i crush, i cook, he eats

for anthony it was cheesecake
for dave it was chocolate chip cookies
for blake it was chicken parm and homemade garlic bread
for michael it wa s brisket low and slow and cajun boiled peanuts
.. see the trend? as much as i love to cook for myself i learned at a young age that the way to a man's heart is right through his stomach.  not only is my frosting good enough to make a man's knees weak, but i have mastered the art of a dense yet moist cake.

its not that i dont find myself pretty or that i have low self esteem, because ask anyone that knows me.. i am loud and out going and almost obnoxiously friendly.. but whenever i meet a new guy who has captured my attention for more than a day i instantly find myself looking through every cook book or racking my brain for possible recipe idea's.  my mom told me to with hold sex from a guy until i could be sure that he wasnt going to leave when he got what he wanted, but i almost think i with hold cooking because thats a skill so great and so precious that the longer i can tease and entice the longer i can keep him coming around. 

Young's Double Chocolate Stout Cupcakes with Strawberry buttercream (follow standard vanilla cupcake recipe, use beer for liquid and add some co-co powder)
Picture this, its Valentine's Day and I am the only girl working at a hotel in downtown Charleston where every single male employee is J.Crew attractive.. i'm talking tall, tan, athletic and young.  these college bellman are just the most picturesque sight that makes the 8 hours of my night go by that much faster.  with that being said, i wanted to do something nice for Valentine's Day as  I was stuck at work and had no real better plans.. so i decided on cupcakes and what could be better than beer, chocolate and strawberries.  thats a quintisential combination if i ever could imagine one so this is where the idea of my cupcakes came from.  as i researched recipes i came across a guiness beer cupcake and it looked good but then i remembered trying young's double chocolate stout and instantly knew that the chocolate and underlying coffee flavor or the beer would make my cupcakes dense and rich and almost sponge like.  from there the strawberry frosting was an almost obvious choice, i mean HELLO chocolate and strawberries, if that isnt an aphrodisiac i dont know what is?! 

milk chocolate cupcake with strawberry cream cheese frosting (vanilla cupcake with co-co powder)
so i kind of like this boy, he's nice and funny and it's time to lure him in.. so i start to brag about how awesome i am at cooking.. i then decide to make a cupcake light and airy with the slightest bit of sweetness to showcase the fresh strawberries and cream cheese frosting i have prepared to go on top. 

whether you are trying to have a meaningful relationship or just enough fun to last you until the cupcake is done the best way i think to spark a man's interest is to bake for him.  i mean you just have to use what you've got! until next time.. eat laugh love & enjoy!

a dish worth paying for

so i make/create a lot of things, and they 99.9% of the time are really good. i go through some trial and error, but on a rare occasion i make something completely generated from my mind in the moment and when its done and i have that first bite i think to myself, HOLY SHIT this is amazing.  i recently cooked dinner for myself and my mom and made a seared tuna lettuce wrap and honest to goodness thought to myself..this is restaurant worthy.  this is a $12 entree at a restaurant.  i created a simple dish, with fresh ingredients, with a complete spontaneous train of thought, and it turned out great, i hope my readers and followers will try it and i wont even charge you!

i got inspiration for this dish the minute i took out the most beautiful hearts of romaine lettuce from the fridge.  my mom must have picked the greenest and freshest bunch of lettuce and when she asked me to prepare a salad as a side to our tuna i knew that i couldn't crush these vibrant crunchy leaves, hence the lettuce wrap.  so here is where the journey begins..

Seared Tuna Lettuce Wrap
-8 oz of tuna will make about 4 lettuce wraps.  (it gets diced into bite size pieces and divided evenly among lettuce)
-salt and pepper
-hot hot hot skillet with a touch of EVOO
good quality tuna steaks BEG to be seared, trust me. they want it, they want their pink flesh to hit a hot pan more than a college senior wants to take home an 18 year old freshman from a bar at last call.. facts are facts.. season your tuna steak with salt and pepper and when your pan starts to smoke put your tuna steak on. DO NOT TAKE YOUR EYES OFF OF IT. once you see about 1/8 inch change to a darker color, flip your tuna and sear on the other side. same thing, 1/8 inch and remove from heat, set aside and continue on to preparing your wrap

so after i seared the tuna, i thought to myself, why not take everything i was going to use as salad toppings to make a fresh veggie salsa for the wrap, so i frantically gather and begin to chop..

Fresh Veggie Salsa - makes enough for 4 wraps, add more veggies for more wraps
-1/2 red bell pepper
-1/4 large red onion
-1/4 cucumber
-1 tomato
-1 large carrot shredded
keep in mind you want uniform sizes, and its a salsa, so the veggies should be a small dice.  toss with salt pepper and a little garlic powder.  I then chose to toss them in a homemade vinaigrette just for some added moisture, it is really easy to do
-2 tbs of mustard, (grainy mustard works best)
-2 splashes of vinegar, what ever on handy, i used red wine vinegar
and begin to whisk as you slowly add olive oil, when its all incorporated and begins to thicken its done!  emulsion is a crazy cool thing. toss the veggies

so now lets recap where we are.. plate.. lettuce leaves waiting to be filled, seared tuna, and now salsa.  but wait, i could not stop.  i needed to add more to this wrap.  and it hits me, i need sour cream.  but i am on an ever continuing diet, so i decide that plain greek yogurt will do the trick.  but plain is boring, so i added a generous pinch of paprika and cumin to give it a smokey and tangy flavor. like a well trained construction worker of all things food, it is time to build. on the bottom is my seared tuna that i have diced into bite size chunks, each chunk has a little of the seared crust on the outside with the bright pink fish in contrast.  i then topped that with the veggie salsa, which adds some crunch and sweet and spicy from the pepper and mustard and then dollop the greek yogurt on top of it all, which is tangy and smokey and just really makes this dish amazing.

i hope you enjoy this recipe, it really can pass as something so gourmet, but it was so easy to make.  until next time, eat laugh love and enjoy!

not your mama's brussel sprouts

when i say brussel sprout, what is the first thing that comes to mind? bad smell, bad taste, the veggie side dish that you try to feed to the dog. well get ready for a brussel sprout revolution.  i may have created a low fat dish that smells good and tastes good and one that you will definatley want to keep for yourself and not give to your pup.

now that i am living at home and i have a crazy variety of foods and spices to use i am really trying to create new idea's that taste great so my mom doesn't have to cook so much, its the least i can do living back at home rent free.  so I'm re-organizing the fridge and i come across a bag of frozen brussel sprouts, and i think to myself one thing, AU GRATIN.  here is what i did, i highly recommend you try it because it was seriously amazing!

1 bag of thawed brussel sprouts
1/2 cup low fast mozzarella cheese shredded
1 egg
1 cup of skim milk
1 generous splash of half and half ( for a little luxury taste)
and a equal part of whole wheat bread crumb/parmesan cheese mix for crunch on top - i used like 1/4 cup of each
salt, pepper, and a little garlic powder for seasoning

combine wet ingredients with the mozzarella cheese and egg, pour mixture over halved brussel sprouts, top with bread crumb mixture and bake in pre-heated 350 degree oven for 45 minutes til bubbly and delicious.
trust me this will change your life and your view on brussel sprouts.  eat laugh love and enjoy! until next time foodies