Return of the Jedi

oh hi... didn't see you standing there... my name's kylie... and your's is?.... oh... really?... we've met?... how embarrassing for me.

i know, i know... it's been FOREVER. i'm sorry. but you don't want to read my apologies... you want to hear about food. i mean, who doesn't right?

so i'm cooking for 1 now.. this is a little depressing which might have something to with the delay of postage... plus i have to do the dishes myself after. BOOOOOOOOOOOOO

there are some upsides i guess... i can make everything exactly how i like it... leftovers for lunch... PLUS, i don't feel embarrassed when i sing at the top of my lungs while cooking!

TO THE FOOD! and laundry :(

(first and second loads in the washer)

i wasn't planning too far ahead when i last went grocery but some people at work were razzing me about my lack of blog... you know who you are! so i have to make SOMETHING. i looked through every cookbook i have trying to find something that could be fabricated from the stuff i had. i don't know why these books couldn't just know what i had in my cupboards and create a recipe for me... i'm still disappointed about this.

i finally ditched the lame not-reading-my-kitchen's-mind cookbooks and decided i'd do what everyone should do 90% of the time... i just made it up.

(first and second loads in the dryer, third and fourth loads in the washer)

the things i grabbed from my fridge and cupboard:

-penne
-chicken
-mushrooms
-butter
-thyme
-garlic
-skewers
-soy sauce
-salt & pepper
-glass of wine

something's gotta be able to be made out of this stuff... right?

so i started by off boiling some water for my pasta and then shoving some skewers through the strips of chicken vertically... i don't know why i chose to use the skewers, you could totally just cook the chicken, but i guess i thought it was a little different.

i just cooked them on a normal ol' pan.. but if you put wooden skewers on the BBQ you should probably soak them in water first to avoid pesky fires.

Sure, oil might be a bit healthier, but i'm more about flavour than health when i cook... so i melted some butter in the pan before i put the chicken down then sprinkled them with salt and pepper.



when you're water is boiling toss in your penne (it doesn't have to be penne obviously)...



if you've got the biggest stovetop in the world, you could be cooking your mushrooms while you are doing all this other stuff... but i don't... so i took the chicken off, put it to the side.. and start with the shrooms...



choppy chop chop (oh and your pasta might be done soon, check on it and strain it if it is done.. then toss is some butter and salt... or oil if you're a crazy insane weirdo health freak)

(first and second loads back up to apartment, third and fourth loads in the dryer)



toss some butter in a pan... a lot of butter. it's good stuff... more... don't be stingy



....i put more in after i took this picture

once the butter is melted i added some pressed garlic and let them brown together. butter is a tricky (delicious) thing. browned butter can add so much awesome flavour to things... but there is a window of about 15 seconds where it's perfect to toss your food in... if you leave it too long it will burn then not taste so awesome. this window of time is so slow that i didn't even get a chance to take a picture of it...

toss the mushrooms in! and let them release their juice. (tee hee. ew)



sprinkle some thyme over them...



toss them in a bit of soy sauce and they are finito!

now to plate!

top your pasta with your chicken skewers....



then spoon on your mushroom mixture!





for a completely made up dish, it was pretty darn good if i do say so myself. i could have brought leftovers for lunch today but then all of a sudden i didn't...

(third and fourth loads back up to the apartment... let the folding ensue)

as some of you may have figured out by now... the glass of wine was not for cooking .....or was it? ;)

Cake Lollipops!:

i promise you i finally made something. and that something is something pretty darn cute. imagine cake. ok good. now imagine lollipops. great. now put those two thoughts together. i know what you're thinking "woah woah woah kylie. that is just ridiculous! a cake could never be held up by a stick and a cake sized block of candy would just be too sweet!" well dummy, the first one can work. you just have to be creative!

i mentioned these little critters a couple of posts ago and now i will show you how to make them. I started a new job last month at an awesome place called Lollipop. pretty perfect huh? well in attempts to make everyone like me, i thought it would be a good idea to make a batch and bring them in!

these adorable things appear courtesy of Bakerella, with some minor adjustments.

here's your shopping list:
-cake (any kind really, i used white cake here.)
-whatever your box says you need for your cake (eggs, milk, oil?)
-can of cream cheese icing
-lollipop sticks (i found them at bulk barn)
-candy melts-any colour you want! (also bulk barn)

sooooo. let's get down to business. first thing's first. make a cake. i just use store bought. i suppose you could make one from scratch if you really want.... but i don't want.

let the cake cool completely. you're going to be destroying this cake so once i can handle the cake i break it into chunks so the inside cools faster.



beauty.

now this whole next bit is much more effective if you use your hands, so give them a scrub.

crumble your whole cake into a big bowl. crumble crumble crumble. until it's... you know... like crumbs.

then the fun part... mixing it with icing.

take your can of cream cheese icing and mix it in with the crumbled crumbs. i never use the full can. i use about 3/4 and then see if i need to mix more in. you'll be able to tell if you need more when you try rolling some in a ball... it needs the icing to stick together.



and don't worry about any extra icing. just stick it in the fridge and grab a spoon whenever you want something sweet. i checked for you guys, it's safe to eat. even if you wanted to eat the whole thing... it's safe.

next, take a baking sheet and throw some parchment paper on it and roll your doughiness into balls and place them on the sheet.



and keep rolling...





then pop them in the freezer. this is important because if you don't, and you try and dip them in melted hot things, they will fall apart. in fact, you can freeze them on a few different things so that you can only take out a few at a time if you want.

once they're pretty solid. (probably about an hour or more.) get your candy melts ready. you can choose as many colours as you want, just give them their own bowl. don't melt too much at once because once it starts to harden it's useless.









just pop them in the microwave (i opt for 30 seconds, stir, 15 seconds, stir)

then you have something like this...



pop your balls onto the lollipop sticks...



then dip!!!! use a spoon to help you cover all the spots. (if you miss a spot, when the coating hardens the cake will ooze out the hole. yea. weird.)



to dry them i've used 3 different things. styrofoam to jam them in, cardboard to jam them in, and making someone hold them. they all work. choose your weapon.



then watch the colours rack up!

chez kylie:

i have been teerrrriiibbbllllle. i'm sorry anyone that actually reads this. i've had a lot on my plate! please don't be upset with me.

as you can see i've spruced up the site a bit. yay blogspot for getting new templates!

so i know this is the sucky thing to do since i've been MIA for a while... but i'm gonna show off some past stuff again.
this is not to say that i haven't cooked since my last post... i made awesome food for my dad for a birthday/father's day combo... but alas, i did not take pictures and i don't think it would be much fun for me to just tell you about it. (it was escargot, which you know all about, pasta with a mushroom, cream and wine sauce and chicken cordon bleu!)

so last year i invited another couple over and we had a fancy dinner party. i went a little overboard making menus and everything. NERD ALERT!





so, the first course: Slow-Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup
this was super tasty. it took the longest out of everything to make and it was all from scratch.



NEXT!: Tomato and Bocconcini Drizzled with a Balsamic Reduction and Fresh Basil
also tasty. tomato and bocconcini goes together like pb & j... mmmmm pppbbbbbb



now for the main course... if my memory hasn't escaped me... Lamb Chops Marinated in Rosemary and Grainy Mustard and BBQ'd to perfection. Also, Potato, Cheese and Nutmeg pie, steamed yellow and green beans topped with a red cabbage, carrot and raisin slaw.



on to dessert!!! ok... this dessert didn't look super appetizing but O...M....G... it was soooo goooood. i made it a few times after this dinner and i would make it again in a second... i want it now. my mouth is watering.

it's bananas fried in butter, brown sugar and orange juice on french vanilla ice cream. it's incredibly delectable. the table got silent as we ate it.



since this dinner party, i have learned to wipe the plates before i take my photos... doesn't look so neat... but this is one dinner i am particularly proud of...

next time i promise it will be my regular step by step. and i know just what i am going to make... but i'm not telling...

past adventure #1:

so it's saturday afternoon and it's mighty hot out so i don't feel like making anything. so instead i have decided to share some past items off my menu!

so late last year one of my best friends had her engagement party. she asked me to take care of a dessert buffet and i was sooo excited to do it. it was the first time i had to make a large amount of food for a specific occasion.

on the menu was...

VANILLA FUDGE! my mom makes this fudge every year for christmas and she got it from my dad's sister (aka my aunt!) this fudge is the most delicious thing in the world. it's very rich and sweet so i can't take big bites of it.. but that's probably for the best.



TRUFFLES! i just found a random truffle recipe online and coated them in chopped almonds, walnuts, icing sugar and coconut. not all together of course! gotta give the people some selection!



CAKE POPS! another Bakerella classic! these things are the cutest thing i've made. what's better than cake on a stick? that's right, nothing.



CUSTARD TARTS! cute little tart filled with homemade custard topped with a few fresh blueberries. tasty tasty!



PIE POPS! these are a little time consuming and i was on a tight schedule, but i really wanted to make these for them. they call eachother "pie" as a pet name so there was nothing more fitting. so i threw together a bunch just for them.



overall i think the dessert table was a hit! i sort of lurked around the table to hear what people were saying and everything i heard was positive, especially the aesthetics of it all. there isn't one thing that i made for that night that i wouldn't be excited to make again.



ta da!!!

so everytime i don't feel like making food but i feel like making a post, i'll just reminisce!!!

escargot - "slippery little suckers":

snails! yes indeed. escargot=snails. but they are delicious snails.
once you get past the thought that they are snails they are soooo tasty! also it doesn't hurt to throw some mushrooms on top to hide them!

you don't need much stuff and all the things you DO need are very inexpensive at the grocery store. it's definitely simple enough and looks and tastes super special for a dinner party or just for a nice snack!

here's a list of what you need:

-butter
-escargot (canned)
-escargot seasoning
-garlic
-mushrooms
-lemon
-cheese (optional)
-provolone (yes this is cheese too)
-salt and pepper
-don't forget escargot dishes (you can get nicer ones but mine appear courtesy of Dollarama!)



start by pulling off your mushroom stems. i used to cut them off until i realized that if you give them a good tug or kind of push them to the side with your thumb they come right out with a nice 'POP!' this also gives you a nice space to let the escargot sit. in regards to the stems you can chop chop chop them and throw them in the cook with the tops.





preheat your oven to broil and get out 2 pans. i just throw a big chunk of butter in each pan (one for the escargot and one for the mushrooms) and start with adding some garlic.



then add in your mushrooms and escargot. when you open the escargot can don't be phased by the smell or look. they smell not so hot and they look like you shouldn't eat them... but you should... you really should.





once you have them cooking (medium high heat) you can sprinkle a good amount of escargot seasoning (can be found in the grocery store right next to the cans of escargot (which is usually right by the tuna)).



now, my dad taught me how to make this and it was kind of a 'watch him make it once and remember as much as i can' kind of thing, but the one thing i know i made up and added was the use of lemon. it gives the escargot a nice little kick and tastes great. i just cut a lemon in half and squeeze the juice right into the pan. careful of the seeds though!



also the more liquid (butter, lemon etc) you add, the more goodness you get to mop up with bread at the end! mushrooms release a lot of moisture when they cook and so does cheese so don't over flow your escargot dishes too too much with juice to leave a little room for the cheese juice. mmmm cheese juice.

now this next step is optional but my dad told me to shred a little cheese (he used mozzarella but i use marble cheddar because that's usually what we have in the fridge) in the bottoms of the craters of the dish. this just helps them to slide out easily... plus more cheese=always good.



now you can spoon your escargot onto your cheese and drizzle your melty lemon garlic butter over them...



then place your mushroom tops on them and scatter your chopped up mushroom stems with the rest of the juices...





now it's time to put that preheated oven to use. take a nice round slice of provolone and lay it on top of the whole dish...



putting the dishes on a baking sheet makes handling them A LOT easier so once you've done that toss them in the oven. really it will only take 5ish minutes. you just want to get a nice melt going on. some light browning never hurt anyone but if you're impatient, and want to get your eat on, as long as it's nicely melted you're all good. don't forget your oven mitts when you transfer from baking sheet to plate!

i like to serve my escargot with a nice baguette because there is so much delicious juice to soak up!



now here are my 3 attempts at exemplifying the super cheesiness...





i think this calls for a dinner party... anyone? bueller? anyone?