YOUR FOOD NETWORK STAR!!

The Food Network is a pretty big deal in my house. My mom and I watch it obsessively while my dad can't stand it. Arguments about this fact usually ensue (in comic fashion, of course). SO, I had the urge to ask every person in my house (at a certain moment) who their top 3 favorite Food Network hosts are.

I went first:

- Bobby Flay: I have always had a secret crush on Bobby Flay. It's probably just his presence because I don't really like all the food he makes.

- Ellie Kreiger: Her recipes are FLAWLESS and HEALTHY. She aided me a lot in changing recipes to make them healthier.

-Guy Fieri: He travels a lot. I love to travel. I would steal his job at any time. Plus, ever since I was young I have loved diners and diner food.

Next was my sister, Jennifer:

-Giada De Larentis: This is a love/hate relationship. She loves her food but hates her random Italian accent when saying things such as "moot-zer-ella" and "pA-sta". I am confident that her 5 foot nothing self would punch Giada in the face in a real-life situation.

- Chairman from Kitchen Stadium of Iron Chef America: I can't remember his name...don't judge me. But Jenn would like to have his "nimble" skills.

-Chef Morimoto from Iron Chef America: She wants to perfect her Asian Cuisine. (To cook for me!)

Next was my MOM!

- Paula Dean: No lie. She cooks like her!

- Nigella Lawson: Loves the British spunk.

- Sandra Lee: Because who wouldn't want her to organize and decorate their kitchen!

The final two people are quiet comical. I asked my Dad (yes, the one who claims he will vomit if he has to watch anymore Food Network..) and my brother-in-law, Tim (who I am pretty sure has never seen anything on the Food Network).

Dad: He gave the people he HATES the most

-Rachel Ray

-Giada De Laurentis

-Paula Dean

...No reason was given.

Tim:

-Big Daddy: Because on time he saw him cook a really great Philly Cheesesteak

-Guy Fieri: He is a "man's man"

-Buddy: who is definitely on TLC's Cake Boss, not Food Network.

Well, there you have it. My crazy family's Food Network Semi-favorites.

Who is your favorite on the Food Network??

I will leave you with a recipe that I have been asked to make by this lovely family of my almost everyday for the past 2 weeks.

Marscapone Toast

Ingredients:

- 1 tub of Marscapone (cheese)

- 2 Tbsp. of honey

-1 baguette

Instructions:

- Heat oven broiler to 400 degrees.

- Cut the baguette into half-inch think slices.

- Wipe oil on both sides of the bread.

- Place bread on a baking sheet.

- Bake until golden around the edges and the center is firm, then flip and repeat. (It usually takes less than 5 minutes in my oven).

-While the bread is baking, divide the tub of cheese into Fourths.

- Place 1/4 of the cheese into a bowl and mix together with 2 Tbsp. of honey.

-Once the bread cools enough to handle, put the spread on top.

-Serve with fruit.

SO SIMPLE and a crowd pleaser!

- Bon Apetit!

I'M BAAAAACK!!

Well, after taking an EXTENDED (to say the least) hiatus from writing on this blog, I am back!

I was asked by a few friends and family members when I was going to get back on here and put up more recipes! So here I am.

Some excuses I could use for not writing on here:

- Starting a new grueling semester as an English major.

- My new nephew and niece.

- Working full time.

ETC, ETC.

BUT, none of that matters. I should have set aside time to do the one thing I love that relaxes me. It is sad to say that my kitchen has been empty for months. I have cooked barely once a week and that makes me blush.

SO. If you thought I had a few recipes up my sleeve to leave you with tonight, sadly, I don't. I am actually going to be gone for 2 weeks (starting on July 6th) traveling (driving) to different places around America and Canada. Since I won't have recipes to try and post during the trip, I have decided to surround my blog (for that time) on the AMAZING food I am sure to encounter.

I hope you still decide to follow me on all of my new adventures. Hopefully, this year (MY SENIOR YEAR OF COLLEGE! WOOHOO) will be different and I will breeze through my "novel-a-week" assignments and will post more about my recipes!

With this, I leave you with the most adorable picture of the 2 people who consume my life now.

They are absolutely amazing and will be the best su chefs EVER!

-Bon Apetit!

Cornflake Crusted Sea Bass

Let me start out by saying that I love seafood. I absolutely love every type of seafood. Plus, with a mom whose ancestors were British, it didn't take long for me to discover fish and chips. It is one of my favorite meals! But, unfortunately, there are not too many authentic fish and chip stands around here, so I went out to find the PERFECT recipe to fry up some fish. I knew I needed a perfect white fish, so I chose Sea Bass. This is a very mild white fish. After that, I had to find a great way to make the crust. So, after lots of searching, I found the best crust for frying fish on CookLight.com. The first time I made it, it was ALL EATEN by the end of the meal. I served it with white rice (since I didn't have any fries) and everyone LOVED it! Anyways, if you are a fan of fish and chips..USE THIS RECIPE. It is really amazing.

Ingredients:
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste
onion powder, to taste
1 Egg white, slightly whisked
1 c. of milk
2 c. cornflakes, crush to a fine breadcrumb texture
1/4 c. all-purpose flour
4 (6 ounce) pieces of sea bass
oil
lemon wedges, if preferred

Instructions:
Put salt, pepper and onion powder on the fish fillets to your personal liking.
Combine milk and egg white into a shallow dish, whisk well.
Combine flour and cornflakes in a shallow pan, mix well.
Dip fish in to milk mixture, Then into the flour/cornflake mixture.
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
Cook the fish about 7 minutes on each side. However, different stove-tops cook in different ways. To make sure that the fish is fully cooked, check with a fork (the fish will flake easily).

Serve with lemon wedges and fries. Rice is also a nice substitute with this fish.

-Bon Apetite.

Chicken Fried Rice

Do you love Benihana? Do you love their Chicken Fried Rice? ...Well...I DO!
They have the best fried rice that I have ever tasted. So, naturally, when I found a recipe claiming to be the replicate of theirs, I had to try it.

As it turns out, this recipe is nothing short of AMAZING! And the best part is that you don't need to own a Hibachi Table to make it! What you do need for this recipe are a few pans, a few ingredients, and a HUGE appetite.

Pans you will need:
1 Large pan
1 Medium sized pan
1 Pot with cover
1 Shallow baking pan

Ingredients:
5 Tblsp Unsalted Butter
1 Sweet Onion, chopped into small pieces
3 Medium sized carrots, chopped into small pieces
1 Bunch of scallions, chopped into small pieces
3 pieces of thin cut chicken breast
1 Cup of Rice (follow instructions of the packet)
3 Tblsp Sesame Seeds
5 Eggs
5 Tblsp Soy Sauce (LOW SODIUM)

***To make chopping WAY easier, I use the Vidalia Chopping Wizard, small blade in.***


Instructions:
-In POT, cook rice according to instructions.
-On BAKING PAN, put the sesame seeds and roast in a 350* oven. Shake to prevent burning. Cook for about 10 minutes or until golden.
-In LARGE pan, heat butter and add onions, carrots, and scallions. Cook until onions are translucent.
-In MEDIUM pan, cook chicken as you like. I cooked it in chicken stock. When finished, cut it up into small pieces. (I use kitchen scissors)
-Add Chicken to Vegetable(LARGE) pan.
-In the same MEDIUM pan, cook the eggs as if you were making scrambled eggs. Add to LARGE pan.
-Add cooked rice and sesame seeds to the LARGE pan.
-Add soy sauce.

This recipe does take some time and effort. You will have to be able to multitask. But the results are totally worth it!

-Bon Apetite!

Stir Fry

One thing that most people know about me is that I LOVE STIR FRY. I love most Asian cuisine, but for some reason stir fry is my absolute favorite. My only problem is that when I make my own stir fry, the thing that takes the longest is making the sauce from scratch. So, naturally, when I found out that Panda Express started bottling their sauces, it made my day! Now it takes me no time at all to finish the stir fry!

The ingredients and process are my own, but, of course, a stir fry is like painting a picture; you can add anything to it that you want or keep it the same every time. The choice is ultimately yours.

Ingredients:
- oil of choice
- 1 large sweet onion (I use either vidalia or sweet spanish)
- 1 pack of chicken tenderloins
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1 pack of baby bella mushrooms
- Choice of peanuts or almonds
- 1 large or 2 medium zucchini
- sauce of preference

Instructions:
- To make things faster chop up onion, pepper, and zucchini before starting.
- Heat oil in a large Wok, and add onions. Saute until slightly translucent.
- Add chicken and cook thoroughly. (I usually use kitchen scissors and cut it up to make cooking faster.)
- Remove chicken only.
- Add small amount of water to the pan.
- Once it is mostly evaporated, add red peppers.
- Saute until slightly tender.
- Add mushrooms.
- Saute until mushrooms are tender and peppers begin to brown.
- Add any choice of peanuts or almonds.
- Add zucchini.
- Saute until veggies are to preference.
- Add chicken and sauce to the pan.
- Saute for about 5 minutes let simmer for 3 minutes.

**I usually serve this over jasmine rice, but again, anything will work.**

-Bon Apetite!

I'm Back!

After a long hiatus due to school, work, more school and more work, I am back to share all of my favorite recipes just in time for the Holiday season. I will begin to post main course, side dish and dessert ideas.

I am taking the time on this blog to post about a great idea for gift giving this year.

I have a group of about 5 really close girl friends. We all wanted to buy gifts for each other, but on a college budget, there wasn't a way to buy anything nice fore each other.

THE SOLUTION: A Christmas Cookie Exchange.

We all decide on 1 or 2 of our favorite holiday treats, make enough to divide among all of us, and write down the recipes for future cookie making needs.

We are also decorating plastic containers to keep out goodies in.

This is a great way to get all your close friends together and have fun with no expectations of an expensive gift.

We are having ours on December 16th, so I will post picture updates and let you know how it goes!

-Bon Apetite

Won-Ton Chips

So here's the problem....when you make the Shrimp Cups listed below....sometimes you have A LOT of leftover shells. What do you do with these extra shells?? MAKE CHIPS!!

This again is super simple, and you can make it your own.

INSTRUCTIONS:
- Pre-heat the oven to 350.
- Cut the remaining won-ton shells into fourths.
- Place on a pre-greased cookie pan.
- Place in the oven for 10 minutes or until golden brown.

**These are great with all kinds of dip like salsa or hummus.**

To make them a dessert, sprinkle cinnamon sugar on them before putting them in the oven.

Again, get CREATIVE!
Cooking is meant to be fun and experimental.

-Bon Apetite