Wednesday, September 29, 2010 Nothing Says "Happy Anniversary" Like A Baked Potato


Today my husband and I celebrate 8 years of wedded bliss. Those of you who are married may laugh at the hilarity of that statement. Those of you who aren't married may laugh at those of us who are.

So today, while wandering aimlessly around the farmer's market and the supermarket, the only dinner I could come up with was a baked potato. "The Comanator" my husband called it. A HUGE baked potato with butter, cheese, fried corn and bacon. Nice and light. Ha.

Tomorrow we're expecting our cast of regulars for a night of Homemade Bread (God of Gluten willing), Red and Yellow Cherry Tomato Salad with Fresh Basil, Filet Mignon wrapped with Bacon and served with an Apricot Sauce and Concord Grape Cheesecake for dessert.

The Filet with Bacon and Apricot is inspired by my wedding meal. The only thing I was able to eat the whole day was an apricot wrapped in bacon. It was delicious - not $1,600 delicious, but I guess I've gotten my money's worth over the last 8 years :)

Bang on, my peeps!

-HH

Monday, September 27, 2010 Sometimes It's Okay To Cheat A Little


After a weekend of Homemade Chicken Pot Pie concoctions, and cooking at school all day, all I had muster for was a quick pizza sauce and pre-shredded cheese on a ready made crust.

You gotta give me points for using the chicken stock in my sauce. Oh yes, you read that right. One thing I've learned so far in cooking school is everything has a little of something else in it.

I added some fresh herbs from the garden, a little salt and pepper, ba-da-bing-ba-da-boom. I made kick ass pizza, with the aid of a ready made organic wheat crust that my neighbor gave me. Love that girl.

Bang on, my peeps!

-HH

Sunday, September 26, 2010 60 Second Meal Mosh - Chicken Pot Pumpkin Pie

Friday, September 24, 2010 The Big E(at)


Step right up! Step right up! Step right up and throw the food right in my freakin' mouth!

This year's trip to The Big E did not disappoint! Not that it ever has. We brought a newbie with us and, while showing him around, I found myself reminiscing about my first time at The Big E.

My parents were both immigrants, so I never even heard of The Big E until I was in college. And the first time I went was back in the day - the days when I didn't really eat food, or have the passion for it as I do now.

The first time I went I couldn't find anything to eat. Which is pretty much impossible - unless you're allergic to everything. I ended up getting Deep Fried Veggies and eating two of them. Everyone around me looked huge. Gigantic. Ginormous.No lie. No wonder I couldn't find anything to eat. I was a buck o'five and I wanted to stay that way.


Now, having increased that by just over 15%, I eagerly showed our friend through the state buildings while loading up on lollipops, free rulers and BACON S'MORES!!! Which came from the same booth in the Connecticut building that introduced me to Chocolate Covered Bacon!!!

Sorry for the exclamation points. I get very excited about chocolate and bacon.

The Salmon on a Stick was the best thing there for all three of us. The Warm Lobster Roll is awesome - the only one in the fair made correctly in our book. Cold Lobster and mayo? Grody-to-the-max.

The Deep Fried Jelly Beans were tasty, but you could only eat one. If that, I ended up picking out the jelly beans. It was 3 for 5 dollars. They should have offered them at 2 dollars each and we would have tried the Deep Fried Butter as well. We watched a young man bite into his. Hot melted butter gushed out of it - "It's bread and butter. What's not to like!"

The Chicharones were very good, could have been a little more done but we ate them all. The last chunk I swallowed whole. The Deep Fried Pickles we had were hot as all hell. They were missing the extra zing of my Pretzel Fried Pickles, but we ate them.

There's always plenty to see at The Big E. My favorite is always the giant pumpkins. They amaze me. And the goats, pigs, horses and chickens ain't bad either.

Make it a point to go! It is worth the trip. Go on a weekday if you can, the weekends are nightmarishly crowded!

Bang on, my peeps!

-HH

Thursday, September 23, 2010 Oh, The Peter Peppers They Are A Changing


After a week trapped in a paper bag with an apple and it's gasses a few of my beloved Peter Peppers are starting to change color. They're also starting to soften. I tossed the red ones in the freezer whole. All of the stuff I read about making my own chili powder gave warnings, saying you could burn you skin and/or eyes if not protected. Even dehydrating them whole could cause respiratory issues - they said to do it outside! For 36 hours or something ridiculous. So I threw them in the freezer whole. Take that, instructions!

The green ones get another week in the bag with the apple and then they all go in the freezer. I don't care what color they are.

Bang on, my peeps!

-HH