i need to eat

i’m craving shrimp

dchaney — Fri, 22 May 2009 03:10:33 +0000

so here is it. 20 (ahem) years ago I worked at a seafood restaurant as a cook, aka, “culinarion”. This is how we made out shrimp on a skewer. I still love them this way. To find 26-30 shrimp, you are looking for 26-30 shrimp per lb. I buy mine at Trader Joes. One time, when our friend from South Africa came over he recommened “Nando’s Extra Hot Peri Peri Sauce” Peri peri is a hot pepper from South Africa, but you can find it at Cost Plus sometimes. It’s gooood. It’s lovely. I mixed it with melted butter and basil and came up with a lively topping for our shrimp that night (and anytime we wanted an extra kick). Really, the bacon is what gives these skewers their flavor.

i’m craving greek

dchaney — Thu, 21 May 2009 00:34:04 +0000

ok, maybe greek-ish. you see, i don’t care for lamb or grape leaves or baklava for that matter. now pita and tziki and hummus are another thing. firey feta dip is my fav spread of them all. it’s so easy to throw together you’ll be shouting, “opa!”

i’m craving mint

dchaney — Fri, 15 May 2009 15:48:00 +0000

it seems the mint in my yard is getting a bit unruly. it’s growing in places i’ve never planted it. sometimes i’ll throw it in water….or iced tea, but sometimes i like to mix it up again – and roast it on potatoes. making a pesto from mint, italian parsley and garlic is a semi-indian way to use this fresh herb in another way. my big sis was in town last week and we grilled spicy chicken and served these along side. what’s your fav potato topping?

i’m craving avocados

dchaney — Wed, 06 May 2009 14:05:16 +0000

happy cinco day mayo. i’m officially ready for summer. no more schedules. eating dinner outside late at night. and i especially love that everything is super fresh. i love the pure taste of veggies with not a lot of “guk”. i made this avocado salsa to top the halibut i grilled for snd (sunday nite dinner). it was inspired by the recipe in sunset magazine, but i wasn’t into pickled tomatoes and kelly didn’t like the mustard or turmeric, so i simplified. would be great with the “just chicken” trader joes sells, too as a cold salad. For a smokey flavor, throw all of the salsa ingredients on the grill until charred.

i’m craving mangoes

dchaney — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 15:57:54 +0000

yay spring. the days are getting warmer and longer. i happen to have whole foods taste on a food mart budget. i hate paying $100 for 2 bags of groceries. last summer i discovered this mango salsa there and made it myself. love the sweet layered with heat! i served it with chips the other night, but it would be great on a grilled white fish, too.

i’m craving pomegranate

dchaney — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 02:22:54 +0000

ahhhh. sunday nite dinner. perfect grilling weather. perfect drinking weather, actually. i took a slight diversion from my vodka love affair, and made tequila-pomegranate mojitos. easy on the sugar, heavy on the pomegranate. the result? cool and refreshing and my shoulders came down off my ears!

i’m craving beets

dchaney — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 16:37:49 +0000

the hell you say. i actually cannot stomach red beets. there is something unnatural about the color. something too natural about the taste. having said that, in february we went to a restaurant in seattle called “how to cook a wolf”. our friends ordered the roasted beet salad and while not thrilled, it was family style, so i tried them. shock and awe i loved them. roasting at a high temperature carmelizes the sugars and the orange varietal is far more tasty and earth neutral than it’s dark red sister.

this is my take on how to cook a wolfe’s roasted orange beet salad. it’s perfect for this balmy unseasonably hot weather we’re having!

i’m craving churros

dchaney — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 15:49:45 +0000

you have to say it with a rolling r. eerree. Choo-rrrrrooo.

i have a nickname with my niece’s kids. i’m auntie churro. there’s more than one way to get a kid to like you and i spent 30 bucks last time i was at disneyland to get the little lovebugs to come with me on a ride. it didn’t work. we all did enjoy churros that afternoon, though.

did you know that there is actually a history to the churro? according to an uncited entry on wikipedia, the churro is named after the spanish sheep’s horns it resembles. apparently, invented by the spanish shepards, a pan fried donut, covered in cinnamon and sugar.

nowadays you can find them at disneyland, costco and all kinds of other commercial locales. processed, fried and yummy. we spent two days at disney this week, so i had to get one. my once a year splurge.

i’m craving fish

dchaney — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 15:00:04 +0000

i may be the pickiest fish eater ever. my virgin voyage into fish was at one of thee freshest seafood restaurants in southern california. if it remotely smells fishy, i just can’t eat it….

when i was on my roadtrip, we ate a little something like this at santacafe in new mexico. so now i crave the ahi and this was my best duplication of what we ate. super fresh ahi is the key. yum.

i’m craving almonds

dchaney — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 22:03:21 +0000

it is true that i’m a huge fan of the almond. i knaw on at least a bag a week. for a while i was very endeared to the raw version – maximum enzyme breakdown, but literally, in my world, any nut will due. almonds contain a chemical called leptin which is a hunger satiety hormone. my girlfriend and i survived on almond snacks when we drove across country last october. models, on the other hand, would call a handful a meal.

my new favorite almond is by trader joes. hot pepper and lemon almonds. does it get any better than this?