Last GOTW of 2010

I wanted to come up with a really clever GOTW for today, but I could not think of anyone.  Then, it seemed like everything kept giving me signs.  Last night I watched Iron Man 2 and I saw Kate Mara playing the girl who serves Tony the subpoena.  Then as I watched Supernatural this morning, I kept seeing her in the promos for Shooter which is apparently on TNT tonight.  Yep, it must be a sign.  She is to be the GOTW.










Plus, she is the descendant of both Tim Mara (founder of the New York Giants) and Art Rooney (founder of the Steelers).  Hot?  Yes.  Rich?  Yes.  Football fan?  Yes.  Steelers fan?  Yes.  Perfect girl?  Just about.

New Year’s Day Deviled Eggs with Black-Eyed Peas, Spinach and Bacon

[Although I normally post new recipes on Saturdays, this week’s recipe is being posted on Friday so you’ll have it in time for your New Year’s celebration!]


In America, one of the great New Year’s Day traditions comes from the south: eating black-eyed peas for good luck. I admit it lacks the obvious appeal of the Dutch custom of eating donuts on New Year’s Day for good luck, but black-eyed peas – which are actually beans – are high in iron, fiber, potassium, and high quality protein, and low in fat, sodium and cholesterol. Take that, donuts! 


I was introduced to this tradition by my mother-in-law, who hailed, and proudly, from Meridian, Texas. Every New Year’s Day, all family members were expected to have at least one black-eyed pea. (I can’t prove that eating them brought us good luck, but not eating them when she offered would have resulted in immediate bad luck, which amounts to the same thing.) As it turned out, I liked them, which was good for at least a few points with my mother-in-law.


The usual southern custom is to make them part of a larger dish that includes bacon, ham, or similar fatty meat as a symbol of hope for a “fat” year ahead. (It also doesn’t hurt that bacon just tastes good.) The dish also often includes greens of some kind, which legend tells us symbolize paper money.


And so, to get 2011 off to a proper start, my offering today is “New Year’s Day Deviled Eggs with Black-Eyed Peas, Spinach and Bacon.” Rather than the usual egg-yolk-with-mustard filling, these deviled eggs are filled with a tasty black-eyed pea hummus. (Loyal reader and fellow food blogger Sandra of Toronto Bites recently created a lovely cranberry sauce I was honored to learn was inspired by mine. As an admirer of the wonderfully creative work Sandra has done with hummus, I’m pleased today to return the inspiration-favor.)


This recipe makes enough filling for your New Year’s Day open house, about 48 deviled half-eggs. If you don’t need to make quite that many, you can also use the filling as you would any other hummus: on flat bread, as a healthy dip or sandwich spread, etc. (Earlier this week I rolled some up in a large tortilla with grape tomatoes and some fat-free cheese slices and had a delicious lunch!)
Make your tahini by toasting ½ cup of sesame seeds at 350 degrees for 5 – 10 minutes until golden brown. Let them cool for about 15 minutes, then combine with 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a food processor, pureeing until creamy.


Mix the tahini with 1-3/4 cups of black-eyed peas (canned is ok, drained but not rinsed); 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice; 1-1/2 tablespoons Worcestershire; 2 chopped garlic cloves; ½ a chopped green pepper; 1/3 cup spinach (frozen is ok if thawed and the excess water is squeezed out); 1-1/2 tablespoons of chopped onion; and a pinch of cayenne pepper. Put the mixture in the food processor – in batches if necessary - and process briefly to a thick, spreading consistency. (Don’t over-process the mixture; you don’t want it to get creamy!)


Fold in 3 tablespoons of crisp turkey bacon, chopped small. Salt and pepper the mixture to taste.


Remove and discard the yolk of each half egg, and fill the well to slightly heaping with the black-eyed pea filling. (Be careful not to overdo the filling. It will make the eggs look sloppy and, more importantly, will put the egg-to-filling taste out of balance and make it not taste as good.) Top each with a few pieces of diced tomato. (You’ll need about a cup of diced tomato if doing all 48 deviled eggs.) Top each filled egg with a small amount dried parsley.
You’re now ready to serve this delicious – and healthy – treat to friends and family. Just remember to save some for yourself. You don’t want everyone else to have all the good luck, you know! (And why take chances? Grab a donut while you’re at it.)


For a cookbook style, notebook ready copy of this recipe, just let me know in a comment, an e-mail or on Facebook at Kissingthecook Recipes, and I’ll send it along.


A happy, healthy and prosperous New Year, everyone! Now and throughout 2011, stay well, keep it about the food, and always remember to kiss the cook. ;-)

2010 In Review

Instead of recapping the entire year, which is never any kind of fun, I will just go over some of the highlights of 2010.  It was a pretty damn good year.

-I finally bought a laptop, which has pretty much been the best investment ever.  Sitting on the couch while writing these posts is much better than sitting at a desk.  Speaking of posts, 2010 was my busiest year with over 300 posts.  That is kind of exciting (or lame depending on your POV).

-I went to a bunch of sporting events this year.  A few in Pittsburgh, a couple in Altoona, and one over at State College.  I also got to enjoy tailgating for the Blue/White game and the Temple game.  I even made a trip to Washington D.C. to see the Nationals and Pirates play.  Speaking of awesome sporting events, I experienced two firsts:  my first Pens game and my first regular season Steelers game.  I also got to see Stephen Strasburg make his minor league debut against the Curve.

-This was also a very sad year since two of my favorite TV shows ended:  Lost and 24.  I actually did a couple of special things to commemorate such great shows (even though 24 constantly pissed me off with some of its stupid story lines).  My Best of 24 was pretty cool (at least I thought so), yet none of you jerks commented on it.  Also, I was so impressed with my Lost GOTW and the amount of work I put into it, and again, no one really noticed.  I think it caused me to die a little inside that no one said how awesome it was...



I will post it again for your enjoyment, only in a slightly smaller version.  Do not strain your eyes too much trying to enjoy all the hotties.

-There were plenty of great TV shows in 2010.  In fact, this year was a much better television than movie year.  Mad Men, Always Sunny, Justified, Boardwalk Empire, Treme, True Blood, Sons of Anarchy, Archer, The Walking Dead, and The League.  Also there were plenty of enjoyable shows like Warehouse 13, Eureka, White Collar, Human Target, and Supernatural.  I am sure I am forgetting some.

-Speaking of movies, what all did I see this year?  Iron Man 2, Inception, Kick-Ass, Hot Tub Time Machine, The Social Network, The Disappearance of Alice Creed, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Sherlock Holmes, The Chronicles of Narnia:  Voyage of the Dawn Treader and Daybreakers. I really feel like I went to the movies more than this, but I guess I did not.  I think there were a few movies I saw that were just crappy and I did not care about.

-I will not list all the books I read over 2010.  It was not nearly as many as years past, I think my total was only thirteen.  Granted, five of those books were around 1000 pages each, so it was probably about the same amount of reading as previous years.



-The biggest thing to happen in 2010 though was the changes in my life.  I met Lindsey and we moved in together up here in New Germany.  She makes me incredibly happy and I feel like a better person because of her.  If she is reading up to this point, I hope she knows how much I love her.  Sorry to the rest of you for having to read a little personal stuff.

-Now on to the best of list...

Best Movie:  This is a tough one, it comes down to Kick-Ass and Inception.  Many people will say The Social Network was the best movie, and I definitely thought it was good, but I look at it from the stand point of which movie will I watch more than once?  Which of those movies will I stop when I see they are on HBO and watch them from wherever they are in the film.  I would have to say that award goes to Kick-Ass.



Best TV Show:  All those great shows listed above, yet it comes down to two:  Mad Men and Sons of Anarchy.  I could not wait every week to watch these two shows.  And I usually watched the episodes again during their reshowing.  SOA was great, but did not compare to last season and at times I felt like the Tara storyline was dragging on.  MM does not have the action, but it just holds you in it's thrall each week.  It is hard to explain to people why it is such a good show.  Anyways, that was the best show in my opinion.

Best Book:  Only three of the books I read this year actually came out in 2010.  I think the best one of that small group was Are We Winning?  It was a great book and I pretty much recommend it to any baseball fan.

Best Comic Book:  I will not lie, I have not read many comics this year.  In fact, I stopped getting individual issues and decided just to get trades.  Of everything I read, I would say that The Walking Dead is still the best on-going series I read.  Maybe 2011 will be a better year.

Anyways, that is my thoughts on 2010.  Who knows what 2011 will hold for me...

It's the End of the World...

It was bad enough when everyone thought that the world was going to end in 2012, but leave it to a Christian group to up the ante on the Mayans.  These idiots think the Rapture will occur on 21 May 2011 and then world will end on the 21st of October.

Apparently this Harold Camping fellow tried this before back in 1994 (in case you were wondering, he was wrong back then).  He came up with his own dating system or something.  I would do more research into it, but I cannot get past all the Biblical quotes which are taken out of context. 



These people have spent money to put up signs to warn people about the coming Rapture.  Luckily there are some brilliant atheists out there who have challenged all this.  It makes me laugh that Christian groups spend so much money trying to get their message out there (it's already out there, no need to keep pushing it on us), and these people would have a fit if an atheist organization put up a billboard somewhere.

Is there anything better than sitting on a park bench telling you that you will die soon?  I like how it says save the date, like you should pencil it into your date book.  May 20th:   Haircut.  May 21st:  Rapture.

Merry Christmas!!!

Hope everyone has a great Christmas!  I will be out doing family things.  Lindsey and I exchanged gifts last night.  Do you want to know what she got me?  She got me new gloves (if you ever saw my gloves, you would understand), Scrabble, and she got me Community season one.  Also she bought me a nice new thermal since I wear them everyday during the fall, winter, spring under my t-shirts.  Her big gift to me was a gift card to Best Buy towards buying my PS3.

I suppose you want to know what I got her.  I bought her a Crosby jersey, a Keurig, canisters, and a cutting board.  The cutting board was more of a gift to me, since when we make dinner, I always cut veggies and I hate our current cutting board, since it is tiny and very thin.

You might be wondering what is up with the fat, ugly chick.  Well I figure since none of you read this during Christmas, who would ever notice...

Or maybe she was my real Christmas present from Lindsey...I think I just threw up a little.  HAVE A GREAT DAY EVERYONE!!!

xx

Pecan Pie with Cranberries and Bourbon, and a Bonus: Ben's Gingerbread Hall of Fame

For this week's article, it is with great pleasure I bring to you not one, but two holiday treats as we welcome our first Christmas together, dear readers: Pecan Pie with Cranberries and Bourbon, and this year’s inductees into Ben’s Gingerbread Hall of Fame.


Pecan Pie with Cranberries and Bourbon
For many people, few things say holiday season like a fresh Pecan Pie. The problem is that often, when we say Pecan Pie, we end up meaning Pecan-Flavored-Sugar-and-Syrup-Pie.
 
To keep the pie’s traditional deep flavor while making the sweetness a bit less overpowering, today's recipe introduces fresh cranberries and orange zest into the mix, uses less corn syrup than many other recipes, adds some half-and-half to give the filling a smooth, praline-like quality, as well as just a bit of bourbon. I’ve also used my reduced-fat pie crust, egg substitute and butter substitute which, for Pecan Pie, I admit seems at first to be a bit like the old joke about someone ordering a double hot fudge sundae without the cherry because he’s on a diet. It still reduces the fat content, though.


Here’s how to make this delicious and somewhat different Pecan Pie:


In a mixing bowl, blend 1 cup packed brown sugar, 3 tablespoons of melted butter substitute and ¼ teaspoon of kosher salt. Once that’s mixed well, add 3 egg substitute eggs and mix till they absorbed. Then add 6 fluid ounces of light corn syrup, 1-1/2 teaspoons of vanilla extract, ½ cup of fat-free half-and-half, and 2 tablespoons of bourbon. Whisk into a smooth, thick liquid.


Blind bake a 9” pie shell and, when firm, apply an egg glaze. Line the inside of the pie shell with 1-1/4 cup pecan halves, the zest of one orange, and ½ cup of halved fresh cranberries. Then fill the shell with the liquid mixture.


Bake the pie at 425 degrees for 10 minutes, then lower the temperature to 350 degrees and bake until the filling is set and jiggles similar to jello, about another 30 minutes. (Note that when the pie is baking, the filling will puff up higher than crust. Don’t worry; it will settle when the pie cools.) The filling will get firmer when the pie cools.


The Gingerbread Hall of Fame
Every year – well, every year that I feel like it – part of making gingerbread cookies is inducting a few deserving people into my Gingerbread Hall of Fame. Its purpose it to pay homage to those who, either in the past year or more generally, have achieved legendary status, and then bite their heads, arms, and legs off. Before we get to the 2010 inductees, please welcome these previous recipients of this great honor:


The "Great Artists" series (from left to right: Vincent Van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, and Toulouse Lautrec):



You’ve Got Mail:



CSI North Pole:



For people with a good memory for 2008 magazine covers, Jennifer Aniston:





For people with even better memories of 2008 football heroes who turn out to be complete knuckleheads, Plaxico Burress:



Rod Blagojevich



And now, without further ado, please welcome the Gingerbread Hall of Fame, Class of 2010:


From left to right: Lady Gaga…Justin Bieber…and The Old Spice Guy!





Wishing everyone a holiday filled with smiles and sweet stuff!


See you in 2011! Till then, stay well, keep it about the food, and always remember – especially this Friday night - to kiss the cook.

GOTW

'Tis the season for sexy elves to bring me presents!

Rudolf of Covent Garden

The Wal-Mart Adventure Continues

Remember how I said I had to order a tire from Wal-Mart?  Well I went there this morning to have it put on.  I got there around 8:45 and the girl who I ordered it from bumped me to the front of the line.  So I walk around for a bit, then come back around 9:45 (she said it would take about an hour).  I sit at the bench for another hour when she finally says that my car is ready.

I get up to pay and she says that it will be $304.  I almost shit a brick.  How the hell is a $64 tire now costing me over three hundred???  She informs that is the price for four new tires.  I explain that I did not need four new tires, just the one.  She seems horrified once she realizes she screwed up.  She tells the one guy and he gets pissed off and goes out to get my car.  He does about 50 mph around the building (believe it or not, my lawnmower of a car can actually go over 45).  

I sit there for another ten minutes, when another guy comes in and yells at me:  "HEY, WHICH TIRE NEEDED REPLACED!?"  I explain that it is the front, driver side.  This is now the fourth time I have told someone this.  I sit there for another half hour and they finally have my car done.  The girl comes up to me with my keys and she apologizes and gives me a $50 Wal-Mart gift card, which was very nice of her.

As I sat there though, I noticed how inefficient their system was.  They need to have someone at the counter at all times, someone who checks you in and takes your keys.  This person then relays the information to the technicians inside.  The way they do it now, you stand at a fence and wait for one of the techs to notice you and stop what they are doing to come get your information.  Why would you constantly interrupt their work like that?

At one point, one of the techs comes in and says that it will probably be a four hour wait for tires!  He then informs the girl (she is the manager) that he is taking his break.  WTF?  I cannot imagine when I was a cook if there were checks pouring out of the printer walking out and announcing that even though folks might not get their food for awhile, I was heading on break.  I get that they are entitled to a break, but the manager needs to step in and make an executive decision. 

Also, it would probably be a good idea to throw the sign out that says "Never a wait for an oil change..."  The guy that came in right after me, for an oil change, was still there when I left.  They told him 30 minutes.  He did not look too pleased. 

At least there were some funny people to laugh at.  One family came in to buy tires for their daughter who was coming home from college.  The one girl was pissed that they did not have some kind of appointment card.  She bitches up and down about it, while answering texts every two seconds.  Umm, just punch it into your phone.  Set up a reminder.  Not difficult.  Also, her brother, who was probably in his 20s, got into an argument with his mom that he was NOT GOING TO THE DENTIST.  He would just skip the appointment!  He could not believe she would make him go to the dentist.  He practically threw a temper tantrum.

About ten people would come up and look out the window to see if their car was ready and respond the same way "you got to be fuckin' kiddin' me."  You would think this would be an indicator to the manager that their operation is flawed.  The phone rings constantly, I got to the point that I wanted to just answer it and be like "Thanks for calling the Wal-Mart Tire/Lube Center, you would be better off going someplace else."

The employees are also so pleasant!  Aside from the manager (she actually was nice), everyone else seemed pissed off if they had to do any work that did not involve stocking windshield wiper fluid.  A lady asks this one girl if she can make her a key and the girl rolls her eyes and comes over to the counter.  She slams everything around and then just hands the key to the lady and storms off.  I guess when you go for low prices, you must expect low service standards.  At another point, over the walkie-talkies, someone was asking about something in a department.  The employees then got into an argument over the walkies.  It escalated to the point that the main boss (I am guessing a general manager) comes over the walkies and says "stop arguing and focus on the customer."  They ignore him and he has to then say again "Enough!  I don't care whose problem it is, just help the customer."

I am sure working at Wal-Mart during this time of year is very stressful, but c'mon Wal-Mart, go out and spend a little more money and maybe pay some people with half a personality.

London Lights

I love London by night, it feels kind of magical. These Christmas lights have made it feel even more beautiful.

Oxford Street




South Molton Street


Covent Garden...

Christmas Windows - Pt 3

Last, but certainly not least is Selfridges  with their 'Awake the child within' theme...and it definitely did! The festive windows encourage both adults and children alike to revel in the play time scenes. The attention to detail is fantastic, with every corner of the window offering little surprises. Definitely the one to see this Christmas!
















 I secretly want this Barbie chandelier!