Family-Style: Jack Frost Ski Patrol Chili Cookoff

Posted by Erin L. in Family-Style and tagged with chili, chipotle, competition, cook-off, fiesta, ice skating, skiing, snowboarding February 8, 2010

I can’t believe in less than a week I went from chillaxin on the beaches of Hawai’i to snowboarding in the Poconos! This past weekend, we had a long-overdue reunion of the Lamberts. My parents, sister, & I met up with my Uncle Jay, Aunt Coleen, and cousins, Parker & Mason, for a day on the slopes of Jack Frost mountain. They’re on the ski patrol, we planned to end the day at the patrol’s lodge for their annual Mexican Fiesta & Chili Cook-off. We all know I love to cook and have a killer chili recipe, so I certainly couldn’t resist entering the competition!

The Contenders - Front, Right, Stainless Steel = MINE!

In total, there were about 12 different chilis ranging from BBQ to all bean to chicken. My dad contributed a Sweet & Smokey Turkey Chili while I plugged in a crock-pot of my Chipotle Turkey Chili. I was pretty impressed with the perfect balance of flavor & late spice with its added texture from hunks of spicy smoked turkey sausage. It was fun to overhear people’s comments on it (too spicy, not spicy enough, Mmmmm!) as the challenge was somewhat anonymous, but I knew I had a fighting chance when I noticed quite a few people going back for seconds!

The Chili Aftermath

After endless taco dips, margaritas, & Negro Modelos, it was time to announce the winner. And I WON!! The prize was (2) tickets to the Ski Patrol’s end of year dinner, so I, of course, passed that token on to my aunt & uncle. Sunday, I woke up well-rested, beaming with chili pride, and surrounded by the love of family, the delicious smell of bacon & pancakes, & a winter wonderland. I truly couldn’t have asked for more…

Ice Princess

P.S. Beyond feeling accomplished by my chili WIN, I managed to not fall after a 2 year hiatus from snowboarding (sans ugly dismounts from the ski lift just about every time) AND I ice skated on the beautiful glassy lake in front of the house without falling either. Yay for unexpected balance!

Restaurant Rewind: Hawai’ian “‘Ono Grinds” Flashback

Posted by Erin L. in Restaurant Rewind and tagged with ahi, arugula, Beard Papa, cream puff, garlic, hawai'i, North Shore, Oahu, pineapple, restaurant, shrimp, shrimp truck, soy, sushi, tempura, tuna, Waikiki, wasabi February 3, 2010

‘Ono = Hawai’ian for “delicious”

Grinds = Hawai’ian for “food”

Every January I have the pleasure of visiting my Mama in Waikiki, Hawai’i. She lives right in the thick of things and only 2 blocks from the beach. What more could you ask for?!? I just returned last week from my 3rd annual visit, but was on a tight budget for this trip. I spent my days kicking back at the beach or by the pool while Mama cooked me up yummy seafood-focused dinners each night. I ate sweet pineapple every day and made my usual snorkel trip to Sharks Cove on the North Shore.

SNORK!

During my first 2 visits, I had the pleasure of exploring the cuisine of this tropical paradise. Unfortunately, I couldn’t escape Philly as Ono Cheesesteaks is right on the main strip of Waikiki. They may ship in Amaroso Rolls, but the sandwich as a whole was utter blasphemy! OH NO, is right! I made sure to stick to the amazing seafood Oahu has to offer.

The North Shore is scattered with shrimp ponds & shrimp trucks where you can enjoy the freshest variety of these crustaceans.We decided to stop at Fumi’s Kahuku Shrimp Truck (which is actually quite popular on Yelp!).

Fumi's Kahuku Shrimp Truck on the North Shore

For a tourist rate of $8, we enjoyed plates of Spicy Garlic Shrimp complete with White Rice, Green Salad, & a Pineapple Wedge. Things get a bit messy as you hand-peel your saucy shrimp at tented picnic tables, so all the trucks make sure to offer a handwash station for clean-up.

Spicy Garlic Shrimp Plate

On one of my many lazy days relaxing on Waikiki Beach, I decided to pop into Beard Papa for my first taste of their famous Cream Puffs. Not only are they just splendidly delicious, they fill them fresh with your choice of cream flavor. I went with their Classic Vanilla in an Eclair Puff, however they offer Chocolate, Strawberry, Coffee, Green Tea, & Earl Grey. They also make sammies on their puffs, but who wants that when you can have dessert? And, why have I never heard of these amazing cream puffs before? And, why isn’t there a franchise in Philly?? I hear there’s one in NYC. Could it be true? So many questions…

Beard Papa Eclair Puff w/ Vanilla Creme

Of course, no trip to Hawai’i is complete without a super sushi indulgence. My first visit, I had a blast pulling all sorts of varieties off a conveyor belt at Genki Sushi. Last year, however, we tried somewhere new and thank goodness! Unfortunately, the name of the restaurant eludes me (Mom?). I was treated to the best (and forever my favorite) Ahi tuna dish I could ever imagine – a fresh hunk of Ahi, wrapped in Arugula, Tempura-battered & flash fried in a delicious sea of Wasabi-Soy Butter. Heaven.

Ahi Tuna & Arugula Tempura w/ Wasabi-Soy Butter

Hawai’i, I love you. See you next January with an empty belly (or hopefully sooner)!

mattmayhem171

@ Matt Mayhem’s (but, in my kitchen): Seared Duck Breast, Zucchini-Honeycomb Mushroom Egg Noodles, & Blood Orange-Mango-Dandelion Salad

Posted by Erin L. in @ Your Table and tagged with bean sprouts, blood orange, dandelion, dinner, duck, duck breast, egg noodles, honeycomb mushrooms, mango, mushrooms, noodles, orange. grapefruit, salad, vinaigrette, zucchini February 3, 2010

Matt Mayhem is one of my all-time favorite people and my longest friend in my time living in Philly. Each year we get together to celebrate our friendiversary and this time it was a bit of reunion. Life gets away from us sometimes, but great friends never fade. There are very few people I truly trust to have my back, and, possibly even less that I trust in my kitchen. Matt’s a lucky guy to fall into both categories!

My Matt Mayhem

Matt scooped some ingredients from Reading Terminal Market and I scooped him on my way home from work. It was nice for once to focus on pics and eating, instead of always being the cook (not that I usually mind!). I was so pleased to sit down to a meal I wouldn’t usually think to prepare, either. Matt artfully seared Duck Breast, sauteed Zucchini-Honeycomb Mushroom Egg Noodles, & tossed a Blood Orange-Mango-Dandelion Salad with a Grapefruit-Shallot Vinaigrette for a truly fresh, delicious dinner. Thanks for the yummies & 6 years of friendship, Mayhem!

Seared Duck Breast w/ Zucchini-Honeycomb Mushroom Egg Noodles

Dandelion Salad w/ Mango, Blood Orange, Bean Sprouts, & a Grapefruit Vinaigrette

Quickie: Eat Me!

Posted by Erin L. in Quickie, via Blackberry and tagged with eat, magnet, pig, Serious Eats February 3, 2010

Our Payroll & Benefits Director from the home office just sent me this ADORABLE magnet from Serious Eats, one of my regular g0-to food sites. LOVE IT! Thanks, Marianne!

Eat Me! magnet from Serious Eats

Just Sayin… I’m gonna make it mine, one code at a time!

Posted by Erin L. in Just sayin... and tagged with blog, code, CSS, web design January 27, 2010

So I’ve decided on a so fresh and so clean theme for my blog. This is just for the time being as I’m embarking on a quest to teach myself CSS code. I’m just a tab bit particular about things and really want to make the look of my site my own. Dre’s already worked with me on some awesome colorways and I’ll surely rely on his expertise in typeface & design to make it perfect! Stay tuned for updates along the way and feel free to share your coding advice.

Leftover Lightning! Chinese BBQ Chili Chicken & Lump Snow Crab Egg Rolls!

Posted by Erin L. in Leftover Lightning!, To Taste ~ Recipe and tagged with cabbage, carrot, chicken, chili-garlic sauce, chilies, Chinese, crab, deep fried, dinner, egg roll, garlic, ginger, hoisin, peanut oil, recipe, scallions, sesame oil, shallots, side dish, snack, snow crab, soy sauce, sweet and sour, wrapper January 27, 2010

Dre got me an awesome deep fryer for Christmas and it took some debate on what to christen it with. Making Egg Rolls is new to me but seemed easy enough. Dre & I popped over to our local Asian market and picked up some ingredients to make the basic cabbage filler. Thank god for my Frankenberry so I could pull up some pics to discern Chinese Cabbage from the wall of greens in front of me. I love how it looks crimped when you slice it thin.

Chinese Cabbage

I added some shredded Carrot, Bean Sprouts, minced Ginger, Garlic & Shallots, Sesame Oil, Soy Sauce, and S&P. After a quick toss, it was a perfect fresh slaw to begin my egg rolls. I had some leftover Pan-seared Chicken Breast from Thursday’s dinner and leftover Snow Crab from Friday’s dinner. Both seemed like perfect proteins to add to my Egg Rolls. I chopped the Chicken and tossed it with Chili-Garlic Sauce, Chinese BBQ Sauce, & Clementine Zest. Half of the Cabbage mixture was mixed with the Chicken and we piled the fresh lump Crab Meat on top of the rest.

Chili BBQ Chicken & Cabbage Egg Roll Filler

So far, so good! Rolling was easy enough as Dre took over with the crab and I rolled the chicken mixture.

Soon to be... Chinese Chili BBQ Chicken Egg Rolls

Once we got in a rhythm, we banged out almost two dozen perfect egg rolls sealed with an egg wash and love.

Egg Rolls

I heated some (very expensive!) peanut oil in my Presto Cool Daddy and dropped in batches of 2-3 egg rolls at a time. Dre whipped up a Ginger-Hoisin-Soy Sauce from scratch and poured some Sweet & Sour Chili Sauce for us to dip them in. I’m proud to see him turn into such a great kitchen helper. Once the Egg Rolls crisped, drained, & cooled, we were ready to snack!

Fried Chinese Egg Rolls

Chinese Egg Rolls ~ makes about 18-22 egg rolls

Chinese Cabbage – (2) bunches, shredded or sliced thin
Fresh Bean Sprouts – (1.5) dry cups
Carrot – (2) large, shredded – about 1.5 dry cups
Garlic – (2) T, minced – about (3-4) cloves
Ginger – (2) tsp, minced
Shallots – (1) large, minced
Soy Sauce – (2) T, preferably low sodium
Toasted Sesame Oil – (1) T
S&P
Egg – (1) whisked in a dish for an egg wash
Egg Roll Wrappers – (18-22) – usually in the frozen section, not be mistaken for spring roll wrappers, lumpia wrappers, etc.

Toss all ingredients (except egg & egg roll wrappers) until mixed thoroughly.
Add chopped protein if desired – semi-cooked shrimp, crab meat, chicken breast
Lay an individual wrapper on a hard surface so it’s shaped like a diamond. Paint the edges with the egg wash using a pastry brush or back of a spoon.
Spoon cabbage mixture towards the bottom point of the wrapper, I’d say what looks like about 2-3 hot dogs put together. Make sure to squeeze any moisture from the mixture before spooning on wrapper to avoid sogginess!
Fold bottom point on top of mixture and roll once, tightly. Fold in each side and continue to roll and seal.
Deep fry 2-3 at a time at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes or until crispy.
Shake out oil and then drain on paper towels.
Enjoy with Soy Sauce, Sweet Chili Sauce, or the Asian Dipping Sauce below.

Asian Dipping Sauce

From the Best Answer on Yahoo! Answers for an “egg roll” dipping sauce

Soy Sauce – (1/4) cup, preferably low sodium
Toasted Sesame Oil – (1/2) tsp
Garlic – (1) tsp, minced – about (1) clove
Green Onion/Scallions – (1) tsp, minced – about (1) stalk
Hoisin – (2) T
Ginger – (1/4) tsp, minced
White Sugar – (1/2) tsp

Combine ingredients in a small bowl, cover, & chill for 1-2 hours so flavors can marinate.
Serve warmed or at room temperature with egg rolls, spring rolls, wontons, dumplings, potstickers…

@ Sunshine’s: Swedish Meatballs, French Blue Salad, & Curvy Girl Vintage

Posted by Erin L. in @ Your Table and tagged with Bibb, blue cheese, cooking, French dressing, lettuce, meatballs, rye, salad, Swedish, vintage January 26, 2010

After a long Wedding Open House at work, I made my up to Fishtown to visit my favorite vintage-crafty fashionista, Sunshine. She recruited me to model some fun vintage clothes for her blog, Blog Full of Jelly, and her Etsy shop, bubblepipe. My favorite was a 1940s German Black Wool Dirndil with ruffled detail that I may have to scoop up for myself! I can def see myself rocking it on a long-overdue visit to my birthplace.

German Black Wool Dirndil

Sunshine’s a great cook, too, so I was pretty pumped to hear she was making Swedish Meatballs. Why so pumped you ask?

A. None of my regular dinner guests eat red meat (except for a burger here and there)

B. Dre refuses to eat meat in the form of a ball (or loaf for that matter!)

Swedish Meatballs a la Sunshine

She paired the meatballs with some crusty bread, rye toasts, and, what I coined, her French Blue Salad. Simply enough, it’s blue cheese crumbles mixed with French dressing over Bibb lettuce. Sooo good and so on my list of regular salad preparations. Tuning into the retro ambiance of her amazing home, our dinner was served on vintage TV trays as we enjoyed classic Simpsons episodes, orange-y cocktails, & each others company!

Swedish Meatballs & French Blue Salad

P.S. I left Sunshine with a pint of Cream of Asparugus Soup that she enjoyed the next day with the rye toasts and French Blue Salad for a Leftover Lightning! of her own.