Minis!

I had some left over ingredients from Friday's galette, so I made a mini galette! Cute!


I'm gonna share this one with my honey.

Food Porn/Gastrorgasm: Plum Galette

I finally made it. It took forever, mostly because the dough has to rest a lot and because I was being a little anal about the fruit and made sure it looked good.

This was a recipe that I saw in an issue of Everyday Food and the picture was just glorious, I talked about it for days. I posted the recipe in an earlier post titled, "Food Porn: Plum Galette"

It was really good. I was surprised at how delicious the crust was, it was actually better than the fruit. The fruit is really good too, I really love plums, but the crust outshone the plums. Its so simple, I'd like to try it with other fillings. Plums are going to fade out of season, so I'd like to try it with apples. What was also a really nice touch was that there's a layer of almond and sugar under the fruit. I also especially liked the way the sprinkled sugar made the crust look glittery.

Food Porn/Gastrorgasm: Meatloaf

Yea homies! MEATLOAF! Say what you want, but here at QL we're superfans of the good ol' Americana. We put the salsa to the side and made space for meatloaf tonight.

I remember the first time I had meatloaf, my mom made it. Its one of those dishes that doesn't really come natural to Mexican people, but we trust American recipes because no one else can come up with this kind of bullshit; ground beef, bread crumbs... and ketchup. I like to make a really simple recipe that I've adapted from Everyday Food. The original recipe calls for ground pork, but pork and I have a really complicated relationship so in keeping with my notorious habit of avoidance, I just substitute the ground pork for ground sirloin, fuck the pigs.

Before the main course, I made a salad composed of organic (some of the Michael Pollan rubbed off on me) baby romaine, red bell peppers (super sale), purple onions, gorgonzola cheese, balsamic vinegar and olive oil, oh, and a dash of salt and pepper. Super simple, nothing too overwhelming because we were about to have a mother of an entree... and dessert. I took it easy on us, a salad for the sake of getting our greens and produce in.

Here comes that heffa... This bitch took her sweet time in the oven, about an hour and twenty minutes, in true diva fashion. Indulge in the food porn.



I also made garlic mashed potatoes and really simple sauteed summer squash and zucchini.




I got a new burn. In a really gross way, I'm kinda proud of my burns. "475 degree oven, you don't scare me!"


We had this wine. My sister gave it to me, its a 2004 Modus Toscana from the Ruffino Vineyards in Italy. Delish, one of the oldest vintages I think I've had. Maybe I shouldn't have had it with meatloaf...


Dessert: Ghiardelli brownies from the box, with Breyer's French Vanilla Ice Cream. I'm a cook, not a baker.


On a totally unrelated note, Maxwell is gonna be in Chicago on Thursday... oh. I wonder if he likes meatloaf.

Birthday Month

#2, Tuesday, Sept. 22nd: Pizza & Trivial Pursuit


Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures for this, but I'll tell you all about it. My friend Steven might have some pictures, I'll post them if he does.

We ordered pizza from Benny's in Pilsen. Pizza made by paisas, and its the bomb. Its a total dive, but I like my pizza a little shady. I usually prefer Italian sausage, but there I like pepperoni and mushrooms, and if you ask them to toast it a bit, they'll do it.

Pizza and fries is a Chicago thing apparantly. Steven, who is from California, says that nowhere else do you see people eating fries with their pizza. "Barack is probably the only US President to have ever had pizza and fries." - fascinating.

We played in teams, there was an odd number, so it was two teams of two, and a brave soul going at it on his own. This is how it panned out: Mando & Myself, Baby & Ken, and Steven all on his own.

I love Trivial Pursuit, its one of my favorite board games ever. I'm not that good at trivia, but I like the competitiveness and even when I lose, I have a lot of fun.

At the end of the night, after about three hours of the most random trivia, we were all tied, each with four pies. We rolled for the victory, and Baby & Ken won.

There was a question regarding the main ingredient in an Egyptian dish which was flax seed. I don't remember the name of it, but it sounded interesting.

If only Trivial Pursuit had an entire food category...

Birthday Month

I celebrated my birthday on three different days this year, and I still have one more to go.

#1: Dinner with pals at May St. Cafe, Friday, September 18th. May St. was ok. I had been driving past it for years and wanted to go ever since I read a review about their pumpkin flan. When trying to figure out what I wanted to do for my special day (the first of four)I thought it'd be a great opportunity to check it out. I went to the website and looked at several of the pictures. It didn't look special, and the presentation seemed a little sloppy and busy, and some really pretentious, but I had been wanting to go for so long and presentation is only a small part of the overall experience.

While we were waiting for everyone, the server brought us these tiny little escargot in a quiche-like pastry thing, they were pretty good. I'd never had escargot before, but I would have it again, thank you May Street Cafe. Then we ordered some appetizers, brie & pear quesadillas are really great. The guacamole was also good and they kept the chips coming for the rest of the night. ;)

Vero, Mando and I had the Special which was a Great Lakes white fish with plantain chip, sweet mashed potatoes, and roasted veggies. First the fish portion was tiny, so they tried to make up for it was a hodgepodge of stuff. The plate was overall too busy. It was ok, slightly overcooked, but nothing was bad and it was fine. The picture I have was blurry, but you'll at least see what I mean by too busy and messy presentation.



Ken and Steven both had the Wild Alaskan Salmon, and again, too small of a portion and busy ass mess. Taste was good, but nothing to die for.



Baby had this rice dish with scallops and shrimp in a coconut milk and served in a hallowed out pineapple. This dish took the prize for most flamboyant presentation. Very much like the bad joke my mom likes to tell about why the fruits don't like to invite the pineapple because she's conceited and always shows up with that ridiculous bow on top of her head. This cracks her up, and it finally made sense.



Julio and Arturo had the chicken fajitas. I didn't try them, but its hard to fuck up chicken fajitas. I suspect they were delicious.



Carla, by far, had the best entree that I tasted. I tried most everyone's entrees. That pork was to die for and Carla put it down. It was also the best presented dish, which considering the hot messes we ate, isn't saying much.





The desserts were the highlight of the night for me. First of all, they brought me a chocolate budino-like cake with vanilla ice cream and "Happy Birthday" written in chocolate and caramel. Delicious!



There was a mango flan, and a guava flan, and more chocolate cake. I busted out the champagne for desert. There's no other way to have it.

Recessionista's Cupboard: Day #2

Day 2. Still working on the perishable items.
I had oatmeal and coffee for breakfast and some leftover pizza for lunch. I needed to use up a tomato and onion before they went bad so i figured i would make some pico de gallo. I felt like enjoying something simple and non-greasy to go with my pico de gallo so dinner was Mexican rice, a boiled egg and topped with pico de gallo. It was perfect! The ingredients of this dinner: rice, tomatoes, onions, garlic, egg, serrano pepper, olive oil, tomatoe sauce and lime. How nice is to know that a minimal amount of ingredients could make you such a great dinner.


"Poor man's food" is def my favorite. It's simple, whole ingredients and guarantees to be comforting. My mom knows how much i enjoy these simple dinners and makes sure to make me these soul filling meals when i come over to visit. I LOVE when she makes me her frijoles and chorizo con huevos or something as simple as quesadillas. And the warmth and smell of the tortillas (i like them just a bit crispy) on the comal make the house a home.

Foochiela! Burnt Beans

I was going to make black beans yesterday to prepare for today's dinner and I ended up stinking up the house with burnt beans. Ayy fo!
I've made many pots of beans before. Some were a great success and others not so much. So, i looked for some tips today on how to properly make a pot of beans. I discovered quickly the mistake i made yesterday.

• Do not cover your pot of beans because the water will all evaporate. Idiota! I should've totally knew that. Duh! Rice!

• It's not a bad idea to soak your beans overnight.

• Let them simmer on low heat.

• Loosely cover the pot to release the steam.

• Some pots of beans take up to 4 hours to cook. Practice patience.

• Lastly, don't be afraid to salt your beans...otherwise, they will taste bland.

I am out of beans, so it won't be until next month that i attempt making them again. Good luck to me next time.

Recessionista's Cupboard: Dinner #1

My dear friend Cyn came over today and was eager to have some of my coffee. I think she enjoys it as much as i do. Yay!

I was hungry and wanted to make something good and quick. Rule #1 to using what you have on hand is cooking perishable items first. That meant using the eggs and veggies. So, i chopped up some onions, green bell peppers, banana peppers and tomatoes. Whisked up some eggs and made some veggie omelettes with cheese. Toasted some english muffins with butter and apricot jam and served up the coffee. It was yummy and satisfying.

Cyn and I enjoyed our omelettes and finished just on time to watch America's Next Top Model. I like this challenge. :)
Last and most importantly, Basqy is cute furry boy.

Recessionista's Cupboard

Soooo, since i am broke as a joke I will devote the rest of the month to cooking with what i have on hand. That includes:
dry lentils
dry black beans
rice
oatmeal
eggs
potatoes
yellow onions
red onion
garlic
canned kidney beans
tomato sauce
zucchini
green pepper
banana pepper
serrano peppers
limes
tomatoes
can of peas
some pasta
pecorino romano cheese
tortillas de maiz
milk
butter
romaine lettuce
coffee
sugar
cocoa wheats :)
pita chips
hummus
my grandparents cheese from Mexico
shrimp
1 frozen chicken breast
lomo (a thin cut of steak)
variety of condiments and spices
english muffins
a few tostadas

Okay, so that should be everything! I will make the rest of my meals for the month based on what i have listed here. No extra spending (unless i run out of milk for my coffee). I will be sure to post the meals i make here.

I will survive!

Coffee for the broke....One dollah make you hollah

I am sad today. Too make it even worse, I didn't give myself enough time to brew some coffee at home. :(
When i got to work i discovered how poor i was after viewing my bank account. Grraarrr! That meant no Starbucks or Intelligentsia for me. So, i bought myself a cup of coffee at McD's for $1. I still feel blue, but i am happy to know that if i leave the house in a rush I could still buy myself a decent cup of coffee with some change. Looking forward to my Africa Kitamu with a quarter of a cup of hot milk and sugar in the raw when i get home. I am thankful to have the fortune of loving the coffee i prepare for myself more than purchasing it from anywhere else.