the farm days before completely matured in order for it to continue maturing on the journey through the delivery process and time spent on the market shelf.  On the otherhand, frozen spinach is picked at the peak of maturity and then flash frozen on-site before being delivered, meaning it retains much more of the nutrients. This is true for most other frozen vegetables, too. <wow>

There’s no way I can serve a dish to Dee without a sauce, <haha oh baby…you know me so well> so I made a classic bernaise sauce which is like a hollandaise but with shallots, tarragon, and chervil.  Rather than using a vinegar reduction, I used red wine to lower the tartness and acidity a bit so the natural flavors of the scallops don’t get overpowered. <YUM>

Everything went very well in this dinner and I am presented it proudly.  <dinner was amazing, baby >Dee was an amazing sous chef, as always, and I couldn’t have done this without her.  <oh please, you’re giving me way too much credit heh> She’s so cute with her small cutting board and knife.  Anyways, Dee thinks I’m asleep so I should go back to bed.  Ta-ta. < …you tricked me! …..sigh>

NY Strip Steak and Sea Scallops with Potatoes au Gratin

• Steak: $6.10
• Scallops: $5.00
• Potatoes: $3.99
• Spinach: $1.39
• Misc.: $2.00
• Total cost: $18.48 or $9.24 per person.

Conclusion: You won’t find scallops normally unless it’s a higher-end restaurant,  but let’s see what Red Lobster has against us.  <nothing!> Most of you have probably been there so it’s a good place to start.  They serve a NY Strip Steak for $18.50 which comes with nothing but broccoli(badly seasoned broccoli).  Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t really like eating just a big piece of meat without anything to compliment it.  Call me crazy but I like veggies with my meal. <you crazy baby> These american restaurants do nothing but downgrade vegetables to second-rate citizens and take away what can really be a star player.  Just ask Dee; she is used to this mentality that it’s all about the meat in a dish. <not uh… > However, I have gotten her to love every vegetable I serve her only because I give the veggies some love and do a little bit more for it than just steam, salt and pepper. < > Ask her how tonight’s spinach and potatoes were and she’ll tell you they were the star of the dish, <they were now eat your veggies! > and not the steak or scallops. Please learn how to appreciate the “side dishes” and you’ll find they are what really pushes a dish from mediocre to extraordinary; you can only do so much with a piece of steak.

Vegetables vs. America,

Loser, Vegetables.

Mar. 13 Dee’s new favorite salmon meal…

Hi!

Mmm mmm mmm…. tonight’s dinner was just absolutely perfect! <you guys have no > Dee let me splurge <hm, i wonder how much he spent > at the grocery store to buy whatever I want for tonight’s dinner and I was like a kid in a candy store. <what a cutie > Somehow I was able to control my urges <uh huh > and kept the meal on a good budget, using simple, inexpensive ingredients, but still making it extremely mind-blowing.  <that’s my baby! > I’ve been planning this meal all week, <wow, very impressive babe > ever since I saw how beautiful the color of the blood orange is.  I just HAD to make compliments to it to make it shine!  <mm…i want more!> I’m such a food addict that all I think about during my “me time” on the toilet < > and while im showering is what meat, veggie, starch, and sauce would compliment each other for dinner. <Whatever helps you think, babe > Enough of me drooling over what we had for dinner, it’s time to make YOU drool too! <oh…im drooling, already>

Rice-crisped Salmon in a Citrus Sauce

The plate just pops out at you and screams, “EAT ME!”  <give me! > The main attraction to this dish is not the salmon, surprisingly, it’s the sauce. < > The sauce is made from blood oranges <wow…you’re so creative hunnie > and everything on the plate around it is meant to compliment it. And now, the star player:

Blood Oranges – 3.65lb or 10 count

Price: $1.99/lb: $7.26

Prep: You notice my “juicer” next to the oranges?  I juiced 10 of them with my hands.  <he did! i saw him juiced them oranges> Screw those gimmick plastic juicers. 

Cook: The oranges resulted in about a quart of juice which I combined with white wine, lemongrass, ginger, sugar, and honey and reduced down to about a cup of sauce.

Although these oranges look like regular oranges on the outside, on the inside they are blood-red as a result of anthocyanin, which is normally found in flowers but not in citrus fruits.  The color of the sauce was better than I imagined and the taste was just unbelievable. <no better way to describe it >

Steelhead Salmon – 2 filets

Price: $5.00 per filet: $10.00

Prep: Use the toenail clipper(washed, of course) and pull out pin-bones. <he pulled out the bones especially for me ..i feel LOVED >  Then brush egg-flour mixture on skin-side and dredge in rice flakes. <who knew that rice flakes can do such wonder?!? >

Cook: Pan-fry in oil to crispen rice covered skin then stick in oven to finish cooking until medium-rare.

Fish skin is something too many people avoid and throw away. <shame on you …skin throwers! > When properly cooked, it is the most delicious balance a soft, flaky, salmon can have. <yup!>  You have to crispen the skin, don’t let it get soggy.  The crispness of the skin creates such a nice counter-point to the smooth butteriness of the salmon flesh.

Ginger – 1 oz.

Price: $6.99/lb: $0.44

Prep: Take skin off and then finely dice.

Cook: Throw in sauce while it cooks.

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Lemongrass – 1 stalk

Price: $1.99/lb: $0.12

Prep: Beat out the wooden stem, then fine dice the edible part, and smack the rest of the woody stalk.

Cook: Throw the fine dice into the sauce as it cooks and also throw in the smacked stalk for more flavor infusion.

Rice Flakes – Half bag

Price: $1/bag: $0.50

Prep: Dredge skin-side of salmon in.

Cook: Crispen in oil.

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Below is my thought process in making this dish.

That about does it for the main entree, now let’s see how easy it was to select some sides to compliment it .  For starch, I contemplated rice over potatoes, but in the end I went with potatoes <excellent choice, it went really well with everything that was on the dish> because I already had some from the farmer’s market.  Rather than do mashed potatoes, I went with just steaming the tourneed(cut into the little football shape) <he loves doing that > potatoes to retain some bite to it to go with the buttery creaminess of salmon meat, <you’re making me drool..>  rather than pairing creamy potatoes with creamy meat.  As for vegetables, I also wanted something with some bite to it for the same reason, and I also wanted something green to contrast with the red-tones from the salmon and the sauce.  I chose snap peas because <its green …like him > it’s been awhile since I had some and I just love the sweetness and crunch they have. <the presentation was beautiful, honey. I’m so proud of you >

Fingerling Potatoes – The bag

Price: Got this much at the farmer’s market last sunday for: $3.00

Prep: Tourne.

Cook: Steam with salt and pepper then do a quick toss in parsley and butter.

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Quick Tip: The smaller the potatoes, the better the flavor.

Snap Peas – 0.38 lb

(picture is from online, forgot to take a picture before I cooked them)

Price: $5.99/lb: $2.28

Prep: Trim off edges and fibers. <babe taught me how to do this >

Cook: Blanch in water then do quick toss in butter, salt, and sugar.

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And that’s it!  Deliciously simple, huh? <yes, babe. it was absolutely scrumptious!!! > As long as you get fresh ingredients, and put some thought into what you’re going to serve, even the most simple of dishes can be mind-blowing. <That dish was full of love! > All it took was a dollar bag of rice flakes <a $1…no friggin’ way  :shock:> to turn “just another salmon” into such a delicious piece of fish.  The crunchy/crispness you get from the rice flakes makes such a big impact on the taste of the meal; just ask Dee!  <lucky me!> Again, this meal fed 3 of us(me, my little sister, and Dee), so here’s the coin-count:

Rice-crisped Salmon in a Citrus Sauce

• Oranges: $7.26
• Salmon: $10.00
• Ginger: $0.44
• Lemongrass: $0.12
• Rice Flakes: $0.50
• Potatoes: $3.00
• Peas: $2.28
• Misc.: $3.00
• Total cost: $26.60 or $8.87 per person

Comparison: How about we compare this salmon dish to a similar salmon dish at Romano’s Macaroni Grill.  I just love putting down these chain restaurants <you show em’ hunny! > because they’re just so gosh-darn inferior to anything we can make .  Macaroni Grill’s “Simple Salmon” dish has salmon, asparagus, and broccolli for $15.99.  What? Really?! No sauce? <:shock: > NO WAY?!  How come it’s so expensive when all they did was throw everything on the grill and then didn’t even put enough basic seasoning(salt and pepper) on it?  <because they can …sigh> Yet it’s a whopping 16 bucks? DAMN! Put some starch in the meal for goodness sake! Rice! Pasta! Potatoes! ANYTHING! <seriously >Enough with bashing on Macaroni Grill, let’s move on to something more delightful.  <let’s talk about how wonderful you are >Such as $9 for a meal that is superior to most food you find at american “restaurants”.  Screw you, Applebee’s.  Kiss my ass, T.G.I. Fridays.  <muah> Put your soggy ass salmon skin away and count the money you milked from lazy parent with obese children.

American Chain Restaurants vs. Danchois

Winner, Danchois. <yay!>

Mar. 12 Magical Pot Roast Transformation!

Hello peoples,

Thanks to a really amazing nap, dinner today didn’t start until 9:00pm. <thanks to Mr. Sleepy Head > I’m not complaining though; there’s nothing wrong with nap->dinner->sleep . <you’re so cute when you’re sleeping > Anyways, since it’s a late dinner, there’s no time for grocery shopping <oh no! > so it’s time for some creativity, ingenuity and some treasure huntin: Let’s see what we can find in the fridge! <oh lets!>

Beef Stroganoff

We ended up making a very yummy version of beef stroganoff using stuff we already had. <isn’t that great? >  It just goes to show that there’s no excuse for not cooking dinner <yeah you lazy butts quit eating fast foods! >because there’s always something you can make! <yessiree! >  This is an altered version of a super delicious stroganoff I usually make for Dee(one of the first things I cooked for her), <sigh >  using flavors more suitable for the ingredients… which are:

Dee’s leftover cumin pot roast (from Mar. 10th’s dinner)

Price: $0.00!

Prep: Open!

Cook: Reheat on stove-top and readjust seasoning.

Some of the added ingredients I used was: Cayenne, paprika, red wine, balsamic vinegar, heavy cream and also plenty of kosher salt(all accounted for with “Misc.).

The cost is already accounted for from Mar. 10th’s receipt.  Oh, how I love using leftovers! <yeah, right. You hate leftovers!>

Home-made Tagliatelle Pasta

Price: It only takes a cup of flour and one egg to make…at most: $0.25

Prep: Put a pot of boiling water on.

Cook: Boil in salted water until cooked.

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Button Mushrooms – 8 count

Price: Used about $2.00 worth: $2.00

Prep: Cut into chunks.

Cook: Saute before adding pot roast and cream.

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And thats it!  <viola> Wow so inexpensive! That’s all it takes to feed 3 people with a delicious meal.

Since today’s meal was so inexpensive, I think we deserve to splurge a little bit tomorrow, huh, Dee? <hehe yes i think so!> Even though tomorrow is your no-meat day, you’re in for a treat with what I have planned for dinner.  <gasps> Making meals with whatever I got is one thing,  but when I get to shop for every ingredient I want without restriction, things start to get realllll good for Dee .  < tell me, tell me!!! > Can’t wait for tomorrow!

Beef Stroganoff

• Leftovers: $0.00
• Pasta: $0.25
• Mushrooms: $2.00
• Misc.: $3.00
• Total cost: $5.25 or $1.75 per person

Comparison: Hmm… no comparisons today, folks, there’s a clear winner in this meal.

Winners, me and Dee.